AN UPDATE ON KELLY AND A LONG MR. BLABBERFINGERS STORY ABOUT OUR POWER OUTAGE

 IN OUR FRONT YARD I THINK THIS MIGHT BE A  GREEN LOP-EARED FROG RABBIT

Kelly's 2 p.m. Update Today::  The results of yesterday's Cat Scan showed nothing and her colonoscopy this morning showed nothing.  I think the Doctors are baffled.  They are now talking about inserting some kind of a camera into her system.  All the time she was talking to me she was undergoing an Iron Infusion.  She said with all the IV lines in her arms it is even impossible to get to the bathroom and I think she is still on her anti-nausea medication.  Very little sleep last night because of all the Colonoscopy preparation.  She doesn't take any phone calls and doesn't want to see anyone.  They are still monitoring her very closely because her hemoglobin and blood pressure levels are going up and down.  Her voice wasn't quite as strong today as later yesterday and I can tell she is discouraged.  All the time I was talking to her she was undergoing an Iron Infusion and will be getting another Iron Infusion Thursday morning.  At this point, we don't know which direction we are going anymore.......I called Aunt Jean in Florida this afternoon at 4 p.m.  I wished I had encouraging news but I am very worried right now about her condition.  Like Kelly, Aunt Jean is a fighter but I can hear that fighter in her voice fading.  I will be talking to her again Friday night at our regular time.    

Okay, here's the scoop on our power outage.  It was exactly 1:38 a.m. this morning when I was completely jolted out of a sound sleep by a loud 'BEEP' followed instantly by a flash of light, then a second flash of light, and a third flash of light that stayed on.  The loud beep was our TV coming on and the flashes of light were from a tall lamp standing beside my living room recliner.  In other words, our power was finally back on after being off for slightly over eight hours.  And, I 'might' have taken a small part in getting the power back on.  I do emphasize the word small.  So okay, here's the back story.....Our power went out sometime late Tuesday afternoon around 5:30 p.m.  Hydro One Ontario power company was informed and their first estimate of power being restored was 8:15 p.m.  Well, that didn't happen.  It was somewhere around 10:30 p.m. while sitting in the darkness of our living room with a few candles flickering and reading my Kindle when I heard, then saw a couple large trucks stopped outside nearly right in front of our house.  I determined they were power company trucks but I didn't go out.  By the way, all our power lines here in the Park are underground and not on poles.  About 10 minutes later they both reversed back up the street and left the Park.  About 10 minutes after that with my ingrained Senior curiosity at its peak I grabbed my flashlight and took a walk outside.  Glancing to the east I saw some flashes through the tall trees.  I thought right away it was lightning from a storm cell going on east of us.  But, there was something different about the flashes and I then realized they were flashlight beams being played up through the trees from behind the Park's main office and shop.  I made my way over that way and seen a Hydro truck there with a man up a pole near the road.  I thought 'good' the power will be on any minute so I walked the short distance back home and resumed my reading.  But, the power never came on.  Maybe half an hour later I heard trucks in front of our house again, and voices.  By this time my mind had put together a possible cause for the power outage.  I could tell they were confused and looking for something.  At the same time our power had gone out a crew from the Precision Directional Drilling Company had been using a machine to pull fiber optic cables underground just kiddy-corner across the road from our place.  Hmmm, maybe I should slip out and tell the power company guys about this.  So, that is what I did but accidentally scared the absolute ba-jeebers out of one guy when I emerged from the darkness behind him.  And, it's no wonder because I had already put my dentures to bed for the night and I was in my dark colored PJ's.  Hair all mussed up and all over the place too.  (Note to myself - I gotta get a haircut)  Another worker walked over and I explained to them about the workers pulling the cables through the ground where there just happened to be a power line running according to the pre-marked small triangular red flags in the ground.  One of the power company guys came with me down the road and around the corner to where I was able to show him where the drilling companies machine had been.  There was a hole in the ground there covered by a piece of plywood with a brightly color safety cone sitting on the top. The power guy affirmed there was a power cable running through there.  We walked back to where the other power guy was and the other guy immediately got on his phone.  I came back in the house and resumed my reading but I could hear the two guys out front talking and of course as you know with my Seniors curiosity level peaked again I slipped back outside to see if I could hear what they were talking about.  One fella walked back to the truck while the other fielded a call on his phone and I heard him say, "we have a bigger problem here than we figured and my estimate to have the power back on is between 8 and 10 hours.  The trucks left but before long they were back again at the same spot in front of our house.  I couldn't see what they were doing out there but I know there is a large green above-ground metal electric box located there.  After about half an hour the trucks drove forward and went around the corner.  I figured they would stop at the spot I had showed them, but nope they kept on going down the road further and stopped.  Of course I am right back outside watching all this.  You know, the Senior curiosity thing eh!!  Our power was still not on and it was pushing midnight by now.  So, needless to say, I finally fell asleep until 'BAM' the power kicked on at 1:38 a.m.  Well, I was wide awake now with little chance of falling asleep again anytime soon so I fired up my laptop computer and worked away at the blog until 3:20 a.m. when I finally hit the publish button.  The last time I remember looking at the clock was 3:40 a.m. until I was once again roused out of my sleep at 5:15 a.m. by a loud humming buzz sound.  Seconds later I was on my feet peering out the window. (ya just can't keep we Seniors down when there's stuff going on)  There appeared to be a number of large vehicles at the spot I had shown them where the drilling crew had been.  I was definitely up for the day now so I kept tabs on the proceedings over there as dawn's early light made things a bit more visible.  That loud humming buzz sound continued for about an hour until finally all went quiet and 2 out of the 3 large trucks departed.  One white truck looked like a large stake truck, another truck had a hugely big container on the back for maybe either carrying water or sucking water up, and the third truck that remained had a flatbed on the back with large white sacks of whatever with a machine on the back of the flat bed that confirmed by suspicions as to what that humming buzz sound was all about.  So, here's my 'theory' of why our power went out.  (hang on folks I'm almost at the end of this long story)  The drilling company's drilling machine uses a lot of water under pressure to tunnel its drill bit head horizontally underground between two points and then latch onto a cable to pull it back through from point A to point B.  Using water pressure from a different machine, holes are also dug at the entry and exit points of A and B.  I think the drilling crew yesterday either nicked or cut the close proximity power cable.  Even if it was just a nick, the amount of water being used could easily come into contact with a bare wire and short out the power.  That would explain them being at the electical box across the road.  I should add here too that not all homes in our Park were out of power and this had puzzled me the night before when I walked over to the street behind us (in my PJ's) and saw houses with all their lights on.  Now, quickly back to the one big truck that remained for 10 minutes at the scene this morning.  As it turns out, it was waiting for a reason.  At precisely 7:04 I heard another vehicle pull up out in from of our house.  It was a black pickup truck from the Precision Drilling company.  An orange-vested fellow got out of the truck and walked over to the power company truck where another orange-vested fellow climbed down out of the truck and the two Orangemen walked back to where the drilling machine crew were working the day before.  I imagine the Precision Power drilling company and the Ontario Hydro One company will be having some rather serious financial discussions today.  And with that, Mr. Blabberfingers will now get on with the rest of his day:))

 JUST A FEW HOURS AFTER I TOOK THIS PHOTO THE POWER WENT OUT

 THE MAIN PROBLEM OCCURRED ABOUT WHERE THAT WHITE TRUCK IS AT THE RIGHT

 THIS IS A TYPICAL WATER DUG HOLE ABOUT TWO FEET WIDE AND THREE FEET LONG

 THIS IS ONE OF THE THREE BIG TRUCKS THAT WERE HERE IN THE NIGHT AND THIS ONE CAME BACK TODAY WITH A FULL LOAD OF BAGS

 I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHAT COULD BE IN THOSE BAGS AND WHAT IT IS USED FOR

 THIS TANKER TRUCK WAS HERE IN THE NIGHT AND CAME BACK TODAY AND STAYED UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON

 A PRECISION DRILLING WORKER ARRIVES AT 7 A.M. THIS MORNING

 AFTER TALKING TO THE BAG TRUCK DRIVER HE WALKS DOWN TO THE PROBLEM AREA

A HYDRO ONE ONTARIO TRUCK ARRIVES TOWING A SPOOL OF ELECTRIC CABLE

 WITH MY FLASHLIGHT THIS IS THE SPOT I SHOWED THE HYDRO ONE WORKER LAST NIGHT AND IT WAS HERE THE MAJORITY OF WORK TOOK PLACE TODAY

 I THINK THOSE MIGHT BE FIBER OPTIC LINES DOWN THERE

 HDRO ONE WORKERS SPENT A FAIR BIT OF TIME AT THIS ELECTRICAL BOX ACROSS THE ROAD FROM OUR HOUSE LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING

With our power out Tuesday evening I was quietly sitting in our sunroom reading when I heard the the distant rumble of thunder.  Five minutes later I heard it again but it was closer.  With all the pine trees here we can't see the sky and with our power out I couldn't check our computer's live weather site to see where the storm was or how big and bad it was.  Well, there was only one way to find out, and being a wee bit of a storm chaser many Moon's ago I wasn't long in grabbing my camera and heading for the car.  Driving east out of our Park and looking south I immediately saw the storm had missed us and was heading inland.  Skies were a dark gray.  I slowly drove to the end of Bayfield River Road, made a U-turn, and headed back in a westerly direction.  I could see the sky was getting interesting so I stopped at Tipperary Line and took a few pictures.  In the following photos, open wide your imagination and look for teddy bears, gargoyles, dinosaurs, and aliens etc.  There is even a full-length upside-down long-nose Poodle walking upside down on the ceiling of the sky. 

 THERE ARE TEDDY BEARS AND ALIENS HERE

 IT'S THE WORLD OF BATTLING GARGOYLS

 MANY THINGS TO SEE HERE IF YOU HAVE THE IMAGINATION 

 AN UPSIDE DOWN-LONG NOSE POODLE WALKS ACROSS THE SKY

Unlike our spate of recent sunny days, we woke up under a drizzling rain cloud cover this morning.  It wasn't enough to keep the furry little Boog-a-loo and I from taking a spin into Bayfield and back.  As I often say, it was just nice to be outside going to, and coming from somewhere.

 A KAYAKER HEADS UP THE BAYFIELD RIVER THIS MORNING

 A CROW AT THE BAYFIELD BEACH

 SECURING ROPES AND LANYARDS

Home again it was an inside day but I noticed  the cause of last night's power outage was still being worked on today.  The big Hydro One tanker truck returned and resumed what I can only guess at was pumping more water out of somewhere.  It stayed most of the day with small Precision Drilling pick-up trucks coming and going.  Lots of orange safety vests walking around.  I hope somebody on the drilling crew doesn't get fired if by chance it was their mistake.  Hey, at 12:45 this afternoon the Sun popped out  and that spiked some interest for Pheebs and I.  I loaded the little Darlin' into the Subaru and off we went to Subway in Bayfield to get our favorite 6" Tuna Sub with all the fixins'.  However, they did't have Tuna so that threw me into a confused frazzle.  With a line-up of obviously impatient people behind me some with angry glares carrying baseball bats I quickly ordered some kind of a Sub and got the heck out of there.  By the time we got home, I couldn't remember what I had ordered.  Opening it in the kitchen I see I must have asked for a 6" Banana Sub with Pepperoni or something.   

 IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS IS THE TOUGH GUY NAMED FROG VADER....'MAY THE FROG BE WITH YOU'

Al's Music Box:)) Detroit City is a song by country music singer Bobby Bare and written by Danny Dill and Mel Tillis.  Bare's version was released in 1963.  The song — sometimes known as "I Wanna Go Home" (from the opening line to the refrain) — was Bare's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that summer, and became a country music standard.  The song is the working man's complaint, and "with its melody reminiscent of the 'Sloop John B,' describes the alienation felt by many rural southerners in the mid North," wrote country music historian Bill Malone. "Here, [Bare's] earnest and plaintive interpretation lends great believability to this mournful song."  Bob Dylan describes the song as "...not so much the song of a dreamer, but the song of someone who is caught up in a fantasy of the way things used to be. But the listener knows that it just doesn't exist."  Bare's version begins in the key of E, until after the repeat of the refrain, he makes a transition to the key of B for the second verse and refrain. He makes a transition back to the key of E as the song fades out. Bare's version also features a spoken recitation following half of the second verse, before singing the refrain before the song's fade.  The song's peak in popularity during the summer of 1963 came during a time when Tillis was still experiencing most of his success as a songwriter. He had previously written hits for Webb Pierce, Brenda Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and others, but this was one of his earliest major hits as a songwriter outside of those artists.  The song won Bobby Bare a Grammy for the Best Country and Western Recording' in 1963.

GROANER'S CORNER:)) A man running late for his once-in-a-lifetime dream job interview is frantically trying to find a parking spot in a packed lot...Time is not on his side, and he starts to panic. In his last-ditch attempt, he turns to the sky and begs: “God, please, help me out here. I’ll do anything… I’ll quit smoking. I’ll stop drinking. I’ll donate money to charity.” As soon as he finishes his plea, the skies open up, and a bright light shines on on an empty parking space. The man holds up his hand, and goes: “Never mind, I found one”.

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Dentist: "That's the biggest cavity I've ever seen. That's the biggest cavity I've ever seen."
Patient: "I heard you the first time. You didn't have to say it twice."
Dentist: "I didn't. That was my echo."

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- I got fired from Pepsi after working there for 20 years.  I tested positive for coke.

- A Dung beetle walks into a bar...."Is this stool taken?"

- What do you call a man with a toe on his knee?
Tony.

- I wonder what Jeff Bezos does before he goes to bed.  Probably puts his pyjamazon.

- I paid $500 for a belt.  It was a huge waist.

-Hello. If you're calling with bad news, leave your message now.  If it's good news, wait for the tone.
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SORRY THIS POST IS LATE --- WE HAD AN EIGHT HOUR POWER OUTAGE

    `Tuesday 6:30 a.m. - At 10:33 Monday night the phone rang and it was a nurse from the Clinton hospital to let me know that Kelly at that very moment was being readied to be transferred by ambulance to London's University Hospital.  She said Kelly was still suffering from nausea.  (probably because of blood still draining into her stomach)  Fortunately, I knew about the transfer before the nurse phoned because Kelly's daughter Sabra had phoned me earlier after she had called the Clinton Hospital to tell me Kelly was going to be transferred to London.  Kelly told me last night she was glad the ambulance had brought her to Clinton because she got to see a Doctor who immediately and he quickly got things rolling and arranged for her care.  Both Kelly and I agreed the Paramedics had done a great job and were very personable and caring as were the Clinton nursing staff including the Doctor. 

OUR MONDAY MORNING WALKING SPOT

 A BEAUTIFUL LATE JULY MORNING

 THE TOPS OF CORN STALKS ARE BEGINNING TO GROW THEIR TASSELS

 CORN COBS ARE GROWING

I have a stockpile of photos from the last couple days which I want to get caught up in this post before I get too far behind, so hang on.

 LOADING STRAW BALES ONTO A WAGON

The day dawned with another beautifully cool late July morning.  The first sunsplash alighted on our southeast facing window frame at 7:15 a.m.  With our living room patio door open beside my sleeping recliner, I awoke to the sweet sound of twittering birds in the nearby trees.  Always a nice way to start any day.

 SEEN IN OUR PARK THIS WEEK

Because I was awake early this morning it was an earlier start to the day for Pheebs and I.  Knowing Kelly would be busy with medical things and also knowing Kelly would be contacting me with a list of things to bring her later I didn't head off to London this morning. Instead, I decided to stay close to home and field any calls coming in.  Pheebs and I did however slip into Bayfield, fill Subie's gas tank, and take ourselves for a quick walk around the perimeter of a grassy area on the east side of the Bayfield Cemetery. 

 A TRACTOR TOWING TWO WAGONS ROLLS OUT INTO A FIELD TO BEGIN ANOTHER DAYS WORK

LOADING STRAW BALES

Home again I busied myself cleaning up the Subaru.  Vacuuming, glass, etc.  It kept me busy until about noon when the humidity ramped up enough to drive me inside.  There is a lot of of activity going on in our Park right now with a number of trees coming down and fiber optic cables going underground.  Lots of noise, various vehicles, and workers in orange vests everywhere.  

 OUR PARK WAS A BUSY PLACE THIS MORNING

 ALMOST LOOKS LIKE A TORNADO WENT THROUGH HERE

 THIS MACHINE NOT ONLY CUTS THE TREES DOWN BUT TRIMS OFF ALL THE BRANCHES AND THEN CUTS THE TREE TRUNK INTO MEASURED LENGTHS

 THIS IS A MULTI-FUNCTIONAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT

 THE FELLOW DRIVING THIS MACHINE LOOKS LIKE HE JUST GOT OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL

 THE FELLOW IN THE BLUE SHIRT IS THE SOLE OPERATOR OF THE BIG TREE CUTTING MACHINE AND THE FELLOW IN THE CENTER IS ADAM, OUR PARK OWNER

Noon update:: Kelly called just before noon and just as Aunt Jean, her voice was weak and lacked that usual spark.  She is still feeling very sick despite additional anti-nausea medicines.  So here's what happened Monday night.  Kelly should have immediately received a blood transfusion in Clinton but the hospital there is not equipped to do that.  In hindsight, she should have been re-ambulanced to the Goderich hospital where they do blood transfusions.  When the University Hospital doctor came on board he immediately ordered her to be brought to London's University Hospital as soon as possible.  Looking at her low blood pressure, low hemoglobin level, etc. he deemed her condition critical so that meant ambulance lights and sirens all the way. (48miles)  Kelly said she could hear the ambulance siren going.  As soon as she reached London in critical condition with her hemoglobin level down to 51 they quickly gave her 3 units of blood in an effort to stabilize her, which they did.  Kelly said she threw up more blood and they had a critical care team there that stayed with her through the night monitoring and administering different things.  More IV lines, etc.  She underwent an endoscopy this morning that again found nothing.  This afternoon she was scheduled for a cat-scan and a colonoscopy is in the offing.  She said she is discouraged and has no appetite at all. (unusual for her) She left word at the nurse's desk that she does not want any visitors.  That's normal for Kelly.  She told me she didn't need anything from home and that she wasn't interested in that stuff anyway.  It seems Kelly and Aunt Jean are exactly in the same boat at exactly the same time. 

 A BUSY CREW THIS MORNING

6 P.M. Update:: Kelly called my cell phone with an update and I could tell right away by her stronger voice that she was feeling better.  Her sparkle was back.  Her endoscopy this morning showed nothing wrong in her esophagus or stomach (but she is still bleeding) and she didn't have the results of her afternoon cat scan yet.  After her morning endoscopy, she was able to eat a little something.  She said she had no appetite.  At 8 a.m. Wednesday morning she will undergo a colonoscopy.  She also said they have been keeping a very close eye on her with constant blood pressure readings, and hemoglobin testing.......Our power is finally back on and I am publishing this now at 3:20 a.m.

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Al's Music Box:)) Over The Mountain Across The Sea by Bobby Vinton is a song written by Rex Garvin and was originally released by Johnnie & Joe in 1957.  Bobby Vinton released a cover of the song in 1963. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A light-haired woman and a redhead have a ranch. They have just lost their bull. The women need to buy another, but only have $500. The redhead tells her partner, "I will go to the market and see if I can find one for under that amount. If I can, I will send you a telegram." She goes to the market and finds a bull for $499. Having only one dollar left, she goes to the telegraph office and finds out that it costs one dollar per word. She is stumped on how to tell her partner to bring the truck and trailer. Finally, she tells the telegraph operator to send the word "comfortable." Skeptical, the operator asks, "How will she know to come with the trailer from just that word?" The redhead replies, "She reads slow: 'Come for ta bull.'"

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You Might Be A Redneck If::

- Three quarters of the clothes you own have logos on them.
- Your grandfather always does the 'pull my finger' trick at the family reunion.
- When you leave your house, you are followed by federal agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
- You have a house that's mobile and five cars that aren't.
- Your gene pool doesn't have a "deep end."
- Your `huntin dawg' cost more than the truck you drive him around in.
- You have a Hefty bag for a convertible top.
- Your belt buckle weighs more than five pounds.

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