OUT INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE WHERE WE ARE THE HAPPIEST

PHEEBS WAS HAPPY TO FINALLY BE OUT AGAIN FOR A CAR RIDE THIS MORNING

How nice to wake up after having a good night's sleep for a change and knowing my presence was not required to be anywhere at any given time for any given reason.  Due to appointments, I hadn't been able to take Pheebs with me for a car ride the past few days, so this morning despite the ground completely covered in snow and still snowing, Pheebs and I headed out with no particular hard-nose destination in mind.  My favorite kind of stress-free destination. 

 NICE TO SEE AREA HIGHWAYS FREE OF ICE AND SNOW ON OUR WAY TO CLINTON THIS MORNING

 EVERGREEN TREES ON A GOLF COURSE FAIRWAY

 A WINTER'S CREEK MEANDERS ITS WAY THROUGH MY CAMERA FRAME AS WE GO BY

 A SNOWY FOREST BUSH LANE

Well, okay we did have somewhere to go but it wasn't stress-related too much.  Our first stop was the Bayfield Post Office to mail two of five important envelopes regarding Kelly's passing.  I can't mail the other three envelopes until I find my Social Security Number to put in with them.  I spent over an hour again this afternoon trying to find our income tax stuff.  Our second stop this morning was the Bayfield Library to see if the nice computer lady (Alena) was there and could show me how to find my iPhone's home screen.  I was so discouraged by not being able to find it despite being shown how less than 24 hours before.  Alena wasn't in today but another nice lady had my home screen (where all the icons are) up in about one-tenth of one second.  I had been doing the exact same swipe up as she did but she pointed out where I might have gone amiss pressing a little button on the right-hand side of the phone.  I was very grateful for her quick help and have at least a fighting chance that I know where to find the 'Settings' icon now.  For our next stop, we headed over to Clinton where I first picked up a Tim Hortons coffee to go and then dropped off a 'death certificate' at the law firm where Kelly and I have our wills.  A quick gas fill-up at the Shell Station in Clinton's north end and away Pheebs and I went out into the countryside where we are the happiest.  We were back on the country roads with forests, streams, open skies, horizons, rambling farmer's fields, hills and dales.  How refreshing it was to be back in our element cruising along slow with Pheebs window down and soothing ambient music on Subies SiriusXM satellite radio.  We slowly ambled our way northwest of Clinton taking a few photos along the way.  

 FOR ALL THE YEARS I HAVE BEEN DRIVING BY THIS FARM I HAVE NEVER SEEN A HORSE IN ANY OF THESE CORRALS

Home again, I spent time on little projects around the house such as looking for our income taxes.  That girl sure must have hidden them away in a safe place alright.  Maybe above a ceiling panel, underneath a loose floorboard in our unit, or behind a false wall panel.  Or, maybe she just put them on top of the fridge or something.  Wherever they are, I still haven't found them.  

Al's Music Box:)) What In The World's Come Over You is a song written and performed by Jack Scott. It was featured on his 1960 album What in the World's Come Over You.  The song was produced bySonny Lester.  It reached #2 in Australia, #2 in Canada, #5 on the U.S. pop chart, #7 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #11 on the UK Singles chart in 1960.  The song ranked #14 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 singles of 1960. 

NICE TO SEE A TOUCH OF CHRISTMASY COLOR WHEN WE GOT BACK TO OUR PARK

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I came home from work this evening and said to my wife, "Are we having salad for dinner?"  "Yes we are, how did you know?" she asked.  I replied, "Because I can't hear the smoke alarm."

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A man was at home watching TV with his friends when he heard a noise. He ran out just in time to see a thief drive off in his car.
"Did you see their face?" his friends asked when he came back inside.  "No, but it's okay - I got the licence plate number!"

- “Did you hear about the lost sausage? It was the missing link.”

- I drink decaf coffee.  I like my coffee how I like my men - missing everything I need.

- Family is important because they’re the only people who know what you’ve been through, and that’s because they caused most of it.

- Men love fixing things except themselves.

- It’s been raining for days now and my husband seems very depressed by it.  He keeps standing by the window, staring. If it continues, I’m going to have to let him in.

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

KELLY'S CORNER

POWDER DUMP WASH WEST OF OCOTILLO WELLS, CALIFORNIA ON A MORNING HIKE

 AT OUR RANCH SITTING LOCATION NEAR MCNEAL ARIZONA ONLY 20 MILES FROM THE MEXICAN BORDER AT DOUGLAS, ARIZONA

Al's Art Gallery

BY THE TIME I GOT HOME TODAY I HAD ANOTHER WALRUS SIZED HEADACHE

BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER......'OKAY MILDRED I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU HOW TO PUT A FROZEN WORM ON THE HOOK'

These are at times, busy days.  And that is good.  To have the cobwebs whisked away from a few areas of my mind giving me access to long closed doors is encouraging.   Having to write down, remember, and organize things has awoken and stimulated old thought processes I have not had to use for a long time.  It's as if parts of my mind are awakening from a long drowsy slumber.  I am now once again the 'Big Cheese' who has to make all the decisions.  Needless to say, I am overwhelmed with it all.............

SPOTTED THIS LITTLE FELLA ON MY TRAVELS TODAY

Again, leaving Pheebs at home, I headed off to Goderich for a 9:30 appointment at the Scotia Bank.  It went better than expected and I at least now have a comfortable handle on our online banking.  Of course, that's not before making a major mistake last week.  I was in Walmart and my debit card wouldn't work.  What!! I paid for the groceries with an old credit card in my wallet that I hadn't used since the Wright Brothers last flew at Kitty Hawk.  When I got home and figured out how to get online with our Scotia account I saw there was .19 cents in the account I had tried to use at Walmart.  I had previously written a $$$$$$ cheque last week to the funeral home and I guess that kinda upset our banking applecart.  Anyway, the cheque went through okay and saved me from any embarrassment.  Things are straightened out now and I've finally got my head above water.  Monday morning I have an appointment at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Goderich and I have no idea what surprises await me there.  The lady at Scotia Bank this morning asked me for my driver's license to write some numbers down and then informed me the driver's license was invalid because it had expired.  What!!!! I just renewed it this past October.  So, from the bank, I drive a few blocks to the MTO 'Ministry of Transportation' with my eyes glued to the rearview mirror expecting a fleet of flashing red light police cars coming after me.  Talk gets around fast in a small town ya know.  The lady at the MTO obviously knew she was dealing with a Senior when she checked the records and found out a new driver's license had been sent to me last October.  In fact, I even remember getting it so here's what I figured happened.  Knowing Al as well as I do, he probably took the new license out of the envelope and laid it on the kitchen countertop.  He then likely took the old license out of his wallet and placed that on the counter as well.  Then, he probably ran around the kitchen table three times, came back to the counter, picked up his old driver's license, put it back in his wallet then threw the new one in the garbage.  Hey, it's the only logical way it could have happened.  I now have a temporary driver's license until my 'new again' $35 driver's license arrives in the mail.  Oh yes, and my day wasn't over yet.  From the MTO I went to the McCallum funeral home with our marriage certificate in hand with the hopes of understanding some more confusing paperwork.  Kelly's U.S. citizenship kinda complicates things.  The nice man at the funeral home was able to complete some more stuff thanks to the marriage certificate but one of the big sticks in the mud is that I have not been able to find my Social Insurance Card with my number on it.  The nice man said all I have to do is check back on our income tax forms and the number will be there.  What the heck are income taxes!!  From the funeral home, I headed home and rested my cranium for a couple hours.  

 A LIGHTLY COVERED SNOWY ROAD ON THE WAY TO GODERICH THIS MORNING

 KICKING UP A SLIGHT WHALLUP OF SNOW BEHIND ME ON THE WAY HOME

At 1:15 p.m. with Kelly's iPhone15 securely in my pocket, I headed for the Bayfield Library.  A nice lady met me there and tried her very best to show me some of the basics of the phone like how to turn it on and off and how to access the home screen, etc.  She had her work cut out for her.  I listened intently for the next half hour or so thinking I was understanding what she was showing me.  You would think I would know better, but no......Well, that is until I got home and right away couldn't even remember how to get to that home screen where all the settings were.  I swiped, I swooped, I tapped, and I whooped.  And, I even swore a bit too.  But, I'll be darned if I can find that screen with all the icons again which leaves me effectively still dead in the water.  I am such a bumble-head.  Also while at the Library the nice lady set me up to be a proud card-carrying member of the Bayfield Library just like Kelly was.  She showed me around the Library, then set my iPhone up for audiobooks which is something I am interested in.  However, what chance have I got of accessing the audiobook App if I can't even find the basic home screen.  By the time I got home, I had another walrus-sized headache and felt like I had been run over by a Huron Country road grader.  It had been a long day for this overwhelmed and overworked mind of mine.  And then there came a knock to the door.  Oh no I thought, my brain cannot handle any more tough stuff.  But this wasn't tough stuff, it was neighbor lady Janie (Frank&Janie) with a BIG plate of something called ?? Marseilles I think.  Chicken, rice. and mushrooms....and lots of it.  It sure smelled good and it sure tasted good a half hour later when I heated it up and got my face into it.  Definitely a nice way to do chicken.  There was a day I could have eaten the whole dinner in one sitting but this ?? Marseilles is going to take me two days at least.  Thanks guys:))

 COLD GRAY SKIES OVER LAKE HURON THIS AFTERNOON

THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK WITH ALL MY DAILY REMINDERS HAS BEEN A BUSY PLACE

AND YES, THIS WAS EVERY BIT AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS

Al's Music Box:(( This Magic Moment is a song composed by lyricist Doc Pomus and pianist Mort Shuman.  It was first recorded by The Drifters, with Ben E. King singing lead.  It was recorded first at Bell Sound Studios in New York City.  The Drifter's version spent 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 16 on April 2, 1960.

 NOW REMEMBER, NEXT TIME YOU GOTTA PUT THE FROZEN WORM ON THE HOOK

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A wealthy merchant of 84 married a 25-year-old fashion model. They had a wonderful honeymoon in Aruba but, unfortunately, the old boy suffered a coronary and was hospitalized.  When his young wife came to see him, the old man said, "Sweetheart, your future has been taken care of regardless of what happens to me. You will have an income of $250,000 a year, my home in Palm Springs, my ranch in Texas, my Mercedes. You'll never need to worry about money."  "Oh, sweetheart, please don't talk that way," his young wife exclaimed. "You've been so good to me already. If you go, I'll be devastated. Oh, there must be something I can do to help you. Please, tell me what I can do?"  "Well," the old man gasped, "you can quit pinching the inlet tube to my oxygen supply for starters."

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- Group swimmers at the Olympics aren't given much choice.  For them, it's synchro swim.

- What did the doctor say to the witch in hospital?  With any luck you'll soon be well enough to get up for a spell!

- Why did the old witch keep her clothes in the fridge?  She liked to have something cool to slip into in the evenings!

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A fair haired young lady was sitting on the train reading the newspaper. The headline said, "12 Brazillian Soldiers Killed."  She shook her head at the sad news, then she turned to the stranger sitting next to her and asked, "How many is a Brazillian?"

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly's Corner

 SOMEWHERE ON CANADA'S PRINCE EDWARD iSLAND

WITH DAUGHTERS REBECCA AND SABRA

Al's Art Gallery