THERE WAS A SADNESS IN MY THOUGHTS THIS MORNING

 IT WAS SO NICE TO SEE SUNSHINE, GREEN FIELDS, BLUE SKIES, AND RUNNING WATER EARLIER TODAY

Trying to access our online bank account late Friday afternoon I was told by a pop-up screen that I needed to enter a verification code number that was somewhere on my iPhone. With all the stress and tension of late, I  had myself a meltdown which put me in a foul mood for the rest of the day and it only got worse the more I tried to figure it out.  I of course ended up with a locked screen on the iPhone again.  In the end, I was once more dead in the techno water and there was nothing I could do about it until Monday morning when the bank opens.  Whether they can help me with this, I have no idea.  I was so discouraged with everything and yet I didn't know how to give up.  I stuffed the iPhone in a drawer where I couldn't see it and be reminded of it, and now wait for Monday morning.  I am so tired of all this!!  I'm sorry for this not being a brighter paragraph, but it's just where I happen to be right now and I needed to vent my frustration somewhere!!  I so miss the love of my life and my guiding light.

My day began shortly after 5 a.m. With my laptop, I looked at some YouTube stuff, wrote the opening paragraph for the blog, and generally just sat here sometimes nodding off and most times not.  During one of my nodding-off periods, my closed eyelids suddenly lit up with a bright light.  Opening my eyes, I saw right away it was the morning sunrise, and the Sun was actually poking through the pine trees and lighting me up through the living room window.  I was encouraged by that and it wasn't long before I was on my feet getting some breakfast ready for Pheebs.  An hour later we were in the Subaru heading into Bayfield.  And, with Pheebs window down too.  She was loving it.  Of course, I had Subie's heater going but not on high.  I think we were already over 40F with clearing skies and the temps reached 54F later.  A swing down around the harbor netted a few sunny morning pics and oh how nice to see sunlit colors again.  From the harbor, we slipped through Bayfield, topped up Subie's gas tank at the Bayfield Garage, and headed south out of town.

 IT WAS THE BLUE SKY PUTTING THE BLUE COLOR INTO LAKE HURON THIS MORNING

 

 SUNLIGHT BRINGING OUT THE MORNING COLORS

 I WONDER IF THEY WILL EVER GET THIS FISHING BOAT BACK INTO THE WATER

 THE GALS ARE DRINKING THEIR COFFEE OUTSIDE THIS MORNING

Left off the Bluewater highway onto Crystal Springs Road and then a right turn onto the Bronson Line and we were soon cruising through a sun-filled countryside with acres of green fields where most of the last month's heavy snowstorm had already melted off.  My Friday afternoon and evening anger was gone but there was a sadness in my thoughts as I looked at Pheebs and how she is aging faster now.  I so much enjoy having her right beside me loving her car rides with her nose out the window and her ears flapping in the open air. I thought a lot about Kelly as I watched the morning sunshine play its shadows across the open farm fields and woodlots.  So many good times we had especially in those RV traveling years.  Pheebs and I didn't go all the way down the Bronson Line but made a U-Turn back in the direction of Bayfield.  The thought had occurred to me that we might be able to get a bit of a walk-in at the Bayfield Cemetary.

OH NOW I LOVED THE COLOR GREEN AS WE CRUISED THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE

 GUESS I HAD 'GREEN' ON MY MIND

The roads in the cemetery were a little squooshy being a mix of snow, water, and mud.  But, no matter, there were open patches of grass to walk on so that is what we did.  It was about this time that the cloud cover closed in again and we lost the sunshine until later in the day when it returned.  After a bit, we were back to the car and on our way home.  It turned out to be a slow afternoon and I couldn't seem to drum up enough energy or enthusiasm for getting anything done.  But, at least the Sun had come out for a while today and that made it all worthwhile again by dampening my anger and lifting my Spirits.  I knew there would be days like these and I also know that there will be better days ahead.  I just have to be patient with myself and try my best not to let things get me down. I do understand there will be snags in the road and I have to better learn how to deal with those snags when they crop up without getting so upset about it.  

 THE ROAD LEADING INTO THE CEMETARY LOOKED A LITTLE WONKY

 WHEN I SAW PATCHES OF GRASS I KNEW WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET A WEE WALK IN

 IT DIDN'T TAKE PHEEBS LONG TO TRACK DOWN SOME SMELLS

 THE CEMETARY GROUNDS KEEPER IS GOING TO HAVE A BIG CLEAN-UP JOB IN THE SPRING 

 PHEEBS IS CAREFUL TO STAY OFF THAT ICE

 I AM SO GLAD TO SEE OUR DRIVEWAY FINALLY EMERGING FROM UNDER ALL THAT SNOW AND ICE

Al's Music Box:)) Old Man is a song written and performed by Canadian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Neil Young from his 1972 album Harvest. "Old Man" was released as a single on Reprise Records in the spring of 1972, reaching number 4 in Canada, and number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week ending June 3.  The song was written for the caretaker of the Northern California Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased for US$350,000 in 1970 (equivalent to US$2,746,015 in 2023). The song compares a young man's life to an old man's and shows that the young man has, to some extent, the same needs as the old one. James Taylor played six-string banjo (tuned like a guitar) and sang on the song, and Linda Ronstadt also contributed vocals.  In the film Heart of Gold, Young introduces the song as follows:  About that time when I wrote ("Heart of Gold"), and I was touring, I had also—just, you know, being a rich hippie for the first time—I had purchased a ranch, and I still live there today. And there was a couple living on it that were the caretakers, an old gentleman named Louis Avila and his wife Clara. And there was this old blue Jeep there, and Louis took me for a ride in this blue Jeep. He gets me up there on the top side of the place, and there's this lake up there that fed all the pastures, and he says, "Well, tell me, how does a young man like yourself have enough money to buy a place like this?" And I said, "Well, just lucky, Louis, just real lucky." And he said, "Well, that's the darnedest thing I ever heard." And I wrote this song for him.  He tells a similar story when introducing the song at a February 23, 1971 performance broadcast by the BBC (in which he says that he purchased the ranch from "two lawyers.")

 A FEMALE CARDINAL IN OUR FRONT YARD 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A journalist assigned to the Jerusalem bureau takes an apartment overlooking the Wailing Wall. Every day when she looks out, she sees an old Jewish man praying vigorously.  So, the journalist goes down and introduces herself to the old man.  She asks, "You come every day to the wall. How long have you done that, and what are you praying for?"  The old man replies, "I have come here to pray every day for 25 years.  In the morning I pray for world peace and then for the brotherhood of man.  I go home, have a cup of tea, and I come back and pray for the eradication of illness and disease from the earth."  The journalist is amazed.  "How does it make you feel to come here every day for 25 years and pray for these things?" she asks.  The old man looks at her sadly.  "Like I'm talking to a wall."

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- What do you call a bee that lives in America?  A USB.

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I was out last Sunday morning -- I didn't see any signs, nobody to ask, so I lit a cigarette. This woman nearby began shrieking. 'Put it out, please, put it out'. I turned around and saw that she was only three pews away!
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Last year I replaced several windows in my house and they were the expensive double-pane energy efficient kind. But this week I got a call from the contractor complaining that his work has been completed for a whole year and I had yet to pay for them.
Boy oh boy did we go 'round. Just because I'm fair haired lady doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I proceeded to tell him just what his fast-talking sales guy had told me last year.  He said that in one year the windows would pay for themselves. There was silence on the other end of the line so I just hung up and I haven't heard back. Guess I must have won that silly argument.

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly's Corner

 RELAXING IN THE DESERT WE LOVED SO MUCH

 MAKING COOKIES AT HER MOM'S PLACE IN SPENCERPORT NEW YORK

Al's Art Gallery

I'LL BE ALRIGHT, IT JUST TAKES TIME

With a number of stops in Goderich this morning I decided to leave Pheebs at home.  I didn't like the thought of her having to wait and wait in the cold car.  I had a 10:30 appointment at the TD Bank and that took a little longer than expected.  Things went well and although we didn't have any assets there we didn't owe any money either.  I was surprised to find out that I still have a handsome line of credit at that bank.  I'm not sure if I ever did use it and it's been valid since around 2004 I think.  From the bank, I headed a few streets over to what is now called 'Service Ontario'.  The Subaru ownership is in both mine and Kelly's name and I have to get that changed to my name only before our Auto Insurance company can make the necessary changes to our policy.  But, upon entering Service Ontario I saw a line of people waiting and more seated.  I have no patience for line-ups and quickly exited the building.  There's no hurry to get this ownership changed so I'll try again next week, and maybe the next week, and maybe the next week.  Following my aborted trip to Service Ontario, it was up to the Goderich Hospital I went to pay the ambulance bills but the administration office was closed due to the holidays.  I'll do that next week but it was when I entered the hospital that an unexpected wave of sadness came over me.  It was the medical smell of the hospital itself that triggered the memory of Kelly's last days there nearly a month ago before being moved to Hospice.  On the way to the administration office, I looked down the hallway to where ICU is located.  Kelly had been there and then moved to a room across the hall.  I felt tears in my eyes....... I steeled myself for my next stop and headed off to Walmart to pick up a few things.  Imagine my surprise when I found Walmart not to be packed with Walmartians scurrying around all over the place.  Got my stuff and got out of there.  Grabbed a decaf coffee to go at Tim Hortons and then an A&W double buddy burger.  Best burger for the buck.  Subie was an absolute mess so from A&W I headed for the carwash and gave her a good wash job.  How nice to have a clean-looking car again.  I was back home shortly after noon still feeling a little down about the hospital experience earlier.  It stuck with me for the rest of the afternoon and I couldn't seem to shake it.  I'll be alright, it just takes time.  I sure wish the Sun would come out.........

Al's Music Box:)) Let Em In is a song by Wings from their 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and reached the top 3 in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. It was a No. 2 hit in the UK; in the U.S. it was a No. 3 pop hit and No. 1 easy listening hit.  In Canada, the song was No. 3 for three weeks on the pop chart and No. 1 for three weeks on the MOR chart of RPM magazine. The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies.  It can also be found on McCartney's 1987 compilation album, All the Best!  A demo of the song, featuring Denny Laine on lead vocal, was included as a bonus track on the Archive Collection Reissue of Wings at the Speed of Sound.  The song starts with the sound of a V. & E. Friedland Maestro Westminster Chime doorbell, an electro-mechanical doorbell with a unique "vibrato resonating" feature before the rhythm begins. The lyric namechecks several famous people, between friends and relatives of McCartney who, without a justified reason, knock on the door or ring the bell of his house and he exclaims "Let 'Em In". They include McCartney's paternal aunt Gin, his brother Michael, and Linda McCartney's brother John. Phil and Don of the Everly Brothers are named (the duo had a hit with "Keep A Knockin'"), along with Martin Luther, who famously hung his "95 Theses" on a church door. An Uncle Ernie is also named, being the character Ringo Starr sang in the London Symphony Orchestra's recording of the Who's rock operal Tommy.  "Let 'Em In" is also notable for the false fade out, which, however, becomes loud for the last two notes of the song. The song makes use of the piano, drums, and brass, including a trombone solo, and wind instruments, featuring flutes, as well as backup vocals from Linda and other members of Wings. Cash Box said that it was a "better, more substantial tune [than 'Silly Love Songs' and that "McCartney's voice is at its best, and the rhythm of this one is dangerously addictive." Record World said that "with a loping beat and a brisk military drum sound, this should be another chapter in McCartney's success story."

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man was watching TV and enjoying a beer. "Don't go," he yelled at the screen. "Do not enter that building. Walk away. Argh, you stupid man!"  His wife called from the kitchen, "What on earth are you watching?"  "Our wedding video."

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I opened my birthday card and loads of rice fell out.  I knew right away who sent it... It was my Uncle Ben.

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WIFE: "There's trouble with the car. It has water in the carburetor."

HUSBAND: "Water in the carburetor? That's ridiculous."

WIFE: "I tell you the car has water in the carburetor."

HUSBAND: "You don't even know what a carburetor is. I'll check it out. Where's the car?"
WIFE: "In the pool."

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Some Yoga Knowledge::

1. Why do vegetable lovers love practicing yoga regularly?  They always want to find their inner peas.

2. How did my instructor know I was serious about yoga?  I told her I would be as flexible as possible.
3. I didn't believe yoga would fix my posture…But I stand corrected.
4. What did the instructor say when her yoga student couldn't touch her toes?
She said, "Yoga-to try harder tomorrow".
5. Why did the bagel struggle in yoga class?
It couldn't find its center.
6. I've been practicing yoga for decades.
Yep, it's been a pretty long stretch.
7. What do you call a bagel that has mastered yoga?  A pretzel.
8. What is the most romantic yoga pose?
Pro-pose.
9. Why does everyone love yoga teachers?
They bend over backward for you.
10. What do you say at the end of a squirrel yoga class?  Nutmaste.
11. What do a cow walking backward and a yogi have in common?  They both say oooooom.
12. How does the yogi order a pizza?
Make me one with everything!
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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly's Corner

AT AN RV PARK WEST OF ALBUQUERQUE NEW MEXICO

AT SALVATION MOUNTAIN EAST OF NYLAND CALIFORNIA

Al's Art Gallery