Thursday, July 01, 2010

A LITTLE BACK ROADING & A VISIT WITH UNCLE HARRY

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IT'S NOT OFTEN WE GET ALL 3 GUYS TOGETHER ON THE MORNING TRAIL ANYMORE:((

Took the rear seat out of the Jeep this morning so that gives us a bit of cargo space behind the seats.  Did the same thing with the mini-van when we first brought it home & hauled out the center bench seat leaving only the rear bench for Max to sleep on during the day.  I think we will just leave the Jeep's hard top on for now & not get in a stew about having to put the soft top up.  We haven't got a hope of doing that on our own & will just maybe wait until some other experienced Jeep people can show us how it's done.  I don't want to get in a snit about it & then risk breaking something.

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COULD THIS BE THE START OF SOME SERIOUS MOUNTAIN GOATING FOR JEEPERS

Someone in our 'Shout Box' wondered about our departure date for this fall but it's way too early for us to figure that out yet & there is an outside chance we might not make it all.  With Kelly's Dad's health steadily failing & my Uncle now in a nursing home we are in a bit of quandary as to what to do.  We chanced it the last couple years but this winter is looking more iffy.  If we were out in the middle of the desert somewhere in Arizona or California & something happened we would be hard pressed to make it all the way back to Canada in time.  Or, one of us would have to fly back & the other stay put with the dogs.  Kelly & I have differing opinions on what to do about this winter so we'll have to wait & see what happens.  Just too early to make any hard & fast decisions or plans yet.

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OPEN THAT DAM GATE WILL YA.....I'M A JEEP & I'M GONNA GET DIRTY!!!!

I implemented that Live Writer fix Rick suggested the other day to combat my Error 400 problem.  Kelly read that putting things like '&' in the Category line at the bottom can cause the error too so I haven't been putting any category words in at all these past few days.  We'll see how it goes.

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OK, SO WHERE IS A BIG MUDDY POT HOLE WHEN YOU NEED ONE!!

Since the humidity departed our area a few days ago our weather has been about as perfect as it gets. Lots of sunshine & big puffy white clouds.  Our rural countryside is looking so beautiful & I can feel a wee photo safari coming on soon.

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THIS IS WHERE THE TIRES MEET THE FLOWERS!!

Slipped down to Mitchell this afternoon for a couple hours to visit my Uncle Harry.  My Aunt Jean from Florida was there & we were able to get Harry up & into a wheelchair for a little spin around the nursing home grounds outside.  Despite the pain Harry was in today he really did enjoy getting outside for about an hour.  Nice back road drive (the highways are crammed for the long weekend) returning to Bayfield with a few Jeep photos along the way.  Oh no, not more Jeep photos!!  Bare with me folks.....the novelty will wear off soon enough:((

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BACK OFF BOOGALOO I'M A COMIN THROUGH

GROANER'S CORNER:))  And here's a great little exercise program for people over 60..........

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. 
With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.
Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags. 
Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level.)
After you feel confident at that level, try putting a potato in each bag:))

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES:))

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OK BOYS.....HERE WE GOOOOOO!!

Amazing what a decent night's sleep can do & today the energies, enthusiasm & interests were back in place leading to a much better day.  We all occasionally have down days but most folks don't publicly blog about them.  I have always felt at the end of the day it's important to talk about the realities & feelings of the day & not  just fluff things off in a fairy tale sort of way.

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WITHIN A MINUTE OF EXITING THE HURON COUNTY PLAYHOUSE THIS AFTERNOON KELLY WAS ON THE CELL PHONE FIELDING DEER PARK LODGE CALLS

First bit of business this morning was to get that electrical connection problem in the Jeep cleared up so off to the Bayfield Garage I went.  There are advantages to living in or near a small town & our only garage is a fine example of that.  Garage owner Don came out right away & had a look at the connector, slipped back inside for some tools, (thought he was gonna get a 20 pound sledge) & then set about getting the connection apart.  This might sound odd but I was heartened by the difficulty Don had getting that connector apart.  It wasn't just me!!  Thirty seconds later the deed was done & he permanently removed the tiny locking clip so that frustration would not happen again.

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HURON COUNTY PLAYHOUSE COMPLEX WITH THE MAIN STAGE IN THAT TALLER CENTER BUILDING

From there it was a short hop to STORMRUNNER R.V. SALES & SERVICE.   Along with the Bayfield Garage we are fortunate to have a full service facility that can look after all our RVing needs.  Dianne & Harry are RV folks themselves & spend their winter months in Florida.  Had a few RV questions plus I wanted to drop in & see Dianne because she often emails us while we are traveling & catches us up on some of Bayfield's news.  We always look forward to her emails.  Both Dianne & Harry are former Jeep owners so they slipped out to have a look at our little Jeepers.  Appreciated their advice & suggestions.  Harry advised getting some oil on the door hinges & Dianne suggested I blow my nose & get my hat on straight.......Ok, ok, so that last one wasn't true:))   Dianne & Harry run a first class RV business here & anyone in the area would be well advised to drop in with any RV questions & check out their large inventory of new & used RV's & well stocked RV store.............especially you 5th wheel Jockeys because they do specialize in 5th wheels.  Just tell em the Bayfield Bunch sent ya:))

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PEOPLE WAITING FOR THE AFTERNOON PERFORMANCE AT THE PLAYHOUSE

Tried my hand at putting a Bayfield Bunch logo on the windshield of the Jeep this morning & it was a good thing I had two sets of letters because I really messed up the first one & ended up with Goo Gone & a scraper to remove the mess I made.  Second attempt went much better.  Good thing Kelly's son has a Graphic Design business & we can get some of that graphic stuff for free.  FLORENCE SIGNS AND GRAPHICS

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MY SECOND ATTEMPT AT GETTING THE LETTERING ON CORRECTLY

We Jeeped it to Grand Bend this afternoon to see the first performance of 'Country Legends' at the Huron County Playhouse.  And, as usual we were treated to a superb performance by very professional musicians & Playhouse performers.  It was a packed house & the nearly two hour performance had people out of their seats clapping & singing along to the music.  Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, Ray Price, Dolly Parton, George Jones, Tammy Wynett, Patsy Cline, Statler Brothers, Willy Nelson, Hank Snow, Roger Miller, Glen Campbell & Little Jimmy Dickens were just a few of the tribute performers there today.  What a perfect way to spend a few hours on a beautiful sunny summer's day here at Ontario's West Coast.

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NOTICE THAT SQUEEGEE LAYING ON THE HOOD.....I had used that squeegee to press out any air bubbles on the windshield logo.  That was this morning at home & this picture was taken this afternoon at the Huron County Playhouse near Grand Bend about 20 miles from our house.  I had failed to notice that squeegee on the hood & it remained there without blowing off despite the 60 mph trip.  Last time I did this sort of thing was on I-10 in New Mexico west of Las Cruces.  Left a small wrench on the hood of the Santa Fe while towing it behind the rig.  By chance I spotted it when we stopped for gas east of Demming!!

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WATER DOGS

And, I discovered something really neat-o about the Jeep today.  For many years all our vehicles have have had power windows but you always had to go through the routine of pressing a button to either move the window up or down.  I was puzzled at how to roll the Jeep windows down so pulled out the manual.  On one of the pages I discovered a very clear set of instructions for operating the windows.  Seems there is a handy handle crank on the door right beside the driver's left hand.  By simply turning this handle one way or the other, the window can magically be either raised or lowered.  Now, how coooooool is that.  No more AUTOMATIC & pesky labor intensive finger buttons.  Awwww yes, I just love this new techno age alright:))

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NO PROBLEM FINDING OUR VEHICLE IN A PARKING LOT ANYMORE CAUSE IT LOOKS KINDA DIFFERENT THAN THE REST:))

GROANER'S CORNER:))  Here's a letter little Jimmy wrote home to his Mom & Dad from his first week at Scout Camp........Dear Mom & Dad, Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and are worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned
because we were all up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened.
Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.
Scoutmaster Keith got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas will blow up?
The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of our clothes. Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back.
We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Keith gets the bus fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left. Scoutmaster Keith said that with a bus that old you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance.
We think it's a neat bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty and if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the fenders. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrol man stopped and talked to us. It gets pretty hot with 45 people in a bus made for 24.
Scoutmaster Keith is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Jessie how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn't any cops. All we ever see up there are logging trucks.
This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out to the rapids. Scoutmaster Keith wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam was afraid he would sink because of his cast, it's concrete because we didn't have any plaster, so he let us take the canoe out. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under
the water from the flood.
Scoutmaster Keith isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the bus so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.
Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Andrew dived into the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works.
Steven and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Keith said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken. He said they got sick that way with food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time. By the way, what is
a pedal-file?
I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters & buy some more beer and ammo. Don't worry about anything. We are fine and tonight it's my turn to sleep in the Scoutmaster's tent.
Love, Jimmie

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A VERY UNPRODUCTIVE DAY:((

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ALL OF TODAY'S PICS ARE FROM THE 'BEN MILLER INN' GROUNDS LAST SATURDAY & ALL DONE ABOUT 300mm WITH THE NEWER LENS

I don't know why my brain figures it has to wake me up early all the time but it had me out of bed at 3:15 a.m. this morning  and did not let me go back to sleep again!!  Aside from a few doze off's I have basically been awake in a zombie like state for the whole rest of the day.

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Tried my hand at getting that socket plug in the Jeep unplugged again but my over tiredness, impatience, & low tolerance levels only allowed me 10 seconds of frustration time on that miserable annoyance & that was enough of that..........and the rest of the day didn't get much better either.

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Wednesday afternoon we are off to the Huron County Playhouse just outside of Grand Bend to see the musical, Country Legends.  These are top rate performances & over the years we have attended over half a dozen plays here with every one of them being absolutely first rate.  My favorite was the Buddy Holly story about 4 years ago.

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And before I forget....has anyone emailed me a question & never received an answer?  Just trying to catch up some loose ends here & get myself off this guilt wagon.  Ok, ok, one at a time please.......

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At least the weather front that came in last night blew all of Monday's humidity out of the air making for a much cooler & pleasant day.  My time was spent with short periods of unconsciousness in my recliner interspersed with short bursts of unproductive energy resulting in just about the whole square root of nothing.  And that silly little burst of words is about all the blog material my over tired lame duck brain is going to give me tonight..................10-4:((

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GROANER'S CORNER The old couple was sitting in the living room and the man asked his wife to "Make him a peanut butter sandwich with grape jelly and to make sure she used grape jelly and not the peach jelly".
She replied she would and asked did he want one slices or two. He replied two slices and make sure you use the grape jelly not the peach." He continued, as forgetful as you are would you write it down so you won't forget!"
She said: "I don't need to write it down because I will remember grape jelly and not peach.
After a while she came out with two eggs scrambled, a bowl of grits, two pieces of toast and a cup of coffee.
He looked at his meal and said:"I knew it, I knew it. I asked you to write it down because I knew you would forget the damn biscuits!" 

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.