ANOTHER HO-HUM DAY HAS LEFT ME WITH LITTLE TO SAY

 I'M GLAD I NEVER TOOK AN INTEREST IN FISHING YEARS AGO OR THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ME HUDDLED UP OUT THERE ATOP BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER ON THIS COLD WET AND RAINY MORNING

Under a gray damp overcast, we had a slight combination of snow and drizzly rain this morning.  Kelly wandered off to Goderich to return a few things while Pheebs and I took a short drive into Bayfield and back.  So, another ho-hum day has left me with little to say.       

A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN LAKE HURON'S WATER LEVEL WAS HIGH IT WAS ONLY ABOUT 10 FEET FROM THESE BOULDERS TO THE WATERLINE

Here is an 'exceptionally well-done' short film by filmmaker Erik Wernquist about what future space travel may look like for travelers.  One Revolution Per Minute. Watch this on the largest screen you can, with the best sound you have. (preferably headphones)  'Sights I'd Like To See From Places I'll Never Be'.  Also, from the same director is another fine short film entitled Wanderers narrated by the late astronomer, Carl Sagan.

 IT LOOKS LIKE THESE TREES HAVE GROWN UP AROUND SOME OLD NAUTICAL GEAR NEAR THE BAYFIELD RIVER

A random post from our ranch sitting days southeast of Tombstone near McNeal Arizona....A Valley Of Legends  

Ellen's Groove:))  A new bass guitar for Ellen.  She tries out her Mayones bass and does a bit of singing.  She has a ways to go but by golly, she's getting there.....Ellen's New Bass Guitar

 SOME FARMERS ARE STILL TRYING TO GET THEIR CORN HARVEST IN BEFORE THE SNOW FLIES

Al's Music Box:)) You Didn't Have To Be So Nice is a song by American rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. It was issued on a non-album single in November 1965 and reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1966.  The song was later included in the band's March 1966 album Daydream. According to its writer, band bassist, and songwriter Steven Boone, it was inspired by 1960s celebrity photographer Nurit Wilde. Billboard described the song as having a "good lyric and strong dance beat." Cash Box described it as a "catchy cut" with "a sweet romantic touch."  The song has been cited as an inspiration for the composition of the 1966 song "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys.

 YUP, IT'S DEFINITELY PURPLE ALRIGHT

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Being a little older, I am very fortunate to have someone call and check on me every day. He is from India and is very concerned about my car warranty.

I choked on a carrot this morning, and all I could think of was, "I'll bet a doughnut wouldn't have done this to me."

Nothing spoils a good story more than the arrival of an eye witness. (Mark Twain)

I finally realize why I look so bad in pictures. It's my face.

It only takes one slow-walking person in the grocery store to destroy the illusion that I'm a nice person.

Women are like telephones ... They love to be held. They love to be talked to. But, if you press the wrong button, you're DISCONNECTED.

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AND TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE DAYS

 PHEEBS KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON THE CANADIAN TIRE STORE DOOR THIS MORNING WAITING FOR KELLY TO COME OUT

Some days it doesn't take much for me to knock my feet out from under myself and today was one of those days.......

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Al's Music Box:)) Gunsmoke (The Radio Theme)  Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870s during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.  The radio series ran from 1952 to 1961.  In 1955, the series was adapted for television and ran for 20 seasons. From 1955 to 1961, it ran in half-hour episodes and one-hour episodes from 1962 to 1975. A total of 635 episodes were aired over its 20-year run. At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote: "Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the West. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp Western as romanticized by Ned Buntline, Bret Harte, and Mark Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend."  (This one is for you Norm, way down there in that Clearwater, Florida place)

^{GROANER'S CORNER:((} The teacher of the earth science class was lecturing on map reading. After explaining about latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes the teacher asked, "Suppose I asked you to meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude and 45 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude...?" After a confused silence, a voice volunteered, "I guess you'd be eating alone."

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AND TRANSPORTED TO CANADA VIA DOGSLED

It was my turn to drive on this cloudy but rainless Saturday morning so I picked up my good buddy Richard at 9:30 and we beetled off to Clinton's Tim Hortons for coffees and muffins to go.  From there, our travels took us northeast of Clinton through a rural area comprising the little burgs and whistlestops of Bornholm, Brodhagen, and Winthrop.  As usual, our country-drive conversation was not only scenic but also timely, stimulating, thought-provoking, and interesting.  I dropped Richard off at home a couple hours later shortly before noon and minutes after that I was in our driveway.  

Early this afternoon, Kelly, Pheebs, and I were back in the Subaru headed to Goderich.  Kelly's old recliner has been steadily deteriorating ever since we bought it two decades ago and I haven't been able to convince her she needs a new one.  Well, that was until a few days ago when she finally decided on her own that it was time to part with her old well-worn relic that I have a suspicion was probably brought to North America on the Mayflower and transported to Canada via dog sled.  So, that's why we headed for Goderich today to stop into the 'The Brick' and 'Home Hardware' stores to check out new recliners.  To say I was 'staggered' by the price of these reclining chairs nowadays would be putting it mildly.  In fact, I had to sit down in one of those very recliners until I could un-stagger myself.  With a possible liver transplant coming up and the probability of a year-long recovery period, it's important that we get exactly the right 'ease of use' recliner for Kelly so that was our priority.  We both noticed the 'Home Hardware' recliners seemed to be of better quality than 'The Brick' recliners so there are a couple possibilities at Home Hardware.  We didn't make any decisions today because Kelly said she hasn't quite got her recliner worn down to the bare steel rails yet and she figures there is still a couple lumpy miles left in her favorite old antique. 

 THIS IS ABOUT THE SAME EXPRESSION I HAD ON MY FACE TODAY WHEN I LOOKED AT THE PRICE TAGS ON THE RECLINERS

Al's Music Box:)) It's Now Or Never is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single in 1960. The song is one of the best-selling singles by Presley (20 million copies), and one of the best-selling singles of all time. It was recorded by Bill Porter at RCA Studio B in Nashville.  Based on a song Elvis liked by singer Tony Martin, (There's No Tomorrow) Elvis mentioned the idea to his music publisher, Freddy Bienstock, who was visiting him in Germany... Mr. Bienstock, who many times found songwriters for Presley, returned to his New York City office, where he found songwriters, Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, the only people in that day. The two wrote lyrics in half an hour. Selling more than 5 million records, the song became number one in countries all around and was Presley's best-selling single ever... a song, Shroeder and Wally finished in 20 minutes to a half hour which was the biggest song of their career.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A hesitant driver, waiting for a traffic jam to clear, came to a complete stop on the freeway ramp. Traffic thinned, but the driver still waited.  Finally, a furious voice from the vehicle behind him cried, “The sign says to yield, not give up!”

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Today, I melted an ice cube with my mind just by staring at it.  It took a lot longer than I thought it would.

- If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

- Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?

- How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

- What is the speed of darkness?

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is ‘yes’ or ‘no’.   Not all this “Who are you and how did you get in here?” nonsense.

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THE ONLY WAY TO SALVAGE THE DAY

A cold cloudy and rainy damp morning but hey, all the snow was gone, we were above freezing, and it wasn't windy.  A short uninspired drive into Bayfield and back for the furry Kid and I.  The only way to salvage the day was to turn up the sunroom's fireplace, tip back in my recliner, and bury my face in a book.  Kelly is feeling much better today.  Her biggest challenge yesterday was trying to stop the bleeding from the teeth extractions.  In only a few short days she has lost 3 pounds:(( 

Al's Music Box:)) Save The Last Dance For Me is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by American musical group The Drifters with Ben E King on lead vocals.   Songwriter Doc Pomus tells the story of the song being recorded by the Drifters and originally designated as the B-side of the record. He credits Dick Clark with turning the record over and realizing "Save the Last Dance" was the stronger song. In the song, the narrator tells his lover she is free to mingle and socialize throughout the evening, but to make sure to save him the dance at the end of the night. During an interview on Elvis Costello's show Spectacle, Lou Reed, who worked with Pomus, said the song was written on the day of Pomus' wedding while the wheelchair-using groom watched his bride dancing with their guests. Pomus had polio and at times used crutches to get around. His wife, Willi Burke, however, was a Broadway actress and dancer. The song gives his perspective of telling his wife to have fun dancing, but reminds her who will be taking her home and "in whose arms you're gonna be."

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GROANER'S CORNER:(( People don't always post on my Facebook wall but when they do, they wish me happy birthday and then ignore me for another year.

- A couple was having a discussion about family finances. Finally the husband exploded, "If it weren't for my money, the house wouldn't be here!" The wife replied, "My dear, if it weren't for your money I wouldn't be here."

- If Iran does get the bomb, I won't say Ayatollah you so.

- Struggling to get your wife’s attention?  Just sit down and look comfortable.

Mindy: "I finally fixed that annoying noise in my car."

Missy: "Really? How did you do it?'

Mindy: "I opened the door and pushed him out."

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KELLY DID HOWEVER PASS ME A NOTE WHEN WE WERE ALMOST HOME

 OUR LITTLE PRINCESS SOUND ASLEEP ON HER COUCH THIS MORNING

An orange sunrise through the Pine trees started our day off on the right foot.  And, being above freezing, I was glad to see Tuesday's snow had begun to melt.  I almost rushed outside to see if the Crocus flowers were beginning to push through the snow:))  Oh wait, that's not for another four or five months.  Oh well, it was a nice Senior moment anyway.

MAYBE NOT CROCUSES YET BUT THE COLOR GREEN EMERGING FROM SNOW IS ALWAYS ENCOURAGING

 A NICE TOUCH OF COLOR AT OUR PARK'S ENTRANCE

Under a sunny sky, Pheebs and I headed to our country road walking spot and had ourselves a short walk before my hip sent me limping back to the Jeep

 FORESTS ARE LOOKING BARE AND COLD

 HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL A FEW TOUCHES OF COLOR HERE AND THERE

 THIS FARMER WAS LUCKY TO GET ALL HIS CORN HARVESTED

Home again, I quickly cleaned some glass on the Jeep, and at 10:15 we all piled into it and headed for Kelly's Exeter Ontario dentist appointment.  We took the Jeep to once again spare Sube from the salty roads.  Dropping Kelly off at the dentist's office, Pheebs and I first headed to McDonalds for their breakfast special to go.  A medium-sized coffee and a Sausage McMuffin for $4.  From there, we headed over to the Macnaughton-Morrison Trail and landed ourselves on the boardwalk pathway.  It was nice enough out that I didn't even have to wear gloves or a winter hat.  Big change from a few days ago when Pheebs and I were there in the freezing cold.  Had my hip not been causing me so much trouble we could have walked farther and faster but within fifteen minutes we had to turn around and I limped myself back to the Jeep.

 AT THE WESTERN END OF THE  MACNAUGHTON-MORRISON TRAILHEAD

A FAVORITE SPOT FOR CANADA GEESE

RESTING BENCHES CAN BE FOUND ALONG THE TRAIL

 MORNING SHADOWS ON THE SNOW

 A LADY HIKER APPROACHES

 IT WAS AT THIS POINT WE TURNED AROUND AS PHEEBS LOOKS BACK IN THE DIRECTION FROM WHENCE WE HAD COME

 IT'S NICE TO SEE TREE IDENTIFICATION SIGNS ALONG THE WAY

 I SEE BOTH DEER AND RABBIT TRACKS HERE

 SOFT SHADOWS AND A TOUCH OF GREEN ALONGSIDE THE TRAIL

 A THIN LAYER OF SNOWY ICE ALONG THE RIVER'S EDGE

ALMOST BACK TO THE JEEP

 WE SPOTTED THIS DOGGY IN THE FRONT SEAT OF A BLACK PICK-UP TRUCK SO I GUESS PHEEBS ISN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS TO RIDE IN THE FRONT SEAT

 AND HERE'S THAT DOGGY NOW

From the Park, we headed the short distance back to the dentist's office and parked in the lot.  Minutes later, my cell phone rang and somebody on the other end mumbled something about being ready to go.  It was Kelly of course, due to poor liver function she had just had 3 teeth pulled along with one deep filling done and she wasn't talking so swell.  She said the extractions didn't hurt but the filling sure did!!  Needless to say, it was a quiet ride back home.  There was no point in trying to talk about anything with all the cotton swabs she had in her mouth.  Kelly did however pass me a note from the back seat when we were almost home.

 I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS FARMER IS FEEDING HIS PUSSY CAT BUT WHATEVER IT IS IT'S WORKING

 AREA FARMERS WERE BUSY WORKING ON THEIR CORN HARVEST TODAY

With the sun still shining when we arrived home I figured it was a good time to get a few more things done outside.  Patched a hole in our chicken wire fence where smarty pants Pheebs had been squeaking through lately.  Worked on a few outside Christmas decorations and tended to the birdfeeders.  With our thermometer sitting at 45F it was totally doable to be outside getting a few things done.

 AND THIS IS THE NOTE MISS DAISY PASSED UP TO ME THE CHAUFFER REGARDING PICKING UP THE WEEK'S ADVERTISING FLYERS IN OUR MAIL ROOM

And a flashback to this day in 2011 when we took a Rough And Tumble Drive And Hike In Arizona's Cabeza Prieta.

 AJO ARIZONA

Al's Music Box:)) Sara Smile ..... "Sara Smile" is a 1975 song written and recorded by the American musical duo Hall & Oates.. It was released as the third single from their album Dary Hall & John Oates.  The song was written about Hall's then-girlfriend, stewardess Sara Allen. The couple were together for almost 30 years before breaking up in 2001.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A woman walks into her bathroom to see her husband standing on the scale sucking in his stomach.  "You know that won't help you lose weight," she says.  "I know that," says the husband.  "But it will help me see the numbers."

What begins with E and ends in E but only has one letter?  Envelope.

Waitress: How did you find your steak Sir?
I just looked next to the potatoes and there it was.

In my job interview, I was asked what some of my good qualities were.  Well, my doctor always calls me patient.

My wife told me she'll slam my head on the keyboard if I don't get off the computer.
I'm not too worried, I think she's jokinlkjhfakljnm,.noziyoao78yv87dfaoyuofaytdf
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