I WAS GLAD TO BE HOME AND BACK INSIDE

 A SNOWY AFTERNOON COMING HOME FROM GODERICH

With the amount of snow that appeared to be falling late Tuesday afternoon, I was surprised to see so little of it on the ground this morning.  Thought for sure I'd be on the end of my shovel again, but nope.  Needing to get out of the house, I fired up Subie and headed out into the countryside.  Roads were snow-covered but easily passable.  With nothing else going on and not wanting to go home and sit inside, I decided to swing up around Goderich, grab a McD's coffee, check out the harbor, slip into Walmart for a few things, and head for home.  By the time I pulled into the Park several hours later, it was snowing heavily, and I was glad to be home and back inside.  The rest of the day wasn't adding up to much, so I turned to my Kindle Reader on this cold and snowy late January day and snuggled ever deeper into my comfy, cushy recliner.

 SNOW LADEN EVERGREEN  BOUGHS ON MY WAY TO GODERICH

AT ROTARY COVE WITH ICE OUT SO FAR I COULDN'T SEE THE OPEN WATERS OF LAKE HURON ANYMORE

I THINK THE ALGOMA INTREPID SURROUNDED BY ICE MIGHT BE FROZEN INTO THE SALT DOCK

LOOKS LIKE THE OAK GLEN IS WINTERING OVER IN GODEERICH'S FROZEN HARBOR

After Kelly's passing over a year ago, I, for some unknown reason, lost my interest in reading.  I had a couple of books on the go at the time, but I ended up not finishing either one of them.  I just could not seem to get myself motivated, but despite that, and even after my old Kindle Reader packed it in, I didn't give up.  I got myself a new Kindle about a month or so ago, and I am happy to say I just finished my first book with it today.  And, a good book it was too.  Amazon had suggested 81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness by Brian Murphy. I found the book to be a well-written and thoroughly researched read.  It is nothing short of amazing to see what the mind and body are capable of when faced with such insurmountable odds.  I think the author did a great job pulling this whole story together.

 IT WAS A SNOW DRIVE HOME

 IN SOME PLACES THE ROAD LOOKED MORE LIKE A SKI RUN

 TURNING ONTO BAYFIELD RIVER ROAD, OUR PARK IS JUST DOWN THERE ON THE LEFT, SOMEWHERE

 AWW, THERE IT IS ON THE LEFT 

Al's Music Box:: Alone Again by Gilbert O'Sullivan.

 THIS ROTORY COVE PLAYGROUND PATIENTLY AWAITS THE LAUGHTER OF SUMMER'S CHILDREN

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A kindergarten student was having trouble putting on his boots, and asked his teacher for help. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on. Finally, they got both boots on. She grimaced when the little boy said, "They're on the wrong feet." Sure enough, they were. The teacher kept her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the correct feet. The little boy then announced, "These aren't my boots." The teacher sighed and pulled the boots off. The boy then said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear them." The teacher felt like crying, but she mustered up the strength to wrestle the boots back onto his feet. "Now," she said, "where are your mittens?" The boy replied, "I stuffed them in my boots...."

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Little Johnny rushes inside, out of breath and shouts, "Mother! Mother! Give me some money for the poor old man that's shouting along the road!" His mother replies, "What is he shouting?"

"Ice cream! Ice cream! Come get your ice cream."

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A man was on the very top diving board of a swimming pool. He was poised, he lifted his arms, and was about to dive in when the attendant came running up, shouting, “Don’t dive, there’s no water in that pool!”
“That’s all right!” said the man. “I can’t swim anyway!”

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery

IT'S A DIFFERENT LOOK OUR FRONT YARD TAKES ON AT NIGHT

Although weather wasn't the best today, Lorraine needed to get back to Stratford, so she headed out around noon under snowy conditions.  We always keep in touch via Facebook's Messenger app.  She sends voicemails on how she's doing.  I suggested she stay on the highway and take the main route to Stratford through Clinton, Seaforth, Dublin, and Mitchell.  She did that and made out okay.  She said the highway was snow-covered with ice underneath, but at least it was plowed.  Snow blowing off high snowbanks caused some visibility problems, but she took it slow and made it back to Stratford unscathed.  I did my usual snow shoveling and got caught up on a lot of reading this afternoon.  With a heavy snowfall late this afternoon, I'll be back outside on the end of my snow shovel again in the morning.  The Subaru stayed in the carport all day, and I never ventured off the property with the exception of shoveling out neighbor Monica's front entranceway and path.  I sure hope we don't get another big dump of snow overnight.

 THIS IS OUR GOOD NEIGHBOR FRANK, BLOWING OUT OUR DRIVEWAY MONDAY AFTERNOON

Al's Music Box:: Everybody's Talkin by Harry Nilsson.

 IT IS A DIFFERENT LOOK OUR FRONT YARD TAKES ON AT NIGHT.....iPHONE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A mother's dictionary::

- Bottle feeding: An opportunity for Daddy to get up at 2 am too.
- Defense: What you'd better have around de yard if you're going to let the children play outside.
- Drooling: How teething babies wash their chins.
- Dumbwaiter: One who asks if the kids would care to order dessert.
- Family planning: The art of spacing your children the proper distance apart to keep you on the edge of financial disaster

- Feedback: The inevitable result when the baby doesn't appreciate the strained carrots. 

- Full name: What you call your child when you're mad at him.

- Grandparents: The people who think your children are wonderful even though they're sure you're not raising them right.
- Hearsay: What toddlers do when anyone mutters a dirty word.
- Impregnable: A woman whose memory of labor is still vivid.
- Independent: How we want our children to be as long as they do everything we say.
- Look out: What it's too late for your child to do by the time you scream it.
- Prenatal: When your life was still somewhat your own.
- Preprared childbirth: A contradiction in terms.

Puddle: A small body of water that draws other small bodies wearing dry shoes into it.
- Show off: A child who is more talented than yours.
-Sterilize: What you do to your first baby's pacifier by boiling it and to your last baby's pacifier by blowing on it.
-Storeroom: The distance required between the supermarket aisles so that children in shopping carts can't quite reach anything.

-Temper tantrums: What you should keep to a minimum so as to not upset the children.

-Top bunk: Where you should never put a child wearing Superman jammies.

- Two-minute warning: When the baby's face turns red, and she begins to make those familiar grunting noises.

- Verbal: Able to whine in words
- Whodunit: None of the kids that live in your house.
- Whoops: An exclamation that translates roughly into 'get a sponge.'
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The Fourth of July was coming up, and the nursery school teacher took the opportunity to tell her class about patriotism. "We live in a great country," she said. "One of the things we should be happy about is that, in this country, we are all free." One little boy came marching up to her from the back of the room. He stood with his hands on his hips and said, "I'm not free. I'm four."

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My plan for tomorrow is to go with my wife to get us both some new glasses…After that, we'll see!

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I helped my neighbour this morning and she said to me, "I could marry you." I couldn't believe it. You do something nice for someone and they threaten to ruin your life in return.

A 6th-grade teacher posed the following problem to one of her arithmetic classes:
“A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars. One-fifth is to go to his wife, one-fifth is to go to his son, one-sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity. Now, what does each person get?” After a very long silence in the classroom, one little boy raised his hand and said with complete sincerity in his voice, “A lawyer!”

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery