THINKING OF A 12 STEP PROGRAM

BAYFIELD’S PIONEER PARK SCENIC VIEWING STAND & STAIRS TO THE BEACH BELOW

In RICK'S BLOG to-day he brought to our attention Microsoft's recently released new anti-virus program called Security Essentials.  He is currently trying it out & I decided to give it a whirl as well.  Uninstalled my current AVG anti-virus program & downloaded Microsoft's Security Essentials.  Ran a scan & everything came up fine except it said we had some banana spiders in the utility shed & a flock of termites in the wood pile outside.  Oh well, guess that's better than a herd of turtles in a cloud of heifer dust.

EARLY MORNING CLOVER

I had left a comment on fellow blogger Rick's blog yesterday & the last two words I used in that comment kind of stuck with me for the rest of the day.  As human beings we are all prone to many forms of addictions.  Some of them serious, some funny, some permanent, & some that may only last a short time before giving way to the next passing addiction.  Many years ago cigarettes & alcohol were a couple serious ones for me but have long since been eliminated from my life.  Peanut butter & honey sandwiches are a yummy ones for me now.   Most of us guys have been addicted to girls at one time or another & for a couple years in the mid nineties I had a MacDonald's carrot muffin & vanilla ice cream cone thing going for quite awhile.  Ever been addicted to Oreo cookies??  Ya....thought so!!  With all the current addictions making the rounds it occurred to me recently that some of us out here in cyberspace may even be in the early stages of............."is it possible, could it be,"  Blogger addiction!!!!

HIGH WINDS MAKE FOR BREAKING WAVES OVER BAYFIELD’S PIER

I am finding myself at the computer more than ever these days with blog ideas in mind.  My morning shower thoughts of the coming day's practical activities have given way to upcoming blog topics.   My morning walks have turned into blog searches for photos & my mind is alert & aware for anything out of the usual happening in my world that might make for an upcoming blog post.  My sole purpose for leaving the house some days is to scrounge up a blog idea somewhere.  Maybe it's a stop along the road to watch some deer in a field or maybe it's a drive up to Goderich to a an old car rally or a motorcycle ride along the country roads looking for something to write about.   Maybe down to Bayfield's pier for some wave photos or Pioneer Park for a sunset.  Yes, I just might have become addicted to some of my favorite hobbies alright & I have this strange blogging phenomena to either thank or blame for it all. 

AUTUMN COLORS ARE SLOWLY MAKING THEIR WAY INTO THE FORESTS

Hmmmm, which one is it, which one will it be??  To thank or to blame.  Well, no contest as far as I am concerned.  A big thanks to all the computer programmer & software developer folks out there for putting this wonderful technology out here for a lot of closet key bashers like myself to express our thoughts & feelings, our creative sides, our humorous sides, & sometimes our sad sides.  What a great way to pass on information & ideas.  What a great way to keep the brain active every day & what a great way to meet other like minded folks out here in cyberspace who at this very minute are sitting at their keyboards, brains in high gear, furiously typing up their daily blogs.

HEAVY DEW THIS MORNING

What a great constructive & productive pastime this is, but it may not be seen that way by everyone.   There may be a dark horse lurking in the corner. There could be an angry spouse waiting for some things to be fixed around the house.  An employer looking over one's computer station shoulder wondering why production is down.  Grass is getting long, gutters need cleaning, car needs to be washed, & the garbage needs to be taken out.  But, here we sit at our keyboards with blog ideas in hand smokin up the keys!! 

ALONG THIS MORNING’S FOREST TRAIL

Somewhere down the road as this blogging addiction runs it's course with us all we may be faced with a dilemma.  Friends & family close to us may feel we definitely are in need of help.  Maybe even an intervention!!  Maybe even a twelve step program!!

VACANT SPOT……MOTORHOME IS IN GETTING IT’S PRE-TRIP INSPECTION TO-DAY

Aw yes, that good old twelve step program some of us are so very familiar with.  It all started with Alcoholics Anonymous years ago & since then the twelve step program has been adapted in several ways by many specialized addictive groups.  And so that brings me full circle around to the final two words I left in Rick's comment box last night......Blogger's Anonymous!!!!

 THE PINE NEEDLES CONTINUE TO FALL

Went to the bookshelf & dusted off one of my good old AA books this afternoon, sat down at my keyboard & opened the pages.  There before me was the official Twelve Steps To Recovery.   Thought about it for a few minutes then added, altered,  and eliminated a few words here & there & came up with.................................

                        Bloggers Anonymous

Step One:  "We admitted we were powerless over blogging - that our lives had become unmanageable."

Step Two:  "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to our lawnmowers."

Step Three:  "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of our Spouses as we understand them."

Step Four:  "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our thought patterns & blog archives."

Step Five:   "Admitted to our Spouses, to ourselves, & to another blogger person the exact nature of our blogging woes."

Step Six:  "Were entirely ready to have our Spouse remove all nasty posts from our blogs."

Step Seven:  "Humbly asked Her/Him to remove our shortcomings, our spell checkers, & our publish buttons"

Step Eight:  "Made a list of all fellow bloggers we had commented to, and became willing to make amends to them all."

Step Nine:  "Made direct amends to such bloggers wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them, their rants, or their blusterings."

Step Ten:  "Continued to take personal writing inventories and when we were wrong promptly didn't blog about it."

Step Eleven:  "Sought through humbleness and fear to improve our conscious contact with our Spouse as we understood Her/Him, begging only for knowledge of Her/His will for us and maybe our keyboards back to carry that out."

Step Twelve:  "Having had a blogger's awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to all fellow bloggers, and to practice these principles in all our restructured blogging affairs."    10-4!!

Hi, my names AL & I am a blogger:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The key to happiness is a bad memory!!

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

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

A HARROWING MOTORHOME DRIVE OVER MINGUS MOUNTAIN IN NOVEMBER OF 2007

A WINDY STORM TOSSED LAKE HURON ALONG BAYFIELD ONTARIO’S SHORELINE

RV NET is our favorite website for keeping tabs on the pulse of the traveling RV public & it's the place to go with all your RV questions, curiosities, & comments regarding the lifestyle.  Many topics in the forums & any RV problems you have can be answered here by fellow RV folks.  Always people ready to lend a helping hand.  There is no cost to join the site, just register & away you go.  We've been members since 2002. 

ALL THESE BAYFIELD HARBOR BOATS WILL SOON HAVE TO COME OUT OF THE WATER FOR THE WINTER

It was while I was perusing through some of the topics yesterday morning that I came across a post from some folks thinking of buying their first RV. They were trying to decide on what length of an RV to buy.  The fellow mentioned that he didn't want an RV that was too long or it might limit them to certain parks & he didn't want to get into towns or places that were too small to get his RV out of.  He mentioned the MINGUS MOUNTAIN  town of Jerome, Arizona as an example & that immediately reminded me of an accidental wrong turn & harrowing ride we had over Mingus Mountain right smack dab into the narrowed streets of Jerome on November 26th of 2007 with our 33 foot motorhome.  Our blog for that day is HERE & the photos I took while trying to squeeze through the streets of Jerome & still leave some paint on the rig are HERE.  Additional pictures of Jerome, Arizona are HERE.

SQUEEZING THE MOTORHOME THROUGH THE STREETS OF JEROME, ARIZONA

When we think of Autumn we generally thing of falling Autuman leaves, & that's a common thought.........unless you live in a pine forest!!  Before moving here we never thought of pine trees dropping their needles in the fall.  Not all of them of course, but a lot of them.  Always a big huge pine needle clean-up in the sping.  It is windy here to-day & it almost looks like a lite snowfall with all the pine needles falling from the trees.

THE YELLOW PINE NEEDLE  ROAD IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE

Had a few questions about yesterday's Ikea blog & the furniture we bought there for the motorhome.  A resounding 'yes' to the question about whether the furniture has worked out well & do we still like it. 

POANG CHAIR….2008	VERY HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING
THE PAINTING BEGINS	BORREGO SPRINGS 09

ONE PICTURE SHOWS MAX RESTING ON A BIG CHAIR IN THE CORNER….THAT CHAIR FOLDS OUT INTO THE  COMFORTABLE SINGLE BED LITTLE CORA IS SITTING ON

While boondocking east of Sierra Vista last winter we met a fellow on RV Net who worked on the army base at Fort Huachuca.  We called him Sergeant John.   The ‘Sarge’  & his wife Jackie live in the little town of Elfrida.  They are an RV couple & the Sarge’s hobby is his 2 Hudson Hornet cars.  They have traveled to many car rallies over the years & I think John may have been President of the Hudson Hornet Car Club at one time.  The photo album below shows the Sarge’s cars in storage at his home.

View Full Album

It has turned out to be a very windy & gray rainy day but I did manage to slip over to the lake earlier & grab a few photos before the rains returned.

THE FISHING BOATS EVEN STAYED IN HARBOR TO-DAY

A VIEWPOINT AT BAYFIELD’S PIONEER PARK OVERLOOKING LAKE HURON & THE BEACH BELOW

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.

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

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

YAAAAAY, SEPTEMBER IS ALMOST HERE:))

THE LITTLE INN.....ON BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

It was one of those picture perfect Monday mornings so I threw the camera's in the van, cranked up some easy listening ambient tunes on our Sirius Satellite radio & took myself for a relaxing little tour around the neighboring countryside. Used to do a lot of that years ago & it still remains one of my favorite things to do. TWI-LIGHT HARBOR

We had a few back to back windy days & that led to some fair size waves crashing along the shoreline on Sunday. Took my camera's & headed off down to the harbor for a walk out on the pier Sunday night. There were even a couple guys with surfboards in the water. The waves would quickly carry them to shore where they would clamber out of the water & make the short dash along the beach to the pier & then out to the end where they would again hastily launch themselves off the end of the jetty into the crashing waves & make another ass over teakettle surfing scramble for the beach. WAVES BREAKING OVER THE OUTER BREAK WALL

As the sun dipped to-wards the watery horizon people began gathering at the end of the pier. Always a favorite spot for sunsets. It was a steady wind coming in off the lake & luckily I had dressed warm. More than I can say for the young folks out there in shorts & sandals!! By the time I started my walk back my hands were getting cold. Took a 4 block drive to downtown Bayfield where I stopped for a few minutes & snapped some pictures of lighting on a couple buildings. I will post these photos & the pier pictures into a separate album shortly. My other Bayfield photo album can be found HERE. THESE TWO LADS ARE ABOUT TO LEAP INTO THE LAKE WITH THEIR SURF BOARDS

Nightime photography is another whole big bag of enjoyment for me. I remember back in 1986 I had an opportunity to attend a large photography convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. While most of the other guys were in the bars & casinos for 2 nights I spent all my time walking for miles & miles along the Vegas strip all the way to downtown Vegas photographing the zillions & zillions of lights. (took a bus back)I was like an excited small town boy in a big city department candy store. I just couldn't get over the beauty of all the lights. That was back in the days before digital cameras so all those photos I took were done on slide film & now sit in a dusty closet somewhere. But, I did get to share them with folks when I used to do travelogues at Seniors centers & the Stratford Art Gallery years ago. Maybe some day I'll make it Vegas again & if I do I will have my digital camera's with me & walk for miles & miles & miles again. I would like that..................:))

STOPPING FOR A LATE NIGHT ICE CREAM CONE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( You know your over the hill when you finally get your head together and then your body starts falling apart.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

THERE'S A CHILL IN THE LATE SUMMER AIR

A BAYFIELD SUNSET

It's a cool, gray overcast, rainy Sunday morning here in southern Ontario & a good time for catching up on computer stuff & doing inside neglected chores that need some attention. Might even kick the furnace on for a bit to get that nice cozy warmth in the house to take off the early Autumn chill to-day. Yes, the seasons are a changing & I'm glad they are. It's the end of August & once again the signs of our summer slipping away are being felt all around us. WAITING FOR THE BIG ONE

The tiny invisible crickets have a different chirp to them, once lush green leaves are taking on a harder edged look, days are becoming noticeably shorter, & our ever present resident pond frogs are quieter now as they contemplate their long winter's hibernation. Who's going to get the best spot in the mud this year will be determined by my frog catching prowess as I net them, put the little croakers in a bucket & carry them to the big pond a few hundred yards away. Our front yard pond is too shallow & they would never survive the harsh winter. ALONG MAIN STREET....BAYFIELD

The nights are definitely cooling down & soon the Autumn crispness will be in the daytime air. It is my favorite time of the year which approaches. The exciting freshness of spring is long gone & summer's steamy rush is now a memory. Autumn is a time for quiet reflection. Everything seems to slow as we shift to a lower gear. In a week from now kids will be back in school, the Labor Day week-end will be upon us & a few trees will be starting to show some of their early artist's brush colors. THIS LITTLE FELLOW WAS INTO THE SUET TO-DAY

Autumn is also a time of anticipation, reflection, & preparation for the long cold winter months ahead. It's a cozy time as we scurry about like little squirrels getting ourselves organized & hunkered down to await the chilling winter winds. It's also a time of new learning. I've always had a theory that I think is probably true. Ever since we were kids first starting school we have become programmed to begin an educational process every September. This continues for many years in our early life & becomes embedded in our very beings & I think it lasts forever. Even though I've been out of the school system since the early 60's I still feel that learning process beginning to kick in around mid August. Over the years I have enrolled in various night classes starting in September. Half a dozen photography related courses, a beginners computer course, Tai Chi exercise classes & probably a few others I've forgotten about. It's always a nice feeling to be learning something new & especially at a time of year when we have been programmed to do our very best learning. It takes me back to my early public school days & that fresh smell of new books, erasers, new ink in the ink wells & fresh apples in our knapsacks. Hmmmmm, I think I may have pre-dated myself here:(( EITHER A HAIRY WOODPECKER OR A FEMALE DOWNIE WOODPECKER

Autumn............ my favorite time of the year:)))))) Think I just talked myself into brewing up a fresh cup of coffee, lighting up a cinnamon scented candle, & kicking on the fireplace for a cozy stay at home with some fine soothing ambient music. BAYFIELD AT THE END OF THE DAY

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Nothing adds excitment to your life like something that is none of your business!! MORE PHOTOS MONDAY NIGHT OF SUNDAY NIGHT'S WALK ON THE PIER

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL

A DAY OF PUTTERING & SUPPER AT THE DOCKS

OH OH, THE WORLD HAS TIPPED OVER..............OR, REFLECTIONS IN A POND:))

To-day was basically a repeat of yesterday in that I spent most of it at home still working on our computer move project. Mainly it was just a matter of getting everything put back to-gether in some reasonable semblance of order. I even turned my bed around to make sure I wouldn't get up on the wrong side of the bed anymore!! Now how's that for consideration:)) Kelly just worked the morning so we spent some time hanging a couple new curtains this afternoon. I usually run out of patience with that sort of thing but I managed to hang in there for the duration. MOUNTING A CURTAIN ROD THIS AFTERNOON

Our neighbor-lady Monica across the road took us out for supper to-night. We don't see Monica a lot because she is quite a traveler herself so she thought it would be nice to get to-gether for a bite. There's a nice place beside the Bayfield Harbor called, The Docks, so that's where we headed. I had heard they put up a good burg & fries so that's what I had & yes, it was very good indeed. Monica hadn't been into downtown Bayfield for awhile so after supper we took a drive around the village. This is truly a beautiful little place & it's no wonder people come from far & wide to visit here. There are no buildings over 2 stories high & those few buildings are on the main street itself. The cozy architecture of all the homes & cottages is well worth the drive here to see. And then there are all the beautiful yachts & sailboats in the harbor. Very creative, very colorful, & very Bayfield. THE DOCKS....FORMALLY KNOWN AS, THE HARBOR LIGHTS

Had some interesting comments on yesterday's blog as Jerry over at OUR LIFE ON WHEELS mentioned about family seldom responding to his blogs at first. We have noticed the very same thing. When I first came across this blogging thing I figured it would be a nice way to keep in touch with friends & family & maybe exercise a little creative writing bug I've always had. I was obviously excited about the idea but unfortunately I mis-judged others enthusiasm. For some silly reason I assumed folks would be interested in our travels but it soon became apparent that was not always the case. I had one good friend tell me outright...."I don't do blogs!!" Oooops, sorry. That one knocked some of the excitement stuffing's out of me for sure!! Other family members are getting up in years & not quite as computer savvy so I sent emails with simple instructions how to put our Bayfield Bunch icon on their desktops. But nope, they just didn't seem interested!! Kelly has a wonderful bunch of kids & I thought for sure they would all be wildly interested in our adventures. Wrong again!! I guess I just have to put myself back in that age group again & ask myself if I would have been interested in where my parents were & what they were up to. Probably not because I was too wrapped up with my own life at the time without caring much about older people!! MONICA & KELLY CHECKING THE MENU.....FORTUNATELY WE GOT HERE BEFORE THE CROWD

Probably 95% of people who follow our blog now are total strangers from far & wide & I'll bet the majority of that 95% are RV people which afterall makes sense. It's basically a travel blog so there is a thread of commonality there. But, I have also noticed something else these past few years. RV folks understand RV folks & home folks alike because RV people were once homebodies themselves. However, it seems many home folks don't understand that wandering nature RV folks have & are puzzled why someone would want to live in box about half the size of a railroad car. As like any groups of a feather, there is an underlying understanding & bonding of people on the road. There is a coming to-gether of thoughts, plans, & ideas. People tend to look out for one another & it's no more evident than right here on the internet. Oh yes, there are personality conflicts & mis-understandings like anywhere else but as a whole RV people seem to care & as a rule are friendlier. One of the main reasons for that could very well be the mobile lifestyle itself. Kelly & I usually don't stay in one spot long enough to get on anyone's nerves & vice versa. There are people out there who don't like dogs so we have a tendency to keep to ourselves. We don't get involved in campground politics or group personality problems. We don't belong to any groups or organizations although we were once Escapee members & might consider joining again at some point. By flying solo it keeps our people stress levels down to a manageable level as well. Yes, there is a definite downside to traveling like we do but that's another blog topic for another day. A VIEW OF BAYFIELD'S HARBOR FROM THE PATIO AT THE DOCKS

Anyway, just a few of my thoughts to-night on why we like the wandering gypsy style RV life while we're on the road. And remember, we are all different folks with different opinions & we all have lots of room for improvment. And besides, you can't catch me long enough to stay mad at me forever anyway:)) COLORFUL BUFFET TABLE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( We are born naked, wet, & hungry.....then things get worse!!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

AN EXPERIMENTAL PHOTO BLOG TO-NIGHT

It's already 8 p.m. & I haven't come up with an idea for a blog yet so I'll just post some pics on the site that I took this afternoon of Bayfield in a little 10 minute walk-a-round in the center of town.

I'm going to post the pics in a small/medium format & see if that will make them clickable to enlarge. I know I used to able to do this quite awhile ago but not sure if my Picasa is running just a hundred per cent so this post might be a bit of a mish mosh as I see what will work & what won't. I'm not even going to try getting captions under these pics but will put all the photos in a June Web Album maybe next week...................

Try clicking on the photos to enlarge them

Yes, I know I have one of the photos in here twice but I'm tooooooo tired to try & dig it back out. And I also know I will not be trying this little photo experiment again!!

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