TAOIST TAI CHI.....A GREAT EXERCISE PROGRAM

I remember a few years ago when I was first started a 4 month Taoist Tai Chi class over in St. Marys Ontario, a fellow student asked the instructor, "Is it possible to defend yourself if you know how to do Tai Chi?" The instructor replied, "yes, as long as the person attacking you does so in slow motion." And so I have begun my 4th Tai Chi beginner's class in the last 8 years. I have successfully completed 2 of those classes learning all 108 moves but each time I didn't pursue the advanced classes due to work schedules, a move, & lack of discipline on my part. And each time when I wanted to pursue Tai Chi again I had to start all over right from the beginning because the lapses between classes was too long & my memory too short.
Tai Chi has finally come to Bayfield & the beginner's class started on a Wednesday morning in the old town hall a couple weeks ago. It's a shorter course this time covering only the first 17 moves over 16 weeks but for me starting out again that's just fine. By the time the classes end around the end of October we'll be about ready to head south again anyway so I will miss any classes after October if there are any. Looks like another beginner's class start up for me in the spring again unless I can keep up the routine on my own for the 5 months we are away. Guess I got my work cut out for me. Several instructors have told me I'm a natural at it & have encouraged me to pursue it further but I just don't seem to be a dedicated person. And, it takes a lot of time & dedication to make it to even the first instructor level. I did make it to "helper" level in St. Marys one time but we moved to Bayfield a few weeks later & I never went any further with it. Kelly says I'm a natural alright.........a natural complainer:((
Taoist Tai Chi (Taoist is pronounced Daoist like Dow-est) is a totally excellent form of exercise for both mind & body & you can read about it here...http://www.taoist.org/content/standard.asp A perfect stretching & balance program for Seniors (or aging Hippies) that also focuses on improving one's memory. I highly recommend it.
Ok, time to go practice a few moves & maybe fall over a couple times & mess up the cob webs in my brain again............. HAAAAA-CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AND IT CRANKED, & CRANKED, & CRANKED!!

Well, I guess I didn't quite get off as lucky as I thought I did with that diesel fuel in the motorcycle tank episode a few weeks ago. Bike has been running perfect but when I went out to start it Saturday morning it just cranked & cranked & cranked, but wouldn't fire. Pulled out 2 of the 4 plugs & they were greasy looking & fouled. It took awhile but that little bit of diesel fuel left in the tank that day eventually fouled the spark plugs. Long story short....... Going to have the fellas at the Goderich Power Centre pick up the bike Monday & take it to their shop & flush the gas tank, clean the carburetors, & put in new plugs. That should do the trick & I should be able to get in a few more rides before the weather sets in next month. Bike is 6 years old so probably time to clean those carbs anyway.

The new, & finally correct odometer/speedometer assembly is back in the dash of the motorhome & working fine. And, amazingly enough, thanks to Kelly's persistence, UPS is actually refunding us a fair chunk of change for some shipping charges mistakes. Geeeezzz, will the good news ever stop!! I few weeks ago I closed a bin door on the motorhome a little too hard & broke a piece of the mechanism inside which left the door in a locked state. Fortunately I discovered the problem when I took the rig down to the Bayfield Garage to get the propane tank filled. Luckily a mechanic came out & within a few minutes had the door unlocked. Well, it was back on the computer & phone again to Elkhart, Indiana to order a new door lock assembly from a Damon dealer down there called, True Value RV. This is a good place & within days UPS rolled in the driveway with the new part. Now here's the really strange thing. I was able to take the old assembly out, figure out the new part & actually re-install the whole thing correctly. But, that's not the strangest part........it worked!! It really did, it actually worked. Walked immediately to the end of driveway & peered up through the pine trees to see if there were 2 moons in the sky.....and of course there were. I'm still gloating over that unusual accomplishment so the tip for to-day is.......don't slam your bin doors!!
Who knows, to-day a lock assembly installer, to-morrow a rocket scientist. Hey, who said it couldn't happen. We took our Hyundai Santa Fe in a couple of weeks ago for it's annual tune up so it's now ready for the trip south. Hope I can remember how to assemble all that tow bar stuff. I figure the key to a Senior's memory success is repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, & it's been about 6 & a half months since I worked with all that tow bar stuff so no doubt I'll have to get the instruction manual out again to see what bar goes where & what chain hooks up to who. Oh boy, wait until I try setting up that tri-pod internet satellite system again. That oughta turn the air blue for a few miles around!! Good thing that the Bayfield Bunch has Kelly on it's team. She's got the most good brains for everything & if it wasn't for her I'd still be back at Sandbox 101.

Ok, nuff said for to-night. You people got better things to do than sit here reading this stuff............................ :))
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

TO-DAY'S BLOG IS ABOUT CAMERAS

To-day's blog is about cameras, but first I'd like to comment on yesterday's blog. After tuning into all the financial doom & gloom on CNN yesterday morning I checked out our financial investments on the computer & of course we had taken a big hit overnight. I should have walked away from the computer right there & gone out & did some gardening or something but instead I heated up the keys & vented some anger & frustration. Debated later in the day whether I should go back & delete that blog but decided to let it ride. Life isn't always a bowl of cherries. Sometimes in my blog I express happy feelings, sometimes sad, sometimes I see the positive side & sometimes it just turns out to be one of those days that you can't win for losing. Yesterday was a flash of anger & frustration first thing in the morning. Guess that is what makes me a human being. Happy to say the day quickly improved & it was on to bigger & better things. We'll be just fine & are proceeding full steam ahead with our "heading west" plans. And, my apologies to Florida. Your a good State:) Thanks to Don, Pat, & Tom for your encouraging words yesterday. Ok, moving on...............................

Over these past few years I have taken many photos of our travels here & there, plus pictures from around our house & our area. Because of those photos I have received some favorable comments, not only on the blog but on other forums I belong to. People have asked how I do some of those nice photos & my answer to that is always the same. I am not a professional photographer & my photos are not on that higher quality level. I think of myself as simply an advanced amateur who is fortunate enough to have some reasonably good camera gear. I use a very simple photo program on the computer as well. The photo program is a free download & anyone can use it to make their pictures better.

First, the camera gear. I have 2 Nikon DSLR's & a smaller point & shoot Canon camera. My Nikon D40 carries a Nikkor 55-200mm f4-5.6 telephoto zoom lens & my Nikon D50 carries a Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 wide angle zoom lens. I am hoping to add one more lens to complete my set up which will be a Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6 telephoto zoom. Not the most expensive or highest quality camera models or lenses in the Nikon lineup, but they work fine for me. My smaller carry along camera is a Canon A720iS which also is a great little camera & right up there with it's 2 bigger Nikon step-brothers. Before the Canon I had a Fuji E535 which also was a super great camera but it was stolen by some lowlife in Stratford.

The photo program I use on the computer is Google's Picasa. It's a free download & is very easy to use. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be using it. You can sharpen your photos, add contrast, lighten them, straighten your horizons, crop the image, eliminate red eye, enhance the colors, add a soft focus look, switch color to black & white or sepia, invert colors, plus a bunch of other little photo tips & tricks. You can download Picasa 3 here...http://picasa.google.com/
Picasa also has a sister program called Picasa Web Albums which also is a free download. Once you have your photos organized, edited, captioned, & fixed up the way you want them it is only a few more clicks to upload them into the Picasa Web Album program. Once there, they are safe in case your hard drive ever crashes someday.

A few photo tips......
-if it's a cloudy day, minimize the sky or eliminate it totally & look for shots on the ground
-if it's a pretty sky with big fluffy clouds, include more sky in your pics
-avoid putting your subject in the center of the picture
-try to include something in the foreground
-best moods & colors are in the morning around sunrise & shortly thereafter
-cropping is one of the best tools in your photoshop
-don't worry about all those dials on your camera, just set it to automatic & away you go.
-watch out for harsh shadows on bright sunny days
-try not to put horizon lines exactly in the middle of the photo & if you have a tilted horizon you can easily fix that in your Picasa photo program by clicking on the, "straighten" button.

For those of us coming out of the old 35mm film age with all it's inherent problems, the digital age has made a good photographer out of everybody, so grab your camera & get out there.................OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

To-day's photos were taken with Kelly's Canon Powershot A430..... another nice little camera:)

OK, HERE'S MY 2 CENTS WORTH THIS MORNING!!!!

Like the words of that western song years ago, "sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. Last week we were ahead of the game happily loading the motorhome with summer clothes, hiking footwear, bicycle accessories, etc & this week after the big crash on Wall Street we are sitting here dejectedly having to re-consider our whole winter get-away. Last week was a winner & this week has been a loser:(( Like thousands & thousands of other people we are having to re-consider our future plans right now. Both short term & long term. A week ago we were on track & this week the economy has shaken our train right off the rails. If the investment funds continue their rapid decline we will probably be forced to sit in the house all winter long staring blankly out the window at mounds of snow, icy winds, numbing cold temperatures & gray skies. We could cut our gas expenses in half by going to Florida but the thoughts of being stuck in a crammed & crowded way overpriced RV park for 6 months is worse than staying here for the winter. And the thoughts of being gouged by the rest of the tourist market down there is not an option either. We are equipped for boondocking in the vast free & expansive areas of New Mexico, Arizona, & California so if we can't do that we might just end up staying in Canada this winter. What a horrible thought!!!! For people who have never been to the American southwest it may be difficult to understand my thinking & the difference between there & the American southeast. South is south, right?? Wrong!! But, for all the travelers out there in the southwest or heading for the southwest, you know exactly what I'm talking about here. But, enough already because it looks like I've got myself off on a real good rant this morning again & I suppose it's just the frustration coming out because of recent developments south of the border. And don't let me get started about the GREED that has caused this whole economic mess either!!!! That's another whole story so I had better get myself away from the keyboard while the gettins good!!

It's a beautiful sunny morning in southwest Ontario & the prettiest time of the year is only weeks away. Gonna go outside & work on my attitude & hey, maybe I can get myself straightened out enough to optimistically start loading a few more things in the motorhome again............... just in case. Do ya think:))
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

ODE TO MY COFFEE CUP

It happened so quickly, & my old friend was gone. In a hurry, coffee in hand, I headed out the back door to-day to see what the doggy guys were barking at. Not wanting to put my coffee pal in harm's way I reached out to set him on the deck railing whilst I headed down the steps to do battle with what was probably a chipmunk making faces at little Cora. It was the "thunk" behind me & the tell tale sounds of breaking pottery that reached my ears before my brain did. I knew instantly, my favorite coffee cup had just bit the dust. No point in even looking back as I continued out into the back yard to have words with the furry cast of noisy characters. It was good I had something to focus on for a few minutes before returning to....pick up the pieces:((

My old friend & I first met in the Apache Canyon Trading Post near the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico back on December 22, 2006. The Bayfield Bunch had stopped in to have a look around after exploring the Carlsbad Caverns earlier in the day. I'm not much for hanging around in gift shops too long so after a quick amble through the place I was headed back for the door when I spotted him sitting quietly with a bunch of his brightly painted pottery friends on a shelf by the window.

He had a tanned adobe look with colorful markings & a name that read, New Mexico. And I liked his black glazed interior. A handsome devil indeed. I knew right away we were made for each other as I gently lifted him up off the shelf & headed for the counter. It was the beginning of a friendship that would last nearly 2 years with many memorable moments spent to-gether, relaxing hand in hand. Sometimes beside me as we enjoyed many desert campfires, sometimes riding for endless miles up on the dash of the motorhome scouting the way ahead. There were times he helped me outside in my various projects around home, & other times rode with me to work. Occasionally he went missing for a day or two until I was able to locate him again sitting on a stump in the garden or a rock out in the yard someplace, just where I had carelessly left him. But most often as not, he was right here on my desk beside the computer as I plunked away at the dusty keys day after day.

I will glue him back to-gether & then set him on a shelf near my bed where he will remain a fond memory of many, many, happy days gone by...............................

I am going to miss my old traveling buddy. I am going to miss him a lot:(((((

In 3 of the photos you can see me & my old porcelain pal to-gether. Apache Canyon photo taken near Carlsbad, New Mexico 06. Two center photos taken at Pancho Villa State Park in New Mexico in December of 06. Last photo was taken just west of Ajo, Arizona in the Darby Wells road area in January of 08.........

BEGINNING TO ORGANIZE THE RIG FOR THIS WINTER'S TRIP

Almost the middle of September so I figure we've got about 5 maybe 6 weeks of good weather left if we're lucky. Figured it was time while the weather is good to start organizing the bins in the motorhome & getting things squared away for this winter's trip. I have all the bin doors numbered & keep an inventory of what is in where & in which bin. If I don't write it down, things sorta get lost forever. Not a foolproof system but it kinda works for me. Hooked the water up & no leaks anywhere. Amazing!! The photo is me listing some items I had just put in the bin.
Looking back, it was one year ago in September that I first started this blog, so it's a big thanks to all the people dropping in on us, that it's still going:))
Hey, just noticed...........thanks for the shoutbox messages Hermit & Tom. Always great to hear from people:))

TRYING OUT A "SHOUTBOX"

Am trying out something new on the site called a "Shoutbox." It's located in the right hand column not too far from the top. Anyone can leave a message or comment here for the Bayfield Bunch. A lot easier than the Guestbook for sure. And you don't have to leave your email addy or anything. If you have a minute, say hello. Thanks Helen for the first message...........now I know it works:))

TRYING OUT SOME NEW COLORS FOR THE BLOG

Personally, I like the dark colored backgrounds but some readers have said they find it hard on the eyes for any length of time. And, some of my blogs can get a bit lengthy. Photos look better against a black background so that was probably one of my original ideas for doing that. However, there is much more dialogue than pictures so it's only logical to put the priority on the written word. But a white background....never!! I may change this color scheme a bit as we go along. We'll see how it goes................................

2 NEW WINDSHIELD WIPERS PLEASE.....WHAT!!!!

It was time to take the motorhome in for it's pre-trip inspection & tune-up last week. The windshield wipers were totally worn out, plugs were still original, needed a broken muffler hanger fixed amongst other things. That hanger had broken in Arizona last year & I had it wired up with about 2.4 miles of clothesline wire. I have a tendency to over-do things you know. Probably half the labor cost was for the mechanic cutting all that wire off. The bill for the tune up was about what I was worried it would be, but the real kicker was the price of 2 windshield wiper blades. Yes, they are 29 inch blades & specially made for that type of windshield I guess, but we were all flabbergasted at the price, including the people at the garage. $137.00 for 2 blades!!!! Guess that didn't make 8 spark plugs for S104.00 seem so bad. They are Iridium plugs which Google tells me is, "One of the world's finest spark plugs. The result are spark plugs that require less voltage to spark, burns fuel more efficiently, sparks at leaner air/fuel mixtures, and delivers higher horsepower and better gas mileage."
Well, I sure hope the engine appreciates all this pampering & the windshield understands it's being wiped clean by the finest of blades!! Maybe the tailpipe will even feel better now knowing it's not so wired!!
We sure had a go-around with the Actia company in Elkhart, Indiana who are the makers of speedometer/odometer clusters for motorhomes. There has been a software problem for quite awhile in their computer versioned set-ups. The cluster in our motorhome was originally replaced back in 2005. The software goes & the LED read-out becomes unreadable. You lose your mileage, trip meter, fuel calculations, oil & transmission pressures, etc. It does a lot more calculations, engine updates, & reminders but do I really need it to tell me when my next colonoscopy appointment is. I think not!!
We phoned Actia about the odometer problem & they said it would not be covered under warranty & would cost us $354 for another cluster. They sent us a form to fill out regarding mileage on the coach. We then had to get the form signed by a mechanic to verify we weren't shysters & the actual mileage was accurate. They then program that mileage into the new cluster before shipping it out to us. The cluster was sent by UPS courier which cost us another $107.00 because of tax stuff at the border + courier costs. We had wrongly assumed they would have sent it by post which would have been a fraction of the cost. The odd thing about this, is that 3 days after UPS brought that cluster, another one arrived via UPS & the shipping costs on that one was $51. Of course we refused the second cluster but why the two different shipping charges, & as it turns out.....that second delivered cluster may very well have been the right one!!!! When we had the motorhome tune-up we had the mechanic swap out the defective cluster for the good one which added some labor costs. After picking up the motorhome at the garage I was about half way home when I realized the new odometer cluster.......was the wrong one!!!! Unbeknownst to us, there are 2 clusters for these rigs. A standard one & a computer version one. I wanted the same cluster as had been in the motorhome so it was back on the phone for Kelly to Elkhart, Indiana. More back & forth calls finally led to them shipping us a third cluster & with that, it was back to the garage with the motorhome for hopefully the last swap. Success, the cluster was correct. While at the garage I figured I may as well get the rig's propane tank filled up, but then discovered another problem. Could not get the bin door open to access the propane tank. Well, out came the trusty mechanic again & within a few minutes was able to get the bin door opened from underneath with a wire somehow. Turns out there was a piece of white metal in the lock assembly that was broken. Glad that happened at the garage & not at some Flying J gas bar in the middle of nowhere someplace. And, once again, no way around the problem but to get a new part. And where do we have to get that part of course.........Elkhart, Indiana again. That is where Damon Motorhomes are made so it will be back on the phone this week & here we go again. We are familiar with Elkhart in more ways than one. Last year we had to make a special trip there on our way home to have a damaged screen door replaced. We had traveled & put up with that bent door for 4 months & finally got it replaced one day before arriving home. It just don't figure, do it!! By the way, we ended up shipping 2 odometer clusters (original broken one & incorrect one) back to Actia....C.O.D.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday Sept. 8 Update on this Actia problem. Kelly has been on the phone this morning with UPS & it's looking like we are going to be re-imbursed for some of those shipping charges.) Ok, looks like I've nearly worn out another keyboard here but it's raining this morning so figured it was a good time to catch up the blog. Been a busy morning though. Kelly's working at the Lodge to-day. I'm on the second load of laundry, dishes are done, been to the store for milk & bananas, vacuumed the sunroom, have 2 of about 23 windows cleaned, dogs are fed, forwarded some jokes, took a picture of the wiper blades, made a coffee, & am contemplating making my bed. (that's always a tough contemplation) Might even go & BBQ me up a big bowl of oatmeal. All & all it seems like I'm quite the little multi-taskar this morning & I'm looking forward to my next favorite multi thing soon.........multi relaxing. Hey, I might even catch a few minutes of Sesame Street:))))) Oh ya, passed my 1rst complete physical in 3 years with almost flying colors last week. That cholesterol thingy is always a tough one but I've been working real hard at it. Have dropped from 212 pounds in June to 203 as of yesterday. Totally cut out all fried foods & sweets for starters. Doctor says I'm good for another 50 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first................ And with that, I'd better get back to my morning multi-taskinating. (Had to use a tele-photo lens shot through our living room window for the windshield wipers because it's pouring rain out there. RV television photo shows where the TV folds back to the wall for travel & is secured there. Forgot to add that pic in the previous post. The 2 geese on the pond photos was taken yesterday morning across the road from our place & once again I used a telephoto lens so as not to stampede the geese off the water)

THE "LAST" TELEVISION RENOVATION.....OR ELSE!!!!

Pictures show Bruce lining up the wooden mount. Finished picture shows television fully extended on the mount. It can tilt up or down & swivel from side to side & folds back to the wall for traveling. Click on the pics to make them bigger.

I am hoping to-day was the "LAST" television renovation & I won't have to update this blog again!!!! After mounting the 23" LCD flat screen twice on the end of the kitchen cabinet I still wasn't totally satisfied with the way everything ended up. Afterall, I did all that myself so what could I expect. In an earlier post I stated that if I wanted something done right I have to get someone else to do it. Well, this TV project was no exception & by the time I was done I had so many mounting holes in the end of the kitchen cabinet that it looked like a woodpeckers convention. Had to call in my old buddy Bruce again to save the day. Bruce is retired & has the patience, tools, know how, & interest for little projects like this & was glad to bale me out of the mess I had made......again!! In the process though I did have a bit of a light bulb moment. When you look at the pics it makes things a bit clearer. We had a big hole where the old analog TV came out above the dash so I figured why not take the cabinet door off up behind where the LCD TV is now & use it to fill that hole up front. Bruce framed in a little place for the door to fit & put the cabinet door there. It matches the cabinet doors on either side. I had sawed out a couple of panels at either end of that line of cabinets to access co-axe cables so Bruce simply made a couple of nice hinged doors & covered up the square holed mess I had made. And I still have access to those cables plus some extra storage too. He just has to put a floor in that center cabinet yet. Now, where the cabinet door came off by the end of the kitchen cabinet & behind the new TV, Bruce made a wooden piece that the television mount bracket is now bolted to. On either side of that wood mount he made 2 hinged doors so I can still access that cabinet plus that's where the 3 co-ax cables for the TV are. In the pics you will notice I haven't got the TV wires hooked up yet but maybe to-morrow.
This re-locating the television has been quite an ordeal but had I had the forethought to have Bruce do it in the first place I could have saved myself a lot of time & aggravation. However, I am a man so it is expected of me to be a master plumber, electrician, mechanic, welder, auto body tech, gas fitter, hydraulic specialist, carpenter, roofer, painter, machinist, heavy equipment operator, etc. etc. etc. plus jack of all trades that I haven't thought of. And master of them all too!! Not easy being a man you know, but I keep trying. Now, where is that light bulb installation I've been having trouble with.....................

"IS THAT A DIESEL MOTORCYCLE SIR??"

"Is that a diesel motorcycle sir" Thought it odd hearing those words coming from the young gas attendant fella at a Shell station in Goderich Ontario a few days ago. I had just rolled in on my motorcycle & topped up my gas tank. I generally run regular gas in the bike & about every 4th tank or so I fill it up with Premium. To-day I decided on premium, so by-passed the regular nozzle & without looking, reached for the premium nozzle on the other side of the pump & filled er up!! I said to the young fellow, "no, this is a gas motorcycle, to which he kindly replied, "well, you just filled up your motorcycle with diesel fuel......sir." ARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!! There it was, right on the pump beside me....DIESEL. Well, to say I could feel my stomach sliding right out from under me would be putting it mildly. What a huge feeling of frustration & anger I had with myself. (not to mention embarrassment) Just taking things for granted & not paying attention to what I was doing again!!!!
Wheeled the bike around the corner of the garage, slunk out of sight & got the owner's manual out of the saddle bag. Tried to find out if there was some kind of a gas tank drain valve. Couldn't find anything. Even got down on the ground & had a close look for some kinda valve or something. Suddenly dawned on me that if I had a hose I could probably siphon the diesel fuel out right out of the tank. No hose at the gas bar so walked across the large parking lot to a Canadian Tire store at the far corner. Got me a siphon hose with a plunger thingy on it & headed back. The young fellow at the gas bar fetched me a big white 5 gallon plastic pail. The siphon didn't work well because the siphon part was a solid plastic tube so wouldn't bend well to get down into & around the bottom of the bikes tank. Back to Canadian Tire for a second time & got a 3' section of flexible gas rubber hose. Should have done that in the first place because this hose worked perfect except for one little thing. No suction plunger on this one so I had to use my mouth to start the diesel fuel flowing. Diesel fuel in my mouth, up my nose, in my beard down my chin, on my pants & all over my shoes. The bucket I was draining it into tipped over at one point so I had quite a mess of diesel fuel going on all over the place. Moved the hose around in the tank making sure I got as much fuel out as possible & by the time I was done I had about 3 gallons of diesel fuel in the 5 gallon plastic pail. Probably another half gallon on the ground & another half gallon on me!! Pushed the bike back out to the gas island, DOUBLE CHECKED THE GAS PUMP & re-filled my tank with V-Power Premium....GAS!! This whole ordeal lasted about 40 minutes but luckily ended well. If that young sharp eyed gas attendant hadn't noticed my mistake I would have rode out of there with a tank full of diesel fuel & promptly ruined my motorcycle engine. That would have been a major repair!! I thanked him & insisted he take $20. Probably should have given him another ten for not laughing at me & calling me a dummy. He didn't want to accept the $20 but I pulled rank on him using my superior age factor. Truly a nice kid. Next stop was the car wash to hose down the diesel infested motorcycle & the last stop of the day was home to hose down the diesel infested & somewhat embarrassed human!!!!

BAYFIELD ONTARIO, CANADA......OUR HOME TOWN:))

It occurred to me awhile back that I had lots of photos regarding our travels in the American southwest posted, but I didn't have any pictures of our own picturesque little home town of Bayfield Ontario, Canada. Bayfield is beautifully located on the sandy, windswept shores of Canada's second largest body of fresh water, Lake Huron. I took my camera (Nikon D50 SLR) for a walk (& drive) on Wednesday August 20th & came home several hours later with a few pictures. The photos start in the harbor area & move up into the heart of town. Drove around some streets with my camera perched on my arm out the window & took pictures of some Bayfield homes. (kind of gives new meaning to the term, "drive by shooting") At the end of the day I moved back down to the harbor area & awaited the sunset out on the pier. A mighty fine way to spend a relaxing Bayfield day.
Another reason for posting these pictures on the web was to make Bayfield more pictorially available. Noticed there didn't seem to be a lot of Bayfield photos accessible on the net & the few websites about the town did not concentrate on the visual aspect............ No doubt about it, we live in one of Canada's prettiest towns.................... :))

Click here for the photos. Try out the Slideshow when you get there.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/BEAUTIFULBAYFIELDONTARIOCANADA

A DIFFERENT TV MOUNT & AN ODOMETER MALFUNCTION

Just didn't feel comfortable with the television mount we had used for our new 23" flat screen television. It had a plastic type bushing in one of the joints that I just could not tighten up enough to stop the television from tipping too far down. Also felt there was a significant strain on that mount despite it saying that it was good for up to about 33 pounds. Our television weighs in at 24 pounds. To ease my concern I picked up a heavier all steel mount last Saturday morning at, The Source, (formally Radio Shack) & swapped the old one (from Wal-Mart) out. New mount is good for 40 pounds. TV is now much sturdier & I feel more comfortable with the all steel construction & the different way the joints are engineered. It seems I always have to do things back asswards all the time:(( It lends credibility to my earlier post about having somebody else do stuff if I want it done right!! The photo shows the newer mount. Awhile back when I started up the motorhome to run the engine for a bit I noticed the digital odometer cluster was not legible. This is the computer driven little device that gives you info like how many miles you are getting to the gallon, how many miles of fuel left in the gas tank, trip meter, plus a host of other technical info. To make a long story short, we found out that these clusters made by the Actia company have faulty software in them & many people with the Chevy Workhorse Chassis like ours have had to replace them. Some folks have been lucky enough to get it done under warranty, but of course, not us:(( In fact when I re-registered the motorhome with Workhorse a few months ago we found out that our coaches cluster had already been replaced once in 2005. It's been quite a run around but after many phone calls to local dealers, Workhorse in Arizona, & finally to the Actia company itself in Elkhart Indiana we're finally getting the problem solved as how to go about getting it fixed. I guess I should say Kelly is getting the problem solved because she is the one who makes all the phone calls. To make an even longer story even shorter.............the cluster is in transit right now & UPS should be delivering it to-morrow. Our motorhome is scheduled to go in for servicing shortly so we'll have the garage do the cluster switch. It certainly has not been cheap!! $354 for the cluster & we had a call from UPS at the border to-day saying it's going to be another $107 for taxes & duty to bring it into Canada. Had we known that we might just have simply stopped in Elkhart Indiana on our way south this year & picked it up ourselves. Oh well, so much for the old saying about the older we get, the wiser we get. Ya right!!!!

THE SUMMER IS WINDING DOWN

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 nearly mid August & once again the signs of our summer slipping away are beginning to emerge. 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. The nights are definitely cooling down & soon the Autumn crispness will be in the daytime's air. It is my favorite time of the year which approaches. The exciting freshness of spring is long gone & summer's steamy rush is rapidly winding down. Autumn is a time for quiet reflection. Everything seems to slow as we shift to a lower gear. In a month from now the kids will be back in school, the Labor Day week-end will be behind us & a few trees will be starting to show some of their early artist's brush colors. Autumn is also a time of anticipation & 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. Aw yes, 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 musically relaxing day.
The photos are from our flower gardens around the house. The one above shows a white Yucca growing up through some orange Day Lilies.

UPDATE ON OUR TELEVISION PROJECT

It's been awhile since I updated any of our minor RV renovations but I'm happy to report that our little TV project is actually going a bit better than expected. I was able to remove the clunky old television cabinet from the top center of the windshield without too much injury to myself or the motorhome. A carpenter friend of ours is going to finish that hole off with a cupboard. Got the flat screen mounted ok & it appears to be solidly anchored. The only other place in the coach it could go was on the end of the kitchen cabinet so that is where I mounted it. I've included some pictures & you can see how it swivels around making it viewable from all angles. Picked up a couple of 52 inch men's leather belts at Wal-Mart & they go around the television & loop through those door handles you can see above the TV at the ceiling line, making the television snug & secure for travel. Television is also now much easier to see from the computer chair below the screen. No more 90 degree neck cramps. It's also much easier to see when the slide is out because we sit across from it instead of having to lean forward & turn our heads sharp left all the time. TV is also more accessible for hooking up additional cables because we can swing it out & pivot it around quite a ways to get at the back. It all looks & sounds good in theory but the real test will come once we're on the road again. If I can sit here & post a note next spring & tell everyone that the television never even fell down once in our travels I will then (& only then) consider this little adventure a humble success..........:)) You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Nice to see the fuel prices coming down a bit but I'm sure it's only temporary before the next big gas hammer drops on us. I actually had my maps & atlas's out the other night along with MapQuest & Google Earth checking the area between Silver City, New Mexico & Phoenix, Arizona. We haven't been to that part of Arizona yet & I'd like to have a look at the Superstition Mountain area. In the meantime we're remaining as optimistic as we can under the current shaky economic & worldly situations............

Last photo shows Kelly talking to her daughter & husband in Spain using Skype. Kelly is pointing our Microsoft web cam at the screen so Rebecca & Ricardo can see themselves. Works great:))

http://www.skype.com/