RAINED MOST OF THE DAY BUT WE ALL PILED IN THE JEEP & TOOK OFF ANYWAY

SIGNS OF AUTUMN ARE BECOMING MORE APPARENT EACH DAY

Rain came in the night & stayed through the morning, afternoon, & evening. It was shaping up to be another dullsville day until Kelly spotted a house & property for sale near Ripley Ontario. Not really the area or the price range for us but what the heck, it was a good excuse for a rainy day drive. We all piled in the Jeep & off we went. Quick stop at a couple used furniture places in Goderich looking at a few cheap loveseats for our living room. It will mainly be a doggy couch for Pheebs because she is really missing the one we put in the rig.

FOUND THE HOUSE IN THIS STAND OF LARGE TREES

 

LOOKED NOT TOO BAD BUT WE SURE COULD SEE SOME TROUBLESOME ROOF ISSUES

WIND TURBINES CAN BE SEEN IN THE BACKGROUND OF SOME PHOTOS
We knew there had to be something wrong with a house, barn, & driving shed on nearly 4 acres of land for $125,000. Solid brick house but definitely a handyman's special.  Peeking through the windows we could see somebody had started some major renovations inside but then stopped. Could see a hot tub in a sun room. Large barn & driving shed were in reasonably good shape. Lots of grass to cut & the place was on a paved road. But here's why we think it's so cheap...... It's in the heart of Wind Turbine country with more wind turbines planned for that area. We saw the large blades of new turbine laying in a field only about a thousand yards or less from the property. I'm betting more wind turbines are going to be built fairly close to that property. I'm guessing whoever was renovating that house found out about the new wind turbine project, dropped his tools, hammered a 'for sale' sign in the lawn & took off.

BEHIND THAT BARN WAS A HUGE DRIVING SHED BIG ENOUGH TO PARK HALF A DOZEN RV’S

 

HOUSE IS HIDDEN BY THE BIG WILLOW TREE

I recall commenter TOM having a few questions recently.  He asks about our loveseat & says, “Have you found a way to secure it yet”?  Probably going to anchor the metal frame to the floor with a few metal clamps screwed into the floor of the slide.  Tom also asked, “Is that a Dexter tractor hiding in them weeds” a few posts ago.  Dunno what it was Tom.  Same as that fancy silver farm car last week, dunno what that was either.  And my comment on IVAN'S post tonight was simply, “What a life, what a life'”.  Geeeezzzz that guys sure had himself a nice scenic summer job in the Canadian Rockies this year.

OOOOPS, MUSHROOM FALL DOWN

GAELYN, in a comment question asked, "So do you write a quick post, or like me take forever? I'm thinking you're quick with a post every day”. Well, I'm a bit of both but I do have a tendency to take longer with my posts now than when I first started back in 06. Of course I am a lot more longwinded now than I was then too. I didn't get that name Mr. Blabberfingers for nothing. When I first started blogging I was able to hold ideas in my head all day & when I sat down after supper to do my post I could trot those ideas out in maybe half an hour or so. Over the years as I gained some writing experience my mind began coming up with more & more ideas for topics. So many in fact I could not remember them all so I had to change some of my blogging habits. I could no longer rely on my memory to remind me each night of something I had thought of that morning. Only way around that was to begin writing a few things down as the day went on. And, that brings me up to today.

HERE’S MY 2 FAVORITE GIRLS BOTH IN THE SAME SEAT TODAY:))

I'm generally up around 5:30 every morning & the creative process sometimes kicks into gear shortly thereafter. Not unusual for me to start a topic & maybe write a couple paragraphs for the days post right off the bat.  It’s funny how topics often come to me in the shower too.  Depending on what I'm doing on any particular day I may return to my post half a dozen times, adding a few lines here or a paragraph there. I might be outside working on something when an idea pops into my mind so I'll come into the house & type that idea out while it is still in my memory. I generally have a fair number of new photos every day & I will often start working on them by late afternoon. Usually by early evening I have a good idea about how to structure my post. I will re-write paragraphs, add additional paragraphs, decide on what photos to use & where I want to use them. My deadline for publishing my post each night is 9:30 Ontario time. If I finish earlier, great. Just before publishing I probably go over my post 3 or 4 times looking for spelling mistakes & glaring grammatical errors. The title for my blog is often the last words I type. Another thing I often do before hitting the 'publish' button is take Pheebs for a walk. This kind of clears my blogging head & gives me an opportunity to take a breather from my thoughts. Sometimes I may return with a slightly different perspective on what I have written & I may make a few last minute changes at this time.  Some days my post may center around a theme & other days it just rambles.  My biggest fear is repetition so I try to vary my style & my topics as best I can.  Some days I get it right & smile. And some days I just kinda shake my head.  Once my post is published it is not likely I will read it again unless someone notices a mistake or has an issue with something.

TRYING OUT SOME SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

Might sound like I am a perfectionist but I can assure you, I am not. I do not possess the patience to be a perfectionist. I do spend a fair bit of time on my blog it's true but if I was a perfectionist I would certainly do it differently. In my opinion the best way to write anything for publication whether a blog, a newspaper column, or a magazine article, etc. is to do it slowly over a period of time. Maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks. Write a rough draft & then put it on a rear burner to simmer. Come back, add to it, re-write it where necessary & then put it back on the burner & let it cook some more. Think about what you have written while you are not writing it. Come back, add or take away some more ingredients. May take a couple days or weeks but keep refining your piece until eventually in your own mind you will be satisfied with what you have written knowing you have done the absolute best you can.

WE HAVE A VERY VERY SNUGGLY LITTLE DOG:))

Daily bloggers do not have the advantage of time on their side & if you have an interest in photography like I do it can be quite a crunch to churn out a post each & every day. Especially when one has dozens upon dozens of photos to edit on top of writing a post. Although it takes up a fair chunk of my day I have to do it quickly to make my 9:30 nightly deadline. Now, I can just hear some readers saying, why do a post every day? Why not once a week or maybe a couple of posts a month. My answer to that is simply to say, I enjoy the creative challenge. I enjoy the photography, the travel, & the writing. Writing is my favorite form of communication & blogging gives me an opportunity to express myself. I'm not very good at discussing my thoughts & feelings in face to face conversations. Yes, I do go through periods of discouragement, frustration, & depressive moods with my blog but at the end of each day I still generally enjoy what I'm doing.

You can now see why I call myself Mr. Blabberfingers. Gaelyn's question was a simple one but of course my answer to Gaelyn's question just keeps going on & on & on & on.  Off track, back on track, & off the track I go again.  Can’t help that, it’s just the way I am.  By the way, Blogger tells me my post tonight is number 2,002:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A cannibal entered the meat market to buy something nice for dinner. The owner greeted him and told him to look around. The cannibal began to inspect the meat case and noticed the market specialized in brain.
Upon further inspection he noticed a marked disparity between the costs of brain meats. A carpenter's brain sells for $1.50 per pound. A plumber's brain sells for $2.25 per pound. He noticed with alarm that a politician's brain sells for $375.00 a pound. With not a little curiosity he asked the owner why the huge difference in price between the similar meats.
The owner responded with a deadpan look on his face, "Do you realize how many politicians it takes to get a pound of brains?"
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

WE HUFFED & WE PUFFED & WE GOT IT THROUGH THE DOOR:))

A few days ago I wrote how I like the feeling of cozy. Had a nice slice of that Thursday night when our outside temps dropped waaaaay down & Kelly cracked on our furnace for the first time this season. How nice to feel that warm air filling our house chasing out the cool crisp early Autumn chills. Made if from the low 40's back up to 66F under sunny skies today & that suited me just fine.

OK MOM & DAD, WHERE DID MY FAVORITE COUCH GO??

Since Kelly was sick a few months ago she has become very susceptible to cold. Since I have aged a bit the last few years I have become intolerant to heat. You can see where I'm going with us. We are having quite a time now adjusting to each other's intolerances & susceptibilities to temperature variances. While I'm reaching for the A/C switch Kelly is straining for the furnace switch. Short sleeves for me & hat, mitts, & a warm coat for Kelly. Could be an interesting winter.

Needless to say we were anxious to get our living room's loveseat recliner out to the Winnie & check out the look & fit. But, a problem. Even with the 2 back cushions removed the loveseat was too heavy for the two of us carry out & carry up the steps into the rig. Kelly phoned her boss Kirsten to see if her son Matt had time to give us a hand. He did & a few minutes later they came over. Matt & I were able to lift the loveseat & carry it out to the rig. We had no problem whatsoever walking it up & into the coach.   Ok, maybe I huffed & puffed a wee bit.  The loveseat recliner turned out to be pretty darn good fit. Couple little pre-installation mis-measurements on my part but nothing serious. We are totally pleased with the fit & agreed it was the most comfortable seating we have ever had in any of our 5 RV's. Either sitting or reclining. And Pheebs loved it too as we all piled on the loveseat for a big congratulatory well done snuggle.  Seating mission finally accomplished:))

SNUGGLING ON OUR LOVESEAT RECLINER & IT’S THE WIDE ANGLE LENS THAT MAKES ME LOOK LIKE A CIRCUS TENT

We have a built in roof dome TRAC-VISION satellite on our rig so Kelly called TracVision today for information on getting that all set up. More technical stuff of course but Kelly's confident we can figure it out. ‘We’ of course meaning ‘Kelly’.  Have to decide whether to go with Dish or Direct. Dish may be easiest but we think Direct may be more popular. We'll get all that figured out once we arrive in Arizona & pick ourselves up either a Dish or Direct receiver.

Also on our ‘to get’ list is a vent-less propane heater for the rig. In our Class A Damon we had a Legacy Blue Flame heater which worked perfectly for us the past 5 years or so. That heater is now in our Congress house & we use it as a heat source there. We plan to get a smaller heater for the Winnie Wagon. Yes, we do have a propane furnace in the rig but any experienced RVer knows how inefficient they generally are & how much propane those RV furnaces guzzle. We are looking at a PORTABLE BUDDY HEATER.

Chinle over there at that SPOTTED DOG RANCH place has found herself a rather unique RV. Maybe not quite everybody's cup of tea but not everybody will be traveling with Chinle, just Chinle & her furry 4 legged crew. I like her choice, it has that 'cozy' factor:))

UM, I KNOW SOMETHING IS GOING ON BUT I JUST HAVEN’T FIGURED OUT WHAT YET……

I generally find post's about blogging very interesting. Reason being is that blogging is one of my favorite hobbies. I spend a fair amount of time at it. Gaelyn from GEOGYPSY had an interesting post Thursday expressing her views, thoughts, & feelings on the topic. Comments were interesting as well. I have expressed my thoughts many times over the years on the topic of blogging. Each time my thoughts change a bit. Reason for that is my blog & I continue to evolve just as many other blogs & Bloggers do. If I were to look back on my earlier blogging years I would see a big difference in not only my writings but my photography as well. I would see the pros, the cons, the mistakes, the embarrassments, the good things, the helpful things, the critical things, the regrettable things, the humorus & hopeful things & all the hits & misses. Maybe I'm due for another update post on my blogging thoughts soon. I know my thoughts have changed a bit again since the last time I posted about it:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( "Just to establish some parameters," said the professor, "Mr. Nichols, what is the opposite of joy?"
"Sadness," said the student.
"And the opposite of depression, Ms. Biggs?"
"Elation."
"And you, Mr. Brown from Alberta, how about the opposite of woe?"
"I believe that would be giddy up..."
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

THE SOLUTION TO OUR RECLINER DECISION WAS RIGHT UNDER OUR OWN NOSES ALL ALONG

By the time we got up this morning the answer to our recliner question was pretty clear to us. With all our focus on 'chair recliners' these past few months we had never given a lot of thought to 'loveseat recliners' & that is why we missed the obvious answer sitting right here at home just a few feet away in our own living room. Wasn't until we looked at wall hugging love seat recliner's at La-Z-Boy in London Wednesday that we suddenly realized we already have a like new wall hugger right here in our own living room.  Been here all along.  Bought our BERKLINE loveseat recliner about 7 years ago along with a matching recliner chair for Kelly. Neither Kelly or I ever did use the loveseat simply because we both have our own recliners.  Our loveseat recliner only has about 3 hours of human sitting time on it over the years. Readers have no doubt seen the loveseat recliner many times in my photos with Pheebs snuggled up or stretched out on it. All this time we had what we were looking for right under our noses. And it's going to be a better fit than the La-Z-Boy leather one would have been. And here's the most best part of all.................it's already been long ago paid for:))

THIS IS THE COUCH LOVESEAT RECLINER WE ARE PUTTING IN THE WINNEBAGO

LEATHER SOFA BED (NOW GONE) WITH A BACK HALF OF OUR LOVESEAT RECLINER FOR COMPARISON

Figuring this is what we would likely do I sent Ron Krauter from FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE an email Wednesday night wondering if he might be interested in the couch/air bed that was currently in the Winnebago. A couple phone calls with Ron this morning & we fired up the rig & headed off to Grand Bend Ontario. Ron is the fellow we bought our 2003 Damon Challenger from back in April of 2007. He said he would take that couch/blow-up bed out for us & sell it on Kijiji.

RON JUST TOOK IN THIS NICE LOOKING TOY HAULER RV TRAILER ON CONSIGNMENT WHILE WE WERE THERE THIS MORNING

Rolled into Ron's place about 10:45 & minutes later he & his helper Scott were hard at work removing that couch/bed. Didn't take them long to figure things out, unbolt the couch from the slide, (16 bolts) disconnect the air bed hoses, disassemble the couch & move it out of the rig.

RON CHECKS OUT THE BLOW-UP BED & FIGURES IT’S NEVER BEEN USED

 

THE BOYS ARE HARD AT IT

Ron & Scott are a couple of super guys & always a wealth of RV knowledge & information. Ron always goes the extra distance for his RV customers & has treated us exceptionally well over the years.  We called him when we spotted our current rig for sale in London back in April & he suggested we grab it.  Called it a ‘Smokin Deal’:))  When it comes to friendly personalities it's pretty hard to beat these guys. They are are the Senior's version of Energizer Bunnies. If your not feeling good about things when you go there you will feel a whole lot better about things before you leave there. These guys just have that positive energy about them. Anyone in our area looking for an honest RV dealer, I highly recommend you drop around & see Ron. If he doesn't have what your looking for he will go out of his way to find it for you. And you know he is always going to treat you fair.   Tell him the Bayfield Bunch sent you:))

 

SCOTT EXPLAINS A FEW RV FUNCTIONS TO KELLY

 

RON VACUUMS UP THE EMPTY SLIDE & CHECKS OUT SOME TIRE PRESSURES & THE POSSIBILITY OF PUTTING A COUPLE VALVE EXTENDERS ON THE WHEELS

Picked up a few groceries in Grand Bend & we were back home again shortly after 1 this afternoon. We have a professional upholstery cleaner coming Tuesday morning to do our living room carpet & he will do our Berkline loveseat recliner as well before we put it in the Winnebago. Things are finally coming together.

RON RUNS A VERY CLEANLY ORGANIZED SHOP

Short post tonight because I'm heading out for coffee with one of my 2 best friends. Our coffee blow-outs have a tendency to be lengthy so figured I'd better publish my post early.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A man placed an ad in the classifieds: "Wife wanted."
The next day he received a hundred letters.
They all said the same: "You can have mine."
---

Joe was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sick father died, he decided he needed a wife with whom to share his fortune.
One evening at an investment seminar he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her beauty took his breath away. “I may look like just an ordinary man,” he said to her, “but in just a few years, my father will pass, and I’ll inherit his large fortune.”
Impressed, the woman took his business card and three months later, she became Joe’s stepmother.
Women are so much better at estate planning than men!!
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

WE ARE IN QUITE A STATE OF WAFFLE OVER OUR COUCH vs RECLINERS OR A RECLINING LOVESEAT COUCH…..OR SOMETHING

We've been waffling again on our recliners idea for the Winnebago. We know for sure recliners are far more comfortable than the couch in our rig right now & far more practical for our purpose. We have no intentions of ever trying to deploy the air bed in the couch. We know we could make do with the couch, grumble & complain about it's uncomfortability a lot & save ourselves some money. Depends on our priorities I guess & at this age & stage comfort is always high on the priority list. If it wasn't, we would still be traveling with a tent. So with waffled minds in gear we motored off to La-Z-Boy in London Ontario this morning.

 
An hour & a half later with 18 annoying London traffic lights behind us we pulled into the Laz-Z-Boy parking lot. Nice patient & helpful sales lady by the name of Michelle showed us what they had in smaller RV oriented wall hugger recliners. While trying out different chairs for comfort & asking a handful of questions we decided to have a look at reclining loveseats as well. Discussing & weighing the pros & cons between recliners & reclining loveseat couches we took ourselves a fancy to one of the loveseat units they had. Biggest problem for us is the small 30x69" space we have to work with & the reclining leather loveseat we liked could possibly be a close fit. Before committing to any final decisions we decided to carefully re-measure our rigs space & compare them to measurements we took of the loveseat in the store.  La-Z-Boy is having a sales tax free Saturday sale in a few days & that would save us a nice chunk of change by not having to pay any sales tax. They will deliver, assemble, & install the loveseat in the coach & that again is a big plus for us. We will sleep on the decision tonight, maybe tomorrow night too & see if we are left with any waffles in the morning. We also have to decide what we will do with the mint condition (& maybe never used) leather couch/air bed in the rig right now. We have also decided we will not attempt to take the couch/air bed out ourselves. We will have to get someone to do that for us.

 
TRYING OUT SOME WALL HUGGING RECLINERS & LOVE SEAT RECLINERS TODAY AT LA-Z-BOY
 
HAVE TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION HERE & IMAGINE THIS FULL LENGTH COUCH WITH THE CENTER SECTION GONE REDUCING IT TO A SHORTER LOVESEAT…THIS IS THE ONE WE ARE (OR WERE) THINKING ABOUT
Kelly was also on the phone this afternoon with one of the Amish places in Elkhart Indiana who also custom make furniture such as recliners & loveseats for RV's as well. Prices were comparable to La-Z-Boy. If we had any kind of a problem (under warranty) with a La-Z-Boy unit we could simply go to the nearest La-Z-Boy store in either Canada or the U.S. Any kind of a problem with the Elkhart unit would mean we would have to return the unit to Elkhart. Safe to say we are leaning towards the La-Z-Boy deal in London……..or
Now, just before publishing this tonight we have had 2 more late irons added to the fire. Two more possible options. One for sure. We just may go with one of those 2 options.  Tomorrow night at this time I’m hoping we will have reached a decision.
Couldn't help but think while driving in London today what a huge change of pace & scenery it was for me from just a short 24 hours before when Pheebs & I were cruising around in our peacefully relaxing beautiful countryside. Thank heavens Kelly & I, former big city people, had the opportunity years ago to live for 7 years in the country. It thankfully changed us forever:))

And then there was Pheebs & my walk on a secluded beach Tuesday afternoon which I had remembered from a late night visit about 38 years ago. Found the narrow gravel dead end road & narrow steep path through a heavy stand of Cedar trees leading to the beach. Heard the roaring of waves before even seeing the water. How nice to be standing on that beach without a soul in site, wind blowing through my hair listening to & watching the crashing of those waves upon a stony shore. Pheebs dashing about up & down the shoreline being oh so careful not to get her paws wet.  Some days are just downright nicer than others:))

 
 
 
 

Thanks to readers for their suggestions about rotating our sewer pipe assembly upwards. I loosened two large bandit-clamps holding it tightly on & managed to gain about 3 more inches of road clearance. And yes, I even remembered to tighten those two clamps back up again. That whole low slung outlet system sure makes me appreciate how our Sunseeker & Damon both had that assembly installed higher & enclosed in a bin making it much easier to access & keeping it free from road dirt, flying debris, & curbs etc.
 
SOON IT WILL TIME TO HARVEST THE BEANS
'Cozy' is not exactly a guy's word. Probably won't find many fellas using it either verbally or in their writings. I like the word because of what it conjures up & means. 'Snug, Comfortable, & Warm.' Autumn is a time for cozy & for me it has to do with cooler crisp outdoor air & the warm Potpourri scented atmosphere one encounters when coming indoors. A warm cozy fire in the fireplace with mellow ambient music & soft lighting. Turning on the furnace or even a heater & feeling one's skin being enveloped by warming air gives me a sense of well being. Maybe a toasty sweater, a cozy blanket, flannel pyjamas or fuzzy slippers. A favorite movie on TV while snuggled up on a couch or stretched out lazily in one's very much most favorite recliner with a furry little Pal snoozing on their lap. One of my favs is sitting in our softly lit sunroom each night writing my posts.  Nice music, a gas fireplace stove aglow off to my right & a small electric heater at my feet if needed.  Outside the night air may be crisp & cold.  But no matter, It all means ‘Snug, Comfortable, & Warm’, & that in the end spells 'Cozy' for me.   I love it....... even if I am a guy. 10-4:))

Now, one last thing before some sharp minded readers with excellent memories check me up on something. I have some leather Crow to eat. I have blogged in the past stating my dislike for leather furniture. Not just once, but several times. I blah blahed about not liking leather seats in vehicles or leather seats & couches anywhere. Cold in the winter, sticky in the summer, etc. etc. blah blah babble babble.  You know me & my gripes.  Well Oooops, we now have two very comfortable & supple leather seats in our Winnebago. Had em in the Sunseeker as well. Bought a couple of nice used leather recliners for our sunroom earlier in the summer & now I am telling you about our plans to maybe buy an all leather loveseat recliner for our Winnie Wagon. What happened?? Well, I'd tell ya right now if I wasn't choking on my big slice of leather Crow............................Geeezzzzz, what's next, a new state of the art SAMSUNG SMART WATCH:))
 
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A new teacher was trying to make use of her psychology courses.
She started her class by saying, "Everyone who thinks you're stupid, stand up!"
After a few seconds, Little Johnny stood up.
The teacher said, "Do you think you're stupid, Little Johnny?"
"No, ma'am, but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself!"
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.