KELLY CAME THROUGH HER ENDOSCOPY LYMPH NODE PROCEDURE THIS MORNING JUST FINE

Our day went off without a hitch.  It was 7:35 this morning when we rolled out of the driveway under cloudy skies for London’s St. Joseph’s Hospital.  Bare dry roads all the way and traffic was light.  It was 8:50 when we parked the Jeep on the top level of a parking garage across the street from the hospital.  As always we were there in good time as we made our way down a concrete stairwell and across the street to the hospital.  Kelly registered for her procedure and was led straightaway through a large sliding glass door and that was the last I saw of her for the next few hours. 

THE LAST FEW SPOTS LEFT IN THE OVERCROWDED PARKING GARAGE WERE ON THE ROOF

LOOKING OVER THE EDGE AT THE PARKING GARAGE I SPOTTED OUR HOSPITAL ENTRANCE ACROSS THE STREET UNDER THE GRAY OVERHANG

LOOKING SOUTH FROM THE PARKING GARAGE ROOF ONE SEES THE SKYLINE OF DOWNTOWN LONDON ONTARIO

KELLY BOOTS IT INTO THE HOSPITAL

I had brought both my Kindle and laptop computer so I sat in the immediate waiting room reading for about half an hour before heading out in search of a Tim Hortons coffee shop I knew to be hiding somewhere within the confines of the hospital.  With a few wrong turns up a couple hallways leading to medical rooms I finally picked a long hall heading in a northerly direction and soon came upon a long line-up.  No it wasn’t the fidgety colonoscopy line, it was Tim Hortons. 

TIM HORTON COFFEE SHOP LINE UP….I THINK I WAS NUMBER 512 IN THE LINE!!

Along my way searching for Tim Hortons I had passed through a large area with a bunch of padded chairs and in that room there was not one single human being to be found so with coffee in hand I hustled myself back there and thoroughly enjoyed the next 45 minutes or so quietly reading and bonking around on my laptop all by myself:))

AHHHHHH, NOT ONE HUMANOID IN SIGHT….MY COATS ON A CHAIR AND MY RED KINDLE SITS ATOP MY LAPTOP CASE

About 11:15 I headed back to the endoscopy waiting room.  Twenty minutes later my name was called and I was led into the recovery room.  Kelly appeared about 10 minutes later looking totally unscathed from her endoscopy-biopsy procedure.  We sat there another 40 minutes waiting for the surgeon guy to come and talk to her and when he did it was his helper who came and said things looked Okay so far but the true pathology report would be back in about a week to 10 days.  So now we’ll have to wait and see what that says and whether she will be called back again before meeting with her University Hospital Liver Doctor on May 1rst.  Aside from a slightly sore throat and some pain in her abdomen tonight she’s doing Okay.  Thanks to friends and readers for their concern…………….

WAITING FOR KELLY IN THE RECOVERY ROOM AND SHE’S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT CURTAIN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT RECOVERING BODY IN THE BED AT RIGHT

We didn’t waste any time exiting the hospital and retrieving the Jeep up on the parking garage roof.  The parking cost us $11 and it’s always such a PITA paying those damn money grubbing machines they have set up.  With Pheebe waiting for us at home it didn’t take us long to put London in Libby’s rear view mirror.  We were home by 2 p.m. to a very happy little tail wagging doggy:))))))))))))

Oh, about the fish……….Inside the southeast entrance to St. Joseph’s Hospital there is an aquarium:)) 

GROANER’S CORNER:((   The caterer was consulting with a woman about throwing a birthday party for her 72-year-old husband.
"Is it a surprise?" the caterer asked.
"Oh, no," answered the woman. "My husband knows he's going to be 72."

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I have a spelling checker,
It came with my PC;
It plainly marks four my revue,
Mistakes I cannot sea;
I've run this poem threw it,
I'm sure your please to no;
Its letter perfect in it's weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.

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A father and son went fishing one day. While they were out in the boat, the boy suddenly became curious about the world around him. He asked his father, "How does this boat float?  The father replied, "Don't rightly know son." A little later, the boy looked at his father and asked, "How do fish breath underwater?"  Once again the father replied, "Don't rightly know son." A little later the boy asked his father, "Why is the sky blue?"  Again, the father replied. "Don't rightly know son." Finally, the boy asked his father, "Dad, do you mind me asking you all of these questions?"
The father replied, "Of course not, if you don't ask questions, you never learn nothin'."

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WE ARE HEADED FOR LONDON’S ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL IN THE MORNING

HAPPY TO SEE OUR MOURNING DOVES BACK
Rains came in the night and did a number on knocking down our remaining snow patches.  I was surprised at how much it melted our driveway’s hard packed snow, our Park’s road ice, and surrounding snow in the fields.  Pheebs and I did wander out but a cold wind and drizzling rain kept us in the Jeep.  We also stayed on pavement avoiding muddy country roads.  Took us for a drive to Goderich and down around the harbor.  We were back home about an hour after we left and that was about it for our day.  Spent most of my afternoon reading.

THIS KIND OF SUMS UP OUR DAY

ALWAYS SOME NICE PIECES OF DRIFTWOOD ALONG THE BEACH EACH SPRING

Kelly and I will be up and on the road early Wednesday morning with our destination being St. Joseph's Hospital in London Ontario.  Kelly undergoes her  lymph node biopsy procedure at 9:45.  Pheebs couldn’t come this time because I am required to remain in the hospital until Kelly is cleared to leave.  We figure if all goes well we will be home maybe around 1:15 p.m. 

GROANER’S CORNER:((   A woman takes her 16-year-old daughter to the doctor. "Okay, Mrs. Jones, what's the problem?  "The mother says, "It's my daughter, Debbie. She keeps getting these cravings, she's putting on weight, and she is sick most mornings." The doctor gives Debbie an examination, then turns to the mother and says, "Well, I don't know how to tell you this, but your Debbie is pregnant--about four months would be my guess."The mother says, "Pregnant?! She can't be, she has never been left alone with a man! Have you, Debbie?" Debbie says, "No mother! I've never even kissed a man!" The doctor walked over to the window and stared outside. About five minutes passed before the mother said, "Is there something wrong out there, doctor?" The doctor replied, "No, not at all. It's just that the last time anything like this happened, a star appeared in the east and three wise men came over the hill. I'm not going to miss it this time around!"
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- What's round and bad tempered? A vicious circle.
- “I had a broken bone once, it just cracked me up.”
--------------------------------------------
Donald & Melania Trump were sleeping one night at the White House.  Melania wakes up and starts shaking Donald to wake him up. "Donald, Donald wake up."  Donald stays sleeping. Melania continues, "Donald, Donald wake up."   Donald finally wakes up and says, "What do you want?"  Melania responds, "I have to go use the bathroom."  To which Donald says, "Please tell me you didn't wake me up just to tell me you have to go to the bathroom."  Melania says, "No, I just wanted to tell you to save my spot."
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I WENT TO THE WELL OF WORDS TODAY

FIRST SHIP INTO THE PORT OF GODERICH FOR 2018 IS THE CSI LAURENTIEN

I went to the well of words today and found the well to be dry.  I will return to the well tomorrow and have another try. 

THAT CERTAINLY IS ONE LOOOOOOOOOG SHIP DOCKED AT THE GODERICH ELEVATORS 

ICE RIDERS

SEEN OUT IN THE HARBOR BUT I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Fathers Then and Now::
Fathers of 1900 didn't have it nearly as good as fathers of today; but they did have a few advantages:
In 1900, fathers prayed their children would learn English.
Today, fathers pray their children will speak English.
In 1900, a father's horsepower meant his horses.
Today, it's the size of his SUV.
In 1900, if a father put a roof over his family's head, he was a success.
Today, it takes a roof, deck, pool, and 4-car garage. And that's just the vacation home.
In 1900, a father waited for the doctor to tell him when the baby arrived.
Today, a father must wear a smock, know how to breathe, and make sure he knows how to record with his smart phone.
In 1900, fathers passed on clothing to their sons.
Today, kids wouldn't touch Dad's clothes if they were sliding naked down an icicle.
In 1900, fathers could count on children to join the family business.
Today, fathers pray their kids will soon come home from college long enough to teach them how to work the computer and set up their smart phone.
In 1900, a father smoked a pipe.
If he tries that today, he gets sent outside after a lecture on lung cancer.
In 1900, fathers shook their children gently and whispered, "Wake up, it's time for school."
Today, kids shake their fathers violently at 4 a.m., shouting: "Wake up, it's time for hockey practice."
In 1900, a father came home from work to find his wife and children at the supper table.
Today, a father comes home to a note: "Jimmy's at baseball, Cindy's at gymnastics, I'm at adult-Ed, Pizza in fridge."
In 1900, fathers and sons would have heart-to-heart conversations while fishing in a stream.
Today, fathers yank the smart phone out of their son’s hand and shout, "WHEN YOU HAVE A MINUTE.."
In 1900, a father gave a pencil box for Christmas, and the kid was all smiles.
Today, a father spends $500 on a Samsung, and the kid screams: "I wanted an iPhone!"
In 1900, if a father had breakfast in bed, it was eggs and bacon and ham and potatoes.
Today, it's Special K, soy milk, dry toast and a lecture on cholesterol.
In 1900, fathers said, "A man's home is his castle."
Today, they say, "Welcome to the money pit."
In 1900, "a good day at the market" meant Father brought home feed for the horses.
Today, "a good day at the market" means Dad got in early on an IPO.
In 1900, when fathers entered the room, children often rose to attention.
Today, kids glance up and grunt, "Dad, you're invading my space."
In 1900, fathers threatened their daughters' suitors with shotguns if the girl came home late.
Today, fathers break the ice by saying, "So...how long have you had that earring?"

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I’M HOPING WE STILL HAVE A FEW GOOD RVING WINTERS LEFT

I see a lot of fellow Snow Birds and Full Timers have begun their long journeys home now.  The call of ‘home’ is strong and like migratory birds we all pick our time to make the northward trek.  Sometimes we haven’t left the Southwest until the end of March while a few other times like this year we were already home in early March.  I have always found it a mixed bag of feelings as each year I watch in my side view mirror the slowly disappearing mountains behind me wondering if we will ever see them again.  Will we ever return to our beloved Great American Southwest to continue our memories.   Over the years I have often said in my many posts I wished we could have been in a better position to pursue the RV lifestyle at a much younger age than we were when we started out.  Being the foot loose zany adventuress couple we were when we met I have no doubt we would have probably started out as Full-Timers and carried on from there traveling far afield.  As it is we did pretty good with the time we spent RVing and know it is not many people who had or have the same opportunities we did and still do.   We are very grateful to the people who made our travels possible and I’m hoping we still have a few good RVing winters left…………

SEAGULLS ON A VERY THIN COATING OF ICE

Probably one of the coldest nights since we’ve been home but luckily another bright sunny day with temperatures finally getting up into the mid 30’s.  Wow, heat wave or what.  Of course Pheebs and I were out wandering about southeast of Bayfield for an hour or so.  Noticed all the ice is off the lake in our immediate area and the Bayfield River and harbor are free of ice as well.  Not so in the Grand Bend area south of us where ice and snow on the lake are still visible for as far out as one can see.

BAYFIELD’S WATERFRONT AREA INCLUDING THE HARBOR AND RIVER ARE NOW COMPLETELY FREE OF ICE

THE BAYFIELD RIVER IS NOW ICE FREE

AND ONE OF THE FISHING BOATS IS ALREADY BACK

AREA FISHERMEN HAVE RETURNED TO THE BANKS OF THE BAYFIELD RIVER AS WELL

AND THE SPRING WALKERS ARE OUT TOO

In Saturday’s post I made mention of a fire incident at Tim Hortons coffee shop in Mitchell Ontario where Jim and I were having coffee.  I took some photos about 1:10 in the afternoon prior to leaving and I gave an accurate account of what happened while we were there.  Below is an account of the incident by Blackburn News which does not jive with my account.  Now one of two things has happened here.  Either the fire flared up after Jim and I left or this media report has sensationalized it right out of reality.  Blaze Battled at Tim Hortons in Mitchell.  At no time was there ever smoke inside the building while Jim and I were there and there was absolutely no smoke anywhere by the time the volunteer fire department arrived. 

STILL LOTS OF SNOW IN OUR SHADY FORESTS

Doug from Miss Adventure Travels asked in a recent comment if I missed my motorcycle a bit and my answer to that question is…..no I have not.  It’s one less responsibility I have to worry about and after loosing interest in motorcycling a few years ago there was no point in me keeping it when someone else with a keener interest could get out there and enjoy themselves on that fine cruiser bike.  DC from Stuff that Matters (or not) in response to my Saturday post asked, ‘Do you remember party line telephones’?  I answered DC’s comment and said. ‘Yes I remember those party lines alright and each person had their own ring. My Mother was one of the telephone operators in our small Village so at our house we always knew what most other people in town were up to:)) 

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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A Few More New Word Dafynitions::

Grantartica, noun:
The cold, isolated place where arts companies without funding dwell.

intaxication, noun:
Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

kinstirpation, noun:
A painful inability to get rid of relatives who come to visit.

lullabuoy, noun:
An idea that keeps floating into your head and prevents you from drifting off to sleep.

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Knock Knock
Who's there?
Uruguay!
Uruguay who?
You go Uruguay and I'll go mine!

===========================

IT WASN’T THE SMOKE THAT TURFED US OUT OF TIM HORTONS……IT WAS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!!

Another gorgeous looking day with clear skies and an abundance of sunshine.  Air is still on the cold side but no matter, it's Spring.  It was under these clear blue depth skies that I made my way east of Bayfield to the small village of Mitchell Ontario this morning.  Took the backroads and enjoyed the scenery.

My good buddy Jim (Lifetime Sentences) and I hadn't had one of our ass flattening 6 hour coffee blow-outs since late last summer so this morning at 10 a.m. we met at Mitchell's Tim Horton coffee shop at the east end of town.  Jim and his guitar had to be at a Jam session at 1 o'clock so we had us a 3 hour window of catching up to do.  Conversation flowed until it was temporarily interrupted by something I saw outside the window.  Smoke!!   And lots of it too.  It seemed to be pouring off the roof and rolling down through the parking lot where I had parked the Jeep.  I pointed it out to Jim and we looked around at other patrons and everybody seemed to be carrying on with their coffees, conversations, and donuts.  So we did too…..but no donuts of course.  The smoke kept pouring down outside and a few people got up and left.  After maybe 10 minutes the smoke stopped and 10 minutes after that 3 fire trucks showed up with lights flashing.  Didn't seem to be any panic or smoke anywhere so we continued on with our conversation.  Another 15 minutes or so passed with firefighters walking around outside the building and then one of the Tim Hortons employees announced we would have to vacate the building so vacate the building we did.  There were probably only 7 or 8 of us brave souls left inside by this time anyway.  And that was it for our first coffee blow-out of the year.  Jim headed off for his Jam session and I headed west for Bayfield.  When I drove out of Hortons parking lot there still was no smoke anywhere but lots of firemen were deploying their houses and stuff anyway.  Maybe they were treating it as a good old Saturday afternoon practice run.

FIREMEN CLEAR THE PARKING LOT AND QUICKLY DEPLOY FIRE HOSES

A LADY BESIDE ME SHOUTED, “LOOK THERE’S A FIREMAN ON THE ROOF’ SO THAT’S WHEN I GRABBED MY CAMERA FOR A FEW SHOTS

JIM MAKES AN END RUN AROUND THE BACK OF A FIRETRUCK AS HE HURRIES TO HIS CAR

I STILL DIDN’T SEE ANY SMOKE ANYWHERE

‘RUN JIM RUN’ :))

BY GOLLY HE’S ALMOST MADE IT TO HIS CAR

Took the backroads back to Bayfield and I again marveled at the beautiful looking day it was with great stretches of farm fields showing through the snow.  A very typical early Spring day and what a nice feeling that always is each year around this time.  A real 'Spirits' booster for sure.

Other than the usual snow moving, ice chopping, and bird feeding again this afternoon there wasn't much of anything else happening and that's just kinda how I like my afternoons to be these days.

One of the topics Jim and I touched on this afternoon was our childhoods and that reminded me of something.   In July of 2011 I wrote this about my memories as a young Boy………. Heating water on an old cast iron coal/wood stove for washing, once a week baths, bringing in water from a pump outside, coal oil lamps for when the electricity went off as it frequently did, no television, wind up clocks, buckled galoshes on cold winter feet , a hand crank phone on the wall, pee pots under the bed, wooden sided refrigerator with a big block of ice in the top part, no such thing as a supermarket & fish was pedaled on Fridays by a man pushing a wagon around my little home town of Tavistock Ontario, Canada.  Knives could be sharpened from a vendor the same way & milk was delivered by a horse drawn wagon.  I can still see our local happy smiley faced chicken farmer standing just inside our door with his wooden basket of freshly killed chickens. (de-feathered & headless of course) A folded white cloth covered 2 or 3 at a time & that is how my Mother selected & bought our meat in those days.  A big old wooden floor model Crosley radio was the main source of entertainment in our house & my Mother, my Grandfather, my Uncle Fred & I would gather around it Sunday night's for 'Our Miss Brooks, Fibber McGee & Molly, the Great Gildersleeve & many other great old time radio shows. Arthur Godfrey in the mornings, Gunsmoke & Gangbusters on Saturday nights. Friday night boxing matches sponsored by Gillette.  We had an old crank up Victrola which could play big round 78 RPM records.  I listened to those records over & over. My Mother could play piano by ear & it was always a great treat for me to sit on the piano bench beside her as she played my favorite tune, Greensleeves. Our house always had music in it & I'm very grateful for that to-day. Whether it was the radio, the Victrola, my Mother on piano which my Grandfather bought one day on impulse or an old record player years later, there was always music in the house. To this very day I still surround myself with music from dawn to dusk. My Grandfather made a few violins and could really make them screech.  Sometimes I would like nothing better than to just climb aboard a time machine to go back & turn on that big old wooden floor model Crosley radio again.  I'd like to tune in Amos & Andy & gather round in the living room with my Mother, my Grandfather, & my Uncle Fred to listen & laugh once again to a simple humor that seems to be all but lost and gone the way of the Dinosaur now. A way of life, a way of family, a way of remembering.  And some days those old memories just keep on coming & coming and I like when they do:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A man is struck by a bus on a busy street in New York City. He lies dying on the sidewalk as a crowd of spectators gathers around. "A priest! Somebody get me a priest!" the man gasps. A policeman checks the crowd but finds no priest, no minister, no man of God of any kind.  "A PRIEST, PLEASE!" the dying man says again. Then out of the crowd steps a little old Jewish man of at least eighty years of age."Mr. Policeman," says the man, "I'm not a priest. I'm not even a Catholic. But for fifty years now I'm living behind St. Mary's Catholic Church on Third Avenue, and every night I'm listening to the Catholic litany. Maybe I can be of some comfort to this man."  The policeman agrees and brings the octogenarian over to the dying man. He kneels down, leans over the injured and says in a solemn voice: "B - 4. I - 19. N - 38. G - 54. O - 72."

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A guy goes into a bar, orders twelve shots, and starts drinking them as fast as he can. The bartender says, "Dang, why are you drinking so fast?"  The guy says, "You would be drinking fast, too, if you had what I had."  The bartender asks, "What do you have?"  The guy answers, "75 cents."

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