PHEEBS AND I DROVE MISS KELLY TO GRAND BEND THIS MORNING WHERE SHE GOT A NEW HAT AND I GOT A MUFFIN

GRAND BEND SURE DID A NICE JOB ON THEIR BEACH RESTORATION  YEARS AGO

Rains, sometimes heavy at times reached us early Thursday evening and continued throughout the night well into Friday.  Hearing it drumming on our steel roof this morning I had my doubts Pheebs and I would be going anywhere.  An hour later we were tucked cozily into the Jeep with Miss Kelly in the back happily splashing our way through morning's continuing rain showers.  Having to stay on pavement because country roads were a muddy mess we took ourselves for a wee cruise on down to Grand Bend where Kelly had an interest in looking at a shop there offering some great Christmas Specials.

SQUIRRELY HAD QUITE A TIME TRYING TO GET INTO THIS SUET FEEDER TODAY

  

SQUIRRELY NEVER DID GET THAT SUET FEEDER OPEN

BY THE WAY, SQUIRRELY AND HIS GANG HAVE NOT FOUND A WAY TO GET UP ONTO THE BIRD FEEDING STATION SINCE MY LASTEST DEFENSIVE MEASURES A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.  SCORE REMAINS THE SAME….ONE NOTHING FOR ME:))))

Pheebs and I waited in the Jeep while Kelly browsed around in Highway Girl soon returning with a new hat and a big Morning Glory muffin for me.  Probably the best Morning Glory muffin I’ve ever had.  From there it was a couple coffee’s to go from Tim Hortons and a swing down around the beach area.

A CANDID SHOT OF KELLY’S NEW HAT AND NO THAT IS NOT HER HAIR STICKING OUT THE BACK

GRAND BEND PIER

DON’T KNOW IF ANYONE IS LIVING IN THE NEW BEACH CONDO YET

HEAVY RAINS OVERNIGHT IN GRAND BEND

THIS GRAND BEND RESTAURANT IS WHERE KELLY AND OUR GOOD NEIGHBOR MONICA LIKE TO GO FOR LUNCH IN THE SUMMER (SCHOOL HOUSE RESTAURANT)

KELLY COMES OUT OF GRAND BEND’S GARDEN SHED THRIFT SHOP EMPTY HANDED…WHAT??

Before rolling out of Grand Bend Kelly noticed a second hand store so Pheebs and I again held the fort while she did some browsing.  Nope, nothing of interest there.  Rains had pretty much quit so after a quick pit stop for Pheebs we slipped a different way out of Grand Bend  heading for the countryside and had us a drive through the parking lots of Dark Horse Estate Winery and the Huron County Playhouse.  Both these places are on a paved road so we didn’t get ourselves all muddied up. 

GRAPE VINES COVERED AGAINST WINTER’S COLD

HURON COUNTY PLAYHOUSE WHERE WE HAVE SEEN SOME GREAT MUSICALS OVER THE YEARS

Half an hour later we were back to Bayfield where Kelly knew of another store on Main Street having a 50 to 70% off sale today.  While Kelly was inside browsing I stepped out of the Jeep and snapped a few pics.  A drive down around the harbor and we were home again under brightening skies.  No sun but at least brighter skies are always a good morale booster.

LOOKS LIKE THE FUEL TANKS ARE IN AT THE TIM HORTON-GAS BAR-CONVENIENCE STORE SITE

I SEE KELLY COMING OUT OF ‘THE SPOTTED COW DOWN THERE

 

I think the last Christmas we spent at home here in Canada might have been 2004.  I think 2005 we might have been in Big Bend National Park, Texas.  Of course those were pre-blog days so I have no way of knowing for sure or double checking things.

LOOKS LIKE IT’S GOING TO BE A GREEN CHRISTMAS IN BAYFIELD THIS YEAR

Well no matter what….this has to be a good day for the simple reason it is the last short day on the road forward to Spring, Summer, and Fall.  Beginning tomorrow, each day will be longer than the day before and that will continue until June 21rst.   The Winter Solstice if you will. 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The young couple invited their aged parson for Sunday dinner.While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having."Goat," the little boy replied."Goat?" replied the startled man of the cloth, "Are you sure about that?""Yep," said the youngster. "I heard Pa say to Ma, 'Might as well have the old goat for dinner today.'"

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When you stop believing in Santa Claus is when you start getting clothes for Christmas.

Q: How many bureaucrats does it take to screw in a light bulb?A: Two--one to screw it in and one to screw it up.

“Morticians have to be careful to spell the name right to avoid making a grave mistake.”

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- Weight of Santa's sleigh loaded with one Beanie Baby for every kid on earth: 333,333 tons.
- Number of reindeer required to pull a 333,333-tons sleigh: 214,206 -- plus Rudolph.
To deliver his gifts in one night, Santa would have to make 822.6 visits per second, sleighing at 3,000 times the speed of sound.
At that speed, Santa and his reindeer would burst into flame instantaneously.

Signs At Christmas::

- Toy Store: "Ho, ho, ho spoken here."
- Bridal boutique: "Marry Christmas."
- Outside a church: "The original Christmas Club."
- At a department store: "Big pre-Christmas sale.
Come in and mangle with the crowd."
- A Texas jewelry store: "Diamond tiaras -- $70,000. Three for $200,000.
- A reducing salon: "24 Shaping Days until Christmas."
- In a stationery store: "For the man who has everything a calendar to remind him when payments are due."

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FEELING A LITTLE LESS ‘WORDY’ TONIGHT

Despite a fiery red sunrise visible through our pine trees this morning we ended up under a cloud cover all day.  I kinda expected that so there was no disappointment.  Temps made it up to 40F and at this time of year that is always a plus.  It was a good day for carrying stuff out to the rig and if the long range weather forecast holds together it looks like we have some Okay weather for all next week leading to Saturday December 29th, our departure day.  On that day it’s calling for sun and cloud.  Bonus.

A RATHER QUAINT LITTLE FARM HOUSE NORTH OF CLINTON ONTARIO

SOME AREAS HAVE MORE SNOW THAN OTHERS

FROZEN POND

<<< NO THOSE ARE NOT MY FOOTPRINTS GOING OUT THERE ON THAT THIN ICE

Needing a few things at Walmart Pheebs and I slipped up to Goderich, got my stuff, then took the long scenic route home.  Looking back at my photos a year ago at this time I see there was a lot of snow on the ground with even more on the way.  With hardly any snow this year we are definitely ahead of last year’s weather.  Last year we left for the Southwest on December 22nd.

LOOKS LIKE THESE WOOLY SHEEP ARE READY FOR WINTER

AND I THINK THIS FELLOW IS ALL SET FOR WINTER AS WELL

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Two guys, Jimmy and Johnny, were standing at heaven's gate, waiting to be interviewed by St. Peter.Jimmy: "How did you get here?"Johnny: "Hypothermia. You?"Jimmy: "You won't believe it. I was sure my wife was cheating on me, so I came home early one day hoping to find the guy. I accused my wife of unfaithfulness and searched the whole house without any luck. Then I felt so badly about the whole thing I had a massive heart attack."Johnny: "Oh, man, if you had only checked the walk-in freezer we'd both be alive!"

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Did you know that according to the song, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", Santa has twelve reindeer? Sure, in the introduction it goes "There's Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. "That makes eight reindeer. Then there's Rudolph, of course, so that makes nine. Then there's Olive. You know, "Olive the other reindeer used to laugh." That makes ten. The eleventh is Howe. You know, "Then Howe the reindeer loved him."  Eleven reindeer. Oh, and number 12? That's Andy! "Andy shouted out with glee." The proof is in the song!

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OH BOY, DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE GREAT AMERICAN SOUTHWEST…………..

Standing in our warm cozy sunroom Tuesday night gazing upwards through a single skylight I was transfixed by a distant clearly lit half Moon.  A good Oman for Wednesday’s clear weather I thought.  And how nice to see my old reliable friend up there in the night sky where I have seen it so many times before over these past 7 decades.  I miss my nightly walks under the stars, planets, and constellations with moonbeams oft times lighting the way ahead.  It had been a dream of mine these past number of years to once again live in the countryside free of trees blocking the night sky.  Oh to step outside and nightly see an overhead canopy of jewel like diamonds stretching from horizon to horizon.  Oh well, at least I get to experience that for a few months every winter in the great American Southwest.

A FLOTILLA OF CANADA GEESE IN THE GODERICH HARBOR

I aced my blood pressure test this morning with a score of 134 over 76.  The small growth on my chin measured smaller than last week so with a couple quick bursts of liquid nitrogen I was good to go.  Won't worry about any of this stuff now until next April.

NO THIS IS NOT ME AFTER MY BLOOD PRESSURE TEST THIS MORNING BUT IT IS A PIECE OF DRIFTWOOD I PICKED UP ON PAVILLION BEACH A FEW DAYS AGO…YES I KNOW IT LOOKS LIKE A DEAD FISH

A mixture of sun and cloud today with temps hanging around 36F.  With trails still walkable Pheebs and I did make it out for another afternoon walk.  Our Jeep ride to Goderich and back this morning was a shorty.  Kelly updated our 12 year old Garmin GPS maps of the southwest this afternoon and also set up our Verizon internet coverage for our travels south of the border.  Next she will set up our T-Mobile phones.  Always so much to do in the way of preparation when one travels and especially we Canadians traveling to the States.  I don’t think a lot of our southern neighbors realize all the extra work involved for we Snowbirds.

SAW THIS MACHINE BELONGING TO ‘TREE CUTTERS’ PARKED NEAR THE TRAIL TODAY AND  I’M HOPING THEY ARE NOT BACK TO CUT THE REST OF OUR PINE FOREST DOWN

A couple questions from readers…..Don, way out there in that cold snowy and blowy Manitoba place asks, ‘did u get furnace fixed??  Short answer to that is no.  We had planned to get that done when we returned from the Maritimes but couldn’t round up someone to look at it so after talking it over and thinking at the time we would not be going south anyway we decided that it could wait until Spring.  We will probably get that furnace looked at while we are in the States this winter.   There are a lot more RV places south of the border than there is around here in Bayfield.  Keep in mind we have two furnaces in the rig and the rear furnace has a duct to the living room/kitchen area as well so fixing the front furnace wasn’t a big priority.  And Creigh Gordon asks, ‘have you ever tried the southeastern US?’  Well, that’s a subject I’ve posted about quite a few times over the years and not wanting to sound like an old broken record I’ll see if I can come up with a quick answer to that question.  Last winter on our way back from the Southwest we slipped into the Florida Panhandle to see if it would interest us for future travels.  Now I’m not saying it isn’t nice but it just didn’t grab either one of us.  Waaaaay too much traffic and waaaaaay too many people.  The countryside looks very much like it does right here in Ontario, only flatter.  We are not big water people and sitting on a sandy beach under a hot sun holds no interest for us.  Maybe 60 years ago but not anymore.   There are poisonous snakes and alligators about so we would never feel comfortable letting Pheebs run free.  And the weather can get hot and humid and readers know only too well how I absolutely hate humidity!!  And by the way the commenter went on to say, ‘Not that I'm recommending it, I'm a desert guy, don't need the humidity.’  Well, I’m a desert guy too and I love the endless sweeping vistas in the southwest, mountains on all horizons, easily seen stars, sunrises, and sunsets.  Love the desert plant life with it’s Saguaros, Ocotillos, Chollas, Mesquite and Palo Verde trees.  In many places the old west is still alive and well and I love being a part of that when we are there.  There is not just one climate in the southwest there are many and it all depends on altitude.  You can be in the beautifully warm Sonoran desert one hour and be chucking snowballs in a tall pine mountain forest the next hour.  We have done that more than once.  If you are an outdoors person there is way more to do in the Southwest, way more to see, and way more to be a part of.  Anyone who has read my blog over the years will know exactly what I am talking about.  Not saying the southeastern States are not nice because they are nice in their own way but they’re just not for us and especially me.  I have made this following comparison in the past……It’s like living on two totally different Planets.  Where we live here in southwestern Ontario is on the same Planet as the southeastern States with many things looking and feeling the same.  The American Southwest is on an entirely different Planet that does not look anything like it does here in southwestern Ontario and for me that is a biggy.  I love that complete change in environments twice a year and always look forward to it.  I love the freedom and peacefulness I feel in the southwest.   The freedom of space, the magic, the mysteries, and the unknown.  We have walked the same trails as Cochise and Geronimo, the streets of Tombstone Arizona, stood at old rusted barbed wire fences staring into Mexico, clambered around the Carlsbad Caverns, owned a house in a dusty little western town not too far removed from the late 1800’s, driven through California Canyons where early Spanish explores came, seen ruts in the ground from old Butterfield 8 stagecoaches, and the list goes on and on and on.  No, there is only one place that interests me and it is the place we have spent the past 12 winters in.  For me it is our second home and has been since we first ventured out to the southwest way back in the Fall of 2006……..Well there I went and did it again.  It’s best not to get me started on the great American Southwest because I have this habit of going on and on and on and on about how and why I love it so much.  Besides, it brings out that little wannabe Cowboy kid in me that has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember……

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The poor country pastor was livid when he confronted his wife with the receipt for a $250 dress she had bought. "How could you do this!" he exclaimed."I don't know," she wailed, "I was standing in the store looking at the dress. Then I found myself trying it on. It was like the Devil was whispering to me, 'Gee, you look great in that dress. You should buy it.'""Well," the pastor persisted, "You know how to deal with him! Just tell him, "Get thee behind me, Satan!""I did," replied his wife, "but then he said 'It looks great from back here, too!'"

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On the first day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: A Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the second day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Two Happy Meals, and a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the third day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the fourth day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the fifth day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Five onion rings, Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the sixth day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Six chocolate milkshakes, Five onion rings, Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the seventh day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Seven pints of cole slaw, Six chocolate milkshakes, Five onion rings, Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the eighth day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Eight bowls of chili, Seven pints of cole slaw, Six chocolate milkshakes, Five onion rings, Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the ninth day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Nine polish hot dogs, Eight bowls of chili, Seven pints of cole slaw, Six chocolate milkshakes, Five onion rings, Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the tenth day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Ten baked potatoes, Nine polish hot dogs, Eight bowls of chili, Seven pints of cole slaw, Six chocolate milkshakes, Five onion rings, Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Eleven pounds of blubber, Ten baked potatoes, Nine polish hot dogs, Eight bowls of chili, Seven pints of cole slaw, Six chocolate milkshakes, Five onion rings, Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with cheese.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, My drive through gave to me: Twelve bags of Pepto, Eleven pounds of blubber, Ten baked potatoes, Nine polish hot dogs, Eight bowls of chili, Seven pints of cole slaw, Six chocolate milkshakes, Five onion rings, Four Egg McMuffins, Three Biggie Fries, Two Happy Meals, And a Big Bacon Classic with Cheese

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