FINISHED ANOTHER BOOK - STARTED ANOTHER BOOK

With Sunday's two inches of wet snow, it was a nice-looking Monday morning out there today.  We even had a few brief temporary touches of diffused sunlight around noon and that was enough to spur me outside to move a little snow around with my snow shovel.

Zehr's Supermarket in Goderich had butter on sale so Kelly sent Pheebs and I on a mission this morning to secure six bricks of butter....or else!!  Of course, we did what we were told and weren't long in securing the butter plus half a dozen other grocery items.  Tonight's photos are from our drive to Goderich and back.

I finished my book Waldren On Wheels: On The Open Road From Debt To Freedom by Ken IIgunas this afternoon.  Although this book didn't carry me off in the direction I thought it was going I did enjoy the path this young fella's journey took him, and through his words, the direction it took me.  He doesn't travel far in the van he later purchased but he did spend several years in it while stealthily camped out in one of Duke University's parking lots while attending classes there.  However, the bulk of this book is about the few years of his life leading up to his van dwelling.  It is about how this lad, born and raised near Buffalo NY, embarked on an unstable period of his life living, working, and existing in Alaska.  His often minimalist lifestyle led him to the life-altering decisions he made regarding his later incognito van living.  It is about how he eventually got himself out from under his crushing student loans totaling thousands of dollars.  There is much to be learned from this determined young man's thinking, perseverance, and true love commitment to the understanding of nature.  Yes, I enjoyed this book.

My next book, which I started this afternoon was decided upon by a couple blog reader's referrals.  Travels with Charley in search of America by John Steinbeck.

Here's another random post from our RVing days.  Back in January 2017, I entitled this one..."OMG" Kelly Sent Me Off To Mexico All By Myself This Morning

GROANER'S CORNER:((   There was life before the computer::

An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
A keyboard was a piano!

Memory was something that you lost with age
A CD was a bank account!
And if you had a broken disk,
It would hurt when you found out!

Compress was something you did to garbage
Not something you did to a file
And if you unzipped anything in public
You'd be in jail for a while!
 
Log on was adding wood to a fire
The hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And a backup happened to your commode!

Cut--you did with a pocket knife
Paste you did with glue
A web was a spider's home
And a virus was the flu!

I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper
And the memory in my head
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash
But when it happens they wish they were dead!

-----------------------------

Sleep? There's a nap for that.

-----------------------------

        

 

BREAKFAST AT RENEGADES DINER WITH RICHARD AND GAYLE

 ONLY ONE PHOTO ON OUR MORNING JEEP RIDE

It was a return to Renegades Diner to meet our good friends Richard and Gayle for breakfast today at high noon.  On this snowy morning, they had driven over from St. Marys, Ontario.  We all had ourselves a good breakfast and afterward headed back to our place to congregate in the sunroom for a while discussing all the latest things we hadn't discussed the last time we were together about six weeks ago.  A windless slow falling moist snow continued for the rest of the day coating tree branches and power lines.

 KELLY DROPPED OFF A LIBRARY BOOK 

 ROADS WERE SLIPPERY

I remembered earlier today that Judith K in our comments section had wondered if the trees in the Bayfield cemetery were Spruce.  Well, I was kinda wondering that myself because I have a habit of calling all evergreens Pine trees.  So, off I went to see what Google had to say.  (The main difference between spruce and pine is that the needles of the spruce are short whereas the needles of the pine are long. Furthermore, the twig of a spruce bears a single needle while a twig of a pine bears two, three or five needles. Moreover, the needles of the spruce are sharply pointed and square. Therefore, they easily roll between fingers.)  The next time Pheebs and I are walking in the cemetery I will see if I can identify what kinds of trees are there.       

 HEADING HOME

Ellen's Groove:)) Another short clip of Ellen practicing her 'slap bass' guitar technique.  Slappin Bass

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A young man visiting a dude ranch wanted to be "macho," so he went out walking with one of the hired hands. As they were walking through the barnyard, the visitor tried starting a conversation: "Say, look at that big bunch of cows."  The hired hand replied, "Not 'bunch,' but 'herd.' "  "Heard what?"  "Herd of cows."  "Sure, I've heard of cows. There's a big bunch of 'em right over there."

--------------------------------

As the storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, "Anyone here know how to pray?" One man stepped forward. "Aye, Captain, I know how to pray." "Good," said the captain, "You pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets. We're one short."

---------------------------------

A WEE TOUCH OF SNOW OVERNIGHT

 A QUIET SATURDAY MORNING CEMETERY WALK

An overnight light snowfall left us with a slightly white landscape this morning and it was enough to leave area roads with a few icy spots. Pheebs and I were able to take ourselves for a walk around the perimeter road of the Bayfield Cemetery.  Along with a drive down around the north side of the harbor that was about it for the day.

 SAILBOATS PATIENTLY WAITING FOR WARM AND WINDY SUMMER DAYS

 A TOUCH OF COLOR ON A DREARY GRAY DAY

 I'LL JUST CALL THIS PHOTO 'HOUSEBOAT'

And here's a page out of our ranch sitting days near McNeal, Arizona..... Forboding Skies and Big Winds  This is where we were and what we were doing 13 years ago today.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I said to the gym instructor, “Can you teach me to do the splits?”  She said, “How flexible are you?”  I replied, “I'm pretty flexible, but I can’t make Tuesdays.”

-------------------------------

The custodian of a church quit, and the pastor of the church asked the organist if she would be able also to clean the church sanctuary.  The organist thought before replying,” Do you mean that I know have to mind both my keys and pews?”

-------------------------------

TWO THUMBS UP FOR RENEGADES

A few snowflakes in the air when Pheebs and I headed out this morning and after a few minutes there were quite a few snowflakes in the air.  The lite snowfall lasted most of the morning but didn't amount to much.  With temps hovering around the freezing mark the snowflakes mostly melted on the ground.  Needless to say, we didn't go too far again this morning and it wasn't long after snapping a few pics along the way that we were headed home.

 KIND OF A GRAY DAY

 PARK RESIDENTS ALPHIE AND MIKE OUT FOR A LATE MORNING'S SNOWY WALK

 THAT IS NOT TODAY'S SNOW....IT IS SNOW STILL LEFT OVER FROM OUR CHRISTMAS STORM

Our afternoon walk around the Park's pond was cut short by an icy northeast wind and aside from topping up the bird feeders, I spent most of the day inside reading.

As rare as it is for Kelly and I to go out for supper anymore, tonight was the night that out we did go.  Renegades Diner, located in Bayfield's south end has a Friday special of Fish&Chips so we fired up Subie and headed into town.  Had we known the fish sizes were so big we would have ordered the one-piece instead of two-piece dinners.  But, big they were with lots of batter on the fish just the way I like it.  Amazingly enough, I ate both pieces and I liked the fries too.  Two thumbs up for Renegades Fish&Chips.         

 NOW THOSE ARE BIG PIECES OF FISH

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Farmer Joe decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company, responsible for the accident, to court. In court, the trucking company's fancy lawyer was questioning FarmerJoe. "Didn't you say, 'I'm fine', at the scene of the accident?" asked the lawyer.  Farmer Joe responded, "Well, I'll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the..."  "I didn't ask for a long, drawn-out story," the lawyer interrupted, "just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'!"  Farmer Joe said, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road..."  The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the highway patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now, several weeks after the accident, he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud.  Please tell him to simply answer the question."  By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie."  Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded, "Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side."  He continued, "I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting real bad and didn't want to move. However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans.  Shortly after the accident, a Highway Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her. Then, he came across the road with his gun in his hand, looked at me, and said, 'Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her. How are you feeling?'

----------------------------------

Both my wife and I are bad cooks.  Our cooking is so bad, that our kids have started praying after we've had dinner.

----------------------------------

HOME WITHIN HALF AN HOUR

In the morning's pre-dawn darkness. I heard a vehicle slowly drive by outside.  It had a number of amber lights on it so I knew it was a small road maintenance truck either salting or sanding the road.  We had a freezing rain advisory overnight so precautions were being taken.  The freezing rain never did happen.  Later, with strong east winds roaring through the tops of our tall pine trees, Pheebs and I saddled up Libby, and off we went for a wee drizzly grey day spin into and around Bayfield.  We were home within half an hour. 

I finished my book....Not Tonight, Josephine: A Roadtrip Through Small-Town America.  I enjoyed this book which brought me numerous chuckles when I was able to relate closely with the writer's thoughts, travels, and happenings. I always enjoy it when I read of where people have been that I have been also.  And this book had a number of those same places in America's Southwest.  For example, Roswell New Mexico, Tuba City,  Monument Valley, and The Grand Canyon in Arizona. Mexican Hat, Zion Canyon along with Moab and the Arches in Utah.  Las Vegas Nevada and Death Valley. Yellowstone and Jackson Hole in Wyoming as well as Laramie and Cheyenne.  Custer's Battlefield in Montana along with Spearfish, Custer, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.  Denver, Silverthorne, and Grand Junction in Colorado plus Chicago Illinois, and Detroit Michigan.  The author and two separate traveling companions at two different times stopped, drove by, or missed many other places in between these few I have listed.  Driving an old beat-up mini-van they named Josephine these young ragamuffin folks were barely above the level of tent camping but always seemed to have enough money to buy beer and pizza. (sounds familiar)  As I said, the book brought memories of my own travels with lots of chuckles,  a few wow moments, and accompanying regrets along the way.  Keeping with the same theme, the next book in my queue is....Walden On Wheels: On The Open Road From Debt To Freedom by author Ken IIgunas.  I started this book today.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Ten Things You Never Here In Church::

1. Hey! It's my turn to sit in the front pew!

2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time.

3. Personally I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf.

4. I've decided to give our church the $500 a month I used to send to TV evangelists.

5. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class.

6. Forget the denominational minimum salary. Let's pay our pastor so he can live like we do.

7. I love it when we sing hymns I've never heard before!

8. Since we're all here, let's start the service early.

9. Pastor, we'd like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas.

10. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign!

-----------------------------

SOME DAYS JUST DON'T SEEM TO MEASURE UP

 'IS THE SUNSHINE COMING BACK SOON DAD?'

Kind of a grey blah-blah sort of day.  No snow yet and our daytime highs are still above freezing.  A Jeep ride to Goderich and back for Pheebs and I and that is about as exciting as it got.  Some days just don't seem to measure up much to other days.

 LAKE HURON'S COLD ICY WATERS

 IN THIS PHOTO IS THE PROFILE OF LAKE SCULPTED DOGGY FACE LOOKING OUT OVER THE WATER

 AND THERE IT IS ON THE LEFT

HMMMM, I THINK IT MIGHT BE A DORMANT ICE VOLCANO ALONG THE SHORELINE

 IT WAS A COLD WIND BLOWING IN OFF THE LAKE

 THE ALGOMA GUARDIAN STILL SITS EMPTY AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF GODERICH'S HARBOR

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A lady went to the bar on a cruise ship, and ordered a Scotch, with two drops of water. The bartender gave her the drink, and she said, "I'm on this cruise to celebrate my 80th birthday, and it's today."  The bartender said, "Well, since it's your birthday, this one's on me."  As the lady finished her drink, a woman, to her right, said, "I'd like to buy you a drink, too." The lady said, "Thank you, how sweet of you. OK, then, Bartender, I want another Scotch, with two drops of water."  "Coming up," said the bartender.  As she finished that drink, a man, to her left, said, "I'd like to buy you a drink too." The lady said, "Thank you very much, my dear. Bartender, I'll have another Scotch, with two drops of water."  "Coming right up," the bartender said.  As he gave her the drink, this time, he said, "Ma'am, I'm dying of curiosity. Why the Scotch with only two drops of water?"  The old woman giggled, and replied, "Sonny, when you're my age, you've learned how to hold your liquor. Water, however, is a whole other issue."

--------------------------------

Q: Why do men prefer intelligent women?
A: Opposites attract.

---------------------------------