I HAD THE TIME RIGHT BUT I HAD THE DAY WRONG

 A PLUMP LITTLE JUNCO AT THE FEEDER

Five twenty a.m. is way too early a start of the day for me and it was at that time my day started.  Darn, it makes for a long day!!  I did have an appointment to be at another bank in Goderich at 11 a.m. so off I went.   Pheebs decided to stay home where it was warm and toasty.  I had the time right and was there early of course but unfortunately, I had the wrong day.  The appointment is tomorrow.  All was not lost though because last week I came across some credit cards to a third bank and remembered we had accounts there as well years ago so I nipped over to that bank to see what I could find out.  Of course, they set me up with an appointment later in the week on Friday.  From there I headed straight home with no stops in between.

SOME GROUND DRIFTING AND A FEW SMALL DRIFTS ON PORTERS HILL LINE TODAY BUT NOTHING SERIOUS

For whatever reason I unintentionally got myself a working bee going on after I got home from Goderich and it wasn't long before I had most of the sunroom uprooted again.  A chair, a foot stool, and a table, ended up coming out of there and being carried out to the carport.  I always felt the sunroom was too cluttered.  Even with those three items of furniture removed it still seemed cluttered.  I found an easy solution for that though, I simply removed myself from the sunroom and when I looked back I could tell the biggest piece of clutter in there had been me.  Problem solved....as long as I stay out of the sunroom.  I still haven't got things quite the way I want them but moving stuff around soaked up an afternoon for me on a cold and snowy winter's day.

I DO ALL THE WORKING AND PHEEBS DOES ALL THE SNOOZING

I LIKE REARRANGING STUFF

At least this morning's 7 a.m. temperature of 26F was better than yesterday when at the same time it was only 8F.  Could we be in for a heat wave??  Hardly, at least temps are on the rise up into the low 40's in a few days and calling for rain.  That suits me just fine as long as it gets rid of more snow from that big bad snow dump we had about three weeks ago.   

 A JUNCO AND A GOLDFINCH ON THE FEEDER

A Blast From Our Past:)) Sixteen years ago on this date, I wrote a post entitled A Windy Pajama Scramble In The Late Night Desert.  We were boondocked west of Yuma Arizona just off Ogilby Road.

 SITTING AROUND THE CAMPFIRE WEST OF YUMA ARIZONA BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2008

 IT'S NO WONDER I DON'T GET A LOT OF SLEEP SOME NIGHTS

CORA (MOTORMOUSE) AND MAX

Kelly has already made her presence known to me and I can't remember if I mentioned it or not.  A couple of days after her passing I was in the kitchen frying myself up some bacon and eggs.  I turned to walk over to the fridge and immediately noticed there on the kitchen counter right next to the fridge a folded burgundy dishcloth.  I did not put it there.  Dishcloths are normally kept in a bottom drawer.  I stopped in my tracks staring at that dishcloth going over and over in my mind trying to recall if I put it there.  Nothing.  That was number 1.  The following day, also in the kitchen, I was facing away from the kitchen counter putting some dog food in Pheeb's dish.  When I turned around there was the current dishcloth pinched in a cupboard door and hanging down.  That was number 2 and I did not do that. And, then came number 3, the surest sign of them all.  It was one day late last week and I was in the living room.  On our wall, we have a lightbox with a backlit scene of a tropical island in a sea of aqua-blue water.  This is plugged in and is lit up 24 hours a day.  The only time it ever goes off is if the power goes out.  I had got out of my recliner and was walking over to our large east-facing living room window to have a look outside.  Suddenly, the tropical scene lightbox went out, then came back on and kept doing that for about 20 seconds as I stood there motionless staring at it.  They weren't steadily timed blinks, they were sporadic.  There was no doubt in my mind whatsoever that it was Kelly's way of letting me know she was fine.  And no, that lightbox has not blinked off and on since.  We had pre-agreed earlier that whoever of the two of us went first, the departed one would try to show a sign to the other that they were on the other side and okay.  So, those are three physical signs so far, and knowing Kelly as well as I did, I know there will be more.   The thought a couple days ago popping into my head about where to find my Social Insurance Number was another sign, but rather than physical, it was mental.  And, there has been a few other small things she has helped me with.  I talk to her and she has responded.

 THAT IS THE TROPICAL SCENE LIGHT BOX ON THE LEFT AND THE WINDOW I WAS WALKING TOO ON THE RIGHT

 THIS RADICALLY BLINKED OFF AND ON FOR ABOUT 20 SECONDS

Al's Music Box:)) Sleigh Ride by Johnny Mathis.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Christmas Weather Forecast::  In the pre-Christmas rush, we have received an early weather report from our in-house weather reporters.  Turkeys will thaw in the morning, then warm in the oven to an afternoon high near 190F. The kitchen will turn hot and humid, and if you bother the cook, be ready for a severe squall or cold shoulder.  During the late afternoon and evening, the cold front of a knife will slice through the turkey, causing an accumulation of one to two inches on plates. Mashed potatoes will drift across one side, while cranberry sauce creates slippery spots on the other. Please pass the gravy.  A weight watch and indigestion warning have been issued for the entire area, with increased stuffiness around the beltway. During the evening, the turkey will diminish and taper off to leftovers, dropping to a low of 34F in the refrigerator.  Looking ahead to Friday and Saturday, high pressure to eat sandwiches will be established. Flurries of leftovers can be expected both days with a 50 percent chance of scattered soup late in the day. We expect a warming trend where soup develops. By early next week, eating pressure will be low as the only wish left will be the bone.

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly's Corner

 KELLY AND HER DAD IN SPENCERPORT, NEW YORK

 OUR CHIEF MECHANIC AND SOLVER OF ALL PROBLEMS BIG AND SMALL

OH-OH SHE'S GIVING ME THAT LOOK SO I MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING WRONG AGAIN

Al's Art Gallery

DON'T WORRY ABOUT PHEEBS AND I FOLKS....WE'LL BE ALRIGHT:))

 I FIGURED IT WAS A GOOD DAY TO GET ALL MY DUCKS IN A ROW

With two prescriptions to fill and only three days before Christmas, I figured Pheebs and I had better hustle ourselves off to Goderich's Walmart Pharmacy this morning.  Knowing it would be a Zoo in there I steeled myself for the encounter.  Being in densely populated areas or spaces is not one of my favorite things.  Needing a few grocery items I chose a big cart instead of a usual small cart.  The bigger cart gives me better battering ram capabilities and defensive protection against other shoppers with their hastily moving out-of-control brute force steel battering rams.  Of course, the parking lot in front of Walmart was nothing more than a demolition derby but luckily Pheebs and I escaped the chaos unscathed.  But, just barely.  How nice to be back out into the quiet countryside heading home under cold cloudy skies in the frigid 8F. temperatures.  Those clouds later cleared and we ended the day with sunshine.

With my Social Insurance Number finally in my hands, I was able to get the last three envelopes filled out and sealed.  A nice feeling of relief that was and I will mail them in the morning.  I had also fallen behind in my Picasa Photo Editing program so I took the time to move a few thousand photos off our desktop's computer onto an external hard drive.  I moved a few things around in the sunroom too.  We/I just have way too much furniture for the space I live in.

A kindly Park resident lady came to the door late yesterday afternoon with a container of turkey soup for me.  She said it was her husband's recipe.  A big thank you to Arleen and Gary.  I had a bowl of that soup today for lunch and it was delicious.  I chased it down with a scoop of Kelly's chocolate ice cream that I found hidden away in the back of our freezer a couple days ago.  Former RVing friends and now Park residents on Tamarack Drive, Carin and Chris popped in early last evening.  They came bearing blueberry muffins and a few other little delights:)) 

With Christmas only a few days away, readers may be thinking how sad it must be for me sitting here by myself now that Kelly is gone.  Yes, I would much prefer she was still here but the reality is, she isn't.  At the moment I can't think of anywhere I would rather be than right here in our cozy little place with Pheebs, and the spirits of Kelly, Max, Checkers, and the little Motormouse Cora right here with me.  Quiet ambient music, soft lighting, and enough good food to last me almost forever.  No people stress, and no Christmas stress.  I don't have to be anywhere I don't want to be and I don't have to do anything I don't feel like doing.  I am as content as a snugly bug in a rug.  So, don't worry or stress about Pheebs and I folks.  Enjoy these days with your loved ones and families.  Maybe go out and kick a soccer ball around or something:))

Al's Music Box:)) End Of The World is a pop song written by composer Arthur Kent and lyricist Sylvia Dee, who often worked as a team. They wrote the song for American singer Skeeter Davis, and her recording of it was highly successful in the early 1960s, reaching the top five on four different charts, including No. 2 on the main Billboard Hot 100. It spawned many cover versions.  "The End of the World" is a sad song about the aftermath of a romantic breakup. Dee, the lyricist, said she drew on her sorrow from her father's death to set the mood for the song.  Davis recorded her version with sound engineer Bill Porter on June 8, 1962, at the RCA Studios in Nashville, produced by Chet Atkins, and featuring Floyd Cramer on piano.  Released by RCA Records in December 1962, "The End of the World" peaked in March 1963 at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (behind "Our Day Will Come" by Ruby & the Romantics), No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, No. 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart, and No. 4 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart.  It is the first, and, to date, the only time that a song cracked the Top 10 (and Top 5) on all four Billboard charts.  Billboard ranked the record as the No. 2 song of 1963.  In the Davis version, after she sings the whole song through in the key of B-flat-major, the song modulates up by a half step to the key of B, where Davis speaks the first two lines of the final stanza, before singing the rest of the stanza, ending the song.  "The End of the World" was played at Chet Atkins' funeral in an instrumental by Marty Stuart. The song was also played at Davis's own funeral at the Ryman Auditorium. Her version has been featured in several films, TV shows, and video games.

 SOME DAYS WHEN I AM FEELING A LITTLE SAD AND BLUE MY DUCKS FEEL A LITTLE SAD AND BLUE AS WELL

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A cocky State Highways employee stopped at a farm and talked with an old farmer. He told the farmer, "I need to inspect your farm for a possible new road."  The old farmer said, "OK, but don't go in that field." The Highways employee said, "I have the authority of the State Government to go where I want. See this card? I am allowed to go wherever I wish on farm land."  So the old farmer went about his farm chores.  Later, he heard loud screams and saw the State Highways employee running for the fence and close behind was the farmer's prize bull. The bull was madder than a nest full of hornets and the bull was gaining on the employee at every step!!  The old farmer called out, "Show him your card!!"  "Show him your card!!"

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What do you get when you play a County & Western song backwards?
You get your wife back.
You get your kids back.
You get your house back.
You get your truck back.
You get your dog back.

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A couple was making their first doctors visit prior to the birth of their first child. After the exam, the doctor took a small stamp and stamped the wife’s stomach with indelible ink. The man and his wife were curious about what the stamp was for, so when they got home, the man took out his magnifying glass to try to see what is was. In very small letters, the stamp said, “When you can read this, come back and see me.”

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It was a fair-haired lady's first day at the office. Her first task was to go out for coffee.  Eager to prove her worth to her new bosses, she grabbed a large thermos and hurried to the nearby coffee shop.
She held up the thermos so that the
counterman could view it, and she asked, "Is this big enough to hold six cups of coffee?"
The counterman looked at the thermos and replied, "Yes. It looks like about six cups to me."  "Oh good!" the fair-haired lady sighed in relief. "Give me three regular, one black, and two decaf."
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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly's Corner

 ONE OF THE LAST NICE PHOTOS I TOOK OF KELLY LAST MONTH

A MORNING DESERT WALK

 ON OUR FRONT PORCH WITH PHEEBS IN CONGRESS ARIZONA

Al's Art Gallery