I THINK WE HAVE ALL FALLEN INTO THAT ONE BEFORE

 CHRISTMAS DAY IN OUR PARK

It was the quietest of Christmas morns for Pheebs and I and that quiet part was quite alright.  We lazed around until well after nine before heading out in the Subaru for a short jaunt down Bayfield River Road to where it makes a T-intersection with Parr Line.  We made a U-turn  and headed slowly back in the direction of home snapping a few pics here and there along the way.  Yes, not a creature was stirring, not even a house.

 SOMETIMES EVEN THE BIG SNOWPLOW BLADES DON'T SEE THE RURAL MAILBOXES CLOSE TO THE ROAD

I try to get a little something constructively done each day here at home.  Yesterday my project was to clean the fridge.  Today, I finished that up.  Got some laundry done and had it been a few degrees milder outside I would have slipped out and moved some more snow around.  Maybe tomorrow.  

I'm getting myself into the habit of opening our online banking site pretty well every day now to look things over and familiarize myself with its workings.  Repetition works best for me in situations like this and I don't want to fall behind again and then not remember how to do things.  The key to all this of course is to regain control over my life as a single person and that means doing things and making decisions on my own and not always leaning on someone else.  Geeezzzz, I even sometimes answer the phone when it rings now.  Imagine that....me answering a phone, or even stranger than that....me picking up the phone to call someone.  And mentioning phones, I have a landline phone, a cell flip phone, and now a smartphone.  Each of these has its pros and cons and payment plans, but surely I don't need all three of them.  

Being over 80 years old I now find myself befuzzled between two technologies.  The challenges of newer tech and the familiar comfort of old tech.  Do I have enough brain cells left to learn all (even some) the new stuff.  Or, am I better off with the old comfortable familiarity that I know.  I guess I had just better give it all time to settle in.  My old track record reveals that in the past I have too many times made poor decisions based on an unnecessary 'rush to judgment.'  I think we all have fallen into that one before.

Kelly's daughter Sabra phoned me from Florida this afternoon to say 'Merry Christmas' and to touch base with how things are going.  Nice of her to call.

 I WILL BE SO HAPPY WHEN MOTHER NATURE PUTS THE LEAVES BACK ON THE TREES AGAIN

ABlast From Our Past:)) It was a Saturday morning in December of 2007 when Kelly and I got ourselves into a little bit of trouble in Mexico.  Close Call In Mexico.  The following day we received a few reader's responses to our Close Call In Mexico......Update To Yesterday's 'Mexico' Blog

CHRISTMAS EVE 2007 SITTING AROUND OUR CAMPFIRE IN THE DESERT AT THE CLARK DRY LAKE BED NEAR BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA

  HAVING MY CAMERA ON A TRIPOD WITH A LONG EXPOSURE SETTING AND A FLASHLIGHT IN MY HAND I TRIED TO LIGHT PAINT 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' ON THE SIDE OF OUR MOTORHOME

Al's Music Box:)) Do You Hear What I Hear by Bing Crosby is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noel Regney and music by Gloria Shayne. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crises. Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song, but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of Christmas.  It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.  "Do You Hear What I Hear?" tells a story loosely based upon the story of the Nativity of Jesus as told in the Gospel of Matthew, incorporating fragments of the annunciation to the shepherds from the Gospel of Luke, though Jesus is never mentioned by name or explicitly identified. A "night wind" tells a lamb of a star, following which the lamb tells his young shepherd that he also hears a loud song. They are each led to a "mighty king," whom they tell of a child in the cold and ask to bring the child silver and gold (much as the Biblical Magi, which in tradition with prophecies in the Book of Isaiah and Psalm 72 are often characterized as kings, did with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh).  The king proclaims a prayer of peace and announces that the child will "bring goodness and light".  Regney wrote the lyrics for the song, while Shayne composed the music in October 1962.  This was an unusual arrangement for the two writers. Usually, it was Shayne who wrote the lyrics for their songs while Regney composed the music, as they did when they wrote a song based on the classic children's song "Rain Rain Go Away.  Regney was inspired to write the lyrics "Said the night wind to the little lamb, 'Do you see what I see?'" and "Pray for peace, people everywhere" after watching babies being pushed in strollers on the sidewalks of New Your City. Shayne stated in an interview years later that neither could personally perform the entire song at the time they wrote it because of the emotions surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis: "Our little song broke us up. You must realize there was a threat of war at the time".  "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was released shortly after Thanksgiving in 1962. The song was originally recorded for Mercury Records by the Harry Simeone Chorale, a group that had also popularized "The Little Drumer Boy", and released as part of the album The Wonderful Songs of Christmas with the Harry Simeone Chorale. As a 45 rpm single, it went on to sell more than a quarter-million copies during the 1962 Christmas holiday season.  Bing Crosby made the song into a hit when he recorded his own version of it on October 21, 1963, with the record being released as a single on October 26. Crosby also performed the song on a Bob Hope Christmas television special on December 13 of that year. Over the years, Crosby's recording of the song has been widely played on the radio and has been available on numerous compilation Christmas albums and compact discs put out by Capitol Records.

 YUP, THAT LOOKS LIKE OUR HOUSE ALRIGHT

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A group of tourists was being guided through an ancient castle in Europe.  "This place," the guide told them, "is 600 years old. Not a stone in it has been touched, nothing altered, nothing replaced in all those years."  "Wow," said one woman dryly, "they must have the same landlord I have."

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TEACHER: Young man, you've been late for school five days this week. Does that make you happy?

PUPIL: Sure does. That means it's Friday.

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My boss was honest with me today.  He pulled up to work with his sweet new car this morning and I complimented him on it.  He replied, "Well, if you work hard, set goals, stay determined and put in long hours, I can get an even better one next year."  

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Paddy and his missus are lying in bed listening to the next door neighbor's dog barking. It had been barking for hours and hours.  Suddenly, Paddy jumps out of bed and says, "I've had enough of this," and goes downstairs.  Paddy finally comes back up to bed and his wife says, "The dog is still barking. What have you been doing?"  Paddy says, "I've put their dog in our yard - now we'll see how they like it!"

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- If you have an opinion about my life, please raise your hand. Now put it over your mouth.

A 6th-grade teacher posed the following problem to one of her arithmetic classes:
“A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars.One-fifth is to go to his wife, one-  fifth is to go to his son, one-sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity.  Now, what does each get?”  After a very long silence in the classroom, one little boy raised his hand.  With complete sincerity in his voice, answered, “A lawyer!"
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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly's Corner

 HERE'S PHEEBS TRYING TO GET PHEEBS UP FOR BREAKFAST IN OUR BIG E MOTORHOME

KELLY CARRIES LITTLE CORA ON A MORNING WALK NEAR THE HICKIWAN TRAILS RV PARK IN WHY, ARIZONA

 WE LOVED OUR MORNING WALKS IN THE DESERT NEAR OUR CONGRESS ARIZONA HOUSE

Al's Art Gallery

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AND TO EVERYONE A GOOD NIGHT:))

 LOOKING SOUTH ALONG THE EASTERN SHORE OF LAKE HURON

Double-checking the calendar several times to make sure I had the right day for my bank appointment earlier today, it was about mid-morning when I headed off to Goderich under cloudy skies.  With temps slightly above freezing the secondary roads were slushy.  My bank appointment was favorable but it did seem more complicated than the other bank I was at a few days ago.  But, I guess it will just take time for me to get into the swing of things trying to understand all this banking stuff.  From the bank, I slipped down around the  Goderich harbor looking for a few pics before heading home.

 THE BULK CARRIER SPRUCEGLEN WAS ANCHORED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF GODERICH'S HARBOR

 THAT IS QUITE A BULBOUS NOSE ON THE BOW OF THE SPRUCEGLEN

I checked the weather forecast at 7 this morning and was heartened to see that we at least were a couple degrees above freezing with temps up around 45F by the weekend.  Oh, and have you noticed the days getting longer yet??  Three days ago was the Winter Solstice and that means for the next six months each day will be a little longer than the day before.  Oh, woe is me when on June 21st they begin to get shorter again. 

 ALL'S I KNOW ABOUT THESE GUYS IS THAT THEY ARE DUCKS

Because of the postal strike here, mail has been backed up.  With the strikers back to work (maybe temporarily) our mailbox filled up fast.  Four of the envelopes contained ambulance bills from a month ago when Kelly was so sick.  Forty-five dollars a crack but I'm not complaining.  I think it's a great and essential service those people provide and I know it's not something I could have ever done. 

Well, here it is Christmas Eve.  In one way, shape, or form, I have spent 80 Christmas Eves on this Planet and it's not the first one I have spent by myself.  There have been a few others over the years.  The only thing that would have made this Christmas Eve better is if Kelly were still here in physical form.  However, she is here with Pheebs and I in Spirit and I am comforted by that.  So, Merry Christmas to everyone and to everyone a good night:))

 IT LOOKED LIKE A CANADA GOOSE CONVENTION GOING ON OVER NEAR THE GRAIN TERMINAL

Al's Music Box:)) Driving Home For Christmas is a Christmas song written and composed by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the B-side to his single "Hello Friend" in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded version served as one of two new songs on Rea's first compilation album New Light Through Old Windows. It was issued as the fourth single from the album in November 1988.  Despite its original modest chart placement, the song has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007 when it peaked at No. 33, and is featured among the Top 10 Christmas singles. It reached a new peak of number 10 on the UK Singles Chart in 2021. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted twelfth on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song.  In interviews for the BBC Radio 4 program Today in 2009, and The Guardian in 2016, Rea said he wrote "Driving Home for Christmas" many years before its first recording; this was in 1978 when Rea needed to get home to Middlesbrough from Abbey Road Studios in London. His wife had come down to drive him home in her Austin Mini to save money because it was cheaper to drive than travel by train. Rea was recently out of contract and the record company was unwilling to pay for the rail ticket. The inspiration for the song came as they were getting stuck in heavy traffic, while the snow was falling. He started looking at the other motorists, who "all looked so miserable. Jokingly, I started singing: "We're driving home for Christmas..." Then, whenever the streetlights shone inside the car, I started writing down lyrics". Rea said Driving Home for Christmas is a "car version of a carol", and that he wrote it for Van Morrison but did not manage to get it to him.  In the Guardian interview, Rea stated that he never played the song live until 2014 at Hammersmith Odeon; he recalls: "the gig was on 20 December, so the road crew kept badgering me to do it. I went, 'If I'm going to sing this friggin song, we're gonna do it properly.' So we hired 12 snow cannons. When we started the song, you couldn't hear it for the noise of the crowd, and we let go with the machines. We put three feet of artificial snow in the stalls. The venue charged me £12,000 to clean it up".  Rea never planned to write a Christmas song. It was several years later that while testing pianos with keyboard player Max Middleton he found a tune that fit the lyrics. Initially, it was released as a B-side (to the 1986 single "Hello Friend"), but afterwards was re-recorded with strings. Middleton played the distinctive jazzy intro, and together they produced a typical 1950s Christmas carol-type arrangement.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A farmer named Muldoon lived alone in the Irish countryside except for a pet dog he had for a long time.  The dog finally died and Muldoon went to the parish priest, saying "Father, the dog is dead. Could you possibly be saying a Mass for the poor creature?"  Father Patrick told the farmer "No, we can't have services for an animal in the church, but I'll tell you what, there's a new denomination down the road apiece, and no telling what they believe in, but maybe they'll do something for the animal."  Muldoon said "I'll go right now. By the way, do you think $50,000 is enough to donate for the service?"  Father Patrick replied "Why didn't you tell me the dog was Catholic."

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Q: Why did the little Moron quit his job as a restroom attendant?

A: He couldn't figure out how to refill the hand dryer!

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Dispatching her ten-year-old son to pick up a pizza, my sister handed him money and a two-dollar coupon.  Later he came home with the pizza and the coupon.  When asked to explain, he replied, "Mom, I had enough money. I didn't need the coupon."

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Three men die in a car accident on Christmas Eve. They all find themselves at the pearly gates waiting to enter Heaven. On entering they must present something related to or associated with Christmas.
The first man searches his pockets and finds mistletoe, so he is allowed in.  The second man presents a candy cane, so he is also allowed in.  The third man pulls out a pair of stockings.  Confused at this last gesture, St. Peter asks, "How do these represent Christmas?"  "They're Carol's."

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A film crew is on location in Kenya, when a tribal shaman approaches the director and says, "Tomorrow rain." The director pays no attention, but the following day it pours and shooting has to be delayed.  That night, the director sends his assistant to bring the shaman back. "What will be the weather tomorrow?" asks the director.  "Bigger rain tomorrow, much wind," and sure enough a terrible storm once again delays the filming.
But then the witch doctor disappears for a week and the director, now depending on him, sends his people out to find him and bring him back to camp.  Finally, he is located and brought to the director's tent. "What will be the weather tomorrow?" asks the director in desperation.  "No idea," says the shaman, "Radio batteries dead."

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly's Corner

 THE DAY WE BOUGHT THE BIG E IN MAY OF 2014

 PICKING UP GOLD NUGGETS IN CALIFORNIA'S CARGO MUCHACHO MOUNTAINS WEST OF YUMA ARIZONA

 ON THE BANKS OF THE SWANEE RIVER IN FLORIDA

Al's Art Gallery