Tuesday, May 31, 2016

SOMETHING NEW……’AL’S OLD SCRATCHINGS’

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EARLY EVENING ALONG GODERICH’S BEACH FRONT

Had 2 new pieces of trim to paint this morning so got at that straight away.  Hooked up the utility trailer with all the old carpet in it & off Pheebs & I went to Holmesville a few miles away on highway 8 to drop it all off at the area dump.  We were there & back in half an hour.  Glad to finally get that little job crossed off the list.

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OUTSIDE OUR SUNROOM WINDOW TODAY

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DANDELION GONE TO SEED

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PICKED ME UP A COFFEE TO GO AT BAYFIELD’S ‘CHARLES STREET MARKET’ THIS MORNING

Had me a hankerin for a foot long hot dog with the works so soon as we got home & dropped the utility trailer off Pheebs & I headed into Bayield & grabbed ourselves a 6” Tuna Sub.  Headed over to Pioneer Park overlooking Lake Huron & between the 2 of us we demolished that Sub in no time flat.  It was a good thing I had put on a clean shirt this morning because I certainly would not have wanted to drip the ‘Sweet Onion’ sauce down the front of an old dirty shirt!!  A coffee to go from the Charles Street Market along Bayfield’s Heritage Main Street & we headed off back home.  The baseboard trim needed it’s second coat of paint & I’m still dealing with where to put everything now that our renovation project is nearing completion.  We got a lot of ‘stuff’ and speaking of stuff I’m reminded of something  I wrote in a previous post awhile back.   The following paragraph sums up what I really think of…..’stuff’.

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SEEN ON SATURDAY MORNINGS DRIVE

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Let it be said……“I like my stuff & I like my stuff a lot”!!  In the RV world we often hear folks talk about getting rid of all their stuff.  Can’t wait to be free of their stuff.  Got tooooo much stuff!!  Sell the house, sell the car, sell your socks & travel afar.  Works well for a lot of people for sure but I still like my stuff.  Some day when I’m gone somebody can come along & get rid of all my stuff but by golly as long as I’m still kickin I’m a gonna keep my stuff.  It’s mine, I’ve collected it, I’ve worked for it, I’ve created it & it’s who I am.  Some of my stuff is good stuff & some of my stuff is kinda junky stuff but it’s still my stuff.   When we return to Bayfield my favorite stuff is still right where I left it.  I like that.  When we roll into Congress next fall my favorite  Congress stuff will be there right where it’s supposed to be.  I like that.  We very seriously considered selling our house & all our stuff in 08 but we didn’t.  Our house is still in place & we have a home & stuff to go home to.  We like having a permanent home.  Why??  Because it’s got all our stuff in it that’s why:))

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ALONG GODERICH’S WATERFRONT BOARWALK

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AND BY GOLLY A LITTLE HANKY SPANKY ON THE BEACH  TODAYTOO:))

Another marvelous weather day with our temps hanging out in the mid to upper 60’s.  For this guy that’s pretty darn nice being able to putter around the house & property without feeling drained or having my clothes stick to me.  Aside from Autumn I think June is the prettiest month we have going here. 

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OVERLOOKING GODERICH HARBOR…..GRAIN ELEVATORS ON THE LEFT, SIFTO SALT MINE CENTER & A GREAT LAKES FREIGHGER ON THE RIGHT & ALSO TO THE RIGHT OF THE FREIGHTER ONE CAN SEE WHERE THE MAITLAND RIVER EMPTIES INTO LAKE HURON

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Tired of slaving over a hot stove (we had sausage & eggs Monday night) I armed myself with a Harvey’s coupon, loaded up the Pheebs and I headed off to Goderich for an Angus Burger.  With this mornings Tuna Sub today was a double hitter for eating out & Pheebs was happy to go for another Jeep ride.  I needed to find me some photos for the blog anyway & a swing down around Goderich’s harbor & beachfront is always good for that.

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A RARE GREAT LAKES NEANDERTHAL NARWHAL BROACHES THE WATER’S PLATIMUM SURFACE

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HERE A GIANT ROCKFISH SWIMS ALONG CLOSE TO SHORE

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WELL OKAY MAYBE THOSE FIRST 2 PHOTOS ARE A STRETCH BUT THIS PHOTO IS DEFINITELY A SEAGULL & THE ONE BELOW DEFINITELY IS A LADY:))

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As of late I have been picking up a few ideas from my good Buddy Jim’s new blog over at Lifetime Sentences.  In his blog he occasionally has something called ‘Renowned Terrible Limericker’ in which he publishes some of his not so terrible limericker poetry.  Well this got me to thinking of course & I remembered an old almost forgotten forever briefcase out in our shed.  In that briefcase (which Jim actually gave me about 35 years ago) has lain for many years my very own collection of terrible limericks.  So terrible I suppose that it is the reason they have not seen the light of day for decades……..until today.  Pulling out those old yellowing sheets of typewriter paper and reading some of the stuff over I winced, I scringed, I shook my head a few times and thought ‘no’ this stuff is too hoaky, too corny and too embarrassing to publish.  So publish it I will.  Going to add a little section below Groaner’s Corner for awhile & call it ‘AL’s Old Scratchings’.  There will be humor, there will be stories of imagination and an occasional walk on the dark side.  Some stuff will be in the form of poetry & some will not.  Much of it is very short & some of it long.  Some rhymes some does not.  All this stuff was written in the late 60’s which was a totally different era & life experience for me.  Maybe by posting some of my old stuff I will be inspired to come up with some new stuff.  AL’s old scratchings will certainly not be everybody’s cup of tea but maybe there’s one or two readers out there that might find something of interest, something to throw stones at.  Keep your hand close to your delete button & I’ll start tonight’s ‘scratchings’ off with something short, simple, & lite:))

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GROANER’S CORNER:((    Harvey's grandfather clock suddenly stops working right one day, so he loads it into his van and takes it to a clock repair shop. In the shop is a little old man who insists he is Swiss, and has a heavy German accent. He asks Harvey, "Vat sims to be ze problem?"  Harvey says, "I'm not sure, but it doesn't go 'tick- tock-tick-tock' anymore. Now it just goes 'tick...tick...tick.'"  The old man says, "Mmm-Hm!" and steps behind the counter, where he rummages around a bit. He emerges with a huge flashlight and walks over to the grandfather clock. He turns the flashlight on, and shines it directly into the clocks face. Then he says in a menacing voice, "Ve haf vays of making you tock!"

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AL’s Old Scratchings……..‘Tiny Dreams’

The Children were here but now they’re gone waiting for Pixies, Fairies & dawn.  Dreaming of sugar, flowers and things and hoping for candy and Puppets on strings.  Dancing in fields and playing with Dolls scratching their knees in Teddy Bear falls.  Living in a world all to themselves, living in a world of kiddi-car Elves.

Monday, May 30, 2016

THIS IS POST NUMBER 3,000 FOR ME BUT DON’T WORRY I’LL NOT BE DOING ANOTHER 3000

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GODERICH LIGHTHOUSE OVERLOOKING THE HARBOR & LAKE HURON

Sunday night's fast moving small storm cell coming in off Lake Huron brought with it a very welcome change in weather.  It blew all that miserable humidity out of the air and immediately dropped our temps to about 65F.  'EL Perfecto' and I was immediately once again energized to the point where I went out & ran around the house 25 times.  Well Okay, maybe didn't do the big run but I certainly did feel refreshed,  revitalized and regenerized. 

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AFTER SUNDAY NIGHT’S STORM SUNLIGHT BROKE THROUGH OVERCAST SKIES SOFTLY ALIGHTING  ON  THE ORANGE & YELLOW PETALS OF A FLOWERING SHRUB JUST OUTSIDE OUR SUNROOM

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With our morning routine temporarily changed at the moment Pheebs & I have been taking full advantage of our daily early morning starts and were out the door first thing again. A change in 'sleeping pills' a couple weeks ago has also made a big difference now that I don't start each day in a Zombie like state.

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THIS MALE CARDINAL IS OFTEN THE LAST ONE AT THE BIRD STATION EACH NIGHT & THE FIRST ONE BACK IN THE MORNING

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First up this morning was to paint 14 pieces of baseboard floor trim for the reno room.  Bruce had pre-measured & cut them in sizes to fit their positions around the room & I wanted to get a first coat of paint on them early & a second coat on later.  Having finished that Pheebs & I were into the Jeep & off to Goderich’s Walmart.  Needed some new socks & one extra piece of baseboard trim.  What a beautiful refreshingly cool morning it was & I didn’t let the fact that I had brought the wrong piece of trim home again get me down.  I should never be called upon to go out & buy building materials by myself without proper supervision along.

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‘HEY YOU RASCALLY RED WING BLACKBIRDS GET ON OUT OF HERE’!!!!

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‘NOW I KNOW THERE’S ONE OF THOSE PESKY VARMINTS STILL AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE’

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‘HEY BIG BLUE…..YOU LOOKING FOR ME??

Took our customary swing down around the south harbor & along beach road to Rotary Cove.  Thought maybe we could get a quiet doggy walk in but there were already a few people there walking their dogs.  We kept on going & swung back up out of the harbor to the bluffs overlooking Lake Huron.  Pheebs had a run around while I took a few photos of the old Goderich Lighthouse.

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VIEW FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE OVERLOOKING GODERICH HARBOR

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PART OF THE ABOVE GROUND SIFTO SALT MINE COMPLEX

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LARGE GRAIN ELEVATORS TO THE RIGHT & THE SALT MINE CENTER

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GODERICH’S BEACH STREET STATION RESTAURANT IS VISIBLE BELOW THE BLUFF

A short distance away is a metal sculpture I like.  Sitting atop a stone cairn it depicts an old Lake Freighter fighting it’s way through stormy seas in the last moments of it’s life.  The memorial is dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the greatest storm of of all time on the Great Lakes

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A FOUNDERING FREIGHTER CAUGHT IN THE GRIP OF LAKE HURONS STORM TOSSED WATERS

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THE GREAT STORM OF 1913

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NOTICE THE SPIDER WEB RIGGING ATTACHED TO THE FREIGHTERS MAST

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A few weeks ago I had an email from fellow RV Blogger Kevin from Travels With Kevin and Ruth.  In that email Kevin says, "Your title today that mentions your last name made me curious...maybe you could do a post (or at least a paragraph) about the history of your family name "Bossence"………….Well that set me to thinking about something I have unfortunately not thought a lot about.  The history is there of course but I just haven't bothered to go looking for it.  I did tap into a free Genealogy site but ran into a brick wall right away when I couldn't even remember some of the basic questions asked about names & dates.  Of course my impatience kicked in when immediate results were not found & I kinda shelved the idea.  Here is the little I do know about my Dad's side.  My Grandmother was from England & I do remember her speaking with an English accent.  My Grandfather was very involved with the buying, selling, & raising of horses but I don't know if he was from England or not.  On my Mother's side of the family I am again a bit stymied as to where Grandparents & great Grandparents came from.  I'll have to ask Aunt Jean next time I am talking to her.  If I find out anything I'll let you all know.DSC_0019DSC_0021DSC_0020

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CLOSE TO THE LIGHTHOUSE SITS A COUPLE OLD CANONS

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According to Blogger statistics tonight's post is number 3,000 which means since starting with Blogger back in 2006 I have written 3000 posts.  In fact I've actually written a few more than that but have no idea how many.   My first attempt at blogging started with Microsoft's 'My Space' before moving on to Blogger.  And it's anybody's guess how many photos I have published in those 3,000 posts.  Again. a word of appreciation to all you folks who have given me inspiration & encouragement over the years to write these posts & take the many photos I do.  Your a darn good bunch:)) 

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GROANER’S CORNER:((  A photographer went to a dinner party where he showed many of his photographs. The lady of the house said, those are very nice pictures, you must have a great camera. He said nothing, but when leaving for home offered the following compliment to the lady of the house "The meal was very nice, you must have great pots and pans."

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