IT WAS A NICE DAY FOR MICROSOFT'S STREETS & TRIPS TO ARRIVE

Oh Oh, sure looks like I got my Kiwi’s & Aussie’s mixed up in Wednesdays blog. The name Kiwi derives from the kiwi, a flightless bird, which is native to, and the national symbol of, New Zealand.  My apologies to our new blog following Kiwi friend.  And, speaking of Aussies…..Did you know that pronouncing the word with an /s/ in place of the /z/ is considered by Australians to be a canonically American error.  Yep, I even went & looked up the word canonically…..now I’m even more confused than ever:((  Welcome to Al’s latter years:))  Say, d'ya suppose if a Kiwi & an Aussie got together, they might produce a baby Kiaussiewi.................

Kelly informed me this morning that in last night's post I made it sound like our taps have been leaking for 4 years now.  Not so the case.  First noticed kitchen sink leak just before we went south last November & the bathroom leak just started since arriving home.  Thought I’d better get that cleared up right quick before I began leaking something from a frying pan related head wound!!

Thanks to Andree for becoming our 263rd blog Follower.  Appreciate you thinking of us Andree:))  And, it looks like IVAN & HAILEY are slowly making their way up the northern California coast biding their time until all that miserable snow gets itself out of western Canada.  Had to get after Ivan a bit because he forgot to include some pics of Hailey in his latest post.  With Hailey being the Star she is, I'll bet she noticed there wasn't a photo of her in the post either!!  Could be a royal rumble in the Jungle over there in Trinidad.....California that is:))

CHECKERS LIKES TO BRING HOME FIREWOOD FOR THE BACKYARD CAMPFIRES
Ever wonder what you would do without your TV.  Check out, MERIKAY'S DREAMS ARE WRITTEN IN SMOKE & see how their satellite feed has gradually diminished & finally gone dark.  And while there do not miss Merikay’s ANIMALHEAD site.  Or, ‘How to Get A Head Without Hunting.’  We truly do have another fine artisan in our blogging family.  Merikay also has an informative section which shows how she crafts her work.  Animalhead.com is not to be missed!!

GEARING UP SOME OF OUR FLOWERPOTS THIS MORNING
Had ourselves a mighty fine big bright productive sunny Spring day.  Frog pond pump is hooked up & the little waterfall is running again complete with some early live frogs showing up already.  Never can figure out where they all come from but they somehow turn up on their own every Spring.  Hope they packed their little raincoats because is looks like we are in for a very rainy week-end:((
 
INSIDE THAT HOLE LIES A YOUNG PLUMBER FLAT ON HIS STOMACH TORCHING IN A NEW PIECE OF COPPER PIPE TO OUR WATER LINE
  
SPENT SOME TIME THIS MORNING CHOPPING APART THE LAST REMAINING BANK OF SNOW IN OUR BACK YARD
Our Microsoft Streets & Trips showed up today but boy oh boy did we ever get clobbered hard with shipping charges & duty for the package to make it into Canada.  It was under a hundred dollars but not by much.  Package was valued at $229.82 for 6 copies of Streets & Trips.  Our fault for not having pre-thought the duty & shipping costs.  Had we done so we would have had the package sent to Kelly’s Mother’s house in Spencerport New York.  The Microsoft package contained 5 Streets & Trips plus one Streets & Trips with GPS locator.  We will keep the GPS locator version.  Three copies will be given away to RV friends & I haven’t decided how we will give the other two away yet but will make my mind up on that within a couple days.  And a special thanks to Joani Jones representing Microsoft for her promise to get those free Streets & Trips to us.

Kelly’s Mother underwent full knee replacement surgery on Wednesday morning & Kelly will be heading down to Spencerport New York shortly to help her Mother through some of the recovery process.  That knee surgery is not for the faint of heart & for anyone heading down that path I strongly suggest you read & follow along Laurie’s detailed day by day account of her husband Odel’s partial knee replacement including all pre-op procedures & post operative care including rehab.  Laurie & Odel are full time RVers so Odel is presently recovering in their Motor Home in California.  I will include Laurie’s latest blog & for anyone interested they can easily go back through Laurie’s posts to the beginning pre-op meetings, appointments & procedures.  Check out SEMI - TRUE TALES OF OUR LIFE ON THE ROAD.
   
GROANER’S CORNER:((   A young blonde haired woman went to her doctor complaining of pain. 
"Where are you hurting?" asked the doctor. 
"You have to help me, I hurt all over", said the woman. 
"What do you mean, all over?" asked the doctor, "be a little more specific."
The woman touched her right knee with her index finger and yelled, "Owe, that hurts." Then she touched her left cheek and again yelled, "Ouch! That hurts, too." Then she touched her right earlobe, "Ouch, even THAT hurts", she cried.
The doctor checked her thoughtfully for a moment and told her his diagnosis; "You have a broken finger."
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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

A 'LIGHT BULB MOMENT' IN THE FLOWER BED THIS MORNING

IT WAS A DAY FOR GETTING OUT SUMMER LAWN ORNAMENTS

Caught myself a lucky break Tuesday.  Thought it was a good day to finally turn on the outside water so crawled under the front deck to where our water hooks up are & opened the valve to allow water into our outside pipe for the garden hoses etc.  Could hear a lot of water splashing out but not where it was supposed to be splashing out.  Oh Oh!!

COLTSFOOT IS ONE OUR EARLIEST SPRING FLOWERS 

A flashlight in my darkened space confirmed a broken water pipe on the other side of the unit.  I realized right away what had happened & quickly turned off the water.  Late last October I had shut off our outside water with a valve but had forgot to open a second valve to let the water drain out of the outside water line.  Sooooo, the line froze up in the winter & burst the pipe.  But, this is where I caught myself a lucky break.

 

    

Our bathroom sink tap has been leaking as well as our kitchen tap.  Water over the past 4 years had also been leaking around the kitchen sink & last fall we noticed the counter top had rotted behind the sink.  Decision was made to replace the bathroom tap as well as the kitchen taps, sink & counter top.  Kelly had just called a plumber fellow who does a lot of work for Deer Park Lodge & he arrived about 5 minutes after I discovered the broken water line.  He solved the problem of why our gas fire place had malfunctioned (batteries again) this past winter & checked out our faucet & sink problems.  He was then able to slip outside & get himself under our unit & repair the broken water pipe as well.  From the time I saw the broken pipe gushing to the time it was fixed was only about 30 minutes.  Now, how’s that for a nice break.

I CALL THIS....KEEPING A LOW PROFILE

PAPA GOOSE IN THE WATER KEEPS A WARY EYE AS MOMMA GOOSE GOES ABOUT BUILDING HER NEW NEST ON THE BANKS OF OUR MORNING POND 
Kelly slipped into town this morning & picked out a new counter top along with all the hardware so shouldn’t be long & we’ll have a few repairs & renovations happening.  I guess our decision to not sell our place the other day has sparked us both into some renewed interest in our digs.  The outside grounds are in need of a facelift as well so I began that this morning.

Purged my closet & dresser drawers today hauling out 43 pieces of clothing for the Goodwill Store.  Eighteen of those items were shirts I hadn’t worn for who knows how long, 5 belts, 4 pairs of old blue jeans & an assortment of hats, gloves, scarves, etc.   Anything ripped or torn went outside into the burning barrel.  Nice feeling to have finally made a start at something I have avoided doing for years.  Looking forward to my next purge….wherever that might be now.  Beware all you junky stuff.....Al's coming to get you!!
  

CAUGHT THIS LITTLE DUCK FELLOW ON A TAKE OFF ROLL THIS MORNING BEFORE BECOMING AIRBORNE (SORRY ABOUT THE FUZZY DUCK)

Remember that Jeep ownership I couldn’t find last week.  Yep, Kelly found it in the Motor Home glove compartment today.  Had I looked there?  Darn right I had but of course I missed it.  When does a man ever find anything he's looking for around the house anyway eh!!  And would you believe I spent about 5 minutes looking for a shirt Tuesday morning.  Not in the bedroom, computer room or living room.  Not on the porch, the deck or in the Jeep either.  So, where did I find it……I was wearing it!!!!  Yep, hate to admit it but that actually did happen.  Like I have said before, I am NOT THE BRIGHTEST CRAYON IN THE BOX.

 
The Bayfield Bunch welcomes our latest blog follower, kiwionabike.  I’m guessing this fellow is an Australian guy with a motorcycle.  Welcome aboard Kiwi guy:))

WE HAVE A LOT OF WEIRD FROGS AROUND OUR POND 

Weather’s coming along well enough now to start thinking thinking about dusting off the Motorcycle for another season.  Been throwing a few trickle charges on the battery so any day now I should have it up & running for the first ride of the year.  Gonna have to warm up a whole lot before any serious rides though.  None of that cold weather riding for this guy anymore!!

ONTARIO'S TRILLIUM FLOWER 

Had myself a ‘light bulb’ moment this morning while clearing some brush in a flowerbed.  Suddenly occurred to me that my desire to leave the Park where we live & move back to the quiet countryside coincidentally started about the same time we began spending our winter’s in the Southwest.  For 5 months of each year we have been living in areas with no people or neighbors anywhere near by.  No human sounds for the most part.  We have spent our time surrounded by nature most every day.  Very quiet nights & very quiet days.  And, I'm beginning to think we have become very spoiled by all that.   Here in Ontario we live in the quietest Park in the whole territory & yet I find myself sensitive to neighbors talking nearby or the occasional vehicle going by on the road.  Sounds of lawn mowers & especially leaf blowers rudely jolt me out of my preferred quiet existence.  Park’s maintenance machinery left idling nearby for varying lengths of time with their clackety & smelly diesel engines make me want to rush into the house & grab the ‘For Sale’ sign every time.  

Yes, I’m afraid the quiet day’s & night’s in the deserts of the Southwest have spoiled me forever.  And it only took me about 5 years to finally figure that all out.  Right here in one of our very own flowerbeds this morning.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  And a few wise sayings from some people we all probably know..........

The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.
-- Andy Rooney (SAY, DON'T YOU  THINK THE ABOVE PIC LOOKS A BIT LIKE ANDY HIMSELF)

The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life.
-- George Carlin & George also says, "Sometimes a Little Brain Damage Can Help"

If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door.
-- Paul Beatty

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.
-- Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

I always wait for the Times each morning. I look at the obituary column and if I’m not in it, I go to work.
-- A. E. Matthews

-----------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

FINALLY, A DECISION......

It has been nearly two weeks since we arrived home from the Southwest & settled into what will now be a rather long bunch of months before hitting the road again in the Fall.  I can see it is going to be a challenge coming up with new & interesting things once again to write about from now till then.  I am going to have to reach extra deep into the old black top hat again in hopes of pulling out some new & lively rabbits.

 
I had mentioned awhile ago we had some important decisions to make when we got home & we just made one of them a couple days ago.  We had received an email about 3 months back while in the Southwest from a couple in a nearby city nearing retirement who were very interested in buying our house/mobile.  They like our area & they like the pine forest Park we live in.  And, they had also seen the following photos....OUR DIGS.

The thoughts of selling our place is not new to us but we just hadn't thought a lot about it since the summer of 08.  The email from the City couple set the wheels in motion again & we have been on a real roller coaster of indecision ever since.  Personally, I am glad we received the email because it once again sparked discussion between Kelly & I about some possible new directions in thinking again.  I am always inspired by new ideas & changes in thinking.  Sure beats routine.

For 3 months now we have had endless conversations on, 'what to do.'  Pros & Cons, Goods & Bads, Rights & Wrongs.  We have been up & down so many avenues of thought pursuing logical answers.  Sometimes we were thinking with our heads while other times we were thinking with our hearts.  Being the common sense minded people we are it is difficult for us sometimes when the heart is saying yes to something but the mind is wagging a finger saying no!!  So, it was with that kind of confusion in mind that we finally reached a long difficult decision this past Saturday to not sell our house....at this time.

For me personally there is a little bit of comfort in that decision but disappointment as well.  My preference would have been to either move back to the rural countryside or to have hit the road full time like so many other very satisfied RV folks have.

There are countless benefits to being Canadian but when it comes to spending longer periods of time in warmer winter climates south of the border there are problems.  Snow Birding has worked well for us these past few years but may not work well for us in the coming years so we have been trying to lay some groundwork for future days.  If I wasn't Canadian, Kelly & would have moved to either Arizona or New Mexico years ago.  We just like the easier going laid back lifestyle of the old West.

 
Anyway, getting back to our house decision, we will bide our time for now & continue to remain open minded to any ideas or suggestions.   In the meantime I am determined to begin ridding ourselves once again of as much unnecessary stuff as I possibly can this summer in preparation for some kind of change.. somewhere in our future:))

 
GROANER'S CORNER:((     You know you're in Arizona when ... 
*You can say 110 degrees without fainting.
*You eat hot chilies to cool your mouth off.
*You can make instant sun tea.
*You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.
*The temperature drops below 95, you feel a bit chilly. 
*You discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window.
*You notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
*Hot water now comes out of both taps. 
*You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
*You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m. before work.
*No one would dream of putting vinyl upholstery in a car or not having air conditioning.
*Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
*You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
--------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

 
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.