GASSED UP THE RIG AND HAD A BIN DOOR GAS SHOCK REPLACED

With the approaching inclement weather in a few days I figured it was best to gas up the rig now rather than later.  Pheebs, Motor and I headed off to Goderich and loaded up with $260.00 worth of fuel.  With McDonald's tempting us just across the road we turned our backs on that idea and instead I zipped into the mall beside the gas bar and got us Turkey salad sandwich for breakfast.  Happy little tummies all around. 

From there it was over to CTC (Canadian Tire) to have all the tire pressures checked.  A-OK.  Headed back to Bayfield for a stop at STORMRUNNER RV SALES AND SERVICE.   Our main bin door on the rig was not remaining up anymore and I suspected the gas shock was shot.  It was.  Had emailed Diane at Stormrunner earlier in the morning to see if they had those types of shocks in stock and they did.  Rolled into Stormrunner's and it took one of the fellows there all of about 3 minutes to replace the worn out shock and I was good to go.  Dianne hadn't met Pheebe or the Motormouse (Cora) before and after following our blog for the past 3 years she was anxious to to meet the guys.  Dianne and husband Harry usually head for Florida every year in one of their nice high end Carriage Fifth Wheels but this year they are breaking with tradition and heading West with a truck camper on their big new Ford dually.  Di had told me awhile ago that after reading our blog and seeing all the photos of our travels over the past few years she wanted to head West for a welcome change and see all that great scenery for herself.  Good for you Di and maybe we'll meet up with you guys somewhere in the Southwest for a good old dust and sage brush infested desert coffee somewhere:))
  
HARRY’S BIG SHINY FORD DUALLY AND THE GAS SHOCK WE HAD TO GET REPLACED

Forgot to mention a few things in Sunday night's post regarding Kelly being able to help a neighbour gain access to our blog site again.  A link in our Shout Box last week from Bob set the gears in Motion for Kelly in tracking down the culprit that was not allowing Monica's computer access.  I also mentioned it was a DNS problem and forgot to explain DNS.  I know how annoying it is when people put clusters of letters in their blogs and then expect everyone to know what they are.  You know, ROTFL, LMAOUISMP, PMPTIOD, etc.  DNS could have meant, Damn Nasty Soup or Disco Night Shuffle for all anybody knew.  Here's what DNS really means......WHAT IS A DNS SERVER.  Had an email this morning from Cindy in Ohio also saying she suddenly couldn't access our site so I have no idea what is going on.  A second email from Cindy said she tried it again later and all is well.  Just seems odd that this has never been a problem until the last couple of weeks. 

And I seem to recall a question from SAM last week wondering what porridge is.  I had mentioned having porridge for supper one night.  Some may remember these words from a Mother Goose Rhyme..."Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold...Peas porridge in the pot 9 days old.  Some like it hot, some like it cold... Some like it in the pot 9 days old."  When I was a kid we always called porridge, porridge, but nowadays it may simply be known as a bowl of Oatmeal.  Whatever you call it, it's yummy with brown sugar and milk.....hot or cold:))

OUR RIG IS ONE OF THE FEW ON THE ROAD WITH A BIG NATURAL BUILT IN HAPPY FACE FOR A FRONT END

So reassuring this year to know we are heading out with all practically new tires on the rig.  We put two new front tires on the coach a year ago before heading south with the idea of replacing the 4 back tires this year before we left.  By the time we reached Flagstaff Arizona on our way home last March we knew we could not chance going any further with the rear tires in the condition they were.  Reluctantly, we pulled into a tire place and had 4 new tires put on.  I took a few pictures that day at the tire shop but I never posted the photos to the blog that night.  It was just one of those tired frustrating days.  Below are those pics I never published.  It sure tore the heck out of a $3000.00 bill:((

 

  

I especially liked the photos in JOHN AND BRENDA'S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY recently.  They trailered their horses from near Phoenix to a beautiful area of the Dragoon Mountains near Tombstone Arizona.  Kelly and I are familiar with the area where Brenda and John rode and camped. 

Click on any of the following colored links and they will take you to my posts about each of these places we have been in and around the Dragoon Mountains.  We have hiked both COUNCIL ROCKS and the COCHISE STRONGHOLD nearby and driven over the MIDDLE MARCH PASS.  We have also Jeeped some ROUGH AND DUSTY TRAILS on the northeast side of the Dragoons ending up at the site of 5 Confederate soldiers killed by Apache Indians.  Spent 4 enjoyable hours at the GRAPEVINE CANYON RANCH nestled into the side of the Dragoons near the Cochise Stronghold.  Also visited 3 old western ghost towns on the east side of the Dragoons as well.  PEARCE, COURTLAND, GLEESON 1 and GLEESON 2.   And yep, I reckon we’ve been to TOMBSTONE a time or two as well.  Great historical area for sure and it was nice to see some familiar territory in John and Brenda's photos:))

I am so looking forward to heading for the Southwest once again and I will be so glad to have something else to write about other than this daily same old-same old routine sitting at home stuff.  This past seven and a half months have been such a loooooong haul.  Looking forward to those big west winds blowing all these old tired cobwebs out of my head again…………… 10-4:))

 

OUR TAIL GUNNER IS READY TO RUMBLE AS ARE OUR BISBEE KIDS UP IN THE WINDSHIELD

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The pastor had launched into one of his "Best Ever"messages. He was about half done, at the 45-minute mark and just getting to the "good part," when a member of his congregation died.
Rushing to his office, he dialled 911. When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics carried out 51 people before they finally got one who didn't wake up when they got him to fresh air.

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

MY HEAD JUST KINDA WORKS LIKE THAT SOMETIMES

We took advantage of another great weather day and moved a fair few things to the Motor Home.  Kitchen items and clothes being the biggies.  Well, Kelly's clothes anyway.  Checked all the solar batteries and tires.  Double checked the oil level again as well and fired up the generator for 20 minutes.  Water pump checked out OK as did a test firing of our Legacy Blue Flame heater.  We are traveling with a new Shaw/Star Choice TV receiver this year as well as a new tech savvy dish and LMB.  Of course I am leery about the new equipment but Kelly feels confident we will be alright with everything.  I just remember too many frustrations and 'tearing out of hair' with all that satellite type stuff from a few years ago. 

Kelly's patience and computer skills never cease to amaze me.  She just keeps working away at a problem and goes that extra mile until she figures it out and wrestles it to the ground.  If it wasn't for Kelly's computer smarts I would probably still be in pencil and paper mode.  Our neighbour Monica, who recently went to Florida for the winter found that once she got there she could not access the Bayfield Bunch blog with her different service provider, Comcast.  Kelly had Monica download a program called LOG ME IN which enabled Kelly to gain permitted access to Monica's computer in Florida from our computer here in Bayfield.  Kelly then determined Monica’s problem and changed the DNS servers on Monica's computer.  As soon as she did that Monica once again had access to our blog.  Kelly first set this up for her Mother's computer as well over in Spencerport New York about a year ago.  At any time if her Mother has a problem with her computer Kelly can just log in from wherever we are and have a look at her Mother's computer.  We have that 'Log Me In' program on all three of our computers so theoretically if our desktop was on here at home all winter we could access it any time if we had to from anywhere we are.  And, this ‘Log Me In’ is a free program too:))  

HERE’S KELLY TAKING THE RIG FOR A RUN BACK IN HER LONG HAIR DAYS:))

Oh, and Kelly just straightened out my iPod as well.  She was able to figure out how to stop it from shuffling between playlists.  Right now she is tracking down a problem on her work cell phone.  Incoming text messages have stopped leaving an audible alert.  I'm sure she will have that all straightened out right quick.  She has been trying to get me straightened out for over 18 years now but of course that's proving to be a bit of a bigger challenge for her.   But, with a bit of patience……………………:))   

Weather is not looking good for our Saturday departure at the end of the week.  Rain predicted for Thursday, Friday and Saturday with daytime temps dropping to the mid 30's.  Big change from today’s 60F.  We will definitely want to have the rig completely ready for travel by the end of Wednesday.  Don't want to have to be loading things in freezing cold rain.  Oh well, at least it's not snowing.  And at least we are not stuck sitting here for the entire winter.  Despite all my complaining sometimes, we are truly fortunate people:))
 

Occasionally there are times when I sit down here at the keyboard and am totally void of any inspiration to write anything. There are always interesting things to write about of course, but it is just sometimes I question what it is I write about every day. Are my posts too personal at times, too repetitive perhaps, too predictable. The topics are interesting to me of course but are they really of that much interest to others as well. It seems I sometimes hit the nail on the head and as often as not I feel like I have missed the mark by a country mile. Anyway, just wanted to get that off my chest simply because it was on my mind today.  My head just kinda works like that sometimes…………………………..10-4

GROANER'S CORNER:((

 

NO, DESPITE OUR BAYFIELD BUNCH NAME BEING ON THIS CARTOON I DID NOT DRAW IT

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

BEEN AWHILE, SO I TOOK THE FURRY GUYS OUT FOR LUNCH TODAY:))

Had us nice quiet and peaceful morning walk going on this morning until all the rapid firing shot guns opened up.  That immediately traumatized the little Motormouse and Kelly had to turn around and take her home.  Pheebs (who is luckily not bothered by gunshots or thunderstorms) and I continued on and it wasn't long before I counted 15 shotgun blasts in rapid succession followed by two more a minute later.  Sound carries far on the still morning air so I knew the hunters were further away than what it first sounded like.  It's the first week of deer hunting season here:((  I am so glad I was not born with that 'hunting' gene and that is all I had better say about that.

<<< A SPLASH OF EARLY MORNING SUNLIGHT SETS AFIRE THIS WILLOW SHRUB BY THE POND’S QUIET WATERS

Telephone scams are definitely on the rise as scum ball scammers come up with increasing ways to rip unwary people off.  Especially Seniors.  Check out RETIRED ROD'S post about a scammer that has been harassing him.  My 95 year old Uncle Harry was recently plagued by a caller threatening him if he did not give the caller particular personal information.  We received a scam call ourselves a few days ago from a foreign caller saying our computer was sending out error messages and the situation was critical.  That's as far as the low life got before Kelly shut him down and hung up.  Be aware people, be very aware!!  Greed is rampant and desperate people using desperate measures are on the rise.
  <<< SPOTTED THIS SLEEPY LITTLE RACOON HEAD HIGH IN A TREE THIS MORNING

Hadn't taken the furry kids out for lunch in awhile because I have been avoiding McDonalds, Subway and Tim Horton's etc in an effort to keep myself away from dough and wheat products. Greasy stuff too. The guys were really bugging me today for a ride in the Jeep so I thought, 'aw the heck with it, it's Saturday........let's just go get ourselves a big Sub. Minutes later we were sitting in the parking lot of Bayfield's Subway Shoppe totally demolishing a 12" Tuna Sub complete with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, onions and honey mustard sauce. With 3 hungry hounds in the small confines of a tiny Jeep Wrangler we sure had quite a mess going on for ourselves. By the time we were done it looked like we had had a massive vegetable explosion all over the place. Motor and Pheebs grab for the Tuna and I get stuck with all the boring vegetables the guys won't eat. Hope I can get the onion smell out of there before we leave next week. 

 

HERE’S THE GUYS PATIENTLY WAITING FOR ME AND YOU CAN SEE THEM INTENTLY STARING AT THE TUNA SUB I HAD JUST LAID ON THE DASH AS I GOT INTO THE JEEP

I think we humans are all creatures of routine in one form or another.  Daily routines are the norm and it is how we generally make our way through each and every day.  I don't know about other folks but here is how I break down a typical routine day in my life.  I think of it in phases.  The time frames I use here are general and vary each day but the phases are pretty much the same from day to day.

-Phase 1 begins with my getting up usually around 4 or 5 a.m. and lasts to about 8 a.m.  In this phase I am in my recliner with my laptop computer reading blogs, commenting, jotting down a few ideas for my own blog, checking CNN news, etc. 

-Phase 2 is my 'shower time.' 

-Phase 3 is our morning walk.

-Phase 4 takes up the rest of the morning until about noon.  It is phase 4 where I generally prefer to get everything done and taken care of that has to be attended to for the whole day.  I am a morning person and it is the time of day I am both mentally and physically at my best. 

-Phase 5 takes up the afternoon until around 4 or 5 p.m.  Phase 5 is where I kind of coast and catch up my previous night's poor sleep with little snoozes and also things I didn't get finished in the morning. 

-Phase 6 begins in late afternoon when I sit down in my recliner with my laptop and start on the night's blog and catch up on CNN news for the day.  We generally eat sometime around 5:30.  After supper I am generally back in my recliner with the laptop until 7. 

-Phase 7 sees me headed into the sun room and this is the time I sit down at the desktop and pull the blog together.  I finish up the writing, edit the photos and assemble everything together in the post.  By 9 or so I usually have things ready to rumble.  I hit Live Writer’s Publish button and another Bayfield Bunch post rocket’s off into cyber space. 

-Phase 8 finds me back in my recliner again checking on the latest news of the day and flipping through the channels looking for something resembling any kind of reasonable intelligence.  Sometimes I drift off to sleep with the television going well into the night and sometimes I'm still awake at midnight watching a documentary or something. 

-Phase 9 is my poor night's sleep as I alternate between my recliner and my bed.  Around 4 or 5 a.m. I begin my routine all over again.  This routine basically follows the same pattern when we are traveling as well.  Some habits are just hard to break:))

MORE TURBULENT WATERS IN GODERICH’S OUTER HARBOR

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The woman applying for a job in a Florida lemon grove seemed way too qualified for the job.
"Look Miss," said the foreman, "have you any actual experience in picking lemons?"
"Well... as a matter if fact, Yes !" she replied. "I've been divorced seven times."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.