YA JUST GOTTA LOVE THAT HINDSIGHT STUFF!!

TAKING A 10 SECOND BREAK

Went to sleep wondering why part of my fence fell down yesterday & woke up with the same thought. I must have been doing a lot of fence sitting in the night. Slipped outside early to have a look around before any of the neighbors gathered for their morning chuckle. ONE OF THE LILAC BUSHES IN OUR BACK YARD

I knew the last 8 foot section was wobbly yesterday but just figured it would be alright until to-day when I could secure it better. I'm still not clear on why it tipped over because it wasn't windy. Could be a small sparrow tried landing on it. I suppose I should have done the deck blocks & poles differently now that I think of it but it's too late for that so I just spent the morning adding supports along the fence. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing!! I'll put a couple more braces in to-morrow & call it a day on the fence project. Spent the afternoon working on re-landscaping that section of the backyard. I like that part:)) I MUCH PREFER SHOVELS & RAKES TO HAMMERS & SAWS

A neighbor & I decided to split on a load of pea gravel. He was needing some for his backyard paths & I was needing some for our car port plus a section of the driveway where the RV sits. Minimum load without a $55 delivery charge is 10 tons so late this afternoon the big dump truck rolled in with a big honking load of pea gravel. He dumped about 6 tons in our driveway & 4 tons in our neighbors. Now I've got to get busy with my little shovel & wheelbarrow & move 6 tons of pea gravel. (sometimes called pea stone because of it's size) I figure my neighbor & I will have arms like Popeye by the end of the week. Actually it will be good exercise & I don't mind it. And besides, with my neighbor's 4 tons against my 6 tons I should be able to out- Popeye him to bits:)) IT WAS COOL ENOUGH THIS MORNING TO GET A FIRE GOING

Like I was saying just a few blogs ago...."I am at my best when I have some kind of challenge in front me." This fence project & upcoming gravel disbursement is just what the doctor ordered & despite some aches & pains I'm feeling not so quite bored this week. Just gotta figure out a way to keep the momentum going...........:)) OK, SO IT'S ANOTHER 10 SECOND BREAK!!

I'm going to add a few more pics to the web album to-night.
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COWP......CREATIVE OUTSIDE WOOD PROJECT

REFLECTIONS

Couldn't have asked for a better weather day to start my back yard privacy fence project. We're not supposed to put up fences here in the park so I had better get used to calling this a creative outside wood project. It isn't actually a fence anyway. Figured it would not only be nice for us but the neighbors as well giving everyone a quiet privacy factor. DANDELION

Hooked up the utility trailer & slipped over to the lumber store in Clinton about 10 this morning. Five deck posts, 5 cement deck blocks, 4 privacy lattice 4x8 sheets, 8 2x4's, 16 brackets, & a pound of wood screws. Yep, that oughta do er!! Probably took me the best part of an hour just to get the first 8 foot section set up. Hadn't done anything like this for quite awhile so I seemed to be making a lot of measuring mistakes, fumbling with screws, dropping things, & just kind of making a big muddle of everything. By the time I was ready to tackle the second section, I had managed to gather to-gether enough smarts to actually get in the swing of things & from then on the project went smoother. MY PROJECT BEGINS

We have a lot of greenery in our backyard & that made working very difficult because I was trying to be careful & not break down any young trees or plants. Had to get myself into some pretty awkward positions getting the deck blocks on cement patio stones, etc. Plus trying to get the brackets screwed on while sitting on the ground wedged between Sumacs, wild raspberries, poplar trees, a willow bush, & a Gingko Biloba tree that was trying it's darndest to skewer me with it's branches. But, the hardest part is always.......getting up. It seems that at this age & stage of the game once I've got my 212 pounds down on the ground it's no easy matter getting myself up into the vertical position again. I should probably have a cell phone tied around my neck in case I have to call for a front end loader to come in & hoist me back up with it's bucket. Being entangled in all the branches around me didn't make things any easier either. Good thing nobody was around with a video camera or I could have ended up on You Tube as the laugh of the month!! IT'S THAT LAST SECTION ON THE LEFT THAT HAS APPARENTLY FALLEN OVER

Well wouldn't ya know it.......Kelly just came in the computer room with the news that part of my project has fallen over. Well, that's normal. I was a little worried when I had finished up the last section to-day & it was looking tooooooo good. Not normal. I'll deal with the problem in the morning. I"m too embarrassed to go out of the house right now. Oh dear...............................:((

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AN OLDER BLOG BUT STILL CURRENT & UP TO DATE

OUR IRIS FLOWERS ARE IN BLOOM

I was really stuck for a blog to-night so reached back through the cobwebs & came up with one of my earliest blogs written back in September of 07. It is still current & up to date so thought I would re-blog it. Yes, that is really me sitting in the Triumph & atop the Carman Ghia in the pictures. Click on the following link & it is the very first blog..................................
http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2007_09_01_archive.html CHECKERS & HER PET ELEPHANT

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HAD A BOWL OF ENTHUSIASM FOR BREAKFAST

GOING TO GET RID OF ALL THOSE PILED LOGS FOR STARTERS

Found some energy this morning & more important than that.........I found some enthusiasm. I like when days begin that way. Noticed last year that one of the area's in our back yard was beginning to look a little tired & knew that one day I should get busy & re-do it. All of a sudden while having a cup of coffee in the backyard this morning a couple of enthusiastic brain cells finally linked up creating an idea. The cells quickly checked with the energy department residing in another section of my head to see if there was enough fuel there to even start the project. Yup there was but definitely not a full tank. The creative cells immediately sent out an all points bulletin to the rest of the body to round up all the retired local muscles & prep them for action. Reserve cells were called up & put on stand by. A hasty conference was called & even sleeping & dormant cells were hastily called into the board room. Plans were quickly drawn up & put on the table for approval. Yup that'll work. The special forces team was assembled, briefed, & armed with some heavy caliber enthusiasm!! Operation "Backyard Renovation" was underway at last:)) RE-LOCATING SOME HEAVY CEMENT SLABS

And so began my positive day around 10 a.m. this morning. Kelly even grabbed the camera to take some pics of me & my brain troops in action. Fair bit of work involved in my little project so I'll keep a pictorial record of my progress over the next bunch of days. It should be a good mission as long as none of the troops decide to desert. It's those heavily armed special forces enthusiasm guys I have to worry about. It seems the older I get the harder it is to spur them on to action sometimes................................NOTICE THE PROJECT SUPERVISOR KEEPING AN EYE ON ME

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ONLY 3 STOP SIGNS BETWEEN US & WALLY-WORLD

CABOOSE.....SURE DON'T SEE MANY OF THESE ANYMORE

Quite often it is while I'm taking my morning shower that a blog idea pops into my head for the day. Maybe it's the hot water running in my ears that somehow stimulates the brain cells to spark at one another creating a few new thought patterns to work on. Well, hot water was running over my head into my ears alright this morning but it failed to ignite any creative sparks so here I sit staring blankly at the computer screen. NOT MUCH LEFT INSIDE

It was the second screen I stared at blankly to-day with the first one being at Wal-Mart's Pharmacy department in Goderich this morning. The only medication I ever take is a daily pill called Arthrotec which seems to help with the arthritis in my legs. Been on it about 12 years now. If I don't take it my legs become very stiff & achy by the end of the day & I kind of seize up like the Tin Man in Wizard of Oz. I knew I had one last fill up on my prescription left so figured I'd get that filled to-day. When the cashier rang it in I stood staring blankly at the $190.00 number on the display. What the.......!!!! Seems I had 2 fill ups left so that's what I got dinged for. Oh well, that should carry me through the next 200 days which will put me just past my 65th birthday whereupon my next fill up should be a lot less expensive. When the Doctor first prescribed Arthrotec for me I was to take it 2 times a day but due to the always ongoing economic factors I was forced to cut that down to 1 a day. I have kept it at that ever since. Like I've said before, I'm not able to leap over tall buildings or run faster than a speeding bullet anymore but I do manage to get where I'm generally going most of the time:))
On my way to Goderich this morning I was thinking how lucky we are to be living where we do. We can reach any one of 2 McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Zellers, Radio Shack, Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons, a major Pharmacy, 2 major food chains, 3 gas bars, Home Hardware, Harveys, Swiss Chalet, A&W, plus a whole number of smaller retail outlets without ever having to go through a traffic light. And most of them with only 3 stop signs or less. And all of them within 20 minutes of where we live in this quiet country setting. It's also a peaceful paved country road drive between here & Goderich with very little traffic. Why would anyone ever want to leave here & go away huh. One word......WINTER!!!!
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FROM BEETLE DRIVER TO DINOSAUR DRIVER.....REAL QUICK!!

To-day's blog photos are for our southern non-winter friends. Took these pictures 3 years ago in Bayfield's Pioneer Sunset Park overlooking frozen Lake Huron. We obviously didn't make it south that winter:((

Up until 1974 I hadn't driven anything much bigger than an ordinary sized car. Most of my vehicles had been Volkswagon beetles & small sports cars. That all changed one sunny day in Vernon, British Columbia. It was a Monday morning & the local employment center had sent me over to a store called Bennett's Furniture & Appliances. The helper on their local delivery truck had just been terminated the previous Friday & they needed a new Swamper. (the helper person on a 2 man delivery truck) The stores truck was commonly referred to as a Ford Cabover & had a hydraulic lift on the back. To me it was a large truck because I had to climb up & into it & the whole thing reminded me of a big boxy looking dinosaur because it was all painted green. I met the driver who went by the name of Garth. He showed me around & we were soon working to-gether loading the back of the truck with the morning's deliveries. Some furniture pieces & a couple of appliances I think. I also became aware of Garth's discontent with the store as we headed out with our load. All morning long Garth went on with his concerns, complaints, rants, & ravings. Seems his previous swamper was also his best friend & Garth was unhappy that the store had let him go. We finished up the morning's deliveries & headed back to the store. Garth threaded the large truck up an alley & maneuvered it around until he was able to back into the loading dock. I wondered at the time how he was able to move such a large truck around in such a small space. Little did I know that I was about to find out........... real quick. With a flurry of unkind words about Bennett's he tossed me the keys, opened his door, & with the words, "I quit" he was gone & I never did see the guy again. The head sales fellow was my immediate boss in the store had the nickname of Sparky & as I walked back into the store with the news about the driver quitting I soon found out why he was called Sparky. Sparks flew alright!!!! He was a very hyper man & I caught the brunt of his fireworks about the driver quitting. He thrust a pile of bills in my hand & told me to get out there & start loading the truck with the afternoon's deliveries while he called manpower to get another fellow sent over. I assumed he was hiring another driver........but no, he hired a new swamper. Suddenly, I was the new driver!! There was no point in telling Sparky I had never driven a truck or anything bigger than a car before because he would have squashed me into the floor like a bug. In fact I was to learn there was no telling Sparky anything, ever!! So with that in mind I climbed up into the driver's side of the big stake truck & just sat there looking around at the vastness of mechanical space around me. Had never seen a gearshift lever that long before or a steering wheel that big. There were buttons & switches here & there that were definitely foreign. The road seemed a long way down & the far corner of the windshield seemed an acre away. Before I could get myself too scared or talk myself out of it, the passenger door opened & a young fellow hauled himself up into the cab with a big friendly, "Hi, my name's Frank & I'm your new Swamper." New Swamper?? Hell, it was only a few hours before that I was the new Swamper:(( Not wanting to let on to Frank that I had never driven a truck before I tried to look as professional as I could, but as soon as I ground the truck into some sort of forward gear & lurched away from the loading dock, the cat was out of the bag & Frank new what was up. Between the two of us we wiggled our way around & out the alley to the busy main street without breaking off any of the outside rearview mirrors or taking down any buildings. I do remember scaring the beejeebers out of some pedestrians though as we bumbled out of the alley. Managed to make our way up & down the streets of Vernon that afternoon, lurching in & out of driveways & around some of the local treacherous steep drop off roads in the Valley outside of town. By day's end though we had successfully completed all our deliveries without incident & returned the truck to the store........unscathed:)) No pats on the back from Sparky though......he was too busy snarling about the morning's deliveries already!!
I got onto that large truck pretty quickly & with Frank being a good swamper we went on to work well to-gether over the next little while. We did have a few incidents though where we dropped a brand new kitchen stove down a flight of outside stairs on Christmas Eve one day & another time when Frank jumped out of the truck as I slid helplessly backwards down an ice slicked laneway with a steep drop-off on one side. But, in the long run we did OK & never put so much as a scratch on that big old dinosaur of a truck (well, none that we admitted to anyway) despite it's intimidating size to a little Volkswagon beetle driver from a small town in Ontario..........................:))

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HAPPY MOTORING AMIGO

PRIMROSE & A PINE CONE

I have had many varied jobs over the years & I attribute that to my high susceptibility to boredom. Always found new jobs challenging with an element of excitement & for me that was always the attraction. My type of personality needs new challenges to keep itself from slumping into the dregs of boredom. KELLY' S GETTING THE FRONT PORCH WHIPPED INTO SHAPE FOR THE COMING SUMMER

There is a type of job though that has always held more of an attraction for me than any of the others & I was reminded of that again to-day as I leisurely cruised through our rural countryside in my mobility van. Driving jobs have never been boring for me & I took to driving like a duck takes to water right from the first time I snuck my stepfather's car out of the garage & picked up a couple pals for a cruise around some local country roads near the small town where we lived. No drivers license, underage, & scared like nuts as I manuevered that big huge black & nearly new 1961 Ford Galaxy around the corners & curves of those dusty gravel roads. Mixed with that fear was joy & excitement & it is the excitement I have retained after all these years. But it was the joy I felt to-day cruising through the countryside taking in Mother Natures wondrous wonders. ONE OF OUR LILAC TREES

Here I was.... being paid to sit in a controlled environment on a comfortible soft cushy seat while listening to music of my choice watching beautiful scenery unfold before my very eyes. Lush emerald green fields of grasses waving in the wind & carpets of bright yellow dandelions under white flowering apple trees. Sparkling little streams alongside the road bubbling over water weathered stones with fresh colors of lime colored leaves unwrapping themselves in the trees overhead & hews of purple lilacs emerging out of the fairytale landscape. Farmers busy on their patch work quilt fields to-day disking, fertilizing & planting. Small distant plumes of dust were tell tale signs of tractor activity below. With the deep robins egg blue sky above & the greening of the junglelike landscape below it made for a beautiful afternoon drive in the country & reminded me of why I have always liked driving jobs.

A BLOOMING LILAC

If you have a love of nature, an eye for beauty, & a hankering for driving, you just might enjoy these kinds of jobs just as much as I have over the years. And if your like me this is one kind of job that isn't going to bore you. In another blog at another time I'll talk a bit about some of those driving jobs & how I ended up with them.

And best of all, if the nature, beauty, & hankering parts fit into your life you are probably well on your way to some day becoming a genuine happy camper RV person just as I did.
Happy Motoring Amigo:))

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