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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DO IT WHILE YOU CAN

BROKEN REFLECTIONS IN THIS MORNING'S POND

Had a late afternoon mobility van run over to London Ontario to-day & just got home a short while ago so not too much time or energy left in the day to throw a blog to-gether. Most of the people I transport in the van are elderly & once in awhile it may be a young person or a child. This job really makes one appreciate one's own fortunate good health. All the more reason to get out there & travel while you can, see & do as much as possible, walk & hike while you still have your legs to take you places, eyes to show you the mountains, ears to hear the wind in the willows, & all your faculties to just simply make you appreciate wherever it is you are............................

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

ME & MY 3 VERY MUCH MOST BESTEST PALS:))

ME & MY PALS NEAR HICKIWAN TRAILS RV PARK IN WHY ARIZONA

With my dwindling lack of confidence & trust in the people world my inner feelings steadily grow towards the light of love & honesty found only in the animal world. I know that statement will not sit well with many people but for those of us who understand & love our beloved pets you may feel the same way as I do. It is a purity of love not found in the human world!! TRYING TO GET A FAMILY PICTURE USING THE CAMERA'S SELF TIMER

Kelly noticed an ad in the Mitchell Ontario paper about 11 years ago that read, Pups for Sale $5. We were living in an old farm house at the time & sharing the space with 2 indoor cats, a couple of birds, some tropical fish & half a dozen Guinea Pigs.....not to mention the dozen or so barn cats outside that we tried to help along as well. We had lots of room in the big old house plus acres of room outdoors so felt it was the right time to bring a new best friend into our lives. STAYING WARM IN OUR 5TH WHEEL TRAILER AT PANCHO VILLA STATE PARK IN COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO

It was in December of 1998 that we drove to an old farm about 10 miles north of us where the ad in the paper said the puppies were. A lady came out of the house & led us to a small tumble down kind off old barn where a couple of horses were lazily milling about on a dirt floor of manure & straw. In the corner of a wooden pen lay the Mother dog & four little 5 week old puppies clambering all over her. They were all dark colored except for one little fellow cowering in a corner who was all blonde & all alone. This little guy looked at me with his big sad puppy eyes & we identified with each other right away there & then. I walked over & lovingly picked him up. He snuggled into my arms & right away fell asleep because he knew he was loved at last & had just found his true home. We named him Max & we have been best pals ever since. He is our most bestest boy of ever:)) THE BUMS ARE ALL PILED ON MY BED IN THE 5TH WHEEL TRAILER

I think it might have been in the summer of 2003 when I first met little Cora. (Motormouse) Cora had been given to Kelly's daughter Sabra about 3 years before when her friend didn't want to look after her anymore. Sabra kept Cora for another 3 years until her own life became busy as well. In 2005 Sabra brought the little Motormouse to our house for some (supposedly:)) summer holidays. The little Sweetums captured our hearts right away & has been happily with us ever since. Her & Max hit it off right away & became fast friends. She is truly a lap dog & is currently curled up on my lap right beside the computer. She sleeps on my bed every night taking up two thirds of the space. I have two pillows & the little mouse is usually curled up on one of them. Sometimes when I roll over in the night we bump noses. She's just a little sweetie pie & is our most best little girl of ever:)) MOTORMOUSE WENT TO TOWN WITH MOM & THE BIG GUYS ARE MISSING HER

First time I met Checkers was at Deerpark Lodge back in 2005. She was the owner's dog but was not fitting in real well at the Lodge. She loves people & kids which was fine with some of the guests but not with others. Deerpark Lodge can be a very busy place in the summer & quite often Checkers would just kind of get lost in the shuffle. She took to wandering away & would sometimes be brought back by the local dog catcher or a kind citizen in Bayfield who knew where she lived. Kelly & Checkers had become good friends in the couple of years Kelly had been working there & Kelly was actually credited with saving Checkers from drowning one time in Lake Huron when she swam out in the waves to help get her back to shore. It wasn't long after that one day while I was working away in the yard at home when Kelly pulled in the driveway with Checkers sitting in the front seat of the car. She was truly home at last & Checkers has been an intimate part of our family ever since that day. Max accepted her right away but Cora's nose was out of joint for awhile & a few scuffles ensued. It took a little while but eventually Checkers & Cora worked out their differences & have been best of pals ever since. It took Checkers a good 2 years before she was able to trust us fully but with understanding, love, patience, & just good old TLC she has become our most best biggest girl of ever. HAVING AN EARLY MORNING GAME OF STICKS IN QUARTZITE, ARIZONA

It is a never ending source of pleasure & enjoyment watching our 3 furry little Musketeer's interacting with each other. Max is the quiet one, Checkers is the understanding Motherly type, & Motormouse is the big Boss dog of everybody. They all have their very own distinctive personalities & look out for each other. One for all & all for one. And that one for all & all for one companionship extends to Kelly & I as well making for one big happy animal house family. In another blog sometime I will write about how the dogs & I continuously interact with each other every single day & the joy they bring me in this otherwise ever increasing troubled world we all live in. THE GUYS ARE LOADED UP IN OUR GMC TRUCK AFEW YEARS AGO & READY TO ROLL....ROCKHOUND STATE PARK, NEW MEXICO

In the meantime I will leave you with this heartwarming little story that came across my desktop awhile ago.......................

A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old):A veterinarian had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.The vet examined Belker and found he was dying and told the family he couldn't do anything for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.As they made arrangements, the parents thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experienceThe next day, the vet felt the familiar catch in the throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that the vet wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. they sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

THE 3 AMIGOS NEAR CARLSBAD CAVERNS, NEW MEXICO

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Also wanted to mention something about the web album I uploaded a couple of days ago. There have been photos of flowers in the blog & now in the web album that have no identification. Reason for that is I just don't know what they are. If anyone out there happens to look at the web album & knows the identity of any flowers with question marks underneath I would appreciate it if you could drop the flowers name in the comment box below the caption & if I have any of the other flowers wrong maybe you could put the correct name of the flower in the comment box as well................. Thanks:))
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

COMPUTERS.....ENJOYABLE, EDUCATIONAL, & INVALUABLE

SOME WIZARDLY ADVICE AT THE OLD FROG POND

Our neighbor lady's children just got to-gether & bought her a laptop computer a few days ago. Kelly & I were able to help her this afternoon with understanding the workings of her email program & a bit of surfing, etc. Right now she's having a rip roaring game of Solitaire on it.

I think that is so great when older folks take an interest in computers & have the willingness & determination to tackle something new. A few years ago another neighbor lady's husband died & she was faced with sitting alone in her house. We convinced her to get a computer & then set about teaching her how to use it. She has done amazingly well & now emails her friends in Germany on a regular basis, sends out jokes, surfs the internet, & prints off letters & documents. She sends us her "daily report" on how she's doing & follows our blog while we're traveling.Another friend of ours absolutely hated computers but finally decided to give it a whirl 3 years ago. Problem was he started out on a used computer that was infested with many problems. While we were in New Mexico two winters ago we received an email from his daughter saying he had finally had enough & had taken the computer outside, threw it in the firepit, dumped gasoline on it & burnt it up!! Well, normally you would figure that was the end of the story but a year ago his interest began to get the better of him again. We & others convinced him to have another go at it & finally after much deliberation he picked himself up another computer running Windows XP. He was off again & did much better this time because the computer wasn't full of bugs. I was able to help him out & it wasn't long before we had the Picasa Photo Program going full tilt. His interest has been renewed because he likes Kayaking so can now take his digital camera along, shoot away to his heart's content, & then return home & download all his own Kayak upside down soggy water pictures. Now, that's a long way from the firepit ceremony he performed just a year before that!! I like success stories & I enjoy helping older folks learn new computer skills. It just opens up their world so much & I love to feel the excitement they experience as their new world begins to unfold for them right in front of their eyes:)) A FOGGY SPRING MORNING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

When we bought our first computer back in 98 we didn't even know how to shut it off. The computer store guys had brought the computer to our old rented house & set it up one afternoon. When I got home from work that night there it was sitting on a table contentedly whirring away. We didn't know what buttons to press, or what the keys all meant & we didn't even know how to turn the darned thing off. That's where we started years ago, right from scratch. And there was no one there to help us. It was all trial & error. I bought one of those Windows 95 For Dummies books & spent a lot of time reading & pressing buttons. I spent even more time turning the air blue for miles around too. That poor computer would have probably died a very early & violent death if it hadn't been for Kelly's patience & perseverance. I kept threatening to throw the whole contraption out the window onto the driveway but time & again she came to it's rescue & eventually between the two of us we were able to slowly piece to-gether enough savvy to finally make some headway. It sure didn't come overnight but we stuck with it through thick & thin. I even signed up for a computer course in St. Mary's Ontario but then promptly forgot I had done so & missed all the classes except for the last two. It was a real uphill battle those first number of years but looking back now I'm sure glad we didn't throw in the sponge because our computer has become one of the most enjoyable & educational things in our lives & as RVing people, it is totally invaluable.............:)) FROSTY MORNING WALKS LATELY

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SMALLER TOWS BIGGER vs BIGGER TOWS SMALLER

FOGGY MORNING?? NOPE........CONDENSATION ON THE CAMERA LENS:((

I noticed a few days ago in Gypsy's blog that she mentioned not caring for the idea of having to tow a car. I remember feeling exactly the same way back in the fall of 2006. Not sure why but the thought of towing a tiny little thing behind such a large thing just didn't seem right or appeal to me. Probably because the mind is used to seeing the reverse with smaller trucks towing bigger trailers. Just seemed the right way to do things & that was probably one of the reasons we decided to go with a truck & fifth wheel back in 06. We had already had a truck & travel trailer combination a couple years before that. Now, with a few years of experience & a bunch of miles behind us my thinking has definitely changed & I think big towing small is an easier way to go!! We never know the car is behind us & I like the fact that the car tracks inside the turning radius of the motorhome so it doesn't cut corners like trailers do. I can unhook the car in less than a minute & hook it up in less than 2. It's not strenuous & I don't have to get down on the ground at any point. No lurching or bounding with the car on behind & no more clunking & squeaking metal sounds like we had with the trailers. And all's I had to do was get my head switched around from thinking smaller tows bigger to bigger tows smaller. Just seemed like the right thing to do:)) NOW, HOW AM I GOING TO GET THIS ROPE AROUND THAT STEERING WHEEL OVER THERE (Nov. 08 file photo)

We had a wet, dull, & gray Saturday to-day so it was perfect for attending to some long overdue computer issues. I've had a lot of photos scattered over 3 hard drives (desk top, lap top, & external hard drive) since returning from the southwest last March so I concentrated on pulling all that to-gether into a re-organized workable mode. It's always a bit of a nail biter when it comes to moving files around because a momentary lack of concentration can mean lost files forever!! WORKING ON THE PHOTO FILES THIS MORNING

We learned after moving here to Bayfield never to go into town on week-ends. And especially long week-ends. Bayfield is like a sea side resort & a Mecca for folks escaping the chaos of suburban & city life. The quaint little shops & outdoor cafes here are filled with happy people enjoying fresh air ambience & small village flavor. We make sure any grocery shopping or whatever we need is done well before the end of the week because once Friday rolls around little Bayfield becomes a real hub of activity. Many sailboats fill the harbor as people come ashore for shopping & fine dining. No buses here, no subways, not even a traffic light. Just one wide main street & a beautiful view of Lake Huron from atop the cliff in Pioneer Park a few minutes walk from downtown. No, I don't work for the tourist bureau or belong to the Chamber of Commerce, I just happen to think Bayfield is one of the prettiest little towns in all of southwestern Ontario:)) http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/gallery/5845016_7pESE#362675509_zZfh9

BAYFIELD'S SNUG LITTLE HARBOR......... AUGUST 2008

And you know what.....sometimes the more further ahead I go..... the more behinder I get:))

And the towing photo to-day..............is a spoof:))

And, I did get a start on a new photo album. Most of the pics so far are the one's I have used in the blogs for the past couple of months. Album is not finished & I'll add more pictures over the next few weeks.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

A TIP OF THE HAT TO THE PINERY PROVINCIAL PARK

FILE PHOTO OF THE FIRST TIME WE HOOKED UP THE CAR TO THE MOTORHOME

Be sure to have a look at Gypsy's posts over the last couple of days as she writes an assessment of her first 6 months on the RV road. Her ups & downs, thoughts, feelings, & ideas come straight from the heart. http://gypsy97.blogspot.com/

On May 14th seasoned RV traveler but new blogger Rick asks the question, "is it (his blog) going to be interesting to anyone." http://rickpaulettervjournal.blogspot.com/ He receives a straight forward comment from Jerry & Suzy http://jerrysuzylifeonwheels.blogspot.com/

And I noticed The Goodelife folks http://dgoode.blogspot.com/ have just posted a decision to-day that is so relevant to a lot of RV'ers at some point in time. It's a life altering change that many have already made & many others at this moment are seriously thinking about.......including ourselves. Seems the majority of our RV friends are all fulltimers.

The weather for our holiday long week-end is not co-operating. Rain moving in to-night for the next 3 days. That will make for a lot of unhappy campers in our Pinery Provincial Park about half an hour south of us right on Lake Huron. http://www.pinerypark.on.ca/ For Kelly & I it was our favorite place to go every spring after shaking off the long doldrums of winter years ago. We would drive there in early spring & take long hikes & bicycle rides on the winding paved roads or climb up & down the huge sand dunes. We would find a sunny sheltered spot in the dunes & get an early start on our summer tans. Who ever heard of sun screen in those days. The Pinery is actually an Oak Savannah with a heavy mixture of pine & oak trees with the lazy old Ausable river channel meandering right through the middle of it. And along the whole western edge of the Pinery is the beautiful green & blue waters of shimmering Lake Huron. When we got our first RV years ago we headed straight for the Pinery to try out our new adventure & it was here that we sat by the campfire on starry nights with towering pines & oak trees overhead. With the symphony of waves gently rolling onto the beach a short distance away we began dreaming of one day traveling the highways & by-ways of North America. It all seems so long ago & yet in just a few short years we have been able to turn that dream into a reality. Thanks for the inspiration & all the great memories Pinery & I hope we get back to visit you again one day soon:))

If it's raining to-morrow I'll work on putting up a new photo album. Haven't posted one since getting back home around the end of March..............................

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

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT......OR WAS IT RIGHT TO LEFT

A LOT OF BOATS FOR SALE THIS YEAR

Well, our predicted rainy weather never happened to-day & we ended up with lots of sunshine & clear skies. SOMETIMES THE NAME SAYS IT ALL

Nearly embarrassed myself this morning by taking one of the mobility vans I drive to the local service station for gas when it was...........already full of gas. I don't know why auto manufacturers do this but it seems they always have to be changing things & can't seem to leave good things as they are. The vans I have been driving over the past 5 years have the same gas gauges where the needle goes from full on the left to empty on the right. This morning & had the newest company van which I had never driven before. Checked the gas gauge before leaving town & to my dismay it was nearly on the empty mark. I said a few choice words under my breath for the previous driver leaving the van with hardly any gas from the day before. This meant I was going to have to detour over to the local gas station which was probably going to make me late in picking up my wheelchair person in another town nearby. I was about 3 blocks from the gas station when I glanced at the gas gauge again & noticed something odd. The symbols seemed backwards. On closer scrutiny I realized this gas gauge was reversed from the other older vans in that the indicator needle on the gauge went from full on the right to empty on the left. Completely opposite to the other GMC vans. Hastily made a few turns & I was back on track for my morning pick-up but not before switching my ongoing choice words for the previous driver to the engineering department & GMC. Why oh why oh why would they take a perfectly acceptable & readable gas gauge of many years & reverse it's needle direction. What engineering genius at some CEO level woke up one morning & in his totally bored & overpaid lifestyle said, "oh ho-hum I think I'll make that little gas needle in the new GMC vans go the other way now & maybe some dummy will think he's nearly out of gas...ha ha ha" AMIDST THE HULLS

We in Canada have our big summer kick off week-end coming up starting to-morrow. Queen Victoria's birthday is always celebrated around May 21rst. In Canada we call it the big 2-4 week-end. A case of 24 beers is commonly referred to as a 2-4 so the beer & the week-end go hand in hand. It's early this year but that won't stop the hordes of people flocking to the beaches for the big party. The town of Grand Bend on Lake Huron is about 20 minutes south of us & has always been notorious for wild parties, thousands of teen-agers, bikers, & lots of bare flesh on the beach. My first recollections of partying there started as early as 1962. It was the place to go & the place to be on the big 2-4 week-end. It still is!! I actually got to stay in the Bend one night for free many years ago courtesy of the local Provincial Police Department. Myself & about 5 other revelers were thrown into the "drunk tank" one Saturday night. Believe me, that was not a nice place to be thrown into for the night. The following morning we were unceremoniously herded into the back of a police van (minus our belts & shoelaces) & driven about an hour south to Sarnia where we were locked up in the Sarnia County Jail for a few days. Standard procedure back then if you were picked up in Grand Bend on any alcohol related offence. That County Jail was not a nice place to be locked up in. My Dad had to drive down from Stratford Ontario 3 days later & bail me out. I think the charge was being drunk in a public place or something & a month or so later I had to return to Grand Bend & pay a hefty fine. You would think I would have been smart enough to clue into my drinking lifestyle after that but oh no not me. I had to go on banging my head on the ground for another 10 rough years before finally admitting I had a problem with alcohol. But, that's another whole story for another time:)) WASN'T ICARUS THE GUY FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY WHO FLEW TO CLOSE TO THE SUN

I had started out in the previous paragraph with the intention of mentioning how the Grand Bend Beach area right now is undergoing a massive reconstruction program but somehow ended up with the Sarnia County Jail story. Amazing how the mind is so adept at misleading itself....................!! LAKE HURON'S WAVES ON DEERPARK'S BEACH

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

FROM ROYALTY TO RIFF RAFF....BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!

AND THIS IS BASICALLY HOW YOU PULL A COTTAGE TO IT'S NEW LOCATION

Our grass is to the point where it needs it's first mowing of the year. Instead of firing up the lawnmower a few weeks ago to check & see if it was in working order after it's long winter hibernation I waited until yesterday to frustrate myself. Well, as usual I got off to a bad start by immediately breaking the cable that runs up to the handle's shut off bar & that was that. Mower wouldn't start no how. Need a new chain for the saw so figured I might as well get the mower fixed & get a new chain put on the chainsaw all at the same time. Couldn't help but notice the hourly shop rate on the wall of the place I took the saw & mower this morning. Something very close to $80 an hour. Are there not any decent business scruples left in the world. Whatever happened to the common sense fairness of the 1950's. ALL JACKED UP & READY TO RUMBLE

Retired Rod http://retiredrod.blogspot.com/ had an interesting statement in his blog a couple of days ago about the repair shop he took his motor scooter too..........
"I stopped by the shop on Saturday and asked about it (the Scooter) but they didn't seem too concerned. Bring it by next week. They think I am an old duffer that doesn't know enough to even start the bike, let alone ride the thing. I have no business bothering them, because I am so stupid. But they seem to be able to take my money all right. They were friendly before they sold me the bike."
It was the line, "they were friendly before they sold me the bike" that really caught my attention. This is something I have run into many times & have really noticed it more these past few years. Probably has something to do with my old duffer status too. We've had occasion to buy some vehicles lately & how we went from Royalty to Riff Raff in the stroke of a pen is truly amazing. Two years ago we went through the process of buying a used vehicle & the sales staff at the dealership was all over us with schmoozy niceties. You would have thought the young fellow we inked the deal with was going to be our best friend for life. That obviously came to an abrupt end the moment we drove off the lot because I met that same fellow a year later in another business & he could barely give me the time of day. I said, "Hi there, we bought a great little car from you last year." He didn't even acknowledge I was a fellow human being & went about his non talkative business of fixing a bicycle tire I had brought in. So much for schmoozy niceties!! Yesireeeee, royalty to riff raff.....boom, boom, boom,:((

And while I'm on a roll with schmoozy niceties, here is another mystery of life I've never understood. How is that whenever you walk onto a car lot & pick out a vehicle to buy, that vehicle is priced as high as pure gold. Let's say you paid $12,000 for the car, drove it around the block twice, had a Tim Horton's coffee & drove it back onto the parking lot. You tell a salesman you would like to trade your car in on a new one. He would tell you that your vehicle, which incidentally was priced as pure gold 30 minutes before is now worth the price of dirt at $1,200 tops.......according to his blue book of course, or red book, or whatever color his wingy auto book is.
Yes, I have exaggerated this little scenario but I think you get my drift!!!!

ONE OF OUR LOCAL BOYS OUT SPREADING A LITTLE GOOD CHEER ON HIS FIELDS

Rainy day coming up to-morrow so maybe I can get to work putting another photo album to-gether from a bunch of pics I've taken over the past 6 or 7 weeks. I will try to find out the names of flowers that I have previously used in the blogs too. My Picasa Photo editing program has been giving me trouble lately so maybe I'll try re-installing it. If you never hear from me again you will know the re-installation did not go well & I have been mortally Picasarized. NOPE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS LITTLE CUTIE IS EITHER BUT IT'S IN ONE OF OUR FLOWERBEDS

And someone in responding to yesterday's blog wondered what a scruffle was & if it could be something harmful to the dogs. I like to think of a scruffle as a couple of big warm huggy snuzzles with some lovingly slurpy smooches thrown in between. The furry guys love em............and so do I:))

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