A PRODUCTIVE DAY WITH A FEW THOUGHTS ON DEPRESSION

DESPITE A LOT OF AUTUMN LEAVES BEING DOWN I DID MANAGE TO SCRAPE TOGETHER A FEW SHOTS FOR TONIGHT’S BLOG THIS MORNING   NIKON D40 AT 300mm LEAVES ARE BACKLIT AND THE SHADOWED AREA OF A DARK FOREST ABOUT 200 YARDS IN THE BACKGROUND GIVE THE PHOTO IT’S NATURAL BLACK BACKGROUND
Had a few errands to run in Goderich this morning so figured I would include those few stops with a back road Autumn leaves photo tour along the way.  Nice sunny morning so figured I could find myself some nice solid blocks of color along the bush lines.  But, it was not to be.  High gusting winds this past Saturday had stripped many trees of their beautiful Fall colors.   Still some nice photo ops in some areas though but the cold gray days of November are fast approaching.  Soon our once majestic palette of colors will be no more.
 
Spent a fair part of my day on the end of a lawn rake and wheelbarrow.  It is much easier to rake up pine needles now rather than Spring after they have been compacted into the ground by winter's snow.  Also cut down all our towering 12 foot high bamboo grass.  Normally do that in the Spring but figured it might be less messy if I take care of all that long grass now.   Also caught a few more front yard frog pond frogs and carefully transported them to the Park’s bigger pond across the road where they can now burrow in the mud bottom and survive the winter.  When the day comes we have to give up going south I am going to do the same:))
 
OUR WOODEN STORAGE SHED IS SLOWLY FILLING UP WITH SUMMER’S OUTSIDE ORNAMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
I have suspected for quite some time now I may have some kind of wheat allergy.  Kelly got on the computer last week and checked out the symptoms and I have every one of them on the checklist.  With that knowledge in hand Kelly headed off to the health food store and returned with a car load of wheat free products.  So, changes are underway once again here on the old food front. 

Some of the wheat free products are kind of yummy and some taste totally awful.  Some just taste like cardboard but I am finding my way through the tasting process and must say I am already feeling better.  But, here's the downside for the furry guys and the immediate ramifications of Dad's new 'no wheat' diet.  No more sharing Burritos at McDonalds.  In fact, if I have to stick to this 'no wheat' thing, it means no more Subs and no McDonalds Egg McMuffins or Burgs.   And, donuts are out as are probably Pizzas.  I see all this as a good thing in the long run but this morning as I drove by a McDonald's, an A&W, a Harvey’s, a Tim Horton’s and 2 Subways, I knew this is not going to be an easy row for me to hoe.

RETIRED ROD had a few questions regarding the town of Goderich and how they are doing two months after a tornado struck their in August.  The Provincial Government of Ontario is helping residents in several ways, one of which is to match all donations being received.  An all day musical benefit concert was held in the damaged towns center a week ago as well.  Some heritage buildings were damaged beyond repair and have been torn down but the town is rebuilding and people are coping, adjusting and getting on with their lives.  I'm sure the town will emerge strong in the end looking and living even better than before.
As for the damages to the town's large waterfront salt mine, it is going to be a long haul.  The mine is back in production but the repairs and changes there are predicted to take up to a couple years. DEER PARK LODGE where Kelly works has actually benefitted from the mine damages because many of the engineers and personnel brought in to rebuild the mines facilities have found lodging for the winter at Deer Park.  Many of the engineering families are also finding accommodation in the village of Bayfield with some folks renting houses long term until the all the work at the mine is finished.  Goderich is about a 15 to 20 minute drive north of Bayfield.

<<< NIKON D40 AT 300mm…..NARROW DEPTH OF FIELD IS FOCUSED ON THE LEAVES AND HAVE BLURRED THE SPARKLING WATERS OF A POND ABOUT 50 YARDS IN THE BACKGROUND…LEAVES ARE BACKLIT BY A LATE MORNING SUN
And, a personal thank you to readers and friends for your comments and concerns regarding my 4 day blogging absence.  A special thanks for the emails from folks who understand the ways of depression and shared their own personal experiences with me.  The subject of depression is one of those closet topics which is too often hastily swept under the nearest carpet.  In my opinion, no one is immune from depression in one form or another.  It’s human nature, and the many faces of depression are gathered together in varying degrees by each and every one of us.  The key is in recognizing it and knowing how to deal with it.  Talking about depression is a definite step forward for anyone, and catching the early symptoms of an oncoming depression can save one a lot of ‘down time’.    
GROANER’S CORNER:((  Did you know it gets so hot in Arizona that Roadrunners have to use pot holders to pull Lizards out of the ground & ranchers have to feed their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard boiled eggs.  Yep, it’s true alright:))
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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

FOUR DAYS WRESTLING WITH AN OLD FOE

I have sat here at my keyboard for awhile tonight gathering my thoughts on what, if anything, to say about the last 4 days.  Should I talk about the depression that had a hold of me or should I just cover that up with ‘happy smiling thoughts’.  Some folks choose to talk about that ‘half empty glass’ and some do not.   I have a habit of writing about that side of things here in the blog from time to time because the empty half of the glass is just as real as the full half.  And, every bit as important.   Maybe….even more so.

It has been 4 days since I last posted, turned off the computer and never turned it on again until tonight.  No blogging, no blog reading, no checking the weather report or latest news items, no email reading, no Google or Map searches, no nothing.  I had no idea I would be completely away from the computer this long when I shut it down.  In fact, it has been the longest time away from the computer since we bought our very first Pentium 2 back in 1997.  I didn't plan on a 4 day absence, it just happened. 

Many years ago in the 'not so good old days' I had problems with depression but over the last 32 years or so I have managed to get a controlling handle on that for the most part.  Aside from a day here and there it has been rare for my old Nemesis to wrestle me to the ground for more than a few hours or a day at a time.   However, over the past 6 months I'm afraid this wrestling match has gone back and forth between us for too long and my old foe did manage to get me down for a good pummelling these past 4 days.  Relieved to say I awoke this morning with a clearer mind, regained control of the situation and battled my way back up onto my feet again.

I think my age coupled with my ever present restless personality and my lack of purpose and challenge at this stage of life have conspired in a type of overall ongoing frustration that I have been having difficulty dealing with.  Couple that with some of life’s usual weighty stuff and the canoe gets a little low in the water sometimes.  And yes, I have to admit this last change and delay in our travel plans has added some challenges to that frustration as well.  I still have no idea when we will get on the road.  For a 'hitch itch' fellow like myself, sitting on the starting line with engine running, map in hand, one foot on the gas and two eyes on the horizon it's been a real stretch to keep a lid on my patience.  

Also wanted to add that despite what my ‘anonymous commenter’ may come back with this time I did not drop out of these past four days to purposely attract attention to my blog, gain sympathy for myself or fish for a whole slew of additional comments.   I do thank the folks though who expressed concern over my short absence.
 

ALWAYS SO NICE ALONG OUR MORNING TRAIL 
Ok, so what has been happening the past 4 days.  Well, basically not much.  I watched a lot of television and practically wore the remote out flicking through the channels trying to find some interesting programming.  No easy task I can assure you.  Watched way too much depressing news and found it difficult to find any kind of intelligent humour.  If it wasn't for biographies, documentaries, and the history channel there would be absolutely no reason for me having a television.  And why sit in my recliner day after day watching television?  It just seemed that was all my mind was capable of doing for those few days.

OUR ROAD (LEFT) AND DRIVEWAY (RIGHT) ARE NOW HEAVILY COVERED IN PINE NEEDLES AFTER SATURDAY’S BIG WINDS
It was one year ago today we here in Blog Land lost two of our own.  Margie and Bruce Mallin, fellow RV’ers and bloggers tragically lost their lives while out for a quiet morning walk.  This is a link to my post when I found out the news a year ago on October 17th…..WE HAVE JUST TRAGICALLY LOST TWO OF OUR RV'ING BLOGGER FRIENDS.   This is a LINK to the circumstances surrounding this tragedy and the sentencing of the man responsible for their deaths.

A SLIPPERY PATH OF WET LEAVES IN THE FOREST

A fellow RV'er, blog reader and occasional Blogger himself, Alex (RUNNING LINER) from Guelph Ontario had emailed me awhile back saying he would like to get together for a coffee sometime.  Friday morning I met Alex at a Tim Horton's coffee shop in downtown Goderich.   Of course always a lot to talk about and Alex brought his older mint condition Leisure Travel Van for me to have a look at.  Alex is another one of those fellows who can do anything he turns his hand to and of course has made many great renovations and improvements to his rig.  I managed to install a towel rack in ours once.  We spent a couple of hours talking about things and then Alex surprised me with a gift. 

Being involved with the aircraft industry for many years he has traveled extensively and been a part of the buying and selling side of things.  Helicopters being one of them.  In that sales oriented hi tech business there are often perks that go back and forth with sales and one of those perks Alex had at his disposal were YUKON DIGITAL NIGHT VISION Ranger devices.  Although looking like binoculars they actually have an electronic screen inside and are used for seeing in the darkness of night.  You sometimes see versions of this type of technology on soldiers helmets.  How nice of Alex to give me a pair of these and they should be great for spotting ‘activities’ in the darkened desert nights this winter:))

 

While I had dropped out of Blog Land for a few days I noticed upon returning tonight we have two new Bayfield Bunch blog followers.  A big welcome to RV Travelers as well as Gene, Judy and Peanuts the cat from BLUE ROADS TO HIKING TRAILS.  Thanks for your interest folks and appreciate you taking the time to stop by.  Also just noticed a third follower but I’m afraid I do not understand any of the language on the blog so I do not know what the website is about.  Welcome WS.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Three lawyers and three engineers are traveling by train to a conference. At the station, each of the three lawyers buys a ticket while the three engineers buy only one ticket.
"How can the three of you travel on one ticket?" asks a lawyer.
"Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer.
Aboard the train the lawyers take their respective seats while all three engineers cram into the restroom and squeeze the door closed behind them.
When the conductor comes around collecting tickets, he knocks on the restroom door and says, "Ticket, please." The door opens a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on.
The lawyers are impressed with this clever idea. One the way home from the conference, they decide to copy the engineers' technique. At the station, they buy a single ticket for their return trip. To their astonishment, the engineers don't buy a ticket at all!
"How in the hell are you going to pull this off?" asks a lawyer.
"Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer.
They board the train. The three lawyers cram into one restroom and the three engineers cram into the other restroom.
Shortly after the train departs, one of the engineers leaves his restroom and knocks on the other restroom door. "Ticket, please!"

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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.

NOT MUCH TO SAY

With our weather beginning it's mid October decline I figured it was time to put the Motorcycle away.  A last ride for the year into Bayfield and topped up the gas tank.  Manoeuvred the bike into it's winter storage spot in our carport, gas treatment, battery out, cover on and that’s it until next Spring.

Jim, over at JIMBO'S JOURNEY has some great photos of the Albuquerque hot air Balloon Festival.  In fact, one balloon landed on his rig!!  

Just not up to writing a post tonight........we'll see how tomorrow goes.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The positive side of getting older..... 

-You’ll never have to endure those harrowing visits to the dentist again.

-You’ll save a fortune on shampoo. 

-You will look distinguished with your receding hairline, double chin and wrinkles.

-You have survived the humiliation of middle age.

-You’ll no longer have to suffer the disappointment of thwarted ambitions – you no longer have any.

-You can finally sell those dreadful diet and exercise books that have sat unopened on the bookshelf for years. 

-You can embarrass your family by entering glamorous granny or good-looking grandfather competitions.

-You don’t need to make an effort anymore – people will expect you to be frumpy, boring and cantankerous.

-You’ll be able to talk incessantly about the good old days.

-Your failing eyesight saves you the anguish of seeing your disintegrating body.

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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.

NARROWLY MISSED DELETING 500 PHOTOS FROM MY BLOG POSTS, BUT……… NOT QUITE:((

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE NIKON PHOTO ABOVE, ALL THE OTHER PICS IN TONIGHT’S POST WERE TAKEN TODAY WITH MY CANON POWERSHOT SX210IS

Two signs of Spring this morning.  A dandelion near the Park pond and a chirping Robin high in a tree along the trail.  And to think, Spring is just around the corner and only 6 months away.  Now, how special is that:))

 

I SOMETIMES MENTION THIS PLACE IN MY POSTS…..IT IS OUR PARK’S RECYCLING AREA WHERE WE CAN DROP OFF GRASS CLIPPINGS, PINE NEEDLES, BRANCHES AND GENERAL YARD WASTE.

Well, a great big thanks goes out to RETIRED ROD for his fast comment response Monday night about me messing around with those Live Writer albums in my Picasa web album program.  I would have lost more photos than I already have had Rod’s comment not alerted me to the dilemma in time.  I knew nothing about Live Writer storing pics in the Picasa Web Album.  Or, if I did I had completely forgot about it.  I feel Live Writer should put a  ‘delete warning’ on those albums when they are clicked on.  I had hit the ‘DELETE’ on the first album but after maybe 5 or 6 seconds thought better of it and cancelled the delete.  However, in those few seconds I estimate I may have lost 50 or 60 photos from my posts dating back to September 24th.  I didn’t see any photos missing farther back than that.  If I do not lose any more I will have to consider myself very fortunate because I can go back through those posts and with a bit of work and Live Writer in Draft, republish the pictures from my hard drive into the posts again. 

 

The overall key to this restoration of my blog photos will be to do it as soon as possible before time envelopes my short term memory in it’s usual graying mists.  With a bit of dabbling in Live Writer’s Sunday blog this morning I was able to figure out how to restore all pics to that post so I should be OK now in fixing the rest of the posts going back about 17 days.  Had I not stopped that deletion process when I did I would have easily lost all 500 photos from posts going back months and months.   Again ,thanks to Rod for quickly alerting me to the mistake I made……..and, the even bigger mistake I was about to make.

Looks like our great weather may be coming to an end shortly so we wanted to get over to see my Uncle Harry and take him outside for some fresh air and sunshine.  Bit of a breeze late this morning but we were able to get Harry out in his wheelchair and find a spot out of the wind for him.  Our little Pheebe sure knows how to put a big smile on Uncle Harry's face:))

 

I'm sure we topped 80F this afternoon.  The sun felt hot as Pheebs and I did the trail under a cool, colourful canopy of Autumn leaves.  I have a favourite young Maple Tree where I often pause to partake in a few quiet thoughts.

USING A SELF TIMER I HUNG THE CAMERA FROM A SUMAC BRANCH FOR THIS PHOTO >>>

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Young Chuck moved to Arizona and bought a horse from a farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day. The next Day he drove up and said, "Sorry, Son, but I have some bad news, The horse died."

Chuck replied, "Well, then just give me my money back."

The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Chuck said, "Ok, then, just bring me the dead horse."

The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?"

Chuck said, "I'm going to raffle him off."

The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead horse!"

Chuck said, "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, "What happened With that dead horse?"

Chuck said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a Piece and made a net profit of $898.00."

The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?"

Chuck said, "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back."

Chuck grew up and now works for the government.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-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

GUESS WHO HAD PUMPKIN PIE FOR BREAKFAST!!

PORTER HILL LINE ON MY WAY TO GODERICH THIS MORNING
All day Saturday I thought it was Sunday and when Sunday finally showed up it seemed like Saturday which now makes Monday feel like Sunday.  Now, if tomorrow is Tuesday and today is really the day after Friday, not Saturday, then how far can Wednesday really be behind Thursday.  Does anybody know where half past today is?  Oh how these long week-ends can sure mess a feller up.

ONE OF MY ‘QUIET SPOTS’ ALONG THE MORNING TRAIL

Unbeknownst to me, Kelly had baked 2 pumpkin pies on Sunday and as it turns out, it's a good thing she did.  I was only away for an hour this morning but that was long enough for you know who to reach a big paw up and over the kitchen counter and snag almost half a pumpkin pie.  The second pie was just a few inches farther back and amazingly managed to escape the big marauding paw.  When I got home the empty pie plate was sitting in the middle of the living room floor along with one of Kelly's shoes and the pie wrapper.  And, not one pie crumb was to be found anywhere.
 
THIS DOGGY IS SUFFERING FROM PUMPKIN PIE OVERLOAD  
During an early morning CNN newscast I heard a woman describe herself as a depressive realist. That rang a bell for me and I rattled that around in my head for a minute. She explained it as seeing the world in a realistic way and feeling depressed about it. Yep, right or wrong, good or bad, I thought that summed me up real good:))


After reading  JEAN AND SKIP'S post this morning I was reminded of our trip through the Page Arizona area back in 07.  We had stayed in Kanab while visiting the north rim of the Grand Canyon and then rolled through Page Arizona heading for the south rim of Grand Canyon.  The night at the south rim did not turn out to be one of our better RVing memories and was the first negative encounter with our rig's troublesome hydraulic jack system.  You can read my post about that night and following day campground mishap here at, FRUSTRATING NIGHT AT THE GRAND CANYON 

It has been a long time since I have paid any attention to my Picasa Web Albums and when I dropped in there today I found a big huge mess.  I have no idea why or where the 'Live Writer' albums came from but each one has a thousand random photos in them.  I wonder how long that nonsense has been going on.   Anyone going to my Picasa web albums would have been finding a confusing mess there for what I figure must have been a long time.  I have made an address change but I really must get in there and try to find out what has gone awry.  I did see a note from Google+ so am wondering if that has had something to do with the shenanigans.   Bugs me when things go in and make changes to my stuff.  Facebook is notorious for doing that.  I don't know enough about Google+ but why 'Live Writer' is now dumping photo albums of a thousand pics apiece into my Picasa album program I have no idea!!  This is the new address for our BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS


KELLY CHATTING WITH HER MOTHER IN SPENCERPORT NEW YORK THIS AFTERNOON
GROANER'S CORNER:((  The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi. 
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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 (revised)
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.

WOULD HAVE BEEN A NICE MORNING FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDE BUT KELLY MADE ME GO SHOPPING WITH HER:((

MY DAD MADE ME POSE FOR THIS ONE (CANON POWERSHOT SX210IS)
It was the cozy warmth in our early morning Autumn air which made me take note of the quiet forest surroundings.  A quick flurry of blue wings broke the silence as a Blue Jay flittered into a Pine tree nearby.  Another sound high in a treetop along the path revealed itself as a CICADA bug.  Unusual to hear them this late in the season but our summer like temperatures have kept them active.  Other than the Cicada and the Blue Jay our forest was so quiet I could hear leaves falling as they brushed against branches on their long journey to the forest floor below.  Pheebe and I did not walk fast this morning.  It was a morning to go slow.  To stop and to listen.  To look and to peer.  Just a great morning under a canopy of orange, crimson and golden maple leaves,  fiery red Sumacs and tall rustling Poplars.   Beauty to be absorbed everywhere.  Well, I don’t know how much beauty the Pheebs absorbed but her nose was sure sucking up a lot of Autumn smells along the trail.

OUR OLD BACKYARD GATE SURROUNDED BY A SEA OF YELLOW PINE NEEDLES
Welcome aboard Teresa Wood as another Bayfield Bunch Follower.  We hope to have the big wheels rolling in a few weeks so bring along some warm mittens and a hat as we may be in for some colder weather somewhere in southern Colorado or northern Arizona soon.

WE PASS THIS POND EVERY MORNING AND LATELY I HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRING FROGS FROM OUR SMALL FRONT YARD POND TO THIS BIGGER POND….IT’S MY ANNUAL FROG ROUND UP TIME ONCE AGAIN
It was more Motor Home puttering today as we put up some new curtains, put down some new mats and managed to get the living roof ceiling fan cleaned.  The bathroom fan is a whole different monster and I'm considering having that old unreliable relic replaced with a newer and better fan.   More clothes went into the rig today but they weren't mine.  I had my 2 pairs of socks loaded up about 3 weeks ago.  Motor and Pheebs were in the coach today for the first time together and it was funny to watch them both muscling each other out of the way vying for my attention while sitting on my bed with snacks in my pocket.    They are just a couple of Clowns those two. 

HE’S MY DAD!!  NO, HE’S MY DAD!!!!
Zellers had a 2 for 1 special in their rug department today and of course my opinion was needed on matching colors so we slipped up to Goderich and took advantage of the sale.  In my world, it’s usually 3 for the price 6 whenever I go anywhere!!  Felt pretty guilty about leaving the Kids at home but we knew there would not be any room in the back of the Jeep for Pheebs once we got things loaded up.  Two sad little furry faces looking so forlorn in the window as we rolled out of the driveway.   And, if we felt guilty seeing those little faces in the window you can just imagine how we felt 20 minutes later sitting at McDonalds chowing down our Sausage McMuffin breakfasts.   We both had to pop breath mints on the way home so the guys wouldn’t know where we had been without them:((

I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED THOSE FANCY PAINT JOBS ON THE HIGH END MOTOR HOMES SO THIS MORNING I TACKLED THE RIG WITH A GRAY SPRAY PAINT BOMB IN AN ATTEMPT TO COME UP WITH AN ORIGINAL DESIGN FOR OUR COACH.  WHATCHA THINK……..NOW, IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL ALSO BELIEVE I HAVE THIS REALLY NEAT BRIDGE FOR SALE IN BROOKLYN TOO.   JUST SHADOWS ON THE SIDE OF THE COACH FROM NEARBY SUMACS AND MULBERRY TREES………………….
Over $71 to gas up the Jeep.  Yeouch!!   As usual there were not many people in Zellers so that made things a wee bit more tolerable for me.  As a rule I have a 20 minute attention span when I am in any store.  If I can't get in and get what I want in 20 minutes then I shouldn't even be in there.  Normally, my solo shopping expeditions go off without a hitch and I am clear of the store in my allotted time.  Not so if I am with somebody else.  Oh how a man dread's these words, "oh I just want to check on something else", "oh look....10% off for anything in the store," "I just gotta stop in housewares for a minute," "what's the rush, we don't have to be anywhere", "I should really look at some shoes while we're here", and so it goes and so it goes!!

As much as we continue to monitor Real Estate properties and prices in our area we are ever mindful of where we are and what we already have.  We may never find our perfect little place in the countryside but we'll continue to search.  In the meantime, we'll hang on to the great little place we already have:))

We are very fortunate here in Bayfield to have a Mennonite/Amish bakery and store just south of town.  Kelly had them saw a turkey in half and bought some pie shells.  Our meal tonight was none other than good old Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, mashed turnip and the best home made pumpkin pie I have ever tasted.  And that pumpkin pie was still warm out of the oven when we smothered it in whipped cream.  It is rare for me to ever go back for second helpings of anything but tonight's supper was a rule breaker and I had better not get down on the floor for a game of toys with the guys tonight or I will never be able to get up again.  Good thing we have been in the habit of walking Pheebs and Motor after supper lately.  This constant battle with weight at this age sure is discouraging…………….

RESTING ON A SOFT BED OF PINE NEEDLES  AFTER CHASING A BUNCH OF ELUSIVE GRASSHOPPERS THIS MORNING AND YES, DAD MADE ME POSE FOR THIS ONE TOO
GROANER'S CORNER:(( 
"Cash, check or charge?" the clerk asked after folding items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet the clerk noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.
"Do you always carry your TV remote?" she asked.
"No," she replied. "But my husband refused to come shopping with me, so I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him."
Be afraid guys…..be very afraid!!  AL.
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-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their soul remains un-awakened.

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

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

ANOTHER FINE AUTUMN DAY IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO

ALL TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE OF A BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN DAY AROUND OUR HOUSE
We reached 75F today under a warm clear blue Autumn sky.   It just does not get any better than that.  I sit here in our sunroom in late afternoon with a low western sun backlighting a clump of cedar trees and yellowing Tiger's Eye Sumacs.   The ever changing beauty before me is ethereal.
 

 

Kelly busied herself today loading the Motor Home.  I wonder why it is that women seem to have 9 things to load up to a man's one thing.  I saw basket loads of clothing going out there that would make a Thrift store envious.  I've got my blue jeans and 2 shirts I think.  Wonder if I should take some laces for my shoes.

I don't know what it is about wood that I like so much but whenever I see a nice piece of wood I have to drag it home.  No matter that I do not have any carpentry or wood carving skills.  No matter that we don't have a wood burning stove or fireplace and no matter that joining two pieces of wood together by whatever means is not an easy task for me.  I just bring pieces of wood home.  On our morning walk today I spotted a piece of wood in our Park's environmental recycling area.  It was about a foot and half long and maybe 6 inches wide.  Looked like a discarded piece of pressure treated lumber used in making a deck.  Someone had obviously thrown out some scraps.  Scraps to them maybe, but it was a great piece of wood to me.  And in good shape too except for a bit of mud.

Maybe it is patterns I see in the wood grain.  Maybe it's the smoothness or it's very shape itself.  No matter, it was a handsome piece of wood and I lovingly carried it home.  A neighbour brought over a bag of wood scraps left over from a renovation project a few years ago.  She figured the scraps would make for a nice campfire.  She was right of course but oh my, it was a very handsome bag of wood scraps indeed.   The bag is still in my workshop and every once and awhile I open the bag, peer in and think to myself, 'no, those wood scraps are too beautiful to burn.  Just look at those fine wood grains, those shapes, those textures.....Say, anybody need a nice piece of wood………I got lots:))  


Think I will take commenter Ed's suggestion and keep our 'Four Corner's travel plan open.....Ed said, "Don't give up on 4 Corners completely. The weather may not be so bad that you can not see some of the area.  I would have a Plan 'A' that would include 4 Corners and Plan 'B' that did not. Would make my final decision based on the weather after I got on the road and reached the 'Separation Point'."  I think Ed has a good point there.   Sometimes I get a little too darned discouraged for my own good!! 

Had myself a good start to the day but by noon it was like someone had opened a valve and all my energy drained out.  Ended up looking at the backside of my eyelids again for a few hours this afternoon.  Set out to take Pheebs for a spin around the trail but turned back after my legs felt like a couple of lead weights.

Having lost our two beloved Pals, Max and Checkers this past Spring my heart goes out to Grant and Kathy over at BIRDING RVERS.  Their Golden Retriever, 'Raider', suddenly passed away just a few days ago while on his morning walk.  I understand only too well the heavy hearts these folks are feeling right now and also know it is only the passage of time which will ease their grieving hearts.

I never did write a tribute to Max and Checkers and I never did write about their final days simply because I could not bring myself to do that.  The pain of their passing is still heavy in my heart even after these long 6 months.  One day I hope to write about two of the best Pals I ever had.  Just this short simple paragraph brought tears to my eyes again.

Goderich held it's OUT OF THE STORM CONCERT today in the very Square that had been devastated so badly by a recent tornado.  Noticed, The Downchild Blues Band was playing.  Anyone remember their big song years ago,  FLIP FLOP AND FLY ??  Always thought they did a great job with that bouncy tune.

I made a rather disparaging remark about China in last night's post which I edited out this morning.  An Anonymous Commenter rather bluntly pointed out my insensitivity and after going back and re-reading what I had written I had to agree with the commenter.  I hope I am never to proud to admit to my mistakes.  And my apologies to China of course……………


And this correction from KEVIN AND RUTH in regards to my statement in Saturday's post about out of country medical health coverage for Canadians....{Quote}" This is actually a misleading statement, Al. If you are covered under OHIP, and need out of country care, they will reimburse you for emergency medical up to whatever the same procedure would have cost had you had to have it done in Ontario. In Mexico, costs are cheaper than in Canada so we don't require unnecessary medical insurance. In the USA, we would end up being out of pocket for the difference."{Unquote}

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A few thoughts on Autumn.......
-Autumn is a season for big decisions -- like whether or not it's too late to start spring cleaning.
-Autumn -- time to drag out your winter clothes and see what kind of summer fun the moths had.
-This autumn we can look forward to falling leaves and rising gas prices. We'll be raking it up while the oil companies are raking it in.
-The Autumn leaves are a lot like raising kids. First they turn on you, and then they fly away. And next thing you know, you look out the window and they're back!
-I got tired of looking at all those leaves in my yard, so I got up off the couch and went into action……………..I closed the curtains!!
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
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The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of right  now...AL