OH GEE, MY FAVORITE THING TODAY……SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MR. BLUE JAY HEADS FOR OUR FEEDING STATION

Woke up to a coating of icy snow on the Jeep, temps sitting on the freezing mark, & a wind chill factor turning it all into a cold miserable Saturday morning. I was tempted to stay in my recliner all day with my big warm fuzzy blanket pulled up over my head. However, plans were afoot...........

THIS LITTLE DUSTING OF SNOW PALES IN COMPARISON TO WHAT YOU WILL FIND AT THE BOX CANYON BLOG TODAY…BETTER TAKE A SNOW SHOVEL IF YOU HEAD ON OVER TO THAT THERE COLORADO PLACE

Had a coffee blow-out planned with one of my two best friends this morning at a Tim Hortons coffee shop in Clinton Ontario. A short 10 minute drive had me there at 9 o'clock. I sometimes refer to Jim & I as a couple Manic Magpies because from the time we meet each other to the time we depart it is just a continuous fluidly smooth back & forth conversation that never stops. Neither one of us hardly shuts up long enough to take a breath. I have written about our 4 & 5 hour coffee blow-outs before several times. And here's the odd part, Jim doesn't drink coffee & I only drink one small de-calf in that whole long stretch of time. However, we are both prone to get our faces into a couple muffins along the way. Our blow-out this morning lasted three & a half hours & Jim got his face stuck in 2 muffins this time:))

 

A COLD SNOWY RAIN DRIVE TO CLINTON THIS MORNING FOR COFFEE WITH JIM

Snowflakes seemed to be the order of the day & despite lots of outdoor things to do I just could not drag myself out the door into the cold frigid air to do them. Kelly did the trail with Pheebs this morning but I only went a short distance to see how Mama Goose made out in the night with the rising pond water. Happy to report all was well & the water level had dropped by about a foot. Mama, the nest, & all 4 eggs were fine. Bonus, some days are just happier than others:))

STANDING IN A DUSTING OF SNOW

I first heard of GOOSENECKS STATE PARK  in Utah a couple years ago when fellow RV'er Mike McFall mentioned stopping there in several of his posts.  WHEELING IT folks Nina & Paul were there recently & you can read a great Park review by Nina on their blog site. Goosenecks has definitely been on my radar screen these past couple years & I'd sure like to swing by there soon on one our westerly Fall migrations. Since first traveling through Utah in 1992 it has always remained one of my favorite Scenic States.
 

DARK EYED JUNCO ON RIGHT IS STANDING ATOP OUR BIRD STATION…..IN SNOW THIS MORNING
I am slowly beginning to ease back into some semblance of a blog reading routine. These past couple weeks with so much going on I kinda drifted outside of the Blogland loop. Sure is easy to get behind in what folks are doing & where they are going but I have managed to catch up with a few. JUDY is on the move from Georgia up to North-West Minnesota. JIMBO has himself in New Mexico’s Rock Hound State Park.   JANNA & MIKE are in Montana visiting their house while CARON & CHRIS have just done 4 states in one day. MERIKAY & CRAIG skipped out of California & are messing around over in Casa Grande Arizona. And I see that NAN & JOHN have slipped over to do a little boondocking in California's Blair Valley. Another one of my favorite spots because that is where Ghost Mountain is located. Hoping we can make a boondocking stop there this coming winter with our Sunseeker. Better not do a lot of thinking about this coming winter's travels yet or I will just get myself all crazy again about being back on the road. Let me see now, it's the middle of April so that means May, June, July, August, September..............aw yes, feeling better already:))  Oh, & don’t forget to drop in on IVAN & see how he plans to get himself high this summer.  Let’s just say he will definitely have the advantage of being the first one to the fire with weenies & mellows:))

I HAVE NO APERTURE CONTROL OVER MY TELESCOPE LENS SO IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET BOTH BIRDS IN FOCUS AT THE SAME TIME…FIRST ONE, THEN THE OTHER

Question was asked about a hip procedure possibly interfering with our South-West travels this year.  If I have to have some work done on my hip this is how I have it figured. If I have to wait 9 months that puts me sometime into January. Might as well wait an additional 3 months & have it done when we return from Arizona. If I can have my hip done in say 4 months I should still be fine to head off to Arizona in the Fall. With our smaller rig now Kelly would have no problem driving it & if I need a recovery period I would much sooner take that time in Arizona than sitting here in a cold Canadian winter.  For me, heading south takes priority over any hip stuff!!  If indeed I need anything done to my hip at all that is. I'm into my third 'no pain' day. If I do, then I am basing my short recovery time on JUDY'S NURSE RATCHET post about her recent hip procedure. Seems to me she was up & running in no time at all. In fact I think she was even spotted doing THE TWIST in her Motorhome just days later.  And I do not think hip surgery is as bad as knee surgery. Will have to wait & see what the Orthopaedic surgeon person has to say. Isn't this aging process wonderful & yes, I am getting way ahead of myself again:((

WITH OUR SNARKY WEATHER IT TURNED OUT TO BE A GOOD AFTERNOON TO JUST SIT IN & WATCH TELEVISION

CALLI MADISON has joined us as our latest Blog Follower. Welcome aboard Calli & hope we can hold your interest through the long summer:))

BLUE JAYS JUST LOVE PEANUTS

Some readers may remember my post awhile back called, ‘THE ROCK’. Amazingly enough I managed to snag a picture of that very rock this week. I’ll have that photo in Sunday’s post & tell you who spotted it & how I got it:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A few Senior bumper stickers tonight........

 

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

DOCTOR PHONED THIS MORNING WITH MY HIP X-RAY RESULTS:((

With all this rain upon us I think we are soon going to have to load up all our front yard animals two by two & ready our house for a turbulent voyage upon rain drenched stormy waters. No further chest pains for Kelly last night & no hip pain for me on our morning walk which we managed to take between rain showers. Water levels are rising in the pond & are now only inches away from Mama Goose's nest. We feel sad for the Goose family if the rain continues.

ABOUT 5 HOURS AFTER TAKING THIS PHOTO THE WATER WAS UP TO & TOUCHING THE NEST BUT MAMA GOOSE WAS SITTING TIGHT…AND THE RAIN HAD STOPPED

Did manage to get our outside water turned on a few days ago & washed both the Jeep & Sunseeker before our weather turned sour again. They were both still wearing their dusty Arizona coats plus road grime from our long journey home a few weeks ago. If ever we get some warm sunny days again I will clean up the interiors next. Only thing doable outside today was to take advantage of the milder temps in the morning & work away at cleaning up & re-organizing our 2 garden sheds & carport storage area. Seems like they are always in need of cleaning & re-organizing.

EVEN THESE YOUNG DAFFODILS WERE HAVING A HARD TIME OPENING IN THIS AFTERNOON’S COLD

My Doctor phoned late this morning with my hip X-ray results. She said the X-rays revealed a moderate to severe hip joint problem.  She explained why the pain is sporadic & what is likely causing that pain. A narrowing of the space between the ball joint & outer bone resulting in bone on bone & also a possible bone spur. We discussed options & both agreed it was time to consider some kind of hip surgery before deterioration escalates to a point where I can't get around anymore. The pain from here on in will only get more frequent with time.  I have been getting in the habit of carrying my cane around with me now because I never know when that socket will shift bringing me to an abrupt halt in my walking.  My Doctor/Nurse Practitioner is going to set me up with an appointment in London Ontario with a Doctor/Surgeon person to discuss my options. It will be that Surgeon’s decision as to what needs to be done. My Doctor also told me the waiting period for hip surgery is about 9 months. As great as our health program is here in Canada……………there definitely is a 'waiting time' problem:((

GOT DAD’S OLD HAT ON

Our day didn’t really consist of too much. Temperatures plummeted through the afternoon so we stayed in.  When I look back at my photos a year ago I see green leaves on shrubs & trees.  Flowers are up & some blooms are opening.  Birds are in the air & people are out bustling about in their yards.  This year it looks more like cold gray winter days without snow on the ground.  Not nice, not nice at all.  Pheebs & I haven’t even got out for a Jeep tour yet:((

 

MY CAMERA SET UP FOR BIRD & CRITTER PHOTOS IN OUR FRONT YARD

Kelly just did an amazing job in bringing our 7 year old totally crashed Toshiba lap top back to life.  It had crashed a month or so ago with the infamous blue screen of death & would not even boot up again.  Kelly does not have a computer background & had no knowledge of computers until we bought our first desk top back in the late 90’s.  We both started out knowing absolutely nothing about computers.  Only thing we had going for us was our high school typing skills.  We both kept up with things reasonably well until about 3 years ago when my short term memory began to stumble.  That led to a huge drop in my patience & my ability to problem solve & stick with things.  But not so Kelly.  Her knowledge & expertise with the computer just continued to grow.  Her patience & problem solving abilities are truly amazing & it’s easy for me to say that if it were not for her computer smarts I probably would have thrown my hands up in defeat a long time ago.  Using her newer Acer Netbook she went on-line researching information pertaining to our crashed Toshiba.  It took her a few days & I heard many sighs of frustration at the kitchen counter but by golly she did it.  She resurrected that old dead computer back to life.  I have never met anyone in my entire life with the patience & determination this Gal has.  What she gets accomplished in a single day can truly be amazing.  I think there are probably a lot of fellers out here like myself in the same boat.  If it were not for the smarts & caring ways of our Spouses many of us would be struggling & down for the count.  Took me 4 tries over the years to meet that one special person & by golly I sure got it right on that 4th try………….:))

 

PUFFED UP TRYING TO STAY WARM

I think in the back of every Blogger's mind is the question, 'When is enough, enough. When is it time to push away from the keyboard & turn off the computer? When is it time to re-evaluate one's interests & priorities. When is it time wrap up the Blog & be done with it.  I think of past fellow Bloggers Wandering Willy, Laurie, Chinle Miller,  Mke McFall, & others for example. They all reached a point where a decision was made to discontinue their blogs. They are all out there still traveling, RVing, camping & living their lives but at some point their priorities changed & they each decided to pack it in.

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I am in that yearly time frame once again.  The one that besets me upon returning from the southwest each Spring. Been home nearly 2 weeks & I am once again asking myself, 'what the heck am I gonna write about now that will not only be interesting to me but to readers as well'.  For some reason the South-West just seems more inspirational for writing.  My first few blogging years were OK because my blogging was more of a part time effort. I would blog about our travels & then kind of pack it in for the summer only writing a few scattered posts here & there. By the time Spring rolled around in 2009 I decided to see if I could continue the blog through the Summer because I enjoyed writing. A struggle at first but I did manage to gather a few readers amazingly enough & with that new found confidence I somehow slipped into the routine of a daily Blogger. And it has been a daily routine I have enjoyed ever since. But, I do have my doubts at times & it's not unusual for me to think to myself, 'that's it, no more, it's time to end this blog & move on to other things.' First question that follows that thought is, 'Ok Al, what other things?? What other hobbies do I have going on right now that interest me as much as my traveling/photography/blogging hobby. I don't have an answer for that question simply because I don't really have anything else going on at this point which interests me or holds my attention as much as my blogging hobby does.  So, with my usual self doubts & moaning groaning complaints I will just keep on trying to come up with something remotely interesting to write about each night & something refreshingly interesting to photograph each day…………one post at a time:))

NOT ALL OUR FROGS ARE IN THE POND

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two young men are speculating on how long they might live, and one says he thinks he has a long life ahead of him. "After all," he says, "my grandfather lived to be 96."
"Ninety-six? What finally got him?" the other man asks.
"Liquor and women."
"Well, that just goes to show you," snickers the friend, "both will get you in the end."
"Well actually, no, it's not what you think," says the first man. "Toward the end, Grandpa couldn't get either one, so he just laid down and died."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

TWO BLOOD TESTS WEDNESDAY INDICATED A BLOOD CLOT BUT THURSDAY MORNING’S CT SCAN SAID, ‘NO’

ON THE NEST

A couple weeks before leaving Congress Arizona a few weeks ago I had mentioned in a post that we were considering leaving for home earlier because of a medical concern. I didn't mention at the time what that concern was. Kelly began having random pains in her upper chest as far back as a couple months ago. They were particularly bad during the night at times & caused her to lose sleep. And then they would go away for awhile. Kelly didn't feel it was serious enough to seek medical attention until we got home.  She also didn’t want to put a claim in on our travel insurance for fear of her rates going up this Fall.  And with those thoughts in the back of my mind it was another reason we did not waste any time in getting back to Ontario.
 
SPOTTED A PAIR OF LARGE MUSKRAT'S ON THE POND THIS MORNING

With everything going on the past couple weeks Kelly put the problem on a back burner but in the last week when the chest pain came back & increased in intensity she finally called her Doctor a couple days ago & got herself an appointment Wednesday afternoon in Bayfield. With symptoms explained, the young lady Doctor immediately sent Kelly to the Emergency department at the Goderich Hospital for tests. She also told Kelly to stay by her cell phone for the test results because the Doctor felt it was potentially serious. 

A BLACK CAP CHICKADEE CONTEMPLATES HIS FEET THIS AFTERNOON
Just after supper Wednesday night Kelly's cell phone rang. It was her Doctor calling from her home. "Get yourself back to the Goderich Hospital" were her instructions. A D-DIMER blood test had pointed to a PULMONARY EMBOLISM (blood clot). Didn't take us long to get ourselves up to the Hospital where the same afternoon tests were again performed to confirm the first test's suspicions. And the second D-dimer test once again pointed to a Pulmonary Embolism. Kelly was given a HEPARIN injection in her stomach area to immediately begin thinning her blood. A CT scan with injected dyes was ordered for first thing Thursday morning to more accurately pinpoint the problem. We drove home from the hospital Wednesday night in a heavy rainstorm.
 

WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT EMERGE
The chest pain bothered her in the night again & this morning she was on her way back to the hospital for a 9 a.m. CT scan which turned out being delayed until 11 a.m. Luckily she took a book with her because she had to remain at the hospital until the results of that CT scan came back from London Ontario. Pheebs & I stayed home close to the phone in case anything changed. (we did sneak out for a 12” Cold Cut combo at Subway though)

Kelly phoned from the hospital about 1 o’clock saying the CT scan had not found anything indicating a blood clot.  That was good news because if it had, Kelly would have been in for more Heparin shots every 12 hours for the next couple days & then put on a nasty WARFARIN drug for the next 6 months with many trips to the Doctor & hospital to regulate it.  We are happy the CT scan did not find a blood clot but am now wondering what else it could be. The two D-dimer tests are considered false-positives.  Positive for a blood clot but the blood clot was not found by the CT scan.  The D-dimer tests pointed to a problem somewhere in Kelly’s body which could manifest itself as liver disease, a high rheumatoid factor, inflammation, malignancy, etc.  Kelly will now be doing a follow up with her Doctor to see what the next course of action will be.  She felt fine today but we’ll see how tonight goes………………………….

Both Kelly & I thank every one for their kind comments & concerns. Kelly has been fielding phone calls from friends & family for most of this afternoon.  One friend called to say he had a CT Scan a year ago at the same hospital & it was determined he had an appendix problem.  He was sent to the Stratford hospital to have the appendix dealt with but the problem was re-diagnosed in Stratford as a perforated bowel.  So, a second opinion or CT scan may be in order for Kelly……………...

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN TO BEGIN WHEELING OUT THE SUMMER LAWN ORNAMENTS

And on a much, much, lesser note………my Doctor’s appointment this afternoon resulted in two right hip X-rays.  An arthritic hip joint is suspected so we’ll see what the X-rays reveal.  Never had one stitch of pain in my right hip all day today & yet Wednesday it was about as bad as it has ever been.  No rhyme or reason to it.  I think medically, Kelly & I could well be considered, ‘The Odd Couple’.  

GROANER’S CORNER:((  When his eyes began to give him trouble, a man went to a ophthalmologist in Prague.  The doctor showed the patient the eye chart, displaying the letters CVKPNWXSCZ.  "Can you read that?" the doctor asked.
"Can I read it?" the Czech replied. "I dated his sister!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

KELLY ENDS UP IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM TODAY…..TWICE

Late getting to the computer tonight.  Just back from a 3 hour stretch in the Emergency Room at the Goderich Hospital.  No, not me this time………Kelly.  She has just been diagnosed with a Pulmonary Embolism & has to be back at the hospital at 9 in the morning.  I will write more about all this tomorrow night & how Kelly ended up at the hospital twice today.  Just too tired right now to put a post together……………………

FINALLY TYING UP SOME LOOSE ENDS TODAY:))

A SPRING STREAM RUNNING NEAR OUR HOUSE THIS AFTERNOON

So nice to hear Peeper Frogs out around our front yard pond & nearby forest Monday night. Temperatures have come up & the frogs have come out. They are tiny little fellows & it's rare to see them. But every year we sure can hear them & I always look forward to that welcoming nocturnal Frog concert on these warming Spring nights.

MAMA GOOSE STRIKES A LOW PROFILE AS WE QUIETLY PASS BY ON OUR MORNING WALK

AND 4 NICE GOOSE EGGS IN MAMA’S NEST

It was a mild rain we awoke to this morning & that was OK because the key word there was mild. Like many, I spent time in front of the television early this morning watching news reports coming in about the Boston Marathon tragedy. Man's inhumanity to Man. It has been with us from the beginning of time & will be with us to the end of time. So very, very, sad..........................

COLTSFOOT IS ALWAYS AN EARLY SPRING WILDFLOWER

First order of business this morning was to drop off our Sunseeker at the BAYFIELD GARAGE for it's mandatory safety inspection prior to it's Canadian registration. We are in the final stages of having this whole 'importing' thing behind us. Final step will be putting our license plates from the Damon Motorhome back on the Sunseeker with a new 2013 sticker. {Update} As expected, the Sunseeker past it's safety inspection. Kelly headed off to Clinton with the paperwork & we now have the license plates/tags on the rig with this year's updated sticker. It is done:))))))))

 

A PAIR OF GRACKLES DROPPED IN THIS AFTERNOON 
For me, it was Kelly's Eulogy at Uncle Harry's funeral service Monday afternoon that carried special meaning & I will always remember that. Despite the weather-people earlier predicting a 60% chance of rain, the day held, temperatures came up & a warm breeze made our time at the Stratford's Avondale cemetery easier. The warmer temperatures were especially nice for Aunt Jean who was already struggling through the day without having to deal with rainy damp cold temperatures as well. Power has been restored to Jean's Motel in Shakespeare & I'm sure she finally had herself a restful night's sleep.  But her pesky tough luck still follows her.  Feeling a little hungry late Monday afternoon she decided to drive to a Shakespeare diner she had seen near her Motel.  It was out of business.  Oh well she thought, I’ll just drive the 3 short miles to Tavistock & see what relatives Mary Ann & David were doing for supper.  Nobody home.  Ok, I’ll slip up to Quehls Restaurant in Tavistock.  Closed on Mondays.  However, not to be discouraged, Jean knew there is always one place in Canada open 24/7.  Tim Hortons coffee shop & that is where she contentedly sat herself down & finally had herself a mighty big bowl of soup:))

<<< PHEEBS & i GOT OURSELVES OUT FOR A PHOTO WALK AROUND THE PARK POND THIS AFTERNOON

Aunt Jean plans to remain in that Shakespeare, Tavistock, Punky Doodles Corner area until the week-end visiting friends & then come up our way for a quiet week by the lake near us. We would have Aunt Jean stay with us but we do not have a guest room. Aunt Jean & I are much alike so I know she will be looking forward to spending some quiet independent time by herself. For some of us it is the best way we re-charge & energize our tired, weak, & depleted batteries.

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A PAIR OF COOING MOURNING DOVES

OOOOOOOOOOO YOU SAY THE NICEST THINGS SWEETY

The bulk of what seemed an unending list of difficult tasks just a week & half ago are now already behind us.  Still some formalities with Uncle Harry’s estate but for the most part things have remained steady & well organized.  Screwing the license plates onto the Sunseeker this afternoon brought a final end to that ordeal.  With everything smoothly falling into place it didn’t take Pheebs & long to get ourselves into one of our old routines at lunch time.  We Jeeped ourselves off to the Sub shop in Bayfield for a 12” Cold Cut Combo:))

 

 HI-HO HI-HO IT’S OFF TO THE SUB SHOP WE GO

AW COME ON DAD HOW’S ABOUT GIVING ME THE REST  

Our cool drizzly morning finally gave way to a change this afternoon.  About 2:15 old Sol popped out of the clouds & 10 minutes after that Bayfield AL popped out of the house.  Sunshine has a habit of doing that to me.

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Haven’t been keeping tabs on my Blog Followers list on our sidebar lately but did notice today we had a new blog follower.  We welcome Chris from THE LAZY DAZE COMPANION.  I think Lazy Daze RV owners will find this site particularly interesting.  Appears to have a lot of tips & good info on Lazy Daze Motorhomes.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Airhead Airlines, Flight 101, is coming in for a landing, and the pilot is freaking out. The sweat is jumping off his brow.  The planes lands and screeches to a halt. He turns to the co-pilot, and says, "Man, that is the shortest runway I ever landed on."  The co-pilot says, "Yeah, and so wide." (might have to think on that one for a second)

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.