NOT ONE OF OUR BETTER SUMMERS

KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR PESKY SQUIRRELS IN THE FRONT YARD

Happy to report Kelly is feeling better & the swelling has gone down a bit. She is not quite as sore either. We did have a reversal of walking roles this morning though. For the past 3 or 4 days it has been me who has not been able to walk our morning trail due to a sore foot. This morning it was Kelly who had to turn back at the Goose pond while Pheebs & I were able to make it slowly around the whole trail. Even managed to trim back a few shrubs along the way. Foot's sore tonight so maybe I overdid the walk thing:((

 

Our delightfully refreshing 65F this morning energized & interested me enough to take care of some yard maintenance. Kelly kept herself busy in the kitchen for awhile & spent most of her time resting & reading.  First thing in the morning she is off to the Maitland Medical Clinic in Goderich for MORE blood work.  Dr. Haffner’s office called today saying he wants to see Kelly on August 27th.  Luckily the appointment is in the afternoon because I have an appointment with my specialist guy Dr. Bukala in the morning of that same day as well.  This has not turned out to be one of our better summers……………….

GROANER'S CORNER:(( To all my dearest friends, I need some help. My cousin's cat had kittens and he was able to give away all but 4 of them. I told him I would help him find homes for the last 4. I can't take one because I am allergic, but if you could take just one it would be such a help and the kittens could have a nice home.
Since he lives by the Nuclear Power Plant, I'll go pick them up for you. I've attached pictures of the last 4 kittens. Will you help?

 

   

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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’S TIRED & SORE BUT IN GOOD SPIRITS AFTER HER BIOPSY TODAY

OUR STORMY MORNING BEGAN TO CLEAR UP BY NOON
A large fast moving rain storm coming in off Lake Huron spotted Kelly, Pheebs, & I rolling out our driveway this morning about 8:10 a.m. It proceeded to chase us all the way to Stratford. Sometimes we were ahead of the storm & sometimes the storm was ahead of us. We were at the hospital in just under an hour & I dropped Kelly off at the front door. We had both agreed there was no point in me sitting in a waiting room for the next 6 or 7 hours. This was not a major procedure & the majority of Kelly's time there would be spent behind closed doors waiting & resting. The liver biopsy procedure itself wouldn't take long but blood work, etc had to be done beforehand & there was a 4 hour resting period after the procedure to monitor things.

WAS THAT THUNDER I JUST HEARD!!
I had originally planned to drop Kelly off & then head over to the Wildwood Conservation Area near St. Marys. Miles of forest trails around a lake there & a favorite area of mine back in the mid 80's. Figured it would be good for Pheebs & I to get out for a good long hike & I was looking forward to seeing some of my old favorite hiking & photo spots. Had planned to spend the majority of my day there. However, I was thwarted on two fronts. First was the weather. Rain, rain, rain. Second was my sore left foot. Even if the weather had co-operated I could have not walked far anyway. After leaving the hospital Pheebs & I just slide through a nearby McDonald's Drive-Thru & headed west for home.  And then the storm intensified.
  

I’M GETTIN SCARED NOW DAD!!
At one point the wipers were barely keeping the windshield clear. A few lightning flashes, a few rolls of cracking thunder & the deluge of water from the sky was suddenly over. Skies lightened, rain let up & before long we were driving under patches of blue sky. That was all Pheebs & I needed to detour off down a muddy country road to the BANNOCKBURN CONSERVATION area about 8 miles east of Bayfield. I knew Pheebs would really be happy to get out for a big run & I also knew I would be alright for walking there because of the wooden flat surface boardwalk crossing the swampy area. Walked slow, took my time & made sure I was not overdoing my foot. Pheebs had a great time & I managed to get a few photos for tonight's post. We were back home about 11:20.

NEWLY INSTALLED DECK PLANKS ARE STILL WET FROM THE MORNINGS RAIN
 
NICE STROLL ON THE BANNOCKBURN BOARDWALK

Phone rang about 1 o'clock & it was the Stratford Hospital calling. Lady at the other end said Kelly would be ready for pick-up about 4 p.m. It's a 50 minute drive to the hospital but Pheebs & I left home with lots of time to spare anyway. Day had turned out beautifully sunny so figured we would just take our time & enjoy the back road scenery all the way to Stratford. And that's what we did:))
  
PHEEBS WALKED WITHIN INCHES OF THIS LITTLE FELLOW AT BANNOCKBURN & NEVER EVEN SAW HIM

AFTER A RAIN SOAKED START TO THE DAY I WAS SURPRISED AT HOW NICE THE AFTERNOON TURNED OUT TO BE AS PHEEBS & I HEADED BACK TO STRATFORD
Right on time a nurse wheeled Kelly out the front door of the hospital. She was a little shaky but otherwise in her usual good spirits. Turns out there was more to the procedure than what she had thought. Five liver samples were taken. I'll spare you the details but she did have to spend nearly 5 hours in the recovery room. The procedure's entrance point is very swollen & has to be watched closely.  At the time of publishing tonight the swelling still has not gone down & Kelly is finding the area a bit painful.  At one point in the recovery room today she had to be taken to another room to have that swelling checked in case of internal bleeding.  It was determined that was not the cause.  Hopefully she is going to be feeling better in the morning & that swelling will have gone down. 
 
PHEEBS WATCHES FOR KELLY TO COME OUT OF THE HOSPITAL DOOR

AND HERE SHE COMES NOW BEING HELPED BY A SMILING & FRIENDLY NURSE
Now here's a fellow RV Blogger with an exciting retirement going on. I envy TOM'S energy & keen interest level. Like the fact he's not letting his age or any age related problems stand in his way. I like Tom's attitude, his motives, & his way of getting out there & doing things:))

LAST STOP ON THE WAY HOME TODAY WAS TO PICK UP SOME FRESH CORN ON THE COB
LIBBY NESTER just joined us as our latest Blog Follower. Thanks for dropping by Libby & a big welcome to you from the Bayfield Bunch. Not sure when we'll get ourselves on the road this Fall but we're working on it:))
 
SOMETIMES WE JUST DRIVES AS FAR AS WE CAN GO & THEN WE HAS TO STOP
GROANER'S CORNER:(( The co-ed came running in tears to her father. "Dad, you gave me some terrible financial advice!" she cried. "I did? What did I tell you?" said the dad." You told me to put my money in that big bank, and now that big bank is in trouble." "What are you talking about? That's one of the largest banks in the world," he said. "Surely there must be some mistake." "I don't think so," she sniffed. "They just returned one of my checks with a note saying, 'Insufficient Funds.’
-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

AL HEADS OFF TO THE VAMPIRE CLINIC THIS MORNING

THIS IS WHAT A ‘DRIVE BY FLOWER BED SHOOTING’ LOOKS LIKE

I was able to walk a little farther this morning but had to turn around at the Goose pond while Pheebs & Kelly continued on. I had a chuckle when I saw Pheebs meet up with her best pal Dexter & both of them made a bee line for the pond. Dexter jumped right in with a big splach but Pheebs would have no part of that getting wet stuff. Needless to say Dexter was in big trouble with his owner when he climbed back out of the pond.

 

VERY UNUSUAL TO SEE BLOOMS ON NEIGHBOR MONICA’S MAGNOLIA TREE AT THIS TIME OF YEAR

Had a requisition from Doctor Bukala (my kidney stone specialist) in Stratford requesting another blood sample so that meant a trip to the Vampire Clinic in Goderich this morning . My PSA numbers have been slightly elevated this past year & I have another appointment with him on the 27th of this month to talk about that. There is generally a bunch of people awaiting blood work at the Maitland Medical Center so knew I couldn't take my little furry Jeep buddy with me. Didn't want to leave her sitting in the Jeep when I didn't know how long I was going to be. A dozen people in the waiting room with 7 of those ahead of me. My total wait was maybe 25 minutes. My number was 75 so that told me 74 people had already bravely gone before me. Medical waiting rooms are interesting places if one is a people watcher & I have always been a people watcher. There in the waiting room sat the past & the future. To my left a young fella about 30 years younger than me. Good shape & still had his youthful hair color. Looked enthusiastic & appeared interested in his surrounding. Reminded me of my past. To my right an elderly man probably 20 years older than me sat quietly with eyes to the floor. Tall wirily fellow tiredly stooped. A few wisps of white hair left where once a probable full head of hair had once blown freely in a summer's breeze. Skin drawn tightly over a frail frame. He was alone with a distant look in his eyes & his mouth quivered. Reminded me of the future. While at the medical clinic I also made an appointment to see my Nurse Practitioner next week.

I’LL BET THIS FEATHER IS MISSING IT’S BLUE JAY

From the clinic I headed off to Mr. Submarine for a 6" Tuna Sub on a toasted whole wheat bun. American cheese, lettuce, tomato, green peppers & onions. Sub sauce with a sprinkle of salt & pepper & I was good to go. Still figure that is one of the best food bangs for the buck. All that for under $5. Been eating those 6" Tuna subs for years.  Hey, something fishy about that…………………

WHERE OH WHERE HAVE ALL OUR LITTLE FRONT YARD BIRDIES GONE

Next stop was the old CPR station down around the harbor again. Wanted to see if I could get a better photo of it putting it's location to the lake in perspective. Had spotted a big pile of dirt on the south side a couple days ago & figured if I could clamber my way up that dirt pile I could get a few photos. Forgot about my sore foot. Gave it a half hearted try but new if I persisted I was only going to hurt myself. Held the camera up in the air overtop a nearby fence & fired off a few shots in the stations general direction. Half an hour later I was home & tiredly tipped back in my recliner. Compared to other years I seem to be doing a lot of napping & resting this summer:((

TRAIN STATION WAS ORIGINALLY LOCATED THIS SIDE OF THAT PILE OF DIRT JUST LEFT OF CENTER…PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE ROAD LEADING DOWN TO THE HARBOR AREA & BEACH

 

LEFT PHOTO SHOWS THE LARGE GODERICH BASED SIFTO SALT MINE OPERATION IN BACKGROUND & RIGHT PHOTO SHOWS A LARGE BUILDING THAT IS ACTUALLY A DRIVE-THRU 18 WHEELER TRUCK WASH FOR TRUCKS HAULING SALT OUT OF THE AREA OR DELIVERING HARVESTED CROPS TO THE BIG GRAIN ELEVATOR S NEARBY

FIGURED THESE PHOTOS WOULD GIVE A BETTER PERSPECTIVE AS TO WHERE THE OLD TRAIN STATION/NEW RESTAURANT IS LOCATED IN RELATION TO LAKE HURON & THE BEACH

Kelly is a real action Jackson person when it comes to getting things done. Rather than just accepting her liver diagnosis she has dug her heels in to find out as much about it as she can. Down to her Doctor's office in Bayfield this morning & home again with a handful of up to date Doctor reports. She has all her blood test & procedure numbers, communication info between Doctors, fax copies, & just about everything else related to the history of her condition over the past 4 months. She then goes to the computer & finds out what these numbers & terms mean. Then on the phone to the Goderich hospital to set up her next electrocardiogram. Couple phone calls to Dr. Haffner's office in Stratford with additional questions. Even called the Wickenburg hospital in Wickenburg Arizona this afternoon to see if she could get monthly liver blood tests if we are in Congress. She can & the Wickenburg folks would even fax those results directly to Dr. Haffner's office in Stratford Ontario. As I've said many times before, Kelly has never been one to take things sitting down. When the going get's tough.....Kelly gets going.  Me, I have a habit of slumping into my recliner & holding on for dear life………………..

KELLY READS THROUGH ALL HER MEDICAL REPORTS FOR THE PAST 4 MONTHS

Chinle's back:)) A month ago after reaching a turning point on my blog I had decided it was time to do some housecleaning & make a few changes. I wasn't quite ready to give up my blog yet & I have always found making changes has always worked at keeping my interest peaked awhile longer. My 'Fellow Blogger's list was getting way too long & out dated.  I noticed some folks hadn't blogged for months & other folks I knew to be gone on to other things. One of my favorite Bloggers with a lifestyle unlike many others had packed her blog in quite awhile ago & I didn't think we'd hear from Chinle Miller & the SPOTTED DOG RANCH again. But I was wrong. Happy to say Chinle's back & I quickly reinstated her to my sidebar. I can always relate in some way to what Chinle writes & she expresses herself on a reading level I can understand. Chinle is one of those folks who uses her head to write from her heart. And I like that........................

JUST A FEW RURAL SCENES FROM SUNDAY’S DRIVE

  

IT’S NOT EVERY FARMER WHO HAS AN AIRPLANE TIED UP ALONGSIDE THE HOUSE, OR AN OLD STEAM ENGINE IN HIS SIDE YARD

While writing the above paragraph & saying, 'she expresses herself on a reading level I can understand' I was reminded of not only my limited vocabulary but my inability to sometimes understand what a writer is sometimes talking about. For me, things have to be written fairly simply. Not the writer's fault of course, it's mine. I just don't read on the same higher level some writers write. Maybe that has something do with my poor education & inability to keep my interest peaked when I run into words, phrases, theories, & philosophies I do not understand. Instead of sticking with a post & trying to understand the writer's thoughts & intentions my impatience & frustrations take over & I’m off like a herd of turtles in a cloud of heifer dust.  Once an avid & rather voracious reader of anything printed it is now a stretch for me to read the time of day on my watch………………

HEY, QUIT GOOSIN ME WILL YA

We are off to the Stratford Hospital in the morning for Kelly's liver biopsy. Going to be a long day they told us…………………….

   
SUN’S  CLOUDY REFLECTION IN AN EVENING POND

GROANER'S CORNER:(( This is an answering machine message for a school. It came about because they implemented a policy requiring students and parents to be responsible for their children's absences and missing homework. Some parents wanted their children's failing marks changed to passing marks even though those children were absent 15-30 times during the term and did not complete enough schoolwork to pass their various key stages.
Here’s the outgoing message……………………
Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school. In order to assist you in connecting to the right member of staff, please listen to all the options before making a selection:
* To lie about why your child is absent - Press 1
* To make excuses for why your child did not do his/her work- Press 2
* To complain about what we do - Press 3
* To swear at staff members - Press 4
* To ask why you didn't get information that was already enclosed in your Newsletter and several other letters posted to you - Press 5
* If you want us to bring up your child - Press 6
* If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone - Press 7
* To request another teacher, for the third time this year - Press 8
* To complain about bus transport - Press 9
* To complain about school lunches - Press 0
LASTLY: If you realize this is the real world and your child must be accountable and responsible for his/her own behaviour, class work, homework and that it's not the teachers' fault for your child's lack of effort, hang up and have a really wonderful day!
If you want this in other languages, tough, you must be in the wrong country. This is America.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

A SHORT WINNIE RUN & THAT WAS ABOUT IT

'Yoiks', 47F when we got up but I'm not complaining. Just dressed a little warmer & deeply inhaled all that refreshingly cooler morning air.  I didn’t make our morning walk again but I was able to go a short distance on a flat hard packed section of road.  Happy to say the swelling has gone down on my foot & that small marble sized bump is gone as well. Foot is still sore & my walking is limited but it’s not as bad as it was. Figure maybe by the end of the week I should be kinda walking sorta normally again.

BURDOCK

Had absentmindedly left the radio & iPod player on in the Winnie Wagon one day last week again & noticed the battery seemed a bit slow to turn over when I started it this morning.  Well that was a good enough excuse for Pheebs & I to take Winnie the Bago out for a big drive around a couple big country blocks.  Always feels good to take the RV for a spin even if it is just a short one.

Hung around pretty close to home all day resting my foot.  Managed to make another small dent in my slide digitalizing project.  I’m getting better at pitching slides into the garbage can.  Most of these are poor quality slides anyway.  Technology is so much better these days & those old 30 to 40 year old slides just don’t cut it anymore.  What bits of quality might have been there are lost in the transfer process anyway.  Hard to get excited about an old mediocre fence post photo taken way back in the late 70’s somewhere.  Maybe that old fence post held a sentimental value for me at some point but with the passage of time & aging memories being what they are, decisions have to be made & things have to go.  I know I will feel better when I turn my back on the burning barrel with it’s plume of long forgotten memories drifting lazily up through the pine trees taking their place in the complexities of our ever intriguing Universe.        

 

THIS HAWK GIVES PHEEBS A SCOLDING AFTER PHEEBS CHASED HER UP INTO A NEARBY PINE TREE
NAN pointed out that my llama photos in Sunday night's post also included Alpacas. She said, " The Llamas in the photos are the ones with banana shaped ears...ie: black & white one, etc. Those with spear shaped ears are Alpacas. They are cousins all in the Camelid family". Who knew:))

ANOTHER MOON SHOT??  NOPE, JUST OUR LIGHTED LAMP POST GLOBE THIS MORNING

I seem to remember someone suggesting I try Yoga when I wrote about Tai Chi a couple blogs ago. Actually I did try Yoga.....once. Nearly 4 years ago while Ranch sitting near McNeal Arizona for a couple months.   Kelly convinced me to come out to one of her Yoga classes she was involved with at the time.  This is an excerpt from a post I wrote about my little Yoga experience…………………………….. 

Looked to be about a dozen various sized ladies gathered around in a large circle with chairs & colorful mats when we walked in to the Elfrida Community Center that morning. David, a well toned instructor from Bisbee welcomed us to the group & it wasn't long & I was seated in a white chair with a purple floor mat at my feet. I immediately knew I was going to be more comfortable here than a regular exercise class (oooops, that was about to change) when David dimmed the lights. I am not a bright lights kind of guy. The first minute was spent in a relaxation mode. Now, this was my kind of exercise. But, it was short lived. The instructor had a soft voice as we went through a series of stretches with closed eyes. The closed eyes part worked better for me than the stretching part. The stretches soon became embarrassing when I became painfully aware that some parts of me were not stretching as well as other parts. A quick glance around at the ladies showed me my awareness was correct. A couple of the Gals, old enough to be my Mother, were twisted up like frozen pretzels on their purple mats. I was finding it hard to simply bend a knee joint to reach the floor or raise my legs to an even level while upside down on my mat. I was on the floor, first on my left side, then my right side. Didn't seem to matter what side I had on the floor, my body told me it was the wrong side. I had a lot more cushioning on my tummy side but that didn't seem to work well either. Mashed my face into the purple mat & even my moustache & beard let me know they were not happy!!. Every time I was on my back I knew what an upside down Turtle felt like. Kept thinking of that commercial years ago, "I've fallen & can't get up". Now there was a sobering thought....how WAS I going to get up off that floor??

Between aching contortions my mind took me back 44 years to my young 20 year old days in boot camp at a naval base in Nova Scotia Canada called H.M.C.S. Cornwallis. How different my body now as I sat there on the floor in this large dimmed room trying to do even the simplest of stretches. Where once I scrambled up & down 30 foot ropes, drilled for hours on parade grounds, ran for miles on cross country runs, & did a whole host of other improbable physical things, I now found it hard to simply even sit up. Had it not been for my supportive chair I may not have even managed to stand up at all. Oh, this was exercise alright. An exercise in humiliation. The only thing that finally worked for me was when after an hour of agonizingly thrashing about on the floor like a beached whale, I heard Yoga instructor David say, "and now for our final move. Yaaaaaaaay:)) Well, after we all did that final move, whatever it was, I still had one final move of my own left. I quickly moved myself right out of that building as fast as I could. My flopping about on the floor of the Elfrida Arizona Community Center would never be seen again………10-4!!

KELLY & PHEEBS HEAD OFF DOWN THE MORNING TRAIL WITHOUT ME

GROANER’S CORNER:(( 

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.
TEACHER: Why are you late Frank?
FRANK: Because of the sign.
TEACHER: What sign?
FRANK: The one that says, "School ahead. Go slow."
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
TEACHER: Ryan, what is the chemical formula for water?
RYAN: H I J K L M N O
TEACHER: Ryan, what are you talking about?
RYAN: Well, yesterday you said it was H to O.
TEACHER: Adam, why do you always get so dirty?
ADAM: Well, I guess it's because I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
TEACHER: Now, Macy, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
MACY: No Ma'am, I don't have to. My Mom is a good cook.
TEACHER: Daniel, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same as your brother's composition. Did you copy off of him?
DANIEL: No teacher, it's the same dog.
TEACHER: Parker, what do you call a person who keeps on talking to people who are no longer interested?
PARKER: A Teacher

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.