PHEEBE OUT-MUFFINED ME & WE HAD THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING THIS MORNING

Was feeling a need to take the 'big wheels' for a drive this morning so loaded up the gang & we headed off to Goderich.  Topped off our propane tank & stopped in across the road at a windshield repair place to get an opinion on a small stone chip in the passenger side.  Fellow says the chip has already been repaired once & not to worry about it.  The windshield place just happened to be right next door to McDonalds so grabbed a muffin & coffee to go while there.

CONVENIENTLY PARKED NEXT TO A McDONALDS

 

WAITING, WAITING, WAITING & THEN A PHOTO OF 2 VERY McHAPPY CHARACTERS
Want to see a couple really cute pictures of Hailey??  Be sure to drop by & see what Ivan is up to over at ROADTRIP 2014.  He's managed to win himself a couple local photo contests & he's still at his fire base camp taking care of business. Ivan’s looking forward to heading out in a month or two for the great South-West.

I walk outside & go over to the Motorhome.  Open up a couple bins with the intentions of loading up some stuff.  It gives me a psychological boost when I do that but there's a problem.  I walk through the carport, sheds, & house trying to think of things to load up.  Seems I mostly end up going back to the rig & closing the bin doors again having not come up with anything to load.  Guess I will have to be patient & wait until the day before we leave to get all that done in one big excited & frantic blast.

NOTICED ANOTHER EDIBLE PUFFBALL GROWING IN THE FOREST THIS AFTERNOON
Kelly questioned our departure date a couple days ago expressing an interest in the possibility of Utah & Arizona being to hot if we get there too early.  I was quickly on the computer checking out average temperatures for our areas of travel in both States for October.  Looks Okay but hard to tell.  Temperatures in the South-West depend more on altitude than area.  If it's too hot one just looks for a higher altitude near by & that usually solves the problem.  And higher altitudes are readily available in the South-West:))

It seems I got an Alpha mixed up with an Alfa & it is important to keep one's Alfa/Alphas straight.  I did miss-spell the name of MERIKAY & Craig's Motorhome a few posts ago.  I'm a bit surprised nobody else noticed this but I saw in a comment from Craig that indeed their rig is an Alfa & not an Alpha.  Craig went on to say,  "according to people who have been involved with them since the start, Alfa stood for "A Loving Family Affair".  Now, there Alfa Motorhome does have a TPO roof from a company named Alpha. (don’t ask me what TPO stands for)  Craig said,  "Alfa Leisure went out of business in 2008, at the height (depth) of the recession. Their assets, parts, and many of their people survive as the service company Alfateers in Fontana, CA”.  I have since gone back & made the corrections to my posts.

Ed from THE PEREGRINATING GRAYBEARD had mentioned a few posts back that when he looked at my posts the smaller photos were not always side by side as I had configured them to be.  Thursday I headed into the scary area of my blog's template & found the section where I could either stretch or de-stretch the widths of my 2 columns.  I lessened the width of my right hand column & that seems to have fixed the problem.  Ed left a comment this morning saying the photos are now side by side as I had hoped they would be.  Thanks for pointing that out Ed.  Wondering who Ed is??  Check out the day we met Ed back in late December of 2010.  THE DAY WE MET ED FREY:))

Have you ever spent sleepless nights lying awake wondering what a Haboob is.  I know I haven't but I am only one out of countless millions.  Cheryl Ann over at DEEP CANYON knows what a Haboob is & she certainly doesn't go outside when a Haboob is overhead!!

Cut our grass today.  First time we've had grass to cut in years.  That sod I put down last week is really growing.  I had hoped it was that 'self cutting' kind of grass but alas it is not.  Tried our green push mower on it.  Not so good so finished cutting it with the weed  whacker.  That was more gooder but maybe the most goodest would have been to not have any grass to cut at all:))  Oh well at least I don't have to spend endless hours riding around on a lawnmower although having never done that, who knows I might like it:))

Oh yes, about being out-muffined.  After picking up a muffin & coffee I decided to throw a little extra gas in the rig.  Pulled up to the Solo gas pump eating my McDonald’s carrot muffin.  Exited the rig with muffin in hand.  New girl at the pump was having a problem with the nozzle so I offered to do it for her.  Problem was I had two thirds of a carrot muffin in my hand.  Walked over to my drivers door, opened it & set my muffin inside with the words to Kelly, “ don’t let Pheebs over here to grab my muffin”.  I distinctly heard an affirmative OK from the security department in the passenger seat.  Finished the fuelling & a few minutes later I am back in the drivers seat & reach down for my muffin.  It’s gone!!!!  Nothing, not even a smattering of crumbs left.  Due to a lapse in security I was definitely out-muffined by a 4 legged furry Muffinator:((

AND SPEAKING OF THE LITTLE MUFFINATOR, HERE SHE IS NOW:))

 

SHE CAN EVEN FALL ASLEEP WITH HER HEAD RESTING ON A FAVORITE BONE

 

SHE JUST LOVES HER COUCH

AND SHE ALWAYS LOVES SNOOZING ON DAD’S LAP:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick up a few things when he noticed an old lady following him around. Thinking nothing of it, he ignored her and continued on. Finally he went to the checkout line, but she got in front of him.  "Pardon me," she said, "I'm sorry if my staring at you has made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that you look just like my son, who just died recently."  "I'm very sorry," replied the young man, "is there anything I can do for you?"  "Yes," she said, "As I'm leaving, can you say 'Good bye, Mother'? It would make me feel so much better."  "Sure," answered the young man.  s the old woman was leaving, he called out, "Goodbye, Mother!"  As he stepped up to the checkout counter, he saw that his total was $127.50.  "How can that be?" He asked, "I only purchased a few things!"  "Your mother said that you would pay for her," said the clerk.

---

As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was. "We're behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile.  "Really," I said. "I have to say you don't look very discouraged."  "Discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't even been up to bat yet."

VACUUMED ENOUGH DOGGY FUR OUT OF THE JEEP TODAY TO MAKE ANOTHER WHOLE DOGGY

TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE FROM WEDNESDAYS JEEP DRIVE…WE NEVER TIRE OF WANDERING THE BACK ROADS

Figured I had better get that clay based mud off our Jeep this morning before an afternoon sun swung round through the Pines & baked it on.  Out with the power washer & off the mud.  Out with the Power Vac for a clean-up of the interior as well.  I sucked up enough doggy fur for us to make another whole doggy.  And we had us enough mud on the floor mats to make a couple mud pies.....had we been so inclined to do so.

 

NOT EVERY FARMER HAS A SAILBOAT IN HIS YARD OR A NICE TRACTOR FOR MOWING GRASS ALONG THE DITCHES

Was feeling the need for a Tuna Sub so just before noon Pheebs & I headed ourselves on down to 'Subway' & shared a Sub.  Oh oh, tuna fish between the seats again.  And just after I cleaned all the muffin crumbs out too.   Oh well better get me some more air fresheners.

THOUGHT THIS WAS ANOTHER MARSHMALLOW FARM UNTIL I SAW THE DARK ROUND CENTERS WHICH MAKES IT A ‘SMORES’ FARM:))

 

WRAPPING THE BALES BY HAND AT LEFT OR WRAPPING THE BALES WITH A MACHINE AT RIGHT

Hauled out my old dog eared & worn RV checklist this morning.  This is the list I typed up about 7 years ago.  We use this list for packing the RV, & checking off the multitude of things one has to do when planning to be away from home for 6 months.  Yes it's a bit early but the list needed updating so figured I might as well get after that right now while I'm thinking about it.

 

 

WANDERING RIVERS & ROADS MAKE UP OUR COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD

 

PHEEBS & I ALWAYS ENJOY OUR MANY DRIVES THROUGH SOUTH-WESTERN ONTARIO’S RURAL FARM LANDS

We are still walking neighbor Gerald's dog Dexter twice a day.  Pheebs & I head over to the Park while Kelly walks over to Dexter's house then meets us in the Park across the road.  After spotting each other it is always so great to watch Pheebs & Dexter excitedly rush towards each other at top speed with tails wagging & happy doggy smiles bursting from their faces.  Gerald's eye is still healing from surgery & he has had to keep his head tilted down 24 hours a day for the past week.  Doctor gave him the OKay today to look up so he will be back out walking Dexter again.

 

THESE GUYS ARE ALWAYS SO HAPPY TO SEE EACH OTHER

Noticed today TDHOMESTEAD has just joined us on our Blog Followers list.  Thanks for dropping by folks & nice to have you aboard.  Looks like you are full-timers doing a bit of Workamping.  Also noticed RV SUE & HER CANINE CREW dropped in to see you so I suspect you folks must be somewhere around where RV Sue is at the moment which is in an area near the Gros Ventre Range in Grand Teton National Park Wyoming.  And speaking of RV Sue she just marked THREE YEARS FULL-TIME ON THE ROAD:))

THREE HAY BALES HOLDING UP A TREE
GROANER'S CORNER:(( Early in the Civil War, when the Union armies were suffering repeated defeats, Abraham Lincoln was discussing the war situation with his cabinet.
"How many men do you estimate are in the Confederate army?" a cabinet member asked. "About a million and a half," said Lincoln.  "That many?" said another member. "I thought the number was considerably less."  "So did I," said Lincoln, "but every time one of our generals loses a battle, he insists that he was outnumbered three to one - and we have about 500,000 men."

MUDDY ROADS, MENNONITE TERRITORY & FOLLOWING ONE MIGHTY BIG BLADE

HOW CAN YOU TELL PHEEBS & I WERE UP IN MENNONITE COUNTRY AGAIN TODAY
Kelly had some errands to run in Goderich.  Rained in the night & the air was muggy with lots of bugs.  Flopped into my recliner with fans going & thought, 'no way am I gonna sit here all morning'.  Minutes later Pheebs & I had the windows down in the Jeep & we were off on another mystery tour.  It's always a mystery because we never really know where we are going until we are almost there…………..wherever there turns out to be.

SOON THIS LITTLE COUNTRY SCHOOL HOUSE WILL BE BUSTLING WITH BOYS IN BRITCHES & GIRLS IN LONG DRESSES
 
HOW MANY OF US CAN REMEMBER OLD SCHOOL BELLS?  I CAN………………
  
LAUNDRY DAY IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

SOME OF THESE MENNONITE FARMS HAVE THE NICEST FLOWER GARDENS
Swung through Clinton's Tim Hortons for a standard small coffee & carrot muffin.  Soon as I turn in there & head towards the drive-thru Pheebs goes bonkers.  She knows where all our stops are.  From there it was out on the muddy country roads.  Muddy because of the overnight rains.  Didn't take us long to get the Jeep all grundged up.  With every pit stop we managed between the 2 of us to drag copious amounts of mud into the Jeep.  We just grinned at each other & felt very much at home.  Despite a heavy overcast we did manage to find us a few photos along the way.

 
SHEAVES OF WHEAT ARE STACKED BY PITCHFORK & CALLED STOOKS AS IN ‘STOOKS OF WHEAT’
Our North-East travels did manage to swing us back into a westerly direction after awhile & we soon began to see the big wind turbine Monsters on the distant horizon.  Figured I'd head on over that way & see what progress was being made on the towers.  Closer I got the soupier the roads became as I began to encounter heavy construction machines & trucks on the recently rain soaked roads.  Spotted a big 18 wheeler carrying one of the giant blades to a wind turbine site.  Swung in behind the little convoy of trucks until they reached their destination.  Interesting watching the big truck manoeuvre.


 
THESE COUNTRY ROADS WERE SURE MUDDY
 

THE BLADE NEARS IT’S FINAL DESTINATION IN A NEARBY FARMER’S FIELD
Spotted another wind turbine not far away with a big blade assembly hanging off the end of a crane.  They were obviously hoisting the big blade hub to the top of the tower to connect it to the nacelle.  It was about a quarter mile away in a field but I did manage to get a few photos.  Wasn't until I enlarged the photos later at home that I noticed a construction worker atop the nacelle at one end waiting for the big blade assembly to be swung into place & fitted.  Unfortunately I was running out of time & couldn't wait to see the final connection.  I did manage to get a last photo from a different angle though showing the joining almost complete.  Had to be home by 1:30.

Reason I had to be home was kind of coincidentally linked to these many wind turbines in a round about but maybe direct way.  We had a fellow coming at 1:30 to have a look at our aging & costly electric furnace & give us a quote on swapping it out for a new gas one.  Our monthly electric bill has become crippling.  The cost of electricity has gone through the roof & Ontario now has the distinction of having the most expensive electric rates in North America.  Kelly & I & millions of others here in Ontario have alarmingly watched our monthly bills sky rocket these past years & months.  We know of the gross mis-management of our electric company called Hydro One but what we hadn't realized according to this WIND ONTARIO article was how this whole wind turbine project could very well be part & parcel of our escalating rates.  I did read the article & must admit I did think about half a dozen points were exaggerated but other than that I think there is a lot of food for thought in this Wind Ontario website.  And again, politics, politics, politics:((

WASN’T UNTIL I CROPPED THE PHOTO I NOTICED THE CONSTRUCTION WORKER ATOP THE NACELLE
  
 THESE VIEWS ARE FROM WEST OF THE WIND TURBINE
 
THIS VIEW FROM THE EAST SHOWS THE TWO SEPARATE COMPONENTS NEARING CONNECTION
Sure is worrisome with this deluge of rain in our area of Congress Arizona these past few days.  What will we find when we reach our little adobe ranch house sometime in probably late October.  Will our new roof on the north end of the house have done it’s job?  Will the small leak between the living & dining room have worsened?  What about the stuff in our garden shed, did I remember to get things high up enough from the floor knowing it does have water flow in there?  We haven’t heard anything from the folks keeping an eye on our place so we’re thinking maybe no news is maybe good news.  Hope my utility trailer hasn’t floated away.  We do love our little place there but sometimes we think maybe we are just toooooo far away for toooooo long a period of time…………………….

ALL OF TODAY’S PHOTOS WERE AGAIN TAKEN FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A small town prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand in a trial -- a grandmotherly, elderly woman. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?"  She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy. And frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a rising big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you."  The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?"  She again replied, "Why, yes I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to babysit him for his parents. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He's lazy, bigoted, he has a drinking problem. The man can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the entire state. Yes, I know him."  At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counsellors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, "If either of you asks her if she knows me, you'll be jailed for contempt!"