12 HOURS OF STEADY RAIN HAVE LEFT US IN A RATHER SOGGY STATE OF AFFAIRS HERE IN THE DESERT

Looking out our door first thing this morning I said to Kelly, ‘Well we might just as well just stay in our jammies all day’.  Rain had began Thursday evening & continued through the night.  We had a small stream running through our back yard right up till about noon when the rains finally stopped.  By evening I was heartened to see some clearing on the western horizon.  Hill tops & mountains around Congress & to the east were still cloaked in fog though.

 

ABOUT 7:30 THIS MORNING IN OUR BACK YARD

 

Pheebs wouldn’t even go off the porch.  Lights were on in our neighbor’s work shop so figured he was probably in there hastily building himself a boat.  Still a bit dark out when the rains let up enough for me to zip outside for a few water pics.  Had to be quick because water on the ground here in the desert does not pool for long & drains away quickly.

Thought Marianne from frugal-rv-travel. com had a good over-all assessment regarding the phenomena of Quartzsite Arizona.  Aside from all the razzle-dazzle we normally associate with the Q every January there is probably an even bigger reason for RV’ers making their annual pilgrimage to the small dusty desert town out there in the middle of just about anywhere.  I think Marianne got it right.

Do you ever find the hardest part of doing anything sometimes is just making up your mind to do it?  I’m kind of like that when it comes to attending any social gatherings or going anywhere I’m really not fond of going.  If I’m asked to go somewhere or do something my first inclination is to say no.  Right away my mind comes up with about 3 good reasons & a 176 in-excusable excuses not to do something or go somewhere.  Happens to me all the time & that side of me usually has it’s way.  But occasionally another part of my personality comes through, kicks my butt out the door & sends me on my way to do something I’m not really wanting to do.  Blogger-Fest 2015 in Quartzsite was a good example of that & it was a good example of what quite often happens when the ‘yes’ side prevails over the ‘no’ side.  Right up until Saturday morning a week ago my yes & no sides were tussling back & forth with my yes side finally winning out & off we went.  And as sometimes happens I really enjoyed my time at Blogger-Fest meeting everyone.  Any monstrous fears I had conjured up before hand quickly dissipated shortly after arriving & despite my usual feelings of nervousness I found myself even speaking up when it was our turn in the group to say who we were.  I had previously said to Kelly, when that speaking up time comes around ‘you’ can do that!!   When I heard our number called my hand shot up & my mouth took off.  Luckily I didn’t embarrass myself with a lot of blabbering.  Believe it or not I have been known to do that on occasion.  Heading back to Congress later that day we both had the same thought & came to the same conclusion, we were both glad we went.  It’s like my very own tag line says at the bottom my posts……….’It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something’.

THIS STREAM THROUGH OUR YARD WAS ACTUALLY FLOWING

 

RAINY DAYS ARE GOOD FOR FINDING LOW SPOTS ON ONE’S PROPERTY

In my January 23rd post I had this thought:  “I sometimes wonder about fellow RV’ers traveling solo & I often wonder what their true thoughts are & how they really feel about that”.   Judy over at Travels With Emma talks about that a bit in her post Some Thoughts About Traveling Solo, And Other Wonderings.  ‘Be sure’ to read all the great comments to Judy’s post & see how a number of other RVing folks feel about that as well.  Some humorous & some very heartfelt.

 

WE HAVE OUR VERY OWN TEMPORARY BACKYARD SWAMP RIGHT NOW & IT’S NOT OFTEN YOU SEE  DESERT CACTUS STANDING IN WATER

Here’s a good article entitled, The Power Of Positive Purging Your Stuff.  This will be of particular interest to folks planning on selling their house & dealing with all their stuff before setting off down the road on a full time RV adventure.

Well it took me awhile but between Google Earth, my California Bench Mark Atlas, the Mojave National Preserve website, & Sue Malone’s post Boondocking Sites & Camping In Mojave National Preserve I finally managed to get an idea of the layout at the Preserve.  Ten day weather forecast for that area has temperature coming up into the 70’s next week with low 80’s by a week from Sunday.  All sunny days of course.  Monitoring the Preserve areas weather I have noticed it mirrors our Congress weather.  Congress likewise is headed for 70 & 80 degree temps by the end of next week. 

WATER IS RUNNING THROUGH OUR BACK YARD FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Two husbands were discussing their married lives. Although happily married, they admitted that there were arguments sometimes. Then the first man said, "I've made one great discovery. I now know how to always have the last word."  "Wow!" said the second, "how did you manage that?"  "It's easy," he replied. "My last word is always 'Yes, Dear.' "

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- 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.

HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED AT YOUR FEET & FELT LIKE A TEEN-AGER? HAPPENED TO ME TODAY…….:))

I WAS BUSY LIKE A GOPHER DIGGING IN THE DIRT AGAIN THIS MORNING

Clouds moved in late Wednesday & it looks like we are in for some inclement weather over the next 3 days with a fair amount of rain predicted for sure Friday & possibly Saturday as well.  Might have to get ourselves in a boatload of DVD movies.

Weed Whacker started on the 4th pull so I was off to the races first thing today whacking down all the yellow dead grass along the ditch between our front fence & Ghost Town Road.  Had it all raked up & burnt inside of an hour.  More digging in our yards northeast corner & by 3 this afternoon I was so tired I felt about ready to slip into my jammies & crawl into bed.  And here’s an odd thing I noticed again while digging today…….when I begin sweating it is only the right side of my forehead & not the left  that drips sweat onto my glasses & into my right eye.  Don’t suppose it’s that ‘left brain/right brain thing do you.  Oh Geeezzzz better not get into that whole discussion again……………………..

YOU CAN SEE I HAVE A ‘CHINK’ IN MY CURVE LINE SO WILL HAVE TO WORK ON THAT ANGLE OF THE DANGLE SOMETIME AFTER OUR FRIDAY RAINS HAVE PASSED

 

Leslie From Australia had a few questions in our Shout Box I’d like to take time to answer.  Leslie asks, ‘Al - do u type out your blog - then copy & paste into blogger’? -- Here in Congress & while traveling in the Motorhome I type my post directly into Live Writer using my laptop but while at home in Bayfield I use 2 computers during the day so type my post in an email format in Hotmail then save it to Draft.  That way I can access what I’m writing with either my laptop in the living room by my recliner or desktop computer in the sunroom.  At night when my post is completely written I paste it into Live Writer on my desktop computer.  For some unknown reason my desktop version of Live Writer has un-expectantly & suddenly erased 3 completed posts on me now so if & when that happens again I do have my original back-up post still sitting in my Hotmail Draft folder.  I can just paste it into Live Writer again & re-insert my photos.  Leslie also asks, ‘Does it wrap around your pics? which ones 1st - blog or pics’? – In between each paragraph I write I leave a double space.  When I have finished writing my entire post I go back & insert my photos into those open spaces between paragraphs.  Live Writer has a tool which enables me to arrange the photos in those spaces however I want.  So in other words, I write the post first then add the photos later.  Thanks for the questions Leslie……….

Noticed three new blog followers in our Friend Connect box this morning.  A big welcome to Kevin & Ruth from Travels With Kevin & Ruth as well as the folks at Saunders Fine Arts & anekcahap.  Thanks for dropping by & we here at the Bunch appreciate your interest:))

CLEANED OUT THIS DITCH THIS MORNING

I mis-identified a bird in Wednesday’s post but have since corrected the error thanks to our very own ‘Lullaby of Birdland lady herself, Judy over there at that Travels With Emma place.  

<<< JUST A LITTLE BASHFUL TODAY

And this little bit of info & a correction for fellow Canadian Snowbirds from the Canadian Snowbird Association.

In a recent article which appeared on CBC News' British Columbia website, it was suggested that Canadian citizens are only allowed to spend 120 days in the United States each year. For clarification purposes, the Canadian Snowbird Association would like to remind travellers to the U.S. that this information is incorrect.  Under current policy, eligible Canadian citizens may spend up to six months less a day, in the United States, in any 12 month period. From a tax perspective, long-term visitors who typically spend four or more months in the U.S. each calendar year may be deemed resident aliens for tax purposes. In order to be treated as a non-resident alien, these individuals need to claim a "closer connection" to Canada by filing IRS Form 8840 annually.  Further, the CBC News article also discussed the Entry/Exit Initiative, a bi-national border program in which entry and exit data will be shared on individuals travelling between Canada and the United States. While this initiative was scheduled to be expanded on June 30, 2014, to include Canadian and American citizens, the necessary legislative and regulatory changes have not been implemented. At present, the Entry/Exit Initiative is not fully operational.  If you have any questions related to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact the CSA office toll-free at 1-800-265-3200 or by email at mailto:csastaff@snowbirds.org?subject=U.S.%20Travel%20Rules.

<<< PEEK-A-BOO I SEE YOU TOO

Hey guys, have you ever looked at your feet & felt like a teen-ager?  Happened to me today.  Remember years ago when it was cool to wear white socks.  Especially on Saturday nights heading out to do a bit a dancin somewhere.  Blue or black jeans, shiny pointed shoes or cowboy boots. Trouble with boots was you couldn’t show off your groovy white socks so for me it was pointed black shiny shoes.  With white socks a showin it was off to our local Teen Town dance I was.  And those were the days well before anyone had ever heard of the ‘Fonz’.  For many years now I have just worn black unassuming socks until a few days ago when I picked up a couple pairs of socks on sale (50% off) at the Alco Store in Wickenburg.  No they weren’t black but one pair was light gray & the other pair white.  When I stepped out of my shower this afternoon I pulled me on the white pair.  Soon as I saw those white colored socks walking along underneath me I was right away whisked back to my teen years.  Before I knew it my legs was a movin, my feets was a jumpin, my hips was a rotatin, my arms was a flailin & my head was a boppin.  I was right back into another Saturday night swinging Teen Town dance in my old home town of Tavistock Ontario.  And by golly it was my new white socks today that took me all the way back there too.  Aren’t old memories sometimes just the best & see how good a new pair of white socks can make a feller feel.  Just gotta watch out for those rotatin arms & flailing hips though………………..:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A woman was talking to her friends about her husband who had passed away.
When her husband was on his death bed, and he told her that he had three envelopes in his desk drawer that would "take care" of all of the arrangements. Well, he died shortly thereafter, so the wife opened the drawer and there were 3 envelopes just like he said.  One the first envelope it said "for the casket". There was $5,000.00 in the envelope, so she bought him a very nice casket.  The second envelope said "for the expenses" and had $4,000.00 in it so she paid all the bills from the funeral.  The third envelope said "for the stone" and had $3,000.00 in it. She then held her hand out to her friends and said, "Isn't it beautiful!!!"

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- 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 NEW YARD PROJECT & PUTTING MY POST’S TOGETHER EACH DAY

STARTED WORKING ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF OUR PROPERTY TODAY

After a couple relaxing days of doing mostly nothing I figured I had better get me into mostly a day of doing something so with that thought in my mind I decided it would be a good time to start working on the northeast corner of our property facing Ghost Town Road.  Southeast side with the paths is mostly done now so I really needed to get myself into another project before I dried up & the winds of boredom blew me away.

First came a clean-up so started out with a job I least like.  I try to avoid pull-start small gasoline engines of any kind but the only way to get the old dried & dead 6” grass out of the way was to fire up the weed whacker.  Been nearly a year since I had run it last.  Took about 473 pulls but finally got the noisy thing started & had me a go at the whipper snippering.  With that out of the way I next hauled in my leaf rake to rake up all the scattered grass plus stones & gravel on the ground.  Trimmed up a prickly Mesquite bush & by 11 I started with my shovel in the ground.  No idea what I am going to end up with in this corner of the property yet but I’m sure it will all come together as I go along.  This northeast corner is a different layout from the southeast corner so I will for sure do it differently.  No paths planned for this side.  Another reason to get rolling on this today is the soft workable earth left after our recent rains a few days ago.  The morning just turned out to be so beautiful for working outside with temps in the mid 60’s that I just wanted to be outside doing something.  It was noon when I first became aware of the first beads of sweat dropping off my brow so knew it was time to pack it in for the day.  Big chance of rain coming this Friday.

SURE GLAD WE HAVE A HANDY UTILITY TRAILER

 

THESE TUFTS OF YELLOW DECORATIVE GRASS ARE FROM SARGE’S YARD

FEMALE NORTHERN CARDINAL >>>

I’m not a big Facebook person but a few days ago I decided to change my profile photo since the one on there was from 2011.  Kelly had taken a photo of Judy & I at Blogger Fest 2015 so I cropped a head & shoulders for my small thumbnail profile pic.  ‘YIKES’ I had no idea it would show up that size on everybody’s Facebook page.  It was supposed to be just a small thumbnail for my profile picture.  Anyway, in that photo it appears I have a double set of sunglasses.  Retired Rod noticed that so here’s the skinny.  In the photo I am wearing transition glasses so they appear dark because of the sunlight.  On my hat are a larger regular pair of Cocoon sunglasses.  So what’s with that?  I have read & been told I will still need sunglasses for driving even with my transition glasses so before we left Congress I put my rather large sunglasses on my hat in case I needed them & where they wouldn’t get lost or bent in my pocket.  Well you know the old saying, ‘out of sight out of mind’.  I didn’t need them driving to Blogger-Fest & totally forgot they were even on my hat.  Wasn’t till we got home & I took my hat off that I remembered them.  So Rod, there ya go……the story of why 2 sets of sunglasses.  And to any Facebook readers…..sorry if my big mug photo traumatized you……I can assure you it was not intentional!!

Ok I will try to keep this short……..How do I write my blog every day?  In my first 4 or 5 years of blogging I would begin writing my post for the day after supper each night.  I don’t do that anymore.  Over the past 4 years or so I quite often start my post first thing in the morning maybe an hour or two after I get up.  Depending on what topic I choose I may write a couple paragraphs before I even get dressed.  For the rest of the day depending on what’s happening & going on I might sit down at my keyboard & write a few more paragraphs.  I find it is easier this way to write my mind’s thoughts & memories as I go along.  For instance today I came around 10 for a break from my outside clean-up & wrote a paragraph about my yard project.  At noon when I came in I wrote another paragraph & find by doing it this way I am not sitting in my chair at night trying to recall what I did or didn’t do all day.  Sometimes a few lines or a thought will pop into my mind during the day & if I don’t quickly copy it down chances are very good I will never remember what it was I had thought about.  Doing it this way it’s not unusual for my entire post to sometimes be finished by early evening.  However I still have most of the day’s photos to edit so I occasionally try to edit some photos during the day as well.  Doing things this way saves me those late tiring & frustrating nights of years ago trying to put the whole post together all at once after supper.  That’s what happens when we are on the road traveling.  After a long tiring day of driving I still have my whole post to put together once we get stopped but yet it is still an enjoyable challenge for me despite my fits of impatience at slow internet connections at times.  Nevertheless It’s always a rewarding feeling at the end of each day to finally hit that ‘Publish’ button & put another long day’s post behind me………….:))

THIS LITTLE FELLOW IS ABOUT TO LAUNCH HIMSELF INTO THE AIR

Kelly was off to Wickenburg this morning to browse some of her favorite shops.  Just me & little Miss Molly Most Best holding down the fort.  She likes to help me dig sometimes. 

 

NOSE IN THE AIR TRYING TO TRACK DOWN SOME HOT DOG SMELLS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

I have been monitoring California’s Mojave National Preserve weather & it looks like next Wednesday our present unstable weather pattern over this area will have moved out with daytime temps climbing into the low 70’s.  We just may head over that-a-way a week from today.

 

HEY HOW’S ABOUT LEAVING SOME SEEDS FOR THE BIRDS

Nina over at Wheeling It has just come out with her latest ‘go to’ guide entitled, Boondocking For Newbies Part 1 >> Finding Where To Go.  Fulltimers Nina & Paul have been on the road for a number of few years now & boondocking has been a mainstay for them.  They are well qualified to speak of the docking lifestyle.  I’d suggest any folks planning on a boondocking way of RVing whether Fulltimers, Snow Birds, or Week-Enders, catch Nina’s Part 1 of this series & follow through with Parts 2, 3, & 4 as she posts them shortly.  Lots of great info here for Dockers.

For you permanent resident southern folks who maybe have never seen snow or for Snow Birds missing their snow back home you might want to slip on up to Georgian Bay in Canada’s Ontario & have a look at the Furry Gnome’s post, A Calm Day On Georgian Bay.  He has some nice snow & ice photos & if you go to his following post, Boats On The Docks you can see what has to be done with boats during winter in this cold & frozen Great Lakes part of the country. 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( There's a story about the military pilot calling for a priority landing because his single-engine jet fighter was running "rough."  Air Traffic Control told the fighter jock that he was number two behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down.  "Ah," the pilot remarked, "the dreaded seven-engine approach."

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On the first day of vacation, a girl fell and broke her leg. As the doctor examined her, she moaned, "Why couldn't this have happened on my last day of skiing?"
The doctor replied, "This IS your last day of skiing."

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- 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.

WELL I DID PROMISE A SHORTER POST TONIGHT DIDN’T I:))

Rains came in the night leaving our Sonoran desert smelling sweet as only a desert rain can.  Soon as I stepped out the door with Pheebs I knew our plants had been watered.

 

NO I AM NOT TURNING AROUND…………….HEY WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU!!

Finished me up a small door frame paint project I had started a couple weeks ago.  By the time I had that finished our skies had cleared a bit & we were able to enjoy some warming sun for awhile.  A little repair to an overhead blind in our skylight (hope it holds) & that was about it for my morning.  Feeling very lazy today.  Maybe a little too much visiting last week & a little too much blog writing Monday night. 

Spent a good part of the afternoon stretched out in my bird chair with both camera & kindle.  Mixed in with a few bird photos, a few chapters of my latest book & a few zzzzzzzzzz’s I managed to wile away my time just watching big white fluffy clouds floating by overhead.  Some days are just much needed like that:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The difference between Knowledge and Wisdom:
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting tomatoes in a fruit salad.

OH NO NOT ANOTHER LONG ‘BLOGGING THOUGHTS’ POST……..

JUST A FEW PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE PROPERTY THIS MORNING

Knowing inclement weather was heading our way today I had hoped for a foggy morning so I could hop into the Jeep & cruise around Congress with our new KC fog lights cutting the way through a real thick pea souper. Same lights Janna’s Cowboy installed us for us Sunday:))

Well no matter no fog cause we had to slide on down to Wickenburg for groceries so we took the new KC Foggers for a run anyway.  A bit of sun in the sky when we left Congress but totally clouded over by the time we got back later.  Saw a familiar yellow Jeep (Janna & Mike) with Montana plates in Safeway’s parking lot so left a Bayfield Bunch card under the wiper:))

NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN THE JEEP WHEN WE GO FOR GROCERIES & PHEEBS IS ALWAYS SO SAD SHE CAN’T GO:((

Recognized our latest blog follower in our Friend Connect box this morning.  In fact we just met these folks a couple days ago at Blogger-Fest 2015.  Welcome to Kevin & Ruth from Travel With Kevin & Ruth.  Thanks for dropping by guys & I do have you folks on our sidebar now:))

THE SHADOW COWBOY PRESENTS…….OUR BACKYARD CAMPFIRE RING

Turned out to one of those days best for staying inside stretched out on my recliner with a warm blanket while aimlessly bouncing around TV channels with the remote.  Every once & awhile one of these days comes along & it’s perfectly Okay.  Need some R & R after all this past week’s activities.

<<< THIS IS OUR NEW OXYGENIC SHOWER HEAD MIKE INSTALLED IN THE RIG FOR US SUNDAY…IT CAN TILT FORWARD IF NEEDED

Stopped into the closing out sale of Wickenburg’s Alco store.  Saw some 50% off pants that caught my fancy but of course with pants a fella always has to try them on to be sure of a proper fit.  Don’tcha just hate that guys.  Maybe it’s one of the reasons I never go shopping for pants.  Just hate those broom closet size change rooms & all the struggling a feller has to do to even get turned around in there.  By the time you bend down to tie take off your boots or untie your shoes your rear end has poked a hole in the side wall.  Well I needn’t have worried this morning.  Only ever been in a change room maybe half a dozen times in my life & was surprised to find myself in a space big enough to blow my nose & then some.  Anyway I tried on a couple pairs of pants which didn’t come anywhere near fitting me so that was that.  Kelly tried to talk me into a another store of pants but one change room a decade is enough for this guy.  I’ll just have to flop myself around in my baggy blue jeans awhile longer. 

ROOMIEST GOL DARN CHANGE ROOM I’VE EVER BEEN IN…COULD HAVE HAD ME A SQUARE DANCE IN HERE

This cloudy cool gray day has not left me with much to blog about so I thought it might be a good time to open my door just a tad further & invite you all in for another little look around into my world of blogging thoughts, ideas, opinions, & feelings.

A question I have sometimes been asked & a question I heard repeated again to all the daily Bloggers at Blogger-Fest is, ‘how do you manage to write a blog every single day?’  It is a question I ask myself as well sometimes.  First, to be accurate, I haven’t blogged every day since I began blogging back in 2006 but I have blogged for most of them since those early years.  My next thought is, how can that question be answered without me being repetitive again.  My thoughts on this topic have appeared more than once in my posts over the years however with experience they have evolved somewhat since I first began.  But let me try it again with a new & ever changing awareness about who I am & why do I feel the way I do about this whole blogging phenomena.  In other words…………why am I a daily Blogger:))

Most important for me is the fact blogging is something I can do totally alone.  No help from anyone, no human input but my own, no shared decisions, & no feedback while I’m putting it together unless I have to ask Kelly about something I can’t remember like a name or a place.  I’ve never been a team player & that’s why solitary blogging has always appealed to me.  I decide what to write, when to write it, & how to write it.  Same goes for all my photos.  Being able to do the whole process from start to finish alone is one of the key elements to my daily blog & why I enjoy it so much.  I like the hours I spend by myself whether it be out looking for & taking photos, editing those photos, writing each blog, putting everything together, & finally publishing something hopefully with the end result of entertaining readers with something interesting.  I love the daily challenge of creatively using my imagination to give myself a useful purpose, an enjoyable hobby if you will.  And in my opinion an active imagination is definitely a huge asset when it comes to writing.  I believe if one wants to put out a daily blog one really needs to enjoy what they are doing.  No point in causing oneself stress if one does not enjoy what it is they are doing. 

WE HAVE SOME NEW GRASS GROWING

Summertime in Bayfield will often find Pheebs & I out in the Jeep by ourselves prowling around southern Ontario’s country roads.  Nobody riding along, just Pheebs & I as we cruise up this road & down that road, stop for a walk here, a hike there.  Always the cameras at ready looking for photos to put in my blog each night.  Always creatively thinking of things to write about.  It’s a great mind exercise for me each & every day.   An exercise much needed I may add.  Always alone with my own thoughts enjoying nature’s sights & sounds around me.   Just doing it in a way that works for me.  In a way which makes blogging each day enjoyable.  Well, that’s how it works on good days of course but realistically not all days are good days.

OUR BACK GATE LEADING TO OUR NEIGHBORS PROPERTY…SEE THE JOSHUA TREES

I’m subject to mood swings, most introverted people are.  It just seems to come with the territory.  If I allow myself to swing into a sullen mood it is my blog where that mood may very well manifest itself by the end of the day.  For me when depression sets in it stifles any creative process & those are the days when I just want to push my chair back & turn away.  Countless days I have started out with one single thought in mind.  “I am not going to write a post today, I don’t want to, my interest is gone.  I’m finished with all this blogging stuff…..period!!  But I’m only fooling myself because often as not by the end of each day I have some thoughts to share, seen something interesting, taken a picture or two & before long the creativity, the interest, & the challenge begins to lift me out of that depression.  Before I know it I am back at my keyboard working away on another post eager to share what I have seen & what I have thought about for the day.  It  may not always be an uplifting kind of post but at least I am helping myself by maybe writing & sharing something that just may touch another person out here.  Just may help somebody else going through some down times as well.  Somebody else who  can identify with what I am writing about.  Not every day is happy-happy just as not every day is not doom & gloom.  I mainly dwell somewhere between those extremes first leaning one way then the other, occasionally touching the boundaries & my daily posts reflect those swings.  I believe it is important to write about the good & the not so good as well.  At the end of each day when I hit that ‘Publish’ button I just feel a little bit better knowing something I may have said or a link I may have included just might help somebody else out here besides myself.

For an introverted personality blogging is just about as good as it gets.  I can sit here in the quiet comfort of my own home with nobody to interrupt my thoughts, nobody to interject theirs.  No face to face people stress……….   

WE’VE HAD A FEW NICE BACK YARD CAMPFIRES HERE

So tonight I am relaxed sitting here writing/talking to you folks who read my daily posts.  I can talk to all you folks much easier this way & this is how it works for me.  Everyday I can share a large part of my world with you & I enjoy doing it that way.  In fact it is the only way I can do it.  If I had to verbally talk to you face to face & tell you the things I tell you in this blog it would never happen.  Too often if I try to convey my thoughts & feelings verbally to someone it just seems to come out all wrong.  Too often I am cautious & will not tell you how I am really feeling.  But here relaxed at my computer I can write freely & unimpeded.  I am safe here by myself & I like that.

So there you have it, just a few relaxing thoughts rolling off my keyboard tonight.  Maybe a little on the heavy side for some but I also know there are many others such as I out here.  And I know that because I have talked & corresponded with them.  It’s just that many aren’t in the same position I fortunately am to share their thoughts & feelings publicly.  And I wouldn’t be in this position if it were not for you faithful readers……and I thank you all for that.  In another post shortly I will share some of my ideas on how to keep up the pace of being a daily Blogger.  Tonight’s point of view centered more on cerebral thoughts whereas next time I’ll focus more on the actual mechanics of writing a post plus when & how I do it each day.  Hope I haven’t scared anybody away or put anybody to sleep & I’m going to try real hard to write a shorter post tomorrow night………promise:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((   I heard recently about a stay-at-home Mom. One evening she went to a PTA meeting and her husband and her oldest daughter got together and decided they would clean up the kitchen for her.
They put away all the food, wiped all the counters, washed all the pots and put them away, put the dishes in the dishwasher and ran it. They swept and mopped the floors and then sat down, awaiting her arrival.  Two hours later she returned from the meeting, took off her coat, hung it up, walked through the kitchen into the den, grabbed the remote control, and began watching television. They followed her over to her chair and stood by her side.  Finally she felt them looking over her shoulder and looked up at them and said, "What?"
Her husband said, "The kitchen."
"The kitchen. What?"
"The kitchen. We cleaned up the kitchen. Didn't you notice? It's sparkling clean. We cleaned it for you."
The woman replied, "Yes, I noticed. Thankless job, isn't it?"

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- 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.