JEEPERS PASSED TODAY’S SAFETY INSPECTION WITH FLYING COLORS

First order of business this morning was to drop our Jeep Wrangler off at the Bayfield Garage for it’s pre-safety inspection.  Before any vehicle can be sold here in Canada it has to undergo a safety inspection unless the vehicle is being sold ‘as is’.  Safety inspections are a good thing & saves buyers a lot of headaches from being sold unsafe vehicles by unscrupulous sellers.  Not so financially swell for the seller though if a lot of money has to be paid out for new tires & brakes etc. 

AWWWW SHUCKS NO MAIL FOR ME AGAIN THIS MORNING

A cold gloomy day greeted us again & Wednesday’s snow still on the ground put a damper on our spirits.  I did manage to transfer the Wranglers stuff to the Liberty.  Things like jumper cables, a heavy duty tow strap, a tire inflator, first aid kit, spare liter of oil, etc.  Always handy to have these items on board while bumping around in the desert.  Or anywhere else as far as that goes. 

Found it difficult to keep my enthusiasm pumped while outside on this frosty morning so I simply gravitated into the house for the remainder of the day.  Weatherman is calling for some sun Friday so maybe I will take Pheebs out for her first ride in Libby the Liberator & see what she thinks.  Oh & Jeepers passed her safety inspection this morning with flying colors.  Only needed a windshield wiper blade.  I’m hoping to get the exterior cleaned up in the next couple days……weather permitting.  Looks like we might be asking in the neighborhood of $11,900 for our 06 Wrangler but we haven’t quite decided on that yet.

 

Next step for us is to get a tow plate put on Libby so we can tow her behind the Big EEE just as we did Jeepers.  And yes we plan to do the same type of desert traveling with the Liberty as we did with the Wrangler.  Keep in mind we have never been extreme Jeeping people crawling over logs & boulders etc.  Aside from some desert pin striping we’ve never damaged our Jeep Wrangler by intentionally abusing it.  We will treat our Jeep Liberty with the same respect………………………. 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A Few Thoughts On Aging:

Have you noticed that Stairs are getting steeper. Groceries are heavier. And, everything is farther away. Yesterday I walked to the corner and I was dumbfounded to discover how long our street had become!

I think young people are much younger than I was at the same age. On the other hand, people my own age are so much older than I am. I ran into an old friend the other day and she has aged so much that she didn't even recognize me.

 
Clothing manufacturers are less civilized these days. Why else would they suddenly start labeling a size 10 or 12 dress as 18 or 20? Do they think no one notices that these things no longer fit around the waist, hips, thighs, and bosom?

 
The people who make bathroom scales are pulling the same prank, but in reverse. Do they think I actually "believe" the number I see on that dial? HA! I would never let myself weigh that much! Just who do these people think they're fooling?

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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.

NOT THE BEST WEATHER DAY FOR BRINGING OUR 07 JEEP LIBERTY HOME:((

MEET OUR SMILING LITTLE LIBBY:))

Apprehensively I glanced out our living room window this morning half expecting to see a white landscape.  I was relieved to see no such thing.  Wasn't even raining.  Bonus:))  But it didn’t last:((

NOT TOO BAD WHEN WE FIRST STARTED OUT
We were out the door by 9 heading for Voisin Chrysler in Elmira Ontario but within minutes our Sunfire's wipers were busy fending off an onslaught of wet snow & those flurries kept it up on & off for the next hour & a half all the way to Elmira.  Sometimes snow, sometimes rain, & sometimes Graupel. (sleet)  Not a nice morning for us to be picking up our ‘new to us’ 07 Jeep Liberty.  A quick stop along the way for coffee to go at Tim Horton's in Wingham helped a wee bit to soothe our disappointment with the weather.

MOST OF OUR JOURNEY THIS MORNING LOOKED LIKE THIS

NEAR ELMIRA WE RAN INTO BANDS OF BLOWING SLEET COMMONLY CALLED GRAUPEL IN THESE PARTS

AT LEAST WE HAD THE LUXURY OF BEING WARM & DRY BUT NOT SO THIS POOR FELLOW
Soon as we pulled onto Voisin Motors lot at 11 a.m. we saw little Libby sitting there with a big orange 'SOLD' sign hanging on her mirror.  It was nice to know the new owners were us.  Ray had all the paperwork in order & everything went as smooth as clockwork.  Nice to see organization at work.  He gave us a copy of a recent work order detailing work done on the Liberty 6 months ago & he saw to it Libby had a complete set of brand new nitrogen filled tires put on.  Kelly & I both agreed we would highly recommend Voisin Motors in Elmira & especially the fella we dealt with there, Ray Frederick  We found Ray to be straight forward & honest with his thoughts & opinions.  No 'Slick Willy' stuff, no phoniness, & no BS goes a long way with me anytime I have to come in contact with a fellow human being for whatever reason.

AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE YOU CAN BE SURE THE FIRST THING I CRANKED UP WAS THE HEATER

THAT’S RAY FREDERICK THE WELL ORGANIZED FELLOW WHO PUT OUR DEAL TOGETHER
We were back on the road & headed home within half an hour of arriving in Elmira.  I drove the Jeep & Kelly followed in the Pontiac Sunfire.  Very impressed with how the Jeep drove & I kept myself busily amused with new locations for switches & gauges.  The second first thing to pay attention to were the windshield wipers of course.  Yep, it snowed, rained, & graupeld most all the way home.  Nice sound system & I was quickly able to tweak it to where it was an even nicer sound system.  And how great to have a vehicle with cruise control again as well as power windows. I’m sure we will find other welcome little goodies in the coming days.

I LIKE THE LAYOUT & EASY TO READ INSTRUMENT PANEL

AND JEEP DID IT RIGHT BY PLACING THE RADIO CONTROLS ‘ABOVE’ THE HEATER CONTROLS…UNLIKE OUR BIG EEE

HAPPY CAMPER DRIVING HOME TODAY:))

AMAZINGLY ENOUGH WE HAD BLUE SKIES TO THE SOUTH OF US BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE WERE HEADING WEST UNDER STORMY DARK CLOUDS

MENNONITE CHURCH NEAR WALLENSTEIN ONTARIO

WON’T BE LONG & WE’LL BE BACK IN BAYFIELD

With snow still falling we were home about 1 o'clock.  Happy to have Libby finally in the driveway but discouraged to see both the Liberty & the Sunfire so full of road grime from today’s messy drive.  Probably going to be awhile before it's warm enough outside for me to wash them but I did manage to get a start on installing our Sirius satellite radio & antennae on the Liberty.  Well until my hands got too cold that is.  Oh well better weather days ahead except tomorrow is predicted to be colder than today.  Just be patient AL..............................

OUR DRIVEWAY IS BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE A DEALER’S LOT

4 NITROGEN FILLED BRAND NEW 17” TIRES

WE HAD NEVER HEARD OF NITROGEN FILLED TIRES BEFORE

ALL THIS ADDITIONAL SPACE BEHIND THE BACK SEAT WILL BE A BIG ASSET FOR US

As I write this tonight it is snowing like totally nuts outside & the ground is now white.  Looks pretty of course with snow clinging to pine bows & it does bring to mind Johnny Mathis singing many of my favorite Christmas Carols & especially Sleigh Ride. (don’t forget to skip the ad)  But this isn’t exactly what we all had in mind for the middle of April eh!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((    "I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!!"

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There was a fire in my neighborhood, and I arrived just in time to see firefighters carry one of their men out of the burning house and lower him to a sitting position on the lawn.
Visibly shaken, he took out a cigarette, lit it, and sat there puffing on it to calm his nerves.  "What happened to that poor guy in the house?" I asked a bystander.
He replied, "Smoke inhalation."

CLEANED OUT JEEPERS INTERIOR TODAY & REMOVED SOME EXTERIOR DECALS

THIS CARDINAL COUPLE IS JUST A COUPLE OF LOVE BIRDS AT HEART

It was a cold rain early this morning as I backed Jeepers into the carport out of the wind.  Had the interior to clean out plus a few decals had to come off the exterior.  With a hot air hair blower, goo-gone, & a razor blade scraping tool I set to work removing 2 Anza-Borrego State Parks stickers just ahead of the side doors as well as a Joshua Tree National Park, a bayfieldbunch.com logo, & a small Canadian flag sticker off the back hatch window.  All went well but it took a bit of time & patience.

PAPA ROBIN DOING A BIT OF PRIMPING & PREENING THIS MORNING

We are off to Elmira Ontario in the morning to bring our 07 Jeep Liberty home.  Of course the last time I checked our areas weather it was calling for snow showers Wednesday morning.  Could be a messy drive there & back.  With below average temperatures for this time of year we see no warm-up in site:((  Looks like it was about 80F in Congress Arizona today:))

 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( The young couple invited their elderly pastor for Sunday dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having.  "Goat," the little boy replied.  "Goat?" replied the startled man of the cloth, "Are you sure about that?"  "Yep," said the youngster. "I heard Dad say to Mom, 'Today is just as good as any to have the old goat for dinner.'"

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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.

CONTINUING RACCOON PROBLEMS

A FEW MORE PHOTOS TONIGHT OF OUR SUNDAY BACK ROADS DRIVE

Heard a few unusual sounds coming from somewhere when I went to bed Sunday night around 11 but by the time I thought about getting up they stopped.  Kelly was awakened by even louder sounds around 4 in the morning emanating from somewhere outside around our house.  We found out a couple hours later neighbor Monica was also awakened by a sound in her wall at 6 a.m.  Oh-Oh, we had us another Raccoon in the neighborhood.

PHEEBS & I TRAVELED THROUGH WIND TURBINE COUNTRY ON OUR SUNDAY DRIVE AS WELL

Living in a heavily forested area makes Raccoons this time of year not unusual here.  We also have Skunks, Deer, & Coyotes nearby as well.  For whatever reason Monica has had Raccoon problems for several years now with them burrowing down & coming up underneath her unit.  Plans are underway at the moment for new metal skirting to Raccoon proof her house.  Ken has set the trap again so we'll see if Monica's Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Gourmet treat will again do the trick.  In my opinion I think word has got around in Raccoonville about Monica’s peanut butter & marshmallow recipe…….D’ya think.

CAN YOU SEE PAPA GOOSE GLIDING THROUGH THE WATER IN STEALTH MODE
Fully expecting a cold rain soaked day how pleasantly surprised I was to see an early burst of sunshine around 11:30 this morning.  Also surprised to see our temperatures climb into the low 60's under a mixture of sun & cloud this afternoon.  That pleasant weather surprise went a long way in dragging me out of my recliner today.  I think if had I spent any more time in my cushy chair I & the recliner would have had to be taken to the hospital by truck or ambulance whereupon we would have had to have been surgically separated.

Despite our nicer weather turn-out today I just couldn't seem to get myself motivated to do any more Spring clean-up stuff whether it be around the grounds or our storage sheds.  Guess all those little tasks can wait until the spirit moves me to get at those things again.  What's the rush eh……………………………….

GROANER’S CORNER:(( An Easterner was riding with a rancher over a blistering and almost barren stretch of West Texas, when a strange bird scurried in front of them. Asked by the Easterner what the bird was, the rancher replied, "That's a bird of paradise."  The stranger from the East rode on in silence for a moment, then said, "Long way from home, isn't it?"

FOR JEEPERS, PHEEBS, & I IT WAS OUR LAST COUNTRY ROAD DRIVE TOGETHER:((

WE SAT BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WATCHING A HERD OF FRISKY PLAYFUL HORSES THIS MORNING

Our early morning thermometer said 35F but with a brisk wind from the east our wind chill factor was somewhere down around the freezing mark.  I wasn't long climbing into my lined winter pants for the day although it eventually warmed up to around 60 with sunshine for awhile.  Then the cold front arrived bringing rain later in the day & it just got cold all over again.

I’M GUESSING THESE ARE ALL STURDY MENNONITE WORK HORSES

 

 

NOT SURE WHY ALL THE HORSES TAILS ARE BOBBED

We worked away at cleaning up our wooden shed for awhile before coming in for a short rest.  It was while stretched out in my recliner that a thought occurred to me.  If Pheebs & I wanted to get in one last country drive with Jeepers it would have to be this morning.  Rain forecast for the next 3 days so we took advantage of our good weather today & headed out.  It was kind of a sad drive in a way knowing this was the last time for Jeepers, Pheebs, & I knocking around the back country roads together.  In 2 days we pick up our 07 Jeep Liberty & little Jeepers will be going to a new home sometime after that.  Don't know where, don't know when but for me it will probably be my last stick shift vehicle after many years & many miles of cranking gears.  My first car, a 61 Volkswagen Beetle was 4 on the floor & I just kind of gravitated to a lot of standard transmissions after that.  Oh I've had lots of automatics too but there's just something about a gearshift on the floor that just kinda brings out the bad boy in every young fella.  Well old fellas too sometimes.  I do become attached to vehicles & have always been that way.  Always sad to see them go & especially so with our Jeep Wrangler.  So many great memories over these past nearly 5 years but needs & wants have a habit of changing & it is time to let Jeepers go.  I was reminded of one of those needs again today as I had continuing difficulty getting my right leg in or out of the Wrangler overtop that high metal lip.  I sure won't miss that & look forward to easier entries & exits in the Liberty.  But no doubt about it, of all the many vehicles I have had it will be little Jeepers I will miss the most:((

PROBABLY THE LAST FEW PHOTOS OF LITTLE JEEPERS I WILL EVER TAKE

Because of icy winds we didn't make too many stops in the 4 hours we were out today but we did get a couple leg stretching stops in at the Hullett-Marsh & Lake Wawanosh.  Both times upon exiting the Jeep the howling east wind lifted my Breezer hat off my head & sailed it into the next county.  Kelly had spotted a house & property for sale north of Goderich so Pheebs & I tracked it down for a look see.  Nothing we could remotely afford of course but I just enjoy being nosey sometimes.  One never knows when one might un-expectantly stumble across an exceptionally great deal.  Being in the right place at the right time has happened to us before in regards to real-estate & vehicles so we know it can & does happen.

HULLETT MARSH ABOVE & THE CHOPPY WIND DRIVEN WATERS OF LAKE WAWANOSH BELOW

Nice to be out again on a quiet Sunday morning touching base with many old familiar spots as we slipped our way around the gravely country roads up through Mennonite country.  I never tire of seeing their neat & well kept homes & properties.

 

Sliding back home through the town of Goderich Pheebs & scored our first 6" Tuna Sub of the season & I even had the patience to stand in line with 8 people in front of me.  Well it was kind of a forced patience I guess because I had told Pheebs I was going in to get us a sub & I knew I could not come back out of the building empty handed or I was going to have a very upset little doggy on my hands.

Called Aunt Jean in Sarasota Saturday night & she was very much under the weather with a nasty virus.  She missed out for a second time on a place she had put a bid in on at a 55+ community called Lake Tippy Canoe but has now put an offer on another 55+ condo in a community complex called Forest Lakes Country Club Estates (Forest Lakes Village) which is not far from where she lives now.  Aunt Jean should know by the end of the week if she will have a new & quieter place to move to.  Pushing 88 this July it's not an easy decision but the place she has lived the past 25 years is slowly going down hill & being taken over by younger non English speaking family's & along with that has come a lot of noise & disruption.  Aunt Jean & I are much alike & I can well understand her wanting to get away from all that.

THINK THESE HORSES HAD SOME SPRING FEVER GOING FOR THEM THIS MORNING

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I know that you, just like me, at one time or another has said, "Now, where the Heck did THAT come from?"  Do you know where Heck is?

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It's where you go after you die, if you don't believe in Gosh.