WE WERE IN & 0UT OF LONDON’S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN UNDER 3 HOURS THIS MORNING

At 5:58 this morning we rolled out our driveway & 67 minutes later we were walking through the front doors of London's University Hospital.  On the way we were able to see a nice sunrise & I was reminded it was the first sunrise we have seen since traveling home nearly 4 months ago.  Traffic was light & we actually found a spot in the usually overcrowded parking garage first time around.   That is always a huge bonus for an impatient person like myself.

TAKEN FROM THE PARKING GARAGE & WE WALKED TO THE MAIN ENTRANCE JUST TO THE RIGHT OF THAT SINGLE TREE…EMERGENCY HELICOPTER PAD ON LEFT
One of three hospital elevators took us to the basement & we found Kelly's destination.  She checked in & soon disappeared through a door & I was told to return around 9.

A FEW YEARS BACK DRIVING A MOBILITY VAN THIS IS THE ENTRANCE WHERE I WOULD PARK WHEN TRANSPORTING PEOPLE TO & FROM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
Took a flight of stairs up one level to the ground floor &  made my way to the lobby & Tim Hortons.  A line-up of course but 10 minutes later I was settled in a single chair near the main entrance eating a carrot muffin & drinking a coffee.  Seemed odd to be eating the whole muffin all by myself without sharing it with a little doggy I know sitting intently watching me in the passenger seat of the Jeep.

TIM HORTONS LEFT OF CENTER & STRAIGHT AHEAD I SEE ONE OF THE 3 ELEVATOR DOORS OPEN
Could see we had a nice warm sunny morning going on so moved myself, my coffee, & my already eaten muffin outside.  Found an iron bench directly in front of the hospital that was as uncomfortable to sit on as it looked.  Took a few pics of the hospital & a selfie.  By the time my coffee was finished temperatures were rising so headed back to the parking garage & dropped off my jacket.  Time was moving right along so headed back to the waiting room where I left Kelly earlier & spent an hour reading 'The Murrow Boys' on my Kindle.  At 10 o'clock Kelly walked through a door into the waiting room just a wee bit on the shaky side.

YEP THAT’S MY COFFEE & KINDLE THERE ON THAT TOTALLY HARD & UNCOMFORTABLE IRON BENCH & BY GOLLY THERE’S THE SHADOW COWBOY TOO

A FELLOW IN THE ELEVATOR TODAY ASKED ME IF THIS WAS A TILLEY HAT & I HAD TO TELL HIM NO IT WASN’T

<<< FRONT ENTRANCE TO LONDON’S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
It was Kelly's first colonoscopy & she came through it with flying colors.  Said there was absolutely no pain or discomfort except for a couple mild sensations when a few snips were taken here & there for biopsy purposes.  Said she was able to watch the whole procedure on a monitor.  She was given a mild sedative & said she did feel a little out of touch for awhile.  It was her own specialist Dr. Levstik who did the procedure & thanks to his very personable personality everything went off without a hitch.  Having not eaten anything substantial the past 24 hours Kelly felt like stopping at McDonalds & that is what we did.

WELL SHE SURE DON’T LOOK NO WORSE FOR WARE DO SHE
Another beautifully cool refreshing morning as we headed home to Bayfield.  Rural south-western countryside on the way & for me it was another hour well spent enjoying the scenery all the way home.  An ecstatic little doggy waiting at the door for us.  Kelly, not feeling well headed in for a rest while I loaded up Pheebs & off to Goderich we went.  Home Hardware had phoned Tuesday saying my 70 piece wrench/ratchet tool set had arrived so along with a few other things to pick up we had ourselves a nice little drive to Goderich & back.  Along the way I stopped to take photos of  some large impressive John Deere farm implements sitting in a wheat field by the road.

LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND OF GIANT GRASSHOPPER MONSTER COMING RIGHT AT YA

Some might ask why a mechanically challenged fella like myself would ever buy a 70 piece wrench & ratchet set.  Well good question & one which I myself have asked I myself.  It’s one of those questions which actually has several answers.  When I went to put my new motorcycle mirrors on a couple weeks ago I couldn’t even find a wrench to tighten them up.  Had an adjustable wrench but it was clumsy & I never did get the nuts tight until today with a proper wrench from my spanking new wrench set.  I do carry a very heavy tool box with us when we travel & it elongates my arm every time I try to pick it up.  Got everything in that tool box from nuts to soup.  If I have one screwdriver in there I must have 50.  My new wrench/ratchet set also carries one magnetic screw driver with an assortment of tips.  Also a set of Allen keys.  Must have a hundred & fifty of them Allen key thingys in that old 12 ton tool box.  My idea is to go through that big old tool box & pare it down eliminating all the doubled up tools & excessive weight for starters.  Now I know I’ll never use even a quarter of this stuff in the new tool container but at least I’ll have a few of the ‘right tools’ now just in case I need them.  Of course needing the tools & knowing how to use the tools are two different things but at least I have the first part of the sentence in place now.  Regular price on this Crescent set was $84.99.  Sale price was $44.97 so there ya go.

MADE BY CRESCENT I KNOW THESE ARE NOT TOP OF THE LINE TOOLS BUT THEY’LL BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR THIS TWINKLE TOES

MY OLD 12 TON ARM STRETCHING BACK BENDING TOOL BOX
Kelly spent most of the afternoon resting & I kinda did the same.  She did experience some feelings of sickness from the sedative but by 3 she was up & rumbling around.  Our 5 a.m. start to the day had tuckered us out a wee bit & especially Kelly with her 8 a.m. hospital procedure.  Pheebs & I did get out for a walk around our forest trail later in the afternoon & that was only made possible by a brisk breeze & cooler temperatures holding ‘most’ of the miserable mosquitos down.

 

 

YEP THERE’S A DOGGY IN THE JEEP ALRIGHT:))

Tuesday night after publishing my post Pheebs & I again headed over to Bayfield's beach & Pioneer Park area to check out the sunset.  Did manage to get a few photos & we were home again shortly after 9.  Kinda looking forward to shorter days soon when sunsets & night sky's are upon us earlier.

I've included a short Tuesday night sunset photo album which includes a few sunset watchers, the sunset it’s very self & a couple sailboats plying the calm Lake Huron waters near the harbor mouth.

A Tuesday Night Bayfield Sunset VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I recommend viewing photos in the slideshow format.  Open the album then double click the first photo.  Screen appears with photo enlarged against a black background.  Move your mouse around a bit & look to the top left corner to where it says ‘Play slide show’.  Click on that & away you go:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I was horrified to find my son eating out of the sugar bowl.
"Don't let me catch you doing that again!" I scolded.  He was willing but dubious. "I'll try, Mommy," he told me, "but you're so quiet sometimes."

-----

A fellow nurse at my hospital received a call from an anxious patient.
"I'm diabetic and I'm afraid I've had too much sugar today." the caller said.
"Are you light-headed?" my colleague asked.
"No," the caller answered, "I'm a brunette."

LAST MINUTE CHANGE OF PLANS SO WE’LL BE ON THE ROAD HEADING FOR LONDON’S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL BY 6 A.M.

NICE EARLY EVENING LIGHTING ON OUR FRONT YARD DAY LILIES

Been a few weeks since our Motorhome has had any road exercise so Pheebs & I fired up the Big EEE this morning & took it for a spin around a couple country blocks.  Purred like a top & it’s always a pleasure to drive.  Motorcycle was needing some overdue exercise as well so took it for a morning cruise up to Goderich.  It is also a smooth running vehicle & always nice to ride.

Our weather perfect 70F day allowed Pheebs & I to walk all the way around our pine tree trail this afternoon without being mobbed by mosquitos.  Am so looking forward to Fall's cooler temperatures & bug free air.  Bug free air is one of the things we enjoy so much about our winter's in the South-west.  Oh there may be some mosquitos around in some areas but we've never run into them.

London’s University Hospital called today saying they had double booked Kelly’s procedure for Wednesday afternoon & was there any possible way she could instead be at the hospital by 7:30 a.m.   Being morning people that actually works out much better for us so we will be up & on the road by 6 a.m.

It was a year ago today our Class C 27’ Winnebago was finally sold.  My how time has flown by.  No regrets on selling it & no regrets on selling the Class C Chevy Sunseeker before it.  If we had to do it all over again we would have done things much differently of course but it is what it is.  We all make decisions based on circumstances at the time & it’s always easy to second guess one’s self later.  The key is not to let some of life’s poorer decisions get us down. 

WHILE PHOTOGRAPHING THE LILIES I ALSO NOTICED THE NICE LIGHTING ON PHEEBE

 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A Sunday school teacher asked little Johnny who the first man in the Bible was.  "Hoss," said Johnny.
"Wrong," said the teacher. "It was Adam."
"Shucks!" Johnny replied. "I knew it was one of them Cartwrights."

A SERIES OF FINE MORNINGS SPENT WITH MY BEST PAL

Sunday night checking Grand Bend's Yacht Club webcam which faces westward towards Lake Huron I saw a nice sunset beginning to shape up.  Pheebs & I hopped into the Jeep & headed for Pioneer Park.  For great sunsets one needs clouds & by the time we arrived at Pioneer Park the cloud cover had moved inland leaving old Sol to drop into Lake Huron all by himself from a totally clear sky.  Instead of concentrating on the sun I took up a position behind all the folks lined along a wooden rail fence awaiting Sunday's finale.  A rough count told me about 60 people were there to enjoy the sunset.  All photos in my photo album below are candid.

Bayfield's Pioneer Park....Waiting For The Sunset VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

When you click on the photo album a page of photos will appear.  Click on the top left photo making it larger.  Now you can choose to see the photos in a slide show format by clicking 'Play Slide Show' at the top or view them one at a time by clicking the arrow at the bottom.

One of the small problems I have with Live Writer’s album feature is not being able to arrange photos in order.  I do select them in the order I want them to appear but when the album publishes the photos are always appear in a dis-orderly mish-mash…………….

WILD FLOWERS AT THE HULLETT MARSH

MORNING DEW ON SINEWY SPIDER LIKE WEBS IN THE GRASS

Oh how refreshing our cooler morning air felt compared to Monday's mid day heat.  Under clear blue sunny skies Pheebe & I headed over to Huron Counties Hullett Marsh for a stroll with Mother Nature.  Early to mid morning is my favorite time of day & this morning was no exception as sunlight glistened & sparkled on Hullett's many ponds & pools.  Again the smell of new mown hay was in the air mixed with many of late July's abundance of blooming wildflowers.  A nearby splashing of water alerted me to a bevy of ducks lifting off the water.  A wracking Dinosauric sound overhead told me of the presence a Great Blue Heron brought to the day.  Turkey Vultures soared in spirals of warming winds high above the marsh.  Pheebs took great care in not getting her paws wet around the water's edge & I took great care at eliminating half a dozen biting triangular shaped Deer flies buzzing around my head.  Our country morning  walk & subsequent drive lasted 3 hours & we were home again about 11:30.  For me personally it was another in a series of fine rural mornings spent with my best Pal happily wandering around south-western Ontario’s Huron County:))

JUST LOVE THE SMELL OF NEW MOWN HAY

SEEMINGLY NEVER ENDING FIELDS OF CORN WITH STALKS REACHING 6 & 7 FEET TALL ALREADY

Due to heavy Monsoon rains our beloved south-west winter stomping grounds sure have been on our minds these past few days.  With Wickenburg’s severe flooding & the rain related collapse of a bridge on I-10 just west of Desert Center we’ve been keeping an eye on the news.  We haven’t heard anything about flooding in Congress Arizona yet so I think our house & property are probably OK.  Good friend John King lives in Congress & hasn’t put anything in Facebook yet about having to live aboard his boat yet.  We are familiar with the flooded area in Wickenburg as well as the location of the I-10 bridge collapse.  We have travelled over both the east & west I-10 bridges 4 miles west of Desert Center many times in the past bunch of years on our way to Slab City or Borrego Springs California.  Hoping by the time we slide down that section of interstate this coming winter all will be well again.  Right now it’s a hundred mile detour around that bridge collapse.

 

Ever wondered which is the most 'admired' country in the world?   How about the 5th happiest.  And what about the top country to visit, live in, work in and study in.  Well it doesn't come as any great surprise to many of us but if your curious about the answers you can find them on Peter's latest post at AMERICAN TRAVELER.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Jake had proposed to young Gina, and was being interviewed by his prospective father-in-law.  "Do you think you are earning enough to support a family?" the older man asked the suitor.  "Yes, Sir," replied Jake, "I'm sure I am."  "Think carefully now," said Gina's father. "There are twelve of us..."

----------------

Walking through the hallways at the middle school where I work, I saw a new substitute teacher standing outside his classroom with his forehead against a locker.  I heard him mutter, "How did you get yourself into this?"  Knowing that he was assigned to a difficult class, I tried to offer moral support.  "Are you okay?" I asked. "Can I help?"  He lifted his head and replied, "I'll be fine as soon as I get this kid out of his locker."