SAD PASSING OF A FRIEND AND FELLOW RV’ER FROM SEAFORTH ONTARIO

Sad news arrived late this morning when we were told of our good friend Dianne Mero’s passing.   Fellow RV’er and former part owner of Stormrunner RV Sales & Service her death has come as a shock.  Diane had a heart condition complicated by a few other conditions and while on an RV camping/fishing trip with her husband Harry and their dog Sport near Timmins Ontario Dianne suddenly suffered a collapse Wednesday.  She was rushed to hospital and put on life support but passed away this morning.  Dianne, a long time reader was a regular contributor to our Shout Box and two winters ago Dianne along with her husband Harry and their dog Sport had dropped around to see us when we were boon-docked on Ogilbe Road on the California side of Yuma.  We actually met them twice in the Southwest.   Diane & Harry in Bisbee Arizona…..Diane & Harry on the California side of Yuma.  I last saw and talked to Dianne in October of last year when I dropped into their Stormrunner location in Bayfield just before we headed for the Southwest.  Health problems and an unsure future were a couple things Dianne and I talked about that morning.  Dianne’s passing was totally unexpected and so very, very, sad.  A straight shooter and honest person her friendly smile, caring personality, and love for animals will surely be missed by a whole community.

Felt right off I had a better day going for myself when I woke up so with that vote of confidence behind me I set my broom aside once more and ventured out to see what another day had in store for me.

DESPITE THREATENING SKIES RICHARD AND I HAD OURSELVES ANOTHER SCENIC COFFEE TOUR THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE
My turn to drive this morning as Richard and I headed off once again on our second coffee tour of the month.  Our travels under a mixed bag of weather took us down into the Grand Bend and Port Franks area.  Drove by the cottage Gary B:))  Ran through a broad spectrum of topics again and as usual I came away that much the wiser.  Coffee with Richard is always enjoyable and always something I look forward to.


Way to early to be even thinking about travel plans this coming winter but we did bump into the subject Wednesday afternoon while talking about the Motorhome or something.  The state of Utah was mentioned and that of course perked my interest and put a quiet smile on my face:))
After working hard Wednesday to convince myself I did not need a smartphone we pulled the trigger on a Motorola Moto G5 today.  As I said several times before I didn’t feel I needed a high end phone and neither one of us were comfortable spending the big bucks those high enders cost.  Besides what would a low end tekky guy like myself do with a high end techno-pop  smartphone.   With the Moto G5 I have everything I need and am looking forward to seeing what new doors this modern technology may kick open for me.  Now I said ‘open’ and not ‘slam shut’!!  Luckily I have Kelly’s patience and smarts here to kick my stumbling butt through the learning curves.


GROANER’S CORNER:((  During a performance for the high school talent show at the local theater, a hole appeared in the stage floor. Subsequent acts managed to avoid the damaged area until little Freddy, juggling bowling pins, accidentally stepped through the hole right up to his chest.  He apologized to the audience for his clumsiness. But a heckler in the back of the theater shouted:  "Don't worry, Freddy! It's just a stage you're going through!"
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Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Tank.
Tank who?
You’re welcome.

I’M BACK TO SWEEPING THE FLOOR AND HUMMING TO MYSELF………..

A QUIET DAY AT OUR HOUSE

Don’t know if it was the gray cloud cover that put me in a funk this morning but our short Jeep drive over to the Hullett Marsh and back didn’t result in one single photo.  Oh it’s not that the photos weren’t out there, I just woke up with my head not screwed on right again.  I don’t know what goes on in the night while I’m sleeping.  Is somebody sneaking in the back door and repeatedly whacking me over the head with a big sack of wooshy wet noodles??.  Couldn’t seem to get myself lifted out of the funk all day so it’s a short post tonight.  I’m back to sweeping the kitchen floor and humming to myself…………….

‘DEAR OH DEAR NOT MUCH TO WRITE ABOUT TONIGHT’

In Tuesday’s post I had a photo of a boat out on Lake Huron west of Goderich but didn’t know what it was.  Thanks to reader Mr. Ed for somehow identifying that vessel and coming up with some interesting research about it and what it was doing out there.  Here’s the link Mr. Ed sent regarding the Lake Guardian.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A woman was driving down the street in a sweat because she had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking space. Looking up toward heaven, she said, “Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I’ll go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up drinking wine.”Miraculously, a parking space opened up right in front of her destination.The woman looked up to heaven and said, “Never mind, Lord; I just found one on my own.”

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- “I wrote a novel about religious women. The library put it in the nun fiction section.”

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Joe said, "Know what, Charlie? I killed 5 flies yesterday, 3 males and 2 females." "How could you tell them apart, Joe? asked Charlie. "Joe replied, "It was easy. The 3 males were sitting on a a case of beer, and the 2 females were on the phone."

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Knock Knock
Who's there?
Ivana!
Ivana who?
Ivana be rich!

Just in case that one is a repeat here’s another one:))

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Mustache.

Mustache who?

I mustache you a question, but I’ll shave it for later.

A THOUSAND DOLLARS CASH IN A McDONALDS COFFEE CUP

McDonalds coffee cups always have a little sticker on them that can be detached and put on a card.  Soon as one has 7 stickers on their card they get a free coffee.  Every time Pheebs and I go through McD’s and grab a coffee I always hang onto the cups because Kelly collects the stickers.  Arriving home shortly after 11 this morning I came in with my camera and empty McD’s coffee cup and put it on the kitchen table.  Minutes later Kelly walked over, pulled the sticker off and removed the loose lid.  ‘Hey what’s this inside’ she said.  She reached in and pulled a wad of bills out…….a thousand dollars to be exact.  What??

  

Readers may remember me mentioning about selling the motorcycle and a call from Andy at the Goderich Power center saying he had a thousand dollar cash down payment on the bike.  Yep I stopped in there this morning to sign the bike’s ownership over and Andy suggested I take the thousand dollar cash down payment with me which I did and that is how it ended up in a McDonald’s coffee cup in Kelly’s hands this morning.  No there was no chance of the moneyed coffee cup going into the garbage can.  I was standing right there in the kitchen with a sly eye closely monitoring the proceedings:))

RED WING BLACKBIRD

Pheebs and I had us nice walk in the doggy walking area at the south end of Goderich’s Rotary Cove beside Lake Huron this morning.  A refreshingly cool breeze coming in off the lake kept the day’s rising humidity to a dull roar for a short time.

A FINE SUMMER MORNING WALK ALONG THE SHORE

A COUPLE SAIL BOATS MAKING THEIR WAY ALONG THE SHORELINE WITH THE ONE AT THE LEFT FLYING AN AMERICAN FLAG

NO IDEA WHAT THAT FAR BOAT TO THE LEFT IS WORKING AWAY AT OUT THERE

Stopped into the Goderich Bell Mobility store again.  Wanted to get a physical take on the Galaxy 5A phone as well as the Motorola G5 plus.  The Motorola is a snap smaller than the Galaxy A5 but ‘I think’ we maybe have it narrowed down to one of these 2 smart phones for me.  Of course by tomorrow at this time we could be off down another path looking at something totally else.  The word ‘rotary’ comes to mind again.

58 CHEVY SEEN IN DOWNDOWN GODERICH THIS MORNING

RV’ER WITH A BOAT TOAD

A swing east of Goderich brought us through the sleepy Hamlet of Ben Miller to our favorite pond area.  We can always be assured of a photo or two here where the country road dips between two roadside ponds.  Today’s Dragonflies and Lily pad flowers were taken here.  Heat and humidity were building so it was time to get out of the hot soupy air and head for home.   Luckily we were fine with windows down and didn’t have to kick on the Jeep’s A/C.  It’s all in the timing to beat that heat.

I KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT FISHING SO IS THIS GUY DRESSED LIKE THIS SO THE FISH CAN’T SEE HIM??

I’m sure some readers are scratching their heads and wondering why a ‘no phone guy’ like myself would even be considering buying a smartass phone and if so why not a much cheaper flip phone.  Well it’s true, the least part of the phone that holds any interest for me is actually…..the phone.  It is the clear quality of the photos Kelly has been getting with her Blackberry DTek50 this past year that caught my attention awhile back and started the ball slowly rolling for me.  I’ve been carrying a bulky point and shoot camera on my belt for the best part of 10 years now and anyone doing that knows what it’s like plunking oneself down into a chair with one of those pesky side-arms clipped on.  While wearing it on my belt I generally always drape my shirt over the phone and that of course makes it look like I have some sort of large infectious growth sprouting out of my right hip.  Not too flattering I’d say.  With that thought in mind couple the increasingly sharper smart phone cameras with this whole ‘App’ thing (what is an App) and it ‘finally’ starts to turn on a few low watt light bulbs in my head.  GPS, real time weather maps, bird song ID, new pajama-rama colors, a night sky app identifying all the stars and constellation positions, latest peanut butter alerts, Google Earth, Google Search, an app to tell me which way my feet are headed in case I should decide to follow, an old guy’s grump meter, what mountain range I am looking at, an app to tell me whenever I am within one square mile of a carrot muffin, a compass, an altimeter, and a ba-zillion other things I haven’t even thought about yet.  I’m making an attempt here to bring myself up to speed with the 21rst century I guess.  Texting or ying-yanging on the phone?  Nope and nope.  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all that social media stuff??  Nope, nope and a whole bunch more nopes.  Of course having my own smart phone was a big nope for a long time too wasn’t it.  Maybe I had better not be a dope with too many nopes or my future hopes could quickly become dashed on the ropes leaving me with a bad case of the Pope’s mopes.  Anyway, moving on and no you won’t find all this on Snopes.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.  I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.
I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.  I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.  I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often. I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older. One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get! And, sometimes I think I am in Vincible  but life shows me I am not!

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The closest a person ever comes to perfection is when he fills out a job application form.

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One day, after a man had his annual physical, the doctor came out and said, "You had a great checkup. Is there anything that you'd like to talk about or ask me?" "Well," he said, "I was thinking about getting a vasectomy." "That's a pretty big decision. Have you talked it over with your family?" "Yeah, and they're in favor 15 to 2."

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Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Cash.

Cash who?

No thanks, I think I’ll have some peanuts.

WE ARE ABOUT BURNT OUT FROM RIDING THE SMART PHONE MERRY-GO-ROUND

A FEW PHOTOS FROM OUR FRONT YARD TODAY
Been a few weeks since I’ve walked along our quietly peaceful pine tree trail on the hundred acre property where our 5 Seasons Park is located. This is a path through a forest we have been walking almost 15 years.  The trail as we knew it is quickly disappearing as chain saws take down the forests large pine trees.  Have to say it was a mild shock again this afternoon to see parts of the trail now unrecognizable as the result of heavy machinery in the bush.  I again had to remind myself this is not our property and we have no say as to what happens here.  The only upside I could think of was how fortunate we have been over the years to have had this pine forest to enjoy and walk through while it was here.  Many fine early morning walks and memories years ago with the old Bayfield Bunch Max, Checkers, and Cora. 

Well I was hoping for cooler weather and I got my wish.  Mid 60’s today and that suited me just fine.  Could have done without the heavy cloud cover for the first half of the day though.  Our phone rang today and it was Andy from the Goderich Power Center saying he had a fella in this morning wanting to buy my motorcycle.  Left a thousand dollar deposit so I guess you could say it is officially sold.  (hmmmm, seems to me I said that about our former Congress Arizona house once too) Kelly had placed an ad on her Facebook’s Bayfield/Goderich buy and sell page.  A fellow from Bayfield inquired about the bike and we directed him to the Goderich Power Center so it looks like we might be seeing the bike around town soon.  Have I had any second thoughts about selling the bike and does it bother me when I see motorcycles out and about now??  Answer to that question is no and no.  

Kelly, Pheebs and I headed off to Goderich this morning to physically look at a selection of Smartphones at the Bell Mobility store.  We are still going round and round on the smartphone merry-go-round and just when we think we have decided on something we change our minds again and it’s back to the drawing board.  I do not need or want a high end smart phone nor do I want a low end basics only cell phone so that puts us somewhere in the middle.  One thing we have learned is that there is ‘no perfect smartphone’ regardless of  how much money one is willing to spend or how much hype and advertising each manufacture puts into their product .  We’ve looked up and read the specs and reviews from high end iPhones right down to the bargain basement Mickey Mouse phones.  Somewhere in between those two is the right phone for me but so far we just haven’t been able to find it.  Every phone has it’s pros and cons and it basically comes down to several things.  Cost, need, and preferences.  
We solved the McDonald’s BLT mystery today as well.  Kelly wanted to try one so we stopped into McD’s on the way home and grabbed ourselves one BLT each.  BLT’s as a rule do not have egg or cheese on them but McDonalds version of a BLT does so that explains my confusement last week.  Kelly also pointed out the McD’s BLT also comes with Mayo and that of course would explain part of the mess on my pants last week.  Today I took the precaution of draping a small towel over my lap then proceeded to drip some Mayo on my shirt of course.  Of course!!

Something I forgot to mention in my last couple posts when Kelly’s daughter Sabra, husband Derek and their two boys were visiting.  Anyone in the Golden Horseshoe area of Kitchener, Cambridge, or Guelph buying or selling a home, property, or business you might want to give Derek a call.  With a team of 3 people working for and with him Derek is a part of the large overall country wide RE/MAX organization.  Highly successful, Derek has been in the Real Estate business about 13 years.  He’s more than just Kelly's son-in-law he’s a good guy as well.  If you decide to call him about anything be sure to tell him the ‘Bayfield Bunch’ sent ya:))  You can find Derek here at the DEREK McGRATH TEAM

GROANER’S CORNER:(( This fellow is looking to buy a saw to cut down some trees in his back yard. He goes to a chainsaw shop and asks about various chainsaws. The dealer tells him, "Look, I have a lot of models, but why don't you save yourself a lot of time and aggravation and get the top-of-the-line model. This chainsaw will cut a hundred cords of wood for you in one day."
So, the man takes the chainsaw home and begins working on the trees. After cutting for several hours and only cutting two cords, he decides to quit. He thinks there is something wrong with the chainsaw. "How can I cut for hours and only cut two cords?" the man asks himself. "I will begin first thing in the morning and cut all day," the man tells himself. So, the next morning the man gets up at 4 am in the morning and cuts and cuts, and cuts till nightfall, and still he only manages to cut five cords.  The man is convinced this is a bad saw. "The dealer told me it would cut one hundred cords of wood in a day, no problem. I will take this saw back to the dealer," the man says to himself.  The very next day the man brings the saw back to the dealer and explains the problem. The dealer, baffled by the man's claim, removes the chainsaw from the case. The dealer says, "Hmm, it looks fine."  Then the dealer starts the chainsaw, to which the man responds, "What's that noise?
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- Waiter: I have stewed liver, boiled tongue and frog's leg.  Customer: Don't tell me your problems. Give me the menu.
- Two women overheard talking….."One of my friends is pregnant. And I’m really excited.  Not for the baby but because she’s one of my skinniest friends”.
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Robin.
Robin who?
Robin you, now hand over the cash.

IT WAS A BUSIER DAY FOR KELLY THAN ME AND OUR COMPANY HEADED HOME

It was after dark when the gang arrived back from The Docks restaurant in Bayfield.  Kelly had bought the boys something called ‘Jump Rocket Night Shotz’ which is basically a heavy duty plastic container with a tube to a light weight sponge rocket with and LED light in it.  Stomp or jump on the plastic container, forced air rushes through a plastic tube and blows the rocket up into the air about 30 or 40 feet.  Says 100 ft on the box…..ya right.  The following photos are of our local group of resident rocket scientists firing the rockets into the air out front near our house Saturday night.


HERE ARE THE 2 MAIN ROCKET ENGINEERS FIGURING OUT THE LAUNCH PAD ASSEMBLY


GRAMMA KELLY HELPS THE BOYS SET UP THE LAUNCH PAD


DEREK GIVES THE LAUNCHER A STOMP

LANGDON ROARS IN WITH A LEAPING STOMP

KEENAN LAUNCHES A ROCKET AND KELLY WATCHES IT GO INTO ORBIT

PHEEBS ATTEMPTS A LAUNCH BUT CAN’T GET THE ROCKET INTO THE AIR
 
TWO MORE FLYING STOMPS

OOOOPS ONE ROCKET STOMPER MISSED HIS MARK AND CRASHED

QUICK KEENAN GIVE THAT RED LAUNCHER A STOMP AND GIVE YOUR DAD A GOOD OLD SPONGE ROCKET RIGHT IN THE SCHNOOT

ANOTHER FLYING STOMP COMING IN
 
IN THIS PHOTO YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE ‘LED’ LIT ROCKET COMING DOWN JUST ABOVE DEREK’S HEAD…..THE BOYS WERE TRYING TO CATCH THE SPONGY ROCKETS WHEN THEY CAME DOWN
Luckily our day dawned rain free this morning with a mixture of sun and cloud for our company.  Our overnight temporary RV crew said they all spent an enjoyably comfortable night in the Motorhome.  We have a funky pull out couch that makes into a bed and that is where the boys slept.

I THINK DEREK MUST BE MAKING HIMSELF A 3 POUND WAMBAT SALOMI SANDWICH OVER THERE

DEREK PUTS A MOVIE IN THE DVR FOR THE GUYS

‘OH WOE IS ME WHEN WILL THIS MOVIE EVER START’
<<< OOOOOPS, JUST A FEW MORE ADJUSTMENTS
The boys were wanting to head for the beach again today.  Dereck suggested we first head to Renegades Diner in Bayfield’s south end for breakfast so that’s what we did.  Surprisingly,  I went too.  Good breakfasts all way round and it was 2 thumbs up for Renegades.

‘HEY THE MOVIE JUST STARTED’
Had we had more time and the weather not been so iffy we would have taken everybody for a spin in the Motorhome.

HERE’S A PHOTO TAKEN BY KELLY WITH HER BLACKBERRY OF LANGDON DIGGING INTO HIS STRAWBERRY FRENCH TOAST…..THANKS TO DEREK AND SABRA FOR BREAKFAST THIS MORNING:))
Back home again for a bit before the gang along with Kelly headed back into Bayfield for a little browsing along main street.  They actually ended up for lunch at the Black Dog Pub & Bistro, some time at the Bayfield Beach then the boys went ‘Wakeboarding’ for awhile at the Windmill Lake Wake & Eco Park.  Pheebs and I were quite contentedly happy to stay home.  Turned out to be a cloudy afternoon with a few traveling rain showers passing through.  The gang was back around 4 and were packed up and heading home to Hespeler Ontario around 4:30.  A good time was had by all and after company two week-ends in a row the Bayfield Bunch is needing one big rest now for sure.   Far as we know we have no more company coming that we know of……………

KELLY CAPTURED THESE TWO WAKEBOARDING PHOTOS WITH HER BLACKBERRY

KELLY DOES A SELFIE WITH HER DAUGHTER SABRA AT THE WINDMILL WAKEBOARD PARK WHICH INCIDENTALLY IS ONLY A MILE EAST OF WHERE WE LIVE

LOOKS LIKE I GOT BLACKBERRIED TOO WHILE TAKING A COUPLE FROG PHOTOS

YEP, WE GOT KIDS HERE ALRIGHT

PHEEBS WAS SURE ENJOYING ALL THE EXTRA ATTENTION
  
Think I have finally made a decision on which smartphone to get.  George from Our Awesome Travels sent me a picture of the kind of phone I was looking for.  I knew they were out there because I had seen a picture of one a few years ago.  I figure this is the darndest right phone for me for sure.  Gotta love that rotary dial eh:))
 
LANGDON TAKING A FEW FROG PHOTOS
Ever since getting into the modern digital age ways of doing things photographically I have been using auto-focus zoom lenses.  Before digital back in the old 35mm days I never owned an auto focus or zoom lens.  All my lenses were primary lenses meaning they all had a set focal point.  If you wanted to get closer to a subject you had to move yourself physically nearer to the subject and vice versa.  Needless to say I loved the zoom lens idea right from the get go.  Many advantages to zoom lenses for sure but a prime lens has a prime purpose as well.  They are inherently sharper than the zoomers and function in low light situations better and for this reason in our Henry’s camera trade dealings a week ago I did end up with a Nikkor 1.8 35mm prime lens.  it’s taking me a bit to get used to but I want to dig in and see if I can improve a some areas of my photography.  Maybe get a few things here and there a tad sharper if I can.  The earlier close up photo of Keenan entitled ‘Hey the movie just started’ was taken with that 35mm lens Saturday night.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Three guys, a Polish guy, a Jewish guy and an Italian guy sign up for the police academy. The Jewish guy goes in first and the Captain says to him, "We have to ask you one question before we admit you in to the academy, Who killed Jesus?" The Jewish guy says "The Romans did it." The Captain says, "Right, you're admitted." The Italian guy goes in next. The Captain asks him the same thing. "We have to ask you one question first before you're admitted to the Police Academy. Who killed Jesus?" The Italian guy says "The Romans did it." The Captain says, "Right, you're admitted." The Polish guy goes in and the Captain repeats the question. The Polish guy says "Gee, I don't know." The Captain tells him to go home and think about it for a week and come back and tell him. The Polish guy goes home and his wife asked him how his first day went at the academy, and he says to her, "You won't believe it!  My first day on the job and they assigned me to a murder case!"
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Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Etch.
Etch who?
Bless you, friend.