GREAT START TO THE DAY UNTIL I GOT IN THE WAY OF MYSELF AND IT ALL FELL APART

TURNS OUT THIS WAS ABOUT THE BEST PART OF MY DAY

Forgot to check our live weather radar feed before going to bed Monday night and had I done so I would have seen the approaching rain front.  It was 5:15 this morning and there I was outside in my pajamas and rain coat racing around closing van windows and quickly gathering up cleaning supplies like paper towels, my shop vac, and leaf blower, etc.  I later thought about it and welcomed that sudden little slice of involuntary exercise.  In hindsight it was kind of a nice active way to start the day.

EVEN THESE CANADA GEESE APPRECIATED THE EARLY MORNING RAIN

Needing a few additional automotive cleaning supplies Pheebs and I headed for and splashed our way to Goderich's Canadian Tire Store but not before doing our usual harbor and beach tour.  A couple small cans of touch of paint, a few small paint brushes, a jug of CLR and some masking tape and we were on our way home again.

THE ALGOMA BUFFALO WAS IN PORT THIS MORNING FOR A LOAD OF SALT

LOOKS LIKE THE OLD BUFFALO IS NEEDING A LITTLE SPRUCING UP

ENTRANCE TO ROTARY COVE'S DOG WALKING AREA

'SMELLS LIKE A GOOD OLD ROTTEN DEAD FISH OVER HERE SOMEWHERE DAD'

'YIKES THAT WATER IS GETTING MIGHTY CLOSE TO MY PAWS'

Not one of my better days and I blame it on my lack of patience, the heat driven humid day again and maybe being over tired.  And, probably a whole lot of other stuff too.  If I picked up something I dropped it, if I set something down I couldn't remember where it was two minutes later and numerous times I went to get something and by the time I got to where I was going I couldn't remember what it was I had come to get.  If it happens once in a long while well then Okay but when it happens repeatedly like these last few days I get very very upset with myself.  I even had to dash my hat upon the ground at one point this afternoon.  Last time I did that years ago I broke my favorite Arizona baseball cap!!

IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE ONES FARM MACHINERY COLOR MATCHED THESE DAYS

THIS IS A COMBINES WHEAT HARVESTING HEAD RESTING ON IT'S TRAILER

My good buddy Richard is driving me to the Stratford General Hospital tomorrow.  Have to be there  by 12:30.  Kelly will pick me up sometime later in the day.  Because I am on an emergency surgery list I have no idea when they will do the laser procedure.  Depends how many emergency surgery people are ahead of me and how urgent their emergency is.  Didn't want Kelly coming to the hospital and then getting stuck just sitting there waiting for hours and hours.  Doctor Bukala's office lady last week told us Dr. Bukala didn't get home until 10 o'clock one night recently.  Kelly will be in touch with the hospital and they will let her know when I am hauled off to the recovery room.  Depending on how many people are ahead of me they said I might have to be kept overnight.  Oh horrors, I can't go that long without seeing the Pheebs.  Now I'm not going to go into detail of what takes place with this particular laser kidney stone procedure because if I did most every male reader out here would see his life flash before his eyes, his knees would go week, an audible gasp would be heard, his hands would instinctively form a defensive position in his crotch area and he'd collapse groaning to the floor with his legs tightly crossed and shaking.  I know this because I had this same procedure done once before seven years ago.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Three vampires walk into a bar and sit down at a table. The waitress comes over and asks the first vampire what he would like. The first vampire responds, "I vould like some blood." The waitress turns to the second vampire and asks what he would like. The vampire responds, "I vould like some blood." The waitress turns to the third vampire and asks what he would like. The vampire responds, "I vould like some plasma." The waitress looks up and says, "Let me see if I have this order correct. You want two bloods and a blood light?"
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“Undercooked steaks are a rare situation. Be careful or you will get a raw deal.”
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Clovis' Consideration of an Atmospheric Anomaly: 
- The perversity of nature is nowhere better demonstrated than by the fact that, when exposed to the same atmosphere, bread becomes hard while crackers become soft.
- Cohn's Law: The more time you spend in reporting on what you are doing, the less time you have to do anything. Stability is achieved when you spend all your time reporting on the nothing you are doing.
- Cooke's Law: In any decision situation, the amount of relevant information available is inversely proportional to the importance of the decision.

- Correspondence Corollary: An experiment may be considered a success if no more than half of your data must be discarded to obtain correspondence with your theory.

====================

WELL OF COURSE YOU KNOW WHAT WE WERE WORKING AWAY AT TODAY

Well yes you probably know what we busied ourselves with today and if you guessed working away at the 'Freedom Van' you would be totally correct.

ONLY TAKES ABOUT 10 SECONDS TO ATTACH THE MOSQUITO NETTING.....'THINK VELCRO'

AND IT ONLY TAKES ABOUT 10 SECONDS TO SET UP THIS SIMPLE OUTSIDE TABLE

AND THIS IS THE HEAVY BINDER CHALKED FULL OF ALL THE MANUALS FOR THE VARIOUS SYSTEMS ONBOARD

AND THIS IS THE STAGING AREA FOR ALL THINGS COMING OUT OF THE VAN AND MOST ALL THINGS EVENTUALLY GOING INTO THE VAN

The days heat built up quickly so it wasn't a long Jeep ride for Pheebs and I this morning.  A little spin around Bayfield, a short country road spin, and we were home again in less than an hour.  I wanted to get a few more things done with Freedo before morning got to unbearably muggy.

MONDAY MORNING FISHERMEN ON BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER

A FEW WILY BABY CORN STALKS STEALTHILY TIP TOEING THROUGH A FIELD OF SLEEPING BEANS

A COUPLE UPDATE PICS FOR C AND G THIS MORNING

While I again busied myself with the van's exterior Kelly plugged away inside taking out shelf paper etc.  Under one layer she found a stash of American money hidden away which had obviously been placed there many years ago.  The original owners who we think were from Wiarton Ontario bought the van new in Spring Hill Florida back in 02 and spent  their winters there.  The $43 wasn't in the best of shape and had become wet at some point because all the bills were stuck together.  We found out going through the van's repair bills later there had been a roof leak connected with the van roof A/C and we suspect that is when the money got wet.  Kelly carefully separated the bills and we think they might be salvageable.

THE LEISURE TRAVEL VAN WAS BOUGHT HERE

KELLY FINDS A STASH OF CASH

I'm not too impressed with some of the vans coach windows because they don't open far and are very hard to get at the interior bottom sections to clean.  Maybe there's a trick to opening them farther that I don't know about.

THE WINDOWS ONLY OPEN A FEW INCHES AND WITH A SCREEN INSIDE IT'S TOO DIFFICULT TO GET MY HAND UP INSIDE TO CLEAN THE INNER WINDOW PLUS ONE DOES NOT GET MUCH OF AN AIR FLOW THROUGH THE NARROW OPENING

Despite the days miserable humidity I plugged away at cleaning windows and a half dozen other things around the exterior of the van.  Over the years I think I've had somewhere between 40 and 50 vehicles of which only two were new.  Have always enjoyed dragging older vehicles home and cleaning them up and this van is no exception.  Despite these hot days and Senior years I still like getting out there for the most part with my buckets of water, soaps, cleaners, waxes, and touch up paints etc. trying to make each and every vehicle look as good as I can.  I have had some real challenges over the years and those challenges are not over yet.

WHERE THE LITTLE GREEN GUY IS SITTING WILL BY MY SPOT ON THE COUCH

THIS WILL BE MY VIEW FORWARD

THIS WILL BE KELLY'S VIEW

 In the above two photos I am using a wide angle 18mm lens for the photo on the left making the van look longer than it really is.  And in the photo at right we're toying with the idea of taking those two stand up cupboards out.

In two photos above of washroom it shows how the washroom sink folds up into the wall and photo below shows the mirrored washroom door.  Notice the shower curtain as well.

In the previous reference to having between 40 and 50 vehicles I did write a post back in September 2007 listing all those vehicles.  My Vehicles Over The Years  Turns out the number was 43 at that time 15 years ago.  Since then I have/we have had a Jeep Wrangler plus our current Jeep Liberty and Pontiac Sunfire.  And in RV's we've also had a Class C Chevy Sunseeker, Class C Winnebago Premier Access, Class A Triple E Commander and now our current Class B Leisure Travel Van.  So I guess that brings the grand total to 50 right on the nose. 

SINK, STOVE, AND FRIDGE UNDERNEATH.....STOVE BURNER RACK IS STORED UNDER THE SINK

OUR GOOD NEIGHBOR MONICA CAME OVER TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE VAN AND BROUGHT US SOME SOUP TO BOOT:))

LOOKS LIKE MONICA IS GETTING THE WHOLE TOUR

GROANER'S CORNER:((   If Restaurants Functioned Like Tech Support:: 
Oh waiter, over here please.
Waiter: Hi, my name is Bill, and I'll be your Support. What seems to be the problem?Patron: There's a fly in my soup! 
Waiter: Try again, maybe the fly won't be there this time.
Patron: No, it’s still there.
Waiter: Maybe it's the way you're using the soup. Try eating it with a fork instead.
Patron: Even when I use the fork, the fly is still there.
Waiter: Maybe the soup is incompatible with the bowl. What kind of bowl are you using?
Patron: A SOUP bowl!
Waiter: Hmmm, that should work. Maybe it’s a configuration problem. How was the bowl set up?
Patron: You brought it to me on a saucer. What has that to do with the fly in my soup?!
Waiter: Can you remember everything you did before you noticed the fly in your soup?
Patron: I sat down and ordered the Soup of the Day!
Waiter: Have you considered upgrading to the latest Soup of the Day?
Patron: You have more than one Soup of the Day each day?
Waiter: Yes, the Soup of the Day is changed every hour.
Patron: Well, what is the Soup of the Day now?
Waiter: The current Soup of the Day is tomato.
Patron: Fine. Bring me the tomato soup, and the check. I'm running late now.
[waiter leaves and returns with another bowl of soup and the check]
Waiter: Here you are, Sir. The soup and your check.
Patron: This is potato soup.
Waiter: Yes, the tomato soup wasn't ready yet.
Patron: Well, I'm so hungry now, I'll eat anything.
[waiter leaves.]
Patron: Waiter! There's a gnat in my soup!!
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Scientists have observed that when one pizza delivery guy falls over, several others also fall over. This is known as the Domino's effect.
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CLEANING BINS AND COMPARTMENTS IN THE FREEDO VANDITO WAGON

Pheebs and I decided to do things a bit different earlier today so we reversed our morning routine and headed straight away for the coolness of a forest trail east of Goderich while the air was still cool.  Luckily the bugs weren't too bad but the morning heated up fast and it wasn't long before we scrambled back out of the woods to the Jeep and headed for home.  I was anxious to get started on the 'Freedo Vandito' clean-up.

WE SURE LIKE OUR QUIET FOREST WALKS

THESE SEVEN AND EIGHT FEET HIGH CORN STALKS STOOD TOWERING OVER PHEEBS AND I

Hauling out my cleaning supplies I decided to concentrate my efforts on the bins.  I had vacumed out the big bin Saturday and Kelly this morning swabbed it out with water.  I cleaned  the generator compartment, wet bay, and electrical bins on the driver's side as well as the gas cap area.  On the passenger's side I did the hot water tank bay, battery compartment, outside shower station, and propane filling location.  Might not sound like much but it took me hours to get those bins scrubbed out.  Managed to get some old decals off the back tire cover as well.  While doing the bins Kelly was busy inside cleaning things as well.  We're still trying to figure out where Al's going to sleep too.  He can be such a PITA sometimes that guy!! By 1 o'clock it was simply too hot and muggy for either of us to stay outside anymore so we packed it in for the day.  I did come back out later and played in the van for awhile after cooler night air settled in. 

I HAD A REAL CLEANING BEE GOING ON THIS AFTEROON....EVEN TOOK THE TIRE JACK OUT AND CLEANED THAT UP TOO

VERY LARGE POWER BED/COUCH IN THE BACK AND WHAT YOU SEE ISN'T EVEN ALL OF IT.....PEOPLE CAN SLEEP EITHER LENGTH WISE OR WIDTH WISE

Some readers have wondered when we'll head out for our first shake down cruise and I don't have an answer for that.  We're not in a big hurry to go anywhere yet and besides it's too hot.  I would think it will be sometime after September's Labor Day when all the kiddies are back to school, summer tourist traffic has eased off and campgrounds are not jam packed with frantic campers.  Years ago we spent some nice time up around Ontario's Bruce Peninsula and it's a favorite area of ours.  Well, when all the people are not there that is.  We actually priced some property on the peninsula about 5 years ago.  There is campground called Cypress Lake right on Georgian Bay that we will likely head for.  We were there in our little 1979 17' Class C Dodge Centurion back in the late 90's.  Both our Class A Motorhomes were too big to get in to that woodsy campground but the Freedo Vandito Wagon will slip in there quite nicely.  Before I met Kelly I had an older Dodge camper van and it was in that same Park where I had a close 'brush' with a bear I didn't even see one night.  I think I wrote a post about that a few years back.  Anyway, the Bruce Penninsula with it's uniquely beautiful scenery is definitely high on our future RV van travel list.  And thanks to everyone for all your positive comments:))

SUMAC

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An older, white haired man walked into a jewelry store one Friday evening with a beautiful young gal at his side. He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend. The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring and showed it to him. The old man said, "I don't think you understand, I want something very special." At that Statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over. "Here's a stunning ring at only $40,000," the jeweler said. The young lady's eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement. The old man seeing this said, "We'll take it." The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the old man stated, by check. "I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I'll write it now and you can call the bank Monday to verify the funds and I'll pick the ring up Monday afternoon," he said. Monday morning, a very teed-off jeweler phoned the old man. "There's no money in that account." "I know," said the old man, "but can you imagine the weekend I had?"
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You might be a redneck if:: 
- Motel 6 turns off the lights when they see you coming. 
- There are more dishes in your sink than in your cabinets.
- You think a turtleneck is a key ingredient in soup. 
-  Your anniversary present was getting the septic tank pumped. 
- Your local ambulance has a trailer hitch.  - You watch cartoons long after your kids get bored. 
- You think the French Riviera is a foreign car. 
- You're still scalping tickets after the concert is over.
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WE'LL CALL HER 'FREEDOM' AND MAYBE 'FREEDO' FOR SHORT:))

NICE TO HAVE AN RV PARKED IN OUR RV SPOT AGAIN

It was 8:10 a.m. when we all piled into the Jeep and headed for Palmerston Ontario about an hour and fifteen minutes northeast of Bayfield.  Beautiful summer morning and a pleasant drive through the countryside all the way.  We of course were on the way to pick up our 'new to us' 2002 20' Class B Freedom 2A Leisure Travel van.  

WITH THIS DRY HOT WEATHER FARMERS HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY

Owners Nicole and Bob had the van lined up alongside the parking lot ready to go.  Some paper work to be done, plates on, hearty handshakes, and we were on our way home with Pheebs and I leading in the van and Kelly following.  With a quick coffee stop at Palmerston's west end Tim Hortons we were soon sailing through the countryside with Pheebs in the passenger seat, dash air on and her window down.  The van handled well just as I knew it would.  I have put countless thousands of miles on Dodge vans like this over the years and I thought to myself, 'I could easily drive this van to California and back with no problem'.  Those types of vans are always a real pleasure to drive.

THE VAN WAS ALL GASSED UP AND READY TO GO

DOING THE PAPERWORK

NICOLE TOOK A COUPLE PHOTOS OF US

THAT IS ACTUALLY A COOLER

It was 11:45 when I effortlessly backed the van into our driveway and into it's designated RV parking spot.  Took a few photos then moved it ahead a bit and parked in the shade.  We were both tired, my lower back was bothering me, and the humidity was coming up so after maybe half an hour looking around the van we came inside.  It's going to be a real challenge for me to get the faded paint job looking reasonable again and after getting the van home and having a much closer look at it in the sunlight I'm not so sure I will be able to do that.  Hey at least the awning is brand spanking new and looks good.  If I had my druthers I'd just take the van to an auto body shop and say here 'paint the whole van a nice soft desert sand color please'.

HEADING FOR BAYFIELD

I GOTTA STOP TAKING SELFIES CAUSE EVERY TIME I LOOK AT THEM I SEE SOMEONE WHO LOOKS MUCH OLDER THAN ME AND I'M NOT SURE WHO HE REALLY IS

WHEN PHEEBS WASN'T NAVIGATING SHE WAS CATCHING A FEW ZZZZZZZ'S ON THE FLOOR (BELOW)

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET HER A NICE SOFT DOGGY BED FOR BACK THERE.....ME TOO

WE STOPPED FOR A BREAK ABOUT HALF WAY HOME BEHIND THIS ABANDONED LITTLE SOUTHWEST LOOKING BUILDING

FUNNIEST THING......PHEEBS AND I HAD A BROWN JEEP LIBERTY FOLLOWING US ALL THE WAY HOME

Later looking around the van I am amazed at the amount of storage space available.  A lot of camping stuff came with the van so we'll have to get that all sorted out.  I just wish this damn heat and humidity would go away and make working away outside enjoyable.

SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE OUR LITTLE PART TIME RV FAMILY BACK IN PLACE AGAIN

ALTHOUGH IT'S 17 YEARS OLD AND THE EXTERIOR IS KINDA ON THE ROUGH SIDE IT RUNS GOOD AND IS A PLEASURE TO DRIVE....AND IT WAS AFFORDABLE FOR US

Some readers may be wondering why with our uncertain medical futures looking a little on the dim side at the moment would be buying another RV.  Would not the smart thing for us  to do be to hunker down and concentrate our thoughts, energies, and efforts on our medical problems.  That's not how at this point Kelly and I see this.  We're not the kind of people to give up and sit in a house of gloom and doom waiting for the hammers to fall.  Knowing the difficulties undoubtedly ahead we knew we had two choices.  The one above or the following one.  We needed something to grab onto, something to look forward to and work towards.  A new dream if you will.  First thing we had to do was sell our large Motorhome which we did and find a smaller easier simpler Motorhome which we have just done.  The RV Snowbird lifestyle has been the high point for us for over a dozen years now and to continue those travels and additional travels here in our own area is a focal point.  Our small van gives us back the option, freedom, and mobility of travel.  On the darker days ahead we can plan our travels even if it's only for a couple days somewhere.  Maybe a month, maybe two months, who knows.  But without an RV we would have lost our escape pod and I well know the psychological difficulties that can go along with that and especially during long periods spent in a dismal winter environment.  So yes, we wanted that van in more ways than one.  And we wanted it now.  A reader in a comment asked what we are going to call the Leisure Travel van.  We are going to call her 'Freedom' and maybe 'Freedo' for short.  Or hey, how about 'Freedo Vandito':))

CLEANING OUT THE 'FREEDO VANDITO WAGON'

NO IT'S NOT AN UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE IT'S A LARGE DURABLE STRENTH STORAGE BIN THAT RUNS THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE VAN UNDERNEATH THE BACK COUCH/BED AND HAS THREE ENTRY POINTS

THIS IS THE SAME BIN FROM ABOVE....A FLAT COVER GOES OVER THERE ALLOWING EVEN MORE STORAGE UNDER THE COUCH

SAME LARGE BIN LOOKING THROUGH FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE

OH BOY WE SURE HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US TO GET THIS VAN THE WAY WE WANT IT

GROANER'S CORNER:((    An aged farmer and his wife were leaning against the edge of their pig-pen when the old woman wistfully recalled that the next week would mark their Golden Wedding Anniversary. "Let's have a big party, Homer," she suggested. "You'll need to kill a pig." The farmer scratched his grizzled head. "Gee, Ethel," he finally answered, "I don't see why the pig should take the blame for something that happened fifty years ago." 
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