KELLY'S MOTHER HAS PASSED AWAY

 KELLY AND HER MOM

Our phone rang Monday night at 9:04 and it was Kelly's brother calling with sad news.  Kelly's mom had passed away at 8:40 p.m.  With their Dad's passing ten years ago it is the end of an era for Kelly, her brother Peter and sisters Kathy and Becky.  Their days of 'going home' are now over.  Kelly said she is so glad she was able to spend nearly 3 months with her mom when she did.  Cremation will take place and the family plans to have a memorial in the Spring.

Kelly's mom and dad were RV'ers back in the day starting out with a station wagon and moving up over the years to a Class A Motorhome.  It's easy to see where Kelly got the RV traveling bug.  I remember them coming to see us in that motorhome when we lived at the old farmhouse near Fullarton Ontario.  Kelly's mom was a gentle soul and I will forever remember her that way.  It was always a warm welcome whenever we went to Spencerport New York.    

Scooter is back from the Bayfield Garage after having the leaking Temperature Sensor on the right engine head replaced with a new sensor.  Price of the new sensor was $400.00 and labor to diagnose and replace the sensor $132.00.  Coolant added $24.00 and then tack on the taxes at $69.94 and it all soon adds up.  Wanting to make sure everything was working properly, Pheebs and I took the little 26' Winnebago Class C for a spin up to Goderich and back.  Needed to add some gas anyway plus I had a few things to pick up at the Food Basics grocery store.  A drive down around the harbor was in order and we headed for home.  Scooter ran like a finely tuned Swiss watch so everything was A-OK.  The last remaining problem we have though is when I hook up the Jeep to the Winnebago it blows the blinker fuse every time.  We had the cord checked and the cord is okay so I don't know if the problem is with the Class C or the Jeep.  I guess it's no big deal because we're not going anywhere this winter but I wish I had tried out that power cord hook-up much earlier.  It's just nice to have everything in good working order.......just in case.

SCOOTER AT THE LAKE ON A COLD NOVEMBER DAY

 WORK ON THE SHORE STABLEAXIATON CONTINUES

 BOARDWALKERS BUNDLED UP AGAINST THE COLD WEST WIND

 THE ALGOMA COMPASS AT THE SALT DOCK

 THE BULK CARRIER FEDERAL EMS AT THE GRAIN ELEVATORS

 THE FEDERAL EMS ESCAPE POD

AA

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources Person asked the young programmer, "And what starting salary were you looking for?"  The programmer said, "In the neighborhood of $75,000 a year, depending on the benefit's package."  The HR Person said, "Well, what would you say to a package of 5 weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary, and a company Corvette leased every 2 years?"  The programmer sat up straight and said, "Wow!!! Are you kidding?"  The HR Person replied, "Certainly, ...but you started it."

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AND THAT'S ABOUT ALL FOR TODAY

WELL, I SHOULDN'T COMPLAIN....AT LEAST I CAN  STILL GET OUT EVERY MORNING FOR A RIDE THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE

Of course. you know we always go for a Jeep ride every morning regardless of the weather.  I haven't reached that stage yet where I get up and then just sit around.  I guess that morning drive whether it be half an hour or three hours is my way of satisfying that travel itch which I always seem to have following me around.  I must have been born with that and I suspect somewhere in my ancestry there was probably a band of wandering gypsies and inquisitive explorers.  And that's about all I have to say for today........

 IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR FOR GLOVES, MITTS, AND COLD EARLY MORNING STEERING WHEELS

BAYFIELD'S LADY POLAR BEAR POLEWALKERS BRAVING THIS MORNING'S ICY COLD WINDS

 BIG WINDS OVERNIGHT MADE FOR BIG WAVES THIS MORNING

 WISELY, THE LOCAL FISHERMAN STAYED OFF THE PIER

MAYBE THE BOYS ARE WAITING FOR THE LOCAL COFFEE SHOP TO OPEN

I LIKED THE NICE WARM LOOKING LIGHT INSIDE THE HOUSE ON THIS COLD NOVEMBER MORNING

 GUESS I FORGOT TO PUT THE LID ON THE CORN BUCKET

GROANER'S CORNER:((   A man was on trial for murder and if convicted, would get life imprisonment. His brother found out that an Irish man was on the jury and figured he would be the one to bribe. He told the Irish man that he would be paid $10,000 if he could convince the rest of the jury to reduce the charge to manslaughter.  The jury was out an entire week and returned with a verdict of manslaughter.  After the trial, the brother went to the Irish man's house, told him what a great job he had done, and paid him the $10,000.  The Irish man replied, "It wasn't easy to convince the rest of the jury to change the charge to manslaughter. They all wanted to let him off."

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I RECOMMEND THIS WELL DONE DOCUMENTARY

With a bit of diffused sunlight, no wind, and temps slightly over 40F, I loaded up the furry little Monkey Beans and off we went for a cruise through the countryside.

 WITH FIELDS SATURATED WITH WATER THE CORN HARVEST HAS COME TO A TEMPORARY HALT

 A NUMBER OF FARM MACHINES HAVE BEEN LEFT IN THE FIELDS BECAUSE OF THE SOFT MUDDY GROUND

We eventually ended up at the George G Newton Nature Reserve whereupon we had us a wee walk on a muddy forest trail.  Had I not head on my summer shoes we might well have gone farther.  I just didn't have a lot of traction in the mud and wet slippery leaves.  

 A NEW WELL CONSTRUCTED REST BENCH AT THE HEAD OF THE TRAIL

LOTS OF  GROOVY SMELLS FOR PHEEBS ALONG THE WAY

 CHECKING OUT AN OLD GNARLY TREE

 A GNARLY OLD TREE

My attention soon became focused on a gnarly old tree alongside the trail that we have passed by many times before.  The light was just right today for a few old gnarly tree photos.

 WHEN LOOKING AT THESE GNARLY TREE PHOTOS LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN AWAY WITH YOU

I was fortunate enough Sunday night to stumble across a very well-done PBS documentary on TV's CNN channel entitled 'The Hunt For Planet B'.  I don't suppose many folks will know about the upcoming launch next month of the 'James Webb Space Telescope but this documentary revolves around the story behind this largest ever built telescope about to be launched into outer space on December 18th.  I think they said this new telescope has a hundred times the power of the current Hubble Space Telescope up there now.  The documentary touches on earth's past history, present times, and what the future may hold for mankind, and the story is woven together exceptionally well.  I recommend this uplifting documentary.  It's a quality piece and all the people are real.  No over-the-top dramatic actors!!  And, as an aside to the story.....there is a lady SETI Scientist in this documentary that reminded me right away of an RV lady many of us knew before she passed away a few years ago.  Her name was Judy and we all referred to her as the Birdlady of Blogland.  This lady Scientist even looks like Judy so if you watch the documentary, keep an eye out for her.

Our Saskatchewan RV Blogger friend Ivan from Ivan And Hailey's RV Adventures is making his way down the California coast at the moment heading for the Southwest.  Ivan takes great photos of his travels and some of them are aerial views from his drone.  Hailey is Ivan's 3 legged cat who lost one of her legs several winters ago.  Ivan is one of the many Bloggers we first met way back in our early RVing days. He is a former Park Warden retired from Parks Canada.  You can also find Ivan on Facebook here at Ivan and Hailey

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A brunette, wanting to earn some extra money, decided to hire herself out as a "handy-woman" and started canvassing a nearby well-to-do neighborhood. She went to the front door of the first house and asked the owner if he had any odd jobs for her to do.  "Well, I guess I could use somebody to paint my porch," he said, "How much will you charge me?"  The brunette quickly responded, "How about $50?"  The man agreed and told her that the paint and everything she would need was in the garage.  The man's wife, hearing the conversation, said to her husband, "Does she realize that our porch goes all the way around the house?"  He responded, "That's a bit cynical, isn't it?"  The wife replied, "You're right. I guess I'm starting to believe all those 'dumb brunette' jokes we've been getting by e-mail lately."  A short time later, the brunette came to the door to collect her money.  "You've finished already?" the husband asked.  "Yes," the brunette replied, "and I had paint left over, so I gave it two coats."  Impressed, the man reached into his pocket for the $50.00 and handed it to her.  "And by the way," the brunette added, "it's not a Porch, it's a Lexus."

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After picking up food for his daughter's cat, George spied a new bowl for the pet and grabbed it too.  "Shall I have the cat's name written on the side of the bowl?" offered the store owner.  "No, don't bother," replied George. "He can't read anyway."

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