ALL THREE OF US IN THE SUBARU HEADING FOR LONDON'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

 A SMALL MIGHTY HUNTER IN A GREAT BIG WORLD

Under an overcast sky at 8:10 this morning, all three of us piled into the Subaru, rolled out of the driveway, and headed to London's University Hospital.  Kelly had a CT scan scheduled for 9:30 and after an uneventful drive to London we dropped her off at the hospital's front door at 9:15.

 FOR THIS DULL GRAY  OVERCAST DAY WE MAINLY HAD BARE AND DRY ROADS 

 WE DROPPED KELLY OFF AT THE MAIN DOOR OF THE HOSPITAL

Pheebs and I didn't waste any time in hauling ourselves right back out of London and into the countryside.  North up highway 4 and turned east on Ten Mile Road.  We usually head west the other way but we were in need of some new scenery and different roads for a change.  I don't think the landscape is as interesting east of highway 4 as it is west of highway four.  

 OUR FIRST OF SEVERAL PIT STOPS

 SPOTTED AN AIRPLANE TUCKED IN WITH SOME FARM MACHINERY

 SAW THIS OLD PUMP IN A FIELD WHICH SUGGESTS THERE WAS ONCE AN OLD HOMESTEAD HERE

 NICE FOR FARM ANIMALS TO BE OUTSIDE THIS TIME OF YEAR WITH NO SNOW ON THE GROUND

 SPOTTED THIS  LONE MOUSE HUNTER IN A FIELD

IF WE HAD OUR OWN PLACE IN THE COUNTRY I WOULD HAVE LOTS OF THESE KINDS OF PINE TREES AROUND

We did find a scenic country cemetery where we could pull in and take ourselves for a little walk.  

 THIS CEMETERY WAS A GOOD FIND TODAY

 CEMETERIES ARE ALWAYS A SAFE PLACE FOR A WALK

 OLD PIONEER TOMBSTONES LINED UP AGAINST A FENCE

 I THOUGHT THIS AN ODDLY SHAPED TOMBSTONE

 THERE IS A NICE HARDWOOD FOREST ALONGSIDE THE CEMETERY

I'M SURE PHEEBS AND I WILL BE BACK HERE AGAIN

From there it was nearly 10:30 so we headed to our favorite 'waiting' spot in Arva Ontario which just happens to be another cemetery.  Twenty minutes later my cell phone rang and Kelly was ready to be picked up.  In less than ten minutes I was at University Hospital's front door.

 OUR ARVA WAITING SPOT

 NICE TO BE OUT WALKING AROUND ON GREEN GRASS IN DECEMBER

 PHEEBS KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON THE HOSPITAL'S FRONT DOOR WATCHING FOR 'MOM[

 AND HERE SHE COMES NOW

From the hospital, we headed to a nearby Wendy's for some burgs, fries, and free coffee. From there we were soon on the road home.  The closer we came to Bayfield the rainier it got.  But it wasn't bad and we were home about 12:35.  And of course, that pretty much wraps up another day.

 PATIENTLY WAITING FOR SOME BURGER SNACKS

 AND BY GOLLY HERE COMES THOSE BURGER SNACKS NOW

 LOOK AT THOSE TWO BUMS CARRYING ON BACK THERE

WE RAN INTO RAIN JUST BEFORE WE ARRIVED HOME

Long-time reader Don from Oklahoma asked in a blog comment (which I forgot to answer) not too long ago why we had decided not to head for the southwest again this winter.  The high cost of medical insurance and health concerns were the two biggies for us.  Last March when Kelly suddenly took sick (liver-related) and had to be rushed by ambulance to the Goderich hospital for two blood transfusions and then taken to London's University Hospital for another blood transfusion which led to her spending a week undergoing tests and procedures......it was a wake-up call for us.  Suppose that had happened while we were boondocked out in Arizona's Sonoran desert somewhere or over in the wilds of southern California's Borrego valley.  It's a reality we can't ignore.  Now, having said this, have we thrown in the towel and completely given up thinking about future travels to a part of America we love so much and that has given us so many great memories over these past years??  No we haven't.  I don't know what the future holds for us but if we have any say in it and the stars align just right, maybe, just maybe we will be able to return once again someday soon to all our old favorite New Mexico, Arizona, and California haunts:))        

GROANER'S CORNER:((  It's that time of year to take our annual senior citizen test. Exercising the brain is as important as exercising muscles. As we grow older, it's important to keep mentally alert. If you don't use it, you lose it! Below is a very private way to gauge your loss or non-loss of intelligence.  OK, relax, clear your mind and begin.

1. What do you put in a toaster?
Answer: "bread." If you said "toast," give up now and do something else. Try not to hurt yourself. If you said, bread, go to Question 2.
2. Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk"
What do cows drink?
Answer: Cows drink water. If you said "milk," don't attempt the next question. Your brain is over-stressed and may even overheat. Content yourself with reading a more appropriate literature such as Auto World. However, if you said "water", proceed to question 3.
3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks , what is a green house made from?
Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said "green bricks," why the heck are you still reading these??? If you said "glass," go on to Question 4.
4. It's twenty years ago, and a plane is flying at 20,000 feet over Germany (If you will recall, Germany at the time was politically divided into West Germany and East Germany .) Anyway, during the flight, two engines fail. The pilot, realizing that the last remaining engine is also failing, decides on a crash landing procedure. Unfortunately, the engine fails before he can do so and the plane fatally crashes smack in the middle of "no man's land" between East Germany and West Germany. Where would you bury the survivors? East Germany, West Germany, or no man's land"?
Answer: You don't bury survivors.
If you said ANYTHING else, you're a dunce and you must stop. If you said, "You don't bury survivors", proceed to the next question.
5. Without using a calculator - You are driving a bus from London to Milford Haven in Wales. In London, 17 people get on the bus. In Reading, six people get off the bus and nine people get on. In Swindon, two people get off and four get on. In Cardiff, 11 people get off and 16 people get on. In Swansea, three people get off and five people get on. In Carmathen six people get off and three get on. You then arrive at Milford Haven. What was the name of the bus driver?
Answer: Oh, for crying out loud!
Don't you remember your own name? It was YOU!! Now pass this along to all your friends and pray they do better than you.
PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions!!

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THE CASE OF THE MYSTERIOUS BLOOD SPOTS ON OUR FLOOR

 WITH THE HIGH WATER LEVEL OF OUR PARK'S POND  THIS LITTLE PINE TREE IS NEARLY UNDERWATER

A welcome sunny start to the day but it didn't last.  I don't know where the windchill factor landed but it definitely felt cold and damp to me.  My tolerance for winter's cold and summer's heat and humidity seems to be getting less and less with each passing year now.  However, Pheebs and I still made it out for a Jeep ride this morning and a brisk walk this afternoon.

 THE PLUS SIDE OF NO SNOW IS THE EASE OF WALKING ON BARE GROUND

 WE CAME ACROSS THESE LARGE PAW PRINTS ON OUR WALK

 THAT'S THE TOE OF MY BOOT FOR COMPARISON

 THERE IS A SLIGHT SKIFF OF ICE ON THE NORTH END OF OUR PARK'S POND

 SMALL AIR POCKETS UNDER THE ICE

 IT LOOKS LIKE DUCKWEED FROZEN IN PLACE

After supper each night Pheebs likes to go out for a pee.  Sometimes she goes out into the yard by herself and sometimes Kelly goes out with her.  Last night Kelly went out with her for a couple minutes.  Seeing them coming back in I jumped up from the computer and dashed into our spare room to hide on Pheebs because as soon as she comes in the door she comes racing down the hall looking for me.  It's our little game of hide and seek we play.  The only problem this time was that in my haste I stubbed my toes on the door jam going into the spare room.  Ouch, ouch, and more ouch.  Pheebs found me pretty quick because I was still standing in the spare room doorway grimacing.  A minute later the pain began to slowly diminish roar so I headed down the hall to the kitchen and fixed myself up a decalf coffee.  While the coffee was brewing I headed back to the sunroom and finished editing my post for the day.  Back to the kitchen I went, picked up my coffee and headed back to the sunroom to publish my post.  The pain in my left foot was gone was pretty much gone and I wasn't thinking about it much.  Ten minutes later I took my empty coffee cup back to the kitchen and it was then that I noticed a couple of orangy spots about the size of a quarter on the floor near the fridge.  I asked Kelly if she had spilled something on the floor.  Ketchup, chili sauce or whatever.  She said no and came out of the living room right away to have a look.  She hadn't even gotten near the fridge when she saw light orangy/red spots on the floor as well.  I looked down and holy smokes there were more spots around the kitchen table and where I was standing and each one was still about quarter size.  We figured right away it was blood and there was only one conclusion.  Pheebs.  We quickly got a flashlight and checked her paws.  Nothing.  Kelly checked her all over while I, with another flashlight, began following the blood spots all the way down the hall and into the sunroom.  We didn't count all the spots but there were easily 30 or more of them and even under my computer chair.  It was still a mystery where these quarter-size spots had come from.  I grabbed a wet paper towel and began wiping them up.  I was about halfway down the hall wiping up a spot near the bathroom door when I turned around and saw more spots right behind me where I had just cleaned up spots.  What the heck was going on!!  I walked back out in the kitchen and Kelly said Pheebs was fine and the pale blood spots had to be coming from somewhere else.  And then I remembered stubbing my toes.  I lifted my foot up and sure enough, there was blood around the toe area of my sock.  Well, to shorten up the story, we finished cleaning the floor and I finally got around to putting a bandage on my toe.  It's the one next to my baby toe and I will probably lose the nail by the looks of it.  It wasn't painful anymore so I didn't make much of a fuss about it because you know how men can make such a fuss about things like that!!  Well, at least it gave me something to write about tonight and the best outcome from all this is that it wasn't Pheebs that was bleeding:))

 THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING IN THESE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS KELLY PUT UP...CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS

THE MISSING ELEMENT IS......'SNOW':))))

Ellen's World:)) In this video. Ellen plays a bit at the beginning before she and her dad talk about a wireless guitar and bass system.  It's the interaction between Ellen and her dad that I found charming as well as funny.  I had a chuckle at Ellen's impromptu actions and especially near the end when she threw a second punch at the Xvive U2 guitar gizmo.  Check out Wireless.  And, while on the subject of music here is one of my favorite early 70's songs done by Greg Lake who was once part of Emmerson Lake and Palmer.  The song is From The Beginning.  Greg Lake passed away on December 7th, 2016.  This early 70's era and its music still hold many emotional memories for me.  I was living in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley then and it was an adventurous and very turbulent time in my life..................    

 FOR ME, IT'S STILL NICE TO SEE 'GREEN' AT THIS TIME OF YEAR

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Comments made in the year 1955!

I'll tell you one thing if things keep going the way they are, it’s going
to be impossible to buy a week’s groceries for $10.00.

Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?
It won't be long before $1,000.00 will only buy a used one.

If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit; 20 cents a pack
is ridiculous.

Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging
7 cents just to mail a letter.

If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be
able to hire outside help at the store.

When I first started driving, who would have thought gas
would someday cost more than 20 cents a gallon.
Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage

I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since
they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE
WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.

I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a
man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some
fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas.

Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for
$50,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday
they'll be making more than the President.

I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would
be electric. They're even making electric typewriters now.

It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few
married women are having to work to make ends meet.

It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire
someone to watch their kids so they can both work.

I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole
lot of foreign business.

Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government
takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are
electing the best people to government.

The fast food restaurant is convenient for a quick meal, but I seriously
doubt they will ever catch on.

There is no sense going on short trips anymore for a weekend.
It costs nearly $2.00 a night to stay in a motel.

No one can afford to be sick anymore. At $15.00 a day in
the hospital, it's too rich for my blood.

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