SPRING OFFICIALLY ARRIVES TONIGHT AT 11:06 P.M.

 A GRACKLE FLARING IT'S WINGS

Try as I did I could not convince myself to even set foot outside the door on this cold and gray snowy day, except to top up the bird feeders.  With a chance of blowing snow this morning, Kelly yesterday phoned and canceled my Physio appointment in Exeter.  She didn't want to be out there driving in bad weather conditions and I don't blame her.  In fact, I was relieved not to have to go.  My next two appointments have been rescheduled to after March 27th when I can once again legally drive myself there.  I have one week to go before this 6-week medical driver's license suspension is lifted.

BACK FROM HER MORNING WALK WITH PHEEBS, KELLY HAULS IN OUR GARBAGE BIN

I think we must have had a thousand Grackles in our front yard today.  Okay, at least thirty or more.  Never have I seen so many Grackles all in one place at the same time.  They sure can empty our birdfeeders in one real big darn hurry:((

 OUT OF A LARGE GATHERING OF GRACKLES, THESE ARE ONLY A FEW OF THEM

 OUR BIRD STATION WAS A BUSY PLACE TODAY AS A RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD FLIES IN FROM THE LEFT

 A DOUBLE GRACKLE PERHAPS

 'I'M HERE FIRST ' 'NO YOU'RE NOT I'M HERE FIRST'!!

 THERE WAS A LOT OF FLARING GOING ON TODAY

 'HEY ZEKE, THAT'S A CRAZY LANDING YOU GOT GOING ON THERE'

 'HEADS UP BOYS HERE COMES WRONG WAY WILLY'

 'HEY MORT DID YA LEAVE YER HEAD AT HOME'

 WHO'S EYE IS WHOSE HERE

 'YA SO WHAT'!!

 OOOPS, JUST ABOUT SLID OFF THE RUNWAY

I finished another great book today.  As much as I enjoyed my previous book, The Lost Bookshop by author Evie Woods, I enjoyed my next book even more due to the historical dark realities of Germany's occupation of France in the early 1940s.  The story bounces between 1940 and the year 2022.  Coincidentally, this work of historical fiction also concerns a bookshop and as in the previous book, this author also had me on the edge of my chair all the way through as she weaved everything together to bring the many twists and turns to a surprising conclusion.  It was hard to put this book down and it definitely helped me through another couple long and boring cold days.  The book is, The Forgotten Bookshop In Paris by author Daisy Wood.

 'HEY TUBBY GET OUT OF THE WAY'

Kelly has a medical appointment at London's University Hospital Wednesday morning.  Blood tests, ultrasound, and a meeting with Doctor Kahn her liver doctor.  Her daughter Sabra is going to meet her there around noon.  We have our fingers crossed that tomorrow's weather will be okay.      

A Blast From Our Past::  Thirteen years ago yesterday found us east of Las Vegas, Nevada.  No, we didn't go into Las Vegas.  Kelly and I had already been there 17 years before.  This time it wasn't glitz we were looking for, it was another one of Mother Nature's wonders:))   Yaaay, There Was Fire In The Valley This Morning 

Al's Music Box:))  Roll Over Beethoven was a favorite of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison even before they chose "The Beatles" as their name, and they continued to perform it right into their American tours of 1964. Their version of "Roll Over Beethoven" was recorded on July 30, 1963, for their second British LP, 'With the Beatles', and features Harrison on vocals and guitar.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A large, well established, Canadian lumber camp advertised that they were looking for a good Lumberjack.  The very next day, a skinny little man showed up at the camp with his axe, and knocked on the head lumberjacks' door. The head lumberjack took one look at the little man and told him to leave. "Just give me a chance to show you what I can do," said the skinny man.  "Okay, see that giant redwood over there?" said the lumberjack. "Take your axe and go cut it down."  The skinny man headed for the tree, and in five minutes he was back knocking on the lumberjack's door.  "I cut the tree down," said the man.  The lumberjack couldn't believe his eyes and said, "Where did you get the skill to chop down trees like that?"  "In the Sahara Forest," replied the puny man.  "You mean the Sahara Desert," said the lumberjack.  The little man laughed and answered back, "Sure, that's what they call it NOW!"

- I heard the Government is putting chips inside people.  I hope I get Doritos.

- When my wife told me that the Prime Minister of Canada got re-elected, I thought she was lying.  It’s Trudeau.

- Once you hit 65 you gotta sit on the edge of the bed and warm up like an old Buick before you get up

As a sergeant in a parachute regiment, I took part in several nighttime exercises. Once, I was seated next to a Lieutenant fresh from Jump School.  He was quite sad and looked a bit pale so I struck up a conversation.  "Scared, Lieutenant?", I asked.  He replied, "No, just a bit apprehensive."  I asked, "What's the difference?"  He replied, "That means I'm scared with a university education."

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Don't let someone dim your light simply because it is shining in their eyes.........

NO JEEP RIDE THIS MORNING

A skiff of snow on the ground under a cold gray cloud cover didn't do anything to enhance my outlook for the day.  In fact, when it started snowing I thought, "the hell with this" and headed for my sunroom recliner and my book,  No Jeep ride this morning and the snow kept falling.  And, it's predicted to be like this for the next 5 days straight.  If you don't hear much from me for a few days just know I am tipped back in my sunroom recliner with a blanket pulled over my head.......reading.  

 THE VIEW FROM MY RECLINER TODAY

A Blast From Our Past: There are many wonderful scenic drives in Arizona and on this day fourteen years ago we traveled one of the best ones....... Driving The Apache Trail 

Al's Music Box:)) Young Love The recording by American country singer Sonny James was released by Capitol Records and was produced by Ken Nelson. It was recorded on October 30, 1956, at Bradley Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer. Suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, the Lord said, "Because you have TRIED to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish."  The man said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over anytime I want."The Lord said, "Your request is very materialistic. Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking. The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific! The concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural resources. I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that would honor and glorify me."  The man thought about it for a long time. Finally he said, "Lord, I wish that I could understand my wife. I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says ‘nothing's wrong,’ and how I can make a woman truly happy."  The Lord replied, "You want two lanes or four on that bridge?"

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- My wife won’t let me get a tattoo of a grizzly bear on each bicep...She is infringing on my right to bear arms!

- What does a cannibal say to the waiter in a restaurant on a cruise ship?  “Please bring me the passenger list.”

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Sign on a company bulletin board: “This firm requires no physical fitness program. Everyone gets enough exercise jumping to conclusions, flying off the handle, running down the boss, flogging dead horses, knifing friends in the back, dodging responsibility, and pushing their luck.”

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We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life.......William Osler

WELL, AT LEAST FOR TODAY

 WE HAVE 3 FRONT YARD  BUNNIES VISITING US DAILY NOW

It was encouraging to see sunlight streaming through our living room window first thing this morning but that encouragement soon dwindled when an unseen cloud cover soon blotted out that encouragement.  With a few lazy snowflakes in the 33F morning air, Pheebs and I slowly made our way around the Park's road for fifteen minutes before returning home and backing the Jeep into the carport.  Another 9 days and we can finally burst out of the Park and take to the country roads again:))))) 

I HAVEN'T DECIDED IF THIS STUMP ON A PARK RESIDENT'S LAWN IS A RHINOSAUCERUS, A HIPPAPOTAMOOSE, OR A FRANTIC SNAPPING TURTLE THINKING  IT IS A WADDLING TURKEY....OH, AND I SEE THE HEAD OF A LARGE TROLLLIKE GARGOYLE LOOKING SKYWARD TOO

Since April 27th of 1993 I have been keeping a record of my weight.  On that April day, I weighed in at 173 pounds.  The heaviest weight I reached through the ensuing years was 217 on May 4th, 2010.  This morning I weighed in at my lightest weight in nearly 30 years.  For some reason, the pounds are dropping off and the scale registered 181 pounds this morning.  Ideally, though I thought it would never happen, I'd like to get down to 175 pounds or a touch lower.  We'll see what happens.  

 TRULY A HANDSOME COUPLE IN OUR PARK

 WALKING WITH SWAGGER

For a fellow who has said a number of times in his posts that he much prefers to read books of fact rather than fiction, I have to take a step back from that statement of mine and say I just finished another work of fiction which quite held my interest all the way through the novel from beginning to end.  And, this book was a real challenge for this short-term memory of mine with all its unexpected twists, turns, and plots. As it so often happens, it's difficult for me to remember what I'm reading as I go along and I'll give you a non-exaggerated example of that.  Whether I'm only five minutes into starting a new book or maybe half of the first chapter, etc. and you were to ask me the title of the book I am reading I would give you a blank stare.  It happens to me every time without fail.  I might only be on page 15 and already I can't remember the title of the book I'm reading.  If I'm reading and set the book down for a couple of hours before resuming my reading, I always have to go back maybe three or four pages to jog my memory as to where I am in the story I am reading.  You can imagine how far back I have to go if I haven't picked up the book for a couple days or more.  Frustrating to say the least but when you love reading as much as I do since my public school days it's just one of those little things I have to accept and take in stride.  It wasn't always like this for me, but it is now in these twilight years.  Oh, by the way, the book I just finished was a nine-hour read entitled, The Lost Bookshop: by author, Evie Woods.  Again, it was the title and cover of the book that first caught my attention.  Once again, I nearly bailed out of the book about half an hour in but by then the author had me hooked and I soldiered on right to the end and have to say, I did enjoy the read.  For my next book, I may seek out something a little simpler and less brain-challenging.  Maybe another Dick and Jane book:))  Feeling better today, the sick feeling nausea seems to have finally lifted.  Well, at least for today.

LOOK CLOSELY THERE ARE FOUR LITTLE EYES IN THIS PHOTO

A Blast From Our Past:))  Fourteen years ago today we were east of Phoenix, Arizona and the morning found us Hiking Up Superstition Mountain (click on the smaller photos to enlarge them)

Al's Music Box:)) New Soul is by the group Album Leaf which officially began in 1998 as the solo project of Jimmy LaValle, guitarist for San Diego, California-based post-rock instrumental band Tristeza. LaValle has also performed in several other San Diego-area bands, including The Crimson Curse, The Locust, Swing Keds, and GoGoGoAirheart.  Mike Vermillion recorded LaValle doing improvised material on a Rhodes piano to a vintage Roland drum machine. This would become his first full-length album. Vermillion supplied synthesizers and vocals to these recordings.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  How Do You Decide Who To Marry?(written by kids)

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10
No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kristen, age 10
2. WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
-- Camille, age 10
3. HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8
4. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8
5. WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)
On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10
6. WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
When they're rich.
-- Pam, age 7
The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
-- Curt, age 7
The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.
-- Howard, age 8
7. IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child )
8. HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
-- Kelvin, age 8
And the #1 Favorite is...
9. HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck.
-- Ricky, age 10

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