IT'S NOT EASY BEING OLD...ESPECIALLY IF YOUR A MAN:((

With two new prescriptions to pick up for Kelly and one refill for me, Pheebs and I headed off under cold wind-driven moody skies to Goderich's Walmart Pharmacy.  We switched things up a bit from our normal routine and made Walmart the first stop to submit the prescriptions.  Grabbed a few groceries and headed off down to the harbor.  A few icy drops of rain on the windshield which probably started out as sleet higher up in the darker clouds. The wind coming in across the lake was frigid but I did see a few surfers in wetsuits on the beach.

HEADING OUT OF OUR PARK THIS MORNING

 BEAUTIFUL SKIES OVER LAKE HURON TODAY

 LAKE WATERS WERE CHOPPY THIS MORNING

 NO MATTER HOW COLD...AWAY THEY GO

THE HELENA G WAS IN PORT THIS MORNING TAKING ON A LOAD OF GRAIN OR CORN

 THAT IS ONE MIGHTY BIG BULBOUS BOW ON THAT SHIP

From the harbor, we headed back to Walmart and picked up the 'filled' prescriptions and from there began our homeward trek with a short stop at Richard and Gayles.  Bursts of brilliant sunshine along the way mixed with a few traveling wind-blown scatters of rain.  There was probably a rainbow or two somewhere in the colorful Autumn countryside as well.

 AWESOME SKIES COULD BE SEEN IN ALL DIRECTIONS

 THOSE DARK GRAY CLOUDS ARE CARRYING RAIN

There are still outside things for me to do here but I have to be patient and wait until the right mood stirs me to get out there and get them done.  I think I've been on a low-energy lazy streak these last few days.

 A BUSY SATURDAY MORNING FOR THIS FARMER

I've noticed a few RV folks we know already have their RV wheels rolling and are heading south.  Most of these people we know are heading to the American Southwest.  Ivan and his cat Bailey Roadtrip 2025 from Alberta towing a 5th wheel are already on their way.  You might want to grab onto Ivan's coattails and follow along.  He moves around a lot from place to place.  Peter and Bea (Canadian Traveler) from Campobello Island just off the southeast coast of New Brunswick have just picked up a 'new to them' Class A Diesel Motorhome in Trinidad Colorado before swinging south to their favorite spot east of El Centro, California.  Deb and Riley (On A Long And Lonesome Highway) from Manitoulin Island in Ontario are also traveling with a 5th wheel and are already somewhere in Texas moving West.  Patsy and Bill (Chillin' With Patsy) from a place not too far north of us here in Bayfield Ontario are currently in Nashville on their way west as well.  Bill's a model plane enthusiast.  Mike and Janna (Restoration Cowboy Style) with their little black Schnauzer, Kaycee have already left their ranch in Montana and traveled to their winter home near Sunsites, Arizona.  With the exception of Deb and Riley, we have met all these folks and some of them numerous times.  Ivan, Mike and Janna come to mind.  We have known these three folks since our very early RVing days ranch sitting near McNeal Arizona and we have visited several times with Janna and Mike at their beautifully restored desert home near Sunsites.  

 AREA TREES ARE SLOWLY LOSING THEIR LEAVES

Pretty much every time one starts with a new prescription one has to go over the medication instructions with the Pharmacist.  And, so it was today at the Walmart Pharmacy when I picked up two new meds for Kelly.  Really, what are the chances of an 80-year-old man even retaining a mere tenth of what he is being told or instructed to do or remember.  The helpful Pharmacy man did all the talking and my head did all the bobbing.  I got out a few okays and a couple yes words and might have even managed an embarrassing unnatural smile to cover up my total befuddlement before turning away and asking a Walmart worker to help me to the door and then point me in the direction of the parking lot, wish me well, give me a little push, and keep your fingers crossed I can find my car before winter sets in.  Of course, when I got home, one of Kelly's first questions for me was, "well, what did the Pharmacist say"??  It's not easy being old.......especially if you're a man:((

Al's Music Box:)) Ebb Tide by Pat Boone is a popular song written in 1953 by the lyricist Carl Sigman and composer and harpist Robert Maxwell. In 1953, Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra reached number two on the US pop chart, and number nine on the UK chart with an instrumental version of the song.

 BUSH LANE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( One day, three unemployed factory workers heard that a large food company was enlarging and needed more staff. So they went downtown to see if they could get themselves a job.  After filing out their applications, each one was interviewed and each one managed to get hired. As they were waiting to be assigned their new duties, a foreman came by and spoke to the hiring boss.  The foreman told the boss that he didn't think it was such a good idea as one of the workers had snapped for no apparent reason at his last job.  Also a second was said to have had cracked up after severe mental stress.  The third, he believed was their father who he felt was a bit odd but he couldn't put his finger on it.  The hiring boss reassured the foreman and said that they would start on something easy and after a week, the company would re-assess them to see if they would be kept on.  The foreman reluctantly agreed and asked the boss where he thought they should start.  The boss replied, "Why not take them and put them in our Cereal Division...Snap, Crackle and Pop should work out fine down there."

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My 7 year-old nephew showed me with pride the "telephone" he had just made from a string and two tin cans.  I pulled out my iPhone and said, "That's nice, but... look at the phones that kids your age are making in China!"

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After the revival had concluded, the three pastors were discussing the results with one another.  The Methodist minister said, "The revival worked out great for us! We gained 4 new families." The Baptist preacher said, "We did better than that! We gained 6 new families."The Presbyterian pastor said, "Well, we did even better than that! We got rid of our 10 biggest troublemakers!"

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{Quote} Life doesn't always get better. But you do. You get stronger. You get wiser. You get softer. With tattered wings you rise. And the world watches in wonder at the breathless beauty of a human who survived life.

                              Al's Art Gallery

SHE HAS MORE COURAGE AND FIGHTING SPIRIT THAN ANYBODY I KNOW

 I WAS STUCK FOR A GOOD HEADER PHOTO TONIGHT SO YOU'RE STUCK WITH ME

It was a cool overcast morning at 8:45 when Kelly and I in the Subaru under drizzly wet skies rolled out of our driveway and headed for London's University Hospital.  Kelly had an endoscopy appointment for 10:30 a.m.  It was an uneventful drive there and we even found a place to park in the parking garage.  Our first order of business upon entering the hospital was to retrieve Kelly's lost iPhone charging cord on the 8th floor.  From there it was down into the basement we went where she checked in for her endoscopy procedure.  I headed back up to the main floor, grabbed a Tim Hortons coffee accompanied by a carrot muffin, and elevatored myself up to the 4th floor to a quiet little sitting area right across from the elevators.  I settled into a corner for a probable two-hour stay.  I had my Apple iPod, my Bluetooth headphones, and my Kindle.  Thank heavens I had my Kindle because I could not figure out how to get myself online and I couldn't figure out how to get my iPod talking to my headphones.  Kelly had shown me how to do all this but in my world that doesn't mean anything.  By the time she finished showing me how to do things, I had already forgotten what a mini iPod was and I thought a blue tooth is what you got if you sucked on a really cold ice cube.  Oh boy, I am quite a case of bungling befuddlement when it comes to all this techy stuff.  It was noon when I glanced across the hall to the clock above the elevators.  It was high noon and I figured at 12:15 I would head back down to the basement's endoscopy department and wait for Kelly.  Imagine my surprise when my cell phone rang minutes later with a lady telling me Kelly was ready to go.  She also told me Kelly had had undergone some extra medication and she was a tad groggy.  She didn['t feel Kelly was steady enough to walk to the parking garage and told me to go get our car there and then swing down around the hospital's main entrance and a porter would bring Kelly out in a wheelchair.  So, with that, I packed up my stuff and scurried over to the elevator.  Standing with half a dozen other waiting people, one of the four elevators stopped and the door opened.  There must have been about 500 people stuffed in there.  Cheeks puffed out, eyes bulging, and blank stares on their reddened faces.  We all waited, waited, and waited for the next elevator.  That was enough for me as my patience drained away and I hustled around the corner where I knew the steps to be.  Down those concrete steps I hurried counting all 68 steps along the way to the main floor.  I knew the Gremlins were now upon me and for sure would go out of their way to trip me up on my rush to get over to the hospital's main entrance.  Next was the parking garage dreaded payment machine.  I don't know what happened there but it certainly wasn't normal.  I didn't have a single problem with it.  What!!  Buoyed by my unforseen stroke of luck I quickly grabbed one of two elevators and headed up for the parking garage's 4th floor.  Or did we park the car on the third floor.  Surely not the fifth.  Out of the elevator on the fourth floor, I quickly headed for the opposite corner of the garage where I knew we had parked.  Almost there I didn't think it looked right.  The Subaru wasn't quite where I thought it was.  I clicked the 'unlock' button on the Fob and listened for Subies distinctive  'beep-da beep beep.'  Nothing, tried it again, nothing.  I wheeled around and headed back in the direction of the elevator.  Obviously I was on the wrong level.  Then I stopped, 'wait a minute' I thought.  What if I just walked around the corner up the slight grade and tried the Fob again.  That's what I did and somewhere out of sight around the corner I heard 'beep-da-beep beep'  Yesireeee, there was Subes right where I had parked her.  Now, to get myself out of the parking garage.  Round and round and round and round I went until finally there it was...the Exit.  Knowing the Gremlins weren't far away I thought for sure they would hang me up here at the Exit machine.  I knew for sure that after inserting my ticket into the machine, the arm wouldn't go up and let me out.  That's what happened last time we tried to exit the parking garage a few weeks ago.  Meltdown!!  I nervously pulled up to the machine, stuck my ticket in the slot, and the yellow arm went up so fast it almost went into orbit.  What the heck!!  From here it was only a few hundred yards to the hospital's main entrance.  I thought for sure by now Kelly would be out front pacing up and down the sidewalk waiting for me.  Nope, no sign of her.  It was the usual traffic chaos and it wasn't until I had made my fourth congested stop and go pass around the traffic circle that I snagged a 'No Parking' spot.  Still no Kelly but then all of a sudden here she came with Porter pushing her along in a wheelchair.  Once in the car, we didn't waste any time in getting away from that area.  It was evident right away that Kelly was in pain.  It had not been an easy endoscopy she said.  They banded one Varices in her throat and found a gastric ulcer in her stomach.  She said both her throat and stomach were hurting from the probing endoscopy.  Despite that, she insisted we stop at a grocery store near the Masonville Mall called, Farm Boy  I went in with her and pushed a shopping cart around as Kelly slowly (teetered) around the store picking up a few groceries here and there.  We also picked up a couple turkey sandwiches to eat on the way home.  After about 20 minutes we made our way back to the car and quickly headed out of London making fast tracks for home.  Raining all the way I might add.  We were sure glad to get home and Pheebs was sure glad to see us home as well.  Now, because of that gastric ulcer, Kelly is on two more medications.  These are not easy times for her and they want her back for another endoscopy in four weeks time.  She has more courage and fighting spirit than anybody I know.......................        

 IT WAS A GRAY DRIZZLY DRIVE TO LONDON AND BACK 

 THIS WAS MY QUIET LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD FOR A WHILE EARLIER TODAY

 ALTHOUGH I COULDN'T GET ANY MUSIC IN MY HEADPHONES THEY AT LEAST DEADENED THE HOSPITAL NOISES AROUND ME AS I SAT HERE QUIETLY READING MY KINDLE

 WALKING INTO FARMBOY THIS AFTERNOON

CHOWING DOWN ON MY TURKEY SANDWICH

 KELLY ON HER iPHONE DOING WHATEVER IT IS THAT PEOPLE DO ON THEIR SMART PHONES

Al's Music Box:)) Woman is a song written and performed by English singer John Lennon from his 1980 album Double Fantasy. The track was chosen by Lennon to be the second single released from the Double Fantasy album, and it was the first Lennon single issued after his murder on 8 December 1980.  The B-side of the single is Yoko Ono's song "Beautiful Boys".  Lennon wrote "Woman" as an ode to Ono and to all women.  The track begins with Lennon whispering, "For the other half of the sky", a paraphrase of a Chinese proverb, once used by Mao Zedong.  In an interview for Rolling Stone magazine on 5 December 1980, three days before his murder, John Lennon said that the song "came about because, one sunny afternoon in Bermuda, it suddenly hit me what women do for us. Not just what my Yoko does for me, although I was thinking in those personal terms ... but any truth is universal. What dawned on me was everything I was taking for granted. Women really are the other half of the sky, as I whisper at the beginning of the song. It's a 'we' or it ain't anything." In that same interview, Lennon said that "Woman" was his most Beatlesque song on Double Fantasy and that the track is a "grown-up version" of the Beatles song "Girl". On 5 June 1981, Geffen re-released "Woman" as a single as part of their "Back to Back Hits" series, with the B-side "(Just Like) 'Starting Over'.  In the United Kingdom, "Woman" replaced Lennon's 1971 track "Imagine" at number 1.

ONE THING I KNOW FOR SURE IS THE OLDER I GETS THE MORE WORSER I LOOKS

GROANRSER  CORNER:((  After 30 years of wondering why he didn't look like his younger sister or brother, the man finally got up the nerve to ask his mother if he was adopted.  "Yes, you were, son," his mother said as tears came to her eyes, "but it didn't work out, and they brought you back."

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There are two things on earth that are universal: hydrogen and stupidity.
There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.

There has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know nothing about.

There has been opposition to every innovation in the history of man, with the possible exception of the sword.

There is a coherent plan in the universe, though I don't know what it's a plan for.

There is a right way, a wrong way, and my way to do everything.

There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.

There is always one more bug.

There is always one more idiot than you counted on.

There is no evidence to support the notion that life is serious.

There is nothing so habit-forming as money.

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                            Al's Art Gallery:))

WELL KELLY DID, I DIDN'T

Pulling back our living room curtains in the morning, I love to see sunshine filtering through our tall pine trees and setting the Autumn leaves on fire.  

A short car ride for Pheebs and I this morning and yet I was still late for a residents/landlord meeting at our Park's clubhouse.  I thought the meeting was at 10:30 but it was at 10.  I hate being late for things!!  Kelly was already there so she was able to fill me in later on what I had missed.  The information meeting was about issues in the Park and plans for the future.  Kelly's back has been giving her a hard time this week and she was in pain at the meeting from sitting so we left the gathering shortly before it was over.  I think we are very fortunate to have the caring and attentive Park owners that we do.

  PHEEBS AND I HEADED EAST DOWN BAYFIELD RIVER ROAD THIS MORNING

 A WEEK AGO I COULD HARDLY SEE THIS BARN FOR ALL THE LEAVES

NOT ALL TREES LOSE THEIR LEAVES AT THE SAME TIME BUT HERE ARE A FEW EARLY BIRDS

 NOT TO WORRY, WE STILL HAVE COLOR ALONG THE BUSH LINES

 TRANSFERRING CORN FROM A GRAIN WAGON TO A TRUCK ON THE ROAD AHEAD

  NOT A FARM VEHICLE BUT MAYBE THIS FARMER DRIVES HIS CHICKENS AROUND IN IT AT EASTERTIME

Definitely on the colder side today compared to earlier in the week but that's okay.  For me, this cooler, fresh, and healthier air is way better than that heavy heat and humidity of summer.  Again, I noticed a change in the landscape from yesterday.  Wednesday's gusting winds brought a lot of leaves down. 

A nice afternoon walk for Pheebs and I on this sunny and crisp Autumn afternoon.  I like the sound we made as we shuffled our way along through the leaves.

A FINE LATE OCTOBER DAY FOR AN AFTERNOON WALK AROUND OUR PARK'S POND

A NEIGHBOR'S BACK YARD THAT OVERLOOKS THE POND

A month ago I switched back to my morning veggie shakes after a 6 month period of hot dog breakfasts.  This is normal for me.  I just got tired of the hot dogs and 6 months from now I'll likely tire of the veggy shakes and go back to hot dogs, or porridge, or spaghetti and ice cream....or maybe no breakfast at all except for an occasional piece of toast.  Anyway, here is the latest version of my morning shake....  Into my large blender, I put in two scoops of Protein Whey Powder (vanilla) a big dash of cinnamon, half or a quarter of a green banana, a couple romaine lettuce leaves, a handful of spinach, one stalk of celery, and half an unpeeled apple. To that, I add an 8-ounce glass of skim milk and half a glass of orange juice.  That's it.  I don't bother pouring this concoction into a glass, I just drink it right out of the blender because I am the only one using the blender.  If this all sounds familiar to some readers it's because of my Sounds Yukky - Tastes Yummy post back in 2007 when my shakes were more complex. 

 THIS IS MORE THAN I USUALLY MAKE....I MUST HAVE HAD A SENIOR MOMENT AND THREW IN AN EXTRA COUPLE HAND FULLS OF SPINACH.....I BE STRONG LIKE POPEYE NOW

We had a bit of an iPhone dilemma at our house this week.  Well, Kelly did, I didn't.  When we arrived home from the hospital a few days ago, Kelly realized she had left her phone's charging cord plugged into the wall in her room at the hospital.  Yesterday, Kelly's iPhone 15's power ran out.  She had ordered a spare cord from Apple and FedEx was to have delivered that yesterday.  They didn't.  Today?? nope!!  So, with shaky iPhone withdrawal setting in, Kelly desparately sent out a cry for help on our Bayfield Pines Facebook page.  Did anyone have a compatible iPhone charging cord????  Well by golly, somebody did.  Thanks to Shirley and Bryan Kilmer for responding.  Kelly drove her phone over to their place and they plugged it into their charger.  Kelly said she would pick it up after supper.  About 7 o'clock a white car pulled into our driveway.  It was the Kilmers delivering Kelly's fully charged iPhone.  Yep, nice folks we got here in our Park:))))

 NONE OF THESE SUNBURST LOCUST LEAVES WERE IN OUR FROG POND YESTERDAY

LOOKING UP FROM OUR SUNROOM COMPUTER I SAW THIS YELLOW BELLY WOODPECKER SITTING HERE MOTIONLESS.....AND IT REMAINED FROZENLY MOTIONLESS FOR THE NEXT FIFTEEN MINUTES UNTIL I WALKED OUT TO SEE IF I COULD HELP THE LITTLE FELLER.....WHEN IT SAW ME IT QUICKY FLEW AWAY....I HAVE NEVER SEEN A BIRD SIT THAT LONG WITHOUT MOVING SO MUCH AS A FEATHER

THIS MACHINE IN OUR PARK IS LOOKING UNUSUALLY CLEAN FOR ALL THE HARD WORK IT HAS BEEN DOING THIS PAST MONTH, BUT THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT AS YOU WILL SEE IN THE PHOTO BELOW

 THAT'S PARK OWNER ADAM POWER WASHING IT YESTERDAY

Al's Music Box:)) Come Monday is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was first released on his 1974 album 'Living & Dying in Three-Quarter Time.'  Buffett wrote the song to his future wife while he was on tour.  At a live performance in 1974, Buffett mentioned that he had written the song heading out to California the previous year, meaning that it would have been written as he was "heading up to San Francisco for the Labor Day Weekend show" in 1973. He opened those Labor Day Weekend shows for Country Joe cDonald at the Lion's Share club in San Anselmo, California.  He wrote the song at the Howard Johnson's buffett while he was staying at in Mill Valleu, California. The single version replaces the third line, "I've got my Hush Puppies on," with "I've got my hiking shoes on."  It is one of Buffett's more popular songs, and is part of "The Big 8" that he played at almost all of his concerts, typically changing the line "I just can't wait to see you again" to "It's so nice to be in...(location of show)...again".  "Come Monday" was Buffett's first Top 40 hit single, reaching No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as No. 3 on Easy Listening  and No. 58 on Country . It also reached number 12 in Australia and was his most popular song there.

 RIPPLING REFLECTIONS ON THE PARK'S POND

GROANER'S CORNER:(( One night, a man on his way home happened upon a drunk, down on his hands and knees searching for something under a street light. The man asked the drunk what he was looking for so diligently and the drunk said he had tripped and his Rolex wrist watch had broken loose from his wrist. The man, being a kindhearted soul, got down on his hands and knees and began assisting the drunk looking for his watch. After about ten minutes without any success, the man asked the drunk exactly where he tripped. "About a half a block up the street," the drunk said. "Why, pray tell," the man asked the drunk, "are you looking for your watch here if you lost it a half a block up the street?" The drunk replied, "The light is a lot better here."

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- I wanted to marry an English teacher when she got out of jail...But you can't end a sentence with a proposition.

- An insurance agent's wife was learning to drive when the brakes failed. "What should I do?" she cried. "Brace yourself, and try to hit something cheap."

- How many birds does it take to change a lightbulb?  Ideally three, but Toucan.

- Which dog could breathe underwater? Scuba Do.

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I stopped at the local Burger King for a cold drink and was reading the menu over the counter. I noticed a sign to the side that stated “Picture Menu Available”.  I had to ask the clerk what it was for and she told me that they had a number of customers who couldn't read and they used that.  Of course I asked how they would know this picture menu was available and her answer was the classic, “Well, it says so on the sign, doesn't it?”

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                         Al's Art Gallery:))

 OUR FUTURE??:((