THROWBACK THURSDAY

My lifelong pal Dr. Jim (r) and I swimming at Carlyle Lake in Canada.

EATING WELL

Smoked Paprika Shrimp; accompanied by sauteed corn, peppers, bacon, onion, whatever else goes well with it; garlic toast; simple fruit salad; glass of red wine.

I know you're supposed to drink white wine with seafood but we didn't have any and I drink red with everything anyway.

So there.

Bon Appétit!

TUESDAY TRAVELS

We don't travel much these days but the BRD does.

She has just returned from a week-long visit to . . .

ROME!

It was her first visit to the Eternal City and she emailed that she was having a difficult time wrapping her head around all of the history on display.

From the Pope's balcony at the Vatican . . .

to the Coliseum . . .

And many other sites around the city and in Pompei.

There was a meal at the legendary Harry's American Bar & Restaurant.

And a memorable meal at another restaurant where no English was spoken.

The BRD said ordering involved a lot of pointing but it had a fine result.

An order of lobster and pasta so large that she split it with her dining partner.

She said the city was full of tourists.  Imagine that.

She said it was a once-in-a-lifetime tour but it will hold a lifetime of memories.

Especially of all that walking and those poor tired feet!

DEAD SKUNK

SWMBO came home from running an errand awhile ago and casually mentioned that she had seen a dead skunk on the road coming into our development.

Which, of course, brought back this earworm from 1972.

The writer and performer of that jaunty tune is Loudon Wainwright III.

He is the son of a Life Magazine columnist and editor who exposed him to the music of Tom Lehrer and Stan Freberg, who the younger Wainwright cited as influences on his style.

Loudon III was married for a time to the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle, which produced two children who both became singers and writers, Rufus and Martha Wainwright.

A relationship with singer Suzzy Roche resulted in another daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche, also a singer.

Loudon III has written and recorded many songs, won a Grammy, and acted in movies and television shows.

But I'll always think of him as the guy who introduced me to the "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road."

WEEKEND BATH

I know you've seen this before but wothehell . . .

The Spotted Towhee was back at it again this morning, using our birdbath for his daily cleanup.

He splashes merrily in the water, then moves his upper wings at near-Hummingbird speed to shake the sloshing off.

In between dousings, he keeps his orange eye peeled on me watching him but it's a defiant glare as if to say "Yeah? Are you lookin' at me?"

Yes, I am.

IS THIS AN OMEN?

While on my daily perambulation (to the mailbox and back) the other day, I spied an early indication of the changing of the seasons.

A tiny leaf fallen from the Red Maple in our front yard.

Now this is August and the mercury is still climbing to nearly 100 degrees on an almost daily basis.

So it seems a bit early for the leaves to be changing color from their summertime green to the autumnal red.

I am no arborist but I'm thinking if one leaf came loose in a gusty wind and blew free from its mooring, perhaps in it's death throes it may turn from nile to scarlet.

I don't know if that is correct or not but I picked up the leaf and brought it inside to photograph anyway.

I like the red leaves and, though I dread the icy days of winter, I must admit I look forward to the entire tree turning carmine.

Wouldn't you?

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Ooooooohhhhh, it's Friday again, already.

Let us begin then by paying tribute to what's really important in all of our lives.

The Olympics.

But enough hilarity, Gentle Readers.

Go ye out unto the huddled masses and have a fahn-tahs-tic weekend and always remember to keep on laughing, inside and out.

Of your body as well as your house.

Here kitty-kitty . . .

(Oh, no, she's hooked up with that dog again!)