CONSTRUCTION

You may recall the night of April 1st last year when an arsonist burned down the Legado project, incurring a cost to the developer of around 60 million dollars.

He hasn't been apprehended yet but just recently the new Legado began rising on the lot where the previous one was about three-quarters completed.

The project is being built the same way, with pre-cast concrete slabs which are hoisted into place and secured, which makes construction very rapid.

This, I presume, is the parking garage, which is erected first before the outside of it is surrounded by apartments and businesses.

And I would imagine with the experience of a year ago there is full-time 24-hour security on the site.

Meantime, just across the street a TownePlace Suites by Marriott is well along in it's construction.

With the Findlay Toyota Center arena on one corner, the Homestead Talking Glass Apartments on another and these two projects under construction on two others, this interesection will probably soon be one of the busiest in our town.

I just wonder when the town leaders will decide to change the designation from a town to a city!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

After a couple of snowstorms earlier this month, Spring is finally here.

At least for the moment.

As I'm writing this in the very early afternoon, the temperature is hovering at about 68 (F)/20 (C) with the sun shining in an incredibly blue sky.

It's supposed to reach 82 by Tuesday.

We'll see.

But meanwhile the warmer weather has caused the ornamental fruit trees to do their thing.

And, as always this time of year, I can't be prevented from imposing sharing this brief bit of old Burma Shave doggerel.

Brace yourselves.

Spring has sprung

The grass has riz

Where last year's

careless drivers is!

Happy Springtime, everyone!

WHO'S AGING??!!

I'm about a month from my 85th trip around the Sun.

It seems like only yesterday.

No I don't mean my big birthday seemed only yesterday.

Because it wasn't, see?

It's still coming up.

But I am of the age where I go into a room and then wonder why I'm in there.

Or not remembering the name of the person I've known all of my life.

Or the very famous movie star that I was in love with for all of my life.

Ah, well, that's a little of what's got me thinking.

Other than the fact that I'm wearing my wife's hat.

Some days are just like that.

But today was a killer.

I mean a real killer-diller.

(Does anyone remember that?)

Anyway I went to the library and the grocery store and the town center to shoot some pictures and the park to shoot some more.

And sometime after I got back, I glanced down at my feet.

I had not known it until that fateful moment.

Though I had noticed that people were being very polite to me in the library and the grocery store and the park.

I showed them to my wife when I discovered them.

After laughing uproarishly at my distress, she crowned my day by saying "And you've got another pair just like them in your closet!"

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

I know what you're thinking.

"Apparently he's been hung over all week because of all that green beer he drank on Monday!"

Well you'd be wrong.

I didn't have any green beer on Monday or maybe any other kind of beer.

I may write about St. Patrick's Day but I usually don't celebrate it.

No, I've just been occupied with life and, then, lazy in general.

So let me try to make it up to you today.

TGIF!

If you're like me you're probably about ready to smite Jean-Luc Picard.

But put that anger behind you and get even by having a simply mah-velous weekend.

After all, it's SPRING again!

(sorry, River. and anyone else living Down Under.)

Oh, yeah, and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

ERIN GO BRAGH

 

MARCHING ON

We are five days from the Spring Equinox here in Sunny Arizona.

March is supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb, according to some Old Wives Tale.

March 1st of this year found the temperature to be around 65 F.

And this morning, on the Ides of March, it looked like this.

But there's hope on the horizon for Spring lovers.

The high temperature today is forecast at 47 and tomorrow at 61.

So maybe that lamb is just around the corner.

OOPS

 I forgot until Wacky Wally reminded me.

It may be Friday but it's also Pi Day!

Help yourself to a slice.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

You may ask what I do to amuse myself when I'm not baking or scouring the Internet for new recipes or eating what I've baked or what Judy has come up with or napping or . . . well, you get the idea.

The other day I noticed a blue bag high up in a neighbor's tree.

It's still stuck there and what I do is watch it to see when it will finally get loose or just rot and dissolve.

But it *is* plastic so that may take a few light years.

Anyway, we people more advanced in age have to have something to occupy our daily lives and that's mine.

But let's get to the business at hand, shall we?

It is Friday, after all.

Well this plot has run out of rows to hoe.

So let me urge you to have a hifalutin, higgledy-piggledy, hob-nobbing, historically high-spirited weekend.

Just don't hog out.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . uh, oh, I think I see a caterwauling weekend ahead . . . )

A LOGICAL CONCLUSION

Why, you might ask, does Catalyst post so often here about food?

And seemingly fattening food, at that.

Well there's an obvious reason.

WHAT WILL SHE THINK OF NEXT?

I can imagine the BAD looking around her home and lighting on a plain ol' plastic electrical outlet plate and exclaiming "AHA!"

And a short time later, this is what came out of her artistic imagination.

Now if you're thinking she lives with some guy named Tolkien, you'd be wrong.

Those "rings" all came from her visionary brain and fingertips.

I had to ask her how it was done and here's what she told me (I think).

It was created using a polymer clay, then baked in her oven and painted with chrome bumper spray.

I thought it was done but today she said she's going to add some black and copper touches to it with a paintbrush to make it "pop" a bit more.

I can hardly wait to see what amazing creation she will turn out next.

(p.s. She said I should add "It's for sale for one million dollars.")

"GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT"

A photo today to show you what the inside of my Lemon Poppy Seed Cake looked like.

As you can see, it's loaded with poppyseeds but I think it could have used more lemon flavor.

The recipe called for zest from three large lemons mixed into the batter but I thought it was a little bland.

One could always add more.

The glaze on top of the cake did add some more lemon flavor.

Anyway, as SWMBO always says, it tasted better this morning than it did yesterday.

But whipped cream, or in our lazy case, whipped topping from a can is a given to make it pop a bit more.

By the way, our first taste followed an indoor picnic or to get Frenchy "a charcuterie board".

Several kinds of cheese, sliced summer sausage, grapes, apples, crackers . . . it was wonderful!

SWMBO (Judy) put that together!)