MORE ARTISTRY

One of the commenters on yesterday's blog, Diaday from Dayton, Ohio, noted what a great idea Gayle had to repurpose old CD's as art.

I took another look and then emailed the artist to ask if that's what the centers of those designs were.

She replied that they weren't but said she had a few pieces using old DVD's.

And she sent photos of them.

When I showed them to her mother, all I could say was "What will that girl come up with next?"

ART FROM THE HEART

The BAD (Beautiful Artistic Daughter) and I have never discussed where she gets her ideas, what motivates her impulses, what she sees in her mind before she embarks on another project.

But they continue to flow from her hands, amazing her mother and I and her friends and acquaintances.

For someone like myself, with little to no artistic ability, they are stupendous accomplishments of what I would describe as genius.

So, with no more of my adulation, I show you her photograph of her latest creation.

BAKING IN ARIZONA IN JULY

As my buddy, Steve . . . no, no, not Baseball Steve . . . this Steve.

The Steve, who lives in London, England, and is the author of the Shadows and Light blog.

Anyway as he reminded me recently when I was whining about the heat and not wanting to turn on the oven, that's what air conditioning is for.

And he was right because yesterday I turned the oven on and made a batch of blueberry muffins with the extra blueberries that didn't go into my clafoutis awhile back.

It was a new recipe for me and they turned out great, even though SWMBO growled a bit about the uneven distribution of berries.

(She got one muffin with only one berry in it while others were loaded.)

And speaking of SWMBO, once the muffins were done she reminded me that she'd been out of her favorite English Muffin Bread for about three days.

So back I went and baked up a couple of loaves of that for her.

Amazingly for me, who is notoriously slow in my baking and cooking abilities, all of this was done by noon and I could turn off the oven until late afternoon, when it was time for me to prepare my weekly Friday Pizza.

Who cares about the heat?

Certainly not THIS cool cat!

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Oh it's so much cooler today!

Only supposed to be 92 today where I live.

Hey, it got up to 97 yesterday.

But, y'know, it's a dry heat.

I bet you're really tired of hearing that old line, aren't you?

I remember reading a frightening story by the French writer Camus about a guy who murders another guy as they're walking on the beach.

But what stuck with me about that story was the description of the shimmering heat in Algeria, where the tale was set.

Now everytime I go outside and the glare of the heat makes my eyes hurt I think of Algeria.

So let us all cool down with a refreshing dash of humor.

It is Friday after all.

And speaking of Frenchmen . . .

Man, there seemed to be a violent streak running through this week's "funnies"(?).

Maybe I should stay out of the heat for awhile and stop drifting off to Algeria.

You too.

Have yourselves a safe, sane and cooling weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . ahhhhh, very palindromic this week . . . )

WHAT TO EAT IN THE HEAT

When the temperature climbs to 94, as it did today, and is forecast to soar to 97 tomorrow, one looks for recipes whose preparation will not heat up the house any more than it already is.

So my mentor in the kitchen, SWMBO prepared a chilled tuna salad today for sandwiches.

And to accompany it, her famous deviled eggs.

She having left the kitchen early in the day, I decided to foul things up by making a blueberry clafoutti.

In the oven.

Hey!

Blueberries are cool, aren't they?

MYSTERY

 

This creature came into our home recently.

SWMBO managed to corral it.

We don't know what it resembles most.

A UFO alien?

A mole?

A miniature whale?

(Very miniature, I'd say.)

What it turned out to be was an anthropormorphized miniature red pepper from the grocery store.

But . . . one can't thinking  . . . they're everywhere.

Watching us.

Aren't they?

THE HARVEST HAS BEGUN

It doesn't look like much but we already have an edible tomato from the vines in our tomato barrel.

That tiny succulent is a Yellow Pear Tomato from the smaller vine in the same barrel with the larger vine that promises Roma's or something like that.

It already has one fairly large specimen and several smaller ones growing.

The Yellow Pear Tomatoe vine has a plethora of growths.

All of them on both vines are still green.

But the promise is in them for a summer of home grown tomatoes.

And you know, "ain't nothin' better than home grown tomatoes."

SOMEBODY BLEW IT!

If you were one of the joyful celebrants yesterday you probably got your fill of fireworks.

I know we did after watching the aerial shows in New York City and Washington, D.C. via television.

Then there was a half-hour of booms from the Prescott Valley Civic Center area that we didn't see but heard.

And then there were a couple of illegal explosions a few minutes after that and again a few minutes after midnight.

But not all of them went off on schedule, it seems.

As the old expression goes "Kids will be kids" and mothers will keep on being frustrated with them.

Happy Fifth of July!

(Cartoon courtesty of Wacky Wally)

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Hey-Ho, my friends.

Today is a VERY special day here in the U.S. of A.

As we used to say in some parts of Nor'Dakota when I was a lad,

"It's da glorious Fourt' a Yoo-lie!"

So let's raise our flags and celebrate!

But leave the fireworks to the professionals.

Now, since it's also Friday let's see if we can find some humor.

Okay, pals, now enjoy yourselves on this wonderful three-day weekend.

Remember, leave the fireworks to the professionals, avoid the poison ivy and always keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . hmmm, wonder when it starts . . . )

MONSOON

 After a mid-day shower this was the sky toward the southeast of our abode.

That tree across the street seems to be pointing out that threatening cloud, in case we missed it.

The thunder also has been letting us know.

O CANADA!

 June 2025 is now in the rear view mirror.

Where did it go so fast anyway?

It seems like we were just dancing around the May Pole.

Time is lurching along at warp speed for me these days and before you know it I'll be complaining about the cold weather.

At any rate, today is July 1st and we here in the U.S.A. are preparing  for yet another holiday weekend.

But in the meantime, let us all give a shoutout to our neighbors to the north, who are already celebrating.

And a growing number are learning the words to O Canada!

RELAX

The end of the week is a day to do just that: nothing.

Take it from an expert:

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

It has been a difficult week, with the death of a wonderful friend of both my wife and mine.

Diane Kalas was a television pioneer in Arizona and had a legendary career with radio stations in Pittsburgh, Boston and San Francisco.

She had marked her 93rd birthday recently but her time had finally come and she passed peacefully.

She will be missed.

But we shan't dwell on the past, shall we?

My purpose here, as on every Friday, is to promote laughter.

Ergo, let us begin.

So that's all I've got.

You may notice a lot of the "Funnies" are just words.

C'mon, Elves, give me some pictures!

In the meantime, the rest of you have a peaceful, laid-back, calm weekend.

Interrupted, of course, by fireworks and champagne cork popping!

But whatever you do, don't forget to keep laughing!

Now, here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, now she wants to take over the world . . . )