BROWNIES?

I made another batch of brownies this morning, just like the batch I made a couple of weeks ago.

But this batch had a problem.

Here's how they came out.

The edges crisped up but the center, while done according to the toothpick test, looks almost liquid and sunken.

I don't know what went wrong because I followed the recipe exactly the same as the last time.

One difference: the recipe calls for an 8x8 inch square pan and mine is 9x9.

I seem to have a memory from last time that I might have crumpled up some foil to reduce the size of my pan but I really can't remember.

So this is what I'm left with today.

On the upside, SWMBO said the house smelled heavenly while they were baking and I had to agree.

The real test will come down to the eating!

I know you're all saying "How can you resist?", but we just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I'll let you know.

(DA-DUM, DA-DUM)

In the parking lot at a medical lab I visited this morning sat this ugly monster close to our car.

SWMBO asked me to photograph it but there didn't appear to be a name on the rear and neither one of us has any idea what it is.

But I'll bet some car freak in my vast blogosphere can tell us.

It sort of reminds me of the 50's Studebakers that looked like they were going two directions at once.

SKY CHANGES

 Riding shotgun into Prescott today with SWMBO at the wheel I couldn't resist taking this picture of the pretty clouds in the bright blue sky.

But coming home an hour or so later, it had all changed.

How's that old refrain go?

"What a difference a day makes."

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Wella, wella, wella, here we are again.

It's been a week of searing heat and violent thunderstorms here.

It looks like the temperature is settling into the high 80's for the next 10 days or so.

That may sound hot to you but after weeks of highs in the 90's it feels like a cold wave.

Well . . . . maybe a cool wave.

We here in Arizona can handle hotter "cool" temperatures than the rest of you, I guess.

At any rate we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

Or is that an oncoming train?

But enough of my prattle.

We all know why you're here so why delay any longer.

Hit the maracas, baby!

I hope you're laughing.

Elsewise what would be the point of all this?

Now buckle up for an Olympic weekend and enjoy it to the fullest.

And never, never, never . .  forget to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, yeah . . . )

RAIN

We've been hit by a couple of thunderstorms yesterday and today.

The power was out here yesterday for exactly 30 minutes due to the storm.

But as luck would have it, we were in Prescott at a doctor's office and missed the whole thing.

We have a ditch in front of our property that handles water runoff but one side of it was clogged up and I had to clear it to get the water running.

We also have a channel across our front yard that takes what drains out of our eaves into that ditch and I cleaned a huge amount of debris out of it before the storm hit today.

I don't know if this is truly the monsoon since it doesn't appear to be coming up from Mexico but whatever it is it's welcome.

I'm hoping it soaks into the ground around my struggling tree.

So it goes in my part of the world.

I'm healing.

My wife and I are controlling my drinking.

I'm doing my exercises and visiting doctors.

I've NOT been paying attention to this blog so here's a little preview of Friday.

Tada!  That's all, folks!

ENTICING AROMAS

Y'wanna make your house smell good?

Toss those room air freshners, incense and the like.

Saute some apples on the stove.

SWMBO has done that several times recently.

They're tasty either warm or cold but, as I told the boss, they smell so darned good, just about better than anything.

'Course that's excepting a couple of things I did in the past 24 hours.

Yesterday I baked a couple of loaves of Judy's favorite English Muffin Bread and she said it smelled so good.

We haven't had it in awhile and this morning she told me she'd had a great breakfast.

Then, later this morning, I got another gold medal as I baked a batch of brownies.

This time as she came into the kitchen, she said it smelled like heaven.

I'll take that.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 I'll bet you thought I wouldn't be here today.

Eh?

Eh?

Nosiree, Bob, you can't keep a good man down.

Well, down but not out.

Well, down AND out, but not for long.

I mean a couple of days isn't long, is it?

Then there's the question of "what is a good man?"

Bah!

Humbug!

Leave us get onto duh business of duh day!

Let it hereby be known, the Catalyst is back!

But just because I'm back doesn't mean your normal weekend duties are thrown onto me.

No, no, no, no, no!

You still have work to do.

But don't think of it as work.

Think of it as a joyful rendering of tasks to determine that you and yours all have a wonderful weekend.

And no falling!

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, puh-leeze . . . )