O.K., O.K., I'VE BEEN BUSY!

My good friend, D-K, emailed this morning to let me know she was unable to access my blog because the last post she was able to read was days ago and she just knew I had been blogging since then.

Well I haven't and I told her we'd been too busy to even consider blogging.  But even I was surprised to learn it had been a week since my last post.

The BRD is paying her first visit to our new "crib" today.

So I figured I could take some time off and let you know what we've been doing lately.  We've been unpacking boxes and boxes and boxes.  It's a long and agonizing process though the house is coming together day by day.

But once the BRD arrived, things slowed.  We went to our new favorite Mexican fish taco restaurant for lunch.  Since coming home the gals have been on the couch catching up on each other.

By the way, two days ago . . . April Fools' Day . . . was the day when the BRD and her Beau Jack took a limousine and a bottle or two of champagne down to downtown Prescott to get a new marriage license for the sixth consecutive year.  (They've been together for nine years.)  They haven't been married yet and have no plans to.  But it's become an annual joke and a fun time for them and some of their friends.

What a couple of jokesters!

BACK TO THE FUTURE

We finally got our gas turned on today so we've both had our first showers since last Friday.  Wow!  Didn't know a shower could feel that good.

Each day a little progress is made.  Met one of our new neighbors at the mailboxes today.  He told me a couple of good keys to open the gates leading into this place.  Maybe I can get it programmed into the buttons on my rear view mirror like the garage door opener.

SWMBO received her first forwarded magazine since the move.

She was checking out my upper body after my shower and remarking on the number of bruises and scrapes I have all over my body.  I said "I'm sure glad we hired movers!"

Hooking up the Internet yesterday has made all the difference in my attitude.  Those smart phones are great but I can't stand the tiny keyboard on it.

Oh, I forgot to tell you.  I got my first smart phone last December and was complaining to the BRD about how I couldn't get email.  And I couldn't access that Suri-type woman who gives you directions to anywhere you want to go while you're in the process.  She said you should have all that and told me to check with Verizon, where I've had an account since December.  An incredibly young woman listened to my complaints, glanced at my phone and said that I didn't have my network turned on.  (Or something like that.)  She scrolled and poked for about a minute and then pointed out that I now have 4G up and running.  I don't really know what that is but I can now email from anywhere and the little tour guide has already guided me to several destinations without a hitch.

Sometimes us old guys just have to be led by the hand.

WHAT A STRUGGLE THIS HAS BEEN

The movers showed up at 8 a.m. Saturday, right on time.  A few minutes after 11, they left with a full truck and our home now empty.  Less than two hours later we showed up in Phoenix to find the truck waiting for us!  Amazingly, they had beaten us there somehow.  Several  hours later everything was unloaded and into our new home.  Staggering a bit, we looked around at a complete mess with unpacked boxes everywhere.  It's achieving some normality now but still a lot of it looks like this.

Here's our temporary breakfast area, currently serving as a sorting space.

SWMBO and I are aching from muscles that had atrophied over the years suddenly being forced into movement.  I won't show you the rest of the inside of the house at this time.  (SWMBO would kill me!)  But we have DIRECT TV hooked up to our aging television sets though we really haven't had time to enjoy it yet.  Some time, maybe today, we'll go buy a big flat screen t.v. for the living room.  It will be sandwiched by two book shelves.  SWMBO won't start shelving until she knows how big the screen is and how far to move the shelves out.  But she hates that.  Her theory is that a house is not a home until there are books shelved and showing.

So, here's a bit of the outside area.

We live in a golf course community and the golfers come right past our back yard.  That's part of the course in the center of the picture over our block wall and our neighbor's wrought iron fence.

We are happy to have a large shrub of mock roses.

One corner of the back yard has a large palm tree sandwiched by two citrus trees.  I think the one on the left is an orange tree and the other is a lemon tree.

Oh, yes it is.  Here's the proof.

The fruit on the tree is obviously from last year's crop as both trees are blooming and our evening cocktail hour on the patio is fragrant with the smell of the blossoms.

So we are now, once again, residents of Phoenix, Arizona.  Further updates will undoubtedly follow.

Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!

For all you whiners who complained about your snow, here's one more picture from an Arizona spring I shot today.

Be sure you check out that nice blue sky!

Oh heck, here's one more taken over the fence from my back deck.

Happy springtime everyone!

SPRING!

Just as we're about to leave, a few days of warmer weather have brought spring to a flowering boil.  I shot this photo as I was about to enter a restaurant last night.  It's one of many trees in this area that have bloomed in the last couple of days.

I'M FEELIN' BETTER

I spent all day today on the phone with tech support people trying to get my computer problems fixed.  I think they're o.k. now.  Just in time for a new ISP (Internet Service Provider, for you non-nerds).

All of this, of course, keeps me away from packing boxes.  I do have to hurl a few of them (that's a figure of speech) into the garage but mostly I've left all the grunt work to SWMBO.  Which is best since she will only find fault with what I do anyway.  Oh, that's not fair.  She's pretty good but she knows how she wants things done.

And I know how you women are reacting.  Dirty pig!  Uh, yeah.

But I do what I can and that's not very much these days.

There are three days left before we move.  SWMBO has finally agreed to have someone come in and clean the house after we leave, rather than come back and do it herself.  The BRD convinced her of that after, of course, I had spent weeks trying to convince her. 

So it continues.  There's really not that much to do but it will increase in velocity as the days shorten.

I'll keep you posted.

THE MOVING BLUES

OMIGOD!

Was it always like this?

Packing, cleaning, telephoning, emailing, grunge!

I must say that SWMBO has been doing 90% of the packing.  She's starting to look a bit glassy-eyed.  

I have been on the telephone and the computer for much of two days.  My eyes are looking bloodshot.

We move Saturday.  5 days from today.  Will we make it?

Who knows.

Nearly everything we own is in boxes, hopefully carefully labeled so we can find everything when we get to our new destination.  It's only two hours away yet it seems like light years.

If I ever mention moving again, somebody, everybody . . . please slap me up side the head.

We've been in our present home for 12 years.  We had forgotten what a pain it is to move your entire household.  In the past, in a couple of moves, we just sold everything we could and moved the bare minimum.  This time, it's all going with us.

OMIGOD!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

A pint o' Guinness would go well with this:

O.K. IT'S NOW OFFICIAL

Finally!  I got a call from our realtor a short time ago and he said it is finally official.  We got our new home in Phoenix.  It's a three year lease rental and we've been on pins and needles for days now.  We'll make a trip to pay the deposits, get the keys and put a carload of fragile stuff in the house and take some measurements and then we'll be happy.  Here's a picture or two.

That's a raised patio in the back yard from which one can see a small portion of the nearby golf course.

I can remember many decades ago when my boss in Bismarck, North Dakota moved to suburban San Francisco to take a new job.  The thing he was most excited about, I think, was that he had a lemon tree in his yard.

That tree on the right in our new back yard is . . . a lemon tree!  And I'm as excited as he was.

Quite obviously we have a lot to do before we're settled in.  But stay tuned.  We'll keep you posted.

GLOOMY GUS

"Man, all this sitting around with everything in boxes, just waiting for something to happen, is driving me crazy!"

HE'S WAITING, TOO

The BRD says cats always relate back to their jungle ancestors and will find a high spot on which to perch.  Blackwell has found his sleeping place, even after I moved it up a box yesterday.  He loves that pillow.

ARE WE MOVING?

Hard to say.  We have found the house of our dreams (temporarily) and have made an application to rent it.  We have submitted paper of various types.  And now we wait.  Our realtor had told us he hoped to have an answer for us by today.  Nothing.

SWMBO is confident.  I retain my normal pessimistic outlook.  But it is Sunday, after all, and in spite of my loving wife's confident assurance that realtors work every day of the week . . . we have heard nothing.

We have probably two-thirds of our possessions already in boxes.  Waiting.  Like me.  Waiting.

The place looks ideal.  It is very close to several shopping centers that will have nearly everything that we need.  Closer than we have had in some years.  It is a gated community.  It is nicely landscaped. It seems quiet.

But.  We wait.

Stay tuned.  I certainly will.

THE MASTER

I finally saw "The Master" yesterday, via Netflix.  Many who have viewed it ahead of me talked about the mastery of Joaquin Phoenix in his role.  While I thought he was good, I failed to see the mastery. What I did notice was his strange hands-on-hips posture and his equally strange tittering laugh when he seemed nervous about something.  His violent rages I did not understand, other than that they seemed an exertation of anger at how his "master" was being mistreated.  But that didn't seem to hold true as he abandoned him at several points in the film.

The silliness of the mental routines for Phoenix (and others) didn't hold true for me although SWMBO said it was very similar to the mind-bending employed by the leaders of the Scientology movement, which many say this movie is based on.  Since I have never studied Scientology, I can't say.  But the accusations of one person in the movie, a John More, seem to go to the narrow focus of the cult.  But, is it a cult?

Scientology certainly seems to be and the followers of Lancaster Dodd and his wife certainly seem to be.

But back to the movie.  Is it good?  I'd give it about a 5 on a scale of 10.  It's fascinating but it doesn't seem to provide any truths.

Hooray for Hollywood!

A $5 A DAY STORMY MONDAY

I watched a movie from Netflix today.  "$5 A Day" with Christopher Walken, Alessandro Nivola, and a very hot looking Sharon Stone.  Considering the movie was released in 2008, she is holding together very well.  Walken, of course, is the centerpiece of this entertaining story of a lifelong con artist.  Very enjoyable.

As is this Monday song.

I AIN'T GOT NO HOME TO GO TO

No luck yet in our search for a new home but we're headed back down to the Big Valley this week with our heads held high and hopes intact.  

Meanwhile . . . 

And one more . . .

CATS IS STRANGE ANIMALS

With SWMBO gone all week, house sitting with the BRD's 3 cats, our cats seem to have gone into hibernation, at least in the daytime.  Muggles sleeps all day on the foot of the bed and this morning I caught her in a completely relaxed and unguarded moment.

Blackwell, on the other hand, is enjoying our packing and stacking boxes everywhere.  He frequently goes to the top of a tall stack just to see what's there.  And I have no idea how he got to this perch in an empty bookcase, about four feet from the floor.

Good climbing and leaping skills, I guess.  And he gets down by himself when no one is looking!

Meantime SWMBO and I are off to Phoenix to look at several houses for a possible new home today.  Wish us luck.

I'M GOIN' TO KATMANDU!!!

Colonel Colonel asked yesterday (in a comment on my post) if I was goin' to Katmandu.  I responded that I wasn't but I might sing it.  Needless to say, while I enjoy the famous song by that name, there is no way I could sing it.  But the legend from Detroit, Bullet Bob Seger certainly can.  Turn up your sound, folks, and look out for the next more than 6 minutes of rock and roll.

SOME THINGS ARE BEST NOT POSTED

I want to go to Annapurna

to watch the Annapurnans dance.

Perchance,

they’d let me dance

with them.

Or maybe they’d just say 

“Ahem,

We really do believe

that you had better leave.”

(For some reason, this poem(?) created itself in my head last night.  I'd explain it.  But I can't.)

SEQUESTER OR SESQUICENTENNIAL?

Take your pick.  There's been a ton of talk in the media and elsewhere about the Sequester the nation is facing on March 1st.  But another important day is today.  In Arizona, at least.  This is the sesquicentennial of the Arizona Territory.  President Abraham Lincoln created the territory exactly 150 years ago today.  Joanna Dodder Nellans has written a fine article about the history in today's Prescott Daily Courier newspaper.

Darned if there wasn't a light dusting of white stuff greeting early risers today to mark the occasion, I guess.

But the sun is up and the snow is rapidly melting off and being blown away by gusty winds.

Meantime, the BRD and her Beau Jack leave this morning for California's central coast, where the high temperature is expected to be in the 70's most of the week of their vacation.

Oscar night tonight.  We've only seen a couple of the films that are nominated but here are my predictions, based on many articles I've read.

Best Picture - Argo
Directing - Steven Spielberg
Leading Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis
Supporting Actor - Tommy Lee Jones
Leading Actress - Jennifer Lawrence
Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway

But, as all "predictors" are wont to say - "who knows?"

OOPS!

I have neglected you, blogger friends.

I have just been reading your blogs, many since I have last entered my timeless thoughts.  Yours are very good.  Mine, not so much.

So, what have I been up to?  Today I watched a lovely movie, "Robot and Frank" with the excellent Frank Langella and the always delectable Susan Sarandon, among others.  I liked it.

And I have finally finished a book, "Telegraph Avenue" by the fantastic Michael Chabon.  I have no idea how he mastered the black lifestyle (good and bad) and "talk", but that he did.  He has already won a Pulitzer Prize (for "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay") and this novel is, while trying at times, ultimately fascinating and lovely.  I recommend it.

We are still packing boxes full of our belongings.  Well, at least, SWMBO is.  I've kind of fallen down on it but I am trying to find a realtor or property management person in the Valley who will do us some good.  But it will happen.  Our move, that is.  Eventually.

The BRD and her Beau Jack are off to San Luis Obispo and environs tomorrow.  SWMBO is off to Flagstaff to spend Academy Awards night with a good friend and her annual party.  Then she'll return briefly on Monday before leaving to spend a week house-sitting (or cat-sitting, actually) at the BRD's house.

Speaking of cats, I took our beloved Blackwell to the Humane Society yesterday to have a microchip implanted in him and to have his toenails clipped.  As has been noted before, he is a bit of an escape artist (though he has, to date, always returned).  But the microchip will give us an added feeling of certainty that we won't lose him in the move.  He was very good, very brave through a long waiting period in a room full of dogs, some barking.  But I think he's glad to be home.

I have another movie to watch.  "Little White Lies", which SWMBO (who watched it today) tells me is a French movie with subtitles about a couple of couples who go on a vacation at the beach . . and all that brings to mind.  Hmmmm.

Food!  Two nights ago SWMBO surprised me with one of my favorite meals: Chicken piccata with pasta alfredo.  Leftovers last night.  Tonight, baked chicken and rice.  It's smelling delicious as I write this.  And salivate.  I have a New York steak thawing in the refrigerator for my "escape night" dinner.  Steak and baked potato.  Just for me.  Only when SWMBO leaves me alone for a night.

So it goes for we older folks.  Books, movies, food.  What else does one need.

ARIZONA?????

Scottsdale, Arizona.

Yesterday afternoon.

That

Is

Snow

24 LITTLE HOURS

Yesterday, I was in Mesa standing around talking to friends under sunny skies in 70 degree temperatures.  But I had checked the forecast and I knew a change was coming.  Just a day later, this was the scene as I was driving from Prescott Valley to Prescott this afternoon.

But as I said to one of my North Dakota buddies yesterday, at least in Arizona it doesn't last long.  A couple of hours later the sun was out and the snow was gone.

Incidentally I was watching a golf tournament that began today at Marana, just a bit north of Tucson in southern Arizona.  It started out cold with the players wearing stocking caps and jackets.  A bit later and as Jason Day put it, "First it started to rain, then it changed to sleet and then to snow."  The rest of play was called off for the day as about two inches fell in less than an hour.  Most of the golfers were incredulous and some of them had never seen snow before.

Just an average day in the deserts of Arizona.

THE BIG PICNIC

As I promised you yesterday, I drove 110 miles or so to Mesa's Pioneer Park today for the annual Stanley picnic.  

I grew up in Stanley, North Dakota.  Many of the people of my home town are snowbirds in Arizona.  (A snowbird is a person who flees the northern climes during the winter to spend the cold, snowy months in some more civilized climate - like Arizona's.)  Some of them have given up on North Dakota altogether and now live in Arizona year-round.

At any rate, old friendships die hard.  So once a year those part-time residents of Stanley or former residents of Stanley gather in Pioneer Park for a picnic, or North Dakota pot-luck.

I last attended one nearly 40 years ago and since I have grown older and have a new car and am retired I decided to attend this year's picnic.

A childhood friend of mine, Jim Burbidge, was instrumental.  He planned to come from his home in Federal Way, Washington to spend time with his brother and sister and attend the picnic.  So we agreed to meet.

Here are the two jolly old codgers, both white-bearded.  Please note that Jim's hair is white, too, unlike mine.  But then he is 7 months older than I am.

Jim's brother and sister also attended.  Jack is my brother's age and I believe Jean is older still.

Jean always was a short young woman but to give you an idea of how short she is now, here's a look at the top of her hat.

When I showed that picture to Jean she said "How did you get that?"

I said, "Well, I am a little taller than you, Jean."

In fact, I didn't even have to stand on tiptoe and I'm just a shade over 6 feet tall these days.

And finally there was Stan Wright.  Stan has lived in Stanley nearly all his life and that life has been a long and fruitful one.  He has been involved in probably every good thing that has ever happened in that small community.  I can remember him as a grown man when I was just a tyke, which must put him at close to 90 now.  I kidded him today about his trombone.  (He's a musician, among his other talents.)  He said he has about three invites every week from some band or another asking if he'd like to sit in.  

Stan the Man.  A life well lived.

I met lots of other people from my home town today but had to be reintroduced to practically all of them.  I haven't seen them for decades and somehow they don't look the same.

My wife said, "Y'know what?  Neither do you!"

"Ouch!"

TRAVELS

On a clear day, you can see forever . . .

Those snow-capped mountains are the San Francisco Peaks which contain the highest mountain in Arizona, Humphreys Peak at a little more than 12,630 feet.  They're about 80 miles away but on a clear day like today they are very visible.

I always think about the first people to come upon these scenic wonders on horseback hundreds of years ago.  I can't imagine what they thought.  Later the West was being civilized (sort of) and the mail had to get through.

Until the railroads made their way to the Pacific Coast, that job was left to a brave bunch of riders on horseback known as the Pony Express.  This sculpture is on a plaza in Scottsdale, which used to be known as the West's Most Western Town.  Nowadays it's more commonly known as Snobsdale because of all it's wealthy residents.  The New York Times described downtown Scottsdale as a desert version of Miami's South Beach.

The BRD has just returned from a trip to Florida for the 80th birthday of her father.  He surprised her at the airport with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

And tomorrow I'm heading for Mesa (another suburb of Phoenix) for the annual Stanley picnic.  I'm sure you've all heard of it so I'll save further discussion until I get back.

ONE FINE DAY & THOU SWELL

SWMBO told me a short time ago that Lady Gaga has had to cancel her current tour and is going to have hip surgery.  In spite of all the show biz Gaga is an excellent singer and I wish her well.

Meantime, I'm still gaga over Kat Edmonson, who eschews the show biz but is a wonderful singer and writer.

When I "discovered" Kat recently and SWMBO heard her sing she said she reminded her of the late Blossom Dearie.  Take a listen.

I must agree.  I think they're both great and quite comparative.  What do you think?

FRIDAY FOLLIES

This has got to be the biggest and the happiest beach baby ever.

And as brother Ratzinger fades into the sunset, the humorists have him in their sights.

"Pope Benedict surprised everyone and announced that he is stepping down at the end of the month.  Or as God put it, 'Well, at least he gave me two weeks notice."

                                                    --Jimmy Fallon

And on and on it goes.

101!

It's our birthday today.

Arizona is 101 years old today.

February 14, 1912 the Arizona Territory became the state of Arizona.  It was the 48th state admitted to the union and the last of the contiguous states.

It's a pretty good state to be in.  A lot of beauty lives here.

Not the least of that beauty is in our official state flag.

The top half of the flag has thirteen rays of alternating red and yellow, representing the original 13 states.  The copper star in the center represents the copper mining industry of Arizona.  The bottom half of the flag is the same blue as in the United States flag and represents liberty.  The actual design of the flag wasn't adopted until February 17th, 1917 by the third state legislature.  And that's your history lesson for today.

Oh and by the way, Happy Valentines Day!

WHO AM I? WHY AM I HERE?

I was recently tagged by Scott of Flight Plan to participate in this 25 question "getting to know you" exercise. Here goes:

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Stanley, North Dakota

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER SOMEONE?
Yes, my first name is Franklin, the same as my dad.  But I've always been known as Bruce, my middle name.

IF YOU HAVE ANY CHILDREN, HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE?
Five, only one of my own blood.  Curiously his name is Scott, as is one of my stepsons.

HOW MANY PETS DO YOU HAVE?
Two.  Blackwell and Muggles, both cats.

WHAT IS YOUR WORST INJURY?

I guess breaking both of my pinky fingers, years apart.  Neither were set and both have a malformed joint.

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I took seven years of piano lessons when I was a kid.  The end result was I used to be able to play Sentimental Journey, badly.  Now I can't even play that!

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO BAKE?
Probably bread.  I just got a baguette pan today and plan to try it out tomorrow.

FAVORITE FAST FOOD?
Pizza.

WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No, my days of daring stunts are long over.  I have enough trouble just walking these days.

WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Hmmm, how much trouble can I get into here?  If it's a male, probably sense of humor.  If it's a female . . .(never mind).

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
I can't remember but it's usually when I'm reading my wife something and I get to the great ending and can't get it out.

ANY CURRENT WORRIES?

Not really.

NAME 3 DRINKS THAT YOU DRINK REGULARLY.
Coffee, Diet Coke, Vodka-and-water.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?
That's a tough one because I've always been a reader.  "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut used to be a favorite.  Most anything by Hemingway.  Several by T. Coraghessan Boyle.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A PIRATE?
I would to "have been" a pirate.

FAVORITE SMELLS?
Sauteed onions, lemons, fresh baked bread.

WHY DO YOU BLOG?
I've been a writer (of sorts) all my life and this just keeps it going.  'Course now I can add pictures, videos, music.

WHAT SONG DO YOU WANT PLAYED AT YOUR FUNERAL?

We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn.  Also The Lumberjack Song by Monty Python.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My appearance.  I'm overweight by about 30 pounds. 

FAVORITE HOBBY?
Oh, just about anything connected with this damnable computer!  Also reading.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A FRIEND?

I'm sticking with what Scott said:  "Someone who can make me laugh, and who I can always trust."

NAME SOMETHING YOU'VE DONE THAT YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD.
Walked the complete base path at Chase Field in Phoenix.  I have a picture to prove it. 

ANY PET PEEVES?
Rap and hip-hop music.  "Celebrities" who are famous for being famous and who act badly.

WHAT'S THE LAST THING THAT MADE YOU LAUGH?
A nasty joke I received by email this morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The instructions say I'm now supposed to tag 10 other people and challenge them to reveal 25 things about themselves, too.   Folks, in no particular order....you're up:

Tom at  Light Breezes

Stephen at The Chubby Chatterbox

Cupcake Murphy at Odd, Good, True

Frank at Vinyl Stats

Oh, heck, I'm gonna let it go at four.  Have at it.

CAR REPAIR

I have stated several times before on this blog that the last automobile I owned that I could open the hood and perhaps fix a problem was the 1948 Chevrolet which I drove in my college days.  It was ten years old when I started.

I believe I have told you about the winter when the brakes went out. I was impoverished in those days and my college sat high on a hill above the rest of the town.  Whenever I had to go into town I would creep down a snow- and ice-covered hilly street in second gear, hoping against hope that no other traffic would be coming on the street at the bottom onto which I had to make a u-turn.  There never was and I would skid across the street backwards until my wheels struck the curb.  Then I could proceed on into town.

It went like this throughout the winter because I knew I didn't have enough money to get my brakes fixed.  And then spring came, the snow melted and for some strange reason I had some money in my pockets.  So I nervously took the car to a garage and waited for the expensive repair estimate.  Finally the mechanic came out and said something like "you're good to go.  That'll be eighty-five cents!"

"What?", I said.

"You just needed some brake fluid," he explained.

OMG!  I had spent all winter risking life and limb when all I needed was some inexpensive brake fluid!

Well, that should tell you all you need to know about my automobile repair expertise.

Until today.

We recently bought a brand new 2013 Nissan Altima car.  But over the past week or so we began to notice a rattle which seemed to be coming from the dashboard on the drivers' side.  We had less than 2,800 miles on the car and already it was falling apart!  After the latest drive by my wife she came home, steaming, and said "We've got to get that thing fixed!"

So I took it to the local Nissan dealer, whose service manager said that day was not a good day and we made an appointment for this morning.  I showed up right on time, having first removed everything from the car that might cause the rattle. A few minutes later he asked me to go for a test drive with the mechanic.  We had a tough time finding a road with bumps in it that caused the rattle but he did hear it and confirmed that I was not crazy.  Back to the dealership.  I returned to the waiting room, he took the car back into the shop.

About 15 minutes later the service manager came out with the verdict.  I braced myself for the bad news.  He said "the mechanic found the problem.  Your sun visor wasn't clipped."

"You're kidding!" I responded.

But he wasn't.

I drove home with the radio turned off, listening intently for any tiny rattle.  There weren't any.  The car drove like a dream.  Silently.  Rattle-less.

Car repair.  It's not for amateurs.

HOT - COLD

Readers of a certain age or those of you who are fans of gangsters movies of the 30's or 40's will recognize the term "the hot seat".  It's a euphemism for the electric chair which ended the life of do-badders.

Let me now introduce you to "the cold seat".

It's not a place one would readily choose to sit.  Here's a slightly bigger view.

It shows you what happens when your lazy correspondent fails to take his deck chairs into shelter when he knows . . HE KNOWS . . that the weatherman is going to bring snow.

Today, the weather was moving away from us.

As the clouds and the rain or snow move to the north and east, over the Black Hills, over Mingus Mountain, still dropping more moisture, it leaves us with blue skies and a great view in the sky.

And, one of these days, I'll take my deck chairs in.