ELECTION DAY

Today is Primary Election Day in Arizona.  But if you are a Democrat, as I am, it doesn't mean much.  For example, in the governor's race there are six Republican candidates vying for the nomination.  On the Democrat side there is just one.  In Yavapai County, where I live, there are four Republican candidates for two seats in the State House of Representatives.  On the Democrat side, just one.  For a member of the Blue Man party, life in a predominately red county can be frustrating.

Still I voted.  And I have the sticker to prove it.

There are more independents than Republicans or Democrats in Arizona now.  They may be leaning left because one news story I read this morning said only 6 percent of them had requested early ballots.  With no, or very few, races on the Democratic side of the ballot, they may just be sitting this one out.

The real test will come in November, at the General Election.

By the way, I have a friend in Phoenix who registered many years ago as a Republican.  I berated him loudly until he told me he did it so he could vote in the Primary Elections for the weakest Republican candidate.  I wonder how many like him are out there.

WATER FEATURE

A QUIET SUNDAY

This was one of my mother's favorite piano pieces.  I doubt she'd have appreciated Victor Borge's introduction of it as the Moonlight Son-of-a-nata.  I liked Borge but I also like the serious performance of the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven.

WHA????

A small water park in normally hot and dry Arizona.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Yes, it's that time of the week again.  Brace yourself, first for a failed Ice Bucket Challenge.

Now, if you've stopped laughing at/with that poor girl, let's get on with it.

SWMBO has been telling me for years that I should watch my nutrition and eat more healthy foods.  So . . .

And for dessert . . .

Have a great weekend, folks, and remember - keep a smile on your face.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Normally on TBT I post a picture of myself from my past.  But this Thursday I'm changing the format a bit.  First, from some time back and I'm not even sure where this occurred . . probably Iraq or Afghanistan . . my grandson, then-Sergeant Russell Milburn with the late Robin Williams.

Then a couple of pictures I received just this morning.

Sergeant Milburn, you see, is now a civilian.  That's a photo of him and his lovely wife, Kayla, and the new addition to their family, Alexis Marie.

She was born last night and I (and her parents) think she's a stunner.

Please accept this slight deviation from the norm from a proud great-grandfather.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

MYSTERY MOUNTAIN

COLOR IN THE SKY

The sky seemed to be on fire last night.

It looked like a huge smoke plume with flames inside it.  But for those who feared a forest fire . . it was only a cloud, backlit by a setting sun.

To the south, a tier of what we used to call "thunder bumpers" were beautifully painted by the same sunset.

When she is so inclined, Mother Nature can put on quite a show.

SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING

SWMBO bought a large bag of limes recently and I had been badgering her about making a Key Lime Pie.  She said she'd been thinking about it.  This went on for a couple of days.  Then yesterday she came into my den and sat down at my computer.  I asked what she was going to do and she said she had found a recipe on the Interwebs for Key Lime Pie and it was so simple that I COULD MAKE IT!

Well now.  A challenge like that can't be ignored.  She said it only had three ingredients, she'd bought a ready-made graham cracker crust and she'd even juice the limes for me.

(Actually she didn't get around to that so I had to do it but that's okay.)

So, here's a picture of Emeril Lagasse's Key Lime Pie (as prepared by me.)

Taste?  To die for.  Thanks, Emeril.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Now, Sunday morning.

You  know how cats love sunshine, no matter how warm it is?  Judy came into the living room this morning and found Blackwell in the only square of sunshine in the room.  And, he seemed to say, "I'm not sharing!"

By the way, my new header picture could be Blackwell but it's not.

A CLOUD

I think there's nothing . . .

  I say aloud . . .

As be-you-ti-ful

  As a great big cloud.

Okay, sunset.  Bring in some color.

Magnificent!

(All photos taken from the passenger seat of a moving car.  Hence some foreground blurriness.)

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Gentle Readers, you're in for a treat this week.  Thanks to the kindness of strangers . . well, not strangers, exactly.  Actually good friends.  Anyway I have a plethora (that means a whole lot) of funnies for you this week.  So sit back, relax and prepare to laugh.

First off, one especially for my blogger buddy, Quilted Dogs.  (I hope she's reading today.)

Speaking of the difference between dogs and cats . . .

Staying with that animal theme for a moment . . .

Some of you, I bet, are more than pleased that it's "back-to-school" time of year . . .

Kids should be thankful for all their parents have done for them . . .

After all, it's not easy for "we seniors" these days . . .

And if we make it to the Pearly Gates . . .

Well, as usual, back to the cats . . .

(That one's for Scott of Low and Slow)

And finally, I'm through . . . almost . . .

Thanks to many contributors this week. Have a fantastic weekend, folks, and keep those smiles on your faces.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Somewhere back in the distant past . . taking a spin in the Goodyear Blimp.  A very calm, smooth ride.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

ROBIN WILLIAMS

1951 - 2014

YUMMMMM . . .

Yes, you can improve on a banana.

GOLF IS A FUNNY GAME

Highlight of the day from yesterday's third round of the PGA Championship.

Australian golfer Jason Day hooked his drive on the second hole far to the left, across a creek and into thick weeds on the far side.  After a television broadcaster and his caddy waded across and located and identified his ball, Day gamely removed his shoes and socks and rolled his pants up to mid-thigh.  He then waded the creek and struggled through the weeds to his ball.  Neatly catching a club his caddy tossed to him over the creek, Day then went to work.  

He hacked the ball out of the weeds and into the rough on the other side of the fairway.  (Second shot)  He then waded back across the creek, dried his feet, re-donned his socks and shoes, rolled down his pants and proceeded.  

He then struck his ball up onto the green.  (Third shot)  Next he calmly sank a 12-foot putt for a par four. Probably one of the most unlikely pars this tournament will see.

It was fun to watch.

As the commercial says "these guys are good!"

SATURDAY SERENADE

This morning's emails revealed a world of chaos.

U.S. warplanes and drones are bombing Islamist jihadists in northern Iraq.

Hamas is once again firing rockets into Israel.  Israel is responding with air strikes.

Closer to home . . the Beautiful Rich Daughter has spent the past 24 to 48 hours under the covers, feeling sick, overworked, overstressed.

Our friend, DK, has moved into her new condominium in Phoenix but in the process has discovered one bed frame missing and injured her mouth in a silly accident.

I rose, as usual, about an hour and a half before SWMBO and began heating a teakettle of water for her morning cuppa.  Then I forgot about it and she discovered a dry kettle, very hot, with the fire still on under it when she came into the kitchen.  My bad.

My big black cat, Blackwell, received fresh water and fresh food this morning and came in and slept on the floor at my feet for an hour.  But a few minutes ago he was opening the cupboard door where his food is kept and letting it slam with a loud "THUMP". While he does this when he needs fresh food I think he also does this because he likes the sound.

So for all of us, let's just chill awhile and listen to Schubert's Serenade, beautifully performed on acoustic guitar by Johanna Beisteiner.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

This is how I feel some mornings.

And so we come to the end of yet another week.  Have a glorious weekend, folks.

(As usual, contributions and thefts are gratefully acknowledged.)

THROWBACK THURSDAY

I have my old buddy, Danny Bananas, to thank for today's photo. He sent it to me yesterday from Bismarck, North Dakota where we once worked together.

Frankly, I have no memory of publishing this desperate plea for help from the hoi polloi but there it is.  In black and white.  So I can't deny it.

Therefore, from the late 1960's to you . . .

(I like the way I neatly lined up the three cities on a typewriter in a pre-computer age!)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

SCIENCE OR SORCERY?

Post by Siakap Keli.

I WON ONE!

Over the years, as in most marriages, there are small and large arguments over small and large disagreements.

SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) had told me the plant in our back yard was an Artemisia.  But I had doubts and had questioned that from time to time.  I said it looked similar to other plants in our area that she had identified as Russian Sage.  Still she insisted it was different and was an Artemisia.

Finally, one day when it was in full purple-blossomed bloom, I looked for pictures of such a plant on the Internet.  I found many gray-green plants that looked very similar to the way ours looked when we first got here but none with purple blossoms.

So I told my garden expert (SWMBO) about it and let it drop.

A few days later she came to me and said something along the lines of "you were right."  As a golden shaft of light struck me and the angels began to sing, she continued "I looked on the Internet and it's a Rocketman Russian Sage."

Then she added a tiny clause.  "So you win once in 43 years.  Big deal."

The ROCKETMAN RUSSIAN SAGE seems to be a hardy plant. Here's a picture of it after a thunderstorm passed through a few days ago.

As you may be able to see, the pounding rain pretty much flattened it.

But here it is a short time later after it had sprung back up.

So, if you see one of these in your yard, remember - it is not an Artemisia.  It is a ROCKETMAN RUSSIAN SAGE!

STUDYING THE CLOUDS

It's a great day for clouds over north-central Arizona.  

This looks like whipped cream in the sky.

Could be a storm moving in to the North.

And rain over the mountains.