NEW MEMBER OF THE FAMILY

 Seems like I've been writing too much recently about old age and death.

So today I'm going to change the tone.

We have a new member of our family.

Yup, we've got a cat again.

After Blackwell and Muggles passed over the Rainbow Bridge, She Who Must Be Obeyed said "That's it. No more cats. We're too old."

Of course, Matty the Rental Cat didn't know that and just moved in, paying frequent visits to our home and delighting us with his friendliness and his antics when he got into the catnip.

BTW, I saw some of that in a store yesterday only it was carrying a brand name of Meowijuana!

But anyway, we've been in our new home since last September and in spite of seeing a number of cats in the neighborhood, none had come by for a visit.

And Judy's resistance was growing ever more weak.

Then the Beautiful Rich Daughter and Certified Cat Lady told her that many older cats are looking for homes with older, quieter families and said she'd put her in touch with some adoption sites.

I asked her (Judy) if she was sure about this since she had been so firm only a few years ago that we would not do this again.

Yesterday we went to a pet store and within an hour came home with that cutie above.

They told us her name was Squeakers, which neither one of us liked.

I told Judy that I had named almost all of the cats we had "owned" before so she could name this one.

It quickly became Sweetie and that name seems to fit her better.

She's 7 years old and weighs only 7-and-a-half pounds.

We were amazed at how quickly she became attached to us and how relaxed she was in her new surroundings.

So once again we are a Cat Family.

And I mean that seriously.

It is obvious that Sweetie wasn't adopted by us.

She adopted us.

NEWS OF A PASSING

 Yesterday I was moaning writing about birthdays and reaching advanced ages and what that means (great-grand-kids).

But not all of us are getting older.

One, for instance, is the legendary Buster Bodine.

I know.

Crazy name, right?

Well that's because it wasn't his real name.

His real name was Michael Hanks.

Buster Bodine was his radio name, the name he used as a rock and roll disc jockey.

Oh, for some of you younger readers, rock and roll was a music genre that . . .oh, never mind.

Just know that Buster Bodine turned radio on its head when he landed at WNAP - FM 93.1 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

He had followed his brother, Charles Hanks, better known on WIBC-AM in Indy as Chuck Riley.

Chuck was known for his deep, resonant voice.

Then Buster arrived for a visit and, as the story goes and I've been telling it for decades, he said "hello" and his voice was an octave lower than Chucks'.

He was hired on the spot.

Buster spent some years in Indy and other locations before once again following his big brother to Los Angeles and voice-over work.

Well, now it's all over.

He died this week following complications from heart surgery.

He was 70.

Chuck died a number of years ago, also of a heart ailment, at the age of 66.

I worked with Chuck but never directly with Buster, though he was just starting at WNAP as I was getting ready to leave WIBC.

The back room and the front room, as they were known back around 1969-1971.

So . . . so long, Buster.

Like Chuck, you'll be long remembered.

AGEING UPDATE

 April and May and June are big birthday months in our family.

The BRD's birthday was nearly a week ago.

My son's birthday was yesterday.

My birthday is coming up in less than a week.

SWMBO's birthday is next month.

Our younger daughter's birthday is in June.

Gadfrey!

After all that, plus our wedding anniversary, it's little wonder that we are exhausted.

Not only that.

I heard from my son late last night, saying that he had not done much on his birthday yesterday.

Just entertained the grandchildren in the afternoon.

The GRAND-children!

That means our GREAT-grandchildren.

Talk about making a guy feel old!

So we went out to a Mexican restaurant this afternoon . . . Judy and I and Gayle . . . to celebrate multiple trips around the sun.

It was good, actually great.

The Margaritas were fine.

The food was wonderful and much of it came home with us.

So how did we look afterward?

With apologies to the BRD, whose picture I neglected to take . . . first SWMBO, whom I know you all want to see.

And then your faithful scribe.

So now you know.

Older, wiser, battered by wind and sea, but standing athwart the years.

Bring 'em on!

MUFFIN, MUFFIN, WHO'S GOT THE MUFFIN?

 Last Friday morning I decided to try broiling a couple of eggs in our muffin tin.

The first time I opened the oven door I was met with a cloud of smoke.

SWMBO estimates that muffin tin had been with us for a few decades and maybe it's time to throw the relic out.

I gladly leaped at her suggestion and did a bit of searching on-line before suggesting that now they had ones made out of silicon that made baking and exiting the pan as easy as A, B, C.

She said she thought they might be difficult to get into the oven if they were loaded with something sort of liquid and suggested maybe to just get the silicon-coated non-stick metal pan.

So I went to the store before she could change her mind and came home with this.

Yup, it's flexible silicon but it has a metal framework that holds it steady when being put in or taken out of the oven.

SWMBO quickly agreed to my great wisdom in buying it, even though she noted it was the most expensive one in the store.

But then she sent me to the kitchen with instructions to inaugurate it, especially since we had some blueberries in the fridge that were getting close to going bad.

Well, I am never one to turn up my nose at homemade blueberry muffins.

Here's a couple of pictures of the result. (And, BTW, the new pan worked great!)

THE STAFF OF LIFE

 SWMBO, my wife, would probably tell you that nothing is better than homemade bread.

Nothing smells as good.

Nothing tastes as good.

So I try to keep her happy.

And because making bread is one of the easiest kitchen duties I can imagine.

Recently I tried one of Jacques Pépin's recipes.

It's for soda bread and he insisted that it was simple and fast.

In fact, it was.

Here's my first loaf ever.

Judy gave her approval and much of it disappeared as we munched on an inside picnic dinner Thursday evening.

Thanks, Jacques!

Or should I say "Merci beaucoup".

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Oh, gosh, what a dark dreary day it was yesterday.

And the day before.

SWMBO said she was sure it was going to rain for two reasons.

The first was the way the sky looked.

The second was the way her joints felt.

But there came no rain, just wind and temperatures about 20 degrees cooler than a few days before.

Up and down, up and down.

As I said to someone today, "It's Arizona."

At any rate it has not caused my sense of humor to freeze up.

Which is why you're getting these:

Oh those guys!

Well even if we can't get away from them and their corny puns, try your dangdest to have a sparkling weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, NOOOO . . .)

HERE, BIRDIE-BIRDIE

 

Finally got the bird bath installed in its new location off the side patio, joining the Monja and the Blue Cat.

SWMBO said the sealant on it wouldn't be ready until Tax Day but I guess she got as impatient as me and we cheated by a few days.

Now to get the birds interested in it.

THE SEASONS

 After waiting so long and so impatiently for Spring to finally come we launched this week into an early Summer.

The temperature climbed to 80 degrees here yesterday and nearly reached 100 down in Phoenix.

Today is expected to be much the same.

All of which made these flowering fruit trees all the more pleasant a couple of days ago.

Coincidentally a couple of white cars were passing just as I took the photograph.

EASTER DINNER

 'Twas a fine day at the Taylors' Table.

Salad Plate

Cucumbers, Plum Tomatoes, Jicama

Taíjin Clásico Seasoning

Bacon-topped Roast Pork

Mashed Potatoes & Pork Gravy

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Apples

Asparagus

Blueberry Clafoutis

HAPPY EASTER

 Yesterday in a local grocery store, the ladies in the flower selling area had gotten into the mood.

I asked if I could take their photo.

I hope your day is a good one. 

A FULL DECK

 Yesterday was Good Friday.

And it was a good one for a special couple.

No, not them, although they are cute.

I'm talkin' about THIS couple.

Those last two are representative of our motto here at camp: Always Keep Laughing!

This one was taken in San Antonio Tlayacapan, Jalisco, Mexico as we were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary.

I said at the beginning of this post that yesterday was a good day for this couple.

Because we were celebrating again.

I asked my bride yesterday evening if she'd had a good anniversary.

When she responded in the affirmative I said, "Great! Let's go for another 20!"

I think that's when she fainted.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Now I know we've all been having a lot of fun this week but it's STILL the day for Laughter and Levity.

So let's turn those frowns upside down and enjoy it.

And here's another reason to smile: all that sacrificing (some of) you did for Lent?

It's almost over!

(Giving credit where credit is due: I swiped that one from Jolly Jeff)

Will he ever run out of Trekkie Titillation?

No, probably not.

So you Jews, Passover is nearly halfway over.

And you Muslims, Ramadan, though longer, is about the same.

And you Christians in the crowd, Easter is only two days away.

So mark your observances, my friends, but try your hardest to have a sensational weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . yup . . .)

MORE ABOUT BIL KEANE

My story the other day about Bil Keane, which was prompted by Sharon's mentioning him on her blog, just keeps producing.

I received an email yesterday from a long time friend, the journalist and author down in The Big Valley Sam Lowe.

Sam and I first met many, many, many years ago in our home state of North Dakota.

Somehow we both ended up working in Phoenix, me for a t.v. station and Sam for a newspaper or two.

I asked him if I could repeat the story he emailed me and he said, "Sure, just make sure you spell my name right."

So here goes.

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

Your story about Bil Keane reminded me of my initial meeting with him.

I was just fresh from North Dakota, working at the Scottsdale Progress, when Keane introduced a dog named Sam into his cartoons.

I took mock offense at this and muttered that there should be more famous people named Sam, not so many dogs.

My boss said, "Well, call Bil up and tell him about it" and I responded, "Oh, sure, call up somebody as famous as Bil Keane."

And he said, "Sure, he's in the phone book."

So I looked and sure enough, there he was.

So with much apprehension I called and he answered with "This is Bil", (with only one "l").

So he invited me to his home to meet Sam.

He was a most gracious gentleman and always remembered the incident when we'd meet in the ensuing years.

Am attaching a photo to back up my story.

        Sam (the human one)

(left to right: Bil, Sam, and Sam)

Sam's story shows his sense of humor and foretells the career that has seen him write not only newspaper columns and articles but also a hefty pile of books.

Thanks, Sam.

Proud to call you a friend.