GROWTH

Some of you old-timers may remember a "cowboy" born in New York City who came to Arizona to engage in ranching, drinking and politics.

With his mouthy expressions, he became a legend.

Sam Steiger was elected to the Arizona State Senate and later to Congress, where he served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

He also served as Mayor of Prescott after losing several other elections.

And the controversial Steiger allegedly referred to Prescott Valley as "Jackass Flats".

But that was then and this is now.

I wonder what he'd think of it today.

Prescott Valley has passed Steiger's old stomping grounds of Prescott in population and it's growing by leaps and bounds.

A huge building project is underway just steps away from the Town Center.

This is only the parking garage.

When Legado, as the project is known, is completed next year there will be 329 new apartments, a 5,000 square foot rooftop restaurant open to the public and 8,000 square feet of commercial real estate available at ground level.

The design is called a Texas Wrap, where the housing and commercial spaces will surround the parking garage.

It's right across the street from the town's big event center and walking distance from shopping, medical offices, and entertainment.

Not bad for a place that still calls itself a "town" rather than the thriving city it has become.

Sam Steiger died back in 2012 but I wonder if the old curmudgeon would have changed his tune about "Jackass Flats".

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Hey, you over there, with your head in the freezer section of your refrigerator!

That only helps for a little while, y'know.

Okay, okay, it's hot.

But if you lived in Arizona, like I do, you'd know that's normal.

It's July, for cryin' out loud.

What did you expect?

Oh, all right, I know you've had a tough week so let me start off this Friday's festivities with something to cool you down.

All right, all right, you know when you see those Trekkies that it's all over for another week.

Now try not to tantalize with thoughtlessness or tempetuousness, put aside your tenaciousness about tatterdemalions, attempt instead to be truehearted and transcendent.

In other words, take it from Taylor and have yourselves a traditionally terrific weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . now where did she go . . . )

THE GLORIOUS FOURTH OF JULY

 

So here it is again.

The day we Americans celebrate the birth of our nation.

Of course quite a few of our ancestors had been coming here for over a hundred years.

And, across the pond (as the Atlantic Ocean is whimsically called), they have a different view on the day.

Nevertheless, we shall celebrate with parades, flag waving, grilling and consuming vast amounts of alcohol, and then the fireworks.

Some folks got an early start on that.

Prescott, for example, had their big fireworks show last weekend.

And I heard 5 or six explosions and saw flashes in the sky here last night.

Those, of course, are illegal and, like someone who set some off just before the Prescott show and nearby, they started a brush fire.

It's dry out there, folks.

Leave it to the professionals.

But anyway here's one more tip of the hat (and the glass?) to our 247th birthday.

THE HEAT IS ON

 Here in the United States of America the July 4th weekend is in full swing.

Even with the temperature soaring.

Depending on whose website you check, our temperature is supposed to peak today at anywhere from 95 to 102 and it's supposed to reach 113 in not-too-far-away Phoenix.

For those of you in the rest of the world on the Celsius scale that's 35 to 45 degrees.

Maybe I should just think in Celsius.

It seems much cooler.

Anyway if you're anywhere where the mercury is rising beyond comfort take the advice of the experts.

And to keep my mind off the heat I've been writing poems.

Here's one of them.

Roses is red,

Violets is purple.

My darlin's sweet,

Just like maple syrup'l.

Hmmm, maybe that's why my Canadian friends sent me south.

If you're here in the U S of A, stay cool, hydrated, safe and sane as we celebrate our nation's independence.

In the rest of the world, just ignore we rowdies and do whatever you like.

TO OUR NORTHERN NEIGHBORS

 Happy Canada Day!

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Well, gosh, how are you all doing?

I hope your week has been better than mine.

Except in the food department.

I can't complain about the food department.

The mercury is set to climb into the high 90's for a few days.

Just in time for the Fourth of July celebrations.

Kinda makes one wish he lived in England.

But you don't want to hear all that so let's get on with the business of the day.

And those are the jokes, folks.

Have yourselves a wonderful weekend and ALWAYS remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(. . . oh, oh . . .)

AN IDLE THOUGHT

4:20 p.m. today

 Prescott Valley, Arizona - 89 degrees F.

Phoenix, Arizona - 104 degrees F.

THE NEXT DESSERT

So I said to my lovely wife this morning "I just ate my last piece of the Blueberry Kuchen."

Then to wipe that sorrowful look off her face I added "I saved the crunchy corner piece for you."

That made her happy.

A little later I was picking up her scraped clean plate and she asked "how many blueberries did you have left over?"

I guessed about a cup and a half and showed them to her and she immediately said "A clafoutis!"

Yikes, I thought, back to the kitchen again?

But I dug up my recipe for a clafoutis with any kind of fruit and soon had it into the oven.

Here's what made SWMBO happy when it came out.

Oh, I know what you're thinking.

It looks like a blueberry pizza!

But it's actually in a glass pie dish and it's deeper than a simple pizza.

See?

It's another blast to your (actually her) sweet tooth!

GARDENING STILL LIFE

 

The tomato plants await fresh water.

The Monja and the Blue Cat keep watchful eyes on the scene.

Heat, serenity, an Arizona summer.

KUCHEN!

 Very early (6:30 a.m.) this morning I began quietly assembling the ingredients and tools to make a blueberry kuchen (coffeecake).

You may ask why in tarnation I was at it so early.

And I would explain.

Yesterday evening I told my beloved wife that I was going to make the kuchen the next day.

"Oh", she said, "will it be for breakfast?"

"No", said I, "it would be for after breakfast.

So then I spent half the night worrying about the sad look that came over SWMBO's face.

And so I was hard at it at 6:30 this morning, even before she had wakened.

First, of course, I had to feed Sweetie-Pie (the cat) who begins demanding her breakfast at 5 a.m.

Now you'd think a pet cat, having filled her belly, would go lie down somewhere and take a nap.

But no, she is SWMBO's cat and once she is fed she thinks her lady should be awake and so she goes in and sits on her bed and stares intently at her, willing her to rise from the Arms of Morpheus.

Now the mistress is awake and aware of the pesky cat but is pretending to be asleep until said cat reaches out with one tiny paw and taps gently twice on SWMBO's mouth.

And that's all it takes.

So the two of them come into the kitchen where I'm trying to be quiet and SWMBO says "My, aren't you being ambitious!"

And so I turn on ALL of the lights and get on with my baking project making as much noise as I want.

Now I wasn't satisfied with the look of the blueberry kuchen but the taste of it was "ta die for"!

And where the sugar had hardened around the edges it became a crispy treat that both of us enjoyed.

So, here it is, the Early Sunday Morning Blueberry Kuchen, Catalyst Version.

BREAKFAST BREAD

Yes, I still bake English Muffin Bread.

Judy's supply ran out this morning so I hied myself to the kitchen and put together a couple of loaves.

If I must say so myself, they turned out pretty good.

I rarely have a slice but Judy loves it so I shall continue making them for her.

Now, let's see . . . what's next?

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 'Twas the day before Saturday and all through . . .

Oh, drat, I never wanted to be Dickens.

I'd rather make you laugh like the dickens anyway.

Huh, I just Googled that (like the dickens) to see where it came from and learned that it is a euphemism that may mean "like the devil".

I tell ya, the things you learn on the Internet.

And I didn't even need A.I.!

But enough philosophy.

Let's instead repair to laughology.

It's Friday after all.

So that's all for this week, my friends.

I hope you've enjoyed yourselves.

Now try to continue that enjoyment throughout the next couple of days.

In other words, have an enjoyable weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

SUMMERTIME

 Summer has landed!

The forecast high temperature here today is 84.

80 miles to the south of us, in Phoenix, it is supposed to be 104 today.

But remember, folks, we live in Arizona and it's a dry heat!

So this is the longest day of the year and tomorrow we shall begin our descent to winter.

But let's enjoy this season any way that you can.

LIFE IS GOOD

My life is good.

My computer is new.

It's not fixed, as an A.I. ode that was sent to me tried to say.

It's new, as in a different machine, brain, box.

I appreciate the effort but 12 seconds is not enough for truth with A.I., apparently.

But the "brain" is better and today I figured out that I needed a new driver to get my audio working and I got it and it did.

So I went searching for something to show you and this happened . . .

I hope your Monday is as good as mine has been.

Rock on!