CHO-CO-LAT!!!

My valentine made this Chocolate Fudge Brownie Pie to top off our oriental dinner last night.

With SPRINKLES!

Zhoen alerted me that last night was Half-Off Chocolate Day Eve which may make the trip to several grocery stores today a little more expensive.

I braced myself with a hearty breakfast.

One can never have too much chocolate.

2142017

Spoil yourself - Drink wine - Eat chocolate - Repeat

IT'S JUST A NUMBER

I am somewhat surprised to learn that this is my two-thousand-six-hundred-fiftieth post on this blog.

That's 2,650.

When one begins something like this, I seriously doubt that one thinks he or she will ever reach that large a number.

The wonders of the Internets apparently have no good way to tell me how many words have been written here.

Or how many pictures have been shown.

Or how many cartoons have appeared.

But the statistics page does tell me that I have written 2,650 posts, as of this one.

And, come to look at it a bit further, it tells me that I have had 374,564 page views to date.

But that's in nearly 9 years, which means it works out to only about 42,000 a year or around 3,400 a month.

And I'm not really sure what a page view is anyway.

It could be someone who actually reads the post.

Or it could be someone who just looks at the title and moves on.

Or it could be someone who got here by accident and moved on without even glancing except to realize it's only a mistake.

So I'm not getting my ego blown up out of shape here.

All I can do is wonder about all of this.

Kind of like . . .

(Thanks to the BRD for sending that to me.)

So, what wisdom do I have for you Gentle Readers on this, the day before Valentine's Day?

Since the day is about love perhaps this quote from the legendary Irishman George Bernard Shaw.

"There is no more sincere love than the love of food."

And that includes chocolate!

SATURDAY SEA-FARI

The BRD and a friend drove to Arizona's nearest "sea coast" earlier this week to visit another friend who lives there.

The destination was Puerto Peñasco in Sonora, Mexico.

The gringos call it Rocky Point and it is located on the Sea of Cortez, which is also known as the Gulf of California.

There.  I think I've probably totally confused you now.

It's about 300 miles from where the BRD lives and only 63 miles south of the international border.

I've always thought it was kind of funny that even though we lived in Phoenix for many years, only a bit over 200 miles from Puerto Peñasco, and also lived in Mexico for over 4 years, we somehow never got to Rocky Point.

But the BRD did and her pictures show it has grown considerably in the last few decades.

From what we've heard so far, the "girly time" went great, including a visit from a persistent and curious local.

He seemed to be trying to tell them "Hey, the shrimp boat is coming in!"

The BRD has spent the past several weeks moving from one house to another, struggling to get the new place in order and generally wearing herself out.

Nice to get away and enjoy a sunset by the sea.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Ah Gentle Readers it's time for some yuks.

And, no, that's not some kind of Siberian culinary phantasmagoria concocted in the Kitchens of Catalyst.

But you still may want to loosen your belts in order to avoid serious injury.

That ought to be enough to put a smirk on your faces.

Hey, the Super Bowl is over, Valentine's Day is still four days away and Major League Baseball is about to begin Spring Training.

What more could you want?

Oh, yeah, my wishes that you'll have an incredibly relaxed and pleasant weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(oh, my)

THROWBACK THURSDAY

March 2, 2008

I'm back!

Due to a vast number of (well, okay, a few) requests, I am bringing back Oddball Observations for another run at blogging. This will be the third time and I can only hope it's a charm. The next time I get bored with blogging, I will try my best not to delete my blog. I'll just put up a notice saying I'm "On Hold" until the juices start flowing again.

I don't have much to say today so this will just be an announcement of my return.

Maybe tomorrow I'll be more "talkative."

In the meantime, thanks to all of my former readers who urged me to bring it back.

********************************************************************************************

C'mon you guys, the above was written nearly nine years ago, just as I was beginning this blog once again.

Today the temperature has climbed to the mid 70's and it's a fabulous day for lazing behind a fishing line in the sun at Fain Park.

DRILLED

WHICH IS IT?

Leftover pizza?

Or the Atlanta Falcons after their second half 31-point beat-down yesterday.

SUPER SUNDAY

Okay, just a bit, then it's back to the television.

And, of course, there is the kitty.

BREAD

Cranberry-Wheat Bread

ala Bruce/Catalyst

(and the bread machine)

I tried this recipe for a light wheat bread yesterday which includes honey and ground mace.

The result was a highly crowned loaf (oops, we've eaten the crown already) with an extremely light texture and a hint of sweetness.

I used dried Craisins in place of cranberries.

It's delicious, if I do say so myself.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

This is the one day of the week I could NEVER give up posting.

Because it doesn't require any thought or effort on my part.

Just a sense of humor.

So let's be at it.

All right, Gentle Readers, now you know.

Have yourselves a merry little weekend, keep those funnies coming and remember . . . always keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Awwwwwww)

CHANGES

"Change is the only constant in life."

This quote, or a variant of it, has been attributed to nearly every philosopher, songwriter and backyard savant in the world.

But it may have originated with Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher who lived around 500 B.C.

For the mathematically challenged, that's nearly 2,500 years ago.

All of which is to state that the less I'm blogging these days, the more I'm adding to my "Others' Observations" list over there in the right margin.

As I continue to read, I'm finding some great writers out there in cyberworld or blogspace or whatever you want to call it.

As I find them, I'm adding links to them on my blog page.

So pay attention, Gentle Readers, and sample them for yourselves.

Good stuff.

CHOCOLATE

Double Chocolate Banana Bread ala Bruce (Catalyst)

Recipe from the Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perlman

A LIFE OF PI(E)

Deep Dish Apple ala Judy

FRIDAY FUNNIES

How did we all get so old?

Lew (67), Karl (80), Steve (67), Bruce/Catalyst (76).

Lunch yesterday of four old geezers who used to be part of the news staff at Channel 12 in Phoenix.

Oh well.

Let's get on to the business of the day, Gentle Readers.

Well, old friends (oops, sorry 'bout that), er, Gentle Readers, maybe this weekend you should get your joy by watching a tennis match.

(I was really ticked last night when the news had a story about all of the OLD players who made it to the finals in the Australian tournament.

They were all in their 30's!)

Hey, have a great weekend and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Oh, no, even him?)

SNOW WHITE

Central Arizona's Black Hills have a white topping today.

TAKING A BREAK

What a way to begin a week.

Catalyst is going to put Oddball Observations to sleep for awhile, to renew its energy, perhaps.

I read about Lucy doing this and after much thought decided I would follow her, with the same options she stated.

So I'll be around . . . lurking, occasionally commenting on other blogs I read, and probably posting from time to time.

Just not as often.

Call it a fallback position.

Ta-ta.

WIN - (brrrrr) - TER

Lori, burdened by the needs of her dog Reggie, hits the streets much earlier than I do.

She left me some photographic views of her early morning "Winter Wonderland".

Rick and Reggie

Wearing his winter garb.

Sorry, Reggie, too cold for me.