MEANWHILE . . .

 . . . back at the Taylor Family Bakery, there was this.

My latest attempt turned out very well and tasted great.

It's called Blue Cheese Swirl Bread.

And yes it has blue cheese baked inside of the swirls.

If you like Blue Cheese, you'll love this loaf.

I do and I did.

CELEBRATION (continued)

 When you reach a milestone birthday, the celebration can last for days.

The much adored Judy, aka SWMBO, has been enjoying just that.

Yesterday her daughter, the BRD, took her to lunch at a new-ish restaurant in Chino Valley.

Essence, though located in the dry high desert of Arizona, specializes in seafood and that is what the girls dined on.

The honoree enjoyed a favorite of ours, Blackened Catfish with a Creole sauce, roasted corn and black beans.

Her daughter selected Seared Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna, drizzled with a lemon ginger vinaigrette.

I say "pretty good eatin'".

Meantime, back in Sedona a few days ago, let me show you some more of the beauty of the Tlaquepaque shopping village.

It is truly a photographer's paradise and there are many places to pose one's model.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Finally!

I'm getting so tired of computer problems.

I may just have to take mine out and blow the three years of dust out of it.

But now let's get on with the end of the week hilarity.

There!

That ought to keep all you pun-lovers happy for the weekend.

You groaners will just have to suffer along.

But whatever, I hope you *all* have a simply marvelous weekend.

And never forget: keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

ROAD TRIP

 The legendary She Who Must Be Obeyed and I took a little tour to one of our favorite spots yesterday, just a little over an hour away.

Our destination was the Red Rock Country and what was only a village when we first discovered it some 49 years ago . . Sedona.

It has grown since then.

The Village of Oak Creek, south of Sedona proper, has grown by leaps and bounds like Sedona itself and is encroaching on the red rocks themselves.

But one can still crop the photos taken at various viewpoints along the road to show only the strange rock formations.

Curiously, examining closely, one can see that small trees have sprouted in cracks in the red rocks  and are fighting for survival in a very dry world.

Arriving at the shopping mecca called Tlaquepaque, named after a suburban town of Guadalajara, Mexico, we find some visitors have found a way to escape the heat.

As for us, we repair to the Rene Restaurant for our coolers.

I know what you're thinking but remember, it's always 5 o'clock somewhere and we are celebrating a special day.

Judy, aka SWMBO, has reached a marker date, her 85th birthday!

And wonder of wonders, I can still get her to smile.

Or maybe she's thinking of that martini!

(. . . to be continued . . .)

OLD & NEW(ish)

 Well, of course, the Master Gardener from London recognized yesterday's mystery alien plant as a dandelion.

The photo was a macro shot of a dead one in our neighbor's yard.

Even I was surprised by how it looked like some kind of evil space invader.

But on to today.

Here's a plant on one side of our backyard arbor.

It's a potted Honeysuckle striving desperately to live up to it's ground-planted brother against the wall.

This one suffered from neglect on our part and under-watering.

But it is surviving this Spring and putting out some of the fragrant blossoms that SWMBO wanted when she planted it.

On the other side of the arbor from the weak Honeysuckle is a Wisteria vine also pot-planted, last year.

Both of the vines died off over the winter but came back to life with warmer weather and watering.

We're still waiting for blossoms and aroma on that one.

Tomorrow (maybe) I'll give you a look at the herbs we've planted.

DANGER

 

Can anyone identify this dangerous looking plant?

MOTHERS' DAY

 Best wishes to all the moms being remembered and celebrated today.

SATURDAY

 A lazy Saturday and time for a new header photo.

It's the north shore of Waialua and the image was captured by someone from Portland, Oregon who goes by the name Sean O.

I don't have much else this morning.

No pictures of note.

My latest experiences in the kitchen have yielded Friday night pizza (frozen, from the supermarket, with a little doctoring) and an old-fashioned Tuna Noodle Casserole.

My family wasn't French-ified.

We called it a "hotdish".

At any rate I decided you didn't want to see either one of those so no photos exist.

Got a load of laundry going this morning, have to run to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription and with that I'll probably have worn myself out.

Just a typical Saturday.

Enjoy the header.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Sorry, I'm late, I had computer problems this morning.

But they're fixed now and we can resume our traditional travel away from our travails.

Yes, it's time for some HUMOR!

(That's HUMOUR to those of you who speak the King's English.)

Whatever.

Think about it.

Okay, while you're doing that, let me importune you all to have a remarkable weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . .

THE HEAT IS ON

The nearest official thermometer is at the airport in Prescott, a few miles away and a couple of hundred feet higher than here in Prescott Valley.

It says the temperature at 4 p.m. as I'm writing this is clocking in at 83 degrees.

I was just talking to my neighbor and he said the thermometer measuring the outside temperature on his truck said it was 86.

But the real heat today came in around 100 miles to the south of us, at the airport in Phoenix.

Hey, that's nothin'.

Back in 1988 the first triple digit day occurred on March 26th!

And as we Arizonans are fond of saying . .

I have lived and visited in other parts of the country, where the humidity can match the temperature, and I can testify that the heat is much less tolerable there.

But what the heck, the first day we hit the century mark this year happens to fall on Cinco de Mayo.

Not that we need it but what two better excuses to crack one of these . .

TENACITY

 You have to give plants, and WEEDS, a lot of credit.

They can grow into trees sometimes through a crack in a sidewalk.

Nothing seems to stop them if they are left alone.

Kudzu came from nowhere and took over the southland of the United States.

Out where I live cacti grow in a land seemingly devoid of water.

Or tumbleweed.

Who can overlook tumbleweed?

Then there are these small, delicate white blossoms that crop up everywhere during the Spring of the year.

I don't know their proper name.

I suppose someone who reads this will identify them.

But look at that rocky, weedy soil they've come out of - right at the side of a busy street.

I never cease to be amazed.

Especially when flowering plants that I've carefully planted, watered and tended wither and die on the vine.

SATURDAY NIGHT SUPPER

 

Sometimes the best supper is breakfast.