DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

 Today is the last day of the holiday known as Día de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead.

It comes across the border to us from Mexico where ofrendas or altars are erected, often around the graves of the departed, to welcome back their souls.

I had forgotten it until my longtime friend Diane mentioned it in an email to SWMBO.

Once years ago she had visited us where we were living in Mexico at the time of the holiday and we had taken her to the graveyard in the town of Ajijic to see the decorations.

Graves are decorated with great numbers of flowers, both real and paper, and favorite foods and drinks of the departed ones are brought to welcome him or her.

Music is played and picnics are held at the sites.

It is not so much solemn as joyous as memories are renewed and celebrated.

Here in Arizona, which has a large Mexican population, the event is celebrated in much the same way.

Once after our ex-pat years in Mexico I spotted this piece in an art gallery in Jerome and purchased it.

But someone who lives here says it gives her the creeps so it remains unhung.

UPDATE: I just discovered that Sharon has a wonderful post about the event in Phoenix on her blog today.  Check it out by clicking on Phoenix Daily Photo.

A NEW MONTH

 How was your Halloween?

Against my wishes that the big bag of candy SWMBO bought weeks ago should remain in our possession for us to munch on, she carved a jack-o-lantern out of a pumpkin and turned on the outside lights for a few hours.

We had 10 trick-or-treaters come to the door, the first one of which was a tiny, pretty girl who when I opened the door did NOT say "trick or treat" but rather, being a modern child, said "You got any candy?"

So a slight dent was made in the candy bag, the neighborhood tykes went away happy and so am I.

Yesterday I tried to figure out why a couple of people, at least, have not been getting the notifications I send out whenever I post to this blog.

I MAY have found a solution but we'll see.

Blasted Blogger.

Or Gmail.

Or Google.

November 1st brings a new reason to celebrate a people and, no, it's not the Norwegians.

That's right.

It was first declared by George H.W. Bush back when he was the President, in August of 1990.

Actually he proclaimed it "National American Indian Heritage Month" but it evolved to the present title.

Back when I was a kid we all used to go to the cowboys-and-Indians movies at the local theatre in which the Indians were usually portrayed by Hollywood as bloodthirsty killers and the cowboys or the cavalry or the sheriff were the good guys.

And that's how we played in North Dakota in those days.

I remember one comic book character known as Straight Arrow.

But he was about the only "good" Indian we ever heard about.

In these modern new times, derogatory names of mountains and towns and sports teams have been changed, even my families' beloved Cleveland Indians.

(I'm not sure why they all liked Cleveland nor why I, and only I, was a diehard fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers.)

Now, of course, they'd all be rooting for the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings.

WAIT A MINUTE!

Is "Vikings" now a slur on my Norwegian heritage?

Will they have to change their name to something like "the Minnesota Snowballs"?

Well, I have raved on far too much today.

So let's just remember this month the REAL first residents of this land, the Native Americans who were here hundreds, perhaps thousands of years before it was ever called America.

SPOOK DAY

 Happy Halloween!

THE BAKING CONTINUES

 I had an email conversation with Robin yesterday after she commented on my baking and said she hadn't baked for a year or two.

I had to know why and she told me where she lives, in northern California, there are two great local bakeries and she has just grown to rely on their tasty products.

Well I was back at it again today.

I discovered one of my little bread cookbooks had a great solution to the rigors of baking.

Let the Bread Machine do the work of making the dough, then form it into any number of great rolls and bagels and doughnuts and cakes and whatever.

So today I made (actually the bread machine made) a Brioche dough, then I formed it into rolls and baked it in our oven.

My official taster, SWMBO, tried one still warm from the oven and declared the texture and taste to be just perfect.

Brioche is made with more butter and eggs and white flour than healthier ingredients but as I told her, "who cares!"

And for Yorkshire Pudding, who commented on the apparent flatness of my English Muffin bread yesterday I must admit it was actually poor photography on my part.

And here's a photo of today's success, both in baking AND photography.

As I said, they ain't the healthiest bread in the world but they are delicious.

And I try to eat healthy, really I do.

MUST BE THE COOLER WEATHER

 The BRD came by for a visit (and a meal) last weekend and during the preprandial cocktail hour was reminiscing with her mother about something she remembered from her early days in Indiana.

Salt-Rising Bread!

She said she couldn't find a recipe for it but I located one easily with the assistance of Mr. Google 

Or is it Miss Google? 

I dunno but whoever it is they do great work.

Anyway I found the recipe, printed it out and handed it to the daughter.

It seems to me a little complicated for someone who doesn't normally bake bread but she vowed she was going to try it.

It involves making a couple of starters and takes the greater part of two days but determined she was.

And yesterday she proudly showed us her end product.

Fresh from the oven, it looks pretty darned good to me.

Not to be outdone, I was in the Taylor Home Bakery this morning, answering a statement by She Who Must Be Obeyed: "I only have two slices of English Muffin Bread left."

My recipe is much simpler and faster than the one for Salt-Rising Bread so I scurried about and produced these two loaves.

There's a story about that bread.

Back when we lived in Mexico, Judy was disappointed to discover she couldn't buy English Muffins in the stores.

She was moaning about it on one of our necessary every six month journeys back to the border and some nice friend gave us the recipe for English Muffins in loaf form.

Somehow I got drafted and I've been making it ever since.

Either bread is best sliced thin and toasted.

I've just taken my two loaves out of the oven and the house smells great.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 So, how has your week been?

Mine was pretty good.

'Course, it's still happening and anything can happen.

Yeesh!

I don't want to think about that.

So here's something to distract me.

And you.

I bet by now you're all thinkin', "He's forgotten about that special day getting close."

The following are to prove you wrong, just one more time.

Okay, that's all I've got.

Now enjoy yourself for the next few days.

Have a great weekend and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(As a special treat, the BRD's Jet snarls his Halloween wishes)

VOLUNTEERS

 

These bright faces just popped up in the ditch in front of our home recently.

Judy said the seeds were just carried down by our recent rainfall and where they came to rest they dug in and sprouted.

Mother Nature is amazing.

AUTUMN

 No, this post is not about our neighbor, whose name happens to be  Autumn.

It's about the season of the year we are now ensconced in.

It's that time of the year when changing weather causes the trees to turn from their summery green to the beautiful reds and yellows and oranges made lovelier still by a soft sunlight.

But this gorgeous season is also called Fall.

That could be because all of those beautiful leaves are blown from the trees and fall gently onto our yards and sidewalks and driveways, calling out for a human with a rake to get busy.

Grrrr!

A PASSAGE

 My cousin, Bonnie, called this morning to let me know that her mother had passed away peacefully in her sleep.

Almost 8 months ago, my Aunt Lil had celebrated her 100th birthday.

She had a long life in Montana and she raised some great "kids".

Nine years ago she and some of those offspring surprised me with a visit here in Arizona.

This is a picture taken on that day when Lil was merely 91.

She was always fun.

R.I.P. Lillian Mantei Hylland.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Yes, I know what you're going to say.

"He's rushing things, isn't he?"

And I know, Halloween is more than a week away.

But what can I say?

My Comedy Corps has been sending me follies full of witches and goblins and black cats and I just have to share them with you.

So try not to get too gobsmacked by all of these hobgoblins and just enjoy the humor of the season.

Oh, c'mon, I knew you'd like that one.

By the way you may have noticed that I didn't post yesterday.

Nothing about picture hanging or plumbing or getting settled in our new home.

Just nothing.

That's because yesterday was International Sloth Day!

You could Google it!

As for today, let's go get 'em.

Eat well, drink well, play well and have an absolutely wonderful weekend.

Avoid pumpkin spice anything, if you can, and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

ONWARD!

 

All of the plumbing was done yesterday.

Today my buddha collection was hung in a proper place.

It was hung before but it wasn't level and it was too close to the bookcase.

This is better.

HOME

 Slowly our house is becoming a home.

We hung some artwork yesterday.

The pastel of my uncle, Zenas Howland Taylor, was done when he was a young accountant in San Francisco in 1930.

It's hard for me to believe that the picture of him is more than 90 years old.

It's been in our family for many decades and I've always loved it.

He's now keeping my new blog header of Blackwell company.

Meanwhile the kitchen got several pieces hung yesterday.

And a couple of our larger pieces have finally found their places in the living room.

I say "finally" because at first they were reversed and, dang, those framed pieces are heavy.

Meantime, some other works are on and against the couch for now while they find their proper places.

It is said that a house is not a home.

We feel a house is not a home until the artwork finds it's proper place.

And Judy has always said it's not right until the books have come out of their boxes and been placed on their shelves.

It's feeling more and more like home.

BLACK SATURDAY!

One of my faithful contributors to the Humor Bank sent me this photo last night with a note: Blackwell would be proud.

For those of you who don't know, Blackwell was my beloved and departed black cat whose photo is on the upper right of this blog.