ONE BIG GRASSHOPPER

As I stepped out my back door this afternoon, I spotted this invader clinging to a vertical wall.

The stucco seemed to support his sticky feet well and he allowed me to come in quite close.

The grasshopper seems like a prehistoric creature with his armor and barbs.  I contemplated him for awhile as he returned the favor.

Although he was huge for his species - about two inches tip to tip - my size dwarfed him and possibly made him nervous as I snapped photos only an inch or so from his face.  When he began to move his legs, adjusting his position, probably preparing to leap, I backed off and left him alone.  As I write these words, he is most likely devouring one of our plants.

PATRIOTIC PETUNIAS

SWMBO said "You ought to take a picture of the petunias out front.  They're red, white and blue."  She added that some days they pout and other days they bloom like crazy.  "Maybe a little water helps them," she added.

Well, yeahhhh.



RAW TALENT

This is a truly amazing display of talent.  In this video, a young girl walks up to a Karaoke machine in a store and proceeds to blow the doors down.  Check it out.

According to an Australian newspaper, the Herald Sun, the singer is a 21 year old girl from the Philippines named Zendee Rose Tenerefe. The newspaper now says she has landed a guest spot on the Ellen DeGeneres television show, thanks to this performance in a Manila shopping mall.

LOBSTER!!!

We don't often have them.  Actually I don't think it's more than once a year.  But apparently there is a huge oversupply this year.  So a local store had 5 ounce lobster tails on sale for $5.00.  SWMBO went to the store and bought four of them the other day.

Today she grilled them.  Grilling lobster is a first for her.  They were absolutely fantastic.



They were accompanied by grilled corn on the cob and a grilled mashed potato dish with sour cream, bacon and chives.  The lobster tails were swabbed with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, white pepper, salt, paprika and garlic powder.

I was only the bartender.  Here is my picture after this wonderful meal.



It appears to be a death picture.  It is not.  But if I am to die, let it be after a meal like tonight's.

GROWTH AND MORE GROWTH

We had to make a trip to Phoenix today.  It was good to see the old city though it's growing, growing, growing.

Speaking of growing, back at home the vinca is growing like . . . . vinca.



SUNFLOWERS



With our over-active monsoon season this summer, the sunflower weeds are abundant, lining the roads everywhere.  The surrounding land seems greener than I can remember.

Of course, I'm older now and my memory isn't what it used to be!

BAKING DAY

Friday was baking day at my house.  First, I (and the bread machine) made a loaf of whole wheat bread studded with Craisins (dried cranberry raisins). 

I've been experimenting with my last couple of loaves, trying to solve the problem of the top collapsing.  We're at about 5,100 feet elevation so my cookbooks gave me the idea I'd have to adjust the ingredients for high elevation baking.  The first loaf I reduced the yeast and it helped but it still wasn't right.  With this loaf I added more water in addition to the reduced yeast.  I think that pretty much made the difference.

The top is still a bit misshapen but it generally stayed high and the bread is not as dense as before.  My chief taster said she liked it a lot better.

While the bread was baking, I whipped up a batch of shortbread cookies.

They're so light in color they don't look done to me but they are.  Also, because they're so "short" (i.e., pastry with a high percentage of fat) they crumble practically at a touch.  I had difficulty with a few that I tried dipping in chocolate.

As you can see, they're not pretty enough to offer to company but they were only made for home consumption anyway.  And again, I thought they tasted good.  And my official taster (who loves shortbread cookies much more than I do) gave her stamp of approval.

A moderately successful day.

(The cookie recipe . . along with many variations . . is courtesy of Mark Bittman and last Sunday's New York Times magazine.)

TUT TUT



ST. FRANK IS PEEKING

Warning!  It's not Saint Francis.  It's Saint Frank!

Others have made this error.

Saint Frank is watching.

And thinking.

Beware Saint Frank.

BAD MITT



A HEALING FIELD OF FLAGS

Yesterday on the 11th anniversary of the September 11th disaster in New York City and Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania, a grassy area between the Prescott Valley Town Hall and the Police Department was transformed by one thousand U.S. flags.



The flags were posted to remember the people who lost their lives in America's great tragedies on September 11th, 2001.

There are tags attached to each flagpole with the names of victims of that terrible day.  I found the tag identifying a young woman from my home town.  She was the daughter of one of my schoolmates from long ago.  She was at work that day in one of the World Trade Center buildings.

It is a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives on that black day in history.



THE EYES HAVE IT



SAINT FRANK IN PARTIAL HIDING



IS IT ART?

It is said that one man's junk is another man's treasure.  But would you really want these "artworks" posing in your front yard?



The central figure appears to be some type of man clutching a rather large snake.

Next to him, staring at the confrontation, is a vicious-looking dog.

The white figure to the left seems to be an adult holding a younger person back protectively from . . . what?

It's not my kind of art but I'm sure it's a topic of conversation in the neighborhood.  Who knows?



RED RED ROSE



EVENS AND ODDS

I love our Mimosa tree.

I hate our Mimosa tree.

It's feathery foliage is beautiful, Oriental, soft.

But then it sheds and my driveway and sidewalk is full of this crap that I have to sweep up.

Yin and yang.

HAPPY LABOR DAY

One for the working man and woman.



JOHN AND IRIS

This post was prompted by one at Vinyl Stats written by an old pal, Frank.  He recently saw John Prine and Emmy Lou Harris in a concert and mentioned a song that the two dueted on.  I first heard it with Prine and Iris DeMent and since I'm a big fan of hers, that's the version I'll play here.



As I said I've long been a fan of Ms. DeMent with her unique voice.  I once emailed the producer of Austin City Limits saying I thought a show that paired her with Jimmie Dale Gilmore would be fun to see.  He agreed and thanked me for the suggestion but I don't know if they ever did it.

COMIDA

For non-Spanish speaking readers of this blog, "comida" is a main meal eaten in the afternoon.  That's what we had today at a restaurant I won't name for reasons you'll understand in time.

We shared a delicious salad.



We preceded that with a healthy martini for SWMBO and a healthy gin and tonic for me.

Then I had glazed pork belly with mashed sweet potatoes.



My companion said she didn't want to taste them but she did take a tiny bite.  She said they were fatty and greasy.

She zeroed in on a plate of fried oysters, remembering the ones we used to have at the beach in Mexico.  But, she said, unlike those and unlike the description on the menu that said they were crispy . . these were soft and greasy.  Hmmm, seems like greasy was a main complaint with her. 

At any rate she was disappointed and told the waiter.  So it goes in the world of dining out.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

By the way, comida is Spanish but the restaurant we were at was French.

RAIN

Yes, rain actually fell from the sky on us today.

STORMY DAY

A stormy day west of Prescott.

But the Granite Dells (and I) stayed dry.

JUST A LITTLE POLITICS

I have been appalled by the conduct of some of the people attending this week's Republican National Convention in Tampa. 

The two people who threw peanuts at a black female camerawoman for CNN and said "this is how we feed the animals."  They were kicked out of the building.

The dozens of people, many in the Texas delegation, who stood and chanted "USA, USA" at a delegate from Puerto Rico trying to deliver a report from the podium in her Spanish accent.  The national Republican chairman had to interrupt, gavel the rude delegates into silence and beg them to allow the woman to give her report, with respect.

And Paul Ryan's speech last night.  Even Fox News today, after fact checking, said Ryan's talk was full of blatant lies.

What have we come to?

On the other side of the political coin, there's a marvelous (for Obama supporters like myself) video on the web.  Here it is.  Take a look, even if it's just to enjoy the music.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY



MUFFINS (AGAIN)

I made these banana-blueberry muffins back on August 4th.  But I liked them so much I decided to try them again.  This time I left them in the oven about 8 minutes longer and the tops browned a bit more.

The first ones I made were delicious.  So are these.  For some reason the banana flavor comes out a bit more.  SWMBO said of the first ones that the banana seemed wasted because she couldn't taste it.  At any rate, I'll probably make them again some day.  After I lose the pounds from this batch.



Here's the recipe so you can make your own.  Let me know how they turn out.

Banana-Blueberry Muffins

1 stick butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup milk

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Heat oven at 350.

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, mix in bananas and milk.  In separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon.  Add moist to dry ingredients and mix only until batter is moist.  Carefully stir in the whole blueberries.

Spoon into greased muffin tin and bake 25 minutes.  (I added about 8 minutes to that this time to brown them more.  Altitude can have an affect on your baking.)

SUNDAY SUPPER

SWMBO began by making her trademark bruschetta and slicing and lightly toasting a French baguette.

Then to Trader Giotto's (Joe's) Lobster Ravioli.

Beautiful plump red and white packages.

Once cooked, a sauce for them was prepared.  Chopped garlic and parsley, a little olive oil, lemon juice and lots of butter.  (Thank you, Julia!)

Finally the finished product.  The cooked ravioli, drizzled with the sauce, accompanied by the bruschetta-topped baguette slices and a glass of nice white wine.


Magnifico!

SPORTS . . . AND ETC.

Oh, gawdddd! 

The Diamondbacks lost to the Padres again tonight.

The Dodgers have acquired a huge number of aces from the Red Sox.

Tiger Woods had a kind of lousy day at The Barclay's.

Maybe I'll just quit sports altogether.

But then what would that leave?

Politics!

Oh, god.

The Republicans start their convention Monday in Tampa by adjourning until Tuesday afternoon because of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac.  At least Vice-President Joe Biden called off his campaigning in Tampa during the convention.  That would have been a bit nasty.  And, as he said, the G.O.P. has enough on their plates the next week.

I still believe President Obama will win the election in November.  Maybe that's because I can't imagine a White House with Milt Romney in charge.  I don't think a country's government can be run like a business.  Especially like a cut-throat business empire the likes of which Romney ran. 

The people have to be considered.  Taken care of when they can't take care of themselves.  A Mormon should know this, judging from the special on NBC last night. 

But I just don't believe Mitt Romney has any real sense of the vast middle class in this country.  I know huge numbers of the middle class are supporting him.  But I can't imagine what they're thinking, what they're hoping for.  Romney is a millionaire, with millionaire friends.  And those people forget about the people who aren't millionaires.

I know this doesn't make a lot of sense.  But I've had some vodka tonight and basically I'm just emptying my brain.

So, forgive me.

And please vote for the Democrats in November.

And pray for the Diamondbacks, if that is your thing.

DEPRESSION

I fear my Arizona Diamondbacks season may be nearly over.  Yes, they still have nearly 40 games left to play and they are in reach of their division leaders.  But.  They seem to have lost the will.  Tonight they were thrashed by the lowly San Diego Padres, 5 to nothing. 

Earlier today it was announced that their color announcer, Mark Grace, had taken a leave of absence for personal reasons.  That came after he was busted in Scottsdale for Driving Under the Influence (of alcohol).  That was the second time in two years for Mr. Grace.  He was driving a vehicle that did not have one of those interlock devices that doesn't let you drive if your alcohol content is too high.  Supposedly that was part of his terms for his last bust a year ago.

This compounds the mystery of where is Daron Sutton?  And why?  The broadcast voice of the Diamondbacks has been missing from the microphone for over two months.  The club says he's been suspended for an unexplained reason.  Sutton early said he hadn't been suspended but needed some time to work out a personal problem.  Neither of these two explanations hold water.  Rumor is it that he was suspended because he insisted on wearing a suit and tie to broadcast numerous games and the club wanted him to wear a team polo shirt.  Is that ridiculous?

Another rumor is that Sutton is trying to negotiate a contract with a new team.  Vin Scully is very near retirement with the Dodgers and that position would tempt Sutton, whose father pitched for them for many years.  But, as we've already said - who knows?

So, the Diamondbacks stumble along.  Manager Kirk Gibson is pissed, reportedly, about his team's uneven performance.  But in this type of environment, who can tell?

There are way too many who's with this ballclub.

HELP WAS THERE!

When I posted a call for help with a printer problem earlier today . . that help arrived promptly from a reliable source.  I should have known just to email him first.  But, hell, I needed something to blog about anyway and I hate to bother him as he is busy in his new career.  Where once he was an IT professional (and you'll have to ask someone what that means because I've forgotten) . . he made an early life course correction and is now heavily engaged in the culinary industry.  I expect someday he will become a captain of industry.  But thank you, Tombo Check, for taking time from your busy day to help out an old friend.

Mr. Check

HELP!

Okay, calm down.  It's not like there's a dragon at the gate.  Or for my Republican readers (are there any???) that a hurricane is expected to strike Tampa the same day the Republican National Convention is scheduled to start there.  God's will?  (Heh-heh.)

No, my problem and need for help is much easier than that.  It's about my printer.  I have an HP Officejet 6300 All-in-One machine.  It does faxes, it makes copies, and occasionally, it prints.

You will notice, I said occasionally.  I have found through days and days of experience that each time I want to print I have to go into the software, find Printer Preferences and reset nearly every page.  It always says "Custom Printing" on the Printing Shortcuts page.  I have to change that to "General Everyday Printing".  Most of the other pages have "Type New Quickset Name Here".  I have to change that to "Default Print Settings."

Once I've made the changes, I tell the machine to print something and it usually works like a charm.  But the next time I want to print something, I have to go in and make all those changes again. 

Seems to me there ought to be a way for me to lock those changes in so I wouldn't have to change them every time.

Any wizards out there with a solution?

RANDOM CLOUDS

Just a variety of photos, most taken from our driveway.  Feel free to put your own names or dreams on them.