101!

It's our birthday today.

Arizona is 101 years old today.

February 14, 1912 the Arizona Territory became the state of Arizona.  It was the 48th state admitted to the union and the last of the contiguous states.

It's a pretty good state to be in.  A lot of beauty lives here.

Not the least of that beauty is in our official state flag.

The top half of the flag has thirteen rays of alternating red and yellow, representing the original 13 states.  The copper star in the center represents the copper mining industry of Arizona.  The bottom half of the flag is the same blue as in the United States flag and represents liberty.  The actual design of the flag wasn't adopted until February 17th, 1917 by the third state legislature.  And that's your history lesson for today.

Oh and by the way, Happy Valentines Day!

WHO AM I? WHY AM I HERE?

I was recently tagged by Scott of Flight Plan to participate in this 25 question "getting to know you" exercise. Here goes:

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Stanley, North Dakota

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER SOMEONE?
Yes, my first name is Franklin, the same as my dad.  But I've always been known as Bruce, my middle name.

IF YOU HAVE ANY CHILDREN, HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE?
Five, only one of my own blood.  Curiously his name is Scott, as is one of my stepsons.

HOW MANY PETS DO YOU HAVE?
Two.  Blackwell and Muggles, both cats.

WHAT IS YOUR WORST INJURY?

I guess breaking both of my pinky fingers, years apart.  Neither were set and both have a malformed joint.

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I took seven years of piano lessons when I was a kid.  The end result was I used to be able to play Sentimental Journey, badly.  Now I can't even play that!

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO BAKE?
Probably bread.  I just got a baguette pan today and plan to try it out tomorrow.

FAVORITE FAST FOOD?
Pizza.

WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No, my days of daring stunts are long over.  I have enough trouble just walking these days.

WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Hmmm, how much trouble can I get into here?  If it's a male, probably sense of humor.  If it's a female . . .(never mind).

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
I can't remember but it's usually when I'm reading my wife something and I get to the great ending and can't get it out.

ANY CURRENT WORRIES?

Not really.

NAME 3 DRINKS THAT YOU DRINK REGULARLY.
Coffee, Diet Coke, Vodka-and-water.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?
That's a tough one because I've always been a reader.  "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut used to be a favorite.  Most anything by Hemingway.  Several by T. Coraghessan Boyle.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A PIRATE?
I would to "have been" a pirate.

FAVORITE SMELLS?
Sauteed onions, lemons, fresh baked bread.

WHY DO YOU BLOG?
I've been a writer (of sorts) all my life and this just keeps it going.  'Course now I can add pictures, videos, music.

WHAT SONG DO YOU WANT PLAYED AT YOUR FUNERAL?

We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn.  Also The Lumberjack Song by Monty Python.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My appearance.  I'm overweight by about 30 pounds. 

FAVORITE HOBBY?
Oh, just about anything connected with this damnable computer!  Also reading.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A FRIEND?

I'm sticking with what Scott said:  "Someone who can make me laugh, and who I can always trust."

NAME SOMETHING YOU'VE DONE THAT YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD.
Walked the complete base path at Chase Field in Phoenix.  I have a picture to prove it. 

ANY PET PEEVES?
Rap and hip-hop music.  "Celebrities" who are famous for being famous and who act badly.

WHAT'S THE LAST THING THAT MADE YOU LAUGH?
A nasty joke I received by email this morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The instructions say I'm now supposed to tag 10 other people and challenge them to reveal 25 things about themselves, too.   Folks, in no particular order....you're up:

Tom at  Light Breezes

Stephen at The Chubby Chatterbox

Cupcake Murphy at Odd, Good, True

Frank at Vinyl Stats

Oh, heck, I'm gonna let it go at four.  Have at it.

CAR REPAIR

I have stated several times before on this blog that the last automobile I owned that I could open the hood and perhaps fix a problem was the 1948 Chevrolet which I drove in my college days.  It was ten years old when I started.

I believe I have told you about the winter when the brakes went out. I was impoverished in those days and my college sat high on a hill above the rest of the town.  Whenever I had to go into town I would creep down a snow- and ice-covered hilly street in second gear, hoping against hope that no other traffic would be coming on the street at the bottom onto which I had to make a u-turn.  There never was and I would skid across the street backwards until my wheels struck the curb.  Then I could proceed on into town.

It went like this throughout the winter because I knew I didn't have enough money to get my brakes fixed.  And then spring came, the snow melted and for some strange reason I had some money in my pockets.  So I nervously took the car to a garage and waited for the expensive repair estimate.  Finally the mechanic came out and said something like "you're good to go.  That'll be eighty-five cents!"

"What?", I said.

"You just needed some brake fluid," he explained.

OMG!  I had spent all winter risking life and limb when all I needed was some inexpensive brake fluid!

Well, that should tell you all you need to know about my automobile repair expertise.

Until today.

We recently bought a brand new 2013 Nissan Altima car.  But over the past week or so we began to notice a rattle which seemed to be coming from the dashboard on the drivers' side.  We had less than 2,800 miles on the car and already it was falling apart!  After the latest drive by my wife she came home, steaming, and said "We've got to get that thing fixed!"

So I took it to the local Nissan dealer, whose service manager said that day was not a good day and we made an appointment for this morning.  I showed up right on time, having first removed everything from the car that might cause the rattle. A few minutes later he asked me to go for a test drive with the mechanic.  We had a tough time finding a road with bumps in it that caused the rattle but he did hear it and confirmed that I was not crazy.  Back to the dealership.  I returned to the waiting room, he took the car back into the shop.

About 15 minutes later the service manager came out with the verdict.  I braced myself for the bad news.  He said "the mechanic found the problem.  Your sun visor wasn't clipped."

"You're kidding!" I responded.

But he wasn't.

I drove home with the radio turned off, listening intently for any tiny rattle.  There weren't any.  The car drove like a dream.  Silently.  Rattle-less.

Car repair.  It's not for amateurs.

HOT - COLD

Readers of a certain age or those of you who are fans of gangsters movies of the 30's or 40's will recognize the term "the hot seat".  It's a euphemism for the electric chair which ended the life of do-badders.

Let me now introduce you to "the cold seat".

It's not a place one would readily choose to sit.  Here's a slightly bigger view.

It shows you what happens when your lazy correspondent fails to take his deck chairs into shelter when he knows . . HE KNOWS . . that the weatherman is going to bring snow.

Today, the weather was moving away from us.

As the clouds and the rain or snow move to the north and east, over the Black Hills, over Mingus Mountain, still dropping more moisture, it leaves us with blue skies and a great view in the sky.

And, one of these days, I'll take my deck chairs in.

THE SUNDAY VARIETY SHOW

First of all let me wish you all a happy new year.  No, I'm not late, this really is New Year's Day.  If you're Chinese.

And in case you're wondering, it's the year of the snake.

Now as you know, we're moving to the Phoenix area sometime soon (we hope) and I wanted to show you something wonderful.  We went desk shopping recently for a real desk instead of the door-and-computer-files I've been using for years and years.  Here's the present set-up.

Serviceable but ugly as sin.  SWMBO has hated it for years.  I have clung to it.  But then.  We found an oak desk at a thrift store, bought it and had it delivered to our garage.  It sat there for a few weeks until the weather warmed up a bit and then SWMBO went at it.  It had a couple of dents in the surface and I wanted more of a cherry look.  She filled the dents, sanded the surface, stripped it, stained it a couple or three times, she put a sealer on it and finally it is ready to go.  It's still in the garage, waiting for the movers to take it to it's new location.  But here's a preview shot of it.

I think she did a fantastic job on it and I can't wait to use it.

Now, if I can just find a back yard like this to go with it.

Thanks go to the following people for this post:  my friend Phil for alerting me to Chinese New Year, my beloved wife for making my new desk beautiful, and my friend Jerry for posting that dream-backyard-photo on Facebook.  How's that saying go . . . it takes a village . . .

SATURDAY SILLINESS

With apologies to you folks in the Northeast, here's what I found when I opened my eyes this morning.

I know, I know, it's nothing compared to the two feet or so you have in Boston but give me a break.  I live in ARIZONA!  What am I supposed to tell my friends and relatives in The Frozen North?

Well, a sight like that calls for something to lighten the mood and nothing does it better for me than the Elvis routine of the late, great Andy Kaufman.

By the way, SWMBO and I are planning a move to warmer climes soon, as I think you know.  We've been packing and packing boxes.  But cats can sense a change in their environment.  I think Blackwell was giving us a subtle message last night: don't forget me!

A SIMPLE QUESTION

What is the Internet for anyway?

Why, to bring you stuff like this:

I checked out all of these hints for home safety and personal health on Snopes and all are for real!

AMAZING, SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES:

1. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you chop.

2. Men can avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink in their bathroom.

3. For high blood pressure sufferers, simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure on your veins.  Remember, it’s important to set a timer.

4. An old fashioned spring loaded mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

5. You need only two tools in life:  WD-40 & duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40.  If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

6. If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.

And stuff like this:

And this:

See?  That's what the Internet is for!

GLOBAL WARMING?

Is it or isn't it?  You be the judge.

A NEW BEGINNING

We have begun our search for a new home in Phoenix.  Moving is one of my least favorite things to do but you'd never know it from my record.  This will be the 31st and I'm hoping the final move of my life.

We are busy packing and labeling boxes.

As is obvious, we are book lovers.  We used to run a bookstore and we have hundreds of books.  Most but not all of them are packed into boxes now.  As they become packed for the movers our bookshelves are becoming empty.

Every time we have moved, we have said "Never again!  We must stop accumulating things!"

And, of course, by the next move we are inundated with more and more "stuff".  The late George Carlin had a wonderful routine about that.

I keep saying to SWMBO "but we're packing all our stuff and we don't have any place to go yet!"

She says "shut up and pack!"

We made an exploratory trip to Phoenix this week and drove all over town checking out areas we might like to live in.  The ones we really like, of course, are too expensive for us.  We contacted a realtor or two and learned from one of them that what we want is a property management person.  We think we've found one so, as SWMBO keeps telling me, "we will find a place to live."

One thing we have discovered is that there don't seem to be a lot of classified ads for homes in the newspaper anymore.  Apparently digital media has virtually eliminated that form of advertising.  Since that is a huge portion of any newspaper's income it is not surprising to see so many newspapers stopping publishing or cutting back and going to the Internet.

I said at the beginning of this that I had moved 30 times in my life.  You might be surprised to learn that we have lived where we are now for nearly 12 years and one previous home for about the same amount of time.  That tells you one of two things - either I've had a lot of short tenures in homes or I'm very, very old.

I think the first is true.  As to the second I'm feeling older every single day.

RAINY, RAINY DAY

It's been raining all day here.  Not hard just fairly steady.  SWMBO heard this morning that Phoenix may get 3 inches out of this storm.  That's about half of its annual rainfall!

Take a look at the sky over Prescott Valley.

Dark.  Wet.  Leaves one with a sense of foreboding

KAT EDMONSON

I love singer/songwriters and I've just found a new one that has captured my heart once again.  Her name is Kat Edmonson and she has a burgeoning career.  Take a listen to her performing one of her own songs - Lucky.

Since her debut album hit the top 20 on Billboard's jazz charts, Kat found herself performing with Willy Nelson and Lyle Lovett.  Here's a great old number with Lyle on the Tonight Show.

Ms. Edmonson is a Houston girl who now makes her home in a town with a great music scene, Austin, Texas.  She has a new album

- "Way Down Low".  If you're an Austin City Limits fan you probably heard her sing the title song during her performance on the show this past Saturday night.

Enjoy and remember the name.  Kat Edmonson.  She's a winner!

RAIN ON THE ROOF

Rain in my bailiwick today.  With all the packing going on here, that means the new car has to sit outside in the cold and the wet.

I can't tell whether it's crying or snarling.

But I guess we won't be using the sun roof today!

Looks like today's Gratuitous Critter isn't happy about it either.

CALIFORNIA INFLUENCE?

Hmm, I wonder if that week we spent in California had an influence on SWMBO?  As I have noted, we are moving to Phoenix in the next month or two and yesterday she was out looking at furniture.  So what did she find to replace our small dining table and chairs?

This Mission style table and six chairs.  It also has two leaves which expands its length by another 19 inches.

I love the architecture of its style and the chairs are ultra-comfortable with backs that seem to echo the shape of a human back.

Kinda neat, isn't it?  

The construction sort of resembles the wings in today's Gratuitous Critters picture.  [Just when you thought (hoped) I'd run out of those pictures!]

ADIOS, CALIFORNIA

Okay, I've bored you all enough.  This will be my final post on California.  For a while, anyway.  We had a great vacation there and marvel at the natural beauty.

We both love the ocean and this time we got our share of days at the coast, even though it was chilly.

Here's a man on the pier (me, actually) taking photos and a person on the beach below doing the same thing.

As Tom noted when we were in Morro Bay it's hard to stop taking pictures of the same scene even when you have 55 of them at home.  

But there's always video nowadays.  Here's a view of the crashing waves on Moonstone Beach.

Along with all of those ocean shots, we were also struck by how green the hills were approaching the coast.

Elevating the camera just a bit we can see Morro Rock shrouded in fog far off in the distance and the ocean, always the ocean.

FEASTING WITH FRIENDS

When one goes to California one expects warm, sunny days.  So why did we go in mid-January when the coldest cold wave in years chilled the state?  SWMBO demonstrated one way to warm up.

You've already heard about Lana Cochrun's artistic talent.  But she has another talent:  baking bread.  Here's a fresh loaf of raisin bread just out of the oven.

This night it was a feast among friends at the Cochruns home.

One of the friends is Robert Brosseau, a concert violinist and studio musician in Los Angeles for over 20 years performing the music we hear behind many of our movies.  He's also a gourmet cook.  On this night he had brought a tarte tatin which was accompanied by an apple cheesecake SWMBO had brought from Arizona.

Robert decided to make some whipped cream for the desserts.

The desserts were good as were multiple bottles of wine.  I think the end of the evening is best expressed in this picture of our host, who looks exhausted.

The Professor

Tomorrow, as we wind down our visit to California, I'll show you some last scenic pictures.  Stay tuned!