EYES ON THE SKY

For the last two nights in a row, SWMBO and I have been in the back yard watching the International Space Station pass over.  The first night it was for less than a minute but last night it lasted nearly three minutes.  It looks like a very high fast-moving airplane.  The space station is about 200 miles above the earth.  It takes only about 90 minutes to circle the entire globe so you can imagine it won't be visible long in any one area.

I learned a lot about the Space Station by going to this NASA web site.  For example, I learned that the station is currently being commanded by a Canadian, Chris Hadfield.  The rest of the crew includes two United States citizens and three from Russia.  The station has been in orbit for about 12 and a half years at this point.

The space station is larger than a five bedroom house and about the size of a football field.  Compact spaces but lots of room to rove around.  There are many other interesting facts in a video tour of the station conducted by a former commander, Suni Williams, accessible from the web page.

You can schedule email alerts to let you know in advance of a passing over your area.  Just click on the link for "Spot the Station".

The BRD was with us for the first night of viewing but I guess coming from the Star Trek generation it was no big deal for her.  I, on the other hand, was thrilled to watch it, especially last night as it moved across the sky and then just winked goodbye.

Oh and by the way, for those of you who may not have seen my thank you on Facebook, thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday Wednesday.  It was a great day and I am fortunate to have so many friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME . . .

Okay, I know this is the post you've all been waiting for.  Catalyst/Bruce celebrating his #%rd birthday.  Today was the day so here we go.

SWMBO and I were accompanied by the irrepressible BRD to a nice restaurant where we were seated far away from the other patrons. I don't know why.  Well, maybe I do.  It was because of the antics of the BRD.

Y' can't take her anywhere.  And if it's your birthday she insists on singing.  Badly.

She insists on applause.

Or, at least, dessert.

That red velvet cupcake in the center was supposed to be my birthday cake but she devoured most of it.  But never mind.  The lemon cake on the left and the "loaded" carrot cake on the right were equally delicious.

SWMBO, in the meantime, was ordering wine . . . a very good Pinot Noir by Mirassou.

And, in spite of what I said earlier about the BRD, we all had a very good time.

So, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, I'm only seventy-three, so happy birthday to me!  

And surrounded by much younger ladies that I love dearly!

NEPHEWS AND WIVES

As I said yesterday, two of my nephews and their wives were coming to visit.  Just a day after a four-day hiking and camping trek into the Grand Canyon.  The organizers were Amy and Barry from St. Paul, Minnesota.

Amy is an excellent and pretty competitive cross country skier.  Barry is the cook extraordinaire and planner.  They go somewhere nearly every weekend to hike, camp, fish, ski or whatever.  They're a very active couple.

They had gone into the Canyon a year ago.  This time they brought Barry's older brother, Larry and his wife Debbie, from Minot, North Dakota.

I was just talking with SWMBO and noted it was interesting that all three men in that family do a bulk of the cooking.  Barry, Larry and their younger brother, Tim, all cook very capably.

By the way, I found that Larry likes his white wine!

Barry and Amy had to catch a plane back for the snowy north.  Here's a picture Barry sent of what greeted them at home.

Larry and Deb stayed over a night.  Great to see them after way too many years.

MONDAY, MONDAY

Happy Earth Day!

Two of my nephews and their wives are enroute to our house for a visit.  Here's where they've been for a few days.

This year Deb and Larry joined Amy and Barry for a backpacking trek into the Grand Canyon.  After several days camping in the depths, they emerged at the top yesterday.  Brave and sturdy folks!

SILLY SATURDAY STUFF

Phoenix television anchor team, Lin Sue Cooney and Mark Curtis,  at Pat's Run in Tempe this morning.

Back in the day, I worked with both of these people.  What I want to know is how come Mark and I got older and grayer and plumper and Lin Sue has remained her same gorgeous self.

Maybe it's because of this.

Some other stuff I swiped from the Internets today.

And one for, like me, the gentle cat lovers among you.

RANDOMICITY

HA!  I just made up a word.  To explain, here are some random shots around my neighborhood.

If you've got really good vision or a good monitor you might have seen a sliver of moon up there.  I call it a moonlet.  (WOW!  I just made up another word!)  If not, here . . I'll blow it up for you.

Have a GREAT weekend!

KITTY WISDOM