SATURDAY

It was a bit early but the Mesa Arts Center hosted a big Day of the Dead fiesta today.

SWMBO declined to attend, given as she is to an aversion to all of the skulls and skeletons present at these events.  Plus she wanted part of a day with the kitchen to herself as she tackled her first macarons. She learned a few things but I can attest that they are delicious and seem properly both crunchy and chewy.

But back to the celebration.  In Mexico, it is a three-day celebration. On October 31st (All Hallows Eve) children make an alter to invite the spirits of dead children back for a visit.  On November 1st, all of the spirits come for a visit on All Spirits Day.  November 2nd is All Souls Day, when families of the departed go to cemeteries to decorate their ancestors' graves.  Marigolds, photos of the dead relatives, perhaps some of their favorite foods and drink are brought and it frequently develops into an hours-long picnic.

At today's early celebration, faces were painted like skulls and skeletons and many other types of skulls were everywhere.

Unlike the American Halloween the depictions of skulls and skeletons are not intended to frighten but to remember and celebrate the relatives who have gone on before us.

The Arts Center did a marvelous job of decorating it's buildings and grounds for the festival.

As at any Mexican celebration there is an abundance of color, beautiful costumes, music and dancing.

The youngest dancers gathered at the side of the stage to watch their mentors.

Here are a couple of videos of what they saw and heard.

As I turned to go, I was struck by the look of intense concentration on the face of this nina. 

 She seemed lost in a world of dreams as she watched the adults dancing, thinking perhaps of the day when she would be an adult and . . like them . . still dancing and bringing joy to the rest of us.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Curiously enough, all of my Friday Funnies this week come from "someecards".  I think the first one is my favorite.

This next one may not be so funny but I found it worth using anyway.

And finally, one that's always good.

Have a good weekend!

THE CIA BLONDE

I stopped by the main Phoenix library today to hear a talk by Valerie Plame, who has a new book out, called "Blowback".  In case you've forgotten, Plame is the former covert CIA agent whose cover was blown by several people in Washington after her husband, Joe Wilson, contradicted claims by the Bush administration that Iraq was trying to buy material for nuclear weapons.  Plame today talked about the background of the case and described the civil suit she and her husband filed that was eventually dismissed.

She is a very intelligent lady who has begun a second career writing mystery novels from her new home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  She drew a fairly large turnout of respectful people today, as judged by the questions she was asked.  I only regret that the close-up picture I took of her was so blurry.  SWMBO said it must have been because I was trembling at being so close to this beautiful woman.

Update:  I just figured out why that picture is blurry.  The batteries in my camera were on their last legs.  I've replaced them.  Now, where's Valerie?

GERTRUDE'S, CACTI AND MONARCHS

So alright, already.  I had a routine doctor's appointment today and after it, SWMBO and I headed for the Desert Botanical Garden in Papago Park in Phoenix.  First stop was Gertrude's, a first class restaurant which opened this year on the grounds of the park.  It's named after Gertrude Divine Webster who founded DBG back in 1939. The restaurant has been getting raves and even though we were just lunching we soon found out why.  

SWMBO had the Sonoran Dog, a bacon wrapped Schreiner's beef hot dog, topped with avocado, tepary beans, Cotija, and tomatillo relish on a poppy seed bun.  (In keeping with his locavore style, Chef Stephen Eldredge uses tepary beans, which have been grown in the Southwestern United States and Mexico by native people since pre-Columbian times.)

As for me, I was drawn to the "3 Napkin Smoked Sow".  It was smoked pork and Arizona Cheese Company jack accompanied by cilantro, pickled apple and pickled onion on a ciabatta bun.  A red chile jus was there for dipping and, as Emeril might say, "to kick it up a notch."

Both sandwiches were delicious but the triple fried potatoes with sea salt were the stars of the show.  Yum!

So, bellies full, it was on to walk some of it off.  The Desert Botanical Garden is a wonderland of cacti (or cactuses, if you must) and native plants.  It is mysterious and spectacular, no lie.

The ones just above are said to be endemic to Argentina and reminded me of nothing more than a nest of rattlesnakes, I'm sorry to say.  Fascinating, though.

Then it was on to a special exhibit that had brought us here today: the Mariposa Monarca butterfly exhibit.  Here's a short video I shot.

And to give you a better look, here's a photo of one of the Monarch butterflies.  They were brought over from California and will live the rest of their brief lives in this exhibit space.

The native monarchs winter in the state of Michoacan in Mexico and migrate north as far as Canada.

On our way out of the park today, I spotted one of my favorite cacti.

Looks soft and fluffy like a bunch of rolled socks but I wouldn't want to get too close to those prickly spines.

SWMBO spotted what she called a Pregnant Barrel Cactus.

See?  I'm not the only one in the family who makes oddball observations!

MINDLESSNESS

I'm sorry.  

I can't think of anything worthwhile to blog about these days.  

It's temporary.  

I hope.

So.

Be patient with me.

Or maybe just ignore me.

I'll be back.

Some day.

YES IT IS. FRIDAY AGAIN.

Poor doggie!

This next one is from cartoonist Gary Varvel of the Indianapolis Star.

Interesting comment on the week's news, eh?

You might take this next one as a similar comment, if you like.

And finally, turn up your sound for this next one.  It's pretty darn remarkable.  The crew on board the Bourbon Peridot off the coast of Equatorial Guinea in West Africa takes their turn at lip-synching "Africa" by Toto.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

CORRECTION TO AN EARLIER POST

Awhile back when writing about my o-o-o-l-d friend, Karl Kindberg, I made a couple of errors, he was prompt to inform me yesterday.  First of all, he has NOT had two hip replacements and one knee replacement.  He has had ONE hip replacement and TWO knee replacements.  Second of all, when he was a cast member on the Ozzie and Harriet Show his name was not "Biff", as I stated.  It was "Dink", he told me.  Now if those were the two choices, I think I'd let history believe it was Biff.  But that's his affair.

I don't think I made any other errors but I'm sure "da guys" will let me know if I did.

Let's see, what other trouble can I get into.  Oh, yeah.

By the way, the Houston Chronicle in an editorial today, apologized for endorsing Cruz for the Senate a year ago.

Meantime in the baseball playoffs the National League teams St. Louis and Los Angeles will return to St. Louis for the final one or two games. The Cardinals lead the best of seven series 3 games to 2.  They won both games one and two on their home field.

I hope the rest of your week is pleasant.