SATURDAY SPLENDOR

There are two ways to enter or leave the property which houses our residence.  One of them involves crossing 4 speed bumps, the other way involves crossing 13 speed bumps.  Quite obviously we prefer the first route even though the second takes one through the resort area of the property and is much more beautiful.  I took that route this morning on an errand run and discovered this splendiferous front yard display of bougainvillea.

Beautifully landscaped with the prickly pear and small barrel cactus. And no grass to mow!

The flowering plant is at its peak right now and can be seen all over the city in several colors.  The two plants in our back yard are the same color.

The tiny white flowers are overwhelmed by the brightly colored bracts.

But with the colors, which can range between magenta, purple, white, yellow, orange, pink, and red, it is a glorious addition to our desert winters.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Enjoy your weekend, y'all.

ALAS AND ALACK

In spite of much clamour and fan worship, the Arizona Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt did NOT win the National League Most Valuable Player Award today.  He WAS second but he was far behind the eventual winner, someone named Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  But he was the highest ranked Diamondback so far.  Matt Williams and Luis Gonzalez each finished third in their careers.  So it goes.

In other news, we went to Food City today and found green onions (scallions) at 3 bunches for a dollar.  Our nearest big market store sells them at about a dollar apiece.  Food City is a chain of grocery stores aimed at the Mexican community.  The announcements over the store loudspeaker are in very rapid (to my untrained ear) Spanish. The specials are Hispanic-oriented.  The selection of spices is beyond compare.  And the prices are great.  We are fortunate to have a couple of their stores nearby.

SWMBO is fixing us burgers right now as we take a break from a great movie "Ladies in Lavender", starring Judy Dench and Maggie Smith.  

This is a great Thursday night.

DAT'S A BIG BURGER

Now I like cheeseburgers.  No, I LOVE cheeseburgers, especially the kind SWMBO creates.  But this is ridiculous.

That sucker is 10 feet in diameter and weighs more than a ton (2,014 pounds).

It was created Sunday at the Black Bear Casino Resort near Carlton, Minnesota.

The big burger included 60 pounds of bacon, 40 pounds of cheese, 50 pounds of sliced onions, 50 pounds of lettuce and 40 pounds of pickles.

It took about four hours to cook and it was flipped with the use of a crane.

A Guinness Records representative was on hand to verify it as the biggest burger ever and said it tasted "really good."

POTPOURRI

A small variety today.  First, SWMBO's latest batch of macarons.

She is perfecting them.  These are chocolate sandwiches with a chocolate cream filling.

Not to make too much of a jump but the BRD is with her friend Suzy, in Santa Fe.  ROAD TRIP!

And you know how road trips wind up.  This time it was Maker's Mark Manhattans at Jinja Bar and Bistro!  Girls will be girls.

And then there's the photo I sent to my friend Scott (the bacon lover) in Dallas this morning.  

As he commented back, "just a little 'L' and 'T' and I'm ready to go!"

VETS

Here are some veterans from my family.

My uncle on my father's side, Zenas Howland Taylor.  Sergeant, U.S. Army, World War II.  He served in India and Burma, that I know of. The photo was taken in 1944.

The gravestone of my uncle on my mother's side, Conrad P. Hylland, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army.  He was a veteran of the Pacific War.  He died off Leyte Island in the Phillipines in March, 1945.

The most recent member of the family to go to war.  My grandson, Sergeant Russell Milburn, U.S. Army, Retired.  He is a veteran of Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.  He's shown with his wife, Kayla.

To these men and all of the veterans, on this Veterans Day, I thank you for your service.

A VISIT TO THE MUSEUM

One of the first things we did when we moved back to Phoenix was join the Phoenix Art Museum.  Today we took advantage of our memberships to attend a Preview Day of the new Western art exhibition.

Photography was prohibited of the displayed artworks but they didn't say I couldn't photograph the invitation they mailed me.  So I did.  

The artists displayed a wide variety of works from watercolors to acrylics to charcoal sketches to sculpture.  Here's a photo (from the invitation, again) of a work that was tagged Museum Purchase.  I assume that means it is a permanent part of the Museum's collection.

Since SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and I are both cat people, we heartily approved of this painting and the purchase.

There was one huge sculpture showing rattlesnakes writhing in a crevice of rock.  It was titled "Fracking" and was priced at $285,000! We didn't bring it home.

Outside on the patio tables and chairs were set up and free kettle corn and drinks (lemonade and iced tea) were being served while a quartet of musicians going by the name of "Ken Clemmer and the Back Porch Bandits" were entertaining.

I had to ask one of them to pose for a picture during a break because of his t-shirt.

Here's a tiny sample of their sound.

And here's a picture of just one of the many other listeners looking for a free handout.

Nice day at the Phoenix Art Museum.