A STRANGE CLOUD . . . AND CROSSING ABBEY ROAD

I had missed photographing the amazing clouds in the sky on Friday but noticing the sky late Saturday I ducked out with my camera. Here is what I found.

To the east from my location, this strange flat-bottomed cloud was hovering in an otherwise blue sky.  And down at one end it appeared to be dumping a hearty rain shower on the land.  (By the way, if you click on the photos they become larger for even better viewing.)

Now, then, there's a fabulous post by Sharon today on her blog Sharon's Sojourns about the famous Abbey Road street crossing. I loved it and it prompted me to seek out the webcam she mentions. You can find it here.  It's on a very busy street but every one who comes by has to walk across for photos or just to say they've done it.

FRIDAY FUN

I had to drive into Prescott yesterday and decided to have some fun. After the purpose of my errand my first stop was the Prescott Center for the Arts to see their current exhibit, Primary Colors.  I enjoyed it very much.  I was the sole person in the small gallery which gave me time to study each artwork.  Many fine photograpic images, as well as other artwork.  I came away convinced that there is much talent in the area and I encourage everyone in the area to go see the exhibit.

Then it was on to the Peregrine bookstore, which is run by an old friend of mine, Tom Broderson.  Tom was one of the proprietors of the Satisfied Mind bookstore, now gone, and was one of the original founders of Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe.  All three of these are very fine shops for the book and magazine lover.  As usual, I dropped a few dollars, picking up a copy of Lapham's Quarterly and a new book of photographs by the great Annie Leibovitz.  It is good to have a fabulous bookstore within easy reach but not close enough to tempt me more often.

I paid a visit to the new Bird Cage Saloon on Whiskey Row in downtown Prescott.  The original bar was destroyed by fire a couple of years ago and the new location is just a couple of doors south.  It's larger than the old "Cage", slick and smooth and the restrooms are a vast improvement as well.  One of the owners, Deb Stamm, told me to check them out.  I visited for awhile with Deb and then headed out again.

When I came out it was cold with a bit of rain in the air and a gusty wind blowing.  I decided I needed something hot (and alcoholic) and headed for the long bar at Murphy's for one of their fine Irish Coffees. My timing was perfect as snow grains were pelting down as I got out of my car. But the drink was warm and tasty and I had a long conversation with a fellow on the next stool, Jim, an expatriate Chicagoan who now lives in Prescott.  He picked Seattle to win the Super Bowl.  I'm for Denver but we still had a congenial chat.

Braced for the weather, I now ventured toward home but had to stop off at Trader Joe's to pick up a few food and wine items for the big day tomorrow.  

A stop to renew my membership at my neighborhood Sam's Club and one final stop at a supermarket for bread and I headed home.

'Twas a day well spent and well enjoyed.  Today I'm home alone as SWMBO and the BRD are enjoying their weekly lunch date - this week at Macayo's.  

Darn, now I'm getting hungry.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

When your move is complete and the weather is nice what do you do? Oh, just horse around.

A friend of mine, Peripatetic Phil, is off to Texas today and then onto a cruise ship for a tour of Mexico, Belize and Honduras.  I sent him this card.

Speaking of traveling, some people seem to get more out of their foreign visits than others.

Others are surprised by a friendly greeting from the local wildlife.

Progress check: are you howling with laughter yet?

I was just thinking how things have changed over my lifetime.

Women might tell you that some things never change.

But if you look at executive offices in major companies today you'd say that's not true anymore.

The pay differences between men and women, however, have not changed that much.  So you can appreciate this editorial cartoon by the Arizona Republic's Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Benson.

Well, I'm getting too serious for the Friday Funnies.  So just let me leave you with this thought on the Big Weekend.

Have a happy weekend, folks, and may the best team win!

CULVER'S AND COOLER WEATHER

SWMBO and I visited one of Prescott Valley's newer restaurants today for lunch.  Culver's, which is part of a chain of fast food restaurants which originated in Wisconsin, just opened Monday.  I had read on their website that the place should be avoided at lunchtime as it is very crowded.  We went at about 2 o'clock and it was still jammed.  But we got in, waited in line for maybe 10 minutes, placed our orders and had our sandwiches delivered to our table in a prompt and reasonable manner.  It is obvious the employees are trying very hard to please and we were pleased with their service and our food.  SWMBO was surprised to find a pork tenderloin sandwich on the menu.  It was something she remembered from her teen years in Indiana.  The big chunk of meat stuck out from all sides of the bun, just as it did at Northwood, a place that one had to go to for the purpose of seeing just who was dating who, as well as the food.  She said today's sandwich compared favorably with those of her youth.  I had a simple Bacon Deluxe Butterburger.  I don't think either of us will need dinner (or as they say in Wisconsin, supper) tonight.

It's turned a teensy bit cooler today and the skies have been overcast all day.  It "looks like rain" and the forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of it tomorrow.  Of course as I have learned over the years, that also means a 50 percent chance it won't rain.  But then there's that changing weather pattern as a result of Global Warming . . .

Just a little tease for tomorrow's Friday Funnies!

SUNNY ARIZONA - PARALYZED ATLANTA

The sun is continuing to shine, though through thinly partly cloudy skies. I think I shot this picture yesterday.

But it is supposed to be overcast tomorrow. Friday a 40 percent chance of rain is forecast as the temperature plummets to 55 degrees. I'd like to see the rain.

Atlanta, Georgia, meanwhile, is in gridlock after an unusual snowstorm brought two inches of snow yesterday.  TWO INCHES! When I lived in North Dakota we'd call that a snow SHOWER! People might drive a little bit slower but nothing else would change.

TWO INCHES of snow.  Sheesh!  Of course they did get ice after the snow.  So the pictures on television this morning were of hundreds of cars and semi-trucks totally stopped on the freeways. People, the news pundits say, have been TRAPPED in their CARS for 24 hours and longer because no one can move.  

A Home Depot store put up dozens of others who couldn't leave because of the STORM!

The National Guard is patrolling the highways, handing out bottled water and Meals Ready to Eat to the poor folks TRAPPED in their cars.

The news media is after the scalps of the Governor, the Mayor, the Police Chief, the head of street maintenance.  Anyone in fact who let this TRAGEDY occur.

I moved to Arizona to escape all the snow and cold weather.  But then I moved to a higher elevation in the state and we occasionally have snowstorms here.  But even with 4, 5, 6 inches of snow on the ground, people just keep going or they stay home.

May my guardian angels protect me from ever going to Atlanta in the wintertime.

SO LONG, PETE

Pete Seeger has died.

To some of us, this is the passing of an age.  Here's an excerpt from his obituary in the New York Times.

Mr. Seeger’s career carried him from singing at labor rallies to the Top 10 to college auditoriums to folk festivals, and from a conviction for contempt of Congress (after defying the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s) to performing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at an inaugural concert for Barack Obama.

That's quite a career.  I saw him perform with Arlo Guthrie - as he often did - once at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix.  He celebrated folk music.  He was one of the good guys.  Rest in peace, Pete.

WHETHER IT'S HOT OR WHETHER IT'S COLD . . .

You've all heard about it.  Maybe lived in it.  Two-thirds of the nation is freezing.  Actually colder than freezing.  Snow and ice cover the streets and the land.

But not here.

Sad as I am to report this to you shivvering citizens, here in Arizona the sun continues, day after day, to shine.

The temperature rises, day after day, to the 60's.  Our streets are free and clear of snow and ice.

As we were returning from a restaurant breakfast this morning we saw a man hiking alongside the road in a t-shirt.  "Shirtsleeve weather," SWMBO commented smugly.

Even the distant mountains, topping off at near 8,000 feet at their highest points, are free of snow.

Now before my smarmy attitude about our wonderful weather becomes too much for you, let me add that we are in the midst of a drought.  We could use rain.  Lots of it.

But you folks in the Midwest and the East and even the Southeast can keep your snow and ice.

We like it this way just fine.