A WHOLE LOTTA SKY

 

The day the rain moved on to the East.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Like a good neighbor, Catalyst is here. 

Just when you'd about given up hope, right?

Well I wouldn't let you down.

It's Friday and I'm determined to erase that scowl on your face and replace it with a big, silly grin.

Let us begin.

There!

I hope I've engineered a bit of distraction from your cares and worries for the end of another week.

I have high hopes that you'll all have a wonderful weekend.

And remember: always keep laughing!

Here kitty-kitty . . .

(oh, no-o-o-o-o-h)

A BEGINNER'S LESSON

 Once again I turn the reins over to my spouse, Judy, aka She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO).

💑 💑 💑 💑 💑 💑

Having recently been ordered by a doctor to go to a gluten-free diet, I needed a new kind of cookie.

I searched the Internet for options and landed on a Martha Stewart recipe for "Oatmeal Cookies".

First you use the blender to pulverize some rolled oats to make oat flour.

Done.

Then you follow very ordinary directions for the rest of the recipe.

"Place two-Tablespoon mounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets."

Now if you think Martha is a kitchen goddess you better not read any further.

In the oven the "mounds" flattened and spread until some of the cookies joined each other on the sheet pan.

They looked like brown lace when finished.

Not at all like Martha's neat little bundles.

After handling these I decided they needed something to hold them together.

"Tomorrow is another day."

So the remaining dough went into the fridge for a rest --- for the baker!

The next morning I massaged 3 Tablespoons of gluten-free flour into the dough, placed the "mounds" onto the pan --- and baked them.

Eureka!

They are still "mounds"!

(Today's cookies on the left, yesterday's on the right)

In the "Cook's Notes" at the bottom of the recipe, Martha says ". . . these cookies are bound to be requested again and again."

I don't think so!

ANNIVERSARY

 Well, of a sort.

Today marks the 13th birthday of this blog.

I had tried blogging twice before but had given up both times.

No evidence exists of those attempts, at least as far as I know.

So Oddball Observations becomes a teenager on this day, March 2nd.

Here's the proof.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

I'm back!

Due to a vast number of (well, okay, a few) requests, I am bringing back Oddball Observations for another run at blogging. This will be the third time and I can only hope it's a charm. The next time I get bored with blogging, I will try my best not to delete my blog. I'll just put up a notice saying I'm "On Hold" until the juices start flowing again.

I think the most interesting thing from those years ago blogs was the commenters, most of whom have disappeared.

As a matter of fact, I think my pal Meggie, from down in Australia, is the only one still with me.

So, thanks Meggie, and let's see what the next act holds.

PLANNED

 

Upon first sighting the smoke, it looks pretty serious.

Especially when you know the Prescott National Forest lies in that direction.

But it turns out the folks managing the forest have planned it all along and actually set the fire.

It's what they call a prescribed burn, to rid the forest of fuel for an un-prescribed burn later on.

So we're not to worry.

Can't help feeling sorry for folks living downwind of all that smoke though.

SPRINGING AHEAD

 The mercury in my thermometer is topping out at about 45 degrees today.

And the wind is blowing, as it usually does here in Prescott Valley.

The first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere of the globe is still three weeks away, regardless of what your particular groundhog or weather prognosticator predicts.

But that hasn't stopped the blood from speeding up in SWMBO's veins.

Nor of visions of seedlings dancing through her dreams.

So she recently took delivery of a three- (or four-, depending on how you look at it) shelf garden rack.

She didn't order it from IKEA but it did arrive in a small-ish, flat carton with no instructions included.

But she comes from a family of handymen and general contractors which includes a father, a brother and a son to whom assembly instructions are what one consults when all else fails.

So she launched into it and (with my gentle observation that one of the shelves end supports was upside down) soon had it all lashed together.

There are a few pots of soil awaiting plantings.

We're thinking mostly herbs.

Parsley and basil and thyme and maybe some rosemary and sage and spicy peppers and, of course, the requisite cherry tomatoes in the barrel across the patio.

But in spite of a new law in Arizona allowing personal growing in a limited sense and recreational use of the products thereof, she hasn't mentioned her own private marijuana bush.

Yet.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 First of all let me say that I am overwhelmed by all the comments on yesterday's post.

Thank you, all.

But now it is time to put that aside and get on to the real business of the week: lightening the gloom with a dash of good humor.

So stand back and brace yourselves for this edition of The Friday Funnies!

And there you have it.

Now if it's too early to mow in your neighborhood, use all that spare time to have a wonderful weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .