Okay, so we've been baking.
Today I attempted some Thumbprint Cookies.
As I was lining up a shot, Judy snarled, "You didn't TAKE any pictures of my Pinwheel Cookies."
So I did.
They're actually Date Pecan Pinwheel Cookies.
And while neither of the batches would win any awards for beauty, I can tell you that they're all delicious.
This is the one part of The Holidays that I like.
Blast!
It's that time of year again.
I seem to remember a time when I liked December.
Many, many, many years ago.
Now I'm overcome with ennui, facing the Xmas onslaught.
I made a batch of cookies about a week ago.
SWMBO has made a batch of different cookies today.
It doesn't do anything for me.
Yesterday, or was it the day before, I found a message on my telephone answering service, noting that I hadn't blogged recently and wondering if I was okay.
I didn't even have the energy to call my inquirer back.
I emailed a brief note, indicating that all was well.
That's a lie: the weather has turned cold.
(For Arizona. High temperatures in the 50's.)
The past two days the mail delivery has revealed a few Christmas cards.
I've been saying it for years but I think this year I really mean it: I'm not going to send cards this year.
I suppose some people will be offended though I'm not sure anyone will even notice.
I read a few blogs this evening but couldn't think of anything to say in the comments so I didn't.
Perhaps the most likely response that comes to mind is a famous or infamous one: BAH! HUMBUG!
Reflecting on the state of the world this morning, I couldn't help but be reminded of a song from the 1950's: The Merry Minuet, as performed by the Kingston Trio.
You could Google it, if you're so inclined.
In the meantime, it is the end of the week and my job is to bring you this:
So we prepare once again for the furor that comes with holiday shopping but I caution you: take it easy, relax and try to have yourself a wonderful weekend.
And always remember to keep laughing!
Here, kitty-kitty . . .
(hmmm)
As the sand continues to run through the hourglass and your Catalyst grows ever older, he tends to look back more often.
At least as far back as he can remember.
Many of those memories are faded into oblivion now but some linger on.
For example, I think it was in 2000, some 21 years ago, that a party was held, a reunion of sorts, at a nightclub/restaurant in Phoenix for some of the then old crowd.
It was occasioned by a visit to the old metropolis by one Ron Talley (nee Ron Thompson) from the East Coast.
Accompanied here by his lovely wife, Joanne, and one of his daughters, I don't think he had drunk enough at this point that he needed that post he's clutching to support him but who knows.
Ron was a reporter at our television station who had gone on to fame and glory in Washington, D.C.
He's retired now in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Some others in attendance included the late Bill Stull, anchorman-reporter-and-legendary ad libber on many election nights; Al Macias, who may still be employed in "the biz"; and a young pup known far and wide to readers of this blog as Baseball Steve, Mr. Torbeck by actual name, a fine photographer and friend of more than 40 years.
Smiling right into the camera, this is the always-stunning Cheryl Parker, a reporter and anchorwoman.
(Another reunion held some years later at her house drew a huge crowd!)
Here we find the photographer/assignment editor and news director far and wide Roger (Rajah, as I call him) Ball; your beered and bearded scribe; and another who is gone too soon, reporter and chief partier Bill "Boom Boom or Boomer" Blannon.
I remember more than one party from back in the day when Boomer would show up with a bottle of tequila, margarita fixings and a blender!
And here we find my fellow traveler, Wacky Wally, surrounded by the highly amused Mr. Macias and your mugging host.
Wally Athey was a Texas transplant, a steady photographer (at least when not finishing whatever was in that glass, and a companion of Mr. Talley and myself on many trips to political events around the country.
And lastly a couple who were not from the t.v. crowd but good friends indeed, the beautiful Penny Pfaelzer and her husband Paul Dean, a newspaper writer extraordinaire.
It's good to look back, now and then, but as the ranks thin, a bit sad too.
Raise a glass to your friends, whether here or departed.
There a lot of people I don't like these days.
But let that be.
Tonight I want to show you some people I DO like.
First off, I call her "everyone's favorite redhead".
Other than being fantastic looking, she is an exemplary chef.
She is Melissa Clark, a food writer for the New York Times.
He is Jonathan Capehart, an extremely articulate columnist at the Washington Post.
She is Lisa Desjardins, a very intelligent and hard-working correspondent for the PBS News Hour.
He is David Brooks, a thoughtful writer on life for the New York Times.
He is Miguel Almaguer, an extremely hard-working correspondent for NBC News and easily the best-dressed man on television.
You, no doubt, will have other feelings about some or all of these.
You may, no WILL have others that you'd like to list.
So, let me know.
"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be"
Like Paul McCartney, I lost my mother early; mine when I was 13, his when he was 14.
The Mother Mary in the song "Let It Be" is a reference to his mother, not to the Virgin Mary.
But we all need some help from time to time getting through the dark days and nights, when, for example, a pandemic continues to threaten the lives of all of us yet misinformation or blind ignorance leads many of our fellow citizens to disregard scientific and medical advice.
Or when politics becomes ever more misguided and hostilities threaten the very democratic principles our nation has thrived on for so long.
Whom do you turn to?
I have a jolly little fellow who I've moved from atop a bookcase to a spot directly in front of me on my desk.
My little friend is there to remind me on a daily basis of my mantra which you see in my posts at least every Friday.
