SO THERE!

 

UH-OH

 

JUST A THOUGHT

 

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Oooooohhhhh, it's getting closer.

It's only 9 days away now.

There's a tingling in the air.

(Really! The overnight lows here have been in the teens!!!)

There's a jingling in the ether.

(At least for those who haven't had their radios smashed yet!)

It's beginning to look a lot like . . . .

Well, you know.

So let's put some of that holiday cheer on the old blog, whaddaya say?

Oh, you must remember José For-Lease-iano!

Well, whatever.

Watch out for falling trees, smashed ornaments, candy crushed into the carpet and other joys of the season and have yourselves a very, merry weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Your in-laws will think you're crazy but who cares.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

THE HOLIDAY EXCESSES

 'tis the season to be jolly!

And to eat and drink like folly.

You may have noticed an upsurge in posts here about Christmas goodies.

It's a season, possibly starting with Thanksgiving and running until after the New Year has been drunk rung in.

Everywhere there are talk and photos and t.v. programs about food and drink of the most extravagant kind.

It may be my favorite time of the year!

So I am indebted to the Mirthful Monk today for providing me with a perfect meme for the occasion.

Enjoy yourselves, everyone, for who knows what the morrow shall bring!

MY STATE

 Whenever I post something about our cooler weather or snow I get the same reaction from folks far and wide along the lines of "I didn't know it ever snowed in Arizona" or "I thought Arizona was hot and dry".

Today I'm offering a short educational post.

Most people who've never been here or have only been to places like Phoenix or Tucson in the summertime have only one impression of the climate here.

It's true.

Much of the southern part of the state is in the Great Sonoran Desert where the mighty Saguaro Cactus thrives.

But as the tv commercials yell "But wait! There's more!"

In northeastern Arizona, one finds Monument Valley as the Hollywood director John Huston did a few years ago.

He used that scenic wonderland to make Western movies that turned John Wayne into a movie star.

Also near that part of the state is a big hole in the ground which gave my state it's nickname: the Grand Canyon State.

But I know you've all seen pictures of it so I won't bother to show it to you again.

Oh, oops, I guess I couldn't sneak that omission by the Canyon's press agent.

But now let me show you some other aspects of Arizona which are NOT copper-colored.

For example the Mogollon Rim, which covers many miles across the mid-section of the state.

See all those green trees?

Over to the east from there, near the border with New Mexico, are the White Mountains, a cool vacationland for Phoenix residents seeking to escape the summer heat and maybe do a little fly fishing.

There's a town over there called Snowflake.

And speaking of snow let me take you to the Flagstaff area and the San Francisco Peaks and Mount Humphreys, which tops out at nearly 13,000 feet.

So you see?

There's a wide diversity in Arizona.

Of terrain, of flora and fauna, and of climate.

I'm not getting paid for this but I'd recommend a subscription to Arizona Highways magazine if you'd like to see and learn more about my adopted state.

Actually I've lived here more than half of my life and that's a lot of years.

And hot or cold, I still love it here.

MO' SNOW

 Surprise!  We got more snow during the night.

And for those of you wondering what I was going to make with the puff pastry I finally acquired, here's the first project.

The fancy title is from the French (of course),  Raspberry Pain au Chocolat.

The English translation makes them Raspberry Chocolate Croissants.

I prefer to call mine Puff Pastry Logs with a little Raspberry and Chocolate Hazelnut (Nutella).

I had trouble rolling out the puff pastry, with adding the paltry amount of filling, with marking the sealed edges and with cutting slits in the top of each piece.

But they baked well and I figured out a way to sprinkle them with powdered sugar without it getting all over the counter, the floor and me.

And when I got the rare bite with some of the previously mentioned paltry filling, they weren't bad.

Living and learning, here at the Taylor Family (experimental) Bakery.