DINNER

 Melissa Clark (my favorite red-head) of the New York Times is the master (mistress?) of the sheet pan dinners.

But she's got nothing on my Master Chef in Residence, Ms. Judy, aka SWMBO.

Witness:

Before

After

My plate

My salad (sliced fresh cantaloupe)

My witnesses

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

 In the United States of America this is the unofficial beginning of Summer.

So the feasting is on.

Barbecue grills with hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, corn on the cob.

Desserts of rhubarb pie, strawberries over ice cream, watermelon.

Memorial Day, on Monday, is a federal holiday, thus we get a three-day weekend.

But the original meaning was a day set aside to mourn and honor those who lost their lives while serving in the Armed Services.

Originally called Decoration Day, the graves of those warriors were marked with small flags.

My only relative that I know who died in service is buried far away.

But I was up this morning putting in a couple of hooks so we too could fly our flag.

It's out there now in front of our home, fluttering in the breeze.

As we gather on patios and in back yards and swimming pools and ball parks, let us enjoy the good food and the good friends and the good times.

But never forgetting why we have this weekend.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Some weeks you get to thinking it's just been too stressful (Judy's pacemaker replacement) or too sad (Tina Turner's death) to find any reason to laugh.

But then there was that thing on Twitter (Musk & DeSantis) the other day that lightens the load.

So Fellow Travelers, let's get on it.

It's Friday!

Y'know I always wondered what life was like up there on Starship Enterprise.

Pretty funny, I guess.

At any rate, this is bringing an end to the week and now the weekend is staring you in the face.

And it's a THREE-DAY weekend!

So brace yourselves to start grilling season.

Have yourselves a great time and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . ahh, good plan . . .)

THIRSTY THURSDAY

 Arizona is preparing for a long hot summer.

The temperature in Phoenix climbed over the 100 degree mark the other day.

And it's still May.

Where I live it's about 20 degrees cooler.

But that means the low 80's.

And it's still only May.

So watch out for July and August.

There may be some unpleasant new records set.

Meantime, it's a pleasant day here, with a brilliant blue sky and a somewhat gentle breeze in an area of the country known for its windy days.

Tina

The legendary Tina Turner has died.

She was 83.

Take a look back and remember.

NEW JUDY

 We spent the afternoon yesterday in the Cath Lab at the hospital in Prescott.

That's the Cardiac Catheterization Lab to those of you not in the know.

It's where doctors perform minimally invasive tests and advanced cardiac procedures to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease.

So explains the Google.

What it meant to us is that Judy had to have her pacemaker replaced.

The one she'd been living with for 9 years had finally lost enough battery strength to require a new one.

Here's what a pacemaker, or generator, installation looks like.

It is typically placed just under the skin with wires, or leads, running into the chambers of the heart.

In Judy's case, the leads were doing just fine so the new device was just hooked up to them.

The purpose of the "machine" is to maintain an even heart rate when something has caused the natural rhythm to falter.

Judy went in for her surgery at 4:15 and came out about an hour and a half later, feeling fine but looking a bit woozy from the anesthetic.

Some times patients are kept for observation but we were home by 7:15, only three hours after she went in to the operating room.

She did extremely well and was anxious to get home.

I told a friend of this blog who was an imminent heart surgeon that I suspected it was because she was hungry as hell, having had only water and Jello all day.

Incidentally we are a two pacemaker family.

I got my first one in 2005.

Oh, and by the way, Judy got a big laugh from her nurse when she said of her surgeon that she's often wondered why a man with his name would decide to go into medicine.

His name is Rizk, pronounced "risk"!

SOUFFLÉ

I read about a recipe for a cheese soufflé recently.

It is credited to the great chef, Jacques Pépin.

Actually it is credited to his mother, Maman Pépin.

As the story goes when she was first married, at age 17, she did not know how to cook but she knew her 22 year old husband liked cheese soufflé.

A friend supposedly told her it was simple: a white sauce (béchamel), cheese and eggs.

Since she was French, even though she did not know much about cooking, she did know how to make a white sauce.

So she made the dish.

But surprise!

She did NOT know that in a soufflé the whites of the eggs are separated from the yolks.

However, the dish puffed up, was cheesy and was a great success for many years to come.

So, I followed Jacques telling of the recipe.

He makes his with Gruyère cheese, for the nutty flavor.

I only had a little less than 4 ounces of Gruyère but added another 6 ounces of Swiss cheese.

I don't know if it made any difference but the dish was incredibly, deliciously cheesy.

That little green thing in the center of the picture is NOT a price tag.

It's a piece of minced chive.

And I received the ultimate compliment.

SWMBO said "I think this recipe is a keeper."

My tummy and my ego are both happy.