WAY-BACK WEDNESDAY

 From time to time, I have taken the time to look back at a time in my past.

That has passed.

And I am often aghast.

Okay, I'll stop with the word games.

But anyway, I decided today was a good day to see where I was and what I was doing a few years ago.

So I turned the calendar pages back ten years ago and guess what I found?

We were preparing to make yet another move.

This time from Phoenix, where we had just spent a little less than ten months, back to Prescott Valley, where we had lived for nearly 20 years before.

We found in our ever-more-Senior years that Phoenix was just too hot and too expensive for us.

That was three moves ago.

Three in ten years and we're hoping the one that got us here was our last.

I had thought I'd turn back the calendar 20 years but I found that this blog only started in 2008, nearly 16 years ago.

But I did find an interesting if rather long post from that year and I thought I'd post it again.

After all, not all of you were with me back in that time.

LETTER FROM A FARM KID

(NOW AT Camp Lejeune NC . MARINE CORPS RECRUIT TRAINING.)

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. but I am getting so I like to sleep late.

Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water.

Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you til noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on 'route marches,' which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A 'route march' is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice but awful flat.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6' and 130 pounds and he's 6'8' and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,
Carol

BRRR!!!

 Mid-day Tuesday.

Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Temperature: 41° Fahrenheit,  5° Celsius.

WHAT???

Now that's in Phoenix or Tucson or Yuma.

But I live up here at around 5,000 feet elevation in the Central Highlands.

It gets colder here.

I said to my eye doctor the other day when the wind was howling and the temperature was about like this or colder "I did not move to Arizona for this!"

(He was born in Montreal and went to school in Toronto before moving to the U.S. of A.)

He said, "I forget, where did you move from?"

I said, "North Dakota.  About 50 miles south of your country.  Saskatchewan."

He chuckled and said "Now that's REAL Canada!"

But I know that this too shall pass.

Once again it will be balmy.

And, after all, we handle it better than the folks in the South.

MERRY MONDAY

 Remember our snowfall yesterday?

Almost all gone today as the storm moved east.

'Course it got some help from this fella.

And how does that make me feel?

But let me tell you, even though the sun is shining brightly, it's c-o-l-d out there.

30°F/-1°C at 11 o'clock as I'm writing this.

It's only supposed to top out at 34 today but tomorrow 45 so we can all go out and sunbathe.

Ha!  As if!

But there's one more thing that put a smile on my face this morning so I'll share it with you.

Have a great day!

SNOW JOB

This time the Weather Gods got it right.

Our first snowfall of this winter arrived early this morning.

It's not much, probably less than an inch so far.

But at least it made the ground white.

And it may be slippery for morning drivers.

Up the hill a ways, toward Prescott, there's a bit more of an accumulation, as you can see in this photo from an EarthCam camera.

Meanwhile, back at the International Headquarters of Oddball Observations, the Monja and the Blue Cat both look like they've been in one of those Three Stooges comedies that culminated in a cream pie fight.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 As the Laughing Horse might say "Hee-Haw, it's Friday once again."

On reading the biography the professor at Yorkshire Pudding printed in his announcement of my award, it is obvious that The Friday Funnies were the main reason behind it.

Oh, yes, he mentioned my wife (SWMBO) and my late pal, John Wayne, and my cooking adventures.

But he can't fool me.

It's The Friday Funnies that stand out to him.

And to YOU, judging by the rave comments they get each week.

So let me delay the inevitable no longer.

For the first time this year, here goes!

So that's our voyage beyond our galaxy, into a different universe, a universe of humor.

Now let's all have a universally fine weekend, even though it's only two days this week.

I know, I know, you're spoiled.

But suck it up.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . uh, oh . . . )

WINTER

 

We had snow in our forecast for yesterday evening.

This wasn't it but I just wanted you all to know that it does snow in Arizona.

This picture was taken some years ago of our back yard when we lived in StoneRidge, a development in Prescott Valley that is somewhat higher in elevation from where we now live.

The daughter, who lives in Prescott, about 10 miles to the southwest of our town, reported she did have snow about 7 o'clock last night.

We only got rain.

But I was just outside and it is c-o-l-d.

It's almost 11 in the morning and the temperature shows at 36F/2C.

And with our usual Prescott Valley breezes, it feels colder than that.

The extended forecast has snow showers predicted once again for Sunday.

We'll just see about that.

MORNING SUNSHINE

I was in my room doing what I usually do in the early morning (and the rest of the day), reading "stuff" (on my computer), working puzzles (on my computer), posting to my blog (on my computer) and writing to friends (on my computer), when my boss (SWMBO) said "Come here and bring your camera."

I asked my other boss (my computer) if it would be okay if I could leave for a minute.

It seemed to be a bit snarly but granted me permission.

When I went to the living room my wife pointed at the coffee table and ordered me to take a picture of what the morning sun she had just admitted through the front window was doing.

So I did.

The sun was brightening a bouquet of flowers I had brought her a few days before but with three newly-opened lilies.

And her beloved crystal ball, which our daughter has been pining after for years.

She has many of her own now but still yearns for this one and knows she'll get it some day.

In the meantime, it glows in our house when the morning sunshine strikes it.