THE SALAD SPINNER

See how easy it is to prepare an artful salad?

All you need are the proper ingredients.

And, of course, someone as talented as my wife.

A CLOUDY DAY

 It looked wicked but all we got here were a few sprinkles.

Great skies though.

(Sorry for the power lines and poles.)

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Well, here it is again - Friday FunDay.

I don't know how your week has gone but at least it's gone.

So let's get onto the humor that you all come here for and that you all love each and every week, the humor that your collaborator collects from comedy characters here, there and yon; the humor that brightens a gray and dreary day and perhaps even a dark night, the humor that    . . . (oh shut up, Catalyst).

That's it, folks.

That's all there is.

And you call that humor?

Or do I?

Never mind.

Have a phenomenal weekend, y'all.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . heh, heh . . . )

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN MONACO

 I was reliving an experience by email with Phil, a friend of mine, this morning.

The event came nearly 39 years ago, in April of 1985.

Judy and I fulfilled a dream of spending a month traveling around Europe.

Le grand tour.

Now we are lovers of escargot, snails in a garlic butter sauce.

(Photo by Landon Nordeman)

And we had vowed that we would have them every time we saw them on a restaurant menu.

Lack and alas, the only time in a month of travel through country after country . . including France . . that we ever saw them was when we spent part of a day in Monaco.

We were traveling from San Remo, Italy, to Nice, France and stopped at a small bistro in Monte Carlo and ate our snails at a sidewalk table alfresco.

They were delicious!

Later, wandering around, we found the famous Casino featured in several James Bond movies.

That's me in the lower left before entering and losing a few coins in a slot machine.

As we walked the streets we found them lined with huge grandstands being built.

The Monaco Grand Prix was to be held the following month.

We also spent some time gazing at the crystalline blue waters of the harbor.

And yes the water really is that blue.

And the yachts are large, expensive and numerous.

(Sorry, no pictures of them.)

We only spent part of a day there.

We were a month early so we didn't see the race.

We didn't break the bank at the Casino.

But the snails were marvelous!

ANOTHER BIG DAY

 Yes, I know.

Today is Ash Wednesday.

And Valentine's Day.

And Basant Pachami.

Aha!

Bet you didn't know about that one!

Don't feel bad, neither did I.

It's a Hindu festival to herald the Spring.

And if you have doubts about that, let me tell you that it is 62 degrees Fahrenheit in my part of Arizona right now.

Judy said with the sun shining on our patio it's probably 70 out there.

And she just came back inside with some fresh chives that have sprouted from a potful that looked dead up until today.

But I digress.

All of those special days aside, today is an even more important day here in Arizona.

Because . . .

That's right.

It's the State of Arizona's 112th birthday today.

It officially became the 48th state in the U.S. of A. on February 14th, 1912.

So raise a glass to this (fairly) new kid today.

If you've got room after all that chocolate.

CELEBRATE!

It's Fat Tuesday!

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

(Let the good times roll.)

You might start your celebration with the traditional Hurricane (drink).

Then, maybe, indulge in a big pot of Jambalaya!

And don't forget the King Cake!

Of course if you take a dim view of all this indulgence and call the day Shrove Tuesday, right after confessing your sins and begging for absolution, you'll have to settle for pancakes.

Tomorrow (some say) is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of 40 days of Lent.

A time for fasting and giving up foods you love.

But for the rest of us tomorrow is Valentine's Day, a day to indulge in chocolate.

Lots and lots of chocolate!

SATURDAY MADNESS

 Being "cat people", we and daughter Gayle both have had for many years Cat-a-Day Calendars.

But today's chosen kitty was a shocker.

And there's only one calendar page for the entire weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.

So here's what greeted me when I changed the calendar this morning.

Now this particular breed of cat is called the Sphynx and they are naturally completely fur-less.

My wife and our daughter both hate the look of them and feel that they are eternally cold.

But I held one at a cat show one time and can confirm that they are warm, as warm as any other cat.

Nevertheless, the two members of MY tribe were comparing notes this morning and conjuring up ways to both cover the "naked" cat and keep it warm.

Judy found that her wool cap would do the trick.

Gayle, aka the Beautiful Artistic Daughter, always the artist, put scissors to work on another previously used calendar page picture she found to remedy the situation.

There!  Problem solved!

About this next item, I shall have no further comment.