CATS

"Hey there, Blue Cat, you look cold.  Why don't you come over and play with me in this warm, sunny flowerbed?"

SNOW

Winter, such a it is, has finally arrived in my part of Arizona - the Central Highlands.

We have our first snowfall today.

Granted, it's varying from big flakes falling gently to small pieces spitting through the air.

And it's too warm, so far, to allow much of the snow to stick.

But it's moisture, which is good.

So here are a couple of pictures of our mighty snowstorm.

(You may have to squint to see any actual snowflakes.)

EVENING LIGHT

 

FRIDAY NIGHT 'ZA

My Friday nights in the kitchen are spent experimenting.

The subject is a frozen pizza from the store.

Last night I went all out.

Brushed melted butter on the crust all around the edge, then sprinkled Everything Bagel spice on it.

Chopped up a red and a yellow mini-pepper and some onion and tossed them all over the surface.

Then added a lot of mini-slices of pepperoni and some small chunks of mozzarella.

Topped it all off with Italian spice mix and oregano and a tad of crushed red peppers.

Out of the oven and rested for a few minutes, then sliced it and dove in.

SWMBO, who loves pepperoni pizza, pronounced it excellent.

I have a few pieces left over to be reheated for my "breakfast" today.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

It has been a trying week, from the West Coast to the East Coast, from the Dakotas to Florida and Louisiana.

I could write about some of that but others with better skills than mine have done that and continue doing that.

So let me get your minds off of those troublesome topics, if even for just a minute or two.

Remember the value of laughter and the good it does to your sense of well-being.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'm sending out a fervent wish that you all have a fastidiously fine weekend, full of fun and frolic and feasting.

And, like I said before, always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . HERE, I said, and bring your friend . . . )

WEATHERING THE WEATHER

Here's an anecdote from my past life in the television news business.

I was working in Phoenix one winter when a national governor's meeting was being held in the Valley of the Sun.

I got a telephone call from a reporter in Buffalo, New York where winter meant WINTER!

In my chat with him he asked what the weather was like and I told him it was around 75 degrees and sunny.

He groaned and said something like "You really know how to rub it in, don't you."

I then added that the conference wasn't really going on in Phoenix but in a suburb called Paradise Valley.

He responded with a sarcastic "Oh, thanks a lot!"

Those were good times for me.

I am still in Arizona but now about 80 miles northwest of Greater Phoenix and around forty-one-hundred feet higher.

True, we are further south than Denver, Colorado but our elevation is nearly the same at around 5 thousand feet.

And it's a bright sunny day here but the temperature as I'm typing this at 11 a.m. is only 39 degrees.

And while I grew up in North Dakota, only about 50 miles from Canada, I've been gone a long time and have spent over half my life in Arizona.

My blood has thinned and I'm shivering and complaining about the cold a lot.

But unlike the other Sunshine State, Florida, we do not have 8 inches of snow on the ground!

And to my way of thinking that is a blessing!

So we struggle along here in the sunny Southwest.

I think I can get through it until Summer is back and I can complain about how blasted hot it is.

SOUTHERN SNOW

In spite of that header picture above, we have had no snow in my part of Arizona.

But the same can't be said for much of the southeastern United States.

From Texas to Florida, residents woke to find snow covering the ground.

In Arkansas, where the normal yearly snowfall is 3 to 4 inches there were reports of 10 inches from yesterday's blizzard.

Here's an Associated Press photo from Nashville, Tennessee.

Children are loving it, drivers are cursing it.

But there's hope  . . . .

In the meantime, just keep shoveling! 😄