THE HAT TRICK

Now I'm not doing this because I'm trying to urge you to send me birthday greetings but today I hit another big one.

In fact, a BIG big one.

I turned 85 years old today.

But lest you rush to inquire after my health before it's too late, be assured that I'm just fine except for a small pain in my back.

SWMBO would be the first to tell you that I've been a pain a bit lower than that for most of the years we've been together but never mind that.

What I want to talk to you about today is headgear.

It must have begun when I was a wee lad, overcome with my talent at performing tricks from a magic set I'd been given one Christmas or birthday and assisted by my mother's sewing and crafting skills, I soon became The Great Taylor, magician extraordinare.

Or maybe it was that impressive chapeau I donned for one of my first acting experiences as a Prince Charming.

When I became a bespectacled adult(?) my glasses were more likely to find themselves on the top of my head than on my eyes.

Then years later I met Judy.

She overlooked my hippie days . . .

. . . and soon fashioned a costumed hat for a Halloween party.

Once again I was a wizard!

Those early years in Phoenix found me working for Channel 12 in Phoenix and I quickly confiscated a hat.

In the next decade, a trip to Dallas, Texas for a political convention found me in a newly acquired straw Stetson.

Later, in a few years in Mexico, my hat collection expanded.

Even when (before the Diamondbacks existed) I was a Dodger fan!

Back in the States, I posed for my wife's camera in a hoped for career as a movie extra.

Apparently Texas doesn't have much film use for Greek fishermen!

Well, after a decade or two I found myself in retirement and a chance to . . . what else . . . grow my hat collection.

I don't always wear hats.

But it's not due to that Willy Nelson-esque attitude.

Believe it or not, some hats just make me grumpy.

EARTH DAY

 

Do whatever you can to save it.

EASTER DINNER

No company yesterday.

Just us.

So a simple meal for two.

Deviled Eggs.

Judy said she has to have deviled eggs for Easter.

Sauteed Green Beans.

Which I insist on calling by their French term: Haricots Verts.

Sounds fancier.

Cole Slaw.

Ham, of course.

Ham steak this time.

We don't eat lamb but we occasionally toast in the Greek manner with Opa!

Accompanied by Sweet Potato Medallions.

It made for a pretty good "simple meal for two".

p.s. And enough for leftovers today!

BRUSHWORK

Happy Easter!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona

11 a.m. Friday

Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona

10:30 a.m. Saturday

(24 hours later)

Just part of the wondrous scenery that is Arizona!

And on another note, yes Debby and all you blue bag watchers, it's still there this morning, in spite of driving rain and snow yesterday afternoon.

Neither of our "smart-" phone cameras do a good job of showing it but it's still up there, stuck in the tree.

Kinda like Charlie Brown's kite, if you read that comic strip.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Does it seem to you folks that the days are going by faster than ever or is it just me?

It seems like it was just Friday and what do you know, it's Friday again!

So that means I have to put my nose to the grindstone (whatever the heck that means) and probe through the offerings in my Humor Capsule to come up with something to make you laugh.

Yes, that's true but it really is Friday.

So open up your giggle valves and let's rev up the engines.

And always remember to read the fine print.

Now, class, now that you've enjoyed your joyful jubilation and jollity, jot down just one mind-jogger: have yourselves a great weekend!

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, yes, SWMBO could tell you about this . . . )

OUR MEXICAN PATIO

Mexican homes frequently have an inside patio open to the sky but surrounded by the walls of their house.

We had such a home for a couple of years when we lived in Guadalajara and the photo yesterday shows our friends posing in it.

They weren't the only ones to stand in that same spot.

That is the much younger She Who Must Be Obeyed and Catalyst, aka Judy and I.

There was a potted ficus tree and plants everywhere, watered sometimes by us and sometimes by a rain shower.

There was also a fountain in the center, which our cat Chulapay loved to drink from.

Chulapay (Spanglish for Cutie Pie) was an adopted Siamese, or so we thought.

Some years later I decided she was actually a Tonkinese.

Regardless of her DNA, she was an agile climber and leaper with the balance of . . well . . a cat.

She learned to scale a vine-covered trellis and jump to the upper level of the home.

That led to her disappearance for the better part of a week one time, as she could roam the rooftops and climb down into other people's living spaces.

We had searched the neighborhood, put up notices of the lost gato and asked neighbors and strangers if anyone had seen her, to no avail.

We sadly thought she was gone for good.

Until one day when she suddenly appeared, came down that trellis and nonchalantly inquired if we were going to feed her.

We suspected she got into someone's closet or shed and was unknowingly locked in. 

She never told us and was soon back to her old tricks, looking for a high spot in the room where she could survey her domain and we mere humans.

It's been many a year now that she's gone from our lives but I like to think that she's perched on the highest cloud watching everything with curiosity.

The curiosity of a cat.