GOIN' TO THE BARS

Lest you think evil of me, I haven't been leaving the house to visit places of purveyors of alcoholic spirits.

I can do that right here at home!

Oops.

I temporarily lost the subject.

Here are the bars I was speaking of in the title of this post.

Yes!

A pan of Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars!

Recipe courtesy FiveHeartHome's Samantha Skaggs of Fort Worth, Texas.

Rich in lemony flavor with a wonderful topping of a sugar crust.

SWMBO and I were discussing them (in between bites) and I said they could be taller if they were made in a smaller pan.

But, said she, then there would be fewer of them!

Good point.

CONFUSION

Today is May 5th, or in Spanish - cinco de mayo.

In some parts of Mexico and widely in the United States of America, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with tacos and beer.

On May 5th, 1862, a vastly outnumbered Mexican force defeated the French army in what became known as the Battle of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City.

But the war of independence from Spain is said to have begun on September 16th, 1810.

That date is considered as Mexican Independence Day and it's a much bigger celebration in Mexico.

Probably because "cinco de mayo" is easier to say then "dies y seis de septiembre" Americans hoot and holler on May 5th to celebrate what they mistakenly take to be Mexican Independence Day.

So I'll not drink a bottle of the Mexican beer Negra Modelo that rests in my refrigerator nor indulge in tacos or enchiladas today.

Instead we'll dine on Judy's wonderful bean soup and cornbread and I'll show you yet a different recent meal: a store-bought chicken pot pie alongside some steamed green beans.

Just as good.

And no, no one painted it.

It's altered to look like a watercolor through the wonders of computer wizardry.

Have a nice day!

SUNDAY UPDATE

 In response to many, many requests . . well okay, one . . here's the latest fuzzy picture of the Blue Bag in the Tree.

Zoomed in but even fuzzier.

Yes it clings to life, or some tree branches high above us all.

And so far it has defied the Weather Gods, though in the next few days they are promising thunderstorms.

Or as they tend to hedge their bets, "possible thunderstorms".

We'll see what happens if heavy rain and high winds actually do enter our area.

In the meantime, back here on earth, the Taylor Family Bakery continues to churn out edible food.

One of our latest, Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins with walnuts and coconut.

Terrific!

And our tiny Snapdragon Plant out front continues to defy all the odds and keep blooming.

That's another view of it in the header up top.

So on this fourth of May, brace yourselves . . .

FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL

I'm not sure how it started but it's become a ritual now.

Friday Night Pizza.

One of the few meals I can prepare without a recipe.

It starts with a frozen, thin crust, pepperoni pizza from the grocery store and then gets loaded with ingredients before going into the oven.

Last night as always it was extra pepperoni because Judy and I both love it.

Then a sliced leftover smoked sausage link, a chopped yellow pepper, some pared Parmesan cheese because I was out of Mozzarella, and topped with some minced fresh chives from a pot on the patio.

Normally I add a generous dash of Italian Seasoning, some Oregano, and a slash or two of Crushed Red Peppers but last night I forgot.

Here's the pie ready to go into the oven.

And here's how it looked about 15 minutes later.

It's probably not gourmet food but it's our Friday Night Ritual and we're keepin' it!

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Okay, enough of that dwelling in the past (for awhile, anyway).

It's time to get up to date in River City!

(For any youngsters out there, that's a line from a Broadway and Movie Musical called "The Music Man".  You should see it!)

I hope you all got leied yesterday.

No, no, I didn't mis-spell that.

See yesterday was Lei Day in Hawaii and if you were draped with a lei, as in a garland of Hawaiian flowers, then you were leied.

Sorry if anyone misunderstood my purely innocent meaning. 🙄

Let's see what came out of the Humor Bank/Banque this week.

All right, folks, that's all I've ........wait a minute, what are you yelling?

Oh, the Trekkies.

You want the Trekkies.

Okay, here you go.

But don't say I didn't warn you.

Now that's really the finale.

I hope you're satisfied.

AND I hope you will all finagle a ferociously fine weekend!

And always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . y'know I wonder how far this does go back . . . hmmmm . . .)

HOUSEBOATING

The past has snuck (or is it sneaked?) up on me once again.

You may remember a few weeks ago the photo of that mystery home in Guadalajara that for the longest time I couldn't quite identify.

The same guy who sent me that photo has done it again.

Not with a home but with a much younger me.

Looking somewhat terrified as I tried to pilot a houseboat on Lake Mojave, in northwestern Arizona.

That was back in the day when I was foolishly still smoking, as you may be able to see.

A group of friends had the use of the houseboat for a weekend and good times were had by all.

Even me, after I relinquished the wheel to a more experienced lake negotiator and relaxed with a buddy (actually a Budweiser beer.)

I may have looked a little admonished by the casualness of this showoff lake pilot, steering with his foot.

A sizeable quantity of alcohol was consumed by the boatload of loonies on that weekend.

I'm not sure if that had anything to do with this sweet lady being the best boat captain or not.

Good times in the 1970's when we apparently weren't quite old enough to know any better.

But it was one fun weekend!

AH YOUTH

Once one reaches a certain age one's curiousity about his past comes to the fore.

Apparently that also comes to the minds of one's friends.

At least mine.

Tommy Terrific sent me this photo the other day and after cropping it slightly and correcting the color intensity, I thought I'd show it to you.

Left to right here are the afore-mentioned Tommy Terrific, your Catalyst, and the frequently named in this blog Timmer.

Just to treat them with the respect their years have earned them their true names are Tom Cochrun, Bruce Taylor, and Tim Dietz.

Three journalists.

Tom is now retired in Central California, Tim has (finally!) retired in a suburb of Denver, and I live in Central Arizona.

Tom and I have been friends for over 55 years, Tim and I for around 50.

Baseball Steve (Steve Torbeck of Phoenix) and I have over 50 years on the calendar as friends.

I heard from all three of them on my recent birthday.

Sometimes the old friends are the best friends.