T.G.I.F.

Even after all these years, even after a week of perfect idleness, even after losing my car manual, even after losing an expensive pair of sunglasses, I still love Friday nights.  I don't know exactly why.  But there are indications the weather is changing for the better.  There's a better than half possibility of rain, maybe even a thunderstorm or two this weekend.  When that happens the temperature drops even as the humidity rises.

In the news, the mayor of San Diego is finally resigning.  Syria is becoming more of a problem for Obama, with chemical weapons warfare breaking out and the opposition a hodge-podge of groups who don't agree with each other or with us.  Senator Ted "Crazy" Cruz of Texas wants to shut down the government unless he gets his way at defunding the Affordable Health Care law.

So there's really no reason to feel good right now but still . . .

So turn up the volume on your speakers, get into dancing mode and rock into Friday night with this song.

WEDNESDAY WOE

It was sprinkling here awhile ago.  I went out and stood in the back yard.  I could feel an occasional drop but there wasn't enough to get wet.  Maybe this weekend or so the weathermen are proclaiming.

My yard men are now here cutting the grass.

It's only 98 here now as it's been overcast all day.  But now the sun is coming out.

I'm bored with this long hot summer.

HEH-HEH-HEH

Don't blame me.  This is a food truck in Houston.  The picture was sent to me by a (to be kept anonymous) friend.  Thanks, Frank.

With that, I'm flyin' West.

(In my mind, anyway)

FUN WITH CATS ON THE INTERNET

O.K.  So most of you know by now that I love cats.  Well in a period of intensive scientific research web surfing while bored this afternoon, I found a few cat pictures from the web that I like.

Like this one.

Or this one.

Anyone who has ever had a Christmas tree and a kitten in the same room must be familiar with a scene like this.

There are some pictures that are sort of intellectual.

By the way, you'll notice the spelling isn't all it could be.  It's difficult for those furry little creatures to type correctly all the time.

So there's just a sample of what's available via the World Wide Web. 

But wait!  How about THIS fearsome prospect?

APPLES OF MY EYE

Stephen, of the Chubby Chatterbox, has been a great influence on me with his great story-telling and absolutely marvelous illustrations.  I've already got the story-telling down (though not as good as Stephen) so I decided to try my luck with the paintbrushes.  Here's my first attempt.

So what do you think?  

Still life with apples.  

Not too bad, is it?

I think I did well with the sheen of the fruit, and the light reflections.

Not to mention the thatch of the basket.

Stephen?

Can you give it a critique?

Oh, all right.

So I lied.

That's part of story-telling.

Here's the original, before it was dealt with in my PHOTO-editing software.

Yup, it's just a photograph.

Actually, I prefer one I took with a little less light on the subject.  It seems to bring out the deeper reds.

So, there's my "story" for today.

And apologies to Stephen, a REAL artist.

KITTY CO-EXISTENCE

For a change, the two feline members of our family were sharing the back of the couch without sparring or spitting.

SWMBO took the photos and walked around to get one face-on.

It was fairly dark in the room so a flash was called for, making the cats' eyes seem to be lit from within.  And Blackwell (in the rear here) really does have two eyes.  One of them is just hidden in this photo.

Both of the critters seem to be eyeing me in the kitchen and thinking "does this mean treats for me???"

FIRE IN THE SKY

And, without cropping, to give a sense of place.

Never fear.  It's only the setting sun reflecting from a cloud mass in the Western sky.