Thursday, November 13, 2014

MOONLIGHT SON-OF-A-NATA*


Seven years of piano lessons.  (I think this is about the time I quit.)  I could read music but I hated to practice.  End result?  I could play Sentimental Journey.  Badly.  Now I can't even play that.

* I didn't coin this phrase.  The great Danish pianist and comedian Victor Borge did.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

CHILLING


Meet Mister.  One of the BRD's menagerie.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Monday, November 10, 2014

THAI-ING ONE ON!

I believe I have mentioned before that SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and the BRD (Beautiful Rich Daughter) have lunch together most Fridays.  It's a great opportunity for them to catch up on each other's week.  Unlike me, they both love Thai cuisine and this past Friday they dined* at the new Tara Thai restaurant on Cortez Street in Prescott.

(Explanation of the * above: they like to take their time at these luncheons, sipping a cocktail or glass of wine or two, eating casually, and chatting leisurely.  Often they have to tell to tell their waitress that they are there not to eat . . but to dine.  So slow down the service . . they're going to be there for awhile.)


I'm told the restaurant is beautiful, with a long reflecting pool running the length of the dining room and a large Buddha anchoring one end of it.

But.  On to the food.  The BRD dined on sweet and sour fish, which was good but a bit too sweet for her taste.  She ate it but said she wouldn't order it again.


SWMBO chose Thai Phò, the traditional Vietnamese noodle soup. But she wasn't expecting this.


Understand.  These are ladies.  With somewhat delicate appetites. And they had already shared an appetizer plate.  Suffice it to say that SWMBO brought home enough for her to have at least two more meals at her own table.  She DID say it was delicious.

So, if you like Thai food, Tara Thai comes highly recommended.

By "The Ladies Who Lunch."

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Saturday, November 8, 2014

AUTUMN: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The front yard maple tree is fully afire now, its leaves having changed from green to red.


Of course, accompanying the change of color is the tremulous nature.  The slightest breeze sends dozens of those pretty red leaves to the ground.




They will have to be picked up and put in trash bags by someone.

Meantime, in the back yard, the redbud tree that provided welcome shade to my den window and a leafy abode for birds has lost most of its foliage and is looking more and more bare and bereft.


Autumn truly is the season of change.

Friday, November 7, 2014

FRIDAY FUNNIES












And finally . . . the kitties.








Have a fun-filled weekend, folks; stay warm; thanks to all of my contributors; and keep laughing.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

THROWBACK THURSDAY: ACTING


In the 1950's, in college, playing Ejlert Lövborg in Henrik Ibsen's tragedy, Hedda Gabler.



Taking that fatal drink.


He has come to no good.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

ELECTION DAY PLUS ONE


At least, that's how I see it.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

DID YOU VOTE?


Well?  

Did you?  

Because if you didn't you won't ever have seen anything like the wrath of this "peace" dove.

Monday, November 3, 2014

So?????

I was just reading yesterday's post from Val the Victorian about her son's clothing habits.  I paused for a trip to the bathroom and caught this glimpse of myself in the mirror.  And I thought, so?????


Sunday, November 2, 2014

INTERNET DIFFICULTIES

In case you hadn't noticed, most of our lives have changed, thanks to the Internet. Here is one of my biggest gripes.


Because I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time working (playing) on my computer, some of my friends and relatives tend to ask me for help when they have problems.  My standard answer for years has been "do you have a 12-year-old in your neighborhood?"

But lately, it seems the age of computer wisdom has dropped.


So my general advice is . . always ask someone much younger for help.

Happy Sunday!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

TEXTURE

Some times it is good to slow down and take a closer look at one's surroundings.








Just as long as it doesn't "bug" you.

Friday, October 31, 2014

FRIDAY FUNNIES (Halloween Edition)

















Have a great night and a fun weekend, folks, and keep grinnin'. Thanks to all of my contributors and especially to the BRD's Jet for posing for that final photo.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

THROWBACK THURSDAY

If you live in the United States and watch television you may have caught part or all of the 14-hour series The Roosevelts on PBS.  It told the life stories of three prominent members of the family, Presidents Theodore and Franklin Delano and Franklin's wife Eleanor.  Theodore, or Teddy as he was more commonly known, had a long history with the state of North Dakota, where I grew up.  Just 60 miles from my childhood home, in the city of Minot, the largest park is known as Roosevelt Park, named in honor of Teddy.


There is a large statue of Teddy in his Rough Rider uniform and once back in the 40's or 50's, my family's camera caught me paying a visit.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

A RED MAPLE

The maple tree in our front yard is growing redder and redder as the temperatures at night go lower and lower.


More of the leaves are changing (and falling) every day.  It seems like one could stand in front of the tree and watch the red creep in.


The color offers a nice contrast to our brilliant blue sky.


If you look at this picture carefully, or perhaps blow it up by clicking on it, you'll spot a crescent of an early-rising moon up and to the right.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

I CAN'T IKEA

I've never been inside an IKEA store, the Swedish furniture giant. But when we lived in Phoenix my wife and her daughter made a visit to the big store fairly near where we lived. SWMBO said it was the most confusing place she had ever gone to shop and she had to ask an employee how to find her way out of the place.  I suppose it's good marketing, thinking that people will spot other stuff they just have to have while they're working their way through the maze.  But I know the two gals never made a second visit.  Herewith, then, is a diagram of the typical IKEA store.


Talk about rats in a maze.

On a gentler note, here's a place beloved by the thousands of children who have been dragged through one of those many arts and crafts fairs on "The Square" in Prescott on a hot summer day.


The fence that surrounds the fountain keeps youngsters and dogs out but it's low enough to allow arms to reach in and touch the water.  A blessing in Arizona.

Monday, October 27, 2014

OLD PRESCOTT AND A FAMILY NAME

Sometimes you don't appreciate what's around you, right there in plain sight. Very close to where I live, the Fitzmaurice ruins contain artifacts of the Mountain Patayan people who lived in the area some 14,000 years ago. Still the city (still called a town) has only been incorporated 36 years.  So while humans have been around here for hundreds of generations, it's a town with relatively little history.  

But just down the road a piece lies the town of Prescott, which this year is celebrating it's 150th anniversary.  1864 was when the first streets were laid out and homesites sold, even though it took almost 20 more years before they got around to incorporating.

Still there are many significant historical buildings right in downtown Prescott.  You can recognize them by the architecture and the stonework.






Not the least of these 19th Century structures is the Yavapai County Court House.



It's a grand old building that has been undergoing some badly needed renovations in the past year or so.

The Courthouse Plaza, or The Square. surrounds the building on all four sides. While it hosts many arts and crafts festivals throughout the summer months, it is also sacred ground. The flags flying honor the 19 firefighters who died in a wildfire in 2013.  


There are monuments to local citizens who served their country during many wars over the years, like this one honoring World War Two veterans and victims.


There was a familiar name among the listings.


That was my father's name.  He was Franklin Berry Taylor, known as Frank.  It's a version of my name also . . Franklin Bruce Taylor, known as Bruce, though in my senior years when I have to fill out more and more documents who demand my first and last name, I've begun to use Franklin.  It just makes life easier.

By the name, that name on the plaque is no relative of ours, at least as far as I know.

Neither is the guitar-maker's name I noticed on the front of a downtown store.


They're headquartered in El Cajon, California. Still . . I just might have to send off for one of their tee shirts.  I think I'd go for the antique-looking one.


That just would seem to fit with the theme I've been wandering around in today, wouldn't it?