WINTER'S LAST GASP?

If you look closely . . . very, very closely . . . you can see the tops of the Black Hills just outside of Prescott Valley have some traces of the storm that moved quickly through last night.

It's not like that banner picture at the top of the page.  

That was taken weeks ago when we really got some snow.

This time it was just cold enough during the early morning hours to put a light bit of frosting on the mountain tops.

But it's 50 degrees now and it should be close to or around 70 by Saturday.

So is this winter's last attempt to cow us?

Don't bet on it.

We had a pretty good storm during the night before I opened our book store back in 1996.

And that came in early March.

It's been known to snow later than that.

Still not enough to outdo the blizzard that hit my home state of North Dakota one year on my mother's birthday.

That date was June 6th.

AROUND THE WORLD

I have my friend and former colleague Robert van Klootwyk aka Bob Christie to thank for alerting me to the amazing saga of one Webb Chiles, who has spent large periods of his life sailing small boats around the world alone.

He is at it again, at the age of 75.

When I discovered him in Durban, South Africa, waiting for the winds to rise, I began to follow his journey.

He has a device called a Yellowbrick on his boat which allows anyone with access to a computer to track his progress every six hours.

After sailing from Opua, New Zealand to Durban in 2016, he laid up for awhile before heading for the open sea once more on February 10th.

After successfully rounding the southern tip of Africa he followed the coastline north for awhile before turning into the South Atlantic enroute to St. Helena Island, where Napoleon spent his final days.

I love adventurous stories and Chiles' tales of his travels fit the bill.

He has had six wives, loves a drink of Scotch and the open sea in a small boat.

If, like me, you're interested in following along, you can find his tracking map here and a blog which is updated infrequently here.

He should arrive in St. Helena, weather permitting, in another 5 to 7 days.

Keep in mind, he is 75 years old.

But as he described himself on New Year's Day, "a strong and tough old man."

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Bet you thought I'd never get here.

To tell you the truth, I'd forgotten it was Friday and all you Gentle Readers were salivating for the Friday Funnies.

So, with apologies for my tardiness, here we go.

Awwwww-RIGHT!

I have done my mirthful duty and left you all with aching sides and other people staring at you.

Puh-leeze, all of you have yourselves a merry little weekend and . . . c'mon, you know the drill . . . always keep laughing!

Now where did that cat go?

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Does anybody remember these?

My fading memory remembers these as "Dots" but I guess I was wrong.

The Almighty All-Powerful All Knowing Google doesn't remember anything called "Dots".

But to get back to these Black Crows, when I used to go to "the show"* as a youngster I would get some hot buttered popcorn and some Black Crows and after a few bites of popcorn I'd invert the box of black licorice flavored candy into the popcorn and shake it up.

I loved sweet black licorice and the combination of these and the popcorn made my day.

Any of you Gentle Readers have a memory of something you liked to eat as a kid?

* "the show" was what we called the movies at the one theatre in my small town.  I remember paying 13 cents for admission.

THE LEARNING PROCESS

Last night Judy made herself a sandwich and I asked her what it was.

She said "peanut butter, dill pickle, lettuce and mayonnaise on whole grain bread."

I responded as I always do "Ewwwwwwwww."

This time she had had enough.

She handed over half of it and ordered me to take a bite, a big bite.

Against my better judgement I did.

Today I made myself a sandwich.

Peanut butter, dill pickle, lettuce and mayonnaise on whole grain bread.

It was wonderful.

I am nearly 77 years old.

It is never too late for an old dog to learn a new trick.

And acting on SWMBO's advice after Val's comment yesterday about never having eaten asparagus and never planning to, "Val, try it.  Don't boil it.  Just saute it lightly in a tad of butter or oil, douse it with lemon juice and dig in."

As for Natalie's comment about ones bodily fluids after consuming some of the delicious green spears, SWMBO agrees but I insist that I know nothing about it.

SIDES

A couple of side dishes Chef Judy created for dinners recently.

Asparagus spears with lemon

Baby spinach, red onion and tangerine salad

THANKS, CALIFORNIA

That storm that's been hammering the West Coast of the United States has moved east into Arizona and environs.

It arrived sometime in the early morning hours.

SWMBO said the wind was blowing like crazy last night.

This morning the wind has died down, at least for the moment, but it's very wet out there.

I don't mind a rainy day now and then and the morning newspaper says the lakes around Prescott are full to capacity for the first time in a few years so that's good.

There is some danger from flooding out in the rural areas but the public has been well warned.

In the meantime, it's just a little blurry out the window of my den.

Inside it's warm and I have the Metropolitan Opera playing.

Hope your Saturday is pleasant as well.