IT'S DONE!

Well, the first stage.

Now comes some detail work.

Continue to . . .

. . . stay tuned!

THE SIXTH OF JUNE

Today always means something to me.

Not because of the anniversary of D-Day in World War Two.

And not because it is the anniversary of the day SWMBO and I entered Mexico on our 4+ year adventure back in 1987.

No, it's because it is the anniversary of my mother's birth back in 1904.

Hattie Loretta Hylland Taylor was born one-hundred-and-fourteen years ago.

Amazing.

She was a school teacher in a one-room schoolhouse on the North Dakota prairie when my dad found her.

As young people do they fell in love and were married.

Seems like they ought to have been happier, doesn't it?

Oh they were.

They spent their honeymoon and much of the first year of their marriage "snowed in" on a North Dakota ranch.

Later on, they posed for what I always think of as their "Bonnie and Clyde" picture.

She gave birth to me when she was approaching her 36th birthday.

And 13 years later she was gone, the victim of a brain tumor.

65 years ago but I still think of my childhood memories of her every June 6th.

39 x 2

I was waiting in a fast food restaurant yesterday and was engaged by a woman in idle conversation who said something like "I hope we're all still learning."

The subject was a (presumably) 2 year old child who was trying out his voice.

Anyway, I thought of saying to the woman "I'm 39 and I'm still learning," and then adding "Actually I'm 39 twice!"

I didn't speak those thoughts aloud but then I started doing some mental arithmetic and realized that 39 twice is exactly my age now.

I told SWMBO about it when I got home and she commented "For awhile, anyway."

Talk about puncturing one's balloon!

Anyway, back to the back "yard" projects.

You may recall that we lost a glass birdbath to a dust devil yesterday.

I was planning on putting it into the dumpster because it was beyond repair but then I thought "Hey, why not use the two largest pieces as a decorative item."

And that's what I did, with SWMBO's direction.

I rather like it.

Speaking of SWMBO, she continues to paint "her" fence.

Last night she was adding more blue, creating a sky above the green hills.

You will note that she has made a more distant mountain range above the closer hills.

The work goes on, though it is too hot during the day to paint so she does a little in the evenings when the temperatures have dropped a bit.

Stay tuned.

THE DEVIL PAYS A VISIT

Could SWMBO's muralizing have angered Mother Nature?

It may have seemed that way today when I was sitting only feet away from it at my desk by the window when a dust devil came right over the fence and through the back yard.

If you're not familiar with "dust devils", allow me to explain.

They are relatively small whirlwinds formed when hot air near the earth's surface rises quickly through cooler air above it.

They are similar to tornadoes though usually of less intensity.

They normally appear on hot, clear and sunny days over flat land.

Here's what one looks like, courtesy of Wikipedia.

So there I was, at my desk, when a dust devil came right over the famous partially-muralized fence and charged through our back yard.

A chair and several plants in pots were blown over and remember that pretty bird bath I was trying to figure out what to do with?

It has seen better days and is now headed for the scrap heap.

The fence?

It withstood the mighty blow.

And the work goes on.

. . . AND THERE'S MORE!

SWMBO has been a tad amazed by the reactions expressed here on her "little painting project".

The work continues, the view improves and her mind is shuttling through ideas for the rest of the fence mural.

But today, she's taken the day off to spend with the Sunday New York Times so I'll just show the progress to date.

As you will note, there is no whitewash on this fence (yet), possibly because when she was beginning I warned her not to pull a "Tom Sawyer" on me!

However.

In another corner of the yard there is an elevation that had a large pot with an artificial tree in it surrounded by large (and heavy) rocks.

We had placed a colored birdbath bowl we weren't using and a small monk statue up there but SWMBO had a more ambitious plan in her mind and had already tipped and rolled some of the boulders down the slope.

Fearing another fall, I then entered the act (yes, Jager, I got off my . . . er . . . duff) and began arranging them per her instructions.

It is a work in progress.

Originally, Judy had planned a yin/yang symbol out of black and white pebbles in the center of "the eye" but abandoned that idea when she was unable to find black stone at any of the building supply stores.

She had thought perhaps the colorful birdbath might go in the center but "we'll see".

As I said, it's a work in progress and you'll note that a new (and real) viney plant has been placed to grow up on the old artificial tree limbs.

So we continue, trying to make something out of a pretty barren back yard.

Stay tuned.

"WHAT IS SHE UP TO NOW?"

SWMBO never ceases to surprise me.

Nearly one year after her fall on the rear patio that resulted in a broken femur and a lengthy recovery and rehabilitation, she's back out there.

Seemingly recovered she's dabbing paint on our fence.

At some time in the future, those weather-beaten old boards will sport a mural of green hills and a bright blue sky.

And a few trees.

When she was buying the paint and explaining her project, the salesman asked if she was going to include some hot air balloons in the sky.

She laughed then.

But now she's thinking about it.

In the artistic universe that I merely cohabit, only time will tell.

Or as the great leader would say, "We'll see."

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES!

... what is so rare as a day in June . . .

The weather is near-perfect here on this first day of June.

I think it's a perfect day for . . . . . . oh, yeah . . . THE FRIDAY FUNNIES!

I'll try not to hog all the fun.

Some of you Gentle Readers may need a bit of brightening up.

And with that pungent thought from Sailor Bill, I'll call avast to this salty cruise.

Now, whether by land, sea or air, Gentle Readers, let's all travel tremulously with tittering and tintinnabulations (that one's just for you, Frank) through a terrific weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(oh, my)

IT'S A HOLIDAY!

Wow!  A 3-day weekend.  How should I spend it?

Oh, wait, I know.

The Monday Merry-Go- Round!

Barbecues, swim suits, getting together with friends and family - it's all a good thing, right?

But let's not forget what Memorial Day is all about.

The boys and girls, men and women, who bravely defended our country and lost their lives doing it.

Take a moment from all the frivolity to think about them.

Now, here kitty-kitty . . .

GOOD EATIN'

When our friends Tom and Lana visited us recently they wanted to treat us to a Sunday brunch and Judy suggested her favorite restaurant.

We warned them going in that it was a funky old place and not to be put off by it's appearance.

The building that houses the Iron Springs Cafe is an old railroad depot that was built in 1894.

It was moved to its present location in 1974 and became a restaurant.

SWMBO (Judy) and I have had brunch there several times and she and her daughter, Gayle (the BRD) have lunched there many more times.

We can all attest to the quality of their giant Bloody Mary's.

Fair warning though: they can be addictive.

The menu features Cajun and Southwestern food.

We all claim the Blackened Catfish is the best we've ever had anywhere and tops the list when it's offered.

Tom had it on our recent visit and loved it.

And he's a foodie!

But he also got a dish of their famous gumbo with andouille sausage and chicken which all four of us tasted and loved.

That was a new food experience for us and one we'll be sure to repeat.

Everyone left, as the old expression goes, "fat and sassy."

If you're lucky enough to get to Prescott, Arizona, give this famous, fun place with delicious food a try.

Here is a link to it.

COWBOY IN A STORM

I visited the Bronzesmith Fine Art Foundry and Gallery yesterday to get a look at their latest sculpture.

It's the 14-foot-tall "Cowboy in a Storm" sculpture, showing a cowboy on his horse with a hefty calf roped beneath him as the horse bucks and the cowboy's hat flies off.

The impressive work is being shown at the Courthouse Square in Prescott during the Phippen Museum's art show and sale.

Some time later it will be installed in it's permanent location in the roundabout at the entrance to the museum.

It's a fitting location as the sculpture was the last done by legendary western artist George Phippen before his death from cancer at age 50 in 1966.

Phippen was a pretty much self taught artist who created some three thousand works of art in his brief 20-year career.

He was also a co-founder and first president of the Cowboy Artists of America.

BONUS POST: I GOOFED!

Somehow in my inept way I had screwed up the comment part of my blog and a number of you kind folks didn't get your comments published.

I think I've fixed that now as I see a bunch of comments have suddenly popped up.

If your comment didn't make it, please send it again and let me know by email if there's a problem.

I'm sorry.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

To be serious for a moment, there is a Red Flag Warning for our part of Arizona for today and tomorrow due to low humidity and high winds.

That means critical fire danger so, like Sergeant Esterhaus used to say on Hill Street Blues, let's be careful out there.

But for this motoring weekend, we have a theme!

Yes, the Friday Funnies (thanks to Seattle Lori) are going to poke a little fun at one of your summer favorites - high gasoline prices!

And on that happy "note", Gentle Readers, I'll put up the stop sign on this high octane collection.

As you're "walking" around this wild and wooly weekend (3-days off, YAY!) I want you to have a wonderfully wacky time, wide-open to whimsy.

And always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .