WINTER

 

We had snow in our forecast for yesterday evening.

This wasn't it but I just wanted you all to know that it does snow in Arizona.

This picture was taken some years ago of our back yard when we lived in StoneRidge, a development in Prescott Valley that is somewhat higher in elevation from where we now live.

The daughter, who lives in Prescott, about 10 miles to the southwest of our town, reported she did have snow about 7 o'clock last night.

We only got rain.

But I was just outside and it is c-o-l-d.

It's almost 11 in the morning and the temperature shows at 36F/2C.

And with our usual Prescott Valley breezes, it feels colder than that.

The extended forecast has snow showers predicted once again for Sunday.

We'll just see about that.

MORNING SUNSHINE

I was in my room doing what I usually do in the early morning (and the rest of the day), reading "stuff" (on my computer), working puzzles (on my computer), posting to my blog (on my computer) and writing to friends (on my computer), when my boss (SWMBO) said "Come here and bring your camera."

I asked my other boss (my computer) if it would be okay if I could leave for a minute.

It seemed to be a bit snarly but granted me permission.

When I went to the living room my wife pointed at the coffee table and ordered me to take a picture of what the morning sun she had just admitted through the front window was doing.

So I did.

The sun was brightening a bouquet of flowers I had brought her a few days before but with three newly-opened lilies.

And her beloved crystal ball, which our daughter has been pining after for years.

She has many of her own now but still yearns for this one and knows she'll get it some day.

In the meantime, it glows in our house when the morning sunshine strikes it.

HIGH IN THE SKY

 I was sharing some pictures of a trip to Seattle far back in my past with a Washington-based friend yesterday and ran across this one from our visit to the famous Space Needle.

We were across an aisle from a window and when the people sitting at this table noticed I was trying to get a picture they graciously leaned back so as to be out of the frame.

I like the result with the drinks and the light on their table in contrast to the amazing skyline of Seattle.

When I asked Judy to remind me of something from that trip she said she thought that was also the last time we flew in an airplane.

2006 - almost a lifetime in the past.

A FRESH START

So it's 2024 and the turning of the calendar page had a special meaning for me.

I was honored with an award as the Best Senior American Blogger in the Laughing Horse Awards competition.

This is no small honor.

You can read about it here.

Thank you to Yorkshire Pudding and everyone else involved with the awards.

It's great to be recognized.

While all that was going on, Judy and I spent New Year's Eve with a baked brie, sliced pears and apples, grapes and a tad of beef summer sausage.

Oh, and a bottle of prosecco.

There were a few explosive fireworks in the neighborhood but we were long in bed by then and skipped the celebration.

2024 promises to be an exciting year as my country staggers its way toward another presidential election in November.

After the last one who knows what this season will bring.

Happy New Year everyone!

YEAR'S END

I've just checked and this is my 282nd post of the year.

So I have posted 77 percent of the 365 days.

Actually that's not entirely true because on some days there were two posts.

But 77 percent is not a terrible grade.

I'll take it.

Continuing with numbers for just a bit to get this odd convergence out of the way.

Today being the final day of the year can be written this way:

123123

As in December 31st, 2023 (or just 23).

That may not mean much to you but numbers freaks love it.

And I've heard that couples are flocking to wedding chapels in Las Vegas to get married today.

As we approach our 53rd wedding anniversary (in April) and add another number to our octogenarian ages, I find that much of the year was spent dealing with medical issues.

We both got new eyeglasses this year and Judy got a new Pacemaker and a new knee.

And by the way she's feeling better nearly every day.

She told me yesterday that she's about to start driving again!

On a brighter note, we went with her daughter Gayle to Scottsdale earlier in the year to an annual art show.

We had a visit from a grandson and his wife and their two daughters: our great-granddaughters!!

That was our first time meeting the great-grands and we found them to be lovely.

(Gadfrey! We're getting old!)

Speaking of which, Gayle had another birthday this year but that's all I'll say about that.

Against our better judgement we adopted a little 7 year old black cat in April.

Sweetie-Pie has taken over our home and changed our lives.

I went to The Pie Place, aka the Rock Springs Cafe, a couple of times during the year for reunion visits with colleagues from years gone by.

Tim Dietz (Timmer) was in Phoenix from Colorado for a football game and came to one of them. That's him with the white cap.

I did a lot of baking and cooking this year but find, even with all the goodies I've lost another 8 pounds.

Since I began keeping track of my weight in 2015 I find I've lost an even 60 pounds and now seem to be holding steady.

I've had to get some new clothes though as my "fat clothes" don't fit me anymore!

Our Arizona Diamondbacks surprised the baseball world by making it to the World Series but lost in 5 games to Texas.

Still, a very bright year for them.

My only sibling, my brother Wayne, turned 90 at the end of July but died in November so I'm the last in our family now.

Judy has read a ton of books from the library this year.

I waded through Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens recently but spend more time with my cookbooks.

The end of this year finds us relatively healthy with our increasingly bionic bodies.

Let's see what 2024 brings!

REVEALING AN ELF

Regular readers of this blog (don't you have anything better to do?) will know that the Friday Funnies are a collaboration between myself and a group I've given silly names.

Of late I've been referring to them in toto as the Humor Elves.

They send me all of those cartoons, memes and wit, along with some that are deemed NSFW (Not Safe For Work) or for general propagation on this site.

But today is a special day for one of those elves, my longtime friend Wacky Wally.

I hasten to add that this was a photo taken a year or two ago when he was enjoying his retirement enough to grow a beard and I demanded a picture.

He was obviously in a wacky mood that day.

But he has thought better of it since then and returned to his more dignified public persona.

He has become a regular member of  "The Old Gang" that gathers from time to time at The Pie Place, aka the Rock Springs Cafe, where this photo was taken.

You're probably wondering why I've chosen today to reveal his identity.

It's because it's his birthday!

So join me in wishing him a wonderful time as he marks another circle around the sun.

And a bit of history.

Wally and I met each other a long time ago, when we both worked for Channel 12 television in Phoenix.

That's videographer Wally on the left and field producer me on the right, flanking reporter Ron Talley and anchorwoman Linda Alvarez.

We were on top of a rooftop in Washington, D.C. preparing for a satellite transmission back to Phoenix on the latest in the nomination hearing of the late Sandra Day O'Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

There's been a lot of water over the dam since those days.

But hey . . .  Happy Birthday, Wally!

And thanks for all of your help in creating a Fun Friday every week.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Here it is . . Sunday again.

Is this my Groundhog Day week?

I'm just kidding - I know it's really Friday.

And Friday is when we and the Humor Elves here at Oddball Observations kid around a bit.

(Like we don't most of the time, right?)

So, with the oft-quoted expression "Laughter is the Best Medicine", let's go to the doctor and see what has been prescribed.

'Tis all, folks.

Even I, your loyal leader, can only laugh so much.

Especially in a week where I've been stuffing myself with food and drink.

Could be explosively dangerous.

But you are hereby granted permission to do whatever you like on this week of Sundays but please have a very good, long and safe weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . HEY! Get DOWN from there! . . )

IS IT SUNDAY?

 I normally rise in the morning when darkness is still cloaking the land.

That's mainly because of Sweetie-Pie, our blasted cat.

She jumps up on my bed and purrs loudly in my ear.

"I'm hungry.  Feed me!", she demands.

And she is very persistent so I've just learned to get up and fix her bowl of food and change her water.

Sometimes I go back to bed and some more sleep.

But lately I've been retiring for the night around 8 p.m. (the time I used to head out on the town for a night of alcohol-fueled ribaldry) so by 4 the next morning, if I've had a decent night, I'm ready to rise.

So then I get a cup of coffee, weigh myself, make my bed and dress for the day.

And sit down at my computer desk, aka the International Headquarters of Oddball Observations.

This morning I stumbled across a recipe and when Judy woke (hours and hours later!!) I asked her if we had any apples.

When she answered in the affirmative I told her I was going to make breakfast for the two of us.

About an hour later I served it up.

Fresh from the oven, my take on a German Apple Pancake, aka a Dutch Baby.

Suffice it to say, it was delicious and a big hit.

As confirmed by a note on the recipe that it serves 3 to 4 but we two scavengers finished the entire thing.

If you want to make one this link should take you to the instructions.

Now there's only one problem.

We normally breakfast sparingly through the week and save the  occasional feasting for Sunday mornings.

I said to Judy as we were finishing our scarfing, this really is only Thursday but now it feels like Sunday. 

So now what am I gonna do?

ORANGE YOU GLAD?

When I was a young man growing up in cold and snowy North Dakota I learned the value of a nice warm sweatshirt.

(For you residents of the UK, think "jumper".)

Even the governor wore one on a Saturday morning run with his staff and members of the press.

(Governor Bill Guy is the tall fellow on the right in glasses.  I'm the lad in dark on the left, apparently dreaming of going back to bed.)

They were cheap.

They were rugged.

They lasted forever.

And most important of all, they were warm.

So as I have reached the senescence of my long and not-so-well-lived life and the temperature has dipped into the 50 degree range . . .

(Again for you residents of not only the UK but the entire world outside of the U.S. of A., think Fahrenheit.  Celsius puts it in the 10 degree range and now I'm really shivvering.)

. . . I went looking in the retail outlets for sweatshirts.

Lo and behold, I found one.

Bright red it is and, with it's fleecy composition, as warm as I remember from the Good Old Days.

But I only got one and while I am extremely careful in the kitchen and at the dining table (he lied) it would accumulate spots from time to time.

I dreamed of getting one or two more and today I went back to the same store and did just that.

Now, SWMBO has qualms about me shopping alone for additions to my wardrobe.

And when I came home and modeled my latest purchase, she shuddered noticeably and covered her eyes.

Now I ask you: is this too much?

She seemed to think it was a tad (or a truckload) too bright.

But I assured her it would protect me when I go out to the street to pick up the mail from our mailbox.

And frankly, I love it.

(To be honest: I got one other in a subdued dark grey.)

By the way, when I was looking for that first picture above I found one other of me in a sweatshirt, albeit a short-sleeved one worn for summer.

It shows me exhibiting my style sense at the end of our obviously exhausting weeklong migration from Indiana to Arizona in 1972.

It was just past July 4th and I was still dressed for the patriotic fervor.

A NEW BEGINNING

The Christmas Holiday is finally over, though some places are still closed today.

Perhaps to recover from hangovers?

As noted above, it feels like a new beginning to me.

I know those feelings are not supposed to set in until January First or Second but it has come early to me.

We had a very quiet Christmas Day, just the two of us here.

The indomitable SWMBO was in full battle mode in the kitchen much of the day, producing a delicious dinner of baked ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, warm dinner rolls.

And she moaned because she hadn't provided a green vegetable to go with all of that food.

Lordy!

Every year after one of these feasts, she declares that will be the last holiday meal she prepares.

"It just doesn't make sense to go to all that trouble when it's just the two of us!", she says.

But then the next holiday rolls around and away she goes again.

We had a visit from the BAD and a companion on Christmas Eve in the afternoon.

Drinks and finger foods were consumed.

And then the BAD lived up to her acronym by producing these two "gifts".

Treachery!

I had warned her the last time not to ever bring another jigsaw puzzle into our house!

But had she listened?

Apparently so because as I ranted and raved at this malicious act, she just sat there and LAUGHED at me!

Two puzzles!

One of them has 500 pieces, the other ONE THOUSAND!

She's trying to drive me mad, I tell you.

Oh well, eventually I shall relent and we will get them out and solve them.

We may be even more doddering when that trial is over but we shall solve the bloody things.

So, (pant, pant), how was your Christmas?

A HOLIDAY DRINKING SONG

I tasted wassail once, in my younger days.

Wretched stuff!

CHRISTMAS DAY

 To one and to all

a very Merry Christmas!

vigilia di Natale - THE COUNT IS OVER!

 Hark!

Did I just hear the tintinnabulation of tiny sleigh bells?

For sure, many places in the world heard them.

It is (finally) Christmas Eve.

I bet you thought this asinine countdown/countup of mine would never end.

But it has and I thank you all for your patience, your comments, your friendship and your good humor/humour through the preceding year and, in fact, years.

So, let the merrymaking begin in earnest.

Happy Christmas and Best Wishes to celebrants of all those other holidays at this time of year!

SANTA DAY - PARTE UNDICI

 Today is Part Eleven of my imbecilic Marking off of the Days until Christmas.

Intelligent readers of this blog (and I know you ALL are) will note that there are only two more days until the fat old man in the red and white suit deposits packages of swag under holiday trees all over the world.

I wonder how he does that.

Those reindeer must be really fast.

At any rate, this is the final Saturday Shopping Splurge Cycle before the big event.

Also known as The Day Men Finally Break Down and Shop!

So don't let me hold you from the Centers of Commerce.

Make like those reindeer and hurry!

APPROACHING - PARTE DECIMA - THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 It's the tenth day of this ill-thought-out March Toward Christmas.

I don't know about you but I'm getting more than a little sick of it.

But here at the International Headquarters of Oddball Observations, I throw myself (and my co-conspirators contributors) into the fray.

Hmm, I wonder what "fray" means.

Oh well, whatever it means, here are your end-of-the-week enterainments.

I hope you were delighted with this silly string of sidesplitting slapstick.

And I hope that you will have a sensibly insane weekend.

Remember, Santa is coming.

Oh, and always, always, always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . or is it kitties . . . )

NEARING - PARTE NOVE

 You may notice that I am no longer using the word "countdown" in my derisory "Countdown to Christmas" . . .

Oh drat, there I did it again.

Oh well, call it a "countdown" or, what it actually is, a "count-up" and I'll just stand on the sidelines and watch the fun.

Because fun, you see, is what this is all about.

Or removing the first comma makes that sentence even more meaningful.

Because "fun you see" is really what this is about.

And now that I've nattered for way too long, here it is.

DA DUM, DA DUM - PARTE OTTO

In our continuing program of Education for the Elderly it has been pointed out to me that a "countdown" means that the numbers are reduced each day.

i.e. (id est, for you Latin lovers) 5-4-3-2-1.

Whereas while I have been referring to my absurd ticking off the days until Christmas arrives as a "countdown", I actually have been increasing the number of days left each day.

So what I have been doing is NOT a "countdown".

It is, in reality, a "count-up".

I shall not identify the pedantic chap who pointed this out to me to save him from being slurred, threatened and perhaps stoned in public.

And besides, I should get points for doing my "count" in Italian.

Ergo, we shall point out that today is Day Eight in my CountUp to Christmas and here's your daily dash of drollery.

GETTING CLOSER - PARTE SETTIMA

 It's the seventh day of my wretched Countdown to Christmas and I have declined the suggestion of London based Steve Reed to announce the day in Icelandic rather than Italian.

I mean, how would you pronounce Sjöti Hluti anyway?

So we shall continue our language lessons from the land of pizza and pasta.

And, by the way, inject some holiday humor into your humdrum schedule.

ONE WEEK TO GO - PARTE SESTA

 I hope you all are appreciating your Italian lessons as I continue my supercilious Countdown to Christmas.

It's next Monday, y'know, and Joy of Joys - another three day weekend!

So let us continue to put some Christmas spirit into your jaded selves.

(Note: I did not say "elves".)

XMAS - PARTE QUINTA

 I have a little classwork for you today.

First, you have to look at yesterday's post and then find Granny Sue's comment.

Then come back for this:

Next, you have to find Debby's comment yesterday and then come back for this:

That is all.

You may now resume your holiday joyfulness.