HALLOWEEN HORRORS!

 A good friend and former neighbor of ours, Crosstown Lori (as she's known here) sent me a handful of photos from a walk she and a friend took in Prescott.

Our neighboring city goes back many decades before ours ever came into existence.

Think Doc Holliday and the Earps, for example, along with a ton of other historic figures from the days of the real Old West.

Think Whiskey Row.

But today think of Mt. Vernon Avenue with it's block after block of historic homes.

It's a place that goes all out for Halloween and gets thousands of visitors from as far away as Phoenix on the Witching Night eager for the candy handed out by the homeowners.

And, courtesy of Lori's photos, have a look at their decorating enthusiasm.

'TIS THE SEASON

My latest issue of All Recipes magazine arrived in my mailbox today just as I was setting out on some errands so I handed it quickly over to She Who Must Be Obeyed, who would be happy to tell you that she's been cooking and baking for hundreds of years.

 

After all my running around I got home and excitedly asked her how it was.

She replied, tiredly I thought, with "Oh, you know. It's seasonal. Cookies, cookies, cookies."

Then I got a text from Baseball Steve, asking if I was watching "Our Boys".

I had forgotten that game 6 of the National League Championship Series between Our Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies had begun early.

So I haven't seen my "cookie" magazine yet.

But I did spot a couple of other signs of the season in a neighbor's yard.

'Tis the season, indeed.

IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY . . .

 

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

It's been a bit of an up-and-down week around here but ending on a high note.

After our vaccinations the other day I began having a constantly recurring nerve pain in one side of one foot.

Come and go, like someone with a slow arm delivery holding a hammer in his fist.

Finally last night, I went to bed with a compression stocking on that foot, doped with Acetaminophen tablets and Lidocaine gel.

And this morning the pain is gone.

If it was, as I suspect, a reaction to one or more of those vaccines then time may have been as much of a curative as anything else.

But it's good not to be cringing every few seconds.

So what a way to start the Friday Funnies, right?

And here's another - it's time once again for just words, no pictures, as the Humor/Humour Bank/Banque has filled with them and it's time to weed some out.

So with no further ado (and a bit of a cheat) . . . tada!

I told you there'd be a bit of a cheat.

I just can't keep those guys out of here.

Well, Gentle Readers and Fine Friends, that's it for this week.

Now enjoy a great weekend ahead and always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, YIKES! . . . )

LIFE AROUND OUR PLACE

 The best news I have to report is that SWMBO has her knee replacement surgery scheduled.

Less than 3 weeks away and when she got the call it was a big surprise.

She had been led to believe that it could be two or three months away.

She's in excruciating pain most of the time but now has a pre-op appointment for next week and soon the beginning of injections to lessen her pain.

So that's great news and she is very happy.

- - - - - - - - - -

Yesterday we got our annual flu shot and this time added injections for RSV and Covid-19.

Three sticks, one in one arm and two in the other.

Fortunately the young man administering the shots was very good and we barely felt them.

We still have a second Shingles vaccine to be administered but, since the first one gave us a day or two of discomfort, SWMBO has postponed it for now.

- - - - - - - - - -

I think it is proper for me to set the record straight regarding the recent death of my brother and my reaction (or non reaction) to the news.

I had not seen him for 35 years and I felt like I barely knew him.

My last trip to North Dakota was in 1988 and there were some problems.

He had only come to Arizona once, when our father died in 1980.

So, though we exchanged greetings on each other's birthdays through the years, he was pretty much a stranger to me, as I undoubtedly was to him.

Life takes some curious turns sometimes.

- - - - - - - - - -

Now, not to leave you with those dark-ish thoughts, let me show you what I created in the Taylor Family Bakery this morning.

That, my friends is a Pecan Coffee Cake and it tastes as good as it looks.

For those of you who will say "You two eat so well", or "I can't figure out why you both don't weigh 300 pounds", I can only respond "I'm trying, I'm trying."

I just told Judy last night, "At our age I think it's time to forget about the calories and to eat whatever we want."

She didn't respond but I did notice a thoughtful look pass over her face.

Have a great Thursday, Gentle Readers, and eat well!

ENIGMA(?)

 Wacky Wally gifted me this meme today.

But that food item looks like whatever it is has a salad and some French Fries in it.

And the drink looks like coffee.

Maybe this really is a Backward Cat.

SERENITY

 

A quiet day at the duck pond.

But not a duck in sight!

PASSAGES

 I've been taking pictures of the tree in front of our home for about a week as the leaves changed color so I thought I'd show them to you today.

On another note, my older brother passed away last night in Minot, North Dakota.

Wayne had turned 90 at the end of July but was suffering from congestive heart failure.

He died peacefully under hospice care in a hospital.

MOON DAY

 Today the moon crossed paths with the sun.

It's an annular solar eclipse.

In it, the moon is far enough from the sun that it never totally blots it out, hence causing what is called the Ring of Fire.

I thought you would like to see my photographs of it.

Yes, I did take that photo.

But it's of my television screen as the total annularity was shown from San Antonio, Texas, where scores of people had gathered at the Alamo to see the event.

Here in Arizona, we were a little ways off of the direct path so we never saw the total ring of the sun around the moon.

But, and I am amazed, I found that I did get a couple of photos of what we did see with my Android smartphone camera.

And here they are.

Nothing spectacular but at least you get the idea.

And, by the way, I didn't have any of those special glasses so I never looked directly at the sun.

How was it where you live?

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 So 'tis Friday once again.

How was your week?

Mine (DBacks knock Dodgers out of post-season baseball) was okay.

(hee-hee-hee)

But enough about my joy, let's get on to spreading some across the land.

And the seas.

To other lands.

It's time for the funnies!

And, to put it quite simply, that's it Gentle Readers.

Now, as ever, try to live it up the next couple of days and have yourselves an evergreen weekend.

(Oh, and forget that today is Friday the 13th!  Ha! You did, didn't you?)

But always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . now where did she go? . . )

SWEEP

 

Just in case you missed it, the (my) Arizona Diamondbacks completed a 3-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers last night to win the National League Division Series.

(It's baseball, folks.)

In the process they made history, becoming the first team to hit four home runs in one inning in the playoffs.

And the fourth one came from Gabriel Moreno who hit what looked like a home run to right field but after he had circled the bases in a home run trot and lengthy consultation among the umpires it was ruled that it had gone ever so slightly foul and he was called back to the plate.

Then he hit the very next pitch into the left field stands.

Blow, Gabriel, blow!

The team will now go on to play either Philadelphia or Atlanta in the League Championship Series to see which team goes to the World Series.

Can you blame me for my hubris today?

FRIENDS

 

Lovely Lana & Tommy Terrific

"on the beach"

MONDAY MIRTH

 

A BOY AND HIS DOG

Is there no joy greater than that of a boy and his dog?

Even if "the boy" is 70 years old?

Judy's son, Scott, and his new friend, Blaze.