A CLOUDY DAY

 It looked wicked but all we got here were a few sprinkles.

Great skies though.

(Sorry for the power lines and poles.)

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Well, here it is again - Friday FunDay.

I don't know how your week has gone but at least it's gone.

So let's get onto the humor that you all come here for and that you all love each and every week, the humor that your collaborator collects from comedy characters here, there and yon; the humor that brightens a gray and dreary day and perhaps even a dark night, the humor that    . . . (oh shut up, Catalyst).

That's it, folks.

That's all there is.

And you call that humor?

Or do I?

Never mind.

Have a phenomenal weekend, y'all.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . heh, heh . . . )

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN MONACO

 I was reliving an experience by email with Phil, a friend of mine, this morning.

The event came nearly 39 years ago, in April of 1985.

Judy and I fulfilled a dream of spending a month traveling around Europe.

Le grand tour.

Now we are lovers of escargot, snails in a garlic butter sauce.

(Photo by Landon Nordeman)

And we had vowed that we would have them every time we saw them on a restaurant menu.

Lack and alas, the only time in a month of travel through country after country . . including France . . that we ever saw them was when we spent part of a day in Monaco.

We were traveling from San Remo, Italy, to Nice, France and stopped at a small bistro in Monte Carlo and ate our snails at a sidewalk table alfresco.

They were delicious!

Later, wandering around, we found the famous Casino featured in several James Bond movies.

That's me in the lower left before entering and losing a few coins in a slot machine.

As we walked the streets we found them lined with huge grandstands being built.

The Monaco Grand Prix was to be held the following month.

We also spent some time gazing at the crystalline blue waters of the harbor.

And yes the water really is that blue.

And the yachts are large, expensive and numerous.

(Sorry, no pictures of them.)

We only spent part of a day there.

We were a month early so we didn't see the race.

We didn't break the bank at the Casino.

But the snails were marvelous!

ANOTHER BIG DAY

 Yes, I know.

Today is Ash Wednesday.

And Valentine's Day.

And Basant Pachami.

Aha!

Bet you didn't know about that one!

Don't feel bad, neither did I.

It's a Hindu festival to herald the Spring.

And if you have doubts about that, let me tell you that it is 62 degrees Fahrenheit in my part of Arizona right now.

Judy said with the sun shining on our patio it's probably 70 out there.

And she just came back inside with some fresh chives that have sprouted from a potful that looked dead up until today.

But I digress.

All of those special days aside, today is an even more important day here in Arizona.

Because . . .

That's right.

It's the State of Arizona's 112th birthday today.

It officially became the 48th state in the U.S. of A. on February 14th, 1912.

So raise a glass to this (fairly) new kid today.

If you've got room after all that chocolate.

CELEBRATE!

It's Fat Tuesday!

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

(Let the good times roll.)

You might start your celebration with the traditional Hurricane (drink).

Then, maybe, indulge in a big pot of Jambalaya!

And don't forget the King Cake!

Of course if you take a dim view of all this indulgence and call the day Shrove Tuesday, right after confessing your sins and begging for absolution, you'll have to settle for pancakes.

Tomorrow (some say) is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of 40 days of Lent.

A time for fasting and giving up foods you love.

But for the rest of us tomorrow is Valentine's Day, a day to indulge in chocolate.

Lots and lots of chocolate!

SATURDAY MADNESS

 Being "cat people", we and daughter Gayle both have had for many years Cat-a-Day Calendars.

But today's chosen kitty was a shocker.

And there's only one calendar page for the entire weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.

So here's what greeted me when I changed the calendar this morning.

Now this particular breed of cat is called the Sphynx and they are naturally completely fur-less.

My wife and our daughter both hate the look of them and feel that they are eternally cold.

But I held one at a cat show one time and can confirm that they are warm, as warm as any other cat.

Nevertheless, the two members of MY tribe were comparing notes this morning and conjuring up ways to both cover the "naked" cat and keep it warm.

Judy found that her wool cap would do the trick.

Gayle, aka the Beautiful Artistic Daughter, always the artist, put scissors to work on another previously used calendar page picture she found to remedy the situation.

There!  Problem solved!

About this next item, I shall have no further comment.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Aaaahhhhh, Gentle Readers, it's the Big Weekend.

Especially in Las Vegas.

For Sunday a bunch of highly remunerated professional football players will meet there in the 58th Super Bowl.

Or as my wife and many, many, many wives across the planet call it The Stupor Bowl.

Since I cut the cord on my cable subscription I will not be watching it.

But to all of you fans (see "fanatics") I say enjoy yourselves and good luck.

Especially to the gamblers among you.

Now to get down to the business of the day.

Oho!  Riker finally got even!

Maybe the Star Trek crew has landed on Rikers Island.

Okay, just ignore that one.

Now whether or not you watch the Celebration of High-Paid Violence on Sunday or not, I hope you ALL will have a great weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(. . . oh, I know how you feel . . . )

WEATHER UPDATE

 Another day, another snowfest.

To those of you who are expressing amazement at seeing snow in Arizona, let me remind you that it is a state of many altitudes and climates.

While Phoenix sits at around 900 feet above sea level, here in the foothills 80 miles or so to the northwest our elevation is nearly 5,000 feet.

That's almost as far above sea level as Denver, Colorado.

And we do get snow here from time to time.

About 10 miles southwest of here, in Prescott and a few hundred feet higher, snowstorms are more frequent and usually more severe.

Here are a couple of photos the BAD took out her door today.

I might add that since these photos were taken, at least here in Prescott Valley, the sun has been out and melting off much of what fell earlier.

It's that old story, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes."

JACK IS BACK

 

After a rainy day yesterday, courtesy of the winter storms that have been hammering Southern California, Jack Frost paid a visit to us here in ARIZONA overnight.

This is what started our day today.

That's the disheveled spinner in our back yard, manically twisted by the high winds yesterday that toppled a dead tree in a neighbor's yard.

And as always after a snowfall, I had to check on the Blue Cat.

Yes, it's covered in a fresh white blanket, meowing "I didn't move to Arizona for this!"

But the sun is out and soon this will all be melted off.

That's life in the mountain foothills of Arizona.