Howdy ho there Ponies! I hope y’all are having a swell week. I’m still off yonder on a bizness trip. Yee haw! I’ll gallop back on to these here parts next week. ‘Til then, may all your pickles be bright!

The Monkees

Last Train to Clarksville

Paul Revere and the Raiders

Music from the local area of my formative years:

Louie Louie

In the last week I have gotten my hair all chopped off like Jaimie Lee Curtis, although oddly enough it did nothing to improve my looks, and I attended a French cooking class.

So, for this afternoon’s pony, I thought I might show you a few pictures taken at the local “Viking Cooking School” and for the record Viking ovens although not all of their other products are American made. There is a factory in Greenwood Mississippi.

We made seafood crepes, French bread, a French version of apple pie, and beef bourguignon.

Impressive kitchen…..

Some action shots…..

Thursday,  I  Think  Seriously,  About  Stupid  Shit

Association…..

Seeing as how nocatz has been scarce around here I thought I’d risk this…

Cat Party!!!

How to pet my cat / How NOT to pet my cat.  Link goes to a really cute illustration.   I like the warning for bad petting.  

Norwegian Forest Cats (click for more kitten pics.  Warning: takes a while to load)  

I love these beauties!

Ulv, Ull & Ulvar (from norroden.com)

Hi all – busy business travel schedule – sorry for my absence from Partying. This time, I’m off to Europe. Hopefully, I’ll get to see the famed Pickle Building in Barcelona.

I trust you’ll party on in my absence! I miss y’all!

I forgot about the evening pony.  Here’s some peaceful.

Have at it.

R. Carlos Nakai

Amazing Grace

Music to Transition by

Nina Simone: I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free

I’m still playing with a deaf machine, so this is a rerun.  But it’s a rerun of music from the tough times.

I didn’t actually have a copy of Nina singing the first song.  A friend, one of the first 20 people I came out to, made me a tape of two Mary Travers solo albums (Mary and Morning Glory) and that song was included.  It kept me going.

I am having a deliberately unproductive day.

Tomorrow I hit the local “Viking Cooking School” for a one day course in French cuisine. I am going to bring the camera and try and get a few shots. I took a course a year or two ago and the kitchen was to die for. We used all commercial grade equipment and it does make a huge difference in time and efficiency. If I won the lottery it would be an awesome treat to do one of those expensive and totally unnecessary kitchen make overs.

I took a few goofy pictures this week. A pair of barn swallows nested in a corner at the front of the house.

This was the nest when it was about half completed. They like to use mud as their base material and stuff twigs, grass, dog hair and whatever in between. Barn swallows are not very keen about human paparazzi. But this week the babies started zipping out of the nest. They like to perch near it. I imagine their wings aren’t quite strong enough for long flights yet.

Look at this one peering out of the top….

Out of the nest….

I think it would be fair to say they were “not that into me”…..

Emily Carr was one of a number of artists who was loosely associated with the Group of Seven. If my memory serves me correctly she was not that much into people and lived in and painted in remote areas of British Columbia because she was solitary be nature and not a traditional woman of her times.

Here are two versions of the same song. The song is unfortunately now the backdrop for a “dockers” commercial….

Sad fact if a song has any  resonating  force in pop culture,it will be used to sell you shit you don’t want or need.

Sorry I am a bit late this AM, nutty night a work but it all ended well. We have a saying among the other night supervisors “not matter how bad tonight is, we’re gonna have a good night.” A kind of necessary delusion in my line of work.

Hope y’all are waking up to a beautiful morning.

Something is seriously wrong in my brain….i went to bed without auto-publishing a friday a.m. pony…and woke up at 3 a.m. and remembered….

…seriously wrong in my brain, yup…