Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
She was the best horse I never rode. A palomino pony with a thick white mane who could run like the wind, get into all kinds of mischief, sometimes act naughty, yet still be a safe and sound ride for kids. She was a Navajo po…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
What are shiny objects that are placed very high? No, not stars in the sky, but the lights and decorations we like to hang up on rooflines, trees, stairways, and porches. Tis the Season of the Ladder, so be careful, Dear Read…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
The Season of Joy has arrived. The holidays are festive and beautiful, centered around family, friends and gatherings. They highlight love, marriage, personal relationships, and children. Every day there are constant reminder…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
What are you doing on Thanksgiving? Let me guess. Dinner with family or friends and the guest of honor will be a Big Bird. We Americans love our turkey dinner. The National Turkey Federation claims that 88 percent of American…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
We lost. Oh, Diamondbacks, how we rooted for you! There is always a winner and a loser. Defeat and victory. Cheering and jeering. Hopes rising and dreams dashed. It is the way it is, Dear Readers. Our team got further than we…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Fly your flag. It will soon be Veterans Day, that one great day to honor the men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces. Maybe watch a parade or a solemn ceremony. There will be bands and bag pipes, flyovers a…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
This is the Greatest Time of Fear. It’s time to pour a big Bloody Mary and reflect on Halloween. Or we might want to muster up the ghost of Bloody Mary by staring into a mirror that is in a dark room, by the light of thirteen…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Do you want to grow as fat as a pumpkin? Excuse me, I meant to say, do you want to grow a fat pumpkin? We might all consider planting a few seeds next year, because not only could we bake thousands of pies, but also make a bu…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Art has gone bananas. I went to a small craft and art faire in Phoenix and found a young “artist” selling “artwork” which consisted of a banana duct taped to a canvas. If that wasn’t enough of a treasure, you could buy an avo…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
What is causing the biggest problem in America? Politics, like the circus going on in our hallowed halls of Congress? Nope. Climate change? Not even close. Inflation? Small worry. Evidently it is pickleball, that according to…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town’
By
Judy Bluhm
Did you enjoy the Harvest Moon?” It signifies the beginning of autumn. Yet, for some folks, a perfectly round moon can make them feel like a lunatic. No, excuse me, Dear Readers, I meant to say “lunar-tic.” You know, the…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
How much do you weigh? Oh, I beg your pardon, I guess that it is none of my business. It seems people get a little prickly when asked their weight. Besides, it appears that most of us might fudge about it. Perhaps because we …
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Have you ever seen someone have a meltdown at the self-checkout in a grocery store? It is not a pretty sight. I witnessed a lady lose it when she realized that the twenty-five items that she had scanned and bagged, showed up …
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
It started with a kiss. A World Cup Championship, a celebration, an unwanted kiss and then all hell broke loose. Spain is in the spotlight, and we can’t seem to look away. In an amazing and thrilling display of talent, Spain’…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
I am a surfer. Okay, I should clarify: I have surfed. For one minute. Yes, Dear Readers, earlier this year, I caught a wave on the long board. In other words, I spent a couple of days in San Diego and have figured out the art…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
My home is my castle! Isn’t that how we’re all supposed to feel? When we arrive at our abode after a hot and busy day, we’re entering the comfort zone. The one safe haven in a hectic world. Home sweet home.
Sitting one mornin…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
I was speeding in my Subaru down a lonely road. There, I confessed to my carefree, fast-driving ways and I already feel a lot better about it. Have you ever driven a bit over the limit? Hmm . . I thought so. Approximately 41 …
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Oh, Surfing Sea Otter, please stop stealing surfboards! It will not end well for you. Yes, a female sea otter in California seems to be hassling surfers at Steamer Lane, the legendary point break nestled along the rocky shore…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Shrinkflation. When the size or quantity of a product is reduced, while the price remains the same or is increased. In other words, we are being ripped off! That’s right, Dear Readers, the research has been done and the evide…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
The heat is on. Welcome to the “dog days of summer.” This phrase was originated in ancient Roman times, used to describe the intense heat of summer. The term has been widely used ever since. The ancient astronomers noted that…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
When did humans become so self-absorbed? The craze to take selfies, especially in dangerous places like ledges of cliffs, edges of waterfalls, and with wild animals at National Parks is killing people! National Park Rangers a…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Coffee, how we love thee. It is our favorite American beverage that helps us get through our daily struggles, gives us a boost of energy and holds the promise of good things to come. All manner of challenges may await us, but…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
What’s for dinner? Three little words. Spoken over a billion times a day, in millions of places, in thousands of languages, all for one reason: people like to eat. No politics, culture, customs, religion, geography, income, a…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Yikes! Millions of grasshoppers have been invading Arizona. I didn’t really believe it until I saw it for myself. Jiminy Cricket! Dear Readers, what I observed was so strange, so frightening, that it could be out of an Alfred…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Debt ceiling. First enacted by Congress in 1917, it is the legal limit on the total amount of federal debt the government can accrue. Established to simplify the process and enhance borrowing flexibility. This is the federal …
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Westminster Abbey. The place where history is made. Last week we got to witness the Coronation. Oh, the gowns, the jewels, the clerical robes, military uniforms with epaulettes, plumes and swords. It was a meticulously planne…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
It is a weed. And it stinks. Invading our desert, yards, and trails, like an army marching forward into every square inch of open space and snuffing out everything else. It boasts blooms that look like small yellow lollipops.…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Keep going. Don’t think. Just do it. Believe. A motivational speech for our business or personal lives? Or perhaps the recent flight path of one incredible bird. Oh, Mighty One, bar-tailed godwit, how we admire you. Flying no…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Bing? Sydney? Mere mortals, fear not the Microsoft Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered chatbot that has become an unhinged gaslighting, lying, threatening menace. This is the technology that we created. Along with the uninte…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Freedom. What we live and die for. Not available to all living creatures. Experienced by many. Taken for granted by some. Now an orca named Lolita in Florida might have a taste of freedom after 52 years in captivity. Living i…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Tax Day. Oh, let the fun begin. If you are still scrambling to get your taxes filed, I hate to remind you that you are running out of time! Approximately 50 million Americans, roughly one third of the folks who file taxes, wi…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Potholes: A depression in a road surface where traffic has removed pieces of the pavement (or caused ruts in the dirt). They are usually caused by water, freezing and thawing. This is Arizona Department of Transportation’s (A…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Spring has evidently arrived. Yep, it’s March Madness, like in basketball and busted brackets. Except most of my madness is coming from a pesky cardinal who is constantly rapping on my house windows. The red birds are territo…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
This has been the winter of our discontent. Plenty of wind, rain, sleet, hail and snow (some of it all happening at once). For many, depression set in while all hail broke loose. Finally, the sun is shining, so we might get o…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Arizona knows how to throw a party. While the world’s eyes were temporarily diverted from unidentified flying balloons, visitors flocked here from all over the world and seemed to have one big spend-fest. Like an estimated On…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
The Day of Love. Roses. Candy. Champagne. Cards. And all things the color red. Are you ready? Because Valentine’s Day is upon us. It might even be more special than a Super Bowl. The “most romantic month of the year” got star…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
How do you celebrate your birthday? My girlfriend, Carol, has a big birthday coming up. She is thinking about going skydiving to celebrate. She wondered if I might like to join her. I told her there wasn’t enough alcohol in t…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
What do Oreo cookies and psychoactive drugs have in common? Evidently, they are both highly addictive. Ha! I knew that some very serious group of scientists would one day be sitting around in their lab coats, breaking apart t…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
HE’S BACK! Since the early 1990s, my friend, Diane Wilson, has had a tarantula come walking up her driveway and into her home, staying from late July to early October every year since! She lovingly calls him Manuel.
It’s a sc…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
There is nothing quite like stormy weather to get us in a tidying up mood. January is the perfect time to de-clutter! Out with all the “stuff” we never use, wear or even like. Marie Kondo, Japanese de-cluttering guru, whose “…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Football. Once again it is that time of year when we Americans obsess over who will make it to the Super Bowl. The fate of our beloved Cardinals has been decided as they got crushed by San Francisco. Maybe our constellation p…
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the barn
The stall doors were decorated with green and red yarn.
The horses were ready, with harness and bit
The barn doors swung open, the light dimly lit.
When out of the sky over Arizona rode,
Eight weary reindeer…
Around the Bluhmin’ Town
By
Judy Bluhm
Eggs, where art thou? How we miss your oval beauty and deliciousness. How will we manage without this essential ingredient that goes into our yummy baked goods and perfectly with toast? Where will we find the joy that we get …
Have you ever seen a poodle dressed up in a tutu? No, I didn’t think so. My girlfriend, Liz, has a toy poodle named Mitzi who she likes to dress up like a doll in all manner of strange little outfits. Liz came out to the ranch with Mi…
Posted on January 22nd, 2023
Oh, Freya, how we loved you. Named after the Norse goddess of beauty and love, you were 1,300 pounds of blubber, a chubby maiden of the sea, with all your sea mammal splendor and plus-size personality. No small boat in Oslo, Norway, w…
To tree or not to tree, that is the question. Oh, Christmas Angel, please guide my decision, as I am contemplating not putting up a Christmas tree this year. Yes, we decorated the house with holly, wreaths, poinsettias and other holid…
Do you believe in Santa Claus? Yes, of course you do. Who can honestly say that there is no Santa? So, as we approach Christmas, we still have many reasons to believe.
My uncle used to say that there are four stages of the “Santa Sto…
The gifts are unwrapped. Holiday decorations are coming down. We ushered in a New Year. Another chance to look forward to what is coming and to let go of what didn’t work. We have a whole new chapter to write. And saying “goodbye” to …
Día de los Muertos is approaching. So is Halloween. In Mexico, the holiday is a time when families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration.
At midnight Oct. 31,…
I won the lottery — in my dreams. I see it all now, flashing before me. I turn on the television and watch excitedly when they call out the winning numbers. Nervously, I look down at my Powerball ticket and then, in complete disbelief…
What is quiet quitting? Evidently a malaise has taken over the American workforce. It is the definition of slacking off, doing the bare minimum and displaying an unwillingness to do anything extra. In China, this phenomenon is called …
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