Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

How is your Thanksgiving shaping up? It’s time for the Big Bird to grace our tables. Or maybe not. I mentioned that I will not be cooking a turkey or having anyone over this year. It set off a chain reaction that went from Ca…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

What treasures will we leave behind? I recall my brother and I finding our boy and girl scout uniforms when we looked through boxes in our parents’ attic. We had a good laugh and were not exactly sure what to do with the old …

Around The Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Are you scared? If I told you that Americans spend a whopping 11 Billion dollars on all things related to Halloween, would it cause you to shake in terror? That translates to a mere one-hundred-three bucks per person on spook…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

It has been another week of uncertainty and storms. Trying to grasp the impact of the hurricanes, plus the onslaught of political ads and campaign news can be anxiety-producing! Perhaps we need to boost our collective spirit,…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

The stars have lost their sparkle.

The sun has dimmed its light.

The moon has stopped its glimmer.

The world does not seem right.

Some moments take our breath away. Grief is the result of love. And it is not gentle when it co…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

What’s on your ballet? If you love to read, be sure to look through your 354-page Arizona 2024 General Election Publicity Pamphlet. Yep, it is one hefty book that is waiting for us to read, digest and understand by having all…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

What’s in your wallet? Let me guess. A few plastic cards, some paper bills, and possibly a few coins? It looks like one coin in particular, the penny, might be running out of luck. It costs almost two cents to make every penn…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

What’s for dinner? When my husband, Doug, asked me this question last night, I wondered how many times in one day those three little (evil) words are spoken. Worldwide, might these words be recited over a billion times? And i…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Has anyone seen Manuel? Come out, Manuel! It’s mating season and we are worried. There is an all-out search for the “special” friend of New River resident, Diane Wilson. Manuel has been visiting her on a regular basis for the…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Stuck. In Space. Imagine being marooned on the International Space Station (ISS) for a few months, with no real clear strategy to get back to Earth. Two astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore are stuck because the Boei…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

So long, Olympic breakdancing! We will never again have to endure the spectacle of whatever that “sport” had to offer at the Olympics. Because it was completely weird, and barely watchable. How the Paris Olympic committee tho…

AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN

By

Judy Bluhm

Have you stopped and smelled roses lately? Well, most of us don’t have rose bushes, but many folks living in more rural areas have a few other things to smell. A woman who recently moved to Desert Hills said she doesn’t under…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Faster. Higher. Stronger. It’s what all athletes hope to achieve and what a very select few actually accomplish. Being good at anything takes effort and practice, skill and perseverance. Being the best in the world takes a wh…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Oh zucchini, please go away. Every single American seems to be growing comical amounts of the big green squash, the size of baseball bats, and giving them away to everyone and anyone. My daughter left me a basket of the humon…

Around The Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

It’s been too hot! Have you been outside lately? The entire State is an inferno! This unrelenting heat has given new meaning to the term “hot flashes.”

Well by now we realize that in Phoenix gloves are essential just to touch…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

They have landed. Okay, so they never really left. But four brave souls (scientists) that have been sequestered in a “Mars simulation environment” for one year at NASA’S Johnson Space Center in Houston have officially been re…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

To flip or flop. That is the question. No, Dear Readers, I am not talking about house flipping. I am talking about those flimsy sandals that we like to wear in the summer. Sadly, these evil little shoes are causing quite a co…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

We have officially entered “Hot Dog Season,” as July ushers in National Hot Dog Month. It appears that 74 million Americans will be barbequing this 4th of July. What will we be serving? One hundred fifty million hot dogs! Yep…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

In case you are wondering if summer is here yet (as we all swelter in this heat), fear not, because we have just experienced the summer solstice. All over the world, the June Solstice is the exact instant of time when the sun…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Are you old? Not meaning to be nosey, but just wondering. I was recently asked this question by an inquisitive child who was curious why I didn’t want to climb up a jungle gym at a park. “Well, I could be old,” I replied. The…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Oh, Mighty Orcas, please stop sinking boats. The authorities are on to your shenanigans and with over 600 “boat encounters” and numerous fishing vessels and yachts being sunk, it might not end well. The ocean at the southwest…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Do you read the news? I thought so, yet sometimes it’s hard to digest what we are reading. We must ponder a series of tragedies, obnoxious behaviors, wars raging, tornadoes ravaging and all manner of troubles. We struggle to …

AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN

By

Judy Bluhm

Memorial Day. The beginning of summer, the remembrance of those who have died in this nation’s wars. Flags flying, memorial services, family gatherings, three-day weekends, bagpipes playing… what better way to start off the s…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Oh, Gods of Travel, why can’t ADOT seem to get it right? Let’s start with Mother’s Day weekend. Close a stretch of southbound I-17 in North Phoenix from Carefree Highway to around Happy Valley Road from a Friday night until M…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

How was your Mother’s Day? It’s a special day in honor of motherhood and celebrated in over 100 countries. During and after the Civil War, peacemaker Ann Jarvis, made the effort to foster friendship between mothers on both si…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

They have emerged! Mostly to southern and eastern states. Trillions of cicadas in a double brood emergence are the “Insect Apocalypse” of 2024. Last time this happened was in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was President and the …

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

We are suffering. Itchy and watery eyes, runny noses, sneezing fits, sore throats, and general fatigue. One quarter of adults and one in five children are plagued by allergies. And that translates to millions of folks sneezin…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Do you want to live forever? Nope, I didn’t think so. Me either. Although prolonging (a quality) life sounds pretty good. Then there are those among us, who are determined to “stay young, healthy and outsmart death.” Yes, man…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Go Ladies! We are applauding the women of sports, who bring running, dunking, kicking, scoring, and winning to new levels. It has been a pivotal couple of years for female athletes, maybe a tipping point defined by the NCAA w…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Well, are you ready to get into syzygy? That’s when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned, resulting in a total eclipse. Everyone in the United States will get to thrill to at least a partial eclipse. We in Arizona will get to …

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Which came first? The Easter bunny or the egg? Evidently, the floppy eared hare first arrived in America with German immigrants in the 1700s. The egg-laying mythical rabbit was called “Osterhase” and children made nests aroun…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Are you happy? The World Happiness Report just came out and the wonderful folks of Finland are (once again) ranked as the happiest people on Earth. Sadly, we Americans come in at a dismal 23rd in the survey of over 100 countr…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Love is in the air! And so are the doves, finches and hummingbirds. Spring brings the promise of hope, new life, fresh beginnings, green leaves and babies. Lots of them. Baby finches, in all their bright yellow glory, hang on…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Wear green or be pinched! It is that time of year again. St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon. It’s a holiday that dates back about 1,500 years. Today, we tend to associate it with leprechauns, parades, beer and the color green. …

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Leap Day. It’s almost here. We have the pleasure of having another day added to the calendar, which only happens once every four years. Folklore and superstitions abound around Leap Year, ever since Julius Caesar introduced …

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Booze. Fights. Arrests. A music festival like Coachella? Perhaps a rap concert? Nope. The Greatest Show on Grass seems to outdo itself each year. This year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open was a “show” like none other. Pack a …

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Football. Once again it is that time of year when we Americans obsess over who will win the Super Bowl. And that Super Day is not just a sports event. It is a cultural phenomenon that sweeps the country. Starting out in our k…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Goodbye goofy road signs. Oh, Arizona Department of Transportation, we have had many giggles from your wild and witty electronic messages that give us, the bored and tired drivers, something to ponder. Now the Feds have sent …

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

It is “Polar Bear Season” once again. Yep, that time of year when the frigid winter temperatures are causing some people (fools) to run half-naked into freezing lakes or ice-cold oceans.

Could life be so dismal in those gray,…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Have you ever wondered - what is the real purpose of the kitchen’s center island? Ponder this question no more, Dear Readers, as I think I have found the answer. It is a place to collect, stack, put and place things. It is a …

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

No more cocoa? Not exactly making headlines, yet a full-blown disaster is heading our way. My sister-in-law gifted me a small box of chocolates for Christmas with a note that read, “Enjoy now. The world is running out of choc…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Are you ready? Well, ready or not, here it comes. Time, once again, is marching into the beginning of a new calendar, pulling us along with it. That old illustrious half-ton ball in Times Square will drop like a rock, bringin…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Well, that was fast. So much planning, cooking, baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating and then it seemed like Christmas flew by at warp speed. The gifts were ripped open, the big meal is now leftovers, and the house looks li…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

A CHRISTMAS POEM

Twas the day before Christmas at the North Pole

Where elves worked frantically towards the big goal

Of wrapping the gifts and packing the sleigh,

Then giving reindeers thick bales of hay.

Santa was resting an…

Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

There are only a few shopping days left, so what are we to do? Stop spending and start kissing! Perhaps we could linger under the mistletoe with someone special. That ancient Scandinavian Goddess of Love, Frigga, might be con…

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 …

Posted on January 22nd, 2023

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…

Posted on January 22nd, 2023

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…

Posted on January 22nd, 2023

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…

Posted on January 22nd, 2023

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 …

Posted on January 22nd, 2023

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,…

Posted on January 22nd, 2023

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…

Posted on January 22nd, 2023

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 …