TRULY ODDBALL

PUZZLED

The BRD is concerned about her Mommy and me, self-isolated in our little duplex apartment since March 16th.

She thinks the M is getting bored with the solitary life.

So she inflicted on us a ONE-THOUSAND-PIECE jigsaw puzzle.

With large areas of it displaying monotone colored desert scenery.

It took us, I think, about a month of fiddling with it, sometimes taking a day or two off, before we finally finished it.

Before I dismantled it yesterday evening, it looked like this.

Meanwhile, when we sleep, we dream.

And our dreams are something like this.

Thanks a lot, Gayle!

THE STEROID SANDALS

Both SWMBO/Judy and I are somewhat whelmed by the prayers, good vibes and wishes sent as comments on this blog, on Facebook and by email as a result of Judy's account of her recent trip to the Emergency Room of our local hospital.

She was given a test for Covid-19 because of some mild symptoms and she'll get the results tomorrow, we believe.

In the meantime, she's doing very well with the wonder steroid drug Prednisone (only 5 pills for 5 days though, darn it.)

How well?  I'll let you hear it from her own voice.

I've had a pair of favorite sandals in the closet for years.

They long ago lost their right to go out in public due to scuffs and drabness.

But they are so comfortable I couldn't toss them out.

After a recent visit to the ER and a large infusion of steroids those sandals jumped out at me and screamed "Paint us".

So I did.

I'll call them my Steroid Sandals.

But now I can't leave the house because of the Covid Quarantine.

At least I can wear them on the back patio.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

Guest blog today from SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) aka Judy, my wife.

In case you might be wondering what it's like in a Covid area in a hospital, other than what you have seen on TV.  I'm here to tell ya.

With sharp pain in the right upper area of my back and shortness of breath I called my pulmonologist for something for pleurisy.  He refused to order anything without an office visit.  After hearing of my symptoms, he decided I might have a blood clot in my right lung and promptly sent me to the ER.

I told him, "no one wants to go there these days".  He insisted I must.  I walked out of his office and told Bruce we had to go to the ER...now.  A half mile later, we were there.  They stopped me at the door.  As they took my temperature and asked why I was there a transport chair arrived.  They told Bruce to get lost. "No visitors allowed here."

Within five to seven minutes our world turned upside down.  They took me inside to an isolation room for a brief interview and an EKG.  Some one decided I was a possible Covid-19 risk.  I was then placed in a "negative air chamber" to wait my turn.  The fans blasted away for more than an hour, then a nurse arrived in full PPE and took me to an obvious quarantine area into an exam room.

Many questions.  Much blood drawn, plus a Covid swab of the nostrils (and it felt like the lower brain pan).  Then a wait of two and a half hours for a CT scan of the lungs.  Then in forty-five minutes the results.  Good news.  No blood clot.  More good news.  No pneumonia.  

There will be no results from the Covid test until possibly Monday (four days from now).*  Go home and self quarantine.  Duh.  That's what I've been doing since March 16th!

Let it be known.  Every time someone had entered the room I was in, they were in full PPE. And as they departed my room they discarded it, rolled it up and put it into a container inside my room.  I felt like a leper.

Before I departed the area I was given a big infusion of two different steroids...to lessen the inflammation of possible pleurisy.

Stay safe.  Wear your mask.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Another brutal week high- low lighted by a traumatic day is drawing once again to a close.

But you'll have to wait until tomorrow to learn about that from the pen of she who lived it.

Because today is Friday and on Friday we have FUNNIES!

Clear the runway.

Okay, here come the puns.

I warned you.

And with that, the Catalyst calls a ceasefire to this cacaphony of comedy - it's no calamity - but with candid cajolery and canny camaraderie encourages you all to capitulate to his caprices . . . and have a cathartic, capital weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

OLD BLUE

The Back Yard Blue Cat had developed some bumps and bruises over the years.

There was a hole in his hollow plastic back from some scrape or another.

So SWMBO, as she is wont to do, set out to repair him.

She patched the rear with some duct tape, then applied a couple of coats of sealer to the entire creature.

After that came two coats of blue paint.

Finally he was ready to resume his patient watchfulness over the bird bath and the area surrounding it.

He appears to be a lighter shade of blue now and I remarked that he might give the artist a start if she looked out upon him in the brightness of a full moon.

But he seems satisfied and comfortable in his rediscovered hautiness.

And several varieties of birds quickly returned to the bath/fountain, comfortable in their knowledge that Old Blue is not a threat but a protector to them.

Life goes on.

MY LATEST BAKING PROJECT

Okay, I'm just joking.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Let's make it a great week.

FATHER'S SUMMER

Today is a day to honor, fete and treat the paternal figures in our lives.

Yes, today is Father's Day in the United States of America.

It's celebrated on the third Sunday in June in my country and many others.

But around the world dads are honored on different days of the year.

Here the celebration dates back to 1908 but it had a troubled history with resistance to it by people who claimed it was simply an attempt by merchants to sell more goods.

But in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation picking the date.

And finally, in 1972, President Richard Nixon made Father's Day an official national holiday.

So on this day, let's all honor our male progenitors.

Oh, and sorry I missed it but yesterday was the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

Summer is officially upon us but the days will now begin to get shorter.

Fire up the grills!

(Photos are of SWMBO's tomato pot)

NICE BUNS

I just ate the last of my latest baking project, the one in the middle.

Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Yea, though I walk through the Valley of Death, I shall fear no evil.

Because . . .

That's it for this week, Gentle Readers.

Now remember, stay home, practice social distancing, wear a mask and wash your hands.

That's not a lot, is it?

Have a great weekend and always keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(awwwwww)

STATE OF THE NATION

Just a little tease for tomorrow.

WHEN TO BUY, WHEN TO BUY . . .

Johnny Cash has the answer and today's your lucky day!

HUNGRY YET?

Y'know, if I'd have honored all the requests I received yesterday, both in comments here and in emails, I'd have had no cookies left for SWMBO and I.

So, I kept 'em all!

Thanks for the compliments, though.

And thank you to Herself, who encouraged the baking bonanza by preparing a wonderful meal the night before.

Enchiladas Verdes Suizas

and a salad of avocadoes, cherry tomatoes and cilantro.

As longtime ago Mexico residents we love cilantro and, no, it doesn't taste like soap.

What's the matter with you people anyway?

COOKIES

SWMBO turned me loose in the kitchen today with her favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

I believe it was a success.

Made with confectioner's sugar, they have a shortbread base studded with dark chocolate chips.

A note on her recipe says if pecans are used instead of chocolate chips the resulting delicacies would be very much like Pecan Sandys.

I prefer the chocolate version.

FLAG DAY 2020

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Another agonizing week is drawing to a close.

So let's shut it down with some humor, shall we?

De Brie.  Debris.  Get it?

I know.  It's cheesy.

Okay, pun lovers, that's it for this week.

Now have a wonderful weekend, don't worry too much (at least until Monday), and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .