WAYNE AND BRUCE

I'll bet you thought this post was going to be about my brother and me.

Nope.

A different "Wayne" stopped in at the old saloon yesterday.

He showed up when the BAD came by to see her mother.

She didn't say where they ran into each other.

But it's always good to have the Duke in the neighborhood.

========================================

Later:

Oh, okay.

By semi-popular demand of Ball Points, here, and Mike Mulligan, on Facebook, here's the proof that the Duke and I actually DID get together.

It was back in the 70's when I was a tv reporter and I interviewed him on the patio of his home in Newport Beach, California.

I had more hair then and while Mr. Wayne was not sporting a gun, he did have that dog to protect him.

And speaking of hair, take a look at my photographer that great day, the famous Timmer!

Point of history: Timmer later got a blowup of that picture autographed by Mr. Wayne and had/has it on the wall of his house.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Oh, I'll bet you've just been sitting around fretting and worrying and moaning and groaning.

"Oh, where is he?"

"Will he be here?"

"Will he still have a sense of humor?"

OF COURSE, I'm here and I have a sense of humor.

After all, I read about the Republican debate, didn't I?

I didn't watch it.

I just read the autopsy reports the next day.

But let's put that to bed and get onto the real business of the day: Taylor Swift and that football player!

No, no, no, I mean the near-End-of-the-Week buffoonery.

Oh that wacky crew of extraterrestrial travelers!

Well, all aboard now for a very extraordinarily fine weekend.

And never forget to Keep Laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . ohhhhh . . )

HALLO-WHAT?

Guess who's getting ready for the night of spooks, ghosts, zombies, screeches, jack-o-lanterns and hobgoblins?

If you guessed our little Sweetie-Pie, you'd be correct.

Having heard that Halloween is a special night for mere mortals to be off-put by black cats she's been gearing up her act.

But in the meantime, she's just a little cutie.

Cogitating.

Planning.

"Let me see. How can I be even more terrifying?"

CONTINUATION

I told you yesterday of the Beautiful Artistic Daughter's determination not to allow such a small thing as a broken arm to stop her.

Actually it was a bone fracture in the elbow of her dominant arm but that's enough for me to call it a broken arm.

She had it in a temporary cast and then a huge immobilizing brace.

But for this artist, who goes by the acronym BAD, "immobilizing" is not in her vocabulary.

So, let me show you what she's been doing in her recovery instead of resting.

That once flat black cylinder is now a bedazzlement of small beads and tiles.

She says it could be a base for a gazing ball or a lamp or . . . whatever you want it to be.

A thing of beauty.

And a measure of one artist's determination.

Her name, by the way, is Gayle Vanessa Bolton, and she can be found in Prescott, Arizona, USA.

BAD ADVENTURES

 Regular followers of this silly blog will recognize the BAD as "Beautiful Artistic Daughter", aka Gayle.

And recent followers will know that she took an accidental tumble whilst coming away from an appointment and managed to break a bone in her elbow.

Since then her dominant arm has been hampered by having to wear a large and unwieldy brace.

But she's a stubborn girl.

As stubborn as her mother.

She lives alone and is an artist but also somewhat of a pot gardener.

And when she decided her outdoor plants needed some protection from the upcoming elements, she assembled a sort of greenhouse on her patio.

Now how a lady with a broken arm, sporting a cast, does all that is more than I can understand.

But when I asked her she said "Well, I can't just sit around doing nothing."

But at least the plants are protected.

Tomorrow perhaps I'll show you some of the art she's been producing in her "handicapped" state.

WELCOMING FALL WITH A TORTE

 No, no, no, get your minds out of the gutter.

I didn't say "welcoming fall with a tart"!

Other than the NSFW thoughts some of you may have had, I learned that a tart is a contained concoction, like a pie, while a torte is more like a cake, being a free-standing confection.

So what I created yesterday was a plum torte.

The recipe came from the New York Times, which says it was printed every September from 1983 to 1989.

When editors decided that was enough they were flooded with letters demanding it be returned to the annual appearance.

And so it was.

Many adaptions have been offered but this torte from the Taylor Family Kitchen was baked from the original recipe.

And . . . It. Is. Delicious!

Taking Judy's warning that it might be a little tart for my taste, I capped my slice with whipped topping.

But I found it quite sweet enough and devoured my piece in seconds.

And then thought about "seconds".

But I resisted the thought for the evening and went to bed "with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head." 

AUTUMN HAS FALLEN

We made it once again. 

Autumn arrived just before midnight last night.

As I woke and checked the weather I see it is cool(ish) and damp outside.

The temperature at 6:30 a.m. is 61 degrees F. (16 C.) and the Weather Gods say there are showers in the vicinity.

One of my most faithful and consistent humor suppliers, Wacky Wally, sent me this meme this morning.

So the season of those insufferable Pumpkin Spice Everythings has arrived.

Halloween and even CHRISTMAS decorations are prominent in stores and some people are already decorating, with the spooky night still over a month away.

In one of my doctor's offices a small artificial tree has stood for years.

It is decorated by the office manager and members of the staff for whatever season or holiday might be approaching.

The other day when I was there I noticed it was decorated for the Fall Season.

It's clever and perhaps brings a smile to the faces of people waiting (and waiting and waiting) to receive their medical consultations.

Happy Autumn, everyone*!

( * - except for my friend River in South Australia and others in the Southern Hemisphere who have Springtime staring them in the face.)

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

It's been quite a week around here.

Judy's knee is so bad that she can't put hardly any weight on it so I've been hauling her wheelchair in and out of the car as we make our way to various doctor appointments.

She has to get surgery clearances from a couple of medicos before the orthopaedic surgeon will even schedule her knee replacement.

Suffice it to say that I've been getting a workout even though she tries to insist on doing "stuff" in spite of her bone on bone pain.

But never let it be said that will keep me from my weekly appointed task - trying to make YOU laugh.

This week, once again, we're doing an almost totally cartoon-free edition as the words are speaking louder than pictures in the old humor bank,.

So, brace yourselves for some not-so-heavy reading.

Hey, how did those guys get in here?

Oh, that's right, they're Trekkies.

I guess they just beamed in.

Well that's it for another week, Good Friends and Gentle Readers.

Now try your ding-dang-darndest to have a great weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

You know, even the mighty oak was once a nut like you.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . oh joy.   Not.  )

SHEET, YES!

SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) would tell you there's nothing new about it.

But various and sundry cooking newspaper columnists, web pages, t.v. food shows and what not seem to think it's an idea whose time has come.

I'm talking here about Sheet Pan meals.

It's where the main course and all the side dishes are cooked all together spread out on the trusty sheet pan, protected with a sheet of foil.

Like this.

That's pieces of chicken breast coated with barbecue sauce, potatoes, mini sweet peppers, sliced carrots and onions liberally spiced and headed for a hot oven.

And here's the "after" picture.

Scorched to perfection and mouth-wateringly good.

All hail the mighty sheet pan!

BASICALLY BILL

If you want to see a great acting performance, watch Bill Nighy in "Living", on Netflix.

The accomplished British actor is at his best in this quiet movie, an adaptation of the 1952 film "Ikiru" by Akira Kurosawa, which was based on a novel by Leo Tolstoy.

Pretty good names with which to be connected.

It is the story of a bureaucrat in England, shuffling papers endlessly, who learns that he has a terminal illness and then begins to live his life.

Nighy is amazing, displaying an entire range of emotions, especially in a scene in a darkened living room where he relives moments from his life telling each story with only his facial expressions.

As I said to Judy last night as we watched, "Now *that's* acting!"

But you don't need to take my word for it.

Nighy is nominated this year in the Best Actor category for the Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild award, and a BAFTA (Britain's equivalent of an Oscar) by the British Film Association.

I've long been a fan of Nighy but he proves his worth in this film.

RETRO REDFORD

 Now there's no argument with the claim that Robert Redford is a very good looking man.

Or that he has made a lot of entertaining movies.

But after watching four of his films in a week, I think I'll give him a rest for awhile.

Last night, Judy and I watched "The Company You Keep", his movie about a 1960's radical who's been blamed for being part of a gang that killed a guard while pulling off a bank robbery.

But he's been living his life under an assumed name all these years as a responsible attorney.

The story tells of a young newspaper reporter (Shia LeBeouf) trying to uncover his background and then prove him innocent.

The movie is a cavalcade of cameos.

Along with Redford and LeBeouf, there are short appearances by Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, Chris Cooper, Anna Kendrick, Richard Jenkins and Stanley Tucci.

Longer appearances include Julie Christie and Terrence Howard.

It's great seeing all those old familiar faces but, as I told my friend Mike (who suggested the movie) in an email, while entertaining I felt the film with its feel-good ending was a bit of a fairy tale.

The other Redford movies I watched this past week were "The Electric Horseman" (pretty good), "The Great Waldo Pepper" (not so great), and "Our Souls at Night" (thoughtful).

Now, as much as I like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (I've enjoyed it several times over the years), I think I'll take a Redford break.

REDFORD AND FONDA

 We watched a movie from 2017 last night starring a couple of Academy Award winners who were making their 4th movie together.

I'm talking about Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

The movie is called "Our Souls At Night".

The reviews were mixed.

Some people liked it, others thought it was dull.

I don't know whether it's our ages or not but we seek out these types of movies - quiet and thoughtful.

We're nearly identical in age to the two actors.

At the time the movie was released Redford was over 80 and Fonda was fast approaching it.

They didn't hide their ages in the film and they were both as good as ever.

And they're both still active in the film industry.

GETTING READY

 The Autumnal Equinox occurs next Friday, marking the beginning of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.

But one creature has already taken a "fall".

It's the BAD's black cat, Opal.

Anticipating the cooler temperatures to come, she found refuge under a blanket but she's keeping a watchful eye out for any dangers.

On another note, today is Mexican Independence Day, so you may feel free to indulge in tacos and margaritas and once sated to shout "Viva Mexico!"

And we're right in the middle of the Jewish celebration of Rosh Hashana, the beginning of a new year.

This year it's 5784.

One of the traditions is to eat apples dipped in honey.

That sounds tasty.

So I say Happy Rosh Hashana!

Now I'm thinking about ducking under a blanket like Opal.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Oyez, oyez, ye olde week draws to a close once again.

It's been . . oh . . one of those weeks.

Nuff said.

I hope life around your corral is galloping merrily.

And speaking of merrily, that's why I'm here.

So let's see what I've dredged up for you this week.

That's all I've got folks.

So the rest is up to you.

Get thee hence and have a spectacular weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . oh, so arty . . )