A SUITABLE DUNGEON

 Once again today, I turn the blog over to my wife, Judy for her tale of A Suitable Dungeon.

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Many years ago I found myself in the terrible position of deciding my mother's future.  She had had a couple of "minor" strokes and my father had recently passed away.

It wasn't safe any longer for her to live alone in their retirement house in Florida.  She left stove burners on and forgot them.  She stumbled frequently and almost fell.

I was summoned from across the country to "come and help me deal with Mother".  My sister had moved near our parents when they retired to Florida.  But she was still working and "the mother situation" had become critical.  It was obvious that we had to deal with the problem quickly and I was required to be there.

We started looking at potential "retirement centers" . . really, nursing homes.  Upon returning to her house the first day we found Mother sitting on the edge of her bed.  She looked up and gave us an evil look and said, "Well, did you find a suitable dungeon for me today?"

We were spent from the mental and physical effort of the day.  Both of us plopped on the bed beside our mother and one of us said, "No, not today, Mother," and we laughed rather hysterically.  Mother looked at both of us and couldn't see the humor in the situation.

The next day we heard of a brand new retirement center that was opening in three weeks.  We took the tour and instantly decided it was perfect.

Mother had been a gardener and bird watcher all her life.  We told her of the beautiful gardens all around the place.  She inquired as to whether she could take her bird bath with her and put it in one of the gardens.  We said we would see if that could happen.

We scheduled a visit for the three of us to do a walk-through of a possible apartment for Mother.  It was on the third floor.  She liked the sparkling newness of it all and that she could take her own furniture and personal things.  We walked out on her private balcony and looked around.  One of us mentioned that the bird bath would like nice down below in the garden.

Mother looked around for a minute and said, "That bird bath would be so far away I wouldn't know if they were drinking or shitting!  Then she stomped away.  My sister and I looked at each other and knew we had work to do.

Over the next few days we lobbied for the place by pointing out the amenities.  "You can have your own little refrigerator and microwave and coffee maker.  You won't have to cook major meals.  They will be served to you in the dining room."

"I won't know any of those people," she snarled.

"But you can get to know them."

"Why should I?  None of my friends will know where I have gone.  Nobody will ever visit me."

She had really been a loner, almost anti-social and suddenly she worried that the few friends she had would never visit her.  She worried that no one would speak to her at the dinner table.  It was rather ridiculous that one of the best-read, most informed persons in the area was worried that there would be nothing in common with these people.

But slowly she started to look semi-kindly on the new place.  It was very different from anything she'd ever known.  The move proceeded.

There was a terrible wrangle over her learning to use an electric coffee maker rather than perking her coffee on the stove.  "I know good coffee and I know bad coffee and this stuff is bad," she growled.

One morning before the move, as we sipped our "bad coffee" in the living room of the home she had known, a movement outside the picture window attracted my attention.  A giant Blue Heron was leaning down to drink from the bird bath in the front yard.  He was so casual about it.  My heart was pounding as I whispered to my mother, "Look, oh look at that!"

She said, "Oh yes, he stops by a few morning a week for a drink."

A short time later the move took place.  Mother adjusted quickly and was quite satisfied with her new home for the rest of her time.

 - - - - - -

My daughter and I have lunch together often on Fridays.  A while back she handed me a brochure for a new retirement center in town that was holding an open house for the public in a week or two.  She asked if I'd be interested in going and looking it over.  I said I'd like that.

When I came home and handed the brochure to my husband, he asked, "Has she found a suitable dungeon for us?"

 ----- by Judith Taylor 

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Wednesday was a delight.

Thursday was rainy and cool.

And now, once again, it's Friday.

So what do we make of this?

Let's let the Comedy Gods decide.

That's it, folks.

The party's over.

Ah, but you can have your OWN party.

Make it a good one and have a fabulous weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

THANK YOU

Today I'm offering a fond thank you to all of you who sent good wishes on my 84th birthday yesterday.

You are all good friends.

To those of you who were hoping I enjoyed a huge slice of birthday cake, I must tell you that we did not take that risk.

The risk of burning the house down and possibly my demise from  the task of blowing out all of those candles.

SWMBO offered me a choice a week or so before and I chose a favorite of mine: Lemon Sponge Pie.

It was delicious, as was my filet mignon, shrimp scampi and a new discovery: Sister Schubert's Dinner Rolls!

I have a post by Val the victorian to thank for tipping me to those frozen supermarket delights.

They are mouth-watering.

So, all-in-all, it was a great feast and a wonderful birthday celebration here at home, just the two of us.

So now it's Thursday and a bit of a letdown.

Onward and upward!

AMAZING!

 It is that time of year again.

My birthday.

As I gaze into the future and wonder . . how long, how long can this go on . . I was brought up short by a card I received from a long-time friend.

The front of the card was promising.

But then I opened it and found this!

I might add, petulantly, that the sender of this card is a full EIGHT YEARS OLDER THAN ME!

Still, when SWMBO came by my post at the computer to wish me a happy birthday, I just stared at her and said "Amazing!"

What's amazing, she asked.

And I said "I am 84 years old today!"

In spite of a plethora of bad habits and conduct over the years, I continue to live on.

Last night as Judy was preparing for slumber I came in and, in my best imitation Paul McCartney voice, sang " . . will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 84!"

But I ask you, "Is this paragon of pulchritude the face of an 84 year old man?"

My grandfather, if he were still with us, would have wished me a happy 85th birthday.

He maintained that one's first birthday was their birth day.

So a person's birthday was actually one year more than the number of years one had existed.

Well, whatever the number, I'll take it.

Now, what's for dinner?

HAPPY EARTH DAY

 

Let's all join in the effort to save it for future generations.

(Thanks to NASA for the image)

420

Yes, it's 420 Day . . the day to celebrate all things marijuana.

And it's legal now here in Red-turning-Purple Arizona.

Yes, recreational marijuana is an okay thing in the state that gave you Barry Goldwater.

Actually, Barry was a bit of a rebel and one can imagine him trying a bit of weed sometime in his day.

I sent a few friends who probably still "use" this meme last night.

For those of you who may not know, Willy along with being a legendary musician has long been very open about his reliance on pot to relax.

I'm not sure that he was making any deliveries last night but what the heck.

My smoking days are long in the past and I have never tried the "edibles".

Well that's not exactly true.

I have some tales about a fierce baked treat from one of my friends called Mari-Mari Balls.

And I did, indeed, get baked from their consumption.

But that's a story for another time.

You might have thought I was about to partake when you see what I conjured up in the Taylor Home Bakery today.

Just in time for "The Munchies"!

It's a Flourless Chocolate Cake, from a recipe by Genevieve Ko in the New York Times.

It's fresh from the oven so it's too hot to try yet but I got a taste from the toothpick I used to check it's doneness and I think it'll do.

I was assisted (nagged actually) by my sous chef keeping a close eye on me.

I think most, if not all, of you know that chocolate is taboo for cats.

But Miss Sweetie-Pie thinks any time anyone goes into the kitchen they are preparing something for her.

As people have said in a slightly different way about Judy and I, we can't understand why she's still such a little cat considering all she eats.

I wonder . . . does catnip have the same effect as Mary Jane?

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Well here we are once again, POETS Day.

No, no, no, this is not an homage to Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson.

POETS Day was invented by someone who got tired of saying TGIF at the end of every work week.

It stands for P--- On Everything, Tomorrow's Saturday!

I'll let you fill in the blanks.

Meanwhile I'LL fill in the blanks in your comedy curriculum.

Let's see if you laugh.

Doo-wop-ah-doo-wop-ah-sha-na-na . . .

Are we all singing along?

Maybe some of you are too young.

Oh, well, try at the very least to have the very best weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . doo-wop-ah-doo-wop . . . )

HOME COOKING

I got into a discussion on Facebook yesterday about "hot dishes".

For those of you who might not be familiar with the term, it is essentially the same as "casseroles".

In other words a meal baked in one dish in the oven.

In Minnesota, from whence the FB discussion was referred, and North Dakota, where I grew up, hot dishes were the accepted term.

When someone died, friends and neighbors would bring a prepared hot dish to the door of the bereaved to pop into the oven.

Churches would have regular hot dish dinners, otherwise known as potlucks, where the parisioners would each bring their specialty for everyone to share.

In my house, I remember tuna fish and peas, with a topping of crushed Corn Flakes cereal.

Or goulash, originally a Hungarian dish, but in my mother's iteration  it was made with ground beef and some kind of tomato sauce, maybe tomato soup from a can.

One of the other participants in the discussion added "Everything with ground beef!" And Campbell's soup!"

I think Cream of Mushroom soup was the standard binder in those many simple recipes.

It wasn't fancy but it was darned tasty, as I remember it.

All of which was coincidental to what was going on in my kitchen yesterday.

SWMBO had mentioned a few days before about using some of that leftover Easter ham and some potatoes, which we always have in the pantry, to make a meal from the long ago past: Scalloped Potatoes with Ham!

Her recipe . . and, by the way, she's from Indiana . . included a can of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup!

It also had some grated cheddar cheese, in a nod to more modern cookery.

Here it is, fresh from the oven.

We found we no longer had the right sized glass dish so this "hot dish" was baked in a metal pan.

But the flavor was the same and I had "seconds".

Ain't nothin' wrong with home style cookin'.

SPRING IS BACK

 Finally, true Spring has arrived.

SWMBO and I were out front gathering up last Autumn's leaves and pulling weeds awhile ago.

When we came in, I checked the temperature.

That's an AI generated image but it shows the actual temperature here in the Central Highlands of Arizona right now.

Mid-day on April 17th.

APRIL 17TH!

In spite of that tad-high reading right now the day was sunny and felt perfect, as Judy told a passing neighbor.

But I'm thinkin', "If that's the temperature in mid-April, what are the next few months going to be like?"

Warm, I'd say.

No, very warm.

No, just plain hot!

Climate change is definitely here, my friends.

Brace yourselves.

BIRTHDAY GIRL

 As I noted yesterday, the Beautiful Artistic Daughter celebrated her 70th birthday with us recently.

I Waterlogued a picture of her just for fun.

We invited her over to enjoy a special dinner prepared by her mother, aka She Who Must Be Obeyed.

And it was special!

Shrimp Scampi, Pasta Shells in an Alfredo Sauce topped with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Snow Peas, a Chopped Salad and Dinner Rolls.

And, of course, Judy's showcase.

A plate of artfully arranged thinly sliced lemons for squeezing over the shrimp.

All accompanied by a nice bottle of Prosecco.

Not shown was the dessert, Gayle's favorite: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

And SPRINKLES!

The meal was deemed a huge success and the honoree was pleased, indeed.

All that was left was the cleanup, undertaken by Yours Truly.

If it wasn't for the wonderful culinary sensations, I think I would say that I'm glad these events only come around once a year.

And speaking of culinary sensations, Judy and I watched the French movie "The Taste of Things" yesterday.

It is very tasty and I recommend it.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 So this was the week the Sun went "out".

Well, just for a few minutes.

And just for part of the world.

But if you were where the total eclipse was visible, it was quite a show.

Oh and yesterday the Beautiful Artistic Daughter had a birthday.

A BIG one.

I'm not revealing any secrets here.

She turned 70!

And she's not hiding it.

Well, except for her appearance as she looks much, much younger.

Maybe 70 is the new 40.

I saw a new cardiologist a couple of days ago and I must be doing okay because we laughed and laughed through the appointment.

And that's what I hope you all will do as I launch us into a new fit of frivolity to finalize the week.

The first one is for Gayle and anyone who had a birthday this week.

Seems like there was a lot of food fetishness going on this week.

I guess that might tell you something about me.

Well at any rate, eat and drink well this weekend and make it a fine fete-filled feast for the senses.

And ALWAYS remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . oh, and she's brought a friend . . )