THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Here it is!

The day you've all been waiting for!

FRIDAY!

Oh, and by the way, Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas Shopping Season.

Now then, on to the business of the day.

Humor, humour, levity, titillation, joy, reckless abandon, the Friday Fun House emanations.

I can hear you, saying (yelling) "Oh for cryin' out loud, will you just get started!"

Indeed I can, and I shall, right now.

All right, fellow jokesters, that's it for this week.

I hope you'll all endeavor to enjoy an exciting end of the week and I will trust you to not get enervated.

Oh, and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(oh, you big show-off)

A RAINY MORNING

 How about that?

When I went out early this morning to take the garbage dumpster to the street, I saw dark skies and a few raindrops on my driveway.

A bit later, as I sat by the window next to my computer, I saw a slightly more intense rain falling for a couple of hours.

Here's the proof.

SWMBO says when a puddle forms in our back yard that means we've had some mentionable rain.

You may note that I mention the rain nearly every time we get more than a few drops.

We live in Arizona!

Rain is rare here.

We only get a few inches of it in an average year.

So humor me.

It's a rainy day.

I said it and I'm stickin' with it.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE . . .

 Judy (aka SWMBO) and I don't really celebrate holidays any more.

We're OLD!

And it's only the two of us.

After laboring in the kitchen for two days for about a 15 minute dining experience on Thanksgiving this year, she said "That's it! Never again."

Although I have been making my appearance at the kitchen stove more lately, I couldn't help but agree.

And Christmas has only been something to get out of the way as quickly and easily as possible for years now.

So I was a tad surprised when she decided to do her holiday decorating last night.

Granted, it's not much.

But it's us.

It's how book people decorate.

I mean what's more Christmassy than plastic crystal strings hung over the bookcases, right?

Okay, okay, that's not all.

I mean we do have a tree, after all.

Several of them in fact.

And Santas and toys and snow.

So you celebrate Christmas your way and we'll celebrate it ours.

Now where's that bowl of wassail anyway?

Merry Christmas to all and . . well, you know the rest.

2020 POLITICS

 

"You wanna fight?!!!"

REMEMBRANCE

 

79 years ago - December 7th, 1941 - Japanese airplanes bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The sneak attack prompted the United States of America to declare its entry into World War Two.

For all the lives lost on that long distant day flags are flying at half staff today.

SATURDAY: JUST HANGIN' AROUND

 

(thanks to Ribald Roger for this and hundreds more)

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 My, my, my, it's December already.

SWMBO said the other evening that she couldn't believe it's already December.

Some of us are thankful it IS December already.

But also thankfully, it is FRIDAY and I have some humor (humour, Brits) for you so let's get at it, shall we.

I bet you thought you'd seen all the puns today, didn't you?

Not so, frowny-faces, I saved the best (and the newest - thanks, Wacky Wally) for the last.

Brace yourselves.

Hahahahahaha!

(Feel free to join in.)

Wacky Wally doesn't waffle, he's a wicked, wileful worker as he wanders willfully in the woody wonderland of wordsmithery, wending his way to the worst of the World Wide Web.

And for that, I thank him!

Now, let's all have a sensational weekend.

Work on your Christmas greetings, STAY AT HOME, wear your masks and be safe.

There's a new year a-comin'.

Oh, and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(uh-oh)

ROADIE

 Sometimes you just have to get out.

SWMBO and I have been pretty much cooped up in our little duplex apartment since last February.

We've taken a few little drives in those many long months but probably too few even for us, who have been trying to obey the rules designed to keep us alive.

But then there's the problem of cabin fever.

As I said, sometimes you just have to get out.

So we (with Judy at the wheel) took a longer drive today.

I asked here where she wanted to go and she said "I'm thinkin' the Cave Creek area."

Now Cave Creek is (or was) a tiny community north of Phoenix.

JUST north of Phoenix.

About 80 miles from home.

I was a little taken aback but true to my stoic Norwegian-English heritage I didn't betray a bit of it.

I merely said "You feel like doin' some drivin'?"

She said "sure" and agreed to drive down if I'd drive back.

So, about an hour and a half later we found ourselves here.

Cave Creek, I remind you, was a "tiny" community.

Back when we first discovered it almost 50 years ago!

Now, it's just a very expensive part of Greater Phoenix.

But what the hey!

We were only visiting, right?

We found ourselves here . .

 . . for a pleasant outdoor lunch.

May I just say the Prickly Pear Margaritas took the dust off that long drive just right.

And the food was good . . perhaps because it was restaurant food, served to us, not cooked by us, too expensive but delightful.

Speaking of cactus, here's what it looks like in the wild.

And there was the stately Saguaro.

Back home this evening and a couple of episodes of Downton Abbey on the television - all in all, a damned nice day.

OR WOULD YOU RATHER BE A DUCK?

 SWMBO is a fan of Rachel Madow's show on MSNBC.

I am not.

But tonight I happened to be in the room when the show started and when Rachel said she was going to start in Arizona I stopped to see what she had to say.

I assumed it would be about state officials certifying the election vote for Joe Biden and might include something about Crazy Rudy Giuliani's appearance in Phoenix today.

It did.

But moreso, it made a laughing stock of my Governor, Doug "Ducky" Ducey.

You have to watch it, if you can.

All I can say is this is what happens when you make an ice cream salesman your governor.

On a much more serious note, I advise you to watch this video on the Cheerful Monk's blog.

It's about 20 minutes long and the narrator has a somewhat monotonous, perhaps robotic, delivery but the information for our grandchildren is invaluable.

And that's all I've got on this last day of November.

Happy full moon!

SATURDAY LEFTOVERS

 

No, not from Thanksgiving.

From Friday night's pizza.

A MAN'S breakfast!

MATTY

 I was doing some preparatory work in the kitchen this morning prior to making a loaf of bread when I heard this repeated little chirp.

I glanced around the kitchen and could see no appliance or clock making that noise.

But then I heard it again.

This time I went to the door of SWMBO's room to see if she was listening to something on her computer.

Nope.

So, back to the kitchen, thinking maybe the kids next door were playing outside and that was what I was hearing.

Then I began to hear a louder sound, a clattering that I soon discovered was coming from the door to the garage.

Thinking perhaps Santa Claus was making a reconnaisance run I went over and opened the door.

A very puffy, cold Matty, the cross-the-street neighbor's cat, ran into the house!

He apparently had gone in our garage when I had the door open last night and I never saw him.

He had spent the night in our garage!

He was obviously glad to be rescued and to see one of his human friends again as he rubbed and rubbed on my legs.

Judy said to give him an extra dose of cat treats and then put him out so he can go home.

He got his treats and then went into the garage (which now had the big door open) but he was hesitant.

I walked to the doorway with him and he looked around but then when I headed back in he beat me to the door!

So I let him in again and then walked to the slider door in Judy's room.

That's the door he usually uses as he enters our home.

He went to it, looked out, sniffed the air and turned around.

He was not ready to leave yet.

So we went back to the living room and I gave him some catnip in front of the fireplace and he ate some and rolled around in the rest.

And now he's on our couch, which is where he takes his naps.

He'll probably be there most of the day.

Our friend Matty.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Is everybody feeling stuffed this morning?

Or ready for left-overs?

Whichever it is, I hope you Americans had a lovely Thanksgiving and the rest of you are glad all the hullabaloo from "the colonies" is over.

Of course, there's always . . .

Yes, just when you thought it was safe to come out, another holiday season is bearing down on us and this time nearly EVERY one gets to suffer through it.

So, what the hey, let's get on to it.

But it's not only Christmas . . there are other things to laugh about.

Heck, I've even got one for my almost-Canadian pal, Jager, and you lads up North, eh?

And, as always, we end on one of these:

Okay, I'm ducking.

Now let's all get out (or stay in, like me) and have a wonderful weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

HONORING THE BIRD (?)

 

IT'S COMING

 Word is there's somethin' goin' on tomorrow.

And, as always, watch out for the kitties.

Have a great feast and a Happy Thanksgiving, everbody!

PLANNING A TRIP? DON'T!

 You say you're going to travel far and wide for the Thanksgiving and/or Christmas holidays?

Take the advice of this guy.

Dr. Anthony Fauci really knows what he's talking about.

He's the recognized expert on the Corona-19 virus.

And what does he say?

The same thing the late great Perry Como once sang.

"There's no place like home for the holidays"

Stay safe.  Stay sane.  Stay alive.  Stay home.

FINALLY

 

MEANDERING MONDAY

 Yes, it's Monday, once again.

I don't know why that seems to appear to me as a Blue Monday because I've been retired for y-e-a-r-s.

One day is pretty much just like the next to me, especially since we're holed up with the Corona virus raging all around us.

So we stay isolated and take the necessary precautions.

It's not so bad.

I went out to fill the birdbath a little while ago and though the temperature is only in the low 60's the sunshine felt warm and pleasant so I sat in a chair at the edge of the patio and practiced a little meditation and deep breathing.

With my eyes mostly closed and concentrating on slowing down my thoughts I began to hear the sounds around me - a dog yipping next door, an airplane droning overhead, a car going by, and mostly the sweet sound of silence.

Oh yeah, I meant to apologize for my subtle complaint about the temperature only being in the low 60's.

I know some of you who live in colder climes will find that offensive.

But just to rub it in a little more I will note that I was not wearing socks and was attired only in blue jeans and a t-shirt.

Yesterday I went to our local Panda Express and brought home some Orange Chicken, Fried Rice, Cream Cheese Rangoons for me and a Chicken egg roll for Judy.

We hadn't had that type of food for a long time and it tasted good.

Later, after a couple of naps, we watched some episodes of "The Queen's Gambit" on Netflix.

We're both enjoying it and Judy told me this morning that she had just seen an article on the Web about the surge in sales of chess sets since the program began airing!

I recall playing chess myself many years ago but never got into it enough to play other than a defensive game.

Guess I just don't have the attack gene.

Well, that's what my life has been like lately.

What's going on in yours?

SEEMS LIKE A GOOD TIME FOR THIS

BAKERY UPDATE

 SWMBO said yesterday evening, "We're running low on bread."

Being an understanding husband to this woman of nearly 50 years, I hied me to the kitchen this morning.

Fresh from the bread machine . . .

A loaf of whole wheat bread studded with dried cranberries (Craisins).

It joined a couple of loaves of previously baked English Muffin bread.

But then I got a little "arty".

Here's the "beauty shot".