THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 TGIF!

Thank God It's Franklin!

Oh, you don't get it?

See, while I'm known on here as Catalyst or Bruce or HWMOH (He Who Must Obey Her) . . my real first name is Franklin.

Not named after Benjamin or Delano Roosevelt but after my dad.

Who knows where he got his first name from?

But you didn't come here to read my family history, did you?

You came for these!

Yeah, I've had that stare glare turned on me from time to time too.

Well that does it for this week, folks, and I'm exhausted.

So let me remind you that tomorrow is my birthday.

No gifts, please, just send cash.

In spite of that, have yourselves a wonderful weekend and don't forget this one: always keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(now where did she go ? ? ? ?)

EARTH DAY

 

My generation hasn't done a very good job.

Let's hope the young and the future generations do better with this poor old battered Earth.

YAH, SURE, YOU BETCHA

 When the urge hits to try a new recipe in the Taylor Family Kitchens I often wonder what prompted that urge.

Such was the situation yesterday when I decided to conquer the Swedish Almond Cake.

Loaded with sugar, as it is, one might have attributed it to yesterday's date and what that might have stirred up in the cerebrum.

But it's been roughly two decades since I last indulged in what Baseball Steve referred to as The Devil's Lettuce in a text yesterday evening.

So going another way it could be my 75 percent Scandinavian ancestry that pushed the recipe forth.

But that ancestry is Norwegian and this is, reputedly, a Swedish recipe.

Never mind that it came from Dorie Greenspan, not exactly a Swedish name.

So let's chalk it up to just plain whimsy and have at it.

It turned out pretty darned good, by the way, and according to the praise from SWMBO.

Take a look.

If I make the recipe again, I'll make some alterations because of our elevation.

We're at around 5,000 feet and Dorie probably wrote her recipe and baked her cake at around sea level.

I keep being reminded that some things behave differently in the oven at higher elevations and this one did bake slower than the recipe stated.

Nevertheless, it's nearly half gone now and probably will be finished off by tomorrow.

Hint: it's extra good with a slosh of whipped topping or probably some vanilla ice cream would add to the flavor bump too.

And for you people who always ask me for the recipe, just Google Swedish Almond Cake.

Enjoy!

4-20

 You know what that means.  Don't you?

ASPARAGUS

 Once the seasons begin to change, so does the produce.

And now it's asparagus season.

Now you may not love asparagus.

But you might not love baseball either.

In both cases you'd be wrong.

I'd forgive you but you'd still be wrong.

Win or lose, baseball is still a great game.

And with asparagus, you can't lose.

Only win.

So here is what I made today.

An asparagus, goat cheese, chive tart.

It's a slight adaption of a recipe by My Favorite Redhead, Melissa Clark, in the New York Times.

Her recipe is for an Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Tarragon tart.

But I didn't have any tarragon so I substituted chives from our back patio herb garden.

And I didn't have the called for crème fraiche so I substituted sour cream.

Both allowed for.

All I can say is that it was delicious.

The highest compliment came from my Number One in-house Chef, She Who Must Be Obeyed.

She said, "We will have this again!"

OMEN

 The other day there were some strange clouds in the sky.

SWMBO said they used to be called "mare's tails" when she was a girl.

I'm wondering if they were an omen . . .

. . . of what to expect today.

I turned the furnace back on today for the first time in several weeks.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Amidst all the fury and furor, you should feel fantastically filled with felicitousness for you have a frivolous, foolish friend who brings you each week these Friday Funnies.

How's that for a sentence full of the F words that you don't have to cringe about?

And with that (and my header) let us begin.

Now, having brought you to your knees with knee-slapping humor once again, let me wish for you all a very pleasing weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

BRUNCH

 The Room.

The Menu.

Hendrick's Martini.

Gazpacho.

Caprese Salad.

Crab Cakes.

Crème Brûlée.

Followed by a nap.

(Disclosure: The Mystery Diner was not me.)

RHIANNON GIDDENS

Rhiannon Giddens is amazing.

She plays fiddle and banjo and is the lead singer with the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

She performs in multiple genres, she is an actress, and a recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant".

You can read more about her in Wikipedia.

But for now just listen.

WARY

 Just stopped by for a drink.

And a bath, maybe.

FLORALS

 SWMBO and I celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary recently and I did gift her with some flowers for our quiet marking of the day.

But my spring bouquet with her favorite carnations was outdone by a surprise delivery of another bouquet from her daughter, the BRD.

They weren't blooming upon delivery but since then two huge, beautiful lilies have burst forth and there appear to be a couple more on the way.

The beauty of some flowers just seems to defy the laws of nature, don't you think?

GROWTH

 The chives we planted in a pot last year died out over the winter.

At least we thought they did.

But with very little encouragement from us they have returned and are growing like crazy.

Watch this space for more updates from the Taylor Family Gardens.

CIRCULAR

And now, a brief musical interlude.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Here we go once again, embarking on a voyage of frivolity for you fans of the Friday Funscape.

Strap in, my friends, and get a tight grip on that cup of coffee or tea.

I say "awnt", you say "ant", let's call the whole thing off.

Well aren't I mellifluous and musical this morning?

All right, all right, I just know you don't want your day mucked up with alliteration this week.

So enjoy your FridaySaturdaySunday and always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

OUR BIG DAY

 Thank you to all of you fine Gentle Readers who sent us congratulation messages yesterday on our Golden Anniversary.

And to questions and hopes that we celebrated properly, I show you this.

Judy's expertly-prepared Martini on the Rocks in a frosted glass.

Martinis are rare around here so when she calls for one (and makes it herself) you can be assured it's a special occasion.

As for dining, we supped on our delayed Easter Dinner.

That and a dessert of Tiramisu capped off a perfect day for two geezers who shun large gatherings and prefer each other's company.

Happy Days!

CELEBRATION

 I said last evening that today was going to be a big day for us and I promised to tell you about it.

So here it is.

Today marks the one month anniversary of our second shots of the Moderna vaccine.

And as indicated by the errands and running around and haircut by yours truly yesterday our lives are beginning, slowly, to return to normal.

Oh I was careful.

I put on my mask whenever I had to deal with anyone face to face.

Except for when a young lady, masked in glittery blue, clipped my hair.

So today is a day of celebration for us.

Oh, and there's one other thing.

On April 7th, 1971, Judy and I were married in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Apparently it was a sure bet because the event came just 89 days after we first met.

I've been counting down the days for the past months and the pandemic has made that a bit of an uneasy process.

But as I said to her this morning, "We made it!"

Now, for the next fifty years . . .

SHORN

 I went to an actual barber shop (hair salon) today and got a haircut.

My first outside the home in over a year.

Not that I had locks clear down my back.

SWMBO has been doing yeoman job whenever the tresses got long enough for her to barf.

But she said the other day "I want you to go and get a professional haircut", so . . . tomorrow being a big day* . . . I did.

Here is the result.

Actually not bad, I think, for a guy nearing his 81st trip around the sun.

And, as you may be able to see, it's time for ALOHA SHIRTS once again in sunny Arizona!

So I'm happy, SWMBO is happy, there is joy in the world.

(About that * above - you'll find out tomorrow.)

THEY CALL IT EASTER MONDAY