THROWBACK THURSDAY

 Judy was going through some keepsakes yesterday and she came into my den toting this magazine.

Now that's pretty cool.

A Collier's Magazine with a great looking blonde on the cover.

But that's not the best part.

Let me zoom in a little for you.

Yeah, check out the date on it, not to mention the price.

But that's still not the best part and I know what you're thinking.

That sub-headline about "The Struggle Against Franco Still Goes On" would be it, right?

Some of us remember a program called "NBC's Saturday Night" that first came on our screens in 1975 and featured the catchphrase "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead", which made fun of the news story that went on for weeks about the impending death of the Spanish strongman.

Incidentally that program later became known as Saturday Night Live.

But to get back to the subject at hand, no, that's not what made the discovery of this magazine so important to me.

The true gold, as they say, came in an advertisement on page 57.

Behold!

Baseball Steve has been calling me "Old Taylor" for decades.

And for years I took it as a mild insult.

But now, lo these many, many years later, I realize that he meant it as a compliment all along.

WAYBACK WEDNESDAY CARS

 You regular (and Gentle) readers may have heard me crow about my favorite car from the past.

Even when I had to pump up a flat tire.

That was my little '71 MGB convertible, which I had for only one year.

I've been through a lot of cars during my driving days, from a 47 Chevy, through a Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, through a couple of Impalas, a VW Quantum station wagon, all the way to my 2013 Nissan Altima, which we bought new and still has less than 50,000 miles on it.

I've enjoyed them all, at various times.

But my favorite car of all time was one I didn't even own.

This one.

My uncle Zenas bought that 1948 Packard Super convertible coupe new for less than twenty-three hundred bucks.

It was black with white sidewall tires and, as I remember, a blood red interior.

It was swank!

But, I found in looking through some family pictures today, that I can go back even further than that.

That's my grandfather, B.W., sitting on the running board.

The raffish young man in the straw boater is my father, F.B.

My grandmother, Daisy Berry Taylor (I swear) is on the right and her mother, my great-grandmother Libby (Elizabeth) Howland Berry, is on the left.

I can't tell you what year the photo was taken or what kind of car it is.

Judging by my father's appearance I would guess it's in the mid-1920's.

But I'm at a loss for cars from that era.

So maybe one of you experts out there can tell me what it is.

Meantime, I sure wish I had that Packard stud-mobile!

RAINDROPS . . .

 . . . keep fallin' on my head." ☂

Didn't need that brolly (bumbershoot) (umbrella) today.

In spite of black, threatening skies bearing down on us we got just about enough rain to make spatters on the window.

And dampen the back yard plants.

Continuing my silly theme then, "rain, rain, go away.  Come again some other day."

The thunder sounds nice though.

The Boss

I must thank Garrison Keillor for mentioning Bruce Springsteen's take on Prince's "Purple Rain".

It really is exceptional, especially including a great guitar solo by the legendary Nils Lofgren.

So put down your scorn and give it nearly 7 minutes of pleasure.

It's truly worth it and full of feeling.

Enjoy your Monday.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Well, it's nearing the end of the week again and what's new?

Oh, Clint Eastwood has a new movie coming out that he both directed and starred in.

Clint who, you ask?

Well he is 91 years old!

Hasn't he ever heard of retirement, asks Jack Nicholson?

Or maybe that was me.

And that's slmost all I've got.

Now don't worry about your INCREDIBLY ANCIENT age, just try to have a wonderful weekend.

And never forget to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(oops)

Some of you skeptics may think that's cheating; that isn't really a kitty.

So for you . . here's another try.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

ORGANIZING

Well, doesn't it?

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 It is nearing the end of a great week for Hmong teenager Sunisa Lee and a not so great week for Novak Djokovic.

If you can not only correctly spell but pronounce every word in that last sentence then you too should win a Gold Medal.

If not, practice, practice, practice.

There's another opportunity in Paris in just three years.

(the crowd grumbles: Oh shut up, Catalyst, and get on with what we all came here for!)

Okay, okay, let the games begin!

All right, word lovers, with that triple twist I'll just lift a glass at the uneven bars and catch a wave out of here.

Now have a great weekend and never, ever, forget to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Aw, c'mon, guys . . .)

THE CELEBRITY AT HOME

 

I call her the model these days.

She's my step-daughter, the eldest girl of Judy, aka SWMBO.

I think she looks right natural in front of this rental place at a resort in Sedona.

Word is that it's been named the Celebrity House because of all the  celebrities who have stayed there.

This time it's the BRD and a gal friend staying there.

How long before Hollywood will be calling and she'll be one of the celebrities on the list?

P.C.

 My Scot-loving pal, Tommy Terrific, sent this video over from sunny California today and I found it good enough to share.

With apologies to my favorite Scottish pals, "gz and the Pirate."

SQUASHED

 We had a ferocious thunderstorm hit us for a half hour or more the other day.

It just poured.

Reminded me of movies I've seen of rain like that in the jungles.

The squash and gourd vines took a beating and a day or so later Judy went out to check on them.

In so doing, she plucked a couple of squash.

You can see the plant leaves that did not survived the abuse they took.

And the squash were quite small though usable in the kitchen she said.

She sliced them up and sauteed them with some onions and mini-peppers.

They were pretty bland.

But today there's a recipe in my cooking companion, the New York Times, for zucchini.

(Actually there are a plethora of recipes for zucchini, that most plethorous of plants.)

(I don't know if "plethorous" is actually a word but I think if you've ever grown zucchini you get the picture.)

But getting back to the recipe, it calls for sauteeing planks of the zukes, then a quick bath in some brown butter, garlic and rosemary, before serving them with red pepper flakes, coarse sea salt and a spritz of lemon.

Since our summer squash is a relative of zucchini, both the Master Chef and I think that ought to give them some mouth appeal.

I'll let you know.

(p.s. Apparently plethorous was not a real word. 

Until now.

The Great Google found another word for what I meant: plethoric.

Use whichever one you prefer.)

A BAKING TIP

 Picking up from my success with a Cherry Clafoutis recently, I decided to make one with a partial package of blueberries that had been taking up space in the freezer for ages.

By the way, I've gone to the 9 inch square baking dish rather than the glass pie plate because it's deeper and makes the trip from the counter to the oven less hazardous.

But here's the background of today's tip.

I put the bag of blueberries out on some paper towels on the counter to thaw.

And then when I was assembling, I just picked up the bag and poured the contents into the dish.

I hadn't counted on the berries putting out that much liquid and the result was blueberry soup.

But never say mind.

I finished the pudding base with the other ingredients and poured it in on top of the blue morass and sent it into the oven.

Baking for the normally alotted time (45 minutes) seemed to have done the job; a knife inserted into the center came out dry and mostly clear of any crumbs.

But when I sliced a piece from the cooled product it seemed a bit moister than usual for this pastry.

My Chief Taster and Kitchen Expert said it tasted wonderful but she opined that it would have been better to have drained the berries and left the juice out.

So there's your tip for the day - dry those blueberries.

Better yet, use a firmer fruit and save the blueberries for a different recipe.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 It's Full Moon Friday!

Also the final time my friend Phil can celebrate his birthday by saying "I'm seventy- - - -."

How quickly the years have passed.

So for Phil and all other Senior Citizens, here's a diet regimen to help you live on into your "Golden Years".

And those are the jokes, folks.

Now whether it's your birthday or not, endeavor to have an exciting and excellent weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

ThrowBack Thursday

 Your scribe, some time in the 1940's.

Gadfrey! 

That necktie! 

That collar! 

That smirk!

Then . . . 70 or so years later.

Thank gawd!

The necktie is gone.

The collar is gone.

But, peeking through the beard, the smirk lives on.

Remember the Old Catalyst's admonition: Keep Laughing!