THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Oof.

Or, as we Upper Midwesterners used to say, Uff-dah!

I trust all of you people who celebrated with a huge feast yesterday are feeling the same way today.

But remember, it's only once a year.

So you might as well have at it and eat and drink as much as your resisting bodies can hold.

I'm a tad worn out so let's get right to the business at hand.

So that's that.

Now here we are in the middle of a four-day weekend, Black Friday sales, trying to recovery from Feast Day, looking forward with dread to the onset of winter, or whatever.

But I trust in the face of all this confusion you will endeavor to have an exhilirating weekend.

And never forget to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, yeah . . . )

FEASTING DAY

 

Whether you're celebrating or not

I want to thank you all for "being there"

and wish you a very

Happy Thanksgiving!

(now let's eat)

THE FINAL DAY

Well, as Jerry Jeff Walker (might have) said, "It's down to the bendin' end."

Only this last day to prepare for Thanksgiving here in the U.S. of A.

I made a Pumpkin Cheesecake this morning and it's chilling for tomorrow's feast day.

The glorious Judy, aka SWMBO, and I will be alone with no friends or family to clutter up the house and engage in arguments.

And even with all my talk of turkey coming up to this day, we'll be having our traditional dinner of Roast Pork Loin with, as the BAD put it in an email the other day, all the usual "fixins".

So as y'all are stressing out over The Big Day, let me give you a few laughs along the way.

This last one is for all diners who hate it when different parts of the meal touch each other.

You know who you are.

TOMATO HARVEST

Our nighttime temperatures have been dipping closer and closer to the freezing point lately.

So this morning I was out on the patio taking a look at our tomato vines in their big barrel and thinking.

I came back inside and said to Judy, "I think maybe it's time to harvest what's left of the tomatoes, even though they're all still green, and rip out the plant for this year."

She said, "I think so too and I'll do it."

I said, "Well, I was going to do it but I just wanted to clear it with you."

She said, ever more firmly, "I will do it."

Recognizing that SWMBO voice, I said meekly "Okay" and scurried off to my den.

Some time later she came into the room and said, "The tomato harvesting is done and all that remains is for you to haul the scraps of the vines to the trash."

And I did.

Here's what we got for our her labors.

Those on the plate in the rear are from earlier harvests and today's crop is in front.

Did I hear someone say "Fried Green Tomatoes"?

All in all, it's been a good year.

We've eaten quite a few of the larger red ones and the yellow pear tomatoes surprised us with their growth and flavor.

So here it comes again, 

"Homegrown tomatoes

What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes?

Only two things that money can't buy

And that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."

- - - Special thanks to songwriter Guy Clark

TWO TO GO

 

THUUUUU-REEEEE DAYS LEFT

 

FOUR TO GO

 

FIVE DAYS AWAY

 

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Yikes! What happened to our balmy weather?

Well, at least here in the Central Highlands of Arizona.

The mercury is dipping dangerously close to the freezing point overnight and is hovering in the 50's in the daytime.

I know, I know, but for we Arizonans that's brrrrr weather.

And it's been rainy for days which prompts me to revive an age-old sardonic line of mine.

"Doesn't the sun ever shine in Arizona?"

Well, it does, more even than in the so-called Sunshine State over on the southeast coast.

But enough about my angst.

There are more important events on the horizon.

Some interesting culinary choices for National Eating Day coming up, aren't there?

Well you have a weekend to prepare for your grandiloquent feast.

So make it a good one.

Practice, practice, practice.

And always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, she's been practicing . . . )

ANOTHER COUNTDOWN

The clock is ticking . . . . . . . . .

TUESDAY ODDITIES

Just a couple of things that have ME scratching my head this morning.

You've probably heard about the flares from the sun that have made the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, visible in parts of the world much further south than normal.

Even in Arizona were they visible.

One of my prolific elves sent me a photo of the Northern lights in Phoenix!

(The photo was taken at an intersection with Northern Avenue.)

Then there's another oddity.

Our cat Sweetie-Pie has found her voice after many months of just murmuring.

Now it's a raucous squall most of the time.

She uses it to wake me up to feed her in the morning.

She uses it to announce her entry and exit from her litter tray.

She uses it seemingly from boredom when she's patrolling our home.

But most annoyingly she uses it when she's about to settle in for her morning nap.

That takes place on my bed, up against a pile of pillows.

You can see here there, behind me, just after a series of squalls that I have ignored this morning.

Usually I call out "Hey!" or turn around and pat the bed, whereupon she comes over for a petting before going back and curling up.

But today after several of her yowling squawks she gave up and just went to sleep.

These are some of the oddities in my life today.

How about yours?

THE CHIEF ELF

Longtime readers of this blog have often praised me for brightening their day at the end of a week with the Friday Funnies.

While accepting such adulation in my usual modest way ("I am the best humorist the world has ever seen!"), I have on various occasions pointed out that I have a coven of humor elves who supply me with much of the material that makes you all giggle, guffaw, smile or scratch your heads.

My main supplier, who I have nicknamed Wacky Wally, got his own treatment recently.

But first let me show you how I first new Wally many years, actually decades, ago when he was a photographer (or videographer, as they came to be known) at Channel 12 in Phoenix.

Now there's two things you should take note of in this picture.

First there is that impish grin on his face.

Second is the slogan on his shirt, which notes that this was taken on a work break at the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan, in 1980.

That's 45 years ago, folks.

Now Wally's birthday is December 30th, which his daughter says is a silly day for a birthday.

Which made it simple for her to stun him recently with a surprise 80th birthday party.

Photographs of the photographer as he entered the room tell the story.

Among the crowd there to greet him were relatives from Tucson, Texas, Louisiana and Wisconsin as well as a few former co-workers.

Here's the honoree and his daughter, Susan, who put it all together.

I wasn't able to get to the party to honor my old pal but I can still extend my best wishes with a slightly older picture that may have given me the reason for his nickname.

Wacky Wally, indeed!

On behalf of my blog readers who appreciate the humor you supply to keep me going every week, Happy Early Birthday, "old" pal.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Well my longtime and newtime friends and neighbors, today is the day you've all been looking forward to with dread.

The day when your tired old Catalyst says, "That's it, I'm retiring, no more Friday Funnies."

Hahahahahaha!

That's the first one!

And it's not even April Fools Day.

Here we go once again,

Now if you've figured out all of those mind benders on the first time through, congratulations to you!

If not, just get back it and no fair looking at the comments until you've got them.

After that, you can take a rest but only briefly because I want you to have an exquisitely exciting and exhilarating weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, I'll just bet I can imagine . . . )

BUSY BAKING

 

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies

(about 4 dozen)

REMEMBER