THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

The weekend looms.

And it's a celebration weekend!

Yes, it's Super Bowl Sunday, when men sit around the house staring at the television all day, occasionally erupting in loud cheers or sorrowful tears.

Meanwhile, the little woman goes out with "the girls" to a friendly, hidden-away, non-sports-bar for a bit of a tipple.

Okay, I heard the groans on that one, I'll stop now.

Find yourself a place to flop, don't be fickle, let your fanatical fantasies run wild, fire up your freewheeling feuds and ask yourself: are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Have a great weekend, even you Saints fans, and always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

CATS - THE NON-MUSICAL

From time to time the neighbors' cat, Mattie, comes by for a visit.

When the weather was warmer . . .yeah, I know, you're gonna give me a lot of static about my 60 degree weather when the rest of you are freezing your bippies off in double digit subzero temperatures.

Incidentally, I saw a brief mention from my niece-in-law in Minneapolis yesterday that said, "Huh.  24 below zero.  That's what it was when we woke up in our tent while camping out in the Boundary Waters region last weekend."

Yes, they did, hauling a tent and a stove and food and presumably some potable to take the bite off the frigid weather, poling along on skis, so they could camp out in snowy weather far away from it all in northern Minnesota.

And she's GRINNING!

Arizona Bruce mutters, "these kids nowadays."

Now where was I.

Oh yeah, cats.

We've had a number of visitors to our back yard over the months.

But the other day as I was out in front chatting with my next door neighbor, Bill, somebody new showed up.

It was a young gray cat that neither of us had recalled seeing before.

It was skittish but was obviously attracted to Bill's area.

Probably because he's been known to put the occasional saucer of milk outside for Mattie.

Meantime, yesterday I got a shot of our Muggles curled up in her cat pedestal.

She had a look on her face that seemed to say, "Oh, no, you're not gonna bring another cat in here, are you?"

No, Muggles, I . . . don't . . . think . . . so.

YARD ART

Now that we've got the monk straightened out and I now know that it's correct name is La Monja, or The Nun, maybe I can explain why we moved her.

This past Christmas we were gifted a totem, designed, created and given to us by the BRD.

That's the beautiful rich daughter, or Gayle, in case you've forgotten.

We decided the perfect place for it was the corner of the yard where La Monja had been before.

So here, with a drum roll for the work of the Beautiful Rich ARTISTIC Daughter, is the totem.

It is a ceramic structure with each object resting on another nestled around a steel rod which goes up through the center.

I think it is perfectly sited at the top of the arc of rocks that Judy and I (mostly Judy) arranged out of a pile that was here when we arrived.

As the sun moves across the sky during the day the light and the shadow are constantly changing to provide a myriad of photo opportunities.

I'm anxious to see what it will look like at night under the light of a full moon.

(SWMBO advised me that I should explain we're aware that it is slightly tilted and a correction will be made in due time.)

AN EMBARRASSING UPDATE

It's about the last post - The Mono.

SWMBO just read it and came in to tell me that's not it's name.

She informed me that it is Monja.

Guess what that translates to in English.

Nun.

SWMBO then said, "You could have asked me."

And that's why she's called She Who Must Be Obeyed.

(I did get her t.v. set running correctly last night, though.)

THE MONO

We (SWMBO and I) have been making some changes in what we laughingly call our "back yard".

We moved the monk to a new location.

It seems like a position of honor and quite by accident I discovered that it is just that.

In the morning, if the sun is shining and it usually is, a beam of light is reflected from my window directly to the monk.

And in the late afternoon he seems to have an unearthly light coming from the setting sun.

Now he (or she) looks like a monk to me.

I bought him, or her, years ago when we were living in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico.

A tag said it was a "mono".

Now the nearest translation from that Spanish word to English comes out as "monkey"!

Now he, or she, is definitely not a monkey but it just occurred to me that the first four letters of that spell "monk".

Which he, or she, looks like, wrapped in that robe with only the face showing.

Incidentally, SWMBO has insisted on keeping he, or she, outside and the elements have had an effect on that face.

From time to time I have suggested touching he, or she, up a bit but SWMBO says she prefers the aging process the weather is providing.

Which doesn't provide a solution to the mystery of the name.

But I've always called it "the monk" and I guess I'll continue with that.

If y'all have any better ideas, the comment section below is wide open.

I always welcome a meeting of the minds.

HOORAY FOR OLD GLORY

Y'all may remember my post recently about one of my neighbors on the next street over flying his flag upside down.

I noted that that's a correct way to fly the flag if the flag-raiser is in distress.

I suggested that, in this case, it might be his way of protesting the government shutdown.

The government went back to work today and, lo and behold, when I stepped outside a few minutes ago I noticed once more his flag flying.

But now it is right side up so I'm guessing it was a protest.

I just can't tell whose side he's on.

AW, RATS!