SYTTENDE MAI

 How could I have forgotten!

After all Ancestry.com has told me I'm something like 80 percent Norwegian.

And my late uncle, Zenas Howland Taylor, celebrated his birthday on this day.

This is called in Norway, Norwegian Constitution Day because the constitution of the country was signed on May 17th, 1814.

So what do we eat to celebrate this great day?

Norwegian meatballs.  These are served in gravy.

And lefse!

That's a soft Norwegian flatbread made of flour, butter and milk and the best kind includes mashed potatoes.

It's delicious buttered, sugared and rolled into a tube.

But while many Norwegians eat this, you can leave it out of my diet.

The legendary Lutefisk!

It's a dried whitefish like cod that is brined in LYE, then soaked (allegedly) to get rid of that taste, then steamed until it flakes.

It smells horrible and it may be the reason that Norwegians who eat this stuff accompany it with generous topes of beer and Aquavit.

But that's just me.

I have heard that many people of Norwegian ancestry in my home state of North Dakota love the stuff.

There's just no excuse for some people.

RAINDROPS ARE FALLING ON MY . . .

 . . . Blue Birdbath.

SKY SCENE

KITCHEN GOODIES

 Here's the latest from the Taylor Family Kitchen.

The Old Man hit the kitchen early to bake up a dozen Banana Muffins.

Meanwhile his lovely companion and Master Cook created two beautiful Spinach Salads yesterday.

As my Dad used to say "we're eatin' pretty high off the hog!"

FOR ALL MOTHERS

 Today is Mothers' Day . . a day devoted to honoring all mothers, step-mothers, grandmothers, nanas, grans, or whatever you call them.

So here's a couple of pictures of my Mom.

Check out the stylish marcelled hairdo.

The flicker of a smile -  she must have been thinking ahead to Oddball Observations.

A typical North Dakota day with her son - looks like she may have been dragging me to church.

I lost her a long time ago.

She died in 1953 at the early age of 49.

I was just 13.

I wish I'd been able to know her when I was an adult.

The mother I know the best I've lived with for over half a century.

She raised three children and it may just have tuckered her out.

The incredible Judy, aka She Who Must Be Obeyed, in a moment of repose.

For all of the mothers we celebrate, honor and love today, here's a little special gift from your offspring.

Happy Mothers' Day!

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Today is a Red Letter Day!

It's because my wife, Judy, aka She Who Must Be Obeyed, is celebrating her birthday.

As of today, she's thirty-one-thousand seven-hundred fifty-five days old!

Now putting 31,755 candles on her birthday cake would be a bit of a stretch, even for someone as adept as the Catalyst.

So I'll just quietly wish her a Happy Birthday.

So you're probably wondering what I got her for her birthday.

Well I gave her some advice:

So that's it.

My Great Leader's birthday AND The Friday Funnies.

How can you top that?

I'll tell you.

By going full steam ahead, pulling out all stops, and having yourselves a really wonderful weekend.

Here the whole weekend is Prescott Valley Days, with a parade, a carnival, food trucks, and entertainment.

And Sunday is Mothers' Day.

Gadfrey!

I think I'll go take a nap but before I go one gentle reminder: Always Keep Laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oof, there goes my nap . . .)

SWIZZLIN'

 My wife laughs at me because I insist on stirring the drinks I make at home with what's probably now an antique swizzle stick.

I got it many years ago from a then-popular restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Trader Vic's was one of a Polynesian-themed chain that was a big hit across the country and certainly in Arizona with it's tiki-statues and it's "authentic(?)" food and drinks of the South Seas.

I loved the place.

And I've had this swizzle stick ever since, even though the restaurant closed in 1990.

It's made of plastic and I'm amazed that it's lasted all these years.

But maybe it's the Menehune.

They are a mythological group of dwarf people in Hawaiian culture that supposedly pre-date the arrival of people from Polynesia.

Well, Trader Vic (Victor Bergeron) bought into the mythology and they were featured on his menus.

AND on his swizzle sticks!

I don't know about their mystical powers but they've sure kept my swizzle stick safe all these years

Now watch.

I'll probably break it tomorrow.