IT'S TIME

 For those of you steeped in mythology (or green beer), your time has come.

It is St. Patrick's Day!

Last night the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame defeated Rutgers in TWO OVERTIMES to make their way into the 64-team field who begin competition today in the annual NCAA Basketball Tournament.

It was truly March Madness so once again the Irish among you have something to celebrate.

As for the other mythology of the day, there's this:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sláinte!

DAMN SPELLCHECK!

 

BREAKFAST

 I broke my fast early this morning with a sizable slice of that Dutch Apple Pie my beloved baked yesterday.

And I topped it with two small scoops of vanilla ice cream.

All at around 8:30 a.m.

It was wonderful!

And now that Pi Day has been noted and celebrated, we can get on to the next festive mark on the calendar.

BAKE, BABY, BAKE

 Far be it from me to attempt to bake a pie on Pi Day.

But that may be because I have one of the finest chefs in the world living under my roof.

She took up the challenge.

Here is her product, fresh out of the oven.

That's Judy's Dutch Apple Pie.

What makes it a "Dutch" apple pie, you may be asking.

I did.

She told me it's because it has a crumb topping rather than a second crust.

I just know that I love it.

And I love her.

But not so much that I couldn't play around with it a little bit.

PI(E) DAY!

 March Fourteenth.

I guess you know what that is.

Yup, it's PI Day - 3.14.

Thank Wacky Wally for reminding you.

SLOW SATURDAY . . SUCCESSFUL SUNDAY

 We had one of those days yesterday that makes one realize how ingrained the Internet has become in one's life.

Our router had died sometime Friday night and we no longer had the Web.

Or Netflix or Amazon on our t.v.

And a tech could not come out until today.

But he has been here and installed a new router and everything is all right with the world again.

So I can post a meme that Comical Carol sent me on Friday and which I had intended to post yesterday.

Some books you might wish to seek out.

Thanks, Carol, and everyone enjoy the rest of your weekend.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Here we go again.

It's over.

The week is over.

And it's time for a scintillating weekend, y'all.

Or should I say y'all y'all.

Whichever it is, have yourselves a lovely weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

50+ YEAR OLD MYSTERY

 A friend who knew me 50 some years ago sent me a photo she'd found of me recently.

While I recognize myself with the growing mutton chop sideburns and a trace of a nascent moustache I have no memory of the identity of the charming young lady sharing the picture with me.

The photo was taken in the lobby of radio station WIBC in Indianapolis, Indiana and the mademoiselle was a receptionist but that's the best I can come up with.

There are only a few people left alive who were also there at the time and so far no one has been able to come up with a name.

So . . . can anyone solve this mystery and identify the mystery lady?

CAT TALES

 Over the years I've been writing this blog . . .

       (. . . 14 now! Will he never shut up?)

. . . I have from time to time thought I should explain how I picked the name of my avatar - Catalyst.

It's pretty simple.

An on-line dictionary defines that word as "a person or thing that precipitates an event" and uses as an example "the governor's speech acted as a catalyst for debate".

I don't pretend to be a governor or any other politician.

I just wanted to act as a precipitator of thought, of discussion, and - more and more these days - of humor.

But various and sundry of my commenters have referred to me from time to time as Cat, shortening the word.

And I can appreciate that for my love of a certain species.

So I thought I'd take you through the years with some of my friends.

Way back in 1972, as we were proceeding merrily from Indiana to Arizona, camping along the route, we had our first two members of this tribe with us.

They are Pax and Primo, shown here leashed to keep them from escaping into the wilds around Shamrock, Texas.

It was not St. Patrick's Day but closer to the Fourth of July and those cautious glances may have been prompted by some fireworks.

A few years later, Pax had grown and they were much more relaxed.

Primo was the first of our black cats.

But as anyone who has ever had a pet knows there always comes a time of parting.

Years later, we were living in Guadalajara, Mexico, and had succumbed to an urge to once again have a cat in our family and we found a tiny Siamese kitten in a pet shop.

Chulapay (Spanglish for "Cutie Pie") loved to enjoy the warmth under my desk lamp as I worked on a very ancient and rudimentary computer.

We brought her back to El Norte when we returned and she grew into a beautiful and well-loved adult.

She was joined by a feisty rascal we named Jazz.

But Jazz wasn't nearly as nasty as that smear of color on one side of his face made him look.

Somewhere along in here we got this curious sweetie.

Prompted by the M on her forehead, I named her Muggles.

That was before I knew that all tabbies have an M on their forehead.

She, too, calmed down over the years and I think became Judy's favorite, though it's hard to pick a favorite cat.

Through the years a number of cats have adopted us.

There was one sunny fellow I called simply the Gold Cat, because he wasn't around for long.

And there was the beautiful big gray acrobat we named Smoke.

(Pretty imaginative, huh?)

He started out just napping in an outdoor chair but soon moved into our home.

And our last cat member of our family was the beloved Blackwell.

He showed up bleeding from a fight with some other denizen of the neighborhood and wouldn't leave so he became My Special Cat.

He apparently had a sense of humor too.

He was our last feline family member.

Well, sort of.

This guy showed up one day and has taken to paying us nearly daily visits for kitty treats, a drink or two of water, some catnip, lots of petting and frequently a good long nap.

He is Matty and he lives with our neighbors across the street.

That is, when he's not paying his visits to us and others in the neighborhood.

His "dad" told me one day that Matty has been in every house on the block!

Having reached a ripe old age we have vowed that our "visiting cat" will be our last cat.

Of course, we'll still have The Blue Cat, who doesn't seem to mind the weather.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 It's getting harder and harder to put a smile on one's face with what's happening in Ukraine.

But this is the comedy corner.

There are many other websites where you can follow the fighting.

So here let us keep our spirits up, if only for as long as it takes to read this post.

If you're not groaning at that last one, you don't deserve to be here.

But stay awhile anyway, it'll all come to you.

As will the weekend.

Let's all try to have a good one.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(ye-gods!)

FAT TUESDAY

 

Look good?

Better enjoy it because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

That means no more fatty foods until Easter, which doesn't arrive until April 17th.

So enjoy that big ol' cheeseburger today.

The next one is a long way off.

That is, if you're religious.