THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Wella, wella, wella . . lookie here, it's Friday!

How can one week of agony, tears, madness and heavy drinking go so fast?

Well, maybe the heavy drinking helped somewhat.

Did I ever tell you how great SWMBO is at making martinis?

All I can say is that the pressure has been alleviated (somewhat) as Judy got most of her books placed in the bookcases and that always makes her feel that all is right in the world.

For awhile she had a book with Lennie Bernstein's beautiful young face outward but she eventually laid it down because she said it made her flutter.

I have no idea what that means.

And I don't want to know.

What I do want is to make you chuckle so here goes.

All right, friends and neighbors, that's all I've got this week.

I hope you got some chuckles out of them.

But whether you did or not, endeavor to have an endlessly entertaining end of the week.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, far out, bro . . . )

NEARING THE END

 We now have officially moved.

We're still in the same little bit of Paradise, only 3-1/2 or 4 miles from our previous home, depending on whether you take my route or the one favored by SWMBO.

I think we've stopped yelling at each other.

The tears have finally stopped (Judy's mostly, maybe not mine.)

And after a week (actually about a month) we are so beat we decided to call today A Day of Rest and kick back and relax.

And I think we only have 8 or 9 more boxes to unpack.

To our many friends who have sent condolences and words like "I can't imagine what moving would be like at my age" or the good long-time friend who wrote "I know I'd be happiest leaving this place feet first!", you are all correct.

Moving in our 80's has been one of the hardest things either of us has ever done.

And we had people who did most of the packing for us and a couple of guys who loaded it all into a big truck and then unloaded it in our new home.

When I say we had people that did all of the packing for us I'm not counting the many boxes of "fragile things" and enough wall art to stock a museum that WE (Judy mostly) packed and hauled (me mostly) to the new abode.

But it's over now.

Well it's more like it's a new beginning.

After all there are still those 8 or 9 boxes to unpack.

THE (LATE) FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Okay, okay, so I'm late.

We moved yesterday.

It was a huge one.

Three and a-half miles.

And you know what I learned?

1. Even a short move is gruelling.

2. Don't even think about moving when you're in your octogenarian era.

3. If moving with your mate, stay as far from her as possible.

Here's the Friday Funnies.

That's it, folks.

You're on your own now to have a wonderful weekend.

And, like me, always remember to keep laughing!

Now I got to get back to unpacking everything we just packed.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . aw, don't be like that; think of all the empty boxes . . .)

RANDOM MEAL

 As our move to a new home looms (Thursday) there comes a time of cleaning out.

Cleaning out the dross and dreck that clutters shelves and closets.

But more important, cleaning out the refrigerator.

Odds and ends of things long forgotten have been discovered in the back of the fridge (yuck to some of them) but more safely and taste satisfying in the freezing compartment.

And so mealtimes become an adventure, a discovery, a re-discovery, and with the plus 70 years of cooking experience SWMBO claims and my appetite whetted by miles walked and thousands of pounds of boxes hauled . . .

. . . well, okay, so that's a tiny, teensy, miniscule, slight exaggeration on my part . . .

. . . these odd meals come together.

For example . . .

. . . pot-stickers topped with plum sauce, a melange of sauteed green beans, red peppers and onions steamed at the last minute with a splash of mirin, and a lovely combination of brown rice and quinoa.

Have I sounded a deprived sorry soul lately?

I lied.

CLOUDS

 

Through the windshield (I wasn't driving) while coming home this morning.

I can't resist the temptation and they don't even look real.

Like a painting.

(click on them to get the full effect)

IT IS BERRY, BERRY GOOD!

 

Just to let you know I haven't quite given up the oven yet in the midst of our move that's my take on Julia Child's Berry Clafoutis.

I whipped it up with a bunch of blueberries yesterday morning but by the time we got to taste it the dish was cold and we were slightly disappointed.

This morning I microwaved a piece just enough to bring it to warm and I found it to be much better.

You can top it with powdered sugar, as I did last night, and Judy had hers with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side but I just had it plain this morning and it was fine.

It's a very simple job and the recipe is readily available on the Internet.

You could Google it.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 For we Anglophiles (I'm talkin' about you, Cakes!) it's been a kind of a rough time, what with the sad news of yesterday.

But I'm here to tell you that no matter your troubles and tribulations, it's important to put a smile on your face.

And my job is to help you with that.

So here goes.

Now cue the laughter gene.

So on that silly note it's time for me to wish you a shorter but slightly cooler and excruciatingly pleasureful weekend.

Now remember if your job is small and your rewards are few just keep in mind the mighty oak was once a nut like you.

And with that terrible and ancient Dad Joke, I will remind you (while ducking) to always keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(. . . hmmmm . . .)

THE QUEEN

 For most of my life "The Queen" has only meant one person, Queen Elizabeth.

I can remember vividly the day of her coronation.

I was a 13 year old boy living in North Dakota, just 50 miles from the Canadian border.

We could pick up many Canadian radio stations and I spent the day listening to the BBC coverage of the big event in far away London.

As a self-admitted Royalist though not governed by the Monarchy, I watched through the years as this young woman lived and ruled on and on and on.

And now, finally, she is gone. 

Only two days ago she named a new Prime Minister, her 15th.

It's a melancholy day for me and for many others in Britain and throughout the world.

She did well and history will long remember her.

LIFE AS I LIVE IT

 

When I saw my pulmonologist this morning and urged him to ask me why my head was bandaged, I then told him "My wife beats me."

Since he also treats my wife and has seen us at times together, he just chuckled.

Actually a different doctor caused that evilness on me yesterday as he whittled out a non-malignant skin cancer.

All the punishment I get for being a fair-skinned Norwegian boy who spent too much time in the sun without using sunscreen.

We called it sun tan oil when I was that boy and, not using it, I got sunburned frequently.

As Woody Allen once said, "I don't tan, I stroke."

This moon shot looks like it was taken in the evening but it was actually in the middle of the day.

It sort of portrays our life at the present as we are about half way toward moving to our new home.

It shouldn't be a tough move as it's only about 4 miles from where we live now.

But we're in our 80's now and the stamina ain't what it used to be.

My previously mentioned wife has been living up to her avatar or acronym or whatever it is: SWMBO, for She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Even though we have some ladies hired to pack up our "stuff" and some guys hired to move it to the new residence, she has insisted on filling boxes and hounding calling on me to take them over there.

In about a week it will all be over.

Except for opening box after box and placing the "stuff" in the "proper places".

As George Clooney said recently in a joint interview with Julia Roberts "That's why alcohol was invented."

She interjected "Or chocolate chip cookies."

He agreed "Those too."

Stay tuned.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 How long have we been doing this?

How long, O lord, how long?

It seems like forever to me.

But still it continues.

Every bloody Friday.

So what can I say.

Except.

LAUGH, darn you!

Oh, I know you're not only groaning, you're gasping at that one.

Well what can I say?

I can only work with what my purveyors provide me with.

(That's called shifting the blame.)

At any rate, try to get over it and have a spectacularly fantastic weekend as we say good-bye to Summer and don't belabor it.

(heh-heh)

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, this worries me . . .)

IDIOSYNCRATIC

 In the continuing fascinating saga of my rather strange family, I convey your attention now to the member known as The BRD, or Beautiful Rich Daughter.

While always beautiful and rich in talent, she has a particular oddity.

When she is dining, she does not like the various elements of her meal touching each other.

And so, today, she has found Her Perfect Solution.

Ta-da!