Mail in Voting Update

 Well, it's Monday, and while I do have to work this afternoon, it will only be for 6 hours.  After that, I'll be off until Saturday, where I once again work for 6 hours.

On Thursday our appliances go on sale.  As a reminder, this will be the biggest and bestest appliance sale of the year, if you need to pick up a new washer, or dryer (like me), or a refrigerator for that matter.  Even chest freezers will be on sale.  Not flooring, though.  That's what I tell people when they stop by the flooring desk and ask what our Black Friday special is.  I politely tell them that they need to stop by appliances and buy that LG dishwasher they're been eyeing.

Something I've noticed lately when I take my slow runs, YouTube has buffering problems.  A small rectangular box pops up in the lower left hand corner that asks if I'm having issues.  This never happens on any of my other laptops, tablets, on my gaming PC. Yesterday, I clicked on it and got a display showing internet issues in Cumberland county.  I've high speed internet, so I really shouldn't be having a problem.  However, that little laptop runs on Windows 11, everything else is Google (or whatever it calls itself now), and YouTube, I believe, is owned by... Google.  Coincidence?

And I did bake a pumpkin pie yesterday.  I used a spring-form pan rather than a regular pie pan.  That was a mistake.  The sides do not hold.  Of course, that doesn't stop it from being tasty.  My, my, my, it sure is that!  Here's what pie prep looked like.

Election day is soon to be upon us.  From everything I've seen so far, early voting is heavy!  That's good for Democrats.  Mail in ballots are heavy to, and again, that bodes well for Democrats.  In Pennsylvania, over 777 thousand have been received. Republicans hate this shit.   We just might hit the million vote mark.  The issue in PA is that they will not start counting the ballots until 7 PM on November 8.  Our Republican controlled legislature could have changed that, but they chose not to, most likely because they didn't want disheartening news leaking out.  This means that on election day the people in this state will have to wait to get the complete results.  While I have no problem with that, you know that when blue votes start stacking up higher than red votes, the Republicans are going to shriek voter fraud.

 

Fallout

Can we have a hearty hello for Sunday?  The got down to a chilly 34 (F) last night.  Today's high is predicted to be in the low 60s (F), however, rain comes into the picture and the rest of the week the temps are suppose to be in the low to mid 70s (F).  It is that time of year when I begin to mow my leaves.

Well, I stepped on the scale this morning and had to almost physically stop myself from shrieking like a howler monkey.  I've evidently forgotten that I need to burn more calories than I ingest.  I'm blaming all the candy that's showing up at work.  Or, possibly, it's the chicken marsala; I've been cooking and eating a lot of that.

That being said, I'm going to be making pumpkin cheesecakes today.  This means I'll have to climb back into  the saddle and ride miles, and miles, and miles.  Tacx has started adding rides filmed in the US.  They have a really nice ride filmed up in Oregon.

3 more chapters to go until the first draft of The Body Under Ice is finished.  For those curious, I've already begun making notes on the next book, The Body in Motion (sounds intriguing, eh?).

As many of you know, I play video games.  While I really enjoy the Assassin's Creed series, most of you know my favorite game studio is Bethesda, based in, not surprisingly, Bethesda, Maryland.  Fallout, their most popular series is being made into a series for Amazon Prime.  I've already shared some pictures.  Well, Bethesda has dropped some more info.  Pictures and a video, to be precise.  The pic below is from Vault 33, located in California.  It was the clip, however, that got people excited.  

And finally, I saw that Liz Cheney's pac has started airing an ad attacking Kari Lake.  I like it.  Honestly, when I see Kari Lake, I see a woman so hungry for power she would have no problem sacrificing anything and everything to get it.  She is a rabid attack dog and nothing more.

 

Do Republicans Prefer Premature Ejaculations

 Saturday for me = work.  Every Saturday.  Keep in mind, that my weekdays are for the most part free.  Tomorrow, I don't work.  I do work on Monday, but then I'm off until Saturday.  I no longer have anything called a weekend.  This is fine.  My hours might increase slightly as we approach Black Friday, but that's a temporary.

Biggie is more active off of his carprofen.  He was on that because it's an anti-inflammatory.  Like humans with arthritis, that inflammation is never going to go away, and it's the inflammation which causes the pain.  Dogs are like small children.  All they know is that it hurts.  The gabapentin's a pain blocker, which is what I'm more concerned about.  Believe me, I had no problem cancelling the refill on his carprofen.

An interesting thing about the cuckoo clock:  both dogs are fascinated by it.  They will stare at it when it cuckoos on the hour.  And when I pull down the heavy metal pine cones to wind it?  They are right there having what seems to be a holy shit moment.  I suspect it's the faint rattling sound of the chains moving over the gears.

I was sitting by Biggie on the writing room sofa yesterday, when Lily dropped the T-Rex she'd had in her mouth and plopped herself down on a cushion in front of us, (cushions never stay where they're placed).  That round, wooden box she seems to be looking at is, indeed, a hat box.  An old hat box.  The writing on the lid dates it to the first Grand Prix in Paris.  That's right, I'm using an antique as a toy box.

So, I saw where they are hand counting ballots in one Nevada voting district because the Moral Degenerate, also known as the World's Biggest Loser, Donald J. Trump, continues to shriek about voter fraud.  In Arizona, a Federal judge is permitting MAGA dimwits to monitor drop boxes because... you guessed it, many Republicans believe they lost because of voter fraud.  The reality that there are many Americans who don't like their politics, who see them as liars and phonies, is a reality they simply can't grasp.  This demonstrates how poorly they actually fit into society.  What these people want is instant gratification.  They want to win, and they want to win early.  Honestly, I don't doubt for a second that this is how they approach sex.  Hot and now.  Quick, like a bunny, you know?  Premature ejaculations give them everything they want in seconds flat.  Why wait when a wham, bam, thank you man, or mam, satisfies their needs?  I don't doubt that many believe their 2nd amendment rights entitle them to being a quick draw.  Now, I've never read Stormy Daniels' book, so if anyone out there has, does she mention if Trump's a rapid shooter?   

October Surprise

 So, what's on the agenda for today?  The always excitable chore sure to drive interest, cleaning.  It's part of my Friday itinerary.  Every day of the week has it's own scheduled chores.  Not only does it add regularity to my life, it also helps me to tell one day from the next.  Working part-time also helps to keep me on track.

Update on Biggie:  his blood work came back not so good, one of the levels they look is was big time elevated.  Dogs have problems with Nsaids, even those designed for doggies, so he off his carprofen, probably forever.  The Vet gave me 2 choices: do full blood work analysis, take him in and let the do an ultrasound on his abdomen to make sure there's nothing wrong with his liver, and put him on specific meds to bring down those levels, or take him off of his carprofen.  One suggestion costs $$$, the other eliminates a $60 prescription med fee every month.  He's staying on the gabapentin, that doesn't effect his liver.  He's going back after Thanksgiving for another blood draw to see if his levels have dropped.

I watched the first 2 episodes of The Peripheral last evening.  The cast is attractive.  The story is... oh, well son of a bitch, it has to do with sending your consciousness back and forth through time.  It's not time travel, as one character explains, that doesn't work.  But you can send your.....(wait for it) consciousness into a peripheral (human shell).  Oh, and there are problems.  Leave your logic and common sense at the door.  Did I mention, the cast is attractive?

Less than 2 weeks until the midterms.  This is about the time people expect the October surprise.  What will it be?  I just saw that Nancy Pelosi's husband was violently assaulted.  With all of the rabid Republican rhetoric, violence should be expected; they have neither morals nor control.  Will that send Democrats to the polls?   Was Kari Lake responsible for the break-in at Katie Hobbs campaign headquarters?  That would not surprise me.  Kari Lake is a Stepford politician.  That might swing votes away from her in Arizona.  Elon is now Chief Twit.  For those without a Miriam-Webster dictionary, a Twit is another name for a Fool.  That's right, Elon is now a Chief Fool.  Will he let the Orange Anus back on Twitter, and if he does, could that help the Republicans?  Two answers:  Possibly and No.  While Trump's base would be delirious upon his return to that social media platform, their numbers are pretty much set, he's not going to build on that hateful base.

Will there even be an October surprise?  Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Mow this

 Well, it's one of those early mornings for me.  Awake around 0415.  Crap.  I'll probably take a quick nap before leaving for work.  Thursdays, you know?  Permanently on my work schedule until I decide otherwise.  

Biggie went to the Vet yesterday for his blood work.  $165.  This is, supposedly, to ensure his doggy nsaid is not doing any harm to his liver.  One thing that his changing is how much gabapentin he's getting.  You see, his prescription ran out and they refused to give him a refill until after this bloodwork.  To my surprise, there was no significant change in what I interpret to be his level of pain.  None at all.  So I'm wondering if my concern for him fogged up my perception to the point where I was seeing serious suffering where there wasn't any.  I did get it refilled, but now that he's weened off, I'm going to take a wait and see attitude.

The cuckoo clock is on the wall.  It's loud, but not in a bad way.  

People ask me what I did when I got out of the Navy.  Well, I went to college, grew my hair long, and one summer I got a job at a summer camp where I got to drive around on a large riding lawn mower.  It was over this summer that I made my stage debut in a community theater production of How To Succeed in Business.

And what about Herschel and his 2nd abortion?  Can anyone tell me why this is not surprising?  I'm suspecting there are more, not that his rattled brain remembers them.  

One funny thing I saw on Twitter yesterday was Ronna McDaniel complaining that there were over one million ballots mailed in prior to Fetterman's debate.  She was rather livid, and all I could do was laugh.  Does anyone really believe that those voting for Fetterman are suddenly going to switch over to Oz?  Honestly, the number of complaints about Oz and his statement about women checking with their local politicians prior to getting an abortion far outweighed those against Fetterman and his stroke.

There was also a lot of commentary about Alito's whine that the leak was responsible for members of the Supreme Court getting death threats.  This man is really stupid if he believes it was the leak.  What kind of reaction did he think they were going to get?  Oh, wait, that's right, he's a conservative and we all know that they rarely think.

My bit for Halloween

Well, I'm hoping that more gets accomplished today than yesterday.  While things did get done, time became freewheeling with no restraints.  Yes, I did get my car inspected.  That took 3 hours, rather than the allotted 90 minutes.  There were 2 cars ahead of me when I got to the dealership.  Normally, they run people through fast.  Not yesterday.  There were evidently issues with the first car, so I sat waiting for 15 minutes are line of cars, also there for either inspections or service, grew behind me. I finally sat down in the waiting room 20 minutes later and waited.  Almost 2 hours later, I was told they were finishing up the emissions testing and my car would be ready shortly.  An hour later (that's right, an hour) my car was fully inspected.  That's a 3 hour wait, and my schedule for the day was blown up.  To compensate, the dealership charge me nothing.  The told me that since this was the 2nd time I'd had to deal with complications getting serviced, they were making the oil change, the tire rotation, and the inspection complimentary.   Still, as I said, my day was now terribly out of sync.

I did drive down to That Fish Place and pick up 4 plecos, two for each tank.  They're yellow, and so cute.

And, while I was waiting for my car to be inspected, the electrician called.  The electric work is being done on 11/22.  They could have done it on the 11/8 (my birthday), but I have a physical down at the Lebanon VA that morning.

Muse has out a Halloween video.  I like Muse.  They may be too rock and roll for some people.  This is me doing my bit and letting you watch it.  Enjoy.

And Fetterman debated Oz last evening.  I didn't watch.  Evidently, Fetterman had some issues with word choice since he's still recovering.  Oz, on the other hand was slick and smarmy.  While conservatives are trying to make hay out of Fetterman's verbal mis-steps, Oz shit in his pants with one terrible statement which most of you have probably already seen.  Oz said, regarding abortion, that any decision needs to include, the mother, her physicians, and local politicians.  That's right, he wants local politicians to be involved in the decision making process.  That comment is not reverberating well.

Finally, there is a lot of chatter about polls either in the process of dying, or already being dead.  My opinion, they're mortally wounded.  There is a certain group who will try and use them, but polls require honesty to work, and that is not happening, and probably will never happen again.  This is how things change.

 

Mail-in ballot counter

 So what is Tuesday going to bring?  Well, first of all, the weather outside is in the mid 50s, but it's also drizzly.  In about 2 hours I'm going top be sitting at Faulkner Subaru waiting for my car to be inspected.  My total cost will be $136, plus applicable taxes, because I live in one of a handful of counties in PA that requires an emission inspection as well.   I'm estimating that should run about an hour and 15 minutes.

After that, I'm heading down to that Fish Place / Pet Place, as it's now known.  I'm thinking of getting two pelecsos, one for each tank to help with the algae growth.  I also like to buy my fish food in bulk.

Early yesterday evening, I emailed the deposits for the electrical work.  I'm hoping they'll get to it next week.  Unlike the plumbing, it should only take a few hours.  Our big appliance sale starts on November 3.  I'll wait a bit.  It runs up until the after Black Friday.  If you need to buy an appliance, that will be the time since the sales are national.  I was told I could get both the washer and dryer in apple red, or forest green, as well as the charcoal, black, and in white.  I'll go with the white, especially since they are now going to be stacked.  The new laundry room was a walk in closet.  Dark walls make a room look smaller, so will dark appliances.  

I bought a cuckoo clock, imported from Germany.

So, Rishi Sunak is going to be the next Prime Minister for Britain.  He's extremely wealthy.  This is not a good thing.  Wealthy people in power always push to help other wealthy people, the common man is irrelevant, in fact they often see a mere nod in the direction of the poor as an example of being beneficent.

For those who have an interest in tracking mail-in ballots, NBC has this nice little graphic show the info they have so far.  This is a nice little graphic. one you may want to save and look at as we approach election day.  An interesting note, over 39 million mail in ballots have been requested by voters, Democrat, Republican, and Independent.  And, if you're like me and do vote by mail, make sure you check to make sure your ballot has been received.  Do not under estimate how much of a nail-biter this election is going to be, so fasten your seat belts.

The truth about election deniers

Well, here we go, it's Monday, and it's raining, and I have to spend 6 hours at the store (from 10 - 4).  While working is no longer the fun it used to be, I haven't reached the point where I abhor sitting at the flooring desk.  Actually, the only issue I'm having at present is the app we use to punch in.  That's right, punch cards are gone.  Typing in your id number is done only as a last resort, mostly because the touch screen is slow.  And the app, which we've been using for over a year, has recently been updated.  Sometimes it connects through Wi-Fi, and other times you need to turn the Wi-Fi on your phone off.  What a pain in the ass.

I'm getting my car inspected tomorrow.  This is important, since it always happens around this time every year.  Why?  Because I wait at the dealership, and while I'm waiting, I begin the editing process of the next book.  So, while the mechanics are making sure my lights flash, and my horn honks, I'll be making notes and writing in changes in The Body Under Ice.  No spoilers here, but it's quite different.  I mean, what does the population of a town which is basically a seasonal tourist attraction do in the off season?

And for those who don't know.

This is because a lot of Americans believe that the opposing party is trying desperately to destroy a way of life.  All you have to do is look at pictures, or watch videos of a Trump rally to realize that most election deniers are white people.  And not only are they trying to be your governors and senators, they want to be your local council members.  Only you can point your town council in the direction you want them to go.  Conservatives and Christian nationalists desperately want to tell you how to live your life, and they will do this by passing local ordinances which effect you in ways you may not like.  Say Strip Clubs.  Conservative members of your town council may vote to change to zoning laws to either limit their hours, or shut them down.  Or, how about that nice tree lined view from your bedroom balcony?  Your council members may choose to change the zoning for that view from pastoral to residential, where now you get to look across the road at someone else's balcony, or even worse, they might vote to make it commercial, where all those trees which enhance your view are turned into a strip mall.  Democracy is about having a voice in how you live your life.  Change is inevitable, but voting lets you at least try to manage how those changes happen.

About the Lies

 Sunday.  Hhhmm.  Sundays tend to be the only day of the week that I put in 8 hours at the store.  I don't mind.  Business heats up a little bit when we get the after church crowd.  Right now, almost all of our Halloween decorations are on clearance. Christmas decorations have been up for the last 2 weeks; lots of very expensive fake Christmas trees.  I, myself, don't decorate, though I do have my all season skinny tree.  If I do get into the mood, I could always through some Christmas balls on that.  Oh, yes, and that's right, when I was little we decorated our Christmas trees Christmas balls, and stars, and tinsel.  Here's an old, faded shot of what Christmas looked like in my house when I was a teenager.

That picture's from the house on 21st Street.  We moved there when I was 13.  The kids in the neighborhood I hung out with all had bikes, I didn't.  Hope upon hope, I wished for one for Christmas.  At that time, I was old enough to know there was no such thing as Santa, so one day I asked my dad if I was getting a bike for Christmas.  He shrugged and said "no."  Of course, I was terribly disappointed, but there really wasn't anything I could.  On Christmas morning, standing next the tree was a shiny, black road bike.  I was in heaven!  It was what I'd been praying for.  A few days later, my mom pulled me aside and chastised me.  She told me I should never have asked my dad if I was getting a bike, and that by doing so I had put him into a terrible spot.  He had been forced to lie to me.  I had made him feel guilty for having to lie and I was bad for having done that.  After 56 years, I still remember that day.  How screwed up her head must have been to feel the need to ruin what should have been a good moment.  

Trump had a rally in Texas yesterday where he spewed hatred.  I didn't bother to check for pictures of the crowd size, his group has been using smaller venues in order to make his crowds seem larger.  Smaller crowds do not mean smaller Cracker Jack Crazy turnout at the polls on November 8, keep that in mind.  As his rallies continue, his lies get worse.  Let's face it, nobody lies like Donald Trump, but then he has always embraced deceit as if it was his next of kin.  Another thing his rallies are embracing is the Q version of Christianity.  I don't know if any of you have seen this pic, but a number of Qs find it transcending.  What most of them don't realize, is that the face of Jesus is actually a pic of Charlie Manson.  So many of them will not understand how bad that lie is.

Candidate emails

 Saturday.  The temps are supposed to climb into the upper 60s (F) today.  I also get to work.  Will the store be busy?  No idea.  Could be.  Might be slow, too.  We're heading into November and that means a certain shopper's holiday is approaching.  We do have a promotion going on right now.  10% off our installed carpets and it's nationwide.  I suspect this is because we're not making our forecasted plan.  Common sense says that if you don't raise your prices to hit that forecast, you might not have to run a promotion.  Between you and me, unless you're buying $10,000 worth of carpet, your not saving that much.

The electrician was here yesterday and I have a quote.  Pricy.  Running the new line for the dryer hookup, fishing it through the walls from the basement to the 2nd floor laundry room is $1631.  That's actually less than I was expecting.  Adding an outlet using a dedicated line is another $600.  I'm going to add that line in because my house is wired poorly.  You have to remember.  Electricity in Enola arrived after the house was built in 1905.  Right now my living room and bedroom are on one line.  The rest of the house, in its entirety, is on another line.  They put in a big circuit breaker when the Central A/C was installed and right now only 1/3 of the circuits are being used.  That's going to change.  

I made chicken marsala.  It was very tasty!

So, I spent a good bit of time yesterday morning unsubscribing to quite of candidates sending me emails in the donor beg tsunami.  While I haven't been keeping track of them, I'm certain I've received requests for cash from candidates in every state in the country.  I do give to certain candidates, Fetterman for one, but my bank account isn't rich enough to send $7 to every Democratic candidate who needs it.  I did the same thing during the last election since it was not unusual to open my email and find 40 - 50 requests.  And I suspect it's worse from Republicans.  The secretary at Erie Insurance told me she gets 8 - 10 phone calls daily from her personal friend, Donald Trump asking her to help him line his bank account.

As I've said before, I get a feed from Newsweek.  They are a failing, conservative periodical for those who don't know.  Anyway, they posted an article yesterday saying that Oz was predicted to win PA per a poll from Real Clear Politics.  For those who don't know, Real Clear Politics does not do polls, they are basically a clearinghouse for polls.  Click on that link and you'll find the results from polls by Monmouth, (very conservative results based), and Emerson (also fairly conservative).  Unless the readers of Newsweek actually checked for themselves they would never know that Newsweek was feeding them disinformation.  Polls, themselves, are seriously flawed, their data usually invalidated because people lie.  Voters beware of polls.

Lettuce

 A busy Friday morning is scheduled.  At 0745, the electrician will arrive (*have arrived, depending upon when you're reading this) to build a quote the dryer hookup on the 2nd floor.  At 1000, the insurance adjuster* will show up at my front door to look at the holes in my kitchen ceiling.  Using the Internet, I tried to get a rough estimate on the drywall expense.  I have a nice sized kitchen 9.5' x 15' (easily big enough for a table and chairs), so using the calculations I found on line the cost should run anywhere between $1000 - $2000.  Now, how's that for bad accuracy?

Even though we've been having freeze warnings for the past 3 days, night time temps have only bottomed out in the mid 30s.  That damages my dahlias, but doesn't quite kill them.

I received an email from Barnes & Noble yesterday informing me that they had (finally) accepted my W9.  So, what does this mean?  Starting in January,  those who don't like buying things from Amazon, or prefer their Nook to their Kindle, can buy my books.  They will be loaded in sequence, starting with The Body on the Lawn.  Why January?  Because the first couple were available at something called Kindle Unlimited, where you earn meager cents for every page read, rather than royalties from book sales.  

Here's a pic of Biggie sleeping on the sofa in the writing room.  I try and keep it covered with a muslin drop cloth because the pillows sewn into the back were not made to endure the constant weight of big dog paws.

And what about lettuce outlasting Liz Truss.  I cannot thing of anything more humiliating to the Tories than that comparison.  Even more embarrassing is to have a picture of lettuce beamed onto parliament.  Conservatives around the world are flummoxed.  For them, the solution to every economic problem is Tax Cuts to either corporations or to the wealthy.  Such dumbasses.  Trickle down always fails.

And for those keeping score, Lindsey Graham has lost another appeal to keep from testifying in the investigation into Trump's meddling in the Georgia elections.  Jeez, this guy loses more than Trump.

Finally, more and more I'm seeing that Republicans might hold onto the House.  Voters are buying into their propaganda about crime and the economy.  About crime?  This is a party that wants to be tough on crime yet refuses to do anything about gun control.  Nothing more than empty words.  Ad for the economy?  The entire world is reeling with inflation, not just the United States.  Nothing is going to change that.  Voters who believe the Republicans can solve that problem need to come back into the real world.  Things will probably get worse before they get better.  Well, this is life.  The best way to deal with it is vote Blue.  Save Democracy.  Save America.  Don't vote for lettuce.

The First 3

 Yesterday was pretty much a kitchen clean-up day.  A lot of attention is being paid to the floor which is vinyl planks over a subfloor of lauan (fiberboard).  Lauan doesn't handle water well.  For those who don't know, this is the same stuff they use in making laminate flooring which handles water quite poorly.  So far, there is no sign of swelling or warping.  Replacing it would be another pain in the ass, added expense.

Since the kitchen is already somewhat torn up, I'm going to ask the electrician how much it would cost to add a couple of outlets.  With coffee makers, and mixers, and toasters, and microwaves, a kitchen needs convenient outlets.  Mine has 2 and only one of those is counter level.

So, I watched the last episode of the Rings of Power last evening.  I was not really surprised by the revelations, but then a long time ago I read through the Silmarillion  upon which much of this series is based.  Things to keep in mind:  these first 8 episodes were only about the Elvan rings, the 5 for the Dwarven kings, and the 9 for man have yet to be forged as does the one to rule them all.  Also, Isildur has not been seen since episode 6 and Durin  was not seen in episode 8; both have major parts to play (that isn't really a spoiler).  Supposedly, season 2 will be out sooner rather than later.

The temps dropped down to 37 (F) last night, not freezing yet.  I managed to snap another pic of my dahlias. 

One of the things I find intriguing about the midterms is the large number of election deniers running for office.  Some of them, like Kari Lake, are relying on The Big Lie to get them as many votes as possible.  Even though it's been proven false over and over again, I wonder if these deniers truly believe it, or are merely using it as a tool to leverage MAGA voters.  The lengths to which some are going make me wonder if they have any idea of what might happen should they push it too far.  Take Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania with his 40 days of prayer.  This man sees nothing wrong with people dying for God, in fact his doctorate which has been deeply criticized for being based on falsehoods, states this is a good thing.  Does this guy really want a religious war in Pennsylvania?  There are so many out there who are fanning the flames without even considering what the terrible consequences would be if people start taking up arms.

All about the leak

 Well, it's Wednesday.  Plans today include shopping for groceries, cleaning the front aquarium, doing laundry, and cleaning up the kitchen after yesterday's plumbing debacle.  Wait, I'm wondering if debacle is quite the right word.  Catastrophe might be better.  No, that's way too strong.  It wasn't a catastrophe, or even a debacle, more like an upper level inconvenience.

Firstly, I bailed on the concert in Philly.  The plumbers didn't leave until 5ish and we needed to be on the road by 4ish.  It's a good thing I have pictures, otherwise people might be thinking I was fabricating an excuse because I'd changed my mind.  Believe me, I'd have rather been in Philly.

Everything started fine.  The was a drip coming through my kitchen ceiling when I used the bathroom sink and the plumbers agreed there was probably a problem with the drain.  So they started making holes in the kitchen ceiling.  The first one they made was about 1 foot square, and it was like a mini-waterfall in my kitchen.  There was a large pool of water sitting up on top of the drywall.  I took this pic around 12:30.  There was a problem.  They couldn't find out where the water was coming from.

Around 2 PM, they had ascertained that the problem was where the PVC piping used in the bathroom renovation joined the copper piping, which was over against the wall.  So, they cut out the copper and replaced the entire thing with PVC.  And the hole was now this big.  And they did discover mold.

I learned something important, yesterday.  A long time ago lead piping was used because it was fairly inexpensive and very malleable, however, lead is not good for humans.  The switch was made to copper, which at that time was still inexpensive and it too was a soft metal and malleable.  However, copper piping is not that durable over time.  Water pressure can lead to metal fatigue and slowly the pipe will begin to crack, and that leads to leaks.

When the plumbers finally left around 5ish, I was left with an $1150 expense and several holes in my kitchen ceiling. This is the largest.

On the bright side, this will make it so much easier for the electrician to run the wiring up the the new laundry room.  Also, I understand that while the plumbing expense is not covered by my homeowners insurance, the drywall contractors expense should be, less deductible, of course.

And, speaking of leaks, it's been how many months since someone associated with the Supreme Court leaked the information that Roe was going to be overturned and no culprit has been named.  I'm betting it was Ginni, the treasonous, and they know how even worse that would make Thomas look.

Oh, and I saw that Vlad, the dumbshit, has just declared martial law in those 4 areas he illegally annexed.  I suspect that there is a lot of unrest we're not hearing about happening in those areas.  He truly is proving to be a most incompetent dictator.

Ready to Let Go

 Tuesday begins.  The temps outside are cool.  They're supposed to drop down into the low 30s (F) tonight, though no frost is predicted.  According to my neighbor across the street, the time has come to cut back my Elephant Ear plant.  She has hers in pots, cuts them back and leaves them outside all winter long.  She's had hers for years, so I guess she knows what she's talking about.

The plumber is supposed to arrive around 10:00 this morning.  This might be an adventure.

Adding to this laundry adventure is the fact that the electrician called yesterday to tell me they were sending the owner out to do a site check, and that he will be building my estimate.  Evidently the gent whose name reminded me of an action figure is no longer with the company.  This will now happen on Friday.

This evening I'll be going to Philly.  Quelle surprise.  One of my readers had made plans to go downs to a concert with his sister and she cancelled.  She is around my age and has health issues.  I have no idea who the artists are, just that one of them was on "Let's Get Talent," or one of those TV shows for amateur singers.  He won over Adam Lambert, and I know who he is.  What can I say?  This is not my kind of music.

And, speaking of music, one of the sets of lyrics in The Body Under Ice has changed.  Originally, I had been going to use Broken, by Alfie Templeman,, however Alfie's out and Cage the Elephant is in.  Here are the new lyrics.  Sometimes it's all about foreshadowing.  When I tell you these lyrics pop, I'm being very serious.

And, for those who don't know, we are 3 weeks from the midterm election.  Millions upon millions of dollars are being spent.  Suspense is growing.  Dear Lord, I'm so glad I don't watch TV, the ad buys must be simply horrifying to your average viewer.  Lie, upon lie, upon lie is being pumped out over the airwaves.  Polls are constantly shifting, saying the race is growing tighter by the second.  For the life of me, I have no idea why any sane person would vote Republican unless you're one of those who desperately wants to be completely controlled.  Since all the information I'm getting comes from the Internet, I have no idea how well the Democrats are fighting back.  I know, the GOP is constantly praying that the Dems are ready to let go.  Well, that ain't about to happen.

And even though there are those who believe polls are still accurate, it is only when they are viewed in hindsight, when trends are viewed after the fact, that pollsters try and say they were spot on by pointing to irrelevant lines that are always nonsense when looked at subjectively.  So, when they tell you that Independent female voters are now leaning towards the economy rather then the sanctity of their own bodies, take it with a grain of salt. 

The Return of Covid

 Don't you just love the beginning of a new work week?  I do, but then I'm only scheduled to work for 5 hours today, and then I'm off until Saturday.  I like schedules where I'm off for 4 or 5 days in a row.

Pronto Plumbing is coming back out tomorrow morning because... there's a Leak in the drain.  And not a tiny one.  Water drips through my kitchen ceiling.  And not just the occasional drip.  It's fairly constant when I turn on the bathroom faucet.  I'm suspecting that when the original drain pipe was cut, damage was done to the piping under the bathroom floor.  We shall see.  For the time being, I'm not using the bathroom sink.

Yesterday work was slow up until football started, then the store died.  I did end up getting 2 measures, which means I met my goal.  One of the measures that the 'new' guy has set up was given to me, probably because he's new.  

And Covid has reared it's ugly head in the store again.  One of the hardware associates is out with it, as is one of our assistant managers and a flooring aisle associate.  The aisle associated is a 58 year old, unvaccinated Trumpie.  He actually felt that his immune system was special because... well, he thinks he's special.  It's a MAGA thing.  I don't want him to die, but I do hope he gets very ill just so I can chide him when he comes back to work.

Here's another angle of my dahlias.  Love that orange color!

With basically 3 weeks until the elections, there is a Republican media blitz.  I don't know if the Democrats are killing the air space, too, but the GOP seems to be everywhere.  One of the biggest deceits the pushing is that they can fix the economy.  Anybody who's paying any attention to what's going on in the world realizes that's a lie.  Some of the reporting that I'm seeing indicates women, who were so stridently anti-abortion, are leaning Republican simply because of their lies.  They don't realized that the price of gas has been weaponized by both the Saudis and Putin.  They don't realize that even though the American mid-west is called the breadbasket of the world, it is precisely that.  Most of the grain we harvest is exported (just like the oil we pump from the ground) because the growers (and pumpers) make more money doing that then selling it to Americans.  We import many of the grains we use from other countries (that's right).  Countries like the Ukraine.  Republicans are all for this.  For them it's really all about the rich getting richer.

Pure Republican Horseshit

 Well, here we go, another Sunday funday.  For those who don't know, I work almost every Sunday.  This is fine.  The store is usually slow in the afternoon, especially when one of the local teams is playing:  Baltimore, Philly, or Pittsburgh.  Thank you football, a sport which fails to impress me.  A number of years ago, someone associated with 60 Minutes decided that they should do a segment about football, the idea being that if you knew about the game, first downs, goal to go, and shit like that you'd find the sport unbelievably fascinating.  If that were even remotely true, every sport would have zillions of fans.  My theory:  football's popularity has a lot to do with the amount of beer being drunk.  I went to see the Philadelphia Eagles play the team that used to be called the Washington Redskins and the lines to the beer vendors was constant.  After the game, as we were driving out of the parking lot, I reminded our driver that all those drunks are now on the road.

The temps today are supposed to climb into the high 60s (F), and I'm debating whether I should wear a long sleeve shirt to work, or just take a jacket.

This late in the year, it's only my dahlias that are blooming.  I still have roses.  This is the 3rd time they've bloomed this year.

Yesterday was fairly quiet, politically speaking.  Everybody was still a Twitter about Herschel and his badge, and his view that if you eat right you shouldn't need insulin.

Biden's approval rating continues to inch up.  This is good for Democrats and bad for Republicans, who are scared.  How do I know?    Well, when Republicans go negative, they go negative.  They're airing a clip of him standing behind a young girl with his hand on her shoulder.  They, of all people, do love to shovel the shit.  If it weren't for lies, they'd have nothing to hold on to.  When I see them on Twitter, I just give my standard response.  It works so well, believe me.  While some prefer wordy diatribes I like 3 simple words.  Pure Republican horseshit.  Every now and then I use a slight variation, Tom Fitton's Tweets for example.  For him, I always preface those 3 little words with Tommy Traitor's.  He never reads the responses, others do.  All Tommy Traitor, and Ronna McDaniel, and the rest of their Republican ilk care about are retweets. The more retweets they get, the happier they are.  This election season, are job is to make them unhappy.  We want them to lose.  

The Badge

 So, the temps are supposed to climb into the mid 70s (F) today.  And no, this is not Indian Summer, for those who are so hotly anticipating that warm spell.  As I've said before, we haven't had one of those fall heat waves in quite a few years.

Yesterday was rather meh.  Some things were accomplished, others were not.  A little sanding and spackling in the soon to be new laundry room.  I did a little work on the window.  It's old and is one of the few windows in the house that has yet to be replaced.  I'm putting a decorative film on the bottom half, the upper window will get a valance.  We sell decorative films, but they're a bit too salty for my taste.  Rather than spend $35, I forked out $12 for one I found on Amazon.

And I do get to go into work today.  It will be interesting to see how many more changes have been done to the flooring department.

As some of you know, I've been trying to start selling my books through Barnes & Noble.  There has been a major problem with my W9.  No matter how many times I've submitted it, their customer service kept coming back and telling me that it wasn't signed.  Yesterday, one of their customer service reps finally specified that they required a hand written signature rather than a typed signature submitted on a PDF.  So, I duly sent them information on the legality of typed signatures on PDF files downloaded from the Federal Government.  Their response:  We require a handwritten signature.  As you might be able to tell, I'm a little miffed.

Yesterday I took a pic of my fall dahlias.  Here it is.

Did anybody watch the Warnock / Walker debate last evening?  I don't watch debates.  No patience.  I have seen a few clips from last nights head to head.  Walker flashing his badge is one of reasons I avoid debates,  Let me be perfectly honest, I laughed loudly.  Another clip I laughed at was when Ralph Reed, a hard right Cracker Jack Crazy from the 90s tried to give his opinion of Walker and the only thing reporters were asking about was that badge.  Ralph got more than a little frustrated.  That was funny as hell.

Werewolf by Night

 Friday.  Outside there is dense fog, luminescent beneath the morning sun.  I'm sure driving must be a bitch.  Fog warnings were sent out.  I'm staying put, at least until later in the day.  Then, I may go put gas in the car... or I may not.  

On Wednesday I had lunch with my cousin Robin.  She's a few months older.  The two of us are the oldest of the Snyder grandchildren from my parent's generation.  One of the topics of conversation that came up was voting.  While political party preference was not discussed, I did find out that both her and her husband vote by mail.  Of course, if you know me, I used this little tidbit of information in a text to chide my brother.  He believes standing in line to vote is a demonstration of your patriotic duty.  That is horseshit. 

I usually watch TV on Thursday, so last night I caught up on Andor (episode 6) and The Rings of Power (episode 7).  I like the both.  I also watched (don't laugh) Hocus Pocus 2.  If I were a 13 year old girl, I probably would have loved it.  I'm not and I doubt very much if any of you are either, so you might want skip this one.  A show I did really like was Werewolf by Night.  A mini-movie, I understand this is going to be serialized, too.  I'll watch it.  And yes, it's Disney.  And yes, it is TV14, with warnings of language and violence.

And, of course, yesterday the January 6 committee had what will probably be it's last televised session.  A lot of it was a rehash of previous meetings with the clips being a little longer and meatier.  There was a nice section with Pelosi on the phone with the Governor of Virginia.  I do wish there would have been more clips of Republicans, everyone you saw was a poser in the background.  The biggest joy I got was getting the notification that the Supreme Court had rejected his latest appeal as the committee was preparing to vote to subpoena him.  That was nice, though he'll never sit for them.

Finally, there was a debate last evening between Ron Johnson and Mandela Barnes.  Johnson got laughed at and booed, two things that did not happen to Barnes.  I was going to post a clip, but it's long, but if you get the chance look it up.  It's worth the chuckle.

The Torment of Trump

 This morning I awoke to a drizzle.  This means that forecast with a 98% chance of rain is wrong.  Now, isn't it a good thing I wasn't planning yardwork?

Two days ago, I cut down most of my peach tree in an attempt to get it to grow vertically rather than at an angle.  I used one or two muscles which haven't been used for a while and now my pecs are a little sore.  Damn.  I might need to start going to Planet Fitness again. Here's a picture of what's left.  Looks promising, doesn't it?

The estimate for the electrical hook-up for the dryer should be arriving by email today.  One thing that will play a part in whether I go with Raddle Electric is that fact that I know the gentleman's aunt.  I work with her, in fact, I may have actually mentioned her before.  She and Biggie are on the same medication.  She and I had an interesting conversation regarding dosages.  Connections like this are important.  While they don't guarantee reliability, they do provide a bit of a testament.

The January 6 committee meets this afternoon, probably for the last time.  Since I'm home, I anticipate on watching it for several reasons:  it will effect Independent voters when the cast their midterm votes, it will make Republican congressmen squirm, and it will once again send Trump over the edge of reality.  Honestly, I always enjoy that, knowing he's hurling bottles of ketchup, and shrieking loudly.  One of the joys of my life is not that man is being tormented.  His Karma demands it.  His lies are wounds on his soul and every truth rubs salt into them.  I cannot think of anything more joyous then to know he is in an almost constant state of rage.  And the fact that his party has tied their fate to his?  Now don't that bring a smile to your face?  

As a final footnote for today, it turns out that more Republicans died from Covid than Democrats, and many of the lived in Red States.  

October Surprise

 Yesterday was good, mostly.  Many chores accomplished.  While the nectarine tree is still standing (operative word being still), my peach tree was cut way back in order for it to grow straighter.  Odd choice of words, perhaps, but it's better not to have your trees growing into the side of your house.

The only issue was my neighbor from across the street, she decided to come over and... forcibly chat might be a nice way of looking at it.  Closing on the house next to me is scheduled for this afternoon, and she had one last chance to wonder through and pick out things she might want.  Once it was locked up, she decided there were things she might have liked to have grabbed, like a crockpot, and a dust buster, and I got to be on the receiving end of her complaints.  She actually tried to find a way inside even though at this point it would be breaking and entering.

Can we have a moment of silence for the passing of Angela Lansbury?  I saw her in Sweeny Todd on Broadway.  She was simply amazing.

Last evening I went to see Amsterdam.  It was thoroughly enjoyable.  It's a comedy... sort of, and a drama, but not quite.  Oh, and it's also a mystery.  Set in the early 1930s, between World Wars 1 & 2, I was surprised at how currently relevant the political dialogue was, as well as it's commentary on racism and antisemitism.  Oh, and Bob will be pleased to know that his most favoritesat entertainer of all time, Taylor Swift is in it briefly.

The midterms are racing towards us, and one thing I am very glad of is that I don't watch cable TV.  From what I've seen, the campaign ads are negative as hell, from both sides.  The Republicans are all about authoritarianism, the Democrats democracy.  The Republicans have convinced themselves that all they need to do is be in charge.  They think the country will be cowed and accept everything they want.  They believe that because they are pro 2nd amendment, they are the only ones with guns.  They weren't always so stupid.  There was a time when they knew how to compromise.  If there is a party that will lead this country into civil war, it is them.

And finally, Tulsi Gabbard has left the Democratic Party.  Now, isn't that a relief?  She will no longer need to lie about being a Russian Asset.  I don't know if any of you heard me chortling, but I do suspect that in her tiny mind she believed her announcement was going to be the October Surprise.  She tried to get the Democratic nomination for president and, except for a few strident followers, no one signed on to her message.  That must be why she signed on for a gig at Fox News, she realized she could be more damaging there.  If there is an October Surprise, I don't doubt it will make Tulsi's announcement sound like a fart.

Kiss My Ass

 Mid-week, long weekend.  I started a 4 day stretch yesterday afternoon when I left work.  This is nice.  I have the same schedule next week.  A regular schedule is nice.  Being a morning person, I accomplish more before going to work than I do at the end of the work day, so the mid-week, long weekend will be nice.

One of my associates had one of "those" customers yesterday; a gentleman who had a quote and then left it expire.  As a result, the charge for disassembling a bed went from $75 per bed to $100 per bed.  He came in and began complaining that this increase had not been pointed out to him when he paid for the installation.  We had no problem adjusting that charge back, but what he really wanted was for us to adjust the charge off completely.  His arguments were small and insignificant and were never going to get him what he wanted, so he played his trump card.  He said "so, let's just cancel the 2nd floor installation completely, that way I won't have to worry about the charges."  So, we played our trump card, "sure you can cancel, but because your flooring has already shipped, there will be a $1000 restocking fee."  The customer was unhappy.  I have no problem with that.  We deal with people like him on a daily basis.

I have settled on which washer and dryer I'm going to purchase.  Whirlpool makes the best appliances, however their stackable washer and drying are too wide and too tall.  That left their competitors.  Samsung has the longest lifespan, but I can tell you from past experience if there's a warranty issue you will lose.  It looks like LG is going to get my business. 

And, of course, there was a debate in Ohio last evening, JD Vance vs Tim Ryan.  I didn't watch, but kept seeing little blurbs come through on my news feeds.  In a smart move by Ryan, he brought up Trump's appearance in Ohio, zeroing in on Trumps comment that Vance "likes to kiss my ass."  Kiss my ass was brought up a number of times.  To be honest, back when Trump said that at Vance's rally, I was stunned.  He likes to kiss my ass.  Think about it.  The truth is Vance was truly kissing Trump's ass just to get him on that stage. Now, we know that all MAGAs want to kiss Trump's ass, but Independent voters?  Not so much.  Independent voters out number MAGAs/  I'm suspecting they don't really want an ass kisser representing Ohio in the Senate.

Charm This

 Monday morning and there was frost on my windshield.  Last night was  cool, but not cold, not that I'm worried since I have 2 canine thermal heating units sleeping on the bed.

And I get to work today.  Wow.  6 hours.  But then I am off for 4... days that is, not hours.  They did hire a new flooring specialist who may be... temporary.  Yesterday he show up, but then went home sick showing all the symptoms of Football Sundayitis.  Yes, this gentleman is one of those people.  He's been sort of working at the store for several years.  He was also a Specialist before in Doors and Windows - his performance there was a nonstarter, so they moved him to Electrical, where he performance was that of a nonstarter.  From what I understand, this is his third at bat.  If he strikes out here, he's getting kicked off the team.  We're heading into our slow season, so it's been suggested that this might possibly be the plan.

From my trove of Navy photos:  Snake charmer in Singapore.  Yeah, that is a cobra in the basket.  No, that's not me holding the snake.

We are less than 30 days till the midterms.  Even Newsweek is (semi) predicting the Democrats will keep control of the Senate, possibly even gaining seats.  Their analyst is blaming the Supreme Court's Roe v Wade decision.  I find it amazing that conservatives are this damn stupid, but then they are the party that so desperately wants to say "shut up, we're in charge," expecting every American to simply say "okay."  

Finally, people are talking about this ad which showed up on Craig's List prior to a Trump rally.

So, I did some research, a little fact checking so to speak, and it turns out that these ads appear on Craig's List frequently before a number of Trump's rallies... and then they're taken down.  Craig's List doesn't verify their validity.  However, when you take into consideration that his venues are getting smaller because attendance appears to be shrinking, this makes sense.  His allies will do anything to fluff his ego.

The Birthday Present

 Well, here we are on a bright, cool Sunday morning.  The temps outside are a comfy 40 (F).  They were supposed to drop into the mid 30s last night, I don't think they got that low.  No frost hiding in the shadows.  

My neighbor and her daughter were down yesterday.  I thought Amy lived in NY, actually she and her family live in the Poconos.  They both gave me hugs, possibly because not once did I call the police Mike.  As Amy said, her father was a seriously ill, Bipolar Alcoholic.  The house has been sold, closing in on Wednesday.  The new owner is going to renovate and rent it out.  Karen said she thinks he might be Spanish, but in this area it's more probable that he's Indian.  The influx of Indians and Pakistanis into the area is amazing.  Who know, I might become Hindi.

The patch is coming along well.  The plumbers relocated the drain pipe so simply filling in the hole with a piece of drywall was not an option; there was no place to anchor the 1" x 2" behind the existing drywall, so the patch is on top.  Pictures when it's finished.

Look what's ready to be mailed out tomorrow!  Note the catchy Santa Claus Any Time stamp!  And, as an incentive to all you Blue voters out there, November 8 is my birthday!  Help make sure I get the present I will cherish for the rest of my life!

And, what about Kari Lake getting kicked out of the audience for a what was to be a pre-recorded political event.  In case none of you have realized it yet, Kari Lake wants to be the Marjorie Taylor (no longer Green), of Arizona.  She is a political stuntress, an ex-anchor who wants to be a political star.  For her, damage is something you control, never avoid.

And (#2), in a speech yesterday, Trump claimed that the January 6 insurrection was the largest crowd he ever had.  The sooner he gets indicted and they shut him up, the better America will be.  Many people are ripe with anticipation.  The DOJ has an unwritten rule that they don't do anything within 60 days of an election.  That means November 9 is open.  I wouldn't mind a birthday present that comes a day late.

Hitler's Car

 So, is this the weekend all of you have been working for?  Or is it going to be next weekend, or was it, sadly, last weekend?  For many Americans, the idea of the traditional work week is now dated.  I don't know anyone in retail who has a Monday thru Friday schedule, or the medical field, or the law enforcement field.  Not that there still isn't a group that is still entrenched in what used to be called the 'work week.'  Don't worry, your lives will change, too.

I'm going to begin working on my little patching project this morning.  I don't think it will take too long.  There may be some issues at the bottom, where I have to work around the PVC drain pipe.  The quote for the electrical work should be in my hands by Thursday.  That means I'll most likely pay for it Friday so I can schedule the work.  The plan right now is to run conduit up the outside of the house, rather than cut a number of holes in the walls so wire can be fished from the basement to the 2nd floor.

Evidently Dr. Oz, hereafter to be known simply as Ozzie, had a fund raiser at a museum in California; I guess donors in Pennsylvania aren't giving him enough to run his campaign.  Anyway, he gave his little beg speech standing in front of one of Hitler's cars.  His campaign said they hadn't thought it would be such a big deal for him to be begging in front of a Nazi car.  Can we talk about truly terrible subliminal messaging here?  You can't really see the swastika, so I guess that makes it okay.

And Trumps blow bro Vlad got some bad news this morning.  The only supply bridge running from Russia to Crimea was almost completely destroyed.  One lane is left open.  This authoritarian dictator just can't get a break, can he?  His 3 day war is now almost 9 months old.  He's had to reinstate the draft, (very unpopular).  Allies in the government are beginning to question his flawed thinking.  And, again, he's threatening to possibly use nukes.  Of course, using a nuclear weapon would prove to the world that Putin is without a doubt the worst possible dictator in all of history; having to use the ultimate weapon of mass destruction in order to win a 3 day war shrieks of incompetence.  He would go down in the history books tied with Hitler as one of the most evil losers of all time.

Suckers

While I know a number of you out there are saying "finally, Friday," I also know there are probably just as many, possibly more, for whom Friday is just another day of the week.  For me, every other Friday is payday, but not this Friday.  Today I will be doing the same chores I do every Friday, with a few added.  My lawn needs to be mown today.  I'll also be rolling up my 100 foot hose and putting it away for the year.  For those who don't know, my property is 125 feet long, so 100 feet does everything I need it to do.

I'm going to start patching the hole today.

I watched the first 2 episodes of Interview with a Vampire last evening.  That sucker pops!  I read the book a long time ago and liked it.  I saw the Tom Cruise version when it came out.  Meh.  Perhaps if Tom Cruise hadn't been in it I might have appreciated it more.  When I was growing up, vampire movies were always gendered, where women were always the prey.  I never could understand that.  Blood has no gender.  This is why when you get a transfusion you don't get to choose between male or female.  In the serialized version on AMC blood is blood, it doesn't make a difference whose neck you're sucking it from.  

I've always liked Peter Gabriel.  Many don't know that a long time ago he was the front man for a little known band named Genesis.  He went solo and the band replaced him with Phil Collins.  On his own, Gabriel has been more than a little innovative.  I'm sure some of you will remember his delightful little ditty "Shock the Monkey," or if that doesn't ring a bell, he had another little hit with "Sledgehammer."  One of my favorite songs was Solsbury Hill.  Written in 1977,  this video, released 40 years later, is an amalgamation of clips from live performances and is rather eye popping.  

 And finally, back to Herschel.  Everyday there is a new word salad.  Christian Walker, whom Conservatives thought they could use to attack liberals, is slicing and dicing his father daily.  Walker's defense is... Jesus.  Son of a bitch!  When Newtie Gingrich begins talking about Hershel's love of Jesus being more important than anything, you have a really big problem.  Selfish, self-centered, with a football stadium sized ego, his neurotransmitters have been misfiring for years.   Herschel's actions have never been any where close to being Christian.  Antiabortion conservatives look bad.  They desperately want to turn Georgia red.  Well, that ain't happening.

 

The Hole

 Thursday has arrived.  Today and tomorrow, even though the temps have not been cold enough for a frost, are supposed to hit the mid to upper 70s (F).  Translation, Faux Indian Summer.  This is what's been happening over the past few years.  Next week, if the predictions are correct, the temps are supposed to drop into the upper 30s (F).  That's still not quite cold enough.  The sad truth is that after the first frost, our temps might climb into the upper 60s (F) and that would be our Indian Summer.

The plumbers were here yesterday.  $$$  I now have a water hookup for a washer on the 2nd floor.  There were 2 of them and they did not seem to be pressed for time, since they took over 2 hours for what is a rather simple job.  I made a mistake by telling them I could patch whatever holes they deemed necessary, and as a result, they cut a big hole with multiple pieces.

And, for those of you interested, the electrician was just here, the one whose last name sounds like he should be an action hero.  Well, I was slightly off in my prediction.  He was in his late 20s with no kids or grandkids.  There was, as Maddie pointed out, the inevitable butt crack.

As expected, this close to the midterms the Republicans are pumping all sorts of moola moola into negative campaign ads.  This is as certain as birth, death, and taxes, and it is all negative.  In fact, the 2 things Republicans are truly good at are (1) lying, and (2) negative advertising.  This time they are again leaning on their family values, i.e. banning books, attacking Trans people, and immigration, they want you to believe every immigrant coming to this country crosses the boarder carrying 14 pounds of fentanyl. 

Finally, the word on the street about Doug Mastriano is that he's a fucking fruit cake, pardon my language.  He already wants his followers to spend the last 40 days until the election by fasting and praying.  He's evidently one of those extremists who has no problem lying because... well, you know... he's doing it for God.  His zealotry has no problem with war as long as it's for God.  Be forewarned, he will not take his approaching loss lightly.  He will create a shit show the likes of which Pennsylvania voters have never seen before.