Spooks and Scares

 Outside, the temps are in the low 40s (F).  I was expecting them to be colder, evidently that's going to happen tonight and tomorrow night when they're predicted to hit the low 30s (F).  If we get that low, frost will definitely been in the air... or on the grass, I should say.  Accuweather's strong comment was that those temps will kill the growing season.  I want to deadhead some of my flowers, so I have seeds for next year.

Work was odd yesterday.  Slow, for most of the afternoon, busy in the morning, and strange because this software update from Legacy to something new is wrecking pure havoc.  Some things are ready to go, others are not.  We now have a lot of complicated steps to walk through when selling a carpet or vinyl installation.  Before, the entire order was on the screen and you could click on individual lines to make changes, with this new software you scroll, and scroll, and scroll.  At no time do you get a complete picture of the order.  The product being  purchased is on a different screen then the installation, which means clicking back and forth.  Measure documents for blinds are on another screen, and need to be downloaded before you can view them.  Why this tumultuous change?  Adobe, who managed the old Legacy system, refused to to work with the outdated system, and so we're having to learn how to navigate through a product that is quite cumbersome.

And here's my bit for Halloween.

Right now, even though this is the time for trick or treaters, for dressing up in Halloween costumes, both amusing and scary, probably there is nothing more frightening that the Republican party.  What makes them so frightening is that their base doesn't even know what they stand for because they've coddled to so many specialty groups there no clear platform on which they stand.  The 2nd amendment people rarely look at anything else, and when their elected officials say "tax break," they believe it's for them... it isn't.  Vast numbers of social conservatives haven't a clue as to what Christian Nationalism is, or how it's one step closer to taking America down the road to fascism.   Fiscal Conservatives only thing about Wall Street.  For them, lower tax brackets are just another source of revenue they can bleed until it's depleted.  Really, all the GOP wants to do is say "shut up!  We're in charge!" without even knowing what that means, or how they're going to govern.  They don't really want a fair America.  They just want to be in charge.

Zinnias in the Rain

 And it's Monday, Funday for all of you out there who hate the start of the new work week.  Here in Central PA, we're under a steady drizzle with heavy, soaking rains to come later in the morning and early afternoon.  After they pass through, the temps are going to drop.  A frost warning is in effect for tomorrow morning, so it's probably time to pull my snuggly, wool blanked out of the cedar chest.

This morning, before I decided to get out of bed and get dressed, I thought about Biggie.  He was a really nice bedwarmer during the winter.  I will miss that.  He did, however, on occasion, walk up and look in my face and burp, but then he was a dog.  He would also snore loudly if he managed to roll himself over on his back.  Believe me, rolling a sleeping 115 pound dog over on his side is not the easiest thing to do.

Walking to work yesterday morning, I snapped a shot of one of zinnias in the rain.

Yesterday, politically things were rather quiet.  With Pence out of the GOP nominating race, things have quieted down somewhat.... sorry, I had to do that.  I did see where the Orange Anus said something about Mikey needing to go the distance.  Mikey was never one to put in the work, always being a step behind thinking that was enough.

Ronnie DeSantis is running into serious shit issues.  People are asking him the not too difficult questions and he's fumbling for the answers because he's always assumed everyone is a moron.  There was an interesting exchange on one of the Sunday morning news shows where he was asked about increasing gun mortality rate in Florida.  Of course, Ronnie D lied, saying it was decreasing.  Pushback ensued, something Ronnie D abhors because that brings his lack of accountability into focus.  Statistically, the number of people dying from gunshot wounds is increasing... a lot, like a percentage point a year, and last year it was up to 14 + %.  And Ronnie D's blubbery lips blubbered.  One of the consequences of loosening gun laws is that more people are going to die, but then when have Republicans ever thought of consequences.

54

 Well, the weather outside is soon to be drizzly.  The skies are overcast without so much as a hint of sunrise.  With the rain, which is supposed to be on and off showers that will sometimes be mini-soakers, comes a drop in the temps.  This coming week is made for sweatshirts and sweatpants, which will be the house fashion for the next five months or so.

I did work yesterday and it was slow.  Pre-Covid, we used to say that people were waiting for the deals of Black Friday.  The massive orange retailer I work for, however, has pretty much obliterated Black Friday in its search for sales revenue.  They will advertise some super duper sales on Black Friday, but most of our big sales are already on display, and those sales?  They are not going to be the bargains most people are expecting.

On Matthew Perry's death?  I feel bad.  I'm not a sitcom kind of guy, so I rarely watched Friends and didn't build up the attachment so many did to his character.  I can remember friends saying they simply had to be home in order to watch the latest episode.  In many people's minds, no matter what was happening in his personal life, he was and still is Chandler Bing.  54 is such a terribly young age to die.

Here's a pic of my algae eater cleaning of the thermometer in the smaller tank.

And, stunning as it may seem to some, Mike Pence has ended his campaign for president.  Stop laughing!  Perhaps if he had demonstrated ethics, and values, and been toady to the most corrupt president in American history he might have had a chance.... Nah.  Mikey's campaign was cooked before he even threw his hat into the ring.  He was a non-entity before he became Vice President, and is back doing what he does best: disappearing into the woodwork.

Mike Johnson's heresy

 Hello Weekend.

Today's high is again predicted to hit 80 (F), yesterday we only got up to 76 (F), though that's warm enough for this time of year.  Any day my furnace doesn't run is a good day.  Tomorrow, rain is supposed to bring a temp drop, so it's going to be back to jackets for the time being.  

Yesterday was one of those semi-productive / semi-unproductive days.  Certain things (like working on the big tank) were accomplished, while others (sanding down the cabinets) were not.  Hopefully, the sanding will get done before I head off to work this afternoon.  

I read an interesting article on Milkweed and butterflies this morning.  Evidently, it's a magnet for Monarchs, and Lady Bugs, and gossamer wing insects (what ever they are), so I might have to invest in some for the front yard, perhaps outside of the dog fence since they're none edible plant, and we know how dogs will eat anything.

I have roses blooming again, but it's too early in the morning to go out and take pictures.  Yes, it's dark outside, so I'll include an old one.

And haven't the Republicans created their own little firestorm by electing Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House.  Holy crap!  Here's what Dan McClellan, a biblical scholar who hose away the crap spewing from Johnson's mouth.  

Long Term

 We have rain moving into the picture.  Temps are not going to hit the low 80s (F) as forecasters had predicted.  Instead, we might make it up into the high 70s (F) today and tomorrow before the temps drop like a rock on Sunday.  Those low temps mean the leaves are going to fall in a flood of color covering my lawn.  Eventually, they'll be mowed.  

Yesterday I got up real early thinking that I'd get a lot done.  Wrong.  My enthusiasm for chores waned soon after I'd finished the blog entry.  Part of the problem was my neighbor.  She cleans on Thursdays, and that means she plays some sort of dancy, pop music loud enough for me to hear the base line.  My old neighbors were quiet for the most part, except when, drunk on his ass, he playing his screaming electric guitar around 2 in the morning because he desperately wanted to be a rock star.   Having bad background music while I painted the kitchen was not something I'd planned on.  I'm used to having things relatively quiet.  

So, this pic I took from the MRI my Specialist had done on my lower spine 9 years ago popped up in my Facebook feed.  I doubt very much if things have improved between L4 and L5, in fact by this time L3 and L4 might even be fused.

You can list this next bit under "Things I shouldn't find Surprising."  Evidently around 31% of all Evangelicals have no problem using violence to achieve their goals.  If that isn't frightening enough, some of these nut bags are in Congress, like Mike Johnson, who said in a statement that he thought his getting elected as Speaker of the House was ordained.  I don't know why it is that Cracker Jack Crazy Christians believe that God is on their side if and when they go to war.  That has never proven to be the case.  Take the Crusades, for example.  Many, many lives were lost as Christians fought to take back the Holy Lands from the Muslims and all you have to do is look at a current map to see how unsuccessful they were.  The fact that they always end up losing might be a really big sign that God doesn't want them to go to war.  In fact, it seems as though the only time Christians ever win is when the totally annihilate an indigenous people, and even then their success rate is... barely adequate in the long term.  But, like Republicans, one thing you can count on is that they will never learn a lesson.

On the Bright Side

 When I woke up this morning the outside temp was 50 (F), that's warm for this late in October, and that temp is going to continue to climb for the rest of the week, hitting the low 80s (F) by Saturday.  Then it's gonna plummet, with daily highs only expected to be in the mid 40s, just in time for Halloween. 

Speaking of Halloween, I need to find out which night is trick or treating in my neck of the woods to I can turn my front porch light off.  There is nothing enjoyable in handing out pieces of candy to small children I do not know, many of whom don't even live on my street.  I can remember when people used to brag about the number of trick or treaters they'd get, the same way they'd brag about the number Christmas cards they received as if it was a badge of honor.  I guess it's this thing some people have with numbers, the higher the better, or perhaps it makes them feel as though they're more popular... well, I guess in away that's right, they are popular with strangers, for one night out of the year because they're handing out free candy.  Don't get me wrong.  I like Halloween.  However, like every other holiday, it's become super commercialized.

On the kitchen Reno: all the priming has been done.  Today I'm hoping to paint the walls.  Then, I'll be able to put away my rollers, and brushes, and stir sticks, and move onto something new, like the flooring.  There are 8 boxes of vinyl plank flooring still sitting in the back of my car.  I'll bring them inside this afternoon.

And yesterday this happened.

The Republicans unanimously voted in Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House.  Clean cut Johnson won the job, and not because he happens to be circumcised (you all know what a Johnson is, don't you?)  The anti-woman, anti-LGBQT, pro Trump election denier is about as hard line as the Republicans can get.  It's like they took the ugliness of Jordan and hosed it down to try and make it look squeaky clean.  However, nothing is going to change.  Remember that for the GOP to change, they would need to admit that those beliefs they hold sacred could be improved upon, that perhaps a Centrist approach might be better.  That will never happen.  On the bright side, even though Republicans have a majority in the House, they will accomplish nothing in the next year and a half.

On the bright side, this happened. The Scholastic Press has changed their mind on their book fairs.  They were going to offer an optional package of books on race and gender, however the word optional is no longer applicable.  There are 64 titles that are no longer optional, which is going to piss off those 5 or 6 people who want to censor the minds of young Americans.

  

I am an Extroverted Empath

 Well, the weather outside is delightful with the morning temp in the mid 40s (F).  Today's high temp is supposed to be in the mid 70s (F), and by Friday we should be in the mid 80s (F).  Over the weekend, however, the bottom is predicted to drop out with overnight lows in the mid to up 20s (F).  Yes, that's right, they're predicting us to be below freezing.  The time has come to move my garden hose down into the basement.

Remember, winter is less than 2 months away.

The measure tech came and measured for my new countertop yesterday morning with some sort of apparatus on a tripod that held a large tablet.  He used lasers, and took pictures, as well as the old reliable tape measure.  He would touch the screen and it would make short, high pitched beeps.  When he was done, I dragged my finger across the screen to sign my approval.  It took him all of fifteen minutes.  If there is an adjustment in my quote, I should be getting it today.  Installation is scheduled for November 7, the day before my birthday.

I stayed up late playing Starfield, mostly because I was told I'd get a nice ship if I finished a certain number of quests.  So, I completed them and got a very nice ship that has a crew of 5.  To be honest, however, the real reason I went to bed so late was because I was having fun playing the game.  It can be very addictive!  Because part of my character build is Empath, I can sometimes persuade characters to do what I want, without having to shoot them.  That sounds bad, but it is fun!  And, of course, the fact that I'm playing as a hot ginger doesn't hurt any.

And, of course, another Speaker candidate came and went yesterday.  The Republicans inability to choose an individual is becoming tedious.  One of the things I find truly amusing is that the Spawn of Satan, Donald J. Trump, is pulling their strings.  The fact that they are giving him this power tells you all you need to know as to what their ambitions are:  a socially conservative authoritarian government in which they constantly get to say "shut up, we're in charge."  This doesn't mean that they're completely out of touch with a majority of Americans, they simply don't give a shit.  In a country in which the majority is supposed to rule, they want a minority that can dictate.  They are going to try and ignore everything that doesn't fit into the mold they're trying to fill.  Get ready, when they fail their cult is going to go nuts.

Mediterranean

 Well, it's Tuesday and finally I'm back to my old schedule of 4 sequential days off.  Now I can finally get back into my normal routines.  

Outside the temps are a cool 35 (F), though they're expected to climb up into the low 70s (F).  There was frost on the car windows but none on the grass, so does anybody know if that's considered the "first frost?"  I don't think so.  If it is, then we will get an Indian Summer this week with the temps expected to climb up into the high 70s (F), possibly even reaching into the low 80s (F).  That'll be nice.

The dishwasher Jon and I carried out to my driveway?  Well, I pushed it out the the curb when I got home from work since it's garbage day and, quite magically, it disappeared overnight.

I signed up for the Mediterranean diet on line basically because I was hoping to grow my list of recipes.  While I wouldn't say it's completely bogus and therefore a waste of $$$, I will admit that it's geared more towards selling you supplements like alfalfa sprouts and beauty collogen than anything else.  I already take a collogen supplement, and I can tell you, theirs is much more expensive.   The recipes are okay.  I was hoping for more actual Mediterranean (Italian and Greek) dishes and that didn't happen.  It seems as though whomever put it together thought that the only thing needed to make it Mediterranean was to add olive oil.  As a result, I'll be cancelling it shortly.  This spicy shrimp and rice dish I threw together is more Mediterranean then what they're offering.

The Republicans came back yesterday and are, I suppose, going to vote sometime today on the 9 8 candidates vying for Speakership.  Will one of them get elected?   Hhhmmm, probably not.  There are too many factions fighting for control of the party.  One interesting thing that I did see was that whomever they finally choose will need to have the blessing of the Orange Anus.  I keep wondering, how can they be so delusional.  He lost the popular vote, and that's before he staged an insurrection, before there were 91 indictments against him, before his cracker jack team of attorneys started flipping for the prosecution.  He is Obi Wan and will never, ever be their only hope.

Blizzards

 Outside, the weather is a brisk 44 (F) and those individuals who get paid lots of money to forecast heat waves and deep freezes are saying that today's the last cool day for a while.  Tomorrow the temps are supposed to climb up into the 70s (F), and by Friday we're supposed to top off at around 79 (F).  And no, for those of you who are desperately waiting for Indian Summer, this is not it.  As I've said before, Indian Summer only happens after the first frost, of course, now that we're beginning to deal with Global Warming, that might not happen until well into December.

I do get to go in and work today.  Hopefully it will be quiet.

I also get to call the granite people and select my slab.  I have the purchase order number to verify that I'm actually going to have it installed.  The installers will be here tomorrow to measure and build the template.  Then, if things go well, my new countertop will be installed in two weeks.  While a number of things need to be done by then, I don't foresee anything cataclysmic happening.  It's just painting and laying the vinyl plank flooring, which means crawling around.  Believe me, it's not the crawling around that bothers me, it's the standing up afterwards.

And I was down in York yesterday to lunch with my friend Betsy.  It's always Chinese buffet and Dairy Queen, and desert is always a Blizzard.  Yesterday I had a Royal New York Cheesecake blizzard.  It was okay.  I was thinking it would only be chunky pieces of cheesecake and I was wrong.  There was some strawberry sundae topping inside which wasn't to my liking.  I suppose that's because while growing up, my mom only bought two types of jelly, grape and strawberry.  Now I really don't like either.

Since it's now Monday, the clown show in Congress is going to start up again.  We've had enough of an intermission between acts.  Nine names are in the ring and, as far as I know, only one of them is what you might consider a moderate.  Whispers have it that Trump is still pulling the strings behind the scenes.  That wouldn't surprise me.  He represents the authoritarian dictatorship so many of them want.  The fact that he's a lying sack of shit means nothing to them, it's the power they believe he promises.

And, speak of the OA, I believe he's once again back in court today.  Tomorrow, his former attorney Cohn is supposed to testify against him.  I'm wondering if the two of them are going to come face to face in the courtroom.  Trump doesn't need to be there, but if he believes he can use it to bolster his campaign he'll put in an appearance.

  

The Bendy Ankle

 Sunday!  And I don't work!  And the weather is nice, cool, but that's okay.  This is autumn; cool days and cooler nights.  The sunshine is so bright I had to pull the curtains shut to keep it from blinding me while I type.

I got many hours of sleep last night.  When the alarm went off, I let Lily out and the fed her, and then the two of us went back to bed for another hour.  This always happens when my schedule gets changed.  Normally I'd be going in to work this morning, but I'm off, I worked Thursday instead.  I like have my 4 days off in a row, I get more things done around the house which is important with my kitchen renovation.  Not that I don't get things done.  All of the new cabinets have their first coat of paint, next up, a bit of light sanding and then on to coat number 2.  I will probably do 3 coats since paint is a finish, and being in a kitchen where dings and dangs happen, the stronger the better.

Work was exceedingly boring yesterday.  Not that I didn't talk to customers, it's just that the all though our pricing was too expensive.  The new software they've saddled us with is still twitchy as hell.  This is piss poor planning.  They should have rolled this out in mid-January when business is a lot slower and associates would have the time to learn how it work.  Now they're going to be dealing with costly complaints.

I check Facebook every morning to see if everybody I know is still alive.  This morning this pic popped up from 5 years ago.  Isn't it amazing how bendy my ankle is?

And, of course, the Republican shit show in Congress continues.  Now that the little fascist Jimmy Jordan got rejected it seems as though the floodgates of wannabe Speakers has opened up.  The last time I checked I believe there were 10 Republicans vying for the position.   Because there is no obvious choice, the chaos will continue.  Three or four will probably get nominated, however the rules the Republicans themselves set up will require the victor will need to have some Democratic support, and the GOP has decided they don't want to work with Democrats.  Having to compromise means they can't go around shouting "shut up, we're in charge," and that's a stake for every MAGA who bought into the cult.

Another One Bites the Dust

 We did have showers yesterday, not steady rains, just a brief period when parts of the veranda not covered by the maples out back was wet, and on the street out front you could definitely see that it was raining.  And then it stopped.  There is a 40% chance of rain today, but again it's only going to be sporadic showers... if that.

Everything has been set up with new countertop.  They're going to come to measure and make a template on Tuesday, and 2 weeks later it's going to be installed.  As a result, certain things need to be done in the next 14 days, like all of the painting needs to be done, and the floor should be installed.  I work better in the morning, meaning I'll probably be getting up well before dawn cracks across the horizon.  

I do get to go to work today.  Can you see the excitement in my words?  It won't be until this afternoon, which gives me time to take Lily for her walk, maybe get in 2 miles on the treadmill, and possibly do a little painting.  

And yesterday this happened.

That's right, another one of Trump's crooked lawyers bit the dust, pleading guilty to get a deal so his saggy butt wouldn't need to spend a single night in jail.  From everything that I've read, Cheesy was one of the architects, and now he's going to talk... or already has provided seriously incriminating information.  This also means that Trump's being rattled constantly, and when he gets rattled, so does his cult, especially those members of congress who believed he was going to give Republicans unlimited power.  Ouch!

I don't doubt for a second that those hard-liners who were pushing for Jimmy Jordan to be Speaker of the House are beginning to look back over their shoulders, because both Chesebro and Powell can name every single one of them who was involved in the insurrection.  I mean, that's why Jimmy had himself put in charge of a committee whose main job was to squelch such inquiries.  Personally, the more of them that go to jail, the happier I will be.  This is how the Republican Party dies, by it's own hand.

Kracks!

 The forecast for today is showers.  That's fine.  I'm off work.  Temps are supposed to climb into the low 70s (F), so maybe I'll get some yardwork done.  I find it difficult to believe we're this close to November and we have still not had a drop in temps.  While nighttime temps are dropping down into the upper 40s (F), during the day we're still climbing up into mid to upper 60s (F).  Not that I have a problem with those temps, as it adds up to a decrease in my heating bill.

So... my countertop has been reordered.  We're switching software (the reason my original order got lost... they think) and no one really knows what they're doing because we've had zero training.  Before the kitchen designers would key in shapes and sizes; not any more.  Now it's square footage and linear feet.  I somehow think I'm overpaying, but if I do they'll issue a credit.  And, speaking of credits, they credit off the first charge, now all I have to do is wait for hit to hit my account.  This is a common complaint among customers, that the Orange Behemoth I work for is quick to charge, and very slow to refund.  If you get a refund on a debit card, it can take almost a week to hit your account, yet that charge  is taken out instantly.  For those of you who don't know, this is what happens when greed takes over accounting.

And then yesterday this happened!  Sydney (aka Kraken) Powell took a plea deal and flipped on the Spawn of Satan.

I got that news flash right after I punched in at work.  As I walked through appliances, I said "good morning," to one very vocal Republican who barely responded, he was too busy hurrying to a computer no doubt to check out the Kraken's deal.  So much for loyalty to the Orange Anus.  I mean, who could blame this 68 year-old fool who knows they have enough evidence to put her behind bars for years.  I'm suspecting she's not going to be the only one who's going to cut her losses just to save herself from doing time in the clink.  

Hard line conservatives are still threatening the spouses of congressmen who voted against Jordan.  If those congressmen didn't expect this, then they were really stupid about whom they were crawling in bed with since all these people want to do is say "shut up, we're in charge."

Common Sense

 Weather here in Central PA was nice yesterday.  Temps climbed into the mid 60s (F), and for the most part skies were blue, though clouds did begin to roll in late in the afternoon.  No rain, though, in fact none is expected until Friday and Saturday.  Sunday's supposed to be nice.  That's good.  I'm going down to York on Sunday. 

I went though a bit of consternation yesterday, but not much.  When I ordered my countertop, I got an email informing me that I'd receive a call within 2 business days to set up a template making appointment.  Yesterday was day 4, so I called expecting to set up a date and was told that Capital Granite and Tile didn't have a copy of my order.  Some people would have been frantic, not me.  While it would be nice if everything sailed along smoothly, however, with little issues cropping up here and there that is often not the case.  The Orange Behemoth I work for is transitioning from an old Legacy system to something new and Microsofty that's still very buggy, so even though they took my money, the order never processed on the Capital side.  End result:  the Orange Behemoth issued a credit to me, and this morning when I go into work a Kitchen Designer will do (for free) what I did.  Perhaps, if the fates are in my favor, I'll be able to snag another 2% or 3% discount.

I made a chicken, black bean, and rice dish for dinner last night, and... oh... dear, it seems as though I used the seating chart for the Adelphi Theater as a placemat. 

As expected, Jimmy Jordan fell short of the votes he needed to become Speaker of the House, in fact, he fell even shorter than he did on Tuesday.  There will be another vote later this morning where little Jimmy is expected to lose by an even greater number of votes.  You would think that after yesterday he'd have learned his lesson.  Remember, Jimmy's a Republican, that means he will never learn, no matter how many times he gets smacked down.  His motto might actually try, and try, and lose again.  An interesting sidebar is that the Squishies (moderate Republicans) might actually be learning a lesson, that if they use their spines for what they were intended, they can stand up to the extremism which is destroying the party.  You and I know this is not really a lesson, it's simply common sense.

Clown Parade

Well, we've reached midweek and so far the weather has been fine.  We were living with a prediction of rain yesterday, but if we got any it was during the very early morning hours.  We did have clouds from time to time that looked somewhat threatening, but they never amounted to anything.  Today's temps should once again be climbing up into the mid 60s (F).

Jon, the PT who's providing insight into physical therapy for my books, came over yesterday morning and dug out the three bush stumps sitting in front of my house.  Now, all I have to do is fill in the hole with the dirt that was dug.  He also helped carry my old dishwasher to driveway.  From there, I can easily roll it down to the curb for next Tuesday's garbage pickup, and yes, we can put out one appliance a week. 

I have a list of chores set up for today.  There are only 4 items on the list, but 2 of them are time consuming so we'll have to see how things work out.  I was going to head over to Planet Fitness this morning, but I have a feeling that's not going to happen.  Instead, I will substitute it with either a dumbbell workout or possibly play around with my bands.  

I saw this yesterday and thought it quite appropriate.

For those who haven't been paying attention, Jimmy Jordan lost by 20 votes when they voted for the Speaker of the House.  I understand that even Kev McCarthy got more votes on his first try.  So, will Jimmy decide that it's in his best interests to compromise?  Nah.  From the whispers I'm hearing, when they vote again this morning it's quite likely some of those who voted for him will have changed their minds.  I'm sure they've realized for some time that Jimmy, besides being a pedophile enabler, is also a bad joke of a human being.  

And, finally, I'm not a big fan of Facebook.  I scan down through every morning to see if any of my friends have posted something.  That takes about 2 minutes.  This morning, however, I had to pause when I saw a group has been started:  Republicans against Scott Perry.  Scotty's the congressman from the district I live in.  He's also a scum buddy of Jimmy Jordan.  Even though I'm not a Republican, I gave the page a like. For those who don't know, Scotty is one of those who asked the Orange Anus for a pardon after the American people fired that asshole.

 

Always the Case

 The chance for rain to day is 40%.  That's lower than yesterday and the only rain we received was overnight, when Lily went out this morning the pavers on the veranda were wet.  This means the rain we might get we might have already gotten.  If the forecast is correct, we've started a warming trend with temps supposed to climb into the low 70s (F) by the end of the week.

Work was slow yesterday, up until around 2 PM, then things picked up.  I ended up selling 2 measures, my goal for the week was one, and I had a decent $4000 flooring sale go through.  This means I'm pretty much set for the week.  Now there's no pressure, not that I'm ever going to stress at the pressure management might try to press.  This is a part-time job, after all.

Jon, the PT, is coming over this morning to dig out the rest of root ball in front of my porch.  Hopefully things will have dried out enough so he doesn't get that muddy.  This is the one I'm talking about.

Well, possibly later this afternoon, Jimmy Jordan my be elected Speaker of the House and Democrats are... well, the word I saw was salivating.  No one is going to turn off Swing voters than a hard right shit head.  So bent on retaliation, it's pretty much a given that if he's elected speaker he is going to push for an impeachment of Biden, which will please that Cracker Jack Crazies that make up the Republican base.  Doing so will, however, isolate them farther from the majority of voters that make up America.  These insurrectionists simply fail to grasp the fact that America is Centrist, and by attempting to force their hardline agenda down America's throat will lead to failure.  I do believe that many Americans are surprised that the GOP could be this stupid, but isn't this always the case with authoritarian wannabes? 

Page One

 A rainy day Monday is on the way... possibly.  We have a 56% chance of rain which will put a damper on things as yesterday was nice, cool and a bit breezy, but then we are in October when warm sunny days chill into the cooler, shorter days of autumn.  When I leave work, it's dark and will continue to be so for the next 5 months.

Yesterday was also busier than I expected at the store.  I sold a blind measure, which no doubt pleased managements.  I had a shutter lead that sold, which I'm sure made them happier then pigs in shit.  Mostly, however, I was bored.  

The first draft of The Body in Motion is complete, I finished it last week, and the first thing I did was throw much of the first 3 chapters.  I did that with The Body Under Ice, too.  When I start a new book, I know how it's going to end; that's the easy part.  Where it begins?  That's difficult.  I've learned that rather than struggle trying to find the focused beginning I just start writing and those things that turn out to be unnecessary get thrown out.  The last thing a writer wants to do is bog down the reader in the first few pages.

Here's an example:  the original title for chapter one was New York, New York, however the book is not about the city, so it's been changed to Cutthroat, which is interest since no one literally gets his throat cut.  So, how much of page one made it into the final draft?  You'll have to buy the book to find out.

House Republicans are back in session today, hopefully to stomp Jimmy Jordan's Mussolini dreams into the dirt.  The last I'd heard was that between 40 and 50 Republican congressmen were going to vote against him becoming Speaker of the House.  Can we talk about have ice water thrown on his little fascist boner?   For him, this is not only about being a Mini-Me dictator, it also has a lot to do with keeping him from being incarcerated for insurrection.  Jimmy knows that the only who has a "get out of Jail free" card is Trump.  I don't doubt he has read ahead and hates what happens when the page gets turned.

How Democracy wins

Yesterday it rained.  There is still a slight drizzle falling.  From the container I have out back, I'd say we got almost 3 inches.  Now temps are dropping, but it's not going to be nearly as cool as the forecasters were predicting, our daily highs are still going to be climbing up into the low to mid 60s (F).  I have the heat set at 70 (F), and so far it runs rarely.

As I'd said yesterday, two of my friends from work, Tony and Brandon, got married yesterday.  The wedding was supposed to have been outside.  I understand they had a lot of canopies for their guests to stand under.  I told one of my friends to take his "floaties" just in case.  I'll find out today how everything went.

I had a nice chat with the kitchen designer yesterday and he asked if I was going to drive down to Philly (Philadelphia) to pick out the slab of granite I want for my countertop.  I told him no, so he showed me how to get toe the MSI (the installers) website to look at their inventory.  Of course, the slab I like has some issues, he said there's probably some pitting in the surface.  He also told me they may be able to use that slab since I've only got 41 square feet to cover and the slab is 69 square feet.  I'll find out when they call to set up the appointment to create the template.

Also, the new flooring is here.  Only 8 boxes (I ordered extra just in case), and except for one, they're all sitting in the back of my car.  I opened one and set out a few tiles.  This is what they look like against the sink cabinet, which has been primered, but not painted yet.

I've heard that little Jimmy Jordan and his team of insurrectionists are making a big push to get Republican congressmen to vote him into the Speaker of the House position.  While Republicans are publicly saying that his is a lost cause,  I consider every loss he suffers through to be fitting.  Some conservatives call him a little firebrand, they're wrong.  He's an authoritarian instigator and insurrectionist.  Every time he loses, Democracy wins.  

Lunge into this

 So, I accidently slept in this morning.  I forgot to set the alarm and subsequently didn't get out of bed until nearly 7.  That almost an hour and a half later than usual.  I got over 7 hours sleep, so I suppose I must have needed it.

Outside we have a slow drizzle that's supposed to turn into steady showers which will continue most of the day.  Two of my friends from work are getting married today.  When I was told the wedding was supposed to be outside, I wondered why they'd plan something like that this late in mid-October.  I wasn't invited, which is fine since we're more of acquaintances than friends.  

I bought a plant stand for the side window in the kitchen.  It was so cheap I needed to wear rubber glovers because the stain rubbed off on my hands.  Right now it's wood tone, I'm going to take a sponge to it, clean off as much of the stain as possible and paint it the color of my kitchen cabinets.  

So, I've reached one of those painful decisions we all need consider at some point in our lives as we get older.  After crawling around on the floor working on the kitchen renovation, and knowing there's going to be much, much more crawling around, I've decided that I really need to start doing squats and lunges.  You have no idea how much I hate doing leg work, but I need to work on building up strength in cire muscles and there's only one way to do that.  Merde.

The news from Gaza is bad.  It's only going to get worse.  Unfortunately, the only way to break the power of the jihad is to crush Hamas.  Casualties will be high.

For amusement in this country, we have the Republican party.  I don't believe they understand that their incompetence makes them look... well, terrible.  They put together rules that permitted Matty Gaetz to fire that nincompoop McCarthy without a replacement in the wings.  Scalise was going to try and win the gavel, but he has some form of cancer and Republicans don't like people who are sick.  Now, little Jimmy Jordan has managed to get the nomination, however there aren't enough stupid people willing to vote for that little asshole.  So, what do the Republicans do?  They take the weekend off.  I'm sure they're burning up their phone lines trying to get their act together, but don't expect anything resolution any time soon.  They're going to lose their majority because they simply refuse to work with Democrats.  There was a time when that was not the case.

Summer

 Friday!  The last day of decent weather.  Rain is on the way for tomorrow.  Of course, some friends from work will get married in the rain, though I suspect they'll be moving the ceremony in doors.  Temps are supposed to drop, too.  We'll be in the mid 50s (F) for a few days before climbing up into the mid 60s (F).  This is typical weather for this time of the year.

I used my new dishwasher for the first time yesterday.  First lesson learned:  do not use Auto.  It's like a slow motion wash taking over 3 hours (that includes the dry time).  From now on I'll just use Normal.  I can download settings if I want, but it's only me and my dishes and I don't see the need to do a deep dive into dishwasher specialization.

The granite countertop has been ordered.  Well, that's not quite right, it won't be ordered until they come and verify my measurements.  That should be in 7 - 10 days after the template has been approved.  Installation means I will have to remove everything from my cabinets.  The base cabinets are not going to be repainted until after the installation just in case there's dinging, and scratching.  I've chose a Summer Beach granite, which is similar to this.  It'll be interesting to see what the actual slab looks like.

I wasn't surprised to see that Steve Scalise dropped out of the race to be Speaker of the House, he couldn't get the necessary votes.  Chaos reigns in the House.  These problems were created by a small group of hardline conservatives who seem to be proving daily that they have no clue as to how to govern.  Because of their incompetence, they're going to lose badly this election cycle.  Good for them.

And, not surprisingly, a vast majority of Israelis blame Netanyahu for the Hamas terrorist attack.  I've said before that both Hamas and Hezbollah sat back and watched as Netty pushed the country into chaos when he tried to change their Supreme Court in order to keep his corrupt ass from going to jail.  This has always been a problem for conservatives who have always put their own self-interests first.  I wasn't surprised to see that Netty chose to form an interim government with the opposition party, he's desperately trying to keep from looking like the worst Prime Minister Israel has ever had.

Wrestle This

 Today's supposed to be just like yesterday, temps climbing into the low 70s (F), or to the boarder line of the upper 60s (F).  Nice.  I do need to go out and trim back the roses.  That shouldn't take me long.  

The kitchen's moving along nicely.  Today is going to be a paint day, and we all know how much I love to paint.  Rooting around in the basement, I found a half gallon of Kilz primer that I bought back when it was still cheap... or maybe I should say inexpensive, around $18 a gallon.  If I bought it today, I'd be paying between $27 and $31.  This is an example of a cost increase just so Behr can hit their 5% growth because for them that's the only thing that's important in life.

I had lunch at Black & Bleu yesterday with my cousin.  Usually the food is super great, I ordered a spicy shrimp and chicken dish that was only so so.  The waitress warned me it was going to be spicy, as though it were going to be spicy hot and... well, it wasn't.  I keep forgetting that for some people spice is terrifying, and the idea that their tongue might tingle frightening as all get out.  The dish is not something that I would order again.

I leveled the dishwasher yesterday before going to lunch.  This morning I will be securing it in place and running my first, half empty load just to insure that it works.  My flooring should be arriving tomorrow at the store.  I could have paid extra to have it delivered.  Sorry, I'm not old and feeble yet.  I can still carry in a 7 boxes of vinyl plank flooring.  As I'd said, originally I was going to go with some thing more white and marbly looking but when that was out of stock, chose something at the other end of the spectrum, Chateau Pond.  The blues and browns will coordinate well with my backsplash and countertops, and will make my white cupboards pop.

Of course, the Republicans proved again yesterday that they have absolutely no idea how to govern.  They nominated Steve Scalise to be Speaker of the House.  For those of you who don't know Stevie, he claims to be David Dukes without the baggage; David Dukes is a well known white supremacist.  His competition was little Jimmy Jordan, who used to be an assistant wrestling coach at OSU, and who had no problem looking the other way and helping to cover up charges that the team doctor was molesting a number of the wrestlers Jimmy was coaching.  I would not be surprised if little Jimmy has a Napoleon complex.

Wilbur Plumbing

 Okay, Wednesday, here we go!  Our temps are supposed to climb into the lower 70s (F) today, how nice is that?  Predictably, however, as in every autumn, the bottom is supposed to fall out and by the end of the week our highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s (F).  I have turned the heat on, but am keeping it at 70 (F) and so far it hasn't been running... much.

The tech from Wilbur Plumbing was here yesterday.  Honestly, I was expecting him to quote me a price slightly lower than the $1200 Bowman Plumbing wanted to charge.  I almost fell over when he saw what needed to be fixed and quoted me $300.  Wowza!  The repairs took him about 50 minutes and now there are no leaks!  He even connected the water supply line and the drainage for my dishwasher (Bowman was going to charge me $652).  Why such a disparity in prices?  Wilbur is a smaller, family run business, they have a smaller overhead, and they are more interested in fixing your problem, unlike Bowman Plumbing which wants to sell you a "project."  So, if you're in the Central PA region and you need plumbing assistance, I highly recommend Wilbur Plumbing.  (How's that for a plug?)

And yes, my dahlias are still blooming.  Here are the orange ones.

I saw where Trump's blow bro Vlad blamed the United States mid-east policy for Hamas invasion of Israel.  Only Republicans in this country will believe that.  Meanwhile, Washington is investigating Iran's involvement, did they train Hamas' terrorists?  Add to that, the fact that Russia and Iran are good chums (Russia's buying drones from Tehran), and that back in 2016 the Orange Anus provided Israel's security / defense information to the Russians and bragged about it, and it's not difficult to see how Russia's part of this terrorist souffle. 

Here in America, the Republican congressmen are huddling this morning to try and pick a new leader.  They've already been warned to not go to the Right, that a Centrist will have a better chance of working with the Democrats.  Unfortunately, a number of Republicans don't want to reach across the aisle.  Nope.  All they want to do is tell America to "shut up!  We're in charge!"

Consequences

 Tuesday.  This morning the temps outside were a cool 43 (F).  Like yesterday, they're predicted to rise up into the mid 60s (F), and tomorrow into the upper 60s (F).  However, by Friday they're supposed to fall into autumn.  I'm curious as to which weather pattern is going to persist.  For the last 2 years we've had cold Decembers only to have the temps rebound and give us warm winters.  I could go for that again.

Some changes in the kitchen.  The flooring I was going to order is out of stock, which could be a sign I wasn't supposed to buy it, so I chose an alternative, Chelsea Pond, something completely opposite the marble look I had initially I'd chosen.  And I've gone from a marble countertop to one made from a slab of granite, mostly because the marble I had chosen is, again, no longer available.  I will take the samples I'm not using back to the store since I can only use so many paperweights.

I'm sure not all of you are aware of this, but Glynis Johns, who played Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins, turned 100 on October 5.  Here's belated, but hearty congratulations to Glynis on her becoming a Centenarian! 

And I understand that Kev McCarthy might be throwing his hat into the Speaker's circle again, mostly because the two fascists, tiny Jimmy Jordan, and white supremacist Scalise can't get the necessary 217 votes to move into that position.  For all of their desperation to be in power, Republicans demonstrate over and over again that when they are, they simply cannot govern.  

Very shortly, I don't doubt, Israel will begin their mop up process in Gaza.  This will not go well for the Palestinians.  I feel bad for that because not everyone of the is a member of Hamas.  As for Hamas?  When ever a terrorist group tries something on this bold of a scale, I always wonder what they were thinking.  When terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center on 9/11, did they really think that was going to make America crumble?  Did they not realize there were going to be consequences?  Maybe Islam should stop focusing on hating the Jews.  That will not happen in my lifetime, just as the Republicans in this country will never realize their dreams of authoritarianism will never come true.

Walking into Mordor

 Say hello to Monday, the start of a brand new week.  The temps this morning were cool: 41 (F), and they are only expected to climb up into the lower 60s (F).  After today, they're expected to warm up, with temps climbing into the mid to upper 60s (F).  However, it will soon be too cold to take Lily for her morning walks.

Even though business was slow in Flooring yesterday, I did manage to sell one measure.  That's not what management wants.  We didn't meet our sales goal last week and I must say this reminds me of how things were pre-pandemic.  Goals were always higher than what we could earn as a way of encouraging us to sell more, to fill the shopping cart of every customer, whether they needed the merchandise or not because you didn't want the customer having to come back to the store for something they didn't know they were going to need.  I never quite understood the reasoning since today's customers return the things they don't need.  Perhaps corporate believes customers will buy something else after taking care of their returns. 

I drilled the holes for my drainage and supply lines for my dishwasher in the wrong place, so this morning I'm going to redrill before I head into work.  Otherwise, the dishwasher is ready to be hooked up.  I can't wait.

And, if anyone is interested, I saw this sweater I'd like for my birthday  😎😎.  Nifty, huh?

As the world still reels from Hamas' attack on Israel, certain Republicans in this country are trying to blame it on Biden's White House.  While this will resonate with their base, I don't doubt that most Americans are thinking that these losers need to give it a break.  Tuberville is still trying to make himself important by keeping a hold on military promotions.  The majority party (Republicans) has no leader in the House, ;though they're saying they should have one by Wednesday.  Of course, know that they are Republicans, the idea of pulling their heads out of their asses will simply never occur to them.

And when I heard that the terrorists had taken hostages, the first thing to cross my mind was Jimmy Carter and the Iran hostage crisis, and I'm thinking that was their main objective.  Killing and creating chaos was a big part of the attack, but the taking of hostages was evidently their main priority.  These losers want a bargaining chip.  Soon, they will threaten to begin executing them, one by one, in a very public way.  For all the world knows, these hostages may no longer be in Gaza, but may have already been moved to multitude of safer locations making rescue that more difficult.  We are watching the dark side of Islam, one that may eventually destroy the religion.

Israel

 Autumn has arrived.  This morning's temp outside was 48 (F).  The high today should reach 60.  Same forecast for tomorrow.  Tuesday the temps are supposed to climb up into the mid 60s (F).  For those who don't know it, wool blanky days are fast approaching.  This also means that the all those thousands of leaves on the maple trees around my house are going to rain down on my yard.  Fun times ahead!

Work was slow yesterday.  I did have a customer who wanted to buy some indoor / outdoor carpet to put on his garage floor.  I kindly informed him that it would not survive.  I mean, it would for a while if you spread adhesive over the entire concrete surface to glue it down, but I would have thought that common sense would have told him that the tires of his car would shred the carpet.

My new neighbors had a loud disagreement last night around 10ish.  Perhaps they discovered there was no heat up in the attic, which their 17 year-old son chose for his bedroom.  Or maybe it might be that they discovered they might have problems with their old furnace.  I do feel bad for them.  They felt they were making a sound investment when in reality they were buying a fixer / upper with new appliances.  It also says something about Ironworks Realty and the agent who sold them the house.  She looks really bad.

I saw this pic and had to post it because this looks like bad casting from a Batman movie that never got made.  The character in the center is Scott Pratt, a Trumplodite.

There was terrible news from Israel yesterday.  There are many reasons for the attack by Hamas, but I do think Netanyahu's presence is a major contributing factor.  There were major protests when he and his hardliner buddies attempted to weaken the Israeli Supreme Court proving he does not have a large majority of the people on his side, and so looked weak.  With the country struggling with the chaos he'd brought, Hamas may have thought this was a good time to strike.  Someone should have told them, no time is a good time to strike.  In time, Netty would have been gone.  Now, all they've done is strengthened his grasp, and as he attempts to prove Israel's superiority may do something truly stupid.  Of course, he is a corrupt conservative to his actions may end up being inevitable.

Plumbing the Issue

 Well, it's Saturday which means it's a workday.  Will it be busy?  I've no idea.  What college football games are on TV this afternoon.  If Penn State is playing business will be off since this is Penn State country.  Also, we'll have the weather to contend with: rain.  That's right, it's raining again.  Temps are supposed to go from moderate to chilly as autumn continues to creep into the picture.  This week's high are predicted to be in the mid 60s (F) and next week's in the mid 50s (F).  Of course, who knows what's actually going to happen with the temperatures since we're coming off of the hottest summer on record.  

The plumbing in the kitchen renovation is fine... except for the cold water tap.  Down in the basement, those Pex pipes and Sharkbite connecters are busy drip, drip, dripping away.  The hot water's fine, and so's the drainage, it's just the cold water where there's a bit of a leakish problem.  Biting the bullet, yesterday I called Bowman Plumbing and a nice young man drove here to give me an estimate.  I pointed to the dishwasher and told him he might want to add that installation into the quote.  A few minutes later he handed me the quote.  I smiled, and nodded kindly, saying "that's nice," to be polite.  The cost for installing the dishwasher alone was $652.  I pointed to it, saying "that's awful pricy," and he said, "well, there may be issues," so I told him I have a friend who can do it for free.  With the dishwasher charge removed, the cost was still $1250.  I told him I'd think about it.  I want to have a small section of pipe fixed, not to have most of the copper piping replaced.  I feel bad that there are people out there who would have simply said "Okay," knowing that price might be creating a financial burden for them.  Don't put yourself in debt because the plumber or electrician you call will charge you as much as possible because they know most people will simply hand their credit card to cover the expense.

Here's an updated kitchen pic taken before they added the trim around the window.  That's a sample of the marble countertop sitting there on the temp countertop.

And, of course, the Republican shit show continues in the House.  First they were going to have an informal thing on Fox TV, I guess sort of a Meet and Greet the Fascists, and then they weren't.  They've been forewarned that putting someone farther to the Right (notice I'm not saying Conservative) into the position will get them nothing.  Will they listen? Gimme a break.  We're talking about Republicans here.  A majority of Americans are not buying their pseudo- authoritarian, wannabe regime oriented politics.  Ouch.  Let's be honest here, has that ever stopped them before?

Dumb Money

 Well, it's Friday.  The weather's supposed to be overcast and gloomy.  Humidity is supposed to increase during the day leading to possible thunderstorms, and then... temps drop.  Originally the forecast had them falling into the mid 50s (F), but that forecast has been revised to the warmer side with them only dropping down into the mid 60s (F).  September was the warmest on record and, I suspect, October's will not be changing the surprises much.  

My contractor is here for her final day sanding down the seams of drywall mud so they'll be ready to paint.  Joy of joys.  I did make another trip to the orange retailer I work for this morning to pick up more Pex tubing.  The cold water line has a leak in the basement that needs to be fixed.  I should actually replace the entire line, and I will, but not until the kitchen is complete.  The leak will be fixed, but the rest will have to wait until next spring.

I went to the movies last night to see Dumb Money.  And I liked watching the little guy stand up to the monster that is Wall Street.  Paul Dano was very good as Roaring Kitty, aka Keith Gill.  One thing I found intriguing was that it's not only a story about Gill and his like for  Gamestop stock, but also shows how a number of very small investors helped to take down a small section of Wall Street.  It details the machinations of people who use big money to manipulate the lives of so man, and how greed has no limits.  This is really a story for the little people.  

Of course, the de-evolution of the Republican party continues.  Tiny Jimmy Jordan wants to be Speaker of the House, so does Steve Scalise.  Some duffer called them conservatives.  That is so far from the truth.  They, and their cabal of ultra-right wingers, are authoritarians who dream nightly of controlling America.  They are the bringers of Chaos.  Pundits, conservative and liberal, are laughing at them because they fired the McCarthy without putting a single thought into who was going to replace him, and now they will need to vote for an individual who's not going to get enough votes, unless they get democrats to side with them.  Ouch!  Some want the Orange Anus to run for the opinion, however these losers passed a rule that said no one with and indictment that holds a penalty of 2 or more years can be Speaker of the House... and they're going to need Democratic votes to change that rule.  Yes, you know where I'm going... these people are that damn stupid.

Kitchen

 Yesterday was warm, the temps climbing to 86 (F), heating the house to point where the Central Air kicked in.  That's okay.  It was only for a few hours.  This early into autumn, I can live with that.  Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow bringing cooler temps to the area; highs in the upper 50s (F) are expected.  Time to break out sweat shirts and pants and pack away the shorts and Ts.  

My new neighbors are not happy with their house.  The first time I met her she talked about the new appliances, so I think for her and her husband that was the main selling point.  Do Not Buy a house simply because it has new appliances.  Now her complaint concerns the lack of wall outlets.  "Only 2 in the living room," she's griped about every time I've talked to her.  She also voiced her opinion that they weren't told about things like that, and I thought she should have realized that was her responsibility.  When most people buy a house, they walk through the rooms and picture where their furniture is going to be, so if they decide their TV is going to be on one wall they usually check to make sure there's an outlet.  They are going through what may be a very expensive learning experience.

And the kitchen is proceeding nicely.  All the cupboards and cabinets are in place, all the drywall has been hung and every hole covered.  Late yesterday afternoon I installed the drain pipes and this afternoon I will install the fixtures.  Tomorrow?  Probably the dishwasher.  Once that's done, I can begin painting.  There's some tile work I need to do around the stove.  And, of course, there's the floor; that will make these creaking bones ache.

The disarray and chaos in the House of Representatives continues.  Republicans are upset that they forced McCarthy to add a rule which allowed one sole congressman to have him fired.  Sorry, bobo brains, you are the ones who voted for that rule and no one was holding a gun to the head of their first born.  A number of them are saying that they'd like to expel Matty Gaetz, but we know that's not going to happen, that would cost them a vote.  Remember, these people are Republicans, for them it's not about corruption, it's about being in charge.  They accept any evil as long as it gives them the power they crave.

"Winging it"

 So, I'm writing this entry from the writing laptop down on the desk, rather than the gaming PC.  The weather outside is nice, temps are supposed to climb into the upper 80's today.  We have a 2% chance of rain.  This is a good thing because the drywall for my kitchen renovation is outside.  I really didn't want it taking up space anywhere inside; 4 x 8 foot sheets take up a lot of space.

Demolition is supposed to take place this morning.  I make that sound as though it's going to be a major even.  In reality, the current kitchen cabinet is going to be ripped out.  Drywall is going to be screwed onto the wall behind it, and the new cabinets (including the space for the dishwasher) are going to be installed.  The sink cabinet is a priority, so I can do the plumbing for the new sink.  The dishwasher installation is probably not going to happen until next week, after everything else has been completed.  The flooring installation will be the last thing I do.  I haven't even ordered it yet.

I did take a picture of the pipes beneath the current sink after I'd cut them last evening.  

So, what will I be doing while the contractors are hard at work?  Sitting at my desk working on The Body in Motion.  

Of course, Kev McCarthy got fired yesterday by his party.  Anybody who didn't know this was going to happen when he was elected Speaker of the House is way too naive; this was predictable, except for the obtuse.  The chaos that has ensued is amazing, and adding to this, the Republicans have decided to take the rest of the week off.  That's right, they need to take a break to... try and focus?  Perhaps.  They don't seem to have a plan, so I guess this means they'll be "winging it" until 2024, when a number of them will be voted out of office.  

I did have to laugh at how many Republicans were blaming the Democrats for not saving McCarthy's ass, this was after McCarthy was corrected on CNN on Saturday when he claimed that Democrats had not helped in passing the stop gap measure to keep the government from shutting down.  Like most Republicans, he lied, it was every Democrat voting for that piece of legislation which got it passed.  Maybe if Republicans just stopped lying, instead of being in constant attack mode.  Of course, they've been in attack mode for so long, I doubt if they know who to do anything else.

Grumpy Trumpy

 So, when my alarm clock went off this morning, I shut it off and went back to sleep, until 0700.  That's so late for me?  Of course, I woke up at 0238 and began researching plumbing / drainage on my computer.  After finding out what I wanted to know, I climbed back in bed.  This is what happens when you do the plumbing yourself.

The weather yesterday was nice, with the temps climbing up into the mid 80s (F), of course, people being people, I did hear from several customers that it was sooo hot outside.  A month ago they'd have been calling it a wonderful day, but the instant we rolled into October 80 (F) and above became too hot.  Today's temps are going to be a repeat of yesterdays, with tomorrow being slightly cooler.  I'm fine with that.  My Central Air is off for the year and the ceiling fan in the bedroom works fine.

My new neighbors moved in yesterday.  The real estate agent I talked to was wrong when she told me they were a young couple just starting out, that is unless by young she meant early 40s.  The couple I saw a few months back with the 2 teenage kids?  They're the ones who bought the house.  They were real chatty.  Seemed nice from the first impression.  So far they've been quiet.  My parents moved when I was a teenager in order to upgrade houses and I can tell you, having to make new friends while going through puberty is not the best thing to force upon an adolescent.

And, of course, I had to save this picture from yesterday:  Grumpy Trumpy!

I remember "nay-sayers" whining that this was never going to happen.  Impatience is not a virtue.  From my understanding, the Orange Anus is even more grumpier than usual because his legal team, for some reason known only to them, chose not to have a jury decide guilt.  Perhaps they gambled on getting a lenient judge, or perhaps Grumpy told them that no sitting judge would ever convict an ex-president.  Either way, his organization was found guilty and now he has to sit through the penalty phase.  From what I've been reading, appeals are useless during this phase.  The Trump organization is going to be dismantled.  Stop cheering!  This is just the beginning.

And that dumb ass Matty Gaetz began the process to oust Kev McCarthy.  People are wondering if the Democrats are going to step in and save his ass.  Nope.  The demands they will ask in order to get them to save Kev will be too great for any Republican to bear, so they will let this Republican shit show continue.  Believe me, very shortly, the GOP is going to be screaming three-ring circus!