Be a Realist

 Okay, so it's New Year's Eve morning.  Can you sense my enthusiasm?  The skies are overcast and will remain so for most of the day.  The temps will climb into the mid 40s (F).

I have friends who will stay up until midnight in order to watch the "ball" drop in New York City.  Not me.  I came to the realization a long time ago that there's a lot of hype in celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another.  Some like to think the New Year means their slate is wiped clean, that there's a new beginning.  Well, I hate to disappoint them, but that's not true.  They're going to wake up on January 1st with the same bills, the same work issues, and the same old, same old all around.  If you want to celebrate, then celebrate, but do it because you survived the last year... there millions who didn't.

My mom used to say I was cynical because I wasn't religious.  My response was always, "I'm not cynical, I'm a realist."  My advice to people?  Become more realistic.  If you want to be optimistic, be optimistic about the things you can change, not the things you expect will change simply because you want them to change.

And if you wake up with a hangover tomorrow morning, remember it was your choice to drink too much this evening.  In case you haven't realized it yet, there is a price to pay for everything, but sometimes the rewards are simply wonderful.

Realistically speaking, I'm thinking this is the year Trump goes to jail, and the Republican party get's crushed.  If that happens, then next year I'll tip a glass.

Is Gini Thomas miffed?

 Yesterday was a warm, sunny day.  I loved it!  With the temp hovering at 53 (F), Lily and I took a walk.  She loves walks.  Today's supposed to be warm, but we're not expecting to climb into the 50s (F) again.  Today's high is supposed to be climb up into the mid 40s (F), but that's fine.  Every warm day is one day less that I need to pay for heating my house.

I got a lot of things done yesterday, including a good cleaning of the tank in the living room.  I bought a UV light to help manage the algae in the writing room tank; it's so bad right now the water has a greenish tint.  In all of the years I've had aquariums, I've never had as much of an algae problem as I now have, but then they all had fluorescent lights, not the brilliant LED lights we have today.  Brighter lit tanks = more work.

Early yesterday afternoon, I had a nice conversation with my neighbor.  She's nice, but either limited, or very naive.  She told me she feels as though everybody is watching them, so I was honest and told her nobody in the neighborhood really cares what they do.  She complained that her son's room was "chilly," her word, not mine.  She said she bought a heater to keep it warm.  So I told her that before the renovation, it was an attic with no heat, and there's still no heat, and only one outlet.  If we have any really cold days, that's kid's going to freeze.  This is what happens when you don't pay for a Home Inspection.  

Because there is no soundproofing between our houses, I bought myself a gaming headset, which was actually a smart move.  The sound is so much clearer than what I heard just using the soundbar, so I'm thinking this was a very good investment.  

One of the things I find truly interesting is that the Supreme Court which Donald Trump, and the Republican party, loaded to be touchy feely friendly to the GOP has been failing to give them what they want, Supreme Status in America.  Of course the Court's biggest test is going to be Trump's immunity status.  They are on very thin ice right now, and I'm certain that one Justice in particular, namely Clarence Thomas, is all for saying that the white billionaire is right, and should be able to do what he wants.  Many legal experts are weighing in on the subject, and by far a majority of them are saying Trump isn't.  With this is mind, I'm wondering if Ginni Thomas is miffed.  I'm betting she is.  Let's be honest here, she's a white woman with terrible taste in cardigan sweaters who's just like her husband: she feels she's deserving.  Saying Trump is immune from anything and everything would open up the flood gates for all those grifts and bribes to come rolling into her open arms.  Many are saying Clarence should recuse himself, but he won't.  That would be an admission of guilt.  Besides, Ginni would never let him.

Density

 The sun is shining in Central PA!  After so many days of overcast skies, it's nice to actually rise and see it shine.  The temps are in the mid 40s (F) and... believe it or not, the days are starting to get longer.  Not by much, mind you, only a few seconds, it won't be until next Monday that the days begin increasing in length by the minute.  This is something to look forward to.

Retail was oh... so, not very busy yesterday.  I do have an example of customer density... yes, that's a nice way of putting it.  I have this customer, let's call her Pam, who owes for a small vinyl job, a little over $900, and yesterday I gave her a curtesy call.  She wanted to pay, however payment screen failed to load.  I called IT support and talked to a very nice technician who couldn't figure out why this was happening.  After a few minutes of investigation, he told me the problem was that she had already paid for the installation back on December 12, her payment, however, had never shown up on my side of the transaction register.  Yes, you read that correctly, Pam paid on December 12... and was ready to pay again 16 days later.  Now, I don't know about you, but had I been Pam, I'd have said "this was already paid for," but nope, she was ready to give me her credit card number over the phone... a second time.  Ouch.

And, as I said, here a pic of the Shepherd's Pie, and I have to admit that I have eaten the entire thing.  The pan is waiting in the sink to be scrubbed clean.

 

And, I'm sure most of you have already seen that Maine has decided to remove the Orange Anus from the primary ballot.  Yep, as it stands right now, MAGAs in Maine will need to write his name in if they want to vote for him to get the Republican nominations for President.  Of course, his cult erupted in anger; that was to be expected.  The GOP has a terrible problem, and they're refusing to even look at it, let alone attempt to deal with it.  The Republicans have believed, ever since Reagan, that there is a Silent Majority of Conservatives waiting to vote the right presidential nominee.  In a way, they're right, there is this majority quietly sitting in their living rooms, or looking at their phones, or scrolling through articles on their computers, however they're not Conservatives, their Anti-Trumpers, and Centrists, and Liberals.  The Republican party doesn't understand that when this silent majority votes, it is the Republican party that is going to be paying the piper.  They will not take it well.  Most cults don't.

The Boys in the Boat

 Well, yesterday it rained.  All day.  A steady, soaking rain fell from morning to night across Central PA.  The temps hovered in the upper 40s (F) to low 50s (F).  As a result, I did very little.  For some odd reason, I kept thinking that it felt like some forlorn Sunday, where it's easier to just spend the time in a mini-hibernation, rather than waste the energy to do anything.  

Today will be different.  I go to work.  The clouds are still going to be covering the sky, and drizzles and showers are to predicted, so I'm anticipating a day of a slowness.  Hopefully, I won't have any customers to call.  I'm a staunch believer of calling customers when the time is right.  That week between Christmas and New Years?  Kids are home from school.  Many take vacation.  Contractors aren't working.  It's that space of time when life moves out into left field and it's better to observe the game instead of participating.  Not that people don't move.  I am.  I'm going to work.

I was going to post a picture of the Shepherd's Pie I made, but that will happen tomorrow because I went to the movies last night.  Finally, something was playing at my local theater that I wanted to go see.  And what was it?  The Boys in the Boat; the story of the University of Washington's Junior Boat team going to the 1936 Olympics in Germany and beating Hitlers Nazi team.  This is a feel good movie and I'm certain most people in the audience knew where it was going right from the beginning.  And it was fun!  One thing that did surprise me was the number of people in the audience.  There were a lot.  Sometimes people prefer the "should see" movie, instead of the "must see" movie.

And, speaking of Hitler, or the mini-wannabe version we call Donald Trump, he's still spitting out Adolph's paraphrases, except he's claiming that he, the Orange Anus, has said them first.  And his lies continue.  They will get worse.  He is going to attempt to incite another insurrection, since that will be his only chance for survival.  Some Republicans will go with him.  Let's hope we've learned from the mistakes we made after the Civil War.  Back then we let everyone go home.  This time, the insurrectionists need to be jailed.  It's the only way they will learn.

Sound

Dull and drab.  Those are two good words that come to mind when I look out the window.  A steady drizzle is falling through a whist of mist, soaking everything, and this is our forecast for the next 3 days.  I work tomorrow, which was originally supposed to be sunny, however that's changed.  

One of the most interesting articles I've read regarding Christmas sales is that they picked up this year.  Both the New York Times and the Washington Post had articles detailing how Americans spent more this year then had been expected.  I guess the economy ain't that bad.  Of course, those sales pertain to Christmas presents, not flooring installations, or new doors, or windows.  Our paint department has been hopping, but that that's a cheap redo, and even paint is becoming expensive.  You see Corporate is going to grab their Market Share anyway they can. by charging more for a gallon of paint, or a quart of premixed grout.

My neighbor stopped over last evening around 8 PM and asked me to turn down the volume of my TV, her daughter was going to bed.  I was playing a video game, and there were times when it was loud, and I know that there is zippo sound proofing in the walls.  My solution, I'll use my headphones when I'm playing a game.  She told me, as she has several times already, that she knows her family is loud, so there will be a catch, they, too, will have to tone down the volume.  She's going to need to keep her music down when she's jig-jigging around cleaning her house.

So, what are my plans for today?  Clean the small aquarium, work with words, and make a Shepherd's Pie with the left over London Broil.  Believe me, you can only eat so many roast beef sandwiches.  Hopefully, this is what it will look like.  I will let you know.

And, finally, one of the most amusing things I've seen, and one that says a lot, is that our ex moral degenerate president's popularity on his Truth Social Network is falling.  This rating is measured by the number of likes that his comments get, and that number is dropping.  This is important because it's indicates that the size of his cult is beginning to shrink.  They are no longer glorifying every ALL CAPS word he spits out.  It's also important because he's obsessed with being number one, an any indicator that proves this not to be the case is bad.  His ego requires a cult of millions.  This might be a better indicator of his popularity than any poll getting published these days.

 

The Beef

I hope everyone had a happy Christmas!  Mine was nice and quiet.  The temps climbed into the mid 50s (F) here in Central PA.  For the most part, the skies were clear.  All in all, a nice non-snowy Christmas day.  

I check the temp when I got up and according to Accuweather it was 41 (F).  Looking out the window, it's foggy.  Supposedly there's a slight drizzle happening, but not around my house.  Rain is on the way, some today, more tomorrow, like the forecasters are saying 100% chance of rain.

Garbage collection is always a day late after Christmas, for me it will be tomorrow, but that doesn't stop some of my neighbors from putting out their refuse and recycling bins early.  To be honest, I don't think they're aware of this delay.  

And I know there are some out there who think I'm a little cold at times, well, according to the Washington Post, that's normal for me.  For as long as I can remember, every time I've had my temperature taken, that old thermometer has pegged my body temp at 97, or there abouts.  This means that when I was battling through one of my frequent bouts of tonsillitis, when my fever topped off at 104 (F), I was really running a super fever.  One of those times happened during Navy boot camp and I was sent back to the barracks with a rack pass for 3 days.  I later learned that with a fever that high, they should have hospitalized me.  Now, isn't that interesting.

And I did make London Broil yesterday, though I roasted it instead of broiling it and ended up with just the right amount of pink.  But, if I have to be truly honest, while the beef was quite tasty, it was the gravy that won the day.  I have not had beef gravy in years!  I may have to start buying more beef just to get to make the gravy.  And Lily?  She got a big, juicy beef bone with lots of fat, gristle, and cartilage cooked up for her. 

Biden's Christmas message was nice, positive.  The Orange Anus, on the other hand put out an ALL CAP hate fest again.  I don't read his rants, those others do and post their astonished comments on Threads and I will sometimes glance at them.  Honestly, I don't think that old man ever stops shrieking.  He seems to think Presidential Immunity is going to let him get away with anything and everything he wants to do.  He desperately wants to be a dictator.  He will turn American against American to try and get that to happen.  He has become the face of Evil.

Merry Christmas!

 And a Merry Ho Ho Ho Christmas to one and all.... except for Donny, and Ronnie, and Rami, and Nikki.  I think there's a pattern here.  

For those curious:  Our temps are going up into the 50s (F) today.  That's very warm for this time of year.  Great for heating bills, bad for the ski resorts in the area; they're not even trying to make enough man-made snow.

Here's hoping everyone one has a good day.  My roast is in the oven.  

Here's what Central PA will look like in 100 years.

Clarence Thomas and his White law clerks

 Well, happy Christmas eve everybody.  We got drizzles here in Central PA, and they're supposed to be lingering throughout the day.  Fun stuff.  Temps are going to hover around in the mid 40s (F).  Tomorrow, however, they're supposed to climb up into the 50s (F).  Keep in mind, even though 2023 has been the warmest year since humans have started keeping records, there is no such thing as global warming, at least as far as many of the truly religious are concerned.  God wouldn't let that happen to us.

As expected, yesterday there were not a lot of customers in the store yesterday.  For the most part, the 6 hours I spent there were truly boring.  I did talk to people, but scheduling was lite; management must finally be reading the room.  I did sell some flooring yesterday, and one customer signed up for a credit card.  We did have 2 customers, a husband and wife, who scammed us on getting a military discount.  We knew there was a problem, but they knew exactly which bells and whistles to tap and blow in order to get their 10% discount.  I have no problem with people who are thrifty, and frugal, and who try to save a penny, but those that lie and cheat in order to pay the lowest price they can possibly get?  They are one of the reasons retailers raise their prices.  Corporate is going to do everything within their power to make Market Share, even if it means raising the prices for everybody.

And I saw this picture in the Washington Post this morning.  Tell me, what stands out in this photo of Clarence Thomas and his law clerks?

Do you think it was that there was only one black person standing in front of a lot of white people?  Does this mean that Clarence doesn't like black people?  He, himself, rose in the ranks with the use of affirmative action, yet he has also stridently worked against it.  Maybe he believes minorities should be hired by others, and not him.  Or, perhaps he thinks that if he hires minorities he'll be showing reverse prejudice.  Or, and this seems to be the most accurate possibility, Clarence wants to be white, and so surrounds himself with white people.  He's been called an Oreo, black on the outside and white on the inside, for a long time.  For those of you still wondering this is a good illustration of an Oreo.

Happy Festivus

 Well, yesterday, for the most part, was overcast.  Hhmm.  I prefer sunny days.  Maybe I should move to Arizona for the winter.  Our forecasters are calling for cloudy skies up until Tuesday, then a few rays of sunshine might light up the region.  And then?  Rain.  We need the rain.  I prefer the rain when our days are short and I'm not planning any outside activities.  

Yesterday was good  as far as getting things done.  All the trim in the kitchen has now been primed.  This means all the painting should be done by the end of next week.  I might even get the tiling done.  There really isn't that much, just bits and pieces here, however there are portions on all 4 walls that need to be tiled.  

I got 2 miles in on the treadmill.  I've kept the speed the same, but cut back on the elevation, so I'm no longer going up hill.  I've noticed a difference in my legs; my quads are getting worked much more than my glutes.  If I was 40 years younger and was concerned with a shapely but that might be a problem, but it isn't.

And, of course, the Supreme Court gave the Spawn of Satan a minor win yesterday by not speeding up the Department of Justice's request for a speedy trial.  This should not have come as too much of a surprise.  To give Jack Smith a win would have meant having to deal with the wrath of Trump.  Do not think for an instant that this had nothing to do with their decision; a decision with out a single dissent and without a single comment.  Believe me, he would rage at them.  He would beat his petty little drum of lies and remind every one of his cult that he was responsible for sitting three of the Justices.  They would have to deal with death threats, and more protests outside their homes, this time by a group of individuals who weren't just objecting to their decision.  Nope.  These protestors would want to injure them, as well as members of their families.  And you can bet both Alito and Thomas are as spineless as they come, cowardly to their selfish core.

Is John Schneider stupid?

 For those who don't know, today is the shortest day of the year!  Tomorrow will be longer, and slowly we'll get back to those nice long sunny days we like so much, unless you're a vampire.  As with most of the country, there will be no white Christmas here in central PA.  In fact, on December 26 the temps are predicted to climb into the upper 50s (F).  If these temps keep up, my roses will soon be blooming in January.

I was going to stay in today, but as I was getting my breakfast together, I realized I was low on cereal.  The thought did cross my mind that I could cook up some oatmeal instead, however I realized I've become rather spoiled with my morning cereal with fruit and nuts.  So, after I take my morning shower, I'll head on over to my local Giant supermarket before it gets busy.  I'm also thinking about baking sticky buns for Christmas morning, that will mean stocking up on brown sugar.

Both tomorrow and Sunday afternoon I'll be putting in some hours at the store.  Believe me, it's not going to be busy.  I may sneak a book in and read.  Yes, an actual book... one with pages and a cover.  This one to be precise.  It's all about the research, you know?

Being that it's this close to Christmas, there's not a lot happening politically.  We're all going to have to wait on the Supreme Court decision on whether the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, is immune from prosecution for January 6 because he was president.  I'm betting they'll say "nope."  They've made a number of bad decisions, those that favor Conservatives, and as a result have put themselves into a serious bind.  America has become very dissatisfied with the Court, and dissatisfaction often leads to rule changes the Justices may not appreciate.  You can bet they're not going to jeopardize their own positions to benefit Donald Trump; they know all too well the probability of him losing in 2024 is great.

And there is that little flap over John Schneider saying Biden should be hung.  When I saw his comment on Threads, I asked, "is he really this stupid?"  Evidently yes... kind of, though someone must have given him a wack up side his head, since his comment has been deleted.  Too late, of course.  I'm betting he's already been contacted by the Feds regarding his possible threat against a sitting president.  Yes, he is this stupid.

Fat Asses

 Well, yesterday turned out to be rather uneventful.  The temps hovered in the low 40s (F), and the skies were mostly overcast.  

Otherwise, not much happened.  Which is fine, I suppose.  Though there are those who feel they need to be busy all day long.  Or, as my mom used to say, they feel that they need to be constantly entertained.  It really has nothing to do with being busy, because I'm certain there are all sorts of things these people could do to help them pass the time.  Nope, mostly they need to have fun, and for most of them fun means doing something that makes them happy.  Interestingly enough, one man's fun can be another man's torture.  Taking shopping, for instance.  There are those who can spend the entire day browsing away in specialty shops, and are happier than pigs in shit... well, they'll probably say that's not a very good comparison; truth has many faces.  Or they love shopping for clothing.  I have a friend who will spend the day going from, trying on this dress, or that ensemble, with absolutely no intention on buying, simply because she loves seeing herself in the mirror wearing something she can't afford gives her great joy.  Not for me.  I only go shopping when I need something, and it's never for what some might call decor, or clothing.  I can't picture myself in this shirt, or that sweater, and I never wonder if those jeans are going to make my ass look fat.  All I look for is getting something that fits, since I don't really care if my ass looks fat or not... and in case you're wondering, it usually doesn't.

One of the things I did do yesterday was bake coconut macaroons.  And then I drizzled them with white chocolate.  Hhhmnm, so very tasty!

And as expected, Republicans are still flipping out of Trump being taken off of the Colorado primary ballot and saying the most terrible things, all the while failing to understand that though these comments might be endearing them to their base, much of America is standing back, looking rather aghast.  Take John Schneider, for example.  He used to be a pretty boy actor who could also sing.  I saw him on stage in a performance of State Fair and he was decent.  Well, Johnnie spit out this turd saying that Biden should be hung for treason.  Yep, he sure did.  And while the MAGA cult danced and cheered, the rest of sane American listened to this comment and asked "are you fucking nuts?"  As I said, I once saw John perform, and at that time his butt was rather slim, now I know that's because all of the fat was in his head.

Garbage

 Wednesday.  Outside the temp is 26 (F) and there is frost on the windshield of my car.  One improvement over yesterday is that the wind has died down.  Tuesdays are garbage day around here, and wind and emptied garbage create an obstacle course on the streets and sidewalks.  Yesterday was no exception.

I got more accomplished yesterday then I thought I would, including caulking of the side window in the kitchen.  Today, I will prime it.  Tomorrow, I will paint it, and the door frame.  Friday, I'm thinking I may do the final touch up on the walls.  This means that next week, the final coat of paint will go on the woodwork and trim.  That leaves on the tiling, which won't take long, and the flooring, which will create a bit of a hardship for my knees.  After that, everything will be completed.

A small royalty payment dropped into my account from Findaway Voices.  Honestly, I didn't think I'd get anything.  Audiobooks are great, however they're in a series they need to be released in a sequence.  This is why sometime in March, books 1 and 2 will be released, and possibly number 3 in the Eli and Max series.  One thing in my favor is that I don't write long books, nothing that takes more the 5 or six hours to listen to, which means less cost on the production end.  I'll also be selling them at a lower cost since the production is all thing I'll need to cover.  The royalties are nice, but just the idea that someone is either reading or listening to my work is pretty awesome.

Oh, and I did get a gift yesterday.  A new garbage and recycling can.  They're pretty snazzy.

And I suppose that everybody in the world heard me burst out laughing last evening when word dropped that the Supreme Court of Colorado had decided they could keep Trump off of the ballot in that state.  Oh, my gosh!  Thank God I wasn't eating or drinking anything at the time, otherwise I might have choked, or hurled chunks, or spewed.  Will it stop the Moral Degenerate?  Nope.  What it does do is send a clear message to the GOP that they have a problem.  Just because Trump is their presumed candidate does not mean that he's going to win the General Election.  What they really need to consider is that not only will he lose, but the likelihood Republicans will lose seats in both the House and the Senate is increasing daily.  A large percentage of Americans believe Trump committed serious crimes, and the GOP will pay for those crimes by giving up so much of the power they love.

Another little bright spot?  Evidently Scott Perry, congressman from Pennsylvania, has lost his bid to keep 1700 communications on his phone private.  The last thing this fool wanted was for the DOJ to gain access to all the texts and phone conversations he had with the other ring leaders of the attempted January 6 coup.

 

Gertie

 Well, the rain is gone, so are the winds, and yes, it did get windy.  Temps are beginning to drop, and we should soon be experiencing actual winter temps here in Central PA.  They're predicted to be a bit warmer than what would be considered normal, but they'll be cold.  Today is going to be blustery. There are snow flurries whirling around outside my window, not that they're going to amount to anything.

Yesterday, I did a little more than nothing, but it wasn't a day I would label productive.  Not once did I sit down at my writing desk, and there are things that need to be done.  I need to begin prep work on The Body on the Lawn, the first in the Eli and Max series.  Come March (?) it and the second book, The Body in the Tower will be turned into audio books.  One of the requirements for that transition is the removal of the song lyrics.  Having a narrator read them is considered a performance and that would mean royalty payments, and that can be pricy.  The Word editor does an excellent job at cleaning up things up, too.  

Either today or tomorrow I'm going to be baking coconut macaroons, one of my favorite cookies, and they will be dipped in chocolate.  White chocolate.  I thought I'd change things up.

And in a few short days the sun will finally begin to set later in the afternoon.  I don't know about you, but dusk falling at 4:30 in the afternoon is not a good thing.  I like it when daylight last for more than 10 hours.

Boy, I'm so glad I wasn't planning on buying an Apple watch, and even gladder that I own a Garmin.  When I searched through my pics to see if there was one of my watch, this popped up.  It's very old.  This is Gertie, my first boxer, looking out the front door, about 11 years ago.  My, things have changed in the living room, haven't they?

And, as expected, Frankie Graham is pissing barbed wire over the Pope's little decision on the blessing of same sex couples.  Frankie needs to revisit Matthew 12, which says that God will forgive every sin, except for the sin of blasphemy.  Ouch.

There was an interesting article in the Post about Biden, and how he doesn't realize how old he looks.  For those who don't know, there are very few people who realize how old they look.  This is because in they're still in the their mid 30s, and when they look in the mirror they're seeing the same face they've looked at for... say... 81 years.  The human appearance changes slowly.  When you see a picture of yourself in your 20s, you're surprised at how young you look.  Most people will never comprehend how old others actually see them.

The Price of Loyalty

 Well, for those of you not on the Eastern Seaboard of the US, we certainly did get our share of rain yesterday.  Buckets.  There were times when your could hear it crashing down on the store's roof, and when that wasn't happening we had a sustaining soaker, meaning steady almost to the point of being unrelenting.  My gauge at the house indicated we got a little over 3 inches.  It's a good thing it fell over an extended period of time, otherwise there would have been flooding.

As expected, retail was terribly slow.  At times there were only 5 - 10 customers in the store.  So, what does one do when things are so slow?  Well, since I sit a desk with a computer, I started researching Greek names.  I also began reviewing Greek history, choosing a book on Delphi.  While some might just order it, I waited until I got home.  Always the good associate, I understand the purchasing something for myself on store time is against policy.  Besides, it's not like I'm super desperate to get it into my hands.  And, I ordered the paperback version.  I could have ordered the Kindle version, but, again, it's not that necessary that I begin educating myself on that subject immediately. I can wait... a bit.  In case you're wondering, this is one of the things I did at work yesterday.

Here's one of those interesting thoughts I have sometimes:  If, by some horrible act of the fates, Trump should actually win the presidency, Ronnie DeSantis will probably be sent to some sort of American gulag. You see, Trump would do his damndest to model his next term after his blow bro Vlad, and unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Vlad eliminates the competition.  Some get poisoned.  Some accidentally fall out windows.  And Ronnie, as well as Nikki H. would all be seen as competition.  You'd think these morons would know by now that Trump would demand unfettered loyalty, or else it would be out the window, or don't eat the chicken salad, or touch that door knob.

And I just saw a flash:  The pope has issued a decree that priests can now bless same sex couples.  Well, that's going send a lot of Catholics over the edge. 

Rejection

 Is everybody sleeping in on the cloudy Sunday?  Looking at the weather maps, I'd say cloudiness is hanging over most of the eastern seaboard, from Florida up to New York.  For those in the northeastern states?  Don't worry, it's coming your way and it's bringing with it a lollapalooza amount of rain.  We here in Central PA are under a "flood watch," with up to 3 inches of rain expected (in certain areas, since those rain bands can not be counted on to dump equal amounts everywhere).

And, as expected, yesterday was slow in the retail world...  Well, our hardware and garden departments were busy.  We did have a lot of Lookie Lous, though.  You know who I'm talking about, those individuals who wander through, looking at our products, and asking questions, knowing full well they have absolutely no interest in an installation.  We did sell $800 of artificial grass to someone who's son had just bought a home and there was no yard, evidently dog urine had killed off all the grass.  We have a number of people who do that, put in the fake stuff.  

I saw this neato picture of Delphi this morning and thought that I should probably print it off as a reference for my next project, The Body in History.  This is the Tholos at Delphi, what it probably looked back then, and what it looks like today.

And for those who haven't heard, Moms for Liberty has run into a host of problems these fascist women never thought would happen; that often happens when you embrace your hatred of things you can't control.  And it's not only Bridgit Ziegler's three ways causing the problems.  This past election cycle they got their butts whipped by American voters.  Their candidates lost something like 78% of their races.  Rejection is a terrible thing to have to deal with, I'm enjoying the rejection handed to the Moms for Liberty.

And I some a headline that Trump quoted Putin in a speech.  No surprise there.  And no Republicans called him on it.  Again, no surprise.  These people do not care about what happens to America as long as they can be in power.

Update on the weather, it's begun to rain.

The Tool

 The weekend has arrived and it's bringing with it some early morning sunshine that will disappear behind dour clouds sometime this afternoon.  More rain is approaching.  The prediction is for it to be heavy at times, like last week, and... like last week, it's supposed to hang around until sometime on Monday.  Now, don't that make you wish you were part duck?

I do have to work today.  I'm not expecting the flooring and decor departments to be busy.  Hardware and Garden are where all the buckos are going to be spent, with possibly some in paint as a few people think a new coat of paint in necessary to impress the friends and relatives.  There was a time when it used to be flooring people wanted to make those impressions and we were forced to stick to a specific calendar in order to insure installation in time for Christmas.  Not anymore.  This doesn't mean that some uniformed soul isn't going to walk into the department believing we can put in a new floor within the next 7 days.

Because I can afford it, and because I simply despise commercials, I upgraded my Disney and Hulu to commercial free.  I did try watching the channels with commercial breaks and realized that my brain required continuity.  Maybe it was because all of the advertising was for products I have zero interest in purchasing.

Back when I had Pronto plumbing install the water water hookups on the second floor for my laundry, one of the workmen informed me that I'd been given some sort of filter that I probably didn't know I needed.  Chances are if you don't know you need it, you probably don't, and the only thing it's doing is adding another charge onto your bill.  Well, the filter they were talking about was in the bathroom faucet.  What it did do was drastically reduce the water pressure from the tap. At first, I though the drop in pressure was because of the washer, but then I realized the true source, this stupid filter, and immediately began trying to remove the damn thing.  I ended up buying a tool, and this past week managed to break part of the filter out.  Water pressure is back to normal.  This is the little devil that was causing the problem and the tool that took it out.

And what about Rudy's million dollar settlement?  Wowza!  I found it interesting that one of his attorneys said Giuliani's drinking was major part of his problem.  I remember when the January 6 hearings were taking place and witnesses were saying that there times when you could smell the alcohol on his breath.  So, basically, Rudy Giuliani is not just a liar, he's drunkard as well.  Why does this not surprise me.  

And The Hill came put out an article this morning purporting that current polls show Trump easily winning the GOP nomination in swing states, and... possibly, those states if the election were to happen today.  First things first: polls lie.  I only know one person who answers random phone calls and he does it to harass the callers, and if it were a pollster?  He'd lie because he'd think it was fun.  Second up is that members of Gen Z might look at a text, but they don't answer phone calls unless it's one of their friends.  Oh, wait, that's actually part of "first things first."  In order for any poll to have even the slightest bit of veracity, they need to begin listing the total number of calls they made in order to reach the1400 voters their poll required.  Honestly, I don't know a single pollster that does this.  So, ignore all polls.

 

Meh

 And the forecast for this weekend on the Eastern Coast of the US is for rain.  Yep, more rain.  It seems as though our only precipitation will be falling when the vast majority of people aren't working.  This is just what they all wanted, you know?  Me.  Doesn't bother me.  The temps are predicted to be in the mid 50s (F) today means it's going to be warm.  That will save on my heating bill.  Good stuff!

And I accomplished a number of chores yesterday.  I'm happy when that happens.  

There was this great article in the Washington Post about morning people, and how they might have Neanderthal DNA.  Who'd have thunk?  I have high cheek bones and that hints I might my homo-sapien might just be blended.  That might explain why I might prefer getting up early, and getting things done. 

And I finally watched the live action Little Mermaid last evening.  I was putting it off because the animated version had such an impact.  The live action version?  Well, kind of a meh.  One of the songs I liked in the animated version was cut, another added song tried to update the soundtrack... meh.  Someone at Disney came up with the not too brilliant idea of remaking all of their animated films as live action films.  It worked well with Beauty and the Beast, but otherwise most of the live action remakes are simply meh.

I baked snickerdoodles yesterday.  Usually there's a lot of cinnamon involved, however, this recipe called for cardamon.  The flavor is rather interesting, and while being tasty, I doubt if I'll be using this recipe again.  It would need to pop, instead it's just a little too... meh.

Regarding the Biden investigation into possible impeachment that the Republicans are foisting onto the American people, while most understand this is pure retaliation for the Trump impeachments, both of them, many understand there's nothing impeachable in his behavior.  An interesting bit is that a majority of Americans, by two or three percent, are for this investigation.  Perhaps this is because most Americans understand that this will help Republicans throw red meat to their base, the rest of us are simply waiting for them to make fools out of themselves; like they're doing with Hunter Biden.  Let's be honest, his agreeing to testify before in an open setting prevents them from dirtifying the proceedings, which is what they desperately  want to do.  At this point, I do think that when most Americans think of Hunter Biden, they think of an ex-junkie, and simply shrug their shoulders and say meh.

Retail Greed

 Well let's say "hello" to a bright sunny, albeit cool morning here in Central PA.  The overnight temps dropped down into the upper 20s (F), which is definitely on the chilly side, and it looks like today's high is going to be in the mid 40s (F).  Tomorrow, however, our high is going to be cruising around in the mid 50s (F).  According to NOAA, "there ain't gonna be no White Christmas in this neck o'the woods," (my paraphrasing).

Many chores were accomplished yesterday, including a good dusting and vacuuming.  The vacuuming should be done more often, Lily's a bit sloppy with her biscuits (not the UK version of cookies), leaving crumbs all over the place.

Both the grout and the thin set were purchased for the small amount of tiling needing to be done in the kitchen, and yesterday turned out be a rather fortuitous day to pick them up.  I'm using a premixed grout this time, and, as the Orange retailer I work for is still desperately trying to hold onto their market share, prices went up.  A full $1.00 per quart.  For those interested, that's not inflation, that's greed.  Anyway, there are 2 facings of grout (2 rows on the shelf), and only one of the prices had been changed, so being the savvy home improvement shopper I am, I pulled off the lower price tag and proceeded to the register.  For those looking at the financial side of things, we have 2700 stores, if each store sells 10 quarts a week that's an increase for $108,000 in a month.  Think how much additional revenue that will be in a year, and keep in mind that was not the only product to get a price increase.

Here's a picture of my Christmas cactus blooming again.

So, Trump's blow bro Vlad gave a speech in which he said his plans have not changed in regard to the Ukraine.  No surprise there.  The only way they will change is if he gets his ass handed to him on a platter, or if the Russian people decide that enough of their young men have died.  

The GOP led House of Representatives has opening up and inquiry to see if they should impeach Biden even though many of it's members, including that derelict Chuck Grassley, they don't have grounds for such an inquiry.  This is all political, nothing else.  Troy Niels said it best in a dropped mic moment, "this is all for Trump in 2024."

And the Stock Market popped yesterday to the highest level in its history.  Republicans did not bring that subject up in their conversations.  

Uninstalling Twitter

 So, the temperature did not drop below freezing last night.  Now, isn't that nice for December?  And we're in for another day in the mid to upper 50s (F).  This doesn't mean that the rest of the approaching winter season is going to be the same.  Mother Nature might decide to nail us with winter storm, after winter storm, after winter storm, though as time moves on through Climate Change, those types of weather patterns seem to be fading in this region of the country.  Who knows?  In 200 years, Pennsylvania might be a tropical island paradise.

Some things were accomplished yesterday, but not as many as I had expected.  No matter how much I plan, this always tends to be the case after I work for a few days, not because sitting at the flooring desk is so exhausting, but rather because I've always struggled with procrastination, and as I get older, I find myself giving in to it more and more.

One of the chores on my list for this morning is to drive over to the store to pick up the necessary supplies for tiling the rest of the backsplash in my kitchen.  Also, the doorway into the kitchen is going to get primed.  

And just maybe I might bake some snickerdoodles, one of my favorite cookies of all time.  Now I know that for many chocolate chip cookies are the pinnacle of their cookie ladder, that's not the case here, and I am talking about American cookies here, not the British biscuits; snickerdoodles should never be chewy.

As have so many millions of others, I uninstalled Twitter from my phone.  There was a time when I enjoyed it, in fact there were even people who followed me and liked my smart ass comments.  Now I know that my removal of the app isn't going to hurt Elon Musk personally, but all those millions switching to some other app?  That's creating a financial headache for him, which is good.  I'm tired of getting notifications from hate groups and far right extremists.  I'm tired of having to block people who love perpetuating views that glory in hatred, or espouse the rule of dictators.  While I'm all for free speech, that doesn't mean I want to be harangued daily by peoples who's views are anything but free.  While Elon claims his new version of Twitter is all about free speech, he evidently didn't put much thought into the fact that if you dislike it, you can uninstall it, and that's happening.  Twitter's attrition rate is high.  Ad sales are way down; according to Bloomberg over $1.2 billion down since Musk bought the app.  Someone should have told Musk that Free Speech does not mean you can be forced to listen, or read the shit Twitter is now putting out.  Nope.  Not at all.  Believe me, it's quite easy to uninstall.

Leave the World Behind

 Tuesday.  The day has started out bright and sunny, though cool.  The temps outside are a brisk 28 (F).  I find it funny that so many people regard this temperature as frigid, it isn't.  Frigid is when we -5 (F).  That's cold.  We might get those temps once a year, or at least we used to, the last few years we've been trending towards much milder winters.  Because this is happening slowly, many view these weather patterns as normal.  In the grand scale of things, they indicate that in this part of the country things are warming up.  Part of the problem is that people do not have very strong long term memories.  These people are fine as long as they can go to a computer and look up last year's weather, but memory wise, when asked, they'll say the weather was warm without remembering any of the specifics.  They don't remember if the temperature went below 0 (F).  It didn't, at least not in my neck of the woods.

Retail yesterday was slow.  I did manage to hit my goal of 2 measures for the week.  A retired Registered Nurse is getting measure for both vinyl planks and blinds.  She wasn't concerned about the cost.  She didn't bat an eye when I told her the cost of one blind was going to be close to a thousand $$$.  When she found out I had been in the Navy, she asked how my feet were.  She specializes on veterans who suffer from foot neuropathy, mostly soldiers who served in Vietnam while the US was using Agent Orange.  One of the multitude of problems that defoliant causes is nerve damage in the feet.  I really feel bad for these seniors who served their country and now have problems simply walking.

I watched Leave the World Behind last evening, a new film playing on Netflix with Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali.  It's a thriller about things going wrong, about people becoming allies, and a young girl's addiction to the TV show Friends.  Some parts were very good, other parts were meant to make you ask questions, sometimes the latter work, and sometimes they don't.  Here, I don't think they did, otherwise there wouldn't be people explaining the ending on YouTube.

Okay, so Jack Smith went straight to the Supreme Court about the Moral Degenerate's immunity claims, and they're going to rush it, meaning a decision probably by December 20.  Trump's legal team is pissed, they wanted this to work its way up toe the Court slowly, taking a lot of time and creating those delays the Orange Anus loves so much.  Now that's not going to happen.  The true irony here is that if the Supreme Court decides in Trump's favor, it means that Joe Biden, our current president is immune as well, so he can do anything he wants.  This is why many believe the Court is going to side with Jack Smith.  

Down in Texas the state's Supreme Court sided with Ken Paxton, the Attorney General, in refusing to allow Kate Cox an abortion.  The fetus has been diagnosed with a fatal syndrome, so it will either be born dead, or will die shortly after birth.  Carrying the child to term also creates many health risks for the mother.  And the state Court told this woman she can't get an abortion, she needs to carry a baby for nine months that will be born dead or die shortly after birth.  Do these Conservatives even stop to consider the terrible message they are sending to American women?  Or is it that they hold women so low on the ladder they just don't care?

ALL CAPS

 Well, we had rain yesterday... all day.  There were times when it looked as if a thick fog bank had enveloped our parking lot, and usually that means you're getting some sort of misty drizzle.  Nope, a walk to my car at lunch was a walk through a constant rain shower.  As the day wore on, it got windy.  Sitting at a red light after taking the Enola exit off of I81, I watched as the steel posts holding the traffic lights swayed and bobbled in the breeze.

This morning the sun is out.  Predictions are for our temps to climb up into the middle 40s (F), and the next few days are supposed to be bright and sunny.  Bring it on.  I'm tired of the overcast skies.

Retail wise, the store was terribly slow yesterday.  There was an interesting article in the NYT about corporate America's struggle with pricing power.  I'm seeing that first hand.  People have only so much disposable income and are willing to only go so far into debt to buy what they want.  I found it interesting to see that some retailers are now talking about profit margins rather than market shares.  For years, that was drum beat I heard rolling thunderously down from corporate, "we need to lead in market shares."  Not that attitudes have changed substantially, but there is now a hint of reality seeping into that need to satiate Wall Street's demands.

I like monster movies, always have, so when I saw the trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, I thought it might be an interesting movie.  I was wrong.  It's a series on Apple TV.  What makes this series so intriguing is that it stars both Kurt Russell (remember him) and his son Wyatt, playing Kurt 40 years ago, and the series juxtaposes the current story with the past story.  Interesting casting.

And today was supposed to be the day Donny Trump (the elder) was supposed to set the record straight while sitting in the witness stand in New York City.  He bragged about it.  He was going to prove to the world that this was nothing more than a terrible witch hunt, until... well, Donny has had a change of mine.  Of course, unable to admit he's a spinless sack of shit, he posted an  ALL CAPS screech on money losing Truth Social blaming the judge for Donny's sudden display of cowardice.  The truth is that the witnesses Donny's defense team has called in their attempt to save his corrupt financial empire have all ended up compounding their complicitness in his guilt. There's a saying out there that everything Trump touches dies.  Well, the world's getting to see it happen in ALL CAPS. 

Royalty

It's Sunday morning, and even though the rain hasn't started, I can smell the change it in the air, you know what I'm talking about, that scent of Petrichor, that earthy smell filling the air when the first drops dash themselves to death upon stones and concrete.  Of course, if I'm smelling it we must already be under a bit of a drizzle.

And yes, it is going to rain today.  Heavy at times.  And we are under a snow watch for later this evening when the cold air descending from Canada overwhelms the moisture ridden air from the south.  Nothing to actually write home about; the ground temps are going to be too warm.

I saw that Ryan O'Neal died and made the mistake of reading his obit.  He made one good movie (Paper Moon), but everything else was pretty much he and his agent trying to cash in on his pretty boy looks.  You know there were problems in the family when he and one of his sons got arrested for drug possession.  

I am working today.  The rain will keep shoppers away.  Well, most of them at least.  Since I haven't work this past week, I've not experienced seeing the disappointment in the eyes of those potential customers when they're being told that "no, it's too late to have your carpet installed by Christmas."  Sometimes they get angry when they hear those words.  To me, it's like rain off of a duck's back.

I've started putting little videos of my books on TikTok.  Maybe one or two of those sex workers who friended me will buy one.

Here's a cute picture of Lily sitting on a pillow looking out the window.  This is what royalty looks like, in case you didn't know.

Will this be a foray in to fun filled politics?  The Orange Anus will be taking the stand again in NYC trying to save his business.  There will be an appeal when he loses most of his fictitious financial empire.  This is how he works.  His pricy legal team will attempt to litigate every one of the 91 charges against him to death.  Been there, seen it before, and it will happen again.  The more this happens, the angrier he's going to get, as every one of his lies gets torn away, like so many layers of his thin skin, until the only thing left will be the hulking skeleton of the Spawn of Satan.  

 

Letting Go

 There's dense fog outside my window.  The temps are going to fine today, but no sun, and tomorrow?  When they're forecasting 100% chance of rain you know there's not going to be a break in the clouds.  And the rain?  It might be torrential at times.  This being said, it's also a Sunday, usually a slow day in retail, and I have to work.  Oh, Joy!

Yesterday, I went to the store and when I got home realized I'd not put a few things on my list, so I'll be heading out again this morning after I finish this entry.  One of the things I picked up yesterday was a piece of beef for London Broil.  Pricy! I've decided to start a holiday tradition where I'm going to be having London Broil on Christmas day.  

I spent some time sanding down the door frame from the dining room to the kitchen yesterday, now there's dust everywhere, so a decent cleaning will take place this morning as well.  And, speaking of the kitchen, I realized that the painting will soon be coming to an end, that leaves a bit of tiling to do, and then the floor.  The tiling is going to be easy, and I bought enough of the same tile so I don't need to concern myself with running out.  

The final draft for The Body in Motion might be finished this afternoon.  Then I'll need to print it off and read through it one more time.  I once worked with a man who wrote a non-fiction boon on autism.  He had an editor he was paying very handsomely, who kept wanting changes, on changes, on changes, at least that what this author told me.  Truthfully, there are some people who simply can not let things go, which I suspect was the case for this author.  After working on his manuscript for years, I suspect it wasn't a demanding editor he was dealing with, but rather the editing process had become a crutch upon which he leaned upon so much that he was just afraid to let go.  I don't have that problem.  I'm to interested in moving onto the next project.  

That big harrumph you heard last week was Bob when he found out Time had named Taylor Swift as it's person of the year.

And, since it's the weekend, things are bound to be politically slow.  The Orange Anus will probably hold some sort of mini-rally that he'll say was huuuge, really huuuge, because lying is second nature to him.  And no doubt he will bring up Taylor Swift and call her a 3rd rate entertainer who's been desperately trying to get him to perform at least one of her songs at his mini-rallies.

Creativity

 Well, it's Friday.  This is my 5th day off in a row, and I'm off tomorrow as well.  The 2 week are pretty much the same.  Christmas weekend I only work on that Saturday, and then again on Christmas Eve for 5 hours, after that my hours pick up.  

Weather wise, today's supposed to be partly cloudy with highs climbing into the low 50s (F).  I'm ready for the partly sunny, though honestly, sunny would be so much better.  The days are so short this time of year, a bright sunny day is an event to celebrate.

I have about 60 pages of editing left before the final draft of The Body in Motion is complete.  That in itself is exciting, but I will also be excited to get it into the hands of those readers who note, and comment, and suggest changes.  Sharing in the creative process is so much fun.  I find that the reliance on other voices and other opinions is essential.  This is how life is, people working together for a common cause, even if it is something as simple of helping me prepare a manuscript for publication.  Too many people out there don't even try to be creative, perhaps because they're afraid of failing, or possibly it's because they're so accustomed to relying on the creativity of others.  Anyway, I saw quote from Kurt Vonnegut and thought it appropriate.

On the dismal side of things:  Hunter Biden has been indicted again.  By this point, I'm certain most will agree that Hunter is the black sheep of the Biden family.  Republicans love this.  They need a dead horse to kick around and Hunter seems to have spent most of his adult years obliging them.   

I sent this article from the Washington Post to my brother.  It's about the great de-churching going on in America, or as the author says, the serious attrition occurring withing the Christian Church.  Is Evangelicalism killing the church?  Look no farther than Mike Johnson for your answer.  Another good example is Ronnie DeSantis, who claims that if he had been alive during the time of Jesus he could have been an apostle.  American Christianity has never been so overtly vocal about it's selfishness, a direct link to Conservatives whose favorite pronoun has become My.  My money.  My taxes.  My religion.  My God.

Free Cardio!

 We have Snow!  When I got up, the temp outside was 30 (F) and Accuweather was predicting snow, heavy at times, for the next 40 minutes, and as I opened the back door to let Lily to do her morning business several kamikaze snowflakes flew into the house.  Depth wise, it's not much, maybe half an inch but it's nice.  Once again, I remind people that snow = free cardio!

I was surprised I got as much accomplished yesterday as I did, no painting, but the living room tank got cleaned.  I also put in some time on the treadmill, as well as get in a dumbbell workout.  Today I'm hoping to get in an kettlebell workout, as well as some time on the bike.  And maybe paint the window frame in the kitchen.  

This is an odd week for me, I don't work Saturday.  It's all about the hours.  Because the Orange Home Improvement retailer I work for is not hitting their budgeted profit, they're going to be cutting part-time hours.  This doesn't mean they aren't making money, they are, by the billions, they're just not hitting their forecasted figures.  I don't doubt that at sometime, something will cause Wall Street to crash badly, and at that time all those greedy billionaires will have a WTF moment, just before they jump from one of the high floors of their corporate headquarters.

And, did I say we have snow?  This is what it looks like.

And there was a debate last night.  Par for the course, I didn't pay any attention.  And I didn't check the newsfeeds to see who, according to them, won.  I don't care.  Not one of them has a kamikaze snowflake's chance in Hell of getting the nomination, so this is just a waste of time and energy.  Unless they start attacking the Spawn of Satan, not of them has a chance.  And I don't doubt that some of them (I'm talking to you, Ronnie D) even understands that Trump getting the nomination is going to kill the GOP, this means that not one of them has any sort of political future in a dead political party.  And I am deadly serious here because Trump needs to be taken with deadly seriousness.

Fluries

 The temps were 30 (F) when I got up and there was snow in the forecast... well, not snow precisely, flurries is what they were predicting.  It's a good thing I don't crave the white stuff; sitting by the window for the past 45 minutes nary a flake has drifted by.  What a shame this winter thing is going to drag itself out until at least March.  Then, warm temps will be upon and they'll race by until once again we're left with the winter dark.

I thought of putting up my Christmas (all season) tree.  That's about as far as it went.  There was a time when I did decorate, but not anymore, and not for any holiday, it's not just Christmas.  Decorations need to be appreciated by many eyes, and, as I told Jon (the PT), I just don't invite people over anymore.  I prefer going out.  The invitations I get are nice and I usually attend, but over the past few years I've decided I really don't want people coming into my house.  Being a host requires extra time and effort that I'm no willing to give up.  Maybe, as I grow older, I'm simply getting selfish with my time.  I figure I may have what?  Possibly 30 years left, and I want to spend it with me.

Still no flurries.

All of the cabinet doors have been hung in my kitchen renovation.  There's a bit more painting that needs to be done, a bit of caulking, some backsplash added to the sink, and then I get to the floor, meaning I'll be spending a lot of time on my knees.

I understand the Orange Anus had some sort of one on one with one of his favorite ass kissers, Sean Hannity.  For those who don't know, Hannity is one of the Moral Degenerates billionaire admirers.  At this point, no one should be surprised what comes out of his mouth, his seething anger is spewing in all directions.  

Evidently the Moms for Liberty hate group has begun to splinter.  That's not a surprise, they're a political branch of the Republican party and look how badly that's cracking apart.  They ugly is oozing out from every possible seam.

And that dolt Tuberville changed his anti-American military plan.  He's now letting promotions take place up to the 3 start level.  No 4 star promotions yet.  I'm suspecting that he might finally be understanding Trump may be the Republican nominee for president, but there's no way he's going to win, meaning there's no way Trump allies can be promoted into powerful military positions.  Many think that was the true reason for Tuberville's plan, not that he was upset by the Armed Forces view on abortion.

Cutting 34 pages

Tuesday.  Again the weather is moderately warm.  The temp was 40 (F), when I left Lily out for her morning pee.  She's back on the bed now.  For those who don't know, 10 year-old dogs sleep quite a bit.  Not that I don't, bit some times it's in spurts.  Some nights I'll get over 7 hours of sleep, other nights just over 5 hours, and I don't take a lot of naps when my sleep is short.  Interesting.

Yesterday was soooo boring at the store.  I did manage to get 2 carpet measures, which should keep management happy.  There is some sort of contest going on where you get a ticket every time you get a measure, however, I don't have as many tickets as I do measures because not every manager gives them out.  Not that I'm concerned.  If I were full time, perhaps, but it isn't, and this week my hours are really short, only 16.  I work again until Sunday, which is fine with me.  

Just think, Christmas is less than 3 weeks away.  A few bones will make Lily a nice present.  Dogs are so easy when it comes to buying presents.  I stopped off at my local Giant supermarket last evening on the way home for a bottle of wine, and the woman behind the counter was using her phone to order presents for her daughter.  We had a nice discussion about how popular online shopping had become.  That's about the only way I shop now-a-days, but then I was never one who enjoyed shopping.  When I did shop, it was always for one specific item.  I hate browsing.  It has absolutely no appeal to me.  

I uploaded another video to YouTube since The Body In Motion is approaching completion.  It's about the editing process, and about the cuts all authors have to make when writing.  No matter how much those words may mean to you, sometimes they just have to go.

I understand Maddie's buying Liz Cheney's book.  I hope she enjoys it.  I disagree with a lot of her opinions, but Liz, but Liz is far more aware of the the evil the Orange Anus and the destruction his re-election would bring to the United States.  A day doesn't go by that he doesn't spew out exactly how he'd use his hatred of Democracy in an attempt to make himself a dictator.  The warning signs are there.  Let's hope that enough Americans see and understand them.

Fallout

Welcome to the new week!  It was 41 (F)) when I rousted myself from bed this morning.  The forecast is for us to climb another 9 degrees.  That might happen, might not.    

Since I have a humidifier, I thought I'd order some fragrance oil to make the air smell like lavender.  First off, I have to say it is a humidifier and not a diffuser, though when you check on line there really isn't that much of a difference between the two.  Secondly, I have the humidifier running at a rather low setting, since the air is not desert dry.  Thirdly, the only way you can smell the fragrance is if you're about 2 feet away.  Maybe if I ran the thing at full force the room might smell like lavender, but all that humidity wouldn't be good for fabrics, and wall coverings, and anything else on which moisture might accumulate.  

Yesterday was boring at work. There was not a lot of business, at least not in flooring and decor.  This was probably because we had rain on and off throughout the day, and some of those on times were substantial downpours.  I did hear a customer up at the service desk sounding surprised as he said that he'd thought there would be more people in the store since it was raining.  He evidently didn't realize that a lot of people don't like to get wet, and so when it rains they stay home watching sports, or a movie on TV.

And those of you with Amazon Prime, put April 12 on your calendar.  This is going to be great.

And I don't know about you, but it seems to me that with the expulsion of George Santos from the House of Representatives things are turning... well, bleaker, shall I say.  All of last week was not a winning week for them, to be honest.  The faux debate between Newsome and Ronnie D totally failed to pop Ronnie D's numbers.  Not good.  Hunter Biden volunteered to testify before Congress as long as it was an open session, not behind closed doors, and the Republicans shit a brick.  That's the last thing they want.  Bridget and Christian Ziegler began to answer the question of what happens to a socially conservative couple when their menage a trois goes awry.  I'm betting Christian does time in the big house.  And in a speech he was giving, Trump told the crowd he had 3 children... until and aid reminded him about Baroon.  

Destined for Failure

 Outside there is a constant drizzle.  It's a rainy Sunday, so I slept in a bit longer than usual.  This happens sometimes.  The weather is not supposed to improve until sometime later this afternoon.  I work, so that'll happen when I'm sitting at the flooring desk.  

I worked yesterday.  That's when the drizzles began.  When I got to the store at 1 PM, the store was relatively busy and thought, "gee, this is what the day's going to be like," and it was for about an hour.  My first customer was difficult.  A man in his late 40s, possibly early 50s, who was replacing the carpet in his bedroom with cheap vinyl planks.  He'd been in last Sunday and dealt with one of my fellow associates.  The reason he was replacing the carpet?  His girlfriend was angry that he spilled wax on the bedroom carpet.  I heard that line last week, and I heard it again yesterday.  Right.  He felt it was important for me to know that the carpet was in his bedroom, and that he'd spilled candle wax on it (doesn't come out), and that he was doing this for the "girlfriend."  He asked many of the questions he'd asked last week.  Wanted to know why the installation might take 2 weeks (his transition piece needed to be ordered), and why we no longer stored everything in massive warehouses.  Every explanation I gave him got the same response, "well, I just don't understand why it's not done this way," or "that doesn't make sense to me."  In the end he purchased, and since his installation was small, one room, I had him take most of the product he needed when he left.  Except for the transition piece, so I told him to call Tuesday, when I wasn't working, so we could give him an ETA on that piece.

Every now and then my fish do things that are interesting.  Here's my algae eater doing his job on the thermometer in my tank.

So, will America end up having a religious war?  There are times when I feel both the Conservatives and the Christian Nationalists want one.  In a weird way, both of them seem to think they have God behind them, and that's got me to thinking.  Have Christians ever actually won a war for Christianity?  All you need to do is look at the Middle East today to see that the Crusades were a terrible failure.  And it doesn't take a push coming to shove for them to fight other Christians, look at Northern Ireland.  Maybe someone should just sit them down and tell them to cool it because no matter how hard they believe, they're destined for failure.