Besties No Moe

 Well, it looks as though we're in for a repeat of yesterday:  a nice warm afternoon, a fairly cloudless sky, and a nice, warm day over all.  Sometimes the weather in Central PA is marvelous.  Tomorrow, however, they are calling for rain showers in the afternoon.  That's fine.  We need the precipitation.  We've beendry for too long.

And, since yesterday day was my first day off after working 3, I ended up not doing too much, other than laundry.  Napping seemed to be in the forefront of my mind.  Around mid-afternoon I began sneezing, and soon after that realized some sort of nasally, sinusy thing was going on, and before long I had a teeny weeny sore throat.  Nothing to write home about, but an inconvenience all the same.  If I was prone to allergies, I'd put the blame on them.  Thinking today might be similar to yesterday, I took a sinus pill this morning hoping it will keep my nasal passages nice and dry.

My neighbor has started doing something odd.  Whenever she goes anywhere during the day, she places a small, wooden child's chair on their front porch blocking the front door.  I searched, thinking this might be some obscure tradition in an attempt to keep evil spirits away and found nothing.  Does anyone know if this has any relevant meaning, or is my neighbor just nuts?

And Orangie's a bit down in the dumps because Xi threw a military parade that made Orangie's look like moose squat.

Making matters worse for Orangie,  was the fact that Vlad and Xi were actually pictured holding hands. I kid you not!  As someone who has a little travel experience, men who are friends to hold hands in other countries, it's mostly only here in Christian America that it's considered gay.  Anyway, Orangie's feelings are terribly hurt.  He wasn't invited to the party, and Xi's parade made Orangies look like... well, we all know it looked like moose squat.  So did everyone else in the world.  

And Orangie's presser yesterday?  He showed up with bad makeup and even worse hair and rambled.  The Space Force is being moved from Colorado to Alabama because Colorado has mail-in voting.

Finally, for those of you who read The Body in History, spyware by the name of Pegasus made an appearance.  Well, it seems that, Paragon Solutions, the company that developed Pegasus has out done themselves, developing spyware they call Graphite, which can hack into any cellphone.  Orangie's administration has bought Graphite and is planning on putting it in the hands of ICE.  This is not a good thing.  

Americans are Fed Up

 We're under a heat advisory for the next 2 days.  Today's high is supposed to be in the low 90s (F), and tomorrow's, if they're correct, should hit 98 (F).  The Central Air did kick on yesterday, and I don't doubt it will kick on today.  That's fine.

This warm weather quickens the drying time for my laundry; the moisture is evaporating from my first load as I type.  How late into the fall I go with the drying rack is anybody's guess.  When I was a child, my mom hung clothing out to dry year-round.  She also had a wringer washer, which didn't wring out as much water as people thought.  Those were the days when everything need to be ironed.  That was housework.  Women who complain about doing housework today really have no idea what life was like 60 years ago.

I was talking to my neighbor yesterday morning, and she was complaining.  They've discovered that their going to need a new roof (this is why you pay for the home inspection before buying a house.)  I feel bad for them, but at the same time I don't.  Her son's a freshman at Temple University, and depending upon how this year goes for him, they might sell the house and move, at least that's what she implied.  Oh, and when I suggested she might want to get a part-time job now that her daughter was in school she told told me she couldn't because she liked to... and she put her thumb and forefinger together in front of her mouth and toked on an invisible joint.  That's right, she's a pot head.  (Can you hear me laughing?)

And Halloween came to work yesterday.  The orange rolling gates blocking it off from the public are essential because some customers will randomly open a box.  People get really excited about Halloween decorations.  Oh, and that's only about half of it.

Orangie's team is throwing a great big shit fit about open mics at his scheduled debate with Harris.  They know their loser too well.  Two of his many serious problems are keeping his mouth shut, and letting his diarrhea mouth run off point.  His team also knows that Harris, being as former prosecutor will have no problem shutting him down.  Let's be perfectly honest, they're looking for a reason to backout.  Things were different when they thought he was going to stay on top, when they believed Americans would have not problem listening to him ramble inanities, but things have change.  They had zero plans for the Democrats to fire back at them, to scoring lots of points with so many Americans who are simply fed up with the "Just Say No," and "Shut up, I'm in Charge," party.  To be blunt, a large majority of Americans are sick and tired of Donald Fucking Trump.  

Packing

 Well, it's Monday.  Outside it's 68 (F).  That's not the best sleeping temp, but it's not bad.  It will be deteriorating (getting warmer) during the week as a mini-heatwave rushes past us.  Then, we fall back into more seasonal temps.

In comparison, the temp right now in Athens is 91 (F), and in Delphi 77 (F).  Delphi, contrary to what many may believe is halfway up Mount Parnassus.  It gets cold there in the winter.  In fact, there's a ski resort a few miles away.  Isn't that fascinating.  All of my life I thought Greece, being in the Mediterranean, was more tropical than anything else.  And they still wore togas when it was cold, though they were thick.  This is because the wearing pants was considered effeminate.  My, how things change.

I should have provided more information about my neighbor before yesterday's post, she is not your average stay-at-home mom and mother.  They are from Lancaster, about 45 minutes away, and because that's where her mom lives, she doesn't talk to anyone in the neighborhood.  If she's outside and I go out to do lawn work, she goes back into their house.  She and I doo talk occasionally, and she told me once that she thinks everyone is staring at her, (no one cares).  Instead of taking the garbage out and putting it in the trash bin, she throws the garbage bags out the back door and lets her husband put them in their garbage cans.  The wall separating our houses is poorly soundproofed, so I can tell you she needs the power naps because she stays up late watching TV.  Tammy, my neighbor across the street, has told me on more than one occasion that she's just "freakin' weird," though she didn't use the word freak.

Anyway, people keep asking me if I've started packing.  The answer's yes.

And... drum roll please....  The Orange Anus ranted this morning about ABC news dropping the first substantial hint that he's not going to debate Harris.  A gutless sack of shit, he is.  For anyone out there who didn't expect this, well, he has some golden sneakers he wants to sell you, or perhaps you might be interested in a couple of courses at Trump University... oh, wait, that's now defunct. In fact, he got sued because Trump University was a fraud, just another scam for him.

There's also an interesting bit in Axios this morning regarding those wealthy individuals who've handed over large sums of cash to the moral degenerate hoping to get on his good side.  The stupidity of these people simply amazes me, Trump has no good side.  And these people who so easily parted with their cash are now wondering just where all of those millions went? Just because you have money, doesn't mean you can't be dumb as a brick. 

How to Not Organize a Holiday Party

Outside, the skies are cloudy, a constant breeze is rippling through the branches of the river birch just outside the window, and the temp is sitting at 30 (F).  Today is supposed to be the only day that's cold.  Beginning tomorrow temps are predicted to start warming up.  This does not mean they've been cold.  With average daily highs in the mid 40s (F), so far this has been a relatively mild winter.  Now, the real question is going to be if by saying that I just cursed the hell out of it.  😎😎😎

I talked to the people working on the house next door yesterday.  Their plans have changed.  They were going to rehab and rent, now they're planning on a full remodel and sell.  He told me they were going to ask $180,000, which they figured would net them a $30,000 profit.  They should have no problem getting that price.  As of yesterday forenoon they had been up in the attic (she described it as creepy) but hadn't started to empty it.  The dumpster out front is full, so I don't know if they're going to be getting another one or not. 

Our Holiday Party is tomorrow.  I work a full shift (until 7), and it's going to be in the store.  That's right.  The mini-manager in charge thought this would be great, leaving more money for food and gifts.  This mini-manager is a dumbass.  There was supposed to be a buffet catered by Olive Garden, the restaurant said there would be no problem with a group of 200.  However, the mini-manager waited until Thursday (3 days before the event) to call and order the food.  Basically Olive Garden said "what world are you living in?  We need at least a week's notice for a crowd that size."  Members of the committee were calling around, trying to find someone who could hand that size crowd on such a short notice.  End result, there may be no food at the party.  I will decide when I'm at work tomorrow if I will go or not.

Last night I watched Matilda, the Musical on Netflix.  I'd heard good things, but...  (sigh), I didn't know if I was up for a musical with a lot of kids.  It's very enjoyable.  I highly recommend it.  Here's one of the songs, Bruce.  Now, ain't that a great name for a song!

Garland's decision to put the Biden document problem under the the watchful eye of a Special Counsel has evidently pissed off quite a few Republicans in the House.  You see, now that it's under investigation, they are unable to shoot out subpoenas. This keeps it from becoming a Dead Horse they can kick repeatedly.

 

Kevin's Living Hell

 Well, it's Friday, I don't work, and my first load of laundry is in the washer: towels.  Outside, the sky is overcast and a breeze is rustling the branches of the river birch just outside my window.  The clouds are supposed to clear.  The temp is predicted to rise into the upper 40s (F).  Overall, this should be a good day.

Update on the treadmill.  The service tech I talked to on the phone asked if the speed gauge increased to 12 mph, and when I told her it did, she actually said "there's probably some sort of communication error."  She's sending me a new part.  What part, I don't really know. Parts are still under warranty, so it's free.  That's nice, though I have to admit I was not in the least bit impressed.  What if it's the wrong part?

Lisa Marie Presley died suddenly.  That's a shame.  In spite of her name, and her money, I don't think she had a very good life.  People expected her to be a singer, and she wasn't.  Her private life was  public fodder.  In most of the pictures of her being posted, she's not smiling, in many of them she looks like she's ready to punch you in the face.  I hope life is easier for her kids.

And, when I got home from work yesterday evening there was this big green dumpster sitting in front of my neighbor's house.  With her flashlight in hand, my neighbor from across the street was over picking through the trash.  She was surprised when I told her I wasn't over talking to the workmen, and seemed somewhat shocked when I told her I had absolutely no interest in anything that was in that house.  I've been in her house, it's a cluttered mess, and last night she was accumulating more garbage because it was free. 

And what about those documents they found in Biden's garage?  Conspiracy theories are already shooting like lightening across social media.  One of the funniest claims these classified papers were planted in order to keep him running for re-election in 2024.  Others are shrieking about the speed in which Garland named a special counsel.  Kids, I hate to tell you, but this was probably done to placate the Republican whiners.  The special counsel takes away a very large chunk of red meat they desperately want to feed to their base.

And now for something funny.  One of the rules Kev McCarthy accepted, stipulates that any single member of the House can file to have him removed.  This includes both parties.  There are vicious little rumors spreading that the Democrats are going to do this... probably more than once.  Honestly, I don't think the small minded Republican majority even considered this.  I do believe they saw this as a tool they alone could use to manipulate Kevin.  If it wasn't before, I do suspect that very shortly Kev's life is going to turn into a living hell. 

The Birthday Present

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

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

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

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

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

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

The National Humanitarian Award

 The new week has arrived!  For those impressed by such things, this will be our first full week of Autumn.  The temps are cool at night, but during the day they're forecasted to climb up into the upper 60s (F).  That's fine.  Soon the leaves will be changing colors as they prep to fall from the trees.  This means, at some point, I'll be posting a picture of my golden ginkgo.  

Lunch was fun with my friend Betsy.  We talked quite a bit about politics, and then more politics, and then a bit about The Body Under Ice, about how gossip, in itself, is almost a character in the new book.

My neighbor's lawn is looking more and more like a field.  They have a problem, I suspect, that being they've decided to sell the house 'as is.'  They have a contract a potential buyer would need to sign excluding them from anything and everything.  I haven't seen it, but my neighbor across the street has, (his mother's a real estate agent), and he pulled out of the deal.  I gather the contract implies there are major problems, meaning even a house flipper is going to wait until their asking price hits rock bottom.

President Biden honored Sir Elton John with an award this weekend.  The National Humanitarian Medal.  Good for Elton.  I will admit that watching this clip did bring a tear to my eye.

Not a lot happened this past weekend in the political arena.  On Friday, the House GOP revealed a veiled commitment to... well, nothing.  E. J. Dionne, as well as many others have called it horseshit (my word).  They listed a Republican laundry list of what they claimed were problems without providing a single clue as to how they were going to solve them.  This really was nothing more than empty bluster.  How do I know?  They did it on a Friday.  Politicians, in particular, prefer to have bad news released on Friday because they know the weekend tends to dilute the issues.  You don't release good news on Fridays, that happens on a Monday when the news cycle has 5 full days to glorify it.  These Republican dumb shits knew this was going to go over as well as a soggy pancake with everyone except their MAGA base.

Finally, because on 64% of all the Italians eligible to vote actually did vote, the country now has a female version of Donald Trump.  From what I know of Italian politics, that's not going to last too long.

Screwed

 Let the rain begin!  Actually, Lily woke me up around 0300 to go potty outside and the drizzling had already started.  Showers and soaking rains are supposed to continue through Tuesday.  The daily high temp is supposed to crest in the low 70s (F).  Autumn is arriving.

My neighbor was back yesterday with her daughter, and her brothers-in-law.  There was some hammer banging (not much), so I suppose they were fixing the attic stairs so a potential buyer can actually go up to the attic.  I had talked to her on the phone, and she said there was water damage, they thought the leak might be around the dormer. She and her husband bought the place in 1985 and have not replaced the roof, so there are probably several leaks the new owner will need to contend with.  The house is still filled with furniture.  Her daughter told me that in about 2 weeks they were going to have a walk through 'yard sale' hoping to clear some of it out.  They are so naive. 

Sometimes I rail against our customers.  Usually, when I do so, there is just cause.  By the same token, we have associates who, for some unknown reason, enable these asshole customers.  Take yesterday.  I went up to the Service Desk to get our returns and found someone had returned 2 white shelf brackets.  However, these brackets were no longer white, they had yellowed with both age and possible cigarette smoke.  That irritated me.  They were evidently past the return date.  But what truly pissed me of was the screw.  Can you see it?  That's how it was returned, with the screw still in it.  What the hell is wrong with people?  This customer definitely wanted to screw us over.  And the clerk who took this return had no problem being screwed.

Everybody is waiting for Trump to be indicted.  What I've heard is that it will happen after the election, at least as far as the DOJ's investigation is concerned.  Georgia is another story.  For that case Trump did manage to hire a highfalutin' attorney by the name of Drew Finding.  Expensive.  I hope Drew understands he's never going to be paid for his services.  Mr. Finding also usually defends rappers, though I'm wondering if his style will help him keep Trump from taking the wrap for election interference.  I'm suspecting Trump pretty much screwed himself when he made that call to Ken Rathensburger.  In fact, Georgia may be responsible for several indictments, including one nicely wrapped for Lindsey Graham.  No matter how desperately Lindsey tries to get an NDA from the Georgia Attorney General, it ain't going to happen.  He's going to end up being screwed, too, by Donald Trump.  Of course, maybe that's what he's always dreamed of.

Freedom of Speech

 Shall we say hello to Friday, the last of my 4 consecutive days off?  Starting tomorrow, I'll be working for 3 days.  No problem.  I honestly don't mind this part-time gig.  As I've said before, these meager hours a week allow me to keep banking my Social Security checks.  Besides, that giant home improvement retailer gave me a 90 cent per hour pay increase that started on 8/1.  

I called my neighbor's wife yesterday to give her my condolences, as well as find out what happened.  Mike evidently woke up from a nap, was all sweaty and had some chest pain.  She called the ambulance, however, by the time they got him to the hospital it was too late.  Right now, she is staying with her daughter and son-in-law down in Maryland.  They'll be coming up next Friday to start cleaning out the house.  That will take a while.  Both she and Mike were accumulators.\

Much is on the agenda today, including an olive oil spice cake.  We should all have a little spice in our lives!

I hung my new clock yesterday morning.  At present, it is losing time, about 5 minutes every 24 hours.  Instructions are to wait between 2 and 3 days before making any adjustments.  The old clock chimed every half hour, this clock chimes every 15 minutes, though it's not nearly as loud as its predecessor.

Crooked picture

On Britney Griner:  this stupid woman, who never took into consideration the antagonistic relationship that exists between the US and Russia, accidently packed a near empty bottle of hash oil and has now turned herself into a tool for Putin to use.  Shortly after she was sentenced, the Russians said they were ready to begin serious negotiations for a prisoner swap.  Being a tool is not good.

Alex Jones was fined yesterday.  He will be fined again, hopefully multiple times.   He whined something about his First Amendment rights.  For those of you who don't know, the 1st Amendment allows us freedom of speech, however it does not eliminate accountability from that which we say.  Jones believed he could get away with saying whatever he wanted.  He profited from lies that he knew were lies. That is not the freedom of speech our forefathers intended for us to have.

Mike and the Pizza boxes

 They're predicting that the temps are supposed to climb up into the mid 90s (F) today.  I don't doubt the forecast, yesterday we got up into the low 90s (F).  Tomorrow?  Rain is on the way and the temps are supposed to cool back down.  Whatever.

My new clock arrived yesterday.  It will be hung this morning.  Tiling was also done in the kitchen.  I've a little more to do before I'm finished.  The glass tiles I used for my backsplash now cover the area behind the stove.  I will need to grout and seal them, but then one more step is completed in finishing of my kitchen.

My neighbor, Mike, died.  Don't ask me when, or why because I don't know.  Tuesday was garbage day, so last Monday his wife took out their garbage cans.  When I got up last Tuesday, their car was gone.  When they hadn't returned by Wednesday, I figured they'd gone down to see one of their kids in Maryland.  Yesterday, I got a card from her in the mail which began with "I suppose you've heard about Mike."  Well, I didn't.  Her husband was not a like able person.  For most of the 29 years I've lived here, I've had to deal with his anger management, and alcohol, and drug abuse issues.  The problems?  Too numerous to list here.  Well, maybe just one.  Twelve years ago, 3 young men rented the end townhouse across the street; they were friendly and funny, and made me laugh.  On weekends, they would have small parties with maybe 3 or 4 friends who parked on the street, sometimes either in front or behind Mike's car.  Mike didn't like this, so he used pizza boxes to try and block off our side of the street.  That's right, he put a pizza box in front of his car and one behind.  Of course, it didn't work for obvious reasons.  This incensed Mike, so he drank all night, and the next morning went over and pounded on their door.  When they answered, he pulled a knife and threatened to kill them if they parked on our side of the street again.  They promptly had him arrested.  Believe me when I tell you this was just one of the things, we in the neighborhood dealt with on a fairly regular basis.  You shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but ever since I got his wife's card all I've been able to do is laugh and think of how big an asshole Mike was.

Here's a bit of a pallet cleanser, my elephant ear plant.

And the fallout from Tuesday's election in Kansas is still dropping like dung on the GOP.  I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying it.

Every senator voted to admit Finland and Denmark to NATO, except for 1, Josh Hawley.  He must think that's the masculine thing to do.

Finally, just a bit about Alex Jones.  His scumbag attorneys accidently gave the prosecution his phone records and text messages over the past few years.  I watched some of the videos.  We can only pray that the worst will happen to him.  I do know a whole lot of people want to get their hands on that information, including the IRS, the January 6 committee, and the DOJ.  I hope they take his passport, because I do believe Jones has suddenly become a flight risk.