Howie's Rocks

 Good morning world.  Here in central PA our outside temp is 77 (F).  The sun is still shining, but that's going to change.  Much rain is in the forecast.  Showers are to begin sometimes this morning, followed by storms and thunderstorms this afternoon and this evening.  Rain is always appreciated, especially in what are traditionally our dry months.  Our green lawns will not be turning brown this summer.

Yesterday was a good day for getting things done.  I started off the day by baking a loaf of bread, and went on to do 4 loads of laundry, clean out the big aquarium, and vacuum up tons of doggy hair using the vacuum with the cheap bags.  I finished one chapter in the new book and began another:  Can you hum a few bars.  It's an old joke, so I'm not expecting all of you are going to get it.

Today is not going to be a chore intensive.  Though things do need to be done.  I'm thinking of buying a walking pad, which is like a treadmill but much smaller, some are foldable.  The treadmill I tore apart and turned into a raised garden was just too massive.  I do like walking, it's good for my lower back.  I might not be able to stop the arthritis, but I may be able to slow it down considerably.  I don't want to be one of those seniors who lets aches and pains infringe upon my daily life.

I believe I've mentioned before that Howie likes to bring stones and rocks into the house and trade them for puppy  cookies.  Well, a while back I decided to save them.  This is Howie's rock pile.

For those of you who missed it, Proctor & Gamble is going to be raising prices.  Some of the products sold by P&G are Tide, Downey, Mr. Clean, and Swiffer.  These are all products that the great orange retailer I work for sells in our cleaning department.  While our corporate headquarters has said they're not going to raise prices I'm betting these increases will be passed onto the customer.  And we only sell a smidgen of the products P&G's going to be raising prices on.  So remember, every time the Orange Anus shrieks about how much money his tariffs are raising, he's talking about your hard earned money.  Remember, those billionaires running this country don't give a shit about you or how difficult it is to make ends meet.

Republican Tools

 Saturday morning is cloudy, breezy, and cooler.  We did have rain over night, basically showers.  We haven't had a good soaker in some time and while I haven't heard anything about a fire watch, I wouldn't be surprised if that happens, what with all of these leaves blowing around.

A lot was accomplished yesterday.  Painting, (just about finished), cleaning the smaller tank, putting the garden hose down in the basement, making beef stew, and, of course working on The Body in Motion.  There were also 2 loads of laundry and Lily's daily walk.  

I'll be spending sometime at the orange home improvement retailer this afternoon.  Fun stuff.  I'm wondering if it will be any busier than it's been in the past.

I did hear back from Bethesda game studios, and while the response was nice, they are still recommending fixes that are simply unavailable at that point in the game.  I sent them a nice response, asking them to do what I think they might say is impossible.  We shall wait and see.  Until then, I've bought 2 other new games, something called Immortals, and the latest in the Assassin's Creed franchise, Mirage.  I find the idea of being a hunky assassin in Baghdad interesting.

So, are Republican finally beginning to show they might actually have some sort of backbone?  Will they actually expel George Santos so he can stand trial and go to jail?  The answer is... possibly.  The lust for power is strong in them and he will vote alongside the far right crazies to give them what they want as long as they protect him.  This being said, I do believe many, many of us realize that Santos has always been Tool, and that Republicans will embrace corruption if it gives them the votes they need to foist their craziness on America.  But then so is Elise Stefanik, who, it seems added to her complaint against the Judge in Trump's New York corruption trial.  She endorsed Santos.  We shall see what kind of Tool she is when it comes to voting on his future in the House of Representatives.  I'm betting one Tool is going to vote to save the ass of the other Tool.

 

Smoothie Subterfuge

 Can we talk about a weather disappointment?  We were received all of these warnings about the temps crashing into the low 30s (F) overnight.  "Heavy Freeze," they warned, and this morning I woke to find the temperature sitting at a solid 40 (F).  There was a warning for a heavy snow squall that also failed to materialize.  Not that the temps aren't cool outside, they are, but they're not cold.

I got a lot of things done yesterday, including sanding down the outside of the kitchen cabinets and get a coat of primer on them.  The 30 gallon tank in the living room got cleaned, (today the 50 gallon in the writing room will get a cleaning).  Three loads of laundry were washed, dried, and folded.  Today looks to be about the same.  I will need to get a new heater for the tank in the living room; the old one died. That means a drive over to PetSmart.   There's also more sanding and priming on the books for today.  

My PCP had scheduled me for a physical on November 13, a Monday, a day I always work, so I took a personal day in order to drive down to the Lebanon VA.  Then my countertop installers called to tell me installation was going to take place on the same day.  Rats.  I figured there was some reason I wasn't supposed get the physical (my last one was only 6 months ago), so I cancelled it.  The soonest I could reschedule was in June of 2024.  Wowza!  I will be driving down to Lebanon on Friday to get my updated Covid and my yearly flu vaccine and with the leaves still turning, it might be a nice little road trip.

And rat haired Marsha spit out another blatant lie on "X," the far right conspiracy based social media platform.  This stupid woman claimed that Hamas was holding 500 Americans as hostages.

There are approximately that many Americans in Gaza, but they're not being held hostage.  Believe it or not, some of them actually work there, just as there are Chinese working and living there, and Frenchmen, as well others who simply just live there.  I don't doubt for a second that those rats living in Marsha's hair have begun to nibble their way into her brain which means she's only going to get dumber by the day.

And the spawn of the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, are going to begin testifying today in NYC.  I think Eric goes first, and while many believe him to be the dumbest, it seems as though he might be the wiliest when it comes to spitting out his shapeshifting lies.  I don't doubt that each of Trump's spawn have some inherent ability, and Eric's seems to be capable of regurgitating deceit in various forms and textures: lumpy lies and smoothie subterfuge are two of his favorites.

At the Border

 After one day off, I get to return to work today.  My next day of is July 4th.  I can't remember ever having off on this particular holiday.  Normally the store closed around 7 PM so people could do the 'fireworks' thing with their families, but not this year.  That's odd.  

Yesterday was really hot here, 97 (F), though not nearly as insanely hot as Portland, OR.  Around 0900, I went out and mowed my lawn.  Can we talk about being sweaty?  My lawn is not that large.  On a bad day it'll take me half an hour to mow the entire thing.  Yesterday was a pretty good day, only about 20 minutes, and I needed to take a shower afterwards.

I also got a ride in.  Nice.  

In fact, I accomplished so much yesterday, I was rather pleased with myself.  Peaches were frozen, about 4 quarts worth, laundry done, the fish tanks cleaned.

And also connected with some of my Navy friends on a Zoom call.  One of them hates Democrats.  Literally.  He attempted to bring politics into the conversation and got shot down.  Good. There are certain times when you need to keep your politics to yourself.

I understand our failed presidential candidate wannabe fascist dictator is going to be in Texas today.  He's going to the border.  Nope, we're not kicking him, though there are quite a few who would be pleased if that were to happen.  It seems the slimy governor, a loser named Abbott, has started a 'go fund me' to build The Wall.  I wonder how much money the loser's going to donate?  Probably none, unless his failed accountants can use it as a tax deduction.

And what about that MAGA governor sending 50 National Guard troops to the border?  Their all expense paid trip is being paid for by a Republican Mega donor.  That part is so filled with hate.