Melting Down

 And so Friday is upon us.  Weather wise, it's supposed to be another really nice day with temps in the mid-80s (F) and plenty of sunshine.  The weekend however?  Well, forecasters are saying we're going to have overcast skies, it's going to be humid, and there will be showers and thunderstorms.  That's okay with me.  I work weekends.

If those weather predictions hold out, the store will be slow.  That's normal for this time of year.  We always get the "back to school doldrums," because families usually set aside these weeks for vacation.  Those that don't go on vacation are usually busy buying back to school clothing for their children.  Even the great, orange, home improvement retailer I work for has "back to school" specials; needing to compete with Walmart and Target is the only way to grow market share.

So, I've joined the Vizsla club on Facebook.  The time has come to start the puppy search.  Someone said I should have begun looking a few weeks back, but I don't need to pick one up the first day I get back from Greece.  I've waited this long, I can wait for another few weeks.  

Much was accomplished yesterday, including a 3 mile walk at Adams Ricci, and an 8 mile bike ride.  The rose bushes out front were trimmed back, as were the peony bushes.  My dahlias are coming in nice.  Tammy, from across the street, gave me some earlier in the summer, but they're small, no more than 8 inches high.  The ones I plant from bulbs usually grow to around 2 feet with large blooms.  Here's are tiny, and they look more like zinnias.

Yesterday, the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, threw a party in an attempt to get media attention that his petty little ego craves.  MSNBC didn't carry it, in fact they criticized his futile attempt to spread his lies and deceit.  CNN started to carry it live, and then cut away.  Only Fox Entertainment stayed for the duration.  There were supposed to be a few softball questions after his rambling ended but tell me, does anybody care?  Some people did torture themselves by watching in order to report on his dementia.   He complained that he had every right to verbally attack Kamala Harris because, among other things, she called him weird.  You have to admit, complaining about being called weird is... well, pretty weird.  Most mature people would simply brush it off, however, his skin is so incredibly skin, his festering ego so fragile, calling him weird is like throwing water on the wicked witch of the West.  By calling him weird, those who want to, get to see him public melting down.  

Big News

 Well Happy Friday to everyone out there.  Here in Central PA, our temps are supposed to be moderately high, mid 80s (F) with partially cloudy skies for the Memorial Day weekend.  Wow! This holiday just sort crept up on me.  In fact, it's difficult to believe that the month of May is nearly over.  Time is just zipping by.

I did work yesterday.  Retail was slow.  At one point, our Operations Manager wandered over to the flooring desk for a nice little chat, during which he asked how long it had been since I managed the Front End (all of the cashiers).  When I told him 5 years, he said, "oh, that's not that long ago."  So I politely told him I had no interest in going backwards, and the thought struck me that perhaps I should start acting my age... Hell, that'll never happen.

And in sort of big news, evidently Target, Walmart, and Aldis have announced they're going to begin dropping prices.  This is what happens when you outprice yourself.  Of course, supposedly this is just food prices, Target and Walmart didn't say they weren't going to raise prices elsewhere.  I don't doubt that other retailers are going to follow suit.  The power of the dollar is not spending it when they want you to, but rather when you make the decision yourself.  

When I got home from work, my neighbor from across the street called me over.  She's a very nice woman who's basically a chain smoker.  I've talked about her before.  She was one of the co-signers of the will that was invalidated, and we had to drive around looking for a Notary Public in order to sign another document saying we were the original signers.  Anyway, she called me over and gave me some dahlias, that I shall have to plant out later this morning.  Right now they're sitting in a baking pan in my kitchen sink.

The Orange Anus had a rally yesterday in the Bronx and around 7 thousand showed up.  The population of the Bronx is 1.4 million.  That's a terribly big ouch when you realize just how small an area the Bronx actually covers.  We're not even talking minor mileage here.

There are a lot of funny stories about Nikki Haley's flip, one was that she's putting all of her eggs in the 2028 basket, thinking she has a better chance for the presidency then.  I know, it simply doesn't make sense.  By supporting Trump, it's not going to put her in a better position after he loses.

And the shocker that should have been expected was Clarence Thomas saying that with the Brown vs the School Board decision, that landmark decision saying black children needed to be treated the same as white children, the Supreme Court had probably made a mistake.  This is coming from a black man who would not be on the Court if that decision had not been made.  In case you haven't realized it yet, there is something seriously wrong with Thomas.

Blair Mitch

 And so, a new week begins.  

Yesterday the day was sunny and the temps climbed into the mid 60s (F).  It was such a nice day, such a shame that I had to work.  Today's going to be the same thing, at least for  most of it, but then clouds are going to roll in.  For the rest of the week temps are predicted to be in the mid 50s (F) and we're supposed to have rain.  Of course, those are the days I'll be off.

And, as I said, I did work yesterday, and it was slow in the afternoon.  Very slow.  I had thought the warm and sunny weather might begin to bring out the lawn and garden customers, but it didn't.  I guess people are beginning to realize that early March is still... well, too early to begin planting.  One of the things I did during all my free time, was wander through the garden department.  One of the things I noticed was that the price of dahlias has gone up.  Last year you could buy 4 for $12, this year their costing 2 for $10.  What a shame everybody feels they're allowed to be greedy.

My neighbors were very quiet when I got home from work last night.  There was a half hour period during which I could hear a radio playing, but then that was silenced.  I'm planning on having a little chat with her tomorrow.

As I was wasting time at work yesterday, this caught my attention.  I think this would be a fairly funny movie: the Blair Mitch Project.

It's possible that today we might hear from the Supreme Court regarding Colorado's decision to take Trump off of the ballot.  This should be interesting.  I had thought that they'd refuse this and then rule that he wasn't immune.  Instead, they played party politics with the immunity, which means they're going to treat the ballot issue the same way.  

And, what about Nikki Haley winning in DC.  There are rumors that she's doing fairly well in Virginia, as well.  I wonder if she realizes that if Trump begins to see her as a threat her life might be in danger.  He might go too far in emulating his Bro Blow Vlad and and Nikki might accidently fall out of a window, or eat a ricin poisoned sandwich.

Conservative Fashionistas

 Today begins the first of my weekly 4 days off from work.  I should probably come up with a word for this time period since it's not a weekend and for many that word is synonymous with time spent not working, though in reality most of those people do some form of work on the weekend.  You know what I'm talking about: putting in the pansies, and petunias to give your home curb appeal, mowing the lawn, or for some of the ambitious types out there: painting a room.  For many the weekend does not denote hours spent reclining on a chaise while some dappled lovely feeds you dainties.  Nope!  Today, I'm going to be hard at work tearing up the rest of the floor in my kitchen.  

The weather is supposed to be beautiful!  I'm up for that.  One of the out-of-doorsy things I'm going to be doing is deadheading my flowers.  Does anyone know how easy it is to grow dahlia seeds?  Usually you buy the tuber and plant that, but how difficult is it to start them from seed?  And when do you plant them?

Yesterday was one of those horrifically boring days at work.  This doesn't mean that I didn't have to deal with some customers, but mostly I did not.  Sales are down.  Hours are being cut.  I can easily survive on 20 hours a week, but for some part-timers 14 hours a week can be devastating.  So, why are they cutting hours?  Well, those conservative, billionaire stockholders need to be kept happy.

There was also some confusion yesterday when I mentioned Chuck Schumer's decision to relax the dress code, part of it my fault.  He relaxed the informal dress code, not the formal dress code, which means those of you who live to see a conservative in a navy blue, two piece suit will still be able to satiate your cravings by watching Republican press conferences.  Here's a little piece of happiness for you 😎😎😎

And for those of you who relish your conservative female fashionistas, I give you Marsha!

Ah, I do find myself rather amusing sometimes. 

Bannon's smirk

 Saturday!

I work 12-7.  No problem.  We're supposed to showers on and off most of the day.  Right now, the skies are overcast.  I wish we would get more than a little drizzle every now and then even that means having to mow my lawn tomorrow, on the traditional day of rest.

While at work this afternoon, I will need to call a fellow associate's customer to tell them the tile they wanted is no longer available. This is a problem when customers try and cheap it out by buying clearance items.  I always make it a point to say that clearance means the product is going away.  A yellow tag means an extremely limited supply.  They can still buy the tile from our website for $22.74 a case, but they will also have to pay a $79 shipping charge.  The customer will probably yell at me over the phone and then cancel the job.  This is how life is.  Make your plans accordingly.

I got a lot accomplished yesterday because I didn't give into 'slug mode.'  Here lately it seems as though the urge to just puddle through the day has been quite attractive. Baking those sugar cookies was a bad idea.  Sugar, carbs, and me, are the perfect combination for spending a nappy afternoon.

The yellow dahlias are beginning to open.  

Elon Musk dropped his offer to purchase Twitter.  His attorney's provided several weak excuses, though I believe he still needs to pay a $1 billion fee for changing his mind.  I've no problem with that.  Honestly, I never believed he had any interest in the acquisition.  Personally, I think his life is pretty much the definition of a clusterfuck.  He has 11 children (possibly more) with a set of twins just being born to a woman who worked for a company he owns.  Tesla seems to be running into all types of headwinds.  Several auto manufacturers, including Hyundai, are set to leave Tesla spinning its tires trying to catch up.

The word is out that Trump is preparing to revoke Steve Bannon's Executive privilege.   Other than the joy I'd see of seeing Bannon's shitty smirk wiped from his face, I don't this as anything other than a desperate attempt by the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, to avoid the inevitable.

Pat Cipollone chatted with the January 6 committee yesterday... for 8 hours.  That's a long time.  Word is that he didn't deny any of the previous allegations.  People were touting that he did not claim the 5th amendment.  This is a good thing.  

And, finally, the committee is now planning to continue holding hearings into August.  For those who don't understand, this is not only about putting the full evil of Donald Trump on display for all Americans to see, but also about breaking apart his MAGA base.  I don't doubt for a second one of their goals is to keep as many Trumpists from getting elected as possible.

The Weak Grip

 The heat Jennifer was talking about yesterday arrives in Central PA today.  We will, however, only be sitting in the low 90s (F) rather than be hitting the triple digit temps she is experiencing, of course, we have another week before summer officially arrives.  I will have to water my little garden, though.

Yesterday was a day of accomplishment!  

I tried something different during my 43 minutes on the treadmill: weighted spats.  I've had them for years, and years, and have never really used them.  The weight can be adjusted up to 5 lbs. per foot.  I started light, strapping just one pound on each foot.  Easy peasy.  Your legs are the engines of your body.  The idea is to make them work harder to make them grow stronger.  

I decided to put in some marigolds out front.  I planted seeds, but also picked up a pack of 8 small plants thinking they'd get a head start on the seeds.  Well, the seeds are going to town, while the plants are struggling.  They're struggling.  Here's a blurry pic of my dahlias.  They should be bursting into bloom any day now.  

The next January 6 committee public hearing was moved from today until next week, tomorrow's hearing is still on.  I work tomorrow, so I'll not be able to watch it with any type of consistency.  

There were primaries yesterday.  I find it fascinating that the media is so laser focused on Republican candidates, especially those endorsed by Trump.  Take Lombardo in Nevada.  He's backed by Trump, getting 38.4% of the vote.  That's the headline, rather than 41.1% of Republicans in Nevada voted for someone else.  If they're trying to show how strong Trump's grip is on the GOP, they're failing.  His candidates might win, but when a majority of Republicans vote for other candidates that grip is not nearly as strong as the media implies.  Trump's dinky little hands aren't nearly as strong as his MAGA base wants them to be.

Elaboration

 So, it's Friday.  For a second I almost wrote 'so, it's Saturday.'  Wishful thinking on my part.  Waiting will be torturous.  Anticipation is a continual itch.  Covering myself in calamine lotion will not help.  Besides, I'd look kind of odd.  All I can do is wait.

And my dahlias, which I didn't dig up last fall, which are not supposed to survive the freezing cold of our winters, are blooming.  I guess this means I have good tubers.

The first 4 chapters of The Body in Repose have been synopsized.  This is pretty much how I write.  I'm not big on outlines.  They synopsis is a wonderful thing, providing a foundation on which to build the story.  For me, an outline is just... well, lines; many, many lines that some writers use as an armature on which to build.  Not me.  I need to see the story flow from word to word.  Give me two or three paragraphs any day.  I can can grow and elaborate on a paragraph. An outline?  Hell, those damn lines would run forever and nothing would get written.

The bread cutter I bought is turning out to be a real gem!  I shall have to give it a good review on Amazon.

And for those of you who didn't hear this, Brian Sims, one of our PA Legislators, had his microphone shut off when he pointed out every GOP representative is white.  Not a single minority voice among them.  Now how bad is that?  The GOP in this state do not represent 'the people' of Pennsylvania. Nope.  And they got mad and turned off his voice.  Can we talk about cancel culture?  They must believe they're living in Russia.