The Clean up Continues

Another cool morning here in Central PA.  The outside temp was 59 (F) when I got up.  That's really good sleeping weather.  We have another day of abundant sunshine scheduled.  According to the long range forecast this weather should be sticking around for the next 2 weeks.  What isn't in the forecast is rain.  This means I'll be watering my garden.

If you're wondering how my raised bed garden survived that storm we had last Saturday, the answer is fine.  Except for one tomato plant that blew over, I's suspecting it's a goner. 

Much yard cleanup was done yesterday.  As I'd mentioned before, I did wear my heart rate monitor.  Total work time was 1 hour and 15 minutes.  The last half hour I was averaging 130 beats per minute, burned 415 calories.  Everything was going well until my chainsaw broke.  Damn.  I could probably have spent some time trying to fix it, but chose instead to order another with same day delivery from the orange retailer I work for.  Well, the new saw was never delivered.  I checked before I went to bed and saw that delivery had been scheduled to between 6 AM and 8 PM today, so I cancelled.  They had over 5 hours to get it delivered and failed.  What they want you to do is pay for an expedited delivery with the guarantee that your purchase will arrive in 3 hours or less.  

Anyway, my yard went from looking like this:

to this:

So, the Republicans pushed through a piece of legislature yesterday that would stop members of Congress from buying stock while they were in office, however, attached to that bill was Orangie's precious SAVE Act.  Eight Democrats voted for this bill.  I don't doubt that they did this because they wanted to be on the record as ending insider trading, and because they know there are not enough votes in the Senate to get it passed.  These 8 congressmen failed to realize that no one was going to commend them for voting against insider trading.  Nope.  Now they're being damned for helping the SAVE Act advance to the Senate.  They failed to understand that in the scope of things, Orangie's extreme voter regulations are a far more serious problem for America and Democracy than trading stocks on Wall Street.

Am I the only one who believes Jim Jordan should be arrested and tried for treason?

Upstairs Dog

 Another short post because I work today.

Forecasters are predicting rain today.  On and off showers are supposed to dampen the entire region, both today and tomorrow, and then temps will drop, if they're right.  But then we're going to have another prelude to Spring with a warming trend.  We've had so many preludes, I'm thinking maybe we should call them an overture.

Lily had decided that she wants to spend the rest of her days upstairs, lounging on the bed.  She has a better view from the upstairs window, downstairs all she can see are the squirrels, upstairs, the FedEx  and UPS trucks are visible almost half a block away.  She goes up and down the staircase as little as possible.  She's a senior dog.  Biggie stopped, too, but he chose to stay downstairs.

I spent a big chunk of time yesterday cutting out one difficult piece of vinyl plank for the kitchen floor.  Lots of cuts, in under the front of the dishwasher, then out for 1.5 inches for the dishwasher cabinet, then a horizontal cut for front of that cabinet edge, and then an 8 inch vertical for the outside of the cabinet.  I was really concerned that I'd break the plank during the final cut because it's very narrow.  That was the most difficult piece I had to cut.

Here's a pic I took of Lily eyeing the staircase yesterday.  She waited until I was playing a game before getting drink of water and heading up to bed.  Sneaky, she is.

And, of course, it's quite amusing how the Republicans are stammering terribly about their Russkie witness, the one who, at least in the eyes of the Kremlin, was going to give them the goods they needed to impeach Biden.  And, who all knew he was a fake?  Comer and Jordan for two.  And now we have Republican Ken Buck saying everything is a lie.  Ouch!

Terrormorphs

 So, here we go, it's Thursday.  Outside overcast skies are giving way to partial sun, which is almost as good as a sunny day, but not quite.  Temps are again predicted to linger in the mid 40s (F).  That doesn't bother me in the least bit.  Sadly, it looks as though Canada is going to shoo some of it's cold air in the form of an artic blast down to us.  If the forecasters are correct, our temps will be struggling to climb up into the low 30s (F) next week.  That means I might have to turn the thermostat back up to 70 (F).

Yesterday was a so, so day.  I did get some tiling done, but I avoided the paint.  It's these cloudy days.  I did manage to get in a free weight workout.  My legs are a bit sore today because I've incorporated a series of weighted lunges attempt to prep them for when I'll be spending time on my knees installing the new floor.

My new neighbors were arguing this morning.  If they are shouting loudly, I can hear what they're yelling, and at one point he brought up "this house."  She's already told me they believe they were cheated and lied to, and while in all honesty I'd have to say that the real estate agent was a bit deceitful, they are the ones who made the decision to purchase because of how it was staged.  If you're investing that much money, do you homework.  It's a little late in the game for them to have buyer's remorse.

Here's an updated pic of the far end of the kitchen.  The cookbook shelf has been put back.  I am going to need to repot the snake plant and move it.  I do like that lemony yellow color on the walls.  There are also going to be valances hung, but they're going to be the "finishing touches."

There was a Republican debate last night.  I was too busy killing Terrormorphs in Starfield to pay any attention, and I know I chose the way better option.  I mean, did anyone other than Republicans watch?  And I doubt if any of those who did were Trumpers, they've already sold their souls to the Spawn of Satan.

And, speaking of the devil, I understand he had some sort of Townhall where he fielded softball questions.

Oh, and lest I forget, Hunter Biden showed up at his contempt hearing, and Republicans flipped out.  And Democrats embarrassed a number of Republicans, those who have also ignored their subpoenas, including Jimmie Jordan, who has ignored his own subpoena for 608 days.  Even though those Republican congressmen weren't playing Starfield, they came face to face with a Terrormorph of their on creation and figuratively speaking, publicly died.

Common Sense

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

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

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

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

Clown Parade

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

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

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

I saw this yesterday and thought it quite appropriate.

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

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

 

Always the Case

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

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

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

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

Page One

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

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

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

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

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

How Democracy wins

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

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

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

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

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

Wrestle This

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

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

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

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

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

Hope!

 As usual, we had rain last night, a lot of rain.  There were thunderstorm warnings and flash flood warnings, most of which happened while I was sleeping.  I do vaguely remember hearing thunder, but then I usually sleep like a log... or a rock... or whatever.

Yesterday at work I got 2 measures.  Corporate should be happy.  One was for roller blinds.  It was a young woman.  I honestly don't think she has any idea what she's doing;.  When I told her she needed to return to the store after the measurement, she seem surprised.  I believe she thinks they measure tech will take care of everything.  Her English was adequate. 

And today, being Friday, I am off work.  Things do need to be done around the house.  Plus there's weight training and and ride.  I am concerned about maintaining muscle mass as I grow older.  The idea of looking like a baby when I'm 95 years old does not appeal to me in the least.

It seems as though there might be hope for Bobby Tussel's drinking habits after all.  It appears as though the unionized employees of Anchor beer might be buying the brewery.

That nectarine tree I cut down?  Well, unlike the peach tree, it's not doing to well.  It does have a little moss starting to grow on the side.

Of course, whiny Jimmy Jordan had another weaponization committee meeting, this time with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  The bimbo who won Liz Cheney's seat asked him about the 2020 stolen election and he told her he didn't anything at all about that, of course, the cult has a one track mind and that's to sow as much disinformation as possible.  Of course, RFK, Jr was caught by Democrats in a number of lies, like his saying Covid was a bioweapon designed by the Chinese to kill whites and blacks while not harming the Chinese and the Ashkenazi Jews.  He claims he never said it, however there are videos of him saying it.  Oops.  He's not the only to forget that in today's world everyone has a phone, and so many are using their phones to record what people say.

One of the things I've begun doing is following 3 brothers named Meiselas on their YouTube channel.  They do tend to pick apart the far Right Republicans.  One of the things they talked about was Trump saying that he had millions of followers, actually saying he had 100 million followers, and how the members of his cult actually believed him.  If that were true, his rallies would draw hundreds of thousands; they don't.  Pictures and videos of the cult assembling around their cherished lead may be described in the thousands, but literally there are only 2 and 3 thousand, no more.  He has less hope of getting a crowd that loud, then Bobby Tussel has of getting another hundred cases of Anchor beer.

Any Day Now

 Yesterday was quiet.  The weather was cool, only climbing into the the low 70s (F), and we had a steady breeze coming down from the north.   They're calling for the same weather pattern today.  Tomorrow rain is again in the forecast.  We have an 80% chance of getting wet.  I'm looking forward to it.  Hopefully it will wash some of the smokey haze away.

Speaking of the smokey haze, I understand today is supposed to be our worst.  It is, at times, like fog.  Unlike New York, where it's orange, ours is mostly gray.

I was talking to one of the men working on the house next door.  He's told me it's almost time for it to be painted, inside and out.  Gray.  I hate gray.  

The audiobook of The Body Under Ice is being uploaded by chapter.  That's nice because most of the chapters are short, so time wise each is about 6 minutes long.  That's probably also great for people who listen to audiobooks.  Having to stop listening at the end of a chapter is great.

And of course, there's this:

Any day now.  Possibly even sometime this afternoon.  He's broken the Espionage Act, as if we didn't know.  Remember, he's always believed he was above the law and could do whatever he liked.  

I found it interesting that the House of Representatives has adjourned for the week because of internal Republican chaos.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of that had to do with the impending indictment (s).  One of Jack Smith's investigations has to do with the Jan 6 insurrection, and mealy mouthed Mark Meadows has flipped for that Grand Jury as well.  I'm sure he's already turned in texts to and from an array of people, like Jimmy Jordan, Scott Perry, and that ever popular Ginni Thomas.

And, speaking of the Thomases, I see where Clarence has has for an extension on filling his financial statement for the past year.  He must be finding it difficult to make bribery sound legit.

It is Balloon!

While temps north of us are sub-zero cold, we here in Central PA are relatively warm at, what they must think to be balmy, 13 (F).  Last night was the coldest we're going to get in this vortex, I least I think this is a polar vortex, if not, it's something similar.  Our high today is expected to be in the low 30s (F).  Tomorrow, the forecast is for us to reach back into the mid 40s (F).

New windows are being installed in the house next door.  When I had Andersen replace some of mine, they came to the house and measured.  This is not happening in my neighbor's house.  They shopped at Home Depot and bought windows 'off the rack,' so to speak.  This means they need to cut and reframe every window, which leaves gaps in the siding.  Since the existing siding is yellow aluminum, I suspect that will be the next thing they're going to replace.

I watched Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom last night.  The last time I saw it was in the theater in 1984.  I was only mildly impressed back then, and was even less impressed last evening.  The Indiana Jones character holds up fairly well, but the rest of the movie does a deep dive into some cheesy special effects, bad dialogue, and a third act finale that's uninspiring.  Set as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, had this been the first in the series I have no doubt it would have failed.

And, of course, there is the Chinese weather balloon.  I find the entire situation amusing.  It's almost as if the Chinese put on their thinking caps to decide what it was they could do to screw things up.  Oh, and evidently there's another one cruising above Central America.  And the Republicans in the House are so damn stupid.  The first thing on their agenda is to shoot it down.  Number two on their list is to hold investigative hearings.  They don't see a balloon.  Nope, as far as they're concerned, this is another dead horse they can kick to the gutter.  I thought Adam Kinzinger made a good point when he said that shooting it down would let the Chinese know about our high altitude weapons systems.  We all know that level of intelligence is far above that of your average Republican congressman.

Jimmy Jordan's committee issued it's first subpoenas yesterday.  They actually believe someone in the administration is going to pay attention to them.

Finally, for those who haven't been paying attention, the Orange Anus has been shrieking about how he could end the war in the Ukraine in 24 hours.  While a lot of this is his blustery buffoonery, I wouldn't be surprised this is also a desperate attempt to help his Blow Bro Vlad since things aren't going to well for him and his 3 day war.  Superior weapons systems are arriving in the Ukraine which have the capability of taking out Russian soldiers far behind the front line.  This is not good, especially when conservative casually counts put the Russian dead at around 200,000.  Trump's Blow Bro Vlad is sending his army into a meat grinder.  

The Early Morning Mind

 Saturday.  I work.  A full 8 hour shift.  Excitement percolates at the thought of sitting at the flooring desk and talking to people about carpet, should they go with Triexta, or just a simply poly (polyester).  Well, that's bunk. 

Being semi-retired means I can now sleep in a little if I want.  Of course, then I end up staying up later, which can, should I let it, begin they cycle of late nights and later mornings.  My neighbor did that, stayed up until 3 in the morning and then sleeping in until noon.  I find that I think differently late at night then in the morning.  I allow ideas to slide, rather than pinpointing details I find fascinating.  Like most people aging gracefully, I am concerned about my mind sliding, so this morning when the alarm went off at 0545, I rousted myself.  Are things clearer, sharper at this early hour?  Possibly.  I do know that I don't let things slide.  I didn't start playing a video game to help pass the time until I was tired enough to go to bed.

Well, this happened yesterday morning.  This is the 2nd dumpster brought in for the clean-up of the house next door.  Yesterday was also the day the workmen started cleaning out the attic.  One of them told me it was creepy.  I can tell you it's big.  The peak is 18 feet off the floor.  If there weren't so many beams, it might make for a nice master suite.

During an interview, Lou Dobbs claimed that there is a 'rank cover-up' in the Supreme Court over the Roe v Wade leak.  He's right, however his statement implies he believes the leaker to have been a Liberal.  I don't believe he understands how wrong he is.  Had that been true, this ultra Right-Wing court would have leaked that information.  Conservatives only protect their own.  I'm betting no one can even remember the last time a conservative stood up for a Centrist.  I know I can't.

And, of course, Jimmy Jordan got some bad news from the DOJ.  Sorry, no information regarding ongoing investigations.  As one of the insurrectionists involved in that fake elector scheme, I'm sure Little Jimmy is scared shitless.  You see, Jack Smith has subpoenaed quite a lot of information from those states planning on sending counterfeit electors to vote for Trump, not Biden.  Little Jimmy was deeply involved.  At first he tried to blame an aide for submitting the phony names, but as more people squealed to save their own asses, the truth came out: it was Little Jimmy, himself, who had submitted those fake names.  And Little Jimmy is scared his ass might fry.  Sizzle, Jimmy, sizzle.

Republican Garbage

Good morning, world!  What ever I had yesterday with the headachy, muscle achy, gee, I think it's time for another nap problems are gone.  Perhaps I had the 18 hour flue.  All I did was bake 2 loaves of bread, work on the book, and take naps.  Things were accomplished, but not as many as I wanted.  

One the best films I saw last year was Nope.  Soooo many people either didn't understand, or disliked it because it just didn't rub their horror, science fiction, thriller, drama, comedy buttons the right way.  This scene is just one of the many that impressed me so much.  On the big screen, this was amazing.

They finally began to clean out the house next door.  Lots of junk, garbage, and refuse for the landfill.  I think it might have been cheaper to just rent a giant dumpster, since they since labor form moving out of the house, and then loading it on a truck, is probably going to be pricey.  The stack on the far left, I suspect, is what they think they can sell at a flea market, the rest?  Garbage.

We all know that Republican voters are not the smartest and, unfortunately that can also be said for some Democratic voters as wells as Independent voters.  This is because most of the education they receive in school is, well Garbage.  There are people out there who don't know that a Bill is really nothing more than whole lotta words and has no value until it becomes a law.  So, that bill the Republican house passed yesterday is useless, unless the Senate approves it.  Not likely.  Yet the Republicans will always resort to their lies of 'getting things done.'

And that little subcommittee Jim Jordan has put together in a desperate hope to find out what dirt the DOJ has on him and his fellow insurrectionists is going to fail.  This will be obvious once the indictments begin to fall, and I'm hoping they begin to fall shortly.  The mid-terms are over.  The time is now to start throwing out the Republican garbage.

 

Republican Deja Vu

 Sometime last night a dusting of snow fell.  The morning sun is going to melt it away pretty damn fast.  That's fine.  Except for that Cyclone Bomb that froze our tidily winks off back around Christmas, this winter's been more temperate than usual, at least here in Central PA.  Everyone who pays a heating bill appreciates that.

Biggie has evidently decided he's no longer going to be sleeping on the bed.  He's also decided that the new bed I bought him makes a decent pillow.  Go figure.  My biggest challenge is sleeping on more than an eighteen-inch wide strip at the edge of the bed.  I'm making progress.

I baked a peach pie yesterday using some of the peaches I froze.  It's... okay.  I don't remember baking one before, and instead of looking at a recipe I sort of, well, winged it.  It's tasty, but it doesn't really have a peachy flavor.  I did mix in some walnuts because I like nuts.  I think I'll use my remaining peaches to make cobblers, they're easier.

I saw where Maggie Green has suddenly disavowed her Qanon roots in favor of a new hairstyle that no longer has that trailer-trash look.  Worry not, her new appearance belies the fact that she's still the hateful Margaret so many people detest.

And, in case you missed it, the fascists down in Brazil attempted their on January 6 event.  The major differences between Trump's fete du jour and theirs?  they chose coordinating colors, yellow and green, and whereas Trump sent his coup participants home with a blessing, over 400 were arrested down in Brazil.  And where was wannabe dictator Jair Bolsonaro while this was happening?  Why in Florida.  In fact, I do believe he's visiting that other wannabe dictator Donald, the Orange Anus, Trump.  How cozy.

The dysfunctional House of Representatives is set to vote on their rules and regulations today.  They need 218 votes to get them passed.  This is going to be interesting.  They can only lose 7 votes, I believe.  This is how you spell Deja Vu.

Finally, the State of Union is schedule for March 1.  I'm of the opinion the first (notice I say first, here) indictment will fall well before that date.  And the Moral Degenerate, Donald Trump, is not the only one who's going to be charged.  This is why Jimmy Jordan, and the rest of that group who wanted pardons, is desperate to set up a subcommittee to find out where all of the investigations stand, especially those regarding their own traitorous asses.

The Rainy Day

 The best way to describe yesterday is Rainy in so many, many ways.  

We had drizzly, misty, on and off again showers until late in the afternoon.  They are great for the garden and great for the lawn, but they tend to put me into a rather torpid state.  No ambition.  Instead, I waste time and snack.  No treadmill time.  No dumbbell time.  No cycling.  I did do some laundry, but most of the times was spent on the computer reading bits and pieces of semi-newsworthy opinions in anticipation.

Lily has a small lump on her front leg.  Boxers get lumps, especially as they get older, and that little lady is going to be 9 years old in August.  Biggie has them.  He's had one on his rump for almost 5 years.  His vet wasn't worried because, well, Boxers get lumps.  So, Lily's lump will be under observation.

I did run to Giant yesterday morning.  I'm going to be baking lemon, oregano potatoes this afternoon and I need some chicken broth.  I stopped and looked at my dahlias.  They're going to be stunning this year.  Here's a pic of one I took 2 days ago.

And, of course, it was a Rainy Day down in Washington.  The extremist Supreme Court, even as gun control was moving through the Senate, made things worse.  There are many other words in the 2nd amendment than "the right to bear arms," yet every decision they make is solely focused on those 5 words.

It was a Rainy Day for Jeff Clark... actually his showers began with a pre-dawn raid on Wednesday morning.  This is a man who desperately wanted to be a tool of Trump.  I understand the DOJ took all of his electronics, including his phones.

Scott Perry, from PA, had a very Rainy Day.  I almost spit out a little guffaw when his Tweet "why don't we work with the Italian Government," was projected on the screen.  The fact that his desperate mind could not understand how 'patently absurd' the YouTube video was says a lot about his mindset.  Oh, and he was the one who first took the nefarious Jeff Clark to meet Trump.

And, of course, there were Rainy Days for Jim Jordan, and the other 42 Republican members of congress who voted against the impeachment.  The fact that he was asking for a blanket pardon, which included himself, of course, illustrates how he felt he needed to protect his ass.

And then there's Matt Gaetz, who was evidently pushing for a pardon from back in December.  I'm suspecting his Rainy Days are never going to end.  I am surely not the only one who feels his pardon was to cover more than his involvement with the insurrection, don't doubt for a second he wanted his crimes with little girls to be included.

Award Season

Hello Monday!

For those who are wondering, I did go to work yesterday.  The roads were dry and the temps increased to a balmy 74 (F) when I punched out around 7 PM.  Three customers showed up about 10 minutes before I left wanting blinds cut.  I let my associate cut them because mentally I had already punched out for the day.  This is what happens to our minds when we know we have 3 days off in a row.

As I said, when I left the temps were nearly above freezing, however the wind picked up and they plummeted.  Today our high is supposed to hit a chilly 29 (F), and tonight?  We're dropping down into the teens.  

I am going to have to hit my neighborhood Giant supermarket today... or tomorrow.

There was an article in the NYT about Hollywood and Award Season.  November and December are the two months during which the heavy hitting dramas are released, those the studios are hoping will take home awards.  The Operative Word here is drama.  This year, dramas faired horrifically at the box office and Hollywood is in a tizzy because... well, they've always turned their collective noses up at anything that wasn't a drama.  What did people brave the theaters for this year?  Science Fiction, Adventure, Super Heroes.  You would have thought some smarty pants studio exec would have realized that during a pandemic most people don't want to exchange the drama of life for the fictional drama of a movie.  Now there are a boatload of soul wrenching dramas waiting to be nominated that no one has an intention of seeing.  Ouch.  Maybe now they'll put that drama stick out of their but and begin to award films that people enjoy, rather than films that pet their dramatic ego.

And, speaking of little films, here's a little cutie I put together on the spur of the moment.  Enjoy.

I see where people are upset because Jim Jordan's running for a third term. He said, way back when, that he was only going to run for 2 terms in Congress.  Now, because he's decided to run for a 3rd term, people are calling him a liar. Hell, he's always been a liar.  Didn't they know that?

 

That Gentle Touch

 Crap, the alcohol wipes I use at work to disinfect my hands are taking a toll on my skin.  I go through quite a few in a day because I touch a lot of things... and there are still those people out there who simply don't understand and want to shake your hand.  The truth evades these individuals, most likely because those in authority have downplayed the seriousness of this pandemic for too long.  As a result, I've begun using Gold Bond Ultimate.  Now my fingers are so freaking soft.  I have the gentle touch!

From time to tome, (what can I say, sometimes a bad pun is better then no pun at all) I have dropped clues regarding an upcoming book.  With that being said, your question de jour is what does a body found floating in a Scottish loch have to do with the Vulcan Mind Meld?

I find it rather pathetic that there are those Republicans out there who are shrieking that a 2nd impeachment does nothing to unify the country.  Dumb ass Jim Jordan Tweeted some shit about how 50 million Americans believe the lie that the election was stolen.  As a Congressman who pushed that lie, it's up to him to fix it.  The fact that he expects America to handle his lying ass with kid gloves show you just how out of touch from reality he is.  Sorry, Jimmy, no gentle touch for you.  Oh, and in case you haven't heard, the Idiot Jerk in the White House gave Jimmy the Presidential Medal of Freedom yesterday.  

And speaking of impeachment, more and more GOP Senators are jumping on board that train.  The word is that they want the Idiot Jerk purged from the party before he does any more damage.  Duh, maybe they should have thought of this back when he started lying about the election.  Of course, they were more obsessed with holding on to his radical base than accountability.  Now they face the reality that the American voters are going to hand them an Iron Fist in the next election, rather than the welcoming hands of a Gentle Touch. 

The Petulant Whiner

It's Thursday, or, since I'm retail, today's my Sunday.  Starting tomorrow I get to work 5 days in a row before I get another 2 consecutive days off.  After that?  Son of a bitch.  Consecutive days are off the schedule for at least 2 weeks.  I hate that.  I have the joy of working 6 days straight, and then my day off is Thanksgiving.  I mean, I shouldn't piss and moan, with holiday pay I'll get paid for 48 hours that week.   Still....
My apologies for posting responses to comments in such a scatter-shot fashion.  You'd think I was taking shooting lessons from Jim Jordan trying desperately to hit at least a part of the target.  That's not quite right.  My comments are posted regularly.  His comments yesterday at the first public impeachment hearing were... well.  You can tell the Idiot Jerk in the White House has left them very little to work with as far as a defense.  Since he had nothing of importance to defend, Jordan used a phony Mr. Rogers voice and ended up coming across as a condescending, petulant whiner about not hearing from the whistle-blower.  This is funny because it was the Republicans themselves who put those rules protecting whistle-blowers into effect.  This is their Karma, to constantly shit in their pants.
As I said yesterday, I was going to set up a little spread sheet for my Rouvy rides.  Here it is:

This is page one.  The distance is in miles not kilometers.  As you can see, the type signifies if it's a flat ride or a hill, I didn't include the difficulty rating, most being 2's or 3's with the Cote de Holm Moss ride having a difficulty rating of 4.  There's also a date column since I try not to repeat rides too often.
Finally, I guess the impeachment hearings continue tomorrow.  Yippee! 

The First Big Step

I start my split days off today... no work, and the dogs let me sleep in another 15 minutes. 
Montana had an early snowstorm.  The Southeastern states are having a rip-roaring heatwave.  As climate change continues to effect the world, people will begin to move.  Yes, even in the United States.  This is called immigration.  And animals, too, as their natural habitats grow too wet, or too dry, too cold or too warm, will head towards more habitable areas.  So many people in the world are totally unprepared.  Things like this have happened before in our billion years history.  The difference between then and now?  Someone is here to record the changes.  This will all become very interesting.  If you're thinking of retiring to some sunny trailer park in Florida, keep in mind that expensive mobile home may be underwater sooner rather than later.  Here's one projection:

The smart ones will prepare, the dumb ones won't.  You know who I'm talking about, those fools running around in their little red MAGA hats.  And then they'll shriek "how can this be?!"
So, what am I going to do on my day off?  Lots of little stuff.  Ride bike, of course.  I got 11.1 miles in yesterday.  I find that I'm not as sluggish if I ride.  Those 2 weeks when I was trying to do that 5 rides a week challenge screwed up my schedule for a bit.  You only needed 15 minutes a day.  That doesn't work for me.  I need to get between 45 and 50 minutes a day.
The Idiot Jerk in the White House had his Henchies throw a whine-a-thon yesterday.  Sadly, neither Stevie, nor Lindsay, nor Jimmy Jordan.  Jimmy had to deal with Jake Tapper.   Jimmy ended up his Crazy Christian head slapped silly.  And the rumor's going around Mickey Mulvaney's job might be in the shitter because he didn't have a working plan to deal with... impeachment.  This administration, this political party, is so out of touch with America.  They don't understand that the first big step towards making America great again is to impeach the Idiot Jerk in the White House.