When you hit middle age you really only have two choices: you can get fat and lazy until you roll over and die, or you can can get off your ass and do something, like maybe ride a bike.
Bluntness
I've also been told I have little tact, so if this offends you simply ride on.
Well, here it is, Hump Day, or, as I like to call it, the middle of the week. The weather is almost glorious. Temps are going to be up into the mid 70s (F) again today, and tomorrow as well. Sunshine is abounding. We have the same forecast for tomorrow, and... damn, I have to work. That means I'll need to get more yardwork done today. Of course, there's always Friday.
An yesterday was a good day. Much was done, including a mowing of the verge, that's my lawn. Two loads of laundry were washed and hung out on my drying rack to dry. I planted the bean sprouts and Howie immediately dug 3 of them up. He finds running around with them in his mouth quate enjoyable for some reason. He's back to eating his dogfood. This is a good thing.
New neighbors moved into the big apartment on the hill to my right, Cathy and John. They are in their mid 50s and so far seem nice. Chatty. She likes to sit on their deck and talk on the phone, loudly. This means I can hear her conversations. Yesterday she was talking to her mom about meds. They spent at least 5 minutes talking about Dristan, though they never mentioned if they meant the pills or the nasal spray. Evidently her father, who seems to have died, preferred Dristan to everything else.
And my box of Josh Cellars wine arrived yesterday. Someone asked me if Eli and Max would drink this wine. The answer is most definitely.
In case you have heard yet, the Orange Anus is going to substantially drop the tariffs against China. That's right, obviously the Art of the Deal for him is caving. I guess he must not have been holding the right cards. Is it me, or does it seem as though he's been doing that a lot here lately? Remember how he was going to broker a truce in the Ukraine on day one? Now? This phony is pulling out of the negotiations, probably because no one kissed his ass the way he'd been expecting.
Isn't it interesting how the Pope died and suddenly the movie Conclave has become extremely popular? I saw it in the theater and was hoping it would win the Oscar for best film.
And, in case you missed it, Bimbo Bondi held a press conference regarding the Bias Against Christianity bone Trump is throwing to the Evangelicals. Probably her least surprising statement was that the FBI was investigating several Catholic parishes because "there's so much crime there." If you remember back when this Christianity hokey pokey was announced, I said they'd go after the Catholics. I'm wondering how Sammy Alito's feeling now that they're pissing in his own, personal cup of wine?
It was 49 (F) this morning when I got up to let Howie out, that was a little after 0500. We did have rain yesterday, almost half of an inch. It was so necessary. Things are so dry here. They're predicting more on Thursday, though not as much. Temps are supposed to climb into the 60s (F), though highs for the rest of the week are only supposed to be in the 50s (F). That's fine with me, as long as we get more rain.
And, knocking on wood, Howie has been good about his potty-outsides. There have been a few accidents, but he'll continue to improve. He's a good puppy, now, if only he didn't view me as a chew toy. I ordered him some more toys. I also bought 5 bags of top-soil yesterday. Lily and Seig (mostly Lily) killed off most of the grass in my back yard, so I bought a truckload of pea gravel to spread around. It looked fine and kept the dust down. Howie likes to chew on the pea gravel. He doesn't eat it, just munches on it. Since I don't want to have to go through the expense of having stones surgically removed from his belly, I'm going to be covering the gravel.
I also ordered myself a Garmin Venu 3S to replace my Fenix 6. The Fenix is 4 years old. They normally last about 5, but it has connectivity issues with my phone and my HRM, and it has stopped tracking my sleep. I was going to wait a bit, but most of it is made in China, and in case you didn't know prices are going to be going up. It would cost over $1000 to replace the Fenix (ouchy), and the Venu does everything I did for $375, after my discounts.
And, on my birthday, I went to see Conclave, which is, and I know this sounds odd, a religious thriller. One pope dies, and needs to be replaced and there is much intrigue. The cast is very good. John Lithgow is manipulative. Ralph Fiennes has hidden ambitions. And Isabella Rossellini is a quiet force to be reckoned with. I didn't know if I was going to like it, since it is about Catholicism, but I was pleasantly surprised. There were a number of what I assume were older Catholics in the audience and I wonder what they thought of the story as it developed. There is a really stunning surprise at the end.
And, as I said, I ordered a new smartwatch. Prices are going to be going up. I think that everybody realizes this except Trumpsters. Deporting immigrants, even those in this country legally, is going to reduce the workforce in certain sectors which will effect a majority of Americans. Think produce. The tomatoes, the lettuce, the cucumbers, the melons you like to eat? They are picked by hand and mostly by immigrant hands because no white person would stoop to such labor for minimum wage. This means that in order for that asparagus to be picked, those growers will need to pay higher wages and that increase is going to get passed onto the consumer. Remember, no one ever voluntarily takes a cut in pay, and that applies not only to people, but to businesses, farmers, and corporations. This is what we will be dealing with.
