Martyrdom

 Well, it's a beautiful Saturday morning and, as usual, I'm going to go to work this afternoon.  I'm not expecting it to be busy.  Memorial Day is done.  Because temps are going to be staying in the low 80s (F), those who want to, will be doing outdoorsy things.  Those who don't will most likely be watching baseball.  

I am hoping that the customer who was measured for 21 blinds has stopped in at the store to get them designed.  There are all sorts of complicated things with that measure.  They want a blind, or shade, for an arched window, several sliding doors, and at least 2 faux shelves for two of the windows.  These are things I rarely design at this point in my career, don't want to become overly familiar with.  The associate we have who's an expert with blinds and shades is on vacation until Thursday.  I'm hoping they decide to wait for him.  They were measured in April, so I'm hoping that another week or two wont be too much of a problem for them.

Rather than ride the bike today, I'm going to go for a row, just to change things up.

I've also been sending out the teaser for The Body on the Lawn to selective people, and the response has been very good.

And I snapped a pic of one of my red roses yesterday.  There are 2 buds next to it waiting to bloom.  I love this color.

And I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I find it truly delightful to know that Steve Bannon is finally going to jail.  There are complaints about how long he has until he has to report to the "Big House."  I'm wondering if he'll even show up.  His nature is to be combative and noncompliant. He's a loud mouth who seems to believe his fat gives him authority.  It doesn't.  If he does show up, he'll be in jail up to the election, though I'm of the opinion he would rather become a fugitive from the law.  Martyrdom has too little honor for Stevie.

Biggie's Rose

 Well, can we say hello to a brand new Monday.  For me, it is also a brand new world, sort of, now that Biggie's gone... except he isn't.  I have pictures of him on the wall.  He and Lily are the wallpaper on my phone and my computer, and he's going to stay there.  I have a problem with people who lose a friend and then surgically removed as much evidence of that life because it makes them feel uncomfortable or makes them sad.  So, Biggie may be gone, but he will always remain.

I'd like to thank everyone who commented or who sent me an email.  Your condolences were all greatly appreciated.  The outpouring of sympathy here and on Facebook took me completely by surprise and at times was a bit overwhelming.  

On Friday morning, while I was waiting for Companions of Peace to arrive and take Biggie for his last ride, I saw the first bloom of the year on one of my rosebushes.  I promptly dubbed it Biggie's Rose.

People have been asking me if I'm going to get another dog and so far I've been steadfastly telling them no.  I do want to travel.  However, since everybody knows I'm going to live to be 100, I don't think I can completely rule out that possibility.

Around the world, there were elections in Thailand in which the opposition lost massively.  What did they think was going to happen?  That the people were going to vote of a military dictatorship?

And in Turkey, Erdogan is hanging by a thread.  That makes Moscow upset.  Hopefully, someone's going to have a sharp enough blade to send crashing into defeat. 

Blessed

 So, I ended up sleeping in late again this morning... and I went to bed early, no staying up watching mult-episode series on Netflix or Amazon Prime.  I did go for a 12.5 mile ride yesterday.  Since my treadmill is now dysfunctional, I'm back to riding more.

I also baked another loaf of Italian bread.  Why buy when you can bake?  I'm using the Italian yeast I bought during the lockdown, when you couldn't buy yeast in the store.  It works great!

And what about my title this morning?  Blessed.  In case some of you are wondering, I have not found that 'old time religion.'  But yesterday morning, when I returned home from grocery shopping, I paused to look at that rose climber I planted by my front porch.  It took 3 years, but it's bloom like Hell.  Then, one rose caught my eye.  Wow, I said, that one looks different.  Can you see what makes this rose special?

One rose with 2 buds

Now, isn't that a Blessing?

Back on Sunday, before going to work, I'd been look for restock dates for the Xbox Series X gaming console.  They're rare because of the chip shortage.  There are certain retailers I usually shop, Walmart is not one of them.  But on Sunday, I went to their website.  Wow!  They were in stock!  So I loaded that sucker into my cart, put in my credit card info, and pressed 'buy.'  A few seconds later I received this message:  "Sorry, we are now out of stock.  This item has been put into your 'save for later' file."  Honestly, I wasn't that upset since I know I'm going to buy one eventually.  Well, this morning I check my email and there's a notification from FedEx that my purchase from Walmart.com is out for delivery.  it should be here before 3 PM.  I have to wait and see just what it is they deliver.  Could it be Walmart made a mistake?  There is no charge on my credit card.  Son of a bitch!  I might really be Blessed.

I saw where a portion of the memo as to why Liar #45 was released, the meat and potatoes section being redacted.  We all know this was done to keep the Justice Department under Billy Barr was as corrupt as the phony president in the White House.