Zero Accountability

Today is supposed to be a carbon copy of yesterday, same temps, same humidity, but a greater chanced for showers and thunderstorms.  In fact, we have light rain as I type we have very light rain.  supposedly the sun is going to shine down on and off until the storms arrive.  I work today, so it doesn't bother me.

I worked yesterday and was schedule to sit for an hour at the dreaded Lead Table, however when I got to the store I discovered that some not too brilliant mind had decided that setting up a dunk tank in the parking lot would be better.  If you're at a festival where there are thousands of people dunk tanks can draw a small crowd.  There were not thousands of people shopping our store yesterday.  This is my way of telling that in my brief time at standing under the canopy offering customers free hotdogs only one customer attempted to dunk the associate in the tank.  And my time there was brief.  Ten minutes after I took up my position, I glanced to western horizon, pulled out my phone to check the weather radar, and then turned to the manager on duty and said, "the storms should be here in about 10 minutes."  We spent that 10 minutes packing things up and moving them inside until the storm had passed.  

Except for a decent upper body workout, everything was same old, same old.  I made teriyaki beef to take to work for lunch, so I over ate pancakes and sausages as well as the beef.  They're serving breakfast all day again today, so I won't need to take in lunch.  That's nice.

This made me laugh.

Orangie is still in Scotland, hoping that the Epstein scandal will disappear.  It won't.  People are pointing out that his Department of Justice meeting in secret with Ghislaine Maxwell reeks of corruption.

Oh, and speaking of corruption, how about Ryan Walters, the Christian Nationalist from Oklahoma getting caught watching porn on a TV during a meeting.  Ryan's the guy running the department of education in Oklahoma, the one who wanted to put one of Orangie's Chinese made bibles in every classroom of the state.  One of the witnesses said the porn he was watching involved naked women and an examining table, so maybe Ryan would rather be playing doctor.  Sadly, we all know that Ryan will probably make a tearful, public appearance, possibly with his wife, and announce that he has asked God for forgiveness, and everything will be hunky dory with Jesus.  One of the reasons for the Great Dechurching effecting Christianity is that it has become a religion with Zero Accountability.

Sunshine

 Sunshine!  At last, what a shame I have to do to work today.  Unfortunately, I took a personal day yesterday when it was cloudy and drizzly because... well, it was cloudy and drizzly.  If you live in Central PA, you know what I'm talking about.  I know this is all part of the transition into summer, but this past winter was gloomy, too, warmer than usual, but not a lot of sunshine.

Yesterday was a good day for getting things accomplished.  Much was done, and still, there is much left to do.  Now that it's sunny, I feel as though I need to grab my weed wacker and wack away at the tall grass, but that will probably wait until tomorrow when it's only supposed to be partly sunny.  There are other chores needing to be done today.  The living room area rug arrived yesterday, so I want to get that laid down today.  That will entail moving furniture.  I also want to get in either a dumbbell workout and some time on the treadmill.  I got a bike ride in yesterday, not as long, but with more gusto and a higher wattage in order to burn just as many calories.  Yes, that's right, for those who don't know, your energy output is measured in wattage.  A higher wattage means a better workout.

I did have breakfast with my brother this morning. He and his wife have just returned from Scotland.  I asked him if he bought a kilt, and he admitted buying one, but hadn't worn it yet.  He did tell me that in spite of what some might think, kilts are quite masculine.  If had the legs, I'd buy one.

And I borrowed this from social media yesterday.

Of course, everyone seems to be talking about the debates, 2 of them, without an audience.  Oooh, that's not good for the Morale Degenerate Trump, he loves him his cultists noising it up when he burbles up some lie.  However, that's not going to happen.  There's not going to be a small crowd of Cracker Jack crazies to whom he turn and mug.  Personally, even though he has agreed to the debates, I wouldn't doubt if talks fall apart because his team knows he might suddenly start ranting about... oh, say Hannibal Lecter. Every day it seems as if another four or five clips are added of him meandering off topic to brag about... oh, water for instance rather than speak about a coherent subject.  Somehow, I don't think he has a lot of sunshine on his shoulders these days.

Dullards

 Today we hit the 60s (F) which is alright by me.  Partially sunny.  That's nice, too.  Tomorrow are temps are predicted to be even warmer.  By Wednesday, they're supposed to be in the upper 70s (F).  However, there's always a cool down, isn't there.  Thursday the showers are going to be moving back into the picture.  I suspect that on Wednesday I'm going to have to get out my trusty little lawn mower and give the grass a buzz cut.

Yesterday business was slow.  I managed to get 3 measures, though one was arranged by the Specialty Manager and he had me mark it down.  I'm not wild about giving free measures.  To me it smacks of desperation.  While the measure happens on Tuesday, the installation, if the couple buy it, will not happen until sometime in early June.  It's my experience that when the time between the measure and the install is that great, the customer is going to use the measure quote and shop around.  This means the free measure generates business for someone else.  I did point this out to the Specialty Manager, and he knows, if this does happen, I will point it out again.

So my brother texted me some pictures he'd taken in Scotland.  In 2 of them the skies are clear and sunny.  That is not always the case over there.  It is spring, after all.  He did say that it's very, very, very windy.  Anyway, here's one.

The Moral Degenerate posted some sort of hate video on his Truth Social account yesterday and, of course, dullards copied it and posted it on Threads and Musk's social website, the one formerly known as Twitter, but now understood to be known as "going bankrupt."  A number of these dullards reposted it as a warning, saying we should watch the evil.  They did so without understanding they are playing right into his tiny, evil hands.  This is what he wants them to do.  This is how he spreads his evil, since no one in their right mind follows Truth Social.  I even saw some of these dullards asking that the video be reposted so that as many people as possible get a chance to see his malignancy.  Again, this is just what he wants.  So, why do these dullards repost this crap?  Mostly, I suspect, it's because their little pea brains want to see how many people repost.  By now, everybody in America knows how malignant the Orange Anus is, there's no need to help him spread his hatred.  So, if you're on social media and you come across this, or other videos of Trump, do not share them.  Do not repost them.  You can bet his black heart is desperately counting the times it does get shared.  Do not feed his ego.

Tailgate Party, anyone?

 The sun is out!  Well, on and off, so I suppose you'd say we have semi-partial sunshine.  There's also a lot of fog, thick, like you see in the movies when needs to hide in it.  Temps today are only going to climb into the low 50s (F), but the flood warnings will now end tomorrow rather than on Saturday.

And I did get water in my basement again.  Not much.  Not deep enough to float things, and it's pretty much all drained out, leaving large patches where the floor is now dry.  

I'd had a bag of very old grass seed that I spread across the bare patches in my lawn hoping it would grow.  Well, that didn't happen.  Too old.  So this morning I'll drive over to the store and pick up another bag, something that's dog friendly for when the next beastie arrives.  Don't ask me what breed yet, I haven't made up my mind (many are tossing out suggestions).  Boxers are out.  I don't have any luck with them.  Though the Von Trapp Family Boxers will remain in the books. 

My brother leaves for Scotland today.  He and his wife are very excited.  This will be their first adventure in Europe.  I told him not to drink too much Scotch.  Though, if he wants, he can bring me back a big hunk of smoked salmon; one of my favorites.

I'm sure most of you have heard about the picture the Moral Degenerate posted on his Truth Social account with Biden in the back the a pickup truck.  Well, Occupy Democrats have their own version.  I don't think they'd have much of a problem if this was copied and posted across social media.

One of things I do wish media outlets would stop doing is listing polls.  We all know their fake, yet we are bombarded daily with results that are derived from a small number of people who keep their beliefs and feelings as secret as the ballots we love in this country.  During this primary season, a better gauge as to how America feels about our presidential candidates is to look at the voting trends.  For example, if Biden wins 89% of the vote in a Red State, that's good.  However, Trump wins 56% in a Red State, and 20% of the registered Republican voters cast their ballots for Nikki Haley, that's not good for Trump.  I'm sure the fact that in these Red States DeSantis, Rammiswammy (sp), and Haley are all taking votes from the Orange Anus should be extremely troubling for the Republican party.  These are the essential voters they need.  Without them, there is no victory dance, not that there ever was going to be one.

The Swedish Fish Incident

 Well, yesterday it rained and it was torturously slow.  Rain has that effect.  Not that it was continuous, but the day seemed to have been pulled from the March calendar rather than the May calendar.  There was a constant breeze, and the temps hung around in the low 50s (F).  Today and tomorrow are going to be repeats.  

I did manage to get a measure for blinds.  That should keep management happy for a bit, though not for long.  Thanks to the stormy weather over the weekend, only 1 store made plan in the district.  They don't like.  

So, I started playing Redfall last evening.  It's a new Bethesda game, with a free download on the xbox Series X because Bethesda is now owned by Microsoft.  I spent a very fast 2 hours killing in the town of Redfall, which has been taken over by vampires.  So far it's fun, of course there have been other games that started off great and ended up not holding my interest long enough to finish them.

I was thinking about the Swedish Fish Incident this morning, debating whether or not I should tell a friend.  What is the Swedish Fish Incident?  Eighteen years ago, when I was working for International Paper, there was a woman who I occasionally chatted with on my rounds through Payables who kept a bowl of candy on her desk.  One day, she switched from jelly beans to Swedish Fish.  I like Swedish Fish, so, like everybody else, I ate a few during my morning chat.  A few days later, during our chat, I had a few more.  Like several other people in the department, I thought it would be a nice gesture to give her $5 to help compensate her since I was eating the candy.  This went on for 2 months until a manager knocked on my door, asking to speak to me.  He set $5 on my desk and told me this woman did not want me eating any of her candy.  Rather than do it herself, she had a manager tell me.  He told me that she just didn't like me.  She had no problem talking business, but did not want me talking to her otherwise.  That's one of those memories that sticks with you.  This white, supposedly Christian conservative woman didn't have the guts to hurt my feelings to my face.  She went so far as to tell people she was quite happy with herself for handling the situation in this manner.  Just think about it.

And Trump is in Scotland.  There's a lot of chatter about his decision to leave the country so close the end of his rape trial, with many people noting Scotland is just a hop, skip, or a jump away from a country which doesn't extradite criminals to the United States.  Would the Orange Anus do something so unscrupulous?  Do I need to ask?

Does anyone know if Ronnie D is back in the US?  I know he was racking up bad reviews in Europe for a while.  This man wants the world to see him as presidential and really all he's doing is proving just how much of a wallflower he happens to be.  He excites no one.  I don't know if he actually met any world leaders.  For all I know, the only people he met who were in power were underlings just like him.

Getting it Right

 Just think, for most of you this is the beginning of your work week.  For me?  This is my Hump Day.

Yesterday was moderately busy in the morning, but slow in the afternoon.  Mother's Day, remember.  One of those holidays blown way out of proportion by Hallmark as a way to increase their revenue.  Not that I'm against having a day to recognize what mother's do, but now every business in the world sees it as a way of making $$$$.  I can remember when a simple card would suffice.  Those days are long gone.

Update on the angelfish eggs.  One is left, the rest have all been... eaten.  They began turning white, which indicates a fungus.  The parent fish are supposed to eat them when this happens to keep the fungus from spreading.  Mine pair didn't.  At least not until about half of them were white.  When I checked the tank this morning, there was a sole egg hanging on the side of the tank.  Of course, I've been educating myself on breeding angelfish and one sentence gets repeated over and over again:  it may take them several attempts to get the process right.  Just like people, except, from my working in retail I can tell you that some never get it right.

Playing Assassin's Creed, Valhalla, I was surprised at the depiction of so many Roman ruins left in the UK circa 875 AD.  For some reason, I had always thought there were nothing but wood structures and forts.  I was wrong.  They have uncovered the remains of Roman baths in York.  London, itself, was large enough to have a colosseum made of brick and stone that could seat 6,000.  This was not some tiny out of the way colony.  Here's some more info at Historic UK.

Remains of the London Colosseum

I saw this on NBC news yesterday, Larry Hogan, on Meet the Press, has said the GOP has turned into a circular firing squad.  Funny, eh?  This is because over the years, the Republicans have been constantly backing themselves into a tighter and tighter corner.  They celebrated Loser #45, without knowing he is nothing more than the shrieking voice of the minority.  Their numbers decrease.  They are aiming at every one who doesn't kiss his ass.  Oh, well.

And, finally, Scotland seems to be once again moving towards independence from the UK.  Good for them!

Wow moments

 Thursday morning.  Showers and rain are in the forecast.  The dogs came in after their first pee of the day a little drizzled, not enough for them wanting to be towel dried.  They love being towel dried, even if the sun is shining overhead.

I had 2 nice sales, one from a gentlemen who said, "they just deposited the money in our bank," and another from a woman who said "thank you, Joe."  Both had debit cards, and both had limits as to how much they could spend, which meant using 2 different cards, making the payment process a smidgen more difficult.  Not much.  I said to the woman, "quite a few people are doing with those checks what they're supposed to be doing," and she smiled... and smiled... and smiled.  Wow!

Guess what I bought myself:

I mean, I've been writing about a murder in Scotland, and there is a bit of piping in the book.  I found out last evening I have to practice standing up.  The dogs love it.  Every time I pipe a note they have a Wow! moment.  Besides, if I'm halfway good, I might actually buy a set of pipes... maybe even a kilt, and not because I want to adjust my sporran in public.

I saw where the Republican Attorney General from Ohio has sued to block some of the stimulus package.  I glanced at his complaint briefly.  Something to do with the money going to the states and the specificity of how the monies are used.  Really, all you need to know is that he's a Republican and as such his main complaint is not constitutionality, rather he's trying to blunt the popularity of the stimulus packaged.  His job is on the line.  There are, I believe, 17 other Republican run states that are also complaining.  The want to infuse the idea among their constituents this is one horrible package for the sole purpose of tampering down the popularity.  This package is horrifying them.  The might loose control.  Believe me, if they think this is horrifying, they should hear me practicing on my chanter.  Wow!

Tick, Tick, Tick

 Can we talk about personal accomplishments?  Jeez!  Yesterday was:  aquarium? (check), laundry? (check), bike ride? (check), groceries? (check) dog walk? (check), bike ride? (check), haircut? (check). 

 About the bike ride?  A really super great improvement Garmin has initiated in their Tacx software is the ability for you to create your own route.  That's right.  Now you can break up a 40 mile ride into what ever lengths you want.  The video starts where you want it to start, and ends where you want it to end.  Now you can create fresh, new rides where ever you want!  

As for The Body in the Loch?  I'm rapidly approaching the denouement, a little chapter called 'All Knives Can Kill.'  

And, of course, I do have to go back to work today.  Can you feel my excitement?  These are the doldrum weeks, those days when you decide to take a vacation because there are better things to do then sit at a flooring desk.  The aisles are fairly empty and the slow ticking of boring seconds can be a monumental weight.  True, there are worse things then being bored, but reminding yourself of this fact while you're checking the time every three minutes as you wait for your shift to end is always difficult in what seems to be one of the most difficult times of your life.  Will it ever end?

There is also what seems to be the eternal wait until the Congressional vote tomorrow brings some finality to the 2020 election.  I have to remind you that does not mean this is going to end.  Sometimes putting the final nail in the coffin is just not enough.  We will still have to deal with the zombies for some time to come...

though I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few of them attempt to follow him as he relocates to... well, right now Scotland seems to be his point of entry into Europe. Don't expect him to stay there.  Damn, those men in kilts will stomp his wannabe tinfoil dictator's ass into smithereens.    

Using Nazi Tactics

Oh, my, it's Thursday.  They're forecasting hot and humid (upper 80's F) and possibly more thunderstorms.  We had one late yesterday morning while I was at work, but last evening they all skirted around Enola.  There was thunder in all compass directions but never any overhead.

The VA gave me an excuse and an offer.  The excuse: last summer 2 Optometrists quit at the Cumberland Valley facility and they chose not to replace them thinking patients would move to Civilian Providers.  The offer: to start the paperwork letting me move to a Civilian Provider while allowing me to keep my VA pricing benefit.  I said:  Start the Paperwork.  This is evidently what they wanted to happen, however they failed in their promulgation of this information to Veterans.  My PCP hasn't changed, just the eye work.

A Big Thanks!! to my Readers for giving my books Good Reviews.  I haven't figured out how to shoot off fireworks around photos yet on the new version of Blogger so words will have to do for now.

I have the Central Air on because the humidity is already wretchedly high.

Last evening I spent some time with Nick Baker learning about the forests of Scotland.

The setting for Dun Adair is important.  At first I thought of locating the castle in the Upland Oakwoods.  I found something about the Pedunculate Oak intriguing.  In the end, I chose the Wet Woodlands since they surround Lochs.  Now my characters will be moving beneath Alder, Downy Birch, and Willow trees, and... of course, in the Wet Woodlands there is... fog.

By now everybody's read, or heard what Mad Dog Mattis has to say about the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  That shrieking sound you might be hearing is every molecule of air rushing out of Republican lungs at a high rate of speed.  I liked the bit where he said this president is using Nazi tactics to divide America.  Can you hear those Republican screams?  They're growing louder daily.  Wisely, Mattis did not specifically call him a Nazi.  That would be an instant failure since no one can be as bad as Hitler.  He did, however, use the term Nazi Tactics.  This administration has just lurched into a death spiral.  The stampede will begin shortly.  

Moments of Infamy

Sunday is Fun day in the wonderful land of Covid 19.  Especially when you work in retail.  Though I must admit yesterday was a real corker.  Instead of being drizzly, the weather grew warm and sunny, and the line at our front entrance stretched.  Customers didn't mind, however, because the weather was nice.  To be honest, I don't think many of them were believing the radiant sunshine gracing their skin was killing the coronavirus.
Our blue competitor, located barely 1/2 mile away, chose to eliminate restrictions on the number of customers allowed in the store.  As a result, they ended up with a zoo of confusion.  I know this because we had customers complaining of how their aisles were so crowded you could barely walk.  Limiting your shoppers turns out to be a blessing for crowd control.  Believe me, 100 people in our store is still a lot, but you're not packed in like sardines. 
Speaking of sardines, I've been spending some time learning about smoked salmon, not Nova, mind you, that comes from Newfoundland.  I'm talking about the smoked salmon which comes from Scotland.  There's hot smoked, and cold smoked, wild caught or farmed from a loch, and all very interesting and rather mysterious in a way.

And, just in case you thought you missed the Idiot Jerk's daily coronavirus briefing yesterday, don't worry, you didn't.  There was none.  I understand there is the distinct possibility that again, today, a briefing may not be in the offing.  Can anyone truly imagine the nightmare that is roiling through the administration after the disinfectant shit show?  As I've said before, there are presidential moments which guarantee our Commander in Chief will be re-elected.  By the same token, there are similar moments which telegraph a failed bid for re-election.  These are moments of infamy which will live forever in the annals of time.  George H. Bush had his moment at a banquet table while attending a State Dinner in Japan.  Remember how he leaned forward and puked up something repulsive onto his dinner plate before almost passing out?    Everybody in the world watched him puking over and over again.  That moment sealed his fate.  The Idiot Jerk had his Moment of Infamy when he asked if doctors were working on a way to inject poisonous disinfectant into the blood stream to kill the coronavirus.  Standing there, ready for his close-up (Mr. DeMille), he proved without a doubt how unfit he was to be president.  Everybody in the world watched him, over and over and over again. And then they looked at each other and said "what a fucking asshole."
 

About your Johnson

Today is anything but your normal Friday.  For one thing, I am pleased to say that today really is my Friday.  I'm off for 4 days.  After that mini-vaca, my Friday will be on Sunday for 3 weeks.  I can deal with 40 hour work weeks as long as I get my consecutive days off, the fact that my schedule is fixed for the next three weeks is the cherry on the top.
Today is also Brexit day.  (Sigh)  Many Britons believed Bobo Johnson when he said their lives were going to be better.  Jobs they saw as being unfairly held by foreigners will move back to the continent as corporations move to a more safer financial environment.  Oops. Prices and unemployment are going to go up.  Washington does not see them as equal partners and as such will offer them a trade deal which will hit them below the belt.  Scotland will probably vote for independence and will probably rejoin the EU.  Life in the UK is going to change.  Bobo Johnson is wrong.  Here's a bit of slang for my readers around the world.  In America, your johnson is another name for your dick.  This quite accurately describes Bobo... and this is what he's going to do to the UK.

Today is also the day in which the Republican controlled Senate is castrate the impeachment process.  It's the only way they can keep their tinfoil dictator in power.  I saw where Collins says she will vote for witnesses.  You can be Moscow Mitch approves of this; he desperately wants her ass re-elected.  This is not going to help her.  When November rolls around, Susie's going to hear the snip, snip, snip of the voting public as they shear her from her position.
And just one final musing, a lot of Evangelicals feel the 10 Commandments should be not only posted in classrooms, but in every place the public gathers.  If that ever happens, they're going to have to snip, snip, snip and edit, unless they decided to just borrow the Idiot Jerk's sharpie and draw and line through 'Thou shalt not bear false witness.'  hhhmm.  Actually, I think the sharpie's the way to go.

Tread on Me

Sometimes the stars do align!  On my work calendar... today is my Friday!!  Of course our weather forecasters are calling for a drizzly wizzly weekend. 
My first book on Scotland arrives today:

A friend asked me "will Eli and Max be wearing kilts in their new adventure?"  Honestly, I hadn't given the idea much thought, though I have to admit having them wear woolly tartans is rather appealing.
Two nights ago Biggie had an issue with the stairs.  He made it about halfway up before his foot slipped and he went bangity bang down them.  Scared the crap out of me.  He was fine, but I realized I needed to tack down something to make them less slippery.  So last evening, rather than ride my bike, I laid down stair treads.  And, of course, neither dog wanted to walk on them.  Lily kept her paws off them, using bare stair to either the left or right.  Biggie simply refused... until I stood at the top waving a biscuit.  You'd have thought I was waving a sirloin steak.  Two days from now, neither will know those treads are even there.
And I guess our government is warning civilians to leave Iraq.  All because of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  And in this country, farmers in the mid-west planted corn rather than soybeans because of the Idiot Jerk's tariffs... and there were a lot of failures.  The Republican party is preparing to devour itself.  That's life.  Perhaps if they hadn't so desperately wanted to rule the world.  Karma is coming.  It is going to be really ugly.

Fresh start

I get to go back to work today.  The thrill of excitement is not rippling up and down my spine.  The next 2 months are going to be fairly slow.  It's a seasonal thing.
I did make pork and sauerkraut yesterday.  Traditional thing, you know?  It's supposed to be good luck which is a bit amusing. You see, there really is no such thing as luck, merely Probability.  This is a difficult conception for some, since they want to attribute events in their lives to either good luck, or bad luck.  Everything can be explained by mathematics.  Unfortunately, most of us don't like math.  I, personally, detest it.  I find the whole science illogical.  When I was in college I took a math course, I thought it would be easy credits.  Wrong.  I ended up taking it pass / fail, which meant I got credits but all I had to do was pass the damn thing.  Why did I have so much trouble?  My mind moves illogically.  I will be the first to admit that.  I should investigate, but I suspect this is a problem for people with a creative bent.
And, of course, yesterday being the first day of the New Year, I had to go for my first ride.  I use Rouvy training software.  And since it was the first day... of the New Year, the zeroed all of my last year's stats.

It's a little difficult to see, but they have given me a Fresh Start.
And since I've developed this interest in Scotland, I thought I'd ride through Mennock Pass.  Even though the ride is only 7.37 miles long, you climb over 1000 feet. 

And, as usual, there are dots on the map to indicate certain highlights.  In Greece it was deer running across the road.  On Mennock Pass it was a herd of sheep.  As I approached, one guy in particular chose to cross the road.

Unfortunately, he had already crossed the road by the time I grabbed my phone to take a pic.  Anyway, I now have stats for 2020.

As I said, a Fresh Start.

Welcome to 2020

Welcome to 2020.  We are entering a very visible year, filled with foresight, and hindsight.  This is the year we begin to see clearly... you know?  2020 vision.  For some of us, this is going to be a very good year.  For other, like the Idiot Jerk in the White House, this will be the worst year of their lives.  This is the year when we will get to see the true effects of Karma. 
As for me?  I slept in this morning.  Mostly because this is my first day off after working 6 in a row.  I get to go back to work tomorrow.  And I'll be back in the store again on Friday, but then I get 3 off in a row.  In fact, my schedule for the next 2 weeks isn't bad... but then I crash into another 6 day stretch.  I really hate those long weeks.  I will have to endure them for another year... until my car is paid off.  After that, I'm thinking of cutting back on my hours.
Now that we're in a New Year, I've decided to set a goal for myself in cycling - to ride over 2,000 miles.  That means 800 more than I did last your.  This, I think, is very do-able.  A challenge for me would be 2,500...  so maybe I set that as my goal. 
A couple of books on Scotland have been ordered - for research purposes.  I like doing research.  The moment I stop filling my head with information will be a sad day, indeed. 
I'm still getting flowers on my Christmas Cactus. 

There are at least more buds waiting to open.

The Von Traps in Scotland

It's Sunday and I'm sleeping in.  By the end of this weekend the final draft for The Body in the Well will be finished  - at least the first draft.
Being the creative persons I am, the next book is already taking shape..  Without giving too much away, 2 things are important:  This song.

 and the fact that people lie.  And, of course, the it might be subtitled "The Von Traps go to Scotland
And while it might be violent, it might not be as bad as this:

So, yes, after the Body in the Well is published I may have to go to Scotland to resource The boy by the Cairn.

Ain't Christmas just Dandy!

Just a note on the Brexit thing

When I woke up this morning I had what seemed like thousands of notifications from the news sources I read detailing the UK's decision to leave the EU.  The headlines were amazing in that none of them were positive.  I liked the one about Billions wiped out, which doesn't mean that money is not going to come, it's just that this might not be a good year to retire.
I saw that Trump flew to Scotland and tweeted some sort of nonsense about England making itself great again.  We'll have to wait and see on that, won't we?  He's bad news in the US.  The presumptive Republican nominee for President has poll figures in the cesspool.  Anytime he's speaking, he needs to read from a teleprompter in order to keep from verbally shitting in his pants.  I can only wonder what turds of stupidity will fall from his lips while in Scotland.  The Scots, by the way, voted against Brexit.  They've been pulling away from the UK for years, so this might be the thing which permanently separates them.  Wouldn't it be funny if Scotland broke away from the UK and rejoined the EU.

Anyway, we're in a waiting game right now, not about the global markets, but about the British Pound.  Will the world stomp it into the ground, or will the world let it come back.  Time will tell.