GETTING WET (August 23/126 or not)

 

BATHROOM BLUES/GREENS. Well after finally being released from bathroom bondage we took 4 whole days off and went to the lake. JP had asked for an extended fishing trip and Grandpa was more than happy to oblige as it's tough to find fishing buddies. Especially when one goes out early and late. JP had no problem with the late nights; it was the early mornings that required several shake, rattle and rolls to get things moving. Grandpa made an elaborate breakfast the first morning for someone who barely had his eyes open and food was the last thing on his agenda. I just shove energy bars and muffins at him for when he's ready to break his fast. I stick to my raisin bran as nothing says regular but my dependable fiber cereals-so sue me. 

FISHING IS ELEMENTAL It hits dark around 9 pm so I am anxiously awaiting JPs call that they're back in the canal. As I wait on the patio, they soon herald their impending arrival with Joe striking a Statue of Liberty pose as he wields the high-wattage spotlight while they pick their way through our neighbors' anchored boats and docks. 'Cause if you're fishing at night the OH does not come back in until the last proverbial "hung is dog". He has GPS so he just follows the little red line. I just think they be crazy. I also think the two of them would have stayed out all night if they could have kept the bugs at bay. However, all the effort did not yield any trophies, so no fish pictures on Facebook. However, they did hook a sizeable bass which resulted in their patented quick catch and release. No not landing it, unhooking it and sliding it gently back in the water. No, the darn thing broke just before netting. Fish tales of the one who got away. They found my confusion hilarious. JP also swears that he hooked the biggest bass he's ever seen off our dock which also did the do-si-do on him but I'll have to take his word for it.

On their downtime we were watching TV when JP chortled as he brought my attention to an "old people commercial". That's anything from the heartbreak of psoriasis to dementia medicine. Ah the callousness of youth.  I had quite a relationship with commercials when I was a kid. I had a whole dance routine for Welch's grape juice; I could do a reasonably accurate rendition of the little girls who claimed, "Mother I can do it myself" and "It's Shake N Bake and I hepped". And I totally memorized the bit "Crest toothpaste has proven to be an effective dentifrice when used in a conscientiously applied program of oral hygiene and regular professional care .....bla bla bla." Mom would have me perform for company. 

Then JP can be the sweetest kid when he whispers, "do you need a chair Nana (I was sitting on a stool as we had company) I can bring one from my bedroom". He also helped Grandpa with the boats plural without being asked. I may be biased, but I think he's pretty cool. I was teasing him about not introducing himself to the second window man I had in for a quote. He immediately stuck his hand out and said, "I'm Joe, nice to meet you". Curses foiled again. 

BUZZING As the "r's" clutch their pearls and commiserate over them cheatin dems, and the orange one supports a graham cracker who claims publicly she knows nothing much about foreign policy -"I'll just trust the president but I want to be a senator" I have to ask one question. If we are so darned good at cheating how the heck did we lose the presidency and congress? I guess logic doesn't enter into it. Meanwhile the USPS is going to withhold mail-in ballots unless states follow the latest illegal marmie maneuver.

BACK TO WHAT PASSES FOR NORMAL Two doctor appointments this week, probably a start-up of bathroom number two, and a podcast recording with an interesting dude I've interviewed three times. The guy who I keep refusing a second interview is going to have kittens. I don't get paid, I don't have a contract and I can interview who I please. Meanwhile my talented daughter is taking a new job next week at DMB at a higher level and it sounds interesting as heck-something to do with IT and security, etc. and a pretty good-sized staff. You go girl.  They'll have to fit it in with Joe's new passion for drums meaning lessons and practices, not to mention our trying to turn him into a bowling maven. As always: Peace Out/Stay Strong/Love Your Neighbor/Eat More Cake/Drive Efficiently/Salute a Vet/Respect a Vet/Don't Plasticize Your Life/Fish be Where You Find' Em  💚  💙💛

OUT WITH AND IN WITH (August 16/127 or not)

LUXURY Well my fancy pants bathroom seems to be completed. Final crazies included the dreaded drywall to cover the original holes from "too tall Tim" as I like to call him. Both the storage cabinet and mirror were just a wee bit too high for my diminutive self. So new holes, new plaster, new clean-up, though he was relatively neater this time. Then the painter comes back to cover the holes and the finger marks and the gouges as they rehung things. In a month or so I probably will not notice the flaws. 

Asked the electrician to rehang the mirror rather than have "too tall" come back for a five-minute job. Though their boss agreed, do not ask one skilled trade to do another skilled trade's work. They are such prima donnas. They grudgingly moved the mirror down one inch though originally, they were asked to move the light down one inch and mirror down two, plus the gouge marks were theirs. Fortunately, the plumbing inspector just said do a video rather waiting for him to come back to be sure the faucets are aimed the right way or something.

With all the new lighting and see-through glass shower doors one feels like they are performing on stage in a porn movie. I see every eyelash when I do make-up and my wrinkles have never looked so amazing. I believe we could guide and possibly land a passenger jet on the house based on the wattage we're currently enjoying. Now the fun part of picking out accessories. The second bathroom should be  proverbial child's play after my spa extravaganza. Though I have under the table asked the painter if she could "sneak" back in and paint the second bathroom ceiling for a modest fee. I could do it, but there are ladders involved, I am very messy and she's amazing-probably a 10-minute job with nary a drip. 

But also, and especially important, we have de-plasticized our life. Well at least the bedroom. No longer the squishy squish across the room. Just the stairs and the landing until the 2nd bathroom is reimagined. I can live with that, well actually I don't really have a choice.

AIN'T IT THE TRUTH?  300 bank accounts closed by Capital One belonging to marmie on suspicion of money laundering, no really? Front page stuff anywhere except when you own the media. See how that bitch move works out for the orange one? 😏

BIRD WARS Must be the time of year, but the finches are fighting a never-ending turf war against the sparrows. The doves are too fat so they just sit on the ground and wait for droppings, of which there are many. At time there are more brown bodies up there than yellow, but the finch brigade regroups and dive bombs the intruders. Seed is for everyone, but the finches are prettier. Meanwhile hummer has decided these dudes have nothing to do with him so he has actually been feeding regardless of the patriot missiles and B-52 action going on next to him. Hard to think it's actually getting on in the season and everybody is filling up the tanks. 

LIFE WITH JP Church dinner week and JP played his designated waiter duties, taking orders and delivering food. He likes to give me the number in different languages-what a tool. He usually chit chats with everyone, not his fault, he's just so charming and they give him gifts like cookies, crocheted potholders and advice. A young Asian gentleman had attended church and heard about the dinner, so he stopped in for food and then insisted on helping. Which was a whole adventure as he did not know a ton of English. But he did whatever he could see needed doing and we tried our best to communicate. I tried to ascertain if he was Lutheran or Christian for that matter and we were not connecting so he finally had me speak into his translator on his phone. He did understand when I asked his name and gave me an Americanized version, sigh. JP was quite impressed that Nana tried to talk to him even though we weren't doing that great at it. But the young man did understand Thank you and You're welcome and we all learned to bow to each other. A lot of courage I think to put yourself out there when you don't know the language that well. 

We finally had some time off from remodel and JP's busy social life to schedule a few days at the lake to fish which he requested early in the summer. Then, of course, he was thrust into some other school projects so he can't come this week. I am sure it will get harder the older he gets, so a little bittersweet.

Just some small changes....

Peace Out/Stay Strong/Love Your Neighbor/Eat More Cake/Drive Efficiently/Salute a Vet/Respect Flannel/Don't Plasticize Your Life 💚💚  💙💛

BLUES & GREENS (August 9/128 or not)

                                                                        

LAPTOP LAPSING OH NO -- Again I lament the loss of IT support as a boomer retiree. My main laptop kept going into sleep mode which should have triggered some mild concern. Only when I was down to 30% power with the beast plugged in did I realize my dilemma. "She not be a'chargin". OMG my life is on that thing. Save to the cloud? What does that mean? Download to something? Back-up to what? S-I-L says the fading laptop will fight and die before giving up your files which seems to be the case whenever the bad/good guys access the perp's laptop after he's bounced it off a 3-story building while in flames. Amazing. However, I do not have that level of expertise.

Quick text to the afore mentioned S-I-L to see if he has an extra cord that might work as we both have Lenovo/Legions. Geek Squad cannot get to me until 4 pm and you need at least 30% power and download everything before you bring it in. I am now at 20% as I kept dinking around with the cord and the previously mentioned download issue. Mr. Pessimist has declared the port is busted so my hopes of a quick fix are doomed. SideNote: being married to a doom and gloomer has its points. I always know the absolute worst that can happen and I am never surprised. Some may find that depressing, but I believe it is liberating not wasting all that time and mental anguish imagining "what if". 

At any rate, my son from another mother came over at lunchtime and sacrificed his own power cord in hopes that was the problem. Worked perfectly and I frantically powered 'er up to 100%. He also "amazoned" me to find a new cord, which, though I loathe bozo they were able to deliver the cord I needed within a couple of hours. Knowing it was his work laptop I made a point of delivering his cord back to him that night...and I was jonesing for a blizzard at Dairy Queen. Now many who order blizzards are treated to the spoon suspended in the treat and the cup presented upside down to show its frozen state. We were in line one time at DQ watching the show in the car ahead when the server got a big surprise as the treat cascaded out of the cup onto the ground and we laughed and laughed. Apparently, they have changed that practice as my "small" was delivered with a cap on it, dripping all over my hand. I had to eat it with a straw. Blizzards are going downhill these days....literally. 

DUMB AND DUMBER - Fun in DC this week as they hold Dr. Fauci in contempt as he was not willing to let Congress dump their failings on him by answering the set-up questions. Led by the dude who says he's a medical doctor based on certification he gave himself from a group that he and his wife created. Oddly enough when repugs were called to testify, they just refused. Dems need to start being bigger bastards when they finally, hopefully, get the com. Second and dumber, the brain-dead senate confirms marmie's lawyer as head of the DOJ. Like he hasn't already proven multiple times he is          1) incompetent; 2) working as the orange one's agent and 3) dishonest. Dumber still are the senators who fell into line. 

Some hope, at least in Michigan. Crazy Perry doesn't move forward in the governor's race, a lot of people in the UP are ok with an American with an odd name moving forward in the Senate race and on a personal level two of my nieces have done their part to make a difference in this country. One niece Theresa Sweet is the Sweet (Sweet vs Devos) who brought the class action suit against the US Dept of Ed for delaying and ignoring repayments to students exploited by predatory colleges; the largest settlement in history at great personal cost to herself. A second niece Abbie Groff Blaszak just won the democratic primary for State Senate in the 29th district in West Michigan. Fingers crossed.  

B-ROOM UPDATE Last Monday was a bit chaotic as the carpenter, house cleaners and the OH's golf partner all had plans to show up at 8 am. All managed their assorted tasks, and no one died. Next was the shower doors being installed. Dude and his son. The old man greets me and says, I thought humorously, "is it downstairs?" No. "Of course," he says. Then he dragged his broken body up the stairs to check the locale and measurements. His son, who actually looked older, seemed to move ok. I know how that doggie feels having my own hip issues though I'm not hauling big ass glass doors. 

But the big news. The counter was installed late Friday-major TA DA. My vision is coming together. I have tried to photograph it, but the richness of the green just does not come through as it does in person. The little streaks of gold will be picked up with plumbing and any accessories I'm picking out.

 Now onto the final plumbing, mirror, lights, fixing the hole over the cabinet, plaster some slashes, etc. etc. Also, to make it fun, we are starting on the other bathroom this week. As so many subs are coming to the house I just tell them to "follow the yellow-brick road". The first thing the contractor did was to plasticize (is that a word?). We have plastic running from the front door up the stairs across the hall and the bedroom right to the bathroom door. Everybody gets it and no one gets lost. But I will be so thrilled when I can walk anywhere without that squish squish squish sound and feeling. 

 Peace Out/Stay Strong/Love Your Neighbor/Eat More Cake/Drive Efficiently/Salute a Vet/Respect Flannel/Don't Plasticize Your Life

                                        

                                                                    

DESTROY/BUILD/HOPE (August 2/129 or not )

RENO JOKE "An Elephant walks into a bar. Renovation ensues". Ta da boom

UPDATE We have floor, we have color, we have a new commode! No more schlepping down the hall tempting a sleepy plunge down the stairs. Accommodation is right across the room. Lit only by the trembling night light, obstacles avoided from a long history of muscle memory, a comforting oasis appears out of the gloom offering solace and comfort in the wee hours. (Oases are usually round). 

This week includes the shower doors being installed and by Friday the fancy cabinet is placed on its lily pad throne. So close....Of course, then we have to start on the second bathroom whose flaws only became apparent as we put it to regular use, sigh. The plumber wants to be sure we have one completely functioning bathroom before he starts working on the next. Vanity is an all-in-one unit, so no waiting for install. They will perform a rip and drop in one day.  

                                                                                                    

I also no longer have a child-proof medicine cabinet. Trim dude installed a massive cabinet over the toilet which is 3 feet tall. I had no idea how big that was really to going to be until I tried to reach the shelves. As I said child-proof, or small adult proof. Only the cyanide, strychnine or any of those skull and crossbones labels on the top shelves. When I asked the contractor if he was going to make a little stool for me to reach the cabinet, he wisely sent his trim dude back to lower it six inches. Which, surprise, revealed a small hole in the wall as he couldn't locate the stud. And gosh he was right there (ta da boom-his joke)!!

 So, a bit more wall repair is in somebody's future-not that any normal sized person could see it. Though anyone who reads this will try to find it if they happen to be in there.  Funny thing when one mentions  mistakes, sometimes that's all some people remember. Years ago, I mentioned our first kitchen redo at work and an unfortunate light placement. When people from the office came over for a party, that's the first thing this one lady looked for. Some folks get off on that, I guess. It wasn't noticeable if I hadn't mentioned it, but there I go again. 

EXHAUSTING Hard to only focus on one thing as the duck boy causes so many distracting crisis's every week. Couple of hits:

    -First Ukraine can make Patriot missiles, now they can't-Russia bombs the proverbial sh-- out of             them.     

    -Major bombing of Iran postponed as they're talking again - but not according to Iran who btw has         attacked an American tanker. Maybe if you hadn't fired everyone who knew anything about fighting     wars you might have the cojones to finish this fight. Now the whole middle east is exploding again.

    -His joke peace group gets Hamas to disarm and "naughty nahoo" bombs Gaza again.

    -The attorney general of choice is not going so well, so he is going to withdraw him, but then he             threatens to go ahead and take billions to pay his allies if Senate doesn't approve. So that agreement       that "mr b" said was withdrawn (not in writing) was really not, what one would call a lie. 

    -Then the persecution of the only man who held the country together in the midst of the worst                 pandemic in 100 years of whom mr. bleach could not rise high enough to polish the good doctor's            shoes. 

As if that wasn't enough, we also needed a swipe at the American people by taking away the Medicare drug subsidy which will raise millions of people's costs because they've supposedly made deals with big Pharma. I blame the media who reports every gas bubble this joker has rather than wait for real conclusive actions. He plays them like a fiddle. Except Kaitlan (just smile) Collins the warrior journalist. Or here's a thought, just report outcomes, results, consequences, not every burp in a midnight rant. 

So, for heaven's sake. Vote like your life depends upon it as it does. Funny how for 240 years we had fair and free elections until a serial liar told us they were rigged and people believed him. Wow. 

PCI I fear I was suffering from premature countertop installation last week thinking they were going to install last week which would have been a miracle. But this week's install is still miraculous according to our contractor. Then the final plumbing can be completed by our Plumber Philosopher. He and I were debating Hinduism and who was the stronger - Shiva or Shila-destroyer vs rebirth. He studied comparative religion in school before following in his father's wet footprints.

I'm always fascinated by people's stories. Though the OH said the plumber sure talks a lot instead of working -lol. My fault as that's how I operated at work as 1) I am truly fascinated by people's contrasts; and 2) worked well when I had to investigate boo-boos (technical term) as they knew I saw them as more than just a worker who screwed up.  My family is going oh yeah-Ms talks too much actually listens?  LOL. 

Helps in the podcasts too as I found out a very strict safety director for a dangerous manufacturing group likes to ice climb in his spare time-you know cheating death on a regular basis; or that a management trainer on leadership helps out the local high school in robot building; or the lithium battery guru is involved in a local fire apparatus museum; and another was instrumental in getting life preservers and "Stop the Bleed" kits at State parks. People are interesting and humble.

JP TIME Enjoyed a couple of days with the grandson last week. Bowling and an overnight where we glommed on popcorn watching Roadhouse 2. Then golf with Grandpa. He then courteously let me watch A League of Their Own. He's such a gentleman. I kind of hate action, violent movies as I feel like the whole world is that way right now. He is sensitive enough to know I need to escape. LOL.  

Peace Out/Stay Strong/Love Your Neighbor/Eat More Cake/Drive Efficiently/Salute a Vet/Respect Flannel/VOTE VOTE VOTE 💙     💚  💙💛

                           

                                                                      

DREAMS OF GREEN (July 26/130 or not)

 TA DA! - first fruits from the garden. They will be followed by increasingly larger offerings as they ripen and mature. I tried to make a clock out of them similar to what the nurse asked me to do at my cognitive testing as well as remembering boy, girl, camera, rat, pedophile, crook, etc. I usually draw a digital clock first for laughs. Not sure how the millennials are going to answer the "draw a clock" question. 

GREEN UPDATE Cabinets installed, countertop measured. This week floor laid and final painting. Now the, unfortunately lonnngggg wait for the countertop to be cut. There was some consternation as the "boys" sorted through the cabinet boxes in the garage as apparently, they can't tell the difference between oyster and a subtle lily pad green. Hence bringing in a piece of the wrong color first. I threw an appropriate fit and attacked their typical masculine brand of "color-blindness". Green, oyster, purple-all the same to them. I suppose I could have waited until they tried to match the wrong pieces to the drawings as obviously, we have time to install and reinstall. Also having to explain that, of course, the fancy matte black pulls and knobs go in the subtle green bath not the common nickel-geez. Good thing I'm here. 

Floor guy is here and again one of the biggest dudes to date. Odd that the plumber and floor guys are big and tall when their jobs require them to be closer to the ground and crawling around. Oh crap, he just asked me if I want the tiles to go long way or short way. Uh Uh,Uh, long. The OH will say he'd rather they went the other way but he's not here so too bad, so sad. I think it will make a small room look longer so all good. 

So much fun when you remodel as little issues pop up. First, it was the shape of the bathroom counter to fit the new larger shower requiring some creative blueprints, then the fan not being vented to the outside, the wall having to be straightened and the water pipes along the wall needing to be wrapped. Now the floor guy says the carpet people didn't put the carpet far enough into the bathroom to match the floor so he had to call his contact to come up with a threshold piece to cover the gap. Best to just not be here and let them figure it out. 

WHEN IS A WAR NOT A WAR? When you want to obfuscate the deaths of four young soldiers who were killed during a "supposed" ceasefire. Which again is another way of stating you are in a war. What an insult to their families that their children's sacrifices are smeared with this stupid attempt not to connect their death to a war. Not being military, even I think I can connect the dots that US bases in the middle east are being attacked and destroyed because a demented dictator and his henchman "had a feeling" and wanted to play with people's lives with an "undeclared" war. 

 

MORE VOTER FUN As if you needed a reason not to vote repub and Mike Rogers in Michigan. He has stated in his campaign if we elect him, he will stop any investigation of Elon Musk-you know the guy who destroyed the federal government, helped the prez cheat on the election and is a billionaire due to bribery, negotiated tax breaks and government contracts. Who the hell does that promise appeal to-Betsy DeVoss? Are we listening Michigan?

BIRD WARS My favorite hummers are still sneaking in when the finch feeder is empty to snatch their sugar water so it's a balancing act between the two species. Then insult to injury, we have a very aggressive male hummer who will not allow the female to drink her share and runs her off if he sees her. So, she makes several recon flights before she scoots in for her drink. She actually uses the perch hoping the male doesn't notice her there on the back of the feeder but is usually dislodged within 30 seconds. The finch-pigs on the other hand are getting more aggressive. If they go a day without seed, their leader bird flies in and hovers at the window. After a quick rest on the shepherd's crook, it then flies and hovers at the window several times in a row.  As soon as the feeder is refilled, the window attacks cease. You would think they were at the bird version of McDonalds and I'm operating drive-up window service. And no doubt as they are young, they are also bitching about the lack of an app for ordering requiring more physical effort to get their order filled. 

We're approaching a hiatus of sorts. If they can finish everything but the countertop, we may be able to finally get to the lake for a few days during the week. JP is wanting a couple of days to fish with Grandpa and we would like to do it before school starts again. Though he does have a busy social schedule.  At any rate, Peace Out/Stay Strong/Love Your Neighbor/Eat More Cake/Drive Efficiently/Salute a Vet/Respect Flannel/ VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT 💚 💙💛

AT HOME AND UNDER CONSTRUCTION (July 20/131 or not)

 

Ok. I didn't lie. I did see the cabinets last week in that beautiful subtle light green I chose. Only issue is they are in boxes in the garage! Wallboard, mudding and sanding took all freakn' week. Monday starts paint and trim and, fingers crossed, Friday for install. Then a lonnggg wait after measuring to get the countertops cut. I do apologize for those (you know who you are-Kristen, Marcie) for that shower you had to use in the other bathroom. That is one tight squeeze. Living through a remodel is much like living out of a suitcase for a couple of months. My clothes are scattered in several places, and I need to get underwear out of the bedroom bureau and be Shit-showered and shaved (well relatively) before 8:00 most mornings. Not a problem as I am usually up before 5 to walk. Then added to my morning ritual is encouraging my fledging grass patch with their own little gentle shower every morning. Meanwhile the rest of our lawn looks like a war was fought and lost resulting in that distinctive scorched earth motif.

VIVA THE DIFFERENCE Someone made a very astute comment. The difference between the two political parties is the dems threw out a popular, viable candidate who was "accused" of sexual assault; the repugs celebrate the guy who just paid 5 million to a woman of whom he was convicted of sexual assault. People either have integrity or they follow the orange king. That's all you need to know. 

Speaking of people getting their rewards. A woman I've known for many years in the construction business just got promoted to Deputy Director of MIOSHA. She came from outside MIOSHA similar to me, and took over as the Head of the CET Division a few years ago and has moved up the ladder. The MIOSHA Director has no qualms picking leaders regardless of gender, race or national origin. The same man who invited me to try out for the head of Construction Enforcement trying to keep me from retiring. How DEI of him-LOL. 

Makes you leery when you see the nutcases running for governor who think it can be run like a business. Snyder and Musk found out, but only after damaging the entire structure during their tenures. Does anybody else have a problem with multi-millionaires donning a vest and saying they're for the regular people? Nope, not buying it either. 

BIRD POWER When is a finch like a pig? When they empty the birdfeeder every other day. I was letting it ride for a day or so on empty when they started approaching the glass with little birdie pleas on their beaks whenever I sit at my laptop in front of the picture window. Geez. Meanwhile the lone hummer only shows up right before dark and takes several sips on the wing before settling down for the night. Apparently, the perch on my feeder is not big enough for their dainty little feet to rest and take their time. Or maybe all the yellow action on the feeder beside them freaks them out. Though I also wonder if the six trees that disappeared across the street affected their preferred habitat.

                                                     

Now I need to get back to the laundry and prepping for the podcast tomorrow morning. Hopefully, the painter doesn't drop any buckets, etc. while I'm recording. Things are so chaotic and there is so much plastic down on the walkway and stairs that I had to cancel the housekeeper meaning I had to wash the floors and am constantly dusting, bummer. It's work zone frenzy time for a while. So, Peace Out/Stay Strong/Love Your Neighbor/Eat More Cake/Drive Efficiently/Salute a Vet/Respect Flannel 💚  💙💛

MELLOW YELLOWING (July 12/132 or not)

AYE AYE CAP'N Learned a new nautical term this weekend. Apparently dropping anchor is relieving oneself and if you're already in the lake so be it.  With great anguish on my part, I chose to wait and drop anchor back at the lake house, properly. LOL.  Or maybe it's because I was wearing pink underwear which would have no way looked like the bikini bottom of a swimsuit and I didn't want to sit in a wet pair of shorts. Oh yes, I suffered. 

Wind was up so trying to anchor to swim proved an interesting challenge and the s-i-l had to push us out at one point as the waves kept pushing us back on shore. We ended up at a 30-foot-deep spot but only put out one anchor which of course kept the boat swirling a 360 every few minutes. All and all a perfect day weather and humidity-wise for our annual family party. JP also caught a decent-sized bass when he and Grandpa went out for a couple of hours Friday night. He had to bring it back in the live well so he could show me, of course, for the inevitable pictures of course. He named him Derrick, of course and he let him go, of course. 

WEATHERLY Speaking of weather, maybe firing half the NOA staff and dismantling all the weather balloons may have an impact on all the interesting weather, damage, flooding and injuries we've been experiencing as "surprise", another storm rolls in quicker than predicted, if predicted at all. Which was especially apparent in the open-air eggs-stravaganza planned by the orange one. CBS who had the exclusive is definitely run by idiots as they scrambled for content for two hours leaving their "folks on the scene" in a lightening-filled storm for two hours. Insult to injury they still had to cover marmie's 11:00 hate speech. Kids had given up on fireworks at that point and went to sleep.

This debacle was followed the next day with an environmental warning for folks to stay inside because no one realized setting off fireworks in 10 hot humid locations around Washington DC would fill the air with smoke for days. Not to mention the trash. Never get tired of winning right and who needs science? When you have a trillionaire who exists on tax breaks and government contracts and a top health dude who swims in sewage running things, what do you expect?

 CANNERY ROW Helping one's neighbor is alive and well. At least at the Grand Ledge Meijer. As we were wheeling our cart full of "a couple of things we actually needed" and everything else, I noticed a young woman with a lot of black plastic bags heading into the store. By gum she almost made it too. While adjusting one of the bags a mass of pop and beer cans and water bottles started pouring out like Niagara. It was fascinating as I kept thinking it'll stop. Nope-they kept coming and coming and coming. Then other bags joined in. Adding to the mass chaos of plastic/aluminum flooding was the fact that it was downhill towards the road from where the explosion occurred. I hesitated, looked at the OH and we both dropped our cart and started chasing the flotsam and jetsam rolling and blocking traffic in the parking lot. I mean it was overwhelming. She must have been collecting for years, ran a frat house or had the most awesome party ever seen. As the three of us were snagging returnable booty and laughing our as--es off, several other people stopped to help as well. Only lost one can as it rolled inevitably to the street. It was too hot and too far so we just wished it luck and waved it goodbye. After thanking everyone the lady made the immortal statement "I guess I should have tied the bags"   You think? 

UPDATE Not much to report. Drywall done, mudding taking three frickn'g days then painting starts this week. So, we may see the much-anticipated cabinets finally making an appearance. Meanwhile a broken window at the lake may require an entirely new window, not just a glass replacement as it is all one unit-sigh.

GARDEN GLORIES We have to admit, the fence "crows" did their job. The OH says there are so many tomatoes coming on we may have to open a roadside stand. Bumper crop this year so a lot of people will be getting little red gifts. He has been waiting for a year like this. Lanscaper came back and reseeded my crop of weeds at no charge, so fingers crossed it works this time. Then a little yellow miracle. I bought some Meijer tulips around Mother's Day, but they looked so crappy we ended up digging the bulbs up and planting them for next year. However, these long green shoots would not be denied. It couldn't be tulips they don't rebloom. So, either there was a stowaway in the tulip patch or it flew into our garden from parts unknown (no it's a bulb so it can't). At any rate I ended up getting the most beautiful yellow lily-like flowers. Sometimes accidents are happy surprises. 

                                                                  

As always:  Peace Out/Stay Strong/Love Your Neighbor/Eat More Cake/Drive Efficiently/Salute a Vet/Respect Flannel/Believe in Miracles