Riding On

 Friday, and I slept in because I stayed up late watching TV.  Both Halo and Picard are on Paramount, which I believe owns CBS.  I like Halo, good science fiction action.  Picard?  The series is becoming less about Picard and more about the rest of the cast, perhaps because Patrick Steward is 81and is beginning to sound elderly.  I also watched Moon Knight... meh.  I might end up passing on it.  I know there are those who will watch the show just see see little Oscar Issacs running around in his super hero suit, I am not one of those.

What a shame about Bruce Willis.  While never being a stellar actor, quite a number of his performances moved people.  I can remember sitting in a very crowded theater watching Armageddon  only to have my attention turn to the large, muscular gentleman sitting in front of me sobbing when Willis chooses to stay on the asteroid and die.

 Okay, the crappy weather that was predicted to start somewhere around 0600 has still not arrived, though I will admit the we did have a very red sky this morning.  Originally freezing rain was supposed to occur between 6 AM and 2 PM.  Those hours have been reduced to 8 AM to 9 AM.  

Yesterday I picked up Biggie's prescription at the Vets.  $29 for a month of gabapentin.  This morning I will check out the cost on PetMeds.  Chewy's pharmacy doesn't carry the drug.  

I'm also making lasagna today.  I will make the sauce sometime this morning, and then assemble and bake it this afternoon in time for dinner.  

Oh, and I went to see The Lost City last evening.  For those who don't know, it's a Rom-Com made for white women.  There is some minority casting, but basically this is a vehicle for an aging Sandra Bullock to get her name on a marquee.  There were a lot of women in the theater.  Don't get me wrong, I found it very entertaining at times.  Channing Tatum does take his shirt off a lot, as well as his pants in one very nice, long scene.  A furry Daniel Radcliffe is a decent villain.  Essentially, this is the story of a romance novelist grieving for her dead husband, though, being the cynical type that I am, I felt I was watching a film about Bullock grieving for genre she, as an actress, needs to bury.

 For those who don't know, Fridays are cleaning days and laundry days.  Because today is also a pay day, this is the day I spend the most money at my neighborhood Giant supermarket.  

Right now the temps are in the mid 40's (F) and we're under a dense fog advisory.  Believe me when I tell you the houses across the street are nothing more than looming shadows.

 Today's my Sunday, but only sort of.  You can call it by a different name if you want, in fact, most of you will call it Wednesday.  Yesterday the temps his 71 (F).  Same thing's going to happen today.  Tomorrow, when I go back to work, rain is in the forecast.  Then, on your Friday, which I might decide to call Saturday, the sun will be out and temps will be warm again.  The one thing that is definite about AccuWeather is their long range forecasts, they are never right.  Why someone would choose to pay for a premium version of the app is beyond me.

Since the temps are going to be warm, I'm going to spend some time outside doing yardwork this afternoon.  There is some raking and digging which needs to be done.  I have tubers needing to be put into the ground (dahlia of course).  There's also a holly shrub (bush) in the front which needs to be cut back.  And then there is the ivy which crept down the hill from my neighbor's house.  I don't really want to use a spray, but that may be the only solution to keeping it from over running the place.

This is the 2nd day with Biggie on the gabapentin.  I've noticed walking seems a mite bit easier.  However, this is one of those drugs that takes time to reach full effectiveness.  It works fast on anxiety, but can take up to 2 weeks to act fully on nerve pain.

 My mid-week weekend has begun.  I picked up a bottle of wine last evening on my way home from work and then didn't drink a single glass.  Cork is still in the bottle.  Maybe this evening.  

I also stopped off and picked up Biggie's Gabapentin.  He's on 300 mg every 12 hours though the dosage may change.  According to what I've been reading on line, he will notice some relief within 2 -3 hours, but the full effects will take 1 - 2 weeks.  He has had his 2nd pill this morning and that is pretty much what is happening.  I find it interesting that he will be on meds for the rest of his life.  The Vet charged me $21.60 for 60, so I'll have to check out other costs on line.

The temps today are forecast to hit the upper 60's, continuing to climb into the 70's by Friday.  This means I will need to put the window A/C unit in the bedroom.  Because I live in an old house with high ceilings, 70 (F) outside means means temps on the 2nd floor will hover around 80 (F).

And what about Tulsi Gabbard?

   

 Okay, so is everybody ready to begin a brand new week?  I am.  Up and raring to go at a little before 0500.  Now, I know some of you will think of that as way too early.  Remember, I would rather be doing something than wasting time in a semi-somnambulist state.  That's my way of saying last night's sleep was more wakeful than most.

This is a work day for me.  A full work day, not one of my partial, show-up and put in 3 or 4 hours day.  Today might be somewhat busy.  Yesterday was a really sloooow Sunday after that bit of a shit show snow storm.  

I saw where Tom Brady is coming out of a retirement.  Pardon my English, but what a greedy dick.  At 45, he will end up injuring himself, probably badly, and regret his actions for the rest of his life.

The lyrics for this song might be used for karaoke night in the Body Under Ice.  Karaoke night, you ask?  I thought you knew, every murder mystery deservers a good song and dance act.

And now, can we talk about this bit of humiliating news?  It seems as though big bad Vlad's preparations for his invasion of the Ukraine weren't as thorough as he thought.  Or, maybe his people just lied to him because... well, he has been known to go horseback riding shirtless.  Anyway, it seems as Vlad has gone begging the Chinese for help, groveling for both military and financial aid.  Now, isn't that humiliating as hell.  Looks like this little invasion of his has cost Russia to lose it's shirt.  Vlad has become a putz in the eyes of the world.  As for China, they're staying mum on the situation.  You see, they were hoping Vlad's little invasion would go well, that this would be and easy peasy war.  Well, that didn't happen.  The EU, which Vald wrongly believed would roll over, has turned into a Super Power, and they are very tired of Vlad's shit.  The EU has the second largest, possibly even the largest, trading block in the world.  And Russia is really nothing more than a 3rd world country... thanks to Vlad.  That truth is humiliating as hell.

 Well hello, Thursday!  The temps are predicted to climb into the mid to upper 50's today.  Skies will be overcast, but not much in the way of precipitation.  We got most of that yesterday.  Lots of snow fell and melted, and drizzle, and just rain at times.  Had the temps been colder we'd have had much snow, in the end we got a mixed bag.

I'm having breakfast with my brother this morning.  I'm giving him an old mantel clock that had belonged to our grandparents.  Normally, there would be a lot of value in something that had been hand made over a century ago.  Unfortunately, my parents made the decision to have the clock refinished.  Yeeeee Gads!  What ever value it had was sanded off.  The original wood on the back was replaced with a piece of wall paneling.  Ouch!  It's just taking up space, so I'm giving it to him, maybe in about 4 or 5 hundred years it will be worth something again.

And, speaking of mixed bags... I went to see The Batman last evening, and sat through all 2 hours and 56 minutes.  I had other issues besides the fact that the film was way too long.  Part of the Batman mystique is the conflict between Bruce Wayne and his alter ego.  Out of that film, Bruce Wayne is only in the film for maybe 15 minutes at best.  The movie gets real artsy with lighting in portraying the Dark Knight, so at times color disappears, and sometimes light disappears completely and you're left watching bright flashes of gunfire on a black screen.  Every body talks slowly and there are a lot of long, lingering scenes.  Had they cut out about 45 minutes of moody inaction, this would play much better.  Pattison is sort of okay if you don't mind a lead who is always frowning.  I'm serious when I say The Batman is a mixed bag of disjointed scenes.  

 Friday.  Yesterday was somewhat eventful in that my eyes were dilated for my eye exam.  My eyes are fine.  They're still blue.  A long time ago an ophthalmologist diagnosed me with Glaucoma., the same doctor that Maddie's mother went to.  Laser surgery was done on both of my eyes and eyedrops were prescribed.  Getting refills was an aggravation because the prescription was always for a very expensive brand not covered by my insurance. I began going to the VA when the Doc retired and... what the hey!  I don't have Glaucoma.  The pressure in my eyes has changed in 4 years.  I am borderline.  Honestly, I don't think that should come as a surprise to anybody.

My Veterinarian's assistant finally called me back yesterday as I was on my way to be dilated.  Biggie's going to stay on the carprofen.  Instead of 2 pills in the morning, we're going to try one in the morning or one in the evening.  Hopefully this will work.  The only other option right now is to add in Gabapentin.  Crap!  My mom used to take Gabapentin.

Two minor characters have been added to The Body Under Ice:  Lois and Clark, two barflies who hang out at Hennepin's, one of the few bars / restaurants that stays open year round.  Tourists flock there in the summer, locals hang out there in the winter.  Some may find it difficult to believe, but Lois and Clark drink more than Eli and Max.

  

Of course, Billy Barr's coming out with an explosive book on Loser #45.  I know this because Billy has started making the PR rounds, spitting out tasty little morsels of gossip whose sole purpose is to entice you into buying his book.  I won't.  That little bit about Trump becoming enraged when he was told there was absolutely no voter fraud?  Sorry, Billy's not taking us across the border into unfamiliar territory.  Now, if Billy had said Trump took the truth well, that there was no voter fraud, and had smiled and said "well, I guess we've got to come up with a big lie?"  That would have been fertile territory.  

And, of course, Putin is still pushing more troops across the border into the Ukraine.  I did like this bit in Al Jazeera regarding his Imperialistic beliefs.  The part about how Russia will pay for this invasion for years to come is so on point.  The only way this could have been in any ways successful from him would have been for the war to be over in 3 or 4 days, before the world had a chance to understand what was going on.  Now he's going to be sacrificing young Russians to guerilla warfare for years to come.  And it will spread across the borders.

Okay, so this is the second time publishing this today.  Blogger evidently chose to publish an unwritten previous draft.

So, it's Wednesday.  Yesterday was rather uneventful.  I did go to PetSmart to pick up an algae scrapping kit.  While there, I checked out the glass aquarium tops and the dimmable LED lighting.

I also call the Vet about Biggie's prescription.  I'd like the to either increase the dosage, or prescribe a stronger med.  The Carprofen isn't doing what it died three months ago.  They did bloodwork on him back in August to see if he could tolerate a stronger med... he weighs in at 114, no problem.  I'm just curious as to what the cost is going to be.  They charge $48.70 for a month supply of the Carprofen, Chew charges 12.60 (less my 5% discount).

I did get something nifty in the mail yesterday.  Lost and Found in Space 2.  I was a big fan of the series when I was a kid, not so much so of the Netflix series, which seemed to ignore everything about the original, except for that fact that the Robinson family were the stars.  And yes, it is signed by the two authors.

 

 And a good, sleeping in late morning to you!  

Can you believe we're winding down April?  Crap, we just started it.  We did have another freeze warning last night, so I brought in my potted veggies.  There were scattered snow showers yesterday.  I missed all of them, but was told by many that some were quite heavy.  Next week?  The temps are supposed to hit the mid to upper 80's (F) for a couple of days, before dropping back down into the mid 70's (F).  

I have a Ukrainian customer who wants to retile most of her downstairs and put bamboo throughout her upstairs.  At first she brought her daughter in as a translator.  Yesterday, she brought her sister, who speaks English quite well.  The job is... expensive as hell, with the majority of the cost being in the labor.  Think mid $20's.  For tile, we normally charge $8 per square foot, but we are running a 'deal' right now.  I was told that she's going to talk it over with her husband, which I do believe is going to translate into "No."

As usual, laundry is on the chore list for today.  I also want to change the media in the tank.

The third reader is working his way through The Body in the Loch.  Word provides an 'Editor' so I think I'll use that for the next book, The Body in Repose.  I'm still in the note taking stage for characters.  There's a very good possibility those who read my books might get to meet a torch singer named Sheila Caine.  Now, ain't that a nice name?

 Being the ever vigilant person I am, the first thing I did this morning, after letting the dogs out and brewing a pot of coffee, was check the weather map.  Here it comes, somewhere between 3 and 8 inches.  That's during the day.  Because weather forecasting is always a gamble, there is no precision.   Tonight they're calling for an additional 10 to 18 inches.  About the only thing they're fairly certain about is that our precipitation is going to be in the form of snow.  No one has the temps topping 32 (F)  My shovels are anticipating a decent workout when the snow finally arrives, sometime between 10 and noon.

I received a voicemail from Estes regarding the delivery of my treadmill.  They said delivery was going to be delayed because of the snow.  I sent them and email:  how do you know it's going to be delayed when you haven't even set up a delivery date yet?  Still waiting for a response.

And I saw that the residents of Palm Beach  don't want the Idiot Jerk to make Mar A Lago his permanent home.  Their attorneys (yes, they have attorneys) have said that since he turned it into a private club it can no longer be used as a residence.  They listed a lot of complaints about his living there, though no mention of his stench.  They don't understand all of his encroaching legal problems will most likely keep him abroad.

Everyone is wondering if there will be any rhyme or reason to his last 30 some days in residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Don't count on it.  His dearest blow bro Vlad congratulated Biden.  I'm betting that had the Idiot Jerk sobbing into his pillow, "he hates me!  he hates me!"  One thing you can count on, he will be disruptive and destructive, but then his intention was never to leave the country in the pink.  Rather, he intended to dictate and dominate, and those plans have been thwarted.  Now we have to work on eliminating the rest of the Republican swine from public office.  Our work has just begun.

Yesterday was a drizzle day.  The dogs did get their walk in, something I didn't think might happen.  Some chores were completed, but mostly I wanted to nap.  I chalk it up to the drearily overcast skies.  I was going to ride the bike but didn't.  Instead I set up a dumbbell workout on my Gym Genius.  Now I have to check my workout calendar because when I got to PF this morning I had dumbbells scheduled instead of upper body.

Oh, and there was also the news.  

This whole Amy Coney Cumquat thing is rather wretched business.  I was taken by a comment by Mitch McConnell.  He complained about Democrats claiming her being voted into the Supreme Court was illegitimate.  His comment: "we're a Republic, there's nothing illegitimate about it."  Have you ever noticed how often Mitch says things that come back to bite him in the ass.  Remember those words.  "We're a Republic, there's nothing illegitimate about it."

I don't think I'm going to cycle 2500 miles this year.  The fall doldrums have set in.  They set in last year, and the year before that.  We all tend to shut down a little in the off season.  Instead of riding 60 miles per week I'll probably pop off around 40.  That's not bad.

As far as The Body in the Loch is going, I've got over 51,000 words done.  Lots of little chapters.  It starts out with broad strokes that keep getting narrower and narrower.  I've just started the chapter called Blue.  That is not a reference for the approaching election, if any of you are wondering.

An article in the NYT advised readers to be prepared to be inundated with polls.  They're going to be flying thick and fast in the next week... disregard them.  Their margins of error are going to be all over the map.  Also, if their number of 'likely voters' is an unreliable figure.  Likely is not quantitative.  Just about anything is likely to happen.  Just look at the 2016 election.

And finally, I have some... well, sorta sad news.  The breaking up of a relationship is always difficult, usually much more for one person then the other who quite often can't wait to cut those ties that bind.  Grab your tissues.  It seems as though the Idiot Jerk in the White House has just been dumped... in a very public way by his blow bro love from Moscow.  That's right.  No more kissy, kissy.  It seems that when asked about Hunter Biden, and Burisma, and the Ukraine, Vlad said "no way, Jose.  Didn't happen."  How's that for a shit pie in the face?  Or perhaps Vlad was just in a pissy mood because after all of his nurturing and help, it looks as though the Idiot Jerk's not going to get his tinfoil dictator's ass re-elected.

 Well, I get to go back to work today.  The specialist who's transferring is off.  I'll get to work with him tomorrow.  His last day is Friday... I'm off Friday.  One of our kitchen designers is a Chef.  Gone to school and certified legit.  One of her gigs was working at Microsoft out in Seattle.  Can you imagine working for a company that has a Chef cooking up your meals in the cafeteria?  Though, from what she says, she more or less set up very tasteful luncheon buffets made with like... real food.  Anyway, she's going to bring in and apple strudel for his last day.  Son of a bitch.  You can bet there ain't gonna be none of that left on Saturday.

Today is also Lily's birthday.  She's 7.  

My brother and his wife also celebrate their birthdays today, as does Bill Clinton.  Yippee!  We actually celebrated Lily's last week during my vacation.  White cake (no chocolate) with white and blue flowers, and ice cream, of course.  While she ate hers like a little lady, Biggie ran around with a smear of blue flower on his chin.  Dogs.

I didn't watch the convention last evening.  Bed time rolls around just when it begins.  

But what about the Senate investigation on the 2016 campaign and Moscow.  They recommended there be investigations into 4 additional people, one of whom is the spawn of the Idiot Jerk, Donnie Jr.  And evidently the Idiot Jerk made 3 undisclosed trips to Moscow.  Why try and keep them secret.  Something about he and Miss Moscow.   The bipartisan committee feels that the Russians don't have any compromising information.  Immediately his aides began throwing cold water on the whispers he was planning to meet with his blow bro Vlad before the election.  Imagine how odd that would look?  In the middle of what some will think will be a close race, the Idiot Jerk decides to take off a few days so he and Vlad can summit together.  Of course people are thinking subterfuge.  In reality, Vlad might be showing the Idiot Jerk some pics of a few very nice Dachaus that just went on the market south of Moscow. 

Okay, so I was sitting at work yesterday thinking on how I really didn't want to go to work today, it being my sixth day in a row, and after pondering for several hours decided it wasn't going to happen. So, on the way home I stopped by my local Giant and picked up a bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  And in spite of what I'd written yesterday morning, I didn't ride last evening.  This is how life happens sometimes.

Well, it's Monday and I don't go back to work today, unlike some of you.  That will happen tomorrow.  My schedule is not bad for the next couple of weeks.  What will be interesting will the the one for the week of the new year.  That's a 32 hour work week with 8 hours holiday pay.  I could work for 5 days in a row, or for as many as 9.  I have a scheduled 4 days off starting on 1/4, so we shall have to wait and see.
I have mounted my clock.  I know some will find that sentence amusing.  Here it is.


Not only will I now know what the time is, I'll also know the temperature.  Heat rises.  I always knew my upstairs was warmer than the first floor (ground floor for everyone living outside the United States).  The variance is 4 degrees.  It will be interesting to see how warm the room gets when I start pedaling.
I downloaded another route in Greece, however I won't be riding it today.  This afternoon I'm going to try and climb a 6 mile hill in Italy that's part of my challenge.  If I can get to the top of that I will move up to the next level in Rouvy Cycling.
Oh, and I saw the Russians were banned from the next Olympics.  Doping.  Now, I don't know if the directive is coming from the top, but I wouldn't be surprised.  We have our Idiot Jerk, the Russians have their Putsy Putin.  Both are trying to be Emperors.   I understand Putsy Putin is losing his popularity.  Our Idiot Jerk was never really popular... except among of small-minded individuals.
There was an interesting article in Reuters in regard to jobs and America.  Jobs are going to coastal cities, not cities in the heart of the country.   There doesn't seem to be much potential in cities like Indianapolis, and St. Louis, and Kansas City for future job growth, which runs completely contrary to  the Idiot Jerk's "Make America First" campaign.  The voters in those cities who turned out for the Idiot Jerk might just as well have sat home on their toilets and flushed their votes away.  The only way jobs will return to those areas is if we give corporations big tax breaks and incentives, and that doesn't guarantee those jobs they bring will be high paying.  We should never started giving them tax breaks in the first place.  Of course, isn't that what the GOP has always planned, for the American people to bear the burden of taxes while corporations go Scot-Free?  They call it Trickle Down Economics.

Saturday.  Yesterday was my humpday.  It was actually no different then any other Friday.  My new schedule is out and again my weekend is going to fall on a Monday and Tuesday.  I also have Saturday off that week - Kid's Workshop.  The following week I'm taking some vacation time.  I will enjoy it, and no, I'm not going anywhere.  There's too much to do around the house.
I saw where Jane Fonda got arrested.  Gimme a break.  She's older than Bernie.  I guess she's still trying to prove she has that fire.  Quite a few Vietnam Vets don't like her - she went to North Vietnam as a way of protesting the war.  Without understanding why, she became a tool for the North Vietnamese, which was not what she intended to do.  Personally, I think that was just rather stupid on her part... like getting herself arrested yesterday.
Shepard Smith is leaving Faux News.  I'm sure Laura Ingraham is spinning on her hate dildo with glee.  My feelings are that they wanted to use him to rope Centrists and Independents into their hate festival, hopefully to indoctrinate the unsuspecting into racists and white Supremacist beliefs.  He finally had enough, choosing to no longer be their tool.  Of course, they think he's broken, but as in everything else, they're wrong.
And the Ex-ambassador to the Ukraine testified yesterday.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House thinks she's broken, too, mostly because she didn't cave into his demands.  The State Department had told her not to testify and she gave them the finger. 
And what about the Idiot Jerk in the White House?  You know that at first his Blow Bro Vlad was delighted.  He now had his own personal, tool in America.  That tool was going to reshape the country.  Sentiment was going to go pro-Vlad.  They were going to be Buddies in Arms.  The Idiot Jerk, however was not the right tool.  He's too inept.  He couldn't grow his base.  His ego kept getting in the way.  And, his corruption kept bobbing to the surface like a dead fish.  Vlad had hoped the Idiot Jerk would help him regain control of the Ukraine.  Oh... Hell!  Piss poor planning by the Idiot Jerk and his Henchies started flushing that down the toilet fast.  I mean, Vlad should have known right off the bat.  Losing the popular vote and only getting into the presidency through the Electoral College is not a good thing.  And then the Idiot Jerk began his Mini-Me dictatorship, issuing Executive Order after Executive Order to please his base... all the while alienating more and more Independent voters.  In business there needs to be growth in order to succeed and the Idiot Jerk was failing in that department.  All he's proven himself to be is a badly broken tool

Welcome to my Friday.  Confused?  That's fine, I don't mind.  Sometimes a little confusion leads to insight, you know?  When the clouds clear?  And you have one of them Holy Shit Moments?
I pulled out my Garmin Fenix 3 and popped it on the charger last evening.  My Suunto Spartan's been acting weird recording my heart rate, not that there 's anything wrong with my heart.  My sitting heart rate is usually in the mid-fifties (thank you cycling), that reading is fine.  However, once I begin cycling that number drops for about  2 - 3 minutes into the mid-40's, and so I'm wondering just how accurate are the readings I'm getting.  The Fenix 3 is an older model now, they're up to Fenix 6 which does so much more...  In other words, the temptation is beginning to grow.
And my, isn't this whistleblower thing spiraling out of control for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Did you like the bit about the Idiot Jerk saying the emphasis should be on Biden and his ties to the Ukraine during his time as Vice President... remember this is coming from the Moral Degenerate who's desperately trying to get in Putin's Pants.  What this really does is illustrate how he and his spawn run their businesses.  Corruption is his middle name.  What his base totally fails to understand is that after his ass is locked up and jail, all eyes are going to turn towards them.  Judgement is coming.
My GoPro Hero6 Silver will be arriving tomorrow.  The app is already set up on my phone.  This is what it's supposed to do:


Of course, I don't know if I'm ever going to jump out of a plane, but then I'm not like the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Given the chance to land in Putin's Pants, his only question would be:  With or without a parachute?

Starting tomorrow I'm scheduled to have some time off and the weather forecast is shitty.  Cool, mid-50's (F), cloudy, in fact Sunday and Monday they're calling for... rain.  Grass grows even in shitty weather.  This is the third year in a row in which April showers arrived a month late, that's called a trend.
Yesterday was Fruit Friday at work.  On the 2nd Friday of every month they bring in fresh fruit for the associates, the standard strawberries, plums, apples, bananas, pears, and blueberries.  They always include one exotic to give us a fresh taste from the world outside the United States.  Yesterday we had Jack Fruit.  It was delicious. 

For those who don't know, exotics fruits are a very good way to identify closet conservatives, those people who quietly wear their MAGA hats in the privacy of their own homes.  You see conservatives will never try anything new.  They will always opt for the apple or the strawberry.  Now and then a slice of banana may cross their lips, but only after being camouflaged in a bowl of cereal.
Okay, and for your haha moment of the day, though I'm sure most of you have already seen this, the Idiot Jerk's blow bro pal Vlad did a nose dive.

It's Saturday and I am definitely not in a park and it is definitely not the 4th of July.  Nope.  It's drizzling outside and going to be like this for the rest of the day.  Tonight... storms.  All the rain that's drenching the central states is moving east.  So far May has been off to a wet start.
I saw where Oprah was talking about Mayor Pete and either tried to be funny... or something worse.  She said she had problems saying Buttigieg and so called him either Buttabeep or Buttaboop.  I wonder what she'd say if people did the same with her name, you know?  I mean, is this her way of being humorously judgmental?
Anyway, sometime this evening I will hit my hump moment.  From then it's a downhill slide until Tuesday.  Unfortunately, that is the only day off I have in what is an 8 day stretch.  Not that we're busy.  Things are always slow in flooring at this time of the year.  It's garden time!  and lawn time!  These are the months when people think about building decks, or putting in patios.  If they have kids, this is not prime carpet month... not with summer around the corner, when little feet will be running in and out, and in and out.
And, of course, the Idiot Jerk in the White House and his bromo / homo love interest Vlad gushed to each other during an hour long phone conversation.  The Idiot Jerk cackled and giggled about 'no collusion.'  What the Idiot Jerk didn't know was that while he was flirting his ass off, Vlad was approving plans for Russian involvement in the 2020 election.  Vlad is more concerned with knocking America out of the number one spot in super powers.  He wants Russia to be the most powerful country in the world.  Of course, the Idiot Jerk will give him what he wants, he doesn't care if the world thinks he's a slut for Vlad.
Oh, dear me, it's almost time to go to work.  I have a decent little carpet sale going through today:  single older couple, no kids.
Since, today is May the 4th I might as well do say what everybody else is saying: