Riding On

 I'm always delighted to say "yesterday was a day of accomplishment."  That isn't because I don't normally accomplish much, mostly I think I do.  It just means that the specific goals I've set for myself, have been reached.  Yesterday the ugly, white PVC drain for my new washer was primed.  If it were in my basement, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but since the new laundry room may at some point in the future again be used as a walk-in closet painting is necessary.  

Today, I want to get the first coat of paint on the window.  By this time next week, the trim as well as the walls, will have all been painted.  A decorative film, UV protective of course, will be on the lower window.  The top window will have a valance.  The color palette and the film are all about making the room larger than it is.  The bathroom will be repainted in the same color.

I've decided which washer and drying I'm going to purchase.  They're LG (Life's Good) appliances with a 10 years warranty.  Ten years is a long time.  Who knows where I'll be a decade from now.  The house is paid for, that means it's rent free, of the main benefits of home ownership.  It may end up being home port to which I can always return.

My dahlias are still blooming, as are my roses.  Next week the temps are supposed to climb into the mid-70s.  Even though I haven't had a frost yet, this is Indian Summer.   Maybe.

 Off today, temps are supposed to be in the low 70's (F) and I need to mow the lawn.  Two years ago the summer was wet, the grass stayed green, and mowing was frequent, but not as frequent as this year.  Rather than the normal 4 -5 week stretch with out rain, the skies over Central PA have rained down upon us with almost consistent regularity.  I'm a little tired of the rain.  And, of course, people are wondering about what the winter's going to look like, and how frequently we'll be getting snow.

An interesting aspect of going part-time is the decreasing need for me to take my own lunch to work.  This was something that never occurred to me, but this detail turns out to be a bit of a savings.  Shopping at my local Giant always entailed buying the necessary ingredients to cook 5 lunches every week.  Now there's extra meat in my freezer and I'm saying "wow, I'd better start cooking."

Tonight was supposed to be movie night, but that's been changed to Thursday, so you'll have to wait for my comments.

One of the interesting things about this past summer was that the dahlias that I left winter outside have bloomed continuously week, after week, after week.  I just ran out and took this picture.  The roses are still blooming, too, but the explosive pink of the dahlias steals the show.

 And the mood of the day is???? 

Holy Moly!  I got almost 7 hours sleep last night with only a short (28 minute) heating pad session around 0330.  I have not gotten that much sleep in a long time.  And  it's wonderful!  My body battery is recharged, at least that's what my Fenix 6 Pro tells me.  I could easily slip in another few winks, but I do have to work today.

I bought a new shower head before I left work yesterday, this one includes a 'hand held' that I may use sometimes.  This is replacing a Delta that sprayed out the shower door onto the floor.  This was more of a nuisance rather than a hazard, having to mop up the floor every time I showered.

And some of my dahlias in the backyard have finally begun blooming.

 Holy Crap!  It's Tuesday.  Tomorrow I have to go back to work... for 5 consecutive days.  Luckily, I did not have a lot of measures going into this mini-vaca, so the number of phone calls I have to make is minimal.  I don't mind talking to people face to face, however, I really dislike call them to ask if they're going to buy their flooring.  Me personally?  I never put myself into a position where someone's going to call and ask a similar question.  I usually have all my ducks in a row before I even talk to a sales person, and am usually sure I'm going to purchase.  The less I need to deal with salespeople, the happier I am.  Having to deal with someone who wants to play hardball to get a sale pisses me off.

My back is feeling much better today, though there are the occasional spasms.  I just need to remind myself that some of my lower vertebrae are fused and that I'm not as flexible when it comes to bending and lifting. The responsibility is mine.  Picking up a 118 pound dog?  Not in the best interest for my lower back.  Biggie is just going to have to understand.

The temps are supposed to climb into the mid 90's (F) today.  No rain is forecast.  Still, I'm going to have to go out and mow my lawn.

Also, my dentist sent me a text, I have an appointment for September 4.  I do believe I'm going to call and cancel.  I just don't feel like going.  My teeth are fine.  Getting older, I've realized my main concern now deals with having one of them chip or crack.  

Here's a pic of one of my dahlias that survived the winter.

 And so the weekend begins.  As I type this, Biggie is lying on the floor beside me his belly filled with breakfast.  Ah, the life of a dog... or any pet for that matter who's smart enough to twist his owner tightly round his paw.  Very shortly, he will stand up and lumber into the bed which is much more comfy then the floor.

Yesterday was slow at work.  One of my measures for a tile floor installation cancelled.  This was a bit of a relief because the customer was pushing for the job to be done fast.  She's selling her house.  She had bought cheap, clearance tile (probably not enough).  Yesterday she showed up at the flooring desk saying she had found a contractor who was going to do it... today, and I said fine.  Good contractors are booked ahead and you have to wait.  Finding one who doesn't have a waiting list is a good indicator his workmanship is lacking in both reliability and quality.

Oh, and there was another debate last evening.  Didn't watch it.  I did see a few muted clips this morning with subtitles, that's the only way I can take the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Watching his eyes, however, as they slid from side to side, I could see he was looking for something to grasp onto.  His attacks weren't working.  He spit out some nonsense about Hunter Biden and Joe fired back a salvo using the 'secret Chinese bank account' as ammunition.  Neither Republican nor Democratic strategists see this last encounter as changing the trajectory of the election, especially with 42 - 48 million people having already voted.

And speaking of trajectories, I see that the Republican held Senate is most likely going to confirm Amy Coney Comquate on Monday.  This packing of the Supreme Court was supposed to help ailing campaigns and is instead turning into another Conservative Failure.  Americans want the court to be Centrist, balanced, with justices occasionally swinging to either the left or right. This is something the Republicans will never understand.  They hearts have this desperate craving to dictate and control, which is why they love their Idiot Jerk.  This is just one more stupidity which we're going to have to fix.

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, Biden is being declared the winner of the final debate... as if that's any surprise.

And now finally, another pic of one of my pink dahlias.  Seeing it up close and in person it's a bit exquisite.

 

 Ah, my Sunday has arrived.  A day for relaxation... kind of... I guess.  Right now we have spotty drizzle and fog.  The temps today in Central PA are supposed to hit 79 (F) which his hot for October.  In fact, for the next 5 days we're supposed to be sitting on the warm side.  It makes me wonder how this winter's going to be... global warming, you know?  Last year we had no snow.  

I'm getting a new HRM chest strap today.  I've been using one that is old... maybe 7 or 8 years old and there are some connectivity issues.  Nothing lasts forever.  It was used heavily and was well worth the price I paid.

Yesterday I went to the gym as well as rode San Remo's 14 mile ride.  Of course, I then went and ate about a pound and a half of pasta and half a loaf of bread... and enjoyed every calorie.

And, as I was going to my neighborhood Giant supermarket yesterday, there was a bee rubbing pollen from one of my dahlias.  Well hello friendly pollinator!

Well, Fay turned out to be nothing more than a sorry assed tease... spritzles, nothing more.  This means this evening I'm going to have to pull out my hose and water my dahlias, and zinnias, and these purple and white fluffy things... not to mention my veggies.  Nature is not being very cooperative.  Though, to be honest, we are almost in the middle of July and that does tend to be our driest month of the year.

In case you didn't know it, we have 3 weeks left until Spring comes knocking at our door.  There are those who warn with a threatening finger "we can still have a bad snow storm."  Sure, but this late in the season we know what ever snow we get is not going to be hanging around for 6 months.

I slept in till 0500!!  And I slept well, only one bathroom call during the night for me, there were no trips downstairs to let the dogs out.  Sometimes that doesn't happen.  Lily's the one who will sit by the bed and quietly let me know "it's pee time."  That usually happens about an hour and a half after I've turned out the lights.
My GoPro arrives today.  Most like the deliver will occur this morning.  Originally scheduled for between 0800 and 1230, UPS change the time to "by the end of the day."  I just looked, my new toy is listed as being "out for delivery" and it's a little after 0600.
Before I left work yesterday, I picked up bags of moss and perlite to use for wintering my dahlias.  I live in the 5B temperature zone:  winter temps can drop to -5 - 0 (F).  That's cold enough to kill them.  This means storing them in a box in a cool, dry place until early next spring when they will once again be planted outside.  I also picked up a bag of allium bulbs.  Supposedly there are 30 of them in the bag.  More spring and summer flowers!


And, isn't this whistleblower crisis interesting.  The problem for the Republicans is that they desperately want to hurt Uncle Joe.  They see him as the biggest threat to the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  In fact, can't you just hear that scumbag shrieking "dirt!  I need dirt!"  Yeah, that sounds like him.  Just as we can all see him holding up a $250 million aid package in order to get the new Ukrainian president to give him the dirt he so desperately wants.  How Republican.  No ethics, no values, phony to the very end.  His approval rating never gets above the mid 40 percentile. his disapproval rating meanders from the high 50's to the low 60's.  The only thing a majority of American's give him any credit for is the economy... which is teetering.  Since he has nothing to really show for his first 3 years in office, his only alternative is to dig up the dirt, the same thing he, himself is mired in up to his head.  He's terrified of losing the election.  He's terrified of looking at jail time, not only for him, but for Ivanka Danka, and Donnie the Dorkhead jr.  Eric?  He's just going to pop into his jester outfit and try and earn so coins in Central Park.

Holy Crap!  It's Wednesday... and I go back to work for 3 days.  Trois jour ou les temperatrues seront tres chaudes...   The humidity is already here.  Yikes!
I had an eye exam yesterday.  It's been 6 months since I stopped using the eye drops.  And the good news is?  I don't have Glaucoma, as diagnosed by my first specialist.  That's nice.  The pressure in my left eye actually dropped... now ain't that nice.
I have 79.5 miles completed on my challenge.  That will be easy peasy.  For those who are curious, here's a snap of my riding set-up.


When I'm riding a route, the TV in front of the bike show a video of the route.  The only thing bad is going around curves because I'm on a stable bike and the camera leans into the turn, the way I would if I were riding the actual road.  I can live with that.
The House passed a bill censuring the Idiot Jerk for his inflammatory rhetoric yesterday.  Oh, and some dingle-brained Democrat from Texas introduced a bill of impeachment.  Don't try and impeach!  The last time a political party impeached a president, Clinton, he went on to win a second term.  We need to legally vote that Moral Degenerate out of office, and then prosecute... prosecute... prosecute. We need to get the AG Billy Barr disbarred.  The rest of the Idiot Jerks terror team will be jailed for committing crimes against humanity.
And the Idiot Jerk's rhetoric?  It will not only continue, it will get worse.  Instead of throwing temper tantrums, our representatives need to begin to throw it back at him in a very... nonchalant way.   Don't take his bait.  They need to start using phrases like "These are the things you expect an inept politician to say," and "These are the words of a failed political hack."  When people call him things like this he flips out and makes himself look even worse.  Don't try and impeach the sucker, just piss him off.  Let him do the dirty work himself.
And now, for some pretty snaps... of my purple dahlias.  Yes, they are blooming.



Now, ain't that just beautiful?

Well, it's Tuesday.  This is my last day off, tomorrow I go back to work.  I'm not excited.
My sister, brother and I are having breakfast this morning.  They're getting their copies of The Body in the Tower.  Yippee!
I do believe it rained most of the night.  My lawn's going to be too wet this afternoon to mow, and I'm not off again for 5 days... that's right, I get to work for 5 days before celebrating with 1 day off.  Then I work 5 more days.  This shitty schedule is my fault.  I did a request off believing the scheduler would be generous.  She wasn't.  Damn.
I saw this interesting tidbit from The Hill.  The Republican base truly is shrinking.  It looks like the Grand Old Part is really old... and white... and more than a little dumb, no doubt because of those silly red hats they wear.
I took a snap of some of my dahlias yesterday... in the drizzle.

There are more on the way.  Next year I think I'll put a bed of the out front among the roses.
And finally, Kaiser Chiefs are coming out with a new album on or around July 26.  The date is already on my calendar.  Here's the explicit version of their first release.