Disturbed Calm

First, a pretty picture of a beautiful sky,

nope, that has not restored my calm yet.

Prayer

God is still working on that one;

He's very powerful.

I'm sure He will manage it eventually,

if I let Him.

So, yesterday's surprise was that

stepfather bought a $14,000 swirly-jet walk-in tub for mom.

Since the IRS finally returned his and mom's money,

it must be burning holes in his pockets.

Nevermind that mom and stepfather might be able to get a complete bathroom remodel for that amount of money with a really nice walk in shower, new toilet, new sink, new flooring, new electrical, and plumbing - especially if extended family pitched in and helped with the non-professional work.

Nevermind that both of them are hoarders and the amount of work needed to clear and sort a navigable path from the front door to the bathroom for a 28"W x 53"L x approx 48"D tub could take 8 hour work days for the next 4-5 weeks (anticipated delivery date).

Oh, and to top it off, they ordered it in white when all their other fixtures for that bathroom are almond!  There are two more days remaining before the order cannot be canceled.  Pray that they change their minds and cancel the order!

Does Alzheimers make people really gullible, or were they that way in the first place?!!  (All the unused exercise equipment and gadgets around the house might suggest they were that way in the first place.)

Anybody need an obsolete, brand new,

never used 12 yr old pellet stove?

(replacement parts no longer available by the way)

They've got one, and it's in the way.  They bought the wrong one, and never bothered to return it.  My uncle is still deciding if he will cannibalize it for parts to fix his pellet stove.  It all hinges on whether or not mom & stepfather give it to him or try to sell it to him.  Please pray that they are feeling generous.

Who knows what else is lurking in that path,

but in the next few weeks I will probably find out.

God does have a sense of humor; dad is letting me drive his pickup truck this week while the Element is on loan to missionary pilots visiting during EAA.  There is a certain amount of mischief involved in using the belongings of one divorced parent to help the other - evil laugh.

Guess it is good that I haven't broken up the four remaining pallets from our spring pellet order, because it looks like quite a bit of junk from mom's house will be moving to the car's parking spot in our garage for future sorting, fun, fun, fun.  Hope I can get all the sorting done before winter!

Time to check the weather report to see if today is a good day to haul stuff.

Queen Tigger Was Not Amused

by her bath.

Food Post

Figured you might be tired of my complaining.

Here's a picture of a swiss chard and black olive pizza

with an herbed biscuit crust.
It was yummy, but it would have been even better with bacon.

List of Shame

Shame on all these organizations who solicit funds over the phone without regard for whether or not the elderly people on the other end of the line are mentally capable of remembering all their financial obligations from one day to the next.

First we'll start with the charities that have really horrible ratings; they use <50% of their donations to actually help the people listed in their charters.
Cancer Fund of America, Inc.
AMVETS
American Veterans Support Foundation
American Foundation for Disabled Children
Breast Cancer Survivors Foundation, Inc.
Veterans Now (like changing the name from VietNow would fix your reputation!)
Disabled Police and Sheriffs Foundation
Wisconsin Veterans Assistance Foundation, Inc.
Disabled and Paralyzed Veterans Fund (run by telemarketers)
Association for Homeless and Disabled Veterans
Children's Leukemia of America Fund
AFP - Association for Firefighters and Paramedics
  (Not sure what % goes to the needy on this one, because they
   haven't agreed to an audit by the Better Business Bureau.)

Now on to the political & semi-religious organizations:
(It is impossible to tell quickly with an internet search if these organizations use the money sent them in a wise fashion, because there are no watchdog organizations giving them ratings.)
Nation Rifle Association of America
Tea Party Patriots
Outagamie County Deputy Sheriffs Association
  (This one is included because mom & stepfather do not live
   in Outagamie county - so why are they getting calls from
   these people!)
Republican State Leadership Committee
Students for Life of America
Friends of John Boehner
Tea Party Express
The Tea Party Leadership Fund
Citizens United
National Right to Life
American Bible Society (How dare they ask for money when their
   president gets a really huge salary!  I could have bought five
   houses for what he earned in 2011!)
Republican Party of Wisconsin
National Right to Work Committee
College Republican National Committee
Conservative Majority Fund
National Committee for Family Faith & Prayer
The Presidential Coalition
National Republican Senatorial Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
Republican National Committee
Faith & Freedom Action
Family Research Council
American Center for Law and Justice
America's Next Generation
Concerned Women for America
   (They have no trouble guilting men into donating money,
   because most conservative women will not waste money
   on them.)
American Legacy Pac
TSCL - The Senior Citizens League, (uses scare tactics about
  social security benefits to con money from senior citizens who
  have fixed incomes)  This one may have only come through the
  mail rather than phone, but still these folks deserve a special
  place in hell!

If stepfather and mom had actually remembered and honored all the pledges made to these organizations, the expense would have come to $1350.

Oh, and it is such a colossal waste of time sending rejection letters.

Lonesome Dog

"Hi Mom

So you do still love me after all.

I was beginning to wonder with all the attention you have been lavishing on the rabbits.  That photo shoot the other day was a bit ridiculous.  On these hot days you carefully put them in the cat carrier and spray them down with cool water from the garden hose and then put them back in their cage in front of a fan.  I am getting a bit jealous of the care you squander on those rodents.  Oops, now you're looking at me.  No, no, I'm not too hot, really - pant, pant, wilt.  Put that garden hose away!  You're right, I do feel better, but now I really can't do a thing with my hair!

Stay cool out there.

This week has been a scorcher.

Warning - Cuteness Overload!

Ok, we're ready for our close-ups.

 It would appear we have one "ham" and one "stoical bunny"

It isn't difficult to tell which is which.

 Hey, I'm not a speed bump.

We're so cute.

We're betting that someone will adopt us

long before we're big enough to be "invited to dinner".

I Almost Hugged a Salesman Today

Why you ask?

Because the store had both IMR 4064 and Reloader 19 in stock.

He suggested I buy a lottery ticket while my lucky streak lasted.

Sunset Colors & Stuff

Tis the last day of hubby's vacation.

Mom still needed her daily insulin shot,
so traveling wasn't an option.

We did our best to alternate between resting and accomplishing a few maintenance/remodeling tasks here at home.

The time went so quickly!

Just to make things interesting, it didn't rain all week.  The rainbow shown was from a rain shower that missed us; all the water probably landed in the lake.  It was pretty, but provided us with no water.  As a result, it seems like I spent the week watering - mom's garden - dad's garden - and my own garden.  Good news, the gardens are growing a lot faster now that the weather has become warmer and sunnier.

Then Monday morning started at dawn with a 3 1/2 hour power outage (dewpoint 72, temp. hot, and no AC - blah) and a rainstorm that dropped approximately 2 inches of water during a 1-2 hour time span.  At least the redneck hottubs (rain barrels) are full again.  It also reminded me why this house has so many windows compared to newer homes.  All those windows provide ventilation (even without fans), and it is possible to see things without having to carry a flashlight or candle lantern.  I like electricity, and I really like the fact that everything in the freezer seems to have remained reasonably frozen during the outage.

Some time last week, Twitch had another batch of three babies.  Two have survived.  I am not sure where the third one went; perhaps a raccoon or cat climbed in through one of the garage windows and stole the third one.  The first few days I had to hold Twitch on her back and restrain her to make sure the remaining two little ones were able to get enough to eat.  She had pulled out so much hair from her chest to build the nest that her skin was a bit red and sore.  Otherwise, every time they scrambled under and started wiggling their little clawed feet, she'd hop away.  She's still not exactly a stellar mom, but at lest she is feeding them on her own now.  Their eyes are open and they no longer resemble tailless rats.

Warning, future posts may cause cuteness overload.

More "Summer"

First wishing all Americans out there

Happy Independence Day!

Folks like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington would probably roll over in their graves if they could see what has been done to the Republic since its beginnings, but today is a day for celebrating the ideals of its origins.

So, enjoy some road freedom by hopping in the car of your choosing (blasted budgets!) and going for a spin to whatever destination you may choose. 
Here are a couple really pretty options
that appeared ever so briefly in the parking lot
of the restoration shop a few weeks ago.
Just a reminder, these are not mine.
Enjoy!

First the Abarth.

Now the Aston Martin David Brown Mark III