So, with last Thursday being the Fourth of July here in the US, and with my work currently closed on Fridays for our summer hours, I took Wednesday as a personal day for a kind of five-day mini vacation. As that comes to an end this evening let’s find a cool place to sit, pour ourselves a refreshing beverage, and chat about the week that seemed to go all to fast.
Sunday night into Monday morning was kinda rough. Storms were predicted, and looking at the radar before I went to bed, it seemed the storms would start at 3am and last until 3pm. I figured that, depending on the nature of the storm, I wold either awake in pain or sleep soundly through my alarms. I went to bed a bit early in hopes of hedging my bets either way, but fortune was not with me: I woke up around three in the morning, fell asleep forty-five minutes later, and also slept through most (but not all) of my alarms. Not the best start to a Monday, but still not the worst.
Tuesday was “I Forget” Day, and as I said then I was disappointed to realize that I’d forgotten to post for CAPSLOCK DAY on Saturday, thereby breaking an almost eighty-day posting streak here on the blog. Sure, I might just be posting random holidays, but a few people consistently like the posts and one or two comment on them, so I know someone out there enjoys them. Plus, I’m doing it as much for me as for anyone else. I’m not getting paid to produce this content, after all.
Wednesday I was reminded that Miracle Whip is a trash product and those that enjoy it shouldn’t be trusted. I speak mainly tongue-in-cheek, but my tongue will not willingly taste Miracle Whip, either. Sometimes our likes help us find friends online, and sometimes our dislikes do, too.
Wednesday afternoon I made chicen and rice in the crock pot, and maybe I was just really hungry but it was some of the best chicken and rice I’ve made – even Krystal agreed. Unfortunately for me, the lighting wasn’t the best, and I was told my photos turned out somewhat green. There were peas in there, but not enough to put a green haze over everything!
Thursday was July 4, or the Glorious Fourth as it is called at Tryon Palace, and once more I was involved in their celebrations. In most previous years I’d been just a costumed volunteer walking around to add ambiance and, and certain points, either encourage or heckle the reader of the Declaration of Independence. This year, though, I was one of three readers, and I was excited since my hair is now long enough to put into a colonial-style ponytail.
The media were in attendance, and there’s even video of me out there. While it lasts, here’s a link:
Before heading out for a few hours in the 18th Century, I made a refreshing drink to chill in the fridge to help me cool off later on. Of course, some folks ribbed me about enjoying a British drink on an American holiday, but good is good and I did not care.
Soon enough I had Jaws in the DVD player and Pimm’s in my hand.
Tragedy struck when I went to get lunch out of the refrigerator (tuna for tuna fish sandwiches). The colonists may have dumped tea into Boston Harbor, but I dumped a pitcher of sweet tea all over the kitchen floor. Thankfully I was able to keep it from going under the fridge itself or any of the cabinets, and with a quick call to Krystal to find the mop (which was hiding behind the bathroom door) I had the spill contained.
Thursday night there were fireworks (the rain was fleeting) and I was reminded that the only appropriate use for fireworks is dropping them in a fascist’s underwear. I don’t like fireworks at all.
Friday I was rewatching The Office and reached Season 7 Episode 9, wherein it is revealed that, if the characters were real people living in Northeast Pennsylvania, I would – according to show canon – be Dwight Schrute’s cousin.
Friday and Saturday were days I decided I was in a stable enough place to be Politically Online and spent several hours pointing out the most cursory of dangers inherent in Project 2025 and that, despite claims to the contrary, Trump knows what’s involved in Project 2025. I also spent time coming to grips with the fact that the GOP candidate for governor is openly calling for killing an unnamed group of people, but based on previous statements regarding liberals, leftists, and LGBTQIA+ people, I would not be surprised to be a target of his promised violence.
Friday and Saturday were also days I alternated between cleaning our kitchen, living room, and half bath and working to get off-book for the production of Twelfth Night. Only nineteen or twenty days to go to the off-book deadline! As I was cleaning, I rediscovered this cute lil guy and found a a lot for him:
I did the dishes (of course there are more now), wiped down the bathroom, did some mopping. and put the mop outside to dry. I had just started watching Godzilla x Kong when it started to rain, and I did not get the mop inside in time to prevent it from being utterly soaked. I simply left it outside to deal with later on.
I stopped for an early lunch of a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel with a side of nacho cheese Doritos. Is this a traditional lunch? No, but – and this is key – I do not care. It’s tasty.
Then I started in on dusting the living room, including scrubbing the air vents, and something possessed me to open our piano, which hasn’t been played in at least six years. Not only is remarkably in tune, but I picked out the opening notes to Welcome to the Black Parade. I don’t play piano; I play violin (or did, I also haven’t played in almost twenty years)
Yesterday we had storms until four in the afternoon or so, and areas of town near us had power outages, but as I had several bags of trash that needed to go out (due to food waste) I put on my boots, gauged the timing, and made a successful dumpster run.
That evening we went to Krystal’s parents for a cookout and games and had a blast watching fail videos on the TV.
Today I finally wrote up the notes from our latest D&D session; please pay no mind it took me almost two weeks to type them up, I still think I did an okay job.
Now I’m finishing up this blog post and thinking about doing more dishes and winding things down for the evening.
What have you been up to?
Running In My Head 