Plots

   
      After being ridiculously busy toting people back and forth to work, ucky weather,  and the drain sporadically deciding not to work, I have two days off!  So far, I have done a whole lot of nothing, such as surf the web, oogle pictures of my friend's newly acquired hedgehog, Luna, who I have yet to meet, and give the dogs a bath.  Both are itchy. I don't know if I still have a few remaining fleas or not, and to my dismay, I spent last night at one of Jon's friends' and he has a riotous amount of fleas.  I think I may buy some of the diatomaceous earth we sell (it's food grade so not harmful to people or animals) and sprinkle it on the carpets.  It is supposed to kill fleas by sucking all the moisture out of their exoskeletons...which sounds much more pleasant than applying Frontline to four animals...and also, less expensive.  Then, if I am feeling quite generous, I shall give some to Levon.  I resent the fact that I can eradicate the fleas at my house then unwittingly drag them home from another person's house. I thought Levon had his dog's fleas under control.  Apparently not.  Doggles appears to just have dandruff, but he is such a slick black color, its very difficult to locate a flea.  Running a flea comb over them didn't turn up any, but that doesn't mean I don't have them living in my carpet because they hatched/came from Levon's or whatever. I hate the buggers.
     The weather today is lovely.  I should go deal with leaves but there are still millions yet to fall, so I could care less. I'll just enjoy the sunshine.  The trees in our  yard have barely started to turn colors.  However, trees in our neighbors' yards are now shedding.
     I am besotted with an expensive pair of boots and am still plotting to get them as soon as other, more immediate issues iron out.  Jon needs a car so I am home more, less tired, and neither of us have to wait an hour or more before we can clock in at work....or wait to be picked up after work.  My car needs things...some more immediate than others and to be taken care of tomorrow, I suppose, as long as the mechanic can fit us in.  Our drain magically decided to drain one night...and now we can use water again.  I really think the guy is just punching a hole in a large clog thus it clogs easily when we flush....and I also am thinking we should just run vast amounts of water after one of us poos.  That might help.  Realistically we should call Roto Rooter and let them camera the pipe, then clean it...its just $200 we need to spend on the car/other things. At least I think it would be upwards of $200.
      I am so glad Jon is working 40 hours a week.  I just wish he didn't have major issues with someone he works with.  This guy says when he becomes a manager, the first thing he is going to do is fire Jon.  But, before he can become that high of a manager, he has to aspire to bullshit and won't be doing any firing.  Jon convinced one of the actual managers to let him look at the guy's full name and  home address in the computer. He is plotting his revenge...such as signing him up for loads of gay porn magazines.  Apparently he's quite religious and lives with his grandma...that should go over pretty well. Jon has been in  a great mood for the past two days because of this.  Just remember, folks, not to harass the people you work with...karma will help them find a way to get even.  I often wonder why so many people calling themselves "Christians" are such horrible human beings, the more strict their belief system the more horrible.    I think they should more ardently study that  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" platitude.  Yep. What goes around comes around, and payback is a bitch.
    I read a magazine at work the other day and was highly annoyed with several writings which were religion based.  I'm sorry, but what the hell does religion have to do with homesteading, planting a garden, and raising animals?  I had thought about subscribing to this thing until I read those writings.  I realize it was other readers writing to "instruct" other readers, but please don't preach to me, I'll continue to decide things for myself.  I think the editors should have been more aggressive.  So to the editors of "Country Side"  this is the 21st  Century, your readers are no longer predominately Christian and do not care to read about the religious exploits, dogmas, or propaganda of contributors.  I have nothing against Christians in particular, or about researching other religions, but please don't allow contributors to turn "How to Shear a Sheep" into "How my Christianity Makes me a Better Person" it is completely irrelevant.  I am not going to become a convert this way.



      

More Weird From Back Home

I don't have a lot of time this morning, due to work schedules, but about half an an hour from where I used to live in Coshocton County there is this news:

Exotic Animals (newspaper article)

It is very sad for the animals, very messed up that a private individual could "own" so many and then create a dangerous situation.  Lots of people have been criticizing the handling of the situation by cops, without taking into consideration that staff members from the Columbus Zoo and the Wilds which is sort of a Jurassic Park for rhinos and lions and such were on hand to help.  I'm sure none of those people really wanted to go out and kill a bunch of animals.

People are being ignorant and typing all sorts of things.  If you want an example here is Jack Hanna's Facebook page:

Jack Hanna

This man is neither ignorant or cruel.  He has been an asset to all of us who have ever lived in Ohio and visited the zoo.  He has helped draw in loads of tourism, and has helped to promote awareness of living things, ecosystems, and the zoo.

Dogs Don't Mind the Wind

    The horrible wind monster is blowing, and not because of any visible storm.  I think it is because it is Mid-October and the Zephyrs are reminding us that we don't always get nice pleasant warm breezes, which we would all be happy to accept.  It is windy enough to remind me that I should be looking for a tree saw so that I can rid a few of my trees of some dead branches. 
 
     The dogs don't seem to mind at all.  They have been carousing in the backyard on and off all day...the offs being marked by Emma, whom once she gets into a barking fit, doesn't easily come out of a barking fit...then I get tired of hearing "bark bark bark, bark bark bark" and let her in.  I think she is saying "STRANGER DANGER!"

     A big dead limb just fell outside the window. Good thing I have a brush pile.  One day I will burn it again, once it isn't so windy and when I don't think the neighbors will call the cops; they haven't yet.  There is no way the city would dispose of the amount of limbs I get from these four huge trees. I love the trees, reminds me of home.

      The toilet water was swishing around in the bowl, which made me all nervous, usually when it does that the drain is going to be evil and spew evil onto the floor...but I noticed it was doing that even when I wasn't running water so that can't be it.  So I looked it up online. Apparently something about the roof stack and magic and physics combine to make the toilet water dance when its especially windy.  My parent's toilets never did that, I don't think, but I could be wrong.  I wasn't as obsessed with the magic plumbing elves at their house, everything worked okay and no concentrated evil ever ended up on the floor.

     I usually don't mind the wind, but this time I'm not thrilled.  Can't it just be warm at least until January?  The furnace is running plenty, please, this is cold enough...plus, we had the loooongest winter on record last year.  The weather didn't break until late April, it seems...and I do believe I was still running the furnace nearly all the way to the end of May. Ridiculous.

Amish Gangland

      It's  been a couple of years since I moved out of Amish Ville, but relatives still in the area have been keeping me updated on all the bizarre goings-on.  Typically, Amish are pacifistic, non-violent and often odd people who do a few things I do not condone, but usually aren't much of a blight on their neighbors.  The biggest problems my family has ever had with their Amish neighbors is often they won't fix their fences so their animals escape and cause havoc, their dogs are left to run wild and often kill anything that moves, they tend to trespass while hunting, and the like.
     They are a highly productive people. YOU try farming 40-100 acres without a tractor.  They live off the land but are increasingly finding their way into businesses such as roofing, becoming contractors, selling stoves, selling tractor parts and the like.  They are the people you all when a barn needs a roof in a  hurry or you'd like to add on to your house.  Their prices are reasonable and they bring a giant crew so the job gets done in a hurry so they can then move onto the next job.  The paradox of all this industry is that they often use cellphones and computers.  Increasingly,  the newer orders of Amish are becoming techno-geeks and even have generators and some electricity in their houses, which the old order Amish still forbid.  They all still drive a horse and buggy, but the new orders have turn signals, headlights, and strobe lights to identify themselves on often dark windy and often low visibility roads while the old orders stick it out with only lanterns which drivers cannot see from more than a few feet leading to lots of terrible accidents.  The work crews hire drivers and make use of big old-style work vans.
       The things I do not condone consist of women being third class citizens, the complete shunning of family members who have decided to become "English" meaning no longer Amish, the treatment of some of their farm animals is objectionable, they seem to be immune to most of the laws that all other citizens are held to preferring to "deal with it within their own churches", alcoholism, drug use, rape and all those horrible things are not openly discussed and "dealt with in private" and they are just as rampant among the Amish as the rest of the population even though they deny it.
     All in all, its complicated.
     But, lately, some Amish have taken to violence on their fellow Amish.  I'm just going to post links to various news organizations because they write the tale better and I see no need to paraphrase.
amish on amish violence
Arrests
Radical Amish

     It is just amazing to me that the alleged leader of the radicals makes a statement saying "It's all religious, I don't know why the Sheriff has his nose in."  Terrorizing a group of people is not acceptable no matter the religion.  No one is above the law because of religion...I have often found the Amish confusing, conflicting and  complicated, but I never thought I'd see any of them terrorize  their fellow Amish because they do have strong religious beliefs such as "thou shalt not make a graven image" meaning as far as I know they are not to appear in photographs or on camera because it breaks a commandment...also confusing because several Amish appear in the two videos above by consent.  I know they had to sign a release form.  I don't suppose I will ever understand since I was not raised Amish.

Of Paper Towels and Fabric Softener

    Plumbing issues continue and I wash my hands of it.  Jon will deal with the drain guy on Monday. I am disgusted that I can't flush my own toilet every time we use it and such.  We've been showering with a wet towel over the drain so that the water drains very very slowly or not at all...its all very gross.  Jon did our laundry at his mom's house because I was wearing the same jeans for five days. Yep. Gross.  Yes, I do need to buy more jeans.  But hey, when you're used to living on $1100 a month for months and months and months you learn to do without things like lots of jeans and paper towels.
     The first things I bought when Jon got a  full check: paper towels, an extra bottle of shampoo, extra toilet paper, and (something I haven't bought since last January) fabric softener. Yep...you learn really quickly what constitutes a luxury and what isn't; having no static and soft clothes is definitely a luxury when ten dollars can be better spent on food.
     Jon has been fairly discouraged that its taken us so long to catch up despite him working 40 hours.  I had to explain to him that he's only gotten two full checks  and one partial...and that the last pay period my entire check was swallowed by the mortgage and DTE and he paid for alllllll the gas, and other things like food. Incredibly, even though he complained a lot, I don't think he truly understood that when I used to tell him we have X amount of dollars for two weeks, usually some horrible amount like 100 dollars...just how impossible a situation that can be. So I think he understands now.  Things are getting much better other than the plumbing.  My mom gifted us with a check for our one year anniversary and I am going to cash it then pay off the car insurance in full, I think.  Wasn't expecting that extra boost.  Yep. Two hundred dollars is still a lot of money to me.
      I need to get cracking on buying plastic for the windows, rubber for under the doors, caulking that annoying little wind whistle in the window room, and putting plexi back in the back door.  It's been windowless for quite a while since the day Jon forgot his keys and broke into our house. The neighbors, being reasonable people, apparently called the cops on him and he produced an ID with this address on it, so it turned out okay. So its been taped over with plastic for a long ass time. Which is okay except for when it gets cold.  We actually should invest in scads of insulation for our attic, I think.  This house holds the cold sooooo well and takes forever to feel warm.
   I am on vacation now, which is nice.  I'm sure I am going to get bored at some point. This is just my first day. I have no car, of course, Jon has it, but he's off for the next couple of days and maybe I'll be able to do laundry or even the dishes without the drain backing up into my house. Wouldn't that be a miracle?  Or even, have Ruth and Joe over for dinner, or go to Ruth and Joe's....or anything. Sounds homey.  Wish our oven worked.  Should have someone look at it.  It's probably some simple part that needs replacing, I am just not that handy.  Wish my dad lived closer, he'd know, most likely...not that I expect him to fix it, I just expect him to help ME fix it.
   I got paid yesterday, then I paid all the bills, bought dog food, rabbit food, and such and still have $300 left...wow...I almost think I'm rich.  Jon gets paid on Monday.  I think we are going to invest in a Jeep...gas will be high, but I'd love to not have to rely so much on  Jon's parents when our hours are not copacetic.  Also, I've love to go do things while Jon has the car and I'm sure the feeling is mutual.