The Sideshow

 It's almost the end of Summer, yet, it was 114 and still breaking Heat Records every single Day!   So, even once it's officially Fall, it's not Feeling very much like it yet.   The Daughter has braved working in The RV Garage Mahal, but, I just can't yet, too Hot and we can't open the big Door now that the Motor is burnt out and needs to be replaced.  I'm not even bothering with a quote yet for that Job, since I know it's not something we can afford so soon after other major Home Maintenance and Repairs that were a major Summer outlay we were not at all prepared for.   The unexpected Debt Load is more than I'm comfortable with actually, but, everything was necessary and got done as each Crisis came up to deal with. 

I still have uncut Grass, even tho' I prepaid for Yard Maintenance to our Neighbors Sons.  Since, their Dad won't let them borrow his John Deere Mower and ours is also now on the fritz.  It's been a Summer of one major expense after another, so, you do what you can and what you can't, has to be deferred.   This is also why I'm not running up unnecessary Medical Expenses either.   The whole Western Medical and Big Pharma Money Grab has given me skepticism about their primary motives and agenda being far too transactional and self-serving at the Patient's expense.   I really have a long standing distrust of Western Medicine and it's ties to the Big Pharma Industry. that also needs Patients dependence upon Addictive Drugs and staying Unwell to profit them all.  Less profit in keeping folks Well.

So, right now I'm still just doing what absolutely can't be avoided and discerning what can either wait or be cancelled altogether.   I definitely will not be paying the Brothers to do Yardwork or Irrigation again next Month if I'm going to be stuck doing most, or all of it, myself.   They didn't do any of the August Yardwork they got Paid for and the Irrigation was done quite half-assed Twice during August.   The first time they neglected to turn off the Pump and another Neighbor had to wake me up in the wee Hours of the Morning to tell me we were flooding and he wasn't getting his Water downstream due to it!   Then last Cycle half the Front didn't get it's Water and I had a lot of Grass die off and look even worse than the overgrown parts.  

I'd already Paid TJ before he informed us of his Health Crisis, grim Diagnosis and Treatments.  I do feel sorry for him and he is Hiring The Daughter to do Work for him now Anna is gone.  Rob never did inform us he didn't want to do the Work anymore.   But even in July I suspected he wanted Payment without the quality of Work he used to perform to receive it.   At first both Brothers did good Work, I had increased the amount I Pay them by a LOT voluntarily. Becoz I'd been so Happy with the Work and wanted to adequately compensate them.  They'd set a Price when we first moved in and it used to be TJ and Anna lived in their RV in a part of our Property along with getting Paid, as part of the Arrangement we agreed upon.  RV Parks charge a small fortune for Space Rent to Park RV's and live there.  

So, when that was not part of the Deal anymore I increased how much I Paid them in Cash to do the Work.   He and Anna have been off again, on again now for Years, theirs is one of those very Toxic Unions some Couples just never End.   Anna used to be more reliable than the Brothers about doing the Work we Paid them all to perform.  But, she lives elsewhere now and only visits to check on her Elderly In-laws.  She and her In-laws are quite close, they are a Lovely Old Couple.   I don't blame their Dad for not allowing his Sons to procure and commit to doing Work for Neighbors and then borrow his Equipment to perform it, it's wear and tear on his expensive Tools.   We had all the Tools initially, but, they've since worn out and need replacement or repairs... it happens.

I need a new Riding Mower and a new Weed Whacker Gas Powered Edger now.  I have a lot of NEEDS right now, let us just say.  *LOL*  And, I need Staff but affording a lot of Hired Help isn't in the Budget considering the Quotes I've gotten from Companies that do Yardwork and none will do the Irrigation part.   Yardwork if you have Acreage, is a bigger Job than most of the Landscape Companies usually perform.  So here in the Mini Farms Community, we all typically do it ourselves except for Tree Trimming and removal.  It was my only hesitation about Buying this Property actually.  But The Man convinced me he could and would do it with the John Deere the Sellers Gifted to us as an incentive to Buy.  *Eye Roll*  Since that never happened with him doing it even once and I should have known... Maintaining Properties hasn't been his Strength!  He's dismal at taking Care of things, whereas I'm fanatical about it.

I do everything else and I can do the Irrigation if it doesn't come when I've got Appointments Scheduled or am at Work.   But for some reason driving a John Deere Tractor Mower was intimidating to me, go figure, since it's probably just as easy as driving anything else?  But in my Mind's Eye, and don't Laugh now, but I Imagined it going out of control and driving into, over or thru the Fence, Bushes, Wall, like a runaway Train with me on it unable to Stop!  *LOL, I'm Serious, it was one of those ridiculous Fears you sometimes Imagine*  Princess T has the identical Fear, but, she's never driven anything, so her Fear at least was more logical and possible than my own.  *Smiles*  Now the Big John Deere is kaput I'm looking to Buy a smaller less intimidating Riding Mower.

There is a Tractor Supply Store and a John Deere Store very near our Home, so I need to go to their Showrooms and see what's available?   A Push Mower is out of the question, since we have an Acre of Land and the majority of it is Grass/Pasture.   You'd probably drop Dead in this Climate cutting that much Grass with a Gas Powered Push Mower.   Even on the John Deere, the Grass was cut either in the early Mornings or late at Night to avoid the Heat of the Day doing it.   Even tho' TJ and Rob Maintain their Parent's Property, which is the same size as ours, they have very little Grass.   They developed their Land differently and their Home along with Build Outs takes up much more Space on their Lot.  So they have a tiny Crescent of Grass in front of their Circular Driveway, and a Strip out Back with Citrus Trees on it.

I think the Original Owner of our Property had Horses and she Sold it to a Younger Couple who replaced the Stables with The RV Garage Mahal for their Trucking Business to be run out of.   We bought it from them, mostly due to The RV Garage Mahal.  Since, I knew we had a lot of Cargo I hadn't been able to Sell Off enuf of in order to downsize to half the Home size we used to have.  *Winks*   The Property does work for us in more ways that it wouldn't.   And I ain't gonna Lie, I Imagined getting back to my Old Hippie Roots and replacing the Pasture with Raising Crops to be more self-sustainable and Sell Off excess at Farmer's Markets held nearby.  Mebbe get some Chickens.  That's all still possible, just not as probable anymore.

Why?  I got too much to do and take Care of already and first, I have zero delusions about Raising Crops and Chickens, that's Why.  *LOL*  It COULD happen still, but everything else would have to be in Order and Done first, so, it would likely not be a consideration until then.  I'd still like to develop the Property that way and replace Pasture with something more useful to us.  Pasture is pretty and cooling around your Property, so I'm not in Hate with it, I just know it's Work to Care for.  And as you get Older, you realize how much Work you can still Manage and what you should probably have other people doing for you.  So, a Budget for Staff would be nice, tho' my Adult Kids and Adult Grandkids have been very Helpful here and they're Free Labor.  *Winks*

So, The Son said he'd go halves on an inexpensive Weed Whacker, so we went out and got one, at least now he can edge the Yard and Pasture.  He was teasing me about the Online Cons about cheap Riding Mowers, saying that's all fake and clearly it is.  Just regular Push Mowers were way more than I can afford, so the Online BS about Riding Mowers was 99.9% totally fake to get the Credit/Debit Card info off people it fools... there's no actual Mowers at those Price Points at any place that actually Sells them.   I felt very foolish and naive, tho' I would never Order one Online, I would have sought something at a Store that wasn't real, like a putz.  Where's your Riding Mowers that only cost...  *LOL getting Laughed out of the Store*   So, suffice to say I'll have to figure something out and see what the John Deere would cost to just Service/Repair?

I have been enjoying seeing the Big Halloween Displays in all the Shops, even "Home Depot" had an impressive selection.  But, my Fav so far is still the CarnEvil Sideshow Display at the "Spirit Store" nearest to our House.  One has to Love a good Sideshow Display whether it's Creepy or just Festive Carnival Themed.   A lot of the CarnEvil Display is For Sale, but I do like the Props around them that aren't.   I already had to take the cheap Weed Whacker back for a refund, it was a POS and wouldn't Charge right or cut worth a damn.   "Home Depot" didn't argue about refunding and we can't afford the high price Models right now. And Yard Equipment Rental costs as much for Four Hours Rental as Landscapers are charging to do it for you, which is too expensive too.   So, for now it stays overgrown.

 

The Daughter is making some Caldo de Pollo from scratch, it smells Divine and tasted really good too.   A Monsoon Storm is getting ready to blow thru, so a nice Chicken Soup during Stormy Weather is comforting when the Weather turns inclement.   I still haven't been feeling 100%, just general malaise and Headaches, probably due to poor Air Quality, so much Construction and they don't do very adequate Dust Abatement as they should.  In Arizona there is a Fungus in the Soil that causes a dangerous Lung Infection called Valley Fever when the Spores are released and disturbing the Soil is the primary reason it's spread.   People and Animals can become very Sick, even Fatally or Irreversibly so, from breathing in the contaminated Dust.

 

Some of my Symptoms I've been experiencing are similar to Valley Fever, so, I might have to get Tested for it if it lingers or becomes chronic symptoms.   While I was outside picking up Palm Fronds that fell off one of our Palm Trees during the Storm, a full sized Red Truck pulled up and the Couple who used to own our Home Years ago were in it and stopped to introduce themselves.  They were an Older Couple, his Name was Dan, she had an unusual Name that I've forgotten... he's the one that built The RV Garage Mahal when they owned the Property.   They bought the Property from the Original Owner who Built the House, then they Sold it to the Young Couple we bought it from.   I'd thought the Young People had the RV Garage Mahal built, apparently not.   This Older couple were very nice, he looked like an Old Biker and somewhat like the Actor Sam Elliott.

 

It was good to meet them and learn a bit about our Property that I didn't previously know about.  They were glad we've kept it Original and I told them it doesn't usually look this overgrown, our John Deere broke down.  He said he doesn't miss Maintaining this much Grass, so he totally understands how it wears out Equipment like that.   I'm assuming his Wife is the one I was told about who actually did the Remodeling of the Home, she has great Taste.  I forgot to ask her if she was the one who did the Remodeling and making it Modern Urban Farmhouse Style and picked out all the beautiful high end Products I Love so much?   I did tell the Husband that the RV Garage he built was a huge Buying Point of why we chose this Property.  That seemed to make him feel really good.  

We just watched a Comedy Feel Good Movie called "Bad Words" {2013} on NetFlix starring Jason Bateman.   I really liked it.   There were a few bomb Movies we couldn't get thru tho', the worst being "Kaos" {2024} starring Jeff Goldblum, who I really like as an Actor so seeing him in this POS unwatchable Role was really disappointing, it was beyond awful, I could only get thru perhaps 15 Minutes of it before I had to just watch something else.  It's one of those you're wondering what the Hell you're even watching?!   I guess it's a Series and not a Movie, it was supposed to be some contemporary reimagining of Greek Mythology.  I don't know how High the Writers were to think it was worth making?   

 

I'm seeing a lot of Good Actors and Actresses lately accepting Roles in really Bad Movies and it's not only disappointing, but, tragic.  Seems the Money is more important than preserving their Legacy as some of the Greats in the Industry?   Good Acting can't even save a Bad Movie IMO... and sometimes in these Bombs their Acting is just Bad or Campy too.   It reminded me of Brad Pitt in "Bullet Train" {2022} which was really stupid and awful too.   But, some Hits are subjective, there are madly popular Movies I didn't like at all and other Movies I Loved that weren't big Box Office Hits.   But I am enjoying watching more Movies that usual now that the Kiddos bought me NetFlix subscriptions since the first of the Year.   I tend to watch more of the Comedy Specials than Movies, and just a few of the Series, since investing yourself in a Series can lead to serious Binge Watching that can get out of control.  *LOL* 

It's hard to Believe that August is almost over and we'll be rolling into September in a Day.   Princess T will be applying for Employment come September, I wanted her to enjoy her Summer first, since extended Summer School had eaten up so much of it so she could recapture Credits to Graduate.  She worked so very hard at that and did it, that I wanted her to just enjoy the reward of Summer as a Kid, before Adulting come Fall.  *Smiles*   Her Gay Boy Posse had asked her to go Tubing with them down the Salt River, her first time ever doing it, it's been a Local "Thing" for Generations every Summer.  They Rent Out the Inner Tubes and have Shuttles to bring you back Upriver after you've Tubed down the Salt River.   Another Straight Girl they knew from School also attended with her, Timmy and Matthew, so, she had to Share her Posse this time, but, she was still Queen Bee.  *Smiles*  

She had on a skimpy Black Bikini, lots of Bling in her Bellybutton Piercing and a Black "Flashdance" Style Top that hung off one Shoulder, and some low hung Black Sweats that showed off the Sexy Part of the Bikini Bottom underneath.   So, she looked less like she was going Tubing down the River, and more like a Victoria's Secret Swimsuit Model.  *Bwahahaha*   She came back Home looking just as Fierce as she had when she left the House, don't know how she managed that, even when I was her Age I couldn't come back looking Cute from Tubing down the Salt River, it has rapids and all.  You usually come back looking Happily like a Drowned Rat.  *LOL*

I was worried about her safety, I once almost drowned Tubing the Salt when I was Younger and a 93 Lb. Waif as Skinny as her.  You fall thru the Hole in your Inner Tube when you get tired of holding yourself up after Miles of the more Rough parts of the River and there can be Debris in the Water, it is a Wild River.   But, Timmy and Matthew came up with an ingenious Plan that my Straight GI Military Male Posse I rolled with in my Single Days never thought of, go Figure, the Gays were more resourceful than the Soldier Boys!!!   *Bwahahaha*  They had brought a Sheet which they Tied over and under her Innertube so she couldn't possibly fall thru the Hole and could sit there like she was a Queen Bee on a Hammock!!!  Yes, I was suitably impressed!!!  

No Wonder she still looked quite coiffed!  *LMAOROTF*  I can just picture her languishing on her Pimped Out Tube like the Queen of Sheba, her Tube tied to her Harem of Young Gay Men!   Feeding her Grapes and Fanning her?  *Winks*   Yes, Timmy is like a Fabulous version of an Eagle Boy Scout when it comes to prepping for an outing, they probably had a full Buffet Spread and Refreshments on another Innertube to partake of as they floated by!?   *LOL*   He and Matthew dote on Princess T, she said they spoil her, spend more on her, take her out for Good Times way more than any Straight Guy ever has, including the current Boyfriend.   And that is the Truth, Timmy and Matthew spare no expense on that Girl and every Boyfriend they've had has to pass the Litmus Test with her first!!!  Yeah, it's like THAT! 

 

She claims she never wants to Marry or have Kids, but she said IF she did decide to Marry, perhaps a Gay Husband would suit her best if she expects to be Cooked For, have a Spotless Home, Worshipped and Pampered, since, she'd let him be The Wife too and they could have the benefit to Share Wardrobe and Makeup.  *LMAOROTF*   Timmy has a new Boyfriend, he ditched Cali Boy apparently that he met and hooked up with while in Cali on Vacay.  Princess T did not Like Cali Boy much, he'd come to Arizona to visit and try to pass the Litmus Test... apparently he failed it?  *LMAO*   Well, now Timmy is Dating a Local Handsome Latin Lover Hispanic Guy who she Critiqued, Blessed and thinks is Mister Wonderful, so, she's happier for Timmy being this fellow's Boyfriend.  *Smiles*  

 

Yes, this Young Man had to come to our Home and be Inspected, to get The Blessing!  *LOL*   Matthew is going to College and Working, so for now, no Time for Dating.   To be Fair, the whole Dancing Bear Act applies to her Boyfriends too and her Gay Boy Posse weigh in with their Critiques of her Boyfriends.  They are ruthlessly Judgmental.  They did not like Isaac at all... and they were skeptical of Jon Carlos... but, apparently they have thought Rusty to be worthy of their Queen... for now anyway.  *LOL*   They do have a very odd way of hanging out as Boyfriend and Girlfriend, but perhaps is typical of Today's Young People?  He works long Hours and comes over to our Home after Work and stays until very Late, they happily just hang out in her Room.  

  

The whole time they sit together happily seeming to ignore one another, with Eli the Cat from Hell protecting his Human's Virtue and watching his "Sponge Bob Square Pants" Cartoon, which is kept on for him.  *LOL* Each of the Human Kiddos on their Phones, for Hours on end!  The Man and I suspect they MAY actually be Texting each other and having a Silent Conversation via their devices while sitting side by side on her Bed, we just dunno?  *Bwahahaha*   Rusty seems to be as much a Homebody as our Strange Grandchild, since, they rarely go out and they don't like interacting with other Young People much either.   We usually just offer Food, if he hasn't brought Takeout with him, and the Kids are Content and Happy as Clams at High Tide to just hang out with and at The Grandparents Home.  Even her Mom and Uncle go out more and say, their Generation is quite different in their Dating Rituals.  *LOL* 

Now, I'm not saying this Child is Low Maintenance at all, she can be very High Maintenance in fact, but, she does like Solitude and is definitely in the Anti-Social Social Club as a Member in good Standing.  *Winks*  She would rather go out somewhere with me than to go out somewhere with her Boyfriends.   Previous Boyfriends had to be Okay with going out with her while she was with me as the Chaperone on the Outings, they seemed Okay with that.  It was her Rule, not mine, and her Boyfriends do seem to Like me, have reverent Fear of me, so, it Works for her.  *Winks*  In many ways she reverted right back to my Mom's Culture, which the Welsh Didi Kai do not let their Young Women go on Dates alone, a Family Member is always in attendance, usually a Brother or a Parent.  

 

My Mom's Older Brother, who was also my Dad's Best Friend, always went on their Dates and was their Best Man at their Wedding.  My Dad Respected the Culture, picked up their Language, and was thus much Respected and Beloved by my Maternal Grandparents and extended tight knit Family in Wales.  My Gran-Gran was distrustful of most American GI's, so my Dad was an exception and thus allowed to Date his Daughter.  You had to have Parental Permission.  But, my Dad's Native American Culture and ways played a big part in bonding with my Mom's People.  Dad's People were previously Nomadic Tribes too that had been forced to Stay Put and had also been Culturally persecuted, were protective of their Daughters and Sisters.   

So he had an understanding and point of reference to how hard my Mom's People had it and why they did what they do in a protectively insulated and rather secretive distrustful of others Society within themselves.   He didn't mind their ways, especially the Stranger ones that to many outside the Culture seemed like Witchcraft.  Dad had his stranger Tribal ways too that could look very much like Hocus Pocus to most Non-Indigenous peoples.  *LOL and Winks*   And as for the rest of the American GI's, my Gran-Gran had said there was only Three things Wrong with most of them:  They were Over Sexed, Over Paid, and Over Here.  *Bwahaha* The American Bases eventually were Closed Down in North Wales.   Sealand AFB was only open from 1951-1957 for the American Military.  Brief Window when my Parents met and Dated for Two Years before Marrying in early 1953.  

Dad preferred Overseas Assignments, less discrimination in Europe towards him and he was treated well and rather like a Novelty in every Foreign Nation he got stationed in, including their Tours in England, France, Germany and  his unaccompanied Tours in Southeast Asia.  They don't see a lot of American Indians Overseas.   To be Fair, in those days most Americans had never seen a lot of First Peoples of any of their various Tribal Nations outside of a Reservation either.  I was 15 before I saw another Native American besides my Dad outside of a Reservation.   A Navajo Woman who had Married a White American GI and was also stationed in England at the time.   She and our Family became close Friends coz she'd never seen any other Indians outside of her Rez either.  Most People of Color Loved being Stationed abroad, better treatment overall during most Eras.

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Blessings, Love and Light from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian