Hocus Pocus Bloganocus!

Near that last Model-T across the street is where we released our balloons

Jill and I had a really good 29th anniversary yesterday. Thank you for all of the well-wishes. We did some shopping and then we went to The Hotel Baker in St. Charles where we had our wedding reception way back in 1988. I remember one of my high school proms was at The Baker when it was a hotel and then we had our wedding reception there when it was a retirement home and then we went there yesterday and it is a hotel again. We went inside with the helium balloons that we had purchased while we were shopping (you can read yesterday's blog if that has no significance and you need a point of reference) and they would not even let us go outside into the garden to release the balloons. What kind of hotel doesn't appreciate romance? So, we walked around to the back (you know me and my covert ops) to try to gain access to the garden but it was all fenced-in and locked. A lady was sitting on a stoop back in the alley and we told her our woes and she was flabbergasted as we were. So, we went back to the bridge over the Fox River and let the balloons go on the Tallahatchie Bridge. Maybe that was Billie Joe McCallister now that I think of it. The balloons flew westward and were out of sight in the windy overcast sky in moments. Jill had put little notes on the strings with something or other about contacting me on my email address. I am not sure exactly what she wrote on the notes but I hope it said something about how "The Baker Hotel doesn't believe in love and romance" or something along those lines. Maybe she said I would write about them in the blog if they responded?? She said she was also going to write the hotel an email about how we felt bamboozled (my word not hers) and that our daughter was going to plan to have her wedding there and now we would recommend not doing that. We are not really sure if out daughter and Andy will ever get married but it sounds good.

Where was Christopher Robin when I was working on the fence?

This morning I started to work on the fence repair. There are two posts that are leaning and I was unsure if the concrete beneath the ground had deteriorated or the posts had rotted... So, I began digging up one of the posts and, after I got about a foot down or so the 4 x 4 post snapped. The wood had just rotted over the last twelve years from when I installed the fence. So, I removed the other post (also in the same condition) and began digging. I got a lot of crumbling concrete removed and pieces of rotted wood and, of course, the sky opened-up and the rain, rain rain came down down down and washed away my chances of finishing the fence repair today. I covered the hole that I had made to try to keep most of the water from getting into the crevice so it would be easier when I can resume my mission. So, I came into the house and removed my very muddy: pants, jacket, shoes, socks and gloves and put on something clean and headed over to Lowe's on got  a couple of new 4 x 4's and a few bags of Quikrete. They are in the garage now waiting for, hopefully. their launch tomorrow (weather permitting). What happened to the May flowers? We seem to still be dealing with the April showers!

What a charming man!

It is very disturbing to me that my adopted country's (U.S. and A.) leaders are going to meet with The Philippines President, Rodrigo Duterte, at The White House. This is a person that brags about  personally shooting people and has overseen the killing of thousands of people in his country. He even sets people up if he doesn't like them so he can kill them or have them killed without public outcry. Though, if they cried-out, they would be killed too so they probably wouldn't cry-out. By meeting with this maniac our country is, in a way, condoning this kind of abhorrent behavior. Are our human rights headed this was too if our President condones and, in a sense, applauds this kind of abominable behavior? I am not much of a political person, by nature, but I have strong beliefs about how people should be treated in general. This kind of stuff is what we hear about in The Holy Bible. Maybe The Holy Bible was just written to scare people into behaving themselves with the threat of eternal damnation. What am I saying? That's precisely why those stories were written. Matt and Mark and Luke and John... got together and wanted to make the world a better place. Most of us, however, don't need to be threatened with eternal damnation with fire and brimstone to behave ourselves. I am not a religious person at all yet I believe in that people should treat others as they would wish to be treated. Actually, people should be treated the way they wish to be treated; others may not want to be treated the same way that I wish to be treated. Now I feel like I am being preachy. Thanks a lot Duterte! This is precisely why I do not wish to be a political person. Just when I think I'm out they pull me back in; I am so weak-minded.

This photo really makes me want to be a Warlock (Uncle Arthur or Maurice maybe?)

I spoke to my dad a little while ago and it sounds like my mom isn't doing very well again. They moved her to a different wing of the home she is in because she refuses to do any of her therapy. I am worried that things are going to turn even worse and she is going to be kicked-out. If I can get things caught-up here I will probably go see her again next week though Cha Cha and I are headed to Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod in a few weeks. We are driving out and we are very excited. Cha Cha is especially excited to visit Salem. Massachusetts. I am worried that she will have be put on trial as a warlock. How come you never hear about warlocks being persecuted there? I wonder if there were any? I am going to find the answer to that question. I could not wait and took a pause to see this article (just click if interested) about modern-day witches and warlocks in Salem. Now I really cannot wait to get to Salem.

Okay, I am going to end now. As always, I do appreciate you humoring me by stopping-in here. I hope you have a great night and, if I am unable to work on the fence tomorrow or, if I get done and still have time, I will blog again tomorrow. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!