Friday Follies...

I must say those were some marvelous thunderstorms last night.
The rain that came along for the ride was pretty good as well.When you can clearly hear it hitting our roof...THAT is heavy rain.
Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us mostly cloudy skies, temps rising to about 74 degrees, and more rain moving in later today into the evening and overnight hours. It should stop by daybreak tomorrow. Don't let any morning sunshine fool you (take the umbrella and maybe a light jacket), and do be aware of road conditions and any branches that might be in the streets.

Now, let's pour ourselves a glass, cup, or mug of some Friday Fortitude to get things rolling, as we see what else has been going on...
*** First off of the freshly-mowed lawn is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
MAY 17 -
National Pack Rat Day

(not to be confused with THE RAT PACK...ever!)
National Cherry Cobbler Day
National Graduation Tassel Day
National Walnut Day
National Idaho Day
National Endangered Species Day

(that's WHITE people on the SE side of FTW...heh)
National Defense Transportation Day 
National Pizza Party Day 

(just don't try to get DELIVERY where we live...lol)
National Bike to Work Day 
(I did that back in Philly for a few months)
NASCAR Day
(should be a SUNDAY)
*** Next, and since it's the weekend, let's see what we can observe over the following 48 hours...
MAY 18 -
National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
National Visit Your Relatives Day
(would if I had any left and close by)
National No Dirty Dishes Day

(I can agree to that)
National Cheese Soufflé Day
Armed Forces Day

(May God watch over them all)
National Learn to Swim Day
(not at my age, thanks)
MAY 19 -
National May Ray Day
National Devil’s Food Cake Day

(sounds like a good deal to me)
Take Your Parents To The Playground Day

(oh, that's NOT going to happen ANY time soon)
And there we go...lots to busy yourself (while it rains). Just remember to ALWAYS observe responsibly.
*** Next, an UPDATE to the latest homicide in Fort Wayne:
https://wpta21.com/news/top-stories/2019/05/17/arrest-made-in-tuesday-evening-stabbing/

BUSTED for MURDER!!

An arrest was made on one Juan Molina, 61, oif Fort Wayne, who is preliminarily charged with Murder plus FELONY murder.
(good police work and community tips)
*** Next up, I caught this from Kevin Jackson's email from The Black Sphere:
https://theblacksphere.net/2019/05/meet-aoc-like-youve-never-seen-her-before/

Now THAT is cute...and the girl is MUCH better at speaking than AOC could ever hope to be.
*** Next...the following is in today's J-G on the OP-ED page:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/20190517/sound-off-on-electricity

This deals with having YOUR say on the impending "request" for a substantial electric rate HIKE.
Gives a lot of the "nuts and bolts" of this and let's not forget that I&M tried this before a couple years back and got a hike then.

My archive post from 1 June 2018 mentions they wanted a 19% increase and got a 7.3 % increase (that was LAST year, folks). See also my post from 11 October 2017.
Remember that we had a rate hike for WATER back in 2017 and a natural gas rate hike around the same time.
Where does the madness (and the gouging) end?
*** Next up, time to make our last stop for the week at "Kitten  Corner"...

"I haz to keep the chair from getting away."

The kids did pretty good again, then later on when the storms hit, they became as scarce as a good neighbor. Actually, they were not really hiding, just trying to avoid the noise as best they could.

"I iz dreaming of cat stuff."

Before that, they were enjoying the day, watching things outside, and being cute.
*** Next, let's do our end of week check in with "Midnight and Whiskers"...

"I know..more rain's coming."

Our furry twosome spent most of yesterday near the house...at least they were here for all the meals.
Later in the afternoon, Midnight had to exercise some of his brand of "catiitude" with that "Fluffy" cat that keeps coming by to snag food or get a drink.

They had a bit of a stare down...IN THE DAMN STREET!!!
Whiskers was just taking it easy on the patio, and had no comment on that particular episode.
I did have some supervision when I trimmed some tall shrubs near the garage door.

"I'm already under the table...just in case."

We did manage to get all the meals in out in the open, but I put their bowls under the table to keep them from getting soaked.
*** Last back to the garden...as I mentioned (in passing), our lawn was mowed yesterday. All the hills along the front and side...done.

McCarty's Mowing is their name, and I have to admit they did a bang-up job.
A young lady did the work, and she can really handle those stand-up mowers.
After that, she fired up a gas string trimmer and edged the curb strip and did around the trees. Then, she finished by blowing the grass off the sidewalks.

I think it's worth $35 a month for 3-4 months. Lord knows I can't manage it as effectively as I used to (yeah, it's the aging thing). I can still do the back yard, although that takes a bit longer these days. McCarty's appears to have a very good work ethic...the woman came, did her job (well) and then left.
As mowing services go, It would seem to be one of the better ones, and I get to see a few considering the rentals around us that hire such services to do their properties (usually after NCE has tagged a weed violation on them).
The price isn't bad, considering the gear that's used, plus travel time, gas, and such.

I know what it's like to do a good job.,..I take after my parents there. My Dad used to say "If you can't do a good job...don't bother doing it at all." He (and Mom) impressed upon me why it was important to let your work speak for you and your abilities.
But, that's the way things used to be done...
Wish we had more of this around today. We could surely use such practices in greater abundance.
That's the thing about work...when you do a good job, it shows, and even if no one else notices it...YOU do
Teaching by example...and through this we also learn. Therein lies the message for the day.
Do have a good weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.