The ants came marching home today instead of tomorrow! It was pretty exciting as I waited for them to arrive. When I pulled out their tube, I could see that most were alive and active. I then place them in the refrigerator. I took the farm outside and gloved up just in case but found in the end that it was totally unnecessary. They weren’t kidding when they said that refrigeration slows them down. Believe me, those things weren’t going anywhere after 10 minutes of refrigeration. I didn’t know if some of them would stick when I poured them out of the tube and into the farm, but they all slid out easily.

Out of the 30 or so ants, there were about 4 casualties. They provided an email address to contact if they die in a few days but I’m guessing they’re going to do just fine. They’re already starting to dig and carry clumps of gel up to the top. They either eat or stash their dead aside, but as gross as that may sound, they’re fascinating to watch. One was so funny when it slipped off the wall and onto its rounded butt, which is actually the stomach, and ended up doing a somersault.

Although the farm comes with a cover with teeny holes for air, I don’t think these things could escape if they wanted to. They just can’t climb the slick walls very well, let alone upside down which they would need to be in order to escape through the opening at the top. Because their habitat is rounded, they have a hard enough time as it is climbing back up after sliding down the sides where the gel doesn’t meet the wall.

The gel appears to have shrunk a bit which kind of makes sense as it slowly dries with time, sort of like those scented Renuzit things.

Knowing that there are waste-free soaps like what I use, I was curious if there was waste-free shampoo, and sure enough, there is. Found a 5-piece sampler box for $16 on Amazon. I don’t need shampoo or conditioner right now so it will be a while, but someday I want to try this and see if it’s worth it. It might actually be cheaper in the end, depending on how long each bar lasts and how easy it is to use. I love trying new things every now and then, anyway. Definitely want to stick to the Dove soap I’ve been using for my body because of past skin issues, but I like to change shampoos every now and then. With short hair that’s easier to manage, I have more flexibility.

The pigs have been very vocal lately and I’m not sure why. I don’t know if they just want attention or what. Rockefeller hates to be picked up, so I’m not sure what it’s about. They have everything they need so I guess they just like attention.

It’s 80 degrees in the house right now but we’re going down to 44 degrees tonight so I’m not running the AC, even though it is a bit warm. I’ve got the fans going. I hate this time of year where it’s nice during the daytime but cold at night.

Speaking of cold, sometimes I still feel really cold which is a bit surprising since I’m no longer that hypo. My TSH should definitely be in the single digits now.

So glad we don’t live next to Santa. Not just because of his mutts, but Dixie wasn’t kidding when she said he and his wife are out there every day. They’re constantly working outside and that would be annoying to have so close to home. They’re never indoors.

There seems to be a gold van and a navy F-150 living in Ralph’s place, but other than the occasional sound of a saw, I haven’t heard much yet.

Dixie emailed me saying she was sitting outside and to feel free to join her, but she had horrible timing. I was waiting on the ants when she messaged me. We later spoke by phone until she got another call. She said I could have gotten ants from her place, haha. She had ants in there a couple of times.

Decided to do what I should have done years ago… Create an email account strictly for sweeps only. Had to make it in my own name, of course, so when nosey people go to look up things that are none of their business, they’ll find it. This way I can just ignore all the spam without having to weed through it or unsubscribe from things to clear the box for things I actually want to receive.

Heart of the Forest got borrowed yesterday but they’ve only read two pages so far.

Who says you have to win just to have fun? Yeah, even though I may not hit the 50k word count goal for November NaNo, I’m going to start The Seduction of Suki when it starts. :-)

Some of the news really gets to me and if it weren’t for my Bing points, I would steer clear away from most of it. It’s depressing and infuriating. To charge a teenager with a felony simply because she made a finger gun at fellow students is utterly fucking batshit ridiculous. If everybody were charged with a felony every time they made some kind of threat, we’d all have felonies on our records. Seriously, people put too much stock in threats that are totally meaningless without the actions to back them up. Show me a kid who hasn’t gone finger-shooting at some kid at some point or another. And they complain the jails are overcrowded?

The case in Florida where a white guy fatally shot a black guy after the black guy attacked him and then got 20 years was pretty ludicrous as well. What’s the point of having the Stand Your Ground thing and agreeing it’s okay to defend yourself if you’re going to just get thrown in prison for it? I would be willing to bet just about anything that he never would have gotten such a sentence had the guy been just as white as he is. So don’t give me that shit about whites being oh so “privileged” and having it easier than blacks. They don’t in most cases these days.

What do people expect, though, when someone comes up when you’re not even facing them and then pushes you to the ground? Had the guy not shot him there’s no doubt the black guy would have pummeled the shit out of him. Ambush someone who isn’t attacking you or appearing to threaten you in any way, and you just might get shot. Self-preservation is a natural instinct, so who wouldn’t fight back? I realize that I don’t have the degree of freedom and rights some groups have these days, but if I were ever attacked I would do my absolute best to defend myself…without a care as to the person’s size, gender, race, color or status in the community. The only difference is that I might be made to pay for defending myself if the person wasn’t white, because in most places these days, they’re the ones that are believed and sided with.