I sure do have a lot of updating to catch up on.

The last few days have finally brought on the monsoon season. It rained quite a bit and the amount of thunder and lightning picked up, too. It was still nothing like the storms of 2000, but it definitely stormed! We only lost power a few times for a few seconds. Not for hours at a time like in 2000. Today’s still cloudy, but less rainy. It rained pretty hard at times, eventually hitting all 4 sides of the house. Of course, I had to play Leak and Towel at the front door of our not even 3-year-old house. They have tornado, t-storms and flash flood warnings for northern and southern Arizona. Well, this is south-central Arizona, so I guess that means it could close in on us. At least I’ve been able to sleep. I don’t know if the freeloaders will let me do so over the coming week, but we’ll see. I’m still hoping I’m another two weeks away from returning to having to see Scot once a week.

The night before I last saw Scot, I dreamt it was the end of my probation and he came out and told me the judge wanted me to remain on for a few more months to take classes. My response to that was, “I don’t give a fuck what the judge wants! He doesn’t even know me. And in case you’re forgetting, it’s my life we’re talking about. We’re done as of 10/30 and that’s that.”

That’s exactly what I would say, too. If they don’t finish this shit up come 10/30, then we will. So far, though, unless I’m missing something, I’d still say we’re on for expunging the freeloaders from our lives for good come that time.

The Gods have cursed the Rose household yet again. Tom talked to Mary yesterday and not only do they have plumbing problems but Mom and Mary have cancer problems, too. When mom went to the dentist, they found something malignant in her gums, and they found a questionable spot in one of Mary’s boobs when she had a mammogram done. So now she has to go back for a biopsy and suffer the effects of chemo and or radiation therapy. See, this is why I don’t bother with GYNs or mammograms. If something’s going on, I don’t want to know it. I could never subject myself to puking and going bald by the chemo. I just couldn’t deal with it. I’ve gone through so much medically that one more incident would simply be too much to handle. It’s just like where the law’s concerned. If Scot decided to come toss us, I’d completely come unglued.

Anyway, I don’t know if Mary’s going to have to have some or all of her boob removed, but it usually does come down to one or another, but hopefully the poor girl won’t suffer too much, though I’m sure it’ll be unpleasant enough.

As for the plumbing problems - they want to replace their old leaky bathroom sink with a newer one with a cabinet underneath as we did in Phoenix. (their house is old, but not as old as ours was) Naturally, Dave’s too stupid to do it himself, so Tom’s going to do it. At least he’ll get some extra money out of it. Besides, he doesn’t mind. In a sense, Tom has two houses to maintain, so I wish they had a newer house! (although newer doesn’t always mean problem-free) At least no one’s tried using him like they used to. Not since he put his foot down like I tried to convince him to do long before he actually did.

Maybe I’ll tag along the day he goes over. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them and it won’t kill me to smile for their camera and eat pizza with them.

I was appalled to learn that one of the nuns at a convent Mary went to in North Dakota beat her with a ruler. I hope this bitch was finally caught and prosecuted, but I doubt it. These are the kinds of people God worships and protects. What surprised me was that Mary begged Todd not to tell anyone and she wouldn’t fight back, either. She just doesn’t fight back. I know she was just a kid, though, at the time who must have been quite terrified, but what the hell did God have in mind when he created her? To be a designated punching bag for whackos like this nun, Derek, Justin, her mom and others? How cruel and unfair! I hope that if she’s unfortunate enough to get a celly that raises a hand to her she’ll fight back and tell someone. At least fight back!

Just like with me, a lot of people seem to think they can take advantage of small people, I guess. The sooner people like Mary and I show them that they’re wrong, the sooner we can stop this kind of shit. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented me from putting Nancy in her place, since I’m the type that has to pay for things I shouldn’t have to pay for, let alone things I should, even if it meant getting my own ass beat in the midst of it, but Mary’s been there a long time and the DOs should know her and know that she’s a good, honest person. I think that they’d believe her if she told them she struck out in self-defense, though hopefully it won’t ever happen in the first place.

Now for the best news. I’m getting a mannequin! A couple of nights ago I couldn’t sleep. I remembered Tom and I talking about the possibility of me getting a mannequin someday. I always liked the idea but was concentrating so much on porcelain dolls that it ended up on the back burner. So, I decided to browse the net to see what I could find. Well, I couldn’t find too many sites that sell mannequins, and nothing in this state, but I found enough. The average nice, realistic mannequin runs around $400, but they do sell some used and some cheaper. For example, there’s this nice black mannequin made of fiberglass named Tanya whose flesh tone and makeup are all painted on. She stands 6’, wears a size 4, measures: 33-24.5-35, wears a shoe size of 7½, comes apart at arms and below the waist for easy dressing, and comes with a 16.5” base at the price of $335 plus $30-$35 shipping.

The average lady mannequin is between 70”-72” tall. I’d prefer one between 65”-67”, but they’re still way cool. I think I’ll get one of these someday.

For now, though, I checked out child mannequins and found an 8-year-old at 54” inches in height named Decter for just $175! She’s a cutie, too. She was the only nice one I could find for that cheap. What kind of a name is Decter, though? That name’s got to go. I think I’ll call her Sativa. Anyway, I probably won’t be able to get her till January, and of course, this means I’m postponing the 3 PG dolls I was going to order next week so I can get her sooner. I left a message asking if they ship to individuals, which I’m sure they do, and if her stand and wig comes with her. If there’s any problem getting her, though I doubt there will be, then we’ll be back on for the PG dolls as we don’t have an extra $400 to spare at this time for a lady. Someday, though, when we have another large sum of money, I’ll get a lady mannequin, but I’m not going to save up for one little by little and not be able to get anything else in between for the time it took to save up for it.

Sativa will stand all the way up to my eyes. She’s realistic looking, realistic looking in size, and there are no stuffed (soft-bodied) parts anywhere like with porcelain dolls. She could even wear some of my clothes! The photo quality isn’t great, but I’d say she has light brown eyes and medium-dark brown hair. Though her hair is only shoulder-length, it appears longer than it is cuz it’s straight. She has bangs, too. I don’t want to send Mary a full picture of her cuz the idiots in the mailroom might think it was a picture of a live naked girl. I’ll just send her a face shot. She’s going to either think it’s a way cool idea or that I’ve completely lost my mind! I’m sure she’ll dig it, though.

Sativa’s legs are posed a lot like Joy’s with one straight down and the other slightly bent at the knee so that that foot is behind the one that’s straight down. One arm sort of hangs in front with the forearm curving inward so that her hand is sort of in front of her lower belly. Her other hand appears to be on her hip, though from the angle it’s a bit hard to tell, with her elbow towards the back.

Later…

I was so, so stupid earlier going and making up mashed potatoes and forgetting there wasn’t enough margarine, so poor Tom ran up to Circle K. I was quite grateful to him.

It’s gorgeous out there now. The rain has really lowered the temperature. I shut the AC off and opened some windows. Of this house’s 14 windows, I opened the kitchen, office, living room and bedroom windows. It’s getting dark out, so we’re keeping the lights off so the little gnats don’t make their way through the screen. The glow of the TV and monitor is okay, though I did dim my screen. It’s the white light that attracts them. Although a bit humid, it’s actually quite comfy in here. It’s so nice to bring fresh air in after being closed up all summer. In the east, you’re shut up all winter and out here you’re shut up all summer. I feel so bad for my sweet Mary, having to sit in a windowless ice-cold cell. At least she won’t be locked up forever. I don’t know if she’ll be on probation for a century or not, but she’ll be free someday.

Later on, I may have to close the place up because it could rain again. Right now it’s only slightly breezy and semi-cloudy. It’s beautiful. No one’s ever going to take me away from all this again till I say it’s time to go and move on.

Naturally, the cooler weather has brought the renters out, so I had to see them standing out front every time I walked by.

How nice it is to hear country sounds (ducks/geese) instead of city sounds. None of which would be heard with the windows closed, as sealed up as this house is compared to the old one. Yes, dual-paned windows sure do beat single-paned ones. It’s pleasantly cool in here now and once it cools down a few more degrees, I’ll shut the windows. We might not need to run the AC all night.

Did some more mannequin homework, which I told Tom’s Mary about, too. I thought I’d have to shell out $450 for a decent mannequin after factoring in shipping/handling charges, but it looks like I can get a nice one for $350 at this site I stumbled upon tonight. Most sites have the same mannequins, just like a lot of the same dolls can be found at various greenware sites. If it were time to get one it’d be a toss-up between black Tanya and white Sandy. They’re posed similarly; with one leg to the side and one hand on the hip while the other hangs at the side. I don’t know about Sativa, but they’re of fiberglass, which is very lightweight. I may want to get them new wigs. I found a place where I can get wigs for $25.

Later…

Realizing that it wasn’t going to get much cooler in here with the cloud blanket overhead keeping the temperature stable, I shut the windows and kicked the AC on for a little bit to dry things up.

This new shampoo continues to do wonders for me. It’s softer and straighter, and I swear it’s grown half an inch since I started using it! It’s the weirdest thing.

Anyway, from what I could find out, I don’t think Decter is her name. I think it’s a brand of mannequin or a company that makes them. Most don’t have names except the ones from a series (a series is when you have the same one, be it Sandy or Tanya, for example, that are in 3 different poses). It doesn’t matter, though. I’m calling the first one I get Sativa. I may have to get a total of 3 mannequins, though, at some point in my life. There’s this beautiful sitting lady one. It’s probably $400 or more, but oh well. Life ain’t cheap.