“What is that?” you ask.
That, my friends, is the nest that mice built in the heater box of my car while it was parked for several week when we were hunkering down at home. Smokey has been working on and off for the past week trying to take the dashboard apart to get at it. After downloading two (2!) different service manuals, he finally got the instructions he needed. Removal of the nest was necessary because turning on the heater or a/c caused a lot of noise and probably would have damaged the fan or motor eventually.
The Young Turks had it right back in 2014. There is also a blooper reel.
How to talk to relatives who care more about looting than black lives. Coincidentally, immediately after I made this link, we got a call from Smokey’s born-again, Fox News-watching, 91-year-old aunt in California. It wasn’t a fair conversation — there were two of us and only one of her. But she got her licks in at the end: “I wanted to check to see how you two were doing. I didn’t want to get into a lot of discussion.” Oh, Auntie…
The Geneva Convention re: policing in the US. More.
Make your bed before you jump in.
Fashion trends during the pandemic. More not behind a paywall.
kmkat & her kneedles 
Speaking of pandemic fashions, I see many folks at my local supermarket dress in all black, with black face masks. They are also wearing latex gloves. It can be discomforting to shop surrounded by Ninja Proctologists..
I appreciate the article on how to talk to people about race. I have come across comments in other blogs that I find so racist and am often at a loss as to whether I should even begin to engage with such a person or if it is just hopeless to try. I try to keep my replies to “me” statements – just saying what I feel about the situation or issue and not try to get into a debate over data or details. I am not good at debate and so will speak from my own life or my own experiences. Some times this helps, some times they don’t get it, some times I am just left angry, or I regret not being more forceful. It is hard to know what is the right balance… Thanks for giving me food for thought!
Year before last when I took my car in for inspection, my mechanic told me that he’d had to scoop out half a trashcan of squirrel nests before he could even start…
And thanks so much for those video hugs – we all could use some of those about now!
My children say of me that blooper reels are my jam. I can’t disagree.
Oops. Silly mice.