A trial is to begin here on Wednesday morning to determine whether a Jewish couple can deduct the cost of religious education for their five children, a tax benefit they say the federal government has granted to members of just one religion, the Church of Scientology.

Even though the Supreme Court determined in 1989 the fees set by the Church of Scientology for their training and auditing courses were not allowable tax deductions (as charitable gifts), Scientologists have been allowed to do just that since 1993 due to a secret agreement with the Internal Revenue Service. The Sklars, who send their children to Hebrew school for religious training, would also like to deduct those expenses, but they have not been allowed to do so. Thus, the litigation.

Here’s the money quote from the chief tax lawyer of the CoS:

”Auditing and training are both Scientology religious services,” Ms. Yingling said, that members ”participate in to advance in Scientology.”

Ms. Yingling, I’ve been to lots of churches, and while many of them ask for money for this or that, I have never run across one that required charitable gifts in order to attend religious services, and the CoS most definitely requires their members to pay for these services … which are required for advancement within the “religion”. Therefore, Ms. Yingling, either everyone gets to deduct expenses for further religious training or no one does (which would be my preference).

Mostly, this article left me with that WTF feeling. Secret agreements with the IRS?! Excuse me?!

I transplanted the three peppers that were in small pots into nice large pots. I had just enough dirt and compost to get it done. Phew. They are sitting in a nice shady and breezy spot now enjoying a good soaking of water. Hopefully they won’t freak out too much about the move. I was super careful and didn’t mess with the roots at all. They were already root-bound, so it was definitely time to get them into something bigger.

I’m currently finishing off a big mug of water, because I need to be super-hydrated too. Holy cow, it’s hot out there! I fried. My shoulders are really fried. I even have tan lines. Well, in my case burn lines, because I really don’t tan. Any moment now, I will be off to the shower to cool off even more, and then a good dousing with aloe vera gel. I got some sun today! Mission accomplished on that task!

And that’s about all I will probably get done today. Except getting some beans started for dinner and playing a video game. I’m beat … and burnt.

Just a reference photo of my entire collection of potted veggies. I keep thinking they aren’t growing much, but then I look at how small they were just 7 weeks ago. I think they are doing just fine!

Yeah! I made it to the grocery store today! I was reminded why I like shopping early on Wednesdays. All the employees I know are there, the parking lot is empty and so is the store. That doesn’t mean it was a quick trip. I did, after all, have to read the labels on every jar of baby food. That takes a while.

Baby food, you ask? I’m planning ahead. They suggested I eat something pulverized into pulp and bland as soon after the operation as I am able. Baby food fits the bill. Therefore, I will be having Beechnut’s Turkey Tetrazinni. For the record, it is the baby food with the most calorie content per serving: 130 calories per jar. It’s probably also going to be vile, but I bet I won’t even notice.

The rest of my Day One menu will consist of mashed avocados and mango-yogurt milkshakes. Everyone seems to insist that by the second day I will be able to eat normal soft foods again, like pasta (which I am so damn tired of already). If not, it’ll be more avocados, which is very high calorie too. Good thing I love them, and they are in season and on sale right now. I hope by the third day I will be back to eating like I have been the last week and a half, which is my normal meals merely chopped into tiny little bits. I’m a pretty quick healer, and most people say that within three or four days after having multiples of teeth removed they are totally back to normal. I guess I’ll find out.

I think I found the root cause of my sleepiness. Cristina suggested I might be dehydrated. I started pumping in the water last night, and I am feeling tired this morning but not like I am about to fall asleep standing up. It seems that may have been the problem after all.

Today’s plan is to clean the bathroom, clean the kitchen, and tend to my plants. I really need to transplant the ones in 3 gallon pots into the 5 gallon ones, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen today or not. I think I’ll move all the stuff up to the front porch so I can work on it as I feel like it. It really needs to be done soon. They’ll do so much better in larger pots, and I won’t have to water them as often. But first, Mr. Stripey is getting tied to a stake. He’s almost bent all the way to the ground, and there are tomatoes forming on the top branches. Getting that done is a top priority.

I have so much housework I want to get done before my mom gets here. I know she isn’t going to care or say anything, particularly in light of the situation of me feeling like total crap for almost two weeks, but I do have a little pride. I’d at least like the house to be relatively clean and there to not be dust all over everything, and the kitchen needs to be set up so my mom can find the things she will need since she’s offered to do the cooking while she is here. I absolutely hate anyone other than myself to be in or use my kitchen, so that’s going to be annoying, but I also don’t think I am going to feel like cooking meals for other people that I can’t eat. It’ll only make my soft foods seem even more depressing.

Well, I better get my butt in gear while I am feeling somewhat energetic and pain-free. The longer I sit here, the more likely it is I won’t get any damn thing done at all today … and the list, it is long.

OK. I won’t really miss the movie channels too much. Austin is getting Retro Television Network, and I will be able to watch some ridiculous old horror or sci-fi movie or any number of silly vintage TV series any time I want to … in high definition. By “vintage” I mean the TV shows and movies of my youth. Star Trek, Family Affair, Mission Impossible, and just all my favorites! So cool. Can’t wait for it to start broadcasting here. There’s a placeholder now, so maybe it’ll be soon!

The Monkees in hi-def. My heart quivers in anticipation. I’m serious. I was so in love with the Monkees. All of them.

The sleeping does not stop. I ended up back in bed and slept until Lin got home. If I hadn’t needed to do the dishes and start dinner, I doubt I would have been able to get myself out of bed at all. I haven’t taken any pills of any kind today, and yesterday I only took low doses of ibuprofren, so I don’t know what is going on with all this sleepiness. It’s not laziness or escapism. I just can’t keep my eyes open for more than a couple hours at a time, and even then I am bleary-eyed, fuzzy-headed, and yawning. Maybe I am catching up on a lifetime of sleep deprivation.

So today has consisted of light housework and sleeping … again. My gods, that’s so boring. Tomorrow I want to transplant some of my plants into their final five-gallon homes, and I still need to tie Mr. Stripey to a stake, because he’s getting really leggy and hanging over. I better be awake enough to do that. I need some outdoor sunshine time. Maybe that will help with this insurmountable sleepiness. Caffeine sure as hell hasn’t been helping. I had two huge lattes this morning, and then proceeded to drift right off to sleep. This is seriously sucking.

Sunday was a bad day. I had to take two Tylenol-3’s, and that means I did nothing but lie on one flat surface or another in a state of unconsciousness. Yesterday might not have been a bad day, but I wouldn’t know, because after the two pills on Sunday, I was still almost incapable of remaining in a conscious state or being in an upright position. I’m not taking anything at all today. I don’t care if something hurts. I have got get the house in order somewhat, and there’s a ton of laundry to do. Life around me doesn’t stop making messes just because I need to take a few days off.

Still freaking out about June 3, to the point of beginning to have nightmares about it, but I am also really looking forward to this all being over with. I am imagining that once it’s all done, I am going to feel so much better than I have in quite a while. In fact, I am imagining I will feel like a whole new person. Of course, it won’t all be done on June 3. I still have to drag myself back to the first dentist in a month or two to get some fillings. As I told the folks over at that dental fear support forum though, after the massive amount of mouth invasion I am facing next week, a few simple fillings will seem like a walk in the park. Not that I won’t be a nervous wreck about them anyway, but it’s definitely going to be easier to deal with.

So yeah, not much to talk about. The inside of my eyeballs aren’t that interesting, and that’s about the only thing I have seen for the last few days.

Suits of armor for cats and mice.

It’s really pretty. In fact, I would love to have a set of samurai armor for Ronin. It would be hilarious to put it on him and watch him fall over unable to move. Not that he isn’t a very strong cat, but just a simple collar renders him completely incapable of movement … because there’s SOMETHING ON HIM! Still, I would love to see him wearing armor. It’d be a hoot.

I am awake at 6 am on a Sunday morning, I’m tired as hell but can’t sleep, and I am bored out of my head.

This is just not right.