That boss is a hot mess. You are well rid of her!

Luckily, I was inside for the huge dust storm, but they are not uncommon for this time of year...we got some rain too.

Holy Crap, erika.

Whoa, those are some crazy pictures!

Have fun, ita!

We have been massively lucky with our financial institutions. My dad had a thing about all your eggs and one basket. When he died, we had to traipse all over town to different banks each with a single CD or a couple of below-$1,000 accounts. H had managed to find and consolidate into interest-paying annuities for Mom most of Dad's money, but there were still about eight little accounts and CDs at five or six different banks in town--and it's not that big a town! We cancelled everything and moved all the cash Mom would need to maintain herself and the house into two accounts at the Savings and Loan nearest the house. They knew her there, and always made a fuss when I took her in, and were patient with her. The accounts paid extremely low interest, but their fees and charges were low, too, and this wasn't high finance.

However, they pulled the "we're going to hold this for ten days" when we got a cashier's check from her annuity account and I wanted to deposit it and write a check to cover her rent in assisted living. I boggled, and then I refused to complete the deposit, took the check back and drove to my CU, deposited it as her POA in my account, wrote the check, covered her rent, and immediately started easing her money out of the S&L and into a small account at our CU.

BoA jerked us around decades ago, and H and I both qualified for the State Employees CU, so they've had our business ever since. He's gotten consolidation loans there on no more collateral than the loan officer knowing his credit history. We still maintain accounts there because we still own property in the state, and it's easy to call up the personnel we know and okay a funds transfer.

Here, we joined the local educators' CU. We'll never use a bank again if we can find and join a CU.

Also, re: large metal animals.

It's not as cool as a giant chicken, but driving cross-country we were in Idaho, or maybe Montana ranching country. There was a metal artist's shop with a roadside display of his work. He had mustangs, metal manes and tails streaming in the "wind", created from pieces of car bodies and oil drums as his gateposts. If we'd had a place to pull the van and trailer over safely, we'd have stopped to at least look.

A couple miles further on, up a little rise and around a curve in the road, poised as though caught by surprise, her tail curved behind her like a lady's train, was a dragon, obviously made by the same artist. Again, no place to pull over or I'd have pictures.

Beverly, I'm a member of SECU. That's the one I was talking about. Wish I didn't have to find a new bank.

Looks fairly certain my swim tonight is going to be thundered out. Massive storm steadily approaching.

We just had it here, sara. We could actually use some more rain, but I think it's pretty much over.

It just started raining here and it looks to be another big one.

There is a 6ft+ metal chicken in front of a house on the next block from me. It's kind of disturbing, if I'm honest. Since the front 'yard' is about 3 by 6 total, I suppose it was an easier landscaping plan that, you know, plants.

I'm with a credit union, too. Unfortunately not SECU, because I've never been an NC state employee. My credit union was convenient when I worked about a mile away. Now going to the nearest office eats up the better part of a lunch hour. But they've been so hassle-free I'm disinclined to change.

Dad kept his money in a local S&L, too. My sister and I inherited a small amount in a checking account there, and I still have my half in the bank. Some of it is me being too lazy to transfer it, but most of it is that they were very kind to an old man who was, toward the end, inclined to chat with the employees for longer than necessary and perhaps a little more easily confused than he had been. So I've been in no real rush to move it.