The girls are supposed to take turns "swishing and swiping" their bathroom. This means, every day, they are supposed to alternate swishing out the toilet bowl, spritzing the mirror, counter, and toilet with cleaner, and swiping them down. This only takes about 1 1/2 minutes in the small bathroom they have, and keeps it from needing a "blast it clean with a sandblaster" treatment as much, if at all.
Then, they are to empty the trash can twice a week, sweep and wipe the floor with a damp cloth twice a week, and wipe down the shower as soon as they get done taking a shower. Again, this keeps it from building up.
Of course, they get confused, and argue about whose day is whose, and i'm now going to post a schedule on the mirror so they won't forget.
Anyway, Bigger Girl finished her final exams a few days ago, so yesterday she tackled giving the bathroom a good sandblasting, so to speak. She did a really great job (she wasn't a janitor's assistant for nothing).
Little Girl came in from school a bit later, and after using the facilities, came to find her sister.
"Did you get the bathroom so cleaned up?" she asked.
"Yes," Bigger Girl responded.
"Well, if you were getting it ready for the Queen, you forgot the complimentary tea, the Harry Potter reading material, and the ceramic model of a Tardis!"
Both laughed, and then Little Girl turned to me. "This sock is too big!" she said, pulling it off and showing it to me.
That's because it's one of your father's socks, i noted drily. The kids are notorious for leaving socks everywhere, losing them, and then grabbing whatever they can find that hasn't been folded yet.
"Do you know what socks are?" she asked, showing off her only-in-sock-clad feet.
What are they? i played along.
"They are 5% warmth, 5% comfort, and 90% fun with sock skating!" She then took off, skating across the floor in the dining room.
Today is
Apollon Day -- Ancient Roman Calendar (god of music, poetry, sunlight)
Armed Forces Day -- US (honoring those currently serving in the US military)
Battle of Las Piedras Day -- Uruguay
California Artichoke Festival -- Castroville, CA, US (lots of fun in the Artichoke Capital of the World; through tomorrow)
Dermott's Annual Crawfish Festival -- Dermott, AR, US (mud bugs aren't just for Cajuns any more! carnival, music, street dances, tons of crawfish and more through tomorrow)
Do Dah Day -- Rhodes and Caldwell Parks, Birmingham, Alabama (fun while fundraising for local animal charities)
Flag and University Day -- Haiti
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day/World AIDS Vaccine Day -- because viruses are so hard to treat, it's easier to develop vaccines to prevent them
I Love Reeses Day -- as voted in by lovers of the candy a few years ago
International Museum Day -- International Council of Museums (ICOM)
Iris Festival -- Greeneville, Tennessee, US (the community's major festival of the year, featuring artists, craftsmen, merchants, food vendors and entertainers from across the country; through tomorrow)
Moonbeam Hopping Gala -- Fairy Calendar
Morel Mushroom Festival -- Muscoda, WI, US (the "Morel Mushroom Capital of Wisconsin" celebrates the end of the peak morel season in style, with everything including an antique tractor pull, Fireman's Steak Feed, and even a parade; through tomorrow)
Lewis & Clark Heritage Days -- St. Charles, MO, US (reenacting the 1804 encampment just before their departure, with activities including a parade with drum and fife corps, and even a church service; through tomorrow)
Mike the Headless Chicken Festival -- Fruita, CO, US (it all started with a chicken that kept trying to eat even after the farmer lopped off his head to prep him for the stew pot; Mike's indomitable spirit and will to live is a legend here and the basis of a two day festival celebrating the fact that you can live a normal life even after you have lost your mind!)
National Cheese Souffle Day
National Learn To Swim Day -- US (with summer just around the corner, remember that drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages one to 14, so please, learn to swim and teach your kids!)http://blog.swimways.com/national-learn-to-swim-day/
National Pike Festival -- Fayette County, Pennsylvania, US (through the 20th)
No Dirty Dishes Day -- spread around the internet by a mom who needed the break, possibly; go ahead, break out the paper plates just on this day
O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships -- Austin, TX, US
Preakness Stakes-- Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD, US (138th annual; the second jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown)
Restoration of Somaliland Sovereignty Day -- Somaliland Region, Somalia
Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day -- Turkmenistan
St. Eric's Day (Patron of Sweden)
St. Theodotus' Day (Patron of hotel keepers and innkeepers)
Suigo Itako Ayame Matsuri -- Maekawa Ayame-en, Itako, Japan (Iris Flower Festival, with over a million blooms of 500 species, special dance and demonstrations on weekends; through June 23)
Visit Your Relatives Day -- if they are great, go have fun; if awful, go remind yourself why you moved so far away!
Wisconsin Dells Automotion -- Noah's Ark Waterpark, Wisconsin Dells, WI, US (showcase of more than 1,000 classic cars, music, food, and family fun; through tomorrow)
World Goodwill Day -- commemorates the opening meeting of 26 nations in the First Hague Peace Conference, 1899
Wright Plus -- Oak Park, IL, US (The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust’s annual house walk features rare interior tours of privately owned homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his contemporaries in the historic community of Oak Park)
Anniversaries Today:
Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1152
Birthdays Today:
Tina Fey, 1970
Chow Yun-Fat, 1955
Rick Wakeman, 1954
George Strait, 1952
Reggie Jackson, 1946
Brooks Robinson, 1937
Dwayne Hickman, 1934
Robert Morse, 1931
Pernell Robers, 1930
Pope John Paul II, 1920
Margot Fonteyn, 1919
Perry Como, 1912
Frank Capra, 1897
Omar Khayyam, 1048
Today in History:
The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch, 1268
Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut, India, 1498
Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy (under torture) lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe, 1593
John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts, 1631
Rhode Island passes North America's first anti-slavery law, 1652
Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec, 1763
The first United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States, 1783
Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate, 1804
The destruction of Saturdays forever after: Edwin Budding of England signs an agreement for manufacture of his invention, lawn mower, 1830
The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland, 1843
The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal is constitutional, 1896
A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people, 1896
Bram Stoker's Dracula is published, 1897
The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley, 1910
Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier, 1953
Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon, 1974
Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage, 1980
In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3km/h (357.2 mph), 1990
Photos from the Hubble Space Telescope confirm the existence of two additional moons, Nix and Hydra, around Pluto, 2005
A landmark bill passes in Nepal curbing the power of the monarchy and making it a secular country, 2009
The danger of walking barefoot when you have kittens:
They love toes!
Today is
Art Fair and Winefest -- Washington, MO, US (the largest tasting if state wines, juried art show, and more; through Sunday)
Asakusa Sanja Matsuri -- Tokyo, Japan (sake and processions of elaborate mini shrines celebrate the goddess of mercy and the three fishermen; through Sunday)
Bike to Work Day 2013 -- the League of American Bicyclists have urged you to celebrate this day the third Friday of May ever since 1956
Birthday of the Raja -- Perlis, Malaysia
Buddha's Birthday -- Buddhist
Celebrate Your Elected Officials Day 2013 -- unless you don't like them, then get to work electing better ones; if you know of a good one, take time today to thank her/him
Constitution Day -- Nauru; Norway; Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Day of Remembrance -- Cambodia (anniversary of Khmer Rouge regime takeover in 1975, a day to remember all who died at their hands and work for peace)
Dea Dia Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of growth)
Endangered Species Day -- because premature extinction due to human activity is not a happy thing
Falling Off a Log Night -- Fairy Calendar
Feast of Azamat(Grandeur) -- Baha'i
Fishing Has No Boundaries, Hayward Event -- Hayward, WI, US (sponsored by Fishing Has No Boundaries, Inc., a non-profit with the goal of opening the great outdoors through the sport of fishing to the disabled; the Hayward event is their biggest each year, and runs through tomorrow)
Galician Literature Day -- Galicia (an autonomous region of Spain)
Grand Spring Festival -- Toshogu Shrine, Nikko, Japan (through tomorrow; includes horseback archery, processions in costume, and more)
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
International Virtual Assistants Day -- acknowledging the dedication, experience, expertise, and determination of virtual professionals, sponsored by the Alliance for Virtual Businesses
Liberation Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo
Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cook-Off -- Magnolia, AR, US (all the usual fun, with a steak eating contest, live entertainment, and an art show;through tomorrow)
Maifest -- Mainstrasse Village, Covington, KY, US (celebrating German tradition and welcoming the first spring wines; through Sunday)
Merry-Go-Round Day -- the first merry-go-round, powered by horses, opened this day in 1620
NASCAR Day -- drivers, celebrities, corporate partners, media, and millions of fans come together to raise funds for charitable causeshttps://foundation.nascar.com/netcommunity/sslpage.aspx?pid=1578
National Cherry Cobbler Day
National Defense Transportation Day -- US (remembering the contributions of people working in the transportation industries)
National Pizza Party Day -- as declared by Garlic Jim's Famous Gourmet Pizza, on the 3rd Friday of May
National Walnut Day -- declared in 1949 by the Walnut Marketing Board
Navy Day -- Argentina (anniversary of the victory at the Battle of Montevideo in 1814)
Pack Rat Day -- come on out and admit it, you are a pack rat, too!
Rhododendron Festival -- Florence, Oregon, US (parades, flower show, car show, carnival and more; through Sunday)
Rhubarb Festival -- Intercourse, Pennsylvania (come on out and enjoy the music, games, rhubarb-inspired foods, and lots of family fun, including the Rhubarb Race Car Derby and best pie contest; through tomorrow)
Rubber Band Day -- patented this day in 1845, and aren't we pack rats glad.
Syttende Mai -- Stoughton, WI, US (come celebrate the Norwegian heritage of this town with a three day colorful gala; through Sunday)
Shunki Reitaisai -- Toshogu Shrine, Nikko, Japan (Grand Festival of Spring, through the 18th)
St. Madron of Cornwall's Day (Patron against pain)
Tell An Umpire "I Love Your Outfit" Day -- only if he has a sense of humor or you can duck quickly
Watch a Baby Fall Asleep Day -- because few things in the world are as funny and precious
World Hypertension Day -- because high blood pressure is dangerous
World Neurofibromatosis Day -- for information on the disease that makes people grow tumors, see hereWorld Telecommunication and Information Society Day -- UN
Birthdays Today:
Tahj Mowry, 1987
Drew Roy, 1986
Andrea Corr, 1974
Jordan Knight, 1970
Enya, 1961
Sugar Ray Leonard, 1956
Bob Saget, 1956
Bill Paxton, 1955
Dennis Hopper, 1936
Maureen O'Sullivan, 1911
Edward Jenner, 1749
Today in History:
Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi becomes the first to see 2 belts on Jupiter's surface, 1630
Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve founds the Ville Marie de Montréal, 1642
Frontenac becomes governor of New France (Canada), 1672
Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River, 1673
England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum & molasses imported to the colonies from a country other than British possessions, 1733
The US Continental Congress bans trade with Canada, 1775
The New York Stock Exchange is founded, 1792
John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine, 1803
Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire, 1809
Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian, 1814
Antoine Joseph Sax patents the saxophone, 1846
Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language, 1863
Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby, 1875
Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer, 1902
The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the first-ever televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City, 1939
The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954
Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure, 1969
Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean, 1970
Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho, starting the Internal conflict in Peru, 1980
Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, 1983
After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France, 1995
Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown, 1992
Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1997
Massachussetts becomes the first US State to legalize same-sex marriage, 2004
The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef, 2008
Dalia Grybauskaite is elected the first female President of Lithuania, 2009
#2 Son wiped his bleary eyes early and got up, got dressed, and we got to our appointment at the Culinary School fifteen minutes early. It helps that the place is just up the highway about a mile. He could bike there if he wanted, or even walk if he had to. Unless we were having one of our monsoon storms, of course.
The place is spectacular, at least to me. State of the art, beautiful kitchens, a bake shop, everything. The students wear full chef uniforms as they would if they were working, so by the time they are, they're used to doing all the work in that type of clothing. They also get their knife and utensil kit provided.
There is a restaurant set-up there, and each student is required to learn how to manage the front and back of a restaurant, proper service, adding up tickets, cost control, what to do on the day your sous chef calls in sick, your line chef is late, and two waitresses just don't show up. They don't want to throw these kids out cold into the very competitive world of running a restaurant.
Ms. Cullen was professional and friendly. She brought us in her office and asked #2 Son the typical questions, such as why he wants to go into culinary arts and about his work experience. She also discussed the curriculum which leads to an Associates Degree in 16 months.
She stressed timeliness, as missing even a minute
of class is not acceptable. The only way to get through what should be a
two year degree in 16 months is to make every minute count.
#2 Son talked about how much he loves cooking. We discussed how i taught cooking at a homeschool co-op, and his father was a sous chef. Ms. Cullen seemed to like that it runs in the family.
We even got to see and meet a couple of the instructors, who are referred to as "Chef" followed by their first name, like Chef Dave and Chef Chris. They are down to earth.
At the end of it all, as we were heading home, i asked him what he likes most about it. He said, and this is an exact quote: "At last, a school where I can grow my hair as long as I want! After all, the rule is if I can get it under the net and hat, I can grow it out!"
Today is
Biographer's Day -- anniversary of the day Boswell met Johnson in 1763
Brown Bag-It Thursday -- it's cheaper and healthier
Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jumping Jubilee -- Calaveras Fairgrounds, Angel's Camp, CA, US (the "Super Bowl" of frog jumping contests; through Sunday)
Frog Jumping Day -- for those of us who don't live in Calaveras County, you can still celebrate Mark Twain's famous story and go play with a frog
Hires Root Beer Day -- pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires created it on this day in 1866
Love a Tree Day -- and read about the love of a tree, in Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree
Middlesex Day -- Middlesex, England (although it is only a postal county now, many celebrate the heritage of what was once the county that included London)
Miles City Bucking Horse Sale -- Miles City, MT, US (a celebration worthy of the city that inspired "Lonesome Dove;" through Saturday)
National Coquilles St. Jacques Day
Sea-Monkey® Day -- as declared by someone who likes these little brine shrimp as pets; for info on keeping Sea Monkeys, check herehttp://www.sea-monkey.com/; for ideas about how to celebrate there is a site about how to worship sea monkeyshttp://www.seamonkeyworship.com/nationalday.html
Sing "Row Row Row Your Boat" in Rounds Day -- but not around me, please, or i might do something drastic
Sneeze Without Embarrassment Day -- because of pollen levels, as declared by Karen Richmond, of Eastport, MI, US
Spaghetti-Os Day -- they were first sold on this day in 1966
St. Brendan the Voyager's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, travellers, whales; Ardfert, Ireland; Clonfert, Ireland; Kerry, Ireland)
St. Honorius of Amiens' Day (Patron of bakers[especially bakers of communion wafers], cake makers, candlemakers, chandlers, confectioners, florists, flour merchants, oil refiners, pastry chefs; against drought)
St. John of Nepomuk's Day (Patron of bridges, bridge builders, confessors, discretion, good and right confession, running water, silence; Bohemia; Czech Republic; Slovakia; against calumnies, floods, indiscretions, and slander)
Shavuot -- Israel (Pentecost, ends at sunset)
Sudan People's Liberation Army Day -- South Sudan
Teachers' Day -- Malaysia
U.S.Nickel Day -- the first U.S. five-cent nickel was minted on this day in 1866
Wear Purple for Peace Day -- the idea being that until we become a peaceful species, the aliens won't visit
Anniversaries Today:
Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France, marries Marie Antoinette, 1770
Edgar Allen Poe marries his cousin Virginia Clemm, 1836
Birthdays Today:
Megan Fox, 1986
Jim Sturgess, 1981
Tori Spelling, 1973
David Boreanaz, 1971
Gabriela Sabatini, 1970
Tracey Gold, 1969
Janet Jackson, 1966
Olga Korbut, 1955
Debra Winger, 1955
Pierce Brosnan, 1953
Bob Edwards, 1947
Liberace, 1919
Woody Herman, 1913
Henry Fonda, 1905
William Seward, 1801
Today in History:
The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence is re-established as a republic, 1527
Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England, 1532
Samuel Johnson meets his future biographer, James Boswell, in London, 1763
Denmark abolishes slave trade, 1792
The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail, 1843
Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer, 1866
A naval Curtiss aircraft NC-4 commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight, 1919
Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc, 1920
Chaim Weizmann is elected the first President of Israel, 1948
The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between John F Kennedy International Airport (then Idlewild Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines, 1951
Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, 1960
China's Cultural Revolution begins, 1966
The Soviet Venera 5 spacecraft lands on Venus, 1969
India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state holds a referendum in which the popular vote is in favour of merging with India, 1975
Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, 1975
The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain, 1986
A report by United States' Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine, 1988
Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the US Houses of Congress, 1991
Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote, 2005
"Guess who I talked to today? Violet called me, and we talked for a good 45 minutes!"
Sweetie and his identical twin brother have a biological sister, and an adopted sister. This is the biological sister, who doesn't talk to them often.
How is she doing? i asked, a bit startled. If my memory serves me, she hasn't ever spoken to Sweetie for that long at one time except when they were physically visiting each other.
"She's tired of Montana," he said as he started rummaging in the fridge for an apple. "She wants prayer that an opportunity will open up for her to move to someplace warmer, like New Mexico. She's not sure she can take another winter up there, it's so hard on her physically."
That i can understand, i noted. Cold is not my friend. So, where is she working these days?
"She's putting in 46 hours a week at a chain grocery store, and she really wants to be working with children," he said. "Even though she's single and has no kids, she's always loved working with children."
Yes, i remember that. What else did you talk about for that long?
"Oh, things we both remember about our mother and father. She talked about some of their quirks I didn't know much about, since I didn't grow up with them and she did. We talked about how sad it was when she had to sell our father's house and use the money to pay the debts. Oh, and I told her that we have the picture!"
Sweetie has a picture of her that was blown up to life size by their father; he gave it to Sweetie a few months before he died.
What did she think about that? i asked.
"Oh, she laughed! She was only 16 in that picture, with braces. She remembers when it was taken, and thinks it's funny that we have it. I told her that it looks a good bit like our Bigger Girl, and she seemed to like that."
New Mexico, then, i said. Okay, i'll be praying she gets to move somewhere warm, and gets a better job than just over minimum wage at a chain grocery.
"She'd appreciate that," he noted as he walked off, crunching his apple..
Today is
Aoi Matsuri -- Kyoto, Japan (Hollyhock Festival, a pageant reproducing ancient imperial processions)
Cannes Film Festival -- through the 26th
Cold Sophie's Day (5th Ice Saint; according to Nordic legend, this day may be very cold, but there will be no more frosts after this)
Flip Your Mattress Day -- because it's a good thing to do
Hyperemisis Gravidarum Awareness Day -- bringing attention to morning sickness that becomes life-threatening
Ides of May -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances
Feast of Maia and Vesta
Mercuralia -- festival for Mercury
Sacrifice day to the Tiber River
Independence Day -- Paraguay
International Conscientious Objectors' Day
International Day of Families -- UN
International MPS Awareness Day -- here for details about these inherited diseases
Kan Phuetchamongkhon -- Thailand (Royal Plowing and Farmers Day) 6th day 4th lunar month
La Corsa del Ceri -- Gubbio, Italy (festival on the eve of the saint day of the city's patron, St. Ubaldo)
Mother's Day -- Paraguay
National Chocolate Chip Day
National Safety Dose Day -- cannot confirm they sponsor a day any more, but the Safety Dose people still want us to remember that more is not necessarily better when it comes to taking medicines, and to dose them correctly for children
Nylon Stockings Day -- they went on sale at stores around the US this date in 1940
Over the Rainbow Day -- birth anniversary of Lyman Frank Baum
Peace Officers Memorial Day -- US
Pithi Chrat Preah Neanng Kori -- Cambodia (Royal Plowing Ceremony)
Relive Your Past By Listening to the First Music You Ever Bought No Matter What It Was No Excuses Day -- no, i can't find out who started this, or why; maybe we should all take a pass at this one
Sea Monkey Day -- because somebody really loves theirs, and wants you to love them, too
Shavuot -- Judaism (Pentecost, began at sundown yesterday, through sundown tomorrow)
St. Dymphna's Day (Patron of epileptics, family happiness, incest victims, martyrs, mental asylums/hospitals, mental health caregivers and professionals/psychiatrists/therapists, mentally ill people, nervous disorders, neurological disorders, possessed people, princesses, rape victims, runaways, sleepwalkers, those who have lost parents; against sleepwalking, epilepsy, insanity, mental disorders, mental illness)
St. Hallvard's Day (Patron of Oslo; protector of innocence and virtue)
St. Isidore of Madrid's Day (a/k/a Isidore the Farmer; Patron of agricultural workers/farm workers/farmers/field hands/husbandmen/ranchers, day laborers, livestock, rural communities; Angono, Philippines; Asturias, Cebu, Philippines; Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines; Carampa, Peru; Castalla, Spain; Cuz Cuz, Chile; Digos, Philippines; Estepona, Spain; La Celba, Honduras; Leon, Spain; Lima, Peru; Lucban, Philippines; Madrid, Spain; Malaybalay, Philippines, diocese of; Morong, Philippines; Nabas, Philippines; Orotava, Spain; Pulilan, Philippines; Pulupandan, Philippines; Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico; San Isidro, Argentina; Saragossa, Spain; Sariaya, Philippines; Seville, Spain; Tavalera, Philippines; Tayabas, Philippines; United States National Rural Life Conference; against the death of children)
Carabao Festival -- San Isidro, Pulilan, and Angono, Philippines (second day and main festival; on St. Isidore of Madrid's Day; the farming communities celebrate their beasts of burden and have them blessed)
Municipal Holiday -- Madrid
San Isidro Day -- Mexico
St. Sophia of Rome's Day (considered by some to be among the Ice Saints, and invoked for protection against frost)
Straw Hat Day -- just as you don't wear white after Labor Day, you don't wear straw hats before today, the unofficial start of summer and the official start of straw hat season
Teacher's Day -- Mexico; South Korea
Tuberous Sclerosis Global Awareness Day -- http://www.tsalliance.org/index.aspx
Turn Beauty Inside Out Day -- the day to remember what really counts is who you are, not just what you look like
Anniversaries Today:
Mary, Queen of Scots, marries James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, 1567
Airmail service begins between NYC, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, 1918
Birthdays Today:
Jamie-Lynn Sigler, 1981
David Krumholtz, 1978
David Charvet, 1972
Emmit Smith, 1969
George Brett, 1953
Madeleine Albright, 1937
Trini Lopez, 1937
Anna Maria Alberghetti, 1936
Jasper Johns, 1930
Eddy Arnold, 1918
James Mason, 1909
Joseph Cotten, 1905
Abraham Zapruder, 1905
Katherine Anne Porter, 1890
Pierre Curie, 1859
L. Frank Baum, 1856
Today in History:
Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is sentenced to death, 1536
Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first European to see Cape Cod, 1602
Johannes Kepler confirms his discovery of the third law of planetary motion, 1618
James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun, 1718
The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France, 1756
Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters", at a height of 5-6 meters, during one of the first attempted flights, 1793
George III survives two assassination attempts in one day, 1800
Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1817
Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse, 1836
Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand (The King and I), 1851
Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, 1858
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman's Suffrage Association, 1869
Las Vegas, Nevada, is founded, 1905
The United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up, 1911
The Winnipeg General Strike begins; by 11:00 a.m., almost the whole working population of Winnipeg, Manitoba had walked off the job, 1919
Mickey Mouse premiered in his first cartoon, Plane Crazy, 1928
In an attempted Coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed, 1932
The Moscow Metro is opened to public, 1935
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3, 1958
Mercury-Atlas 9 astronaut L. Gordon Cooper becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, 1963
President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army Generals, 1970
Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million, the most expensive painting at the time, 1990
Edith Cresson becomes France's first female prime minister, 1991
California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage, 2008
Jessica Watson, age 17, becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo, 2010
"Mom, good news! You and I have an 8am appointment on Wednesday to go to the Culinary School and talk to them! They're going to give us a tour, and let us know what we need to do to enroll, and we should look at the website before we go and get familiar with the courses of study so we know what to ask about." #2 Son can't wait to get started, and even the early hour isn't upsetting him.
Just as he finished telling me this, Little Girl walked in, saying "Abstinence is 99.99% effective!"
"What, not 100%?" Bigger Girl asked from the table where she was brushing up on some math formulas for her final exam tomorrow.
"Remember Jesus?" Little Girl grinned.
"Oh, I've never thought of that!" Bigger Girl looked startled. Then she turned to me and said, "Speaking of religion, I was reading an article the other day about Native Americans, and how their culture and religion are used at sporting events as mascots and sporting rituals. One of them was noting that if they decided to use Christianity as a mascot and celebrate the Lord's Supper as one of their pregame rituals, as a pep rally kind of thing, everyone would be horrified, but when their Native religion is used that way, people try to defend it. Doesn't that make you think?"
Before i could answer, Sweetie walked in with his tube of antibiotic cream and a cotton swab. "Can you help me put this on my scratches?" he asked, with a look that said i couldn't possibly say no.
The other night, during a bad thunderstorm, a big clap of thunder scared his coward cat, Horizon, so much that it jumped off the windowsill and landed, all claws out, right on Sweetie's face. None of the lacerations were deep enough to need stitches (though he did go get his first tetanus shot in years), but a couple of them barely missed his eyes. He has been taking excellent care of making sure we keep them moistened a few times a day with the cream, so it won't scar up so much.
Just as i finished the swabbing with the cream, i felt a nibble at my toe. Time to feed kittens again.
Today is
Carabao Festival -- Pulilan, Philippines (to honor their patron, St. Isidro [St. Isadore the Farmer], hundreds of carabaos [water buffalo] are dressed up and paraded, and eventually blessed in front of the church; through tomorrow)
Cheung Chau Bun Festival -- Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong (coincides with Buddha's Birthday celebration, with the procession on the 17th; celebration through the 18th)
Commemoration Day -- Transdniestria
Dance Like a Chicken Day -- no idea why today, but i'm waiting for wedding season
Drunk Driving Memorial Day -- not sponsored by MADD, or anyone else i can find, but let's all work and pray for the day drunk driving by anyone is just a bad memory
French Fairy Awareness Day -- Fairy Calendar
Gesta de Independencia -- Paraguay
Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival -- Izumo-taisha, Japan (through tomorrow)
Marshmallow Fluff Day -- Mr. Durkee and Mr. Mower announced, on this day in 1920, that they were in business producing this sweet confection
Mars Invictus Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar
Midnight Sun at North Cape -- Norway (the sun will not set until July 30)
National Buttermilk Biscuit Day
National Unification Day -- Liberia
President Kamuzu Banda's Birthday -- Malawi
Runic Half-Month Ing (expansive energy) commences
Shavuot -- Judaism (Pentecost; begins at sundown, through sundown on the 16th)
"Stars and Stripes Forever" Day -- first public performance this day in 1897
St. Bonifatius' Day (4th Ice Saint)
St. Matthias the Apostle's Day (Patron of carpenters, reformed alcoholics, tailors; Gary, Indiana; Great Falls-Billings, Montana; against alcoholism and smallpox)
Underground America Day -- Malcolm Wells wants us to imagine what our landscapes would look like if more of our buildings were under ground
Anniversaries Today:
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark marries Mary Donaldson, 2004
Birthdays Today:
Miranda Cosgrove, 1993
Dan Auerbach, 1979
Martine McCutdcheon, 1976
Cate Blanchett, 1969
Danny Wood, 1969
Jose Da Silveira, 1965
Tim Roth, 1961
David Byrne, 1952
Robert Zemechis, 1951
George Lucas, 1944
Jack Bruce, 1943
Bobby Darin, 1936
Laszlo Kovacs, 1933
Otto Klemperer, 1885
Thomas Gainsborough, 1727
Gabrile Daniel Fahrenheit, 1686
Today in History:
Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony, 1607
Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox vaccination, 1796
The Lewis and Clark expedition sets out, 1804
Paraguay gains independence from Spain, 1811
The first edition of the London Illustrated Times is published, 1842
Gail Borden patents her process for condensed milk, 1853
Vaseline, the first petroleum jelly, is marketed, 1878
Lina Medina becomes the world's youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five, 1939
Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established; immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, 1948
Kuwait joins the United Nations, 1963
Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched, 1973
The Institute for War documents publishes Anne Franks complete diary, 1986
The last episode of Seinfeld airs, with commercials going for $2M per 30 seconds, 1998
For many years i have maintained the my #2 Son is a born con artist, just like his Grandpa and Uncle J. Natural born smooth talkers, salesmen extraordinaire, they could all sell eggs to chicken farmers. In fact, Grandpa once managed to convince the cranky old priest at a local parish to let his college group hold weekly dances that he would organize in the gymnasium by promising the priest a cut of the proceeds (the priest was also notoriously stingy and always looking for ways to rake in more money for the parish).
When i wonder where #2 Son got it, i only have to remember things like the conversation around the table yesterday at our Mother's Day dinner.
Uncle J was talking about many years ago when he was in college. He was heading home, a fourteen to sixteen hour drive usually, and he made it in just over 8 hours, with only one stop for gas, restroom, and a bite of fast food.
He then told how he was going down the highway on that trip and saw a police officer's lights go on behind him, then disappear as the officer had to turn around to come back up the interstate toward him. At first, when he saw the lights, he was tempted to get off at the next exit and hurry to go park somewhere, but decided to just wait, and take his medicine if needed. When he realized the officer was actually after him, he pulled over.
The officer came over and asked for license, registration and insurance, and as my brother got the stuff out the officer said, "Son do you realize you were doing a bit over 90 miles per hour?"
Uncle J, who had actually been doing almost 130mph, responded, "Yes, sir, I know I was doing at least 95, and I shouldn't have been doing that."
The officer further said, seeing his out of state driving license, "Do you realize that doing anything over 25mph above the speed limit means you get taken to jail?" Note that this was before limits of 70mph were allowed, and it was 60mph there.
My brother then started to get out of the car. "Whoa, what are you doing, son?" the officer asked.
"I'm going to get out of the car so you can take me to jail, sir. I know I was breaking the law."
"Now, son, you've been respectful and cooperative, so I'm not going to take you to jail. I'm going to take care of you and only give you a ticket for doing 24mph over the speed limit. This way, all you will have to do is pay the ticket and take the class to get it erased from your record if you haven't had any tickets in the last couple of years."
"No, sir, I haven't had any," Uncle J responded, which was true.
The officer gave him the ticket, and told him to be careful, which of course went in one ear and out the other. In fact, when Grandma, his mother and mine, asked if he had learned his lesson, he said, "No, of course not! Now I have a radar detector!"
That's where #2 Son gets it. From the relatives.
Today is
Arlington National Cemetary Day -- US (the first serviceman to be interred here was Private William Henry Christman, on this date in 1964
Aso ote Tala Lei -- Tuvalu (Gospel Day)
Bun Bung Fai (Rocket Festival) -- Yasothon, Thailand (through the 14th, teams compete to build the highest flier, with no regard for safety!)
Celtic Tree Month Huath (hawthorn) commences
Election Day -- Philippines
Fairy King and Queen Jumping Competition -- Fairy Calendar
Garland Day -- Abbotsbury, Dorset, England
King Norodom Sihamoni's Birthday -- Cambodia
Lemuralia -- Ancient Roman Empire (third day)
Leprechaun Day -- spread around the internet, presumably by the little people themselves, as since St. Patrick gets a day, so should they!
National Apple Pie Day
National Fruit Cocktail Day
Pastele Blajinilor -- Moldova (Memory/Parents' Day)
Royal Ploughing Ceremony Holiday -- Thailand
St Julian of Norwich's Day (Author of what is believed to be the first book written by a woman in the English language, Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love, around 1393)
St. Servatus' Day (3rd Ice Saint, Patron for success; against foot problems, lameness, leg problems, mice, rats, rheumatism, vermin)
Women's Check-up Day 2013 -- US (always the Monday after Mother's Day, encouraging women to be proactive about their health
Birthday Today:
Debby Ryan, 1993
Robert Pattinson, 1986
Samantha Morton, 1977
Darius Rucker, 1966
Stephen Colbert, 1964
Dennis Rodman, 1961
Stevie Wonder, 1950
Ritchie Valens, 1941
Harvey Keitel, 1939
Beatrice Arthur, 1923
Joe Louis, 1914
Arthur Sullivan, 1842
Maria Theresa, 1717
Today in History:
The forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother, 1568
A major earthquake in Santiago, Chile, kills 1/3 of the population, 1643
Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England with eleven ships full of convicts (First Fleet) to establish a penal colony in Australia, 1787
Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia, 1830
The first performance of Finland's national anthem, 1848
Queen Victoria declares Britain neutral in the US Civil War, 1861
The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia, 1861
Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway, 1880
The Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) is established in the United Kingdom, 1912
Igor Sikorsky becomes the first man to pilot a four-engine aircraft, 1913
The first commercial FM radio station in the United States (WDRC-FM) is launched in Bloomfield, Connecticut, 1939
Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons, 1940
The trade mark Velcro is registered, 1958
The Free Speech Movement is born at UC Berkeley, 1960
Dr. Zakir Hussain becomes the third President of India and the first Muslim President of Indian Union, 1967
Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike, 1989
Johnny Carson makes his last television appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, 1994
A 33 years old British mother Alison Hargreaves, became the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas, 1995
Star Trek: Enterprise broadcasts its final show in the U.S., 2005
Construction of the Calafat-Vidin Bridge between Romania and Bulgaria begins, 2007
...went as well as can be expected.
Sixty-six deliveries, four of those out of town. A few of the usual glitches came up, but they were handled. This time i didn't break any balloons, but i did manage to lose my favorite pen.
The florist i work for at these very busy times is one of the busiest, and in my opinion, the best. Somehow i managed not to get into any traffic jams that kept me delayed for hours, and the only road construction i had to drive through was on Saturday, so the traffic was light anyway.
The rain spent itself in the very early mornings before we really got started, at least the heavy stuff did, so i didn't end up with wet socks and trying to tote an umbrella everywhere.
The big joy of this job is seeing the smiles on people's faces. The smiles when they peep to see who is there, and the first thing they see through the peephole or curtain is a bouquet. It makes people's day, and it makes me smile with them.
Even coming home to kittens squalling like they haven't been fed in days (when, in fact, they had been well cared for by the kids all day each day), and a messy kitchen couldn't damp down my enthusiasm.
Maybe i missed my calling. Maybe i should be a delivery driver for a living. Then again, on second thought, i would probably get tired of it eventually, and you can't exactly be gone all day every day and raise kittens.
Well, i'll just continue to enjoy doing this a few times a year. And maybe someday one of my lists of ways to make a delivery person's job easier will go viral. As soon as i recover enough to consolidate them and link to them, which won't be today as i will teach Sunday school and meet up with my parents for lunch, among other things.
A blessed and beautiful Mother's Day to all of you.
Today is
Day of Purification of All Things -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)
Fairy Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Royal Humans Disbanded -- Fairy Calendar (and don't ask how we blew it)
Fibromyalgia Awareness Day http://www.fmcpaware.org/awareness-day-2013
Hug Your Cat Day -- this link for details
Infant Mortality Awareness Day -- as we celebrate mothers today, let's remember those who have lost children
International CFS/ME Awareness Day -- bringing awareness about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitishttp://www.whathealth.com/awareness/event/internationalcfsmeawarenessday.html
International Nurses Day -- birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale
Limerick Day -- birth anniversary of Edward Lear
Mother's Day -- Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Australia; Austria; Bahamas; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belgium; Bermuda; Bonaire; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei; Canada; Cambodia; Chile; China(People's Republic of China); Colombia; Croatia; Cuba; Curaçao; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Dominica; Ecuador; Estonia; Ethiopia; Fiji; Finland; Germany; Ghana; Gold Coast; Greece; Grenada; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong; Iceland; India; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Kurdistan; Latvia; Liberia; Liechtenstein; Macao; Malaysia; Malta; Myanmar; Netherlands; New Zealand; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Puerto Rico; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Singapore; Sint Maarten; Slovakia; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Suriname; Switzerland; Taiwan; Tanganyika; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Turkey; Uganda; Ukraine; United States; Uruguay; Vietnam; Venezuela; Zambia; Zimbabwe
National Nutty Fudge Day
Odometer Day -- actually first called a "roadometer", it measured wagon wheel revolutions, as 360 of them made a mile, and was invented and first used this day by William Clayton, Orson Pratt, and Appleton Milo Harmon, Mormon pioneers traveling to Utah in 1847
Olde May Day (Julian Calendar)
Pilgrimage to Fatima -- Fatima, Portugal (procession, mass, and etc. to commemorate the first appearance of the Virgin of the Rosary to the three shepherd children on this day in 1917)
Punch's Birthday / Covent Garden Maye Fayre and Puppet Festival -- St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England (Punch, of Punch and Judy, celebrates his birthday on the Sunday closest to May 9 with a fair and by preaching at the cathedral to other puppets and their puppeteers, or "professors".)
Resistance and Liberation Day -- Lebanon
Rotuma Day -- Rotuma, Fiji
Saint Andrew, the First Called Day -- Georgia
Snellman Day/Day of Finnish Identity -- Finland
State Flag and State Emblem Day -- Belarus
Stay Up All Night Night -- because George Mahood thinks everyone should, at least once a year
St. Diomma of Kildimo's Day (Patron of Kildimo, County Limerick, Ireland)
St. Francis Patrizi's Day (Patron of reconciliations)
St. Pancras' Day (2nd Ice Saint; Patron of children, oaths, treaties; Albano, Italy; Iserlohn, Germany; Pontevico, Italy; Sestino, Italy; against cramps, false witness, headaches, and perjury)
Anniversaries Today:
Richard I (Lionheart) of England marries Berengaria of Navarre, 1191
Jagiellonian University is fouded in Krakow, Poland (oldest in Poland), 1364
National University of San Marcos is founded in Lima, Peru (oldest in the Americas), 1551
Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Bohemia, 1743
Coronation of George VI, 1937
Birthdays Today:
Jason Biggs, 1978
Kim Fields, 1969
Tony Hawk, 1968
Stephen Baldwin, 1966
Emilio Estevez, 1962
Ving Rhames, 1961
Steve Winwood, 1948
George Carlin, 1937
Tom Snyder, 1936
Burt Bacharach, 1929
Yogi Berra, 1925
Mary Kay Ash, 1918
Katharine Hepburn, 1907
Florence Nightingale, 1820
Today in History:
Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome, 1328
Rao Jodha, a Rajput chief of to the Rathore clan, founds Jodhpur, India, 1459
Philip Lenzi places the first ice cream advertisement, in the NY Gazette, 1777
Society of St Tammany is formed by Revolutionary War soldiers; it later becomes an infamous group of NYC political bosses, 1789
The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15, 1870
US District Court Judge J. Dundy rules, in Standing Bear vs. George Crook, that Native Americans are persons within the meaning of the laws of the United States, 1879
Tunisia becomes a French protectorate, 1881
In the North-West Rebellion, the four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat, 1885
Ten weeks after his abduction, the infant son of Charles Lindbergh is found dead in Hopewell, New Jersey, 1932
Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin, 1941
A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada, 1958
West Germany and Israel establish diplomatic relations, 1965
The U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez seized by Cambodian forces in international waters, 1975
South Africa prisoner Nelson Mandela sees his wife for 1st time in 22 years, 1984
Amy Eilberg is ordained in New York as 1st woman Conservative rabbi, 1985
Fred Markham of the US becomes the first person to pedal a bike at 65mph unaided by wind, 1986
Ingrid Baeyens becomes the first Belgian woman to ascend Mount Everest, 1992
Russia and Chechnya sign a peace agreement after 400 years of conflict, 1997
The Texas, US, legislature is brought to a standstill when 59 Democratic lawmakers go into hiding in a dispute with Republicans over redistricting, 2003
An 8.0 earthquake in southwest China kills more than 69,000 people, 2008
Queen Elizabeth II becomes the second-longest-reigning monarch in British history, 2011
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