Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Children's Products Can Have Some Funny Names (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, Steve at BeThere2Day, Catsynth, and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     






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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    


The prompts will be posted by Elephant's Child this month and are provided by  Alex J. Cavanaugh.    



This week's prompts are:


  • pyromaniac
  • midnight
  • parrot
  • frozen
  • razor's edge


And/Or 

  • anguish
  • alligator
  • taco
  • predictable
  • staple


Charlotte (MotherOwl)  has given us Pearl Opal Green as the colour of the month.  If you can also incorporate it into your stories she (and EC) will be grateful.



#2 Son, who loves to live life on the RAZOR'S EDGE, was my little "PYROMANIAC."  That's the title i gave him after he, at age 9, watched me at the BBQ pit and said, "That's not how Grandpa does it.  Want me to show you?"


I gladly handed him the tongs and from that moment he was our BBQ/Smoker master.  He could start a fire lickety split, in a regular smoker/BBQ or at the creek, where he would cook whatever fish he'd caught.  He had many fishing poles, some he bought, including a Pearl Opal Green beauty he still has, and sometimes he would make one with a pole he'd cut in the woods, plus string and a safety pin.


He also made himself a bow and arrows and taught himself to shoot, and learned to swing a golf club by standing on our roof, the ball balanced on the ridge, using clubs someone had thrown away.  His pride and joy was a Big Bertha a church pastor didn't want any longer.


He did not and will not live a PREDICTABLE life.  He'd also catch snakes at the creek and bring them home as pets, has caught and cooked turtles and while he doesn't have a license so he doesn't actually catch them, he will sometimes stay out in the swamps until after MIDNIGHT to track ALLIGATORs just for the fun of it.


Don't get me wrong, he also loves TACOs and FROZEN corn dogs, and makes pizza and calzones from the restaurants he manages a STAPLE of his diet, but he's not afraid to try new things.


He and his bride are even talking about getting a PARROT, since they both like birds (they had a couple of budgies from when she was single, but they have since flown to the "rainbow bridge").  I think though, for now, they're content with just having the baby to care for; it caused them great ANGUISH to have to re-home the blue heeler dog, Jock, as it was growling at and trying to attack the baby from the moment they brought her home.


Their plans are, once the lease is up on their apartment next May, to have their RV ready and #2 Son will apply for jobs in Alaska, since she has family there.  Her job is online and can go wherever she has internet access.


They'll drive the RV to Alaska and live in it until they can buy a small plot of land and a yurt where they can do some homesteading as well as work.


As i said, a bit on the edge, right where he likes to be.



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Today is:


Absurdity Day -- an internet generated absurd holiday


Africa Industrialization Day -- UN


Air Your Dirty Laundry Day -- internet generated, and be careful with this one!


Beaujolais Nouveau Release -- France (at midnight, so really most of the celebration is tomorrow, a new wine celebration marked with fireworks and festivities)


Clean the Cat Hair Out of the Vacuum Cleaner Day -- internet generated, and always tops on my chore list


Dia de la Soberania Nacional -- Argentina (Sovereignty Day)


Day of Sekhmet and the Purifying Flame -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)


Day of National Sovereignty -- Argentina (commemorates the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado)


Dia da Consciencia Negra -- Brazil (Black Consciousness Day)


Geographic Information Systems Day   www.gisday.com/


Globally Organized Hug A Runner Day aka G.O.H.A.R.D


Name Your PC Day -- mine is Ol' Bessy, a/k/a Old Crankypants; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays  


National Educational Support Professionals Day -- US


National Peanut Butter Fudge Day


Praetextatus and Paulina's Day -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Guardians of the Eleusinian Mysteries, pagan activists and devotees who tried to save Roman religions; date approximate)


Repentance Day -- Saxony, Germany (Day of Prayer and Repentance [Buss und Bettag])

     Buss und Bettag -- German speaking Lutheran, Reformed, and United Protestants (Day of Repentance and Prayer)


Revolution Day -- Mexico (traditional)


St. Edmund the Martyr's Day (Patron of kings, torture victims, wolves; East Anglia, England; against plagues)


Teachers' Day -- Vietnam


Transgender Day of Remembrance -- memorial for those who have been killed because of transphobia


Universal Children's Day -- UN


World COPD Day -- International (helping people understand Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; this year's theme is "Know Your Lung Function")   


Zumbi Day -- Brazil (death anniversary of Zumbi dos Palmares, a day of Afro-Brazilian consciousness, as he was a hero and freedom fighter)



Anniversaries Today:


The Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey in London, 1947

The first municipal airport in the US opens, in Tucson, AZ, 1919



Birthdays Today:


Sabrina Lloyd, 1970

Ming-Na Wen, 1967

Sean Young, 1959

Bo Derek, 1956

Steve Dahl, 1954

Richard Masur, 1948

Duane Allman, 1946

Judy Woodruff, 1946

Veronica Hamel, 1943

Joe Biden, 1942

Dick Smothers, 1939

Don DeLillo, 1936

Richard Dawson, 1932

Estelle Parsons, 1927

Kaye Ballard, 1926

Robert F. Kennedy, 1925

Nadine Gordimer, 1923

Gene Tierney, 1920

Robert Byrd, 1917

Alistair Cooke, 1908

Chester Gould, 1900

Edwin Hubble, 1889

Karl von Frisch, 1886

Kenesaw Mountain Landis, 1866

Selma Lagerlof, 1858

Sir Wilfred Laurier, 1841

Thomas Chatterton, 1752

Oliver Wolcott, 1726

Susanna Wesley, 1669 (mother of John, Charles, and 17 other children)

Peregrine White, 1620 (born on the Mayflower)

Maximinus, Roman Emperor, 270



Debuting/Premiering Today:


Beatles Anthology 1(album release), 1995

The Day After(TV movie), 1983

"A Soldier's Play"(Fuller Pulitzer winning play), 1981

"Cabaret"(Musical), 1966

"The Seven Year Itch"(Play), 1952

"The Children's Hour"(Play), 1934

"The Goldbergs"(Radio), 1929

The Sheik(Film, with Rudolph Valentino), 1921

"Das Lied von der Erde/The Song of the Earth"(Mahler symphony), 1911

"The Doctor's Dilemma"(Play), 1906

"Fidelio"(Opera, Beethoven Op. 72), 1805



Today in History:


Bögü, Khan of the Uyghurs, conquers Lo-Yang, capital of the Chinese Empire, 762

Zumbi, the last leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares of Brazil, is executed, 1695

New Jersey becomes the first state to ratify the US Bill of Rights, 1789

Curacao's government forbids slave work on Sunday, 1795

Howard University is founded in Washington, D.C., 1866

US State Department starts requiring photographs for passports, 1914

The first municipally owned airport in US opens, in Tucson Az, 1919

In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation, 1962

The SETI Institute is founded, 1984

Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released, 1985

The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million, 1989

In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage, 1992

The first module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched, 1998

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level in eleven years, 2008

NATO agrees to begin handing over Afghanistan's security to the Afghan military, 2010

The UN World Meteorological Organization announces the 2011 greenhouse gasses reached record levels, 2012

A vote of the General Synod of the Church of England approves women to be ordained bishops beginning the next year, 2013

Atlanta's Georgia Dome, once the world's largest covered stadium, is destroyed in a controlled implosion, 2017

The Oxford Dictionary word of the year is "climate emergency," 2019

New York state activates the National Guard to assist with historic snow levels of up to 6 1/2 feet around the Buffalo area, 2022

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Leg Cramps, Lights Out and a Butterfly, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus 


Carl had work and i found the usual clothes situation.









Everything in the washer and dryer smelled clean, so it all passed.


My nose wishes i could say the same for everything i found in his room.  Maybe i need hazard pay?


Anyway, Mr. L was feeling much better than last week, and seems to be recovering.


Once Carl had evacuated his room for the sleep chair, i tried to shed some light on the place so i could see to clean it   The overhead lights in the corner are still burned out, but there's a lamp.


Which Carl had unplugged.  Oh, well, at least i didn't have to go searching for bulbs, right?


In other good news, there was no lotion bottle getting lotion all over his chair, mostly because he's out of lotion.  I'm sure he'll be taking care of that soon enough.


And!  I found his schedule for next week.  There's still no schedule for this week, but at least we know he has next Thursday and Friday off.  Veteran's Day may have gotten by him but he's going to get Thanksgiving and the day after and make it a four day weekend, by golly.


Once he was up he was chivvied straight into the shower, where i had prepared as usual so he wouldn't have to come out undressed.  He mostly complied, only needed a bit of a prompt to finish dressing his feet and get into his apron, which i had to remind him twice to tie.


By way of conversation, he said, "Church?  What's up?"  It's his way of asking what's going on at our church, where he and his parents are technically members.  Mr. L is homebound, Ms. V won't drive that far without Mr. L, and Carl goes with her to a closer place that actually has a great program for special needs adults.


I told him it's the usual, the pastor was out of town baptizing yet another of his grandchildren, the sermon series on Revelation is going well, and everyone is gearing up for the Advent studies.  He seemed satisfied with my summation and went for breakfast while i checked to see what he might have for lunch.





Pickings are slim this week, just a sandwich and some condiments, for once the plastic bag was empty.  He still got plenty, the sandwich, cheese stick, grapes, a fruit cup, carrot sticks, peanuts.




Some of the caramel popcorn from the top of the fridge got packed, too.  I had already packed some grapes, then he tried to do the same, although he grabs a much bigger bag than he needs.  We took care of that.


The whole time he was home, though, he kept turning all the lights in his room off, and i kept going behind him and turning them back on.  He would ask, "Do you need that?"


Yes, i assured him, i need the lights on so i can see the dirt.


He doesn't have cataracts, and he's been trained by the hardest to turn lights off, so he's going to turn them off.  And i will just have to continue to turn them back on when i'm there.  Don't worry, i leave the room dark when i go, that seems to make him feel better.


As he was preparing to leave, he kept stopping to rub his calf.  When i asked what was wrong, he said, "Crampy!"


Leg cramps?  Maybe you aren't getting enough minerals, i told him and he looked at me sharply.  Magnesium, potassium, sodium, all the major minerals your body has to have to function, it will pull from the outer muscles to make sure the heart, brain and internal organs are supplied.


He nodded sharply and left the room.  I know they have vitamins and other supplements in the kitchen, and i'm sure he went and took something.  Whether it will be the right something is anyone's guess.


We started heading for the car, he with his ice chest and me with a hat and his regular safety vest, and he said, "Prayer request."


You have a prayer request? i asked, and he nodded.  I'll pray for it, whatever it is, i told him.


"Busy," he said.  


You're very busy?  It's a busy week?


"Yes, busy, meetings, work, exercise place, want to see Sam..."


He's right, he is a busy man, and i will be praying for him, especially as it is supposed to rain a bit this week, which makes his job pushing carts at the MallMart harder.


Once we got to the car and i dug some things out of his cup holder so he could put his cup of coffee there and saw he had a note from his mom, Ms. V, propped on the steering wheel telling him to take off two future dates for appointments he has scheduled.


Who knows if it will happen, but all you can do is try.


Meanwhile, i had cleaning to do and the find of the week was this.






He'd uncapped his Flonase, for some reason, even though you aren't supposed to.  the cap is the diffuser.  Then he put an ink pen in the Flonase box.  Why he did any of it is anyone's guess.


I also found this.




It's a butterfly, another of the arts and crafts projects.  It is now living with last week's itsy bitsy spider.


How about some funnies.





















Have a blessed and beautiful day, everyone!










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Today is:


Alligator Wrestling Day -- internet generated, and i wonder if a cat that doesn't want its meds counts?


Automatic Toll Collection Day -- the first machine went into use on New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway on this day in 1954


Discovery Day -- Puerto Rico


Equal Opportunity Day / Dedication Day / Remembrance Day -- anniversary of the Gettysburg Address


Fete de S.A.S. le Prince Souverain -- Monaco (National Day)


Flag Day -- Brazil


Garifuna Day/Carib Settlement Day -- Belize


"Have a Bad Day" Day -- for the hidden, or not so hidden, grouch in all of us; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays


International Men's Day -- Australia; Canada; Ghana; Hungary; India; Ireland; Jamaica; Malta; Singapore; South Africa; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom; United States


Liberation Day -- Mali


National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day


National Entrepreneurs Day -- US (by Congressional designation)


Please Maintain Your Focus Today Day -- internet generated, but a good idea


School Pride Day -- US (always on the Tuesday of American Education Week)


St. Obadiah's Day (Obadiah the Prophet)


What Ever Happened to Gary Pucket?" Day -- internet generated, and a fun question to research


Women's Entrepreneurship Day   


World Toilet Day -- sponsored by the World Toilet Organization (yes, really, to raise awareness of the 2.5 billion people who don't have access to proper sanitation)



Anniversaries Today:


Zion National Park is established, 1919

Women's Christian Temperance Union is founded, 1874



Birthdays Today:


McCaughey Septuplets, 1997

Kerri Strug, 1977

Savion Glover, 1973

Gail Devers, 1966

Terry Farrell, 1963

Jodie Foster, 1962

Meg Ryan, 1961

Allison Janney, 1960

Anne Curry, 1956

Eileen Collins, 1956

Scott Jacoby, 1956

Glynnis O'Connor, 1955

Kathleen Quinlan, 1954

Ahmad Rashad, 1949

Calvin Klein, 1942

Garrick Utley, 1939

Ted Turner, 1938

Dick Cavett, 1936

Jack Welch, 1935

Larry King, 1933

Roy Campanella, 1921

Indira Gandhi, 1917

Peter Drucker, 1909

Tommy Dorsey, 1905

Billy Sunday, 1862

James Garfield, 1831



Debuting/Premiering Today:


Heaven's Gate(Film), 1980

"Rocky and His Friends/Rocky and Bullwinkle"(TV), 1959

The first Automatic Toll Collection Machine, at the Union Toll Plaza in New Jersey, 1954



Today in History:


The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins, 1095

Rabbi Isaiah b Abraham aha-Levi Horowitz arrives in Isreal, 1621

The Jakobinen club forms in Paris, 1794

The Jay Treaty, the first US extradition treaty, is signed with Great Britain, 1794

Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European Americans to cross the continent, 1805

Warsaw University is established, 1816

The St. Petersburg flood, caused by storms, kills 10,000, 1824

The second Canadian railway line, the Montreal and Lachine Railway, is opened, 1847

Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address, 1863

Boss Tweed is convicted, sentenced to 12 years, 1874

Carrie Nation attempts to address the US Senate, 1903

NY receives the first Marconi wireless transmission from Italy, 1911

Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures (anybody want to guess what this eventually became?), 1916

The first issue of Time Magazine is published, with Emperor Hirohito on the cover, 1928

Télé Monte Carlo, Europe's oldest private television channel, is launched by Prince Rainier III, 1954

The first automatic toll collection machine is introduced on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway, 1954

Ford cancels the Edsel, 1959

Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum (the "Ocean of Storms") and become the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon, 1960

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement, 1977

Lt. Gen. Maurice Baril of Canada arrives in Africa to lead a multi-national policing force in Zaire, 1996

Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of the Artist Without Beard sells at auction for $71.5 million USD, 1998

The People's Republic of China launches its first Shenzhou spacecraft, 1999

Claudia Castillo has a successful trachea transplant from stem-cell created organ, 2008

Many nations urge lower fishing rates on the Atlantic bluefin tuna; quota limits on the critically endangered fish are discussed by major fishing nations in Paris, 2010

The Philippines receives a $500 million emergency loan from the World Bank to help the country recover and rebuild in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, 2013

‘Oumuamua (1I/2017 U1), the first interstellar object in our solar system to be detected by humans, is sighted by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakaia Observatory, Hawaii, 2017 

LeBron James becomes the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double against all 30 franchises with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the LA Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 2019

A partial lunar eclipse lasting 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds is the longest since 1440, 2021

Brazil records its highest-ever temperature of 44.8C (112.6F) in Araçuaí, Minas Gerais state, 2023