Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Just Some Friends Hanging Around (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

***********************************






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





***********************************






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.    


This month, Sean Jeating is providing the prompts and they will appear on River's blog.



This week's words/prompts are: 


1.innocent  

2.evil  

3.face  

4.expanding  

5.born  


and/or: 


1.come  

2.surprise  

3.planet  

4.minor  

5.follow


use either list or both, or mix and match, just have fun.


Include Charlotte's colour of the month if you wish or if you can: pumpkin orange.



It does not COME as a SURPRISE to anyone reading this post to know all of us have good traits and some bad ones we try to fight.


We're BORN knowing only we want to be comfortable, and it's not long before children start to manipulate the world around them to get what they want.


Even our INNOCENT little Annie has started to pinch if she wants attention or to be picked up and thinks she isn't getting what she wants fast enough.


She's not EVIL by any means, just a one-year-old who wants what she wants when she wants it.


We're working consistently to nip this in the bud, as our PLANET does not need another MINOR child growing up to feel entitled to everything s/he wants.  We don't want a little girl whose FACE turns all shades of red or Pumpkin Orange throwing fits, right?


She's having to learn is all, she can FOLLOW the rules of civil behavior and do what's right as a member of this family.  In this family, we are gentle and don't pinch, we tell her over and over, not giving in until she opens her hand and touches gently, instead of grasping.


The rules will be EXPANDING, of course, as she grows older.


The point is not to raise good kids, it's to raise responsible adults, and to do that you must keep the end in mind from the beginning.



***********************************



Today is:


Abu Simbel Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (along with Feb. 22, the day when the sunlight fell perfectly on the statues of Ramses, Ra, and Amun at the temple complex)


Caps Lock Day -- celebrating life in screaming CAPITALS (i'd include a link to the promo site, but it's rather annoying)


Children's Day -- Australia


Clean Up the Earth Day -- begun because having only one Earth Day a year doesn't give enough emphasis to the amount of work that needs to be done


Color Day -- a day to consider how color affects your life, health, and world


Deepavali/Diwali(Festival of Lights) -- Hindu; Jain; Sikh (3rd day of the festival)

     Gai Tihar and Laxmi Puja -- Day of Cows and Laxmi (goddess of wealth; day three of the festival)


Eat a Pretzel Day -- unclaimed sponsorship; does anyone else suspect that pretzel makers know how to spread stuff around the internet, too?


International Stuttering Awareness Day


Jidai Matsuri -- Kyoto, Japan (Festival of the Eras or Festival of the Ages)


Lung Health Day -- US (on the Wednesday of Respiratory Care Week; some sites to explore about lung health are here and here   


National Knee Day -- take care of your knees, and they will take care of you!


National Nut Day -- UK & US (also now celebrated around the world) (launched by Liberation Foods CIC, a fair trade nut company, urging us to celebrate fairly traded nuts and swap out a nut based burger for a meat based meal, at least for today, or grab a handful of nutritious almonds or walnuts or your own favorite mix; if you don't like nuts, you can just choose to go be one, instead)


Smart is Cool Day -- and i don't know who started this one, but i'd say someone tired of being made fun of for being a bookworm


St. Mary Salome's Day (Patron of Veroli, Italy)



Anniversaries Today:


John Paul II is inaugurated as Pope, 1978

Toastmasters International founded, 1924

The first Metropolitan Opera House in NYC opens, performing Faust, 1883



Birthdays Today:


Carlos Mencia, 1967

Valeria Golino, 1966

Brian Boitano, 1963

Jeff Goldblum, 1952

Deepak Chopra, 1946

Catherine Deneuve, 1943

Jan De Bont, 1943

Annette Funicello, 1942

Tony Roberts, 1939

Derek Jacobi, 1938

Christopher Lloyd, 1938

Timothy Leary, 1920

Joan Fontaine, 1917

Robert Capa, 1913

Curly Howard, 1903

George Beadle, 1903

N. C. Wyeth, 1882

Sarah Bernhardt, 1844

Franz Liszt, 1811



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Me and Bessie"(Musical), 1975

"Take Me Along"(Musical), 1959

"The Far Off Hills"(Play), 1928



Today in History:


The temple of Apollo at Daphne, outside of Antioch, is destroyed in a mysterious fire, 362

Emperor Kanmu relocates Japanese capital to Heiankyo (now Kyoto), 794

Battle of the Southern Fujian Sea, Ming Dynasty wins a victory against the Dutch East India Company, 1633

Princeton University is chartered, 1746

Andre-Jacques Trim becomes the first sky diver, parachuting over Paris from a balloon, 1797

Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas, 1836

First telegraph line linking US east and west coasts of the US is completed, 1861

First concert performance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1881

World's first automobile dealer opens in London, 1897

President Hoover gives the "American system of rugged individualism" speech, 1928

The FBI ambushes Pretty Boy Floyd, 1934

First commercial flight from the mainland to Hawai'i, 1936

Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, but turns down the honor, 1964

A Multi-Party Parliamentary Committee selects the design which becomes the new official Flag of Canada, 1964

The Soviet unmanned space mission Venera 9 lands on Venus, 1975Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it

is discovered that it causes tumors in the bladders of dogs, although the dye is still used in Canada, 1976

Tropical Storm Alpha forms in the Atlantic Basin, making the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record with 22 named storms, 2005

A Panama Canal expansion proposal is approved by 77.8% of voters in a National referendum held in Panama, 2006

India launches its first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, 2008

North Korea gives the US permission to search for the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War, 2011

Six Italian scientists are convicted of manslaughter for their failure to predict the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, 2012

The Parliament of the UK approves the Brexit deal to leave he EU but refuses the legislation to fast track it to meet the Oct. 31 deadline, 2019

Goldman Sachs agrees to pay a record $3 billion to end the probe into its role in the 1MDB corruption scandal, 2020

Italy forms new coalition government, choosing Giorgia Meloni as their first female Prime Minister, 2022

LeBron and Bronny James become the first father-son duo in NBA history to appear in a game together as the LA Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 2024

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Of Laser Beams, Architects, and Jazzercise, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

***********************************






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 


I figured it wasn't good when i opened Carl's door yesterday and woke him from a sound sleep.  He called, "What!" in a panicked voice, and i gently said, it's Monday.


"Oh, yeah.  No work today and tomorrow."


I told him i'd go to the laundry area while he got himself together to go to his sleep chair and headed toward the table to bring the newspaper in.  Usually their newspaper isn't delivered by the time i arrive, but Mr. L had just gotten up and when i handed it to him, he was quite surprised.


"It's here early!" he said, and i agreed.  He then added, "Maybe he wanted to get up early to go fishing!"  We both laughed and i headed to the laundry room, which didn't look so bad.  The washed clothes had been properly washed with an actual wash cycle and soap, and about half of them dried.


Then i got in his room.






When i asked later, he admitted he'd had a tough Sunday.  He's not supposed to work Sunday but they scheduled him noon to 8.  It took some of the starch, and all of the desire to tidy, out of him.  "It was long," was his comment.


He did offer, once i was there, to start cleaning, but i told him it was now my job and i got through it a lot faster than he would have, as easily distracted as he is.


Carl came in a few times during his nap.


His first foray was for "fuzzy teeth," and he proved he can use the dental floss correctly if he is being watched.


Later Carl came back and asked, "Do I smell bad?"


I don't know, i told him, as i haven't gotten close enough to you to smell you, but you don't stink from here.


He headed for the bathroom and grabbed the deodorant.  I tried to talk him into showering before putting deodorant on.


"Why?" he asked, and i told it because when he just showers later, he will simply wash the deodorant off.


He shrugged and used it anyway, and when my back was turned, took off his pajama top, dropping it on the bed, and fished a clean top out of his dresser.


When he first did it and i realized he had changed, i grabbed the dirty pajama top off the clean bed and headed it to the laundry hamper, and was impressed he'd gotten a fresh top and managed to close the dresser drawer.




Well, i realized, he almost managed to close the dresser drawer.


His last sashay through the room before i was done was to grab a drink from his almost empty refrigerator and tell me about a game he'd played online with friends after work the night before.


"It was so cool, I was with an architect..."


He then descended into mumbling and i only caught a few words about throwing people out, laser beams, blowing things up (he really loves that), error messages (which were part of the game and meant you had to start something over) and having a safe zone.


Whatever he was doing, he was up late at it and no wonder he was so tired.  In fact, after he was done with his description of the game, i was a bit tired myself and told him if he'd done all that, he needed more sleep, which he went and got.


The latest fad with poor Carl and the saga of his feet is he's using a different kind of callous pad.  The new shoes are helping a lot, but these pads stick to everything, including whoever has to pick them up.


I hope he gets to the podiatrist soon, for his sake and mine.


The last i saw of him right before leaving for Ms. S across the street he was getting up and saying, “I’m going to Jazzercise!”


Carl does love to bust a move, and he has so much fun at the classes, i hope he went and had a great time.


How about some funnies.

















Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!






***********************************



Today is:


Apple Day -- U.K. (to inspire local orchard revival and celebrate local varieties)http://commonground.org.uk/projects/orchards/apple-day/


Antillean Day -- Bonaire; Curacao; Saba; St. Eustatius


Armed Forces Day -- Honduras (Dia de las Fuerzas Armadas; traditional date, now usually celebrated earlier in the month as part of Morazanica Week)


Babbling Day -- an internet generated day for Blatherskites


Caramel Apple Day -- US (leave it to the US to add sugar to a delicious, nutritious snack!)


Deepavali/Diwali(Festival of Lights) -- Hindu; Jain; Sikh (second day of the festival)

     Kukur Tihar/Kukur Puja -- Day of Dogs

     Jain New Year


Egyptian Naval Day -- Egypt


Garbanzo Bean Day


Global Iodine Deficiency Disorder Prevention Day


Hurricane Bebe Day -- Funafuti, Tuvalu (commemoration of the destruction by this hurricane in 1972)


Independence Day -- Marshall Islands(1986)


Information Overload Awareness Day -- we all get bombarded, take stock of how it affects you; sponsored by the Information Overload Research Group       


International Day of the Nacho -- Mexico; U.S.


Jailhouse Rock Day -- Elvis' song hit #1 today in 1957


National Nurses Day -- Thailand


National Pharmacy Technician Day -- because pharmacy technicians "Help America Feel Better" 


National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day


Overseas Chinese Day -- Taiwan (Republic of China)


President Ndadaye Day -- Burundi


Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity   


Reptile Awareness Day -- hooray for snakes and turtles!  and lizards, don't forget lizards, and gators, and...


St. John of Bridlington's Day (Patron against complications in childbirth)


St. Ursula's Day (Patron of educators/teachers, holy death, schoolchildren, students; British Virgin Islands; Catholic education, especially of girls; Cologne, Germany; University of Paris)


Trafalgar Day -- British Empire (noted, but no longer an officially holiday)


Vegetarian Festival -- Phuket, Thailand (lots of purification rituals and a rigid vegetarian/vegan diet are observed for spiritual cleansing and ensuring good luck; through Oct. 29)



Anniversaries Today:


Juan Peron marries actress Evita (María Eva Duarte), 1945



Birthdays Today:


Jeremy Miller, 1976

Ken Watanabe, 1959

Carrie Fisher, 1956

Benjamin Netanyahu, 1949

Elvin Bishop, 1942

Judge Judy Sheindlin, 1942

Frances Fitzgerald, 1940

Ursula K. LeGuin, 1929

Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford, 1928

Celia Cruz, 1925

Joyce Randolph, 1925

Dizzy Gillespie, 1917

Georg Solti, 1912

Edwin Myers "Ted" Shawn, 1891

Will Carleton, 1845

Alfred Nobel, 1833

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Butterflies are Free"(Play), 1969

"Orphee aux enfer/Orpheus in the Underworld"(Offenbach operetta), 1858



Today in History:


Sultan Kilidj Arslan of Nicea defeats 1st Crusaders, 1096

Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg., 1512

Ferdinand Magellen arrives at Tierra Del Fuego (Pacific Ocean), 1520

Sea battle at Dunes, Lt Admiral Maarten Tromp defeats Spanish Armada under De Oquendo, 1639

First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts and which was in defiance of British rule in Colonial America, 1774

US Navy frigate Constitution, Old Ironsides, launched in Boston, 1797

Battle of Trafalgar, Adm Nelson defeats French & Spanish fleet & dies, 1805

The Penang Free School is founded in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, by the Rev Hutchings. It is the oldest English-language school in Southeast Asia, 1816

Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement (Yorkshire England), 1824

Thomas Edison perfects carbonized cotton filament light bulb, 1879

First transatlantic radiotelephone message, Arlington, Va to Paris, 1915

Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time, 1945

Comet Ikeya-Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers from the sun, 1965

The European Patent Institute is founded, 1977

The metre is defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second, 1983

Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz, 2003

The European Parliament awards Cuban Dissident Guillermo Farinas the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, 2010

Kateri Tekakwitha is canonized as the first Native American saint by Pope Benedict XVI, 2012

The Parliament of Canada confers Honorary Canadian citizenship on women's rights and education activist Malala Yousafzai, 2013

Oscar Pistorius is sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 2014

The Spanish government suspends Catalonia's autonomy in the face of a deepening political crisis over the region's push for independence, 2017

Excavations at an 8,000-year-old site at Marawah Island, near Abu Dhabi, UAE, uncover the world's oldest natural pearl, 2019

In what is later dubbed the "Great Cheese Robbery," thieves steal about 22 metric tons of a rare English Cheddar from Neal's Yard Dairy in London, 2024