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There are weeks where the thankful things come thick and fast.
I'm very thankful #2 Son and Friend West were to work on Lawrence the Honda last Saturday, and i was to take #2 Son's car to NOLA, it worked out.
Somehow, beyond expectations, they finished the timing chain in one day in what my son called "a miracle."
Knowing nothing about the timing chain in a car, i can only say what i was told. There's a part of the process where they have to get all the cylinders lined up then take the chain off, and if any cylinder goes out of alignment at that time, it's very bad. It happened. They got it back in alignment on the first try and it stayed. He calls it a miracle, and i agree, and i'm thankful.
I'm very thankful they finished the main part of the job that day, but left some things to cure overnight anyway, something about the "Hondabond," a special glue made by Honda for their parts. #2 Son let me use his car again for church on Sunday.
Although Becca's brother was in town so i did not go get her that morning, i'm thankful for an easy Sunday morning, a long talk with #1 Son, and our church service.
#1 Son has poured himself into his job as assistant manager/cook/delivery driver/waitstaff at a restaurant for 7 years, working overtime when people didn't show, sometimes running the store by himself for days on end. Last Friday a fellow assistant manager threw him under the bus over an issue and he gave notice, it was the last straw. I'm thankful one call to a friend and he already has another job in a different industry, he will start training this week. Our talk was about his hopes for the future, it looks bright.
Meanwhile, i'm thankful he has GusGus to do GrubHub and DoorDash to earn money while waiting to start the new job.
Sunday evening, my little Annie and i had a great time with Ms. D. Then i got to hold little Ben when i took her home. I'm always thankful for grandchild time.
Later, as Daughter-in-Law was stepping out of the back door holding the baby, she twisted her ankle and fell. We're all thankful neither she nor little Ben were hurt, her ankle had just rolled a little and she was able to stand right back up and keep going.
Because my new Monday job doesn't start until some time in September and Ms. D and i agreed i'd be there at 10am, i planned to spend Monday morning running lots of errands and checking out Lawrence and how he was running now.
The tire pressure light was on.
I'm thankful i now have one of those gadgets which measures tire pressure and can air up your tires for you, all four of them were a bit low. Now, however, i was later leaving the house than planned and thought i wouldn't get to all the errands.
The first went flawlessly, thankfully, and while i was in the area, i was thankful i threw caution and my time planning out the window and stopped at the garage where the pastor always had Lawrence serviced. I asked them if i could have a copy of the service records, what's been done to it and what hasn't, and i was very thankful the answer was yes and now i have a paper telling everything the car has had done since the beginning.
Now wondering if the rest of the morning was shot, i thought i'd have to decide between the store and the pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions. The store was closer, but i felt like The Good Lord was leading me to go to the pharmacy first and i did need those meds, so i went, and found both a crowd and the fact they'd not properly filled one of the meds.
I was thankful to have time to run back to the store, get what i needed, and then get to the pharmacy, now empty, grab my meds and go, arriving at home to put stuff away and walk to Ms. D's just in time.
She's thankful all the dusting got done, she's having company soon.
One thing i picked up at the store was some dry kibble for Link Linker the Stinker Cat. Although the vet recommended the canned, it's just not filling him up, he's hungry all the time and not gaining any weight. I'm thankful he likes the kibble in addition to his canned and it seems to be keeping him satisfied.
There's a vitamin i take which is no longer at the store where i used to get it so i got online and signed up for it to be shipped every two months, and it's cheaper this way, too. The first time they sent it was great, then this time, i got a bottle, then a second, then a third! Of course, it was over a weekend, so no calling until Monday.
When i did call, i was thankful to hear they'd made a mistake and shipped the extras without charge, i could keep them!
Tuesday with Annie was excellent, and we even got her down for a nap, for which we are always thankful. It seems rubbing her back and gentle running your hands through her hair soothes her and she lies still long enough to get to dreamland.
My usual Wednesday morning volunteer work went well and then came Ms. G. She was on a tear helping Ms. Fiona, so i was thankful to be at the house alone, doing all the usual and quite a few things beyond which needed doing but she's always putting off.
My Sweetie and i did our double cleaning Thursday and i was most thankful school is already back in session, cleaning Ms. SE's house is much easier when it's just us and the dogs.
Over the past two weeks, one of our church ladies' circle members, EK, has been through quite a time. Her father was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer which had spread to his spine (among other places) and he suddenly could not walk. They'd spent over two weeks trying to get the right care for him, procedures to help stabilize his spine, procedures to block all the pain he was in, and etc.
I was thankful she had been calling and texting, trying to get advice and support, but wanted to do more.
Finally, yesterday, EK told her parents enough was enough, he needed to be in hospice, and they agreed. Last night, after i was finished at the cat shelter, i was thankful to go to the hospice right up the highway from our house (where Ms. P and Ms. JAI were) so i could see EK, hug her, hug her mama, pray with them, and just be there to keep company with them for a while.
I'm thankful the plan is for me to go back today after i get back from NOLA, and if i'm behind on visiting your blogs, it's one of those seasons and i will be back, i want to go up there as much as i can over the next however long.
Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Clark and his co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.
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It's World Cat Day / International Cat Day! This was begun in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal rights groups.
Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere for the event badge.
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Today is:
Anjin Matsuri -- Ito City, Japan (commemorations William Adams (1564-1620), a naturalized British shipwright, called "Anjin Miura" in Japan, a great contributor to the early development of Japanese ship-building industry; through the 10th)
BaBa Day -- Taiwan (ba ba is Mandarin for both "father" and "8-8")
Bonza Bottler Day™
Celebrate Your Lakes Day -- originally a senate resolution in the US state of New Hampshire to celebrate local lakes and ponds, now more widely observed; go enjoy some recreation at a pond, lake, or even river or stream near you!
Dalek Day -- on the birth anniversary of the creator of these Scifi baddies, Terry Nation
Drottningens Namnsdag -- Sweden (Name Day of Queen Sylvia; an official flag day)
Festival for Venus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (sunset to sunset)
Fourteen Holy Helpers' Day (Patrons against diseases)
Happiness Happens Day -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, to encourage sharing happiness and discourage parade raining; on the anniversary of their founding in 1997
International Hangover Day -- always the day after International Beer Day, which should tell you something, and sponsored by the same group that does International Beer Day, which should tell you something more!
Kranti Diwas -- Mumbai (former Bombay), India (a/k/a Freedom Day or Quit India Day; anniversary of Gandhi's Quit India speech to the British authorities in 1942)
National Frozen Custard Day
National Garage Sale Day -- US (the goal, according to C. Daniel Rhodes, is to turn the nation into a giant shopping mall on the second Saturday of August each year)
Odie Day -- honoring Garfield's pal Odie, who first appeared in the strip on this day in 1978
Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and i love the stuff but can't grow plants to save my life, i'll leave the porch light on for you if you will bring me some!
St. Cyriacus' Day (Patron of the eyes; Altidona, Italy; against diabolical possession, eye disease, and temptations, especially temptations at the time of death)
St. Dominic's Day (Founder of the Dominican Order[Friars]; Patron of astronomers and astronomy, falsely accused people, scientists; Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; Valletta, Malta)
St. Mary MacKillop's Day (First native-born Australian saint; Patron of Australia; Wagga Wagga, Australia)
The Date To Create -- can't find anything on this one, just listed at a couple of sites, but go have fun creating something!
Wakulima ya Nane Nane -- Tanzania (Peasants' Day/Farmers' Day)
Wicket World of Croquet -- Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, Indianapolis, IN, US (Don your game whites and hit the court for a wicketly competitive day of historic elegance and modern indulgence)
Birthdays Today:
Roger Federer, 1981
Michael Urie, 1980
Drew Lachey, 1976
The Edge, 1961
Deborah Norville, 1958
Randy Shilts, 1951
Roberta Cooper Ramo, 1942
Keith Carradine, 1949
Connie Stevens, 1938
Dustin Hoffman, 1937
Mel Tillis, 1932
Esther Williams, 1923
Rory Calhoun, 1922
Dino De Laurentis, 1919
Russell Markert, 1899
Fredric March, 1897
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, 1896
Emiliano Zapata Salazar, 1879
Matthew Henson, 1866
Emperor Horikawa of Japan, 1079
Today in History:
The Romans destroy the Tower of Antonia, 70
Otto I (The Great) crowned German king, 936
Vijayanagara Empire is rebegun with the crowning of emperor Krishnadeva Raya, 1509
The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven, 1576
John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, 1585
The first known ascent (indoors) of a hot-air ballon by Bartolomeu de Gusamao, 1709
Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard become the first to ascend Mont Blanc, 1786
Metal bullet cartridges are patented by Smith and Wesson, 1854
Mimeograph is patented by Thomas Edison, 1876
Wilbur Wright makes the brother's first public flight, at a racecourse in Le Mans, France, 1908
The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire, 1911
The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight, 1929
The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, the 3rd nation to join, 1945
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, 1967
Richard Nixon announces his resignation as President of the United States, effective the next day, 1974
The lights go on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last staduim in the majors to host a night game (which was subsequently rained out!), 1988
Iraq occupies and annexes Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait within a couple of weeks, 1990
Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor, 2000
Archeologist excavating the Templo Mayor, one of the Aztec's main temples in their capital city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico city), make an unprecedented find - the skeleton of a young woman surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones, 2012
The Walt Disney Company announces plans to create a new streaming service and cut ties with Netflix, 2017
Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, is declared to be 100% in drought, 2018
In a "Wright Brothers Moment" (key achievement), the National Ignition Facility of the Livermore Lab produces 1.3 megajoules of energy through nuclear fusion, 2021
Arguably the most dangerous drug trafficker in the world, Colombian drug dealer Dairo Antonio Úsuga (Otoniel) is sentenced to 45 years in prison in the US, 2023
Cambodian PM Hun Manet holds a ceremony to celebrate the return of statues and artifacts from museums and collections in 15 countries, 2024
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