Saturday, September 26, 2026

Up, Down, and Sideways , a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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As with most weeks, when i get to Thankful Day, i feel like things have been up, down and even sideways, but there are always good things for which to give thanks.


First, about Lawrence the Honda.  It's the model of Honda known for burning oil, something the makers could never figure out why or how, but they tend to need topping off.


Lawrence, i was thankful to find out, needs topping off much more often now i'm going to NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana, for those who may not know) twice a week (sometimes more).  #2 Son is recommending a half quart per two trips plus the driving i do around town.  After all, this is one thing you need to know before it gets critically low.


Saturday was a good drive to and from NOLA, and i'm always thankful for a good drive.


Sunday morning, Mr. Cal the dog was very thankful for his walk.  I am thankful as i pulled out of the parking space to take me and Becca to church, it felt as if the Good Lord turned my head and made me look down just in time to see this.





It's Mr. J's Very Important Work Bag.  He was going to take Ms. A's car while she's out of town, but when he pulled it out of the garage, it had a flat tire!  He took his bag and a few other items and went to his truck, setting the bag by the wheel and meaning to put it in after the other items, and then drove off without it.


He's thankful i saw it and brought it to him at church, and i'm thankful, too, as i know how awful it feels to lose something very important.


Annie and i were thankful to visit Ms. D in the evening, and the rest of the family came by, too.


Monday morning, i was thankful Ms. S let me come at 9am and i was done by noon.  This gave me plenty of time to run an errand and then get back to NOLA, and i was thankful to again get there safely.


Grandma was thankful for a bath.


We're thankful she may qualify for some hospice care at home, and i'm thankful i was there when the pharmacy delivered the oxygen machine (like the kind i used to help Ms. SH with before she died), the nebulizer (same), and the suction machine, which the nice person who brought it showed me how to use, and it's all set up for when needed.


Uncle J is thankful i was there to show him how it all works, too.


I got home Tuesday morning and was thankful to spend another lovely day with our Annie.


Once my morning shift at the cat shelter was done, thankfully with no problems, i headed to Ms. G.  As i arrived, she called and asked me to please come to the street behind hers, which i did.


When i got out of the car i heard it, the unmistakable sound of a cat crying from up in a tree.  Ms. G was in the process of cutting down a crepe myrtle tree next to the oak the cat was in.





The cat rescue guy had come the day before and hadn't been able to get his equipment into the oak because it kept getting tangled in the crepe myrtle.  I was thankful to help cut down the tree and get it out of the way, and also get to deliver snacks to Ms. Fiona, who was getting ready to go to a birthday party.





The photo is awful, but you can see how close the poor cat came to falling.  We're thankful once the crepe was gone, the cat rescue guy got into the tree in time and got the friendly little guy down safely.


It's hard to get a picture, he's moving so much.


We're all thankful he's now neutered and up for adoption, and i'm sure he's thankful, too.


Wednesday evening (yes, same day), #2 Son and Daughter-in-Law had plans to go to a concert so this GG (GranGran) was babysitting.






I'm thankful for a fun but tiring evening with them during which Little Ben fussed, ate, urped up almost all of his meal, fussed, ate again, and finally fell asleep, and our Annie fought sleep from 9pm until well after 11pm.  They're a beautiful handful, and i'm thankful i'd have them no other way.


I'm also thankful even though i had to miss Bible study, the teacher does a second class on Zoom which they film and post on the church website, so i can catch up.


The parents came home thankful for a very enjoyable evening out, something they don't get often.


The plan for Thursday was to do Ms. V's place and then go to Kevin and Lenny's shop.


I'm thankful Ms. V's place is going like clockwork most of the time now, and thankful i take an extra half hour to do Carl's room a bit at a time so it will be back in order by the time he comes for his next visit.


When i called to confirm going to the shop to clean, Mr. Kevin told me it wouldn't be needed, he and Mr. Lenny are retiring and selling the business!  It seems the new guy wants to hire employees who will have do the cleaning themselves.


I'm thankful we had the work as long as we did, and very thankful for all the work they've done on our cars over the years.


Friday morning i was thankful to get to prayer group, then run errands, go to the house to take care of Annie, run one more errand with her, and then get to the cat shelter for an evening shift.


We're very thankful there were a lot of people looking and three adoptions, a stellar night.



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.



You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


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Today is:


Bureflux -- Discordian Calendar


Dia de la Bandera Nacional -- Ecuador (Day of the National Flag)


Dominion Day -- New Zealand (trad.)


European Day of Languages -- European Union


Family Health and Fitness Day USA  


Fish Amnesty Day (same as National Hunting and Fishing Day in the US, because it hurts fish to be caught!)


Festival of Venus Genetrix -- Ancient Roman Calendar


Full Harvest Moon a/k/a Full Corn Moon/Indigo Moon/Wise-Crone Moon (with so much food ripe for gathering, harvesting can go on well into the night by the light of the hugely full Harvest Moon)

     Binara Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka (began yesterday evening)

     Chusok -- South Korea (Harvest Moon Festival; began yesterday, through the 20th; a harvest festival and day to give homage to the ancestors and celebrate family)

     Han'gawi -- North Korea (Harvest Moon Festival; through the 21st; a harvest festival and day to give homage to the ancestors and celebrate family)

     Navajo Sing Festival -- Navajo Native Americans festival in thanksgiving for the harvest, begins at the full moon and goes on for one week 

     Taw Thalin Full Moon -- Myanmar

     Zhongqiu Jie / Chong Chao -- China; Macau; Taiwan (Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival, the birthday of the earth god T'u-ti Kung, celebrating the harvests, family, and eating moon cakes, matchmaking, sky lanterns, Fire Dragon Dances, and more)


International Rabbit Day -- learn to care for these wonderful pets and promote responsible rabbit ownership   


International Tool Day -- internet generated, now gladly embraced by toolmakers


Johnny Appleseed Day -- birth anniversary of John Chapman


Kiwanis Kids' Day -- local clubs sponsor events for kids on the fourth Saturday of September


Mesothelioma Awareness Day -- bringing to light this cancer caused by asbestos exposure 


Monkey King Festival -- China (a celebration of this popular character in East Asian stories, with the best place to see the rituals being the Monkey God Temple at Po Tat Estate in Sau Mau Ping, Kowloon)


National Hunting and Fishing Day -- US   


National Pancake Day


National Public Lands Day -- US (Helping Hands for America's Lands -- a day to volunteer on America's Public Lands; note that entrance fees are waived for this event!) 


National Seat Check Saturday -- US (make sure your child's car seats are secured properly)   


Old Holy Rood Day -- OS calendar (the day blackberries become unsafe for picking) related observance

     Mid-Autumn Day -- Scottish Highlands (traditional; considered the day harts begin to mate and a weather prognostication day)


Search for Your Baseball Cards Again Day -- on lots of trivia sites; recommended because you never know


September Revolution Day -- Yemen (a/k/a First Revolution Day)


Stanislav Petrov Day -- remembering the day in 1983 when Comrade Petrov was given the order to return nuclear fire due to a faulty alarm system; he defied the order for hours, refusing to return fire believing it was a false alarm, which indeed was correct, and his disobedience saved the world!


Sts. Cosmas and Damian's Day (Patrons of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, barbers, blind people, chemical industry/manufacturers, doctors/physicians/surgeons, hairdressers, midwives, people with hernias; Alberobello, Italy; Ossimo, Italy; against blindness and pestilence) related observance:

     Begin now to lay in supplies for your Michaelmas supper on the 29th


Sukkot -- Judaism (began at sunset yesterday, through nightfall on Oct. 2)


United States Postal Service Day -- US (the first postmaster general under the current constitution, Samuel Osgood, was appointed this day in 1789)


World Contraception Day -- International



Birthdays Today:


Serena Williams, 1981

Lawrence Leritz, 1962

Melissa Sue Anderson, 1962

Linda Hamilton, 1956

Jane Smiley, 1949

Mary Beth Hurt, 1948

Olivia Newton-John, 1948

Lynn Anderson, 1947

Brian Ferry, 1945

Anne Robinson, 1944

Kent McCord, 1942

Julie London, 1926

Jack LaLanne, 1914

George Gershwin, 1898

T.S. Eliot, 1888

Edmund Gwenn, 1877

John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman, 1774

St. Francis of Assisi, 1181



Debuting/Premiering Today:


George(Magazine), 1995

"Knight Rider"(TV), 1982

"The Brady Bunch"(TV), 1969

"Hawaii Five-O"(TV), 1968

"Gilligan's Island"(TV), 1964

"The Beverly Hillbillies"(TV), 1962

"West Side Story"(Musical), 1957

"Lucia di Lammermoor"(Opera), 1835

"The Gladiator"(Play), 1831



Today in History:


In keeping a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus, Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix, BC 46

Sir Francis Drake returns to England with Spanish treasure, 1580

In a battle between Venetians and Turks in Athens, the Parthenon and Acropolis are seriously damaged, 1687

New Jersey passes a bill requiring a license to practice medicine, 1772

Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first Secretary of State of the US, 1789

Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson proved tomatoes weren't poisonous by eating several on the steps of the courthouse in Salem, New Jersey, 1820

The Diamond Match Company patents book matches, 1892

New Zealand and Newfoundland each become dominions within the British Empire, 1907

Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations, 1950

Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time, 1973

The United Kingdom agrees to the handover of Hong Kong, 1984

An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse, 1997

Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy becomes first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel, 2008

Georgia changes its second language from Russian to English, 2010

Saudi Arabia announces it is overturning its ban on women driving, the last country in the world to do so, 2017

108 pilot whales survive out of a total of 458 in Australia's largest mass stranding at Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, 2020

In the first test of the planetary defense system, NASA's DART mission successfully crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, 2022

World's longest-serving death row prisoner, Iwao Hakamata, aged 88, has his name cleared by a Japanese court after 56 years, 2024

Friday, September 25, 2026

Here's Who, They're Not Telling How (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins, Nature Friday, and Pet Photo Fails

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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (may he rest in peace), and i'm going to believe it's because he liked cats.

He handed hosting duties off to Sandee at Comedy Plus, and now she has entrusted it to me.


Feline Friday is simple to join.  All you have to do is: Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (they may be silly or cute).  Then add your link!


One thing for sure is this is a fun and easy meme to do.  So come and join us in Feline Friday.


What better way to start the weekend than with a feline!


When i arrived for my shift at the shelter Wednesday morning, i saw this.





Who did it, and also, how did they manage to move their whole food bowl partially on top of the water bowl?  Bert and Ernie, that's who.  



Ernie



Bert played hard to get.


Is that a nose i see peeking out from under there?



Now i see a paw or two.

There he is.


They were both mum about how.






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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by Lorianne The Menagerie Mom of Four-Legged Furballs. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!      


Here are this week's statements with my responses underlined:



1. I am glad I live near __________________________.


2. I am glad I don’t live near _______________________________.


3. I didn’t _________ until I was _________.


4. _________ made me truly laugh.



1. I am glad I live near   the highway so it's easy to get to.


2. I am glad I don’t live near   the dump, a nuclear waste site, my in-laws... (the last is a joke, we don't live far from Brother-in-Law and their parents have been gone for years).


3. I didn’t   really start cooking a lot   until I was   married.


4. Old comedy shows   made me truly laugh.



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Nature Friday is hosted by LLB in Our Backyard.  Simply post a picture of the natural world, and link up!   


While most of the geese now stay here all year, we do see them flying this time of year in formation, not because they are heading back here from further north but just because they fly from pond to lake to pond.






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Pet Photo Fails is hosted by Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries & Meows.     


Eventually, Bert came out from under the cave Ernie was occupying and i thought i might get a better photo.






I was wrong, as he immediately wedged himself here.




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Today is:


Armed Forces Day -- Mozambique


Hug a Vegan Day / Hug a Vegetarian Day -- i'm open!  please note that several dates are given on many websites for this "event," and i've chosen the final Friday of September which seems to be the original as sponsored by PETA


Indra Jatra -- Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (the biggest religious street festival in Kathmandu, celebrating of the founding of Kathmandu, with several days of chariot processions, masked dances, and tableau; today is the municipal day off for the festival)


International Ataxia Awareness Day -- highlighting the difficulties of living with the many forms of ataxia 


Kamarampaka Day -- Rwanda (Republic Day, marks the 1961 abolition of the monarchy)


Love Note Day -- take pen and paper and send that special someone a love note today, the idea of Leona Hamel of QC, Canada; here are some good ideas on keeping romance alive   


Manit Day -- Marshall Islands (Culture Day)


Math Storytelling Day -- the brainchild of Maria Droujkova 


National Comic Book Day -- internet generated, but go read one, they are fun


National Crabmeat Newberg Day


National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims -- US


National Doodle Day -- UK (fundraiser for Epilepsy Action)    


National Food Service Employees Day -- because everyone wants to eat out once in a while


National One-Hit Wonder Day -- US, remembering those who had only one hit on the rock charts


National Psychotherapy Day -- US (a day to wear turquoise and encourage education about how psychotherapy can help people)     


National Schnauzer Day -- begun in the UK, now celebrated internationally


National Youth Day -- Nauru; Turks and Caicos Islands


Native American Day 2026 -- US (begun in California, a day to honor all Native Americans, always celebrated the fourth Friday in September)


Old Holy Rood Eve -- OS calendar Holy Cross Eve, the last day to pick blackberries (after this, the devil poisons them because when he fell from heaven, he landed in a blackberry bush)


Sport Purple For Platelets Day(sm) -- Platelet Disorder Support Association   


St. Cadoc's Day (Patron of the deaf; against cramps, deafness, glandular disorders, scrofula)


St. Finbarr's Day (Patron of Barra, Scotland; Cork, Ireland)


Sukkot -- Judaism (begins at sundown, through nightfall Oct. 2)


World Ataxia Awareness Day


World Pharmacists Day -- International Pharmaceutical Federation; this year's theme is “Think Health, Think Pharmacist”  


World's Biggest Coffee Morning -- UK (Macmillan Cancer Support fundraiser, host or attend a Coffee Morning gathering or go to M&S Cafe, the official partner in the event!)


Zhong Qui Jie -- China (mid-Autumn festival)



Birthdays Today:


Lee Norris, 1981

Catherine Zeta-Jones, 1969

Will Smith, 1968

Scottie Pippen, 1965

Tate Donovan, 1963

Aida Turturro, 1962

Heather Locklear, 1961

Michael Madsen, 1959

Jamie Hyneman, 1956

Christopher Reeve, 1952

Mark Hamill, 1951

Cheryl Tiegs, 1947

Michael Douglas, 1944

Robert Walden, 1943

Juliet Prowse, 1936

Glenn Gould, 1932

Barbara Walters, 1931

Shel Silverstein, 1930

Phil Rizzuto, 1918

Dmitri Shostakovich, 1906

Walter Wesley "Red" Smith, 1905

William Faulkner, 1897

Jean Phillippe Rameau, 1683 (baptismal date, as actual birth anniversary is unknown)

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 1358 (Japanese Shogun)



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Beauty and the Beast"(TV), 1987

"Stepping Out"(Play), 1984

"Winterset"(Play), 1935

"Dorothy"(Comic opera), 1886



Today in History:


St. Ferment is beheaded in Amiens, France, after voyaging there to preach the gospel, 303

The Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Anglo-Saxon era, 1066

Columbus begins his second voyage, with 17 ships, 1493

Vasco Nunez de Balboa becomes the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the west coast of the Americas, 1513

The first printing press in the Americas begins operations, 1639

Old Style date; two very accurate clocks are set in motion at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, the start of Greenwich Mean Time, 1676

Ethan Allan, American Revolutionary War hero, is captured, 1775

Benedict Arnold joins the British, 1780

The first all-black university in the US, Howard University, is created by Congress, 1867

Yosemite National Park is established by Congress, 1890

Charles Follis becomes the first black to play professional American football, 1904

Birth of the remote control -- Leonardo Torres Quevedo successfully demonstrates the invention of the "Telekino" and guides a boat from the shore in the port of Bilbao, 1906

Jimmy Doolittle performs the first blind flight from Mitchel Field proving that full instrument flying from take off to landing is possible, 1929*

Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, is integrated by the use of United States Army troops, 1957

In a referendum, the people of Norway reject membership of the European Community, 1972

Belize joins the United Nations, 1981

The last of the Magdalene Asylums closes in Ireland, 1996

The Vitim event, a possible bolide (comet nucleus) impact in Siberia, Russia, 2002

China launches the spacecraft Shenzhou 7, 2008

The Wildlife Authority of Uganda announces that, since 1999, the population of some of the animals in the country's game reserves have doubled in population, 2010

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia announces that women will now be able to vote and run in municipal elections, 2011

Singapore closes schools due to hazardous levels of air pollution from fires in Indonesia, 2015

World's largest radio telescope at 500m wide in Guizhou Province, China begins operating, 2016

For the first time ever, a woman graduates from the US Marine Corps' Infantry Officer Course, 2017

Hazzaa AlMansoori becomes first Emirati in space and first Arab astronaut to travel to the International Space Station, travelling on Russian Soyuz-MS 15 spacecraft, 2019

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the first woman to lie in state in the US Capitol in Washington D.C., 2020