Wednesday, May 20, 2026

And I Thought I Had a Lot of Keys (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless WednesdayCatsynthKeith, 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.    


This month the words/prompts are supplied by jabblog and can be found here at River's blog.


This week's words/prompts are:


1.prefer  

2.myth  

3.common  

4.category  

5.store  

6.image


and/or:


1.flower  

2.saintly  

3.stormy  

4.sheep  

5.bank  

6.face


Charlotte's colour of the month is Gold.


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



I'm sitting here with the clock ticking away merrily trying to figure out what to write.


After a day with my little Annie, my brain is mush, or maybe just a Gold FLOWER in a silver vase, pretty but not very useful.


Brother-in-Law and my Sweetie just came in from the STORE.  It's been a little STORMY this afternoon, so we're glad Mike-Next-Door got the lawn mowed already earlier.  Every other Tuesday seems to be his schedule, and it works wonderfully.  Ms. S on every other Monday pays me cash so no need to go to the BANK to have money to give him.


We all PREFER the MYTH about little children being so good, but the fact is our little Annie has a mind of her own, likes to tell us, "No!" and has been known to run away when we call her.  Of course, if i ask her to clean up and start putting things away, asking, "can you help GG?" she will do it.  She loves to cooperate, sometimes.  The times when she doesn't, she peeps at you with the most SAINTLY look on her FACE and smiles and does exactly as she wants, not as we want.


The COMMON IMAGE of them looking like angels when they sleep is true, though.





She's also most keen on being read to.  Right now, she focuses on animals in the stories, and is especially taken with the Mother Goose book and the rhyme, "Baa, Baa, Black SHEEP."  GG actually sings this one to her, and she doesn't look at me like she will when she is older and realizes i can't sing, and she tries to sing along.


I'm not sure what CATEGORY we would put this bit of a story in, but at least it's written and now my mushy brain can rest.




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It's National Rescue Dog Day in the US!  It was started by by Lisa Wiehebrink, an author as well as the founder of “Tails That Teach.”   


Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere for the event badge.         



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Today is:


Be a Millionaire Day - i have all the zeros, now i just need the 1


Blue Jeans Day -- Levi Strauss and David Jacobs received the patent for their denim pants with riveted pockets on this day in 1873


Elf Fest -- Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary (near Needmore, Indiana; through Sunday)   


Eliza Doolittle Day* -- in honor of Shaw and his famous fictional character, to encourage proper use of one's native language


Emancipation Day -- Florida, US


Emergency Medical Services for Children Day -- because children need different care, they aren't just tiny adults   


Festival of Mjollnir -- Ancient Norse Calendar (feast of Thor's Hammer, date approximate)


Flying Solo Day -- Lindberg began his historic flight on this day in 1927


Frigga Blot -- Slavic Pagan/Asatru (honoring Frigga)  


Grudie Rosnoe -- Slavic Pagan/Asatru (ten days of sacrifices to Rod for rain and good harvests)


Hari Kebangkitan Nasional Indonesia -- Indonesia (Indonesian National Awakening Day)


Independence Day -- East Timor(2002)


International Bee Day -- UN


Mecklenburg Day -- North Carolina, US (commemoration of the signing of a declaration of independence from England by the citizens of Mecklenburg County on this day in 1775)


National Day -- Cameroon


National Employee Health & Fitness Day -- US (originally the 3rd Wednesday in May, but now spreading around the world as Global Employee Health & Fitness Month)   


National Quiche Lorraine Day


Norman Rockwell Day -- his first Saturday Evening Post cover appeared this day in 1916


Pick Strawberries Day


St. Bernadine of Siena's Day (Patron of advertising and advertisers, communications personnel, compulsive gamblers/gambling addicts, public relations work and personnel; Italy; Aquila, Italy; Capri, Italy; Castelspina, Italy; Trevignano, Italy; the diocese of San Bernardino, California; against compulsive gambling, chest, lung, and respiratory problems and hoarseness of the throat)


St. Ives' Day (an honest lawyer; in the Anglican tradition, Patron of abandoned children and orphans, advocates, canon lawyers, judges, lawyers, and notaries; in the Roman Catholic tradition, Patron of Saint Ives, Cambridgeshire, England)


Turn Beauty Inside Out Day -- the day to remember what really counts is who you are, not just what you look like


T'veer Chong Kamhaeng -- Cambodia (Day of Remembrance, anniversary of Khmer Rouge regime takeover in 1975, a day to remember all who died at their hands and work for peace)


Weights and Measures Day / World Metrology Day -- anniversary of the treaty in 1875 which established the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sevres, France


World Autoimmune Arthritis Day -- The International Foundation for Autoimmune Arthritis sponsors an online virtual convention in all time zones around the world from today through Wednesday    


World Bee Day -- UN


*"One evening the King will say, "Oh, Liza, old thing,

I want all of England your praises to sing,

Next week on the twentieth of May,

I proclaim Liza Doolittle Day."



Birthdays Today:


Tahmoh Penikett, 1975

Tony Stewart, 1971

Tony Goldwyn, 1960

Bronson Pinchot, 1959

Ronald Prescott Reagan, 1958

David Paterson, 1954

Cher, 1946

Joe Cocker, 1944

Stan Mikita, 1940

Anthony Zerbe, 1936

George Gobel, 1919

Jimmy Stewart, 1908

Henri Julien Felix Rousseau, 1844

William Fargo, 1818

John Stuart Mill, 1806

Honore de Balzac, 1799

Dolly Madison, 1768



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Elegie für junge Liebende / Elegy for Young Lovers(Opera), 1961

Norman Rockwell's First Saturday Evening Post Cover, 1916



Today in History:


The first Ecumenical Council in the Christian Church, the Council of Nicea, opens, 325

An earthquake kills about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia, 526

John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship  Matthew looking for a route to the west, 1497

Cartographer  Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas, 1570

Shakespeare's Sonnets  are first published in London, 1609

Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution, 1802

Otto is named the first modern king of Greece, 1835

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage in which all hands are lost, 1845

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law, 1862

Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets, 1873

The Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is formed, 1882

Krakatoa begins to erupt (the volcano's final and most notable explosion will occur on August 26), 1883

The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope, 1891

Cuba gains independence from the United States, 1902

The Saturday Evening Post publishes its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting ("Boy with Baby Carriage"), 1916

Montreal, Quebec radio station XWA broadcasts the first regularly scheduled radio programming in North America, 1920

By the Treaty of Jedda, the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1927

At 07:52 Charles Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, on the world's first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, 1927

Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, 1932

In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada, 1980

First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo individually, 1983

The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre, 1989

In a second referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a slight majority the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada, 1995

The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and 3 years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976), 2002

Scientists at the Craig J. Venter Institute announce they have successfully created the world's first artificial lifeform by transplanting a synthesized genome into an existing cell, 2010

Some of the largest fines ever levied, totaling US$5.7bn, are handed out to the major world banks JPMorgan, Barclays, Citigroup, RBS, and USB, for manipulation of currency markets, 2015

Bangladesh imposes a 65-day ban on coastal fishing to conserve fish stocks, 2019

Israel and Hamas agree to a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza after nearly two weeks of fighting, 2021

A huia feather from an extinct New Zealand bird sells for $46,521 NZD (about $28,400 USD) at auction in Auckland, 2024

Due to glacial movement which was threatening to cause an avalanche, the village of

Blatten, Switzerland evacutes nearly 300 people, 90 sheep, 26 cows (including an injured cow that needed to be ferried out by helicopter), and 20 domestic rabbits, 2025

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Life is Temporary, Soap Scum is Permanent, 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.  



Ms. V has not gotten more Ring King for me to tackle Carl's tub/shower, but it's okay.  I had enough to start tackling part of it.


Life may change, people move away, but after scrubbing tubs for so many years, i am convinced soap scum lasts forever.


Yesterday i was able to organize and clean a couple of areas of Carl's room.  Once all the cleaning is done, it will be time to sort his CD/DVD/Game collection (again).  The rest of the sorting will have to be done by Ms. V, as it's not my job to make those decisions.


I did decide all the outdated medicines, stale smelling lotions, expired sunscreen and the freezer packs which were leaking should end up in what my Sweetie euphemistically calls "file 13."  Old church papers from years ago went to the recycle bin.


Mr. L is doing better with Carl being gone, he seems to have made peace with the whole situation.  The good reports from where he's living now help a lot.


Yesterday's good reports came from Ms. S and Mr. D, the across the street neighbors i clean for every other week.  I wanted to talk to Ms. V, but she and Mr. L were still asleep when i left at 11am.


One of the running jokes in that house is Ms. V getting up very close to noon and then saying, "I didn't mean to sleep so late!"


Like the rest of her family, she's a night owl, and yes, she really did mean to sleep that late, or at least her body did.  After all, she's up much of the night with Mr. L, whose severe pain, insomnia, and night owl tendencies have combined to make sleep almost impossible for him.


It's the next thing to tackle, but until then the funnies.
















Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!






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Today is:


Boy's Club Day -- founding in 1906


Celebrate Your Elected Officials Day 2026 -- 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


Circus Day -- the four Ringling Brothers opened their first circus on this day in 1884


Greek Genocide Remembrance Day -- Greece


May Ray Day -- to celebrate being able to go out into the sun's rays as summer nears


National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day -- US (information at Banyan Tree Project) http://banyantreeproject.org/


National Devil's Food Cake Day


New England's Dark Day*


Plant Something Day -- because it's fun, and summer is coming so you can!


Praia Municipal Day -- Praia, Cape Verde


St. Dunstan of Canterbury's Day (Patron of armourers, blacksmiths, blind people, gold workers and smiths, jewellers, lighthouse keepers, locksmiths, musicians, silver workers and smiths, swordsmiths; Charlottetown, PEI, Canada)


St. Peter Celestine's Day (Patron of bookbinders; Aquila, Italy)


Youth and Sports Day / Commemoration of Atatürk -- North Cyprus; Turkey



Anniversary Today:


Eric Clapton marries Pattie Boyd, 1979



Birthdays Today:


Rachel Appleton, 1992

Jordon Pruitt, 1991

Eric Lloyd, 1986

Kevin Garnett, 1976

Kyle Eastwood, 1968

Grace Jones, 1952

Joey Ramone, 1951

Archie Manning, 1949

Andre the Giant, 1946

Pete Townshend, 1945

Nora Ephron, 1941

James Fox, 1939

Francis R. Scobee, 1939

David Hartman, 1937

James Lehrer, 1934

Malcolm X, 1925

Ho Chi Minh, 1890

Nancy Astor, 1879

Johns Hopkins, 1762



Debuting/Premiering Today:


Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith(Film), 2005

Smokey and the Bandit,(Film)oikRoom Service"(Play), 1937

Gone With The Wind(Publication date), 1936

"L'heure espagnole / How They Keep Time in Spain"(Ravel comédie musicale), 1911



Today in History:


Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America, 1535

Anne Boleyn is beheaded, 1536

Queen Elizabeth I orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1568

French forces under the duc d'Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power, 1643

The Long Parliament declares England a Commonwealth, and England remains a republic for the next 11 years, 1649

King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River, 1749

*A combination of thick smoke and heavy cloud cover causes complete darkness to fall on Eastern Canada and the New England area of the United States at 10:30 A.M, 1780

Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Légion d'Honneur, 1802

Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the Mexican-American War and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for $15 million USD, 1848

Jan Matzeliger begins the first mechanized shoe production, 1885

Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol, 1897

White women win the right to vote in South Africa, 1930

Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind is published, 1936

Churchill and Roosevelt set May 1, 1944 as their goal date for D-Day (it had to be delayed over a month because of weather), 1943

The Soviet Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus, 1961

Croatians vote for independence, 1991

The Sierra Gorda Biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts, 1997

Hundreds of Albert Einstein's scientific papers, personal letters and humanist essays were make available on the Internet. Einstein had given the papers to the Hebrew Universtiy of Jerusalem in his will, 2003

A rare 19th century torpedo is discovered off the coast of California by the US Navy dolphins, 2013

UK inflation is recorded as a negative for the first time since 1960, 2015

EgyptAir flight MS804 goes missing over the Mediterranean on route Paris to Cairo, 2018

Greenhouse gas emissions dropped 17% worldwide in April 2020 when most of the world was in lockdown according to a study, 2020

According to a major new study, environmental pollution caused by “obesogen" toxins is having a significant effect on the obesity crisis, 2022

An attempted coup is foiled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2024

Syzygy: all eight planets are forecast to align on the same side of the Sun, 2161