Well, in the Great Exercise Equipment Search, I have come up with a couple of possibilities. One person, who lives within a stone's throw of us, has a rowing machine type of thing, and another person has what he says is a type of stand up stationary bike, I think he means an elliptical. I'm not sure where the second person lives, his email gave no details.

So I am waiting for two phone calls to see what pans out.

Meanwhile, the work on rearranging the library is slow and painful. I really want to sort every book in the house, put everything in order, but that is too tall of a job right now. I need to just move stuff, and pick up the pace. We will see if I can get over my urge to putter along and get it done.


Today is:

Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary -- Catholic Christian

Best Friends Day

Bon Festival -- Japan (biggest day of the festival)

Chauvin Day

Dog Days end (tell that to the heat wave!)

Dormition of the Theotokos -- Orthodox Christian

Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary -- Catholic Christian

Ferragosto, Italy (Oven of August)

Flooding of the Nile -- Egypt and the Coptic Christain Church

Fool's Dance -- Japan (part of the Awa Dance Festival)

Great American Tomato Canning Tournament

Great Mother Goddess Day

Gwangbokjeol -- South Korea "Liberation Day" (liberation from Japan)

Independence Day -- India; Republic of the Congo

Indian Independence Day (A National Day of Celebration of Indian and American Democracy)

Jogukhaebangui nal -- North Korea "Fatherland Liberation Day" (liberation from Japan)

Loaded Dice Day

National Day -- Lichtenstein

National Failures Day (May I suggest a book called "Fail Better", a small quotations book about how failure is just the beginning.)

National Homeless Animals Day (I got plenty of those, will be up for adoption in 6-10 weeks if you are interested.)

National Lemon Meringue Pie Day

National Relaxation Day (Wow.)

Our Lady of Flowers Festival -- New York, Florida

Our Lady of Monte Festival -- Portugal

Sandcastle and Sculpture Day

St. Mary's Day


Birthdays Today:

Joe Jonas, 1989
Ben Affleck, 1972
Melinda Gates, 1964
Jimmy Webb, 1946
Linda Ellerbee, 1944
Mike Connors, 1925
Rose Marie, 1925
Huntz Hall, 1919
Oscar Romero, 1917
Julia Child, 1912
Elizabeth Bolden, American Supercentenarian, 1890 (d. 2006)
Ethel Barrymore, 1879
E. Nesbit, 1858
Sir Walter Scott, 1771
Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769


Today in History:

Battle of Roncevaux Pass, the Basques defeat Charles the Great (Charlemagne) and Roland is killed, 778
Macbeth defeats his cousin and rival King Duncan I, who is killed in the battle, and becomes king of Scotland, 1040
Battle of Lumphanan, in which King Macbeth is killed by the forces of Mael Coluim MacDonnchada, 1057
The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral, built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men, is laid, 1248*
The "Mainz Psalter" is completed, the earliest dated book, 1457
Founding of Panama City, 1519
Jesuit priest St. Francis Xaverius land in Kagoshima, Japan, 1549
The Mayflower sets sail from Southhampton, carrying 102 Pilgrims, 1620
Joseph Haydn departs England, never to return, 1795
Country of Liberia is founded by freed American former slaves, 1824
Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1842
San Sebastian Church in Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed, 1891
A male servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the living quarters of the architect's Wisconsin home, 1914
The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship Ancon, 1914
Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed in a plane crash, 1935
The birth of stadium rock: The Beatles play Shae Stadium, 1965
President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard, 1971
The "Wow! signal": The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space, 1977


*Yes, we just noted the other day the date of completion in 1880!