Compared to last year, the drive in was almost too easy. Even through Houston, the big, bad, bugaboo, there was not much to talk about. There was construction downtown, and one truck decided to stop because the road was narrow, but the traffic was about like back home and I didn't let all of the crazy signs get me confused. I was amazed at how quickly everything was passing.
Generally when I travel I surf the radio and try to find local stations that are of interest to me. This time, I stuck with listening to what I like at home, or to the satellite radio. The music is soothing and it was just easier.
It also gave me more time to take in some of the local names of places I was passing, like a street name of Bingle in one place, reminding me of Christmas as a child, and Woman Hollering Creek. There has got to be a real story in that one.
I only made 3 very quick pit stops, and I noticed that my gas sipping rental cost less than half of what my van costs to top it up. Each time I went in to pay, I had to go back for change as I had badly overestimated how much it would be.
Off the interstate and onto the loop without having to ask for help this time, and I even remembered to pass the mall before starting to look for the exit. Once I found it, it was just a couple of turns, and I hoped to show up at the door and surprise Grace by asking her if she ordered a personal chef for the weekend.
The surprise was mine, however, as she wasn't home! Turned out she had picked up Blossoming at the airport earlier, and that she didn't expect me in yet so they went to the store. Her son was home, but he was asleep and didn't hear me knock or ring the bell.
So, what to do now? I only had her home number, and so I called, and listened through the door to the phone ring, and left her a message to call me when she got in. Then I got in the car and went further down the main street, past a couple of schools with cute freckled kids wearing the yellow safety vests and carrying stop signs. I behaved, and stopped when told, and waved to them, and smiled. Their grins as they went about their work was contagious.
I knew there had to be a gas station nearby, and found it. So I went in to ask where I could find a coffee shop or something with wifi. I figured if I had to wander alone in a howling wilderness, or even in the middle of a city where I am lost beyond a three block area, I might as well pull out the old laptop and plow through some email. It turned out that the small restaurant next to this same gas station had just gotten its wifi up that day. So the nice lady there helped me get my setup online, and I bought some juice, and sat as she waited through the lull between lunch and dinner.
After a while, I decided I had invaded her hospitality enough, and headed back to Grace's house. It turned out that her son Neil was awake this time, which was good as I needed those refrigerated items out of the ice chest soon. Shrimp and crab will turn on you on a dime if you don't handle them with care.
Neil helped me get the groceries in, and I decided to wait on the rest of my things. He didn't know where his mom was, and called her cell phone. She didn't answer, as she had left it in the car. It really didn't matter much, though, as now I had stuff to do. I took over half of her fridge and freezer and started peeling shrimp so I could boil the shells for stock. Neil felt it was his job to keep me entertained in his mom's absence, and he did a great job. We talked about all kinds of interesting things, and finally got his mom on her cell phone.
Grace and Blossoming walked in just as I was almost done, and I got so distracted with hugging these friends I had missed so much that as usual the stock started to boil over. Happens to me almost every time, my pots do only boil when I turn my back. We laughed, and I moved the pot to the side and turned it down, but left it boiling a bit. We talked and laughed as we scurried about putting all of the groceries up, getting my stuff out of the car and up to the spare room, and after a while straining off the stock. I insisted that the shells go out of the house immediately -- I know how quickly those things turn on you.
We sat and chatted about our plans for the evening. Grace wanted us to meet up at a vegetarian restaurant that evening, so we went to "freshen up" a bit.
Today is:
Independence Day -- Botswana
International Translation Day
Medetrinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of medicine)
National Mud Pack Day
National Mulled Cider Day
National Women's Health and Fitness Day
Shemini Atzeret -- Jewish
St. Gregory the Enlightener (or Illuminator; patron of Armenia)
St. Jerome's Day
St. Otto's Day
Birthdays Today:
Eric Stoltz, 1961
Fran Drescher, 1957
Marilyn McCoo, 1943
Z.Z. Hill, 1935
Johnny Mathis, 1935
Angie Dickinson, 1931
Truman Capote, 1924
Deborah Kerr, 1921
Buddy Rich, 1917
Rumi, 1207
Today in History:
Rambam (Maimonides) authorizes Samuel Ibn Tibbon to translate the Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew, 1199
Mozart's last opera, The Magic Flute, premiers, 1791
Anesthetic ether used for the first time by Dr. William Morton, who extracted a tooth, 1846
The first Portuguese immigrants arrive in Hawai'i, 1878
The world's first commercial hydroelectric power plant begins operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, 1882
Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner, 1901
The first manned rocket plane flight, made by auto maker Fritz von Opel, 1929
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations, 1947
The World Series, featuring the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, is televised for the first time, 1947
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel, 1954
James Dean is killed in a road accident, 1955
Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez founds the United Farm Workers, 1962
James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying segregation, 1962
General Suharto rises to power in Indonesia after an alleged coup by communists, and massacres over a million Indonesian people suspected of belonging to the Communist Party, 1965
BBC Radio 1 is launched and Tony Blackburn presents its first show, 1967
Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation, 1980
The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada's capital city of Ottawa, 1990
The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo, 2004
The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, 2005
The course of true life, like that of true love, is never smooth.
I woke up about 15 minutes before the alarm went off at 4am, and because of the adrenaline I always have before travel, decided not to bother to try to catch that last fifteen. Good thing, too, because the morning did not run quite as planned.
Sweetie was up, too. That is not conducive to getting stuff done, as he wants attention and is already feeling abandoned because I am leaving town.
The kittens also had other ideas. When I finally finished stumbling around the dark bedroom (I told Sweetie to go back to bed), I took the suitcase downstairs to finish packing in the dark and they weren't content to have their one serving of breakfast.
I did finally give up and got #2 Son up, as he did want to help. He made everything easier, as he distracted the kittens and hauled things to the ice chest as I went fridge-and-freezer diving.
Besides my suitcase, I had to get all of the ingredients for gumbo packed, and food that I can eat, as I am one of those weirdo raw vegan people. I ended up actually carrying more food with me on the trip than clothes.
Speaking of clothes, we come back to life not being smooth. I wanted out of here by a certain time, and ended up being late, but thinking I had done well. I didn't even make the interstate when I realized I didn't have the one nice outfit, on hangers, that I was bringing. I had to turn around and go back. Well, at least it wasn't when I was halfway there, and I only had to stop long enough to say good-bye again, as everyone had to come outside to bring me the items!
Because it was early the traffic was light and I had time to admire the beautiful almost full moon hanging beautifully low over the horizon in front of me. It played hide and seek with me through the beams of the Mississippi River Bridge as I drove over, and looking back in the rear view mirror I could see the sun like a huge red ball lighting up the clouds in a beautiful glow. A lovely portent that foretold great weather and a fabulous trip.
Since I was so anxious to get there, and was driving a rental that didn't drink gas like a wino downs MD20/20, I didn't bother stopping for 3 full hours. During that time I passed through Lafayette, Louisiana's rush hour. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it consisted that day of a few cars pulled onto the shoulder at the Ambassador Caffrey Exit so they wouldn't slow the traffic. Every time I drive through there, I wonder what it would be like to live where the traffic is so light that the most it causes is a hiccup.
I had to laugh as I passed into Texas and saw a huge black cloud ahead. The rain was pouring from it and as I drove under it, I could see blue skies all around. Just overhead was the one cloud, pissing on me, as Sweetie would say. It happened 3 times on the trip -- pouring rain as I looked at the blue skies everywhere else, and it ended almost as fast as it started.
All the areas of road construction I had fought through last year had shrunk considerably, and I finally realized something as I bopped down the highway to the blaring radio. A couple of somethings, actually. First was that I was having a blast and even if the construction had expanded and the rain had been continuous I would have just smiled through it. Second, in construction zones in Texas they don't post a construction zone speed limit unless it changes. I don't have to worry that the signs say the fines are doubled and stuff like that, if the speed limit was 70. and construction starts and no sign says the limit changes, you can still do 70. That is amazing to me as I come from the land of "lets slow people down as much as possible for as long as possible."
Today is:
Festival of Tezcatzonctl -- Ancient Aztec Calendar (chief god of intoxication)
Gwynn ap Nudd -- Celtic Calendar (god of the underworld)
Inventors Day -- Argentine
Leif Ericson Day
Mifflin County Goose Festival -- Pennsylvania
National Mocha Day
Payment of Quit Rent by London Royal Courts of Justice
Sts. Gabriel and Raphael's Day
St. Michael's and All Angels Day (Michaelmas) (patron of bankers, the Basques, Brussels, Germany, grocers, Papua New Guinea, radiologists, paratroopers, policemen)
Xenophobe Understanding Day
Birthdays Today:
Bryant Gumbel, 1948
Lech Walesa, 1943
Madeline, Kahn, 1942
Jerry Lee Lewis, 1935
Anita Ekberg, 1931
Lizabeth Scott, 1922
Stanley Kramer, 1913
Greer Garson, 1908
Gene Autry, 1907
Enrico Fermi, 1901
Miguel de Cervantes, 1547
Pompey the Great, BC106
Today in History:
Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumata, securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire, BC522
Battle of Salamis, at which the Greek fleet under Themistocles defeats the Persian fleet under Xerxes I, BC480
Pompey the Great Celebrates ending the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday, BC61
Saladin's army marches into Jerusalem, 1187
The First Congress of the US adjourns, 1789
"Scotland Yard", London's Metropolitan Police Force, goes on duty, 1829
The first practical public electric tramway ever opens in Blackpool, England, 1885
John D. Rockefeller becomes the first billionaire, 1916
The convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed, 1954
Alouette 1, the first Canadian satellite, is launched, 1962
WGPR in Detroit, Michigan, becomes the world's first black-owned-and-operated television station, 1975
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to set foot on Irish soil with his pastoral visit to the Republic of Ireland, 1979
The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth, 2004
The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history, 2008
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands causes a tsunami, 2009
The remainder of the trip will be blogged about, but not this moment for reasons that will probably be clear by the end of the story.
Meanwhile, my co-teachers are in charge of teaching at co-op, as I simply hope to be able to stand up all day.
Today is:
Ask A Stupid Question Day
Bird Day
Czech Statehood Day -- Czech Republic
Family Day -- A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Kids
Feast of Khepera -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (beetle god)
Fiesta de San Miguel -- Mexico
Festival of Wawatsari -- Huichol, Mexico (god of deer peyote)
Francis Willard Day -- Minnesota
Metropolitan Opera in NYC -- Opening Night
National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography -- Philippines
National Strawberry Cream Pie Day
St. Vaclav's Day (patron of Czechoslovakia)
St. Wenceslaus' Day
Teacher's Day -- Taiwan
Birthdays Today:
Hilary Duff, 1987
Naomi Watts, 1968
Mira Sorvino, 1967
Janeane Garofalo, 1964
Koko Taylor, 1935
Brigitte Bardot, 1934
Arnold Stang, 1925
Marcello Mastroianni, 1924
Al Capp, 1909
Ed Sullivan, 1901
Confucius, BC551
Today in History:
Pompey the Great, member of the Triumvirate, is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy of Egypt upon landing in that country, BC48
King/Saint Wenceslas murdered by his brother, 935
William the Conqueror invades England, 1066
Sinking of the Spanish fleet during a hurricane off the coast of Florida, 1528
Publication of "Pilgrim's Progress", 1678
Divorce is legalized in Maryland, 1701
American and French forces begin the siege of Yorktown, 1781
Napoleon Bonaparte, age 16, graduates from the Military Academy of Paris -- 42nd in a class of 51, 1785
Donati's comet becomes the first to be photographed, 1858
Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, 1867
Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mould growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin, 1928
Indonesia joins the United Nations, 1950
Mali and Senegal join the United Nations, 1960
SpaceX launches the first ever private spacecraft, the Falcon 1 into orbit, 2008
I do apologize that yesterday's post was cut short, and this is late. Very busy, and sharing my computer with a friend who couldn't bring hers, as she was limited to what she could fly with while I had a whole car to myself and could bring as much as I could cram in there.
I do hope I can continue tomorrow.
Today is:
Ancestor Appreciation Day
Cosme e Damiao (Sts. Cosmo and Damien)
Crush a Can Day
Dragonfight Day
Festival of Namakungwe -- Zambia (the originator)
Festival of Varuni -- India (goddess of wine)
Independence Day, El Salvador
International Rabbit Day
Meskel -- Ethiopian/Eritrian Orthodox Christian
National Milk Chocolate Day
St. Frumentius' Day
St. Vincent De Paul's Day (patron of Madagascar, hospital workers, prisoners)
World Heart Day
World Tourism Day
Birthdays Today:
Avril Lavigne, 1984
Gwyneth Paltrow, 1972
Sophia Milos, 1965
Shaun Cassidy, 1958
Mike Schmidt, 1949
Wilford Brimley, 1934
Greg Morris, 1934
Arthur Penn, 1922
William Conrad, 1920
Jayne Meadows, 1920
Thomas Nast, 1840
George Muller, 1805
Samuel Adams, 1722
Today in History:
Severe earthquake in the Gulf of Chili, China; reports of 100,000 killed, 1290
Jesuits founded by Ignatius Loyola, 1540
John Adams negotiates peace terms with Britain, 1779
Constitution submitted to the states for ratification, 1787
Jean-Francois Champollion announces that he has deciphered the Rosetta Stone, 1822
The Stockton and Darlington Railway opens, and begins operation of the world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains, 1825
The physics journal Annalen der Physik published Albert Einstein's paper "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?", introducing the equation E=mc²,1905
The first production of a Ford Model T automobile rolls off the line at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan, 1908
First test of a twin engine airplane, in France, 1910
Native American Day is first celebrated, 1916
Democratic National Committee votes to allow female members, 1919
The first Santa Clause Training School opens in Albion, NY, 1937
The Balinese tiger is declared to be an extinct species, 1937
Sierra Leone joins the United Nations, 1961
Richard Stallman announces the GNU project to develop a free Unix-like operating system, 1983
Google is founded, 1998
East Timor joins the United Nations, 2002
CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk while flying on Shenzhou 7, 2008
The course of true life, like that of true love, is never smooth.
I woke up about 15 minutes before the alarm went off at 4am, and because of the adrenaline I always have before travel, decided not to bother to try to catch that last fifteen. Good thing, too, because the morning did not run quite as planned.
Sweetie was up, too. That is not conducive to getting stuff done, as he wants attention and is already feeling abandoned because I am leaving town.
The kittens also had other ideas. When I finally finished stumbling around the dark bedroom (I told him to go back to bed), I took the suitcase downstairs to finish packing in the dark and they weren't content to have their one serving of breakfast.
I did finally give up and got #2 Son up, as he did want to help. He made everything easier, as he distracted the kittens and hauled things to the ice chest.
Today is:
Balaclava Day
Bureflux -- Discordian Calendar
Cobweb Pie Making day -- Fairy Calendar
European Day of Languages -- European Union
Family Health and Fitness Day
Feast of Zame ye Mebege -- Gabon (god of narcotics)
Good Neighbor Day
Johnny Appleseed Day
National Pancake Day
National Public Lands Day
Neptune Festival
Pchum Ben -- Cambodia (Ceremony of the Dead)
St. Cosmas and Damian' Day (patron of physicians, barbers, druggists, chemical workers; against bladder diseases)
St. John Cyprian of Carthage's Day -- Eastern Christian Churches
Birthdays Today:
Lawrence Leritz, 1962
Linda Hamilton, 1956
Olivia Newton-John, 1948
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
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
In all of the messing around with the fridges and freezers, getting it repaired and making sure we didn't lose too much food, I realized I did not have enough KMR formula for the kittens. I didn't want the children running out while I was gone, so I set out to run errands after the repairman left.
The rental was on E, so I managed to get to the nearest gas station, which is also one of the more expensive, and put enough in to get to the cheaper gas near my other errands. Yes, I am that tight.
I hied myself to the Big Box store to get bread and ramen noodles and various other things that #2 Son will actually eat. Yes, they all eat salad and veggies when mom is home, but this cat will be away...
Then up the highway to the cat shelter to find we are out of kitten formula. Grand. I was across the street from a pet store before I came up this direction, and no time to go back. So I called and left a message for Meg, asking if she could bring some at some point in the next day or two, and went to the local produce stand.
Next up was the local mom and pop store to take advantage of a couple of specials, on items I wanted to take along. Also milk -- their no name brand is the local dairy's off label, and Bigger Girl only drinks milk that comes from the local humane dairy. As I have noted before, having a social conscience is a pain in the rump, but sometimes it is nothing compared to a hormonal teenage girl with a social conscience.
I made it home in time to get laundry on the line and the kids to school, then came back to get the place in order so I could leave town. All of those last minute things that you know no one else will do when you are gone, that you will regret when you get back if you don't get to them.
After school and a dinner of leftovers, Meg brought some KMR she had, and told me Miss W has been asked to order more. Whether she has or not, well, I'm not holding my breath.
Finally, it was time to head out and do the church cleaning for the week. Because they use the buildings until about 8pm on Wednesdays, we timed our arrival for 7:30 so we could start in the back rooms they don't use, and work our way into the other areas as they finished. It worked out quite well, and all of the pre-cleaning I had done in the two weeks before paid off. Everything was ship shape by the time we headed to the ATM at the bank to deposit the check and get cash back. Payday is very important, and must not be skipped, no matter how tight the schedule.
Back at the hacienda, the kittens were in full screaming force when we got there. Working together, we managed to unload the car, feed the kittens, finish cleaning the kitchen, get the lists for while I am gone up on the cabinet door, do my usual night time routine, and get me in bed by midnight.
I could hardly wait for morning.
Today is:
Armed Forces Day -- Mozambique
Feast of Nammu -- Sumerian Calendar (goddess of primeval sea)
First Responders' Day
Gold Star Mother's Day
Hug A Vegetarian Day
Join a Cabal of International Bankers Today Day
Kamarampaka Day -- Rwanda
Love Note Day
National Comic Book Day
National Crabmeat Newberg Day
National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims
National Food Service Worker's Day
National One-Hit Wonder Day
St. Finnbar's Day
St. Joseph Calasanctius' Day (patron of Christian schools)
Toad Tempting Day -- Fairy Calendar
World Ataxia Awareness Day
Birthdays Today:
Catherine Zeta-Jones, 1969
Will Smith, 1968
Scottie Pippen, 1965
Aida Turturro, 1962
Heather Locklear, 1961
Christopher Reeve, 1952
Mark Hamill, 1951
Cheryl Tiegs, 1947
Michael Douglas, 1944
Juliet Prowse, 1936
Glenn Gould, 1932
Barbara Walters, 1931
Shel Silverstein, 1930
Phil Rizzuto, 1918
Dmitri Shostakovich, 1906
William Faulkner, 1897
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 1358 (Japanese Shogun)
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
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
*Personal family history: He was a great man, and taught my brothers dove hunting.
Four o'clock came early Wednesday, as usual, but not quite early enough.
No matter how fast I tried to be, I just could not quite get everything done. Sweetie was going to drop me off to rent the car for the trip, and I was going to run errands after that. Yes, the repair guy was supposed to come and get the microwave and range top, but since the last two times he either canceled or showed up over an hour late, I figured I would have plenty of time, if he didn't cancel again.
But here it was time to leave, and Sweetie is patiently getting everything out of the van I need to drive (glasses and booster seat -- I am very short), but my hair isn't brushed, the kittens are still crying after being fed because they want more, the laundry hasn't been put on the line, and the dishwasher is still full of clean dishes. Bigger Girl felt sorry for the kittens and got up to take care of them, but the rest would have to wait for my return.
Naturally, as we pulled out of the driveway to go get the rental, it occurred to me to look for the proof of insurance card I would need. Turns out, again, they didn't send us a new one. This happens regularly. I took Sweetie's from Old Smokey, the big van, grabbed the two bills with my name and address that had mercifully come the day before so I could rent with the debit card, and we were finally able to leave. Without those bills, I would have been stuck trying to get #1 Son to wake up and print me some bill receipts online, and I wasn't in the mood to beard that lion in his den.
With as much trouble as I had getting the repair people to come out when I desperately needed them, I was not worried about the fact that the stove and microwave were on schedule for that morning. Really I was expecting a call that they had run out of time and wanted to reschedule. So of course the guy called when I was at the car rental place, and I managed, even on the empty tank of gas they gave me with the car, to pull into the driveway just before he got to the front door.
It was the same man who had come on Saturday, and he asked me how the fridge was holding out. I told him it wasn't, that I was having to thaw it every 12 hours just to keep a few things cool. We had lost a gallon of milk the day before. I also told him the part had come in the day before, and asked him to please reschedule the stove top and microwave for later, and just get me a working refrigerator freezer, which was more important. Otherwise, I'm not sure we would have room for the Angel Food already ordered.
Bless him (and the postal service that got the part to me on time), he did all 3. He took the microwave front off, and I cleaned it while he figured out the problem. It is 14 years old, and they will call me if they can find the parts. Meanwhile, he worked on the stove burners, and I thawed the freezer to save him time.
The part went in like a dream, and now we have 4 working stove burners, the fridge is back on, and the microwave -- well, good enough is good enough.
Today is:
American Indian Day
Buy Nothing Day
18th Century Military Encampment Day
Feast Day of Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes -- Dominican Republic
Feast of Our Lady of Mercy -- Catholic Christian
Festival of the Latest Novelties
Fidelity Day
Heritage Day -- South Africa
Independence Day -- Guinea-Bissau
Mahidol Day -- Thailand
National Bluebird of Happiness Day
National Cherries Jubilee Day
New Caledonia Day -- New Caledonia
Nuestra Senora De Las Mercedes (Our Lady of Hope) -- Peru
Punctuation Day
Republic Day -- Trinidad and Tobago
Schwenkfelder Thanksgiving -- Pennsylvania Dutch
St. Gerard's Day (patron of Hungary)
Third Republic Day -- Ghana
Birthdays Today:
Nia Vardalos, 1962
Phil Hartman, 1948
Linda McCartney, 1941
Jim Henson, 1936
Anthony Newley, 1931
Sheila MacRae, 1924
Jim McKay, 1921
F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896
Today in History:
Prophet Muhammad completes his hijra from Mecca to Medina, 622
The last Emperor of the Komnenian restoration of the Byzantine Empire, Manuel I Komnenos, dies; the empire slips into terminal decline, 1180
The Dutch Republic surrenders New Amsterdam to England, 1664
The first autopsy and coroner's jury verdict is recorded in the state of Maryland, 1657
John Jay is appointed by George Washington as the first Chief Justice of the then six-person Supreme Court, which was instituted by the Federal Judiciary Act passed that same day, 1789
US Attorney General Office is created, 1789
The Northern Daily Times becomes the first provincial daily newspaper in London, 1853
Alexander Dey patents a dial time recorder, 1889
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy, 1890
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation's first National Monument, 1906
Cathay Pacific Airways is founded in Hong Kong, 1946
The Honda Motor Company is founded, 1948
Forest fires black out the sun over portions of Canada and New England, and a Blue moon (in the astronomical sense) is seen as far away as Europe, 1950
Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe, is opened in Barcelona, 1957
President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends 101st Airborne Division troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation, 1957
The United States court of appeals orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, 1962
Swaziland joins the United Nations, 1968
Compu-Serve launches the first consumer internet service, which features the first public electronic mail service, 1070
Periodic Great White Spot observed on Saturn, 1990
Hurricane Rita devastates Beaumont, Texas, southwest Louisiana, and finishing off some of the parts of New Orleans and southeast Louisiana that Katrina missed, 2005
If all has gone well, I'm heading to San Antonio today.
If all has gone well, the church was cleaned last night, I got an early start this morning, and I am bouncing down the highway singing in the car to anything I can find on the radio that I enjoy.
If all goes well, the children know to refill the water pitcher, thaw out the freezer with the hair dryer twice a day, medicate Silverstream and feed the kittens, do laundry when needed, clean the litter boxes, use the dishwasher properly and not leave a ton of dirty dishes for me when I get home, take the garbage out, and not burn the house down when I am gone.
Knowing the way things usually go, I will get a minimum of 7 phone calls a day when things go wrong or stump them.
Ah, vacation. It hasn't come a moment too soon.
Today is
Checkers Day
Dogs in Politics Day (Okay, I'm tempted but this one is too easy.)
Festival of Papa, wife of Rangi -- Maori (primordial parents)
Full Corn Moon
National Day -- Saudi Arabia
Oenach Carman -- Ancient Celtic Calendar
Proposal Day
Sukkot -- Jewish, through the 29th
St. Adaman's Day
St. Cadoc's Day
Anniversaries Today:
The University of Alberta in Alberta, Canada, is founded, 1908
Birthdays Today:
Jason Alexander, 1959
Bruce Springsteen, 1949
Mary Kay Place, 1947
Paul Petersen, 1945
Julio Iglesias, 1943
Tom Lester, 1938
Ray Charles, 1930
John Coltrane, 1926
Mickey Rooney, 1920
Walter Pigeon, 1897
William H. McGuffey, 1800
Kublai Khan, 1215
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, BC63
Euripides, BC480
Today in History:
Concord of Worms, 1122
The first major battle of the Wars of the Roses, at Blore Heath in Staffordshire, 1459
First commencement exercises of Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass., 1642
Liechtenstein declares its independence from the German Empire, 1719
John Paul Jones' "Bon Homme Richard" defeats the HMS Serepis, 1779
Lewis and Clark arrive back in St. Louis from their explorations, 1806
The Knickerbockers Baseball Club, the first baseball team to play under the modern rules, is founded in New York, 1845
Neptune is discovered by French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier and British astronomer John Couch Adams, 1846
Nintendo Koppai, later known as Nintendo Company, Limited, is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi; it produces and markets the playing card game Hanafuda, 1889
The Phantom of the Opera (original title: Le Fantome de l'Opera), a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux, was first published, 1909
The MS Princess of Tasmania, Australia’s first passenger roll-on/roll-off diesel ferry, makes her maiden voyage across Bass Strait, 1959
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos announces over television and radio the implementation of martial law, 1972
Juan Perón returns to power in Argentina, 1973
Saint Kitts and Nevis joins the United Nations, 1983
Qantas Flight 1 overruns the runway in Bangkok during a storm; some passengers only receive minor injuries, it is still the worst crash in Qantas's history, 1991
The first public version of the web browser Mozilla Firefox ("Phoenix 0.1") is released, 2002
Hurricane Jeanne strikes Haiti and leaves at least 1,070 dead, 2004
Silverstream is trying to run. and can't, and trips over her cast. She also bops the other kittens on the head with it when they play, which surprises them all, even her.
The fridge is not holding. I have thrown out nonessentials from the freezer, redistributed everything, and with holding the hair dryer up to the back of the freezer each day for 10 minutes the thing is staying reasonably cool, but not more.
It is an ill wind that blows no good, and this whole situation has forced a good cleaning out of old food from the freezer.
My poor kids -- I am attempting to show them how to do some things they will have to take care of around the house. Not only will they have to put their own toilet tissue roll on the spindle, refill the water pitcher in the fridge, and put items in the dishwasher, but they will have to scoop cat boxes, remember to take out the trash, and just generally look after themselves.
Yes, they can do these things. They have before, and they do now, but unless I am on them every minute, they just don't. They have to become self motivated while I am gone, because if I come home to a worse mess than this place usually is, I think I will explode.
Today is:
Alban Elfed (a/k/a Mabon) -- Celtic Winter Finding
American Business Women's Day
Chelsea Antique Fair -- London, England (Through the 26th)
Dear Diary Day
Elephant Appreciation Day
Equinox -- Autumn begins
Feast of Mikeli -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (harvest celebration)
Festival of the Sea Goddess -- Eskimo
Hobbit Day
Ice Cream Cone Day
Independence Day -- Bulgaria; Mali
National Centenarians Day
National Hunting and Fishing Day
National Laundry Worker's Day
National White Chocolate Day
OneWebDay
St. Maurice's Day
Birthdays Today:
Bonnie Hunt, 1964
Scott Baio, 1961
Joan Jett, 1960
Andrea Bocelli, 1958
Debby Boone, 1956
Shari Belafonte, 1954
Tommy Lasorda, 1927
Michael Farriday, 1791
Lord Chesterfield, 1694
Today in History:
Legion I Italica is created by Emperor Nero, 66
Switzerland becomes an independent state, 1499
An all female jury hears the case of a woman who was charged with killing her child, vote to acquit, 1656
A final 8 people are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Mass., 1692
Nathan Hale is hanged for spying during American Revolution, 1776
Russia establishes a colony at Kodiak, Alaska, 1784
City of Des Moines, Iowa, is incorporated as Fort Des Moines, 1851
Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold premieres in Munich, 1869
The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published, 1888
Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather, King George III, as the longest reigning monarch in British history, 1895
Italo Marchiony granted a patent for the ice cream cone, 1903
The Duke of York's Picture House opens in Brighton, now the oldest continually operating cinema in Britain, 1910
Ralph J. Bunche becomes the first black winner of the Nobel Peace Price, 1950
The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time by the Huntington Library, 1991
Recent conversation with Sweetie and #2 Son:
#2 Son: "Mom, if I catch a raccoon or a possum, I'm going to take it to Sunday school to show Mr. Steve!"
Sweetie: "Son, be careful, you don't want to get kicked out of church for bringing in a wild animal."
#2 Son: "Oh, don't worry, dad! Mr. Steve said it's okay, and ever since I brought the snakes, he wants me to bring something else."
Me: "That's right, dear, they know he will bring it if he can get one in the live trap, it is okay."
Sweetie: "You won't hurt it, right?"
#2 Son: "Of course not, dad! Just show it to the 4th and 5th graders, then bring it home and let it go again."
Sweetie: "Well, if you're sure you won't get kicked out..."
#2 Son: "No, dad, I won't. Besides, I've only been kicked out of two places, homeschool co-op, and Home Depot. Don't ask about Home Depot!"
Sweetie: "You got kicked out of Home Depot? He got kicked out? When?"
The last question was shouted to me, as I was laughing so hard I was almost in tears.
Me: "I have no idea, but I'll take his word, and not ask!"
#2 Son: "All I can say is -- nail guns are awesome!"
Me: "Oh, mercy, he is right, don't ask!" Yes, I was still laughing.
Sweetie: "How did you get to Home Depot?"
#2 Son: "Sam's dad took us. And I didn't know you had to be over 18 to check out the power tools, and nail guns are fun! Can I get a nail gun?"
This last question is directed at me, as I try to stand up straight from laughing so much.
Me: "When you are 18 you can."
#2 Son: "Well, anyway, you have to be 18, and I didn't know, and they kicked me out. Well, I'm going out to set my trap!"
Sweetie, muttering: "Something's the matter with that boy."
Today is:
Biosphere Day
Feast of the Divine Light -- Ancient Egypt
Get Out of Town Today Day (Sorry, has to be delayed until Thursday for me.)
Independence Day -- Armenia; Belize; Malta
International Peace Day
Miniature Golf Day
National Pecan Cookie Day
National Women Road Warrior Day
Nativity of the Theotokos -- Orthodox Christian
Press Day
St. Matthew's Day
World Gratitude Day
Birthdays Today:
Faith Hill, 1967
Darva conger, 1965
Rob Morrow, 1962
David James Elliot, 1960
Dave Coulier, 1959
Bill Murray, 1950
Stephen King, 1947
Henry Gibson, 1935
Leonard Cohen, 1934
Larry Hagman, 1931
H.G. Wells, 1866
Maurice Barrymore, 1849
Today in History:
Richard the Lionheart captured, 1192
Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa orders Jews of Holland to wear a badge, 1451
John and Nicolaas van der Heyden patent a fire extinguisher, 1677
Nathan Hale arrested for spying, 1776
The Pennsylvania Packet & Daily Advertiser becomes the first successful US daily newspaper, 1784
Joseph Smith, Jr. claims that the Angel Moroni gives him the gold plates from which he translates the Book of Mormon, 1827
The Duryea Motor Wagon Company becomes the first auto manufacturer, 1895
"Kit Carson", the first cowboy film, premiers in the US, 1903
Publication of Tolkien's "The Hobbit", 1937
Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations, 1971
Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female US Supreme Court justice, 1981
Brunei joins the United Nations, 1984
Deep Space 1 flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly, 2001
The Galileo mission is terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, 2003
That is what Bigger Girl has taken to calling Silverstream as she hobbles around the kitchen in a pink camo cast that is almost as big as she is.
It is so funny to see her pushing it ahead of her (it's the front right leg that is broken), hobbling along on the other 3 legs. Also she sleeps with it sticking out at an odd angle off to the side.
It hasn't stopped her from eating like crazy, or using the litter box. We do have to limit her play with the other kittens, as she is supposed to be kept as still as possible. Try telling that to an active kitten!
Since I will be out of town Friday, someone else will be picking her up and taking her back to the vet for a reevaluation. I'm not sure what else they will be able to do, with the growth plate on the bone shifted so far. They cannot pin it, she is too small and it would shatter. I don't want to think about the worst case possibilities.
The plans for this week are crazy -- I have to get ready to leave town, so I have to make sure the family can get along without me. I have to leave lists, or they won't know to zip their pants hardly. Every detail must be spelled out, and all food purchased ahead, kitten formula stocked up, everything.
Oh, and #2 Son set the trap wrong, so he didn't catch anything again. Maybe next time, we will try again after I get back in town.
Today is:
Birthday of the Sun -- Inca Calendar
Feast of Zywie, Poland (goddess of longevity and health)
Gibberish Day
National Rum Punch Day
National Women's Friendship Day
National Youth Day -- Thailand
Respect for the Aged Day - Japan
Seventh day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the secret rites in the Telesterion began -- Ancient Greek Calendar
St. Eustace's Day (patron of hunters, difficult Madrid situations; against family troubles)
Birthdays Today:
Taro Aso, 1940
Sophia Loren, 1934
Anne Meara, 1929
Dr. Joyce Brothers, 1928
Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton, 1890
Upton Sinclair, 1878
Rama V, King of Thailand, 1853 (eldest son taught by Anna, of "The King and I" fame)
Emperor Takakura of Japan, 1161
Today in History:
Atilla the Hun defeated at Chalons-sur-Marne by General Aetius, 451
Saladin begins the siege of Jerusalem, 1187
Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with about 270
men on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe, 1519
Galileo Galilei is tried before the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for teaching that the Earth orbits the Sun, 1633
Maryland passes the first "anti-amalgamation" law to stop English women from marrying black men, 1664
The Negro Convention of Free Men agrees to boycott slave-produced goods, 1830
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created, 1848
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company, 1857
The first gasoline-powered car debuts in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, 1891
Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched, 1906
The first Cannes Film Festival is held, 1946
James Meredith, an African-American, is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi, 1962
The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched, 1967
The fridge guy didn't show up Friday afternoon. The scheduling people called and said he was running late and wouldn't make it, and tried to tell me I have to wait until Wednesday!
I fussed and got them to agree to come Saturday afternoon, which meant I had to skip the football game. I stood around waiting all day, finally calling the warranty company a half hour after the latest time he was supposed to be here.
The lady was very nice, contacted Sears, and got back with me that he was still supposed to complete his route.
Meanwhile, a kitten had been stepped on by accident, and someone else had to take her to the emergency vet, as I couldn't leave the house. Silverstream has a a broken leg, and the growth plate has shifted, and they can't pin it as she is too small. This story is going to be a long one, I can foresee.
The repair people finally said the guy would come, to just hold on. I was thrilled, as the stuff in the freezer would start to get iffy soon, and I had skipped out on being with the kids for the evening just to wait for the repair.
He came, and was one of the nicest people. It turns out the defrost heater is broken, so the thing froze up. I had to empty the freezer into the sink and an ice chest. He defrosted it, which will keep it running for about 2 weeks, and the part should be in for him to replace it before it has time to refreeze.
If it starts to freeze up before that again, I just need to defrost it myself. A pain, but not insurmountable.
To let you know how balky electronic things get in this house, his printer refused to give me a receipt! Even other people's stuff doesn't work under this roof. (Insert eye roll here.)
So the fridge is bandaged, and so is the kitten. She has a huge cast that she can barely get around on, but she is supposed to stay quiet and still as much as possible anyway.
Finally I can rest without worrying about losing the contents of the freezer.
Today is:
Cosmetic Bridge Day
Feast of Thoth -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (god of wisdom and magic)
Independence Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis
International Coastal Cleanup Day
International Eat An Apple Day
Jubilee of the Moth Moons -- Fairy Calendar
National Butterscotch Pudding Day
National Seat Check Saturday (Check it for what, sagging? I'm old, of course it is! Oh, make sure car seats are secured -- my kids finally outgrew those, phew.)
Responsible Dog Ownership Day
St. Januarius' Day (patron of blood banks, Naples; against the evil eye)
Talk Like a Pirate Day
Visit a Sick Friend Today Day
Wife Appreciation Day
World Peace Day
Birthdays Today:
Jimmy Fallon, 1974
Jim Abbot, 1967
Trisha Yearwood, 1964
Joan Lunden, 1950
Leslie "Twiggy" Lawson, 1949
Jeremy Irons, 1948
Randolph Mantooth, 1945
"Mama" Cass Elliot, 1941
Bill Medley, 1940
Paul Williams, 1940
David McCallum, 1933
Adam West, 1928
Duke Snider, 1926
Joseph Pasternak, 1901
Today in History:
The Continental Congress passes the first budget of the US, 1778
Ephraim Morris patents the railroad brake, 1838
Bond and Lassell discover Hyperion, moon of Saturn, 1848
New Zealand becomes the first country to grant all of its women the right to vote, 1893
Funeral of assassinated President William McKinley, 1901
Mickey Mouse makes his screen debut as Steamboat Willie, at the Colony Theater in NYC, 1928
The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich, 1946
Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland, 1959
Betty and Barney Hill claim that they saw a mysterious craft in the sky and that it tried to abduct them, 1961
The Solomon Islands join the United Nations, 1978
Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System, 1982
Ötzi the Iceman is discovered by German tourists, 1991
Driving home from cleaning the church Friday morning, I noticed something that made me wonder "what would happen if?"
In front of us was a state police troopers vehicle, a usual sight since the church is right across the street from their building. Coming from the other side of the intersection was a sheriff's department vehicle. Both wanted to go the same way, from our side the trooper taking a right, from the other side the deputy taking a left.
It worked out that the deputy sheriff was in the middle of his turn, because of the traffic pattern, just a split moment before the trooper got up there, and so he went first. It made me wonder, though, if both of them had gotten there with a bit of different timing, would both of them have demanded to go first, both being law enforcement and all, and used to going first and being in charge?
In a case like that, who would win? Especially if they had an accident. Also, when you are the police, do you call the police if you have an accident?
What if both of them tried to give each other tickets. Would they cancel each other out?
Silly, I know, but it just struck me as funny, what might have happened. What would they do?
A what to do happened to me later.
Bigger Girl is going out for the evening to a special gala event. Her friend Tammy, and Tammy's parents, are going, and she is riding with them.
I'm not sure how to describe Tammy and her parents. Tammy is 25, an only child, still living at home. Her parents were older when they had her, and they want her at home, sort of looking at her as insurance that someone will care for them over the years. They have refused to help her pay for college, refused to help her get a driver's license, and are just a bit odd.
I found out another "oddity" they have, and it put me in a conundrum. As I dropped Bigger Girl off, I stopped to ask them if I could refill my stainless steel water bottle.
I use a stainless steel water bottle because I believe that all of those bottles of water are a crime against humanity in most situations. Only in some places and certain circumstances are such things needed. In this town, where the water is soft, artesian well water, considered some of the best and safest tap water in the country, it is usually unneeded if you will only carry a reusable bottle with you.
Upon asking to get water, Tammy's mother turned to her husband and asked him to go get me a bottle. I responded that I would just fill my bottle at the tap, and she said, "We don't do that."
Wow.
Then he returned with the worst thing you can ever hand me -- Fiji Water.
Why is that so bad? Well, 80% of the mothers and young children on the island of Fiji go without safe, clean drinking water because the government insists on making money by exporting it all.
So, what to do?
I want, in all situations, to show love. That is the example of Jesus, and yes, it was love even when He was rebuking and chastising.
It would be rude and unloving to refuse the hospitality of these people. So I took the bottle and said nothing but "Thank you so much."
Yes, with the skin on my fingers wrinkled, showing that I was dehydrating, I did drink it. It was good, very clean tasting, but I do not think the nice taste is worth the cost, either the purchase price or what it costs in human suffering.
Today is:
Festival of Inner Worlds
German-American Steuben Parade -- New York City, and other smaller parades in US
Independence Day -- Chile
Johnny Appleseed Festival -- Fort Wayne, Indiana, through tomorrow
National Cheeseburger Day
National Chocolate Day
National Play-Doh Day
National Respect Day
Oktoberfest -- Germany (through Oct. 4)
Sheriff's Ride Ceremony -- Lichfield, UK
St. Joseph of Cupertino's Day (patron of pilots, air travelers, Air Force, astronauts)
Victory of Uprona Day -- Burundi
World Water Monitoring Day
Yom Kippur -- Jewish
Anniversaries Today:
Constantine II of Greece marries Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, 1964
Birthdays Today:
Lance Armstrong, 1971
James Gandolfini, 1961
Ryne Sandberg, 1959
Frankie Avalon, 1939
Robert Blake, 1933
June Foray, 1920
Jack Warden, 1920
Greta Garbo, 1905
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, 1905
Samuel Johnson, 1709
Marcus Ulpius Nerva Trajanus, Emperor Trajan, 53
Today in History:
Christopher Colombus lands at Costa Rica on his 4th and final voyage, 1502
Ft. Ticonderoga, NY opens, 1755
The British capture Quebec City, 1759
John Harris builds the first spinet piano in the US, 1769
President Washington lays the cornerstone of the Capitol Building, 1793
Royal Opera House in London opens, 1809
A horse beats the first US made locomotive, near Baltimore, 1830
Tiffany and Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City; the store is called a "stationery and fancy goods emporium", 1837
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is first published, 1842
First publication of The New-York Daily Times, which later becomes The New York Times, 1851
Old Faithful Geyser is observed and named by Henry D. Washburn during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition to Yellowstone, 1870
The banking firm of Jay Cooke & Co. in Philadelphia declares bankruptcy, which starts the Panic of 1873 and a severe economic depression, 1873
The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time, 1879
Riots break out in Montreal to protest against compulsory smallpox vaccination, 1885
Daniel David Palmer gives the first chiropractic adjustment, 1895
A typhoon with tsunami kills an estimated 10,000 people in Hong Kong, 1906
The Irish Home Rule Act becomes law, but is delayed until after World War I, 1914
The Netherlands gives women the right to vote, 1919
The Columbia Broadcasting System goes on the air, 1927
Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro crossing of the English Channel, 1928
Margaret Chase Smith of Maine becomes the first woman elected to the US Senate without completing another senator's term, 1948
Fidel Castro arrives in New York City as the head of the Cuban delegation to the United Nations, 1960
U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dies in a plane crash, 1961
Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda and Trinidad and Tobago are admitted to the United Nations, 1962
The Bahamas, East Germany and West Germany are admitted to the United Nations, 1973
Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, killing 5,000 people, 1974
Voyager I takes first photograph of the Earth and the Moon together, 1977
Soyuz 38 carries 2 cosmonauts (including 1 Cuban) to Salyut 6 space station, 1980
Joe Kittinger completes the first solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic, 1984
Liechtenstein becomes a member of the United Nations, 1990
ICANN is formed, 1998
The 72 year run of the soap opera The Guiding Light ends as its final episode is broadcast, 2009
The refrigerator is dying. It keeps the stuff if the freezer part cold, most of it is still frozen, actually. The other half is gone, and mostly empty. I figured if we lose the ketchup and a few carrots, we will live.
So, I make the required two calls to the home warranty company, two because you inevitably get cut off the first time. It turns out I can get the fridge fixed, and, on the same deductible, get the other two appliances seen to. That means I will again have 4 burners on the stove and a working microwave, as well as a cooling refrigerator. At least, that is what is supposed to happen. We will see.
On Monday I had gone to the shelter to pick up inoculations for the kittens and saw the dreaded sign on one of the doors. A cat has had an initial positive result to a feline leukemia test. A retest is always done; meanwhile, the cat in question, Tiffany, is isolated to prevent the spread of this disease.
Going back on Thursday to do our usual shift, we found 30 cats (I think that's a record, but I'm not sure), and the sign was gone. On the dry erase board where we leave messages for each other was a notation that her retest came back negative, praise the Lord.
As for the rest of the cats, starting from the clinic side, Grady got out, and again it was not my fault. He was actually out when we got there, with a sticky note on the door from Katherine saying she was too tired to hunt him down when she left, and for someone to please catch him. #2 Son managed, I think Grady had been out long enough to be hungry by that time.
His roomies are doing fine. Prissy is back to her usual self now that Curly Sue is out of there. Ginny and Candy are happy and friendly, and Clint, as usual, I had to hunt down in the soft sided cube bed. There was a notation on his chart that he came out and played earlier today, but he was back to hiding when I went in to do a head count.
Princess is still in the kitchen, and she is being given the run of it during the day. I'm still convinced she has no upper respiratory, it's just her usual asthma.
Leia and Lucky, in the two lower cages, didn't want their thyroid meds tonight, but this is a tough mama who won't take no for an answer when it's medication time. The medicine is working, too, as both of them are gaining a bit, their bones aren't sticking out so much any more.
Mindy and Baxter are in the cages above, and seem to be doing well. Just biding their time until we can get them in a colony room. Gidget is in a cage, too, because she had stopped eating, and we can monitor food intake better there than in a big room with other cats.
Frieda is still in the office, recovered from her upper respiratory infection, and is still friendly! It is amazing, it took getting sick, but now she wants petting and asks for attention. A wonderful change.
JuJu, on the other hand, has only gotten worse with getting sick. She and Bowie are not sneezing any more, so I believe they are over it as well. Bowie is so friendly I told him tonight that he needs to give his roomie "friendly" lessons. JuJu hides, and hisses, and is just not a happy kitty. I'm not sure what to do about it, but she probably needs a foster home.
Angel is so upset about getting eye medicine again that we have to pull out the stepladder and drag her off the upper shelf in her colony room to give it to her. I hope she doesn't need it too much longer, she is a love when she is not being dosed. Dustie and Corrie, in there with her, are just their usual selves.
Buddy and Tiger are the only two on low fat food right now. I haven't seen a cat as big as Buddy since we had our Runty tip the scales at 18 pounds. He wants to be a lap cat, too. Good luck, big boy.
Tiffany is now in with Grayson and Muffin, and I'm so glad. They get along well.
Curly Sue, of the "I'm nutty as a fruitcake" variety of cat, is in with the absolutely unflappable Nacho. She runs around that room, jumping from platform to shelf to floor and back, and he just lies there and lets her. A match made in heaven.
Roxanne, Rosie, and Francie round out the roll call this week, and there was only one kitten adoption on the last adoption day. Thus the crowd at the shelter.
So, if anyone is looking for love, we have some for adoption. Who knows, maybe somebody out there could even make JuJu happy.
Today is:
Citizenship Day -- US
Constitution Day -- US
Festival of Min Kyawzwa, Burma (god of drinking and fireworks -- should they really be mixing those two?)
National Apple Dumpling Day
National Student Day
POW/MIA Recognition Day -- US
Prinsjesdag -- Netherlands (Prince's Day)
Stigmata of St. Francis' Day
St. Hildegard's Day
St. Lambert's Day (patron of children, nannies)
VFW Ladies Auxiliary Day
Von Steuben Day -- US, among German Americans
Wo-Zha-Wa Festival -- Wisconsin
Birthdays Today:
Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, 1951
John Ritter, 1948
Ken Kesey, 1935
Anne Bancroft, 1931
Roddy McDowall, 1928
Hank Williams Sr., 1923
Jerry Colonna, 1904
John Willard Marriot, 1900
Today in History:
Arabs conquer Alexandria, and destroy its library for the last time, 642
Netherland sailors discover Mauritus, 1598
Massachusetts Bay Colony gets a new charter, 1691
Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain, 1776
US Constitution is adopted by the Philadelphia convention, 1787
Sprinkler system for extinguishing fires is patented by Phillip W. Pratt, 1872
The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes killing Selfridge, who becomes the first airplane fatality, 1908
The first transcontinental airplane flight, from New York to Pasadena, is completed after 82 hours 4 minutes, 1911
The Okeechobee Hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing upwards of 2,500 people, the third deadliest natural disaster in United States history, behind the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, 1928
The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives, 1949
Television is first broadcast in Australia, 1956
Malaysia joins the United Nations, 1957
Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations, 1974
The first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, is unveiled by NASA, 1976
The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt, 1978
Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America, 1983
Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations, 1991
The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet, 1991
Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the long-dormant volcano in at least 10,000 years, 2006
Nothing on tap, except that the refrigerator might be croaking. Ouch.
At least we have the warranty, so we are limited to a $60 deductible to fix it.
Meanwhile, I am hoping that it was just the fridge was opened too long while several of us were in the kitchen. The door probably wasn't shut more than 3 minutes out of almost 15.
The kittens are fussy. I took them to the vet's office to weigh them, and try to get some amoxi/flagyl. The vet wasn't in at all that day, so I couldn't get the meds, but we know that Athena is 14 ounces, Silverstream is 12 ounces, Tawnykit is 11 ounces, Sasha is 8 ounces, and Don is 7 ounces. Yes, the boy is the runt of them all. He isn't even really opening his eyes much yet, unlike his sister.
I have decided that Tawnykit was probably a single kitten. It does happen sometimes that the mom only has one, or only one survives. Singleton kittens are always just a bit unusual, as they don't really know how to interact with other cats, and just act a bit...off. She is taking quite a while to get used to being with her two new sisters, and that I why I think she was a loner from the beginning. They are having to teach her how to play with another cat, and she is very unsure of herself. She is getting better, though, more playful with them. Wednesday evening, she actually played for more than just a few seconds, and didn't scream when taking and receiving "bites" from Athena.
She is still an escape artist. She is the smallest in the box, and can get out, which the other two can't.
This one is going to be fun to watch grow, as she turns from a screamer into a charmer.
Today is:
Cherokee Strip Days -- Enid, Oklahoma (through the 18th)
Collect Rocks Day (I guess it means besides all the ones in my head.)
Feast of St. Ludmilla, Patron of The Czeck Republic and Slovakia
Independence Day -- Malaysia; Mexico; Papua New Guinea
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
Mayflower Day (The ship left England on this day.)
National Working Parents Day
National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day
St. Cornelius' Day
St. Cyprian of Carthage's Day (patron of Algeria, North Africa)
St. Euphemia's Day
Stepfamily Day
Trail of Tears Commemoration Day
Birthdays Today:
Marc Anthony, 1968
Jennifer Tilly, 1961
David Copperfield, 1956
Mickey Rourke, 1956
Robin Yount, 1955
Ed Begley, Jr., 1949
Peter Falk, 1927
B.B. King, 1925
Lauren Bacall, 1924
Allen Funt, 1914
James Cash Penney, 1875
Hildegard of Bingen, 1098
Today in History:
The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changes its name to Boston, 1630
Handel's "The Messiah" premiers in Dublin, 1741
The Great Seal of the United States is used for the first time, 1782
Russians set fire to Moscow shortly after midnight – the city burns down completely days later, 1812
Slavery is abolished in all French Territories, 1848
The Cherokee Strip, in Oklahoma, is opened, making land available to white settlers, 1893
Roald Amundsen discovers the magnetic south pole, 1906
William Durant, carriage-maker, founds General Motors Corp., 1908
Juan Perón is deposed in Argentina, 1955
Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe join the United Nations, 1975
Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from the trolleybus that had fallen into Erevan reservoir, 1976
An earthquake measuring 7.5-7.9 on the Richter scale hits the city of Tabas, Iran killing about 25,000 people, 1978
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the United Nations, 1980
Got up and rushed. Hurry, hurry, see mommy hurry.
Exercise, meditation, laundry, pack co-op stuff, feed kittens 4 times, get laundry on the line, get kids up and going, feed Sweetie and pack him and his lunch off to work, clean kitchen the midnight snackers trashed last night.
Hurry, we will be late for co-op.
Thump, thump, thump, we will be late anyway. Flat tire.
Drive on flat to tire place around the corner. Yes, I know, bad idea. Sweetie cannot leave work during football season, no matter the emergency. No one else around to help. Takes too long to call AAA. Let Shelly know I would be late -- first time in 4 1/2 years, so she forgave me.
At the tire place, the nice gentleman says they will put in a plug, and have me on my way in a bit. While there, I find out two times how good the Good Lord can be.
A guy who works in the back office comes in and tells the men in the office, "You have to come out and see this! Come on, you will hate yourself if you miss it!"
We follow out, and there is a lady standing there staring at her car with a 4 foot long piece of rebar sticking out from under it. She saw it bump toward her on the interstate, and heard it lodge under there, and pulled off the next exit and pulled in to the first auto place she could.
It had hit the only place in the undercarriage where it could do absolutely no damage. On the other side, it would have taken out part of the engine. It even split between to plates under there without damaging either. A few twists and some yanking and it came right out. Wow.
Then, they asked me to come look at my vehicle. The tire was sitting there with steel belts showing and enough pinholes to look like a pincushion. No way to plug it, and the other back tire is just as bad. Ouch.
Still, better this way than for me to have a flat driving on the interstate to take the kids to school, which is what easily could have happened, if it had gone flat the day before or later that day. Again, the Lord is good.
Unload the car pile everything in the company truck, and they drive us to co-op, promising to pick us up at noon.
I taught two classes to make stuffed French toast, which was universally loved, a big hit.
So, more tires again. Also, he looked at the broken seat, and told me we have to take it to an upholstery shop so they can tear the seat apart to get it back in it upright and locked position.
Again, the kittens with the runs. I will go get amoxy/flagyl, and give reglan, and listen to the newest kitten squall constantly. She gets out of her box all of the time, too.
I almost feel like I am reliving the same stuff over and over.
It is really getting weird.
Today is:
Battle of Britain Day -- UK
Engineer's Day -- India
Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
Felt Hat Day (Traditional day upon which men started to wear their winter felt hats, similar to women beginning to wear white shoes on Memorial Day)
Independence Day -- Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua
International Day of Democracy
Landscape-Nursery Day
Make a Hat Day
National Creme de Menthe Day
National Hispanic Heritage Month -- US, through Oct. 15
Restoration of Primorska to the Motherland Day -- Slovenia
Silpa Bhirasri Day -- Thailand
St. Catherine of Genoa's Day (patron of nurses)
Birthdays Today:
Prince Harry, 1984
Dan Marino, 1961
Tommy Lee Jones, 1946
Oliver Stone, 1946
Merlin Olsen, 1940
Jackie Cooper, 1922
Fay Wray, 1907
Roy Acuff, 1903
Agatha Christie, 1890
Robert Benchley, 1889
William H. Taft, 1857
James Fenimore Cooper, 1789
François de La Rochefoucauld, 1613
Marco Polo, 1254
Today in History:
The first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy, 1616
The French army under Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow, 1812
The first Negro National Convention begins in Philadelphia, 1830
The locomotive John Bull operates for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad, 1831*
HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands, 1835
Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell becomes the first woman in the US to be ordained a minister (Congregationalist), 1853
Timothy Alder patents the typesetting machine, 1857
RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube, 1947
United Nations gives Eritrea to Ethiopia, 1952
The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
*The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C., 1981
Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations, 1981
Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, 2008
Sadie, the smallest of the 3 tiny kittens, died.
We did expect it, she quit eating, and no matter how hydrated and warm I kept her, she just didn't get better.
The same afternoon, another kitten was dropped at the pet store. About a week younger than the two older ones, she is a beautiful tortoiseshell, and they have accepted her.
I am still vaccinating, and hoping the best for them.
Meanwhile, #2 Son is trying to kill himself again. He has built yet another bike ramp, and I had to veto the building of a ring of fire to jump through. I hope I can keep that kid in one piece until he outgrows this stuff. Unless he becomes a professional stunt man, at which point I will simply resign myself to living in terror of the phone call.
Today is:
Eat a Hoagie Day
Feast of Lights -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
Feast of the Triumph of the Cross -- Chrisitan
Feast of Uru-Wadu -- Kisar Island, Indonesia (the primal couple)
Holy Cross Day (a/k/a Holy Rood Day or Elevation of the Life Giving Cross) -- Christian
International Cross-Culture Day
National Anthem Day -- US
National Boss/Employee Exchange Day
National Cream-Filled Doughnut Day
Nutting Day
Pilgrimage of the Black Madonna to Einsiedeln -- Switzerland
St. Notburga's Day (patron of peasants, servants)
Unclear Ideas Display (Imps) -- Fairy Calendar
Birthdays Today:
Wendy Thomas, 1961 (Namesake of Wendy's Hamburgers)
Sam Neill, 1947
Joey Heatherton, 1944
Nicol Williamson, 1938
Walter Koenig, 1936
Harve Presnell, 1933
Clayton Moore, 1914
Ivan Pallov, 1849
Today in History:
Domitian becomes emperor of Rome upon the death of his brother Titus, 81
Harun al-Rashid beomes Abbasid Caliph upon the death of his brother, al-Hadi, 786
St. Paul's Cathedral in London is destroyed by fire, 1662
The first lighthouse in the US, in Boston, is lit, 1716
George Frederick Handel finishes "Messiah" oratorio, after working on it non-stop for 23 days, 1741
Napoleon occupies Moscow; fires begin that will not be fully extinguished for 5 days, 1812
Francis Scott Key witnesses the battle which inspires him to write "The Defense of Fort McHenry", later retitled "The Star Spangled Banner", 1814
George K Anderson of Memphis, Tennessee patents typewriter ribbon, 1886
President of the United States William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt, 1901
Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City, 1948
The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it, 1959
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded, 1960
The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is canonized by Pope Paul VI, 1975
President-elect of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated, 1982
Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a hot air balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean, 1984
The Toronto Blue Jays set a record for the most home runs in a single game, belting 10 of them, 1987
Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations, 1999
Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks; a similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital, 2001
In a referendum, Estonia approves joining the European Union, 2003
Egads! Ack! And Help!
Do you have any idea what today is? Do you?
It's awful. Horrible. Not a day to mess around with.
It's Monday the 13th!
Not just any old Monday, mind you, although that is bad enough. It has the number 13 attached to it, to make its evil even more perfidious and heinous.
You cannot trust any Monday, what with having to start yet another week of daily nose to the grindstone dullness and tediousness. A Monday the 13th, however, has a double dose of the lousiness, nefariousness, loathsomeness, and vileness that a regular Monday has.
Take the advice of Garfield the Cat, and don't get out of bed on Monday the 13th.
Too late, you say? You are not reading this on your laptop in bed, but are in fact already up and around, going about your usual Monday business? Then hie thee to someplace to get an amulet or charm to ward off the potential dark evils of the day. A couple of suggestions might be to go out in your yard and look for a 4 leaf clover, find a cross-eyed hunchback who shot a rabbit at midnight at a crossroads with a bow and arrow and beg the rabbit's foot from him (yes, those are the traditional requirements for it to be lucky), go get a horseshoe from the barn. Anything.
Oh, and by the way, as you can see from the list below, today is also Defy Superstition Day.
Go out there and have a great Monday, everyone.
Today is:Celiac Awareness DayDefender's Day -- US except MarylandDefy Superstition DayDia de los Ninos Heroes -- MexicoFaulty DayFortune Cookie DayHorn Dance -- Abbots Bromley, England (ancient traditional dance, possibly Anglo-Saxon in origin)Epulum Jovis -- Roman Calendar, celebrated on the Ides of September, during the Ludi Romani festival for Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva marked with a lectisternium (special feast)National Peanut DayNational Pet Memorial DayNational Urban Eden DayPositive Thinking DayPotato Bowl -- Grand Forks, North Dakota (through the 18th)Programmers DaySnack-A-Pickle TimeSt, Venerius' Day (patron of lighthouse keepers)Birthdays Today:Ben Savage, 1980Tavis Smiley, 1964Jean Smart, 1959Nell Carter, 1948Jacqueline Bisset, 1944Bela Karolyi, 1942David Clayton-Thomas, 1941Judith "Miss Manners" Martin, 1938Mel Torme, 1925Roald Dahl, 1916Claudette Colbert, 1903John J. Pershing, 1860Milton Hershey, 1857Walter Reed, 1851Cesare Borgia, 1475Today in History:The temple of Jupiter on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September, BC509Building begins on Hadrian's Wall, 122St. Francis of Assisi receives stigmata, 1224Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David, 1503Henry Hudson reached the river that would later be named after him, 1609NYC becomes the first capital of the US, 1788US Government takes out its first loan from NYC banks, 1789Six teenage military cadets known as Niños Héroes die defending Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec, 1847Vermont railroad worker Phineas Gage incredibly survives a 3-foot-plus iron rod being driven through his head; the reported effects on his behavior and personality stimulate thinking about the nature of the brain and its functions, 1848Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film, 1898Lusitania completes her maiden voyage, arriving in NYC, 1907The temperature (in the shade) at Al 'Aziziyah, Libya reaches a world record 57.8*C (136.04*F), 1922Elizabeth McCombs is the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament, 1933Chiang Kai-shek elected president of the Republic of China, 1943IBM introduces the first computer disk storage unit, the RAMAC 305, 1956Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane, based on barometric pressure, in the Western Hemisphere, 1988*Largest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu, 1989The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted, 2007Hurricane Ike makes landfall, damaging Galveston Island, Houston, and surrounding area, 2007*Replaced by Hurricane Wilma in 2005
Long days and longer nights.
One kitten, a 7 day old, is dehydrated and constipated. Requires subq fluids and enemas, and nothing is budging. She screams a lot, and why not? Her belly hurts.
It's going to be a heavy night shift with her -- I have to keep massaging, and trying to help her feel better.
Good thing we just have to clean the Sunday School building tomorrow before service, but I don't have to teach.
Today is:
Defender's Day -- Maryland
Feast of Atabey -- Tainos, West Indes (mother goddess)
Independence Day -- Cape Verde; Ethiopia
National Chocolate Milkshake Day
National Day, Saudi Arabia
National Day of Encouragement
National Video Games Day (another one!)
Popcorn Day
St. Alibe's Day
St. Guy's Day
Anniversaries Today:
Elizabeth Barret and Robert Browning elope, 1846
Birthdays Today:
Yao Ming, 1980
Rachel Ward, 1957
Gerry Beckley, 1952
Barry White, 1952
Maria Muldaur, 1943
Linda Gray, 1940
George Jones, 1931
Dickie Moore, 1925
Irene Dailey, 1920
Jesse Owens, 1913
Ben Blue, 1901
Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. 1892
Maurice Chevalier, 1888
H.L. Mencken, 1880
Today in History:
Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen, 1609
The first submarine is tested in London, 1624
Turkish troops besieging Vienna are overthrown after 2 months by Poland's King Sobieski, 1683
First Black Masons Lodge is formed, 1787
Switzerland becomes a Federal State, 1848
The "Cleopatra Needle" is installed in London, 1878
The world's first female police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, is appointed by the LAPD, 1910
Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France, 1940
Jack Kilby demonstrates the first integrated circuit, 1958
Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly-scheduled TV program presented in color, 1959
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup, 1974
Indonesia is hit with an 8.1 earthquake, 1979
Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica, 1988
Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, 2005
The message from Meg is very encouraging.
She has the 7 kittens we were raising, and she says, "We have tootsie rolls!" Among those of us who raise kittens, it is a good message. No more back end trouble!
The marble tabbies are weaned; the Siamese, who are older, want nothing to do with the dry food, although they can eat it if they are desperate.
They will all be scheduled for spay/neuter soon.
As for the 5 we have, the two Siamese are about 3 weeks old, and sweet, beautiful little girls. Their points are coming in, one darker than the other.
The tabbies and orange tabby (the only one we think is a boy) are a week old, and eating like crazy.
We have vaccinated, and will continue to do so. They are all on good bacteria, and we have had to flea treat.
Ah, the cycle of life.
Today is:
Auditor's Day
Discontinued Thoughts Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar
Enkutatash -- Ethiopian New Year
Emergency Number Day -- US
Honey, I Want to Start My Own Business Day
Jinnah Day -- Pakistan
Make your Bed Day
National Day of Catalonia -- Catalonia
National Hot Cross Buns Day
National Neighborhood Day
National Tricky Handshake Day
Nayrouz -- Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic new year and day of confessors)
No News is Good News Day
Patriot Day -- US
St. Deiniol's Day
St. Ethelberga's Day
St. Paphnutius' Day
St. Protus and Hyacinth's Day
Teacher's Day -- Argentina
Wrench In the Works Day
Anniversaries Today:
Diocletian New Year
Remembrance of 9/11/2001
Birthdays Today:
Harry Connick, Jr. 1967
Kristy McNichol, 1962
Lola Falana, 1943
Tom Dreesen, 1942
Brian DePalma, 1940
Paul "Bear" Bryant, 1913
D.H. Lawrence, 1885
O. Henry, 1862
Today in History:
Battle of Teutoburg Forest ends, 9
Michimalonko leads indigenous warriors to attack and destroy Santiago, Chile, 1541
Alexander Hamilton is appointed first Secretary of the Treasury, 1789
The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house used to store them, 1792
Stephen Foster's well-known song, Oh! Susanna, is first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1847
Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale", gives her first US concert, 1850
The Olympia Columbian becomes the first newspaper published north of the Columbia River, 1852
The postal mail chute is patenteted by James Cutler, 1883
Mahatma Gandhi coins the term "Satyagraha" to characterize the Non-Violence movement in South Africa, 1906
The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11, 1916
Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state, 1961
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel meet at Camp David and agree on the Camp David Accords, 1978
Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates Hawaii, especially the islands of Kauai and Oahu, 1992
The State of Israel claims completion for its unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip, 2005
Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of all bombs, 2007
Well, sort of not what I planned.
I had planned a shelter report, I will make it short. Angel has an eye infection again. Nacho's skin condition is getting worse again. JuJu actually ate some canned food, and she and Bowie are not sneezing any more.
Prissy is back to her usual self now that Curly Sue is in the adoption center at the pet store, Grady hates me because I prevented him from escaping, Clint still hides, and Candy has adapted to being with them.
Princess seems to be fine, her "sneezing" is just her asthma. Rory is in with Allie, and not sneezing any more either. Leia and Lucky are gaining weight with their thyroid meds. Frieda is sick, and so is acting lovable and sweet, totally unlike her usual grumpy self. She is also being given canned food, and howls for it vociferously, lavishing affection until she gets it. It's a shame we can't adopt her out when she's nice like this.
The rest are doing well.
Now for the part I hadn't planned.
Today, I got the news that a friend's horse was found dead in the stable this morning. Another friend lost a patient on her shift last night, one she didn't think she should have lost. Yet a 3rd has her mom on her case because she reported her dad for molesting children. (How's that for family!) Three others are ill, a heart condition, severe pneumonitis, and possible cancer.
So much bad/sad news for one day, then the roller coaster of watching this Florida man who says he is a Christian planning a Koran burning, then canceling, then possibly changing his mind again. I am tempted to say mean and cruel things about him, but will hold my tongue and pray for him, too , as the Good Book says I should. I will say I disagree with him completely -- you do not and cannot show the love of G-d with an act of hate.
Anyway, just lots of not great stuff all around. None of it is what anybody else planned, either, I'm sure.
Today is:
Great Canadian Beer Festival -- through tomorrow
Harvest Home Nibbling Contest (Gremlins) -- Fairy Calendar
Hot Dog Day
Old-Timers Day
National Day -- Gibraltar
National Employee/Boss Exchange Day
National Weiner Schnitzel Day
Scapegoat Day
Sewing Machine Day
Swap Ideas Day
St. Finian's Day
St. George's Caye Day, Belize
St. Nicholas of Tolentino's Day (patron of sick animals, mariners, holy souls, babies, mothers, and the dying -- talk about a busy Saint!)
Teacher's Day -- China
World Suicide Prevention Day
Birthdays Today:
Amy Irving, 1953
Joe Perry, 1950
Jose Feliciano, 1945
Charles Kuralt, 1934
Roger Maris, 1934
Arnold Palmer, 1929
Rin Tin Tin, 1918
Fay Wray, 1907
Adele Astaire, 1896
Elsa Schiaparelli, 1890
Ian Fleming, 1888
Isaac Kauffman Funk, 1839
Marie Laveau, 1801
Today in History:
An earthquake known as "The Lesser Judgment Day" hits Istanbul, 1509
John Smith is elected president of Jamestown, Va., Colony Council, 1608
Nathan Hale answers the call of George Washington for a volunteer spy, 1776
Simón Bolívar is named President of Peru, 1823
Elias Howe is granted a patent for the sewing machine, 1846
George Mary Searle discovers the asteroid 55 Pandora, 1858
Lincoln Highway, the first paved coast-to-coast road in the US, opens, 1913
Austria and the Allies sign the Treaty of Saint-Germain recognizing the independence of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, 1919
20 African-American students enter public schools in Alabama, 1963
Hamida Djandoubi, convicted of torture and murder, is the last person to be executed by guillotine in France, 1977
Switzerland, traditionally a neutral country, joins the United Nations, 2002
Please learn the lesson.
Usually, mama cat comes back.
Another kitten call, 4 tiny babies, they think mama has been run over because she hasn't been back all day and they have been checking every 15 minutes and please could someone take them and...
People, please! The cat you saw flattened on the road two miles away is probably not mama, she wouldn't go that far to hunt for a meal. She will stick close to look for food.
Do not go out there and mess with the kittens every 15 minutes to see if mama has come back. Even if she has, she is hiding, waiting to make sure you are going to stay away.
Most mama cats are good mamas. Yes, we get some that run off. There is that one wild Siamese out in P-ville that we have been trying to trap for 3 years who drops 2 litters a year and abandons them all at 2 weeks. She is not a good mama, and we are ordering a special drop trap to get her so she can be spayed. She is the exception, however, and most of the time, if you wait, she will be back.
Today is:
Bonza Bottler Day
Chrysanthemum Day or Kiku no Sekku -- Japan
Day of the Victims of Holocaust and of Racial Violence -- Slovakia
Expectant Mother's Day
Festivity of Our Lady of Arantzazu -- Oñati, Basque
Horned Dance at Abbots Bromley
Independence Day -- Tajikistan
Jeune Genevois (Flower and Garden Festival) -- Geneva, Switzerland
Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Festival -- through the 12th
Milk-Bathing Festival -- Fairy Calendar
National Steak Au Poivre Day
St. Peter Claver's Day
Synaxis of Ss. Joachim and Anna -- Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches
Teddy Bear Day
Wonderful Weirdoes Day
Anniversaries Today:
California becomes the 30th US State, 1850
Birthdays Today:
Adam Sandler, 1966
Hugh Grant, 1960
Angela Cartwright, 1952
Michael Keaton, 1951
Billy Preston, 1946
Otis Redding, 1941
Cliff Robertson, 1925
James Hilton, 1900
Colonel Harland Sanders, 1890
Alf Landon, 1887
Leo Tolstoy, 1828
William Bligh, 1754
Today in History:
William I, The Conqueror, dies in a horseriding accident, 1087
The New England colonies declare war on the Wampanoag Tribe, 1675
The first steam engine arrives in the US colonies, 1753
The first recorded black to graduate from a US college, Alexander Lucius Twilight, receives a BA from Middlebury College, 1817
Charles Durant, the first US aeronaut, flies a balloon from Castle Garden, NYC to Perth Amboy, NJ, 1830
The first plate glass photograph is taken by John Herschel, 1839
California becomes the 31st state and the territories of New Mexico and Utah are created, 1850
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is finalized, 1886
Orville Wright makes the first one hour plane flight, 1908
J. Verdrines becomes the first person to fly at over 100mph, 1912
First actual case of a computer bug being found: a moth lodges in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer at Harvard University, 1947
Hurricane Betsy makes its second landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, becoming the first hurricane to do over $1billion in actual unadjusted damages, 1965
The four-day Attica Prison riot begins, 1971
The Palestine Liberation Organization officially recognizes Israel as a legitimate state, 1993
