Zzzzz....Hello!

We finally got our share of the severe weather the other night. The storm raged over us, making sleep difficult, and by morning some parts of the city looked very much worse for the wear. Tree limbs down, taking electric lines with them, and some blocking streets. It could, of course, have been much worse.

Here, it was just rain and wind and lightning, no trees down, no big deal. Still, i managed to injure myself again. Before Sweetie left for work, i had to go get his umbrella from his trunk. Somehow i must not have opened it enough, because when i leaned in, the trunk lid fell on me and managed to whack me very hard right on the elbow. It not only still hurts to bend it, but a few hours later, putting something in the oven with it at an odd angle because of the pain, i managed to burn my elbow! Not as badly as the hand, and it is already better. Still, i'm going to have to be more careful.

Kitten Laura is fighting me tooth and nail over drinking out of the bowl. She does when she gets desperate enough, but it takes her a long time to get desperate enough. Meanwhile, i'm tripping over her several times a day as she whines for the bottle. She's not getting it. Meg has had litters that were more than old enough refuse to wean because she gives in, and i just can't do that. It sets a bad precedent.

Tara, the sole survivor of the smallest litter, is half the size of the others, but wants to sleep with them. For this, i cannot blame her, it's not normal for kittens to be alone in a box. So she is out with them as much as possible, when i can watch, or they are all sleeping. They seem to have ---

We interrupt this rather boring usual report to say that we now have 3 more kittens. While i was writing, the front door opened and in walked Al, #1 Son's friend, with his sister, friends, and 3 very sickly babies.

Apparently, they texted #1 Son, and he told them to just bring them. He knows the drill. Al began by asking if i had formula i could give him to take home, and maybe see how i thought they were doing. He should know better, i never turn them away.

They have had fluids, and only one is eating. One is a cream male who looks like he will have points. The two girls are buff color, and they look to be about 3 weeks old. Mama was likely run over, as the family lives near a busy highway, and she was caring for them well up until she disappeared a couple of days ago.

So, we are suddenly back up to a dozen, at least for the moment. This time, i hope it stays that way.


In honor of National Humor Month:

Long ago, a person who sacrificed his sleep, forgot his family, forgot his food, forgot laughter was called a "Saint".
But now they are called.. "IT professionals".

Ol' man Gautreaux watchin' T.V. one day an' see one o' dem hang gliders over in California what glide across dem valleys holdin' onto a kite.
"Man", he say, "I gotta get one o' dat, me."
So Gautreaux order one o' dem off da innernets an' he can't wait fo' dat t'ing to get der.
Well, da day come an' da pos' man brought dat glider to Gautreaux.
Now, south Louisiana don't got some mountain no, so Gautreaux made a decide he gonna clamb a big oak tree an' took off from der. He clamb up der an' jump...dat t'ing start to drop den catch some wind an' der he go glidin' across da tree tops. He hollerin, "Hey, look at me, I'm flyin fo' sho!"
Just bout den he come flyin' over a swamp an' Boudreaux an' Thibodeaux down der duck huntin'. Ol' Boudreaux look up an' say, Sacre Dieu!, look at dat Thibodeaux!"
He raise his shotgun and "Booooooooommmmm"
Ol' Gautreaux fall from dat glider down into da swamp wit' a big splash. The glider sails off behin' da trees.
Thibodeaux say, "man o' man, what in da worl' was dat Boudreaux?"
Boudreaux lower his gun an' say, "Me, I don't know, but I sho' made it turn ol' Gautreaux loose yeah!"



Today is

Administrative Professionals' Day

Babe Ruth Day

Day of the Uprising Against the Occupying Forces -- Slovenia

Floralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival to Flora, goddess of flowers and vegetation, through May 3)

Freedom Day -- South Africa

Independence Day -- Sierra Leone; Togo

Matanzas Mule Day

Morse Code Day

National D.J. Day

National Prime Rib Day

National War Veterans Day -- Finland

Poetry and The Creative Mind Gala -- Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center

Polk County Ramp Tramp Festival -- Polk County, Tennessee (through the 30th, come out and celebrate with the 4-H club the ramp, a local wild leek, and enjoy the Bluegrass music and games)

Roger Ebert's Film Festival (Ebertfest) -- Virginia Theatre, Champaign, Illinois (through May 1, come see the 12 films he selected as a representative cross section of important cinematic works, and hear him discuss them with audience members)

St. Zita's Day (patron of housemaids, finding lost keys)

Tell a Story Day

world Graphic Design Day

Write An Old Friend Today Day -- a real letter, in the mail, remember how exciting it is to get those?


Anniversaries Today:

Cornell University is established as New York's land grant institution, 1865


Birthdays Today:

Patrick Stump, 1984
Sheena Easton, 1959
Ace Frehley, 1951
Cuba Gooding, Sr., 1944
Earl Anthony, 1938
Sandy Dennis, 1937
Anouk Aimee, 1932
Casey Kasem, 1932
Coretta Scott King, 1927
Jack Klugman, 1922
Walter Lantz, 1900
Sergei Prokofiev, 1891
Ulysses S. Grant, 1822
Samuel Morse, 1791
Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759
Suleiman the Magnificent, 1495


Today in History:

Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines led by chief Lapu-Lapu, 1521
Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar, 1539
Cebu is established as the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines, 1565
The blind and impoverished John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10, 1667
The British Parliament passes the Tea Act, 1773
Beethoven composes Für Elise, 1810
US troops capture the capital of Upper Canada, York (present day Toronto, Canada), 1813
The Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, is laid, 1840
The establishment of Jewish congregations in Lower Austria is prohibited, 1857
The steamboat Sultana, carrying 2,400 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1,700, most of whom are Union survivors of the Andersonville and Cahaba Prisons, 1865
In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races, 1950
Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship, 1960
Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the United Kingdom, 1961
Expo 67 officially opens in Montreal, Canada, 1967
Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse, 1981
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed, 1992
Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history, 1992
Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics become members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, 1992
The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote is held, 1994
The last successful telemetry from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10 is received, 2002
The superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France, 2005
Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City, 2006