Monday and the Mall

"Hey, mom, is there a pizza cutter in here?" #2 Son had just finished a plate of the brisket that Doc had made for dinner, and was going to top it off with his favorite snack.


No, son, they don't have a pizza cutter here, you'll have to use a knife.


Don't tell the kids, but half of a mommy's super power is not eyes in the back of her head, but good hearing. As i heard the familiar tiny "click" of his pocket knife being opened, without turning i told him to not use that.


"Why not?" He gets defensive about his pocket knife, as he uses it for everything.


Because you were probably using it to clean those fish you caught this afternoon, that's why!


"Yeah, you're right, I was. But since then I've been in the pool and in the Gulf with it, so it should be clean enough!"


Wash!


"Yes, mom," with an impish grin.


So, Monday was our day at the mall. But not all of us all day for once.


We took 3 cars, so that not everyone would have to stay all day.


We arrived just as the stores were opening, and each person went in a different direction. The kids went and found what they needed, and called, and Sweetie or i went over and paid for it.


Sweetie, Little Girl, and #2 Son were done shopping by noon, and headed back. Thus they had time to do other things they wanted to do.


Uncle J and Bryn went with Miss Prissy, and they met up with me, Bigger Girl, and Teresa for lunch at the food court.


After we were malled out, we went home, and didn't have to stand upon the order of our going to wait for 3 other people to finish. It was lovely.


There was even time at the end of the day for strolling the beach, and for ghost crab hunting that night.


We went to bed with plans to see the Blue Angels and the museum the next day.

Today is

Abolition Day -- French Guiana

Army Day -- Jordan

Bachfest Leipzig -- Leipzig, Germany (held since 1904 in the town of Bach's birth; through the 19th)

Ball Point Pen Day -- patented this day in 1943

Banana Split Festival -- Wilmington, Ohio, US (claims to be the birthplace of this delicious dessert; through the 10th)

Celtic Tree Month Duir (Oak) commences

Chicago Blues Festival -- Chicago, Illinois, US (largest free blues fest in the world; through the 12th)

Day of Anahita -- Ancient Persian Calendar (goddess of love, date approximate)

Iced Tea Day

Lidice Day -- former Czechoslovakia; New Jersy, US

Mad Hatter Day -- outside the US, a second day for fun and silliness, because one day in April isn't enough

Mourn for Your Money Day -- a day to grieve how much you pay in taxes

National Asparagus Festival -- Oceana County, Michigan, US (through the 12th)

National Black Cow Day

Portugal Day a/k/a Camoes Memorial Fete -- Portugal and Portuguese communities

Positive Power of Humor and Creativity Conference -- Silver Bay, New York, US (54th annual; through the 12th)

Reconciliation Day -- Republic of the Congo

St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland's Day

Birthdays Today:

Joey Zimmerman, 1986

Tara Lipinski, 1982

Leelee Sobieski, 1982

Hoku Ho, 1981

Shane West, 1978

Elizabeth Hurley, 1965

Michael Burger, 1957

John Edwards, 1953

F. Lee Bailey, 1933

Maurice Sendak, 1928

Judy Garland, 1922

Saul Bellow, 1915

Frederick Loewe, 1904

Hattie McDaniel, 1889

Today in History:

Frederick Barbarossa drowns leading his troops across the Saleph River to attack Jerusalem in the Crusades, 1190

The first American log cabin is built, at Fort Christina in Wilmington, Delaware, 1639

Bridget Bishop becomes the first person hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692

Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef, 1770

A landslide dam on the Dadu River created by an earthquake ten days earlier collapses, killing 100,000 in the Sichuan province of China, 1786

The Jardin des Plantes museum opens in Paris; a year later, it becomes the first public zoo, 1793

The first Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place, 1829

Myall Creek Massacre in Australia: 28 Aboriginal Australians are murdered, 1838

The first class of the United States Naval Academy students graduate, 1854

Mount Tarawera in New Zealand erupts, killing 153 people and destroying the famous Pink and White Terraces, 1886

The inaugural service for the United Church of Canada, a union of Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregationalist churches, is held in Toronto Arena, 1925

Dr. Robert Smith takes his last drink, and Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio, United States, by him and Bill Wilson, 1935

Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire, 1967

Apple ships its first Apple II personal computer, 1977

The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission, 2003