"Hey, mom, may I make some pancakes?"  #2 Son breezed into the kitchen about an hour after we got back from the pediatrician.  

He and Little Girl were due for their annual check-ups prior to school, and are as i thought, typical and healthy.  Thank the Good Lord.  They also have the appetite to match, to which my budget will attest, but that's better than the other way around.

So i told him to go ahead, and he got the mixer, bowl, and ingredients and set to work.

While he worked, we talked about the advantages and disadvantages of culinary arts school versus a college that has a culinary arts degree.  While i would love to see him go to the latter, he is adamant that he will not be taking college algebra, as it is of no use to anyone not majoring in math or science, and every college now requires it.

Since math is the worst subject of every member of his immediate family, he does have a point.

He stood at the stove, flipping pancakes one handed as they do on TV, nonchalantly, and brandishing the bottle of cinnamon with the other hand as he made his points.  "Besides," he noted, "I want to save money and live at home.  If I go for the college program, it will cost more, dorm fees and stuff  Why pay for a college education when you get just as good training and can get to work without spending all that money."

Another good point, i noted as he flipped the last pancake out of the pan and almost onto the plate he was aiming for.  It was his first miss of the whole episode, and he caught it and flipped it back into the pan.

"The heat will kill any germs," he said, "and it's a good thing this one is for Festus, he's the only one who wanted three of them."

As he headed out to the table juggling 3 plates, butter, and syrup, Bigger Girl came in from the storage hall/pantry next to the kitchen..

"Oh, mom!  You bought toilet paper!  Thank you."  Then, as she left the room with a few rolls tucked under her arm, "Ah, toilet paper, gift of the gods!  I will go put this next to the great white round one."


Today is:

Anjin Matsuri -- Ito City, Japan (commemorations William Adams (1564-1620), a naturalized British shipwright, called "Anjin Miura" in Japan, a great contributor to the early development of Japanese ship-building industry; through the 10th)

BaBa Day -- Taiwan (ba ba is Mandarin for both "father" and "8-8")

Bonza Bottler Day

Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship -- Shelburne, ON, Canada (through the 12th)

Crayfish Premier -- Sweden (crayfish may be sold and served in restaurants, the day after the season opens)

Festival for Venus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (sunset to sunset)

Festival Wednesday -- British Virgin Islands

Finest Fairy Finals -- Fairy Calendar (Do only the finest fairies take finals? How do the others get a final grade? :D )

Fourteen Holy Helpers' Day (Patrons against diseases)

Happiness Happens Day -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, to encourage sharing happiness and discourage parade raining; on the anniversary of their founding in 1997

Kranti Diwas -- Mumbai (former Bombay), India (a/k/a Freedom Day or Quit India Day; anniversary of Gandhi's Quit India speech to the British authorities in 1942)

Lucerne Festival of Summer -- Lucerne, Switzerland (through Sept. 15, over 100 events)

Namesday of the Queen -- Sweden (Queen Sylvia; an official Flag Day)

National Frozen Custard Day

Odie Day -- Garfield's pal Odie, who first appeared in the strip on this day in 1978

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and i love the stuff but can't grow plants to save my life, i'll leave the porch light on for you if you will bring me some!

St. Cyriacus' Day (Patron of the eyes; Altidona, Italy; against diabolical possession, eye disease, and temptations, especially temptations at the time of death)

St. Dominic's Day (Founder of the Dominican Order[Friars]; Patron of astronomers and astronomy, falsely accused people, scientists; Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; Valletta, Malta)

St. Mary MacKillop's Day (First native-born Australian saint; Patron of Australia; Wagga Wagga, Australia)

The Date To Create -- can't find anything on this one, just listed at a couple of sites, but go have fun creating something!

Wakulima ya Nane Nane -- Tanzania (Peasants' Day/Farmers' Day)


Birthdays Today:

Keith Carradine, 1949
Connie Stevens, 1938
Dustin Hoffman, 1937
Mel Tillis, 1932
Esther Williams, 1923
Rory Calhoun, 1922
Dino De Laurentis, 1919
Matthew Henson, 1866
Emperor Horikawa of Japan, 1079


Today in History:

The Romans destroy the Tower of Antonia, 70
Otto I (The Great) crowned German king, 936
Vijayanagara Empire is re-begun with the crowning of emperor Krishnadeva Raya, 1509
The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven, 1576
John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, 1585
The first known ascent (indoors) of a hot-air balloon by Bartolomeu de Gusamao, 1709
Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard become the first to ascend Mont Blanc, 1786
Metal bullet cartridges are patented by Smith and Wesson, 1854
Mimeograph is patented by Thomas Edison, 1876
Wilbur Wright makes the brother's first public flight, at a racecourse in Le Mans, France, 1908
The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire, 1911
The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight, 1929
The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, the 3rd nation to join, 1945
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, 1967
Richard Nixon announces his resignation as President of the United States, effective the next day, 1974
The lights go on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last stadium in the majors to host a night game (which was subsequently rained out!), 1988
Iraq occupies and annexes Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait within a couple of weeks, 1990
Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor, 2000