Friends have slowly but surely trickled in.

DiDreaming drove in, then Grace called from her hotel.  She had a rental, so she came over, and i took them on a pilgrimage to Whole Foods.

We headed back to the house after a call from Ninja, who stopped to say hello.  (Yes, we consider her a real ninja.)

Script met us at the restaurant after Ninja picked her up.

CanDo and Eagle didn't make it in time for the restaurant and Cajun music, but the rest of us had fun.

And there was a surprise message from Daye -- she is trying to get her.  She will have to sneak away from her 90-year-old terror of a mother, who is on the warpath yet again.  (If you have a parent who is mentally ill, pray he/she doesn't get dementia added to the mix, it makes for a new kind of torture when you have to deal with that.)

Next up -- swamp tour, and gumbo, and home made Caesar salad, and Doberge cake.  What a combo!


Today is:

Arbor Day -- Brazil

Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper Celebration Day -- Fairy Calendar (Goblins)

Chästeilet im Justistal -- Merlingen, Switzerland (dividing of the summer's cheese between the dairy farmers of the area)

Chili Cook-Off and Fall Festival of the Arts And Crafts -- Washington, MO, US (chili fest and contest, juried art festival, and fun; through Sunday)

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 11, Peace (to coincide with the International celebration; sponsored by We, the World)

Independence Day -- Armenia(1991); Belize(1981); Malta(1964)

International Day of Peace

Kharisteria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; feast of Aremis Agrotera[the huntress] that became a thankgiving for the victory of the battle of Marathon)

Kwama Nkrumah's Birthday/Founder's Day -- Ghana

Miniature Golf Day -- golf the fun way! (separate from National Miniature Golf Day in May)

Monterrey Jazz Festival -- Monterrey, CA, US (55th Annual; through Sunday)

National Pecan Cookie Day

National Tradesmen Day -- US

National POW/MIA Recognition Day -- US

New Hampshire Highland Games -- Loon Mountain, Lincoln, NH, US (everything highlands you can think of, and those of Scottish descent can even look up their clan connections; through Sunday)

Osage River Mountain Man Festival and Black Powder Shoot -- Lake Ozark, MO, US (reenactment of a pre-1840s wilderness rendezvous; through Sunday)

Seven Sweets and Sours Festival -- Intercourse, PA, US (celebrating all the flavors of fall, and pumpkin bowling; through tomorrow)

St. Matthew the Evangelist's Day (Patron of accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, customs officers, financial officers, guards, money managers, security forces, security guards, stock brokers, tax collectors; Salerno, Italy; Trier, Germany; Villa d'Ogna, Italy)

Student's Day and Spring Day -- Argentina

Throw Away Something Day -- you have the internet's permission to get rid of that hideous gift; if you can't bring yourself to throw it out, donate it

World Alzheimer'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
Chuck Jones, 1912
H.G. Wells, 1866
Maurice Barrymore, 1849 (family patriarch)


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