Mixed Bag

Friday was what i have come to see is the typical mixed bag of a day.  By that i mean that seldom is a day all good, or all bad, or all anything.  There is a mix to the day; some of it will be average, usual stuff.  Some might get exciting, much will be mundane.  There might be a surprise or two, good stuff will happen, not-so-good stuff will happen.

Such is was on Friday.  We ran out of the regular kitten formula, as i expected, but that was okay, i knew we were going to go clean the shelter anyway.  It would have timed out just right to have us back with more -- if there hadn't been another shutdown of the interstate when Sweetie went to get the kids from school.

That's one of the bad things about living here.  Shut down the interstate, shut down the entire town.  It took him over an hour and a half to get back -- without the kids!  They decided to get out and walk at one point.  He beat them home by 15 minutes.  They were not pleased.

For some reason that i haven't figured out yet, i had a tachycardia episode.  Usually those are tied to the "too's" as i call them -- too tired or too hungry, too much pushing to get extra stuff done, or too much caffeine.  None of those applied yesterday.  The next few days will be interesting to observe on that front, i like to know the triggers if i can, so i can prevent them.

The shelter is unusually empty right now, for which we are all grateful.  Only two cats in most colony rooms, only two ringworm cats, only two still in the office.  The intake cages are full, but only because Kaylee is still on bed rest for her broken pelvis and Fluffy still getting meds for her UTI.  The others will be put in rooms today.

There is also only one kitten cage full right now.  We are working to change that, of course, with our seven and another litter of 5 that the other bottle feeder is caring for; in about 2 months, there should be kittens there out of the wazoo.  It's like that every year.

As i said, not a totally all good day, not all bad, a mix of this and that, normal and weird, just stuff.  Stuff to deal with, the stuff of every day.

Have a wonderful, full of good stuff Saturday, everyone!


Today is:

Birkenbeinerrennet -- Rena to Lillehammer, Norway (54km ski marathon commemorating the 1205 rescue of infant prince Hakon Hakonsson by ski over this route)

Curlew Day -- Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge, OR, US (traditional date the long-billed curlew arrives, with up to 500 reported during their nesting season)

Day of the Book Smugglers -- Lithuania (recognizing the brave people who smuggled Lithuanian language books in the Latin alphabet into the country from 1866-1904, when the Russian Empire had banned such books)

Day After Dumbstruck Day -- Fairy Calendar

Elaphebolia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Artemis; date approximate)

Everything You Do is Right Day -- another internet generated holiday designed to get you into trouble if you aren't careful

Feast of Heru and His Companions -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of Bacchus / Bacchanalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (through tomorrow)

Freedom of Information Day -- on the birthday of James Madison, Father of the US Constitution and an advocate for openness in government

Girl Scout Sabbath -- USA

Latvian Legion Day -- Latvia (no longer a formal national holiday, still celebrated by many in the region)

Lips Appreciation Day -- after all, where would you be without them, and how would you give kisses?  sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Maple Syrup Saturday -- Appleton, WI, US (please note that, starting now, almost every Saturday has a maple syrup festival or demonstration somewhere in Canada or the US where maple syrup is produced)

National Artichoke Hearts Day

National Quilting Day -- US, sponsored by the National Quilting Association

Saint Patrick's Day Parades -- various cities around the English speaking world hold their celebrations on the Saturday nearest the Saint's day

Save the Florida Panther Day -- FL, US

St. Heribert of Cologne's Day (Patron against drought)

St. Urho's Day -- Finnish communities in Canada and the US (a made up saint, the Finns answer to St. Patrick, who supposedly drove the grasshoppers out of Finland)

USA Memory Championship -- New York, NY, US ("Mental Athletes" compete for the title of National Memory Champion, and the winner goes on to the World Memory Championships)

Wild Azalea Festival -- White Springs, FL, US



Birthdays Today:

Kevin Tod Smith, 1963
Erik Estrada, 1949
Bernardo Bertolucci, 1940
Jerry Lewis, 1926
Mercedes McCambridge, 1916
Patricia Nixon, 1912
Henny Youngman, 1906
Georg Simon Ohm, 1787
James Madison, 1751


Today in History:

The Babylonians capture Jerusalem and replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king, BC597
Caligula becomes Roman Emperor after the death of his great uncle, Tiberius, 37
The Jews of York England commit mass suicide rather than submit to baptism, 1190
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches Philippines, 1521
Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset," 1621
The US Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point, 1802
Prince Willem of the House of Orange-Nassau proclaims himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in The Netherlands, 1815
New York Stock Exchange slowest day ever (31 shares traded), 1830
Susan Hayhurst becomes the first woman to graduate from a pharmacology college, 1830
Edward Clark became Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who was evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy, 1861
Joseph Lister's article outlining the discovery of antiseptic surgery is published in The Lancet, 1867
Hiram R Revels makes the first official speech by an African American in the US Senate, 1869
The Barnum and Bailey Circus debuts, 1881
Sir Arthur Evans discovers the ancient city of Knossus, 1900
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts, 1926
The Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the company's founding, 1958
Gemini 8 is launched, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with the Agena Target Vehicle, 1968
General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado, 1968
Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last wooden radio tower in Germany, 1983
Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut; he will be held for 6 1/2 years, 1985
Pope John Paul II asks God for forgiveness for the inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust, 1998
Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control, 2005