Deliver Us!

Mother's Day flower deliveries, that is.  Yes, i'm at it again.  Ain't i a sucker?

Don't answer that.  Yesterday was wet, but went surprisingly well.  Each time i went out, i was going against the traffic.  And i even managed to find all the roads out in Boonville that are completely unmarked.  After all, why put up signs?  Everyone in Boonville knows that this street is Old Church Road, why should we have to put up a sign telling so?

It was a good day, though, in spite of the rain and lack of signs.  My second delivery of the day was to an old family friend, and when i looked ahead several deliveries and figured out that some had to be by certains times before people went home, i went ahead and ran parts of the route backwards.  It kept everything running quite smoothly.

So, for those of you who haven't ordered flowers for Mom yet, get crackin' if you plan to do it.  And if you haven't ever read my suggestions for making it possible for me to deliver them without losing my mind, please make sure the house or business is clearly marked and i have a phone number to contact that will be answered if i need it.  Those two things alone will take care of almost all problems.


Today is

Albany Tulip Festival -- Albany, NY, US (celebrate spring and Albany's Dutch heritage; through tomorrow)

Birth Mother's Day -- the day before Mother's Day, for all the women who have made an adoption plan for their babies

Blow Bubbles for Your Cat Day -- internet generated entertainment urged for human and feline like

Cormorant Fishing Festival -- Nagara River, Gifu, Japan (traditional fishing with trained cormorants is celebrated nightly under the light of blazing torches through mid-October)

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awareness Day -- shedding light on this rare genetic condition

Eat What You Want Day -- since none of the "experts" can totally agree on what's good and what isn't, today, ignore them all! sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Fairy Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Royal Humans Founded -- Fairy Calendar

Holiday of the City of Miskolc -- Miskolc, Hungary

Houston Art Car Parade -- Houston, TX, US (the world's oldest and largest art car parade)

International Migratory Bird Day -- original date second Saturday in May, but the IMBD organization encourages you to celebrate when birds are migrating in your area; one special celebration on this date:
     International Migratory Bird Celebration -- Chincoteague, VA, US (walks, talks, tours, art, and children's activities, all outdoors with the birds)

Jamestown Day -- Jamestown, Williamsburg, VA, US (special demonstrations and programs for the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, America's first permanent English colony)

Lemuralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (second day)

Letter Carriers "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive -- US

Lokadagur -- Iceland (Final Day, festival to mark the end of the fishing season in the south-west of the country)

Mother Ocean Day -- celebrate the wonders of the ocean, wherever you happen to be

National Babysitter's Day -- US, giving recognition to the babysitters who make your date nights possible

National Bake Sale Day -- US (recognizing the tradition of raising money and expanding waistlines through the old fashioned bake sale)

National Miniature Golf Day

National Mocha Torte Day

National Technology Day -- India

National Train Day -- US (a day to explore why trains matter)http://www.nationaltrainday.com/s/

Nisga'a Day -- Nisga'a (one of the First Nations of Canada [ effective date of treaty])

Randwick Wap Cheese Rolling -- Randwick, Gloucestershire, England (Yes, they roll cheeses that were blessed last Sunday around the church and give the Mayor a good dunking in the pond; yes, they've been doing it for 700 years; no, no one is quite certain why, though many stories are told of the origin.)

Sun Awareness Day -- like Melanoma Monday, a few days back, a day to remember the damage the sun can do to skin and stock up on sunscreen, if you haven't already

Stay Up All Night Night -- as declared by George Mahood of Northampton, England, everyone needs to relive the excitement of staying up late like you always wanted to as a kid at least once a year

St. Gengulf's Day (Patron of knights, separated spouses, victims of adultery or unfaithfulness; against unhappy marriages)

St. Mamertus' Day (first of the Ice Saints, whose days are supposed to herald the last frost)

Tubeless Tire Day -- B. F. Goodrich Company announced the development of a tubeless tire on this day in 1947

Twilight Zone Day -- no, it didn't premier on this day, nor was Rod Serling born or died on this day; it's today on the internet for no particular reason except that someone decided to celebrate it today

Windmill Day -- Netherlands (on the second Saturday of May each year, more than 600 windmills, including many that are now national monuments, are open to the public)

Witching Day -- Isle of Man (Mayday Eve based on the OS calendar, be careful of the spirits today)

World Fair Trade Day -- sponsored by the World Fair Trade Organization


Anniversaries Today:

Minnesota becomes the 32nd US state, 1858


Birthdays Today:

Corey Monteith, 1982
Natasha Richardson, 1963
Mort Sahl, 1927
Foster Brooks, 1912
Phil Silvers, 1911
Salvador Dali, 1904
Martha Graham, 1894
Irving Berlin, 1888


Today in History:

Constantinople becomes the capital of the Roman Empire and is also called Nova Roma and Byzantium, 330
Peter Stuyvesant arrives in New Amsterdam, 1647
Captain Robert Gray becomes the first documented European to sail into the Columbia River, 1792
The waltz is introduced into English ballrooms, and becomes popular in spite of being called "riotous and indecent," 1812
William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth lead an expedition westwards from Sydney, opening the interior of Australia for settlement, 1813
Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British, 1857
Luxembourg  gains its independence, 1867
U.S. Congress  establishes Glacier National Park in Montana, 1910
Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies, 1924
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded, 1927
Siam officially changes its name to Thailand  for the second time, 1949
Israel joins the United Nations, 1949
In Baltimore, Maryland, the first heart-lung transplant takes place, 1987
In New York City, more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions, 1995
IBM Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format, 1997