More Odds and Ends

It was back to the mechanics with Cicero, Bigger Girl's car.  While driving it up there, i noticed her inspection sticker had expired last month.  Good thing i didn't put this off, i thought.

Once i got there, Lenny asked exactly what i wanted.  So i told him to give it a good eyeballing all over and make sure it was good for highway miles for a while, and inspect it, and figure out why her tires were always low.  Then i settled in again, for the second day in a row, to drinking coffee and taking advantage of their wi-fi with Ol' Bessy.

After about an hour, Lenny called me over to show me the results of all the times Bigger Girl had hit a curb.  Her tires were shot, one with a nail in it, her brakes needed adjusting, the transmission fluid was due for a change, and a belt was about to give way.  Eek!

The total was a bit more than double the total the day before, and it would take longer, too.  So i called Bigger Girl to get in my car and come get me.  We ran an errand together, and i got home just in time to hear from Little Girl, "Hi, mom!  I threw up at swim practice this morning, and I feel much better!"

Great, i said, with a tinge of sarcasm, wondering if this was going to necessitate a trip to the doctor.  Was it just that your stomach's upset? i continued.

"Yes, it's this cold, it filled my stomach with snot and I barfed it all over in the grass outside of the fence, then felt better and went on with practice!"

Somehow that doesn't surprise me, the kid is practically cast iron.  Anyway.

We picked up Cicero in the early afternoon, and Bigger Girl went to the bookstore to read while i headed to the shelter to get more formula for this week.

"Mom," Bigger Girl said when next she saw me, "I saw the most interesting person at the bookstore!  An African-American man with some gray at the temples, dressed like a hip hop artist, but with  a heart shaped charm on a necklace, flip-flops with purple flowers on them and purple polish on his toenails!  He was amazing, so confident in his masculinity that he could cross gender lines in what we wore and not even bat an eye!  Why can't more people be like that?  I hate the stereotypes of girls in pink and boys in blue!"

The only reason i didn't have to answer her was that i was interrupted at that moment by Sweetie, calling to tell me he had an extra errand after work and so would be home even later than he thought.

Sometimes i am very glad for the telephone.


Today is

Anguilla Day -- Anguilla

Corpus Christi -- Catholic Christian

Dia de Canarias -- CN, Spain (Canary Island Day)

Einherjar -- Asatru (Modern Norse Pagan) Calendar (a memorial for the war dead in Valhalla)

Farmington Country Days -- Farmington, MO, US (fun for the family, celebrated the old country way; through Sunday)

Feast Day of St. Joan of Arc (Patron of captives, martyrs, opposition of Church authorities, people ridiculed for their piety, prisoners, rape victims, soldiers, WACs, WAVES; France)

Heirloom Seed Day -- While i can't find the history of this one, it's a good one to celebrate, we need to raise awareness of and preserve heirloom seeds

Indian Arrival Day -- Trinidad and Tobago (anniversary of the 1845 arrival of the first Indian laborers to Trinidad)

Lod Massacre Remembrance Day -- Puerto Rico

Loomis Day -- because if we are going to honor Marconi, we should also honor the Washington, D.C., dentist Mahlon Loomis, who patented a wireless telegraphy system before Marconi was even born

Mother's Day -- Nicaragua

My Bucket's Got a Hole In It Day -- this one may be listed on another day as well, since no two sites agree; mercy, just go get a new one already! or go get out your Hank Williams records

National Mint Julep Day

St. Walstan of Bawburgh's Day (Patron of agricultural workers, farmers and farm workers, field hands, husbandmen)

This Day -- Fairy Calendar

Water a Flower Day -- no sponsor or reason given for this day, except that the spring rains are slowing and you don't want your garden to wilt


Anniversaries Today:

Henry VIII marries Jane Seymore, 1536


Birthdays Today:

Wynonna Judd, 1964
Tom Morello, 1964
Meredith MacRae, 1945
Michael J. Pollard, 1939
Keir Dullea, 1936
Benny Goodman, 1909
Mel Blanc, 1908
Peter Carl Fabergé, 1846


Today in History:

Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem; the Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall, 70
19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal, 1431
In Florida, Hernando de Soto  lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold, 1539
Publication of La Gazette, the first French newspaper, 1631
The Pennsylvania Evening Post become the first daily paper in the US, 1783&
John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria, 1842
Westminster's Big Ben rang for the first time in London, 1859
Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern "Memorial Day") is observed in the United States for the first time, 1868
New York City's Gilmores Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public, 1879
The Treaty of London, 1913, ends the First Balkan War and Albania becomes an independent nation, 1913
In China protests erupt against the Great Powers infringing on Chinese sovereignty, 1925
A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes, 1948
The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened, 1959
launch of Surveyor 1 the first US spacecraft to achieve landing on an extraterrestrial body, 1966
At the Ascot Park in Gardena, California, daredevil Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined up in a row, 1967
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: the 33-foot high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators, 1989
272 days after the September 11 attacks, closing ceremonies are held for the clean up/recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site in New York City. The last remaining steel beam is removed and transported to the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, 2002