TGIS

 Thank Goodness It's Saturday.

"Mom, I am so glad it's the weekend," Bigger Girl said.  "Too much went on this week, I need the break!"

It has been a week.

First, there was the paperwork Bigger Girl almost couldn't get to do because of the computer snafu that would have meant she couldn't work this summer.

Then, there was Tuesday, when she walked in and told me "Mom, we had an emergency today, three mares ovulated unexpectedly so we had to get a stallion to cooperate so we could take advantage of it and I love working with the horses but three in one day is too much and Badger wouldn't cooperate and we had to run down to the vet school to use one of their stallions!"

Of course, we can't forget the day Ms. Sonny was talking on her cell phone while simultaneously filling the liquid nitrogen tanks.  She overfilled one and was spraying liquid nitrogen everywhere before she realized it and moved the hose to the next tank.  Bigger Girl said, "I had to use the dipper to pull some out of the overfilled tank and transfer it to the other one so I could close it.  Don't fill nitrogen tanks while talking on a cell phone!"

Good advice that all of us should heed.

Thursday there was an explosion at a plant here in south Louisiana.  It's one of the chemical plants that is just a hop away from where Bigger Girl works, they could even see the fire from their location.  It panicked one of her co-workers, as her husband works there, but he was one of the fortunate uninjured.  They were also blessed that the highways that were shut down were about a mile up the road, so they were able to come home when the day was done.

The research center went on alert to evacuate if the winds shifted, which didn't happen.  The biggest concern for the research center was that if the wind did shift, the people could evacuate, but the animals, many of which are valuable research animals, couldn't.  Those cloned goats alone are worth a mint, as they have survived longer than almost any other animals ever cloned (the research center leaves them alone beyond monthly check-ups, instead of experimenting on them as other centers do, and that's probably why).

In other happenings during the week, Little Girl found Young Jacob's epilepsy medication in our downstairs room, the former TV room (we don't have a TV beyond the one hooked up to a game console any more, good-bye cable bill).  He was thrilled that she found it, but it scared me and him that he had left it here.  He's also lucky she happened to see it, with the angle it was sitting at just behind a couch, as well as blessed he was only late with one dose and he's not so hypersensitive to it that late for one dose will be a big deal.  Late all the time or can't find it for a week would be a big deal, however, and he just got this bottle.  It can take a week or so to convince the doctor and insurance company to let you have a new bottle when you just got one, so he dodged that bullet, and i'm going to get him one of those little pill holders you attach to your key chain so he only has to carry one day's dose with him.

My Thursday saw two small animal related events.  The kids at the pool found a baby mockingbird that had fallen from the nest, so i played mama bird and plied it with wet cat food until one of the other mothers got there to take it to the wildlife hospital at the vet school.  Yes, i would have taken it, but her son was set on his mom doing it, so i gratefully bowed out of having to go across town this time.  It will happen soon enough again, i'm sure.

Then i got a call from another animal rescue person.  The black kitten in yesterday's picture was the subject.  It seems that a little boy had picked it up to play with it, and when he put it back next to the mama, the mama started to attack it.  The boy's mother took it to a pet store, which called the animal rescue, and Ms. Chrisie went and panicked when handed such a tiny thing.  She doesn't do well with bottle-feeds.  And i about panicked when i met her up at the MomAndPop store parking lot and saw they had tried to feed it Esbilac, which is puppy formula.  Amateurs -- the formulas are not interchangeable.

All in all, i think we are all happy it's the weekend.


Today is

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed Day -- simply a good day to remember this, and thank a friend

Badger State Summer Games -- Appleton, WI, US (Wisconsin residents of all ages and skill levels can compete this weekend and the next two in a fun Olympic-style sports festival)

Bali Arts Festival -- Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia (a full month of daily performances, handicraft exhibitions, and cultural activities showcasing all Bali has to offer in dance, music, art, food, and more; through July 13)

Dia del Arbol -- Costa Rica (Tree Day/Arbor Day)

Fly A Kite Day (on the anniversary of Ben Franklin's kite experiment)

Global Wind Day -- to celebrate and encourage the use of wind energy

KCQ Country Music Fest -- Saginaw, MI, US (country music's hottest stars, classic car show, art fair, and great food)

Longest Dam Race -- Fort Peck, MT, US (a run that crosses 1.8 miles of the Fort Peck Dam, as well as a fun run, a bike race, and more)

Madame Lou Bunch Day -- Central City, CO, US (Old Flop House Celebration of the Madam who ran the city's most famous house of ill repute during the gold rush, complete with period costumes and a brass bed race!)

Magna Carta Day -- UK (King John set his seal on the document this day in 1215)

Mangaia Gospel Day -- Mangaia, Cook Islands

Native American Citizenship Day -- US (passage, in 1924, of the legislation recognizing citizenship of Native Americans in the US)

National Lobster Day

Nature Photography Day -- sponsored by the North American Nature Photography Association

Salvation Day/National Day of Salvation -- Azerbaijan

Separation Day -- Delaware, US (date of declaration of separation from England and Pennsylvania)

Smile Power Day -- test out smile power today, it's free!

Sneak a Kiss Day -- usual litany of cautions with this internet generated holiday

Spirit of the Woods Folk Festival -- Brethren, MI, US (a family friendly good time in the park)

St. Vitus' Day (Patron of actors, comedians, dancers, dogs, epilepsy sufferers; against animal attacks, dog bites, epilepsy, lightning, oversleeping, rheumatic chorea, Saint Vitus' Dance, snake bites, storms, wild beasts; Badia Calavena, Italy; Czech Republic; Forio, Italy; Prague, Czech Republic; Recanati, Italy; Vacha, Germany; Wetsens, Netherlands; Zeven, Germany)

Trooping the Colour -- UK (military celebration of the monarch's birthday, one of London's biggest and most colorful celebrations))

Valdemar's Day and Reunion Day -- Denmark (an official Flag Day)

Vestalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (main and final celebration, in which the Temple of Vesta was swept clean)

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day -- because our elders deserve to be protected and cared for properly

World Juggling Day

Worldwide Day of Giving -- here for details


Anniversaries Today:

Arkansas becomes the 25th US State, 1836
Gustaf, Crown Prince of Sweden marries Princess Margaret of Connaught, 1905
King Hussein of Jordan marries Lisa Halaby (Queen Noor), 1978


Birthdays Today:

William Dean Martin, 1981
Neil Patrick Harris, 1973
Ice Cube, 1969
Lisa McCall, 1969
Dina Meyer, 1969
Courtneney Cox, 1964
Helen Hunt, 1963
Jim Belushi, 1954
Waylon Jennings, 1937
Mario Cuomo, 1932
Erroll Garner, 1921
Muzaffer Tema, 1919
Bob Wian, 1914
Edvard Grieg, 1843
Henry FitzRoy, illegitimate son of Henry VIII, 1519
Edward the Black Prince, 1330



Today in History:

The Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history, BC763
King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta, 1215
The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, 1667
Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity, 1752
Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania, 1776
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel, 1785
Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber, 1844
The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 1846
Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II and is the last emperor of the German Empire, 1888
The most destructive tsunami in Japan's history kills more than 22,000 people, 1896
A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1000, 1904
Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated, 1911
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter, 1916
A German expedition led by Karl Wien lost sixteen members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat (9th highest mountain), the largest single day loss of life on an 8,000m peak, 1937
In the Saskatchewan general election, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government of North America, 1944
Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations, 1994
Near earth asteroid 2002 MN misses the Earth by 75,000 miles (121,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon, 2002