A Wednesday Whine

Sort of, a whine, but not really.

By G-d's grace, this area was not nearly as hard hit as originally predicted.  It's been cold, but the ice/sleet/snow/freezing rain wasn't as abundant as it could have been.

Even so, our streets are ice, and you can't drive to most places, from what i gather.  No, i wasn't silly enough to try to venture out yesterday.

Schools and government are shut down, and although he had to go to work yesterday, Sweetie is actually not having to go in today.  Even the Big Boss can't get there because of the frozen roads.

In the midst of all of that, though, the uni basketball team still played their game, and a few thousand die-hard fans showed up.  #1 Son was shocked that they had the game, but as i said, the other team was in town, probably couldn't reschedule, and as long as they physically could get to the arena, why not?  They had nothing else to do.

The kids are all home and underfoot in ways they haven't been since they were little and they were cuter and i was more used to it.  They, along with Festus and Young Jacob, are running in and out, playing in the ice, sliding down our sloped driveway, exploring the frozen creek, using up every towel we have in the house when they come in wet and melting, wearing every single spare coat in the coat closet, eating constantly, and just generally goofing off and having fun.

There are screams from outdoors when someone gets ice shoved under their clothing, Bigger Girl keeps yelling, "Bad pet redneck!" to Young Jacob, and they all look like shapeless lumps because of all of the layers of clothing and coats.  Little Girl is hoarding ice balls in the freezer, hoping to be able to use them in the summer.

My heavy coat that i left at Grandma and Grandpa's house at Christmas arrived.  While i told him not to, Grandpa decided to mail it to me!  He got it here just in time for Little Girl to wear it outdoors and get it frozen solid with ice.

If we thaw out enough today, i think i will venture out this afternoon.  Only, though, if the doors of the van thaw enough to open.  They froze shut yesterday, as i found when i tried to go out and get something.


Today is:

Blue and Pink Day -- Fairy Calendar

Bubblegum Sculpture Day -- commonly listed on ecard sites, and not to be confused with National Bubble Gum Day, coming in February

Carnation Day -- in honor of William McKinley; also on the date of his assassination each year, Sept. 14

Curmudgeons' Day -- W.C. Field's birth anniversary

National Corn Chip Day

National Puzzle Day -- because they are just fun

Sahid Diwash -- Nepal (Martyrs' Day)

St. Constantius of Perugia (Patron of Perugia, Italy)

St. Gildas the Wise's Day (one of the earliest British historians)

Thomas Paine Day/Freethinkers' Day -- birth anniversary of Thomas Paine

US Nationals Snow Sculpting Competition and Championships -- Lake Geneve, WI, US (through Feb. 8)



Anniversaries Today:

Establishment of The Seeing Eye, 1929 (first US guide dog school)
Kansas becomes the 34th US state, 1861


Birthdays Today:

Adam Lambert, 1982
Jonny Lang, 1981
Andrew Keegan, 1979
Sara Gilbert, 1975
Heather Graham, 1970
Bobby Phillips, 1968
Nick Turturro, 1962
Greg Louganis, 1960
Oprah Winfrey, 1954
Teresa Teng, 1953
Ann Jillian, 1950
Tom Selleck, 1945
Katharine Ross, 1942
Germaine Greer, 1939
John Forsythe, 1918
Victor Mature, 1913
Huddie William "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, 1885
W.C. Fields, 1880
Anton Chekhov, 1860
William McKinley, 1843
Henry Morton Stanley, 1841
Thomas Paine, 1737
Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Sweet Charity"(Musical), 1966
"Dr. Strangelove"(Film), 1964
"Sleeping Beauty"(Cartoon movie), 1959
"The Potting Shed"(Play), 1957
"All My Sons"(Play), 1947
"The Raven"(publication date), 1845
"Idomeneo"(Mozart Opera), 1781
"The Beggar's Opera"(Gay Ballad Opera), 1728


Today in History:

The first performance of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, 1595
John Beckley of Virginia is appointed the first Librarian of Congress, 1802
Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" is first published, 1845
The Victoria Cross is established to acknowledge bravery, 1856
Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile, 1886
Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch, 1891
Walt Disney starts his first job as an artist, earning $40/week with the KC Slide Co, 1920
North America's first guide dog school, The Seeing Eye, is incorporated in Nashville, Tennessee, 1929
The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced, 1936
The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced, 1963
Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so, 1989
President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing, 1996
La Fenice, Venice's opera house, is destroyed by fire, 1996
The first direct commercial flights from mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines flight lands in Beijing, 2005