Thank you!

"Hey, mom, guess what I'm doing!" #2 Son said as he breezed into the house with some bags from the BigBoxStore.

Surprise me, i said.

"I'm going to clean my bathroom!  I bought bleach, and Febreeze, and some cleaning towels.  Now all I need are a couple of garbage bags to throw the towels in when I get done."

Um, i haven't been in your hovel of a room and bathroom in a while, but do you mean to tell me you've let it get so out of hand that you have to throw the towels away?

"Unfortunately, yes.  Fortunately, I have a plan and I will deal with it!"

Thank you for small favors, i said with a bit of sarcasm.

The fact is, i do mostly let the kids keep their rooms they way they like, as long as they aren't drawing bugs with old food or leaving their good clothes to get ruined by never coming out of there to be washed.  #1 Son, Bigger Girl, and Little Girl are not neatniks by any means (neither am i, even if i do clean other people's messes for a living, i can deal with your stuff much more easily than my own), their rooms are not any worse than the usual teen/young twenties would keep it, and they do a good cleaning up once in a while.

#2 Son, on the other hand, has always been a slob at home, even if, like me, he can clean excellently when at work (when the kids worked with me on people's homes or on the church we used to attend, he did the best and most thorough and fastest work).

While i'm a bit upset with myself that i haven't kept as close an eye on his tendency toward slobbery (slobbishness?) these last couple of months as i should have, i'm glad he has "come clean" and is taking care of the problem himself.

One thing i do know, when the time comes that he moves out or gets married, any room mates or his future spouse are going to be duly warned.  He will have to come with a cleaning kit, and be forced to use it!



Today is:

Another Look Unlimited Day -- sponsored by Envira Myntyl, a day to look around and see what you don't need and can donate to charity, to lessen the flow to landfills

Bison-Ten-Yell Day -- celebrating the imaginary Bison-Ten-Yell, inventor of 10 battle yells now used as American football signals

Celtic Tree Month Muin (Vine) begins

Concordia Fall Festival -- Concordia, MO (celebrating agriculture and the German heritage of the area; through Saturday)

Coughing and Spluttering Convention -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Gaura Parva -- Nepal

Independence Day -- Transdniestria

National Blueberry Popsicle Day

National Day -- Vietnam

Pierce Your Ears Day -- does a kitten screaming in my ear count?  oh, since the person who decided we should celebrate this today didn't leave a trace, i guess it's okay to interpret any way we want

Play Days -- sponsored by the HUMOR Project, add humor to your life; through Saturday

Sacrifice to Hekate and Artemis -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Sedantag -- Germany

South Carolina Apple Festival -- Westminster, SC, US (through Saturday)

St. Agricola of Avignon's Day (Patron of rain -- for or against, whichever you need! -- of good weather and storks; Avignon, France; against misfortune and plague epidemics)

VJ Day -- Surrender Ceremony took place on this date aboard the USS Missouri


Anniversary Today:

Beginning of the Marathon Runs during the Persian War, Sept. 2-9, 490BC


Birthdays Today:

Cynthia Watros, 1968
Salma Hayek, 1966
Lennox Lewis, 1965
Keanu Reeves, 1964
Linda Purl, 1955
Jimmy Connors, 1952
Mark Harmon, 1951
Eric Dickerson, 1950
Christa McAuliffe, 1948
Nathaniel “Tiny” Archibald, 1948
Terry Bradshaw, 1948
Peter Victor Ueberroth, 1937
Marge Champion, 1923
Cleveland Amory, 1917
Lili'uokalani, 1838
James Forten, 1766


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Rose-Marie"(Operetta), 1924
"East of Suez"(Play), 1922
Ordinance on the Danish Church(Publication Date), 1637


Today in History:

Cicero's first Philippic (oratorical attack) on Marc Antony, BC44
Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion, BC44
Octavian's troops win the Battle of Actium which ends the Final war of the Roman Republic, BC31
The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days; it ends with 8 dead and 13,000 houses destroyed, 1666
Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe, 1752
US Treasury Dept. is established by Congress, 1789
The solar super storm continues to affect electrical telegraph service, 1859
Theodore Roosevelt adivses the US to "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." 1901
President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam becomes the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia, 1957
The Principality of Sealand is established, ruled by Prince Paddy Roy Bates, 1967
Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia; all 229 people on board are killed, 1998
Pope Benedict hosts an eco-festival, "Save Creation Day," in Loreto, Italy, to encourage Catholics to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, 2007
Ending a 50-year ban on veiled female news presenters, Egypt's state television gives its female presenters a choice of wearing, or not wearing, a veil, 2012
Swimmer Diana Nyad makes history, becoming the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, 2013
The public learns about AT&T's The Hemisphere Project, which gives telephone call data to law enforcement agencies, including the DEA, 2013