Cramped

It's a bit cramped over at Ms. P's new place.

New place, tiny closets.

For those who want to know, Ms. P was married to the ex for over 10 years.  When he dumped her for a new honey, he had been lying to her for a long time about a lot of things.  He didn't tell her that their house was far enough behind that it was in danger of foreclosing and that they were in serious trouble with the IRS.

Because he has now set himself up to receive almost no money from his job, but for all of it to go to the new honey because he opened the business in her name, he can claim he's too poor to pay child support or anything else.  He provides little or nothing for the kids, and only takes them for his weekends on occasion.  He is most likely to take Eldest Boy and leave the rest.

The Big Boss had known Ms. P for quite a while, and when he realized the IRS was only letting her keep about $150/week of anything she earned, and that she would soon be homeless, he stepped in to help.  He has made sure she and the kids have what they need.  Having her family to be his pet project and take care of them proved to be the best thing in the world for him when everything blew up at work and he had to retire.  She and the children have kept him from wallowing and fretting and having nothing much to do, and they all love him dearly.  When he has needed support, he's had it, from them and us.

Stuff everywhere in the new place

Ms. P still needs to get the house sold, however, which she has known from the beginning.  Even if she is found to be an innocent spouse and not owe the IRS money (after all, the ex worked and she just signed where he told her to when tax time came), there's no way she can afford the house.

She and the kids are now living in one of The Big Boss's houses that he usually rents out (he owns several).  This one is over 60 years old, so the closets are small and the whole thing modest and compact.  

The hallway -- suck in your gut and get through!

For the time being, she wants the children here and wants them to understand that they are not still living the lifestyle they had when their father was "taking care" of them.  She doesn't say a bad word about him in front of the kids, none of us do, but they will understand as they get older.

Especially as they now live in such a cramped place, compared to what they are used to.

Today is

Ascension Day -- Christian; related observances
     Procession of the Holy Blood -- Belgium (religious historical procession recalling the adventurous crusaders, especially Count Thierry of Alsace, who was supposed to have carried back relics of the Holy Blood)

Brown Bag-It Thursday -- it's cheaper and healthier

Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jumping Jubilee -- Calaveras Fairgrounds, Angel's Camp, CA, US (the "Super Bowl" of frog jumping contests; through Sunday)
     Frog Jumping Day -- for those of us who don't live in Calaveras County, you can still celebrate Mark Twain's famous story and go play with a frog

Carabao Festival -- Pulilan, Philippines (to honor their patron, St. Isidro [St. Isadore the Farmer], hundreds of carabaos [water buffalo] are dressed up and paraded, and eventually blessed in front of the church; through tomorrow)

Dance Like a Chicken Day -- no idea why today, but i'm waiting for wedding season

Drunk Driving Memorial Day -- not sponsored by MADD, or anyone else i can find, but let's all work and pray for the day drunk driving by anyone is just a bad memory

French Fairy Awareness Day -- Fairy Calendar

Gesta de Independencia -- Paraguay

Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival -- Izumo-taisha, Japan (through tomorrow)

Marshmallow Fluff Day -- Mr. Durkee and Mr. Mower announced, on this day in 1920, that they were in business producing this sweet confection

Mars Invictus Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Midnight Sun at North Cape -- Norway (the sun will not set until July 30)

Miles City Bucking Horse Sale -- Miles City, MT, US (a celebration worthy of the city that inspired "Lonesome Dove;" through Sunday)

National Buttermilk Biscuit Day

National Unification Day -- Liberia

President Kamuzu Banda's Birthday -- Malawi

Runic Half-Month Ing (expansive energy) commences

"Stars and Stripes Forever" Day -- first public performance this day in 1897

St. Bonifatius' Day (4th Ice Saint)

St. Matthias the Apostle's Day (Patron of carpenters, reformed alcoholics, tailors; Gary, Indiana; Great Falls-Billings, Montana; against alcoholism and smallpox)

Underground America Day -- Malcolm Wells wants us to imagine what our landscapes would look like if more of our buildings were under ground

Anniversaries Today:

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark marries Mary Donaldson, 2004
Carlsbad Caverns National Park established, NM, US, 1930


Birthdays Today:

Miranda Cosgrove, 1993
Amber Tamblyn, 1983
Dan Auerbach, 1979
Martine McCutdcheon, 1976
Cate Blanchett, 1969
Danny Wood, 1969
Jose Da Silveira, 1965
Suzy Kolber, 1964
Tim Roth, 1961
Valerie Still, 1961
Ronan Tynan, 1960
David Byrne, 1952
Robert Zemechis, 1951
Meg Foster, 1948
George Lucas, 1944
Jack Bruce, 1943
Atanasio "Tony" Perez, 1942
Bobby Darin, 1936
Laszlo Kovacs, 1933
Patrice Munsel, 1925
Otto Klemperer, 1885
Robert Owen, 1771
Thomas Gainsborough, 1727
Gabrile Daniel Fahrenheit, 1686


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Kids Are Alright"(Documentary), 1979
“It’s Time for Ernie"(Ernie Kovacs' TV premier), 1951
"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd: A Requiem for those we love"(Hindemith composition), 1946
"Die Hebriden/The Hebrides"(Mendelssohn Op. 26), 1832


Today in History:

Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony, 1607
Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox  vaccination, 1796
The Lewis and Clark expedition sets out, 1804
Paraguay  gains independence from Spain, 1811
The first edition of the London Illustrated Times is published, 1842
Gail Borden patents her process for condensed milk, 1853
Vaseline, the first petroleum jelly, is marketed, 1878
Lina Medina becomes the world's youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five, 1939
Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established; immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, 1948
Kuwait joins the United Nations, 1963
Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched, 1973
The Institute for War documents publishes Anne Franks complete diary, 1986
The last episode of Seinfeld airs, with commercials going for $2M per 30 seconds, 1998
Scientists at Stanford University invent a working bionic eye the is powered only by focused light; the eye could eventually restore the sight of millions of people suffering from macular degeneration and retinal pigmentosa, 2012