Back in the Saddle

It didn't take long.  Monday morning, i got a text from The Big Boss.  Could i come babysit that evening?

Of course i can.  And while i am there i can do a couple of loads of laundry, too.

Also while i'm at it, i can shake my head in despair over the boys' room.

How do they get to the bed?

A whole lot of stuff has been removed from the house, although it might not look like it from the angle above.  There's a lot now in the attic for if they ever move into a bigger house, or things they just don't have room for but might need someday.

Babysitting went well, they ate what i gave them and, since it is summer, we substituted a lot of time outdoors with the hose for a bath.  They had fun and didn't stink, so we called it sufficient.

Another really good thing has come out of the move.  It's one of those unexpected stories where the Good Lord provides something you didn't even know you would need.

On one of the last times i went to the old house to clean, i noticed some of the decorative items from the walls of the house had been put on top of a trash pile.

None of them were expensive, but they were nice wall sconces with silk flowers and small decorative wall hangings.

Instead of letting them get carted off to a landfill, i went ahead and put them in my Jalopy with an eye toward taking them to the church meeting for the homeless.  Not everyone who goes there is homeless, some very impoverished people who live in that neighborhood also attend.  My thinking was that just because you don't have a lot of money, doesn't mean you don't want pretty things for your home.  Thus my intent was to put them with the clothing being given away.

When i put the items near the clothing, Miss J from our church, who is very involved with this ministry, smilingly told me she thought those had been provided by Pastor M for the memorial he was going to have that day for Ms. Amelia, who had recently died.  She was a cornerstone of the ministry, and he wanted to honor her during the service.

No, i told her, i brought them myself.  As i explained, she said, "Those would be wonderful to use during the memorial service!  And then her family could have something pretty and tangible to take home."

Yes, i agreed, that's fine, as long as they are put to good use.

"The Lord knew what we needed before we did!" Miss J said as she brought the items over to Pastor M.  He was glad to have them, as he knew Ms. Amelia would have loved them, they were just her style.

Some things are just meant to be.

Today is

Accession Day -- Jordan (King Abdullah's accession to the throne in 1999)

Community Day -- LO, MU, Spain

Donald Duck Day -- his screen debut was today in 1934

La Rioja Day -- La Rioja, Spain

Murcia Day -- Murcia, Spain

National Heroes Day -- Uganda

National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

Profess Your Love Day -- promoted by ecard companies which think you need to say "I love you" more often

Purple People Eater Day -- Sheb Wooley's hit reached #1 this date in 1958

Remembrance for Sigurd the Dragonslayer -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan (in some traditions called Siegfried)

Sjalvstyrelsedagen -- Aland Islands (Self-Governing Day)

St. Columbia of Iona's -- Celtic Christian, today is one of the luckiest days of the year to superstitious Highland Scots, especially propitious if it's a Thursday (Apostle to the Picts; Patron of bookbinders, poets; Ireland; Scotland; Pemboke, Ontario, Canada; against floods)

St. Ephraem's Day (creator of hymns; Patron of spiritual directors, spiritual leaders; Syria)

World APS Day -- spreading awareness of Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome 

World Pet Memorial Day -- some sites say this is always on June 10, others that it's always on the second Tuesday in June, but none can tell us where it came from or who started it that i can find


Anniversaries Today:

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito marries Masako Owada, 1993
Nero marries Claudia Octavia, 53

Birthdays Today:

Natalie Portman, 1981
Johnny Depp, 1963
Michael J. Fox, 1961
Dick Vitale, 1940
Jackie Mason, 1928
Les Paul, 1915
Robert Cummings, 1910
Cole Porter, 1891


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Congo(Film), 1995
What's Love Got To Do With It(Film), 1993
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier(Film), 1989


Today in History:

Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, 68
Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse, 721
Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the Saint Lawrence River, 1534
The Harvard Corporation is established as the first corporation in the Americas, 1650
James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia, 1732
The Congress of Vienna, forerunner of the League of Nations and the UN, ends with much of Europe's borders redrawn and settled, Switzerland's neutrality confirmed, and free navigation guaranteed on many rivers, 1815
Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa and head west for Salt Lake City carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts, 1856
Alexandra Palace in London burns down after being open for only 16 days, 1873
China agrees to lease Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years, 1898
Alice Huyler Ramsey, a 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack, New Jersey, becomes the first woman to drive across the United States, 1909
Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, 1958
Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria, 1967
Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, 1973
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) opens its priesthood to black males after 148 years, 1978
The British lease of Hong Kong expires, 1997
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace treaty, 1999
In Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, six women were arrested for practicing driving in an empty car lot; women are banned from driving on the road, 2011