Grease

Dansig is slowly recovering.  He will be in the vet hospital for a few more days while we see if he needs surgery.  He will be on an expensive diet for the rest of his life, and someone donated a bag of that kind of food to the shelter, and they don't use it, so they gave it to us.  It's enough for us to start with when he gets home.

The sump pump is probably down for the count, and we're not sure what we are going to do there.  Even if i go buy another, i'm not sure how to hook it up to the hose it needs to drain through.  The person who installed it could be called, but we will have to wait until we have the money to do that.

As for the A/C, i called the warranty company, and they passed our name on to a local contractor.  That contractor called me while i was at work Friday for a new client, Ms. R.  They said the soonest they could come was Monday.

Folks, we are facing 100+ degree F days here.  We've lived in this house during the summer without A/C before, it's an oven, and it's not easy or pleasant.  Heat illness happens.  The refrigerators can overheat in such temps.  We've survived a couple of summers with limited or no A/C and my heart and lungs cannot take that again.

When i asked if there was any way to get in an appointment Friday, i offered to pay a bit above what the warranty company has us put up as a co-pay.  (The warranty company has us pay a co-pay on the spot, but that's all we pay, they cover the rest, and at a reduced rate they've contracted with the service company.  The companies always put warranty work last, unless you sweeten the deal a bit, grease a palm or two.  It's still cheaper if you have to have major work done as the warranty company covers the largest portion of the charges.)

Bingo.  For $100 extra, they could come that same afternoon.  It would cost us more than that if we had to put everyone in a hotel for a weekend, which we probably would have to do if we had to go without A/C that long.

The nice lady assured me they would come by between 2-6pm.  That was fine, i said, because i figured i'd be home by then.

She called back at 11:20am, saying the techs were going past our area and this was the only time they'd have to stop.

A panic call to Bigger Girl, and she got her prepared to let them in, show them the thermostat, indoor, and outdoor units, and she even found the checkbook so she could pre-write the check.

Another panic call to Sweetie and he rushed home right after work to sign said check before running his errands.

By the time i got home at almost 3pm, the deed was done and the house was cooling off, which was a huge relief.  (The diagnosis was that it got stopped up again, and in trying to keep working anyway, had burned out two wires.)  That gave me just enough time to empty the dishwasher, feed KidaMosquito, and cram in a quick meal, before Little Girl and i headed out to the shelter for our Friday night cleaning/feeding/medicating of cats.

And they wonder why i spend most Saturdays trying to rest!

Today is

Anti-Bigot Day -- doesn't seem to be sponsored by any particular group, which is good on a day to practice tolerance of all

Bannack Days-- Bannack, MT, US (through tomorrow; explore the territorial capital now turned ghost town and celebrate the pioneer spirit)

Canada's Parks Day -- Canada (showcasing Canada's beautiful parks and historic sites, it's worth traveling to a park near you!)

Celebration of the Horse -- Charlotte's Saddlery, Houston, TX, US (in honor of the human/equine bond; through tomorrow)

Concours D'elegance -- Forest Grove, OR, US (one of the premier vintage auto shows in the US; through tomorrow)

Constitution Day -- Uruguay

Eid al Fitr -- Islam (celebration of the end of Ramadan; began sundown yesterday, runs through sundown on the 11th, although local dating and official government observances may vary)

La Festa del Redentore / Feast of the Redeemer -- Venice, Italy (procession of gondolas and other craft to commemorate the end of the epidemic of 1575; through tomorrow)

Lunch of the Forward Goblins -- Fairy Calendar (not surprisingly, attended by Fairies only)

Mandela Day -- UN

National Caviar Day -- no one knows how it started, but even The Russian Tea Room in New York has celebrated it for years and caviar importers know all about it; pair it with ice cold vodka or a Burgundian pinot or unoaked chardonnay, but never with champagne!

National Woodie Wagon Day -- paying homage today to this great American symbol of freedom and the casual lifestyle

Prince Lot Hula Festival -- Moanalua Gardens, Hawai'i

Rath Yatra & Bahuda Jatra-- Puri, India (the first is the Chariot Festival, pilgrims pull huge chariots across the city, and the second is 8 days later, the Return Festival; one of the most awaited Hindu festivals in the state and country)

Route 66 Summerfest -- Albuquerque, NM, US (a free celebration)

St. Theneva's Day (Patron of Glasgow, Scotland)

Toss Away the "Could Haves" and "Should Haves" Day -- write down all the "could have" and "should have" things in your life, then toss them in the trash! Resolve from this day to live in the present, not the past.

Vitulatio -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Vitula, goddess of exultation, joy, and life, is given the first fruits of the earth)

Wienermobile Day -- celebrating the creation, in 1936, of the now iconic vehicle by Oscar Mayer's nephew Carl

World Listening Day -- here for information http://www.worldlisteningproject.org/

Wrong Days in Wright, Minnesota -- in honor of "Wrong Way" Corrigan (through tomorrow)


Anniversary Today:

Timothy Verner Taylor marries The Lady Helen Windsor, 1992
Bobby Brown marries Whitney Houston, 1992


Birthdays Today

Chace Crawford, 1985
Priyanka Chopra, 1982
Kristin Bell, 1980
Vin Diesel, 1967
Elizabeth McGovern, 1961
Ricky Skaggs, 1954
Richard Branson, 1950
Steve Forbes, 1947
James Brolin, 1941
Martha Reeves, 1941
Joe Torre, 1940
Dion DiMucci, 1939
Paul Verhoeven, 1938
Hunter S. Thompson, 1937
Yevgeny Yevtushenko, 1932
Dick Button, 1929
Screamin' Jay Hawkins, 1929
John Glenn, 1921
Nelson Mandela, 1918
Harriet Nelson, 1914
Richard "Red" Skelton, 1913
Hume Cronyn, 1911
Clifford Odets, 1906
Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa, 1906
George "Machine Gun" Kelly, 1895
Charles E. "Chick" Evans, Jr., 1890
Vidkun Quisling, 1887
Margaret "Unsinkable Molly" Brown, 1867
William Makepeace Thackeray, 1811
Gilbert White, 1720
Robert Hooke, 1635


Today in History

A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome, BC390
The Great Fire of Rome begins in the merchant area of the city, 64
King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B'Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities, 1290
Matthew Flinders leaves England to circumnavigate and map Australia; it was he who gave the continent its name, 1801
The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility, 1870
Britain introduced voting by secret ballot, 1872
Marie and Pierre Curie announce the discovery of a new element and propose to call it polonium, 1898
Adoph Hitler publishes Mein Kampf, 1925
The Intel Corporation is founded in Santa Clara, California, 1968
Nadia Comaneci became the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics  at the 1976 Summer Olympics, 1976
Beverly Lynn Burns becomes first female Boeing 747 airline captain, 1984
On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufriere Hills volcano erupts; over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital and forcing most of the population to flee, 1995
Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec's costliest natural disasters ever, 1996
Phoenix, AZ, US, is hit by a dust storm of the kind known as a "haboob", 2011
King Jong-un, son of King Jong-il, is announced the official Supreme Leader of North Korea, 2012
The 'immediate and severe' fiscal emergency declared by the U.S. city San Bernardino, California, allows it to declare bankruptcy without negotiating with creditors, 2012
Investigators on the case of the October 2012 Kunsthal gallery theft of paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Monet, discover paint, canvas and nails in the oven of a woman whose son has been charged with the crime, 2013
Detroit, Michigan files the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, 2013