Of a Tuesday

The helicopters are still flying overhead with disturbing regularity, in part disturbing because even i almost don't notice them any more.  They are surveying where the water is rising and falling, i think.

This morning i will not be going to my usual Tuesday client.  Ms. A and her daughter are in NOLA with her brother.  They watched the car float away and had to be rescued by boat, and spent two days in a shelter until her brother could make it up here to get them.  They are worried about the cats, as they had to leave all 7 of them on the second floor of the house and hope for the best.  As soon as the water recedes enough for me to get to their house, i will "break" in (with their permission) and try to see to the cats.

Speaking of cats, there is one very fat, sassy, and happy cat because of all of this, and that is the bakery owner's cat, EmmyLou.

The bakery owner and her husband are out of town, and i was caring for EmmyLou and cleaning the house while they are gone.  The house is clean, well, except that EmmyLou sheds so much i need to sweep again, but Ms. E got concerned that i wouldn't be able to check up on EmmyLou each day because of the water and weather and asked her neighbor to come in also.

The neighbor came in, and i came in, and we've both been feeding EmmyLou, and i think we've both been giving her the spoonful of tuna she is supposed to get only once a day, and i think she's now trained to believe that she should get tuna every time someone opens the door!  Sweet, spoiled cat.

Ms. V lives in the neighborhood just around the corner from Ms. E (and we all go to church together, so everybody knows everybody!), and her house did not get water, but all the houses across the street did.  Because she and her husband are also out of town, they are letting some of the flooded out neighbors stay in the house.   It will get a good cleaning this coming Saturday by me and Sweetie, right before they get back.

One of Ms. V's neighbors who is staying there is such a sweet lady, and i felt so awful for her when i went to check on the house.  She was so wanting a hot shower, and when we reminded her that even with the electricity out because the area was flooded, the gas lines work and the gas hot water heater would supply just what she needed, she was so speechlessly happy.  The fact that i had done laundry when i cleaned last week and there were fresh, clean towels available was the icing on the cake.

When you are standing in your neighbor's yard, looking across the street at your house with 3 feet of water in it, every little thing can be a big thing.


Today is:

American Quilter's Society Quilt Exposition -- Grand Rapids, MI, US (their largest show; through Saturday)

Baba Au Rhum Day -- of course, on rum day, bake some cake with the stuff!

Bratwurst Day

Children's Day -- Paraguay

Daimonji Bonfire -- Mt. Nyoigadake, Kyoto, Japan (spectacular bonfires in the shapes of word pictures on the mountains surrounding the city)

Elvis Presley Day -- can you believe he's been gone 39 years?

Festival of the Minstrels -- Tutbury Castle, UK (middle ages; celebrated with great pomp, as the Duke of Lancaster had decreed that they each year elect a new king of the minstrels)

Fete de l'Independance -- Gabon (National Day)

Harmonic Convergence Day -- modern followers of Maya and Aztec calendars

Joe Miller's Joke Day -- anniversary of the death of English comic actor Joseph Miller in 1738

Madonna del Voto Day -- Siena, Italy (a/k/a Palio dell'Assunta, 2nd of the traditional yearly horse races)

National Airborne Day -- US (honors all Airborne Military)

National Tell a Joke Day -- seems internet generated, but probably related to Joe Miller Joke Day

National Rum Day

Remember What Your Spouse Wore the First Time You Met Day -- internet generated and dangerous!

Restoration of the Republic -- Dominican Republic

Roller Coaster Day -- the first one was patented this day in 1898

St. Roch's Day (Patron of bachelors, dogs, falsely accused people, invalids, surgeons, tile makers; of over 20 cities in Italy as well as Istanbul, Turkey; for relief from pestilence; against cholera, diseased cattle, epidemics, knee problems, plague [Black Death], skin diseases and rashes) 

St. Stephen of Hungary's Day (Patron of bricklayers, kings, masons, stonecutters; Hungary; against the death of children)

Xicolatada -- Palau-de-Cerdagne, France (hot chocolate festival)*


Anniversary Today:

Sean Penn marries Madonna, 1985
Paul Simon marries Carrie Fisher, 1983
Gioachino Antonio Rossini marries Olympe Pélissier, 1846


Birthdays Today:

Seth Peterson, 1970
Steve Carell, 1963
Laura Innes, 1960
Timothy Hutton, 1960
Angela Bassett, 1958
Madonna, 1958
Jeff Perry, 1955
James Cameron, 1954
Kathie Lee Gifford, 1953
Reginald VelJohnson, 1952
Leslie Ann Warren, 1946
Julie Newmar, 1935
Eydie Gorme, 1932
Frank Gifford, 1930
Ann Blyth, 1928
Fess Parker, 1925
Menachem Begin, 1913
George Meany, 1894
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia), 1888
Bernarr Macfadden, 1868
Amos Alonzo Stagg, 1862
Hongxi Emperor of China, 1378


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Siegfried"(Opera, WWV 86C), 1876


Today in History:

Henry VIII defeats the French at the Battle of Guinegate/Battle of the Spurs, forcing the French to retreat, 1513
Jack Broughton formulates the earliest code of rules for boxing, 1743
Chang and Eng Bunker, the original "Siamese" twins, arrive in Boston to be exhibited, 1829
U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, 1858
Arica, Peru (now Chile) is devastated by a tsunami which followed a magnitude 8.5 earthquake, 1868
Gold is discovered in the Klondike, at Bonanza Creek, 1896
Edwin Prescott patents the roller coaster, 1898
In Valparaiso, Chile, an 8.6 earthquake followed by fire destroys the city and kills 20,000, 1906
The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks, 1930
Democrats nominate Adlai E. Stevenson as presidential candidate, 1956
Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that still stand today: High-altitude jump, free-fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft, 1960
A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market, 1989
For only 2nd time Stanley Cup leaves North America (heads to Russia), 1997
In England, two men who created a Facebook site to incite violence during the riots are sentenced to four years imprisonment, 2011


*Yes, they celebrate a hot chocolate festival in the summer.  It all started when the 15th of August was a feast day on which the locals always drank a bit much, and the chocolatier of the town claimed his brew was a good remedy the day after.  The original festival on the 15th has ceased, but the hot chocolate is brewed to this day, served at 11am promptly.