Tuesday Coffee Chat, Thanksgiving Edition

Rory Bore at Ink Interrupted hosts the Tuesday Coffee Chat, and this week the topic is:   Update your challenge.  Or in honour of American Thanksgiving, tell us what you're thankful for right now. 






As per my challenge, i have been completing a Spanish lesson every day.  There's really not much more to say about it than that, i will either be able to communicate somewhat in the language before i die, or not.  If i can't, it won't be for lack of trying.

On to Gratitude!

Yes, i'm thankful and grateful that i can study my lessons.

We are all thankful that Little Girl is back home, a certified army medic.  She was rather antsy the first days, since no one was regimenting her and she didn't have to wear her uniforms.  She wore them some of the time anyway and forced herself to keep to a schedule to try to adapt.  Monday morning she began yelling at Red-headed Alec, "Get up!  It's time for a run!  I told you we would work out together this morning, get your sorry self out of bed!"  He smiled and got up, and they ran.

Happy and thankful only begins to describe how we feel about the kittens, now at the shelter and up for adoption.  As of now, there's no news, but i will be working there tomorrow and can update on whether any have been adopted and gone home or pre-adopted and will be going home soon.  It's such a joy to be able to help animals this way.

This week is a very, very busy one and i am most thankful for the work.  Everyone wants their house cleaned just before the holiday, which keeps me jumping, and keeps me able to pay the bills!

Right now i am so thankful for my family.  Yes, i know they are mostly grown, i still love having the kids living here.  They and their attitudes and always wanting to talk about current events and happenings in their lives keeps me young.  Bigger Girl is tutoring a young lady in calculus, and the young lady in question is deathly allergic to cats, so Bigger Girl bought a hazmat suit to wear when with her.  That would only happen here, and i'm grateful because it makes me smile.

#1 Son is working two jobs right now, and i'm thankful he is showing such initiative to pay a few bills that will come due for him soon.  

#2 Son and Daughter-in-law Becky are still "So Happy Together" and i am very grateful for that.  They are young, and that works both for them and against them.  For now, one day at a time.

We get to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving and see everyone just like we always have, and that's a huge gratitude, that we are all still here and able to get together after another year.

Also, i'm thankful i started my Christmas cards early so as not to be rushed later.  It worked!


Today is:

Dispute-Settling Assizes -- Fairy Calendar (no, they won't tell us what kind of disputes)

Dita e Alfabetit -- Albania and Ethnic Albanians (Day of the Albanian Alphabet)

Go for a Ride Day -- internet generated; during the crazy holiday season, go out for a relaxing sleigh ride or something

Independence Day -- Lebanon(1943)

National Cashew Day -- some sites have this on the 23rd, i celebrate both as i love cashews

National Stop the Violence Day -- a call by US radio and TV stations for a cease fire on American streets, on the anniversary of John Kennedy's assassination; observed with white ribbons and driving with headlights on during the day

Phonograph Day -- Edison publicly  demonstrated his new music playing device on this day in 1877

Start Your Own Country Day -- begun at the 1939 World's Fair in New York

St. Cecilia's Day (Patron of composers, luthiers, martyrs, music, musicians, musical instrument makers, poets, singers; Academy of Music, Rome, Italy; Albi, France; Omaha, Nebraska; Valleyfield, Quebec)

Ydalir -- Ancient Norse Calendar (Celebration of the wintertime god of skiing and archery, Ullr; date approximate)


Anniversary Today:

The Humane Society of the United States is founded, 1954


Birthdays Today:

Scarlett Johansson, 1984
Scott Robinson, 1979
Boris Becker, 1967
Mariel Hemingway, 1961
Jamie Lee Curtis, 1958
Richard Kind, 1957
Billie Jean King, 1943
Guion S. Bluford, Jr., 1942
Harry Edwards, 1942
Tom Conti, 1941
Terry Gilliam, 1940
Robert Vaughn, 1932
Rodney Dangerfield, 1921
Benjamin Britten, 1913
Hoagie Carmichael, 1899
Wiley Post, 1898
Charles de Gaulle, 1890
John Nance Garner, 1868
George Eliot (Mary A. Evans), 1819
Abigail Adams, 1744


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Cathy"(Comic strip), 1976
"The Beatles/The White Album"(Beatles album release), 1968
"Man of La Mancha"(Musical), 1965
"The Grand Canyon Suite"(Grofe suite for orchestra), 1931
"Bolero"(Ravel orchestral piece), 1928
"La Forza del Destino/The Power of Fate"(Verdi opera), 1862
On the Origin of Species(Publication date), 1859


Today in History:

The first Duke of all Brittany, Nominoe defeats the Frankish king Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon near Redon, 845
Spain delegates "New Laws" against slavery in America, 1542
Dutch colonial forces on Taiwan launch a pacification campaign against native villages, resulting in Dutch control of the middle and south of the island, 1635
Off the coast of North Carolina, British pirate Edward Teach (best known as "Blackbeard") is killed in battle with a boarding party led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, 1718
Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore patents a steel pen, 1809
Canadian journalist and politician William Lyon Mackenzie called for a rebellion against Great Britain, 1837
In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched – one of the last clippers ever to be built, and the only one still surviving to this day, 1869
Victoria Street Cable Tram route begins in Melbourne, Australia, 1886
The Congress of Manastir establishes the Albanian alphabet, 1908
1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason of Sayner Wisconsin, 1927
The premier performance of Ravel's Boléro takes place in Paris, 1928
Gasoline pump patented that computes quantity & price delivered, 1932
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" first heard on Eddie Cantor's show, 1934
The Humane Society of the United States is founded, 1954
US President John F. Kennedy is killed and Texas Governor John B. Connally is seriously wounded by Lee Harvey Oswald, 1963
The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status, 1974
Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco, 1975
In Palmdale, California, the first prototype B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is revealed, 1988
Toy Story is released as the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery, 1995
Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany, 2005
Germany holds its first piracy trial in 400 years, placing 10 Somalis accused of piracy on trial for alleged attacks on a German ship, 2010
Scientists in New Britain, Papua New Guinea, discover the first orchid known to flower at night, 2011