They say to always start with the bad news, right?
One negative thing about the forthcoming year would be our upcoming tax bill. Our property tax went up, and now that we only have Little Girl as a tax deduction (and this is the last year for that, too), our income taxes have gone up, too. No, we aren't making any more money, we still have the kids at home, but we can't deduct them because they aren't full time students.
Never did i believe Sweetie would reach retirement age and i would be working harder than ever for less money and paying more in taxes.
Okay, now that's out of my system, it's time for the positives. There's no way to stick to just one positive.
This year, i'm looking forward to seeing my children continue to grow and develop, spreading their wings. All of them have big plans. They all want 2017 to be the year they move up in work, or move out of this house, or start college, or do something special. Watching them is a joy, and when they do all end up moving out, it's going to be a sadder and lonelier house, at least to me.
We just had a meeting of our Civic Association, and i'm looking forward to a good year in our neighborhood. The sewer project will be finished soon, so no more trucks rattling through the neighborhood all day. The streets they tore up will be repaired, too.
There are two, but possibly three, trips planned this year that have me excited. There will be one in just over a month, and then the family vacation in June. Maybe even the regular gathering in the fall, not so sure about that one yet.
Life will never be perfect. There will always be something that could be better. From where i'm looking right now, though, things are very good indeed, and i have a lot to look forward to, and i'm grateful.
Today is:
Apple Wassailing Day -- Carhampton, England (ancient tradition to bless the trees, waking the tree spirits and scaring away bad spirits)
Blessing of the Animals -- Hispanic Christian (in association with St. Anthony's Day)
Ditch Your New Years Resolutions Day -- no info on origin, but probably someone who gave up; will you?
Felicitas -- Ancient Roman Calendar (honoring the goddess of good luck)
Festival of Janus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (main festival for the god of beginnings, endings, and doorways)
Hot Heads Chili Day -- no clue what this one means, but i guess we can have chili for dinner
Kid Inventors' Day -- celebrating how inventive kids are; on the birth anniversary of Ben Franklin, who invented swim fins at age 12
Liberation Day -- Poland (liberation from the Nazis in 1945)
Make Your All-Time Top Ten Favorite TV Characters List -- because nothing says you can't make your own top ten lists
National Hot Buttered Rum Day
Patras Carnival -- Patras, Greece (the town crier announces the opening ceremony, with festivities through Clean Monday)
Patrice Lumumba -- Democratic Republic of the Congo (Heroes' Day)
Popeye Day -- The Sailor Man debut in the comics this date in 1929
Professional Boxer's Day -- Ali's birth anniversary
Rid The World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day -- US; always the Tuesday of Healthy Weight Week and includes the announcement of the Slim Chance Awards, highlighting the worst fad diets of the prior year
St. Anthony the Great's Day (a/k/a Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Patriarch of the Abbots; Patron of amputees, animals/domestic animals, basket weavers, brush makers, butchers, cemetary workers/grave diggers, epileptics, hermits, monks, relief from pestilence, swine/hogs, swineherds; Hospitaliers; Burgio, Sicily, Italy; Canas, Brazil; Castrofilippo, Agrigento, Italy; Fivizzano, Italy; Fontainemore, Italy; Mook, Netherlands; Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Italy; against eczema, epilepsy, ergotism, erysipelas, pestilence, Saint Anthony's Fire, skin diseases and rashes) related observance
Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral -- Church of San Antonio, Mexico City, Mexico (where this saint is San Antonio Abad)
Zirgu Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (Day of the Horses)
Anniversaries Today:
George Burns marries Gracie Allen, 1926
Octavian marries Livia Drusilla, BC38
Birthdays Today:
Kid Rock, 1971
Naveen Andrews, 1969
Michelle Obama, 1964
Jim Carrey, 1962
Susanna Hoffs, 1959
Anthony Glise, 1956
Andy Kaufman, 1949
Muhammad Ali, 1942
Maury Povich, 1939
Shari Lewis, 1934
James Earl Jones, 1931
Don Zimmer, 1931
Vidal Sassoon, 1928
Eartha Kitt, 1927
Betty White, 1922
Al Capone, 1899
Nevil Shute, 1899
Robert Maynard Hutchins, 1899
Mack Sennett, 1884
David Lloyd George, 1863
Anton Chekhov, 1860
Anne Bronte, 1820
Benjamin Franklin, 1706
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Frontline"(TV), 1983
"The Goldbergs"(TV), 1949
"Popeye the Sailor Man"(Comic character created by Elzie Segar, in the Thimble Theatre comic strip), 1929
"The Cherry Orchard"(Chekhov Play), 1904
"The Rivals"(Sheridan Play), 1775
Today in History:
Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon, 1377
Cesare Borgia returns in triumph to Rome from Romagna, 1501
Giovanni da Verrazzano begins his voyage to find a passage to China, 1524
The Edict of St Germain recognizes Huguenots in France, 1562
England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War, 1648
An avalanche destroys every building in Leukerbad, Switzerland, kills 53, 1718
Capt James Cook becomes the first to cross Antarctic Circle (66° 33' S), 1773
The first cable car patented, by Andrew S Hallidie (begins service in 1873), 1871
Queen Liliuokalani is deposed, the Kingdom of Hawaii becomes a republic, 1893
Sir Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen, 1912
The first fully automatic photographic film developing machine patented, 1928
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazis, is arrested by secret police in Hungary, 1945
The United Nations Security Council holds its first meeting, 1946
The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs, 1949
The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car Company's offices in Boston, Massachusetts, 1950
The world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus, makes its maiden voyage, 1955
A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea in the Palomares incident, 1966
Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V, 1991
The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union, 1996
Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people, 2002
Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, which resulting in at least 200 deaths, 2010
It's an interesting feeling to be the sole income provider of the household for a change, right? Since I moved in with my now husband I have been working, too (no kids :( ), but he has always been the one making way more money than I did. Now he is taking a break from the rat race. But it is so good to see him really smile again. Makes my heart sing.
ReplyDeleteI love all your bits and pieces of today in history. I am sharing my birthday with quite a few good people. Nice (coffee) chatting with you!
I am sure with you about taxes...I dread quarter of the year. I can't believe how much we pay.
ReplyDeleteKatieBankerchick
Taxes, taxes, taxes. It's amazing how they all go up and yet it seems that we get nothing for the increase. Thank goodness I receive a pension from teaching. If not we would not be so happy. Here in Ontario Canada we have a Premier who stuck it to us for high costs of gas and hydro and she has given the hydro people high money to build things to increase the hydro yet our prices go sky high. Our Canadian looney ( good name for it ) is still going down compared of your American dollar, almost $.30 down for my looney.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day Mimi. See ya.
Cruisin Paul
2017 should be an exciting year for your family, and I look forward to reading about all the excitement.
ReplyDeleteTaxes...ouch!!
ReplyDeleteYou've such a delightful family. I so enjoy your conversations with each other. Such love and it shows.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
Sorry about the taxes :( Our downtown area just got named a slum yet our taxes increased. Very confusing.I am glad your children have all set goals, you have clearly raised them well.
ReplyDeleteTaxes worry us this year too, along with ever increasing (to the point of impossible) health insurance costs. I agree, the older we get the harder it seems to be, none of us expected that.
ReplyDeleteYou have some wonderfully good things to look forward to in the "moving up/ahead" of your children! Nothing warms a mother's heart like seeing her children doing well and eager to improve their lives. I suspect it won't be too quiet at your house, there will be frequent visitors, and there will always be the furkids! :-)
I, too, look forward to the pleasure of watching your family grow and spread their wings. I will be watching my grandchildren do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteHow good it is to find so many more positives than negatives. We love keeping up-to-date with your family.
ReplyDeleteLove how you ended on a note of gratitude! Our lives are not really that hard (stupid taxes aside!!) in comparison to a lot of people around the world. It's good that we make not and have dialogue about the things that require change, but always remember to look for the good too. Sounds like you will get some travel time this year --- that would be so lovely.
ReplyDeleteI understand. Bill is working harder for less money than ever in his life. He had to reinvent himself because the economy fell in 2009. But, it is what is is. I am happy for your good things, though! HUGS!
ReplyDelete