Trying Something New

For years i have posted one thing for which i am thankful daily on a gratitude list at a web forum.  For years, i have read the Ten Things of Thankful that many bloggers post.

My thought was always that i post a gratitude daily, why should i worry about posting ten at once?

The answer came to me -- to stretch me yet further, help me dig a bit deeper than the one gratitude i post each day.  It's easy to come up with one a day, seven a week.  To come up with ten will force me not to be superficial, which is so easy to do.

While i'm not so sure i will come up with ten, here is my attempt at a Ten Things of Thankful.

First, and i have to say it, i am thankful for Jesus my Savior.  If anyone wants to know the specifics about why, just ask.  (messymimi at live dot com)

Second, i am thankful for my Sweetie.  We have our moments (as do all marrieds), but the good outweighs everything.

Speaking of marrieds, i am thankful for #2 Son and Daughter-in-Law Becky.  They were having an argument the other day (yes, Sweetie and i kept our distance and said nothing), and even though they were not in agreement when it was time for him to go to work, they both said, "I love you!" before he left.  By the next day, they had come to an agreement, and it took him about 5 minutes to kiss her good-bye.  They've been married over a year, and so far, they are doing it right.

Red-headed Alec is helping me with some of my clients homes, and i am thankful for the help, and i know he is thankful for the money.  

There are two more possible clients in the works, one home, one office, and i'm thankful because that would put me at absolute capacity.

Bigger Girl, Little Girl, and #1 Son are all doing well, and i'm thankful for them.

Today i am going to see Grandma and Grandpa again, and i am thankful for them and for Humphrey the Honda to take me there and back.

Even though i generally use Humphrey to go on longer trips, i am thankful for The Jalopy getting me to work every day.

The cooler weather is back, and i'm very thankful for that.  It's way too early in the year to be thinking about using the A/C.

It may sound silly in this day and time, but i'm thankful for our newspaper.  Scanning the headlines (so i know which nut jobs are doing what crazy things), reading the local interest columns, and enjoying the funnies and the puzzles keeps me just informed enough not to be a hermit without overwhelming me and entertains me and exercises my brain at the same time.

There, that wasn't so hard to come up with ten, was it?




Today is:

Arizona Renaissance Festival -- Apache Junction, AZ, US (the official sister event to the Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest, England; Saturdays, Sundays, and President's Day through Apr. 2)

Armed Forces Day -- Liberia

Be Electrific Day -- Edison's birth anniversary

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day -- no history on the origin, but remember we all mess up once in a while, don't take small mess ups too seriously

Evelio Javier Memorial Day -- Panay Island, Philippines

Farm Toy Show and Auction -- Sauk Centre, MN, US (come watch the kids have fun with farm toys, and be one yourself again!)

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes/World Day of the Sick -- Roman Catholic Church (anniversary of the first appearance of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette)

Galesburg Historical Society Chocolate Festival -- Galesburg, IL, US (home made and commercially made chocolates, all you can eat for the price of the low admission fee; through tomorrow)

Grandmother Achievement Day -- internet generated; call your grandmother, or someone's grandmother you admire, and tell her what she is doing right

Independence Day -- Vatican City (Holy See) (a/k/a Lateranensi Pact Day, for the pact that established it as an independent state)

Kenkoku Kenen-no-hi -- Japan (also called National Foundation Day or Empire Day)

Lemon Festival -- Menton, French Riviera (through Mar. 1)

Meringue Memorial Day -- don't know who came up with it, but it's the day to see if you remember how to make meringue

Musikahan sa Tagum Festival -- Tagum City, Phillipines (the areas signature festival which celebrates the Filipino excellence in musical composition, performance, and production, and giving young people more opportunities to excel in learning the music industry and Filipino musical culture; through the 18th)

National Inventors' Day -- US (Edison's birth anniversary)

National Peppermint Patty Day

National Shut-In Visitation Day -- some sites have it here, some in October; either way, go visit someone who can't get out of the house today, or make plans to see them this weekend

Nelson Mandela Day -- South Africa (celebrates his release from prison)

Nice Carnival -- Nice, France (dating back to the 14th century, this celebration is one of France's best; through Feb. 25)

Pro Sports Wives Day -- the annual recognition of those who truly are sports widows, wives of professional athletes, coaches, and support personnel prosportswives.com

Royal Hobart Regatta -- Queens Domain Hobart and Derwent River, Tasmania, Australia (Australia's largest aquatic event, includes an Australian Wooden Boat Festival; through Monday)

Satisfied Staying Single Day -- for those who aren't desperate to have someone by the 14th; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Scout Sabbath -- BSA (Boy Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms to synagogue and represent scouting to their congregations)

St. Caedmon's Day (Oldest English poet known by name.)

Tu B'Shevat -- Judaism ("New Year of the Trees", began yesterday at sunset, through sunset today)

White Shirt Day -- a recognition of the dignity of the working class

Youth Day -- Cameroon


Anniversaries Today:

Napoleon weds Marie-Louise of Austria, 1810
The founding of London University, 1826


Birthdays Today:

Taylor Lautner, 1992
Natalie Dormer, 1982
Kelly Rowland, 1981
Matt Lawrence, 1980
Brandy, 1979
Mike Shinoda, 1977
Jennifer Aniston, 1969
Sarah Palin, 1964
Sheryl Crow, 1963
Carey Lowell, 1961
Sergio Mendes, 1941
Bobby "Boris" Pickett, 1938
Burt Reynolds, 1936
Tina Louise, 1934
Leslie Nielsen, 1926
Paul Bocuse, 1926
Eva Gabor, 1921
Sidney Sheldon, 1917
Max Baer, 1909
Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1909
Philip Dunne, 1908
Thomas Alva Edison, 1847
Lydia Marie Child, 1802


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The French Chef"(TV, with Julia Child), 1963
"Dynamo"(O'Neill play), 1929
"Salome"(Wilde Play), 1896
"La Fille du Regiment"(Donizetti Opera Comique), 1840


Today in History:

Traditional date for the founding of the Japanese empire under Emperor Jimmu, BC660
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Emperorship, dies under mysterious circumstances in Rome, which clears the way for Nero to become Emperor, 55
Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England, 1531
The Pennsylvania Hospital opens, the first in the US, 1752
Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, petitions U.S. Congress for abolition of slavery, 1790
Anthracite coal is burned experimentally as fuel for heating a home for the first time, by Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1808
Robert Fulton files a patent for improvements to steamboat navigation, 1809
Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signs a redistricting bill that leads to the first use of the term "gerrymander," 1812
The first public toilet facilities for women opens in London, on Bedford Street, 1852
The Meiji constitution of Japan is adopted, 1889
Emma Goldman is arrested for lecturing on birth control, 1916
BBC Television produces the world's first ever science fiction television program, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Capek play R.U.R., which coined the term "robot", 1938
Eighty-seven countries, including the US, UK, and USSR, sign the Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons in international waters, 1971
The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, Shakespeare and Dickens, 1978
Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa, 1990
The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, 2011