Happy Random Independence Tuesday!

And now, random bits of news from around here, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.  

In case you are wondering Tuesday Coffee Chat is on summer break.

However, i am not.

It is Independence Day for us, and i am independently working.  Sometimes it's nice to be self employed.  Ms. C is a great person to work for on a holiday, she's not picky about when i come and when i finish, as long as the work is done.

Ms. S, my regular Monday client, had me doing some extra work yesterday.  Her son and granddaughter came over and cleared out some things from her house, about 15 large black trash bags worth.  That meant i was able to get into and behind some places in her house that haven't seen the light of day in a while and vacuum and mop them.

Mr. B took yesterday off from his regular job and i went and helped in his workshop, too.  Several of the piles of scrap wood (he's as much a hoarder as Ms. S, only of wood and nails and parts) are now in neater piles in places more protected from the elements.  He also built three trellises yesterday, and had me wash the front of the house and the porch.

These two kittens are making me crazy, although i say that with all the bottle babies.  These don't want the bottle, they want canned food.  They will be four weeks old tomorrow, i've never had kittens try to refuse the bottle at such a young age.  As long as they drink formula from a bowl and eat canned food, though, they should be fine.

This is one i'm not so sure i want to say out loud.  We haven't been having too much rain lately!  Having enough is a blessing, not having it all of the time is also a blessing.

#1 Son's workplace lost 3 employees in one day last week, and he's been mostly working double shifts to cover things as they try to train new people.  He's good with that, it means he gets overtime pay.

Bigger Girl had a very difficult weekend, there was a funeral for a friend that she went to right before she headed to NOLA for the wedding.  There were some tense moments, but she got through it all.

#2 Son and Daughter-in-Law Becky have been coming by more, i think to see the kittens.  Her mother won't let them have a cat at the house, so i think they come here to get their cat fix.

Little Girl has been by daily to see to the kittens as well.  She's trying to get a job as an ER tech at the hospital so she can quit food service.

That's really about all there is for news.

Happy Independence Day to those who celebrate it! 

Today is:

American Independence Day Celebration -- Rebild Park, Aalborg, Denmark (yes, really, every year except during the two World Wars, they have celebrated American Independence Day here; as a way of thanking the country that has accepted over 300,000 Danish immigrants, and to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the countries)

Baal Fire Day -- Whalton, Northumberland, UK (a bonfire, Anglo-Saxon "bael", with traditional morris dancing -- originally a Moorish dance)

Boom Box Parade --  Willimantic, CT, US (dating back to 1985, when no marching band could be found for the Memorial Day parade, five weeks later, the local radio station staged the first Boom Box Parade, in which they play the march music on their station, and marchers carry boom boxes tuned in on the station; it makes for one unique parade!)

Buffalo Bill Day -- he staged his first Wild West show on July 4, 1883

Bullion's Day -- Anglican tradition, the translation of the relics of St. Martin of Bullion; rain today means rain for the next 20 days, according to the legends

Calithumpian Parade -- Biwabik, MN, US (clowns, hilarity and patriotism reign together as the 1,000 citizens of Biwabik put on a show for more than 15,000 guests)

Day of Pax -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Filipino-American Friendship Day -- Philippines; U.S.

Garibaldi Day -- Italy

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show -- Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, England (the world's largest flower show; through Sunday)

Independence Day -- US and Territories(1776)

Independence from Meat Day -- don't be a slave to tradition! sponsored by Vegetarian Awareness Network

Jumping on the Mattress Night -- Fairy Calendar

King Tupou VI's Birthday -- Tonga

Liberation Day -- Rwanda

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod -- Eisteddfod Field, Llangollen, Benbigshire, North Wales, UK (Six days of the best music and folk dance, and all the world in one place; through Sunday)

National Barbecue Spareribs Day

National Country Music Day -- US

Old Midsummer Eve -- by the Julian Calendar

Sata-Hame Soi Accordion Festival -- Ikaalinen, Finland (one of the worlds biggest and best accordion festivals; through Sunday)

Sidewalk Egg Frying Day -- you can do this anywhere that it's hot enough, but for the real deal, plan to go to the Solar Egg Frying Contest, held annually on July 4 on old Route 66 in Oatman, Arizona, US, where the rule is you must use solar heat only

St. Elizabeth of Portugal's Day (Patron of brides, charitable societies, charity workers, charities, difficult marriages, falsely accused people, peace, queens, tertiaries, victims of adultery, victims of jealousy, victims of unfaithfulness, widows; invoked in time of war; Coimbra, Portugal)

St. Ulrich's Day (Patron of peaceful deaths, pregnant women, weavers; Augsburg, Germany; Creazzo, Italy; against birth complications, dizziness, faintness, fever, frenzy, mice, moles, vertigo)

Stone Skipping Tournament -- Windermere Pointe Beach, Mackinac Island, Michigan, US (open to all, come skip some stones and have a blast!)

Unity Day -- Zambia

World's Greatest Lizard Races -- Chaparral Park, Lovington, NM, US (cheer the lizards and iguanas as they race down a 16 foot ramp, and yes, trophies will be awarded!)

Anniversaries Today

Tuskegee Institute opens, 1881

Birthdays Today

Becky Newton, 1978

Koko, 1971 (gorilla who speaks sign language, and has now taught it to her offspring)

Pamela Howard "Pam" Shriver, 1962

Signy Coleman, 1960

Geraldo Rivera, 1943

George Steinbrenner, 1930

Al Davis, 1929

Gina Lollobrigida, 1927

Neil Simon, 1927

Eva Marie Saint, 1924

Ann Landers, 1918

Abigail Van Buren, 1918

Mitch Miller, 1911

Gloria Stuart, 1910

George Murphy, 1902

Rube Goldberg, 1883

Louis B. Mayer, 1882

George M. Cohan, 1878

Calvin Coolidge, 1872

Stephen Foster, 1826

Hiram Walker, 1816

Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1804

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"American Top 40"(Radio), 1970

"Honky Tonk Women"(Single release), 1969

"America the Beautiful"(Publication date), 1895

Today in History

A supernova is observed by the Chinese, the Arabs and possibly Amerindians near the star Tauri; for several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day, and its remnants form the Crab Nebula, 1054

Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye, 1534

The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (Quebec, Canada), 1634

City of Providence, Rhode Island forms, 1636

The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress, 1776

The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, opens, 1802

The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American public, 1803

Construction of the Erie Canal begins in Rome, New York, 1817

The world's first long-distance railway, the Grand Junction Railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool, 1837

The Cunard Line's 700 ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic crossing with a scheduled end, 1840

Henry David Thoreau embarks on a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts, 1845

The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, titled Leaves of Grass, is published, 1855

Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell and her sisters a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, 1862*

The Anglo-Zulu war ends, 1879

The people of France offer the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States, 1886

The first scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia, 1886

Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year there were 367 days in this country, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4, 1892

The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole, 1894

Dorothy Levitt was reported as the first woman in the world to compete in a 'motor race', 1903

African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States, 1910

First flight of the Lockheed Vega, 1927

Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, tells a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth" as he announces his retirement from major league baseball, 1939

After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States, 1946

The first broadcast by Radio Free Europe, 1950

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law, 1966

NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars, 1997

The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1, 2005

The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after 8 years, due to security reasons following the World Trade Center attacks, 2009

Discovery of a picture of the Biblical Samson and a Hebrew inscription in an ancient synagogue in the Galilee region of northern Israel is announced, 2012