Thankful, Boss Edition

Being "self employed" the way i am is a bit of an odd thing.  You might think that i'm the boss, since i'm responsible to get clients, serve their needs, keep up with income and outgo and taxes and supplies, but to me that just means i'm the worker.

In my opinion, the real bosses are the people who hire me.  What i tell them is, the right way to clean your home or office is the way you want it done, even if that's not how anyone else would do it.

This week, i am grateful for my bosses.

For Ms. S, who has areas of her home where i have to turn sideways and try to make a path, i am thankful she trusts me to come into her home and do whatever i can for her.  She doesn't trust most people, and won't let most people in.

For Ms. JAI, who is very, very specific on how she wants things dusted, i am thankful she tells me exactly what she wants so i can do it "right."  (Again, "right" is the way you want it done in your house.)

For Ms. C, who is laid back and easy and doesn't much care how it gets done, as long as it is done, i am thankful she shares the ups and downs of her health with me and considers me a friend.

For Ms. G, who wants the carpet vacuumed very, very slowly so all the dirt is pulled out and wants the floor mopped but not wet (very hard to achieve), i am thankful because she has taught me more about home maintenance from the point of view of a realtor than i ever could have thought possible.

For Ms. SE, who is very, very particular about her beds and changes those herself and lets me fold clothes instead, i am thankful she is one of the few who doesn't fuss at me for getting on ladders when i need to.  (Yes, i'm short, if you want the top of that mirror clean, i am going to have to climb!)

For Ms. V, who is endearingly untidy and whose apple (Carl, the mildly disabled young man i keep an eye on when Ms. V and her husband are out of town) didn't fall far from that tree, i am thankful she understands that it really does take 7-8 hours to undo two weeks worth of untidying, especially in the apple's part of the house.

For Ms. LAS, who is our financial advisor, i am thankful to her for trusting me to clean her office without snooping, and for having such a wonderful assistant who keeps me laughing the whole time i am there.

For Ms. J, who is one of the busiest people i have ever seen,  i am thankful to her for showing me how to get more done in a day. 

For Ms. GA, who is an entire cat rescue group by herself, i am thankful to her for very kindly pointing out the places in her house that i couldn't see needed attention because i wasn't tall enough to see them from the correct angle.  (She lets me climb, too.)

For Mr. B, who lets me work outdoors and in his shop, a nice change from housecleaning, i am thankful to him for expecting me to tote barges and lift bales (or at least move entire stacks of wood or heavy clay pots) and not thinking it's too hard for me to do because i'm not a guy.

That's ten, and i also clean at the cat shelter (work with the cats is volunteer work, they pay me a small amount to keep the "people areas" tidy) where they know i am a bit nuts but so are they because we are all cat people.  Then there's Ms. R who hires me to clean her rental houses and offices when they are between tenants.

Every client/boss is different, and i am very thankful for each one.

If you've got blessings in your life, count them up (it doesn't have to be ten, we aren't picky), list them, and link up with Ten Things of Thankful.

Today is:

Bannack Days-- Bannack, MT, US (through tomorrow; explore the territorial capital now turned ghost town and celebrate the pioneer spirit)

Be a Dork Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, which encourages you to wear goofy clothes and fall off a swingset today and be proud of Dorkiness

Canada's Parks Day -- Canada (showcasing Canada's beautiful parks and historic sites, it's worth traveling to a park near you!)

Celebration of the Horse -- Charlotte's Saddlery, Houston, TX, US (in honor of the human/equine bond; through tomorrow)

Cigarette Warning Day -- anniversary of the 1968 law passed in the US that requires health warnings on cigarette packaging

Circus City Festival -- Peru, IN, US (did you ever want to run off and join the circus?  This is the week kids age 7-21 get to do just that, so go watch and have fun with them!  through the 18th, when they have the big circus parade)

Concours D'elegance -- Forest Grove, OR, US (one of the premier vintage auto shows in the US; through tomorrow)

Feast of Rowana/Rauni -- Druid/Cornish/Flemish (rowan tree goddess; date approximate)

Festival of Castor and Pullox -- Ancient Roman Calendar every five years (celebrated with a cavalry and chariot procession)

Festival of Santa Rosalia -- Palermo; Sicily (remembrance of the Patron saint of the city on the date, in 1624, when she stopped the plague)

Gorestnici -- Bulgaria (fire festival of 3 days duration, honoring the ancient belief that these are the 3 hottest days of the year)

Gummi Worm Day

Hakata Gion Yamagasa -- Kushida Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan (festival of floats, dates back to the 13th century, includes dousing teams carrying one ton floats with water as they race!)

Hundadagar -- Icelandic tradition, the "dog days" of summer begin, through Aug. 23

Ides of July -- Ancient Roman Calendar

I Love Horses Day -- all over the web with no specific reason given, but do you need a reason to celebrate horses?

La Festa del Redentore / Feast of the Redeemer -- Venice, Italy (procession of gondolas and other craft to commemorate the end of the epidemic of 1575; through tomorrow)

National Tapioca Pudding Day

National Woodie Wagon Day -- paying homage today to this great American symbol of freedom and the casual lifestyle

No-Hitter Day -- George Bradley of the St. Louis Brown Stockings pitched the first officially recognized no-hitter in MLB against the Hartford Dark Blues on this date in 1876

Omaha Railroad Days -- Omaha, NE, US (sponsored by the Union Pacific Railroad and celebrating all things track and train, through tomorrow)

Petal-Hopping for Beginners Day -- Fairy Calendar

Pet Fire Safety Day -- make a plan to get yourself and your pets safely out of your home in case of a fire!

Prince Lot Hula Festival -- Moanalua Gardens, Hawai'i (through Monday)

Respect Canada Day -- because Canada deserves it!

St. Bonaventure's Day (Patron against intestinal problems; of Bagnoregio, Italy; Cochiti Indian Pueblo; St. Bonaventure University, New York)

St. Swithun's Day -- Saint Swithun's Society Annual Celebration in Toronto, ON, Canada; the weather prognostication associated with this saint says if it rains today, it will rain for the next 40 days (Patron against drought; of Stavenger, England; Winchester, England)

     St. Swithun's Festival -- St Swithun's Church, Church Street, Worcester, England (from today, which is St. Swithun's Day, through the 18th)

St. Vladimir of Kiev's Day (Patron of converts, parents of large families, reformed and penitant murderers; Russia; Ukranian Catholic Diocese of Stamford, Connecticut; Winnipeg, Manitoba)

Sultan's Birthday -- Brunei Darussalam

Toss Away the "Could Haves" and "Should Haves" Day -- write down all the "could have" and "should have" things in your life, then toss them in the trash! Resolve from this day to live in the present, not the past.

Wrong Days in Wright, Minnesota -- in honor of "Wrong Way" Corrigan (through tomorrow)

Birthdays Today

Tanner Maguire, 1998

Emily Roeske, 1991

Brian Austin Green, 1973

Beth Stern, 1972

Adam Savage, 1967

Irene Jacob, 1966

Forest Whitaker, 1961

Lolita Davidovich, 1961

Kim Alexis, 1960

William Aames, 1960

Terry O’Quinn, 1952

Jesse Ventura, 1951

Arianna Huffington, 1950

Richard Russo, 1949

Linda Ronstadt, 1946

Jan-Michael Vincent, 1944

Alex George Karras, 1935

Ken Kercheval, 1935

Julian Bream, 1933

Clive Cussler, 1931

Jacques Derrida, 1930

Mother Fraqnces Xavier Cabrini, 1850

Thomas Bulfinch, 1796

Clement Clarke Moore, 1779

Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1606

Debuting/Premiering Today:

MSNBC(Network), 1996

"One Life to Live"(TV), 1968

Today in History

Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege, 1099

John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, 1381

Alexei Chirikov sights land and sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska, 1741

The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, 1799

Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Belle Fountaine to explore the west, 1806

Napoléon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon, 1815

A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, 1823

Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union, 1870

The stratovolcano Mount Bandai, Japan, erupts killing approximately 500 people, 1888

In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing), 1916

Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others, 1955

AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation; the Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day, 2003

Entire villages are burned to the ground and 40,000 people flee their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2010