Local News You Probably Can't Use (Random Tuesday)

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

Sweet Sue's baby shower was lovely and she received may nice gifts, including two baby bathtubs.  As is typical for me, i gave books.  After all, every child should be surrounded by as many books as possible from a young age, in my opinion.

Yes, i have more books set aside to give once the little guy arrives in November.

Yesterday i was white glove tested for the first time.  Ms. JAI, who at over 80 years of age still has the eyes of a hawk and notices every bit of dust, grabbed a white washcloth, wet it, and rubbed the floor with it after i was done mopping to see if there was any dirt remaining.  After inspecting the cloth, she said, "You passed the test!" and gave me a hug.  She is particular and a bit fussy and lovely and fun, we joke a lot and listen to Gregorian chant and old gospel hymns, and she gave me an extra head of romaine lettuce to bring home.

Bigger Girl has officially joined the roller derby and is "Fresh Meat," which is what they call those in training.  She was showing me her derby stance and a demonstrating a couple of the moves, then she said, "Mom, once I get good at this, my glutes are going to be so tight I will be able to snap pencils with them!"

Friend Chris is still working on Alston's car, and it is giving him fits.  The timing is off again, so he needs a spring for a tensioner (whatever that is).  We will all be so happy when the car is done and out from under the overhang in the back yard.

The foster kittens Dumpling and Comeaux are going to the shelter tomorrow for their first shots, deworming, and etc.  They are already on Albon for coccidia, but Dumpling isn't growing as fast as she should and i'm sure she needs deworming.

She is also very, very vocal in demanding food and eating more than you would think she could hold.

Both of them are now big enough that they are allowed out of the kitchen to run around during the day.  They make everything a toy and are entertaining Dansig, who loves it when we have kittens he can play with.

Granddog Buff got his first vet check last week, and is now on Trifexis to prevent worms, including heartworms.  He should start gaining weight soon, so #2 Son and DIL Becky are pleased.

#1 Son is going to be a groomsman at a wedding this weekend.  All the groomsmen are wearing black Converse sneakers, black slacks, white button down dress shirts, black suspenders and black bow ties.  The groom is providing the suspenders and bow ties, and he already had a white shirt, so we had to go get him the sneakers and slacks.

The groom had been after him for a while to do it, but there's nothing like waiting until the last minute, so we did it yesterday.  For the first time in months i actually went to the mall.  The sneakers were easy, it was the slacks that took a bit of looking around before finding a pair that wouldn't bust the budget.

Once he had the whole outfit, #1 Son texted a picture of each piece of the outfit to the groom, who said, Put it all on and then send a picture!

#1 Son obliged, putting on the outfit and texting another picture.  He passed muster, and can now stand down until the rehearsal. 

Sweetie is still doing work for The Big Boss.  This week it will be trimming hedges and getting books to the Friends of the Library for their annual book sale, and next week, going out to The Big Boss' land to get the deer stands ready for deer season.  It's not the work he's dreamed of doing all his life, but it pays and that's what counts.

Little Girl had drill this past weekend and came home with an awful cold.  Not only do i feel very badly for her, i hope i don't get it, i hate working when i'm sick.

That's probably more news than anyone can use, but there it is.

Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Chile

Bonn Phchum Ben -- Cambodia (Ancestors' Day; through the 21st)

Cosmetic Bridge Day -- seems internet generated, but i'm sure your dentist will approve

Day of the First Appearance of the Slovak National Council -- Slovakia

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 9, Freedom (sponsored by We, the World) 

Get Ready Day -- US (help your community, workplace, or school to get ready for disasters or emergencies) 

Independence Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis(1983)

International Talk Like a Pirate Day  

Jubilee of the Moth Moons -- Fairy Calendar

National Butterscotch Pudding Day

Opening of Parliament -- Netherlands (holiday in The Hague)related observance

    Prinsjesdag -- Netherlands  (technically translates "Prince's Day;" the day Parliament opens and the reigning sovereign, now King William-Alexander, gives the Speech from the Throne and the Minister of Finance proposes next year's budget)

St. Januarius of Naples' Day (a/k/a Gennaro of Naples; Patron of blood banks; Naples, Italy; against volcanic eruption) related observance

    Feast of San Gennaro -- NYC, NY, US (began on the 13th, continues to the 23rd; one of the highlights of the festival is this, the actual Saint's day)

Women's Suffrage Day -- New Zealand

Birthdays Today:

Alison Sweeney, 1976

Jimmy Fallon, 1974

Jim Abbot, 1967

Soledad 'Brien, 1966

Trisha Yearwood, 1964

Kevin Hooks, 1958

Joan Lunden, 1950

Leslie "Twiggy" Lawson, 1949

Jeremy Irons, 1948

Randolph Mantooth, 1945

Jooe Morgan, 1943

"Mama" Cass Elliot, 1941

Bill Medley, 1940

Paul Williams, 1940

David McCallum, 1933

Mike Royko, 1932

Adam West, 1928

Duke Snider, 1926

Sir William Glding, 1911

Lewis F. Powell, Jr., 1907

Joseph Pasternak, 1901

Henry Peter Brougham, 1778

Charles Carroll, 1737

Jan Luyts, 1655

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Skylight"(Play), 1996

"ER"(TV), 1994

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"(TV), 1970

Funny Girl(Film), 1968

"Flipper"(TV), 1964

"The Virginian"(TV), 1962

Today in History:

Edward, the Black Prince, commands the forces which defeat the French army and capture France's King John II, 1356

Giles Corey is pressed to death after refusing to plead in the Salem Witch Trials, 1692

The Continental Congress passes the first budget of the US, 1778

Ephraim Morris patents the railroad brake, 1838

Bond and Lassell discover Hyperion, moon of Saturn, 1848

New Zealand becomes the first country to grant all of its women the right to vote, 1893

Funeral of assassinated President William McKinley, 1901

Mickey Mouse makes his screen debut as Steamboat Willie, at the Colony Theater in NYC, 1928

The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich, 1946

Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland, 1959

Betty and Barney Hill claim that they saw a mysterious craft in the sky and that it tried to abduct them, 1961

The Solomon Islands join the United Nations, 1978

Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System, 1982

Ötzi the Iceman is discovered by German tourists, 1991

The BP oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was declared “effectively dead” by retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government’s point man on the blowout disaster, 2010

Cambodian police arrest three Thai men whom they accuse of carrying counterfeit US $100 bills with a face value of $7.16 million, the biggest-ever seizure of counterfeit money in Cambodia, 2014