Hooray for Time Away (Ten Things of Thankful)

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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Ah, Saturday!  First day of vacation!  How am i thankful, and for what?  Let me list the ways.

We had a hugely busy two weeks behind us which included house-sitting, pet care, and anywhere from 8-12 hours of work most days, and i am thankful that this extra busy season is over for the moment.

Also, i am grateful i did not have but one small heart episode in all of it, and it ended very quickly.

Yesterday, i woke up with one of those sensitive-to-light-and-sound headaches, and i am thankful i was able to work anyway and now it is gone.

Having our seven cats plus a visiting dog, quail, two ducks, and four chickens was quite a handful.  As much as i enjoyed our guests, i am thankful they do not live here permanently.  (If i were retired it might be a different story.)

For Mr. Quail, i am very grateful to the helpful Petco person who showed me what kind of sand to get him for his dust baths.  It's calcium sand, very bright yellow.  Mr. Quail looks like a running neon sign now.

The chickens and ducks decided they love cut up grapes, and i am grateful i was able to give them a whole bunch that was about to go bad faster than i could eat it.

There's a beautiful rental car on this trip with us, and i am so thankful for that, as there is no way we can put our vehicles on the road for more than about an hour distance.

Little Girl has been left in charge of the homestead, and i am grateful she is able and willing (and responsible enough!) to make sure the cats get fed and the home fires, or should i say air conditioners, are tended.

Seven days of no one to take care of but us, not much on the agenda but what we want to do, oh, i am so thankful for that.

Best of all, i am thankful to Grandpa, who makes this opportunity available to us each year.  If it were not for his generosity, i would be at work today instead of on the road.

Counting your blessings is good for your health and well-being.  Why not join the lovely Josie Two Shoes, hostess of Ten Things of Thankful, with a list of your own.  It doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't even have to be ten.  Just share your thankfulness with us, and we will be thankful along with you.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

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Today is:

Accession Day -- Jordan (King Abdullah's accession to the throne in 1999)

Belmont Stakes -- Belmont, NY, US (150th Annual, the third jewel of the Triple Crown)

Betty Picnic -- the Betty Club, founded by Betty Wilder and Betty Patterson of Grant's Pass, Oregon; they began hosting a picnic for all with their name in 1987, and want Bettys all over the world to have a Betty Picnic on the second Saturday of June each year

Big Mac Shoreline Spring Scenic Bike Tour -- Mackinaw City, MI, US (weekend bike tours of varying lengths along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline, with a concluding ride over the Mighty Mackinac Bridge; through tomorrow)

Billy the Kid Tombstone Race -- Fort Sumner, New Mexico (racers carry an 80 pound tombstone through an obstacle course! a tribute to the number of times the tombstone has been stolen over the years; there is also a triathlon)

Community Day -- LO, MU, Spain

Donald Duck Day -- his screen debut was today in 1934

International Young Eagles Day -- Experimental Aircraft Association members and chapters focus on providing introductory flights to children 8-17   

La Rioja Day -- La Rioja, Spain

Murcia Day -- Murcia, Spain

National Heroes Day -- Uganda

National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

Profess Your Love Day -- promoted by ecard companies which think you need to say "I love you" more often

Purple People Eater Day -- Sheb Wooley's hit reached #1 this date in 1958

Remembrance for Sigurd the Dragonslayer -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan (in some traditions called Siegfried)

Sjalvstyrelsedagen -- Aland Islands (Self-Governing Day)

Sovereign's Day/Queen's Birthday -- British Virgin Islands; Pitcairn Island; Tuvalu

St. Columbia of Iona's -- Celtic Christian, today is one of the luckiest days of the year to superstitious Highland Scots, especially propitious if it's a Thursday (Apostle to the Picts; Patron of bookbinders, poets; Ireland; Scotland; Pemboke, Ontario, Canada; against floods)

St. Ephraem's Day (creator of hymns; Patron of spiritual directors, spiritual leaders; Syria)

Torigoe Matsuri -- Torigoe Jinja Shrine, Tokyo, Japan (festival and highlighting of Tokyo's largest Mikoshi[portable Shinto shrine]; through tomorrow)

Trooping the Colour -- UK (military celebration of the monarch's birthday, one of London's biggest and most colorful celebrations))

World APS Day -- spreading awareness of Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome   

World Wide Knit in Public Day -- better living through stitching together!    

Anniversaries Today:

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito marries Masako Owada, 1993

Nero marries Claudia Octavia, 53

Birthdays Today:

Natalie Portman, 1981

Johnny Depp, 1963

Michael J. Fox, 1961

Dick Vitale, 1940

Jackie Mason, 1928

Les Paul, 1915

Robert Cummings, 1910

Cole Porter, 1891

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Congo(Film), 1995

What's Love Got To Do With It(Film), 1993

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier(Film), 1989

Today in History:

Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, 68

Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse, 721

Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the Saint Lawrence River, 1534

The Harvard Corporation is established as the first corporation in the Americas, 1650

James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia, 1732

The Congress of Vienna, forerunner of the League of Nations and the UN, ends with much of Europe's borders redrawn and settled, Switzerland's neutrality confirmed, and free navigation guaranteed on many rivers, 1815

Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa and head west for Salt Lake City carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts, 1856

Alexandra Palace in London burns down after being open for only 16 days, 1873

China agrees to lease Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years, 1898

Alice Huyler Ramsey, a 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack, New Jersey, becomes the first woman to drive across the United States, 1909

Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, 1958

Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria, 1967

Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, 1973

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) opens its priesthood to black males after 148 years, 1978

The British lease of Hong Kong expires, 1997

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace treaty, 1999

In Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, six women were arrested for practicing driving in an empty car lot; women are banned from driving on the road, 2011