A Lovely Day (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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It was one of those occurrences that you don't know for sure is going to happen until it does.  Yes, i'm talking about my day off this past week.

When you clean homes and offices, and people expect you there every week or every other week, a day off can be as rare as a hen's tooth.

My thankful list this week has everything to do with that lovely day. 

Ms. V is every other Thursday, and she and the family are out of town.  Thus i am thankful i got to go over to her house on Monday afternoon (when Ms. JAI cancelled) and on Wednesday after the cat shelter (when Ms. G cancelled), and had the whole place done and over by Wednesday afternoon at 2pm.  (Why am i doing their house when they are gone?  Because they leave the place looking like a bomb went off, and want to come home to some semblance of tidy.  It took me and Sweetie twelve hours of combined work to give it to them.  Yes, they pay by the hour.)

Thanks to Sweetie, who gave up some of his own free time to help me, i didn't have to work until late Wednesday evening.

Since i'd saved a bit of money for the possibility that it would work out, i went to the store and i am thankful i treated myself to some vegan ice cream and a couple of other items.

On Thursday morning, i am thankful i didn't have to listen to the alarm and i got up a bit after 7am.  (That may not sound much like sleeping in to some, but there are days when i'm at work at 5am.)

When i did get up, i am thankful i was able to simply meander downstairs and have a leisurely breakfast.

Then i am thankful for my morning nap.

The granddogs were here, so i am thankful i had plenty of time to play with them.

Also i am thankful for my afternoon nap.

Instead of being on a schedule and having to cram in meals on the go, or wait until i got home to eat, i am thankful i got to snack and graze and enjoy eating my treats all through the day.

There was a small project i wanted to do in the house, and i got to do it when i was ready and at my own pace.

Reading and relaxing were the order of the day, and it was so good.

When i decided i was good and ready to go lie down Thursday evening, i did so, and had no trouble falling asleep.

As planned, i traveled no further than my own mailbox the whole day, which is very restful when most days require at least an hour of travel to get to all of the places you need to go.

Altogether it was a fabulous day, and i am so very thankful i got the break, it really refreshed me a lot.

Counting up blessings and listing things for which you are thankful is a fabulous exercise.  It always reminds me of just how blessed i really am.

Please join us and our gracious and wonderful hostess Kristi from ThankfulMe, write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful.    

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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Today is: 

Bartletide -- West Witton, Yorkshire Dales, UK (a/k/a Burning Bartle, a ceremony in which a straw effigy of Owd Bartle, a sheep thief of yore, is paraded, then burned after sunset, as a warning to the light fingered; always on the Saturday nearest St. Bartholemew's Day, which is August 24)

Be Kind to Humankind Week: Speak Kind Words Saturday   

Birthday of Horus -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Chung Yuan (Zhongyuan) Festival -- China (Festival of Hungry Ghosts; according to legend, during this 7th lunar month the souls of the dead are released from Purgatory to wander the Earth, and so today is the day to appease those spirits with joss stick burning, prayers and food, "ghost money", and other offerings; dates of this vary in other countries)

Corvette Crossroads Auto Show -- Mackinaw City, MI, US (show that includes a Corvette parade across the Mackinaw Bridge; through tomorrow)

Country Fair and Auction -- McHenry, MD, US (sponsored by the local Mennonite churches, a good old-fashioned time of family fun)

Day of Songun -- North Korea

De Ducasse -- Ath, Belgium (Giants of Ath Festival or Wedding of the Giants, a celebration since medieval times in which "Goliath" marries, then goes to do battle with David; through tomorrow)

Discovery of the Runes/Odin's Ordeal ends -- Ancient Norse Calendar (date approximate)

Ferret Buckeye Bash -- Colombus, OH, US (ferret show)

Independence Day -- Uruguay(1825)

International Bat Night -- through tomorrow, go enjoy these wonderful creatures; www.eurobats.org or www.batcon.org

Kiss and Make Up Day -- a day begun by Jacqueline V. Milgate to encourage people to make amends and repair relationships if they need to

Koenji Awa Odori Festival -- Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan (thousands dance in the streets, through tomorrow)

National Banana Split Day -- some sites have it as Aug. 10

National Park Service Day -- US (legislation creating the National Park Service was signed this day in 1916 by President Wilson)

National Second-Hand Wardrobe Day -- pull out the hand-me-downs or thrift store purchases and wear them with pride!

Opiconsivia -- Ancient Roman Calendar, Vestal Virgin Festival in honor of Ops

Rumpleskunkskin's Bride Escapes to Heewigoland Anniversary -- Fairy Calendar (Fairy celebration, Goblins get grumpy)

Saddleworth Rushcart -- Saddleworth, West Yorkshire, England (similar to rushbearing, a cart goes through the area with Morris men, the bounds of the area are checked for enemy breaches, rushes are gathered to line the church floor, and there is celebrating, gurning, wrestling, singing, and a final procession tomorrow to St. Chad's Church at Uppermill for the 11am service)

Schemitzun(Green Corn Pow Wow) -- Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (through tomorrow, Pow Wow and presentations of Native heritage to all)

Sheep Market Fair -- Ho, Denmark (annual sheep market and family fair; through tomorrow)

Soldier's Day -- Brazil

St. Genesius of Arles' Day (Patron of notaries, secretaries; against chilblains, scurf)

St. Genesius of Rome's Day (Patron of actors, attorneys, barristers, clowns, comedians, comediennes, comics, converts, dancers, epileptics, lawyers, musicians, printers, stenographers and torture victims)

St. Louis, King of France's Day (King Louis IX; Patron of barbers, bridegrooms, builders, button makers, construction workers, Crusaders, difficult marriages, distillers, embroiderers, French monarchs, grooms, haberdashers, hairdressers, hair stylists, kings, masons, needle workers, parenthood, parents of large families, passementiers, prisoners, sculptors, sick people, soldiers, stone masons, stonecutters, tertiaries, trimming makers; Québec, Québec; Saint Louis, Missouri; Blois, France; Carthage, Tunisia; La Rochelle, France; New Orleans, Louisiana; Oran, Algeria; Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France; Saint Louis, Missouri;`Versailles, France; Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Louis; against the death of children)

Usuki Stone Buddhas Fire Festival -- Usuki, Japan (torchlight at twilight lights the regions mysterious Buddha statues; includes a beach party!)

Vuelta a Espana -- Spain (the third of cyclings' prestigious Grand Tours; through Sept. 16)

Whiskey Sour Day

Birthdays Today

Blake Lively, 1987

Rachel Bilson, 1981

Alexander Skarsgard, 1976

Claudia Schiffer, 1970

Rachael Ray, 1968

Albert Belle, 1966

Cornelius O’Landa Bennett, 1966

Blair Underwood, 1964

Joanne Whalley, 1964

Ally Walker, 1961

Billy Ray Cyrus, 1961

Tim Burton, 1958

Elvis Costello, 1954

Gene Simmons, 1949

John Savage, 1949

Martin Amis, 1949

Anne Archer, 1947

Anthony Heald, 1944

Frederick Forsyth, 1938

Regis Philbin, 1933

Tom Skerritt, 1933

Wayne Shorter, 1933

Sean Connery, 1930

Althea Gibson, 1927

Monty Hall, 1923

Leonard Bernstein, 1918

Walt Kelly, 1913

Ruby Keeler, 1909

Clara Bow, 1905

Hans Adolf Krebs, 1900

Ludwig II, "Mad King" of Bavaria, 1845

Francis Bret Harte, 1836

Allan Pinkerton, 1819

Ivan the Terrible, 1530

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"42nd Street"(Musical), 1980

The Wizard of Oz(Film), 1939

Today in History

The Council of Nicaea ends with the adoption of the Nicene Creed, 325

The Children's Crusaders under Nicholas reach Genoa, 1212

The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, is formed, 1537

Galileo demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers, 1609

Hundreds of French settlers arrive in New Orleans, which had been founded only a few months before, marking its true beginnings as a city, not just an outpost, 1718

James Cook begins his first voyage, 1768

Alice Meynell becomes the first female jockey, in England, 1804

British forces destroy the Library of Congress, which then contained about 3,000 books, 1814

The New York Times perpetrates the Great Moon Hoax, 1835

Captain Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim the English Channel unassisted, 1875

Kitasato Shibasaburo discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet, 1894

The United States National Park Service is created, 1916

Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly nonstop across the US, 1932

US Army officer and missionary John Birch is killed by the armed supporters of the Communist Party of China, considered by some as the first victim of the Cold War, 1945

Zimbabwe joins the United Nations, 1980

Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn, 1981

Tadeusz Mazowiecki is chosen as the first non-communist Prime Minister in Central and Eastern Europe, 1989

Mayumi Moriyama becomes Japan's first female cabinet secretary, 1989

The Tli Cho land claims agreement is signed between the Dogrib First Nations and the Canadian federal government in Rae-Edzo (now called Behchoko), 2003

Acting as a private citizen, former President Jimmy Carter travels to North Korea to negotiate the release of Aijalon Gomes, a U.S. citizen, 2010

Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, becomes the first Earth launched craft to enter interstellar space, 2012

Category 4 Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Texas northeast of Corpus Christi with 130 m.p.h. winds, 2017