Rain, Rain, Thank You! (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's Thankful day!

The past several days (in fact, the past few weeks) have seen a lot of clouds, a lot of grumbly thunder, and very, very little rain.

When we finally got a real downpour yesterday, the gray and the rain for once didn't get me down, and i was very thankful that:

our lovely swamps got a good bit of needed rain

everything cooled down

our grass got a dousing, the lawn was starting to show signs of drying out

i got the flowers cut for Ms. S before the rain started

i work indoors most of the time

everyone driving on the freeways slowed down (well, almost everyone, there's a hot dogger in a pick-up truck no matter where you go)

our roof no longer leaks

it didn't rain enough to get water in the downstairs

i stayed mostly dry because it was only sprinkling a bit when i walked from car to building and back, and the bit of cool mist actually felt good

i did not let myself get sad and weepy the way i often do when we get rain, as i made myself think of things to be thankful for!

No matter what's going on, rain or shine, there is always something for which to be thankful.  Why not write up a few of those and link up with our wonderful hostess Kristi at Ten Things of Thankful.  We aren't picky that it has to be ten, and reading so many lists gives everyone participating a lift.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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Today is:

Alcatraz Day -- the first prisoners arrived this day in 1934

Bud Billiken Parade -- Chicago, IL, US (second largest parade in the US, as well as the oldest and largest African-American parade in the US, begun in 1929)

Celebrate Your Lakes Day -- originally a senate resolution in the US state of New Hampshire to celebrate local lakes and ponds, now more widely observed; go enjoy some recreation at a pond, lake, or even river or stream near you!

Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival -- Coupeville, WA, US (one of the longest-running arts festivals in the Pacific Northwest, with only the best artisans, lots of entertainment, and proceeds donated to the community; through tomorrow)

Crater Lake Rim Runs and Marathon -- Crater Lake National Park, OR, US (one of the toughest and most spectacular runs ever, around the deepest lake in the US)

Day of Honor for Oddudua -- Santeria religion (cognate of the Roman Catholic St. Clare of Assisi; credited with the creation of humans)

Dog Days end -- yes, supposedly, in this heat

Elvis Week -- Memphis, TN, US (celebrating The King of Rock 'n Roll with lots of special events; through the 18th)

Feast of St. Attracta -- Irish Catholic Saint (founded a hospice and convents, and supposedly slayed a dragon; Patron of Achonry, Ireland; Men of Lugna)

Ferry Fair Day -- South Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland (centuries old fair, the biggest day of the modern festival that was originally a way for farmers to find labour for harvest, but is now just for fun)

Independence Day -- Chad(1960)

Ingersoll Day

Leadville Trail 100 Bike Race -- Leadville, CO, US (100 miles of off-road bike racing over Colorado's high peaks)

National Garage Sale Day -- US (the goal, according to C. Daniel Rhodes, is to turn the nation into a giant shopping mall on the second Saturday of August each year)

National Raspberry Bombe Day or Raspberry Tart Day -- whichever one you like best, or both, if that's the way you roll

Play in the Sand Day -- as per many internet sites; yeah, like at the beach, nothing like sand in your shorts, i get enough of that on vacation, thank you

Presidential Joke Day**

Son and Daughter Day -- the day to give your son(s) or daughter(s) the gift of time

St. Clare of Assisi's Day -- (Foundress of the Order of Poor Ladies [Poor Clares] Franciscan nuns; Patron of embroiderers, eyes, gilders/gold workers/goldsmiths, good weather, laundry workers, needle workers, telegraphs, telephones, and television writers; Assisi, Italy; Santa Clara Indian Pueblo; against eye disease)***; related observance

    Fiesta de Santa Clara -- Santa Clara Pueblo, NM, US (Native American celebration of St. Clare of Assisi, their Patron saint, with a corn dance and prayers for rain)

St. Philomela's Day (Patron of babies, children, desperate causes, forgotten causes, impossible causes, lost causes, orphans, poor people, priests, prisoners, sick people, students, test takers, toddlers, young people; against barrenness, bodily ills, infertility, mental illness, sickness, sterility)

Stillaguamish Festival of the River and Pow Wow -- Arlington, WA, US (sponsored by the Stillaguamish Tribe, activities for everyone; through tomorrow)

Streetscene -- Covington, VA, US (car show, open to all types of vehicles; come show off your ride!)

Watermelon Festival -- Rush Springs, OK, US (fun all day and free watermelon for all)

Birthdays Today:

Will Friedle, 1976

Ashley Jensen, 1969

Viola Davis, 1965

Joe Jackson, 1955

Hulk Hogan, 1953

Stephen Wozniak, 1950

Marilyn vos Savant, 1946

Joanna Coles, 1944

Anna Massey, 1937

Arlene Dahl, 1928

Mike Douglas, 1925 (Note: he also died on this date in 2006)

Alex Haley, 1921

Carrie Minetta Jacobs-Bond, 1862

David Rice Atchison, 1807

Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, 1667 (Last of the Medicis)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Nightmare on Elm Street 5: Dream Child(Film), 1989

"Die Harmonie der Welt /The Harmony of the World"(Opera), 1957

Today in History:

First day of the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, used my the Maya and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, BC3114

Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation, BC2492

Battle of Artemisium, naval battle of the Greco-Persian War, fought at the same time as the Battle of Thermopylae of the same war; Leonidas, King of Sparta, dies in the land battle, BC480*

Papandayan Java volcanic eruption kills 3,000, 1772

Charles Lawrence gives expulsion orders to remove the Acadians from Nova Scotia beginning the Great Upheaval, 1755

The world's first roller rink opens in Newport, RI, 1866

The first civilian prisoners arrive at Alcatraz, 1934

Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi, 1942

A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo to Honolulu, killing one teenager and injuring 15 passengers, 1984

NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history, 2003

A new species of a giant carnivorous plant, Nepethes attenboroughii, is discovered in the central Phillipines highlands, 2009

Jamaican runner Usain Bolt wins his third gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012

*some historians give different dates

**because presidents have a sense of humor, too, as shown this day in 1984 when Reagan thought the microphone was off and joked about Russia being outlawed

***why tv? because when she became too ill to attend mass at the end of her life, a miraculous image of the service would display on the wall of her room