Wednesday, September 30, 2020

The Lawyers Got Loose in the Laundromat Again (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     




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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by River at Drifting Through Life.    

This week's words/prompts are:

1. surprise
2. winked
3. firepit
4. gnomes
5. quilt
6. sunroom

and/or:

1. lonesome
2. shirt
3. beach
4. volcano
5. train
6. moat

use either list or both, or mix and match, just have fun.

She knew the weather had changed in the night when she opened her eyes and WINKED them shut again immediately.  When she woke up with the "VOLCANO in her head," as she called the light-hurts-your-eyes headache, it always meant the weather was changing.

Just as she was trying to pry herself out of bed, the family burst in and yelled, "SURPRISE!"

"We made you your favorite breakfast in bed for your birthday!" Sam exclaimed, while Bella and Jody climbed up on the bed with her, sitting on the QUILT so she wasn't going to go anywhere.

"The GNOMES and I did just that," Mark said with a grin, using his favorite term for their crew, then he noticed the look in Sarah's squinting eyes.  "Uh, oh.  Headache?"

The grimace on her face as she tried to answer told him everything he needed to know.  He set the tray with her favorite coffee and "beignets," actually just store biscuits cut into fourths and fried, then sprinkled with powdered sugar, down on the nightstand.

"Okay, troops!" he said brightly, deciding to rally them and change the plans up a bit, "let's go out to the FIREPIT and get it lit so we can start smoking those ribs early."

As the children scrambled out of the room, whooping with excitement, he leaned over and gave her a gentle hug.  "I'm so sorry you have a headache today of all days," he said.

"Thanks," she whispered, then, "could you hand me that SHIRT?"

He handed it over and said, "After you take your meds, why don't you go lie down in the SUNROOM?  The clouds today will keep it from being too bright, and you can watch the kids through the windows, I'll let them know you need to rest until your medication kicks in."

She nodded, and as soon as she was able, went in and laid down on the couch where she could see what everyone was doing in the yard.  Mark was tending to a very smokey fire, assisted by Bella, who adored cooking.  Jody was at the sand box, dubbed "the BEACH" by the family, digging a MOAT around her sandcastle.  Sam was conspicuously absent.

Then she heard a light rap at the door.  Sam came in.  "Mom, I'm sorry you woke up with a headache on your birthday.  I brought you my favorite TRAIN to keep you company so you won't be LONESOME while you rest."

He set the train in her hand and she smiled at him as best she could, then he disappeared.  She saw him emerge into the back yard and run over to watch the fire.

The headache would go within an hour, but the comfort of knowing her family had her back, and she had theirs, that would last.


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Today is:

Agricultural Reform Day -- Sao Tome and Principe

Ask A Stupid Question Day -- teachers wanted to get students asking more questions, so they did, even if the questions were stupid; now, it's a holiday on the last school day of September each year! 

Banned Websites Awareness Day -- sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians   

Celtic Tree Month Gort begins (Ivy)

Day of Liberation of the Republic of Abkhazia -- Abkhazia (disputed territory on the Black Sea)

Do Something Wacky With A Grandparent Day -- just not the monkey bars, please; old bones don't knit fast enough; whatever you do, take some pictures!

Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (the Greater Mystery Rites, date approximate; mystery rites of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis, one of the most sacred times of their year)

Independence Day -- Botswana

International Translation Day -- International Federation of Translators 

Kokkeisetsu -- Chinatown, Yokohama, Japan (Chinese National Founding Day in the largest Chinatown in Japan; through tomorrow)

Medetrinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival fruits offer to the goddess of medicine)

Monkey Bars Day -- a day to go see if you can still do tricks on the monkey bars, because the internet wants to kill us and let the machines that would never do anything so silly take over

National Hot Mulled Cider Day

National Mud Pack Day -- give yourself a facial

St. Gregory the Enlightener (or Illuminator; Patron of Armenia)

St. Jerome's Day (Patron of archaeologists, archivists, Biblical scholars, librarians, libraries, school children, students, translators; Saint-Jerome, Quebec) 
     also an Apache celebration of Geronimo, the Native American who was named after this saint



Anniversary Today:

Haleakala National Park is established in Maui, Hawaii, 1960


Birthdays Today:

Dominique Moceanu, 1981
Marion Cotillard, 1975
Jenna Elfman, 1971
Crystal Bernard, 1964
Eric Stoltz, 1961
Fran Drescher, 1957
Deborah Allen, 1953
Victoria Tennant, 1953
Marilyn McCoo, 1943
Z.Z. Hill, 1935
Johnny Mathis, 1935
Angie Dickinson, 1931
Elie Wiesel, 1928
W. S. Merwin, 1927
Truman Capote, 1924
Deborah Kerr, 1921
Buddy Rich, 1917
William Wrigley, Jr., 1861
Rumi, 1207


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush(Publication date), 1990
"Murder, She Wrote"(TV), 1984
"Cheers"(TV), 1982
"Love Child"(Single release), 1968
"The Flintstones"(TV), 1960
"Tea and Sympathy"(Play), 1953
"The Red Skelton show"(TV), 1951
"Porgy and Bess"(Opera), 1935
Little Women(Publication date), 1868
"Les pecheurs de perles/The Pearl Fishers"(Bizet opera), 1863
"Die Zauberflote/The Magic Flute"(Mozart opera, K. 620), 1791
The Gutenberg Bible(first section, publication date), 1452


Today in History:

Rambam (Maimonides) authorizes Samuel Ibn Tibbon to translate the Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew, 1199
Anesthetic ether is used for the first time by Dr. William Morton, who extracted a tooth, 1846
German scientist Hermann von Meyer announces the discovery of the first fossil of an archaeopteryx, 1861
The first Portuguese immigrants arrive in Hawai'i, 1878
The world's first commercial hydroelectric power plant begins operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, 1882
Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner, 1901
The first manned rocket plane flight, made by auto maker Fritz von Opel, 1929
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations, 1947
The World Series, featuring the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, is televised for the first time, 1947
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel, 1954
James Dean is killed in a road accident, 1955
Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez founds the United Farm Workers, 1962
James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying segregation, 1962
General Suharto rises to power in Indonesia after an alleged coup by communists, and massacres over a million Indonesian people suspected of belonging to the Communist Party, 1965
BBC Radio 1 is launched and Tony Blackburn presents its first show, 1967
Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation, 1980 
The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada's capital city of Ottawa, 1990
The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo, 2004
The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, 2005
A case of Ebola virus is diagnosed in Dallas, Texas, US, 2014

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Wardrobe and Sewing and Funnies, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

Carl was finally back to work last week, although for only 3 days.

When i arrived yesterday at 6:30am, he poked his head out of the bathroom and asked if he should shower first or exercise first.  He decided to turn on his boogie music and then boogie into the shower.  Works for me.

He had managed, somehow, to dirty up almost every item of clothing he owned since i was there last week, and that with only 3 days of work.  When i asked him how he had done it, he looked confused and said, "Well, I think I had some clean stuff!"  He started picking up clothes off the floor and sniffing them.  What really happened, most likely, is he did a load of laundry, got tired of the putting away process and dropped most of it on top of the dresser, it fell off, and then he didn't notice and walked on it.

Wouldn't be the first time, and it's okay, i am used to just washing everything anyway.

We are also starting the switch from summer to winter wardrobe.  That means we start removing the ice packs he wears in his cool vests from the freezer, let them thaw, and put them away for winter.  He had them thawing all over the place, mostly on the half rolls of paper towels he accumulates because every time he wants a towel, he pulls out a new roll until he runs out of new, then he remembers the old ones are there.

He has bought a chest freezer, a small one, for next summer.  He's tired of not being able to buy enough of his Hungry Man dinners because his freezer is full of his cold packs.  He will keep all cold packs in the chest freezer next summer, if he remembers it's stuffed under the table.  It's most likely that i am the one who will be remembering, unpacking it from the box, and setting it up.

While putting away his clothes for the week, i noticed he has two pair of shorts that are not fit for work right now.  One has a horrible stain, the other is missing the button.  Ms. V wanted me to put them on the side of the closet with the non-work clothes, but i convinced her that, should he run out of other things (or just notice them first) he would probably continue to wear them to work if they stay in the closet.  Instead, i convinced her to cut the button off of the stained pair, throw it out, and sew the button on the others to return them to the closet.

She said she's going to teach him to sew on the button.  Good luck, Ms. V, and make sure you have plenty of band-aids in the house.

How about some of the great stuff Grandma forwards to me.  It's irresistible, like Carl choosing the only pair of pants he's not allowed to wear to work on his way to work.



















Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!





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Today is:

Battle of Boqueron Day -- Paraguay

Constitution Day -- Brunei

Festival of Tezcatzonctl -- Ancient Aztec Calendar (chief god of intoxication; date approximate)

Gwynn ap Nudd's Fest -- Celtic Calendar (god of the underworld; date approximate)

International Coffee Day -- and i thought this was every day!  

Inventors Day -- Argentina

Make a List of the Top Ten Happiest Days in Your Life Day -- must have been started by an optimist

Mutation Day -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

National Attend Your Grandchild's Birth Day -- a day to remind grandparents to be active in their grandchildren's lives (and if you need a reminder, i wonder about you; if you aren't allowed by bitter parents, i feel badly for you)     

National Mocha Day

Quick Draw Day -- debut of Quick Draw McGraw and his side kick, Baba Looey, in 1959

Sts. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and All Angels' Day  (Michaelmas)
     Archangel Gabriel, Patron of broadcasters, clergy, communication workers, diplomats, messengers, philatelists/stamp collectors, post offices and postal workers, radio and radio workers, secular clergy, telecommunication workers, telgraphers, telephones, television and television workers; Argentinian ambassadors; Seattle, Washington
     Archangel Michael, Patron of artists, bakers, bankers and banking, barrel makers/coopers, battle, boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, dying people, emergency medical technicians/paramedics/ambulance drivers, fencers and fencing, grocers and greengrocers, haberdashers and hatmakers, knights, milleners, paratroopers, police officers, radiologists and radiotherapists, security guards, sick people, soldiers, swordsmiths; for a holy death and safety at sea; England, Germany, and over 25 cities around the world; against danger at sea and temptation.     
     Archangel Raphael, Patron of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, blind people, doctors/physicians, guardian angels, happy meetings, love and lovers, mentally ill people, nurses, shepherdesses/shepherds, sick people, travellers, young people; Dubuque, Iowa; MacKenzie-Fort Smith, Northwest Territories; Seattle, Washington; against bodily ills, eye diseases/eye problems, insanity/mental illness, nightmares, sickness
     related observances:
     National Day of Remembrance for Policemen Killed -- Australia (St. Michael, Patron of police officers)
     Payment of Quit Rent by London Royal Courts of Justice -- Michaelmas is a traditional English "Quarter Day", when rents come due

VFW Day -- US (The Veterans of Foreign Wars was established on this day in 1899)

World Heart Day -- International (to raise awareness of the signs and dangers of cardiovascular disease)     


Birthdays Today:

Emily Lloyd, 1970
John Paxton, 1960
Bryant Gumbel, 1948
Patricia Hodge, 1946
Lech Walesa, 1943
Dave Wilcox, 1942
Ian McShane, 1942
Madeline Kahn, 1942
Jerry Lee Lewis, 1935
Anita Ekberg, 1931
Lizabeth Scott, 1922
Trevor Howard, 1916
Stanley Kramer, 1913
Michelangelo Antonioni, 1912
Greer Garson, 1908
Gene Autry, 1907
Enrico Fermi, 1901
Horatio Nelson, 1758
Miguel de Cervantes, 1547
Pompey the Great, BC106


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Grace Under Fire"(TV), 1993
"Thirtysomething"(TV), 1987
"Designing Women"(TV), 1986
"MacGyver"(TV), 1985
"Houdini, A Circus Opera"(Opera), 1977
"The Judy Garland Show"(TV), 1963
"My Favorite Martian"(TV), 1963
"The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show"(TV), 1962
"My Three Sons"(TV), 1960
"Outlaws"(TV), 1960
"The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis"(TV), 1959
"Sergeant Preston of the Yukon"(TV), 1955
"A View from the Bridge"(Play), 1955
The Barefoot Contessa(Film), 1954
A Star is Born(Film), 1954
"Make Room for Daddy"(TV), 1953


Today in History:

Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumata, securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire, BC522
Battle of Salamis, at which the Greek fleet under Themistocles defeats the Persian fleet under Xerxes I, BC480
Pompey the Great Celebrates ending the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday, BC61
Saladin's army marches into Jerusalem, 1187
The First Congress of the US adjourns, 1789
"Scotland Yard", London's Metropolitan Police Force, goes on duty, 1829
The first practical public electric tramway ever opens in Blackpool, England, 1885
John D. Rockefeller becomes the first billionaire, 1916
The convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed, 1954
Alouette 1, the first Canadian satellite, is launched, 1962
WGPR in Detroit, Michigan, becomes the world's first black-owned-and-operated television station, 1975
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to set foot on Irish soil with his pastoral visit to the Republic of Ireland, 1979
The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth, 2004
The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history, 2008
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands causes a tsunami, 2009
The Koreas agree, for the first time in two years, to hold working-level military talks, 2010
Researchers discover a biofluorescent hawksbill sea turtle in waters off of the Solomon Islands; though biofluorescence has been observed in captive reptiles, this is the first occurrence seen in a wild reptile, 2015

Monday, September 28, 2020

Full Nest (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Duds (Poetry Monday)

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Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

These babies are almost grown now, and the nest is getting very crowded, but you've got to admit mama chose a great place.  Whenever mama is not there with them, the two little ones stay very still.









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Sparks, the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, is on hiatus, so here's an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.




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Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is taking a blog break due to her husband's health concerns, but she might or might not choose to hop in sometimes..   Charlotte/Mother Owl almost always participates, too.  This week the theme is Clothes.                 

Duds

Clothes are what we wear
So our backsides won't be bare.
Once you are over the age of two,
Running around that way just will not do.
As i'm  not into fashion,
For that i've never had a passion,
Jeans are my standard uniform,
And a t-shirt is my norm.
It's easy, i don't have to think,
Ready for work quick as a wink,
Tough and sturdy, it's the way
To get me through my rough work day.


Not sure yet about the theme for next week, perhaps one time we could use art as our subject, but i will update when it is decided. 


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Today is:

Canterbury South Provincial Anniversary Day -- Canterbury South, New Zealand

Czech Statehood Day -- Czech Republic

Dominion Day -- New Zealand (Obs.)

Drink Beer Day

Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children(TM) -- US (sponsored by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, encouraging everyone to have a meal with the family, because all the studies show it's good for you!)   

Feast of Hapi and Creation of the Nile -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fish Tank Floor Show Night -- the Wellcat Holidays people say that your fish keep you entertained all year long, so turn about is fair play, entertain your fish tonight!

Frances Willard Day -- Minnesota

International Right to Know Day -- FOI Advocates Network, promoting the right of access to information for all people and the benefits of open, transparent, and accountable governments 

Menkhet Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Michaelmas Eve -- Celtic celebration, bake your bannock bread tonight for eating on St. Michael and All Angel's Day tomorrow; tonight, build a bonfire and dine on roast lamb, and make sure the menfolk protect the horses, for anyone is allowed to "borrow" one for the celebration tomorrow

National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography -- Philippines

National Good Neighbor Day -- US (begun when Mrs. Becky Mattson from Lakeside, Montana, began campaigning for this National Day in the 1970's; go greet the neighbors, wearing a mask, of course, and be a good neighbor yourself!)

National Strawberry Cream Pie Day

Queen's Birthday Holiday -- WA, Australia

Read a Child a Book You Like Day -- someone started this to get us to remember the books we loved as kids, and share them with children now

Runic Half Month Gyfu begins (gift)

St. Wenceslaus' Day (Patron of brewers; Bohemia; Czech Republic; Moravia; Prague, Czech Republic)

Tales of Kelp-Koli's Second Visit -- Fairy Calendar (through the 30th)

Teacher's Day -- Taiwan (on the traditional Western date of Confucius' birthday, of course)


Yom Kippur -- Judaism (began sundown yesterday, ends sundown today)


Birthdays Today:

Frankie Jonas, 2000
Hilary Duff, 1987
Gwyneth Paltrow, 1973
Naomi Watts, 1968
Mira Sorvino, 1967
Janeane Garofalo, 1964
Suzanne Whang, 1962
Steve Largent, 1954
Jeffrey Jones, 1947
Ben E. King, 1938
Koko Taylor, 1935
Brigitte Bardot, 1934
Arnold Stang, 1925
Marcello Mastroianni, 1924
William Windom, 1923
Al Capp, 1909
Max Schmeling, 1905
Ed Sullivan, 1901
Kate Douglas Wiggin, 1856
Frances Willard, 1839
Confucius, BC551


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Ed Wood(Film), 1994
"Cosmos: A Personal Voyage"(Documentary series), 1980
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"(Single release, Gladys Knight), 1967
"Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales"(TV), 1963
"Dr. Kildare"(TV), 1961
"Hazel"(TV), 1961
"Purlie Victorious"(Play), 1961
Radio Times(Magazine, first issue), 1923


Today in History:

Pompey the Great, member of the Triumvirate, is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy of Egypt upon landing in that country, BC48
King/Saint Wenceslas murdered by his brother, 935
William the Conqueror invades England, 1066
Sinking of the Spanish fleet during a hurricane off the coast of Florida, 1528
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo becomes the first European to reach San Diego Bay, 1542
Publication of "Pilgrim's Progress", 1678
Divorce is legalized in Maryland, 1701
American and French forces begin the siege of Yorktown, 1781
Napoleon Bonaparte, age 16, graduates from the Military Academy of Paris -- 42nd in a class of 51, 1785
Donati's comet becomes the first to be photographed, 1858
Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, 1867
Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mould growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin, 1928
Indonesia joins the United Nations, 1950
Mali and Senegal join the United Nations, 1960
SpaceX launches the first ever private spacecraft, the Falcon 1 into orbit, 2008
Research teams from Exeter and Cambridge Universities announce in the journal Nature Genetics their discovery of the DNA controllers that determine at what age women go into menopause, 2015