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

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

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)

World Rabies Day   

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