There's Always a Surprise, Plus Funnies, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post, and Wednesday’s Words

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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.  

Every Monday i go to clean Carl's apartment that is attached to his parent's house.  (He's a special needs adult so he cannot live by himself.)  Every other Thursday, i go to clean the house itself.

Last Thursday, when i went to clean the house, i noticed Carl's work pants in the dryer.  Although i'd left him with all of his pants clean and hanging in the closet only 3 days before, he had 6 pair of pants in the dryer.  That's why it takes me five hours to clean his small apartment and only six hours to clean the rest of the 3 bedroom, two bathroom house.

Yesterday i found an opened box of cereal on top of his fridge.  When i suggested that wasn't a very good idea, he said, "Well, I haven't seen any ants!"  Then he went looking for tape.  Later on, i found this in the hallway:

Cereal and tape.  Tape never quite made it onto the box.

Speaking of hallways, when i walked in i noticed there was a light coming from the electric socket.  At first i thought they had plugged in a small night light, then i realized they replaced the socket with one that had a light built in.  It's on a sensor so it only comes on when the hall is dark!

Lights on, looks like a regular outlet.

Turn off the lights, and it lights up!  No need to block up one socket with a light.

This family likes to carry pocket handkerchiefs with them.  Every time i go over there and do Carl's laundry, i find at least one of his mother's handkerchiefs in his laundry pile.

The flowers give it away.

Today during breakfast, he managed to lose the cap to the milk carton.

How he lost it within the kitchen i do not know, as we looked everywhere, including in the garbage can.  By the way, he shouldn't be allowed to read the paper while eating breakfast.  While i did manage to clean most of the mess, you will be glad to know i decided to spare you that photo.

Carl's fridge held a couple of surprises this week.  A toothbrush:

His mother's rule is that he can't keep anything in the fridge if it is not covered.  This is his idea of covered:

Cram the bowl inside a box.

Now, let's see what he has in this nice, big container:

 All right, how about some of the cool, interesting, and sometimes funny things Grandma sends me, starting with these pictures from Japan:

A lady dropped one of her shopping bags.  When she came back to look for it, someone had placed it by the tree with the contents intact.

A woman got stuck between the train and the platform, and everyone rushed to push the train off of her and pull her out.

The note reads, I knocked over your bike and broke the bell.  I am sorry.

Life will find a way:

Just plain cute:

Just plain funny:

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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It's my month to provide the prompts for Words for Wednesday.  Since it becomes Wednesday in some parts of the world while it is still Tuesday here, i am providing the prompts today, so you can work on them and post them when it's Wednesday where you are.

This week's prompts are:

parallel

fox

bell

pace

funeral

negotiation

and/or

soap

rare

consolidate

say

road

injection

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Today is:

Bird Day -- anniversary of the first Bird Day declared in 1894 by the Superintendant of Schools in Oil City, PA, Charles Babcock

Cassinga Day -- Namibia

Compliment Someone's Smile Day

Declaration of Independence Day -- Latvia

Dodenherdenking -- Netherlands (Remembrance of those in the armed forces who have died in war or peacekeeping missions.)

Fairy Ring Day (Giving) -- Fairy Calendar

Festival of Matsu/Mazu -- Southern China and Taiwan (Taoist goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors; often worshiped in sea-faring areas surrounding China as well, although some local dates will vary)

     Ma Zu, Goddess of the Sea’s Birthday -- Buddhism; Taoism

Frustrating the Fairies Day -- Ireland (a day to confuse the fairies so they may not cause any mischief, although i can't find any details about how to frustrate them)

Give Local America -- US (encouraging people to support local charities)   

International Firefighters' Day 

May Fourth Movement

     Literary Day -- Republic of China

     Youth Day -- People's Republic of China

Memorial Day -- Curacao (military ceremonies to honor victims of WWII, not a government holiday)

Midori no hi -- Japan (Greenery Day/Arbor Day)

National Candied Orange Peel Day

National Kids Fitness Day -- this one doesn't seem to have any particular sponsor or organization behind it, but please get those kids outdoors to do something fun, any time you can!

National Orange Juice Day

National Weather Observers Day -- another fun day that doesn't seem to be sponsored by anyone, but Family Crafts has suggestions for how to celebrate   

Petite and Proud Day -- i've never heard of this one until i found it online, but it's the one for me!

Relationship Renewal Day -- because someone, somewhere, wants you to stop taking the ones you love for granted

Remembrance Day for Martyrs and the Disabled -- Afghanistan

Respect for Chickens Day -- International (United Poultry Concerns) 

Sagami Giant Kite Festival -- Sagami, Japan (through tomorrow; giant kite that requires a team of 100 people is flown on the banks of the Sagami River)

St. Florian's Day (Patron of brewers, chimney sweeps, coopers, drowning victims, fire prevention, firefighters, harvests, soap-boilers; Austria; Chur, Switzerland; Linz, Austria; Poland; against battle, drowning, fire, and flood)

     a recognized holiday in Austria

St. Venerius of Milan's Day (Patron of lighthouse keepers)

Star Wars Day -- greet others with "May the 4th be with you!"

Youth Day -- China

Birthdays Today:

Erin Andrews, 1978

Dawn Stanley, 1970

Randy Travis, 1959

Pia Zadora, 1956

David Guttersn, 1956

Jackie Jackson, 1951

Richard Jenkins, 1947

Nicholas Ashford, 1942

George F. Will, 1941

Roberta Peters, 1930

Audrey Hepburn, 1929

Heloise Bowles Cruse, 1919

Horace Mann, 1796

Bartolomeo Cristofori, 1655

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Beatles at Hollywood Bowl"(Album), 1977

"Another World"(TV), 1964

"New Girl in Town"(Musical), 1957

Today in History:

Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance, 1415

Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherlands, 1626

A French manufacturer debuts the first folding umbrella, 1715

Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III, 1776

Mary Dixon Kies becomes the first woman in the US to obtain a patent, for a method of weaving hats with straw, silk, and thread, 1809

Napoleon arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile, 1814

The Haymarket Square Riot takes place in Chicago, 1886

The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal, 1904

The Royal Canadian Navy is created, 1910

May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, 1919

Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion, 1932

Ernest Hemingway is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea, 1953

The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South, 1961

The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation", 1972

An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak, 1974

Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1979

Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation, 1990

The Scottish National Party wins the Scottish general election and becomes the largest party in the Scottish Parliament for the first time ever, 2007

The last nuclear reactor in Japan is shut down, leaving the country without nuclear power for the first time since 1970, 2012

California overtakes Great Britain to become the worlds fifth largest economy, 2018