Bordering On the Miraculous, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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It's Thankful Day and Start of Vacation Day -- i love when that happens!

As usual, i have slammed into it full steam ahead, doing some houses early so everyone got done this week, even Grandma. 

This week's thankful list and the week of vacation is brought to you by the miraculous.  As i've been telling The Lord since last Sunday, i'm going to be quiet and expect miracles.

They've happened, at least they are miracles to us.

Much earlier this year, a friend promised us we could use her car to go on vacation.  It was a dream of an offer, and because she kept insisting it was going to happen, we did not save up for a rental car.

Last Sunday she called and said her family has told her she simply cannot lend us her car.  Yes, she is still my dear friend, it's not her fault her family has been harping on this.  No, it's not their fault, i love them, too, they are just looking out for her and think they are doing what's best for her.

It put us in an awful bind, though, but our bind is G-d's playground for providing from places you never expected.

One thing we did was check for rental cars.  The problem is we've had lots of flooding here this year, so there are very few rentals available.  Every time there's a flash flood, people whose cars flooded go snatch up every rental vehicle available.

How does a mid-size car, for Saturday to Saturday rental, with insurance, for $1,200 grab you?

Not in our biggest dream budget.

Several friends were called and asked to pray and think about whether they knew of someone, anyone, who has a spare car they'd let us use for a couple of hundred dollars to cover wear and tear, plus we'd return it freshly washed and full of gas.

As as last resort, of course, we could take GusGus Die Fledermaus (my car), but a Ford Focus is one of the smallest cars ever, at least on the inside, and every time Sweetie has to ride in it he is in pain after about an hour of travel.  He's 6'2" in his stocking feet and spent his youth chopping cotton and throwing hay bales (no joke) and is shaped like a farm boy, broad in the shoulders.  He has to practically fold in half to get in the car, not good with a bad back.  

Here's a good sideline thankful, just in case we needed GusGus, i did clean her out.

Meanwhile, as the week went on, thankful things piled up.  On Monday i got through the day without all of my supplies and still managed to clean for everyone adequately (when you clean out the car, you have to remember what to put back!).

On Tuesday, i got the fabulous news that my jury duty has been postponed until January of next year.  Plenty of time to prepare.

Tuesday was also the only day this past week that i had one job instead of 2 or 3, it's nice to have that break.

Wednesday afternoon, we managed to get the air conditioner from the room Brother-in-Law vacated into our room.  What a blessed relief to have A/C at night again.

Sweetie managed to de-gunk my scissors after using it to cut Gorilla Tape to tape the A/C duct into the window.

As i was leaving the cat shelter to go to work on Wednesday, the director pulled into the parking lot and waved to me to wait.  She asked me if i had time to take on any new clients, as she has a friend in the market for a cleaning person.  Although i'm booked to the gills, it's nice to know people recommend me and i am thankful to have been asked.

When i was leaving Ms. G's later that day, she handed me a check for my work and then said, "You're going on vacation next week, right?"  Yes, i told her, and she pulled a $20 out of her wallet and said, "This is for you.  Not for your husband, not for your kids, not for the cats, this is so you will do something nice for you!"

My clients are gems.

By Thursday we were resigning ourselves to using GusGus when we got two calls.  One was from a member of Brother-in-Law's church who was praying for us to find a vehicle.  He has a truck.  It's 20 years old, it is in great shape and has been very well maintained.  He only uses it for moving and hauling, not for every day transportation to work.  His words, "You're welcome to use the truck if you want, I was just hoping someone would offer you something better!"

We're thankful, as it's the best offer we've gotten and it's a sturdy, reliable vehicle.

The second call was from a member of our church.  He'd made a few calls, talked to a few people, and they wanted to offer us some money to help us rent a car.  When we told them we had received the offer of a vehicle to borrow, he said, "We're giving you the money anyway, for you to use any way you need to on your vacation."

Wow.

Thursday, my phone started to act up, and i am thankful i played with it and learned how to take the battery out.  It's behaving now, another thankful thing.

Sweetie and Brother-in-Law picked up the truck Thursday evening so we drove it to NOLA on Friday to clean Grandma and Grandpa's house.  This gave me practice at driving a big truck again.  Since i learned to drive in a full size van and a Lincoln Continental (the old, huge kind) back in the stone age of my youth, it was like riding a bike, you practice a bit and you are back with it.

Side thankful, i learned to drive in big vehicles because, as Grandpa said, if you learn to drive in these big things, you can always drive a smaller one, but it's not so easy the other way around.

Little Girl is going to be on cat care duty for us this week, and i'm thankful she can do it.

Bonus thankful, i got the money into the bank for our quarterly tax payment, i've already paid the state income tax that is due mid-month, and we have enough to cover the bills that come due this week even though i won't be working.

Vacation=thankful.  That we are getting to go at all this year is miraculous.

Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Dyanne and her co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.   

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Today is:

Crowded Nest Awareness Day -- for those whose problem is the opposite of the Empty Nest, a day to remind you to keep your sense of humor and get support when you need it

Festival of Mut -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Ghost in the Machine Day -- the internet holiday that explains everything!

Helsinki Day -- Finland

Independence Day -- Philippines

International Cachaca Day -- the once illegal cocktail now has its own day of celebration 

Loving Day -- US (commemoration of Loving vs. Virginia decision by the Supreme Court which struct down all anti-miscegenation laws) 

National Jerky Day -- begun a couple of years ago, possibly by one of the jerky manufacturers (no one can track it down, sounds suspicious to me)

National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

Peace of Chaco Day / Chaco Armistice Day -- Paraguay and Bolivia (commemorates the end of a war between the two)

Queen's Birthday -- Tuvalu

Record Store Day -- celebrated by independent record stores everywhere, find one near you    

Red Rose Day -- found all over the internet, with June 12 as the most common date cited; may have begun with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Australia, which has Rose Days as fundraisers

Russia Day -- Russia

Sovereign's Day/Queen's Birthday -- Pitcairn Island

St. Anthony's Eve -- Brazil; Portugal

     Dia dos Namorados -- Brazil (Lover's Day, celebrated on St. Anthony's Eve)

St. Onuphrius' Day (Patron of weavers; Centrache, Catanzaro, Italy)

Trooping the Colour -- UK (military celebration of the monarch's birthday)

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (through tomorrow)

World Day Against Child Labour -- The UN, Education International and the International Labour Organization

World Juggling Day (sat closest to 15th

World Wide Knit in Public Day -- better living through stitching together!   

Birthdays Today:

Frances O'Connor, 1969

Timothy Busfield, 1957

Marv Albert, 1941

Chick Corea, 1941

Jim Nabors, 1932

Anne Frank, 1929

Vic Damone, 1928

George H.W. Bush, 1924

David Rockefeller, 1915

Alexandre Tansman, 1897

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Doctor Doctor"(TV), 1989

Raiders of the Lost Ark(Film), 1981

You Only Live Twice(Film), 1967

Cleopatra(Film), 1963

Today in History:

Joan of Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk in the second day of the Battle of Jargeau, 1429

The French begin their colonization of Algeria with the landing of 34,000 troops, 1830

The world's first Fingerprint Bureau opens in Calcutta, India, after the Council of the Governor General approves a committee report that fingerprints should be used for classification of criminal records, 1897

Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures' Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor, 1939

Anne Frank gets her diary as a birthday present, 1942

The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional, 1967

The first man powered flight across the English Channel is performed by Bryan Allen in the Gossamer Albatross designed by Paul MacCready, 1979

At the Brandenburg Gate U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, 1987

Russia Day – the parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty, 1990

Queen Elizabeth II reopens the Globe Theatre in London, 1997

A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to widespread protests, 2009

Ending an extensive study on the wooly mammoth, scientists conclude that they were wiped out by multiple things, including climate change, human hunters, and shifting habitats, 2012

AT&T's $85.4 billion takeover of Time Warner is allowed to proceed by a US District Court Judge, 2018