Reflecting (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 the words are

thundering hooves

shuffled

velvet

appropriate

comforting

returned

and/or

milkshakes

hat

green

knitting

drawn

choice

Anyone who thinks cats always walk on VELVET paws hasn't heard my cats run down the stairs, she thought.  The term THUNDERING HOOVES is more suited to these guys.

Her thoughts continued as she SHUFFLED down the stairs behind the felines, which were already standing in front of their food bowls expectantly.

"You don't leave me much CHOICE, do you?" she muttered as much to herself as to them.  "Even if I wanted to sleep in today, there'd be no rest for the weary."

She measured out the APPROPRIATE amount of food for each of them for breakfast, and started her coffee.  She went through her usual morning routine, as COMFORTING in its familiarity as her bed or the old flannel robe that now flapped around her feet.

Once everyone was done with coffee and breakfast, she headed up to get dressed, then RETURNED.  The DRAWN window shades were opened to let the light in, and she sat near one of the now bright windows to tend to her KNITTING.

This afternoon, the grandchildren would be coming after school.  She looked forward to Thursday afternoons, when both of their parents worked later and the kids came to Grammie's house for snacks and homework and supper, and if they were very lucky, some TV time.

The youngest had been wanting a knitted HAT, in GREEN, and she wanted to finish it today so he could take it home.

When she started to get a crick in her neck from sitting too long, she got up to get a bit more coffee and check to make sure she had everything ready for the grands.  She was surprising them with MILKSHAKES for their snack today, which she knew would have to be shared, at least a taste, with the cats.

Peeking into the fridge and freezer, one cat snoozing in the basket nearby and the other winding between her feet, hoping for a taste of something, she knew it was going to be a good day.  After all, it was Thursday.

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Today is:

Anubis Ceremony -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Dandruff Dance -- Fairy Calendar (Goblins and Gnomes)

Father's Day -- Nicaragua; Poland

Festival of the Purple Void -- only one internet reference, and not explained there, either, but since purple is my favorite color, and a Purple Void sound like something fun to celebrate, i'm including it!

Festivals of Het-Hert and Bast, and Great Feast of the Southern Heavens -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Grand Duke's Birthday & National Day -- Luxembourg

Kupala -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (Summer Solstice celebration, always on St. John's Eve, as the pagans hid their celebration by naming it "Ivan Kupala", their name for John the Baptist)

Let It Go Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; whatever you are holding on to, just let it go and the day will get better

National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism -- Canada

National Pecan Sandy Day

National Pink Day -- the color or the flower, your choice, because the creator didn't leave a trail explaining it

Pink Flamingo Day -- honoring Don Featherstone, creator of the original pink plastic flamigo lawn ornament; decorate your lawn with at least four pink flamigos, the minimum number needed for a flock

Poop Out Early Day -- act pooped out, see if you can cut out early; your success at pooping out early may vary

Public Service Day -- UN

SAT Math Day -- birth anniversary of Alan Turing

St. Agrippina (Patron against bacterial diseases and infections, evil spirits, leprosy, storms and thunder; of Mineo, Italy)

St. Ethelreda's Day (Patron of those with neck and throat ailments, widows; University of Cambridge)

St. John's Eve -- start or culmination of many midsummer festivals, including:

     Dragaica Fair -- Buzau, Romania

     Golowan Festival -- Cornwall

     Jaaniohtu -- Estonia   

     Kupala Days begin -- Belarus; Poland; Russia; Ukraine

     Ligo / Lani -- Latvia (pagan midsummer celebration originally dedicated to the god Janis

     Midsummer Eve -- Denmark; Sweden

     Midsummer Festival -- Portugal

St. Joseph Cafasso's Day (Patron of captives, prisoners, prisons, and prison chaplains)

Typewriter Day -- patented this day in 1868 by Christopher Latham Sholes

Victory Day -- Estonia

Birthdays Today:

Bridget Sloan, 1992

Chellsie Memmel, 1988

Jason Mraz, 1977

Selma Blair, 1972

Louis Van Amstel,1972

Frances McDormand, 1957

Clarence Thomas, 1948

Bryan Brown, 1947

Ted Shackelford, 1946

James Levine, , 1943

Wilma Glodean Rudolph, 1940

June Carter Cash, 1929

Bob Fosse, 1927

Alan Turing, 1912

Edward VIII, King of England, 1894

Alfred Kinsey, 1894

Johannes Gutenberg, 1400 (estimated)

Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar, BC47 (Son of Cleopatra VII and Julius Caesar)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Batman(Film), 1989

"The Breakfast Club"(Radio), 1933

Today in History:

The world's oldest parliament, the Icelandic Althing, is established, 930

First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan, 1180

First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn, south of Stirling, begins, 1314

The mutinous crew of Henry Hudson's fourth voyage sets Henry, his son and seven loyal crew members adrift in an open boat in what is now Hudson Bay; they are never heard from again, 1611

The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada, 1713

Empress Catherine II of Russia grants Jews permission to settle in Kiev, 1794

Christopher Latham Sholes receives a patent for Type-Writer, 1868

The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada, creating the nation's first national park, Banff National Park, 1887

The International Olympic Committee  is founded at the Sorbonne, Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, 1894

The College Board administers the first SAT exam, 1926

Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane, 1931

The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake strikes Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, 1946

The Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent, comes into force, 1961

Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended to prohibit sexual discrimination to any educational program receiving federal funds, 1972

Himmy, of Australia, weighs in at domestic cat record 20.7 kg (45 lb) , 1982

Nintendo 64 goes on sale in Japan, 1996

Japan's Iwate prefecture experiences a 6.7 magnitude earthquake, 2011

Nik Wallenda completes a high wire walk across a Little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon, 2013

A ceasefire agreement is signed between the Colombian government and Farc rebels ending more than 50 years of conflict, 2016

The United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union, 2017

Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa becomes the second-youngest grandmaster at 12 years, 10 months, 13 days, 2018

Twelve boys and their coach are stranded in Tham Luang Nang Non cave, Thailand by monsoon flooding, prompting an international rescue effort, 2018