Icing on the Cake, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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It's a Thankful Day with a doozy of a story, at least to me, but i have to save it for last even though it happened first.

Last weekend was when i spent Saturday night at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so i'd arranged with Ms. A, Becca's mom, for me to not be there early Sunday morning.

Even so, i managed to get up early and got out early, got back up here in time to run two quick errands and arrived at our usual seats at 9:03.  A church worker was sitting with Becca, so i told her if she needed to go do other things i could take over.  It was a blessing, i do enjoy being in church on Sunday mornings.

Another small thankful from this week is we were gifted a very large cantaloupe that was exceptionally sweet and good and Sweetie and i got to snack on it several times.

Ms. D mentioned the local household hazardous waste collection day that is coming up and we hatched a plan.  She and i went through the barn and identified things she could get rid of and since i'm out of town on the collection day itself, Sweetie is going to help her get it all there as well as bring our stuff.  It's a thankful win for all of us.

Wednesday was a hard, good day.  Ms. G is always up to something, and this week it was getting donated food to a local rescue that needs it.  It involved crossing the river, me getting in the back of the truck and stacking a half pallet of cat food and half pallet of dog food, and getting a few other things done.  The rescue that's getting the food is one that helps people who've been laid off or are having financial trouble find ways to keep their pets instead of having to bring them back to shelters, this food will help someone who just can't buy cat or dog food right now get through a rough patch and i'm thankful i was able to play a small part.

Because of something extra scheduled on Friday, i asked Ms. GA if i could split her work and do some Thursday and some Friday.  Of course she said i could, she doesn't care as long as it all gets done.

This Thursday was Ms. SE's house, and it was tough but not overly so.  When we got done, Sweetie went to run errands, including getting Kevin and Lenny to get one of the side windows of Lunceford the Land Yacht to come up (bless them, they got it up and made sure it would stay up, another thankful).  Meanwhile, i got everything at Ms. GA's done except the downstairs bathroom and kitchen, which i knew i'd have time to do on Friday morning.

Now i'll skip to the shelter Friday evening, then come back to the rest of the story.  Not only am i thankful there have been adoptions galore, while i was there a lady came and donated a "cat wheel" to us.  It's like a hamster wheel, only for cats, and the cats in the juvenile room used the old one so much they broke it!  This one is hardly used, she got it for her son's very "chonky" cats, but they won't use it.  Our juvenile cats will.

It's time for the best of the story.  

A few weeks ago, Grandpa had asked me to spend the night Saturday the 17th as he was invited to the football game that day.  Uncle J was going to drive him up, and i was to stay with Grandma since she can't be left alone for that many hours.  

Then on the Tuesday before the game, Uncle J called and said he'd been having horrible headaches and not sleeping, asking if i'd be able to step in and take Grandpa to the game if he didn't feel up to it.

Smiling, i said yes.  My heart was not in it at first, i prayed he'd feel better.  Making that drive, sitting in traffic, the drunks, the noise, i have gotten over going to games and enjoy them better from a distance now.  Every time i prayed about it, though, i prayed for peace to do whatever needed doing, and i got it.

Last Friday the 16th i went to see Ms. PA at hospice.  She knew me even though she couldn't talk and the last thing i told her before i left was if she got to her coming home party in heaven before i saw her again, she was to save me a piece of her cake.  (She loved cake so much, once she got over 90 she would have cake for lunch every day, figuring at that age she could have what she wanted!)

Saturday morning i got the call she had just passed away that morning, and i was so thankful i'd had that last visit.

My heart was even less in going to a game, but i knew what had to be done.  After cleaning the house, Grandpa and i got ready and i drove us to the stadium about an hour away.  We were blessed with very little traffic, for which i was thankful.  We had a great time, and enjoyed being together immensely, another thankful.

Grandpa got to see several of his friends from up there he hadn't seen in years, and it really did his heart good, and i'm thankful.

The biggest thankful was when Grandpa and i got to the special area of the stadium where we'd be sitting, it's called a suite.  Each suite has a hostess and ours greeted us with a smile and told us the menu for the day.

She mentioned everything, then added, "Of course, there's always cake for dessert.  But guess what!  This week only, and in this suite only, we have two cakes for dessert!  A second one was special ordered for us."

Remember, i'd asked Ms. PA to save me a piece of hers only the day before.  She died around 9am.  That afternoon, they brought in their regular almond cake, and a strawberry cake.  Ms. PA's favorite.

She didn't make me wait to catch up to her to share her cake with me, she gave me some the day she went home.

The special event i wanted to attend yesterday was her graveside funeral service.  It was beautiful, and i'm thankful for her and what she meant to my life.

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:

Amilcar Cabral's Birthday/Independence Day/National Day -- Guinea Bissau(1973)

Armed Forces Day -- Peru

Bonn Phchum Ben -- Cambodia (Ancestors' Day; official holidays through the 26th)

Constitution Day/Recoronation of King Norodom Sihanouk -- Cambodia

Do Impressions of Famous People Around the Office Day -- again, i wonder about the intentions of those who start these things

Family Health and Fitness Day USA  

Feast of Our Lady of Mercy -- Catholic Christian

     Lady of Mercedes Day -- Dominican Republic

     La Merce -- Barcelona, Spain

Festival of the Latest Novelties -- an internet generated holiday to celebrate everything from traditional whoopie cushions to some of the more modern and weird novelty gifts out there; a great day for practical jokers

Fish Amnesty Day (same as National Hunting and Fishing Day in the US, because it hurts fish to be caught!)

Gallbladder Good Health Day -- seems unsponsored, but there's information about keeping your gallbladder healthy here 

Going Forth of Isis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Heritage Day -- South Africa

Innergize Day -- the day to take time for yourself! always on the day after the equinox, so either the 23rd or 24th, depending on where you live

International Rabbit Day -- learn to care for these wonderful pets and promote responsible rabbit ownership    

Kiwanis Kids' Day -- local clubs sponsor events for kids on the fourth Saturday of September

Lady of Mercedes Day -- Dominican Republic

Mahidol Day -- Thailand (commemorates the passing of Prince Father Mahidol Adulyadej, the "Father of Thai Modern Medicine")

Moose Day -- the day Bullwinkle J. Moose, from Frostbite Falls, MN, US, and his pal Rocky the Flying Squirrel (Rocket J. Squirrel) debuted in 1959

National Bluebird of Happiness Day -- US (and no one knows why, but it's supposed to be a day to go spread some happiness)

National Cherries Jubilee Day

National Hunting and Fishing Day -- US   

National Public Lands Day -- US (Helping Hands for America's Lands -- a day to volunteer on America's Public Lands; note that entrance fees are waived for this event!) 

National Punctuation Day® -- US, but good punctuation matters everywhere, so make sure you are using those punctuation marks correctly! Jeff Rubin can help.

National Seat Check Saturday -- US (make sure your child's car seats are secured properly)   

New Caledonia Day -- New Caledonia

Republic Day -- Trinidad and Tobago

Santa Cruz Day -- Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

Schwenkfelder Thanksgiving -- Pennsylvania Dutch followers of Silesian Reformation theology

St. Gerard's Day (Patron of Hungary)

St. Rupert's Day (Patron of Salzburg, Austria, where it is an official school and government holiday)

Transatlantic Telephone Day -- the first cable across the Atlantic was completed on this day in 1956

World School Milk Day -- UN

Birthdays Today:

Morgan Hamm, 1982

Paul Hamm, 1982

Nia Vardalos, 1962

Kevin Sorbo, 1958

Alan Colmes, 1950

Gordon Clapp, 1948

Phil Hartman, 1948

Linda McCartney, 1941

Jim Henson, 1936

Anthony Newley, 1931

Sheila MacRae, 1924

Jim McKay, 1921

F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896

John Marshall, 1755

Horace Walpole, 1717

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Nevermind"(Album release), 1991

"No More Lonely Nights"(McCartney single release), 1984

"The Love Boat"(TV), 1977

"60 Minutes"(TV), 1968

"Daniel Boone"(TV), 1964

"The Munsters"(TV), 1964

"Love of Life"(TV), 1951

"Once in a Lifetime"(Play), 1930

Today in History:

Prophet Muhammad completes his hijra from Mecca to Medina, 622

The last Emperor of the Komnenian restoration of the Byzantine Empire, Manuel I Komnenos, dies; the empire slips into terminal decline, 1180

The Dutch Republic surrenders New Amsterdam to England, 1664

The first autopsy and coroner's jury verdict is recorded in the state of Maryland, 1657

John Jay is appointed by George Washington as the first Chief Justice of the then six-person Supreme Court, which was instituted by the Federal Judiciary Act passed that same day, 1789

US Attorney General Office is created, 1789

The Northern Daily Times becomes the first provincial daily newspaper in London, 1853

Alexander Dey patents a dial time recorder, 1889

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy, 1890

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation's first National Monument, 1906

Cathay Pacific Airways is founded in Hong Kong, 1946

The Honda Motor Company is founded, 1948

Forest fires black out the sun over portions of Canada and New England, and a Blue moon (in the astronomical sense) is seen as far away as Europe, 1950

Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe, is opened in Barcelona, 1957

President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends 101st Airborne Division troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation, 1957

The United States court of appeals orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, 1962

Swaziland joins the United Nations, 1968

Compu-Serve launches the first consumer internet service, which features the first public electronic mail service, 1979

Periodic Great White Spot observed on Saturn, 1990

Hurricane Rita devastates Beaumont, Texas, southwest Louisiana, and finishing off some of the parts of New Orleans and southeast Louisiana that Katrina missed, 2005

The G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, PA, US, marks the first use of LRAD for crowd control in the US, 2009

Nigeria's government opens two swollen dams and displaces about two million people, 2010

Plastic polystyrene rubbish is discovered for first time only 1,000 miles from the north pole by an international team of scientists, 2017