Saturday = Thankful Day, a Ten Things of Thankful A to Z Post

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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.     

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Saturday is an extended Thankful Day here.  I try to come up with at least ten reasons, and sometimes more, to be thankful.

Anyone can join, and i promise it makes the week go better when you are actively thinking, "is this something i can share on Thankful Day?"

A couple of weeks ago, Grandpa (my father, my children's grandfather) started having  distressing symptoms.  He's a doctor, so of course he ignores these things and won't go to the doctor most of the time.

Finally, thankfully, he gave in and had tests and he has a very nasty gastric ulcer.  We're thankful it's just an ulcer.  He does not have the bacteria which usually causes ulcers, meaning this one is just stress induced, and the stress of the last year with Grandma's injury and Uncle J moving in has sent his micromanaging ultra-uber-hyper-organized self into paroxysms.  He's learning he has to chill out (and not ignore the pain, it won't "just go away").

When i was tending Carl's room on Monday, i noticed a new toilet seat in a box in the hall bathroom (i don't use Carl's bathroom, and if you have to ask why, you haven't read my Tuesday posts).  

I knew Mr. L was going to try to install that new toilet seat (the old one pinched if you weren't careful) and he doesn't need to do that with his bad neck.  I'm thankful i asked if i could do it, and did it.  That makes 3 toilet seats i installed in five days.  When I say my job description is "anything legal and moral you can teach me how to do" i generally mean it.

Tuesday was a big one.  It was our annual review with the financial advisor lady about our little "nest egg."  It was also Tax Day.

The review went well, she wanted to sell some shares of something and move it elsewhere, and she's always given us great advice and doesn't overcharge, we were thankful to have her advice and went ahead and did what she suggested.

Then there's the question of taxes and the "will the papers get here in time" game we play every single year.  This year, the CPA (friend of Grandpa) sent everything back to us the day before it was due.  This meant Tuesday, when we weren't with the financial lady, we were waiting to see if FedEx was going to show up.

Sweetie finally gave in and went to the store to get some supper.  There, he saw a guy in a FedEx uniform also getting a bite.  He asked the man if he delivers in our neighborhood, and he was, indeed, the driver with our tax paperwork in his truck.  He said he knew which house is ours and we'd be his first stop after his supper break.

Thankfully, we got the tax papers, signed the one which needed signing, took a picture and emailed it back so the CPA could legally file our taxes on time.

We're thankful we didn't owe, i've been paying my quarterlies regularly and plenty of it, so we had a little to let them keep toward next year's tax bill.  Happiness is knowing you filed your taxes and no nasty surprises of needing to pay more.

Ms. G was on a tear Wednesday when i finally got to her place.  She was trying to get out of town.  I'm thankful i was able to help her finish up a few things, she got away safely, and i am tending her cat and the outdoor wildlife she feeds for the next few days.  The extra pay is always welcome.

Last weekend was the annual library book sale fundraiser and i'm thankful i was able to go and had saved up to buy books for the laundromat library.

Thursday we got to the laundromat, i'm thankful we were able to get clothes washed and i had books to bring in.

The shelter was an adventure Friday evening.  A volunteer we hadn't seen in forever has decided to start coming back, and she jumped right in, we were thankful as she was able to steer some people toward just the right cat for them.

I'm thankful for the toolbox they keep, i was able to tighten up the loose toilet seat (what was it with me and toilet seats over the past week, anyway?) and i had drywall sanding paper so i was able to give all the toilets in the shelter a good scrubbing.  I'm thankful they all look much better now.

The shelter was quite busy and plenty to do, i was thankful to see bottle baby kittens being sent to foster homes, adopted kitties going home, and we caught Lila.  She didn't make it easy, but after a rousing game of "stop that cat!" she was finally calmed, caught, and put back in her room and we were all thankful (probably even Lila, though she'll never admit it).

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:

Chemists Celebrate The Earth Day -- promoting public awareness of the important contribution of chemists

Discovery Day -- Brazil (landing of Cabral in 1500)

Earth Day

Eid al Fitr -- Islam (celebration of the end of Ramadan; began sundown yesterday, runs through sundown on the 5th, although local dating and official government observances may vary)

Festival of Jupiter and Juno -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day -- Girl Scouts of the USA   

Granary Offering to Renenutet -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (offering to the Lady of Granaries; date approximate)

International Mother Earth Day -- UN

Lela's Holiday -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (honoring the goddess-daughter, Lela)

National Jelly Bean Day

Queen Isabella Day -- Spain and some US states (birth anniversary of Isabella I of Castille)

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

St. Epipodius of Lyon's Day (Patron of bachelors, betrayal victims, torture victims)

Walpurgis celebrations begin -- through May 1, Norse, Scandinavian, and Germanic celebrations (remembering the sacrifice of Odin upon the World Tree Yggdrasil

     Yggdrasil Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar

Birthdays Today:

Amber Heard, 1986

Francis Capra, 1983

Daniel Johns, 1979

Kim Elizabeth, 1978

Eric Mabius, 1971

Chris Makepeace, 1964

Byron Allen, 1961

Ryan Stiles, 1959

Peter Frampton, 1950

John Waters, 1946

Jack Nicholson, 1937

Glen Campbell, 1936

Aaron Spelling, 1928

Charlotte Rae, 1926

Yehudi Menuhin, 1916

Eddie Albert, 1906

Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, 1891

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, 1870

Immanuel Kant, 1724

Queen Isabella, 1451

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Who's Tommy"(Rock musical), 1993

"Le Triomphe de Plutus/Money Makes the World Go Round"(Play), 1728

Today in History:

Portuguese navigator Pedro Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil, 1500

President George Washington attends a performance of Rickett's, the first circus in the US, 1793

Thomas Stevens sets out from San Francisco on the first round the world journey by bicycle, 1884

The Oklahoma land rush begins at noon; thousands rush to claim land, and the towns of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed within hours with populations of over 10,000 each, 1889

Pravda begins publication in St. Petersburg, 1912

The Germans begin using poison chlorine gas as a chemical weapon, 1915

British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world, 1969

The first Earth Day is celebrated, 1970

The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is dedicated, 1993

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan's war record, 2005

Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War, 2006

The Pope, Benedict XVI, becomes the first pontiff to participate in a televised interview session, 2011

The Paris Agreement on climate change is signed in New York, 2016

Sudan bans female genital mutation, making it a criminal offense, 2020