Thankful to Be a Help, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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There are always so many reasons to be thankful, and being part of the Ten Things community is one of them.

Last Saturday, it started storming in NOLA and Grandpa was almost beside himself, he hates when i have to drive home in rain or a storm.  Thankfully, the rain was totally over and the sun was back out by the time i was finished cleaning and ready to leave, which calmed him a lot.

During 4th of July week, Becca's grandmother died very suddenly and unexpectedly.  It was her father's mom, and Mr. JH had to travel out of town, leaving Ms. AH holding down the fort.

We're thankful he got there in time to say good-bye.

Meanwhile, though, Ms.AH has some health problems and Becca doesn't sleep well at night.  It makes things very hard for everyone.  I was thankful to be able to spend the night there Saturday and Sunday nights, making sure Becca didn't wake her mom.

She actually had two pretty good nights.  She only woke up once each night, and both times after a quick trip to the restroom was persuaded to go back to bed.  She got up for good at 4:30am Sunday, but it was a Sunday and not that big a deal.  Monday morning, she was still in bed when i went to work at 5:45, which is phenomenal for her.

Ms. D had me helping her freeze her credit and get copies of her credit reports this week.  I'm thankful she feels comfortable asking for help with things like that, and thankful she feels comfortable calling us when she needs extra help.

She needed extra help on Wednesday, and i'm thankful Sweetie was able to go over and move some furniture for her so the nice OxyClean people could clean her two big area rugs.

We're also thankful he and The Big Boss went to the farm Tuesday.  It always means a bit of extra money, which is helpful.

Wednesday at Ms. G's house, we actually stayed at her house and got a few things done!  We're thankful and hope to repeat that next week.

Ms. SE on Thursday started me off with the news her 98-year-old grandmother had died the day before, the family were leaving for vacation Saturday, and would return the next Saturday to have guests in the house so all could attend the funeral.

Most of the time, i don't make beds at her house, i fold clothes instead.  This was one of those situations where i was thankful to be able to get to both, as she really, really needed to have those beds ready before leaving town, and it's hard enough to work until the last minute and get stuff ready and packed for yourself and 2 kids.

The cat shelter is bustling and busy and has a new employee.  I was thankful to meet her and a new volunteer, thankful i was able to correct a mistake i made with refilling a food container, and thankful i found a spare Clorox toilet bowl cleaner handle at Grandma's house to bring over there, as someone there has thrown all but one away and we're supposed to have two (one in each restroom).

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.   

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Today is:

Be a Dork Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, which encourages you to wear goofy clothes and fall off a swingset today and be proud of Dorkiness

Canada's Parks Day -- Canada (showcasing Canada's beautiful parks and historic sites, it's worth traveling to a park near you!)

Cigarette Warning Day -- anniversary of the 1968 law passed in the US that requires health warnings on cigarette packaging

Feast of Rowana/Rauni -- Druid/Cornish/Flemish (rowan tree goddess; date approximate)

Festival of Castor and Pullox -- Ancient Roman Calendar every five years (celebrated with a cavalry and chariot procession)

Festival of Santa Rosalia -- Palermo; Sicily (remembrance of the Patron saint of the city on the date, in 1624, when she stopped the plague)

Gorestnici -- Bulgaria (fire festival of 3 days duration, honoring the ancient belief that these are the 3 hottest days of the year)

Gummi Worm Day

Hakata Gion Yamagasa -- Kushida Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan (festival of floats, dates back to the 13th century, includes dousing teams carrying one ton floats with water as they race!)

Hundadagar -- Icelandic tradition, the "dog days" of summer begin, through Aug. 23

Ides of July -- Ancient Roman Calendar

I Love Horses Day -- all over the web with no specific reason given, but do you need a reason to celebrate horses?

National Pet Fire Safety Day

National Tapioca Pudding Day

National Woodie Wagon Day -- paying homage today to this great American symbol of freedom and the casual lifestyle

No-Hitter Day -- George Bradley of the St. Louis Brown Stockings pitched the first officially recognized no-hitter in MLB against the Hartford Dark Blues on this date in 1876

Pet Fire Safety Day -- make a plan to get yourself and your pets safely out of your home in case of a fire!

Respect Canada Day -- because Canada deserves it!

St. Bonaventure's Day (Patron against intestinal problems; of Bagnoregio, Italy; Cochiti Indian Pueblo; St. Bonaventure University, New York)

St. Swithun's Day -- Saint Swithun's Society Annual Celebration in Toronto, ON, Canada; the weather prognostication associated with this saint says if it rains today, it will rain for the next 40 days (Patron against drought; of Stavenger, England; Winchester, England)

     church closed 2019 for repair, check next year for a festival 8#St. Swithun's Festival -- St Swithun's Church, Church Street, Worcester, England (from today, which is St. Swithun's Day, through the 18th)

St. Vladimir of Kiev's Day (Patron of converts, parents of large families, reformed and penitent murderers; Russia; Ukranian Catholic Diocese of Stamford, Connecticut; Winnipeg, Manitoba)

Sultan's Birthday -- Brunei Darussalam

Toss Away the "Could Haves" and "Should Haves" Day -- write down all the "could have" and "should have" things in your life, then toss them in the trash! Resolve from this day to live in the present, not the past.

Birthdays Today

Tanner Maguire, 1998

Emily Roeske, 1991

Brian Austin Green, 1973

Beth Stern, 1972

Adam Savage, 1967

Irene Jacob, 1966

Forest Whitaker, 1961

Lolita Davidovich, 1961

Kim Alexis, 1960

William Aames, 1960

Terry O’Quinn, 1952

Jesse Ventura, 1951

Arianna Huffington, 1950

Richard Russo, 1949

Linda Ronstadt, 1946

Jan-Michael Vincent, 1944

Alex George Karras, 1935

Ken Kercheval, 1935

Julian Bream, 1933

Clive Cussler, 1931

Jacques Derrida, 1930

Mother Fraqnces Xavier Cabrini, 1850

Thomas Bulfinch, 1796

Clement Clarke Moore, 1779

Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1606

Debuting/Premiering Today:

MSNBC(Network), 1996

"One Life to Live"(TV), 1968

Today in History

Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege, 1099

John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, 1381

Alexei Chirikov sights land and sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska, 1741

The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, 1799

Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Belle Fountaine to explore the west, 1806

Napoléon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon, 1815

A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, 1823

Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union, 1870

The stratovolcano Mount Bandai, Japan, erupts killing approximately 500 people, 1888

In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing), 1916

Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others, 1955

AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation; the Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day, 2003

Entire villages are burned to the ground and 40,000 people flee their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2010

An 8-year-old girl finds a pre-Viking-era sword in Vidostern Lake, Sweden, and is jokingly proclaimed Queen of Sweden, 2018

Devastating floods linked to climate change sweep through towns in western Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, 2021