Belts, Keys, Yoghurt and a Tizzy, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

Where do i start?

Probably with me walking in to Carl's yesterday to hear his alarm clock going off.  He was already awake and having breakfast, thus it was not needed, but i'm glad he has it anyway.

Part of his breakfast, cereal with dried fruit and a fruit cup.

The rest of his breakfast, toast, peanut butter, waffles, various juices and milk.

That blaring alarm set the tone for the day.  I had the weirdest feeling i needed to check the trunk of the car to see if he had everything.

Boy am i glad i did.  When wrapping his ice chest with all his cold stuff the night before, the lid had been pushed back, so it was open and everything was half melted.

Well, that's going to put me behind.

I happened to have brought my ice chest with me that day, as i wanted to stop at the store and grab a couple of things and it's so hot right now, i don't even count on getting cold stuff home quickly enough unless it's in an ice chest with a frozen pack.

My ice chest was a tiny bit bigger than his, and has a different type of lid that won't slide off, so i traded and gave him mine.

As i was repacking with still frozen packs for the half melted ones, i noticed some of the freezer packs were stuck together in the freezer.  Time to grab the rubber mallet and whack them apart, except the mallet was not in its accustomed spot in the hall tool cabinet.

Not having time to try to track it down, i just grabbed other ice packs and got everything in, then it was time to turn my attention to his lunch.

He hadn't pre-made anything.  I grabbed his lunch meat and headed for the big kitchen, got him a sandwich, fruit cup, and what was left of a bag of baby carrots.  I didn't have time to fix an extra snack the way i like to do.

He started saying, "Ice in my thermos would be nice..."  I found the thermos, and found out the ice cubes they have are the wrong size to fit in it.

As i was doing these things, i was also taking stock of the work and noticed one of his lotion bottles actually still had a top on it, one less thing for me to do.

See the green lid, still on the lotion bottle?  It wouldn't stay.

Then later, as i was actually getting into the cleaning, i realized i had spoken too soon.

The lid is now off.

Just as Carl was leaving, he was looking for his belt.  I gave him one and he said, "I can't use this, it's broken!"  I grabbed it and, sure enough, he'd dug the broken one i'd thrown away the week before out of the garbage!  This time i put it in the outdoor bin, but meanwhile, he still needed a belt.

We looked and he came back in from the car twice to ask if i'd found one.  Finally, i handed him a web belt and told him it would have to do. 

Later on i found them, one under a blanket in a chair, and the other, as i was grabbing one of the dirty towels in the bathroom, i felt something.

Because of the debacles of the morning, i didn't get Carl's laundry started until a bit late, and if you start late, you finish late.

Oh, and i did find the rubber mallet and get those ice packs loosened.  Someone had thoughtfully put it in the tool chest instead of hanging from the back of the tool cabinet.  Oh, well, at least it turned up.

While at Carl's, i had to make two phone calls.  The one to the bank, about a check, was not resolved, although it should be by the end of the week.

The other, to the electric company, went well.  It has to do with a work order i was questioning, and i received a good explanation.

Those also put me back a bit, as did that planned trip to the store.  Then i arrived home to find Sweetie gone and the front door unlocked.  Once i determined we hadn't been burgled and i got the cold stuff put away, i went to see Ms. D.

She didn't have a whole lot for me to do, but as i kept asking her about other things i turned up the fact she'd lost her key to the utility room and was using the spare.  I asked about getting another made, and she said she was planning to eventually.

Eventually, nothing! i told her.  No time like the present, especially when you are down to only one key.  I wanted to actually earn my pay, so i ran that key up to my favorite locksmith, about a ten minute drive away.  The whole thing was less than 30 minutes, but she was so relieved with not having to do it herself you'd have thought i went to Timbuktu.

Just as i was leaving Ms. D's, Ms. JAI called to ask if i was coming.  I told her yes, very soon, what cleaning supplies did i need to bring?

"Nothing," she said, "I want you to take down some curtains and iron them and hang them back up.  Oh, and I need yoghurt.  Are you near a Mall-Mart?"

I told her i would go by the Mall-Mart for her, and she said, "Good.  I like that Greek yoghurt, the store brand, vanilla.  I think it's low fat or non fat, it's the one with the picture of a flower on it."

Got it, i told her, and then she said, "And bread.  I haven't been to the store, I need bread."

White or wheat?

"Whatever's cheap!"

That's an Italian grandmother for you, you gotta love 'em.

I stopped and got her bread and yoghurt, then went over to find her in a tizzy about her thermostat not working and her phone not ringing (i reset the volume myself and it still won't actually ring, i have no idea what to do) and the repair man is going to come and what if he calls and she doesn't hear it and...

We tackled one thing at a time.  The curtains came down and got ironed, but her handyman is going to have to rehang the rod to get them back up the way she wants them.  We tackled where she wants the last of the pictures placed on the walls, and set each picture by that wall for the handyman to put up.

I cleaned toilets, and she asked if i would take her recycling as this complex doesn't recycle.  Oh, and could i get online and order her some air conditioner filters and a Kaboom toilet cleaning system thing?  Every time i thought we were done, and she was about to say good-bye to me, she'd think of one more thing.

Finally the phone vibrated (i can't make it ring, either), it was the A/C repair people and we told the repair guy to come on, yes, someone was home.  When he arrived, she was holding the phone in her hand and i managed to use it to open the gate and let him in the complex.  (I'd gotten in earlier by simply following someone else in.)

Just another day in paradise, right?

In honor of Ms. JAI's wonky thermostat, how about some funnies.

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Anjin Matsuri -- Ito City, Japan (commemorations William Adams (1564-1620), a naturalized British shipwright, called "Anjin Miura" in Japan, a great contributor to the early development of Japanese ship-building industry; through the 10th)

August Tuesday / Culturama -- St. Kitts and Nevis

BaBa Day -- Taiwan (ba ba is Mandarin for both "father" and "8-8")

Bonza Bottler Day™

Carnival Tuesday -- Antigua and Barbuda (Last Lap Jump Up); St. Vincent and Grenadines

Dalek Day -- on the birth anniversary of the creator of these Scifi baddies, Terry Nation

Drottningens Namnsdag -- Sweden (Name Day of Queen Sylvia; an official flag day)

Festival for Venus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (sunset to sunset)

Festival Tuesday/Horse Races -- British Virgin Islands

Fourteen Holy Helpers' Day (Patrons against diseases)

Fox Hill Day -- Nassau, Bahamas (final day of their Emancipation celebrations)

Happiness Happens Day -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, to encourage sharing happiness and discourage parade raining; on the anniversary of their founding in 1997

Kranti Diwas -- Mumbai (former Bombay), India (a/k/a Freedom Day or Quit India Day; anniversary of Gandhi's Quit India speech to the British authorities in 1942)

National Frozen Custard Day

Odie Day -- Garfield's pal Odie, who first appeared in the strip on this day in 1978

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and i love the stuff but can't grow plants to save my life, i'll leave the porch light on for you if you will bring me some!

St. Cyriacus' Day (Patron of the eyes; Altidona, Italy; against diabolical possession, eye disease, and temptations, especially temptations at the time of death)

St. Dominic's Day (Founder of the Dominican Order[Friars]; Patron of astronomers and astronomy, falsely accused people, scientists; Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; Valletta, Malta)

St. Mary MacKillop's Day (First native-born Australian saint; Patron of Australia; Wagga Wagga, Australia)

The Date To Create -- can't find anything on this one, just listed at a couple of sites, but go have fun creating something!

Wakulima ya Nane Nane -- Tanzania (Peasants' Day/Farmers' Day)

World Cat Day / International Cat Day -- begun in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal rights groups 

World's Fair of Money -- Pittsburgh, PA, US (the greatest money show on Earth, including dealers, exhibits from around the world, family activities and educational programs; through Saturday)

Birthdays Today:

Roger Federer, 1981

Michael Urie, 1980

Drew Lachey, 1976

The Edge, 1961

Deborah Norville, 1958

Randy Shilts, 1951

Roberta Cooper Ramo, 1942

Keith Carradine, 1949

Connie Stevens, 1938

Dustin Hoffman, 1937

Mel Tillis, 1932

Esther Williams, 1923

Rory Calhoun, 1922

Dino De Laurentis, 1919

Russell Markert, 1899

Fredric March, 1897

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, 1896

Emiliano Zapata Salazar, 1879

Matthew Henson, 1866

Emperor Horikawa of Japan, 1079

Today in History:

The Romans destroy the Tower of Antonia, 70

Otto I (The Great) crowned German king, 936

Vijayanagara Empire is rebegun with the crowning of emperor Krishnadeva Raya, 1509

The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven, 1576

John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, 1585

The first known ascent (indoors) of a hot-air ballon by Bartolomeu de Gusamao, 1709

Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard become the first to ascend Mont Blanc, 1786

Metal bullet cartridges are patented by Smith and Wesson, 1854

Mimeograph is patented by Thomas Edison, 1876

Wilbur Wright makes the brother's first public flight, at a racecourse in Le Mans, France, 1908

The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire, 1911

The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight, 1929

The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, the 3rd nation to join, 1945

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, 1967

Richard Nixon announces his resignation as President of the United States, effective the next day, 1974

The lights go on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last staduim in the majors to host a night game (which was subsequently rained out!), 1988

Iraq occupies and annexes Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait within a couple of weeks, 1990

Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor, 2000

Archeologist excavating the Templo Mayor, one of the Aztec's main temples in their capital city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico city), make an unprecedented find - the skeleton of a young woman surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones, 2012

The Walt Disney Company announces plans to create a new streaming service and cut ties with Netflix, 2017

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, is declared to be 100% in drought, 2018

In a "Wright Brothers Moment" (key achievement), the National Ignition Facility of the Livermore Lab produces 1.3 megajoules of energy through nuclear fusion, 2021