Of Covid, Forgetfulness and Power Outages, 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.

Before i forget again, i was asked last week why Carl wears those ice vests, the ones you slip ice packs into so you'll stay cool.  He is very heat sensitive and his job is pushing grocery carts down here in the steamy, swampy weather we have.  He's on the black asphalt for hours under the blazing sun, trust me, he needs those packs, they make it possible for him to keep this job.

This week has been turned a bit sideways.

Ms. V called me Sunday evening to let me know Carl has Covid again.  This time, so far his parents do not, and they are isolating him in his room, leaving the food he wants outside his door and making him stay in there.

This meant i didn't clean there yesterday, obviously.

This was the week i clean there on Monday morning, then go across the street to Ms. S.  Upon calling Ms. S, she told me i could come early, so i went there at 9am, long enough to let Mr. D sleep a bit.

Not having to be at work at 6am Monday morning is weird, especially as we were awakened with a start at 4:45am with the electricity going out just long enough to make us have to reset the clocks.

What is it about the electricity that it goes out for 5 seconds then blips back on?

Anyway, i got to do some around-the-house puttering before heading to work.

When i arrived, Ms. S told me, "When V called me last night to say Carl was ill again, I said, 'That means you won't have mimi come tomorrow, so tell her to call me so we can work out a time for her to come here."

Ms. V responded with, "I forgot all about her coming!  You're right, I have to call her."

Please note, i've been going to clean Carl's place every Monday morning for over two years, and Ms. V still does not remember i'll be there until she gets up and finds me in the house on Monday morning.

Once i was done with Ms. S's house, i went and got Sweetie and we went to Kevin and Lenny's.  Their old cleaning guy has retired and we've been asked to come clean once a month.

Have you ever tried to clean the grime out from around the men's room baseboards near the toilet in a mechanic shop?  Trust me, don't.

They actually have a very nice waiting area although there was dust in places where I don't believe they realize they have places.  They no longer have said dust, and no one needs to be afraid to use the restroom now.

Although as Kevin pointed out when i was lysoling his work station, "This ain't no doctor's office!"

It's one step closer now anyhow.

In honor of the power going out just long enough to irritate us, some funnies.

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Bureflux -- Discordian Calendar

Dia de la Bandera Nacional -- Ecuador (Day of the National Flag)

Dominion Day -- New Zealand (trad.)

European Day of Languages -- European Union

Festival of Venus Genetrix -- Ancient Roman Calendar

International Tool Day -- internet generated, now gladly embraced by toolmakers

Johnny Appleseed Day -- birth anniversary of John Chapman

Love Note Day -- take pen and paper and send that special someone a love note today, the idea of Leona Hamel of QC, Canada

Mesothelioma Awareness Day -- bringing to light this cancer caused by asbestos exposure 

National Pancake Day

National Voter Registration Day -- US (Celebrating Democracy in America) 

Old Holy Rood Day -- OS calendar (the day blackberries become unsafe for picking) related observance

     Mid-Autumn Day -- Scottish Highlands (traditional; considered the day harts begin to mate and a weather prognostication day)

Search for Your Baseball Cards Again Day -- on lots of trivia sites; recommended because you never know

September Revolution Day -- Yemen (a/k/a First Revolution Day)

Stanislav Petrov Day -- remembering the day in 1983 when Comrade Petrov was given the order to return nuclear fire due to a faulty alarm system; he defied the order for hours, refusing to return fire believing it was a false alarm, which indeed was correct, and his disobedience saved the world!

Sts. Cosmas and Damian's Day (Patrons of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, barbers, blind people, chemical industry/manufacturers, doctors/physicians/surgeons, hairdressers, midwives, people with hernias; Alberobello, Italy; Ossimo, Italy; against blindness and pestilence) related observance:

     Begin now to lay in supplies for your Michaelmas supper on the 29th

United States Postal Service Day -- US (the first postmaster general under the current constitution, Samuel Osgood, was appointed this day in 1789)

Woman Road Warrior Day -- to recognize the traveling businesswomen in today's world

World Contraception Day -- International

Birthdays Today:

Serena Williams, 1981

Lawrence Leritz, 1962

Melissa Sue Anderson, 1962

Linda Hamilton, 1956

Jane Smiley, 1949

Mary Beth Hurt, 1948

Olivia Newton-John, 1948

Lynn Anderson, 1947

Brian Ferry, 1945

Anne Robinson, 1944

Kent McCord, 1942

Julie London, 1926

Jack LaLanne, 1914

George Gershwin, 1898

T.S. Eliot, 1888

Edmund Gwenn, 1877

John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman, 1774

St. Francis of Assisi, 1181

Debuting/Premiering Today:

George(Magazine), 1995

"Knight Rider"(TV), 1982

"The Brady Bunch"(TV), 1969

"Hawaii Five-O"(TV), 1968

"Gilligan's Island"(TV), 1964

"The Beverly Hillbillies"(TV), 1962

"West Side Story"(Musical), 1957

"Lucia di Lammermoor"(Opera), 1835

"The Gladiator"(Play), 1831

Today in History:

In keeping a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus, Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix, BC 46

Sir Francis Drake returns to England with Spanish treasure, 1580

In a battle between Venetians and Turks in Athens, the Parthenon and Acropolis are seriously damaged, 1687

New Jersey passes a bill requiring a license to practice medicine, 1772

Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first Secretary of State of the US, 1789

Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson proved tomatoes weren't poisonous by eating several on the steps of the courthouse in Salem, New Jersey, 1820

The Diamond Match Company patents book matches, 1892

New Zealand and Newfoundland each become dominions within the British Empire, 1907

Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations, 1950

Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time, 1973

The United Kingdom agrees to the handover of Hong Kong, 1984

An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse, 1997

Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy becomes first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel, 2008

Georgia changes its second language from Russian to English, 2010

Saudi Arabia announces it is overturning its ban on women driving, the last country in the world to do so, 2017

108 pilot whales survive out of a total of 458 in Australia's largest mass stranding at Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, 2020

In the first test of the planetary defense system, NASA's DART mission successfully crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, 2022