Zillions, Rain and Where Can It Be, a Random and Happy Tuesday 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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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.  

Zillions is the title of my final A to Z Post because it is Little Girl's birthday and we love her zillions and zillions.

She is officially engaged to her sweetheart and in school and it looks like things are coming together for her after several ups and downs.  She's most precious to us.

Yesterday was a wet weather day, after all this is a swamp and it's to be expected.  Carl was awake and stirring when i arrived, but said he wanted to rest more and he had plenty of time to do so.

I took the pillow slip off his pillow and got a fresh one so i could wash the other and sent him to nap.  That lasted all of ten minutes and he was back already.  Poor guy, he's had an early schedule for so long, he can't sleep in now!

He started asking about his raincoat, and we did our best, but it eludes us.  I checked every corner of the car, the closet, everything.

I did find the missing matching hand towel.  It's been so long since he stuffed dirty clothes in the top of his closet i've been forgetting to look up.

While searching the car for the raincoat that might be anywhere on the planet by now, i did find what must be a gift.  Whether he bought it for his mom for Mother's Day or for the young lady he sometimes takes out to dinner is as yet a mystery to me.

He supervised his lunch packing closely this time.  It seems I have been minding his mother's dictum that he shouldn't be having too many sweets, and he wants one piece of candy in his lunch.  It seems he can't give it up entirely (and who can blame him?).

I arrived at Ms. D's house after Carl's to see she had moved her car out from under her carport.  Because she's single, she usually parks in the middle of the carport to make sure there's no room for someone with nefarious intent to pull in and make it look like s/he should be there.  You can't be too careful when you are 87.

As i walked in, i asked if she'd moved the car for me, as she sometimes does when it's wet or very hot, but then she usually simply moves it over.  If she had moved it for me, i told her she didn't have to leave it out in the rain, she knows there's plenty of room for two cars.

"I wanted it in the rain," she said.  "It's so dirty and dusty I want the rain to start washing it and I'm going to finish.  I'm tired of paying so much for carwashes!"

Well, alrighty then.

We proceeded to knock several items off her list.  I recaulked the part of the shower where it was leaking.  I helped her sign in to her MyChart to check the message from her doctor.  We went over her medicine regimen and made sure she had the list for the doctor appointment tomorrow.  I vacuumed the floors and cleaned out the ice cube bin at the bottom where many of the cubes had fused into a solid mass, then brought the garbage can up from the street and put it away.

Yes, i live up to my job description of "anything legal and moral you can train me to do."

How about some funnies.

Have a blessed and beautiful day, everyone, and Happy Birthday Little Girl!

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Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Georgia

Birthday of the King / Konungens födelsedag -- Sweden (HM King Carl XVI Gustav; an official flag day)

Bugs Bunny Day -- while some consider his debut to have been in "A Wild Hare," released in July two years later, others say that Bugs was the rabbit in "Porky's Hare Hunt," released this date in 1938

Camarón Day -- French Foreign Legion

Carnival Day -- Sint Maarten

Consumer Protection Day -- Thailand

Díá De Los Niños/Díá De Los Libros -- American Library Association (Children Day/Book Day; a celebration that emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds)

Dia de Rincon -- Rincon, Bonaire

El Dia del Nino -- Mexico (Children's Day)

Faeriae Latinae -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Feast of the Latin League, a festival to honor Jupiter)

International Jazz Day -- UNESCO (originated with the New Jersey Jazz Society and sanctioned by the United Nations Jazz Society, the American Federation of Jazz Societies, and the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society)

Liberation/Reunification Day -- Vietnam

May Eve -- eve of the first day of summer in many traditions, including

     Beltane/Samhain Eve -- Pagan traditions

     Carodejnice -- Czech Republic; Slovakia

     Maitag Vorabend -- Switzerland 

     Mange les Morts -- Haiti (festival of the dead)

     Salus -- Portugal; Spain (festival of the dead)

     Valborgsmässoafton -- Sweden

     Walpurgis Night -- Ancient Celtic/Nordic Calendars

Mr. Potato Head Day -- the classic toy went on sale this day in 1952, and you used your own potato

National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day -- US (can't find a sponsoring organization, but it's not a bad idea)  

National Honesty Day -- including Honest Abe Awards (Abies) and dishonorable mentions for those who have been particularly publicly egregious; celebrated today because we began the month with April Fooling and lies, so today is to celebrate the opposite*

National Military Brats Day -- US (Military Brats, Inc., wants the US Congress to set aside a day to recognize the sacrifices of the children of military service men and women)   

National Oatmeal Cookie Day

National Raisin Day

National Tabby Cat Day

National Therapy Animal Day

Pesach/Passover -- Judaism (ends at sundown tonight)

St. Adjutor of Vernon's Day (Patron of drowning victims, sailors, swimmers, yachtsmen; Vernon, France; against drowning)

St. James the Great's Day -- Orthodox Christian

Teacher's Day -- Paraguay

Tortie Cat Appreciation Day

*to nominate someone for an Abie or a dishonorable mention, contact M. Hirsh Goldberg, founder and author of The Book of Lies, mhgoldberg@comcast.net)

Anniversaries Today:

Pele marries Assiria Seixas Lemos, 1994

The Organization of American States is founded, 1948

Louisiana becomes the 18th US state, 1812

Birthdays Today:

Dianna Agron, 1986

Kirsten Dunst, 1982

Johnny Galecki, 1975

Jeff Timmons, 1973

Carolyn Dawn Johnson, 1971

Adrian Pasdar, 1965

Michael Waltrip, 1963

Isiah Thomas, 1961

Stuart Mathis, 1960

Stephen Harper, 1959

Jane Campion, 1954

Perry King, 1948

Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden, 1946

Michael J. Smith, 1945

Jill Clayburgh, 1944

Burt Young, 1940

Gary Collins, 1938

Willie Nelson, 1933

Cloris Leachman, 1926

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, 1909

Eve Arden, 1908

Ellis Wilson, 1899

Louise Dilworth Beatty Homer, 1871

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Barnum"(Musical), 1980

"The Dresser"(Play), 1980

"Inside U.S.A."(Musical revue), 1948

"Arthur Godfrey Time"(Radio), 1945

"Pelleas et Melisande"(Opera), 1902

"Dmitri Donskoi"(Opera), 1852

"Love for Love"(Play), 1695

Today in History:

Supernova  SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation  Lupus, 1006

Orbital calculations suggest that on this day, Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit until July 23, 1503, 1483

Columbus is given a royal commission to equip his fleet, 1492

On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States, 1789

The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France, 1803

Nicaragua  declares independence from the Central American Federation, 1838

Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to 

make up time on the Cannonball Express, 1900

Honolulu, Hawaii becomes an independent city, 1907

Peru becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty, 1920

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, 1927

The animated cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit (a prototype of Bugs Bunny, 1938

In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established, 1948

The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom, 1963

Communist forces gain control of Saigon and the Vietnam War formally ends, 1975

Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, 1980

CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free, 1993

Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 1999

Two skeletal remains found near Ekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia and one of his sisters, 2008

Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, 2009

Hailed as the largest World's Fair in history, Expo 2010 opens in Shanghai, China, 2010

Born without a trachea, a 2-year-old Korean-Canadian child is the youngest patient in history to receive a bioengineered organ made from stem cells; she received the transplanted organ at the Children's Hospital of Illinois, 2013

Willem-Alexander becomes the first male Monarch of Netherlands in 123 years, following the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix, 2013

The MESSENGER spacecraft is intentionally deorbited and destroyed, 2015

A new species of water beetle from the Malaysian Borneo’s Maliau Basin is named after actor Leonardo DiCaprio, 2018

The world's oldest known spider, a female trapdoor in Western Australia, dies at the age of 43 after being stung by a wasp, 2018 

Japan’s Emperor Akihito declares his abdication, effective the next day, 2019

Captain Tom Moore, who raised more £30 million for the National Health Service by walking in his garden, turns 100 and is made an honorary colonel by the Queen, 2020

After surviving Ewing's sarcoma and receiving a prosthetic leg, Jacky Hunt-Broersma sets a world record by running 104 consecutive marathons in 104 days, 2022

Yes! (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday

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

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Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile.

Because i was walking with Becca and Mr. Cal, i was not able to take as many pictures as i wanted or quite the angles i wanted, but i've made do.

As we walked, looking ahead i thought i saw, could it be, a turtle?

Yes, it was.

Would he make it before any cars came through, or would we be running to get him to safety?

Almost there.

Yes!

He made it, but Becca was rushing ahead and Mr. Cal tugging at the leash, so i didn't get any photos of him making excellent progress in the grass toward the pond behind the houses.

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Sparks is the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, who wanted us to post something positive and uplifting at the start of the week.  While she no longer blogs, i like to post an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.     

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Our dear friend Diane is taking a break

accommodations we must make

we miss her poetry and wit

so carry on as Poetry Monday's a hit!

Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  Charlotte/Mother Owl and i are keeping it going while she takes a blog break, we hope temporarily.  Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let us know!

This week the theme is Quiet.                  h     

"I want a piece of quiet!"

she heard her daughter say,

and at first she simply chuckled,

at the child putting it this way.

Then she thought much further,

and saw it would be nice

if "quiet" were an actual item

and you could order up a slice.

She'd order quiet moments

with which to start the day

and then a few more in the evening

before time to hit the hay.

Instead of a crying baby,

get a slice of quiet giggle and coo,

instead of screaming toddler,

a quiet game of peek-a-boo.

For the endlessly arguing siblings

a quiet board game or three,

for teen and pre-teen drama,

a quiet talk to help them clearly see.

We all need a "piece of quiet"

to get us through our life,

let's strive for a "piece of quiet,"

to ease our daily strife.

Future themes are:

Apr. 29 quiet (today!)

May 6 chest

May 13 event

May 20 pizza

May 27 politics

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Today is:

Act of Self Determination Day -- Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Arita Ceramic Fair -- Arita, Japan (finest porcelain in Japan; during Golden Week until May 5)

Cheng Cheng Kung Landing Day -- Taiwan (anniversary of the landing in Taiwan of Ming Dynasty loyalist Cheng Cheng Kung to oust the Dutch colonists)

Feast of the Secret Masters -- can't find any real info on this one, and why should i if it's such a secret, but it is fun to think about

Fish Cleaning Night -- sponsored by David Letterman (it's okay if you don't have an audience, or Mariel Hemingway)

International Dance Day -- International Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), a UNESCO partner   

National Adult Public Skipping Day -- because somebody out there either wants you to feel like a kid again, or make a fool of you

National Shrimp Scampi Day

"Peace" Rose Day -- an explanation of this name for the Rosa 'Madame A. Meilland variety   

Remembrance of Victims of Chemical Weapons -- on the day chemical weapons were outlawed in 1997

Ridvan, Ninth Day -- Baha'i (one of the festival days on which work and school should be suspended)

Runic Half Month of Lagu (water) begins

Showa No Hi -- Japan (Showa Day, the birth anniversary of Emperor Showa, begins the Golden Week holiday period of four major national days, through May 5)

Solar Alignment at Teotihuacan, City of the Gods -- Teotihuacan, Mexico (the ritual cave opening aligns to the sunset on Aug. 12 and Apr. 29, the same horizon position of the setting of the Pleiades)

St. Catherine of Siena's Day (Patron of fire prevention, firefighter, nurses, nursing services, people ridiculed for piety, sick people; Europe; Italy; Theta Phi Alpha Sorority; Allentown, PA, US; Siena, Italy; Verazze, Italy; against bodily ills/sickness, fire, miscarriages, sexual temptation)

World Wish Day -- from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, marking the date in 1980 that local police let seven-year-old leukemia patient Chris Grecicius be an officer for a day, sparking the idea of the Make-a-Wish Foundation

Zipper Day -- while i can't confirm it, the modern zipper was supposedly patented on this day in 1913

Anniversaries Today:

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, marries Catherine "Kate" Middleton, 2011

Mike Nichols marries Diane Sawyer, 1988

Princess Irene marries Prince Carel Hugo de Bourbon Parma, 1964

Birthdays Today:

Andre Agassi, 1970

Uma Thurman, 1970

Carnie Wilson, 1968

Eve Plumb, 1958

Michelle Pfeiffer, 1958

Daniel Day-Lewis, 1957

Kate Mulgrew, 1955

Jerry Seinfeld, 1954

Nora Dunn, 1952

Dale Earnhardt, 1951

Johnny Miller, 1947

Zubin Mehta, 1936

Lane Smith, 1936

Rod McKuen, 1933

Robert Gottlieb, 1931

Celeste Holm, 1919

Tom Ewell, 1909

Hirohito, 1901

Duke Ellington, 1899

William Randolph Hearst, 1863

Oliver Ellsworth, 1745

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hair"(Musical), 1968

"ABC's Wide World of Sports"(TV), 1961

"Young Dr. Malone"(Radio), 1940

"There Shall be No Night"(Play), 1940

Roget's Thesaurus(Publication date), 1852

Violin Sonata No. 32 in B-flat major(Mozart K. 454), 1784

Today in History:

The Moors arrive at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, 711

Joan of Arc arrives at Orleans to relieve the siege, 1492

Francis Drake leads a raid in the Bay of Cádiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish fleet, 1587

Eleven Dutch ships depart for the conquest of Peru, 1623

The Ming Dynasty occupies Taiwan, 1661

James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia, 1770

The French Fleet prevents Britain from seizing the Cape of Good Hope, 1781

Peter Roget publishes the first edition of his Thesaurus, 1852

The "Elektromote" – forerunner of the trolleybus  – is tested by Ernst Werner von Siemens in Berlin, 1882

Gideon Sundbach of Hoboken, NJ, receives a patent for the zipper, 1913

The North Sea floodgate at Ijmuiden, the biggest in world, officially opens, 1930

The telephone connection of England-Australia goes into service, 1930

The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast airs, and episode of "Space Patrol" shown over ABC affiliate KECA in Los Angeles, 1953

The first military nuclear power plant opens, in Ft. Belvoir 1957

A cyclone strikes the Chittagong  district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 mph, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless, 1991

Oldsmobile  builds its final car ending 107 years of production, 2004

Syria completes withdrawal from Lebanon, ending 29 years of occupation, 2005

Economic losses mount and class action lawsuits are filed as the U.S. Coast Guard plans a controlled burn to remove spilled oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, 2010

The International Chemical Weapons Convention deadline for chemical weapon stockpiles comes into effect, 2012

German Measles is declared eradicated from North and South America, the first world regions to do so, 2015

The animated series “The Simpsons” surpasses "Gunsmoke"'s 635-episode count to have highest episode count of any series on TV, 2018

A mile-wide asteroid, 1998 OR2, passes within 3.9 million miles of Earth, 2020

The world's longest pedestrian bridge (516 metres / 1,700 feet) opens inside northern Portugal's Arouca Geopark, 2021

The Bach Long (White Dragon) bridge opens in Moc Chau Island mountain park and resort, Vietnam, becoming the world's longest glass-bottom bridge, 2022