Lots of Thankfuls, a Ten Things of Thankful A to Z Post

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It’s Thankful Day and the day after rEcess, let’s get it done!

Grandma fell asleep last Saturday while i was there.  It’s something I was glad to see, as she sleeps so poorly and she had a great nap.

The eclipse Monday was a bust here, nothing but clouds and rain.  My boss that afternoon, Ms. S, grabbed me and made me stop and watch the live coverage from Indianapolis, it was fascinating.

Monday evening was my other ladies’ circle group, only four of us came but it was an excellent time of fellowship.

Because Kevin and Lenny want us in the afternoons only (they get slammed most mornings), i slept in a bit on Tuesday.  We’ve gotten the place down to 2 1/2 hours, which is perfect.

The prediction Wednesday was for some awful storms and Ms. G was going to be out of town anyway.  We agreed I’d do my first volunteer job of the day at the cat shelter, then i went home to wait out the worst of it, then went to the other small volunteer job she lets me do before i go to her house (because she talked me into it in the first place).  Once done with the second job, i was able to go home for the day.

This meant no pay for the day, but i’m thankful anyway because our precautions turned out to be mostly unnecessary and the whole thing was a rain storm here and little more.  Also, extra time at home to put my feet up!

Thursday was the usual with Ms. V except Carl didn’t have work until later.  It meant changing up my routine, as he was still in the kitchen during the usual time i’m cleaning it, but it all worked out.

We round it out with rEcess.

We do love the babies.

Air hockey table goes wild.

Running in the hallways.

Let's gather for gym time.

May I bring baby doll with me?

Of course.

A fub time is had by all.

Sparkley hula hoops werea big hit.

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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Click here to enter

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Today is:

Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis -- Holy See (Vatican City)

Baby Massage Day

Bisket Jatra -- Nepal (Nepali New Year)

Day to Give Thanks for Fish/Seafood -- anniversary of the US Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1976

Environmental Protection Day -- anniversary of the 1962 publication of Silent Spring

Feast of Rotten Endings -- because some stories just don't end well

Huguenot Day -- Huguenot Society of the US (anniversary of the 1598 Edict of Nantes, in which King Henry IV promoted peace between Catholics and Protestants)

Ides of April -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also

     Festival of Libertas -- personification of freedom and political liberty

     Festival of Jupiter Libertas

     Festival of Jupiter Victor

International Plant Appreciation Day -- unsponsored by any but those who love plants

Laotian New Year's Eve -- Laos (celebrations of Pi Mai, the new year, last through the 15th and sometimes beyond; at the start of the monsoon season)

National Peach Cobbler Day

Poshui Jie -- Jinghong, China (Water Splashing Festival; a 3 to four day festival around this time)

Scrabble Day -- anniversary of the 1899 birth of its inventor, Alfred Mosher Butts

Slow Art Day -- a global all-volunteer event with the simple mission of helping more people discover for themselves the joy of looking at and loving art  

Songkran Festival / Chiang Mai Songkran / Tamil New Year / Bangla New Year / Bisket Jatra -- Bangladesh; Cambodia; India; Laos; Myanmar; Nepal; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand (New Year festivals, celebrated over the next few days, as the sun enters the zodiac sign of Aries)

St. Hermengild's Day (Patron of converts; against drought, flood, and thunderstorms)

Thingyan Eve -- Myanmar (Water Festival Eve; through the 17th)

Thomas Jefferson Day -- US

U.S. Elephant Day -- marking the arrival of the first elephant in the US in 1796

Yasurai Matsuri -- Imamiya Jinja, Kyoto, Japan (festival to prevent ill health)

Yayoi Matsuri -- Nikko, Japan (five-day spring festival)

Birthdays Today:

Jonathan Brandis, 1976

Rick Schroder, 1970

Garry Kasparov, 1963

Saundra Santiago, 1957

Max Weinberg, 1951

Peabo Bryson, 1951

Ron Pearlman, 1950

Al Green, 1946

Tony Dow, 1945

Lowell George, 1945

Jack Casady, 1944

Bill Conti, 1942

Paul Sorvino, 1939

Lyle Waggoner, 1935

Don Adams, 1926

Howard Keel, 1919

Eudora Welty, 1909

Samuel Beckett, 1906

Butch Cassidy, 1866

F.W. Woolworth, 1852

Thomas Jefferson, 1743

Guy Fawkes, 1570

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Arcadia"(Play), 1993

Casino Royale(Film), 1967

Silent Spring(Publication date), 1962

"El Capitan"(Operetta), 1896

"Messiah"(Oratorio, HWV 56), 1742

Today in History:

The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt with the capture of Louis IX of France, 1250

Henry IV of France signs the Edict of Nantes, granting freedom of religion and political rights to Huguenots (French Protestants), 1598

John Dryden, age 36, becomes the first English Poet Laureate, 1668

George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland, 1742

The first elephant seen in the Western Hemisphere arrives from India, 1796

The British Parliament grants religious freedom to Roman Catholics, 1829

Hungary becomes a republic, 1849

The first US Pony Express run is completed, 1860

George Westinghouse patents a steam powered brake, 1869

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded, 1870

J.C. (James Cash) Penney opens his first store, 1902

British troops fire on unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India, killing at least 379 and wounding over 1,200 more, 1919

Helen Hamilton becomes the first woman US Civil Service Commissioner, 1920

Lord Clydesdale makes the first flight over Mt. Everest, 1933

The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated on the 200th anniversary of his birth, in Washington, D.C., 1943

Van Cliburn becomes the first American to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, 1958 

Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field, 1963

An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the spacecraft while en route to the Moon, 1970

The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan, 1972 Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the United States' first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1, 1974

Portugal and the People's Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999, 1987

Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament, 1997

Former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak and sons, Alaa and Gamal, are detained for 15 days of questioning regarding charges of corruption and abuse of power, 2011

The People's Republic of China and the U.S. agree to work towards eliminating nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula, 2013

The world’s largest plane by wingspan (117m/385ft), built as a flying launch pad for satellites and called the Stratolaunch, takes its first flight from Mojave, California, 2019

Australian super-horse Winx ends her extraordinary career with a 3rd Queen Elizabeth Stakes win in Sydney giving her 33 consecutive race wins, a world record 25 Group One victories and $26.4 million Australian dollars prize money, 2019

Tropical Cyclone Ilsa makes landfall in remote western Australia, between De Grey and Pardoo Roadhouse, as a category five storm, setting a new sustained wind speed record of 218 kph (135 mph), 2023