Wednesday, July 3, 2024

A 20th Birthday Cake (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, BeThere2Day, and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     






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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    


Much thanks to Hilary Melton-Butcher for the prompts in June,


This month, Charlotte (MotherOwl) is providing the prompts on her blog.


For today the prompts are:


Fish

Kettle

Black

Human

Cloister

Serene


     And/or


Flagstone

Quarry

Bush

Rowan

Finnish

Mango


Charlotte (MotherOwl) has also chosen Light Ivory as the color of the month.



They'd decided, for at least their first married year, not to buy a house.


Their HUMAN family fell into two camps about this.


Some understood they wanted time to get used to being married and to decide what kind of place they wanted and where (meaning how close to in-laws), as well as save up, possibly enough to buy outright instead of needing a mortgage.  With both working great jobs and renting in a less expensive area, they had a shot at it.


The relatives who wanted babies nine months and fifteen minutes after the wedding and to have them right next door did not understand and never would.


Their pet family didn't care either way, as long as the dog was walked, the cats' boxes were cleaned, the FISH tank was maintained, and all meals were on time.


The result was they rented as cheaply as they could for, oh horrors, over two years, and actually did save enough to buy outright the house they wanted.


It was further from family than some family wanted, but both loved peace and quiet and this house was far enough from the main roads to be SERENE as a CLOISTER.  FLAGSTONEs from the local QUARRY led to the Light Ivory front door which had a ROWAN tree on one side and a rose BUSH on the other, one for protection and the other simply for its beauty.


Just inside the door was the painting he'd done in college of Ukko, FINNISH god of sky and thunder.  He'd always been fascinated by mythology, and in his elective classes painted his heroes to his hearts content.


The interior was light and airy throughout.  She always said, "As long as I have my KETTLE and my BLACK cast iron, I can cook anywhere," but this kitchen was a joy, the right size for moving around in but not feeling like a small pea rattling in a large pod.  Even her MANGO orange bowl for fruit had a place where it was handy without being in the way.


It was just as they'd wished, and they were glad they'd waited.



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Today is:


Air Conditioning Appreciation Days begin -- Northern Hemisphere (around here, they last until Thanksgiving!)


Compliment Your Mirror Day -- remind your mirror how great it is to have an owner like you, and look at other mirrors to meet to see if they greet you with a smile


Dipolieia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Zeus as god of the city)


Disobedience Day -- internet generated, but if you have a bone to pick, use your civil disobedience today to let it be known! 


Dog Days of Summer begin (according to the almanac, but not in all cultures)


Eat Beans Day -- bring the humble legume up to main dish status!


Fiesta del Fuego -- Santiago, Cuba (festival of fire, through the 9th)


Independence Day -- Belarus(1944)


International Plastic Bag Free Day -- working toward a plastic bag free world 


National Chocolate Wafer Day


Stay Out of the Sun Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; for health's sake, give your skin a break!


St. Thomas the Apostle's Day (Patron of architects, blind people, builders, carpenters, construction workers, geometricians, masons, people in doubt, stonecutters, surveyors, theologians; against blindness, doubt; Certaldo, Italy; Ceylon/Sri Lanka; East Indies; India; Pakistan)


Virgin Islands Emancipation Day -- US Virgin Islands



Anniversaries Today:


Prince Alois of Liechtenstein marries Duchess Sophie of Bavaria, 1993

Ted Kennedy marries Victoria Anne Reggie, 1992

Idaho becomes the 43rd US State, 1890



Birthdays Today:


Moises Alou, 1966

Thomas Gibson, 1962

Tom Cruise, 1962

Montel Williams, 1956

Alan Autry, 1952

Betty Buckley, 1947

Dave Barry, 1947

Kurtwood Smith, 1942

Tom Stoppard, 1937

Pete Fountain, 1930

Ken Russell, 1927

Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, 1908

Franz Kafka, 1883

George M. Cohan, 1878

Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, 1870

Samuel Huntington, 1731(O.S. date)



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"ITV News at Ten"(TV), 1967

"Mister Peepers"(TV), 1952



Today in History


Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France till the French Revolution in 1792, 987

Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain, 1608

Pitcairn Island is discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret, 1767

Norway's oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published, 1767

George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1775

The Bank of Savings in New York City, the first savings bank in the United States, opens, 1819

The last pair of Great Auks is killed, 1844

Slaves are freed in the Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands) by Peter von Scholten in the culmination of a year-long plot by enslaved Africans, 1848

Dow Jones and Company publishes its first stock average, 1884

Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent Motorwagen – the first purpose-built automobile, 1886

The New York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting  by hand, 1886

World speed record for a steam railway locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 126 miles per hour (203 km/h), 1938

The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad, 1969

First mention in the New York Times of a disease that would later be called AIDS, 1981

The Stone of Scone is returned to Scotland, 1996

Asteroid 2004 XP14 flies within 432,308 kilometres (268,624 mi) of Earth, 2006

New Zealand sustains a major earthquake, with minor damage reported, 2012

In El Paraiso, Peru, property developers destroy a 4,000-year old pyramid, 2013

In Belgium, King Albert II abdicates his throne to son, Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, due to health reasons, 2013

Health insurance company Aetna announces that it will pay $37 billion to acquire rival company Humana, 2015

Souad Abderrahim is elected the first female mayor of Tunis, Tunisia, 2018

The worst wildfires in Cyprus' history begin in Limassol district, 2021

Sri Lanka says it has less than one day's worth of fuel remaining, as its economic crisis deepens, 2022

21 comments:

  1. HOW I love your story. Such wisdom - and happiness.

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  2. That was a nice story, and you have to do what is best for yourself and not to suit other people.

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  3. I liked your story oh and what a cake :-)
    Have a caketastic week 👍

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  4. The cake is funny and you have to take it in the spirit with which it's been made. We hope all teenagers hold off on having babies while they themselves are still children. Have a great Wednesday.

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  5. A house is a big deal and you shouldn't rush to buy one if you don't have to. Take the time to find the right one and if you can get away without a mortgage, all the better.

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  6. We are happy we waited to buy a house that we could afford while we were raising children, and that we can afford now that we are retired.

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  7. Local temperatures here have been inching closer to 100 degrees lately so I think we will celebrate July as Air Conditioning Appreciation month as a reminder that we truly are in the Dog Days of summer. Have a blessed week.

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  8. That was a terrific story and beating teen pregnancy is a good thing, hooray!

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  9. I ate some of that cake.

    Love your use of the prompts. Waiting is often the very best option.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. Love and hugs, my friend. ♥

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  10. Lulu: "That cake is describing a pretty good achievement in some areas!"
    Java Bean: "Ayyy, every day is 'Stay out of the Sun Day' as far as our Dada is concerned ..."

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  11. Great use of prompts ~
    My grandmother always said 'when in doubt, do without' ~ waiting can be difficult ~ hugs,

    Wishing you good heatlh, laughter and love in your days,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  12. Hah - I suppose that is certainly something to celebrate!

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  13. Ha - love that cake!!!

    The story was very good with lots of wonderful lessons

    Woos - Misty and Timber

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  14. That is an unusual cake. Great story. XO

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  15. Ha ha, Mimi. Excellent story. Feel yourself hugged.

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  16. Bwhahaha! That cake cracked me up!

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  17. That cake had to be for someone with a sense of humor! I hope!!
    Oddly, your story was a bit like my spouse and my doing. It wasn't housing though, it was getting married. Family kept wondering what our problem was, I wanted to finish school, Husband agreed, so we didn't get married until I was out of school... Worked for us!
    Cat

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  18. Who invented Air Conditioning Day? Give them a medal, it's an awesome idea! Imagine life ina warm climate without it * yikes *

    Marjorie and Toulouse
    DashKitten

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  19. Good story, I'm glad they waited and did it their way.

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  20. Sounds like a happy couple. If only we all can save up for a house. Nice of the wfw prompts.

    Have a lovely day

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