Mom's Gone and Chaos Reigns Supreme, 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.  

I knew this week at Carl's would be the same as always, but even more so.

What do i mean?  Ms. V's dear friend kidnapped her and took her to the beach for four days.  Mr. L and Carl were "baching it."

The light in the laundry room was non-functional again, but i could see enough to know it hadn't been pretty.

The Thursday before, i'd started the cleaning rags in the wash when i was done cleaning the house and tried to remind Ms. V to get to them before she left.

It became quickly obvious she forgot and left them to Carl's not so tender mercies.

He is also now back to simply putting his clothes on "Rinse and Spin" cycle instead of a full wash cycle, so nothing gets truly clean.  We have to have "the talk" again about the washer cycles.

Meanwhile, the house Ms. V had left totally clean (because i helped clean it) a few days before showed obvious signs of neglect.

First, though, i had to get Carl out of his bedroom and into his sleep chair so i could get laundry going, then i could tackle other things.

I noticed he's got cotton swabs again.  I'll have to keep watch, they end up everywhere.

He also had one of his ice vests, used to keep frozen packs next to him on hot summer work days, out again.  When he can't find his coat (again), he puts on layers, and the layers can be anything he owns, appropriate to the season or not.

Which is why every pair of shorts he owns was dirty in the middle of winter.

The laundry got started and eventually he got up, showered, and then started hunting up breakfast.  I had to snatch a crispy rice treat before he could, telling him it was a dessert not breakfast and would be in his lunch box.

I wish i'd taken a picture of the inside of the fridge in the main house, the pickings were mighty slim.  Ms. V hadn't gotten around to doing any grocery shopping before she left, and it was obvious the two men left at home had simply been grazing on anything they could find and eating frozen dinners.

Carl's lunch sandwich ended up being the last couple of slices of bread with some mayo and shredded cheese because there were no cheese slices and there was truly nothing else to use to make a sandwich.

While i packed his lunch and got all those dishes into the dishwasher so Ms. V wouldn't come home to a complete disaster, Carl chatted.

"Help me look for a library game I borrowed!" he said and i told him i'd keep an eye out for it.  Although, if it's overdue, the library can probably say good-bye to that one and he can pay the fine to replace it.  He's not going to be happy with that.

"Mom's in Florida," he said, and before i could respond in the affirmative he added, "Isn't it cold in Florida?"

Not as cold as here, probably, i told him.  I didn't bother to tell him the point of her going wasn't to get warm, but to get away.  Which is a good thing, since we are expecting very wintry weather this week.

He talked about the fitness place where he goes.  Given the orders to lose weight and bring his blood sugar down by his doctor, he chose to continue eating his substantial meals and start going to the gym to address the problem.  It seems to be working, which is excellent considering after i packed his lunch, he tried to pack another one of some restaurant leftovers he had in his own fridge.  He probably would have eaten both, too, if i'd let him get away with it.

We discussed the wildfires and how tragic it is, and he talked about making a donation.  I told him he could not donate unless he showed his parents where he was donating first, as there are scams out there.  He was shocked, but he now understands there are people who say they will give the money to help, but don't.  I also clued in his father, Mr. L, to help him pick a good place if he wants to give.

It helps that i found his credit card in the washing machine again and gave it to Mr. L.  If he doesn't have it with him, he can't use it.

Which also means, for good or bad, he can't come home with marked down bargains like the Christmas Pig.

How about some funnies.

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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It's National Hugging Day™, which includes the announcement of the Most Huggable Person of the Year.  

This year's winner is Olesya Karpenko of Swannanoa, North Caroline, USA.  To quote from the website:

[Olesya] is a  member of the First Slavic Baptist Church of Swannanoa.  She was chosen as Most Huggable of 2025 in part due to her spirit of volunteerism following the devastation from Tropical Storm Helene in September, 2024.  The church likely served over 400 people per meal.  Olesya offered and engaged in free "caring hugs" to all those who came for a meal and encouragement in time of need.

(Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere for the event badge.)         

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Today is:

Celtic Tree Month Luis (Rowan) begins

Errol Barrow Day -- Barbados

International Bon Jovi Day -- they released their first album this date in 1983

Lady of Altagracia Day -- Dominican Republic

New England Clam Chowder Day

Quebec Flag Day -- Quebec, Canada

Rid The World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day -- always the Tuesday of Women's Healthy Weight Week

Squirrel Appreciation Day -- sponsored by Christy Hargrove of the Western North Carolina Nature Center

St. Agnes' Day (Patron of betrothed couples, bodily purity/chastity, crops, gardeners, Girl Scouts, girls, rape victims, virgins; the Colegio Capranica of Rome; Manresa, Spain; Rockville Centre, NY)

St. Meinrad of Einsiedeln's Day (Patron of hospitality; Einsiedeln, Switzerland; Swabia, Germany)

Anniversary Today:

Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit, 1915

Birthdays Today:

Robby Benson, 1956

Geena Davis, 1956

Billy Ocean, 1960

Jill Eikenberry, 1947

Mac Davis, 1942

Placido Domingo, 1941

Jack Nicklaus, 1940

Wolfman Jack, 1939

Benny Hill, 1925

Telly Savalas, 1924

Benny Hill, 1924

Paul Scofield, 1922

Barney Clark, 1921

Karl Wallenda, 1905

Christian Dior, 1905

Roger Nash Baldwin, 1884

John M. Browning, 1855

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, 1824

Ethan Allen, 1738

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Kid"(Film), 1921

"The Daily News"(first issue, edited by Charles Dickens), 1848

"Power of Sympathy"(publication date of WH Brown's novel, considered the first American novel), 1789

Today in History:

Philip II, Henry II, and Richard the Lionheart initiate the 3rd Crusade, 1189

The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded, 1525

The first American novel, WH Brown's "Power of Sympathy," is published, 1789

After being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine, 1793

Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination is introduced, 1799

The envelope-folding machine is patented by Russell Hawes, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1853

The first US sewage disposal system that is separate from storm drains opens in Memphis, Tennessee, 1880

The first slalom ski race is run in Murren, Switzerland, 1922

The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec, 1948

A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete, 1968

The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts, 1971

Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes, 1976

Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, 1981

NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth, 2004

Black Monday in worldwide stock markets. FTSE 100 had its biggest ever one-day points fall, European stocks closed with their worst result since 11 September 2001, and Asian stocks drop as much as 14%, 2008

The Eyak language in Alaska becomes extinct as its last native speaker dies, 2008

LA Lakers forward Kobe Bryant becomes the youngest NBA player to reach 25,000 career points at 31 years, 151 days, beating Wilt Chamberlain by 35 days, 2010

Gambian Dictator Yahya Jammeh finally concedes office and leaves Gambia 2 months after losing the presidential election, 2018

The journal Nature Communications reports a study of the world's oldest known meteor impact from an estimated 2.2 billion years ago in Yarrabilba, Western Australia, implicating the impact in the ending of an ice age at that time, 2020

Tara VanDerveer, age 70, becomes the winningest college basketball coach with her 1.203rd victory as Stanford University defeats the Oregon State Beavers, 65-56, 2024