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Another busy week, another busy Thankful Day.
In excellent news, the shelter got their Facebook page back! Several weeks ago, scammers managed to hack into their page and put up ads asking for a $300 "deposit" to "adopt" purebred animals, both cats and dogs.
Repeated requests to Facebook for help, constant attempts to get someone to do more than just file away the reports our director was making were getting nowhere.
Thankfully, she heard about another rescue which got into the same bind and she asked them for tips on how to get it taken care of. They gave her the direct contact info for the one person in all of Facebook who could get them their page back, and had it within an hour of his getting the message.
Yes, Facebook has only one person who can help a non-profit get their hacked page back. No, messages about a hacked page belonging to a non-profit do not automatically go to this person, you have to track him down yourself.
Anyway, we're most thankful to have the page back, it's how most of the fundraisers were run, through that page.
Saturday was just a good, all around day. The trip to NOLA and cleaning had no drips, runs or errors.
When i got to Becca's Sunday morning she was still asleep. After i woke her, she went to put her retainers in the bowl with no prompting, another star for her! I'm thankful the reward system is really helping her form good habits and she's not sleeping most of the day away because of staying up all night.
The evening Zoom meeting was another good one, i'm always thankful for an excellent discussion at a Bible study.
I hit the ground running Monday and got Carl's place in almost record time, then Ms. S. She was gone a good while as i worked, so there was no stopping to chat. This worked to me advantage as we had Kevin and Lenny's that afternoon.
I'm thankful Sweetie was able to help, thankful all 3 jobs got done to everyone's satisfaction, and thankful i don't do such long days as rule any more, they are now the exception.
Ms. G was back in town and we got to real world test her generator. It worked just fine and she's most thankful, as am i since without electricity there's generally no work for me to do.
Ms. V's place went well Thursday, i was thankful i even got done early enough to get to the bank.
#1 Son needed a ride to work Friday so he could get his oil changed in his car, i was thankful Sweetie was able to do that.
Mr. BA's car wouldn't start that morning, the battery was gone, so Ms. GA brought him to prayer group and he was going to leave early with her. I was thankful to be able to offer him a ride, as i go to their house anyway.
There's some sad thankful news which needs a bit of background. When they married, Mr. BA the cat lover was feeding several feral cats hanging at his house. Most of them were female, most of them were pregnant. He was just feeding every cat which showed up, and it was getting to be more and more.
Ms. GA stepped in, got local rescues involved, got all the cats TNRed and they have run a feral colony since, all of their house cats have come out of strays which wandered up to join the group (except Abigail, a rescue lady gave her to Ms. GA for free because they didn't think the kitten would survive anyway).
Over the years, the ferals have died off and of the original babies born during that period, only Lewis and Miss Alice, both of whom are 17-18 years old, were left.
Miss Alice has been going downhill, not eating, and Thursday she actually came into the house to stay. We could tell she was in pain and asking for relief, so old and worn and sad. She was feral enough in her heyday she would have taken off any hand which tried to pet her.
Yesterday i was thankful to not just pet her, but hold her and comfort her, getting her into the carrier. Mr. BA took her to the vet where she was helped to the Rainbow Bridge.
We're thankful to have known her, thankful she didn't just run off to die alone and in pain as so many animals do, and thankful she's well and happy again. I'm also thankful they gave her a good life, 17+ years is a good, long life for a feral cat.
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| Miss Alice, who at one time was nicknamed Phat Alice. |
I arrived at the shelter to find the adoptions manager almost dozing at his desk, his day had been so boring. For some reason, within about 20 minutes the place was full, potential adopters were all over, and we watched and did our volunteer work as several kitties were spoken for (preadopted) and one went home. All of us were thankful for the nice ending to the day.
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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Today is:
Bring Your Jack-O-Lantern to Work Day -- just check the fire code before you light that candle
Buffalo Racing Festival -- Chonburi, Thailand (lots of water buffalo contests, including fancy dress!)
Celtic Tree Month Negetal (Reed) begins
Dia do Servidor Publico -- Brazil (Civil Servants' Day)
Fall Back Night -- all areas that end Daylight Saving Time tomorrow; set your clock back one hour before you go to bed and change the batteries in your smoke alarms/carbon monoxide detectors (Aland Islands; Albania; Andorra; Antarctica (Troll Station); Austria; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Greenland; Guernsey; Hungary; Ireland; Isle of Man; Israel; Italy; Jersey; Kosovo; Latvia; Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia; Malta; Mexico; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; North Macedonia; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Vatican City[Holy See])
Note: This does not apply to the United States, we have one more week of "summer time" left
Flying Baby Day -- celebrating the first baby born on an airplane on this day in 1929
Forgiveness Day -- a day to reconcile or forgive, for your own peace of mind; sponsored by Positive Peaceful Partners and the Center of Unconditional Love
Full Hunter's Moon/Full Blood Moon/Full Sanguine Moon (some also consider this the true Harvest Moon, if last month's came too early)
Boun Ok Phansa and Ventiane -- Laos (end of "Buddist Lent" and a traditional boat race festival starting tomorrow with hundreds of decorated candle-lit floats made of paper set adrift in the rivers)
Kojagrat Purnima -- Nepal (end of Dashain)
Thadingyut Full Moon/"Buddhist Lent" ends -- Myanmar (begins at sunset, through tomorrow)
Vap Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
Fyribod (or Forebode) -- Ancient Norse Calendar (announces the beginning of winter; date approximate)
Gormánuðr -- Old Icelandic Calendar (beginning of "Innards Month," after all the animals have been butchered and fresh innards figure predominantly in the menu, as the rest of the meat has been preserved for winter)
Hari Sumpah Pemuda -- Indonesia (Youth Pledge Day)
Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade -- Long Beach, CA, US (dress up your dog and have a howling good time)
Independence Day -- Czechoslovakia (from Austria-Hungary in 1918; still celebrated in the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
International Animation Day -- ASIFA (to honor the day Emile Reynaud presented the first animation to the public)
Isia -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (dates approximate; first day of the 6 day Isis festival)
Lakshmi Puja -- OR, TR, WB, India (Hindu celebration during the Festival of Lights)
Make A Difference Day -- US (Whoopie Goldberg once said that if every American would donate 5 volunteer hours a week, it would be the equivalent of several million full time jobs; whether or not it's strictly accurate, volunteering is a great thing to do no matter where you live. This day is no longer sponsored, but if you are looking for volunteer opportunities in your area, go here.)
Milvian Bridge Day -- Christain (day to reflect on the interrelationship of religion and government)
National Chocolate Day
Okunchi Matsuri -- Karatsu, Japan (with floats that date back to the 1800s; through the 30th)
Oxi Day / Greek National Day -- Greece (Sometimes "Ochi" or "Ohi", literally "No Day", celebrating resistance to Mussolini.)
Pit Bull Awareness Day -- it's not the breed, it's the owner
Plush Animal Lovers' Day -- internet generated; celebrate your love of stuffed animals today
Runic Half-month Hagal (hailstone) begin
St. Jude Thaddeus' Day (Patron of desperate or hopeless cases -- the reason Danny Thomas chose this saint to invoke as patron of the hospital he helped found.)
St. Paraskevi of Iconium's Day (Patron of fairs and traders; in Russia, patron of marriage; associated in Ukrain with Mokosh, the ancient women's divinity, and celebrated on the final Friday of the month)
St. Simon the Zealot's Day (Patron of curriers, sawmen, tanners)
Wild Foods Day -- as in, grown or caught in the wild (please be careful if you like mushrooms and want to gather your own!)
Anniversaries Today:
Statue of Liberty dedicated, 1886
Maimonides College is founded, 1867 (first Jewish college in the US)
R.H. Macy & Co. in NYC opens, 1858
Founding of Harvard University, 1636
Universidad Santo Tomas Aquino is established, 1538 (first university in the New World)
Birthdays Today:
Matt Smith, 1982
Joaquin Phoenix, 1974
Brad Paisley, 1972
Jeremy Davies, 1969
Julia Roberts, 1967
Andy Richter, 1966
Jami Gertz, 1965
Daphne Zuniga, 1962
Lauren Holly, 1963
Bill Gates, 1955
Annie Potts, 1952
Bruce Jenner, 1949
Telma Hopkins, 1948
Dennis Franz, 1944
Jane Alexander, 1939
Charlie Daniels, 1936
Cleo Laine, 1927
Jonas Salk, 1914
Francis Bacon, 1909
Edith Head, 1907
Howard Hanson, 1896
Georges Auguste Escoffier, 1846
Desiderius Erasmus, 1467
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"The Jack Benny Program"(TV), 1950
"Dead End"(Play), 1935
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathetique(Tchaikovsky Op. 74), 1893
Today in History:
Constantine the Great defeats Maxentius, 312
Battle of Yaunis Khan in which Turkish forces under the Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha defeat the Mameluks near Gaza, 1516
Battle of Amba Sel, in which Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi again defeats the army of Lebna Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia; the southern part of Ethiopia falls under Imam Ahmad's control, 1531
Peruvian cities of Lima & Callao are demolished by an earthquake, 18,000 die, 1746
Eli Whitney applies for a patent on the cotton gin, 1793
The first railroad in Spain, between Barcelona and Mataro, is opened, 1848
The Statue of Liberty is dedicated by President Grover Cleveland, and celebrated by the first ticker tape/confetti parade in NYC, 1886
An earthquake strikes Mino-Owari, Japan, kills 7,300, 1891
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique, receives its première performance in St. Petersburg, only nine days before the composer's death, 1893
The St. Louis police try a new investigation method -- fingerprints, 1904
Czechoslovakia gains its independence in the break up of Austria-Hungary, 1918
The Volstead Act, passed by Congress over Wilson's veto, starts Prohibition, 1919
The first coast to coast radio broadcast of a football game, 1922
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt rededicates the Statue of Liberty on its 50th anniversary, 1936
The Alaska Highway (Alcan Highway) is completed through Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska, 1942
Swiss chemist Paul Müller is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT, 1948
The modern Kingdom of the Netherlands is re-founded as a federal monarchy, 1954
Nikita Khrushchev announces that he had ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba, 1962
Nostra Aetate, the "Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions" of the Second Vatican Council, is promulgated by Pope Paul VI; it absolves the Jews of responsibility for the death of Jesus, 1965*
Britain launches its first satellite, Prospero, into low Earth orbit atop a Black Arrow carrier rocket, 1971
The centenary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty is celebrated in New York Harbor, 1986
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner becomes the first woman elected President of Argentina, 2007
The US celebrates the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, 2011
The World Health Organization ranks tuberculosis alongside HIV as 2014's two deadliest infectious diseases, 2015
The EU agrees to another Brexit extension to January 31 2020, 2019
The fifteenth-century medieval manuscript "The Book of Lismore", returns to Ireland after being donated by Chatsworth Settlement to University College Cork, 2020
Palestinian authorities in Jericho, West Bank unveil the restored floor mosaic in Hisham's Palace, one of the world's largest floor mosaics and dating from 660-750AD, 2021
Swedish engineers produce the world's first female crash test dummy which is not just a scaled down version of the male model, 2022
