Reminder (Cajun Joke) and Sunday Selections

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Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus is no longer hosting a Silly Sunday blog hop, do not expect me to quit telling Cajun jokes, especially as it has now become a habit.

GusGus Die Fledermaus, my Ford Focus, is back.  It drives just as it did before all the commotion.

Sweetie drove it back from NOLA, and when we dropped off the rental, he put my driving support and cushion in the driver's seat and told me to drive it the rest of the way home.  

Getting in was an adjustment, by which i mean i'm a little less than 5 feet tall and he's over 6 feet tall and if i don't remember to adjust all the mirrors before i start driving after he's been in it, i'm going to regret it.

Clothile an' Marie done be talkin' 'bout drivin' dey husbands' trucks an' how dey don' like doin' it much.

Marie say, "When I drives Thibodeaux's truck, 'cause I only be's drivin' it a close ways, I try not to move de mirrors an' remember put de seat back when I be's done."

An' Clothile say, "Mais, when I drives Boudreaux's truck, I move it all an' leave it so's he don' forget he be married!"

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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files.  The rules have been relaxed, and it is now simply a showcase for your photos, new or old, good or bad, although nothing rude, please.  It was hosted by River, who still participates, and is now hosted by Elephant's Child.       

A bit of a mish-mash this week.

Children's arts and crafts projects, some of which are rather abstract, but all proudly displayed.

Seasonal decor, Mardi Gras style.

The family who bought this Giant Skeleton for last Halloween has put it to use ever since.

Even a grown-up needs a treat in the lunch bag.

Figurines i admired.

Skyscapes.

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Today is:

Answer Your Cat's Questions Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; meditate on what your cat's question might be, then answer it

Celebration of Life Day

Come in From the Cold Day -- somebody at an ecard company decided today would be a good day to do that 

Day of Unity and Liberty of Ukraine -- Ukraine

Dia de la Fundacion del Estado Pluinacional de Bolivia -- Bolivia

Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year/Lhosar/Seol-Nal/Tet -- celebrations throughout Asia of the year of the Rabbit, some before and some after this "official" Western date, some for up to a month; Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist celebrations

     Sonam Lhosar -- Nepal (Tamang New Year)

National Blonde Brownie Day -- i thought these were just called "blondies."

Polka Dot Day -- looking up why they are called "polka dots" gives lots of stories, but no concrete evidence; they were probably named after the dance craze that became fashionable around the same time the pattern appeared

St. Vincent of Zaragoza's Day (Spanish martyr and Patron of vine dressers, vinegar makers, vintners; Lisbon, Portugal; Portugal; vicenza, Italy; Vilamalla, Catalonia, Spain)

     a sunny day today indicates a good wine crop next season

Traditional Day of Offering -- Bhutan (first day of 12th month of Tibetan calendar)

Birthdays Today:

Christopher Masterson, 1980

Balthazar Getty, 1975

Olivia D'Abo, 1967

Steven Adler, 1965

Diane Lane, 1965

Michael Kelland Hutchence, 1960

Linda Blair, 1959

Steve Perry, 1949

John Hurt, 1940

Joseph Wambaugh, 1937

Seymour Cassel, 1937

Sam Cooke, 1935

Bill Bixby, 1934

Piper Laurie, 1932

Ann Sothern, 1909

Robert E. Howard, 1906

George Balanchine, 1904

Rosa Melba Ponselle, 1897

D.W. Griffith, 1875

Grigori Rasputin, 1869

August Strindberg, 1849

Richard Upjohn, 1802

Nat Turner, 1800

Lord Byron, 1788

Andre Ampère, 1775

Sir Francis Bacon, 1561

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Emergency!"(TV), 1972

"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"(TV), 1968

"The Crucible"(Miller play), 1953

"Our Town"(Wilder play), 1938

"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"(Opera; Shostakovich Op.29), 1934

Today in History:

The first contingent of Swiss Guards arrive at the Vatican, 1506

Postal service between NYC and Boston is inaugurated, 1673

The Native American Iroquois tribes renew their allegiance to the British against the French, 1690

Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Britain, 1771

A severe earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands, 1837

The Zulus attack the British Army camp in Isandhlwana, South Africa, 1879

The Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" is erected in Central Park, 1881

After 63 years, England stops the sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series and begins King Edward VII series, 1901

First live radio commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury, 1927

KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood, California, 1947

Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space, 1968

The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service, 1970

The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued, 1971

The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous "1984" television commercial, 1984

Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm, 1990

Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, 2002

Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president, 2006

Water vapour is detected on the dwarf planet Ceres, 2014

Winter storm conditions strand 500 motorists for 24 hours on the New Jersey turnpike in Pennsylvania, 2016

Netflix becomes the largest digital media and entertainment company in the world worth $100 billion, 2018

Roller Coaster Not Needed, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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I'm still counting blessings and thankful things for Thankful Day.

That's part of how i stay sane.

Last Saturday, we were told GusGus (the Ford Focus) was good to go, needing extra transmission work that was not included in the recall and that could wait a month or two.

It couldn't wait.  Sweetie got the car back home, which proved to be a mistake, we should have left it in NOLA, but we didn't know until we got it on the highway.

We're thankful it made the trip.

Monday i cleaned for a new client after i finished Carl's place, i'll be going there every other week.  I'm thankful they liked my work and it looks like it will be a good fit.

Tuesday i was thankful to be able to rent a car to take Bigger Girl to the airport in NOLA.  We got to drop off some of her home-baked bread (tomato basil!) to them and she arrived in plenty of time.  She gave me some bread, too, and i'm very thankful for that.

She got back to Seattle safely, another thankful.

Working with Ms. G this week, i was thankful we were able to get cat food for a lady who feeds 200+ feral cats in 30 colonies.  All have been TNRed (trapped, neutered/spayed/given a rabies shot, and released).  I'm thankful i didn't hurt anything but my ego when i rolled my ankle while we were moving the pallet of cat food bags.

Wednesday evening, to add to our car woes, Brother-in-Law's car refused to start.  Sweetie had to skip out on choir practice (we're thankful the choir director was so understanding!) and go rescue him.

We're thankful we have a spare key to his car.  Thursday morning, i drove Sweetie over to where it died and was planning to get a tow truck to take it to Kevin and Lenny.  Sweetie, thankfully, got the bright idea to at least try to start it, and it cranked right up!  We're thankful he was able to get it to Kevin and Lenny without a towing fee.

Kevin and Lenny found two things, the starter was going bad, and the compressor for the A/C.  We thought the A/C could wait.  It can't.  It seems in this model of car, the drive belt goes through the compressor, and when the compressor wheel finally gives out and locks, you lose your drive belt and the whole car.

Total cost for all repairs, $2,228.  Houston, we have a big, big problem.

Sweetie and i are paying on a bit of it, Brother-in-Law is paying on a bit of it, and his church has covered the majority of the bill, and we are very, very thankful.

This left us, however, with only one working car for the three of us for the weekend.  Not an ideal situation.

It was also not idea when, Thursday evening, Brother-in-Law figured out he'd lost his wallet.

i'm thankful i didn't lose my mind.

We're thankful we're making it work.  I went to prayer Friday morning, then called Kevin and located Brother-in-Law's wallet on the seat of his car, got it, got Sweetie, got Brother-in-Law, dropped Brother-in-Law at work, dropped me at work, and Sweetie went to run errands, then came and got me, took me home for some rest, went to get Brother-in-Law, and went back to the rental place to rent a car for going to NOLA today.

Meanwhile, what about GusGus?  Turns out, no transmission place in our area, or anywhere near, will touch that transmission type.  Turns out, only dealerships deal with it and only because they have to.  Turns out, every dealership within 50 miles is booked with appointments for 60+ days and not making new appointments unless you are already a customer.

The dealership in NOLA agreed to let us bring GusGus back there and they will do the work, they hope within two weeks, and we are very thankful.

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:

Celebration of the First Week of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar

Fasching Carnival -- Munich, Germany (through Shrove Tuesday)

Festa del Tricolore -- Italy (Tricolour or Flag Day)

Harlem Globetrotters' Day -- anniversary of their first game in 1927

I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore Day -- declared by Bob O'Brien, Consumer Advocate, who encourages us to fight back

Nanakusa no Sekku -- Japan (Festival of Seven Herbs, dates back to the 7th century and recalls the medicinal herbs that were traditionally served to the emperor)

National Tempura Day

Nativity of Christ / Orthodox Christmas / Coptic Christmas -- Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christians still using the Julian Calendar.

Old Rock Day -- a/k/a "St. Distaff's Day" or simply Distaff Day(the distaff, for spinning yarn, was also called a "rock"; today was the day women went back to spinning after the Christmas holidays)

St. Raymond of Penyafort's Day (Patron of attornies, barristers, canonists, lawyers, and medical record librarians)

Usokae -- Kameido Tenmangu Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan (Bullfinch Exchange Day, Uso also means "lie" so when exchanging carved birds, it is considered a way of exchanging lies for the truth)

Victory Day over the Genocidal Regime -- Cambodia

Anniversary Today:

Princess Juliana of Netherlands weds Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1937

Birthdays Today:

Dustin Diamond, 1977

Jeremy Renner, 1971

Nick Cleg, 1967

Nicholas Cage, 1964

Katie Couric, 1957

David Caruso, 1956

Erin Gray, 1950

Kenny Loggins, 1948

Jann Wenner, 1947

Paul Revere, 1938

William Peter Blatty, 1928

Jean-Pierre Rampal, 1922

Vincent Gardenia, 1922

Charles Addams, 1912

Butterfly McQueen, 1911

Aristotle Onassis, 1906

Zora Neale Hurston, 1891

St Bernadette, 1844

Millard Fillmore, 1800

Jacques Etienne Montgolfier, 1745

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Video-Telephone, 1992 (US$1,499)

"Fame"(TV), 1982

"Flash Gordon"(comic strip), 1934

"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D."(comic strip), 1929

"Tarzan of the Apes"(comic strip), 1929

Transatlantic telephone service, 1927 (US$75 for 5 minutes)

Today in History:

Calais, the last English possession in France, is taken back by the French, 1558

Boris Godunov seizes the Russian throne upon the death of Feodore I, 1598

Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia, 1608

Galileo discovers the first 3 moons of Jupiter (Io, Europa, and Ganymede), 1610

Francis Bacon becomes the English Lord Chancellor, 1618

A prototype typewriter is patented by Englishman Henry Mill, 1714

Battle at Panipat India: the Afghan army beats Mahratten, 1761

The Bank of North America opens in Philadelphia, the first US commercial bank, 1782

The first gas balloon flight across the English Channel, by Blanchard and Jeffries, 1785

The modern Italian flag is first used, 1797

Liberia is colonized by Americans, 1822

The first railroad station in the US, in Baltimore, opens, 1830

Fanny Farmer publishes her first cookbook, 1896

The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS", 1904

The first steamboat passage through the Panama Canal, 1914

The Harlem Globetrotters play their first game, 1927

The first transatlantic telephone service is established – from New York City to London, 1927

"Buck Rogers", the first sci-fi comic strip, and "Tarzan," one of the first adventure comic strips, premier, 1929

Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast, 1931

The "Flash Gordon" comic strip (by Alex Raymond) debuts, 1934

President Harry Truman announces that the United States has developed the hydrogen bomb, 1952

The first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM, 1954

Marian Anderson becomes the first black singer to perform at the Met (NYC), 1955

The Polaris missile is test launched, 1960

Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off, 1968

Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), 1984

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union, 1985

The interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public because of safety concerns, 1990

U.S. President Clinton goes on trial before the U.S. Senate for perjury and obstruction of justice in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, 1999

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics estimates at least 17 billion planets exist that are comparable to the size of the Earth, 2013

A terrorist attack on the offices of satirical newspaper "Charlie Hebdo" in Paris kills 12 and injures 11, 2015

It snows in the Sahara Desert - up to 15 inches as reported in Aïn Séfra, Northwest Algeria, 2018

Puerto Rico suffers a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, its worst in almost a century, resulting in one death and 800 homes destroyed, 2020

A genetically modified pig's heart is successfully transplanted into a 53-year-old male patient in Baltimore, Maryland, US, 2022