Six Sentence Story: Health Standard

"Health inspector at the store next door, and I know she's coming here next, get the boxes moved now," Kay, the manager, was saying as she came, full steam ahead, through the front door of the shop and plowed right on through the swinging doors into the back; she's a tall, substantially built person, so when she comes through, you know it and whatever she says to do, you do it.

Several of us dropped whatever we were doing and started moving the cake boxes from where they are assembled in the front of the store into the racks and any other available space in the back area.

This made me wonder, so once we'd gotten them all moved, i ventured to ask what it is about having boxes in the front that made health inspectors cranky, as i wanted to know if this watching out for the health inspector was going to be normal operating procedure.

"They don't care where we assemble them," Kay said, "it's where we store them that counts once they are put together, and they don't want the assembled but still empty boxes up front where 'anyone, including the general public, could mess with them.'  They want us to move the boxes to the back where we put product in them as soon as they are assembled, not even keeping them behind the counter up front, and it's just not practical for us to assemble a box, bring it back here, go back up front and do  another."

We keep a clean store, i know, i've scrubbed the floors and walls myself and i sweep out the chiller once a week, but again i am reminded that the health inspectors' standards are not always logical, but must always be followed anyway.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Standard.

Today is:

Chief Red Cloud Day -- marking the Sioux leader's death in 1909; defender of Native rights, son of Lone Man and Walks As She Thinks

Clute's Christmas in the Park -- Clute, TX, US (food and fun; through Sunday)

Constitution Day -- Thailand

Dewey Decimal System Day -- anniversary of Melvil Dewey's birth

Do Something Wild and Crazy with Velveeta Day -- guess they mean besides turn it into Hillbilly Hor d'oeuvres (melted with Rotel and served with chips)

International Animal Rights Day

International Human Rights Day -- anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948

Lux Mundi -- Ancient Roman Calendar (honoring Libertas as the bringer of light into the world)

National Lager Day

Nobeldagen -- Sweden (Alfred Nobel Day, presentations of the Nobel Prizes at the Stockholm Concert Hall)
     Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony -- Oslo City Hall, Oslo, Norway

Sister-Friend Day -- internet generated, but if you have a sister who is a good friend to you, it's worth celebrating

St. Eulalia of Merida's Day (Patron of runaways, torture victims, widows; Merida, Spain; Oviedo, Spain)

Thomasville's Victorian Christmas -- Thomasville, GA, US (relive Christmas past all through the downtown area; through tomorrow)

Whirling Dervishes Festival -- Konya, Turkey (through the 17th)


Anniversaries Today:

Mississippi becomes the 20th US State, 1817


Birthdays Today:

Raven-Symone, 1985
Bobby Flay, 1964
Kenneth Branagh, 1960
Susan Dey, 1952
Gloria Loring, 1946
Dan Blocker, 1928
Harold Gould, 1923
Dorothy Lamour, 1914
Chet Huntley, 1911
Hermes "Pan" Panagiotopolous, 1909
Mary Norton, 1903
Melvil Dewey, 1851
Emily Dickinson, 1830
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, 1787


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Wings Over America"(Album release), 1976
Lawrence of Arabia(Film), 1962
"The Mighty Mouse Playhouse" (TV), 1955
Grand Ole Opry (first radio broadcast), 1927


Today in History:

Martin Luther publicly burns the papal edict demanding that he recant, 1520
Isaac Newton's paper De Motu Corporum in Gyrum, containing the derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, is read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley, 1684
The Massachusetts Bay Colony becomes the first American Colonial government to borrow money, 1690
The metric system is formally established in France, 1799
The first traffic lights are installed outside the Palace of Westminster in London, 1868
Women's suffrage is granted in Wyoming Territory, the first in the US, 1869
Women are granted suffrage in Tasmania, 1902
The 10,000,000th Model T Ford is assembled, 1915
The Grand Ole Opry makes its radio debut, in Nashville, Tn, 1927
UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
Ralph J Bunche becomes the first black to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, 1950
The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan's proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia, 1981
The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland; the closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages, 1993
An archive documenting the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda is revealed in the capital city of Kigali, 2010

Thank you!

"Hey, mom, guess what I'm doing!" #2 Son said as he breezed into the house with some bags from the BigBoxStore.

Surprise me, i said.

"I'm going to clean my bathroom!  I bought bleach, and Febreeze, and some cleaning towels.  Now all I need are a couple of garbage bags to throw the towels in when I get done."

Um, i haven't been in your hovel of a room and bathroom in a while, but do you mean to tell me you've let it get so out of hand that you have to throw the towels away?

"Unfortunately, yes.  Fortunately, I have a plan and I will deal with it!"

Thank you for small favors, i said with a bit of sarcasm.

The fact is, i do mostly let the kids keep their rooms they way they like, as long as they aren't drawing bugs with old food or leaving their good clothes to get ruined by never coming out of there to be washed.  #1 Son, Bigger Girl, and Little Girl are not neatniks by any means (neither am i, even if i do clean other people's messes for a living, i can deal with your stuff much more easily than my own), their rooms are not any worse than the usual teen/young twenties would keep it, and they do a good cleaning up once in a while.

#2 Son, on the other hand, has always been a slob at home, even if, like me, he can clean excellently when at work (when the kids worked with me on people's homes or on the church we used to attend, he did the best and most thorough and fastest work).

While i'm a bit upset with myself that i haven't kept as close an eye on his tendency toward slobbery (slobbishness?) these last couple of months as i should have, i'm glad he has "come clean" and is taking care of the problem himself.

One thing i do know, when the time comes that he moves out or gets married, any room mates or his future spouse are going to be duly warned.  He will have to come with a cleaning kit, and be forced to use it!



Today is:

Another Look Unlimited Day -- sponsored by Envira Myntyl, a day to look around and see what you don't need and can donate to charity, to lessen the flow to landfills

Bison-Ten-Yell Day -- celebrating the imaginary Bison-Ten-Yell, inventor of 10 battle yells now used as American football signals

Celtic Tree Month Muin (Vine) begins

Concordia Fall Festival -- Concordia, MO (celebrating agriculture and the German heritage of the area; through Saturday)

Coughing and Spluttering Convention -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Gaura Parva -- Nepal

Independence Day -- Transdniestria

National Blueberry Popsicle Day

National Day -- Vietnam

Pierce Your Ears Day -- does a kitten screaming in my ear count?  oh, since the person who decided we should celebrate this today didn't leave a trace, i guess it's okay to interpret any way we want

Play Days -- sponsored by the HUMOR Project, add humor to your life; through Saturday

Sacrifice to Hekate and Artemis -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Sedantag -- Germany

South Carolina Apple Festival -- Westminster, SC, US (through Saturday)

St. Agricola of Avignon's Day (Patron of rain -- for or against, whichever you need! -- of good weather and storks; Avignon, France; against misfortune and plague epidemics)

VJ Day -- Surrender Ceremony took place on this date aboard the USS Missouri


Anniversary Today:

Beginning of the Marathon Runs during the Persian War, Sept. 2-9, 490BC


Birthdays Today:

Cynthia Watros, 1968
Salma Hayek, 1966
Lennox Lewis, 1965
Keanu Reeves, 1964
Linda Purl, 1955
Jimmy Connors, 1952
Mark Harmon, 1951
Eric Dickerson, 1950
Christa McAuliffe, 1948
Nathaniel “Tiny” Archibald, 1948
Terry Bradshaw, 1948
Peter Victor Ueberroth, 1937
Marge Champion, 1923
Cleveland Amory, 1917
Lili'uokalani, 1838
James Forten, 1766


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Rose-Marie"(Operetta), 1924
"East of Suez"(Play), 1922
Ordinance on the Danish Church(Publication Date), 1637


Today in History:

Cicero's first Philippic (oratorical attack) on Marc Antony, BC44
Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion, BC44
Octavian's troops win the Battle of Actium which ends the Final war of the Roman Republic, BC31
The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days; it ends with 8 dead and 13,000 houses destroyed, 1666
Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe, 1752
US Treasury Dept. is established by Congress, 1789
The solar super storm continues to affect electrical telegraph service, 1859
Theodore Roosevelt adivses the US to "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." 1901
President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam becomes the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia, 1957
The Principality of Sealand is established, ruled by Prince Paddy Roy Bates, 1967
Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia; all 229 people on board are killed, 1998
Pope Benedict hosts an eco-festival, "Save Creation Day," in Loreto, Italy, to encourage Catholics to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, 2007
Ending a 50-year ban on veiled female news presenters, Egypt's state television gives its female presenters a choice of wearing, or not wearing, a veil, 2012
Swimmer Diana Nyad makes history, becoming the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, 2013
The public learns about AT&T's The Hemisphere Project, which gives telephone call data to law enforcement agencies, including the DEA, 2013

Cast Iron Stomach

Clank!

The sound told me that something, most likely a fork, had hit the floor.  Turning, i could see where #2 Son was serving up an extra plate of rice and tomato gravy from where i had put the leftovers in the fridge.  He had dropped his fork on while trying to balance that with the Nutella sandwich he was making.

He picked the fork up and wiped it on his pants.  "Ten second rule!" he grinned at me.

No way! i said.  The kittens run all over this floor, and even if i do mop it, their paws have been in the litter box and then all over the floor!  Go clean it.

"Nah, ten second rule!"  He was still grinning.  "I'll be fine.  I've been known to eat pizza that's so old it's almost petrified!  Young Jacob, didn't we eat petrified pizza?"

"Yes, we did," Young Jacob confirmed, sitting at the counter with his own plate of leftovers.  "It was yummy, too!"

Well, i don't care, wash the fork! i said, laughing along with them as #2 Son was already heading for the sink and the soap.

Besides, i added, there's no such thing as an any second rule.  Studies show that items pick up germs the very second they hit the floor.

"Oh, well," #2 Son said as he finished rinsing the now clean fork.

The things you survive in your youth, when you still have that cast iron stomach, shouldn't include germs picked up where kittens roam free.



Today is:

Anniversary of Cerro de Pasco -- Peru (founding of the city and its silver mine)

Bargle Day -- Fairy Calendar (a fairy day with no human equivalent)

Electric Guitar Day -- birth anniversary of Jimi Hendrix

Feast of Ullr and Skadi -- Asatru/Norse Pagan (celebrating craftsmen)

Freckle Pride Day -- show your spots, you are beautiful!

Get the Giggles and Give One Away Day -- internet generated, and great if your a preteen girl

Hanukkah -- Judaism (Festival of Lights; begins at sundown, through sundown Dec. 5)

Khoiak Ceremonies -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (ceremonies surrounding the stories of the death of Osiris, date approximate)

Lancashire Day -- Lancashire, England (celebrating their first elected representative in Parliament in 1295)

Maaverar Naal -- Tamil Eelam, Sri Lanka (Tamil Heroes' Day)

National Bavarian Cream Pie Day

National Day -- Myanmar

National Family Caregivers' Day -- US (if you are a caregiver who needs support, you can get it here or here)

Pie in the Face Day -- internet generated, and supposed to be a virtual one, so no mess to clean

Pins and Needles Day -- celebrating the 1937 opening of the Pins and Needles Music Revue

St. Virgilius of Salzburg's Day (Patron of Salzburg, Austria; Slovenes)

St. James Intercisus' Day (Patron of lost vocations, torture victims)

Thanksgiving Day -- Norfolk Island

Tie One On Day -- an apron!  on US Thanksgiving eve, write a note of encouragement or prayer, tuck it in the pocket of an apron, and wrap the apron around a good home or bakery made loaf of bread, then deliver it to someone who needs a kind gesture

Tori No Ichi -- Japan (a "rooster day" in which to wish good luck and prosperity at temple and shrine ceremonies around the country)

Weihnachtsmarkt auf dem Romerberg -- Frankfurt, Germany (Frankfurt Christmas Market, including glockenspiels, trumpets, and bells rung from 9 churches at regular intervals; through Dec. 22)

Wonderland of Lights -- Marshall, TX, US (through Dec. 31, includes parades, candlelight home tours, and more)



Anniversaries Today:

William Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway, 1582


Birthdays Today:

Jaleel White, 1976
Brooke Langton, 1970
Robin Givens, 1964
Caroline Kennedy, 1957
Rick Rockwell, 1956
Jimi Hendrix, 1942
Eddie Rabbit, 1941
Bruce Lee, 1940
"Buffalo" Bob Smith, 1917
Chick Hearn, 1916
James Agee, 1909
L. Sprague de Camp, 1907
Forrest Shaklee, 1894
Chaim Weizmann, 1874
Charles A. Beard, 1874
Bat Masterson, 1853
Robert R. Livingston, 1746 (O.S. date)
Anders Celcius, 1701
Emperor Xiaozong of China, 1127


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Dinah Shore Show(TV), 1951


Today in History:

The first elected representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by King Edward I to attend what later became known as "The Model Parliament", 1295
The first Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703
The Portuguese Royal Family leaves Lisbon to escape from Napoleonic troops, 1807
Adoption of Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, 1815
NY Times dubs baseball "The National Game", 1870
Alfred Nobel establishes the Nobel Prize, 1895
In New York City, the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held, 1924
The Soviet space program's Mars 2 orbiter releases a descent module; it crashes, but still becomes the first man-made object to be on Mars, 1971
The left-wing Labour Party takes control of the New Zealand government with leader Helen Clark becoming the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand's history, 1999
A hydrogen atmosphere is discovered on the extrasolar planet Osiris by the Hubble Space Telescope, the first atmosphere detected on an extrasolar planet, 2001
The Canadian House of Commons endorses Prime Minister Stephen Harper's motion to declare Quebec a nation within a unified Canada, 2006

There's Clean, and Then There's a Teens' Bathroom

The girls are supposed to take turns "swishing and swiping" their bathroom.  This means, every day, they are supposed to alternate swishing out the toilet bowl, spritzing the mirror, counter, and toilet with cleaner, and swiping them down.  This only takes about 1 1/2 minutes in the small bathroom they have, and keeps it from needing a "blast it clean with a sandblaster" treatment as much, if at all.

Then, they are to empty the trash can twice a week, sweep and wipe the floor with a damp cloth twice a week, and wipe down the shower as soon as they get done taking a shower.  Again, this keeps it from building up.

Of course, they get confused, and argue about whose day is whose, and i'm now going to post a schedule on the mirror so they won't forget.

Anyway, Bigger Girl finished her final exams a few days ago, so yesterday she tackled giving the bathroom a good sandblasting, so to speak.  She did a really great job (she wasn't a janitor's assistant for nothing).

Little Girl came in from school a bit later, and after using the facilities, came to find her sister.

"Did you get the bathroom so cleaned up?" she asked.

"Yes," Bigger Girl responded.

"Well, if you were getting it ready for the Queen, you forgot the complimentary tea, the Harry Potter reading material, and the ceramic model of a Tardis!"

Both laughed, and then Little Girl turned to me.  "This sock is too big!" she said, pulling it off and showing it to me.

That's because it's one of your father's socks, i noted drily.  The kids are notorious for leaving socks everywhere, losing them, and then grabbing whatever they can find that hasn't been folded yet.

"Do you know what socks are?" she asked, showing off her only-in-sock-clad feet.

What are they? i played along.

"They are 5% warmth, 5% comfort, and 90% fun with sock skating!"  She then took off, skating across the floor in the dining room.


Today is

Apollon Day -- Ancient Roman Calendar (god of music, poetry, sunlight)

Armed Forces Day -- US (honoring those currently serving in the US military)

Battle of Las Piedras Day -- Uruguay

California Artichoke Festival -- Castroville, CA, US (lots of fun in the Artichoke Capital of the World; through tomorrow)

Dermott's Annual Crawfish Festival -- Dermott, AR, US (mud bugs aren't just for Cajuns any more! carnival, music, street dances, tons of crawfish and more through tomorrow)

Do Dah Day -- Rhodes and Caldwell Parks, Birmingham, Alabama (fun while fundraising for local animal charities)

Flag and University Day --  Haiti

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day/World AIDS Vaccine Day -- because viruses are so hard to treat, it's easier to develop vaccines to prevent them

I Love Reeses Day -- as voted in by lovers of the candy a few years ago

International Museum Day -- International Council of Museums (ICOM)

Iris Festival -- Greeneville, Tennessee, US (the community's major festival of the year, featuring artists, craftsmen, merchants, food vendors and entertainers from across the country; through tomorrow)

Moonbeam Hopping Gala -- Fairy Calendar

Morel Mushroom Festival -- Muscoda, WI, US (the "Morel Mushroom Capital of Wisconsin" celebrates the end of the peak morel season in style, with everything including an antique tractor pull, Fireman's Steak Feed, and even a parade; through tomorrow)

Lewis & Clark Heritage Days -- St. Charles, MO, US (reenacting the 1804 encampment just before their departure, with activities including a parade with drum and fife corps, and even a church service; through tomorrow)

Mike the Headless Chicken Festival -- Fruita, CO, US (it all started with a chicken that kept trying to eat even after the farmer lopped off his head to prep him for the stew pot; Mike's indomitable spirit and will to live is a legend here and the basis of a two day festival celebrating the fact that you can live a normal life even after you have lost your mind!)

National Cheese Souffle Day

National Learn To Swim Day -- US (with summer just around the corner, remember that drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages one to 14, so please, learn to swim and teach your kids!)http://blog.swimways.com/national-learn-to-swim-day/

National Pike Festival -- Fayette County, Pennsylvania, US (through the 20th)

No Dirty Dishes Day -- spread around the internet by a mom who needed the break, possibly; go ahead, break out the paper plates just on this day

O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships -- Austin, TX, US

Preakness Stakes-- Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD, US (138th annual; the second jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown)

Restoration of Somaliland Sovereignty Day -- Somaliland Region, Somalia

Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day -- Turkmenistan

St. Eric's Day (Patron of Sweden)

St. Theodotus' Day (Patron of hotel keepers and innkeepers)

Suigo Itako Ayame Matsuri -- Maekawa Ayame-en, Itako, Japan (Iris Flower Festival, with over a million blooms of 500 species, special dance and demonstrations on weekends; through June 23)

Visit Your Relatives Day -- if they are great, go have fun; if awful, go remind yourself why you moved so far away!

Wisconsin Dells Automotion -- Noah's Ark Waterpark, Wisconsin Dells, WI, US (showcase of more than 1,000 classic cars, music, food, and family fun; through tomorrow)

World Goodwill Day -- commemorates the opening meeting of 26 nations in the First Hague Peace Conference, 1899

Wright Plus -- Oak Park, IL, US (The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust’s annual house walk features rare interior tours of privately owned homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his contemporaries in the historic community of Oak Park)


Anniversaries Today:

Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1152


Birthdays Today:

Tina Fey, 1970
Chow Yun-Fat, 1955
Rick Wakeman, 1954
George Strait, 1952
Reggie Jackson, 1946
Brooks Robinson, 1937
Dwayne Hickman, 1934
Robert Morse, 1931
Pernell Robers, 1930
Pope John Paul II, 1920
Margot Fonteyn, 1919
Perry Como, 1912
Frank Capra, 1897
Omar Khayyam, 1048


Today in History:

The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch, 1268
Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut, India, 1498
Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy (under torture) lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe, 1593
John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts, 1631
Rhode Island passes North America's first anti-slavery law, 1652
Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec, 1763
The first United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States, 1783
Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate, 1804
The destruction of Saturdays forever after:  Edwin Budding of England signs an agreement for manufacture of his invention, lawn mower, 1830
The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland, 1843
The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal is constitutional, 1896
A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation  of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people, 1896
Bram Stoker's Dracula is published, 1897
The Earth  passes through the tail of Comet Halley, 1910
Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier, 1953
Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon, 1974
Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage, 1980
In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3km/h (357.2 mph), 1990
Photos from the Hubble Space Telescope confirm the existence of two additional moons, Nix and Hydra, around Pluto, 2005
A landmark bill passes in Nepal curbing the power of the monarchy and making it a secular country, 2009