Two Weeks, One Ten Things of Thankful List

 ***********************************

Since last week's Thankful Day was dedicated to the fun we had at rEcess, i am listing a couple of weeks worth of doings today.

For any who may have missed it all, my biopsy came back clear, no cancer or precancerous changes.  Since i've had so much bladder trouble lately, they checked that, too, and again, nothing to worry about.  A major thankful in that.

In fact, i had my yearly checkup with Dr. BowTie, and he's pleased that i am in general good health.  That is always good to hear from the doctor.

Most Sunday mornings i go wake up Becca and get her ready and we go to church.  Two Sundays ago, i got to her house and got a call from Ms. G.  Could i go by her house and check to see if she'd unplugged the curling iron?  She was doing a spay day (she's the coordinator) and couldn't get back to her place for several hours.

These are the times i'm thankful to be able to quick-plan and change things up.  After getting Becca dressed, i took her and Mr. Cal, the dog, over to Ms. G's, ran in the house to find the curling iron safely unplugged, took Becca and Mr. Cal for a walk in Ms. G's neighborhood -- talk about a thankful dog, to be able to walk in a new place and smell new smells! -- then stopped to pick up breakfast for us, went back to the house and dropped of Mr. Cal, and finally to church.

In all of that i left my phone somewhere.  We're thankful the curling iron was unplugged, the dog was walked, we got to church, and eventually, we found the phone where i'd left it in the restroom at Becca's house.

Then there's the saga of my devices.  After Ms. PA's house i was able to get to the computer place in a pouring rain.  Trying to outwait the buckets of water proved fruitless, after about 30 minutes of relentless, driving downpour i made a dash for it and went into the computer repair place looking like a drowned rat.  They determined that my computer cord had a short in it so i paid for a new one and they ordered it right away.

The next week i called back, they'd checked on the order and the company hadn't even shipped it yet!  These wonderful people cancelled that order, found another one, and got it two me in a couple of days.  My computer is thankfully now back in business.

At some point over the last couple of weeks, Grandpa got to really feeling very poorly.  He's never one to admit he's sick, but he admitted he was sick.  It must have been a short-lived bug or something he ate, because he is now back to his usual "I am in charge and all is well" self, and we are all thankful.

Becca was not able to make it to the last rEcess because she was out of town with her father.  She was back by Saturday, and her father and mother had a wedding to attend.  That meant, after i got back from NOLA and cleaning Grandma and Grandpa's house, i was thankful to get a "rEcess" night with just me at Becca at their house.  We played games, read stories, had supper, and she went to bed at her usual time.  It was a lovely evening.

Speaking of lovely evenings, this past Tuesday was the ladies' circle meeting, and did we have a fabulous time.  We had supper together, studied our book, helped Ms. Anna with her projects (taping candy canes to Christmas cards for the children at her school) and we just generally had such a good time we were there until 10pm and some of the husbands were calling to make sure we were okay!  It was a beautiful time and i'm so thankful i got to go.

Ms. G, as we were talking Wednesday, told me about an OTC pill that is highly recommended by the best doctor in the region as a preventive of the recurring bladder infections i've had.  It's not cheap, but it's worth it, and i'm thankful she ordered me a bottle as a Christmas gift!

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.   

***********************************

Today is:

AKC/Royal Canin National Championships -- Orlando, FL, US (top dogs from around the world compete to see -- who really is top dog? through the 18th)

Bake Cookies Day -- the holiday for everyone!

Eponalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (feast of Epona, goddess of fertility and horses, mules, and donkeys; during the Saturnalia and the only Roman honoring of a Celtic deity)

Flake Appreciation Day -- snow or human, your choice!

Hug a Soccer Player Day -- this "holiday" has a Facebook page, but no other history

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Hurdaskellir -- Door-Slammer, a noisy fellow who tries to keep everyone awake

International Answer the Phone like Buddy the Elf Day -- for fans of the film Elf, starring Will Ferrel

International Migrants Day -- UN

Khoiak Ceremony for the Sokar Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (falcon god; date approximate)

Let's See What We Find In the Fridge Day -- to bravely see if you've left anything in the back that you shouldn't have

National Day / Founder's Day -- Qatar

National Roast Suckling Pig Day

National Scrooge Week begins -- at least according to Mr. Ed

Nuestra Senora de la Soledad -- Oaxaca, Mexico (Our Lady of Solitude, Patron of the lonely, of Oaxaca, and of sailors who bring her pearls)

Republic Day -- Niger

St. Flannan's Day (Patron of Killaloe, Ireland)

Tulya's E'en -- Orkney Island (beginning of the Yule season when evil spirits roamed; date approximate, as we aren't sure if they equated Yule initially with Dec. 25 or the 22nd)

Urdhyauli Parwa -- Nepal (a festival of the Kirati People, celebration of the animals annual migration down from the mountaintops)

Wear a Plunger On Your Head Day -- observe this internet generated holiday at your own risk (and you will be one of the human flakes, i guess, that the rest of us appreciate)*

Anniversaries Today:

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's future president, marries Asif Ali Zardari, 1987

Capitol Reef National Park established, Utah, US, 1971

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, outlawing slavery, takes effect, 1865

New Jersey becomes the 3rd US State, 1787

Birthdays Today:

Christina Aguilera, 1980

Katie Holmes, 1978

Earl "DMX" Simmons, 1970

Rob Van Dam, 1970

Rachel Griffiths, 1968

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, 1964

Brad Pitt, 1963

Ray Liotta, 1955

Leonard Maltin, 1950

Steven Spielberg, 1946

Keith Richards, 1943

Ossie Davis, 1917

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, 1917

Douglas Fraser, 1916

Betty Grable, 1916

Willy Brandt, 1913

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., 1912

Ty Cobb, 1886

Joseph Grimaldi, 1778

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Sunshine Boys"(Play), 1972

"To Tell The Truth"(TV), 1956

"The Nutcracker"(Ballet), 1892

Today in History:

Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic, BC218

Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan", officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China, 1271

The Mayflower lands in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts with 102 Pilgrims on board, 1620

Abel Tasman becomes first European to land in New Zealand, 1642

Thomas Fleet publishes "Mother Goose's Melodies For Children", 1719

Empress Maria Theresa expels Jews from Prague, Bohemia & Moravia, 1774

The first celestial photograph (of the Moon) is made in US, by John Draper, NYC, 1839

William Bond obtains the first photograph of Moon through a telescope, 1849

Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Mesa Verde, 1888

The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook Narrow-gauge (2 ft 6 in or 762 mm) Railway (now the Puffing Billy Railway) in Victoria, Australia is opened for traffic, 1900

The Piltdown Man, later discovered to be a hoax, is supposedly found in the Piltdown Gravel Pit, by Charles Dawson, 1912

Japan joins the United Nations, 1956

Saturn's moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker, 1966

Dominica joins the United Nations, 1978

HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium, 1997

The first of a series of floods strikes Malaysia, 2006

The United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II attends a meeting of the Cabinet for the first time, receiving a gift honoring her Diamond Jubilee; this was first time a Cabinet meeting was attended by a British monarch since the reign of Queen Victoria, 2012

A meteor explodes in huge fireball over the Bering Sea with 10 times the energy of Hiroshima atomic bomb, 2018

The international community establishes Covax to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to low and middle income countries, announcing deals with vaccine manufacturers and methods for countries to share excess vaccines, 2020

*Unless this should have been Wear A Brand New, Never Before Used Plunger on Your Head Day, and was started by the plumbing supply industry

Weekend Snafus

We've had a few, and a couple of hiccups, too.

First, there was my trip to the MomAndPop Grocery Store nearby.  That's where i stop for basics, and when they have a good sale, i like to stock up on some things.  This time, among other things, they had ibuprofen on sale.

As Bigger Girl says, "Mom, at certain times of the month, there better be ibuprofen in the house, or blood will be shed!"

She means it, so i try very hard not to run out.

The MomAndPop store is a good one.  Literally begun by a local family, and many of the family, down to what is now the 4th generation, still work at one of the locations.  So i was surprised to find, on the morning of the first day of a two day special sale, that there was not a single bottle of the particular ibuprofen on sale on the shelves.

Some stores do that on purpose.  They tell you it's on sale, "while supplies last," and stock one of that item, and tell everyone else, "Sorry, we ran out."  This place doesn't do that, they aren't those kind of people.

When i asked, i was told the HBA (Health and Beauty Aids) rep hadn't come in yet, there should be some in soon.  Then, and this is one reason i love this store, Ms. Edith offered to put two bottles under her register for me to pick up later.  Yes, it's her register; if she's not there, that register is closed, and no one messes with it.

A second reason to love the place -- the manager, Mr. Daryl, went in the back and found two bottles (the HBA lady had them delivered, but hadn't come in to shelve them yet), and he handed them to Ms. Edith who came and found me at the back of the store to hand them to me.

Later, #1 Son noted that he was looking for a VCR.  When we were at the shelter, i saw two of them, only $5 each.  Thus i sent him a text, asking if he wanted me to pick one up.

He didn't answer until over 2 hours later, long after i was home.  So i called up to the shelter to ask that one be set aside, and i would come pick it up later.

Both had been sold.  You snooze, you lose.  Turn up your phone so you can get your mother's texts, son.

Then there was the matter of the weekend's American style football game at the university.  Little Girl has desperately wanted to take a special friend, so i decided to stay home and let her use my ticket.  Heavens, i've been to more of these games than i can count, so it's not that big of a deal to me, but it's still big for the kids and their friends.

The big deal is, on game days, Sweetie has to go to work.  (He usually has weekends off.)  Naturally that had to mean his sleep would be disturbed, and it was, by a 2am text from Miss Lizzie, panicking.    Next time i see that girl, i'm going to emphasize to her, again, that if it happens after hours, and it's not a 911 emergency, she better wait until morning.

We both slept poorly, then he had to drive in the pouring rain to work.  When he got home, after working an 8 hour day, he had just over an hour until it was time to turn around and drive the family back to the university.

They were about  to leave when his car wouldn't start.  He had driven through high water get to work, and his battery light had been on earlier, and, sure enough, it was the battery.  He had, of course, parked in such a way as to block in the car they were to take to the game.

One jump start later, i moved his car, everyone else got in the other, and they were gone.

Now, i get to figure out how to get him a battery, and cram that errand into the million and one others i already have on my plate so that i can leave town on Wednesday.  This may also eat into my trip money.

On the good side, it looks like we've ordered everything to get Bigger Girl's computer fixed, and my computer guru has worked with Ol' Bessy a bit.  He thinks a bit more RAM will help.  It's worth a try, as he has the RAM available at his house, sitting and doing nothing.

Please, though, no more snafus, or hiccups, or errands on my plate.  It's full, and i'm going to get indigestion if it piles up any more.


Today is:

Aizu Byakko Matsuri -- Aizuwakamatsu-shi, Fukushima, Japan (ceremonial recreation of a march to war in 1868; through the 24th)

American Business Women's Day -- US (anniversary of the founding of the American Business Women's Association)

Autumnal Equinox -- 20:44UTC related observances
     Mabon -- Wicca/Pagan Northern Hemisphere
     Ostara -- wicca/Pagan Southern Hemisphere
     Alban Elfed -- Celtic Winter Finding
     Chuseok -- Korean harvest festival (high point of the festival)
     Feast of Carpo -- Greek Horae, goddess of autumn
     Kukulcan Snake God Celebration -- Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico (the snake appears at the equinox, a time to honor this Mayan god)
     Festival of the Sea Goddess -- Eskimo
     Higan -- Japan
     Mabon/Fallfest -- Asatru/Norse Pagan (harvest festival, time to make wine and mead for the next winter)
     Oenach Carman -- Ancient Celtic Calendar
     Sendai Great Tug-of-War -- Sendai, Japan (festival on the equinox that dates back over 400 years)    
     Svarog's Holiday -- Slavic Pagan Calendar/Asatru (day to drink mead in honor of Svarog, god of fire and the sky)

Banned Books Week begins -- US (sponsored by the ALA; Defend the Freedom to Read, It's Everybody's Job; celebrate your right to read what you want!)

Boidromia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; honor Apollon as god of rescue during war)

Breakfast, Snack, Elevenses, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Tea, Snack, Dinner, Snack, More Snacks, Supper, Snack, and Bilgewack Celebration Day -- Fairy Calendar (Borms; they are little known relatives of Goblins, given to being overweight and sedentary and lying around feeling ill; bilgewack is their term for having eaten too much and having to lie down.)

Car-Free Day -- this has spread to much of the world; try it for yourself!

Clypping the Church Ceremony -- Painswick, Gloucestershire, England (since 1321, surrounding the church hand in hand for the Clypping Hymn and an open air ceremony)

Coya Raymi -- Inca Native Americans (festival to honor Moon Goddess Quilla, with a focus on purging sickness and evil; through tomorrow, dates approximate)

Dear Diary Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; get it down on paper!

Elephant Appreciation Day -- sponsored by "Elefunteria" and WildHeart Productions

Feast of Mikeli -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (harvest celebration; through the 24th)

Hobbit Day -- Bilbo's and Frodo's Birthday

Ice Cream Cone Day -- Italo Marchiony applied for a patent for an ice cream cone mold on this day in 1903

Independence Day -- Bulgaria; Mali

International Day of Radiant Peace -- www.radiantpeace.org

National Centenarians Day -- US

National White Chocolate Day

OneWebDay

Princess Martha Louise's Birthday -- Norway (an official flag day)

Ritual of the Netjers of the Two Lands (Upper and Lower Egypt) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

St. Maurice's Day (Patron of armies, cloth dyers, cloth makers, infantrymen, soldiers, swordsmiths, weavers; Austria; Manresa, Spain; Pianello Val Tidone, Italy; Piedmont, Italy; Sardinia; Stadtsulza, Germany; Pontifical Swiss Guards; against cramps and gout)

Tolkien Week begins (always the Sun - Sat that includes Hobbit Day)

UCI Road World Championships -- Toscana, Italy (Union Cycliste International sponsors these races, through the 29th)

XTERRA Trail Run Nationals -- Ogden/Snowbasin, UT, US (finale of the series of extreme runs held across the country through the year, featuring 21k of extreme, off-road trail runs)


Birthdays Today:

Bonnie Hunt, 1964
Scott Baio, 1961
Joan Jett, 1960
Andrea Bocelli, 1958
Debby Boone, 1956
Shari Belafonte, 1954
Tommy Lasorda, 1927
Michael Farriday, 1791
Lord Chesterfield, 1694


Today in History:

Legion I Italica is created by Emperor Nero, 66
Switzerland becomes an independent state, 1499
The General Provincial Court at Patuxent, MD, US, empanels the first all female jury in the colonies to try the case of a woman accused of murdering her child, 1656
A final 8 people are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Mass., 1692
Nathan Hale is hanged for spying during American Revolution, 1776
Russia establishes a colony at Kodiak, Alaska, 1784
City of Des Moines, Iowa, is incorporated as Fort Des Moines, 1851
Abraham Lincoln, by executive proclamation, declares that the slaves in the rebelling states shall become free on Jan. 1 of the upcoming year, 1862
Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold premieres in Munich, 1869
The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published, 1888
Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather, King George III, as the longest reigning monarch in British history, 1895
Italo Marchiony granted a patent for an ice cream cone, 1903
The Duke of York's Picture House opens in Brighton, now the oldest continually operating cinema in Britain, 1910
Ralph J. Bunche becomes the first black winner of the Nobel Peace Price, 1950
The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time by the Huntington Library, 1991
David Hempleman-Adams becomes the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open-air, wicker-basket hot air balloon, 2003