Of Brownies and Crises, 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.  

Yesterday was Carl's last day of the vacation time he took for all the family visits and celebrations, and i'm sure he was preparing the car to return to work today which is why it happened.

When i got to the house, the dome light was on in his car, and his car door was unlocked.  Ack.

My first thought was he'd left the door unlocked while putting stuff in there for work, and someone had taken advantage of it in the middle of the night, turning the light on to rifle through it all and just leaving it.

Of course, because i was in a hurry to get inside as soon as i realized what might have happened, i had a very hard time getting the door open.

When i got in, he was stumbling out of bed to head to his sleep chair.  Where's your phone? i asked him.  His mom tells him to lock his phone in the glove box the night before work, so he won't forget it in the morning, and the glove box was open.

"What?  My phone?  On the charger, um, I think."

Show me, i insisted.  He showed me.

Okay, now where are the keys to the car?  My next thought was he'd left them and they'd been taken, and the thieves would possibly be back, it has happened that they come back another night to actually steal the car.

A brief search found the keys.

Why is your glove box open? i asked.

"Well, um, it doesn't shut right any more, and, uh, I can't keep it closed..."

The car started, so no dead battery.  He'd been messing around in the car the evening before, and like Carl, just forgotten to turn off the light and lock the doors.  No crisis.

Tell that to my pounding heart, right?

Then he says, "Don't tell my mom, she's been nagging me enough about the credit card!"  Knowing that house, he's left it somewhere, they just don't know where, and his mother has been after him to replace it.  Yes, i kept my mouth shut, and told him to be more careful about locking up.

He went to nap for a while, and i got busy in his room.

Having clients at home when i'm cleaning is sometimes not very convenient.  Ms. V and Mr. L have always been retired and at home when i'm there, so i'm used to it, but Carl, not so much as he's generally leaving for work soon after i arrive.  When he's there, he tends to pop in and out of his room at odd times, and out of habit, he turns off the lights and i have to go turn them back on.  It's something i've learned to just laugh about.

Yesterday, i'd just gotten the shower sprayed for cleaning when he came in and decided he needed a shower.

"I'm going to go exercise!" he said, standing in his undies (he has no sense of propriety, especially around his family and me).

Don't you want to exercise and get all sweaty first, then shower? i asked.

"Well, um, no, I have to be clean to go there!"  Carl logic, especially as i know he was already clean, he showers daily and sometimes twice a day.

Then, "Where are the washcloths?"

In the washer, of course, as i was in the middle of laundry, so i told him i'd bring him one.

By the time i got back with one of the spares from the main house linen closet, he was in the shower.  What else did i expect?  Would he really wait until i brought it?  No, not Carl.  Yes, i opened the bathroom door and he reached out of the shower to get it.  He didn't flash me this time, he seems to have learned that much.

Once he got out of the shower and got dressed, he had to eat.  "I can't exercise on an empty stomach!"  He can't do anything on an empty stomach, that one.

While digging for food, he came across something in his freezer, and said, "Oh, no, now it's ruined!"

What was it, i asked.

"From Applebees, for my birthday, I got a brownie with ice cream on top, and the ice cream was melting, so i put it in the freezer, and now it's no good any more!"

Why wouldn't it still be good? i asked.

"Well, that was a few days ago..."

Trust me, i told him, a frozen brownie will last more than a few days, you can still eat it, just get it out and let it get a bit soft while you eat supper and it will be ready.

"Okay..." he didn't seem convinced, but i know from experience that a brownie will last in the freezer for a bit of a while.

Eventually he headed for the door and i asked if he was going to go exercise.  "Mania Day at the park!" he said.

Whatever it is, i hope he had fun.

In other news around here, Sweetie and Brother-in-Law ended up not going to the funeral for Ms. McG.  They were prepared to go, but their sister told them not to.  There were too many people coming whose health status was unknown, and she didn't want them taking the risk.

If you think i shouldn't use funeral funnies today, skip the next part.

Have a blessed and beautiful day, everyone!

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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

Armed Forces Day -- Sao Tome and Principe

Defense Day -- Pakistan

Ear and Trumpter Contests for Mice -- Fairy Calendar

Festa Della Rificolona -- Florence, Italy (one of Florences oldest and most colorful celebrations; through tomorrow)

Fight Procrastination Day/National Do It Day

Flag Day -- Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

National Boss/Employee Exchange Day -- US (or anyone else who wants to foster understanding between bosses and employees, trade places for a day and see how the other half lives!)

National Coffee Ice Cream Day -- Sweetie swears the best ever was at Howard Johnson Restaurants back in the day

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

Read A Book Day -- can't find the history on it, but enjoy!

Rettir -- Iceland (around this time of year; a traditional sheep round up celebrated in Iceland during September and into October, actual round up dates may vary from region to region)

Sacrifice to Hera Thelchinia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Somhlolo Day -- Swaziland (Independence Day)

St. Magnus of Fussen's Day (Patron of crops; against caterpillars, hail, lightning, reptiles, vermin)

Stillbirth Remembrance Day -- Canada (some Provinces); US

Unification Day -- Bulgaria

Birthdays Today:

Justin Whalin, 1974

Sarah Strange, 1974

Rosie Perez, 1964

Elizabeth Vargas, 1962

Jeff Foxworthy, 1958

Jane Curtin, 1947

Swoosie Kurtz, 1944

Jo Anne Worley, 1937

Billy Rose, 1899

Joseph P. Kennedy, 1888

Jane Addams, 1860

Catharine Esther Beecher, 1800

John Dalton, 1766

Marquis de Lafayette, 1757

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, 1711

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"(TV), 1955

Jack Dempsey/Billy Miske Boxing Match(First match broadcast on radio), 1920

"La clemenza di Tito/The Clemency of Titus"(Opera, Mozart K. 621), 1791

Today in History:

The Victoria, the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world, 1522

The Spanish "Silver Fleet" disappears off the Florida Keys, 1622

Founding of Salem, Massachussetts, 1628

The first US lighthouse is built in Boston, 1716

Hurricane hits Martinique and Guadalupe, hundreds of ships sink and thousands die on land and at sea, 1776

Thomas Blanchard patents the lathe, 1819

Oberlin Collegiate Institute of Ohio becomes co-ed, with 4 women and 30 men in attendance, 1837

Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807, 1870

Juliana becomes Queen of the Netherlands, 1948

Canada's first television station, CBFT-TV, opens in Montreal, 1952

Nine Israeli athletes are killed during a rescue attempt after being kidnapped at the Munich Olympic Games; two had died during the kidnapping the day before, 1972

The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: 

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and restores the name St. Petersburg to Russia's second largest city, 1991

Cal Ripken Jr of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years, 1995

Diana, Princess of Wales is laid to rest in front of a television audience of more than 2.5 billion, 1997

China launches an investigation into its commercial pilots upon learning that more than 200 of them had falsified their resumes, 2010

Central Australia reports the first sighting since 1960 of a Central rock rat, 2013

Catalonia's parliament passes a law to allow a referendum on independence from Spain, 2017

Scientists announce that Conan the Bacterium, an extremely hardy strain of bacteria, has survived 3 years attached to the outside of the International Space Station, 2020

Oh, Dear.

It's never dull in this house.

Sweetie got another jury duty notice a couple of weeks ago.  He was not pleased.  He served for the Federal Court for the first time ever just a few months ago, but this is the District Court that calls him up every two years and hasn't called me up in forever.

(Of course, now that i have pointed that out, i will be called up soon.  Just watch.)

As we got closer to the date, he got more agitated about it.  Sitting there all day and listening to lawyers makes him want to go to sleep and he just knows someday they are not going to dismiss him and he's going to have to go through days and days of it.

Of course, Bigger Girl also had a crisis at that time.  Two crises, actually.  The first was that after she finally got signed up for her courses this semester (for the second time, a computer glitch had erased her first registration) and paid the tuition, the computer sent her an email threatening to drop her if she didn't provide certain documents that the email didn't list.  The college, of course, was closed for the weekend and they wouldn't open until Monday at 1pm.

The second was that she again has a tire that is going flat on Cicero.  She almost always has a tire that is going flat.  So i promised to take Little Girl to school Monday, then take Cicero in for the tire, hoping to get done before work.  That way she could go up to the school at noon to get in line with everyone else who is trying to get in for the semester while i could go to work.

If you want to hear G-d laugh, make some plans.  Especially some complicated plans that rely on timing.

Sunday evening, i came out of our church prayer service to see the truck parked behind me was being given a jump start by the truck next to it.  Once they were done, i got in Humphrey the Honda (Little Girl had taken the Jalopy to work) and, in sympathy or because it was a bug that was catching, Humphrey also refused to start.

Another church member with jumper cables came to the rescue.  The positive terminal was covered with corrosion, so it took several tries, and the owner of the cables told me i had to get it taken care of, it wasn't making a good connection at all even after it started.  We still thought it would be fine for me to make it home.  Then i lost power going up the ramp to the interstate.  Of course, it was at a point with no shoulder and i couldn't stop, i just had to hang on, pray, and get on the highway anyhow.

Two more times, on the interstate in the middle of traffic, all the electrical systems in Humphrey went down -- radio cut off, lights went out, gauges went down to zero -- then came back up.  It all happened in an area where i couldn't get off unless i wanted to just stop on the side of the highway, which i did not just as it was getting dark.  When i finally did manage to get off the interstate i made a call to Bigger Girl to meet me at Kevin and Lenny's shop, praying i could make it that far.  No way could i risk going home and not being able to get Humphrey started again and up to the shop, especially as he kept going down even after i got off the interstate, so Bigger Girl met me and brought me home from there.

Thus Monday morning turned into take Little Girl to school and then drop Sweetie off for jury duty and then go to work, as Bigger Girl's Cicero would have to wait until today.

It all did work out, of course.  Humphrey just needed a new battery and those connector cables that hook up to the battery thoroughly cleaned.  Bigger Girl found out that the threatening email was an empty threat, she is signed up and registered and paid and now has all her books and can quit worrying.

As for jury duty, Sweetie was called in as a potential juror in a civil lawsuit case.  The lady had been rear-ended and was suing because of whiplash and other injuries.  The guy who hit her worked -- get this -- for an insurance company, and was in the company car when it happened!  He and his insurance company attorneys were trying to say she wasn't hurt.  They wanted people on the jury who would believe that the speed of the crash would be a better indicator of whether or not someone was injured than MRIs and CAT scans and her doctor's testimony.

Sweetie told the insurance company attorney that MRIs and other such objective tests don't lie, if they show damage there is damage, and he was dismissed.

And yes, i'm hoping to get Cicero in for her tire today.

It's a good thing Kevin and Lenny like us, and make good coffee.

Today is:

Bad Poetry Day -- Wellcat Holidays suggests you get back at your high school English teacher for making you read all that "good" poetry; get together with friends, write some truly awful stuff, and mail it to him/her!

Long Tan Day a/k/a Vietnam Veterans Day -- Australia

Mail Order Catalog Day -- the first one was published by Montgomery Ward this day in 1872, and was only one page (Do yourself a favor and opt out of the doggone things, save a few trees: www.catalogchoice.org )

National Ice Cream Pie Day

National Science Day -- Thailand

National Soft Ice Cream Day

Parsi New Year/Shahenshahi -- MH, India

Serendipity Day -- and it's here serendipitously! begun by writer Madeleine Kay, it's the day to step out of routine, do something you've always wanted to do, and see what happens

St. Agapitus' Day (Patron of Palestrina, Italy; against colic)

St. Helena's Day (Mother of Constantine the Great; Patron of archaeologists, converts, difficult marriages, divorced people, dyers, empresses, nail smiths, needle makers; Birkirkara, Malta; Helena, MT, US; against fire and thunder)

Toge-Pogling Season begins -- Fairy Calendar (Toges are normally pogled in groups of five or six, depending upon the size and strength of the individual Poge)


Birthdays Today:

Andy Samberg, 1978
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 1970
Christian Slater, 1969
Edward Norton, 1969
Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, 1962
Madeleine Stowe, 1958
Patrick Swayze, 1952
Elayne Boosler, 1952
Martin Mull, 1943
Robert Redford, 1936
Roberto Clemente Walker, 1934
Roman Polanski, 1933
Luc Montagnier, 1932
Rosalynn Carter, 1927
Shelley Winters, 1920
Greta Garbo, 1905
Max Factor, 1904
Meriwether Lewis, 1774
Virginia Dare, 1587 (first English child born in the Americas)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Private Lives"(Play), 1930
"Iphigénie"(Racine's dramatic tragedy), 1674


Today in History:

Founding of the oldest known Roman temple to Venus, BC293
Rome is occupied and plundered by Visigoths under King Alarik I, 410
Death of Genghis Khan (fell from his horse), 1227
A Portuguese ship drifts ashore in the Japanese province of Higo, 1541
The Boston, Massachusetts Evening Post begins publishing, 1735
Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, 1834
Pierre Janssan discovers helium, 1868
German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright Brothers, 1903.
Mayor of Tokyo Yukio Ozaki presents Washington, D.C. with 2,000 cherry trees, which President Taft decides to plant near the Potomac River, 1909
A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless, 1917
19th US Amendment ratified (gives women the vote), 1920
Premier of The Wizard of Oz, 1939
The first commercially produced oral contraceptives are marketed, 1960
James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi, 1963
Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in King William's Town, South Africa. He would later die of the injuries sustained during this arrest bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid policies, 1977
Massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java, affecting almost 100 million people, 2005
Columbia's Chiribiquete National Park expands to 3 million hectares from 1.2 million hectares, becoming one of the Amazon's largest protected zones, 2013