If It's Hectic, and Insurance Related, It Must Be My Life, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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

     

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.  

First, the definition of spoiled is a Chihuahua sitting in your lap with a heating pad:

The last couple of days have been hectic, to say the least.  Grandpa needed Sweetie to run errands here in town (since he doesn't come up here any more, he doesn't trust himself to drive out of town).  The Big Boss wanted errands.  Ms. G, my every Wednesday lady, let me come on Monday instead since Dr. D was out of town.  Of course, i still had Ms. JAI as usual (she is every other Monday afternoon).

We burned a whole tank of gas just on one day of work and errands and traffic madness.  Not to mention that i've got to get ready to be out of town overnight (leaving today).  No, we don't keep it straight without a list.  Some days the list has over two dozen separate items.

Yes, somehow, some way, it all got done, even with the insurance trouble.

This is in no way a paid ad, i now have great respect for Geico Insurance.  State Farm has, one by one, dropped my children.  Last time is was #2 Son, and we didn't get the notice from State Farm about it, so he was driving around with no insurance and we had no idea. One quick call to Geico, and it was taken care of.

Now it was Little Girl.  Someone she worked with (military) had driven her car and ended up in a minor accident.  State Farm dropped her, so we called Sweetie's friend, Insurance Dude.  He sells Progressive.  Progressive decided that the other driver was going to have to be on the insurance, even though he is now assigned to another base and Little Girl never sees him, and they were going to charge her $4,000 for six months of basic liability.  Yeah, um, no.

Again, Geico to the rescue.  She told them the situation, she is now covered for $1,000 for six months, and has more than just the basic liability.  They saw no reason to put the other driver on the insurance, since it was only a one time thing and he's not going to be behind the wheel of her vehicle ever again.

Let's get a bit more random, shall we?  Here's a highway sign and i'm sorry i couldn't get a better shot from the passenger seat:

It says, "Santa's coming, have you been a good driver?"

Finally, more of the pictures Grandma sent (i have no clue where she gets this stuff), things to let you know that just when you think you've seen everything, you have not.

A blessed and beautiful Christmas Eve or Happy Hanukkah to all who are celebrating, and a wonderful Tuesday to those who are not!

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

Today is:

Adam the Patriarch & Eve the Matriarch's Day -- Catholic Christian (Adam, Patron of gardeners and tailors; Eve, Patron of tailors)

Aofangadagskvold -- Iceland (arrival of the 13th and final Yule Lad)

    Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Kertasnikir -- Candle-beggar, who, as children did before light bulbs, wants the treat of a precious candle, and will steal one if he can

Bonfires on the Levee -- Louisiana, US (began among the Cajuns, now a big celebration for everyone, lighting the way for Papa Noel)

Calendas -- Oaxaca, Mexico

Celtic Tree Month Beth (Birch) commences

Christmas Eve

Constitution Day -- Transdniestra

Declaration of Christmas Peace -- Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City

Feast of the Seven Fishes (La Vigilia) -- Italy (traditional serving of seven kinds of seafood at dinner)

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols -- King's College Chapel, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England (special Christmas Eve performance by the Choir of King's College held since 1918)

Independence Day -- Libya(1951)

Kolada -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (various celebrations of the gods until Dec. 31)

Last Minute Shoppers Day

Mistletoe Time -- traditional day on which to hang the mistletoe

Modresnach -- Germanic/Scandinavian/Anglo-Saxon Odinist festival celebrating midwinter and motherhood (date approximate)

National Egg Nog Day

Noche Buena -- Spain and Spanish speaking countries

Remember to Read the Instructions First Night -- when assembling the kids' toys, of course

Silent Night, Holy Night Celebrations -- Austria (in honor of the hymn's composition in 1818)

St. Trasilla's Day (Patron of single laywomen)

Tolling the Devil's Knell -- All Saints Parish Church, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England (the church bell tolls once for each year since the birth of Christ, signaling when the Devil's demise was heralded)

T'owd 'oss -- Richmond, North Yorkshire, England (A tradition of dressing in hunting clothes and blowing the hunting horns on Christmas Eve.)

Utter Day -- Fairy Calendar (Every word uttered by the fairy folk becomes a physical object he/she must wear for the rest of the day.)

Yap Constitution Day -- Micronesia (regional)

Zerowork Season begins -- seriously, unless you work in retail, how much work really gets done between now and New Year's Eve at your office?

Birthdays Today:

Ryan Seacrest, 1974

Stephanie Meyer, 1973

Ricky Martin, 1971

Diedrich Bader, 45, 1966

Anil Kapoor, 1959

Mary Higgins Clark, 1929

Ava Gardner, 1922

Howard Hughes, 1905

Johnny Gruelle, 1880

Matthew Arnold, 1822

James Prescott Joule, 1818

Kit Carson, 1809

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Aristocats(Disney animated film), 1970

"Amahl and the Night Visitors"(Opera, first performance and the first opera ever televised), 1951

"The Perry Como Show"(TV), 1948

"Aida"(Opera), 1871

Today in History:

The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes, 563

Thomas Wolsey is appointed English Lord Chancellor, 1515

Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is "discovered" by James Cook, 1777

"Silent Night" is composed by Franz Joseph Gruber; it is first sung the next day, 1818

The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning, 1826

Fire devastates the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys 35,000 volumes, 1851

Henry Ford completes his first useful gas motor, 1893

Irving Fisher patents an archiving system with index cards, 1912

The first radio transmission of NCRV in Netherlands, 1924

NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition, 1955

Shooting begins on "The Cage" the pilot for the Star Trek series, 1964

The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so, 1968

Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia, 1974

The first European Ariane rocket is launched, 1979

For the first time since the death of Lenin, the bells of St. Basil's Cathedral, on Red Square in Moscow, ring to celebrate Christmas, 1990

The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station, 2003

A video of SpaceX's latest test (on December 17) of the company's Grasshopper rocket with vertical takeoff and vertical landing, is released; the rocket rose 131 feet, hovered and landed safely on the landing pad, 2012

The Wheels On The Truck Went 'Round and 'Round, and Random and Happy Tuesday Post

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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

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 Sweetie dropped me at Dr. D's house with her breakfast that i pick up each week, and we made our battle plan.

Our list looked like this:

  To buy:

     cat litter

     storage totes

  Errands:

     post office

     pay storage

     pay water bill

     make copies

  To do:

     email attorney

     boat documents

     pay bills by phone

     find files

  To find:

     charge cord

     DVD player

     Dawn dish detergent

She wrote checks while i did dishes and changed the cat box, and we shuffled files and tried to get the computer working so she could email the attorney.  Finally, i put my "booster seat" in her truck and took off for errands. (Yes, i'm short, i use a back support seat with extra pillows so i can sit higher in a vehicle and see better to drive.)

First to the storage place where i drop off a check for her storage unit, then around the block to the post office to check her box.  Across to the Mallmart for the storage totes, then to a dollar store to look for cat litter but they were out.  (Why not get the cat litter at Mallmart?  They charge a whole 26 cents more per bag, that's why not.)

Down the road to the book store her cousin owns to make copies, then across town to pay the water bill, and lo and behold!  There's a dollar store across from the water company, they were not out of litter there, so i bought two bags.

On the way back to her place, she called to ask if i could pick up a 12-pack of Pepsi, so on to the Mini-Mart near her place for that, then back to the barn.

More files, more opening mail, found the dish detergent in the storage shed out back along with a ladder so i could change the light bulbs.  Started filling the storage totes only to find i had grabbed the wrong size lids!

Okay, back in the truck, take the bins back with a receipt and get the right lids.  Home again (her home, of course) and we added to the list:

  To call:

     library

     AARP

  To do:

     renew AAA

     investigate lowering credit card rates

     white-out all handwriting on the copies made earlier

Once we had one tote filled, i grabbed it, the copies with the white-out, and another group of papers and got into the truck for the third time.  Back to her cousin's store (where she has an office upstairs, full of totes and bins with tons of files) where i dropped the tote and made four more copies of everything.

Back at her place, i also made sure i got the garbage and recycling to the curb, cleaned all the cat areas, and moved empty boxes to the storage shed because she keeps every box that comes her way.  No, you can't get in the storage shed any more, i just open the door and toss the boxes toward the back and hope they don't come tumbling out.  The dish detergent gets stored on top of the tallest full box at the front so it doesn't get lost.

What adventures await next week?  There's no telling, but it probably won't be boring.  With the lawsuits going, a storage unit and a storage shed on the property, two cats who try to escape every time the door opens, and a woman who can get into more trouble in a week than the rest of us do in a lifetime, it's never boring.

No, we didn't find the charge cord or DVD player.  They will turn up at some point, that's part of the adventure.

     

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

Today is:

Arbor Day -- Jordan

Armed Forces Day / Remembrance Day -- Nigeria

Army Day -- India

Basketball Day -- rules for the game were first published this day in 1892(day debated, year is certain)

Chosun-gul -- North Korea (Korean Alphabet Day)

Dia del Maestro -- Venezuela (Teacher's Day)

Feast of the Ass -- Ancient Roman Calendar (celebrates Vesta being saved by a donkey)

Feast of Entering Heaven and the Two Lands -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of All Fairies -- Fairy Calendar

Fiesta Del Senor de Esquipulas/Pilgrimage of Cristo Negro de Esquipulas -- Esquipulas, Guatemala (Festival of the Black Christ)

John Chilembwe Day -- Malawi

Lenaea -- Ancient Greek Calendar (a Festival of Comedy; date approximate)

Moliere Day -- France

National Hat Day -- begun by a hat loving individual who has chosen to remain anonymous

National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

Procrastinator's New Year -- declared by someone who had a really great sense of humor

Sailing of Wadjyt -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (the icon of the cobra goddess, Wadjyt, is carried on the Nile to visit many cities; date approximate)

Santos Tour Down Under -- Adelaide, Australia (a world class cycling event; through the 20th)

St. Ita's Day (Patron of Limerick, Ireland)

St. Paul the Hermit's Day (the first of the Egyptian hermits; Patron of clothing industry, weavers)

Thiruvalluvar Day -- PY, TN, India (remembrance of the celebrated Tamil poet)

Tree Planting Day -- Egypt

Tsunahiki Matsuri -- Japan (various shrines hold tug-of-war festivals in which the team for god Ebisu vie with the team for god Daikoku; if Ebisu wins, the next year will have good catches at sea, if Daikoku, it will bring good harvests)

Anniversaries Today:

Opening of the British Museum, 1759

Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England, 1559

Birthdays Today:

Drew Brees, 1979

Chad Lowe, 1968

Mario Van Peebles, 1957

Charo, 1951

Andrea Martin, 1947

Margaret O'Brien, 1937

Ernest J. Gaines, 1933

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929

John Cardinal O'Connor, 1920

Lloyd Bridges, 1913

Gene Krupa, 1909

Elie Siegmeister, 1909

Edward Teller, 1908

Aristotle Onassis, 1906

Goodman Ace, 1899

Pierre S. du Pont, 1870

Philip Livingston, 1766

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a/k/a Moliere, 1622 (baptismal date, actual birth date unknown)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hill Street Blues"(TV), 1981

"Happy Days"(TV), 1974

The Democratic Donkey(symbol in newspaper comic), 1870

"Stella"(Goethe Play), 1816

Today in History:

Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign, in a siege lasting until July 23, BC588

Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World, 1493

Third sitting of the Council of Trent opens, 1562

The British Museum opens in Montague House in London, 1759

John Etherington of London steps out sporting the first top hat, 1797

The first US built locomotive to pull a passenger train begins its first run, with Mr. and Mrs. Pierson on board for the first US railroad honeymoon trip, 1831

The donkey is first used as a symbol for the Democratic Party, in Harper's Weekly, 1870

The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia, 1889

James Naismith publishes the rules of Basketball, 1892

Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" premieres in St Petersburg, 1895

Dr. Lee DeForest patents a 3-element vacuum tube (one of the inventions that later made radio possible), 1907

The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African-American college women, 1908

The Boston Molasses Disaster, 2 million gallons of molasses spill, 21 killed, over 150 injured, 1919

The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio, 1936

The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia, 1943

The US Supreme Court rules that "clear and present danger" of incitement to riot is not protected speech and can be a cause for arrest, 1951

The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles; the Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10, 1967

The USSR launches Soyuz 5, 1969

The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm, 1991

Wikipedia goes online, 2001

An intense solar flare blasts X-rays across the solar system, 2005

ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon, 2005

The Stardust space mission returns dust from a comet to Earth, 2006

Chesley Sullenberger lands US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in NYC. All passengers and crew members survive in what becomes known as the "Miracle on the Hudson", 2009

The American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan unveils its newest exhibit, a replica skeleton of a Titanosaur dinosaur (found in 2010 in Argentina), the largest known dinosaur at 70 tons, 37m, 2016

And it was only Monday!

The week started again with us not knowing whether we were coming or going.

Little Girl had school as usual, and needed to be dropped off because her regular bus driver isn't back on duty and the others change the pick up time.  Then she has to be picked up at 1pm promptly.  Any student who finishes classes early and is dismissed has to leave the school property within five minutes or be considered a trespasser.  Yes, really.

Bigger Girl's phone had stopped receiving texts, and no wonder, it was her old flip phone with the cracked screen that the horse had stepped on.  It was astounding it worked at all.  Anyway, because she is out of town today, she wanted to upgrade the phone before she left and finally come into the smart phone age.  To do that, because the whole family is on one plan in my name, i'd have to meet with her to get it done.

Sweetie had work, and a deacon meeting at church for the evening.

As for me, i had work, and coordinating the A/C people and the plumbers, as well as getting to the bank to get cash for the plumbers and go to Sweetie's office to use his printer.  Our computers kill printers, we've never been able to get a computer in this house to accept and use a printer.  Each time we've tried, the printer prints out one page, then goes kablooey.  My theory is that our house wiring is allergic to printers.

The plan was for Sweetie to go to work as usual, me to take Little Girl to school, then come home and get a few chores done, then go to the bank, get up to his office, and get to work.

While i was at work, Sweetie would pick Little Girl up from school when he got off work  and get back to the house for the A/C people, who said it would be between 1-5pm, and i told them he would be home by 1:15 at the very outside, to which they agreed.

Then, after my work, i would call Bigger Girl and meet her at the phone store to upgrade her equipment.

Oh, and in all of this, i also fielded a call from the generator guy, who actually agreed to come today, although he offered an immediate appointment.  There wasn't a way to squeeze it all in!

It couldn't all go smoothly, of course, although it went as well as it could have.  

My errands took longer than i thought, and i didn't get to one of them.  Arriving at Sweetie's office, someone had messed with his computer that morning, and he wasn't there, so he had to talk me through getting it back up.  Then the first search engine wouldn't bring up what i wanted to print, so i had to use another.  Then the printer was out of paper, and i had to refill it for them.

The A/C people showed up an hour earlier than they said they would, and didn't call ahead as they said they would.  A panicked call to Sweetie sent him charging to the house.

Thank heaven Festus was here!  He was able to let them in, they called me and i told them what was happening, and they worked on it and Sweetie showed up to let them know it was fine for Festus to sign the invoice.  He then left to go get Little Girl.  The A/C work was under warranty, since it was the same problem as last month, so we didn't owe anything.

 When i got done with work, i called Bigger Girl to get her to meet me at the phone place.  She said she was on her way, so i got there and waited, and waited, and waited.  She had squeezed an errand in that i didn't know about.  Thank heaven the nice sales guy was patient.  He was the same one who had gotten #1 Son's phone working, and so i asked specifically for him since that earlier visit hadn't resulted in us buying anything, though he did try hard to sell us TV, or an alarm system for the house, or a tablet.  This time, he was satisfied with a good purchase for the time spent with us.

About the time Sweetie left for the deacon meeting, i noted the water was turned off.  That meant either i didn't pay the bill, which is auto drafted, or the plumbers were here.  Sure enough, they had arrived with the water heater Sweetie had purchased two weeks before but that we'd never been able to coordinate the borrowing of a truck to pick up. Bless them, they included pick up and carting away the old one in their deal.

The old one was a bear to remove, and it didn't want to drain, it was so badly clogged with sediment.  They finally wrestled it into the downstairs shower stall and tilted it and let it go.  Then there was the difficulty with the pipes in the wall.  To get to that, they had to punch a wider hole in the wall.  They were concerned i would be upset by a hole in the wall.  As i told them, it's a laundry room, what difference does it make.

They were good, though, just over two hours of fighting and fussing and pulling and tugging and soldering later, we had a good hot water heater hooked up and the water was back on.

The deacon meeting went well, too.  It was Sweetie's night to give his testimony, and he told about how he and his brother were blinded within a few hours of birth by the excess oxygen they used to use in incubators.  Lots of premie babies from that era were blinded, and no doctor can explain why, six months later, at the exact same moment, both of them went from being blind to suddenly following a pen light the doctor was waving in front of them.

With that kind of blessing to remember in our lives, i guess these everyday aggravations like surly water heaters and early arrivals and printers out of paper just don't matter much, do they?

Today is

Be Kind to Humankind Week:  Touch a Heart Tuesday

Birthday of Horus -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Day of Songun -- North Korea

Discovery of the Runes/Odin's Ordeal ends -- Ancient Norse Calendar (date approximate)

Independence Day -- Uruguay(1825)

Kiss and Make Up Day -- a day begun by Jacqueline V. Milgate to encourage people to make amends and repair relationships if they need to

National Banana Split Day -- some sites have it as Aug. 10

National Park Service Day -- US (legislation creating the National Park Service was signed this day in 1916 by President Wilson)

National Second-Hand Wardrobe Day -- pull out the hand-me-downs or thrift store purchases and wear them with pride!

Opiconsivia -- Ancient Roman Calendar, Vestal Virgin Festival in honor of Ops

Rumpleskunkskin's Bride Escapes to Heewigoland Anniversary -- Fairy Calendar (Fairy celebration, Goblins get grumpy)

Soldier's Day -- Brazil

St. Genesius of Arles' Day (Patron of notaries, secretaries; against chilblains, scurf)

St. Genesius of Rome's Day (Patron of actors, attorneys, barristers, clowns, comedians, comediennes, comics, converts, dancers, epileptics, lawyers, musicians, printers, stenographers and torture victims)

St. Louis, King of France's Day (King Louis IX; Patron of barbers, bridegrooms, builders, button makers, construction workers, Crusaders, difficult marriages, distillers, embroiderers, French monarchs, grooms, haberdashers, hairdressers, hair stylists, kings, masons, needle workers, parenthood, parents of large families, passementiers, prisoners, sculptors, sick people, soldiers, stone masons, stonecutters, tertiaries, trimming makers; Québec, Québec; Saint Louis, Missouri; Blois, France; Carthage, Tunisia; La Rochelle, France; New Orleans, Louisiana; Oran, Algeria; Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France; Saint Louis, Missouri;`Versailles, France; Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Louis; against the death of children)

Tvimanuor -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (the name means "Double Month", and the origin is uncertain; perhaps because winter is coming and it's time to double up on the preparations)

Umhlanga -- Swaziland (Reed Dance for the Zulu King; a fascinating week long ritual with beautiful costumes, dancing and singing, culminating as well as in a speech in which the King addresses the people, on Aug. 31)

Whiskey Sour Day



Birthdays Today

Blake Lively, 1987
Rachel Bilson, 1981
Alexander Skarsgard, 1976
Claudia Schiffer, 1970
Rachael Ray, 1968
Albert Belle, 1966
Cornelius O’Landa Bennett, 1966
Blair Underwood, 1964
Joanne Whalley, 1964
Ally Walker, 1961
Billy Ray Cyrus, 1961
Tim Burton, 1958
Elvis Costello, 1954
Gene Simmons, 1949
John Savage, 1949
Martin Amis, 1949
Anne Archer, 1947
Anthony Heald, 1944
Frederick Forsyth, 1938
Regis Philbin, 1933
Tom Skerritt, 1933
Wayne Shorter, 1933
Sean Connery, 1930
Althea Gibson, 1927
Monty Hall, 1923
Leonard Bernstein, 1918
Walt Kelly, 1913
Ruby Keeler, 1909
Clara Bow, 1905
Hans Adolf Krebs, 1900
Ludwig II, "Mad King" of Bavaria, 1845
Francis Bret Harte, 1836
Allan Pinkerton, 1819
Ivan the Terrible, 1530


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"42nd Street"(Musical), 1980
The Wizard of Oz(Film), 1939


Today in History

The Council of Nicaea ends with the adoption of the Nicene Creed, 325
The Children's Crusaders under Nicholas reach Genoa, 1212
The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, is formed, 1537
Galileo demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers, 1609
Hundreds of French settlers arrive in New Orleans, which had been founded only a few months before, marking its true beginnings as a city, not just an outpost, 1718
James Cook begins his first voyage, 1768
Alice Meynell becomes the first female jockey, in England, 1804
British forces destroy the Library of Congress, which then contained about 3,000 books, 1814
The New York Times perpetrates the Great Moon Hoax, 1835
Captain Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim the English Channel unassisted, 1875
Kitasato Shibasaburo discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet, 1894
The United States National Park Service is created, 1916
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly nonstop across the US, 1932
US Army officer and missionary John Birch is killed by the armed supporters of the Communist Party of China, considered by some as the first victim of the Cold War, 1945
Zimbabwe joins the United Nations, 1980
Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn, 1981
Tadeusz Mazowiecki is chosen as the first non-communist Prime Minister in Central and Eastern Europe, 1989
Mayumi Moriyama becomes Japan's first female cabinet secretary, 1989
The Tli Cho land claims agreement is signed between the Dogrib First Nations and the Canadian federal government in Rae-Edzo (now called Behchoko), 2003
Acting as a private citizen, former President Jimmy Carter travels to North Korea to negotiate the release of Aijalon Gomes, a U.S. citizen, 2010