Of Covid, Forgetfulness and Power Outages, 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.

Before i forget again, i was asked last week why Carl wears those ice vests, the ones you slip ice packs into so you'll stay cool.  He is very heat sensitive and his job is pushing grocery carts down here in the steamy, swampy weather we have.  He's on the black asphalt for hours under the blazing sun, trust me, he needs those packs, they make it possible for him to keep this job.

This week has been turned a bit sideways.

Ms. V called me Sunday evening to let me know Carl has Covid again.  This time, so far his parents do not, and they are isolating him in his room, leaving the food he wants outside his door and making him stay in there.

This meant i didn't clean there yesterday, obviously.

This was the week i clean there on Monday morning, then go across the street to Ms. S.  Upon calling Ms. S, she told me i could come early, so i went there at 9am, long enough to let Mr. D sleep a bit.

Not having to be at work at 6am Monday morning is weird, especially as we were awakened with a start at 4:45am with the electricity going out just long enough to make us have to reset the clocks.

What is it about the electricity that it goes out for 5 seconds then blips back on?

Anyway, i got to do some around-the-house puttering before heading to work.

When i arrived, Ms. S told me, "When V called me last night to say Carl was ill again, I said, 'That means you won't have mimi come tomorrow, so tell her to call me so we can work out a time for her to come here."

Ms. V responded with, "I forgot all about her coming!  You're right, I have to call her."

Please note, i've been going to clean Carl's place every Monday morning for over two years, and Ms. V still does not remember i'll be there until she gets up and finds me in the house on Monday morning.

Once i was done with Ms. S's house, i went and got Sweetie and we went to Kevin and Lenny's.  Their old cleaning guy has retired and we've been asked to come clean once a month.

Have you ever tried to clean the grime out from around the men's room baseboards near the toilet in a mechanic shop?  Trust me, don't.

They actually have a very nice waiting area although there was dust in places where I don't believe they realize they have places.  They no longer have said dust, and no one needs to be afraid to use the restroom now.

Although as Kevin pointed out when i was lysoling his work station, "This ain't no doctor's office!"

It's one step closer now anyhow.

In honor of the power going out just long enough to irritate us, some funnies.

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Bureflux -- Discordian Calendar

Dia de la Bandera Nacional -- Ecuador (Day of the National Flag)

Dominion Day -- New Zealand (trad.)

European Day of Languages -- European Union

Festival of Venus Genetrix -- Ancient Roman Calendar

International Tool Day -- internet generated, now gladly embraced by toolmakers

Johnny Appleseed Day -- birth anniversary of John Chapman

Love Note Day -- take pen and paper and send that special someone a love note today, the idea of Leona Hamel of QC, Canada

Mesothelioma Awareness Day -- bringing to light this cancer caused by asbestos exposure 

National Pancake Day

National Voter Registration Day -- US (Celebrating Democracy in America) 

Old Holy Rood Day -- OS calendar (the day blackberries become unsafe for picking) related observance

     Mid-Autumn Day -- Scottish Highlands (traditional; considered the day harts begin to mate and a weather prognostication day)

Search for Your Baseball Cards Again Day -- on lots of trivia sites; recommended because you never know

September Revolution Day -- Yemen (a/k/a First Revolution Day)

Stanislav Petrov Day -- remembering the day in 1983 when Comrade Petrov was given the order to return nuclear fire due to a faulty alarm system; he defied the order for hours, refusing to return fire believing it was a false alarm, which indeed was correct, and his disobedience saved the world!

Sts. Cosmas and Damian's Day (Patrons of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, barbers, blind people, chemical industry/manufacturers, doctors/physicians/surgeons, hairdressers, midwives, people with hernias; Alberobello, Italy; Ossimo, Italy; against blindness and pestilence) related observance:

     Begin now to lay in supplies for your Michaelmas supper on the 29th

United States Postal Service Day -- US (the first postmaster general under the current constitution, Samuel Osgood, was appointed this day in 1789)

Woman Road Warrior Day -- to recognize the traveling businesswomen in today's world

World Contraception Day -- International

Birthdays Today:

Serena Williams, 1981

Lawrence Leritz, 1962

Melissa Sue Anderson, 1962

Linda Hamilton, 1956

Jane Smiley, 1949

Mary Beth Hurt, 1948

Olivia Newton-John, 1948

Lynn Anderson, 1947

Brian Ferry, 1945

Anne Robinson, 1944

Kent McCord, 1942

Julie London, 1926

Jack LaLanne, 1914

George Gershwin, 1898

T.S. Eliot, 1888

Edmund Gwenn, 1877

John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman, 1774

St. Francis of Assisi, 1181

Debuting/Premiering Today:

George(Magazine), 1995

"Knight Rider"(TV), 1982

"The Brady Bunch"(TV), 1969

"Hawaii Five-O"(TV), 1968

"Gilligan's Island"(TV), 1964

"The Beverly Hillbillies"(TV), 1962

"West Side Story"(Musical), 1957

"Lucia di Lammermoor"(Opera), 1835

"The Gladiator"(Play), 1831

Today in History:

In keeping a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus, Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix, BC 46

Sir Francis Drake returns to England with Spanish treasure, 1580

In a battle between Venetians and Turks in Athens, the Parthenon and Acropolis are seriously damaged, 1687

New Jersey passes a bill requiring a license to practice medicine, 1772

Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first Secretary of State of the US, 1789

Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson proved tomatoes weren't poisonous by eating several on the steps of the courthouse in Salem, New Jersey, 1820

The Diamond Match Company patents book matches, 1892

New Zealand and Newfoundland each become dominions within the British Empire, 1907

Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations, 1950

Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time, 1973

The United Kingdom agrees to the handover of Hong Kong, 1984

An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse, 1997

Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy becomes first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel, 2008

Georgia changes its second language from Russian to English, 2010

Saudi Arabia announces it is overturning its ban on women driving, the last country in the world to do so, 2017

108 pilot whales survive out of a total of 458 in Australia's largest mass stranding at Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, 2020

In the first test of the planetary defense system, NASA's DART mission successfully crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, 2022

Never Mind (Six Sentence Story), Halloween Time (Good Fences), Cool Dude (Sammy's Poetry Day) and Change of Attitude (Brian's Thankful Thursday)

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First, it was the cats, as they decided this was the best time of day to go romping across the bed.

Next, it was that doggone toilet, it started running again, so it was time to crank the fan up louder to cover it.

A text message came through, from Jo, updating about a friend of hers who lost his son, so of course a reply has to be sent, it's a difficult time for them all.

Then a call from #1 Son, we all still have a family account with something, and he forgot the password.

Finally, the lawn mower dude started up in the field across the street.

Giving it up as a bad job, i decided i did not really need a nap on my unexpected afternoon off yesterday anyway, and got up and wrote this!

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Field.      

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Gosia at Looking for Identity has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World.  Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit other blogs to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.     

We are starting to see some Halloween fences:

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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my poem:    

I’m keepin’ so cool,

Yeah, I’m all that,

With my floatie and my glasses

And my really neat hat.

Love bein’ in the water,

Gonna float the day away,

Until I get real hungry,

This is where I want to stay!

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Brian of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

Yesterday, the electricity went out again, a tree went down not far from here.  When i called to report the outage, i decided to sign up again for text message alerts.  This is something i've done in the past, but it seems that for some reason, i keep getting unsigned up somehow.

There was not a long wait for a representative, only about a half a minute, that's a thankful right there.  The lady who took the information was very kind, we laughed a lot, especially when she told me, "Remember you can sign on to your account online and update your preferences," and i said, yes, i can, when the electricity comes back on!  How i love when customer service people are nice and have a good sense of humor.

In just over an hour, service was restored, and we are thankful we weren't facing another long outage and the need to call the generator back into play.

Also, i got the text alert telling me service was restored, which is the main reason i want the alerts to begin.  If they think they've restored service, and i still have none, i have no way of knowing and neither do they that there's a problem without such a notice.

While waiting for the service to be restored, i was very tempted to grouse about the whole situation, but i gave myself a stern talking to.  Instead, i prayed and thanked the Good Lord that i have lived in a world with electricity and all of the conveniences it offers.  Then i said that even if i never had electricity again, i knew i've had it so good for so long in ways many people in the rest of the world have not, that i have no room or reason to complain.  The power, instead of being out until midnight like they thought it would, came on within one minute of my change of attitude, and i am very thankful.

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Today is:

Cayenne Festival -- French Guiana (celebration of the capital city)

Conflict Resolution Day -- Association for Conflict Resolution   

Day of Hommage for the late King Father -- Cambodia (Norodom Sihanouk)

Dine with TV Dinners on the Floor Night -- probably started by someone who wanted to see how many websites would be crazy enough to even list this

Feast of the Three Noble Ladies -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (female pharoahs; date approximate)

Fete Nationale de l'Evacuation -- Tunisia (Evacuation Day, celebrates the day all foreign military finally and fully left)

Get Smart About Credit Day -- sponsored by the American Bankers Association   

Get to Know Your Customers Day -- third Thursday of every quarter

Global Handwashing Day -- International (scrub up! prevent the spread of germs)   

Guangzhou Autumn Trade Fair -- Guangzhou, China (through Nov. 15)

Ides of October -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also on this date

     Harvest Festival of Mars

     Ludi Capitolini (games in honor of Jupiter)

     Winter's Day

International Credit Union Day -- World Council of Credit Unions   

Mahakiki -- Hawai'ian New Year Season (a four month season where warfare is forbidden and many ceremonies take place; begins around the time of the first sighting of the Pleiades in the Northern Hemisphere)

Mertz of All Possible Mertzes -- internet generated and on the day "I Love Lucy" premiered; i guess Fred and Ethel were the definition of what a Mertz should be!

National Cake Decorating Day -- again, because every website gives a different date

National Cheese Curd Day

National Chicken Cacciatore Day

National Grouch Day -- sponsored by Alan Miller, chairman of the board of NAG (National Association of Grouches)

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day -- US  

National Mushroom Day

National Roast Pheasant Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Sri Lanka

Newspaper Week -- Japan

Poetry Day -- birth anniversary of the Roman poet Virgil

Preaching of the Lion Sermon -- St. Katharine Cree Church, London, England (Sermon dating back to the 1640's in commemoration of a gift for the poor made by Sir John Gayer, who was delivered from a lion while in Turkey)

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day -- Canada; NSW, Australia; UK; US   

Rectification Day -- Burkina Faso

Rainbow Pickling Day -- Fairy Calendar

Sewing Lovers' Day -- internet generated, as those who love to sew deserve a day to celebrate

St. Teresa of Avila's Day (Founder of the Reformation of the Discalces[Barefoot] Carmelites; Patron of lace makers/workers, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, sick people; Amos, Canada; Berzano di Tortona, Italy; Pozega, Croatia; Spain; against bodily ills, headaches, sickness, the death of parents)

Teacher's Day -- Brazil

White Cane Safety Day -- US (celebrating the achievements of the blind/visually impared, and recognizing the white cane as the symbol of their independence)

Wishbones for Pets begins -- US program asking professional pet sitters to gather pet supplies and donations for homeless pets through Thanksgiving

World Rural Women's Day/International Day of Rural Women -- UN; related observance

     Mother's Day -- Malawi

Birthdays Today:

Paige Davis, 1969

Sarah Ferguson, 1959

Emeril Lagasse,1959

Tanya Roberts, 1955

Tito Jackson, 1953

Richard Carpenter, 1946

Victor Banerjee, 1946

Jim Palmer, 1945

Penny Marshall, 1942

Linda Lavin, 1937

Lee Iacocca, 1924

Mario Puzo, 1920

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., 1917

John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908

Marty Mann, 1904

P.G. Wodehouse, 1881

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, 1872

John L. Sullivan, 1858

Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844

Publius Vergilius Maro / Virgil, 70BCE

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Untouchables"(TV), 1959

"I Love Lucy"(TV), 1951

"Abe Lincoln in Illinois"(Play), 1938

To Have and Have Not(Publication date), 1937

"La Mer/The Sea"(Debussy orchestral composition), 1905

Today in History:

Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals, 533

Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine," is staged in Paris, 1581

Asser Levy is granted a butcher's license for kosher meat in New Amsterdam, 1660

The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon marks the first human ascent, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, (tethered balloon), 1783

George Washington takes the first formal presidential tour, of New England, 1789

Napoleon Bonaparte is exiled to the Island of St. Helena, 1815

Child labor law takes 12 year olds out of the work force, 1874

Edison Electric Light Company is incorporated, 1878

Koln cathedral is completed, 633 years after it was begun, 1880

The German dirigible "Graf Zeppelin' lands in Lakehurst, NJ, 1928

LaGuardia Airport opens, 1939

Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time, 1946

The start of the 2500-year celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia, 1971

The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England, 1987

Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL, 1989

Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1990

The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ThrustSSC (United Kingdom), exactly 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere, 1997

The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn, 1997

NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io, 2001

China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission, 2003

The final breakthrough occurs on the east bore of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps, now the world's longest railway tunnel, 2010

Actress Alyssa Milano tweets "If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’", prompting a flood of replies across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, 2017