Overheard

Little Girl has eyes a lot like Sweetie's -- she needs glasses to see.  She needs glasses to find her glasses!

The first time i realized she needed them, and she put them on, as we drove into our tree filled neighborhood she said, "Oh, the trees have leaves!  Not just green blobs on top!"

That's been a couple of years, and though she fights me on it, saying she doesn't need another exam, she's gone whenever i notice she can't recognize people at a distance any more.  It's usually every year, but one time her eyes changed so fast that we went after 6 months.

With school starting up soon, it was time she (and i) took another trek to the eye doctor.  It's one of those "get two pair and an eye exam for X price" places, which works for the rest of us.  Sweetie's retinal problems and glaucoma require more attention, and he goes to the M.D. Ophthalmologist, but she and i and #1 Son all make do with the Doctor of Optometry at the glasses place.

We had a 10:30am appointment, and since they always make me fill out the same paperwork, i make sure we get there by a bit after 10.  Once i had us checked in, told them that yes, we want the visual field test (always, always pay the $15 extra for that test! it is worth it to detect glaucoma and macular degeneration or retinal problems early), we sat and waited.

And waited, and waited.  The place takes walk-ins or appointments.  People who just walk in have to wait until they can be worked in, but we've never had to wait long since i always make an appointment.

This time, we waited, along with another man who was talking on his phone, very loudly.  Why can they never figure out how loudly they are speaking?  Anyway, we got to overhear that he had an appointment at the same time as ours (overbooking was part of the problem today, perhaps?), and that his sister was having surgery, and that with this new breach that means tons of passwords have been hacked he has to change his passwords and how's he going to do that?  He can't even remember the ones he has, much less change them and remember new ones.

By the time we were called back, i was ready to not overhear any more.  So of course there was another one in the back, telling the person he was talking to, "You can't drive, man!  No, don't take a left on that street!  What is wrong with you?  You won't get there if you take a left!  Man, you just can't drive!"

After both of us were checked out, got our new prescriptions and a clean eye bill of health, we went and picked frames.  Then we waited and waited and waited again, overhearing the lady who was in there with her adult daughter talk about her other daughter expecting twins and how much they loved to shop at MallMart.  "I'll spend two hours in there!  I start in hardware and work my way back to the food!" she was saying, as her daughter helped her decide whether she wanted the lenses that could darken in the sun or if she needed bifocals.

A lot of life goes on that we can hear around us, whether we want to or not.


Today is:

Assyrian Martyrs Day -- various Assyrian communities

Battle of Boyaca Day -- Colombia

Edmonton Folk Music Festival -- Gallagher Park, Edmonton, AB, Canada (folk music of all kinds and fun for the whole family; through Sunday)

Festival at Sandpoint -- Lake Pend Oreille, Sandpoint, ID, US (internationally renowned summer concert series in a casual and relaxed atmosphere; through the 11th)

Great River Tug Fest -- Port Byron, IL, and LeClaire, IA, US (the only tug-of-war across the Mighty Mississippi; festival through Saturday)

Harvest Holiday -- Slavic Pagan Calendar (reaping ceases for a few hours in honor of Volos' beard; bread is eaten and offerings given to Mother Earth and Volos for a bountiful harvest)

Hope Watermelon Festival -- Hope, AK, US (if you've never had Hope watermelons, you've missed the best!  Through Saturday)

Independence Day / National Day -- Cote d'Ivoire(1960)

Inter-State Fair and Rodeo -- Coffeyville, KS, US (rodeo, livestock shows, carnival, and more; through the 14th)

"Lil" Margaret's Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival -- Leonardtown, MD, US (bluegrass music, crafts, old time tractors and cars, and home-cooked meals; bring a lawn chair!  through Saturday)

National Hobo Convention -- Britt, IA (held each year since 1900, gathering for migrant workers who are proud to call themselves "hobos" and make a living through working where they choose and traveling where they want; through Sunday)

National Lighthouse Day -- US (American Lighthouse Foundation)

National Raspberries in Cream Day

Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and especially the kind no one can open without a machete, what's with that!

Professional Speaker's Day -- information about it is here

Purple Heart Day -- US (originally instituted this day in 1782 by George Washington)

Ribfest -- Kalamazoo, MI, US (live festival and cook off; through Saturday)

Say "Cheese" Day -- begun by ecard companies looking for something to celebrate; in my family, we do not say "Cheese", we say "Chicken Lips!" Try it some time when walking past tourists who are trying to get a good photo, and watch them smile genuine smiles and come up with a good picture.

Sea Serpent Day -- no one knows why today, just enjoy

Skowhegan State Fair -- Skowhegan, ME (since 1818, ten days of grand fun; through the 16th)

Smartest Leprechaun Eisteddfod -- Fairy Calendar

St. Albert of Trapani's Day (Patron of Carmelite schools; Messina, Italy; Trapani, Italy)

St. Cajetan's Day (Patron of job seekers and the unemployed)

Take Last Winter's Snowballs Out of the Freezer and Have a Fight Day -- in the northern hemisphere, it's certainly hot enough


Birthdays Today:

Charlize Theron, 1975
Harold Parrineau, 1963
DeLane Matthews, 1961
David Duchovny, 1960
Alberto Salazar, 1957
John Glover, 1944
Garrison Keillor, 1942
B.J. Thomas, 1942
Abebe Bikila, 1932
"The Amazing" James Randi, 1928
Carl "Alfalfa" Switser, 1927
Stan Freberg, 1926
Ralph Johnson Bunche, 1903
Rudolf C. Ising, 1903
William Boyd McKechnie, 1886
Billie Burke, 1884
Mata Hari, 1876
Nathanael Greene, 1742


Today in History:

Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon, following the death of Alexander the Great, BC322
Construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore begins in Florence, 1420
Coup again the Tianshun Emperor by the Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin, 1461
Francis Drake's fleet returns to Plymouth, 1573
The first documented performance of Macbeth, at the Great Hall at Hampton Court, 1606
Sieur de La Salle's brigantine Le Griffon becomes the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes, 1679
Cherokee Indians take Ft. Loudon, Tennessee, 1760
George Washington creates the Order of the Purple Heart, 1782
Simon Bolivar triumphs over the Spanish at the Battle of Boyaca, 1819
The long simmering tension between the Hatfields and the McCoys on the Kentucky/West Virginia border erupts into full scale violence on election day, 1882
The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York, 1927
IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I), 1944
Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America, 1947
Explorer 6 transmits the first TV photo of Earth from space, 1959
The "artistic crime of the century" occurs when Philippe Petit of France, after months of planning and smuggling in materials, makes an illegal tightrope walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 1974
Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars, 1976
The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication, 1981
Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts, 1985
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron's record by hitting his 756th home run, 2007

Oh, that closet!

"Hi, mom!" Bigger Girl said as she came into the house.

Hi, sweetheart.  How was work? i asked.

"It was fine, and I got my oil change on the way home.  They didn't vacuum the carpets really well, but since there's a fly in there that won't get out, at least it will have something to eat!" she laughed.

Yes, until it dies in the heat of the car tomorrow! i noted.

"Yeah, I know.  Maybe it will fly out in the morning when I open the car, though," she said.

Maybe, was my comment as i grabbed the last paper towel off of the roll.

"Oh, and guess what else happened today?" she asked.

There's no way i can guess, so you'd best just tell me, i told her.

"Well, you know my friend Vera?  The Kentucky Fried Soldier with PTSD and a bad back and knee?  Well, when they lived at their old apartment, someone in the building brought in bedbugs and the landlord didn't do anything for so long that their apartment got infested, and they had to throw away their bed when they moved.

"So ever since then, Vera has to sleep on a pallet on the floor and she is always hurting, and so she tries not to go to bed until she's so tired she has to go to bed, so she will sleep through some of the pain.

"But I wanted to do something, so I asked Miss Lizzie if she had that old air mattress, and she said she did but we couldn't get together to get it to Vera, so I sent out a text to all of my friends asking if anyone had an old air mattress they didn't need, and why I needed it, and Pat told his mom and dad and they went out and bought Vera a brand new air mattress!"  She was beaming with excitement.

That's wonderful! i exclaimed.

"Yea, and when I brought it to Vera and told her, she cried!" 

Well, you know I would have bought her one, too, if you had told me, i said.

"Yea, but I thought if somebody had one already, that would be easier," she noted.

Could you go get me another roll of paper towels from the closet? i asked.

"I'll do it!" Little Girl called out to us from the hallway.  We heard the closet door open, then she exclaimed, "SissyCat!  Why are you in the closet?  What was SissyCat doing in the closet?" she continued as she came into the kitchen with the paper towels.

"Because she's not comfortable with the idea of coming out yet!" Bigger Girl quipped.

As we all laughed, Little Girl said, "Oh, that closet!  That explains it!"





Today is:

Accession Day -- United Arab Emirates (accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan)

Best Elf Awards -- Fairy Calendar

Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship -- Shelburne, ON, Canada (through Sunday)

east of Everything Green Except Money -- Hooray for veggies! You'll need them before you have that root beer float.

Festival of Nut and Ra; Chief Festival of Thoth -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival Wednesday -- British Virgin Islands

Hiroshima Day

Independence Day / National Day -- Bolivia; Jamaica

Miss Crustacean USA Beauty Pageant and Ocean City Creep -- Ocean City, NJ, US (crowning the most beautiful and fastest tree crab on Earth)

National Fresh Breath (Halitosis) Day -- shouldn't that read, anti-halitosis?

National Root Beer Float Day -- A&W Root Beer really gets into this day

Peace Festival -- Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan

Sts. Justus and Pastor's Day (Patrons of Alcala, Spain; Madrid, Spain)

Tanabata Festival -- Sendai, Japan (Japan's largest Tanabata 'Star Festival', through the 8th)
 
Teinne Festival -- Ancient Celtic Calendar (Teinne, the Celtic Holy Fire, sometimes called Tan; date approximate)

Transfiguration of the Lord -- Orthodox Christian

Wiggle Your Toes Day -- internet generated, and my suggestion is to celebrate it with a cool drink out by the pool!


Birthdays Today:

Romola Garai, 1982
Melissa George, 1976
Soleil Moon Frye, 1976
M. Night Shyamalan, 1970
Michelle Yeoh, 1962
Catherine Hicks, 1951
Dorian Harewood, 1950
Shirley Ann Jackson, 1946
Peter Bonerz, 1938
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob, 1934
Andy Warhol, 1928
Robert Mitchum, 1817
Lucille Ball, 1911
Clara Bow, 1905
Hoot Gibson, 1892
Alexander Fleming, 1881
Louella Parsons, 1881
Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, 1861
Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1809
Daniel O'Connell, 1775


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Help"(Album debut), 1965


Today in History:

Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founds the city of Bogota, Colombia, 1538
Holland (The Dutch Republic) sells Brazil to Portugal and the two
countries sign the Treaty of The Hague, 1661
The first private military school in the US, Norwich University, is
founded in Vermont, 1819
The Russian Geographical Society is founded in Saint Petersburg, 1845
William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by the electric chair, 1890
Alice Ramsey takes three friends (none of whom could drive) to become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, 1909
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel, 1926
Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world's oldest tree, is cut down by the US National Forest Service, for reasons even they cannot explain, 1964
The Federal Voting Rights Act is signed, 1965
A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, 1986
The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, 1990
NASA makes the still disputed announcement that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms, 1996
The incoming coalition government of the United Kingdom discontinues the use of the controversial ContactPoint database of all children in that country, 2010
After a century of silence, Mount Tongariro in New Zealand erupts, spreading volcanic ash across the country's central North Island and affecting airports, 2012
The Curiosity Rover, controlled by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, lands safely on the surface of Mars, 2012

How to have a crazy Saturday...

...just as i did this past weekend.

Come downstairs with a list of things to so just in time to hear #2 Son, the one with two broken hands, yell, "Mom, can you bring me a bucket?  I think I'm going to be sick!"

Bring him the bucket, just in time.

While cleaning up the results of the need for the use of the bucket, have #1 Son come in saying, "Mom, I feel really weird, dizzy and light headed.  And my heart is pounding, and I'm sweating, and my extremities keep going numb."

As you turn to assess the situation, have a cat start gacking up and making really strange noises, as if she is choking.

When the cat doesn't stop making those noises, grab your phone, call the vet, get them to agree to see the cat if you can come in right away.  Decide to call Sweetie to ask if he can come bring the cat so you can call the doctor about #1 Son's weird symptoms.  Get no answer, because he went to get himself some breakfast and forgot his phone.

Run the cat to the vet as fast as you can, agreeing to pick it up in an hour, and rush back.

Call the doctor and let #1 Son describe his symptoms.

Find out he is going to be fine, it's just a virus, listen as #2 Son says he is feeling better now that he's gotten it all out of his system, and get cat back to find that she just has a bad virus, and the choking sound is just her weird way of trying to clear the mucus.

Decide you've had enough excitement for the whole day, and when Sweetie comes in and asks how was your morning, tell him he missed all the fun.  As usual.

And no, i don't recommend this form of excitement!


Today is:

August Tuesday / Culturama -- St. Kitts and Nevis

Barsi Bhagat Puran Singh -- Sikhism

Bogota Carnival -- Bogota, Colombia (celebrating the city's Hispanic founding; through tomorrow)

Carnival Tuesday -- Antigua and Barbuda (Last Lap Jump Up)

Celtic Tree Month Coll (Hazel) commences

Festival Tuesday -- British Virgin Islands

Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead Day -- uttered this day by Admiral Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864

Hanakasa Matsuri -- Yamagata City, Japan (10,000 costumed dancers perform; through the 7th)

Independence Day / Republic Day -- Burkina Faso (former Upper Volta)(1960)

International Beer Day

National Blackmail Day -- according to mostly ecard sites, with suggestions to send a card to the friend who has told you his/her secrets, with the notice that you plan on celebrating this date!

National Night Out -- US (sponsored by National Association of Town Watch, to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness)

National Underwear Day -- sponsored by www.freshpair.com, which encourages people to rethink their underwear style, make sure they have the right fit, and which gives away free underwear

National Waffle Day

Nuestra Senora de Africa -- CE, Spain (Day of Our Lady of Africa, also called Fiestas Patronales)

Oyster Day

Pixie of the Year Competition -- Fairy Calendar

Sacrifice to Salus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of health, associated with Greek Hygeia)

St. Afra of Augsburg's Day (Patron of converts, martyrs, penitent women; Augsburg, Germany)

St. Oswald of Northumbria's Day (Patron of Zug, Switzerland)

Tish'a B'Av -- Judaism (began sunset yesterday, through sunset today)

Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders -- Croatia

Work Like a Dog Day -- different from work-a-holics, people who work like a dog work hard while they are at it, and rest when they aren't

World's Fair of Money -- Chicago, IL, US (the greatest money show on Earth, including dealers, exhibits from around the world, family activities and educational programs; through Saturday)


Birthdays Today:

Jonathan Silverman, 1966
Patrick Aloysius Ewing, 1962
Maureen McCormick, 1956
Erika Slezak, 1946
Loni Anderson, 1946
Ja’net DuBois, 1938
John Saxon, 1936
Neil Armstrong, 1930
Sydney Omarr, 1926
Raoul Wallenberg, 1912
John Huston, 1906
Conrad Potter Aiken, 1889
Joseph Merrick, 1862
Guy de Maupassant, 1850
Thomas Lynch, Jr., 1749
John Eliot, 1604
Joseph Justus Scaliger, 1540


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Revolver"(Beatles Album, release date), 1966
"Eleanor Rigby" & "Yellow Submarine"(Beatles singles, A & B side respectively, release date), 1966
"American Bandstand"(TV, national premiere), 1957
"Andy Capp"(Comic strip), 1957
"Little Orphan Annie"(Comic strip), 1924


Today in History

The last outpost of Bar Kockba, Betar, falls to Rome, 135
Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria at the Battle of Maserfield, 642
King Edward and Earl Aetherlred, leading the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, defeat the last major Viking army to raid England at the Battle of Tettenhall, 910
Anti-Jewish riots in Arnstadt, Germany, 1264
Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes first English colony in North America, at what is now St John's, Newfoundland, 1583
The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America, 1620
New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true, 1735
US Army abolishes flogging, 1861
Standard Oil of New Jersey is established, 1882
The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor, 1884
Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip made in her husbands invention, the first patented automobile; her journey was to publicize the invention, and she garnered attention and sales, 1888
The first electric traffic light is installed, in Cleveland, Ohio, 1914
Debut of the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie", by Harold Gray, 1924
Debut of the comic strip "Andy Capp", by Smythe, 1957
Nelson Mandela is jailed, 1962*
The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty, 1963
The city of Knin, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm, 1995
The Copiapo mining accident traps 33 Chilean miners about 2,300ft below the ground, 2010

*Released in 1990

Awww Monday: Peek-a-boo!

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.  All of us could use a little cute to start the work week, so post a picture that makes people say, "Awww!" and link up!

Little Girl's cat, Link, also known as Linker Stinker, is about 2 years old, but he still plays the same way he did when he was a kitten.

He even likes to play peek-a-boo, and jump out at other cats and people.

Hiding in the recycling bin is fun!

He's a far cry from the tiny thing we brought home and bottle fed, but he's really still just a big baby!




Today is:

August Bank Holiday -- Australia; Ireland; UK

August Monday/Culturama -- Saint Kitts ande Nevis

British Columbia Day -- British Columbia, Canada

Carnival Monday -- Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; British Virgin Islands

Champagne Day -- internet generated holiday, probably created by someone who wanted an excuse to celebrate

Coast Guard Day -- US (anniversary of founding in 1790)

Constitution Day -- Cook Islands

Civic Holiday -- AB, BC, SK, ON, & NU, Canada

Emancipation Day --  Bahamas; Dominica; Granada; Montserrat; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Turks and Caicos Islands

Fairy Drying-Out Day -- Fairy Calendar (makes sense, as we washed them yesterday. Now it begs the question, how does one dry a fairy?)

Farmer's Day -- Zambia

Festival Monday -- British Virgin Islands

Festival of the Dead; Sunset Ceremony -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca -- Vitoria-Gasteiz, Alava, Basque Country, Spain; through the 9th

Fiestas Patronales -- El Salvador (through the 6th)

Frídagur verslunarmanna -- Iceland (Commerce Day)

Kadooment Day -- Barbados (huge carnival celebration of the end of the Crop Over festival, celebrating the end of the sugar cane harvest)

Matica Slovenska Day -- Slovakia (main Slovak cultural institution, established 1863)

National Children's Day -- Tuvalu

National Lasagna Day

New Brunswick Day -- New Brunswick, Canada

Nicole Robin Day -- St. John, USVI(unofficial celebration her safe return, with the crew, to the Virgin Islands after being held by Cuba.)

Old Fiddler's Convention -- Galax, VA, US (fun and fiddles, dulcimers, banjos, autoharps, and more; through Saturday)

Picnic Day -- NT, Australia

Single Working Women's Day

St. John Baptist Mary Vianney's Day (Cure of Ars; Patron of confessors, parish priests; Dubuque, Iowa; Kamloops, BC; Kansas City, KS; Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN)

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally -- Sturgis, SD, US (the grand-daddy of all motorcycle rallies and races; through Sunday)

Tampere Theatre Festival -- Tampere, Finland (largest such festival in the Nordic countries; through Sunday)

Tisha B'Av -- Judaism (begins at sundown, through tomorrow; fast in remembrance of the destruction of the First Temple in 586BCE and the Second Temple in 79AD)

Vigil of St. Oswald -- Anglo-Saxon holy day, commemorates the day before King Oswald's death in 642

Youth Day -- Kiribati

Zuni Corn Dance -- the Zuni Native Americans give thanks to Mother Earth, the Kokos (Nature Spirits), and the Corn Maidens for the maize harvest; through the 7th


Birthdays Today:

Cole and Dylan Sprouse, 1992
Daniel Dae Kim, 1968
Roger Clemens, 1962
Barack H. Obama, 1961
Billy Bob Thornton, 1955
Kristoffer Tabori, 1952
Richard Belzer, 1944
Maurice "Rocket" Richard, 1921
Helen Thomas, 1920
William Howard Schuman, 1910
Glenn Verniss Cunningham, 1909
Louis Armstrong, 1901*
Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, 1900
Louis Vuitton, 1821
Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Saturday Evening Post"(Magazine, first issue), 1821


Today in History

The destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, 70
A supernova is observed in constellation Cassiopeia, 1181
The first printing of Zohar (Jewish Kabbalah), 1558
A hurricane in the Carribean kills thousands in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Christopher, 1666
Dom Perignon invents champagne (traditional date), 1693
First edition of the Saturday Evening Post, which was published until 1969, 1821
The family of Lizzie Borden is found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home, 1892
The Greenwich foot tunnel under the River Thames opens, 1902
The Supreme Court of Japan is established, 1947
The Billboard Hot 100 is founded, 1958
American civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21, 1964
The African republic Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso, 1984
Operation Storm begins in Croatia, 1995
Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that Michaëlle Jean will be Canada's 27th Governor General, 2005
California's Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state's voters in 2008, is overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger, 2010
Britain has their greatest success in one day at an Olympics since 1908, winning six gold medals and a silver on Day Eight of the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012
South Africa's Oscar Pistorius becomes the first amputee to compete at the Olympic Games in the 400 meters, 2012
Actor Peter Capaldi, of Scotland, lands the role of the Doctor in the twelfth incarnation of the 'Doctor Who' British science fiction show, 2013


*In several interviews, Satchmo claimed to have been born on July 4, 1900. Historians always disputed that claim, saying it was too neat and tidy, and his baptismal records, found in a church basement, proved otherwise. Some biographies still give the July 4, 1900 date in error.

Silly Sunday: You're eating that!?!

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.  It's the place to come for weekly laughs, so Laugh and Link Up!

#2 Son came in with a bag from his favorite fast food place just as i was setting dinner out for everyone to serve themselves.

Son, i said, please come have something healthy to eat!  Come get a good serving of salad.

"Mom, I don't need to!" he answered with a grin.  Holding up a burger, he added, "This has lettuce and pickle and onion on it.  That's plenty healthy!"

As he grabbed a salad bowl, it reminded me of a joke.

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux be walkin' to work when Thibodeaux ax Boudreaux, "Mais, I done seen dat you done had some odd stuff in you lunch pail dese las' few days, Boudreaux!  What you be bringin' today?"

"Oh, I done got me a veggie burger on one o' dem gluten free rolls, an' I got me a salad, wit' plenny broccoli an' cucumber, and some o' dat dere 'kumbacha' to drink!" Boudreaux answer.

"Boudreaux, what in de worl' you be t'inkin', bringin' dat kinna stuff?  Did you convert into one o' dem dere vegabletarians or summat?" Thibodeaux ax.

"Non, not at all!  I don' like dis stuff," Boudreaux say.

"Den why you bringin' it?  Why not some jambalaya or etouffee?"

An' Boudreaux say, "I be bringin' dis stuff because it's de only stuff de guys at work don' steal out de office refrigerator!"



Today is

Armed Forces Day -- Equatorial Guinea

Carnaval del Pueblo -- London Pleasure Gardens Royal Victoria Docks, London, England (promoting and preserving world heritage in London)

Dia de la Bandera -- Venezuela (Flag Day)

Fairy Washing Festival -- Fairy Calendar (do the fairies wash themselves, or is everyone supposed to wash his/her fairy?)

Feast of Caligo, the mother of Chaos -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate, and this is as good a day to celebrate chaos as any other)

Fete National de l'Arbre -- Niger (Independence Day, 1960)

Fiesta de San Salvador -- San Salvador, El Salvador

Friendship Day -- begun in the US back in 1935, but now celebrated around the world

Golpe de la Libertad -- Equatorial Guinea (Freedom Day)

Grab Some Nuts Day -- almonds and walnuts are especially good for you

International Friendship Day

Ishitori Festival -- Kasuga Shrine, Kuwana City, Japan (through tomorrow, called the loudest festival in Japan)

Joust of the Quintana -- Asciku Piceno, Italy (reenactment of a medieval jousting tournament)

Kanto Matsuri -- Akita, Japan  (a four day festival, praying for good harvest, purification ceremonies, and feats of skill)

Loch-mo-Naire Pilgrimage -- Loch mo Naire, Scotland (tonight from midnight to 1am tomorrow is the magical hour, complete the ritual there to be healed by the waters because of magic stones in the water that a Celtic priestess put there)

National Doll Day -- US (another with its own Facebook page)

National Friendship Day -- US (designated by Congress in 1935)

National KidsDay -- US (sponsored by KidsPeace)

National Watermelon Day

Palio Del Golfo -- La Speza, Italy (a special, traditional rowing contest over a 2,000m course)

Pidjiguiti Day -- Guinea-Bissau (Colonization Martyr's Day; Anniversary of the Killing of Pidjiguiti)

Sisters' Day® -- celebrating the bond between sisters, as begun by Tricia Eleogram; a wiki page on how to celebrate this day

St. Lydia Purpuraria's Day (Lydia the "seller of purple" who was Paul's first convert in Philippi; Patron of dyers)

St. Nicodemus' Day (member of the Sanhedrin and secret disciple who helped bury Jesus)

Swiss Volksfest -- New Glarus, WI, US (celebration of Swiss Independence Day)

Worldwide Forgiveness Day -- sponsored by the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance



Birthdays Today:

Evangeline Lilly, 1979
Blaine Wilson, 1974
Isaiah Washington, 1963
John McGinley, 1959
Jay North, 1951
John Landis, 1950
Martha Stewart, 1941
Martin Sheen, 1940
Steve Berkoff, 1937
Tony Bennett, 1926
Leon Uris, 1924
P.D. James, 1920
Margaret "Maggie" Kuhn, 1905
John T. Scopes, 1900
Ernest Taylor "Ernie" Pyle, 1900
Elisha Graves Otis, 1811


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Primetime Live"(TV), 1989
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)"(Single release), 1963
"William Tell"(Opera), 1829


Today in History:

Tiberius, Roman Empire general, defeats the Dalmatians at the river Bathinus, 8
Columbus sets Sail for the "Indes",departing from Palos, Spain, 1492
John Rut, at St. John's, Newfoundland, sends the first known letter from North America, 1527
Robert LaSalle builds the Le Griffon, the first known ship built on the Great Lakes, 1678
First ascent of Jungfrau, third highest summit in the Bernese Alps, 1811
Harvard defeats Yale in the first intercollegiate rowing race, 1852*
Second Maori War begins in New Zealand, 1860
The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company is founded, 1900
The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap, 1958
President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya of Mauritania is overthrown in a military coup while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia, 2005
After last months extensive flooding, North Korea finally asks the United Nations for food aid, 2012


*In fact, it was the first American intercollegiate athletic event ever.

Short and Sweet

Because i write my posts a day ahead (or more), this one will be short and sweet.

A few days ago, i was badly bitten by some wasps, and have had a bit of trouble walking as my feet were swollen around the bitten areas, and the bites near my knees had red streaks running from them.

As those subsided, i got a nasty headache that leveled me on Friday, the day i'm writing this.

The shelter is fine this week, almost everything back to normal, we only had one kitten to medicate.   The place has had that ozone treatment and any and all infected cats/kittens are isolated to one area of the building and being treated with everything under the sun.  They will be brought back in among the general population only when it's clear that they are completely over the infection, and once all of them are, the whole isolation area will be bleached within an inch of its existence.

And as i still have that headache, i'm going to stop now, i hope everyone has a great Saturday.


Today is

Andorra La Vella Festival -- Andorra (through Monday)

Battle of Bushy Run Reenactment -- Harrison City, PA, US (commemorates the decisive battle of Pontiac's War in 1763; through tomorrow)

Canmore Folk Music Festival -- Canmore, AB, Canada (bringing beautiful folk music and more to the area; through Monday)

Cowes Week begins -- Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK (the largest, longest-running and most prestigious international sailing regatta in the world; through the 9th)

Day of the Airborne Forces -- Russia; Ukraine

Day of Azerbaijani Cinema -- Azerbaijan (anniversary of the 1898 showing of the first motion pictures taken in Azerbaijan)

Distribution of Charity Monies -- Fairy Calendar (Imps only)

Fancy Farm Picnic -- Fancy Farm, KY, US (what a name for a town, and what a good time they have, Southern hospitality at its best!)

Ferry Fair Festival -- South Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland (centuries old fair, around the time of the Burry Man Parade, originally for farmers to find labour for harvest, now for fun; this year's big Ferry Fair Day is Aug. 9)

Festival of Amen and Hapi -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (offerings to the god of transcendent powers and the god of the Nile to assure the flooding of the Nile; date approximate)

International Hangover Day -- always the day after International Beer Day, which should tell you something, and sponsored by the same group that does International Beer Day, which should tell you something more!

International Tree Climbing Championships and Arbor Fair -- Milwaukee, WI, US (sponsored by the International Society of Arboriculture, and designed to simulate working conditions of professional arborists, with five different qualifying events; through the 7th)

League of N.H. Craftsmen Annual Craftsmen's Fair -- Newbury, NH, US ("America's oldest crafts fair," through next Sunday)

Lincoln Penny Day -- US (the Lincoln Cent entered circulation on this day in 1909, and is one of the longest running coins in continual production in history)
     Take a Penny/Leave a Penny Day -- if the US is really determined to keep this smallest denomination coin, the least we can do is pool them together in the trays so conveniently found in stores and restaurants
Make Some Old Fashioned Lemonade Day

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

National Mustard Day -- US, sponsored by the National Mustard Museum

Nuestra Senora de los Angeles -- Costa Rica (Feast of Our Lady of the Angels)

Olathe Sweet Corn Festival -- Olathe, CO, US (lots of fun and all the "Olathe Sweet" corn you can eat)

Qi Xi -- China (Double Seven or Chinese Valentine's Day, the 7th day of the 7th moon, the day all the magpies in the world form a bridge so the cowherd and the weaver can meet across the Milky Way, which separates them.)

Sagbraw: Schramm's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Wisconsin -- Wisconsin's oldest cross-state bicycle tour; through the 8th

Shimizu Minato Matsuri -- Shimizu City, Japan (through the 4th, commemorates the reopening of Shimizu Port to international trade)

St. Elias' Day (Elijah the Prophet)  related observance
     Iliden -- Bosnia-Herzegovina; Ukraine; other Slavic countries where he is titled St. Ilia
     Republic Day -- Macedonia

St. Eusebius of Vercelli's Day (Patron of Vercelli, Italy)

Anniversary Today:

The first US Census is recorded, 1790


Birthdays Today:

Edward Furlong, 1977
Michael Weiss, 1976
Sam Worthington, 1976
Mary-Louise Parker, 1964
Victoria Jackson, 1959
Butch Patrick, 1953
Kathryn Harrold, 1950
James Fallows, 1949
Joanna Cassidy, 1944
Wes Craven, 1939
Lamar Hunt, 1932
Peter O'Toole, 1932
James Baldwin, 1924
Carroll O'Connor, 1924
Myrna Loy, 1905
Jack L. Warner, 1892
Elisha Gray, 1835
Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant, 1754


Today in History:

Philip II of Macedon leads his army to defeat the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, which secured Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean, BC338
Hannibal leads his Corinthian army to defeat the superior forces of Rome, BC216
Henry Hudson sails into what it is now known as Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean, 1610
First United States Census, 1790
First parachute jump in the US, 1819
Japan's samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant class system is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms, 1869
Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London, 1870
Andrew Hallidie tests the first cable car system in San Francisco, 1873
Wild Bill Hickok meets his death; shot in the back while playing poker, his hand, a pair of Aces and a pair of eights, is now called "Dead Man's Hand", 1876
Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Cannary) dies, 1903
Typhoon in China kills about 60,000, 1922
The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson, 1932
Pakistan is re-admitted back into the Commonwealth of Nations, 1989
Iraq invades Kuwait, setting the stage for the Gulf War, 1990
Two previously unknown works by Mozart - a concerto movement and a prelude, are performed in Salzburg, Austria, 2009
The U.S. Government estimates the Deepwater Horizon oil spill dumped nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, 2010

Photo-Finish Friday: Pin Care

The pin care kit, home made.  The peroxide bottle sits on top.

#2 Son got his surgical dressing removed.  His first response upon seeing pins sticking out of his hand was, "That's not cool!"

The therapist showed me the drill of changing the bandaging around the pins, most of which i remembered from when i had to do it for Little Girl four years ago.

He then showed #2 Son how to do the exercises to make sure he doesn't lose strength or use of his fingers.  Only two sessions of therapy, and the therapist told him to just do the exercises, he doesn't need to come back unless the doctor says to.

Meanwhile, i clean the pins each day and change the bandages around them, keeping everything for it together in one plastic container so i don't have to hunt for everything.

Photo-Finish Friday is the brainchild of Leah, of The Goat's Lunch Pail.



Today is

AgriFair -- Abbotsford, BC, Canada ("the best little country fair" and a rodeo; through Monday)

Air Force Day -- US (declared by President Truman in 1947)

Anniversary of the Founding of Scouting -- first day of Brownsea Island Camp in 1907, where Robert Baden-Powell began Scouting

Armed Forces Day -- Lebanon

"Arms & Artillery" Theme Month -- Jamestown Settlement, Williamsburg, VA, US & Yorktown Victory Center, Yorktown, VA, US (Games and other diversions of 17th- and 18th-century Virginia are shown through hands-on activities and interpretive programs, play a variety of games, including whirligigs, corncob darts, ninepins, quoits, mancala and nine-men's morris all through the month of August)

Blueberry Arts Festival -- Ketchikan, AK, US (with a pet and doll parade, slug race, the Gigglefeet Dance Festival, and more; through Sunday)

Boom Days -- Leadville, CO, US (celebrate the mining heritage of the Rockies with a parade and even a celebrity pack burro race; through Sunday)

Braham Pie Day -- Braham, MN, US (a home-made pie festival)

Canada's National Ukrainian Festival -- Dauphin, MB, Canada (experience the richness of Ukrainian culture; through Sunday)

Cuti Bersama 2014 -- Indonesia

Czech Festival -- Wilber, NE, US (to promote the preservation of Czech culture, sponsored by the Nebraska Czechs of Wilber; through Sunday)

Edinburgh Festival Fringe -- Edinburgh, Scotland (the largest art gathering in the world; through the 25th)

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru (The National Eisteddfod of Wales) -- Llanelli, Carmarthenshire,  Wales (preserving the Welsh language and heritage, with music, drama, literature, arts and crafts ;through Aug. 9)

Emancipation Day -- Barbados; Guyana; Jamaica; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and Grendines; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands

Esala Perahera (Festival of Buddha's Tooth) -- Sri Lanka (two week festival honoring a relic held in one temple that is supposed to have a tooth of Buddha brought to Sri Lanka in the 3rd Century; one of Sri Lanka's most elaborate festivals)

Fast in Honor of the Holy Mother of Jesus / Procession of the Cross and Dormition Fast -- Orthodox Christian

Feast of Kamal (Perfection) -- Baha'i

Fiesta de Santo Domingo -- Managua, Nicaragua (patron saint; through the 10th)
Girlfriends' Day -- a day to celebrate the women who enrich your life

Harriet Quimby Day -- first woman to earn a pilot's license, this date in 1911

Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri -- Hirosaki, Japan (through the 7th, parade and purification ritual to rid the the town of future illness and bad fortune)

Homowo -- Ghana (a festival of thanksgiving and remembrance, among various groups of Ga peoples, all through August and September.)

Imps Charity Scramble -- Fairy calendar (Do they scramble the imps, or do the imps scramble for something?)

Independence Day / National Day -- Benin(1960)

International Beer Day -- Uniting The World Through Beer

Kalends of August -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances
     Feast of Spes (personification of hope)
     Festival for Victoria (goddess of victory)

Lammas Day / Lammac Tide -- Christian, a Cross Quarter Day (called the Gule of August in Wales, and known as August Eve and Lady Day Eve)

Liberation of Haile Selassie -- Rastafari
 
Lollapalooza -- Grant Park, Chicago, IL, US (through Sunday)

Lughnassad / Imbolc -- Wicca and Pagan (based in the Northern Hemisphere on the Celtic Feast of Bread, beginning of the harvest season)

Minden Day -- British Armed Forces

Musikfest -- Bethlehem, PA, US (10 days, 15 stages, over 500 musical performances, so there is something here for everyone!)

Nagaoka Festival -- Nagaoka, Japan (through the 3rd, samuri procession, traditional music and dances, fireworks)

National Day -- Switzerland (where it is also called Swiss Confederation Day, when Switzerland became a single unit in 1291)

National Minority Donor Awareness Day -- US (bringing awareness to the fact that there are fewer minorities who are organ donors)

National Non-Parent Day -- sponsored by The National Organization for Non-Parents and No Kidding!

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

Onekama Days -- Onekama, MI, US (family fun, through Sunday)

Parents' Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

Quilt Exhibition -- Billings Farm, Woodstock, VT, US (a juried show, demonstrations and other activities; through Sept. 21)

Respect For Parents Day -- with information here

Rounds Resounding Day -- sponsored by Rounds Resounding Society (Grab your friends and sing a few songs that go in rounds, like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Frere Jacques".)

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo -- Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland (display of military color an pageantry; through the 23rd)

Sinjska Alka -- Sinj, Croatia (knight tournament in which the whole district takes pride in keeping the tradition by making and restoring all the equipment used, with accompanying festivals and fun at home, in church, and in public; through Sunday)

Sioux Empire Fair -- Sioux Falls, SD, US (entertainment, concerts, livestock exhibits, farm exhibits, and tons of fun; through next Sunday)

Social Resistance Day -- North Cyprus

Somers Day -- Bermuda (Second Day of Cup Match)

Spiderman Day -- he first appeared today in Amazing Fantasy #15, released Aug. 1, 1963

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori's Day (Founder of the Redemptorists, a/k/a Ligourians; Patron of confessors, final perseverence, moralists, scrupulous people, theologians, vocations; Pagani, Italy; Sant'Agata de' Goti, Italy; against arthritis, scrupulosity disorder)

Tall Timber Days -- Grand Rapids, MN, US (lumberjack shows, chainsaw carvers, and lots of fun; through Sunday)

Twins Day Festival -- Twinsburg, OH, US (no, you aren't seeing double, it's a celebration of multiples; through Sunday)

White Oak Rendezvous -- Deer River, MN, US (reliving the history of a North West Company Fur Post from 1798 and an accompanying Ojibwe Native Village from the same time period; through Sunday)

World Breastfeeding Day -- International

World Lung Cancer Day -- this one has a Facebook page

World Scout Scarf Day -- wear your Scout Scarf in public today

World Wide Web Day -- what would become our current ability to waste time reading blogs and doing other fun stuff was begun as an idea at CERN during August back in 1990

Yorkshire Day -- Yorkshire, England


Anniversaries Today:

Colorado becomes the 38th US State, 1876


Birthdays Today:

Tempestt Bledsoe, 1973
Robert Cray, 1953
Giancarlo Giannini, 1942
Jerry Garcia, 1942
Yves Saint Laurent, 1942
Ronald Harmon "Ron" Brown, 1941
Dom DeLuise, 1933
Tom Wilson, 1931
James Hill, 1916
Herman Melville, 1819
Maria Mitchell, 1818
Francis Scott Key, 1779
William Clark, 1770


Debuting/Premiering Today:

M2(TV Network), 1996
"The Rush Limbaugh Show"(Radio), 1988
MTV(TV Network), 1981


Today in History:

The future Caesar Augustus, Octavian, enters Alexandria, Egypt, and brings it under the control of Rome, BC30
Japan sends Ono no Imoko to the Sui court in China as envoy, 607
The Swiss Confederation is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter, 1291
Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile drive the Jews out of Spain, 1492
Henry Tudor, soon to be Henry VII, sails with his army to England, 1495
The first black Americans arrive in Jamestown, Virginia, 1619
Oxygen is "discovered" for the 3rd time, by Priestly, 1774
The Act of Union is passed in which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1800
Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire, 1834
First coast to coast automobile trip, from San Francisco to New York, is completed, 1903
The first Jeep is produced, 1941
Anne Frank makes the last entry in her diary, 1944
The United States and Canada form the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), 1957
Israel annexes East Jerusalem, 1967
Peat cutters discover Lindow Man, Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England, 1984
CERN physicists begin discussing building what would eventually become the World Wide Web, 1990
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia join the European Environment Agency, 2001
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies and is succeeded by Prince Abdullah, 2005
Buddhist treasures buried during the Mongolian Communist Purge in the 1930's are rediscovered in the Gobi Desert, 2009
Russia grants NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden one year of temporary political asylum; Snowden leaves Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, 2013