Wordless Wednesday: Be careful in there!

Forget Black Friday.  For the bakery. the one busiest day of the year is the day before Thanksgiving, when everyone wants a cake for the table the next day.  Except the chocolate cakes.  We can hardly give those away at holidays, when they are bestsellers the rest of the year.

In the baking area, steamy and warm and crowded.

Orders waiting to be picked up.  No, you can't move in there!

Linking  up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is: 

Anniversary of Moquegua City -- Peru (founded this date in 1541)

Bon Om Touk -- Cambodia (a/k/a The Water Festival, it is Cambodia's largest party, always held for two days around the time of the full moon in November)

Cat-Napping Convention -- Fairy Calendar

Day Sacred to Proserpina -- Ancient Roman Calendar (also Persephone, of the Greeks, the Wheel goddess of the Underworld, often associated with St. Catherine; see below)

Evacuation Day -- 19th Century New York City (withdrawal of British troops in 1783)

Full Beaver Moon / Full Frosty Moon
     Ill Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
     Palden Lhamo Festival -- Tibet (protectress of Tibet, celebrated mostly by women)
     Loy Krathong -- Thailand (Floating of the Lamps festival; to appease the water spirits, dedicated to Mae Kongkha, Goddess of Rivers)
     Tazaugmone/Thasaung Mong Full Moon -- Myanmar (Festival of Lights begins)
     That Luang Festival -- Laos (Ventiane's most important Theravada Buddhist festival)

Hari Guru -- Indonesia (Teacher's Day)

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women -- UN

International Hat Day -- www.internationalhatday.com

Mangé Yam -- Haiti (fete de la moisson; a yam harvest festival)

National Day -- Bosnia and Herzegovina (commemorates the 1943 declaration of statehood within Yugoslavia)

National Don't Utter A Word Day -- internet generated, and variously listed as the 25th of November, February, or May; pick one if you want

National Family Caregivers' Day -- US (if you are a caregiver who needs support, you can get it here or here)
 
National Parfait Day

Persephone Day (a/k/a Kore) -- Ancient Greek Calendar (celebration of her as wheel goddess of the underworld; date approximate, but she is often associated with St. Catherine; see below)

Saint Catherine of Alexandria's Day -- of the Catherine Wheel, sometimes associated with the Wheel of Karma and the Hindu Kali; one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (Patron of apologists, archivists, attorneys, barristers, craftsmen who work with wheels of any sort, dying people, educators, girls, jurists, knife grinders and sharpeners, lawyers, librarians, libraries, maidens, mechanics, millers, nurses, old maids, philosophers, potters, preachers, scholars, schoolchildren, scribes, secretaries, spinners, spinsters, stenographers, students, tanners, teachers, theologians, turners, University of Paris, unmarried girls, and wheelwrights; Aalsum, Netherlands; Bertinoro, Italy; Camerata Picena, Italy; Dumaguete, Philippines; Heidesheim am Rhein, Germany; Kuldiga, Latvia; Mähring, Germany; Saint Catharines, Ontario; Zejtun, Malta; Zurrieq, Malta) related observance
     Women's Merrymaking Day -- Women go 'Cath'rining' and have a good time (in some places, especially France, women may propose marriage on this day)

Shopping Reminder Day -- exactly a month until Christmas

Srefidensi -- Suriname (Republic Day/Independence Day)

Statehood Day -- FBiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Thanksgiving Day -- Norfolk Island

Tie One On Day -- an apron!  on US Thanksgiving eve, write a note of encouragement or prayer, tuck it in the pocket of an apron, and wrap the apron around a good home or bakery made loaf of bread, then deliver it to someone who needs a kind gesture

Vajiravudh Day -- Thailand

Weihnachtsmarkt auf dem Romerberg -- Frankfurt, Germany (Frankfurt Christmas Market, including glockenspiels, trumpets, and bells rung from 9 churches at regular intervals; through Dec. 22)

White Ribbon Day -- International (if you know a victim of violence, help break their silence! because domestic violence affects all of society)

Wonderland of Lights -- Marshall, TX, US (through Dec. 31, includes parades, candlelight home tours, and more)


Birthdays Today:

Barbara and Jenna Bush, 1981
Jerry Ferrara, 1979
Donovan McNabb, 1976
Eddie Steeples, 1973
Christina Applegate, 1971
Jill Hennessy, 1968
Cris Carter, 1965
Amy Grant, 1960
John F. Kennedy, Jr., 1960
Bucky Dent, 1951
John Larroquette, 1947
Ben Stein, 1944
Joe Jackson Gibbs, 1940
Lenny Moore, 1933
Paul Desmond, 1924
Ricardo Montalban, 1920
Joe DiMaggio, 1914
Solanus Casey, 1870
Carry Nation, 1846
Karl F. Benz, 1844
Andrew Carnegie, 1835


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Iolanthe: or, The Peer and the Peri"(Comic opera), 1882


Today in History:

A tsunami, caused by the earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastates Naples (Italy) and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, among other places, 1343
The siege of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, begins, 1491
A deadly earthquake rocks Shemakha, in the Caucasus, killing 80,000 people, 1667
The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, reaches its peak intensity which it maintains through November 27. Winds gust up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people died, 1703
First English patent granted to an American, for processing corn, 1715
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is founded, 1758
Farmer's Almanac first published, 1792
The Greek frigate Hellas arrives in Nafplion to become the first flagship of the Hellenic Navy, 1826
A cyclone slams India with high winds and a 40 foot storm surge, destroying the port city of Coringa (never to be entirely rebuilt again); the storm wave sweeps inland, taking with it 20,000 ships and thousands of people. An estimated 300,000 deaths result from the disaster, 1839
Alfred Nobel patents dynamite, 1867
John B Meyenberg of St Louis patents evaporated milk, 1884
American College of Surgeons incorporates in Springield, Illinois, 1912
First Thanksgiving Day Parade is held in Philadelphia, 1920
690 earthquake shocks recorded in 1 day in Ito, Japan, 1930
The first Soviet liquid fuel rocket attains altitude of 261' (80m), 1933
Woody Woodpecker debuts with release of Walter Lantz's "Knock Knock", 1940
New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom, 1947
Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London later becoming the longest continuously-running play in history, 1952
The Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day Fire destroys an entire city block, 1982
The United Nations establishes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to commemorate the murder of three Mirabal Sisters for resistance against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in Dominican Republic, 1999
Powerful storm brings 3 years worth of rain in 4 hours to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, sparking terrible floods, 2009

Busy Bees

The blog may look a little thin for a day or two, as night-frosting has begun.

What, you may say, is night-frosting?  Well, i'm so glad you asked.

It sounds like it should have something to do with fairies coming through in the night and leaving frost patterns everywhere, but it does not.  At least, it does not for us.

For the bakery, night-frosting is when we get so very busy that some of us stay after hours to frost as many cakes as possible for the next day.

We've been so busy, we stopped taking orders for Thanksgiving already.  If you want a cake, you may come in and get one of the shelf cakes, but no more special orders.  We will just be able to fill the ones we already have.

And excellent news!  Every month we get a mystery shopper, and that person gives us a grade.  This month, the bakery earned 100%!  The person was greeted properly, the hostess came out from behind the counter to help the shopper and offered a sample, and did everything correctly,.  The cake purchased was even perfectly done.

The boss was so excited that, as she says, it's a team effort so everyone gets a reward.  Free cup of coffee from Starbucks for everyone!  Yes, i'll gladly take that.

But frosting until  late at night (and washing up after), and then cleaning for clients during the day is leaving me a bit thin, so not as much blogging, and it may take me some time to catch up on things around here.

Today is:

Brumalia -- Byzantine Empire celebration of Dyonisus and New Wine Festival; until the solstice

Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day -- there used to be a website associated with this day, but it closed; that's no reason for you not to celebrate your uniqueness!

Celtic Tree Month Ruish (Elder) begins

D.B. Cooper Day -- anniversary of the 1971 hijacking

Discovery Day -- Tasmania (by Abel Tasman in 1642)

Feast of the Martyrs of Vietnam -- Roman Catholic Church

Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom - Sikh

Lachit Divas -- Assam, India

National Sardines Day 

Persephone Day (a/k/a Kore -- Ancient Greek Calendar (celebration of her as wheel goddess of the underworld; date approximate, but she is often associated with St. Catherine)

Ragtime Day -- birth anniversary of Scott Joplin

St. Colman of Cloyne's Day (Patron of Cloyne, Ireland)

St. Joachim Ho's Day -- a Martyr of China

St. Mary of Cordoba's Day (Patron of martyrs)

Strange Names Day -- in honor of all the celebrity -- and other -- kids with "unique" names; sponsored the last Tuesday in November by Marlar in the Morning at 101QFL in Rockford, IL, US

Teacher's Day -- Turkey

Third Bash of the Tree-Toppers -- Fairy Calendar (fairy creatures who don't believe in "one" or "two", so start counting at three)

Use Even If Seal is Broken Day -- internet generated; observe at your own risk, always!


Birthdays Today:

Katherine Heigl, 1978
Brad Sherwood, 1964
Stanley Livingston, 1950
Rudy Tomjanovich, 1948
Dwight Schultz, 1947
Oscar Palmer Robertson, 1938
William F. Buckley, Jr., 1925
Howard Duff, 1913
Charles "Lucky" Luciano, 1897
Dale Carnegie, 1888
Erich von Manstein, 1887
Alben William Barkley, 1877
Scott Joplin, 1868
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864
Bat Masterson, 1853
Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1849
Bram Stoker, 1847
Zachary Taylor, 1784
Laurence Sterne, 1713
Charles Theodore Pachelbel, 1690
Baruch Spinoza, 1632(O.S. date)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Guys and Dolls"(Musical), 1950
Softball, as a sport, invented this day as a spur of the moment game at the Farragut Boat Club in Chicago, IL, US, 1887


Today in History:

Theodosius I makes his formal entry into Constantinople, 380
Rabbi Nathan ben Yehiel of Rome completes his Talmudic dictionary, 1105
The Thames River freezes, 1434
First observation of transit of Venus occurred (only 2, record event), 1639
Abel Janzoon Tasman becomes the first European to see Van Damien's Land, later renamed Tasmania, 1642
First Lutheran pastor ordained in America, Justus Falckner at Philadelphia, 1703
Mt. Vesuvius erupts, 1759
Luik-Visé-Maastricht railway opens, 1861
Joseph F Glidden patents his improved barbed wire, 1874
The first US absentee voting law enacted by Vermont, 1896
Clyde Coleman of NYC patents automobile electric starter, 1903
Radio Belgium makes its first transmission, 1923
The first woman pilot on a transcontinental air flight, Miss Ruth Nichols (Mineola, NY to Calif), in a Lockheed-Vega, took 7 days, 1930
In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (better known as the FBI Crime Lab) officially opens, 1932
Lee Harvey Oswald is murdered by Jack Ruby, 1963
During a severe thunderstorm over Washington state, a hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper (AKA D. B. Cooper) parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane with $200,000 in ransom money, and is never seen again, 1971
A national speed limit is imposed on the Autobahn in Germany due to the 1973 oil crisis; it lasts only four months, 1973
The communist party resigns in Czechoslovakia, 1989
By a margin of only 50.28% t 49.72%, Ireland votes to end the 70 year old ban on divorce, 1995
Ireland presents its austerity package to the European Union and IMF, 2010
Palestinian officials announce their plan to exhume the body of Yasser Arafat too determine if he was poisoned, 2012

Awww Monday: Friend Indeed

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

It's always good to have a friend.

Best friends at the shelter.

Today is:

Canadian Western Agribition -- IPSCO Place, Regina, SK, Canada (Canada's premier agriculture showcase; through Saturday)

Can You Find Your Old Rubik's Cube and Still Work It Day -- internet generated, and why would you bother?

Color Photos Day -- anniversary of the Kodak introduction of modern color film in 1935

Dia de la Soberania Nacional -- Argentina (Sovereignty Day)

Eat A Cranberry Day -- just to see why you add sugar, i guess

Feast of Qawl(Speech) -- Baha'i

Fibonacci Day -- celebrating the mathematical Fibonacci Series, which begins as 1,1,2,3

Giorgoba -- Georgia (St. George's Day; they celebrate their patron saint twice a year, today and May 6, his feast day on the OS calendar)

Hadakambo Festival -- Hofu, Japan (men dressed only in loincloths brave the cold carrying floats to the shrine)

Icelandic Calendar Month Ylir (Whiner) begins -- named after the whining winter winds

International Image Consultant Day -- Association of Image Consultants International 

Jukebox Day -- many days compete for this title, but the first known nickel-in-the-slot record machine went into service on this day in 1889 in San Francisco, CA, US

Kinro Kansha no Hi -- Japan (Labour Day Thanksgiving, when people express gratitude to each other for their work through the year)

Learn When To Start Thawing the Turkey Day -- US (USDA "Let's Talk Turkey" hotline 800-535-4555; Butterball "Turkey Talk-Line" 800-323-4848)

National Cashew Day -- some sites list it on the 22nd, i'm celebrating both as i love cashews

National Espresso Day

National Military Families Recognition Day -- US (by Presidential Proclamation in 1993, the Monday before Thanksgiving Day) 

Pencil Sharpener Day -- John Love of Massachusetts patented the first one this day in 1897

Repudiation Day -- Maryland, US (anniversary of the Franklin County Court refusal to cooperate with Britain's Stamp Tax Act)

Rudolf Maister Day -- Slovenia

St. Clement's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, marble workers/stonecutters, sick children; Dundee, Scotland; Velletri, Italy)

St. Columbanus's Day (Patron of motorcyclists; Bobbio, Italy; against floods)

St. Felicity's Day (Patron of martyrs, widows; against the death of children, sterility)

Zibelemarit -- Bern, Switzerland (Onion Market Festival, in front of the Federal Palace, one of the country's best known and most popular autumn markets, always on the fourth Monday in November to commemorate the granting of market right to people after great fire of Berne in 1405.)


Birthdays Today:

Miley Cyrus, 1992
Lucas Grabeel, 1984
Salli Richardson, 1967
Steve Harvey, 1956
Bruce Hornsby, 1954
Susan Anspach, 1945
Krzysztof Penderecki, 1933
Jerry Bock, 1928
Johnny Mandel, 1925
Emmett Littleton Ashfrd, 1914
Harpo Marx, 1888
Boris Karloff, 1887
Billy the Kidd (William H. Bonney), 1859
Franklin Pierce, 1804
Edward Rutledge, 1749


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"I Feel Fine"(Beatles single release), 1964
"Dr. Who"(TV), 1963
"Fiorello!"(Musical), 1959
"Of Mice and Men"(Play), 1937
Life Magazine(First issue), 1936
First play-by-play American style football game radio broadcast, 1919 (Texas A&M beat University of Texas, 7-0)


Today in History:

Thespis of Icaria becomes the first actor to portray a character onstage, BC534
Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III, 800
Conquest of Seville by the Christian troops under King Ferdinand III of Castile. 1248
Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship, and written by John Milton is published, 1644
People of Frederick County Md refuse to pay England's Stamp tax, 1765
Henry Burden patents Horseshoe manufacturing machine, 1835
Patent granted for a process of making color photographs, 1863
The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco, 1889
King William III of the Netherlands dies without a male heir and a special law is passed to allow his daughter Princess Wilhelmina to become his heir, 1890
Andrew J Beard invents "jerry coupler," to connect railroad cars, 1897
Pencil sharpener patented by J L Love, 1897
Enrico Caruso makes his US debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, NY in "Rigoletto", 1903
Wright Brothers forms million dollar corporation to manufacture airplanes, 1909
Life Magazine publishes its first issue, 1936
The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia, 1955
The BBC broadcasts the first ever episode of Doctor Who (starring William Hartnell) which is the world's longest running science fiction drama, 1963
Representatives of the People's Republic of China attend the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council, for the first time, 1971
A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kills approximately 4,800 people, 1980
The first all woman expedition to the south pole (3 Americans, 1 Japanese and 12 Russians), sets off from Antarctica on the 1st leg of a 70 day, 1287 kilometre ski trek, 1990
Convention on Cybercrime is signed in Budapest, Hungary, 2001
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is elected president of Liberia and becomes the first woman to lead an African country, 2005
A message is found on the leg of a mummified pigeon from WWII in Surrey, England, in a code that is unrecognized, 2012
A special 50th anniversary episode of Dr. Who is aired, simulcast to 94 countries and earning a Guiness World Record for the largest simulcast of a TV drama, 2013

Silly Sunday: Riotous Fun

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs.  The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!

1. Post a joke.
2. Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.
3. Read my joke.
4. Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.
5. Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.
6. Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

As Bigger Girl was helping me feed and water and medicate the cats at the shelter the other day, she dropped her keys and said, "I need to quit dropping this!  I broke the top off of the pepper spray, and I'm afraid if I drop it the thing will go off, and I don't have a contingency plan for if my pepper spray goes off in a room full of cats.  Remind me to make a contingency plan for that, would you?"

Do you really think you need a contingency plan for something like that? i asked.

"Mom, I have a contingency plan for almost everything, including riots.  Do you want to hear my riot plans?"

Sure.

"If there's a riot, first I will find out if it is about Bobby Jindal.  If it isn't, I will got get Vera and Callie and take the three of us to a safe place, I know a few of those.  If it is about Bobby Jindal, I will join in!  Especially if it involves torches and pitchforks!"

It's nice to know you want to join a riot about him, but I'd recommend practice with Black Friday crowds first, i said.

That reminds me of last year around this time, when Thibodeaux go to Boudreaux house an' see Boudreaux done look like he got him beat up some bad.

Thibodeaux ax, "Boudreaux, how you done got so beat up?  You done been in a riot?"

"Mais, no," Boudreaux say.  "I done make two mistake.  Firs', I done gone Black Friday shoppin' wit' Clothile."

"I done hear dere were a riot at one de stores.  Did you get caught in dat an' de shoppers done push an' shove an' you got trample?" Thibodeaux ax.

"No, Clothile done did dis to me all herse'f when I done tol' her to get her new dress a size bigger 'cause o' all de food she goin' be eatin' fo' de holidays!"

Today is:

Celebration of Christ The King -- Christian (final Sunday of the Ecclesiatical Year) related observance
     Stir Up Sunday -- the day to get your Christmas plum pudding started

Dispute-Settling Assizes -- Fairy Calendar (no, they won't tell us what kind of disputes)

Dita e Alfabetit -- Albania and Ethnic Albanians (Day of the Albanian Alphabet)

Go for a Ride Day -- internet generated; during the crazy holiday season, go out for a relaxing sleigh ride or something

Independence Day -- Lebanon(1943)

National Cashew Day -- some sites have this on the 23rd, i celebrate both as i love cashews

National Farm-City Week -- US (on the week of Thanksgiving, remember that it's the farmers, ranchers and growers who supply your celebratory foods)

National Stop the Violence Day -- a call by US radio and TV stations for a cease fire on American streets, on the anniversary of John Kennedy's assassination; observed with white ribbons and driving with headlights on during the day

Phonograph Day -- Edison publicly demonstrated his new music playing device on this day in 1877

Start Your Own Country Day -- begun at the 1939 World's Fair in New York

St. Cecilia's Day (Patron of composers, luthiers, martyrs, music, musicians, musical instrument makers, poets, singers; Academy of Music, Rome, Italy; Albi, France; Omaha, Nebraska; Valleyfield, Quebec)

Totensonntag/Ewigkeitssonntag -- Germany (Sunday of the Dead/Eternity Sunday; a general celebration and memorial of all who have died, decreed to be celebrated in Lutheran Churches by King Frederick William III of Prussia in 1816)

Ydalir -- Ancient Norse Calendar (Celebration of the wintertime god of skiing and archery, Ullr; date approximate)


Anniversary Today:

The Humane Society of the United States is founded, 1954


Birthdays Today:

Scarlett Johansson, 1984
Scott Robinson, 1979
Boris Becker, 1967
Mariel Hemingway, 1961
Jamie Lee Curtis, 1958
Richard Kind, 1957
Billie Jean King, 1943
Guion S. Bluford, Jr., 1942
Harry Edwards, 1942
Tom Conti, 1941
Terry Gilliam, 1940
Robert Vaughn, 1932
Rodney Dangerfield, 1921
Benjamin Britten, 1913
Hoagie Carmichael, 1899
Wiley Post, 1898
Charles de Gaulle, 1890
John Nance Garner, 1868
George Eliot (Mary A. Evans), 1819
Abigail Adams, 1744


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Cathy"(Comic strip), 1976
"The Beatles/The White Album"(Beatles album release), 1968
"Man of La Mancha"(Musical), 1965
"The Grand Canyon Suite"(Grofe suite for orchestra), 1931
"Bolero"(Ravel orchestral piece), 1928
"La Forza del Destino/The Power of Fate"(Verdi opera), 1862
On the Origin of Species(Publication date), 1859


Today in History:

The first Duke of all Brittany, Nominoe defeats the Frankish king Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon near Redon, 845
Spain delegates "New Laws" against slavery in America, 1542
Dutch colonial forces on Taiwan launch a pacification campaign against native villages, resulting in Dutch control of the middle and south of the island, 1635
Off the coast of North Carolina, British pirate Edward Teach (best known as "Blackbeard") is killed in battle with a boarding party led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, 1718
Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore patents a steel pen, 1809
Canadian journalist and politician William Lyon Mackenzie called for a rebellion against Great Britain, 1837
In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched – one of the last clippers ever to be built, and the only one still surviving to this day, 1869
Victoria Street Cable Tram route begins in Melbourne, Australia, 1886
The Congress of Manastir establishes the Albanian alphabet, 1908
1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason of Sayner Wisconsin, 1927
The premier performance of Ravel's Boléro takes place in Paris, 1928
Gasoline pump patented that computes quantity & price delivered, 1932
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" first heard on Eddie Cantor's show, 1934
The Humane Society of the United States is founded, 1954
US President John F. Kennedy is killed and Texas Governor John B. Connally is seriously wounded by Lee Harvey Oswald, 1963
The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status, 1974
Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco, 1975
In Palmdale, California, the first prototype B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is revealed, 1988
Toy Story is released as the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery, 1995
Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany, 2005
Germany holds its first piracy trial in 400 years, placing 10 Somalis accused of piracy on trial for alleged attacks on a German ship, 2010
Scientists in New Britain, Papua New Guinea, discover the first orchid known to flower at night, 2011

Perspective

The other day, i got home from work and Sweetie handed me the mail and a blue door hanger tag that had been left by the water company.

It said that one of the water lines in our neighborhood had broken that day and been repaired.  It went on to say that though they had flushed the lines and were sure it was okay, until the actual lab reports came back confirming the water was clean, we were under a boil advisory.

A part of me wanted to complain.  After all, i had worked two jobs that day and was tired, and now i couldn't put water in the cats bowls and refill the water filter we keep in the fridge or even just grab a quick cup of water or brush my teeth.

As i filled a couple of pots to boil, however, i knew it was silly to do that.  Here i was pouring water out of a tap, not traipsing down to the well, or a stream, with a bucket and faced with carrying the heavy water back again.  

Boiling it was as easy as turning on a burner, i didn't have to chop wood and bring it in and build a fire.

Waiting for it to cool off wasn't convenient, but a lot more convenient than the lives of millions of people around the world.

Also, i knew the boil advisory was temporary, probably just a few hours until we got an all clear, not a lifetime of living where running water is not even something anyone has.

No, i didn't complain, i took a deep breath and was grateful.  The temporary boil advisory reminded me of how precious it is to have clean, healthy water that i don't have to worry will kill my family coming right out of a tap right there in my house.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of water.

Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Bangladesh

False Confessions Day -- internet generated, and not for the faint of heart

Family Volunteer Day -- to get families working together to better their communities and the world; info here

Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin -- Eastern and Roman Catholic Christian (those following the Gregorian Calendar)

Festival of Madonna della Salute -- Venice, Italy

Furniture Memory Day -- an internet generated test of your memory; see if you remember where you got each piece of furniture you own, how much it cost, and how its most precious scratch came to be; you are also encouraged to dust if you want to

General Framework Agreement Day -- RS, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Gerard d'Aboville Day -- marking the day, in 1991, he arrived in Ilwaco, WA, US, after departing Japan 4 months earlier in a rowboat!

Gingerbread Day

Holidays in the City Grand Illumination Parade -- Norfolk, VA, US (to kick off Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays)

International Games Day @ Your Library -- libraries in many countries are sponsoring a local Games Day, check with yours!

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day -- www.survivorday.org
     National Survivors of Suicide Day -- US (by Congressional designation since 1999, and now an international movement; remembering those who have lost loved ones to suicide, especially as Thanksgiving and the holidays are coming)


Mother Goose Parade Day -- El Cajon, CA, US (kicking off the holiday season with good, family fun)

Natchitoches Festival of Lights -- Natchitoches, LA, US (over 350,000 lights go on every night from now until Jan, 6, with carolers on Friday and Saturday evenings downtown, festivals and events every weekend; come celebrate the season in the Oldest Settlement in the Louisiana Purchase)

National Adoption Day -- US (encouraging us to find a home for every child; many courts finalize thousands of adoptions of children from foster care on this day each year) 

National Stuffing Day -- various dates given on many sites, so if you enjoy stuffing, celebrate them all

No Music Day -- www.nomusicday.com for the explanation

Nordic Yulefest -- Nordic Museum, Seattle, WA, US (a Scandinavian holiday extravaganza; through tomorrow)

PCS Day and Homeplace Festival -- Waretown, NJ, US (a family affair with country, bluegrass, and traditional music)

St. Gelasius' Day

Surin Elephant Round-Up -- Surin, Thailand (includes elephant football, elephant tugs-of-war, and parades; through Sunday)

Ugly Day -- Fairy Calendar

World Hello Day -- recognizing the importance of communication in world peace, say hello to people you don't usually greet today 

World Television Day -- UN

World's Champion Duck-Calling Contest and Festival -- Stuttgart, AR, US (pageants for Queen Mallard and Junior Queen Mallard, carnival, and the best duck calling possible; through Nov. 30)


Anniversaries Today:

South Carolina becomes the 12 US State, 1789


Birthdays Today:

Tasha Schwikert, 1984
Ken Griffey, Jr., 1969
Troy Aikman, 1966
Bjork, 1965
Nicollette Sheridan, 1963
Cherry Jones, 1956
Cynthia Rhodes, 1956
Lorna Luft, 1952
Goldie Hawn, 1945
Harold Ramis, 1944
Marcy Carsey, 1944
Tweety Bird, 1942
Juliet Mills, 1941
Marlo Thomas, 1938
James DePreist, 1936
Laurence Luckinbill, 1934
Joseph Campanella, 1927
Stan Musial, 1920
Coleman Hawkins, 1904
Rene Magritte, 1898
Hetty Green, 1834
William Beaumont, 1785
Josiah Bartlett, 1729
Voltaire, 1694


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"(Single release), 1968
"A Tale of Two Kitties"(Warner cartoon, debut of Tweety Bird), 1942
"The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger"(Vanbrugh play), 1696


Today in History:

Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the Temple in Jerusalem; this is the event commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah, BC164
The Pilgrims, aboard the Mayflower, reach what is now called Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts, and sign the Mayflower Compact, 1620
Richard Johnson, a free black, is granted 550 acres in Virginia, 1654
In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight, 1783
Colonel Napoléon Bonaparte is promoted to full general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the French Republic, 1791
First Jewish Reform congregation in US forms, Charleston, SC, 1824
Moses F Gale patents a cigar lighter, 1871
Tom Edison announces his "talking machine" invention (phonograph), 1877
Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator, 1922
First commercial crossing of Pacific by plane (China Clipper), 1935
The Alcan Highway is completed, 1942*
The British Natural History Museum announces that the "Piltdown Man" skull is a hoax, 1953
The first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI, 1969
Gerard d'Aboville completes his four-month solo journey to row across the Pacific Ocean, 1991
The Dayton Peace Agreement is initialed at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, ending three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1995
NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members, 2002
Iran's President Ahmadinejad rejects the country's successful family planning program and tells Iranian girls they should marry at 16, 2010
The three most senior surviving members of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime are charged with genocide and crimes against humanity, 2011
For the second time in four months, New Zealand's Mount Tongariro volcano, on the North Island, erupts, 2012


*Not opened to general vehicular traffic until the next year