messymimi's meanderings

From what i understand, Feline Friday was begun by The Burnt Food Dude, to show that he has nothing against cats. Though i don't know if that's true, i'm glad he did start it, it's fun to play along.

No one on earth relaxes quite like a cat.

Snuggled with Wuffie, the stuffed wolf toy the kittens all love, without a care in the world.

Today is:

Be Kind to Humankind Week: Forgive Your Foe Friday

Blackpool Illuminations -- The Promenade, Blackpool, Lancashire, England (five miles of spectacular lighting; through Nov. 10)

Chatter Champion Announced -- Fairy Calendar

Constitution Day -- Kazakhstan

Day of Satisfying the Hearts of the Ennead (Nine Major Gods) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of Charisteria -- Ancient Roman Calendar (a day to give thanks)

Frankenstein Day -- in honor of Mary Shelley (Interesting, when juxtaposed to the next entry.)

Huey P. Long Day -- Louisiana, US

International Day of the Disappeared -- Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of Detained-Disappeared

National Folk Festival -- Nashville, TN, US (sponsored by the National Council for the Traditional Arts, this is the oldest, longest-running and most diverse festival of traditional arts in the nation; if it is held this year, which i haven't been able to confirm, it's supposed to be in Nashville through Labor Day, and move on to another city next year)

National Holistic Pet Day -- celebrating the growing interest in natural/holistic medicine for animals

National Toasted Marshmallow Day

Popular Consultation Day -- East Timor

Santa Rosa de Lima -- Peru

Sheep Market Fair -- Ho, Denmark (annual sheep market and family fair; through Sunday)

St. Fiacre's Day (Patron of box makers, cab drivers, costermongers, florists, gardeners, hosiers, pewterers, taxi drivers, tile makers; against barrenness, fistula, haemorrhoids, piles, sterility, syphilis, venereal disease)

Talk Intelligently Day -- holiday thought up by someone tired of non-intelligent conversations (maybe with co-workers?)

Turkey's Hellespont Swim -- over 300 participants swim the Hellespont from Europe to Asia

Victory Day -- North Cyprus; Turkey

Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw And Festival -- Prairie du Sac, WI, US (come try to break the state record of 248 feet; through tomorrow)

World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off -- Brady, TX, US (through tomorrow)

Birthdays Today:

Cameron Diaz, 1972
Peggy Lipton, 1947
Frank "Tug" McGraw, 1944
Jean-Claude Killy, 1943
Warren Buffett, 1930
Ted Williams, 1918
Fred MacMurray, 1908
Shirley Booth, 1898
Huey P. Long, 1893
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 1797

Today in History:

European leaders, in an attempt to end war "for all time", outlaw the crossbow, 1146
One of the largest naval battles in history, during the last decade of the ailing, Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty, begins between the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders, 1363
Capture of the entire Dutch fleet by British forces under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral Sir Charles Mitchell, 1799
Founding of Melbourne, Australian, 1835
Founding of Houston, Texas, 1836
Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner, 1901
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in south Louisiana, the longest bridge over water (continuous, not aggregate) that is not also a viaduct, opens, 1956
The Hotline between the leaders of the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union goes into operation, 1963
Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1967
Guion Bluford becomes the first African American astronaut in space, 1983
NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces, 1995
A commercial expedition to raise part of the sunken British luxury liner Titanic ended in failure, 1996
Harley-Davidson celebrates its 100th anniversary in Milwaukee with a parade of 10,000 motorcycles, 2003
India and Pakistan agree to release hundreds of fishermen and other civilians in each other's jails as part of their ongoing attempts to negotiate peace between their nations, 2005

Well, at least #1 Son thought he was a tough guy.

It seems he started to get sick over a week ago. He toughed it out, believing it would go away, or get better. Then he called late Wednesday, after the doctor's offices are closed, and asked me to make an appointment with my doctor for him the next day.

Thursday, i started to call the office about 5 minutes before they would open, to catch them first thing. We got a 2:30pm appointment.

Then later that morning, when i was up at the church working on the new committee they haven't even named, and that is just me and one other person, and we are supposed to go over the whole church and point out everything that needs cleaning and repair (and it's a big, old, rambling place with multiple buildings and it has a lot in the "needs cleaning and repair" department), he sent me a text that he could hardly breathe.

Dropping everything, i went to pick him up and bring him straight to the doctor's office. This doctor happens to have his office in the hospital, and so he could send #1 Son for x-rays from there if he wanted, as we feared pneumonia.

Seldom have i seen my boy look so ragged as he did that morning. His cough was incessant, and he could hardly catch his breath between bouts. He managed to tell me that he had strained a muscle two days before from coughing so hard and was having trouble lifting his arm because of it. Yet he still waited over a day after that to ask to see a doctor, thinking it would get better on its own.

He had also been swigging down OTC cough syrup like water, and that #2 Son had brought him the large package of cough drops we used to have in our medicine cabinet. He had gone through most of it in only three days.

In the past few days, he had only eaten a couple of pieced of toast, a few bites of some fruit, and had a few sips of milk, because he had no appetite at all.

When we got to the doctor's office almost two hours early, they heard him coughing and made me fill out paperwork while putting him in a room. About 15 minutes later, he called me as i sat in the waiting area to ask where we get prescriptions filled. About 45 minutes after that, he emerged with an inhaler in his hands to say that his steroid, antibiotic, and cough medicine with codeine prescriptions had been emailed to the pharmacy already.

The doctor noted, "It doesn't matter if he has pneumonia or not, I'd put him on the same stuff anyway, so why bother exposing him to an x-ray?"

Agreed.

We drove toward the house and stopped at the pharmacy to drop off his insurance card and to tell them to send a text when it was ready. Then i brought him to the house and we waited the requisite hour-and-a-half for them to get the stuff ready.

Once he had the medicine, he wasted no time taking any of it, especially the cough syrup with codeine. (He had already had a dose from the inhaler when we left the doctor's office.) He asked to be taken back to his "bachelor pad," a very nice little house where he shares the rent with 3 other people. While i had my misgivings, he was anxious to get in his own bed.

Friday he got #2 Son to pick him up and bring him over to visit, and he was noticeably better. The cough had calmed a lot, and was no longer a constant, body wrenching hack that made me hurt to hear it. His appetite is picking up, and so of course he grabbed a few odds and ends before he left.

He is feeling much better now, and i think he has learned not to put it off when he gets sick, because it might not "go away on its own."

Today is:

Be Kind to Humankind Week: Speak Kind Words Saturday

Day of Solidarity and Freedom -- Poland (Anniversary of the 1980 August Agreement)

Eat Outside Day -- as long as you won't pass out from the heat

Eleusinia Games -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; 3 days of games with grain as prizes)

Festal Day -- Order of the Eastern Star

Invent A New Sandwich Day -- spread around the internet like good mayo; go ahead, have fun with this

Limba Noastra -- Moldova (Day of Our Language)

Independence Day -- Kyrgyzstan(1991); Malaysia (Hari Kebangsaan/Freedom Day, 1957); Trinidad & Tobago(1962)

International Bacon Day -- good day for a double decker BLT with grilled onions and Swiss cheese

International Day of Blogs and Bloggers -- originally sponsored by www.blogday.org, but that website seems to no longer exist; that's no reason not to celebrate blogging!

Japanese Festival -- St. Louis, MO (celebrating the history, culture, and people of Japan at the Missouri Botanical Garden; through Monday)

Love Litigating Lawyers Day -- yes, G-d tells us to love everybody, even litigation attorneys but He never said doing it would be easy; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

National Trail Mix Day

St. Raymond Nonnatus' Day -- (Patron of babies, childbirth, children, expectant mothers, falsely accused people, infants, midwives, newborn babies, obstetricians, and pregnant women; Baltoa, Dominican Republic; against fever)

Birthdays Today:

Jeff Hardy, 1977
Richard Gere, 1949
Itzhak Perlman, 1945
Marva Collins, 1936
Frank Robinson, 1935
James Coburn, 1928
Buddy Hackett, 1924
Alan Jay Lerner, 1918
Arthur Godfrey, 1903
Maria Montessori, 1870

Today in History:

Traditional date upon which Ayonwentah (Haiwatha) and Deganawidah (The Great Peacemaker) assist the Iroquois tribes in establishing the Confederation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy, or League of Five Nations), 1142
Lewis and Clark begin their expedition, 1803
A nuts and bolts machine is patented by Micah Rugg, 1842
The first professional football game is played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 1895
Edison patents the Kinetograph, 1897
Mrs. Adolph Landenburg, a horse rider, debuts the split skirt, 1902
Debut of Foghorn Leghorn, 1946
Solidarity Labor Union forms in Poland, 1980
Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris, 1997
Stolen on August 22, 2004, Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police, 2006

Most of the time, i'm bottle raising for a couple of particular rescue groups, especially one that has a shelter of its own.

This call was from the group that tries to rescue the dozens and dozens of precious animals that end up at animal control.

Before this group started, most of those animals were euthanized. Many still are. It's much better now, though, as this group works very hard to get homes for as many animals as possible.

Kay called and asked for a favor, the companion group that works with animal control needed a bottle feeder. She gave my name to Tina, who gave it to Maria, and Maria said she was desperate, these three were living on a multi-animal formula that another volunteer was feeding them when they were able to take out the time, as they are always so overworked.

The animal control center is forever and a half out on the edge of town, past the juvenile court, bail bond places, and parish prison. Out in the area where no one wants to willingly go. Yet the dedicated volunteers go out there, day after day, and take care of animals, doing so much more than the animal control staff can do.

When i pulled up to the place i hadn't been in over 15 years, i parked in the back near where the tangled weeds grow right up to the fence, with the woods beyond. The on site veterinary "office" is a house trailer that has seen better days.

Then out of the car and i saw what's so hard to see. Cage after cage, dog after dog, some two or three in a larger cage. Most of the cages were clean, but a few needed attention. Every tail wags and every pair of eyes follows hopefully when people pass.

Now, i have to admit that i am a messy mimi. While i do clean, things can get a bit behind, and stuff tends to pile up in some places. My floors, especially, often sport dried kitten formula and other dregs of raising these babies, but all litter boxes get cleaned daily and i sweep and try to spot clean as soon as i see anything and mop as often as i can. It builds up, though, and my house smells like it has cats, it can't be helped. It's something we are used to, we don't notice. When i walk into other people's homes, if they have cats or dogs, i don't notice a smell, it's something i'm used to, unless it's a hoarding situation.

This time, following a volunteer into the large part of the back of the animal control building itself, the stench was almost overwhelming. As much as i don't mind smells, and even enjoy the smell of a barn, that beautiful, earthy scent of horses or cows, this smelled of death and illness, and it was awful. It's the area the public doesn't see, the reason i have such a hard time coming out there.

It's the reason i think the people who volunteer out here are among the best people there are, because i'm not sure i could do it.

She brought me through to the front, where the public can sit and pick a happy, healthy companion, and from there Maria brought me in a tiny back office where one small dog was in a cage and another was wandering around, getting underfoot and being a darling. On a table in a carrier were three kittens. Next to the carrier, a cup full of formula that looked thin and watery to me, with syringes in it, the kind with no needled, to use to feed the babies. No bottles are available here.

Maria asked me to fill out a volunteer form, which i did, and i fed the babies some more of their watery formula, which they took gladly, so they would perhaps sleep on the trip home. As i stood there, she called two other volunteers back with her to discuss a man who had come in to claim his dog. The dog had been left tied to a fence, so closely tied that it could hardly move, with no food, water, or shelter. This in the hot south Louisiana summer can easily be lethal. Yet she was explaining that there was no animal control hold on the animal, so she wasn't sure she could deny him.

A couple of phone calls, and she got someone from the staff to agree that, though there wasn't a hold, he would come out there on a Saturday and talk to the man, stressing that they would check up on the dog and telling him he had to provide shade and water at all times the animal was outside. The whole conversation made me want to cry, and i know those volunteers hate having to give an animal back to an owner under such circumstances. Yet they keep coming back and doing this job.

A few minutes later, i put the kittens in my carrier and went out through the front door to walk around the building to my car, as i could not imagine trying to go through the back area again.

That last feeding was only partially successful; one of the babies screamed for about half of the long trip, and of course i came home to 13 screaming at me at home, all ready for a meal. Many of those are weaned, though, or partially so, so it's not so bad.

The two in the kitten cage had been bathed and let out of isolation earlier, and the cage cleaned for these new ones. So i fed everyone and moved these three into the cage, the tiniest babies into a much larger carrier, and the other 11 are running around the kitchen, dining area, library, and front hall, terrorizing my own cats who find the situation of all these invaders intolerable except that they bring with them the opportunity to steal kitten food and formula.

Now i have 16 kittens, from 3 different rescues, ranging from 2-7 weeks in age, and from 6 different litters. Next Friday, the biggest of them can go to the one rescue that has a shelter of its own.

And in a few weeks, i'll have to go back out there, where it's hard for me to go. At least these babies will get homes from out there, but i'm in more awe of the volunteers who work in that place than ever before. They have nerves of steel.

Today is:

Banti Meskerem -- Eritrea (Revolution Day)

Bonnat Pig Fair -- Bonnat, France

Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day

Chicken Boy's Day -- the mascot of the now defunct restaurant by that name, the 22 foot statue of a boy with a chicken's head was saved from destruction and is now a pop icon in L.A. on Route 66

Constitution Day/National Day -- Slovakia

Day of Knowledge -- Estonia (an official Flag Day); Russia

Disaster Prevention Day/Kanto Earthquake Memorial Day -- Japan

Ecclesiastical Year begins -- Orthodox Christian

Father's Day -- Australia; Fiji; Papua New Guinea; New Zealand

Festival of Juno Regina and Jupiter Liber -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Giostra del Saracino -- Arezzo, Italy ("Saracen Joust," a tilting contest dating back to the 13th century, with knights in armor)

Harvest Wine Celebration -- Livermore, CA, US (open-house visits to 43 wineries; through tomorrow)

Hassaku Oshi-tsuki -- Tsuma, Oki Island, Japan (bull sumo, with bulls pushing each other out of the ring)

Historical Regatta -- Venice, Italy (competition among two-oar racing gondolas, preceded by Venetian ceremonial boats)

Mustaqillik Kuni -- Uzbekistan (Independence Day, 1991)

National Cherry Popover Day

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day -- the day to celebrate the amazing words in the English language that do not rhyme with any other words

Nutt Day -- for Emma M. Nutt, the first female telephone operator

Oyster Season begins

Partridge's Day -- partridge hunting season begins in UK

Presidential Message Day -- Mexico

Random Acts of Kindness Day -- New Zealand

Running of the Sheep -- Reed Point, MT (matched only by the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, hundreds of sturdy Montana bred woolies charge down the six blocks of the main street in town, plus there is a parade!)

Sing A Silly Song in Bed Day -- now, this one has no real rhyme or reason

Sneeze-Wobbling Festival -- Fairy Calendar

St. Fiacre's Day -- Ireland and France (the rest of the church celebrates this Patron of gardeners on August 30)

St. Gideon the Judge's Day (Patron of Saint-Gedeon-de-Beauce, Canada)

St. Giles' Day (Patron of the beggars, blacksmiths, breast feeding, cancer patients, disabled/handicapped people, epileptics, forests, hermits, horses, lepers, mentally ill people, noctiphobics, paupers and the poor, rams, spur makers, woods; Edinburgh, Scotland; Toifa, Italy; against breast cancer, epilepsy, fear of the night, insanity, leprosy, mental illness, noctiphobia, sterility)

St. Simeon Stylites' Day -- Eastern Orthodox Christian

Teacher's Day -- Singapore

Wattle Day -- Australia

Birthdays Today:

Gloria Estefan, 1957
Dr. Phil McGraw, 1950
Barry Gibb, 1946
Lily Tomlin, 1939
Seiji Ozawa, 1935
Conway Twitty, 1933
"Boxcar" Willie, 1931
Rocky Marciano, 1923
Yvonne DeCarlo, 1922
Vittorio Gassman, 1922
Edgar Rice Burroughts, 1875
Englebert Humperdinck. 1854 (composer, esp of opera Hansel and Gretel)
Johann Pachelbel, 1653

Today in History:

Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman establishes a Jewish community in Jerusalem, 1267
Adi Granth, now known as Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhs, was first installed at Harmandir Sahib, 1601
The first yacht race is held, between England's King Charles I and his brother James, 1661
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa forms in California, 1772
Juno, one of the largest main belt asteroids, is discovered by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding, 1804
Narcissa Whitman, one of the first white women to settle west of the
Rocky Mountains, arrives at Walla Walla, Washington, 1836
The first Pullman sleeping car is put into service, 1859
The Solar Superstorm/Carrington Event: a huge solar sunspot and solar flare storm that disrupted telegraphy and allowed the Aurora Borealis to be seen as far south as the Caribbean occurs, 1859
Joseph Lister performs the first antiseptic surgery, 1865
Robert T. Freeman becomes the first African American to graduate from the Harvard Dental School, 1867
The first underground rapid transit system in North America, the Boston Subway, opens, 1897
One of the first science fiction films ever, A Trip To The Moon, opens in France, 1902
Alberta and Saskatchewan become the 8th and 9th Canadian provinces, 1905
Martha, the last passenger pigeon, dies at the Cincinnati Zoo, 1914
The United States, Australia and New Zealand sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty, 1951
In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion, 1972
Canada adopts the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as part of its Constitution, 1982
A joint French-American expedition locates the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, 1985
Luxembourg becomes the first nation to complete the transition to all digital tv broadcasting, 2006

Mealtime. Get out of my way!

Don't get your bare toes too close, either.

A happy Labor Day/Labour Day to all workers!

Today is:

Bison-Ten-Yell Day -- celebrating the imaginary Bison-Ten-Yell, inventor of 10 battle yells now used as American football signals

Celtic Tree Month Muin (Vine) begins

Coughing and Spluttering Convention -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Independence Day -- Transdniestria

Labor Day/Labour Day -- Bermuda; Canada; Palau; U.S. and Territories

National Blueberry Popsicle Day

National Day -- Vietnam

National Stearman Fly-In Days -- Galesburg, IL, US (the largest gathering of Stearman bi-planes in the world, with flying, seminars, and exhibits; through Saturday)

Pierce Your Ears Day -- does a kitten screaming in my ear count? oh, since the person who decided we should celebrate this today didn't leave a trace, i guess it's okay to interpret any way we want

Sacrifice to Hekate and Artemis -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Sedantag -- Germany

St. Agricola of Avignon's Day (Patron of rain -- for or against, whichever you need! -- of good weather and storks; Avignon, France; against misfortune and plague epidemics)

Umhlanga -- Swaziland (Reed Dance Public Holiday and final day, culmination of the Reed Dance Celebration begun last week and sponsored by the Royal Family)

VJ Day -- Surrender Ceremony took place on this date aboard the USS Missouri

Anniversary Today:

Beginning of the Marathon Runs during the Persian War, Sept. 2-9, 490BC

Birthdays Today:

Lennox Lewis, 1965
Keanu Reeves, 1964
Jimmy Connors, 1952
Mark Harmon, 1951
Christa McAuliffe, 1948
Terry Bradshaw, 1948
Cleveland Amory, 1917
Lili'uokalani, 1838

Today in History:

Cicero's first Philippic (oratorical attack) on Marc Antony, BC44
Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion, BC44
Octavian's troops win the Battle of Actium which ends the Final war of the Roman Republic, BC31
The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days; it ends with 8 dead and 13,000 houses destroyed, 1666
Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe, 1752
US Treasury Dept. is established by Congress, 1789
The solar super storm continues to affect electrical telegraph service, 1859
Theodore Roosevelt adivses the US to "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." 1901
President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam becomes the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia, 1957
The Principality of Sealand is established, ruled by Prince Paddy Roy Bates, 1967
Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia; all 229 people on board are killed, 1998
Pope Benedict hosts an eco-festival, "Save Creation Day," in Loreto, Italy, to encourage Catholics to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, 2007

"Mom, what if language prevents us from fully experiencing things?" Bigger Girl was in the mood for a discussion.

What do you mean? i asked.

"Well, think about it. When we experience something, we immediately search for the words to describe it. If we didn't have words and language, would we experience it more, or more deeply, because we didn't have to search for words to talk about it?"

Interesting idea, i said, but what about the fact that science seems to show that babies don't form long term memories until they have the words, the language, to describe what they are going through or what is happening?

"But animals don't have words, either, and they form memories. I mean, they do have their own version of languages or was to communicate, but they have memories. And what if they experience things more deeply and fully than we because they just take it in, without having to analyze and define and quantify it with words?"

Then there's Helen Keller, i noted. She had very few memories, from what i gather, from before she learned sign language, and the few things she did remember were things she developed her own sign language for. It would be interesting to ask someone like her if she experienced things more deeply before she had language and words.

"Yeah, it would be interesting. Oh, and something I found out today. When I wear this collar that looks like a dog collar, it's Soccer Mom repellant! The moms all look at me and herd their children away from me! That will come in handy some day, I bet."

Most likely, i noted drily.

Today is:

Another Look Unlimited Day -- sponsored by Envira Myntyl, a day to look around and see what you don't need and can donate to charity, to lessen the flow to landfills

Armed Forces Day -- Taiwan

Concordia Fall Festival -- Concordia, MO (celebrating agriculture and the German heritage of the area; through Saturday)

Cromwell's Day -- The Cromwell Association holds a service at his statue on his death date

Day to Mourn All Manifestations of Sexism -- in honor of passage of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Day of Universal Alarm -- Fairy Calendar (no one remembers what to be alarmed about, which is what is so alarming, at least to the Fairies)

Feast of San Marino and the Republic -- San Marino

Flag Day -- Australia

Macchina di Santa Rosa -- Viterbo, Italy (St. Rose, patron of the city, celebration begins this evening at 9pm sharp)

Merchant Navy Remembrance Day -- Canada

National Welsh Rarebit Day

National Wilderness Day -- US (commemorates passage of The Wilderness Act in 1964)

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

Skyscraper Day -- birth anniversary of Louis H. Sullivan in 1856, architect credited with some of the first skyscrapers

South Carolina Apple Festival -- Westminster, SC, US (through Saturday)

St. Gregory the Great's Day (Inventor of Gregorian Chant; Patron of choir boys, educators, masons, musicians, papacy, Popes, schoolchildren, singers, stone masons, stonecutters, students, teachers; England; Kercem, Malta; Legazpi, Philippines; Montone, Italy; San Gregorio nelle Alpi, Italy; West Indes; against gout and plague)

St. Marinus' Day (Patron and founder of San Marino; also Patron of bachelors, deacons, and falsely accused people)

Tokehega Day -- Tokalau (remembrance of the Treaty of Tokehega)

Birthdays Today:

Charlie Sheen, 1965
Mort Walker, 1923
Kitty Carlisle Hart, 1914
Alan Ladd, 1913
Uncle Sam, 1813 (Image first used this date.)
Anna, Duchess of Bedford, 1783 (in 1840, she began the tradition of afternoon tea)
Nicolo Amati, 1596

Today in History:

Sextus Pompeius, son of Pompey, is defeated in the Battle of Naulochus by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, admiral of Octavian, which ends the resistance to the Second Triumvirate, BC36
Saint Marinus founds San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, 301
Consecration of Pope Gregory the Great, 590
King Richard I (the Lionheart) crowned, and 30 Jews are massacred as part of the celebration, 1189
Richard Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, 1658
The first large group of Swiss and German colonists reach the shores of North and South Carolina areas, 1709
The Flag of the United States is flown in battle for the first time, 1777
Signing of the Treaty of Paris, end of the US Revolutionary War, 1783
John Dalton, English scientist begins using symbols to represent different atomic elements, 1803
The first daily newspaper, a "penny paper", that actually succeeded, The Sun (New York), begins publication, as well as employing the first paper boys, 1833
Outbreak of the Greek revolution against the autocratic rule of King Otto, 1843
William, Prince of Albania, leaves the country after six months because of opposition to his rule, 1914
Sir Malcolm Campbell reaches a speed of 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph, 1935
68th and final transport of Dutch Jews, including Anne Frank and her family/friends, leaves for Auschwitz, 1944
Wally Gator premiers, 1962
Dagen H in Sweden: traffic changes from driving on the left to driving on the right overnight, 1967
The Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars, 1976
Russia and the People's Republic of China agree not to target each other with nuclear weapons, 1994
An 87-automobile pile-up happens on Highway 401 freeway just East of Windsor, Ontario, Canada after an unusually thick fog from Lake St. Clair, 1999
Iran's Parliament approves the first woman minister in 30 years, confirming the appointment of Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi as Minister of Health, 2009

"Hello, honey, how was your day?"

Sweetie had just walked in from work, clutching his lunch bag and briefcase with one hand, his best suit, the one they wear only twice a year at work for two extremely formal events so he keeps it at work in the other.

Hey, it was okay, i answered.

"Well, if I come home, and there's no bad news, it's been a good day," he said.

So, you've gotten your suit back from the cleaners? i asked. (After all, i had seen it in the back of his car for a day or two, and knew he needed to have it cleaned before my dad's big, formal event in October.)

"No, of course not! I brought it home so it could be taken to the cleaners," he said. When he says "so it could be taken to the cleaners," he means, but does not say, by yours truly.

Now, wait a minute. You know you need it cleaned, you've had it in the car with you for a couple of days, and you pass your favorite dry cleaner every day on the way to work, and instead of dropping it off, you brought it home for me to take it to the cleaners? i said, somewhat incredulously.

"Well, it seemed like the logical thing to do at the time," he answered.

Note -- this from the man with a master's degree, who can organize anything at work and goes about everything logically there, and can find ways to do things the other people there say are impossible. This, he couldn't figure out, and couldn't understand why i looked at him so oddly.

At that moment, Bigger Girl was at the computer, doing some math work. It's a special program with videos to explain how to do the work, and practice sessions.

"Whatever drug it is that this lady in the video is on to make her so perky about doing math, I want to be on it!" she said. "Math people should not be so perky!"

Math is not the strong suit of the family, as proven by what happened next.

"Mom, I've got my test results, and I'm going to have to take an extra math class," Little Girl said.

Looking at her latest Iowa test score, i agree. She is grade level 13+ on anything to do with English, vocabulary, reading, history, and science, and is above grade level on comprehension of math word problems and use of resources.

She is 6th grade level at math computation skills. It's a family thing, i'm sure. Thus, she will be doing extra make up work on computer, and we are getting her a special tutoring computer program to help.

After all, it's fine if you can read, but not okay if you can't figure out how to make change when you buy the book.

Today is:

Animals' Day -- Curacao

Ceremony of Transformation through Anubis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Defeat of Jesse James Days -- Northfield, MN, US (a bank raid reenactment, plus parade, races, rodeo, and more; through Sunday)

Eat An Extra Dessert Day -- internet generated, you have the WWW's permission to indulge today
note that some sites also list this day, instead of July 7, as World Chocolate Day, so celebrate either one!

Farmers and Threshermens Jubilee -- New Centerville, PA, US (steam engines, threshing the old fashioned ways, and fun; through Sunday)

Fight Procrastination Day/National Do It Day

Immigrant's Day -- Argentina

Ludi Romani -- Ancient Roman Calendar (through the 19th; a festival to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, also called Circensian games)

National Macadamia Nut Day

Newspaper Carrier Day -- US (anniversary of Benjamin Day, publisher of the New York Sun, hiring Barney Flaherty as the first newspaper carrier in 1833)

Peach Days Celebration -- Brigham City, UT, US (delicious peaches and family fun; through Saturday)

Rosh Hashanah -- Judaism (begins this evening; through the evening Sept. 6)

St. Ida of Herzfeld's Day (Patron of brides, widows)

St. Rose of Viterbo's Festival -- Viterbo, Italy (actual feast day of the saint is March 6)

The Masters -- Spruce Meadows, Calgary, AB, Canada (The international horse show jumping competitions; through the 8th)

Anniversaries Today:

Ford Motor Company introduces The Edsel, 1957
The comic strip Beetle Baily is introduced, 1950
The first Beatrix Potter story featuring Peter Rabbit is published, 1902

Birthdays Today:

Beyonce Knowles, 1981
Mitzi Gaynor, 1930
Dick York, 1928
Paul Harvey, 1918
Henry Ford II, 1917
Richard Wright, 1908
Nigel Bruce, 1895
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand, 1768

Today in History:

Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor in the West, is formally deposed, 476
Edmund Halley, English astronomer, first observes the comet that now bears his name, 1682
The City of Los Angeles is founded in Bahia de las Fumas (Valley of Smokes), 1781
Robert Fulton begins operating his steamboat, 1807
Barney Flahery, age 10, is hired to be the first newsboy, by the NY Sun, 1833
Although he had demonstrated their use before, the first major lighting with electricity comes online as 400 bulbs are lit in offices on Spruce, Wall, Nassau, and Pearl streets in lower Manhattan by Thomas Edison, 1882
The last major US-Indian war ends with the surrender of Apache Chief Geronimo, 1886
George Eastman patents the first roll-film cameral and registers the trademark name "Kodak", 1888
Beatrix Potter first tells the story of Peter Rabbit, 1893
Comic strip "Beetle Bailey" first appears, 1950
The Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel, 1957
Mark Spitz becomes the first competitor to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games, 1972
Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University, 1998
A 7.1 earthquake strikes the South Island of New Zealand, causing widespread damage, 2010

Tomorrow is the appointment, but tomorrow i have a different post scheduled, so, i will do my Annual PSA today.

Tomorrow, i go in to get the twins their glamor shots. It's a simple procedure, it's quick and easy and not even really all that uncomfortable. It is a bit of a PITA to get around to it, of course, but i make the time once a year like i make the time to brush and floss each day, or to go in every 3 months and have my thyroid blood work done.

So, Ladies, if you are "of an age" and haven't done so yet, go schedule a mammogram, and get the twins their glamor shots. If you are even more "of an age," as i am, you might do what i'm doing and get a bone density scan, too. It's also simple and painless and can save you a world of trouble by detecting problems early.

Gentlemen, don't think i'm letting you off the hook easily. Please go schedule your annual exams, too. You know what they are, and why. Your libido will thank you, and so, presumably, will your wife.

Today is:

Be Late For Something Day -- sponsored by the Procrastinators' Club of America, Inc. (if they can get around to mentioning it in their newsletter, of course)

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta's Day

Fiesta de Santa Fe -- Santa Fe, NM, US (festivities include the burning of the Zozobra -- Old Man Gloom effigy -- on the first night, so bring your personal gloom written down before the burning, and watch it be destroyed, then enjoy one of the oldest fiestas in the US; through Sunday)

Genesia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (a day of the dead; date approximate)

Hassaku-sai -- Matsuo-taisha Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (rituals to ask the gods for mild weather, good harvests and safe homes)

Jeune Genevois -- Geneva, Switzerland (Genevan fast, dates back to the 16th century; now a flower and garden show also)

Jupiter Stator Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar (commemorates that Jupiter helped Romulus to stop the Sabine invasion under Titus Tatius)

Jury Rights Day -- marking the decision by a jury, in 1670, to not convict William Penn of laws which they considered unjust which would have prohibited him from the practice and preaching of his religion to a peaceably assembled congregation; this decision became the basis of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the US

Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials -- Stamford, England (this year with a reappearance of some gates from the Olympic 3-Day event; through Sunday)

Longs Peak Scottish/Irish Highland Festival -- Estes Park, CO, US (wonderful celebration of the heritage of the Highlands and Ireland; through Sunday)

Marion Popcorn Festival -- Marion, OH, US (performances by nationally renowned entertainers, races, parade, arts and crafts, and more popcorn than you could ever shuck; through Sunday)

National Cheese Pizza Day

St. Laurence Gustiani's Day (First Patriarch of Venice)

Sts. Zechariah and Elisabeth's Day -- Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches

Teacher's Day -- India

Toronto International Film Festival -- Toronto, ON, CA (through the 15th)

United Tribes International Pow-Wow -- Bismark, ND, US (over 70 Native American Tribes represented at the major cultural event; through Sunday)

Wag and Carrot Fancying Day -- Fairy Calendar

Yellow Daisy Festival -- Stone Mountain, GA, US (annual arts and crafts festival and fun; through Sunday)

Birthdays Today:

Cathy Guisewite, 1950
Raquel Welch, 1940
Carol Lawrence, 1934
Bob Newhart, 1929
Arthur C. Nielsen, 1923
John Cage, 1912
Darryl F. Zanuck, 1902
Jesse James, 1847
Johann Christian Bach, 1735

Today in History:

Peter the Great of Russia imposes a tax on beards, in an attempt to Westernize his people, 1698
The First Continental Congress is assembled in Philadelphia, 1774
The French National Convention initiates the Reign of Terror, 1793
Napoleon surrenders Malta to Great Britain, 1800
Sam Houston is elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas, 1836
The First Opium war begins in China, 1839
James Glaisher, pioneering meteorologist and Henry Tracey Coxwell break world record for altitude whilst collecting data in their balloon, 1862
Sioux Chief Crazy Horse is killed, 1877
The First Labor Day Parade is held in NYC, 1882
The first gasoline pump is delivered to a gasoline dealer in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, 1885
The first legal forward pass in American football is thrown by Bradbury Robinson of St. Louis University to teammate Jack Schneider in a 22–0 victory over Carroll College (Wisconsin), 1906
The French Upper Volta is broken apart between Ivory Coast, French Sudan, and Niger, 1932
The first conference of the Non Aligned Countries is held in Belgrade, 1961
A Palestinian terrorist group called "Black September" attack and take hostage 11 Israel athletes at the Munich Olympic Games. 2 die in the attack and 9 die the following day, 1972
Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay, 1977
The St. Gotthard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel, 1980
The current international treaty defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, came into force, 1991
Tuvalu joins the UN, 2000

Feline Friday was begun by Steve, the Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to say it's because he likes cats, and wanted them to have their own day each week. (We already know that every dog has its day, after all.)

It's always time to chow down around here, espcially with all of these now weaned and soon to be at the shelter for adoption kittens.

When i come downstairs at 5am, i set down a platter, scatter kitten kibble all over it, and let them go at it. While they eat this, i mix formula and give them some in bowls, and fill bottles for the as yet unweaned little ones.

Stephen Hayes has pointed out that there seems to be no shortage of kittens needing bottle raising around here, and he's right. Many people don't spay/neuter, leaving cats to have litters which are abandoned. Many cats are feral, the cast offs of the people who formerly owned them, or are born to such abandoned pets and end up wild, reproducing and if their litter gets orphaned, there's a chance i will end up raising them.

Several rescue groups are working in the area to try to trap, neuter, and release as many feral cats as possible, to encourage owners to spay and neuter, and to end these heartbreaking problems.

For now, though, there are times like this, where i end up with 19 kittens from 8 litters, sponsored by 3 different rescue groups. Eight of those are young enough that they still have to have a bottle, 3 are nibbling the dry food and taking some of their milk from a bowl, but still wanting the bottle, and the rest are weaned and go up for adoption within the week.

Today is:

Arcola Broom Corn Festival -- Arcola, IL, US (includes a parade; through Sunday)

Armed Forces Day -- Sao Tome and Principe

Defense Day -- Pakistan

Dri-jerbal -- Marshall Islands (Labor Day)

Ear and Trumpter Contests for Mice -- Fairy Calendar

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

Festival of the Vine -- Geneva, IL, US (celebrating the flavors of fall, especially good food and wine from around the world; through Sunday)

Flag Day -- Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Freddy Mercury's Montreaux Memorial -- Montreaux, Switzerland (annual tribute to the work of Freddie Mercury; through Sunday)

Great Canadian Beer Festival -- Victoria, BC, Canada (through tomorrow)

Lazy Moms Day -- a day for mom to be lazy, and let the kids do the housework!

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

Norwalk Seaport Oyster Festival -- Norwalk, CT, US (vintage ships, crafters, entertainment, oysters, and a Kids' Cove; through Sunday)

Ohio River Sternwheel Festival -- Marietta, OH, US (a three day riverfront extravaganza)

One Arm Dove Hunt -- Olney, TX, US (a one-of-a-kind event, begun by two Texas politicians from Olney who were both amputees, they and the town of Olney invite every amputee or person who has lost use of a hand or arm to come to "The Friendliest Town West of the Mississippi River" for Texas food, fun, a glove swap, musical entertainment, one arm jokes and tales, one arm golf tournament, the famous 10 cents a finger breakfast, a Cow Chip Chunk'n, Amputee Vs. Politician, and the big dove hunt; through tomorrow)

Popeye Picnic -- Chester, IL, US (celebrate everyone's favorite cartoon sailor in the town where his creator, E.C. Segar, was born; through Sunday)

Puyallup Fair -- Puyallup, WA, US (one of the top ten fairs in attendance in the world; through the 22nd)

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

Rosh Hashanah -- Judaism (ends today at evening)

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

Somhlolo Day -- Swaziland (Independence Day)

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

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

Thiruvonam Festival -- KL, PY, India (start of the ten day festival of Onam)

Unification Day -- Bulgaria

Walker Cup -- Southampton, NY, US (biennial competition between amateur teams from the US and UK; through Sunday)

Birthdays Today:

Jeff Foxworthy, 1958
Jane Curtin, 1947
Swoosie Kurtz, 1944
Jo Anne Worley, 1937
Joseph P. Kennedy, 1888
Jane Addams, 1860
Marquis de Lafayette, 1757

Today in History:

The Victoria, the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world, 1522
The Spanish "Silver Fleet" disappears off the Florida Keys, 1622
Founding of Salem, Massachussetts, 1628
The first US lighthouse is built in Boston, 1716
Hurricane hits Martinique and Guadalupe, hundreds of ships sink and thousands die on land and at sea, 1776
Thomas Blanchard patents the lathe, 1819
Oberlin Collegiate Institute of Ohio becomes co-ed, with 4 women and 30 men in attendance, 1837
Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807, 1870
Juliana becomes Queen of the Netherlands, 1948
Canada's first television station, CBFT-TV, opens in Montreal, 1952
Nine Israeli athletes are killed during a rescue attempt after being kidnapped at the Munich Olympic Games; two had died during the kidnapping the day before, 1972
The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states:
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and restores the name St. Petersburg to Russia's second largest city, 1991
Cal Ripken Jr of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years, 1995
Diana, Princess of Wales is laid to rest in front of a television audience of more than 2.5 billion, 1997

The school year has begun, so we've started rEcess again.

For those who don't know, it's a volunteer program where several of us, including at least one or two medical people, get together to babysit special needs kids so that their parents may have a night out.

These are children with severe problems, so you can't just leave them with the kid down the street.

This week, we had Lana, who despite being one of the only children in the world with a mitochondrial illness, has managed to learn to crawl, and can throw a toy now and watch the grown-up pick it up

Pete came, with his twin brothers. He has Down's Syndrome, and is one of the most fun kids to watch play. His brothers are 3, he is 5, and they are all about the same size and developmentally about the same.

Jack was there, who has braces on his legs, little use of his arms, and who lets nothing stop him. Put him on the floor, and he rolls wherever he needs to go, even up a step or to, onto the stage. He performed a comedy show up on the small stage for us all.

Anna, who has some developmental problems and used to have a feeding tube, came with her two sisters and her brother. Her tube is not needed any more, she has learned to eat without choking, and she was full of fun.

Then there was my special charge, Grace.

Some might remember Grace. She spent the first two years of her life in an orphanage in Bangladesh, and as is typical of orphanages in many nations, she was in a crib with no stimulation and the only contact she had was when her diaper was changed or she was handed a bottle. No rocking, no being spoken to, little to no input. She does have a seizure disorder, but it's minor. Her biggest problem was simply lack of stimulating environment.

She's been in the US with her adoptive mother for almost a year now, and the difference is striking. She's about 3 now, and her development is about that of a 1-year-old, but she can walk and run more like a child of 3. So, like a 1-year-old, she is now at the babbling stage, where she strings syllables together in sentence patterns, but it makes sense only to her. She also now has a much bigger vocabulary and even a couple of sentences.

She's no longer afraid to get in and try to play alongside other kids, and we had fun throwing the ball to another child. Ella, a daughter of a volunteer, who is almost exactly her age, spoke to her and showed her how to use a couple of the toys.

Grace also now has a pillow pet from which she is inseparable, and a personality that has its own likes and dislikes is emerging quite strongly.

We spent a good bit of time running, played the drums for a bit, and she decided she was the best thing around with her funny clown glasses.

A few pictures i managed to get, between sessions of running down the halls:

Grace loves the trampoline, though she can't jump well yet.

The glasses.

Grace running with the glasses on.

Play ball!

It was a good night, we all had fun.

Today is:

Air Force Day -- Pakistan

America's Day For Kids -- sponsored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Aunt's Day 2013 -- not the same as Aunt and Uncle's Day in July, or the Aunt's Day some list in May, this one i can't find a sponsor or reason for

Beer Lovers' Day -- ESPN began to broadcast on this day in 1979

Boonesborough Days -- Boonesboro, MD, US (living history, food, antiques, and a celebration of the original spelling of the town's name; through tomorrow)

Braemar Royal Highland Gathering -- Braemar, Scotland (one of the largest gatherings and Highland Games, celebrated for the last 900 years)

Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day 2013 -- US (the Saturday after Labor Day, everyone is encouraged to volunteer in cleaning federal land, recreation areas, or waterways, to help do their part to keep these places beautiful)

Chadds Ford Days -- Chadds Ford, PA, US (Brandywine Valley traditional art celebration; through tomorrow)

Classic Boat Show -- Tuckerton, NJ, US (the Tuckerton Seaport and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society present classic wood and glass boats exhibitors, entertainment, demonstrations, a parent/child boat-building contest, and more; through tomorrow)

Feel the Love Day

Festival of Children -- Costa Mesa, CA (weekends through Sept.; a community-wide charity outreach with over 100 stage and hands-on activities through the month)

Grandma Moses Day

Hang Around Victor Day -- Victor, NY, US

Independence Day -- Brazil

Little Falls Arts and Crafts Fair -- Little Falls, MN, US (arts and crafts from hobbyists and pros; through tomorrow)

Lusaka Peace Agreement Day -- Mozambique

Mushroom Festival -- Kennett Square, PA, US (food, fun, and fungi in the Mushroom Capital of the World; through tomorrow)

Naked Gardening Day -- scare the neighbors! get rid of those pesky squirrels! experience nature (and sunburn, and mosquito bites) with your whole body! not to be confused with World Naked Gardening Day, which is now held in May each year

Nanticoke Powwow -- Millsboro, DE, US (Native American gathering and celebration; through tomorrow)

National Acorn Squash Day

National Hummingbird Day -- not official, but someone loves them enough to have started this

National Napoleon Day (the dessert, not the general)

National Threatened Species Day -- Australia

Neither Snow Nor Rain Day -- celebrates the opening of the US Post Office in NYC on this day in 1914, which building has the famous inscription on it

New Jersey Maritime Heritage Festival & Antique and Classic Boat Show -- Tuckerton, NJ, US (lots of seaworthy fun; through tomorrow)

Nijamati Sewa Dival -- Nepal (Civil Servants' Day)

Onam Festival -- Kerala, India (first day of the rituals celebrating the legendary King Maveli)

Salami Day -- sponsored by salamiday.com

Sheriff's Ride Ceremony -- Lichfield, UK (dating back to 1553, the sheriff and his men ceremonially ride the circuit of the boundary of the city; originally on the 8th Sept. every year by order of Queen Mary, now held on the Saturday nearest)

St. Cloud's Day (a/k/a Clodoald the Confessor; Patron of nail makers; St. Cloud, Minnesota)

St. Regina's Day (Patron of poor people, shepherdesses, torture victims)

Turn A Cartwheel in Public Day -- the internet has it out for us

Valparaiso Popcorn Festival -- Valparaiso, IN, US

Victory Day -- Mozambique

Welsh Fairies Bonnet-Hurling Competition -- Fairy Calendar

Anniversary Today:

Sergey Brin and Larry Page incorporate Google, 1998

Birthdays Today:

Gloria Gaynor, 1949
Richard Roundtree, 1942
Cuneyt Arkin, 1937
John Phillip Law, 1937
Buddy Holly, 1936
Don Messick, 1927
Peter Lawford, 1923
Anthony Quayle, 1913
Elia Kazan, 1909
Michael E. DeBakey, 1908
Grandma Moses, 1860
Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533

Today in History:

Traditionally, the solar eclipse date that marks the birth of Heracles of Thebes (Latin Hercules), BC1251
The Roman army under Titus occupies and plunders Jerusalem, 70
In the world's first submarine attack, the American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship HMS Eagle in New York Harbor, 1776
The "Troy Post" of NY first uses "Uncle Sam" to refer to the US, 1813
Last hold-up of Jesse James, 1881
Edith Eleanor McLean becomes the first baby in the US to be put in an incubator for premature infants, 1888
The Boxer Rebellion in China officially ends with the signing of the Boxer Protocol, 1901
Eugene Lefebvre (1878–1909), while test piloting a new French-built Wright biplane, crashes at Juvisy, France when his controls jam. Lefebvre dies, becoming the first 'pilot' in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft, 1909
The first day of the first Miss America Pageant is held in Atlantic City, NJ, 1921
Philo T. Farnsworth demonstrates the first use of television in San Francisco, 1927
The last surviving member of the thylacine species, Benjamin, dies alone in her cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, 1936
Integration begins in Washington, D.c. and Baltimore, MD public schools, 1954
Desmond Tutu becomes the first black man to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa, 1986
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocks Athens, rupturing a previously unknown fault, 1999
Hurricane Ivan, a Category 5 hurricane, hits Grenada, killing 39 and damaging 90% of its buildings, 2004
The first presidential election is held in Egypt, 2005

The whole family was riding in Jalopy (my Saturn minivan that looks like a jalopy, really) on the way back from a football game at the university.

#2 Son's phone rang, so i turned down the volume on the radio.

"Hello? Yeah, who is this? Joseph? Wait, I don't know any Joseph. Wait, what? Meet you? Meet you where? But, I don't know any...Mike! Oh, c'mon man! Oh, okay, as soon as we get home I'll come over to Craig's house. Yeah, my brother's here, we were at the game. We'll be over soon"

That was Mike-Next-Door? i asked.

"Yeah, yeah, he does that. He's great at disguising his voice, and he prank calls people, pretending to be all different names."

"He is great at disguising his voice and pulling that stuff," #1 Son added. "One time, he called Brennan and told him, 'Hey, I found this phone here at the Junior College, and I don't know who it belongs to.' When Brennan told him that it belonged to a guy named Mike, he said, 'Well, this Mike guy has you listed under My Sweetheart. Are you two guys lovers or something?' and it had Brennan freaking out until he realized it really was Mike making the call!"

So, Mike-Next-Door is a prankster with the phone. While i didn't know that, i'm glad i do now, because forewarned is fore armed. It's doubtful he would try anything like that on me, as i pay him to mow our lawn twice a month and he loves his mowing business. It's still good to know.

And to laugh about -- i knew there was another reason to like him, he's got a sense of humor.

Today is:

Feast of Honor for Lada and Lela -- Slavic Pagan/Asatru (harvest festival, a holiday of bread and farewell to summer)

Feast of 'Izzat(Might) -- Baha'i

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin -- Catholic Christian; related observances
     Jum il-Vittorja -- Malta (Feast of Our Lady of Victories)
     Matki Boskiej Zielnej -- Poland (Feast of Greenery, also harvest celebration)
     Public Holiday -- Liechteinstein
     Virgen de la Victoria -- Spain

Giostra Della Quintana -- Foligno, Italy (revival of a 17th-century jousting tournament, with 600 knights in full armor)

Grandparents' Day -- US (but if you have fabulous grands in your family, feel free to observe anywhere)

Great Procession of Tournai -- Tournai, Belgium (religious procession held since 1092, in thanksgiving for deliverance from the plague)

Hari Taika (Teej) -- Nepal (special holiday for Female Employees Only, to celebrate a special, traditional women's festival)

Homesteader Harvest Festival -- Brandon, SD, US (re-creation of the harvest in the pioneer days)

Hug Your Hound Day -- to increase awareness of human- and dog-friendly urban spaces

Independence Day -- Macedonia

International Literacy Day -- UN

Kosrae Liberation Day -- Micronesia

La Vierge de Meritxell -- Andorra (Feast of Our Lady of Meritxell, a National Day and official flag day)

National Date Nut Bread Day

Navy Day -- Pakistan

Pardon Me Day -- anniversary of the 1974 pardon of Nixon

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day

Pet Memorial Day -- US, but everyone who has ever lost a pet, feel free to observe

St. Adrian's Day (Patron of arms dealers, butchers, prison guards, soldiers; against plague)

St. Elizabeth's Day (Orthodox Churches; Mother of John the Baptist; Patron of expectant mothers; Fulda, Germany)

Wakes Sunday -- Abbots Bromely, England

World Physical Therapy Day

Birthdays Today:

Frankie Avalon, 1940
Guitar Shorty, 1939
Patsy Cline, 1932
Peter Sellers, 1925
Sid Caesar, 1922
Claude Pepper, 1900
Antonin Leopold Dvorak, 1841
Richard I (Lionheart), 1157

Today in History:

The Statute of Kalisz, guaranteeing Jews safety and personal liberties and giving battei din jurisdiction over Jewish matters, is promulgated by Boleslaus the Pious, Duke of Greater Poland, 1264
Michaelangelo's David is unveiled in Florence, 1504
St. Augustine, FL, becomes the first permanent European settlement of the New World, 1565
The US "Pledge of Allegiance" makes its first appearance in print, in the Youth's Companion, 1892
Galveston, TX, is struck by a hurricane and tidal surge that kill 6,000, 1900
First appearance of the comic strip "Blondie", 1930
3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape, 1930
The original Star Trek series premiers, 1966
The Beatles perform their new hit "Hey Jude" as their last live TV performance on the David Frost show, 1968
Chinese athlete Wang Junxia sets a new women's 10,000 m world record of 29:31.78, breaking the former record by 42 seconds, 1993
Two EMERCOM Il-76 aircraft land at a disaster aid staging area at Little Rock Air Force Base; the first time Russia has flown such a mission to North America, 2005

Kida the Mosquito, the asthmatic Siamese who is always buzzing around, has another sinus infection, and is back on an antibiotic.

We have 19 kittens, and four of them have ringworm, so we are quarantined. None of them can go up for adoption until they are all clear. The will be treated 3 times a day, even those that have no ringworm, to make sure it goes away and doesn't spread.

#1 Son is finally feeling better, although he still sounds stuffy and his voice is scratchy. He has gotten some time off so that he and #2 Son can go back up to Kansas to get the remainder of his property out of storage.

Bigger Girl has been pondering the question, "What if it turns out G-d is an alien from another planet who just wanted to see what would happen if he set a bunch of naked apes loose on a planet?" and is writing reviews of art films for a website. She is currently working on one about art films that are so bad they should never have been made. "Mom, I have to warn people away from these!" she says.

Little Girl has gotten her first set of grades from school, and is making all As and Bs. She and a friend are having a reading contest, and she has decided she loves riding the bus home (i take her to school in the morning so she won't have to get out there so awfully early).

Speaking of early, why does school now start at 7am? When i was very young, it was 9am, and by the time i was in high school, it was 8am. It's been creeping earlier and earlier, and it certainly doesn't take the teenage biological clock into account. They can barely remember to breathe at that time of the morning!

Brother-in-Law, The Mouth, actually turned down some leftovers yesterday. Will wonders never cease?

Sweetie is in the busy season at work -- football season. He will be "busy from can to can't."

Also, it's amazing to me how, no matter where the university ranks in academics among other schools around the nation, the alumni only donate money if the football team is winning.

And that's about all the news from kitten central right now.

Today is:

Blessed Father Jacques Leval Day -- Mauritius (physician turned priest who lived among and ministered to the poorest of the poor in Mauritius; people of all faiths make a pilgrimage to his tomb today)

Bonza Bottler Day

Chrysanthemum Day or Kiku no Sekku -- Japan

Day of the Victims of Holocaust and of Racial Violence -- Slovakia

Festivity of Our Lady of Aranzazu -- Oñati, Basque

Ganesha Chaturthi -- Hindu (festival to honor the god of prosperity, prudence, and success, Ganesha; local customs and dates can vary, as can official government holiday status)

Independence Day -- Tajikistan

Karasu-zumo -- Kamigamo-jinja Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (a distinctive local festival where the Shinto priests imitate crows)

Liberation Ceremony -- Petange, Luxembourg

Milk-Bathing Festival -- Fairy Calendar

National Boss/Employee Exchange Day -- US (or anyone else who wants to foster understanding between bosses and employees)

National Day -- North Korea

National Sports Day -- Indonesia

National Steak Au Poivre Day

Peddler's Village Scarecrow Competition -- Lahaska, PA (through Oct. 27th, with the big Scarecrow Festival this month on the 21st and 22nd)

Pendleton Round-Up -- Pendleton, OR, US (traditional rodeo with the participation of local Native American tribes; through Saturday)

Pennsylvania RV & Camping Show -- Hershey, PA, US (the largest RV and Camper show in the world, with the first to days for industry only; through Sunday)

St. Giles Fair -- Oxford, England (dates back to 17th century; through tomorrow)

St. Peter Claver's Day (Patron of African missions, inter-racial justice, race relations; Colombia; Lake Charles, LA; Shreveport, LA; Witbank, South Africa; against slavery)

Synaxis of Ss. Joachim and Anna -- Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches

Teddy Bear Day -- internet generated, but since it's so much fun to have one, celebrate your old friend

Wakes Monday -- Abbots Bromely, England; related festival
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance -- Abbots Bromley, UK (a/k/a Antler Dance or Ceremony of the Deermen; uses deer horns from the 11th Century, and a traditional dance, tune, and circuit around the neighboring farms, and includes a fair)

Wienerschnitzel Day

Wonderful Weirdos Day -- we all have a few in our lives, they remind us to be true to ourselves, so thank them today; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Anniversaries Today:

California becomes the 31th US State, 1850

Birthdays Today:

Adam Sandler, 1966
Hugh Grant, 1960
Angela Cartwright, 1952
Michael Keaton, 1951
Billy Preston, 1946
Otis Redding, 1941
Cliff Robertson, 1925
James Hilton, 1900
Colonel Harland Sanders, 1890
Alf Landon, 1887
Leo Tolstoy, 1828
William Bligh, 1754

Today in History:

William I, The Conqueror, dies in a horse riding accident, 1087
The New England colonies declare war on the Wampanoag Tribe, 1675
The first steam engine arrives in the US colonies, 1753
The first recorded black to graduate from a US college, Alexander Lucius Twilight, receives a BA from Middlebury College, 1817
Charles Durant, the first US aeronaut, flies a balloon from Castle Garden, NYC to Perth Amboy, NJ, 1830
The first plate glass photograph is taken by John Herschel, 1839
California becomes the 31st state and the territories of New Mexico and Utah are created, 1850
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is finalized, 1886
Orville Wright makes the first one hour plane flight, 1908
J. Verdrines becomes the first person to fly at over 100mph, 1912
First actual case of a computer bug being found: a moth lodges in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer at Harvard University, 1947
Hurricane Betsy makes its second landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, becoming the first hurricane to do over $1billion in actual unadjusted damages, 1965
The four-day Attica Prison riot begins, 1971
The Palestine Liberation Organization officially recognizes Israel as a legitimate state, 1993
At exactly 01:46:40 UTC, the Unix billenium is reached, marking the beginning of the use of 10-digit Unix timestamps, 2001

The Jalopy, my old Saturn minivan, occasionally doesn't start on the first attempt. This has happened, off and on, for years. It's something i just know happens, but i figured it was simply because it's a temperamental old vehicle.

#2 Son came to me and said, "Mom, Young Jacob looked at Jalopy when I tried to start her, and he thinks she needs a fuel filter."

Since Young Jacob is a person who has worked on cars since he could walk and once replaced the entire wrecked front end of one of his own vehicles, i decided to take her in to the shop and see what's up.

Walking in Monday morning, Kevin smiled at me and said hello, while Lenny greeted me by name and asked, "Whatcha got for me today?"

Possibly the fuel filter, i said. It doesn't always start on the first crank. Yesterday, my #1 Son took 8 attempts to crank it, but this morning, it's fine and has started right up each time.

"Well, let me see, I don't think yours has the replaceable filter," he said. Checking the computer as i grabbed a cup of coffee, he noted, "Saturn minivans are like so many vehicles now, you don't replace the fuel filter, it's a part of the fuel pump and of the whole fuel assembly. The whole thing has to be replaced at once."

Because the auto industry wants to make more money by making you replace more stuff! i noted.

"Well, but I need money! Lots of money!" Lenny was grinning at me.

Yeah, i could stand some, too, i noted drily as i sipped. So, what do we do?

"Didn't you have the fuel service done on it?" he asked. "Let me see."

Yes, i think so, i said. And i also know i went to Dan's shop, where they do the more complicated repairs, and had the whole fuel assembly, tank and all, replaced a couple of years ago when the fuel gauge wouldn't read correctly and we couldn't get the check engine light to go off."

"You have had it all replaced, then, and we serviced the fuel system to clean it out, so my suggestion is to drive it until something really happens. After all, I need money, but I want to get it the right way. If I didn't, I would just reach in your purse when you walk in. If we just start replacing stuff without knowing all that's going on, you could throw a lot of money away and not even get to the real problem."

Thank you, i said, and meant it.

"Any other problems?" he asked.

Well, the service ABS light still comes on once in a while, i said.

"Pish, I'm not worried about your doggone light! It does that, and it's going to do that, and your car is just fine."

Yes, but i'll have to have that light turned off before i get it inspected again in February, i noted.

"No, you don't. A check ABS light on won't fail you on inspection if the person knows what he's doing. A check engine light will, but bring it here and i'll make sure it passes," he grinned at me.

Wow, i didn't know that! i said, amazed.

"An unscrupulous person might tell you that you fail and offer to fix the problem for you, trying to make money, or they might not know what they are doing, but as I said, I need money, but I need to make it the right way."

Okay, well, thank you, i said. If it starts to really have trouble i will bring it back.

"Nice to see you again, come back when it is having a real problem that we can track down and fix," he said as i said good-bye and headed out the door.

It's nice to know a mechanic shop that does your car's body good.

Today is

Dia del Nino -- Honduras (Children's Day)

Harvest Home Nibbling Contest -- Fairy Calendar (Gremlins)

Husker Harvest Days -- Grand Island, NE, US (the largest irrigated working ag show on a permanent site in the US; through Thursday)

National Day -- Gibraltar

Paryushana Parva -- Jain (beginning of the 8 day festival signifying human emergence into a new world of spiritual and moral refinement, and a celebration of the natural qualities of the soul; local observances of the dates can vary)

Rhishi Panchami -- Nepal (continuation of the women's festival, a holiday for Female Employees Only)

Saint George's Caye Day -- Belize (National Day)

Sewing Machine Day -- date of issuance of an early sewing machine patent, to Elias Howe; some sites call this "Sew Be It! Day"

Swap Ideas Day -- Robert L. Birch of Puns Corp wants people to explore ways in which their ideas can be put to work to benefit all humanity and develop incentives to encourage using our creative imaginations

St. Finian's Day (Patron of Ulster, Irland)

St. Nicholas of Tolentino's Day (Patron of animals, baby, dying people, mariners/sailors, sick animals; Albi, Italy; Cabanatuan, Philippines; Guimbai, Philippines; Lambuna, Philippines; Mati, Philippines; Tandag, Philippines; Toentino, Italy)

Teacher's Day -- China

Thimphu Drubchen -- Bhutan (sacred masked dances dedicated to Bhutan's protective spirit; tourists may watch but are strictly prohibited from taking pictures; through the 16th)

TV Dinner Day

World Suicide Prevention Day

Birthdays Today:

Amy Irving, 1953
Joe Perry, 1950
Jose Feliciano, 1945
Charles Kuralt, 1934
Roger Maris, 1934
Arnold Palmer, 1929
Rin Tin Tin, 1918
Fay Wray, 1907
Adele Astaire, 1896
Elsa Schiaparelli, 1890
Ian Fleming, 1888
Isaac Kauffman Funk, 1839
Marie Laveau, 1801

Today in History:

The Battle of Marathon takes places between the forces of the Persian Empire and those of Athens, BC490*
An earthquake known as "The Lesser Judgment Day" hits Istanbul, 1509
John Smith is elected president of Jamestown, Va., Colony Council, 1608
Nathan Hale answers the call of George Washington for a volunteer spy, 1776
Simón Bolívar is named President of Peru, 1823
Elias Howe is granted a patent for the sewing machine, 1846
George Mary Searle discovers the asteroid 55 Pandora, 1858
Lincoln Highway, the first paved coast-to-coast road in the US, opens, 1913
Austria and the Allies sign the Treaty of Saint-Germain recognizing the independence of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, 1919
20 African-American students enter public schools in Alabama, 1963
Hamida Djandoubi, convicted of torture and murder, is the last person to be executed by guillotine in France, 1977
Switzerland, traditionally a neutral country, joins the United Nations, 2002
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, described as the biggest scientific experiment in history is powered up in Geneva, Switzerland, 2008

*actual date disputed, but it was the 9th day of the 9th moon on their calendar

"Mom, there's a problem with the van." #2 Son came in, with Young Jacob.

What, is it not starting? i asked.

"No, it won't shift unless you get out and rehook this one plastic piece under the hood to a metal piece," he answered. "It's a good thing Young Jacob was with me when it happened, he knew just how to rehook it."

"It's not hard, but it is a pain in the neck," Young Jacob added. "My Tahoe used to do that, and your son can show you in the morning how to rehook it so you can drive it. Really, all it takes is to super glue it back on."

Super glue? i noted drily. Yes, i'm going to hold parts of the car together with super glue, and why not? One part of one bumper is held on with Gorilla Tape. (See, i told you she was a Jalopy.)

Well, i continued, Son, you can come with me in the morning to see Kevin and Lenny.

The next morning, i used Bigger Girl's vehicle, Cicero, to drop Little Girl at school, then got #2 Son to show me how to hook up the van so it would shift. He drove Jalopy and i drove Bigger Girl's Cicero, and we went to the shop.

Walking in, i said, It's time for me to bother! as Kevin grinned and Lenny said, "Is it having more trouble starting?"

Nothing like it, i said. Come out here and i'll let my #2 Son show you how it has to be shifted.

Lenny came out, watched the process, and said, "Oh, you need a new shift cable. It shouldn't be too much, let me go look."

Back indoors, i got coffee and he found the part. "The part will run about a hundred, labor about the same, let me call and see if the part is readily available."

As he called, i told Kevin about Young Jacob telling me we could hold it together with super glue. He laughed and said, "Well, he's just trying to save you some money! He's one of those guys who can fix it but not really, right?"

No, i noted, he actually can repair things properly, but he can also rig things when he can't afford to fix them properly. And i can see myself stuck in a parking lot of a store with melting groceries trying to rehook that doggone cable when the super glue fails!

We both laughed, as did one of the mechanics standing nearby. Then Lenny said, "Yes, the part is in stock, with tax and all, it will be a hair over $200."

Okay, i said. It beats out having to dig under the hood every time i want to shift the car.

"That's for sure," Kevin noted.

"We'll call when it's done," Lenny added, and i said good-bye and brought #2 Son home with me in Cicero so Bigger Girl could get to school.

"The super glue might have worked, mom," #2 Son said on the way home, "but I'm sure glad I had Young Jacob with me at the gas station last night when it came unhooked, or I would have had to call you to come with a tow truck late at night."

Well, i wouldn't have had it towed last night, i would have just picked you up and left it to be towed until morning.

"Yeah, it's a big station, they would have let us push it to a far off parking place on the side of the building until morning. But towing is expensive."

Yes, but our insurance reimburses us for towing. The problem, of course, is if you use that too much, your rates go up, so i'm glad we didn't have to do that.

"Me, too. Oh, and I filled it with gas last night, too."

You filled it? Totally? How did you do that?

"Very carefully."

No, i mean how did you afford it?

As i pulled into our driveway, he answered, "Very carefully!" with a grin as he jumped out of the car and ran toward the side door where he enters the house, near his bedroom.

Sarcastic nut! i laughingly yelled at his rapidly disappearing back as i hopped out of the car.

Today is:

Day of Remembrance/Patriot Day -- US (all flags at half staff)

Discontinued Thoughts Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 1, Unity (sponsored by We, the World)

Emergency Number Day/National 911 Emergency Day -- US

Fiesta Nacional de Cataluna -- Catalonia, Spain (National Day of Catalonia)

Jinnah Day -- Pakistan (Founder's Day)

Libraries Remember Day -- encouraging libraries, which preserve knowledge and heritage, promote tolerance, and represent all that is the antithesis to terrorism, to remain open the entire 24 hours of this day as symbol of freedom, tolerance, and hope

Make Your Bed Day -- make your mom happy!

National Championship Air Races -- Reno, NV, US (through Sunday)

National Day of Service and Remembrance -- US

National Hot Cross Buns Day

Nayrouz -- Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic new year and day of confessors) related observances
Enkutatash -- Ethiopia
Keddus Johannes -- Eritrea (a/k/a Geez New Year)

No News is Good News Day

Pohnpei Liberation Day -- Micronesia

Queen Paola's Birthday -- Belgium (an official flag day)

Sacrifice to Zeus Epoptes -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

St. Sperandea's`Day (Patron of Cingoli, Italy)

St. Vincent of Leon' Day (Patron of Cercemaggiore, Italy)

Teacher's Day -- Argentina

Anniversaries Today:

Diocletian New Year

Remembrance of 9/11/2001

Birthdays Today:

Harry Connick, Jr. 1967
Kristy McNichol, 1962
Lola Falana, 1943
Tom Dreesen, 1942
Brian DePalma, 1940
Paul "Bear" Bryant, 1913
D.H. Lawrence, 1885
O. Henry, 1862

Today in History:

Battle of Teutoburg Forest ends, 9
Michimalonko leads indigenous warriors to attack and destroy Santiago, Chile, 1541
Alexander Hamilton is appointed first US Secretary of the Treasury, 1789
The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house used to store them, 1792
Stephen Foster's well-known song, Oh! Susanna, is first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1847
Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale", gives her first US concert, 1850
The Olympia Columbian becomes the first newspaper published north of the Columbia River, 1852
The postal mail chute is patenteted by James Cutler, 1883
Mahatma Gandhi coins the term "Satyagraha" to characterize the Non-Violence movement in South Africa, 1906
The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11, 1916
Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state, 1961
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel meet at Camp David and agree on the Camp David Accords, 1978
Hungary announces that East German refugees there are free to leave for West Germany, 1989
Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates Hawaii, especially the islands of Kauai and Oahu, 1992
September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, 2001
The State of Israel claims completion for its unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip, 2005
Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of all bombs, 2007

Usually i only post my annual PSA about getting your health screenings once a year.

This year, i'm going to reiterate because of some test results.

Tuesday, i hadn't yet heard anything, and was going to call my M.D. in the afternoon. Then i got a call from the hospital where my tests, a mammogram and a bone density scan were done.

The nice lady noted that there was something in one of the mammogram pictures that the radiologist wanted a better look at, something that wasn't there the year before.

She asked when i could come in, and i told her i could be there Wednesday if they had an opening. They did, at 8:30am. Being a morning person, i jumped on it.

This time, she took 3 separate shots, from different angles than before. Instead of having to then go home and wait for a call, i was instructed to wait in the mammography room in case another shot was needed.

About 5 minutes after she finished and left the room, she came back and said, "The radiologist says it's all clear, just a bit of benign calcification, we will see you again in a year."

Phew.

She added, "The radiologist will send the report to your doctor in the morning."

Since my doctor's office is in this particular hospital, and i still had no clue about the results of the bone scan, i decided to just go upstairs and let them know myself, and ask about the other test.

Walking in, i told the receptionist what i was there for, and she said, "Oh, thank goodness for that, and I'm glad you are here. I was just looking at your bone scan results, you do have a tiny bit of bone loss, and the doctor wants you to make an appointment to discuss what you can do now to take care of it. When would you like to come in?"

Well, i told her, my thyroid test is due in October again, so how about i come in and do that and talk to him the same day?

"Sounds great, how does October 3rd sound? At 10:30am."

It sounded fine to me, so that's when i will go in.

So, now i have a drum to beat. Please, please don't put off regular tests. If i hadn't been going regularly for mammograms, or "getting the twins their glamor shots" as i like to jokingly say, but just put off such things indefinitely, or not taken my doc seriously about the bone density scan, these are things that could have been missed.

Go get your tests, and repeat them regularly as your doctor tells you. There's a good reason. It can save you a world of worry to catch things early.

Today is:

Aloha Festivals Royal Court Investiture and Opening Ceremonies -- Oahu, Hawai'i, US (opening events of the Aloha Festivals, a month long series of free events on every Island celebrating Hawai'ian culture)

Amilcar Cabral's Birthday/National Day -- Guinea Bissau

Anvil Mountain 59 Minute 37 Second Challenge -- Nome, AK, US (starting gun sounds at 7 pm, and the course begins at the base of Anvil Mountain, goes uphill then back down via a gravel road, with the challenge being to do it in less than the time allotted)

Defender's Day -- Maryland, US (marking the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, which event inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner", current national anthem of the US)

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 2, Interdependence (sponsored by We, the World)

Feast of San Gennaro -- New York, NY, US (an 11 day street fair centered around Little Italy and its Patron Saint, Gennaro, whose feast day is the 19th; includes a Mass and parading of the Saint's statue on the final Saturday of the celebrations)

Gahambar Paitishahem -- Zoroastrian Calendar (four day feast of bringing in the harvest, dates approximate)

Hummer/Bird Celebration -- Rockport and Fulton, TX, US (ruby-throated hummingbirds and other avians are the stars of this show; through Sunday)

National Chocolate Milkshake Day

National Day of Encouragement -- US (no matter where you live, encourage someone today)

National Day of the Working Parent -- US (can't find a sponsor, but it's listed on several sites as the 2nd Thursday of September)

Newport International Boat Show -- Newport, RI, US (through Sunday)

Stop A Suicide Today 2013 -- information here

St. Alibe's Day (Patron of wolves; Cashel, Ireland; Emly, Ireland; Munster, Ireland)

St. Guy's Day (Patron of bachelors, epileptics, horned animals, laborers, sacristans, sextons, work horses; for protection of outbuildings, sheds, and stables; Anderlecht, Belgium; against epilepsy, hydrphobia/rabies, infantile convulsions, and rabid dogs)

Video Games Day -- an unofficially declared day for kids to thank their parents for indulging their love of games

Anniversaries Today:

Elizabeth Barret and Robert Browning elope, 1846

Birthdays Today:

Yao Ming, 1980
Rachel Ward, 1957
Gerry Beckley, 1952
Barry White, 1952
Maria Muldaur, 1943
Linda Gray, 1940
George Jones, 1931
Dickie Moore, 1925
Irene Dailey, 1920
Jesse Owens, 1913
Ben Blue, 1901
Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. 1892
Maurice Chevalier, 1888
H.L. Mencken, 1880

Today in History:

Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen, 1609
The first submarine is tested in London, 1624
Turkish troops besieging Vienna are overthrown after 2 months by Poland's King Sobieski, 1683
First Black Masons Lodge is formed, 1787
Switzerland becomes a Federal State, 1848
The "Cleopatra Needle" is installed in London, 1878
Charles Leroux, world famous parachutist with 238 successful jumps, perishes in his attempted jump in the Bay of Reval, 1889
The world's first female police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, is appointed by the LAPD, 1910
Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France, 1940
Jack Kilby demonstrates the first integrated circuit, 1958
Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly-scheduled TV program presented in color, 1959
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup, 1974
Indonesia is hit with an 8.1 earthquake, 1979
Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica, 1988
Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, 2005

Our family goes through a ton of onions, more or less.

Onions in the cast iron skillet.

As i was cutting and cooking these, Little Girl came in and asked, "Mom, what if the reason we cry when we cut onions is because the onions had enslaved humans at one time, and now, when we cut them, we have traumatic subconscious memories about it?"

Or maybe this is their revenge on us for eating them? i suggested.

Either way, here's to onions

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

Today is:

Bennington Car Show -- Bennington, VT, US (woodies and muscle cars, antique motorcycles and tractor farm machinery; through Sunday)

Big E -- West Springfield, MA, US (one of New England's largest fairs; through the 29th)

Blame Someone Else Day -- always celebrated on the first Friday the 13th of the year; supposedly begun by Anne Moeller of Clio, Michigan on the first Friday the 13th of 1982, when her alarm didn't go off and she ran behind all day, spreading the blame

Cherokee Strip Days -- Enid, Oklahoma (parade that includes Longhorn steers, arts and crafts, food, and gunfight reenactments; through tomorrow)

Defy Superstition Day -- go walk under that ladder!

Dia de los Ninos Heroes -- Mexico

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 3, Environment (sponsored by We, the World)

Epulum Iovis and Lectisternia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva

Festival of Lighting the Fires of Neith -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fortune Cookie Day -- you might need one after that ladder stunt

Goroka Show -- Goroka, Papua New Guinea (a cultural festival and showcase of over 100 clans and tribes and their customs; through Sunday)

Harrogate Autumn Flower Show -- Harrogate, England (Britains finest blooms show off; through Sunday)

Independence Day -- Venda (recognized within South Africa only)

International Chocolate Day -- as declared by the National Confectioners Association

King Turkey Day -- Worthington, MN, US (includes a turkey race; through tomorrow)

Morton Pumpkin Festival -- Morton, IL, US (the Pumpkin Capital of the World; through Sunday)

Programmers Day -- Russia, and among programmers around the world (on the 256th day of the year)
some sites call this "Thank a Programmer Day"

National Celiac Awareness Day -- US

National Peanut Day

Positive Thinking Day -- think positively that nothing bad will happen because of that ladder!

Runic Half Month Ken begins (illumination)

Snack-A-Pickle Time

St. John Chrysostrom's Day (Patron of education, epileptics, lecturers, orators, preachers; Constantinople)

Summerset Festival -- Clement Park, Littletn, CO, US (a big, fun good-bye to summer; through Sunday)

Telluride Blues and Brews Festival -- Telluride, CO, US (nationally touring bands and microbreweries make for a fun weekend; through Sunday)

Wo-Zha-Wa Days Fall Festival -- Wisconsin Dells, WI (fall festival; through Sunday)

Yom Kippur -- Judaism (begins at sundown)

Birthdays Today:

Ben Savage, 1980
Tavis Smiley, 1964
Jean Smart, 1959
Nell Carter, 1948
Jacqueline Bisset, 1944
Bela Karolyi, 1942
David Clayton-Thomas, 1941
Judith "Miss Manners" Martin, 1938
Mel Torme, 1925
Roald Dahl, 1916
Claudette Colbert, 1903
John J. Pershing, 1860
Milton Hershey, 1857
Walter Reed, 1851
Clara Schumann, 1819
Cesare Borgia, 1475

Today in History:

The temple of Jupiter on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September, BC509
Building begins on Hadrian's Wall, 122
St. Francis of Assisi receives stigmata, 1224
Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David, 1503
Henry Hudson reached the river that would later be named after him, 1609
NYC becomes the first capital of the US, 1788
US Government takes out its first loan from NYC banks, 1789
Six teenage military cadets known as Niños Héroes die defending Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec, 1847
Vermont railroad worker Phineas Gage incredibly survives a 3-foot-plus iron rod being driven through his head; the reported effects on his behavior and personality stimulate thinking about the nature of the brain and its functions, 1848
Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film, 1898
Lusitania completes her maiden voyage, arriving in NYC, 1907
The temperature (in the shade) at Al 'Aziziyah, Libya reaches a world record 57.8*C (136.04*F), 1922
Elizabeth McCombs is the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament, 1933
Chiang Kai-shek elected president of the Republic of China, 1943
IBM introduces the first computer disk storage unit, the RAMAC 305, 1956
Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane, based on barometric pressure, in the Western Hemisphere, 1988*
Largest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu, 1989
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted, 2007
Hurricane Ike makes landfall, damaging Galveston Island, Houston, and surrounding area, 2007

*Replaced by Hurricane Wilma in 2005

It seems the biggest, hottest trend in south Louisiana's current attempts to get traffic moving is to build roundabouts or traffic circles. (No, our traffic isn't all that bad when compared to, say, L.A., but that doesn't help when the interstate is turned into a parking lot again, or there's one big accident in town and every other street slows because it's a major throughway, and everyone has to go around.)

They seem to be popping up all over, and wouldn't you know it, the people here just aren't quite sure what to do with them.

They aren't that difficult, but some people are stopping to get their bearings, or missing their turn off and having to go around and around until they figure out which side is what.

And then we wonder why our car insurance rates are so high. But anyway. One man who travels through the four lane traffic circle in a city a couple of hours north of here says he's always in the wrong lane when he needs to get off, and can't get over. His wife just tells him he's a lousy driver, but they've been married for over 40 years, and she's always teasing him. At least, i think she's teasing about that.

Speaking of going around, ringworm is going around again, with kittens. The shelter now has 10 cases, and i'm battling the fungus among us here, hoping it clears up soon. My current weapons are bleach water (6 parts water to one part bleach), grapefruit seed extract (50 drops in a quart of water), and apple cider vinegar. If i hit them with all 3, i figure, sooner or later something will clear it up.

Little Girl is excited about the news now going around that J.K. Rowling is going to make her book Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them into a movie. She says Rowling is taking control of it, writing, directing, and making sure it gets done the way she wants. If that's so, i have to say i admire her, as such a thing would drive me around the bend.

And rumor around the SEC has it that a poll was taken among Alabama football fans, asking them which away game in 2014 (next season, not the current one being played) they are looking forward to the most. Their answers supposedly broke down as follows:
Virginia Tech 7%
Ole Miss 6%
Arkansas 1%
Tennessee 7%
LSU 79%

Can we safely say that Alabama fans like coming to Louisiana?

Have a great Saturday, everyone, whether you hang around the house, or whatever you do.

Today is:

Aloha Festivals Keiki Ho'olaule'a -- Oahu, Hawai'i, US (preserving Hawai'ian culture, with games, keiki activities, performances, and more)

Battle of San Jacinto Day -- Nicaragua

Big Mac Shoreline Fall Scenic Bike Tour & Ride Across The Mackinac Bridge -- Mackinaw City, MI, US (a one-of-a-kind bike tour; through tomorrow)

Flax Scutching Festival -- Stahlstown, PA, US (through tomorrow; demonstrations of the tradition of making linen out of flax)

Cochabamba Day -- Cochabamba, Bolivia

Eat a Hoagie Day

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 4, Economic Justice (sponsored by We, the World)

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross/Elevation of the Life Giving Cross/Holy Cross Day -- Christian

Festivals and Matsuri of Japan -- several throughout Japan, today and for the next several, most as harvest festivals or traditional horseback archery rituals)
including the O Sannomiya Autumn Festival, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Festival, Tono Matsuri, Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, Tsurugaoka-hachimangu Reitasai, Yachi Donga Festival, and Furusato Hyappei Festival

Hug a Crabby Stranger Day -- okay, as long as i don't end up on the evening news

International Drive Your Studebaker Day -- an official event of the Studebaker Drivers Club Inc. (wish i could!)

National Cream-Filled Doughnut Day

National Iguana Awareness Day 2013

Nutting Day -- British Isles tradition, the hazelnuts are supposed to be perfectly ripe on this day

On the Waterfront Swap Meet and Car Show -- St. Ignace, MI, US (with a car show, truck show, toy show, and swap meet, there's something for everyone! through tomorrow)

Pilgrimage to the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln -- Switzerland

St. Notburga's Day (Patron of agricultural workers, husbandmen, peasants, restaurant servers)

Thimphu Tsechu -- Thimphu, Bhutan (Drukpa Buddhism festival; through Monday)

Unclear Ideas Display -- Fairy Calendar (Imps celebration)

Yom Kippur -- Judaism (began sundown yesterday, ends sundown today)

Birthdays Today:

Wendy Thomas, 1961 (Namesake of Wendy's Hamburgers)
Sam Neill, 1947
Joey Heatherton, 1944
Nicol Williamson, 1938
Walter Koenig, 1936
Harve Presnell, 1933
Clayton Moore, 1914
Ivan Pallov, 1849

Today in History:

Domitian becomes emperor of Rome upon the death of his brother Titus, 81
Harun al-Rashid beomes Abbasid Caliph upon the death of his brother, al-Hadi, 786
The first lighthouse in the US, in Boston, is lit, 1716
George Frederick Handel finishes "Messiah" oratorio, after working on it non-stop for 23 days, 1741
Napoleon occupies Moscow; fires begin that will not be fully extinguished for 5 days, 1812
Francis Scott Key witnesses the battle which inspires him to write "The Defense of Fort McHenry", later retitled "The Star Spangled Banner", 1814
George K Anderson of Memphis, Tennessee patents typewriter ribbon, 1886
President of the United States William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt, 1901
Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City, 1948
The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it, 1959
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded, 1960
The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is canonized by Pope Paul VI, 1975
President-elect of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated, 1982
Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a hot air balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean, 1984
The Toronto Blue Jays set a record for the most home runs in a single game, belting 10 of them, 1987
Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations, 1999
Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks; a similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital, 2001
In a referendum, Estonia approves joining the European Union, 2003

"Is there any way someone there could come pick me up? My doctor finally called in another prescription, and I was going to go pick it up, and I stopped at the dog park with PepperJack, and we were leaving to get the prescription and go home, and my tire is flat, so I walked to O'Reilly Auto Parts and left them my phone, which is why you don't have this number, someone else is letting me borrow theirs, but since I left them my phone they let me carry an air compressor back over here, but it didn't fill the tire up enough, so I'm going to walk back up there and give them the compressor and could someone pick me up from there and help me get my prescription and get back home? I can come back for my car tomorrow."

How Miss Lizzy manages to speak without breathing like that flummoxes me sometimes. Anyway, Bigger Girl and i got in Cicero (#2 Son had Jalopy), and we headed out to to rescue her.

We actually arrived just as she sent me a text saying she was there, and she climbed in the back with the dog.

"Thank you so much!" she said. "My prescription is at the 24 Hour Walgreens. Do you know where that one is?"

Yes, i said, and headed over as Bigger Girl asked her what was up with the car.

"Well, ever since the accident, I think the wheels are out of alignment, and so the front tire was losing air. But it wasn't losing much, and so I waited until late afternoon, when the pavement is cooler because the sun is going down, to come out here. It got me to the dog park, and looked fine, but when I tried to fill it with the air compressor, I could hear the air leaking out almost as fast as the compressor was pumping it in. Besides, you see how torn up this road is with the construction, I realized that if it went all the way flat on this road, I'd be in big trouble. So I'd rather deal with it tomorrow, during daylight."

That makes sense, i noted. We pulled in to the 24 Hour Walgreens and i decided that, rather than have PepperJack howl at us if he was left in the car with me and Bigger Girl, we would just use the drive-up window.

Driving her back to her apartment, Bigger Girl asked her, "Do you still want me to come over tomorrow and help you with some cleaning?"

"Yes, please," she said. "And because of the tire, I can't grocery shop like I was going to, so we might have to do that first, so I can make you the dinner I promised."

We dropped her off, and Bigger Girl did help her the next evening.

Two days later, Miss Lizzie called again. This time, it was for a ride to the ER. After two months of arguing with doctors and multiple trips to the ER and more arguing with doctors, they did a CAT scan and figured out what is wrong. She's been telling them all along, but they wouldn't believe her.

So Bigger Girl took her to the ER, came home for a few hours of sleep (why do these things always happen in the middle of the night?), and went back to pick her up and take her home. This time, she went home with the correct prescriptions so she can get over the infection she's been telling them she has.

"Mom, I think she's an example of what happens when survivalists intermarry with white trash!" Bigger Girl told me after that episode. "Remind me to never adopt a person again."

Duly noted and logged.

Today is:

Arts/Quincy Riverfest -- Quincy, IL, US (celebrating art, the Mighty Mississippi River, and riverfront parks)

Battle of Britain Day -- UK

Biosphere Day -- Noosaville, Australia

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 5, Health (sponsored by We, the World)

Engineer's Day -- India

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa) related observances
Grito de Dolores -- Mexico (Cry of Dolores,a/k/a Father Hidalgo's Cry for Freedom Day, the evening before Independence Day)
Virgin Mary of the Seven Sorrows Day -- Slovakia

Felt Hat Day (Traditional day upon which men started to wear their winter felt hats, similar to women beginning to wear white shoes on Memorial Day)

Independence Day -- Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua (all in 1821)

International Day of Democracy -- UN

Make a Hat Day -- just for fun (and if you are a guy, make a felt hat)

National Back to Church Sunday -- US (encouraging every church goer to invite just one person to come along, as studies show many people say they would go, if they were invited)

National Creme de Menthe Day

National Hispanic Heritage Month -- US, through Oct. 15

National Linguine Day

National Neighborhood Day -- US

National Women's Friendship Day 2013 -- always on the third Sunday of Septemberto encourage women to celebrate their bonds with friends as per Kappa Delta Sorority which started it; motto of the day is "Men come and go, but girlfriends are forever...and they're really handy at mocking the men who go."

Really Bad Ideas Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar (Gremlins celebration)

Restoration of Primorska to the Motherland Day -- Slovenia

Silpa Bhirasri Day -- Thailand

St. Catherine of Genoa's Day (Patron of brides, childless people, people in difficult marriages, people ridiculed for their piety, victims of adultery and unfaithfulness, widows; against adultery and temptation)

Wife Appreciation Day -- unofficially celebrated the 3rd Sunday in September

Birthdays Today:

Prince Harry, 1984
Dan Marino, 1961
Tommy Lee Jones, 1946
Oliver Stone, 1946
Merlin Olsen, 1940
Jackie Cooper, 1922
Fay Wray, 1907
Roy Acuff, 1903
Agatha Christie, 1890
Robert Benchley, 1889
William H. Taft, 1857
James Fenimore Cooper, 1789
François de La Rochefoucauld, 1613
Marco Polo, 1254

Today in History:

The first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy, 1616
The French army under Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow, 1812
The first Negro National Convention begins in Philadelphia, 1830
The locomotive John Bull operates for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad, 1831*
HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands, 1835
Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell becomes the first woman in the US to be ordained a minister (Congregationalist), 1853
Timothy Alder patents the typesetting machine, 1857
RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube, 1947
United Nations gives Eritrea to Ethiopia, 1952
The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
*The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C., 1981
Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations, 1981
Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, 2008

My parents have smart phones. When they ask me why i don't, i tell them it's because i already have teens, i don't need anything else in the house that is smarter than i am.

Their own smart phone acquisition has put us in a position where i now get text messages from my parents, of all people. Email is one thing, but texting is something i never thought i'd associate with them.

Yesterday, i got a text saying they would be in town, visiting a friend who is in hospice, and would we like to go out to eat after. Upon asking the children, they said absolutely, and Sweetie is always up for a big meal, so i told him yes, and we made arrangements to meet at the restaurant.

That's one thing i love about my kids, they love to drop everything else and spend time with their grandparents, even now well into their teen years. They see their grandparents as cool. (So do i, by the way.)

Once they arrived in town, my mom wanted to ask a few things, so she inexplicably called me on my landline. For all she is so tech savvy, she hasn't figured out yet that my landline serves only two purposes -- a way to dial 911 if we have to, because it can be instantly traced and get help quickly, even if we can't communicate, and a phone number to give anyone who wants it for sales call purposes.

We don't answer it, most of the time, and because the phone itself is ancient and the battery almost defunct, it barely functions. We listen to the messages, which are mostly hang ups and sales pitches and notices from the pharmacy that a prescription is ready. Despite how hard it was for me to hear her on it, with me continually having to ask her to repeat herself because of the static, it still took me five minutes to convince her to call me on my mobile.

Anyway, she finally did and they were running a bit late, so we left later than we had planned. We still got to the restaurant almost 30 minutes ahead of them.

When they arrived, we all got up and gave hugs, and sat down to await the appetizers we had already ordered. Then i asked how the friend, who is someone i also know, was doing.

"He was doing great today!" my father noted. "The family has not allowed visitors at all, because he's been asleep or totally out of it for days, but yesterday they called and asked us to come. He was up and talking, and the whole family was there. His son, his grandson, you know, the one who will be running for congress, all of them. They were thrilled that we got to spend time with him."

That's fabulous, i noted. He is probably what the old Scot highlanders from many years past called "fey," where the soul gathers itself one last time, to burn brightly before moving on.

"Yes, I saw that many times working with hospice," my father said. "Someone is sick and you think they won't make it another day, then they get up and party, making you think they are getting better. Then they die the next day."

"That's how it often happens," Sweetie noted.

"Well, it's why we were late," my mother added. "They didn't want us to go, and I do wish we could have stayed longer. It was good to see all of them."

"Did you know he is a painter?" my father asked. "He was very talented, and he gave me one of his original artworks, and signed it for me. I have it in the car, I want to show it to you before you go."

From there, the topics moved on to the usual, how the kids are doing in school, what the football team is doing, how the fall is shaping up, and whether or not it's any use for any team to play against Alabama, or should everyone just give them the championship now and go home. The talk on such occasions ranges, and is "of shoes and ships and sealing wax, and cabbages and kings." The kind of conversation where you don't remember all of it later, but you know it was good.

It was a nice way to end the weekend, an unexpected and most enjoyable gathering with family.

Today is:

Anne Bradstreet Day -- Massachusetts, US (by Proclamation of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to honor Anne Bradstreet, America’s first poet, who is also recognized as the first published woman poet in the English language)

Cherokee Strip Day -- Oklahoma, US (anniversary of the last land run, in 1893, which opened Native American land to white settlers)

Collect Rocks Day -- i guess it means besides all the ones in my head

Crown Prince's Birthday -- Tonga

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 6, Children & Youth (sponsored by We, the World)

Festival for Ra, Osiris, and Horus -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Independence Day -- Malaysia(1963); Mexico(1910); Nicaragua; Papua New Guinea(1975)

Indra Jatra -- Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (the biggest religious street festival in Kathmandu, includes chariot processions, masked dances, and tableau; through the 23rd, with Wednesday being an official municipal holiday)

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer -- UN (commemorates the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer)

International Love Your Files Week -- the week to make sure your filing system is working for you

Keiro no hi -- Japan (Respect for the Aged Day)

Martyrs' Day -- Libya

Mayflower Day -- the ship left England on this day in 1620

National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day
we

National Guacamole Day

National Heroes' Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis

National Play-Doh Day -- unofficial; get some anyway and be a kid again for a little while

National Stepfamily Day -- unofficial, but with so many families being "step" these days, it's not a bad idea

Onam Festival -- Kerala, India (most important day of the gala celebrating the legendary King Maveli, although some celebrations continue through the 18th)

Owain Glyndwr Day -- Wales

Samvatsari -- Jain (final and most important day of the Paryushana Parva, the day focused on forgiveness)

St. Cornelius' Day (Patron of cattle, domestic animals, earache sufferers, epileptics; Kornelimunster, Germany;against earache, epilepsy, fever, twitching )

St. Cyprian of Carthage's Day (Patron of Algeria, North Africa)

St. Euphemia's Day (Patron of Rovinj, Croatia)

St. Ludmilla's Day (Grandmother of St. "Good King" Winceslaus; Patron of converts, duchesses, widows; Bohemia; Czech Republic; against in-law problems)

Stepfamily Day -- US and others who choose to recognize it (if you have stepfamily you love, celebrate it wherever you live)

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

Working Parents Day -- internet generated, enjoy if you are a working parent or have a working parent you want to thank

Birthdays Today:

Marc Anthony, 1968
Jennifer Tilly, 1961
David Copperfield, 1956
Mickey Rourke, 1956
Robin Yount, 1955
Ed Begley, Jr., 1949
Peter Falk, 1927
B.B. King, 1925
Lauren Bacall, 1924
Allen Funt, 1914
James Cash Penney, 1875
Hildegard of Bingen, 1098

Today in History:

The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changes its name to Boston, 1630
Handel's "The Messiah" premiers in Dublin, 1741
The Great Seal of the United States is used for the first time, 1782
Russians set fire to Moscow shortly after midnight – the city burns down completely days later, 1812
Slavery is abolished in all French Territories, 1848
The Cherokee Strip, in Oklahoma, is opened, making land available to white settlers, 1893
Roald Amundsen discovers the magnetic south pole, 1906
William Durant, carriage-maker, founds General Motors Corp., 1908
Juan Perón is deposed in Argentina, 1955
Malaysia is formed, 1963
Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe join the United Nations, 1975
Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from the trolleybus that had fallen into Erevan reservoir, 1976
An earthquake measuring 7.5-7.9 on the Richter scale hits the city of Tabas, Iran killing about 25,000 people, 1978
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the United Nations, 1980
The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion, 1987
The Pound Sterling is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and is forced to devalue against the German mark, 1992
Denmark elects its first female Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, 2011

There's a rumor going around that women don't like spiders. At least, that's what i read at The Chubby Chatterbox.

Well, actually, i am an arachnophile. In this house, we go out of our way to protect spiders, make sure we keep the friendly kind around so they can keep the bug population down, and Little Girl pointed out a great web in our palm plant the other day.

While i'm not sure what kind of spider made that, it's a really fabulous design.

This next picture may be a bit scary if you don't like spiders. which is why i didn't lead off with it. It's not a good shot, but it's a spider that's been taxidermied, in a plastic bag. The girls argue over whose property it is.

SpiderBro'

They named him SpiderBro' and he measures 8 inches from front leg tip to back leg tip. He is often used to spook other people, but around here, no one thinks twice when he shows up in all sorts of places.

No one thinks twice before rescuing a spider and taking it outdoors, either. We like our 8 legged friends, and let them hang around and do their thing, which is catching the nasty flies and skeeters.

Today is:

Autumn Equinox Festival at Chichen Itza -- beginning today, thousands will gather for the amazing play of light and shadow each evening at sunset (through the 27th)

Birthday of Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala -- Tonga

Citizenship Day -- US

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 7, Women (sponsored by We, the World)

Feast of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fundacion de Melilla -- ML, Spain

Kentucky Bourbon Festival -- Bardstown, KY, US (self explanatory; through Sunday)

National Apple Dumpling Day

National Heroes Day -- Angola

Niketeria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Opening of Parliament -- Netherlands (holiday in The Hague)related observance
Prinsjesdag -- Netherlands (technically translates "Prince's Day;" the day Parliament opens and the reigning sovereign, now Queen Beatrix, gives the Speech from the Throne and the Minister of Finance proposes next year's budget)

Operation Market Garden Remembrance -- Netherlands

Pledge Across America Day -- US (beginning of Constitution Week)

Return of Kelp-Koli Celebration -- Fairy Calendar (under duress, of course)

Stigmata of St. Francis' Day

St. Hildegard von Bingen's Day (author of treatises on natural healing and the first musical composer whose biography is known)

St. Lambert's Day (Patron of Middelaar, Netherlands)

VFW Ladies Auxiliary Day -- anniversary of founding in 1914

Anniversary Today:

The Constitution of the United States is signed, 1787
American Professional Football League (later the NFL) founded (a/k/a the Swallowing Up of Weekends), 1920

Birthdays Today:

Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, 1951
John Ritter, 1948
Ken Kesey, 1935
Anne Bancroft, 1931
Roddy McDowall, 1928
Hank Williams Sr., 1923
Jerry Colonna, 1904
John Willard Marriot, 1900
Baron Friedrich Von Steuben, 1730

Today in History:

The Battle of Thermopylae, fought between 300 Spartans, led by their king, Leonidas, and the Achaemenid Empire begins, BC480
Arabs conquer Alexandria, and destroy its library for the last time, 642
Netherland sailors discover Mauritus, 1598
Massachusetts Bay Colony gets a new charter, 1691
Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain, 1776
US Constitution is adopted by the Philadelphia convention, 1787
Sprinkler system for extinguishing fires is patented by Phillip W. Pratt, 1872
The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes killing Selfridge, who becomes the first airplane fatality, 1908
The first transcontinental airplane flight, from New York to Pasadena, is completed after 82 hours 4 minutes, 1911
The Okeechobee Hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing upwards
of 2,500 people, the third deadliest natural disaster in United States history, behind the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, 1928
The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives, 1949
Television is first broadcast in Australia, 1956
Malaysia joins the United Nations, 1957
Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations, 1974
The first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, is unveiled by NASA, 1976
The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt, 1978
Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America, 1983
Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations, 1991
The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet, 1991
Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the long-dormant volcano in at least 10,000 years, 2006

#1 Son is mostly over his illness.

He has passed it to his siblings. And to think, when he was very little, he really didn't like to share.

Right now i have 3 young people in the house who can do nothing but sniffle, sneeze, snort, and sigh despondently about how much they hate that their brother gave them this. Their suffering is very alliterative, no?

The girls are especially upset, as it is #2 Son who spend so much time at #1 Son's house that he brought this creeping crud home to them.

The medicine cabinet is now full of acetaminophen, guaifenesin, ibuprofen, dextromethorphan, and the biggest bag of sore throat/cough drops with menthol the pharmacy had. They all attack the medicine cabinet every few hours, and someone is hoarding the paper towels.

Only comfort foods are being consumed right now, and they keep asking for candy. It's as if they are all 5-years-old again.

So i have been dispensing dosing advice and making soup in between treating kittens for various things and feeding the lot of them, and they can eat a good bit.

A couple of the kittens are now sneezing, too, and one is so stuffy he won't eat, so i'm using saline drops to try to get them to sneeze it all out and get over it. It's not fun having to force feed a kitten whose nose is so stuffy he doesn't want to suck on the bottle. It's not fun having to give fluids by needle, either, but i do that as well. If you can keep them alive until the nose unstuffs, they go back to eating and do just fine.

The good thing is, it can't all last forever. They have to get well sometime, and i just hope it's before i end up sick -- driven to insanity type of sick, of course. Moms aren't allowed to get any other kind.

Today is:

Ear Wig Fitting Day -- Fairy Calendar

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 8, Human Rights (sponsored by We, the World)

Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally -- Ruidoso, NM, US (trade show, bike shows, riding tours, skills event, stunt show, parade, and fun; through Sunday)

Hug a Greeting Card Writer Day -- they are generally anonymous, often underappreciated, so today, give one a hug! (if you know any, that is)

Independence Day -- Chile

Indra Jatra -- Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (municipal day off for the festival)

National Cheeseburger Day

National Guitar Flat-Picking Championships and Walnut Valley Festival -- Winfield, KS, US (through Sunday)

National Respect! Day(sm) -- US (encouraging abused women to respect themselves enough to get out)

National School Backpack Awareness Day 2013 -- US (or anywhere else that you want to weigh your child's backpack on the 3rd Wednesday of September, to make sure it's not heavy enough to hurt them)

Plataia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

St. Joseph of Cupertino's Day (Levitating saint, and so Patron of air crews, air travelers, astronauts, paratroopers, pilots/aviators, students, test takers; Cupertino, Italy)

Sukkot -- Judaism (begins at sundown, through sundown the 25th)

World Water Monitoring Day -- International

Anniversaries Today:

Hull House opens, 1889
Constantine II of Greece marries Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, 1964

Birthdays Today:

Lance Armstrong, 1971
James Gandolfini, 1961
Ryne Sandberg, 1959
Frankie Avalon, 1939
Robert Blake, 1933
June Foray, 1920
Jack Warden, 1920
Greta Garbo, 1905
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, 1905
Samuel Johnson, 1709
Marcus Ulpius Nerva Trajanus, Emperor Trajan, 53

Today in History:

Christopher Columbus lands at Costa Rica on his 4th and final voyage, 1502
Ft. Ticonderoga, NY opens, 1755
The British capture Quebec City, 1759
John Harris builds the first spinet piano in the US, 1769
President Washington lays the cornerstone of the Capitol Building, 1793
Royal Opera House in London opens, 1809
A horse beats the first US made locomotive, near Baltimore, 1830
Tiffany and Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City; the store is called a "stationery and fancy goods emporium", 1837
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is first published, 1842
First publication of The New-York Daily Times, which later becomes The New York Times, 1851
Old Faithful Geyser is observed and named by Henry D. Washburn during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition to Yellowstone, 1870
The banking firm of Jay Cooke & Co. in Philadelphia declares bankruptcy, which starts the Panic of 1873 and a severe economic depression, 1873
The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time, 1879
Riots break out in Montreal to protest against compulsory smallpox vaccination, 1885
In appreciation for all she had done for the tribe, Harriet Maxwell Converse, adopted as a member of the Seneca tribe, is made a chief of the Six Nations Tribe at the Tonawanda Reservation, 1891
Daniel David Palmer gives the first chiropractic adjustment, 1895
A typhoon with tsunami kills an estimated 10,000 people in Hong Kong, 1906
The Irish Home Rule Act becomes law, but is delayed until after World War I, 1914
The Netherlands gives women the right to vote, 1919
The Columbia Broadcasting System goes on the air, 1927
Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro crossing of the English Channel, 1928
Margaret Chase Smith of Maine becomes the first woman elected to the US Senate without completing another senator's term, 1948
Fidel Castro arrives in New York City as the head of the Cuban delegation to the United Nations, 1960
U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dies in a plane crash, 1961
Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda and Trinidad and Tobago are admitted to the United Nations, 1962
The Bahamas, East Germany and West Germany are admitted to the United Nations, 1973
Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, killing 5,000 people, 1974
Voyager I takes first photograph of the Earth and the Moon together, 1977
Soyuz 38 carries 2 cosmonauts (including 1 Cuban) to Salyut 6 space station, 1980
Joe Kittinger completes the first solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic, 1984
Liechtenstein becomes a member of the United Nations, 1990
ICANN is formed, 1998
The 72 year run of the soap opera The Guiding Light ends as its final episode is broadcast, 2009

Feline Friday: None so Relaxed

Tough Guy

Hard To Go

My Turn!

Words

"Eddication"

Annual PSA

Feline Friday: Chowing Down

rEcess Time!

The Joker

And in other news...

Don't Bother

Bother

Annual PSA Continued

Photo-Finish Friday: Onions

Round We Go

Intermarriage

Sunday Afternoon

Hanging Around

Alliterative Suffering