Exciting Can Mean Different Things, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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Things went back to being exciting here this past week, and not always in the best way, but at least by this Thankful Day we can say everything seems to have calmed down for the moment.

Not this past Thursday but the Thursday prior, poor Slow-Moe the car ended up at Kevin and Lenny's shop again, and this time it was a doozy.  The seal on the throttle body had broken.  The part itself, the seal, is a $40 part, but they were having trouble getting one.  If they could not, they'd have to order the whole engine cover, which comes with the part as a part of it.  Total cost for the engine cover, $900.

All this is without installation costs.

We were thankful by Friday they'd found the $40 part.  It wouldn't be in until Tuesday.

We were thankful Mr. JO loaned us his truck for the umpteenth time so we could go to NOLA.

Sweetie was thankful Brother-in-Law was able to take him to church on Sunday, since  i'm with Becca.

Sunday evening, #1 Son called to ask if someone could pick him up from Kevin and Lenny's on Monday morning and take him to work.  He wanted to go to NOLA and see Grandma and Grandpa on Tuesday (he goes every other week) and his car had started to make a high pitched squeal he wanted them to check before he drove it so far.

I was thankful Carl had work at 9am (his late start time), so i had time to go run #1 Son to work and get back and still get the job done by 11:30 am.  I was further thankful Ms. S and Mr. D were out of town, expected back late that evening, so i wasn't under any kind of time crunch to get them done.

Then came the real fun, #1 Son's car needed a major repair, stat.  I'm thankful between us we were able to cover it and then Grandpa stepped in and said he'd do it.  We're thankful they were able to get it done the same day so #1 Son, who lives on the other side of the town from us, could get his wheels back.

He was also thankful to get to go see Grandma and Grandpa, and they were thankful, too.

Tuesday was the first part of my annual physical, where i fast for 12 hours then go see Dr. BowTie's assistant to give blood and do a whiz quiz, test my hearing and sight, have an EKG and extremities checked for blood flow and etc.  I was thankful to get it done.

Then i was thankful to get to be with our little Annie.

She's been introduced to a splash pad and she loves it.

There was a cagebreak Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at the shelter and when i arrived, i was thankful i managed to find all 3 of them, especially the one that got itself stuck in the packing box with the cardboard carriers.  

On Thursday i had a tight schedule and lo and behold Ms. V actually got up early!  I was finished with the house and leaving by 1pm to meet up with my Sweetie and we were both thankful we didn't have to take separate vehicles, especially as mine has no A/C and it's blazing hot.

He and i were thankful the meeting with our retirement account representative went well and we arrived on time.  No, i won't be retiring soon (probably, just don't say never or The Good Lord will test you on it), but at least there's money in the account for later.

Friday was great, i saw a friend in Trader Joe's, got to swing by the bank so i don't have to do it today, and took care of the baby.  Daughter-in-Law got done with her shift early and i got to the shelter early, where we were thankful for great help and two adoptions.

Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Clark and his co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.   

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Today is:

Andorra La Vella Festival -- Andorra (through Monday)

Cowes Week begins -- Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK (the largest, longest-running and most prestigious international sailing regatta in the world; through August 6)

Day of the Airborne Forces -- Russia; Ukraine

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

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

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

Lincoln Penny Day -- US (the Lincoln Cent entered circulation on this day in 1909, and is one of the longest running coins in continual production in history)

    Take a Penny/Leave a Penny Day -- if the US is really determined to keep the littlest coins, the least we can do is pool them together in the trays so conveniently found in stores and restaurants

Make Some Old Fashioned Lemonade Day

National Coloring Book Day

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

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

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

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

St. Elias' Day (Elijah the Prophet)  related observance

     Iliden -- Bosnia-Herzegovina; Ukraine; other Slavic countries where he is titled St. Ilia 

     Republic Day -- Macedonia

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

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

Anniversary Today:

The first US Census is recorded, 1790

Birthdays Today:

Edward Furlong, 1977

Michael Weiss, 1976

Sam Worthington, 1976

Mary-Louise Parker, 1964

Victoria Jackson, 1959

Butch Patrick, 1953

Kathryn Harrold, 1950

James Fallows, 1949

Joanna Cassidy, 1944

Wes Craven, 1939

Lamar Hunt, 1932

Peter O'Toole, 1932

James Baldwin, 1924

Carroll O'Connor, 1924

Myrna Loy, 1905

Jack L. Warner, 1892

Elisha Gray, 1835

Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant, 1754

Today in History:

Philip II of Macedon leads his army to defeat the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, which secured Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean, BC338

Hannibal leads his Corinthian army to defeat the superior forces of Rome, BC216

Henry Hudson sails into what it is now known as Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean, 1610

First United States Census, 1790

First parachute jump in the US, 1819

Japan's samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant class system is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms, 1869

Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London, 1870

Andrew Hallidie tests the first cable car system in San Francisco, 1873

Wild Bill Hickok meets his death; shot in the back while playing poker, his hand, a pair of Aces and a pair of eights, is now called "Dead Man's Hand", 1876

Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Cannary) dies, 1903

Typhoon in China kills about 60,000, 1922

The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson, 1932

Pakistan is re-admitted back into the Commonwealth of Nations, 1989

Iraq invades Kuwait, setting the stage for the Gulf War, 1990

Two previously unknown works by Mozart - a concerto movement and a prelude, are performed in Salzburg, Austria, 2009

The U.S. Government estimates the Deepwater Horizon oil spill dumped nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, 2010

The first footage of white giraffes (giraffes with leucism) is posted by the Hirola Conservation Program in north eastern Kenya, 2017

Great Britain’s Prince Philip, age 96, makes his final solo public appearance before retiring from public engagements, 2017

Apple becomes the first American publicly listed company to reach $1 trillion in value, 2018

Archaeologists confirm they have found the oldest library in Germany, in Cologne, dating back to 2AD and possibly holding as many as 20,000 scrolls, 2018

Saudi Arabia announces it is enacting news rules for women including allowing them to travel independently abroad without a male guardian's permission, 2019

SpaceX safely completes its first crewed mission when NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken splash down in the Gulf of Mexico in their Dragon capsule, 2020

Scientists confirm fossils found in the Ica desert in Peru are from a creature heavier than a blue whale, making this Perucetus colossus the heaviest creature which ever lived, 2023

Three Mischief Makers (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins and Nature Friday

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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (may he rest in peace), and i'm going to believe it's because he liked cats.

He handed hosting duties off to Sandee at Comedy Plus, and now she's entrusting it to me.

Feline Friday is simple to join.  All you have to do is: Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (they may be silly or cute).  Then add your link!

One thing for sure is this is a fun and easy meme to do.  So come and join us in Feline Friday.

What better way to start the weekend than with a feline!

I arrived at the shelter Wednesday morning to see a little mischief maker running around.  As i moved closer to it, it dove behind the step stools and as i reached for it another ran out of the same area.  I caught the first one and eventually sighted the second again, getting her when she crept on a shelf under a desk.

I knew there was a third from the info on the cage that was left open and as i cleaned and fed and watered kittens i kept looking and praying i would find her.  For some reason i decided to look over by the desks where some supplies are kept, including the cardboard carriers used to send adopted kitties home, and something told me to lift the flap on the box of unassembled carrier boxes.

There she was, she'd gotten herself in a pickle!  Once they were back in their cage and safe, i took photos of the three littles (in the order in which i'd found them) who'd been on the lam all night long.

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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by Lorianne The Menagerie Mom of Four-Legged Furballs. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!      

Here are this week's statements with my responses underlined:

1. My plans for August include _________ and _________.

2. I exercise my brain by _________.

3. I try not to let _________ go to waste.

4. I know it's going to be a good day when _________.

1. My plans for August include   work  and   setting up a new account with our new gas service provider.

2. I exercise my brain by   number and word games.

3. I try not to let   anything  go to waste,   which is probably why so many calories went to waist instead when i was younger.

4. I know it's going to be a good day when   i don't have to set an alarm clock.

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Nature Friday is hosted by LLB in Our Backyard.  Simply post a picture of the natural world, and link up!   

This is part of the "woods" where my kids played when they were young, as seen in the sunset light yesterday.

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Today is:

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

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

Armed Forces Day -- Lebanon

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

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

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

Feast of Kamal (Perfection) -- Baha'i

Fiesta de Santo Domingo -- Managua, Nicaragua (patron saint; through the 10th)

Girlfriends' Day -- a day to celebrate the women who enrich your life

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

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

Homowo -- Ghana (a festival of thanksgiving and remembrance)

Independence Day / National Day -- Benin(1960)

International Beer Day -- Uniting The World Through Beer   

Kalends of August -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances

     Feast of Spes (personification of hope)

     Festival for Victoria (goddess of victory)

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

Liberation of Haile Selassie -- Rastafari

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

Mary Prince Day -- Bermuda (Second Day of Cup Match)

Minden Day -- British Armed Forces

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

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

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

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

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

Parents' Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

Respect For Parents Day -- with information here 

RSPCA Cupcake Day -- Australia's fun and delicious way to raise funds to stop animal cruelty; it used to be held on a Monday in mid-August, but is now encouraged on any day you want to participate 

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

Social Resistance Day -- North Cyprus

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

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

Umuganura (Harvest Thanksgiving) -- Rwanda

World Breastfeeding Week begins -- International (the theme this year is "Step Up for Breastfeeding: Educate and Support") 

World Lung Cancer Day -- International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer  

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

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

Yorkshire Day -- Yorkshire, England

Youth and Children's Day -- Kiribati

Anniversaries Today:

Colorado becomes the 38th US State, 1876

Birthdays Today:

Tempestt Bledsoe, 1973

Robert Cray, 1953

Giancarlo Giannini, 1942

Jerry Garcia, 1942

Yves Saint Laurent, 1942

Ronald Harmon "Ron" Brown, 1941

Dom DeLuise, 1933

Tom Wilson, 1931

James Hill, 1916

Herman Melville, 1819

Maria Mitchell, 1818

Francis Scott Key, 1779

William Clark, 1770

Debuting/Premiering Today:

M2(TV Network), 1996

"The Rush Limbaugh Show"(Radio), 1988

MTV(TV Network), 1981

Today in History:

The future Caesar Augustus, Octavian, enters Alexandria, Egypt, and brings it under the control of Rome, BC30

Japan sends Ono no Imoko to the Sui court in China as envoy, 607

The Swiss Confederation is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter, 1291

Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile drive the Jews out of Spain, 1492

Henry Tudor, soon to be Henry VII, sails with his army to England, 1495

The first black Americans arrive in Jamestown, Virginia, 1619

Oxygen is "discovered" for the 3rd time, by Priestly, 1774

The Act of Union is passed in which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1800

Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire, 1834

First coast to coast automobile trip, from San Francisco to New York, is completed, 1903

The first Jeep is produced, 1941

Anne Frank makes the last entry in her diary, 1944

The United States and Canada form the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), 1957

Israel annexes East Jerusalem, 1967

Peat cutters discover Lindow Man, Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England, 1984

CERN physicists begin discussing building what would eventually become the World Wide Web, 1990

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia join the European Environment Agency, 2001

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies and is succeeded by Prince Abdullah, 2005

Buddhist treasures buried during the Mongolian Communist Purge in the 1930's are rediscovered in the Gobi Desert, 2009

Russia grants NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden one year of temporary political asylum; Snowden leaves Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, 2013

Two crowns and an orb from the Swedish crown jewels are stolen from Strängnäs Cathedral, Stockholm, 2018

Italian Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar avoid a jump-off by agreeing to share the long jump gold medal after tying on 2.37m at the Tokyo Olympic Games, 2021

South America experiences a winter heatwave, with temperatures in some places reaching up to 100°F/37.7°C, 2023

Tanzania opens East Africa's first electric rail line between its commercial hub Dar es Salaam and capital Dodoma, 2024