Famous First Words: Good evening. Seven weeks ago... JFK radio address on the Berlin Crisis (7/25/1961)
Funny thing about housework... What do you do to someone who is doing the dishes? Let them! ϔ I can't stand doing dishes; that why I have this stool.
Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. --Franklin D Roosevelt
Happy Wine And Cheese Day! I'd suggest a bottle of dry white to pair with these cheesy jokes.
..........Some folks say that I ain't free.........Barbara Harris …..It Don't Worry Me (Nashville, the movie)
Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves. --Eric Hoffer
It is rainy Friday morning. The temperature is 71°F which is several degrees cooler than we've seen lately. The rain has stopped for the moment but the splat splat of drops diving from the roof eaves and the patio furniture creates a slow, wet rhythm section. A squirrel silently inches herself face first down the edge of the storage shed; like an inchworm, she moves her front paws then brings her back paws up behind them and moves her front ones again. She snatches a peanut and returns to the roof. In the mean time blue jays and crows make lost of noise and stomp around on the patio. Wildlife doesn't seem to do any housework at all. Good for them, I guess. My enjoyment of their antics is worth the sweeping of nut shells and grass clippings. A joyous morning all around.
Hope your weekend is mess free, clean freaks.
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: How can I make jokes at a time like this? My dark sense of humor is a load-bearing structure. --Submitted by MMS
Did you hear that Indivisible introduced a new broom; it's sweeping the nation. ϔ Death's daughter, Morta, used to walk around in a hoodie carrying a witch's broom; she was known as the Grim Sweeper.
Retirement: A time to Wine down and take it Cheesy.
..........Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom...........Roger Miller …..King of the Road
Trivia Questions: It's National Carousel Day! Carousels have been around, basically, since there were children. But we are capitalists and are celebrating the first patented steam driven merry-go-round. ~~This was real steampunk.
When was the first steam driven Carousel patented?
Where is the world's largest indoor Carousel?
Where is the world's largest Carousel?
Are there still any steam driven Carousels operating in the US?
What is your favorite song from the musical Carousel?
Big Hello: Dobrý deň - Slovak https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Thing I Read of the Week: Being popular on Facebook is like sitting at the cool table in the cafeteria at the mental hospital.
Image of the Week: Squirrels eating peanuts in the penthouse because those other 3 squirrels on the patio are obviously riff raff. ~~And all 5 are identical, I swear. What have I done?
Insult of the Week: You speak an infinite deal of nothing. --William Shakespeare
Carl was attacked by a broom; he describes it as a brush with death. ϔ That damned broom is always late and it always claims it “over-swept”.
Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path. --Bahá'u'lláh
The other day someone told me that I could make ice cubes with leftover wine. I was confused...what is leftover wine?
..........I got old floors to wax and scrub.........Jody Miller …..Queen of the House
Moonbeam: Smoking is hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, and dangerous to the lungs. --King James I ~~Yes, the King James who had the bible translated into English.
Blasphemy of the Week: God is not someone special; God is not a person but existence itself. The quality of being alive, that's God. --Submitted by MMS
Coffee Joke of the Week: Reality is frequently inaccurate especially before caffeine. --Submitted by 42 Collective
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you're feeling lost, just remember: the entire galaxy is also spinning aimlessly through chaos, and it seems fine. --Submitted by 42 Collective
Please, no vacuum cleaner jokes; they always suck. ϔ When you clean out all that hair from the roller on the vacuum, do you yourself become a vacuum cleaner? ϔ The Dyson Ball Cleaner name is very misleading.
Just as compassion is the wish that all sentient beings be free of suffering, loving-kindness is the wish that all may enjoy happiness. --Dakai Lama
Remember, this is a Wine and Cheese reception not Whine and Jeez.
..........You're beatin' clothes on a washtub.........Dr John …..Wash, Mama, Wash
1) July 25, 1871 William Schneider patented the first modern carousel. He lived in Davenport, IA.
Almanac: It is Friday, July 25, 2025. The moon was new yesterday (7/24) and is in Cancer. Today is Carousel aka Merry-Go-Round Day, Hire A Veteran Day, Thread the Needle Day, Lumberjack Day, National Talk in An Elevator Day, Red Shoe Day Against Lyme Disease, System Administrator Appreciation Day, Wine And Cheese Day, and World Drowning Prevention Day. Because it is the last Friday in July it is also Get Gnarly Day.
Among those born on this day were James I (1394), Christoph Scheiner (1575), Henry Knox (1750), Flora Adams Darling (1840), Walter Brennan (1894), Eric Hoffer (1902), Jack Gilford (1907), Estelle Getty (1924), Barbara Harris (1935), Emmett Till (1941), Walter Payton (1954), and Iman (1955).
On July twenty-fifth North Carolina became a royal colony (1729), the first US intercollegiate billard match was held (Harvard v. Yale. 1860), the carousel was patented (Davenport, IA, 1871), Annette Adams became the first female D.A. in the US (CA, 1918), the US Department of Defense was formed (1947), A Chorus Line premiered (1975), Svetlana Savitskaya became the first female to walk in space (1984), George Brett hit for the cycle (1990), and the Olympics opened in Barcelona, Spain (1992).
Night Sky, 7/25: Arcturus moves down the west evening sky. It forms the bottom point of the Kite of Boötes. The Kite extends upper right from Arcturus about 2 fists at arm's length. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Ollie and Max … sporting stylish walking sticks … ready for a woodsy adventure
This Week: Saturday, July 26 – Aunts and Uncles Day & Bagelfest & National Day of the Cowboy
Sunday, July 27 – Love Is Kind Day & National Body Painting Day & National Korean Veterans Armistice Day & Walk On Stilts Day
Night Sky, 7/27: Jupiter, magnitude -1.9, rises around the beginning of dawn. Find it one or two fists lower left of Venus. Venus and Jupiter are closing in toward a pre-dawn conjunction just 0.9 apart on August 12th.
Monday, July 28 – Buffalo Soldiers Day & National Waterpark Day & World Hepatitis Day
Tuesday, July 29 – Global Tiger Day & Lasagna Day & Rain Day
Night Sky, 7/29: Alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower: Originating in comet 169P/NEAT. Known for producing rare, bright fireball meteors – slow moving streaks of light that can appear to glide across the sky. Alpha Capricornid
Wednesday, July 30 – Cheesecake Day & Friendship Day & Medicare's Birthday & National Share A Hug Day
Thursday, July 31 – National Avocado Day & National Mutt Day & National Orgasm Day
Vacuum Cleaners: Sucking all the fun out of messes. ϔ My vacuum cleaner went on strike...claimed everybody pushed her around.
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. --Mark Twain
Wine hangover – the grape depression.
..........Cause the new one just goes Mmmm.........John Hartford …..Good Old Electric Washing Machine
2) The world's largest indoor carousel is located near Spring Green, in Iowa County, WI. It has 269 carousel animals, 182 chandeliers, and over 20,000 lights.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: There should be confetti in tires so when they blow out it's still kind of an okay day. --Submitted by INRITH
Moonbeam: Having proceeded to this length, for which they are now ripe, we shall have a formidable rebellion against reason, the principle of all government, and against the very name of liberty. --Henry Knox
Fun Fact of the Week: Annette Abbott Adams was the first woman to serve as an assistant US attorney in Woodrow Wilson's administration. She was also the first female US attorney, the first woman to sit on the California appellate court and the first woman to sit on the state Supreme Court. https://thehill.com/100-women-who-have-helped-shape-america/517912-annette-adams/
The Other Quote of the Week: This history we were taught could not have produced the present we were living in. --Eric Foner
It is futile to judge a kind deed by its motives. Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind. --Eric Hoffer
I am not drinking alone – I have CHEESE.
How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time. --Morgan Freeman
I believe in the Sock Fairy. I'm always losing socks in the laundry and finding change. What else could cause that? ϔ Behind every successful woman is a basket of dirty laundry.
..........Get out in that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans.........Bill Haley & His Comets …..Shake Rattle & Roll
3) The world's largest merry-go-round is in East Rutherford, NJ. It's called the Dream Wheel and has over 30,000 LED lights. And, It looks exactly like a Ferris Wheel. https://www.americandream.com/venue/dreamwheel I didn't find any “second largest” but found lots of lists – most popular, most unique, etc.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I like my country like I like my whiskey – without ice. --Submitted by gr of oh
Weird Word of the Week: Smicker – to look amorously at someone https://parade.com/1195613/marynliles/funny-words/
Dragon of the Week: I named this file KS Dragon – but I can find no reference actually linking it to any place in particular.
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Deodorize coolers and thermos bottles. Wash with diluted Clorox bleach, then rinse. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/clorox.html
The difference between The Grandmaster Grifter and a wine lover; the wine lover likes it when it's older.
A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve. --Joseph Joubert
From the amount of laundry I do each week I'm assuming there are people who live here that I've never met. ϔ I must admit that I get a small rush of joy when I open the dryer to find the clothes still damp. It's like the dryer is procrastinating for me.
...........D is for dishes and dusting and dirt.........Peggy Seeger …..Housewife's Alphabet
4) Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, MN, is the only steam-powered carousel left in the US. It runs every Labor Day weekend.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Menopause has become Perimenopause but I just heard a prefered term – Cougar Puberty
Penultimate Jeffrey's Apartment Update: First – Of course the date of death was on the death certificate – it's the VERY FIRST entry. I may have missed it because it's wrong. It says he died on June 24. This is kind of creepy because I spoke to him on the 27th. Next - most of the furniture is gone. Friends of the Library are looking for someone who can haul away the plethora of books and dvds and cds. So it is moving right along. A week from today I am turning in the keys whatever the state of the apartment.
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Time Traveler's Weekend 2025 (25-27, Rockville, IN) Steampunk Event https://steampunkcons.com/event/24638/time-travelers-weekend-2025
Warning of the Week: Scientists warn that Earth could run out of conspiracy theories by 2026 if they keep coming true at the current rate.
Spark of Joy of the Week: Monty Python singing the Lumberjack Song for Lumberjack Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FshU58nI0Ts (2:03)
I cut myself on a piece of cheese – that was some sharp cheddar.
When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also develop inner happiness and peace. --Dalai Lama
With a few more decorative pillows I won't ever have to actually make my bed. ϔ Every morning after I wake up, the first thing I do is make my bed. Tomorrow I'm returning this piece of junk to Ikea.
..........Throw out the trash.........Marcia Ball …..Clean My House
5) You'll Never Walk Alone (Mr Snow (You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan (What's the Use of Wond'rin' (If I Loved You (There's Nothin' So Bad (Blow High, Blow Low (A Real Nice Clambake (June Is Bustin' Out All Over (When the Children Are Asleep (The Highest Judge Of All
Protest Sign of the Week: Pissed Off Quaker (Fighting Oligarchy since 1640)
Quote of the Week: We live in an oligarchy, but with the humidity, it feels like a dictatorship. --Judah Friedlander
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Being conceived in a Jeep doesn't make you part Cherokee.
Today's Peace of History: July 25, 1963: The Limited Test Ban Treaty was initiated following 10 days of intense negotiations among the U.S.S.R., U.S., and the United Kingdom.
I like to buy a glass of wine with cream cheese snacks. Sorry, ma'm we only take cash or credit cards.
Only your compassion and your loving kindness are invincible and without limit. --Nhat Hanh
Dust bunnies killed my Cleaning Fairy. ϔ Despite space being a vacuum, Mars if very dusty. ϔ You come from dust and you return to dust. That's why I never dust; it could be someone I knew.
..........I'm gonna hang them out early..........Dolly Parton …..Washday Blues
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, July 25, 2025: dOmestic ePistle . Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: Tough times go away, tough people do not. --Walter Payton
Cost of War: As of 07/10/25 State Department Costs: $270,637,677,412
As of 07/17/25 State Department Costs: $270,085,624,958
As of 07/10/25 Homeland Security: $1,205,675,449,627
As of 07/17/25 Homeland Security: $1,205,075,717,060
As of 07/10/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,315,022,564,160
As of 07/17/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,312,480,652,044
As of 07/10/25 Military Costs: $3,158,128,369,914
As of 07/17/25 Military Costs: $3,156,957,706,759
As of 07/10/25 Veterans Care: $4,393,469,441,497
As of 07/17/25 Veterans Care: $4,381,782,384,682
As of 07/10/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,342,935,654,166
As of 07/17/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,327,384,919,047
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
Rudeness is a weak imitation of strength. --Eric Hoffer
Famous Last Words: A sadder and a wiser man, he rose the morrow morn. --Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge who died July 25, 1834 of a heart attack
..........She died and was buried in dirt.........Patty Duke …..The Housewife's Lament
I belong to a secret group that is trying to groom the country into acceptance of wine and cheese as dinner.
When we practice loving kindness and compassion we are the first ones to profit.
I used to clean windows for a living. When I got home my partner would say, “Hi, honey, how was other people's day?” ϔ I waved at my neighbor for 10 minutes this morning before I realized she was just cleaning her windows.
May Peace clear your heart
And Joy clean your spirit
prairie mama
christine
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