Today is Monday, September 4, 2023
On this day in history…
1998- The American search engine company Google Inc. was formally established as founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page filed incorporation papers.
Spotlight Photo
Quote of the Week
“Don’t misunderstand me; I don’t want to die alone, but spending quality time with myself 60 to 70 percent of the day is my idea of mecca.”
– Issa Rae
Mira’s Photo of the Week
https://www.everafterphotographypnw.com/
Rachel’s friend, Mira, shares her art each week to help beautify the My Monday Memo.
A Few Good Facts
This section is an add-on from Britannica.com. Each day there is a new fun fact in their All Good Facts section. These are a few that Rachel found interesting.
The song that made Alvin, Simon, and Theodore household names, “The Chipmunk Song” by David Seville and the Chipmunks, was nominated for Record of the Year during the first annual Grammy Awards, held in 1959.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, famed sprinter Usain Bolt found his body reacted poorly to the local food. He opted instead to eat an estimated 100 McDonald’s chicken nuggets a day during his 10-day stay in China. During those Games, he won three gold medals.
In July 1994 Jeff Bezos filed paperwork to incorporate a business named Cadabra, meant to evoke the magic phrase abracadabra. When his lawyer said it sounded too much like cadaver, he switched the name to Relentless before settling on Amazon. Relentless.com still redirects to Amazon’s website.
Forest Therapy
48.06577° N, 122.94609° W
Kitty Korner
17 weeks old
This is simply abuse. Do you see my hair? My human thought it would be fun to give me a full body spike. She may be messing with my hair because I constantly attack her hair like it is a toy. What can I say, it’s fun. She keeps telling me that I am going to take out her eye if I am not careful.
– Belichick (Beli)
My human brother taught me something fun during his visit and I now take every opportunity to jump on my human’s back each time she bends over to clean my litter box. She has gotten good at balancing me while she cleans and doesn’t make me get down until she’s done. She loves it and so do I.
– Brady
Donate Blood, Save Lives- #4
Rachel gave her fourth blood donation last week. She again donated at the Western State Psychiatric Hospital in Lakewood, Washington. When one of the workers tried to make small talk and asked her if she was an employee, she responded, “No, I live here.” She was able to do this with a straight face and gave the group a good laugh after a moment of uncomfortable silence and pause.
She is now half way to donating a gallon of blood. This donation only took 6 minutes 27 seconds. She loves the speedy flow. Her next appointment is scheduled in late October once the mandatory 56 day wait is over.
Word of the Day
Will you find it?
As a fun challenge each week, Rachel visits Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day when she sits down to write her weekly story. Whatever the word of that particular day happens to be, she must find a way to fit it into her story. Will you find it?
OXYMORON
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day on Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Meaning
An oxymoron is a combination of words that have opposite or very different meanings, such as “cruel kindness” or “open secret.” In broader usage, oxymoron can also refer to something (such as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements.
Story of the Week
Sand Dollars & More
A last adventure during Alec’s visit to the Pacific Northwest last month was a visit to the local Kopachuck State Park. When Alec and Rachel were discussing what to do with their last day, Rachel suggested a low tide exploration. Alec agreed and suggested they invite friends, Mira, Aubrey, and Zach to join. Kopachuck State Park is a great spot to see a variety of sand dollars.
They met up at the park and enjoyed exploring the beach. Alec got to see his first live sand dollars, as well as moon snails. Mira convinced him to hold one of the tiny moon snails, but Alec wasn’t interested in holding one of the biggies like Aubrey. Alec did enjoy gathering tiny crabs, but again had no interest in picking up one of the big guys, like Zach. A fun time was had by all and it was a great way to spend a last day.
Parting from Alec is such sweet sorrow. While she questions her own use of the oxymoron, she knows that while it is good to get back to a normal routine, she will miss him terribly until she sees him again. Until next time, be well.
