messymimi's meanderings

The Governor of Louisiana is being driven by his bodyguards down the highway next to a bayou when they see a man in a New York Yankees shirt being carried in the mouth of a huge alligator. The limo screeches to a stop just as Boudreaux and Thibodeaux pull up in a boat, catch the gator and "rassle" it into submission, rescuing the man from its jaws and then pulling the man and the gator both into their boat.

The Governor calls the two men over and says, "Boudreaux, Thibodeaux, I've seldom seen such a heroic act! You've saved that man's life! We will take him to the hospital, but if it weren't for you two, that man would be dead. It's wonderful to see that you put your lives on the line for a stranger, and a stranger from up North, a Yankee, too. You are both true heroes!"

As the Governor and his men drove away to take the injured man to the hospital, Boudreaux and Thibodeaux just shook their heads and looked at each other.

"What we goin' do now, Boudreaux?" Thibodeaux axed.

"I doan kno', fo' sho'," Boudreaux say. "We need one mo' gator, and dey done took de bait!"

Side Note: for those of you who think that "Yankee" is an easy term to define, it isn't. Outside of the U.S., anyone living in the U.S. is a Yankee. Within the U.S., those of us from the South (the old Confederate States), see Yankees as being Northerners. In the North, they think of Yankees as New Englanders. In New England, they think of Yankees as being people from Vermont. And in Vermont, they think of Yankees as being those who still use an outhouse!

Today is:

A Colonial Christmas -- Jamestown Settlement, Williamsburg, VA, US (through Dec. 31; enjoy 17th- and 18th-century Christmas traditions, comparing those of England and the Colonies)

Barbes Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (celebrates the fertility of sheep)

Becky Thatcher Day -- birthday of Laura Hawkins, in 1836, who inspired the character in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day -- if you can't see, feel free! sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Carnival of Celendonia -- Fairy Calendar (Celendonia is the Fairy City all Fairies want to retire to, by the way.)

Chia Pet Hunting Season begins

Christmas in Old Appalachia -- Clinton, TN, US (an old fashioned country Christmas; through Christmas Eve)

Christmas New Orleans Style -- New Orleans, LA, US (a full month of Christmas celebrations as only NOLA can do it)

Christmas to Remember -- Laurel, MT, US (Santa and a live Nativity, parade, fireworks, bazaar, and more)

Civil Air Patrol Day -- US (date of establishment in 1941; the US Coast Guard rescues you from peril on the water, the CAP on land)

Clerc-Gallaudet Week begins -- celebrating the pioneers in education for the deaf

Cookie Cutter Week begins -- sponsored by the Cookie Cutter Collectors Club

Crossing of the Cattle at Diafarabe -- Mali (celebrated through the month)

Cyber Monday

Damrong Rajanubhab Day -- Thailand (anniversary of the prince's death)

Day of the First President -- Kazakhstan

Dia de la Abolicion del Ejercito -- Costa Rica (Miliary Abolition Day; yes, really, they abolished the military after the 1948 revolution, are one of Central America's oldest democracies, and has only the Police Guard forces)

Eat A Red Apple Day

First Sunday of Advent -- Christian (start of the Liturgical Year in the Western Church) related observances
     Lighting the Candle of Hope
     Midwinter Horn Blowing -- rural Netherlands (folkloric custom announcing the birth of Jesus, celebrated through Epiphany)

Freedom and Democracy Day -- Chad

Fullveldisdagurinn Islendinga -- Iceland (Self-governance Day)
     University Students' Celebration Day

Good Neighborliness Day -- Turkmenistan

International Prisoners for Peace Day -- a day to remember imprisoned conscientious objectors

Kalends of December -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also observed
     Festival for Neptune -- promiscuous god of the sea
     Festival for Pietas -- goddess of devotion, duty, and honor

Mindfulness Day -- Zen Buddhism (a day to mindfully see and act with compassion toward the poor and oppressed)

My Husband's Strung the Christmas Lights and Now I Can't Open the Garage Door Day -- commemorating an alleged real event, be glad this isn't your husband

National Pie Day

National Stress-Free Family Holidays Month -- sponsored by Parenting Without Pressure

National Transit Tribute to Rosa Parks Day -- American Public Transportation Association, on the anniversary of her arrest

Operation Santa Paws -- toy/treat/care drive to help local animal shelters, until the 21st; sponsored by Haute Dogs

Proclamation of the Republic -- Central African Republic

Restoration of Independence -- Portugal(1640)

St. Eligius' Day (Patron of agricultural workers/farmers, blacksmiths/ horseshoe makers, boilermakers, cab drivers/taxi drivers, carriage makers, cartwrights, clock makers/watch makers, coin collectors/neumismatists, craftsmen, cutlers, farriers, garage workers and gas station workers -- because most of us don't use horses any more, gilders, goldsmiths, harness makers, horses/sick horses, jewelers, jockeys, knife makers, laborers, locksmiths, metal collectors/precious metal collectors, metalsmiths, miners, minters, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, saddle makers, tool makers, veterinarians, wheelwrights)

Teachers' Day -- Panama

World AIDS Day -- WHO; related observance
     Day With(OUT) Art -- annual remembrance of the impact of AIDS on the visual arts, sponsored by Visual AIDS

Ziua Unirii -- Romania (National Day)

Anniversaries Today:

Yukon Order of Pioneers founded, 1894
US National Weather Service established, 1870
Napoleon weds Josephine, 1804

Birthdays Today:

Reggie Sanders, 1967
Carol Alt, 1960
Treat Williams, 1952
Bette Midler, 1945
John Densmore, 1944
Richard Pryor, 1940
Lee Trevino, 1939
Woody Allen, 1935
Lou Rawls, 1933
David Doyle, 1925
Mary Martin, 1913
Charles Finney, 1905
Robert Welch, 1899
Cyril Ritchard, 1897
Rex Stout, 1886
Anna Maria Grosholtz Tussaud (Madame Tussaud), 1761
Oliver Wolcott, 1726
Louis VI of France, 1081

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Sherlock Holmes, in "A Study in Scarlet", 1887
Dr. Pepper, 1885 (recognition by US Patent Office of first day of sale)

Today in History:

Henry V of England enters Paris, 1420
Pasha Muhammad ibn Farukh, governor, driven out of Jerusalem, 1626
Portugal regains independence from Spain, 1640
Massachusetts becomes first colony to give Statutory recognition to slavery, 1641
The first American school to offer manual training courses opens in Maryland, 1750
Charles and M.N. Roberts ascend 2,000' in a hydrogen balloon, 1783
Erie Canal closes for a month due to cold weather, 1831
Hans Christian Andersen publishes his first book of fairy tales, 1835
The first chartered mutual life insurance company opens, 1843
The first certified public accountants receive their certificates in New York, 1896
The first Western film, "The Great Train Robbery," released, 1903
The first Israeli kibbutz is founded, Deganya Alef, 1909
Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line, 1913
The first drive-up gasoline station opens in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 1913
Lady Nancy Astor is sworn in as the first female member of the British Parliament, 1919
The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgenson, the first notable case of sexual reassignment surgery, 1952
Opening date for signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent, 1959
Malawi, Malta and Zambia join the United Nations, 1964
Lambda Theta Phi is established as the first Latino fraternity, in New Jersey, 1975
Angola joins the United Nations, 1976
The AIDS virus is officially recognized, 1981
At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart, 1982
Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the seabed, 1990
Representatives from more than 150 countries gather at a global warming summit in Kyoto, Japan, and over the course of the next ten days forge an agreement to control the emission of greenhouse gases, 1997
The Treaty of Lisbon comes into effect, which amends the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, which together comprise the constitutional basis of European Union, 2009

The point of Aww Monday is to post a picture that makes you say, "Aww!"

We sometimes have kittens that, when they get a bit bigger, will take care of the smaller ones, as if those were their babies.

Aphrodite is taking care of Sulu, giving him a bath.

The kittens tendency to take care of each other this way reminds me of a happening with the children when they were small. #1 Son was a two-year-old, and Bigger Girl about 6 months. He called her his baby, and treated her so gently.

One day when they were both in the tub, i asked Sweetie to watch them for a moment while i went into the bedroom to grab something. As i walked out of the bathroom, he did what he after that learned you never do -- he turned the TV so he could see it from where he was sitting by the tub, and watched it instead of the kids.

Little Girl, of course, slipped out of her bath seat and under the water. From the other side of the room and through the open bathroom door i saw it happen, and #1 Son screamed "My baby!" as i rushed across the room and yanked her from under the water, scared but unhurt. After that, he was even more protective than ever of "his" baby.

Today is:

Chichibu Yomatsuri -- Chichibu shrine, Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan (one of Japan's most impressive night parties; through tomorrow)

Cyber Monday -- another excuse to buy stuff, the traditional beginning of the online shopping season

Festival of the Finger Stalls -- Fairy Calendar

Independencia de Panama de Espana -- Panama(1821)

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery -- UN

King Tupou I Day -- Tonga

National Day -- Laos; United Arab Emirates (trad.)

National Fritters Day

National Jandal Day -- New Zealand (support Surf Lifeguards, wear your jandals -- sandals, or flip flops -- to the beach and donate to the cause; through the 8th)

Oshiroi Matsuri -- Fukuoka, Japan (Face Paint Festival, to ask for good harvest next year)

Provincial Anniversary Day -- Chatham Islands, New Zealand and Westland, New Zealand

Safety Razor Day -- the first disposable razor blades were patented by King Gillette this day in 1901

Sarsodaw Pwe -- Myanmar (Writers' Day/Literati Day, especially celebrated by the press)

Special Education Day -- US (anniversary of the first US special education law in 1975)

St. Bibiana's Day (Patron of epileptics, mentally ill people, single laywomen, torture victims; against epilepsy, hangovers, headaches, insanity, mental illness; and, appropriately considering the aforementioned list, Los Angeles, CA)

Throw Out Your Leftovers Day -- if you've had it since Thanksgiving, and haven't frozen it or eaten it yet, get rid of it

Walter Plinge Day -- UK (the British equivalent to George Spelvin, a name used to disguise the fact that an actor is playing more than one part in a production, but Walter was based on a real pub ownder who was generous to actors)

Birthdays Today:

Britney Spears, 1981
Nelly Furtado, 1978
Monica Seles, 1973
Lucy Liu, 1968
Randy Gardner, 1958
Dan Butler, 1954
Stone Phillips, 1954
Cathy Lee Crosby, 1948
Gianni Versace, 1946
Maria Callas, 1923
Randolph Hearst, 1915
Charles Ringling, 1863
Georges Seurat, 1859

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Naked Gun"(film), 1988
"Mystery of Edwin Drood"(musical), 1985
"Dancing Lady"(film), 1933 (first appearance of Fred Astaire)
The Adventures of Charlie Chan(radio), 1932
Model A Ford, 1927 (first sold on this date, for $385)

Today in History:

The University of Leipzig opens, 1409
Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what became the United States, 1763
Napoleon defeats the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz, 1805
The first Savings bank in the US opens, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, 1816
US President James Monroe declares his "Monroe Doctrine", 1823
US President James K. Polk declares it is the "Manifest Destiny" of the US to expand into the West, 1845
Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the US, in NYC, 1867
King Camp Gillette patents the safety razor, 1901
Pu Yi (Hsuan-T'ung) became China's Last Emperor at age 2, 1908
Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A, 1927
A team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, 1942
Riots break out in Jerusalem in response to the approval of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, 1947
The Granma yacht reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente province and Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution, 1956
Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm Al Quwain form the United Arab Emirates, 1971
Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state, 1988
A coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins the first free all-German elections since 1932, 1990
The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive, 1999
NASA announces finding an arsenic based life form on Earth, 2010

Back in August, Little Girl went through the requisite Driver's Education 30-hour course, a step in that rite of passage known as "becoming a driver". (Also known as putting the parents in the poor house, with the insurance prices the way they are!)

She passed with a very high grade, and they told us they would call us to schedule her eight hours of behind-the-wheel training. That, if you look at the calendar, was several months ago.

In the ensuing time, she has worried about forgetting everything she learned and wondered if they would ever get to her. Last week, during the Thanksgiving break, it was finally time. Her name was up, and they called me to schedule her "practicum" for lack of a better term.

The weather was awful, and the instructor had her merging on the interstates in wind and rain, among other things. He noted that she was spot on with everything, and very, very good and cautious. He passed her, signed all the papers, and we thought we could use the fact that she didn't have school to take her over to the DMV and get her permit.

Unfortunately for us, back in October, the "Gret Stet of Looziana" passed yet another layer of hoops through which to jump. It seems that now you have to have a piece of paper from your school saying you are in school in order to get your permit. Thus, during the break, no school, so no way to get said piece of paper. Blocked by red tape again! (What in the world i would have done if i were still home schooling, i have no clue.)

On Monday, when i brought her to school, i stopped in at the guidance office to get said piece of paper, to go along with her birth certificate, Social Security Card, the completion certificate from the driving school, and my license, registration of my car and proof of insurance. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting blood, but please don't suggest it to them.

After school, i picked her up and we went to the DMV for the requisite wait of an hour-and-a-half. (The only way to get out of said wait is to get there an hour before they open, then you only have to wait in line for an hour.) The whole time, she was nervous and scared that she wouldn't pass the written exam, as she kept saying she had forgotten everything and wasn't sure she could do it.

The whole time, i told her she would do fine, and she did! Each of my other three had to take the written test twice (they let you repeat it if you are close the first time, chalking it up to nerves). She passed on her first try! Score!

After her test, it hit me -- i now had to come up with cash. By some miracle (and i believe it was the Good Lord looking out for me), i had tucked some cash in the back of my wallet, and Little Girl had the extra buck-fifty that i was short. Score again! No having to pay $5 at the ATM to get $20!

She signed everything, paid for it herself, posed nicely for her picture (although she didn't comb her hair and looks like a ragamuffin), and then proudly drove us home.

For the next six months she gets to drive us everywhere, so she can get a lot of practice in. Time for mom to be driven crazy again, and i'm loving every minute.

Today is:

Advocate's Day -- India

Day of Remembrance for Bogatir (Great hero) Svatogor -- Asatru/Pagan Slavic Calendar

Fairy and Goblin Taunt-and-Tease Saturnalia -- Fairy Calendar

Festival for Bona Dea -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of chastity, fecundity, the earth, and fertility; a women's festival)

Festival for Serket/Selket -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (scorpion goddess, who healed from their sting; date approximate)

International Day of Persons with Disabilities -- UN

International Day of the Basque Language

Make a Gift Day -- internet generated, and go ahead, 'tis the season

National Apple Pie Day

National Ice Cream Box Day -- internet generated, for those who love ice cream that comes in the rectangular box, and being the first to dig in

National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day -- be grateful you have one

Pompaia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (procession dedicated to Zeus; date approximate)

Reinvigorate Your Brain by Reading Something Day -- internet generated, and good to do every day, don't you think?

St. Francis Xavier's Day (Patron of African missions, foreign missions, missionaries, navigators, parish missions, Agartala, India; Ahmedabad, India; Alexandria, LA; ) related observance
San Francisco Javier -- Navarre, Spain (special observances)

Takata no Inoko -- Sakurai, Japan (offerings for peace and good harvests)

Telescope Day -- marking its invention by Galileo in 1621

Anniversaries Today:

Illinios becomes the 21st US State, 1818

Birthdays Today:

Holly Marie Combs, 1973
Brendan Fraser, 1968
Katarina Witt, 1965
Daryl Hannah, 1961
Julianne Moore, 1960
Ozzy Osbourne, 1948
Jean-Luc Godard, 1930
Andy Williams, 1927
John Backus, 1924
Carlos Montoya, 1903
Joseph Conrad, 1857
Charles Alfred Pillsbury, 1842
Gilbert Charles Stuart, 1755

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Streetcar Names Desire"(play), 1947
Alka-Seltzer, 1931

Today in History:

Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England, 1586
In an uprising over mining licenses, which came to be called the rebellion at the Eureka Stockade, more than 20 goldminers at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia are killed by state troopers in what many claim to be the birth of Australian democracy, 1854
The trial of Jefferson Davis starts with the first blacks on a US trial jury, 1868
Settlers arrive at Petach Tikvah, Israel, 1878
The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine, 1904
Neon lights make their public debut at the Paris Auto Show, 1910
The Quebec Bridge, after almost 20 years of planning and construction, opens, 1917
The first successful Technicolor movie, "Tall of the Sea," premiers in NYC, 1922
Chinese refugee ship "Kiangya" explodes in E China Sea, killing 1,100, 1948
Paul Harvey begins his national radio broadcast, 1950
At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the first heart transplant on a human, 1967
Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter, 1973
In one of the worst industrial disasters ever, a methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, kills thousands and injures hundreds of thousands, 1984
In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries, not including the US, Russia, or China, sign The Ottawa treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines, 1997
XCOR Aerospace makes first manned rocket aircraft delivery of US Mail in Mojave, California, 2005

"Mom, have you ever enjoyed reading anything by Tolstoy?" Bigger Girl came in from school asking.

Since when does one read Tolstoy for enjoyment or entertainment? i asked. When i read such books, it's to challenge my mind, not to be entertained.

"Well, I like challenging my brain as entertainment," she continued.

True, i noted. But it's a different kind of entertainment.

"Yes, not the silly kind. Anyway, once I finish Naked Lunch and Les Miserables, I want to start Anna Karenina. It's supposedly the only book written by a man that really gets how women are."

That's one way to look at it, i noted.

"Well, at least it's not just entertainment for entertainment's sake, like so many things now. We're so into entertainment and self aggrandizement in this culture that the Oxford English Dictionary had to recognize 'selfie' as a word!"

Yes, that's their new word of the year, i heard the news story. Speaking of selfies, did you hear the story about the eagle in Australia?

"No, what happened?"

Scientists planted a camera to try to get footage of crocodiles, and when the camera went missing, they thought it had fallen in the water. Then they found it later, about 70 miles away. They looked at the footage to see what had happened, and an eagle had stolen the camera. They got great footage of the eagle flying with the camera, and the eagle even took a selfie!

"That's great!" Bigger Girl was grinning. "Well, I'm going to do homework now. The English comp teacher has added an extra assignment. Five paragraphs on what I've learned from her class this semester. Then I need to go get one more ticket for 'A Christmas Carol' at the little theater. I'm taking all of my friends to it as my Christmas gift to them."

"What about taking me to the movies? Or better, I'll take you!" Little Girl had walked in, and she is looking for any excuse to practice driving anyone, anywhere, any time, now that she has her learner's permit.

"This weekend," Bigger Girl said. "Right now, I have an assignment."

"Good. We'll go see Frozen. And I get to drive! Deal?"

"Deal," Bigger Girl said, heading upstairs.

Today is:

Christmas on the River -- Demopolis, AL, US (celebrations Southern style, including a Barbecue Cook-off; through Saturday)

Day of Shango -- Yoruba/Santería religion (various Caribbean islands; ceremony for the Defender against Evil)

Day of the Artisans -- internet generated day to honor all who work

Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day -- created in 2000 by QPC Inc., encouraging recognition of teams that "consistently work extraordinarily well together to produce significant results for their companies or organizations."

Festival for Minerva -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Grange Day -- US Grange (Order of the Patrons of Husbandry) founded, 1887

Holiday Ale Festival -- Portland, OR, US (beer, outdoors, in the cold, in December, but it is seriously good beer and worth it; through Sunday)

National Cookie Day

National Dice Day -- get together with friends and play a game today (instructions are here)

Navy Day -- India; Italy

Rake Leaves into the World's Largest Pile Day -- just so you can jump in, of course

Ribbons and Wrap Day -- according to the Elf Forum

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting -- NY, NY, US

Santa's List Day -- he completes the lists today, according to some people; which one are you on?

Special Kids Day -- a day to make sure special needs kids get to visit Santa with whatever accommodations they require

St. Barbara's Day (Patron of ammunition workers/bomb technicians/explosives workers/ordnance workers, architects, armourers, artillerymen, boatment/mariners/sailors/waterman, brass workers, brewers, builders, carpenters, construction workers, dying people, firefighters/fire prevention, fireworks, fireworks manufacturers, fortifications, foundry workers, geologists, gravediggers, gunners, hatmakers/hatters/milliners, martyrs, masons, mathematicians, military engineers, miners, prisoners, safety from storms, saltpetre workers, smelters, stone masons, tilers, warehouses; Amaroni, Italy; Barbara, Italy; Colleferro, Italy; Montecatini Terme, Italy; Paterno, Sicily; Rieti, Italy; Santa Barbara, CA; Syria; Toa Alto, Puerto Rico; against death by artillery, explosions, fire, impenitence, lightning, mine collapse, storms, sudden death)
     A young woman may place the twig of a cherry tree in a glass of water today. If it blooms by Christmas Eve, the girl is certain to marry in the following year.
     Barborka -- Poland (where Barbara is best known as Patron of Miners, thus "Miners' Day)
     Eid il-Burbara -- Lebanon; Palestine; Syria (where Barbara is celebrated with a holiday similar to Western Halloween)

St. Maruthas' Day (Patron of Iran; Persia)

Thai Environment Day -- Thailand

Wear A Beard of Bees Today Day -- a supremely silly internet generated one, if you ask me, and only for the bold and fearless, and not allergic!

Wear Brown Shoes Day -- internet generated, by someone tired of wearing black shoes all the time most likely

Wind Whiling Bacchanalia -- Fairy Calendar

Birthdays Today:

Tyra Banks, 1973
Marisa Tomei, 1964
Jozef Sabovcik, 1963
Patricia Wettig, 1951
Jeff Bridges, 1949
Dennis Wilson, 1944
Chris Hillman, 1942
Max Baer, Jr., 1937
Stewart Rawlings Mott, 1937
Wink Martindale, 1934
Victor French, 1934
Deanna Durbin, 1921
Francisco Franco, 1892
Lillian Russel, 1861
Crazy Horse, 1840
Samuel Butler, 1835
Thomas Carlyle, 1795

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Falcon Crest"(TV), 1981
"Beatles for Sale"(Album), 1964
"Tobacco Road"(Play), 1933
"Whoopee"(Musical), 1928
"Ten Commandments"(Film), 1923*

Today in History:

Upon the death of Carloman, Karel the Great (Charlemagne), his brother, becomes king of all France, 771
The Syrian harbor city of Saida (Sidon) surrenders to the Crusaders, 1110
After 18 years, the Council of Trent holds its final session, 1563
Father Marquette begins to build the first dwelling in what is now Chicago, 1674
Britain's Observer, oldest Sunday newspaper in world, first published, 1791
Britain abolishes the practice of the "suttee" in India, 1829
The American Anti-Slavery Society is founded in Philadelphia by Arthur Tappen and William Lloyd Garrison, 1833
Oliver Hudson Kelley founds The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, (the Grange), 1867
"Boss" Tweed escapes from jail, 1875
The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published, 1881
Lucille Atcherson becomes the first woman legation secretary in the US Foreign sService, 1922
Cecil B. DeMille's first version of "The Ten Commandments" (the one in which he flooded Hollywood Blvd. without permit 3 times to get the Parting of the Red Sea Scene right, and had to bail his crew out of jail 3 times, too!) premiers, 1923
The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, United States, 1954
Suriname joins the United Nations, 1975
The Unity Module, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched, 1998
An adult giant squid is caught on video for the first time by Tsunemi Kubodera near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 km (620 miles) south of Tokyo, 2006

A few days ago, i posted about my new toy, the NuWave induction cook top.

The beauty of it is it uses less electricity and is more precise than a typical electric stove top. It uses magnets to interact with your steel or cast iron cookware, heating the food directly. The pot itself doesn't get hot and then heat the food, the food gets hot, and the pot or pan gets warmer as the food itself heats up.

You can set the temperature very precisely, and as with gas cooking, if you turn it off, it's off. You don't have to wait for a burner to cool down while you move the pot off the stove so the food doesn't burn.

As with any new item, there's a bit of a learning curve, but it's not much of one, and i'm enjoying this immensely.

After Thanksgiving, you have leftover turkey, so we always make a turkey gumbo.

Boiling veggies for a stock.

Once i had plenty of vegetable and turkey stock, and lots of roux (which i forgot to get a picture! dang!) it was time to make a gumbo in the old cast iron pot.

Gumbo, made with love. And okra, onion, turkey, bell pepper, celery...

The NuWave was pronounced a success, and has continued to be so. It even turns out Sweetie's breakfast eggs just the way he likes them.

Eggs -- two whites, half a yolk, salt and pepper, as an omelet.

The one thing i had to learn to compensate for is that because the pan itself doesn't heat up, the food does, the food around the edges takes a bit longer to cook.

Altogether, i am glad i have this, and i'm looking forward to having the others Grandpa ordered for me. My kitchen counters are going to need some rearranging.

Today is:

AFL-CIO Day (date of merger in 1955)

Bathtub Party Day -- celebrate how much fun it is to take a nice, long, hot bath in these days when showers prevail; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Blue Jeans Day -- because they are now standard issue, aren't they?

Boycott Day -- commemoration of the city bus boycott begun this day in 1959 in Birmingham, AL, US in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks

Bizarre Bazaar -- Richmond, VA, US (Christmas shop until you drop; through Sunday)

Christmas Festival at St. Olaf -- St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, US (600 student musicians perform sacred and folk songs from around the world; through Sunday)

Constitution Day -- Sudan

Day of the Ninja -- sponsored by Ninja Burger!

Dingle-Fritter, Gooseberry Humple, Tiger-Get-By, LoneFolding, and Zimbor-Quattor's (Multiple Squishing of) Celebration -- Fairy Calendar

Discovery Day -- Haiti

International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development -- UN

King's Birthday -- Thailand, also National Day and Father's Day (for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birth anniversary, the founder and "father" of the nation)

National Sacher Torte Day

Nones of December -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also observed
     Faunalia -- rural festival of Faunus

Repeal Day, celebrating the repeal of Prohibition -- US

St. Bassus of Nice's Day (Patron of Nice, France)

St. Nicholas' Eve -- Belgium; Czech Republic; Hungary; Netherlands; Romania; Slovakia; parts of the UK; special observances include
      Avond -- Leewvarden, West Friesland (St. Nicholas visits and, if you are good, promises to return with trinkets and candies, which are left in waiting shoes)
      Bonhomme Noel -- France (Celebration of "Goodman Christmas")
      Klausjagen -- Arth and Kussnacht, Switzerland (with a procession of mitre-wearing figures by the Lake of Four Cantons)
      Krampuslauf -- Austria (St. Nicholas celebration, which begins the evening before the Saint's day, involving chasing and throwing snowballs at the Krampus, the imp who travels with St. Nick to punish the bad children)
      Zwarte Piet -- "Black Peter", the companion of St. Nicholas who keeps track of the good and bad children, arrives in many areas tonight

Swap a Christmas Cookie Recipe Day -- because it's fun to try new ones

Tinsel Day -- remember when this stuff used to contain lead?

Birthdays Today:

Frankie Muniz, 1985
Margaret Cho, 1968
Gary Allan, 1967
John Rzeznik, 1965
Morgan Brittany, 1950
Jim Messina, 1947
Jose Carreras, 1946
Jeroen Krabbe, 1944
J.J. Cale, 1938
Calvin Trillin, 1935
Joan Didion, 1934
Little Richard, 1932
Otto Preminger, 1906
Strom Thurmond, 1902
Walt Disney, 1901
Bill Picket, 1870
George Armstrong Custer, 1839
Christina Rossetti, 1830
Martin Van Buren, 1782

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Band on the Run"(Album), 1973 (US release date)
"The Abbot and Costello Show"(TV), 1952
"Dragnet"(TV), 1951

Today in History:

Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations, BC63
An earthquake in Naples leave about 35,000 dead, 1465
All Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I, 1496
London auctioneers Christie's hold their first sale, 1766
Henry Knox begins the transport of Fort Ticonderoga artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts, a key to later forcing the British Fleet out of Boston Harbor, 1775
C F Schoenbein obtains patent for cellulose nitrate explosive, 1846
President Polk confirms that gold has been discovered in California, triggering the next year's "Gold Rush", 1848
Daniel Stillson of Massachusetts patents the first practical pipe wrench, 1876
The first automated telephone switching system is patented, 1879
The first electric car makes its debut; it could go 15 miles between charges, 1893
University of Pittsburg makes the first use of numbers on football jerseys, 1908
The American League for Physical Culture is founded in NYC, the first US nudist organization, 1929
The 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition, is ratified, 1933
Sister Elizabeth Kenny's new treatment for infantile paralysis receives approval, 1941
A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing at least 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow, 1952
The United Nations General Assembly adopts Pakistan's resolution on security of non-Nuclear States, 1976
Shuttle Atlantis launches world's 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite. 1988
The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there, 2005

Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

If anyone wants to know why even my good clothes that i iron are covered in cat hair, here's photographic evidence of why:

"Nyah, nyah!" says Clio.

Step away from the ironing board for just a second, and this is what i come back to. The sticking the tongue out at me just as i snapped the photo was icing on the cake for her!

Today is:

Akibasan Gongen Hibuse Matsuri -- Odawara, Japan (ritual giving thanks for fire and water)

Christmas Walk and House Tour -- Geneva, IL, US (with appearances by St. Lucia and Santa Claus, lighting the tree in the Courhouse Square, home tours, and special events sponsored by local businesses; through tomorrow)

Clute's Christmas in the Park -- Clute, TX, US (food and fun; through Sunday)

Day of Quito -- Ecuador (founding of the city in 1534)

Days of Reckoning Begin -- Fairy Calendar (no, they will not tell us what they reckon)

Dia de la Constitucion Espanola -- Spain (Constitution Day)

Dickens on the Strand -- Galveston, TX, US (a Victorian Christmas presented by the Galveston Historical Foundation; through Sunday)

Farmers' Day -- Ghana

Flag Day -- Saba Island, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba

Give a Secret Gift Day -- obviously in honor of the original St. Nicholas

Gospel Day -- Marshall Islands (Kamolol, a day of Thanksgiving)

Human Rights and Peace Day -- Kiribati

Independence Day -- Aland Islands(1917); Finland(1917)

Microwave Oven Day -- patented this day in 1945

Mitten Tree Day -- remembering when mittens, along with maybe a knit cap or scarf, were the big gift to find hanging from the Christmas tree

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women -- Canada

National Gazpacho Day

National Miner's Day -- US

Pawnbrokers' Day -- on St. Nicholas' Day, in his role as Patron Saint of pawnbrokers

Quincy Preserves Christmas Candlelight Tour -- Quincy, IL, US (walking tour of beautiful homes in a different neighborhood each year; also on Dec. 20, 27 and 28)

Sindhi Topi and Ajrak Day -- Sindh, Pakistan

St. Nicholas of Myra's Day (Patron of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, archers, bakers, barrel makers, boatmen, bootblacks/shoe shiners, boys, brewers, brides, captives, children, coopers, dock workers/longshoremen, fishermen, grooms, judges, lawsuits lost unjustly, maidens, mariners/sailors, merchants, penitent murderers, newlyweds, old maids, parish clerks, paupers/poor people, pawnbrokers, perfumers, pilgrims, prisoners, scholars, schoolchildren, spinsters, students, penitent thieves, travelers, unmarried girls; Greek Catholic Church in America; Greek Catholic Union; University of Paris; Varangian Guard; Greece; Russia; also dozens of cities around the world; against imprisonment, robberies, robbers)
Christkind -- Central and Southern Europe (the traditional gift giving day, instead of Christmas)

Winterfest -- Luverne, MN, US (winter fun for all, through Sunday)

Birthdays Today:

Andrew J. Howard, 1969
Janine Turner, 1962
Andrew Cuomo, 1957
Peter Buck, 1956
Randy Rhoads, 1956
Steven Wright, 1955
Tom Hulce, 1953
JoBeth Williams, 1953
Craig Newmark, 1952
James Naughton, 1945
David Ossman, 1936
Wally Cox, 1924
Dave Brubeck, 1920
Agnes Moorehead, 1906
Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1898
Ira Gershwim, 1896
Lynn Fontanne, 1887
Joyce Kilmer, 1886
William S. Hard, 1870
John Singleton Mosby, 1833

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Star Trek VI-Undiscovered Country"(Film), 1991

Today in History:

The Mongols under Batu Khan occupy and destroy Kiev, 1240
Don Alfonso V of Aragon grants Barcelona the right to exclude Jews, 1424
The first edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica is published, in Scotland, 1768
Harriet Tubman escapes slavery, 1849
The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery, 1865
The first crematorium in the Us begins operation, in Washington, Pennsylvania, 1876
London becomes the first city to license taxicabs, 1897
One year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State comes into existence, 1922
U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that the James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene, 1933
The Vanguard rocket, the first US attempt to launch a satellite, fails, 1957
The Canadian province of Newfoundland is renamed Newfoundland and Labrador, 2001
NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars, 2006

Our dentist is someone from out of town.

If it sounds crazy to drive a few hours away to see a dentist, know this. Every local dentist we've been to has told us "you desperately need XXX at $$$$" and this dentist, who is a personal friend and works with Sweetie's department at the University, has told us our teeth are fine and need only X for $.

For some reason, dentists around here look in our mouths and see payments on their student loans or expensive cars, one or the other. This guy lives in a small town, even does all the dental surgery that many dentists now leave to specialists because he's the only dentist in that small town, and doesn't need to tell you stuff you don't need because he has plenty of business, being the only game in town.

So we drove up there on a day that began hot and muggy, got wet and cold up there, and ended hot and muggy again as the cold hadn't moved through our area yet but was on the way down. The hardest part of the day was the drive, with rain sprinkling on and off, making it necessary to really concentrate to keep the car on the road, especially once it got dark.

Things went well. Sweetie needed some work done, and it needed to be soon. Mine has been delayed as it's all cosmetic, and we need to get Bigger Girl up there next to have her wisdom teeth looked at, and maybe pulled.

While he was there getting his teeth cared for, i drove through most of the downtown in about 10 minutes, and a lot of that time was spent at red lights. The Town Hall, Chamber of Commerce, and Tourist Bureau are walking distance from the dentist's office, which is just up from the only place in town that has free wifi besides the library, the McDonald's. So i had coffee and got online a bit there, then went back to get Sweetie.

On the way back home, Sweetie insisted we drive through the town where he grew up from about age 6-12, and where he went to college. (It's a bit bigger than the small town where the dentist is, and is about a 45 minute drive away from said small town.) Thus i was treated to over an hour of reminiscences, of the "That used to be the such and such place!" and "The road past that hospital used to be where the city ended!" and "The laundromat where I washed clothes is still there, and looks almost the same!" variety.

The hotel where he and his family stayed their first night in town when his father, the new Education Pastor at the local Southern Baptist church, brought them here, is still running and still announces, as it did in 1961, that it has telephones and A/C in each room. Some places changed, but a lot is still the same. The population then was about 9,000, and is now just over double that. (The town where the dentist is located has a population of just over 5,000.)

Altogether he was pleased, and nostalgic, and surprised to find that sushi has come to this place where he has so many memories. Pretty good sushi, and miso soup, and more memories from a place he loves.

Today is:

Armed Forces Flag Day -- India

Day of Mourning for Dingle-Fritter, Gooseberry-Humple, Tiger-Get-By, LoneFolding, But Not Zimber-Quattor -- Fairy Calendar

Caldwell Country Christmas Parade & Fireworks -- Colombia, LA, US

Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tours -- Cape May, NJ, US (tours of homes, b&bs, guesthouses, hotels, and churches for 3 consecutive Saturdays)

Chester Greenwood Day Parade and Celebration/Ear Muff Day -- Farmington, ME, US (celebration of Farmington's most famous resident, the inventor of the ear muff!)

Christmas Candlelightings -- Coshocton, OH, US (Roscoe Village opens for Christmas fun for 3 consecutive Saturdays)

Christmas on the Prairie -- Wahoo, NE, US (Christmas 1800s prairie style; through tomorrow)

Día de las Velitas -- Columbia (Day of the Little Candles, a celebration on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

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

Hang a Wreath Day -- after all, by now it's about time

Holiday Happiness -- Upper Arlington, OH, US (Christmas fun for the family at the local public library)

Hollywood Beach Candy Cane Parade -- Hollywood, FL, US

International Civil Aviation Day -- UN

Letter Writing Day -- no origin info found, but think of how happy someone will be to get a letter if you write one!

Natchitoches Christmas Festival -- Natchitoches, LA, US (the biggest day in the Festival of Lights in Natchitoches, parade day and the first fireworks of the season)

National Cotton Candy Day

National Heroes' Day -- East Timor

Norskedalen's Old-Fashioned Christmas -- Coon Valley, WI, US (log home Christmas and fun for all; through tomorrow)

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day -- US

Quema del Diablo -- Guatemala (Burning of the Devil, to cast out impurities before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

Shaker Christmas Fair -- Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester, ME, US (traditional holiday church fair)

Shalako Festival -- Hopi and Zuni Native Americans (dates of main festivals and dance ceremonies vary by area, but usually the weekend nearest the 49th day after the 10th full moon)

SKYWARN Recognition Day -- National Weather Service, NOAA, and Amateur Radio Operators, working together to report dangerous weather conditions

St. Ambrose of Milan's Day (Patron of bee keepers, bees, candle makers/chandlers, domestic animals, learning, schoolchildren/students, wax refiners; French Commissariat; Milan, Italy)

Students' Day -- Iran

Spitak Remembrance Day -- Armenia

Tamale Festival -- El Centro, CA, US (tamales and arts and crafts, a fun way to holiday shop; through tomorrow)

Territorial Christmas Celebrations -- Guthrie, OK, US (old time fun this weekend and later in the month)

Anniversaries Today:

National Fire Safety Council founded, 1979
Delaware becomes the first US State, 1787

Birthdays Today:

Aaron Carter, 1987
Tino Martinez, 1967
C. Thomas Howell, 1966
Edd Hall, 1958
Larry Bird, 1956
Tom Waits, 1949
Johnny Bench, 1947
Harry Chapin, 1942
Ellen Burstyn, 1932
Ted Knight, 1923
Eli Wallach, 1915
Louis Prima, 1910
Willa Cather, 1873

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Band on the Run"(Album), 1973 (UK release date)

Today in History:

Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated, BC43
Chinese Emperor Lo-Yang makes notation of a supernova (MSH15-52), 185
Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways in the US, is completed to Trumbull, 1696
The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, 1732
Marquis de Lafayette attempts to enter the American military as a major general, 1776
The New York Philharmonic plays its first concert, 1842
Max Planck, in his house at Grunewald, on the outskirts of Berlin, discovers the law of black body emission, 1900
Leo Baekeland of Yonkers patents the first thermosetting plastic, Bakelite, 1911
The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, 1941
Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils, 1962
The first ever general election on the basis of direct adult franchise is held in Pakistan for 313 National Assembly seats, 1970
The final Apollo mission is launched, and takes the photo now called The Blue Marble as they take off, 1972
Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist, 1988
The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched, 1995
The Recording Industry Association of America files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client alleging copyright infringement, 1999
The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, 2003

...dentist visits, did you hear about the dentist who married a manicurist? It wasn't a happy union. They fought tooth and nail.

And then there was the guy who needed physical therapy for his bad knee, and fiscal therapy for his dental bills.

As for going out of town for things, we don't have a fancy GPS with an exotic accent. After all they don't make them with a "Cajun Marie" voice. You know, where instead of saying, "Recalculating," she would say, "Mon dieu! What you doin' da car like dat fer? Sacre! You done gone off the wrong road, turn dis ting 'round, cher!"

Nowfor something totally different, a fish story, as you only get in south Louisiana. The men were out trading fishing stories, and Bob from up North, who worked with the Cajuns that summer, was telling about the huge bass he caught.

One of the Cajuns responded with, "I was fishin' in de bayou a few day ago, and when I hook someting, I pull him up. It's an ol' kerosene lantern, and it was lit!"

Bob told him, "That's impossible!"

"Well," the Cajun answered, "you take a couple inches offa dat fish, and I'll blow out de light!"

In the spirit of the season, i've linked to a selection on YouTube, because i can't get it to embed. It's a Cajun Christmas song, "Walkin' in the Woods With My Parrain."

Today is:

Adoration Parade -- Branson, MO, US (celebration of traditional values of faith, family, and friendliness)

Battle Day -- Falkland Islands

Be Someone's Pillow While You Watch TV Night -- a good idea, i guess, especially if it is cold

Bodhi Day (Rohatsu) -- Buddhism (especially among Zen Buddhists, and in Japan, a celebration of the Buddha's enlightenment)

CARICOM-Cuba Day

Constitution Day -- Northern Mariana Islands; Romania; Uzbekistan(Konstitutsiya Kuni)

Dia de las Playas -- Uruguay (Day of the Beaches, a/k/a Family Day or Blessing of the Waters Day; official opening day of beach season, marked with a ceremonial blessing by a priest, as well as sailing regattas, horse races, and more)

Dita Kombetare e Rinise -- Albania (National Youth Day)

Feast of the Immaculate Conception -- Roman Catholic Holy Day of Obligation; recognized holiday in Andorra; Argentina; Austria; Chile; Columbia; East Timor; Equatorial Guinea(Patrona de Guinea Ecuatorial); Holy See; Italy; Liechtenstein; Macau; Malta; Monaco; Nicaragua(Fiesta de la Griteria); Paraguay; Peru; Portugal; San Marino; Seychelles; Spain; Switzerland; special observances
     Dia de las Playas -- Uruguay (Day of the Beaches, a/k/a Family Day or Blessing of the Waters Day; official opening day of beach season, marked with a ceremonial blessing by a priest, as well as sailing regattas, horse races, and more)
     Festa da Conceição da Praia -- Salvador da Bahia, Brazil (syncretic celebration of Yemanjá, Queen of the Ocean and the Immaculate Conception)
     Festival of Lights -- Lyon

Festival of Tiberinus -- Ancient Roman Empire (guardian of the Tiber River)

Mother's Day -- Panama

National Chocolate Brownie Day

National Students' Day -- Bulgaria (studentski praznik)

Popeye Day -- birth anniversary of his creator, Elzie Crisler Segar

Santa Marian Kamelen -- Guam (Our Lady of Camarin Day)

Second Sunday of Advent -- Christian
     Lighting the Candle of Love

St. Kliment Ohirdski -- Macedonia (St. Clement of Ohrid's Day)

Take It In the Ear Day -- a bizarre and unexplainable internet generated holiday; and by the way, your ENT will tell you not to put anything in your ear that is smaller than your elbow

The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting -- in memory of children lost the previous year

Winter Flowers Day -- internet generated, a day to find and enjoy whatever flowers are still blooming right now

Anniversary Today:

American Federation of Labor founded, 1886

Birthdays Today:

Ian Somerhalder, 1978
Dominic Monaghan, 1976
Teri Hatcher, 1964
Ann Coulter, 1961
Kim Basinger, 1953
Sam Kinison, 1953
Gregg Allman, 1947
Mary Woronov, 1946
Jim Morrison, 1943
James Galway, 1939
James MacArthur, 1937
David Carradine, 1936
Flip Wilson, 1933
Maximilian Schell, 1930
Sammy Davis, Jr. 1925
Richard Fleischer, 1916
Lee J. Cobb, 1911
James Thurber, 1894
Elzie Crisler Segar, 1894
Diego Rivera, 1886
Jean Sibelius, 1865
Willam C. "Billy" Durant, 1861
Eli Whitney, 1765
Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542
Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus), Roman writer, BC65

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"(Play), 1949

Today in History

Daitokuji temple, Rinzai line, established in Kyoto by Daito Kokushi, 1326
Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room, the second public library of Europe, 1609
The Mexican border town Ciudad Juárez is founded by Fray García de San Francisco, 1659
Margaret Hughes becomes the first actress to appear on an English public stage, playing the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello, 1660
Vienna's Ring Theater is destroyed by fire, killing over 600, 1881
The American Federation of Labor is formed by 26 individual craft unions, and Samuel Gompers is elected its first president, 1886
The Japanese military police launch a violent suppression of the religious sect Oomoto, 1935
The Chinese Nationalist government moves from mainland China to Formosa, 1949
John Lennon is murdered, 1980
The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1991
The Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations, 2004
Kirsty Williams is elected the first female leader of a political party in Wales, the Welsh Liberal Democrats, 2008
With the second launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first privately held company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft, 2010

We live in a swamp that is usually hot, and we tender Southern hothouse flowers don't do too well with cold.

The kittens know what to do when cold.

Rule number one is, snuggle up, preferably on a warm blanket.

Rule number two is, take advantage of any appliance that puts out heat, and the bottom of the refrigerator is perfect for that..

For those of you who are having ice storms and snow, keep warm, preferably by snuggling with an Aww of your own.

Today is:

Anna's Day -- Sweden and Finland (commemorates the conception of the Virgin Mary by St. Anne, celebration for all females named Anne or Anna, and the day to start the processing of the Christmas Eve lutefisk.)

Christmas Card Day -- the first commercial card went on sale on this day in 1843

Christmas Gift Memory Day -- the day to reminisce about your all time favorite Christmas gift

End of Days of Reckoning -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by St. Anne -- Orthodox Church

International Anti-Corruption Day -- UN

National Heroes Day -- Antigua and Barbuda

National Pastry Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Malawi

Remembrance for Egill Skallagrimsson -- Asatru/Norse Pagan Calendar (Viking Age poet, warrior, and rune magician)

Republic Day -- Tanzania

Search High and Low For Your Gingerbread Recipe Day -- or just give up and go to the internet for a new one, that's where i found this "holiday"

St. Leocadia's Day (Patron of Toledo, Spain)

Weary Willie Day -- birth anniversary of Emmet Kelley, Sr.

Yuri's Day in the Autumn -- Russian Orthodox Church (a celebration of St. George, as following the Gregorian Calendar)

Anniversaries Today:

Petrified Forest National Park, AZ, US, established, 1962
Christmas Seals first sold, in Wilmington, DE, US, 1907
"Charge of the Light Brigade" published, 1854
YMCA opens in Montreal, QC, CA (first in North America), 1851

Birthdays Today:

Jesse Metcalfe, 1978
David Kersh, 1970
Jakob Dylan, 1969
Kurt Angle, 1968
Felicity Huffman, 1962
David Anthony Higgins, 1961
Donny Osmond, 1957
John Malkovich, 1953
Michael Nouri, 1945
Dick Butkus, 1942
Beau Bridges, 1941
Judy Dench, 1934
Buck Henry, 1930
Dick Van Patten, 1928
Dina Merrill, 1925
Redd Foxx, 1922
Kirk Douglas, 1916
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., 1909
Grace Hopper, 1906
Margaret Hamilton, 1902
Emmet Kelley, Sr., 1898
Clarence Birdseye, 1886
Joel Chandler Harris, 1848
John Milton, 1608
Edwin Sandys, 1561

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Charlie Brown Christmas"(TV), 1965
"Coronation Street"(TV), 1960
"Salome"(Opera), 1905

Today in History:

The Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its empire, 536
New York City's first daily newspaper, the American Minerva, is established by Noah Webster, 1793
The Republic of Texas captures San Antonio, Texas, 1835
The first Young Men's Christian Association in the Americas is founded, in Montreal, 1851
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback becomes governor of Louisiana for 35 days, becoming the first black US governor, 1872
Levant Richardson patents the ball-bearing skate, 1884
Statistician Herman Hollerith installs his computing device at the United States War Department, 1888
The Norwegian parliament vote unanimously for female suffrage, 1903
The first broadcast of "Coronation Street" on British ITV, 1960
Barbados joins the United Nations, 1966
NLS (a system for which hypertext and the computer mouse were developed) is publicly demonstrated for the first time in San Francisco, 1968
The United Arab Emirates join the United Nations, 1971
The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, 1979
Phoenix, Arizona, US, gets 3 inches of snow, 1985
Lech Walesa wins the presidental election in Poland, 1990
In Australia, thieves broke into a home and stole two 300-year-old etchings by Rembrandt. The 4-by-4-inch etchings, a self-portait and a depiction of the artist's mother, were valued around $518,000, 2003

The driving lessons for Little Girl are preceding apace. She's very good, as her instructor told me she would be. She's very cautious, and very observant.

The other day, we were coming home from an errand when we ended up stopped behind another vehicle. She was talking to me about a piece of music on the radio when she suddenly realized what vehicle was in front of her, and gave a little scream. It happened to be a police car, but that's not why she was reacting that way.

"No!" she yelled. "Is that an Impala? That's awful!"

Really, i said. You must remember that i can't tell an impala from a gazelle when they are running.

"Very funny!" she snorted. "No, I mean the car! I loved the old Impalas, they were wonderful. They were classics, sharp and sleek! And look what they've done to it! It looks like a bubble on wheels!"

Looking at it, all i could see was a car. In my world, it's sedan, small truck, big truck, SUV, van, minivan. Any further distinctions get blurred out very quickly, unless it's a convertible or a VW Beetle. Being a lumper in a world full of splitters has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that i don't much care, or associate status with, what car you drive.

She, however, continued to bemoan the state of auto design in this day and time. She concluded with, "They don't make sharply designed cars any more. The Impala is a bubble, and police drive them! What has the world come to?"

Bubbles on wheels, apparently. At least, according to a sharp-eyed girl i know.

Today is:

Chief Red Cloud Day -- marking the Sioux leader's death in 1909; defender of Native rights, son of Lone Man and Walks As She Thinks

Constitution Day -- Thailand

Do Something Wild and Crazy with Velveeta Day -- guess they mean besides turn it into Hillbilly Hor d'oeuvres (melted with Rotel and served with chips)

International Animal Rights Day

International Human Rights Day -- anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948

Lux Mundi -- Ancient Roman Calendar (honoring Libertas as the bringer of light into the world)

National Lager Day

Nobeldagen -- Sweden (Alfred Nobel Day, presentations of the Nobel Prizes at the Stockholm Concert Hall)
Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony -- Oslo City Hall, Oslo, Norway

Sister-Friend Day -- internet generated, but if you have a sister who is a good friend to you, it's worth celebrating

St. Eulalia of Merida's Day (Patron of runaways, torture victims, widows; Merida, Spain; Oviedo, Spain)

Whirling Dervishes Festival -- Konya, Turkey (through the 17th)

Anniversaries Today:

Mississippi becomes the 20th US State, 1817

Birthdays Today:

Raven-Symone, 1985
Bobby Flay, 1964
Kenneth Branagh, 1960
Susan Dey, 1952
Gloria Loring, 1946
Dan Blocker, 1928
Harold Gould, 1923
Dorothy Lamour, 1914
Chet Huntley, 1911
Hermes "Pan" Panagiotopolous, 1909
Mary Norton, 1903
Melvil Dewey, 1851
Emily Dickinson, 1830
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, 1787

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Mighty Mouse Playhouse" (TV), 1955
Grand Ole Opry (first radio broadcast), 1927

Today in History:

Martin Luther publicly burns the papal edict demanding that he recant, 1520
Isaac Newton's paper De Motu Corporum in Gyrum, containing the derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, is read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley, 1684
The Massachusetts Bay Colony becomes the first American Colonial government to borrow money, 1690
The metric system is formally established in France, 1799
The first traffic lights are installed outside the Palace of Westminster in London, 1868
Women's suffrage is granted in Wyoming Territory, the first in the US, 1869
Women are granted suffrage in Tasmania, 1902
The 10,000,000th Model T Ford is assembled, 1915
The Grand Ole Opry makes its radio debut, in Nashville, Tn, 1927
UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
Ralph J Bunche becomes the first black to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, 1950
The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan's proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia, 1981
The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland; the closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages, 1993
An archive documenting the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda is revealed in the capital city of Kigali, 2010

Are children getting greedier? Or are children just children, no matter the century?

That's the question i asked myself when i saw the story comparing the list of what children asked for back in 1913, as compared to 2013.

The lists were as follows:

1913

Candy
Nuts
Rocking horse
Doll
Mittens/gloves
Toy Train
Oranges
Books
Handkerchiefs
Skates

2013

Furby Boom
Teksta Robotic puppy
LeapPad Ultra
Flying Fairy
Big Hugs Elmo
Barbie Dream House
Giggle Monkey
Nerf Gun
Ninja Turtles
Lego

The stark contrasts between the lists, and the fact that kids letters to Santa a hundred years ago often included basic necessities, has led people to assume that kids today are much more greedy.

Is it that they are greedier, or is it much more complicated than that?

The fact is, most kids today in the part of the world where these lists were written have the majority of their needs met. They get candy coming out of the wazoo, and oranges and nuts are available year 'round in the local grocery story instead of being an exotic treat. A hundred or more years ago, books could be a treasure (just ask Abe Lincoln) and most kids asked for toys that their friends had, which included dolls and toy trains.

When i read the Little House books, i was always intrigued by what the girls got in their stockings. But if Laura and Mary were alive today, even if they were living on a farm in South Dakota, would they be content now with candy, and a penny, and a new tin cup each so they wouldn't have to share? Or would they, being surfeited with candy after Halloween, and having enough dishes in the kitchen to make sharing a cup unnecessary, not to mention the fact that the pennies wouldn't do much for them, be asking for what their friends have and what they see on TV?

Is it really so different today? Kids who don't need mittens because they not only have them, but ride to school in a bus or car instead of walking in the snow (uphill, both ways, as the stories go) are much more likely to opt for a toy than a piece of clothing. Children who watch TV and see other kids with these toys are going to want them. Have the kids become greedier because the price tags associated with the toys pitched to them have gone up?

Has the fact that you can hardly go into a store and buy a toy that isn't a tech gadget taught them to expect tech gadgets? Especially when the parents have tech gadgets? When i went to get a "learning toy" for one child, i gave up on finding something that wasn't a "push the buttons" toy. Instead, i bought that toy and extra batteries, so the beleaguered mother wouldn't have to worry about running out for a while

Perhaps to a degree, and among children who get their every wish every year, there is more greed. That might say more about the parents, though, who don't teach kids realistic limits than it says about children who are trained to expect things to be a certain way. In C.S. Lewis'The Screwtape Letters, he points out that a child who sees a different type of fish knife at another person's house will think, comparing them to the fish knives at her own home, that "those aren't proper fish knives at all." Children think what they are trained in until they get old enough to go out into the world and get more information for themselves, and a child trained to believe he should get what he asks for at Christmas is going to ask, and not see it as greed, but as normal.

A wish list in a country where children aren't as secure as most are in our part of the world would read very differently, which leads me to believe that kids are pretty much the same. They are told to ask for something they would like, and they take cues from the environment, what others around them have or want, if their basic needs are already met. If those are not met, they ask for those things.

Maybe greed is a relative term.

Today is:

Agonalia -- Ancient Roman Empire; also observed
Festival for Diva Palatua -- guardian of Palatine Hill
Septimonia -- to honor the Seven Hills of Rome

Feast of Sekhmet, Bast, and Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (goddess of warfare, feline goddess, and sun god; date approximate)

Fourth Republic Day -- Madagascar

International Mountain Day -- UN

Jashan-e Sadeh / Adar-Jashen -- Zoroastrian/Parsi (a mid-winter fire ceremony for purification; date approximate)

National Day / Republic Day -- Burkina Faso

National Noodle Ring Day

Nose-Scrambling and Hair-Hiking Events -- Fairy Calendar

Pampanga Day -- Pampanga Province, Philippines

Remembrance Day of Llywelyn II -- Wales (death anniversary of Llywelyn the Last, the last native-born Prince of Wales, killed in battle in 1282)

St. Damasus' Day (Patron of archaeologists)

St. Pens' Day (Patron of Llanberis, Wales)

Tango Day -- Buenos Aires, Argentina (birth anniversary of both Julio de Caro and Carlos Gardel)

Anniversaries Today:

Unicef is established, 1946
Edward VIII abdicates, 1936
Indiana becomes the 19th US State, 1816

Birthdays Today:

Rider Strong, 1979
Gary Dourdan, 1966
Curtis Williams, 1962
Jermaine Jackson, 1954
Ken Wahl, 1953
Susan Seidelman, 1952
Teri Garr, 1949
Brenda Lee, 1944
John Kerry, 1943
Donna Mills, 1943
Rita Moreno, 1931
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1918
Carlo Ponti, 1913
Naguib Mahfouz, 1911
Marjorie H. Buell, 1904
Fiorello LaGuardia, 1882
Annie Jump Cannon, 1863
Robert Koch, 1843

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Magnum, PI"(TV), 1980

Today in History:

Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office, 359
Llywelyn the Last (born c. 1228) the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cimeri, 1282
The Aurora Borealis is seen from New England by English settlers for the first time, 1719
The first newspaper on Curacao is published, the Curacao Gazette & Commercial Advertiser, 1812
Nitrous oxide is used in dental work for the first time in Hartford, Connecticut, 1844
Boston's Bijou Theatre becomes the first American theater lit exclusively by electricity, premiering Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe" as its first performance, 1882
The New Zealand Parliament Buildings are almost completely destroyed by fire, 1907
Color moving pictures are demonstrated in Madison Square Garden, 1909
The Boll Weevil Monument is dedicated in Enterprise, Alabama, 1919
The British Parliament enacts the Statute of Westminster 1931, establishing legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Irish Free State, Dominion of Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa, 1931
Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, takes his last drink and enters treatment for the last time, 1934
Arthur Lucas, convicted of murder, is the last person to be executed in Canada, 1962
Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and last Apollo mission to land on the Moon, 1972
The Kyoto Protocol opens for signature, 1997
The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization, 2001

On the first day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (they were strung between chairs so that they would trip us if we weren't careful)

On the second day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (some of the shredded bows showed up in places you don't want to read about, lets just say kittens find bows to be delicious and leave it at that)

On the third day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (specifically, at the top of the staircase, so we would have a fun trip down)

On the fourth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (the stockings had kitten fur inside of them now, too, instead of just being covered on the outside with fur like everything else in the house)

On the fifth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (you do not want to know what it feels like to roll over and get a pine needle up your, uh, assets)

On the sixth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (they, of course, only used the most expensive paper, not the cheap stuff i got on sale last year -- only the best for their redecorating efforts)

On the seventh day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (it took hours to find all of the pieces, i kept stumbling across bits under the table or chairs, and even found one piece in the kitchen sink)

On the eighth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (the candles were sticking out of the openings in the cat tree nooks and crannies like little weird antennae -- i thought maybe they were hiding aliens in there until i got a good look)

On the ninth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, a Nativity scene knocked over, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   ( and all of the animals in the scene are still missing, i'm not so sure what to make of that; jealous of other critters getting the attention, maybe?)

On the tenth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, Christmas cards now chewed up, a Nativity scene knocked over, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (the cards had been addressed and stamped, but not mailed; since i didn't have any more cards, i sent them out anyway, even with the teeth marks, as my friends know i'm a crazy cat lady and i don't care what the post office thinks of me as long as they get the mail here before dark)

On the eleventh day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, a favorite snow globe leaking, Christmas cards now chewed up, a Nativity scene knocked over, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (and that's why i don't allow any snow globes that aren't filled with just water, because the knuckle-heads were drinking it, right next to their full water bowl; i guess it tasted better)

On the twelfth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, themselves in the tree, purring, a favorite snow globe leaking, Christmas cards now chewed up, a Nativity scene knocked over, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
   (and the only reason they didn't knock the whole tree over with the weight of them playing up in there was because i had tied it to a ceiling hook with high test fishing line)

And this, my friends, is why i don't decorate much for Christmas!

Today is:

Bonza Bottler Day™

Constitution Day -- Russia (constitution approved in nationwide referendum 1993)

Feast of Masa'il (Questions/Mystery) -- Baha'i

Gingerbread House Day -- because today is as good a day to start making one as any

Hovercraft Day -- the first prototype of a hovercraft was patented this day in 1955 by British engineer Christopher Cockerell

Independence Day -- Kenya (Jamhuri)(1953)

Miracle of the Roses / Our Lady of Guadalupe -- Catholic Christian; related celebrations
     Fiesta del Virgin de Guadalupe -- Mexico
     Las Mananitas -- Puerto Rico

National Ambrosia Day

National Cocoa Day

National Ding-A-Ling Day -- an unofficial day on which to honor all the ding-a-lings you know, and even act like one yourself if you wish

Neutrality Day/National Day and Student Youth Day -- Turkmenistan

Poinsettia Day -- death anniversary of Joel Roberts Poinsett

St. Finnian of Clonard's Day (Father of Irish Monasticism; going to bed without supper tonight means you risk being carried away by the fairies)

St. Lucy's Eve -- Austria (night of the shining that some use to predict the future)

Thomasville's Victorian Christmas -- Thomasville, GA, US (relive Christmas past all through the downtown area; through tomorrow)

Unmentionable Thoughts Festival -- Fairy Calendar (Imps, Goblins, and naughty Fairies)

Yuletide Lads begin arriving -- Iceland (Jolasveinar trolls, children of Gryla and Leppaludi, who come one each day to bring gifts and mischief from now until Christmas)
     Yuletide Lad of the Day, Stekkjarstaur -- Sheepfold Stick, who will try to drink the milk from the farmers' ewes

Anniversaries Today:

Jerry Lee Lewis weds his cousin Myra Gale Brown, 1957
Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd US State, 1787

Birthdays Today:

Mayim Bialik, 1975
Rey Mysterio, Jr., 1974
Madchen Amick, 1970
Jennifer Connelly, 1970
Tracy Austin, 1962
Sheila E. 1957
Cathy Rigby, 1952
Robert Lindsay, 1949
Tom Wilkinson, 1948
Emerson Fittipaldi, 1946
Dionne Warwick, 1941
Connie Francis, 1938
Robert Lee "Bob" Pettit, Jr., 1932
Edward Irwin Koch, 1924
Bob Barker, 1923
Bob Dorough, 1923
Joe Williams, 1918
Frank Sinatra, 1915
Edward G. Robinson, 1893
Edvard Munch, 1863
Gustave Flaubert, 1821
William Lloyd Garrison, 1805
John Jay, 1745 (Old Style date)
Erasmus Darwin, 1731

Today in History:

The Battle at Ninevah: Byzantine emperor Heraclius defeats Perzen, 627
The Order of the Dragon is created by Sigismund, King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje, following the battle for possession of Bosnia, 1408
Isabella crowns herself Queen of Castile and Aragon, 1474
Jews are expelled from Schlettstadt Alsace by Emperor Frederick III, 1479
In Vienna, Ludwig von Beethoven receives his first lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn, 1792
Mexico is officially recognized as an independent nation by the US, 1822
The first Canadian coins are circulated (1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent and 20 cent), 1858
Rudolph Dirks' first Katzenjammer cartoon strip appears in the NY Journal, 1897
Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is founded, 1897
George F Bryant of Boston patents the wooden golf tee, 1899
Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland, 1901
Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India, 1911
Oscar Straus becomes US Secretary of Commerce, the first Jew to be a US Cabinet member, 1906
The first all metal aircraft, the Junkers J-1, is test flown in Dessau, Germany, 1915
In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys, 1917
The first prototype of a hovercraft is patented by British engineer Christopher Cockerell, 1955
Guinea joins the United Nations, 1958
The Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR, 1991
An asteroid named 4179 Toutatis, over 3 miles wide, passes within 4.3 million miles, or 18 lunar distances from Earth, 2012

Because people know i work in cat rescue, they often feel they can simply drop animals on me and expect me to take care of them. These people are called "irresponsible idiots."

One such stray was dropped on us recently. She's a sweet little girl, about 6-7 months old, and kept trying to get into the house. Thus i knew she wasn't feral, just cold and hungry.

To protect our own cats from anything she might have (and she at least has fleas and diarrhea), we set her up with a shelter out of doors and plenty of food and water.

Today, at my expense because the cat rescue can't take her yet, she is going to the vet to at least get a test for disease and medication for the diarrhea so i can let her in the house. The rescue will get her in the program early next year, but until then, we are it.

Last night, we brought her in and put her in the isolation cage so i would be able to get her when it was time for the appointment. (Five of the kittens were going in for surgery at the same time.)

Here she is, in the arms of #1 Son:

She's a sweet little tabby thing, and doesn't hiss at the other cats, but she did knock over the neighbor's parakeet cage that they had put outdoors so the birds could get some sun on one of the nicest days we've had in a while. So she can't be left outdoors to make mischief, and that means another foster cat for us.

Today is:

Acadian Remembrance Day -- Acadians of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island

Count the La's in "Deck the Halls" Day -- just so you can say you know

Feast of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (goddess of joy, feminine love, and motherhood; date approximate)

Fetes de l'Escalade -- Geneva, Switzerland (Scaling, or Climbing Day; celebrating the defeat of the Duke of Savoy's troops; through Sunday)

Fiesta de Santo Thomas -- Chichicastenango, Guatemala (week long festival celebrating the town's Patron Saint that includes the Palo Volador dance, where men hang by ropes from 30 meter poles, spinning and swinging)

Ice Cream and Violins Day -- another of those silly made up holidays that no one can trace, but would be fun to celebrate. Get yourself a bowl of buttered pecan or rum raisin -- if you are going to celebrate, do it in style -- and put in a Mozart or Bach CD, and enjoy!

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Giljagaur -- Gully Oaf, who tries to sneak in the cowshed and skim the cream from the pails of milk

Ides of December -- Ancient Roman Calendar; other observance
     Festival for Tellus -- a/k/a Tellura or Tellus Mater, the personification of the earth's productive powers

Jum ir-Repubblika -- Malta (Republic Day)

National Day -- Santa Lucia

National Salesperson's Day -- US (begun by Maura Schreier-Fleming)

New Calendar Day -- time to get the 2014 model, unless you contribute to so many charities you are already flooded with them

Peace Day -- Korea (the fighting stopped in 1953, but the Koreas didn't sign a formal nonaggression pact until this day in 1991)

Runic Half-month Jara commences (fruition)

St. Herman of Alaska (Orthodox Church Patron of the Americas)

St. Jodocus' Day (Patron of boatmen, harvests, mariners, sailors, watermen; against fever, fire, storms, and shipwrecks)

Saint Lucy's Day (Patron of authors, blind people, cutlers, glaziers, laborers, martyrs, peasants, saddlers, salesmen, sore eyes/eye problems, sore throats, stained glass workers; Begijnendijk, Flemish Brabant, Belgium; Conzano, Italy; Mtarfa, Malta; Perugia, Italy; Santa Lucia di Piave, Italy; Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; Villa Santa Lucia, Latium, Italy; against blindness, dysentery, epidemics, eye diseases, hemorraghes)
     Feast of the Light-bringer -- honoring Juno Lucina (Roman goddess of light) and Lucia (Old Swedish goddess of light), all now merged with St. Lucy
     Little Yule a/k/a Luciadagen or Santa Lucia (Festival of Lights in many parts of Scandinavia, honoring St. Lucia.)

Thorn Cutting Ceremony -- Glastonbury, Somerset, England (a sprig from the tree supposedly planted by Joseph of Arimathea is cut, with great ceremony by the eldest child of St John’s Infant School, and sent to the Queen, to decorate her table on Christmas Day)

Unreturned Library Book Sale -- Fairy Calendar (Imps)

Birthdays Today:

Taylor Swift, 1989
Amy Lee, 1981
Tom DeLonge, 1975
Christie Clark, 1973
Jamie Foxx, 1967
Steve Buscemi, 1958
Wendie Malick, 1950
Ted Nugent, 1949
John Davidson, 1941
Aga Khan IV, 1936
Christopher Plummer, 1929
Dick Van Dyke, 1925
Archie Moore, 1913
Kenneth Patchen, 1911
Mary Todd Lincoln, 1818
Heinrich Heine, 1797

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Susan B. Anthony Dollar(USD coin), 1978
"Alice's Restaurant"(Song and Album), 1969
"An American In Paris"(Symphony), 1928

Today in History:

The Council of Trent opens, 1545
Sir Francis Drake sets sail from England to circumnavigate the globe, 1577
Emperor Ferdinanad II delegates the first Anti-Reformation decree, 1621
The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes 3 militias which are today seen as the founding of the United States National Guard, 1636
Dutch navigator Abel Tasman becomes the first European to land in New Zealand, 1642
Dartmouth College in New Hampshire is chartered, 1769
Charles Dickens'"A Christmas Carol" is published, sells 6,000 copies, 1843
Italo Marcioni patents an ice cream cone, 1903
The Relay 1 communication satellite is launched, 1962
Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or "Moonwalk" of Apollo 17, 1972
The European Union announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004, 2002
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured, 2003
The Baiji, or Chinese River Dolphin, is announced as extinct, 2006

It was time for rEcess, and it was flu season.

You have to know the two don't mix.

We had already put it off a week because of another conflict in the church calendar, so that was just enough time for half of our volunteer base, including the main leaders, to come down with the flu.

For those who might not know what rEcess is, it's where volunteers care for special needs kids and their siblings, free, on a Friday night, so parents can have a date night and have time just for each other.

These aren't kids you can leave with the teen down the street.

This week, we had Pete, who has Down's Syndrome and doesn't communicate very well, as well as his twin brothers, who both think hitting others in the head with balls is how to play (they are very rough and tumble boys).

Pete runs to the end of the hall, Gracie runs after him.

We had Jack, who cannot walk and has limited control of his arms and hands. He has to use his chair, or be carried, or roll everywhere he wants to go.

Jack rolls up the steps.

Jack rolls across the stage.

Gracie watches Jack roll across the floor, and claps for him.

Jack, carried by Marty.

As you can see from the photo, Jack's limbs are totally stiff, he cannot move them much, so he rolls and squirms himself where he wants to go. He doesn't let it stop him from playing ball. His version of football uses a tennis ball that he can just barely grip between his hands, and everyone else playing has to roll on the floor, too!

We also had Lynn, and her older sisters. Lynn is non-verbal, and has several severe handicaps. She is tube fed, and has always been in a wheelchair.

Lynn, as she has always come to us.

We had a huge surprise this night, as Lynn is now crawling, and even pulling herself up to stand a bit! Her sisters were proud to help her show off.

She crawled so well she had to be chased!

Gina and her two sisters and brother came. She wouldn't let me get her picture, she is shy that way sometimes. She was especially shy when i caught her trying to sneak crackers from the Sunday school snacks! She's on a special diet, some of which has to be tube fed to her, but it doesn't stop her from running and having fun.

Then, there's my friend Gracie.

She started her life in an orphanage in a Third World country, where she was in a crib for most of the first two years of her life. She has a seizure disorder, one they think she will outgrow, and is behind her peers in many skills. She's making strides to catch up, though.

Gracie never lets a closed door stand in her way.

While we were short many volunteers, we weren't short on a good time. Each special needs child had a person assigned, and that left three volunteers, including Little Girl, to watch the siblings. We made obstacle courses, and played indoor ball (including Jack's special way, everyone on the floor), watched the Grinch, and even made angel crafts to take home.

Gracie's angel. She loves to use glue!

This night, i really noticed how far Gracie has progressed. She's never wanted to participate in the craft before, and this time could hardly contain her excitement. She watched Jack closely as he rolled on the floor, and had to get down on the floor and try it for herself. It's like she wants to imitate all that she sees, instead of just watching as she has done for so long.

In spite of the flu trying to ruin a good time, we had a great night, and will meet back again in February.

Today is:

AKC/Eukanuba National Championships -- Orlando, FL, US (top dogs from around the world compete to see -- who really is top dog? through tomorrow)

Ako Gishi sai -- Ako, Japan (traditional dances and warrior parades honoring the 47 Ronin)

Buy a Tree Day / Deck the Halls Day -- internet generated, and if you are going to decorate, why did you wait this long?

Christmas Bird Count begins -- sponsored by the National Audubon Society (through Jan. 5; since 1900, the longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations)

Christmas Festival in Salvador -- Salvador, Brazil (one fun party, with many different activities through New Year's Day)

Day of the Horse -- California, US

Hakidaore Ichi -- Tokyo, Japan (fabulous shoe festival; through tomorrow)

Halcyon Days begin -- a time of calm and tranquility (beginning seven days before the winter solstice, lasting until December 28, seven days after the solstice; named for an ancient fabled kingfisher bird [or halcyon], which hatches and raise her young during this time)

Hanatoro -- Kyoto, Japan (flower and light festival; through the 23rd)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Stufur -- Shorty, who is also known as Ponneskefill, the pan-scraper, who will scrape food scraps from the pans left out

International Shareware Day

Khoiak Ceremony for Ploughing the Earth -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Le Foire aux Noix -- Bastogne, Belgium (annual "Nuts Fair", commemorating the liberation of the city and the Rights of the Child; through tomorrow)

Live: Family Christmas at the Benjamin Harrison Home -- Indianapolis, IN, US (Christmas as it would have been during the life of the 23rd President)

Magal de Touba -- Touba, Senegal (Muslim pilgrimage to honor the memory of Sheikh Amadou Bamba, with the main festival on Dec. 21)

Monkey Day -- unofficial, by animal groups, to draw attention to the plights of simians kept in labs and as pets

National Bouillabaisse Day

National Energy Conservation Day -- India

Play An Old Song That You Didn't Like To See If You Still Don't Like It Day -- internet generated, and don't bother, bad songs don't improve with age

Precalentines Day -- an unofficial holiday for math lovers begun by a precalculus class at a Nova Scotia high school

South Pole Discovery Day -- thank you, Roald Amundsen

St. John of the Cross' Day (Patron of contemplative life, contemplatives, mystical theology, mystics, Spanish poets; Ta' Xbiex, Malta)

St. Spyridon's Day (Patron of Corfu, Greece, and potters)

Victorian Christmas Tours at Frank Lloyd Wright Home -- Oak Park, IL, US (today and next Saturday)

Winterfest Boat Parade -- Ft. Lauderdale, FL, US (The Greatest Show on H2O)

Anniversaries Today:

Alabama becomes the 22nd US State, 1819
Princess Mary Stuart is crowned Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542

Birthdays Today:

Vanessa Hudgens, 1988
Paul "Beakman" Zaloom, 1951
Dee Wallace Stone, 1948
Patty Duke, 1946
Jane Birkin, 1946
Ernie Davis, 1939
Lee Remick, 1935
Charlie Rich, 1932
Don Hewitt, 1922
Shirley Jackson, 1919
Morey Amsterdam, 1914
Spike Jones, 1911
Margaret Madeline Chase Smith, 1897
James Harold Doolittle, 1896

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Saturday Night Fever"(Film), 1977
"Diamonds are Forever"(Film), 1971

Today in History:

Osman ibn Affan is appointed the third kalief of Islam, 644
The Zuider Zee seawall collapses, 50,000 lives are lost in the floods that follow, 1287
The first artificial pearls, made of gypsum pellets covered with fish scales, are manufactured by M Jacquin in Paris, 1656
The Montgolfier brothers' first balloon lifts off on its first test flight, 1782
David Wilkinson of Rhode Island patents a machine that cuts nuts and bolts, 1798
The American Academy of Political and Social Science is organized in Philadelphia, 1889
The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from Ocean Beach, San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii, 1902
Norwegian Roald Amundsen becomes the first to reach the South Pole, 1911
Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sri Lanka join the United Nations, 1955
The United Republic of Tanzania joins the United Nations. 1961
NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus, 1962
Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations, 1999
The Millau viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, near Millau, France is officially opened, 2004

Dear Boudreaux,

Tanks, mon cher, fo' de pear tree, but i doan tink it will grow in de swamp, so i change it for a satsuma. De bird, what you call a "partridge", was good in de dirty rice.

Dear Boudreaux,

Tanks again, mon cher, fo' dem two "turtle doves." Dey look jes' like pigeons, and went well in de gumbo.

Dear Boudreaux,

Much as you is my love, I'm gittin' tired of all dem birds! Two of dem prissy hens you sent i give to my frien' Marie, and de udder to my Catahoula cur dog.

Dear Boudreaux,

Mias, cher, i done tol' you, no more dem birds! Dese "callin' birds" was so noisy, we heard dem all de way across Gran' Bayou! Dey was good gator bait, tho'.

Dear Boudreaux,

Now you talkin'! Gold rings is so useful, i hock them up in town and use de money to fix ma shrimp boat and buy a roun' of drinks fo' de boys and me while I was dere. Merci!

Dear Boudreaux.

Dem birds again! Geese dis time! Dey is scarin' de dog, and I doan know what I'm a gonna do. Maybe one of dem will be good for Christmas dinner, but de rest got to go, dey peck like crazy when you try to take de eggs, not like de chickens. An' you know I got no use fo' birds dat don' give me eggs.

Dear Boudreaux,

Do you be insane! Thibeau de mailman is 'bout to wanna kill you, but he gotta get in line. Dem swans, I sent dem out for a swim on de bayou, and some duck hunters from Mississippi done shot dem and take dem for trophies.

Dear Boudreaux,

Poor Thibeau de mailman had to make lotsa trips to deliver dem eight young girls wit' dere cows. De gators spooked one o' de cows and it near upset his boat! Den dose girls, dey won' do nuttin' aroun' here -- dey say cleaning' fish ain't in de contract. I don' trust dem.

Dear Boudreaux

Thibeau done had to borrow de ferry boat to bring dem leapin' twits out chere, an' dey want tea and won' drink de coffee wit' chicory. How I'm a gonna feed all deze people? Dem cows done et up most of my turnip green patch, and mos' ever'ting else I be growin', too! An' dey's all too snooty for de fried nutria an' alligator.

Dear Boudreaux,

I know now dat you out you ever lovin' mind, and Thibeau gonna kill you fo sure. He bring me dem half nekkid floozies from Bourbon Street, and dey say dey is Ladies but dey don' act like no ladies I ever done see, specially in front dem Limey leapin' twits. We done be eatin' a couple de' cows now, and I done had to go get dem terlit paper, dey won' use de Sears catalog, dey's too snooty to use dat on dere behin's!

Dear Boudreaux,

Where y'at and pip pip an all dat. De pipers came from de House of Blues, second linin' as dey got off de boat. Dey all having fun now, dancin' wit de floozies, and we fixing stuffed goose and beef jambalaya, and we's gonna have us a fais-do-do.

Dear Boudreaux,

Cheerio an' all dat. Well, I ain't your mon cher no mo', no. After de fais-do-do, me an Jaques done spent de night together, an' we gots us enough pipes and drums fo' a band, and de dancin' floozies gonna dance, and de leaping Limey "Lords" gonna be de valets and the maids wait tables, an' we gonna have a nice restaurant and gentlemen's club right out chere on de bayou. Ta ta!

Today is:

Alcyone -- Ancient Greek Calendar (kingfisher goddess; date approximate, but during the Halcyon Days)

Bill of Rights Day -- US

Cat Herders Day -- for those whose job or life is like trying to herd cats; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Centipede Boot-Making and Shoe-Repair Season begins -- Fairy Calendar

Consualia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Festival for Consus, god of graineries, with games and races in the Circus Maximus in his honor)

Coonskin Cap Day -- debut of "Davy Crocket" on TV's "Disneyland" in 1954 (and the original Davy Crockett hated the things, by the way)

Homecoming Day -- Alderney, UK

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Pvorusleikier -- Spoon-licker, who tries to steal all the wooden spoons he can find

Kasuga Wakamiya on-Matsuri -- Nara Prefecture, Japan (dates to the 12th century, to pray against plague and for a good harvest; through the 18th)

Koninkrijksdag -- Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba; Sint Maarten (Kingdom Day)

National Lemon Cupcake Day

National Regifting Day -- be careful here!

Navidades begin -- Puerto Rico (traditional Christmas celebrations that last through Three Kings Day)

Setagaya no Bori Ichi -- Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (a two day flea market that dates back to 1578)

St. Nino's Day (Patron of Georgia)

Third Sunday of Advent -- Christian
Lighting the Candle of Joy

Trivial Pursuit Day -- honoring Canadians Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, who created the game on this date in 1979

Zamenhof Day -- International Esperanto Community

Anniversary Today:

Sylvester Stallone weds Brigitte Nielson, 1985

Birthdays Today:

Adam Brody, 1979
Garrett Wang, 1968
Helen Slater, 1963
Nick Beggs, 1961
Don Johnson, 1949
Dave Clark, 1942
Tim Conway, 1933
Edna O'Brien, 1931
Friedensreich Hundertwasser, 1928
Uziel "Uzi" Gal, 1923
Jeff Chandler, 1918
Stan Kenton, 1911
J. Paul Getty, 1892
Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, 1859
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel,1832

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Charlie Girl"(Musical), 1965
"Gone With the Wind"(Film), 1939

Today in History:

Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Ticameron, 533
Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia, 1265
Bartholomeus Diaz returns to Portugal after sailing round Cape of Good Hope, 1488
The State of Holland grants patent on a windmill with crankshaft, 1593
The first US law school is established at University of Pennsylvania, 1791
The first Irish magazine in US, Shamrock, is published, 1810
The first street-cleaning machine in US is used in Philadelphia, 1854
The King of Hawaii becomes the first reigning king to visit the Us, and is received by President Grant, 1874
The London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opens, 1906
Bandleader, Major Glenn Miller, is lost over English Channel, 1944
Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida; four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7, 1965
Samoa becomes a member of the United Nations, 1976
U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and cut off all relations with Taiwan, 1978
The 3rd reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down, 2000
The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean, 2001
Boeing's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington, 2009

Being away from home is so difficult for parents, and never more so than at a special holiday time.

This can be true for parents who have to travel for work, and for those who are divorced and the children are with the ex this year. Somehow, though, i think it's probably worst for those who are in prison. Somehow i can only imagine how much the lifestyle choices that led to a prison sentence can weigh on a parent who now cannot see the joy in her/his children's eyes when they open gifts. One of life's biggest Aww moments is watching kids tear into a gift on Christmas morning.

That's why there is a ministry called Angel Tree. It's part of Prison Fellowships Ministries, and inmates can ask that toys be given to their children in their name, and with messages of love from behind bars.

The children love that their parent in prison didn't forget them, and the parents specify what type of toy or gift the child gets.

Thus last week, Little Girl and i braved the mall (a place we almost never go), and actually hit upon a store that had what we needed right off. There may have been a real angel guiding us there.

Then, on Saturday, we went to the children's home, and gave them the gifts from their father, who is in Angola Penitentiary. (Note: about 80% of the men who end up there are there for 40+ years to life, which means most of them do not ever get out. Their only contact with their children is through Prison Fellowship/Angel Tree and the rare visits the families can make up there.)

The 3-year-old got the learning toys specified.

Finding a purse for a 10-year-old at the mall worked!

Because the toys for the younger girl were electronic learning toys (the kind that each alphabet and numbers and other basic skills), we also gave the mother a gift -- a large pack of batteries!

Today is:

Barbie and Barney Backlash Day -- if you need an explanation, you don't have kids; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Beethoven Day -- celebrate the anniversary of his birth by listening to one of his fine works

Bijoy Dibosh -- Bangladesh (Victory Day)

Day of Reconciliation -- South Africa

Day of the Republic -- Kazakhstan (Independence from the USSR in 1991)

Festival of Sapientia -- Ancient Roman Empire (personification of wisdom and knowledge)

Full Cold Moon or Full Long Nights Moon (also Black Moon or Death Crone Moon)
     Mangshir Dhanya Purnima -- Nepal (special harvest/farming festival that starts off the month of Mangshir)
     Nattaw Full Moon -- Myanmar
     Unduwap Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka (began sunset yesterday)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Pottasleiker -- Pot-licker, who tries to snatch unwashed pots and lick them clean

Man Will Never Fly Memorial Society Annual Meeting

National Chocolate Covered Anything Day

National Day/Independence Day -- Bahrain(1971)

Posadas Navidenas (Fiesta of the Virgin of the Lonely) -- Mexico (celebrated through the 24th, "pilgrims" go house to house seeking shelter to commemorate the search of Mary and Joseph for shelter in Bethlehem)

Simbang Gabi -- Philippines (Christmas festivals that last until Three Kings Day)

St. Adelaide's Day (Patron of abuse victims, brides, empresses, exiles, in-law problems, parenthood, parents of large families, princesses, prisoners, second marriages, step-parents, and widows)

Stupid Toy Day -- make sure you aren't giving any of those to any kids you buy for

Tea Party Day -- Boston, MA, US (anniversary of the 1773 Party)

Vijay Diwas -- India (Victory Day)

Wan Kila Haeng Chat -- Thailand (National Sports Day)

Birthdays Today:

Michael McCary, 1971
Benjamin Bratt, 1963
William "Refrigerator" Perry, 1962
Jon Tenney, 1961
Alison La Placa, 1959
Billy Gibbons, 1949
Benny Andersson, 1946
Steven Bochco, 1943
Lesley Stahl, 1941
Liv Ullmann, 1939
Bruce N Ames, 1928
Arthur C. Clarke, 1917
Margaret Mead, 1901
Noel Coward, 1899
Wassily Kandinsky, 1866
George Santayana, 1863
Jane Austen, 1775
Ludwig von Beethoven, 1770
Catherine of Aragon, 1536

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"One Day At a Time"(TV), 1975
"Dragnet"(TV), 1951
"Me and My Girl"(Musical), 1937
"Variety"(Magazine), 1905
Dvorak's "From the New World"(Symphony), 1893 (often called "New World Symphony")

Today in History:

An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China, 755
Mount Vesuvious, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000, 1631
Oliver Cromwell sworn in as English Lord Protector, 1653
The last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan, 1707
A big tea party in Boston harbor -- Indians welcome -- is "celebrated" (Boston Tea Party), 1773
Fire burns over 600 buildings in NYC, 1835
In New Zealand, the Charlotte-Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, 1850
The Kingdom of Nepal accepts its constitution, 1862
Antonín Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, From The New World is given its world première performance at Carnegie Hall, 1893
The first submarine with an internal combustion engine is demonstrated, 1897
The "Great White Fleet" sails from Hampton Downs on its round the world tour, 1907
The first credit union in the US is formed, in Manchester, New Hampshire, 1908
The first US postage stamp picturing an airplane, a 20 cent parcel post, is issued, 1912
Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity", 1915
The Haiyuan earthquake, magnitude 8.5, rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000, 1920
Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again, 1937
Thailand joins the United Nations, 1945
William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain build the first practical point-contact transistor, 1947
Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first post-Depression era US city to default on its loans, owing $14,000,000 to local banks, 1978
An episode of Pokemon, "Denno Senshi Porygon", aired in Japan induces seizures in 685 Japanese children, 1997
George W. Bush signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 into law, 2003

Every year, the south Louisiana levee system sees bonfires lit on Christmas Eve -- lighting the way for Pere Noel, or Te Clause, whichever French term you choose.

In our neighborhood, a couple of weeks before Christmas, on a Sunday evening, we do something similar with luminaria bags lighting the streets. It almost looks, as Bigger Girl notes, like runways for Santa to land on.

It's a fun time, when lots of neighbors turn out to greet each other and share hot cocoa and cookies provided by the Civic Association, and admire each other's decorations.

We stop by one house that always has one of the couples who've lived in our neighborhood longest dressed as Santa and Mrs. Clause. They have a really nice decoration set up, too.

Santa and Mrs. Claus, giving out hot cocoa and cookies.

Mechanical Santa in front of gift display -- he sings!

The fire department, as long as they are not called away, bring two trucks and a pick-up truck pulling Santa in a trailer. They make the rounds of the neighborhood, throwing candy. This year, the Santa had a megaphone, and was calling out so vehemently and throwing candy so vigorously that Bigger Girl said he had to be mainlining his cocoa!

From a distance, the fire trucks just look like big blurry lights.

Santa loves to throw candy!

There is one house in the neighborhood that always goes all out for the Christmas decorating. This year, the gentleman couldn't put his things up, he's now in a wheelchair. One of his sons and a cousin came in to town specifically to set it up for them, and two young neighbors, age 6 and 9, directed the men as to where each piece goes. It was as lovely as ever.

Their display dazzles.

Everyone stops to walk past and lingers a bit.

It's not quite cold enough to be the North Pole, but we can pretend.

They decorate the whole yard, porch, and everything.

Santa heading into the swamps!

The Gator, whose name is Claude, actually has two funny stories associated with him. One, he is a real gator, stuffed, that the lady of this house shot while on a gator hunt. Her husband told her that for her 43rd wedding anniversary she could have a big diamond, or an alligator hunt. She went hunting, and got Claude.

The other funny story is that when #2 Son was young, he loved to put his head in Claude's mouth and pretend he was an alligator tamer. They people who live here don't mind that, and they don't mind if small children get in the sleigh on the lawn for a picture, too.

My camera doesn't do the sleigh and lights justice.

It's always a fun night, and this year we had Young Jacob with us, too. After all, as the people who go all out to decorate will tell you:

This says it all!

Today is:

Christmas Festival in Salvador -- Salvador, Brazil (begins around now, lasts until New Year's Day)

Clean Air Act Day -- US (passed this day 1963; a day to give thanks for the air we breathe)

Cookie Cutter Day

Daniel the Prophet's Day -- Orthodox Catholic Feast Day

Feast of Babalu Aye -- Yoruba/Santeria (celebration of the healer of deadly diseases)

Feast of the Fairy Godmothers -- Fairy Calendar

Hagoita Ichi -- Sensoji Temple, Japan (sale of specially decorated paddles, called hagoita; through the 19th)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Askasleikir -- Bowl-licker, who hides under the bed and snatches bowls set on the floor to lick them clean

Kasuga Wakamiya Festival -- Nara, Japan (rarely performed traditional dances at a festival held every year since 1136)

National Day -- Bhutan

National Maple Syrup Day

Procession of Agnios Dionysios -- Zakynthos, Greece (one of the biggest festivals of the year, when the relics of this island's patron saint is honored)

Saturnalia begins (through Dec. 23) -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Saturn, the planter god)

Sow Day -- Orkney Islands, Scotland (ritual slaughter of a sow for the Yule feast)

St. Lazarus of Bethany's Day

Take a New Year's Resolution to Stop Smoking -- Tanyrtss, the 25th annual campaign goes through February; make the decision now to improve your life and health next year

Wright Brother's Day -- US

Anniversary Today:

Tiny Tim weds Miss Vicky, 1969

Birthdays Today:

Milla Jovovich, 1975
Duff Goldman, 1974
Sean Patrick Thomas, 1970
Mike Mills, 1958
Bill Pullman, 1954
Wes Studi, 1947
Eugene Levy, 1946
Chris Matthews, 1945
Ernie Hudson, 1945
Bernard Hill, 1944
Tommy Steele, 1936
Bob Guccione, 1930
William Safire, 1929
Willard Frank Libby, 1908
Arthur Fiedler, 1894
John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807
W. L. Mackenzie King, 1874
Joseph Henry, 1797
Deborah Sampson, 1760

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Simpsons"(TV), 1989
Turner Broadcasting System(Cable TV Network), 1976
"El Pessebre"(Casals' Oratorio), 1960
"On The Beach"(Film), 1959

Today in History:

The Ostrogoths of King Totila conquer Rome by bribing the Byzantine garrison, 546
Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur, 1398
Pope Paul III excommunicates England's King Henry VIII, 1538
Go-Yozei becomes Emperor of Japan, 1586
Shimabara Rebellion: Japanese peasants led by Amakusa Shiro rise against daimyo Matsukura Shigeharu, 1637
Congregation Shearith Israel of NY purchases a lot on Mill Street in lower Manhattan, to build NY's first synagogue, 1728
France recognizes independence of English colonies in America, 1777
Aztec calendar stone discovered in Mexico City, 1790
NYC traffic regulation creates first 1-way street, 1791
Opening of the first legislative assembly of Lower Canada in Quebec city, 1792
The US state of Kentucky abolishes debtors prisons, 1821
General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky, 1862
First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert, 1865
Violent riots in Montreal, as workers demand work or bread,1875
France declares Madagascar a protectorate, 1885
George Brownell patents a machine to make paper twine, 1895
A first prize of 100,00 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials, but Martians are excluded - considered too easy, 1900
The Wright Brothers make their first successful flights, 1903
First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane, 1935
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and dummy Charlie McCarthy first appear on TV, 1936
The SALT I talks begin, 1969
Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years, 1989
SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first supersonic flight, 2003

Things i've heard around here lately.

*********************

"Mom, I think I want to know what it's like to be seriously sleep deprived. Do you think I could get into one of those studies where they keep you up for five days straight to see what happens?" Bigger Girl came home from school asking this.

Well, i'm not sure you want to do that, i noted. It's really not healthy.

"I know, but it would be interesting. And by the way, they've found that after an extended period of wakefulness like that, you only need one good, long 15 hour stretch of sleep to get back to normal. By the way, did it ever occur to you that maybe religious belief is more like schizophrenia than anything else?"

No, i answered, i can't say i've ever thought of that.

**********************

"There's been another snafu at work," Sweetie came in saying.

What is it this time? i asked.

"Well, some boxes were sent off that shouldn't have been, but since I wasn't there they can't blame me. It's another case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing."

"Oh, are you talking about politicians?" Bigger Girl walked in and asked, when she heard that. "They never know what they are doing, even when they pass the laws!"

Yeah, that too, i said wryly.

***********************

Upon hearing a noise i couldn't identify, i peeked around the side of the house and saw hair that could only belong to Festus.

Festus! i exclaimed. Are you breaking something at my house again?

"No, ma'am. I'm trying to fix the fence I broke before, but now I can't get the sword unstuck from it."

Very well, i sighed. Carry on.

***********************

#1 Son walked into the kitchen with some type of coffee drink in a can. The can had a neat little hole in the side, and he was holding the liquid in, although a bit seeped out from around his finger.

"Festus shot my coffee can!" he exclaimed.

Why? i asked.

"Because they are nuts with those airsoft guns!" he answered, meaning Festus and #2 Son.

Later, i asked Festus about it and he said, "Well, I knew from the angle and the fact that i was so close to it, that it wouldn't leak much!" (He is at a magnet high school in all honors classes, including in the sciences, and has the highest GPA at the whole school -- has since he started attending. That's why the kid is so scary, he's brilliant as well as destructive. He probably could have mathematically proven why the can wouldn't leak much from that angle.)

About an hour after that, i came across #2 Son, with one of the airsoft rifles.

"Pardon me while I stuff this shotgun in my pants!" he said as he stuffed it down and covered the top with his coat.

Son, i noted, you do not have a concealed carry permit!

"Mom, it's an airsoft, and I'm not leaving our property. I'm hunting for Festus while he hunts for me."

Son, i further noted, not to sound like one of your favorite movies or anything, but, you do realize you can actually shoot someone's eye out with one of those things.

"Yeah, well, that's not going to happen," he said.

And you know this because? i asked.

"Because we never aim above the waist!" he grinned.

Today is:

Bake Cookies Day -- the holiday for everyone!

Eponalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (feast of Epona, goddess of fertility and horses, mules, and donkeys; during the Saturnalia and the only Roman honoring of a Celtic deity)

Flake Appreciation Day -- snow or human, your choice!

Free Shipping Day -- with 386 participating merchants so far

Hug a Soccer Player Day -- this "holiday" has a Facebook page, but no other history

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Hurdaskellir -- Door-Slammer, a noisy fellow who tries to keep everyone awake

International Answer the Phone like Buddy the Elf Day -- for fans of the film Elf, starring Will Ferrel

International Migrants Day -- UN

Khoiak Ceremony for the Sokar Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (falcon god; date approximate)

Let's See What We Find In the Fridge Day -- to bravely see if you've left anything in the back that you shouldn't have

National Day / Founder's Day -- Qatar

National Roast Suckling Pig Day

National Scrooge Week begins -- at least according to Mr. Ed

Nuestra Senora de la Soledad -- Oaxaca, Mexico (Our Lady of Solitude, Patron of the lonely, of Oaxaca, and of sailors who bring her pearls)

Republic Day -- Niger

St. Flannan's Day (Patron of Killaloe, Ireland)

Tulya's E'en -- Orkney Island (beginning of the Yule season when evil spirits roamed; date approximate, as we aren't sure if they equated Yule initially with Dec. 25 or the 22nd)

Urs of Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai -- Sihdh, Pakistan (festival celebration of the Shah's birth anniversary)

Wear a Plunger On Your Head Day -- observe this internet generated holiday at your own risk (and you will be one of the human flakes, i guess, that the rest of us appreciate)*

Anniversaries Today:

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's future president, marries Asif Ali Zardari, 1987
Capitol Reef National Park established, Utah, US, 1971
The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, outlawing slavery, takes effect, 1865
New Jersey becomes the 3rd US State, 1787

Birthdays Today:

Christina Aguilera, 1980
Katie Holmes, 1978
Earl "DMX" Simmons, 1970
Rob Van Dam, 1970
Rachel Griffiths, 1968
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, 1964
Brad Pitt, 1963
Ray Liotta, 1955
Leonard Maltin, 1950
Steven Spielberg, 1946
Keith Richards, 1943
Ossie Davis, 1917
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, 1917
Douglas Fraser, 1916
Betty Grable, 1916
Willy Brandt, 1913
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., 1912
Ty Cobb, 1886
Joseph Grimaldi, 1778

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Sunshine Boys"(Play), 1972
"To Tell The Truth"(TV), 1956
"The Nutcracker"(Ballet), 1892

Today in History:

Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic, BC218
Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan", officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China, 1271
The Mayflower lands in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts with 102 Pilgrims on board, 1620
Abel Tasman becomes first European to land in New Zealand, 1642
Thomas Fleet publishes "Mother Goose's Melodies For Children", 1719
Empress Maria Theresa expels Jews from Prague, Bohemia & Moravia, 1774
The first celestial photograph (of the Moon) is made in US, by John Draper, NYC, 1839
William Bond obtains the first photograph of Moon through a telescope, 1849
Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Mesa Verde, 1888
The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook Narrow-gauge (2 ft 6 in or 762 mm) Railway (now the Puffing Billy Railway) in Victoria, Australia is opened for traffic, 1900
The Piltdown Man, later discovered to be a hoax, is supposedly found in the Piltdown Gravel Pit, by Charles Dawson, 1912
Japan joins the United Nations, 1956
Saturn's moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker, 1966
Dominica joins the United Nations, 1978
HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium, 1997
The first of a series of floods strikes Malaysia, 2006

*Unless this should have been Wear A Brand New, Never Before Used Plunger on Your Head Day, and was started by the plumbing supply industry

Step 1: Get a call from Festus telling you there is a stray cat hanging around his workplace. It is friendly, and it is trying to eat one of the rats that had been poisoned at said workplace. (Said workplace deals in food, and has to use heavy duty stuff to keep vermin out or be closed by the Health Department.) They were concerned, so could the rescue take the cat? Tell him, since you aren't even home at the time, that he will have to call and make arrangements. Come home to find he brought the cat to the field across the street, that it has found your house and adopted you, even trying to get inside whenever it can, and that it has uncontrollable diarrhea.

Step 2: Set up a place for the kitty, now called Porch Kitty, on the front porch, with food, water, and a nice warm place to sleep. Make arrangements to take her to the vet for tests and other medical care.

Step 3: A few days later, put Porch Kitty in the big isolation cage for one night so you will be able to find her the next morning when it's time to go to the vet. Take her and 5 fosters to the vet and drop them off. Come home late that night, after Sweetie picked the cats up from the vet to find out that Porch Kitty needs five kinds of medication, one of them for two weeks. Another has to be rubbed on her sore bum several times a day. Hope the cat appreciates that her bum is being salved a few times a day, but doubt it seriously.

Step 4: Make further arrangements to have Porch Kitty spayed, out of fear that she will go into heat, escape the house, and you will end up with even more cats. Take her for spaying, along with another foster. Go pick her up to find out that when they shaved her, they found a scar, so she was already spayed! Have it hit you like a thunderclap that you haven't checked her yet for a microchip.

Step 5: Find her microchip, and track her down to the local cat rescue that is associated with the pound, the one for which you fostered two of the bottle babies that are just now big enough to go for adoption. Call the pound and talk to the people in charge of fosters. Tell them about what's up with one of their cats, which is missing from its foster home and which said foster home hasn't even reported to be missing. Figure out, along with the lady from the foster program, that the former foster home is a bad one and no longer to be used. Also figure out that this cat has already been completely vetted and that, except for the medication for the diarrhea, all the other money spend on medical testing and care was unneeded.

Step 6: End up fostering Porch Kitty yourself!

Yes, really. That's what happened, and we need to come up with a better name than Porch Kitty, since she is no longer out on the porch. She is the most laid back cat i've ever seen. She never growls at other cats, even if they are growling at her. She just tries to make friends with them, and she is already friends with every person she sees. Also, she will eat anything, as long as you put Forti-Flora (a probiotic for cats) on it.

Today is:

Build a Snowman Day -- occupy your mind, as Christmas seems too far away still; if you have no snow, make snowball cookies

Chocolate Pizza Day -- yes, really

E-Mail Santa Claus Just in Case He Didn't Get Your Letter Day -- send it here
Festival for Juventas -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of youth, protector of young soldiers)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Skyrgamur -- Curd-glutton, who loves skyr (milk curd) so that he sneaks in the pantry to try to get it all

I've Got My Big Fat Guy Pants On Day -- someone tired of tight clothes started this, a day to wear whatever you like, so long as it is comfortable -- and roomy

Look for an Evergreen Day -- although if you haven't bought your tree by now, you may have waited too long

National Hard Candy Day -- this time of year, it probably means candy canes

National Heroes and Heroines Day -- Anguilla

National Oatmeal Muffin Day

Opalia -- Roman Empire (feast of Ops, goddess of abundance; 3rd day of the Saturnalia)

Riddle-Making Trials -- Fairy Calendar

Robinson Crusoe Rescue Day (1686)

St. Bernard Valeara's Day (Patron of Teramo, Italy)

St. Samthann (Samantha) of Meath's Day (Patron of the spiritual life)

United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation -- UN

Anniversary Today:

First radio broadcast from space, a Christmas greeting from President Eisenhower, 1958

Birthdays Today:

Jake Gyllenhall, 1980
Alyssa Milano, 1972
Tyson Beckford, 1971
Amy Locane, 1971
Kristy Swanson, 1969
Criss Angel, 1967
Jessica Steen, 1965
Jennifer Beals, 1963
Janie Fricke, 1952
Robert Urich, 1946
Richard Leakey, 1944
Alvin Lee, 1944
Tim Reid, 1944
Cicely Tyson, 1939
Al Kaline, 1934
David Susskind, 1920
Leonid Brezhnev, 1906
Ralph Richardson, 1902
Carter Godwin Woodson, 1875
Minnie Maddern Fiske, 1865
Mary Ashton Livermore, 1821
William Edward Parry, 1790

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Titanic"(Film), 1997
"The Man with the Golden Gun"(Film), 1974
"Homecoming A Christmas Story"(TV introduction of "The Waltons"), 1971
"The Music Man"(Musical), 1957
"A Christmas Carol"(publication date), 1843
"American Crisis"(publication date of the Thomas Paine essay in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls."), 1776
"Poor Richard's Almanack" (publication of first issue by Benjamin Franklin), 1732

Today in History:

Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor, 324
The Seldjuken under Toghril Beg occupy Baghdad, 1055
The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery depart England carrying settlers who found, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States, 1606
Benjamin Franklin, under the name Richard Saunders begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack", 1732
Thomas Paine publishes his first "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote that "These are the times that try men's souls," 1776
Chinese troops occupy the capital Thang Long Vietnam, 1788
The US state of Kentucky becomes the first to appropriate money for road building, 1795
The US state of Georgia becomes the first to pass a birth registration law, 1823
Allen Wilson of Connecticut patents a sewing machine that can sew a curved seam, 1854
Albert L. Jones patents corrugated cardboard, 1871
The first black US Catholic priest, Charles Uncles, is ordained in Baltimore, 1891
The first city ordinance requiring separate neighborhoods for blacks and whites is passed, in Baltimore, 1910
Robert Ripley begins his "Believe It Or Not" column in the NY Globe, 1918
The British Broadcasting Corp begins transmitting overseas, 1932
The US Earth satellite Atlas transmitted the first radio voice broadcast from space, 1958
The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, returns to earth, 1972
The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that the People's Republic of China, in 1997, would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, is signed, 1984
Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from internal exile in Gorky, 1986
A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia, 2001

Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

The Porch Kitty, it turns out, had the foster name "Doodle" while in the program with the local animal control. As long as she's still part of that program, we will have to officially keep that name. We, however, call her "Ladybug."

(She's too pretty to be named after what we euphemistically call "doodle" around here, especially as right now hers is still runny.)

Today is:

50 Ways To Leave Your Lover Day -- marking the debut of the song, think of 50 ways to stay with the one you love, and do one!

BPT Remembrance Day -- try to remember what breakfast was like BPT (before Pop-Tarts)

Cathode Ray Day -- the kinescope (cathode ray tube) was patented by Vladimir Zworykin on this day in 1938

Dot Your I's With Smileys Day -- a great internet generated idea, if you are a 9-year-old girl

Election Day -- Madagascar

Fete des Cafres -- Reunion (Abolition Day)

Go Caroling Day -- if you have the voice for it, enjoy

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Bjugnakraekir -- Sausage-pilferer, who will steal any kind of sausage you don't manage to hide from him

Incwala Day -- Swaziland (the biggest day of the 8 week Ncwala Festival, which loosely translates as "first fruits", although today's tasting of the first of the harvest by the King is only a portion of the many days of ceremonies)

International Human Solidarity Day -- UN

Louisiana Purchase Day -- US

Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day -- Macau

Mudd Day -- for Samuel Mudd, the doctor who accidentally treated a disguised John Wilkes Boothe after he assassinated Lincoln; don't hang your head in shame if your name is Mudd! Today is your day.

National Fried Shrimp Day

National Sangria Day (If you still aren't ready for Christmas, you might need it.)

Old St. Thomas' Eve -- St. Thomas, whose feast is now in July, was formerly on Dec. 21, and the evening before used for prognostication; related observance
Tammasmass E'en -- Orkney Islands, UK (from tonight until Yule, no work was undertaken or amusements enjoyed after sunset; all alemaking for the Yule celebrations had to be done by this day

Snowflake-Riding Championships -- Fairy Calendar (no Goblins allowed!)

St. Dominic of Silos' Day (Patron of captives, pregnant women, prisoners, and shepherds; against hydrophobia, insects, mad dogs, and rabies)

Try to Remember Where You Hid The Christmas Gifts Day -- it's getting close, and you don't want to have to go out at the last minute and buy more; sponsored by "Marlar in the Morning," QFL-101 Radio, Rockford, Illinois

Underdog Day -- the day to celebrate all the number two people who make the number ones what they are (as in Friday to Crusoe); day founded by by the late Peter Moeller, THE Chief Underdog

Winter Solstice Eve

Anniversary Today:

Donald Trump weds Marla Maples, 1993
Montgomery Bus Boycott ends, 1956

Birthdays Today:

Jonah Hill, 1983
David Cook, 1982
Billy Bragg, 1957
Jenny Agutter, 1952
Uri Geller, 1946
Peter Criss, 1945
John Hillerman, 1932
David Levine, 1926
George Roy Hill, 1922
Irene Dunne, 1898
Susanne K. Langer, 1895
Robert Gordon Menzies, 1894
Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss, 1886
Harvey Firestone, 1868

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Dating Game"(TV), 1965
"It's a Wonderful Life"(Film), 1946

Today in History:

Vespasian enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor, 69
Richard the Lionheart is captured in Vienna, 1192
Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta, 1522
Peter the Great orders the Russian New Year changed from Sept 1 to Jan 1, 1699
The Louisiana Purchase is formally transferred from France to US for $27M, 1803
The international cantilever railway bridge opens at Niagara Falls, 1883
North America's longest railway, at 50,000km, the Canadian National Railways, is established, 1919
The first international dogsled mail leaves Minot, Maine for Montreal, Quebec, 1928
The cathode-ray tube is patented by Russian immigrant Vladimir Zworykin, 1938
Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom, 1955
Djibouti and Vietnam join the United Nations, 1977
NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X, 1996
US District Court Judge John E. Jones III rules against mandating the teaching of "intelligent design" in his ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 2005
Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days, 2007

Heroes

Aww Monday: My Baby!

Driving Mom Crazy

Entertaining

Learning Curve

Feline Friday: Nyah!

Making Memories

Speaking of...

Aww Monday: Gotta Keep Warm

Sharp Observation

Can They Really Compare?

Welcome to the Kitty House at Christmas

Feline Friday: Face of a Stray

rEcess Flu

Silly Sunday: Dear Boudreaux

Aww Monday: Little Angels

Runways for Santa

Heard Here

How to Have a Cat Make You Crazy

Feline Friday: Face of a Stray, Part 2