messymimi's meanderings

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Greetings again. I am Kida. Do not let the lady who thinks she is in charge convince you that I am KidaMosquito, always buzzing around, as she says. She feeds, and forces me to take pills, and is useful but does not understand that, as a Siamese, I Am Cat, and I will supervise everything. That's what befits my position.

Yes, I am beautiful, and worth many Awwws.

If you wish to know what little I am willing to reveal about my background, you may go read the previous post I made.

The big man who goes to work is still mine, although I do not choose to go upstairs to the room where he and the lady sleep. Yes, even if I am of a certain age, I can still climb the stairs. In fact, I do so when the situation demands, such as when I simply must put my paw down on something (usually insisting it is high time I was fed!). However, I simply choose not to most of the time. If you hear rumors that I am becoming incapacitated, ignore them, it is patently untrue.

More clever humans may notice that I have slimmed down a bit since last year. Don't let the lady who feeds us fool you, this is because I knew it was the only way to get fed the special food reserved for those of us who deserve it. Dry kibble is all well and good for the riff raff, but I deserved canned food and took steps to make myself appear that I needed it, and so now I get it.

It's how I do things, I take charge.

Right now, I'm going to go take charge of a few morsels. Thank you for your interest in me, now you are dismissed.

It's time for my dinner.

Today is

Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis -- Holy See (Vatican City)

Day to Give Thanks for Fish/Seafood -- anniversary of the US Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1976

Eighty-Niner Days Celebration -- Guthrie, OK, US (commemoration of the Oklahoma Territory Land Run of April 22, 1889, celebrating their heritage with chuck wagon feeds, "gunfights", a parade and carnival; through Sunday)

Environmental Protection Day -- anniversary of the 1962 publication of Silent Spring

Feast of Rotten Endings -- because some stories just don't end well

Global Day of Action on Military Spending -- sponsored by by the International Peace Bureau (IPB) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)

Huguenot Day -- Huguenot Society of the US (anniversary of the 1598 Edict of Nantes, in which King Henry IV promoted peace between Catholics and Protestants)

Ides of April -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also
     Festival of Libertas -- personification of freedom and political liberty
     Festival of Jupiter Libertas
     Festival of Jupiter Victor

International Plant Appreciation Day -- unsponsored by any but those who love plants

National Peach Cobbler Day

Poshui Jie -- Jinghong, China (Water Splashing Festival; a 3 to four day festival around this time)

Scrabble Day -- anniversary of the 1899 birth of its inventor, Alfred Mosher Butts

Sechselauten -- Zurich, Switzerland (Six Ringing Festival, traditional driving out of winter through the symolic destruction of the Boog - Old Man Winter - in the form of a snowman; through tomorrow)

Songkran Festival / Chiang Mai Songkran / Tamil New Year / Bangla New Year / Bisket Jatra -- Bangladesh; Cambodia; India; Laos; Myanmar; Nepal; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand (New Year festivals, celebrated over the next few days, as the sun enters the zodiac sign of Aries)

Squashing of Moonhopper Day -- Fairy Calendar

St. Hermengild's Day (Patron of converts; against drought, flood, and thunderstorms)

Thomas Jefferson Day -- US

U.S. Elephant Day -- marking the arrival of the first elephant in the US in 1796

Yayoi Matsuri -- Nikko, Japan (five day spring festival)

Birthdays Today:

Jonathan Brandis, 1976
Rick Schroder, 1970
Garry Kasparov, 1963
Saundra Santiago, 1957
Max Weinberg, 1951
Peabo Bryson, 1951
Ron Pearlman, 1950
Al Green, 1946
Tony Dow, 1945
Lowell George, 1945
Jack Casady, 1944
Bill Conti, 1942
Paul Sorvino, 1939
Lyle Waggoner, 1935
Don Adams, 1926
Howard Keel, 1919
Eudora Welty, 1909
Samuel Beckett, 1906
Butch Cassidy, 1866
F.W. Woolworth, 1852
Thomas Jefferson, 1743
Guy Fawkes, 1570

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Arcadia"(Play), 1993
Casino Royale(Film), 1967
Silent Spring(Publication date), 1962
"El Capitan"(Operetta), 1896
"Messiah"(Oratorio, HWV 56), 1742

Today in History:

The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt with the capture of Louis IX of France, 1250
Henry IV of France signs the Edict of Nantes, granting freedom of religion and political rights to Huguenots (French Protestants), 1598
John Dryden, age 36, becomes the first English Poet Laureate, 1668
George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland, 1742
The first elephant seen in the Western Hemisphere arrives from India, 1796
The British Parliament grants religious freedom to Roman Catholics, 1829
Hungary becomes a republic, 1849
The first US Pony Express run is completed, 1860
George Westinghouse patents a steam powered brake, 1869
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded, 1870
J.C. (James Cash) Penney opens his first store, 1902
British troops fire on unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India, killing at least 379 and wounding over 1,200 more, 1919
Helen Hamilton becomes the first woman US Civil Service Commissioner, 1920
Lord Clydesdale makes the first flight over Mt. Everest, 1933
The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated on the 200th anniversary of his birth, in Washington, D.C., 1943
Van Cliburn becomes the first American to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, 1958
Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field, 1963
An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the spacecraft while en route to the Moon, 1970
The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan, 1972
Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the United States' first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1, 1974
Portugal and the People's Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999, 1987
Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament, 1997
Former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak and sons, Alaa and Gamal, are detained for 15 days of questioning regarding charges of corruption and abuse of power, 2011
The People's Republic of China and the U.S. agree to work towards eliminating nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula, 2013

Bet you don't know where I am!

Link: Hi, I'm Link, and that's Little Girlie, and I'm going to play hide and seek in the covers!

Ready or not, here I come!

Little Girlie: While Tuna Breath, over there, acts like a 2-month-old kitten, which he always does, I'll let you know that our first post with our back story is here.

See what I have to put up with? Hide and seek is fun!

Link: Quit calling me Tuna Breath, and I get to go first because of that alphabet thing, whatever it is! You always try to take over. That's what comes with being old and cranky!

Little Girlie: I heard that!

Link: I know you did, this time I meant for you to! And I'm not a kitten, I'm three years, and if I still want to run and play, what's wrong with that? It means I'm young at heart, so I'm perfect to own Little Girl as my human. She's also the only one allowed to call me Tuna Breath, because she loves me.

Little Girlie: If she loves you, and she's yours, how come she won't sleep with you?

Link: She says I keep her up all night, something about school.

Little Girlie: And you climb on her and knead on her and drool, you little amateur. If you want to sleep at night with your pet human, the way I do with Bigger Girl, you have to let them actually sleep at night.

Link: But it's so much fun to play at night! In the dark, you can attack feet better! What's so important about school, anyway?

Little Girlie: Plenty is important about it. Why do you think Bigger Girl has me edit her school papers? She wants to do well, so she can get a good job someday.

Link: Silly people, always talking about work!

Little Girlie: That's because work is what pays for your food! Unless, of course, you want to live on what you can catch yourself.

Link: That might be fun!

Little Girlie: Yes, for the first day, of course. But if you think life outside catching your own food is easy or fun, just go look at SissyCat.

Link: Oh, yeah. Well, school is still overrated, and I want to go play now. Bye!

Little Girlie: Little knucklehead. He just doesn't get it. I don't like that Bigger Girl has to work late, and some nights stays with her friends who live near her work so she won't have to drive home, but I understand. It's hard on me, though, because then I have to be in the room with Tuna Breath. Oh, well, he falls asleep eventually.

That little whippersnapper wears me out!

Today is

Ambedkar Jayanti -- India (birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, father of the Indian Constitution)

Americas Day -- Honduras

Be Kind to Lawyers Day -- after all, you will need one someday, for something

Black Day -- South Korea (for those who got neither Valentine's gifts nor White Day gifts; singles wear black and get together to eat black noodle soup)

Celebrations in the Houses of Ra, Osiris, and Horus -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Children with Alopecia Day -- information here

Children's Day in Florida -- FL, US

Craft Brewers Conference & Brewexpo America® -- Denver, CO, US (through the 17th)

Day of Mologa -- Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia (commemorates the destruction of the town of Mologa during the construction of the Rybinsk Reservoir)

Day of the Georgian Language -- Georgia (marking the 1978 protests of Soviet attempts to suppress the Georgian language)

Elfin Choir Congress -- Fairy Calendar

Ex Spouse Day -- why?

Hocktide Festival/Tutti Day -- Hungerford, Berkshire, England (commemorates a battle in 1002 A.D. when Saxon women defeated the invading Danes; celebrated in the Middle Ages by women imprisoning their men and, after paying the church, retrieving them)

International Moment of Laughter Day -- started by Izzy Gesell

Kinetoscope Day -- the first commercial exhibition of motion pictures through Edison's "peep show" device occurred on this day in 1894

London Book Fair -- Olympia, London, England (one of the world's most important book fairs; through the 16th)

Look Up At The Sky Day -- internet generated, no history on this one, but if it's a pretty day, take advantage of it (some sites say April 12, but since we don't know who started it, today is fine)

National Dolphin Day -- US

National Equal Pay Day -- US (the date of how far into 2015 a US woman had to work to earn what a US man did in 2014)

National Library Workers Day -- US (always the Tuesday of National Library Week)

National Love Our Children Day -- sponsored by STOMP Out Bullying and Love Our Children USA

National Pecan Day -- these nuts have their own website

N'Ko Alphabet Day -- Mande Language Speakers

Pan American Day -- Order of the American States

Pathologists' Assistant Day -- US (American Association of Pathologists' Assistants)

Rato Machhindranath Jatra -- Nepal (chariot races for the god of rain; cannot confirm this year's date, but always begins mid-April)

Reach as High as You Can Day -- internet generated, and listed on various dates; a good idea, anyway, whenever you decide to celebrate it

Runic Half Month of Man (humanity) begins

Sacrifices to Leto, Pythian Apollon, Zeus, Hermes, and the Dioscuri in the Deme of Erichia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Sidereal Equinox New Year Celebrations -- throughout South and Southeast Asia, including
    * Assamese New Year, or Rongali Bihu (India's Assam Valley)
    * Bengali New Year, or Pohela Boishakh (Bangladesh and India's West Bengal state)
    * Burmese New Year, or Thingyan (Burma)
    * Hindu and Sikh New Year, or Vaisakhi (Punjab region)
    * Khmer New Year, or Chol Chnam Thmey, most commonly celebrated on April 13(Cambodia)
    * Lao New Year, or Songkan / Pi Mai Lao, generally celebrated from 13 to 15 April (Laos)
    * Malayali New Year, or Vishu (India's Kerala state)
    * Nepali New Year, or Bikram Samwat / Vaishak Ek (Nepal)
    * Oriya New Year, or Maha Visuba Sankranthi (India's Orissa state)
    * Sinhalese New Year, or Aluth Avurudhu (Sri Lanka)
    * Tamil New Year, or Puthandu (India's Tamil Nadu state)
    * Thai New Year, or Songkran, celebrated from 13 to 15 April (Thailand)
    * Tuluva New Year, or Bisu (India's Karnataka state)

Sommarsblot -- Ancient Norse Calendar (celebration of the coming summer, with sacrifices to the gods over the next several days; through Walpurgis/May 1)

Spring Hula Hooping Day -- try out the old hula hoop one more time, then toss it

St. Benezet's Day (Patron of bachelors, bridge builders; Avignon, France)

St. Lydwina of Schiedam's Day (Patron of ice skating/roller skating/skaters, prolonged suffering, sick people; Schiedam, Netherland; against bodily ills and sickness)

St. Peter Gonzalez's Day (Patron of boatmen, mariners, sailors, watermen)

St. Tiburtius' Day (Considered the day the cuckoos return to England for the spring)

Takayama Spring Festival -- Takayama City, Japan (often considered one of the 3 most beautiful festivals in Japan; through tomorrow)

Thingyan -- Myanmar (Water Festival; through the 16th)

Vaisaki/Baisakhi -- Sikh (celebration of the spring grain harvest and of the rebirth of the Sikh religion in the 15th Century)

Youth Day -- Angola

Birthdays Today:

Abigail Breslin, 1996
Sarah Michelle Gellar, 1977
Adrien Brody, 1973
Anthony Michael Hall, 1968
Greg Maddux, 1966
Cynthia Cooper, 1963
Robert Carlyle, 1961
Brad Garrett, 1960
Emma Thompson, 1959
Ritchie Blackmore, 1945
Julie Christie, 1941
Pete Rose, 1941
Loretta Lynn, 1935
Rod Steiger, 1925
John Gielgud, 1904
Arnold Joseph Toynbee, 1889
Anne Sullivan, 1866
Emperor Momozono, 1741
Christiaan Huygens, 1629

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Boys in the Band"(Musical), 1968
"Bye Bye, Birdie"(Musical), 1960
The Grapes of Wrath(Publication date), 1939
"Jeux d'enfants"(Ballet), 1932
"Murders in the Rue Morgue"(Publication date), 1841
American Dictionary of the English Language(Publication date), 1828

Today in History:

Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, who is wounded, BC 43
Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, surrounds the Jewish capital with four Roman legions, beginning the Siege of Jerusalem, 70
Temur, grandson of Kublai Khan, is elected Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, 1294
The foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France is laid, 1434
Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush establish the first abolitionist society in the US, 1775
Napoleon calls for establishing Jerusalem for the Jews, 1799
Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary, 1828
The Donner Party departs Springfield, Illinois, 1846
Harriet Tubman begins her first Underground Railroad run, 1853
William Bullock patents the continuous-roll printing press, 1863
Abraham Lincoln is shot at Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth, 1865
Canada sets denominations of currency as dollars, cents, & mills, 1871
Canada passes the Dominion Lands Act, 1872
The RMS Titanic hits an iceberg  at 11:40pm and sinks 2 hours later, 1912
The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden, 1927
The Grapes of Wrath, by American author John Steinbeck is first published by the Viking Press, 1939
The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit, 1958
The heaviest hailstones ever recorded, at 1 kilogram, hailstones fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92, 1986
The most costly natural disaster in Australian history, a hailstorm, strikes Sydney, Australia, 1999
The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%, 2003
The Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County, 2005
Ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano drifts towards Europe, causing air traffic to close over Northern Norway, 2010
The first-ever European MP's of Croatia are determined in an election held in anticipation of Croatia gaining formal entry into the European Union, 2013

I know I'm a big, handsome dude!

Hey, everyone, it's me, Mikey! You might not remember, so you can go here if you want and get more on me.

Yes, it's been a year, and my pet human, #1 Son, still has us here. It was supposed to be temporary, but he had some trouble when a job didn't work out, so we haven't gotten our own place yet.

No, I'm not in a hurry. After all, I'm running the place. Kida thinks she's queen, and I let her think so, but she's harmless. Link has figured out he can't attack me and get away with it, so that's better. Dansig and I are still tight buddies, and Enigma still loves me and is my special sister. Mostly, the rest of the cats don't give me any trouble any more.

I'm a good door guard!

I say most though because SissyCat, that they call Tripod, now she's a pill. She and I still scrap a lot. That's one reason I wouldn't mind moving out and being in a house with just me and Enigma and #1 Son again. Although I would miss Dansig.

And I'd miss the people here. They pet me a lot . I even like to get my stomach petted! Most cats don't, but i do. Little Girl picks me up and nuzzles me, and they let me and Dansig go outside on the side porch to play. We don't try to run away, it's too good here.

Well, it's time for me to take a nap. On my back, the way I like to!

Rub my tummy on the way out, would you? I like it!

Today is

Celtic Tree Month Saille (willow) begins

Day of the Sun -- North Korea (Kim Il Sung's Birthday Holiday)

Ebertfest/Roger Ebert's Film Festival -- Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL (in the best show biz tradition, the show will go on; through Sunday)

Fast Food Day -- the first franchised McDonald's opened this day in 1955 in Des Plaines, IL, US

Father Damien Day -- Hawaii, US (Patron of lepers)

Festival of Heru; Festival of Bast -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fluff Appreciation Day -- internet generated; i guess as a distraction for Tax Day

Fordicalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (cow sacrifice to the earth mother, Tellus Mater)

Guangzhou (Canton) Spring Trade Fair -- Guangzhou (Canton), China (a month-long spring trade fair held the same dates each year)

Hillsborough Disaster Memorial -- Anfield at Liverpool, England

Income Tax Pay Day -- Philippines; US
     related observances:
     Freak Out Day
     National Griper's Day (after all, you have to pay your taxes, and the Titanic sank today*)
     Tax Resistors' Day -- good luck!
     That Sucks Day (appropriate, isn't it)

Jackie Robinson Day -- Major League Baseball

National Bookmobile Day -- US, on the Wednesday of National Library Week

National Glazed Ham Day

Poetry & the Creative Mind Gala -- Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY, US (an extraordinary evening celebrating the role of contemporary poetry in American culture sponsored by Academy of American Poets)

Rubber Eraser Day -- today in 1770, Joseph Priestly described a vegetable gum which had the ability to rub out pencil marks

St. Hunna's Day (Patron of laundresses, laundry workers, washerwomen)

Swallow Day -- England (traditional date of the return of chimney swallows)

Take a Wild Guess Day -- sponsored by Jim Barber as a day to honor guesses, hunches, inspirations, speculations and other forms of “intuitive intelligence;” just not on your taxes, please

Thank Your School Librarian Day -- the Wednesday of National Library Week

Tipsa Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (celebration of the start of plowing)

Titanic Remembrance Day

World Creativity and Innovation Week -- always begins on DaVinci's birth anniversary
    World Art Day -- because he was an artist as well as inventor

Yom HaShoah -- Judaism (Holocaust Remembrance Day; begins at sunset)

*If you want to add others reasons why today should be considered "That Sucks Day", please go share your horror story of the day at www.thatsucks.net

Anniversary Today:

Gallaudet University is founded, 1817 (first US public school for the deaf)

Birthdays Today:

Emma Watson, 1990
Ilya Kovalchuck, 1983
Seth Rogen, 1982
Patrick Carney, 1980
Anna Torv, 1978
Emma Thompson, 1959
Evelyn Ashford, 1957
Heloise Cruse Evans, 1951
Amy Wright, 1950
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, 1947
Claudia Cardinale, 1939
Roy Clark, 1933
Elizabeth Montgomery, 1933
Leon Schotter, 1922
Harold Washington, 1922
Hilda Simms, 1920
Hans Conried, 1917
Bessie Smith, 1894
Thomas Hart Benton, 1889
Sam Rodia, 1875
John Munroe Longyear, 1850
Henry James, 1843
Joseph E. Seagram, 1841
Charles Willson Peale, 1741(O.S. date)
Leonardo da Vinci, 1452

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"In Living Color"(TV), 1990
"Driving Miss Daisy"(Play), 1987

Today in History:

Pope Innocent III refuses to grant permission to the Jews of Cordova, Spain, to build a synagogue, 1250
Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London, 1755
The first school for the deaf in the US opens in Hartford, Connecticut, 1817
The last day US silver coins are allowed to circulate in Canada, 1870
Harley Proctor begins producing Ivory Soap, 1878
General Electric Company is incorporated, 1892
The Titanic sinks, 1912
Insulin becomes available to diabetics, 1923
Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas, 1924
Jackie Robinson debuts with the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1947
White Rock, British Columbia officially separates from Surrey, British Columbia and is incorporated as a new city, 1957
Tokyo Disney Resort (and the Tokyo Disneyland park) opens in Tokyo Bay (Japan), 1983
Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in the People's Republic of China, 1989
Representatives of 124 countries and the European Communities sign the Marrakesh Agreements revising the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and initiating the World Trade Organization, 1994
Astronomers at San Francisco State University announce the discovery of the first multiplanet solar system besides our own, three planets around Upsilon Andromedaie, 1999
Volcanic ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland leads to the closure of airspace over most of Europe, 2010
In a Schrodinger's cat experiment, researchers in Japan and Australia successfully teleport wave packets of light; this is the first transfer of quantum information from one point to another, 2011

In our house, the kids know that if they want to tell me something, especially if they need for me to know something early in the morning, to leave a note on Old Bessie, the computer in the kitchen office area.

The notes are how they tell me things i need to know.


A request to be awakened early in the morning.

A note regarding a vehicle.

Even Red-headed Alec leaves me notes.

A request for the keys.

Another request for wake up.

A note about where something was left for me, and a request for info.

A note telling me there's a poisonous snake in the house, not to let it out.

Where would we be without our notes?

Today is

Day of Mushroom Encouragement -- Fairy Calendar

Dogwood Festival -- Camdenton, MO, US (a rite of spring festival under the beautiful dogwood trees; through Saturday)

Dronningens fodselsdag -- Denmark (Birthday of Queen Margrethe II)

Emancipation Day -- Washington, D.C., US

Fiesta San Antonio -- San Antonio, Texas, US (annual celebration that honors the memory of Texas heroes who fought in the Texas war for Independence. More that 150 events, with sporting events, fireworks, dances...all culminating with the traditional "Battle of Flowers" parade! through the 26th)

Get to Know Your Customers Day (celebrated the 3rd Thursday quarterly)

Holiday of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Jim Thorpe Day -- US (by Presidential Proclamation in 1973)

National CPA's Goof Off Day -- US, the day after tax day because they deserve it!

National D.A.R.E Day -- US (by Presidential Proclamation)

National Eggs Benedict Day

National Healthcare Decision Day -- US (to inspire, educate and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning)

National High Five Day -- raising money for cancer research, sponsored by the National High Five Project

National Stress Awareness Day -- sponsored by the Health Resource Network (always on the first workday after paying taxes)

Offering to Demeter Khloe -- Ancient Greek Calendar (honoring Demeter as goddess of green shoots; date approximate)

Spring Fair in Puyallup -- Puyallup, WA, US (fun for the family, every year since 1900; through Sunday)

Support Teen Literature Day -- US (on the Thursday of National Library Week)

St. Bernadette of Lourdes' Day (Patron of people ridiculed for their piety, poor people, shepherdesses, shepherds, sick people; Lourdes, France; against bodily ills, poverty, sickness)

St. Padarn's Day (Celtic peoples traditionally begin weeding crops on this saint's day)

Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day -- US (the day after you pay your taxes, bring the comforts of home to the office; sponsored by PajamaGram)

World Entrepreneurship Day

World Voice Day -- if you've ever had laryngitis, you know how important it is to protect your voicehttp://www.world-voice-day.org

Yom HaShoah -- Judaism (Holocaust Remembrance Day; began sunset yesterday, ends at sunset today)

Anniversaries Today:

Harry Connick, Jr. marries Jill Goodare, 1994
Founding of the University of Queensland, 1910

Birthdays Today:

Lilliana Mumy, 1994
Lucas Haas, 1976
Selena Quintanilla, 1971
Martin Lawrence, 1965
Jon Cryer, 1965
Ellen Barkin, 1955
Jay O. Sanders, 1953
Kareem Adbud-Jabbar, 1947
Dusty Springfield, 1939
Bobby Vinton, 1935
Herbie Mann, 1930
Edie Adams, 1929
Pope Benedict XVI, 1927
Henry Mancini, 1924
Kingsley Amis, 1922
Peter Ustinov, 1921
Barry Nelson, 1920
Merce Cunningham, 1919
Charlie Chaplin, 1889
John Millington Synge, 1871
Wilbur Wright, 1867
Jose De Diego, 1866
Anatole France, 1844
John Franklin, 1786
Hans Sloane, 1660

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Brown Sugar"(Rolling Stones single release), 1971
"Fibber McGee and Molly"(Radio), 1935
"Mazeppa"(Symphonic poem, Liszt' S 100), 1854
"The Contrast"(Comedy), 1787 (First play by an American author, Royall Tyler, to be professionally produced on stage)

Today in History:

Calculated date of the return of Odysseus from the Trojan War, BC1178
The Jewish fortress of Masada falls to the Roman Army, ending the Jewish revolt, 73
Martin Luther is called before the Diet of Worms, 1521
Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina, 1582
The United States Senate ratified the Rush-Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada, 1880
The first passenger rail opens in India, 1853
Ebenezer Bassett, the first African-American diplomat, begins his service in Haiti, 1869
US Marshal Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle, in Dodge City, 1881
Harriet Quimby becomes the first female pilot to cross the English Channel, 1912
Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British, 1919
Annie Oakley shoots a record 100 clay targets in a row, 1922
Dr. Albert Hofmann first ingests LSD, thus discovering its effects, 1943
Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, 1947
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation, 1963
The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean, 1992
The Queen Mary II embarks on her first transatlantic voyage, 2004
President of Côte d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo declares the First Ivorian Civil War to be over, 2007

Before i get to today's letter, O is for odd, i thought i would explain the note about the snake i showed yesterday for those who might want to know or who didn't read about it when it first happened last year.

#2 Son likes snakes. When he was young, he would come in and tell me how many snakes he had caught at the creek. He kept a pet snake for years. No, this doesn't bother me, i had pet snakes as a kid, i like the critters.

On this occasion, though, i walked outdoors to find him with a poisonous snake, a cottonmouth, in a bucket in the yard. He cheerfully said, "Hey, mom, guess what! I caught a cottonmouth! Oh, and I carried it home tied up in my jacket, so will you wash the jacket for me?"

Yes, i told him, and i added, i want that snake returned to the creek early enough for it to get to its hole, it's going to freeze tonight so it can't stay outdoors. He agreed.

The next morning, i came down to find the note telling me the snake was still in the house, closed off in the big room downstairs, warning me not to let cats into that room or disturb the bucket.

The snake was returned to the creek that day, and he has learned it's not good to bring a viper to the house, it makes mom cranky.

Now, on to the letter of the day.

The kids around here are inventive, and come up with odd things. Sometimes i'll see something and not know what i am looking at.

For example, this odd contraption:

A rather odd-loooking contraption.

Odd contraption set on its side.

Red-headed Alec came up with it. You use it like this:

Uses odds and ends!

It makes a rather cheap set of speakers for your phone when you want to listen to music!

Today is

American Academy of Arts and Letters Charter Day

Bat Appreciation Day -- sponsored by Bat Conservation International, at the time of year when bats begin awakening from hibernation

Blah, Blah, Blah Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Ellis Island Family History Day -- US (by proclamation of the nations governors and in conjunction with the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, a day to celebrate the achievements and contribution of the immigrants and their descendants who came through Ellis Island; on the anniversary of the day, in 1907, when 11,747 immigrants were processed through the island, the most in one day)

Equality Day -- Canada (the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force on April 17, 1985, guaranteeing equality without regard to race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability)

Feria Nacional de San Marcos -- Palenque, Mexico (through May 10; feast of San Marcos, with rodeos, bull fights, folk dancing, parades, mariachi and muchos mas)

Flag Day -- American Samoa

Ford Mustang Day -- International (on the "birthday" of the vehicle)

Global Youth Service Day -- annual campaign to mobilize children and youth to make a difference (through Sunday)

Independence Day / Evacuation Day -- Syria

International Day of Peasants Struggle

Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest -- Washington, MO, US (professional BBQ competition, plus music and fun; through Sunday)

Make a Quilt Day -- obviously begun by someone who has no idea how long the process really takes!

Mennonite Relief Sale -- Hutchinson, Kansas, US (Mennonite, Bretheren in Christ, and Amish congregations from all across the area auction quilts, grandfather clocks, furniture, tools and crafts to raise money for hunger relief worldwide, through tomorrow)

Natchitoches Jazz Festival -- Natchitoches, LA, US (what Louisiana is known for, food, music, and passing a good time! through tomorrow)

National Cheeseball Day

National Haiku Poetry Day -- US (sponsored by The Haiku Foundation)

New Year -- Myanmar (celebrated through the 21st)

Nimble Fairies' Scattering -- Fairy Calendar

Nosy Neighbor Appreciation Day -- to be celebrated, if you dare, by greeting and thanking your neighbor for being nosy

Nothing Like A Dame Day -- a day to pay homage to the unique wit, wisdom, style and strength of dames past and present, and to cultivate the dame in you or in your life

St. Kateri Tekakwitha's Day (Patron of ecologists, ecology, environment, environmentalism, environmentalists, exiles, people who have lost their parents, people ridiculed for their piety)

St. Stephen Harding's Day (Co-founder of Cistercian Order)

Thargelia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (two day festival for the birthday of Apollon and Artemis; date approximate)

Toothbrush Appreciation Day -- think of what it would be like without one!

Verrazano Day -- New York, US (Celebrates discovery of New York harbor by Giovanni Verrazano, Florentine navigator)

Women's Day -- Gabon

World Hemophilia Day

Birthdays Today:

Victoria Beckham, 1974
Jennifer Garner, 1972
Liz Phair, 1967
Lela Rochon, 1966
Norman Julius “Boomer” Esiason, 1961
Sean Bean, 1958
Olivia Hussey, 1951
Don Kirshner, 1934
Cynthia Ozick, 1928
Harry Reasoner, 1923
William Holden, 1918
Thornton Wilder, 1897
Nikita Krushchev, 1894
Adrian Constantine “Cap” Anson, 1852
J.P. Morgan, 1837
Samuel Chase, 1741

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Caveman(Film), 1981
"McCartney"(Album), 1970 (first solo album)
"No Time for Comedy"(Play), 1939

Today in History:

Geoffrey Chaucer tells his Canterbury Tales for the first time, at the court of Richard II, ten years to the day after the pilgrimage actually began, 1397
Christopher Columbus signs his contract with Spain to find the Indes, 1492
Martin Luther stands firm and refuses to recant before the Diet of Worms, 1521
Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in America, 1797
The first Sino-Japanese War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, 1895
A one day record 11,747 immigrants are processed at Ellis Island, 1907
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios is formed by the merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and the Louis B. Mayer Company, 1924
Cartoon characters Daffy Duck, Elmer J Fudd & Petunia Pig, debut, 1937
At midnight, 26 Irish counties officially break with the British Commonwealth and form the Republic of Ireland, 1949
The Bay of Pigs Invasion fiasco begins, 1961
Ford Motor Company unveils the Mustang, 1964
Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air, 1964
The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely, 1970
Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, 1982
The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly ends, 1986
NJ Devil Martin Brodeur becomes the 2nd NHL goalie to score in a playoff game, 1997
The 5th Summit of the Americas takes place in Port of Spain; Trinidad, thirty-four heads of government attend, 2005
An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, causes 15 deaths and major damage to nearby buildings, residences, a nursing home and middle school, 2013

To know me is to know i don't do well with plants.

Don't misunderstand, i love plants, especially those that flower or that grow nice things for me to eat.

It's just that i can kill any plant, except maybe weeds and crab grass. Those will grow for me.

My black thumb is legendary, i have killed silk houseplants. If a plant knows i'm going to own it, it usually commits suicide. Sometimes the cats help it do so.

If i tried to grow some nice herbs in a kitchen window box as some people do, it would have to be called death row.

So it is with trepidation that i introduce the plant that was being given away at Sweetie's work and which he brought home to me.

It eve has flowers!

Take a good look, it will never be the same again. No, i don't even know what kind it is, and i keep looking askance at it wondering if it will wilt or explode at my touch.

Poor doomed thing, i've been told that whatever it is, i can plant it outdoors. If i do, Mike Next Door will run over it with the lawn mower, i am sure.

Anybody want to adopt it?

Today is

Adult Autism Awarenes Day -- sponsored by aheadd.org; i know the poster child!

Army Day -- Iran (Rouz-e-Artesh)

Banyan Tree Birthday Party -- Lahaina, Maui, Hawai'i (celebrating the "birthday" of Lahaina's most important landmark, their banyan tree planted back in 1973, which now covers over 2/3 of an acre; cake, nature displays, kid activities, history exhibits and more, through tomorrow)

California Poppy Festival -- Lancaster, CA, US (two fun days celebrating California's State Flower)

Cleaning for a Reason Week begins -- raising awareness of Cleaning For A Reason, which helps provide free residential cleaning to women fighting cancer

Festival of Matsu/Mazu -- Southern China and Taiwan (Taoist goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors; often worshiped in sea-faring areas surrounding China as well, although some local dates will vary; in Taichung City, the festival lasts through Sunday)

Georgia Renaissance Spring Festival -- Atlanta, GA, US (weekends through June 7)

Goddess Month of Maia begins

Hatsume Fair -- Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden, Delray Beach, FL, US (celebrating the culture and beauty of Japan; through tomorrow)

Historic Garden Week in Virginia -- VA, US (enjoying some of Virginia's finest homes and gardens)

Husband Appreciation Day

Independence Day -- Zimbabwe(1980)

International Amateur Radio Day/World Amateur Radio Day -- celebrating "ham radio" around the world ARRl

International Day for Monuments and Sites -- UNESCO

Invention Day -- Japan

Kentucky Derby Festival -- Louisville, KY, US (the warm-up celebration for the big race, much of which is free; through May 1)

Laundromat Day -- the first self-service "washateria" opened on this date in 1934 in Fort Worth, TX, US

Look-Alike Day -- internet generated, a day to try to look like someone you admire; some sites list it on the 20th

Mata Tirtha Aunsi -- Nepal (Mother's Day)

National Animal Cracker Day

National Auctioneers Day -- US (recognizing the contribution of auctioneers to American commerce)

Newspaper Columnists' Day -- The National Society of Newspaper Columnists in honor of the anniversary of the death of Ernie Pyle

Pet Owners Independence Day -- the day to let your pet do the work and chores while you lie around and enjoy having only the responsibilies of your pet; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Record Store Day -- celebrated by independent record stores everywhere, find one near you Sleep Apnea Awareness Day -- information about this life-threatening condition is here

Smile Big and Say Hi for No Particular Reason Day -- if some site gave the reason for this, it would defeat the purpose

Spinach Festival -- Alma, AR, US (celebrating one of my favorite greens with music, food, crafts, carnival and more)

St. Agapitus Day (Patron of Palestrina, Italy; against colic)

St. Agia's Day (Patron against lawsuits)

"Third World" Day -- the phrase was first used on this date in 1955

Ushibuka Haiya Matsuri -- Furukawa, Japan (one of the liveliest dance festivals, with elements of dance styles from around the country; through the 20th)

World's Biggest Fish Fry -- Paris, TN, US (parades, auto shows, arts and crafts, and of course, all-you-can-eat catfish dinner; through the 25th)

YMCA Healthy Kids Day

Anniversaries Today:

The University of Alabama is founded, 1831

Birthdays Today:

America Ferrara, 1984
Cheryl Ann Haworth, 1983
Melissa Joan Hart, 1976
Eli Roth, 1972
David Tennant, 1971
Maria Bello, 1967
Conan O'Brien, 1963
Eric McCormack, 1963
Jane Leeves, 1961
Eric Roberts, 1956
John James, 1956
John Pankow, 1954
Rick Moranis, 1954
Dorothy Lyman, 1947
James Woods, 1947
Hayley Mills, 1946
Robert Hooks, 1937
Barbara Hale, 1921
Leopold Stokowski, 1882
Samuel Earl "Wahoo Sam" Crawford, 1880
Clarence Darrow, 1857
Lucrezia Borgia, 1480

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Beauty and the Beast"(Musical), 1994
"Real People"(TV), 1979
"Call Me Mister"(Musical), 1946

Today in History:

Boleslaw Chrobry is crowned the first king of Poland, 1025
The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid, 1506
The Real Academia de la Historia (Royal Academy of History) is founded in Madrid, 1738
The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and William Dawes, upon seeing two lanterns in the church steeple, set out to warn that "The British are coming!" 1775
Fighting ceases in the American Revolutionary War, eight years to the day after it began, 1783
Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico, 1881
The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria, 1899
Denmark becomes the first country to formally adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals, 1902
Quetzaltenango, second largest city of Guatemala, is destroyed by an earthquake, 1902
The Great San Francisco Earthquake, 1906
The Los Angeles Times story on the Azusa Street Revival launches Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement, 1906
The RMS Carpathia brings the Titanic survivors to NYC, 1912
"The House that Ruth Built," Yankee Stadium, opens, 1923
Simon and Schuster publishes the first crossword puzzle book, 1924
The first "washateria" (laundromat) opens, in Ft. Worth, Texas, 1934
The League of Nations is formally dissolved, 1949
29 nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference., 1955
A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum, 1958
The Republic of Zimbabwe is officially established with the swearing in of Canaan Banana as its first President, 1980
The Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings, from the Triple-A International League, begin the longest game in professional baseball history, 33 innings, 1981
The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision, 2007
Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f, two planets resembling planet Earth are discovered revolving around the star Kepler-62 in the habitable zone, an area around the stars whose atmospheric pressure can suport liquid water at the surface, 2013

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs. The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!

Post a joke.
Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.
Read my joke.
Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.
Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.
Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

Sweetie went to a print shop recently to purchase copies of two posters he wanted. As he placed the order, he asked how much, and was told $28, due when he picked them up.

When he went back to pick them up, it was $56. When he asked what happened to the $28 he was quoted, he was told, "Oh, she didn't tell you? That was for each one!"

This reminds me of a joke.

Boudreaux had a retail store for a long time, an' he gots tired of it an' sold it an' became a policeman.

One day, his frien' Thibodeaux ax him, "Boudreaux, do you like bein' a policeman better dan runnin' de store?"

An' Boudreaux, he say, "Mais, yeah! De pay is pretty good, an' de hours is okay, but what I really like is dat de customer is always wrong!"

Today is

Bendideia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival for Bendis; date approximate)

Dutch-American Friendship Day -- anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the US, America's oldest continuously peaceful diplomatic relations

Independence Declaration Day -- Venezuela

John Parker Day -- many US States (anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, where Parker said “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”)

King Mswati III's birthday -- Swaziland

Landing of the 33 Patriots Day -- Uruguay

Lozenge Competition -- Fairy Calendar (no, i don't know what they do with the lozenges that makes it a competition)

National Amaretto Day

National Garlic Day

National Hanging Out Day -- Project Laundry List and other organizations promote bringing back the clothesline to save energy and the planet!

National Pet ID Week -- the third full week of April, you are reminded to make sure your pets are microchipped or have an ID tag, just in case

Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day

Okoshi Daiko Festival -- Furukawa, Japan (today, hundreds of men in loincloths fight to touch a wooden frame supporting a huge taiko drum as it is carried through the streets, and tomorrow is an elegant parade with lion dancers and traditional music)

Primrose Day -- UK (anniversary of the death of Disraeli)

St. AElfheah's Day (Patron of kidnap victims; Greenwich and Solihull, England)

St. Expeditus of Melintine's Day (Patron of merchants, navigators; for expeditious and prompt solutions; against procrastination)

St. Leo IX's Day

Teach Your Daughter to Volunteer Day -- encouraging awareness of volunteerism, but the original sponsor of the day is no longer online

Anniversaries Today:

Grace Kelly marries Ranier III of Monaco, 1956
Cheyney University is founded as The Institute for Colored Youth, 1837
Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI by Proxy Marriage, 1770

Birthdays Today:

Maria Sharapova, 1987
Hayden Christensen, 1981
Kate Hudson, 1979
James Franco, 1978
Luis Miguel Basteri, 1970
Ashley Judd, 1968
Al Unser, Jr., 1962
Tony Plana, 1954
Paloma Picasso, 1949
Tim Curry, 1946
Alan Price, 1942
Elinor Donahue, 1937
Dudley Moore, 1935
Jayne Mansfield, 1933
Dick Sargent, 1930
Hugh O'Brian, 1925
Eliot Ness, 1903
Lucretia Rudolph-Garfield, 1832
David Ricardo, 1772
Roger Sherman, 1721

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope"(Musical revue), 1972
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"(Musical), 1951
"Carousel"(Musical), 1945
"Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder/Mother Courage and Her Children"(Play), 1941
"National Barn Dance"(Radio), 1924
"The Bing Boys are Here"(Musical revue), 1919
"Revizor/The Government Inspector"(Comedy), 1836
"Iphigenia in Aulis,"(Opera), 1774

Today in History:

Sir Francis Drake sails to Cadiz and sinks the Spanish Fleet, 1587
Because he has no male heirs, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, assuring Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would go to his daughter, Maria Theresa, 1713
Captain James Cook sights Australia, 1770
John Adams secures Dutch recognition of the United States, and his home in The Hague becomes the first American Embassy, 1782
Venezuela achieves home rule, 1810
The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy, 1839
Charles Duryea claims to have taken the first automobile built in the US for a spin, 1892
The first Boston Marathon is won by John McDermott of NY in 2:55:10, 1897
Leslie Irvin of the United States makes the first successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump, 1919
The 125th and final fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary is published, 1928
Burma (now Myanmar) joins the United Nations, 1948
The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba ends in success for the defenders, 1961
Sierra Leone becomes a republic, 1971
India's first satellite, Aryabhata, is launched, 1975
The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is bombed, killing 168, 1995
The German Bundestag returns to Berlin, the first German parliamentary body to meet there since the Reichstag was dissolved in 1945, 1999
His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Benedict XVI, 2005
Fidel Castro resigns from the Communist Party of Cuba's central committee after 45 years, 2011

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays. Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you. What better way to start the week than with a smile!

A few years ago, the head of the Sunday school where i was attending church gave all of her teachers a coffee cup that is coated with chalkboard material on the outside.

You can draw on it with chalk and have your cup say whatever you want it to say.

Because it makes me smile, it sits on the window ledge above my kitchen sink, and holds my favorite purple scrub brush.

Sometimes i would write on it, but not often.

Little Girl has taken to leaving me fun and cute quotes on it.

Her Easter message.


The day after Easter.

Sometime during spring break, when we'd all lost track of the days.

This one is harder to read from the picture. It says, "Yesterday was Tuesday, but today's Tuesday too?" -- Sam W

Lopez of Red Team asks a question. Maybe he didn't understand what Sam said?

Perhaps this is the answer to the previous question.

She knew i would know Dr. Seuss!

Today is

Anniversary of Something That Happened So Long Ago Everyone Has Forgotten Day -- Fairy Calendar

Boston Marathon -- Boston, MA, US (119th running)

Chinese Language Day -- UN (information here)

Go Around Humming "You Light Up My Life" Until Everybody Screams Day -- the person who thought this one up should be tied down and forced to listen to Barry Manilow songs for 12 hours straight!

Harvest Offering to Renenutet -- Ancient Egypitian Calendar (offering to the Lady of the Fertile Fields; date approximate)

Jose de Diego's Birthday -- Puerto Rico (Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, a/k/a Dia de Reafirmacion del Idioma Espanol)

Lima Bean Respect Day

Mesir Paste Festival -- Manisa, Turkey (mesir paste is a blend of 41 different spices and is intended as a general cure-all and tonic; lots of craft exhibitions, concerts and sporting tournaments, as well as traditional throwing of paste off minaret of the Sultan Mosque; through Sunday)

National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day

National Take a Break to Reset Your Mind Day -- because everyone needs a day like this

Pastele Blajinilor -- Moldova (Memory/Parent's Day)

Patriots' Day -- US (in observance of the first battles of the Revolutionary War)

Ridvan begins -- Baha'i (begins at sunset)

St. Caedwalla of Wales' Day (Patron of converts, repentant murderers)

St. George's Day -- NL, Canada (obs.)

World Week of Action for Animals in Laboratories -- WDAIL (formerly World Day for Animals in Laboratories; through the 26th)

Birthdays Today:

Danny Granger, 1983
Joey Lawrence, 1976
Carmen Electra, 1972
Shemar Moore, 1970
Crispin Glover, 1964
Don Mattingly, 1961
Clint Howard, 1959
Luther Vandross, 1951

Jessica Lange, 1949
David Leland, 1947
Steve Spurrier, 1945
Ryan O'Neal, 1941
George Takei, 1937
Nina Foch, 1924
Ernesto Antonio "Tito" Puente, 1923
John Paul Stevens, 1920
Lionel Hampton, 1908
Harold Lloyd, 1893
Joan Miró i Ferrà, 1893
Holland McTyeire "Howlin' Mad" Smith, 1882
Daniel Chester French, 1850

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Annie Hall(Film), 1977
"Your Hit Parade"(Radio), 1935

Today in History:

The last naval battle in Byzantine history, 1453
Jews are expelled from Orange Burgundy, 1505
Jacques Cartier begins the voyage in which he will claim Canada and Labrador for France, 1534
Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam, 1657
Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1657
Captain Cook arrives in New South Wales, 1770
René Caillié becomes the first non-Muslim to enter Timbouctou, 1828
Edgar Allan Poe's Murder in the Rue Morgue becomes the first detective story ever published, 1841
Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete their first pasteurization tests, 1862
Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride, 1902
Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the next day, 1918
Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film, 1926
Apollo 16, commanded by John Young, lands on the moon, 1972
Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performs in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years, 1986
Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race, 2008
The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion kills 11 and causes rig to sink, initiating a massive oil discharge in the Gulf of Mexico, 2010
Tens of thousands of people demonstrate in Tahrir Square against continuing military rule in Egypt, 2012

This post is a Rowdy Rant, Rave, and Rail against the Rampant forces of Ridiculousness that seem to Require that i be Rendered unable to Run the Roads.

Yesterday i Raced Little Girl to school as is our Regular Routine, and while Returning to the exit of the parking lot the Jalopy, despite my every Rebuke and Roar of threatened Retribution, Rudely jerked and Refrained from Running another inch.

Reaching over for the emergency lights to tell the others Returning parents who had Released their Rug Rats and wanted to Retire from the Region to Route themselves around me, i put her in Reverse and Retreated into a parking space.

Then i Researched by Resetting her in drive -- no Response, save the Roar of the Rubber-Band upon which she is Reliant to proceed Revving. Drive 3 -- nothing. Drive 2 -- she Responded and Rallied by moving, slowly. So in gear D2 i Returned to our Residence.

After Renewed Reconnaissance, it has been Resolved that Rant, Rave, and Rail against it as i may, the transmission is Ravaged and possibly Ruined on the Jalopy.

D2 is Respectably Reliable for me to get Little Girl to school, or Reach the smaller MallMart store, and a few other Relatively close Regions, or it shall Remain so as long as that jerry-Rig doesn't Refrain from Running also.

It is not Right or Relevant for all of the Running around to which it is Requisite that i Resort each week.

It's never a Reasonable time to make Repairs that previous work should have Rendered Redundant. Tax time is worse, and the Requirement of Resources means we have no Recourse.

This Result is Rank, and thus i Resolve hereby to go on Record as Registering this Rowdy Rant, Rave, and Rail against the Recurrence of such a Reversal of fortune!

Today is

Administrative Professionals Day (original date)

Aggie Muster -- Texas A&M University

Ancestors' Day -- Russian Christians (Radunitsa, a Slavic tradition after Thomas Sunday)

Basava Jayanti -- KA, India (birth anniversary of 12th century philosopher Basavanna)

Birthday of Rome -- Rome, Italy (753 BCE)

Commemoration Day -- Transdniestria

Feast of Pak Tai -- Macau (Pak Tai who conquered the Demon King, celebrated the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month)

Feast of Wadjet (a/k/a Udjet or Buto) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

First Day of Ridvan -- Baha'i (began sunset yesterday; through May 2)

Grounation Day -- Rastafari (one of the Rastafarian's most important festivals, in honor of Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica)

Heroica Defensa de Veracruz -- Mexico (Heroic Defense of Veracruz)

Homecoming of the Elves -- Fairy Calendar (Singing Festival)

Iroquois Corn Planting Ceremony -- Iroquois Native Americans (three day celebration, always around this time of year)

John Muir Day -- US (American conservationist)

Kartini Day -- Indonesia (honoring a leader who helped emancipate women)

Kindergarten Day -- Germany; US (birth anniversary of Friedrich Froebel, in 1782, who began the first Kindergarten in Germany in 1837)

Mibu Dainembutsu Kyogen -- Mibu Temple, Kyoto, Japan (nine day festival of kyogen performances which dates back to 1299)

National Chocolate-Covered Cashew Truffle Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Kenya

Paralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (shepherd's festival of Pares, goddess of herders)

Queen's Birthday -- Falkland Islands; St. Helena(except Tristan da Cunha)

Radunitsa -- Belarus (Ancestors Veneration Day)

Sandburg Days -- Galesburg, IL, US (a festival for the mind, celebrating their two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning native son, Carl Sandburg; through Saturday)

San Jacinto Day -- Texas, US

Shangsi Festival -- China (ancient Double Third festival, on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month)

St. Anselm of Canturbury's Day

St. Bueno Gasulsych's Day (Patron of diseased cattle, sick animals, and sick children)

Tiradentes Day/Brasilia Day -- Brazil (honors Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, called "tooth puller", who fought for Brazilian independence)
Inauguration of Brasilia, Distrito Federal -- Brazil (anniversary of the 1960 inauguration of the new federal capital)

World Creativity and Innovation Day -- final day of World Creativity and Innovation Week, which always begins on DaVinci's birth anniversary

Yom HaZiKaron -- Israel (Memorial Day; begins at sunset)

Birthdays Today:

Amber Heard, 1986
Francis Capra, 1983
Eric Mabius, 1971
Chris Makepeace, 1964
Robert Smith, 1959
Andie MacDowell, 1958
James Morrison, 1954
Tony Danza, 1951
Patti LuPone, 1949
Iggy Pop, 1947
Charles Grodin, 1935
Elaine May, 1932
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, 1926
Anthony Quinn, 1915
John Muir, 1838
Charlotte Bronte, 1816
Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel, 1782
Catherine the Great, 1729
Jan van Riebeeck, 1619

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Annie"(Musical), 1977
"Inherit the Wind"(Play), 1955
"Arms and the Man"(Play), 1894

Today in History:

Traditional date for the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus, BC753
Marc Antony continues to battle the senators who assasinated Julius Caesar in the Battle of Mutina, which he loses, BC43
Henry VIII ascends the throne of England, 1509
Hernan Cortez lands in Veracruz, 1519
The Maryland Toleration Act is passed, granting religious freedom to all in that colony, 1649
Catherine the Great ends noble privileges in Russia, 1785
Tiradentes, leader of the independence movement in Brazil, is executed, 1792
Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat Mexican troops under Santa Ana, winning the Battle of San Jacinto and the independence of Texas, 1836
The first train crosses the first bridge over the Mississippi River, crossing from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa, 1855
Alexander Douglas patents the bustle, 1857
Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i' faith, declares his mission, 1863
The first firehouse pole is installed in a firehouse in NYC, 1878
The Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen)is shot down, 1918
The first Aggie Muster is held, a remembrance of fellow Texas A&M graduates who had died in the previous year, 1922
Brasilia is officially inaugurated as the capital of Brazil, 1960
In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang, 1989
Alexander Wolszczan announces his the discovery of extrasolar planets, 1994
The ashes of Timothy Leary and Gene Roddenberry are launched into orbit, 1997
By order of an Egyptian court, the name of Egypt's former President, Hosni Mubarak, is stripped from public spaces, schools and streets, 2011

Humph, the lady wants me to talk to strangers. She should know better by now, I get grumpy around people I don't know. My name is SissyCat, but don't let that fool you. If the other two dogs hadn't jumped into the fray I would have taken that German shepherd instead of him getting my leg.

I like to sit so that it's hard to tell my left front leg is gone.

Anyway, now they've nicknamed me Tripod and I own Red-headed Alec, although that fuzzy headed friend of his, Festus, thinks it's fun to call me Dopirt. He's a bit on the odd side.

Actually, I own Red-headed Alec now, but I used to own a girl who is a friend of this family. She couldn't take care of me and sort of abandoned me here. I got lucky, it's a good place.

A favorite spot where I can see outdoors.

The one thing I don't like about this place is Mikey. Link tries to mess with me, but he's a kid compared to me and I can let him know who's the boss. Mikey jumps me, though, and I resent it. The lady who feeds watches out for me and makes him leave me alone most of the time.

Always looking behind my back for Mikey.

They let me outside each day to eat grass, which I love. I don't go after dogs any more, because I can't jump on their backs and give them what-for with only three legs. I used to attack people, too, but I've realized these people like me and won't hurt me, and as I said, they let me in the front yard to eat grass and chase shadows.

Nom! The best grass grows over here at the corner of the house.

In some ways I resent being a cat, people seem to get all of the breaks. The lady who feeds and sits outside with me says to just be glad I don't have to pay bills. I guess it is a good life, even if I do only have 3 legs now.

It's so nice, sitting outdoors.

Today is

American Quilter's Society Quilt Show -- Paducah, KY, US (auction, workshops, and prizes for the best quilts; through Saturday)

Chemists Celebrate The Earth Day -- promoting public awareness of the important contribution of chemists

Discovery Day -- Brazil (landing of Cabral in 1500)

Earth Day

Festival of Jupiter and Juno -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day -- Girl Scouts of the USA

Granary Offering to Renenutet -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (offering to the Lady of Granaries; date approximate)

International Mother Earth Day -- UN

Lela's Holiday -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (honoring the goddess-daughter, Lela)

National Jelly Bean Day

Peppercorn Ceremony -- St. George, Bermuda (commemorates the renting of what is now the Old State House by the Masonic Lodge to the governor of Burmuda for the cost of one peppercorn per annum)

Polk County Ramp Tramp Festival -- Polk County, TN, US (come out and celebrate with the 4-H club the ramp, a local wild leek, and enjoy the Bluegrass music and games; through Saturday)

Queen Isabella Day -- Spain and some US states (birth anniversary of Isabella I of Castile)

St. Epipodius of Lyon's Day (Patron of bachelors, betrayal victims, torture victims)

USA Film Festival -- Dallas, TX, US (major showcase of new studio and indie films; through Sunday)

Walpurgis celebrations begin -- through May 1, Norse, Scandinavian, and Germanic celebrations (remembering the sacrifice of Odin upon the World Tree Yggdrasil
Yggdrasil Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar

Yom HaZiKaron -- Israel (Memorial Day; ends at sunset)

Yom Ha'Atzmaut -- Israel (Independence Day; beings at sunset, through tomorrow sunset)

Birthdays Today:

Amber Heard, 1986
Francis Capra, 1983
Daniel Johns, 1979
Kim Elizabeth, 1978
Eric Mabius, 1971
Chris Makepeace, 1964
Byron Allen, 1961
Ryan Stiles, 1959
Peter Frampton, 1950
John Waters, 1946
Jack Nicholson, 1937

Glen Campbell, 1936
Aaron Spelling, 1928
Charlotte Rae, 1926
Yehudi Menuhin, 1916
Eddie Albert, 1906
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, 1891
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, 1870
Immanuel Kant, 1724
Queen Isabella, 1451

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Who's Tommy"(Rock musical), 1993
"Le Triomphe de Plutus/Money Makes the World Go Round"(Play), 1728

Today in History:

Portuguese navigator Pedro Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil, 1500
President George Washington attends a performance of Rickett's, the first circus in the US, 1793
Thomas Stevens sets out from San Francisco on the first round the world journey by bicycle, 1884
The Oklahoma land rush begins at noon; thousands rush to claim land, and the towns of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed within hours with populations of over 10,000 each, 1889
Pravda begins publication in St. Petersburg, 1912
The Germans begin using poison chlorine gas as a chemical weapon, 1915
British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world, 1969
The first Earth Day is celebrated, 1970
The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is dedicated, 1993
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan's war record, 2005
Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War, 2006
The Pope, Benedict XVI, becomes the first pontiff to participate in a televised interview session, 2011

On Monday, the same day the Jalopy decided she wouldn't work in drive but only in D2, the messages started coming in from The Big Boss.

His Even Bigger Boss was coming into town, he and Ms. P would need me Wednesday evening, and all day Thursday, and Friday evening.

Did i have other work scheduled? Yes. Would i be able to change it all?

Somehow i would work it all in. And somehow, so far, i have. The Big Boss loaned Sweetie the truck he isn't using right now, so i can have Sweetie's car and get it all done.

Do the other work, run home just long enough to pull clothes off the line or get the garbage out or do other chores, go to the next job.

In between, can i run errands?

Somehow. And somehow, so far, i have.

The whole situation is running me ragged and leaving me tired.

As the writing on one of my coffee cups says, "I am wearing my big girl panties, but they're starting to bunch, okay!"

Today is

Alfred G. "Alferd" Packer Day -- Colorado

Book Day and Lover's Day -- Spain, especially Catalan (women give books to men, while men give flowers to the women. Celebrated in the Spanish city of Barcelona since 1714 to honor Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes [author of "Don Quixote"] and in observance of St. George's Day)

Buccaneer Days Festival -- Corpus Christi, TX, US (rodeo, festival, parade, and fun; through May 3)

Canada Book Day

Chance Day -- Fairy Calendar

Children's Day -- North Cyprus; Turkey

Community Day -- CL, Spain

English Language Day -- UN (information here)

Fiddlers' Frolics -- Hallettsville, TX, US (home of the Texas State Fiddler Championships; through Sunday)

Harpa Month Begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (Harp, dedicated to young women as last month was dedicated to young men)
Sumardagurinn Fyrsti -- first day of summer, a legal holiday

Harrogate Spring Flower Show -- Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England (Britain's premier spring flower show; through Sunday)

Impossible Astronaut Day -- if you are a Dr. Who fan, you know, and if not, go here and find out

Independence Day -- Conch Republic, Key West, FL. US (a tongue-in-cheek micronation which seceeded from the Union in 1982; celebrated yearly with a week long festival)

International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day -- on St. George's Day, encouraging members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to continue to be what Howard V. Hendrix derrogatorily termed "webscabs", posting their stories free on the internet

International Sing Out Day -- no one will claim responsibility for this one, but i promise not to observe it!

Jurgi Festival -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (day sacred to Usins; first day outdoor work began for the summer)

National Cherry Cheesecake Day

National Picnic Day -- US

National Sovereignty Day -- Turkey

Sigurd the Dragon Slayer's Day -- because he was probably the inspiration for the legends about St. George

St. Adalbert's Day (Patron of Bohemia; Czech Republic; Poland; Prague, Czech Republic; Prussia)

St. George's Day (Patron of archers, armourers, Boy Scouts, butchers, cavalry, chivalry, Crusaders, equestrians, farmers, field hands, field workers, horsemen, horses, husbandmen, knights, lepers, Order of the Garter, Palestinian Christians, riders, Romanian Army, saddle makers, saddlers, sheep, shepherds, soldiers, Teutonic Knights; Canada; England; Ethiopia; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Lithuania; Malta; Portugal; Cappadocia; Catalonia; Palestine; over 20 cities and diocese around the world; against herpes, leprosy, plague, skin diseases, skin rashes, syphilis; by the middle ages, St. George was revered in much of Europe as the personification of chivalry)*

Take a Chance Day -- internet generated encouragement to try something different

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work® Day -- US (begun by the Ms. Foundation for Women in 2003, the day is designed to expand opportunities for girls and boys, expose them to what adults do in their daily lives during work hours, show them the value of education, and teach them about the challenges of balancing work, family, community, and personal responsibilites, with this year's theme being "#MPOWR Knowledge + Choice - Strength"; children are encouraged to return to school tomorrow and discuss what they have learned)

Talk Like Shakespeare Day -- on The Bard's birth anniversary

Vinalia Priora -- Ancient Roman Calendar (tasting the first wines of the year)

Washington State Apple Blossom Festival -- Wenatchee, WA, US (more than 40 fun events showcasing the greater Wenatchee Valley, it's people, products, and heritage; through the first Sunday in May)

World Book & Copyright Day -- UN (this date chosen because of how parts of Spain celebrate St. George's Day, with books)
World Book Night -- Germany; Ireland; UK; US (anniversary of the birth and death of Shakespeare, and the death of Miguel de Cervantes; over 20 book titles have been specially chosen for this year and special editions of those books printed so you can share books and your love of reading with those who don't read much)

Yom Ha'Atzmaut -- Israel (Independence Day; began sunset yesterday, through sunset today)

*To save a Maid, St. George the Dragon slew
A pretty tale, if all is told to be true
Most say, there are no Dragons, and tis said
There was no George: pray God there was a Maid.
-- John Aubrey, Remains of Gentilism (1688)

Birthdays Today:

Dev Patel, 1990
John Cena, 1977
Kal Penn, 1977
Scott Bairstow, 1970
Melina Kanakaredes, 1967
George Lopez, 1961
Valerie Bertinelli, 1960
Craig Sheffer, 1960
Jan Hooks, 1957
Judy Davis, 1955
Michael Moore, 1954
Joyce DeWitt, 1949
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, 1947
Sandra Dee, 1942
David Birney, 1940
Lee Majors, 1940
Roy Orbison, 1936
Shirley Temple Black, 1928
Vladimire Nabokov, 1899
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, 1897
Sergei Prokofiev, 1891
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, 1858
Granville T. Woods, 1856
James Buchanan, 1791
William Penn, 1621
William Shakespeare, 1564(attributed -- only the day of his baptism, April 26, is known for certain)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Baywatch"(TV), 1989
"No Man's Land"(Play), 1975
"She Loves Me"(Musical), 1963
"Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride"(Opera), 1881
"Il re pastore/The Shepherd King"(Mozart opera, K 208)1775
"The Tender Husband"(Comedy), 1705

Today in History:

The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St George's Day, 1348
William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I in attendance, 1597
The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston, Massachusetts, 1635
Connecticut is chartered as an English colony, 1662
Canada issues its first postage stamps, 1851
The Vitascope system of movie projection debuts the first motion picture at Koster & Bial's Music Hall in NYC, 1896
Namibia becomes the 160th member of the UN and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations, 1990
Eritrians vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia, 1993
Beijing closes all schools for two weeks because of the SARS virus, 2003
The gamma ray burst GRB 090423 is observed for 10 seconds. The event signals the most distant object of any kind and also the oldest known object in the universe, 2009
Despite an initial ban on the film 'Borat,' Kazakhstan issues and official 'thank you' to actor Sacha Baron Cohen for his character, Borat Sagdiyev, 2012

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

Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is..

1) post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute)
2) go to Steve's page, linked above, then on the menu bar click on the Feline Friday tab to get the code
3) paste the code under your cat picture
4) add your name and link

That’s all there is to it! Be sure to check back every so often and visit all the Feline Friday bloggers. Also, please leave a nice comment on their blogs. Nasty comments will be deleted!

Pet me, please! Your hands are softer than rubbing on the bars!

The blurry cat pictured above is named Fuzzy, although i call her Fuzz-pot. She wants to be petted, right now! It was very difficult to get her to stay still for a picture.

When you are petting or loving on her, she is the sweetest cat in the world, snuggling and making friends with everyone.

When she has to be given medicine, wrap her in two towels and grab the forceps to get it into her or she will do a good job of trying to take your hand off.

That's not the only reason this Fuzzy is unbelievable, at least to us at the shelter.

She had a prolapsed rectum. It didn't bother her, she snuggled and loved on people, and she was too loving to give up on. She had surgery.

The first surgery didn't hold. The vet said a second surgery would do it. Then the third would do the trick, and a fourth...

By the time we took her to a different vet who specialized in this problem, and he had to try three times (on his dime, we can't afford to pay for that much medical care for one cat), we had all but given up hope for her.

Meanwhile, she lived at the vet's office and became their mascot for a while.

Now she's back, and unbelievably, the final surgery seems to be holding her hind end in where it belongs.

She has to be on special $80/bag food for the rest of her life, and of course quite believably, she isn't crazy about it. Any other food, and she could go right back to the same problem, so we have to be strict.

Meh, it's edible, I guess!

She still, unbelievably, is as sweet and loving as ever, as long as you aren't doing anything medical to her. She holds no grudges about it.

Someone get me out of here and adopt me!

Today is

Ambivalence Day -- a holiday to tell your friends about, or not

Arbor Day -- US

Austin Food and Wine Festival -- Austin, TX, US (superstar chefs and sommeliers, over 40 cooking demos and wine seminars, private grand tastings and more; through Sunday)

Cape May Spring Festival -- Cape May, NJ, US (ten days of spring activities highlighting the Victorian lifestyle)

Concord Day -- Niger

C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) -- Chicago, IL, US (through Sunday)

Dandelion Day/Springfest Weekend -- University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, US (annual celebration used as a respite to diffuse tension around exam time)

DNA Day -- a day for teachers, students, and everyone to learn more about genetics and genomics sponsored by genome.gov and the Smithsonian

Feast of Eros -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Genocide Remembrance Day / Martyrs' Day-- Armenia

Hairball Awareness Day -- sponsored by Furminator (which product actually does work, by the way) and Hills Pet Nutrition

Happenstance and Coincidence Evening -- Fairy Calendar

Interstate Mullet Toss / The Gulf Coast's Greatest Beach Party -- FloraBama Bar, Gulf Shores, Alabama, US (fish flingers stand on the Alabama side of the property and toss them onto the Florida side, with proceeds going to charity; through Sunday)

Kapyong Day -- Australia (Battle of Kapyong, 1951)

Loktantra Diwas -- Nepal (Democracy Day)

Mississippi River Valley Scenic Drive -- Mississippi River valley of southeast Missouri, US (several scenic small towns along the valley have homemade goodies, quilt shows, history tours, entertainment, and more; through Sunday)

National Dream Hotline® -- sponsored by the School of Metaphysics, any time from this evening until Sunday night, call in and get your, or someone else's for that matter, dream interpreted

National Teach Children to Save Day -- sponsored by the American Banking Association

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival -- NOLA, US (the best music and food festival around! through May 3)

Panoply® -- Huntsville, AL, US (comprehensive arts festival, including music, theater, dance, and a juried art show; through Sunday)

Pigs in a Blanket Day

Spring Cat Cleaning Day -- because someone, somewhere, thinks you need to bathe your cat; ask the cat, he will refuse, and if you become insistent, be careful

St. Ives' Day (Patron of St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, England)

St. Mark's Eve*

Undiagnosed Children's Day -- sponsored by SWAN UK (Syndromes Without A Name), supporting families of children with undiagnosed genetic conditions; this year's theme is "It's A Mystery"

Vallenato Legend Festival -- Valledupar, Colombia (one of Colombia’s most important music and folk festivals; through May 2)

World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition and Art Festival -- Ocean City, MD, US (carvings and sculpture of all sizes, for competition and for sale; through Sunday)

World Meningitis Day

*A young lady may eat a boiled dove's egg sprinkled with salt and place
a tulip, sacred to St. Mark, in a vase next to her bed, and so she will
dream of the man she will marry.

Anniversaries Today:

Mary, Queen of Scots marries Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris, 1558

Birthdays Today:

Courtnee Draper, 1985
Kelly Clarkson, 1982
Eric Balfour, 1977
Chipper Jones, 1972
Cedric the Entertainer, 1964
Djimon Hounsou, 1964
Michael O’Keefe, 1955
Eric Bogosian, 1953
Jean-Paul Gaultier, 1952
Doug Clifford, 1945
Barbra Streisand, 1942
Richard M. Daley, 1942
Sue Grafton, 1940
Jill Ireland, 1936
Shirley MacLaine, 1934
Stanley J. Kauffmann, 1916
Robert Penn Warren, 1905
Michael J. Dady, 1850
George N. Bascom, 1836
Anthony Trollope, 1815
Robert Bailey Thomas, 1766
Edmund Cartwright, 1743

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Dancing at Lughnasa"(Play), 1990
"Die Jahreszeiten/The Seasons"(Oratorio, Haydn H 21/3), 1801
The Boston News-Letter(Newspaper), 1704 (first successful newspaper in the British colonies)

Today in History:

Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut, BC1479
Traditional date for the Greeks entering Troy using the Trojan Horse, BC1184
The appearance of Halley's Comet causes monks in England to predict evil happenings, 1066
The Boston "News-Letter" becomes the first successful newspaper in the colonies, 1704

"La Marseillaise" is composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, 1792
The Library of Congress is established, 1800
A patent is granted for the first soda fountain, 1833
William Price of the Washington Star becomes the first reporter to be specifically assigned to the White House, 1897
The fathometer, which measures underwater depth, is patented, 1928
Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1, the first person to die during a space mission, 1967
Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations, 1968
The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched, 1970
Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine, 1990
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI, 2005
Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog is born in South Korea, 2005
Iceland announces that Norway will shoulder the defense of Iceland during peacetime, 2007
Scientists in Kamchatka, Russia, report sighting the first adult white orca to be seen in the wild, 2012

April is the month when all of the cats for which i take responsibility go to the vet for an annual check up.

Please note that none of them are mine, strictly speaking -- they all hate me because i am the dispenser of medicine and cat-napper who stuffs them into carriers for various reasons.

No, i am just responsible for taking them all to the vet.

Because there are nine of them, and i do not wish to half kill myself taking them all at once, there were 3 appointments for 3 cats at each.

Mikey, Enigma, and Little Girlie went first. Mikey and Little Girlie were found easily and stuffed into carriers, but Enigma had to be located and dragged out, howling, from the interior of the couch.

Each of them was the same weight, or a bit less, than last year, and all were passed on their physical easily. Mikey drooled through the whole exam because he doesn't like car trips, and Enigma howled a lot. Neither of them enjoy the car, since moving to Kansas and back. They associate car trips with a long time in a carrier.

Little Girlie, at age 10, is still very healthy, which is nice to have confirmed.

The next appointment was for Dansig, SissyCat/Tripod, and Link. Dansig just closed his eyes and tolerated whatever happened, in a fatalistic "this has to be over at some point" attitude. Link was not a happy camper and made it quite clear, doing his best to scrunch down and make the examination as difficult as possible. He has gained two pounds, and is decidedly more than just "fluffy" now.

Tripod did pretty well. She is as healthy as can be expected, and a good weight. She's one who cannot afford to get overweight.

KidaMosquito, HopeCat, and Horizon/Scaredy Cat, were saved for last. This was done as part of my strategy. My thinking was that if any of the other cats proved to hard to find on any particular day, i could grab one of those three, as i always know right where they are. Then the more recalcitrant victim could be taken in on the last day instead.

This last proved to be the worst appointment of the three. First, someone had taken one of my three carriers, of course. So i substituted and box and popped Kida in it, figuring and elderly, asthmatic Siamese wouldn't be going anyplace any time soon. On that count i was wrong, as she managed to get out in the house, in the car, and at the vet's office.

Horizon got wind of what was up and as i snatched him, he tried to bolt. It took me, #1 Son, and Bigger Girl, all three, almost 10 minutes to stuff him into a carrier. (In years past, i would tie the cats up in pillowcases to take them to the vet. It's actually a very good way to do it, keeping them confined and in a soft, dark place. Then one year Horizon used his back claws to shred his way out, and i haven't dared try that since.)

HopeCat wasn't happy, either, but i got her in the carrier, and got everyone, volubly angry, to the vet's office.

Dr. Bea, who had done the first two visits, was out, and Dr. Mel was there. She was swamped and there was not only a dog in the one exam room (it's a small practice), there were two more in the waiting room, and while i was there a gentleman came in with a kitten and three more people came in to buy products or ask questions or make appointments. This little practice is seldom that busy, but there must have been something in the water that day.

At one point, the office cat came and sat on top of HopeCat's carrier. Talk about a dominance ploy!

When we finally got in, Kida was still trying to claw her way out (for a while i had put something on top of the box to keep her in). Horizon and HopeCat were both so ornery they had to be weighed in their carriers, and the approximate weight of the carrier deducted. Both have gained weight they need to lose. HopeCat growled so much Dr. Mel could hardly hear what she needed to hear, and both of them scrunched down so much it was difficult to examine them. You know a vet is good when she can deal with that and still get an exam done.

As for Kida, she is down to five pounds and you can hear her asthma quite well. For her age and condition, the fact that she can claw her way out of a very deep box and is continually yelling for food means she is doing just fine for now. If she ever goes off her feed, we need to have the talk.

Altogether, it was a valuable veterinary visit, valiantly carried out, and showing all of our cats to be in good health.

Today is

Adonia -- Greece (women's festival mourning the death of Adonis; date approximate)

ANZAC Day -- Australia; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Cook Islands; New Zealand; Niue; Norfolk Island; Tonga

Army Day -- North Korea

Bob Wills Day -- Turkey, TX, US (celebrating Western Swing music and its king; through Sunday)

DNA Day -- structure of DNA first published this day in 1953; human genome project ended today in 2003

Duck Appreciation Society Day -- The Duck Appreciation Society (some sites say May 10; either way, go feed the ducks if you like them, but not stale white bread, it's no better for them than it is for us)

East Meets West Day -- Allies from the East and West finally met up this day in 1945 about 75 miles from Berlin

Eeyore's Birthday -- Austin, TX, US (Eeyore never need feel forgotten again; Austin celebrates his birthday as a fundraiser for local charities, with fun for all)

Festival of Robigalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to protect against corn blight; festival of Robiga and Rogibus, the brother and sister fertility gods)

Flag Day -- Faroe Islands; Swaziland

Foxfield Races -- Charlottesville, VA, US (annual steeplechase)

Hairstylist Appreciation Day -- if you have a good one, let him/her know (some sites put this on the 30th)

Healthy Kids Day® -- YMCA

International Marconi Day -- a 24-hour amateur radio event annually near the birth anniversary of Marconi

Liberation Day -- Italy; Portugal

Nagasaki Tall Ships Festival -- Nagasaki, Japan (sailing festival, commemorating the 16th century opening of Nagasaki as Japan's sole foreign trade port; through the 29th)

National Crayola Day -- no one claims starting this holiday, observe it with your children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews/kids down the street, and remember how fun it is to color pictures

National Go Birding Day -- US (but feel free to participate wherever you are, birding is fun!)

National Herb Day -- different from the HerbDay in May, and unsponsored

National Plumber's Day/Hug a Plumber Day -- US (because if we didn't have plumbers, we'd be in deep you-know-what)

National Rebuilding Day -- US (270,000 volunteers help rebuild and repair homes for the elderly and disabled)

National Sense of Smell Day -- US (sponsored by the Sense of Smell Institute, encouraging museums and science centers to focus on how the sense of smell plays an important role in daily life and how it interacts with other senses)

National Zucchini Bread Day -- they hold this at a time when you are not yet sick of all that zucchini you grew in the garden

Parental Alienation Awareness Day -- raising awareness of Parental Alienation or Hostile Aggressive Parenting

Redbud Trail Rendezvous -- Rochester, IN, US (living history along the Tippecanoe River; through tomorrow)

Red Hat Society Day -- first Red Hat Tea Party held this day in 1998

Save the Frogs Day -- Save The Frogs Day is the world's largest day of amphibian education and conservation action

Sinai Liberation Day -- Egypt

Southern Maryland Celtic Festival & Highland Games -- St. Leonard, MD, US (competitions in fiddling, bagpipe, Celtic harp, and dancing, heptathlon, Celtic marketplace and foods, parade of clans, and more)

St. Mark the Evangelist's Day (Patron of attorneys/barristers/lawyers/notaries, captives, glaziers, imprisoned people/prisoners, lions, stained glass workers, struma patients; Egypt; Boretto, Italy; Creazzo, Italy; Infanta, Philippines; Ionian Islands; Pordenone, Italy; Sonnino, Italy; Venice, Italy; against impenitence, insect bites, scrofulous diseases, struma)

Tag des Baumes -- Germany (Tree Day/Arbor Day)

Taro Festival -- East Maui, Hawaii, US (celebration of Hawai'an culture; through tomorrow)

World Malaria Day / Malaria Awareness Day -- WHO and the International Community

World Penguin Day -- because they begin migrating on or around this day

World Veterinary Day -- World Veterinary Association

20-Something Service Day -- can't find who started this one, but it's a good idea, whomever it was, whether you are 20 or older to do some community service or volunteer work regularly

Anniversaries Today:

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is established, ND, US, 1947
The United Negro College Fund is founded, 1944

Birthdays Today:

Jacob Underwood, 1980
Emily Bergl, 1975
Jason Lee, 1970
Renee Zellweger, 1969
Hank Azaria, 1964
Jeffrey DeMunn, 1947
Talia Shire, 1946
Stu Cook, 1945
Bjorn Ulvaeus, 1945
Al Pacino, 1940
"Meadowlark" Lemon, 1932
Paul Mazursky, 1930
Albert King, 1923
Ella Fitzgerald, 1918
Edward R. Murrow, 1908
William Joseph Brennan, Jr., 1906
John Henry "Pop" Lloyd, 1884
Guglielmo Marconi, 1874

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Little Murders"(Play), 1967
"Romulus the Great"(Play), 1949
"Another Language"(Play), 1932
"Turandot"(Opera), 1926
Robinson Crusoe(Publication date), 1719

Today in History:

Lysander's Spartan Armies defeated the Athenians and the Peloponnesian War ends, BC404
German geographer and mapmaker Martin Waldseemuller publishes his Cosmographiae Introductio map in which he gives the American continents their name, 1507
Highwayman Nicholas Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine, 1792
Charles Fremantle arrives in the HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom, 1829
The last survivors of the Donner Party arrive back in civilization, 1847
The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots, 1849
British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal, 1859
New York State becomes the first US state to require automobiles to be licensed, 1901
First DC Comic with Batman is published, 1939
Fifty nations gather in San Francisco, California to begin the United Nations Conference on International Organizations, 1945
Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid describing the double helix structure of DNA, 1953
The St. Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping, 1959
Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit, 1961
Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula per the Camp David Accords, 1982
American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war, 1983
Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit, 1983
The Hubble Telescope is deployed, 1990
The Human Genome Project comes to an end 2.5 years before first anticipated, 2003
The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937, 2005
Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union, 2005
The U.S. government 'condemns' international media outlets, including 'The New York Times' for publishing confidential files, 2011

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs. The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!

Post a joke.
Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.
Read my joke.
Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.
Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.
Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

This past week's visits to the veterinarian's office to get 9 cats up to date on exams and shots reminds me of a joke.

A stray cat wandered up to a couple's house, and it was in horrible shape. She was skinny, with matted fur and weepy eyes. The wife felt terrible for it, so she gave the cat a bit of meat and decided she was going to keep it.

The first order of business, of course, was to get the cat to the vet. Because this was a small town there was only one veterinarian, and the vet and the lady's husband did not get along well. The vet thought the husband was cheap, and the husband thought the vet just charged too much. They were always trading jibes and sniping at each other. Having no other place to go, however, the lady put the cat in a cardboard box and she and her husband went to the vet's office.

The husband told the vet, "Keeping this cat is my wife's idea, not mine. I do feel sorry for it, but it's dirty and it stinks and do you even think it will survive? And please don't charge us a bunch of money to work on a cat that isn't going to recover from being half starved and so dirty."

"Leave it with me for a couple of days," the vet answered with a sigh. "We will examine her and get her cleaned up and see what we are dealing with. No charge until we know if she'll live, and then I'll only charge you for the shots, cleaning, and defleaing/deworming."

The following day, the husband had a doctor's appointment with the one general practitioner physician in town, and it just so happened, so did the veterinarian.

When the vet came out of the doctor's exam room and into the busy waiting room, he noticed the husband and his look brightened. He told the husband, "We shaved your wife's pussy, got rid of the fleas, and she now smells great! By the way, she's pregnant, and there's no way to know who the father is!"

Today is

Audubon Day -- birth anniversary of John James Audubon

Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day -- this one has its own Facebook page

Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy -- Belarus

Delphinia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Apollo; date approximate)

Drive It Day -- England (commemorates the 64 cars that left London on the first day of the Thousand Mile Trial on 23 April 1900)

Fairy Laughter Convention -- Fairy Calendar

Festival of Individual Sovereignty -- an internet holiday that i think is a good idea!

Festival of Renenutet -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (as Lady of the Robes, who invented the bandages in which to wrap mummies; date approximate)

Helena Railroad Fair -- Helena, MT, US (largest railroad hobby event in the area)

Hug an Australian Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Landsgemeinde -- Appenzell, Inner Rhoden Canton, Switzerland (one of the last examples of direct democracy left; the final Sunday of each April all voters in the canton age 18 and older, wearing traditional swords, gather for a church service and then vote directly on all affairs of the canton for the year; no secret ballots, all raise their hands to vote yea or nay; festival follows. This tradition dates back to the 14th century.)

London Marathon -- Greenwich to The Mall, London, England

Mayan Rain Festival -- to honor the rain gods and welcome the fruitfulness of the earth; date approximate

Mother, Father Deaf Day -- to honor deaf parents and recognize the gifts of culture and language they give to their hearing children; sponsored by CODA (Children of Deaf Adults International)

National Help A Horse Day -- US (Join the ASPCA in several rescue events)

National Pretzel Day

Pet Parent's Day -- honoring those who consider pets a part of the family

Remember Your First Kiss Day

Richter Scale Day -- birth anniversary of Charles Francis Richter

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

Shuffleboard Day -- on the adopted birthday of the game (no exact date of origination can be pinned down, and fans want a day to celebrate, so here it is)

Southern Appalachian Dulcimer Festival -- Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, McCalla, AL, US (through next Sunday)

St. Rafael Arnaiz' Day (Patron of diabetics and against diabetes)

St. Stephen of Perm's Day / Old Permic Alphabet Day -- Russian Orthodox Church (inventor of the alphabet used for Russian before the Cyrillic was developed)

Sun 'n Fun International Fly in & Expo -- Lakeland, Florida, US (preserving and enhancing the future of flight; through Sunday)

Turkmen Racing Horse Festival -- Turkmenistan

Union Day -- Tanzania

World Healing Day / World Tai Chi and Qigong Day -- information here

World Intellectual Property Day -- UN

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day -- anyone, anywhere in the world who makes a pinhole photograph today may upload it to the world wide online gallery

Anniversaries Today:

Prince Albert (future George VI) marries Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, 1923
The Independent Order of Oddfellows, American branch, is established in Baltimore, MD, US, 1819
Moscow State University opens, 1755

Birthdays Today:

Jon Lee, 1982
Jason Earles, 1977
Tom Welling, 1977
Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, 1970
Kane, 1967
Kevin James, 1965
Jet Li, 1963
Joan Chen, 1961
Michael Damian, 1962
Giancarlo Esposito, 1958
Boyd Matson, 1947
Gary Wright, 1943
Bobby Rydell, 1942
Duane Eddy, 1938
Carol Burnett, 1933
I.M. Pei, 1917
Hans Detlef "Douglas" Sierck, 1897
Anita Loos, 1889
Gertrude Bridget "Ma" Rainey, 1886 (Some say April 3)
Frederick Law Olmsted, 1822
John James Audobon, 1785
Marcus Aurelius, 121

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Jelly's Last Jam"(Musical), 1992
"Dinosaurs"(TV), 1991
"China Beach"(TV), 1988
"Company"(Musical), 1970
"Grand Polonaise Brillante"(Chopin Op. 20), 1835

Today in History:

Copernicus makes his first observations of Saturn, 1514
William Shakespeare is baptized, 1564
English colonists of the Jamestown settlement make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia, 1607
Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France, 1802
Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic, 1925
In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections, 1963
Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania, 1964
A Rolling Stones concert in London, Ontario is shut down by police after 15 minutes due to rioting, 1965
The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force, 1970
A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster, 1986
Physicists announce first evidence of the top quark subatomic particle, 1994
Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country, 2005
During the second day of evidence at the Leveson Inquiry, Rupert Murdock reveals there was a 'cover-up' at 'News of the World' but that he had no knowledge of it, 2012

During my three day marathon of taking care of Ms. P's kids for her last week, i ended up taking her boys to their baseball games on Friday night.

Little Girl and i had to quickly breeze through our Friday night duties at the cat shelter, and then i dropped her off to arrive at Ms. P's house in the rain, with the thunder crashing and lightning striking.

Did that mean the games were cancelled? No, of course not, they were sure it was going to stop. In fact, it did.

As we were waiting until time to leave, Youngest Boy came downstairs and asked for a glass of orange juice for his father.

What! was my reaction.

"My dad's here, upstairs, and he's not feeling good," said the boy.

Turned out the ex who left Ms. P with a pile of IRS debt she knew nothing about and a house in foreclosure has been thrown out by his new honey.

"His mother is coming to pick him up," The Big Boss said with a sigh.

She did, and when she did, Ms. P walked into the kitchen saying to herself, "Just breathe, just breathe."

You are taking the high road, i told her. You let him come here to call his mother and lie down a while, and you won't have any regrets for letting him do that, because it's the way to behave in front of the children.

"I know," she said, and she took a deep breath and smiled and he was gone.

A few minutes later, i left with the three boys to head to the baseball fields.

Middle Boy's game was to start at 6pm, but he had a warm up, and we got there just a few minutes before it was to start. He headed to the batting cages, then we went to the field where his team would play. There are 7 fields, some smaller for the younger kids, and some bigger for the older ones. This was a smaller field, and the game was set to last 1 hour or 7 innings, whichever came first.

It was a coaches pitch game which lasted 35 minutes, and Middle Boy's team was up at first but lost in the last two innings. When a parent whose child was on another team walked up to ask a friend who was winning, he was told, "It's not about winning, it's about having fun!" All of us said the same, even when our team lost.

The other coach, however, had a different idea, and argued with the umpire a couple of times, and pulled him aside to "set him straight" at one point. This sparked a discussion among us on our side about the goals we had in mind bringing kids to these events.

To lighten it up, though, one witty father said, "You do realize I bet the house on this game, right?" with a big grin. His wife answered, "Oh, no! I don't want to be homeless again!"

We all laughed, and agreed if these kids, averaging age 7, learned sportsmanship, how to be on a team, and the rudiments of baseball, while having fun, it was enough.

Once that game was over, we had over an hour until Eldest Boy's game. They ate snacks and the younger two ran and played while Eldest Boy and some of his team mates found a corner in which to throw to each other for a warm up. Eventually we headed over to the field on which they would play, and were startled to see several geese!

Geese!

It seems one couple just couldn't wait until they got up north, and had babies. The three young, along with mama, papa, and another adult, were on the field. Seven or so more joined them, honking. When the boys went out on the field, the ones who had flown in left, but the three adults and three babies stuck around at the back of the field, and went on out into an area near the playground, before finding their nests in the brush for the night.

Because Eldest Boy's games are longer (one hour and 45 minutes or seven innings), they started it 20 minutes earlier than scheduled because a field became available. It still went until almost 9:30pm.

Middle Boy and Youngest Boy did not watch, but instead played at the play area right next to this particular field. Several times i had to get up and go out there and get them to quit picking on girls, or sitting on each other, or whatever. After one such foray into the fray, i came back and sat on the bench with a sigh and said, i must do this for love because they can't pay me enough!

Yes, that got a laugh, and it's true. These kids are dear to me. And there isn't enough pay in the world to put up with what a parent has to deal with sometimes.

Another round of laughter ensued when it turned out that some of the parents, moms and dads, were not just watching this game, but also keeping up with the local college game on their phones. The scores were exactly the same through most of the game, and when someone asked what the score was, it was hard to tell which game they were talking about! The mix up of which game had which score kept all of us smiling, as did the fact that the college team changed pitchers at the same time ours did!

Eldest Boy's game ended in a tie. Yes, when the kids are only 12 and 13, you let it end in a tie late at night after they've been in school all day. It was exciting, though, with one young wag on Eldest Boy's team stealing several bases. He was the catcher through most of the game, and threw a couple of really good outs. He also pitched the last innings. Talk about multi-talented! He was also the smallest kid on the team, a tiny thing compared to the rest, but wiry and quick and i hope he sticks to baseball. He seems to love it and has a good eye and quick reactions.

So it was a night of wit, wisdom, and wildfowl, and plenty of fun.

Today is

Abolition Day -- Mayotte

Babe Ruth Day -- anniversary of the day dedicated to him in 1947 by every ball field in the US and Japan

Freedom Day -- South Africa

Furze-Hopping Event -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day -- Sierra Leone(1961); Togo(1960)

Jouvert Jump-Up -- Sint Maartin (Break of Dawn Parade and Festival)

King's Birthday / Koninginnedag -- Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba, Curacao, Netherlands, and Sint Maartin); Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba

Matanzas Mule Day -- remembering the only casualty of one of the first naval actions of the Spanish-American War, a mule in the village of Matanzas, Cuba

Medieval Fair -- Norman, OK, US (living history, and lots of fun; through Sunday)

Morse Code Day -- birth anniversary of Samuel Morse

National Prime Rib Day

National War Veterans Day -- Finland

Resistance Day/Day of the Uprising Against the Occupying Forces -- Slovenia

St. Zita of Lucca's Day (Patron of butlers, domestic servants, homemakers, housemaids, lost keys, maids, manservants, people ridiculed for their piety, rape victims, servants, servers, single laywomen, waiters/waitpersons/waitresses; against losing keys)

Tell a Story Day -- US (no history of origin, although celebrated in many libraries)

Togyu Taikai -- Tokunoshima Island, Japan (bull sumo, in which bulls push each other out of the ring)

The Ennead Sail Through the Land -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

World Graphic Design Day

World Tapir Day

Write An Old Friend Today Day -- a real letter, in the mail, remember how exciting it is to get those?

Anniversaries Today:

Ringo Starr marries Barbara Bach, 1981
Cornell University is established as New York's land grant institution, 1865

Birthdays Today:

Patrick Stump, 1984
Sheena Easton, 1959
Ace Frehley, 1951
Cuba Gooding, Sr., 1944
Earl Anthony, 1938
Sandy Dennis, 1937
Anouk Aimee, 1932
Casey Kasem, 1932
Coretta Scott King, 1927
Jack Klugman, 1922
Walter Lantz, 1900
Sergei Prokofiev, 1891
Jessie Redmon Fauset, 1882
Ulysses S. Grant, 1822
Samuel Morse, 1791
Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759
Edward Gibbon, 1737
Suleiman the Magnificent, 1495

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Chips with Everything"(Play), 1962
"Le roi de Lahore/The king of Lahore"(Opera), 1877
"Roméo et Juliette"(Opera), 1867
"L'africaine/The African Woman"(Meyerbeer Opera), 1865

Today in History:

Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines led by chief Lapu-Lapu, 1521
Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar, 1539
Cebu is established as the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines, 1565
The blind and impoverished John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10, 1667
The British Parliament passes the Tea Act, 1773
Beethoven composes Für Elise, 1810
US troops capture the capital of Upper Canada, York (present day Toronto, Canada), 1813
The Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, is laid, 1840
The establishment of Jewish congregations in Lower Austria is prohibited, 1857
The steamboat Sultana, carrying 2,400 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1,700, most of whom are Union survivors of the Andersonville and Cahaba Prisons, 1865
In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races, 1950
Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship, 1960
Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the United Kingdom, 1961
Expo 67 officially opens in Montreal, Canada, 1967
Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse, 1981
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed, 1992
Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history, 1992
Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics become members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, 1992
The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote is held, 1994
The last successful telemetry from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10 is received, 2002
The superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France, 2005
Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City, 2006
Estonian authorities remove the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet Red Army war memorial in Tallinn, amid political controversy with Russia, 2007
The wives and children of former Osama bin Laden are deported from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, 2012

A Xebec is a Mediterranean sailing vessel used mostly for trade.

To me, they look like the typical three mast sailing ships i think of when i think of old seagoing vessels, and you can read more about them at Wikipedia.

This post is brought to you by the letter X, which is notoriously difficult because it doesn't want to start any common words, thus making me look up crazy things like old sailing ships.

It's also brought to you by the fact that i had to think fast and get something up for X before storms moved through, because we can't always count on having electricity when they do. (Edited to Add: this was prophetic -- the storms cut power to a lot of us, and our generator quit. Right now i'm at a local coffee place for my daily dose and some wifi.)

Today is:

Biological Clock Day -- the "biological clock gene" that governs the`circadian rhythm in mice was isolated on this day in 1994

Chicken-Tickling Day -- Fairy Calendar (Leprechauns)

Cubicle Day -- again i say, ???

Feast of Jamal(Beauty) -- Baha'i

Festival of Floralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (three day festival to Flora, goddess of flowers and vegetation)

School Bus Driver's Day -- these longsuffering drivers put up with a lot, thank a school bus driver today!

Gio to Hung Vuong Day -- Vietnam (National Day; celebrating the founding of the nation by Emperor Hung Vuong some three millenia ago)

Great Poetry Reading Day -- make sure you read some great poetry today

Hidaka Hibuse Matsuri -- Mizusawa, Iwate Prefecture, Japan (through the 29th; floats, child musicians, traditional costumes, and fun)

James Monroe Birthday Celebration -- Charlottesville, VA, US (at his home, Ash Lawn-Highland)

Kiss Your Mate Day -- guys, do not forget this one, in case she reads it somewhere on the internet; kiss her, then read her a great poem

National Blueberry Pie Day

National Day of Mourning -- Canada (In conjunction with Workers' Memorial Day and World Day for Safety and Health at Work, honoring those injured or killed on the job)

National Heroes Day -- Barbados

Rip Cord Day -- the first successful jump with a parachute that used a rip cord was this day in 1919 by Leslie Erwin of the U.S. Army Air Corps

Sa die de sa Sardinia -- Sardinia, Italy (Sardinia Day, celebrating the uprising of 1794)

Sense of Smell Day -- listed on different days on many websites; While celebrating, remember those with anosmia (diminished ability or totaly inability to smell)

St. Peter Chanel's Day (Patron of Oceania)
Saint Pierre-Chanel Day -- Wallis and Fortuna

Sts. Vitalis and Valeria's Day (Patrons of Thibodaux, Louisiana)

Victory Day -- Afghanistan

Workers Memorial Day / World Day for Safety and Health at Work -- International (remembering all who have lost their lives or been injured on the job)

Anniversaries Today:

Maryland becomes the 7th US State, 1788

Birthdays Today:

Jenna Ushkowitz, 1986
Jessica Alba, 1981
Penelope Cruz, 1974
Jorge Garcia, 1973
Nicklas Lidstrom, 1970
John Daly, 1966
Elena Kagan, 1960
Ian Rankin, 1960
Nancy Lee Grahn, 1958
Mary McDonnell, 1952
Jay Leno, 1950
Marcia Strassman, 1948
Ann-Margaret, 1941
Harper Lee, 1926
Oscar Schindler, 1908
Erich Salomon, 1886
Lionel Barrymore, 1878
Mifflin Wister Gibbs, 1828
James Monroe, 1758

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"One Man's Family"(Radio), 1932

Today in History:

Nichiren Buddhism is founded, 1253
Captain William Bligh and 18 crewmen from the HMS Bounty are set adrift, 1789
Chinese and Irish laborers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the First Transcontinental Railroad lay 10 miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched, 1869
Azerbaijan is added to the Soviet Union., 1920
The first night game in organized baseball history takes place in Independence, Kansas, 1930
A vaccine for yellow fever is announced for use on humans, 1932
Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki, 1947
The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei) is signed in Taipei, Taiwan between Japan and the Republic of China to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1952
Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France, 1969
The Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure is signed, 1977
Millionaire Dennis Tito becomes the world's first space tourist, 2001
According to the WHO, leading causes of death in the world include chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, 2011
In recognition of democratic reforms, the European Union opens an office in Burma, 2012

...we had us a storm!

Monday morning, as i quickly got a post ready for Tuesday in advance of the winds and rain and everything, we prepared to hunker down.

And hunker we did. Red-headed Alec was so concerned when the skies turned black and the wind was coming from every direction, even pushing rain under our front door, that he made us take shelter in case of a tornado.

In fact, there were no tornadoes, but hail and lightning and the threat of tornadoes developing and some awful winds, almost hurricane force.

Because Jalopy is in the shop, Sweetie had caught a ride to work with Brother-in-Law, The Mouth. That meant i had to go pick him up. By then the rain had let up, and most of the wind, but the damage was done.

No power in lots of areas. Trees down and blocking streets. Almost all of the direct routes to the uni were blocked somewhere, and when you could get through, you sat a long time at non-functioning traffic lights that are automatically considered four-way stops in those circumstances. Four-way stops on four-lane highways, plus the turn lanes, that are always congested anyway, has the makings of nightmares of traffic.

All day we heard sirens as emergency crews were called out to accidents. The interstate got totally stopped for a while.

We were told to expect power back by late Wednesday night, and the generator tried to come on but quit, so i turned it off to prevent damage. We will need to have it taken care of once we finish paying for Jalopy repairs.

Another wave moved through that evening, canceling Sweetie's Deacon Meeting and the Visitation Committee training i was to attend. (We had come down to the church early, and had to beat it to get out before the next wave broke loose.)

Meanwhile, the rain came in fits and spurts, with more wind and occasional hail, and all the kids went to work as their workplaces all had power. (Go figure. The residential areas were almost all down, the business areas all up. Makes me wonder.)

This "yikes it was a storm" post is being written at a local coffee shop, because i don't know when i'll be able to do much at home again. They've delayed how long they think it will take for us to get power by another day. Again.

Today is

Administrative Professionals Day -- Wed. of last full week

Arita Ceramic Fair -- Arita, Japan (finest porcelain in Japan; during Golden Week until May 5)

Cheng Cheng Kung Landing Day -- Taiwan (352nd anniversary of the landing in Taiwan of Ming Dynasty loyalist Cheng Cheng Kung to oust the Dutch colonists)

Feast of the Secret Masters -- can't find any real info on this one, and why should i if it's such a secret, but it is fun to think about

Fish Cleaning Night -- sponsored by David Letterman (it's okay if you don't have an audience, or Mariel Hemingway)

International Dance Day -- International Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), a UNESCO partner

International Guide Dog Day

Milk-Curdling Sunday -- Fairy Calendar (Gremlins, and only occasionally on a Sunday)

National Adult Public Skipping Day -- because somebody out there either wants you to feel like a kid again, or make a fool of you

National Shrimp Scampi Day

"Peace" Rose Day -- an explanation of this name for the Rosa 'Madame A. Meilland variety

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Peace

Remembrance of Victims of Chemical Weapons -- on the day chemical weapons were outlawed in 1997

Ridvan, Ninth Day -- Baha'i (one of the festival days on which work and school should be suspended)

Runic Half Month of Lagu (water) begins

Showa No Hi -- Japan (Showa Day, the birth anniversary of Emperor Showa, begins the Golden Week holiday period of four major national days, through May 5)

Solar Alignment at Teotihuacan, City of the Gods -- Teotihuacan, Mexico (the ritual cave opening aligns to the sunset on Aug. 12 and Apr. 29, the same horizon position of the setting of the Pleiades)

St. Catherine of Siena's Day (Patron of fire prevention, firefighter, nurses, nursing services, people ridiculed for piety, sick people; Europe; Italy; Theta Phi Alpha Sorority; Allentown, PA, US; Siena, Italy; Verazze, Italy; against bodily ills/sickness, fire, miscarriages, sexual temptation)

Sunfest -- West Palm Beach, FL, US (Florida's largest music, art, and waterfront festival; through Sunday)

Walk @ Lunch Day -- founded and encouraged by Blue Cross / Blue Shield

World Wish Day -- from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, marking the date in 1980 that local police let seven-year-old leukemia patient Chris Grecicius be an officer for a day, sparking the idea of the Make-a-Wish Foundation

Zipper Day -- while i can't confirm it, the modern zipper was supposedly patented on this day in 1913

Anniversaries Today:

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, marries Catherine "Kate" Middleton, 2011
Mike Nichols marries Diane Sawyer, 1988
Princess Irene marries Prince Carel Hugo de Bourbon Parma, 1964

Birthdays Today:

Andre Agassi, 1970
Uma Thurman, 1970
Carnie Wilson, 1968
Eve Plumb, 1958
Michelle Pfeiffer, 1958
Daniel Day-Lewis, 1957
Kate Mulgrew, 1955
Jerry Seinfeld, 1954
Nora Dunn, 1952
Dale Earnhardt, 1951
Johnny Miller, 1947
Zubin Mehta, 1936
Lane Smith, 1936
Rod McKuen, 1933
Robert Gottlieb, 1931
Celeste Holm, 1919
Tom Ewell, 1909
Hirohito, 1901
Duke Ellington, 1899
William Randolph Hearst, 1863
Oliver Ellsworth, 1745

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hair"(Musical), 1968
"ABC's Wide World of Sports"(TV), 1961
"Young Dr. Malone"(Radio), 1940
"There Shall be No Night"(Play), 1940
Roget's Thesaurus(Publication date), 1852
Violin Sonata No. 32 in B-flat major(Mozart K. 454), 1784

Today in History:

The Moors arrive at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, 711
Joan of Arc arrives at Orleans to relieve the siege, 1492
Francis Drake leads a raid in the Bay of Cádiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish fleet, 1587
Eleven Dutch ships depart for the conquest of Peru, 1623
The Ming Dynasty occupies Taiwan, 1661
James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia, 1770
The French Fleet prevents Britain from seizing the Cape of Good Hope, 1781
Peter Roget publishes the first edition of his Thesaurus, 1852
The "Elektromote"– forerunner of the trolleybus – is tested by Ernst Werner von Siemens in Berlin, 1882
Gideon Sundbach of Hoboken, NJ, receives a patent for the zipper, 1913
The North Sea floodgate at Ijmuiden, the biggest in world, officially opens, 1930
The telephone connection of England-Australia goes into service, 1930
The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast airs, and episode of "Space Patrol" shown over ABC affiliate KECA in Los Angeles, 1953
The first military nuclear power plant opens, in Ft. Belvoir 1957
A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 mph, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless, 1991
Oldsmobile builds its final car ending 107 years of production, 2004
Syria completes withdrawal from Lebanon, ending 29 years of occupation, 2005
Economic losses mount and class action lawsuits are filed as the U.S. Coast Guard plans a controlled burn to remove spilled oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, 2010

Z will always be for Zillions if it falls on April 30 (which it always will unless the 30th is a Sunday, which doesn't count for A to Z purposes).

Anyway, back to Zillions. Yes, i know that's not a real amount of anything, but it's my description of what my kids are worth to me.

Today especially, Little Girl. She is turning 17 today.

My baby is not so little any more.

That's okay, she's still Little Girl to me. She is generous, hard working, and smart.

Bigger Girl is the one who got us started with volunteering for the shelter rescue before they had even built the shelter. Little Girl is the one who is still helping me up there every week, as Bigger Girl always has to work now on Friday nights.

Little Girl is the one who loves kids and knows just how to take care of and entertain children from 2 on up. (Babies cry when she holds them, we don't know what's up with that. Once they start walking better, they love her. Oh, well.)

She's the first to lend a hand when any job needs to be done, and she scored the highest ACT score in her whole school this year. She's a junior.

Her ambition is to go into the medical field in some capacity, and i'm betting she will do it.

Happy Birthday, Little Girl. You are worth more to me than i can say. Thus i use Zillions. And we will have cake, whether the electricity is back on or not.

Today is

Armed Forces Day -- Georgia

Birthday of the King / Konungens födelsedag -- Sweden (HM King Carl XVI Gustav; an official flag day)

Bugs Bunny Day -- while some consider his debut to have been in "A Wild Hare," released in July two years later, other say that Bugs was the rabbit in "Porky's Hare Hunt," relased this date in 1938

Camarón Day -- French Foreign Legion

Carnival Day -- Sint Maarten

Consumer Protection Day -- Thailand

Díá De Los Niños/Díá De Los Libros -- American Library Association (Children Day/Book Day; a celebration that emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds)

Dia de Rincon -- Rincon, Bonaire

El Dia del Nino -- Mexico (Children's Day)

Fairy Queen's Birthday -- Fairy Calendar

Faeriae Latinae -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Feast of the Latin League, a festival to honor Jupiter)

Faeriae Latinae -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Feast of the Latin League, a festival to honor Jupiter)

Festival of Nations -- St. Paul, MN, US (cultural exhibits, food, dance, and folk art from 90 ethnic groups in a celebration held each year since 1932; through Sunday)

International Jazz Day -- UNESCO (originated with the New Jersey Jazz Society and sanctioned by the United Nations Jazz Society, the American Federation of Jazz Societies, and the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society; this year's International Jazz Day Global Concert 2015 will be held at UNESCO's Paris Headquarters and streamed live, with info here)

Kansas Barbed Wire Swap/Sell -- La Crosse, Kansas (held by the Barbed Wire Collectors Association, and no, i'm not making that up! through Saturday)

Liberation/Reunification Day -- Vietnam

Make-a-Book Day -- the Thursday of Family Reading Week (NOTE: FRW is the week ending the first Sat. in May!)

May Eve -- eve of the first day of summer in many traditions, including
     Beltane/Samhain Eve -- Pagan traditions
     Carodejnice -- Czech Republic; Slovakia
     Maitag Vorabend -- Switzerland
     Mange les Morts -- Haiti (festival of the dead)
     Salus -- Portugal; Spain (festival of the dead)
     Valborgsmässoafton -- Sweden
     Walpurgis Night -- Ancient Celtic/Nordic Calendars

Mr. Potato Head Day -- the classic toy went on sale this day in 1952, and you used your own potato

National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day -- US (can't find a sponsoring organization, but it's not a bad idea)

National Honesty Day -- including Honest Abe Awards (Abies) and dishonorable mentions for those who have been particularly publicly egregious; celebrated today because we began the month with April Fooling and lies, so today is to celebrate the opposite*

National Raisin Day

Poem in Your Pocket Day -- carry your favorite with you to share with friends and family to celebrate National Poetry Month

Richmond Mushroom Festival -- Richmond, MO, US (arts and crafts, carnival, barbecue contest, bike and car show, bands, and stage shows, all to celebrate the fun fungus; through Sunday)

St. Adjutor of Vernon's Day (Patron of drowning victims, sailors, swimmers, yachtsmen; Vernon, France; against drowning)

St. James the Great's Day -- Orthodox Christian

Teacher's Day -- Paraguay

*to nominate someone for an Abie or a dishonorable mention, contact M. Hirsh Goldberg, founder and author of The Book of Lies

Anniversaries Today:

Pele marries Assiria Seixas Lemos, 1994
The Organization of American States is founded, 1948
Louisiana becomes the 18th US state, 1812

Birthdays Today:

Dianna Agron, 1986
Kirsten Dunst, 1982
Johnny Galecki, 1975
Jeff Timmons, 1973
Carolyn Dawn Johnson, 1971
Adrian Pasdar, 1965
Michael Waltrip, 1963
Isiah Thomas, 1961
Stuart Mathis, 1960
Stephen Harper, 1959
Jane Campion, 1954
Perry King, 1948
Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden, 1946
Michael J. Smith, 1945
Jill Clayburgh, 1944
Burt Young, 1940
Gary Collins, 1938
Willie Nelson, 1933
Cloris Leachman, 1926
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, 1909
Eve Arden, 1908
Ellis Wilson, 1899
Louise Dilworth Beatty Homer, 1871

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Barnum"(Musical), 1980
"The Dresser"(Play), 1980
"Inside U.S.A."(Musical revue), 1948
"Arthur Godfrey Time"(Radio), 1945
"Pelleas et Melisande"(Opera), 1902
"Dmitri Donskoi"(Opera), 1852
"Love for Love"(Play), 1695

Today in History:

Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus, 1006
Orbital calculations suggest that on this day, Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit until July 23, 1503, 1483
Columbus is given a royal commission to equip his fleet, 1492
On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States, 1789
The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France, 1803
Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation, 1838
Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to
make up time on the Cannonball Express, 1900
Honolulu, Hawaii becomes an independent city, 1907
Peru becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty, 1920
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, 1927
The animated cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit (a prototype of Bugs Bunny, 1938
In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established, 1948
The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom, 1963
Communist forces gain control of Saigon and the Vietnam War formally ends, 1975
Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, 1980
CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free, 1993
Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 1999
Two skeletal remains found near Ekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia and one of his sisters, 2008
Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, 2009
Hailed as the largest World's Fair in history, Expo 2010 opens in Shanghai, China, 2010
Born without a trachea, a 2-year-old Korean-Canadian child is the youngest patient in history to receive a bioengineered organ made from stem cells; she received the transplanted organ at the Children's Hospital of Illinois, 2013

Leah of The Goat's Lunch Pail started Photo-Finish Friday, and i appreciate her photos and posts that share her world with me.

When our electricity came back on again, Little Girl changed the quote on the chalkboard coffee cup. It was quite appropriate:

She knew just what to write!

It's nice to have electricity again.

Today is

Agriculture Day and Labor Day -- Haiti

Amtrak Day -- the train service began this day in 1971

Beltaine / Samhain -- Wiccan/Pagan

Calends of May -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances
Day sacred to Maia
Feast for Lares Praestites (household gods)

Childhood Stroke Awareness Month -- also called Pediatric Stroke Awareness Day, because kids can have strokes, too

Chimney Sweeps Day -- the boys as young as 4 trained to help master sweeps got Mayday off each year

Constitution Day / National Day -- Marshall Islands

Dandelion May Fest -- Der Marktplatz, Dover, OH, US (if a food or drink can be made with dandelion, you will find it here, along with fun and entertainment galore; through tomorrow)

Exaltation of Ribeiro Wine -- Ourense, Spain (wine, fruit, music and dance, what more could you ask? through Sunday)

Executive Coaching Day -- a reminder, on what is most countries' Labor Day, that workers deserve great leaders

Faint-Hearted Fairies May (or May Not) Ball -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage -- Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines (pilgrimages to the shrine of Nuestra Sra de la Paz y Buen Viaje; through the month)

Festa Del Serpari -- Cocullo, Italy (The Procession of the Snake Catchers, in honor of the city's patron, St. Dominick, whom they believed could cure snakebite)

Festival of Saint Efisio -- Cagliari, Italy (one of the most colorful religious festivals anywhere in the world; through the 4th)

Garland Dressing -- Charlton on Otmoor, England (a wooden cross is bedecked with yew and box leaves)

Global Love Day -- sponsored by The Love Foundation

Go Fetch! National Food Drive for Homeless Animals -- PALS Foundation www.gofetch.org

Gujarat Day / Maharashtra Day -- MH, India

International Space Day -- UN

International Tuba Day -- yes, here for details

Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival -- Fernandina Beach, FL, US (celebrating the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry; through Sunday)

Josey's World Champion Junior 4-D Barrel Race -- Josey's Ranch, Marshall, TX, US (finest youth barrel racing in the world; through Sunday)

Journée Internationale de la Guérilla Tournesol / International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day -- begun in Belgium, now celebrated worldwide, guerrila gardeners are encouraged to plant sunflowers (or an appropriate plant for their climate) in a neglected public place or shabby flower bed

Keep Kids Alive! Drive 25 Day -- 20-25mph in school zones, please

Kentucky Derby & Oaks -- Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY, US (the Oaks is today; the Derby tomorrow is the longest continually held sporting event in the US)

Kevadpuha -- Estonia (Spring Day)

Law Day, USA -- US, by Presidential Proclamation

Lei Day -- Hawai'i (where you celebrate Mayday with a lei instead of mayflowers)

Loyalty Day -- US

Magic Dragon Street Meet -- Historic Bagnell Dam Strip and Prewitt's Point, MO, US (if you like car shows, this is the place for you! through Sunday)

May Day Fairie Festival -- Spoutwood Farm, Glen Rock, PA, US (celebrate the beginning of spring and the return of all the nature spirits to the warm world with musicians, dancers, storytellers, a Maypole dance, fairie arts and crafts activities and vendors, education about healthy eating and organic farming, fairie and gnome habitat tours, fairie tea parties, and guest appearances by the Green Man, the Mossmen, Sweet Pea, and others; through Sunday)

May Day / Labor Day / Worker's Day -- International; celebrated as the beginning of summer in some places, as a Labor Day in others

Mother Goose Day -- as declared by the Mother Goose Society

National Chocolate Parfait Day

National Love Day -- Czech Republic (couples flock to the memorial of the poet Karel Hynek Mácha in Prague and kiss)

National Purebred Dog Day -- US (as proposed on this page)

New Homeowner's Day -- can't find confirmation on this one, listed at a few sites but no history or records of why this day

No Pants Day -- first Friday in May, and not to be confused with the annual No Pants Subway Ride in NYC

'Obby 'Oss (Hobby Horse) Parade -- Padstow, Cornwall, England (every May 1 since 1502, if the records are correct)

Orangeburg Festival of Roses -- Orangeburg, SC, US (celebrating flowers on the banks of the Edisto River, the longest black water river in the world; through Sunday)

Play of St. Evermaar -- Belgium (annual performance of a mystery play, in its original form from over 1,000 years ago, by the village)

Riding of the Bounds -- Berwick-upon-Tweed, Casey, England (riders scour the countryside to be sure the Scots have not encroached upon English soil in this 5 century old tradition)

Rodonitsa -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (day to offer feasts to the ancestors, named for Rod, god of family and the cosmos)

Santacruzan / Flore de Mayo -- Philippines (lasts through the month, with the biggest celebratory days being May 26-27 this year)

Save the Rhino Day / Rhino Mayday -- International

School Principal's Day -- since teachers get a day, so should the principal

Silver Star Day -- US (to honor all military who have earned a Silver Star)

Stepmother's Day -- sponsored by secondwivesclub.com

Store Bededag -- Denmark; Faroe Islands; Greenland (Great Prayer Day)

St. Joseph the Worker's Day -- Holy See(Vatican City)

St. Peregrine Laziosi's Day (Patron of AIDS patients, cancer patients, and the sick; against cancer, open sores and skin diseases)

St. Walpurga's Canonization Day (The saint who banishes the evil from Walpurgis night.)

Swieta Panstwowe -- Poland (National Day)

Tammany's Day / St. Tamenend -- US soldiers in the Revolution wanted a patron saint to rival St. George of the British Army, and chose Delaware Indian chief and wise man Chief Tamenend, also called Tammany

Toad Suck Daze -- Conway, AR, US (toad-jumping contests, carnival, parade, concerts, arts and crafts, softball tournament, and more; through Sunday)

Unity Day -- Kazakhstan

Virgen de Chapi Festival -- Peru

Yotaka Matsuri -- Fukuno, Toyama, Japan (enjoy floats, paper lanters, and mock battles in this two day festival)

Zuni Green Corn Dance -- Zuni Native Americans (welcoming back the Corn Maidens who fled during the winter; dating approximate as many Native ceremonies are closed to outsiders)

Anniversaries Today:

Cheerios go on sale, 1941
Empire State Building Ribbon Cutting, 1931

Birthdays Today:

Wes Anderson, 1969
Tim McGraw, 1967
Charlie Schlatter, 1966
Steve Cauthen, 1960
Ray Parker, Jr., 1954
Paul Teutul, Sr., 1949
Rita Coolidge, 1945
Bobbie Ann Mason, 1940
Judy Collins, 1939
Sonny James, 1929
Charles "Chuck" Bednarik, 1925
Terry Southern, 1924
Jack Paar, 1918
Glenn Ford, 1916
Archie Williams, 1915
Kate Smith, 1909
Mark Clark, 1896
Leo Sowerby, 1895
Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Burke), 1852
Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, 1837
King Kamehameha I of Hawai'i, 1738
Joseph Addison, 1672

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"My One and Only"(Musical), 1983
Citizen Kane(Film), 1941
"Batman"(Detective Comics #27), 1939
"Buffalo Bill's Wild West"(touring Western show), 1883
"Le nozze di Figaro/The Marriage of Figaro"(Mozart Opera, K492), 1786

Today in History:

The Wars of Scottish Independence end with a treaty recognizing the Kingdom of Scotland as a separate entity, 1328
The Act of Union joins the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, 1707
Species Plantarum is published by Linnaeus, marking the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, 1753
Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain, 1759
Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt establishes the Illuminati in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), 1776
Kamehameha, the king of Hawai'i defeats Kalanikupule and establishes the Kingdom of Hawai'i, 1785
The British colonies abolish slavery, 1834
The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom, 1840
The first wagon train leaves from Independence, MO, bound for California, 1841
Hong Kong Police Force, the world's second, Asia's first modern police force is established, 1844
Queen Victoria opens the Great Exhibition in London, 1851
The Empire of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance, 1865
The Folies Bergère opens in Paris, 1869
Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States, 1884
The RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her two hundred and second, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic, 1915
The first cooked meals on a scheduled flight are introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris, 1927
The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named, 1930
The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City, 1931
The Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war, 1940
The Salk vaccine is made available to the public, 1956
Fidel Castro proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections, 1961
Amtrak is formed to take over the U.S. passenger rail service, 1971
Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, 1987
On the same day, Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A's sets the record for stolen bases (his 939th), and Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers pitches his 7th career no-hitter, breaking his own record, 1991
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, , 2004
Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden, 2009
Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, 2011
The U.N. Human Rights Office determine it is a violation of international law to force-feed hunger strikers at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison, 2013

How to redeem a difficult Friday.

Get up 4am, face the dishes and howlingly hungry cats. Get to Bible study by 6:15am.

Shop, run the stuff purchased home, go get oil changed in Humphrey the Honda. Receive a text from Little Girl, run the stuff to her at school she needs. Go get Sweetie from work.

Go back to the mechanic to wait for Jalopy to be finished. Pay through the nose for transmission work. Run to get Little Girl from school.

Go to the shelter to feed and water the cats and sweep rooms and get the trash out of the building.

Run back home to pick up a couple of things, go get pizzas.

Take pizzas to the church for rEcess, where the theme this night is camping out.

Playing in the tent.

A great place for flashlights and shadow puppets.

Have a great time, all is well.

Emmy's wheelchair now has a tray, so feeding her is easier.

Leaves for leaf print painting.

Fun on the playground.

Chase Gracie Everywhere!

When Gracie arrives, try to give her a hug, and be amazed as she grabs your hand to shake it and says, clear as a ,bell, "It's great to see you!" Be equally amazed as she plays well with two other children most of the night, and wants me near but won't let me help in the restroom. She's so big now!

Come home and get to bed after 11pm.

Know it's worth it.

Today is

Anniversary of the 3rd Druk Gyalpo -- Bhutan

Apple Blossom Festival -- Gettysburg, PA, US (58th annual; through tomorrow)

Baby Day -- birth anniversary of Dr. Spock

Brothers and Sisters Day/Sibling Appreciation Day -- an internet generated holiday, not to be confused with National Siblings Day on April 10 each year

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta -- Portland, Oregon (the sister city to Guadalajara, Mexico, has a multicultural party; today, tomorrow, and Sunday)

Clun Green Man Festival -- Clun, Shropshire, England (spring festival ending with the Clun Green Man battling and defeating the Frost Queen to end winter and bring in spring, along with a May Fair; through the Monday Spring Bank Holiday)

Cotton Pickin' Fair -- Gay, GA, US (a fabulous two days of Southern family fun)

Day of Osiris going forth from his mountain -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Door-Banging and Window-Tapping Conference -- Fairy Calendar (Gremlins)

Flag Day -- Poland

Free Comic Book Day -- check here for information, including a store locator

Galveston Historic Homes Tour -- Galveston, TX, US (Galveston Island’s great treasures of Victorian and post-Victorian architecture that are privately owned are opened for tours this weekend and next)

Herb Day -- an international celebration of herbs and all the flavor they add to our lives; try a new herb to season a dish today www.herbday.org/

Holiday of the Region of Madrid -- Madrid, Spain

Holland Tulip Time Festival -- Holland, MI, US (one of the best small town festivals in the US, with visitors from around the world; through next Saturday)

International Scurvy Awareness Day -- because yes, some people do still get this disease of Vitamin C deficiency

Join Hands Day -- uniting young people and adults to do community service projects

Kansas Sampler Festival -- Liberal, KS, US (a living brochure of the state of Kansas, with over 100 communities, hiking trails, historic sites, off-the-beaten-track places, and more represented in one place, highlighting all the great things there are to do in the state of Kansas; through tomorrow)

King James Bible Day -- marking the publication in 1611 of the King James Version of the Bible

Low Country Shrimp Festival -- McClellanville, SC, US (seafood, arts, crafts, civic displays, entertainment, and the blessing of the fleet)

National Education Day -- Indonesia

National Play Your Ukulele Day -- just because it's fun!

National Scrapbooking Day -- begun by Creative Memories, now celebrated by scrapbookers everywhere, a good article about it here

National Travel and Tourism Week begins -- US (this year's theme: Travel is _____________ )

National Truffles Day

Peddler's Village Strawberry Festival -- Lahaska, PA, US (strawberries in every form imaginable; through tomorrow)

Roberts Rules of Order Day -- birth anniversary of Henry M. Robert, author of the standard parliamentary guide Robert's Rules of Order

Rowdy Friends Day -- go look up the ones you haven't seen in a while

St. Athanasius the Great's Day

St. Zoe's Day

Teacher's Day -- Bhutan; Iran

Twelfth Day of Ridvan -- Baha'i

Towsontown Spring Festival -- Towson, MD, US (four stages of continual entertainment, food, art and photography exhibit, and more; through tomorrow)

Birthdays Today:

Sarah Hughes, 1985
Jenna Von Oy, 1977
David Beckham, 1975
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, 1972
Elizabeth Berridge, 1962
Christine Baranski, 1952
Larry Gatlin, 1949
Lesley Gore, 1946
David Suchet, 1946
Bianca Jagger, 1945
Engelbert Humperdinck, 1936
Roscoe Lee Browne, 1925
Theodore Bikel, 1924
Satyajit Ray, 1921
Dr. Benjamin Spock, 1903
Baron Von Richthofen, 1892
Hedda Hopper, 1885
Henry M. Robert, 1837

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Sunday in the Park with George"(Musical), 1984
"Peter and the Wolf"(Prokofiev Op. 67), 1936
"The Jack Benny Program"(Radio), 1932
Good Housekeeping(Magazine), 1885
"La Bottega del Caffe/The Coffee Shop"(Play), 1750
Authorized King James Version of the Bible(Publication date, by printer Robert Barker), 1611

Today in History:

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft, 1536
John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the beginning Scottish Reformation, 1559
Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle, 1568
King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America, 1670
William Herschel discovers 1st binary star, Xi Ursae Majoris, 1780
Charles Fremantle founds the Swan River Colony in Australia, 1829
Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao, 1866
Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time, 1885
Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion, 1885
The Congo Free State is established by King Léopold II of Belgium, 1885
Hannibal W Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film, 1887
General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware, 1918
Pearl S. Buck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Good Earth, 1938
The world's first ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1, makes its maiden flight, from London to Johannesburg, 1952
Tennessee Williams is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 1955
The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City, 1969
The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, opens, 1986
The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union's monetary policy, 1998
President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military, 2000
Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Myanmar killing over 130,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless, 2008
Conservationists determine poachers killed the last known rhinoceroses in Mozambique; these poachers worked with game rangers responsible for protecting them, 2013

A to Z: K is for Kida, an Awww Mondays Post

A to Z: L is for Link and Little Girlie

A to Z: M is for Mikey

A to Z: N is for Notes

A to Z: O is for Odd

A to Z: P is for Plants

Silly Sunday: Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed?

A to Z: Q is for Quotes, an Awww Monday Post

A to Z: R is for RRRRRR!

A to Z: S is for SissyCat

A to Z: T is for Tired

A to Z: U is for Unbelievable, a Feline Friday Post

A to Z: V is for Valuable Valiant Veterinary Victory

Silly Sunday: Stray Cat

A to Z: W is for Wit, Wisdom, and Wildfowl

A to Z: X is for Xebec

A to Z: Y is for Yikes, Yowsers, and Yee Howdy...

A to Z: Z is for Zillions

Photo-Finish Friday: Appropriate

Redeeming Time