messymimi's meanderings

...Matter.

Manners of the Heart, that is.

Sixteen years ago, Jill Rigby began working to craft a curriculum to be taught in schools that would teach children manners and respectful behavior.

Her belief is that with respect, parents can parent, teachers can teach, children can learn, and communities can thrive.

She is being proven right.

Jill came up with Manners of the Heart, which teaches Biblical character principles and respectful behavior without mentioning religion, the Bible, or anything the public school system would have to edit out.

Schools have been implementing her program and have been doing so long enough that results are coming in. They are all positive.

One school principal who insisted that Manners of the Heart be taught in her school noted a 64% reduction in students being referred to the office for discipline and a 34% increase in reading ability among students.

That was in one year, folks.

This is a program that works.

Jill has a favorite story of one young girl who was somewhat of an outcast in her class, with a terrible home life. Each student in the class had been assigned a project, and the most popular girl in the class knew that this other girl would get no help from her family. She took it upon herself to gather the materials and invite the girl to her home so she would also have a project to turn in. Even after that, she continued to mentor and befriend this girl, and she said she did it because of what Wilbur the Wise Old Owl, mascot of Manners of the Heart, had taught her.

Again, this is a program that works.

One problem has been getting it into the schools around here at home. Most schools that have brought Manners of the Heart to their classrooms have been out of this school district or out of state. That has led to the problem of many people asking her, "If it's such a good program, why won't your local schools implement it on a wholesale basis?" We all know how prophets aren't accepted in their own country, and that's been a struggle for Jill.

She's had the program in local schools in our district, but only a few. Those have had tremendous success, including one that had the program, decided not to use it one year, and saw a teacher rebellion until it was brought back! Another Louisiana school district used it because the superintendent of schools in that district implemented it and he took that district to the top of the state.

He's now our local district superintendent, and he's going to do everything he can to bring our school district up the way he did the other one.

One way is by bringing Manners of the Heart to 15 of our local elementary schools right off the bat.

This huge jump created the need for 310 more teacher kits, each with a labeled box and the three character puppets in them.

Wilbur the Wise Old Owl puppets come complete, but the two raccoon characters need either a bow for the girl or a baseball cap for the boy hot glued on.

Jill asked for volunteers to help with labeling, gluing, putting puppets in kits, and getting the lids on.

It was fun, and except for running out of the baseball caps for the last few raccoons, it's all done. Those caps were ordered 3 weeks ago, and the company has said they will overnight a new order, so in the next two days it should all be finished.

Now we get to see what Manners of the Heart can do for our area.

We have kits!

Today is

Aphrodisia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (bathing festival of Aphrodite and Peitho [Persuasion]; through tomorrow)

Bregenzer Festspiele (Bregenz Festival) -- Bregenz, Austria (an amazing performing arts festival, through August 23)

Casual Pi Day / Pi Approximation Day (22nd day of month 7; 22/7 is the approximation of Pi)

Festival of Boredom and Reverie -- Fairy Calendar

Hammock Day -- don't know who came up with this one, but at the height of the dog days, it seems appropriate; on some sites listed as Summer Leisure Day

International Childbirth Education Awareness Day -- can't find confirmation on this, but if you're going to have a kid, it's not a bad idea to get educated about what to expect!

King Father's Birthday -- Swaziland

National Penuche Fudge Day

Oregon Brewers Festival -- Portland, OR, US (81 microbreweries from across the nation showcase their best, including rare, hard-to-find, and exotic beers; through Sunday)

Ratcatcher's Day -- celebrated by the British dating of the Pied Piper story; celebrated June 26 in Hamelin, Germany

Revolution Day -- The Gambia

Soma-Nomaoi Festival -- Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (Wild-Horse Chasing, a four day festival in which a thousand horsemen, clad in ancient armor, compete for possession of three shrine flags, and along the Hibarigahara Plain, men clad in white costumes attempt to catch wild horses)

Spooners Day (Spoonerism -- Named for William Archibald Spooner, English cleric and scholar who once fussed at a student because "You hissed my mystery lesson," told a groom it was "kisstomery to cuss the bride," and once accidentally referred to Queen Victoria as "the queer old Dean.")

St. Mary Magdalene's Day (Patron of apothecaries, contemplative life and contemplatives, converts, druggists, glove makers, hairdressers and hair stylists, penitent sinners, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, perfumeries and perfumers, pharmacists, reformed prostitutes, tanners, women; Anguiano, Spain; Atrani, Salerno, Italy; Casamicciola, Italy; Elantxobe, Spain; Foglizzo, Italy; La Magdaleine, Italy; against sexual temptation)
Stilt Dance Day -- Anguiano, Spain (a special stilt dance performed on the Feast of the city's patron, St. Mary Magdalen)

Sumarauki -- Iceland (their calendar's extra days added to take into account the "drift" of the calendar from the moon phases)

Birthdays Today:

George Alexander Louis Windsor, His Royal Highness Prince of Cambridge, 2013
Madison Pettis, 1998
Selena Gomez, 1992
Scott Dixon, 1980
Daniel Jones, 1973
Rufus Wainwright, 1973
Irene Bedard, 1967
Rhys Ifans, 1967
Shawn Michaels, 1965
David Spade, 1964
John Leguizamo, 1964
Rob Estes, 1963
Keith Sweat, 1961
Willem Dafoe, 1955
Alan Menken, 1949
Albert Brooks, 1947
Don Henley, 1947
Danny Glover, 1946
Estelle Bennett, 1944
Bobby Sherman, 1943
Kay Bailey Hutchison, 1943
Alex Trebek, 1940
Terrence Stamp, 1939
Louise Fletcher, 1934
Oscar De la Renta, 1932
Orson Bean, 1928
Bob Dole, 1923
Amy Vanderbilt, 1908
Alexander Calder, 1898
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1890
William Archibald Spooner, 1844
Gregor Johann Mendel, 1822 (Note: some sources say July 20)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Plan 9 From Outer Space(Film), 1959

Today in History

King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeat William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk, 1298
The Swiss decisively defeat the Imperial army of Emperor Maximilian I in the Battle of Dornach, 1499
A second group of English settlers arrive on Roanoke Island off North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony, 1587
Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada, 1793
In the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Rear Admiral Nelson is wounded in the arm, and part of it is amputated, 1797
Death of Josef Strauss, Austrian composer, 1870
First ever motorized racing event is held in France between the cities of Paris and Rouen. The race is won by comte Jules-Albert de Dion, 1894
Wiley Post becomes the first person to fly solo around the world traveling 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes, 1933
Dezik and Tzygan become the first of Russia's Space Dogs, making a sub-orbital flight, which they both survived, 1951
Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during WWII, 1976
Martial law in Poland is officially revoked, 1983
The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario, 1997
The Stonehenge World Heritage Site announces the discovery of a possible new henge, the biggest discovery at a major monument in over 50 years, 2010
Norway is the victim of twin terror attacks, on government buildings in Oslo and a youth camp at Utoya, 2011
Scientific studies reveal that dolphins have unique names for one another, much like humans do, 2013

It was really the back of a minivan, but she called it the trunk, having grown up with that terminology; she really thought of it as a great big rolling purse.

It was always crammed with something, the tools of her housekeeping trade, reusable shopping bags, books or magazines picked up from the Monday lady (meaning the one she cleaned for on Mondays) who was going through her collection and getting rid of them and wanted her to take them to the donation center, cat litter and a spare cat carrier, sometimes groceries, all crammed together in a higgle-piggle even when she tried to separate and keep it in some semblance of order.

Today she pulled the beat-up old Jalopy (as she called it) into the parking lot where Pastor M would have a church service for the homeless and opened the trunk to retrieve the usual donation of oranges she brought to put in the bags each person attending would receive, but she also got out something extra special.

The Thursday lady had been going through her dress collection that included designer dresses and formals and was sending most of them to a resale shop. Two were not the type the shop would accept, so she gave them, as she did all of her children's cast off clothing, to the housekeeper to be brought to this parking lot so that someone in need could use them.

Two very nice young ladies, whose families could never have afforded such dresses, would not have to miss their proms, just because they lived at the homeless shelter.

The lousy lighting in my bathroom doesn't do it justice!

The skirt is longer than it looks, tucked under the top, and it is intricately beaded.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories.

Today is

Berne Swiss Days Festival -- Berne, IN, US (Swiss food, dancing, yodeling, a stein-toss, and lots more family fun; through Saturday)

Birthday of Emperor Haili Selassi I -- Rastafari

Blessing of the Waters and Oyster Festival -- Whitstable, Kent, England (ceremony at Reeves Beach dating back to 1657, this event is held to appease the cruel seas and give thanks for its bounty; it marks the beginning of the community's annual Oyster Festival, which runs through Sunday)

Calgary Folk Music Festival -- Calgary, AB, Canada (one of Calgary's biggest and most fun festivals; through Sunday)

Emperor Haile Selassi I birthday -- Rastafari

Falconry Festival -- Haouaria, Tunisia (three days of celebrating the art of falconry, with breeders from around the world)

Flag Day -- Abkhazia

Gorgeous Grandma Day -- a day to celebrate those who age, date, and mate in style!

Great Texas Mosquito Festival -- Clute, Texas, US (Annual salute to the fact that if you can't beat 'em, and when it's mosquitoes, you can't, you might as well celebrate 'em. There's something for all ages, including the Skeeter Beaters Baby Crawl, a Mosquito calling contest, and a Mr. & Mrs. Mosquito Legs Contest, plus games, rides, carnival food, and more; through Saturday)

Hot Enough For Ya Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays as the only day on which you may utter these words; any other day, and you will get high fived on the back of the head!;)

Lumberjack World Championships -- Hayward, WI, US (the world's greatest lumberjacks face off in the "Olympics of the Forest"; through Saturday)

Mayan Sun Festival -- honoring Ahau Kin, the sun god, date approximate

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day

Neptunalia and Salcia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (god and goddess of the ocean and wide seas, celebrates Neptune in his role as god of irrigation)

Private Eye Day -- internet generated

Quilt Odyssey 2015 -- Hershey, PA, US (national quilt competition, through Sunday)

Remembrance Day -- Papua New Guinea

Renaissance Day -- Oman (celebrates the accession of Qaboos bin Said Al Said, 14th Sultan of Oman)

Revolution Day -- Egypt

St. Apollinaris' Day (Patron against epilepsy, gout; of Aachen, Germany; Burtscheid, Germany; Düsseldorf, Germany; Ravenna, Italy; Remagen, Germany)

St. Bridget of Sweden's Day (Patron of widows; Europe; Sweden)

St. Phocas the Gardener's Day (Patron of agricultural workers, boatmen, farm workers, farmers, field hands, gardeners, husbandmen, mariners, market-gardeners,sailors, watermen)

Warei Shrine Summer Festival -- Warei Shrine, Uwajima City, Japan (through tomorrow, includes "bull-sumo", a non fatal type of bull fighting, where the bulls try to push each other out of the ring)

Whitstable Oyster Festival -- Whitstable, Kent, England (celebrating the areas famed and protected oysers, Ostrea edulis; through August 2)

Anniversaries Today

Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson, 1986
Coronation of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, 1999

Birthdays Today

Daniel Radcliffe, 1989
Michelle Williams, 1980
Omar Epps, 1975
Nomar Garciapara, 1973
Marlon Wayans, 1972
Charisma Carpenter, 1970
Philip Seymour Hoffman, 1967
Eriq La Salle, 1962
Woody Harrelson, 1961
Lamont "ShowBoat" Robinson, 1961
Edie McClurg, 1951
Belinda Montgomery, 1950
Don Imus, 1940
Nicholas Gage, 1939
Ronny Cox, 1938
Anthony M. Kennedy, 1936
Don Drysdale, 1936
Bert Convy, 1933
Arata Isozaki, 1931
Gloria DeHaven, 1925
Amalia Rodrigues, 1920
Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, 1918
Arthur Treacher, 1894
Haile Selassie I, 1892
Raymond Chandler, 1888
Samuel Augustus Maverick, 1803

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha! Ha!"(Single release), 1966
"The Gene Autry Show"(TV), 1950

Today in History

William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precursor to the typewriter, 1829
The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union, 1840
The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, is founded, 1881
The Ford Motor Company sells its first car, 1903
Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film, 1926
Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite, 1962
The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling within 4 years, 1982 *
Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba, 1983
Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered, 1995
Cape Verde becomes the 153rd member of the World Trade Organization, 2008
Patent law disputes between Samsung and Apple deadlock as the dispute addresses valuation of each other's patents, 2012

*Don't I wish that had worked!

Feline Friday is hosted 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!

The kittens were trying to sample KidaMosquito's food, so i put down some tiny kibbles called BabyCat. They are still on the bottle, but now also eating the kibble.

Thank you for giving them that! says KidaMosquito.

Today is

Aberdeen International Youth Festival -- Aberdeen, Scotland (talented young people in all areas of performing arts and from around the world participate; through Aug. 1)

Amelia Earhart Day

Antique Power and Steam Exhibition -- Burton, OH, US (over 100 antique engines show they can still cut the mustard -- or saw the logs, thresh the grain, etc.; through Sunday)

Arcadia Daze -- Arcadia, NY, US (lots of family friendly fun in this scenic village; through Sunday)

Children's Day -- Vanuatu

Cousins Day -- because cousins are wonderful people to have around! sponsored by Claudia Evart of New York City, who must have had great cousins

Dodge City Days -- Dodge City, KS, US (a celebration of Western heritage, this year's theme is "Tribute to Fort Dodge"; through Aug. 2)

Farm Heritage Days -- American Farm Heritage Museum, near St. Louis, MO, US (celebrating America's farm heritage; through Sunday)

Festival of St. Eloi -- French Basque

Gilroy Garlic Festival -- Gilroy, California (the part of the world that grows more of our garlic than anywhere else, where you can almost marinate a steak just by hanging it on the clothesline in the breeze, celebrates the stinky rose; through Sunday)

Gold Discovery Days -- Custer, SD, US (bed races and pancake breakfast, children's fair and more; through Sunday)

International Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo -- Grand Isle, LA, US (hurricanes have tried to derail this celebration, but they come back better than ever each time; through tomorrow)

Iowa Storytelling Festival -- Clear Lake, IA, US (come listen to professional and amateur storytellers in the scenic lakeside setting, and including a story exchange for novice storytellers; through tomorrow)

Jakaba Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (beginning of St. James' [Jacob] Festival, whose day is tomorrow; the beginning of hay harvest)

Jilwalla Jinks' Jamboree -- Fairy Calendar

Lieksa Brass Week -- Lieksa, Finland (the world's finest brass music in various styles by international class musicians; through August 1)

Lumberjack Day -- for no reason that i can fathom, but there it is; not as famous as the one in September, which has its own website

National Drive Through Day -- but only if you won't pass out from the heat when you roll down the window! on the founding date of Jack-in-the-Box, the first drive through burger chain

National Tequila Day -- celebrate North America's first native-born distilled spirit

Nova Scotia Bluegrass and Oldtime Music Festival -- Bible Hill, NS, Canada (Canada's longest running bluegrass festival and a great event for the whole family; through Sunday)

Pioneer Day -- Mormon Christian

Pop a Wheelie Day -- before, not after, the tequila, please; a hospital visit is no fun

Public Opinion Day -- the first public opinion poll was published this date in 1824!

Schools Tree Day -- Australia (because National Tree Day is always a Sunday, the schools participate in planting trees the Friday before)

Simon Bolivar Day -- Ecuador; Venezuela

Sts. Boris and Gleb's Day (Patrons of princes; Moscow, Russia)

St. Christina the Astonishing's Day (Patron of all with mental handicaps, disorders, or illnesses, and mental health care workers, psychiatrists and therapists; against insanity and mental disorders)

St. Christina of Bolsena's Day (Patron of archers, mariners, millers)

Tell an Old Joke Day

Tenjin Matsuri -- Tenmangu Jinja, Osaka, Japan (one of Japan's 3 major festivals, through tomorrow)

UFO Days -- Elmwood, Wisconsin, US (Wisconsin's UFO capital, visit the petting zoo, shop at the community wide thrift sale, take part in the fun run, softball games, medallion hunts, bed races, and dances; watch the crowning of Miss Elmwood, the tractorcade, the car and truck show, the nightly fireworks, and stage bands; let the kids have a ball in the greased pig race and kiddie water fight; enjoy the Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast and the bake sale; and no need to miss church Sunday morning, bring a lawn chair for the ecumenical service so you don't miss a moment of the fun and excitement! through Sunday)

Anniversary Today:

Richard Moll marries Susan Brown, 1993

Birthdays Today

Bindi Irwin, 1998
Dhani Lennevald, 1984
Anna Paquin, 1982
Summer Glau, 1981
Rose Byrne, 1979
Eric Szmanda, 1975
Jennifer Lopez, 1969
Kristin Chenoweth, 1968
Kadeem Hardison, 1965
Barry Bonds, 1964
Julie A. Krone, 1963
Lynda Carter, 1951
Michael Richards, 1949
Peter Serkin, 1947
Robert Hays, 1947
Chris Sarandon, 1942
Ruth Buzzi, 1936
Pat Oliphant, 1935
Billy Taylor, 1921
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, 1900
Chief Dan George, 1899
Amelia Earhart, 1897
Oswald Chambers, 1874
Alexandre Dumas, pere, 1802
Simon Bolivar, 1783
John Newton, 1725 (wrote Amazing Grace)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Fellowship of the Ring(Publication date), 1954

Today in History

Death in Kyoto, Japan, of Kamo no Chomei (b. 1155), Japanese author, poet (waka) and essayist, critic of Japanese vernacular poetry and major figure of Japanese poetics, 1216
Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands strike against a ban on foreign beer, 1487
Jacques Cartier plants a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula and takes possession of the territory in the name of Francis I of France, 1534
Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate and replaced by her 1-year-old son James VI, 1567
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founds the trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later becomes the city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701
A Spanish treasure fleet of 10 ships under Admiral Ubilla leaves Havana, Cuba for Spain; on the 31st, all ships will be lost and come to be known as the !715 Treasure Fleet, 1715
Slavery is abolished in Chile, 1823
The first opinion poll was carried out in Delaware, USA, 1824
Benjamin Bonneville leads the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains by using Wyoming's South Pass, 1832
After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City, 1847
The first tramway opened in England, 1861
Tennessee becomes the first U.S. State to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War, 1866
Captain Matthew Webb, who was the first person to swim the English Channel, drowned while trying to swim the rapids above Niagara Falls, 1883
O. Henry is released from prison in Austin, Texas after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank, 1901
Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas", 1911
The passenger ship S.S. Eastland capsizes while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew are killed in the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes, 1915
The first insulin treatment is carried out, on a six-year-old girl, at St Guy's Hospital, London, 1925
The Kellogg-Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy, goes into effect, 1929*
The dust bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures to 109°F (44°C) in Chicago and 104°F (40°C) in Milwaukee, 1935
During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! ("Long live free Quebec!"), 1967
The Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia wins the Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the event at Olympic level, 1980
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Tsar of Bulgaria when he was a child, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office, 2001
Lance Armstrong wins his 7th consecutive Tour de France, 2005
Over half of the country of Peru enters a state of emergency as a result of unusually cold weather, 2011
The scientific theory of supersymmetry is challenged after experiments with the Large Hadron Collider yield an incredibly rare particle decay event, 2013

*Nice try, fellas.

We gather today to say good-bye...

All that's left, a hard drive that might have data to be saved.

...to our favorite family computer.

Coming in from a long session of work at the shelter -- sixteen cats on medications! -- i was greeted by Festus in the library with a very sober look.

His dad had him help build computers and servers when he was growing up, so he can take care of a lot of things computerwise.

He's been nursing our family computer along for a while with cannibalized parts from other computers.

This time, however, he was succinct.

"I think your computer is finally dead. It says the hard drive is not registering. It's not that the hard drive has been erased or can't respond, it just doesn't register."

Which means we've lost everything on there? i asked. Not that there's much on there beyond a few pictures we might want, and Sweetie's bookmarks on Firefox.

"Probably not, you could go to your Rent-A-Nerd guys and they could get the data off of it, but the motherboard is likely dead and the hard drive isn't going to actually work any more, beyond just getting the data off of it."

"The hard drive is dated 2005, mom! Face it, we just have to get a new one," Little Girl said.

"Well, not necessarily a new one," Festus stated. "You can look on Craigslist and get a good, two-year-old computer for a decent price most of the time. People who upgrade them all of the time sell their old ones rather cheap, and your Rent-A-Nerd could take the data from this hard drive and put it on a newer one."

"And we might consider a laptop instead, they're cheaper," Little Girl said.

The problem with that, i said, is that someone will decide to take it to his or her room and not return it, even if it is the family computer, and we'd have to go tracking it down.

"It's understandable that you'd want something bigger that would stay put," Festus grinned. He knows who would be taking it the most. "Also you might not really need all the data off the hard drive. You could just ask for any pictures to be saved, and not worry about the rest of it. That might make it cheaper, if they charge by how much data you want transferred. If it's a flat rate, save it all. If it's by the gigabyte, just save the photos."

Go ahead and look on Craigslist, i told Festus, and if you get a few good leads, i'll have you vet them to make sure the computers are actually any good before purchase.

"I can do that," he said. "On Monday I will be here, I don't have work, so I'll get a few possibilities rounded up."

The hard drive is now in a plastic baggie with its cord, and the hulk of the computer is partway open and sitting forlornly at the desk, awaiting being taken to the donation center that recycles and refurbishes old computers.

One last suggestions Festus made. "By the way, there's a product out there now that you can put your computer tower into that encases it and has a blower at the back so it has air flow and stays cool and yet it keeps the cat hair out. You might consider getting one."

He knows we sweep up enough cat hair around here every week to knit ourselves a new litter of kittens, if we ever needed one. Any time i take a computer to an actual shop, i warn them to take it outside and blow the hair out first. Whoever invented a case to keep hair out of the computer had to be a geeky computer guy(s) who had cats, and got tired of having to dehair them.

Good idea, guys, and thank you! Maybe our next one will last longer. Only ten lousy years out of a computer? (Heeheehee)

Today is

Act Like A Caveman Day -- internet generated, just to be fun, especially if your neighbors think you are crazy anyway

Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous -- Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT, US (pre-1963 power and sailing yachts, river parade, and Rum Runners Rendezvous celebration; through tomorrow)

Bayreuther Festspiele -- Bayreuth, Germany (Wagner festival, through Aug. 28)

Be Adamant About Something Day -- it's good practice

Carousel Day -- Johnson City, NY, US (Kids won't want to miss all the fun at this family event, and grown-ups, come be a kid again for a day!)

Commonwealth Constitution Day -- Puerto Rico

Culinarian's Day -- another one here because of the internet, but a good excuse to let your inner chef go wild, and enjoy the results

Ebernoe Horn Fair -- Sussex, England (ancient horn fairs were pagan fertility rites, now just a fun time for all)

Eve of the Hathor Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of the Knee-Knockers -- Fairy Calendar

Furrinalia -- Ancient Etruscan Calendar (Furrina, goddess of the sacred grove and spring on Janniculum hill)
      also Ancient Roman Calendar (to honor those who searched for underground water sources)

Geneva Arts Fair -- Geneva, IL, US (a juried event that is becoming one of the top such events in the US; through tomorrow)

Guanacaste Day -- Costa Rica

Guayaquil Day -- Guayaquil, Ecuador

Hanover Dutch Festival -- Hanover, PA, US (celebrating the area and it's heritage)

Ilyap'a -- Ancient Inca Calendar (festival of the lightning god; date approximate)

National Dance Day -- US (begun by Nigel Lythgoe, now a congressionally recognized day to encourage dance education and physical fitness, so go out and bust a move on a Saturday night, but don't bust you, please)

National Day of the Cowboy -- US (celebrating the heritage, and those who still work as cowboys/cowgirls today)

National Hot Fudge Sundae Day

"Paddle for Perthes" Disease Awareness Day -- to promote awareness of the children's condition called Legg-Calve-Perthes disease

Republic Day -- Tunisia

Soma-Nomaoi -- Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (wild horse chase which recreates a battle from over 1,000 years ago; through Monday)

St. Christopher's Day (Patron of archers, automobile drivers/motorists, bachelors, boatmen, bookbinders, busdrivers, cab drivers,epileptics, fruit dealers, fullers, gardeners, lorry drivers, mariners, market carriers, porters, sailors, taxi drivers, transportation/transporation workers, travellers, truck drivers/truckers, watermen; Baden, Germany; Barga, Italy; Brunswick, Germany; Fubine, Italy; Havana, Cuba; Mecklenburg, Germany; Rab, Croatia, St. Christopher's Island; Saint Kitts; Toses, Girona, Calalonia, Spain ;for a holy death; against bad dreams, epilepsy, floods, hailstorms, lightning, pestilence, storms, sudden death, toothache)

St. James' Day (The Apostle, brother of St. John and son of Zebedee, the first Apostle martyred; Patron of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, arthritis sufferers, blacksmiths, equestrians and horsemen, furriers, knights, laborers, pilgrims, soldiers, tanners, veterinarians; Altopascio, Lucca, Italy; Antigua, Guatemala; Bangued, Philippines; Brentino Belluno, Italy; Caltagirone, Italy; Cassine, Italy; Chile; Cicala, Catanzaro, Italy; Comitini, Italy; Compostela, Spain; Galicia, Spain; Gavi, Italy; Guatemala; Hettstedt, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; Jemez Indian Pueblo; Loiza, Puerto Rico; Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Montreal, Canada; Nicaragua; Pistoia, Italy; Rivarolo Canavese, Italy; Sahuayo, Mexico; Seattle, Washington; Spain; Tesuque Indian Pueblo; against arthritis and rheumatism; sometimes called Jacob, the Latinized version of his name, also Iago and Jaques in Romance languages) related observances
     Dia Nacional de Galicia -- Galicia, Spain (National Day of Galicia, a/k/a Apostole Santiago, St. James the Apostle's Day)
     The Pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela -- Galicia, Spain (one of the world's largest pilgrimages still, to the church that has the supposed relics of St. James, culminates on the Saint's feast day)
     Loiza Aldea Fiesta -- Puerto Rico

Sumidagawa River Fireworks Festival -- Tokyo, Japan (one of Japan's largest fireworks festivals)

Taylor Horsefest -- Taylor, ND, US (big enough to be fun, small enough to get you lots of time with the stars of the show, the horses! through tomorrow)

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

Video Games Day -- yet another one, this on the founding of the "U.S. National Video Game Team"

World Congress of Esperanto -- Lille, France; through next Saturday

Birthdays Today

James Lafferty, 1985
Brad Renfro, 1982
Louise Brown, 1978
Matt LeBlanc, 1967
Illeana Douglas, 1965
Iman, 1965
Walter Payton, 1954
Nathaniel "Nate" Thurmond, 1941
Barbara Harris, 1935
Midge Decter, 1927
Estelle Getty, 1923
Jack Gilford, 1907
Walter Brennan, 1894
Maxfield Parrish, 1870

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Chorus Line"(Musical), 1975
"You Can't Hurry Love"(Single release), 1966

Today in History

Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler, 285
Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops, 306
The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings, 864
Sebastián de Belalcázar, on his search for El Dorado, founds the city of Santiago de Cali, Colombia, 1536
Don Diego de Losada founds the city of Santiago de Leon de Caracas, modern-day Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, 1567
Henry IV of France publicly converts from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism, 1593
James VI of Scotland is crowned James I of England, bringing the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into personal union; political union would occur later, 1603
Ignacio de Maya founds the Real Santiago de las Sabinas, now known as Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, México, 1693
British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council order the deportation of the Acadians; thousands of Acadians are sent to the British Colonies in America, France and England, and some later move to Louisiana, while others resettle in New Brunswick, 1755
Horatio Nelson loses more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife (Spain), 1797
Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua, 1824
The first commercial use of an electric telegraph is successfully demonstrated by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone between Euston and Camden Town in London, 1837
The Japanese daimyo begin returning their land holdings to the emperor as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms, 1869
Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in Konbu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it, 1908
Sir Thomas Whyte introduces the first income tax in Canada as a "temporary" measure, 1917
The first transatlantic two-way radio broadcast takes place, 1920
Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) is established, 1925
At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team, 1946
Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51, 1956
The Republic of Tunisia is proclaimed, 1957
Louise Brown, the world's first "test tube baby" is born, 1978
Israel and Jordan sign the Washington Declaration, which formally ends the state of war that had existed between the nations since 1948, 1994
K.R. Narayanan is sworn-in as India's 10th president and the first Dalit— formerly called "untouchable"— to hold this office, 1997
Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde supersonic passenger jet, F-BTSC, crashes just after takeoff from Paris killing all 109 aboard and 4 on the ground, 2000
Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India's first woman president, 2007
Wikileaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history, 2010
Scientists in Britain identify the mechanism causing human allergy to cats; they believe a general cure for the condition could be available in the next five years, 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!

It's the time of year when, again, we have to deal with those tiny monsters called fleas.

Because we have Tripod, who insists on going outside and eating grass each day or else she barfs up almost everything she eats, we cannot keep the fleas out of the house. Though we kill them, she brings in more. Thus we must continually battle fleas. (Comfortis is the best product for that, by the way.)

The fight against these bugs reminds me of a joke.

Clothile an' Boudreaux decide dey goin' invite de parish priest, Father Gauthier, fo' Sunday dinner after Mass fo' de firs' time. De whole time he dere, li'l Tee Boudreaux, age 3, be jes' a starin'. He only see de priest when he be up at de altar befo' dat, an' he only seen him in de vestments, but not in de ever'day black suit an' collar.

At de end o' de meal, Father Gauthier take li'l Tee out back on de pier to talk. He ax, "Son, be dere anyt'in' you be wantin' to tell me or ax me?"

An' li'l Tee say, "Mais, I jes' be lookin' at dat," an he point to de priest's neck.

"Oh, you wan' to know about de collar?" Father Gauthier ax.

"No, I know 'bout dem!" li'l Tee say proudly. "Dey kills de fleas an' ticks fo' up to t'ree month, right?"

Today is

All or Nothing Day -- no history on this one, but it's supposed to be the day you decide to live as if it's going to be your last!

Aunt and Uncle Day -- originally proposed on this day in 2005 by Florida State Senator Tony Hill; if you have aunts and uncles you love, why not give them a call today

Auntie's Day® -- as begun by The Savvy Auntie, celebrating those who chose to take on the active role of being an Auntie

Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim -- Istanbul, Turkey (over 1,000 swimmers take the opportunity to swim from one continent to the other, crossing the Bosphorus Strait from Asia to Europe)

Dia de la Rebeldia -- Cuba (Revolution Anniversary)

Festival of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of Sleipnir -- Norse Pagan (date approximate, honored Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir)

Green Corn Ceremony -- Native Americans (thanksgiving for the maize harvest; these are celebrated by many tribes in many different ways and are not generally scheduled as they depend on how the corn grows; some have with rites including a Thanksgiving Prayer, Confession Chant, and Feather Dance; the Santa Ana Pueblo holds an annual Corn Festival on this date each year that is open to the public)

Groovy Chicken Day -- don't ask, just enjoy

Heyannir month commences -- Icelandic Calendar (Harvest Month, literally translates "Hay Working")

Independence Day -- Liberia(1847); Maldives(1965)

International Bog Day

Kargil Vijay Diwas -- India (Kargil Victory Day)

Mi'kmaq Pilgrimage to St. Anne Mission -- Mi'kmaq First Nations of Canada and Maine

National Coffee Milkshake Day

National Tree Day -- Australia

One Voice Day -- readings around the world of the Universal Peace Covenant, sponsored by the School of Metaphysics

Otaru Tide Festival -- Otaru Wharf, Otaru City, Japan (one of Japan's biggest sea festivals, through the 28th)

Parent's Day -- US

Procession of the Penitents -- Veurne, Belgium (passion play dating back to the 15th century)

Racial Desegregation Day -- date in 1944 the US Army ordered training camp facilities desegregated, and the date in 1948 President Truman signed the order integrating the US armed forces

Ranggeln -- Mt. Hundstein, Germany (traditional form of wresting, called ranggeln, in honor of St. Jacob's Day [which most celebrate on July 25]; this particular festival harks back to the pre-Christian Lughnasadh celebrations, which went through Aug. 1 and contained athletic events)
Sunday of St. James' Day (25th)

St. Anne's Day (traditional name given to the mother of Mary; Patron of broommakers, cabinetmakers, carpenters, childless people, equestrians, expectant mothers, grandmothers, grandparents, homemakers, horse men, horse women, housewives, lace makers, lace workers, lost articles, miners, mothers, old-clothes dealers, poor people, pregnancy, pregnant women, riders, seamstresses, stablemen, turners, women in labour; Canada; France; Micmaqs; over 20 cities around the world; against poverty and sterility)

St. Joachim's Day (traditional name given to the father of Mary; Patron of fathers, grandfathers, grandparents; Adjuntas, Puerto Rico)

Tish'a B'Av -- Judaism (began sunset yesterday, through sunset today)

Valencia Fair Battle of the Flowers -- Valencia, spain (conclusion and highlight of the Valencia Fair, with a parade and thousands of carnations thrown from floats, making a magical carpet of petals for all to enjoy)

Wonderful Drinks Day -- Fairy Calendar

Anniversaries Today

Signing of the American's With Disabilities Act, 1990
New York becomes the 11th US State, 1788
The United States Postal Service is founded, 1775

Birthdays Today

Taylor Momsen, 1993
Kate Beckinsale, 1973
Jeremy Piven, 1964
Sandra Bullock, 1964
Kevin Spacey, 1959
Angela Hewitt, 1958
Dorothy Hamill, 1956
Susan George, 1950
Roger Taylor, 1949
Helen Mirren, 1945
Mick Jagger, 1943
Dobie Gray, 1940
Stanley Kubrick, 1928
Blake Edwards, 1922
Jason Robards, Jr., 1922
Vivian Vance, 1912
Gracie Allen, 1902
Aldous Huxley, 1894
Carl Jung, 1875
George Bernard Shaw, 1856
George Catlin, 1796

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Alice In Wonderland(Animated film), 1951
The Babe Ruth Story(Film), 1948
"The Bob Howard Show"(TV), 1948
"Young Widder Brown"(Radio), 1938

Today in History

The first recorded women's cricket match took place near Guildford, England, 1745
The birth of what would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress, 1775
The Surrey Iron Railway, often considered the world's first public railway, opens in south London, 1803
In California, the poet and American West outlaw calling himself "Black Bart" makes his last clean getaway, 1878
Premiere of Richard Wagner's Parsifal at Bayreuth, 1882
Publication of the Unua Libro, founding the Esperanto movement, 1887
United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation), 1908*
King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicated the throne, officially unveiled the Canadian National Vimy Memoria, 1936
The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power, 1945
U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council, 1947
U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981 desegregating the military of the United States, 1948
Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus beginning the Cuban Revolution, 1953
Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster, 1963
The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government, 1977
A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T. Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 1989
Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, bringing the city to a halt for over 2 days, 2005
Over 92,000 classified documents detailing incidents related to the war in Afghanistan are released by Wikileaks in the largest leak in U.S military history, 2010
President of France, Francois Holland finalizes a deal with Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara to forgive $4.7 billion dollars in debt incurred by the Ivory Coast when it was a French Colonial Power, 2012

*Yes, the grand-nephew of Napoleon I started the FBI -- I'm not sure why that seems so odd to me.

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!

Wedding Rings. Mine is the smaller white gold, his is the larger yellow gold.

Sweetie came in the other day very agitated and said, "I lost my wedding ring!"

It's not the first time he's lost it, or other things. He tends to take the ring, or a watch, off to wash his hands, and then forget to put it back on because his mind is already moving on to other things as he finishes up. He has also taken off rings or watches so as to not scratch up a guitar when playing them, and forgotten to pick them up again.

He just doesn't stop to think what he came in with when moving on to the next thing, so i often get the call that he's forgotten his wallet or phone and could i bring it to work, or he will come back in the house twice after i thought he had gone, once to get a hairbrush, then to get the car keys.

His mind just moves too fast for him to back up and think of what he needs, he's got a one way switch, full-steam-ahead.

This time i just sighed, asked if he had retraced his steps, and when he said yes and that he had no clue where it was, i told him it was okay.

Later that day, i found it among the soap bubbles and bits of rice in the strainer in the bottom of the kitchen sink. To have a bit of fun, i took it upstairs and put it on the hook where he keeps it when he's in the bathroom at home. He still hasn't figured out how it got back there.

Today is our 30th wedding anniversary, with or without it. Although it's nice to be able to say with. For now.

ETA: the link up won't go in for Awww Monday, and i don't have a computer any more on which to edit, the iPad can't quite get it right. So, go see Sandee, at Comedy Plus, to find everyone else's Awww Monday pictures.

Today is:

Barbie-in-a-blender Day -- while i get why we do it to Barbie, what did your blender do to deserve this? originally thought of by Freeculture.org, to defend our rights to comment on cultural icons, whether they are trademarked/copyrighted or not

Bugs Bunny Day -- the "wascally wabbit" made his debut in A Wild Hare, released on this day in 1940

Day of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus -- date on the Julian Calendar, these are the legendary saints who, upon persecution by the Emperor Decius and being walled up in a cave to die as martyrs, instead slept for over 200 (in the Koran, yes, they are mentioned there, it is 300) years; based on an even more ancient legend and the prototypes of Rip Van Winkle; related observances
     National Sleepy Head Day -- Finland (the last person in the house to wake on this day is awakened with water, either thrown on him/her or the person is thrown into water; in honor of the story of the Saints of Ephesus)
     Seven Sleepers Day -- Ancient Latvian Calendar
     Siebenschlafer -- Germany (a weather prognostication day, if it rains today, there will be rain for seven weeks more)

Hurricane Supplication Day -- US Virgin Islands (churches hold special services to pray against hurricanes hitting the islands this season)

Iglesia Ni Cristo Day -- Philippines

Ipip Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (festival for working on the king's tomb; date approximate)

Jose Celso Barbosa Day -- Puerto Rico

National Blunt Object Day -- this one is just weird, and no one wants to take the blame for starting it, either

National Creme Brulee Day

National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day -- US

National Scotch Day

Over-The-Moon Night (Cows and Spoons) -- Fairy Calendar

St. Pantaleon's Day (Patron of bachelors, physicians, torture victims; against tuberculosis)

Take Your Houseplants For a Walk Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, which claims doing this will orient them to their position on the earth and make them healthier (some websites mistakenly call it take your pants for a walk day!)

Victory Day -- North Korea

Walk on Stilts Day -- at your own risk always; sponsored by Bill "Stretch" Coleman, the Nine Foot Clown, who encourages everyone to walk on stilts to foster a chance to develop self-confidence, master balance and coordination, enjoy the challenge, and celebrate daring accomplishments at all ages

War Martyrs' and Invalids' Day -- Vietnam

3:42 PM 7/11/2015
Birthdays Today

Ashlyn Sanchez, 1996
Cheyenne Kimball, 1990
Courtney Kupets, 1986
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, 1977
Alex Rodriguez, 1975
Maya Rudolph, 1972
Triple H, 1969
Julian McMahon, 1968
Maureen McGovern, 1949
Peggy Fleming, 1948
Betty Thomas, 1947
Bobbie Gentry, 1944
James Victor, 1939
Gary Gygax, 1938
Jerry Van Dyke, 1931
Norman Lear, 1922
Leo Ernest Durocher, 1905
Joseph Bert "Joe" Tinker, 1880
José Celso Barbosa, 1857
Alexandre Dumas, fils, 1824
Queen Hatshepsut, BC1508

Today in History

Siward, Earl of Northumbria invades Scotland to support Malcolm Canmore against Macbeth of Scotland, who usurped the Scottish throne from Malcolm's father, King Duncan; Macbeth is defeated at Dunsinane, 1054
Jesuit priest Francis Xavier's ship reaches Japan, 1549
The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports, 1663
A Royal Charter is granted to the Bank of England, 1694
The Russian Navy defeats the Swedes atthe Battle of Grengam, 1720
The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (later renamed Department of State), 1789
Robespierre is finally arrested, 1794
The Atlantic Cable is successfully completed, allowing transatlantic telegraph communication for the first time, 1866
Researchers at the University of Toronto led by biochemist Frederick Banting announce the discovery of the hormone insulin, 1921
The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny, 1940
RMS Titanic, Inc. begins the first expedited salvaging of wreckage of the RMS Titanic, 1987
A pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, GA, US, during the Summer Olympics, 1996
Photograph negatives purchased at a garage sale prove to be early works by photographer Ansel Adams, 2010

My kids know the best way to get my attention early in the morning is with a note.

They leave notes for me, on Ol' Bessy, my ancient laptop (the one that no longer gets online, but is useful for keeping documents).

Notes asking for an early wake up. Notes telling me "I'll need the car today" or "I won't be home tonight." Once a note telling me there was a cottonmouth snake downstairs, and to please not let the cats do down there until the very venomous critter could be returned to the creek.

So i never quite know what to expect when coming downstairs in the morning, and that's not just how high dishes are in the sink of which cats are screaming for food.

#1 Son has been trying to move out and be on his own for quite some time. He has managed a couple of times to get going, and then have the rug pulled out from under him, landing him back here.

The other day i came downstairs to this:

His "I'm moving out!" note.

Later, before he went to work that day, he gave me the details.

"Hey, mom, did you get my note?" he asked.

Of course i did, i said.

"Well, remember Sam?" he asked.

How could i forget the person who dropped SissyCat/Tripod off here 'for a couple of weeks' and never came back for her? i asked drily.

"Well, yes, there was that. But SissyCat is better off here, anyway. Remember what a mean, nasty cat she was when she got here, and now she's sweet and loving and lets everyone pet her. But anyway, I'm moving in with Sam and Fred!"

Sam owns the trailer she lives in, right? And Fred is her fiancé?

"Yes. She owns the trailer, and her family owns the land so there's no danger they'll be kicked out. And she and Fred are only using the one bedroom on one side of a double-wide that has three bedrooms. And they've been talking about getting someone to rent a bedroom on the other end of the trailer, and last night when I was over there I was telling them I was still looking for a place, and they said they were thinking of getting someone and could I move in tomorrow! So, it's tomorrow, and I'm moving in."

Except that you will have further to drive to work, it sounds ideal, i said.

"It's only $300 a month, and that's the room, electric, water, TV, and internet, so it is ideal!" he said.

"They said I can bring the cats, too, but not right away. It's going to take me a few days of moving stuff a bit at a time around work to get everything there. And I'll take Mikey in the next couple of days, get him used to things, and then EnigmaSissy."

Do they have other pets? i asked.

"They have an iguana, and a huge fish tank, and a dog," he said.

Well, you will have to watch EnigmaSissy, i noted. You know she attacks other animals, and she's likely to camp out in front of an aquarium and plan on how to get fish for dinner.

"Huh, I'd like to see that!" he said. "The aquarium is a giant one with coral reefs and there's no way she can get it in, although she will probably love watching it. The iguana is bigger than she is, and mean, and whips you with its tail, she'll leave him alone after one encounter with that. As for the dog, you are right, we will have to watch. She used to chase Meatball and Luther around the house, and they were pit bulls."

Sweetheart, i'm glad for you, i said.

"Thanks, mom," he said. "And thanks for being so patient with me while I looked for a place."

Glad to. Really, i was glad to.

Today is

Buffalo Soldiers Day -- US (as designated by Congress)

Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval a/k/a Expulsion of the Acadians Day -- Canada

Festival of Hedjihotep -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (goddess of weaving; date approximate)

Imp-Handling Conference -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day -- Peru(1821)

Liberation Day / Anniversary of the Fall of Fascism -- San Marino

Nagasaki Peiron Senshuken -- Nagasaki, Japan (two day dragon boat racing festival begun in the 17th century)

National Milk Chocolate Day

Olavsokuaftan (Olavsoka Eve) and the Olai Festival -- Faroe Islands (St. Olav's Eve, the night before the opening of Parliament and the festival of St. Olav; through tomorrow)

Soma-Nomaoi -- Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (three day wild horse chase which recreates a battle from over 1,000 years ago)

St. Arduinus of Trepino's Day (Patron of Trepino, Italy)

Terry Fox Day -- born in Winnipeg on this date in 1958, he raised $24 million for cancer research by running over 3,000 miles on an artificial leg before his death in 1981 at age 23

World Hepatitis Day -- International

Anniversaries Today

The first Singing Telegram is delivered, 1933
Henry VIII marries Catherine Howard, 1540

Birthdays Today

Lori Loughlin, 1964
Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox, 1958
Hugo Chavez, 1954
Sally Struthers, 1948
Linda Kelsey, 1946
Jim Davis, 1945
Rick Wright, 1945
Bill Bradley, 1943
Phil Proctor, 1040
Darryl Hickman, 1931
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, 1929
Jacques Piccard, 1922
Earl Tupper, 1907
Rudy Vallee, 1901
Joe E. Brown, 1892
Beatrix Potter, 1866
Thomas Heyward, Jr., 1746

Today in History

Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason, 1540
Bermuda is first settled by Europeans, survivors of the English ship Sea Venture en route to Virginia, 1609
Maximilien Robespierre is executed by guillotine in Paris during the French Revolution, 1794
Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina, 1865
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, guaranteeing due process and establishing citizenship for African Americans is certified, 1868
First flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1935
The Metropolitan Police Flying Squad foils a bullion robbery in the "Battle of London Airport", 1948
The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan, the People's Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851, 1976
Andorra joins the United Nations, 1993
Australian Ian Thorpe becomes the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championships, 2001
The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland, 2005
The U-550, a sunken German U-Boat, is discovered off the cost of Massachusetts, 2012

Ms. P has been cleaning out.

Before.

After -- about 1/3 the clothes.

Before

After

It sure makes the housecleaning easier.

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is

Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day (Buy your cheese that will be sacrificed on Cheese Sacrifice Day, and no, I never have found out why there is a Cheese Sacrifice Day anyway or to whom you are supposed to sacrifice it.)*

Chicken Wings Day -- Buffalo, NY, US (they want it to be a national day, and maybe someday it will be)

Chincoteague Pony Round Up / Pony Swim -- Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, VA, US (through tomorrow)

Feast of St. Martha, Virgin, Dragon Charmer, Sister of Lazarus (Patron of butlers, cooks, dieticians, domestic servants, homemakers, hotel keepers, housemaids, housewives, inkeepers, laundry workers, maids, manservants, servants, servers, single laywomen, travellers; Villajoyosa, Spain, which village she saved on her feast day by sending a flash flood to wash away the Moorish invaders in 1538)

Fiesta de Santa Maria Ribarteme (a/k/a Festival of Near Death Experiences) -- As Neves, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain (festival of Mary in which those who have come back from near death are carried to the shrine in open coffins, or walk there clad in shrouds)

Halifax International Busker Festival -- Halifax, NS, Canada (with action packed, mind blowing shows from around the globe; through August 3)

International Tiger Day

Maine Lobster Festival -- Rockland, ME, US (more fun than a lobster can shake a tail at; through Sunday)

NASA Day -- marking the day President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law, creating NASA

National Anthem Day -- Romania

National Lasagna Day

National Thai Language Day -- Thailand (Wan Phasa Thai Haeng Chat)

Photograph Your Children When They're Not Looking Day -- get a good, candid shot to enjoy

Rain Day Festival -- Waynesburg, Pennsylvania (yes, it has rained at 113 out of the 140 observances of this festival on this date)

Runic Half-Month Thorn begins (defense)

St. Lazarus' Day -- date given in the Martyrologium Romanum; celebrated on Lazarus Saturday by most Eastern Churches and on Dec. 17 in most Western Churches

St. Olaf's (Olav) Day (Norway's Viking king; pPtron of carvers, difficult marriages, kings; Norway)related observances
     Olavsokadagur -- Faroe Islands (opening of Logting, or Parliament; a National Day, on the Feast Day of St. Olav)
     Oslok Eve -- Norway (celebrating the valiant death of their hero on this evening at the battle at Stiklestadt in 1030)
     sometimes associated with Thor's Day among the Norse and Thunor of the Anglo-Saxons

Territory Day -- Wallis and Futuna

*"A cheese may disappoint. It may be dull, it may be naive, it may be oversophisticated. Yet it remains cheese, milk's leap toward immortality." Clifton Fadiman

Anniversaries Today

Andy Taylor marries Tracey Wilson, 1982
Charles, Prince of Wales, marries Lady Diana Spencer, 1981
Mary, Queen of Scots, marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, 1565

Birthdays Today

Danger Mouse, 1977
Josh Radnor, 1974
Wanya Morris, 1973
Wil Wheaton, 1972
Julian McMahon, 1968
Martina McBride, 1966
Alexandra Paul, 1963
Patty Scialfa, 1956
Ken Burns, 1953
Tim Gunn, 1953
Marilyn Quayle, 1949
David Warner, 1941
Peter Jennings, 1938
Elizabeth Dole, 1936
Paul Taylor, 1930
Chester Bomar Himes, 1909
Melvin Belli, 1907
Clara Bow, 1905
Dag Hammarskjold, 1905
Stanley Kunitz, 1905
Benito Mussolini, 1883
Newton Booth Tarkington, 1869
Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, 1861
Alexis de Tocqueville, 1805

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Friday Night Videos"(TV), 1983
Help(Film), 1965
"Steamboat Willie"(Animated short, first appearance of Mickey Mouse), 1928

Today in History

King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes, 1030
James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling, 1567
English naval forces under command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France, 1588
John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there, 1793
Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, 1836
In Tipperary, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police, 1848
The First Hague Convention is signed, 1899
Sir Robert Baden Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England; this is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement, 1907
The International Atomic Energy Agency is established, 1957
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel, 1987
The film Cry Freedom is seized by South African authorities, 1988
Astronomers announce the discovery of Eris, the largest dwarf planet in the solar system, 2005
South Sudan becomes the 54th member of the African Union, 2011
Scientists reveal new research identifying a mechanism by which Earth-warming carbon is pulled deep into the Southern Ocean, and locked away, and scientists claim this process may be threatened by climate change, 2012

There are specific steps that must be taken to get a prescription filled at our local pharmacy, and you cannot skip any step for any reason; the first is to listen to the computerized message on the answering machine telling you the prescription is ready for pick-up for three days in a row.

Next you make plans to stop at the pharmacy, which plans are then interrupted by extra work coming up or finding out you need to do something else that takes up all the errand running time.

Now you decide to let Sweetie go do it because he loves to run errands and he has nothing better to do right now and his continual practice of the same guitar riff over and over as he perfects it is getting on your nerves (this time it's getting on your nerves, usually it's wonderful to be listening to him play).

After about ten minutes, receive a call from Sweetie at the pharmacy asking which prescription as, despite the phone calls telling you it was ready, they have nothing ready for you; ask to speak to the pharmacist and ask what in tarnation is going on, why do they keep calling when the scripts are not ready!?!

Have the pharmacist then assure you that he is filling it right now, instead of making Sweetie wait the usual requisite 20-30 minutes or more that those who come in with a prescription to be filled have to usually spend, for which you are grateful because it means he won't be wandering through the aisles and come home with another "As Seen On TV" gimmick.

When Sweetie finally gets home with the prescription, thank the Good Lord that you are only on two meds, and neither is essential to keep you alive!

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories.

Today is

Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival -- Davenport, IA, US (fifteen bands at 3 venues and a great time for all; through Sunday)

Brat Days -- Sheboygan, WI, US (celebrating bratwurst and more; through Sunday)

Dia del Amigo -- Paraguay

Emancipation Day -- Bermuda (first day of the Cup Match)

Father-in-Law Day -- unsponsored and unclaimed, but fathers-in-law deserve respect, too

Feast of the Throne -- Morocco; Western Sahara

Festival of Fortuna Huiusque Diei -- Ancient Roman Calendar ("Fortune of the Present Day")

Friendship Day/International Day of Friendship -- UN

Herbal Ballooning -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day -- Vanuatu(1980)

Kronia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Kronos as god of the harvest)

Martyr's Day -- South Sudan

National Cheesecake Day

National Chili Dog Day

National Support Public Education Day -- Change.org wants this to be an official day for support of US public education systems

Paperback Day -- anniversary of the 1935 publication of Penguin #1, Arial, A Life of Shelley, by Andre Maurois in London, the first successful series of paperback books

Rockhound Gemboree -- Bancroft, ON, Canada (expeditions to prime mineral locations as well as dealers, demonstrations, swapping, and the chance for rockhounds to have a great time; through Sunday)

Sumiyoshi Matsuri -- Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, Osaka, Japan (Osaka's last major summer festival, through Aug. 1)

Sts. Abdon and Sennen's Day (Patrons of barrel makers and coopers; the ashes of ferns cut and burned on this day will keep away insects and unwanted guests)

Anniversaries Today

Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, marries Michael Tindall, 2011

Birthdays Today

Hope Solo, 1981
Jaime Pressly, 1977
Misty May-Treanor, 1977
Hilary Swank, 1974
Tom Green, 1971
Simon Baker, 1969
Vivica A. Fox, 1964
Lisa Kudrow, 1963
Alton Brown, 1962
Laurence Fishburne, 1961
Kate Bush, 1958
Delta Burke, 1956
Ken Olin, 1954
Jean Reno, 1948
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1947
William Atherton, 1947
David Sanborn, 1945
Paul Anka, 1941
Peter Bogdanovich, 1939
Buddy Guy, 1936
Allan Huber “Bud” Selig, 1934
Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, 1933
Thomas Sowell, 1930
Sid Krofft, 1929
Christine McGuire, 1926
Henry W. Bloch, 1922
Henry Spencer Moore, 1898
Casey Stengel, 1891
Henry Ford, 1863
Thorstein Bunde Veblen, 1857
Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, 1855
Emily Bronte, 1818

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Santa Barbara"(TV), 1984
"Death Valley Days"(Radio), 1930

Today in History

City of Baghdad is founded, 762
The First Defenestration of Prague, 1419
Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage, 1502
At Ticonderoga (now Crown Point, New York), Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs, which set the tone for French-Iroquois relations for the next one hundred years, 1608
In Jamestown, Virginia, the first European style representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time, 1619
An earthquake in Naples, Italy kills 10,000 people, 1629
Baltimore, Maryland is founded, 1729
Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly-built Catherine Palace to Empress Elizabeth and her courtiers, 1756
First ascent of Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps,1859
Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, agreeing to stop the harassment of emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah, 1863
In Montevideo, Uruguay wins the first Football World Cup, 1930
Premiere of Walt Disney's Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon short to use Technicolor and the first Academy Award winning cartoon short, 1932
A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto, 1956
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid, 1965
David Scott and James Irwin on Apollo Lunar Module module, Falcon, land with first Lunar Rover on the moon, 1971
Six Royal Canadian Army Cadets are killed and fifty-four injured in an accidental grenade blast at CFB Valcartier Cadet Camp, 1974
Jimmy Hoffa disappears, 1975
In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line, 2003
Israel and Palestinian officials agree to resume negotiations for a peace agreement, 2013

Feline Friday is hosted 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..

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!

KidaMosquito has figured out that there is a payoff to having kittens in the house. Once they learn to drink formula from the bowl, she gets the leftovers.

Yum!

Today is

AgriFair -- Abbotsford, BC, Canada ("the best little country fair" and a rodeo; through Monday)

Always Live Better Than Yesterday Day

Blueberry Arts Festival -- Ketchikan, AK, US (with a pet and doll parade, slug race, the Gigglefeet Dance Festival, and more; through Sunday)

Canada's National Ukrainian Festival -- Dauphin, MB, Canada (experience the richness of Ukrainian culture; through Sunday)

Cotton Candy Day

Czech Festival -- Wilber, NE, US (to promote the preservation of Czech culture, sponsored by the Nebraska Czechs of Wilber; through Sunday)

Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola -- (Founder of the Jesuits, especially revered in Spain; Patron of retreats, soldiers, and the Society of Jesus which he founded; Basque country; Bilbao, Spain; Bizkaia, Spain; Gipuzkoa, Spain; Guipuscoa, Spain; Guipúzcoa, Spain; Spiritual Exercises (by Pope Pius XI); Vizcaya, Spain)

Full Moon, the second full moon this month, but not a true "blue moon" as it is not the fourth of this season; related observances
Esala Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
Waso Full Moon / Buddhist "Lent" begins -- Myanmar(began yesterday at sunset)

Gigglefeet Dance Festival -- Ketchikan, AK, US (today and Sunday, celebrating dance in the community and part of the Blueberry Arts Festival)

Hachinohe Sansha Taisai -- Hachinohe City, Japan (one of the most elaborate neputa festivals, through Aug. 4)

Joust of the Quintana -- Ascoli Piceno, Italy (reenactment of a medieval jousting tournament)

Jump for Jellybeans Day

Ka Hae Hawai'i Day -- Hawai'i (State Flag Day)

Lammas Eve / Lughnassad Eve

Langholm Common Riding -- Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland (a traditional riding of the bounds, with lots of celebrating, begins 5am and ends 9:30pm)

Lithasblot -- Norse harvest festival with a "blot", or offering, to the gods, celebrated through tomorrow

Loki and Sigyn's Day - Asatru / Norse Pagan (aka Devoted Couples Day)

Lollapalooza -- Grant Park, Chicago, IL, US (through Sunday)

Make Homemade Ice Cream and Invite the Neighbors Over Day -- summer's almost over, make the most of the days we have left!

Moby Dick Marathon -- aboard the last US wooden whaler, the Charles W. Morgan, Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT, US (through tomorrow, from noon to noon, a marathon reading of Moby Dick in honor of Melville's birth anniversary)

Mutomboko Ceremony -- Luapula Province, Zambia (among the Lunda of the Kazembe kingdom, a rich celebration of African cultural heritage, traditional dances and music, and sponsored by the Royal Family; through tomorrow)

Mutts' Day -- because mutts deserve a day as much as purebreds do!

National Raspberry Cake Day

Satchmo Summerfest -- New Orleans, LA, US (because one jazz festival in this city is never enough; through Sunday)

Sioux Empire Fair -- Sioux Falls, SD, US (entertainment, concerts, livestock exhibits, farm exhibits, and tons of fun; through next Sunday)

Somers Day -- Bermuda (Second Day of Cup Match)

St. Germanus' Day (Patron of Auxerre, France)

St. Joseph of Arimathea's Day -- Eastern Orthodox Church (Patron of funeral directors)

System Administrator Appreciation Day -- the day to thank your system administrator for keeping your computer up and running

Talk in an Elevator Day -- help break the taboo!

Tall Timber Days -- Grand Rapids, MN, US (lumberjack shows, chainsaw carvers, and lots of fun; through Sunday)

Uncommon Instruments Day

White Oak Rendezvous -- Deer River, MN, US (reliving the history of a North West Company Fur Post from 1798 and an accompanying Ojibwe Native Village from the same time period; through Sunday)

World Ranger Day -- the International Ranger Federation wants us to honor wildlife rangers around the world as they work to protect the world's natural and cultural treasures, and remember those killed in the line of duty

Birthdays Today

Eric Lively, 1981
Dean Cain, 1966
J.K. Rowling, 1965
Jim Corr, 1964
Wesley Snipes, 1962
Bill Berry, 1958
Michael Biehn, 1956
Barry Van Dyke, 1951
Evonne Goolagong, 1951
Gary Lewis, 1946
Geraldine Chaplin, 1944
Susan Flannery, 1943
France Nuyen, 1939
Ted Cassidy, 1932
Don Murray, 1929
Curt Gowdy, 1919
Milton Friedman, 1912

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Living Daylights(Film), 1987
"The Shadow"(Radio), 1930

Today in History

Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide, BC30
The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji, 781
Thessalonica falls to the Arabs, who destroy the city, 904
The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect, 1492
On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus
becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad, 1498
Aurangzeb is proclaimed Moghul emperor of India, 1658
The Treaty of Breda ends the Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1667
Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers, 1703
The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Marquis de Lafayette "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States," 1777
First U.S. patent is issued to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process, 1790
Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city, 1856
The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Australia, 1865
The radio mystery program The Shadow is aired for the first time, 1930
Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius in Persepolis, 1938
First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio, 1954
At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning because of rain, 1961
The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy, 1970
Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover, 1971
NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo, 1976
A rare, class F4 tornado rips through Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage, 1987
Georgia joins the United Nations, 1992
Fidel Castro hands over power temporarily to brother Raúl Castro, 2006
Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end, 2007
U.S. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps wins a record 19th Olympic medal, with gold in the 4x200metres freestyle relay, 2012

They had come back to the shelter for the second day in a row, and were still not quite sure. There were so many cats and kittens, how do you chose the first feline companion you will have as a just starting out married couple?

As he stuck his fingers through the bars of a kitten cage, allowing a small tabby to sniff and lick him, she stopped in front of the cage with a four-month-old mostly black kitten. He had about 1/3 of a tail, and white paws, and she said, "I've always kind of wanted a black or mostly black cat."

He walked over as she lifted the latch and took the kitten out of the cage. The kitten pawed at her necklace, then turned his eyes to look at her husband and tried to pounce out of her arms and into his.

"Whoa!" she said, as he called out, "Hey!" and they laughed.

"With that tail he could be called Bob, or Bobbie," she said.

"But what about the white paws?" he asked. "He looks like he's wearing sox!"

They looked at each other, grinned, and said "BobbieSox!"

About 30 minutes of paperwork later, BobbieSox was in a cardboard carrier headed to his new forever home.

Today is

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

Andorra La Vella Festival -- Andorra (through Monday)

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

Armed Forces Day -- Lebanon

Battle of Bushy Run Reenactment -- Harrison City, PA, US (commemorates the decisive battle of Pontiac's War in 1763; through tomorrow)

Canmore Folk Music Festival -- Canmore, AB, Canada (bringing beautiful folk music and more to the area; through Monday)

Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival -- Coupeville, WA, US (one of the longest-running arts festivals in the Pacific Northwest, with only the best artisans, lots of entertainment, and proceeds donated to the community; through tomorrow)

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru (The National Eisteddfod of Wales) -- Montgomeryshire and the Marches, Wales (preserving the Welsh language and heritage, with music, drama, literature, arts and crafts ;through Aug. 8)

Emancipation Day -- Barbados; Guyana; Jamaica; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and Grenadines; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands

Fancy Farm Picnic -- Fancy Farm, KY, US (what a name for a town, and what a good time they have, Southern hospitality at its best!)

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

Feast of Kamal (Perfection) -- Baha'i

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

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

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

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

Homowo -- Ghana (a festival of thanksgiving and remembrance, among various groups of Ga peoples, all through August and September.)

Imps Charity Scramble -- Fairy calendar (Do they scramble the imps, or do the imps scramble for something?)

Independence Day / National Day -- Benin(1960)

Kalends of August -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances
Feast of Spes (personification of hope)
Festival for Victoria (goddess of victory)

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

League of N.H. Craftsmen Annual Craftsmen's Fair -- Newbury, NH, US ("America's oldest crafts fair," through next Sunday)

Liberation of Haile Selassie -- Rastafari

Loveladies Fine Art Festival -- Loveladies, NJ, US (juried arts and crafts show, entertainment, food and more; through tomorrow)

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

Minden Day -- British Armed Forces

Miss Crustacean Usa Beauty Pageant and Ocean City Creep -- Ocean City, NJ, US (crowning the most beautiful and fastest tree crab on Earth)

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

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

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

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

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

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

Olathe Sweet Corn Festival -- Olathe, CO, US (lots of fun and all the "Olathe Sweet" corn you can eat)

Parents' Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

Plaza Latina Festival -- Nursery Row Park, East Street, London (the biennial Carnaval del Pueblo hosts this mini-festival between the big celebrations on three consecutive Saturdays, with traditional Latin American food, dance, arts and crafts, and kids activities)

Quilt Exhibition -- Billings Farm, Woodstock, VT, US (a juried show, demonstrations and other activities; through Sept. 20)

Respect For Parents Day -- with information here

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

Sagbraw: Schramm's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Wisconsin -- Wisconsin's oldest cross-state bicycle tour; through the 7th

Social Resistance Day -- North Cyprus

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

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

"Tools of the Trade" Theme Month -- Jamestown Settlement, Williamsburg, VA, US & Yorktown Victory Center, Yorktown, VA, US (compare and contrast tools and technology used by 17th- and 18th century Virginians with hands on activites and programs all through the month of August)

World Breastfeeding Week begins -- International (the theme this year is "Let's Make It Work," encouraging workplaces to allow time and space for mothers to continue to nourish their babies and work outside the home if they want or need to)

World Lung Cancer Day -- this one has a Facebook page

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

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

Yorkshire Day -- Yorkshire, England

Anniversaries Today:

Colorado becomes the 38th US State, 1876

Birthdays Today:

Tempestt Bledsoe, 1973
Robert Cray, 1953
Giancarlo Giannini, 1942
Jerry Garcia, 1942
Yves Saint Laurent, 1942
Ronald Harmon "Ron" Brown, 1941
Dom DeLuise, 1933
Tom Wilson, 1931
James Hill, 1916
Herman Melville, 1819
Maria Mitchell, 1818
Francis Scott Key, 1779
William Clark, 1770

Debuting/Premiering Today:

M2(TV Network), 1996
"The Rush Limbaugh Show"(Radio), 1988
MTV(TV Network), 1981

Today in History:

The future Caesar Augustus, Octavian, enters Alexandria, Egypt, and brings it under the control of Rome, BC30
Japan sends Ono no Imoko to the Sui court in China as envoy, 607
The Swiss Confederation is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter, 1291
Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile drive the Jews out of Spain, 1492
Henry Tudor, soon to be Henry VII, sails with his army to England, 1495
The first black Americans arrive in Jamestown, Virginia, 1619
Oxygen is "discovered" for the 3rd time, by Priestly, 1774
The Act of Union is passed in which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1800
Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire, 1834
First coast to coast automobile trip, from San Francisco to New York, is completed, 1903
The first Jeep is produced, 1941
Anne Frank makes the last entry in her diary, 1944
The United States and Canada form the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), 1957
Israel annexes East Jerusalem, 1967
Peat cutters discover Lindow Man, Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England, 1984
CERN physicists begin discussing building what would eventually become the World Wide Web, 1990
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia join the European Environment Agency, 2001
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies and is succeeded by Prince Abdullah, 2005
Buddhist treasures buried during the Mongolian Communist Purge in the 1930's are rediscovered in the Gobi Desert, 2009
Russia grants NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden one year of temporary political asylum; Snowden leaves Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, 2013

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!

"Well, the Alfredo sauce was a hit!" Little Girl said as she climbed in the car when i picked her up from the club pool across the street to go clean the shelter the other day.

You brought fettuccine Alfredo to the pool? i asked.

"Yes, well, it's kind of a long story, but I was telling Annie that I make a really good Alfredo sauce, and she wanted to try it, then the others wanted to try it, and so I brought some and some cookies to the pool and, well, it was a hit!" She held up a grocery bag with one of my plastic containers, some forks, and a bag of cookies empty except for one last, lonely occupant, which she proceeded to devour while on our way.

It's wonderful that all of my kids know how to cook. All the time letting them "mess around" in the kitchen, all the homeschool co-op cooking classes, and all the times they watched celebrity chefs and then decided to "cook like that" are worth it when they can feed themselves and friends.

Speaking of teaching cooking reminds me of a joke.

It was Thanksgiving, de whole fam'ly and kin was at de house on de bayou, an' Clothile was in de kitchen. Mos' de kids was outside, but Li'l Adele stay in de kitchen, watchin' Clothile ever' move.

Now Clothile don' mind dat, so she start show Li'l Adele how she chop de onion and make de roux, but Li'l Adele jes' watch an' not say anyt'in'.

Fin'ly, it be time to check de turkey in de oven, so Clothile she open de oven an' stick in de thermometer.

At dat, Li'l Adele find her voice an' she pipe up an' say, "You take it temp'ture? Mais, if dat bird be sick, I don' wan' eat none of it!"

Today is

Day of the Airborne Forces -- Russia; Ukraine

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

Distribution of Charity Monies -- Fairy Calendar (Imps only)

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

Festival of Domhnach Chrom Dubh -- Ireland (Black Chrom's Sunday, associated with the god Lugh and connected to the festival of Lammas; also connected to John Barleycorn, the personification of the grain, who is killed by being harvested at this time; many honor St. Patrick's Fast by making a pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick, where he fasted until he overcame the pagan deity Crom Cruach [Crom of the Reek])

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

Loch-mo-Naire Pilgrimage -- Loch mo Naire, Scotland (tonight from midnight to 1am tomorrow is the magical hour, complete the ritual there to be healed by the waters because of magic stones in the water that a Celtic priestess put there)

Make Some Old Fashioned Lemonade Day

National Doll Day -- US (another with its own Facebook page)

National Friendship Day -- US (designated by Congress in 1935)

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

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

Palio Del Golfo -- La Spezia, Italy (a special, traditional rowing contest over a 2,000m course)

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

Sisters' Day® -- celebrating the bond between sisters, as begun by Tricia Eleogram; a wiki page on how to celebrate this day

St. Elias' Day (Elijah the Prophet) related observance
Iliden -- Bosnia-Herzegovina; Ukraine; other Slavic countries where he is titled St. Ilia
Republic Day -- Macedonia

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

Swiss Volksfest -- New Glarus, WI, US (celebration of Swiss Independence Day)

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

Worldwide Forgiveness Day -- sponsored by the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance

Anniversary Today:

The first US Census is recorded, 1790

Birthdays Today:

Edward Furlong, 1977
Michael Weiss, 1976
Sam Worthington, 1976
Mary-Louise Parker, 1964
Victoria Jackson, 1959
Butch Patrick, 1953
Kathryn Harrold, 1950
James Fallows, 1949
Joanna Cassidy, 1944
Wes Craven, 1939
Lamar Hunt, 1932
Peter O'Toole, 1932
James Baldwin, 1924
Carroll O'Connor, 1924
Myrna Loy, 1905
Jack L. Warner, 1892
Elisha Gray, 1835
Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant, 1754

Today in History:

Philip II of Macedon leads his army to defeat the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, which secured Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean, BC338
Hannibal leads his Corinthian army to defeat the superior forces of Rome, BC216
Henry Hudson sails into what it is now known as Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean, 1610
First United States Census, 1790
First parachute jump in the US, 1819
Japan's samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant class system is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms, 1869
Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London, 1870
Andrew Hallidie tests the first cable car system in San Francisco, 1873
Wild Bill Hickok meets his death; shot in the back while playing poker, his hand, a pair of Aces and a pair of eights, is now called "Dead Man's Hand", 1876
Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Cannary) dies, 1903
Typhoon in China kills about 60,000, 1922
The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson, 1932
Pakistan is re-admitted back into the Commonwealth of Nations, 1989
Iraq invades Kuwait, setting the stage for the Gulf War, 1990
Two previously unknown works by Mozart - a concerto movement and a prelude, are performed in Salzburg, Austria, 2009
The U.S. Government estimates the Deepwater Horizon oil spill dumped nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, 2010

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!

When she gets home from work, Little Girl likes to relax with the foster kittens.

The boy loves to lie on her shoulder as she leans back in the recliner.

The girl kitten snuggles in the blanket near her knees.

She's soaking it up and enjoying it as much as she can, she will be much busier once school starts this Thursday!

Today is

Armed Forces Day -- Equatorial Guinea

August Monday/Culturama -- Saint Kitts ande Nevis

British Columbia Day -- British Columbia, Canada

Carnival Monday -- Anguilla (August Monday); Antigua and Barbuda (J'ouvert); British Virgin Islands (Festival Monday); Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (Saba only)

Civic Holiday -- AB, BC, SK, ON, NB, NT, & NU, Canada

Dia de la Bandera -- Venezuela (Flag Day)

Emancipation Day -- Bahamas; Dominica; Granada; Montserrat; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Turks and Caicos Islands

Fairy Washing Festival -- Fairy Calendar (do the fairies wash themselves, or is everyone supposed to wash his/her fairy?)

Farmer's Day -- Zambia

Feast of Caligo, the mother of Chaos -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate, and this is as good a day to celebrate chaos as any other)

Fete National de l'Arbre -- Niger (Independence Day, 1960)

Fiesta de San Salvador -- San Salvador, El Salvador

Frídagur verslunarmanna -- Iceland (Commerce Day)

Golpe de la Libertad -- Equatorial Guinea (Freedom Day)

Grab Some Nuts Day -- almonds and walnuts are especially good for you

International Friendship Day (original date proposed by Joyce Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards, back in 1935 because it is the center of the largest lull between major holidays; the UN celebrates it on July 30 and many countries celebrate on the second Sunday in August)

!!Ishitori Festival -- Kasuga Shrine, Kuwana City, Japan (called the loudest festival in Japan, with lots of bell ringing and drum beating; through the 6th)

Kadooment Day -- Barbados (huge carnival celebration of the end of the Crop Over festival, celebrating the end of the sugar cane harvest)

Kanto Matsuri -- Akita, Japan (a four day festival, praying for good harvest, purification ceremonies, and feats of skill)

National Children's Day -- Tuvalu

National Hobo Convention -- Britt, IA (held each year since 1900, gathering for migrant workers who are proud to call themselves "hobos" and make a living through working where they choose and travelling where they want; through Sunday)

National Watermelon Day

New Brunswick Day -- New Brunswick, Canada

Old Fiddler's Convention -- Galax, VA, US (fun and fiddles, dulcimers, banjos, autoharps, and more; through Saturday)

Picnic Day -- NT, Australia

Pidjiguiti Day -- Guinea-Bissau (Colonization Martyr's Day; Anniversary of the Killing of Pidjiguiti)

St. Lydia Purpuraria's Day (Lydia the "seller of purple" who was Paul's first convert in Philippi; Patron of dyers)

St. Nicodemus' Day (member of the Sanhedrin and secret disciple who helped bury Jesus)

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally -- Sturgis, SD, US (the grand-daddy of all motorcycle rallies and races; through Sunday)

Tampere Theatre Festival -- Tampere, Finland (largest such festival in the Nordic countries; through Sunday)

Youth Day -- Kiribati

Birthdays Today:

Evangeline Lilly, 1979
Blaine Wilson, 1974
Isaiah Washington, 1963
John McGinley, 1959
Jay North, 1951
John Landis, 1950
Martha Stewart, 1941
Martin Sheen, 1940
Steve Berkoff, 1937
Tony Bennett, 1926
Leon Uris, 1924
P.D. James, 1920
Margaret "Maggie" Kuhn, 1905
John T. Scopes, 1900
Ernest Taylor "Ernie" Pyle, 1900
Elisha Graves Otis, 1811

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Primetime Live"(TV), 1989
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)"(Single release), 1963
"Chu Chin Chow"(Musical), 1916
"William Tell"(Opera), 1829

Today in History:

Tiberius, Roman Empire general, defeats the Dalmatians at the river Bathinus, 8
Columbus sets Sail for the "Indes",departing from Palos, Spain, 1492
John Rut, at St. John's, Newfoundland, sends the first known letter from North America, 1527
Robert LaSalle builds the Le Griffon, the first known ship built on the Great Lakes, 1678
First ascent of Jungfrau, third highest summit in the Bernese Alps, 1811
Harvard defeats Yale in the first intercollegiate rowing race, 1852*
Second Maori War begins in New Zealand, 1860
The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company is founded, 1900
The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap, 1958
President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya of Mauritania is overthrown in a military coup while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia, 2005
After last months extensive flooding, North Korea finally asks the United Nations for food aid, 2012

*In fact, it was the first American intercollegiate athletic event ever.

Yesterday, after cleaning for my Monday lady, Ms. S, i headed down to the Mobile, Alabama area to visit my good friend, DiDreaming.

DiDreaming is the friend who allows me to use power tools.

While i named my GPS "Minnie," because that's what our other friend Eagle named her Garmin and i thought it was a cute name, DiDreaming named hers "Dammit." "Dammit, I'm not going that way!" she yells at it.

This is a trip i've been wanting to take since Easter break, and one thing and another have prevented it until now.

Her living situation has changed since the last time i visited. She's in a nice house near woods and cows, renting a room.

The trip down was amazingly uneventful. With the number of times we've taken the trip to or past Mobile from our area, i was shocked at the light traffic, how fast i got through the tunnel, and how i made such great time. If all of our trips were this easy, i might not have so many gray hairs.

Well, no, i'd have them, because i get them from my kids, but it's nice to think about.

The family did try to make it harder. On the way down, i got no fewer than 7 phone calls and 3 texts.

No, i did not read or answer the texts until i got off the interstate. Dansig is ready for his next bottle of antibiotic, and Sweetie got his errands run, and etc.

And yes, one of the calls was not from family. It seems i've won a $10 gift card from a local store's monthly raffle. That's a call i didn't mind receiving.

Anyway, when i arrived we visited for a while, and then went out for Indian food (and to find wifi to post this, the one at their house was toasted by a storm), and today we are tackling making her room a bit tidier, since everything she owns is now in it, or in a small storage area in the back of the house.

It's going to be a good visit, and i'll go find wifi again today, but i probably won't be around much besides that.

Today is:

August Tuesday / Culturama -- St. Kitts and Nevis

Carnival Tuesday -- Antigua and Barbuda (Last Lap Jump Up)

Champagne Day -- internet generated holiday, probably created by someone who wanted an excuse to celebrate

Coast Guard Day -- US (anniversary of founding in 1790)

Constitution Day -- Cook Islands

Fairy Drying-Out Day -- Fairy Calendar (makes sense, as we washed them yesterday. Now it begs the question, how does one dry a fairy?)

Festival of the Dead; Sunset Ceremony -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival Tuesday -- British Virgin Islands

Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca -- Vitoria-Gasteiz, Alava, Basque Country, Spain; through the 9th

Fiestas Patronales -- El Salvador (through the 6th)

Hot August Nights -- Reno, NV, US (celebrate cars and music of the 50's and 60's at the largest classic car and nostalgia event in the United States; through Saturday)

Matica Slovenska Day -- Slovakia (main Slovak cultural institution, established 1863)

National Lasagna Day

National Night Out -- US (sponsored by National Association of Town Watch, to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness)

Nicole Robin Day -- St. John, USVI(unofficial celebration her safe return, with the crew, to the Virgin Islands after being held by Cubans.)

Single Working Women's Day

St. John Baptist Mary Vianney's Day (Cure of Ars; Patron of confessors, parish priests; Dubuque, Iowa; Kamloops, BC; Kansas City, KS; Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN)

Vigil of St. Oswald -- Anglo-Saxon holy day, commemorates the day before King Oswald's death in 642

Zuni Corn Dance -- the Zuni Native Americans give thanks to Mother Earth, the Kokos (Nature Spirits), and the Corn Maidens for the maize harvest; through the 7th

Birthdays Today:

Cole and Dylan Sprouse, 1992
Daniel Dae Kim, 1968
Roger Clemens, 1962
Barack H. Obama, 1961
Billy Bob Thornton, 1955
Kristoffer Tabori, 1952
Richard Belzer, 1944
Maurice "Rocket" Richard, 1921
Helen Thomas, 1920
William Howard Schuman, 1910
Glenn Verniss Cunningham, 1909
Louis Armstrong, 1901*
Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, 1900
Louis Vuitton, 1821
Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Saturday Evening Post(Magazine, first issue), 1821

Today in History

The destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, 70
A supernova is observed in constellation Cassiopeia, 1181
The first printing of Zohar (Jewish Kabbalah), 1558
A hurricane in the Carribean kills thousands in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Christopher, 1666
Dom Perignon invents champagne (traditional date), 1693
First edition of the Saturday Evening Post, which was published until 1969, 1821
The family of Lizzie Borden is found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home, 1892
The Greenwich foot tunnel under the River Thames opens, 1902
The Supreme Court of Japan is established, 1947
The Billboard Hot 100 is founded, 1958
American civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21, 1964
The African republic Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso, 1984
Operation Storm begins in Croatia, 1995
Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that Michaëlle Jean will be Canada's 27th Governor General, 2005
California's Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state's voters in 2008, is overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger, 2010
Britain has their greatest success in one day at an Olympics since 1908, winning six gold medals and a silver on Day Eight of the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012
South Africa's Oscar Pistorius becomes the first amputee to compete at the Olympic Games in the 400 meters, 2012
Actor Peter Capaldi, of Scotland, lands the role of the Doctor in the twelfth incarnation of the 'Doctor Who' British science fiction show, 2013

*In several interviews, Satchmo claimed to have been born on July 4, 1900. Historians always disputed that claim, saying it was too neat and tidy, and his baptismal records, found in a church basement, proved otherwise. Some biographies still give the July 4, 1900 date in error.

The home to which DiDreaming has moved is owned by a very nice lady who is a Mormon. How do you know you are living in a house that is owned by a Mormon?

You open the linen closets to put linens in there and instead find two years worth of food stored.

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is:

Barsi Bhagat Puran Singh -- Sikhism

Bogota Carnival -- Bogota, Colombia (celebrating the city's Hispanic founding; through tomorrow)

Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship -- Shelburne, ON, Canada (through Sunday)

Celtic Tree Month Coll (Hazel) commences

Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead Day -- uttered this day by Admiral Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864

Festival Wednesday -- British Virgin Islands

Hanakasa Matsuri -- Yamagata City, Japan (10,000 costumed dancers perform; through the 7th)

Independence Day / Republic Day -- Burkina Faso (former Upper Volta)(1960)

International Beer Day

National Blackmail Day -- according to mostly ecard sites, with suggestions to send a card to the friend who has told you his/her secrets, with the notice that you plan on celebrating this date!

National Underwear Day -- sponsored by www.freshpair.com, which encourages people to rethink their underwear style, make sure they have the right fit, and which gives away free underwear

National Waffle Day

Nuestra Senora de Africa -- CE, Spain (Day of Our Lady of Africa, also called Fiestas Patronales)

Oyster Day

Pixie of the Year Competition -- Fairy Calendar

Sacrifice to Salus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of health, associated with Greek Hygeia)

St. Afra of Augsburg's Day (Patron of converts, martyrs, penitent women; Augsburg, Germany)

St. Oswald of Northumbria's Day (Patron of Zug, Switzerland)

Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders -- Croatia

Work Like a Dog Day -- different from work-a-holics, people who work like a dog work hard while they are at it, and rest when they aren't

Birthdays Today:

Jonathan Silverman, 1966
Patrick Aloysius Ewing, 1962
Maureen McCormick, 1956
Erika Slezak, 1946
Loni Anderson, 1946
Ja’net DuBois, 1938
John Saxon, 1936
Neil Armstrong, 1930
Sydney Omarr, 1926
Raoul Wallenberg, 1912
John Huston, 1906
Conrad Potter Aiken, 1889
Joseph Merrick, 1862
Guy de Maupassant, 1850
Thomas Lynch, Jr., 1749
John Eliot, 1604
Joseph Justus Scaliger, 1540

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Revolver"(Beatles Album, release date), 1966
"Eleanor Rigby"& "Yellow Submarine"(Beatles singles, A & B side respectively, release date), 1966
"American Bandstand"(TV, national premiere), 1957
"Andy Capp"(Comic strip), 1957
"Little Orphan Annie"(Comic strip), 1924

Today in History

The last outpost of Bar Kockba, Betar, falls to Rome, 135
Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria at the Battle of Maserfield, 642
King Edward and Earl Aetherlred, leading the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, defeat the last major Viking army to raid England at the Battle of Tettenhall, 910
Anti-Jewish riots in Arnstadt, Germany, 1264
Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes first English colony in North America, at what is now St John's, Newfoundland, 1583
The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America, 1620
New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true, 1735
US Army abolishes flogging, 1861
Standard Oil of New Jersey is established, 1882
The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor, 1884
Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip made in her husbands invention, the first patented automobile; her journey was to publicize the invention, and she garnered attention and sales, 1888
The first electric traffic light is installed, in Cleveland, Ohio, 1914
Debut of the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie", by Harold Gray, 1924
Debut of the comic strip "Andy Capp", by Smythe, 1957
Nelson Mandela is jailed, 1962*
The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty, 1963
The city of Knin, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm, 1995
The Copiapo mining accident traps 33 Chilean miners about 2,300ft below the ground, 2010

*Released in 1990

She heard the little girl crying in fear, and that's what got to her; although the grown-ups standing there screaming at each other was almost bad enough by itself, it was the crying that made her throw her reservations to the wind and step out to do something about the situation in spite of the danger.

She headed out and let them have it verbally, "Look at you two, your mothers would be ashamed of you, behaving this way, screaming at each other in public instead of talking things out calmly, and you are making your little girl cry, right at Christmas time!"

The shock of her outburst stopped them both cold and as they began to mutter apologies she turned to the little girl and asked, "Sweetheart, would you like to come in my apartment and have a snack while your mother and father talk about their issue calmly and solve it like adults?" and she led the child into her home to dry the tears and let her have some Christmas cookies with her own three children.

Many things changed after that incident; she had gained the respect of all the neighbors in that apartment complex, who never again let her get all of the way to the dumpster with her garbage or all of the way back from her car to her apartment with a grocery bag before one of them would grab whatever she was carrying and say, "Let me get that for you!"

Several months later, the father very quietly alluded to the incident by telling her, "I want you to know we're both still trying to behave, and not yell, we just talk, and things are getting better!"

Smiling, she told him "Good for you!" and thought to herself that it was amazing she had taken such a chance and instead of them turning on her and harming her, which in that rough neighborhood could have happened, they had taken her words to heart and were changing their marriage.

(Note: this is based on a true story told to me by DiDreaming.)

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories.

Today is:

Accession Day -- United Arab Emirates (accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan)

Best Elf Awards -- Fairy Calendar

Edmonton Folk Music Festival -- Gallagher Park, Edmonton, AB, Canada (folk music of all kinds and fun for the whole family; through Sunday)

Feast of Everything Green Except Money -- Hooray for veggies! You'll need them before you have that root beer float.

Festival at Sandpoint -- Lake Pend Oreille, Sandpoint, ID, US (internationally renowned summer concert series in a casual and relaxed atmosphere; through the 16th)

Festival of Nut and Ra; Chief Festival of Thoth -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Hiroshima Day

Hope Watermelon Festival -- Hope, AK, US (if you've never had Hope watermelons, you've missed the best! Through Saturday)

Independence Day / National Day -- Bolivia; Jamaica

"Li'l" Margaret's Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival -- Leonardtown, MD, US (bluegrass music, crafts, old time tractors and cars, and home-cooked meals; bring a lawn chair! through Saturday)

Mountain Dance and Folk Festival -- Asheville, NC, US (celebrating the cultural heritage of the southern Appalachian Mountains; through Saturday)

National Fresh Breath (Halitosis) Day -- shouldn't that be labeled anti-halitosis?

National Root Beer Float Day -- A&W Root Beer really gets into this day http://awrestaurants.com/rootbeerfloatday

Peace Festival -- Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan

Ribfest -- Kalamazoo, MI, US (live festival and cook off; through Saturday)

Sts. Justus and Pastor's Day (Patrons of Alcala, Spain; Madrid, Spain)

Tanabata Festival -- Sendai, Japan (Japan's largest Tanabata 'Star Festival', through the 8th)

Teinne Festival -- Ancient Celtic Calendar (Teinne, the Celtic Holy Fire, sometimes called Tan; date approximate)

Transfiguration of the Lord -- Orthodox Christian

Turku Music Festival -- Turku, Finland (music from medieval to modern, by world-famous artists in the historic venues of Finland's oldest city, in historic buildings all over the city; through the 15th)

Wiggle Your Toes Day -- internet generated, and my suggestion is to celebrate it with a cool drink out by the pool!

Birthdays Today:

Romola Garai, 1982
Melissa George, 1976
Soleil Moon Frye, 1976
M. Night Shyamalan, 1970
Michelle Yeoh, 1962
Catherine Hicks, 1951
Dorian Harewood, 1950
Shirley Ann Jackson, 1946
Peter Bonerz, 1938
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob, 1934
Andy Warhol, 1928
Robert Mitchum, 1817
Lucille Ball, 1911
Clara Bow, 1905
Hoot Gibson, 1892
Alexander Fleming, 1881
Louella Parsons, 1881
Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, 1861
Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1809
Daniel O'Connell, 1775

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Help"(Album debut), 1965

Today in History:

Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founds the city of Bogota, Colombia, 1538
Holland (The Dutch Republic) sells Brazil to Portugal and the two
countries sign the Treaty of The Hague, 1661
The first private military school in the US, Norwich University, is
founded in Vermont, 1819
The Russian Geographical Society is founded in Saint Petersburg, 1845
William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by the electric chair, 1890
Alice Ramsey takes three friends (none of whom could drive) to become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, 1909
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel, 1926
Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world's oldest tree, is cut down by the US National Forest Service, for reasons even they cannot explain, 1964
The Federal Voting Rights Act is signed, 1965
A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, 1986
The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, 1990
NASA makes the still disputed announcement that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms, 1996
The incoming coalition government of the United Kingdom discontinues the use of the controversial ContactPoint database of all children in that country, 2010
After a century of silence, Mount Tongariro in New Zealand erupts, spreading volcanic ash across the country's central North Island and affecting airports, 2012
The Curiosity Rover, controlled by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, lands safely on the surface of Mars, 2012

Feline Friday is hosted 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..

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!

The kittens have decided that shoes are the enemy, and they are especially enamored with battling Little Girl's work shoes.

Being kittens, though, they are easily distracted:

We must defend the world from the evil shoe!

Oh, wait, what's that?

Um, where was I?

Oh, yeah! Okay, back to business.

Today is:

Abbotsford International Airshow -- Abbotsford, BC, Canada ("Canada's National Air-show" and the leading air show in North America, attracting the world's top aeronautical performers; through Sunday)

Assyrian Martyrs Day -- various Assyrian communities

Battle of Boyaca Day -- Colombia

Boom Days -- Leadville, CO, US (celebrate the mining heritage of the Rockies with a parade and even a celebrity pack burro race; through Sunday)

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

Capitolfest -- Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY, US (showing rare silent and early films; through Sunday)

Constitution Day -- Anguilla

Cranham Feast and Deer Roast -- Cranham, Gloucestershire, England (a three day traditional feast and fair that dates back to the 1700's; through Sunday)

Edinburgh Festival Fringe -- Edinburgh, Scotland (the largest art gathering in the world; through the 31st)

Edinburgh International Festival -- Edinburgh, Scotland (one of the world's most exciting venues for opera, dance, theater, classical music and the visual arts; through the 31st)

Ginza Holiday: Japanese Cultural Festival -- Midwest Buddhist Temple, Chicago, IL, US (experience the traditions of Japan, through Sunday)

Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival -- Grand Targhee Resort, Alta, WY, US (bluegrass music at its finest on a pristine mountainside in the Grand Teton Mountains; through Sunday)

Harvest Holiday -- Slavic Pagan Calendar (reaping ceases for a few hours in honor of Volos' beard; bread is eaten and offerings given to Mother Earth and Volos for a bountiful harvest)

Independence Day / National Day -- Cote d'Ivoire(1960)

International Beer Day -- Uniting The World Through Beer

Kool-Aid Days -- Hastings, NE, US (3 days of celebrating in the town where Edwin Perkins invented Kool-Aid over 80 years ago)

Ma and Pa Kettle Days -- Kettle River, MN, US (fun on the Kettle River; through tomorrow)

Musikfest -- Bethlehem, PA, US (10 days, 15 stages, over 500 musical performances, so there is something here for everyone!)

National Lighthouse Day -- US (American Lighthouse Foundation)

National Raspberries in Cream Day

Onekama Days -- Onekama, MI, US (family fun, through Sunday)

Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and especially the kind no one can open without a machete, what's with that!

Professional Speaker's Day

Purple Heart Day -- US (originally instituted this day in 1782 by George Washington)

Rainforest World Music Festival -- Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia (music in the jungle, featuring local and international artists performing wild music and dance in the mud and tropical rain; through Sunday)

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo -- Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland (display of military color an pageantry; through the 29th)

Say "Cheese" Day -- begun by ecard companies looking for something to celebrate; in my family, we do not say "Cheese", we say "Chicken Lips!" Try it some time when walking past tourists who are trying to get a good photo, and watch them smile genuine smiles and come up with a good picture.

Sea Serpent Day -- no one knows why today, just enjoy

Sinjska Alka -- Sinj, Croatia (knight tournament in which the whole district takes pride in keeping the tradition by making and restoring all the equipment used, with accompanying festivals and fun at home, in church, and in public; through Sunday)

Smartest Leprechaun Eisteddfod -- Fairy Calendar

St. Albert of Trapani's Day (Patron of Carmelite schools; Messina, Italy; Trapani, Italy)

St. Cajetan's Day (Patron of job seekers and the unemployed)

Take Last Winter's Snowballs Out of the Freezer and Have a Fight Day -- in the northern hemisphere, it's certainly hot enough; southern hemisphere people, put some snowballs in the freezer now (if you have snow) to save for some boring day in the January heat

Tetonkaha Rendezvous -- Lake Benton, MN, US (come to the Hole in the Mountain County Park where they reenact the fur-trading atmosphere of the 1840s, complete with muzzle-loader contest, tomahawk and knife throwing, log sawing, and more; through Sunday)

Torneo dei Rioni (Tournament of the Districts) -- Oria, Italy (3 day reenactment of the tournament ordered by Frederick II in 1225; features jousting, processions, ceremonies, a Palio horse race, medieval fanfare, food and fun as the town's four districts battle it out for bragging rights)

Twins Day Festival -- Twinsburg, OH, US (no, you aren't seeing double, it's a celebration of multiples; through Sunday)

Birthdays Today:

Charlize Theron, 1975
Harold Parrineau, 1963
DeLane Matthews, 1961
David Duchovny, 1960
Alberto Salazar, 1957
John Glover, 1944
Garrison Keillor, 1942
B.J. Thomas, 1942
Abebe Bikila, 1932
"The Amazing" James Randi, 1928
Carl "Alfalfa" Switser, 1927
Stan Freberg, 1926
Ralph Johnson Bunche, 1903
Rudolf C. Ising, 1903
William Boyd McKechnie, 1886
Billie Burke, 1884
Mata Hari, 1876
Nathanael Greene, 1742

Today in History:

Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon, following the death of Alexander the Great, BC322
Construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore begins in Florence, 1420
Coup again the Tianshun Emperor by the Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin, 1461
Francis Drake's fleet returns to Plymouth, 1573
The first documented performance of Macbeth, at the Great Hall at Hampton Court, 1606
Sieur de La Salle's brigantine Le Griffon becomes the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes, 1679
Cherokee Indians take Ft. Loudon, Tennessee, 1760
George Washington creates the Order of the Purple Heart, 1782
Simon Bolivar triumphs over the Spanish at the Battle of Boyaca, 1819
The long simmering tension between the Hatfields and the McCoys on the Kentucky/West Virginia border erupts into full scale violence on election day, 1882
The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York, 1927
IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I), 1944
Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America, 1947
Explorer 6 transmits the first TV photo of Earth from space, 1959
The "artistic crime of the century" occurs when Philippe Petit of France, after months of planning and smuggling in materials, makes an illegal tightrope walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 1974
Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars, 1976
The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication, 1981
Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts, 1985
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron's record by hitting his 756th home run, 2007

"That was quite a first day!" Little Girl told me when i got home from work on her first day of school.

What happened? i asked.

"Well, first, they put me in the wrong math class. It's okay, though, the same guy teaches both, and it turns out that every one of us need to be in the other class, so they are just going to make the one I'm into the other class."

That's odd that everyone ended up in the wrong class, i noted.

"Well, three of our four guidance counselors left, so almost everyone is in the wrong classes. One senior was put in physical science, which he took in ninth grade, instead of physics. Next week they will move everyone who requests a change, so you'll have to sign a change request so I can be in the other math."

Sounds good, i said. And did they put you in the AP class?

"They put me in four AP classes! All four of my core classes, history, English, math, and science are AP honors. Then they gave me my last PE I have to take, and three classes I don't even need just to make it a full schedule. If you sign for it, I can drop two of them, they won't make a difference for TOPS or college entrance, and I really don't need them. The third one I do like, I can do more sewing and cooking and stuff, I enjoy that class. But if I drop those two I don't need I'll have more time to study for the classes I do need."

Sounds good, i said again.

"And I really don't know if I'm going to like the new librarian," she continued.

What happened to Señor? i asked.

"Oh, he went to the new science and technology high school they just opened, and he's going to love it there. The new guy, I don't know, he looks kind of greasy to me. I don't know if I'm going to like him or not."

"Something really funny happened, too. You remember Mr. Marshall? Well, I saw him in the hall, or I thought I did, and later on I went over toward him, and it wasn't him, but it's a new teacher who looks almost exactly like him and who teaches the same classes! I went to Ms. Tanya and asked her, 'Hey, what happened to Mr. Marshall?' and she said, 'Oh, he and his wife moved to Texas'! But this new guy, he looks almost identical to Mr. Marshall, it is so weird!"

"Oh, and I think I'm really going to enjoy European history this year. The teacher asked us what one event changed the course of European history more than any other, and I knew the answer, the Black Plague. He also asked one none of us knew.

"Okay, he held up an envelope and said, 'There's a substance in this envelope that, back in 1450, was worth more than gold. People traveled over land and sea to get it, and died to bring it back to Europe. What was it?' Do you think you know?"

It had to be tea or a spice of some sort, i said.

"It was black pepper! This teacher really knows a lot of fun details and I think I'm going to love his class."

Sounds like an auspicious beginning to me, even with the one class mix up.

Today is:

Anjin Matsuri -- Ito City, Japan (commemorations William Adams (1564-1620), a naturalized British shipwright, called "Anjin Miura" in Japan, a great contributor to the early development of Japanese ship-building industry; through the 10th)

BaBa Day -- Taiwan (ba ba is Mandarin for both "father" and "8-8")

Bonza Bottler Day™

Bud Billiken Parade -- Chicago, IL, US (second largest parade in the US, as well as the oldest and largest African-American parade in the US, begun in 1929)

Cowes Week begins -- Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK (the largest, longest-running and most prestigious international sailing regatta in the world; through the 15th)

Crater Lake Rim Runs and Marathon -- Crater Lake National Park, OR, US (one of the toughest and most spectacular runs ever, around the deepest lake in the US)

Dalek Day -- on the birth anniversary of the creator of these Scifi baddies, Terry Nation

Elvis Week -- Memphis, TN, US (ten days of celebrating The King)

Ferry Fair Festival -- South Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland (centuries old fair, around the time of the Burry Man Parade, originally for farmers to find labour for harvest, now for fun; this year's big Ferry Fair Day is Aug. 15)

Festival for Venus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (sunset to sunset)

Finest Fairy Finals -- Fairy Calendar (Do only the finest fairies take finals? How do the others get a final grade? :D )

Fourteen Holy Helpers' Day (Patrons against diseases)

Happiness Happens Day -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, to encourage sharing happiness and discourage parade raining; on the anniversary of their founding in 1997

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

Inter-State Fair and Rodeo -- Coffeyville, KS, US (rodeo, livestock shows, carnival, and more; through the 15th)

Kranti Diwas -- Mumbai (former Bombay), India (a/k/a Freedom Day or Quit India Day; anniversary of Gandhi's Quit India speech to the British authorities in 1942)

Namesday of the Queen -- Sweden (Queen Sylvia; an official Flag Day)

National Frozen Custard Day

National Garage Sale Day -- US (the goal, according to C. Daniel Rhodes, is to turn the nation into a giant shopping mall on the second Saturday of August each year)

Odie Day -- Garfield's pal Odie, who first appeared in the strip on this day in 1978

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and i love the stuff but can't grow plants to save my life, i'll leave the porch light on for you if you will bring me some!

St. Cyriacus' Day (Patron of the eyes; Altidona, Italy; against diabolical possession, eye disease, and temptations, especially temptations at the time of death)

St. Dominic's Day (Founder of the Dominican Order[Friars]; Patron of astronomers and astronomy, falsely accused people, scientists; Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; Valletta, Malta)

St. Mary MacKillop's Day (First native-born Australian saint; Patron of Australia; Wagga Wagga, Australia)

Streetscene -- Covington, VA, US (car show, open to all types of vehicles; come show off your ride!)

The Date To Create -- can't find anything on this one, just listed at a couple of sites, but go have fun creating something!

Wakulima ya Nane Nane -- Tanzania (Peasants' Day/Farmers' Day)

Watermelon Festival -- Rush Springs, OK, US (fun all day and free watermelon for all)

World Cat Day / International Cat Day -- begun in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal rights groups

Birthdays Today:

Roger Federer, 1981
Michael Urie, 1980
Drew Lachey, 1976
The Edge, 1961
Deborah Norville, 1958
Randy Shilts, 1951
Roberta Cooper Ramo, 1942
Keith Carradine, 1949
Connie Stevens, 1938
Dustin Hoffman, 1937
Mel Tillis, 1932
Esther Williams, 1923
Rory Calhoun, 1922
Dino De Laurentis, 1919
Russell Markert, 1899
Fredric March, 1897
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, 1896
Emiliano Zapata Salazar, 1879
Matthew Henson, 1866
Emperor Horikawa of Japan, 1079

Today in History:

The Romans destroy the Tower of Antonia, 70
Otto I (The Great) crowned German king, 936
Vijayanagara Empire is rebegun with the crowning of emperor Krishnadeva Raya, 1509
The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven, 1576
John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, 1585
The first known ascent (indoors) of a hot-air ballon by Bartolomeu de Gusamao, 1709
Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard become the first to ascend Mont Blanc, 1786
Metal bullet cartridges are patented by Smith and Wesson, 1854
Mimeograph is patented by Thomas Edison, 1876
Wilbur Wright makes the brother's first public flight, at a racecourse in Le Mans, France, 1908
The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire, 1911
The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight, 1929
The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, the 3rd nation to join, 1945
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, 1967
Richard Nixon announces his resignation as President of the United States, effective the next day, 1974
The lights go on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last staduim in the majors to host a night game (which was subsequently rained out!), 1988
Iraq occupies and annexes Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait within a couple of weeks, 1990
Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor, 2000
Archeologist excavating the Templo Mayor, one of the Aztec's main temples in their capital city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico city), make an unprecedented find - the skeleton of a young woman inside a burial, surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones, 2012

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!

"Something smells like it's burning," Little Girl informed me as she walked into the kitchen.

Yes, i know, i answered, i already turned it off The rice will be a bit overcooked, but since i made a lot and didn't stir the burned stuff up from the very bottom of the pot, it should be fine. (It was. Brother-in-Law, The Mouth, is usually hungry enough not to care about such things.)

This reminds me of what happened when Boudreaux bought tires.

Boudreaux need new tires for de truck. Now Boudreaux, he be too "thrifty" (read, cheap) to have de tires put on de truck at de shop where he done buy dem, when he can do it hisself over in Thibodeaux's garage fo' free. So he brought dem home an' stack dem in de living room 'til he gots de time for to do it.

Tee Boudreaux, about 8-year-old, come in from school an' see dem tires in dere. He don' ax why dey be dere, no. He walk in, take him a deep breath, an' say, "Mais! Papa, dem tires sure make de house smell good!"

Today is:

Betty Boop Day -- she debuted in "Dizzy Dishes" on this day in 1930

Book Lover's Day -- internet generated, but if you love books, go sit under a shady tree with a cool drink and indulge!

Celebrate Your Lakes Day -- of unknown origin but worth celebrating

Clean Out the Kitchen Cupboards Day -- because someone, somewhere, thought it would be a good day to remind us to get rid of the junk in there we haven't seen since last year

Dag der Inheemsen -- Suriname (Indigenous People's Day)

Don't Wait, Celebrate! Week -- 2nd full week of August each year; because spontaneous and frequent celebrations are good for you, says Patty Sachs

Festival for Sol -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Goblin Ugly Contest -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day / National Day -- Singapore(1965)

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples -- UN

Jesse Owens Day -- the day he became the first American to win 4 gold medals

Melon Day -- Turkmenistan (the country that really loves its muskmellons)

Nagasaki Day / Moment of Silence -- Japan

National Hand Holding Day -- sponsored by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith of Chicago

National Peacekeepers Day -- Canada (obs. on Sunday closest to the 9th)

National Rice Pudding Day

National Women's Day -- South Africa

Remembrance for Radbod, King of the Frisians -- Asatru/Norse Pagan

Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross' Day (born Edith Stein, killed at Auschwitz; Co-Patron of Europe; Patron of converts, martyrs, those who have lost their parents, World Youth Day)

Smokey the Bear Day -- Smokey first appeared on a U.S. Forest Service poster on this day in 1944

Veep Day -- US (commemoration of the day in 1974 Richard Nixon's resignation let Gerald Ford succeed to the presidency)

Women's Day -- South Africa

Yosakoi Matsuri -- Kochi City, Japan (over 100 groups come up with their own Bon dance and costume and have dance competions in the streets, through the 12th)

Anniversaries Today:

Coronation of Albert II of Belgium, 1993

Birthdays Today:

Audrey Tautou,1976
Eric Bana, 1968
Gillian Anderson, 1968
Delon Sanders, 1967
Hoda Kotb, 1964
Whitney Houston, 1963
Michael Kors, 1959
Amanda Bearse, 1958
Melanie Griffith, 1957
Sam Elliot, 1944
David Steinberg, 1942
Robert Joseph (Bob) Cousy, 1928
P.L. Travers, 1899
Joseph Locke, 1805
Amedeo Avogadro, 1776
John Dryden, 1631
Izaak Walton, 1593

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Béatrice et Bénédict (Beatrice and Benedick)"(Berlioz Opera Comique), 1862
Walden(Thoreau, publication date), 1854

Today in History:

Battle of Pharsalus, in which Julius Caesar defeated Pompey, who fled to Egypt, BC 40
Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta, 681
Start of construction of the Tower of Pisa, 1173*
Sistine Chapel opens, 1483
First horses arrive in Hawai'i, 1803
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains, 1842
Thoreau's Walden is published, 1854
Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph, 1892
Betty Boop makes her debut in the cartoon, Dizzy Dishes, 1930
Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement, 1942
The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time, 1944
Singapore is expelled from Malaysia and becomes the first and only country to date to gain independence unwillingly, 1965
Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office, 1974
Wayne Gretzky is traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial player transactions in ice hockey history, 1988
The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership, 1993
Tensions escalate between North and South Korea, when South Korea claims North Korea fired over 100 rounds of artillery into the Sea of Japan, 2010
David Rudisha of Kenya becomes the first athlete at the 2012 Summer Olympics to set a new world track record and secures the 800m gold medal, 2012

*completed two hundred years later

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!

...it does not occur to me that lying down on the landing at the top of the stairs might impede traffic or be in any way dangerous!

Not at all!

Today is:

Banana Split Day

Carnival Monday -- Grenada

Chemistry Set Volcano Day -- beat summer boredom, make a chemistry set volcano!

Day of Wandering -- Fairy Calendar

Dejada de Santo Domingo de Guzeman -- Managua, Nicaragua

Feast of San Lorenzo -- San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

Horse Racing Festival -- Nagchu, Tibet (through the 16th)

Independence Day / National Day -- Ecuador(1822)

Lazy Day -- internet generated, since it's so hot, though, make it a lazy day!

National Duran Duran Appreciation Day -- anniversary of the 1985 near fatal accident of lead singer Simon Le Bon, when his yacht capsized during a race; the band acknowledges the declaration of this day on their website, and many years offer a free download of a song from one of their albums

National S'mores Day

Opalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar, festival of Ops (date approximate, there were several celebrations of Ops through August and September)

Puck Fair -- Killorglin, Ireland (one of Ireland's 3 oldest fairs, with a wild goat caught and crowned the Puck, and let go on the 3rd day, Aug. 12)

Prisoner's Justice Day -- Canada (prisoners fast and refuse to work in memory of those who have died in prison of murder, suicide, or neglect)

Skyscraper Appreciation Day -- birth anniversary of architect William Can Alen, the genius behind the Chrysler Building

St. Lawrence of Rome's Day (Martyr roasted on a gridiron; Patron of archives and archivists, armories and armourers, brewers, butchers, chefs, comedians, confectioners, cooks, cutlers, deacons, glaziers, laundry workers, librarians and libraries, paupers and the poor, restauranteurs, schoolchildren, seminarians, stained glass workers, students, tanners, vine growers and vintners; of over 25 cities around the world; against fire and lumbago)

Anniversaries Today:

The Smithsonian Institution is chartered, 1846
Missouri becomes the 24th US state, 1821

Birthdays Today:

Angie Harmon, 1972
Antonio Banderas, 1960
Rosanna Arquette, 1959
Schim Schimmel, 1954
Ian Anderson, 1947
Betsey Johnson, 1942
Bobby Hatfield, 1940
Rocky Colavito, 1933
Jimmy Dean, 1928
Eddie Fisher, 1928
Rhonda Fleming, 1923
Leo Fender, 1909
George Crockett, 1909
Norma Shearer, 1902
Henri Nestle', 1890
Herbert Hoover, 1874

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Candid Camera"(TV), 1948

Today in History:

Nineveh is destroyed and Sinsharishkun, King of the Assyrian Empire is killed, BC 612
The Temple at Jerusalem is burned, 70
Ferdinand Magellan sets out with 5 ships to circumnavigate the globe, 1519
The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is laid, 1675
Word of the US Declaration of Independence reaches London, 1776
Mozart completes "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", 1787
First ascent of Finsteraarhorn, the highest summit of the Bernese Alps, 1829
Candid Camera makes its television debut after being on radio for a year as Candid Microphone, 1948
The Magellan space probe reaches Venus, 1990
The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK – 38.5*C (101.3*F) in Kent; it is the first time the UK has recorded a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, 2003
New Zealand's highest mountain, the south ridge of Aoraki/Mount Cook, is renamed Hillary Ridge after Sir Edmund Hillary, first to conquer Mt. Everest, 2011

Manners...

Six Sentence Story: In the Trunk

Feline Friday: Thank you!

Sad farewell.

Silly Sunday: Getting Collared

Awww Monday: Big 3-0

Well, that was sudden.

Wordless Wednesday: Before and After

Six Sentence Story: Step

Feline Friday: Payoff!

At the shelter yesterday.

Silly Sunday: Cooking up a fuss!

Awww Monday: After Work

Visiting

Wordless Wednesday: How do you know?

Six Sentence Story: Reservations

Feline Friday: We has met the enemy!

First Day of School

Silly Sunday: What's That Smell?

Awww Monday: Why, no...