messymimi's meanderings

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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's 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!

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The wonderful Annie of McGuffy's Reader has started the blog hop called Sparks as a way to put more positive energy into the world. Join her in combating the often negative influence of social media by adding your own Spark!

I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world! ~ McGuffy Ann Morris

My "Spark" for the day

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Today is:

Bramley Apple Week begins -- UK (celebrating these wonderfully delicious fruits, the best cooking apples in the world!)

Constitution Day -- Mexico

Constitution Day -- Mexico (trad.)

Feast Day of Jacob, Patriarch -- Catholic Christian

Hurling the Silver Ball -- St. Ives, Cornwall, England (keeping up the over 1,000 year old tradition of an early form of rugby, the person who returns the silver ball to the Mayor on the steps of St. Ives Guildhall at midday gets a silver coin; pennies are thrown to the children in the afternoon)

Just Say No to Powerpoint® Week begins -- please, use something else, like communicating with your audience! begun by Nancy Stern

Kashmir Day -- Pakistan

Liberation from the Alberoni Occupation -- San Marino (also St. Agatha's Day)

Longest War in History Ends -- The Third Punic War, between Rome and Carthage, was officially ended on this date with a peace treaty signed in 1985, which is 2,131 years after the war began

Love a Mensch Week begins -- because mensches are decent and responsible men and women, and we should appreciate how they enhance our lives; info from Robin Gorman Newman

Move Hollywood & Broadway to Lebanon, PA Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and Why would they want it?

National Chocolate Fondue Day

National Weatherperson's Day -- US (mostly, though some other countries now observe it as well; in honor of the first US meteorologist, John Jeffries)

Nones of February -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also

Fornacalia -- celebration in honor of bread and the ovens used to dry grain; held any day between now and the 17th, one of Rome's few movable feasts)

Runeberg's Birthday -- Finland (National Poet)

St. Agatha's Day (Patron of bell-founders, fire prevention, jewelers, martyrs, nurses, rape victims, single laywomen, torture victims, wet-nurses; Malta; San Marino; as well as over 50 cities around the world; against breast cancer, breast disease, earthquakes, eruptions of Mt. Etna, fire, natural disasters, sterility, volcanic eruptions)

Unity Day -- Burundi

World Nutella Day

Birthdays Today:

Jeremy Sumpter, 1989

Sara Evans, 1971

Bobby Brown, 1969

Michael Sheen, 1969

Laura Linney, 1964

Jennifer Jason Leigh, 1962

Christopher Guest, 1948

Barbara Hershey, 1948

David Alan Ladd, 1947

Charlotte Rampling, 1946

Roger Stauback, 1942

Jane Bryant Quinn, 1941

David Selby, 1941

H.R. Giger, 1940

Alex Harvey, 1935

Henry "Hank" Aaron, 1934

Andrew Greeley, 1928

Red Buttons, 1919

William Burroughs, 1914

John Carradine, 1906

Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr., 1900

Andre' Citroen, 1878

Belle Starr(Myra Maybelle Shirley), 1848

Dwight Lyman Moody, 1837

Ole Bull, 1810

Robert Peel, 1788

John Witherspoon, 1723

Sanjo, Emperor of Japan, 976

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Where On Earth Is Carmen San Diego"(TV), 1994

"Hagar The Horrible"(Comic strip), 1973

"Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour"(TV), 1967

"Peter Pan"(Disney cartoon film), 1953

"Otello"(Verdi Opera), 1887

Today in History:

Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy, 62

King Alfonso V orders Sicily's Jews to attend conversion sermons, 1428

A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society, 1597

The first US livestock branding law is passed, in Connecticut, 1644

Georgia becomes the first state to abolish both entail and primogenature, 1777

Sweden recognizes US independence, 1783

Hannah Lord Montague of New York creates the first detachable shirt collar, 1825

The "Oregon Spectator" is the first newspaper published on the American West Coast, 1846

An adding machine employing depressible keys is patented in New Paltz, NY, 1850

Two innovations which helped pave the way for motion pictures are pateneted, a hand turned stereoscope by Samuel Goodale of Cincinnati, and the Kinematoscope by Coleman Sellers of Philadelphia, 1861

Four inches of snow falls in San Francisco, 1887

The loop-the-loop centrifugal railroad (a/k/a the roller coaster) is patented by Ed Prescot, 1901

Greek military aviators, Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis performed the first naval air mission in history, with a Farman MF.7 hydroplane, 1913

Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists, 1919

Reader's Digest magazine is first published, 1922

The Royal Greenwich Observatory begins broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal, 1924

A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered, 1958

The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families, 1997

Danish special forces storm a ship captured by Somali pirates, freeing 25 crewmembers on board, 2010

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

And now, a Random Tuesday post, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.

One thing that makes me sad is when people i like online disappear. It's always their choice, of course, and real life takes precedence over virtual always. Sometimes it's difficult, though, the not knowing what happened or why.

Thus i was very happy to see a post from Rory Bore. She simply said she is going to be unveiling a new site, but that's plenty to get me excited as i have missed her. She had such fun ideas for Tuesday Coffee Chat, i hope she will do those again.

Ms. JAI has decided she is spending too much money on housecleaning and wants me to come only every other week. So many people who are on a fixed income are also unable to do the work involved in keeping up their own homes that we've worked out a more flexible pay scale and she can keep me going over there. Just call me softie.

Sweetie made a killer chili for the Super Bowl party, everyone liked it and had multiple servings. He will now be called upon to do this for every big get together, i am sure. As i told him, it's the price of fame.

At the party, we had the gift exchange we didn't get to at Christmas because everyone was too busy. It's one of those "spend no money, only bring stuff from around the house that you do not want" situations. Sweetie ended up with a book we will give to the friends of the library for their book sale (it's a romance novel, neither of us has any interest), and i got one of those hooks you put your bananas on so they don't get mushy. Funny enough, i've always kind of wanted one of those, but never was willing to part with the money to get one.

It is now official, i am in full "procrastinate on the taxes" mode. Brother-in-Law, The Mouth, is done (i do his on TurboTax). #2 Son and Daughter-in-Law Becky are done, they just do TurboTax themselves. #1 Son has his ready to go to the CPA, and Bigger Girl is close. Little Girl will bring me her papers the next time she comes.

This year i am alone in my procrastinating, and that means the challenge is on. Whether i want to or not, i have to start working on it, some every day. And i will, starting tomorrow.

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Today is:

Aldus Day -- death anniversary of Aldus Manutius, inventor of italics

Bob Marley Day / Reggae Day -- Jamaica (birth anniversary)

Gamelia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (anniversary celebration of the marriage of Zeus and Hera; date approximate)

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation -- United Nations

Lame Duck Day -- US, on the anniversary of the passage of the 20th Amendment to the US Constitution; a day to recognize those whose tenure is running out

National Chopsticks Day

Oto Matsuri -- Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan (fire festival)

Pay-A-Compliment Day

Rubik-Cube Muddling Championships -- Fairy Calendar

Safer Internet Day -- organised originally by Insafe, now called Better Internet for Kids (promotes safe and responsible use of the internet by teaching children how to keep themselves safe online; this year's theme is "Create, Connect and share respect: a better internet starts with you!")

Sami National Day -- Finland, Norway, Russian, and Sweden

St. Dorothy of Caesarea's Day (Patron of brewers, brides, florists, gardeners, midwives, newlyweds; Pescia, Italy)

St. Peter Baptist's Day (Patron of Caceres, Philippines; Japan)

Waitangi Day -- Maori, New Zealand and Niue (treaty with Britain, 1840; also considered National Day)

Anniversaries Today:

Accession of Queen Elizabeth II, 1952 (upon the death of her father, George VI)

Massachusetts becomes the 6th US State, 1788

The College of William and Mary in Virginia is founded by royal charter, 1693

Birthdays Today:

Axl Rose, 1962

Barry Miller, 1958

Kathy Najimy, 1957

Robert Townsend, 1957

Natalie Cole, 1950

Bob Marley, 1945

Michael Tucker, 1944

Fabian, 1943

Gayle Hunnicutt, 1943

Gigi Perreau, 1941

Tom Brokaw, 1940

Mike Farrell, 1939

Francois Truffant, 1932

Rip Torn, 1931

Mamie Van Doren, 1931

Zsa Zsa Gabor, 1919

Mary Leakey, 1913

Ronald Reagan, 1911

Babe Ruth, 1895

Aaron Burr, 1756

Nicolaus II Bernoulli, 1695

Chongzhen, Emperor of China, 1611

Christopher Marlowe, 1564

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Masque of Kings"(Play), 1936

"Rhenisch"(Schumann's 3rd Symphony), 1851

Today in History:

The United States signs its first treaty, in which France recognizes the US and promises aid, 1778

New Jersey issues the first US railroad charter to John Stevens, 1815

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore, 1819

The first 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society started a settlement in present-day Liberia, 1820

Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony, 1840

Harper's Weekly publishes the first picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers, 1869

The international arbitration court at The Hague is created when the Netherlands' Senate ratifies an 1899 peace conference decree, 1900

The Young Women's Hebrew Association organizes in NYC, 1902

The "Monopoly" board game goes on sale for the first time, 1935

Turkey holds its first election in which women can vote, 1935

K Elizabeth Ohi becomes the first Japanese-US female lawyer, 1937

Elizabeth II becomes the first Queen regnant of the United Kingdom and several other realms since Queen Victoria, upon the death of her father, George VI, 1952

Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit, 1959

Justice Mary Gaudron is appointed to the High Court of Australia, the first woman to be appointed, 1987

The Round Table Talks start in Poland, thus marking the beginning of overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe, 1989

Russia captures Grozny, Chechnya, forcing the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria government into exile, 2000

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake causes significant damage to villages along the coast of the Solomon Islands, 2013

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

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Words for Wednesday is a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts that encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy. This month, the prompts are being posted by River at Drifting Through Life.

1. exterior

2. madwoman

3. mountain lake

4. twitched

5. flicker

6. desk

and/or:

1. prediction

2. approach

3. bacteria

4. vaults

5. plane

6. white lilac

His eye TWITCHED in the FLICKER of the light from the television. He was bending over his DESK concentrating, or trying to concentrate, on working out the charts the boss wanted to see the next day.

He moved to turn the TV off, unable to take any longer the distracting tale of a MADWOMAN who had moved to a community by a MOUNTAIN LAKE. Her predilection for repainting the EXTERIOR of her house over and over, this time in a crazy shade called WHITE LILAC, had him unnerved.

While background noise from a radio or TV often proved to be helpful to him, this time he needed a different APPROACH. The BACTERIA counts had been off all week, and as he ran his hand mindlessly over the smooth PLANE of his desk it occurred to him to call one of the lab specialists and ask if the VAULTS where they were stored had had anything different done to them lately.

There was a dim memory of one of the older employees, now retired, telling him about a time a similar incident had happened before. Something about a new person, and what was it? A different cleaning routine, perhaps. He was not used to thinking of himself as a prophet, but he had a PREDICTION, or a presentiment, that he was onto a line of thinking that would solve this problem yet.

He had to, his job depended on it.

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Today is:

Asahikawa Winter Festival -- Asahikawa, Japan (through the 12th)

Carnaval de Ponce -- Ponce, Puerto Rico (through Mardi Gras)

Charles Dickens Day -- read a chapter or two of his work, in honor of his birth

Daniel Boone Escape Day -- he escaped from the Shawnee tribe which had captured him

Feast of Mulk (Dominion) -- Baha'i

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day -- because you have to do it at least once a year

Ice Fishing Derby at Hell Creek -- Fort Peck, MT, US (subject to cancellation if there is no ice, so Hell has to freeze over for them to have this tournament!)

Independence Day -- Grenada(1974)

Marriage Week -- UK (part of the Futureway Trust, and now observed around the world, celebrating the diversity and vibrancy of marriage as the heart of family life)

National Fettucini Alfredo Day

National Girls and Women in Sports Day -- US

National Hangover Awareness Day -- internet generated and shouldn't it be on Jan.1?

Send a Card to a Friend Day -- wonder which card company created this one

Saint Theodore Stratelates' Day (Patron of soldiers; Brindisi, Italy; for finding lost objects)

Wave All you Fingers at Your Neighbor Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; wave to your neighbors, let them know you like them

Birthdays Today:

Tina Majorino, 1985

Ashton Kutcher, 1978

Chris Rock, 1965

Garth Brooks, 1962

Eddie Izzard, 1962

James Spader, 1960

Miguel Ferrer, 1954

Hector Babenco, 1946

Pete Postlethwaite, 1945

Gay Talese, 1932

Keefe Brasselle, 1923

Eddie Bracken, 1920

Oscar Brand, 1920

Larry "Buster" Crabbe, 1908

Sinclair Lewis, 1885

James Hubert “Eubie” Blake, 1883

Alfred Adler, 1870

Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, 1834

Charles Dickens, 1812

John Deere, 1804

Sir Thomas More, 1478

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"America's Most Wanted"(TV), 1988

"Blazing Saddles"(Film), 1974

"Pinocchio"(Disney animated Film), 1940

"The Cat and the Canary"(Play), 1922

"Kid Auto Races at Venice"(first Charlie Chaplin "Little Tramp" Film), 1914

"Chantecler"(Rostand Play), 1910

"The Deserter"(first ballet performed in US), 1827

"Il Matrimonio Segreto" (Comarosa Opera), 1792

Today in History:

The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir, 1238

Edward of Carnarvon,later Edward II, becomes the first English prince to hold the title Prince of Wales, 1301

The bonfire of the vanities occurs in which supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy, 1497

King Philip II forms an inquistion in South America, 1569

Academie Francaise begins a Dictionary of the French Language, 1639

An 8.2 magnitude earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri, 1812

The colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the Electoral Act of 1856, the first piece of legislation anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot, 1856

The Battle at Ingogo, Transvaal: the Boers defeat superior British forces, 1881

The Great Blizzard of 1891 begins, 1891

Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse, 1898

Baltimore catches fire; 1500 buildings are destroyed in 80 blocks, 1904

The Mud March, the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), 1907

Charlie Chaplin debuts "The Tramp" in "Kid Auto Races at Venice," 1914

The first wireless message sent from a moving train to a station is received, 1915

Bert Hinkler begins the first solo flight from England to Australia, 1928

Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered, 1979

Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), 1984

The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power, 1990

Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in, 1991

The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union, 1992

Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein, 1999

Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history, 2009

In Europe, ready-meal manufacturer, Findus, withdrew its beef lasagne meals from supermarkets after confirming beef supplied by French manufacturer, Comigel contained horsemeat, 2013

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

The question has been raised about the meaning of the sign i posted for Wordless Wednesday.

This year, there is a calendar collision, as i term it. Valentine's Day is also Ash Wednesday.

For those of us who observe the Lenten Fast, this can pose a problem -- you don't go out for a big meal and have lots of chocolate and candy when you are observing the fast.

If you want to pitch woo with your Valentine Sweetheart in that case, make your plans now and celebrate on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) instead.

Happy Mardi-Ash-Valentine's Day; enjoy life, be humble, show love.

Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Pitch.

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Gosia, of Looking for Identity, has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World. Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.

This fence always makes me smile when i pass it, they have some very cute critters that hang around:

They are eye catching, and always there.

A close-up. The pink flamingos are for Mardi Gras, the geese are year-round.

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While i will not be delivering flowers this year for Valentine's Day as a contract driver as i have in years past, my hints for how you can help your delivery driver still stand:

Valentine's Day hints

So, once again, from the point of view of the person who just might be delivering your flowers, a few hints for how to make my job easier and assure that you will get those flowers there.

1. Order early. Earlier than that. Yes, that early.

   Here's the thing. The florists order lots and lots of flowers, and some are going to be in better shape than others. The nicest ones get used first. By 3pm on Valentine's Day, they are using the ones they would have passed over earlier. Ordering ahead, and ordering for early delivery, gets you the nicest selection.

   Get them delivered the day before, to get extra points with your sweetheart. It means you didn't dawdle, you have flowers today, dinner out and a gift tomorrow, you made a big thing of it. It also means you get the nicest flowers, as noted above. And, if we can't find your location or have trouble, we have time for a redelivery.

   Think about it. You have flowers or candy or cupcakes or whatever delivered a day before. You come home with a card. Then, on the big day, you still go out for dinner and all the trimmings. You have just let this person know you are not simply waiting for someone to slap you upside the head and tell you to get with it, the big day is tomorrow. You are plotting and planning and putting thought into a buildup. It goes a long way, baby.

2. Mark your home well! This is for your benefit as well as ours. After all, if we can't find you, what makes you think the EMTs can find you in the middle of the night?

3. Delivery drivers know the town in general, but not every single side street, business, nook and cranny. Give us your whole, complete address. This means include:

   Avenue, Street, Boulevard, Drive, Circle, Lane, or whatever is in the actual title of your street.

   Your apartment complex name and apartment number
   or the nursing home name and room number
   or the business name and office number/division of the business where your sweetheart works.

   You know where it is, but we don't, and it's no fun having to guess.

4. If you live in a gated community, please tell us, and give us a way to get in. It's frustrating not to be able to get to your home because we need a code. Give us a gate code, or at least a phone number, and i'll talk more about that later.

5. The same goes for if you are having flowers delivered to a limited access work place. Make sure we can get in there to it. More than once i've had to wait until someone was leaving the building to beg to be brought in, and had to register, and all of that. Again, a phone number helps.

6. If you and your sweetheart are both at work all day, give us permission, when you place the order, to leave the flowers in a safe place by your back door, under a patio, or with a neighbor.

7. Tell us what time your sweetheart gets off work, if you really want us to go there. It's frustrating to get there a half hour after s/he got off for the day.

8. About phone numbers: tell your sweetheart to answer the phone! Yes, you usually don't answer if you don't recognize the number. Tell him/her to answer anyway, on this day, because there is a surprise coming. Give us your number as well, and answer it. If we can get in touch with you, or your sweetheart, we can work out most delivery complications easily.

9. High school students, please do not ask us to deliver to the school. The people in the carpool lane get very upset with us, as they think we are cutting in line, and your sweetheart doesn't need the aggravation of trying to bring a bouquet home on the bus.

10. Remember your driver is paid only for completed deliveries. Time is of the essence for us, we want to successfully deliver as many items as we can, for the joy it brings you and the money it brings us. There's no shame in earning some extra cash by doing this service, so help us serve you better by following the tips above!

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Today is:

Boy Scout Day -- celebrates the birthday of Scouting in the US

Calgary Boat and Sportsmen's Show -- Calgary, AB, Canada (through Sunday)

Cowtown's Last Old West Gunfight -- White Elephant Saloon, Fort Worth, TX, US (annual reenactment of the last gunfight in what was then Cowtown, between White Elephant Saloon owner Luke Short and former marshal T.I. “Longhaired Jim” Courtright on this date in 1887)

Death of Kelp-Koli -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of the Incappucciati -- Gradoli, Italy (members of the Confraternity of Purgatory make the rounds of the town gathering food for the souls in Purgatory, which is served at a banquet next week on Ash Wednesday)

Fettiger Donnerstag -- Swabia, Germany ("greasy Thursday", so called because of the greasy Kuchli cakes and pastries made today to use during carnival before the Lent fast)

Gold Rush Days -- Wickenburg, AZ, US (celebrating the Old West; through Sunday)

Hari Kuyo -- Sensouji Temple, Japan (Festival of Broken Needles, in which all of the worn or broken sewing needles from the previous year are put in a sacred resting place.)

Hold Onto Your Head Day -- invented by someone for people like me, because heaven knows i'm losing mine!

Laugh and Get Rich Day -- a day to recognize the power of laughter

Love May Make the World Go 'round, But Laughter Keeps US from Getting Dizzy Week -- anually, the week before and including Valentine's Day; dedicated to Victor Borge’s notion that “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people” and Joel Goodman’s notion that “Seven days without laughter makes one weak.”

National Molasses Bar Day

Nirvana Day -- Buddhist; Jain; Sikh

Preseren's Day -- Slovenia (Honors their national poet, France Preseren, often called Day of Slovenian Culture)

Rebel Day -- birth anniversary of James Dean

St. Jerome Emilani's Day (Patron of orphans; Taos Indian Pueblo)

Tako-ichi -- Kita-ku, Tokyo, Japan (kite fair dating back to the Edo period)

Weiberfastnach -- Cologne, Germany (Women's Carnival, the day the women run the pre-Lent celebration)

Anniversary Today:

Founding of Universiteit Leiden, with the motto Praesidium Libertatis, 1575

Birthdays Today:

Josh Keaton, 1979

David "Phoenix" Farrell, 1977

Seth Green, 1974

Alonzo Mourning, 1970

Gary Coleman, 1968

Claudette Pace, 1968

Vince Neil, 1961

John Grisham, 1955

Mary Steenburgen, 1953

Brooke Adams, 1949

Robert Klein, 1942

Nick Nolte, 1941

Ted Koppel, 1940

John Williams, 1932

James Dean, 1931

Jack Lemmon, 1925

Audrey Meadows, 1924

Freddie Blassie, 1921

Lana Turner, 1921

Elizabeth Bishop, 1911

Lyle Talbot, 1902

William Tecumseh Sherman, 1820

Jules Verne, 1828

Samuel Butler, 1612

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Good Times"(TV), 1974

"RCA Victor Show Starring Dennis Day"(TV), 1952

"Danses Concertantes"(Stravinsky Ballet), 1942

"Two for the Show"(Musical), 1940

"The Plough and the Stars"(Play), 1926

The Stars and Stripes(US Armed Forces Newspaper), 1918

The Birth of a Nation(Film), 1915

"Boris Godunov"(Mussorgsky Opera), 1874

"Flora; or the Hob in the Well"(Cibber's Opera, first opera performed in the Colonies), 1735

Today in History:

Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, 1587

Isaac Newton reads his first optics paper before the Royal Society in London, 1672

French and Indian troops set Schenectady, NY, afire, 1690

A doctor in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony suggests that two girls in the family of the village minister may be suffering from bewitchment, leading to the Salem witch trials, 1692

The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia, 1726

The first opera in the US, "Flora," opens in South Carolina, 1735

A minor earthquake shakes London, 1750

The strange phenomenon called the "Devil's Footprints" mysteriously appear in Devon, England, 1855

Martin Robinson Delany becomes the first black major in the US Army, 1865

The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce, 1910

D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles, 1915

The Stars and Stripes newspaper is published for the first time, 1918

Swiss men vote against women's suffrage, 1920

Radio arrives at the White House, 1922

Allende meteorite falls near Pueblito de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico, 1969

The NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time, 1971

After 84 days in space, the crew of the first American space station Skylab returns to Earth, 1974

The Melbourne dust storm hits Australia's second largest city. The result of the worst drought on record and a day of severe weather conditions, a 320 metres (1,050 ft) deep dust cloud envelops the city, turning day to night, 1983

The massive Internet collaboration "24 Hours in Cyberspace" takes place, 1996

A freak storm in the Hindukush mountains of Afghanistan triggers a series of at least 36 avalanches, 2010

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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

He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.

Dansig has a favorite napping spot in his bed on the chair at the table. When i am sitting at the table, i can often hear him purring, or softly snoring.

Dansig wants you to know he does not snore, he just breathes hard.

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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by McGuffy Ann Morris of McGuffy's Reader. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!

My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:

Week 92: February 9, 2018

1. The Winter Olympics .

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is .

3. Recently, I had an odd experience when .

4. I believe that love .

1. The Winter Olympics can be a lot of fun. If i'm near a TV at some point, i might catch a bit of the show.

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is Walt Disney's Cinderella (movie) and Robin McKinley's Beauty (book). (When i was in college, Cinderella was re-released to theaters, and i stood in line, in the rain, for over an hour, to get in. Twice.)

3. Recently, i had an odd experience when i walked into a dark room and thought i saw another person. It turned out to be just a hat on top of a stack of objects positioned in such a way that it looked like a person from that angle.

4. I believe that love, in its most pure definition, is putting the good and the needs of the other ahead of the good and the needs of the self.

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Today is:

Downers Grove Ice Sculpting Festival -- Downers Grove, IL, US (this year's theme is "Once Upon a Time"; through Sunday)

Feast of Apollo -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Narvik Sun Pageant (Vinterfestuka) -- Norway (annual festival held since ancient times to honor the sun goddess)

National Bagels and Lox Day

National DAV (Develop Alternative Vices) Day -- internet generated, in hopes that bad habits will be altered to positive coping mechanisms

National Read in the Bathtub Day -- yes, the day has its own Facebook page, but please do not try this with a digital book

Otaru Yuki Akari no Michi -- Otaru, Japan (Snow Light Path Festival; through the 18th)

Pizza Pie Day

Remembrance for Eyvind Kinnrifi -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan (martyr)

St. Apollonia's Day (Patron of dentists; Achterbos, Belgium; Ariccia, Italy; Cuccaro Monferrato, Italy; against toothaches, tooth disease)

St. Maroun's Day -- Lebanon (Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch, an Eastern Catholic Church)

Tales of Kelp-Koli begin -- Fairy Calendar (through the 16th)

Toothache Day -- and someone thought this needed a day because...? Okay, I guess because there is a patron saint for it. Or against it. However that works.

Weather Day -- US (Weather Service Founding)

Yuma Square and Round Dance Festival -- Yuma, AZ, US (for square and round dance enthusiasts; through Sunday)

Birthdays Today:

David Gallagher, 1985

Ziyi Zhang, 1979

Mena Suvari, 1979

Shakira, 1977

Travis Tritt, 1963

Charles Shaughnessy, 1955

Judith Light, 1949

Mia Farrow, 1945

Alice Walker, 1944

Joe Pesci, 1943

Carole King, 1942

Janet Suzman, 1939

Roger Mudd, 1928

Brendan Behan, 1923

Kathryn Grayson, 1922

Bill Veeck, 1914

Gypsy Rose Lee, 1914

Ernest Tubb, 1914

Carmen Miranda, 1909

David Dean Rusk, 1909

Ronald Colman, 1891

Amy Lowell, 1874

William Henry Harrison, 1773

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Falstaff"(Verdi Opera), 1893

"Venice Preserv'd"(Otway Play), 1682

Today in History:

The Synod of Breslau orders Jews of Silesia to wear special caps, 1267

The first recorded race meet in England in Roodee Fields, Chester, 1540

The British ex-premier Walpole becomes the Earl of Oxford, 1742

After no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams President of the United States, 1825

– The U.S. Weather Bureau is established, 1870

The first Japanese immigrants arrive in Hawaii, 1885

The Davis Cup competition is established, 1900

The first forestry school is incorporated at Kent, Ohio, 1909

Snow falls on Mauna Loa, Hawaii, 1922

Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty, 1922

Year-round Daylight saving time is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources, 1942

Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1960

Jamaica becomes an independent nation within the Commonwealth of Nations, 1962

The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a "record-busting" audience of 73 million viewers, 1964

First test flight of the Boeing 747, 1969

Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, 1971

Space Shuttle astronauts Bernard A. Harris, Jr. and Michael Foale become the first African American and first Briton, respectively, to perform spacewalks, 1995

A storehouse of thirty Egyptian mummies is unearthed inside a 2,600-year-old tomb, 2009

The U.S. Department of Defense produces new guidelines that remove restrictions on the use of women in combat, 2012

Scientists from Australian National University observe the oldest star in the universe for the first time. The star, located 6,000 light years from Earth, serves as a fingerprint of the first stars in the universe; it is believed to be 13.7 billion years old, 2013

The International Energy Agency estimates that oil prices will remain relatively low for the next five years, 2015

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

This week, i am thankful for the gift of laughter. There have been several things others have said, or conversations i've had, or incidents that happened that have had me grinning or laughing this past week, and i'm grateful.

At last Friday's rEcess, one little girl asked me for some salad. Since she has no allergies and her parents allow us to give her snacks, i gave her some. While she did eat the salad, it turned out what she really wanted was the croutons. She went back twice and put as many in her bowl as she could, with some salad on top. Her mother later told us that her favorite gift in her Christmas stocking each year is garlic croutons!

One of our missionary friends showed up at Bible study. Since the last i heard he was in Kenya, it was rather sudden. He said, "Well, I was on my way to Peru and thought I would pop in!" After laughing, i told him i was impressed to have a globe-trotting friend.

As we set up food for a light breakfast after the early church service last Sunday, one of the ladies asked Derek, a sexton, if he wanted something. When he replied that he did not, she said, "Derek, you are the only employee in this place who is not a mooch!" (Anyone who remembers the photo of the donut box with the sign "Don't even think about it" will especially understand.)

Dr. D was telling me how much her hips hurt when i went over to her house this week, and that she needed to get to Texas to her doctor for the treatment he gives her that makes her feel so much better. We noticed a spider in her house, and she suddenly laughed and said, "I am so glad I'm not a spider, imagine having eight sore limbs!" (The next day she left for Texas, and is back now, feeling better.)

Sweetie and i were driving down the road and he began talking about being out of one of his supplements and needing to go to the store. When i asked which one, he said, "It's the one for my memory, you know, what is that stuff called?" and i said, if you can't remember, it's not working!

Upon noting to a fellow Bible study member that it was a good morning, he said, "It's still early!" At that i said that you could always find something for which to be grateful, and he said, "I don't know about finding something to be glad about, I'm just glad when nothing goes wrong!"

Someone pointed out a very sure of himself person to me, and said, "He hasn't gotten the point of education yet." What, i asked, is the point of education? He said "Education is the process by which you move from a position of cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty."

Sweetie noted a billboard as we were driving and said, "It has a number sign and says 'Good Vibes'. What does that mean?" Upon trying to explain the meaning of "hashtag" to him, he kept insisting, "It's a number sign!" As i tried again to explain that it has another meaning now, he said, "If it's that complicated, how will the people they want to advertise to with the billboard understand it?" Trust me, i told him, you may not get it, but the people who are supposed to get it will get it.

At the ladies' circle meeting, Ms. CM asked me if we had really enjoyed the salad at rEcess (the one that had been robbed of croutons). When i told her what happened, she said, "Well, if you ever need a salad again, all you have to do is give me one day's notice. All I have to do is go by the store for the greens, I always have a lot of the dressing in my refrigerator. I make the dressing by the gallon because my daughter who lives next door sends my granddaughter over with the quart jar every few days and says 'we need a fill-up, Grandma!'" (It's her famous Sensation Salad, and it really is good, and i just might take her up on the offer in April.)

At the shelter, Sweetie kept asking me what to do next as we worked, and then telling me, step by step, exactly what he had done and what he would do next. After one such explanation, as he left the room, i turned to a co-worker and said, he really does want to help. We both had to suppress our laughter, bless his heart.

These moments over the past week have reminded me that laughter is very good medicine.

No matter what's going on, i am sure you can find something for which to be thankful, and maybe even to laugh about. Why not make a list (it doesn't have to be ten, we won't fuss) and link up with our wonderful hostess, Josie Two-Shoes, at Ten Things of Thankful. (And if you question whether gratitude can change your life, i recommend The Gratitude Diaries, it will convince you.)

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Today is:

Arizona Renaissance Festival -- Apache Junction, AZ, US (the official sister event to the Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest, England; Saturdays, Sundays, and President's Day through Apr. 1)

Carnaval de Barranquilla -- Barranquilla, Spain (four days of pre-Lent celebration and street dances that mostly shut down the city)

Deep Blue Day -- the IBM computer defeats chess champion Gary Kasparov, the first such victory for a computer, in 1996

Farm Toy Show and Auction -- Sauk Centre, MN, US (come watch the kids have fun with farm toys, and be one yourself again!)

Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck -- Malta

Gold Record Day -- Glenn Miller is awarded the first ever Gold Record, for "Chattanoga Choo Choo", 1942

National Cream Cheese Brownie Day

National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe -- Italy, especially in Trieste

Orchid Festival/Tropical Extravaganza -- Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, London (through March 11)

Plimsoll Day -- honoring Samuel Plimsoll, the "Sailor’s Friend," who persuaded Parliament to have a maximum load limit on ships.

Royal Hobart Regatta -- Queens Domain Hobart and Derwent River, Tasmania, Australia (Australia's largest aquatic event, includes an Australian Wooden Boat Festival; through Monday)

Scout Sabbath -- BSA (Boy Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms to synagogue and represent scouting to their congregations)

St. Scholastica's Day (Patron of children in convulsions, nuns; LeMans, France; against rain, storms)

Try to Invent a New Jell-O Flavor Day -- it can't hurt to try

Umbrella Day

Anniversaries Today:

Poland is symbolically married to the Baltic Sea by Jozef Haller de Hallenburg, celebrating the restitution of Polish access to the water, 1920

Tom Thumb marries Mercy Lavinia Warren, 1863

Queen Victoria marries her cousin Albert von Saxe-Coburg, 1840

Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War (a/k/a French and Indian War), 1763

Academie Francaise forms in Paris (by Cardinal Richelieu), 1635

Birthdays Today:

Lance Berkman, 1976

Laura Dern, 1967

Glen Beck, 1964

Lenny Dykstra, 1963

Cliff Burton, 1962

George Stephanopoulos, 1961

Greg Norman, 1955

Jim Cramer, 1955

Mark Spitz, 1950

Donovan, 1946

Frances Moore Lappe, 1944

Roberta Flack, 1939

Robert Wagner, 1930

Leontyne Price, 1927

Lon Chaney, Jr., 1906

Bertolt Brecht, 1898

Frances Margaret "Dame Judith" Anderson, 1898

Jimmy Durante, 1893

William "Bill" Tilden, 1893

Boris Pasternak, 1890

Samuel Plimsoll, 1824

Charles Lamb, 1775

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"My Friend Flicka"(TV), 1956

"Death of a Salesman"(Play), 1949

"Puss Gets the Boot"(Cartoon, first Tom and Jerry short), 1940

"Icebound"(Pulitzer-winning Davis' Play), 1923

"All the News That's Fit to Print"(Slogan of the New York Times), 1897

"Les Contes d'Hoffman"(Offenbach Opera), 1881

"The Lily of Killarney"(Opera), 1862

Today in History:

St. Paul is shipwrecked on the island of Malta, 60

Crusaders defeat Prince Redwan of Aleppo at Antioch, 1098

The St. Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days, 1355

Wampanoag Indians under King Philip kill all the men in Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1676

Edmund Halley is appointed the second Astronomer Royal of England, 1720

The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War, surrendering Canada to England, 1763

Simon Bolivar is named dictator by the Congress of Peru, 1824

The first US fire extinguisher patent granted to Alanson Crane of Virginia, 1863

The YWCA is founded in NYC, 1870

Nathaniel Carr Goodwin becomes the first actor to perform in two different cities on the same day, in Boston for a matinee, and then in NYC for and evening performance, 1887

Nearly 11,000,000 acres of land, ceded to the US government by the Sioux Indians, is opened for settlement, 1890

The New York Times begins using the slogan, "All the news that's fit to print," 1897

Japan and Russia declare war after Japan's surprise attack on Russian fleet at Port Arthur disabled 7 Russian warships, 1904

Britain's first modern and largest battleship "HMS Dreadnought" is launched, 1906

Baseball outlaws all pitches that involve tampering with the ball, 1920

New Delhi becomes the capital of India, 1931

The first singing telegram is delivered, by the Postal Telegram Company of NYC, 1933

Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, 1962

Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party, 1989

The IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov for the first time, 1996

The communication satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 collide in orbit, destroying both, 2009

As part of a political transition, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and representatives from the country's main political parties agree to transform Yemen into a six-region federation, 2014

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus no longer hosts Silly Sunday does not mean i am going to quit telling Cajun jokes.

In years past, i remember my children asking Sweetie questions as if he held the answers to everything. He would answer whether he knew the correct answer or not, which probably led them to the conclusion.

This story reminded me of that time.

Tee Boudreaux an' his Père, Boudreaux, be out on de bayou when dey done hear de Canada geese honkin' up a storm. Dem geese fly over, an' Tee an' Boudreaux watch, den Tee say, "Père, I done learn in school why de geese fly in de shape like a V, but I don't learn why dey sometime have dem a longer side an' a shorter side on de V. Do you know why?"

An' Boudreaux he t'ink 'bout dat for a minute, an' he say, "Mais, one side be longer 'cause dey gots more birds on dat side!"

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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files. It is now hosted by River at Drifting Through Life.

This past week, i've tried to stop and notice some of the non-plant items people use to decorate their gardens.

A planter with solar powered lights all over it instead of plants.

That same planter at night.

The butterfly tells me this person is not as cranky as the sign might otherwise indicate.

To me, old wheelbarrows make some of the loveliest planters.

This one looks like someone enjoyed splattering paint.

One gorgeous hunk of driftwood.

St. Francis is rather lugubrious looking here.

A garden guardian angel.

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Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Liberia

Be Electrific Day -- Edison's birth anniversary

Carnival of Binche -- Binche, Belgium (famous carnival dating back to the 16th century, which includes a giants parade, childrens parade, fireworks, orange tossing, and more; through Shrove Tuesday)

Church Action on Poverty Sunday -- UK (Visions of the Good Society)

Daytona 500 Pole Day -- Daytona International Speed-way, Daytona Beach, FL, US (qualifying, and earing the right to lead the pack)

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day -- no history on the origin, but remember we all mess up once in a while, don't take small mess ups too seriously

Evelio Javier Memorial Day -- Panay Island, Philippines

Fasching Sunday -- Germany and Austria, and among German speaking peoples; the Party before Lent kicks up now

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes/World Day of the Sick -- Roman Catholic Church (anniversary of the first appearance of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette)

Grandmother Achievement Day -- internet generated; call your grandmother, or someone's grandmother you admire, and tell her what she is doing right

Hall Sunday -- meaning Hallowed Sunday, the Sunday before Lent, which has many traditions associated with it

Independence Day -- Vatican City (Holy See) (a/k/a Lateranensi Pact Day, for the pact that established it as an independent state)

International Flirting Week -- always the Sun-Sat that encompases Valentine's Day; if you are married, flirt with your mate, it's fun!

Kenkoku Kenen-no-hi -- Japan (also called National Foundation Day or Empire Day)

Man Day -- always the Sunday before Valentine's Day, sponsored by C. Daniel Rhodes

Meatfare Sunday -- Orthodox Christian (final day on which meat may be consumed before the Lenten fast); related event:

Maslenitsa -- Russia (between Meatfare Sunday and Cheesefare Sunday is Butter Week or Pancake Week, when you stuff yourself before the Orthodox Church Great Lent)

Meringue Memorial Day -- don't know who came up with it, but it's the day to see if you remember how to make meringue

National Inventors' Day -- US (Edison's birth anniversary)

National Peppermint Patty Day

National Shut-In Visitation Day -- some sites have it here, some in October; either way, go visit someone who can't get out of the house today, or make plans to see them this week

Nelson Mandela Day -- South Africa (celebrates his release from prison)

Ocean County Bluegrass Festival -- Albert Music Hall, Waretown, NJ, US (a family-oriented bluegrass festival, at the best venue for bluegrass and old time country music anywhere)

Pro Sports Wives Day -- the annual recognition of those who truly are sports widows, wives of professional athletes, coaches, and support personnel

Random Acts of Kindness Week -- always Valentine's Week

Satisfied Staying Single Day -- for those who aren't desperate to have someone by the 14th; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

St. Caedmon's Day (Oldest English poet known by name.)

Transfiguration Sunday -- Christian

White Shirt Day -- a recognition of the dignity of the working class

World Marriage Day -- sponsored by Worldwide Marriage Encounter

Youth Day -- Cameroon

Anniversaries Today:

Napoleon weds Marie-Louise of Austria, 1810

The founding of London University, 1826

Birthdays Today:

Taylor Lautner, 1992

Natalie Dormer, 1982

Kelly Rowland, 1981

Matt Lawrence, 1980

Brandy, 1979

Mike Shinoda, 1977

Jennifer Aniston, 1969

Sarah Palin, 1964

Sheryl Crow, 1963

Carey Lowell, 1961

Sergio Mendes, 1941

Bobby "Boris" Pickett, 1938

Burt Reynolds, 1936

Tina Louise, 1934

Leslie Nielsen, 1926

Paul Bocuse, 1926

Eva Gabor, 1921

Sidney Sheldon, 1917

Max Baer, 1909

Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1909

Philip Dunne, 1908

Thomas Alva Edison, 1847

Lydia Marie Child, 1802

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The French Chef"(TV, with Julia Child), 1963

"Dynamo"(O'Neill play), 1929

"Salome"(Wilde Play), 1896

"La Fille du Regiment"(Donizetti Opera Comique), 1840

Today in History:

Traditional date for the founding of the Japanese empire under Emperor Jimmu, BC660

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Emperorship, dies under mysterious circumstances in Rome, which clears the way for Nero to become Emperor, 55

Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England, 1531

The Pennsylvania Hospital opens, the first in the US, 1752

Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, petitions U.S. Congress for abolition of slavery, 1790

Anthracite coal is burned experimentally as fuel for heating a home for the first time, by Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1808

Robert Fulton files a patent for improvements to steamboat navigation, 1809

Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signs a redistricting bill that leads to the first use of the term "gerrymander," 1812

The first public toilet facilities for women opens in London, on Bedford Street, 1852

The Meiji constitution of Japan is adopted, 1889

Emma Goldman is arrested for lecturing on birth control, 1916

BBC Television produces the world's first ever science fiction television program, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Capek play R.U.R., which coined the term "robot", 1938

Glenn Miller is awarded the first ever gold disc for selling one million copies of "Chattanooga Choo Choo," 1941

Eighty-seven countries, including the US, UK, and USSR, sign the Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons in international waters, 1971

The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, Shakespeare and Dickens, 1978

Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa, 1990

The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, 2011

Pope Benedict XVI announces that he will resign as of the end of February, 2013

The discovery of gravitational waves (through collision of two black holes) is announced by physicists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Ligo), 2016

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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's 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!

Lulu sits by the table, ever hopeful:

She never gives up.

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My "Spark" for the day

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Today is:

Abraham Lincoln's Birthday -- US (with a wreath laying ceremony at the rebuilt cabin near where he was born)

Borrowed Days (through the 14th) -- Scottish Highlands (Gaelic Faoilteach, days supposedly borrowed from January, and if the weather is bad, the rest of the year will be good.)

Clean out Your Computer Day -- always the second Monday of February

Darwin Day -- International (birth anniversary)

Day Holy to Diana -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Family Day -- BC, Canada

Go Green Week begins -- UK (helping people find greener alternatives)

Lost Penny Day -- in honor of pennies, the first US coin to commemorate a person; collect all those pennies you have hanging around and donate them to a good cause

Lundi Gras -- Fat Monday, Carnival, one of the last to days to feast before the Lenten fast begins Wednesday

Bolludagur -- Iceland (Bun Day, the children wake the parents with a "spanking" while calling for cream buns that will be eaten that day)

Old Mask Parade -- Oranjestad, Aruba (with the Burning of the Momo tomorrow, marking the end of Carnival)

Rosenmontag -- German-speaking Countries (Rose Monday, highlight of Karneval)

Oatmeal Monday -- Scotland (traditionally, at universities in Scotland, the day the students were allowed to go home and get more "meal", or oatmeal, and other supplies, as they had to provide their own food and fuel for the fires while in school)

Oglethorpe Day/Georgia Day -- Georgia, US (landing of General Oglethorpe at what is now Savannah in 1733)

Pick A New Love Song Day -- internet generated, and why? Only bother if your old one has worn thin.

Plum Pudding Day -- shouldn't this be at Christmas? Ah, well, i don't set them, i just report them.

Powamu Festival -- Pueblo/Hopi Native Americans (8 day sacred Bean Dance and purification ceremonies; date approximate)

Red Hand Day -- UN (Drawing attention to the plight of child soldiers.)

Royal Hobart Regatta Day -- Tasmania, Australia

Runic Half Month of Sigel (Sun) begins

Sacrifice to Dionysos -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

St. Julian the Hospitaler (Patron of boatmen, carnival/circus workers, childless people, clowns, ferrymen, fiddlers, hospitality, hotel keepers/innkeepers, jugglers, knights, pilgrims, repentant murderers, shepherds, travellers, wandering musicians; to obtain lodging while travelling; San Giljan, Malta)

Union Day -- Myanmar

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (through tomorrow)

Youth Day -- Venezuela

Anniversaries Today:

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded, 1909

Michigan State University is founded, 1855

Maria Therese Habsburg marries Emperor Francios I, 1736

Birthdays Today:

Jennifer Stone, 1993

Christina Ricci, 1980

Jesse Spencer, 1979

Naseem Hamed, 1974

Josh Brolin, 1968

Chyna Phillips, 1968

Arsenio Hall, 1955

Joanna Kerns, 1953

Michael McDonald, 1952

Simon MacCorkindale, 1952

Steve Hackett, 1950

Cliff De Young, 1947

Maud Adams, 1945

Ray Manzarek, 1939

Judy Blume, 1938

Joe Don Baker, 1936

Bill Russell, 1934

Arlen Specter, 1930

Joe Garagiola, 1926

Franco Zeffirelli, 1923

Dom DiMaggio, 1917

Lorne Greene, 1915

Ted Mack, 1904

Roy Harris, 1898

Omar Bradley, 1893

Anna Pavlova, 1881

John Llewellyn Lewis, 1880

John Graham Chambers, 1843

Charles Darwin, 1809

Abraham Lincoln, 1809

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 1775

Cotton Mather, 1663

John Winthrop the Younger, 1606

John Winthrop the Elder, 1588

Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shogun, 1218

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Child's Play"(Play), 1970

Dracula(Film), 1931

"Rhapsody In Blue", 1924

"Beggar on Horseback"(Play), 1924

"Fruen Fra Havet(The Lady from the Sea)"(Ibsen Play), 1889

Today in History:

Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his second voyage to India, 1502

Santiago, Chile, is founded by Pedro de Valdivia, 1541

A year after claiming the throne of England for nine days, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason, 1554

The Onderlinge van 1719 u.a., the oldest existing life insurance company in the Netherlands is founded, 1719

Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, and its first city at Savannah, 1733

The first US fugitive slave law, requiring the return of runaway slaves, is passed, 1793

The Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is destroyed by fire, 1816

The Creek Indian treaty is signed, requiring the tribes to turn over all of their land in Georgia to the government and migrate west by Sept. 1 the following year, 1825

Ecuador annexes the Galapagos Islands, 1832

Official proclamation sets April 15 as last day of grace for US silver coins to circulate in Canada, 1870

The US Congress abolishes bimetallism and authorizes $1 and $3 gold coins, 1873

King David Kalakaua of the Sandwich Islands/Hawaii becomes the first king to visit the US, 1874

The first news dispatch by telephone takes place, between Boston and Salem, Massachusetts, 1877

News of the Battle of Isandlwana, the single greatest defeat for the British Army at the hands of a native army, reaches London, 1879

The New York to Paris auto race, via Alaska and Siberia, begins; George Schuster wins after 88 days behind the wheel, 1908

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) forms, 1909

The last Ch'ing (Manchu) emperor of China, Hsuan T'ung, abdicates, 1912

A meteor creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union, 1947

U.S.S.R. launches Venera 1 towards Venus, 1961

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union, 1974

Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia, 1990

NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid, 2001

The city of San Francisco, California begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom, 2004

The 21st Winter Olympic Games open at Vancouver, Canada, 2010

North Korea allegedly conducts its third nuclear test, saying it was a nuclear device that could be weaponized, 2013

Intel entrepreneur and co-founder of the X-PRIZE Foundation, Peter Diamandis, claims that 50% of US jobs are under threat of being mechanized within 10 years, 2014

Pope Francis meets with Patriarch Kirill, the first meeting between Catholic and Russian Orthodox church heads for nearly 1,000 years, 2016

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Welcome to Random Tuesday, hosted by Stacy Uncorked.

Happy Mardi Gras! Around here, we’ve had parades and there has been a king cake at every meeting of any sort.

The pink flamingo has become the official bird of Carnival.

We have some big ones around here.

A trio of flamingos grace this home.

Someone woke up and found they’d been flocked!

Being “flocked” means you have to pay to get the flock removed, and you get to choose who gets flocked next. It’s done for fundraising.

If you like to keep your decorated tree up year ‘round, you can do it here with no trouble.

The Mardi Gras Tree at Ms. JAI’s house.

Purrseidon won The Versatile Blogger Award and The Mystery Blogger Award!

Congratulations to Purrseidon and the whole crew. As part of her award, she nominated others, including me. The problem is i have a very difficult time figuring out how to put awards (or anything else) on my blog, and i have difficulty nominating others who have not already received almost every award out there. So i said i would link to her post and at least try to do the seven facts about me that you might not know. Those will go nicely with Random Tuesday, after all.

When i was growing up in NOLA, i marched in Carnival parades twirling a baton, and a couple of times i rode the floats. It was fun.

My first job was cleaning and sterilizIng medical equipment in Grandpa’s office — no wonder i grew up to be a janitor!

Our family has had more pets than you can shake a stick at — dogs, cats, fish, mice, hamsters, gerbils, fish, snakes, turtles, and birds as well as the crazy squirrel.

Back in 1983, i started bottle-raising orphaned kittens for various rescue organizations. No, i don’t know exactly how many we have raised, but i figure it’s north of 300 over the years.

We still love getting a newspaper every day. It’s fun to do the puzzles, and Sweetie likes to sit at the table with his coffee and read and yell at the headlines.

We do not have regular TV. Sweetie has a TV connected to a DVD player and watches his DVDs, but no cable or regular channels. It’s amazing how much time you can gain if you get rid of TV.

As much as i love coffee, i can only have one cup of regular coffee per day. More caffeine than that and i will have a caffeine induced panic attack.

That’s about it for today, i hope you all have a wonderful Fat Tuesday!

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Today is:

Break-Up Day -- if you are over him/her, don't go through tomorrow pledging love falsely, get out today

Dream of Your Sweetheart Day -- a reminder that if you aren't ready for Valentine's Day tomorrow, you'd better get cracking

Employee Legal Awareness Day -- Australia

Extraterrestrial Culture Day -- New Mexico, US ("to celebrate and honor all past, present, and future extraterrestrial visitors in ways to enhance relationships among all citizens of the cosmos, known and unknown.")

Get a Different Name Day -- for those who hate their name; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Ides of February -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also

Parentalia begins -- through the 21st (honoring divi parentes -- the deified ancestors)

Lupercalia begins -- through the 15th (to rid the city of evil spirits)

Orgiastic festival of Juno Februa begins -- through tomorrow

International Pancake Day

I Value Your Friendship Day -- because you don't want to neglect your friends while we are remembering love this week

Madly in Love With Me Day -- because you have to love "me" before you can love "we"

Mardi Gras -- Fat Tuesday, Carnival, the last day to feast before the Lenten fast begins tomorrow, greeted with revelry in many parts of the world; related observances and names:

Scotland, Fasten's E'en or Bannocky Day

Portuguese, Terça-feira Gorda

Italian, Martedì Grasso

Swedish, Fettisdagen

Danish, Fastelavn

Norwegian, Fastelavens

Estonian, Vastlapäev

Spanish, Martes de Carnaval

German, Faschingsdienstag

Hawaiian, Malasada Day

Lithuanian, Uzgavenes

Icelandic, Sprengidagur (literally, Bursting Day)

also Pancake Day or Bursting Day, the day to eat the last of the eggs and butter in the form of some kind of fried cakes, and to eat until bursting

National Sports Day -- Qatar

National Tortellini Day

Shrove Tuesday -- Christian

St. Catherine dei Ricci's Day (Patron of the ill)

Ta-asobi -- Akatsuka Suwa Shrine, Itabashi-ku, Japan (ceremony to pray for a good harvest)

Trndez or Tearnandarach -- Armenian Christian Church (fire celebration, begins in the evening and goes through tomorrow; originally a pagan sun worship celebration, it is now a Candlemas celebration by the OS Calendar)

World Ag Expo -- Tulare, CA, US (largest farm and equipment show in North America; through Thursday)

Birthdays Today:

Mena Suvari, 1979

Robbie Williams, 1974

Kelly Hu, 1968

David Naughton, 1951

Peter Gabriel, 1950

Stockard Channing, 1944

Jerry Springer, 1944

Carol Lynley, 1942

Peter Tork, 1942

Bo Svenson, 1941

George Segal, 1934

Kim Novak, 1933

Chuck Yeager, 1923

Eileen Farrell, 1920

Tennessee Ernie Ford, 1919

Eddie Robinson, 1919

Grant Wood, 1892

Alvin York, 1887

Elizabeth "Bess" Virginia Wallace Truman, 1885

Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill, 1849

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, 1754

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, 1682

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Merlin"(Musical), 1983

"Prince Valiant"(Comic strip), 1937

Today in History:

Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, 1258

Jews are expelled from Burgsordf, Switzerland, 1349

The Disfida di Barletta (Challenge of Barletta); Frenchman Charles de la Motte accused Italians of cowardice, and thirteen Italians proceeded to rout 13 Frenchmen in a chivalrous horseback tourney, 1503

St. Augustine, Florida, is founded, becoming the oldest continuously occupied European established city, and the oldest port, in the continental United States, 1566

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for trial before the Inquisition for professing belief that the Earth revolves around the sun, 1633

Treaty of Lisbon: Spain recognizes Portugal, 1668

The Massacre of Glencoe: 78 members of the clan Macdonald are murdered for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange (William III), 1692

Cholera appears in London, 1832

Work begins on the covering of the Zenne, burying Brussels's primary river and creating the modern central boulevards, 1867

The feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is first published in Paris by the activist Hubertine Auclert, 1881

Painter Thomas Eakins resigns from Philadelphia Academy of Art after controversial over use of male nudes in a coed art class, 1886

Auguste and Louis Lumière patent the Cinematographe, a combination movie camera and projector, 1894

English suffragettes storm British Parliament and 60 women are arrested, 1907

The Negro National League is formed, 1920

A jury in Flemington, New Jersey finds Bruno Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, 1935

France tests its first atomic bomb, 1960

Black Sabbath, arguably the very first heavy metal album, is released, 1970

A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky, 1981

An agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to reunite Germany, 1990

The last original "Peanuts" comic strip appears in newspapers one day after Charles M. Schulz dies, 2000

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the universe's largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers named this star "Lucy" after The Beatles’ song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", 2004

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations, 2008

At 23:31:30 UTC the Unix system time (time_t) number reaches 1234567890 seconds, 2009

For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, were able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855, 2011

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

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This week’s words and story:

1. caldera

2. Merlin

3. unicorn

4. crossbow

5. thoughtless

6. stunning

and/or:

1. glinting

2. crop

3. valley

4. particular

5. deliberately

6. cave

He had no clue the VALLEY in which he played was really an ancient CALDERA, and it would have made no difference to him.

Not that he was a THOUGHTLESS boy, just that he was more interested in pretending to be MERLIN, the magician he loved to read about in the legends, or in using his toy CROSSBOW or in searching for the UNICORN he could almost convince himself was just around the corner. (He knew if he caught it, he could make a wish, so even though he knew it was just a story, he would keep a lookout anyway.)

He did not realize how STUNNING the view was where he lived as he was so used to it. The sun GLINTING off the crags, the CROP of wildflowers that bloomed every spring, they simply were in his mind. He did not DELIBERATELY take the small, hidden CAVE where he played for granted. It is just the PARTICULAR nature of all of us to be habituated to what we see each day.

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Today is:

Ash Wednesday -- Christian (beginning of the Lenten Fast)

Oskudagur -- Iceland (with the special tradition of hanging oskupokar [ash bags] on people, as girls try to hang bags of ash on men's clothing, and boys try to hang bags of stones on women's clothing; begins Langafasta, and during the fast, you may not even mention meat at all)

Bird Mating Season begins -- according to legend, in honor of St. Valentine

Blessing of the Salmon Nets -- Norham, Northumberland, England & North Shields, Northumbria, England (just before midnight, nets are blessed and right after midnight, the first nets of the season are thrown out; anything caught is presented to the officiating vicar)

Day Sacred to Juno Lupa -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Juno of the Wolf)

Feast of Vali -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan (archer god, an Asatru answer to the Valentine celebration, which is really a thinly disguised Lupercalia)

Ferris Wheel Day -- birth anniversary of G.W.G. Ferris, Jr.

Fjortende Februar -- Denmark (Danish lovers send each other snowdrop flowers.)

International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

League of Women Voter's Day -- US

Library Lovers Day -- for those whose favorite companion is a great book

Maha Shivaratri -- Hindu (festival in honor of Lord Shiva and his marraige to Goddess Parvati.)

National Call In Single Day -- what a lot of men who feel pressured to be romantic on this day wish they could do, i'm sure!

National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day

National Have-a-Heart Day -- to create awareness of the impact of our food choices on the environment, world hunger, animal welfare and human health—especially heart health

National Nest Box Week -- UK; US (begun in the UK, this is a week to build or put up a nest box in your yard to encourage our avian friends and give them safe places to raise their young)

National Organ Donor Day -- US, but no matter where you live, consider leaving instructions about this to your loved ones

Quirkyalone Day -- for those who prefer to be single and not dating just for the sake of dating, a day to value your individuality, whether you are partnered or not

Race Relations Day -- originally on Lincoln's birth anniversary, now on the day promoting love

Rafik Hairi Memorial Day -- Lebanon

Read to Your Child Day -- to start their love of learning early (and do it daily!)

Sts. Cyril & Methodius' Day (Patrons ecumenism, unity of Eastern and Western Churches; Bohemia; Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Europe; Moravia; the Slavic peoples)

Trifon Zarezan -- Bulgaria (Viticulturists' Day; since Thracian times, a day to celebrate Dionysus and wine)

Valentine's Day (St. Valentine of Rome, Patron of apiarists/beekeepers, betrothed couples, greeting card manufacturers, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, travellers, young people; Bussolengo, Italy; against epilepsy, fainting, plague)

Anniversaries Today:

Jerry Garcia weds Deborah Koons, 1994

US League of Women Voters formed, 1920

Arizona becomes the 48th US state, 1912

Oregon becomes the 33rd US state, 1859

Birthdays Today:

Drew Bledsoe, 1972

Jessica Yu, 1966

Zach Galligan, 1964

Enric Colantoni, 1963

Meg Tilly, 1960

Renee Fleming, 1959

Raymond Joseph Teller, 1948

Gregory Hines, 1946

Carl Bernstein, 1944

Michael Bloomberg, 1942

Andrew Prine, 1936

Florence Henderson, 1934

Vic Morrow, 1932

Hugh Downs, 1921

Mel Allen, 1913

Jimmy Hoffa, 1913

Jack Benny, 1894

George Washington Gale Ferris,Jr., 1859

Winfield Scott Hancock, 1824

Frederick Douglass, 1817

Mary Ann "Aunt Mary" Prout, 1801

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Cloud Nine"(Play), 1978

"The Maltese Falcon"(Publication date), 1930

"Sinbad"(Musical), 1918

"Importance of Being Earnest"(Play), 1895

Today in History:

The annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg make the first known mention of Lithuania, 1009

Approximately 2,000 Jews are burned to death by mobs or forcibly removed from the city of Strasbourg, 1349

Roman Catholic emperor Leopold I chases the Jews out of Vienna, 1670

The United States Flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte rendered a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones, 1778

James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii, 1779

John Jervis and Horatio Nelson lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar, 1797

The apple parer is patented by Moses Coats of Downington, Pennsylvania, 1803

US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall declares that any act of the US Congress that conflicts with the Constitution is void, 1803

The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio, 1835

In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken, 1849

Esther Hobart Morris is appointed the first female Justice of the Peace in the US, in South Pass City, Wyoming, 1870

A.G. Bell and Elisha Gray both apply for a patent for a telephone; Bell first by only 2 hours, and is ruled the rightful inventor, 1876

The first trainload of California grown fruit, oranges, leaves L.A. for the east,1889

Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections, 1899

The Soviet Union adopts the Gregorian calendar, 1918

The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago, Illinois, 1920

The Bank of England is nationalized, 1946

ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled, 1946

The Knesset (Israeli parliament) convenes for the first time, 1949

Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California, 1961

The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System are placed into orbit, 1989

Space probe Voyager 1 takes photograph of entire solar system , 1990

Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft becomes first vehicle to land on an asteroid (433 Eros), 2001

Love letters written between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning are published online by Wellesley College and Baylor University, 2012

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, now the world's largest solar energy plant, opens in the Mojave Desert; the $2.2 billion plant, owned by Google, NRG Energy, and BrightSource energy, spans five square miles and can provide power to 140,000 homes, 2014

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

"Are you actually going to put those cards in the mail?" her son asked incredulously.

"Yes, I am," she said, setting a stamp carefully in the corner of an envelope.

"You do know you can just send an ecard, and it's easier and it gets there just the same, only faster."

"Son, there is nothing in the world quite like getting an envelope in the mail, and knowing someone cared enough to take the time to send you a card, especially if there's a handwritten note inside."

He smirked a bit and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to just use smoke signals?"

She laughed and he quit smirking when she countered, "Are you sure you want dinner tonight?"

Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Smoke.

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The view of a front yard fence from the door instead of the street, where i usually see it:

Our snow this year has left everyone's grass looking like this.

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Today is:

American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting -- Austin, TX, US (a meeting of top scientists; who knows what these people will come up with next, because science is amazing! through the 19th)

Berlin International Film Festival -- Berlin, Germany (a premier international film festivall; through the 25th)

Candlemas -- on the Julian Calendar, and in the Orthodox Christian Churches

Decimal Day -- UK (anniversary of the 1971 currency conversion to the decimal system)

Flag Day -- Canada (Maple Leaf adopted this date 1965)

John Frum Day -- Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Kamakura Matsuri -- Yokote, Akita Prefecture, Japan (Snow Cave Festival; through tomorrow)

Kuromori Kabuki -- Kuromori, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan (traditional Kabuki, through the 17th)

Liberation Day -- Afghanistan

Lunar New Year's Eve

Seol-nal -- South Korea (Lunar New Year Holiday begins)

Spring Festival -- China; Taiwan (Chinese New Year's Eve, start of the festival)

Tet Eve -- Vietnam

Lupercalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (remembrance of the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus)

Miami International Boat Show -- Miami, FL, US (biggest boat show in the US, and the main event for product introductions; through Monday)

Mother's Day -- Israel (Shevat 30)

National Conference on Education -- Nashville, TN, US (three day conference sponsored by the American Assn. of School Administrators)

National Gum Drop Day

Nirvana Day -- Buddhist; Jain; Sikh (regional observances may vary)

Remember the Maine Day -- US (remembrance of the Spanish War)

Simplot Games -- Holt Arena, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, US (Indoor track and field for the top high school athletes from the US and Canada; through Saturday)

Singles Awareness Day -- although some celebrate on the 14th as an anti-Valentine's Day

Sretenje -- Serbia (National Day)

Stop and Smell Your Compost Pile Day -- snort away the winter blues and think about spring (but i think this one is just plain weird)

St. Sigfrid's Day (Patron of Sweden)

Susan B. Anthony Day -- US (birth anniversary)

Total Defense Day -- Singapore

Birthdays Today:

Amber Riley, 1986

Renee O'Connor, 1971

Jane Child, 1967

Chris Farley, 1964

Matt Groening, 1954

Melissa Manchester, 1951

Jane Seymour, 1951

Marisa Berenson, 1948

Susan Brownmiller, 1935

Adolfo, 1933

Claire Bloom, 1931

Harvey Korman, 1927

Kevin McCarthy, 1914

Irena Sendler,1910

Miep Gees, 1909

Cesar Romero, 1907

Harold Arlen, 1905

John Barrymore, 1882

Ernest Shackleton, 1874

Alfred North Whitehead, 1861

Elihu Root, 1824

Susan B. Anthony, 1820

Charles Lewis Tiffany, 1812

Cyrus McCormick, 1809

John Augustus Sutter, 1903

Henry Engelhard Steinway, 1797

Abraham Clark, 1726

Galileo Galilei, 1564

Pedro Mememdez de Aviles, 1519

Babur, 1483 (founder of Mughal dynasty in India)

Claudius Drusus Germanicus Caesar Nero, 37

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Come Back, Little Sheba"(Play), 1950

Cinderella(Disney cartoon film), 1950

"The Little Foxes"(Play), 1939

"An der schönen blauen Donau"(The Blue Danube)(Strauss Waltz), 1867

Today in History:

Philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death, BC399

Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia, 590

Ho-tse Shen-hui, Zen teacher, disputes the founder of Northern Ch'an line, 732

The city of St. Louis, Missouri, is founded by Pierre Laclade Ligue as a French trading post, 1764

The first US printed ballots are authorized, in Philadelphia, 1799

Sarah Roberts is barred from attending a white school in Boston, 1848

Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits its first patient, 1852

A fire in Rotterdam, Netherlands, damages the Museum Boymans, 1864

American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, 1879

Nine inches (23cm) of snow falls on New Orleans, Louisiana, 1898

The USS Maine sinks in Havana harbor, cause unknown-258 sailors die, 1898

The first Teddy Bear is introduced in America, made by Morris and Rose Michtom, 1903

Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls, 1949

The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty, 1950

Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska, 1954

A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner, 1965

The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day, 1971

The 1976 Constitution of Cuba is adopted by the national referendum, 1976

The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers, 1982

The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan, 1989

At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing an unannounced number of people, 1996

First draft of the complete Human Genome is published in Nature, 2001

YouTube, the Internet site on which videos may be shared and viewed by others, is launched in the United States, 2005

A near-Earth asteroid, 2012 DA14, comes within 17,200 miles of the Earth's surface, a record-close approach for an object estimated at 50 meters, or 160 ft in in diameter, 2013

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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

He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.

Some of the kittens at the shelter were feeling their oats this week:

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My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:

Week 93: February 16, 2018

1. My Chinese zodiac animal is .

2. My zodiac sign is .

3. Income tax season .

4. In hindsight, .

My Chinese zodiac animal is, from the chart on McGuffy's Reader, the rabbit. Sweetie's is the snake. Maybe that explains a few things, but i doubt it.

My zodiac sign is (pardon me while i check to make sure) the crab, Cancer. Sweetie is a Scorpio (thus my delight in the holiday on November 18 called "Married to a Scorpio Support Day"). No, i don't believe these signs explain much, either.

Income tax season (pardon me while i run screaming from the room [Sound of retreating footsteps. Door slam. Muffled scream. Door opening. Sound of approaching footsteps.] there, that's better) could probably be a lot worse, but i would rather not know how.

In hindsight, i should have started saving for retirement a lot earlier, and so should everyone else.

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Today is:

9-1-1 Day -- the first 911 call in North America was placed, demonstrating the new system, on this day in 1968

Akiyoshidai Yamayaki -- Akiyoshidai, Japan (dry grass on the mountain side is burned in this coming of spring ceremony; date subject to change)

Bonten Matsuri -- Miyoshi-jinja Shrine, Akita, Japan (two day festival to ask for good crops this year)

Do a Grouch a Favor Day -- internet generated attempt to get us to either get the grouches on our side, or make us cynical

Great Back Yard Bird Count begins -- a four day project for anyone from across North America; count birds for a few minutes a day today, or every day for the next four days, and report in, thus giving a real time idea of where the birds are now

Independence Day -- Lithuania (National Day/Restoration of Statehood)(1918)

Kyoto Protocol Day -- International (treaty on climate change; today is proposed as "Wear purple for Kyoto Day")

Losar/Loshar (Lunar New Year) -- Bhutan; Nepal; Tibet (this is Tibetan Year 2145, and it's dominant gender is male, dominant element is earth, and dominant animal is the dog)

Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year/Lhosar/Seol-Nal/Tet -- celebrations throughout Asia, some before and some after this "official" Western date, some for up to a month; Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist celebrations

Sonam Lhosar -- Nepal (Tamang New Year)

National Almond Day

National Date Festival -- Indio, CA, US (a most exotic county fair, the date comes from the land of the Arabian Nights and this festival celebrates all aspects of the theme; through the 25th)

Reenactment of the Battle of Olustee -- Olustee, FL, US (largest Civil War battle in Florida; through Sunday)

Respectable Tales of Kelp-Koli -- Fairy Calendar (5 minutes only)

St. Juliana of Cumae's Day (Patron of the ill)

St. Onesimus' Day (runaway slave of Philemon, converted by Paul, of whom the Letter to Philemon was written)

Tokamachi Yuki Matsuri -- Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, Japan (snow fest and kimono festival; through Sunday)

Wings Over the Platte Spring Migration Celebration -- Grand Island, NE, US (the world's largest concentration of sandhill cranes is celebrated through mid-April)

Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous -- Whitehorse, YT, Canada (mad trapper competition, flour packing, beard growing contest, old-time fiddle show, and more, with this year's theme being "The Magic and the Mystery"; through next Sunday)

Birthdays Today:

Christopher Eccleston, 1964

John McEnroe, 1959

Ice T, 1959

LeVar Burton, 1957

James Ingram, 1956

William Katt, 1951

Richard Ford, 1944

Barry Primus, 1938

Sonny Bono, 1935

Vera-Ellen, 1921

Patty Andrews, 1920

Jimmy Wakely, 1914

Hugh Beaumont, 1909

Richard McDonald, 1909

George Kennan, 1904

Edgar Bergan, 1903

Robert Joseph Flaherty, 1884

Johann Strauss, 1866

Nichiren, 1222

Emperor Yingzong of China, 1032

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What's My Line"(TV Game Show), 1950

"Le Voyageur Sans Baggage"(Anouilh Play), 1937

"The Marquise"(Coward Play), 1927

Chung Sai Yat Po(Publication; first Chinese daily newspaper in US), 1900

"Werther"(Massenet Opera), 1892

Ladies' Home Journal(Publication), 1883

"Orpheus"(Liszt Opera), 1854

"Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard"(First Publication), 1751

Today in History:

9th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 374

Pope Gregory the Great issues a decree saying that "God bless you" is the correct response to a sneeze, 600

English king Charles I accepts Triennial Act, requiring the king to assemble Parliament at least once every 3 years, 1641

The first known check (cheque) is written, for 400 English Pounds Sterling (currently on display at Westminster Abbey), 1659

Kentucky passes a law permitting women to attend school under certain conditions, 1838*

Weenen Massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus, 1838

American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica, 1840

The Battle of Sobraon ends the First Sikh War in India, 1846

Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established, 1852

The French Government passes a law to set the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz, in an attempt to standardize the pitch, 1859

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks forms, 1868

The "Ladies Home Journal" begins publishing, 1883

The first Chinese daily newspaper in the US, Chung Sai Yat Po, begins publication in San Francisco, 1900

The first US Esperanto Club organizes in Boston, 1905

The first synagogue in 425 years opens in Madrid, Spain, 1917

Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, 1923

The first patent is issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree, 1932

Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon, 1937

Canadians are granted Canadian citizenship after 80 years of being British subjects. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen, 1947

Britain abolishes the death penalty, 1956

Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1, 1959

In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service, 1968

The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois), 1978

The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem, 1987

The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia, 2005

The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army, 2006

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Ahhh, Saturday, when i don't have to be at work (on the every other Saturday that i do work) until 9am. If that's not a reason to be thankful, then newspaper is a reason to be thankful.

Newspaper? Yes. Our old-fashioned selves still get a newspaper. It makes me thankful on many counts.

It's one of the only things that is still delivered to your home (and will be redelivered if it ends up wet, scattered across the yard, or stolen, which happens at times). The milkman and the Charles' Chips man and the dry cleaner don't deliver any more, but the newspaper guy does.

The newspaper gives me exercise fetching it each morning.

It comes in a handy plastic bag that i save. Some plastic bags i take to the church nursery (they are great for putting a nasty diaper into so it doesn't stink up the whole room), some i use when walking the grand-dogs, and some i keep for my work. There's nothing like a small, disposable plastic bag for holding all kinds of icky stuff a janitor can run across.

The headlines make sure i know a bit of what is going on without overwhelming me with information the way the TV news does, as i only have to read further if i want to and can stop when i want.

Sweetie has a great time yelling at the headlines each morning over breakfast, which can be very entertaining.

Our newspaper is owned by a person who prints a Bible verse every day on the Op-Ed page.

The local columnists are entertaining, and i really like the restaurant critic.

The funnies!

There are puzzles and crosswords that i can use to challenge my brain when i get a chance to sit down.

Newspaper makes the best material for cleaning glass, mirrors and stainless steel. There is no substitute!

Tripod SissyCat has decided she doesn't like the regular litter, she wants shredded newspaper in her box, and it works just fine. Newspaper also comes in handy for putting on the floor any place you need to keep clean, or where something may get tracked in.

Old-fashioned perhaps, but i am very thankful for my daily paper.

Is there anything, even something old-fashioned, that makes you thankful that you would care to share? You can make up a list (it does not have to be ten, there's no penalty if it isn't) and post it at Ten Things of Thankful. The delightful Josie Two-Shoes is our hostess, and i am also very thankful for her.

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Today is:

Day of Cancelled Expectations -- according to William Least Heat-Moon in his autobiography, Blue Highways

Dita e Pavaresise -- Kosovo (Independence Day)(2008)

Feast of Shezmu -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (god of the winepress; date approximate)

February 17 Revolution Day -- Libya

La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros and Tucson Rodeo -- Tucson, AZ, US (celebrating the Old West heritage; through Feb. 25)

Galesburg Historical Society Chocolate Festival -- Galesburg, IL, US (home made and commercially made chocolates, all you can eat for the price of the low admission fee; through tomorrow)

Hachinohe Enburi Matsuri -- Hachinohe, Japan (festival with prayers for a good harvest; through Wednesday)

Hadaka Matsuri -- Inazawa Cho, Japan (thousands of loincloth-wearing men try to touch the closely guarded Shin-otoko [a man chosen, stripped naked, and shaved totally] as he is on his way to the shrine in the oldest "Naked Festival" in Japan, held every year since 767)

Last day of Celtic Tree Month Luis (Rowan)

Lemon Festival/Fete du Citron -- Menton, French Riviera (through Mar. 4)

My Way Day -- today, determine your identity all by yourself, apart from what other people say you should be; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

National Cafe Au Lait Day

National Indian Pudding Day

National PTA Founders Day -- US

Nice Carnival -- Nice, France (dating back to the 14th century, this celebration is one of France's best; through Mar. 3)

Practice Your Free Throws Day -- spread around the internet by someone who really loves basketball

Quirinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (a/k/a Feast of Fools)

Random Acts of Kindness Day -- US (unofficial, but a great idea)

Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri -- Saidai-ji, Okayama Prefecture, Japan (Spectacular and atmospheric Naked Festival, dating back to the 14th century, in which a Shinto man strips, is completely shaved, then runs through town while up to 10,000 loincloth-wearing [and sometimes drunk] men try to touch him while guard's throw cold water on them; they also battle for sacred wooden sticks [shingi] tossed into the air by priests.)

Snow Ice Cream Day -- internet generated; if you want to try it, and are sure your snow is reasonably clean, add sugar, milk, a touch of vanilla, and enjoy

St. Fortchern of Trim's Day (Patron of bell-founders)

Tanis Diena -- Ancient Latvain Calendar (To honor pigs)

Anniversaries Today:

League of United Latin American Citizens (Lulac) Founded, 1929

Miami University is chartered by the State of Ohio, 1809

Birthdays Today:

Vanessa Atler, 1982

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 1981

Paris Hilton, 1981

Jerry O'Connell, 1974

Bryan White, 1974

Billie Joe Armstrong, 1972

Denise Richards, 1972

Michael Forbes, 1967

Ronald "Bell Biv" DeVoe, 1967

Michael Jordan, 1963

Lou Diamond Phillips, 1962

Richard Karn, 1959

Rene Russo, 1954

Brenda Fricker, 1945

Jim Brown, 1936

Alan Bates, 1934

Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage), 1934

Lee Holby, 1926

Hal Holbrook, 1925

Arthur Kennedy, 1914

Clarence Lindon “Buster” Crabbe, 1908

Red Barber, 1908

Dorothy Canfield Fisher, 1879

William Cadbury, 1867

Samuel Sidney Mcclure, 1857

Friedrich A Krupp, 1854

A. Montgomery Ward, 1844

Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec, 1781

Thomas Malthus, 1766

Arcangelo Corelli, 1653

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Prairie Home Companion"(Radio), 1979

"BC"(Comic Strip), 1958

"Madame Butterfly"(Puccini Opera), 1904

"Un Ballo in maschera"(Verdi Opera), 1859

"Siroe, re di Persia"(Handel HWV 24), 1728

Today in History:

Miles Standish is appointed the first commander of the Plymouth colony, 1621

The first volume of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" is

published, 1776

The first ship passes through the Suez Canal, 1867

Women's suffragist Esther Morris is appointed the first female justice of the peace in the US, in South Pass City, Wyoming, 1870

Sardines are first canned, by Julius Wolff of Eastport, Maine, 1876

Madame Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan, 1904

The first minimum wage law in the US takes effect, in Oregon, 1913

Johnny Weissmuller sets the 100-yard freestyle record (52.4 seconds), 1924

The first telecast of a sporting event in Japan, a baseball game, 1931

The first issue of "Newsweek" magazine is published, 1933

Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution, 1959

Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model-T, 1972

Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match, 1996

Kosovo declares independence, 2008

In racing, Danica Patrick becomes the first woman at the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to win pole position, 2013

The discovery of a new mostly underwater continent Zealandia in the South Pacific is announced in research journal "GSA Today", 2017

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus is no longer hosting Silly Sunday, don't expect me to quit telling Cajun jokes.

We have a person at our Friday morning Bible study named Harry, and he is always cracking wise.

This past Friday, the topic of a particular person came up, and Harry noted that the man's father had been both the pastor of the church and owned the funeral home in a small town.

Ms. S piped up, "Well, he had them both coming and going, didn't he?"

As we all laughed, Joan said, "Ms. S, you've been sitting next to Harry too long and it has rubbed off!"

Dere had done been a death in de fam'ly, Boudreaux's great-aunt, an' so Boudreaux an' Clothile an' de two chil'ren be in de car followin' along in de procession.

Allus sudden, Alene ax Boudreaux, "Père, what would happen to us if you die?"

An' Tee tell his Soeur, "Mais, den we would be in de limousine instead o' our car!"

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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files. It is now hosted by River at Drifting Through Life.

Grandma is a fan of frogs (and the occasional pig):

Today is:

Buergbrennen -- Luxembourg (traditional burning of special bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent)

Celtic Tree Month Nuin (Ash) begins

Cheesefare Sunday/Forgiveness Sunday -- Orthodox Christian (final day upon which dairy products and eggs may be consumed before the Lenten fast; sometimes also called Forgiveness Sunday)

Clean Out Your Cubby Holes Day -- internet generated, but if you have any cubby holes, give them a look today, make sure nothing is in there you don't want to see

Cold Day in Hell -- snow fell in the Sahara today in 1979

Day of Spenta Armaiti -- Zoroastrian (goddess of earth and fertility, especially celebrated by women; originally on Esfand 5th, which corresponds to 24 February, but is now celebrated on the 18th for reasons i can't figure out)

Daytona 500 Race -- Daytona International Speed-way, Daytona Beach, FL, US

Festival of Women -- Persian (traditional, it has been kept even amont those who are no longer Zoroastrian)

Fly-By for Fairies and Elves -- Fairy Calendar

Goa Month begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (month of the goddess Goa, personified as the daughter of Old Man Winter; as last month greeted her father well, greet her kindly, too, for an easy weather month)

Konudagur -- Housewife's Day (just as the first day last month honored husbands, this month the wife is greeted with either coffee or flowers)

Independence Day -- Gambia(1965)

National Battery Day -- probably created by the battery manufacturers, but they won't claim it

National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day

Orthodox Sunday -- Orthodox Christian

Pluto Day/Solar System Day -- the planet/planetoid was discovered on this day in 1930, and then considered to "complete" the solar system

Rastraya Prajatantra Dibas -- Nepal (Democracy Day)

Rites of Tacita -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of silence, rites to keep people from speaking out in anger)

St. Bernadette of Lourdes' Day (in France; the remainder of the church celebrates her on 16 April)

St. Fra Angelico's Day (Patron of artists)

Tanigumi Odori -- Tanigumi-mura, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (dance festival)

Thumb Appreciation Day -- your first digit does more than just get mashed when you use a hammer and hit the space bar on your keyboard; take time to appreciate the complexity that is your thumb.

Anniversaries Today:

Tommy Lee marries Pamela Andersn, 1995

Ohio State University is chartered as the first US land-grant college, 1804

Birthdays Today:

Jillian Michaels, 1974

Molly Ringwald, 1968

Dr. Dre, 1965

Matt Dillon, 1964

Vanna White, 1957

John Travolta, 1954

Juice Newton, 1952

John Hughes, 1950

Cybill Shedherd, 1950

Andrea Dromm, 1941

Aldo Ceccato, 1934

Yoko Ono, 1933

Milos Forman, 1932

Toni Morrison, 1931

Gahan Wilson, 1930

George Kennedy, 1925

Helen Gurley Brown, 1922

Bill Cullen, 1920

Jack Palance, 1920

Hans Asperger, 1906

Enzo Ferrari, 1898

George "The Gipper" Gipp, 1895

Wendell Lewis Willkie, 1892

Boris Pasternak, 1890

Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883

Sholem Aleichem, 1859

Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1848

Ernst Mach, 1838

George Peabody, 1795

Count Alessandro Volta, 1745

Uesugi Kenshin, 1530 (Japanese samurai and warlord)

Mary I Tudor, 1516

Saint Jadwiga of Poland, 1374

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Roots: Next Generations"(TV Miniseries), 1979

"Any Wednesday"(Play), 1964

"The Telephone, or L'Amour à trois"(Comic Opera), 1947

"Trouw"(Publication, Dutch Resistance newspaper), 1943

"Simple Simon"(Musical), 1930

"Cities Service Concerts"(Radio), 1925

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(Publication date), 1885

The Pilgrim's Progress(Publication date), 1678

Today in History:

Origin of the Kali Yuga Epoch ("age of vice" or Dark Age) of the Hindu/Buddhist calendars, BC3102

Jerusalem is taken by Emperor Frederik II, 1229

Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia, begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim regions, 1332

Henry Tudor (Henry VIII) created Prince of Wales, 1503

Zeeland falls to Dutch rebels, 1574

John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" is published, 1678

Fort Saint Lewis, Texas, is founded by Frenchmen under LaSalle at Matagorda Bay, the basis for France's claim to Texas, 1685

Quakers conduct their first formal protest of slavery in Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1688

The premiere of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, "Samson" takes place in London, 1743

Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, 1797

The Detroit Boat Club (still in existence) forms, 1839

The first continuous filibuster in the US Senate begins, lasts until March 11, 1841

The first regular steamboat service to California begins, 1849

A direct telegraph link between Britain and New Zealand is established, 1876

Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is published, 1885

The Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for the first time in 50 years, 1896

Winston Churchill makes his first speech in the British House of Commons, 1901

H. Cecil Booth patents a dust removing suction cleaner, 1901

The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri Pequet delivers 6,500 letters to Naini (a distance of about 10K), 1911

The US and Canada begin formal diplomatic relations, with the appointment of Vincent Massey as the first Canadian ambassador to the US, 1927

The first Academy Awards are announced, 1929

While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto, 1930

The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California, 1954

The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" on top of a Boeing 747, 1977

Snow falls in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the only time in recorded history, 1979

Dan Jansen skates world record 1000m (1:12.43), 1994

Pope Benedict XVI announces seven new saints - including American saint Kateri Tekakwitha - and appoints 22 new cardinals, 2012

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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's 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!

Nobody naps like a kitten:

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My "Spark" for the day

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Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Mexico

Birthday of Minerva -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Birth Anniversary of Shivaji -- Maharashtra, India

Chaoflux -- Discordianism

Chief Leschi Day -- US, especially Washington State (Native American chief wrongly executed for murder on this date in 1958; fully exhonerated 2004)

Cracker Jacks Prize Day -- the first prizes were added to the boxes of carmel popcorn this date in 1913

Family Day -- AB, NB, ON, SK, Canada

Flag Day -- Turkmenistan

Fly-By for Goblins and others -- Fairy Calendar

Great Lent begins-- a/k/a Clean Monday, Ash Monday, Pure Monday, Monday of Lent, Shrove Monday, Collop Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday, and (in Cypress) Green Monday -- Orthodox Christian

Heritage Day -- NS, Canada (honouring Mona Louise Parsons)

Islander Holiday -- PEI, Canada

Louis Riel Day -- MB, Canada

National Chocolate Mint Day (because every day needs chocolate in some form)

Presidents' Day -- US and Territories

Scout - Guide Week -- Canada (Scouts Canada and Girl Guides of Canada plan and hold special activities; through the 25th)

Solar System Day -- birth anniversary of Copernicus

St. Conrad of Piacenza's Day -- (Patron against hernias)

Straw Wrapper Appreciation Day -- an internet spread holiday to remind you of how much fun it was as a kid to blow the wrappers off the straws

Temporary Insanity Day -- anniversary of the first time someone successfully pleaded temporary insanity in a court of law; Daniel Stickles, in 1859

Vassil Levski Day -- Bulgaria (Bulgaria's "Apostle of Freedome")

Anniversary Today:

Knights of Pythias founded, 1864

Birthdays Today:

Haylie Duff, 1985

Andrew Shue, 1967

Benicio Del Toro, 1967

Justine Bateman, 1966

Jonathan Lethem, 1964

Seal, 1963

Prince Andrew, Duke of York, 1960

Ray Winstone, 1957

Jeff Daniels, 1955

Margaux Hemingway, 1955

Amy Tan, 1952

Stephen Nichols, 1951

Lou Christie, 1943

Smokey Robinson, 1940

Lee Marvin, 1924

Merle Oberon, 1911 (some sources say Feb. 18)

Willam III, 1817 (last king of the Netherlands -- there have only been queens since)

David Garrick, 1717

Nicolas Copernicus, 1473

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Woman of Independent Means"(TV Miniseries), 1995

"Crazy For You"(Musical), 1992

"Eastenders"(TV), 1985

"Rumours"(Album release), 1977

The Feminine Mystique(Publication date), 1963

"Picnic"(Inge Play), 1953

"Alexander's Feast"(HWV 75), 1736

Today in History:

Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus' defeats beats Clodius Albinus at Lyon, 197

Emperor Constantius II shuts down all pagan temples, 356

The second Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstates veneration of icons in the churches, 842

Jews of Tyrnau, Hungary (then Trnava, Czech) are expelled, 1539

The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America, 1600

Britain and the Netherlands sign the Peace of Westminster, and New Amsterdam formally becomes New York, 1674

British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands, and claims them in the name of King George III, 1819

The first practical coal burning locomotive in the US makes a trial run, in Pennsylvania, 1831

Tin-type camera is patented by Hamilton Smith of Gambier, Ohio, 1856

Daniel E. Sickles is acquitted of the murder of his wife's lover, Phillip Barton Key (son of Francis Scott Key), on the grounds of temporary insanity, the first time this defense is successfully used, 1859

Tsar Alexander II abolishes serfdom in Russia, 1861

Thomas Edison patents the gramophone (phonograph), 1878

Kansas becomes the first US state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages, 1881

WK Kellog and Charles Bolin found the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Co., 1906

The first prize is inserted into a Cracker Jack box, 1913

Ed Wynn becomes the first talent to sign as a regular radio entertainer, 1922

Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize for poetry, 1949

Bill Keane's "Family Circus" comic strip makes its debut, 1960

Artificial heart recipient William J. Schroeder becomes the first such patient to leave hospital, 1985

The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft, 1986

NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system, 2002
NASA loses communication with the International Space Station's for three hours as a result of updating the station's command and control software, 2013

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

It’s Tuesday, and that means it is time for Random Tuesday with Stacy Uncorked.

This week has been okay, but boring. Boring is certainly better than full of some type of drama, but it doesn’t lead to much to write about.

While i’m not sure that this ever happened at a church staff meeting, it did happen. While they were in college, Brother-in-Law, the Mouth, left the dorm room to go to the restroom up the hall, and when he came back, Sweetie and another friend had dropped their clothes on the floor and hidden in the closet. The fourth person in the room stayed at his desk and continued to work on his school assignment.

Brother-in-Law walked in and said, “What happened?” The person at the desk said, “I don’t know. They were here, and then they were gone, so I went back to my work.”

Brother-in-Law panicked, and then Sweetie and the other friend jumped out of the closet which both scared and relieved him at the same time.

Somehow i don’t think he’s ever gotten over it.

The only real excitement around here right now is that i am still coming up with creative excuses to not quite have the taxes ready to send to the CPA.

That and the spectacular fights Enigma SissyCat is having with Horizon.

Even the kids have not visited in a couple of days. Having an empty nest is kinda boring and i don’t do boring too well.

Let’s hope something fun happens soon, so i don’t have to go out and stir something up myself.

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Today is:

Adopt a Goblin Orphan Day -- Fairy Calendar

Blessed Wulfric's Day

Cherry Pie Day

Clean Out Your Bookcase Day -- supposedly begun in 1985, but i can't find information on who started it; donate books you don't need any more to a local friends of the library group

Flying Car Day -- the Arrowmobile, the first flying car, patented this day in 1937 (and can you imagine, as bad as driving is, how many accidents we would have if these people were flying around instead?)

Hoodie Hoo Day (Northern Hemisphere) -- at noon local time, citizens are requested to go outside and yell "Hoodie-Hoo" to chase away winter and call in spring; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Khajuraho Dance Festival -- Khajuraho, India (annual gathering of Indian classical dancers from across the country and abroad; through the 26th)

Love Your Pet Day -- a day to pamper pets, like they don't get pampered enough

National Handcuff Day -- on the anniversary of its patent in 1920

St Leo of Catania's Day (a/k/a Leo the Wonderworker, Patron of Rometta, Longi, and Sinagra, Sicily)

Toothpick Day -- first machine used to make them patented this day in 1872

World Day for Social Justice -- UN

Anniversary Today:

John Cleese marries Connie Booth, 1968

US Post Office, 1792 (George Washington signed the act which created it)

Birthdays Today:

Rihanna, 1988

Andrew Shue, 1967

Lili Taylor, 1967

Cindy Crawford, 1966

French Stewart, 1964

Charles Barkley, 1963

Ron Eldard, 1963

James Wilby, 1958

Patty Hearst, 1954

Gordon Brown, 1951

Ivana Trump, 1949

Jennifer O'Neill, 1948

Peter Strauss, 1947

Brenda Blethyn, 1946

Sandy Duncan, 1946

Phil Esposito, 1942

Buffy Sainte-Marie, 1941

Nancy wilson, 1937

Bobby Unser, 1934

Sidney Poitier, 1927

Robert Altman, 1925

Gloria Vanderbilt, 1924

Carl E. Stotz, 1920

Gale Gordon, 1906

Ansel Adams, 1902

Joseph Jefferson, 1829

William Prescott, 1726

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel"(Play), 1963

"Barber of Seville"(Rossini Opera), 1816

"Giulio Cesare in Egitto"(Opera, HWV 17), 1724

Today in History:

Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland so King Christian I can pay his daughter's dowry, 1472

An unnamed comet approaches withing 860,000 miles of Earth, the closest a comet has ever come to our planet, 1491

The first recorded wine auction is held, in London, 1673

The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington, 1792

Austria declares bankruptcy, 1811

Concepcion, Chile, is destroyed by an earthquake, 1835

The US Congress prohibits dueling in the District of Columbia, 1839

Luther Crowell patents a machine to manufacture paper bags, 1872

In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens, 1872

The first minor league baseball association is organised, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1887

King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra, 1913

A new volcano, Paricutin, erupts in a farmer's cornfield in Mexico, 1943

The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate, 1959

While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in 4 hours, 55 minutes, 1962

Ranger 8 crashes into the moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts, 1965

The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands, 1976

Texas industrialist Ross Perot's U.S. presidential campaign begins, 1992

Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout, 2005

Estonia becomes the first country in the world to establish a national electric car charging network, with cars charging in less than 30 minutes, 2013

Famine is declared in Unity State, South Sudan, affecting 4.9 million, 2017

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

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This week's words are:

1. refocusing

2. theatrically

3. unimaginable

4. olive oil

5. footrest

6. relieved

and/or:

1. roughly

2. mythology

3. disconnected

4. expansive

5. campfire

6. singing

She strode over to the firewood box and dropped her load ROUGHLY, then took an appreciative sniff. He had looked up from his spot by the CAMPFIRE, and now was REFOCUSING on the pan in front of him.

Using an EXPANSIVE gesture, he THEATRICALLY poured more OLIVE OIL, while she smiled at the show he was putting on. She sat down on one log and used another for a FOOTREST, RELIEVED that they were finally alone together on their trip.

They'd started to feel DISCONNECTED from one another, something the MYTHOLOGY of our day says is UNIMAGINABLE if you are true soul mates. They knew, though, that the embers of love don't burn forever if they are not tended.

Later that evening, stomachs full of the pan-seared fish they'd caught earlier in the day, she strummed her guitar and he accompanied her, SINGING love songs and reconnecting under the star strewn sky.

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Today is:

Anniversary of His Majesty the King -- Bhutan

Anthesteria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day Festival of Flowers, feast of the dead, and drinking festival; date approximate)

Card Reading Day -- because greeting cards can be fun to just stop and read, can't they?

Day in Honor of Dr. W. H. Lini, Father of Independence -- Vanuatu

Feast of the Feralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (final day of the Parentalia, with picnics in the graveyard that included libations to the departed)

Georgia National Rodeo -- Perry, GA (winners here qualify for the National Finals in December; through Saturday)

International Mother Language Day -- UNESCO

National Sticky Bun Day

Remember the Funniest Thing Your Kid Ever Did Day -- in honor of Erma Bombeck's birth anniversary

Sandino Day -- Nicaragua (assassination anniversary of Augusto César Sandino)

Shaheed Dibosh -- Bangladesh (International Mother Language Day/Language Martyr's Day, for those who died in the Bengali Language Movement in 1952)

St. Peter Damian's Day (Doctor of the Church)

Anniversaries Today:

Dudley Moore marries Brogan Lane, 1988

Liz Taylor marries Michael Wilding, 1952

The Washington Monument is dedicated, 1885

Birthdays Today:

Corbin Bleu, 1989

Ashley Greene, 1987

Ellen Page, 1987

Charlotte Church, 1986

Jennifer Love Hewitt, 1979

William Baldwin, 1963

Christopher Atkins, 1961

Alan Trammell, 1958

Jack Coleman, 1958

Mary Chapin Carpenter, 1958

Kelsey Grammer, 1955

Christine Ebersole, 1953

William Petersen, 1953

Olympia J. Snowe, 1947

Tyne Daly, 1946

Alan Rickman, 1946

David Geffen, 1943

John Lewis, 1940

Gary Lockwood, 1937

Barbara Jordan, 1936

Rue McClanahan, 1935

Nina Simone, 1933

Roberto Gomez Bolanos, 1929

Erma Bombeck, 1927

Hubert de Givenchy, 1927

Sam Peckinpah, 1925

Ann Sheridan, 1915

W.H. Auden, 1907

Anais Nin, 1903

Andres Segovia, 1893

Alice Freeman Palmer, 1855

Charles Scribner, 1821

John Henry Cardinal Newman, 1801

Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, 1794

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Die Physiker"(Play), 1962

"A Woman to Remember"(TV; first soap opera), 1949

"War as it Happens"(TV), 1944

"Green Pastures"(Play), 1930

The New Yorker(Magazine), 1925

The Communist Manifesto(Publication date), 1848

Cherokee Phoenix(Newspaper, first US Native American paper), 1828

Today in History:

England begins the trial against Joan of Arc, 1431

John Wilkes is thrown out of the English House of Commons for his pornographic poem "An Essay on Woman," a satire of Pope's "An Essay on Man," 1764

Freedom of worship is established in France under its Constitution, 1795

The first locomotive, Richard Trevithick's, runs for the first time, in Wales, 1804

The first Native American Indian newspaper, the "Cherokee Phoenix", begins publication, 1828

The first known sewing machine in the US is patented by John Greenough of Washington, D.C., 1842

Sarah G Bagley of Lowell, Massachusetts becomes the first US woman telegrapher, 1846

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish the Communist Manifesto, 1848

The US Congress outlaws foreign currency as legal tender in the US, 1857

Edwin T. Holmes installs the first electric burglar alarm, in Boston, Massachusetts, 1858

The first Roman Catholic parish church for blacks in the US is dedicated, in Baltimore, Maryland, 1864

Lucy B. Hobbs becomes the first US woman to earn a DDS degree, 1866

Benjamin Disraeli replaces William Gladstone as English premier, 1874

The first telephone book is issued, to 50 subscribers in New Harbor, Connecticut, 1878

Oregon becomes the first US state to declare Labor Day a holiday, 1887

The North Carolina legislature adjourns for the day to mark the death of Frederick Douglass, 1895

Dr. Harvey Cushing, the first US neurosurgeon, performs his first operation, 1902

Gustav Mahler conducts his last concerto, 1911

The Battle of Verdun (WWI) begins, will last until Dec. 18; over a quarter of a million casualties, half a million injuries, 1916

The last Carolina parakeet, Incas, dies in the Cincinati Zoo, in the same cage that had held Martha, the last passenger pigeon, 4 years earlier, 1918

The Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution, 1921

Great Britain grants Egypt independence, 1922

The first issue of "New Yorker" magazine is published, 1925

The first instant developing camera is demonstrated in NYC, by E H Land, 1947

The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free", 1952

Watson and Crick discover the structure of the DNA molecule; according to legend, they walk into the Eagle Pub in Cambridge and Crick announces "We have found the secret of Life," 1953

The Peace symbol is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom, commissioned by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, 1958

Malcolm X is assassinated, 1965

The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna, 1971

The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon, 1972

Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison, 1975

Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, 1995

Euro zone finance ministers agree on a second bailout for Greece, 2012

Scientists discover that bumblebees have the ability to sense electric fields around flowers, enabling them to identify specific flowers for pollination , 2013

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Croutons, he thought to himself, are a delicious pain in the posterior. If they are large enough and flavorful enough and crunchy enough to be any good, they are impossible to spear with a fork. This leaves you to decide whether to take a mouthful of salad or a mouthful of crouton, which defeats the purpose of having the flavor of both salad and crouton in your mouth at one time, or take bites of one after the other in rapid succession, which of course my mother taught me is impolite.

"You have such an odd look on your face, what are you thinking about?"

"Have you ever been tempted to fling a packet of croutons out of a window?"

"No; no I can't say that I ever have."

Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Fling.

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Somebody couldn't make up his/her mind on this one:

Two kinds of wood fence surround one garden.

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Today is:

Abu Simbel Festival -- Egypt (one of the two days a year when the light illuminates the statutes of Rameses, Ra and Amun in the temple complex)

Festival of the Perpendicular Sun/Illumination of the Inner Sanctum of Ramses II's Abu Simbel Temple -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar

American Birkebeiner Race -- Cable to Hayward, WI, US (largest and most prestigious cross-country ski marathon; through the 25th)

Be Humble Day -- can't find the origin of this one, s/he wants to humbly remain anonymous

Call Somebody "Boo Boo" Day -- apparently just to see what s/he will call you back; be careful, this one started before anyone heard of Honey Boo Boo and doesn't take that into account

Camellia Festival 2018 -- Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, London, England (through Mar. 25)

Charro Days Fiesta -- Brownsville, TX, US and Matamoros, Mexico (Two Nations - Twin Cultures, the sister cities put on a beautiful celebration of the charro horsemen of Mexico, with dances, parades, and a carnival; through March 4)

Concordia/Caristia -- Ancient Roman Calendar, Festival of Goodwill

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Antioch -- Roman Catholic Church

Handing Back of Goblin Orphans Day -- Fairy Calendar (You know, the goblin orphans they adopted 2 days ago! No fairy can tolerate a goblin longer than that.)

Independence Day -- Santa Lucia(1979)

International World Thinking Day -- a/k/a "B.-P. day" or "Founder's Day" -- World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

Girl Guides Day -- UK

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day -- some student programs at universities are set for this weekend, as encouraged during National Engineers Week

Lost Dutchman Days -- Apache Junction, AZ, US (through Sunday; celebration of the legend of the Superstition Mountains and the Lost Dutchman Mine)

National Chili Day

National Margarita Day (How is that going to help with the thinking?)

Newport Seafood and Wine Festival -- Newport, OR, US (featuring seafood and wine from Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho; through Sunday)

Ottawa Boat and Sportsmen's Show -- Ottawa, ON, Canada (weekend long celebration of all things outdoors)

St. Margaret of Cortona's Day (Patron of falsely accued people, hoboes, homeless people, mentally ill people, midwives, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, reformed prostitutes, single laywomen, teriaries, and tramps; against insanity, loss of parents, mental illness, sexual temptation, and temptation)

Walking the Dog Day -- Can't find the originator of this one, but walk your dog, or do your yoyo tricks, whichever works for you

Washington's Birthday -- US

Anniversaries Today:

Ed McMahon marries Pamela Hurn, 1992

Kurt Corbin marries Courtney Love, 1992

Bill Bixby marries Laura Michael, 1991

Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania, 1855

Washington University in St. Louis is founded, 1853

Birthdays Today:

James Blunt, 1977

Drew Barrymore, 1975

Michael Chang, 1972

Lea Salonga, 1971

Clinton Kelly, 1969

Jeri Ryan, 1968

Vijay Singh, 1963

Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, 1962

Kyle MacLachlan, 1959

Julie Walters, 1950

Julius "Dr. J" Erving, 1950

Miou-Miou, 1950

Dan Millman, 1946

Jonathan Demme, 1944

Sparky Anderson, 1934

Edward M. Kennedy, 1932

Paul Dooley, 1928

Robert Wadlow, 1918

John Mills, 1908

Sheldon Leonard, 1907

Robert Young, 1907

Luis Bunuel, 1900

Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1892

"Chico" Marx, 1891

Lady Olave Baden-Powell, 1889

Lord Robert Baden-Powell, 1857

James Russel Lowell, 1819

Frederic Chopin, 1810

Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788

George Washington, 1732

Debuting/Premiering Today:

It Happened One Night(Film), 1934

"Lady Windermere's Fan"(Play), 1892

"Symphony No. 4 in F minor"(Tchaikovsky Op. 36), 1878

Today in History:

Jews are expelled from Zurich, Switzerland, 1349

Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published, 1632

The English House of Lords rules that authors do not have perpetual copyright of their material, 1774

Jews are expelled from the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland, 1775

The first US ship to trade with China, the "Empress of China," sails from New York, 1784

The Last Invasion of Britain by the French begins near Fishguard, Wales, 1797

Spain signs the Adams-Onis Treaty, renouncing its claim to the Oregon territory and west Florida, 1819

Spain sells east Florida to the US, 1821

Edward Payson Weston, "The Father of Modern Pedestrianism," who gave lectures on the health benefits of walking, first comes into the public eye by leaving on this date to walk to Lincoln's inauguration, a distance of 478 miles, 1861*

Frank W. Woolworth opens the first US chain store, his "Woolworth's" 5 and 10 cent store, in Utica, NY, 1879

John Reid of Scotland establishes a 3 hole golf course near Yonkers, New York, thus introducing the game to the US, 1888

Hawaii becomes a US territory, 1900

Due to drought, the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water, 1903

The Great White Fleet, the first US fleet to circumnavigate the globe, returns to Virginia, 1909

Calvin Coolidge gives the first US presidential radio address, 1924

Bert Hinkler successfully completes the first solo flight from England to Australia, 1928

Australian swimmer John Konrads sets 6 world records in two days, 1958

Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500, 1959

Following United States President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices, 1973

In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3, in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history, 1980

In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned, 1997

An earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude strikes Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 181 people, 2011

Marit Bjørgen of Norway becomes the most successful female Winter Olympian with 10 medals, 2014

The discovery of 7 Earth-sized planets orbiting star Trappist-1 is announced in the journal "Nature", 2017

*Yes, he got there in 10 days, in time for the inaugural ball!

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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

He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.

Sometimes Mikey drinks from his favorite water bowl:

And sometimes he just gazes into it and makes me wonder what he is seeing and thinking:

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My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:

Week 94: February 23, 2018

1. My favorite president is because .

2. This weekend, I have plans to .

3. I my .

4. I believe .

My favorite president is George Washington because at least i can be relatively certain that he was more concerned about the country than his political career, especially as he really didn't want a political career at that point. No way can i say that about most office holders these days.

This weekend, i have plans to go visit Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday and volunteer in the Busy Bees room (three-year-olds) for the 11am service on Sunday.

I was very blessed and grateful when my every-other-Tuesday lady, Ms. B, gave me a raise out of the blue!

I believe we have skipped over spring this year and straight into summer, the temperatures are way too high for February.

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Today is:

Curling Is Cool Day -- embrace the Olympic sport the whole family can play; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Defenders of the Motherland Day (formerly Red Army Day) -- Russia and some former Soviet Republics

Homeland Defenders' Day -- Kyrguzstan

Motherland Defenders' Day -- Transdniestria

Diesel Engine Day -- Rudolph Diesel received his patent in Germany on this day in 1893

Easy Divorce Day -- marking the passage, in 1915, of the Nevada law granting easy divorces after only a 6 month residency, the first such in the US

International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day -- while i can't figure out who started this one, even Mr. Google says it's celebrated today

Heritage Day -- Yukon Territory, Canada

Iwo Jima Day -- commemoration of the US flag raising

Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival -- University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, US (students from elementary to college from all over the US participate in student performances and attend concerts and clinics in vocal and instrumental jazz performance; through tomorrow)

National Banana Bread Day

National Day -- Brunei

Pebbles Day -- Pebbles Flintstone was born this day around 10,000BC

Republic Day (Mashramani) -- Guyana

St. Milburga of Shropshire's Day (Patron of birds)

St. Polycarp of Smyrna's Day (Patron against dysentery and earache)

St. Serenus the Gardener's Day (Patron of bachelors, falsely accused people)

Terminalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Terminus, god of land boundary markers)

Women in Blue Jeans Conference -- Mitchell, SD, US (celebrating women in agriculture; through tomorrow)

Birthdays Today:

Emily Blunt, 1983

Niecy Nash, 1970

Michael Dell, 1965

"Bobby" Bonilla, 1963

Howard Jones, 1955

Patricia Richardson, 1951

"Too Tall" Jones, 1951

John Sanford, 1944

Johnny Winter, 1944

Peter Fonda, 1939

Sylvia Chase, 1938

Donna J. Stone, 1933

Paul Tibbets, 1915

William L. Shirer, 1904

Victor Fleming, 1889

W.E.B. DuBois, 1868

Emma Hart Willard, 1787

George Frederic Handel, 1685

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, 1646

Samuel Pepys, 1633

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Fortune and Men's Eyes"(Play), 1967

Pinocchio(Disney cartoon film), 1940

Today in History:

Emperor Diocletian orders the general persecution of Christians, 303

Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type, 1455

France begins its fifth "holy war" against the Huguenots, 1574

Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army, 1778

The first US raw-cotton-to-cloth mill is founded, in Waltham, Massachusetts, 1813

The first US pharmaceutical college is organized, the College of Apothecaries in Philidelphia, 1821

Santa Anna begins his siege of the Alamo, 1836

John Newman leaves the Anglican Church and is welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church, 1846

In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna, 1847

Great Britain formally recognises the independence of the Boers in the area between the Orange and Vaal rivers, signing the Bloemfontein Convention with the Orange Free State, 1854

The London Times publishes the world's first classified ad, 1886

Charles Martin Hall, assisted by his sister Julia Brainerd Hall, produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, 1886

The French/Italian Riviera is struck by an earthquake that leaves 2,000 dead, 1887

The Tootsie Roll is introduced by Leo Hirshfield, 1896

In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing the government of anti-Semitism and wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus, 1898

The Cuban state of Guantanamo is leased to the US, 1903

The US acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million, 1904

The Rotary Club International is founded in Chicago, 1905

Russian Tsar Nicholas II dissolves the Diet of Finland, 1909

The US state of Nevada enacts a convenient divorce law, 1915

The February Revolution begins in Russia, 1917

Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, 1941

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded, 1847

The first mass inoculation with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh, 1954

First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), 1955

The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri, 1983

Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 1987

A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir, 1997

An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31, 1999
Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster, 2010

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

Have you read the funny papers lately?

Last week i talked about how i am thankful for the daily newspaper, and i mentioned the funnies, or comics as some call them. That is my favorite part of a paper, as i can count on a laugh or several while perusing them.

All week i’ve been thinking about the comic strips, old and new, that i enjoy, and i realize i am thankful for lessons learned from what people used to call “the funny papers.”

Thank you, Blondie, for starting your catering business and reminding me that you are never too old to start something new if it’s something you love and are passionate about.

Thank you, Garfield, for showing me that if you keep trying to do the same thing all of the time, you will become nothing but a poor parody of your own former self.

Thank you, Family Circus, for helping me keep my sanity and look for the funny parts in raising children.

Thank you, Baby Blues, for showing the hard parts of child rearing, like the days you just want to hide in bed, with humor, thus helping me get out of that bed and back into the game.

Thank you, Dennis the Menace and Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes, for reminding me, on days when my children did not behave, that it could always be worse.

Thank you, Dilbert, even when my work is hard (like cleaning baseboards with a toothbrush last Thursday!) you make me grateful i do not work in cubicle-land.

Thank you, Beetle Bailey, for showing me that when i get a chance to relax, i need to really stop and relax and enjoy it with relish.

Thank you, Leroy and Loretta of The Lockhorns, and Flo and Andy of Andy Capp, for the lessons in what not to do when you are married!

Thank you, Jump Start, for showing that family should stick by family even when it gets crazy.

Saving the best for last, thank you, Peanuts: Charlie Brown, for never giving up but always going back to the pitcher’s mound; Lucy, for owning your crabbiness; Linus, for not caring what others thought of your need for a blanket; and Snoopy, for showing me that it’s okay to be Joe Cool, even if only in your own mind.

Our hostess Josie Two Shoes keeps the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop, well, hopping! If you are thankful for a lesson learned from an unlikely place, or anything else, come join the fun. List your gratitudes and thankfuls and link up. The more, the merrier!

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Today is:

Amun in the Festival of Raising Heaven -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Bear Tie Ball -- Chicago, IL, US (the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation's black tie fundraiser)

Chinese New Year Parade -- San Francisco, CA, US (North America's largest Chinese community celebrates the Lunar New Year in style)

Clam Chowder Cook-Off -- Santa Cruz, CA, US (if you love clam chowder of any variety, this is the place for you; through tomorrow)

Dragobete -- Romania (lover's day, and the day birds choose a mate, also considered by locals as the first day of spring)

Flag Day -- Mexico

Giving of Shoes -- Fairy Calendar

Gregorian Calendar Day -- Gregory XIII issued the Papal Bull requiring Roman Catholics to adopt his calendar reform on this day; the effective date of adoption was to be Oct. 4, 1582

International Sword Swallowers Day

Iseseisvuspaev/Independence Day -- Estonia(1918)

Katsuyama Sagicho -- Katsuyama, Japan (Chinese influenced fire festival held the last weekend of every February; large stages are built and decorated, then burned the next day)

National Artist Day -- Thailand

National Tortilla Chip Day

N'cwala -- Zambia (Thanksgiving festival, celebrated with traditional dance, music, and specially brewed beer)

Nylon Toothbrush Day -- the first ones went on sale this date in 1938

Obnoxious Day -- probably started as a joke, the only ones who benefit from this day are the ecard companies

Open That Bottle Night -- time to finally drink that bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion; after all, the final Saturday in February only comes once a year (sponsored by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of The Wall Street Journal)

Parke County Maple Fair -- Rockville, IN, US (pancake meals, a Covered Bridge Art Assn. show, and more; this weekend and next)

Regifugium -- Ancient Roman Calendar (flight of the king)

Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen Tournament -- Japan; snowball fighting (yukigassen) at its best, through tomorrow

St. Æthelberht of Kent's Day (first Christian King of the Anglo-Saxons; some have his day listed tomorrow instead)

Swamp Cabbage Festival -- LaBelle, FL, US (also called Hearts of Palm, gear up for two days of food, entertainment, and family fun)

Anniversaries Today:

Hadassah is founded, 1912

Western Washington University is established, 1899

The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America, 1893

Birthdays Today:

Billy Zane, 1966

Kristin Davis, 1965

Eddie Murray, 1956

Paula Zahn, 1956

Steven Jobs, 1955

Alain Prost, 1955

Helen Shaver, 1951

George Thorogood, 1950

Edward James Olmos, 1947

Rupert Holmes, 1947

Barry Bostwick, 1945

Joe Lieberman, 1942

James Farentino, 1938

Renata Scotto, 1937

Michel Legrand, 1932

Mark Lane, 1927

Stephen Hill, 1922

Abe Vigoda, 1921

Chester W. Nimitz, 1885

Honus Wagner, 1874

Winslow Homer, 1836

Wilhelm Karl Grimm, 1786

Ibn Battutah, 1304

Emperor Toba of Japan, 1103

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Peer Gynt"(Play), 1876

"Rinaldo"(HWV 7), 1711

"L'Orfeo"(SV318), 1607

Today in History:

St. Francis of Assisi, age 26, receives his vocation in Portiuncula, Italy, 1208

In the first imperial coronation by a pope,Charles V is crowned by Clement V, 1530

Pope Gregory XIII, by decree, institutes what is now known as the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the older Julian Calendar, 1582

L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance, 1607

The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, 1711

The US Supreme Court first declares a law unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison), 1803

London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute, 1804

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West, 1831

William Otis of Pennsylvania patents the steam shovel, 1839

The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, 1868

Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached, 1868

The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries, 1875

China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty, 1881

Chicago is selected to host the Columbian Exposition, 1890

Rudolf Diesel receives a patent for the diesel engine, 1893

Hudson Motor Car Company is founded, 1909

National Public Radio is founded in the United States, 1970

The United States Olympic Hockey team completes their Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal, 1980

Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, 1981

A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II, 1983

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, 1989

The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church, 1996*

Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea, 2007

Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years, 2008

Final launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, 2011

Pope Francis creates a second Secretariat with the power to audit any Vatican agency at any time, 2014

*The Romans counted Feb. 24 twice in leap years, instead of adding Feb. 29; that continued in many places until 1996

Kitten Love (Awww Monday) and Sparks!

Random Tuesday

You Gotta Love Their Humor (Wordlesss Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

Calendar Collision (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, and Advice

Sweet Dreams (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-ins

A Funny Things Happened...(Ten Things of Thankful)

Father Knows All (Cajun Joke) and Sunday Selections

Hopeful (Awww Monday) and Sparks!

Mardi Gras Mambo! (Random Tuesday)

Happy Valentine’s Day! (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

Communiqué (Six Sentence Story) and Good Fences

Letting Out Their Wild Side (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-Ins

Papered (Ten Things of Thankful)

Obviously (Cajun Joke) and Sunday Selections

Little Napper (Awww Monday) and Sparks!

Stirring Up a Random Tuesday Post

Results of Too Many Mergers (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

Out! (Six Sentence Story) and Good Fences

Mikey's Water Bowl (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-ins

Laugh Lessons (Ten Things of Thankful)