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.)

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

This past week, our temperatures have been unseasonably warm. We are supposed to get rain today and some slightly lower temperatures this week, but the cold is over and we seem to have skipped spring altogether.

It was a harsh winter for the area, with two big snowfalls, and we are not prepared for such things down here.

Boudreaux an' Thibodeaux don' be prepare fo' livin' in de cold, but one time when dey be young, dey done move up to de Frozen Nawth to take dem jobs fo' a year. Dey be sharin' a car an' a rent house an' workin' at de same contract job.

De firs' time dey be hearin' it goin' to snow, Boudreaux listen an' de radio man say, "We are expecting heavy snowfall, please park your cars on the even side of the streets so the snow plows can get through." So Boudreaux, he go an' put de car on de even side o' de street.

'Bout a week after dat, dey be goin' get snow agin, an' de radio man say, "We are expecting heavy snowfall, please park your cars on the odd side of the streets so the snow plows can get through." An' Boudreaux go out an' park de car on de odd side o' de street.

Nex' time it be 'bout to snow, de radio man say, "We are expecting heavy snowfall, please park your cars on the..." an' de 'lectric go out an' Boudreaux don' hear what side de street to put de car on.

"Thibodeaux!" Boudreaux say. "You hear dat! De 'lectric done gone out, an' we din't hear what side de street dey want us to put de car on! What we goin' do?"

An Thibodeaux t'ink 'bout dat fo' a moment an' den he say, "Mais, why we don' jes' leave de car in de garage dis time?"

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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.

More photos from corners of Grandma's house:

In the front hall.

In the foyer -- yes, there is holy water in the holy water font at the bottom.

A closer look at her painting.

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Today is:

Dairokuten-no-Hadaka Matsuri -- Chiba, Japan (around this date; one of Japan's "naked" festivals, as participants wear only a loincloth as they wrestle in the cold, wet mud, bringing luck to the community as they run through the crowds smearing the lucky mud on the onlookers)

Dance of the Secret Places -- Fairy Calendar

Dag van de Revolutie -- Suriname (Day of Liberation and Innovation)

Edo Nagashi Bina -- Sumidagawa River, Japan (ritual to wish for children's good health by washing the sins of the body away)

Februaristaking -- Netherlands (commemoration of a strike against the Nazis)

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

Kitano Baika-sai (Plum Blossom Festival) -- Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Let's All Eat Right Day -- in honor of the birth of Adelle Davis in 1904, an early pioneer in good nutrition

National Chocolate Covered Peanuts Day -- some sites say any nuts will do, some specify peanuts; take your pick

National Clam Chowder Day -- not to be confused with New England Clam Chowder Day, back in January

National Day -- Kuwait

People's Revolution Day/People Power Day -- Philippines

Pistol Patent Day -- Samuel Colt received US Patent #138 for the first pistol on this day in 1836

Quiet Day -- can't find the history behind this one, but mommy wants one!

St. Walburga's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, harvests; Antwerp, Belgium; Eichstätt, Germany; Gronigen, Netherlands; Oudenarde, Belgium; Plymouth, England; Zutphen, Netherlands; against coughs, dog bites, famine, hydrophobia/rabies, mad dogs, plague, storms)

Soviet Occupation Day -- Georgia

Tokyo Marathon 2018 -- Tokyo, Japan

Birthdays Today:

Josh Wolff, 1977

Chelsea Handler,1975

Sean Astin, 1971

Tea Leoni, 1966

Carrot Top, 1965

Lee Evans, 1964

Neil Jrdan, 1950

Ric Flair, 1949

Karen Grassle, 1944

George Harrison, 1943

Diane Baker, 1938

Tom Courtenay, 1937

Bob Schieffer, 1937

Sally Jessy Raphael, 1935

"Texas Rose" Bascom, 1922

Bobby Riggs, 1918

Anthony Burgess, 1917

Jim Backus, 1913

Millicent Hammond Fenwick, 1910

Adelle Davis, 1904

Zeppo Marx, 1901

Meher Baba, 1894

Enrico Caruso, 1873

Charles Lang Freer, 1856

Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1841

Xuande, Emperor of China, 1398

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Little Night Music"(Musical), 1973

"Toys in the Attic"(Play), 1960

"Wonderful Town"(Musical), 1953

"Your Show of Shows"(TV), 1950

"Natoma"(Herbert Opera), 1911

"Riders to the Sea"(Play), 1904

"Hernani"(Victor Hugo Play), 1830

Today in History:

The First Bank of the United States is chartered, 1791

The German Midiatisation is enacted, taking over 1,000 German sovereign states into about 40 larger entities, 1803

Samuel Colt patents the first revolving barrel multishot firearm, 1836

The first US electric printing press is patented by Thomas Davenport, 1837

Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress, 1870

The US Steel Corp. is organized under J P Morgan, 1901

The Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Toronto Marlboroughs in 2 games, 1904

Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, 1912

Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax, 1919

Diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union are established, 1925

Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) is established in Alaska, 1925

Francisco Franco becomes General of Spain, 1926

Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a television license from the Federal Radio Commission, 1928

The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be built solely as an aircraft carrier, 1933

In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike is declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis, 1941

The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1951

Cassius Clay defeats Sonny Liston, 1964

The first unit of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, the first commercial nuclear power station in Canada, goes online, 1971

President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president, 1986

In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more, 1994

In the Irish general election, the Fianna Fáil-led government suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state, 2011

The World Health Organization removes India from the list of polio endemic countries, 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!

Lulu didn’t want us to leave Grandma’s house on Saturday:

No, you can’t leave, I’m in front of the door!

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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:

Ayyám-i-Há -- Baha'i (intercalary days, devoted to service and gift giving; through Mar. 1)

Dance of the Known Places -- Fairy Calendar

Fairtrade Fortnight begins -- UK (a chance to get involved in making sure farmers in developing countries have fair wages and good working conditions)

For Pete's Sake Day -- Wellcat Holidays asks us, who is Pete, and why do things for his sake? think about that as you celebrate this today

Intercalary Days -- Baha'i (through Mar. 1)

Levi Strauss Day -- his birth anniversary

Liberation Day -- Kuwait

National Heroes' Day -- Paraguay

National Personal Chef Day -- heaven knows we all have one of those; some websites list it today, some on July 16

National Pistachio Day

Rooks Nesting Day -- Olde England (12 days after Candlemas on the Julian Calendar)

St. Alexander's Day (Patriarch of Alexandria)

St. Isabella of France's Day (Patron of the sick)

Tell a Fairy Tale Day -- shouldn't this have been two days ago, on Wilhelm Grimm's birth anniversary?

The Man In Black Day -- Johnny Cash's birth anniversary

Thriller Day -- Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" hit #1 today, and stayed there for 37 weeks

Anniversaries Today:

Grand Teton National Park is established, 1929

Grand Canyon National Park is established, 1919

Birthdays Today:

Marshall Faulk, 1973

Erykah Badu, 1972

Mark Dacascos, 1964

Michael Bolton, 1953

Johnny Cash, 1932

Fats Domino, 1928

Betty Hutton, 1921

Tony Randall, 1920

Jackie Gleason, 1916

Margaret Leighton, 1922

Tex Avery, 1908

Madeleine Carroll, 1906

Jean Vercors, 1902

William Frawley, 1887

Herbert Henry Dow, 1866

John Harvey Kellog, 1852

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, 1846

Levi Strauss, 1829

Honore Daumier, 1808

Victor Hugo, 1802

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Jerome Robbins' Broadway"(Musical), 1989

"Deathtrap"(Play), 1978

Today in History:

Origin of the Epoch of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era, BC747

An earthquake in Lisbon leaves 20,000-30,000 dead, 1531

Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down, 1794

The Bank of England issues its first banknotes, 1797

Vice-admiral William Bligh ends the siege of Fort Amsterdam, Willemstad, 1804

Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba, 1815

In New York City a demonstration of the first pneumatic subway opens to the public, 1870

HMS Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff, Belfast, 1914

The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York, 1917

Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of RADAR in the United Kingdom, 1935

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb, 1952

Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada, 1952

National Public Radio incorporates as a non-profit corporation, 1970

Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations, 1980

The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections, 1990

On Baghdad Radio Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, 1991

In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand, 1993

The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses, 1995

Mount Hekla in Iceland erupts, 2000

Republic of Macedonia President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2004

After winning a Liberal Party of British Columbia ballot, Canadian politician Christy Clark becomes the second woman to be Premier of British Columbia, 2011

Scientists in Illinois announce they've developed wirelessly rechargeable, stretchable batteries that can power a new generation of flexible electronics, 2013

NASA announces that its Kepler space telescope has discovered 715 planets in other solar systems, bringing the instrument's new-planet tally to 961, 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.)

Time for a Random Tuesday post, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.

Oh, dear. Where to start?

Last week i didn't have much to write about. This week, well, Dr. D happened. She can get into more trouble in a week than most people do in a lifetime.

Yesterday i put in 10 hours with her, and we still never did get to the sheets. Her laundry is done and the dishes are clean, though.

The morning started with a call from the library telling her she had books overdue. When we headed out to run errands, we stopped at the library and i went upstairs to give the people at the reference desk a thank you note from her. (She writes thank you notes to everyone, including sending them to her doctor and dentist when she makes a payment. It's probably the reason they let her come back.)

While up there, i asked about her overdue books. The nice gentleman was able to tell me that yes, she had them overdue, but he could not renew them. Back downstairs to the circulation desk i went.

The circulation desk could not help me because the nice man at the reference desk hadn't gotten out of her account, and they can only open your account from one computer at a time. Back upstairs to ask them to please get out of her account, back downstairs to find out that all of the books have been re-checked out the maximum number of times and she has to bring them in.

We got her new-to-her truck registered, and she had me put the license tag on with a beat up penny she found in the parking lot as a screwdriver. It worked. When it came time to put the steering wheel knob she got when we stopped at the auto parts store on, though, i am glad it came with the allen key.

After errands to doctor and dentist and lawyer (she gave her lawyer a change jar that counts your change for you; when i dropped it off, he said it was just what he'd always wanted, but then, he knows Dr. D) and the bookstore that is also a local publisher (where i dropped off a TENS unit and a plastic piggy bank -- they now know when they see me that whatever it is, it's from Dr. D, and they know to expect the unexpected), we took some stuff to her storage unit.

Her house is a storage unit in itself, as it never got finished being rebuilt after the fire because she got busy with the lawsuit, and it's a long story that's not over yet because she is talking about taking over the business herself. If she decides to do it, the woman who earned a doctorate in economics, taught behind the Iron Curtain, and managed to get on the last train out of an area where the Chernobyl fallout was heading after the accident will see it through, even if she is nearly 80.

We only ever found two of the overdue books, and we found the WWII book she'd been looking for in the bathtub, along with Cicero and Marcus Aurelius. Why in the tub? Because that's where she'd put the pillows until she could put the new pillow slips on, and the books were on the bed by the pillows and next to the cancelled checks and unopened mail. (Yes, her house is seriously cluttered. It's okay, we managed to find the three phones somehow, although we still don't know where the new package of checks ended up. We can't call them, after all.)

While i was in the dollar store getting cat litter, she mentioned wanting to go into a thrift store "just to look around," but i managed to talk her off of that ledge.

Working there is an adventure, and this week i will be cat sitting again. Josephine the Persian doesn't mind me so much, but C Trois the Himalayan is very shy. Dr. D is going back to her doctors in Houston, and then will stop at the family property in the country (a plantation -- she's got some stories, i tell you).

In other news, Little Girl tried her hand at my home made banana pudding recipe. She found out just how much work it is, but i think it turned out perfectly. ***********************************

Today is:

Aspirin Day -- Bayer received its US patent for the medicine on this day in 1900

Day of Selene -- Ancient Greek Calendar (goddess of the moon, date approximate)

Equirria -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Cavalry Horse Festival)

Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows/Gabriel Possenti (Patron of clerics, students, young people; Abruzzi, Italy; Catholic Action)

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo -- Houston, TX, US (since 1932, great rodeo action and top-name entertainment; through Mar. 18)

Independence Day -- Dominican Republic(1844)

Majuba Day -- South Africa (celebration of the Boers victory at Majuba Hill)

National Kahlua Day

National Strawberry Day -- no, i don't know why this isn't in June, when the berries are best; maybe the person who put it here had too much Kahlua

No Brainer Day - this day is for me! created by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith, "America's Premier Eventologist"

Polar Bear Day -- as declared by Polar Bears International

Read Five Pages in the Dictionary Day -- internet generated, and am i the only one who likes the idea?

Runic Half Month Tyr commences (cosmic pillar)

Single-Tasking Day -- encouraging you to do one thing at a time, and not feel guilty; begun by Theresa Gabriel, who claims multitasking is inefficient and hurts your brain! she suggests it be on the 4th Tuesday of the month, although other sites list other dates

Spay Day USA -- sponsored by the HSUS; Sit! Stay! Spay! Good Owner!

St. Galmier of Lyon's Day (Patron of locksmiths)

The Hop -- Fairy Calendar

Threepenny Day -- Eton College, England (By the last will of two Provosts in the 16th century, each boy receives a threepenny piece on this day -- enough to buy half a sheep back then.)

World Spay Day -- don't let your pets litter!

Anniversary Today:

African Burial Ground National Monument is established, 2006

Birthdays Today:

Josh Groban, 1981

Chelsea Clinton, 1980

Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas, 1971

Grant Show, 1963

Adam Baldwin, 1962

Michael Bolton, 1953

Alan Guth, 1947

Mary Fran, 1943

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, 1942

Howard Hesseman, 1940

Ralph Nadar, 1934

Elizabeth Taylor, 1932

Joanne Woodward, 1930

Ariel Sharon, 1928

John Connally, 1917

James Thomas Farrell, 1904

John Steinbeck, 1902

Gene Sarazen, 1902

Marian Anderson, 1897

David Sarnoff, 1891

Hugo La Fayette Black, 1886

Alice Hamilton, 1869

Ellen Terry, 1847

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807

Constantine I, 272

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What Makes Sammy Run?"(Musical), 1964

Road to Utopia(Film), 1946

Today in History:

The first Russian Embassy arrives in London, 1557

The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland, 1560

Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci, 1626

Jews are expelled from Austria by order of Leopold I, 1670

The Pacific island of New Britain is discovered, 1700

Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire, 1812

The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti, 1844

Composer Robert Schumann is saved from a suicide attempt in Rhine, 1854

Russians shoot at Poles protesting Russian rule of Poland, 1861

The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships, 1870

Charlotte E. Ray becomes the first African American woman to earn a law degree, from Howard University, 1872

Lord Kitchener opens Khartoum-El Obeid (Nyala) railway, 1912

Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14, 1940

The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over, 1964

The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota, 1973

People magazine is published for the first time, 1974

U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated", 1991

A Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, 2002

The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years, 2007

Central Chile is hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, 2010

Wikileaks begins releasing 5 million emails from Stratfor, a private intelligence company, 2012

At Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his farewell address, 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 encourages us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy. This month, the prompts are being posted by River at Drifting Through Life.

1. petrichor

2. sunlit

3. squinted

4. comfortable

5. disrupted

6. phones

and/or:

1. personal space

2. copper

3. granite

4. quarry

5. squat

6. parched

“Ah, by the scent of PETRICHOR I assume that we have had some precipitation,” the professor said as he stepped out of the hole in the mountain in which the archaeological expedition was digging.

One of the local assistants SQUINTED up at the professor from his position, a SQUAT over one of the many trays of dirt through which they sifted looking for treasure. At least, the assistants were supposed to be looking for what the professor and his staff considered treasure, evidence of how people lived here when it was an active GRANITE QUARRY centuries before.

The assistants were more interested in earning money, COPPER coin of the realm, and did not much care what they found so long as they were rewarded for finding it. “You sure talk fancy, professor,” he said. “But yeah, it rained and it was about time, we are PARCHED.”

At the sound of an approaching vehicle that bounced up and down as much as it made progress forward, both turned and watched as Helzer, the graduate assistant and lowest man on the academic totem pole out here, got out of what looked like the least COMFORTABLE truck on the planet and walked over.

“Did you get through to the university?” the professor asked.

“No,” Helzer said. “PHONES are not working in town right now. The area has been DISRUPTED by violence, and they think the lines are cut.”

The professor came closer, preferring to invade a graduate assistant’s PERSONAL SPACE than to be overheard by the locals. “Should we try to evacuate quietly? Are we in danger?”

Helzer looked at the SUNLIT ridge above them, took a deep breath, and chose not to mince his words.

“Sir, from what I saw in town, it’s already too late.”

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Today is:

Car Keys and Small Change Day -- ???

Dia de Andalucia -- Andalucia, Spain

DNA Day -- day in 1953 when Watson and Crick determined the double helix structure of DNA

Februalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (purification of Rome performed by citizens making sacrifices to the dead)

Floral Design Day -- a day to acknowledge this art form, sponsored by Rittners Floral School

Inconvenience Yourself™ Day -- enrich your life by looking for ways to make a positive impact on the world, even if it inconveniences you

Kalevala Day -- Finland (Finnish Culture Day)

Musikahan sa Tagum Festival -- Tagum City, Phillipines (This "Marching Showband Capital of the Philippines" stages the areas signature festival which celebrates the Filipino excellence in musical composition, performance, and production, and giving young people more opportunities to excel in learning the music industry and Filipino musical culture; through Mar. 5)

National Chocolate Souffle' Day

National Science Day -- India

National Tooth Fairy Day - and/or August 22, depending on whom you ask

Nylon Day -- the first aliphatic polyamides were produced on this day in 1935

Peace Memorial Day -- Taiwan

Public Sleeping Day -- this one even has a wikiHow page

Purim -- Judaism (begins at sundown)

Rare Disease Day -- International

Read Me Day -- local and national celebrities, with community volunteers, are encouraged to visit classrooms this week and read to children; the original idea included wearing t-shirts with writing on them and encourage the children to read the shirts, thus "read me"

St. Hedwig of Poland's Day (Patron of queens)

St. Romanus' Day (Patron of the mentally ill; against drowning, insanity)

Teacher's Day -- Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Jordan; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Saudi Arabia; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen

Teal Ribbon Day -- Australia (wear a teal ribbon, raise awareness of ovarian cancer)

Anniversaries Today:

University of Pittsburgh is chartered, 1787

Birthdays Today (followed by Feb. 29 Birthdays)

Ali Larter, 1976

Robert Sean Leonard, 1969

John Tuturro, 1957

Gilbert Gottfried, 1955

Bernadette, Peters, 1948

Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith, 1945

Brian Jones, 1942

Mario Andretti, 1940

Tommy Tune, 1939

Gavin MacLeod, 1930

Frank Gehry, 1929

Svetiana Allilueva, 1926

Charles Durning, 1923

Zero Mostel, 1915

Earl Scheib, 1907

Milton Caniff, 1907

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, 1906

Vincente Minnelli, 1903

Linus Pauling, 1901

Ben Heckt, 1894

Charles Blondin, 1824

John Tenniel, 1820

Mary Lyon, 1797

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, 1533

Antonio Sabato, Jr., 1972

Tony Robbins, 1960

Gretchen Christopher, 1940

Jack Lousma, 1936

Dinah Shore, 1916

Jimmy Dorsey, 1904

William Wellman, 1896

Herman Hollerith, 1860

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"On Golden Pond"(Play), 1979

"La Reine de Saba"(Opera), 1862

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling(Publication date), 1749

Today in History:

Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China, BC202

The first edition of Henry Fieldings'"Tom Jones" is published, 1749

John Wesley charters the Methodist Church, 1784

The first commercial railroad in US, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) is chartered, 1827

Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Québec), 1838

Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor, 1849

The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire, 1870

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone, 1885

The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched, 1893

Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force, 1897

Egypt regains independence from Britain, but British troops remain, 1922

DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents Nylon, 1935

Basketball is televised for the first time, 1940

In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives, 1947

James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2), 1953

The first-ever color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public, 1954

The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué, 1972

Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum, 1980

GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way, 1997

First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace, 1998

Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947, 2004

Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft, 2007

Egypt annunces the discovery of a granite head from a statue of King Tut's grandfather, Amenhotep III, 2010

Historic Events for February 29:

The Romans create the first Leap Year by adding a day to their calendar, BC46

The Scottish Parliament makes it illegal for a man to refuse to marry a woman who proposes on Leap Day, the only day women could propose; his penalty for refusing would be to give her a kiss, some gold, and a pair of gloves (to hide the fact that she didn't have a wedding ring), 1288

Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to provide him with supplies, 1504

February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Old style, 1712

The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations, 1796

St. Petersburg, Florida, is incorporated, 1892

In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old, 1916

Baby Snooks, played by Fanny Brice, debuts on the radio program The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air, 1936

For her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award, 1940

In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, because of the war, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's Consul General in San Francisco, 1940

An earthquake in Morocco kills over 3,000 people and nearly destroys Agadir in the southern part of the country, 1960

The Family Circus comic strip debuts, 1960

In Sydney, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition (58.9 seconds), 1964

Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract, 1972

Gordie Howe of the then Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal, 1980

Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announces he will retire as soon as the Liberals can elect another leader, 1984

South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town, 1988

Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as President of Haiti following a coup, 2004

(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.)

Someone asked about yesterday's Wordless Wednesday picture of Sweetie, wondering what he was doing with the broom; the hint was in the title of the photograph, "Sweetie's Lunatic Fringe."

When we clean houses, he is an absolute lunatic about making sure the fringe of every area rug is brushed out and perfectly straight (which is one reason you will find no such rugs in this house). He watches me like a hawk to make sure i don't mess up the fringe.

Any time things get crazy and i wonder if i should transfer out of this chicken outfit, i realize i've been here too long. He's grown on me, and being a lunatic about fringe isn't the worst thing in the world.

Plus he's still so doggone cute, and knows how to use a broom.

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

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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.

The back fence of the cat shelter looks rather imposing, and yes, it is topped with barbed wire in an attempted to prevent any cats that get out of the back door from climbing the fence and escaping.

No, it doesn't always work. We've had cats climb through the barbed wire from both directions, wanting out or wanting in!

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Today is:

Baba Marta Day -- Bulgaria (Grandmother Spring Day, martenitsa are worn until you see a stork or a tree blooming.)

Beer Day -- Iceland (marks the end of the prohibition of beer in 1989)

Be Positive, Do Something Positive Day -- the way to start Optimism Month

Bravo Day/Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day -- Marshall Islands

Chalandra Marz -- Engandine, Switzerland (various cities of this province have the traditional spring event where costumed young people, ringing bells and cracking whips, drive out the demons of winter)

Day to Mourn Victims of Land Mines -- anniversary of the day they were outlawed worldwide in 1999

Dia de las Islas Baleares -- Iberia, Spain

Doljatra/Holika Dahan -- regions of India (a festival of colors, similar to Holi)

Elves, Woodworkers, and Mechanics' Day -- Fairy Calendar

First Day of Autumn -- Australia (they go by months, not equinoxes, like the rest of the world used to)

Florida Strawberry Festival -- Plant City, FL, US (celebrating the winter strawberry harvest, this year's theme is "Building New Memories"; through Mar. 11)

Full Worm Moon -- also called Leaf Moon, Seedling Moon, Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, Light Snow Moon, or Lenten Moon; considered the last full moon of winter

Medin Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka

Taubaung Full Moon -- Myanmar

Humorists Are Artists Month begins -- any coincidence this spells HAAM?

Independence Day -- Bosnia and Herzegovina(1992)

International Association for Women of Color Day -- on the first day of Women's History Month

International Wheelchair Day -- a day when wheelchair users celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has had in their lives

Martisor -- Romanians and Aromanians, especially in Romania and Moldova (similar tradition to Baba Marta; first days of March are Zilele Babei, Days of the Old Woman, when Old Woman Winter, Baba Dokia, who lives in the mountains, might come back with ferocity.)

Midnight at the Oasis -- Yuma, AZ, US (nostalgic festival featuring cars and music of the 50s and 60s; throughy Sunday)

National Fruit Compote Day

National Horse Protection Day -- US; sponsored by the Animal Miracle Foundation

National Pig Day -- sponsored by Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave, who want you to know that pigs are amazing animals that place fourth on the animal intelligence list!

Make Time for a Cuppa -- UK (raising awareness of dementia and raising funds for research; through Mar. 8)

Navii's Day / Vjunitci -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (a Day of the Dead, bringing sacrifices and inviting the ancestors to attend the feast)

New Year's Day -- Ancient Roman Pre-Julian Calendar; related observances

Birthday of Mars Pater (Feriae Marti)

Chalanda Marz -- Kalends of March (now a festival in Egandine, Grisons Canton, Switzerland, in which the children ring bells to ring out the winter)

Matronalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Women's Festival to Juno)

Renewal of the Vestal Fire

Nineteen Day Fast -- Baha'i (begins at sundown)

Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day -- in remembrance of the destruction of Bikini Atoll

Omizutori Matsuri -- Todai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan (Water-Drawing Festival of 1,200 year old Buddhist ceremonies, through the 14th)

Peace Corps Birthday / National Day of Action -- US

Peanut Butter Lovers' Day -- according to some foodie sites

Plan a Solo Vacation Day -- Solo Travel Portal wants you to dream big and plan what you would do if you could get away, solo.

Purim -- Judaism (began sundown yesterday, through sundown today)

ReFIRED, Not Retired Day -- the day to get Fired Up about Life, Part II; you aren't retired, you are reFIRED!

Republic Day -- NE, Switzerland

Samiljeol (March 1st Movement Remembrance Day) -- South Korea

Self-Injury Awareness Day -- International (for information about self-injury, or to get started getting help, go here)

St. David of Wales' Day (Patron of doves; Patron of Wales, where it is called Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant)

University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day -- UK (to focus on ensuring the positive wellbeing of people with mental health difficulties)

Whuppity Scoorie Day -- Lanark, Scotland (Spring festival, children run around the church and pick up coins thrown for them.)

World Book Day -- UK and Ireland (most other countries celebrate this on April 23; more information is here)

World Civil Defense Day -- International Civil Defense Organisation

Yap Day -- Micronesia (festival celebrating the heritage of the Yap peoples)

Anniversaries Today:

Johnny Cash marries June Carter, 1968

Yellowstone National Park established, 1872

Nebraska becomes the 37th US State, 1867

Howard University in Washington, D.C., is chartered, 1867

Ohio becomes the 17th US State, 1803

Birthdays Today:

Justin Bieber, 1994

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, 1974

Javier Bardem, 1969

George Eads, 1967

Russell Wong, 1963

Nik Kershaw, 1958

Timothy Daly, 1956

Ron Howard, 1954

Catherine Bach, 1954

Alan Thicke, 1947

Dirk Benedict, 1945

Roger Daltry, 1944

Robert Conrad, 1935

Harry Belafonte, 1927

Pete Rozelle, 1926

Donald "Deke" K. Slayton, 1924

William M. Gaines, 1922

Richard (Purdy) Wilbur, 1921

Ralph Ellison, 1914

Harry Caray, 1914

David Niven, 1910

Glenn Miller, 1904

Watsuji Tetsuro, 1889

Oskar Kokoschka, 1886

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1848

Frederic Chopin, 1810

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Sophisticated Ladies"(Musical), 1981

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"(Musical), 1979

"Believe It or Not"(TV), 1949

"Captain America Comics #1"(Comic book), 1941

Native Son(Publication date), 1940

Today in History:

Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrates the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following the Rape of the Sabine Women, BC752

Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, BC86

Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis, conquerors Damascus, 1260

The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination, 1457

23 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion, 1562

The Uppsala Synod is summoned to confirm the exact forms of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, 1593

Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu, 1633

Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba are arrested for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692

"The Spectator" begins publishing, in London, 1711

The first US census is authorized, 1790

Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba, 1815

Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes the first African-American female to earn a medical degree, 1864

Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park, 1872

E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter, 1873

Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri, 1893

Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity, 1896

Battle of Adwa, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) defeats invading Italians, the first defeat of a colonizing European nation by an African colony, 1896

Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from an airplane, 1912

The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union, 1914

The March 1st Movement, demonstrations for independence from Japan, begins in Korea, 1919

Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped, 1932

The Hoover Dam is completed, 1936

US Steel raises workers wages to US$5/day, 1937

Trans-Canada Air Lines (forerunner of Air Canada) begins transcontinental operations (between Vancouver and Montreal), 1939

The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations, 1947

Chiang Kai-shek resumed the presidency of National China on Formosa, 1950

The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States, 1954

The Peace Corps is established, 1961

Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe, Chile, 1964

Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface, 1966

Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1992

Yahoo! was incorporated, 1995

The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (9.5 tons), 2002

The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague, 2003

English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station, 2006

Gustav Klimt's painting "Bauerngarten" sells for $59.3m in London, 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.)

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.

Dr. D is out of town again, and i am cat sitting. Josephine is the Persian and C Trois is the Himalayan.

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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 95: March 2, 2018

1. My favorite Dr. Seuss book is .

2. The most interesting person I have ever met is .

3. Besides books by Dr. Seuss, my favourite book as a child was .

4. Lately, I have been working on .

1. My favorite Dr. Seuss Book is There's a Wocket in My Pocket.

2. The most interesting person i have ever met is Ms. M from the homeschool co-op we used to be members of. She had a fascinating life, was trilingual, raised boxer dogs, and when she and her husband went out as missionaries, they came home with four extra children!

3. Besides books by Dr. Seuss, my favorite book as a child was Saucy. It's the story of a dog named Saucy and her search for the perfect place to have her pups, a book that taught me a great deal about understanding and respecting the needs of animals. A close second would be Be Nice To Spiders, which taught me exactly that.

4. Lately, i have been working on organizing the bills so i can be sure we are paying things off and not missing anything.

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Today is:

Adwa Victory Day -- Ethiopia

Aldo Leopold Weekend -- Wisconsin, US (celebrating Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic; through Sunday)

Butter Lantern Festival -- Tibet (the final celebration of the Tibetan New Year)

Dress in Blue Day -- US, for colorectal cancer awareness

Employee Appreciation Day

Feast of 'Ala (Loftiness) -- Baha'i (first full day of the 19 day fast)

Going Forth of Set, Son of Nut -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Highway Numbers Day -- US (a joint board of state and federal highway officials created the first uniform system for numbering interstate highways, as well as standardizing design of road signs, in 1925)

Hola Mohalla -- Sikh (3 day grand festival)

Holi -- Hindu (Festival of Color, where everyone gets doused with colored water, or powder, or paint, or all of them; it's been described as an iridescent madhouse)

officially recognized holiday in Guyana; India; Nepal; Suriname

Phagu Purnima / Basanta Utsay -- Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

International Festival of Owls -- Houston, MN, US (a great way to celebrate and learn about the wonderful creatures that are owls; through Sunday)

James Ronald Webster's Birthday -- Anguilla

March Nymph's Parade -- Fairy Calendar

National Banana Cream Pie Day

National Salesperson Day

NEA's Read Across America Day -- on Dr. Seuss' birth anniversary; "Grab Your Hat and Read with the Cat"

Old Stuff Day -- if you are doing the same old stuff, think about how you can change that

Peasants' Day -- Myanmar

St. Chad of Mead's Day (Patron of St. Chad's College of the University of Durham in England; Birmingham, England; Lichfield, England)

Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering -- Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX, US (annual gathering of cowboys for poetry readings and music; through tomorrow)

Texas Independence Day -- Texas, US (anniversary of declaration of independence from Mexico in 1836)

World Day of Prayer-- International and Ecumenical; a day for Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action, this year's theme is "All G-d's Creation is Very Good!"; this year's International Committee is meeting in Suriname

Anniversary Today:

Mt. Rainier National Park is established, 1899

Birthdays Today:

Henrik Lundquist, 1982

Bryce Dallas Howard, 1981

Chris Martin, 1977

Daniel Craig, 1968

Jon Bon Jovi, 1962

Ken Salazar, 1955

Laraine Newman, 1952

Karen Carpenter, 1950

Eddie Money, 1949

Lou Reed, 1944

John Irving, 1942

Mikhail Gorbachev, 1931

Tom Wolfe, 1931

John Cullum, 1930

Doc Watson, 1923

Jennifer Jones, 1919

Desi Arnaz, 1917

Martin Ritt, 1914

Mel Ott, 1909

Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), 1904

Bedrich Smetana, 1864

Carl Schurz, 1829

Melissa Burton Coray, 1828

Sam Houston, 1793

Juvenal, 54

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Bubbling Brown Sugar"(Musical), 1976

The Sound of Music(Film), 1965

"Bus Stop"(Play), 1955

King Kong(Film), 1933

Morning Chronicle(London daily newspaper), 1769

Today in History:

The Loves of Mars and Venus becomes the first ballet performed in England, 1717

A semaphore machine that will speed communication is introduced in Paris, 1791

The US Congress outlaws the import of slaves, 1897

The Republic of Texas declares its independence from Mexico, 1836

Aleksandr Romanov becomes the tsar of Russia, 1855

Tsar Aleksandr outlaws serfdom in Russia, 1861

The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace, 1888

In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women, 1903

The original film version of King Kong premiers, 1933

Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute, 1949

The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut, 1949

In Toulouse, France the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted, 1969

Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown, 1970

The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets, 1972

Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28, 1978

CD players and discs are released for sale for the first time outside of Japan, 1983

Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century, 1989

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations, 1992

Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice, 1998

In his book 'Jesus of Nazareth Part II', Pope Benedict XVI exonerates the Jewish people for the responsibility of the death of Jesus, 2011

New findings from the University of Leicester indicate decreasing sitting time by 90 minutes each day can result in major heath advantages, including reducing the risk of Type II Diabetes, 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 one of my favorite days of the week, the day to list things for which i am thankful.

This past week was the Friends of the Library book sale. Sweetie and i managed to carve out one hour between jobs, and while perusing the selections, i got to thinking about all the things i'd learned from teachers all those years ago. So i am thankful to some of the fabulous and not-so-fabulous teachers in my life for what i learned from them, things to do and things not to do.

First was Grandma, who taught me to read before i even went to school using the "Listen and Learn with Phonics" set. It was such fun and i wanted to be able to read so much that i would ask for more than one lesson a day. Heaven bless her, she let me go at my own speed, and i have not stopped since.

My Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. T, taught me how to humiliate a person. It was awful. One little girl in our classes talked and chatted and could not be quiet. Today she would be drugged into silence, but Mrs. T finally one day called her to the front of the room and taped her mouth shut. To this day i can see the tears running down the girls cheeks as she had to turn from that big teacher's desk, several pieces of masking tape over her mouth, and walk past all of us back to her desk. The look of shame on her face disturbs me when i remember it. Mrs. T taught me something she never intended, that humiliation is the worst way to try to teach, and i am grateful for the lesson.

Mrs. F taught me spelling. She was strict but fair, and i still remember her saying, "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking."

Mrs. W taught me to hate math. Though i've made peace with the multiplications tables now, she was mean and made math a horror with her biting tongue if you dared ask a question or did the slightest thing wrong. She taught me that you can make a fun subject loathsome by the way you teach it. When i was home educating my kids in math, i did everything i could to make it fun and something they would want to learn. (It only partially worked, as Sweetie has math phobia, too, and didn't try to hide it.)

Mr. Z, ah, how we all loved him! He rewarded us for good and timely work each day by reading aloud from The Hobbit. He timed it so that we finished the book on the last day of school. He taught me that a great teacher finds ways to motivate students even when the work is not always fun.

Mrs. G was a science teacher, and what a science teacher! Experiments in her class left us wanting to learn more, and she was always letting us do hands on learning. She fostered a love of science in me that i still have.

Mrs. C taught me to read between the lines and figure out what angle a teacher is using in framing questions. This has stood me in good stead any time i had to take a standardized test. She did it by framing questions in such odd and peculiar ways that she almost flunked half of the class. Since i was one of those who figured out her odd ways, i enjoyed learning history from her, but even more i enjoyed learning different ways that people think.

Mr. K never made any expectations clear. He would give an assignment, and then when he talked about it later, the parameters would have changed. If you went to speak to him and get clarification, he would tell you he was looking for X. When you gave him X in the assignment, he would tell you that you had done it wrong, what he was really looking for was Y. He would even ask how come we had done the assignment a certain way instead of another way, when we had just done it the way he'd told us. He taught me that if you don't tell people what you want plainly, or you change your mind between times, you won't get what you want.

Ms. R taught me to touch type, and i am so thankful, especially when i sit and type while looking either at the screen or across the room, and Sweetie is yelling, "How can you do that!" It really impresses him, and i don't know why.

Sister RM was another science teacher who could inspire learning in fabulous ways. She could also be quite tyrannical, and taught me chemistry, physics and that ruling with an iron fist just makes people resentful or unmotivated and depressed to the point where they do not care any more.

Ms. P took my love of Shakespeare and poetry and gave it critical and analytical backbone.

Thank you to the great teachers in my life for the great lessons, and thank you to the awful ones for showing me what not to do.

Josie Two Shoes hosts Ten Things of Thankful every week, and trust me, it is a worth while exercise. Just try it and see if counting the things for which you are thankful doesn't change your outlook.

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Today is:

Bonza Bottler Day™

Day of Remembrance for Prince Igor -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar

Floral City Strawberry Festival -- Floral City, FL, US (fun for all, through tomorrow)

Heart-Accelerating Sodium-Enriched Cold Cuts Day / National Cold Cuts Day -- started, i would think, by someone who has no intention of letting anything healthy past his/her lips

Hina Matsuri -- Japan (Doll Festivals throughout the country, where women and girls dedicate dolls to shrines which are then floated out to sea to take away evil and sicknesses that afflict women)

Iditarod Sled Dog Race - Last Great Race on Earth® begins -- Anchorage to Nome, AK, US (1,000 miles along the historic Iditarod Trail)

If Pets Had Thumbs Day -- because if you are going to imagine something silly today, it might as well be this; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

I Want You to be Happy Day -- a day to devote some time to making someone else truly happy about something

International Omega-3 Awareness Day

Joshi-no-Sekku -- Shinto (festival to honor girls)

Liberation Day/National Day -- Bulgaria

Marriage of the March Nymphs -- Fairy Calendar

Martyr's Day -- Malawi

Mother's Day -- Georgia

National Anthem Day -- US (current US anthem adopted this date in 1931)

National Mulled Wine Day

Natural Bridge Battle Reenactment -- Tallahassee, FL, US (Civil War reenactment; through tomorrow)

North Dakota Winter Show -- Valley City, ND, US (world's largest crop show, eight-breed cattle show, rodeos, tractor pulls, entertainment, and more for tons of family fun; through next Saturday)

Peach Blossom Day - coincides with the start of the Peach Blossom Festival around this time of year in Hunan, China, where you celebrate the beauty of peach blossoms, and girls celebrate being girls

Philadelphia Flower Show -- Philadelphia, PA, US (largest flower show in the US; through Mar. 11)

Saint Piran's Day Celebration -- Kansas City, KA, US (celebration of the patron saint of Cornwall and Cornish peoples, as well as the patron of tin miners, sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Cornish Society)

Sportsmen's Day -- Egypt

Stop Bad Service Day -- spread around the internet by someone who got lousy service

St Casimir' Eve / Kaziukas Fair -- Vilnius, Lithuania (traditional craft fair dates back to the 17th century, celebrating Lithuania's patron saint; through tomorrow)

St. Cunegunda's Day (Patron of Bamberg, Germany; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Poland)

St. Winnal's Day (First comes David, Next comes Chad, Then comes Winnal, roaring mad! -- Traditional English saying about the storminess of March 3; St. Winwaloe or Winnal was the Christianized version of the Teutonic Aegir, god of the sea and controler of weather)

Thanks to the Maple Festival -- Iroquois (date approximate, held when sap began flowing, usually early March)

Anniversaries Today:

Florida becomes the 27th US state, 1845

Colegio Militar of Portugal is founded, 1803

Birthdays Today:

Jessica Biel, 1982

David Faustino, 1974

Julie Bowen, 1970

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 1962

Herschel Walker, 1962

Ira Glass, 1959

Miranda Richardson, 1958

Tim Kazurinsky, 1950

Caroline Lee Bouvier Radziwill, 1933

Doc Watson, 1923

Diana Barrymore, 1921

James Doohan, 1920

Jean Harlow, 1911

Matthew Bunker Ridgway, 1895

Norman Bethune, 1890

Alexander Graham Bell, 1847

George Pullman, 1831

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Moonlighting"(TV), 1985

"Goodtime Charley"(Musical), 1975

"The Lion in Winter"(Play), 1966

"Mr Wizard"(TV), 1951

"Juno and the Paycock"(Play), 1924

Time Magazine, 1923

"Carmen"(Opera), 1875

"Symphony No. 3 in A minor(Scottish)"(Mendelssohn Op.56), 1842

"Symphony No. 101 in D major(The Clock)"(Haydn), 1794

Today in History:

The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporates the Principality of Wales into England, 1284

The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza, 1585

The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau, 1776

The first US Jewish governor, David Emanuel, takes office in Georgia, 1801

The US declares war on Algeria for taking US prisoners and demanding tribute, 1815

The Missouri Compromise, an attempt to keep the US half Slave and half free, is passed by the US Congress, 1820

The Battle of Pelee Island takes place, Ontario, Canada, 1838

Tsar Alexander II emancipates the serfs of Russia, 1861

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group, opens, 1865

The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Canada as recorded in The Montreal Gazette, 1875

Georges Bizet's opera Carmen receives its première at the Opéra Comique in Paris, 1875

Bulgaria regains its independence from Ottoman Empire, 1878

Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood becomes the first female attorney to argue before the US Supreme Court, 1879

The US Geological Survey is created, 1879

Anne Sullivan arrives to begin teaching Helen Keller, 1887

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly, the Duma, 1905

Toronto's Dr Banting & Dr Best announce discovery of insulin, 1921

Time Magazine begins publication, 1923

The United States officially adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem, 1931

Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia, 1938

In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest of the autocratic rule in India, 1939

Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, records "Rocket 88", often cited as "the first rock and roll record", at Sam Phillips' recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee, 1951

An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, 1991

The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction, 1997

Citizens of Switzerland narrowly vote in favor of their country becoming a member of the United Nation, 2002

Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling, 2005

A 2-year old Mississippi girl born with HIV/AIDS is pronounced HIV negative after receiving treatment for the virus within 30 hours after her birth, 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.)

Just because Sandee at Comedy Plus is no longer hosting Silly Sunday does not mean i am going to stop telling Cajun jokes.

The topic of movies has come up several times over the past few days in various conversations. It's been a long time since i've gone to a movie, but if the bug bites me, i understand there are several good ones out in theaters right now.

Boudreaux done took Clothile to de movie, an' when dey be gettin' out, Boudreaux be fussin'. "Clothile, I jes' don' unnerstan' you! Ever' time I take you to de movie, you be cryin'! Las' week, you cry when de movie be sad. De week before, you cry 'cause ever'body be happy at de end. What you cry fo' dis time?"

An' Clothile say, "Mais, dis time I be cryin' cause we jes done waste a lot o' money on a terrible movie!"

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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.

We have already had the A/C on, and now we are cool again. The plants, however, go on their merry way, knowing that even if spring/summer isn't here quite yet, it's close enough.

The Japanese magnolias, sometimes called tulip trees, burst forth first.

This large tree whose name i don't know has very pretty small white blossoms.

Of course, we have the azaleas, camellias and garden flowers.

Then there are the "volunteers," what some call weeds which, as Winnie-the-Pooh rightly pointed out, are flowers, too, once you get to know them.

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Today is:

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Sunday: Namesake Day, a day to think about how you got your name (week begun in 1997 by onomatology hobbyist Jerry Hill)

Charter Day -- St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada (1881)

Courageous Follower Day -- because leaders have to have someone to lead, and it can take as much courage to follow a great leader as to be the leader

Feast of Ra in His Barge at Heliopolis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Holy Experiment Day -- try something religious today

Hug a GI Day -- just don't get in trouble sneaking on base to do it

International Scrapbooking Industry Day -- can't find proof the industry actually set this day, but if you love scrapbooking, celebrate

March Dryads' Festival -- Fairy Calendar

March Forth - Do Something Day

National Grammar Day -- sponsored by The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar on March 4th, which is both a date and an imperative

National Poundcake Day

National Words Matter Week -- US (focusing on the importance of words, particularly the written word; week originally sponsored by The National Association of Independent Writers and Editors)

St. Casimir's Day (Patron of bachelors, kings, princes, single layment; Lithuania; Poland; against plague)

Tavern Day -- US (the first tavern in the US, a Puritan public house in Boston, MA, opened this date in 1634)

Toy Soldier Day -- Dr. Steel's Army, building a utopian playland and embarking on a worldwide mission of fun

Waltz Day -- some say National Waltz Day, and some Dance the Waltz Day, but no one says why this day; i say, waltz if you want to

Anniversaries Today:

Hot Springs National Park is established, 1921

Vermont becomes the 14th US state, 1791

Birthdays Today:

Patsy Kensit, 1968

Jason Curtis Newsted, 1963

Stephen Weber, 1961

Patricia Heaton, 1958

Catherine O'Hara, 1954

Emilio Estefan, 1953

Kay Lenz, 1953

Chris Squire, 1948

Mary Wilson, 1944

Paula Prentiss, 1938

Miriam Makeba, 1932

Joan Greenwood, 1921

Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr., 1906

Knute Rockne, 1888

Garrett Morgan, 1877

Casimir Pulaski, 1747

Antonio Vivaldi, 1678

Prince Henry the Navigator, 1394

Debuting/Premiering Today:

People Magazine(Publication), 1974

"The Dick Cavett Show"(TV), 1968

Nosferatu(Horror Film), 1922

"Pénélope"(Fauré Opera), 1913

"Swan Lake"(Tchaikovsky Op. 20), 1876

Today in History:

Croatian Duke Trpimir I issued a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources, 852

Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam, 1351

Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, from his first voyage, 1493

Hernan Cortez arrives in Mexico in search of Aztec gold, 1519

The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a royal charter, 1629

John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England, 1675

France is divided into 83 départements, which cut across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on noble ownership of land, 1790

The first Jewish member of the US Congress, Israel Jacobs of Pennsylvania, takes office, 1791

A Constitutional Act is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario), 1791

In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington, 1797

In the Castle Hills Rebellion, in New South Wales, Australia, Irish convicts (some of whom had been involved in Ireland’s Battle of Vinegar Hill in 1798) lead the colony’s only significant convict uprising, 1804

Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia, 1848

The day without a US president -- Zachary Taylor refuses to be sworn in on the Sabbath (Sunday), so there is, technically, no president on this day, 1849

The longest bridge in the Great Britain, the Forth Bridge (railway) (1,710 ft) in Scotland is opened, 1890

The great fire of Shanghai damages over 1,000 buildings, 1894

Victor Berger of Wisconsin becomes the first socialist congressman in the U.S., 1911

Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives, 1917

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia's renunciation of the throne is made public, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia publicly issues his abdication manifesto, 1917

Frances Perkins becomes the United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet, 1933

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant, 1954

The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90, 1957

The United States Atomic Energy Commission announces that the first atomic power plant at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is in operation, 1962

The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, 1976

Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister, 1980

Bertha Wilson is appointed the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada, 1983

The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Comet Halley and the first images ever of its nucleus, 1986

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex, 1998

No response is received in the final attempt to contact Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network, 2006

Approximately 30,000 voters take advantage of electronic voting in Estonia, the world's first nationwide voting where part of the votecasting is allowed in the form of remote electronic voting via the Internet, 2007

Vladimir Putin wins the Russian presidential election amid allegations of voter fraud, 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!

In Sunday school, the children were encouraged to write their own psalms. This was one result:

If you cannot read it, it says:

The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need.

He lets me eat pizza.

He leads me do medeteshen.

He renews to be kind.

He guides me to disny world.

Even when I'm scared I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.

You're my sheld protect and comfort me.

You prepare at my prayer for me.

You honor me by being kind.

Surely your Son will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

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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:

Act Goofy Day -- started by someone who wanted to see how far the internet could spread goofiness, i guess

Arivee de l'Evangile -- French Polynesia (Gospel Day)

Babysitter Safety Day

Casimir Pulaski Day -- Illinois, US (celebration of the Polish-American Revolutionary War Hero)

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Monday: Fun Facts About Names Day, enjoy looking up things like, what is the name of the Monopoly dog, or do Ken and Barbie have last names

Commemoration of the Birth of Lao-Tzu -- Taoist (15th day of 2nd lunar month)

Crispus Attucks Day*

Custom Chief's Day -- Vanuatu

Diasia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Zeus Meilikhios; date approximate)

Guam History and Chamorro Heritage Day -- Guam (formerly Discovery Day / Magellan Day)

Hamilton Lavity Stoutt Holiday -- British Virgin Islands (in lieu of Mar. 7)

Labour Day -- WA, Australia (a/k/a Eight Hour Day)

National Absinthe Day

National Cheese Doodle Day

Navigium Isis/Ploiaphaesia: The Festival of Navigation -- Ancient Roman Calendar/Ancient Egyptian Calendar (Sailing Festival, honoring Isis as sea goddess and goddess of sailing, on the traditional start of the sailing season)

Scouts' Day -- Taiwan (celebration of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in Taiwan)

St. Piran's Day (Patron of miners, tin miners, tinners; Cornwall, England; Piran, Slovenia)

St. Piran's Day Celebrations -- Cornwall, England; Kansas City, KA, US

Stop the Clocks Day -- another of those with-no-explanation web holidays that sounds like a good idea

Temperance Day -- North America's first Temperance Law was passed in Virginia this day in 1623

Wedding of the March Dryads -- Fairy Calendar

Anniversary Today:

Channel Islands National Park is established, 1980

Birthdays Today:

Jake Lloyd, 1989

Niki Taylor, 1975

Kevin Connolly, 1974

Eva Mendes, 1974

Andy Gibb, 1958

Penn Jillette, 1955

Marsha Warfield, 1954

Michael Warren, 1946

Paul Sand, 1944

Samantha Eggar, 1939

Fred Williamson, 1938

Dean Stockwell, 1936

James Noble, 1922

Rex Harrison, 1908

Zhou Enlai, 1898

Emmett J. Culligan, 1893

Heitor Villa-Lobos, 1887

Howard Pyle, 1853

James Merrit Ives, 1824

William Blackstone, 1595

Gerhardus Mercator, 1512

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What the Butler Saw"(Play)1969

"Leningrad"/Symphony No. 7 in C major(Shostakovich Op. 60), 1942

"Mefistofele"(Opera), 1868

Today in History:

Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death, 363

Naser Khosrow begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama, 1046

English king Henry VII hires John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) and his sons to explore unknown lands for England, 1496

Smoking tobacco is introduced in Europe by Francisco Fernandes, 1558

Copernicus'"de Revolutionibus" is placed on Catholic Forbidden index, 1616

Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans to take possession of the Louisiana territory from the French, 1766

*Boston Massacre: British troops kill 5 in a crowd, including a young boy and Crispus Attackus, the first black to die for American freedom, in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War five years later, 1770

The Dutch city of Leeuwarden forbids Jews to go to synagogues on Sundays, 1820

Samuel Colt makes the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber, 1836

George Westinghouse Jr patents the triple air brake for trains, 1872

Nikola Tesla, in Electrical World and Engineer, describes the process of the ball lightning formation, 1904

Winston Churchill uses the phrase "Iron Curtain" in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri, 1946

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations, 1970

Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by "off the scale" gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters, 1979

America's Voyager 1 spacecraft has its closest approach to Jupiter, 172,000 miles, 1979

The Soviet probe Venera 14 arrives at the planet Venus, 1982

The graves of Czar Nicholas II and his family are found near St. Petersburg, 1995

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, dies in office in the nation's capital, Caracas, at age 58, 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.)

And now, random news and thoughts from the ol' hacienda, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.

Little Girl is starting her new job today. She has a full time position with her Army Reserve unit, doing paperwork, and the job lasts through the year with a possible extension of the contract beyond that.

Because she now has dependable hours and days off, i am hoping she will sign up for some online classes and get her core classes done that way. She's too smart to neglect her education.

The friends of the library book sale was this past weekend, and Sweetie and i were very good. We only spent about $30 on around a dozen books. This included one book that i got for a dollar that i knew Dr. D wanted.

Of course, if i'd had more money to spend, i would have bought more books. There were several that i passed on. Who knows, maybe next year.

The pastor of our church writes a devotional book for Lent each year. We are going through it in Sunday evening Bible study, and the sermon series relates to the previous week's readings.

Since a sermon series a couple of years ago about the Psalms in which the pastor urged us to read a Psalm or part of a Psalm each day, i've been doing that.

Then this year's devotional book on Day 8 began the focus on sin and forgiveness. What Psalm happened to be my Psalm of the day? Psalm 51, of course, the repentance one written by David after he was confronted by Nathan the Prophet for his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah.

At church that day, i had the following discussion with the pastor:

Me: there are no coincidences! Remember how you encouraged us to read a Psalm each day in your sermons on Psalms a couple of year ago?

Pastor: Yes.

Me: well, this morning's devotional is on repentance and forgiveness, and guess which Psalm was my Psalm of the day.

Pastor: No! Not Psalm 51!

Me: yes, exactly!

Pastor: How weird that it would happen to be that Psalm!

Me: it's not weird, it's G-d!

Pastor: That would make a great bumper sticker.

Yes, we both laughed and agreed that "It's not weird, it's G-d" would be a good one.

The Girl Scout cookies arrived, and since the kids are around a lot less, the cookies are being served at the Ladies Circle meeting this morning. Everyone likes them, after all, and since i buy them from a friend's daughter, i really do feel i'm helping someone out when i get them.

Sweetie got a box of Thin Mints all to himself, too, so everyone is happy.

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Today is:

Alamo Day -- Texas, US

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Tuesday: Unique Names Day, a day to appreciate friends, acquaintances, and loved ones with unique names

Feast of Excited Insects -- China; Korea (sometimes called Chinese Groundhog Day, the day insects are supposed to awaken for spring; date approximate)

Foundation Day -- Norfolk Island, Commonwealth of Australia

Headache Relief Day -- aspirin was patented today in 1899

Independence Day -- Ghana(1957)

Kirishima Jingu Otaue-sai -- Kirishima Jingu Shrine, Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan (rice planting festival)

March Goblins' Galumphing Gala and Display -- Fairy Calendar

National Frozen Food Day

National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day

Oreo Cookie Day -- no history found on why this day, but if you like Oreos, do you need a reason?

Stoneware Pottery Appreciation Day -- internet generated by those who love stoneware

St. Colette's Day (Patron of Corbie, France; against the death of parents)

St. Rose of Viterbo's Day (Patron of exiles, people rejected by religious orders, tertiaries; Viterbo, Italy)

Town Meeting Day -- Vermont, US (giving all citizens the right to speak out about local government, an official state holiday the first Tuesday of March allows towns to have a daylong public meeting of voters to elect town officers, approve budgets, and deal with town business)

Birthdays Today:

Ryan Nyquist, 1979

Shaquille O'Neal, 1972

Amy Pietz, 1969

Connie Britton, 1968

D.L. Hughley, 1963

Tom Arnold, 1959

David Gilmour, 1946

Rob Reiner, 1945

Kiri Te Kanawa, 1944

Dave Gilmour, 1944

Ben Murphy, 1942

Willie Stargell, 1941

Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolaeva, 1937

Lorin Maazel, 1930

Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, 1928

Alan Greenspan, 1926

Ed McMahon, 1923

Will Eisner, 1917

Lou Costello, 1906

Bob Wills, 1905

Ring Lardner, 1885

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806

Anna Claypoole Peale, 1791

Cyrano de Bergerac, 1619

Michelangelo Bounarroti, 1475

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Lend me a Tenor"(Play), 1986

"Deep Blue Sea"(Play), 1952

"Both Your Houses"(Play; Pulitzer Prize for Drama), 1933

"La Traviata"(Opera), 1853

"La Sonnambula"(Opera), 1831

Today in History:

Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam, 1521

The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island (an external territory of Australia) in order to found a convict settlement, 1788

York, Upper Canada is incorporated as Toronto, 1834

After a thirteen day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers defending the Alamo are defeated and the fort is captured, 1836

Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata receives its premiere performance in Venice, 1853

Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society, 1869

Bayer registers "aspirin" as a trademark, 1899

The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins, 1951

United Kingdom colonies Gold Coast and British Togoland become the independent Republic of Ghana, 1957

After 19 years of presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time, 1981

Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers, 1992

A referendum in Moldova results in the electorate voting against possible reunification with Romania, 1994

Picasso's painting Tête de Femme is stolen from a London gallery, and is recovered a week later, 1997

Microsoft is fined €561 million for not providing E.U. residents with an alternative web browser to Internet Explorer, 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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As of the time i am preparing this, Delores has not yet posted the words. As soon as she does, and i can get a story written, i will update.

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Today is:

Bird Day and Arbor Day -- California, US (on Luther Burbank's birth anniversary)

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Wednesday: Learn What Your Name Means Day, go look it up, it's probably very interesting

Get Grandma to Write Down Her Meatloaf Recipe -- or spaghetti, or pound cake, or whatever she specialized in, because if you don't, you will someday regret it

Global Marathon For, By, and About Women in Engineering and Technology -- a free series of online conversations each Wednesday for six weeks to connect girls and women and support them in the fields of engineering and technology

Impeachment of March Goblins -- Fairy Calendar

Masaryk Day -- Czech Republic; Slovakia (birth anniversary of Tomas Masaryk, politician, sociologist, philosopher, and advocate of Czechoslovakian independence)

Mi-Careme -- Guadeloupe; Saint Barthelemy; Saint Martin (Mid-Lent)

National Be Heard Day -- originally a day for small businesses to speak up, but the website promoting the materials is no longer working

National Cereal Day

National Crown Roast of Pork Day

Nones of March -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances

Festival of Junonalia -- for Juno

Festival for Vedovus -- god of the dead, swamps, and volcanic movements

Say Hello Day -- Bell recieved a patent for the telephone this day in 1876 (although he always believed it should be answered by saying, "Ahoy!" Yes, really.)

St. Felicity's and St. Perpetua's Day (Patrons of cattle, martyrs; Santa Perpetua de Mogoda, Spain)

Teacher's Day -- Albania

World Maths Day -- International

Birthdays Today:

Jenna Fischer, 1974

Denyce Graves, 1974

Rachel Weisz, 1971

Taylor Dayne, 1962

Ivan Lendl, 1960

Rik Mayall, 1958

Bryan Cranston, 1956

Franco Harris, 1950

John Heard, 1946

Peter Wolf, 1946

Michael Eisner, 1942

Tammy Faye Bakker, 1942

Daniel J. Travanti, 1940

Janet Guthrie, 1938

Willard Herman Scott, 1934

Anthony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon, 1930

Maurice Ravel, 1875

Piet Mondriaan, 1875

Luther Burbank, 1849

John Herschel, 1792

Stephen Hopkins, 1707

Rob Roy MacGregor, 1671

Henry Purcell, 1659

Kano Tanju, 1602

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Nashville Network(TV network), 1983

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"(Musical), 1967

"The Autumn Garden"(Play), 1951

"The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel"(Operetta), 1896

Today in History:

Roman Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire, 321

King Henry VIII's divorce request is denied by the Pope; Henry then declares that he, not the Pope, is supreme head of England's church, 1530

Massachusetts enacts the first bicameral legislature in the colonies, 1664

The French army enters Rome: the birth of the Roman Republic, 1798

Shrigley Abduction: Ellen Turner is abducted by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a future politician in colonial New Zealand, 1827

Charles Miller patents the first US sewing machine to stitch buttonholes, 1854

The City of Lábrea in Amazonas, Brazil was founded, 1886

Roald Amundsen announces that, on Dec. 14, 1911, his expedition had reached the South Pole, 1912

An 8.0 earthquake strikes Tango, Japan, 1927

Bloody Sunday: Alabama state troopers and 600 black protestors clash in Selma, 1965

Divers from the USS Preserver locate the crew cabin of Challenger on the ocean floor, 1986

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use, 1994

British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected, 2007

The largest solar flare in five years, occurring March 6, 2012, nears the Earth, threatening to disrupt airline flights, GPS systems and power grids, 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.)

"What is that crazy cat chasing this time?" he asked as a gray blur of fur streaked past, stopped short, reached up and pawed at the wall, then streaked back the other way.

"It's one of those damsel flies," she answered.

"Damsel flies?"

"Some people call them crane flies, or mosquito hawks because they look like oversized mosquitoes, but we always called them damsel flies because they flit around like a young girl dancing. Don't worry they are harmless, but when they get in the house the cats chase them."

"It looks like he's having as much fun chasing that as he does the red dot!"

crane fly/damsel fly/mosquito hawk

Linking up for the last time with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she has hosted Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Crane. This story is based on Link, who gives the crane flies no peace in our house.

Beginning next week, we have a new Six Sentence Story host, Girlie On The Edge!

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We still have some carnival decor gracing the city:

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Today is:

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Thursday: Name Tag Day, celebrating those silly tags that say, "Hello, My Name is Illegible"!

Crufts Dog Show -- Birmingham, England (the World's Greatest Dog Show; Best in Show here is the most prestigious award in the world of dogs; through Sunday)

Day of No Interest to Fairies -- Fairy Calendar

Girls Write Now Day -- on International Women's Day, encouraging girls as the makers of future history to put pen to paper and make their voices heard

International Women's Day -- also celebrated as:

Day for Women's Rights and International Peace -- UN

Mother's Day -- Afghanistan; Albania; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Kazakhstan; Kosovo; Laos; Macedonia; Montenegro; Republic of Moldova; Russia; Serbia; Slovenia; Tajikistan; Vietnam

National Peanut Cluster Day

National Proofreading Day -- to promote accuracy in written messages

Revolution Day -- Syria

Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo -- Mercedes, TX, US (through the 18th)

Rockhound Roundup Gem and Mineral Show -- Deming, NM, US (through Sunday)

St. John of God's Day (Patron of alcoholics, bookbinders, booksellers, dying people, firefighters, heart patients, hospitals, hospital workers, nurses, publishers, printers, sick people; Tultepec, Mexico; against alcoholism, bodily ills and sickness)

World Kidney Day

Anniversary Today:

Harry Hamlin marries Nicollette Sheridan, 1991

Birthdays Today:

Marcia Newby, 23, 1988

Bob, Clint, and Dave Moffatt, 1984

Kat Von D, 1982

James Van der Beek, 1977

Freddie Prinze, Jr., 1976

Kathy Ireland, 1963

Camryn Manheim, 1961

Aidan Quinn, 1959

James Edward "Jim" Rice, 1953

Carole Bayer Sager, 1947

Micky Dolenz, 1945

Lynn Redgrave, 1943

Susan Clark, 1940

Raynoma Gordy Singleton, 1937

Cyd Charisse, 1923

Alan Hale, Jr., 1921

Claire Trevor, 1909

Louise Beavers, 1902

Kenneth Grahame, 1859

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., 1841

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, 1714

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Mary, Mary"(Play), 1961

Symphony No. 2 in D major(Sibelius Op. 43), 1901

"Don Quixote"(Straus Op. 35), 1898

"Emilia Galotti"(Play), 1772

Today in History:

William Claxton completes his translation from French into English of Mirror of the World; as England's first printer, he will soon turn this into England's first illustrated print book, 1481

John Casor becomes the first legally-recognized slave in what will be the United States, 1655

Anne Stuart, sister of Mary II, becomes Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1702

Thomas Paine's "African Slavery in America," the first article in the U.S. calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery is published, 1775

Gnadenhütten massacre: Ninety-six Native Americans in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, who had converted to Christianity are killed by Pennsylvania militiamen in retaliation for raids carried out by other Indians, 1782

The New York Stock Exchange is founded, 1817

The first train crosses the first US railway suspension bridge at Niagara Falls, 1855

Everett Horton of Connecticut patents a fishing rod of telescoping steel tubes, 1887

International Women's Day is launched in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Clara Zetkin, leader of the Women's Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, 1911

Mahatma Gandhi starts civil disobedience in India, 1930

Daytona Beach Road Course holds their first oval stock car race, 1936

Phyllis M Daley is the first black nurse sworn-in as US Navy ensign, 1945

Ghana joins the United Nations, 1957

The first radio episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, is transmitted on BBC Radio 4, 1978

Philips demonstrates the Compact Disc publicly for the first time, 1979

Martina Navratilova becomes the 1st tennis player to earn $10 million, 1986

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the murder convictions of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing, 1999

The first comprehensive map of the debris field of the RMS Titanic is revealed, 2012

US-based Mercy Corps, one of the largest humanitarian organizations delivering aid to Syria, said Turkey has ordered it to immediately shut down its Turkish operations, 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.)

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.

The shelter has had a bit of drama lately. This is Buddy:

Buddy showed up almost two years ago and established the rules of engagement. He is friendly, but he does not come inside unless the weather is really, really bad. Even then, sometimes he finds his own place to weather the storm. He's neutered now, but he's been on the streets for all of his years and wants to stay where he can greet people outside and sleep under cars.

These are the sisters:

They showed up together as strays about 8 months ago, half grown and refusing to be touched. They've been trapped, spayed and allowed to remain outside the shelter.

The Tortoiseshell decided when she came that Buddy was the best cat in the world. She followed him, did everything he did, and it seemed he liked having an adoring follower.

The Black and White did not warm up so fast, but has lately been seen following Buddy, and even touching noses with him.

The Tortoiseshell has since been seen giving her sister the whacky paw any time she sees her with Buddy.

Who will win Buddy's affections? Does it matter, since they've all been fixed anyway? Will they all decide to be friends? Stay tuned, we don't know how this one will end.

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My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:

Week 96: March 9, 2018

1. Before you , you need to .

2. After .

3. Winter .

4. Spring .

1. Before you gentlemen ever "take out the trash" again and get into trouble for not doing it "right", you need to listen to me and learn the four proper steps that will assure you are never in the doghouse over this subject again.

Step 1: Get a fresh trash bag from wherever they are stashed and head over to the trash bin.

Step 2: Remove the old bag.

Step 3: Put the new bag in the bin.

Step 4: Take the full bag out to wherever it belongs.

There! Follow the four-step method and you will be the hero and not the goat!

2. After the rush is over, i am going to have a nervous breakdown; i've earned it, i deserve to have the time for it, and no one is going to deprive me of it!

3. Winter has decided to fight back, and we are having cool temps again. Not freezing, but cool enough that we won't need to use the A/C again for a while, and i am grateful.

4. Spring will come. We sometimes have it for a few days, sometimes for a few weeks. Trust me i will take whatever we get.

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Today is:

Armored Warships Day -- the first battle between armored warships, the Monitor and the Merrimac, was this day in 1862

Baron Bliss Day -- Belize

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Friday: Middle Name Pride Day, established by Jerry Hall as a day in which to tell at least 3 people who don't know it what your middle name is, and be proud of it

Day to Mourn Slavery -- commemorates the day slavery was outlawed worldwide in 1927, and to mourn that it still exists

Finnmarkslopet -- Alta, Finland (the world's northernmost dog sled races, since 1981; through the 19th)

Eid Al Moalim -- Lebanon (Teacher's Day)

Get Over It Day™ -- halfway between Valentines and April Fools, a day to just get over something or someone that is bugging you

National Crabmeat Day

National Day of Unplugging -- powered by Reboot/Sabbath Manifesto, encouraging recharging your spiritual life by unplugging your technology from sunset today to sunset tomorrow

National Meatball Day

Panic Day -- a day in which to run around in a panic and tell everyone you can't take it any more, to get it all out of your system, i guess; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Saitousai -- Kashima-shi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan (festival to pray for good harvest that dates back to the Nara period of 710-794, and still includes traditional dress)

Second Day of No Interest to Fairies -- Fairy Calendar

Shabbat Across America/Canada -- sponsored by the National Jewish Out-reach Program, encouraging Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, and Reconstructionist Jews to observe the Sabbath from sundown tonight until sundown tomorrow

South by Southwest/SXSW -- Austin, TX, US (internationally recognized music, new media, and film conference; through the 13th)

St. Catherine of Bologna's Day (Patron of art, artists, Bologna Academy of Art, liberal arts, painters; against temptation)

St. Dominic Savio's Day (Patron of boys, children's choirs, choir boys, choirs, falsely accused people, juvenile delinquents, and Pueri Cantores)

St. Frances of Rome's Day (Patron of automobile drivers/motorists, cabbies/taxi drivers, lay people, people ridiculed for their piety, Roman housewives, widows)

Strinennia -- Slavic Pagan Calendar (festival to call birds and spring to come back)

Takaosan Hiwatari Matsuri -- Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan (fire walking festival, usually on this date but can vary)

The European Fine Art Fair: Maastricht 2018-- Maastricht, Netherlands (The Fine Arts Fair; through the 18th)

Words by the Water: a Cumbrian Literature Festival -- Lake District, The Theatre by the Lake at Keswick, Devon, England (a lively literary festival; through the 18th)

World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup -- Sweetwater, TX, US (begins with a parade and "Miss Snake Charmer" pageant tonight, and continues with lots of fun through Sunday)

Anniversaries Today:

Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais, 1796

Gustav Mahler marries Alma Schindler, 1902

Birthdays Today:

Emmanuel Lewis, 1971

Juliette Binoche, 1964

Terence John "Terry" Mulholland, 1963

Linda Fiorentino, 1960

Jeffrey Osborne, 1948

David Hume Kennerly, 1947

Bobby Fischer, 1943

Trish Van Devere, 1943

Raul Julia, 1940

Marty Ingels, 1936

Mickey Gilley, 1936

Joyce Van Patten, 1934

Yuri Gagarin, 1934

Keely Smith, 1932

Ornette Coleman, 1930

Wally Bronner, 1927

Irene Papas, 1926

Mickey Spillane, 1918

Samuel Barber, 1910

Will Greer, 1902

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, 1890

Amerigo Vespucci, 1454

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Family"(TV), 1976

"Rising of the Moon"(Play), 1907

"Hamlet"(Opera), 1868

"Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor/The Merry Wives of Windsor"(Opera), 1849

"Ernani"(Opera), 1844

"Nabucco"(Opera), 1842

"Horace"(Play), 1640

Today in History:

Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han Dynasty of China, BC141

First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg, 1009

Jews are expelled from Carintha Austria, 1496

Nicolaus Copernicus makes his first recorded astronomical observation, 1497

Marten Luther preaches his first Invocavit sermon, 1522

Kissing in public is banned in Naples, punishable by death, 1562

Publication of the economics book The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, 1776

Prussian government limits work week for children to 51 hours, 1839

The Amistad Ruling: The US Supreme Court rules that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally, and were to be set free, 1841

The first documented discovery of gold in California occurred at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush, 1842

Albert Potts of Philadelphia patents the street mailbox, 1858

The Westmoreland County Coal Strike, involving 15,000 coal miners

represented by the United Mine Workers, begins, 1910

Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, 1916

Pink's War: The first Royal Air Force operation conducted independently of the British Army or Royal Navy begins, 1925

President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to the Congress, the first of his New Deal policies, 1932

CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy", produced by Fred Friendly, in which Edward R. Murrow criticizes the senator, 1954

The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York, 1959

Dr. Antonia Novello is sworn in as Surgeon General of the United States, becoming the first female and Hispanic American to serve in that position, 1990

Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Comet Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day, 1997

Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights, 2011
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft transmits images that for the very first time, allow scientists to create a 3D reconstruction of ancient water channels below the surface of Mars, 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 gratitude day, and it's the start of Daylight Saving Time, so i am trying to be thankful for Daylight Saving Time. Trying very hard. The daylight lasting longer is a good thing. We could get the same by making Daylight Saving Time the new Standard Time and just leaving it there.

Time for a better thankful topic, one that isn't so split in my mind as to whether it's good or not. How about the blessing of the senses.

Seeing my cats playing and making me laugh, i'm thankful for that.

Watching more flowers bloom every single day -- the azaleas are finally coming in, almost a month later than usual -- is a blessing.

Hearing the dog next door bark makes me thankful for both my hearing and the fact that we do not have any guest dogs staying right now.

Listening to music and to the litany prayers in the car is a blessing.

As long as the fresh mango season lasts, i am thankful for the taste of avocado/mango salad.

Mango and papaya juice is a blessing.

Ms. B gave me a hand cream that she did not like the scent of, but i am very thankful that it smells like almonds and milk.

It is a blessing that i do not have to smell the sulfur/lime dip anywhere but at the shelter, and then only when we are dipping cats.

That hand cream feels as good to my sore hands as it smells, and i am thankful to have it.

My soft, warm blankets are a blessing.

It's not hard at all to be thankful when there are so many good things to see, hear, taste, smell and feel.

If you want to try your hand at a Ten Things of Thankful post, come join Josie Two Shoes, our hostess, and a whole gang of friends. You don't have to have 10 things necessarily, just gratitude and willingness to share it.

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Special PSA -- Daylight Saving Time begins in many places 2am tomorrow, so "spring forward" one hour before you go to bed tonight; also, change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Today is:

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Saturday: Geneology Day, begin or continue the journey to learn about your family

Daylight Saving Time begins tomorrow -- Bermuda; Canada (most regions); Cuba; Haiti; Mexico (some areas); Saint Pierre and Miquelon; The Bahamas; Turks and Caicos Islands; US (most areas)

Doctor's Day -- Venezuela

Dream Day -- supposedly begun by an instructor at Columbia University as a day to concentrate on how to make your dreams come true

Farvardigan -- Ancient Persia, Zoroastrians (10 day festival for the dead before Nowruz, the New Year)

Festival of Life in the Cracks Day -- internet holiday declared because this is where most of us are, and we deserve to be celebrated!

Harriet Tubman Day -- anniversary of her death in 1913

Highland County Maple Festival -- Highland County, VA, US (this weekend and next)

International Day of Awesomeness -- Celebrate what is awesome about you - always on Chuck Norris' birth anniversary, because no one is more awesome than Chuck

International Fanny Pack Day -- started by someone who really likes the things (although i do admit they come in handy for keeping your money with you at all times when you have a garage sale)

Mario Day -- for gamers, based on the date Mar 10

National Blueberry Popover Day

National Pack Your Lunch Day -- because it's cheaper and healthier

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day -- US

Shiogama Jinja Hote Festival -- Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan (mikoshi parades and Shinto music)

St. Kessog's Day (Patron of Lennox, Scotland; Scotland)

Telephone Day -- Bell sent the first message by phone, to Watson in the next room, this day in 1876

Tibetan Uprising Day -- Tibetan Independence Supporters commemoration of the 1959 uprising

Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign -- Canisteo, NY (San Juan Capistrano has swallows, and Canisteo has living trees planted to spell out the name of the valley where the turkey vultures/buzzards return each year, traditionally on St. Patrick's Day; this weekend and next enjoy living history events, dealers, and demonstrations on Amish farms -- but only on Saturdays on the farms)

Whoopsical Day -- Fairy Calendar

Birthdays Today:

Emily Osment, 1992

Carrie Underwood, 1983

Shannon Miller, 1977

John Hamm, 1971

Edie Brickell, 1966

Prince Edward, 1964

Jasmine Guy, 1964

Rick Rubin, 1963

Pam Oliver, 1961

Sharon Stone, 1958

Shannon Tweed, 1957

Kim Campbell, 1947

Bob Greene, 1947

Tom Scholz, 1947

Chuck Norris, 1940

Dave Rabe, 1940

James Earl Ray, 1928

Pamela Mason, 1918

Bix Beiderbecke, 1903

Clare Boothe Luce, 1903

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"(TV), 1997

"The Incredible Hulk"(TV), 1978

"Sweet Bird of Youth"(Play), 1959

Today in History:

The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end, BC241

Jews are excluded from public office in the Roman Empire, 418

King Charles I dissolves Parliament; he calls it back 11 years later, 1629

English Quaker William Penn receives charter from Charles II, making him sole proprietor of colonial American territory Pennsylvania, 1681

French Huguenot Jean Calas, who was wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform, 1762

John Stone, of Concord, Massachusetts, patents a pile driver, 1791

England begins its first modern census, 1801

In St. Louis, Missouri, a formal ceremony is conducted to transfer ownership of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States, 1804

The French Foreign Legion is established by King Louis-Philippe to support his war in Algeria, 1831

Abraham Lincoln patents a device to help free ships in rivers from shallow water; he built a small scale model, but no full-size device was ever built, and makes him the only US president to hold a patent, 1849

Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call by saying "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you," 1876

Commissioner George Scott Railton and seven women officers landed at New York to officially begin the work of the Salvation Army in the US, 1880

Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching, 1891

The Courrières mine disaster, Europe's worst ever, kills 1099 miners in Northern France, 1906

After Bob Fitzsimmons KOs much larger Jim Corbett to win world HW championship he says, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," 1896

China ends slavery, 1910

Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation, 1922

In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.; he later retracts his guilty plea, 1969

Astronomers discover rings around Uranus, 1977

In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted 18 months after seizing power in a coup, 1990

The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5132.52, signaling the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom, 2000

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars, 2006

Carlos Slim becomes the first Mexican and person from an emerging economy to top Forbes Richest Person list, with net worth of US$53.5 billion, 2010

The world's largest banana company is created as the Irish fruit company Fyffes merges with U.S. company Chiquita; the new company, ChiquitaFyffes, will trade on the New York Stock Exchange, 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 is no longer hosting Silly Sunday does not mean i will stop telling Cajun jokes.

Even though the family trip to the beach isn't until June, there is already talk about who is going when, who can get off work and who might have to miss out, and what we will and will not end up doing this year.

One Sunday Thibodeaux done see Boudreaux at church by hisse'f, an' Thibodeaux ax, "Boudreaux, where be Clothile?"

An' Boudreaux say, "She be on a trip to de West Indies."

So Thibodeaux ax, "Jamaica?"

An' Boudreaux say, "Mais non, she decide she want to go!"

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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.

Here are a few random sights from the past couple of weeks.

A fascinating study in what to do with exercise equipment when you don't use it for its intended purpose:

Where Dr. D keeps her make-up:

My favorite Poodle in the whole world, Bear:

A sign at our vet's office:

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Today is:

Bunching of Fairies for the Second Flight -- Fairy Calendar

Charter Day -- Pennsylvania, US

Daylight Saving Time -- if your area is observing this, it switched over at two o'clock this morning; if you are just finding this out, you are already late!

Check Your Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monixide Detectors Day -- make sure the batteries are fresh and that they are in good working order

Debunking Day -- internet holiday possibly started by someone tired of internet myths

Feast Day of Hercules/Herakles -- Ancient Roman and Greek Calendars

Frankenstein's Birthday -- Mary Shelley's famous tale was published today in 1818

Girl Scout Sunday -- US (encouraging Girl Scouts to wear their uniforms to church services and represent their troop to their congregations; the first day of Girl Scout Week in the US)

Johnny Appleseed Day / Apple Appreciation Day -- death anniversary of John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman; some say March 18

King Moshoeshoe I's Anniversary -- Lesotho

Laetare Sunday -- Western Christianity, 4th Sunday of Lent; related Observances

Carnaval de la Laetare -- Stavelot, Belgium

Mothering Sunday -- UK (fourth Sunday of Lent, originally a day to visit your "mother church" in the parish where you were raised, now celebrated as Mother's Day)

National No Smoking Day -- UK (for help quitting, go here)

National Oatmeal-Nut Waffles Day

Reestablishment of Independence -- Lithuania (independence from the USSR)

St. Eulogius of Cordova's Day (Patron of carpenters, coppersmiths)

World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film -- International

World Folk Tales and Fables Week -- encouraging all people to explore the cultural background and lessons learned from folk tales, fables, myths, and legends from around the world; originally sponsored by Language Lizard

World Glaucoma Week begins -- to expand global awareness of the Silent Thief of Sight

Worship of Tools Day -- begun by someone who knew we would be nowhere without tools

Anniversaries Today:

Romeo & Juliet's wedding day, according to Shakespeare, 1302

Emperor Napoleon married by proxy to Archduchess Marie Louise, 1810

Birthdays Today:

Terrance Howard, 1969

Alex Kingston, 1963

Curtis Brown, Jr., 1956

Douglas Adams, 1952

Bobby McFerrin, 1950

Jerry Zucker, 1950

Dominique Sanda, 1948

Charles W. Swan, 1942

Antonin Scalia, 1936

Sam Donaldson, 1934

Rupert Murdoch, 1931

Ralph Abernathy, 1926

Mercer Ellington, 1919

Ezra Jack Keats, 1916

Harold Wilson, 1916

Lawrence Welk, 1903

Robert Treat Paine, 1731

Torquato Tasso, 1544

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Cops"(TV), 1989

"A Raisin in the Sun"(Play), 1959

"Don Carlos"(Opera), 1867

"Rigoletto"(Opera), 1851

"I Capuleti e i Montecchi"(Opera), 1830

The Daily Courant(Newspaper; first British daily paper), 1702

Today in History:

Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty),BC1425

Volcano Etna in Italy erupts killing 15,000, 1669

The first English daily newspaper "Daily Courant," begins publishing, 1702

Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation, 1708

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is published, 1818

Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hone Heke, Kawiti and Maori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororareka, New Zealand, 1845

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government, 1848

The Great Sheffield Flood: The largest man-made disaster ever to befall England kills over 250 people in Sheffield, 1864

The Meiji Japanese government officially annexes the Ryukyu Kingdom into what would become the Okinawa prefecture,1872

The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins, lasting 4 days, 1888

The first confirmed cases of the Spanish Flu are observed at Fort Riley, Kansas, 1918

The Bank of Canada opens, 1935

Reginald Weit became the first African American to play in the US Tennis Open, 1948

Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," the first Broadway play by a black woman, opens, 1959

Mt. Etna in Sicily erupts, 1974

Pakistan successfully conducts a cold test of a nuclear weapon, 1983

Mikhail S Gorbachev replaces Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet leader, 1985

Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, 1999

Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as first female president of Chile, 2006

An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people and triggering the second largest nuclear accident in history, 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.)

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!

Guess who got dropped off at the shelter:

Yes, someone abandoned them on our doorstep.

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My "Spark" for the day

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Today is:

Alfred Hitchcock Day -- some internet sources say March 8, and no one knows who picked either day

Arbor Day -- China; Taiwan

Australia Celebrations:

Adelaide Cup Day -- SA

Labour Day -- VIC

Canberra Day -- ACT

Eight Hours Day -- Tas (a/k/a Labour Day)

Brain Awareness Week begins-- the global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research

Commonwealth Day -- Commonwealth of Nations (the 54 Countries which today celebrate their ties to one another; Her Majesty the Queen will issue a special message to all Commonwealth Nations citizens through their respective Presidents and Prime Ministers)

Donkey Appreciation Day -- formerly celebrated, but the lowly donkey is no longer as indespensible as he was; if you share my fondness for beasts of burden, celebrate it anyway

Girl Scouts Birthday -- US

Huddling of Fairies of the Third Flight -- Fairy Calendar

Kronprinsessans Namnsdag -- Sweden (Name Day of HRH Crown Princess Victoria, the Heir Apparent; an official flag day)

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day festival, dates approximate; celebrates the marriage of Kore and Dionysos)

Martyrdom of Hypatia of Alexandria -- in 415, she was murdered for the three crimes of being intelligent, female, and pagan

National Arts Advocacy Day -- US; through tomorrow

National Baked Scallops Day

National Day -- Mauritius (anniversary of independence in 1968)

National Heroes and Benefactors Day -- Belize

National Wildlife Week -- US (go learn how to safely observe wildlife this week; sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation)

Plant a Flower Day -- sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation; now's a good time to give wildlife friendly perrenials a head start, starting them indoors if you have to

St. Gregory the Great's Day (Patron of choir boys, educators, masons, musicians, popes, schoolchildren, singers, stonemasons, stone cutters, students, and teachers; England; Kercem, Malta; Legazpi, Philippines; Montone, Italy; San Gregorio nelle Alpi, Italy; West Indies; against gout and plague)

note that Pope St. Gregory is also celebrated on Sept. 3, the date he was elected pope

Graekarismessa (Mass of St. Gregory) -- Torshavn, Faroe Islands (traditional day on which the oystercatcher, their symbolic national bird, returns)

Gregoru Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (Gregory's Day, similar to groundhog day for weather prediction)

St. Seraphina's Day (Patron of the disabled and handicapped, and of spinners)

Taranaki Provincial Anniversary Day -- Taranaki, New Zealand

Workplace Napping Day -- on this, the Monday after DST begins, show your boss the studies that highlight the benefit of power naps

some sites call it National Napping Day; either way, lie down and be counted!

World Day Against Cyber Censorship -- sponsored by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International

Youth Day -- Zambia

Anniversaries Today:

Mick Jagger marries Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, 1971

Paul McCartney marries Linda Louise Eastman, 1969

Birthdays Today:

Frank Catalano, 1978

Aaron Eckhart, 1968

David Daniels, 1966

Darryl Strawberry, 1962

Marlon Jackson, 1957

Rob Cohen, 1949

James Taylor, 1948

Liza Minnelli, 1946

Al Jarreau, 1940

Barbara Feldon, 1933

Andrew Young, 1932

Edward Albee, 1928

Wally Schirra, 1923

Jack Kerouac, 1922

Gordon MacRae, 1921

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1881

Simon Newcomb, 1835

Charles Cunningham Boycott, 1832

Clement Studebaker, 1821

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Moses und Aaron"(Opera), 1954

"Fervaal"(Opera; d'Indy Op. 40), 1897

"Simon Boccanegra"(Opera), 1857

Today in History:

Martyrdom of Hypatia of Alexandria, philosopher, 415

Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius, 538

Orvieto, Italy, rules it will behead and burn Jewish-Christian couples, 1350

Jews are expelled from Syria, 1496

New Jersey becomes an English colony, 1664

The first steam engine in America installed, to pump water from a mine, 1755

Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain, 1881

In Vicksburg, Mississippi, Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time, 1894

The first main line electric train in UK, from Liverpool to Southport, begins running, 1904

The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States, by Juliette Gordon Lowe, 1912

The foundation stone of the new Australian capital in Canberra is laid, 1913

Mohandas Gandhi begins 200m (300km) march protesting British salt tax, 1930

The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism, 1947

The Church of England ordains its first female priests, 1994

Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO, 1999

Financier Bernard Madoff plead guilty in New York to scamming $18 billion, the largest in Wall Street history, 2009

The U.S. Census Bureau reports the world now has 7 billion people, 2012

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service warns of an increase in taxpayer phone scams threatening victims unless they pay a given amount with a debit or prepaid credit card, 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.)

It's Tuesday, so that means time to link up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.

#1 Son was reading me a news item the other day about a coffee shop in California that has said it will not serve police officers.

He read their comments about how officers make them feel unsafe, and i noted how they will not feel that way if they are ever facing an emergency situation.

His response was, "I'll take coffee shops most likely to be the next ones robbed for $500, Alex!"

Yesterday was another full day with Dr. D. Dishes, looking for the still lost library books, cleaning out from the leak under the kitchen sink, looking for the mail, cleaning up after the cats including washing their dishes, looking for the bank payment book, running to Mall-Mart for bananas and nilla wafers because we couldn't find the first bag she'd bought, making banana pudding, running the banana pudding to the people for whom she made it, running to the storage unit, running to the other that is in shop to get the soft drinks and wine and books and dish detergent and look for the library books (they were not there), and going to the nursery to buy plants so she can go plant them in the yard of the blind man up the street who lets her plant vegetables in his yard and then they split whatever she harvests.

She also managed to get in touch with her other attorney about the fire case and make dental and doctor appointments for later this week, and pay bills.

If she could afford to hire me full time, she could keep me busy for the next 20 years just taking care of the backlog.

Ms. PR at church who introduced me to her and thus got me the job is tickled to know it's working out. She is quite a handful herself (gets up the ladies' trip to the beach every year with her friends, and from what i understand they have a party to envy), and she wants the three of us to get together for lunch.

If that ever happens, i know i will have to drive to pick both of them up and bring them home as i'd be the only one able to drive once the meal was over.

Little Girl is enjoying her new job, and it looks like our next door neighbor, Mr. MB (father of Mike-Next-Door who does our lawn), is going to buy her boyfriend's old car that Friend Chris was never able to finish repairing. That will be a load off, as it is taking up space in the back yard carport and looks awful.

That's about all the news that's fit to print here, i hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

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Today is:

Africa Scout Day -- Africa (celebration of all Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in Africa)

Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis

Cheltenham Hunt Festival -- Cheltenham Racecourse, Prestbury, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England (a four day Festival, with the big race on that final day)

Ear Muff Day -- invented by Chester Greenwood in 1873, when he was only 15; if you need them today, keep a good thought for Chester

Good Samaritan Involvement Day -- emphasizing the importance of unselfish aid to others

Kasuga Matsuri -- Kasuga Grand Shrine, Nara, Japan (Monkey Festival)

K-9 Veterans Day -- US (on the day in 1942 the US Army K-9 Corps was established)

National Coconut Tort Day

National Jewel Day -- for no other reason than that someone who liked jewels wanted a holiday for them

National Open An Umbrella Indoors Day -- an experiment in whether or not bad luck ensues

Organize Your Home Office Day -- Lisa Kanarek wants everyone to organize their home office on the second Tuesday in March; my response is: in one day! is she out of her mind!

Saint Ansovinus of Camerino (Patron protector of crops)

Sticking Very Close Together for Fairies of the Fourth and Fifth Flights -- Fairy Calendar

Uranus Day -- the planet was discovered this day in 1781

Birthdays Today:

Emile Hirsch, 1985

Rachael Bella, 1984

Will Clark, 1964

Adam Clayton, 1960

Glenne Headly, 1957

Dana Delany, 1956

Deborah Raffin, 1953

Charo, 1951

William H. Macy, 1950

Neil Sedaka, 1939

Helen "Callaghan" Candaele Saint Aubin, 1929

William Casey, 1913

L. Ron Hubbard. 1911

Sammy Kaye, 1910

Walter Annenberg, 1908

Percival Lowell, 1855

Lorenzo Delmonico, 1813

Joseph Priestly, 1733

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Larry King Show"(TV), 1983

"Same Time, Next Year"(Play), 1975

"Brigadoon"(Musical), 1947

"Three Musketeers"(Musical), 1928

"The Pink Lady"(Musical), 1911

"Marie Magdalena"(Opera), 1846

"Médée"(Opera), 1797

Today in History:

Twelfth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 607

Spanish explorer Cortez lands in Mexico, 1519

The Spanish fleet occupies Djerba, at Tripoli, 1560

Cambridge College is renamed Harvard for clergyman John Harvard, 1639

Jews are denied the right to build a synagogue in New Amsterdam, 1656

Massachusetts gains title to Maine for $6,000, 1677

The twenty-seventh recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 1759

William Herschel discovers Uranus, 1781

The Uncle Sam cartoon figure makes its debut in the NY Lantern weekly, 1852

The US Senate begins Pres Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial, 1868

Oxford defeats Cambridge in their first golf match, 1878

The Siege of Khartoum, Sudan begins, Madhist Sudanese against the Egyptian, British, and loyalist Sudanese forces, 1884

In France the length of the workday for women and children is limited to 11 hours by law, 1900

Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares independence from China, 1921

A law is passed in the US state of Tennessee prohibiting the teaching of evolution, 1925

Clyde Tombaugh announces the discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory, 1930

Rotaract begins as a youth program of Rotary International, 1968

Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module, 1969

The Seikan Tunnel, the longest undersea tunnel in the world, opens between Aomori and Hakodate, Japan, 1988

India's Missionaries of Charity chooses Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its leader, 1997

Gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $1,000 per ounce for the first time, 2008

A Harvard Medical School study claims that red meat increases the risk of death and has additional negative health implications, 2012

In Greenland, the Siumut party wins the parliamentary election, setting up Aleqa Hammond to become the country's first female Prime Minister, 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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As of the time i am preparing this to post, the words are not up. As soon as they are, and i can finish work and get a story done, i will update. Thank you.

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Today is:

Constitution Day -- Andorra

Dietician's Day -- Canada

Dita e Veres -- Albania (Summer Day)

Festival of Veturius Mamurius -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival of armor makers)

Genius Day -- for Einstein, of course

International Ask A Question Day -- because that's what geniuses do

Learn about Butterflies Day -- if you go looking for who started this holiday, you will find out lots about butterflies and nothing about him/her, which i guess makes it a success

National Decoration Day -- Liberia

Moth-er Day -- for all individuals and museums that have moth collections; some websites have this listed as the day before Mother's Day

Mother Tongue Day -- Estonia

National Heroes Day -- Saint Vincent and Grenadines

National Potato Chip Day

National Pi Day - Why today? Because today is 3.14, the value of Pi.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day -- US

Runic Half Month Beorc (Birch) begins

Shopping Cart Day -- patent filed today in 1938 by Sylvan Goldman

St. Matilda, Queen of Germany's Day (Patron of dying children, disappointing children, falsely accused people, large families, people ridiculed for their piety, queens, second marriages, widows)

Ten Most Wanted Day -- the FBI started its list this day in 1950

White Day -- China; Japan; South Korea; Taiwan (One month after Valentine's Day, which is the day women give gifts to men; today, the men return the favor.)

Birthdays Today:

Justin Bieber, 1994

Colby O'Donis, 1989

Taylor Hanson, 1983

Grace Park, 1974

Kirby Puckett, 1961

Tamara Tunie, 1959

Rick Dees, 1951

Pam Ayres, 1947

Billy Crystal, 1947

Rita Tushingham, 1942

Michael Caine, 1933

Quincy Jones, 1933

Frank Borman, 1928

S. Truet Cathy, 1921

Hank Ketcham, 1920

Horton Foote, 1916

Les Brown, 1912

Albert Einstein, 1879

Casey Jones, 1864

Lucy Hobbs Taylor, 1833

Johann Strauss, Sr., 1804

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"10 Most Wanted"(FBI list), 1950

"The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu"(Comic Opera), 1885

"MacBeth"(Opera), 1847

Today in History:

The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice, 1489

England grants a patent for Providence Plantations (now Rhode Island), 1644

Scotland dismisses Willem III & Mary Stuart as king & queen, 1689

Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin, 1794

The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church founded in New York, 1821

Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado premiers in London, 1885

During the Great Blizzard of 1888, New York receives its second largest snowfall on record, 21", 1888

The United States goes on the gold standard, 1900

Hugo de Vries rediscovers Mendel's laws of genetics, 1900

The first theater for rear movie projection is built, in NYC, 1931

A jury in Dallas, Texas, finds Jack Ruby guilty of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, assumed assassin of John F. Kennedy, 1964

Linux kernel version 1.0.0 is released, 1994

Astronaut Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on-board a Russian launch vehicle, 1995

The Chinese city of Chongqing (formerly Chunking) is upgraded to a centrally administered municipality, 1997

Over a million Lebanese people take to the streets of Beirut to protest against Syrian military presence, in what comes to be called the Cedar Revolution, 2005

After measuring its spin and parity, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider announce they firmly believe the particle discovered in July 2012 is a Higgs boson, 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.)

Her hand was frozen on the edge, grasping the seam.

The one thing she wanted to do most in the world was pull back that curtain.

The one thing she wanted to do least in the world was pull back that curtain.

She knew, just as she had known he was lying, what she would find.

He was on the other side when he was supposed to be at work, on the other side with the woman she had, until she figured it out, most admired in the world.

That admiration for her, along with any love for him, melted into a cold, hard block that sat in her chest the moment she startled them, the moment she pulled back that curtain.

Linking up with Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Curtain.

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St. Patrick's Day decor:

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Today is:

1848 Revolution Day -- Hungary

Absolutely Incredible Kid Day -- Camp Fire USA encourages everyone to send a note or letter to a young person today, telling him/her exactly what an incredible kid s/he is!

Ag Day, Celebrating Our Bountiful Food Supply -- according to a foodie website

Brutus Day -- for obvious reasons; watch for backstabbers today, because they are as numerous now as they were in ancient Rome

Companies That Care Day -- national event that encourages employers to highlight and expand their employee and community initiatives, and recognize the people who make their companies successful

Constitution Day -- Belarus

Dumbstruck Day -- Fairy Calendar

Everything You Think is Wrong Day -- begun by someone who wants you to keep an open mind, apparently

Fallas de Valencia -- Valencia, Spain (a five day carnival/fiesta of partying that ends with turning off all the city lights and setting fire to hundreds of massive papier-mache statues stuffed with fireworks to celebrate St. Joseph's Day; sometimes called Fallas de San Jose)

Festival of Houses and Gardens -- Charleston, SC, US (a rare opportunity to explore the private homes and gardens of historic Charleston; through Apr. 21)

Honen Matsuri -- Tagata-jinja Shrine, Inuyama, Japan (festival for a good harvest and fertility)

Ides of March -- Ancient Roman Calendar; other observances

Day Sacred to Anna Parenna and River Nymphs -- goddess of the returning year

Day You Don't Want to Go Out if Your Name is Julius Caesar

Festival of Attis and Cybele

Guild Festival -- for guilds practicing the arts of Minerva, with weapons purified at her temple on this day

International Day Against Police Brutality

Joseph Jenkins Roberts' Birthday -- Liberia

Kashiram Jayanti -- UP, India (birth anniversary of politician Kashi Ram)

Louisiana Sportsman Show and Festival -- Gonzales, LA, US (boat show for NOLA, BR, and the Gulf Coast, and includes a jambalaya cook off; through Sunday)

National Pears Helene with Chocolate Sauce and Brandy Day

Offerings to Ra, Osiris, Horus, Ptah, Sokar, and Atum -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Quebec City Hunting, Fishing, and Boat Show -- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (through Sunday)

St. Clement Mary Hofbauer's Day (Patron of Vienna, Austria)

St. Louise de Marillac's Day (Patron of disappointing children, loss of parents, people rejected by religious orders, sick people, social workers, widows; Vincentian Service Corps)

Tagata Honen-Sai/Honen Matsuri -- Inuyama, Japan (fertility festival)

True Confessions Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, because confession is good for the soul; if you are afraid to confess to the world, there's always your mirror

Turkey Buzzards Day -- Hinckley, OH, US (Two theories about why the turkey buzzards return on this date each year have to do with either witchcraft of a hunting story; festival in honor of them will be held this coming Sunday)

Ultimate Sport Show -- Grand Rapids, MI, US (sports enthusiasts from around the US and Canada gather for buying and selling equipment, seminars, demonstrations, and displays; through Sunday)

World Consumer Rights Day -- International

Youth Day -- Palau

Anniversaries Today:

Richard Burton marries Elizabeth Taylor, 1964

The University of Toronto is chartered, 1827

Maine becomes the 23rd US state, 1820

Birthdays Today:

Kellan Lutz, 1985

Sean Biggerstaff, 1983

Eva Longoria, 1975

Kim Raver, 1969

Mark McGrath, 1968

Bret Michaels, 1963

Fabio, 1961

Mary Carillo, 1957

Park Overall, 1957

Dee Snyder, 1955

Craig Wilson, 1954

Sly Stone, 1944

Mike Love, 1941

Phil Lesh, 1940

Judd Hirsch, 1935

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1933

Alan Bean, 1932

Norm Van Brocklin, 1926

Harry James, 1916

Joe E. Ross, 1914

Macdonald Carey, 1913

Samuel "Lightnin" Hopkins, 1912

Andrew Jackson, 1767

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Wonder Years"(TV), 1988

"Eight is Enough"(TV), 1977

"Three's Company"(TV), 1977

"The Godfather"(Film), 1972

"Purlie"(Musical), 1970

"Lady Madonna"(Music single), 1968

"My Fair Lady"(Musical), 1956

"Rapsodie Espagnole"(Ravel's Orchestral rapsody), 1908

"Caesar and Cleopatra,"(Play), 1899

"She Stoops to Conquer"(Comedy), 1773

Today in History:

Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March, BC44

Liu Bei, a Chinese warlord and member of the Han royal house, declares himself emperor of Shu-Han and claims his legitimate succession to the Han Dynasty, 221

A Jew hating Monk in Seville, Spain stirs up people in that city to attack Jews, 1391

Christopher Columbus arrives back in Spain after his first trip to the New World, 1493

The first meeting of the Council of Trent, 1545

South Carolina becomes the first American colony to declare its independence from Great Britain and set up its own government, 1776

In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy; the plea is successful and the threatened coup d'état never takes place, 1783

A revolution breaks out in Hungary, and the Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party, 1848

Jesse W. Reno patents an "inclined elevator" (escalator), 1892*

Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated, 1906

Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne and his brother the Grand Duke becomes Tsar, 1917

Symbolics.com registers the very first Internet domain name, 1985

Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union, 1990

French President Jacques Chirac signs the law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools, commonly known as the "headscarf ban", 2004

Lazarus Project scientists reveal that they successfully recovered frozen tissue from the 1970's and rejuvenated the cells of Rheobatrachus silus, a species of frog that has been extinct since 1983, 2013

*The first actual working model, at Coney Island, was built four years later.

(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.

Tripod SissyCat dearly loves to be outdoors. Sometimes she boldly lies in the grass, and sometimes she sits in the shade of the column on the porch.

Tripod SissyCat peeks from behind the column.

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My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:

Week 97: March 16, 2018

1. When I am nervous, I .

2. When I am angry, I .

3. Today, I know for sure .

4. For St. Patrick’s day, I .

1. When i am nervous, i pray, and get to scrubbing something.

2. When i am angry, i take a deep breath and ask for the strength to pray instead of get angry.

3. Today i know for sure that every moment of life is a gift and i am not guaranteed another.

4. For St. Patrick's Day, i make sure Sweetie gets a corned beef sandwich from the synagogue corned beef sandwich sale fundraiser. This year i will be working on St. Patrick's Day, and so avoiding the area where the parade is held so i can get to work on time.

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Today is:

Charleston International Antiques Show -- Charleston, SC, US (world class show with museum quality objects in every category; through Sunday)

Cherry Blossom Festivals -- Japan (from now through mid-April, every city will welcome spring at some point with a Sakura Matsuri or Hanami, where people sit under the trees and enjoy beer or sake; scheduling in each place depends on weather and the blossoms themselves)

Cumbre Tajin -- Veracruz, Mexico (Tajin Summit, alternative therapies, art, music, and dance; through the 20th)

Curlew Day -- Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge, OR, US (traditional date the long-billed curlew arrives, with up to 500 reported during their nesting season)

Day of the Book Smugglers -- Lithuania (recognizing the brave people who smuggled Lithuanian language books in the Latin alphabet into the country from 1866-1904, when the Russian Empire had banned such books)

Day After Dumbstruck Day -- Fairy Calendar

Elaphebolia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Artemis; date approximate)

Everything You Do is Right Day -- another internet generated holiday designed to get you into trouble if you aren't careful

Feast of Heru and His Companions -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of Bacchus / Bacchanalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (through tomorrow)

Freedom of Information Day -- on the birthday of James Madison, Father of the US Constitution and an advocate for openness in government

Jonquil Festival -- Washington State Park, Arkansas, US (through Sunday)

Latvian Legion Day -- Latvia (no longer a formal national holiday, still celebrated by many in the region)

Lips Appreciation Day -- after all, where would you be without them, and how would you give kisses? sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Macon, Georgia International Cherry Blossom Festival -- Macon, Georgia ("The Pinkest Party on the Planet"; through the 25th)

National Artichoke Hearts Day

Schmeckfest -- Freeman, SD, US (two weekends full of sausage and sauerkraut, kuchen, musical entertainment, and more, celebrating the German, Russian, and Mennonite heritage of the area)

Sherlock Holmes Weekend -- Cape May, NJ, US (a weekend of mystery for amateur sleuths and fans of A.C. Doyle)

St. Heribert of Cologne's Day (Patron against drought)

St. Urho's Day -- Finnish communities in Canada and the US (a made up saint, the Finns answer to St. Patrick, who supposedly drove the grasshoppers out of Finland)

World Sleep Day -- sponsored by the World Association of Sleep Medicine, aiming to lessen the burdens of sleep problems on society; this year's theme is "Join the Sleep World, Preserve Your Rhythms to Enjoy Life"

Anniversary Today:

The United States Military Academy at West Point is established, 1802

Birthdays Today:

Judah Friedlander, 1969

Lauren Graham, 1969

Kevin Tod Smith, 1963

Isabel Huppert, 1955

Alice Hoffman, 1952

Kate Nelligan, 1951

Erik Estrada, 1949

Victor Garber, 1949

Chuck Woolery, 1942

Bernardo Bertolucci, 1940

Jerry Lewis, 1926

Mercedes McCambridge, 1916

Patricia Nixon, 1912

Henny Youngman, 1906

Rosa Bonheur, 1822

Georg Simon Ohm, 1787

James Madison, 1751

George Clymer, 1739

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Gumby Show"(TV), 1957

"1776"(Musical), 1969

"Der Unbestechliche"(Comedy), 1923

"In the South / Alassio"(Elgar, Op. 50), 1904

"Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen"(Mahler Song cycle), 1896

"Thaïs"(Opera), 1894

Freedom's Journal(first African American newspaper in the US, in New York), 1827

Today in History:

The Babylonians capture Jerusalem and replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king, BC597

Caligula becomes Roman Emperor after the death of his great uncle, Tiberius, 37

The Jews of York England commit mass suicide rather than submit to baptism, 1190

Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches Philippines, 1521

Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset," 1621

The US Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point, 1802

Prince Willem of the House of Orange-Nassau proclaims himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in The Netherlands, 1815

New York Stock Exchange slowest day ever (31 shares traded), 1830

Susan Hayhurst becomes the first woman to graduate from a pharmacollogy college, 1830

Edward Clark became Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who was evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy, 1861

Joseph Lister's article outlining the discovery of antiseptic surgery is published in The Lancet, 1867

Hiram R Revels makes the first official speech by an African American in the US Senate, 1869

The Barnum and Bailey Circus debuts, 1881

Sir Arthur Evans discovers the ancient city of Knossus, 1900

Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts, 1926

The Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the company's founding, 1958

Gemini 8 is launched, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with the Agena Target Vehicle, 1968

General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado, 1968

Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last wooden radio tower in Germany, 1983

Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut; he will be held for 6 1/2 years, 1985

Pope John Paul II asks God for forgiveness for the inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust, 1998

Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control, 2005

The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to establish the UN Human Rights Council, 2006

Voters in Crimea vote overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia amid international condemnation of its design, 2014

Taking Sides (Cajun Joke) and Sunday Selections

Stay! (Awww Monday) and Sparks!

Dr. D's Adventures (Random Tuesday)

Sweetie’s Lunatic Fringe (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

No Transfer Needed (Six Sentence Story) and Good Fences

Princess Cats (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-ins

Thanks for the Lessons (Ten Things of Thankful)

Crying Over Spilled Milk (Cajun Jokes) and Sunday Selections

Kids Pray the Darnedest Things (Awww Monday) and Sparks!

Jobs, Coincidences, Books and Cookies, a Random Tuesday Post

South Louisiana Bead Tree (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

Catch It If You Can (Six Sentence Story) and Good Fences

Shelter Drama (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-ins

Sensible Senses (Ten Things of Thankful)

Of Her Own Accord (Cajun Joke) and Sunday Selections

Drop Off (Awww Monday) and Sparks!

Bits and Bobs (Random Tuesday)

To Quote Bigger Girl, “Ya Think?” (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

Caught (Six Sentence Story) and Saint Patrick's Day Decor (Good Fences)

Peeking At Tripod SissyCat (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-ins