***********************************
Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at 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!
Lena practices her cutesy pose while her brother, Connor, snoozes in the back of the cage.
***********************************
Sparks is the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, who wanted us to post something positive and uplifting at the start of the week. While she no longer blogs, i like to post an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| source |
***********************************
Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border. Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is on a blog semi-break and her poetry is sorely missed, we hope she comes back soon. Charlotte/Mother Owl participates, and now Karen at Baking in a Tornado is jumping in at least once a month, too. Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let Diane know!
This week the theme is Respect Your Cat Day.
Of course I deserve
Your humble dedication
I am master cat
*******
Since I walked into your house
and claimed it for my own,
there are ways that unto me
some disrespect you've shown.
Now it's time we had a lesson,
or maybe two or three,
correct this little problem
exists twixt you and me.
There's a special reason
I meow like a baby's cry,
it's because I want your attention now
and you don't need to know why.
If you want to respect me
and treat me as you should,
make sure that my bowl is always
filled way up with food.
Those treats that in the cabinet
you dole in too meager portion,
maybe I should show my claw,
so what if that's extortion.
My boxes you should always
tend to right away,
respect my need for cleanliness
or I'll make you rue the day.
Then there's the little matter
of the cushions where I sleep,
they need to be up on your bed
so onto your pillow I can creep.
As for nail trims and baths,
put those ideas in the bin,
you want to respect my wishes
if you want to keep your skin.
Catnip and toys are essential,
respect my need for play,
I'll keep you entertained while
you will make my day.
I'll thank you all these lessons
to please now keep in mind,
my life will be more pleasant,
and so will yours, you'll find!
***********************************
Today is:
Children's Picture Book Day -- while i can't find a sponsor for this day, starting kids on a lifelong love of books is as good an excuse for a holiday as any
Commemoration of Sen no Rikyu -- Urasenke School of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japan (remembering the influential master in The Way of Tea)
Feast of Artemis -- Ancient Greek Calendar (as protector of wild animals, vegetation, and places, begins at sundown; date approximate)
Festival of the Sacrifice at the Tombs -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to honor the ancestors)
"Greatest Show on Earth" Day -- Barnum and Bailey merged their circuses on this day in 1881
Hot Tub Day -- because we all need one!
Invasion of Loaming Shores Beyond the Certain Sea Anniversary -- Fairy Calendar
Khordad Sal (Birth of the Prophet Zarathushtra) -- Zoroastrianism (Fasli Calendar)
Komamorijinja Reisai -- Nakaedo, Kashi-sh, Gifu, Japan (festival of the the Kosazukeishi "child-granting stone")
National Arts Advocacy Day and National Arts Action Summit -- US; through tomorrow
National Black Forest Cake Day
Ragnar Lodbrok's Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (remembrance of this Viking's sack of Paris)
Respect Your Cat Day -- anniversary of King Richard II's edict in 1384 forbidding the consumption of cats
Serfs Emancipation Day -- Tibet
Seward's Day -- Alaska, US
Something on a Stick Day -- something edible, because almost everything tastes better on a stick
St. Guntramnus' Day (Patron of divorced people, guardians, repentant murderers)
Teachers' Day -- Czech Republic; Slovakia
Weed Appreciation Day -- at last, for those of us with black thumbs, since this is all we can grow! "Weeds are flowers once you get to know them!" A.A. Milne
Birthdays Today:
Lady Gaga, 1986
Julia Stiles, 1981
Annie Wersching, 1977
Kate Gosselin, 1975
Scott Mills, 1974
Juliandra Gillen, 1971
Vince Vaughn, 1970
Reba McEntire, 1955
Dianne Wiest, 1948
Ken Howard, 1944
Conchata Ferrell, 1943
Jerry Sloan, 1942
Freddie Bartholomew, 1924
Dirk Bogarde, 1921
Irving "Swifty" Lazar, 1907
August Anheuser Busch, Jr., 1899
Maxim Gorky, 1868
Frederich Pabst, 1836
St. Teresa of Avila, 1515
Fra Bartolomeo, 1472
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Hair"(Rock musical), 1968
"Philadelphia Story"(Play), 1939
Today in History:
Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus, 193
Viking raiders sack Paris, who leave in exchange for a huge ransom, 845
The origin of the Fasli Era in India, 1556
Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco, 1776
Nathaniel Briggs of NH patents a washing machine, 1797
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man, 1802
The US Salvation Army is officially organized, 1885
Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, 1910
Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv & Jaffa by Turkish authorities, 1917
Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara, 1930
The McGill français movement protest occurs, the second largest protest in Montreal's history, 1969
Operators of Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania fail to recognize that a relief valve in the primary coolant system has stuck open, leading to a partial meltdown, 1979
In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths, 1994
The 2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since 1965, 2005
At least 1 million union members, students, and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law, 2006
Australian diplomat Peter Woolcott's draft for the first-ever treaty to regulate the conventional arms trade is discussed by members of the United Nations, 2013
Pope Francis becomes the first Pope to wash the feet of women in the Maundy Thursday service, 2013
Britain introduces the first new pound coin in 30 years with a secret security feature inside to stop counterfeiting, 2017
The world's largest dinosaur footprint at 1.7 metres found in Kimberley, Western Australia, 2017
The study of a gene mutation that allows a 71-year-old British woman to never feel pain is published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2019