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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!
Sweet littles at the shelter.
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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.
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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 Candy Canes.
Christmas sees plenty of sweetness,
All sorts of desserts entertain,
Our tastebuds delight but there's nothing
Quite matching a good Candy Cane.
The minis tucked in purse or pocket
Are enjoyed while on the go,
Bigger ones decorate the tree,
Just hang up, no need for a bow.
They come in many flavors,
From fruit to bubble gum,
I have to admit my favorites are
Butterscotch and Butter Rum.
Now Christmas Day is finished
So saunter to a place of retail
And grab a last few to savor
'Cause today they go on sale!
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Today is:
Awful Tie Day -- internet generated, go to the office and compare who got the worst tie as a gift
Blessing of the Wine -- Greiveldange, Luxembourg (winemakers parade to the church to have a barrel of wine blessed)
Boxing Day -- day on which boxes of goodies are given to the less fortunate or public servants, and sometimes servants and masters traded places for the day
Coffee Percolator Day -- patented by James Mason on this day in 1865
Day of Goodwill -- Namibia; South Africa
Day of Our Theotokos / Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God -- Byzantine/Eastern Orthodox Christian
Family Day -- Namibia; Vanuatu
Independence and Unity Day -- Slovenia(1990)
J'Ouvert -- Saint Kitts and Nevis (carneval-style street party for Boxing Day)
Junkanoo (Junkanoo Jonkanoo, Jankunu, John Canoe or Johnkankus) -- Carribean Islands, also on New Year's Day (A special music and dance, mime and symbol that is an early traditional dance form of African descent.)
Kwanzaa, Day 1, Umoja (Unity)
Mauro Hamza Day -- Houston, TX, US (United States Fencing Association Foil Director)
Mummer's Day -- Padstow, Cornwall
National Candy Cane Day
National Thank-you Note Day
National Whiner's Day™ -- a day to encourage people to be happy with what they have; the previous year's worst whiners are announced (you don't want to be one!)
Proclamation Day -- South Australia (day South Australia was established as a Province in 1836 by royal Proclamation)
Recyclable Packaging Day -- started by someone who wants to remind us to gather up the reusable bags, boxes, etc., left from the holiday, and recycle the rest
Second Day of Christmas
Sports Days -- Falkland Islands (through the 28th, with the Boxing Day race at Stanley being the most famous part of the celebration)
St. James the Just's Day -- Orthodox Christian
St. Stephen's Day (Patron of casket makers, deacons, horses, masons, stone masons; Patron of over 80 cities throughout Italy; Kessel, Germany; Metz, France; Owensboro, KY; Toulouse, France; against headaches)
Public Holiday in Alsace, France; Andorra; Austria; Catalonia; Croatia; Czech Republic; Germany; Holy See; Hong Kong; Ireland; Italy; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Poland; San Marino; Slovakia; Spain (regional); Switzerland (regional)
Celebrated as Father's Day -- Bulgaria
Day of the Wren -- Ireland; Isle of Mann (costumed mayhem)
Tehuantepec Festivities -- Oaxaca, Mexico
Thanksgiving Day -- Solomon Islands
Zarathosht Diso (Death of Prophet Zarathushtra) - Zoroastrian
Anniversary Today:
Rodney Dangerfield weds Joan Child, 1993
Establishment of Shenandoah National Park, VA, US, 1935
Birthdays Today:
Chris Daughtry, 1979
Jared Leto, 1971
Lars Ulrich, 1963
David Sedaris, 1956
Ozzie Smith, 1954
Carlton Fisk, 1947
John Walsh, 1945
Phil Spector, 1940
Alan King, 1927
Steve Allen, 1921
Richard Widmark, 1914
Mao Tse-tung, 1893
Henry Miller, 1891
Charles Babbage, 1791
Laurent Clerc, 1785
Juan Lovera, 1778
Thomas Nelson, 1738
Thomas Gray, 1716
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Do re mi"(Musical), 1960
"The Glass Menagerie"(Play), 1944
"Of Thee I Sing"(Musical), 1931
Judy Garland, as Baby Frances, makes her stage debut at age 2 1/2, singing Jingle Bells on the vaudeville stage, 1924
"Tragic Overture"(Brahms' Op. 81), 1880
Today in History:
Columbus founds the first Spanish settlement in the New World by leaving behind 36 men in what is now Haiti, 1492
The final trial of Louis XVI of France begins, 1792
A theater fire in Richmond, Virginia kills the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable, 1811
The Erie Canal opens, 1825
Gilbert and Sullivan collaborate for the first time, on their lost opera, Thespis. It does modestly well, but the two would not collaborate again for four years, 1871
King Mwanga of Uganda signs a contract with the East Africa Company, 1890
Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium, 1898
FM radio is patented, 1933
Time Magazine's Man of the Year is for the first time a non-human, the personal computer, 1982
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the USSR, 1991
A 9.3 magnitude earthquake creates a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives and many other areas around the rim of the Indian Ocean, killing over 250,000 people, 2004
Brazil overtakes the United Kingdom as the world's sixth largest economy, 2011
China opens the world’s longest high-speed rail route, from Beijing to Guangzhou, 2012
After a journey of 54 days, American Colin O'Brady is the first person to cross Antarctica solo and unassisted, 2018
An annular solar eclipse is visible from South and Southeast Asia, 2019