Saturday, September 30, 2017

Merry Not Scary (Ten Things of Thankful)


Ten Things of Thankful

It's not cold here, yet.  (Who am i kidding?  It's hardly cold here ever.  Anyway.)

The lack of much change in seasonal weather does not stop holidays and i am thankful for that, as well as for the fact that Little Girl does love decorating for Halloween.

These are Halloween things for which i am thankful:

Spiders just hanging around.

Funny pumpkins (the carved ones will come soon).

Candy for the Great Neighborhood Candy Exchange.

Our friend Batty.

Fun serving dishes.

Treat bags ready to be filled.

Toys to go in the treat bags.

Themed paper plates.

Our very friendly ghost.

Crazy rubber duckie.

Mini pumpkin lights.

Our friend the cat again.
  
The big candy bowl, ready to be filled.

Yet another spook.


Little Girl does everything she can to make this holiday fun, and i'm very grateful.  Are there particular things for which you are thankful this season?  List them and join up with Ten Things of Thankful, because counting your blessings is always worth it. 


Today is:

Agricultural Reform Day -- Sao Tome and Principe

Aloha Festivals Floral Parade -- Oahu, Hawai'i (part of the larger Aloha Festival celebrations this month and next on all the islands, celebrating native Hawai'ian culture)

Apple Festival -- Old Prairie Town, Topeka, KS, US (celebrating apples and Topeka's turn of the last century heritage; through tomorrow)

Blessing of the Fishing Fleet -- Church of Saints Peter and Paul and Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA, US (a festival today and tomorrow, with a blessing offered on the first Sunday of October each year)

Celtic Tree Month Gort begins (Ivy)

Dashain Festival -- Hindu (also called Dussehra, Dashera, Dasara, Phulpati/Fulpaati, or Navratri, a celebration of victory of Lord Rama over evil and a Festival of Dirva, wife of Shiva, and a time to go back home and reconnect with family, especially in Nepal and parts of India; official government holidays for this multi-day festival vary throughout India, Nepal, Bhutan, and other countries with large populations of Hindus)

Day of Liberation of the Republic of Abkhazia -- Abkhazia (disputed territory on the Black Sea)

Do Something Wacky With A Grandparent Day -- just not the monkey bars, please; old bones don't knit fast enough; whatever you do, take some pictures!

Durga Puja -- Hindu (celebration of the goddess Durga, final and biggest day of celebration)

Eldon Turkey Festival -- Eldon, MO, US (the top producer of turkeys has the top turkey festival in the world)

Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (the Greater Mystery Rites, date approximate; mystery rites of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis, one of the most sacred times of their year)

Everybody's Day Festival -- Thomasville, NC, US (and they do mean there's fun for everybody)

Fall Astronomy Day -- Bringing Astronomy to the People (local astronomical societies, planetariums, museums and observatories sponsor public viewings, presentation, workshops, etc., to increase public awareness of astronomy and our amazing universe) 
Saturday at or before the first quarter moon between mid-September and mid-October 
    sponsored by The Astronomical League; find out what your local astronomy society is doing today, and go enjoy


Feast of the Hunters' Moon -- Fort Ouiatenon Historic Park, West Lafayette, IN, US (a re-creation of French and Native American life of the mid-1700s at a fur trading outpost; through tomorrow)

Independence Day -- Botswana

International Translation Day -- International Federation of Translators 

Kokkeisetsu -- Chinatown, Yokohama, Japan (Chinese National Founding Day in the largest Chinatown in Japan; through tomorrow)

Medetrinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival fruits offer to the goddess of medicine)

Monkey Bars Day -- a day to go see if you can still do tricks on the monkey bars, because the internet wants to kill us and let the machines that would never do anything so silly take over

National Hot Mulled Cider Day

National Mud Pack Day -- give yourself a facial

National Public Lands Day -- US (Helping Hands for America's Lands -- a day to volunteer on America's Public Lands) 

Pumpkin and Apple Celebration -- Woodstock, VT, US (lots of hands on fun with apples and pumpkins; through tomorrow)

Qatar Prix L'arc de Triomphe -- Longchamp Race-course, Paris, France (one of the world's greatest horse races, first run in 1920; celebrations and events through tomorrow)

St. Gregory the Enlightener (or Illuminator; Patron of Armenia)

St. Jerome's Day (Patron of archaeologists, archivists, Biblical scholars, librarians, libraries, school children, students, translators; Saint-Jerome, Quebec) 
    also an Apache celebration of Geronimo, the Native American who was named after this saint

Thimphu Tsechu / Thimphu Drubchen -- Thimphu, Bhutan (three day Drukpa Buddhism tshechu festival, sacred masked dances dedicated to Bhutan's protective spirit which tourists may watch but are strictly prohibited from taking pictures; the last days of the Drubchen through Oct. 2)

Tri-State Band Festival -- Luverne, MI, US (high school bands from Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa compete in four categories)

Yom Kippur -- Judaism (began sundown yesterday, ends sundown today)



Anniversary Today:

Haleakala National Park is established in Maui, Hawaii, 1960


Birthdays Today:

Dominique Moceanu, 1981
Marion Cotillard, 1975
Jenna Elfman, 1971
Crystal Bernard, 1964
Eric Stoltz, 1961
Fran Drescher, 1957
Deborah Allen, 1953
Victoria Tennant, 1953
Marilyn McCoo, 1943
Z.Z. Hill, 1935
Johnny Mathis, 1935
Angie Dickinson, 1931
Elie Wiesel, 1928
W. S. Merwin, 1927
Truman Capote, 1924
Deborah Kerr, 1921
Buddy Rich, 1917
William Wrigley, Jr., 1861
Rumi, 1207


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush(Publication date), 1990
"Murder, She Wrote"(TV), 1984
"Cheers"(TV), 1982
"Love Child"(Single release), 1968
"The Flintstones"(TV), 1960
"Tea and Sympathy"(Play), 1953
"The Red Skelton show"(TV), 1951
"Porgy and Bess"(Opera), 1935
Little Women(Publication date), 1868
"Les pecheurs de perles/The Pearl Fishers"(Bizet opera), 1863
"Die Zauberflote/The Magic Flute"(Mozart opera, K. 620), 1791
The Gutenberg Bible(first section, publication date), 1452


Today in History:

Rambam (Maimonides) authorizes Samuel Ibn Tibbon to translate the Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew, 1199
Anesthetic ether is used for the first time by Dr. William Morton, who extracted a tooth, 1846
German scientist Hermann von Meyer announces the discovery of the first fossil of an archaeopteryx, 1861
The first Portuguese immigrants arrive in Hawai'i, 1878
The world's first commercial hydroelectric power plant begins operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, 1882
Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner, 1901
The first manned rocket plane flight, made by auto maker Fritz von Opel, 1929
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations, 1947
The World Series, featuring the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, is televised for the first time, 1947
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel, 1954
James Dean is killed in a road accident, 1955
Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez founds the United Farm Workers, 1962
James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying segregation, 1962
General Suharto rises to power in Indonesia after an alleged coup by communists, and massacres over a million Indonesian people suspected of belonging to the Communist Party, 1965
BBC Radio 1 is launched and Tony Blackburn presents its first show, 1967
Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation, 1980 
The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada's capital city of Ottawa, 1990
The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo, 2004
The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, 2005
Amazon files for a patent for an unmanned aerial vehicle configured to autonomously deliver items to customers for their Prime Air service, 2014

10 comments:

  1. What a lot of things to be thankful for. And sure looks like Halloween is coming to your house. Boo, the ghost is our favorite. Have a great day.

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  2. I'm not a big fan of Halloween, and we don't decorate for any holiday anymore. I do enjoy seeing what others do though.

    I'm thankful that it's not so hot. I had some issues this year for the first time.

    I'm thankful that I have such a wonderful life.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  3. We are out in a rural area right now and have had absolutely no trick or treaters the last few years, we have a new neighbor with a couple of little ones so maybe the decorations will come out now.

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  4. Those are certainly some fun Halloween decorations.

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  5. I always enjoy your thankful lists. This was very creative and you inspired me to get mine out.

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  6. 'Monkey Bars Day!' I knew there was something in the air when I woke up this morning.... loved the description "...because the internet wants to kill us and let the machines that would never do anything so silly take over...
    'cellent oT!

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  7. I have quite a few Halloween and fall decorations that make their way out of the attic each September and adorn the house with signs of the seasons. Each has its own meaning. The life sized sewn scarecrow that hangs on the back door always surprises us when we come downstairs in the morning.

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  8. Thank you so much for this wonderful perspective on Halloween decorating and festivities. I was brought up to think of it as a fun time for children and never once was is connected to evil in our minds or our parents' minds. It saddens me that some have tried to frame it in darkness, and also that some adults have turned it into a festival of questionable morality. I love your decorations, your planning of treats and party goods, and the smiles that your photos generate. Enjoy October and three cheers for Little Girl and her stellar efforts! XOXO

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  9. I cannot buy bags of Halloween candy so early and expect there to be any left by the end of the month. I'm impressed with your self-control! :-)

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  10. I can't have Halloween candy in my house this early either. Bad idea.

    :-)

    I wait until the day comes and kids are on their way before any decorations go up. I still do like Halloween more than when I was young enough to take part in the main activity, as I was sensitive and didn't like the costumes or the face makeup. I've always loved candy though. Bring on Halloween. Sounds like loads of fun in your house.

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