Warrior Cat (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins and Pet Photo Fails, an A to Z Post

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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.     

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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (who no longer blogs), and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

He handed hosting duties off to Sandee at Comedy Plus, and now she's entrusting it to me.

Feline Friday is simple to join.  All you have to do is: Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (they may be silly or cute).  Then add your link!

One thing for sure is this is a fun and easy meme to do.  So come and join us in Feline Friday.

What better way to start the weekend than with a feline!

This is Warrior Cat.  She weighs all of 3 pounds and is over a year old.  She was part of a feral colony, was TNRed (trapped, neutered/spayed, released) over six months ago and the people who managed the colony knew she was at least 6 months old then.

Because of her life among ferals, she didn't get enough nutrition and this is as big as she is going to get.  Her fur is sun-bleached, but she is at least proportional, some unlucky cats that suffer malnutrition from kittenhood are not.  Her very survival marks her as a Warrior.

She was also blessed, despite her rough outdoor, feral life, to have a sweet disposition and an enjoyment of people.  She's now been rescued from that life and found a home almost immediately after she became available for adoption.

Many of the photos are blurry (she wanted petting!) so these are also part of Pet Photo Fails hosted by Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries & Meows.     

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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 Lorianne The Menagerie Mom of Four-Legged Furballs. 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!      

Here are this week's statements with my responses underlined:

1. I find _________ offensive.

2. _________ is a good way to make some extra cash.

3. _________ makes me feel like I can accomplish anything.

4. I could see myself naming a cat or dog _________.

1. I find   people choosing to look for reasons to be offended when none are meant   offensive.

2. Going to work   is a good way to make some extra cash.   Sometimes I listen to Dave Ramsey and his grandmother had it right, a surefire way to make some money is to go to work, it's that simple.

3. Achieving a goal, such as having taxes done before a certain date or meeting a deadline I've set for myself in another area   makes me feel like I can accomplish anything.

4. I could see myself naming a cat or dog   almost any name that isn't vulgar or rude, and the funnier, the better.

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Today is:

Arbor Day -- US

Audubon Day -- birth anniversary of John James Audubon

Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy -- Belarus

Delphinia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Apollo; date approximate)

Festival of Individual Sovereignty -- an internet holiday that i think is a good idea!

Festival of Renenutet -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (as Lady of the Robes, who invented the bandages in which to wrap mummies; date approximate)

Gathering of Nations -- Albuquerque, NM, US (the biggest PowWow in North America, with natives from every tribe welcome to participate, it includes singing, feasting, art exhibits, a horse parade, and much more, with non-Natives who want to learn more about Native culture welcome to attend; through tomorrow)

Global Youth Service Day -- annual campaign to mobilize children and youth to make a difference (through Sunday)    

Hairball Awareness Day -- sponsored by Furminator (which product actually does work, by the way) and Hills Pet Nutrition

Hug an Australian Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Mayan Rain Festival -- to honor the rain gods and welcome the fruitfulness of the earth; date approximate

National Help A Horse Day -- US (Join the ASPCA in several rescue events) 

National Pretzel Day

Remember Your First Kiss Day

Richter Scale Day -- birth anniversary of Charles Francis Richter

Sacrifice to Zeus Epacrios -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Shuffleboard Day -- on the adopted birthday of the game (no exact date of origination can be pinned down, and fans want a day to celebrate, so here it is)

Store Bededag -- Denmark; Faroe Islands; Greenland (Great Prayer Day)

St. Rafael Arnaiz' Day (Patron of diabetics and against diabetes)

St. Stephen of Perm's Day / Old Permic Alphabet Day -- Russian Orthodox Church (inventor of the alphabet used for Russian before the Cyrillic was developed)

Union Day -- Tanzania

World Intellectual Property Day -- UN 

Anniversaries Today:

Prince Albert (future George VI) marries Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, 1923

The Independent Order of Oddfellows, American branch, is established in Baltimore, MD, US, 1819

Moscow State University opens, 1755

Birthdays Today:

Jon Lee, 1982

Jason Earles, 1977

Tom Welling, 1977

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, 1970

Kane, 1967

Kevin James, 1965

Jet Li, 1963

Joan Chen, 1961

Michael Damian, 1962

Giancarlo Esposito, 1958

Boyd Matson, 1947

Gary Wright, 1943

Bobby Rydell, 1942

Duane Eddy, 1938

Carol Burnett, 1933

I.M. Pei, 1917

Hans Detlef "Douglas" Sierck, 1897

Anita Loos, 1889

Gertrude Bridget "Ma" Rainey, 1886 (Some say April 3)

Frederick Law Olmsted, 1822

John James Audobon, 1785

Marcus Aurelius, 121

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Jelly's Last Jam"(Musical), 1992

"Dinosaurs"(TV), 1991

"China Beach"(TV), 1988

"Company"(Musical), 1970

"Grand Polonaise Brillante"(Chopin Op. 20), 1835

Today in History:

Copernicus makes his first observations of Saturn, 1514

William Shakespeare is baptized, 1564

English colonists of the Jamestown settlement make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia, 1607

Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France, 1802

Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election  to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic, 1925

In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections, 1963

Tanganyika  and Zanzibar  merge to form Tanzania, 1964

A Rolling Stones concert in London, Ontario is shut down by police after 15 minutes due to rioting, 1965

The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force, 1970

A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster, 1986

Physicists  announce first evidence of the top quark subatomic particle, 1994

Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country, 2005

During the second day of evidence at the Leveson Inquiry, Rupert Murdock reveals there was a 'cover-up' at 'News of the World' but that he had no knowledge of it, 2012

The CEO of Chobani, Hamdi Ulukaya, announces that he will be giving his employees 10% of the shares in the company, 2016

The Waorani people of Pastaza win a landmark environmental case against the Ecuadorian government to protect half a million acres of their territory in the Amazon rainforest, 2019

In an escalation of the energy standoff between Russia and the rest of Europe, Russia says it will no longer supply gas to Poland or Bulgaria because they refuse to pay in rubles, 2022

Very Much Too Much (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy's Poetry Day and Brian's Thankful Thursday, an A to Z Post

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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.     

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Grandma's latest kick has been tonic water.

Grandma (my mother, my children's grandmother, called Grandma on this media because i'm the mom) decides she likes something, and she likes it a lot and she wants to have it a lot, and then it falls out of favor and Grandpa (my father, see above except my Sweetie's the father) gets stuck with the rest of it taking up space, which he loathes.

For a while, it was Eggo Waffles, she wanted nothing else for breakfast for weeks, and sometimes even for lunch; now she has them a couple of times a week.

That's better than the flavored water from Italy she drank and drank and drank and the last bottles now sit collecting dust because she has no interest in them, and we're still wondering just how much Stouffer's cheesy potatoes she can eat before she just abandons the rest in the freezer.

Don't get Grandpa started on the yoghurt months, they still haunt him as he had to haunt the grocery for her favorite few flavors and now he looks at the few remaining in the fridge with a forlorn resignation on his face as they edge closer and closer to expiration.

But for now it's tonic water she asks him to get at the store constantly, and we're pretty sure when she decides to move to something else, he'll be able to stock some local bar easily for a month or more with whatever remains.

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where shgirle hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Tonic.     

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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!

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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my poem:    

Meanwhile, somewhere in Russia,

Boris Bear made a special run.

A winter diet of frozen fish,

he wanted some vodka and fun!

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Angel Brian's Family of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

Today i am thankful for a new mop bucket, the expensive kind with the handle to squeeze the water out of the mop, free but for the cost of cleaning it up.  They retail for upwards of $200!

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Today is:

Adonia -- Greece (women's festival mourning the death of Adonis; date approximate)

ANZAC Day -- Australia; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Cook Islands; New Zealand; Niue; Norfolk Island; Tonga

Army Day -- North Korea

DNA Day -- structure of DNA first published this day in 1953; human genome project ended today in 2003; related observance

     National DNA Day -- a day for teachers, students, and everyone to learn more about genetics and genomics sponsored by genome.gov and the Smithsonian

Duck Appreciation Society Day -- The Duck Appreciation Society (some sites say May 10; either way, go feed the ducks if you like them, but not stale white bread, it's no better for them than it is for us)

East Meets West Day -- Allies from the East and West finally met up this day in 1945 about 75 miles from Berlin

Festival of Robigalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to protect against corn blight; festival of Robiga and Rogibus, the brother and sister fertility gods)

Flag Day -- Faroe Islands; Swaziland

Hairstylist Appreciation Day -- if you have a good one, let him/her know (some sites put this on the 30th)

Harpa Month Begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (Harp, dedicated to young women as last month was dedicated to young men)

     Sumardagurinn Fyrsti -- first day of summer, a legal holiday

Hug A Plumber Day -- because when you are knee deep in it, you really need them around

Liberation Day -- Italy; Portugal

National Crayola Day -- no one claims starting this holiday, observe it with your children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews/kids down the street, and remember how fun it is to color pictures

National Teach Children to Save Day -- sponsored by the American Banking Association    

National Zucchini Bread Day -- they hold this at a time when you are not yet sick of all that zucchini you grew in the garden

Parental Alienation Awareness Day -- raising awareness of Parental Alienation or Hostile Aggressive Parenting   

Red Hat Society Day -- first Red Hat Tea Party held this day in 1998

Sinai Liberation Day -- Egypt

St. Mark the Evangelist's Day (Patron of attorneys/barristers/lawyers/notaries, captives, glaziers, imprisoned people/prisoners, lions, stained glass workers, struma patients; Egypt; Boretto, Italy; Creazzo, Italy; Infanta, Philippines; Ionian Islands; Pordenone, Italy; Sonnino, Italy; Venice, Italy; against impenitence, insect bites, scrofulous diseases, struma)

Tag des Baumes -- Germany (Tree Day/Arbor Day)

World Malaria Day / Malaria Awareness Day -- WHO and the International Community

World Penguin Day -- because they begin migrating on or around this day  

20-Something Service Day -- can't find who started this one, but it's a good idea, whomever it was, whether you are 20 or older to do some community service or volunteer work regularly

Anniversaries Today:

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is established, ND, US, 1947

The United Negro College Fund is founded, 1944

Birthdays Today:

Jacob Underwood, 1980

Emily Bergl, 1975

Jason Lee, 1970

Renee Zellweger, 1969

Hank Azaria, 1964

Jeffrey DeMunn, 1947

Talia Shire, 1946

Stu Cook, 1945

Bjorn Ulvaeus, 1945

Al Pacino, 1940

"Meadowlark" Lemon, 1932

Paul Mazursky, 1930

Albert King, 1923

Ella Fitzgerald, 1918

Edward R. Murrow, 1908

William Joseph Brennan, Jr., 1906

John Henry "Pop" Lloyd, 1884

Guglielmo Marconi, 1874

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Little Murders"(Play), 1967

"Romulus the Great"(Play), 1949

"Another Language"(Play), 1932

"Turandot"(Opera), 1926

Robinson Crusoe(Publication date), 1719

Today in History:

Lysander's Spartan Armies defeated the Athenians and the Peloponnesian War ends, BC404

German geographer and mapmaker Martin Waldseemuller publishes his Cosmographiae Introductio map in which he gives the American continents their name, 1507

Highwayman Nicholas Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine, 1792

Charles Fremantle arrives in the HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom, 1829

The last survivors of the Donner Party arrive back in civilization, 1847

The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots, 1849

British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal, 1859

New York State becomes the first US state to require automobiles to be licensed, 1901

First DC Comic with Batman is published, 1939

Fifty nations gather in San Francisco, California to begin the United Nations Conference on International Organizations, 1945

Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid describing the double helix structure of DNA, 1953

The St. Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping, 1959

Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit, 1961

Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords, 1982

American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war, 1983

Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit, 1983

The Hubble Telescope is deployed, 1990

The Human Genome Project comes to an end 2.5 years before first anticipated, 2003

The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia  after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937, 2005

Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union, 2005

The U.S. government 'condemns' international media outlets, including 'The New York Times' for publishing confidential files, 2011

 The United Kingdom reopens its embassy in Somalia after 22 years, 2013

A fossil unearthed in China has been identified as a new pterosaur species; named Kryptodrakon progenitor, the fossil is the first of its kind to show traits of pterodactyls, giant flying reptiles, 2014

Microsoft becomes the third US firm to be listed with a market worth of 1 trillion, after Apple and Amazon, 2019

Charlotte Bronte's "A Book of Ryhmes", written when she was 13, sells at auction in New York for $1.25 million to Friends of the National Libraries for the Brontë Parsonage Museum, 2022