Practice, Practice, Practice (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Beef

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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!

Annie decided she wanted to push the stroller.  To get good at going up and down the curb(kerb), you have to practice, practice, practice, which she did for a good 15 minutes.

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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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Our dear friend Diane is taking a break

accommodations we must make

we miss her poetry and wit

so carry on as Poetry Monday's a hit!

Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  Charlotte/Mother Owl and i are keeping it going while she takes a blog break, we hope temporarily.  Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let us know!

This week the theme is Beef.

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even if i am

vegetarian i have

no real beef with you

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Sizzle!

great scent

cook to perfection

star of your dinner,

beef!

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Future themes are:

July 20 Beef (Today!)

July 27 Relief

Aug 3 Tractors

Aug 10 Bluebells

(All themes are from the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and Other Arts Facebook group.)

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Today is:

Birthday of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera / Muñoz-Rivera Day -- Puerto Rico (obs.)

Dia del Amigo -- Argentina; Uruguay

Fortune Cookie Day

Global Hug Your Kids Day -- the person who started this no longer has a website or Facebook page, but the date is still noted on many holiday listing websites

Independence Day -- Colombia(1810)

International Chess Day -- "Of Chess it has been said that life is not long enough for it, but that is the fault of life, not Chess" ~ William Ewart Napier

La Guelaguetza a/k/a Los Lunes del Cerro -- Oaxaca, Mexico (folk dance, music and costumes, an extension of the celebrations of the Lady of Carmel, which used to be the feast of Xilonen, goddess of tender corn; now celebrated on two consecutive Mondays)

Moon Day/Space Exploration Day -- one small step...was taken 56 years ago today

National Get Out of the Doghouse Day -- the day to work out any troubles with people you care about, so that you "get out of the doghouse"

National Ice Cream Soda Day

National Lollipop Day

Peace and Freedom Day -- North Cyprus

Perun's Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (celebration of Perun, great god of thunder)

President's Day -- Botswana

Special Olympics Day -- anniversary of the first Special Olympics in 1968

St. Elijah the Prophet's Day (Patron of Carmelites; Romanian Air Force; against drought, earthquakes) related observance;

     Festival at the Monastery of Profitis Ilias -- Santorini, Greece (Prophet Elijas' festival)

Saint Margaret of Antioch's Day (Patron of childbirth, dying peple, escape from devils, exiles, expectant mothers, falsely accused people, martyrs, nurses, peasants, people in exile, women, women in labor; for safe childbirth; against kidney disease, loss of mother's milk by nursing mothers, sterility; Lowestoft, Suffolk, England; Montefiascone, Italy; Queens College Cambridge; Rixtel, Netherlands; Sannat, Gozo, Malta)

St. Uncumber's Day (Patron of difficult marriages; against men's lust; Las Tablas, Panama)

Synoikia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; a celebration of the unification of all Attica, held in Athens)

Ugly Truck Day -- must be a guy thing, they know where every scratch and dent came from, after all!

Umi No Hi -- Japan (Ocean Day / Marine Day)

Vigil for Peace, Justice, and Respect for the Human Rights of all in Columbia -- a movement begun among Native Americans of many tribes, now open to all who seek peace

Birthdays Today

John Daley, 1985

Gisele Bundchen, 1980

Josh Holloway, 1969

Chris Cornell, 1964

Billy Mays, 1958

Donna Dixon, 1957

Carlos Santana, 1947

Kim Carnes, 1946

Judy Chicago, 1939

Diana Rigg, 1938

Natalie Wood, 1938

Chuck Daly, 1933

Cormac McCarthy, 1033

Sally Ann Howes, 1930

Michael Ilitch, 1929

Sir Edmund Hillary, 1919

Alberto Santos-Dumont, 1873

Gregor Mendel, 1822

Francesco Petrarch, 1304

Alexander the Great, BCE 356

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Like a Rolling Stone"(Single release), 1965

"Stop the World I Want to Get Off"(Musical), 1961

"The Arthur Murray Party"(TV), 1950

"Gang Busters"(Radio drama), 1935

Today in History

Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount; the Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots during the Siege of Jerusalem, 70

The Riot Act takes effect in Great Britain, 1712

French explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan, 1738

Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada declare independence from Spain, 1810

British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada, 1871

Sioux Chief Sitting Bull leads the last of his fugitive people in surrender to United States troops at Fort Buford, North Dakota, 1881

Ford Motor Company ships its first car, 1903

Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the US House of Representatives, 1921

In London, 500,000 people march against anti-Semitism, while in Nuremburg, Germany, 200 Jewish merchants are arrested and paraded through the streets, 1933

The Organization for European Economic Cooperation admits Spain, 1959

Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world's first elected female head of government, 1960

The Special Olympics is founded, 1968

Apollo 11 successfully lands on the Moon 3:39 a.m. GMT 21st July, 1969

India expels three reporters from The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and Newsweek because they refused to sign a pledge to abide by government censorship, 1975

The Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars, 1976

Hank Aaron hits his 755th home run, the final home run of his career, 1976

In Zimbabwe, Parliament opens its new session and seats opposition members for the first time in a decade, 2000

Canada becomes the 4th country to permit same-sex marriage, 2005

The Olympic Torch arrives in London, beginning the final countdown to the Summer Olympics, 2012

The journal Nature Geoscience publishes a study showing evidence of volcanoes on Venus, which demonstrates the planet is not as dormant as previously thought, 2020

Geranium, a meat-free restaurant in Copenhagen, is named the world's best restaurant at the World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards Ceremony in London, 2022

Sultan Ibrahim Iskander officially crowned King of Malaysia for five years under the country's rotating monarchy at Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur, 2024

Uncooperative (Cajun Joke), Sunday Selections and Sunday Selfie

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Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus is no longer hosting a Silly Sunday blog hop, do not expect me to quit telling Cajun jokes, especially as it has now become a habit.

Grandma is convinced her phone doesn't work right, but it's a new one so we're not quite sure what the problem is this time.  At least we keep no passwords or financial information on her phone to protect her from anything happening.

Boudreaux done be talkin' to Grand-mère an' he ax her if ennyt'ing interestin' done happen lately.

An' Grand-mère say, "Dis man call me on de phone an' he done tole me, 'I gots all you passwords!' an' I say, 'Oh, t'ank Le Bon Dieu you done call, let me get de paper an' pencil an' you kin tell dem to me, I done keep fergettin'!' but mais! he done hung up befo' he done tole me!"

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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files.  The rules have been relaxed, and it is now simply a showcase for your photos, new or old, good or bad, although nothing rude, please.  Our friend River is hosting, and other participants often include Charlotte/Mother Owl, Andrew, and WiseWebWoman.  

Reba Rambunctious was still out of her kennel when we arrived for Bible study.

Who is up there?

A few people still have Independence Day decor out, some will leave it until Labor Day in September.  

This includes the All-American Buc-ee Beaver!  I believe the banner says, Happy 250, but i did not feel i could walk onto their property to try to straighten it out to see. 

A bit from gardens and some flowers.

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This week, Mr. Cal wants to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.   This is his, "Yes, I know I'm not allowed on the furniture, but so what!" selfie.

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Today is:

Bloomer Day -- anniversary of the opening day of the first US women's rights convention in 1848*

Dornach Commemoration Day -- Dornach Battlefield and nearby city of Solothurn, Switzerland (victory in 1499 which ended the Swabian War)

Festival of Honos -- Ancient Roman Calendar (personification of morality and honor)

Galla Bayramy -- Turkmenistan (celebration of the wheat harvest)

Kokura Gion Taiko -- Yasaka Shrine, Fukuoka City, Japan (shrine festival that incorporates a taiko drumming competition with up to 100 teams; through the 21st)

Lake Superior Day -- info at the Lake Superior Forum   http://www.superiorforum.org/outreach-2/lake-superior-day

Liberation Day -- Nicaragua

Luxembourg Beer Festival -- Diekirch, Luxembourg

Martyr's Day -- Myanmar

National Daiquiri Day

National Ice Cream Day -- by US Presidential proclamation on the 3rd Sunday of July each year; at this time of year, the trick is to eat it fast enough that it doesn't melt, but not so fast that you get a brain freeze!

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival -- Santa Fe, NM, US (highly acclaimed chamber music festival that draws international talent; through Aug. 24)

Stick Out Your Tongue Day -- internet generated, do it just because it's fun

St. Justa's Day (Patron of potters; Seville, Spain)

Triple Play Day -- the first Major League unassisted triple play was made by Neal Ball on this day in 1909

*Amelia Bloomer's birth anniversary on May 27 is also called "Bloomer Day"

Anniversaries Today:

Frank Sinatra marries Mia Farrow, 1966

Isis marries Osiris (year unknown, ask the ancient Egyptians!)

Adonis marries Aphrodite (year unknown, ask the ancient Greeks!)

Birthdays Today:

Stephen Anthony Lawrence, 1990

Jared Padalecki, 1982

Topher Grace, 1978

Angela Griffin, 1976

Clea Lewis, 1965

Anthony Edwards, 1962

Campbell Scott, 1962

Brian May, 1947

Ilie Nastase, 1946

Vikki Carr, 1941

Arthur Rankin, Jr., 1924

George McGovern, 1922

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, 1921

Eve Merriam, 1916

Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, 1904 (last direct descendent of Abraham Lincoln)

Max Fleischer, 1883

Charles Horace Mayo, 1865

Lizzie Borden, 1860

Edgar Degas, 1834

Samuel Colt, 1814

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"That's All Right"(Elvis' first single release), 1954

Today in History

A dragon more than 100 metres long was found dead on Yehwang Mountain in Henan province and was seen as a bad omen for Emperor Huan, who ignored it and died at age 35 (three years later); Xiang Kai, who had warned him of the omen, was released from the prison the emperor had placed him in, and lionised as a hero, BCE164

Moslem forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeated the Visigoths led by their king Roderic, 711

A hailstorm brings down the ceilings of the Papal Palace, Rome, 1500

Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after having that title for just nine days, 1553

Five women are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692

Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England, 1701

Australia's first recorded use of gaslight was commenced in a Sydney shop, 1826

The British Medical Association was founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary, 1832

The two-day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York; "bloomers," named after developer Amelia Bloomer, are worn at this very early feminist convention, 1848

A meteorite with an estimated mass of 190 kg explodes over the town of Holbrook in Navajo County, Arizona causing approximately 16,000 pieces of debris to rain down on the town, 1912

Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention, 1963

The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua, 1979

The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published, 1983

President Clinton announces his idea for a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in regard to gays in the US military, 1993

A Tel Aviv judges orders safe deposit boxes that contain manuscripts of Franz Kafka to be opened, 2010

A Pontifical Commission is established by Pope Francis to investigate current accounting practices and implement new strategies for greater fiscal transparency and fiscal responsibility among all Vatican offices, 2013

Scientists in the US calculate that the total amount of plastic ever produced is 8.3 billion tons, the equivalent of about 1 billion elephants in weight, 2017

The Russian ship Dmitri Donskoii, which sank in 1905 and was believed to have a cargo of gold coins, is discovered in the waters between South Korea and Japan, 2018

The largest wind farm in Africa opens at Lake Turkana, Kenya, capable of generating 310 megawatts, 2019

The first interplanetary mission of the United Arab Emirates, the Mars "Hope" orbiter, launches on board Japanese H-2A rocket from Tanegashima Space Center, 2020

Geranium, a meat free Scandi restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark is named the world's best restaurant at The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards in London, 2022

Scientists announce the discovery some metals at least on the nano scale can self-heal after observing them cracking and fusing back together, 2023

An update error by cyber security firm CrowdStrike causes widespread technology outage grounds flights and shuts down bank and media companies around the world, 2024