Saturday, February 21, 2026

It's Been Another Good One, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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It's Thankful Day and it's been a good week.  Busy and good.


I'm thankful for the Saturdays when i can ride to NOLA with #2 Son.  We talk, and this last time, i learned more about cars than i ever thought i could know.


Because it was Valentine's Day, Grandpa wanted me to order lunch and get an extra order of something so I'd have some for the next day, too.  I was thankful to finally find a restaurant which would take delivery orders on Valentine's Day and thankful to get plenty to take home.


While watching our little Annie Sunday evening, we went to visit Ms. D (she's my friend and client who lives four houses down).  We were thankful for a fun time and Ms. D gave her crackers, for which Annie was very thankful.  I'm also thankful i went over there to clean the next day to i could vacuum all the cracker crumbs!


We've also had more car trouble in the family.  #2 Son got in his car and it wouldn't start.  We're all thankful it was the alternator and battery and he, with help from #1 Son holding the flashlight and handing him tools, was able to change both and get the vehicle up and running again.


I'm thankful Tuesday was a lovely day with our little girl.


She won't allow hair brushing, i guess she's a hippie.


Ms. G was making plans to leave town for a funeral, so Wednesday was spent getting her ready, tying up loose ends, and just generally running, fetching and carrying.  I'm thankful my back is holding out.


Let's face it, when she's out of town, it also means a bit of extra pay when i go by to take care of the animals, and i'm always thankful for it.


Because i work, i'm not able to attend the Ash Wednesday service at our church which is at noon.  I am very thankful for the church up the street from our house which has an evening service.


Thursday was another "double day," two cleaning jobs on one day and my Sweetie helps me with at least one and sometimes both on these days.  I'm thankful this was a "both" day and we got done with Ms. SE and Ms. GA faster than we ever have before.


Friday morning started so early, i went to Ms. G's for critter care at 5am, then up to the church to make coffee for prayer meeting at 6am, followed by my weekly shopping (done as fast as possible), then home to take care of our little Annie.


I was tired and Ms. Annie had the crankies, not a good combination, but i was thankful she was happy to take a walk and eat banana, read stories and take another walk before lunchtime.


She barely napped an hour and groused about, but i'm thankful our next door neighbor is now watching her granddaughter, only a month older, and we had a playdate.  Annie was much happier playing with Kaye than with by now sleepy me.


Friday evening at the cat shelter was busy as there were adoptions and picking up of adopted cats, and plenty of just looking, too, and we're very thankful.



Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Clark and his co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.   


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


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Today is:


Anniversary of His Majesty the King -- Bhutan


Anthesteria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day Festival of Flowers, feast of the dead, and drinking festival; date approximate)


Card Reading Day -- because greeting cards can be fun to just stop and read, can't they?


Day in Honor of Dr. W. H. Lini, Father of Independence -- Vanuatu


Feast of the Feralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (final day of the Parentalia, with picnics in the graveyard that included libations to the departed)


International Mother Language Day -- UNESCO     


National Sticky Bun Day


Remember the Funniest Thing Your Kid Ever Did Day -- in honor of Erma Bombeck's birth anniversary


Sandino Day -- Nicaragua (assassination anniversary of Augusto César Sandino)


Shaheed Dibosh -- Bangladesh (International Mother Language Day/Language Martyr's Day, for those who died in the Bengali Language Movement in 1952)


St. Peter Damian's Day (Doctor of the Church)



Anniversaries Today:


Dudley Moore marries Brogan Lane, 1988

Liz Taylor marries Michael Wilding, 1952

The Washington Monument is dedicated, 1885



Birthdays Today:


Corbin Bleu, 1989

Ashley Greene, 1987

Ellen Page, 1987

Charlotte Church, 1986

Jennifer Love Hewitt, 1979

William Baldwin, 1963

Christopher Atkins, 1961

Alan Trammell, 1958

Jack Coleman, 1958

Mary Chapin Carpenter, 1958

Kelsey Grammer, 1955

Christine Ebersole, 1953

William Petersen, 1953

Olympia J. Snowe, 1947

Tyne Daly, 1946

Alan Rickman, 1946

David Geffen, 1943

John Lewis, 1940

Gary Lockwood, 1937

Barbara Jordan, 1936

Rue McClanahan, 1935

Nina Simone, 1933

Roberto Gomez Bolanos, 1929

Erma Bombeck, 1927

Hubert de Givenchy, 1927

Sam Peckinpah, 1925

Ann Sheridan, 1915

W.H. Auden, 1907

Anais Nin, 1903

Andres Segovia, 1893

Alice Freeman Palmer, 1855

Charles Scribner, 1821

John Henry Cardinal Newman, 1801

Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, 1794



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Die Physiker"(Play), 1962

"A Woman to Remember"(TV; first soap opera), 1949

"War as it Happens"(TV), 1944

"Green Pastures"(Play), 1930

"The New Yorker"(Magazine), 1925

"The Communist Manifesto"(Publication date), 1848

"Cherokee Phoenix"(Newspaper, first US Native American paper), 1828



Today in History:


England begins the trial against Joan of Arc, 1431

John Wilkes is thrown out of the English House of Commons for his pornographic poem "An Essay on Woman," a satire of Pope's "An Essay on Man," 1764

Freedom of worship is established in France under its Constitution, 1795

The first locomotive, Richard Trevithick's, runs for the first time, in Wales, 1804

The first Native American Indian newspaper, the "Cherokee Phoenix", begins publication, 1828

The first known sewing machine in the US is patented by John Greenough of Washington, D.C., 1842

Sarah G Bagley of Lowell, Massachusetts becomes the first US woman telegrapher, 1846

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish the Communist Manifesto, 1848

The US Congress outlaws foreign currency as legal tender in the US, 1857

Edwin T. Holmes installs the first electric burglar alarm, in Boston, Massachusetts, 1858

The first Roman Catholic parish church for blacks in the US is dedicated, in Baltimore, Maryland, 1864

Lucy B. Hobbs becomes the first US woman to earn a DDS degree, 1866

Benjamin Disraeli replaces William Gladstone as English premier, 1874

The first telephone book is issued, to 50 subscribers in New Harbor, Connecticut, 1878

Oregon becomes the first US state to declare Labor Day a holiday, 1887

The North Carolina legislature adjourns for the day to mark the death of Frederick Douglass, 1895

Dr. Harvey Cushing, the first US neurosurgeon, performs his first operation, 1902

Gustav Mahler conducts his last concerto, 1911

The Battle of Verdun (WWI) begins, will last until Dec. 18; over a quarter of a million casualties, half a million injuries, 1916

The last Carolina parakeet, Incas, dies in the Cincinnati Zoo, in the same cage that had held Martha, the last passenger pigeon, 4 years earlier, 1918

The Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution, 1921

Great Britain grants Egypt independence, 1922

The first issue of "New Yorker" magazine is published, 1925

The first instant developing camera is demonstrated in NYC, by E H Land, 1947

The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free", 1952

Watson and Crick discover the structure of the DNA molecule; according to legend, they walk into the Eagle Pub in Cambridge and Crick announces, "We have found the secret of Life," 1953

The Peace symbol is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom, commissioned by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, 1958

Malcolm X is assassinated, 1965

The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna, 1971

The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon, 1972

Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison, 1975

Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, 1995

Euro zone finance ministers agree on a second bailout for Greece, 2012

Scientists discover that bumblebees have the ability to sense electric fields around flowers, enabling them to identify specific flowers for pollination, 2013

Turkey sends troops to Syria to rescue 40 guards and relocate remains from the tomb of Sulayman Shah, which is now surrounded by ISIS militants; the site is internationally recognized as Turkish territory, 2015

The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 touches down on asteroid Ryugu on a mission to collect rock samples, 2019

Israel launches the Beresheet Lunar Lander with a Lunar Library, a 30 million page digital library, with the aim of storing a back-up of much of humanity's learning (a "civilization backup") on the Moon, 2019

Englishwoman Jasmine Harrison, age 21, becomes the youngest woman to row across an ocean arriving in Antigua as part of the Atlantic Challenge after 70 days, 3 hours, 48 minutes, 2021

Australia's border reopens to vaccinated tourists after almost two years, 2022

Friday, February 20, 2026

Blue Bowl Blues (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins, Nature Friday, and Flashback Friday

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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (may he rest in peace), and i'm going to believe it's because he liked cats.

He handed hosting duties off to Sandee at Comedy Plus, and now she has entrusted 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!


Olive has a touch of the blues.





She put her toy in her water bowl, and yes, it turned the water blue!




Of course, she got fresh water (and a different toy).





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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. My zodiac sign is __________________.


2. My Chinese zodiac animal sign is _____________________.


3. For me, _________ brings back memories of _________.


4. _________ is the only thing keeping me from _________.




1. My zodiac sign is   not something i pay attention to.


2. My Chinese zodiac animal sign is   not something i pay attention to, either.  It may seem silly to some, but i do take the Biblical prohibition of astrology and divination seriously.  Yes, we are still friends if you disagree.


3. For me,   Elmer's Gold Brick Eggs (candy)  brings back memories of   my whole childhood.  In fact, it tastes like my childhood!


4. Not being debt free and still needing grocery money  is the only thing keeping me from   retiring.



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Nature Friday is hosted by LLB in Our Backyard Simply post a picture of the natural world, and link up!   


The Japanese magnolia/tulip trees and the azaleas are getting serious.






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Flashback Friday is hosted by FiveSibes Come hop along memory lane with us!  


Held down by fluff!



Bottle babies, plus The Lorax.


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Today is Love Your Pet Day!  Make sure you give your pets a little extra love today.


Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere the event badge.


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Today is:


Blessed Wulfric's Day


Cherry Pie Day


Clean Out Your Bookcase Day -- supposedly begun in 1985, but i can't find information on who started it; donate books you don't need any more to a local friends of the library group


Flying Car Day -- the Arrowmobile, the first flying car, patented this day in 1937 (and can you imagine, as bad as driving is, how many accidents we would have if these people were flying around instead?)


Heritage Day -- Yukon Territory, Canada


Hoodie Hoo Day (Northern Hemisphere) -- at noon local time, citizens are requested to go outside and yell "Hoodie-Hoo" to chase away winter and call in spring; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays


Kabuki no Hi -- Japan (Kabuki Day, commemorating the first performance by Izumo no Okuni, the founder of kabuki, for Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1607)


National Handcuff Day  


St Leo of Catania's Day (a/k/a Leo the Wonderworker, Patron of Rometta, Longi, and Sinagra, Sicily)


Toothpick Day -- first machine used to make them patented this day in 1872


World Day for Social Justice -- UN



Anniversary Today:


John Cleese marries Connie Booth, 1968

US Post Office, 1792 (George Washington signed the act which created it)



Birthdays Today:


Rihanna, 1988

Andrew Shue, 1967

Lili Taylor, 1967

Cindy Crawford, 1966

French Stewart, 1964

Charles Barkley, 1963

Ron Eldard, 1963

James Wilby, 1958

Patty Hearst, 1954

Gordon Brown, 1951

Ivana Trump, 1949

Jennifer O'Neill, 1948

Peter Strauss, 1947

Brenda Blethyn, 1946

Sandy Duncan, 1946

Phil Esposito, 1942

Buffy Sainte-Marie, 1941

Nancy Wilson, 1937

Bobby Unser, 1934

Sidney Poitier, 1927

Robert Altman, 1925

Gloria Vanderbilt, 1924

Carl E. Stotz, 1920

Gale Gordon, 1906

Ansel Adams, 1902

Joseph Jefferson, 1829

William Prescott, 1726



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel"(Play), 1963

"Barber of Seville"(Rossini Opera), 1816

"Giulio Cesare in Egitto"(Opera, HWV 17), 1724



Today in History:


King Christian I, ruler of Denmark and Norway, pawns the islands of Orkney and Shetland to Scotland so he can pay his daughter's dowry, 1472

An unnamed comet approaches withing 860,000 miles of Earth, the closest a comet has ever come to our planet, 1491

The first recorded wine auction is held, in London, 1673

The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington, 1792

Austria declares bankruptcy, 1811

Concepcion, Chile, is destroyed by an earthquake, 1835

The US Congress prohibits dueling in the District of Columbia, 1839

Luther Crowell patents a machine to manufacture paper bags, 1872

In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens, 1872

The first minor league baseball association is organised, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1887

King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra, 1913

A new volcano, Paricutin, erupts in a farmer's cornfield in Mexico, 1943

The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate, 1959

While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in 4 hours, 55 minutes, 1962

Ranger 8 crashes into the moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts, 1965

The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands, 1976

Texas industrialist Ross Perot's U.S. presidential campaign begins, 1992

Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout, 2005

Estonia becomes the first country in the world to establish a national electric car charging network, with cars charging in less than 30 minutes, 2013

A 4-inch lock of John Lennon's hair sells at auction for $35,000 to a memorabilia collector, 2016

Famine is declared in Unity State, South Sudan, affecting 4.9 million, 2017

Venezuela becomes the first country to launch a virtual currency, the petro, to counteract their financial crisis, 2018

Englishwoman Jasmine Harrison (21) becomes the youngest woman to row across an ocean arriving in Antigua as part of the Atlantic Challenge after 70 days, 3 hours, 48 minutes, 2021

Earthquakes and aftershocks near the city of Antakya, Turkey, on the Syrian border, cause mayhem just two weeks after earthquakes devastated the region, 2023

David A Lindon, a micro artist, sets a world record for the smallest handmade sculpture, creating a miniature Lego piece about the size of a human white blood cell, 2025