Thursday, January 22, 2026

After All This the Fish Better Bite (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy's Poetry Day, and Brian's Thankful Thursday

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If Ms. G could do just one thing for the rest of her life, it would probably be to fish as frequently as possible.


Thus the new-to-her boat, which yesterday needed the cover properly adjusted so the coming rain wouldn't get in it the way the rains last week did, plus the motor had not been run in about a year according to her, so she wanted to be certain it was in good condition.


She kept telling me to be careful and not get my shoes wet, but keeping them dry is not going to happen when you have to hook up a hose to a special gadget so you can run a boat motor on land to check it, and after i climbed up twice to get her a wrench and then get her some cleaning rags, and the water was running all over, she actually did get it started and it ran well.




Then came the time to get the cover on, as the bit of water which seeped in last week caused a small rust spot around something or other and she was not pleased; this meant getting it initially in place, then trying to put all the bungee cords in place, realizing it needed adjusting from the inside, me climbing back up in there and adjusting, climbing out, more cords, more climbing in to add another pole to lift the cover so water wouldn't pool in it, and more cord adjusting.


After that it was time to go in and get the spare bungee cords and really get the cover strapped down, and when it was finally in place she noted it looked silly, but it should work even if it was too close to the tree, so then she got out her pole clipper and trimmed the tree.


While Ms. G was still up in there, before it was all secured.


This was just the first hour-and-a-half of the five hours we worked yesterday, she had a burr in her saddle and wanted to get things done while her back wasn't hurting to badly, so we did; she's going to need a fishing trip vacation soon to make all this worth it and she'd better get some fish when she does go is all i can say.



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





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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!


It's Carnival Time.





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






At the hop with you is the place to be,

bopping to the music for all to see,

we dance like we mean it, a ribbon to chase,

and the judges just named us in first place!



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


Today i am thankful it wasn't a problem for me to climb up into Ms. G's boat twice while the cover was on and help readjust said cover.






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It's Answer Your Cat's Questions Day!  Wellcat Holidays suggests you meditate on what your cat's question might be, then answer it.


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


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Today is:


Celebration of Life Day


Clashing Clothes Day -- "officially" (although i'm not sure who declared it) on the 4th Thursday of January, but some people seem to celebrate it every day


Come in From the Cold Day -- somebody at an ecard company decided today would be a good day to do that 


Day of Unity and Liberty of Ukraine -- Ukraine


Dia de la Fundacion del Estado Pluinacional de Bolivia -- Bolivia


Get to Know Your Customers Day -- on the 4th Thursday of each quarter


National Blonde Brownie Day -- i thought these were just called "blondies."


Polka Dot Day -- looking up why they are called "polka dots" gives lots of stories, but no concrete evidence; they were probably named after the dance craze that became fashionable around the same time the pattern appeared


St. Vincent of Zaragoza's Day (Spanish martyr and Patron of vine dressers, vinegar makers, vintners; Lisbon, Portugal; Portugal; Vicenza, Italy; Vilamalla, Catalonia, Spain)


Women's Healthy Weight Day -- on the Thursday of Healthy Weight Week, encouraging women to strive for a healthy weight and lifestyle  



Birthdays Today:


Christopher Masterson, 1980

Balthazar Getty, 1975

Olivia D'Abo, 1967

Steven Adler, 1965

Diane Lane, 1965

Michael Kelland Hutchence, 1960

Linda Blair, 1959

Steve Perry, 1949

John Hurt, 1940

Joseph Wambaugh, 1937

Seymour Cassel, 1937

Sam Cooke, 1935

Bill Bixby, 1934

Piper Laurie, 1932

Ann Sothern, 1909

Robert E. Howard, 1906

George Balanchine, 1904

Rosa Melba Ponselle, 1897

D.W. Griffith, 1875

Grigori Rasputin, 1869

August Strindberg, 1849

Richard Upjohn, 1802

Nat Turner, 1800

Lord Byron, 1788

Andre Ampère, 1775

Sir Francis Bacon, 1561



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Emergency!"(TV), 1972

"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"(TV), 1968

"The Crucible"(Miller play), 1953

"Our Town"(Wilder play), 1938

"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"(Opera; Shostakovich Op.29), 1934



Today in History:


The first contingent of Swiss Guards arrive at the Vatican, 1506

Postal service between NYC and Boston is inaugurated, 1673

The Native American Iroquois tribes renew their allegiance to the British against the French, 1690

Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Britain, 1771

A severe earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands, 1837

The Zulus attack the British Army camp in Isandhlwana, South Africa, 1879

The Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" is erected in Central Park, 1881

After 63 years, England stops the sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series and begins King Edward VII series, 1901

First live radio commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury, 1927

KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood, California, 1947

Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space, 1968

The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service, 1970

The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued, 1971

The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous "1984" television commercial, 1984

Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm, 1990

Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, 2002

Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president, 2006

Water vapour is detected on the dwarf planet Ceres, 2014

Winter storm conditions strand 500 motorists for 24 hours on the New Jersey turnpike in Pennsylvania, 2016

Netflix becomes the largest digital media and entertainment company in the world worth $100 billion, 2018

Australian surfer Laura Enever sets the world record riding the largest-ever wave by a woman at 43.6ft (13.3m) on Oahu's North Shore, Hawaii, 2023

The world's first mass vaccine program against Malaria begins in Yaoundé, Cameroon, after successful trials of RTS,S vaccine, 2024

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Maybe I'll Get It From This Angle (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, Keith, Catsynth, and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     





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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    


This month the words/prompts are supplied by Sean Jeating and they will appear on River's blog.


This week's words/prompts are:


1. absolution  

2.Auschwitz  

3.love  

4. resistance  

5.without


and/or:


1. dancing  

2.dreams  

3.ears  

4. eyes  

5.talking


use either list or both, or mix and match, just have fun.


Charlotte's colour of the month is Carmine.


DANCING was one of the DREAMS for my life.  To be on stage or dance the tango in a Carmine dress at a championship contest, it was what I hoped for and worked toward.


Then came the accident.


It truly was an accident, his brakes failed although he'd had his vehicle serviced regularly.  "One of those things," which can happen without warning.


It left me with EARS which can hear, EYES which can see, and a mouth that can do plenty of TALKING, hands which can do whatever I need to do, and feet which can walk with a cane, but my dancing days were done.


Many of us who go to church learn God's LOVE is WITHOUT limit, He forgives those who ask and let His love change their hearts, and forgiveness is a blessing, one we give ourselves as much as the other person.


In the immediate aftermath I felt such anger and I wondered why, as others have been through so much more, and those things done much more deliberately.  It's not like he's a Nazi asking a Jew for ABSOLUTION for AUSCHWITZ.  He didn't mean it, and he was horrified it happened at all and would have taken it back if he could have.


But at first, I refused to forgive, then I realized my refusal was standing in the way of my own healing.


There's an experiment scientists did with a gadget which pushed a person's hand with a certain amount of force, and then they asked the person to push it back with the same amount of RESISTANCE, as closely as they could.


No one could do it.  Every person, even the experimenters who knew the results and tried not to, pushed back harder than they had been pushed.


It's normal, it's what we do, seeing what the other did as worse than what we ourselves have done.  In light of it, the Mosaic Covenant laws which say, "eye for eye and tooth for tooth" are a good limit, so no one takes vengeance beyond their own hurt.


Forgiving doesn't mean he and I become buddies.  It doesn't mean what he did doesn't matter even if it was truly an accident.  It means I leave any question of punishment which might be due up to God Almighty, who knows better than I do just how much to push back.


It means I take my hands off his throat in my own mind and if he learns from it to love God and ask forgiveness and his heart is changed, and then we end up together praising God in eternity, then so much the better for both of us.




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It's National Hugging Day™, which includes the announcement of the Most Huggable Person of the Year.  National Hugging Day was established, among other reasons, to encourage consensual hugging for better mental health.


This year's Most Huggable Person is Rev. Dr. Michael B Beckwith of Agape Spiritual Center in Beverly Hills, California.  He is the founder and spiritual director of Agape, which is a transdenominational community that aims to promote life, peace and positive influence. He is an active hugger and has grown to be a positive supporter of National Hugging Day.


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



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Today is:


Celtic Tree Month Luis (Rowan) begins


Errol Barrow Day -- Barbados


International Bon Jovi Day -- they released their first album this date in 1983


Lady of Altagracia Day -- Dominican Republic


National Hugging Day™ -- includes the announcements of the Most Huggable People of the Year


New England Clam Chowder Day


Quebec Flag Day -- Quebec, Canada


Squirrel Appreciation Day -- sponsored by Christy Hargrove of the Western North Carolina Nature Center


St. Agnes' Day (Patron of betrothed couples, bodily purity/chastity, crops, gardeners, Girl Scouts, girls, rape victims, virgins; the Colegio Capranica of Rome; Manresa, Spain; Rockville Centre, NY)


St. Meinrad of Einsiedeln's Day (Patron of hospitality; Einsiedeln, Switzerland; Swabia, Germany)



Anniversary Today:


Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit, 1915



Birthdays Today:


Robby Benson, 1956

Geena Davis, 1956

Billy Ocean, 1960

Jill Eikenberry, 1947

Mac Davis, 1942

Placido Domingo, 1941

Jack Nicklaus, 1940

Wolfman Jack, 1939

Benny Hill, 1925

Telly Savalas, 1924

Benny Hill, 1924

Paul Scofield, 1922

Barney Clark, 1921

Karl Wallenda, 1905

Christian Dior, 1905

Roger Nash Baldwin, 1884

John M. Browning, 1855

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, 1824

Ethan Allen, 1738



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"The Kid"(Film), 1921

"The Daily News"(first issue, edited by Charles Dickens), 1848

"Power of Sympathy"(publication date of WH Brown's novel, considered the first American novel), 1789



Today in History:


Philip II, Henry II, and Richard the Lionheart initiate the 3rd Crusade, 1189

The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded, 1525

The first American novel, WH Brown's "Power of Sympathy," is published, 1789

After being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine, 1793

Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination is introduced, 1799

The envelope-folding machine is patented by Russell Hawes, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1853

The first US sewage disposal system that is separate from storm drains opens in Memphis, Tennessee, 1880

The first slalom ski race is run in Murren, Switzerland, 1922

The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec, 1948

A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete, 1968

The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts, 1971

Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes, 1976

Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, 1981

NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Eart, 2004

Black Monday in worldwide stock markets. FTSE 100 had its biggest ever one-day points fall, European stocks closed with their worst result since 11 September 2001, and Asian stocks drop as much as 14%, 2008

The Eyak language in Alaska becomes extinct as its last native speaker dies, 2008

LA Lakers forward Kobe Bryant becomes the youngest NBA player to reach 25,000 career points at 31 years, 151 days, beating Wilt Chamberlain by 35 days, 2010

Gambian Dictator Yahya Jammeh finally concedes office and leaves Gambia 2 months after losing the presidential election, 2018

The journal Nature Communications reports a study of the world's oldest known meteor impact from an estimated 2.2 billion years ago in Yarrabilba, Western Australia, implicating the impact in the ending of an ice age at that time, 2020

Tara VanDerveer, age 70, becomes the winningest college basketball coach with her 1,203rd victory as Stanford University defeats the Oregon State Beavers, 65-56, 2024

The US experiences a deep freeze, with snow in the deep south, the first ever blizzard warnings in Louisiana and Texas, and record snowfalls in those areas, 2025