Puzzling (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

When i get home from NOLA on Saturday afternoons, i generally try to put my feet up for a little while, propped up in bed doing puzzles in the newspaper.  There are plenty of fun number and word puzzles in the newspapers Grandpa passes along to me.

Clothile done like to sit at de table in de kitchen in de mo'nin' an' do her de puzzles in de paper.  One day, she be flyin' t'rough de page 'cause de puzzles be easy, an' Aline say, "Père, did you see how fas' Mère be doin' de puzzles?  Especaill' de crossword!"

An' Boudreaux say, "Mais, oui!  You Mère be ver' good with cross words!

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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.  

Just a few bits and bobs this week.

Crepe myrtle trees have fascinating trunks.

GG's shirt can get very dirty when a little someone wants to wipe her hands on them.

Becca and i fed the turtles last week.

Annie loves playing in the rain, or in its aftermath.

All the rain clouds made for interesting skies.

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This week, Jack "Blur Tail" wants to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.   He never holds his tail still if he thinks he's about to get a treat, and he's always about to get a treat when i take his photo!

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Today is:

Aunt's Day -- you honored your mother last week, if you have an aunt who has been good to you and a good influence, call today and let her know

Birthday of the Raja -- Perlis, Malaysia

Dea Dia Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of growth)

Dia de las Letras Gallegas -- GA, Spain (Galician Literature Day in Galacia, an autonomous region of Spain)

Feast of Azamat(Grandeur) -- Baha'i

Grand Spring Festival -- Toshogu Shrine, Nikko, Japan (through tomorrow; includes horseback archery, processions in costume, and more)

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Liberation Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mata Tirtha Aunsi -- Nepal (Mother's Day, or literally "Mother Pilgrimage New Moon")

Merry-Go-Round Day -- the first merry-go-round, powered by horses, opened this day in 1620

National Cherry Cobbler Day

National Emergency Medical Services Week begins -- US (this year's theme is "Improving Outcomes, Together")     

National Walnut Day -- declared in 1949 by the Walnut Marketing Board

Navy Day -- Argentina (anniversary of the victory at the Battle of Montevideo in 1814)

Neighbor Day -- Rhode Island, US (a "Day of Special Observance" here, and they encourage everyone, before summer starts, get to know your neighbors so you will have more people with whom to enjoy the season)

Pack Rat Day -- come on out and admit it, you are a pack rat, too!

Rubber Band Day -- patented this day in 1845, and aren't we pack rats glad.

Shunki Reitaisai -- Toshogu Shrine, Nikko, Japan (Grand Festival of Spring, through the 18th)

Stepmothers' Day -- the too often overlooked and unsung heroines of families; if you have one, and she has been there for you, thank her today

St. Madron of Cornwall's Day (Patron against pain)

Syttende Mai -- Nauru; Norway; Svalbard and Jan Mayen (Constitution Day)

Watch a Baby Fall Asleep Day -- because few things in the world are as funny and precious

World Hypertension Day    

World Neurofibromatosis Awareness Day -- for information about neurofibromatosis click here or here    

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day -- UN

Birthdays Today:

Nikki Reed, 1988

Tahj Mowry, 1987

Drew Roy, 1986

Andrea Corr, 1974

Sendhil Ramamurthy, 1974

Mia Hamm, 1972

Jordan Knight, 1970

Trent Reznor, 1965

Craig Ferguson, 1962

Enya, 1961

Sugar Ray Leonard, 1956

Bob Saget, 1956

Bill Paxton, 1955

Debra Winger, 1955

Christian Lacroix, 1950

Dennis Hopper, 1936

Maureen O'Sullivan, 1911

James "Cool Papa" Bell, 1903

Joseph Norman Lockyer, 1836

Edward Jenner, 1749

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Information Please!"(Radio), 1938

"Shéhérazade"(Ravel song cycle), 1904

Comic Cuts(Comic Paper, first publication), 1890

"Cavalleria rusticana/Rustic Chivalry"(Opera), 1890

Today in History:

Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi becomes the first to see 2 belts on Jupiter's surface, 1630

Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve founds the Ville Marie de Montréal, 1642

Frontenac becomes governor of New France (Canada), 1672

Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River, 1673

England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum & molasses imported to the colonies from a country other than British possessions, 1733

The US Continental Congress bans trade with Canada, 1775

The New York Stock Exchange is founded, 1792

John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine, 1803

Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire, 1809

Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian, 1814

Antoine Joseph Sax patents the saxophone, 1846

Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language, 1863

Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby, 1875

Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer, 1902

The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the first-ever televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City, 1939

The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954

Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere  of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure, 1969

Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean, 1970

Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho, starting the Internal conflict in Peru, 1980

Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, 1983

After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France, 1995

Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown, 1992

Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1997

Massachussetts becomes the first US State to legalize same-sex marriage, 2004

The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef, 2008

Dalia Grybauskaite is elected the first female President of Lithuania, 2009

The brightest lunar meteor impact ever observed is recorded by NASA, 2013

Gina Haspel is confirmed as the first female director of the CIA by the US Senate, 2018

In the first study of its kind, the World Health Organization claims in 2016, long working hours led to 745 000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease, 2021

Archaeologists release findings about the world's oldest architectural plans on two stone monoliths found in Southeastern Jordan and Northern Saudi Arabia, 2023

What I Remember and What I Wrote, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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Thankful Day has come again and once more there's probably more thankful things than i can count.  Still, i list as many as i remember or as i wrote down.

Friday before last we had just picked up our new-to-us car, and on Saturday it got thoroughly baptized by a drive to NOLA through one of our monsoon rains where you can barely see the road.  I'm thankful i was in a good car and got down there and back safely.

I'm thankful i remembered to bring all the food for Sunday ahead of time.  I'm also thankful i was able to drive the car even though i didn't have time to go to the motor vehicles place, carrying the notarized bill of sale and title will do for up to 30 days.

Grandpa and i got the rest of the food needed for Sunday and enough for Uncle J to make spaghetti this week, and i'm thankful our list isn't that long every time.

Uncle J has agreed to play furniture tetris with me to help make it easier to change Grandma's bed, and i'm thankful as it is a long slog the way things are.

I'm thankful Grandma liked her new cup i got her for her birthday, it's smaller and lighter in weight and she can lift it more easily.

Sunday was Mother's Day, i'm thankful my Sweetie and i were able to get down there, we had a lovely meal of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad and roasted corn, and chocolate pie for dessert.

Grandma keeps telling me not to get her orchids as she can no longer tend them and keep them alive, so i disobeyed and got her an acrylic hanging orchid!  I'm thankful she likes it.

That evening, i'm thankful my little Annie and i were able to take Ms. D a bunch of flowers and have an evening Mother's Day visit.

There was plenty of food left over from our little gathering, so i'm thankful i had a huge amount to bring and share with the ladies' circle group Monday evening.

I'm thankful we managed to get to the meeting, as the rain was again so bad it was causing flooding on some of the streets.  We're all thankful for these get-togethers, and i'm thankful for fellowship and discussion centered on our faith.

Tuesday wasn't rainy, so Annie was thankful to put on her rain boots and take a walk with this GG, splashing through puddles as we went.

I'm thankful i was able to watch her long enough for her parents to not just finish work but also get a nap.

Ms. G had another appointment so i'm thankful i got done with work early enough to get the new car to my favorite "mini-DMV" to get it properly registered.  

Which reminds me, i'm thankful our state passed the law to allow notaries to open what amounts to branch offices of the state Department of Motor Vehicles, each able to do anything the DMV can do except transfer a car in from out of state or give you an actual driving test.  I call the one i go to the mini-DMV, it's never as crowded as the official one and you never have to make an appointment and come back another day because they have too big a crowd.

While there, i'm also thankful i was able to pass the eye test (thank you, cataract surgery last year!) and get the "needs glasses" restriction removed from my license.

There are some days where you simply say, "I'm thankful the day is over."  Thursday was close to being one of those days, Ms. SE's place about beat me and her garbage disposer in the sink is clogging up again.  After her place and Ms. GA's, i was just thankful to get home and lie down.

Friday was another good day, even if our little Annie balked at a nap, i'm thankful i finally got her to sleep anyway.

The shelter last night was busy but not crazy busy, with a couple of pick-ups and a couple of new adoptions.  We're thankful for volunteers, kitties going to good homes, and the fun we have making it all happen.

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:

Armed Forces Day -- US (honoring those currently serving in the US military)

Biographer's Day -- anniversary of the day Boswell met Johnson in 1763

Hires Root Beer Day -- pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires created it on this day in 1866

Love a Tree Day -- and read about the love of a tree, in Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree

Middlesex Day -- Middlesex, England (although it is only a postal county now, many celebrate the heritage of what was once the county that included London)

National Learn To Swim Day -- US (with summer just around the corner, remember that drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages one to 14, so please, learn to swim and teach your kids!) 

National Coquilles St. Jacques Day

Sea-Monkey® Day -- as declared by someone who likes these little brine shrimp as pets; for info on keeping Sea Monkeys, check here

Sneeze Without Embarrassment Day -- because of pollen levels, as declared by Karen Richmond, of Eastport, MI, US

Spaghetti-Os Day -- they were first sold on this day in 1966

St. Brendan the Voyager's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, travelers, whales; Ardfert, Ireland; Clonfert, Ireland; Kerry, Ireland)

St. Honorius of Amiens' Day (Patron of bakers[especially bakers of communion wafers], cake makers, candlemakers, chandlers, confectioners, florists, flour merchants, oil refiners, pastry chefs; against drought)

St. John of Nepomuk's Day (Patron of bridges, bridge builders, confessors, discretion, good and right confession, running water, silence; Bohemia; Czech Republic; Slovakia; against calumnies, floods, indiscretions, and slander)

Sudan People's Liberation Army Day -- South Sudan

Teachers' Day -- Malaysia

U.S. Nickel Day -- the first U.S. five-cent nickel was minted on this day in 1866

Wear Purple for Peace Day -- the idea being that until we become a peaceful species, the aliens won't visit

Anniversaries Today:

Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France, marries Marie Antoinette, 1770

Edgar Allen Poe marries his cousin Virginia Clemm, 1836

Birthdays Today:

Megan Fox, 1986

Matt Ryan, 1985

Jim Sturgess, 1981

Tori Spelling, 1973

David Boreanaz, 1971

Gabriela Sabatini, 1970

Tracey Gold, 1969

Janet Jackson, 1966

Mare Winningham, 1959

Joan Benoit Samuelson, 1957

Olga Korbut, 1955

Debra Winger, 1955

Pierce Brosnan, 1953

Bob Edwards, 1947

Bill Smitrovich, 1947

Billy Martin, 1928

Liberace, 1919

Woody Herman, 1913

Louis "Studs" Terkel, 1912

Margaret Rey, 1906

Henry Fonda, 1905

Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, 1804

William Seward, 1801

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Top Gun(Film), 1986

"McCartney II"(album release), 1980

"Listen to What the Man Said"(Single release), 1975

"Annie Get Your Gun"(Musical), 1946

"Dalibor"(Opera), 1868

Today in History:

The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence is re-established as a republic, 1527

Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England, 1532

Samuel Johnson meets his future biographer, James Boswell, in London, 1763

Denmark abolishes slave trade, 1792

The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail, 1843

Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer, 1866

A naval Curtiss aircraft NC-4 commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight, 1919

Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc, 1920

Chaim Weizmann is elected the first President of Israel, 1948

The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between John F Kennedy International Airport (then Idlewild Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines, 1951

Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, 1960

China's Cultural Revolution begins, 1966

The Soviet Venera 5 spacecraft lands on Venus, 1969

India annexes Sikkim  after the mountain state holds a referendum in which the popular vote is in favour of merging with India, 1975

Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, 1975

The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain, 1986

A report by United States' Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine, 1988

Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the US Houses of Congress, 1991

Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote, 2005

The oldest water ever found is discovered in a Canadian mine; the water dates back 2.6 billion years, 2013

Saray Khumalo becomes the first black African woman to climb Mt Everest, 2019

Sweden formally announces it will seek to join NATO after 200 years of neutrality, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022

ChatGPT developer OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies before the US Senate in favor of oversight of the new technology, suggesting they “might consider a combination of licensing and testing requirements," 2023

Scientists announce the discovery of a long-lost branch of the Nile, now dried up, that once ran near many of Egypt's pyramids, 2024

Nigerian-born Princess Opeyemi Bright becomes the youngest UK mayor n history at age 29, 2025