Monday, May 18, 2026

Games With GG (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Balcony

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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 loves to pretend to close me out of my bedroom while my foot is blocking the door from properly shutting.










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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 Balcony.


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From a balcony at the train station

a child fell to much consternation,

but he floated down slow

being too young to know

the gravity of his situation.


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Julius Caesar on his balcony did brood,

he was not in a very good mood,

dreaded winter would soon come to call,

he was watching the Roman Empire’s fall!*


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Future themes are:


May 18 Balcony (Today!)

May 25 Scooter

June 1 Blue

June 8 Two Minute Sketch


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


*For all the history people who will want to correct me, yes, I know, Julius Caesar did not live to see the Roman Empire, it was still the Roman Republic then.  It fit the meter better, so poetic license!


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Today is Victoria Day in Canada!


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


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Today is:


Apollon Day -- Ancient Roman Calendar (god of music, poetry, sunlight)


Battle of Las Piedras Day -- Uruguay


Discovery Day -- Cayman Islands


Flag and University Day -- Haiti


HIV Vaccine Awareness Day/World AIDS Vaccine Day    


I Love Reese's Day -- as voted in by lovers of the candy a few years ago   


International Museum Day -- International Council of Museums (ICOM)   


National Cheese Souffle Day


National Pike Festival -- Fayette County, Pennsylvania, US (through the 20th)


No Dirty Dishes Day -- spread around the internet by a mom who needed the break, possibly; go ahead, break out the paper plates just on this day


Restoration of Somaliland Sovereignty Day -- Somaliland Region, Somalia


Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day -- Turkmenistan


St. Eric's Day (Patron of Sweden)


St. Theodotus' Day (Patron of hotel keepers and innkeepers)


Visit Your Relatives Day -- if they are great, go have fun; if awful, go remind yourself why you moved so far away!


World Goodwill Day -- commemorates the opening meeting of 26 nations in the First Hague Peace Conference, 1899



Anniversaries Today:


Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1152



Birthdays Today:


Tina Fey, 1970

Jari Kurri, 1960

Chow Yun-Fat, 1955

Rick Wakeman, 1954

George Strait, 1952

James Stephens, 1951

Tom Udall, 1948

Reggie Jackson, 1946

Brooks Robinson, 1937

Dwayne Hickman, 1934

Robert Morse, 1931

Pernell Robers, 1930

Pope John Paul II, 1920

Margot Fonteyn, 1919

Perry Como, 1912

Big Joe Turner, 1911

Meredith Willson, 1902

Frank Capra, 1897

Wilhelm Steinitz, 1836

Omar Khayyam, 1048



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Le roi malgré lui / King in Spite of Himself"(Opera), 1887



Today in History:


The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch, 1268

Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut, India, 1498

Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy (under torture) lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe, 1593

John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts, 1631

Rhode Island passes North America's first anti-slavery law, 1652

Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec, 1763

The first United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States, 1783

Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate, 1804

The destruction of Saturdays forever after:  Edwin Budding of England signs an agreement for manufacture of his invention, lawn mower, 1830

The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland, 1843

The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal is constitutional, 1896

A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people, 1896

Bram Stoker's Dracula is published, 1897

The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley, 1910

Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier, 1953

Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon, 1974

Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage, 1980

In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3km/h (357.2 mph), 1990

Photos from the Hubble Space Telescope confirm the existence of two additional moons, Nix and Hydra, around Pluto, 2005

A landmark bill passes in Nepal curbing the power of the monarchy and making it a secular country, 2009

Italian officials announce that many of the country's public assets will be sold in an effort to reduce the country's debt; plans to sell part of the nation's air traffic control and postal services have already been approved, 2014

WHO member states agree to set up an inquiry into the global response to the pandemic, including looking at the WHO itself, 2020

Harrison Ford is presented with an honorary Palme d'Or lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival, 2023

Centrist mayor of Bucharest and former mathematics professor Nicusor Dan wins the presidential election in Romania over hard-right nationalist and pro-Russian candidate George Simion, 2025

Pope Leo XIV holds his inaugural mass at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, 2025

Sunday, May 17, 2026

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 OwlAndrew, 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