Raising a Reader (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Plants with Berries

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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!

Our little Annie loves to read and when she decides it's time for the reading chair, it's time.

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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 Plants With Berries.                  

     

I planted a berry bush

and tended it with glee,

it produced much fruit

for my use, as you will see.

I filled my basket with berries,

as many as I could cram,

'cause muddling them with sugar

really is my jam!

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don't come in my yard

to pick fruit from my bushes

it is rob-berry

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When blueberries aren't ripe they are red

later turning blue/purple instead,

but don't leave them too long

or you'll sing the sad song

of elder berries which you'll dread!

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Future themes are:

February 16 Plants With Berries (Today!)

February 23 Doughnut

March 2 Breakfast in Bed

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

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Today is:

9-1-1 Day -- the first 911 call in North America was placed, demonstrating the new system, on this day in 1968

Akiyoshidai Yamayaki -- Akiyoshidai, Japan (dry grass on the mountain side is burned in this coming of spring ceremony; date subject to change)

Bonten Matsuri -- Miyoshi-jinja Shrine, Akita, Japan (two day festival to ask for good crops this year)

Canada observances

    Family Day -- AB, BC, NB, ON, SK, Canada

    Heritage Day -- NS, Canada (honouring Mona Louise Parsons)

    Islander Holiday -- PEI, Canada

    Louis Riel Day -- MB, Canada

Do a Grouch a Favor Day -- internet generated attempt to get us to either get the grouches on our side, or make us cynical

Independence Day -- Lithuania (National Day/Restoration of Statehood)(1918)

Kyoto Protocol Day -- International (treaty on climate change; today is proposed as "Wear purple for Kyoto Day")

Lunar New Year's Eve (year of the Horse)

    Seol-nal -- South Korea (Lunar New Year Holiday begins)

    Spring Festival -- China; Taiwan (Chinese New Year's Eve, start of the festival)

    Tet Eve -- Vietnam

Lundi Gras -- Fat Monday, Carnival, one of the last to days to feast before the Lenten fast begins Wednesday

     Bolludagur -- Iceland (Bun Day, the children wake the parents with a "spanking" while calling for cream buns that will be eaten that day)

     Old Mask Parade -- Oranjestad, Aruba (with the Burning of the Momo tomorrow, marking the end of Carnival)

     Rosenmontag -- German-speaking Countries (Rose Monday, highlight of Karneval)

National Almond Day

Presidents' Day -- US and Territories

St. Juliana of Cumae's Day (Patron of the ill)

St. Onesimus' Day (runaway slave of Philemon, converted by Paul, of whom the Letter to Philemon was written)

Birthdays Today:

Christopher Eccleston, 1964

John McEnroe, 1959

Ice T, 1959

LeVar Burton, 1957

James Ingram, 1956

William Katt, 1951

Richard Ford, 1944

Barry Primus, 1938

Sonny Bono, 1935

Vera-Ellen, 1921

Patty Andrews, 1920

Jimmy Wakely, 1914

Hugh Beaumont, 1909

Richard McDonald, 1909

George Kennan, 1904

Edgar Bergan, 1903

Robert Joseph Flaherty, 1884

Johann Strauss, 1866

Nichiren, 1222

Emperor Yingzong of China, 1032

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What's My Line"(TV Game Show), 1950

"Le Voyageur Sans Baggage"(Anouilh Play), 1937

"The Marquise"(Coward Play), 1927

"Chung Sai Yat Po"(Publication; first Chinese daily newspaper in US), 1900

"Werther"(Massenet Opera), 1892

"Ladies' Home Journal"(Publication), 1883

"Orpheus"(Liszt Opera), 1854

"Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard"(First Publication), 1751

Today in History:

9th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 374

Pope Gregory the Great issues a decree saying that "God bless you" is the correct response to a sneeze, 600

English king Charles I accepts Triennial Act, requiring the king to assemble Parliament at least once every 3 years, 1641

The first known check (cheque) is written, for 400 English Pounds Sterling (currently on display at Westminster Abbey), 1659

Kentucky passes a law permitting women to attend school under certain conditions, 1838

Weenen Massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus, 1838

American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica, 1840

The Battle of Sobraon ends the First Sikh War in India, 1846

Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established, 1852

The French Government passes a law to set the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz, in an attempt to standardize the pitch, 1859

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks forms, 1868

The "Ladies Home Journal" begins publishing, 1883

The first Chinese daily newspaper in the US, Chung Sai Yat Po, begins publication in San Francisco, 1900

The first US Esperanto Club organizes in Boston, 1905

The first synagogue in 425 years opens in Madrid, Spain, 1917

Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, 1923

The first patent is issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree, 1932

Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon, 1937

Canadians are granted Canadian citizenship after 80 years of being British subjects. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen, 1947

Britain abolishes the death penalty, 1956

Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1, 1959

In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service, 1968

The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois), 1978

The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem, 1987

The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia, 2005

The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army, 2006

China announces it will relocate 9,000 people in Guizhou province, before completion of world's largest telescope (FAST), designed to look for extraterrestrial life, 2016

Pope Francis defrocks ex-cardinal and archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrick for sexually abusing minors and adults, making him the first Cardinal to be removed for sexual abuse, 2019

The United States removes 400 citizens quarantined for Covid19 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, 2020

Athens and parts of Greece receive unusually heavy snowfall, 2021

The US Naval History and Heritage Command confirms the wreckage discovered off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, by the University of Tokyo sonar team in 2022 was the remains of the USS Albacore, a submarine lost in 1944, 2023

It Happens Younger and Younger (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 was fussing because again #2 Son had again dropped me off without bringing Daughter-in-Law and our little Annie.

“And I want to see the new baby, too!” she said.  “You were supposed to send me an ultrasound photo!”

At that point, i showed her the one my phone and texted it to her.

Looking at it again, she said, “It looks like a bag of raw meat!”

#2 son laughed and said, “Well, you’re not far wrong!”

Aline done be expectin’ Boudreaux an’ Clothile’s firs’ gran’baby an’ she jes done had de ultrasound.

She be’s so excited she say, “I got to see de baby movin’, an’ it done yawned!”

An’ Boudreaux say, “Mais, don’ tole me dat baby already be bored wit’ you parenting!”

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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.              

It’s Carnival time.

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This week, Cookie and Emmie want to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.   

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Today is:

Candlemas -- on the Julian Calendar, and in the Orthodox Christian Churches

Church Action on Poverty Sunday -- UK (Give, Act, and Pray)  

Daytona 500 Race -- Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL, US

Decimal Day -- UK (anniversary of the 1971 currency conversion to the decimal system)

Fastelavn -- Denmark (a day of dressing up and celebration before Lent)

Fasching Sunday -- Germany and Austria, and among German speaking peoples; the Party before Lent really kicks up now

Flag Day -- Canada (Maple Leaf adopted this date 1965)

Hall Sunday -- meaning Hallowed Sunday, the Sunday before Lent, which has many traditions associated with it

John Frum Day -- Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Kamakura Matsuri -- Yokote, Akita Prefecture, Japan (Snow Cave Festival; through tomorrow)

Kuromori Kabuki -- Kuromori, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan (traditional Kabuki, through the 17th)

Liberation Day -- Afghanistan

Lupercalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (remembrance of the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus)

Maha Shivaratri -- Hindu (festival in honor of Lord Shiva and his marriage to Goddess Parvati; local observances and government official days off will vary)

Meatfare Sunday -- Orthodox Christian (final day on which meat may be consumed before the Lenten fast); related event:

    Maslenitsa -- Russia (between Meatfare Sunday and Cheesefare Sunday is Butter Week or Pancake Week, when you stuff yourself before the Orthodox Church Great Lent)

National Gum Drop Day

Nirvana Day -- Buddhist; Jain; Sikh (regional observances may vary)

Remember the Maine Day -- US (remembrance of the Spanish War)

Scout - Guide Week -- Canada (Scouts Canada and Girl Guides of Canada plan and hold special activities this week in honor of their founders)

Singles Awareness Day -- although some celebrate on the 14th as an anti-Valentine's Day

Sretenje -- Serbia (National Day)

Stop and Smell Your Compost Pile Day -- snort away the winter blues and think about spring (but i think this one is just plain weird)

St. Sigfrid's Day (Patron of Sweden)

Susan B. Anthony Day -- US (birth anniversary)

Total Defense Day -- Singapore

Transfiguration Sunday -- Christian (also called Quinquagesima Sunday, Quinquagesimae, Estomihi, Shrove Sunday, Pork Sunday, or the Sunday next before Lent)

Birthdays Today:

Amber Riley, 1986

Renee O'Connor, 1971

Jane Child, 1967

Chris Farley, 1964

Matt Groening, 1954

Melissa Manchester, 1951

Jane Seymour, 1951

Marisa Berenson, 1948

Susan Brownmiller, 1935

Adolfo, 1933

Claire Bloom, 1931

Harvey Korman, 1927

Kevin McCarthy, 1914

Irena Sendler,1910

Miep Gees, 1909 

Cesar Romero, 1907

Harold Arlen, 1905

John Barrymore, 1882

Ernest Shackleton, 1874

Alfred North Whitehead, 1861

Elihu Root, 1824

Susan B. Anthony, 1820

Charles Lewis Tiffany, 1812

Cyrus McCormick, 1809

John Augustus Sutter, 1903

Henry Engelhard Steinway, 1797

Abraham Clark, 1726

Galileo Galilei, 1564

Pedro Mememdez de Aviles, 1519

Babur, 1483 (founder of Mughal dynasty in India)

Claudius Drusus Germanicus Caesar Nero, 37 

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Come Back, Little Sheba"(Play), 1950

"Cinderella"(Disney cartoon), 1950

"The Little Foxes"(Play), 1939

"An der schönen blauen Donau"(The Blue Danube)(Strauss Waltz), 1867

Today in History:

Philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death, BC399

Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia, 590

Ho-tse Shen-hui, Zen teacher, disputes the founder of Northern Ch'an line, 732

The city of St. Louis, Missouri, is founded by Pierre Laclade Ligue as a French trading post, 1764

The first US printed ballots are authorized, in Philadelphia, 1799

Sarah Roberts is barred from attending a white school in Boston, 1848

Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits its first patient, 1852

A fire in Rotterdam, Netherlands, damages the Museum Boymans, 1864

American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, 1879

Nine inches (23cm) of snow falls on New Orleans, Louisiana, 1898

The USS Maine sinks in Havana harbor, cause unknown-258 sailors die, 1898

The first Teddy Bear is introduced in America, made by Morris and Rose Michtom, 1903

Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls, 1949

The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty, 1950

Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska, 1954

A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner, 1965

The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day, 1971

The 1976 Constitution of Cuba is adopted by the national referendum, 1976

The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers, 1982

The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan, 1989

At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing an unannounced number of people, 1996

First draft of the complete Human Genome is published in Nature, 2001

YouTube, the Internet site on which videos may be shared and viewed by others, is launched in the United States, 2005

A near-Earth asteroid, 2012 DA14, comes within 17,200 miles of the Earth's surface, a record-close approach for an object estimated at 50 meters, or 160 ft in in diameter, 2013

The Indian space rocket PSLV-C37 successfully launches 104 satellites in a single flight, 2017 

IBU Female Rookie of the Year Hanna Öberg of Sweden wins the individual biathlon gold medal with 4 clean shootings at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the first victory and podium of her career, 2018

Beijing orders people returning after a Lunar New Year holiday to self-quarantine in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19, 2020

In the only podium sweep of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Germany takes all 3 medals in the 2-man bobsleigh, 2022

Scientists warn the Thwaites Glacier (the so-called "Doomsday Glacier") is seriously weakening, 2023

Private company Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander Odysseus launches aboard SpaceX’s Falcon (later made a successful soft landing on the Moon), 2024