Monday, April 20, 2026

Quite the Pair (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Superhero, an A to Z Challenge Post

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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.   



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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!


A nice, wiggly puppy came for a visit, and our little Annie got to play with him.  They were quite a pair the time they were together, with the dog getting his first lessons in chasing a car (her toy car) and eventually she even got him on the snout with a green paint marker!




Annie and the pup with heads together -- in the grass!






It's tiring work keeping up with a toddler.

This pic and the next two you can just see the paint splotch.










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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 Superhero.               


Please fathers, try to be superheroes

to your children as much as you can,

try hard to choose a good one,

and not The Invisible Man.


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He had a superhero tchotchke collection,

she threatened divorce unless,

he got rid of all that junk from the house,

which she wanted to be Marvel-less. 


*******


bit my tongue often

it's a superhero now

yes my tongue is Thor


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Future themes are:


April 20 Superhero (Today!)

April 27 Plaid


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


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Today is:


Ancestors' Day -- Russian Christians; Belarus (Radunitsa, a Slavic tradition after Thomas Sunday)

     Day after the Octave of Easter by the Orthodox Calendar


Basava Jayanti -- KA, India (birth anniversary of 12th century philosopher Basavanna)


Chinese Language Day -- UN   


Emancipation Day -- Washington, D.C., US


Harvest Offering to Renenutet -- Ancient Egypitian Calendar (offering to the Lady of the Fertile Fields; date approximate)


Jose de Diego's Birthday -- Puerto Rico (Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, a/k/a Dia de Reafirmacion del Idioma Espanol)


Lima Bean Respect Day


National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day 


National Look-Alike Day


National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day


National Take a Break to Reset Your Mind Day -- because everyone needs a day like this


Paştele Blăjinilor -- Moldova (Memory/Parent's Day)


Patriot's Day -- US (in observance of the first battles of the Revolutionary War; not to be confused with Patriot Day on Sept. 11)


Ridvan begins -- Baha'i (begins at sunset)


St. Caedwalla of Wales' Day (Patron of converts, repentant murderers)


St. George's Day -- NL, Canada (obs.)


Yom HaZiKaron -- Israel (Memorial Day; begins at sunset, through nightfall tomorrow)




Birthdays Today:


Danny Granger, 1983

Joey Lawrence, 1976

Carmen Electra, 1972

Shemar Moore, 1970

Crispin Glover, 1964

Don Mattingly, 1961

Clint Howard, 1959

Luther Vandross, 1951

Jessica Lange, 1949

David Leland, 1947

Steve Spurrier, 1945

Ryan O'Neal, 1941

George Takei, 1937

Nina Foch, 1924

Ernesto Antonio "Tito" Puente, 1923

John Paul Stevens, 1920

Lionel Hampton, 1908

Harold Lloyd, 1893

Joan Miró i Ferrà, 1893

Holland McTyeire "Howlin' Mad" Smith, 1882

Daniel Chester French, 1850



Debuting/Premiering Today:


Annie Hall(Film), 1977

"Your Hit Parade"(Radio), 1935



Today in History:


The last naval battle in Byzantine history, 1453

Jews are expelled from Orange Burgundy, 1505

Jacques Cartier begins the voyage in which he will claim Canada and Labrador for France, 1534

Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam, 1657

Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1657

Captain Cook arrives in New South Wales, 1770

René Caillié becomes the first non-Muslim to enter Timbouctou, 1828

Edgar Allan Poe's Murder in the Rue Morgue becomes the first detective story ever published, 1841

Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete their first pasteurization tests, 1862

Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride, 1902

Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the next day, 1918

Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film, 1926

Apollo 16, commanded by John Young, lands on the moon, 1972

Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performs in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years, 1986

Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race, 2008

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion kills 11 and causes rig to sink, initiating a massive oil discharge in the Gulf of Mexico, 2010

Tens of thousands of people demonstrate in Tahrir Square against continuing military rule in Egypt, 2012

The Pulitzer Prize is awarded to Anthony Doerr for his novel "All the Light We Cannot See" and to Elizabeth Kolbert for "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History", 2015

The Commonwealth countries decide that Prince Charles will succeed Queen Elizabeth as the next head of the Commonwealth, 2018

Online streaming service Netflix suffers its first subscriber loss in a decade, 2022

Parts of Western Australia experience a total solar eclipse, 2023

NASA engineers successfully repair and recode Voyager 1 from 15 billion miles away after five-month gap in not receiving data, 2024

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Not Gonna Eat That (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



I noticed Grandpa making himself some lunch yesterday.  He had bread, ketchup (he loathes mayonnaise) and i didn't see what all else and he was making himself a sandwich.  I asked if he did this often and he said, "It's the fast way to have a meal."


Tee allus be hungry an' hims Père, Boudreaux, done come walkin' in when he be in de kitchen agin.


"Garçon, what you be doin?  Eatin' agin?"


"Père, I be's hungry."


"What you be doin' wit' all dat?  Do dat be de rest o' de supper from las' night?"


"I's makin' me de leftover sammich!  You want one?"


"Mais, non, garçon, some t'ings be better left un-bread!"



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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.  


Some flashback photos this week.


Little Girl and HopeCat.




One of Bigger Girl's artworks.




Kittens, including The Lorax (one of our all-time favorites we bottle raised).


The Lorax is the fuzzy guy in the middle, he was a pure Persian with a severely cleft lip and palatte.


I'm not sure why the date is on this photo, it was Gracie at rEcess.




One handsome pup.




This one always makes me smile.




Found on the beach in Florida where we used to vacation.  Over the years, i ended up finding and reporting two of these.




The beach where we used to vacation each year.  This is at sunrise.




Two of the many notes from my children i would wake up to find on my computer in the mornings.  Top one from #1 Son, bottom from Little Girl.  I couldn't find a picture of the one from #2 Son about having a copperhead snake in the house.



I find it amusing she still sometimes calls me, "Mothership."


Young Jacob's ride.



I'd emptied the trash can and hadn't put a new liner in, Lin Linker the Stinker has to get in there and explore.  (Yes, the lid was broken, still is.)




All of us spent a lot of hours back then bottle feeding kittens.




I was granted the privilege of riding this horse, and got to brush him down after.








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






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Today is:


Bendideia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival for Bendis; date approximate)


Dutch-American Friendship Day -- anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the US, America's oldest continuously peaceful diplomatic relations


Feast of Pak Tai -- Macau (Pak Tai who conquered the Demon King, on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month)


Independence Declaration Day -- Venezuela


John Parker Day -- many US States (anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, where Parker said “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”)


King Mswati III's birthday -- Swaziland


Landing of the 33 Patriots Day -- Uruguay


National Amaretto Day


National Cat Lady Day -- and don't say "Cat Lady" like it's a bad thing!


National Garlic Day


National Hanging Out Day -- Project Laundry List and other organizations promote bringing back the clothesline to save energy and the planet!


National Library Week begins -- US (sponsored by the ALA, this year's theme is "Find Your Joy")   


Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day


Okoshi Daiko Festival -- Furukawa, Japan (today, hundreds of men in loincloths fight to touch a wooden frame supporting a huge taiko drum as it is carried through the streets, and tomorrow is an elegant parade with lion dancers and traditional music)


Primrose Day -- UK (anniversary of the death of Disraeli)


Shangsi Festival -- China (ancient Double Third festival, on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month)


St. AElfheah's Day (Patron of kidnap victims; Greenwich and Solihull, England)


St. Expeditus of Melintine's Day (Patron of merchants, navigators; for expeditious and prompt solutions; against procrastination)


St. Leo IX's Day


Volunteer Recognition Week/National Volunteer Week begins -- sponsored by Points of Light   




Anniversaries Today:


Grace Kelly marries Ranier III of Monaco, 1956

Cheyney University is founded as The Institute for Colored Youth, 1837

Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI by Proxy Marriage, 1770



Birthdays Today:


Maria Sharapova, 1987

Hayden Christensen, 1981

Kate Hudson, 1979

James Franco, 1978

Luis Miguel Basteri, 1970

Ashley Judd, 1968

Al Unser, Jr., 1962

Tony Plana, 1954

Paloma Picasso, 1949

Tim Curry, 1946

Alan Price, 1942

Elinor Donahue, 1937

Dudley Moore, 1935

Jayne Mansfield, 1933

Dick Sargent, 1930

Hugh O'Brian, 1925

Eliot Ness, 1903

Lucretia Rudolph-Garfield, 1832

David Ricardo, 1772

Roger Sherman, 1721



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope"(Musical revue), 1972

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"(Musical), 1951

"Carousel"(Musical), 1945

"Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder/Mother Courage and Her Children"(Play), 1941

"National Barn Dance"(Radio), 1924

"The Bing Boys are Here"(Musical revue), 1919

"Revizor/The Government Inspector"(Comedy), 1836

"Iphigenia in Aulis,"(Opera), 1774



Today in History:


Sir Francis Drake sails to Cadiz and sinks the Spanish Fleet, 1587

Because he has no male heirs, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, assuring Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would go to his daughter, Maria Theresa, 1713

Captain James Cook sights Australia, 1770

John Adams secures Dutch recognition of the United States, and his home in The Hague becomes the first American Embassy, 1782

Venezuela achieves home rule, 1810

The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy, 1839

Charles Duryea claims to have taken the first automobile built in the US for a spin, 1892

The first Boston Marathon is won by John McDermott of NY in 2:55:10, 1897

Leslie Irvin of the United States makes the first successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump, 1919

The 125th and final fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary is published, 1928

Burma (now Myanmar) joins the United Nations, 1948

The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba ends in success for the defenders, 1961

Sierra Leone becomes a republic, 1971

India's first satellite, Aryabhata, is launched, 1975

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is bombed, killing 168, 1995

The German Bundestag returns to Berlin, the first German parliamentary body to meet there since the Reichstag was dissolved in 1945, 1999

His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Benedict XVI, 2005

Fidel Castro resigns from the Communist Party of Cuba's central committee after 45 years, 2011

King Mswati III changes the name of Swaziland to eSwatini, or “land of the Swati”, 2018

New Zealand and Australia open a travel bubble between the two countries after more than a year of border closures, 2021

NASA successfully flies its drone helicopter Ingenuity on Mars, making it the first powered aircraft to fly on another world, 2021

The first of seven stages of the world's largest-ever election begins in India, which by June 1 will cover 968 million eligible voters, 2024