Keeping Up with Her Takes Some Doing (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Fabulous, an A to Z Challenge Post

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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!

With her love of walks and almost insatiable appetite for books, our little Annie gives us a workout keeping up with her.

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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 Fabulous.               

I'm really not a narcissist,

that label's not on my list,

but the fact I am quite fabulous,

well on that, I do insist!

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Here's a fabulous joke,

the bullet lost his job,

he was fired.

Another fabulous joke,

the bike fell over,

it was two tired.

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I'd tell a fabulous pizza joke,

but it would be too cheezy.

I'd tell a fabulous wind energy joke,

in fact, it's really breezy.

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The fabulous skeleton could not get dates,

it was sad, he had no guts.

The fabulous pecan wanted to be eaten,

because he was just plain nuts.

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I know the poems aren't fabulous,

and not really so funny,

but it's a busy Sunday

and I am feeling punny!

*******

Future themes are:

April 13 Fabulous (Today!)

April 20 Superhero

April 27 Plaid

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

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Today is:

Day to Give Thanks for Fish/Seafood -- anniversary of the US Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1976

Environmental Protection Day -- anniversary of the 1962 publication of Silent Spring

Feast of Rotten Endings -- because some stories just don't end well

Huguenot Day -- Huguenot Society of the US (anniversary of the 1598 Edict of Nantes, in which King Henry IV promoted peace between Catholics and Protestants)

Ides of April -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also

     Festival of Libertas -- personification of freedom and political liberty

     Festival of Jupiter Libertas

     Festival of Jupiter Victor

International Plant Appreciation Day -- unsponsored by any but those who love plants

National Peach Cobbler Day

Poshui Jie -- Jinghong, China (Water Splashing Festival; a 3-to-four-day festival around this time)

Scrabble Day -- anniversary of the 1899 birth of its inventor, Alfred Mosher Butts

Songkran Festival / Chiang Mai Songkran / Tamil New Year / Bangla New Year / Bisket Jatra -- Bangladesh; Cambodia; India; Laos; Myanmar; Nepal; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand (New Year festivals, celebrated over the next few days, as the sun enters the zodiac sign of Aries)

St. Hermengild's Day (Patron of converts; against drought, flood, and thunderstorms)

Theravada New Year -- Buddhist (through tomorrow; dates and length of celebration can vary locally)

Thingyan Eve -- Myanmar (Water Festival Eve; through the 17th)

Thomas Jefferson Day -- US

U.S. Elephant Day -- marking the arrival of the first elephant in the US in 1796

Yom HaShoah -- Judaism (Holocaust Remembrance Day; begins at sunset, through nightfall tomorrow)

Yayoi Matsuri -- Nikko, Japan (five-day spring festival)

Birthdays Today:

Jonathan Brandis, 1976

Rick Schroder, 1970

Garry Kasparov, 1963

Saundra Santiago, 1957

Max Weinberg, 1951

Peabo Bryson, 1951

Ron Pearlman, 1950

Al Green, 1946

Tony Dow, 1945

Lowell George, 1945

Jack Casady, 1944

Bill Conti, 1942

Paul Sorvino, 1939

Lyle Waggoner, 1935

Don Adams, 1926

Howard Keel, 1919

Eudora Welty, 1909

Samuel Beckett, 1906

Butch Cassidy, 1866

F.W. Woolworth, 1852

Thomas Jefferson, 1743

Guy Fawkes, 1570

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Arcadia"(Play), 1993

Casino Royale(Film), 1967

Silent Spring(Publication date), 1962

"El Capitan"(Operetta), 1896

"Messiah"(Oratorio, HWV 56), 1742

Today in History:

The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt with the capture of Louis IX of France, 1250

Henry IV of France signs the Edict of Nantes, granting freedom of religion and political rights to Huguenots (French Protestants), 1598

John Dryden, age 36, becomes the first English Poet Laureate, 1668

George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland, 1742

The first elephant seen in the Western Hemisphere arrives from India, 1796

The British Parliament grants religious freedom to Roman Catholics, 1829

Hungary becomes a republic, 1849

The first US Pony Express run is completed, 1860

George Westinghouse patents a steam powered brake, 1869

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded, 1870

J.C. (James Cash) Penney opens his first store, 1902

British troops fire on unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India, killing at least 379 and wounding over 1,200 more, 1919

Helen Hamilton becomes the first woman US Civil Service Commissioner, 1920

Lord Clydesdale makes the first flight over Mt. Everest, 1933

The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated on the 200th anniversary of his birth, in Washington, D.C., 1943

Van Cliburn becomes the first American to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, 1958

Sidney Poitier becomes the first African American male to win the Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field, 1963

An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the spacecraft while en route to the Moon, 1970

The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan, 1972

Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the United States' first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1, 1974

Portugal and the People's Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999, 1987

Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament, 1997

Former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak and sons, Alaa and Gamal, are detained for 15 days of questioning regarding charges of corruption and abuse of power, 2011

The People's Republic of China and the U.S. agree to work towards eliminating nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula, 2013

The world’s largest plane by wingspan (117m/385ft), built as a flying launch pad for satellites and called the Stratolaunch, takes its first flight from Mojave, California, 2019

Australian super-horse Winx ends her extraordinary career with a 3rd Queen Elizabeth Stakes win in Sydney giving her 33 consecutive race wins, a world record 25 Group One victories and $26.4 million Australian dollars prize money, 2019

Tropical Cyclone Ilsa makes landfall in remote western Australia, between De Grey and Pardoo Roadhouse, as a category five storm, setting a new sustained wind speed record of 218 kph (135 mph), 2023

The MacLean brothers, Ewan (32), Jamie (31), and Lachlan (27) of Scotland depart in a rowboat from Lima, Peru to cross the Pacific Ocean, headed for Australia hoping to raise funds for clean water access in Madagascar through donations, 2025*

*They arrived in a record-breaking 139 days and raised £1million.

Burns So Good (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.

Each week, i take a snack with me to Grandma and Grandpa’s house because some weeks we order or make something and some weeks we don’t.  If we don’t, the snack becomes my “meal” until i get home.  I generally take something spicy and Grandma asked me why, and i told her it’s because she hates spicy food so this way i don’t have to share.  I was joking (mostly).

Boudreaux done love him de spicy food, he use him the Tabasco on lots o’ t’ings.   But one day he tole Thibodeaux, “I loves me some spicy food but mais! sometime it be like lovin’ someone dat don’ love you back, it allus burn you at de end.”

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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.  

A fun birthday card for Mr. L.

It's a jungle over here.

A couple of views of Ms. G's future retirement place.

A sunrise.

Spring door wreaths.

Easter Sunday's flower cross.

Blooms with dew on them.

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

This is his, “I’m happy on the bed” selfie.

This is his, “someone is scratching my belly while holding the camera for me” selfie!

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Today is:

Big Wind Day -- anniversary of the strongest natural wind ever recorded on the earth's surface, at Mount Washington, NH, US; the wind gusts reached 231 mph

Cleaning for a Reason Week begins -- raising awareness of Cleaning For A Reason, which helps provide free residential cleaning to women fighting cancer   

D.E.A.R. Day (a/k/a Drop Everything And Read) -- sponsored by the ALA, on Beverly Cleary's birth anniversary 

Domingo del Angel -- Palma de Mallorca, Spain (Angel Sunday, a fiesta dating back to the 15th century)

Eat All Your Snacks Before the Movie Even Starts Day -- with all the ads before the movie, doesn't that happen anyway?

Festival of Cerealia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (seven-day public and private festival for Ceres)

Global Day to End Child Sexual Abuse -- sponsored by The Innocence Revolution 

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

Halifax Day -- North Carolina, US (anniversary of the resolution adopted authorizing voting for independence in 1776)

International Day for Street Children    

National Licorice Day    

Easter/Pascha -- Orthodox Christian

Sinhala & Tamil New Year's Eve -- Sri Lanka

St. Sabas' Day (Patron of Lectors, torture victims)

St. Zeno's Day (Patron of anglers, children learning to speak, children learning to walk, fishermen, newborn babies; city and diocese of Verona, Italy)

Walk on Your Wild Side Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, a day in which to do something no one would expect from you

Yuri's Night -- International (Commemoration of first human in space, Yuri Gagarin)

     Cosmonaut's Day -- Russia

     International Day of Human Space Flight -- UN

Birthdays Today:

Saoirse Ronan, 1994

Riley Smith, 1982

Claire Danes, 1979

Sarah Jane Morris, 1977

Nicholas Brendon, 1971

Shannen Doherty, 1971

Nick Hexum, 1970

Art Alexakis, 1962

Vince Gill, 1957

Andy Garcia, 1956

David Cassidy, 1950

Tom Clancy, 1947

Dan Lauria, 1947

David Letterman, 1947

Ed O'Neill, 1946

Herbie Hancock, 1940

Dennis Banks, 1937

Tiny Tim, 1930

Ann Miller, 1923

Beverly Cleary, 1916

Henry Clay, 1777

Lyman Hall, 1724

Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, BC599

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"21 Jump Street"(TV), 1987

"Your Hit Parade"(Radio), 1935

"Madame Bovary"(Publication date), 1857

"Oberon, or The Elf King's Oath"(Weber opera), 1826

"The Tatler"(Journal, first edition), 1709 Note:  this original version of a publication with the name lasted only two years

Today in History:

Constantinople falls to the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire, 1204

The formal inquest of Galileo by the Inquisition begins, 1633

The first edition of Tatler Magazine is published in London, 1709

The American Civil War begins at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, 1861

George C Blickensderfer patents a portable typewriter, 1892

Pierre Prier makes the first nonstop flight from London to Paris, in 3h 56m, 1911

Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England, 1937

The strongest surface wind gust ever measured, 231 mph, at Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 1943

The Salk vaccine is declared safe and effective, 1955

Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space, 1961

Samuel Doe takes over Liberia in a coup d'etat, ending 130 years of peaceful and democratic presidential successions, 1980

The first launch of a space shuttle, the Colombia, 1981

The Euro Disney Resort officially opens (now Disneyland Paris), 1992

Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam, 1994

Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwe Dollar as their currency, 2009

Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, Japan raises the crisis level to 7, equal to the disaster in Chernobyl, 2011

The new drug, ABT-450, with a 90-95% success rate for treating Hepatitis C, is announced, 2014

Scientists and internet entrepreneurs, including Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking, and Mark Zuckerberg, announce a joint interstellar project to send a robot spacecraft to Alpha Centauri, 2016

In an attempt to stabilize world oil prices, OPEC and several major oil companies agree to the largest-ever drop in production, 2020

According to industry officials, 80% of France's vineyards are affected by the worst frost condition in half a century, 2021

Ghana becomes the first country to approve a vaccine against malaria, Mosquirix– RTS,S, made at Oxford University, 2023