Monday, August 24, 2026

I'm Cooking! (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Photgraphy

***********************************






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 likes to push me to the edge of the kitchen, open one of the lower drawers and play in it, saying, "I work, I cooking!"  (Please note there's nothing sharp in the drawers she can reach and I do stand and watch.)









***********************************



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.     







***********************************


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 Photography.


The best way for me to make

money from the photos I take

would be for me to quell

my photography and my equipment sell!


*******


my photography

is not good as I am still 

developing it


*******


When the photos all disappeared

the photographer was blamed,

but he had no reason to do it,

we think that he was framed!


*******


career in the field

of photography means you

must remain focused


*******



Future themes are:


Aug 24 Photography (Today!)

Aug 31 Xerophyte

Sept 7 My Culture

Sept 14 Beach Huts


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


***********************************



Today is:


Birthday of Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)


Festival for Luna -- Ancient Roman Calendar


Festival of Mania -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to placate the Manes, a day when the Mundus, the portal to the afterlife, is open and the dead are free to roam)


Flag Day -- Liberia


Flitting Appreciation Day -- another "holiday" with no particular reason except that someone who enjoys flitting around wanted to celebrate it


Gangara Fire Festival -- Atago Shrine, Ikeda City, Japan


Independence Day -- Ukraine(1991)


International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination and Violence Based on Musical Preference, Lifestyle, and Dress Code -- sponsored by the Romanian Humanist Association and the Sophie Lancaster Foundation


International Strange Music Day -- as declared by strange musician and composer Patrick Grant


Knife Day -- internet generated, but how would we cook without them?  today remember how much you do each day with a good kitchen knife.


National Flag Day -- Liberia


National Peach Pie Day


National Waffle Day -- Cornelius Swarthout patented the first waffle iron in the US on this day in 1869, so it is sometimes noted as National Waffle Iron Day  


Pluto Demotion Day 


St. Bartholomew's Day (Patron of bookbinders, butchers, cobblers, Florentine cheese merchants, Florentine salt merchants, leather workers,plasterers, shoemakers, tanners, trappers, whiteners; Armenia; Borgo Tossignano, Italy; Boves, Italy; Carpineto dell Nora, Italy; Civitella in Val di Chiana, Italy; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Gambatesa, Italy; Gharghur, Malta; Lipari, Sicily, Italy; Maastricht, Netherlands; Magalang, Philippines; Plzen, Czech Republic; Potosí, Bolivia; Salzano, Italy; Trino, Italy; against nervous diseases, neurological diseases, and twitching) related observance

     Schaferlauf -- Markgroeningen, Germany (Festival to honor St. Bartholomew, Patron of Herdsmen, on this day or the weekend after; includes traditional barefoot race by children of active shepherds and water carrying contests; also now has a music festival)

     Wayzgoose -- a traditional day for master printers to throw an end-of-summer party for his workmen


St. Owen of Rouen's Day (Patron of the deaf; against deafness)


Umhlanga -- Eswatini(Swaziland) (Reed Dance for the Zulu King; a fascinating week-long ritual with beautiful costumes, dancing and singing, culminating with the final dance and a speech in which the King addresses the people, on Aug. 31)


Vesuvius Day -- anniversary of 79CE eruption which destroyed Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum


Waratambar -- New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea (a native thanksgiving)


William Wilberforce Day -- Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, OH, US (birth anniversary of founder, in 1759)



Birthday's Today:


Rupert Grint, 1988

Chad Michael Murray, 1981

Marlee Matlin, 1965

Reggie Miller, 1965

Cal Ripken, Jr., 1962

Craig Kilborn, 1962

Steve Guttenberg, 1958

Stephen Fry, 1957

Oscar Hijuelos, 1951

Michael Richards, 1950

Gregory Bruce Jarvis, 1944

Mason Williams, 1938

Yasser Arafat, 1929

Hal Smith, 1916

Jorge Luis Borges, 1899

Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, 1890

Daniel Gooch, 1816

William Wilberforce, 1759



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"The Facts of Life"(TV), 1979



Today in History:


The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius buries Pompeii and Herculaneum, 15,000 die, 79

The Visigoths under Aleric begin to pillage Rome, 410

King John of England, a/k/a Humpty Dumpty for having to issue the first Magna Carta, marries Isabella of Angoileme, 1200

Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague, 1349

The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed, 1456

The first English convoy lands at Surat, India, 1608

Calcutta, India is founded, 1690

British troops invade Washington, D.C. and burn down the White House and several other buildings, 1814

Charles Darwin is asked to travel on HMS Beagle, 1831

The Panic of 1857 begins, touching off one of the most severe economic crises in US history (Which just goes to show you, the more things change, the more they stay the same), 1857

Cornelius Swarthout patents the waffle iron, 1869

The Wolseley Expedition reaches Manitoba to end the Red River 

Rebellion, 1870

Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim English Channel, 1875

Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera, 1891

Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal, 1909

Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly non-stop across the North American continent, 1932

The treaty creating NATO goes into effect, 1949

France explodes its first hydrogen bomb, thus becoming the world's fifth nuclear power, 1968

Voyager 2 (launched 1977) reaches Neptune, 1989

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1991

The first RFID human implantation is tested in the UK, 1998

Argon fluorohydride, the first Argon compound ever known, is discovered at the University of Helsinki, 2000

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is considered a Dwarf Planet, 2006

The 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have A Dream' speech is commemorated in the U.S., 2013

Astronomers announce the discovery of an earth-like planet named Proxima b orbiting star Proxima Centauri, 2016

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro orders the army to help contain fires in the Amazon after widespread environmental destruction, wildlife loss and international criticism, 2019

US adventurer Victor Vescovo is the first person to visit the deepest point of every ocean when he reaches Molloy Hole, in the Arctic, 2019

British-Belgian teen Mack Rutherford, age 17, becomes the youngest person to fly solo around the world, landing at Sofia, Bulgaria, after a five-month journey across 52 countries, 2022

Norwegian Magnus Carlsen defeats Indian teenager Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in a tiebreaker to win his first Chess World Cup championship, 2023

Astronomers announce the discovery of an earth-like planet named Proxima b orbiting star Proxima Centauri, 2016

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro orders the army to help contain fires in the Amazon after widespread environmental destruction, wildlife loss and international criticism, 2019

US adventurer Victor Vescovo is the first person to visit the deepest point of every ocean when he reaches Molloy Hole, in the Arctic, 2019

British-Belgian teen Mack Rutherford, age 17, becomes the youngest person to fly solo around the world, landing at Sofia, Bulgaria, after a five-month journey across 52 countries, 2022

Norwegian Magnus Carlsen defeats Indian teenager Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in a tiebreaker to win his first Chess World Cup championship, 2023

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Brainiac (Cajun Joke), Sunday Selections and Sunday Selfie

 ***********************************



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.



Jack dog loves to come see Grandma and Grandpa, who are both mire generous with the treats than Uncle J.


Yesterday, after Grandpa gave him a “cookie,” and Grandma gave him two half “cookies,” he tried to sneak under Grandma’s bed to snitch crumbs because Grandma takes all her meals in bed now.


He knows where the good grub is.


Boudreaux, Thibodeaux an' Gaston be talkin' 'bout dey dogs an' each t'ink he gots him de smartest dog.  Dey be braggin', but fin'ly Boudreaux done say, "Mais, my Phideaux [Fido] be de smartes' dog, I's done train him to retrieve an' he 'gets' t'ings!"





***********************************



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.  


I was "more or less" successful at capturing a butterfly this week.  Mostly less.




















***********************************





This week, Jack wants to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.  Yes, even after all the treats Grandpa and Grandma gave him, he got a small treat from me for posing.






***********************************



Today is:


Black Ribbon Day -- Estonia; Latvia; Lithuania


Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim -- Istanbul, Turkey (over 1,000 swimmers take the opportunity to swim from one continent to the other, crossing the Bosphorus Strait from Asia to Europe)


European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism -- European Union


Flag Day -- Ukraine


Go Topless Day -- US (on the Sunday closest to Women's Equality Day, Aug. 26, stand up for women's right to go topless in public 


Great Feast of the Netjeru (all gods and goddesses) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)


Health Unit Coordinator Day -- US (National Association of Health Unit Coordinators, Inc.)


International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition


National Spongecake Day


Nemeseia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (local festival to the goddess Nemesis, date approximate)


Ride the Wind Day -- internet generated, a day to get out and ride with the wind in your hair, in whatever transport you choose, or fly a kite


Sento Kuyo -- Nenbutsu-Ji Temple, Adashino, Kyoto, Japan (memorial service for graves that no longer have families to tend them; through tomorrow)


St. Eoghan's Day (Patron of Derry, Ireland)


St. Rose of Lima's Day (Patron of embroiderers, florists, gardeners, needle workers, people ridiculed for piety; The Americas/The New World, especially Central and South America, Latin America, Peru, and the West Indies; Lima, Peru; Philippines, Santa Rosa, CA, US; Villareal Samar, Philippines; against vanity)


Valentino Memorial Service -- Hollywood Cathedral Museum, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA, US (annually since 1927, a memorial service celebrating Rudolph Valentino on the anniversary of his death)


Vertumnalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (in honor of Vertumnus and Pomona)


Vulcanalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival to the god of fire)



Birthdays Today:


Kobe Bryant, 1978

Jay Mohr, 1970

River Phoenix, 1970

Queen Noor of Jordan, 1951

Rick Springfield, 1949

Shelley Long, 1949

Antonia Novello, 1944

Patricia McBride, 1942

Richard Sanders, 1940

Tony Bill, 1940

Barbara Eden, 1934

Sonny Jurgensen, 1934

Mark Russel, 1932

Vera Miles, 1930

Gene Kelly, 1912

Edgar Lee Masters, 1868

Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, 1785

Louis XVI, 1754



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"She Loves You"(Beatles single release date), 1963

"The Bat"(Mystery play), 1930

"Gasoline Alley"(as a daily comic strip), 1919



Today in History:


On the feast of Vulcan, Roman god of fire, Mt. Vesuvius begins to rumble, 79

Visigoths storm Rome, 410

Edward I executes William Wallace, Scottish patriot, for high treason, 1305

French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada, 1541

Rabbi Joseph Caro completes his commentary of Tur Code, 1542

The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Huguenots in Paris begins, 1572

The first one-way streets open in London, 1617

Steamship service begins on the Great Lakes, 1818

Great Britain abolishes slavery in the colonies, 700,000 slaves are freed, 1833

Automobile tire chain is patented, 1904

The World Council of Churches is formed, 1948

Lunar Orbiter I takes the first picture of Earth from the Moon's orbit, 1966

Bryan Allan, in a Gossamer Condor, completes the first man-powered flight of one mile, 1977

Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the US, 1979

Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany, 1985

Hungary opens the Iron Curtain and allows thousands of East Germans through to West Germany, 1989

West Germany and East Germany announce that they will unite on Oct. 3, 1990

The remains of Anastasia and Alexei, rumored to have survived the 1917 assassination of the Russian Czar and his family, are found, 2007

Heavy winds knock down the Anne Frank tree in Amsterdam, breaking off approximately one meter above the ground, 2010

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown, 2011

Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, announces he will not contest the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency charges of doping, a result of which will include being stripped of all of his tour de France victories, 2012

Libya's ruins of Cyrene, a World Heritage Site near Shahhat, is damaged by real estate developers, 2013

Destruction by ISIS of the first century AD temple of Baalshamin in the ancient ruins of Palmyra is confirmed by Syrian officials, 2015

The world's driest place, the Atacama desert in Chile, blooms after an unexpected rainfall, 2017

Russia launches the first floating nuclear power station, the Akademik Lomonosov, from the port of Murmansk, 2019

Video evidence shows a Seychelles giant tortoise hunting and eating a bird, a new behavioral observation, as tortoises were previously thought to be herbivores, 2021

India becomes the fourth nation to launch a successful mission to the Moon when its Chandrayaan-3 craft successfully lands at the Moon's south pole, 2023