Umbrage (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins, Nature Friday and Pet Photo Fails, 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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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (may he rest in peace), and i'm going to believe it's because he liked cats.

He handed hosting duties off to Sandee at Comedy Plus, and now she has entrusted it to me.

Feline Friday is simple to join.  All you have to do is: Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (they may be silly or cute).  Then add your link!

One thing for sure is this is a fun and easy meme to do.  So come and join us in Feline Friday.

What better way to start the weekend than with a feline!

Mariposa gets picky about what she is given to eat, and if she does not approve, she takes umbrage at your incompetence in being able to please her.

Really?

I don't think so.

This is more like it.

You are dismissed now.

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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by Lorianne The Menagerie Mom of Four-Legged Furballs. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!      

Here are this week's statements with my responses underlined:

1. Have you ever noticed _____________________?

2. Would you choose ________________ or ____________________?

3. Do you think it’s possible to _________?

4. What _________ would you recommend for _________?

1. Have you ever noticed   the pickiest people are usually the ones who claim they aren't picky at all?

2. Would you choose   a golden voice (a beautiful speaking/singing voice)  or   a silver tongue (the capacity to speak eloquently)?

3. Do you think it’s possible to   change the direction of your life at any age?

4. What   car   would you recommend for   lasting the longest with the fewest problems?

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Nature Friday is hosted by LLB in Our Backyard.  Simply post a picture of the natural world, and link up!   

It's nice and green here, we are thankful.

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Pet Photo Fails is hosted by Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries & Meows.     

When you take kitten photos, you get a lot of photos of kittens butts.

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It's Arbor Day in the US!  Most parts of the country are now ready for planting, and we need all the good trees we can get.

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

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Today is:

Ambivalence Day -- a holiday to tell your friends about, or not

Arbor Day -- US

Concord Day -- Niger

Feast of Eros -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Gathering of Nations -- Albuquerque, NM, US (the biggest PowWow in North America, with natives from every tribe welcome to participate, it includes singing, feasting, art exhibits, a horse parade, and much more, with non-Natives who want to learn more about Native culture welcome to attend; through tomorrow)

Genocide Remembrance Day / Martyrs' Day-- Armenia

Global Youth Service Day -- annual campaign to mobilize children and youth to make a difference (through Sunday)    

Hairball Awareness Day -- sponsored by Furminator (which product actually does work, by the way) and Hills Pet Nutrition

Kapyong Day -- Australia (Battle of Kapyong, 1951)

Loktantra Diwas -- Nepal (Democracy Day, celebrating the restoration of the Nepali Congress on this date in 2006)

Pigs in a Blanket Day

Spring Cat Cleaning Day -- because someone, somewhere, thinks you need to bathe your cat; ask the cat, he will refuse, and if you become insistent, be careful

St. Ives' Day (Patron of St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, England)

St. Mark's Eve*

World Day for Animals in Laboratories   

World Meningitis Day 

*A young lady may eat a boiled dove's egg sprinkled with salt and place

a tulip, sacred to St. Mark, in a vase next to her bed, and so she will

dream of the man she will marry.

Anniversaries Today:

Mary, Queen of Scots marries Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris, 1558

Birthdays Today:

Courtnee Draper, 1985

Kelly Clarkson, 1982

Eric Balfour, 1977

Chipper Jones, 1972

Cedric the Entertainer, 1964

Djimon Hounsou, 1964

Michael O’Keefe, 1955

Eric Bogosian, 1953

Jean-Paul Gaultier, 1952

Doug Clifford, 1945

Barbra Streisand, 1942

Richard M. Daley, 1942

Sue Grafton, 1940

Jill Ireland, 1936

Shirley MacLaine, 1934

Stanley J. Kauffmann, 1916

Robert Penn Warren, 1905

Michael J. Dady, 1850

George N. Bascom, 1836

Anthony Trollope, 1815

Robert Bailey Thomas, 1766

Edmund Cartwright, 1743

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Dancing at Lughnasa"(Play), 1990

"Die Jahreszeiten/The Seasons"(Oratorio, Haydn H 21/3), 1801

The Boston News-Letter(Newspaper), 1704 (first successful newspaper in the British colonies)

Today in History:

Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut, BC1479

Traditional date for the Greeks entering Troy using the Trojan Horse, BC1184

The appearance of Halley's Comet causes monks in England to predict evil happenings, 1066

"La Marseillaise" is composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, 1792

The Boston "News-Letter" becomes the first successful newspaper in the colonies, 1704

The Library of Congress is established, 1800

A patent is granted for the first soda fountain, 1833

William Price of the Washington Star becomes the first reporter to be specifically assigned to the White House, 1897

The fathometer, which measures underwater depth, is patented, 1928

Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, 1953

Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1, the first person to die during a space mission, 1967

Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations, 1968

The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched, 1970

Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine, 1990

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI, 2005

Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog is born in South Korea, 2005

Iceland announces that Norway will shoulder the defense of Iceland during peacetime, 2007

Scientists in Kamchatka, Russia, report sighting the first adult white orca to be seen in the wild, 2012

Suffragist Millicent Fawcett is the first woman to have a statue erected in Parliament Square, London, England, 2018

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, streaming music services overtake worldwide sales of CDs and vinyl for the first time, 2018

India surpasses China as the world's most populous country according to UN estimates, 2023

Sophie Lloyd, a female magician who tricked her way into the British men-only Magic Circle in 1991, is granted membership 34 years after being expelled, 2025

Time Management, or Lack Thereof (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy's Poetry Day, and Brian's Thankful Thursday, a Four-Hop 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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Ms. G got back in town and has, as always, been slammed with things to do on everyone's list but her own, and when she does get a bit of time to do her own projects the ones she chooses often make no sense to me.

Her pontoon boat is in the shop though she has yet to use it because she is not sure if one item needs repair so she decided to spend a few of her precious hours scrubbing the boat cover, because of course you can't have a dirty boat cover in the great outdoors.

Then yesterday she decided it was high time she took a few photos of the items in her storage unit and start putting them up for sale.

This latter i agree is not a waste of time if she actually gets them up for sale and can get some cash for this stuff, and she has tons of things to sell, so i spent a good bit of time with her in the storage unit,  positioning items just so according to her very strict instructions, often standing in one spot holding out an item until my arm and my strength began to flag.

Once done, we had to get back to the house as she was going to have an appointment, and we folded up the boat cover which was finally dry and did a few other small things, when she realized a package had been delivered.

Katy, bar the door, it was the phone for Ms. Fiona, who had dropped and broken hers the week before while Ms. G was out of town, and they'd paid for expedited shipping and Ms. G wanted to get it out to Ms. Fiona that day and suddenly i was flying out to the retirement home in GusGus die Fledermaus (my car, yes, i name my cars, don't judge) to give the phone to the lady at the front who had kept the SIM card, and now all is right again in Ms. Fiona's world, she can call her sister!

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Flag.     

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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!

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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my poem:    

I can't believe my eyes!

The zookeeper did it again!

seasoned the salmon with sriracha

instead of using cayenne!

We all know Thai spice is for the ahi

and the sriracha's for speckled trout,

if he keeps messing this up,

I'm really going to shout!

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Angel Brian's Family of Brian's Home - Forever hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

Today i am thankful i was able to run the errand for Ms. G, taking Ms. Fiona her new phone, while Ms. G went to an appointment.  I'm especially thankful i wasn't going at the high traffic time of day we all dread and it didn't take long at all.

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Today is:

Alfred G. "Alferd" Packer Day -- Colorado

Book Day and Lover's Day -- Spain, especially Catalan (women give books to men, while men give flowers to the women. Celebrated in the Spanish city of Barcelona since 1714 to honor Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes [author of "Don Quixote"] and in observance of St. George's Day)

Canada Book Day

Children's Day -- Nepal; North Cyprus; Turkey

Community Day -- CL, Spain

Community Day/St. George's Day -- AR, Spain

English Language Day -- UN    

Harpa Month Begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (Harp, dedicated to young women as last month was dedicated to young men)

     Sumardagurinn Fyrsti -- first day of summer, a legal holiday

Impossible Astronaut Day -- if you are a Dr. Who fan, you know, and if not, go here and find out      

Independence Day -- Conch Republic, Key West, FL. US (a tongue-in-cheek micronation which seceded from the Union in 1982; celebrated yearly with a week-long festival)

International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day -- on St. George's Day, encouraging members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to continue to be what Howard V. Hendrix derogatorily termed "webscabs", posting their stories free on the internet

International Sing Out Day -- no one will claim responsibility for this one, but i promise not to observe it!

Jurgi Festival -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (day sacred to Usins; first day outdoor work began for the summer)

National Cherry Cheesecake Day

National Picnic Day -- US

National Sovereignty and Children's Day -- Turkey

National Teach Children to Save Day -- sponsored by the American Banking Association    

Sigurd the Dragon Slayer's Day -- because he was probably the inspiration for the legends about St. George

St. Adalbert's Day (Patron of Bohemia; Czech Republic; Poland; Prague, Czech Republic; Prussia)

St. George's Day (Patron of archers, armourers, Boy Scouts, butchers, cavalry, chivalry, Crusaders, equestrians, farmers, field hands, field workers, horsemen, horses, husbandmen, knights, lepers, Order of the Garter, Palestinian Christians, riders, Romanian Army, saddle makers, saddlers, sheep, shepherds, soldiers, Teutonic Knights; Canada; England; Ethiopia; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Lithuania; Malta; Portugal; Cappadocia; Catalonia; Palestine; over 20 cities and diocese around the world; against herpes, leprosy, plague, skin diseases, skin rashes, syphilis; by the middle ages, St. George was revered in much of Europe as the personification of chivalry)*

Support Teen Literature Day -- US (on the Thursday of National Library Week)

Take Action for Libraries Day -- US (Sponsored by the ALA, on the Thursday of National Library Week)  

Take a Chance Day -- internet generated encouragement to try something different

Talk Like Shakespeare Day -- on The Bard's birth anniversary 

Vinalia Priora -- Ancient Roman Calendar (tasting the first wines of the year)

World Book & Copyright Day -- UN (this date chosen because of how parts of Spain celebrate St. George's Day, with books)     

     World Book Night -- Germany; Ireland; UK; US (anniversary of the birth and death of Shakespeare, and the death of Miguel de Cervantes; over 20 book titles have been specially chosen for this year and special editions of those books printed so you can share books and your love of reading with those who don't read much

*To save a Maid, St. George the Dragon slew

A pretty tale, if all is told be true

Most say, there are no Dragons, and 'tis said

There was no George: pray God there was a Maid.

-- John Aubrey, Remains of Gentilism (1688)

Birthdays Today:

Dev Patel, 1990

John Cena, 1977

Kal Penn, 1977

Scott Bairstow, 1970

Melina Kanakaredes, 1967

George Lopez, 1961

Valerie Bertinelli, 1960

Craig Sheffer, 1960

Jan Hooks, 1957

Judy Davis, 1955

Michael Moore, 1954

Joyce DeWitt, 1949

Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, 1947

Sandra Dee, 1942

David Birney, 1940

Lee Majors, 1940

Roy Orbison, 1936

Shirley Temple Black, 1928

Vladimire Nabokov, 1899

Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, 1897

Sergei Prokofiev, 1891

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, 1858

Granville T. Woods, 1856

James Buchanan, 1791

William Penn, 1621

William Shakespeare, 1564(attributed -- only the day of his baptism, April 26, is known for certain)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Baywatch"(TV), 1989

"No Man's Land"(Play), 1975

"She Loves Me"(Musical), 1963

"Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride"(Opera), 1881

"Il re pastore/The Shepherd King"(Mozart opera, K 208)1775

"The Tender Husband"(Comedy), 1705

Today in History:

The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St George's Day, 1348

William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I in attendance, 1597

The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston, Massachusetts, 1635

Connecticut is chartered as an English colony, 1662

Canada issues its first postage stamps, 1851

The Vitascope system of movie projection debuts the first motion picture at Koster & Bial's Music Hall in NYC, 1896

Namibia becomes the 160th member of the UN and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations, 1990

Eritrians vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia, 1993

Beijing closes all schools for two weeks because of the SARS virus, 2003

The gamma ray burst GRB 090423 is observed for 10 seconds. The event signals the most distant object of any kind and also the oldest known object in the universe, 2009

Despite an initial ban on the film 'Borat,' Kazakhstan issues and official 'thank you' to actor Sacha Baron Cohen for his character, Borat Sagdiyev, 2012

Loretta Lynch is confirmed as the first African-American woman as US Attorney-General, 2015

The WHO begins distributing the world’s first malaria vaccine to children in Malawi, 2019

The journal Scientific Reports publishes the findings on the first frog fossils, about 40 million years old, found in Antarctica, 2020

Artists Sonia Boyce and Simone Leigh are awarded Golden Lions at the 59th Venice Biennale, the first time Black women have won representing their countries (UK and US) at the prestigious modern art exhibit, 2023

A carbonized ancient Greek scroll from Herculaneum, deciphered using new technologies including AI, gives details of the death of the philosopher Plato, 2024

The International Coral Reef Initiative releases study showing that 84% of the world's coral reefs have been impacted by an ongoing bleaching event, 2025