It's Quite an Obligation, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

People at our church love to visit and chat with one another, and many of us come to Wednesday evening Bible study early to spend a bit of time with our hostess (and her dog) and each other just chatting about prayer requests and what's going on in our lives.

Starting time takes us all by surprise, and when our leader says it's time to find our seats, there's often a mad scramble for our Bibles, chairs, and a pen for note taking.

Last Wednesday, one lady was coming up empty in the pen department and our hostess kindly brought her one (she keeps several).  The lady who was using it said, "I promise not to leave with your pen!" with a smile, knowing this happens a lot to pens (they do grow legs, don't they?).

The hostess responded, "No, you have to keep it, it becomes a big responsibility because it means you have an obligation to bring it back so you have to attend next week!"

We all laughed, of course.  I didn't notice if she gave the pen back or accepted the obligation.

How about some funnies.

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is the 2026 Autumnal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the Spring Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere, at exactly 22:05 UTC(6:05pm EDT); some related observances are:

     Mabon -- Wicca/Pagan Northern Hemisphere

     Ostara -- Wicca/Pagan Southern Hemisphere

     Alban Elfed -- Celtic Winter Finding

     Chuseok -- Korean harvest festival (high point of the festival)

     Feast of Carpo -- Greek Horae, goddess of autumn

     Kukulcan Snake God Celebration -- Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico (the snake appears at the equinox, a time to honor this Mayan god)

     Festival of the Sea Goddess -- Eskimo

     Higan -- Japan

     Mabon/Fallfest -- Asatru/Norse Pagan (harvest festival, time to make wine and mead for the next winter)

     Oenach Carman -- Ancient Celtic Calendar

     Sendai Great Tug-of-War -- Sendai, Japan (festival on the equinox that dates back over 400 years)     

     Svarog's Holiday -- Slavic Pagan Calendar/Asatru (day to drink mead in honor of Svarog, god of fire and the sky)

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

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Today is:

Aizu Byakko Matsuri -- Aizuwakamatsu-shi, Fukushima, Japan (ceremonial recreation of a march to war in 1868; through the 24th)

American Business Women's Day -- US (anniversary of the founding of the American Business Women's Association)

Boidromia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; honor Apollon as god of rescue during war)

Coya Raymi -- Inca Native Americans (festival to honor Moon Goddess Quilla, with a focus on purging sickness and evil; through tomorrow, dates approximate)

Dear Diary Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; get it down on paper! 

Elephant Appreciation Day -- sponsored by "Elefunteria" 

Feast of Mikeli -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (harvest celebration; through the 24th)

Hobbit Day -- Bilbo's and Frodo's Birth anniversary

Ice Cream Cone Day -- Italo Marchiony applied for a patent for an ice cream cone mold on this day in 1903

Independence Day -- Bulgaria(1908); Mali(1960)

International Husky Day   

National Centenarians Day -- US

National Voter Registration Day -- US (Celebrating Democracy in America) 

National White Chocolate Day

OneWebDay

Princess Martha Louise's Birthday -- Norway (an official flag day)

Ritual of the Netjers of the Two Lands (Upper and Lower Egypt) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

St. Maurice's Day (Patron of armies, cloth dyers, cloth makers, infantrymen, soldiers, swordsmiths, weavers; Austria; Manresa, Spain; Pianello Val Tidone, Italy; Piedmont, Italy; Sardinia; Stadtsulza, Germany; Pontifical Swiss Guards; against cramps and gout)

Woman Road Warrior Day -- to recognize the traveling businesswomen in today's world

World Car Free Day -- UN (encouraging all of us to go car free for a day, and see the world from a different perspective) began as:

     Car-Free Day -- this has spread to much of the world; try it for yourself! 

Birthdays Today:

Billie Piper, 1982

Ronaldo, 1976

Bonnie Hunt, 1964

Catherine Oxenberg, 1961

Scott Baio, 1961

Joan Jett, 1960

Andrea Bocelli, 1958

Debby Boone, 1956

Shari Belafonte, 1954

Arthur O. Sulzberger, 1951

Paul Le Mat, 1945

Junko Tabel, 1939 (first woman to summit Everest)

Tommy Lasorda, 1927

John Houseman, 1902

Michael Faraday, 1791

Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, 1694(O.S. Date)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Friends"(TV), 1994

"Family Ties"(TV), 1982

"Charlie's Angels"(TV), 1976

"A Delicate Balance"(Play), 1966

"Fiddler on the Roof"(Musical), 1964

"The Man from U.N.C.L.E."(TV), 1964

"Maverick"(TV), 1957

Today in History:

Legion I Italica is created by Emperor Nero, 66

Switzerland becomes an independent state, 1499

The General Provincial Court at Patuxent, MD, US, empanels the first all female jury in the colonies to try the case of a woman accused of murdering her child, 1656

A final 8 people are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Mass., 1692

Nathan Hale is hanged for spying during American Revolution, 1776

Russia establishes a colony at Kodiak, Alaska, 1784

City of Des Moines, Iowa, is incorporated as Fort Des Moines, 1851

Abraham Lincoln, by executive proclamation, declares that the slaves in the rebelling states shall become free on Jan. 1 of the upcoming year, 1862

Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold premieres in Munich, 1869

The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published, 1888

Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather, King George III, as the longest reigning monarch in British history, 1895

Italo Marchiony granted a patent for an ice cream cone, 1903

The Duke of York's Picture House opens in Brighton, now the oldest continually operating cinema in Britain, 1910

Ralph J. Bunche becomes the first black winner of the Nobel Peace Price, 1950

The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time by the Huntington Library, 1991

David Hempleman-Adams becomes the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open-air, wicker-basket hot air balloon, 2003

CERN scientists announce their discovery of neutrinos breaking the speed of light, 2011

NASA's MAVEN space probe successfully arrives in orbit over Mars, 2014

The WHO warns that urgent action is needed against air pollution as it is on par with smoking and poor diet in causing premature deaths, 2021

China's Hefei Institutes of Physical Science creates a magnet so strong its magnetic field is 800,000 times stronger than the Earth's own magnetic field, 2024

Airports in Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo, Norway close temporarily due to suspicious drones being sighted near their airspace, 2025

Neighborly Chat (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Solstice

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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!

Sometimes you just want to sit and chat.  Annie can do so for quite a while and get very animated.

She gets into her subject matter.

You can scratch your mosquito bite and talk at the same time.

Concentrating on what to talk about next.

Being a polite listener is important, too.

Make your points carefully...

...and when you are done...

...move on!

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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 Solstice.

a solstice party

to which you bring the in-laws

will be a long night

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Which of the holidays

is the most important to me?

I say equinoxes and solstices

and you'll ask how that can be.

While others have you feasting

and having fun gastronomically,

equinoxes and solstices are

more important astronomically!

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Future themes are:

Sept 21 Solstice (Today!)

Sept 28 Bonfire

Oct 5 Rocket

Oct 12 Contents of the Safe

Oct 19 X-ray Vision

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

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Today is:

Arbor Day -- Brazil

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 11, Peace (to coincide with the International celebration; sponsored by We, the World) 

Fairtrade Fortnight begins -- UK (a chance to get involved in making sure farmers in developing countries have fair wages and good working conditions)   

Independence Day -- Armenia(1991); Belize(1981); Malta(1964)

International Day of Peace -- UN

International Love Your Files Week -- the week to make sure your filing system is working for you

International Women's Ecommerce Days -- supporting women's online business endeavours and buying power; through Friday

Kharisteria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; feast of Aremis Agrotera[the huntress] that became a thanksgiving for the victory of the battle of Marathon)

Keiro no hi -- Japan (Respect for the Aged Day)

Kwama Nkrumah's Birthday/Founder's Day -- Ghana

Miniature Golf Day -- golf the fun way! (separate from National Miniature Golf Day in May)

National Pecan Cookie Day

Organ Donation Week begins -- UK (join the organ donor registry, when you don't need your parts any longer, someone else will!) 

St. Matthew the Evangelist's Day (Patron of accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, customs officers, financial officers, guards, money managers, security forces, security guards, stockbrokers, tax collectors; Salerno, Italy; Trier, Germany; Villa d'Ogna, Italy)

Student's Day and Spring Day -- Argentina

Throw Away Something Day -- you have the internet's permission to get rid of that hideous gift; if you can't bring yourself to throw it out, donate it

World Alzheimer's Day

World Gratitude Day

Yom Kippur -- Judaism (began sundown yesterday, ends nightfall today)

Birthdays Today:

Nicole Richie, 1981

Luke Wilson, 1971

Ricki Lake, 1968

Faith Hill, 1967

Darva Conger, 1965

Rob Morrow, 1962

Nancy Travis, 1961

David James Elliot, 1960

Dave Coulier, 1959

Ethan Boen, 1957

Bill Murray, 1950

Stephen King, 1947

Kay Ryan, 1945

Fannie Flagg, 1944

Bill Kurtis, 1940

Henry Gibson, 1935

Leonard Cohen, 1934

Larry Hagman, 1931

Chuck Jones, 1912

H.G. Wells, 1866

Maurice Barrymore, 1849 (family patriarch)

Francis Hopkinson, 1737

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"NYPD Blue"(TV), 1993

"Glengarry Glen Ross"(Play), 1983

"Monday Night Football"(TV), 1970*

"Perry Mason"(TV), 1957

"The Texaco Star Theater"(TV), 1948

My Weekly Reader(Magazine, first issue date), 1928

*Browns 31, Jets 21

Today in History:

Richard the Lionheart captured, 1192

Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa orders Jews of Holland to wear a badge, 1451

John and Nicolaas van der Heyden patent a fire extinguisher, 1677

Nathan Hale arrested for spying, 1776

The Pennsylvania Packet & Daily Advertiser becomes the first successful US daily newspaper, 1784

Joseph Smith, Jr. claims that the Angel Moroni gives him the gold plates from which he translates the Book of Mormon, 1827

The Duryea Motor Wagon Company becomes the first auto manufacturer, 1895

"Kit Carson", the first cowboy film, premiers in the US, 1903

Publication of Tolkien's "The Hobbit", 1937

Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations, 1971

Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female US Supreme Court justice, 1981

Brunei joins the United Nations, 1984

Deep Space 1 flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly, 2001

The Galileo mission is terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, 2003

Hurricane Rita becomes the third most intense storm hurricane (dropped to 4th on October 19, just a few weeks later), 2005

al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 67 people, 2013

Caltech scientists publish a study in the journal "Current Biology" showing that the jellyfish Cassiopeia is the first animal without a brain that is known to actually sleep, 2017

Scientists announce they’ve found the world’s oldest animal fossil at 558 million years old, a species called Dickinsonia, in the White Sea of Russia, 2018

Because their "Happy Meals" make it one of the largest toy distributors in the world, McDonald's announces plans by 2025 to "drastically" reduce the amount of plastic it distributes, 2021

King Charles III becomes the first British monarch to make a speech from France’s senate chamber, 2023

Microsoft signs a 20-year deal to buy power from the soon to reopen Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, 2024