Kittens and jalapeno peppers do not mix.

When you are bottle raising kittens, which I am, although I have not mentioned it because the previous litter came to such a disastrous end, you end up with small nicks, cuts, and scratches all over your hands.

Chop jalapeno peppers for dinner with all those tiny scratches all over and..., well. Let's just call that the recipe for hand pain, shall we?

Speaking of peppers, supposedly if you add lots of peppers or a peppery taste to your birdseed the squirrels will leave it alone. They don't like hot, goes the theory. And birds cannot taste the capsaicin, the substance that makes it hot, so they don't care. Doesn't seem to work in this house. I tried squirrel proofing stuff I didn't want that crazy squirrel of ours chewing up using Tabasco sauce. She licked off the Tabasco sauce. I would end up with a Cajun squirrel.

Do yourself a favor, never have a squirrel for a pet, anyway. For the record, this one was not my idea. I knew we were in for a wild animal that would chew up everything. Sweetie wanted her. She hates men. Did I mention that it is never a good idea to have a squirrel as a pet?

Today is:

Daffodil Day

Festival of Goliath, Ath, Belgium

Good Roads Day

Men's Grooming Day (Don't tell my Sweetie! He already prinks in front

of the mirror forever every morning!)

National Spumoni Day (I don't think I've had really great spumoni since

I went to Italy all those years ago -- nothing like getting things at

the source.)

Poet's Day

Senior Citizen's Day

St. Bernard Tolomei's Day (Patron Saint of Olive Growers)

St. Francis de Sales' Day

St. Jane Frances de Chantal's Day


Birthdays Today:

Ozma, Queen of Oz, year unconfirmed
Jackie DeShannon, 1944
Clarence Williams III, 1939
Kenny Rogers, 1938
Wilt Chamberlain, 1936
Friz Freleng, 1906
Count Basie, 1904
William Murdoch, 1754


Today in History:

Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shogun and therefore de facto ruler of Japan, 1192
The Nat Turner slave revolt in Virginia leaves 55 dead, 1831
Mighty Casey (Dan Casey) is struck out! In a game against the N.Y. Giants, 1887
William S Burroghs patents the adding machine, 1888
Oldsmobile is incorporated as a division of General Motors Corp. 1897
Arthur Rose Eldred becomes the first Boy Scout to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, 1912
Hawai'i becomes the 50th US State, 1959
Mary Langdon becomes the first female fire fighter in England, 1976