Silly Dilly

The church was decorated with beautiful daffodils yesterday -- or daffy-down-dillies, as we used to say as children.

When the final service was over, it was announced that anyone who wanted to take some home could do so.  As i was in the nursery, i didn't know about it until Bigger Girl brought me a vase with some that she said were for me.

She said, "I wanted to get them for you because my birthday is coming up, and I think children should give their parents a gift on their own birthday to thank them for all they've done!  So, I've brought you flowers in honor of my upcoming birthday!"

My kind of gift -- lasts long enough to enjoy, yet doesn't take up space and have to be tended to indefinitely, and is frugal!

May each of you have a "silly dilly" day and get to do something fun.



Today is:

Act Happy Week begins -- acting happy releases the body chemicals that aid health, mental and physical

Asklepieia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Asklepios; date approximate)

Awkward Moments Day -- harness the power of humor in life's more uncomfortable situations

Benito Juarez Day -- Mexico (a Fiestas Patrias; obs.)

Bindus Diena -- Ancient Latvain Calendar

Birthday of Sparky the Fire Dog -- can't confirm the exact date, but Sparky became an official fire prevention mascot in Mar. 1951

Celtic Tree Month Fearn (Alder) begins

Cheikh Al Maarouf Day -- Comoros

Forgive Mom and Dad Day -- because we all make mistakes; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Goddess of Fertility Day -- a modern celebration of all goddesses of fertility

Great Lent begins-- a/k/a Clean Monday, Ash Monday, Pure Monday, Monday of Lent, Shrove Monday, Collop Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday, and (in Cypress) Green Monday -- Orthodox Christians following the Julian calendar

Grandparents' and Grandchildren's Day -- Michigan, US

Jacques de Molay's Day -- death anniversary of the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar

Labour Day -- Christmas Island

Men's and Soldiers Day -- Mongolia

National Anthem and Flag Day -- Aruba

National Biodiesel Day -- birth anniversary of Rudolph Diesel, who unveiled his engine at the World Fair in 1900

National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day

National Wildlife Week -- US (go learn how to safely observe wildlife this week)

Oidematsuri -- Hakui, Japan (horse-back archery)

Sheelah's Day -- Ireland (probably Sheela Na Gig, goddess of fertility; celebrated the day after St. Patrick's Day by those who say she was either his wife or his mother)

Sheep and Goats (Separation) Day -- Fairy Calendar

St. Anselm of Lucca's Day (Patron of Mantua, Italy)

St. Edward the Martyr's Day

Supreme Sacrifice Day -- an internet generated holiday now used to honor those who have made a supreme sacrifice, all who have given their lives for others

Usajingu Reitaisai -- Japan (offerings to the Kami from the Imperial Household are shared in this very important festival)

Wellderly Day -- and the start of Wellderly Week, focusing on the health of the elderly

World Folk Tales and Fables Week -- encouraging all people to explore the cultural background and lessons learned from folk tales, fables, myths, and legends from around the world



Birthdays Today:

Dane Cook, 1972
Queen Latifah, 1970
Bonnie Blair, 1964
Vanessa Williams, 1963
Irene Cara, 1959
Brad Dourif, 1950
Wilson Pickett, 1941
Charlie Pride, 1938
F.W. deKlerk, 1936
John Updike, 1932
George Plimpton, 1927
Peter Graves, 1926
Edward Everett Horton, 1886
Rudolph Diesel, 1858
Grover Cleveland, 1837


Today in History:

Crusaders kill 57 Jews in Bury St Edmonds England, 1190
German emperor Frederick II crowns himself king of Jerusalem, 1229
Kraków is ravaged by Mongols, 1241
According to legend, Tenochtitlan is founded on this date, 1325
John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, 1673
Henry Wells and William Fargo form American Express in Buffalo, NY, 1850
Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best hockey team in Canada, 1893
Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience (he served only 2 years), 1922
The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah, for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is held in New York City, 1922
The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern US states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people, 1925
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy kills 26 and causes thousands to flee their homes, 1944
Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space, 1965
The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency, 1968
In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found nearby the Pyramid of Cheops, 1989
White South Africans vote overwhelmingly in favour, in a national referendum, to end the racist policy of Apartheid, 1992
Bosnia's Bosniaks and Croats sign the Washington Agreement, ending warring between the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1994
British Sign Language is recognized as an official British language, 2003
For the first time, a woman served as imam, leading a public, mixed-gender, Muslim congregation in Jum'ah prayer and delivering the sermon, 2005