Who, Me?

The wonderful McGuffy Ann, of the blog McGuffy's Reader, has seen fit to nominate me for a blogging award.

The award has some rules, the first of which is to link back to the person who nominated you, which i just did above.

The second rule is to answer a few questions.  For that, i will do my best.

What is your favorite color?  Purple, and if you didn't know that, something is wrong with my font color.

What is your favorite animal?  Mostly cats, but a lot of times, it's any animal that doesn't want me to feed it right now.


What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?  Since i don't drink alcohol, i will have to say water.

Facebook or Twitter?  Neither.  Really, i do not have an account with either one, and i do not have a smart phone.  Since i have teens, i figure i do not need anything else in the house that is smarter than i am.

Your favorite pattern?  Paisley, but only when i'm in the mood for it.  Mostly i wear solids.

Do you prefer getting or giving presents?  Giving.  You will never have more fun with money than giving it away.

What is your favorite number?  127, and no, i'm not sure why.  It's probably something subconscious.

What is your favorite day of the week?  Sunday, partly because in our house, Sunday afternoon attendance at Bedside Baptist is mandatory.

What is your favorite flower?  Pansies, although i can't grow anything except weeds and crabgrass, i do enjoy them when i see them growing in other people's gardens.

What is your passion?  Working with cat rescue, and lots of other volunteer stuff.  If i ever could, i'd want to be a philanthropist.

Rule three is to nominate up to 12 other bloggers to get this award, and rule four is to link to them and inform them of that they are thus nominated.

So, i will nominate 
Angelika of Angelika's Photographic Sketchbook
Kay G of Georgia Girl With an English Heart
Kathe W of It's a Snap
Sandee of Comedy Plus
Jessica Topper
Mary of Lemonade on My Patio
Peruby of My World and Welcome To It
Sarah of Simply Sarah 
Shell of Tangent Shell
Leah of The Goat's Lunch Pail
Abele of The Wows! and Oops! of Life

If any of the above would prefer not to accept, or if i'm so dense that you've already received this one, ignore me.

The final rule for this award is to include the award logo, so here it is:

Today is:

Bairns Day -- Scotland (Begins the runic half-month of Eoh, the yew tree, which signifies the dead, and is now associated with the Slaughter of the Innocents of Christian tradition, so today is considered by some the unluckiest day of the year, and no work should be undertaken today.)

Call a Friend Day -- just to catch up a bit

Card Playing Day -- internet generated, enjoy a fun game with friends and family; "Go fish!"

Childermas a/k/a Holy Innocents Day -- (Patrons of babies, children's choirs, foundlings)
     various Christian traditions celebrate under many names and in various ways
     Els Enfarinats -- Ibn, Valencia, Spain (flour fight, and if it's anything like the tomato throwing in other towns of Spain, it's probably lots of fun)
     French Childermas tradition interpreted what the Norse saw as evidence of the Wild Hunt of Odin as the spirits of the Holy Innocents running from King Herod
     Inocentes -- Mexico, and sometimes celebrated as Mexican December Fool's Day (Herod fooled himself into thinking he had gotten rid of his rival king born in Bethlehem.)

Dyzemas Day -- Northhamptonshire, UK (an unlucky day to begin any new undertaking, "what is begun on Dysemas Day will never be finished")
     origin unknown, but often translated as Tithe Day, being very close to the Portugese word for tithe

Eat A Vegetarian Day -- an internet generated joke; yes, the vegetarian in question can be a cow

Endangered Species Act Day -- US (act passed 1973; a day to mourn species already extinct)

Fairy Academy of Window-Frosting Winter Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar

Fourth Day of Christmas

King Taksin Memorial Day -- Thailand

Kwanzaa, Day 3, Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)

National Chocolate Candy Day

Proclamation Day -- South Australia (trad.)

Return a Gift for the Cold Hard Cash Day -- and good luck, these days

Runic Half-month Eoh (yew) commences

Take a Drive and Enjoy the Christmas Lights Day -- before they are gone for another year

Unluckiest Day of the Year -- various traditions state no work should be started today, for whatever is started today will never be finished!  In Olde England, nothing of importance was ever undertaken on Childermas, because it would prove unlucky


Anniversaries Today:

Billy Ray Cyrus weds Leticia Finley, 1994
The US Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted, 1945
Iowa becomes the 29th US State, 1846


Birthdays Today:

David Archuleta, 1990
Sienna Miller, 1981
John Legend, 1978
Joe Mangianello, 1976
Todd Richards, 1969
Malcolm Gets, 1964
Denzel Washington, 1954
Edgar Winter, 1946
Don Francisco, 1940
Maggie Smith, 1934
Nichelle Nichols, 1933
Martin Milner, 1931
Johnny Otis, 1921
Sam Levenson, 1911
Lew Ayres, 1908
Cliff Arquette, 1905
Earl "Fatha" Hines, 1905
Hendrik Meijer, 1883
Woodrow Wilson, 1856
John Molson, 1763


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Gulag Archipelago"(Publication date), 1973
"Last of the Red Hot Lovers"(Play), 1969
"Night of the Iguana"(Play), 1961
"On the Town"(Musical), 1944
"Tip-Toes"(Musical), 1925
"St. Joan"(Play), 1923
"Cyrano de Bergerac"(Play), 1897


Today in History:

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, a/k/a Westminster Abbey, is consecrated, 1065
The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins, 1308
Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star, 1612
King Taksin is crowned as king of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as a capital, 1768
Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto, Ontario), 1795
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Echigo, Japan, killing 30,000+, 1828
John Calhoun becomes the first US Vice President to resign (over differences with President Andrew Jackson), 1832
Spain recognizes independence of Mexico, 1836
South Australia and Adelaide are founded, 1836
Rangoon Burma, destroyed by fire, 1841
The United States claims Midway Island, the first territory annexed outside Continental limits, 1867
The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema, 1895
The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco, California, 1912
The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park, 1950
Alexander Solzhenitsyn publishes "Gulag Archipelago", 1973
Winnie Mandela is banished from South Africa, 1976
The first American "test-tube baby", Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia, 1981
U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years, 2000
At 115 years old and 266 days, Jiroemon Kimura of Japan becomes the world's oldest living person, 2012