It's Friday!

Feline Friday is hosted by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.
Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is..

1) post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute)

2) go to Steve's page, linked above, then on the menu bar click on the Feline Friday tab to get the code

3) paste the code under your cat picture

4) add your name and link


That’s all there is to it! Be sure to check back every so often and visit all the Feline Friday bloggers. Also, please leave a nice comment on their blogs. Nasty comments will be deleted!

Cats that stare into space always look to me like they are meditating.

I'm meditating on who my new forever family will be!

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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 McGuffy Ann Morris of McGuffy's Reader. 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! 

My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:

Week 47: March 31, 2017

1. The first thing I think about in the morning is _______________________.

2. The last thing I think about before sleep is ________________________.

3. I am looking forward to ____________________.

4. I am so pleased _____________________.


1. The first thing i think about in the morning is whatever praise song pops into my brain.  Starting the morning with a praise song (in my mind, i promise i don't sing out loud!) or a line from a Psalm helps keep the depression at bay.

2. The last thing i think about before sleep is either whatever was in my evening devotional, or if i can't fall asleep quickly, a brain game of seeing how many words i can make using the letters in another word.  The game is printed in the newspaper every day, and it really does help me fall asleep to try it at night.

3. I am looking forward to so many things it's hard to narrow it down.  Our family summer vacation is one, spending Easter and Mother's Day with family is another.

4. I am so pleased Sweetie agreed to give Lunceford the Land Yacht a test drive.  When i first mentioned that car, he was set against it, and i knew he'd love it if he ever once drove it, and i was right!



Today is:

Alcohol-Free Weekend 2017 -- US; sponsored by National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (this year's theme is "Connecting the Dots: Opportunities for Recovery.  A comprehensive approach to addressing underage drinking.") 

Bunsen Burner Day -- on the birth anniversary of its inventor, Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen, in 1811

Buy Some New Socks Day -- because all the websites that list it agree you are worth it

Cesar Chavez Day -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, Utah,& Wyoming, US

Culture and Traditions Day -- Micronesia

Day Everyone Says "31" a Lot -- Fairy Calendar

Daylight Saving Time begins -- Jordan; Syria

Eiffel Tower Day -- inaugurated this day in 1889

Festival for Luna -- Ancient Roman Calendar (moon festival)

Hot Guitar Day -- the day Jimi Hendrix first set fire to his guitar in 1967

Jum il-Helsien (Freedom Day) -- Malta

King Nangklao Memorial Day -- Thailand

Medieval Fair -- Norman, OK, US (living history, and lots of fun; through Sunday)

National Clams on the Half Shell Day

Oranges and Lemons Day -- St. Clement Danes Church, London, Enlgand (traditional children's service based on the rhyme that begins "Oranges and lemons/say the bells of St. Clement's)

"She's Funny That Way" Day -- pay tribute to the women in your life, and how they keep you laughing; sponsored by Brenda Meredith of Dahomey Publishing, Inc.

St. Balbina's Day (Patron of those with scrofulous diseases or stroma)

Tater Day -- Benton, KY, US (old fashioned family fun centered around the sweet potato, with a parade, a mule pull, a carnival and more; through Monday)

Tempe Festival of the Arts -- Tempe, AZ, US (hundreds of artists and craftspeople, continuous entertainment, children's area; through Sunday)

Thomas Mundy Peterson Day -- New Jersey, US (the first African-American to legally cast a vote in the US, this date in 1870)

Transfer Day -- US Virgin Islands

Vigil to Mourn China's Annexation of Tibet -- anniversary of the day in 1959 when the Dalai Lama fled to India

Wear a Hat Day -- UK (a brain tumour awareness event and fundraiser) 


Birthdays Today:

Pavel Bure, 1971
Ewan McGregor, 1971
Marc McClure, 1957
Angus Young, 1955
Edward Francis "Ed" Marinaro, 1950
Al Gore, 1948
Rhea Perlman, 1948
Gabe Kaplan, 1945
Christopher Walken, 1943
James Earl "Jimmy" Johnson, 1938
Herb Alpert, 1935
Richard Chamberlain, 1935
Shirley Jones, 1934
John Jakes, 1932
Gordie Howe, 1928
Cesar Chavez, 1927
William Daniels, 1927
Leo Buscaglia, 1925
Henry Morgan, 1915
John "Jack" Johnson, 1878
Andrew Lang, 1844
Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut, 1823
Edward Fitzgerald, 1809
Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol, 1809
Joseph Haydn, 1732
Andrew Marvell, 1621
Rene Descartes, 1596


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"'night, Mother"(Play), 1983
"The Shadow Box"(Play), 1977
"The Best Man"(Play), 1960
"The Glass Menagerie"(Play), 1945
"Oklahoma!"(Musical), 1943
"Le Chasseur Maudit/The Accursed Huntsman"(Symphonic poem), 1883


Today in History:

Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade; Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade, 1146
King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella sign decree ordering Jews to convert or be expelled from Spain, 1492
Jews are expelled from Prague, 1745
Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade, 1854
Thomas P Mundy of Perth Amboy, NJ, becomes the first African American to cast a vote, 1870
The Eiffel Tower, commemorating the French Revolution, opens, 1889
Richard Pearse allegedly makes a powered flight in an early aircraft, 1903
Serbia accepts Austrian control over Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1909
Construction begins on the RMS Titanic, 1909
Construction of the RMS Titanic is completed, 1912
The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands, 1917
Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time, 1918
The Royal Australian Air Force is formed, 1921
The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada, 1949
Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau, 1951
In the Canadian federal election, 1958, the Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265, 1958
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum, 1959
The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon, 1966
Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after 12 years in orbit, 1970
The USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California, 1992
Netscape releases the code base of its browser under an open-source license agreement; the project is given the code name Mozilla and is eventually spun off into the non-profit Mozilla Foundation, 1998
Amid unrest in the Mideast, activists claim China has launched the largest crackdown on dissenters in recent years, 2011

Failsafe and Imposing Gate

As she dropped him at the airport, he could tell she was on the edge of losing it, and she almost never lost her composure.

"I feel like one of those mothers who is going to tell her child that if he falls and breaks a leg it's his own fault and he shouldn't come running to her about it," she said, half laughing and half crying.  "I still don't understand why you have to go meet with this person halfway around the world, and if something happens to you over there, I don't know what I will do!"

"Nothing is going to happen, I'm going to take care of the business my grandparents left unfinished, and then I will never have to leave the country again unless it's with all of us on a vacation," he tried to reassure her.

He hated keeping secrets from her, hated having to leave, and hated that he couldn't tell her what was really going on and that he had an ace up his sleeve.  If it looked like the plan he and the Djinn had worked out was going to fall apart, he'd make the wish that his grandparents had never found the bottle, and it would change their past, and neither of them would ever know.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Fault.


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Gosia, of Looking for Identity, has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World.  Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.

Looking at the fence, the place seems rather imposing.

Today is:

Check for Change in Every Coin Return You Pass Day -- because someone has a sense of humor and put it on the internet

Culture and Traditions Day -- Micronesia

Doctors Day -- US (begun by Eudora Almond in 1933 because she thought her husband, Dr. Charles B. Almond, deserved recognition for his hard work; check here for ideas on how to thank your doctor)

Fairies of the First Wand Reunion Dinner -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of Janus and Concordia -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Feast of Pak Tai -- Macau (Pak Tai who conquered the Demon King, celebrated the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month)

Festival of Bast -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (cat goddess; date approximate)

Festival of Reality Fabrication  -- internet holiday to celebrate your imagination

Festival of Salus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (god of health)

Grass Is Always Browner On The Other Side Of The Fence Day -- remember how good you have it; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

I am in Control Day -- remember Alexander Haig's words on this date in 1981? well today, if you find the phones won't stop ringing, the kids got into the glue again, the coffee maker is on the fritz, and somebody dyed the poodle purple, stand up and declare that you are in control!

Land Day Commemoration -- West Bank/Palestinian remembrance

Limited Liability Day -- because no one can be responsible for everything

Pencil Day -- the pencil with an eraser top was patented this day in 1858 by Hyman Lipman

Runic Half-Month Ewhas (Horse) begins

Shangsi Festival -- China (ancient Double Third festival, on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month)

Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day -- Trinidad and Tobago

St. Leonard Murialdo's Day (Patron of apprentices)

Take a Walk in the Park Day -- begun by someone who wanted to get out of the office

Turkey Neck Soup Day

Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day -- US 


Birthdays Today:

Scott Moffatt, 1983
Jason Dohring, 1982
Norah Jones, 1979
Matt Doran, 1976
Mark Consuelos, 1971
Celine Dion, 1968
Ian Ziering, 1964
Tracy Chapman, 1964
M.C. Hammer, 1962
Paul Reiser, 1957
Robbie Cotrane, 1950
Eric Clapton, 1945
Astrud Gilberto, 1940
Warren Beatty, 1937
John Astin, 1930
Rolf Harris, 1930
Peter Marshall, 1930
Richard Dysart, 1929
Peter Marshall, 1927
Frankie Laine, 1913
Sean O'casey, 1880
Anna Sewell, 1820
Vincent Van Gogh, 1853
Francisco Jose De Goya, 1749


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Agnes of God"(Play), 1982
"Applause"(Musical), 1970
"Jeopardy"(TV), 1964
"Verkaufte Braut/The Bartered Bride"(Comic opera), 1866


Today in History:

The first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, BC240
Ketsugan, Zen teacher, performs exorcisms to free aizoji temple, 1422
Henry VIII divorces Catherine of Aragon, 1533
British and coalition forces march into Paris after the defeat of Napoleon, 1814
Dr. Crawford Long of Georgia, US, performs the first operation with anesthesia (ether), 1842
A pencil with attached eraser is patented by Hyman L Lipman of Philadelphia, 1858
Alaska is purchased from Russia by US Secretary of State William Seward, for $7,200,000 (about 2 cents per acre), 1867
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, 1932
Einstein announces his revised unified field theory, 1953
The Yonge Street Line, the first subway in Canada, opens in Toronto, 1954
President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr., 1981
The oldest copy of Codex Holmiensis, dating from 1280, is returned to Denmark from Sweden after 300 years, and 45,000 Inca artifacts are returned to Peru's Machu Picchu after spending 100 years at Yale University, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Humphrey the Honda has been replaced.

Meet Lunceford the Land Yacht.

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.


Today is:

Barthelemy Boganda Day -- Central African Republic

Borrowed Days begin -- old English/Scottish/Irish legends about how March borrowed the next 3 days from April; these are still seen as weather prognostication days based on several different legends

Day of Redress -- Fairy Calendar

Knights of Columbus Founders Day

Martyrs' Day -- Madagascar

National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day -- as recognized by AICPA

National Week of the Ocean Festival Sea-Son -- Fort Lauderdale, FL, US (celebration includes school marine fair, waterway cleanup, Mother Ocean Day and more; through early April, as part of the larger Season which lasts into June)

Smoke and Mirrors Day -- some sites call it "Festival of Smoke and Mirrors Day," but appropriately no one knows who started it

St. Armogastes of Africa's Day (Patron of the poor and torture victims; against poverty and torture)

St. Gladys' and St. Gwynllyw's Day (the Welsh "Bonny and Clyde", who led a life of crime before their conversion)

Youth Day -- Taiwan


Anniversaries Today:

Harry Hamlin weds Lisa Rinna, 1997
Yeshiva College (now University) is chartered in New York, 1928


Birthdays Today:

Hideaki Takizawa, 1982
Jennifer Capriati, 1976
Lucy Lawless, 1968
Elle Macpherson, 1964
Christopher Lambert, 1957
Kurt Thomas, 1956
Earl Christian Campbell, 1955
Karen Ann Quinlan, 1954
Bud Cort, 1950
George Blaha, 1945
Eric Idle, 1943
John Major, 1943
John Joseph McLaughlin, 1927
Pearl Bailey, 1918
Sam Walton, 1918
Eugene Mccarthy, 1916
Philip Ahn, 1905
Denton True "Cy" Young, 1867
Isaac Mayer Wise, Rabbi and Founder of Reform Judaism, 1819
John Tyler, 1790
Carlo Buonaparte, father of Napoleon Bonaparte, 1746


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Woman of the Year"(Play), 1981
"The King and I"(Play), 1951
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows(circus), 1919
Mutt and Jeff(Comic strip), 1908
"Jevgeni Onegin/Eugene Onegin"(Opera; Tchaikovsky Op. 24), 1879


Today in History:

The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded, 1549
Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed, returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629, 1632
Swedish colonists establish the first settlement in Delaware, 1638
Ludwig von Beethoven, age 24, debuts as a pianist in Vienna, 1795
Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway, 1806
Niagara Falls stops flowing for 30 hours due to an ice jam, 1848
The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab, 1849
Ohio makes it illegal for children under 18 & women to work more than 10 hours a day, 1852
Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867
Queen Victoria presides over the opening of Albert Hall in London, 1871
The Knights of Columbus are established, 1882
Dr. John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in his back yard, 1886
The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time, 1941
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, 1951
NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first spaceprobe to fly by Mercury, 1974
The Canada Act 1982 (U.K.) receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982
Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province, 1993
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO as full members, 2004
The Republic of Ireland becomes the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants, 2004
Thirty-five countries and over 370 cities join Earth Hour for the first time, 2008
A transistor-like transcriptor is built out of DNA and RNA molecules by American bioengineers at Stanford University, 2013

Can we confidently say it's Tuesday Coffee Chat Day?

Rory Bore at Ink Interrupted hosts the Tuesday Coffee Chat, and this week she asks the question,   What is your go to Confidence Booster?






Confidence -- n. (1)the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust; (2)the state of feeling certain about the truth of something; (3)a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.

The best confidence booster i've ever found is to actually go get something done.  Just like self-esteem isn't taught but comes from accomplishment, confidence is instilled when you work to do something. 

You don't even have to do that something "right" by another person's standards, or get it perfect.  Just trying, getting something done imperfectly, working at something, boosts confidence.  It makes it so much easier to tackle whatever it is next time.

In the same way that motivation follows action, confidence is boosted when you try something and get it done, or get part of it done, or learn to do it.

"When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it." - Theodore Roosevelt

There are times when someone asks how many times i've done something, and i have to say, this time and one more will make twice.  The confidence that comes from pulling it off is unmatched.

Thus my go-to confidence booster is to look at something that needs to get done, figuring out how, and doing it.



Today is:

Children's Picture Book Day -- while i can't find a sponsor for this day, starting kids on a lifelong love of books is as good an excuse for a holiday as any

Commemoration of Sen no Rikyu -- Urasenke School of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japan (remembering the influential master in The Way of Tea)

Feast of Artemis -- Ancient Greek Calendar (as protector of wild animals, vegetation, and places, begins at sundown; date approximate)

Festival of the Sacrifice at the Tombs -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to honor the ancestors)

"Greatest Show on Earth" Day -- Barnum and Bailey merged their circuses on this day in 1881

Hindu New Year -- Hindu (local custom/date may vary)
     Hari Raya Nyepi Tahun Baru -- Indonesia (New Year in the Balinese Saka calendar)
     Nyepi Day -- Bali, Indonesia (Day of Silence, Balinese New Year/Saka New Year celebration on which everything is closed, even the international airport)
     Ougadi -- Mauritius and some regions of India (the Telugu New Year)

Hot Tub Day -- because we all need one!

Invasion of Loaming Shores Beyond the Certain Sea Anniversary -- Fairy Calendar

Khordad Sal (Birth of the Prophet Zarathushtra) -- Zoroastrianism (Fasli Calendar)

Komamorijinja Reisai -- Nakaedo, Kashi-sh, Gifu, Japan (festival of the the Kosazukeishi "child-granting stone")

National Black Forest Cake Day

Ragnar Lodbrok's Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (remembrance of this Viking's sack of Paris)

Respect Your Cat Day -- anniversary of King Richard II's edict in 1384 forbidding the consumption of cats

Serfs Emancipation Day -- Tibet

Something on a Stick Day -- something edible, of course, what were you thinking?  never mind; almost everything tastes better on a stick

St. Guntramnus' Day (Patron of divorced people, guardians, repentant murderers)

Teachers' Day -- Czech Republic; Slovakia

Weed Appreciation Day -- at last, for those of us with black thumbs, since this is all we can grow! "Weeds are flowers once you get to know them!" A.A. Milne


Birthdays Today:

Lady Gaga, 1986
Julia Stiles, 1981
Annie Wersching, 1977
Kate Gosselin, 1975
Scott Mills, 1974
Juliandra Gillen, 1971
Vince Vaughn, 1970
Reba McEntire, 1955
Dianne Wiest, 1948
Ken Howard, 1944
Conchata Ferrell, 1943
Jerry Sloan, 1942
Freddie Bartholomew, 1924
Dirk Bogarde, 1921
Irving "Swifty" Lazar, 1907
August Anheuser Busch, Jr., 1899
Maxim Gorky, 1868
Frederich Pabst, 1836
St. Teresa of Avila, 1515
Fra Bartolomeo, 1472


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hair"(Rock musical), 1968
"Philadelphia Story"(Play), 1939


Today in History:

Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus, 193
Viking raiders sack Paris, who leave in exchange for a huge ransom, 845
The origin of the Fasli Era in India, 1556
Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco, 1776
Nathaniel Briggs of NH patents a washing machine, 1797
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man, 1802
The US Salvation Army is officially organized, 1885
Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, 1910
Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv & Jaffa by Turkish authorities, 1917
Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara, 1930
The McGill français movement protest occurs, the second largest protest in Montreal's history, 1969
Operators of Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania fail to recognize that a relief valve in the primary coolant system has stuck open, leading to a partial meltdown, 1979
In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths, 1994
The 2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since 1965, 2005
At least 1 million union members, students, and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law, 2006
Australian diplomat Peter Woolcott's draft for the first-ever treaty to regulate the conventional arms trade is discussed by members of the United Nations, 2013

Awww Monday: Relaxed Poodle

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that 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!

One of the interesting parts of cleaning homes is getting to know people's pets.

Bear loves to sleep on his special pad.

Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Myanmar

Cherry Blossom (Sakura) Viewing and Celebrations begin -- Japan (the festivities get started around now, and vary by region depending on when the trees bloom in that area over the next 6 weeks)

Commemoration of Sen no Rikyu -- Omotesenke School of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japan (remembering the influential master in The Way of Tea)

Corkscrew Day -- M.L. Byrn of New York patented "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" on this date in 1860

Labour Day -- Christmas Island

Mule Day Celebrations -- Columbia, TN, US (the "mule capital of the world" has mule shows, entertainment, dancing and music, food, and fun; through Sunday)

National "Joe" Day -- no, it isn't official, but today you can make everyone call you "Joe" if you want, and call them the same; probably started by someone who had no memory for names

National Spanish Paella Day

Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day -- after all, they do need their own day; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays 

Seward's Day -- Alaska, US

St. John Damascene's Day (Patron of pharmacists, icon paiting, theology students)

St. Rupert of Salzburg's Day (Patron of Salzburg; celebrated on the 24th in the rest of the Church)

World Theatre Day


Anniversaries Today:

Mary Pickford marries Douglas Fairbanks, 1920


Birthdays Today:

Brenda Song, 1988
Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, 1975
Nathan Fillion, 1971
Mariah Carey, 1970
Quentin Tarantino, 1963
Xuxa, 1963
Maria Schneider, 1952
Austin Pendleton, 1940
Michael York, 1942
David Janssen, 1931
Anthony Lewis, 1927
Mstislav Rostropovich, 1927
Sarah Vaughan, 1924
Harold Nicholas, 1921
Gloria Swanson, 1899
Thorne Smith, 1892
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, 1886
Edward Steichen, 1879
Patty Smith Hill, 1868
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, 1845
Nathaniel Currier, 1813


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Starlight Express"(Rock musical), 1984
Funky Winkerbean(Comic strip), 1972
Singin' in the Rain(Film), 1952
"La Rondine/The Swallow"(Puccini Opera), 1917
"The Colleen Bawn"(Play), 1860


Today in History:

Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt, BC196
Pope Clement V excommunicates the entire population of Venice, 1309
Juan Ponce de Leon discovers Florida, 1513
The first English child born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy, 1613
The dike at Hardinxveld breaks, causing the Alblasserwaard flood, 1709
Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar, 1713
John Parker Paynard originates medicated adhesive plaster, precursor to the band-aid, 1848
First reported sighting of the Yosemite Valley by Europeans, 1851
M L Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew), 1860
The first international rugby football match, England v. Scotland, is played in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place, 1871
Famous Apache warrior, Geronimo, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars, 1886
The first Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in Washington, D.C., 1912
The first successful blood transfusion takes place in Brussels, 1914
Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States, is put in quarantine, , 1916
Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor, 1931
Nikita Khrushchev becomes Premier of the Soviet Union, 1958
The Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in U.S. history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes South Central Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage, 1964
The Concorde makes its first supersonic flight. 1970
Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins, 1975
The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212, 1980
The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours, 1981
The US FDA approves Viagra, 1998
HMS Scylla (F71), a decommissioned Leander class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe, 2004

Silly Sunday: It's a Dog's Life

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs.  The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!
1. Post a joke.
2. Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.
3. Read my joke.
4. Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.
5. Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.
7. Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

Grandma and Grandpa's new dog, Lulu, is a sweetheart.  She's a Lab mix and has already decided Grandma's lap is her favorite place to be.  While i was there, she spent a lot of her time lying at our feet, and she follows Grandma very closely everywhere.

Boudreaux done had him a dog, Phideaux, dat like to lay 'round, too.  At de shop, Boudreaux had him a sign dat say, "Beware de dog!"

One day a new customer come in de shop an' see de sign, an' he say, "Where be de dog I gots to beware of?"

An' Boudreaux say, "He be over dere."

Seein' Phideaux layin' dere jes' as quiet an' not movin' at all, de new customer say, "Well, it sure seem no one gots to beware him!"

An' Boudreaux say, "Mais, let me done tol' you!  Befo' I had me the sign, you should see how many people hurt deyse'f when dey trip over him!"





Today is:

Daylight Saving Time begins -- Albania; Andorra; Austria; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar, Greece; Greenland (some areas); Holy See (Vatican City); Hungary; Ireland; Isle of Mann; Italy; Jersey; Kosovo; Latvia; Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia; Malta; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Western Sahara
     European Union: Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) Begins

Day to Mourn Victims of Biological Weapons -- commemorates the day they were outlawed in 1975

End of Zimbor-Quattor's Revenge Week and Day of Reconcilliation with All Those Whose Hats Have Been Damaged -- Fairy Calendar

Fiesta del Arbol -- Spain (Tree Festival or Arbor Day)

Independence Day and National Day -- Bangladesh(1971)

Khordad Sal -- Zoroastrian (Birth of the Prophet Zaranhushtra)

Laetare Sunday -- Western Christianity, 4th Sunday of Lent; related Observances
     Carnaval de la Laetare -- Stavelot, Belgium
     Mothering Sunday -- UK (fourth Sunday of Lent, originally a day to visit your "mother church" in the parish where you were raised, now celebrated as Mother's Day)

Legal Assistants' Day

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day -- Wellcat Holidays, which has made up a bunch, wants you to do the same today!

Martyr's Day / Democracy Day -- Mali

National Nougat Day

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianole Day -- Hawaii, US (Hawaiian Royal who worked to preserve the Hawaiian culture)

Purple Day -- International (supporting epileptics around the world) 

Spinach Day -- on this day in 1937, spinach growers in Crystal City, Texas, erected a statue of Popeye in honor of their favorite veggie

St. Braulio's Day (Patron of Aragon, Spain)

St. William of Norwich's Day (Patron of kidnap and torture victims)

Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel -- Eastern Orthodox Christianity (celebration of his role is the Annunciation)



Anniversaries Today:

Ricki Lake weds Rob Sussman, 1994
Founding of the University of Utrecht, 1636


Birthdays Today:

Keira Knightley, 1985
Amy Smart, 1976
T.R. Knight, 1973
Josh Lucas, 1972
Leslie Mann, 1972
Kenny Chesney, 1968
John Stockton, 1962
Marcus Allen, 1960
Jennifer Grey, 1960
Catherine Keener, 1960
Leeza Gibbons, 1957
Curtis Sliwa, 1954
Teddy Pendergrass, 1950
Martin Short, 1950
Vicki Lawrence, 1949
Steven Tyler, 1948
Diana Ross, 1944
Bob Woodward, 1943
Erica Jong, 1942
James Caan, 1939
Alan Arkin, 1934
Leonard Nimoy, 1931
Sandra Day O'Connor, 1930
Pierre Boulez, 1925
Tennessee Williams, 1911
Viktor Frankl, 1905
Robert Frost, 1874
Jane Arminda Delano, 1862
Nathaniel Bowditch, 1773


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Fences"(Play), 1988
"The Young and the Restless"(TV), 1973
"Cannon"(TV), 1971
"Funny Girl"(Musical), 1964
"Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi/The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi"(Play), 1952


Today in History:

William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop's Fables, 1484
The first British Sunday newspaper is published (British Gazette & Sunday Monitor), 1780
The US Congress orders removal of Indians east of Mississippi to Louisiana, 1804
An earthquake destroys 90% of Caracas, Venezuela, leaves 20,000 dead, 1812
The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, NY, 1830
Eastman Film Co manufactures the first commercial motion picture film, 1885
New Delhi replaces Calcutta as capital of British-Indies, 1931
William H. Hastie becomes the first black Federal Judge in the US, in the US Virgin Islands, 1937
Jonas Salk announces the first successful test of his polio vaccine on a small group of adults and children, 1953
East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form People's Republic of Bangladesh, 1971
Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C., 1979
The "Melissa worm" infects Microsoft word processing and e-mail systems around the world, 1999
A jury in Michigan finds Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man, 1999
The Taiwanese government calls on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei, in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China, 2005

Crazy Thankful

It's been a crazy week, and crazy gives me lots of opportunities to be thankful.

The insurance company finally got us a rental car for a few days.  It has been a blessing simply having an extra vehicle, and it will be a big help today.

Today i was supposed to go help Mr. B start organizing his workshop.  We've been planning for a while that i would start helping him a couple of Saturday mornings a month, and the last several weeks something has always interfered.  This was going to be the day, but then he and his wife ended up having to be out of town.

It's a blessing in disguise, as instead of helping him for the whole morning, i'm only going over there for a little while to feed cats and scoop boxes, and i have the rest of the day free.

Yesterday Grandma called in tears, as she finally lost her precious dog, Sadie.  Because i only have to work for an hour instead of half a day, and because we have the rental car, i can get to NOLA to visit her, she needs it.

Grandma and Grandpa also didn't sit around and wait, they have already adopted another dog, and i'm thankful i will get to meet Lulu today as well.

Hello, Lulu!

Some extra work was squeezed in this week so we were able to afford flea treatment for the cats, and just in time, too.

Yesterday had a really nutty event.  Every Friday morning, i go into the church at 6:02am, after i am sure the alarm has shut off (it shuts off at 6am, i wait two minutes to be certain), to make coffee for the 6:30am Bible study group.  It has worked great until yesterday, when for some reason the alarm had not shut off.

The alarm sounded for over 30 minutes.  No calls from the alarm company, either to the church or to one of the pastors or maintenance people to let them know the alarm had been tripped.  No police showed up.  Nothing until someone from Bible study who had the right phone numbers called the head of maintenance and got the code to shut off the alarm.  As annoying as the whole event is, i'm thankful because now we know our alarm is useless and somebody in charge up there can take steps to change that.

Ms. G, always a source of both work and amusement, blessed us with towels this week.  As with flatware and bowls and cups, towels pull a disappearing act around here and i never have quite enough of them.  The towel shelf is full again!

Another crazy happening for which i'm very thankful, the Jalopy has quit making the noise that had us thinking we were looking at a big expense soon.  It may still happen, but for now, no noise is good noise.

Two of my cleaning clients are moving, and i'm thankful they've both decided i am moving with them.  In one case it means helping with packing and all the insanity that is moving, but it's worth it.

It's spring, and the weather is still cool enough that we're surviving without the A/C.  That's not just crazy, it's a miracle for which i'm very thankful!

The best crazy of all is that, for the most part, all is well in this old house.

That's a lot of thankful in some odd and crazy circumstances.  List your thankfuls and link up with the Ten Things of Thankful today, you won't regret it.


Today is:

Anniversary of the Arengo and the Feast of the Militants -- San Marino

Annunciation of the Virgin Mary -- Roman Catholic Christian
     Lady Day/Quarter Day -- England; Ireland; Wales (traditional New Year's Day)
     Varfrudagen -- Sweden (waffle day)

Daylight Saving Time begins -- Palestinian Territories

Day of the Shining Ones of Heaven move Upstream -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Earth Hour -- 8:30pm-9:30pm, your local time; turn off your lights to take a stand against climate change

Festival of King Amenhotep I -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (rituals depicting his death and burial, performed for the Deir-el-Medina workforce; date approximate)

Hilaria -- Ancient Roman Empire ("Day of Joy", honoring Attis)

Independence Day -- Cyprus; Greece(1821)

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade -- UN

International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members -- UN

International Waffle Day -- based on Sweden's tradition of having waffles on Annunciation Day

Maha Shivaratri -- Hindu (festival of Shiva; local observances and government official days off will vary)

Medal of Honor Day -- US (first one awarded this date in 1963)

Mother's Day -- Slovenia

National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy -- Greece; US

National Lobster Newburg Day

National Pecan Day -- anniversary of George Washington's planting of Pecan trees at Mt. Vernon in 1775

National Waffle Day -- possibly also International Waffle Day, depends on the site you search

Numbskulls and Clodhoppers' Dance -- Fairy Calendar (i know a couple of people who qualify on both counts; i need to find out how to buy tickets!)

Old New Year's Day -- until 1751, British Empire

Revolution Day -- Greece (anniversary of the revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1821)

Sacrifice to Kronos -- Ancient Greek Calendar (private sacrifices to Kronos; date approximate)

St. Dismas' Day ("Dismas" is the name given to the unnamed "Thief on the Cross", crucified next to Jesus according to Biblical accounts, and who repented; Patron of condemned/death row prisoners, funeral directors/undertakers, penitent criminals, prisoners, reformed thieves; Merizo, Guam)

Struggle for Human Rights Day -- Slovakia

The Tichborne Dole - in Alresford, Hampshire, UK; since 1150, a gallon of flour is given to every resident by the Tichborne family head on this day, to avoid a curse

Tolkien Reading Day -- sponsored by The Tolkien Society on the anniversary of the fall of Sauron


Birthdays Today:

Danica Patrick, 1982
Lee Pace, 1979
Sheryl Swoopes, 1971
Sarah Jessica Parker, 1965
Marcia Cross, 1962
John Stockwell, 1961
Mary Gross, 1953
Paul Miles, 1952
Bonnie Bedelia, 1948
Elton John, 1947
Bonnie Bedelia, 1946
Paul Michael Glaser, 1943
Aretha Franklin, 1942
Anita Bryant, 1940
Gloria Steinem, 1934
James Lovell, 1928
Eileen Ford, 1922
Simone Signoret, 1921
Howard Cosell, 1920
Norman Borlaug, 1940
David Lean, 1908
Bela Bartok, 1881
Arturo Toscanini, 1867
Gutzon Borglum, 1867


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Barrymore"(Play), 1997
"Cagney & Lacey"(TV), 1982


Today in History:

The first Easter, according to calendar-maker Dionysius Exiguus, 31
According to legend, Venice, Italy is born today at noon, 421
Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France, leading to his death on April 6, 1199
Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scotland, 1306
Sir Walter Raleigh renews Humphrey Gilbert's patent to explore North America, 1584
Henry Hudson embarks on an exploration for Dutch East India Co., 1609
Lord Baltimore founds Catholic colony of Maryland, 1634
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christian Huygens, 1655
Mount Etna in Sicily erupts, destroying Nicolosi, killing 20,000, 1669
The Slave Trade Act becomes law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire, 1807
The Swansea and Mumbles Railway in England, then known as the Oystermouth Railway, becomes the first passenger carrying railway in the world, 1807
Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for publishing the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism, 1811
Greeks revolt against the Ottoman Empire, beginning the Greek War of Independence, 1821
In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 garment workers, leading to factory reform laws, 1911
The Georgian Orthodox Church restores its autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811, 1917
The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 1948
The European Economic Community is established (West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), 1957
Canada's Avro Arrow makes its first flight, 1958
Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully complete their 4-day 50-mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, 1965
The first fully functional space shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch, 1979
The world's first wiki, a part of the Portland Pattern Repository, is made public by Ward Cunningham, 1995
The European Union's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease, 1996
Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged Belarusian presidential election, clash with riot police, 2006
In southwest China, environmental and health concerns among residents are raised when 1,000 dead ducks pulled from the Sichuan River, 2013