Sleepy Feline Friday and Friendly Fill-Ins

Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the code.

It's hard work being a kitten, thus many naps are needed.  Sometimes it's necessary to borrow a bit of appropriate clothing by pulling it down to the floor in order to take one of those naps.

Lily, sleeping on one of Sweetie's pairs of pants.

***********************************

Friendly Fill-Ins are four fun and easy statements to complete. Ellen of 15andmeowing provides the first two statements and the final two are offered by McGuffy Ann Morris of McGuffy's Reader.  They try to make sure they will be fun to both answer and share. On Friday, the linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM. Please head to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts! 

Here are this week's statements with my responses underlined:

1. Meetings __________________.

2. Rules __________________.

3. The best time to                        is                         .

4. I have learned                                .

1.  Meetings that are badly run are the bane of the existence of those who have to attend them.  Our church business meetings are always scheduled for a fifteen minute slot between the 9am service and Sunday school, so there will be no shenanigans and we move through everything promptly.

2.  Rules are different from laws which are different from things that are just a good idea for you to do or not do.

It's a rule that you don't yell in the library (unless the place is on fire or somebody just dropped to the floor with a heart attack).

It's a law that says don't take a left turn if someone in the oncoming lane is so close to you they have to ditch the car to keep from hitting you (like what happened to me yesterday, thank heaven the Jalopy has good brakes and can survive almost anything).

Gravity is a law, try defying it without appropriate gear (such as an airplane) and it will be enforced.

It is a good idea to eat good food to keep healthy and not put your hand on a hot stove, but you can choose to ignore these good ideas if you are willing to put up with the consequences.

3.  The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is today.

4.  I have learned that being negative is too costly emotionally, it saps my energy and strength.

Today is:

AgriFair -- Abbotsford, BC, Canada ("the best little country fair" and a rodeo; through Sunday)

Blueberry Arts Festival -- Ketchikan, AK, US (with a pet and doll parade, slug race, the Gigglefeet Dance Festival, and more; through Sunday)

Boom Days -- Leadville, CO, US (celebrate the mining heritage of the Rockies with a parade and even a celebrity pack burro race; through Sunday)

Braham Pie Day -- Braham, MN, US (a home-made pie festival)

Canada's National Ukrainian Festival -- Dauphin, MB, Canada (experience the richness of Ukrainian culture; through Sunday)

Champagne Day -- internet generated holiday, probably created by someone who wanted an excuse to celebrate

Coast Guard Day -- US (anniversary of founding in 1790)

Constitution Day -- Cook Islands

Czech Festival -- Wilber, NE, US (to promote the preservation of Czech culture, sponsored by the Nebraska Czechs of Wilber; through Sunday)

Edinburgh Festival Fringe -- Edinburgh, Scotland (the largest art gathering in the world that began on the "fringe" of the Edinburgh International Festival by groups that were not allowed to perform there; through the 28th)

Edinburgh International Festival -- Edinburgh, Scotland (one of the world's most exciting venues for opera, dance, theater, classical music and the visual arts; through the 28th)

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru (The National Eisteddfod of Wales) -- Anglessey, Wales (preserving the Welsh language and heritage, with music, drama, literature, arts and crafts; through the 12th) 

Fairy Drying-Out Day -- Fairy Calendar (makes sense, as we washed them yesterday. Now it begs the question, how does one dry a fairy?)

Festival of the Dead; Sunset Ceremony -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca -- Vitoria-Gasteiz, Alava, Basque Country, Spain; through the 9th

Fiestas Patronales -- El Salvador (through the 6th)

Gigglefeet Dance Festival -- Ketchikan, AK, US (today and Sunday, celebrating dance in the community and part of the Blueberry Arts Festival)

International Beer Day -- Uniting The World Through Beer  

Matica Slovenska Day -- Slovakia (main Slovak cultural institution, established 1863)

Musikfest -- Bethlehem, PA, US (10 days, 15 stages, over 500 musical performances, so there is something here for everyone!)

National Lasagna Day

Nicole Robin Day -- St. John, USVI (unofficial celebration her safe return, with the crew, to the Virgin Islands after being held by Cubans.)

Onekama Days -- Onekama, MI, US (family fun, through Monday)

Palio Del Golfo -- La Spezia, Italy (a special, traditional rowing contest over a 2,000m course, plus a festival; through Monday)

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo -- Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland (display of military color an pageantry; through the 26th)

Satchmo Summerfest -- New Orleans, LA, US (because one jazz festival in this city is never enough; through Sunday)

Single Working Women's Day

Sinjska Alka -- Sinj, Croatia (knight tournament that is a celebration of the victory over the Turks in 1715, in which the whole district takes pride in keeping the tradition by making and restoring all the equipment used, with accompanying festivals and fun at home, in church, and in public; through Sunday)

Sioux Empire Fair -- Sioux Falls, SD, US (entertainment, concerts, livestock exhibits, farm exhibits, and tons of fun; through the 13th)

Somers Day -- Bermuda (Second Day of Cup Match)

St. John Baptist Mary Vianney's Day (Cure of Ars; Patron of confessors, parish priests; Dubuque, Iowa; Kamloops, BC; Kansas City, KS; Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN)

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally -- Sturgis, SD, US (the grand-daddy of all motorcycle rallies and races; through the 13th)

Tall Timber Days -- Grand Rapids, MN, US (lumberjack shows, chainsaw carvers, and lots of fun; through Sunday)

Te Tonka Ha Rendezvous and Benton Fremont Days -- Lake Benton, MN, US (come to the Hole in the Mountain County Park where they reenact the fur-trading atmosphere of the 1840s, complete with muzzle-loader contest, tomahawk and knife throwing, log sawing, and more; through Sunday)

Twins Day Festival -- Twinsburg, OH, US (no, you aren't seeing double, it's a celebration of multiples; through Sunday)

Vigil of St. Oswald -- Anglo-Saxon holy day, commemorates the day before King Oswald's death in 642

White Oak Rendezvous -- Deer River, MN, US (reliving the history of a North West Company Fur Post from 1798 and an accompanying Ojibwe Native Village from the same time period; through Sunday)

Zuni Corn Dance -- the Zuni Native Americans give thanks to Mother Earth, the Kokos (Nature Spirits), and the Corn Maidens for the maize harvest; through the 7th

Birthdays Today:

Cole and Dylan Sprouse, 1992

Daniel Dae Kim, 1968

Roger Clemens, 1962

Barack H. Obama, 1961

Billy Bob Thornton, 1955

Kristoffer Tabori, 1952

Richard Belzer, 1944

Maurice "Rocket" Richard, 1921

Helen Thomas, 1920

William Howard Schuman, 1910

Glenn Verniss Cunningham, 1909

Louis Armstrong, 1901*

Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, 1900

Louis Vuitton, 1821

Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Saturday Evening Post(Magazine, first issue), 1821

Today in History

The destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, 70

A supernova is observed in constellation Cassiopeia, 1181

The first printing of Zohar (Jewish Kabbalah), 1558

A hurricane in the Carribean kills thousands in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Christopher, 1666

Dom Perignon invents champagne (traditional date), 1693

First edition of the Saturday Evening Post, which was published until 1969, 1821

The family of Lizzie Borden is found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home, 1892

The Greenwich foot tunnel under the River Thames opens, 1902

The Supreme Court of Japan is established, 1947

The Billboard Hot 100 is founded, 1958

American civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21, 1964

The African republic Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso, 1984

Operation Storm begins in Croatia, 1995

Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that Michaëlle Jean will be Canada's 27th Governor General, 2005

California's Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state's voters in 2008, is overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger, 2010

Britain has their greatest success in one day at an Olympics since 1908, winning six gold medals and a silver on Day Eight of the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius becomes the first amputee to compete at the Olympic Games in the 400 meters, 2012

Actor Peter Capaldi, of Scotland, lands the role of the Doctor in the twelfth incarnation of the 'Doctor Who' British science fiction show, 2013

*In several interviews, Satchmo claimed to have been born on July 4, 1900. Historians always disputed that claim, saying it was too neat and tidy, and his baptismal records, found in a church basement, proved otherwise. Some biographies still give the July 4, 1900 date in error.