Merry Not Scary (Ten Things of Thankful)

It's not cold here, yet.  (Who am i kidding?  It's hardly cold here ever.  Anyway.)

The lack of much change in seasonal weather does not stop holidays and i am thankful for that, as well as for the fact that Little Girl does love decorating for Halloween.

These are Halloween things for which i am thankful:

Spiders just hanging around.

Funny pumpkins (the carved ones will come soon).

Candy for the Great Neighborhood Candy Exchange.

Our friend Batty.

Fun serving dishes.

Treat bags ready to be filled.

Toys to go in the treat bags.

Themed paper plates.

Our very friendly ghost.

Crazy rubber duckie.

Mini pumpkin lights.

Our friend the cat again.

  

The big candy bowl, ready to be filled.

Yet another spook.

Little Girl does everything she can to make this holiday fun, and i'm very grateful.  Are there particular things for which you are thankful this season?  List them and join up with Ten Things of Thankful, because counting your blessings is always worth it. 


Today is:

Agricultural Reform Day -- Sao Tome and Principe

Aloha Festivals Floral Parade -- Oahu, Hawai'i (part of the larger Aloha Festival celebrations this month and next on all the islands, celebrating native Hawai'ian culture)

Apple Festival -- Old Prairie Town, Topeka, KS, US (celebrating apples and Topeka's turn of the last century heritage; through tomorrow)

Blessing of the Fishing Fleet -- Church of Saints Peter and Paul and Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA, US (a festival today and tomorrow, with a blessing offered on the first Sunday of October each year)

Celtic Tree Month Gort begins (Ivy)

Dashain Festival -- Hindu (also called Dussehra, Dashera, Dasara, Phulpati/Fulpaati, or Navratri, a celebration of victory of Lord Rama over evil and a Festival of Dirva, wife of Shiva, and a time to go back home and reconnect with family, especially in Nepal and parts of India; official government holidays for this multi-day festival vary throughout India, Nepal, Bhutan, and other countries with large populations of Hindus)

Day of Liberation of the Republic of Abkhazia -- Abkhazia (disputed territory on the Black Sea)

Do Something Wacky With A Grandparent Day -- just not the monkey bars, please; old bones don't knit fast enough; whatever you do, take some pictures!

Durga Puja -- Hindu (celebration of the goddess Durga, final and biggest day of celebration)

Eldon Turkey Festival -- Eldon, MO, US (the top producer of turkeys has the top turkey festival in the world)

Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (the Greater Mystery Rites, date approximate; mystery rites of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis, one of the most sacred times of their year)

Everybody's Day Festival -- Thomasville, NC, US (and they do mean there's fun for everybody)

Fall Astronomy Day -- Bringing Astronomy to the People (local astronomical societies, planetariums, museums and observatories sponsor public viewings, presentation, workshops, etc., to increase public awareness of astronomy and our amazing universe) 

Saturday at or before the first quarter moon between mid-September and mid-October 

    sponsored by The Astronomical League; find out what your local astronomy society is doing today, and go enjoy

Family Health and Fitness Day USA  

Feast of the Hunters' Moon -- Fort Ouiatenon Historic Park, West Lafayette, IN, US (a re-creation of French and Native American life of the mid-1700s at a fur trading outpost; through tomorrow)

Independence Day -- Botswana

International Translation Day -- International Federation of Translators 

Kokkeisetsu -- Chinatown, Yokohama, Japan (Chinese National Founding Day in the largest Chinatown in Japan; through tomorrow)

Medetrinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival fruits offer to the goddess of medicine)

Monkey Bars Day -- a day to go see if you can still do tricks on the monkey bars, because the internet wants to kill us and let the machines that would never do anything so silly take over

National Hot Mulled Cider Day

National Mud Pack Day -- give yourself a facial

National Public Lands Day -- US (Helping Hands for America's Lands -- a day to volunteer on America's Public Lands) 

Pumpkin and Apple Celebration -- Woodstock, VT, US (lots of hands on fun with apples and pumpkins; through tomorrow)

Qatar Prix L'arc de Triomphe -- Longchamp Race-course, Paris, France (one of the world's greatest horse races, first run in 1920; celebrations and events through tomorrow)

St. Gregory the Enlightener (or Illuminator; Patron of Armenia)

St. Jerome's Day (Patron of archaeologists, archivists, Biblical scholars, librarians, libraries, school children, students, translators; Saint-Jerome, Quebec) 

    also an Apache celebration of Geronimo, the Native American who was named after this saint

Thimphu Tsechu / Thimphu Drubchen -- Thimphu, Bhutan (three day Drukpa Buddhism tshechu festival, sacred masked dances dedicated to Bhutan's protective spirit which tourists may watch but are strictly prohibited from taking pictures; the last days of the Drubchen through Oct. 2)

Tri-State Band Festival -- Luverne, MI, US (high school bands from Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa compete in four categories)

Yom Kippur -- Judaism (began sundown yesterday, ends sundown today)

Anniversary Today:

Haleakala National Park is established in Maui, Hawaii, 1960

Birthdays Today:

Dominique Moceanu, 1981

Marion Cotillard, 1975

Jenna Elfman, 1971

Crystal Bernard, 1964

Eric Stoltz, 1961

Fran Drescher, 1957

Deborah Allen, 1953

Victoria Tennant, 1953

Marilyn McCoo, 1943

Z.Z. Hill, 1935

Johnny Mathis, 1935

Angie Dickinson, 1931

Elie Wiesel, 1928

W. S. Merwin, 1927

Truman Capote, 1924

Deborah Kerr, 1921

Buddy Rich, 1917

William Wrigley, Jr., 1861

Rumi, 1207

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush(Publication date), 1990

"Murder, She Wrote"(TV), 1984

"Cheers"(TV), 1982

"Love Child"(Single release), 1968

"The Flintstones"(TV), 1960

"Tea and Sympathy"(Play), 1953

"The Red Skelton show"(TV), 1951

"Porgy and Bess"(Opera), 1935

Little Women(Publication date), 1868

"Les pecheurs de perles/The Pearl Fishers"(Bizet opera), 1863

"Die Zauberflote/The Magic Flute"(Mozart opera, K. 620), 1791

The Gutenberg Bible(first section, publication date), 1452

Today in History:

Rambam (Maimonides) authorizes Samuel Ibn Tibbon to translate the Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew, 1199

Anesthetic ether is used for the first time by Dr. William Morton, who extracted a tooth, 1846

German scientist Hermann von Meyer announces the discovery of the first fossil of an archaeopteryx, 1861

The first Portuguese immigrants arrive in Hawai'i, 1878

The world's first commercial hydroelectric power plant begins operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, 1882

Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner, 1901

The first manned rocket plane flight, made by auto maker Fritz von Opel, 1929

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations, 1947

The World Series, featuring the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, is televised for the first time, 1947

The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel, 1954

James Dean is killed in a road accident, 1955

Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez founds the United Farm Workers, 1962

James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying segregation, 1962

General Suharto rises to power in Indonesia after an alleged coup by communists, and massacres over a million Indonesian people suspected of belonging to the Communist Party, 1965

BBC Radio 1 is launched and Tony Blackburn presents its first show, 1967

Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation, 1980 

The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada's capital city of Ottawa, 1990

The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo, 2004

The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, 2005

Amazon files for a patent for an unmanned aerial vehicle configured to autonomously deliver items to customers for their Prime Air service, 2014

Willing to Share (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-In Fun

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 rules and the code.

Mikey says, "Hey, buddy, these nibblets are really good!  You ought to try some!"

Yes, the Halloween decorations are coming out already.

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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 73: September 29, 2017

1. I am far too _________________.

2. To save money, I _______________.

3.                          matter(s).

4.                      makes me think                          .

1. I am far too content with wearing jeans and t-shirts for work to care that 20-somethings and younger believe i'm too old to wear jeans and t-shirts.

2. To save money, i work to make things last (e.g. wash clothes only in cold water and line dry so they last longer), make do with what i have instead of buying the next great thing (e.g. i kept my old cell phone even after it could no longer update and only got a new one when someone else very kindly paid for it), and try to buy necessities only most of the time.

3. How you behave in private or when you think no one is looking matters.

4. Seeing Little Girl already pulling out the Halloween decorations makes me think of days when i used to dress them up to trick or treat.  It also makes me think that cooler weather will be here soon, and we are all so glad!

Today is:

Ask A Stupid Question Day -- teachers wanted to get students asking more questions, so they did, even if the questions were stupid; now, it's a holiday on the last school day of September each year! 

Battle of Boqueron Day -- Paraguay

Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival -- Custer, SD, US (buffalo round up, Western and Native American entertainment, arts and crafts; through Sunday)

Cabrillo Festival -- San Diego, CA, US (reenactment of Cabrillo's landing, a Spanish soldier and sailor encampment, Native Kumeyaay demonstrations, dances, crafts, and food; through tomorrow)

Constitution Day -- Brunei

Festival of Tezcatzonctl -- Ancient Aztec Calendar (chief god of intoxication; date approximate)

Gwynn ap Nudd's Fest -- Celtic Calendar (god of the underworld; date approximate)

Hug a Vegan Day / Hug a Vegetarian Day -- i'm open!  please note that several dates are given on many websites for this "event," and i've chosen the final Friday of September which seems to be the original as sponsored by PETA

International Coffee Day -- and i thought this was every day!  

Inventors Day -- Argentina

Love Note Day -- some good ideas here on keeping romance alive 

Make a List of the Top Ten Happiest Days in Your Life Day -- must have been started by an optimist

Manit Day -- Marshall Islands (Culture Day)

Mansfield Heritage Weekend / Fabulous 1890's Weekend -- Mansfield, PA, US (celebration of the first ever night football game in Mansfield in 1892; through tomorrow)

Mutation Day -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

National Attend Your Grandchild's Birth Day -- a day to remind grandparents to be active in their grandchildren's lives (and if you need a reminder, i wonder about you; if you aren't allowed by bitter parents, i feel badly for you)

National Mocha Day

National Youth Day -- Turks and Caicos Islands

Native American Day 2017 -- US (begun in California, a day to honor all Native Americans, always celebrated the fourth Friday in September)

Neptune Festival -- Virginia Beach, Virginia (a Boardwalk Weekend; through Sunday) related event

    International Sand Sculpting Championship -- Virginia Beach, Virginia, US (through Oct. 8)

Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show and Grand National Wedding Cake Competition -- Tulsa, OK, US (Cakes set up today, viewing and judging the next two days with this year's theme as "Perfume 2017", it's fun for everyone, as the best of the best cake designers vie for the Grand National title; for asounding pictures of last year's competition, go here)

Quick Draw Day -- debut of Quick Draw McGraw and his side kick, Baba Looey, in 1959

Save the Koala Day -- anyone can help by "adopting" one today 

Sport Purple For Platelets Day(sm) -- Platelet Disorder Support Association 

Southern Oregon Music Festival -- Medford, OR, US (over 100 performances, jazz and rock and everything in between, many by nationally known bands, plus food and celebration; through Sunday)

Sts. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and All Angels' Day  (Michaelmas)

    Archangel Gabriel, Patron of broadcasters, clergy, communication workers, diplomats, messengers, philatelists/stamp collectors, post offices and postal workers, radio and radio workers, secular clergy, telecommunication workers, telgraphers, telephones, television and television workers; Argentinian ambassadors; Seattle, Washington

    Archangel Michael, Patron of artists, bakers, bankers and banking, barrel makers/coopers, battle, boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, dying people, emergency medical technicians/paramedics/ambulance drivers, fencers and fencing, grocers and greengrocers, haberdashers and hatmakers, knights, milleners, paratroopers, police officers, radiologists and radiotherapists, security guards, sick people, soldiers, swordsmiths; for a holy death and safety at sea; England, Germany, and over 25 cities around the world; against danger at sea and temptation

    Archangel Raphael, Patron of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, blind people, doctors/physicians, guardian angels, happy meetings, love and lovers, mentally ill people, nurses, shepherdesses/shepherds, sick people, travellers, young people; Dubuque, Iowa; MacKenzie-Fort Smith, Northwest Territories; Seattle, Washington; against bodily ills, eye diseases/eye problems, insanity/mental illness, nightmares, sickness

    related observances:

    National Day of Remembrance for Policemen Killed -- Australia (St. Michael, Patron of police officers)

    Payment of Quit Rent by London Royal Courts of Justice -- Michaelmas is a traditional English "Quarter Day", when rents come due

VFW Day -- US (The Veterans of Foreign Wars was established on this day in 1899)

World Heart Day -- International (to raise awareness of the signs and dangers of cardiovascular disease) 

World's Biggest Coffee Morning -- UK (Macmillan Cancer Support fundraiser, host or attend a Coffee Morning gathering or go to M&S Cafe, the official partner in the event!)

Yom Kippur -- Judaism (begins at sundown)

Birthdays Today:

Emily Lloyd, 1970

John Paxton, 1960

Bryant Gumbel, 1948

Patricia Hodge, 1946

Lech Walesa, 1943

Dave Wilcox, 1942

Ian McShane, 1942

Madeline Kahn, 1942

Jerry Lee Lewis, 1935

Anita Ekberg, 1931

Lizabeth Scott, 1922

Trevor Howard, 1916

Stanley Kramer, 1913

Michelangelo Antonioni, 1912

Greer Garson, 1908

Gene Autry, 1907

Enrico Fermi, 1901

Horatio Nelson, 1758

Miguel de Cervantes, 1547

Pompey the Great, BC106

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Grace Under Fire"(TV), 1993

"Thirtysomething"(TV), 1987

"Designing Women"(TV), 1986

"MacGyver"(TV), 1985

"Houdini, A Circus Opera"(Opera), 1977

"The Judy Garland Show"(TV), 1963

"My Favorite Martian"(TV), 1963

"The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show"(TV), 1962

"My Three Sons"(TV), 1960

"Outlaws"(TV), 1960

"The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis"(TV), 1959

"Sergeant Preston of the Yukon"(TV), 1955

"A View from the Bridge"(Play), 1955

The Barefoot Contessa(Film), 1954

A Star is Born(Film), 1954

"Make Room for Daddy"(TV), 1953

Today in History:

Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumata, securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire, BC522

Battle of Salamis, at which the Greek fleet under Themistocles defeats the Persian fleet under Xerxes I, BC480

Pompey the Great Celebrates ending the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday, BC61

Saladin's army marches into Jerusalem, 1187

The First Congress of the US adjourns, 1789

"Scotland Yard", London's Metropolitan Police Force, goes on duty, 1829

The first practical public electric tramway ever opens in Blackpool, England, 1885

John D. Rockefeller becomes the first billionaire, 1916

The convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed, 1954

Alouette 1, the first Canadian satellite, is launched, 1962

WGPR in Detroit, Michigan, becomes the world's first black-owned-and-operated television station, 1975

Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to set foot on Irish soil with his pastoral visit to the Republic of Ireland, 1979

The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth, 2004

The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history, 2008

An 8.0 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands causes a tsunami, 2009

The Koreas agree, for the first time in two years, to hold working-level military talks, 2010

Researchers discover their first ever biofluorescent reptile in the wild, a hawksbill sea turtle, in the waters off the Solomon Islands, 2015

What's Up? (Six Sentence Story) and An Odd Look (Good Fences)

"Hey, Dad, what's up?" Alec asked as he and Buddy clambered through the door.

"My blood pressure," was Jonathan's rather glum response as he pointed to the papers in front of him.

"Oh, c'mon, Denarius didn't mean for this to get us down, he meant for it to be solved somehow," Buddy replied, "and I'll bet it will be worth it when we do."

"I know, and since Stacy reminded me of Elgar's Enigma Code and other musical codes spies have used, I found this chart."

A  B  C  D  E  F  G

H  I   J   K  L  M  N

O  P  Q  R  S  T  U

V  W  X  Y  Z

"Every note can stand for up to four letters, and I've been going over the repeated theme he wrote into this music trying to figure out if it's a simple code like this."

"And...?" Buddy prompted, and Jonathan replied, "It seems to be saying, 'Find my granddaughter.'"

Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Up.

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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.

This looks like one neighbor started a wooden fence, then quit bothering when the other neighbor put up a chain link.  It makes for an odd look. 

Today is:

Buffalo Racing Festival -- Chonburi, Thailand (lots of water buffalo contests, including fancy dress!; through Oct. 4, which is the day of the big race)

Czech Statehood Day -- Czech Republic

Drink Beer Day

Feast of Hapi and Creation of the Nile -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fish Tank Floor Show Night -- the Wellcat Holidays people say that your fish keep you entertained all year long, so turn about is fair play, entertain your fish tonight!

Frances Willard Day -- Minnesota

Haustmanuour -- Icelandic Calendar (beginning of traditional Autumn Month, during which all the summer chores are finished, including livestock rounded up, before winter begins)

International Right to Know Day -- FOI Advocates Network, promoting the right of access to information for all people and the benefits of open, transparent, and accountable governments www.freedominfo.org/regions/global/rtk-day/

Menkhet Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Michaelmas Eve -- Celtic celebration, bake your bannock bread tonight for eating on St. Michael and All Angel's Day tomorrow; tonight, build a bonfire and dine on roast lamb, and make sure the menfolk protect the horses, for anyone is allowed to "borrow" one for the celebration tomorrow

National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography -- Philippines

National Good Neighbor Day -- US (begun when Mrs. Becky Mattson from Lakeside, Montana, began campaigning for this National Day in the 1970's; go greet the neighbors, and be a good neighbor yourself!)

National Strawberry Cream Pie Day

New York Film Festival -- NY, NY, US (54th Annual, through Oct. 15)

Preston County Buckwheat Festival -- Kingwood, WV, US (something for everyone at this fun annual event; through Sunday)

Read a Child a Book You Like Day -- someone started this to get us to remember the books we loved as kids, and share them with children now

Runic Half Month Gyfu begins (gift)

St. Wenceslaus' Day (Patron of brewers; Bohemia; Czech Republic; Moravia; Prague, Czech Republic)

Tales of Kelp-Koli's Second Visit -- Fairy Calendar (through the 30th)

Teacher's Day -- Taiwan (on the traditional Western date of Confucius' birthday, of course)

World Maritime Day -- UN and IMO (this year's theme is “Connecting Ships, Ports and People", chosen to focus on the many diverse actors involved in the shipping and logistics areas) http://www.imo.org/en/About/Events/WorldMaritimeDay/Pages/WMD-2017.aspx

    The World Maritime Day Parallel Event will be held in Panama on 1-3 October, 2017

World Rabies Day 

Birthdays Today:

Frankie Jonas, 2000

Hilary Duff, 1987

Gwyneth Paltrow, 1973

Naomi Watts, 1968

Mira Sorvino, 1967

Janeane Garofalo, 1964

Suzanne Whang, 1962

Steve Largent, 1954

Jeffrey Jones, 1947

Ben E. King, 1938

Koko Taylor, 1935

Brigitte Bardot, 1934

Arnold Stang, 1925

Marcello Mastroianni, 1924

William Windom, 1923

Al Capp, 1909

Max Schmeling, 1905

Ed Sullivan, 1901

Kate Douglas Wiggin, 1856

Frances Willard, 1839

Confucius, BC551

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Ed Wood(Film), 1994

"Cosmos: A Personal Voyage"(Documentary series), 1980

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"(Single release, Gladys Knight), 1967

"Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales"(TV), 1963

"Dr. Kildare"(TV), 1961

"Hazel"(TV), 1961

"Purlie Victorious"(Play), 1961

Radio Times(Magazine, first issue), 1923

Today in History:

Pompey the Great, member of the Triumvirate, is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy of Egypt upon landing in that country, BC48

King/Saint Wenceslas murdered by his brother, 935

William the Conqueror invades England, 1066

Sinking of the Spanish fleet during a hurricane off the coast of Florida, 1528

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo becomes the first European to reach San Diego Bay, 1542

Publication of "Pilgrim's Progress", 1678

Divorce is legalized in Maryland, 1701

American and French forces begin the siege of Yorktown, 1781

Napoleon Bonaparte, age 16, graduates from the Military Academy of Paris -- 42nd in a class of 51, 1785

Donati's comet becomes the first to be photographed, 1858

Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, 1867

Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mould growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin, 1928

Indonesia joins the United Nations, 1950

Mali and Senegal join the United Nations, 1960

SpaceX launches the first ever private spacecraft, the Falcon 1 into orbit, 2008

Research teams from Exeter and Cambridge Universities announce the discovery of DNA controllers for the age at which women go into menopause, 2015

NASA scientists announce the discovery of flowing water on Mars, 2015