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It is once again time for random musings and linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.
We had frost last week, and i think that was the last of it. This week is muggy and spring has popped back out, even the pet geranium is happy.
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| The pet geranium that has somehow managed to survive in spite of having me as an owner. |
The sago palm, however, is looking rather drab.
It is recommended to cut back all of the brown branches, and a friend lent me a clipper so i could do that. The following weird picture was taken at night, and shows how i’ve been working away at it.
Someone i do not know in our neighborhood, who lives around the corner and up the street a ways, is having something odd going on at the house. There is always an unmarked police car there from dusk to dawn keeping watch. It’s a bit eerie, and also interesting to wonder what’s up. Is that where the new member of the local council lives (he moved into our neighborhood late last year) and this is just a normal security detail? Did they win the lottery and are hiring off duty officers for protection? Is someone threatening to kidnap a family member there? If i ever find out, i will post it, and meanwhile, i simply pray for their protection whatever the situation.
This coming Sunday is the Palm Sunday processional at church, with the picnic after. The powers that be at church have finally heard our cries and are serving Tex-Mex this time. Don’t get me wrong, we love our jambalaya and gumbo and other Louisiana staples, but sometimes you crave something different, and this time we are getting it.
#1 Son has a friend at work with skills. Driving past there, if the young man is loading a delivery car, you can watch him skateboard while carrying the pizzas. If someone at a nearby workplace has ordered pizza, he just skates it over to them, no need to load it in the car. At night, the wheels on the skateboard light up, too. If someone delivered a pizza to me by skateboard, i would probably give him an extra tip!
It’s getting very close to the time for A to Z. Because i meander, i don’t do any theme, but i participate because it’s just fun.
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Today is:
American Diabetes Association Alert Day -- a day to remind people about how serious the illness is, and what the risk factors are
Ann Arbor Film Festival -- Ann Arbor, MI, US (independent digital, 16mm and 35mm films, including experimental film; through Sunday)
Big Bird Day -- it's his birthday, and he's still only 6 years old! (wish i could figure out that trick)
Bockbier/Bock Beer Day -- bock is the German word for strong, so a day to honor very strong, very dark, sweet, heavy beer
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Day -- birth anniversary of children's author Bill Martin
Einmanudur Month Begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (Lone Month, the month dedicated to young men)
Yngismannadagur -- Young Men's Day
Equinox -- related celebrations (16:15 UTC)
Akitu Festival begins -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar
Chunfen -- China
Festival of Dumuzi -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar (return of the god of life and death to be with the goddess of life and bring the spring)
Festival of Iduna -- Ancient Norse Calendar (goddess of spring, keeper of the apples of youth for the gods)
Haru-no-Higan -- Japanese Buddhist
Harvest Festival and Coming Forth of the Great Ones from the House of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
Jare -- Old Slavic Calendar
Kukulcan Snake God in Chichen Itza -- Yucatan (the snake shadow appears only at the equinox, and celebrations are held before and after)
Maslenitsa -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar
Ostara/Mabon -- Wicca/Pagan, Ancient Norse Calendar, Old Anglo-Teutonic Calendar
Pacha Pucuy -- Ancient Inca Calendar ("Earth Ripening")
Shunbun no Hi -- Japan
Taoist festival of Shen -- Deities of water, East, and Spring
Extraterrestrial Abductions Day -- another silly made up one, but try telling that to the people who believe in it!
Great American Meat Out Day -- go vegetarian today!
Independence Day -- Tunisia
International Day of the Francophonie / Journée internationale de la Francophonie
International Day of Happiness -- UN
International Earth Day -- the traditional date, still observed in many countries
Kiss Your Fiance Day -- do you really need to be reminded to do this? a wedding planner thinks so, that you should stop today and focus on each other, not the wedding
Lajos Kossuth Day -- Hungary
Martyrdom of Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi -- Pakistan
National Agriculture Day -- US (if you eat, thank a farmer!)
National Cherry Blossom Festival -- Washington, DC, US (through April 14; Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival and parade on April 13)
National Jump Out! Day -- sponsored by Discovery Girls Magazine and Fundex Games; encouraging kids to get out and get active
National Ravioli Day
Nowruz/Nauruz/Novruz Bairam/Norooz (begins at sunset) -- Iranian diaspora, Kurdish diaspora, Zoroastrians; Afghanistan; Azerbaijan; Georgia; Iran (Persian New Year); Iraq; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan
celebrations go on for up to seven days or more
Naw Ruz -- Baha'i (New Year, and an end of the time of fasting; begins sunset)
Proposal Day® -- a day for singles to propose to their true love; on the equinox, equal night and day symbolizing equal commitment
Smile Rejuvenation Day -- another one from the ecard companies, make someone smile today
Snowman Burning Day -- Lake Superior State University, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, US (celebration of the start of spring)
St. Cuthbert of Lindisfane's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors, shepherds; England; Durham, England; Lancaster, England; Northumbria, England; against plague and plague epidemics)
Won't You Be My Neighbor Day -- in honor of Mr. Rogers' birth anniversary
World Frog Day -- an initiative, on the first day of spring, to remind people of our fragile ecosystems and the disappearance of our amphibian friends
World Storytelling Day -- to celebrate the tradition of oral storytelling
Zipper Day -- the 'Separable Fastener' by Gideon Sundback was patented this day in 1917
Birthdays Today:
Louis "Louie" Vito, 1988
Fernando Torres, 1984
Kathy Ireland, 1963
David Thewlis, 1963
Holly Hunter, 1958
Spike Lee, 1957
Theresa Russel, 1957
Jimmie Vaughan, 1951
William Hurt, 1950
Bobby Orr, 1948
Pat Riley, 1945
Paul Junger Witt, 1943
Brian Mulroney, 1939
Lois Lowry, 1937
Hal Linden, 1931
Fred "Mr." Rogers, 1928
Carl Reiner, 1922
Marian McPartland, 1920
Bill Martin, Jr., 1916
Ozzie Nelson, 1906
B.F. Skinner, 1904
Frederick Winslow Taylor, 1856
Henrik Ibsen, 1828
Ovid, BC43
Debuting/Premiering Today:
Uncle Tom's Cabin(Publication date), 1852
Today in History:
Sixth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 141
Maximus Thrax, who never set foot in Rome, becomes the first of the Foreign or Barracks Emperors of the Roman Empire, 235
A Saturn/Jupiter/Mars-conjunction is thought to be the "cause of plague epidemic," 1345
Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment, 1616
France and Spain sign an accord for fighting protestantism, 1627
Nadir Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne, 1739
The Great Fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings, 1760
After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule, 1815
US and Siam sign commercial treaty, 1833
Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published in Boston, 1852
An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina, 1861
The first AC power plant in the US begins commercial operation, in Massachusetts, 1886
In the first known intercollegiate basketball game, Yale beats Penn 32-10, 1897
The first international figure skating championship takes place, in New Haven, Connecticut, 1914
Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity, 1916
The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso's first United States showing, 1923
A test of a practical radar apparatus is made by Rudolf Kuhnold in Germany, 1934
The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established, 1964
Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, 1985
Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering, 1990
Stephen Harper wins the leadership of the newly created Conservative Party of Canada, becoming the party's first leader, 2004
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan, its first major quake in over 100 years, 2005
Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia, destroying most of the country's banana crop, 2006
In Morocco, thousands rally to demand and end to corruption and more civil rights for the Moroccan people, 2011
Lots of work cutting back that palm.And yes, I hope your neighbours (and their protectors) stay safe.
ReplyDeleteI would love some jambalaya and gumbo. Coming from Amherstburg, Ontario, CANADA, we never have food like this. Easter takes place after my wife's birhtday. I always tell her that she almost was born on April Fools but she then tells me that I almost was the fool because I married her. This year we will be married 44 years. I was no fool. See ya Mimi.
ReplyDeleteCruisin Paul
The palm will grow back beautifully. I too will be curious about your neighbour but I hope all will be well!
ReplyDeleteHope all is OK at your neighbors. Sounds weird. Nope you get that bush trimmed back. That does look like a big job. Have a fantastic day.
ReplyDeleteYou do need to cut those palms back each year. They are most beautiful when you do. You'll see.
ReplyDeleteLove the skateboard idea. Exercise and doing his job at the same time.
I hope the people with the protection is going to be okay. I worked in a field that threats were part of the job and they aren't fun at all.
Have a fabulous day. Glad you're getting your Tex-Mex this year. ♥
I bet you could make a great fiction story out of that unmarked cruiser in that yard :) I am glad your geranium survived.
ReplyDeleteOh, I must say that the unmarked car sounds a little sinister. I hope that whoever lives there is okay too. Skateboard pizza! that sounds like worth paying a delivery charge for! :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the April Challenge. I used to do it but found it very time consuming.
ReplyDelete