Lucky Catch (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-Ins

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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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.

It's not often i catch one of the cats with a kibble half in and half out of its mouth:

The tablet doesn't take a great pic, but if you look close, you can see it.

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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 Lorianne The Menagerie Mom of Four-Legged Furballs. 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!      

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

1. I refuse to shop in ____________________.

2. A store I wouldn’t mind being trapped in overnight is _________________________.

3. I’m dreaming of _________.

4. I wouldn’t touch _________ with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.

1. I refuse to shop in stores that specialize in the occult (and we have a couple of them).

2. A store i wouldn't mind being trapped in overnight is almost any bookstore, especially if it had a coffee shop in it.

3. I'm dreaming of having enough to give each of the kids a nice gift for Christmas, and i think it will happen if nothing else breaks.

4. I wouldn't touch an ugh! bug (roach) with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.  (We call them ugh! bugs because every time i see one i say, "ugh!")

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Today is:

Bonifacio Day -- Philippines

Caregiver Rights Day -- UK (with information to help carers available here; this year's theme is Caring for Your Future)   

Christmas on the River -- Demopolis, AL, US (celebrations Southern style, including a Barbecue Cook-off; through tomorrow)

Cities for Life Day -- commemorates the abolition of the death penalty in many countries

Clear Up The Clutter Day -- internet generated, and what!?! in one day!

Computer Security Day -- International (sponsored by The Association for Computer Security Day; often held by some organizations/companies on another day of the week if it falls on a weekend)     

Dickens on the Strand -- Galveston, TX, US (a Victorian Christmas presented by the Galveston Historical Foundation; through Sunday)

Feast of Hecate, Goddess of the Crossroads -- Ancient Roman Calendar (also revered by the Greeks, Egyptians, and came from the Carians of the Bronze Age)

Fur-Free Friday -- sponsored by The National Humane Education Society, with lots of other animal organizations joining in and trying to make it a world-wide movement     

Ham and Roast Beef Night -- internet generated, but a good idea for a make your own sandwich dinner

Independence Day -- Barbados(1966); Yemen(1967)

National Day -- Benin

National Meth Awareness Day

National Mousse Day 

Perpetual Youth Day -- Dick Clark's birth anniversary

Regina Mundi Day -- South Africa

Saint Andrew the Apostle's Day (Patron of anglers/fishermen, fish dealers/fish mongers, maidens, old maids/spinsters, single lay women, singers, women who wish to become mothers; Spanish armed forces; Achaia; Greece; Russia; Scotland; Amalfi, Italy; Antey-Saint-Andre, Italy; Berchtesgaden, Germany; Burgundy, France; Cartosio, Italy; Confienti, Italy; Constantinople, Turkey; Encinasola, Huelva, Spain; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Grongnardo, Italy; Lampertheim, Germany; Luqa, Malta; Patras, Greece; Plymouth, England; Samolaco, Italy; San Andreas, California; Victoria, British Columbia; against gout, sore throats) related observances:

    Argyle Day

    National Day -- Scotland

    Sfantul Andrei -- Romania

Stay Home Because You're Well Day -- sponsored by the Wellness Permission League; if you get in trouble with the boss, make sure they will take the fall!

Whisp and Thread Fair -- Fairy Calendar

Winterfest -- Luverne, MN, US (winter fun for all, through Sunday)

Anniversaries Today:

Lucille Ball marries Desi Arnaz, 1940

Birthdays Today:

Elisha Cuthbert, 1982

Clay Aiken, 1978

Jessalyn Gilsig, 1971

Sandra Oh, 1970

Amy Ryan, 1969

Ben Stiller, 1965

Bo Jackson, 1962

Colin Mochrie, 1957

Billy Idol, 1955

Shuggie Otis, 1953

Mandy Patinkin, 1952

David Mamet, 1947

Noel Paul Stookey, 1937

Ridley Scott, 1937

Abbie Hoffman, 1936

G. Gordon Liddy, 1930

Dick Clark, 1929

Joan Ganz Cooney, 1929

Robert Guillaume, 1927

Richard Crenna, 1926

Shirley Chisholm, 1924

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., 1923

Gordon Parks, 1912

Winston Churchill, 1874

L(ucy) M(aude) Montgomery, 1874 (Anne of Green Gables)

Mark Twain, 1835

Oliver Winchester, 1810

Jonathan Swift, 1667

Philip Sydney, 1554

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Thriller"(Michael Jackson Album), 1982

"The Wall"(Pink Floyd album), 1979

Brian's Song(TV movie), 1971

Bwana Devil(Film, first 3-D movie), 1952

The Joy of Cooking(Publication date), 1931

"Le Cid"(Opera), 1885

Today in History:

Amsterdam bans assembly of heretics, 1523

Death count by plague in Venice is officially set at 16,000, 1630

Beijing earthquake causes 100,000+ deaths, 1731

Britain signs agreement recognizing US independence, 1782

Peter Leopold Joseph of Habsburg-Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, promulgates a penal reform making his country the first state to abolish the death penalty. November 30 is therefore commemorated by 300 cities around the world as Cities for Life Day, 1786

Spain cedes her claims to Louisiana Territory to France, 1803

First ground is broken at Allenburg for the building of the original Welland Canal, 1824

First Welland Canal opens for a trial run, 5 years to the day from the ground breaking, 1829

Work begins on the first US underwater highway tunnel, in Chicago, 1866

The first international soccer football game is held, in Glasgow; Scotland-England 0-0, 1872

The first commercially successful AC electric power plant opens, Buffalo, NY, 1886

A German engineer patents front-wheel drive for automobiles, 1900

American Old West: Second-in-command of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, Kid Curry Logan, is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor, 1902

Pike Place Market is dedicated in Seattle, Washington, 1907

The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park London destroyed by fire, 1936

Baseball's Negro National League disbands, two years after major league baseball integrated, 1948

In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space, 1954

Exxon and Mobil sign a $73.7 billion USD agreement to merge, thus creating Exxon-Mobil, the world's largest company, 1998

Longtime Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, Utah finally loses, leaving him with US$2,520,700, television's biggest game show winnings, 2004

John Sentamu becomes the first black archbishop in the Church of England with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York, 2005

The first human face transplant takes place in France, 2005

Enzo di Fabrizio, physics professor at Magna Graecia University in Catanzaro, Italy, successfully takes the first photograph of DNA, 2012

Perennially Annual (Six Sentence Story) and Good Fences

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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"What did you say you are planting, annuals?"

"Yes, annuals, they bloom only one year."

"What are the kind that bloom every year?"

"Those are perennials."

"So if you replant the annuals every year, does that make them perennially annual?"

"Sort of, but not quite."

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Annual.      

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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 other blogs to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.     

The fence at a client's house has some flowers blooming:

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Today is:

Bizarre Bazaar -- Richmond, VA, US (Christmas shop until you drop; through Sunday)

Christmas Festival at St. Olaf -- St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, US (600 student musicians perform sacred and folk songs from around the world; through Sunday)

Dita e Clirimit -- Albania (Liberation Day)

Electronic Greetings Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Fairy Flute Fantasy -- Fairy Calendar

Festival of Saturnia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (for the Sons of Saturn; Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto)

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People -- UN

National Chocolates Day -- yes, another one

National Lemon Creme Pie Day

National Unity Day -- Vanuatu

St. Andrew's Eve -- in many traditions, a night to fortell the future, especially whom you will marry

St. Saturnius of Toulouse's Day (Patron of Toulouse, France)

Square Dance Day -- internet generated, and fun to do, but here's some information about square dancing     

William Tubman's Birthday -- Liberia (the country's longest serving President)

Anniversaries Today:

Erwin Rommel marries Lucie "Lu" Mollin, 1916

Birthdays Today:

Jon Knight, 1968

Don Cheadle, 1964

Andrew McCarthy, 1962

Kim Delaney, 1961

Cathy Moriarty, 1960

Jeff Fahey, 1956

Howie Mandel, 1955

Joel Coen, 1954

Garry Shandling, 1949

Petra Kelly, 1947

Chuck Mangione, 1940

Peter Bergman, 1939

John Mayall, 1933

Jacques Rene Chirac, 1932

Diane Ladd, 1932

Vin Scully, 1927

Madeline L'Engle, 1918

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., 1908

C.S. Lewis, 1898

Busby Berkeley, 1895

Nellie Tayloe Ross, 1876

Louisa May Alcott, 1832

Wendell Phillips, 1811

Christian Doppler, 1803

Charles Thomson, 1729

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Tatort"(TV), 1970

"I Want to Hold Your Hand"(Beatles single release), 1963

"Bells Are Ringing"(Musical), 1956

"Kukla, Fran, and Ollie"(TV), 1948

"Gay Divorce"(Musical), 1932

Today in History:

Jews of Augsburg, Germany, are massacred, 1349 (Sometimes, it seems, the more things change...)

King Philip II devalues Spanish currency, 1596 (See above...)

Sir James Jay invents invisible ink, 1775

San Jose, California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, 1777

Dessalines & Christophe declare St Domingue (Haiti) independent, 1803

First Italian opera in US, "Barber of Seville" premieres (NYC), 1825

Thomas Edison demonstrates hand-cranked phonograph, 1877

The first motorcycle race ever is held in Surrey, England; the distance was one mile and the winner was Charles Jarrot in a time of 2 minutes, 8 seconds, 1897

The first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued to Ernest Sirrine. 1910

Fire destroys most of the buildings on Santa Catalina Island, California, 1915

Howard Carter opens the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun to the public, 1922

Richard Byrd becomes the first person to fly over the South Pole, 1929

The first surgery (on a human) to correct blue baby syndrome is performed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, 1944

The United Nations General Assembly votes to partition Palestine, 1947

Mercury-Atlas 5 Mission – Enos, a chimpanzee, is launched into space, orbits earth twice, and is successfully recovered after splashdown, 1961

Canadian Space Agency launches the satellite Alouette 2, 1965

Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari) releases Pong (the first commercially successful video game) in Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, 1972

The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution stating that Soviet Union forces should withdraw from Afghanistan, 1983

The Czechoslovakian Parliament votes to end Communist rule, 1989

The United Nations Security Council passes two resolutions to restore international peace and security if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by the following January 15, 1990

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurs off the northern coast of Martinique, 2007

Pablo Picasso's electrician reveals 271 previously unknown works he claims were gifts from the artist, 2010

NASA announces its space probe MESSENGER has almost certainly found water ice buried beneath the surface of the north pole of Mercury, 2012

Experts observing the Comet ISON sweep 730,000 miles over the surface of the sun believe that that part of the comet survived the close encounter; images suggest a small nucleus may have remained intact, 2013

By Any Other Name (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts that encourages us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by Elephant's Child.     

This week's prompts are:

1. opera
2. recommend
3. champagne
4. excitement
5. sunshine
6. jam

And/or

1. dimension
2. raid
3. weed
4. admiration
5. corner
6. employ 

"Did you buy the CHAMPAGNE?" he asked with barely suppressed EXCITEMENT.

"Yes, the one the sommeliers RECOMMEND and a few other things.  You really are looking forward to this party, aren't you?"  She said it more as a statement than a question, and he nodded.

"It's going to be like SUNSHINE in the middle of this dismal winter to have a get together.  I mean, the longer we live here, the more I feel like we moved into a different DIMENSION."

"And a smaller one," she said, trying to JAM some of her purchases into the CORNER of the tiny pantry.

"Well, I will only be in the EMPLOY of this branch of the company for a few more months, and we can move back home."

"Back to our house..."

"Were I can RAID the refrigerator at night without worry I will wake you up because the bed is almost in the kitchen, this place is so small!"

"Back to our pet chickens..."

"And their lovely eggs that even now your sister is enjoying for us, lucky her!"

"Meanwhile, there are good things about being here," she noted.  You are getting excellent experience that will move you up when we get back, and I finally got to see live OPERA."

"That's not a big draw for me, thanks," he said, making a face.

"Yes, I know, you said you'd rather WEED the garden back home than do that again, but I thank you for taking me once."

"You're welcome.  Meanwhile, we can have a party for the friends we've made here, that I will enjoy."

"Me, too.  And I also want to tell you that you have my ADMIRATION for taking a temporary job you didn't want but that you knew would help your career, and making the best of it."

"Thanks, sweetheart, for sticking with me through it, but I still can hardly wait to get home."

"That makes two of us!"

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Today is:

Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha -- Baha'i

Decorate Your Dog Day -- supposedly to get him/her into the holiday spirit; but please, don't

Feast of the Holy Sovereigns -- Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii (in honor of King Kamehama IV and Queen Emma, the founders of the Anglican Church of Hawaii

Flag Day -- Kosovo

Holiday Ale Festival -- Portland, OR, US (beer, outdoors, in the cold, in December, but it is seriously good beer and worth it; through Sunday)

Independence Day -- Albania(1912); East Timor(1975); Mauritania(1960)

Independencia de Panama de Espana -- Panama(Independence from Spain Day, 1821)

Make Your Own Head Day -- meaning an art project model or drawing, in any medium; have fun with this one!

National Christmas Tree Lighting -- Washington, D.C., US

National French Toast Day

Red Planet Day -- on the anniversary of the 1964 liftoff of Mariner 4, the first successful mission to Mars

Republic Day -- Chad; Republic of the Congo

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting -- NY, NY, US

Royal Society Day -- one of the world's oldest scientific academies, established this day in 1660

Runic Half Month of Is begins (stasis)

St. Catherine Laboure's Day -- promulgator of the Miraculous Medal

St. Stephen the Younger's Day` (Patron of coin collectors, numismatists, smelters)

Thanksgiving Day -- Norfolk Island

Birthdays Today:

Ryan Kwanten, 1976

Anna Nicole Smith, 1967

Jon Stewart, 1962

Judd Nelson, 1959

S. Epatha Merkerson, 1952

Ed Harris, 1950

Alexander Godunov, 1949

Paul Shaffer, 1949

Joe Dante, 1946

Randy Newman, 1943

Berry Gordy, Jr., 1929

Claude Lévi-Strauss, 1908

Charles H. Alston, 1907

Brooks Atkinson, 1894

William Blake, 1757

Jean Baptiste Lully, 1632

John Bunyan, 1628

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey(Film), 2012

"Look Homeward, Angel"(Play), 1957

"The Grand Ole Opry"(Radio), 1925

Skywriting(as an advertising medium), 1922*

Today in History:

Skanderbeg and his forces liberate Kruja in Middle Albania and raise the Albanian flag, 1443

Ferdinand Magellan and his men become the first Europeans to sail from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, 1520

The Times in London is for the first time printed by automatic, steam powered presses built by the German inventors Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Friedrich Bauer, signaling the beginning of the availability of newspapers to a mass audience, 1814

Ka Lahui: Hawaiian Independence Day - The Kingdom of Hawaii is officially recognized by the United Kingdom and France as an independent nation, 1843

Women vote in a national election for the first time in the New Zealand general election, 1893

US-born Lady Astor becomes the first female member of British Parliament, 1919

Capt Cyril Turner of the RAF gives 1st skywriting exhibition in NYC; Turner spelled out "Hello USA. Call Vanderbilt 7200." 47,000 called, 1922

"Hopalong Cassidy" premieres on TV, 1948

The first Polaroid Camera is sold, 1948

Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon become autonomous republics within the French Community, 1958

The first pulsar star is discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish, 1968

Norway votes against joining the European Union, 1994

Wikileaks releases 250,000 classified documents and sensitive national security information sent by U.S. embassies, 2010

"Hamilton" sets new record for the most money earned in a week on Broadway - $3.3 million, 2016

*The ad men said it wouldn't work, but John Savage demonstrated it by skywriting "Hello USA call Vanderbilt 7200" over New York City and generating over 47,000 calls to that number!