Friday, May 31, 2019

Little Darling (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.)


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




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.

This little darling wandered up to the owner of the house where Brother-in-Law lives and adopted him.  They just call her Darling.










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




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 would love to be a personal assistant to ___________________________.

2. If I had a boat, I would name it ________________________.

3. I want to improve my _________.

4. Surprises are _________.


1. I would love to be a personal assistant to any person who is better organized than i am, and learn how they do it.

2. If I had a boat, I would name it Wish Me Some Luck, because i would need it, since i know nothing about boats.

3. I want to improve my thinking and logic skills.  In fact, i wouldn’t mind taking a course in logic, which i never got a chance to do.

4. Surprises are fun, accidents are not.  An accident is something that, if you had to do it over again, you wouldn’t.  A surprise is something you didn’t know you wanted until you got it.


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


Today is:

Bicycle Race Day -- anniversary of what is supposed to have been the first bicycle race ever, at the Parc de Saint-Cloud, Paris, in 1868

Buffalo Days Celebration (with Buffalo Chip Throw) -- Luverne, MN, US (parade, arts in the park, and the throwing contest; through Sunday)

Centralia Anchor Festival -- City Square, Centralia, MO, US (anchor driving, archery shoot, tractor show, carnival, crafts, softball and more; through Sunday)

Dia de Castilla-La Mancha -- Castile-La Mancha, Spain

Doha Document for Peace in Darfur Commemoration -- Sudan

Farmington Country Days -- Farmington, MO, US (fun for the family, celebrated the old country way; through Sunday)

Feast of the Visitation of Mary -- Christianity (Mary's visit of her cousin Elizabeth, chronicled in Luke 1:39-56)

Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival -- Little Chute, WI, US (celebrate with other Cheeseheads; through Sunday)

Harvard Milk Days Festival -- Harvard, IL, US (parade, carnival, food, fireworks, petting zoo, and more, all as a salute to hard working dairy farmers, and this year's theme is "Harvard Milk Days: helping make family traditions for 78 years"; through Sunday)

Jumatul Bidah -- Bangladesh

Jumat-ul Wida -- JK, UK, & UP, India

Lailat al Kadr (Lailat al Qadr) -- Islam (Night of Destiny; begins at sundown, through sundown tomorrow, although local observances may vary)

"Make My Day" Day -- birth anniversary of Clint Eastwood

Mike the Headless Chicken Festival -- Fruita, CO, US (it all started with a chicken that kept trying to eat even after the farmer lopped off his head to prep him for the stew pot; Mike's indomitable spirit and will to live is a legend here and the basis of a two day festival celebrating the fact that you can live a normal life even after you have lost your mind!)

National Macaroon Day

Old Time Music Ozark Heritage Festival -- West Plains, MO, US (celebrating the unique culture and old time music of the Ozark Highlands; through tomorrow)

Riverbend Festival -- Chattanooga, TN, US (four days of fun on the banks of the Tennessee River)

Route 66 Summerfest -- Rolla, MO, US (citywide kick off to summer, celebrating the famous roadway with a Route 66 cruise, Miss Route 66 Pageant, drummers competition, street dance, movie under the stars and much more! through tomorrow)

Royal Brunei Malay Regiment Day / Royal Brunei Armed Forces Day -- Brunei

Save Your Hearing Day -- because once it is gone, you will regret it; on the anniversary of the concert by The Who which set a Guiness World Record for loudest rock concert in 1976

Speak in Complete Sentences Day -- be a good example!

St. Petronilla's Day (Patron of mountain travellers; against fever)

Take This Job and Shove It Day -- birth anniversary of Johnny Paycheck

Telluride Balloon Festival -- Telluride, CO, US (volunteer to help with the festival and you may get a free balloon ride! through Sunday)

This Day (again) -- Fairy Calendar

What You Think Upon Grows Day -- Stephanie West Allen wants you to remember the power of positive thinking



Birthdays Today:

Jonathan Tucker, 1982
Colin Farrell, 1976
Phil Keoghan, 1967
Brooke Shields, 1965
Lea Thompson, 1961
Chris Elliot, 1960
Roma Maffia, 1958
Kyle Secor, 1958
Gregory Harrison, 1950
Tom Berenger, 1950
John Bonham, 1948
Sharon Gless, 1943
Joe Namath, 1943
Johnny Paycheck, 1941
Terry Waite, 1939
Peter Yarrow, 1938
Clint Eastwood, 1930
Patricia Roberts Harris, 1924
Prince Rainier of Monaco, 1923
Denholm Elliott, 1922
Don Ameche, 1908
Norman Vincent Peale, 1898
Fred Allen, 1894
Walt Whitman, 1819


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Peppa Pig"(TV), 2004
"Survivor"(TV), 2000
"Seinfeld"(TV), 1990
"Beatlemania"(Musical), 1977


Today in History:

Rameses II (The Great) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, BC1279
A devastating earthquake strikes Antioch, Turkey, killing 250,000, 526
Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans, 1223
Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary, 1669
The Godiva procession through Coventry begins, 1678
The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions, 1759
In Australia, Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains, 1813
In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, 1866
Dr James Moore of the UK wins the first recorded bicycle race, a 2k velocipede race at Parc de St Cloud, Paris, 1868
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes, 1884
Arrival at Plymouth of Tawhiao, King of Maoris, to claim protection of Queen Victoria, 1884
Over 2,200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1889
The Union of South Africa (predecessor of the Republic of South Africa) is created, 1910
The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles, 1927
A 7.1 magnitude Earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan, 1931
The Republic of South Africa is created, 1961
The Ancash earthquake causes a landslide  that buries the town of Yungay, Peru, 1970
In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30, 1971
The Muppet Movie, Jim Henson's Muppets' first foray into the world of feature length motion pictures, is released, 1979
The burning of Jaffna Library, Sri Lanka, is one of the violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the twentieth century, 1981
Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead, 1985
Athena 98.4 FM, the first legal private radio station in Greece, starts broadcasting, 1987
Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was Deep Throat, 2005
Asteroid 1998 QE2, an asteroid measuring nearly 1.7 miles across, and its moon, pass within 3.6 million miles of the earth, 2013
The Danish government bans garments that cover the face, including the niqab and burqa, 2018

Thursday, May 30, 2019

When We Get There (Six Sentence Story) and White Picket (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.)


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




"Let me get this straight -- first I take you to your first job of the day for 6am, then I head out to go get my brother.

"Once I have him at work, I come get you, and we go to the shelter together.

"After the shelter, I drop you with Ms. G, and I wait for you to call me to come get you, but no matter what time you call me I still go get my brother at 3:30pm to take him home, and eventually you will need the car so you can go to your last job of the day."

You got it.

"And if anything else comes up, or you get off work at the same time as him, since I can't be in two places at once, what do we do then?"

We climb that mountain when we come to it.


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

Yes, the above is what we dealt with yesterday, plus the lizard (whose story will be told on Saturday).  It's turning out to be quite a week.


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


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.     

It's been a while since i posted one of my favorite kind of fences, a white picket.




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


Today is:

Anguilla Day -- Anguilla

Arrival Day -- Trinidad and Tobago

Ascension Day -- Christian; related observances
    Procession of the Holy Blood -- Belgium (religious historical procession recalling the adventurous crusaders, especially Count Thierry of Alsace, who was supposed to have carried back relics of the Holy Blood)

Dia de Canarias -- CN, Spain (Canary Island Day)

Dia de las Madres -- Nicaragua(Mother's Day)

Einherjar -- Asatru (Modern Norse Pagan) Calendar (a memorial for the war dead in Valhalla)

Feast Day of St. Joan of Arc (Patron of captives, martyrs, opposition of Church authorities, people ridiculed for their piety, prisoners, rape victims, soldiers, WACs, WAVES; France)

Friendship Festival -- Lathrop, Missouri, US (including the super hero look-alike contest; through Saturday)

Heirloom Seed Day -- While i can't find the history of this one, it's a good one to celebrate, we need to raise awareness of and preserve heirloom seeds

Indian Arrival Day -- Trinidad and Tobago (anniversary of the 1845 arrival of the first Indian laborers to Trinidad)

Lod Massacre Remembrance Day -- Puerto Rico

Loomis Day -- because if we are going to honor Marconi, we should also honor the Washington, D.C., dentist Mahlon Loomis, who patented a wireless telegraphy system before Marconi was even born

My Bucket's Got a Hole In It Day -- this one may be listed on another day as well, since no two sites agree; mercy, just go get a new one already! or go get out your HanK Williams records

National Mint Julep Day

St. Walstan of Bawburgh's Day (Patron of agricultural workers, farmers and farm workers, field hands, husbandmen)

This Day -- Fairy Calendar

Water a Flower Day -- no sponsor or reason given for this day, except that the spring rains are slowing and you don't want your garden to wilt



Anniversaries Today:

Henry VIII marries Jane Seymore, 1536


Birthdays Today:

Blake Bashoff, 1981
Trey Parker, 1972
Wynonna Judd, 1964
Tom Morello, 1964
Ted McGinley, 1958
Colm Meaney, 1953
Stephen Tobolowsky, 1951
Meredith MacRae, 1945
Gale Eugene Sayers, 1943
Michael J. Pollard, 1939
Keir Dullea, 1936
Clint Walker, 1927
Benny Goodman, 1909
Mel Blanc, 1908
Countee Cullen, 1903
Peter Carl Fabergé, 1846
Czar Peter the Great, 1672


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Paperback Writer"(Single release), 1966
"War Requiem"(Britten Op. 66), 1962
"Odisséia de uma raça / Odyssey of a Race"(Villa-Lobos Symphonic poem), 1954
"Prodana nevesta / The Bartered Bride"(Opera), 1866


Today in History:

Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem; the Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall, 70
19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal, 1431
In Florida, Hernando de Soto  lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold, 1539
Publication of La Gazette, the first French newspaper, 1631
The Pennsylvania Evening Post become the first daily paper in the US, 1783&
John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria, 1842
Westminster's Big Ben rang for the first time in London, 1859
Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern "Memorial Day") is observed in the United States for the first time, 1868
New York City's Gilmores Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public, 1879
The Treaty of London, 1913, ends the First Balkan War and Albania becomes an independent nation, 1913
In China protests erupt against the Great Powers infringing on Chinese sovereignty, 1925
A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes, 1948
The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened, 1959
launch of Surveyor 1 the first US spacecraft to achieve landing on an extraterrestrial body, 1966
At the Ascot Park in Gardena, California, daredevil Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined up in a row, 1967
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: the 33-foot high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators, 1989
272 days after the September 11 attacks, closing ceremonies are held for the clean up/recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site in New York City. The last remaining steel beam is removed and transported to the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, 2002
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel pledges to end all nuclear power within 12 years, 2011
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, reveals the latest Dragon space capsule; the craft is reusable and will allow astronauts to control re-entry and landing; the development suggests that full commercialization of the space industry will soon be a reality, 2014

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Yep, That's Where I'd Keep My Training Chopsticks, Too! (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.) 


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




Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     







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




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 Margaret Adamson and her friend Sue Fulcher, and are posted by Elephant's Child.                 

Here are this week's prompts:

  1. Solicitude 
  2. Rampant
  3. Toes
  4. Form
  5. Knocking
  6. Pin cushion

And / or

  1. Reel
  2. Grappled
  3. Perfume
  4. Courtroom
  5. Squad
  6. General


She took a deep breath to keep from growling as she GRAPPLED for her self control.  She only had to put up with this manager for a few more days, and while she was glad to be leaving, she didn't want to burn any bridges.  The rest of the staff had been her cheering SQUAD when this new manager had been hired and had taken a GENERAL dislike to all of them and a specific dislike to her.

That was the reason she'd ramped up the hunt for a new job, and stepping on TOES here was not on her to do list.  If she ever ended up doing active work in a COURTROOM again, she didn't want anything reflecting badly on her.  News like that travels quickly, after all.  And her new employer had ears here as well, she was leaving active court reporting before a judge, but would still be working with attorneys taking depositions who appeared before this judge.  She needed and wanted to take a high road always.

As much as she privately relished the thought of getting the rod and REEL out of her car and using the manager as a PIN CUSHION, she simply used the mental image to make herself smile as she steeled herself to go turn in a FORM and not gag on the woman's overly heavy use of PERFUME.  She would only have to put up with the RAMPANT and fake SOLICITUDE for a few more days, then she had paid vacation time, where she would use that new fishing tackle and enjoy it, and back home to a new job.  

No matter what, be nice, she kept telling herself, KNOCKING on the manager's door, it's only a few more days.


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


Today is:

Ambarvalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (purification festival to Ceres, date approximate)

Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival -- Windsor to Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada (lots of fun in apple blossom time; through June 3)

Ascension of Baha'u'llah -- Baha'i

BookExpo America -- Jacob K Javits COnvention Center, NYC, NY, US (publishers display fall titles; through Sunday)

Castleton Garland Celebration -- Derbyshire, England (a Garland King and Lady ride the bounds of the parish on white horses, after which the garland the King wore is placed on the church tower; possibly dating back to Oak Apple Celebrations)

Democracy Day -- Nigeria

End of the Middle Ages Day -- considered such by many historians because of the fall of Constantinople on this day in 1453

Feast of Mars -- Ancient Roman Calendar

International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers -- UN

Learn About Composting Day -- can't find a sponsor for this day, but there is a week sponsored each year here; and you can learn about composting here, too 

Mount Everest Day -- Nepal (declared on the anniversary of first ascent in 1953)

National Coq Au Vin Day

National Senior Health and Fitness Day -- US (don't let age get in the way of staying healthy!) 

Oak Apple Day / Royal Oak Day -- England (celebration of the restoration of the monarchy; no longer officially recognized, but many localities have traditions that have grown up around this date which are still celebrated)

Pink Flamingo Day -- Don Feathersone created the first one on this day in 1957

Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day -- supposedly dating back, in Europe and the Americas, to the days when you put a piece of cloth in your larder for good luck; why it became a pillow no one knows

Runic Half-Month of Odal (home, possessions) commences

Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival -- Sedalia, MO, US (with a variety of free and paid venues, it's a good time for all; through Saturday)

Squoosh an Ice Cream Sandwich Day -- rules say you must squoosh, not squish or squash!

St. Bona of Pisa's Day (Patron of couriers, flight attendants, guides, pilgrims, travellers; Pisa, Italy)



Anniversaries Today:

Rhode Island becomes the 13th US State, 1790
Wisconsin becomes the 30th US State, 1848


Birthdays Today:

Noel Gallagher, 1967
Lisa Whelchel, 1963
Melissa Etheridge, 1961
Adrian Paul, 1959
Rupert Everett,1959
Annette Bening, 1958
LaToya Jackson, 1956
Danny Elfman, 1953
Anthony Geary, 1947
Kevin Conway, 1942
Al Unser, Sr., 1939
Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent, Jr, 1938
Paul Erlich, 1932
John F. Kennedy, 1917
Tenzing Norgay, 1914
T.H. White, 1906
Bob Hope, 1903
Oswald Spengler, 1880
G.K. Chesterton, 1874
Patrick Henry, 1736


Today in History:

Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II Fatih capture Constantinople after a siege, ending the Byzantine Empire, 1453
Charles II (on his birthday) is restored to the throne of Great Britain, 1660
Treaty of Middle Plantation establishes peace between the Virginia colonists and the local Natives, 1677
The right of Canadians to keep Indian slaves is upheld at Quebec City, 1733
In Patrick Henry's historic speech against the Stamp Act, he answers a cry of "Treason!" with, "If this be treason, make the most of it!" 1765
Present constitution of Switzerland takes effect, 1874
Chemist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, the ad appearing in the Atlanta Journal, 1886
Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, provoking a riot, 1913
Ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence with the loss of 1,024 lives, 1914
Bing Crosby, the Ken Darby Singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra record Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", the best-selling Christmas single in history, for Decca Records in Los Angeles, 1942
Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, 1953
First of the annual Bilderberg conferences, 1954
Amputee  Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months, 1985
Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station, 1999
Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule, 1999
A WWII Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., US, 2004
Scientists describe the 160-million year-old fossile of Aurornis xui as the most basal species of Avialae, possibly shifting the evolutionary position of the Archaeopteryx as the oldest known bird, 2013
A heatwave in Karachi, Pakistan, kills 65 as temperatures soar above 110 degrees Fahrenheit, 2018