Monday, February 24, 2020

Shy Cats (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and It Puzzles Me (Poetry Monday)

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Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

We have some shy cats at the shelter:

I’m hiding.

Okay, I’ll peek out a little more.
Under the rug is where I will stay!





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Sparks, the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, is on hiatus, so here's an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.

EverydayPower


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Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Border She and Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey take turns providing a theme each week.   Charlotte/Mother Owl almost always participates, too.  This week the theme is Puzzles.                   

It puzzles me when people
Enjoy breaking the law.
It puzzles me when people
Are unkind and mean.
It puzzles me when people
Drive rudely and dangerously.
It puzzles me when people
Do harm to animals and others weaker than they.
It puzzles me because it is obviously
So much better for all of us
And especially for your own soul
If you walk the path of love.


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Today is:

Amun in the Festival of Raising Heaven -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Dragobete -- Romania (lover's day, and the day birds choose a mate, also considered by locals as the first day of spring)

Fairtrade Fortnight begins -- UK (a chance to get involved in making sure farmers in developing countries have fair wages and good working conditions)    

Feast of Tou Tei -- Macau (earth god; celebrated on the second day of the second lunar month, so if i've mixed up the date in Gregorian, i'm sorry, i tried)

Flag Day -- Mexico

Giving of Shoes -- Fairy Calendar

Gregorian Calendar Day -- Gregory XIII issued the Papal Bull requiring Roman Catholics to adopt his calendar reform on this day; the effective date of adoption was to be Oct. 4, 1582

Iseseisvuspaev/Independence Day -- Estonia(1918)

Losar/Loshar (Lunar New Year) -- Bhutan; Nepal; Tibet (this is Tibetan Year 2147, and it's dominant gender is male, dominant element is iron, and dominant animal is the rat)

Lundi Gras -- Fat Monday, Carnival, one of the last to days to feast before the Lenten fast begins Wednesday
    Bolludagur -- Iceland (Bun Day, the children wake the parents with a "spanking" while calling for cream buns that will be eaten that day)
    Old Mask Parade -- Oranjestad, Aruba (with the Burning of the Momo tomorrow, marking the end of Carnival)
    Rosenmontag -- German-speaking Countries (Rose Monday, highlight of Karneval)

National Artist Day -- Thailand

National Tortilla Chip Day

N'cwala -- Zambia (Thanksgiving festival, celebrated with traditional dance, music, and specially brewed beer)

Nylon Toothbrush Day -- the first ones went on sale this date in 1938

Obnoxious Day -- probably started as a joke, the only ones who benefit from this day are the ecard companies

Regifugium -- Ancient Roman Calendar (flight of the king)

St. Æthelberht of Kent's Day (first Christian King of the Anglo-Saxons; some have his day listed tomorrow instead)

Zhonghe/Longtaitou -- China (Double Second Festival and Blue Dragon Festival, the time to wake the dragons that control the rains; celebrate the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month the modern way now by cleaning the house, getting a hair cut, and eating popcorn, pancakes, and noodles)


Anniversaries Today:

Hadassah is founded, 1912
Western Washington University is established, 1899
The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America, 1893


Birthdays Today:

Floyd Mayweather, Jr., 1977
Jonathan Ward, 1970
Billy Zane, 1966
Kristin Davis, 1965
Eddie Murray, 1956
Paula Zahn, 1956
Steven Jobs, 1955
Alain Prost, 1955
Helen Shaver, 1951
George Thorogood, 1950
Edward James Olmos, 1947
Rupert Holmes, 1947
Barry Bostwick, 1945
Joe Lieberman, 1942
James Farentino, 1938
Renata Scotto, 1937
Michel Legrand, 1932
Mark Lane, 1927
Stephen Hill, 1922
Abe Vigoda, 1921
Chester W. Nimitz, 1885
Honus Wagner, 1874
Winslow Homer, 1836
Wilhelm Karl Grimm, 1786
Ibn Battutah, 1304
Emperor Toba of Japan, 1103


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Peer Gynt"(Play), 1876
"Rinaldo"(HWV 7), 1711
"L'Orfeo"(SV318), 1607


Today in History:

St. Francis of Assisi, age 26, receives his vocation in Portiuncula, Italy, 1208
In the first imperial coronation by a pope,Charles V is crowned by Clement V, 1530
Pope Gregory XIII, by decree, institutes what is now known as the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the older Julian Calendar, 1582
L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance, 1607
The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, 1711
The US Supreme Court first declares a law unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison), 1803
London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute, 1804
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West, 1831
William Otis of Pennsylvania patents the steam shovel, 1839
The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, 1868
Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached, 1868
The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries, 1875
China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty, 1881
Chicago is selected to host the Columbian Exposition, 1890
Rudolf Diesel receives a patent for the diesel engine, 1893
Hudson Motor Car Company is founded, 1909
National Public Radio is founded in the United States, 1970
The United States Olympic Hockey team completes their Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal, 1980
Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, 1981
A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II, 1983
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, 1989
The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church, 1996*
Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea, 2007
Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years, 2008
Final launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, 2011
Pope Francis creates a second Secretariat within the Vatican and gives it the power to audit any Vatican agency at any time, 2014

*The Romans counted Feb. 24 twice in leap years, instead of adding Feb. 29; that continued in many places until 1996

18 comments:

  1. I love your poem - and yes, I am puzzles (and perturbed) by those people too.

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  2. Interesting poem. I'm puzzled by so much bad behaviour too. My shy cat lives under my bed until I sit in my TV chair, then she sleeps between my feet on the raised footrest.

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  3. It took me ages to find the cat in that first photo. I agree with the vacation quote. Thanx Mimi.

    God bless.

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  4. Aww! shy cats are cute heheh!

    Great quote

    I also liked your poem it all puzzles me too

    Have a shytastic day :-)

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  5. Love that hiding kitty...just could not resist after a bit, and had to peak out.

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  6. Awww, so precious. Shy kitties are just as cute.

    Love your Spark and really love your poem.

    Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week. Big hug. ♥

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  7. Awww, pretty little shy kitties! I love that spark, it is so true.

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  8. I totally agree with the poem. People in this world puzzle me like they voted for a man like Trump. Sorry about that. I'm just confused about that man. I wish he would say something positive about people. Oh well that may never happened.
    Have a wonderful Monday Mimi.

    Cruisin Paul

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  9. One of these days I need to join Aww Monday. I'm working on making my Benny a therapy dog. Once he can pass the screening, we have three more training courses and then we need to take a bath, trim nails, and pass the hospital's test. There is a lot involved to get an aww out of this dog, but hopefully he can brighten the day of a lot of suffering people.

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  10. Love that quote- so very true! And your shy kitty is adorable! Cheers!

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  11. Oh ~ such sweet kitties hiding ~ and wonderful quote ^_^

    Happy Moments to You,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  12. Your poem is right on the mark, Mimi. Why, indeed. And those things make me not just puzzled, but also upset!

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  13. hi shy cats frum all oh uz in trout towne; two outta de three oh uz iz shy...one haz been shy for all most 17 yeerz !! but thatz oh kay ~~~ ☺☺☺♥♥♥

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  14. Those are cute peek-a-boo shy ones! Yup, we're puzzled along with you too!

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  15. Great poem, those are puzzling things. I hope the shy kitties can get forever homes too. XO

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  16. Mimi,

    The little black kitty face peeking from beneath a blanket is so cute and I'm puzzled by mean, intolerant, and rude people, too. Honestly, I think part of the problem, other than just having no manners, is these people can't handle stress in the least and go bat crazy wild when something goes wrong resulting in a total mental melt down but that's just my opinion, though. I could be off on this one, I don't know.

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