Friday, July 31, 2020

That Would Be a No (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-Ins

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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.

Tripod SissyCat loves to be out on the porch.  She knows the word "outside" and when i say it, she runs to have me let her out there.  This is what happens when i ask her if she wants to come in:








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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. If you want ________________, you have to __________________.

2. During the month of August, I plan to _________________.

3. Others might think it’s strange that I _________.

4. _________ seems so far away.


1. If you want  to put out quality work you have to   be willing to do what it takes, even when you are tired and want to cut corners. 

2. During the month of August, I plan to   mostly do more of the same that i always do.  Vacation was in June, after all.

3. Others might think it’s strange that I   am vegetarian/vegan, but it works for me.

4. Retirement  seems so far away.


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Today is:

Always Live Better Than Yesterday Day

Cotton Candy Day

Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola -- (Founder of the Jesuits, especially revered in Spain; Patron of retreats, soldiers, and the Society of Jesus which he founded; Basque country; Bilbao, Spain; Bizkaia, Spain; Gipuzkoa, Spain; Guipuscoa, Spain; Guipúzcoa, Spain; Spiritual Exercises (by Pope Pius XI); Vizcaya, Spain)

Jump for Jellybeans Day

Ka Hae Hawai'i Day -- Hawai'i (State Flag Day)

Lammas Eve / Lughnassad Eve

Lithasblot -- Norse harvest festival with a "blot", or offering, to the gods, celebrated through tomorrow

Loki and Sigyn's Day - Asatru / Norse Pagan (aka Devoted Couples Day)

Make Homemade Ice Cream and Invite the Neighbors Over Day -- summer's almost over, make the most of the days we have left!

Mutts' Day -- because mutts deserve a day as much as purebreeds do!

National Raspberry Cake Day

Somers Day -- Bermuda (Second Day of Cup Match)

St. Germanus' Day (Patron of Auxerre, France)

St. Joseph of Arimathea's Day -- Eastern Orthodox Church (Patron of funeral directors)

System Administrator Appreciation Day -- the day to thank your system administrator for keeping your computer up and running    

Talk in an Elevator Day -- help break the taboo!

Uncommon Instruments Day    

World Ranger Day -- the International Ranger Federation wants us to honor wildlife rangers around the world as they work to protect the world's natural and cultural treasures, and remember those killed in the line of duty   


Birthdays Today

Eric Lively, 1981
Dean Cain, 1966
J.K. Rowling, 1965
Jim Corr, 1964
Wesley Snipes, 1962
Bill Berry, 1958
Michael Biehn, 1956
Barry Van Dyke, 1951
Evonne Goolagong, 1951
Gary Lewis, 1946
Geraldine Chaplin, 1944
Susan Flannery, 1943
France Nuyen, 1939
Ted Cassidy, 1932
Don Murray, 1929
Curt Gowdy, 1919
Milton Friedman, 1912


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Living Daylights(Film), 1987
"The Shadow"(Radio), 1930


Today in History

Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide, BC30
The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji, 781
Thessalonica falls to the Arabs, who destroy the city, 904
The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect, 1492
On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus 
becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad, 1498
Aurangzeb is proclaimed Moghul emperor of India, 1658
The Treaty of Breda ends the Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1667
Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers, 1703
The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Marquis de Lafayette  "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States," 1777
First U.S. patent is issued to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process, 1790
Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city, 1856
The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Australia, 1865
The radio mystery program The Shadow is aired for the first time, 1930
Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius in Persepolis, 1938
First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio, 1954
At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning because of rain, 1961
The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy, 1970
Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover, 1971
NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo, 1976
A rare, class F4 tornado rips through Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage, 1987
Georgia joins the United Nations, 1992
Fidel Castro hands over power temporarily to brother Raúl Castro, 2006
Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end, 2007
U.S. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps wins a record 19th Olympic medal, with gold in the 4x200metres freestyle relay, 2012
Facebook discloses and removes a Russian-linked network of site pages that are attempting to interfere in American politics, 2018

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Left Behind (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy’s Poetry Day, and Brian’s Thankful Thursday

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"I've already had a shower today, in case you didn't know," she grumbled, staring up at the slate gray sky as it continued to steadily drip.


“Is there anything else to load in the car?” she asked as he came out of the house with what he called his dop kit, his special bag with all of his toiletries.


“No, I don’t think so,” he said, trying to protect the leather bag from the elements as he tucked it into the special spot in the car he had saved for it, and not having much luck as the rain chose that moment to fall harder and faster.


She ran back to the front door, took a peek in to make sure there was nothing left behind in the entry where they’d gathered everything, then locked the door and made a dash for the passenger side door of the car sitting at the top of the driveway.


He had already started he engine, and as she got in, rain dripping from the coat she’d held over her head for protection as she tossed it to the floor at her feet, he grinned at her.


“That’s what we forgot, the umbrella!” he said; they both laughed, and together said, “Here’s to not needing it on vacation!”



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





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Gosia at 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.     


If you look closely, you can see this fence was painted to be decorative, and rather oddly painted, too:





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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day This week's image and my poem:    




My sweetheart is a smart one,

That's so easy to see.

No matter what arises,

He's ready as can be!


I did offer to help him,

As now we will be late,

But he wants me to watch my dress,

I'm so lucky he's my date!



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Brian of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  


Today i am thankful that we had rain, but that now it is stopped.  The rain was from what was supposed to have turned into a hurricane, but never did, so i will take the three days of cloud and drizzle we had and be thankful if it means we didn't have a hurricane.






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Today is:


Arafat Day -- Afghanistan; Bahrain; Djibouti; Kuwait; Libya; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates


Dia del Amigo -- Paraguay


Eid al-Adha -- Islam (Festival of Sacrifice, a three-day commemoration of Abraham's obedience and willingness to sacrifice his son; begins at sunset, local customs of date and official government days off in many places will vary)


Emancipation Day -- Bermuda (first day of the Cup Match)


Father-in-Law Day -- unsponsored and unclaimed, but fathers-in-law deserve respect, too


Feast of the Throne -- Morocco; Western Sahara


Festival of Fortuna Huiusque Diei -- Ancient Roman Calendar ("Fortune of the Present Day")


Friendship Day/International Day of Friendship -- UN


Herbal Ballooning -- Fairy Calendar


Independence Day -- Vanuatu(1980)


Kronia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Kronos as god of the harvest)


Martyr's Day -- South Sudan


National Cheesecake Day


National Support Public Education Day -- Change.org wants this to be an official day for support of US public education systems


Paperback Day -- anniversary of the 1935 publication of Penguin #1, Arial, A Life of Shelley, by Andre Maurois in London, the first successful series of paperback books


Sts. Abdon and Sennen's Day (Patrons of barrel makers and coopers; the ashes of ferns cut and burned on this day will keep away insects and unwanted guests)


Tisha B'Av -- Judaism (began sunset yesterday, through sunset today)



Anniversaries Today


Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, marries Michael Tindall, 2011



Birthdays Today


Hope Solo, 1981

Jaime Pressly, 1977

Misty May-Treanor, 1977

Hilary Swank, 1974

Tom Green, 1971

Simon Baker, 1969

Vivica A. Fox, 1964

Lisa Kudrow, 1963

Alton Brown, 1962

Laurence Fishburne, 1961

Kate Bush, 1958

Delta Burke, 1956

Ken Olin, 1954

Jean Reno, 1948

Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1947

William Atherton, 1947

David Sanborn, 1945

Paul Anka, 1941

Peter Bogdanovich, 1939

Buddy Guy, 1936

Allan Huber “Bud” Selig, 1934

Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, 1933

Thomas Sowell, 1930

Sid Krofft, 1929

Christine McGuire, 1926

Henry W. Bloch, 1922

Henry Spencer Moore, 1898

Casey Stengel, 1891

Henry Ford, 1863

Thorstein Bunde Veblen, 1857

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, 1855

Emily Bronte, 1818



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Santa Barbara"(TV), 1984

"Death Valley Days"(Radio), 1930



Today in History


City of Baghdad is founded, 762

The First Defenestration of Prague, 1419

Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage, 1502

At Ticonderoga (now Crown Point, New York), Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs, which set the tone for French-Iroquois relations for the next one hundred years, 1608

In Jamestown, Virginia, the first European style representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time, 1619

An earthquake in Naples, Italy kills 10,000 people, 1629

Baltimore, Maryland is founded, 1729

Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly-built Catherine Palace to Empress Elizabeth and her courtiers, 1756

First ascent of Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps,1859

Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, agreeing to stop the harassment of emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah, 1863

In Montevideo, Uruguay wins the first Football World Cup, 1930

Premiere of Walt Disney's Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon short to use Technicolor and the first Academy Award winning cartoon short, 1932

A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto, 1956

US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid, 1965

David Scott and James Irwin on Apollo Lunar Module module, Falcon, land with first Lunar Rover on the moon, 1971

Six Royal Canadian Army Cadets are killed and fifty-four injured in an accidental grenade blast at CFB Valcartier Cadet Camp, 1974

Jimmy Hoffa disappears, 1975

In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line, 2003

Israel and Palestinian officials agree to resume negotiations for a peace agreement, 2013

The first centenary of the WWI Battle of Passchendaele is marked at a ceremony at Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, 2017