An Angel Gift (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.

Sandee has done a great job with Feline Friday but feels it's time for a change in her blogging schedule.  Starting January 6, i'm going to be trying to fill her shoes, although she is truly irreplaceable.

Angel loves snoozing under the tree at the shelter, and hopes she'll be adopted soon.  She's a very good girl, putting herself back in her cage at the end of the day!

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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. My favorite holiday tradition is _________.

2. On Christmas (or Hanukkah) I plan to fill up on _________.

3. 'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house _________.

4. _________ is the best way to spread holiday cheer.

1. My favorite holiday tradition is   the hug.  When we get to the house, we hug, including everyone we came with.  When more people come, hugs all the way around again.  When leaving, we even hug the people we're leaving with.  Everyone gets thoroughly hugged!

2. On Christmas (or Hanukkah) I plan to fill up on   salad, Brussel's sprouts, vegan paella and vegan cheezcake.

3. 'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house   there was a person or animal stirring just about every hour for some reason.  There's very little sleep on Christmas Eve.

4. Smiling  is the best way to spread holiday cheer.   Try smiling at everyone, it usually works.

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Today is:

Birthday of the Queen Silvia -- Sweden (an official flag day)

Children's Day -- South Sudan; Sudan

Day of Acca Larentia -- Ancient Rome, Republic and Empire (earth goddess and protectress who raised Romulus and Remus)

Festivus -- For the Rest of Us!  (The holiday introduced on the episode of Seinfeld that aired 12/18/97; have some meatloaf, decorate with an unadorned aluminum pole, have a "Feats of Strength" contest and an "Airing of Grievances"!)

Humanlight Celebration -- celebration of tolerance, compassion, empathy, honesty, free inquiry, reason, and rationality secularseasons.org

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Ketkrokur -- Meat-hook, who will lower a hook down the chimney and snatch a bit of meat if he can, especially if you are cooking lamb for St. Porlakur(Thorlac)

Igler Bergweihnacht -- Igls, Austria (charming nativity parade starring the children of this small town near Innsbruck)

Learn Metric Day -- US (passage of the Metric Conversion Act of 1875)

Mouse-Marketing Day -- Fairy Calendar

National Pfefferneusse Day -- don't forget the Puderzucker!

Noche de Rabanos (Night of the Radishes) -- Oaxaca, Mexico (part of the lead up to Christmas, bring out your best carved radish!)

Popcorn Popping Day -- so you can string it on the tree, of course

Porlaksmessa, Feast of St. Thorlaker/Thorlac -- Iceland (Patron saint, though never officially recognized by the Holy See)

Roots Day -- as you gather with family during the season, don't forget to sit with elder relatives and learn about your family's past

Sarsodaw Pwe -- Myanmar (Writers' Day/Literati Day, especially celebrated by the press, and includes The National Literary Award Presentation Ceremony as well as public lectures, essay contests, and story-telling events)

Secret of the Unhewn Stone -- Celtic Calendar (Only day on their calendar not governed by a tree month)

St. John of Kanti's Day (Patron of Lithuania, Poland)

St. Servulus' Day (Patron of the disabled/physically challenged; against paralysis)

St. Victoria's Day (Patron of Anticoli Corrado, Italy)

Tenno Tanjobi -- Japan (Birthday of Emperor Akihito, national holiday observed as a day of rest.)

Two Days To Go Day

Victory Day -- Egypt (a/k/a Suez Victory Day)

Anniversary Today:

Establishment of the US Federal Reserve System, 1913

Birthdays Today:

Corey Haim, 1971

Carla Bruni, 1967

Eddie Vedder, 1964

Carol Ann Duffy, 1955

Susan Lucci, 1946

Harry Shearer, 1943

Akihito, 1933

Robert Bly, 1926

Gerald O'Loughlin, 1921

Jose Greco, 1918

Madame C.J. Walker, 1867

Connie Mack, 1862

Harriet Monroe, 1860

Joseph Smith, Jr., 1805

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Hoffmeyer's Legacy(Film; 1st with Keystone Kops), 1912

Today in History:

Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist, 962

St Philip of Moscow martyred by Ivan the Terrible, 1569

Giovanni Cassini discovers Rhea, a satellite of Saturn, 1672

John Flamsteed observes Uranus without realizing it's undiscovered, 1690

The Continental Congress negotiates a war loan of $181,500 from France, 1776

Benedict Arnold court-martialed for improper conduct, 1779

"A Visit from St Nicholas" by C. Clement Moore is published in the Troy (NY) Sentinel (Now usually titled " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), 1823

The opera Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed, 1893

The first all-steel passenger railroad coach completed, in Altoona, Pa, 1907

The first hospital ship built to move wounded naval personnel is launched, 1919

Alice H Parker patents gas heating furnace, 1919

Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa, 1938

The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories, 1947

Dedication of Tokyo Tower, the world's highest self-supporting iron tower, 1958

The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world, 1970

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000, 1972

The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism, 1972

Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling, 1986

In a referendum, 88% of Slovenia's population vote for independence from Yugoslavia, 1990

An 8.1 magnitude earthquake hits Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, 2004

Volcanic activity alerts are issued in Chile and Argentina, in areas near the Copahue volcano, after it started to spew ash, 2012

The United Nations Security Council adopts a landmark resolution demanding a halt to all Israeli settlement in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, 2016

The top leadership of the Miss America Organization resigned amid a scandal over emails in which pageant officials had ridiculed past winners, 2018