Snoopervisors (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins and Nature Friday

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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (may he rest in peace), and i'm going to believe it's because he liked cats.

He handed hosting duties off to Sandee at Comedy Plus, and now she's entrusting it to me.

Feline Friday is simple to join.  All you have to do is: Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (they may be silly or cute).  Then add your link!

One thing for sure is this is a fun and easy meme to do.  So come and join us in Feline Friday.

What better way to start the weekend than with a feline!

These 3 were busy snoopervising me and the other caretakers from their comfy positions.

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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. _________, _________, and _________ are on my to-do list this month.

2. If I hear _________ one more time I will scream.

3. All I want for Christmas is _________.

4. _________ is my favorite holiday scent.

1. Work, preparing Christmas gifts and preparing/serving the meal,  and   getting all my numbers together ahead of tax season  are on my to-do list this month.

2. If I hear   someone complain about Christmas music   one more time I will scream.   After all, it's December, and it won't last all year, just a couple of weeks.

3. All I want for Christmas is   time to breathe.

4. Cookies baking, of any type or sort,   is my favorite holiday (or any time) scent.

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Nature Friday is hosted by LLB in Our Backyard.  Simply post a picture of the natural world, and link up!   

Some early morning sunshine in the tops of the trees at the start of December.

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Today is:

Akibasan Gongen Hibuse Matsuri -- Odawara, Japan (ritual giving thanks for fire and water)

Day of Quito -- Ecuador (founding of the city in 1534)

Dia de la Constitucion Espanola -- Spain (Constitution Day)

Farmers' Day -- Ghana

Faux Fur Friday

Flag Day -- Saba Island, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba

Give a Secret Gift Day -- obviously in honor of the original St. Nicholas

Gospel Day -- Marshall Islands (Kamolol, a day of Thanksgiving)

Independence Day -- Aland Islands(1917); Finland(1917)

Microwave Oven Day -- patented this day in 1945

Mitten Tree Day -- remembering when mittens, along with maybe a knit cap or scarf, were the big gift to find hanging from the Christmas tree

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women -- Canada

National Gazpacho Day

National Miner's Day -- US

National Salesperson's Day -- US (begun by Maura Schreier-Fleming, and listed on various days depending on whom you ask)

National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day -- any country that dares to celebrate may claim this one, and you can order your ugly sweater here

Official Lost and Found Day -- why is this one official?  information here 

Pawnbrokers' Day -- on St. Nicholas' Day, in his role as Patron Saint of pawnbrokers

Sindhi Topi and Ajrak Day -- Sindh, Pakistan

Shalako Festival -- Hopi and Zuni Native Americans (dates of main festivals and dance ceremonies vary by area, but usually the weekend nearest the 49th day after the 10th full moon)

St. Nicholas of Myra's Day (Patron of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, archers, bakers, barrel makers, boatmen, bootblacks/shoe shiners, boys, brewers, brides, captives, children, coopers, dock workers/longshoremen, fishermen, grooms, judges, lawsuits lost unjustly, maidens, mariners/sailors, merchants, penitent murderers, newlyweds, old maids, parish clerks, paupers/poor people, pawnbrokers, perfumers, pilgrims, prisoners, scholars, schoolchildren, spinsters, students, penitent thieves, travelers, unmarried girls; Greek Catholic Church in America; Greek Catholic Union; University of Paris; Varangian Guard; Greece; Russia; also dozens of cities around the world; against imprisonment, robberies, robbers)

      Christkind -- Central and Southern Europe (the traditional gift giving day, instead of Christmas)

Birthdays Today:

Andrew J. Howard, 1969

Macy Gray, 1969

Janine Turner, 1962

Andrew Cuomo, 1957

Peter Buck, 1956

Randy Rhoads, 1956

Steven Wright, 1955

Tom Hulce, 1953

JoBeth Williams, 1953

Craig Newmark, 1952

James Naughton, 1945

David Ossman, 1936

Wally Cox, 1924

Dave Brubeck, 1920

Agnes Moorehead, 1906

Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1898

Ira Gershwin, 1896

Lynn Fontanne, 1887

Joyce Kilmer, 1886

William S. Hard, 1870

John Singleton Mosby, 1833

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Star Trek VI- The Undiscovered Country(Film), 1991

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"(TV special), 1964

"Talent Scouts"(TV), 1948

"Du Barry Was a Lady"(Porter musical), 1939

"La damnation de Faust"(Berlioz opera, Op, 24), 1846

Today in History:

The Mongols under Batu Khan occupy and destroy Kiev, 1240

Don Alfonso V of Aragon grants Barcelona the right to exclude Jews, 1424

The first edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica is published, in Scotland, 1768

Harriet Tubman escapes slavery, 1849

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery, 1865

The first crematorium in the Us begins operation, in Washington, Pennsylvania, 1876

London becomes the first city to license taxicabs, 1897

One year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State comes into existence, 1922

U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that the James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene, 1933

The Vanguard rocket, the first US attempt to launch a satellite, fails, 1957

The Canadian province of Newfoundland is renamed Newfoundland and Labrador, 2001

NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars, 2006

Belgium's new federal government is sworn in after 541 days of negotiations, 2011

Pope Francis gives his assent to a proposal to create a permanent post on the Pontifical Commission on cases of sin and sexual abuse of minors, 2013 

President Trump officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announces plans to move the US Embassy there, 2017

Details of the most distant black hole yet discovered, 13billion light-years away and 800X larger than our Sun, are published in the journal Nature, 2017

The Japanese space capsule Hayabusa-2 lands safely back on earth in Australia, carrying the first significant rock samples from an asteroid, the Ryugu, 2020

The 1,574th and final Boeing 747 jumbo jet rolls off the production line in Everett, Washington, 2022

The first large scale offshore wind farm, South Fork Wind, begins supplying electricity to Long Island, New York, 2023