Hammock Happiness (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins, Nature Friday and Flashback 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!

Two kittens who were happy for hammocks.

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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. When it comes to making decisions, I _________.

2. _________ was the highlight of my week.

3. I wish there were a _________ in my local area.

4. Thanks to _________, I _________.

1. When it comes to making decisions, I   tend to think deeply and not change my mind often.

2. #2 Son, Daughter-in-Law and our little Annie coming home from vacation  was the highlight of my week.

3. I wish there were a   Publix Grocery Store  in my local area.   Not because we are lacking in stores, quite the contrary, but because it is my Sweetie's favorite ever and he'd be over the moon happy to have one here.

4. Thanks to   extra work yesterday,   I   am again getting behind in blog reading.

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

Early morning in the swamps.

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Flashback Friday is hosted by FiveSibes.  Come hop along memory lane with us!  

Dansig the Round and Link Linker the Stinker had just enjoyed some catnip (it's what's on the floor around them) and then had a wrasslin' session.

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Today is Check the Chip Day!  The American Veterinary Medical Association reminds you to check your pet's microchip and make sure it is still working correctly and that the registration information is up to date.

Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere for the event badge.        

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Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Poland

Asuncion Foundation Day -- Paraguay

Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary -- Catholic Christian Holy Day of Obligation

     Related Observances

          Coeur d'Alene Indian Pilgrimage -- Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park, Cataldo, ID, US

          Dormition of the Theotokos -- Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Christian

          Ferragosto -- Italy (During the Roman Empire, a festival to Diana and a fertility and ripening celebration)

          Mother's Day -- Antwerp; Costa Rica

          National Acadians Day -- Acadians

          Virgin of Candelaria, patron of the Canary Islands -- Tenrife, Spain

          Irmandade da Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte Fiesta -- Bahia, Brazil (Festival of the Order of Our Lady of the Good Death)

          Festival of the Outremeuse -- Liege, Belgium

          Public Holiday or Publicly Observed -- Andorra; Austria; Belgium; Benin; Bosnia; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chile; Colombia; Côte d'Ivoire; Croatia; Cyprus; East Timor; France; French Guiana; French Polynesia; Gabon; Gambia; Germany; Greece; Guadelupe; Guatemala; Guinea; Holy See; Hungary; Italy; Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia; Madagascar; Malta; Martinique; Mauritius; Mayotte; Monaco; New Caledonia; Paraguay; Poland; Portugal; Reunion; Romania; Rwanda; Saint Barthelemy; Saint Martin; Saint Pierre et Miquelon; San Marino; Senegal; Seychelles; Slovenia; Spain; Switzerland; Togo; Vanuatu; Wallis and Fortuna     

Best Friend's Day -- sponsored by Thema Martin

Bon/Obon Festival -- Japan (biggest day of the festival in most parts of Japan)

Chauvin Day -- observed on Napoleon's birthday because his is unknown, the day is named for Nicholas Chauvin, whose blind devotion to Napoleon was immortalized in his name's use for absurdly intense attachments to any cause

Dia de la Ley Fundamental -- Equatorial Guinea (Constitution Day)

Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (through the 18th, dates approximate)

Festival of Vesta -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of the hearth)

Fete Nationale -- Republic of the Congo (National Day/Independence Day)

Fool's Dance -- Japan (part of the Awa Dance Festival)

Independence Day -- India(1947)

Liberation Day -- both Koreas

     Gwangbokjeol -- South Korea

     Jogukhaebangui nal -- North Korea

Maras Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (celebration of the goddess Mara, cognate of Mary)

National Day -- Lichtenstein (a/k/a Liberation Day [1945])

National Failures Day -- some websites say the 16th, and may i suggest a book called "Fail Better", a small quotations book about how failure is just the beginning.

National Lemon Meringue Pie Day

National Men's Grooming Day -- US (sponsored by American Crew, participating salons and barbershops host a day of grooming events for men)

National Mourning Day -- Bangladesh

National Relaxation Day -- sponsored by Sean Moeller of Clio, Michigan; if you call in sick to stay home and relax, blame him

Panama La Vieja Day -- Panama (Founding of Panama City)

Shoro Nagashi Nagasaki -- Nagasaki, Japan (floating lanterns are released into the harbor in honor of the ancestors)

Sproshinki -- Slavic Pagan Calendar (end of the hay harvest festival)

Statehood Day -- Hawaii, US

St. Tarcisius' Day (Patron of altar servers, first communicants)

Tuva Republic Day -- Tos-Bulak fields south of Kyzuk, Tuva, Russia (celebration of the Tuva Republic, a Naadam festival of Mongolian wrestling, horse racing, and archery; held by the Tuva people, the closest genetic relatives to the North and South American Native Peoples)

Wafaa El-Nil -- Egypt and Coptic Church ("Fidelity of the Nile", celebration of the annual of Flooding of the Nile)

Anniversaries Today:

Woodstock, 1969

Buddy Holly marries Maria Elena Santiago, 1958

Panama Canal opens, 1914

Transcontinental US railway is completed at Promontory Point, UT, US, 1870

Birthdays Today:

Joe Jonas, 1989

Kerri Walsh, 1978

Ben Affleck, 1972

Debra Messing, 1968

Melinda Gates, 1964

Zeljko Ivanek, 1957

Princess Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, 1950

Jimmy Webb, 1946

Kathryn Whitmire, 1946

Linda Ellerbee, 1944

Stephen G. Breyer, 1938

Vernon Jordan, Jr, 1935

Phyllis Stewart Schlafly, 1924

Mike Connors, 1925

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, 1925

Rose Marie, 1925

Huntz Hall, 1919

Oscar Romero, 1917

Julia Child, 1912

Elizabeth Bolden, American Supercentenarian, 1890 (d. 2006)

Edna Ferber, 1885

Ethel Barrymore, 1879

Charles Albert "The Old Roman" Comiskey, 1859

E. Nesbit, 1858

Sir Walter Scott, 1771

Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Mainz Psalter(Publication date; first book with the publication date printed on the colophon), 1457

Today in History:

Battle of Roncevaux Pass, the Basques defeat Charles the Great (Charlemagne) and Roland is killed, 778

Macbeth defeats his cousin and rival King Duncan I, who is killed in the battle, and becomes king of Scotland, 1040

Battle of Lumphanan, in which King Macbeth is killed by the forces of Mael Coluim MacDonnchada, 1057

The cave city of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia, 1185

The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral, built to house the relics of 

the Three Wise Men, is laid, 1248*

The "Mainz Psalter" is completed, the earliest dated book, 1457

Founding of Panama City, 1519

Jesuit priest St. Francis Xaverius land in Kagoshima, Japan, 1549

Joseph Haydn departs England, never to return, 1795

Country of Liberia is founded by freed American former slaves, 1824

Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1842

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawai'i, is dedicated; it is the oldest continuously used Roman Catholic Cathedral in the US, 1843

San Sebastian Church in Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed, 1891

A male servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the living quarters of the architect's Wisconsin home, 1914

The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship Ancon, 1914

Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed in a plane crash, 1935

The birth of stadium rock:  The Beatles play Shae Stadium, 1965

President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard, 1971

The "Wow! signal":  The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space, 1977

An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastates Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090, 2007

The olinguito becomes the first mammal to be discovered in the past 35 years, 2013

The journal "Nature Communications" publishes a study of the genetics of the apple which shows it originated in Kazakhstan, 2017

Lonely Planet's Ultimate Eatlist names bar-hopping for pintxos (Basque tapas) in San Sebastián, Spain as the world's best food experience, 2018

Disney Studios becomes the first studio to have five films earn over $1billion each in one year with the releases of "Toy Story 4", "Avengers: Endgame", "Captain Marvel", "Aladdin", and "The Lion King", 2019

Scotland becomes the first nation to make period products for women free to any woman who cannot afford them through local counsels and education providers, 2022

In Held v Montana, a judge rules that the US state of Montana must consider climate change when deciding to approve or renew fossil fuel projects, 2024