A Crop of Kittens (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins, Nature Friday and Pet Photo Fails

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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!

Kittens waiting for forever homes.

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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. I like pumpkin _________.

2. My favorite movie to watch around Halloween is _________.

3. If I could meet any Halloween creature, I'd choose _________.

4. I'd like a Halloween treat basket filled with _________.

1. I like pumpkin   seeds, a/k/a pepitas.

2. My favorite movie to watch around Halloween is _________.  I don't watch any Halloween movies, but my Sweetie really loves Halloweentown.

3. If I could meet any Halloween creature, I'd choose   whichever one would promise not to bite, eat, haunt or taunt me!

4. I'd like a Halloween treat basket filled with   raw cacao nibs.

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

This pretty yellow butterfly stopped for just a moment.  He was in full sun, so it's the best I could get.

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Pet Photo Fails is hosted by Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries & Meows.     

Mr. Cal can be hard to photograph, especially if he won't stand still.

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Today is Hallowe'en or Beggar's Night!  Some other names for this day:

Allantide -- Cornwall, England

All Hallows Eve -- Christian

Apple and Candle Night -- Wales

Books for Treats Day -- San Jose, CA, US (give gently used books to kids, not candy -- feed their brains, not their cavities!)

Dookie Apple Night -- Newcastle, England

Duck Apple Night -- Liverpool, England

Nut-Crack Night -- England; Scotland

Sneak Some of the Candy Yourself Before the Kids Start Knocking Day

Thump-the-Door Night -- Isle of Mann

Trick or Treat Night

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

A couple of final Halloween pics from around here.

Cousin Itt says good-bye until next year!

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Today is:

Admission Day -- Nevada, US

Breeder's Cup World Championship -- Del Mar, CA, US (the world's best horses compete in 14 races; through tomorrow)

Chiang Kai-Shek Day -- Taiwan

Day of the Seven Billion -- day in 2011 the UN declared the world population to have reached 7,000,000,000   

Dia de las Iglesias Evangelicas y Protestantes -- Chile (Day of Evangelical and Protestant Churches/Reformation Day)

Dias de los Muertos -- Mexico, esp. Michoacan and Oaxaca (through Nov. 2; ceremonies, sand sculptures, decorated altars, and parties through the nights in the cemetaries)

Feast of Sekhmet Bast Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of Inner Worlds -- Pagan (fight between the old and new year)

Founder's Day -- Girl Scouts of the USA (Juliette Gordon Low's birth anniversary)

Frankenstein Friday -- a day to celebrate the "mother" and "father" of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff

Ghostwriter's Day

Increase Your Psychic Powers Day -- originated in England in the 19th century, some celebrated on the 30th

Makoshe's Holiday -- Asatru/Pagan Slavic Calendar (honoring Mother Earth)  related observance:

     Mokosh Day -- Ukraine (Slavic goddess of "women's work", a wanderer and spinner, still popular as a life giving force and protector of women, always associated with Friday; date approximate)

Martyr's Day -- Burkina Faso

National Bandanna Day -- Australia (to raise funds for teens with cancer)    

National Candy/Caramel Apple Day

National Knock-Knock Joke Day

     Knock, Knock

     Who's There?

     Police.

     Police who?

     Police stop telling knock-knock jokes!

National Magic Day -- Society of American Magicians (in honor of Harry Houdini, who died on this day in 1926, and who was president of the SoAM)

National UNICEF Day

Old Celtic New Year's Eve

Out of the Broom Closet Day -- Pagan, Heathen, and all earth-based and ethnic religions

Reformation Day -- Protestant Christian (trad.)

     Official Holiday -- Germany; Slovenia

Samhain (northern hemisphere) / Beltane (southern hemisphere) -- Druids, Gaels, Welsh peoples, Neopagans, Wiccans (begins at sunset)

Scare a Friend Day -- just not so much that s/he isn't a friend any more

Senior Absurdity Day -- Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY, US (a day the kids look forward to each year)

St. Quentin's Day (Patron against coughs)

St. Wolfgang of Ratisbon's Day (Patron of apoplexics, carpenters, paralysed people, stroke victims; Regensburg, Germany; against apoplexy, paralysis, stomach diseases, strokes)

Vetmaetr -- Norse Calendar (Winter Nights; beginning of winter, the New Year, and the start of Odin leading the Wild Hunt)

Youth Honor Day -- Iowa, US

Anniversaries Today:

Mt. Rushmore is completed, 1941

Nevada becomes the 36th US State, 1864

Birthdays Today:

Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle, 1967

Adam Horovitz, 1966

Dermot Mulroney, 1963

Rob Schneider, 1963

Peter Jackson, 1961

Larry Mullen, Jr., 1961

John Candy, 1950

Jane Pauley, 1950

Deidre Hall, 1947

Stephen Rea, 1943

David Ogden Stiers, 1942

Ron Rifkin, 1939

Michael Landon, 1936

Dan Rather, 1931

Michael Collins, 1930

Barbara Bel Geddes, 1922

Dale Evans, 1912

Ethel Waters, 1896

Chaing Kai-shek, 1887

Juliette Gordon Low, 1860

John Keats, 1795

William Paca, 1740

Jan Vermeer, 1632

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Car Talk"(Radio), 1987 (national debut, ten years after their start as a local show in Boston)

"Jamaica"(Musical), 1957

"Capricio Espagnol"(Rimsky-Korsakov Op. 34), 1887

"Tamerlano"(Handel opera, HWV 18), 1724

Today in History:

Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites after their return to Jerusalem from exile, BC445

First All Hallows Eve observed to honor all the saints, 834

Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door, marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, 1517

Georg Ludwig van Hannover is crowned as the English King George I, 1714

Execution of Girondins at Paris during the Reign of Terror, 1793

Sir Humphrey Davy of London patents the miner's safety lamp, 1815

A standard uniform is approved for US Postal workers, 1868

A tropical cyclone hits Bengal, about 200,000 die, 1876

John Boyd Dunlop patents the pneumatic bicycle tire, 1888

Arthur Conan Doyle publishes "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", 1892

Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across United States, 1913

The Battle of Beersheba of WWI marks the last successful cavalry charge in history, 1917

The first of 160 consecutive days of 100°F + temps at Marble Bar, Australia, 1923

World Savings Day is announced in Milan, Italy by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress, 1924

Mt. Rushmore sculptures are completed, 1941

The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal, 1956

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two security guards, 1984

EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board, 1999

Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted, 1999

Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station, which has been continually crewed since, 2000

Surfer Bethany Hamilton loses her left arm and 3 liters of blood in a tiger shark attack; within a month she would be back on her board, and competing again within the year, 2003

The NYSE reopens after its first weather related shut down since the late 19th century; the two-day closure was due to Hurricane Sandy, 2012

In a landmark verdict, the Pakistani Supreme Court acquits a Christian woman of blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed after she has spent eight years on death row, 2018

A fire destroys most of the historic Shuri Castle, once seat of the Ryukyu Kingdom, on the island of Okinawa, Japan, 2019

The world's largest solar farm goes live in Sirindhorn Reservoir, Thailand, 2021

President of Kenya William Ruto holds a state dinner for King Charles III in Nairobi at which the King gives a speech, stating, “the wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret,” 2023

Living on the Ragged Edge (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy's Poetry Day and Brian's Thankful Thursday

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One of my sayings around here, especially when i pop up with things others think are impossible, is "Mommies are magic."

For most of this year, i have battled a phone problem, with my main phone being unusable and my "spare" phone, or business phone, being relied on although it is cheap, partly broken, and only has so much in the way of calls, texts and data, and doesn't have all my contacts.

Meanwhile, every time i've had the money to get the main phone fixed, either the fix hasn't worked (yes, i've switched repair shops!) or something else in the house broke and took the money before i could find the time to get to the repair shop, and every time i've had the time to go to the repair shop to even talk to them about a different repair, there's been no money.

Then it happened, Ms. G called and asked if i'd be devastated if she canceled Wednesday (no, although it is inconvenient to be without the money at the end of the month, it's not fatal this month), and the Sunday before, someone at church had decided to anonymously leave me some money to go toward the phone repair. and bingo, i had both some unexpected time and money.

I got to the repair shop, and not only do they think it can be fixed, if it isn't fixable there's a work around which can save my contacts and photos even with the problem it has, and the cost was what was left for me at the church, plus US. $0.34 (thirty-four cents), which is exactly how much change i had in my coin purse to the penny -- mommy magic at its finest.

Now, next Tuesday, if i can get to ladies' circle, get back to watch Annie while her mama has an appointment, then when mama gets back take Annie with me and the phone to the repair shop, get the phone repaired, save all my stuff onto the newer phone #2 Son has gifted me (he got a new one when he and Daughter-in-Law switched carriers), put the spare phone stuff on what will then be my "old" phone, and come out of it all still sane, that will be my best trick so far this year.

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

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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!

The seasonal fences, one more time before they disappear until next year.

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

I live life on the edge

as fast as I can go,

jump from ledge to ledge,

don't want to miss this show.

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

Today I am thankful for the thirty-four cents in my pocket yesterday!

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Today is:

Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security

Anniversary of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation -- Slovakia

Buy A Doughnut Day -- any wonder who started this one? (insert eye-roll here)

Checklists Day -- prevent tragedy, create great checklists; in honor of the development of the first well known checklist following a B-17 prototype's crash due to pilot error

Create a Great Funeral Day -- don't make your family choose the plans in the midst of grief, plan your sending away party now, it's more fun when it's done -- in advance!

Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions -- most former Soviet Republics

Look in the Back of Your Refrigerator Day / Haunted Refrigerator Night (And hope the old hamburger isn't grazing on the moldy salad.)

Mischief Night, a/k/a Goosey Night, Devil's Night, Cabbage Night -- US

National Breadstick Day

National Candy Corn Day

Practice Winter Snuggling Night -- when it gets really cold, you'll be glad you practiced

Punkie Night -- Hinton St George, Somerset, England (a celebration for children and adults who carry candle-lit punkies -- the best one wins a prize -- made out of mangel-wurzels, a type of beet, and sing old punkie songs asking for money or treats)

Pushkar Camel Fair -- Pushkar, India (for the camels, racing, fancy dress, changing owners, taking tourists on rides, and the chance to liven up this usually quiet town, and for the people, singing, dancing, exotic food, and watching the camels, as well as religious rituals at the time of the full moon; through Nov. 8)

St. Dorothy of Montau's Day (Patron of brides, difficult marriages, dying children, parents of large families, widows; Pomerania; Prussia)

St. Marcellus' Day  (as a Roman centurion who threw down his armor and refused to take part in pagan worship, he is Patron of conscientious objectors)

The Rhyne Toll -- Chetwode Manor, UK (through Nov 7) -- the Lord of the Manor may tax any cattle he finds on his Liberty (free pasture) on these days

Try on Your Halloween Costume Early Day -- to see how goofy you look, and make sure you have everything you need

Will Rogers' Days -- Claremore and Oologah, OK, US (celebrating the man's wit and humor at his birthplace and the museum dedicated to him; through Saturday)

Birthdays Today:

Nastia Liukin, 1989

Matthew Morrison, 1978

Gavin Rossdale, 1967

Diego Armando Maradona, 1960

Kevin Pollack, 1958

Charles Martin Smith, 1953

Harry Hamlin, 1951

Andrea Mitchell, 1946

Henry Winkler, 1945

Ed Lauter, 1940

Grace Slick, 1939

Claude Lelouch, 1937

Dick Gautier, 1937

Dick Vermeil, 1936

Robert Caro, 1935

Louis Malle, 1932

Ruth Gordon, 1896

Charles Atlas, 1893

Ezra Pound, 1885

William "Bull" Halsey, 1882

Emily Post, 1872

Alfred Sisley, 1839

Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1821

Richard Sheridan, 1751

John Adams, 1735

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Symphony No. 11 in G minor(Shostakovich Op. 103), 1957

"Panama Hattie"(Musical), 1940

"War of the Worlds"(Radio), 1938

Today in History:

Antioch surrenders to Rashidun Caliphate and his Muslim forces after the Battle of the Iron Bridge, 637

End of the 8th Crusade, 1270

King Henry VII, Tudor, crowned, 1485

Queen Isabella bans violence against Indians, 1503

The first Methodist church in the US is initiated (Wesley Chapel, NYC), 1768

Dr. Richard Gatling patents the machine gun, 1862

Founding of Helena, Montana (capital city), 1864

John Willis Menard, of Louisiana, becomes the first black elected to the US Congress (by special election, he was challenged by the loser, but was allowed to address Congress from the lectern), 1868

Daniel Cooper patents the time clock, 1894

Martha Hughes Cannon of Utah becomes the first woman US Senator, 1896

The first US Automobile Show opens in Madison Square Garden, NYC, 1900

Czar Nicholas II of Russia grants Russia's first constitution, creating a legislative assembly, 1905

Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy, 1922

John Logie Baird creates Britain's first television transmitter, 1925

Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, causing anxiety in some of the audience in the United States, 1938

Anne Frank and sister Margot Frank are deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, 1944

Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract for the Brooklyn Dodgers to break the baseball color barrier, 1945

Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, 1960

The Soviet Union detonates the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya; at 58 megatons of yield, it is still the largest explosive device ever detonated, nuclear or otherwise, 1961

The Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time, 1973

The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman takes place in Kinshasa, Zaire, 1974

Prince Juan Carlos becomes Spain's acting head of state, taking over for the country's ailing dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco, 1975

In Japan, NEC releases the first 16-bit home entertainment system, the TurboGrafx-16, known as PC Engine, 1987

Quebec sovereigntists narrowly lose a referendum for a mandate to negotiate independence from Canada (vote is 50.6% to 49.4%), 1995

The last Multics (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service) early time-sharing operating system is shut down at the Canadian Department of National Defense in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2000

George Lucas sells Lucasfilm, Ltd., to the Walt Disney Company, 2012

Canada and the EU sign a free trade deal, 2016

India officially strips Kashmir of its autonomous status, its flag and its constitution, and brings it under federal control, 2019

The Grand Ole Opry broadcasts its 5000th Saturday night radio program, from Nashville, Tennessee, 2021

US Federal Agencies receive their first Executive Order ruling on their use of AI technology, 2023

China launches spacecraft Shenzhou 19 from Ganzu to the Tiangong space station, with Wang Haoze, their first female space engineer and third female astronaut, on board, 2024