Monday, October 13, 2025

Growing Bigger (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Contrast

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Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.


Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.


Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!


Someone is very proud of herself for learning stairs.










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Sparks is the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, who wanted us to post something positive and uplifting at the start of the week.  While she no longer blogs, i like to post an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.     







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Our dear friend Diane is taking a break

accommodations we must make

we miss her poetry and wit

so carry on as Poetry Monday's a hit!


Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border Charlotte/Mother Owl and i are keeping it going while she takes a blog break, we hope temporarily.  Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let us know!


This week the theme is Contrast.                       


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If you live in a democracy,

each ballot counts, you’ll note,

by contrasts if you live in feudalism,

it’s your count who votes.


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A really good fisherman

is careful how he baits his hook,

by contrast the lazy schoolboy

simply hates his book.


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a top quality photocopier

will make great facsimiles,

by contrast the flu at family reunions

will make many sick families.


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Future themes are:


October 13 Contrast (Today!)

October 20 Side Profile of a Person

October 27 Journey Between the Stars

November 3 Funeral

November 10 Dismembered


(All themes are from the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and Other Arts Facebook group.)



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Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada!  I am very thankful for Canada, our wonderful neighbor and hope everyone has a blessed day of rest and celebration.


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



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Today is:


Anti-Columbus Day


Assassination of the Hero of the Nation Day/Prince Rwagasore Day -- Burundi (Commemorates the assassination of Prince Louis Rwagasore in 1961.)


Clean the Crumbs Out of the Broiler Oven Day -- keep it working longer, and prevent a potential fire; catch the toaster and toaster oven while you're at it!


Columbus Day/Discovery Day/Two Worlds Day/Anti-Columbus Day/Native Americans Day/Pan America Day -- observed, several countries

     American Indian Heritage Day -- AL, US

     Columbus Day (obs.) -- Turks and Caicos Islands; US and Territories

     Dia del Respet a la Diversidad Cultural -- Argentina

     Fraternal Day -- AL, US

     Native Americans' Day -- much of the US formally; almost everywhere informally (a day to mourn Native American victims of conquest and oppression, make peace, and celebrate the empowerment of Native Americans)


Commonwealth Culture Day -- Northern Mariana Islands


Constitution Day -- Sint Maarten


Fitness Day / Health-Sports Day -- Japan


Fontinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (garlanding of fountains)


H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadeg The Great Memorial Day -- Thailand


International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction -- UN 


International Skeptics Day -- while there are skeptic organizations around the globe, there's no documentation of this being celebrated internationally; maybe the creator of the day wanted us to be skeptical about it?


John Peel Day -- UK (in honor of his last broadcast)


Lotu-a-Tamaiti -- Samoa; Tokelau (Day after White Sunday)


Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day -- find information about this disease herehttp://mbcn.org/


Modern Mythology Day -- internet generated, go look up a few modern myths on truthorfiction.net or snopes.com and have a good laugh


National Heroes Day -- Bahamas


National Kick-Butt Day -- a day to kick yourself in the rump, jump start yourself to doing something you've been wanting to do and making excuses for not doing; begun by Sylvia Henderson 


national lower case day -- someone wants us to not use all caps


National M&M Day


National Yorkshire Pudding Day


Navy Establishment Day -- US


Norfolk Island Agricultural Show Day -- Norfolk Island, Australia


Runic Half-month Wyn (joy) begins


Shemini Azteret -- Judaism (Jewish completion of the annual cycle of reading of the Torah; begins at sunset, through sunset tomorrow)


St. Colman's Day (Patron of horned cattle, horses, and those who are to be hanged; Austria; against death by hanging and plague; a blessing of horses and cattle is still held at Melk on this day)


St. Edward the Confessor's Day (Patron of kings, those in difficult marriages, separated spouses; the English Royal Family)


Takata-no-Baba Yabusame -- Toyama Park, Tokyo, Japan (demonstration of the ancient art of horseback archery)


Train Your Brain Day -- spread around the internet by no one knows whom, but today is a good day to commit to doing what you can to keep your brain young


Virgin Islands - Puerto Rico Friendship Day



Anniversaries Today:


Founding of Georgia Institute of Technology (Ga. Tech), 1885

Cornerstone of the White House laid, 1792

US Navy is authorized by the Continental Congress, 1775



Birthdays Today:


Ashanti, 1980

Sacha Baron Cohen, 1971

Nancy Kerrigan, 1969

Kate Walsh, 1967

Kelly Preston, 1962

Jerry Rice, 1962

Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers, 1961

Marie Osmond, 1959

Chris Carter, 1957

Sammy Hagar, 1947

Pamela Tiffin, 1942

Paul Simon, 1941

Melinda Dillon, 1939

Nan Mouskouri, 1934

Jesse Leroy Brown, 1926

Lenny Bruce, 1925

Margaret Thatcher, 1925

Nipsey Russell, 1924

Yves Montand, 1921

Cornel Wilde, 1915

L. L. Bean, 1872

Rudolf Virchow, 1821

Mary Hays "Molly Pitcher" McCauley, 1754



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"(Play), 1962

"Kukla, Fran and Ollie"(TV), 1947



Today in History:


Nero becomes emperor, 54

The Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania, 409

Rabbi Issac Abarbanel begins his exegesis on the Torah, 1483

Jonathan Swift publishes the last of Drapier's letters, 1724

Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy, 1773

First publication of the "Old Farmer's Almanac", 1792

George Washington lays the cornerstone of the "Executive Mansion" (White House), 1792

Founding of B'nai B'rith, 1843

The first arial photo taken in the US, from a balloon over Boston, 1860

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda & friends agree to use Hebrew exclusively in their conversations, which begins the revival of it as an active and growing language, 1881

Greenwich, in London, England, is established as Universal Time meridian of longitude, 1884

Edward Emerson Barnard discovers D/1892 T1, the first comet discovered by photographic means, on the night of October 13–14, 1892

Ankara replaces Istanbul as the capital of Turkey, 1923

Premier of "Kukla, Fran, & Ollie", 1947

Fiji joins the United Nations, 1970

The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, who was then working at the C.D.C, 1976

Ameritech Mobile Communications (now AT&T) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago, Illinois, 1983

End of the Lebanese Civil War, 1990

The 2010 Copiapó mining accident in Copiapó, Chile comes to an end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground awaiting rescue, 2010

In China, 23 elder members of the Communist Party of China call for ending the country's restrictions on free speech, 2010

Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016

Simone Biles becomes the most decorated gymnast in history when she wins a record 25th medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, 2019

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei sets a new world record of 2:14.04 for the women's marathon in Chicago, beating Paula Radcliffe's 16-year-old mark, 2019

Turkey's Rumeysa Gelgi, age 24, is confirmed as World's tallest living woman by Guinness World Records at 215.16cm (7ft 0.7in), 2021

William Shatner becomes the oldest person to reach space, travelling aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on a 10 minute flight, 2021

NASA launches a spacecraft to explore the metal-rich asteroid Psyche, which is the largest metallic object in the Solar System, 2023

SpaceX completes the first recovery of a rocket as its Starship rocket booster is caught by a giant pair of mechanical arms in a test flight, 2024

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Lock It In (Cajun Joke), Sunday Selections and Sunday Selfie

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Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus is no longer hosting a Silly Sunday blog hop, do not expect me to quit telling Cajun jokes, especially as it has now become a habit.


This is wedding weekend, Little Girl, who is 27(!) is getting married.


Aline be talkin’ to her Père, Boudreaux, ‘bout de upcomin’ weddin’ she be plannin’ an’ she ax, “Père, what fo’ ever’ time we talk ‘bout de weddin’, you twist you ring?  In fact, I done seen you twist you weddin’ ring lots over de years.  Do dat jes’ be a nervous habit?”


An’ Boudreaux say, “Mais, no, it be ‘cause dey call it wedlock an’ I’s trying to fin’ de combination to get it to unlock!”



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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files.  The rules have been relaxed, and it is now simply a showcase for your photos, new or old, good or bad, although nothing rude, please.  Some of the current participants include River, Charlotte/Mother Owl, Andrew, and sometimes WiseWebWoman.     



Being away at the wedding venue this weekend, i didn’t have my usual computer, just my pad, so these are all repeats from over the years.


























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This week, Rufus and Riley, a friend’s basset hounds, want to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.   





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Today is:


Ayathrem -- Zoroastrianism (feast of bringing the herds and flocks home, a five day feast, dates approximate)


Cephalopod Awareness Days:  Fossil Day -- celebrating the most intelligent invertebrates in the world; today, for all the "incredible suckers that have gone extinct"


Child Rambunctiousness Appreciation Day -- remembering back to when we didn't say every kid with ants in his/her pants needed drugs


Children's Day / Feast of Our Lady of Aparecida -- Brazil


Cirio de Nazare -- Belem, Brazil (two week Feast of Cirio begins in Belem [St. Mary of Bethlehem])


Clergy Appreciation Day


Day of Fortuna Redux -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of successful journeys and lucky homecomings, favored by travelers and soldiers)


Day of Giving the Black Land to Horus and the Red Land to Set -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)


"Discovery" of America by Columbus, actual date; most government holidays will be on the Monday nearest this date

     Columbus Day -- Turks and Caicos Islands; US and Territories

     Descubrimiento de América -- Mexico

     Día de la Hispanidad or Fiesta Nacional de España -- Spain

     Dia de la Raza -- Latin America and especially Guatemala (Day of the Race, or Day of the Natives)

     Día de la Resistencia Indígena -- Venezuela (Day of Indigenous Resistance)

     Dia de las Americas/Descubrimiento de America -- Uruguay

     Dia de las Culturas -- Costa Rica (Day of the Cultures)

     Dia del Descubrimiento de dos Mundos -- Chile

     Discovery Day -- Bahamas

     Encuentro de Dos Mundos -- Ecuador

     National Heritage Day -- Turks and Caicos Islands

     Pan America Day -- Belize


Earth Science Week -- US (this year's theme, "Energy Resources for Our Future")  


Fiesta Nacional de Espana -- Spain (National Day/Hispanity Day)


Freethought Day -- celebration by Freethinkers of the effective ending date of the Salem witch trials


Grandmother's Day -- FL, US


Independence Day -- Equatorial Guinea(1968)


International Moment of Frustration Scream Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, who want you to go outside at 1200GMT and scream for 30 seconds so we can all get it out of our systems www.wellcat.com


Naha Tug-of-War Festival -- Okinawa, Japan (tug-of-war involving a 27 ton rope)


National Gumbo Day


National Pulled Pork Day


Native American's Day -- often celebrated on both the observed and the traditional Columbus Day; a day to mourn Native American victims of conquest and oppression, make peace, and celebrate the empowerment of Native Americans


Old Farmers Day -- an unsponsored day, and any day is a good day to honor the men and women who work hard to grow our food


St. Edwin of Northumbria's Day (Patron of converts, hoboes/tramps, homeless people, kings, parents of large families)


St. Wilfred of York's Day (Patron of Middlesbrough, England; Ripon, England)


Warai Matsuri -- Kawanabe, Wakayama, Japan (a laughing festival, in which wine flows and this place earns its name as one of the happiest places on earth; one legend about the laughter is that one of the spirits of the shrine didn't wake in time for a meeting, and was laughed at, so now everyone laughs)


White Sunday -- Samoa and American Samoa (children wear white to church and run the church services, are served a special meal, and receive new church clothes for the upcoming year)


World Arthritis Day -- people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases can make their voices heard today   




Anniversary Today:


Day of Six Billion, 1999 (marking the world population reaching that number)




Birthdays Today:


Marion Jones, 1975

Kirk Cameron, 1970

Adam Rich, 1968

Hugh Jackman, 1968

Carlos Bernard, 1962

Ronald E. McNair, 1950

Susan Anton, 1950

Chris Wallace, 1947

Tony Kubek, 1936

Luciano Pavarotti, 1935

Dick Gregory, 1932

Charles Gordone, 1925

Jean Nidetch, 1923

Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872

Jonathan Trumbull, 1710



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Jesus Christ, Superstar"(Rock opera), 1971

"The Bob Hope Show"(TV), 1953

"The Burns and Allen Show"(TV), 1950

"Call Me Madam"(Musical). 1950



Today in History:


The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon, BC539

King John of England loses his crown jewels in The Wash, 1216

Nichiren, Japans Buddhist monk who founded Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon, 1279

Christopher Columbus' expedition makes landfall in the Bahamas, 1492

Massachusetts discontinues all witch trials, 1692

America's first asylum for "Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds" opens in Virginia, 1773

Bavarian royalty invites the citizens of Munich to join the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen; this celebration becomes the founding of the first Oktoberfest, 1810

Charles Macintosh, of Scotland, sells the first raincoat, 1821

Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) is enacted by British rule in India, which named over 160 local communities 'Criminal Tribes', i.e. hereditary criminals, 1871*

President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House, 1901

An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children's Hospital, Boston, 1928

The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits, 1964

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published, 1979

The lowest recorded non-tornadic atmospheric pressure, 87.0 kPa (870 mbar or 25.69 inHg), occurred in the Western Pacific during Typhoon Tip, 1979

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China, 1986

NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus, 1994

The proclaimed 6 billionth living human in the world is born, 1999

The second Chinese human spaceflight, Shenzhou 6, is launched, 2005

The first of the thirty-three miners trapped in the Copiano mining disaster, Florencio Avalos, is rescued, 2010

The customary law preventing women from inheriting their family home is overturned in Botswana, 2012

A long-lost bust of Napoleon by Auguste Rodin is confirmed found in Madison borough hall, New Jersey; it is estimated to be worth at least $4m, 2017

California becomes the first US state to pass a law banning the manufacture and sale of new fur products, 2019

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya becomes first to run a marathon in under 2 hours (1:59:40) in Vienna, Austria, 2019

Lebanon reports its first death from Cholera since 1993, as more Syrian refugees flood the country, 2022

Roman scrolls burnt in the 79AD Mt Vesuvius eruption at Herculaneum are read for the first time after a computer science student develops a computer program to do so, 2023

Spanish researchers, after studying genetic material, reveal Christopher Columbus is probably Spanish and Jewish and born in Valencia, not an Italian from Genoa as he claimed


*Not repealed until India's independence in 1949