Cupcake, Donut, and Marshmallow (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!

I asked these three, Cupcake, Donut, and Marshmallow, if they wanted to pose.  Cupcake and Donut did, but Marshmallow had his own way.

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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 recommend everyone ____________________ this year.

2. My _________________ is ______________________and I __________________.

3. I try to save money by _________.

4. I sometimes let myself splurge on _________.

1. I recommend everyone   do at least one thing to get healthier   this year.

2. My   car air conditioner   is   broken   and I   am very thankful when the weather is cooler as summer driving isn't easy.

3. I try to save money by   shopping very carefully, to get good nutrition not empty calories.

4. I sometimes let myself splurge on   Trader Joe's potato chips, the ones with only three ingredients, olive oil, potatoes, and sea salt.

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

The bees are happy it's camellia season.

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Today is:

Balloon Ascension Day / Aviation in America Day -- the first manned free balloon flight in the US was on this date in 1793 at Philadelphia

Duelo Nacional -- Panama (Martyrs' Day)

Feast of the Most Holy Black Nazarene -- Quiapo District, Manila, Philippines (culmination of the celebrations; a 400 year old Catholic procession with a black life-sized wooden statue of Jesus)

Festival of the Agonalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (gifts given to Janus)

Hatsu-Ichi -- Maebashi, Japan (a daruma -- good luck doll -- market, to start the year off right)

"I Will Stay" Day -- Brazil (anniversary of the start of the Independence Movement in 1922)

National Apricot Day

Peace Agreement Day -- South Sudan

Positively Penguins Day -- a day to celebrate all things penguin

Republic Day -- Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Static Cling/Static Electricity Day -- on some sites, listed as April 26; i can only ask why it's listed anywhere for any reason

St. Marciana's Day (Patron of those with wounds)

Stepfather's Day -- not official, but it should be, there are some great stepfathers out there

Stuffed Animal Laundry Day -- give that old bear a bath!

Toka Ebisu -- Japan (parades and shrine rituals through Japan, but especially in Kyoto, Osaka, and Fukuoka; through the 11th)

Word Nerd Day -- originated by Maria Schneider of WritersDigest (to celebrate those who enjoy playing with words)

Anniversaries Today:

Connecticut becomes the 5th US State, 1788

Birthdays Today:

Sergio Garcia, 1980

Dave Matthews, 1967

Joely Richardson, 1965

Mark Martin, 1959

Imelda Staunton, 1956

J.K. Simmons, 1955

Crystal Gayle, 1951

Jimmy Page, 1944

Joan Baez, 1941

Susannah York, 1941

Byron Barlett "Bart" Starr, 1934

Bob Denver, 1935

Judith Krantz, 1928

Lee Van Cleef, 1925

Les Paul, 1915

Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose Hovick), 1914

Richard Nixon, 1913

Simone De Beauvoir, 1908

Chic Young, 1901

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, 1859

Gracie Fields, 1898

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"It Takes a Thief"(TV), 1968

"Rawhide"(TV), 1959

"Dear Abby"(newspaper column), 1956

"Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze"(Film), 1894

Today in History:

Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, 475

Seven hundred Jews, believed to be causing the Black Death, are burned in their homes in Basel, Switzerland, 1349

The first sighting of manatees by a European (Columbus), 1493

Philip Astley stages the first modern circus in London, 1768

The first hot-air balloon flight in the US lifts off in Philadelphia, 1793

Income Tax is introduced in the UK (to fund the war against Napoleon), 1799

Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul's Cathedral, 1806

Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery, 1816

The Daguerreotype photo process is announced at French Academy of Science, 1839

Thomas Henderson makes the first measure of stellar parallax, of Alpha Centauri, 1839

The Astor Library opens in NYC, 1854

The first hostilities of the Civil War, at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, 1861

The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow, 1880

New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts, 1894

Alfred Tennyson's son, Hallam, the Second Baron Tennyson, becomes the second Governor General of Australia, 1903

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., the first historically black intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity to be officially recognized at Howard University is founded, 1914

The Ottoman Empire prevails in the Battle of Çanakkale, as the last British troops are evacuated, 1916

Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogiro (helicopter) flight, Spain, 1923

A fire at the Laurier Palace movie theatre in Quebec, Montreal, kills 78 children, 1927

Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag on the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians, 1964

Elections are held to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He is succeeded by Rawhi Fattouh, 2005

Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement rebel group sign a peace agreement in Naivasha, Kenya, 2005

Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice determines they can defer the latest inauguration of President Hugo Chavez while his cancer operation recovery continues, 2013

Car manufacturer Hyundai unveils a model of a proposed walking car for first responders, 2019

St Paul, Minnesota becomes the first large US city to swear in an all-female city council, 2024