Sour Sweetheart (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Piece of Clothing

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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!

Our little Annie loves sour/dill/spicy tastes.  She makes such funny faces when eating a lemon/lime popsicle, the kind with no sugar, just grape juice, lemon juice, and lime juice.  She makes these faces, then takes another bite!

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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 Piece of Clothing.               

my camouflage shirt

is so ugly i can't see

myself wearing it

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My sweater serves its purpose

but it's praises I can't sing,

it's so very critical,

it knit-picks everything!

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Future themes are:

January 19 Piece of Clothing (Today!)

January 26 That One Time

February 2 Bamboo

February 9 Carousel

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

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Today is:

Annual Visit of the Poe Toaster -- the mysterious person who, for almost 75 years, dressed in black with a wide brimmed hat and scarf, annually visited Poe's grave on his birthday, leaving roses and cognac; has not been seen since 2009

Blue Monday -- UK (it's gloomy winter, it's after the holidays, it's time to cheer someone up by doing something nice for him/her)

Brew A Potion Day -- internet generated, no reasons given

Confederate Heroes Day -- Texas, US 

Feast of Sultan (Sovereignty) -- Baha'i

Horror Novels Are Horrendous Day -- for Poe's birth anniversary

La Tamborrada -- San Sebastian, Spain (begins in the evening, a 24 hour drum jam session and the city's biggest fiesta)

Little Ricky Day -- marking the date of his arrival on "I Love Lucy"

Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- US and Territories (obs.)

National Popcorn Day

Neon Sign Day -- patented this day in 1915

Sacrifices to Apollon -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

St. Canute's Day a/k/a St. Knud (Patron of Denmark)

St. Henry of Uppsala's Day (Patron of the Catholic Cathedral of Helsinki; Finland; against storms)

Theophany/Epiphany -- Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christians who still follow the Julian Calendar

     Timket -- Ethiopian Orthodox Christian (with huge, colorful festivals through the whole country)

     Blessing of the Waters -- Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sophia, Bayswater, London, UK

Tin Can Day -- patented this day in 1825

Traditional Day of Offering -- Bhutan (first day of 12th month of Tibetan calendar)

Wellington Provincial Anniversary Day -- Wellington, New Zealand (obs.; trad. date 22nd)

Birthdays Today:

Shawn Johnson, 1992

Jodie Sweetin, 1982

Frank Caliendo, 1974

Drea de Matteo, 1972

Shawn Wayans, 1971

Wendy Moniz, 1969

Junior Seau, 1969

Paul McCrane, 1961

William Ragsdale, 1961

Thomas Kinkade, 1958

Simon Rattle, 1955

Desi Arnaz, Jr., 1953

Dewey Bunnell, 1952

Robert Palmer, 1949

Paula Deen, 1947

Dolly Parton, 1946

Shelley Fabares, 1944

Janis Joplin, 1943

Michael Crawford, 1942

Phil Everly, 1939

Richard Lester, 1932

Robert MacNeil, 1931

Tippi Hedren, 1931

Fritz Weaver, 1926

Jean Stapleton, 1923

Guy Madison, 1922

John H. Johnson, 1918

Lester Flatt, 1914

Edgar J. Helms, 1863

Paul Cezanne, 1839

Edgar Allan Poe, 1809

Robert E. Lee, 1807

James Watt, 1736 (O.S. date)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"48 Hours"(TV), 1988

"The Millionaire"(TV), 1955

"Woman of the Year"(Film), 1942

"Il Trovatore"(Verdi Opera), 1853

"Faust Part I"(Goethe tragic play), 1829

Today in History:

Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy, 1419

San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is currently the oldest church in the Philippines, 1607

The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, 1788

The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope, 1806

Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett obtain a patent for a process of storing food in tin cans, 1825

Goethe's Faust Part I premiers, 1829

Verdi's Il Trivatore premiers in Rome, 1853

The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey, 1883

Ibsen's play The Master Builder premiers in Berlin, 1893

Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising, 1915

The US Senate votes against membership in League of Nations, 1920

Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs, 1930

For the only time in recorded history, snow falls in Miami, Florida, 1977

The last VW Beetle made in Germany leaves the plant, 1978

United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity, 1981

The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced, 1983

Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations, 1993

The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto, 2006

Calcium deposits are discovered on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity Rover, 2013

American skier Lindsey Vonn wins her 63rd World Cup, setting a new record, 2015

A major report on antimicrobial resistance shows 4.95m deaths worldwide can be associated with drug-resistant bacteria, making untreatable infections now a leading cause of death, 2022

Jacinda Ardern steps down as Prime Minister of New Zealand after 5 1/2 years, 2023

Japan becomes the fifth nation to land a spacecraft on the Moon, 2024