She Has the Keys and She's Going to Town (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday, Doughnut

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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 has her keys and is going to go...somewhere.  She hasn't told me where.

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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.     

I seriously doubt Oscar Wilde said any such thing, but someone did and it's true.

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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 Doughnut.               

Oh, fried piece of dough,

what makes me love you so?

The glory of your taste

is ruining my waist!

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Flour ball,

so much sugar

fried, often filled or iced,

you are irresistible,

Doughnut!

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yes I want one more

of the cream filled ones so please

doughnut hold me back

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Future themes are:

February 23 Doughnut (Today!)

March 2 Breakfast in Bed

March 9 Meeting a Friend

March 16 Obsidian

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

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It's International Dog Biscuit Day, sometimes called International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.  Be sure your dog gets to appreciate a biscuit today.

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

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Today is:

Curling Is Cool Day -- embrace the Olympic sport the whole family can play; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Defenders of the Motherland Day (formerly Red Army Day) -- Russia and some former Soviet Republics

    Homeland Defenders' Day -- Kyrguzstan

    Motherland Defenders' Day -- Transdniestria

Diesel Engine Day -- Rudolph Diesel received his patent in Germany on this day in 1893

Easy Divorce Day -- marking the passage, in 1915, of the Nevada law granting easy divorces after only a 6 month residency, the first such in the US

Great Lent begins-- Orthodox Christian (a/k/a Clean Monday, Ash Monday, Pure Monday, Monday of Lent, Shrove Monday, Collop Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday, and (in Cypress) Green Monday)

Iwo Jima Day -- commemoration of the US flag raising

National Banana Bread Day

National Day -- Brunei

National Rationalization Day

Pebbles Day -- Pebbles Flintstone was born this day around 10,000BC

Republic Day (Mashramani) -- Guyana

St. Milburga of Shropshire's Day (Patron of birds)

St. Polycarp of Smyrna's Day (Patron against dysentery and earache)

St. Serenus the Gardener's Day (Patron of bachelors, falsely accused people)

Tenno Tanjobi -- Japan (Birthday of Emperor Naruhito, national holiday observed as a day of rest.)

Terminalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Terminus, god of land boundary markers)

Birthdays Today:

Emily Blunt, 1983

Niecy Nash, 1970

Michael Dell, 1965

"Bobby" Bonilla, 1963

Howard Jones, 1955

Patricia Richardson, 1951

"Too Tall" Jones, 1951

John Sanford, 1944

Johnny Winter, 1944

Peter Fonda, 1939

Sylvia Chase, 1938

Donna J. Stone, 1933

Paul Tibbets, 1915

William L. Shirer, 1904

Victor Fleming, 1889

W.E.B. DuBois, 1868

Emma Hart Willard, 1787

George Frederic Handel, 1685

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, 1646

Samuel Pepys, 1633

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Fortune and Men's Eyes"(Play), 1967

"Pinocchio"(Disney Cartoon), 1940

Today in History:

Emperor Diocletian orders the general persecution of Christians, 303

Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type, 1455

France begins its fifth "holy war" against the Huguenots, 1574

Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army, 1778

The first US raw-cotton-to-cloth mill is founded, in Waltham, Massachusetts, 1813

The first US pharmaceutical college is organized, the College of Apothecaries in Philadelphia, 1821

Santa Anna begins his siege of the Alamo, 1836

John Newman leaves the Anglican Church and is welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church, 1846

In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna, 1847

Great Britain formally recognizes the independence of the Boers in the area between the Orange and Vaal rivers, signing the Bloemfontein Convention with the Orange Free State, 1854

The London Times publishes the world's first classified ad, 1886

Charles Martin Hall, assisted by his sister Julia Brainerd Hall, produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, 1886 

The French/Italian Riviera is struck by an earthquake that leaves 2,000 dead, 1887

The Tootsie Roll is introduced by Leo Hirshfield, 1896

In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing the government of anti-Semitism and wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus, 1898

The Cuban state of Guantanamo is leased to the US, 1903

The US acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million, 1904

The Rotary Club International is founded in Chicago, 1905

Russian Tsar Nicholas II dissolves the Diet of Finland, 1909

The US state of Nevada enacts a convenient divorce law, 1915

The February Revolution begins in Russia, 1917

Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, 1941

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded, 1847

The first mass inoculation with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh, 1954

First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), 1955

The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri, 1983

Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 1987

A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir, 1997

An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31, 1999

Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster, 2010

The journal Nature Human Behavior publishes a study of the discovery of the oldest Australian rock art, a 17,300-year-old painting of a kangaroo in the Kimberly region of Western Australia, 2021

Scientists announce the discovery of three new moons in the Solar System, one orbiting Uranus, which brings its known total to 28, and two orbiting Neptune, bringing its known total to 16, 2024

Bovine Counsel (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.

The biggest question every Saturday is, what is everyone having to eat.  Often, Grandma wants to order something delivered from a restaurant, but on occasion, she’ll have something she already has at the house.  Yesterday, a friend had brought a meal and she and Grandpa both had it.

De bigges’ concern Boudreaux done have be what Clothile goin’ cook fo’ supper.  He done ax her one af’noon an’ she say, “Beef tips.”

An’ Boudreaux look at her sly an’ say, “Mais, since when you take advice from a cow?”

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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.  Our friend River is hosting, and other participants often include Charlotte/Mother Owl, Andrew, and WiseWebWoman.              

More bits and bobs.  I've been trying to catch night photos, but they just don't turn out as good as I'd like.  Our Japanese magnolias/tulip trees are blooming, as are some azaleas and a few camelias are still at it.  Plus random decor and someone's Valentine gift of tulips.

 

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This week, Mr. Cal wants to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.   

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It's Walk Your Dog Day!  

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

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 Today is:

Abu Simbel Festival -- Egypt (one of the two days a year when the light illuminates the statutes of Rameses, Ra and Amun in the temple complex)

    Festival of the Perpendicular Sun/Illumination of the Inner Sanctum of Ramses II's Abu Simbel Temple -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Be Humble Day -- can't find the origin of this one, s/he wants to humbly remain anonymous

Buergbrennen -- Luxembourg (traditional burning of special bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent)

Call Somebody "Boo Boo" Day -- apparently just to see what s/he will call you back; be careful, this one started before anyone heard of Honey Boo Boo and doesn't take that into account

Cat Day -- Japan (an unofficial celebration of felines, because today's date in Japanese sounds almost like "nyan, nyan, nyan" ("meow, meow, meow")

Cheesefare Sunday/Forgiveness Sunday -- Orthodox Christian (final day upon which dairy products and eggs may be consumed before the Lenten fast; sometimes also called Forgiveness Sunday)

Concordia/Caristia  -- Ancient Roman Calendar, Festival of Goodwill

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Antioch -- Roman Catholic Church

Goa Month begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (month of the goddess Goa, personified as the daughter of Old Man Winter; as last month greeted her father well, greet her kindly, too, for an easy weather month)

    Konudagur -- Housewife's Day (just as the first day last month honored husbands, this month the wife is greeted with either coffee or flowers)

Independence Day -- Santa Lucia(1979)

International World Thinking Day -- a/k/a "B.-P. day" or "Founder's Day" -- World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

    Girl Guides Day -- UK

National Margarita Day (How is that going to help with the thinking?)

St. Margaret of Cortona's Day (Patron of falsely accused people, hoboes, homeless people, mentally ill people, midwives, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, reformed prostitutes, single laywomen, teriaries, and tramps; against insanity, loss of parents, mental illness, sexual temptation, and temptation)

Washington's Birthday -- US

Anniversaries Today:

Ed McMahon marries Pamela Hurn, 1992

Kurt Corbin marries Courtney Love, 1992

Bill Bixby marries Laura Michael, 1991

Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania, 1855

Washington University in St. Louis is founded, 1853

Birthdays Today:

James Blunt, 1977

Drew Barrymore, 1975

Michael Chang, 1972

Lea Salonga, 1971

Clinton Kelly, 1969

Jeri Ryan, 1968

Vijay Singh, 1963

Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, 1962

Kyle MacLachlan, 1959

Julie Walters, 1950

Julius "Dr. J" Erving, 1950

Miou-Miou, 1950

Dan Millman, 1946

Jonathan Demme, 1944

Sparky Anderson, 1934

Edward M. Kennedy, 1932

Paul Dooley, 1928

Robert Wadlow, 1918

John Mills, 1908

Sheldon Leonard, 1907

Robert Young, 1907

Luis Bunuel, 1900

Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1892

"Chico" Marx, 1891

Lady Olave Baden-Powell, 1889

Lord Robert Baden-Powell, 1857

James Russel Lowell, 1819

Frederic Chopin, 1810

Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788

George Washington, 1732

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"It Happened One Night"(Film), 1934

"Lady Windermere's Fan"(Play), 1892

"Symphony No. 4 in F minor"(Tchaikovsky Op. 36), 1878

Today in History:

Jews are expelled from Zurich, Switzerland, 1349

Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published, 1632

The English House of Lords rules that authors do not have perpetual copyright of their material, 1774

Jews are expelled from the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland, 1775

The first US ship to trade with China, the "Empress of China," sails from New York, 1784

The Last Invasion of Britain by the French begins near Fishguard, Wales, 1797

Spain signs the Adams-Onis Treaty, renouncing its claim to the Oregon territory and west Florida, 1819

Spain sells east Florida to the US, 1821

Edward Payson Weston, "The Father of Modern Pedestrianism," who gave lectures on the health benefits of walking, first comes into the public eye by leaving on this date to walk to Lincoln's inauguration, a distance of 478 miles, 1861\*

Frank W. Woolworth opens the first US chain store, his  "Woolworth's" 5 and 10 cent store, in Utica, NY, 1879

John Reid of Scotland establishes a 3 hole golf course near Yonkers, New York, thus introducing the game to the US, 1888

Hawaii becomes a US territory, 1900

Due to drought, the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water, 1903

The Great White Fleet, the first US fleet to circumnavigate the globe, returns to Virginia, 1909

Calvin Coolidge gives the first US presidential radio address, 1924

Bert Hinkler successfully completes the first solo flight from England to Australia, 1928

Australian swimmer John Konrads sets 6 world records in two days, 1958

Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500, 1959

Following United States President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices, 1973

In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3, in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history, 1980

In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned, 1997

An earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude strikes Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 181 people, 2011

At age 34, Mario Matt of Austria becomes the oldest champion in Olympic alpine skiing history with the slalom gold medal at Sochi, 2014

10 million people are without water in Delhi after caste protests in Jat sabotage the Munak water canal, 2016

The discovery of 7 Earth-sized planets orbiting star Trappist-1 is announced in the Journal "Nature", 2017

The Journal “Science” publishes the evidence that Neanderthals were the first artists, creating cave paintings in Spain over 65,000 years ago, 2018

Astronomers announce the latest Webb telescope data is upending existing theories of how early galaxies were formed, 2023

The Odysseus lunar lander, although landing on its side, becomes the first US craft to land on the Moon since 1972 and the first private spacecraft to ever land on the moon, 2024

*Yes, he got there in 10 days, in time for the inaugural ball!