Always Thankful, a Ten Things of Thankful Post, A-to-Z Challenge

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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.     

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This Thankful Day is special and sad.  Even when the news isn't good, there are always reasons to be thankful.

I want to thank all who prayed or sent good thoughts and wishes to my friend DiDreaming (Diane).

She has died, and I am very sad.  Between the damage chemo did to her body 15 years ago, her asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and the latest bout with a completely different cancer from the first one, i believe her body simply got tired.

At the same time, I am thankful for all she meant in my life.

I'm thankful she was willing to reach out beyond the computer screen and meet new people (including me) in real life.

I'm thankful we got to go to the zoo together, among other adventures.

I'm thankful we both loved ethnic foods, and enjoyed various restaurant meals together.

I'm thankful she loved to share stories of Small Bad Dog, Gracie.  (Gracie died just before she was diagnosed with cancer this time.)

I'm thankful we could talk about anything.

I'm thankful for her fabulous sense of humor.

I'm thankful she also liked going to the church that meets at the Flora-Bama Bar.

I'm thankful i got to see her every summer when we went on vacation.

I'm sorry i will not see her this year, but i am thankful she is at peace.

Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Dyanne and her co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.   

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Today is:

APAWS International Pooper Scooper week -- The Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists believe every dog should have its day, but not on someone else's lawn!

April Fool's Day  a/k/a Huntingowk Day or Gowkie Day in Scotland, because an April Fool is called a gowk; in England it is All Fools Day or April Noddy Day, as an April fool is a "noddy"

Azalea Festival -- Muskogee, OK, US (month long celebration with citywide events throughout)

Capture of Brielle Remembrance -- Brielle, Netherlands

Civil Service Day -- Thailand

Community Spirit Days -- an open invitation, all month long, for any town or community to involve itself in a special service project

Day of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Edible Book Day -- Sponsored by the Edible Book Festival, Austin, TX, US (celebrating books and culinary creativity by making edible representations of books, then eating them)

Every Day is Tag Day™ -- make sure your pet has an up to date tag or microchip, just in case! 

Fossil Fools Day -- part of the conservationist movement of many organizations that want us to decrease reliance on fossil fuels and stop corporate polluters

Greek Cypriot Day -- Cyprus (EOKA Day)

International Fun at Work Day -- originally sponsored by Playfair, which encourages non-foolish humor that is non-toxic 

International Pillow Fight Day -- yes, really (organizers used to have huge fights set in large cities, since Covid ended that, have a fight at your own house and join the fun!) 

International Tatting Day

Investiture of the New Captains Regent -- San Marino (sometimes listed as National Day)

Kalends of April -- Ancient Roman Empire; also

     Festival of Fortuna Virilis -- Fortune in her role of bringing luck to women who want better relationships with men

     Veneralia -- ritual yearly washing of the statue of Venus

Kha b-Nisan -- Assyrians (traditional New Year celebration)

Loki's Day -- by some calculations, but more likely it was moved to this date to celebrate the trickster of all time on the trickiest day of the year

Miyako Odori -- Kobu Kaburenjo Theatre, Kyoto, Japan ("Dance of the Old Capital", the highly anticipated geisha dance and music festival, through the 30th)

National Sourdough Bread Day

Orissa Day -- Orissa, India

One Cent Day -- no history on this, just noted on several sites

Pigasus Award Announcement Day -- by James Randi, awarded to parapsychological, paranormal or psychic frauds

Reading is Funny Day -- a day to read riddles, jokes, and fun things with kids to show them how great reading can be

School Year Begins -- Japan, most schools and universities

Sizdeh Be-dar -- Iran (Nature Day, an ancient Persian celebration to get out and joyfully spend the day outdoors)

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival -- Skagit Valley, WA, US; through the 30th

Sorry Charlie Day -- a day to recognize Charlie the Tuna, always rejected but never giving up, and anyone who has ever been rejected and lived to tell about it

St. Gilbert de Moray's Day (Patron of Caithness, Scotland)

St. Stupid's Day (First Church of the Last Laugh)  

Tangible Karma™ Day -- set aside an hour today to become purposefully aware of the needs of someone around you, and to fulfill that need; because giving feels as good as receiving 

Tree Loving Week begins -- South Korea (always the week that includes April 5, their Arbor Day)

Uzupis Day -- Uzupis District, Vilnius, Lithuania

Anniversaries Today:

Nunavut becomes Canada's third independent territory, 1999

Jim Bakker marries Tammy Faye LaValley, 1961

Birthdays Today:

Randy Orton, 1980

Jon Gosselin, 1977

Rachel Maddow, 1973

Susan Boyle, 1961

Libby Riddles, 1956

Annette O’Toole, 1953

Samuel A. Alito, Jr, 1950

David Eisenhower, 1947

Daniel Joseph “Rusty” Staub, 1944

Ali MacGraw, 1938

Gordon Jump, 1932

Debbie Reynolds, 1932

Jane Powell, 1929

Anne McCaffrey, 1926

Toshiro Mifune, 1920

Abraham Maslow, 1908

Clara "Mother" Hale, 1905

Lon Chaney, 1883

Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1873

Otto von Bismarck, 1815

William Harvey, 1578

Emperor Go-Saga of Japan, 1220

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Will Rogers Follies"(Musical), 1991

"General Hospital"(TV), 1963

"The Doctors"(TV), 1963

"Der blaue Engel/The Blue Angel"(Film; premier of Marlene Dietrich), 1930

Today in History:

The ruins of the city of Pompeii are found, 1748

Japan's volcano Unsen erupts, killing about 53,000, 1793

Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine, 1826

Cincinnati becomes the first US city to pay firefighters, 1853

Singapore, Penang & Malakka become British crown colonies, 1867

The London-Paris telephone connection is opened, 1891

The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois, 1891

The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, 1918

The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed, 1924

Generalisimo Frederico Franco announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, 1939

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands creates a tsunami that strikes Hawai'i, killing 159, 1946

The twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State become the Republic of Ireland, 1949

The Canadian government repeals Japanese Canadian internment after seven years, 1949

The BBC broadcasts the spaghetti tree hoax on its current affairs programme Panorama, 1957

Project Tiger, a tiger conservation program, is launched in the Corbett National Park, India, 1973

Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, 1976

The Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia is created, 1996

Comet Hale-Bopp is seen passing over perihelion, 1997

Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories, 1999

Croatia and Albania join NATO, 2009

The world’s first smelling TV screen is unveiled in Japan, 2013

Bob Dylan receives his Nobel Prize for Literature at a private ceremony in Stockholm, 2017

The discovery of a major archaeological site on a reef in the middle of Lake Titicaca, in the Andes, and dating to the 8th and 10th centuries AD, is announced, 2019

For the first time ever, online sales in the US overtake retail brick and mortar store sales, with 11.813% online compared with 11.807% for general merchandise stores, 2019

The journal Nature Geoscience publishes a study confirming that the European Space Agency's Mars Explorer orbiter, in 2013, did discover methane on Mars, a gas usually only produced by living things, 2019

Feline Friday, Friendly Fill-Ins and an Update

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Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.

On vacation, i haven't seen any cats, so here's a kitty from back home.

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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. A product I would endorse is _________.

2. If I had a boat, I would name it _________.

3. _________ was one of the first times I truly felt like a responsible adult.

4. I struggle with change most especially when it relates to _________.

1. A product I would endorse is   Ellura.  It's like Cranactin to help prevent bladder infections, only on steroids.  It's so effective the regional urologic specialist doctor recommends it.

2. If I had a boat, I would name it   The Meanderer.

3. Stepping into the voting booth  was one of the first times I truly felt like a responsible adult.

4. I struggle with change most especially when it relates to   having to readjust my schedule when changing clients -- i have to remember which place to drive to.

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Much thanks to all who have offered prayers and good thoughts for DiDreaming.  They did admit her to the hospital with a raging bladder infection (if her doc approves, i'm going to get her some Ellura, it's that good) and allergy to the antibiotic she was on that made her swell and get dizzy.  They have to treat the infection in the hospital and keep an eye on her for a couple of days.

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Today is:

Bake Your Own Bread Day -- it's really not that hard

Bunker Hill Day -- Suffolk County, MA, US (actual date)

Dia del Padre -- El Salvador; Guatemala (Father's Day)

Eat All of Your Vegetables Day / Fresh Veggies Day -- yes, i have this listed yesterday, too; internet sites disagree about the actual date, and you need your veggies today, too!

Independence Day/National Day -- Iceland

International Violin Day -- Stravinsky's birth anniversary

National Apple Strudel Day

National Flip Flop Day -- sponsored by Tropical Cafe Smoothie to raise funds for its national charity partner, Camp Sunshine     

Okinawa Day -- Japan/US (remembrance of signing the treaty, in 1971, to return Okinawa to Japan)

Pirate Radio Day -- no actual pirate (i.e., unlicensed) radio stations will admit to declaring this a holiday, but what do you expect?

Soviet Occupation Day -- Latvia

St. Botulph of Ikanhoe's Day (Patron of agricultural and farm workers, sailors, travellers; Bossal, England; Boston, England; Boston, MA, US; Botesdale, England; Botolph Bridge, Huntingdonshire, Englad; Botolph's Bridge, Kent, Englad; Botolph, Sussex, England)

St. Herve's Day (Patron of the blind; against eye diseases and problems)

Toadstool-Squatting begins -- Fairy Calendar (Leprechauns)

Vice President's Remembrance Day -- not officially, just a day to see how many vice presidents you remember

Work @ Home Fathers' Day -- special kudos to the dads who work from home by telecommuting, or care for house and kids while the wife works outside the home      

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought -- UN

Anniversaries Today

Orpheus marries the nymph Eurydice, Ancient Greek traditional date

Birthdays Today:

Mark Walker, 1999

Lee Ryan, 1983

Venus Williams, 1980

Will Forte, 1970

Dan Jansen, 1965

Greg Kinnear, 1963

Thomas Haden Church, 1960

Mark Linn-Baker, 1953

Joe Piscopo, 1951

Barry Manilow, 1946

Art Bell, 1945

Newt Gingrich, 1943

Gene De Paul, 1919

John Richard Hersey, 1914

Ralph Bellamy, 1904

Sammy Fain, 1902

M.C. Escher, 1898

Igor Stravinsky, 1882

William Hooper, 1742

John Wesley, 1703

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Oh! Calcutta!"(Revue), 1969

"Barney Google and Snuffy Smith"(Comic strip), 1919

Today in History:

Vlad III the Impaler (a/k/a Vlad Dracul or Count Dracula) attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia, 1462

Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, 1565

Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England, 1579

Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth; her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal, 1631

The Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775

In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the Edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands, 1839

1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory, 1876

The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor, 1885

The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT, 1901

 "Barney Google" cartoon strip, by Billy De Beck, premieres, 1919

Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic, 1944

The Wooden Roller Coaster at Playland, which is in the Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, Canada opens; it is still open today, 1958

The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded with the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress, 1961

Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel, 1972

With the death of the last individual, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct, 1987

The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act, which had required racial classification of all South Africans at birth, 1991

Australian scientists report that they have "teleported" a laser beam, breaking it up and reconstructing it in another location, 2002

The first condemnation of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender people is issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council, 2011

The Incredibles 2 sets a box office record for an animated release, earning $180 million its opening weekend, 2018

Greece signs a historic deal with Macedonia ending years of dispute over its name; after this, it will be called North Macedonia, 2018

China launches its Shenzhou-12 spacecraft with three astronauts arriving at its new space station Tiangong six and a half hours later, 2021