Bettina (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-Ins

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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (who no longer blogs), and i'm going to believe it's because he likes 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 knew i had to feature Bettina, with her solid black face and solid white whiskers, although i had a bit of a time getting a good shot.

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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. My favorite place to read is _________.

2. My favorite genre to read is _________.

3. _________ is a book I could read over and over again.

4. The book _________ inspired me to _________.

1. My favorite place to read is   anyplace!  I always keep a book handy.

2. My favorite genre to read is   variable, like the music i enjoy.

3. The Bible  is a book I could read over and over again.   In fact, i read it over every year.

4. The book   Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets   inspired me to   dive deeper into my prayer life.

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Today is:

Baba Marta Day -- Bulgaria (Grandmother Spring Day, martenitsa are worn until you see a stork or a tree blooming.)

Beer Day -- Iceland (marks the end of the prohibition of beer in 1989)

Be Positive, Do Something Positive Day -- the way to start Optimism Month

Bravo Day/Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day -- Marshall Islands

Chalandra Marz -- Engandine, Switzerland (various cities of this province have the traditional spring event where costumed young people, ringing bells and cracking whips, drive out the demons of winter)

Day to Mourn Victims of Land Mines -- anniversary of the day they were outlawed worldwide in 1999

Dia de las Islas Baleares -- Iberia, Spain

Dress in Blue Day -- US, for colorectal cancer awareness

Elves, Woodworkers, and Mechanics' Day -- Fairy Calendar

Employee Appreciation Day

First Day of Autumn -- Australia (they go by months, not equinoxes, like the rest of the world used to)

Humorists Are Artists Month begins -- any coincidence this spells HAAM?

Independence Day -- Bosnia and Herzegovina(1992)

International Association for Women of Color Day -- on the first day of Women's History Month  

International Wheelchair Day -- a day when wheelchair users celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has had in their lives 

Martisor -- Romanians and Aromanians, especially in Romania and Moldova (similar tradition to Baba Marta; first days of March are Zilele Babei, Days of the Old Woman, when Old Woman Winter, Baba Dokia, who lives in the mountains, might come back with ferocity.)

National Day of Unplugging -- powered by Reboot/Sabbath Manifesto, encouraging recharging your spiritual life by unplugging your technology from sunset today to sunset tomorrow       

National Fruit Compote Day

National Heroes' Day -- Paraguay

National Horse Protection Day -- US; sponsored by the Animal Miracle Foundation   

National Pig Day -- sponsored by Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave, who want you to know that pigs are amazing animals that place fourth on the animal intelligence list!

National Peanut Butter Lovers' Day -- different from National Peanut Butter Day, which is January 24

National Salesperson Day

Navii's Day / Vjunitci -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (a Day of the Dead, bringing sacrifices and inviting the ancestors to attend the feast)

New Year's Day -- Ancient Roman Pre-Julian Calendar; related observances

     Birthday of Mars Pater (Feriae Marti)

     Chalanda Marz -- Kalends of March (now a festival in Egandine, Grisons Canton, Switzerland, in which the children ring bells to ring out the winter)

     Matronalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Women's Festival to Juno)

     Renewal of the Vestal Fire

Nineteen Day Fast -- Baha'i (begins at sundown)

Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day -- in remembrance of the destruction of Bikini Atoll

Omizutori Matsuri -- Todai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan (Water-Drawing Festival of 1,200 year old Buddhist ceremonies, through the 14th)

Peace Corps Birthday / National Day of Action -- US

Peanut Butter Lovers' Day -- according to some foodie sites

Plan a Solo Vacation Day -- Solo Travel Portal wants you to dream big and plan what you would do if you could get away, solo.

ReFIRED, Not Retired Day -- the day to get Fired Up about Life, Part II; you aren't retired, you are reFIRED!

Republic Day -- NE, Switzerland

Samiljeol (March 1st Movement Remembrance Day) -- South Korea

Self-Injury Awareness Day -- International (for information about self-injury, or to get started getting help, go here)

Shabbat Across America/Canada -- sponsored by the National Jewish Out-reach Program, encouraging Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, and Reconstructionist Jews to observe the Sabbath from sundown tonight until sundown tomorrow   

St. David of Wales' Day (Patron of doves; Patron of Wales, where it is called Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant)

Time for a Cuppa -- UK (raising awareness of dementia and raising funds for research; through Mar. 8) 

Whuppity Scoorie Day -- Lanark, Scotland (Spring festival, children run around the church and pick up coins thrown for them.)

World Civil Defense Day -- International Civil Defense Organisation    

World Day of Prayer-- International and Ecumenical; a day for Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action, this year's theme is "I Beg You...Bear With One Another in Love"; this year's call to prayer was written by the women of Palestine  

Yap Day -- Micronesia (festival celebrating the heritage of the Yap peoples)

Anniversaries Today:

Johnny Cash marries June Carter, 1968

Yellowstone National Park established, 1872

Nebraska becomes the 37th US State, 1867

Howard University in Washington, D.C., is chartered, 1867

Ohio becomes the 17th US State, 1803

Birthdays Today:

Justin Bieber, 1994

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, 1974

Javier Bardem, 1969

George Eads, 1967

Russell Wong, 1963

Nik Kershaw, 1958

Timothy Daly, 1956

Ron Howard, 1954

Catherine Bach, 1954

Alan Thicke, 1947

Dirk Benedict, 1945

Roger Daltry, 1944

Robert Conrad, 1935

Harry Belafonte, 1927

Pete Rozelle, 1926

Donald "Deke" K. Slayton, 1924

William M. Gaines, 1922

Richard (Purdy) Wilbur, 1921

Ralph Ellison, 1914

Harry Caray, 1914

David Niven, 1910

Glenn Miller, 1904

Watsuji Tetsuro, 1889

Oskar Kokoschka, 1886

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1848

Frederic Chopin, 1810

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Sophisticated Ladies"(Musical), 1981

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"(Musical), 1979

"Believe It or Not"(TV), 1949

"Captain America Comics #1"(Comic book), 1941

"Native Son"(Publication date), 1940

Today in History:

Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrates the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following the Rape of the Sabine Women, BC752

Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, BC86

Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis, conquerors Damascus, 1260

The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination, 1457

23 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion, 1562

The Uppsala Synod is summoned to confirm the exact forms of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, 1593

Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu, 1633

Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba are arrested for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692

"The Spectator" begins publishing, in London, 1711

The first US census is authorized, 1790

Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba, 1815

Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes the first African-American female to earn a medical degree, 1864

Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park, 1872

E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter, 1873

Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri, 1893

Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity, 1896

Battle of Adwa, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) defeats invading Italians, the first defeat of a colonizing European nation by an African colony, 1896

Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from an airplane, 1912

The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union, 1914

The March 1st Movement, demonstrations for independence from Japan, begins in Korea, 1919

Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped, 1932

The Hoover Dam is completed, 1936

US Steel raises workers wages to US$5/day, 1937

Trans-Canada Air Lines (forerunner of Air Canada) begins transcontinental operations (between Vancouver and Montreal), 1939

The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations, 1947

Chiang Kai-shek resumed the presidency of National China on Formosa, 1950

The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States, 1954

The Peace Corps is established, 1961

Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe, Chile, 1964

Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface, 1966

Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1992

Yahoo! was incorporated, 1995

The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (9.5 tons), 2002

The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague, 2003

English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station, 2006

The tomb of a 700 year old female mummy, discovered by road workers, opened in Taizhou, Jiangsu, China, 2011

Two Guatemalan military officers are convicted of sexual slavery during country's civil war, the first ever prosecution of sexual slavery during an armed conflict, 2016

The discovery of the gene for grey hair (IRF4) is announced by Scientists from University College London in "Nature Communications", 2016

The earliest evidence for figural tattoos (bull and sheep) on two naturally mummified bodies from Egypt’s predynastic period (3351-3017BC) is published in "Journal of Archaeological Science", 2018

Canadian-American singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell receives the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize, 2023

A Beyond Belief Five Hop Thursday!

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I'm going to change a few minor details, but this is a true story and if you ever think your life is spinning out of control, remember you aren't alone, because this is what Ms. G and I did yesterday (and be warned, it's a very sad, hard story).

While one of her best friends was with the doctor, finding out the results of her genetic tests to see if she has the breast cancer genes her daughters have already been shown to have and deciding with that doctor whether she'd have a full hysterectomy with her double mastectomy for the cancer she already knows she has to fight, Ms. G and i took care of business for her extended family (son-in-law) with another matter.

It seems one of the daughters mentioned above, who because of those positive genes might not be able to have more children, already has a one-year-old who has been in the hospital for several days with a serious viral illness and dehydration, and a few days ago, when her husband/father of the child finally got home after a very long day of working and then sitting at the hospital with the baby, it was to find the sheriff's deputy waiting to tell him his drug addict estranged mother had been found dead in her home with a note, she'd OD'd on purpose.

His mother, a hermit who shunned everyone, including her only child, was found when across the street neighbor noticed a package hadn't been brought in the house; this woman was shot multiple times 18 years years ago by her husband who, thinking she was dead, then killed himself, and this has brought back her trauma and she's in full PTSD flashback mode.

The whole thing has the neighborhood in quite a state and someone, meaning Ms. G, is having to arrange the cremation and deal with getting the biohazard people to go in today to properly and fully clean the place, so yesterday was spent trying to get access through the garage with the garage door opener that only works sometimes because no one has been able to find the woman's keys to her house, and yes, it finally opened and Ms. G has changed the front door bolt lock so now they do have a key to one door.

Please, hold your loved ones close, don't close those doors, get help if you need it, remember there's no substance or thing worth taking you away from your family, and live your life to the fullest with zest and be thankful for every blessing because when it comes to things like this, soap operas have nothing on what turns life can take and you can't make stuff like this up.

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Zest.      

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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!

Azaleas make the best fence decorations.

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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my poem:    

My human, you need to listen,

I will make this very clear.

I am a cat, Felis catus,

there is no baby here.

I like canned food and catnip,

I'll purr, and nap, and play,

and continue to amuse and love you,

but this high chair goes away!

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Brian of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

The conclusion to the above story, i am thankful that Ms. G found the deceased woman's cat, alive but weak, hiding in the house.  She's at the vet and will recover.

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Brian's Home

It's time to cut loose,

Celebrate Dr. Seuss!

So grab your hat

and read with the cat!

It has again happened that my work has kept me from being able to get to everything, and instead of writing a Dr. Seuss tribute, i am simply saying i hope you have a wonderful Dr. Seuss day.  Go read and have fun!

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Today is:

Adwa Victory Day -- Ethiopia

American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting -- Washington, D.C., US (a meeting of top scientists; who knows what these people will come up with next, because science is amazing! through Sunday)

Feast of 'Ala (Loftiness) -- Baha'i (first full day of the 19 day fast)

Going Forth of Set, Son of Nut -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Highway Numbers Day -- US (a joint board of state and federal highway officials created the first uniform system for numbering interstate highways, as well as standardizing design of road signs, in 1925)

James Ronald Webster's Birthday -- Anguilla

March Nymph's Parade -- Fairy Calendar

National Banana Cream Pie Day

NEA's Read Across America Day -- on or near Dr. Seuss' birth anniversary; "Grab Your Hat and Read with the Cat"

Old Stuff Day -- if you are doing the same old stuff, think about how you can change that

Peasants' Day -- Myanmar

St. Chad of Mead's Day (Patron of St. Chad's College of the University of Durham in England; Birmingham, England; Lichfield, England)

Texas Independence Day -- Texas, US (anniversary of declaration of independence from Mexico in 1836)

University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day -- UK (to focus on ensuring the positive wellbeing of people with mental health difficulties)        

World Book Day -- UK and Ireland (most other countries celebrate this on April 23; more information is here)   

Anniversary Today:

Mt. Rainier National Park is established, 1899

Birthdays Today:

Henrik Lundquist, 1982

Bryce Dallas Howard, 1981

Chris Martin, 1977

Daniel Craig, 1968

Jon Bon Jovi, 1962

Ken Salazar, 1955

Laraine Newman, 1952

Karen Carpenter, 1950

Eddie Money, 1949

Lou Reed, 1944

John Irving, 1942

Mikhail Gorbachev, 1931

Tom Wolfe, 1931

John Cullum, 1930

Doc Watson, 1923

Jennifer Jones, 1919

Desi Arnaz, 1917

Martin Ritt, 1914

Mel Ott, 1909

Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), 1904

Bedrich Smetana, 1864

Carl Schurz, 1829

Melissa Burton Coray, 1828

Sam Houston, 1793

Juvenal, 54

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Bubbling Brown Sugar"(Musical), 1976

"The Sound of Music"(Film), 1965

"Bus Stop"(Play), 1955

"King Kong"(Film), 1933

"Morning Chronicle"(London daily newspaper), 1769

Today in History:

The Loves of Mars and Venus becomes the first ballet performed in England, 1717

A semaphore machine that will speed communication is introduced in Paris, 1791

The US Congress outlaws the import of slaves, 1897

The Republic of Texas declares its independence from Mexico, 1836

Aleksandr Romanov becomes the tsar of Russia, 1855

Tsar Aleksandr outlaws serfdom in Russia, 1861

The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace, 1888

In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women, 1903

The original film version of King Kong premiers, 1933

Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute, 1949

The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut, 1949

In Toulouse, France the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted, 1969

Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown, 1970

The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets, 1972

Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28, 1978

CD players and discs are released for sale for the first time outside of Japan, 1983

Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century, 1989

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations, 1992

Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice, 1998

In his book 'Jesus of Nazareth Part II', Pope Benedict XVI exonerates the Jewish people for the responsibility of the death of Jesus, 2011

New findings from the University of Leicester indicate decreasing sitting time by 90 minutes each day can result in major heath advantages, including reducing the risk of Type II Diabetes, 2013

The longest non-stop scheduled commercial flight by distance, Emirates A380 flies 14,200km (8,824 miles) Dubai to Auckland, remains in the air for 17 hours, 15 minutes, 2016

The oldest known land fossil (Tortotubus - 440 million years old) from Gotland, Sweden, is revealed by British scientists, 2016

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and US astronaut Scott Kelly return to earth after nearly a year (340 days), setting an ISS record, 2016

Australian wonder horse Winx sets the world record for Group 1 wins in the Chipping Norton Stakes in Sydney, stretching her unbeaten run to 31 races, with this being her 23rd in the highest class of thoroughbred racing, 2019

Dr. Seuss Enterprises announces that six Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published because they are now considered racially insensitive, 2021

Dolly Parton receives her first Moderna Covid-19 vaccine that she donated $1million to help develop, 2021