Wordless Wednesday: Bows

We went crazy at the bakery with the Mardi Gras cakes, now it's on to Valentine's Day, so we are bringing the bows home to make them!

We are bringing them home to make more, we've run out of time to get to them at work!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is:

Ash Wednesday -- Christian (beginning of the Lenten Fast)
     Oskudagur -- Iceland (with the special tradition of hanging oskupokar [ash bags] on people, as girls try to hang bags of ash on men's clothing, and boys try to hang bags of stones on women's clothing; begins Langafasta, and during the fast, you may not even mention meat at all)

Deep Blue Day -- the IBM computer defeats chess champion Gary Kasparov, the first such victory for a computer, in 1996

Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck -- Malta

Gold Record Day -- Glenn Miller is awarded the first ever Gold Record, for "Chattanoga Choo Choo", 1942

National Cream Cheese Brownie Day

National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe -- Italy, especially in Trieste

Plimsoll Day -- honoring Samuel Plimsoll, the "Sailor’s Friend," who persuaded Parliament to have a maximum load limit on ships.

St. Scholastica's Day (Patron of children in convulsions, nuns; LeMans, France; against rain, storms)

Try to Invent a New Jell-O Flavor Day -- it can't hurt to try

Umbrella Day



Anniversaries Today:

Poland is symbolically married to the Baltic Sea by Jozef Haller de Hallenburg, celebrating the restitution of Polish access to the water, 1920
Tom Thumb marries Mercy Lavinia Warren, 1863
Queen Victoria marries her cousin Albert von Saxe-Coburg, 1840
Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War (a/k/a French and Indian War), 1763
Academie Francaise forms in Paris (by Cardinal Richelieu), 1635


Birthdays Today:

Lance Berkman, 1976
Laura Dern, 1967
Glen Beck, 1964
Lenny Dykstra, 1963
Cliff Burton, 1962
George Stephanopoulos, 1961
Greg Norman, 1955
Jim Cramer, 1955
Mark Spitz, 1950
Donovan, 1946
Frances Moore Lappe, 1944
Roberta Flack, 1939
Robert Wagner, 1930
Leontyne Price, 1927
Lon Chaney, Jr., 1906
Bertolt Brecht, 1898
Frances Margaret "Dame Judith" Anderson, 1898
Jimmy Durante, 1893
William "Bill" Tilden, 1893
Boris Pasternak, 1890
Samuel Plimsoll, 1824
Charles Lamb, 1775


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"My Friend Flicka"(TV), 1956
"Death of a Salesman"(Play), 1949
"Puss Gets the Boot"(Cartoon, first Tom and Jerry short), 1940
"Icebound"(Pulitzer-winning Davis' Play), 1923
"All the News That's Fit to Print"(Slogan of the New York Times), 1897
"Les Contes d'Hoffman"(Offenbach Opera), 1881
"The Lily of Killarney"(Opera), 1862


Today in History:

St. Paul is shipwrecked on the island of Malta, 60
Crusaders defeat Prince Redwan of Aleppo at Antioch, 1098
The St. Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days, 1355
Wampanoag Indians under King Philip kill all the men in Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1676
Edmund Halley is appointed the second Astronomer Royal of England, 1720
The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War, surrendering Canada to England, 1763
Simon Bolivar is named dictator by the Congress of Peru, 1824
The first US fire extinguisher patent granted to Alanson Crane of Virginia, 1863
The YWCA is founded in NYC, 1870
Nathaniel Carr Goodwin becomes the first actor to perform in two different cities on the same day, in Boston for a matinee, and then in NYC for and evening performance, 1887
Nearly 11,000,000 acres of land, ceded to the US government by the Sioux Indians, is opened for settlement, 1890
The New York Times begins using the slogan, "All the news that's fit to print," 1897
Japan and Russia declare war after Japan's surprise attack on Russian fleet at Port Arthur disabled 7 Russian warships, 1904
Britain's first modern and largest battleship "HMS Dreadnought" is launched, 1906
Baseball outlaws all pitches that involve tampering with the ball, 1920
New Delhi becomes the capital of India, 1931
The first singing telegram is delivered, by the Postal Telegram Company of NYC, 1933
Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, 1962
Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party, 1989
The IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov for the first time, 1996
The communication satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 collide in orbit, destroying both, 2009

Silly Sunday: In Shape

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs.  The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!

1. Post a joke.
2. Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.
3. Read my joke.
4. Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.
5. Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.
6. Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

"Devon, would you come over here and stir the frosting?" Ms. Amy asked Devon, our head baker, chief cleaner/dishwasher, and all around indispensable person, at the bakery yesterday.

"You want me to stir the frosting?" he asked, laughing.  There's a lot of laughing in the back of the bakery, we joke around all of the time.

"Yes, because we need it and I want you to do it because I want to watch your muscles!" she said, at which he laughed even harder.  He works out for a reason, and finds it amusing when we refer to how cut he is.

Also, i must admit, it's nice having someone so strong around when we need to get huge boxes full of product down from the top shelf of the chiller.

"Come gather around, ladies, Devon is going to stir the frosting and we get to watch his wonderful biceps at work!" Ms. Amy continued, and we were all howling, especially Devon.

Boudreaux, who has an opinion about everything, has an opinion about exercise, too.

Both de docteur an' Clothile done been on Boudreaux to go got him some exercise.  He be talkin' 'bout dat wit' Thibodeaux, how dey be naggin' an' he t'ink he be in plenny good shape, an' Thibodeaux done tell him, "Why not you go try some relaxin' exercise?"

"Mais, what you be talkin' 'bout, 'relaxin' exercise'?" Boudreaux say.

"You know, you can try dat dere yoga stuff.  When you do dat, you close you eyes, an' you relax, an' you imagine you se'f back at home on de couch not doin' no exercise!"

Today is:

British Yorkshire Pudding Day -- UK (celebrating this delicious traditional dish, and here's how to make it right)

Carnival of Binche -- Binche, Belgium (famous carnival dating back to the 16th century, which includes a giants parade, childrens parade, fireworks, orange tossing, and more; through Shrove Tuesday)

Charles Dickens Day -- read a chapter or two of his work, in honor of his birth

Church Action on Poverty Sunday -- UK (Visions of the Good Society)

Daniel Boone Escape Day -- he escaped from the Shawnee tribe which had captured him

Dump Your Significant Jerk Day -- beginning of Dump Your Significant Jerk Week; make a resolve and do it now, before Valentine's Day

Fasching Sunday -- Germany and Austria, and among German speaking peoples; the Party before Lent kicks into gear now

Feast of Mulk (Dominion) -- Baha'i

Four Chaplains Sunday -- Interfaith

Hall Sunday -- meaning Hallowed Sunday, the Sunday before Lent, which has many traditions associated with it

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day -- because you have to do it at least once a year

Igbi -- Shaitli and Kituri among the Avar ethnic group, Dagestan, Russia (midwinter celebration, through the 5th, which is the first day the sun is expected to return to shine on the towns here)

Independence Day -- Grenada(1974)

Lunar New Year's Eve
     Seol-nal -- South Korea (Lunar New Year Holiday begins)
     Spring Festival -- China; Taiwan (Chinese New Year's Eve, start of the festival)
     Tet Eve -- Vietnam

Man Day -- always the Sunday before Valentine's Day, sponsored by C. Daniel Rhodes

Marriage Week -- UK (part of the Futureway Trust, and now observed around the world, celebrating the diversity and vibrancy of marriage as the heart of family life)

National Fettucini Alfredo Day

National Hangover Awareness Day -- internet generated and shouldn't it be on Jan.1?

Scout Sunday -- BSA (Boy Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms to church and represent scouting to their congregation)

Send a Card to a Friend Day -- wonder which card company created this one

Saint Theodore Stratelates' Day (Patron of soldiers; Brindisi, Italy; for finding lost objects)

Super Bowl Sunday; related observance
     National Popcorn Day

Transfiguration Sunday -- Christian

Wave All you Fingers at Your Neighbor Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; wave to your neighbors, let them know you like them


Birthdays Today:

Tina Majorino, 1985
Ashton Kutcher, 1978
Chris Rock, 1965
Garth Brooks, 1962
Eddie Izzard, 1962
James Spader, 1960
Miguel Ferrer, 1954
Hector Babenco, 1946

Pete Postlethwaite, 1945
Gay Talese, 1932
Keefe Brasselle, 1923
Eddie Bracken, 1920
Oscar Brand, 1920
Larry "Buster" Crabbe, 1908
Sinclair Lewis, 1885
James Hubert “Eubie” Blake, 1883
Alfred Adler, 1870
Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, 1834
Charles Dickens, 1812
John Deere, 1804
Sir Thomas More, 1478


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"America's Most Wanted"(TV), 1988
Blazing Saddles(Film), 1974
Pinocchio(Disney animated Film), 1940
"The Cat and the Canary"(Play), 1922
Kid Auto Races at Venice(first Charlie Chaplin "Little Tramp" Film), 1914
"Chantecler"(Rostand Play), 1910
"The Deserter"(first ballet performed in US), 1827
"Il Matrimonio Segreto" (Comarosa Opera), 1792


Today in History:

The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir, 1238
Edward of Carnarvon,later Edward II, becomes the first English prince to hold the title Prince of Wales, 1301
The bonfire of the vanities occurs in which supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy, 1497
King Philip II forms an inquisition in South America, 1569
Academie Francaise begins a Dictionary of the French Language, 1639
An 8.2 magnitude earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri, 1812
The colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the Electoral Act of 1856, the first piece of legislation anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot, 1856
The Battle at Ingogo, Transvaal: the Boers defeat superior British forces, 1881
The Great Blizzard of 1891 begins, 1891
Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse, 1898
Baltimore catches fire; 1500 buildings are destroyed in 80 blocks, 1904
The Mud March, the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), 1907
Charlie Chaplin debuts "The Tramp" in "Kid Auto Races at Venice," 1914
The first wireless message sent from a moving train to a station is received, 1915
Bert Hinkler begins the first solo flight from England to Australia, 1928
Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered, 1979
Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), 1984
The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power, 1990
Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in, 1991
The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union, 1992
Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein, 1999
Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history, 2009
In Europe, ready-meal manufacturer, Findus, withdrew its beef lasagne meals from supermarkets after confirming beef supplied by French manufacturer, Comigel contained horsemeat, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Limp as a Pastry Bag

The pictures are from my cell phone, which won't focus well, but at the end of the day at the bakery, i'm about as limp as one of these pastry bags!

Empty pastry bags at the end of the day, when frosting is done.

One of several five gallon buckets of frosting used in one day!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.


Today is:

Big Snow Day -- remembering the 15 inch snowflakes that fell on in Fort Keough, Montana, in 1887

Chocolate Cake Day

Day of Remembrance for Victims of Nazism -- Germany (anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz)

Day the Netjers of Heaven Receive Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Family Literacy Day -- Canada

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Iroquois Mid-Winter Ceremony -- Iroquois Native Americans (for the continuation of all life-sustaining things; a multi-day ceremony and feast that begins around this time of year)

Listen to Classical Music During Lunch Day -- in honor of Mozart

Mozart Day

Punch the Clock Day -- internet generated, and no reason for it given; this has to be one of the more baffling ones

Sioux Empire Farm Show -- Sioux Falls, SD, US (great winter farm show, since you can't be planting, come out and have fun; through Friday)

St. Angela Merici's Day (Founder of the Sisters of the Order of St. Ursula; Patron of the disabled and ill; against bodily ills and the death of parents)

St. Devota's Day (Patron of Corsica; Monaco)

Thomas Crapper Day -- death date, in 1910, of the perfector of the flush toilet mechanism

Zehnder's Snowfest, Ice Carving, and State of Michigan Snow Sculpting Competition -- Frankenmuth, MI, US (fun for the whole family; through Feb. 1)


Anniversaries Today:

Founding of the National Geographic Society, 1888
The first sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, is founded at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, 1870
The University of Georgia is chartered, the first state university in the US, 1785


Birthdays Today:

Julie Foudy, 1971
Jennifer LB Leese, 1970
Patton Oswalt, 1969
Alan Cumming, 1965
Bridget Fonda,1964
Cris Collinsworth, 1959
Mimi Rogers, 1956
Mikhail Baryshnikov, 1948
Nick Mason, 1944
Mairead Corrigan, 1944
James Cromwell, 1942
Troy Donahue, 1936
Donna Reed, 1921
David Seville, 1919
Skitch Henderson, 1918
Hyman George Rickover, 1900
Jerome Kern, 1885
Samuel Gompers, 1850
Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson), 1832
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Laverne and Shirley"(TV), 1976
Tarzan of the Apes(Film), 1918


Today in History:

Trajan becomes Roman Emperor, 98
The Rashidun Caliphate ends with the death of Ali, 661
Song Dynasty General Yue Fei is wrongfully executed, 1142
Dante Alighieri becomes a Florentine political exile, 1302
The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31, 1606
The first American lime kiln begins operation in Providence, Rhode Island, 1662
Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Instanbul, 1695
Czar Peter the Great sets the first Russian state budget, 1710
Abdication of Stanislas, the last king of Poland, 1736
The US Congress approves the opening of Indian Territory for settlement, which led to the forced relocation of Native Americans on the "Trail of Tears," 1825
Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are incorporated, 1870
Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the electric incandescent lamp, 1880
The National Geographic Society is organized, in Washington, D.C., 1888
"Tarzan of the Apes," the first Tarzan movie, premiers, 1918
Apollo 1 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, 1967
More than sixty nations sign the Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space, 1967
Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian caper, 1980
The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, breaks through, 1983
American-born sumo wrestler Akebono Taro becomes the first foreigner to be promoted to the sport's highest rank of yokozuna, 1993
Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 1996
Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services, 2006

Wordless Wednesday: Getting Better

Now that the holidays are over, i am back to practicing with the large cakes at the bakery.

It appears i am getting better!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Mali

Camcorder Day -- five companies agreed, this day in 1982, to cooperate and construct a camera with a built in VCR

Celtic Tree Month Beth (Birch) ends

Coffee Break Day

Day of National Mourning -- Azerbaijan (a/k/a Martyrs' Day)

Festival of Jubilation for Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate, in Busiris)

Heroes Day -- Cape Verde; Guinea-Bissau (death anniversary of Amilcar Cabral)

Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition -- Rockford, IL, US (frozen art fun; through Saturday)

La Tamborrada de San Sebastian -- San Sebastian, Spain (24 hours of drumming, begun last evening)

National Buttercrunch Day

National Cheese Lover's Day

National Granola Bar Day

National Disc Jockey Day -- listed lots of places, but no particular reason given for the choice of date

Penguin Awareness Day -- lots of celebrating, but no history of who started it

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

Stay Young Forever Day -- celebrate the child in all of us, do something fun

St. Sebastian's Day (Patron of archers, armorers, arrowsmiths/fletchers, athletes, bookbinders, diseased cattle, dying people, gardeners, gunsmiths, hardware stores, ironmongers, lace makers/lace workers, lead workers, masons, plague victims, police officers, Pontifical Swiss Guards, raquet makers, soldiers, stone masons/stone cutters; several cities, but especially of Rio de Janiero, Brazil and San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, where today is marked with celebrations; against cattle disease, enemies of religion, plague)

Take a Walk Outdoors Day -- unless it's storming, a good way to get some exercise

Tenmangu Kowakamai -- Setaka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan (festival of old style Japanese dances)

Vancouver International Boat Show -- Vancouver, BC, Canada (with two venues in the city, there is sure to be enough to delight even the pickiest sailors; through Sunday)


Birthdays Today:

Skeet Ulrich, 1969
Rainn Wilson, 1968
Rainn Wilson, 1966
James Denton, 1963
Lorenzo Lamas, 1958
Bill Maher, 1956
David Lynch, 1946
Dorothy Provine, 1937
Arte Johnson, 1934
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, 1930
Patricia Neal, 1926
Otis Dewey "Slim" whitman, 1924
Federico Fellini, 1920
DeForest Kelley, 1920
Joy Adamson, 1910
George Burns, 1896
Harold Lincoln Gray, 1894
Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, 1889
Carolus Linnaeus, 1778
André-Marie Ampère, 1775
Richard Henry Lee, 1732


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Meet the Beatles"(Album, US release), 1964



Today in History:

The first elected English Parliament called into session by the 6th Earl of Leicester, and meets in the Palace of Westminster (a/k/a Houses of Parliament), 1265
The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro is first explored, 1502
The Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) is founded in Spain to deal with American affairs, 1503
The cornerstone of Amsterdam town hall laid, 1648
The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Botany Bay is unsuitable for the location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson, 1788
China cedes Hong Kong to British, 1841
L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster, 1885
The first full length talking motion picture filmed outdoors is released, "In Old Arizona", 1929
Nazi officials hold notorious Wannsee conference in Berlin deciding on "final solution" calling for extermination of Europe's Jews, 1942
The first atomic submarine, USS Nautilus, is launched at Groton, Connecticut, 1955
Witnesses report sightings of a Bottlenose whale swimming in the River Thames, the first time the species had been seen in the River Thames since records began in 1913, 2006
A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance, 2007

Just Keep Breathing

It's crunch time, folks.

This week i am busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger, and so is everyone else at the bakery.

Even though i wasn't scheduled to go in to the bakery yesterday, i stopped after cleaning Ms. S's house to see if they needed help and stayed four hours.  Today i clean Ms. V's house then go to the bakery for 6-8 hours.  Tomorrow i do Ms. G's house and then the bakery again.

Thursday, Christmas Eve, i will be at Ms. P's house until time to go to the Christmas Eve service where Sweetie will be singing in the choir.

Meanwhile, i have to figure out when i can cook whatever Grandma wants me to bring down there for Christmas Day, and #2 Son's wedding is Saturday.  Nothing like getting married on Boxing Day to be able to always remember your anniversary.

As for the bakery, the owner, Ms. E, is a fabulous lady who is not at all averse to getting in there and getting her hands dirty.  She is working alongside us, the managers are even taking turns at washing dishes, and everyone who is left (five people have quit in the last 5 weeks, including the head baker!) is working together easily and well.  We've decided we are a team and the team is going to help each other make it through the season.  Even on days when we have a single order for a hundred cakes as well as all the other orders, we will make it.

It's going to be an exhausting run, but we can all get through it.

Today is:

Asarah B'Tevet -- Judaism (Tenth of Tevet, a minor fast day, in remembrance of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar)

Beetle Banquet and Badger Ball -- Fairy Calendar

Chipmunks Day -- the date, in 1958, when Alvin, Simon, and Theodore hit #1 with "The Chipmunk Song"

Day Sacred to the Lares -- Ancient Roman Calendar (household gods)

Hari Ibu -- Indonesia (Mother's Day)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Gattapefur -- Sniffer, who uses his big nose on hlakkandi ("looking forward" day, when you begin to look forward to Christmas) to sniff out a cake or two to snatch

Khoiak Ceremony for Raising the Djed Pillar -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (Osiris festival, the pillar represented his spine, and so stability and strength; date approximate)

Kiwi Fruit Day -- California, US (celebrate with them, these are good!)

Mawlid an Nabi -- Islam/Muslim (Prophet's Birthday, celebration begins at sunset)

National Date Nut Bread Day

Santa Claus Flight Clearance Day -- US FAA (they make sure he's cleared to fly, with his de-icing system, Terrain Avoidance Warning System for low-altitude flight, and special seat belt extension in good working order)

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's Day (Mother Cabrini, the first US citizen canonized; Patron saint of emigrants, hospital administrators, immigrants, orphans; against malaria)

Unity Day -- Zimbabwe


Birthdays Today:

Jordin Sparks, 1989
Ralph Fiennes, 1962
Maurice Gibb, 1949
Robin Gibb, 1949
Steve Garvey, 1948
Diane Sawyer, 1945
Steve Carlton, 1944
Hector Elizondo, 1936
Joe Pyne, 1925
Barbara Billingsley, 1922
Gene Rayburn, 1917
Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson, 1912
Dame Edith Margaret Emily "Peggy" Ashcroft, 1907
Edwin Arlington Robinson, 1869
Giacomo Puccini, 1858
William Ellery, 1727
James Edward Oglethorpe, 1696


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Graduate(Film), 1972
"Ding Dong School"(TV), 1952


Today in History:

A serious earthquake strikes Innsbruck, 1689
The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies, 1790
The first freight train is operated in Roorkee, India, 1851
Jules Janssen flies in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse, 1870
The first string of Christmas tree lights is created by Thomas Edison, 1882
Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan, 1885
French officer Alfred Dreyfus court-martialed for treason, triggers worldwide charges of anti-Semitism (Dreyfus later vindicated), 1894
Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity, 1956
Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany, 1989
Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63, 2001
An important peer-reviewed study of the spatial memory of bumblebees is published in the Biology Letters journal of the Royal Society by a class of 25 8- to 10-year-old children at Blackawton Primary School, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Be careful in there!

Forget Black Friday.  For the bakery. the one busiest day of the year is the day before Thanksgiving, when everyone wants a cake for the table the next day.  Except the chocolate cakes.  We can hardly give those away at holidays, when they are bestsellers the rest of the year.

In the baking area, steamy and warm and crowded.

Orders waiting to be picked up.  No, you can't move in there!

Linking  up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is: 

Anniversary of Moquegua City -- Peru (founded this date in 1541)

Bon Om Touk -- Cambodia (a/k/a The Water Festival, it is Cambodia's largest party, always held for two days around the time of the full moon in November)

Cat-Napping Convention -- Fairy Calendar

Day Sacred to Proserpina -- Ancient Roman Calendar (also Persephone, of the Greeks, the Wheel goddess of the Underworld, often associated with St. Catherine; see below)

Evacuation Day -- 19th Century New York City (withdrawal of British troops in 1783)

Full Beaver Moon / Full Frosty Moon
     Ill Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
     Palden Lhamo Festival -- Tibet (protectress of Tibet, celebrated mostly by women)
     Loy Krathong -- Thailand (Floating of the Lamps festival; to appease the water spirits, dedicated to Mae Kongkha, Goddess of Rivers)
     Tazaugmone/Thasaung Mong Full Moon -- Myanmar (Festival of Lights begins)
     That Luang Festival -- Laos (Ventiane's most important Theravada Buddhist festival)

Hari Guru -- Indonesia (Teacher's Day)

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women -- UN

International Hat Day -- www.internationalhatday.com

Mangé Yam -- Haiti (fete de la moisson; a yam harvest festival)

National Day -- Bosnia and Herzegovina (commemorates the 1943 declaration of statehood within Yugoslavia)

National Don't Utter A Word Day -- internet generated, and variously listed as the 25th of November, February, or May; pick one if you want

National Family Caregivers' Day -- US (if you are a caregiver who needs support, you can get it here or here)
 
National Parfait Day

Persephone Day (a/k/a Kore) -- Ancient Greek Calendar (celebration of her as wheel goddess of the underworld; date approximate, but she is often associated with St. Catherine; see below)

Saint Catherine of Alexandria's Day -- of the Catherine Wheel, sometimes associated with the Wheel of Karma and the Hindu Kali; one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (Patron of apologists, archivists, attorneys, barristers, craftsmen who work with wheels of any sort, dying people, educators, girls, jurists, knife grinders and sharpeners, lawyers, librarians, libraries, maidens, mechanics, millers, nurses, old maids, philosophers, potters, preachers, scholars, schoolchildren, scribes, secretaries, spinners, spinsters, stenographers, students, tanners, teachers, theologians, turners, University of Paris, unmarried girls, and wheelwrights; Aalsum, Netherlands; Bertinoro, Italy; Camerata Picena, Italy; Dumaguete, Philippines; Heidesheim am Rhein, Germany; Kuldiga, Latvia; Mähring, Germany; Saint Catharines, Ontario; Zejtun, Malta; Zurrieq, Malta) related observance
     Women's Merrymaking Day -- Women go 'Cath'rining' and have a good time (in some places, especially France, women may propose marriage on this day)

Shopping Reminder Day -- exactly a month until Christmas

Srefidensi -- Suriname (Republic Day/Independence Day)

Statehood Day -- FBiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Thanksgiving Day -- Norfolk Island

Tie One On Day -- an apron!  on US Thanksgiving eve, write a note of encouragement or prayer, tuck it in the pocket of an apron, and wrap the apron around a good home or bakery made loaf of bread, then deliver it to someone who needs a kind gesture

Vajiravudh Day -- Thailand

Weihnachtsmarkt auf dem Romerberg -- Frankfurt, Germany (Frankfurt Christmas Market, including glockenspiels, trumpets, and bells rung from 9 churches at regular intervals; through Dec. 22)

White Ribbon Day -- International (if you know a victim of violence, help break their silence! because domestic violence affects all of society)

Wonderland of Lights -- Marshall, TX, US (through Dec. 31, includes parades, candlelight home tours, and more)


Birthdays Today:

Barbara and Jenna Bush, 1981
Jerry Ferrara, 1979
Donovan McNabb, 1976
Eddie Steeples, 1973
Christina Applegate, 1971
Jill Hennessy, 1968
Cris Carter, 1965
Amy Grant, 1960
John F. Kennedy, Jr., 1960
Bucky Dent, 1951
John Larroquette, 1947
Ben Stein, 1944
Joe Jackson Gibbs, 1940
Lenny Moore, 1933
Paul Desmond, 1924
Ricardo Montalban, 1920
Joe DiMaggio, 1914
Solanus Casey, 1870
Carry Nation, 1846
Karl F. Benz, 1844
Andrew Carnegie, 1835


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Iolanthe: or, The Peer and the Peri"(Comic opera), 1882


Today in History:

A tsunami, caused by the earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastates Naples (Italy) and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, among other places, 1343
The siege of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, begins, 1491
A deadly earthquake rocks Shemakha, in the Caucasus, killing 80,000 people, 1667
The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, reaches its peak intensity which it maintains through November 27. Winds gust up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people died, 1703
First English patent granted to an American, for processing corn, 1715
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is founded, 1758
Farmer's Almanac first published, 1792
The Greek frigate Hellas arrives in Nafplion to become the first flagship of the Hellenic Navy, 1826
A cyclone slams India with high winds and a 40 foot storm surge, destroying the port city of Coringa (never to be entirely rebuilt again); the storm wave sweeps inland, taking with it 20,000 ships and thousands of people. An estimated 300,000 deaths result from the disaster, 1839
Alfred Nobel patents dynamite, 1867
John B Meyenberg of St Louis patents evaporated milk, 1884
American College of Surgeons incorporates in Springield, Illinois, 1912
First Thanksgiving Day Parade is held in Philadelphia, 1920
690 earthquake shocks recorded in 1 day in Ito, Japan, 1930
The first Soviet liquid fuel rocket attains altitude of 261' (80m), 1933
Woody Woodpecker debuts with release of Walter Lantz's "Knock Knock", 1940
New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom, 1947
Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London later becoming the longest continuously-running play in history, 1952
The Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day Fire destroys an entire city block, 1982
The United Nations establishes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to commemorate the murder of three Mirabal Sisters for resistance against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in Dominican Republic, 1999
Powerful storm brings 3 years worth of rain in 4 hours to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, sparking terrible floods, 2009