Mine Alone (Cajun Joke) and Sunday Selections

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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.

Yesterday was Toddler Lee's birthday party, he turned two this past week.  It was mostly adult relatives standing around talking, with a couple of cousins (one a year older, one a year younger) in attendance.  He had fun opening the toys with his older cousin's help, and it was so funny to watch how he eats cake.  Most littles dive in, he pinches off tiny pieces of cake and puts them delicately in his mouth, enjoying each thoroughly before pinching off another.

Clothile done be plannin' de party for Tee when he be jes a petite garçon, an' she be havin' trouble gittin' Boudreaux to 'gree he goin' be dere to he'p.

"What fo' you don' wan' he'p wit' de party fo' you own fils[son]?" she ax.

"Mais, you know how I be, I t'ink chil'ren be like when you pass gas, you can only stan' you own!"

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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.  It is now hosted by Elephant's Child.    

A few pictures to illustrate my thankful list from yesterday.

Abigail was not going to move for any fool vacuum cleaner!

An excellent fire.

The hook we hope will save us the grief of a lost phone.

Three brothers adopted together (one wouldn't come out from the back for his photo, but he is there).

It was quite a cake.

Balloons were his favorite part, Toddler Lee hauled them all over by the strings.

He delicately eats his cake.

As a bonus, Mr. BA has finished the porch and the swing is back in action, just in time for winter!

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Today is:

Alascattalo Day -- Anchorage, Alaska (A salute to Alaskan humor, a parade in honor of the "alascattalo", a cross between a moose and a walrus; the longest running, shortest parade in the world, held in the alley behind Club Paris from 12:03 to 12:07 pm.  A prize is given to the smallest and ugliest float -- yes, it must be both small and ugly.  An anonymous queen will be crowned, if she has the bad sense to show up.)

Army Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

Coping With Uncertainty Day -- of uncertain origin, as it should be

Electronic Greeting Card Day -- internet generated, and of course probably started by the electronic greeting card websites

Homemade Bread Day -- use the bread machine, it's fun and easy, i promise!  sponsored by the Homemade Bread Day Committee of Ann Arbor, MI, US

International Students Day -- International (meant to celebrate all students around the world, not specifically students studying in countries other than their own; anniversary of the Nazi storming and closing of the University of Prague)

John Peter Zenger Day -- marking his arrest in 1734 for libel; he continued to edit his newspaper from jail and was acquitted, an early victory for freedom of the press

National Baklava Day

National Farm Joke Day

National Unfriend Day -- all those people on Facebook you regret accepting as friends?  Jimmy Kimmel suggests you unfriend them today!

Polytechneio -- Greece (anniversary of the 1973 student protests against the junta)

Presidents' Day -- Marshall Islands

Public Restroom Hand Dryer Appreciation Day -- internet generated, and why?  they've been proven less sanitary, blowing germs everywhere; i will not appreciate this one

Shogi Day -- Japan (celebrating shogi, a chess-like game)

St. Elizabeth of Hungary's Day (Patron of bakers, beggars, brides, charitable societies, charitable workers, countesses, exiles, falsely accused people, hoboes, homeless people, hospitals, lace makers/lace workers, nursing homes, nursing services, people in exile, people ridiculed for their piety, tertiaries, tramps, widows; Sisters of Mercy; Teutonic Knights; Erfurt, Germany; Jaro, Philippines; against in-law problems, the death of children, toothache)

St. Hilda's Day (Patron of learning and culture)

St. Hugh of Lincoln's Day (Patron of sick children, sick people, swans)

Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day -- Czech Republic; Slovakia

Take A Hike Day -- internet generated, and some websites say it's actually "Tell Your Boss to Take a Hike Day", but i don't recommend that unless you've recently inherited a fortune or won the Lotto

Volkstrauertag -- Germany (National Day of Mourning for all victims of National Socialism and the dead of both world wars)

Winter Welcome Quadrilles and Dainty-Sixes -- Fairy Calendar

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims -- UN

World Prematurity Day -- International (raising awareness about premature birth, the leading cause of newborn death each year, and what can be done to prevent it)       

Birthdays Today:

Isaac Hanson, 1980

Laura Wilkinson, 1977

Matthew Settle, 1969

Daisy Fuentes, 1966

Sophie Marceau, 1966

Dylan Walsh, 1963

RuPaul, 1960

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, 1958

Danny DeVito, 1944

Lauren Hutton, 1944

Lorne Michaels, 1944

Tom Seaver, 1944

Lauren Hutton, 1943

Martin Scorsese, 1942

Gordon Lightfoot, 1938

Rock Hudson, 1925

Sichiro Honda, 1906

Lee Strassberg, 1901

Bernard Law Montgomery, 1887

August Mobius, 1790

John Peter Zenger, 1734

Atahualpa, last Emperor of the Inca, 1502

Flavius Claudius Julianus, Roman Emperor, 331

Vespian, Roman Emperor, 9

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Sunset Boulevard"(Musical), 1994

"Rumors"(Simon play), 1988

"The Elephant Man"(Play), 1977

"The Sorcerer"(Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera), 1877

"Andromaque"(Racine tragedy), 1667

Today in History:

Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers, 284

England and Spain sign an anti-French covenant/treaty, 1511

Elizabeth I ascends the English throne, 1558

France and Spain sign the Peace of the Pyrenees treaty, 1659

The Church of England organizes in New England, 1785

Congress holds its first session in the still incomplete Capitol Building of Washington, D.C., 1800

The Delta Phi fraternity, America's oldest continuous social fraternity, is founded at Union College in Schenectady, New York, 1827

Ecuador and Venezuela separate from Greater Colombia, 1831

Street signs are first authorized at San Francisco intersections, 1853

David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls, 1855

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Slavonic March is given its premičre performance in Moscow, 1876

Japan and Korea sign The Eulsa Treaty, 1905

The first US dental hygienist course is formed, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1913

US declares the Panama Canal Zone to be neutral, 1914

Lenin defends the "temporary" removal of freedom of the press, 1917

American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th Century, 1947

Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse, 1970

In Czechoslovakia, the Velvet Revolution that would overthrow the communist government begins when student protests in Prague are quelled by riot police, 1989

Brian May of the rock band Queen was appointed Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, 2007

In Sweden, divers find the wreckage of the Svardet, a warship sunk in 1676 during the Battle of Oland, 2011

The Church of England adopts legislation enabling the appointment of female bishops, 2014

A smaller pyramid found within 2 known Kukulkan "nesting" pyramids dating from 550-580 AD is announced at Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico, 2016

Wordless Wednesday: They ate #1 Son's chocolate cake so fast...

...that i was only able to get a picture of the remains of the vanilla cake.

To say they devour cake around here is an understatement!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is:

Bregenzer Festspiele (Bregenz Festival) -- Bregenz, Austria (an amazing performing arts festival, through August 21)

Cleat Dancing Day -- don't ask me who started this, i don't want to know what kind of mind came up with trying to tap dance in cleats

Dia del Amigo -- Argentina; Uruguay

Fairfest -- Hastings, NE (county fair fun plus world class stage entertainment; through the 20th)

Fortune Cookie Day

Independence Day -- Colombia(1810)

International Chess Day -- "Of Chess it has been said that life is not long enough for it, but that is the fault of life, not Chess" ~ William Ewart Napier

Moon Day/Space Exploration Day -- one small step...was taken 45 years ago today

National Baby Food Festival -- Fremont, MI, US (in the hometown of Gerber Products, adults have a baby food eating contest and tots have crawling races, among other fun things; through Saturday)

National Hot Dog Day

National Ice Cream Soda Day

National Lollipop Day

Peace and Freedom Day -- North Cyprus

Perun's Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (celebration of Perun, great god of thunder)

Special Oympics Day -- anniversary of the first Special Olympics in 1968

St. Elijah the Prophet's Day (Patron of Carmelites; Romanian Air Force; against drought, earthquakes) related observance;
     Festival at the Monastery of Profitis Ilias -- Santorini, Greece (Prophet Elijas' festival)

Saint Margaret of Antioch's Day (Patron of childbirth, dying peple, escape from devils, exiles, expectant mothers, falsely accused people, martyrs, nurses, peasants, people in exile, women, women in labor; for safe childbirth; against kidney disease, loss of mother's milk by nursing mothers, sterility; Lowestoft, Suffolk, England; Montefiascone, Italy; Queens College Cambridge; Rixtel, Netherlands; Sannat, Gozo, Malta)

St. Uncumber's Day (Patron of difficult marriages; against men's lust; Las Tablas, Panama)

Sumarauki -- Iceland (their calendar's extra days added to take into account the "drift" of the calendar from the moon phases)

Synoikia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; a celebration of the unification of all Attica, held in Athens)

Thgir-yaw-Dnuor Day -- Fairy Calendar

Ugly Truck Day -- must be a guy thing, they know where every scratch and dent came from, after all!

Vigil for Peace, Justice, and Respect for the Human Rights of all in Columbia -- a movement begun among Native Americans of many tribes, now open to all who seek peace


Birthdays Today

John Daley, 1985
Gisele Bundchen, 1980
Josh Holloway, 1969
Chris Cornell, 1964
Billy Mays, 1958
Donna Dixon, 1957
Carlos Santana, 1947
Kim Carnes, 1946
Judy Chicago, 1939
Diana Rigg, 1938
Natalie Wood, 1938
Chuck Daly, 1933
Cormac McCarthy, 1033
Sally Ann Howes, 1930
Michael Ilitch, 1929
Sir Edmund Hillary, 1919
Alberto Santos-Dumont, 1873
Gregor Mendel, 1822
Francesco Petrarch, 1304
Alexander the Great, BCE 356


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Like a Rolling Stone"(Single release), 1965
"Stop the World I Want to Get Off"(Musical), 1961
"The Arthur Murray Party"(TV), 1950
"Gang Busters"(Radio drama), 1935


Today in History

Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount; the Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots during the Siege of Jerusalem, 70
The Riot Act takes effect in Great Britain, 1712
French explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan, 1738
Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada declare independence from Spain, 1810
British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada, 1871
Sioux Chief Sitting Bull leads the last of his fugitive people in surrender to United States troops at Fort Buford, North Dakota, 1881
Ford Motor Company ships its first car, 1903
Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the US House of Representatives, 1921
In London, 500,000 march against anti-Semitism, while in Nuremburg, Germany, 200 Jewish merchants are arrested and paraded through the streets, 1933
The Organization for European Economic Cooperation admits Spain, 1959
Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world's first elected female head of government, 1960
The Special Olympics is founded, 1968
Apollo 11 successfully lands on the Moon 3:39 a.m. GMT 21st July, 1969
India expels three reporters from The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and Newsweek because they refused to sign a pledge to abide by government censorship, 1975
The Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars, 1976
Hank Aaron hits his 755th home run, the final home run of his career, 1976
In Zimbabwe, Parliament opens its new session and seats opposition members for the first time in a decade, 2000
Canada becomes the 4th country to permit same-sex marriage, 2005
The Olympic Torch arrives in London, beginning the final countdown to the Summer Olympics, 2012

How old?

Now what was i doing 25 years ago today?

Oh, that's right, i was having my first child!

#1 Son is 25, and today he will drive down to NOLA with Bigger Girl so Grandma and Grandpa can take him out to a birthday lunch.

He will have cake, although because we only have a toaster oven, i'll have to buy not bake one.  Chocolate, of course, and i'll pick it up on my way home from work.

He already got his gift, in an envelope as usual.  Once they got past the age of wanting toys from the toy store, it got much easier to just give them the card with something in it and they could go get what they want.

It's going to be a beautiful day, my baby is 25 years old!

Today is:

Atomic Bomb Day -- the first experimental bomb was set off today in 1945

Bannack Days-- Bannack, MT, US (through tomorrow; explore the territorial capital now turned ghost town and celebrate the pioneer spirit)

Canada's Parks Day -- Canada (showcasing Canada's beautiful parks and historic sites, it's worth traveling to a park near you!)

Celebration of the Horse -- Charlotte's Saddlery, Houston, TX, US (in honor of the human/equine bond; through tomorrow)

Circus City Festival -- Peru, IN, US (did you ever want to run off and join the circus?  This is the week kids age 7-21 get to do just that, so go watch and have fun with them!  through the 18th, when they have the big circus parade)

Closet Space Appreciation Day -- if you have some, enjoy (we have tiny closets!)

Concours D'elegance -- Forest Grove, OR, US (one of the premier vintage auto shows in the US; through tomorrow)

Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel; related observances (many noting her relationship to Carmen, ancient goddess of healing and midwifery)
     Fiesta of the Virgin of Carmen -- Santurtzi, Basque Region, Spain
     Lady of Carmen Day -- Chile 
     La Madonna della Carmine -- Naples, Italy (all of Italy, actually, but especially here)
     Virgen Del Carmen -- Cetano, Puerto Rico

Fresh Spinach Day -- yippee!

Ice Cream Cone Day -- this is one of the many days people say the confection was invented, so why not?

La Festa del Redentore / Feast of the Redeemer -- Venice, Italy (procession of gondolas and other craft to commemorate the end of the epidemic of 1575; through tomorrow)

LaPaz Day -- Bolivia

Manu'a Cession Day -- American Samoa

National Corn Fritters Day

National Personal Chef Day -- some websites say Feb. 24, but since i'm not going to have one, you may celebrate it whichever you choose

National Woodie Wagon Day -- paying homage today to this great American symbol of freedom and the casual lifestyle

Omaha Railroad Days -- Omaha, NE, US (sponsored by the Union Pacific Railroad and celebrating all things track and train, through tomorrow)

Parking Meter Day -- the first parking meter was installed on this day in 1935 in Oklahoma City, OK

Petal-Hopping for Non-Starters Day -- Fairy Calendar

Prince Lot Hula Festival -- Moanalua Gardens, Hawai'i

Route 66 Summerfest -- Albuquerque, NM, US (a free celebration)

St. Eustathius' Day

Talk to a Telemarketer Day -- only if i can mess with his/her mind in some way!

Toss Away the "Could Haves" and "Should Haves" Day -- write down all the "could have" and "should have" things in your life, then toss them in the trash! Resolve from this day to live in the present, not the past.

Wrong Days in Wright, Minnesota -- in honor of "Wrong Way" Corrigan (through tomorrow)


Anniversary Today:

Michael J. Fox marries Tracy Pollan, 1988


Birthdays Today

Mark Indelicato, 1994
Jayma Mays, 1979
Corey Feldman, 1971
Larry Sanger, 1968
Barry Sanders, 1968
Will Ferrell, 1967
Phoebe Cates, 1963
Michael Flatley, 1958
Stewart Copeland, 1952
Ruben Blades, 1948
Pinchas Zukerman, 1948
Bess Myerson, 1924
Ginger Rogers, 1911
"Miss Frances" Horwich, 1907
Barbara Stanwyck, 1907
Orville Reddenbacker, 1907
Roald Amundsen, 1872
Ida B. Wells, 1862
Mary Baker Eddy, 1821
Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1723
Andrea del Sarto, 1486


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Golden Horseshoe Revue"(Disneyland show), 1955
The Catcher in the Rye(Publication date), 1951
"Das Entfuhrung aus dem Serail"(Opera, Mozart K. 384), 1782


Today in History

The Islamic Calendar begins, 622
East-West Schism between the Eastern and Western Christian churches begin, 1054
The first banknotes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco, 1661
Manchu Qing Dynasty naval forces under traitorous commander Shi Lang defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu near the Pescadores Islands, 1683
Father Junipero Serra founds California's first mission, Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Over the following decades, it evolves into the city of San Diego, 1769
First performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, 1782
The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declares its independence from the Spanish Crown, 1809
Emily Stowe becomes the first female physician licensed to practice medicine in Canada, 1880
The world's first parking meter is installed in the Oklahoma capital, Oklahoma City, 1935
The world's first nuclear weapon, the "atom bomb," is detonated in New Mexico, 1945
The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways, marks the first aircraft hijacking of a commercial plane, 1948
J.D. Salinger novel The Catcher in the Rye published by Little, Brown and Company, 1951
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes its very last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, due to changing economics all subsequent circus shows will be held in arenas, 1956
USS George Washington (SSBN-598) a modified Skipjack class submarine successfully test fires the first Ballistic missile while submerged, 1960
The Mont Blanc Tunnel linking France and Italy opens, 1965
Apollo 11, the first manned space mission to land on the Moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 1969
Mahathir bin Mohamad becomes Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister; he will be in office 22 years, Asia's longest-serving political leader, 1981
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collides with Jupiter (impacts continue until July 22), 1994
John F. Kennedy, Jr., piloting a Piper Saratoga aircraft, dies in a plane mishap over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, along with his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette, 1999
Chicago's Millenium Park is opened to the public, 2004
The funeral for the final heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Otto von Habsburg, occurs in Vienna, attended by monarchs and members of the political elite, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Dilemma Resolved

It was Red-headed Alec's birthday.  When asked what kind of cake he liked best, he named his two favorites, red velvet and German chocolate.

Dilemma:  what to do when someone has two favorites?

Solution:

Two half cakes!  One German chocolate, one red velvet!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.



Today is

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

Bunker Hill Day -- Suffolk County, MA, US (actual date and parade 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! 

Ice Cream Days -- LeMars, IA, US (the home of Wells's Blue Bunny Ice Cream calls itself the Ice Cream Capital of the World and has a parade, basketball tournament, children's activities, fishing derby, and more along with tons of ice cream; through Saturday)

Independence Day/National Day -- Iceland

International Violin Day -- Stravinsky's birth anniversary

National Apple Struedel Day

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?

Ramadan begins -- Islam (at sunset, through the evening of July 17)

Soviet Occupation Day -- Latvia

St. Botulph of Ikanhoe's Day (Patron of agricultural and farm workers, sailors, travelers; 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

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought -- UN


Anniversaries Today

Orpheus marries the nymph Eurydice, Ancient Greek traditional date, year unknown


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