***********************************
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!
It's fun to once again hear the pitter patter of little feet in this house where my children grew up.
 |
| And toys everywhere, again, it's been a while. |
***********************************
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.
***********************************
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 Mole's Eye View.
(Note: even though the smallest toddler child has a higher view than would an actual mole, i compared the little one's view to being mole-like, looking up at the world and seeing things differently.)
Get down on the ground
and take in the mole's eye view
when you have to look up
because you're less than two.
See how things are different
when you're so close to the ground,
every item on every table
is a treasure to be found.
Those electric sockets so close,
they look like they might be fun,
and everything you see,
you go after at a run.
It's amazing what you'll find
if you get down on the floor,
look at the crumbs and cat food
waiting for a little to explore!
Look how high the counter
where await many tasty delights,
the wait until supper is served,
it's too long to be right.
Then there is the crib
it's side to very high,
you have to be lifted down
before you can start your day.
We grown-ups need to look
at life from mole's eye view,
it's how our very littles
look at me and you!
Future themes are:
December 1 Mole's Eye View (Today!)
December 8 Peace
December 15 Coconuts
December 22 Fungi
December 29 Sitting on Old Chairs
(All themes are from the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and Other Arts Facebook group.)
***********************************
Today is:
A Colonial Christmas -- Jamestown Settlement, Williamsburg, VA, US (through Dec. 31; enjoy 17th- and 18th-century Christmas traditions, comparing those of England and the Colonies)
Antarctica Day -- celebrating the Continent of Peace and Science
Barbes Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (celebrates the fertility of sheep)
Basketball Day -- commonly seen as the day Dr. James Naismith invented the game; while we know it was early in December, 1891, i cannot find any credible source that says it was on this date
Becky Thatcher Day -- birthday of Laura Hawkins, in 1836, who inspired the character in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day -- if you can't see, feel free! sponsored by Wellcat Holidays
Carnival of Celendonia -- Fairy Calendar (Celendonia is the Fairy City all Fairies want to retire to, by the way.)
Chia Pet Hunting Season begins
Christmas in Old Appalachia -- Clinton, TN, US (an old fashioned country Christmas; through Christmas Eve)
Christmas New Orleans Style -- New Orleans, LA, US (a full month of Christmas celebrations as only NOLA can do it)
Cider Monday -- celebrating the drink of the season, hot, spiced apple cider
Civil Air Patrol Day -- US (date of establishment in 1941; the US Coast Guard rescues you from peril on the water, the CAP on land)
Cookie Cutter Week begins -- sponsored by the Cookie Cutter Collectors Club
Crossing of the Cattle at Diafarabe -- Mali (celebrated through the month)
Cyber Monday -- another excuse to buy stuff, the traditional beginning of the online shopping season
Damrong Rajanubhab Day -- Thailand (anniversary of the prince's death)
Day of the First President -- Kazakhstan
Dia de la Abolicion del Ejercito -- Costa Rica (Miliary Abolition Day; yes, really, they abolished the military after the 1948 revolution, are one of Central America's oldest democracies, and has only the Police Guard forces)
Eat A Red Apple Day
Freedom and Democracy Day -- Chad
Fullveldisdagurinn Islendinga -- Iceland (Self-governance Day)
University Students' Celebration Day
International Prisoners for Peace Day -- a day to remember imprisoned conscientious objectors
Kalends of December -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also observed
Festival for Neptune -- promiscuous god of the sea
Festival for Pietas -- goddess of devotion, duty, and honor
Mindfulness Day -- Zen Buddhism (a day to mindfully see and act with compassion toward the poor and oppressed)
My Husband's Strung the Christmas Lights and Now I Can't Open the Garage Door Day -- commemorating an alleged real event, be glad this isn't your husband
National Pie Day
National Stress-Free Family Holidays Month -- sponsored by Parenting Without Pressure
National Transit Tribute to Rosa Parks Day -- American Public Transportation Association, on the anniversary of her arrest
Operation Santa Paws -- toy/treat/care drive to help local animal shelters, until the 21st; sponsored by Haute Dogs
Proclamation of the Republic -- Central African Republic
Provincial Anniversary Day -- Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Provincial Anniversary Day -- Westland, New Zealand
Restoration of Independence -- Portugal(1640)
Rosa Parks Day -- anniversary of her arrest in 1955
St. Eligius' Day (Patron of agricultural workers/farmers, blacksmiths/ horseshoe makers, boilermakers, cab drivers/taxi drivers, carriage makers, cartwrights, clock makers/watch makers, coin collectors/numismatists, craftsmen, cutlers, farriers, garage workers and gas station workers -- because most of us don't use horses any more, gilders, goldsmiths, harness makers, horses/sick horses, jewelers, jockeys, knife makers, laborers, locksmiths, metal collectors/precious metal collectors, metalsmiths, miners, minters, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, saddle makers, tool makers, veterinarians, wheelwrights)
Surf Life Saving Summer Appeal -- New Zealand (Formerly National Jandal Day, now a three month campaign to raise money to support the Surf Lifeguards who keep you safe)
Teachers' Day -- Panama
Throw Out Your Leftovers Day -- if you've had it since Thanksgiving, and haven't frozen it or eaten it yet, get rid of it
World AIDS Day -- WHO; related observance
Day With(OUT) Art -- annual remembrance of the impact of AIDS on the visual arts, sponsored by Visual AIDS
Ziua Unirii -- Romania (National Day)
Anniversaries Today:
Yukon Order of Pioneers founded, 1894
US National Weather Service established, 1870
Napoleon marries Josephine, 1804
Birthdays Today:
Nestor Carbonell, 1967
Reggie Sanders, 1967
Carol Alt, 1960
Treat Williams, 1952
Bette Midler, 1945
John Densmore, 1944
Richard Pryor, 1940
Lee Trevino, 1939
Woody Allen, 1935
Lou Rawls, 1933
David Doyle, 1925
Mary Martin, 1913
Charles Finney, 1905
Robert Welch, 1899
Cyril Ritchard, 1897
Rex Stout, 1886
Julia A. Davis Moore, 1847
Anna Maria Grosholtz Tussaud (Madame Tussaud), 1761
Oliver Wolcott, 1726
Louis VI of France, 1081
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Happy XMas(War is Over)"(Single release), 1971
"Promises, Promises"(Musical), 1969
"Flower Drum Song"(Musical), 1958
"Candide"(Operetta), 1956
The Great Train Robbery(First Western film), 1903
Sherlock Holmes, in "A Study in Scarlet"(Published in Beeton's Christmas Annual), 1887
Dr. Pepper, 1885 (recognition by US Patent Office of first day of sale)
Today in History:
Henry V of England enters Paris, 1420
Pasha Muhammad ibn Farukh, governor, driven out of Jerusalem, 1626
Portugal regains independence from Spain, 1640
Massachusetts becomes first colony to give Statutory recognition to slavery, 1641
The first American school to offer manual training courses opens in Maryland, 1750
Charles and M.N. Roberts ascend 2,000' in a hydrogen balloon, 1783
Erie Canal closes for a month due to cold weather, 1831
Hans Christian Andersen publishes his first book of fairy tales, 1835
The first chartered mutual life insurance company opens, 1843
The first certified public accountants receive their certificates in New York, 1896
The first Israeli kibbutz is founded, Deganya Alef, 1909
Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line, 1913
The first drive-up gasoline station opens in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 1913
Lady Nancy Astor is sworn in as the first female member of the British Parliament, 1919
The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgenson, the first notable case of sexual reassignment surgery, 1952
Opening date for signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent, 1959
Malawi, Malta and Zambia join the United Nations, 1964
Lambda Theta Phi is established as the first Latino fraternity, in New Jersey, 1975
Angola joins the United Nations, 1976
The AIDS virus is officially recognized, 1981
At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart, 1982
Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the seabed, 1990
Representatives from more than 150 countries gather at a global warming summit in Kyoto, Japan, and over the course of the next ten days forge an agreement to control the emission of greenhouse gases, 1997
The Treaty of Lisbon comes into effect, which amends the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, which together comprise the constitutional basis of European Union, 2009
In ceremonies held at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, the USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is officially inactivated after a 51-year career, 2012
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is declared King of Thailand, succeeding his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 2016
Japanese broadcaster NHK launches the world's first super-high definition 8K television channel, 2018
Syrian shadow puppetry is added to the UN's list of cultural activities in urgent need of saving, 2019
The Chinese robotic spacecraft Chang’e-5 lands on the Moon as part of two-day mission to retrieve rock samples, 2020
Tel Aviv is named the world's most expensive city for the first time, ahead of Singapore and Paris, with Damascus being the cheapest, 2021
The US House of Representatives votes 311-114 to immediately expel indicted member George Santos (R-New York), after his indictment on federal charges of wire fraud, identity theft, and making false statements, 2023
