Sharing (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Least Favorite Chore (Poetry Monday)

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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!

These kittens decided to let their stuffed tiger have a turn in the litter box:

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Sparks, the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, is on hiatus, so here's an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.

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Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is on a blog break because of her husband's health.   Charlotte/Mother Owl always participates, and now Karen at Baking in a Tornado is jumping in, too.  Spike's Best Mate often leaves a wonderful poem in the comments on one of our blogs.

This week the theme is Our Least Favorite Chore.                        

In reality, i don't like cleaning,

Only do it because i must,

It's not a lot of fun to deal

With dirt and muck and dust.

But cleaning the litter boxes

Is the chore i like the least,

It's only tolerable because

We love the fuzzy beasts!

(Yes, it's true, i am not one of those people who go gaga over cleaning and polishing and washing and etc.  It has to be one of The A-mighty's jokes that He saw fit to make me a janitor/housekeeper.)

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Today is:

Banquet of Fairies, Goblins, Pixies, and Elves -- Fairy Calendar

Burning of the Clavie -- Burghead, Scotland (ancient ritual to ensure good luck through the year)

Carmentalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival of the goddess of childbirth)

Clean Off Your Desk Day -- me and what army? (Note:  some sites put this as always on Jan. 9, some the second Monday of January; either way, my question remains)

Cuckoo Dancing Week begins -- in honor of Laurel & Hardy, whose theme song was "The Dancing Cuckoos"; watch some of their fabulous material this week, and introduce it to a new fan

Designated Hitter Day -- the American League adopted the "designated hitter" rule on this date in 1973

Eugenio Maria de Hostos' Day -- Puerto Rico (birth anniv. obs.)

Feast of Sokar -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Independence Manifesto Day -- Morocco(1944); Western Sahara(1944)

International Thank You Day -- as declared by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith

Juturnalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of prophetic waters festival)

Kosrae Constitution Day -- Micronesia

Milk Day

National Hot Toddy Day

Plough Monday -- UK (farm work is resumed the Monday following the 12 Days of Christmas, and ploughs are brought to the church to be blessed)

Secret Pal Day -- no info found on the origin, it's a secret!  do something nice for someone, secretly.

Seijin-no-hi -- Japan (Adult's Day, or Coming of Age Day; celebrating all who have reached age 20, full legal adult age, in the past year)

Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day -- just don't do it to your secret pal

Sts. Paldo, Taso, and Tato's Day (founders of the monastery of San Vincenzo)

St. Theodosius of Cappadocia (Patron of file makers)

Tattoo Pride Day

Birthdays Today:

Amanda Peet, 1972

Mary Blige, 1971

Kim Coles, 1962

Stanley Tucci, 1960

Ben Crenshaw, 1952

Christine Kaufmann, 1945

Naomi Judd, 1946

Jim Hightower, 1943

Clarence Clemens, 1942

Jean Chretien, 1934

Rod Taylor, 1930

Grant Tinker, 1926

Alice Paul, 1885

William James, 1842

Eugenio Maria Hostos, 1839

John A. Macdonald, 1815

Alexander Hamilton, 1755

Theodosius I, 347

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Daktari"(TV), 1966

"Have a Heart"(Musical), 1917

Today in History:

Prophet of Islam Muhammad leads an army of 10,000 Muslims to conquer Mecca, 630

The first recorded lottery in England is drawn in St. Paul's Cathedral, 1569

Isaac Newton is elected a member of the Royal Society, 1642

Mt. Etna erupts, 1693

William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, the moons of Uranus, 1787

An earthquake in Martinique destroys half of Port Royal and results in about 700 deaths, 1839

Charring Cross Station opens in London, 1864

Milk is first delivered in bottles, 1878

Martha H. Cannon becomes the first woman state senator in the US, in Utah, 1897

The Hudson, the first sedan type automobile, goes on display at the 13th Auto Show in NYC, 1913

The first use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient occurs in Canada, with 14-year-old Leonard Thompson, 1922

Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Honolulu to Oakland, California, 1935

The first recorded snowfall in Los Angeles, California, 1949

United States Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry, M.D., publishes a landmark report saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking nation- and worldwide anti-smoking efforts, 1964

The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane in Queensland, Australia is officially opened, 1986

The government of Ireland announces the end of a 20-year broadcasting ban on the IRA, 1994

Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois' death row based on the Jon Burge scandal, 2003

Forty-six  people are killed and 12 are missing after a landslide buries a village in the Yunnan province, China, 2013

In China's first significant #MeToo moment Beihang University in Beijing fires a professor for sexual misconduct, 2018

Taiwan re-elects Tsai Ing-wen for a second term as president in a landslide , 2020

It's Not Easy (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.

Grandma was a bit out of sorts yesterday and snapped at Sweetie about something he had cleaned at her house that he had not quite done to her satisfaction.  He made a note to me later about how it's not always easy being the help!

Rich cousin Boudreaux done get him de note from de gov'mint dat dey t'ink he not be payin' de he'p the minimum wage, an' dey be goin' sen' de man out to talk wit' him.

Well, de man from de gov'mint done come an' ax Boudreaux 'bout de he'p, and Boudreaux say, "We gots us de gard'ner, he done get pay $600 a week, plus he get him de health insure policy, an' he live free in de cottage on de ground.  If'n we have de hurricane an' it do lotsa damage, I pays him extra.

"Den we got de housekeep lady, an' she cook, too.  She get her $400 a week, plus de health insure policy, an' she live in de house fo' free an' eat wit' us an' if'n my wife have her de party, I pay her extra fo' to cook an' clean fo' dat.

"Fin'ly, I got de half-wit.  He work him 'bout twelve hour a day, some days sixteen, he gets him $25 a week for spendin' money, an' he gets him a bottle o' de muscadine wine ever' week, too.  Oh, an' sometime he gets to sleep wit' de lady o' de house."

When he done hear dis, de man from de gov'mint yell, "What!  That's terrible!  I want to meet this poor half-wit."

An' Boudreaux say, "Mais!  Dat be me!"

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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.    

Sometimes i notice things at Grandma's house that i've seen before, but that i never really stopped to look at for long (i am usually busy doing housework).  Also, i never get tired of taking pictures of flowers.

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Today is:

Back-to-Front Yad -- Fairy Calendar

Bloomer Day -- anniversary of the opening day of the first US women's rights convention in 1848*

Dornach Commemoration Day -- Dornach Battlefield and nearby city of Solothurn, Switzerland (victory in 1499 which ended the Swabian War)

Festival of Honos -- Ancient Roman Calendar (personification of morality and honor)

Galla Bayramy -- Turkmenistan (celebration of the wheat harvest)

Liberation Day -- Nicaragua

Martyr's Day -- Myanmar

National Daiquiri Day

National Ice Cream Day -- by US Presidential proclamation on the 3rd Sunday of July each year; at this time of year, the trick is to eat it fast enough that it doesn't melt, but not so fast that you get a brain freeze!

Stick Out Your Tongue Day -- internet generated, do it just because it's fun

St. Justa's Day (Patron of potters; Seville, Spain)

Triple Play Day -- the first Major League unassisted triple play was made by Neal Ball on this day in 1909

Vardavar -- Armenia (continuation of an ancient pagan festival that encourages people to pull pranks, especially dousing everyone, friend and stranger, with water)

*Amelia Bloomer's birth anniversary on May 27 is also called "Bloomer Day"

Anniversaries Today:

Frank Sinatra marries Mia Farrow, 1966

Isis marries Osiris (year unknown, ask the ancient Egyptians!)

Adonis marries Aphrodite (year unknown, ask the ancient Greeks!)

Birthdays Today:

Stephen Anthony Lawrence, 1990

Jared Padalecki, 1982

Topher Grace, 1978

Angela Griffin, 1976

Clea Lewis, 1965

Anthony Edwards, 1962

Campbell Scott, 1962

Brian May, 1947

Ilie Nastase, 1946

Vikki Carr, 1941

Arthur Rankin, Jr., 1924

George McGovern, 1922

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, 1921

Eve Merriam, 1916

Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, 1904 (last direct descendent of Abraham Lincoln)

Max Fleischer, 1883

Charles Horace Mayo, 1865

Lizzie Borden, 1860

Edgar Degas, 1834

Samuel Colt, 1814

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"That's All Right"(Elvis' first single release), 1954

Today in History

A dragon more than 100 metres long was found dead on Yehwang Mountain in Henan province and was seen as a bad omen for Emperor Huan, who ignored it and died at age 35 (three years later); Xiang Kai, who had warned him of the omen, was released from the prison the emperor had placed him in, and lionised as a hero, BCE164

Moslem forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeated the Visigoths led by their king Roderic, 711

A hailstorm brings down the ceilings of the Papal Palace, Rome, 1500

Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after having that title for just nine days, 1553

Five women are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692

Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England, 1701

Australia's first recorded use of gaslight was commenced in a Sydney shop, 1826

The British Medical Association was founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary, 1832

The two day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York; "bloomers," named after developer Amelia Bloomer, are worn at this very early feminist convention, 1848

A meteorite with an estimated mass of 190 kg explodes over the town of Holbrook in Navajo County, Arizona causing approximately 16,000 pieces of debris to rain down on the town, 1912

Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention, 1963

The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua, 1979

The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published, 1983

President Clinton announces his idea for a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in regards to gays in the US military, 1993

A Tel Aviv judges orders safe deposit boxes that contain manuscripts of Franz Kafka to be opened, 2010

A Pontifical Commission is established by Pope Francis to investigate current accounting practices and implement new strategies for greater fiscal transparency and fiscal responsibility among all Vatican offices, 2013

Scientists in the US calculate that the total amount of plastic ever produced is 8.3 billion tons, the equivalent of about 1 billion elephants in weight, 2017

The Russian ship Dmitri Donskoii, with a possible cargo of gold coins, is discovered in waters between South Korea and Japan where it sunk in 1905, 2018

The largest wind farm in Africa opens at Lake Turkana, Kenya, capable of generating 310 megawatts, 2019

A Contest For the Weekend, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

Hello, everyone, welcome to today's matchup between mimi and Grandpa's room.  It looks like it's going to be quite the contest.

Grandpa, as everyone knows, hates for mimi to clean his room, even when the housekeeper didn't show up to do it.  That's why it's a contest to see if mimi can clean his room in the 30 or so minutes that he's out of the house in the morning.

Here's mimi now, let's see what she's up to.

"Hello, mimi!  How are you feeling about today's competition?"

Right now, i'm feeling pretty confident.  Because Grandpa never tells me when he's going to leave the house to go to daily Mass, i have to have everything ready.  My Windex and newspapers are here, the Lysol and rags are there, i have a Chlorox toilet cleaning wand at the ready, a Swiffer sweeper already loaded with the pad, and i'm pretty certain there are clean linens hiding in the closet, but of course he would see me if i went and looked so that has to wait.

"And how much do you want to accomplish while he's gone?"

The hope is that i'll get the bed stripped and remade, the bathroom cleaned, the bedroom swept, and as a bonus, his office dusted and vacuumed.  He never lets anyone clean the office, and he's not generally very thorough when he does it himself.

Did i just hear the door shut?

"Yes, you did, and his car is out of the driveway."

Time's a wastin'!  The first thing is to strip the bed, and the very last thing is to remake it.  That way, if my timing is off and he gets back before i'm done, he has to at least let me finish the bed because otherwise he can't get in it!

"That's quite a sneaky strategy!"

Well, you have to be sneaky when dealing with Grandpa.  Now that the bed is unmade, i will scrub the toilet bowl and spray down the tub.

It's not a very big bathroom.

The tub is standard sized.

"What's next?"

Next is dusting both rooms, really quickly.  It doesn't do to wipe down surfaces and then dust, because the dust just falls and sticks to whatever you just cleaned, that's something i figured out the hard way when i got into this business.

"Okay."

Now for the bathroom mirror, then Lysol the sink and the toilet seat and outside of the toilet.  A quick scrub of the tub -- those scrubbing bubbles really do a good job, there's not a lot of elbow grease needed -- and a rinse.

"What about floors?"

Swiffer is a good choice for all of these hard floors, they are the vinyl tiles that look like wood, durable and easy to clean.  Once i sweep, and i have to make sure i even get well under the bed, and in the bathroom, i'll use a wet swiffer pad to clean the ceramic tiles in the bathroom.  The vinyl tiles are the kind you aren't supposed to use any cleaning products on, so if i have time, i may damp mop those floors, but it's not a priority.

"Where does the vacuum come in?"

They got the vacuum's broken plug replaced -- this looks like overkill to me.

Grandpa has those mats in his office for his rolling chairs, to keep them from marking up the vinyl floors.  As i noted, he doesn't let the housekeeper in his office at all, and those mats really need it.

"It's getting close to 9am, what now?"

Everything else is clean, so i'm digging the fresh linens out of the closet, and once i remake the bed, i'm probably going to have to call it done.

"You're right, he's making the u-turn at the corner to pull back around to the driveway.  Are you finished?"

Yes, the bed is made, the bathroom is sanitary, the floors are swept, the office is much tidier, especially those mats, so i'm calling it done.

"And it's mimi for the win!"

Thank you, thank you very much, it feels great to still be the champion!

(Folks, really, i have around 30 minutes when i go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to get his room and office done while he's at Mass, and this is about what it's like!  Since he's a sports fan, the whole time i was cleaning last Saturday, i imagined it as a play by play, and it tickled my fancy so i wrote it up.)

River, i believe, asked about Dr. D's electric broom.  It's really a small stick vacuum:

On the left if the steam mop, the Eureka is the "electric broom".

They come in very handy, especially if you don't want to have to pull out the large vacuum for a small job.  This one even has a brush roll you can turn on and off so it gets hair off the carpet. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Answer Your Cat's Questions Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; meditate on what your cat's question might be, then answer it

Celebration of Life Day

Come in From the Cold Day -- somebody at an ecard company decided today would be a good day to do that 

Day of Unity and Liberty of Ukraine -- Ukraine

Dia de la Fundacion del Estado Pluinacional de Bolivia -- Bolivia

National Blonde Brownie Day -- i thought these were just called "blondies."

National Speak Up and Succeed Day -- become one of those people who aren't afraid of public speaking, practice! originally sponsored by Polished Presentations International; as they no longer have a website, i'm sure Toastmasters International can help    

Polka Dot Day -- looking up why they are called "polka dots" gives lots of stories, but no concrete evidence; they were probably named after the dance craze that became fashionable around the same time the pattern appeared

Rid The World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day -- always the Tuesday of Healthy Weight Week and includes the announcement of the Slim Chance Awards, highlighting the worst fad diets of the prior year   

St. Vincent of Zaragoza's Day (Spanish martyr and Patron of vine dressers, vinegar makers, vintners; Lisbon, Portugal; Portugal; vicenza, Italy; Vilamalla, Catalonia, Spain)

    a sunny day today indicates a good wine crop next season

Birthdays Today:

Christopher Masterson, 1980

Balthazar Getty, 1975

Olivia D'Abo, 1967

Steven Adler, 1965

Diane Lane, 1965

Michael Kelland Hutchence, 1960

Linda Blair, 1959

Steve Perry, 1949

John Hurt, 1940

Joseph Wambaugh, 1937

Seymour Cassel, 1937

Sam Cooke, 1935

Bill Bixby, 1934

Piper Laurie, 1932

Ann Sothern, 1909

Robert E. Howard, 1906

George Balanchine, 1904

Rosa Melba Ponselle, 1897

D.W. Griffith, 1875

Grigori Rasputin, 1869

August Strindberg, 1849

Richard Upjohn, 1802

Nat Turner, 1800

Lord Byron, 1788

Andre Ampère, 1775

Sir Francis Bacon, 1561

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Emergency!"(TV), 1972

"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"(TV), 1968

"The Crucible"(Miller play), 1953

"Our Town"(Wilder play), 1938

"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"(Opera; Shostakovich Op.29), 1934

Today in History:

The first contingent of Swiss Guards arrive at the Vatican, 1506

Postal service between NYC and Boston is inaugurated, 1673

The Native American Iroquois tribes renew their allegiance to the British against the French, 1690

Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Britain, 1771

A severe earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands, 1837

The Zulus attack the British Army camp in Isandhlwana, South Africa, 1879

The Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" is erected in Central Park, 1881

After 63 years, England stops the sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series and begins King Edward VII series, 1901

First live radio commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury, 1927

KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood, California, 1947

Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space, 1968

The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service, 1970

The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued, 1971

The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous "1984" television commercial, 1984

Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm, 1990

Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, 2002

Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president, 2006

Water vapour is detected on the dwarf planet Ceres, 2014

Winter storm conditions strand 500 motorists for 24 hours on the New Jersey turnpike in Pennsylvania, 2016