Vacation Thankfulness

There's a lot for which to be thankful right now.

This week,

     all the work got done before i left town

     i made it safely to the Mobile area to meet up with Di

     Sweetie had an accident that was not his fault and no one was hurt

     our rental car was recalled and Hertz handled it well, making sure we got a free upgrade for the trouble of having to switch cars

     we all made it safely to our meet-up destination

     there is a pie shop in the area

     sunrises and sunsets at the beach are amazing

     we had fun yesterday, with lots of talk and laughter

     the condo is beautiful and we are so comfortable

     gumbo night was a success!

Think of some things for which you are thankful and let the world know by linking up to Ten Things of Thankful.


Today is:

Charter Day -- St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada (1881)

Courageous Follower Day -- because leaders have to have someone to lead, and it can take as much courage to follow a great leader as to be the leader

Feast of Ra in His Barge at Heliopolis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Floral City Strawberry Festival -- Floral City, FL, US (fun for all, through tomorrow)

Holy Experiment Day -- try something religious today

Hug a GI Day -- just don't get in trouble sneaking on base to do it

International Scrapbooking Industry Day -- can't find proof the industry actually set this day, but if you love scrapbooking, celebrate

March Dryads' Festival -- Fairy Calendar

March Forth - Do Something Day

National Grammar Day -- sponsored by The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar on March 4th, which is both a date and an imperative

National Poundcake Day

Natural Bridge Battle Reenactment -- Tallahassee, FL, US (Civil War reenactment; through tomorrow)

North Dakota Winter Show -- Valley City, ND, US (world's largest crop show, eight-breed cattle show, rodeos, tractor pulls, entertainment, and more for tons of family fun; through next Saturday)

St. Casimir's Day (Patron of bachelors, kings, princes, single layment; Lithuania; Poland; against plague)

Tavern Day -- US (the first tavern in the US, a Puritan public house in Boston, MA, opened this date in 1634)

Toy Soldier Day -- Dr. Steel's Army, building a utopian playland and embarking on a worldwide mission of fun

Waltz Day -- some say National Waltz Day, and some Dance the Waltz Day, but no one says why this day; i say, waltz if you want to


Anniversaries Today:

Hot Springs National Park is established, 1921
Vermont becomes the 14th US state, 1791


Birthdays Today:

Patsy Kensit, 1968
Jason Curtis Newsted, 1963
Stephen Weber, 1961
Patricia Heaton, 1958
Catherine O'Hara, 1954
Emilio Estefan, 1953
Kay Lenz, 1953
Chris Squire, 1948
Mary Wilson, 1944
Paula Prentiss, 1938
Miriam Makeba, 1932
Joan Greenwood, 1921
Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr., 1906
Knute Rockne, 1888
Garrett Morgan, 1877
Casimir Pulaski, 1747
Antonio Vivaldi, 1678
Prince Henry the Navigator, 1394


Debuting/Premiering Today:

People Magazine(Publication), 1974
"The Dick Cavett Show"(TV), 1968
Nosferatu(Horror Film), 1922
"Pénélope"(Fauré Opera), 1913
"Swan Lake"(Tchaikovsky Op. 20), 1876


Today in History:

Croatian Duke Trpimir I issued a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources, 852
Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam, 1351
Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, from his first voyage, 1493
Hernan Cortez arrives in Mexico in search of Aztec gold, 1519
The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a royal charter, 1629
John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England, 1675
France is divided into 83 départements, which cut across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on noble ownership of land, 1790
The first Jewish member of the US Congress, Israel Jacobs of Pennsylvania, takes office, 1791
A Constitutional Act is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario), 1791
In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington, 1797
In the Castle Hills Rebellion, in New South Wales, Australia, Irish convicts (some of whom had been involved in Ireland’s Battle of Vinegar Hill in 1798) lead the colony’s only significant convict uprising, 1804
Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia, 1848
The day without a US president -- Zachary Taylor refuses to be sworn in on the Sabbath (Sunday), so there is, technically, no president on this day, 1849
The longest bridge in the Great Britain, the Forth Bridge (railway) (1,710 ft) in Scotland is opened, 1890
The great fire of Shanghai damages over 1,000 buildings, 1894
Victor Berger of Wisconsin becomes the first socialist congressman in the U.S., 1911
Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives, 1917
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia's renunciation of the throne is made public, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia publicly issues his abdication manifesto, 1917
Frances Perkins becomes the United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet, 1933
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant, 1954
The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90, 1957
The United States Atomic Energy Commission announces that the first atomic power plant at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is in operation, 1962
The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, 1976
Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister, 1980
Bertha Wilson is appointed the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada, 1983
The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Comet Halley and the first images ever of its nucleus, 1986
The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex, 1998
No response is received in the final attempt to contact Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network, 2006
Approximately 30,000 voters take advantage of electronic voting in Estonia, the world's first nationwide voting where part of the votecasting is allowed in the form of remote electronic voting via the Internet, 2007

Felines and Fill-Ins and Travel Fun, Oh My!

Feline Friday is hosted by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.
Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is..

1) post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute)

2) go to Steve's page, linked above, then on the menu bar click on the Feline Friday tab to get the code

3) paste the code under your cat picture

4) add your name and link


That’s all there is to it! Be sure to check back every so often and visit all the Feline Friday bloggers. Also, please leave a nice comment on their blogs. Nasty comments will be deleted!

DiDreaming has a cat named Zee, and i asked Zee if i could take her picture for Feline Friday.

She came over to me, but i had to ask her to turn around so i could see her pretty face.

This was her first response to my request.

She finally decided to look at me, sort of.

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Friendly Fill-Ins are four fun and easy statements to complete. Ellen of 15andmeowing provides the first two statements and the final two are offered by McGuffy Ann Morris of McGuffy's Reader.  They try to make sure they will be fun to both answer and share. On Friday, the linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM. Please head to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts! 

Here are this week's statements with my responses underlined:

Week 43: March 3, 2017

1. My favorite herb or spice is __________________________.

2. An herb or spice I dislike is ___________________________.

3. Lately, I have been working on ______________________.

4. This Winter was ____________________.


1. My favorite herb or spice is coriander.  No, i never said i was normal.

2. An herb or spice i dislike is cilantro.  Sweetie loves it, i tolerate it when i have to but would rather not have to.

3. Lately, i have been working on what i am always working on, which is the info for this blog.

4. This Winter was too mild and too short, it has me concerned for how the summer will be.


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If you think things ever go smoothly for me, you don't know me well.  We have to laugh because by this time things have become absurd.

DiDreaming and i started out on day two and got barely into the trip, when i got a call from Hertz.  The rental i had was under a recall, they wanted us out of that car now.  Where are we located so they can find the nearest Hertz and get us there to trade out the car.

It was a 2 1/2 hour trip with toll roads from where we were to get to a Hertz, get it all traded out, and get back to where we were when they called.

About half an hour after we get the new vehicle, someone in front of me drops a styrofoam ice chest out of the back of their truck, and  of course i can't avoid running over part of it.  Now the back-up camera on the rental doesn't work.  Yes, i bought the insurance when i got the car, i've learned better by now than to refuse.

There were also the requisite phone calls, plus extras.  Among other things, the sink in my and Sweetie's bathroom is leaking (so i told him to quit using it until i can get home and fix it), and the home warranty company called to talk to me about renewing.  No, i cannot talk to you about this and read you my debit card number while i'm driving on the interstate in the rain.

 By the time we arrived to meet up with Pickles and Little Ninja and SideStep, we were more than ready to have arrived.

No, we are not getting up early this morning!



Today is:

Aldo Leopold Weekend -- Wisconsin, US (celebrating Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic; through Sunday)

Bonza Bottler Day™

Camellia Festival 2017 -- Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, London, England (through Apr. 2)

Day of Remembrance for Prince Igor -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar

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

Employee Appreciation Day

Heart-Accelerating Sodium-Enriched Cold Cuts Day -- internet generated by someone who has no intention of letting anything healthy past his/her lips

Hina Matsuri -- Japan (Doll Festivals throughout the country, where women and girls dedicate dolls to shrines which are then floated out to sea to take away evil and sicknesses that afflict women)

I Want You to be Happy Day -- a day to devote some time to making someone else truly happy about something

If Pets Had Thumbs Day -- because if you are going to imagine something silly today, it might as well be this; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

International Festival of Owls -- Houston, MN, US (a great way to celebrate and learn about the wonderful creatures that are owls; through Sunday)

International Omega-3 Awareness Day

Joshi-no-Sekku -- Shinto (festival to honor girls)

Liberation Day/National Day -- Bulgaria

Marriage of the March Nymphs -- Fairy Calendar

Martyr's Day -- Malawi

Midnight at the Oasis -- Yuma, AZ, US (nostalgic festival featuring cars and music of the 50s and 60s; throughy Sunday)

Mother's Day -- Georgia

National Anthem Day -- US (current US anthem adopted this date in 1931)

National Day of Unplugging -- originally sponsored by Reboot, encouraging recharging your spiritual life by unplugging your technology from sunset today to sunset tomorrow or 

National Mulled Wine Day

National Salesperson Day

Peach Blossom Day - coincides with the start of the Peach Blossom Festival around this time of year in Hunan, China, where you celebrate the beauty of peach blossoms, and girls celebrate being girls

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 

Sportsmen's Day -- Egypt

Stop Bad Service Day -- spread around the internet by someone who got lousy service

St Casimir' Eve / Kaziukas Fair -- Vilnius, Lithuania (traditional craft fair dates back to the 17th century, celebrating Lithuania's patron saint; through tomorrow)

St. Cunegunda's Day (Patron of Bamberg, Germany; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Poland)

St. Winnal's Day (First comes David, Next comes Chad, Then comes Winnal, roaring mad! -- Traditional English saying about the storminess of March 3; St. Winwaloe or Winnal was the Christianized version of the Teutonic Aegir, god of the sea and controler of weather)

Thanks to the Maple Festival -- Iroquois (date approximate, held when sap began flowing, usually early March)

Words by the Water: a Cumbrian Literature Festival -- Lake District, The Theatre by the Lake at Keswick, Devon, England (a lively literary festival; through the 12th)

World Day of Prayer-- International and Ecumenical; a day for Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action, this year's theme is "Am I Being Unfair To You"; this year's International Committee is meeting in The Philippines 


Anniversaries Today:

Florida becomes the 27th US state, 1845
Colegio Militar of Portugal is founded, 1803


Birthdays Today:

Jessica Biel, 1982
David Faustino, 1974
Julie Bowen, 1970
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 1962
Herschel Walker, 1962
Ira Glass, 1959
Miranda Richardson, 1958
Tim Kazurinsky, 1950
Caroline Lee Bouvier Radziwill, 1933
Doc Watson, 1923
Diana Barrymore, 1921
James Doohan, 1920
Jean Harlow, 1911
Matthew Bunker Ridgway, 1895
Norman Bethune, 1890
Alexander Graham Bell, 1847
George Pullman, 1831


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Moonlighting"(TV), 1985
"Goodtime Charley"(Musical), 1975
"The Lion in Winter"(Play), 1966
"Mr Wizard"(TV), 1951
"Juno and the Paycock"(Play), 1924
Time Magazine, 1923
"Carmen"(Opera), 1875
"Symphony No. 3 in A minor(Scottish)"(Mendelssohn Op.56), 1842
"Symphony No. 101 in D major(The Clock)"(Haydn), 1794


Today in History:

The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporates the Principality of Wales into England, 1284
The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza, 1585
The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau, 1776
The first US Jewish governor, David Emanuel, takes office in Georgia, 1801
The US declares war on Algeria for taking US prisoners and demanding tribute, 1815
The Missouri Compromise, an attempt to keep the US half Slave and half free, is passed by the US Congress, 1820
The Battle of Pelee Island takes place, Ontario, Canada, 1838
Tsar Alexander II emancipates the serfs of Russia, 1861
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group, opens, 1865
The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Canada as recorded in The Montreal Gazette, 1875
Georges Bizet's opera Carmen receives its première at the Opéra Comique in Paris, 1875
Bulgaria regains its independence from Ottoman Empire, 1878
Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood becomes the first female attorney to argue before the US Supreme Court, 1879
The US Geological Survey is created, 1879
Anne Sullivan arrives to begin teaching Helen Keller, 1887
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly, the Duma, 1905
Toronto's Dr Banting & Dr Best announce discovery of insulin, 1921
Time Magazine begins publication, 1923
The United States officially adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem, 1931
Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia, 1938
In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest of the autocratic rule in India, 1939
Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, records "Rocket 88", often cited as "the first rock and roll record", at Sam Phillips' recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee, 1951
An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, 1991
The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction, 1997
Citizens of Switzerland narrowly vote in favor of their country becoming a member of the United Nation, 2002
Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling, 2005
A 2-year old Mississippi girl born with HIV/AIDS is pronounced HIV negative after receiving treatment for the virus within 30 hours after her birth, 2013

A crammed full Thursday post.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, running her hands through the gray strands of her hair, something she always did when she was worried.

"I don't know," he answered dully.  "Even if we do manage to get either my bad knees or your bad hip up into the attic again and get the Djinn bottle, what could we do with it?  There's no way either of us could take the trip to get it to that temple he says we'd need to go to, we've waited too long."

He added, "Alternately, even if we could just get up there to the attic, not even bother to try such a trip, would we wish for things to return to the way they were before we found him, just to keep our grandson from finding him?"

"Even if we could," she replied, "no matter what, the good we've gotten from having that bottle has much outweighed the bad, so no, I could never wish to go back!"


Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is return.

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Gosia, of Looking for Identity, has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World.  Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.

The fence that separates where my friend Di lives from the neighbors.

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Mini Sanity-fest, day one, was yesterday.  Sweetie called me five times before i even reached the state border, including to tell me that someone ran a stop sign in front of him and he couldn't stop in time.  She received the ticket, and he is stuck with no Humphrey the Honda (two days after we got the tires replaced so it would pass inspection!) until we get a police report and we can fight with her insurance company.

There were other occurrences (the lady at the bank gave him too much change, we had to go back and give her the extra so her drawer wouldn't come up short), so by the time i got done with work and got the rental and got to the Mobile area to meet up with DiDreaming, i was toast.

No, i can't put the day in order, but i did make it to church for Ash Wednesday.  The service was so crowded i will bet next year they have it in the sanctuary instead of the chapel.

Today DiDreaming and i drive the rest of the way to meet up with our friends!


Today is:

Adwa Victory Day -- Ethiopia

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

Feast of Tou Tei -- Macau (earth god; celebrated on the second day of the second lunar month, so if i've mixed up the date in Gregorian, i'm sorry, i tried)

Florida Strawberry Festival -- Plant City, FL, US (celebrating the winter strawberry harvest, this year's theme is "We're Playing Your Song"; through Mar. 12)

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

Midnight at the Oasis -- Yuma, AZ, US (nostalgic festival featuring cars and music of the 50s and 60s; throughy Sunday)

National Banana Cream Pie Day

National Conference on Education -- New Orleans, LA, US (three day conference sponsored by the American Assn. of School Administrators) 

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; www.worldbookday.org for more information)


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

Of Fog and Guest Speakers and Planning Trips

We've been having a lot of fog in this area lately.  Last Saturday it was so bad that the interstate was closed, so i had to take a detour to get to Grandma's house. 

Carmin the Garmin came in very handy as she steered me back onto the interstate at a point where others were simply following the old highway.  Had i not had a GPS i wouldn't have known to take that ramp.  Everyone taking the longer way back to the interstate ended up having to wait at a red light in a long line until their turn came, i could see them as i sped by!

It was weird, though.  Getting back onto a foggy interstate with no other cars around, it felt like driving into an episode of Twilight Zone.  The swamps on either side were invisible, there was no turning back, and i could only see a short distance in front of me.  It had me meditative about how sometimes life is like that.  You can't see what's ahead or to the side sometimes, and there are places where there's just no turning back and no guarantee that if you go forward you won't meet up with things you can't see now.

Then, on the way back home in the afternoon, long after the fog had burned off everywhere else, the route over the spillway was still foggy.  They've been shutting that part of the interstate down at night if there's fog, it's just too dangerous.  Again i thought about life, how you expect the fog to clear, and it doesn't.  Some things just stay murky.

The fog is normal for this time of year, as is the rain, but the warm weather is not.   This week should be cooler, and i hope it is.  It's way too early in the year for us to start melting from swamp heat.

This weekend is our church retreat, with a special guest speaker and meals and an ice cream social and plenty of time to just sit and talk to people you might not see every weekend because they attend a different service time.  All of that while being still able to go home and sleep in your own bed.  It's the best of both worlds, retreat wise.

Last night i got to see one member who hasn't attended since before she had her pancreas and kidney transplant (she's been a type 1 diabetic since she was a young child, and worked hard to control it, but her body needed the extra help).  She looks really, really great.

In other news, there are plans afoot for a sanity festival with my friends in March.  It's going to be smaller than our usual get together in the fall, but no less enjoyable for all of that.  Grace will be a grandmother by then, so i'm going to get to see pictures.  Script can't make it, but she and her DH will be nearby a couple of weeks later, so i hope to see her, too.

Have a happy Saturday, everyone!


Today is:

Anniversary of the Elf Wars -- Fairy Calendar

Bald Eagle Appreciation Days -- Keokuk, IA, US (through tomorrow)

Celtic Tree Month Luis (Rowan) begins

Errol Barrow Day -- Barbados

Gasparilla Extravaganza -- Tampa, FL, US (the rum free version of the Pirate Festival celebration, with a kid's parade and lots of fun; the adult version is next Saturday)

Ice Fest -- Ligonier, PA, US (ice sculpture contest and lots of family fun; through tomorrow)

International Bon Jovi Day -- they released their first album this date in 1983

KidFilm Festival -- Dallas, TX (international children's film festival; through tomorrow)

Lady of Altagracia Day -- Dominican Republic

Learn to Ski Day -- always the 3rd Saturday of January, and you go right ahead

National Hugging Day™ -- includes the announcements of the Most Huggable People of the Year

New England Clam Chowder Day

Quebec Flag Day -- Quebec, Canada

Sight-Saving Sabbath Weekend -- to alert synagoge and church members to the importance of regular eye exams

SOS Radio Week -- UK (The Royal National Lifeboat Institution keeps the seas safer, and Radio Amateurs help them raise funds; through the 29th)

Squirrel Appreciation Day -- sponsored by Christy Hargrove of the Western North Carolina Nature Center

St. Agnes' Day (Patron of betrothed couples, bodily purity/chastity, crops, gardeners, Girl Scouts, girls, rape victims, virgins; the Colegio Capranica of Rome; Manresa, Spain; Rockville Centre, NY)

St. Meinrad of Einsiedeln's Day (Patron of hospitality; Einsiedeln, Switzerland; Swabia, Germany)

Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities -- Eatonville, FL, US (celebrating Hurston's work, hometown, and cultural contributions, and the contributions of all Africa-descended people; through Friday)


Anniversary Today:

Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit, 1915


Birthdays Today:

Robby Benson, 1956
Geena Davis, 1956
Billy Ocean, 1960
Jill Eikenberry, 1947
Mac Davis, 1942
Placido Domingo, 1941
Jack Nicklaus, 1940
Wolfman Jack, 1939
Benny Hill, 1925
Telly Savalas, 1924
Benny Hill, 1924
Paul Scofield, 1922
Barney Clark, 1921
Karl Wallenda, 1905
Christian Dior, 1905
Roger Nash Baldwin, 1884
John M. Browning, 1855
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, 1824
Ethan Allen, 1738


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Kid(Film), 1921
The Daily News(first issue, edited by Charles Dickens), 1848
Power of Sympathy(publication date of WH Brown's novel, considered the first American novel), 1789  

Today in History:

Philip II, Henry II, and Richard the Lionheart initiate the 3rd Crusade, 1189
The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded, 1525
The first American novel, WH Brown's "Power of Sympathy," is published, 1789
After being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine, 1793
Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination is introduced, 1799
The envelope-folding machine is patented by Russell Hawes, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1853
The first US sewage disposal system that is separate from storm drains opens in Memphis, Tennessee, 1880
The first slalom ski race is run in Murren, Switzerland, 1922
The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec, 1948
A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete, 1968
The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts, 1971
Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes, 1976
Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, 1981
NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Eart, 2004
Black Monday in worldwide stock markets. FTSE 100 had its biggest ever one-day points fall, European stocks closed with their worst result since 11 September 2001, and Asian stocks drop as much as 14%, 2008

Wordless Wednesday: We Had A Ball!

Friends steppin' out together!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.



Today is:

Battle of San Jacinto Day -- Nicaragua

Chusok -- South Korea (start of the three-day Harvest Moon Festival)

Cochabamba Day -- Cochabamba, Bolivia (festival of the founding of the city)

Eat a Hoagie Day

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 4, Economic Justice (sponsored by We, the World) 

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross/Elevation of the Life Giving Cross/Holy Cross Day -- Christian

Festivals and Matsuri of Japan -- several throughout Japan, today and for the next several, most as harvest festivals or traditional horseback archery rituals)
       including the O Sannomiya Autumn Festival, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Festival, Tono Matsuri, Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, Tsurugaoka-hachimangu Reitasai, Yachi Donga Festival, and Furusato Hyappei Festival

Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally -- Ruidoso, NM, US (trade show, bike shows, riding tours, skills event, stunt show, parade, and fun; through Sunday)

Hug a Crabby Stranger Day -- okay, as long as i don't end up on the evening news

Morton Pumpkin Festival -- Morton, IL, US (the Pumpkin Capital of the World; through Saturday)

National Championship Air Races -- Reno, NV, US (through Sunday)

National Cream-Filled Doughnut Day

National Guitar Flat-Picking Championships and Walnut Valley Festival -- Winfield, KS, US (through Sunday)

Nutting Day -- British Isles tradition, the hazelnuts are supposed to be perfectly ripe on this day

Onam -- Kerala, India (start of a Hindu harvest festival observed by Malayali Hindus celebrating the legendary King Maveli)

Pendleton Round-Up -- Pendleton, OR, US (traditional rodeo with the participation of local Native tribes; through Saturday)

Pennsylvania RV & Camping Show -- Hershey, PA, US (the largest RV and Camper show in the world, with the first two days for industry only; through Sunday)

Pilgrimage to the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln -- Switzerland

St. Notburga's Day (Patron of agricultural workers, husbandmen, peasants, restaurant servers)

Unclear Ideas Display -- Fairy Calendar (Imps celebration)


Birthdays Today:

Amy Winehouse, 1983
Dan Cortese, 1967
Faith Ford, 1964
Wendy Thomas, 1961 (Namesake of Wendy's Hamburgers)
Mary Crosby, 1959
Sam Neill, 1947
Joey Heatherton, 1944
Nicol Williamson, 1938
Walter Koenig, 1936
Kate Millett, 1934
Harve Presnell, 1933
Zoe Caldwell, 1933
Constance Baker Motley, 1921
Clayton Moore, 1914
Stanley Ketchel, 1886
Margaret Higgins Sanger, 1879
Ivan Pavlov, 1849
James Wilson, 1742


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Golden Girls"(TV), 1985
"The Waltons"(TV Series), 1972
"Ironside"(TV), 1967
"Have Gun Will Travel"(TV), 1957
"The Turn of the Screw"(Opera), 1954



Today in History:

Domitian becomes emperor of Rome upon the death of his brother Titus, 81
Harun al-Rashid beomes Abbasid Caliph upon the death of his brother, al-Hadi, 786
The first lighthouse in the US, in Boston, is lit, 1716
George Frederick Handel finishes "Messiah" oratorio, after working on it non-stop for 23 days, 1741
Napoleon occupies Moscow; fires begin that will not be fully extinguished for 5 days, 1812
Francis Scott Key witnesses the battle which inspires him to write "The Defense of Fort McHenry", later retitled "The Star Spangled Banner", 1814
George K Anderson of Memphis, Tennessee patents typewriter ribbon, 1886
President of the United States William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt, 1901
Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City, 1948
The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it, 1959
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded, 1960
The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is canonized by Pope Paul VI, 1975
President-elect of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated, 1982
Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a hot air balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean, 1984
The Toronto Blue Jays set a record for the most home runs in a single game, belting 10 of them, 1987
Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations, 1999
Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks; a similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital, 2001
In a referendum, Estonia approves joining the European Union, 2003
NASA reveals the Space Launch Program to replace the Space Shuttle program, 2011

Home Again, Jiggity Jog

No matter how much fun you are having (and trust me, we had a blast!), there comes a day when you have to head home.

Grace, Di, Jean, Pickles, Sparkle, Howard'sGirlfriend and i have shared meals and talks and walks and visits to bookstores and botanical gardens, the fun of making gumbo and the joy of sharing wine and coffee.  (No, i didn't touch the wine, i know better.  It puts me right to sleep.  Instead, i did the driving.)

There was a lot more, but now it's time to wend my way home, with Di, who will catch a bus back to her home tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we are going through Houston, and i don't know exactly when i will get this way again (although i hope to come back when Little Girl graduates from her specialist training), and thus we will stop at the Ikea there, since i've never been to one.

Home waits -- an A/C that is in need of help, work, and heaven only knows what else.

Do i have to go home, or can i move here?

Today is:

Defy Superstition Day -- go walk under that ladder!

Dia de los Ninos Heroes -- Mexico 

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 3, Environment (sponsored by We, the World) 

Epulum Iovis and Lectisternia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva)

Festival of Lighting the Fires of Neith -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fortune Cookie Day -- you might need one after that ladder stunt

Husker Harvest Days -- Grand Island, NE, US (the largest irrigated working ag show on a permanent site in the US; through Thursday)

Independence Day -- Venda (recognized within South Africa only)

International Chocolate Day -- as declared by the National Confectioners Association

Kentucky Bourbon Festival -- Bardstown, KY, US (self explanatory; through Sunday)

National Celiac Awareness Day -- US

National Peanut Day

Positive Thinking Day -- think positively that nothing bad will happen because of that ladder!

Roald Dahl Day -- it's his birth anniversary

Runic Half Month Ken begins (illumination)

Snack-A-Pickle Time

St. John Chrysostom's Day (Patron of education, epileptics, lecturers, orators, preachers; Constantinople)


Birthdays Today:

Ben Savage, 1980
Fiona Apple, 1977
Stella McCartney, 1977
Tavis Smiley, 1964
Jean Smart, 1959
Nell Carter, 1948
Jacqueline Bisset, 1944
Peter Cetera, 1944
Bela Karolyi, 1942
David Clayton-Thomas, 1941
Fred Silverman, 1937
Richard Kiel, 1939
Judith "Miss Manners" Martin, 1938
Robert Indiana, 1928
Mel Torme, 1925
Yma Sumac, 1922
Roald Dahl, 1916
Bill Monroe, 1911
Claudette Colbert, 1903
Sherwood Anderson, 1876
John J. Pershing, 1860
Milton Hershey, 1857
Walter Reed, 1851
Clara Schumann, 1819
Cesare Borgia, 1475


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Law & Order"(TV), 1990
Divine Madness(Documentary/Comedy), 1980
"Soap"(TV), 1977
"The Muppet Show"(TV)1976
"The Rockford Files"(TV)1974
"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?"(TV)1969
"Yesterday"(Beatles' single release), 1965
"Canticum Sacrum ad Honorem Sancti Marci Nominis/Canticle to Honor the Name of Saint Mark"(Stravinsky orchestral piece), 1956


Today in History:

The temple of Jupiter on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September, BC509
Building begins on Hadrian's Wall, 122
St. Francis of Assisi receives stigmata, 1224
Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David, 1503
Henry Hudson reached the river that would later be named after him, 1609
NYC becomes the first capital of the US, 1788
US Government takes out its first loan from NYC banks, 1789
Six teenage military cadets known as Niños Héroes die defending Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec, 1847
Vermont railroad worker Phineas Gage incredibly survives a 3-foot-plus iron rod being driven through his head; the reported effects on his behavior and personality stimulate thinking about the nature of the brain and its functions, 1848
Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film, 1898
Lusitania completes her maiden voyage, arriving in NYC, 1907
The temperature (in the shade) at Al 'Aziziyah, Libya reaches a world record 57.8*C (136.04*F), 1922
Elizabeth McCombs is the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament, 1933
Chiang Kai-shek elected president of the Republic of China, 1943
IBM introduces the first computer disk storage unit, the RAMAC 305, 1956
Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane, based on barometric pressure, in the Western Hemisphere, 1988*
Largest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu, 1989
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted, 2007
Hurricane Ike makes landfall, damaging Galveston Island, Houston, and surrounding area, 2007
Jan van Eyck is credited as the painter of 'The three mary's at the tomb' a painting from the 1430's held in a Rotterdam museum, 2012


*Replaced by Hurricane Wilma in 2005