They Get You Either Way (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 before leaving Grandma and Grandpa's, i asked her if there was anything else i could do for her.

Grandpa said, "Don't volunteer, she'll find something for you to do!"

Tee Boudreaux done come home an' he not have much o' hims usual joie de vivre.

Boudreaux say, "What be's wrong, Tee?"

An' Tee say, "De teacher done ax fo' de volunteer to he'p wit' de cleanin' after de school party, an' de ones o' us dat din't volunteer done had to he'p ennyway!"

Den Boudreaux say, "Mais, you be goin' learn, even when you don' volunteer, you goin' get volun-told!"

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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 was hosted by River, who still participates, and is now hosted by Elephant's Child (who is on a blog break and her photos are sorely missed).       

Bits and bobs, including white flowers for Charlotte/Mother Owl's color of the month.

A blessed and beautiful Sunday to all!

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Today is:

Ayyám-i-Há -- Baha'i (intercalary days, devoted to service and gift giving; through Mar. 1)

Buergbrennen -- Luxembourg (traditional burning of special bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent)

Cheesefare Sunday/Forgiveness Sunday -- Orthodox Christian (final day upon which dairy products and eggs may be consumed before the Lenten fast; sometimes also called Forgiveness Sunday)

 

Dance of the Known Places -- Fairy Calendar

For Pete's Sake Day -- Wellcat Holidays asks us, who is Pete, and why do things for his sake?  think about that as you celebrate this today

Intercalary Days -- Baha'i (through Mar. 1)

Levi Strauss Day -- his birth anniversary

Liberation Day -- Kuwait

National Personal Chef Day -- heaven knows we all have one of those; some websites list it today, some on July 16

National Pistachio Day

Rooks Nesting Day -- Olde England (12 days after Candlemas on the Julian Calendar)

St. Alexander's Day (Patriarch of Alexandria)

St. Isabella of France's Day (Patron of the sick)

Tell a Fairy Tale Day -- shouldn't this have been two days ago, on Wilhelm Grimm's birth anniversary?

The Man In Black Day -- Johnny Cash's birth anniversary

Thriller Day -- Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" hit #1 today, and stayed there for 37 weeks

Anniversaries Today:

Grand Teton National Park is established, 1929

Grand Canyon National Park is established, 1919

Birthdays Today:

Marshall Faulk, 1973

Erykah Badu, 1972

Mark Dacascos, 1964

Michael Bolton, 1953

Johnny Cash, 1932

Fats Domino, 1928

Betty Hutton, 1921

Tony Randall, 1920

Jackie Gleason, 1916

Margaret Leighton, 1922

Tex Avery, 1908

Madeleine Carroll, 1906

Jean Vercors, 1902

William Frawley, 1887

Herbert Henry Dow, 1866

John Harvey Kellog, 1852

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, 1846

Levi Strauss, 1829

Honore Daumier, 1808

Victor Hugo, 1802

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Jerome Robbins' Broadway"(Musical), 1989

"Deathtrap"(Play), 1978

Today in History:

Origin of the Epoch of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era, BC747

An earthquake in Lisbon leaves 20,000-30,000 dead, 1531

Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down, 1794

The Bank of England issues its first banknotes, 1797

Vice-admiral William Bligh ends the siege of Fort Amsterdam, Willemstad, 1804

Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba, 1815

In New York City a demonstration of the first pneumatic subway opens to the public, 1870

HMS Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff, Belfast, 1914

The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York, 1917

Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of RADAR in the United Kingdom, 1935

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb, 1952

Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada, 1952

National Public Radio incorporates as a non-profit corporation, 1970

Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations, 1980

The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections, 1990

On Baghdad Radio Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, 1991

In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand, 1993

The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses, 1995

Mount Hekla in Iceland erupts, 2000

Republic of Macedonia President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2004

After winning a Liberal Party of British Columbia ballot, Canadian politician Christy Clark becomes the second woman to be Premier of British Columbia, 2011

Scientists in Illinois, announce they've developed stretchable batteries that can power a new generation of flexible electronics, 2013

The Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, receives its 1 millionth seed on its 10 year anniversary, 2018

The city of Venice, Italy, introduces a day visitor tax, 2019

Scientists publish research about a possible "lost continent," Balkanatolia, that may have linked southern Europe with Asia, providing passageway for animal migrations 35 to 38 million years ago, 2022

Laugh, It's Healthy, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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This week, Thankful Day comes with a funny story to tell, for which i am thankful, of course, and a couple of "whew, that could have been worse" stories.

Sunday morning, i couldn't find the key to Becca's house.  Keys live in a key pouch tied to my bag with a lanyard and shouldn't go wandering.  It turned out, when i pulled Grandma's key out on Saturday, this key decided to sneak out and try to hide.

Thankfully it didn't hide too well and i found it in the car under the parking brake lever, and i'm thankful it didn't fall from there to under the driver's seat where i might not have seen it until i tore everything apart.

Later the same day, Mr. JH, Becca's dad, texted to say the church sexton found my driving license!  How it got out of my wallet and onto the floor of the elevator is anyone's guess, but i'm thankful Mr. JH was on his way home with Becca and dropped it off for me.

I was thankful while at church in the prayer room to find out Pastor D is going to be leading one of the Lent Small Group Discussions on Sunday afternoons at the church.  it's perfect, as we haven't had a small group to meet with since Mr. L had to give up leading because of his almost constant pain and i've been missing it.

Sweetie accidentally overslept Monday morning, so i got a call from #1 Son, "Um, wasn't he supposed to meet me here at Kevin and Lenny's so they could change my oil and he was going to run me to work?"

Oops.  It's a good thing i can leave Carl's and come back and no one minds, and we're both thankful it's not far.

Then Ms. D called me a bit later in the morning and said, "Don't come today, I'm going to the doctor."  She hasn't been feeling well for a while and i'm thankful she finally went to the doctor.  She was on the verge of pneumonia!  It's been caught in time and i'm thankful she's better.

Because Ms. D canceled, my Monday was much shorter and i was able to go see Ms. JAI earlier.  I did some cleaning, but mostly what i did was listening.  Her children have finally agreed she does need to sell the house and the girls are supposed to come  help and i am most thankful as when she tried to do this a few years ago, they all pitched a fit about her selling their childhood home.

I was also thankful i had #1 Son's debit card with me so i could pay for his car and get his key on the way home, since he doesn't get off work until they are closed.  Plus i got to pick him up and take him to get the car, so i'm thankful i saw him twice in the same day, it doesn't happen often.

Ms. G and i went to a "Bulk Club" store while i was working Wednesday and i am thankful i found cinnamon raisin bread Sweetie loves at a much cheaper price per loaf than at the regular store.

Our church has Ash Wednesday service at noon while i'm working.  I'm grateful for another church near here which does a 7pm service.  This is the second time i've gone there for Ash Wednesday, and it's a treat.

Wednesday evening i noticed a discrepancy in the bank account online so i called the bank Thursday morning, and i'm thankful i did.  The check from Carl on Monday had been returned as "insufficient funds!"

I laughed when i realized what happened, the story Ms. V and i figured was this.  Banks in our area had a choice, to close on Monday, President's Day, or on Tuesday, Mardi Gras.

My bank was open on Monday and Sweetie went right before closing to cash the check.  Carl's bank was closed so the check was not processed through his bank right away.

Tuesday, my bank was closed and his was open, and again, the check wasn't processed yet.  He checked his account, didn't know a check was outstanding, and paid for his dentist visit.

By the time both banks were open and the dust settled, Ms. V wrote us another check which went through just fine.  It was one of those crazy things we couldn't have pulled off if we'd tried to time it that way, and i giggle every time i think about it.

I'm very, very thankful i earned enough this week, even with Ms. D having to cancel, to pay off Kevin and Lenny!  All the car repairs are paid in full!

Friday morning, i'm thankful i remembered to pick up extra copies of our church Lent study guide, as Ms. V and Mr. L were still not quite up to attending last Sunday and will be visiting their son's church this week.  Now they don't have to miss any readings or make a special trip up there to get them.  I dropped them off on my way to the cat shelter, which was quietly busy this week, a nice change from the "busting loose at the seams" pace of last Friday.  I'm thankful for both kinds of shifts.

Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Dyanne and her co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.   

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Today is:

Dairokuten-no-Hadaka Matsuri -- Chiba, Japan (around this date; one of Japan's "naked" festivals, as participants wear only a loincloth as they wrestle in the cold, wet mud, bringing luck to the community as they run through the crowds smearing the lucky mud on the onlookers)

Dance of the Secret Places -- Fairy Calendar

Dag van de Revolutie -- Suriname (Day of Liberation and Innovation)

Februaristaking -- Netherlands (commemoration of a strike against the Nazis)

Festival of Ptah -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

International Sword Swallowers Day   

Kitano Baika-sai (Plum Blossom Festival) -- Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Let's All Eat Right Day -- in honor of the birth of Adelle Davis in 1904, an early pioneer in good nutrition

National Chocolate Covered Peanuts Day -- some sites say any nuts will do, some specify peanuts; take your pick

National Clam Chowder Day -- not to be confused with New England Clam Chowder Day, back in January

National Day -- Kuwait

Open That Bottle Night -- time to finally drink that bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion; after all, the final Saturday in February only comes once a year (sponsored by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of The Wall Street Journal)

People's Revolution Day/People Power Day -- Philippines

Pistol Patent Day -- Samuel Colt received US Patent #138 for the first pistol on this day in 1836

Quiet Day -- can't find the history behind this one, but mommy wants one!

St. Walburga's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, harvests; Antwerp, Belgium; Eichstätt, Germany; Gronigen, Netherlands; Oudenarde, Belgium; Plymouth, England; Zutphen, Netherlands; against coughs, dog bites, famine, hydrophobia/rabies, mad dogs, plague, storms)

Soviet Occupation Day -- Georgia

Birthdays Today:

Josh Wolff, 1977

Chelsea Handler,1975

Sean Astin, 1971

Tea Leoni, 1966

Carrot Top, 1965

Lee Evans, 1964

Neil Jrdan, 1950

Ric Flair, 1949

Karen Grassle, 1944

George Harrison, 1943

Diane Baker, 1938

Tom Courtenay, 1937

Bob Schieffer, 1937

Sally Jessy Raphael, 1935

"Texas Rose" Bascom, 1922

Bobby Riggs, 1918

Anthony Burgess, 1917

Jim Backus, 1913

Millicent Hammond Fenwick, 1910

Adelle Davis, 1904

Zeppo Marx, 1901

Meher Baba, 1894

Enrico Caruso, 1873

Charles Lang Freer, 1856

Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1841

Xuande, Emperor of China, 1398

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Little Night Music"(Musical), 1973

"Toys in the Attic"(Play), 1960

"Wonderful Town"(Musical), 1953

"Your Show of Shows"(TV), 1950

"Natoma"(Herbert Opera), 1911

"Riders to the Sea"(Play), 1904

"Hernani"(Victor Hugo Play), 1830

Today in History:

The First Bank of the United States is chartered, 1791

The German Midiatisation is enacted, taking over 1,000 German sovereign states into about 40 larger entities, 1803

Samuel Colt patents the first revolving barrel multishot firearm, 1836

The first US electric printing press is patented by Thomas Davenport, 1837

Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress, 1870

The US Steel Corp. is organized under J P Morgan, 1901

The Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Toronto Marlboroughs in 2 games, 1904

Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, 1912

Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax, 1919

Diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union are established, 1925

Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) is established in Alaska, 1925

Francisco Franco becomes General of Spain, 1926

Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a television license from the Federal Radio Commission, 1928

The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be built solely as an aircraft carrier, 1933

In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike is declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis, 1941

The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1951

Cassius Clay defeats Sonny Liston, 1964

The first unit of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, the first commercial nuclear power station in Canada, goes online, 1971

President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president, 1986

In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more, 1994

In the Irish general election, the Fianna Fáil-led government suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state, 2011

The World Health Organization removes India from the list of polio endemic countries, 2012

Hundreds of pro-Russian protesters block the Crimean parliament and demand a referendum on Crimea's independence, 2014

The XXIII Winter Olympic Games close in Pyeongchang, Korea; Norway wins a record 39 medals, 14 gold, 2018

The influential film review site Rotten Tomatoes implements changes to the site after internet trolls target the new Captain Marvel film, 2019