Wordless Wednesday: It's not over.

Yes, there are still people clearing out debris from their flooded houses.

Recovery is going to take a long time.

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.


Today is:

Anniversary of the Founding of Lima  -- Lima, Peru

Confession of St. Peter -- Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican Christian
     Feast of the Chair of St. Peter -- Roman Catholic Church (celebrated as the founding of the papacy)

Feast of Neith -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (goddess of war and hunting)

Four an' Twenty Day -- Scotland (24 days after Christmas)

Hair Dryer Appreciation Day -- no history on this, but if you love your hair dryer, more power to you

Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition -- Rockford, IL, US (frozen art fun, with this year's theme "Forgotten America"; through Saturday)

Jazz Day -- Jazz gets recognized, it plays the Met!

National Lay Awake and Whisper in the Dark Night -- another one i can't fathom or find out why it even exists

National Peking Duck Day

Revolution Day -- Tunisia

Royal Thai Armed Forces Day -- Thailand (former Siam)

Santa Prisca Day -- Taxco, Mexico

Thesaurus Day -- birth anniversary of Peter Roget

UFO Day -- see the history section, 1644

Unsliced Bread Day -- from this day in 1943, until the war ended, US bakers sold only unsliced bread loaves so no steel had to be diverted from the war effort for slicing machine blades

Vancouver International Boat Show -- Vancouver, BC, Canada (with two venues in the city, there is sure to be enough to delight even the pickiest sailors; through Sunday)

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity -- Christian (from the celebration of the Confession of St. Peter to the celebration of the Conversion of St. Paul, Jan. 25)

Winnie the Pooh Day -- birth anniversary of Winnie's author A.A. Milne


Anniversaries Today:

Wesley College, Melbourne is established, 1866
Henry VII of England weds Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, 1486


Birthdays Today:

Jason Segal, 1980
Dave Batista, 1969
Jesse L. Martin, 1969
Jane Horrocks, 1964
Kevin Costner, 1955
Bobby Goldsboro, 1941
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin, 1941
Curtis Charles (Curt) Flood, 1938
Ray Dolby, 1933
Evelyn Lear, 1931
John Boorman, 1930
Constance Moore, 1920
Danny Kaye, 1913
Cary Grant, 1904
Oliver Hardy, 1892
A.A. Milne, 1882
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, 1856 (The African-American doctor who performed the first open heart surgery.)
Thomas A. Watson, 1854 ("Come here, Watson, I need you," said Bell)
Peter Mark Roget, 1779
Daniel Webster, 1782
Daigo, Emperor of Japan, 885


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Jeffersons"(TV), 1975
"Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour"(TV), 1948
"The Nose"(Shostakovich' opera), 1930


Today in History:

Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong, 1126
Francisco Pizarro founds Lima, Peru, 1535
The first documented UFO sighting in America, by some very perplexed pilgrims in Boston, 1644
Pirate Henry Morgan defeats the Spanish defenders and captures Panama, 1670
San Jose, California is founded, 1777
Captain James Cook stumbles upon the Sandwich Islands (Hawai'i), 1778
The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay, 1788
Electro-Magnetic Intelligencer, the first US electrical journal, begins publication, 1840
Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, J. C. Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom, 1884
Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England, 1886
The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time, 1896
President Theodore Roosevelt sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States, 1903
The first shipboard landing of a plane (Tanforan Park to USS Pennsylvania, flown by Eugene B. Ely), 1911
English explorer Robert F Scott & his expedition reach South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had gotten there before, 1912
Japan issues the "Twenty-One Demands" to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia, 1915
A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite strikes a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri, 1916
The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers were Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden, 1944
Willie O'Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut, 1958
A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War, 1974
Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease, 1977
Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs), 1981*
The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family, 1983
Boerge Ousland of Norway becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided, 1997
The Tagish Lake meteorite impacts the Earth, 2000
Sierra Leone Civil War is finally declared over, 2002
A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia, 2003
The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France, 2005
Hurricane Kyrill becomes one of Western Europe's deadliest storms, 2007
An amateur astronomer in Peterborough, England, discovers a new, Neptune-sized exoplanet, 2012

Tuesday Coffee Chat: Coming Up Next

Rory Bore at Ink Interrupted hosts the Tuesday Coffee Chat, and this week she asks the question:  It's a New Year!  What is one positive thing about 2017, and one negative thing about the forthcoming year?  






They say to always start with the bad news, right?

One negative thing about the forthcoming year would be our upcoming tax bill.  Our property tax went up, and now that we only have Little Girl as a tax deduction (and this is the last year for that, too), our income taxes have gone up, too.  No, we aren't making any more money, we still have the kids at home, but we can't deduct them because they aren't full time students.

Never did i believe Sweetie would reach retirement age and i would be working harder than ever for less money and paying more in taxes.

Okay, now that's out of my system, it's time for the positives.  There's no way to stick to just one positive.

This year, i'm looking forward to seeing my children continue to grow and develop, spreading their wings.  All of them have big plans.  They all want 2017 to be the year they move up in work, or move out of this house, or start college, or do something special.   Watching them is a joy, and when they do all end up moving out, it's going to be a sadder and lonelier house, at least to me.

We just had a meeting of our Civic Association, and i'm looking forward to a good year in our neighborhood.  The sewer project will be finished soon, so no more trucks rattling through the neighborhood all day.  The streets they tore up will be repaired, too.

There are two, but possibly three, trips planned this year that have me excited.  There will be one in just over a month, and then the family vacation in June.  Maybe even the regular gathering in the fall, not so sure about that one yet.

Life will never be perfect.  There will always be something that could be better.  From where i'm looking right now, though, things are very good indeed, and i have a lot to look forward to, and i'm grateful.



Today is:

Apple Wassailing Day -- Carhampton, England (ancient tradition to bless the trees, waking the tree spirits and scaring away bad spirits)

Blessing of the Animals -- Hispanic Christian (in association with St. Anthony's Day)

Ditch Your New Years Resolutions Day -- no info on origin, but probably someone who gave up; will you?

Felicitas -- Ancient Roman Calendar (honoring the goddess of good luck)

Festival of Janus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (main festival for the god of beginnings, endings, and doorways)

Hot Heads Chili Day -- no clue what this one means, but i guess we can have chili for dinner

Kid Inventors' Day -- celebrating how inventive kids are; on the birth anniversary of Ben Franklin, who invented swim fins at age 12

Liberation Day -- Poland (liberation from the Nazis in 1945)

Make Your All-Time Top Ten Favorite TV Characters List -- because nothing says you can't make your own top ten lists

National Hot Buttered Rum Day

Patras Carnival -- Patras, Greece (the town crier announces the opening ceremony, with festivities through Clean Monday)

Patrice Lumumba -- Democratic Republic of the Congo (Heroes' Day)

Popeye Day -- The Sailor Man debut in the comics this date in 1929

Professional Boxer's Day -- Ali's birth anniversary

Rid The World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day -- US; 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. Anthony the Great's Day (a/k/a Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Patriarch of the Abbots; Patron of amputees, animals/domestic animals, basket weavers, brush makers, butchers, cemetary workers/grave diggers, epileptics, hermits, monks, relief from pestilence, swine/hogs, swineherds; Hospitaliers; Burgio, Sicily, Italy; Canas, Brazil; Castrofilippo, Agrigento, Italy; Fivizzano, Italy; Fontainemore, Italy; Mook, Netherlands; Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Italy; against eczema, epilepsy, ergotism, erysipelas, pestilence, Saint Anthony's Fire, skin diseases and rashes) related observance
     Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral -- Church of San Antonio, Mexico City, Mexico (where this saint is San Antonio Abad)

Zirgu Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (Day of the Horses)


Anniversaries Today:

George Burns marries Gracie Allen, 1926
Octavian marries Livia Drusilla, BC38


Birthdays Today:

Kid Rock, 1971
Naveen Andrews, 1969
Michelle Obama, 1964
Jim Carrey, 1962
Susanna Hoffs, 1959
Anthony Glise, 1956
Andy Kaufman, 1949
Muhammad Ali, 1942
Maury Povich, 1939
Shari Lewis, 1934
James Earl Jones, 1931
Don Zimmer, 1931
Vidal Sassoon, 1928
Eartha Kitt, 1927
Betty White, 1922
Al Capone, 1899
Nevil Shute, 1899
Robert Maynard Hutchins, 1899
Mack Sennett, 1884
David Lloyd George, 1863
Anton Chekhov, 1860
Anne Bronte, 1820
Benjamin Franklin, 1706


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Frontline"(TV), 1983
"The Goldbergs"(TV), 1949
"Popeye the Sailor Man"(Comic character created by Elzie Segar, in the Thimble Theatre comic strip), 1929
"The Cherry Orchard"(Chekhov Play), 1904
"The Rivals"(Sheridan Play), 1775


Today in History:

Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon, 1377
Cesare Borgia returns in triumph to Rome from Romagna, 1501
Giovanni da Verrazzano begins his voyage to find a passage to China, 1524
The Edict of St Germain recognizes Huguenots in France, 1562
England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War, 1648
An avalanche destroys every building in Leukerbad, Switzerland, kills 53, 1718
Capt James Cook becomes the first to cross Antarctic Circle (66° 33' S), 1773
The first cable car patented, by Andrew S Hallidie (begins service in 1873), 1871
Queen Liliuokalani is deposed, the Kingdom of Hawaii becomes a republic, 1893
Sir Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen, 1912
The first fully automatic photographic film developing machine patented, 1928
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazis, is arrested by secret police in Hungary, 1945
The United Nations Security Council holds its first meeting, 1946
The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs, 1949
The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car Company's offices in Boston, Massachusetts, 1950
The world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus, makes its maiden voyage, 1955
A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea in the Palomares incident, 1966
Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V, 1991
The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union, 1996
Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people, 2002
Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, which resulting in at least 200 deaths, 2010

Awww Monday: Ahoy and Meow, Mateys!

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that 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!

A box arrived at the shelter.  A rather large box (for them).  Someone couldn't resist doing something fun with the juvenile cat room, where all of the cats are between 5-10 months old.

Introducing the newest member of the fleet, USS Catfish!

The cats outside the ship had to watch out because...

...the best fun was attacking other cats from inside!

Today is:

2017 Healthy Weight Week -- US 

Appreciate a Dragon Day -- share stories of your favorite dragons from literature; begun by author Danita K. Paul

Australian Open -- Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia (part of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments; through the 29th)

Blue Monday -- UK (it's gloomy winter, it's after the holidays, it's time to cheer someone up by doing something nice for him/her)

Concordia --  Ancient Roman Calendar (honoring the goddess of harmonious relations)

Day of Offerings to the Shemsu of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Inflatable Tire Day -- birth anniversary of Andre Michelin

International Hot and Spicy Food Day

Laurent Kabila -- Democratic Republic of the Congo (Heroes' Day)

Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- US and Territories (obs.)

National Day of Peace -- El Salvador (anniversary of 1992 peace treaty)

National Fig Newton Day

National Good Teen Day -- which really is most of them, isn't it

National Nothing Day -- created by newspaperman Harold Pullman Coffin in 1973 “to provide Americans with one national day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything.”

National Work At Home With Your Spouse Day -- internet generated; try if you dare, i won't, as much as i love him, i'd have to kill him.

Religious Freedom Day -- US (in 1786, the Virginia legislature adopted a statute guaranteeing religious freedom to citizens of that state, and protecting them from discrimination for their religious choices)

St. Anthony's Eve -- Abruzzo, Italy (Fires of Saint Anthony -- Anthony the Great)

St. Honratus of Arles' Day (Patron for rain; against drought, misfortune)

Teacher's Day -- Thailand

There's No Business Like Show Business Day -- Ethel Merman's Birth Anniversary!

Uzhavar Thirunal -- PY, TN, India (Farmer's Day portion of the Pongal celebrations)



Birthday's Today:

Kate Moss, 1974
Sade, 1959
Debbie Allen, 1950
John Carpenter, 1948
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, 1947
Ronnie Milsap, 1944
A.J. Foyt, 1935
Dian Fossey, 1932
Dizzy Dean, 1911
Ethel Merman, 1908
Frank Zamboni, 1901
Harry Carey, Sr., 1878
Robert W. Service, 1874 (Poet, The Cremation of Sam McGee)
Andre Michelin, 1853


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hello, Dolly"(Musical), 1964
"A Pastoral Symphony"(Ralph Vaughan Williams' third symphony), 1922


Today in History:

The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Casesar Octavian by the Roman Senate, BC27
The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison, 550
A great storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German island of Strand and the city of Rungholt, 1362
The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy, 1412
The first grammar of a modern language, in the Spanish language, is presented to Queen Isabella, 1492
Ivan IV of Russia aka Ivan the Terrible becomes Tsar of Russia, 1547
English parliament passes laws against Catholicism, 1581
The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid, 1605
The Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks, 1776
The Commonwealth of Virginia enacted the Statute for Religious Freedom authored by Thomas Jefferson, 1786
The refrigerator car is patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit, 1868
The Pendleton Act creates the basis of US Civil Service system, 1883
The British explorer Ernest Shackleton finds magnetic south pole, 1909
The British House of Commons accepts Home-Rule for Ireland, 1913
Writer Maksim Gorki returns to Russia, 1914
The US ratifies the constitutional amendment on Prohibition, to take effect one year later, 1919
The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris, 1920
The first photo finish camera installed at Hialeah Race track in Hialeah Florida, 1936
Benny Goodman plays the first jazz performance at Carnegie Hall, 1938
Crash of TWA Flight 3, killing all 22 aboard, including film star Carole Lombard, 1942
Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of manned spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk, 1969
Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects, 1970
The Shah of Iran flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt, 1979
First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force., 1986
El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City ending the 12-year Salvadoran civil war , 1992
The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban, 2002
The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107, but disintegrates 16 days later on reentry, 2003
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president, becoming Africa's first female elected head of state, 2006

Silly Sunday: Let Me Age That Way, Too!

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs.  The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!

1. Post a joke.

2. Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.

3. Read my joke.

4. Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.

5. Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.

6. Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

The pantry closets are cleaned out at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They weren't in terrible shape, but they did need a cleaning, and one top shelf was rather grimy.

Grandma's Tupperware canisters needed scrubbing, too.  They are the gold colored ones from back in the early 70's, and they were smudgy.

For the most part, they are keeping only things they need and use, and all is well.

Boudreaux done come back from his mamère house, checkin' see all be well, an' Thibodeaux ax how she be doin'.

An' Boudreaux say, "Mais, she be doin' great!  She be 98 year old, twenty year older dan de clothesline in de yard!  She tol' me she be goin' to de store, an' de only t'ings on her list be birdseed, Ensure, an' beer!"

Today is:

Arbor Day -- Jordan

Arbor Day -- Florida and Louisiana, US

Armed Forces Day / Remembrance Day -- Nigeria

Army Day -- India

Basketball Day -- rules for the game were first published this day in 1892(day debated, year is certain)

Camel Wrestling Championship -- Selcuk, Turkey (a medieval tradition, and the camels are not allowed to actually harm each other, so it's a spectacular sport to watch; through next Sunday)

Carlsbad Marathon and Half Marathon -- Carlsbad, CA, US

Chosun-gul -- North Korea (Korean Alphabet Day)

Dia del Maestro -- Venezuela (Teacher's Day)

Feast of the Ass -- Ancient Roman Calendar (celebrates Vesta being saved by a donkey)

Feast of Entering Heaven and the Two Lands -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo -- Espace de Fontvielle, Monte Carlo (the best circus acts and performers from five continents; through the 25th)

Festival of All Fairies -- Fairy Calendar

Fiesta Del Senor de Esquipulas/Pilgrimage of Cristo Negro de Esquipulas -- Esquipulas, Guatemala (Festival of the Black Christ)

Hunt for Happiness Week begins -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, who want you to join this week; the celebration runs through Saturday 

John Chilembwe Day -- Malawi

Lenaea -- Ancient Greek Calendar (a Festival of Comedy; date approximate)

Milwaukee Boat Show -- Milwaukee, WI, US (where boys can find their big toys; through the 22nd and again the 25th-29th)

Moliere Day -- France

National Activity Professionals Week begins -- celebrating the contributions of Activities Professionals in all senior living communities 

National Hat Day -- begun by a hat loving individual who has chosen to remain anonymous

National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

Procrastinator's New Year -- declared by someone who had a really great sense of humor

Sailing of Wadjyt -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (the icon of the cobra goddess, Wadjyt, is carried on the Nile to visit many cities; date approximate)

Sinulog Grand Parade -- Cebu City, Philippines (biggest day of the very colorful festival about the pagan origin of the people, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism)

St. Ita's Day (Patron of Limerick, Ireland)

St. Paul the Hermit's Day (the first of the Egyptian hermits; Patron of clothing industry, weavers)

Thiruvalluvar Day -- PY, TN, India (remembrance of the celebrated Tamil poet)

Tree Planting Day -- Egypt

Tsunahiki Matsuri -- Japan (various shrines hold tug-of-war festivals in which the team for god Ebisu vie with the team for god Daikoku; if Ebisu wins, the next year will have good catches at sea, if Daikoku, it will bring good harvests)

World Religion Day -- Baha'i

Anniversaries Today:

Opening of the British Museum, 1759

Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England, 1559

Birthdays Today:

Drew Brees, 1979

Chad Lowe, 1968

Mario Van Peebles, 1957

Charo, 1951

Andrea Martin, 1947

Margaret O'Brien, 1937

Ernest J. Gaines, 1933

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929

John Cardinal O'Connor, 1920

Lloyd Bridges, 1913

Gene Krupa, 1909

Elie Siegmeister, 1909

Edward Teller, 1908

Aristotle Onassis, 1906

Goodman Ace, 1899

Pierre S. du Pont, 1870

Philip Livingston, 1766

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a/k/a Moliere, 1622 (baptismal date, actual birth date unknown)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hill Street Blues"(TV), 1981

"Happy Days"(TV), 1974

The Democratic Donkey(symbol in newspaper comic), 1870

"Stella"(Goethe Play), 1816

Today in History:

Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign, in a siege lasting until July 23, BC588

Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World, 1493

Third sitting of the Council of Trent opens, 1562

The British Museum opens in Montague House in London, 1759

John Etherington of London steps out sporting the first top hat, 1797

The first US built locomotive to pull a passenger train begins its first run, with Mr. and Mrs. Pierson on board for the first US railroad honeymoon trip, 1831

The donkey is first used as a symbol for the Democratic Party, in Harper's Weekly, 1870

The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia, 1889

James Naismith publishes the rules of Basketball, 1892

Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" premieres in St Petersburg, 1895

Dr. Lee DeForest patents a 3-element vacuum tube (one of the inventions that later made radio possible), 1907

The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African-American college women, 1908

The Boston Molasses Disaster, 2 million gallons of molasses spill, 21 killed, over 150 injured, 1919

The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio, 1936

The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia, 1943

The US Supreme Court rules that "clear and present danger" of incitement to riot is not protected speech and can be a cause for arrest, 1951

The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles; the Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10, 1967

The USSR launches Soyuz 5, 1969

The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm, 1991

Wikipedia goes online, 2001

An intense solar flare blasts X-rays across the solar system, 2005

ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon, 2005

The Stardust space mission returns dust from a comet to Earth, 2006

"The Miracle on the Hudson"; US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing on the Hudson River, and all passengers and crew survive, 2009

The American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan unveils the replica skeleton of the largest dinosaur ever found, the Titanosaur, which weighed in at 70 tons, 2016

Saturday Doings

Another Saturday day, and i'm going to see Grandma -- that's going through my head to the tune of "Another Saturday Night."  Yes, i promise, i won't sing out loud.

We all know Sweetie sings in the church choir, and i help by not singing in the church choir.  No need to thank me for that.

Grandma has two pantry closets, and while she does usually rotate things well, they haven't been thoroughly cleaned out in quite some time.  Today they will get thoroughly cleaned out.

The smaller "bread cupboard" where she keeps some things (but not bread) is also going to be cleared.  At Christmas i peeked in there and saw items that expired a couple of years ago.  Their time is up!

We will also just visit and talk and have lunch together.  This routine of going to see Grandma and Grandpa every other Saturday is doing us all some good.  Grandma gets me to do projects her once a week housekeeper doesn't have time to do, and we can talk and reminisce and just enjoy each other's company.

She will also offer to take me shopping.  Every time i plan one of these trips, she asks me if we need to go buy me anything.  Every time, unless it happens to be my birthday or Christmas and they insist on getting me a gift, the answer is no.  She and Grandpa are generous to a fault, and i don't want to take advantage of that.

There's no way to stop Grandpa from going to Sam's Club and buying some things for me, though.  He does that for my brothers as well.

Getting back to the subject of housekeepers and housekeeping, it's an odd business.  People call me and act as if they are desperate to have my services, and then cancel or won't set an exact date but tell me to call in a week to set up a time.  Then when i do call, they don't answer and don't return the call.

The ones who do follow through most of the time are the older ones, the ones who just can't mop or vacuum or get down to the baseboards like they used to.  Women who can't physically get it all done any more now make up half of my clients, and they all love that i can clean baseboards.
  
Baseboards, by the way, are best dusted often, so they stay easy to clean.  If it's been too long, the dirt gets used to being there and doesn't want to leave.  That's your free housecleaning tip of the day.  Use the vacuum brush attachment at least once a month and, except in the kitchen where cooking grease makes everything harder to clean, you probably will have very nice looking baseboards all of the time.

In other news, today, Brother-in-Law, The Mouth, will be coming over to have dinner with Sweetie as he does every Saturday, and i've told them they are on their own, as i'll be out of town most of the day.  Knowing them, they will just go to a local deli and get sandwiches.

Little Girl got the title to her car, and spent quite a bit of time jumping with glee and promising to put it in a safe place, then ran off to talk to Daughter-in-Law Becky and left it sitting on the counter.  For a member of the armed forces and an honor roll student, she is still a Little Girl in many ways.

Whatever you are doing on this Saturday the Fourteenth (which is quite an amusing horror movie spoof, by the way), i hope you enjoy it!

Today is:

Assembly Line Workers' Day -- listed on many sites but no particular reason for it to be this day; then again, why not today?

Ati-Atihan Festival -- Aklan, Kalibo, Panay Island, Philippines (main feast and final day of the vivid religious carnival/feast dating back to the 13th century to honor Santo Nino [Baby Jesus])

Augusta Futurity -- Augusta, GA, US (the top cutting horses and riders in the world to compete for purse and awards; through Saturday)

Azhirnikhua -- Abkhazia (Day of World Creation)

Bikaner Camel Festival -- Bikaner, India (colorful camel activities, including a beauty competition, and fun for people also in this gorgeous fortified desert town; through tomorrow)

Cakes and Ale Day -- emblems of the good life, a day to remember the good things we have, and be grateful

Celebration of the 2nd Week of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar

Daikoku Matsuri -- Kanda Myojin Shine, Tokyo, Japan (purification ceremony; through tomorrow)

Day of Defenders of the Native Land (Army Day) -- Uzbekistan

Feast of Divina Pastora -- Barquisimeto, Venezuela (religious procession attended by about 2 million people)

Feast of the Ass -- Medieval Christianity (commemorates the Flight Into Egypt)

International Kite Festival -- Jaipur and Ahmedabad, India

Makar Sandranti -- India/Hindu Calendar (part of the sidereal solstice festivals)

National Dress Up Your Pet Day -- do you really dislike your pet this much?

National Forest Conservation Day -- Thailand

National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day

Niino no Yukimatsuri -- Izu shrine, Niino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (snow festival with offerings made to bring a good harvest in the coming year; through tomorrow)

Organize Your Home Day -- another one that i can't figure out who started it, but i will say s/he was nuts to think this could be done in one day

Orthodox New Year -- RS, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Serbia

Pongal continues -- Tamil New Year, among the Tamil People (multiple day thanksgiving festival at the end of harvest)
     Tamil Thai Pongal Day -- Sri Lanka
     Maghi Parba/Maghe Sankranti -- Western Nepal

Ratification Day -- US (anniversary of the Treaty of Paris that recognized the independence of the US from England)

Revolution and Youth Day -- Tunisia

Santos Tour Down Under -- Adelaide, Australia (a world class cycling event; through the 22nd)

Sidereal Winter Solstice Celebrations -- throughout South and Southeast Asia

St. Felix of Nola's Day (Patron of domestic animals, eyes; Nola, Italy; against eye diseases, false witness, lies, perjury)

St. Sava's Day (Patron of Serbia and all Serbs)

Take a Missionary to Lunch Day -- to honor Albert Schweitzer's birth anniversary



Anniversaries Today:

Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn Monroe, 1954


Birthdays Today:

Kristin Cavallari, 1987
Jason Bateman, 1969
Emily Watson, 1967
Shepard Smith, 1964
Steven Soderbergh, 1963
Lawrence Kasdan, 1949
Carl Weathers, 1948
Nina Totenberg, 1944
Holland Taylor, 1943
Faye Dunaway, 1941
Jack Jones, 1938
Andy Rooney, 1919
William Bendix, 1906
John dos Passos, 1896
Hal Roach, 1892
Hugh Lofting, 1886
Albert Schweitzer, 1875
Thornton W. Burgess, 1874
Richard Felton Outcault, 1863
Matthew Fontaine Maury, 1806
Benedict Arnold, 1741


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Bionic Woman"(TV), 1976
"Sanford and Son"(TV), 1972
"Sinfonia Antartica"(Vaughan Williams' 7th symphony), 1953
"Today Show"(TV), 1952
"Tosca"(Puccini Opera), 1900


Today in History:

The Knights Templar are formally approved by the Roman Catholic Church, 1129
Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery, 1514
Spain annexes Cuba, 1539
The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government, is adopted in Connecticut, 1639
Massachusetts holds a day of fasting for wrongly accusing "witches", 1699
Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the American Revolutionary War, 1783
The US Supreme Court rules that racial separation on trains is unconstitutional, 1878
An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills more than 1000, 1907
Henry Ford introduces the assembly line to the production of the Model-T, 1914
The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight, 1950
The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country's central bank and banknote issuing authority, is established, 1960
Toronto, Ontario Mayor Mel Lastman becomes the first mayor in Canada to call in the Army to help with emergency medical evacuations and snow removal after more than one meter of snow paralyzes the city, 1999
The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag", is restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years, 2004
Landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan, 2005
Tunisian President Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia after the Jasmine Revolution, 2012

Feline Stink Eye and Friendly Fill-Ins

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!

Dansig is giving me the stink eye over a recent purchase -- a vacuum cleaner!

Did you really have to buy one of these...things!

************************************************************

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

My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:

Week 36: January 13, 2017

1. My guiding word for 2017 is _____________________.

2. ________________________ class reunion.

3. Truth be told I am superstitious about ___________________.

4. Lately, I have been ______________________.


1. My guiding word for 2017 is prayer.  Everyone and everything needs some, as far as i can tell, and the kind of work i do lends itself to spending a lot of time praying.


2. No invitations have made their way to my home for the last several class reunions.  Yes, i'm on the mailing list.  Yes, i get a "save the date" notice.  Next thing i get is the newsletter telling me how much fun they had.  Yes, i get all the other newsletters from the school to alumni also.  Being that i wasn't with the popular crowd, my guess is someone really doesn't want me there, and that's fine.


3. Truth be told, i am superstitious about having money in my pocket on New Year's Eve.  Supposedly being broke that night means you will stay broke all year.  While i don't really believe that, i'm not going to take a chance!


4. Lately, i have been wondering how big our tax bill will be this year.  We scrape by month to month, but according to the government, we owe more every single year.





Today is:

Art Deco Weekend -- Miami, FL, US (for die hard fans; through Sunday)

Blame Someone Else Day -- the first Friday the 13 of the year, you get a free pass to blame someone else!

Children's Day -- Thailand

Democracy Day -- Cape Verde

Feast of St. Kentigern (a/k/a St. Mungo) (Patron of Glasgow whose given name meant "head chief" but whose nickname meant "dear one.")

Ides of January -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Lee-Jackson Day -- Virginia, US

Liberation Day -- Togo

Loop Ice Carnival -- The Loop, St. Louis, MO, US (winter frolics, including the "Frozen Bun" run; through tomorrow)

Maghi -- Sikh

Make Your Dreams Come True Day -- no info on the origin of this; maybe someone who broke their New Year's resolutions by this day used the fact that it's New Year's by the Julian calendar to start over

Midvintersblot -- Ancient Norse Calendar (midwinter festival)

National Peach Melba Day

Old New Year's Day -- Belarus; Georgia; Montenegro; Republic of Macedonia; Republic of Srpska (Yes, that's how it's spelled; no, i don't know how to pronounce it); Serbia; Russia; Ukraine; Wales (Julian Calendar)

Pongal begins -- India (thanksgiving festival at the end of the harvest season, honoring Indra, god of clouds and rain)
     first day, Bhogi

Radio Day -- anniversary of the first public radio broadcast in 1910

Recuperation Fortnight begins -- Fairy Calendar (i think i need one of those!)

Runic Half-month of Peorth (womb) begins

Rubber Ducky Day

Scalloway Fire Festival -- Shetland Islands (viking festival; through tomorrow)

Sidereal Winter Solstice Eve -- celebrations through South and Southeast Asia, including
     Bhogi -- Tamil (first day of Pongal)
     Lohri -- Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh
     Uruka -- Assam

Silvesterklausen -- Switzerland ("Old" New Year's celebration, based on the Julian Calendar)

Southwestern Exposition Livestock Show and Rodeo -- Fort Worth, TX, US (the world's first indoor professional rodeo, since 1918; through Feb. 4)

St. Hilarius' Day (according to English tradition, the coldest day of the year; Patron of learning challenged children; Argusto, Italy; Vervio, Italy; against snakes and snake bites)

St. Knut's Day (a/k/a Little Christmas or Twentieth Day or Tyvendedagen among the Scandinavians, it celebrates Canute IV of Denmark and is the day to "plunder" the tree put up on Christmas Eve, eating the candies and cookies that were decorating it, and puting all the other decorations away before the tree is removed.)

Strive and Succeed Day -- Horatio Alger's birth anniversary

The Big Chill Ice and Snow Festival -- Racine, WI, US (formerly the Flake Out Festival, lots of snowy fun; through Sunday)

Theogamia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (anniversary celebration of the marriage of Zeus and Hera; date approximate, but during Gamelion, the month of marriages)

Tiugunde Day -- Old England (midwinter offering, a celebration picked up from the Norse Midvintersblot)

Tyvendedagen -- Norway (Twentieth day after Christmas, official end of Yuletide or "Juletid")

Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival -- Whittlesea, England (the "straw bear" goes through the town collecting gifts and performing, and on Sunday, the costume is burned amid much celebration; a festival celebrated since medieval times)


Birthdays Today:

Joannie Rochette, 1966
Orlando Bloom, 1977
Nicole Eggert, 1972
Keith Coogan, 1970
Patrick Dempsey, 1966
Penelope Ann Miller, 1964
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 1961
Kevin Anderson, 1960
Jay McInerney, 1955
Richard Moll, 1943
Frank Gallo, 1933
Charles Nelson Reilly, 1931
Frances Sternhagen, 1930
Gwen Verdon, 1925
Army Archerd, 1922
Robert Stack, 1919
Alfred Carl Fuller, 1885
Sophia Tucker, 1884
Horatio Alger, 1832
Salmon P. Chase, 1808


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Sopranos"(TV), 1999
"Mickey Mouse"(Comic strip), 1930


Today in History:

Crusaders set fire to Mara, Syria, 1099
Sicut Didum, the papal bull prohibiting the enslavement of Canary Island natives who had converted to Christianity, is promulgated, 1435
The controversial play Eastward Hoe by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston is performed, landing two of the authors in prison, 1605
The Bank Of Genoa fails after the announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain, 1607
Jonathan Swift is ordained and Anglican priest in Ireland, 1695
James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston, South Carolina, 1733
John Walter publishes the first issue of the London Times, 1785
The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins, 1830
Dr. William Brydon, a surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole European survivor of an army of 16,500 when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, 1842
Anthony Foss patents the accordion, 1854
A chenille manufacturing machine is patented by William Canter of NYC, 1863
A circus fire in Poland kills 430, 1883
 The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting, 1893
U.S. Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution, 1893
The first radio set is advertised, a Telimco for $7.50 in Scientific American; claimed to receive signals up to one mile, 1906
The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the opera Cavalleria rusticana is sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, 1910
An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800, 1915
The Black Friday bush fires burn 20,000 square kilometres of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people, 1939
Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car, 1942
Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is appointed archbishop of Krakow, Poland, 1964
Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American  US Cabinet member, 1966
Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom Prison, 1968
A passenger train plunged into a ravine at Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa, 1985
L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American US governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia, 1990
Soviet Union military troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, 1991
An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800, 2001
The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy, 2012