Wordless Wednesday: Limp as a Pastry Bag

The pictures are from my cell phone, which won't focus well, but at the end of the day at the bakery, i'm about as limp as one of these pastry bags!

Empty pastry bags at the end of the day, when frosting is done.

One of several five gallon buckets of frosting used in one day!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.


Today is:

Big Snow Day -- remembering the 15 inch snowflakes that fell on in Fort Keough, Montana, in 1887

Chocolate Cake Day

Day of Remembrance for Victims of Nazism -- Germany (anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz)

Day the Netjers of Heaven Receive Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Family Literacy Day -- Canada

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Iroquois Mid-Winter Ceremony -- Iroquois Native Americans (for the continuation of all life-sustaining things; a multi-day ceremony and feast that begins around this time of year)

Listen to Classical Music During Lunch Day -- in honor of Mozart

Mozart Day

Punch the Clock Day -- internet generated, and no reason for it given; this has to be one of the more baffling ones

Sioux Empire Farm Show -- Sioux Falls, SD, US (great winter farm show, since you can't be planting, come out and have fun; through Friday)

St. Angela Merici's Day (Founder of the Sisters of the Order of St. Ursula; Patron of the disabled and ill; against bodily ills and the death of parents)

St. Devota's Day (Patron of Corsica; Monaco)

Thomas Crapper Day -- death date, in 1910, of the perfector of the flush toilet mechanism

Zehnder's Snowfest, Ice Carving, and State of Michigan Snow Sculpting Competition -- Frankenmuth, MI, US (fun for the whole family; through Feb. 1)


Anniversaries Today:

Founding of the National Geographic Society, 1888
The first sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, is founded at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, 1870
The University of Georgia is chartered, the first state university in the US, 1785


Birthdays Today:

Julie Foudy, 1971
Jennifer LB Leese, 1970
Patton Oswalt, 1969
Alan Cumming, 1965
Bridget Fonda,1964
Cris Collinsworth, 1959
Mimi Rogers, 1956
Mikhail Baryshnikov, 1948
Nick Mason, 1944
Mairead Corrigan, 1944
James Cromwell, 1942
Troy Donahue, 1936
Donna Reed, 1921
David Seville, 1919
Skitch Henderson, 1918
Hyman George Rickover, 1900
Jerome Kern, 1885
Samuel Gompers, 1850
Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson), 1832
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Laverne and Shirley"(TV), 1976
Tarzan of the Apes(Film), 1918


Today in History:

Trajan becomes Roman Emperor, 98
The Rashidun Caliphate ends with the death of Ali, 661
Song Dynasty General Yue Fei is wrongfully executed, 1142
Dante Alighieri becomes a Florentine political exile, 1302
The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31, 1606
The first American lime kiln begins operation in Providence, Rhode Island, 1662
Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Instanbul, 1695
Czar Peter the Great sets the first Russian state budget, 1710
Abdication of Stanislas, the last king of Poland, 1736
The US Congress approves the opening of Indian Territory for settlement, which led to the forced relocation of Native Americans on the "Trail of Tears," 1825
Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are incorporated, 1870
Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the electric incandescent lamp, 1880
The National Geographic Society is organized, in Washington, D.C., 1888
"Tarzan of the Apes," the first Tarzan movie, premiers, 1918
Apollo 1 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, 1967
More than sixty nations sign the Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space, 1967
Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian caper, 1980
The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, breaks through, 1983
American-born sumo wrestler Akebono Taro becomes the first foreigner to be promoted to the sport's highest rank of yokozuna, 1993
Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 1996
Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services, 2006

Taxing Meetings or Taxing and Meetings

It was that time of year again, the two things we all look forward to eagerly (she says with as straight a face as she can keep).

The annual Civic Association meeting for the neighborhood was held at the Baptist church across the highway last night.

With the usual mixture of sheriff's reports, monetary accountings, and to add to the fun this year, a nice, long speech about the sewer work that will be done in the neighborhood soon, i cannot say a good time was had by all, but it was certainly informative.

Now i know more than i ever did before about how the phone tree works, as well as who has taken over it since Ms. Lily died.

We do have a great neighborhood, and a great Civic Association, so i go to the meetings even though it's not my idea of a fun way to spend the evening after work.

The other thing is tax season, which means Brother-in-Law, The Mouth, is already on me about when i will get his taxes done.  No, he can't do it himself.  Like Sweetie, numbers make his eyes roll back in his head, and like Bigger Girl, he can get lost in a shoe box, literally and figuratively.  To prevent mayhem, and to keep from having to answer seventy-seven questions per hour from him about it, i do it for him.  He wants it done as fast as possible, because he always gets a refund that he immediately spends on getting his old truck repaired.

This year will see no difference in that, i'm sure.

For those who may be interested, Rory Bore of Ink Interrupted is holding a coffee chat this week, but i chose not to participate (although i will eagerly read her post).  That's because i do not have a theme song, at least not that i know of, although perhaps i should consider the Looney Tunes theme to be mine.  Sometimes my life sure seems like it would fit.

Today is:

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])

Australia Day -- Australia (National Day); Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Norfolk Island; (Commemorates Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival at Sydney Cove with the First Fleet, on January 26, 1778.)
     Australia Day Cockroach Races -- Brisbane, Queensland (the greatest gathering of thoroughbred cockroaches anywhere, with competition proceeds going to charity)

Dental Drill Day -- George F. Green, of Kalamazoo, MI, US, patents the electric dental drill, 1875

Duarte Day -- Dominican Republic

End of the Fifth Quarter of the Ninth Dozen of the Thirteenth Set -- Fairy Calendar

Liberation Day -- Uganda

Lotus 1-2-3 Day -- released this day in 1983

National Peanut Brittle Day

National Pistachio Day

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

Republic Day -- Delhi, India (pompous and splendid celebrations through the 29th)

Sailing of Anubis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (celebration of the god of the dead; date approximate)

Spouse's Day -- an internet generated reason to tell your SO how much he/she means to you

St. Paula's Day (Patron of widows)

St. Timothy's Day (Patron against stomach and intestinal disorders)

St. Titus' Day (Patron of Crete)

Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement -- begun at Toad Hollow School in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the 1800s, a day to encourage your friends

Up-Helly-AA Day -- Lerwick, Shetland (the largest fire festival in Europe, with tomorrow as a day off so everyone can recover)



Anniversaries Today:

Establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park, 1915
Michigan becomes the 26th US state, 1837



Birthdays Today:

Kherington Payne, 1990
Kirk Franklin, 1970
Andrew Ridgeley, 1963
Wayne Gretzky, 1961
Anita Baker, 1958
Ellen DeGeneres, 1958
Eddie Van Halen, 1955
Lucinda Williams, 1953
David Strathairn, 1950
Gene Siskel, 1946
Angela Davis, 1944
Scott Glenn, 1942
Bob Uecker, 1935
Father George Harold Clements
Jules Feiffer, 1929
Paul Newman, 1925
Anne Jeffreys, 1923
Jimmy Van Heusen, 1913
Maria Augusta von Trapp, 1905
Bessie Coleman, 1893
Douglas MacArthur, 1880
Mary Mapes Dodge, 1831
Julia Dent Grant, 1826
Emperor Go-Nara of Japan, 1497


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Phantom of the Opera"(Musical), 1988
"The Dukes of Hazzard"(TV), 1979
"Duchess of Padua"(Oscar Wilde play), 1891
"Cosi Fan Tutte"(Mozart Opera), 1790
"Esther"(Racine play), 1689


Today in History:

The fifth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 66
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil, 1500
The Council of Trent issues its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, 1564
Isaac Newton receives Jean Bernoulli's 6 month time-limit problem, and solves the problem before going to bed that same night, 1697
The magnitude 9 Cascadia Earthquake took place off the west coast of the North America, as evidenced by Japanese records, 1700
The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the continent of Australia, 1788
The Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia, 1808
Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States, 1838
Hong Kong is proclaimed a sovereign territory of Britain, 1841
The first US income tax, passed to raise funds for the Civil War, is repealed, 1871
Muhammad Ahmed ("Mahdi") rebels conquer Khartoum, Sudan, 1885
The World's largest diamond, the 3,106-carat Cullinan, is found, 1905
The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the oldest military rifle still in official use, 1907
Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane, 1911
Richard Strauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera, 1911
Former Ford Motor Co. executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer, 1920
Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses, 1952
Danny Heater sets a worldwide high school basketball scoring record when he records 135 points for Burnsville High School (West Virginia), 1960
Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon, but misses its target by 22,000 miles (35,400 km), 1962
Hindi becomes the official language of India, 1965
The Great Blizzard of 1978, a rare severe blizzard with the lowest non-tropical atmospheric pressure ever recorded in the US, strikes the Ohio – Great Lakes region with heavy snow and winds up to 100 mph (161 km/h), 1978
Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations, 1980
An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths, 2001
President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of Afghanistan. 2004
The 41st World Economic Forum convenes in Davos, Switzerland, 2011

Awww Monday: Brothers Like To Share

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!

Link and Dansig grew up together, and they share everything, even (and especially) getting into trouble.

Whatever caught their attention, they share and share alike!

Today is:

A Room of One's Own Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, for all of those who just want a space to call their own; on the birth anniversary of Virginia Woolf

Around the World in 72 Days -- this date in 1890, Nellie Bly broke the fictional Phileas Fogg's record and went around the world in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds

Big Rock Day -- discovery of the Cullinan diamond (3,106 carets) this day in 1905

Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day

Clean Out Your Email Inbox Week -- cure your email e-ddiction, get rid of the old stuff clogging up your inbox; see InboxDetox for details 

Conversion of St. Paul -- Christian
     Observe the Weather Day -- a beautiful St. Paul's Conversion day means a prosperous year, precipitation means an expensive year, clouds mean much loss of livestock, and wind means war looms in the year ahead

Dydd Santes Dwynwen -- Wales (For St. Dwynwen, Patron of lovers, especially Welsh lovers, and sick animals; the Welsh Valentines Day)

Elementary School Teacher Day

Feriae Sementivae -- Ancient Roman Calendar (a Feast of Spring, asking protection for seeds sown in the fall, and those to be sown in spring)

Festival of Constructive Energy -- another internet generated day with no explanations

G. F. Betico Croes Day -- Aruba

IV Nurse Day -- US (sponsored by the Infusion Nurses Society)

January 25 Revolution Day -- Egypt

Luanda City Day -- Luanda City, Angola

Macintosh Computer Day -- debuted this day in 1984

National Cowboy Poetry Gathering -- Elko, NV, US (the nation's greatest celebration of the American West, with working cowboys, this year including butteri from Italy, attend workshops, jam sessions, performances, and enjoy art and exhibits; through Saturday)

National Heroes' Day -- Cayman Islands

National Irish Coffee Day

National Voters' Day -- India

Old Disting -- Norse Calendar (date approximate; a market day held at the same time as a sacrifice to the female powers.)

Oulu Children's Theatre Festival -- Oulu, Finland (a week-long festival for children and young people, presenting 80 or more performances centering on traditional and contemporary children's theater; through the 31st)

Robert Burns' Night -- Scotland; Newfoundland (celebrated with a Burns' Supper and reciting poetry)
     Dinner Party Day -- for Bobby Burns, of course

St. Ananias of Damascus' Day (Saint who baptized St. Paul)

Tu B'Shvat -- Judaism ("New Year of the Trees", began yesterday at sunset)

Wellington Province Anniversary Day -- Wellington, New Zealand (obs.; trad. date 22nd)

Winter-een-mas -- a holiday for gamers, begun by Tim Buckley; through the 31st


Anniversaries Today:

Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, 1533 (secret wedding)
Moscow University is established, to coincide with St. Tatiana's Day, 1755


Birthdays Today:

Alicia Keys, 1981
Ana Ortiz, 1971
China Kantner, 1971
Dinah Manoff, 1958
Leigh Taylr-Young, 1945
Etta James, 1938
Corazon Aquino, 1933
Dean Jones, 1931
Edwin Newman, 1919
Florence Mills, 1896
Virginia Woolf, 1882
William Somerset Maugham, 1874
Robert Burns, 1759
Robert Boyle, 1627 (O.S. date)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Rent"(Musical), 1996
M*A*S*H*(Film), 1970
"One Hundred and One Dalmatians"(Cartoon film), 1961
"Metamorphosen, Study for 23 Solo Strings"(Strauss composition), 1946
"The Guiding Light"(Radio), 1937
"R.U.R./Rossum's Universal Robots"(Play), 1921 (the word "robot" enters the world lexicon)
"Wedding March"(Mendelssohn, Op. 61), 1858
"La Cenerentola"(Rossini Opera), 1817


Today in History:

Founding of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1554
Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1573
The Treaty of Utrecht marks the beginning of the Dutch Republic, 1579
Eliakam Spooner of Vermont patents the first seeding machine in the US, 1799
The first US engineering college opens, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Troy, NY, 1825
Sojourner Truth addresses the First Black Women's Rights Convention, in Akron, Ohio, 1851
Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" is first played, at the wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to the crown prince of Prussia, 1858
The soda fountain is patented by Gustavus Dows, 1870
Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company, 1881
Bilu, a Russian Zionist organization, forms, 1882
Nellie Bly beats Phileas Fogg's time around world by 8 days (72 days), 1890
The first US transcontinental telephone call is made when Alexander Graham Bell in NY calls Thomas Watson in SF, 1915
The League of Nations is founded, 1919
The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games, 1924
At the Hollywood Athletic Club the first Emmy Awards are presented, 1949
The first scheduled transcontinental flight in the US takes place, an American Airlines flight from California to New York, 1959
The Clementine space probe launches, 1994
Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile, 1995
During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country, 1998
Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star, 2006

Silly Sunday: Trouble in Paradise

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!

Things have been a bit odd around this domicile.  After close to 30 years of the status quo, ever since Sweetie was laid off, i am now leaving for work most days of the week, and he is staying home playing house husband while he seeks other work.

"Who left all these dishes in the sink!" he will howl when he goes in the kitchen to find, as i always did, that elves leave lots of traces there, and that no matter how many times you clean up, there's always more to clean up.

He used to wonder what i did all day (besides home school the kids and run errands and cook meals).  Now he knows.

There have been a few "discussions" about how "nobody cleans anything around here except me!" which is how i used to feel.  He never had that trouble when he was at work all day and i was mostly home.

It remind me of when Boudreaux an' Clothile was courtin'.  Clothile tell Boudreaux, "Boudreaux, when you an' me get marry, I want you to feel like you can come to me an' share wit' me all you troubles and pro'lems."

An' Boudreaux, he say, "Clothile, I don' got no troubles an' pro'lems!"

An' Clothile, she say, "Mais, we ain't got marry yet!"

Today is:

Alasitis Fair -- Aymara Indians, Bolivia (offerings to the god of prosperity, now celebrated in conjunction with the Roman Catholic Feast of Our Lady of Peace, for whom La Paz is named)

Beer Can Appreciation Day -- the first canned beer went on sale today in 1935

Belly Laugh Day -- at 1:24pm local time, join the Belly Laugh Bounce Around the World!

Economic Liberation Day -- Togo

Eskimo Pie Day -- patented this day in 1921

Fairy-Four Paganalia -- Fairy Calendar

Farmhouse Breakfast Week begins -- UK (encouraging you to refresh your wake up routine, with the challenge to "Shake Up Your Wake Up")

Full Wolf Moon -- the wolves howl hungrily during this cold month, sometimes called the Old Moon or the Yule Moon; some of the following celebrations began yesterday evening
     Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
     Mahayana New Year -- Buddhist
     Pyatho Full Moon -- Myanmar (traditionally the time of equestrian festivals)
     Thorrablot/Thurseblot -- Ancient Norse Calendar (feast honoring Thor, guardian of Midgard, at the first full moon of the new year)
     Thaipusam/Thaipoosam Cavadee -- Tamil People; Malaysia; Mauritius (Tamil Hindu multi-day celebration of the birth of the god Murugan)

Gold Rush Day -- US (gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill, sparking the California Gold Rush, in 1848)

Homeless Sunday -- UK (an opportunity to consider what action churches are being called to in addressing homelessness) 

National Compliment Day -- begun by Debby Hoffman and Kathy Chamberlin, a day in which to compliment at least 5 people

National Peanut Butter Day

Opposite Day -- internet generated, and fun if you play it right

Paul Pitcher Day (So called because it is the eve of the Celebration of St. Paul's Conversion on the road to Damascus.  Cornish tin miners would traditionally set up a water pitcher in a public place and throw stones at it to destroy it.  A replacement pitcher was then bought and filled with beer, which was drunk and replenished through the day.  These miners were great inventors for reasons to celebrate, and they did this to rebel against the rule that only water was to be consumed during the work day.)

Sailing of Bast -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (people sailed the Nile to converge on Bubastis and celebrate the cat goddess; date approximate)

Sementivae, in honor of Ceres and Terra, begins -- Roman Empire (one of the few dating approximate items on the Roman Calendar, as each area of the Empire celebrated according to the timing of a local magistrate, but now through Feb. 2 was a typical time)

Social Sipping and Nibbling Rehearsal Day -- a day to practice cutting a piece of cake on a paper plate, using a plastic fork, and also balancing a napkin and punch in a paper cup; or practicing what clever thing you will say if you drop it all

Sounkyo Ice Festival -- Hokkaido, Japan (snow and ice sculptures that are almost too good to be true, through March 29)

St. Francis de Sales' Day (Patron of authors/journalists/writers, confessors, deaf people, educators/teachers; Champdepraz, Aosta, Italy; against deafness)

Tu B'Shevat -- Judaism ("New Year of the Trees", begins at sunset)

TV Game Show Day -- birth anniversary of Mark Goodson

Ziua Unirii -- Romania (Unification Day)


Anniversaries Today:

Popeye meets Olive Oyl, 1929 (in Elzie Segar's Thimble Theater comic strip)


Birthdays Today:

Mischa Barton, 1986
Tatyana Ali, 1979
Ed Helms, 1974
Matthew Lillard, 1970
Mary Lou Retton, 1968
Nastassia Kinski, 1960
Jools Holland, 1958
Yakov Smirnoff, 1951
John Belushi, 1949
Warren Zevon, 1947
Michael Ontkean, 1946
Sharon Tate, 1943
Neil Diamond, 1941
Aaron Neville, 1941
Ray Stevens, 1939
Maria Tallchief, 1925
Jerry Maren, 1920
Oral Roberts, 1918
Ernest Borgnine, 1917
Jack Brickhouse, 1916
Mark Goodson, 1915
Granny D, 1910 (formerly Granny Haddock, or Ethel Doris Haddock, political activist)
Edith Wharton, 1862


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"I, Puritani"(Bellini Opera), 1835


Today in History:

Caligula, known for his cruel despotism, is assassinated and succeeded by his uncle Claudius, 41
Connecticut colony organizes under Fundamental Orders, 1639
The first Jewish doctor in US, Jacob Lumbrozo, arrives in Maryland, 1656
Henry Knox arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts with the artillery that he has transported from Fort Ticonderoga, 1776
The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first full-fledged university in south Asia,1857
The Romania principality arises under King Alexander Cuza, with Bucharest as the capital, 1862
General Baden-Powell's publication of Scouting for Boys starts the Boy Scouts movement, 1908
The Gregorian calendar introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective from February 14(NS), 1918
Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada, 1952
A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost, 1961
Jackie Robinson is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, 1962
Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II, 1972
Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered, 1978
The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale, 1984
Voyager 2 passes within 81,500 km (50,680 miles) of Uranus, 1986
Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe,and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States, 1990
Lara Giddings becomes the first female Premier of the Australian state of Tasmania , 2011