Gotta Try (Awwww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Taste is Everything (Poetry Monday)

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Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.

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

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

Trying to get kittens to pose in their cage is impossible, but fun to try:

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

From a decorative pillow someone had in a gift basket at church.

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Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.   Charlotte/Mother Owl always participates, and now Karen at Baking in a Tornado is jumping in at least once a month, too.  Spike's Best Mate often leaves a wonderful poem in the comments on one of our blogs.

This week the theme is Something on a Stick Day.                   

Everything tastes better 

When you eat it on a stick,

At least at the state fair, 

That seems to do the trick.

It's not just corn dogs any more, 

It is so many things,

Each vendor tries to outdo 

The other in what he brings.

Deep fry almost anything

From Spam to candy bars,

You know it will be bad for you

But the taste, it gets five stars!

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Today is:

Barthelemy Boganda Day -- Central African Republic

Borrowed Days begin -- old English/Scottish/Irish legends about how March borrowed the next 3 days from April; these are still seen as weather prognostication days based on several different legends

Day of Redress -- Fairy Calendar

Hola Mohalla -- Sikh (3 day grand festival)

Knights of Columbus Founders Day

Martyrs' Day -- Madagascar

National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day -- as recognized by AICPA

Seward's Day -- Alaska, US

Smoke and Mirrors Day -- some sites call it "Festival of Smoke and Mirrors Day," but appropriately no one knows who started it

St. Armogastes of Africa's Day (Patron of the poor and torture victims; against poverty and torture)

St. Gladys' and St. Gwynllyw's Day (the Welsh "Bonny and Clyde", who led a life of crime before their conversion)

Youth Day -- Taiwan

Anniversaries Today:

Harry Hamlin weds Lisa Rinna, 1997

Yeshiva College (now University) is chartered in New York, 1928

Birthdays Today:

Hideaki Takizawa, 1982

Jennifer Capriati, 1976

Lucy Lawless, 1968

Elle Macpherson, 1964

Christopher Lambert, 1957

Kurt Thomas, 1956

Earl Christian Campbell, 1955

Karen Ann Quinlan, 1954

Bud Cort, 1950

George Blaha, 1945

Eric Idle, 1943

John Major, 1943

John Joseph McLaughlin, 1927

Pearl Bailey, 1918

Sam Walton, 1918

Eugene Mccarthy, 1916

Philip Ahn, 1905

Denton True "Cy" Young, 1867

Isaac Mayer Wise, Rabbi and Founder of Reform Judaism, 1819

John Tyler, 1790

Carlo Buonaparte, father of Napoleon Bonaparte, 1746

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Woman of the Year"(Play), 1981

"The King and I"(Play), 1951

"Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows"(circus), 1919

"Mutt and Jeff"(Comic strip), 1908

"Jevgeni Onegin/Eugene Onegin"(Opera; Tchaikovsky Op. 24), 1879

Today in History:

The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded, 1549

Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed, returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629, 1632

Swedish colonists establish the first settlement in Delaware, 1638

Ludwig von Beethoven, age 24, debuts as a pianist in Vienna, 1795

Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway, 1806

Niagara Falls stops flowing for 30 hours due to an ice jam, 1848

The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab, 1849

Ohio makes it illegal for children under 18 & women to work more than 10 hours a day, 1852

Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867

Queen Victoria presides over the opening of Albert Hall in London, 1871

The Knights of Columbus are established, 1882

Dr. John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in his back yard, 1886

The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time, 1941

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, 1951

NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first spaceprobe to fly by Mercury, 1974

The Canada Act 1982 (U.K.) receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982

Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province, 1993

Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO as full members, 2004

The Republic of Ireland becomes the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants, 2004

Thirty-five countries and over 370 cities join Earth Hour for the first time, 2008

A transistor-like transcriptor is built out of DNA and RNA molecules by American bioengineers at Stanford University, 2013

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announces that Arab leaders will be combining their military resources to combat violence in the region; Saudi Arabia has already led joint forces in airstrikes on Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, 2015

Pestiferous (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.

Our family is full of notoriously picky eaters.  If you look at the pepper shaker while cooking, don't give whatever you cooked to Grandma, it will be too peppery.

If it has a green vegetable, or cheese, or mayonnaise in it, keep it away from Grandpa.

Uncle P is a strict meat and potatoes guy, and i am vegetarian.  My kids eat a big variety of stuff, but each has a no-no or two that s/he just won't touch.

It's not easy to cook for our family.

Clothile done be complain to Marie 'bout Tee, an' how picky dat boy be to eat.

Marie done ax, "Do he eat de seafood gumbo an' de crawfish étouffée?"

"Mais, oui," say Clothile.

"Den mebbe he be hims de pescatarian," Marie say.

An' Clothile ax, "De what?"

Marie say, "De pescatarian, de person who eat only fish."

An' Clothile say, "Mais, dat boy be so picky he be mo' like de pest-catarian!"

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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files.  The rules have been relaxed, and it is now simply a showcase for your photos, new or old, good or bad, although nothing rude, please.  It is now hosted by Elephant's Child.    

Some bits of this and that today.

Wisteria from my own fence, a lovely invasive.

Some photos from Mr. BA's garden, including the "volunteers"(weeds):

Puddin' is snoopervising my weeding.

A shelter volunteer is bulding these plexi dividers to put between kitten cages.  The hope is this will stop the spread of things like upper respiratory infections, which can get out of hand quickly when kittens from one cage try to play with the kittens in the next cage (or sneeze on each other!).

A couple of sunset photos on a very cloudy day:

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Today is:

Children's Picture Book Day -- while i can't find a sponsor for this day, starting kids on a lifelong love of books is as good an excuse for a holiday as any

Commemoration of Sen no Rikyu -- Urasenke School of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japan (remembering the influential master in The Way of Tea)

Daylight Saving Time begins -- Albania; Andorra; Austria; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar, Greece; Greenland (some areas); Holy See (Vatican City); Hungary; Ireland; Isle of Mann; Italy; Jersey; Kosovo; Latvia; Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia; Malta; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Western Sahara

     European Union: Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) Begins

Doljatra/Holika Dahan -- regions of India (a festival of colors, similar to Holi)

Feast of Artemis -- Ancient Greek Calendar (as protector of wild animals, vegetation, and places, begins at sundown; date approximate)

Festival of the Sacrifice at the Tombs -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to honor the ancestors)

Full Worm Moon -- also called Leaf Moon, Seedling Moon, Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, Light Snow Moon, White moon, Virgin Moon, Paschal Moon, or Lenten Moon; considered the last full moon of winter

     Madin Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka

     Taubaung Full Moon -- Myanmar

"Greatest Show on Earth" Day -- Barnum and Bailey merged their circuses on this day in 1881

Holi -- Hindu (Festival of Color, begins at sundown, through sundown tomorrow, where everyone gets doused with colored water, or powder, or paint, or all of them; it's been described as an iridescent madhouse)

     officially recognized holiday in Guyana; India; Nepal; Suriname

     Phagu Purnima / Basanta Utsay -- Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Hot Tub Day -- because we all need one!

Invasion of Loaming Shores Beyond the Certain Sea Anniversary -- Fairy Calendar

Khordad Sal (Birth of the Prophet Zarathushtra) -- Zoroastrianism (Fasli Calendar)

Komamorijinja Reisai -- Nakaedo, Kashi-sh, Gifu, Japan (festival of the the Kosazukeishi "child-granting stone")

Lailat al-Bara'ah (Shab Barat) -- Islam (Night of Forgiveness or sometimes Night of Records, a preparation for Ramadan; began at sunset yesterday, local custom dates may vary)

Lord's Evening Meal -- Jehovah's Witness

Magha Puja Day -- Buddhist (celebrations of the teachings of Buddha to an assembly of holy men)

National Black Forest Cake Day

Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday -- Christian

     Semana Santa -- Holy Week in Spain and Spanish speaking areas; special celebrations include:

          Mexico -- through the country, but especially in Chiapes, with processions, costumes and even fireworks, music, dance and syncretic ritual

          Seville, Spain -- with hundreds of shuffling penitents in their hoods making the torch lit processions through the town from today through Easter

Pesach/Passover -- Judaism (began yesterday evening, through the evening of April 4)

Ragnar Lodbrok's Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (remembrance of this Viking's sack of Paris)

Respect Your Cat Day -- anniversary of King Richard II's edict in 1384 forbidding the consumption of cats

Serfs Emancipation Day -- Tibet

Something on a Stick Day -- something edible, of course, because almost everything tastes better on a stick

St. Guntramnus' Day (Patron of divorced people, guardians, repentant murderers)

Teachers' Day -- Czech Republic; Slovakia

Weed Appreciation Day -- at last, for those of us with black thumbs, since this is all we can grow! "Weeds are flowers once you get to know them!" A.A. Milne

Birthdays Today:

Lady Gaga, 1986

Julia Stiles, 1981

Annie Wersching, 1977

Kate Gosselin, 1975

Scott Mills, 1974

Juliandra Gillen, 1971

Vince Vaughn, 1970

Reba McEntire, 1955

Dianne Wiest, 1948

Ken Howard, 1944

Conchata Ferrell, 1943

Jerry Sloan, 1942

Freddie Bartholomew, 1924

Dirk Bogarde, 1921

Irving "Swifty" Lazar, 1907

August Anheuser Busch, Jr., 1899

Maxim Gorky, 1868

Frederich Pabst, 1836

St. Teresa of Avila, 1515

Fra Bartolomeo, 1472

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hair"(Rock musical), 1968

"Philadelphia Story"(Play), 1939

Today in History:

Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus, 193

Viking raiders sack Paris, who leave in exchange for a huge ransom, 845

The origin of the Fasli Era in India, 1556

Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco, 1776

Nathaniel Briggs of NH patents a washing machine, 1797

Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man, 1802

The US Salvation Army is officially organized, 1885

Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, 1910

Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv & Jaffa by Turkish authorities, 1917

Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara, 1930

The McGill français movement protest occurs, the second largest protest in Montreal's history, 1969

Operators of Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania fail to recognize that a relief valve in the primary coolant system has stuck open, leading to a partial meltdown, 1979

In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths, 1994

The 2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since 1965, 2005

At least 1 million union members, students, and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law, 2006

Australian diplomat Peter Woolcott's draft for the first-ever treaty to regulate the conventional arms trade is discussed by members of the United Nations, 2013

Pope Francis becomes the first Pope to wash the feet of women in the Maundy Thursday service, 2013

Britain introduces the first new pound coin in 30 years with a secret security feature inside to stop counterfeiting, 2017

The world's largest dinosaur footprint at 1.7 metres found in Kimberley, Western Australia, 2017

The study of a gene mutation that allows a 71-year-old British woman to never feel pain is published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2019