Monday, August 29, 2022

Awesome Balance (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and 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!


While i'd planned to use these a while back, i couldn't find where i had, so if anyone recognizes them, sorry for the repeat.  Ruth(less) is an amazing acrobat, and every time she does this her mama says, "Girl, you're stressing me out!"






Yes, this is at the top of those steep stairs.







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Sparks is the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, who wanted us to post something positive and uplifting at the start of the week.  While she no longer blogs, i like to post an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.     





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Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is on a blog semi-break and her poetry is sorely missed, we hope she comes back soon.   Charlotte/Mother Owl participates, and now Karen at Baking in a Tornado is jumping in at least once a month, too.  Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let Diane know!


This week the theme is Bats and/or More Herbs, Less Salt (and i had to do both).                         



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They say that everybody

wants to be a cat,

well i am also partial

to the marvelous bat.


The only flying mammal,

some are pollinators, too,

the biggest, flying foxes,

are often found at the zoo.


Insectivore bats will eat

their weight in mosquitoes at night,

if you don't think that's useful,

something with you's not right!


Yes, i like our bat friends,

they do give me a thrill,

so if you see them flying,

don't panic, watch and chill!


*******


In my family there's a gift

and it's not a happy lift

it's the gift that you get when over fifty.

It comes with bad effect

that you wish you could reject,

'cause getting high blood pressure isn't nifty.


You must keep it in mind,

because if you don't you find

you get lots of bad stuff that will assault,

you sometimes feel quite dizzy,

headaches put you in a tizzy,

you find that sadly sodium's at fault.


Now you have to limit intake

as you cook and stir and bake

and as you concoct you wonder what to do.

You don't want to give up flavor

because that is what you savor

so you realize that herbs can see you through.


Time to pass on the salt shaker

and since you are the maker

of the meals you cook and only you to please,

you have to learn facility

and develop the ability

to use more herbs your taste buds all to tease.


You'll develop new facility

with herb mixing ability,

adobo seasoning to zedoary all exploring.

As you work to fix each dinner

you'll pick losers and pick winners,

and you'll find that your new meals are never boring!




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Today is:


According to Hoyle Day -- death anniversary of Edmond Hoyle


Araw ng mga Bayahi -- Philippines (National Heroes' Day)


August / Summer Bank Holiday -- UK


Be Kind to Humankind Week Motorist Consideration Monday 


Birthday of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)


Chop Suey Day


Day of Loose Talk -- Fairy Calendar


Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Patron of baptism, bird dealers, converts, convulsive children, cutters, epileptics, farmers, French Canadians, lambs, monastic life, motorways, printers, tailors; over 70 cities and countries around the world; against convulsions, epilepsy, hail and hailstorms, spasms)

     Head Day -- Iceland (a weather omen day; whatever today's weather, it will stay the same for at least 3 weeks)


Individual Rights Day -- on the birth anniversary of John Locke, the first philosopher to argue that a human being has basic rights based on his status as a sovereign human being, and that people are not slaves of their government, but their human rights should be protected by government


International Day Against Nuclear Testing -- UN


Judgment Day -- according to "The Terminator"


Lemon Juice Day


Liberation Day -- Hong Kong (from Japan in 1945; no longer an official holiday, but still acknowledged by many)


More Herbs, Less Salt Day


National Sarcoidosis Awareness Day -- US (by presidential proclamation in 1991)


Runic Half-Month Rad begins (Motion)


Slovak National Uprising Anniversary -- Slovakia


St. Medericus' Day (also called Saint-Merri or St. Merry, acclaimed as the Patron of the Right Bank of the Seine River in Paris)



Birthdays Today:


Lea Michele, 1986

Rebecca De Mornay, 1962

Mark Morris, 1956

Michael Jackson, 1958

`Richard Gere, 1949

Robin Leach, 1941

William Friedkin, 1939

Elliot Gould, 1938

John McCain, 1936

Richard Attenborough, 1923

Charlie "Bird" Parker, 1920

Isabel Sanford, 1917

Ingrid Bergman, 1915

Preston Sturges, 1898

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., 1809

John Locke, 1632



Today in History


Era of Diocletian (Martyrs), the last major time of persecution for the early Christian churches, begins with Gen. Gaius Aurelius V Diocletianus Jovius becoming emperor of Rome, 284

Japan mints its first copper coins, 708

The last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa, is executed by order of Francisco Pizarro, 1533

The first Indian "reservation" is formed by the New Jersey Legislature, 1758

Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction, 1831

The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire, 1833

Treaty of Nanking signing ends the First Opium War, 1842

The first motorcycle is patented in Germany by Gottlieb Daimler, 1885

The chef of a visiting Chinese Ambassador invents "chop suey" in NYC, 1896

The Goodyear tire company is founded, 1898

The Quebec Bridge collapses during construction, killing 75 workers, 1907

Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California, 1911

The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, 1949

Speedy Gonzales makes his debut, 1953

The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, 1966

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party, 1991

Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast, 2005

Sumatra's Sinabung volcano erupts for the first time in 400 years, killing one and causing Indonesia to evacuate thousands of people, 2010

London holds the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Paralympics, 2012

Austrian researchers announce they successfully grew 'cerebral organoids' or mini-brains, containing several distinct regions of the brain; the mini-brains will help scientists understand how brains develop, and what causes schizophrenia and autism, 2013

Hurricane Harvey sets a rainfall record of 51.88 inches in Cedar Bayou the most ever from a tropical cyclone in continental US, according to US National Weather Service, 2017

John McCain lies in state in the rotunda of the Arizona State Capitol Building in Phoenix, only the third person ever to do so, 2018

Hurricane Ida makes landfall as a Category 4 storm near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, 2021

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Free Advice is Worth the Price (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 was Mr. L and Ms. V's 50th wedding anniversary.


They had a lovely gathering at a restaurant, including some slides of their early days and stories of their courtship.  When someone asks me and my Sweetie how long we've been together, we have a routine, we look at each other with a silly face and say, "Forever!" 


Those two have been forever and it's beautiful to see, since they really are two peas on a pod in so many ways.


Boudreaux done see Gaston in town an dey stop to talk.  He ax Gaston how he be, an' Gaston say, "It be hard, bein' married.  Me an' Cecile done fight, an' it not be so good.  You be married to Clothile a long time you gots enny advice?"


An' Boudreaux done t'ink for a bit, an' den he say, "Well, when you be tryin' to work it out, don' go to bed angry."


Gaston done t'ank Boudreaux an' decide he goin' sugges' dat to Cecile.


A couple weeks after dis, Boudreaux done see Gaston again, an' Gaston look awful, hims eyes be red an' wit' dark circle unner 'em, hair a mess, he look ragged.  Boudreaux say, "Gaston, what be goin' on?  You look like you not doin' so good."


An' Gaston say, "After dat time you an' I done talk, I done gone home and tol' Cecile what you done say, an' we decide we goin' give it de try.  Mais!  Two week be a long time to go wit'out no sleep!"



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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.       


Some photos from the anniversary party, a few things that caught my eye this week, and the sunsets.  They never grow old.



The blessing we sang over the food (sung to the tune of the Doxology).
This was a longstanding tradition in Ms. V's family that they've carried on.



The menu.

Ms. V's wedding dress and veil.




The purple flowers are invasive, and pretty.  Same with the next picture.


















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Today is:


Be Kind to Humankind Week: Sacrifice Our Wants For Others Needs Sunday 


Birthday of Nephthys -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)


Crackers Over the Keyboard Day -- internet generated: are we supposed to go crackers over our keyboard, or tempt fate by eating crackers over our keyboard?


Festival for Luna -- Ancient Roman Calendar


Festival for Sol -- Ancient Roman Calendar


Go Topless Day -- US (on the Sunday closest to Women's Equality Day, Aug. 26, stand up for women's right to go topless in public)  


Mariamoba -- Georgia (Assumption of the Virgin, celebrated based on the Julian Calendar followed by many Orthodox Churches)


National Bow Tie Day -- US, as per Bow Tie Aficionado (may i suggest bow tie pasta for dinner?)


National Cheese Sacrifice Day (Now you know why you purchased the cheese for the sacrifice! To let it age properly before the actual sacrifice. Still doesn't answer why we sacrifice it, anyway, or to whom.)


National Cherry Turnover Day


Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day -- Wellcat Holidays suggests this to pep yourself up as you wait for things to come up on the screen


Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day -- taking time out to remember the pets that are gone but not forgotten


Radio Commercials Day -- the first paid radio commercial was broadcast over WEAF of New York on this day in 1921


St. Augustine of Hippo's Day (Patron of brewers, printers, theologians; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Cagayan de Oro, Philippines; Carpineto Romano, Italy; Ida, Philippines; Isleta Indian Pueblo; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Ponte Nizza, Italy; Saint Augustine, Florida; Superior, Wisconsin; Tucson, Arizona; Valletta, Malta; against sore eyes)


St. Hermes of Rome's Day (Patron of Acquapendente, Italy; Forte dei Marmi, Lucca, Italy)


Subway Day -- this date in 1965, 17-year-old Fred DeLuca opened what became the first Subway Sandwich Shop



Birthdays Today


LeAnn Rimes, 1982

Jack Black, 1969

Jason Priestley, 1969

Shania Twain, 1965

Emma Samms, 1960

Scott Hamilton, 1958

Daniel Stern, 1957

Rick Rossovich, 1957

David Soul, 1946

Lou Piniella, 1943

Paul Martin, 1938

Donald O'Connor, 1925

Ben Gazzara, 1930

Roger Tory Peterson, 1908

Charles Boyer, 1899

Leo Tolstoy, 1828

Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1774

Johann von Goethe, 1749



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Lohengrin"(Opera), 1850



Today in History


The Third Crusade begins with the seige of Acre, 1189

6,000 Jews are killed in Mainz, accused of being the cause of the plague, 1349

St. Augustine, FL, founded, making it the oldest continuously occupied European city and port in the US, 1565

Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay, 1609

William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn, 1789

The first steam locomotive in the US, the "Tom Thumb", runs from Baltimore to Ellicotts Mill, 1830

The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published, 1845

The United States takes possession of the, at this point unoccupied, Midway Atoll, 1867

Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola", 1898

James E. Casey begins the United Parcel Service in Seattle, WA, 1907

WEAF in NYC airs the very first radio commercial, for Queensboro Realty, at a cost of $100 for ten minutes, 1922

Toyota Motors becomes an independent company, 1937

Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first tv show and ad, 1953

Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes, 1961

Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech; Emily Hoffert and Janice Wylie are murdered in their Manhattan flat, prompting the events that would lead to the passing of the Miranda Rights, 1963

The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men; these will soon be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS, 1981

Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province, 1990

Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales divorce, 1996

An electric blackout leaves 500,000 + without power and shuts down 60% of London's Underground, 2003

Hurricane Katrina begins to make landfall on the Gulf of Mexico, 2005

Lakhdar Brahimi, UN Special Envoy to Syria, says international law states that any action in response to Syria's use of chemical weapons must be decided by the UN Security Council, 2013

Kenya institutes the world's toughest ban on plastic bags with a possible US$38,000 fine or up to four years in jail, 2017

Japanese tech company SkyDrive says it has completed the first manned test flight of a flying car, 2020