February 14, 2026 a thought for the day, Everybody is the architect of his own fortune. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first upload was “something tasty.” I thought a “bowl” full of cherries was very tasty. 

The next is “portrait.” She is always handy and she really does make a pleasing portrait. She doesn’t seem to mind and loves the attention....when it is her own idea not mine necessarily. 

The last challenge for yesterday was “fill the frame.” This is another from my archives. Hopefully the weather changes soon so I can get outside more often for “new” shots. 

Life today. It has been a pleasant Saturday. Bobbi got me up between 6:30 and 7:00. After feeding her then “opening the house,” window shades and plant lights on, I started on my “first thing” news headlines checks, then checked emails and Facebook. After a break for a couple of pancakes I got back to the computer, a start on this letter. 

I have email from someone I haven’t heard from since I retired twenty years ago. He was the IT person in pretrial as I was an IT assistant on the probation side. I don’t know how he found me but I hope we will keep in contact from now on. 

I tried signing up for my second online class in still life photography but haven’t heard back from them yet. I finished the first class. I haven’t put any of it in images yet but I got some new ideas for using Photoshop on them. They are ideas that I will require some tutorial practices. I also got ideas from the class for props and layouts. 

When I got home from the store Tami and Andy stopped by for a visit. It was so good to see them. Tami wanted to visit with Bobbi but she ran and hid. Tami was a big help in helping me be able to get her in the first place. Tami was able to get her out of her hiding place for a short visit. Andy is looking good after his surgery. Sue and I hadn’t been able to get over to see him since he got out of the hospital. The weather was one of the big reasons we couldn’t get there. 

After our visit I got back to the photos. I had to set two of them up and used the archives for the other. 

The groceries are put away. Kitty attention is done. Then I got the potato in the oven and the meatloaf made and in the oven. 

The word today is rich. A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. Henry David Thoreau. Every man is a consumer, and ought to be a producer. He is by constitution expensive, and needs to be rich. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor. Benjamin Franklin. Poor and content is rich, and rich enough. William Shakespeare. Youth is the best time to be rich, and the best time to be poor. Euripides. I care not so much what I am to others as what I am to myself. I will be rich by myself, and not by borrowing. Michel de Montaigne. This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed. Patrick Henry. It is only when the rich are sick that they fully feel the impotence of wealth. Benjamin Franklin. Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor. Samuel Johnson. It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich. Henry Ward Beecher. Riches may enable us to confer favours, but to confer them with propriety and grace requires a something that riches cannot give. Charles Caleb Colton. I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. Abraham Lincoln. There is some magic in wealth, which can thus make persons pay their court to it, when it does not even benefit themselves. How strange it is, that a fool or knave, with riches, should be treated with more respect by the world, than a good man, or a wise man in poverty! Ann Radcliffe. Riches and power are but gifts of blind fate, whereas goodness is the result of one's own merits. Heloise. Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, and obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board. Henry David Thoreau. Neither great poverty nor great riches will hear reason. Henry Fielding. It is the mind that maketh good or ill, that maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor. Edmund Spenser. A rich man without charity is a rogue; and perhaps it would be no difficult matter to prove that he is also a fool. Henry Fielding.

Article summary. I have a renewed adventure in my life with a kitten in the last few months. When I saw the title to this article about cats and thinking I thought I would take a look. There are some actions in my kitten that make me wonder what she must be thinking. Some of her actions are so spontaneous, quick and ignite the raising of an eyebrow. I think she thinks she can fly in short spirts from this place to that. She also likes to “hide” for her naps. The article title is Why can’t cats resist thinking inside the box? Nicholas Dodman, Professor Emeritus of Behavioral Pharmacology and Animal Behavior, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University. At theconversation.com. It started with talking about how that in a kind of test cats seemed to “park” themselves in squares of tape on the floor. Then it touched on the subject that they like to climb in boxes, suitcases and other seemingly “tight quarters”. This part I have noted on occasion. They seem to find those kinds of “cover” safe and secure. The article mentioned that they cuddled up to their mothers when young and that this safe feeling may carry over to the boxes and partially enclosed spaces. The author called this “a release of endorphins”. He also interestingly called that release as a way in “nature’s own morphine-like substances” that apparently cause pleasure and reduce stress. Cats make nests for birthing babies and for a safety indentation, it’s just in their nature. Then it mentioned the box shape of tape on the floor apparently attracted some cats like “misplaced sense of security”. There was research preformed with the use of boxes on “shelter cats”. There were control groups in the test, one with boxes and one without. I was interested to read that the “cats with boxes adapted to their new environment more quickly” than those without the boxes. So the conclusion is cats need hidey-holes. They say that hidey-holes in elevated space are even better with a “bird’s eye view” of life around them. 

Meat loaf and baked potatoes for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

The first challenge and upload for today is “a heart”. I cut one out of construction paper and laid it on one of my crochet doilies. 

Next is one of the “my choice” images. This one is one of the “touch of color” series. It is one of those very prominent orange warning cones. I added a painterly filter. 

Last for today is “couples”. This is another from my archives. They are my
great grand children. They are cousins who like spending time together. 

Joy

springtime is right around the corner

 February 12, 2026 a thought for today, Of big words and feathers, many go to the pound. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first one is “fresh.” The “freshest’ thing I had on hand was the green onions and radishes. I am trying to eat more salads so I have more green and fresh in the house. 

Next is “part of my routine”. A small part of my daily routine is feeding the
kitten. There are a lot more parts to my daily “routine”. 

My last challenge for yesterday was “backlit.” I hope I am not overdoing photos of Bobbi but she is so photogenic and handy when I can catch her. 

Life today. It is one of those days that things didn’t go exactly the way that had been planed. The cleaning lady was supposed to come today. I had forgotten until about 2:00 this morning when I realized the things that I normally have out of the way for her hadn’t been put away. So I got up early to take care of that and put ice melt on an icy spot on the front porch before she came. She normally gets her about 7:30. It came and passed. Near eight o’clock I called Lowell who usually schedules her to see if he had heard from her. He called me back to let me know he had just gotten a text from her. She and her mother had been in a car accident on the way here. They were not injured. Since this is my day to print at the church. I got ready to hear out. 

After I finished there, I mailed some of the bulletins. I also scouted around for the daily photo challenges. 

I noticed on my car that the “information window” on the dash board wasn’t the same as it was before I had the oil changed. So I brought the book that from the car inside to study and find the way to get it back the way it is supposed to be. After some research I think I have the answer. I will wail until I need to go back out to the car to try it. 

Yesterday I worked on the terrarium I got for Christmas. I’m not entirely happy with the way it came together. It is a bit over crowded. So I may give the plants time to recover then clean it out and start over. 

My ipad is about five years old. Yesterday it began showing that the battery isn’t holding a full charge. I inherited Bob’s ipad when he passed on. So that will be my back up until I can get a new one. 

I started the laundry soon after I got home it looks like it is time to do the folding, then it’s kitty care time. 

The word today is reveal.  The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own. Benjamin Disraeli. A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. There is no den in the wide world to hide a rogue. Commit a crime and the earth is made of glass. Commit a crime, and it seems as if a coat of snow fell on the ground, such as reveals in the woods the track of every partridge, and fox, and squirrel. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Be sure that it is not you that is mortal, but only your body. For that man whom your outward form reveals is not yourself; the spirit is the true self, not that physical figure which and be pointed out by your finger. Cicero. Reveal not every secret you have to a friend, for how can you tell but that friend may hereafter become an enemy. And bring not all mischief you are able to upon an enemy, for he may one day become your friend. Saadi. It is curious to note the old sea-margins of human thought. Each subsiding century reveals some new mystery; we build where monsters used to hide themselves. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The reading of all good books is indeed like a conversation with the noblest men of past centuries who were the authors of them, nay a carefully studied conversation, in which they reveal to us none but the best of their thoughts. Rene Descartes. America is therefore the land of the future, where, in the ages that lie before us, the burden of the World's History shall reveal itself. Georg W. Hegel. Until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words,--'Wait and hope'. Alexandre Dumas. God conceals himself from the mind of man, but reveals himself to his heart. African Proverb. Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true. Honore de Balzac. Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids. Aristotle. The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. Benjamin Disraeli. Balk the enemy's power; force him to reveal himself. Sun Tzu. In our leisure we reveal what kind of people we are. Ovid. The dreams which reveal the supernatural are promises and messages that God sends us directly: they are nothing but His angels, His ministering spirits, who usually appear to us when we are in a great predicament. Paracelsus. Talent is a gift which God has given us secretly, and which we reveal without perceiving it. Montesquieu. Truth is always in harmony with herself, and is not concerned chiefly to reveal the justice that may consist with wrong-doing. Henry David Thoreau. 

Article summary. I worked on one article a few days ago about reading and it’s value. Now I have picked an article about writing and what it can do for your well being. I had a dear friend from my church who told me once that she felt everyone should keep a daily diary in journal form not only for herself but more for the family now alive and those to come. It is also a record of history on a personal level. Oprah Winfrey encouraged keeping a more specific type journal. She called hers a gratitude journal. I myself incorporate the gratitude part with the rest of my life happenings.  The article title is  Writing builds resilience by changing your brain, helping you face everyday challenges. Emily Ronay Johnston, Assistant Teaching Professor of Global Arts, Media and Writing Studies, University of California, Merced. At theconveration.com. It opens by mentioning that writing lets you “dash off” a message that allows you to mention unhappiness with “clarity” with a kind of airyness or “resilience” as a relief. You may not send it but release is all you needed at the time.  Resilience can be adapted and grows through “life’s challenges.” It mentioned that a group called the “wellness industry” encourages strengthening the “path to resilience.” The author is a professor of “writing studies.” She teaches how writing can “navigate” upsets in daily life. Writing in the form a journal helps to create a “mental distance” to problems and reduces worrying about it. It goes on to say that writing can help us to become calmer. Apparently even making a to-do list can aid in “reasoning and decision making.” In writing by hand as opposed to typing makes us think more intently and with more meaning. The article encourages writing daily so that it helps release stress and increase thoughtfulness. It goes on to encourage writing before speaking in many cases. It further suggests writing whether you intend to send it or not. So the kind of writing I do, which is to share my life and experiences with others also has another and more helpful effect to humans as a whole. It is healthy and necessary for well being. 

I am going to have the tuna casserole I made and froze for later tonight

Photos in my life today 

The first upload for today is “adventure.” When I am putting the bulletin out in the appropriate places there is a short walk in a hallway that is not lit. That can be and “adventure” of sorts. Believe it or not it is a calming adventure, it's like walking into the light.

The second upload is “leading lines.” My street is a leading line with the added lanes of piled up snow adding to the leading line image. 

The last upload for this group for today is “what I see right now.” This “right
now” when the shot was made was on my way to drop off the mail I had on hand. 

Joy 

                            the bonus is a partial of a vintage vase

 February 10, 2026 a thought for the day, More is done with words than with hands.. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday  

This first challenge upload was “a favourite song”. I choice one I like called “Before You Go”.

The next one was “frosty”. There is plenty of snow to choose from right nowbut it doesn’t have the “frosty” look, that’s more for ice or mist on the car windows. So I used a copy of my Wendy’s Frosty drink. 

The last one in this group is “ an object with a story”. It presented itself to me as I was waiting for my car to be finished in the oil change. 

Yesterday turned out to be one of those “perfect” days, no problems, not worries. I was able to get the car in for the oil change that it “told” me it needed. I got the bulletin done in good time. There was also time for Natalie to come to take care of Bobbi’s nails, she seems to need pedicures on a regular basis. Natalie and I also had time for a chat. Oh, and I was able to ask her for her help in putting together a window “hammock” for Bobbi (which as it turns out Bobbi doesn’t find so relaxing right now). Through out the day I had brief contact with several people very dear to me, a friend from church, a dear neighbor, Natalie, both Lowell and Tami and a virtual visit from Jessie, Lexie and Drew.  I had fun with my photos and my online photography course. 

Life today. Today so far has been quiet. I have managed to update the bulletin and to put together the photos I need for today. I also got the envelopes and activities sheets formatted and printed after I installed four new printer cartridges. I just haven’t processed them yet. I also made pancakes from scratch and am about to make some homemade biscuits. I want some peach cobbler later today so I need the biscuits. 

So far this winter I have been wearing my Christmas wearable blanket every day in January and up to now in February. I just found that I probably don’t need it today, though the furnace seems to be running regularly. Right now the thermometer says it is 40 degrees. 

The word today is remain. He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever. Chinese Proverb. At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid. Friedrich Nietzsche. Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances. Thomas Jefferson. Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance. William Wirt. While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it. Samuel Johnson. Have regard for your name, since it will remain for you longer than a great store of gold. Ecclesiasticus. My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go. William Shakespeare. Nevertheless the passions, whether violent or not, should never be so expressed as to reach the point of causing disgust; and music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it, and thereby always remain music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered. Aristotle. Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to be always a child. If no use is made of the labors of past ages, the world must remain always in the infancy of knowledge. Cicero. All we know is still infinitely less than all that remains unknown. William Harvey. He who doesn't look ahead remains behind. Mexican Proverb. Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent. Victor Hugo. If you want to make people weep, you must weep yourself. If you want to make people laugh, your face must remain serious. Giovanni Jacopo Casanova. So of cheerfulness, or a good temper, the more it is spent, the more it remains. Ralph Waldo Emerson. If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing. Saint Augustine. There are people whose watch stops at a certain hour and who remain permanently at that age. Sainte-Beave. Doubt is the vestibule which all must pass before they can enter the temple of wisdom. When we are in doubt and puzzle out the truth by our own exertions, we have gained something that will stay by us and will serve us again. But if to avoid the trouble of the search we avail ourselves of the superior information of a friend, such knowledge will not remain with us; we have not bought, but borrowed it. C. C. Colton. 

Article summary. I like books, I read every day both the recreational and serious types, both are “scholarly” in nature for me. For me reading is like a Calgon moment...."Calgon, take me away!" I also like historical fiction, maybe not always fiction. So this title caught my attention about reading old stories. There is something new to us there. There may be light bulb moments. A view into another life time and place in history and in place. The title of the article is Why do teachers make us read old stories?  Elisabeth Gruner, Associate Professor of English, University of Richmond. At theconversation.com. As the article started it was mentioned that in reading “old” stories we will meet up with different and “strange” to us “values and ways of life”. It went on to relate that connecting with the past can help to “learn about the present”, that is an interesting observance and statement for me. It was pointed out how the story of Romeo and Juliet has visions of their day as it relates to youth of today. The “sentence structure” and vocabulary in old books make us think. I like the statement in the article that old stores can offer “a rich depth of feeling, by exposing readers to a broad range of experiences”. In coming to an end the article further related that “stories also make us feel” sometimes using the human social and emotional sense called empathy a serious kind of understanding. So books do more than just the memories of a few moments. They can shape us.

I’m debating on spaghetti and meat balls or meat loaf and baked potatoes for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

The first challenge and upload in this group is “spiral”. I searched all over the house inside and outside for something of a spiral. I finally opened my eyes fully and found this. It is a top on one of my decorative wind chimes that hangs in my indoor house plant garden. 

The next upload is “surprise”. I don’t know what kind of critter made these
tracks. He/she made it easy to follow?. We see them in every snow fall. They are always a surprise that makes me smile. 

The next upload is “together”. Pancakes and syrup are great together. Some like powdered sugar, honey, or jelly and jam but I like good old fashioned maple syrup. 

That last upload in this group is “dark color”. This is a piece of digital art I
generated from a photo. It hangs in the powder room. 

Joy

                this was taken on one of my walks through Greenlawn Cemetery

 February 8, 2026 a thought for today. When the word is out, it belongs to another. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

My first challenge was “grey”. Well, Bobbi is mostly grey in color with a bit of black and a bit of white, even just a touch of orange. I had the camera set for black and white for one of the other photos I need today so I used this shot for the “grey” also.

Next was “what I am reading”. This is the ebook on my tablet that I am current
deeply involved in. I can’t go wrong with a Baldacci book.

Last for yesterday was “my choice” a series of my “black and white”. This is in a corner of my living room.

Life today. Marion was our minister today. In my opinion her sermons (messages) are always “down to earth” and very easy to relate to. A message about the “light” that each of us are destined to be is inspiring. It is a light we all should learn to share. All three of the hymns helped us to ask to be led to that purpose.

The second snow that needed cleared has been cleared in my area enough to get out. Lowell took me to pick up the groceries yesterday. As it turned out I could have made it to the store. With the snow drifts around the entries to the house it was hard to unload the groceries and get them inside. He was able to do it far easier than I could have. 

Again since the snow covered areas were cleared enough to get through I got to church easily. After church I had a couple of stops to make. I stopped at Kroger for meds and a couple of things I had forgotten on yesterday’s list. Then I went on to Strader’s Garden Center for the potting soil I need to get started on the terrarium. The paring lot at the garden center was barely cleared but accessible. 

My “get oil changed” light is on in the car so I tried making an online appointment for tomorrow a Midas. 

The rest of the day will be quiet to help refresh and renew. 

A word for today is regular. Our days are a kaleidoscope. Every instant a change takes place in the contents. New harmonies, new contrasts, new combinations of every sort. Nothing ever happens twice alike. The most familiar people stand each moment in some new relation to each other, to their work, to surrounding objects. The most tranquil house, with the most serene inhabitants, living upon the utmost regularity of system, is yet exemplifying infinite diversities. Henry Ward Beecher. Sure there is music even in the beauty, and the silent note which Cupid strikes, far sweeter than the sound of an instrument. For there is music wherever there is harmony, order and proportion; and thus far we may maintain the music of the spheres; for those well ordered motions, and regular paces, though they give no sound unto the ear, yet to the understanding they strike a note most full of harmony. Sir Thomas Browne. Memory depends very much on the perspicuity, regularity, and order of our thoughts. Many complain of the want of memory, when the defect is in the judgment; and others, by grasping at all, retain nothing. Thomas Fuller. Blessedness consists in the accomplishment of our desires, and in our having only regular desires. Saint Augustine. The motions of the comets are exceedingly regular, and they observe the same laws as the motions of the planets, but they differ from the motions of vortices in every particular and are often contrary to them. Isaac Newton. Proportion is that agreeable harmony between the several parts of a building, which is the result of a just and regular agreement of them with each other; the height to the width, this to the length, and each of these to the whole. Vitruvius. Punctuality is the stern virtue of men of business, and the graceful courtesy of princes. Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. To be faithful in prayer it is indispensable that we arrange all the activities of the day with a regularity that nothing can disturb. Francois Fenelon. The human understanding of its own nature is prone to suppose the existence of more order and regularity in the world than it finds. Francis Bacon. Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work. Gustave Flaubert. Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it. Horace Mann. 

Article summary. I don’t see my children, grand children, great grandchildren every day. I think of them always. I make it a habit to “reach out and touch” my two living children everyday. I don’t feel comfortable and at ease if I don’t. In this day and age I have the capability to “reach out and touch” some of my family virtually. I realize it is not a physical touch. It’s the closest I can get and though it doesn’t touch physically it does touch emotionally and spiritually. It is a bond and a connection. So...the reason I picked this article. The title to the article is Touch creates a healing bond in health care. Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University. Brian LeLand, Fellow, Section of Pediatric Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine. At theconversation.com. It opened with an interesting comment. Doctors seem to be sending less time with patients. It seems that machinery is helping them to move through the “system” more quicky allowing less time for small helpful personal contact with each.  Then it goes on to say that with all the modern technology aids in the moments of few contacts are shorter. And yet, the article goes to say the “physician’s hand remains one of medicine’s most valuable diagnostic tools” with that touch also adds a bond. The article goes on to say there are situation where touch would and could do more than words to turn things around. I was interested in the section of the article that related about Native American healers “relying” on touch as an “essential” part of treatment. That thought along with mentioning that kings and queens believed in the “royal touch”, a “laying on of hands to heal”. Some other things that were mentioned was that safety is not altered by a touch, that well being for family members is enhanced by touching, thirdly a touch for an ill child helps the parent feel useful in the care of the child. Touching is a sense of connection. Touching is free and is a powerful healing tool.

I think we will have meatloaf for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

The first for today is another of “my choice” and another of my series of black and white. It is a musical instrument, my dulcimer, that I use to play many years ago.

Next is a challenge called “food”, a stalk of celery and a bunch of carrots fit that title. 

Lastly is “on the ground”. I used a painterly filter on this one. It is from my archives, shot in the fall. 

Joy

                                 only slightly broken

February 6, 2026 a thought for today, It is bad baking without flour and water. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

My first challenge and upload was titled “starts with the letter O...” I chose the word “outside”. This is what the “outside” looks everywhere around me right now. 

The next challenge was titles “year of the boar”. I had no idea where to begin
with this one. I did some research for the year of the Boar for 2026 and found that the “lucky” colors are red, pink, green and yellow. The lucky numbers are 2, 5, 8, and 7. So I combined with for this one. I used sheers of colored construction paper and added the number when I brought the image into Photoshop. 

The next challenge was titled “ my outfit today”. My “outfits” are pretty much the same every day. 

The last upload for this group is “tin roof”. This is a neighbor’s house. They had this roof put on a few years ago.

I got to the church and was well into the printing before the folks working with the delivery of food for our monthly food pantry efforts came. I stopped to drop off mail and picked up sausage sandwiches for Sue and myself. I got home and started on the photos for the day. I got a call from a friend from church who said we had gotten more frozen chicken in the delivery than we had room to store. So she wanted to know how to contact a church I know about who might want it for their pantry. I tried a couple of people I knew for necessary phone numbers but the calls went to message services. So I got on line to get the numbers to the church. We, my friend (who was on her pone with me) and I, still couldn’t reach them. So I tried the church email. I got an answer, they said sure they could use it. It had to be delivered by noon, fifteen minutes from the time of my contact with them. There was a bit of a problem finding the church so my friend picked me up and we went together to get to the church. Lowell was able to contact a person at the church soup kitchen to meet us at the gate and take the chicken. Success. It was delivered.

Life today. I have been spending the last couple of hours forcing myself to accept the fact that I will most likely not be leaving the house this weekend. My grocery list will have to be put off for a few days. I will most likely be missing church again this week. I think I mentioned in earlier letters that 2026 hasn’t started out to well for me. It doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon either. It started snowing about seven thirty. It is now almost eleven thirty. It is not slowing down in the least. I feel there is a Message here but what it is is beyond me. 

So being house bound for a few more days I should be able to get some back burner work done. I would like to work on my terrarium but still don’t have the soil I need. I can spend more time on my online class.

Sue and I haven’t been able to visit Andy since his surgery due to the weather conditions. Hopefully we can do that soon. At least I am in contact with family with texts and a virtual visit now and then. In this 2026 beginning I have had four people I care about have surgeries, a neighbor on either side of my house, Andy and my great grandson. Then there were my debacles, the drivers license vision test for renewal and the infected tooth. Bah humbug. (Smile). One thing to look forward to, things get better. 

A word for today is recognize. The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities. Sophocles. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. Charles Darwin. The first step towards amendment is the recognition of error. Seneca. The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability that he has. Confucius. We can recognize the dawn and the decline of love by the uneasiness we feel when alone together. Jean de la Bruyere. The last proceeding of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things which are beyond it. There is nothing so conformable to reason as this disavowal of reason. Blaise Pascal. It takes a wise man to recognize a wise man. Xenophanes. Render to God what you owe him; recognize the obligations you are under to him. Louis XIV. Clever people will recognize and tolerate nothing but cleverness. Henri Frederic Amiel. There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. Henry David Thoreau. The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. Charles Darwin. Truly it is an evil to be full of faults; but it is a still greater evil to be full of them and to be unwilling to recognize them, since that is to add the further fault of a voluntary illusion. Blaise Pascal. Little by little he came to recognize the difference between the spirits that agitated him, one from the enemy and one from God. Saint Ignatius. Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition. Abraham Lincoln. In truth, to know oneself seems to be the hardest of all things. Not only our eye, which observes external objects, does not use the sense of sight upon itself, but even our mind, which contemplates intently another's sin, is slow in the recognition of its own defects. Saint Basil. Even if a fool lived with a wise man all his life, he would still not recognise the truth, like a wooden spoon cannot recognise the flavour of the soup. Gautama Buddha. Toleration ought in reality to be merely a transitory mood. It must lead to recognition. To tolerate is to affront. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Religion is the recognition that all things are manifestations of a Power which transcends our knowledge. Herbert Spencer. 

Article summary. When I saw the title to this article I wondered “what the heck?” It kind of whet my appetite. The words leisure and well-being in particular, connected to Dungeons & Dragons was even more enticing for a look see. The article title is Whether it’s yoga, rock climbing or Dungeons & Dragons, taking leisure to a high level can be good for your well-being. Emily Messina, Associate Professor of Rehabilitation and Recreational Therapy, Florida International University. At theconversation.com. It opens by mentioning something called “serious leisure”. It is talking about a practice a person might be following as leisure or hobby-like activity over an extended period of time. This brings about a skill and “more connected” feel for that practice. The “casual leisure” would be having fun and as it progresses it “becomes more serious”. In a rehabilitation therapy program mentioned in the article they show how these two forms of leisure can help in the playing of an involved form of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) as it does in other recreational therapy to help people with a health problem recover. Sometimes a new hobby can apply to this theory. The “serious leisure” involves time and “gradually developing the skills and knowledge required to excel at it.” The game of D&D can feel safer and more comfortable than some other sports activities. Other things that work in the serious leisure kind of plan can be found in yoga, some sports clubs, rock climbing and Harry Potter games. People become “increasingly involved over time” and better use of skills. These practices can involve other people which include  overall benefits the practice of Yoga and games played with other people. Serious leisure takes commitment. The article goes on to say that casual leisure has benefits too and with time and practice lead to serious leisure.

I haven’t made tuna casserole for a while. It sounds good, I think it will be dinner tonight.

Photos in my life today 

My first upload for today is “this made me smile”. She always, well almost always, makes me smile. She climbs on things, stares at me ‘til she get attention then either comes to me or goes on her way probably saying “got your attention”. 

Next was “macro or close up”. This one is from my archives taken when the weather was much more friendly and pleasurable. 

The last one for today is “new”. The newest thing in my life and everyone in Columbus is new, and more snow.

Joy

PS As I was finishing this letter a homeless man showed up at the door and wanted to earn some money shoveling the driveway. Now barring more snow I can probably get out of the driveway. I am still a little concerned about the snow ruts on the streets yet. We’ll see what the morning brings. I gave him a little food and something to eat. 

 February 4, 2026 a thought for today, One cannot ski so softly that the traces cannot be see. Finnish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first upload was “super bowl Sunday”. I am a football fan and don’t remember attending Super Bowl Sunday bashes before so it was more or less a guess as to what use for this image. 

Next is “winter sun”. This is from the archives since there was no discernable sun in the sky this winter day. 

The last one for yesterday was “handwritten words”. This is a letter father wrote to my mother when he was in the military oh so many years ago

Life today. I am enjoying this day even though it is still below freezing outside. I am glad the dentist visit is over and things are on the mend. At the moment I don’t have any “deadlines”. I have started and am enjoying my online photo course. I haven’t had the occasion or the props to start putting into practice what I am learning yet. The first few lessons have been of the lecture style. I have been developing some ideas from it. I have also made a list of some props to use and where to get them. It’s energizing. I have had this kind of feeling with all of the class I have taken over the years since high school. I hope I will always have the urge to learn new things, find the refreshing feelings and motivation it brings.

The bulletin was one of the kind I like. I had all the information I needed on Monday morning so I was able to get it completed and sent out on Monday. There were no changes to be made so it is ready to print tomorrow morning. I should still be able to get out of the driveway. We are supposed to get more snow on Friday. Hopefully it passes us or I can get the driveway open again before Sunday. 

I want to work on the terrarium I got for Christmas but I need a bit more soil. I have a 25 pound bag in the garage but haven’t been able to get to it. If the weather is at least at freezing I may be able to get into the garage. I am hoping the package isn’t frozen solid. 

A word for today is receive.  Many receive advice, few profit by it. Publilius Syrus. You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise. Seneca. Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favours you have received. Seneca. The man who has received a benefit ought always to remember it, but he who has granted it ought to forget the fact at once. Demosthenes. Everyone who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit. John Stuart Mill. Be thankful for the least gift, so shalt thou be meant to receive greater. Thomas a Kempis. A great perturbation in nature, to receive at once the benefit of sleep and do the effects of watching! William Shakespeare. The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep. Chuang Tzu. Alexander received more bravery of mind by the pattern of Achilles, than by hearing the definition of fortitude. Sir Philip Sidney. Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in. That everyone may receive at least a moderate education appears to be an objective of vital importance. Abraham Lincoln. Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of the ages through which they have passed. Sir W. Temple. These will vary in every human being; but knowledge is the same for every mind, and every mind may and ought to be trained to receive it.  Frances Wright. The world is always ready to receive talent with open arms. Very often it does not know what to do with genius. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. Robert Louis Stevenson. Genius at first is little more than a great capacity for receiving discipline. George Eliot. Christianity can be summed up in the two terms faith and love...receiving from above [faith] and giving out below [love]. Martin Luther. Everything that you receive is not measured according to its actual size, but, rather that of the receiving vessel. Juana Inés de la Cruz. One would give generous alms if one had the eyes to see the beauty of a cupped receiving hand. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 

Article summary. In my gathering information about AI I like to read all I can about it to weigh the pros and cons and benefits and/or dangers. I just wanted to see what made it different in sending an AI message when sending or giving an already printed greeting card as it has been done for ages. The article title is Whether it’s Valentine’s Day notes or emails to loved ones, using AI to write leaves people feeling crummy about themselves. Julian Givi, Assistant Professor of Marketing, West Virginia University. Colleen P. Kirk, Assistant Professor of Marketing, New York Institute of Technology. Danielle Hass, Ph.D. Candidate in Marketing, West Virginia University. At the conversation.com. It opens by suggesting that you may want to ask “ChatGPT” to give you a nice romantic message that you can copy into a message to a special someone. Then suggests that you may not feel right about having sent it after all. The article goes on to say how much it seems that with the new technology called AI there are times when used for personal matters some regret that their written message was not directly from the heart. The article did explain my thoughts about the greeting cards that we are use to. They explained that everyone knows they are preprinted. I still feel there is a bit of the feeling that it wasn’t directly written by you the sender. The article mentioned it as one sent by the AI mode was a feeling of “dishonesty”. The author and some of her peers had done a study on this subject. One of their findings was that writing the message in person can “help both the writer and the recipient feel better.” It further suggests that along with the possible negative connotation to this subject of sending Valentine and other type of greeting cards there is the possibility that you can use AI for brainstorming to make the “final  touch” to  writing the message yourself. It ended the article by saying that as technologies “become more integrated into everyday life” people will have to decide what is helpful and how emotions enter the picture also. 

Dinner will be a salmon patties and noodles in beef gravy. 

Photos in my life today

The first upload for today is “macro”. This is also from the archives. These flowers will be blooming  gain in a few months. 

Next is “high resolution”. This one is a bit harder than the others to do and upload with some of the “rules” for uploads on social media programs. This one is from the park near my home. 

The last challenge for this section is “someone I love”. I have wonderful family and would like to use  them all. But since that wouldn’t fit this particular challenge I used this photo of a drawing my sister made of herself. 

Joy

                        a bonus photo taken a while back at the Columbus Zoo

 February 2, 2026 a thought for today Even a crust is bread. Finnish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first image is my choice and is one of my series of still life. This was taken before I have completed the on line master class I am taking in still life photography.

The next photo is “something I shared”. These seem to be a kind of cookie that attracts people. I use them because the are zero sugar. Th man who use to do my lawn would ask for some before he left. My sone in law and my sister seem to be drawn to them also. 

The last challenge for yesterday was “food”. There are all kinds of food in the frig and cupboards. It just needs to be put together. I decided on a cheese sandwich for my lunch and used it for the upload.  

Life today. I started the letter a this morning. I had to leave the photo work for the day until later this afternoon. I have the dental appointment today to take care of the infected tooth. I just shot the photos and got them ready in the Photoshop “darkroom”. 

Lowell and Rebecca took me to a dentist who goes to their church. It’s done now and I am back home. He had to dig out a broken off tooth. The infection was in the root of that tooth. So as I am writing this letter I have a thick gauze in my mouth. The numbing is beginning to dissipate. I am glad it is over. I am also glad that he did not have to do any further work. I was so nervous thinking I would have to wear dentures. The dentist called in a script for a heavy pain medication if I needed it. We, he and I, hope Tylenol will do the trick. 

On the way home I got a Wendy’s single burger and a tiny slushy. I was able to eat keeping the food on the opposite side of my mouth. 

The rest of the day I will rest. I will do the uploads tomorrow. 

The word today is ready. As I know more of mankind I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man a good man upon easier terms than I was formerly. Samuel Johnson. We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Always be ready to speak your mind and a base man will avoid you. William Blake. Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already possess it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld. Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. Sir Francis Bacon. The summit of happiness is reached when a person is ready to be what he is. Desiderius Erasmus. There is no such thing as luck. It's a fancy name for being always at our duty, and so sure to be ready when good time comes. Edward Bulwer-Lytton. What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows. Epictetus. God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it. Daniel Webster. The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready. Henry David Thoreau. I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come. Abraham Lincoln.  Fraud is the ready minister of injustice. Edmund Burke. Do the duty which lieth nearest to thee! Thy second duty will already have become clearer. Thomas Carlyle. Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion. Francis Bacon. A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably. William Penn. Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop. Tacitus. 

Article summary. I have always considered friendships important if not vital. I did some research to back up my thinking. I found as I thought that friendships contribute to our mental well being as well as to relieve loneliness. I wanted to see what Aristotle had say about it all those years ago. The title to this article is Three lessons from Aristotle on friendship. Emily Katz, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Philosophy, Michigan State University. At theconversation.com. Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher. He was important in sharing in the defining of thought in logic, and science. I learned in a research other than this article that he had been a student of Plato for 20 years and tutor to Alexander the Great. This article opened with an Aristotle saying that “no one would choose to live without friends”. Though he was known for his activities in science and politics he had three “lessons” about friendship that are mentioned in this article. First his “definition” was friendships are shared experiences, both parties feel the experience. They have a feeling of goodwill for each other. The study in Aristotle’s thoughts on friendship went on to explain that he had a distinction between three kind of friendship, according to the article they are “utility-based, pleasure-based and character-based friendships”. These types are formed by the value that the friend has for the individual, or usefulness, or pleasure of their company or their character. The article says that the character based is the “highest form”. It goes on to say “you can only have a few such intimate friends” to form the character based. This kind takes time to grow. So the article relates that most friendships are “based on pleasure or utility”. Using the term “utility” in a friendship means that they are “mutually benefitting one another”, both parties understand this friendships purpose. The third point in the article went on to mention how Aristotle said to make friendships last. It begins saying it is like “fitness”. I had to read a little further to grasp the meaning of the relationship needs to be “maintained by activity”. It looks like he meant maintained by doing things together relatively often. If inactivity goes on for to long the friendship fades. The article mentions that due to postal service and modern social connections like Facebook that friendships can go on “across great distances”. In closing the article relates that Aristotle’s definitions still holds some truth. It mentioned that during the COVID pandemic there was a decrease in friendship activities even with the modern accesses in communication which showed a “decrease in the quality of their friendships”. It ended by saying “Aristotle’s writing on friendship continues to resonate.” Although I learned in another search on the subject that a saying I have always known and thought to be true was something also by  Aristotle who said "a friend to all is a friend to none”. I think after this article it’s meaning is the character-based is the “truest” friend. 

I think is will be creamed cheese on toast for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

This upload challenge is titled “something pink”. These are a couple of Sue’s hair scrunchies. My hair is too short for them. Another very useful purpose it that my kitten, Bobbi, loves to play with them.

The next upload for today is “book”. I do keep a few “hard copy” book in my “library” (a three shelf book case). Most of my reading except for the bible is done on my tablet as ebooks and search sites. 

The last upload for today is “square”. Sue has a few of her collection of frames lying around.  Is paints and sketches. We both keep a few frames around in case we choose to mount and frame our work for hanging or sharing. 

Joy 

                               safe and secure