August 21, 2026, a thought for today, A proverb says what man thinks. Swedish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “bright”. The lights in the powder room are bright.  The brightness is reflected in an art design in front of  them.

The next upload was one of the “my choice” that we get frequently. I used one of my series of “mirror image”. It is one vase of daffodils that I have “mirrored” in an attached image. 

The last assignment was “pattern”. My sister has a chair and matching foot stool with the patterned design.

Life today. What an unusual day this has been. Yesterday when I got home from printing the bulletin. I started the laundry. It was the first I have been in the basement since the rain off and on in the past seven days. The floor was totally wet with puddles here and there. The water had gotten so high it had knocked over the xtra large trash container I use for all of activities in the basement. After picking up the water logged trash and up turning the trash container, I was able to start the waster. When I came up my slippers and socks were soaked. That it the wettest the basement has ever been in the more than 50 years I have been here. When I went back down to move the laundry to the dryer it wouldn’t start. I left the clothes in a basket. I was way too tired to go to the laundromat then so I waited until today.  

I went to the laundromat that Sue use to go to, they wouldn’t open until an hour after they usually do so an hour after I had gotten there. So I turned around and went to the one closer to my house. I am not use to using the laundromat. I put the money in the slot and the clothes in, pushed the button to start the dryer. I found that I had put the money in the dryer above the one I put the clothes in. A lady next to me helped me move the clothes. That was a learning experience that I should have acknowledged in the first place, pay attention to arrows. There were large arrows putting to which machine was up and which down. 

When I was getting out of the car with the laundry Lowell pulled up behind me. I had forgotten that he was coming for the purpose he was here today. I had told him I wanted to switch it wifi television getting away from cable. He had come to take the cable boxes and hookups down. He also set up my smaller Roku tv in my bedroom. While he was here, I gave him a couple of other things on my list that I needed help with. He also checked out the dryer and said it is “fried”. So I will be going to the laundromat to use the dryer until we decide to pay to have checked/fixed or need to get new one. At least I will be more attuned to the up and down arrows next time. 

With all that we got done on those  projects I am way behind on the letter and the photos. The letter will go up today, the photos probably not until tomorrow. I still have a few things to put away from all of the changes we made as well as my laundry. Then I want to get my grocery order made for tomorrow. 

The word today is cost. Experience teaches slowly and at the cost of mistakes. James A. Froude. The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run. Henry David Thoreau. That laughter costs too much which is purchased by the sacrifice of decency. Quintilian. Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises; for never intending to go beyond promises; it costs nothing. Edmund Burke. A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill, requires only our silence, which costs nothing. John Tillotson. Old houses mended, Cost little less than new before they ’re ended. Colley Cibber. Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills. Voltaire. Civility costs nothing and buys everything. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Peace is costly, but it is worth the expense. Kenyan Proverb. Nothing costs less nor is cheaper than compliments of civility. Miguel de Cervantes. The cost of obedience is small compared with the cost of disobedience. Saint Augustine. When a man has cast his longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct. Thomas Jefferson. 

Article summary. I don’t think this article applies just to this action on line. It happens and shouldn’t when person to person also. The title is “Think twice before shouting your virtues online – moral grandstanding is toxic. Joshua B. Grubbs. Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University. At theconversation.com. It starts out talking about how things in society have grown toward leaning on a thing called moral grandstanding. It is at such a state that psychologists are making it into a study. In one sentence the author called it as a “widespread nastiness (that) is both a social problem and a research opportunity.” An example of the moral grandstanding may be when a friend, makes extreme “proclamations” on social media about untrue and ideological claims about popular subjects of the day. They “promote” themselves to “seek status”. People who use this kind of exchange in carrying on a “conversation is a means to an end – not a free exchange of ideas”. As the article moves on, it says that it is common for normal humans to want “safety, love and belonging”. The grandstanding is a “special kind of status seeking” by using “topics solely to get attention or impress others”.  Through some studies it was found that the grandstanders showed signs of “more experiences arguing with loved ones and severing ties with friends or family”. It seems the people with the moral grandstanding trait also used “toxic” behavior on social media and “picked” fights over political or moral issues. These types of people also, according to the article “ behave less moral” than other people. In trying to minimize boosting beyond respectful limits people should when they enter into a conversation where there are differences of opinions then consider would it be “connecting” with each other or trying to “score points”. The article ended by saying a way of to handle a moral grandstander situation would be by “depriving them of the attention they seek”.

Tuna Casserole for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

The first challenge was “muted”. I saw this wooden privacy fence that had aged and become “rustic” in color and character so I used it as my chosen image.

The second assignment is another of “my choice” and anoter of my series of “mirror images”. It is one of my great grandsons many years ago when he was young. 

The last upload is “picnic”. This is the open shelter house at the part down the street from my home. 

Joy

a bonus image today is huge bouquet of bright colored and assorted poesies this was uploaded to a Fine Art America contest 

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 August 19, 2026 a thought for today, An hour lost is often a year lost. Swedish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge yesterday was “cool colors”. I used the black board against a tan back ground at church. 

The next assignment was “my choice”“mirror image”. I used one of Bobbi as she was watching my working away on the computer rather than playing with her. 

The last upload was “on the floor”.  I decided to use a foot and sandal to fill this assignment. 

Life today. My bimonthly meeting was last night. It is an early meeting which are the kind I like but because it is at 5:00 there is a bit of a situation with dinner. I have it worked out so that it all fits on my kind of agenda. It went smoothly and was only just over an hour long, just the right kind. 

It’s been one of those days. I got side tracked with looking up things to get started on some of the newer things on my agenda, more on those at another time. “I am late, I am late for a very important date” right now. The bulletin and accompanying things are ready for the Thursday morning things.

I did get this letter started before I left for food pantry. I did not have any of the photos ready for upload. I think the photo uploads will have to wait until tomorrow after the scheduled printing. The newsletter has defiantly been put on hold until next week. That makes it earlier to get this week done. 

Sue surprised me today. She seemed strong enough to go out on her own to run a couple of errands. She was out for a couple of hours. She says she didn’t have any problems. I am hoping this is a sign she can be feeling some of the independence she wants and needs. 

The word to ponder today is content. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody. Benjamin Franklin. Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it. Samuel Johnson. If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties. Sir Francis Bacon. Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention. Abraham Lincoln. Content thyself to be obscurely good. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, the post of honor is a private station. Joseph Addison. Who is wise? He that learns from every One. Who is powerful? He that governs his Passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody. Benjamin Franklin. Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything. Aesop. Wealth is the parent of luxury and indolence, and poverty of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent. Plato. Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous. Chuang-tzu. A contented mind is the best source for trouble. Titus Maccius Plautus. A contented mind is a continual feast. American Proverb. I have learned, in whatever state I am ,therewith to be content. Epistle of Paul. This is the last of earth! I am content. John Quincy Adams. A harvest of peace is produced from a seed of contentment. American Proverb. To be deceived by our enemies or betrayed by our friends in insupportable; yet by ourselves we are often content to be so treated. Francois De La Rochefoucauld. He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. Socrates.

Article summary. I was stuck in my thinking with the word respect when I discovered this message. I decided to take a look to see how it fit my definition of respect. I thought maybe there would be some “Easter eggs” for more thought and consideration of other feeling and results of such. The title is “ ‘Hello, just circling back!’ Not responding to emails is common across higher education but bad for morale”. Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College. At thcconversation.com. The article began by mentioning that the author had sent out two set of emails to his college students and to peers. Out o the twenty-two emails he sent out he got two responses. Email is a “default mode of communication  in colleges, workplaces and many other areas of life.” Email is now the default mode of communication in colleges and universities, as well as across most workplaces and other areas of life. Unanswered emails have become as regular a feature of academic life. As mentioned there may be good reasons not to reply it may have gone to spam or was not seen for several hours. It was further related that no response in some cases may lead to “negative consequences” and possibly disrespect. One thing that may enter the picture is that there is also texting that is somewhat easier than email. I learned from this article was that in some colleges and universities there are websites to help people “navigate” email.  One of the colleges mentioned the Miami University of Ohio. This article noted that some college students expect their professors to respond quickly and can be judged for their timing in their responses. One survey on the subject of email responses found that “two-thirds” of people responding to the survey said they tend to ignore many emails together. The author said that when he was an administrator for a period of time he could not leave the office until all email was answered. There is a term mentioned in the article called “digital snubbery”. It goes on to say that you most likely wouldn’t just pass someone in the hallway without some kind of recognition, and if you did somehow not wave or say hello you would later offer an apology. Usually when seeing someone along your way you stop to have a conservation. In ignoring a personal email you have not responded to contact as it would in not stopping for a meet up, that is digital snubbery. Toward the end of the article it is mentioned in the area of college emails they should limit “unnecessary emails” and “make answering emails part of their culture”. Something simple will work like “thanks” or “I’ll get back to you”, something simple but none the less a response

Now it is time to consider dinner time....something from the freezer or a box or DoorDash or cook.

Photos in my life today

My first upload is “a pop of color”. I was looking all around as I was our and about today. I finally ended up using this fallen over safety sign over. The orange stands out so much. 

The next challenge was another of “my choice” and another of my  “mirror image” series. I used an image of some of the morning glories on our chain link fence. 

The last challenge is “a world a day” for my offering a pink carnation among some white daisies. 

Joy

the bonus image white dasies to Fine Art America

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 August 17, 2026, a thought for today, He who talks much, errs much. Spanish Prover

Photos in my life yesterday

My first challenge was “ombre”, the color. I wasn’t sure what that was so I had to look it up. It is a subtle changing of colors in single object like this sky at dawn.

The next assignment was “blue”. I chose to go by the park and recapture the
image of the letter A which is painted a blue color. 

The last upload was “in motion”. I chose a photo from my archives that I shot when some of my friends and I took part of our lunch hour for a walk down the city streets. This flag in motion always brings pride.  

Life today. I am getting ready for another of the “busy” weeks. Monday is the only day I have “off”. With that is mind I am trying to get a lot of niggly little things out of the way so I don’t have to put them on a back burner. 

I have the bulletin done and out for checking. I have a tiny little start on the newsletter. Now I am working on my daily upload projects. Lowell has brought back my “cleaned” up PC. He will be back in a while to reinstall it. They had to clear the hard drive so that means there will be some resetting some of the key strokes that had become memory and re-highlight procedures I use everyday. I may leave the laptop set up for the week so I can get things done before updating. With food pantry and finishing the newsletter it will be a little easier. 

Every time I think the rain has stopped there comes more and it’s not just rain. It is loud and rumbling thunder and lighten in the sky. The rain comes down literally in buckets full at a time. I do believe Bobbi may be getting use to it. She can take the first thump or two of thunder but no more than two or she is off like a flash. 

The word to ponder today is constant. If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair. Samuel Johnson. The greatest friend of Truth is time, her greatest enemy is Prejudice, and her constant companion Humility. Charles Caleb Colton. Justice is the constant and perpetual will to allot to every man his due. Domitus Ulpian. They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom. Confucius. The mind of man is like a clock that is always running down, and requires to be constantly wound up. William Hazlitt. Beware of dissipating your powers; strive constantly to concentrate them. Genius thinks it can do whatever it sees others doing, but is sure to repent of every ill-judged outlay. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 'Tis true there is much to be done, . . . but stick to it steadily, and you will see great effects, for constant dropping wears away stones . . . and little strokes fell great oaks, as Poor Richard says. . . .Benjamin Franklin. I am much indebted to the good Christian people of the country for their constant prayers and consolations; and to no one of them, more than to yourself. Abraham Lincoln. Friendship is never established as an understood relation. It is a miracle which requires constant proofs. It is an exercise of the purest imagination and of the rarest faith! Henry David Thoreau. Moral precepts are constant through the ages and not obedient to circumstances. Lord Acton. It is your own assent to yourself, and the constant voice of your own reason, and not of others, that should make you believe. Blaise Pascal. 

Article summary. I am interested in human emotions and how they affect each of us and the those around us. They say gratitude is one that makes us feel better and there are the religious roots to it. So I wanted to take a look to see this person’s view of the word. The title is Are you as grateful as you deserve to be? Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University. At theconversation.com. It begins by focusing on points that affect all of us in our times of sadness and stress. Times like when we experience illnesses and injuries. These are the times when we can “develop one of the healthiest, most life-affirming and convivial of all habits – that of counting and rejoicing in our blessings”.  Following this the author went on to say gratitude is a benefit showing in some studies that “grateful people tend to be healthy and happy”. They feel less stress and depression along with the ability to cope better when hard time hit. It may be we are more focused on the good things which leads us to “take better care of ourselves and each other”. Writing thank-you notes offers the same benefits. It is relayed here that Aristotle from ancient history was noted in believing “that we become what we habitually do”, meaning we can “mold ourselves” into being the kind of people we want to be. Cicero of Rome “called gratitude not only the greatest of virtues but the “parent” of them all”. Gratitude is a universal and highest value in all major world religions. In Judaism the first words in morning prayer is “I thank you”. In Christian perspectives gratitude along with thanksgiving “are vital”. One critic of note calls it “the highest form of thought.”  Gratitude and thankfulness are important to the Hindu people along with Buddhists as well. As the article moves on it mentions that a “brush with death” opens our eyes, we become more grateful. The author suggests that in “practicing gratitude” don’t think just of things that make us feel better than others. Think of how we are each and all blessed with the sunshine and we have a brain and free choice. 

Photos in my life today

My first upload is “warm colors”. This is an image of my most current store bought bouquet. 

The next challenge is “my choice”. It is one of my series of “mirror images” it is one of part of my neighborhood street. 

My last assignment is “day”. I guess the tree tops and sky are symbols
of a day to me. 

I think spaghetti for dinner. 

Joy 

the bonus is what I am calling summertime, it is uploaded to a contest in Fine Art America

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 August 15, 2026, a thought for today, He who promises incurs a debt. Spanish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday 

The first challenge was “neon”. I wasn’t near any neon lights so I found some construction paper I had for the kids. I shredded it and used it for my image.

The next assignment was “my choice” and one of my “still life” . I used an
egg in a candle holder with another egg beside it. 

The last upload yesterday was “collection”. I used the photo collection on my gallery wall at church for upload. 

Life today. It has been another wonderful start to the week end. Lowell came yesterday. I was having trouble with my PC. He came and unhooked everything to take it to have it checked for viruses. I am working with the laptop until the PC is back. He took the plants I had been nursing while they were on vacation. Then he fixed a stuck window. It was good just plain spending time with him. Then today Tami, Andy and Gideon stopped just to visit. I am “seventh heaven”, seeing all of them so close together. I wish it were possible in the fast moving life to be able to do that more often. I also am making arrangement to make facetime visits with two of my great grandsons who live out of state. I do get facetime mow with the two of the great grand children here in the state a couple of times a month. 

I got the groceries picked up before my visitors. I also had most of the photo work done for the day except for the uploads that I will be doing shortly. 

 Working on the lab top is a little slower for me. The key board is smaller and some of the keys  are a little different n alignment. I am just glad I had it here and ready to go. 

The rain seems to have slowed down for a while. I have the AC off and the doors open. It feels good and the fresh air smells good. 

A friend of mine suggested that I might start considering a book with my blog with adjustments to fit in a book format. I am thinking about playing around with that to see if I can get it to work and where it will take me

The word to ponder today is consider. Do not consider painful what is good for you. Euripides. Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew. Saint Francis de Sales. First weigh the considerations, then take the risks. Helmuth von Moltke. Read not to contradict and confute, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider. Sir Francis Bacon. The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and success only a subsequent consideration. Confucius. A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses. Hippocrates. Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge. Dante Alighieri. Ignorance and inconsideration are the two great causes of the ruin of mankind. John Tillotson. If you consider what are called the virtues in mankind, you will find their growth is assisted by education and cultivation. Xenophon. In everything one must consider the end. Jean De la Fontaine. The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered... deeply, ...finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. George Washington. The celebrated Galen said that employment was nature's physician. It is indeed so important to happiness that indolence is justly considered the parent of misery. C. C. Colton. He who would pass his declining years with honor and comfort, should, when young, consider that he may one day become old, and remember when he is old, that he has once been young. Joseph Addison.

Article summary. Here is one of those articles I found as I was searching for something else. When I read the title it did make me wonder why there is this superstition about a mirror. Many of the superstitions we hear about have to have a story about their beginning. The title is How did the superstition that broken mirrors cause bad luck start and why does it still exist? Barry Markovsky Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina. At theconversation.com. It started by mentioning that superstitions are in most human cultures, black cats and the number 13 and walking under ladders are such cases. The article says that some can be traced back in history to between 2,000 and 2,700 years ago. Breaking a mirror and the seven-year bad luck began in the areas of the world in ancient Greece and in the Roman Empire. In that time mirrors were believed to have “mysterious powers”. So it is believed that the broken mirror superstition most likely dates back to then. The Greeks believe seeing their own reflection in a pool of water “revealed” his soul. The Roman “artisans” made mirrors from metal surfaces and believed “their gods observed souls through these devices”. In that case, the Romans, thought it disrespectful to damage the “mirror” and would “compel” the “gods to rain bad luck on anyone so careless.” The article goes on to mention that in the third century mirrors were made of glass and much more “common place”. Back to the Romans for a moment, they didn’t believe the bad luck would last forever. They believed the body “renewed itself every seven years”, good luck would return. One reason superstitions are formed are that the “human mind continuously and unconsciously searches for useful patterns”. An example, you are given a good luck penny. A few days later nothing bad has happened. Your brain remembers the good luck penny. They you begin to “believe the penny caused the run of good luck. A superstition is born”. As we learn in life, we collect ideas from family and friends “that open the world to us” some of it “full of magical possibilities”. So we learn tales of superstitions. The more we hear about these things the more sometimes unconsciously they become “believable”. Some superstitions if believed tend to be fun and lower stress when things are stressful. But, above all we should remember that false beliefs can cause stress. If we believe in them, they can lead to “bad outcomes”. They can cause “compulsive behaviors”. They tend to cause conflict with true faith. As the article ends it says common sense alone can be enough reason to forget superstitions. 

We may do a DoorDash tonight. 

Photos in my life today

The first upload for today is “multicolor”. My daughter made me a patch work quilt many years ago if has graced my bed all these years. It is reversible. I used the side with the most colors. 

The second assignment was “favorite color” (for today”’) is red. So I used this flower and put a different background on it. 

The last challenge is “dancing”. Again I did have anyone dancing around so I used an image of our family kids as they were “dancing” and “falling” on the trampoline. 

Joy

the bonus image is in a content at Fine Art America and in my Fine Art shop

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and  redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 August 13, 2026, A thought for the day, The best cloth has uneven threads. Spanish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday   

The first challenge was “metallic”. I was waiting in a pick up line and saw these cars in the rear view mirror. I decided to use them for this challenge. 

The next assignment was one of the “my choice” and one of my “still life”. It
is one of the resurrection lilies that half fallen off the stem in one of the heavy rain fall.      

The last upload here is “wild”. I don’t see to many wild life in the area so I decided to use some of the “wild” growth of weed that seem to be rather prevalent right now.                      

Life today. Yesterday Lowell and Louanna picked me up for an early dinner. We went to Olive Garden. It was nice to spend time with them and the baked salmon was great.  

As planned, I got the printing done yesterday, a day early. I attended the funeral service of a church friend. It was a nice service. When I left there, I picked up some medicine for Sue. I drove by McDonalds for a sandwich but the line was way too long. So I went by Wendy’s. The line was long there too. So I came on home for a peanut butter sandwich and potato chips. I also got the laundry started. 

I had managed to take the photos I need before I left for the funeral so when I got home and had put the laundry in the washer I started processing the images. 

It seems the rain has let up. The past few days it has been more than just wet. Today the sun is bright and the air is warm. There are a lot of people in the area cleaning up from a lot of damage left from the storms. 

I got a small smart tv for my room but I haven’t had a minute to set it up. From what I understand setting up a Smart TV is a little more to it than just plugging it in. Hopefully I will have time to spent working on it sometime soon. I will be taking Sue to a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. And next week is the “busy” week of the month, not much free time then. 

The word to ponder today is consequence.  What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do. John Ruskin. Make up your mind to act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done in this world by hesitation. Thomas H. Huxley. When anger rises, think of the consequences. Confucius. There are in nature neither rewards nor punishments, there are consequences. Robert Ingersoll. Our repentance is not so much regret for the ill we have done as fear of the ill that may happen to us in consequence. Francois de La Rochefoucauld. Indolence is sweet, and its consequences bitter. Voltaire. How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it. Marcus Aurelius. What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature. Voltaire. The immortality of the soul is a matter which is of so great consequence to us and which touches us so profoundly that we must have lost all feeling to be indifferent about it. Blaise Pascal. Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows. Robert Green Ingersoll. It is of no consequence of what parents a man is born, as long as he be a man of merit. Horace. Happiness is not a reward - it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment - it is a result. Robert Green Ingersoll. Consequences are unpitying. George Eliot. Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences. Robert Louis Stevenson.

Article summary. I have always been interested in the concept of gardening on a roof top. There was one that I visited a few years ago here on top of the old Lazarus store and I think there is one on an OSU parking facility. I have also read about some in congested living spaces like in New York. A great way to keep nature alive even surrounded by brick and mortar. The title is Green roofs can help cool cities in the summer heat, but building them is only the first step – many don’t survive. Taylor Wishart, Ph.D. Student in Environmental Science, University of Tennessee. At theconversation.com. It began by mentioning the record-breaking heat we have this season than had been this years. It went on to say “one way to help cool buildings is to install green roofs” with plants as they are capable of absorbing heat. They said that when planning the roof garden it is wise to take into account it’s maintenance. Many such roof gardens haven’t survived due to the lack of proper maintenance. They differ from a typical roof as they are made up of layers, insulations, water proofing and drainage. With the proper design they can “support everything from low-growing sedums to shrubs and trees”. The article talks about one in New Yorks Rockefeller Center. It was designed in the 1930s. There are trees, grass and shrubs along with seating. There is another in the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. More than decorative plantings they can supply heat to the building below. They can cool with what is called “evapotranspiration” when they give off water vapor. They can also “reduce the amount of energy” needed for heating and cooling processes. They capture rainfall which helps in things that involve Strom drains as well a reducing flood thereby improving water quality. They have helped in “urban heat islands”, along with allowing birds, buttereflies and helpful insects new places to live. Many cities “recognize the public benefits that green roofs can give”. Problems do come according to the article when these cities build the roof garden without enough thought and action on the area of maintenance. One of the things that come of with that would involve poor maintenance is if and when the building property changes ownership. So it appears the biggest drawback to roof top gardens as mentioned before complete thought to maintenance and how it may change through the years. “Communities may need to think beyond incentives for construction”. It seems to me they should consider the benefits against the consequences. It looks to me that in most cases benefits would outweigh the consequences. 

I may make spaghetti for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

My first upload for today is “pastel”. This is my most current dining room bouquet. It is full of pastel colored blossoms. 

The next assignment is another of the “my choice” and another of my “still life”. It is one of the pink carnations on my black platter. 

The last upload is “beauty”. I pulled this batch of daisy from one of the store
bought bouquets. 

Joy

the bonus photos is Bobbi and was added to a contest at Fine Art America 

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 August 11, 2026, a thought for the day, Sugared words generally prove bitter. Spanish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “white”. One of the white daisies from my current bouquet on a white cloth back ground. 

The next assignment was “my choice” and another of my “still life”, a
princess chair from the kids toy box.

The last upload was “hands”. I coaxed my sister into letting me use her hands for my model for this photo. 

Life today. This week is a bit different from the same-old-same-old as far as my bulletins go. I have a memorial bulletin to do this week along with the regular Sunday bulletin. I think I am going to do the printing a day earlier than my usual since the memorial bulletin will be needed on Thursday morning. These are the things I have been working on yesterday and today. 

After those I was able to start on this letter and the photo assignments for the day. There have been interruptions here and there so my “timing schedule” is a little whomperjawed today. I am playing catch up again. 

The last couple of days we have had some pretty powerful storms with thunder and lightening. That means Bobbi has been hiding whenever the thunder was active. The thunder, lighting and pounding rain sends her sailing for cover (even though it is on the outside). I’m sure her peers that live on the street were finding cover too, they in far more need of such than she. 

Well, I am going to prepare for uploads now so that I can get to the kitchen to make some tuna casserole. 

The word to ponder today is company. Good company and good discourse are the very sinews of virtue. Izaak Walton. Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter. Paxton Hood. I live in company with a body, a silent companion, exacting and eternal. Eugene Delacroix. Live always in the best company when you read. Sydney Smith. Family connexions were always worth preserving, good company always worth seeking. Jane Austen. It is said that if Noah's ark had had to be built by a company; they would not have laid the keel yet; and it may be so. What is many men's business is nobody's business. The greatest things are accomplished by individual men. Charles Haddon Spurgeon. You teach your daughters the diameters of the planets and wonder when you are done that they do not delight in your company. Samuel Johnson. The company of just and righteous men is better than wealth and a rich estate. Euripides. Learning makes a man fit company for himself. Thomas Fuller. My thoughts are my company; I can bring them together, select them, detain them, dismiss them. Walter Landor. Bad company is like a nail driven into a post, which, after the first and second blow, may be drawn out with little difficulty; but being once driven up to the head, the pincers cannot take hold to draw it out, but which can only be done by the destruction of the wood. Saint Augustine. 

Article summary. As I am searching for something that I have on my mind, I find a lot of things I hadn’t thought of. I see things that spark a new light so I pick them to share. This is one of those incidences. How a simple thing like coloring, something we probably did as a child can releive stress. Come to think of it is was fun, no stress back then too. The title is Anxiety and stress really can be lowered through colouring – here’s what our research has found. Michael Mantzios. Professor of Applied and Experimental Psychology, Birmingham City University. Kyriaki Giannou, Lecturer in Applied Psychology, De Montfort University. At theconversation.com. It begins by talking about how many people think of exercise or meditation as the way to go in releasing stress. As it continued it mentioned that that is not the only way to relax. It pointed out that coloring books seem to be becoming a “popular hobby” and looking at relieving stress. So they did some studies on this subject and found that it is an “effective way of reducing stress and improving wellbeing” and reducing “burnout”. It seems to involve “mindful” practice. They are saying that “mindful practice” is a “deliberate practice” of paying attention of what you are involved with at the moment rather than “making judgements about any thoughts, emotions or distractions that happen”. Coloring can help as well as staying focused as mediation is claimed to be effectie. There was a study conducted with two groups of people. One group was given instructions of “mindful guidance” to relax their body, focus on what they were doing and the how the“sensation of coloring” felt and what to do if they found their mind wandering. The other group were given no instructions beyond just coloring. At the end of the study the group having been given the instruction “reported feeling less anxious and more focused after colouring”. The other group didn’t express the same kinds of feelings. The study seemed to show that “colouring can help to lower anxiety”. Another study was a daily mindful coloring activity for five days against a group who followed a typical days activities for five days. The coloring group showed less overall stress and were more “resilient”. It is suggested in the article that if trying this “mindful coloring” idea keep your thoughts on the coloring, if you wander off let those thoughts go and refocus on the colors and how the hands are moving. As the article was ending if admitted that “mindfulness” of this nature can also work toward the noted lowering of stress, well being and in areas of mental health benefits.  Drawing, painting, knitting and other of these kinds of activities  can reduce anxiety by simple “focus on being in the moment.”

 Maybe I will make tuna casserole for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

The first upload is “grey”. I guess the greyest thing in the house is Bobbi so she is he model for the image. 

The next one is another of “my choice” and another of my “still life”. This one of the roses and some babies breath from the current bouquet. The bouquet is helping me out in more ways than one. 

The last challenge is “cards”. This one speaks for itself. It happens to be from the only deck of cards I have in the house.

Joy

this bonus image is another of my uploads to a Fine Art America Contest

shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 August 9, 2026, a thought for today, As are the times, so are the manners. Spanish Proverb

Photo in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “brown”. I used the design with many lines and patterns in this building in the shopping mall as my image to submit for “brown”.

Next is the assignment “wild life other than birds”. I “captured this squirrel
some time ago and saved it in the archives. 

The last upload for yesterday was “in the fridge”. This is one of the days the fridge is not so full to the point of overflowing left over. 

Life today. It has been a good Sunday. Jefferson came to church to observe. It was nice having him there and introducing my church family. He also took a look at my gallery wall, then joined us for our donut fellowship. 

I had a good start on this letter before I left for church. I also had the photos taken. I left the dark room work until I got home from church. 

It is going to be a light Sunday. I don’t have anything but the uploads and just fifteen minutes on the “downsizing” project. I have to keep up the momentum for the project or it will be back burnered until, who knows. 

So the rest of the day is rest, refresh and renew. 

The word to ponder today is common. Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The freethinking of one age is the common sense of the next. Matthew Arnold. If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. Henry David Thoreau. To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity. Friedrich Nietzsche. Science is good furniture for one's upper chamber, if there is common sense below. Oliver Wendell Holmes. Friends have all things in common. Plato. The best ideas are common property. Seneca. Indeed the dictum that truth always triumphs over persecution, is one of those pleasant falsehoods which men repeat after one another till they pass into common places, but which all experience refutes. John Stuart Mill. It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity. Seneca. Common sense is not so common. Voltaire. Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means combined; and for this reason, creative geniuses are not common. Denis Diderot. Tis education forms the common mind; Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined. Alexander Pope. The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Common sense is the genius of humanity. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 

Article summary. When I was thinking of an article for today I was considering how art in our society and for all of past history help us understand our past, see the values in life, and express emotions. The title is  Without a humanistic inquiry, we will lose our creativity. A Joan Saab, Associate Professor of Art History/Visual and Cultural Studies , University of Rochester. At theonversation.com. Early in the article is mentions that “art has always been and continues to be a source of value”. In the 1930s artist were considered to have important “curtal assets”.  It has been said that “understanding history is crucial to our understanding of the present”. For students in college to day the article says, parents have difficulty agreeing with them to go for an art degree. One of the important people in a local college was quoted as saying “the arts teaches students to think creatively” and that we need more critical thinking for success. There have been signs of it help in allowing for students to become more “absorbed” in departments of “literature, art and science”. Since the 1930s there has been documents showing that there had been a growth in creating 5,000 jobs funded over 225,000 works of art. There were important people in our country including Franklin D. Roosevelt who “saw direct links between a strong democratic country and its artwork”. There was a time that artists were urged to be included “in the national relief program”. It was said that some of the arts and humanities like those of paintings, sculpture and music and literature were a “key to America’s past, present and future success”. The article brought up some of the most famous art known from our history to point out the facts of how we learned from them about the lives in the times those art pieces were created. Many times they showed that work of laborers in other times of history. They show how things changed in many areas of out lives by documenting those happening in art work. The art work showed how people dressed and moved. They showed how buildings and bridges changed and were constructed. Today we are “enmeshed in media.....tools of the present and the future”. Today’s tools further help us “investigate and understand the past”.

I think fish and macaroni salad for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

My first upload today is “black”. I chose one close at hand, the front of my air fryer will fit for this one today. 

The next challenge is “high key” . Is used a small carnation on a completely white background for this affect. 

The last assignment is “food”. Sue was eating on of her favorite burritos so I
took the opportunity to use that for this upload. 

Joy

the bonus photo today went to a contest a Fine Art of America, it is one of Bobbie under the gate leg table, she uses it as her own personal jungle gym

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)