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)

 August 7, 2026, a thought for today, He who sows well. reaps well. Spanish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday 

The first challenge was “purple”. This is one of my robes with swirls of purple along with a faint color of purple in the background. 

The second assignment was “my choice” and one of my “texture overlays”.
The original was a door on and abandoned building. The overlay was of some decomposing cloth. 

The last upload was “ring”. I used a key ring rather than a ring worn on one’s finger. 

Life today. The end of an interesting and eventful week. Lowell and Rebecca will be home from their adventure. Tami and Andy helped me with a project that I am still learning with amazement sill in technology. We had thunder last night that caused Bobbi to hide, and yet another one this morning. I was able to hold her a few minutes after the first sounds this morning and felt her shaking before she escaped from my hug and ran for a more substantial cover somewhere she has discovered.

I had to upload to the blog and the photo groups early this morning. I finished the prep on it all before closing down the computer last night but had run out of energy. There were several stops and starts yesterday after I got home from printing the bulletin. There were phone messages, research session, exploration on setting up the new Smart TV and other minucha.

After the thunder and rain had stopped with the sun breaking through Bobbi appeared and helped me find my photos for the day. 

I am hoping to get today’s uploads done before it’s time to leave for my badly needed hair cut. I would also like to squeeze one house hold chore in before I leave.

The word to ponder today is command. What you cannot enforce, do not command. Sophocles. Man is his own star and the soul that can render an honest and perfect man commands all light, all influence, all fate. John Fletcher.  None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson. He who establishes his argument by noise and command, shows that his reason is weak. Michel de Montaigne. The people that once bestowed commands, consulships, legions, and all else, now concerns itself no more, and longs eagerly for just two things - bread and circuses! Juvenal. I will be correspondent to command, And do my spiriting gently. William Shakespeare. You (God) have not only commanded continence, that is, from what things we are to restrain our love, but also justice, that is, on what we are to bestow our love. Saint Augustine. By learning to obey, you will know how to command. Italian Proverb. The key to every man is his thought.... He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own. Ralph Waldo Emerson. An Army of lions commanded by a deer will never be an army of lions. Napoleon Bonaparte. What a searching preacher of self-command is the varying phenomenon of health. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to me will ever take command of me. Walt Whitman. 

Article summary. Art, nature, science that covers a big chunk of life. This article is relating to art as it can apply and connect to at least one subject... nature. It appears to me one helps the other and vice versa.  The title is In dandelions and fireflies, artists try to make sense of climate change. Kate Flint, Provost Professor of Art History and English, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. At theconversation.com. It began with the facts most of us have heard about climate change and how fast it is happening. How it is “shrinking” glaciers and bringing more forest fires. Then it mentioned a part that interested me, pictures “can distance us from environmental catastrophe, turning it into something spectacular, arresting – even paralyzing”. The author relates that she uses “the work of artists and poets who help us understand how the smallest changes to the environment can signal large-scale damage”. She said there was an art critic in the 19th century who advised  “go to Nature … rejecting nothing, selecting nothing and scorning nothing” that added weight for study and results in the efforts of leaning about climate change. More currently artists have been using “dandelions, fireflies and lichens” in the more modern finding in weather conditions. Apparently the plant/weed/flower called a dandelion is most easily “ubiquitous” plant to be considered in the studies.  Here’s my personal research on dandelions their taproots can absorb heavy metals and pollutants from contaminated soil, the plant simultaneously aerates compacted earth, cycles vital nutrients to the surface. The article next talked about how the next subject mentioned in the story of art and climate change was the fireflies. Fireflies bring the memory of “long, warm summer evenings of childhood”. In the day they are “dull-brown” insects but at night they are “captivating sparks that dance together”. Scientists have studied their bioluminescence which serves as a powerful tool in medical and scientific research (another point of personal research). Pesticides have long done damage in the case of dandelions, and affected the life and number of fireflies. I found and learned that dandelions thrive on rising carbon dioxide and warming temperatures, while fireflies suffer from habitat loss, shifting seasonal rains, and extreme droughts driven by a changing global climate. .  The article also briefly mentions the affect of climate change on lichens, mushrooms. Artists over time have touched and documented in their types of art work the changes in these three parts of nature. Climate change along with pesticides change the nature of things. My observation of this article is that in keeping documentation of these changes there may be help in ways and necessities to handle changes when possible. 

I think it will be DoorDash pizza again tonight. We use to have a regular Friday night pizza but put it on hold for a while. It’s back for now. 

Photos in my life today

My first upload today is “pink”. I was looking for anything pink. Bobbie’s nose is pink but I also noticed as I was watching her clean herself her tiny pink tongue. So that became the photo here. 

The next assignment was another of the “my choice” and another of my “texture overlay”. This one is my dulcimer with some sheet music with a sheet like overlay.

The last challenge is “loud”. I found this fire engine in my archives of
trucks. It dose put off a good bit of sound. 

Joy

this bonus image is another that I entered in the authentic stained glass window 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 5, 2026, a thought for today, Wounds heal, but not ill words. Spanish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “green”. I used the greenery of the tree tops and “sweeping lawns” of the local park from my house.

The second upload was “my choice” and one of my “texture overlay” image. I used an image of one of the lights in the church with its three shadows as the basic shot with a draped like vision as the overlay. 

The last assignment was “remember”. This is my son whom I went home to our heavenly father a few years ago. I miss his person being in my sight and life. 

Life today. Yesterday Tami and Andy came to switch television sets for me. There was a Smart TV in Bob’s room. I asked them to bring that one down here and take this one up, it is not a “Smart TV”. Now I have to get use to a whole new set of “button” and icons as well as a whole new series of available shows to experience. Its nearly as technical as having a new and updated computer all with fancy new updates to software programs. Not all that easy and smooth for an “old timer”. Just getting the news on channel 4 tv was an experience this morning. 

Today the bulletin and it’s accessories are all done. I am ready for printing tomorrow. All that is on the agenda is my letter and photos. 

Sue had an appointment at one of her doctors so I took her and waited in the waiting room. The visit wasn’t very long. We went by her pharmacy to see if there was an order to pick up. The drive through window was  closed. So, rather than going inside, I pulled off to the side to call to see if anything was ready. They transferred me and put me on hold. A message kept coming on saying “please wait....”. So while we were on hold and we were in the car I moved on to a mail box, Sue had some mail to go out. Then, sill on hold, we drove on, about 2 + miles, to Taco Bell for a burrito for her then, still on hold to McDonalds for me. I finally hung up so I could speak to the cashier. 

As soon as we got home we had lunch together as I got back to work on the computer. I am almost ready for downloads now. I have some plants to take care of after that and some time to spend on my daily “downsizing” plan.

The word to ponder today is comfort.  We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about. Charles Kingsley. Minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled, ill-conditioned state from mere excess of comfort. Charles Dickens. Man seeketh in society comfort, use and protection. Sir Francis Bacon. Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do, it will seem intolerable; but if you will take all human affairs into account you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them. Saint Basil. The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar. Confucius. Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for us in advanced age, and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us no shade when we grow old. Lord Chesterfield. Nothing is so bitter that a calm mind cannot find comfort in it. Seneca. 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. All His glory and beauty come from within, and there He delights to dwell, His visits there are frequent, His conversation sweet, His comforts refreshing; and His peace passing all understanding. Thomas a Kempis. To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage. Samuel Johnson. Habit is a man's sole comfort. We dislike doing without even unpleasant things to which we have become accustomed. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Article summary. I don’t think most of us know how hard it would be to make ourselves comfortable and less in the fear of danger if we didn’t have a home to go to. We can see what this view in the article shows. The title is How the homeless create homes. Susan Fraiman, Professor of English, University of Virginia. At theconversaton.com. It starts about mentioning “housing insecurity” is on the rise and climbing quickly in a manner that doesn’t show any signs of stopping soon. The feelings for the people suffering most from this situation experience signs of “fear and disgust” or “pity and guilt” from onlookers. Older versions of this plight may be hobo, “bowery bum” or bag ladies, even criminal. Many of the homeless learn to be “resourceful” in ways other than being able for one reason or another to possess the benefits of any kind of a “home” as most of enjoy. We see them as a guy with as sign on a street corner, a woman sitting on a sidewalk with her only possessions in a bundle beside her, a persons sleeping in a car or cardboard box. Some are able to stay with friends or in shelters. Some may have had jobs at some point in their lives but lost them for a variety of reasons. There are children in these numbers too. Some are family members, some “aging out of foster care”, some college students with no financial aid. These people still have “domestic needs”. They have to consider dry and safe places more than other people, maybe under a bridge or a tent of cardboard. They may have thoughts like what’s for breakfast, is there some place for a shower or how about an open soup kitchen. How may they consider medications, important papers they need for any kind of assistance and maybe photos of remembrances.  None of that begins to cover more unforeseeable things like makeshift camps and eating needs that lead to eating out of a dumpsters. For some there may be a psychological need a of a companion and warmth of a pet since that might be more likely than another human. Where there are kids there is homework if they have an outside change of schooling. With all of the things listed they still have to think of “cooking, cleaning and caring”. There have to be ways of dealing with “rats, garbage, arson and violence”. Some may be able to find “necessities” and things that may be seen for them as “luxuries” like “a dartboard, toaster oven, dogs, cats and a gerbil named Peaches”, most anything homeowners may throw in the trash. Homeless people find the need for not to be “isolated”  by being in some kind of “camping” area where there are others in the same boat maybe by being in “well-defined subgroups”. Another thing that many people in homes many not think about is the mental health care for those on the streets, those kinds of lives can be traumatic”. As the article is ending is says: But it’s only dehumanizing if you’re regarded as less than human”. 

I think I am having Welsh Rarebit again tonight. 

Photos in my life today

My first challenge in this set is “blue” it is my handy dandy fly swatter which I still use when Bobbi can’t quiet catch the “beast” even if she gives all her effort into the chase. 

The next upload is another of “my choice” and another of my “texture overlay”. It is one of my daises with an texture of ageing cloth in the background.

The last assignment is “chair”. It is one I picked up at one of out church fall
sales a few years ago. 

Joy

this image was uploaded to Fine Art America contest of asthenic stained glass windows

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 3, 2026, a thought for today, The wise man does not hang his knowledge on a hook. Spanish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “orange”. This is a close up of one of the lilies from another of the store bought bouquets. 

The second upload was “twisted”. I was hoping one of the girls at church would have had braided hair this week but neither of them did. One of them had a hair twist with a comb. attached. I took a shot of that but didn’t ask her for her permission to use the photo, she knew I took the photo but not that I was going to upload it. So I got the other image of some twisted morning glory vines. 

The last assignment for yesterday was “hamburger”. I threw in a cheeseburger on this one too. 

Life today. Mondays are always busy with catch up things on my back burner agenda, put aside chores. Usually little things, things that don’t need too much time. Most of them are things I don’t mind doing, sometimes even things that give me pleasure. Time is the culprit. I don’t hesitate to thank God for the energy he has given me, it is slipping and getting a little harder but it still works for  now. 

I have the dish washer running, it should have been done yesterday. One thing I have added to my daily agendas, not just for Monday’s, is taking baby steps to “down sizing”. It is hard to do away with things that I have stubbornly held on to for so long. When I get a shelf or small space clear of things it is a bit of an accomplishment and I’ll have to admit that the space looks better. A lot of the things are things I haven’t used in years and most likely never will. I do have inklings that some of the things I get rid of will come up as something I will “need”. 

So far this has been a summer of things different than I am normally use to. Some are changes in both my and Sue’s life styles at a faster pace than I expected. Some of it is hard for me to face and adjust to” but still it’s a small part of a thing called the “circle of life” I think. So its “buck up” and take it, so be it.  

When you own property or are in making a comfortable life style “things”, changes come up. I am changing the way I “enjoy” my leisure time, the television mostly. I am dropping my cable way of receiving programs to “smart TV with a few “apps” to get the shows I like. I am getting help with setting up that change. I believe it will be a lot less expensive in the long run. Then another of the happenings in the journey of a home body is a stuck window. I have one that doesn’t go up and down any more so I am going to ask for some help from my family again to see if we can get it fixed. As mentioned just above the thing about changes is handing even what use to be a small thing like to lift and/or move even small things has become something I need help with. My photo gallery wall for example and now another thing, moving some of the boxes I am filling with things I am getting rid of. I need help to get them from here to there..... I think I have done enough whining for today, so I’ll stop for today.

The word to ponder for today is class. There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher. Victor Hugo. There are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, and the third is useless. Niccolo Machiavelli. The best political community is formed by citizens of the middle class. Aristotle. Other lands have their vitality in a few, a class, but we have it in the bulk of our people. Walt Whitman. Democracy is that form of society, no matter what its political classification, in which every man has a chance and knows that he has it. James Russell Lowell. It is only by not paying one's bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes. Oscar Wilde. Let him who expects one class of society to prosper into highest degree, while the other is in distress, try whether one side of his face can smile while the other is pinched. Thomas Fuller. Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids. Aristotle. Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses and avoids. Aristotle. The ignorant classes are the dangerous classes. Henry Ward Beecher. 

Article summary. Animals, all animals including pets, were put on this planet for a purpose. I can’t imagine it would have been of a negative nature. From 86 years of experience and observation I have not recognized an evil purpose for their existence. The most that I can understand is that we are stewards. I read somewhere that ‘every animal helps keep our planet healthy’ and as stewards we should do the same. Apparently they are doing their “assigned jobs”, are we?  The title is Pets and our health: why we should take them more seriously. Lecturer in health policy, politics and promotion, University of South Australia. Lisel O'Dwyer, Senior Researcher, Social and Policy Studies, Flinders University. At theconversation.com. As with most articles I see as well as some I share expound on the fact that pets are an influence on are health and well being, of which I wholly agree. This one pointed out that a recent study “found children with a pet dog were less likely to suffer from anxiety than those without”. I noted that it further mentioned that scientists and their peers are still interested in studies of how health systems and public policy can and should further search answers in these kinds of studies. Fields in criminology and psychology     should more regularly contribute findings of how animals can show signs “linking human mental health to human-animal relationships with positive benefits”. Some in these fields don’t put the small evidences they may experience all together as one vital piece of evidence into the value of this information. This article relates this to being “seen as devaluing animals”. The article went on to talk about the subject of pets in relation to events in domestic violence. Some of the women who suffer this action will not leave the situation for the sake of their pet. Some places that help them don’t allow pets. I myself have heard of situations where individuals were told their pet had to be left outside the building even for the owners temporary visits. My thought would be to supply a space for the person or persons with pets that could be apart from the other people. The article also mentioned events in the lives of older people where pets are removed for one reason or another leaving the aged person “condemned” to “isolation and loneliness”. The article ends relating how pets can contribute to our overall health in a myriad of ways. My thoughts are all animals contribute to our well being and balance of life.

I think I will have eggs sunny side up for dinner with a peanut butter sandwich. 

Photos in my life today 

My first challenge was “yellow”. This is one of my miniature roses in my window/rail baskets. I have three bushes with yellow and three with and orange color. 

The next assignment was “my choice”. It is one of my “texture overlays”. This is one of Bobbi staring out the window. 

The last upload “party”. This one from my archives it is one of my great
grandson as his birthday party, testing his cake to make sure it was ok for the rest of us

joy

the bonus image here is one of my Fine Art America contest image of “reflections” of a downtown office buildings and our flags

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)