March 2, 2026, a thought for today, He that won't listen, must feel. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

My first challenge upload was “fork.” I tried all kinds of layouts with forks and settled on this one. 

The next upload was “my choice” and is one in my series of “mirror
images.” This is a setting at the park near my house. 

Last is “panning.” I am still learning how to do a decent panning image with a smart phone camera. I tried one in traffic but couldn’t find a place to park to be out of traffic while I was shooting. It takes a minute or so to get a panning with movement. 

Life today. We had a surprise snow fall last night. As I was waking up, I glanced out the window and saw a white covering over the grass, car, driveway and garage roof.  There is probably at least an inch maybe two. I don’t want to pay someone to shovel the snow when we are supposed to have rain and higher temperature beginning tomorrow. 

I have the back part of the bulletin done. The person giving the message can’t send me what I need until at least Tuesday. I have a feeling I am going to have trouble with this one. She asked that I send her a sample bulletin in Microsoft Word format. The bulletin is done in Publisher. The layouts are larger in Publisher and will not convert back to Publisher from Word. I did as she asked and sent it in Word. Hopefully I will be able to cut and paste. This is a bit of a problem since I am already working on the annual report.....so well, such is life. 

I have one portion of the annual report done. Now I am waiting for information that I need to update three of the pages from last years report. Another person has to send me that data. Then I need to find the photos and graphic to finish it. Next on the agenda will be keeping the fingers crossed that the copier will wake up and print. 

I just looked out the window. To my surprise it is beginning to melt!! What a winter we have had. It looks like it will be ending soon. Spring is on it’s way. 

The word today is seize.  Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Lord Chesterfield. Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage. Benjamin Disraeli. I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections and the truth of imagination. What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth - whether it existed before or not. John Keats. His intelligence seized on a subject, his genius embraced it, his eloquence illuminated it. Paterculus. Only learn to seize good fortune, for good fortune is always here. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Why not seize the pleasure at once, how often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparations. Jane Austen. If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it. Julius Caesar. Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I've got big shoes to fill. This is my chance to do something. I have to seize the moment. Andrew Jackson. Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow. Horace. Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance. William Wirt. Lose not yourself in a far off time, seize the moment that is thine. Friedrich Schiller. There are goods so opposed that we cannot seize both, but, by too much prudence, may pass between them at too great a distance to reach either. Samuel Johnson. Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand - and melting like a snowflake. Francis Bacon. Among the map makers of each generation are the risk takers, those who see the opportunities, seize the moment and expand man's vision of the future. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The right man is the one who seizes the moment. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The Gods cannot help those who do not seize opportunities. Confucius. When fortune wishes to bring mighty events to a successful conclusion, she selects some man of spirit and ability who knows how to seize the opportunity she offers. Niccolo Machiavelli.

Article summary. I am interested in human attitudes, feelings and actions related to health, well being and happiness. So this article interested me. I saw that it is written by someone in religious studies. I am interested in observing that side of this story also. The title is More than a feeling – thinking about love as a virtue can change how we respond to hate. Tucker J. Gregor, Doctoral Candidate in Religious Studies, University of Iowa. At theconversation.com. The article started pointing out that love is happiness and affection, hate destroys, opposites.  It began by saying this just describes emotions. As a religious ethicist the author wanted to study how love entwines with our moral lives and those around us. I learned that he suggests it may be a virtue rather than an emotion. As I read on, I found that scientists believe the love feeling is a releasing “biochemical processes” and it also needs “practice” and could be a virtue. Therefore, it is better explained as helping to lead to better feelings of health and well being. The article talked about Aristotle’s writing on the subject of virtue. He wrote that learning how to act and feel in all the right ways shapes virtues and can be accomplished with repetition. To build on this effort Aristotle wrote it takes being deliberate in efforts toward moral values, giving to the poor without expecting a gain of one sort or other is an as example. As the article moved on the Christian outlooks on the subject of love was noted as it takes into account emotion, affection, duty and virtue. Mutual friendships are a part of all of this. Then Aristotle reappears in the story as mentioning our capacity to be able to choose builds on are best attributes. He felt this growth leads to how we relate to others. His beliefs leaned on the theological side as a gift of God’s grace to be able to choose like to “embrace or reject.” As the article is nearing an end it mentions that if we can see love as a virtue rather than an emotion we can better see the feelings of hatred. As we see and experience love as a virtue, it is easier to control our thinking and then response to hatred. This practice can lead to things like better controlled  peaceful protest and the likes as well as better empathy. 

I am having something from the freeze for dinner and making a grape costata to go with it.

Photos in my life today

The first upload in the group is “macro Monday.” This is one of the leaves on my fig tree.

Next is “a toy.” This only one of the toys in the toy box we keep in a corner of our visiting younger groups of family and friends.

The last challenge for this feather is “inside”. I tried shooting from outside the
front door but I was getting to many reflections and didn’t have the patience to wait for better lighting. So I used a feather placed “inside” one of out decorative bowls. 

Joy

                               setup for learning to “climb the ladder”

 February 28, 2026, a thought for today, Poverty and hunger have many learned disciples. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first challenge upload was “on the shelf.” This is one of the several “shelves” in the house. I hope to show at least partial differences in the many photos that are found in my home. 

Next is “texture: close up.” This is a part of a fireplace in one of my grandchildren’s earlier home. 

The last upload for yesterday was “culture.” I felt that a neighborhood image can be a sign of culture. 

Life today. I overslept just a bit but it wasn’t because Bobbi didn’t try hard enough to get me up at the usual “feeding” time, or maybe it was just that I wasn’t cooperating.  

The first thing on the computer after the news headline checks, the email and facebook checks. After that I got back to the annual report. I now have twelve of the fifteen pages done. I am waiting for three more sections to be sent to me. Then I need to send it to someone else to tell me any new groups we have in the church and any changes in staff. I got the cover made. The last thing I will have to do on it will be any graphic or photos I need to put in as filler and dress up. 

Today was grocery pick up day, now that is out of the way with groceries all put away. While I was out I got the photos I need. I am not completely happy with the choices but every time I saw one I thought would work it eluded me somehow. One was on the back of the van in front of me at the stop light. I rushed for camera setting to get it before the truck moved, not quick enough....then I followed him to the next light, just missed that one too. I found one to take its place when I drove though the metro park lot. The others were one’s I had to take quickly or I would have lost them too.

The weather is near perfect today. I hope it is not just a tiny sample for just a minute in time. We are supposed to have a good bit of rain in the next few days. The temperatures are predicted to be in the springtime range though. I am going to have to start thinking about my window/senior gardens. I want to see what may come back up from last year. 

The word today is see. Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. Abraham Lincoln. If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Isaac Newton. They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea. Sir Francis Bacon. All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse. Benjamin Franklin. It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish. Aeschylus. Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. Arthur Schopenhauer. The world is governed more by appearances than realities, so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it. Daniel Webster. If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things. Rene Descartes. When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere. Francois de La Rochefoucauld. In great affairs men show themselves as they wish to be seen; in small things they show themselves as they are. Nicholas Chamfort. Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made. Otto von Bismarck. Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed. Blaise Pascal. One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Man seeketh in society comfort, use and protection. Sir Francis Bacon. What you don't see with your eyes, don't invent with your mouth. Jewish Proverb. When you close your doors, and make darkness within, remember never to say that you are alone, for you are not alone; nay, God is within, and your genius is within. And what need have they of light to see what you are doing? Epictetus. I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. Confucius. When thou seest an eagle, thou seest a portion of genius; lift up thy head! William Blake. It is as hard to see one's self as to look backwards without turning around. Henry David Thoreau. 

Article summary. I like to consider feelings. How people handle the parts of their lives that show emotion. I think about how feelings affect not only ourselves but also those around us in terms of health and well-being. This article title is Meekness isn’t weakness – once considered positive, it’s one of the ‘undersung virtues’ that deserve defense today. Timothy J. Pawl, Professor of Philosophy, University of St. Thomas. At theconversation.com. In some further research I found that meekness means “strength under control” and “softness of temper.” The article cited a passage in the bible “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”. Many see meekness as weakness, a submission to “oppression.” As I read on, I gathered that in the article this characteristic it may be seen in such a person as slow, obedient, passive, condensing. I learned that apparently our ancestors saw these signs to be “virtues”. It’s my understanding that an argument can be settled in a calm manner. Someone being “meek” may settle the event by calmly taking a softer way to do that. Self control may be used in connection with meekness. Docility is another word aligning with meekness. I get the feel from the article we may want to “rename” the word and emotion called meek. Something with a moral virtue feel and restraint attachment. I think the word meek is important to our language it just needs to be more understood, for that matter, more respected.

I think it will back tortilla shell pizza for dinner or hamburgers. 

Photos in my life today

My first challenge is “architecture.” I didn’t get a capture while I was out and about so I chose to share this one on my neighborhood block.

The next upload assignment is titled  “kindness.” I feel signs like this show some form of “kindness” by the person who chose to show it. 

The last one for today is “hand.” I felt what better way to show a hand, one
giving and one receiving.

joy 

        

                my four composites of photo a day images for the month of February 2026

 February 26, 2026, a thought for today, Even a hair casts its shadow. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first challenge upload was titled “garden.” In my area of the world gardens are “resting” in this winter season. I used a few of the plants in my house plant garden for this shoot. 

The next is titled “something sweet.” This is a sample of the variety of “zero sugar” cookies I keep on hand. They are zero sugar but at the same time sweet, at least as sweet as a type 2 diabetic should have on occasion. 

The last upload was “against the wall.” This is an image of my growing baby fig tree plant. 

Life today. My “work” week is done. By that I mean the weekly printing is done. I got to the church shortly after eight. I am getting more and more fond of printing directly from the copier rather than the computer. We have the annual report coming up in a few weeks. That will mean using the computer rather than the copier. That computer is so unreliable I get near panic attacks when I anticipate the trouble I will have with printing from that source. On that subject, the annual report subject, I have promising start on it. That doesn’t mean I am in the clear with it though. I have several pages to go, that means counting on people getting the committee reports to me in a timely fashion. They now have two days until the deadline.

On the way home I did the usual, dropped off mail and stopped at Wendy’s. As I was heading the rest of the way home, I was on the look out for photo for the day. There is one in my calendar of photos of the day for today that will have to come from the archives. It is for a peek into spring. That isn’t very clear today. The snow is gone, the sun is nice and bright against a gorgeous blue sky with a temperature sitting at 40 degrees but there is no noticeable hint of spring. 

I have the laundry started. I also took time to make a no bake eclair cake. It is supposed to be in the frig for four hours before it will be fully set and ready to cut. Now I have to clean up the kitchen along with a couple of other chores besides folding the laundry. 

As soon as I get the uploads done, I hope to have a half hour for my on line still life class lecture before getting something ready for dinner.  

The word today is second. The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half. Fyodor Dostoevsky. All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer. Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can't buy. Izaak Walton. If you aspire to the highest place, it is no disgrace to stop at the second, or even the third, place. Cicero. There will be little rubs and disappointments everywhere, and we are all apt to expect too much; but then, if one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, we make a second better: we find comfort somewhere. Jane Austen. A friend is a second self.  Aristotle. In this world second thoughts, it seems, are best. Euripide. 6Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care, the death of each day's life, sore labour's bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, chief nourisher in life's feast. William Shakespeare. Were it offered to my choice, I should have no objection to a repetition of the same life from its beginning, only asking the advantages authors have in a second edition to correct some faults in the first. Benjamin Franklin. Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times. Aeschylus. The nimble lie Is like the second-hand upon a clock; We see it fly; while the hour-hand of truth Seems to stand still, and yet it moves unseen, And wins, at last, for the clock will not strike Till it has reached the goal. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is often said that second thoughts are best. So they are in matters of judgment but not in matters of conscience. John Henry Newman. 

Article summary. I had my mind back on animals, in particular, pets today. I spotted this article and decided to take a look. I like seeing different outlooks on most subjects. The title to this article is Pets and owners  you can learn a lot about one by studying the other. Paul McGreevy. Professor of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare Science, University of Sydney. Pauleen Bennett, Professor and Head of Department, Psychology and Counselling, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University. At theconversation.com. It opened by saying something I have heard before that pets and owners become “similar” or readable, my word of description, as time goes by. It goes on to mention in one sense of that thought a pet’s health can be “influenced”  by the “personality” of their owner. For instance if the owner is of an anxious type of personality they may report to the vet of their pet symptoms with a more stressful way of expressing the problem giving it a more negative outlook. They could be conveying an over aggressive behavior or something of that nature that is not in reality the case. In the anxious type of owner the handing of a pet in a “working” kind of situation such as in a competitive show or a working farm dog the pet will respond from the experience of the owners behavior. Another example of the owners behavior affecting the pet is an abusive kind of relationship. The pet may show more personality problems and negative signs to and of their welfare than they would have with a different owner. When the owners are of a more agreeable nature the pet is healthier and better behaved. The owner would most likely be more calm in their descriptions to a vet. As an aid in the descriptions when it comes to veterinary visits the article mentions having a video to show. 

We haven’t had “plain ol’ hamburgers” lately, maybe that will be dinner or maybe something from the freezer. 

Photos in my life today

This upload assignment is titled “spring.” Well, the season hasn’t shown its face yet so this one is from my archives. 

 

Next is “it’s a sign” that someone needs a little support while walking. It also suggests maybe it was forgotten for a moment. 

Last is “in my bag”. This is my “fanny pack” purse. I have to admit that I
“straightened” it up a bit before this shot. 

Joy

   

                                                           I guess I’m anxious for spring?

February 24, 2026, a thought for today, Judges should have two ears, both alike. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first upload challenge was “movement.” This was as close as I could get to movement today. She was having a good time with the ball and string. 

Next is the challenge “bubble.” This was the sink when dumped a pan of soapy
water after scrubbing it. 

The last one in these uploads is “a gift I received”. I don’t read hard copy much anymore but I will read these gifts I received. 

Life today. My kitten is growing quickly before my eyes. I seem to be seeing it as a child growing and developing. Since their lives are shorter than a human life their time of changes as they grow seems to be much faster than in a human child. She use to play with certain toys exclusively, now not so much. She now wants something new, ones needing more bodily experiences. Her moods seem to be changing. Some habits she use to express have changed to a different form. There are some staying the same like laying by my legs when I am “down” for the evening in the lounge chair....I hope that one doesn’t change, I need that. She will be an “adult” (for food change) next month on the 20th making her twelve months old, about 15 years in human time. Twelve months to fifteen years.

I had some time to work just a tiny bit on starting the annual report for church. It is due in about two weeks. It will take that time to get all the reports and a still gives me time to put them together in the booklet. 

I stopped writing this letter to go to the church to help at our food pantry. This was a very slow day. My regular pardner working on the computers to do the checking in was not able to be there today so we had someone sitting in for her. We had time during longer breaks to check our cell phones for things going on in other areas of our lives. This was someone I have not met before, it was nice meeting a new friend. 

On the way home I went by Wendy’s for a sandwich but the line was out to the street so I switched over to McDonalds. Back home, I had to take a few minutes to set up a couple of the photos for today and get them cataloged. Now I am ready for all of the uploads. 

The word today is saw. ...whoever saw old age that did not applaud the past and condemn the present? Michel de Montaigne. I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. John Constable. The man who backbites an absent friend, nay, who does not stand up for him when another blames him, the man who angles for bursts of laughter and for the repute of a wit, who can invent what he never saw, who cannot keep a secret - that man is black at heart: mark and avoid him. Cicero. The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before. Samuel Johnson. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. Michelangelo. I threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at the trough. Diogenes. A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent. John Calvin. I'm not smart, but I like to observe. Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why. William Hazlitt. Dreams surely are difficult, confusing, and not everything in them is brought to pass for mankind. For fleeting dreams have two gates: one is fashioned of horn and one of ivory. Those which pass through the one of sawn ivory are deceptive, bringing tidings which come to nought, but those which issue from the one of polished horn bring true results when a mortal sees them. Homer. We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them. Francois De La Rochefoucauld. You will not enter paradise until you have faith. And you will not complete your faith until you love one another. Muhammad. What each man feared would happen to himself, did not trouble him when he saw that it would ruin another. Virgil. In my deepest wound I saw your glory, and it dazzled me. Saint Augustine. My good works, however wretched and imperfect, have been made better and perfected by Him Who is my Lord: He has rendered them meritorious. As to my evil deeds and my sins, He hid them at once. The eyes of those who saw them, He made even blind; and He has blotted them out of their memory. Saint Teresa of Avila.  

Article summary. I’m interested in art, all about art, all of the kinds of art, and about its power on the soul. I like learning about the minutia of all it’s forms and ways of connecting with the universe and each of our lives. My own attempts with my photography may seem simple at times but I will keep on expressing what I see in my world. My sister was blessed with the gift in her “eye” for design and form in sketches, and painting. It seems to come naturally for her. The title to the article is Michelangelo hated painting the Sistine Chapel – and never aspired to be a painter to begin with. Anna Swartwood House, Associate Professor of Art History, University of South Carolina. At theconversation.com. I was amazed to read in the first sentence that in the February 2026 a 5 inch by 4 inch drawing by Michelangelo of a woman’s foot sold for twenty-seven million dollars. They say it is believed to be a “study” piece for a portion of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. I learned that before Michelangelo began the paintings in the chapel he sketched out the whole composition in details in a series of drawings. It was mentioned that about fifty of the original drawings “survive” today. The sale has pulled to the forefront of thinking in the art field Michelangelo’s “devotion” to drawing. As I continued to read I learned that he didn’t feel that painting was his prime interest, sculpting was. In 1506 one of his sculpting pieces was “put on hold” in order to use the “funds” for a tomb. In apparent anger Michelangelo closed his studio and ordered his “wagon loads” of marble to be sold. In 1508 he was “lured” back to Rome to paint at the Sistine. He wrote to his father saying that painting  “is not my profession.” It is said that he felt painting in the chapel was backbreaking work. He wrote a poem to a friend telling many of the things that annoyed him as he was working on the now treasured painting. In the poem he shows some of his drawings that would go into the work. Many of his sketches showed the “architectural renderings and schemes to organize the huge space.” He sketched body parts and gestures that would become part of the Sistine. Many of the drawings are in the British Museum. I was interested in the part of the article that mentions that doctors today “are impressed by the anatomical precision of the muscles and veins of each foot” of the “David” statue by Michelangelo. In 1534 he was “commissioned” to paint “The Last Judgment” on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. It was started later when Pope Paul III called him the “Chief Architect, Sculptor, and Painter to the Vatican Palace.”

I didn’t have the chili mac I was planning on having the other day. I think I will have it tonight. 

Photos in my life today

This upload was supposed to by “3:00pm”. I was about two minutes off when I remembered I needed this shot. BTW that clock was one of my “refinement” gifts.

This challenge is titled “a color I like.” I like almost any and all colors but the one I seem to favor most often is blue.

The next assignment challenge is titled “a fruit or vegetable.” I chose a banana just as I was about to have a snack. 

Joy

 

                                                                                 peace

 February 22, 2026, a thought for today, What comes from the heart, goes to the heart. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

My firs upload for yesterday was “something red”. This is just loose cover for a filing cabinet. 

The next upload is “my choice” and is one from my series of “partials”. Just a portion of my car door against the background of the garage door.

The last upload for the day is “lucky”. I tied several shot of pennies in different space.  I had one for pennies in a jar in the kitchen one that I am told is supposed to be lucky. I decided to use this on of several pennies in the heads up position. 

I learned yesterday that I had made a faux pas on a part of the newsletter this month. We had already printed and mailed it when I got the heads up. It was too late for the hard copy issue but I made the correction to the email copy and sent it to all church members on our email contact list. I had put the minister’s page for March in properly. However, when I saved it to the flash drive for printing at the church I inadvertently copied the file without the update. I got the message in one part in capital letters.

Life today. We just had a light covering of snow on the grass, none sticking on the streets. After the over abundant snow fall we had a few weeks ago I feel a bit anxious. The predictions are for much less this time but I wanted to get an errand run after church just in case. 

Church was great. This minister always gives a thorough message with feeling and meaning. The usual members were there, small in number but with love and comfort. There seemed to be an extra one child for Sunday School. 

I made the stop at Kroger for meds and a few other items before heading the rest of the way home. 

I got right back to this letter. I formatted the photos I had taken while I was out and about for uploads, key wording for future searches and filing. Then I took a break for a couple of household quick pick ups. Now it’s time to refresh for the week. 

I will also take a half hour to listen to my online class lecture.

The word today is save. First love is a kind of vaccination which saves a man from catching the complaint a second time. Honore de Balzac. Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need. Voltaire. Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can. John Wesley. I saw that all things I feared, and which feared me, had nothing good or bad in them save insofar as the mind was affected by them. Baruch Spinoza. Knowledge must come through action; you can have no test which is not fanciful, save by trial. Sophocles. Cowards are cruel, but the brave Love mercy, and delight to save. John Gay. The training of children is a profession, where we must know how to waste time in order to save it. Jean-Jacques Rousseau. A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high virtues of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. Thomas Jefferson. He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent. Saint Augustine. It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson. For just when ideas fail, a word comes in to save the situation. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Love must precede hatred, and nothing is hated save through being contrary to a suitable thing which is loved. And hence it is that every hatred is caused by love. Thomas Aquinas. There is nothing good or evil save in the will. Epictetus. There is nothing evil save that which perverts the mind and shackles the conscience. Saint Ambrose. A day may sink or save a realm. Alfred Lord Tennyson. Man was created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord and in this way to save his soul. The other things on Earth were created for man's use, to help him reach the end for which he was created. Saint Ignatius. The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them. Abraham Lincoln. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved. Saint John Chrysostom. How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance. Petrarch. Godly people are waiting for the Lord; therefore they live, therefore they are saved, therefore they receive what has been promised. Martin Luther. 

Article summary. I like to see the good in, for and of people. So I often look for subjects that touch on those  qualities in our lives. It is interesting how they can be felt in both giving and receiving. The title is The lifesaving power of gratitude (or, why you should write that thank you note. Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University. At theconversation.com. The beginning of the story started with asking folks to write a thank you note presumingly to get a comment on how it made the recipient feel. In one of those tests it was found that the “impact” was underestimated. Another study showed the benefits of writing a thank you note. They had participants write thank you notes over a three week period. This test showed a feel of satisfaction, there was a feel of happiness and a reduction in depression. As it went on it compared experiencing bad feeling when we experience problems in our jobs, relationship, or finances be feel “regardful”. On the other hand if we “focus” more on finding what we are grateful for make our emotion more on the happy side. This so far shows how our feelings relate to our health and a more pleasant feel in the relationships in our lives. Th good feelings may contribute to a better feeling for others with connections around us. If we focus on being generous to others and being thankful for whatever blessing we experience we are building a “grateful” attitude making our lives healthier and happier. The article ended by relating that being conscious of our feeling of gratitude can not only enrich our own lives but the lives of those around us.  

I think it will be chili mac for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

The first upload for today is “a beautiful sight”. I have always admired the design and intricacy on this wood and the lay out of the architecture.

Next up is another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “partials”. This is my precious kitten trying to hide in a plastic grocery bag. 

The last upload for now is “5:00pm”. I shot this last night. It is of the clock on
the cable box. 

Joy 

                                        room to grow

 February 20, 2026 a thought for today, Gifts are according to the giver. German Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first challenge was “low level.” This was a collection of fallen leaves left from the end of autumn 2025 in a corner on my back deck. 

The next challenge was titled “diamonds.” I don’t have any diamond stones
laying around my house so I used this diamond shape in one of the church windows. A diamond is a “quadrilateral with four equal sides.”

The last upload for yesterday was “a light source.” I took several shots of lights in different settings. I decided to use this one of some of the different kinds of light in a traffic situation. 

Yesterday’s printing didn’t go quite as smoothly as I had hoped. The bulletin went perfectly in about twenty minutes. The newsletter was a different story. I tuned the computer on as soon as I walked in the office, hoping it would boot up when the bulletins were done. It didn’t. I left it on as I traveled through the church to put the bulletins out. When I got back to the office, it still hadn’t come on. So I decided to go to Fed Ex to have a copy printed so that I could run the rest off manually on the office copier. When I got in the car at FedEx I realized the copy was the wrong size. I headed back to the church any way. I had left the computer on, finally it had booted up. So I did the printing with a few times to clear out jams. Through it all I feel needed, useful and appreciated. That makes life happy and not so lonesome.

Life today. Dorothy and Denise met me at church this morning to finish the newsletters. It was good for Dorothy and me to be together again. Patti had another request. She asked that we put an extra envelope in the already folded newsletters. That took a bit longer to unfold and re fold. When I got to the church there was a light on in the hall way in the lower level and the alarm had not been set. I called out but no one answered and there were no cars in the parking lot. So I was a little antsy but all seemed ok. Someone must have forgot to turn off lights and set the alarm when they left last night.

On the way home I stopped for a Wendy’s sausage on a biscuit and to scan for possible photos for the day on the way rest of the way. 

Finally I can relax a little on trying to make deadlines. I am back on the letter and have gotten the photos ready for uploading. 

I stopped after some more work on the letter and photos for lunch to run the sweeper in the bed room and another kitty care task time.  So the rest of the afternoon should be less tense. 

The weather is nice to day. The temp is decent at about 47 degrees but is dropping. We had quite a rain storm last night. There was a bit of lightening and thunder with it. One clap of thunder was so loud that Bobbi disappeared from the bed in a flash. I didn’t even see a streak as she was so fast. I don’t think she touched the floor until she got through the doorway and to the next room.

Lowell called and invited Sue and I to dinner at York Steak House, always a perfect treat 

The word today is rush. Male and female represent the two sides of the great radical dualism. But in fact they are perpetually passing into one another. Fluid hardens to solid, solid rushes to fluid. There is no wholly masculine man, no purely feminine woman. Margaret Fuller. Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. Henry Ward Beecher. The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. George Eliot. Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue. Sir Francis Bacon. A hair on the head is worth two on the brush. Irish Proverb. Whatever crushes individuality is despotism, by whatever name it may be called. John Stuart Mill. Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind. Leonardo DaVinci. The marriage state was designed to complete the sum of human happiness in this life. It sometimes proves otherwise, but this is owing to the parties themselves, who either rush into it without due consideration or fail in point of discretion in their conduct towards each other afterwards. Samuel Adams. That great mystery of TIME, were there no other; the illimitable, silent, never-resting thing called Time, rolling, rushing on, swift, silent, like an all-embracing ocean tide, on which we and all the Universe swim like exhalations, like apparitions which are, and then are not: this is forever very literally a miracle; a thing to strike us dumb,-for we have no word to speak about it. Thomas Carlyle. The wind is rushing after us, and the clouds are flying after us, and the moon is plunging after us, and the whole wild night is in pursuit of us; but, so far we are pursued by nothing else. Charles Dickens. Great and unexpected successes are often the cause of foolish rushing into acts of extravagance. Demosthenes. There is no fire like passion. There are no chains like hate. Illusion is a net, Desire is a rushing river. Gautama Buddha. A talent can be cultivated in tranquility; a character only in the rushing stream of life. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Time is the silent, never-resting thing ... rolling, rushing on, swift, silent, like an all-embracing oceantide, on which we and all the universe swim. Thomas Carlyle. 

Article summary. I summarized an article a while ago about “reaching out and touching.” Today I found this article with a bit of a different way of looking at the sense of touch. I thought we could take a look at the kind of thinking about touch from another source. The article title is What’s lost when we’re too afraid to touch the world around us? Chunjie Zhang, Associate Professor of German, University of California, Davis. At theconversation.com. The article started with telling about the author’s son and the experience of his wanting to touch things they pass on their daily walks. It seems to be a natural action for him to touch things on the play ground like bike racks and tree trunks and picnic tables. She went on to say she wondered what “might being lost” in her stopping him from the touching instinct. Would it stop him from leaning “about the world without his sense of touch? She thought back to what she had observed with thoughts of some other “thinkers” on the subject as the described that we see shapes but that doesn’t “reveal” the actual feel of it. A German philosopher observed children in a “nursery” and watched how the children kept “grasping and lifting” things seemingly to find  “the most primary and necessary concepts.” It was seen that “our knowledge of the world” is “transmitted through the skin.”  Later in the article is was mentioned that a neuroscientist noted that touch was the first sense because it was developed in utero. It was also noted that touch helps in the action of cooperation as well as aids in health and fosters growth further mentioning the fact that in holding premature babies it can lead to their survival. The article brought a notion that during the “social distancing” of the COVID period even “subtle and brief” touching helped with “emotional well-being.” I was interested in seeing toward the end of the article that in some cultures touch “plays a bigger role” in life than may be perceived. It went on saying that we also have to be mindful that social distancing is also crucial. I assume that means be conscious of our surrounding and activities. On a personal note at my church we have a “passing of the peace” period where we go around greeting each other with a hand shake or “fist bump.” 

Photos in my life today

Have a look at my first challenge offering for today, “poetry.” I used the nursery thyme “pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?”

Next is the assignment title “stripes.” I considered stripes in the pavement of
the street and street signs. I decided on this one on a US Postal truck. 

The third image upload for today is “what calms me.” I use several “brain games” to aid in my aging mind’s health. This is one of them. In helping with my health they also aid in what “calms” me. 

The last image upload is “o is for...”. I used a can opener for my image of
choice today. BTW, I had one heck of a time with this, the opener didn’t seem to want to go the full distance. 

Joy 

         

                                                                        pretty please...