March 21, 2020 thought for the day: However bright the sun may shine, leave not your cloak at home. Spanish Proverb

The dogs got me up about nine o’clock. As I was waking up, I was putting together a short agenda for the day. The main thing was getting the newsletter done. I haven’t gotten too much input from others for it but I think I have enough to get it done. I also wanted to get the hard copy of the first sermon on the web page. That is the first thing I tackled. That and generating a list for sending a copy of the sermon to folks who may or may not have access to a computer for the Live broadcast the pastor is going to try on Sunday at 10:30. I got the first two on the list done in short order. The newsletter took a couple of hours but it is finished and ready to print. But I will wait for any possible late requests.

My theme photo’s title for yesterday was “fashion”. I am no so much into the clothing thing. I have a black sequined blouse that I got for my grandson’s wedding a few years back. I wear it only on special occasions. That was my pick for a shot today.

I went to Kroger yesterday for a few things that were running low. I was nervous about going out with my age, being what it is and the almost ,constant warnings not to go out. I went as early as I could and I wore surgical gloves while I was in the store. I am going to try to order for either delivery or pick up after this though. I didn’t have any problem and there were not a lot of people there.

My basement was flooded for the first time since we had the new gutters put up as part of the remodeling. There were many areas of the city that had major problems so it wasn’t out of the question that we would most likely have a problem. I didn’t go down to check it but Bob said there were things turned over from the force and height of the water. The water has gone down almost completely but Bob still has to run the shop vac.

Yesterday was another of those days that I had a second photo a day. That challenge was titled “camera on the ground”. I took shots of several things and picked this as the best one. It really was a bit of a challenge too because every time I put the camera on the floor and pointed toward Sweet Pea, she would move. Finally, she went to sleep, tired of the
at game. 

The word today is excellence. Consider first, that great or bright infers not excellence, John Milton.  Success is not something to wait for, it is something to work for, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. When superstition is allowed to perform the task of old age in dulling the human temperament, we can say goodbye to all excellence in poetry, in painting, and in music, Denis Diderot.  Men are born to succeed, not to fail, Henry David Thoreau. We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects, Alexis de Tocqueville. The moral sense is the first excellence of well-organized man, Thomas Jefferson. There is no excellency without difficulty, Ovid. One's only security in life comes from doing something uncommonly well, Abraham Lincoln. The more we sympathize with excellence, the more we go out of self, the more we love, the broader and deeper is our personality, Edwin Hubbel Chapin. Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous, Confucius. , Marcus Tullius Cicero.  By education I mean that training in excellence from youth upward which makes a man passionately desire to be a perfect citizen, and teaches him to rule, and to obey, with justice. This is the only education which deserves the name, Plato. 

Today’s challenge is “on the street”. This one took some thought. There are many things that could be on the street. The first thing that came to my mind was cars. So that is what I went for. I got several different views. I liked this one best for it’s angles and shapes.

It’s hard to find news that isn’t about some off shoot of the coronavirus. This one is about what some kids are doing to use up time and to stay healthy. It opens with telling about a family who are in their backyard throwing shots at the basket ball net. Their hope is that this will help keep them ready if the season will be allowed to open soon. Many of the games had already been scheduled. A coach was optimistic and stated that nothing had officially been canceled. A captain of one of the teams said “As captain, it’s my duty to keep everybody’s hopes up and set an example”. They all seem to feel that they have to keep in shape in case things become more promising. The schools have been “slated” to open on April 6, but that remains to be seen. One student commented that he and his sister go to the backyard or the street the throw a ball. He said  “At least it’s something you can do.” One coach said that some of his team uses a phone app the gives a daily workout for "various specialties”. Most seem to be looking or hoping for at least an abbreviated season starting in May.

I pulled one of the containers of homemade vegetable soup out of the freezer for dinner. I will add some chicken fries to that.

Joy