April 28, 2020 thought for the day: The main road is an easy way, but everyone loves the side streets. Chinese Proverb

These days, mine at least, seem to move forward as ideas and motivation come to mind as the minute’s pass. Naturally there are some things throughout the day that are done by habit and necessity, like eating and tidying up. But those don’t take up all of the waking hours. In my case, for most days there are no hurry-up-and-get-it-done items on the agenda.

I needed to call for and pick up some meds for Sugar so I decided while I was going to be out I would make another stop. I am intending on planting some seeds when they arrive in the mail. I made a stop at Strader’s Garden center to pick up some potting soil and flats for the seeds.

The weather is on the acceptable side today, periods of clouds with alternating periods of sun. I decided it was a good day to accomplish a long needed chore. The inside of my car has needed attention for many months, I have religiously put it on the back burner day after day. This was the day. Loose pieces of paper, loose coins, even a swimming pool noodle were moved to appropriate places. Then a hand-held sweeper picked up small particles of dust and dirt and fur and cookie crumbs. It looks much better but it could use a professional scrubbing on the inside and out. This is going to do, well, the windows could be washed too, maybe tomorrow. The car is over ten years old and has many bumps and dents but it faithfully gets me where I, and sometimes others, need to go.

My back porch is now ready for my house plants to be moved there for their summer vacation. I think it will be best to wait for that move though until after Mothers Day in a couple of weeks.

Oh, I forgot to mention about yesterday. A moment in time for me . . . I did a curb side visit with my  granddaughter in law and my eight-month old gorgeous great grand son. It was the height of the day, the height of the week, the height of several weeks of not being able to see him. It was just a few minutes but it was a sunburst moment. Naturally, this is my photo challenge for today’s monthly theme, month of gratitude. I am sooo grateful for this little jewel in my life. I can see him from time to time now, but in a while he will be moving on with his mom and dad.

The word for the day is focus. In trying to defend everything he defended nothing, Frederick The Great. Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts, Soren Kierkegaard. It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? Henry David Thoreau.  It is not good to have an oar in everyone's boat, Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden. Every man's life lies within the present; for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain, Marcus Aurelius. Without Knowledge, Skill cannot be focused. Without Skill, Strength cannot be brought to bear and without Strength, Knowledge may not be applied, Alexander the Great. Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours, Epictetus. Well done is better than well said, Benjamin Franklin. Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow, Aesop. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slow, endures, J. G. Holland,  A person who is gifted sees the essential point and leaves the rest as surplus, Thomas Carlyle. 


Today’s photo theme entry was a selection of new growth adorning a block wall and displaying a grateful breath of spring. 

This article was in a Colorado newspaper then picked up by the Dispatch so it is a little outside of our local community but may just fit us too. It is a story about a mail delivery person in this time of the pandemic. She, the mail carrier, hopes that with each “flip of the mailbox lid” she is bringing comfort to the home owners by demonstrating that some things are going along like clockwork. Her deliveries contain prescriptions, games, other kinds of “tools”, even baking supplies. According to the article the post office, Amazon, FedEx and UPS claims their delivers are looking much like Christmas time deliveries. She said first class mail has dropped off. This has brought on talk from critics saying the postal service should be privatized. Others say it is “essential government service” and shouldn’t be expected to “turn a profit”. The delivery person in the article says she stays out of the conversation. She just wants to serve her customers. She says she wears a mask when sorting mail with peers but not when she is in the open air delivering, though she wears a cloth mask around her neck for use when close to her customers. She says that though she is delivering every day she doesn’t see them as much as she use to because they are inside with the social distancing. 
I am making oven fried chicken for dinner.

Joy

April 26, 2020 thought for the day: A good neighbor increases the value of your property. Czech Proverb

It’s a rainy day....all day long, from very early morning and on. I dozed and listened to the rain until around eight o’clock.

The photo I used for the challenge entry on the 25th was one of Sweet Pea’s toys. She loves her angry bird toy. I had to buy another one when her first was lost (then found again after the new one arrived in the mail). I am grateful that she is amused by these toys and does not try to tear them up the way her “sister”, Sugar, use to before old age set in and she began to tear up toilet paper rolls instead.

This being one of my less “busy” days, I made a slow and lazy start. After the virtual visits, I “attended” the Facebook Live church service. Before that, I uploaded to church members with email addresses a photo reminder of our church along with a requested birthday wish for one of our members.

After that Sue wanted to make out a pick up order for Kroger (and so did I). We ordered separately but will pick up at the same time later this afternoon. The time for the pick up was a surprise, we were expecting a long delay in number of days before we could pick up.

Later, I got the monthly bills paid and out of the way. While I was still at the computer, I took some time to look up a couple of confusing stitches in one of my new crochet patterns. It’s for one of the “discovery” type toys I am making for my great grand children.

I think I have lost some of the plants I bought and planted last summer so I spent some more time on the computer ordering seeds to replace some of those plants. I decided on seeds because they are cheaper than buying new plants to replace the lost one.

I guess it has turned out to be a productive day of sorts. I wanted to make a drive-by visit to my grand daughter-in-law but the rain dampened that idea. Yesterday was her birthday. I was in a “down” mood yesterday and didn’t think it would make a memorable visit even if it would have been a bit “long distance” visit with me in the car and her (and William, the baby) on the porch.

The word today is flight.  Harmony sinks deep into the recesses of the soul and takes its strongest hold there, bringing grace also to the body & mind as well. Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. It is the essence of order, Plato. Beware of the flight of Blessings, For nothing that runs away is returned, Ali ibn Abi Talib. One cannot look at the sea without wishing for the wings of a swallow, Richard Francis Burton. Words are both better and worse than thoughts; they express them, and add to them; they give them power for good or evil; they start them on an endless flight, for instruction and comfort and blessing, or for injury and sorrow and ruin, Tryon Edwards. The day is done, and the darkness, Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward, From an eagle in his flight,  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope, Samuel Johnson.  I cannot imagine anyone looking at the sky and denying God, Abraham Lincoln. Many discoveries are reserved for ages still to come . . . . Our universe is a sorry little affair unless it has in it something for every age to investigate, Seneca the Younger. Love is a power too strong to be overcome by anything but flight, Miguel de Cervantes.

It has been rainy this month of April so I used that as a photo theme for today. I captured some rain drops on the rain chain hanging on our front porch. I am grateful for the rain as well as the pleasure the rain chin brings as a focal point.

 I thought this article covered an interesting subject. I pass one of these mounds talked about I the article on occasion when I am out and about.  The story tells of how some say the Indian mounds here in Ohio and other parts of the United States were built by giants or aliens. I was surprised to learn (I must have missed this part in my school history classes) that, according to the article, Andrew Jackson, 1829, claimed that the mounds had been built by unknown people who were “exterminated by the existing savage tribes”. This, as I understand it, was a claim mentioned in the article as an effort to remove American Indians from their lands in the Eastern United States. The article went on to say that “charlatans” are still trying to strip American Indians of their heritage by continuing to claim that someone/thing other than the Indians built the earthworks.  I often wonder where these false belief’s come from and why?

We are going to do another order-in for dinner tonight, not sure yet, maybe Subway or KFC.

Joy

April 24, 2020 thought for today: An old fool is worse than a young simpleton. Danish Proverb

The April 23 photo for the day was created as I was leaving church. When I was climbing in the car, I saw the pigeon on the roof and loved the contrast between the slate and stone and the two icons of nature, the bird and the sky.

It has been a Friday morning spent out of the house for a while (masks and gloves, of course). Sue had several stops she wanted to make so we got things together and off we went. We ended up making five stops. I waited in the car for most of her stops. I saw a recipe on the facebook page for a peanut butter fluffy brownie. So I wanted to look for a couple of the ingredients without going into the grocery store. So I went into one of the dollar stores. I didn’t find what I wanted. I found marshmallows but not marshmallow fluff (so I will make my on fluff out of the whole marshmallows). We ended up with Sue wanting to stop at Kroger. I didn’t go in but had her look for the one of the other ingredients I needed most. I will try to make the brownies tomorrow.

I have been able to keep today on the light side as far as projects. I got the newsletter completed late yesterday afternoon and asked Bob if he would take it to the mail box so it could be on the way early today.

When I took time to check my email after we got home, I found that I have won as a finalist in the Curious Pet theme contest at Viewbug.com.

I want to go out in back to do a couple of pruning jobs this afternoon. The sun has come out and the temps seem to be on the uphill side.

The word today is fitness. He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything, Thomas Carlyle. Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Happiness lies, first of all, in health, George William Curtis. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading, Thomas Jefferson. Your body is the church where Nature asks to be reverenced, Marquis de Sade. Energy and persistence conquer all things, Benjamin Franklin. To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art, Francois de La Rochefoucauld. Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, Plato. God never made his work for man to mend, John Dryden. It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor, Marcus Tullius Cicero. He who cures a disease may be the skillfullest, but he that prevents it is the safest physician, Thomas Fuller. In health there is freedom. Health is the first of all liberties, Henri Frederic Amiel. Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Everything is hard before it is easy, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body, Seneca the Younger.

While I was waiting in the car for Sue earlier today, I looked around for my photo of the day. I found a couple. Now I will have to pull them up in the Photoshop “darkroom” to see which of them will be suitable to submit.....and after the post processing this is the photo challenge entry of the day. Month of gratitude, handicap parking spaces.

This article may help to bring another little step toward normalcy after our “confinement” with the pandemic.  The author of the article offered a quote from Minnie Aumonier, an 18th-century poet, “When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.” Here are some of the ways to get started. Plan on getting new plants, start seeds. In the article these were called “happy flower, sunflowers and nasturtiums. Next, plan for herbs and vegetables. Another way to be in the “growing” mood is tending to house plants you may have, cleaning them of wilting leaves, mixing in fresh soil, starting new plants with cuttings. Check out seed catalogs. Get ideas, as you take walks in parks or even the neighborhood. There are gardening classes both online and in some of the local nurseries. Think about potting plants for the patio and porch. Garden for you health, physical, emotional and mental.

It’s here again.....pizza evening.

Joy

April 22, 2020 thought for the day: To learn about other people is science, to learn to know yourself is intelligence. Chinese Proverb

The news from yesterday, about the reopening of our food pantry, was a good one. They have adapted it to a drive thru procedure for the time being. I wasn’t there but the report was great. Apparently we (they) had a good number of visitors. I was able to slip over to take a look today as they were setting up. I wanted to add some photos to the newsletter as I am adding finishing touches. I also wanted it along with the bulletin finished by noon, except for the sermon and scriptures I need from the pastor. I have the envelopes for the bulletin ready and the labels for the newsletter ready.

April 21 my choice for the month of gratitude challenge was a paper quilled window ornament that I had made a while back.(The paper quilling came before my paper marbling period). I had stayed home yesterday and looked around the house for a suitable image. This one seemed perfect.

Bob took my car to have an oil change and then filled up on gas for me. I generally put in twenty dollars worth when I get to about a half a tank. Today I got six dollars back from my twenty. At least, so far, that is one necessity that hasn’t gone up in cost, yet.

I am watching Gov. DeWine’s week day coronavirus update. In my opinion, he and his team have been trying to keep us completely up to date while adding bits of humanity to it. Like ball game talks, short clips of things people around Ohio are doing to fill the time and he talks about things his wife is doing to help keep things as “normal” as possible. She has been on the program with him several time. He mentions her quite often, they must have a very nice relationship. That also is refreshing. They seem like a kind and caring couple and family. I also like watching the lady who is doing the hand signing. I have come to accept it even though they are interrupting my soap opera program. (smile)

It will be nice to get back to “normal” or what will be “normal”. On the other side of the coin though, it is a little scary not knowing what lies ahead as far as the virus’ path.

Today’s theme entry came as a light bulb moment after I ordered my lunch at McDonald’s. I am “grateful” for fast food, (actually almost any kind of food).

The word is firm.  I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, Abraham Lincoln.  Enjoy the blessings Heaven bestows, Assist his friends, forgive his foes; Trust God, and keep his statutes still, Upright and firm, through good and ill; Thankful for all that God has given, Fixing his firmest hopes on heaven; Knowing that earthly joys decay, But hoping through the darkest day, Charlotte Bronte. Stand firm and immovable as an anvil when it is beaten upon, Ignatius of Loyola.  I am satisfied with, and stand firm as a rock on the belief that all that happens in God's world is for the best, but what is merely germ, what blossom and what fruit I do not know. Johann Gottlieb Fichte. While the world changes, the cross stands firm, Bruno of Cologne.  The superior man is firm in the right way, and not merely firm, Confucius. Wisdom teaches us to do, as well as to talk; and to make our words and actions all of a colour, Seneca the Younger.  It is only persons of firmness that can have real gentleness..., Francois de La Rochefoucauld. The greatest firmness is the greatest mercy, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Inuring (toughen or harden) children gently to suffer some degrees of pain without shrinking, is a way to gain firmness to their minds, and lay a foundation for courage and resolution in the future part of their lives, John Locke. Stubbornness is not firmness, Friedrich Schiller.    

Today is Earth Day. So I chose a break from cononavirus news that is a bit refreshing. There is a touch of education here too. The title is: Kids activity: How you can help the Earth (includes coloring, drawing and more!. It’s a day to celebrate for our planets cleanliness and it should be a daily activity. Earth day was created in 1970. The hope was that everyone would do their share to keep the earth cleaner. This date was chosen because it is between spring break and final exams. Other groups working on this idea were joined with the new followers in cleaning water, air and total environments. According to the article Earth Day is the biggest celebration in the world that isn’t a religious event. A slogan was developed, “reduce, reuse, recycle”. There are helpful ways of getting rid of glass, paper and plastic. It is also helpful to reuse things as possible around the house. Again according to the article, since the coronavirus stay-at-home event, pollution has gone down in several areas of the world. To keep up with this upward climb in pollution control people could walk or ride a bike in place of driving. Plant flowers and vegetables. Some activity mentioned in the article to help with this keeping the earth clean is make art out of trash, bird feeders with toilet paper rolls, make wind chimes with old cans, try getting more such ideas from Google.

On the menu for tonight: sloppy joe and baked “french fries”.

Joy

April 20, 2020 thought for the day: Show me a liar, and I'll show you a thief. German Proverb

I got an early start. I set the alarm to get up and ready to visit the senior hour at Kroger. There seemed to be more people there today than I have experienced in the past during this hour. I did notice that paper towels and toilet paper were much more in stock at this visit. I don’t think I will need a curbside pick up this week. However, I FINALLY got to place an order at Sams Club and have a pick up for tomorrow.
The 19th was another stay at home day. To capture my “gratitude” photo challenge I caught this one. When my sister comes through the dining room, where I have my computer (and Sugar sticks to me like glue), she catch. I am grateful for my sister and for the love that flows in this house.

Once the visits were out of the way I got to work on next Sunday’s bulletin. I have it all ready for the information from the pastor. I also checked the newsletter for any touch ups I could make before I have further information coming in. I don’t look for too much more to come though, since I have sent out requests for items in the bulletins and through email, responses have been drastically limited.

The weather is still not cooperating as hoped for, getting out is not as exciting as I would like in this early spring season.

When I got home and, finally, able to get to my usual-first-thing-virtual-visits, there was an email that made me smile. Someone bought one of the pillows that display one of my photos. It is one of my favorite designs, although over the years I have accumulated many favorites. Redbubble.com carries many of my designs displayed on an interesting variety of products.


The word is finite. Finite to fail, but infinite to venture, Emily Dickinson. We should like Nature to go no further; we should like it to be finite, like our mind; but this is to ignore the greatness and majesty of the Author of things, Gottfried Leibniz.  Ask what Time is, it is nothing else but something of eternal duration become finite, measurable and transitory, William Law. The infinite is in the finite of every instant,  Zen Proverb.  Finite mind cannot comprehend infinity, Jeremiah Seed.  There is nothing that is so wonderfully created as the human soul. There is something of God in it. We are infinite in the future, though we are finite in the past, Henry Ward Beecher.  Wisdom views with an indifferent eye all finite joys, all blessings born to die, Hannah More.  It is the infinite alone that cannot be attained, for if it could it would become finite, Leonardo da Vinci.  That which is in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before it arrives at the goal, Aristotle.  There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite, Abraham Lincoln.  

I drove through the near by park on my way home from the store for a photo challenge. I made several shots and came up with this one. I am grateful for benches and other seating along paths in nature. A place to rest and a place to sit and contemplate the world as it moves on.

This article title caught my attention because it is close to my house and I have been keeping an eye on it since it opened. There seems to be more people visiting it than I expected. The title to the article is:  A cupful of community, Hilltop coffee shop that brought people together now must keep them apart. It mentions a couple of workers who have regularly met there for coffee before they go to work. Now they sometimes met there for their carry out coffee standing outside on the sidewalk at six feet apart.  The chairs and tables along with the shelves of books and board games are covered in protective plastic waiting for the time they can be displayed and used again. The floors are now marked with six feet spacing for people to stand as they wait for their order. The shop was opened with the plan and hope to for people to meet, have coffee, conversation and stay for a while to play board games, use their lap tops just bond with each other. One of the regular visitors said that visiting the café helped to motivate and keep her “on task”. Apparently there has been live entertainment in the form of music on the third Sunday of the month. The shop is still doing business but at a very reduced rate. There is much hope that this business will survive after the pandemic is over.

As happens four or five times a month I have a second photo of the day for today. The challenge title was “shoot straight up”.

I am making creamy cheesy potatoes and Panini’s for dinner.

Love you
Grandma

April 18, 2020 thought for the day: Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water. Jewish Proverb

This day has been a bit of a drag so far. I have no agenda although I have visited the Hoge Hearld pages to fine-tune a couple of spots as I wait for more information from congregants to help fill the space before a mailing at the end of the coming week. I think that is going to be the most meaningful project I will have for today. If it were a bit warmer, I might be moved to work in the yard for a while. I am still trying to mark plants that I want Bob to be careful of as he uses the weed whacker. One of the problems is I would like to see some new growth on them so I can remember exactly where they are. I have a basic “blueprint” of where I have put them but not precise enough to mark accurately.

On the 17th the challenge to meet the theme, “month of gratitude”, was my tiny little American flag. Many of my neighbors are displaying their flag to show solidarity in the time of the pandemic attack on our world. My well-used flags have been in storage. This little one is the only one I could find so I “mounted” it in the chain of the porch swing. It flies in the breezes proudly along with its bigger counterparts. It signifies the gratitude of the people of our country with one another as well as our worldwide family.

This is the kind of day that I “teach” myself or otherwise stated “build my knowledge base”. Something that I may have wondered about comes to mind as I go through the day then I google it. It is a learning base. I put what I find in a space in memory so that I can call on it when needed.

A couple of paragraphs ago I said I would go outside but the weather wasn’t to my liking....well, I changed my mind, worked in the back yard for a little bit. It felt good and a little warmer than I first thought.

The word is finest. Conceit spoils the finest genius, Louisa May Alcott. The finest fruit earth holds up to its Maker is a finished man, Wilhelm von Humboldt. Have you ever rightly considered what the mere ability to read means? That it is the key which admits us to the whole world of thought and fancy and imagination? to the company of saint and sage, of the wisest and the wittiest at their wisest and wittiest moment? That it enables us to see with the keenest eyes, hear with the finest ears, and listen to the sweetest voices of all time? More than that, it annihilates time and space for us, James Russell Lowell. Life is the finest secret. So long as that remains, we must all whisper, Emily Dickinson. The finest and noblest ground on which people can live is truth; the real with the real; a ground on which nothing is assumed, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nature has given to each conscious being every power she possesses, and one of these abilities is this: just as Nature converts and alters every obstacle and opposition, and fits them into their predestined place, making them a part of herself, so too the rational person is able to finesse every obstacle into an opportunity, and to use it for whatever purpose it may suit, Marcus Aurelius. 

To meet the monthly photo theme today I am offering a photo of some books on my shelf. Most of my recreational reading is in ebooks and information/knowledge-bound reading is Google. But I have some, more than those in the photo, that serve a purpose to have on hand. 

I have mentioned articles about Franklinton before in some of my blogs. It is an interesting place for me. I have a few connections there that are stored in my memory bank. I would like to see it come back to a clean and exciting place to visit. There is interesting architecture and interesting history, a large part of the beginning of Columbus and is adjacent to our downtown activity. I worked in the area with the Columbus Public Schools for a period of time. Another time I worked at the Federal Court House on the other side of the river but parked on the Franklinton side at the Veterans Memorial. Years before that I was a student nurse at Mt. Carmel located at the edge of Franklinton. The project that the article today is covering is titled “Developers add low-income projects to mix in Franklinton redevelopment”. It states that parts of the projects will be paid with “low-income housing tax credits”. Three low income housing areas will be intertwined with higher-end projects. I hope this works. One group will experience and begin to understand better the other. One of the planned buildings is close to what use to be the Mt. Carmel West hospital. There is a plan to demolish the West Side Spiritualist Church. Columbus Landmarks believes the church, built in 1911, offers historical value. So  the plans go on.

We are having baked spaghetti for dinner.

Joy

April 16, 2020 thought for the day: In the snare laid for others is your foot taken. Latin Proverb

The bulletin and sermon are printed and in the mail, done for another week. The church was once again totally empty, nice and quiet. However, there were two trucks in the parking lot. I think they were working on the building at the other side.

On April 15 I pulled out my pouch of yarn for the photo of the day. I am grateful for the hobby (or art) of crocheting. It serves a couple of purposes. It is relaxing and as I work on a project, normally for one of my great grandchildren, I think of them at each stitch with love and gratitude that they are a part of my life. I don’t see them much but I love them all the same. Thinking of them is at least some comfort. It’s also nice to be creative.

Yesterday I picked up the dogs’ medicine. At dinner time when I got around to opening it, I found that there was only one pill for each when I had ordered three for each. I called the office this morning and found that I was charged for three each so I went by after I left church this morning and picked up the other two. After that, Bob and I stopped at White Castle for carry out brunch.

When we got home, I started on the laundry. I also worked on an article I am putting in the newsletter this month. That took an hour or so.

I learned yesterday that we are starting up the food pantry now at church. It will be curbside which, of course, is totally different than we usually do but it will work. They will be sticking to all of the rules, the distancing and the masks and gloves. They will be prepacking the boxes instead of folks choosing their own supplies. They are using a smaller crew due to some differences in how they will sign people in. Anyway, I updated the information on the church online calendar so that some people will know about the change.

As Bob and I returned from my project at church and the stop for our brunch, I drove by the park to look for a photo of the day. Whenever I visit the park, I am calmed by the nature that is there. In the day light it appears to be comforting and offers a visit with nature and the Higher Power. My month of gratitude shot for today is the shelter house and its artistic views.

I got a surprise this afternoon. Both Mick and Lowell stopped by to get some tools out of the garage. We all stayed over six feet apart and that was fine ‘cause I got a look at both of them. It gave me a boost that will last for a few days.

The word is feelings. Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth, Benjamin Disraeli. When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy, Rumi. Spiteful words can hurt your feelings but silence breaks your heart, C. S. Lewis. Man's feelings are always purest and most glowing in the hour of meeting and of farewell, Jean Paul. Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away, George Eliot. A little kingdom I possess, where thoughts and feelings dwell; And very hard the task I find of governing it well, Louisa May Alcott. Even as a child I felt in my heart two opposite emotions: the horror of life and the ecstasy of life, Charles Baudelaire. Butterflies are but flowers that blew away one sunny day when Nature was feeling at her most inventive and fertile, George Sand. Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts? Confucius. See to it that each hour's feelings, and thoughts, and actions are pure and true; then will your life be such, Henry Ward Beecher.

I thought this story was much lighter than other things we have been hearing and reading. Recently there was a lost dog with a story. It had been “dropped off” at a local police sub-station. Whoever left it behind had been sure to see that it’s only possessions, a harness, leash and collar with tags was left in the pup’s possessions. The tag said her name was “Sadie”. A Columbus police officer found the dog as she went in to work. She made an all out effort to return the dog to it’s owner. She was able to do some investigation from the information found on the tags that were with the dog. The officer took the dog to MedVet and found that the dog was microchipped. There were two phone numbers on a microchip but no answer. Messages were left. The officer even drove around the neighborhood asking people if they had seen the dog. She also contacted the Dispatch. To continue in the events as they unfolded. One of the messages was answered. The lady on the other end said she had given the dog away about five years earlier; she offered to try to find the contact. She sent a message through social contact and was able to give the person who responded the officer’s number. The person said she had lived on a horse farm near the police station. The dog was lost in that same area. She said she looked everywhere but couldn’t find the dog, she thought something sad may have happened to her. She also said she had since moved to Virginia and wouldn’t be able to come for the dog for quite a while. The officer decided to take “Callie” to Virginia. The officer’s mother lived near Callie’s owner. She made the six hour drive on Easter. On Monday, Callie and her lost owner were reunited . . .   

We are having spaghetti and meatballs, banana turnovers and garlic bread for dinner.

Joy

April 14, 2020 thought for the day: Don't look for bad things in the good that you do. Mongolian Proverb

I am still trying to get a handle on what is the best way to handle my grocery replacement household chore (formerly “grocery shopping”). As mentioned earlier in the blogs, I have tried the delivery-type replacement with mixed results. I have tried the curbside pick up once with good results, waiting for a second attempt before passing judgement. I have also used the “senior time” at Kroger (7:00am). I think I will end up using a combination. I will use the “senior time” for things I need quickly and fresh produce. Then use the curbside pickup for items and can wait a bit. The delay for a scheduled pick up can be up to five days.

The April 13 photo is Sweet Pea staring longingly out the back window. She is so anxious to “play with” the squirrels she sees. This fits with the monthly theme “month of gratitude”, I adore my pets and am sooo grateful for their lives joined to my own.

I set the alarm to six o’clock so that Sue and I could make a go at Kroger this morning during the set aside time for Seniors. It is good due to very few people there. I am still nervous about leaving the house at all. On the other hand it’s good to be able to do something “normal” in this abnormal time.

Other than the store visit, I have very little on the agenda today, which is a good thing, I keep nodding off from getting up early as I sit at the computer. The small bulletin that I have been putting out is done. I am waiting for up to two spaces of additional information. The newsletter is in the same point of completion. I need information. I am going to need more than usual for this edition since committee and other events at church have been halted for the time being. I have sent a message for any information people would like to share. Hopefully I will be able to finish it next week.

I have been dabbling with some archived photos as I plan to put them in a book. I am dreaming that this one along with the other one I have been working on will be saleable at some point. It’s too chilly to work out in the yard again today.  Maybe after this cold snap temperatures will be on the upswing for spring and summer.

The word is feather. Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all, Emily Dickinson. A willing heart adds feather to the heel, Joanna Baillie. May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather, Edward Ramsay. A wit's a feather, and a chief a rod; An honest man's the noblest work of God, Alexander Pope.  The day is done, and the darkness, Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward, From an eagle in his flight, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. If you do anything well, gratitude is lighter than a feather; if you give offense in anything, people's wrath is as heavy as lead, Plautus. The feather, whence the pen Was shaped that traced the lives of these good men, Dropped from an angel's wing, William Wordsworth. So the struck eagle, stretch'd upon the plain, No more through rolling clouds to soar again, View'd his own feather on the fatal dart, And wing'd the shaft that quiver'd in his heart, Lord Byron.  Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable, Louisa May Alcott.

Today’s photo is of something I am eternally grateful for....FOOD.

This article may be “food for thought”. The title is “masks take on a new meaning in Ohio”. One of the shop owners that was interviewed said that “putting the new policy in effect .....required a change of philosophy....” As everyone knows, it use to be that someone walking into a business with a mask on imply trouble. Shortly before the pandemic began, this shop owner was robbed by two men with guns and MASKS. The shop owner that said that the virus “poses a greater risk than an armed robbery...” He says he doesn’t care how the nose and mouth are covered they just have to be covered. There was a report that at least one person was worried that having to wear a mask was not safe for African Americans due to past views and biases. Other thoughts on the matter are the people may “look silly, paranoid or even unfriendly”.

I am making taco salad for dinner tonight.

Joy

April 12, 2020 thought for today: An arrow can be pulled out of a wound, but a hurtful word stays forever in your heart. Persian Proverb

I watched two Easter church services this morning. The one Catholic service was on Channel 4 here in Columbus I watched it. It was very nice. It was good to see the inside of the chapel (it was the same chapel that I received my nursing cap from, “graduating from “probie” to student nurse). The accompanying music was beautiful, mostly by one lady who did the singing (I imagine in place of a full choir). There were about ten people participating in the service.

For the April 11 month-of-gratitude theme photo I picked this one of my son mowing our lawn. There are several things in the photo that I am grateful for. One, gratitude for my son, then that I have a yard to mow and then that I have someone who does it for me.

My pastor was giving his weekly sermon on facebook live at the same time so I had both on at the same time. I would mute the one while it seemed appropriate, back and forth.

Before the services started, I made our “Easter basket”. It consisted of supplies I had on hand, a paper plate, topped with torn newspaper for “grass”, five hard-boiled eggs colored with food color and a few M&M pieces.

I need to modify some of what I said from my “soap box” in my last blog. I tried the Kroger curbside pick up and picked up the groceries Saturday. I had a bad experience with the try at delivery service and whined about the possible problem with the curb side service possibilities. I had heard of several problems with it. Anyway, it was ready the minute Bob got there. I am going to give it a second try. We sill have to wait a few days to be able to pick it up. If it works as well, I will use a combination of senior hours at the store for frozen and fresh and the curb side service for canned, boxed, etc.

I added another project to my evening crocheting sessions. I am making my own face mask. It will be lines with shop towels. I can’t get use to buying things like the masks and gloves, using them a couple of times then throwing them out. I am from a different generation I guess, we use things until they wear out. And it is especially pertinent not when there aren’t enough mask and gloves to go around.

There is nothing on today’s agenda (except for old “back burner” stuff long forgotten).  I got the refrigerator cleared out and loaded the dish washer. Other than that it’s “follow my nose” for things to get done.

The word is fear. We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality, Seneca the Elder. Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth, Tacitus. He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life, Ralph Waldo Emerson. I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship, Louisa May Alcott. If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear? Confucius. And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts, Abraham Lincoln. No one reaches a high position without daring, Publilius Syrus. Father, O father! what do we here In this land of unbelief and fear? William Blake.  All infractions of love and equity in our social relations are ... punished by fear, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Where fear is, happiness is not, Seneca the Younger. Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out, Benjamin Franklin. Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil, Aristotle. We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears, Francois de La Rochefoucauld. He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he that loses his courage loses all, Miguel de Cervantes. Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest, Napoleon Bonaparte.

My photo challenge for today is a quick Easter basket that I put together. I didn’t have “formal” supplies on hand so I “winged it”. I used a paper plate (actually a foam plate). I tore up newspaper ads for the grass. I dyed the hard boiled eggs using food color instead of the “fancy” Easter egg dye. To add a further touch of elegance I added a few M&Ms that I had on hand. Love the colors and shapes, don't you?

I was hoping with this article to give a little bit brighter side to all that the news is covering these days. This article is about how gardeners are adapting to online sales and all that goes with this keeping a distance that we have to practice right now. Garden centers and retail greenhouses are considered essential due to their place in food growth and production. One of the local greenhouse owners closed his business when the restrictions were passed down because of the pandemic. He was able to reopen them a few weeks later when the decision was made that they were essential. He is following the rules of no more than a certain number of people in the business at a time and wearing gloves and masks. He also encourages curbside pick up and on line orders. He has been trying to make adjustment to get as much on his online site as he can but he says he needs to learn more about what he thinks people want. One of the problems of setting up for the on line orders is that a description and photo are needed for the items for sale. Some nurseries are doing delivers as well as the curbside pick ups. One reported that sales are actually higher than this time last year. One of the places that is doing deliveries is using a school bus that has been converted to accommodated plants. One of the nurseries states that it is more work to fill online orders and curbside pick up.

I think we are having chili mac from the left over chili from last night’s dinner.

Joy

April 10, 2020 thought for the day: Sweet are the tears that are dried by your loved one. Portugese Proverb

It’s been a day I haven’t experienced in a long time. I got a few miles away from the house. I had to get blood drawn and at a lab that was on the other side of town. It was good to get out for a change. As it turned out, the clinic was not busy at all. I was in and out in about a total of twenty minutes. Lowell took me, I am a bad driver outside of my “comfort” zone. We both wore masks and used hand sanitizer several times. It was also good to see him and to talk for a while. It was simple bonding and it gave a little fresh light to the day.

The photo challenge for April 9 and fitting with the monthly theme, “month of gratitude”, I chose a shot of the post office. I am grateful that they are there with delivery as it has been for years and years. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Fridays seem to be generally on the more relaxed side of the week. I didn’t have an agenda for today. I would like to have continued some yard work. I move slowly with just a little accomplished at a time but it gets done. The weather isn’t cooperative and inviting to that particular past time today so I will put it on the back burner until the temperature goes back up. I will get to it eventually.

Before I left for the lab, I sent out my now regular morning virtual “visit” to our sanctuary though photos of another of our gorgeous stained glass windows.

The tenth was another of those days when I had a second photo of the day challenge. This one was titled "an animal". Well, I have a choice of two in the house and many squirrels in the yard. I chose Sugar napping again.

I tried having our necessary groceries brought to the house but that method didn’t turn out so well. Tomorrow will be the result of an order made to be picked up curb side. After reading reports about that from other people, I am having an unpleasant feeling that that also will be a minor disaster with having to wait a long time even though we were given a pick up time or not having the order complete. I am feeling that I am going to have to “bite the bullet” and go to the store during “senior” hour, whether it is “unsafe” or not. The choice doesn’t seem to be an easy one. I wonder if there would be a better more efficient way of handling getting food. People seem to be coming up with so many light bulb moments with ways to handle life in this crisis. Maybe at some point someone will mathematically or scientifically come up with a way to make grocery and housekeeping supplies more easily accessible in emergency situations like this one . . .  Maybe having curb pick up or delivery only as the restaurants have to do .....I’ll get off my soap box now.

The word today is faults. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them, Confucius.  If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. The mystery of existence is the connection between our faults and our misfortunes, Madame de Stael.  If anyone is unhappy, remember that his unhappiness is his own fault... Nothing else is the cause of anxiety or loss of tranquility except our own opinion, Epictetus. Bear with the faults of others as you would have them bear with yours, Phillips Brooks. The pretended admission of a fault on our part creates an excellent impression, Quintilian.  Men ought to be most annoyed by the sufferings which come from their own faults, Marcus Tullius Cicero. Had we not faults of our own, we should take less pleasure in complaining of others, Francois Fenelon. Everyone has his faults which he continually repeats: neither fear nor shame can cure them, Jean de La Fontaine. Certain defects are necessary for the existence of individuality, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. A fault is sooner found than mended, Ulpian Fulwell. Tomorrow, every Fault is to be amended; but that Tomorrow never comes, Benjamin Franklin. Who mix'd reason with pleasure, and wisdom with mirth: If he had any faults, he has left us in doubt, Oliver Goldsmith. 

For a photo to fit “month of gratitude” today I went to archives. I remembered a couple of photos that I have taken that touched my soul in relation to this theme. This one if of two of my most favorite people enjoying a bit of life together.

We keep learning. Leaning isn’t always about good things but some of the difficulty that causes us to learn can lead to better ways of doing things. Unpleasant happenings can lead to so many new ideas as off shoots of its destruction. I think that’s what is happening for all of us now.  The article today is about making home improvements some of which may be new ideas for us to lean in this difficult time. It states that since many of us are spending more time at time it may be a good time work on the house. Lowe’s has apparently had an increase in sales at this time. Also suggested is not to try to do things you are not equipped to do, like electricity and plumbing. Maybe put off projects that require permits and inspections. If you need to have service for the AC or something else, be sure to keep the six-foot distance rule. Suggestions of things to do might be art on the doors and walls. Have family help by gathering family photos. Maybe there are areas around the house that need painted. This may be the time to make a paver patio. Work on a garden, this project can be kid friendly. Another tip in the article is to have the driveway resurfaced. Maybe work on the garage doors, add “faux windows and so on. One of the last tips in the article was to do spring cleaning all around the house and property.

It’s pizza time again, love it.

Joy

April 8, 2020 thought for the day: Mock not the fallen, for slippery is the road ahead of you. Russian Proverb

It’s been a long day, so to speak. On this day, I haven’t had a heavy schedule so that has meant more time to think of the mess we are all in. Also I have had two events’ today that brought more  to the forefront. I tried to place an order at Sams Club (I naively thought they were beyond the limitations that most places are having now), the exact same order I make every couple of months. They wouldn’t take the order due to not being able to fill it for more than two days. They asked that I reorder later. To add to that I could not order toilet paper or paper towels at all at this time. Next, I have an appointment with my doctor for a check on my iron deficiency anemia. It’s vital to see if my iron level is back to normal after over half the normal rate that it was at the last checkup and doses of iron for three months, putting my immune system at risk. Well, they called and want me to get the blood draw two days earlier than originally scheduled. It calls for some rearranging of time for two of us, a driver and me.

In the “low” times of spirit I can’t hesitate but wonder if we will ever see the best parts of what we were all familiar with in our lives before this pandemic. Being a creature of habit, as I am, this is extremely difficult for me to swallow and adjust to. It can be done and with God’s help and I, like all others, will do it. There’s no other choice.

My choice for yesterday’s  challenge was a refection in a puddle of water left from the strong spring storm we had last night. It is another part of nature and a sign that all is well and as it should be. Something that fits this month’s photo a day themes, month of gratitude.

One of the few productive things I got done today was to begin to set up the holder for the solar fountain I want to put in the garden. The other thing I worked on was beginning the church newsletter. It will be reduced to what it normally is but I think it is important for the congregants to have that kind of touch. Hopefully, I will get some items from others to add to the newsletter.

The word is falsehood.  Let her (Truth) and Falsehood grapple; whoever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter? John Milton. Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness, Leonardo da Vinci. Woe to falsehood! it affords no relief to the breast, like truth; it gives us no comfort, pains him who forges it, and like an arrow directed by a god flies back and wounds the archer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge, Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Nothing gives such a blow to friendship as the detecting another in an untruth. It strikes at the root of our confidence ever after, William Hazlitt. Let a man be ne'er so wise, he may be caught with sober lies, Jonathan Swift. Falsehood avails itself of haste and uncertainty, Tacitus. Truth indeed rather alleviates than hurts, and will always bear up against falsehood, as oil does above water, Miguel de Cervantes. If you must hate, if hatred is the leaven of your life, which alone can give flavor, then hate what should be hated: falsehood, violence, selfishness, Ludwig Borne. Wrong is but falsehood put in practice, Walter Savage Landor. Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it, Jonathan Swift. The human heart has so many crannies where vanity hides, so many holes where falsehood works, is so decked out with deceiving hypocrisy, that it often dupes itself, John Calvin. Exaggeration is a blood relation to falsehood and nearly as blamable, Hosea Ballou. 


Today’s photo shoot brought my attention to the new bloom on my peace lily. Its name fits the gratitude of the month theme for me....grateful for the peace we are meant to experience.

I hope this article can be a bit of a light-side to the news we hear/read over and over lately. The title caught my attention, This little piggy went to get a haircut. It mentioned that sometimes you want to know something about yourself that you can’t see, like you have something in your teeth or toilet paper trailing on the outside of your pants. But what becomes a bit of a “slap in the face” is when someone tells you you have hair on you big toe. It seems the author of the article said her daughter told her mom as she stared at her mom’s bare feet that she had three hairs on her big toe. Then the daughter said as she looked at the other toe  “Oh! This one’s hairy, too”. The mom commented that there only three hairs, oops, that was on one toe. There are, OMG, seven on the other foot. Then her husband and her son also commented on the wayward hairs. The family gave her ways to get rid of them, wax them or shave them. Her son called them “Hobbit feet”. The daughter gave her a hug and said “it’s not big deal, we know you’re an amazing mom....” Followed by “Hey Mom, did you know you have hair on your chin?“

I think I will pull something from the freezer for dinner tonight.

Joy

April 6, 2020 thought for the day: Warm a frozen snake and it will be the first to bite you. Russian Proverb

I set the alarm....after, maybe, three weeks. I wanted to get up early so that I could get to Kroger during the senior hour. I was a little surprised that there really weren’t that many folks there. I got a few things picked up, actually more quickly than I had first thought I would. I was actually early at the pharmacy window. They had another fifteen minutes to go.

Every day I am looking for things I am grateful for to photograph as a memory of this particular day and time. Yesterday, as I was enjoying a little time on the porch swing. I noticed the neighbor’s flag moving in the breeze. The lines and shapes in the background seemed to add quiet and peace to the scene. I am grateful for that.

I have placed an online delivery order from Kroger last week. I was told I would receive delivery on Sunday evening between six and seven. The time passed with no delivery at all. After I returned from Kroger this morning, I made an attempt to find what the problem was. When I called the Kroger 800 number I was told that calls were backed up and I would have to call later. I called the neighborhood store....I was told they no longer make the delivers and offered to give me another number, they are contracted out to Instacart. I called Instacart and was mechanically told there would be a 245 minute wait for someone to come on the line. I gave up....I decided to try ordering through the curbside pick up portion of the online ordering. I completed the order and was directed to pick a day. After four tries being told something like- “all filled up for that day”. I finally got a pick up day and time for Saturday. So now it looks like I am going to have to go that route (if it works, I’ll know Saturday) or go in person during the senior hour (maybe... until that to is over loaded).

It is so nice outdoors today (although I have to scrape the car windows earlier). I decided to go work in the yard as much as my stamina would allow. While I was out, I had a nice chat with my neighbor.

The word is fallen. You seem to me to be a pretty lucky young man; keep your eyes open to your mercies. That part of piety is eternal; and the man who forgets to be grateful has fallen asleep in life, Robert Louis Stevenson.  I am not concerned that you have fallen -- I am concerned that you arise. Abraham Lincoln. Self is the root, the tree, and the branches of all the evils of our fallen state, William Law. We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen away, and to bring home those who have lost their way. Many who seem to us to be children of the Devil will still become Christ's disciples, Francis of Assisi.  It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen that is the common right of humanity, Seneca the Younger.  Many shall be restored that now are fallen and many shall fall that now are in honor, Horace. It is wrong not to give a hand to the 
fallen. This right is common to the whole human race, Seneca the Elder. I am persuaded that without knowledge of literature pure theology cannot at all endure. . . . When letters have declined and lain prostrate, theology, too, has wretchedly fallen and lain prostrate. . . . It is my desire that there shall be as many poets and rhetoricians as possible, because I see that by these studies as by no other means, people are wonderfully fitted for the grasping of sacred truth and for handling it skillfully and happily, Martin Luther. Each new epoch in life seems an encounter. There is a tussle and a cloud of dust, and we come out of it triumphant or crest-fallen, according as we have borne ourselves. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Every accusation against a fallen man gains credence, Publilius Syrus.   

Spring and summer bring so many pleasant and relaxing scenes of “eye candy”. I love the shadows that appear in these seasons. I know there are shadows in the winter too but they don’t seem to be as welcoming. So shadows was my photo of the day for April 6.

I use to do the pysanky-style of decorating eggs. It is time-consuming procedure but gives a feeling of accomplishment when done. The article today gives some ideas of ways to decorate an Easter egg. First the article starts with a way to begin the color. If we forgot to get the egg coloring tablets use liquid food coloring, six to twenty drops to a half cup of water with 1 teaspoon ov vinegar. Here is the explanation for the vinegar: eggshells contain calcium carbonate. Calcium reacts to acid in the vinegar, that lets the color adhere to the shell. I was interested to learn that too much vinegar creates bubbles leading to uneven color. Not enough vinegar doesn’t let the color permeate. There are several ways of cooking the eggs before the coloring. Some people bake them at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. Some cover them in water and boil for four to nine minutes. The person who wrote the article cooks them in an Instant Pot for a few minutes in one cup of water. Here is one of the suggestions, if you have a large pressure cooker (Instant pot)  put food color, water and vinegar in canning jars. Put the jars, the number of jars depends on the size of you cooker, on a wire rack on a cup of water. Put two or three eggs in each jar. Make sure the water in the jar covers the eggs. Close the pressure cooker and cook for six minutes, let the stream release. Be careful, the jars will be hot. Once you can handle them, dunk the eggs in cold water. Yet another way to color the egg. Put Cool Whip on a cooky sheet about one half inch thick, squeeze drops of food coloring on top. Swirl the color in gently. After soaking eggs in vinegar water for a couple of minutes dry them then roll in the colored Cool Whip. Wipe off the Cool Whip, the color remains. Here’s another coloring tip, using crayons to write on the egg before coloring. Some other tips mentioned on line, according to the article, is sing rubber bands and stickers to create layers of color.

I am making a dish for dinner called Spaghetti Pie. I have made baked spaghetti before with spaghetti left over from the night before but this recipe uses eggs and ricotta cheese that I don’t use in baked spaghetti. Some hot rolls will to it off.

Joy

April 4, 2020 thought for the day: The truth is like gold: keep it locked up and you will find it exactly as you first put it away. Senegalese Proverb

I can’t seem to sleep-in lately even though there is not much of a  reason to get up early. I’m awake and can’t get back to sleep.

This month of gratitude offers an open book of ideas for shots that meet the challenge, so many in fact that it is hard to choose “the one”. One thing I notice in the early spring that cements the idea of the coming season it the pink blossoms on the magnolia tree in my neighbor’s back yard.

Since the weather is so nice outside today I will most likely work out th
ere for as long as my energy and legs will allow. I also need to clear out the frig.

I dread going away from the house in this time of isolation but I am going to have to sometime in the next few days. I have to pick up some meds. So since I will be at the store I will get a couple of things that I forgot on my delivery order. That will mean going out with a mask and gloves, yuck, but it is what it is. 

I have one of those solar birdbath fountains. I am trying to find a container that will not splash all the water out as it works. I have just come across a white plastic container I bought last year but never used. I just went out back and spray painted it to fit more in the landscape. I got one side done, I am waiting for it to dry for an hour or so to paint the other side.

The word is failure. There is only one failure in life possible, and that is not to be true to the best one knows, George Eliot.  However things may seem, no evil thing is success and no good thing is failure, Henry Wadsworh Longfellow.  The most important of my discoveries have been suggested to me by failures, Humphry Davy.  There is no impossibility to him who stands prepared to conquer every hazard. The fearful are the failing, Sarah Josepha Hale. What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? Vincent Van Gogh. A minute's success pays the failure of years, Robert Browning.  Failure is in a sense the highway to success, as each discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, John Keats.  The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just, Abraham Lincoln.  The only failure one should fear, is not hugging to the purpose they see as best, George Eliot.  I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating, Sophocles. We climb to heaven most often on the ruins of our cherished plans, finding our failures were successes, Amos Bronson Alcott. Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing, Aristotle.  Finite to fail, but infinite to venture, Emily Dickinson.  Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them, Washington Irving.  Indecision and delays are the parents of failure, George Canning.

In today’s search for a photo to meet the theme I chose clouds. It is beginning to look like most of the photos for this month are going to be nature and season related. Coming out of winter when the skies are mostly gray and blank these views are exciting.

This sounds like another interesting way to get through this time of social separation. The article is about the simple exercise of walking but it lists some of the things that go with the walk.  Transit Columbus created a Walk Columbus Pledge. It encourages people to observe as you go. Look for out of the way “nooks and crannies”. As we walk we usually have interesting thoughts accompanying us as we go. Some of those thoughts might be of ways to make the neighborhood safer and more interesting. According to the article the Columbus Public Health has generated several self-guided walks that suggest art, stores, architecture and history. People can find maps for these walks on the Columbus Public Health website and MeColumbus mobile app. Some places would like for readers to share their own homemade neighborhood maps. One idea was to close some streets for more pedestrians and cyclists. There are also ideas to point more interest to streets that run through parks. 

I am probably just going to pull something from the freezer for dinner tonight.

Love you
Grandma

April 2, 2020 thought for today: What is the use of a big wide world when your shoes are too small? Serbian Proverb

We put together another small special church bulletin to help get through the time in our shared history. I pulled Bob along with me this morning to do the printing and mailing. I was able to get it all done well before eleven o’clock, that is the time of a mail pick up where I drop them off

As I mentioned before, way back in my earlier blogs, each month we have a theme for our photos and each day is an idea for a photo fitting the them..This month, April, is called “month of gratitude”. It is open for us to choose a photo each day that is something we are grateful for. Yesterday was “my house” more fittingly my front porch.

We stopped for our now customary Thursday brunch at White Castle. Then we headed for home for whatever the rest of the day has in store for us. So far that, what was in store for the day,  has been a little time on  google researching for ideas to keep my busy brain full of this thing and that thing. I get a fresh education on many things when I immerse myself in this kind of search. It was also time to get the laundry started. When I went down to move the washer load to the dryer I encountered a stopped drain and sudsy water backing up. So that had to be unclogged (with Bob’s help).

I started a zen garden last summer. It is a patch in the side yard filled with gravel and three rocks that had specific Japanese meanings. Well, I moved the rocks away last fall but the gravel is still there. I planned on having Bob move it away so that he would be able to mow easier. My plans for the garden didn’t go as I had planned it so I gave up. One of the reasons for the “failure” was I don’t have the kind of energy I wish I had but my body says “ain’t going to happen”.

I plan to mark some of my favorite plants rimming the yard and house, my “garden”, so that Bob will not mistake them for weeds and weed whack them down. I hope to do some putting out stakes tomorrow.

Bob likes to wear shoe covers to mow the back yard, we have two dogs....get the picture?  So I ordered them a couple of weeks ago but we haven’t gotten them yet. He had some left from last year but they have gone missing. Anyway, when I re-checked the order, I found that they aren’t expected for delivery until mid May. It finally dawned on me why....they are part of the ppe for our health care workers.

The sun is shining and I just caught the sound of my front porch wind chimes, one of my favorite sounds of the spring and summer.

Today the second day of the month of gratitude my choice is “signs of spring”. This a daffodil in my back yard leaning over and nearly kissing a brick in the patio.

The word today is faces. Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face, Victor Hugo.  If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? Abraham Lincoln.  Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you, Walt Whitman. A man finds room in the few square inches of the face for the traits of all his ancestors; for the expression of all his history, and his wants, Ralph Waldo Emerson. In the faces of men and women, I see God, Walt Whitman. If a good face is a letter of recommendation, a good heart is a letter of credit, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. For truth has such a face and such a mien, as to be loved needs only to be seen, John Dryden. Commitment is what transforms a promise into a reality... Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism, Abraham Lincoln.  The wind in ones face makes one wise, George Herbert. I often laugh at Satan, and there is nothing that makes him so angry as when I attack him to his face, and tell him that through God I am more than a match for him, Martin Luther. Faith pulls the black mask from the face of trouble, and discovers the angel beneath, Charles Spurgeon. All other creatures look down toward the earth, but man was given a face so that might turn his eyes toward the stars and his gaze upon the sky, Ovid. Beauty does not lie in the face. It lies in the harmony between a person and his or her industry. Beauty is expression. When I paint a mother I try to render her beautiful by the mere look she gives her child, Jean-Francois Millet. When you speak of heaven, let your face light up...When you speak of hell well then, your everyday face will do, Charles Spurgeon. 


Todays article is another idea for a way to pass the time in the stay at home time. It is about having pillow fights to release tension and bring on laughter. In the first paragraph ‘.... No kicking, biting, scratching, punching or hair-pulling. Here are the essentials: Yelling, screaming, tackling, wrestling and hitting — with a pillow....”. This was the idea of a lady from California who was home schooling her own fifth and third graders and that of teaching her law student remotely and all the disheartening news of the internet and computer. She and her children would take a break at intervals to have the pillow fights which would last fifteen minutes. The didn’t have to be any disinfecting processes that followed any outdoor activity. It helped to release frustration, fear, sadness, and anger. The practice apparently has some “danger”. There was an occasion when one member got smacked in the face with a fast moving pillow. There has been stoppage to how we shop and how we run in the park, a rumor that there would be no leaving without permission but we continue to have the pillow fights. “When the timer on my phone goes off, we’re done: sweaty, out of breath, exhilarated.”

We are having salmon patties and hash brown potatoes for dinner.

Joy

March 31, 2020 thought for today: It takes two days to learn everything about a man; to know animals you will need more time. Persian Proverb

This has been a lazy kind of day. It has been hard to attach my focus in any one direction. I was missing my church family so I sent a group message to those whose email addresses I have been able to collect. I have heard back from a few. It felt good to have at least some touch with them.

The photo for yesterday was “far away”. This is another that can be an easy choice. Of course, living in the country would make the choices a lot more abundant but there are choices here to, now and then. This may require some thought. Mine thinking was over the neighbor’s roof on to the tress further on, eventually into the heavens.

I did some research on things that people might do with the use of technology to help others occupy some otherwise boring time with puzzles or problems solving questions to fill some of that time. I am still searching. 

I looked up some crochet stitches I have been having a problem completing all the way through. I am making developmental crochet toys and gifts for my five great grandchildren (as well as on going work on a “woven in time” crochet/woven blanket along with a full size crochets pineapple edges crochet table cloth).

Another way I am “fighting” boredom is I am (still) reading “Hell’s Corner” (Baldacci) as well as my daily cognitive and memory games on the ipad/cell phone. All of that along with my daily letter/blog/journal.

Today’s photo theme is “buddies”. Since the country is pretty much in quarantine right now there aren’t to many chances for that so I reached back in my archives. This is Sugar and one of her pals from the past Tiger.

The word today is eye. The Eyes are the window to your soul, William Shakespeare. One of the most wonderful things in nature is a glance of the eye; it transcends speech; it is the bodily symbol of identity, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter, Marcus Tullius Cicero. When there is love in the heart, there are rainbows in the eyes, which cover every black cloud with gorgeous hues, Henry Ward Beecher.  Imagination is the eye of the soul, Joseph Joubert. Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant? Henry David Thoreau. Men trust their ears less than their eyes, Herodotus. The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter - often an unconscious, but still a truthful interpreter - in the eye, Charlotte Bronte. The sky is the daily bread of the eyes, Ralph Waldo Emerson. With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things, William Wordsworth. The eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The eye is the jewel of the body, Henry David Thoreau. The eyes like sentinel occupy the highest place in the body, Marcus Tullius Cicero.




The Short North here in Columbus has a gallery hop each month. In this time of trouble they have decided to make the hop an online gallery visit. It is supposed to be conducted through Instagram. I don’t have and have never used Instagram, I have enough keeping up with my facebook account. But I would try it just to visit the gallery hop. It has been years since I visited the hop on a week end. This one was going to virtually show artists’ work both. On April 4 people can go on Instagram to check it out. Retailers and performers will be there as well as the usual artwork and exhibitions. Work will be sold online. There will be a show of new styles along with product demonstrations. There will also be a Get Together Car Parade making it ‘s way through the Short North at 1 o’clock. So here is another way to enjoy a stabilized social event in a different way.

This is the end of the month so I have my usual end of month composite of all the photos I captured for March.

I had a “colossal” accident while cooking dinner last night so I am not in the mood to cook tonight.  But I will probably struggle through....maybe tuna balls. Oh, the “colossal” accident, I had a beautiful full pressure cooker of lima bean soup. I tasted as I went, as every good cook does, and found it to be outstanding if I do say so myself. I was about to make egg dumplings to add to it. As I stood on my tippy toes and reached, with my gripper, for a glass bowl on the second shelf of the “all the way to the ceiling cupboards”, the bowl slipped and dropped to the marble counter shattering into more pieces than I thought there would be in such a medium sized bowl. Many of those pieces bounced to the stove and burner and I was afraid into the pot of soup. I ended up throwing the whole pot of stew, most probably at least three full dinner meals, away.

Joy