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