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