July 27, 2020 thought for the day: A friend is someone you can do nothing with, and enjoy it. Traditional Proverb

I think keeping busy is good for a person for all kinds of reasons, one being health. Anyway, I lived up to that kind adventure again today. 

On July 26 my “assignment” for a photo of the day was “friendship”. I put some thought into it looking at how to “image” a friend, a person of comfort and freedom. A hug is a great show of feelings but that is out right now except in our dreams. I chose my son’s hand as my model with my own hand touching his. We could still touch in the historical period of “isolation” since we are in the same household. And aren’t the members of our families also our friends?

The first thing on the agenda was a trip to the grocery store. One of the things we were looking for and didn’t find was a fly swatter. We seem to have more flies this year than in years past. We’ll keep looking. 

I got both parts of the yard, “garden”, watered. I think I mentioned before that I try to water every day that we don’t have rain, especially when the temperatures are approaching close to one hundred degrees. 

I found a spot in my blog that I didn’t realize I had never filled in. I am wondering if it will help in the sequencing of order. Anyway, it is going to be an on going task for a while since I only do a bit at a time. I have to address each blog from the beginning which is several months back. 

I am also bringing our church email account contacts up to date. I had only entered those with email addresses but there is a place in the program for putting all names as in a full directory of members. That task led me back to the bulletin for the coming Sunday. I think I have it done up to the information I am waiting to plug in. That should be here in a day or two. 

My photo challenge today is “pattern”. I think there is a pattern, of sorts, in almost every thing. The

patterns in my photo today are the lines and curves of one of my hibiscus flowers. In a hibiscus flower, is all of nature, like snow flakes, there are none the same. 

The word is joyful.  The greater our present trials, the louder will our future songs be, and the more intense our joyful gratitude, Charles Spurgeon. Still, as Christmas-tide comes round, They remember it again - Echo still the joyful sound "Peace on earth, good-will to men!", Lewis Carroll. When you ... see our Father, you will see a being with whom you have long been acquainted, and He will receive you into His arms, and you will be ready to fall into His embrace and kiss Him. ... You will be so glad and joyful. ... When you are qualified and purified, ... you can endure the glory of eternity, Brigham Young. I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people joyful; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor, Martin Luther. We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves, Gautama Buddha. This is the most joyful day that ever I saw in my pilgrimage on earth, Donald Cargill. When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy, Rumi.

I like to see new things popping up in the Westgate neighborhood. I don’t think I have ever heard of a “refillery” but that is what this article is about. When I read where this new facility is being opened close to home I had to share the message. There is a small business mini “shopping” mall nearby. There are maybe six “businesses” in them. Some of establishments are: Third Way Café and gallery 3060 Artworks as well as a ceramic shop.  The ones I have observed seem to be operating on with a small number of clientele.  The westside/hilltop area can use some exciting new opportunities for growth. I am hoping this one along with the others hang in there and pull in interested customers. They say the “refillery”, Koko, is the first of its kind in Columbus. (I looked up “refillery”, here’s what I found “new planet-friendly grocer offering a stylish, convenient, PLASTIC-FREE, 'weigh-and-pay' shopping experience”. Koko carries everything from compostable dish brushes and reusable dish cloths, to shampoo bars and primarily vegan apothecary items in sustainable packaging. One section also offers featured items like water bottles, reusable straws, beeswax wraps, reusable produce bags and more. Koko aims to be accessible in introducing customers to a more sustainable lifestyle. “We looked at the market and saw that sustainability was often cloaked in privilege. We believe what happens to this planet affects everyone, therefore sustainability is for everyone,” stated Co-Founder Jamie Fairman. “Each person’s sustainability journey and efforts will look a little different, but we are here to help make it approachable and accessible to all.” The owner of the shop is a westside resident. He also owns a shop in Louisville, Lexington and Denver. 

We are having baked cube steaks and mashed potatoes for dinner. 

Joy