December 22, 2020 thought for the day: The poorer you are, the more devils you meet. Chinese Proverb

So far it’s been a sort of catch up day. I am still working on the calendars, I know that gets boring to hear but it is one of those ongoing projects until it gets finished, which comes with each small step. 

Yesterday’s photo of the day was “dark”. I was playing with my cell phone camera last night as I was sitting up in bed reading. When I took a break from my ebook, my attention was drawn to the shapes and light at the edge of the half-opened door and the total darkness on this side of the door. I wanted to see how the camera preformed at the “night” setting. This is what I got. 

I had a meeting scheduled last night. So I left the house in the cold and rain to get there on time. As I neared the church there was a complete barricade of the street I was on including a half dozen or so emergency vehicles with blue and red lights flashing. I couldn’t get through. I tried going through the parallel alley down to the next couple of cross streets but the barricade extended to the street I needed too. The only way to get there would have been to make a complete circle around several blocks. I was having more than the usual problems with the glare on the wet streets so I didn’t feel safe making that detour. I also didn’t know what the problem was, a huge sting going on or a shooting or something that may eventually involve evacuating nearby buildings. So I made the decision to skip the meeting and come on home. I called Lowell to see if he could find out what was happening...as it turned out it was a fatal head on car accident. 

I got the information this morning to complete the bulletin, I had the template up to date for that information so it was a quick finish as the calendars were printing located below my desk. 

Since this is a catch up day, I decided to leap ahead just a bit too. I got the hymn selection for the free meal at church on Saturday. I will complete that page when I get the message that it will go with. 

Now I will switch to some house hold chores, like cleaning out the frig and setting up the dish washer. I made eggnog yesterday. I used cool whip for the heavy cream part and I think it is a little too thick so I am going to thin it down a bit while I am straightening in the frig anyway. 

The word today is reading.  Men must read for amusement as well as for knowledge, Henry Ward Beecher. Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying or meditating or endeavoring something for the public good, Thomas a Kempis. Tis the good reader that makes the good book, Ralph Waldo Emerson. A book that is shut is but a block, Thomas Fuller. How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book, Henry David Thoreau. There is no Frigate like a book to take us lands away nor any coursers like a page of prancing Poetry, Emily Dickinson. Many readers judge of the power of a book by the shock it gives their feelings, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Little learning and much pride come of hasty reading, Charles Spurgeon. A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit, John Milton. Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures, Ralph Waldo Emerson. A man may as well expect to grow stronger by always eating as wiser by always reading, Jeremy Collier. It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything, Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux. Learn to read slow; all other graces will follow in their proper places, William Walker. 

The photo theme for today is “light”. I shot some light and shadow images of the sun rays on my porch swing and my neighbor’s picket style fence. Then I happened to see a huge outline on the inside wall that the sun was producing from the window above the sink. There was the large rectangular shadow as well of lighter aura-like dapples from the suns light. 

I have heard that horses can do a lot for the morale and mental as well as physical health of many handicapped people. Actually I believe there are many animals that share this gift for the human being. This article is about a group called Dreams on Horseback. There is an annual holiday party at a facility called Field of Dreams Equine Education Center which includes Dreams on Horseback. There was a “socially distanced holiday celebration” this year. The stable hasn’t been able to allow the normal horse back rides as usual due to the pandemic so the “participants” haven’t been able to ride or even see the horses for some time. The article mentions that  “The mission of Dreams on Horseback is to help people with challenges improve their lives through horse-partnered learning experiences and education”. A mother of one of the “therapeutic riders.... said this has been a challenging year for her and her daughter,...., because of missing the other riders, staff and volunteers”. One of the volunteers says “these animals are my heart...I love the (participants) and horses”. This year the annual parade was a “drive-by” pony parade. The director of Dreams on Horseback wanted to let people know they are still operating and are “looking forward to ‘21". Hopefully this “parade” will offer a “reconnect” with the horses and staff. Listed at the end of the article are some of the programs they offer, “therapeutic riding lessons, equine-assisted learning, Alzheimer’s senior experiences, vocational training and Military Connections”. 

We are having left overs tonight, tuna casserole and beef and noodles. 

Joy