January 1, 2021 thought for the day: Despise learning and make everyone pay for your ignorance. Chinese Proverb

First of all.....Happy New Year!

I’m not usually a touchy-feely person but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy or need a hug once in a while. This is a prelude to what I am about to say. I get a chance to see my grand children and great grand children  as space and time allow. That is the one reason for the letter every other day of my life. I think of them in parts of the letter as I write. I share it in hopes they will sense the love by letter and by my blog.  Anyway, this is just a bit of my essence. ‘Nuf said. 

Yesterday's photo theme, the last for 2020, was titled “bright”. I have a problem with that. It is not quite as hard as trying to create a photo showing an emotion but still one that give me pause for thought. I could show a reflection of the sun on an object but there wasn’t much sun yesterday. I was at McDonald’s and noticed the break lights on the car in front of me. That was my shot for the day. 

This is going to be a nice stay-at-home day to start the new year. So I am going to get some other neglected chores completed even though it is a “holiday”. I finished taking the tree down and watered the thirsty plants. I have a set of five crochet hacky sack balls (now I am working on crochet frisbees)  ready to give each of my great grand children. I want to get the balls packaged with cellophane bags and bows. The frig is at the point that it needs cleared out too. And I still need to fold and envelop the Saturday church messages/hymns. Sounds like a full and happily productive day.   

The word today is rejoice. All natural results are spontaneous. The diamond sparkles without effort, and the flowers open impulsively beneath the summer rain. And true religion is a spontaneous thing,--as natural as it is to weep, to love, or to rejoice, Edwin Hubbel Chapin.  The proof of a well-trained mind is that it rejoices in which is good and grieves at the opposite, Marcus Tullius Cicero.  When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan, William Paterson. Too few rejoice at a friend's good fortune, Aeschylus. The world is to be carried forward by truth, which at first offends, which wins its way by degrees, which the many hate and would rejoice to crush, William Ellery Channing. Who is the happiest man? He who is alive to the merit of others, and can rejoice in their enjoyment as if it were his own, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in the happy hour when the establishment of American Liberty, upon the most firm and solid foundations shall enable us to return to our Private Stations in the bosom of a free, peacefully and happy Country, George Washington.  Rejoice that man is hurled, From change to change unceasingly, His soul's wings never furled! Robert Browning. 

The first photo challenge for the new year is “this is me”. Oh no, another selfie. So I played around with my tiny bendable tripod and my blue tooth stick to try to get something I wouldn’t mind (too much) sharing. For this one I was hunting around for a cookie in the Christmas cookie tin. It’ll work. 

 I pass the church mentioned in this article often. Isn’t it amazing that we can see things as we go by without knowing what is happening beyond what is visible? It is about new stained-glass windows being restored at a local church. In the article, two men are taking down some of the windows that were installed 150 years ago. The putty and metal ties are being carefully removed so the window can be safely lowered to the ground a St. James Lutheran Church on the westside of Columbus. The article related that the “the process for stained glass hasn’t really changed since the 1400s”. One of the workers said he feels it is amazing to think of the art it took to put the windows up that would ultimately withstand “the test of time”.  The scene from the church's brick bell tower is described as historic including a graveyard all of this surrounded by modern architecture and “suburbanization”. This church was established 175 years ago and the building itself is nearly 150 years old. The congregation is 600 members strong and family members have been attending one generation after another. Once the windows were safely removed, they were sent to Franklin Art Glass Studios in German Village to be cleaned with kerosene and turpentine. Part of the technique is a “rubbing” of the design of the window on paper. Then the lead is pulled off and scrapped away. Each section of glass is then laid on the pattern of the rubbing. After all the pieces are removed and cleaned then placed on the rubbing the soldering begins. One of the members of the congregation said that the windows “set a sense of reverence”. In 2006 there was an addition made to the church and some of the windows had to be relocated and restored at that time. When one of the devoted members died in 2019 the family donated the money to have the remaining four windows restored. One of the family members said she hadn’t been to see them since they were reinstalled on Dec. 22 but “she was able to get a glimpse of them when the camera panned over them during the live-streamed Christmas Eve service”. I didn't mention that there is a protective storm glass covering the windows. When the light shone through some said “When the colors of the window shine you think of heaven”.

We are having pizza....it’s new years but/and the “tradition” goes on....smile. 

Joy