January 23, 2021 Thought for today: Knowledge is like a garden, if you don't cultivate it you cannot harvest it. African Proverb

What a beautiful day this has been. The early morning hours were filled with tosses and turns and imaginary check lists going over and over in the half-awake brain. But lunch with family replaced that unease into a faded memory. 

Yesterday’s photo a day was titled “on the floor”. That is always an interesting exercise. In the hunt for the best shot you are forced to look down. That can lead to some of what has hitherto been undiscovered. In my house there are a few dog toys on the floor but I didn’t have interest in them for this subject today so I considered my “floor” for this project to be the ground outdoors. After several shots I came up with the one I entered for today. I liked it because of the textures, colors and variety of shapes 

I finished the message/hymn lyric hand out for tonight’s free meal at church. I dropped it off on my way to meet Lowell and Rebecca. It feels good to visit a restaurant now and then even though there is a pandemic going on. There was safe distancing and mask wearing. The salad bar is no longer a help yourself salad bar it is maned by a server with gloves and mask and a plastic shield between the server and the customers.  

When we got home, I worked on finding and uploading some archived photos that I had all but forgotten were on my older external hard drive. I am choosing photos that I want to use in some of my current projects. Many of them bring back memories like photo albums kept through the years used to only these are in digital form. 

The word for today is roots.  Bitter are the roots of study, but how sweet their fruit, Cato the Younger.  Friendship's said to be a plant of tedious growth, its root composed of tender fibers, nice in their taste, cautious in spreading, John Vanbrugh.  The aged oak upon the steep stands more firm and secure if assailed by angry winds; for if the winter bares its head, the more strongly it strikes its roots into the ground, acquiring strength as it loses beauty, Pietro Metastasio. The roots of the deepest love die in the heart, if not tenderly cherished, Johann Gottfried Herder.  Wherever the tree of beneficence takes root, it sends forth branches beyond the sky! Saadi. The person who can laugh with life has developed deep roots with confidence and faith-faith in oneself, in people and in the world, as contrasted to negative ideas with distrust and discouragement, Democritus.  Our virtues and view spring from one root, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  We shall one day learn to supersede politics by education. What we call our root-and-branch reforms of slavery, war, gambling, intemperance, is only medicating the symptoms. We must begin higher up, namely, in education, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  In all great arts, as in trees, it is the height that charms us; we care nothing for the roots or trunks, yet it could not be without the aid of these, Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Truth is the root, but human sympathy is the flower of practical life, Edwin Hubbel Chapin. Our life is all grounded and rooted in love, and without love we may not live, Julian of Norwich. Therefore once for all this short command is given to you. 'Love and do what you will.' If you keep silent, keep silent by love; if you speak, speak by love; if you correct, correct by love; if you pardon, pardon by love: let love be rooted in you, and from the root nothing but good can grow, Saint Augustine. 

Todays photo theme is “sunset”. Since I generally choose my shot for the day in day light hours this
one had to come from the archives. We were on our way out of town when I saw the image and had to record it. 

I thought this article might be an interesting outlook on what young people can come up with. This article talks about a pair of sisters who started an online business named “Sisters’ Creation”. One thing that makes it a bit different is that they are on the young side, 12 and 15 years old. The older of the two enrolled in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy to earn college credit. From there she “presented a business model to a panel of judges”.  She then received funding to put her idea to work. A very short time later things began to work albeit slowly due to the pandemic. The proceeds from their online sales will benefit two charities, The World Wildlife Fund and the TeenGirls Development Foundation. The products they make available on line are hand bags, hair scrunchies and face masks. The girls don’t make these products they are produced by a manufacturer and shipped to customer. However, the girls design the original products. As an example “one such design is on a bag that says, “See the Good,” and depicts an elephant designed by (one of the girls) and using apian art, a traditional folk art made by women of northern India. (The other sister) designed a “Dream Big” bag depicting a big-city skyline and made to inspire girls to chase their dreams.” They use social media to promote and maintain their business. So far the business has netted about $1,500 in two months. The girls are students in the Dublin City Schools. 

We are going to snack a bit for supper since we had a lunch with family earlier today.  

Joy