March 30, 2021 a thought for today One may have good eyes and yet see nothing. Italian Proverb

When I have something on the early agenda that is not a part of a regular routine the rest of the day seems to race away. Sue had her second post op check up on her eye, all is normal. I don’t think I have experienced a doctor’s appointment that took such a short time as this one did. 

The photo challenge for March 29 was “my fave spot”. There are lots of them. It seems I stop at this one, or one other fave, every time I am out and about around lunch time. And I was out and about today so it was and easy shot

When we got home worked on a chart for Pastor Tom. That took about an hour or so. Since I didn’t have the information I need to finish the bulletin or the message for Saturday night and no more additions to the Easter Lily brochure came in, I am in the waiting mode. 

I spent some time in the kitchen working on dishes and using the new dust mop I got at the store yesterday. Until we got the house renovated, I had carpeting nearly every where throughout the house so I now I am still getting use to having “bare floors” and their care. 

The sight out the window is wonderful but the temps are still just a tiny bit on the cool side though it is warming up as the day slips along.  

The word today is study.  Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Francis Bacon.  I read, I study, I examine, I listen, I think, and out of all that I try to form an idea into which I put as much common sense as I can. Marquis de Lafayette. If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past. Baruch Spinoza  When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. Epictetus.  You have to study a great deal to know a little. Montesquieu.  Just as food eaten without appetite is a tedious nourishment, so does study without zeal damage the memory by not assimilating what it absorbs. Leonardo da Vinci. To become an able and successful man in any profession, three things are necessary, nature, study and practice. Henry Ward Beecher. When Ignatius understood that God did not wish him to remain at Jerusalem, he began to consider what he should do. The plan he approved and adopted was to enter upon a course of study in order to be better fitted to save souls. Saint Ignatius.  Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow, Richard Baxter.  He who studies but does not think is lost; he who thinks but does not study is dangerous, Confucius. Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours, John Locke.  I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think, Socrates. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest, Benjamin Franklin. Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers, Alfred Lord Tennyson.  

Today’s photo theme is “my fave book”. I do most of my reading on the ipad so they are ebooks but this one is one I use nearly every day for reference. 

Ohio is full of history. This article tell a little more to add to our collection of Ohio facts. There is an authoress in Grove City who recently wrote a book about central Ohio native American history artifacts. When she moved into her home on Hiner Road they found some interesting “leavings” from a prior resident or camper. She found an arrowhead which led to thinking about Native American people who may have used the creek located on the property to travel and hunt. That was the beginning of her journey into the study of native American history. For her latest book she spent three years searching for more artifacts between the Scioto River and the Big Darby. She was quoted as saying "Very little history about the prehistoric and Woodland Indians is taught in school..... the last of the Woodland Indians left in 1843, and there are no reservations”. She feels that people need to study them and “walk the ground they lived on”. Her book tells about some prehistoric Native American tribes that were in Ohio between “8,000 and 10,000 years ago”. The Scioto River was the “major transportation hub for the Native American tribes” traveling in canoes. At one point and for information for her book she contacted an archeologist with the Ohio History Collection who showed her artifacts, some as old as 6,000 year old,  that were found near Stringtown Road and state Route 104. These artifacts are part of the “Stringtown Collection” found in the 1950s. It is believed the site where they were found was a ceremonial site. Another point of interest is that there were once 10,000 mounds in Ohio with only 10 still to be found. One to still be seen and explored is the one on McKinley Avenue in Campbell Park. It is believed to be from 800 BC to 100 AD. There is another called the Waller Mound in Clayton Court off Shawnee Street in the Indian Trails subdivision in Grove City. Another mound is found near Battelle Darby Metro Park where a trail leads to the “reconstructed Fort Ancient Indian Mound. In her book she also mentioned characters from those times in history. One of those persons was Tecumseh. He settled in Deer Creek and later in other places. He set up a confederacy and tried to strengthen the confederacy. 

I am leaning toward hot dogs for dinner. 

Joy

 March 28, 2021 a thought for today, The eyes speak as much as the mouth. Japanese Proverb

Well, this minister never fails me. His message always hits the mark....I think I have said that about him before and will probably say it again. I was particularly drawn to his Prayer of Confession in our bulletin today. 

This is going to be a typical Sunday for me.....nothing much on the agenda. I did take a peek in the office while I was at the church to see if I had any more Easter Lily dedications. There were none there so I guess we have them all. I will wait until Wednesday at noon. After that it will be too late for additions. 

The photo challenge for yesterday was titled “fave word”. I have all kinds of favorite words. I suppose the one I use the most is related to food. So that was my choice for today. The best way I could think to shot that in a photo was a collection of some ingredients. 

I think I have another busy week coming up. I want to go to the store tomorrow. Sue has a check up with the eye doctor on Tuesday. I have a luncheon with my literary club friends on Wednesday. We haven’t had a meeting for over a year. So it will be nice to catch up with whoever will be able to get to Olive Garden. This will be my first attempt to meet with people other than family at a restaurant since the pandemic began.  

I was awakened with a thud around two o’clock. Sweet Pea, Australian Shepherd jumped up in bed with me. The dachshund, Sugar, was already there and panting to beat the band. The lightening and thunder was scaring the heck out of them. They didn’t know were to go for protection. We, all three of us, made it through the storm. 

The theme for today is “my age”. I really didn’t want a selfie that shows the wrinkles that formed
themselves on my face over the years not just because of the wrinkles but because I don’t like selfies. I don’t make a good photo. I find people vary in their presentable photographic qualities, mine, not so much. I chose this one. The wrinkles are there but not so outstanding. The “liver spots” answer the question of “my age” totally.  

The word for today is strength.  Fortitude is the marshal of thought, the armor of the will, and the fort of reason, Francis Bacon.  It is a strength of character to acknowledge our failings and our strong points, and it is a weakness of character not to remain in harmony with both the good and the bad that is within us, Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable.  A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong. Tecumseh.  Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. William Ellery Channing.  Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. Charles Spurgeon.  Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength. Saint Francis de Sales.  There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. Charles Dickens.  Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Endure and persist; this pain will turn to good by and by. Ovid.  As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed. Vincent Van Gogh.  Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause. Victor Hugo. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Lao Tzu.  People do not lack strength; they lack will. Victor Hugo. Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance - the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it; better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen. Thomas Carlyle. When strength is yoked with justice, where is a mightier pair than they? Aeschylus.

This article offers a bit of history and maybe a rebirth of the idea. “During World Wars I and II, victory gardens tended by families in their backyards and in urban lots throughout the United States produced an estimated 40% of all fruits and vegetables consumed by Americans.” At that time it was needed due to food rationing and shortages. According to the article, during the pandemic the interest in this type of gardening spiked. Many “declared” that the gardens they were planting were victory gardens to help in the fight to many of  the coronavirus problems. To encourage the interest in this re-birth of the victory garden the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is sponsoring a program called “Let’s Grow Ohio”. This program will offer free vegetable seeds and educational programming to help people make a success of their gardening. The free seeds will be distributed, in drive through form at the Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory at 2548 Carmack Road, on April 3 from 11am to 1 pm  while supplies last. The OSU Extension will offer educational programs led by master gardener volunteers.  More information about this Ohio Victory Garden project is available at  u.osu.edu/ohiovictorygardens. Last year the Bexley Community Garden and the OSU’s Waterman Agricultural and Naturally Resources Laboratory produced fall crops used to demonstrate fall and winter gardening. The products from these projects were donated to food pantries in central Ohio. 

Its taco night again, for dinner, ooops we decided KFC instead. 

Joy

 March 26, 2021 a thought for today, May you live up to one hundred years and I up to ninety-nine. Japanese Proverb

This has turned out to be an interesting and kind of exciting day. I had laser “surgery” on my eye yesterday, that’s a whole other story, but I had put off doing the printing that I generally do on Thursday until today. It’s good I did, yesterday took almost the entire day waiting and having one exam after another. It all turned out well, my vision has improved. When we got home, I had to get directly to the laundry. That was keeping a long story short, and another day of learning lots of new things about people and health. 

Yesterday’s photo theme was “y is for....”. We had just left McDonald’s and Sue had her coffee in the MickeyDs yellow paper coffee cup. I did a couple of shoot of that. When we got home, I noticed that my daffodils were fully in bloom so that was another choice and ended up being the one I picked after the Photoshop view and work. 

When I got to church, there were already people there. There was supposed to be some people coming to get some maintenance done. Anyway, I had extra help getting the newsletter and the bulletin done. It was wonderful to get it done so smoothly and great to do some “bonding” with friends I don’t see every day. It was also good that Patti was there. The copier had two hiccups that could have been disasters to getting the work done today. Patti knew how to handle each of them. Two days in a row, actually all week, with new experiences with learning and memory making. 

The word for today is strange.  How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude! Emily Dickinson.  It is a strange desire, to seek power, and to lose liberty; or to seek power over others, and to lose power over a man's self. Francis Bacon.  There is nothing so powerful as truth, and often nothing so strange. Daniel Webster.  All things must change to something new, to something strange. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Arguing is a game that two can play at. But it is a strange game in that neither opponent ever wins, Benjamin Franklin  There is nothing strange in the circle being the origin of any and every marvel, Aristotle. Hope is a strange invention - A Patent of the Heart - In unremitting action Yet never wearing out, Emily Dickinson.  You ask me what forces me to speak? a strange thing; my conscience, Victor Hugo.  Do not reject anything because it is new or strange, and do not sneer nor jeer at what comes from the Lord, for if we do, we endanger our salvation, Brigham Young. 'Tis a strange thing, Sam, that among us people can't agree the whole week, because they go different ways upon Sundays, George Farquhar. Sleeping or waking, we hear not the airy footsteps of the strange things that almost happen, Nathaniel Hawthorne.  ... strange things may be generally accounted for if their cause be fairly seached out, Jane Austen. A strange thing has happened, do you know? I am in darkness. There is a person who, departing, took away the sun, Victor Hugo.  Time is a strange thing. It is a whimsical tyrant, which in every century has a different face for all that one says and does, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  All the windows of my heart I open to the day, John Greenleaf Whittier.  Spite is a little word, but it represents as strange a jumble of feelings and compound of discords, as any polysyllable in the language, Charles Dickens. Inanimate objects sometimes appear endowed with a strange power of sight. A statue notices, a tower watches, the face of an edifice contemplates, Victor Hugo.   

Today’s photo title is “z is for....”. Imagine how much thought I put into this one. Not all that many
items especially common subjects begin with the letter z although it is much better than the letter X. I shot a zip lock bag then remembered all the zippered pouched I have on my purse.  

I have never been to Europe but I imagined about outdoor dining through stories I’ve read and movies I’ve seen. According to the article for today, it looks like more of that kind of dining is coming to Columbus. Some restaurants turned parking lots and sidewalks into dining areas to comply with safety rules during the pandemic. The red tape normally required to move restaurant seating into these areas were cut back a little. Several bars and restaurants applied for permits to be outside during the pandemic and it looks like more will apply for this spring. I will share a few of the names listed in this article. Actually there were many more listed but I felt too many to list in this message. There are, maybe, thirty-four more that will “expand patio seating”. But here are the ones motioned before the loner list. DK Diner near Grandview, one that started outdoor tables early in the pandemic. The Ugly Tuna Saloona, in the campus area, put six tables on the patio. Top Steak House on East Main street is one of the oldest restaurants in central Ohio. They will be expanding its patio. BrewDog “will be expending to New Albany” where is will have an outdoor patio. Gateway Brewing Co. In Dublin is under what is called the “Seventh Son group”. They will have a 1,000-square-foot greenhouse patio “overlooks the river”. Bendi Wok N’ Bar is a new location. It serves Vietnamase, Thai, Chinese and Indian food will offer a small patio. Oldfield’s North Fourth Tavern plans to expand the patio to sixty seats.  

It’s pizza night. 

Joy

 March 24, 2021 a thought for today, To whiten ivory with dye is to spoil nature by art. Latin Proverb

I have spent most of the day working on the church newsletter. It was close to being done yesterday but it needed some fine tuning today. It was fine tuning that required some size adjustments and then proper placing. I was also waiting for a last minute item to be entered. While I was waiting, I uploaded the bulletin and most of the newsletter for proofreading. I wanted a “clean agenda” for tomorrow when I am scheduled for the laser procedure to my eye. I don’t know what time I will be through at the doctor’s office or what my vision will be like after the procedure. I am postponing the normal Thursday printing until Friday morning. Now I have all of the items ready to print. 

On March 23 the photo title challenge was titled “w is for.....”. While we were out for the doctor’s visit, I was on the look out for the photo I would need. As I waited in the car at the pharmacy for my sister, I caught sight of these windows so I got out of the car and snapped the shots. Also while I was waiting, I took a photo of the windows in a bus as it passed by and several other windows and walls in surrounding businesses. 

I did get a chance to work in the kitchen for a while. I got the dishes cleared away and some odds and ends done. 

I also worked on the lap top. It worked fine for me when I was in the waiting room at the eye center when Sue was having her surgery. The lap top doesn’t recognize the printer so I was trying to set it up for wireless printing. I wasn’t having much luck with that as I was multitasking and focus wasn’t too sharp.

Today’s photo theme is “x is for.....”. Wow, what a time I had trying to find something to fit that letter. Some of my peers used the legs of a picnic table that formed an x, another caught some tree limbs that formed an X. I ended up taking a photo of my peace lily and used it as it can take xylene out of the air in a building. Kind of weak maybe but it works. 

The word today is storms. By a divine instinct, men's minds mistrust ensuing danger; as, by proof, we see the waters swell before a boisterous storm, William Shakespeare.  The flesh endures the storms of the present alone; the mind, those of the past and future as well as the present. Gluttony is a lust of the mind, Thomas Hobbes. The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. Epictetus. Vows made in storms are forgotten in calm. Thomas Fuller. Storms make the oak grow deeper roots. George Herbert. There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms. George Eliot. Character is formed in the stormy billows of the world. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.   Now and then there comes a crash of thunder in a storm, and we look up with amazement when he sets the heavens on a blaze with his lightning, Charles Spurgeon. Do not fight against Providence; nor bring more heavy weather to the storm. Face what is already there, Menander  Be patient. Like storms, the challenges will pass. Know too, that like the sun, your true soul self is constantly radiating, John Morton  The flocks fear the wolf, the crops the storm, and the trees the wind, Virgil   As the pilot of a vessel is tried in the storm; as the wrestler is tried in the ring, the soldier in the battle, and the hero in adversity: so is the Christian tried in temptation, Saint Basil. In a storm there is no shelter like the wings of God, Thomas Brooks.   

This may not be an exciting news bit but it could be an interesting one and one that may become useful at one time or another. It’s about bugs, bugs that we see in the warmer months. Here are some of the critters listed early in the story: Brown marmorated stink bug, Western pine leaf footed bug, Asian multicolored ladybug, Millipedes, Centipede, Ground beetles, Ants, Black field ants. According to the article these bugs are a nuisance but “won’t do harm”. And here are some more that are pretty harmless are ground beetles, those little millipedes, fowl, bugs, centipedes. As we move along in the article there are some more interesting facts and a few hints. To get rid of spiders is one of the subjects. I hadn’t thought about the different types of spiders....to me a spider is a spider period. To begin, the “sac spider”. The author of the article says it is an “invasive species of European origins”, hides in cracks of walls and has “mild necrotoxin”. This “toxin” can cause redness, swelling or burning if bitten, hydrogen peroxide and an ice pack my help these symptoms. Next in the article are the 17-year cicadas. To “eliminate” them from inside the house, use a vacuum to capture the silk sacs and take outside to empty. Other in-the-house invader are jumping spiders, wolf spiders and funnel-next spiders. “The are harmless” and be “coaxed” outside the house. The next bug in the story is the brown marmorated stink bug. The article said that they come in the house, as do some of the other bugs, to look for water or getting away form “harsh weather conditions”. They can absorb water through their skin. They need to get out of the dry heat of summer to find moisture, basements are humid and cool. The Asian multicolored lady beetle is mentioned. They can enter the house through cracks at the bottom of doors. Toward the end of the article it is suggested that if the homeowner wants to get rid of these and other pests call and exterminator. They can treat the outside of the house around the perimeter and another thing they can do is treat cracks and crevices inside the house. 

We are having spam for dinner tonight with mac and cheese. 

Joy

 March 22, 2021 a thought for today, The coward shoots with shut eyes. Native American Proverb

I am sitting in the arena district eye center as Sue is having cataract surgery. It is interesting on how they have people separated in this waiting room as they (we) wait for the person we are here for. There are long, narrow tables spaced several feet apart. It is one person to a table and there is plenty of room to spread out on each table. I am so glad I was able to get this lap top to work I even got a little bit done on the bulletin. I brought some snacks and some crocheting along with my ever present ebook on the ipad not knowing what I would feel like doing. 

Yesterday’s theme title was “u for under....”. I took some photos of an umbrella but for some reason they just didn’t seem “interesting” to me yesterday. So I began a search for something “under”. I was at church when I began the search (before the umbrella shots). The green chartreuse light underneath one of the air purifier/sanitizes seemed interesting to me when I shot it, not so much when I worked on it in the “dark room” (Photoshop). I finally grabbed an image under my computer desk. 

The trip to the arena district this morning was quite an adventure. Since I am night blind, we were next to biting our nails that we would get here safely. We left the house at 6:15 am and it was still DARK. All of the on coming head lights are blinding to me so I have to concentrate on the lines in the road or the car in front of me if I can. Each of the street lights have rays or beams of light all around them. It like some kind of fairyland fun house. We’ve been here over two hours so they should be done with Sue’s procedure in another hour or so. 

The word today is stand.  In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson   Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. Abraham Lincoln  Purposes, plans, and achievements of men may all disappear like yon cloud upon the mountain's summit; but, like the mountain itself, the things which are of God shall stand fast forever and ever. Charles Spurgeon   Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors. Confucius   While the world changes, the cross stands firm. Bruno of Cologne  Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it. Marcus Aurelius   Prayer cleanses from sin, drives away temptations, stamps out persecutions, comforts the fainthearted, gives new strength to the courageous, brings travellers safely home, calms the waves, confounds robbers, feeds the poor, overrules the rich, lifts up the fallen, supports those who are falling, sustains those who stand firm. Tertullian    Stand firm and immovable as an anvil when it is beaten upon. Ignatius of Loyola  He who stands on tiptoe does not stand firm. Laozi   All things human hang by a slender thread; and that which seemed to stand strong suddenly falls and sinks in ruins. Ovid   Fear not! Stand your ground... the Lord himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still. Moses  As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes and threats of heaven and sea, himself standing unmoved. Marcus Tullius Cicero   

Today’s photo challenge is titled “v is for....” My first thought was of vines. This being winter there are really not to many interesting vines to be seen and I don’t have any vines, beside the philodendron and the pothos vines in my indoor garden. I did consider them in the process of elimination then I remembers the remains of a vine on the chain link fence in the back yard. The vine still has some red berries on it for some added interest with the lines, curves, shapes, patterns and textures of the vine itself.

Today’s article is about some changes that will/are taking place in recess at the Columbus City School after this pandemic. The fist sentence in the article told of some of the things that the children cannot use/do anymore on the playground at recess. They cannot play tag and Red Rover due to the save distancing. Swings and slides are off limits as well as any habit of sharing toys. Something new has appeared. It is called “recess bags”.  Each child at the Lindbergh Elementary School in Columbus has a lime-green drawstring bag of equipment to take to the playground at recess time. The bag contains chalk for “designs” on the playground blacktop and rubber balls to bounce around and off the walls. This helps with the distancing “rules”. The Hilltop Kiwanis Club also added jump ropes for each child. One of the teachers said there is nothing normal about the schools or the world. These new additions make recess help provide a “little level of normalcy”. “The national Society of Health and Physical Educators, or “SHAPE America,” says if schools are hosting in person classes, recess should go on – but it does recommend significantly limiting or eliminating access to playground equipment during the pandemic”. However, some of the area schools are still allowing for use of the playground equipment that they disinfect regularly. Some of the schools that are using the recess bags will also include a bean bag along with the other mentioned items. The schools that are including the pedometers mentioned that they not only keep the kids physically active but also offer applying math skills, percentages, when “setting goals for steps”. These recess bags have been called lifesavers and are making recess fun again. 

I haven’t decided on dinner yet, most likely hamburgers or hot dogs.

Joy

March 20, 2021 a thought for today, A rocky vineyard does not need a prayer, but a pick ax. Navajo Proverb

I got the message/hymn hand out enveloped and dropped off. While I was out, I dropped off a script for Sue that she needs to take for her cataract surgery on Monday. 

My photo a day theme for yesterday was “s is for.....”. Once again I gave it some thought and found several things I could have used, sand, seat, swan, etc. I was out and about so I looked for subjects along the way. A huge block of stone stood along side the drive through at McDonald’s back by a big old ever green tree to give the stone some more character. 

I worked on this message for over and hour and once again due to my focus being in three different places at one time I accidently deleted it all. So I took another hour and rebuilt it. It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything big on the agenda. I did get one other thing taken care of today.....I was able to finally get an old and very, very slow lap top back up and running. So now that leaves me a little time to water the thirsty plants before I fix the left overs for dinner. That’s about all I am going to have time for for the rest of the day. That and finishing my two photos of the day. 

One of the photos a day for today is titled “stairs”. I made
several shots, my back deck steps (with Sugar at the bottom hoping I would help her up the steps, she has arthritis (helped her up after the shot)), the steps on the front porch, with a good shadow of the hand railing and finally a part of the stairway to the second level of my house. (You can see a portion of the world glob that the twins use when they are in the explorer mood).

The word for today is soul. Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all. Emily Dickinson  Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. Democritus  The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe  Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. Plato  A room without books is like a body without a soul. Marcus Tullius Cicero  I beg you take courage; the brave soul can mend even disaster. Catherine the Great   What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul. Joseph Addison   Thinking: the talking of the soul with itself. Plato  Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul. Alexander Pope   Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul. Saint Augustine   False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil. Socrates   All are but parts of one stupendous whole, Whose body Nature is, and God the soul. Alexander Pope   The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. Victor Hugo  Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul. Marcus  Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul. Epicurus  There are thoughts which are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the posture of the body, the soul is on its knees. Victor Hugo  Whatever satisfies the soul is truth. Walt Whitman 

The second photo for today is titled "t is for....). You may be able recognize the landscape of this photo. It is of the park I visit on a regular basis for my photo shots, or just a way to relax in "nature" for a few minutes. T is a letter of the alphabet that offers a lot of item names to chose from.  this group of trees presented itself as a model instantly as it does every day. 

I thought this article is a good thing to think about. It is titled:  Eye on the Environment. In particular it is talking about Hilliard’s Earth Day observance. The people handling the event say it will be mostly virtual “but packed with activities”. On April 17 the recycling of Styrofoam, electronics, paper shredding and collections from Habitat for Humanity will start the event at 10:00am to noon. They will be handing out reusable grocery bags filled with “green items” like Bee’s Wrap, rain gauges, reusable water bottles and metal straws to the first 100 vehicles going through th recycling collections. Everyone is encouraged to do at least one clean up in the community through the week. “The Hilliard Recreation and Parks Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and Homestead Metro Park have put together do-it-yourself scavenger hunts that are educational, family friendly and fun for all ages.” You can find further information about these scavenger hunts at gogreenhillieard.com. The article stated that the wrap of the event will take place at 10 to 11:30am on April 24. It wraps up with a virtual rain-barrel workshop. At 11 this will be a virtual session of “For All Species Education. And will show ambassador animals native to Ohio. 

Any of you who have seen my blog before must realize that I am in an online photo a day group. It is a private group (meaning you have to join to view it). There are 29K members from all over the world. Every month there is a theme and every day a different item to shoot within that theme  in the photo a day challenge portion of the site, there are other parts to the site including a blog.  We each shoot the same subject from our little corner of the world and upload it to instagram or facebook. The lady who runs the site is based in Australia. (https://fatmumslim.com.au/ ). I also belong to another photo group. In this group we have four photos a day challenges (5th, 10th, 15th, 20th) (https://groups.io/g/photogroup101 ). I also upload these photos (those taken for the second club) to my Flickr account. (https://www.flickr.com/ then search for rectorjoyce).

We are having left overs for dinner tonight. 

Joy

 

 

 March 18, 2021 a thought for the day, When you lose the rhythm of the drumbeat of god, you are lost from the peace and rhythm of life. Cheyenne Proverb

All of the deadline “stuff” is out of the way now. The bulletin printed and the message/hymn lyrics printed. The bulletin required a couple of extra pieces needed to be inserted in the bulletin as I folded them today so it took a little while longer than the usual Thursday morning printing. 

On March 17 the photo subject was “q is for.....”. This one didn’t give too many choices. But I had this one handily in the house. I was having one of those seemingly pack full of “stuff’ days and I was able to set this one up quickly.  

I went by the park to try to find a photo for today. It is very rainy and cloudy so there had to be some thinking about focus and form to meet the challenge. Color wasn’t much of a choice with no sun to reflect the colors into the air. Colors can be outstanding in some overcast days but this wasn’t one of them, the clouds were too heavy. 

When I got home and after a start on the newsletter and a start also on the Easter Lily dedication sheet I got the laundry started. I picked up a few more requests for the Easter Lily project while I was at church. 

I got a phone call that they were starting to set appointments at the  Schottenstein Center. I got off of the church things I was working on and got on the site to set the appointment for Bob’s vaccination. After answering some questions I finally got to the list of dates page. When I picked a date then thought about it for a minute it disappeared. I tried another and another, each time it seemed to get gobbled up. I guess there were others on line and hit the accept button quicker than I could. We didn’t get an appointment. I will have to keep continuing to try. I was very discouraged. My hope is he doesn’t get the virus before I can get the appointment.

The word today is snow.  Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it's set a rolling it must increase, Charles Caleb Colton.  We build statues out of snow, and weep to see them melt, Walter Scott. There are few sights more pleasant to the eye than a wide cotton field when it is in bloom. It presents an appearance of purity, like an immaculate expanse of light, new-fallen snow, Solomon Northup.  A lie is like a snowball: the further you roll it the bigger it becomes, Martin Luther.  Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand - and melting like a snowflake, Francis Bacon. Silently, like thoughts that come and go, the snowflakes fall, each one a gem, William Hamilton Gibson.  Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand, Henry David Thoreau. The wonder of a single snowflake outweighs the wisdom of a million meteorologists, Francis Bacon. Some sorrows are but footprints in the snow, which the genial sun effaces, or, if it does not wholly efface, changes into dimples, Henry Ward Beecher.  

Today’s photo challenge is “r is for....”. This one had a lot more ideas beginning with the assigned letter than yesterdays. When I went by the park earlier this morning I decided to take some of the familiar features of the park through a raindrop-covered windshield.

This article is about a historical place in Columbus that may be in for some changes. The title of the article is “Can Columbus' Thurber House Survive the Pandemic?” In 1918 James Thurber wrote a letter about the influenza pandemic of that time in history. Part of his missive was “All one sees here is nurses and hearses and all he hears is curses and worse.”  As the article goes on to relate that now, a century later, the center and museum here is facing its own pandemic. The Thurber House where the James Thurber lived for a bit of time in the 1910s is facing financial difficulties, as much of the art institutions are, due to the COVID pandemic. It has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. In the beginning of the shut down the “leadership” of Thurber House had planed to have virtual author talks along with other events rather than performing art that would have had crowds of visitors. As time went on the online talks, literary camps and workshops dropped off along with the fees and tuition. So the income-generating programs have caused the budget to drop over $60,000. However, there was a “windfall”. The Ohio Arts Council was able to “award the Thurber House some funds from the CARES Act.  A fund-raising campaign also brought in some funds. So the two sources of money will allow them to keep staffing and lead “see the nonprofit through until spring”. 

We are having barbeque, I had some frozen from the last time I made it. 

Joy

 March 16, 2021 a thought for the day, Our first teacher is our own heart. Cheyenne Proverb

I finally got though to get Bob signed up for his first vaccination. But....they were not making appointments today. They put him on a waiting list and will call some time next week to set up an appointment. 

One of yesterday’s photo challenges was titled “o is for....” After the thought process that is usual for this type of photo theme, those beginning with letters of the alphabet, an onion was my final pick.  

I worked on and finished the bulletin earlier today. I also, passed on some information I learned about how to count people we are reaching with our streaming on Facebook for church. 

I spent over an hour working on this letter. I was multi tasking between the letter and things in the kitchen. At some point after I was about two-thirds of the way through the quotes for the day I lost all that I had done. My computer has been limping along for over a month now and pretty soon, probably very soon, it is going to “give up the ghost’. That will mean I need a new computer which I would love, but it also means reinstalling all of the programs I use and all my little tricks that are saved. That takes a lot of time....and patience, something I am not famous for. 

The warm and sunny days we were having for a few short days are gone for a while. We are having clouds and a little rain today. 

The second photo theme for yesterday was titled “complimentary colors”. I because of a time limitation for today I went through the archives and found this photo that seemed like a perfect on for this challenge . . .  

Sue took a car service to go to an appointment in an area I am not familiar enough with to drive. I have an eye doctor appointment tomorrow. Hopefully, I will have at least some better vision when I get the new glasses. 

The word for the day is smile. Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray, Lord Byron. A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles, William Hazlitt. A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles, Washington Irving. What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable, Joseph Addison.  The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions - the little, soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile, a kind look or heartfelt compliment, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Look back, and smile on perils past, Walter Scott. Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles, George Eliot. Better by far you should forget and smile that you should remember and be sad, Christina Rossetti. A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities, Herman Melville. Youth smiles without any reason. It is one of its chiefest charms, Thomas Gray. Laughter is day, and sobriety is night; a smile is the twilight that hovers gently between both, more bewitching than either, Henry Ward Beecher.  Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned, Emily Dickinson.   

The theme for today is “p is for....”. This one gave me a bit of a problem. I took some shots of Sweet Peas paws. Which was the one I almost used but I had this packet of straight pins that I had taken to church to mount some posters on foam core board. Someone else had already done the job so I brought this packet back home. I liked the symmetry of this shot better than the one of Sweet Pea’s paws. 

Who doesn’t like Girl Scout cookies? Here are some interesting things on the subject. Here are some of the “Girl Scout Cookie Power Rankings”. They were rated by and taste at room temperature, taste out of the freezer.  There are two bakeries that provide the 110-plus GS councils throughout the country. There are 12 types of Girl Scout cookies. For the purposes of these ratings, there are 12 types of Girl Scout cookies. But technically there are “17 different cookies; a number of the classics, like Thin Mints, are baked by both companies and have slight but distinct differences”. I didn’t realize until I read the article that there are two names for the Peanut Butter Patties, Tagalongs. Samoas/Caramel deLites are crunchy along with chewiness due to the caramel. Apparently this is a good cookie for freezing. Next there is the Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties, ‘equivalent of Reese’s Pieces. It is chocolate-coated with creamy peanut butter on it, not very good for the freezer. The next description is the Do-si-do/Peanut Butter Sandwich. The outside is crumbly, “like a granola bar”.... “is a winner”.   The interior of Thin Mints is “almost sandy but the chocolate coating combines with the delicate, barely-there cookie to create a minty communion wafer”. Apparently there is a “Little Brownie version (that) is crispier”. The Think Mint is the best to be frozen. There is a gluten free Girl Scout cookie called “Tofffee-tastic” that uses rice flour and tapioca starch in its ingredients. It offers the  buttery toffee chips giving it more chewiness and freezes fairly well.  The article rated some of the other Girl Scout cookies in their “frozen ranking”, S’Mores, are a 4, Lemon Ups are a 8, Trefoils/shortbread are a 12, S’mores Version 2 are a 12, Lemonades, 5, Toast-Yays a 3, and finally Carmel Chocolate Chip a 6. 

We are having meat loaf for dinner tonight. 

Joy

 March 14, 2021 a thought for today, Judge not by the eye but by the heart. Cheyenne Proverb

The sermon was powerful this morning. Parts of it and parts of one of the hymns brought tears to my eyes. I could feel the messages deeply and was a little upset with myself for not keeping the meaning of the words in the message, a message  that I know in my heart, uppermost in my mind always. Anyway, it was a good start to a week, a week that will nudge recall moments of the message and words often when least expected. 

March 13th photo theme was “m is for....”. I don’t think this particular M needs an explanation. One thing I liked about the finished image is the shadows at the top, behind the M and at the left edge. There was also an added bit of interest with the texture of the wall. 

I got a beautiful birthday invitation, with a unicorn on it, yesterday that made me long to be there. The problem is it was in North Carolina and I am around 500 miles away. One of my great grand daughter’s is turning five. A once in a life time mile marker. My thoughts were with her and the family all day. 

The rest of the day will be laid back. I have to complete one chore though, I need to get dishes in the dish washer and start it. Then maybe play with some photos in the archives. 

The word for today is simplicity. In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Simplicity is the glory of expression, Walt Whitman. There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far above all the quaintness of wit, Alexander Pope. Of Manners gentle, of Affections mild; In Wit a man; Simplicity, a child, Alexander Pope. Pure, holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh, Francis of Assisi. Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things, Isaac Newton. There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth, Charles Dickens. The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest, Thomas Moore.  Simplicity is that grace which frees the soul from all unnecessary reflections upon itself, Francois Fenelon.  Simplicity is a jewel rarely found, Ovid.  He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has, Henry Ward Beecher. Simplicity and purity are the two wings by which a man is lifted above all earthly things. Simplicity is in the intention - purity in the affection. Simplicity tends to God, - purity apprehends and tastes Him, Thomas a Kempis.   When the subject is strong, simplicity is the only way to treat it, Thomas Jefferson.  Simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world, Laoz. 

Today’s photo challenge was is “n is for....” It’s Sugar’s nose. She was laying under my desk chair so it’s an “overhead” shot. I didn’t like the pattern of the throw rug she was laying on so I blurred and changed the hue of the background. 

In searching for an interesting news item to share with you about our city or state I found this one which was written a few weeks ago about our neighbor, a little over an hour from Columbus,  Mt Vernon Ohio. The title is “From Trash to Treasure...” According to the author Mt. Vernon like many small town will have “defunct storefronts and empty factories”. Mt. Vernon’s beginnings were closely related to railroads and natural gas. The town has a perfect small town atmosphere with their “independent” bookstore, coffee shop, a town center and monuments, a “little” hotel. The article went on to describe some of the other businesses in Mt. Vernon, a leather shop since 1880, an art gallery, pizza shops, a diner and so on. Part of the this story and history and revitalization of a town that was showing some decline centers on million-square-foot of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company that opened in 1907. It was “rotting on the south edge of the Kokosing River for nearly 35 years”. It is being “reborn” in the Ariel-Foundation Park. This park is a green space that is to connect Kokosing and the Heart of Ohio bike trails. The Plate Glass company was an eyesore and too “expensive....to demolish”. One plan was to make it an artist studio but that cost was out of bounds. Two artists took on the “lead” to submit a design and would take no public money for it. It was discovered that the steel that “provided the bones” of the old building could be resold to begin the revitalization process. The vision for the Ariel-Foundaiton Park where the old Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company warehouse is located to is “be a world class example of adaptive reuse that honors its industrial heritage and is the focal point for recreation, entertainment and social interaction” in Knox County. According to the article the 250 acre park is “stunning” and there is nothing else like it in Ohio.  At this point the “ruins” of the warehouse have been left in tact as “cathedrals of industry.” There another historic building, Coxley Building, there also that “harkens back to the turn of the 20th century” with elevator towers “like sleeping giants”. There are parts of factory “innards” salvaged from strictures of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. There is an observation tower on a 280-foot smokestack in the park. The article related that “Somehow existing both in harmony with and in natural counter to the ruins are the wide-open fields and reflecting pools, framed by the Terraces, geometric earthworks”. Along with the features mentioned there are woods and ponds for hiking, exploring and fishing and even a mediation labyrinth, all part of the park. There are hopes for even more growth. The last sentence of the article: “It reveals the potential of a small town as it evolves into something awesome and magnificent, building treasure out of trash.”

Sunday seems to have become Taco Bell night in the Rector house. 

Joy

 March 12, 2021 a thought for today, If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove. Cheyenne Proverb

I have spent the last four days trying to make an appointment for my son to get his vaccine. I haven’t had any luck yet. I have tried six locations every day. I will keep trying until we get it done. That was one of the things that was on the agenda early this morning. 

The photo theme for March 11 was “k is for....”. I had a list of K words. Kettle, keys, kite, keg and so on. My house is over ninety-one years old. There are still a few of the smaller features in the house that have been here as long as the house is old or nearly so. One of them is a key hole and its cover/fixture. So that was my choice for yesterday. Once I uploaded the image to my group photo challenge site one of my peers saw the  image and mentioned that the knob (made of glass) also fit the theme. 

Since this is Friday, it is more or less an easy day on my list. The printing is done and there are no documents having a deadline. I still have to get the message/hymnal hand out folded and “packaged”. That won’t take more than half an hour. 

Easter is coming. I have an Easter Lily dedication hand out to do. I forgot to enter that message in the bulletin that I printed yesterday so I made a posterette (my original new word) to put where I place the bulletins. Then I sent an email to members. I just hope I didn’t miss anybody. I will need to get the requests for the dedications by the 21st. 

I should have some time today to work on organizing some more of my archived photos. It seems that is a never ending job but I enjoy doing it. Looking over old photos brings back memories. 

The word today is silence. Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together, Thomas Carlyle. The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do, Thomas Jefferson. Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute, Josh Billings. The human heart has hidden treasures, In secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed, Charlotte Bronte.  Silence is one of the great arts of conversation, Marcus Tullius  Cicero. Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence, Leonardo da Vinci.  True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment, William Penn. Silence is true wisdom's best reply, Euripides.  Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom, Francis Bacon. If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence, George Eliot.  When the oak is felled the whole forest echoes with it fall, but a hundred acorns are sown in silence by an unnoticed breeze, Thomas Carlyle. Silence is the mother of truth, Benjamin Disraeli. Silence is foolish if we are wise, but wise if we are foolish, Charles Caleb Colton. But the child's sob curses deeper in the silence than the strong man in his wrath! Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  

Today’s theme is “l is for....”. Again I had a list of ideas to use in a search. I settled on leaf or leaves. However it’s winter here and there are very few if any leaves left. My daughter-in-law gave me two house plants for Christmas to add to my indoor garden collection. A back story on these two is that I love unique stems or trunks of plants initiating sort of a Bonsai effect, which I am pulled toward. These two both had thickened, twisted and/or braided stems/trunks which gave them even a larger something to love and admire about them for me. Even of more interest, I noticed that one of the plants had been grafted, I noticed the graft site after some close inspection.  One of them has gorgeous leaves, well, all of my plants do, but I felt the photogenics for this one at this time. I used an overlay technique to give the final image a vintage effect. Once again, after I uploaded the final image to my group photo challenge site another of my peers asked if this was a Money Tree Plant. Sure enough it is.  Its official name is Pachira aquatica. Here’s an interesting note on the plant: “The five leaves typically found on a stalk are said to represent the five elements of balance: earth, fire, water, wind, and metal. Finding a stalk with seven leaves is incredibly rare, and also said to bring immense luck to the owner.....It has been said this plant reduces stress, anxiety and may also help lessen sleeping disorders.” 

This article is about some more changes that came with the pandemic. Grocers have transformed, but will shoppers follow? Before the pandemic hit there was personal shopping, or you could order groceries and have them collected by a staff member and delivered. You could even, in some cases, have full meals delivered. After the pandemic came on there was a 9% rise in “food dollars” from the year before that. Super markets never closed and were deemed essential. A lot of people started shopping online and orders were picked up, curb side, or delivered. Kroger’s “e-commerce business” has become almost as big as eBay. According to the article “it’s sales top Intuit, Xerox or Lvft and are gaining on Adobe, Uber and Wayfair”. Walmart and others say their e-commerce sales grew 69%. One of the Kroger customers in the story still personal shops but in this past nearly a year has cut the shopping days in half. She buys more at one time and cooks more at home than going out once or twice a week as her family did before the pandemic. She mentioned that it takes a bit more planning in preparing the list when going less often. Also mentioned in the article, there are fewer kids in the stores due to potential exposure to the virus. More in the article is that grocers are “bracing” for things to slow, “even shrink” as people feel safer to go back to restaurants less to the store. Wall Street was mentioned in the article. They want these businesses to grow their e-commerce to “wring profits out”. A question in the article was “Did the pandemic make e-commerce a permanent service for customers? Kroger, for one, is betting on it”. This was an interesting part of the article, Kroger is planning to automate home deliveries with robotics warehouses. Apparently besides e-commerce thinking there is a theory that both online and in-store growth “stimulates demand for each other”. When shoppers were shopping during the pandemic in the stores they had cut back on visits but loaded up when they did shop. Another change coming about is one of the stores may be “reducing human contact” by no traditional checkout lanes only self serve. Another possible change, new “smart cart” technology, Kro-Go, where the groceries will “tally as they go”. Something else mentioned in the article that adds to grocery shopping changes is that during the pandemic some customers may have chosen to do their shopping at smaller stores. 

Pizza!!

Joy

March 10, 2021 thought for the day, While life yet lasts, laughter and molasses. Mexican Proverb

Sue is “baby sitting” the twins with their other grandmother so it is just me and the dogs here today. 

The bulletin was sent proofing, the minor changes came back and it’s done. I got the message for the Saturday free meal about half an hour ago, so it is almost done too. 

The photo challenge for March 9 was “I for .....”. After some thought I chose the ignition starter on my car. Possibly a little weak choice but ice cubes are hard for me to develop a lively image. Ink might have been a choice but I didn’t want to take apart an ink cartridge to let ink drip out creatively. 

The kitchen floor is cleaner after a mopping and the iropot sweeper ran for about an hour and a chocolate peanut butter pie is freshly made in the frig. I also worked on parts for a crochet project I am working on. It calls for some support forms for the finished item. There are pieces of a pop bottle for parts of a game.  

The ingredients are laid out for the dogs special treats in the form of meat balls. I will have to get those finished later this afternoon. 

I also have a photo project I am working on. I think I have squeezed a lot of things out of today and I am beginning to feel it. There is still dinner and the clean up before I can just sit and crochet or read or do my daily cognitive exercises. 

One of the two photo a day images for today is “j is for....” This one didn’t offer a wide field to choose from. I eventually pulled a joker card out of a deck and used it as the photo of the day for this one. 

The word for today is significant.  Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity,  P. T. Barnum. The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance, Aristotle. Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us - and those around us - more effectively. Look for the learning, Louisa May Alcott. A good laugh is sunshine in the house, William Makepeace Thackeray.  It is impossible to underestimate the significance of your today's choice, Gautama Buddha. Of what significance are the things you can forget, Henry David Thoreau.  In a symbol there is concealment and yet revelation: here therefore, by Silence and by Speech acting together, comes a double significance, Thomas Carlyle. I can only say with deeper sincerity and fuller significance what I have always said in theory - Wait God's will, Charlotte Bronte.  What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance, Epictetus.   

The second photo a day theme title  for today is “paper”. I keep a stack of the Sunday edition of the Dispatch for the old-fashioned uses of wrapping garbage I don’t want to be in the disposal and for cleaning windows or for padding where needed, once upon a time it was used to line my bird cages. But I don’t have any house bound feathered friend right now, that ship has sailed. Anyway, I used the Home section of the Dispatch for this theme.  

This sounds like an interesting contest as well as offering some fun time it give the birds a new home. This article is about a contest pug on by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. The contest involves designing building a bird house and then painting it. It can’t be a commercially built birdhouse or a kit. The dimensions are stated at 18 inches square and no taller than 36 inches and ready for outdoor installation. They must be “functional, bird-safe and aesthetically pleasing”. The goal is to attract wildlife. There are hopes that this will kick-off a national Bird Feeder Month. The competition is open to all ages. Apparently the center started something called the Art at Audubon before the COVID pandemic began. This project was to offer creative competitions, present exhibitions, develop artist in residence programs and “offer a venue for pop up...shows” on a regular monthly basis. The deadline for entering this particular contest is March 13.  The birdhouses will be on display and the public is invited to vote for a People’s Choice Award. The contestants may donate their creation to the Native Plant Backyard Challenge auction. The money will be used for the center’s mission and programming. There are entry fees to entry the contest the amount depends on the age group and if professional, group, adult, teen or youth. The Audubon Center reopened in February and is located where the Whittier Peninsula was on the banks of the Scioto River in downtown Columbus. A bit about the center....18,000 square feet space with a certified green building. It uses geothermal heating and cooling, has a plant filled green roof and other features to reduce its carbon footprint. It is part of the Scioto Audubon Metro Park, 505 W. Whittier St. 

Bob and I will have chicken stir fry for dinner tonight. 

Joy 

 March 8, 2021 a thought for the day, The tongue slow and the eyes quick. Mexican Proverb

After a week plus on wrapping up the most current newsletter, then the weekly bulletin, message hand out and then the top of the list, annual report, the person that is me today is like a balloon that has lost all it’s air, flat and wrinkled. The only thing on the agenda for this week is the bulletin and massage. I finished the back side of the bulletin the first thing this morning. I am waiting for the minister to send me the information I need to do the inside part but that may not get to me until tomorrow or maybe even Wednesday. I mention planned timing for getting it done but I have learned that it must coincide with a different persons schedule. 

I have some kitchen work to do today. The dish washer is nearly loaded so I have to finish that task but at the moment it is afternoon and I am hungry so I am going to make a grilled cheese sandwich and huge glass of iced tea.....

The photo challenge for March 7 was “g is for....”. Well, I looked around and decided on a gate. There are all kinds in my neighborhood. I wanted one that had some shape and form other than a simple board or chain link.  

I’m back....getting to work on key wording some photos and other photo work. That should be it for today. I will keep checking email to see if the information I need it there. 

The word today is show.  I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again, Stephen Grellet. Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me, Alexander Pope. Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are, Thomas Carlyle. To show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have deserved it, Tacitus.  Cows are amongst the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate tenderness to their young when deprived of them; and, in short, I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures, Thomas de Quincey.  Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great, Ralph Waldo Emerson. They do not love that do not show their love, William Shakespeare.  One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession, Sophocles.  Difficulties are things that show a person what they are, Epictetus.  Men show their character in nothing more clearly than what they think laughable, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all, Abraham Lincoln. Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth, Aesop. Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; and do not pull it out, and strike it, merely to show that you have one, Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield.  

The theme for today is “h is for....”. As I was deciding what to round up for this image I remembered an
old, very, very old pair of hand cuffs we had. So I went downstairs in search of them. I found the old hand clothes iron and old style waffle iron from about the same period as in history as the hand cuffs but, alas, no hand cuffs of that vintage. But I did find a pair from a much more recent time period. 

It would be amazing to know what the children are thinking and feeling in this time of pandemic. This article may be offering a hint of that. The title to the article for today is: “Pandemic is changing the way children play”. In the article two children decided in March of 2020 to “escape the hard reality” by building a make believe world. Its name is WoofWoof Doggy Bone. In this “world” they create characters and plot rules. It consists of LEGOs and miniature dogs. There is a basement (“underworld”) and of course the “bedland” that is upstairs.  In this particular world there is a “Spiderman Planet” which is the capital of WoofWoof.  One of the “architects” (children and owners) of WoofWoof world says there are  “about a million, a gazillion” ‘characters’” and some of them are invisible.  The article related that this year in the lives of children stuffed animals are in quarantine, along with pretend COVID vaccines and other places like WoofWoof world. WoofWoof world is immune from the virus. Another 4-year-old child created her own COVID test kit of construction paper that fastens with duct tape and decorated them with marker ink in the shape of specimen tubes, swabs and cotton pads.  For children who go to day care centers real test kits are a real part of their lives. A psychologist of early childhood children said that these may be a signs that kids are processing “what they need to” to stay healthy.  It can be “critical to children’s physical, emotional, and social well-being”. I found this statement to be interesting... “Toys that comfort are on the rise-The pandemic has fueled demand for what the Toy Association – a trade organization – has dubbed “Zen-Sational” toys”. They assist in “self care and mindfulness” as coping mechanisms. Another thing that is on the rise is imaginary friends. One child mentioned in the article has a sketch book with drawings of robots and other characters that she talks to when the adults are busy. This is a sort of substitute for human friends they are now separated from. 

I think I am having Parmesan crusted chicken for dinner tonight. 

Joy

 March 6, 2021 thought for today, Eyes that see do not grow old.. Nicaraguan Proverb

It’s been a fairly eventful day. I think I mentioned at some point that a lens had fallen out of my glasses a few weeks ago and that I had called for an appointment to get an eye exam and new glasses. Well, the old pair of glasses that I had found at that time and was using were beginning to distort my vision. So I called to see if I could get the appointment at an earlier time. I couldn’t. So I asked for them to call me if there was a cancellation. Anyway, the office called me back with a message that they could fix the lens so that my vision wouldn’t be compromised. Then I could wait for the scheduled appointment. So I went in this morning for the repair....aaah so much better. 

On March 5th one of the photo challenges for the day was “e is for ....”. When it comes to finding images to fit the photo themes for alphabetical letters there is most often a wide array of choices. It usually gives me more pause for thought than a named theme. For this choice of E on this particular day of the theme I picked “ear”. This image is of my Australian Shepherds’s ear. I love the texture, shapes and patterns of the individual hairs. Can you imagine the creation and placement of each of those hairs? I love the position of the ear that she had chosen for this pose. I love the shades and hues of color.  

After leaving the eye doctor, I headed straight for the church. I had made a correction the cover page at home using Photoshop. There had been discovered a couple of other small corrections. It took about four minutes to move the old graphic from the cover page and replace it with the new. When Patti got there we made a couple of changes in about ten minutes. Then I started the printing. At about three quarters of the way through the printing the copier notified us that it had run out of staples. We realized we didn’t have staples for that copier. We found some for the last copier. Patti was able to get them to work long enough to finish our job. 

It was noon time when I left there so I stopped at McDonalds. When I pulled over in the parking lot to start munching my hamburger. I found they had given me a chicken sandwich instead. By then there was a long line forming so I just headed on home. 

The rest of the day is going to be easy work on the computer. 

The second photo of the day theme for yesterday was “minimalism” (a style or technique ...... or design that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity). I cheated a little, instead of making a shot especially for this theme I chose one that I shot a few days ago. The letter A. It was minimaliztic in that it is a lone subject and the background was blurred to “unclutter” the single thought. 

The word for today is should. It was God's word that made us; is it any wonder that His word should sustain us? Charles Spurgeon. Truth is contrary to our nature, not so error, and this for a very simple reason: truth demands that we should recognize ourselves as limited, error flatters us that, in one way or another, we are unlimited, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ..... enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, even ....... the animals, to whom Thou gavest the earth as their home in common with us. We must remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty so that the voice of the earth, which should have gone up to thee in song, has been a groan of pain. May we realize that they live, not for us alone, but for themselves and for Thee and that they love the sweetness of life, Saint Basil.  Hours and days and months and years go by; the past returns no more, and what is to be we cannot know; but whatever the time gives us in which we live, we should therefore be content, Marcus Tullius Cicero.  I have never thought, for my part, that man's freedom consists in his being able to do whatever he wills, but that he should not, by any human power, be forced to do what is against his will, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Wise people say it is folly to think anybody perfect; and as to likes and dislikes, we should be friendly to all, and worship none, Charlotte Bronte. A preacher should have the skill to teach the unlearned simply roundly, and plainly; for teaching is of more importance than exhorting, Martin Luther.  Our impatience of miles, when we are in a hurry; but it is still best that a mile should have seventeen hundred and sixty yards, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The small hopes and plans and pleasures of children should be tenderly respected by grown-up people, and never rudely thwarted or ridiculed, Louisa May Alcott   It takes so little to make a child happy, that it is a pity in a world full of sunshine and pleasant things, that there should be any wistful faces, empty hands, or lonely little hearts, Louisa May Alcott    

Today’s photo challenge is “f is for....”. My Christmas cactus has chosen to bloom again. I decided to use one of it’s delicately gorgeous flowers as my offering today. I can’t help but be drawn to the gossamer-like texture of each of the petals and of the thin filaments and the tiny anthers. As well as the touch of the red stigma to announce boldness and “look at me” pull to look and admire the whole body of this flower and small gift of nature and nature’s creator.  

Here’s more news about exciting plans for more green space in our area. There are plans for an “Alkire Road park”. It will be located at 6084 Alkire Road in Galloway and offer family activities.  There will be a path for walking and biking from Georgesville Road. There will be twenty-five parking spaces, a family shelter, a trail head and a playground. The playground will feature natural equipment such as logs to walk on and rocks to climb and lots of green space. Hopefully people using the Camp Chase Trail will come into the park too. That would be a 325 mile long trail that goes right by Alkire Road. For this plan there is a proposed bike repair station and drinking fountain for riders. If all goes as planned the construction for the park will begin in late summer or early fall. 

I can’t make up my mind between hot dogs and baked-breaded orange roughy for dinner. 

Joy