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