June 28, 2021 a thought for today, Talking to one another is loving one another. Kenyan Proverb

The bulletin form is done up to the point of waiting for the additional information I need form someone else so I can do the finishing touches. 

Yesterday’s theme was “this season”. This seemed appropriate. When there is no AC these fans do the job in the kind of heat we are experiencing right now. 

We bought some sweet cherries the other day and it looks like they are not going to be eaten before they go bad. Also, a neighbor gave me some peaches that may meet the same feat. So since they are still fresh enough I decided to cook them enough to freeze them for a while for later use. That took a while this morning. The cherries had to be pitted and the peaches pealed and “pitted” too. That’s done and they are ready for the freezer. I will get to making the noodles in a while. 

While the peaches and cherries were cooking I got the dish washer loaded.

I am not going to be out and about today so I need to look through my archives fo the photo of the day today. That took a while. Any time I go thought the archives I get side tracked by old photos that bring back memories or that I want to consider for other uses.

The word today is behavior.  Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge. Plato. Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation. Moliere.  Music is part of us, and either ennobles or degrades our behavior. Boethius. Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes. Emily Dickinson. There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. From its springs the purest courtesy in the outward behavior. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  When new turns of behavior cease to appear in the life of the individual, its behavior ceases to be intelligent. Thomas Carlyle.  We would be ashamed of our best behavior if the people knew the motives of our behaving so, Victor Hugo.  Often our good deeds make enemies for us, and the ungrateful person despises us on two counts; for he is not only unwilling to acknowledge the gratitude he owes us: he does not want to have his benefactor as witness to his thankless behavior, Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable.  All cruelty springs from weakness, Seneca.  Allow yourself to think only those thoughts that match your principles and can bear the bright light of day. Day by day, your choices, your thoughts, your actions fashion the person you become. Your integrity determines your destiny, Heraclitus. Your goodness must have some edge to it -- else it is none, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Today’s challenge is “skyline”. I have lots of them. I kind of like this one, it has a bit of mystery with
the outline of the car, and then the gorgeous sky and the traffic.....normal skyline in the city,

To me this is a novel idea although if I remember correctly I had an aunt maybe even two of them that grew vegetables among their flower gardens many, many years ago.  I also like the title: “Gardening: Creating edible landscapes in the front yard can be a delicious way to garden”. As the article states, and as I am accustomed to, backyard vegetable gardens are the norm. It seems some gardeners are planting their vegetables/edibles in the “center of their home landscape”. There is even a name for it “edible landscaping or foodscaping”. They can be “attractive and provide fruits, vegetables, herbs and even edible flowers” in the same space as ornamental plants. As I thought when I started the article and my first sentence about it, edible landscaping is not new but is coming into a revival. As I said, two of my aunts had such arrangements. But apparently it occurred long before that as Ancient Persian gardens and medieval monastic gardens included fruits, vegetables and so on. One of the suggestions in the article was to maybe plant rhubarb instead of a Hosta plant, for one thing they have similar growth habits. Maybe instead of a maple or oak tree, a fruit tree. And in place of a hedge, berry bushes. Attention to the growth requirement of the plants should be considered. Vegetable, fruits and herbs do best in six hours of direct sun. Containers and window boxes may be used too. Some of the edible plants that are ornamental are Kale for texture, Swiss chard for texture and color. Egg plants produce purple flowers as well as food. Most herbs “make excellent border plants”. It was noted in the article that some homeowner associations may “restrict” what can be planted in the front yards. 

I am making tuna casserole for dinner that means making homemade noodles with all the flour and mess to clean up. 

Joy

                                                                                      Detour???

                       

PS many of the photos I share in this collection of missives are added to useable and wearable items to be found at: http://joy-rector.pixels.com and http://redbubble.com/people/jarector/explore?asc=u. Of course these sights are collaborative of my peers putting together their offerings. I, of course, would be pleased if you would consider mine among all that are there to see and that may take a search for my particular items under my name once at the sight.   

 June 26, 2021 a thought for today, There is no phrase that doesn't have a double meaning. Kenyan Proverb

We were supposed to have the twins for the week end after a couple of months of not having seen them so we are/were looking forward to that. But they haven’t gotten here yet and Saturday is almost gone. 

Yesterday’s theme was “in the air”.  This arrangement is an art piece in the park that I frequent. I took several shots for this theme in a variety of places. This one took center stage. 

Yesterday Lowell stopped by for a visit. I always feel so happy when he gets a chance to come by. He is easy to talk to and I kind of let loose with a lot of nuisance thoughts that have been bothering me. It made me feel a lot better. I just hope my complaints didn’t dampen his spirit. 

Today I put the finishing touches on the message hand out for the free meal tonight at church. I think this is the last one of this nature. Next week we will be going back to the traditional cafeteria/sit down style meals that have been our tradition thorough the years. The message should go back to the mini sermon rather than the written handout. 

After some virtual visits and a few other computer chores, I left to take the message envelopes to the church. As I was driving down the street, I saw more and more yard sales going on. It is a long time tradition in this neighborhood to have what has been called the “bean dinner” festival at the local park down the street at about this time of year. We haven’t had it for two years, this being the second cancelled due to the pandemic. It has become another tradition for folks to have yard sales during the bean dinner event. People must have felt the urge and felt that it was safe and time to do the yard sales. 

On the way home I made the circle through the park as has become my custom and found once again this being Saturday that the little league activities seem to be back in full swing.

Today’s image came from the same park as the shot above. This is a distant shot of some of the little league team at practice. 

The word today is beginning.  Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. John Milton.  Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. Demosthenes.  There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory. Francis Drake. It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live. Marcus Aurelius. A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge. Thomas Carlyle.  The beginning is always today. Mary Wollstonecraft.  Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. Madame de Stael. Everything that has a beginning comes to an end. Quintilian. Truth is the beginning of every good to the gods, and of every good to man. Plato. To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness. Confucius. Many a time from a bad beginning great friendships have sprung up. Terence. Be willing to be a beginner every single morning, Meister Eckhart. The Bible was composed in such a way that as beginners mature, its meaning grows with them, Saint Augustine. 

Here is a little bit about the history of the 4th of July celebrations in our area over the years. The article began with saying “from accounts of early Ohio  pioneer settlements at Marietta, Cincinnati and frontier Franklinton in central Ohio all celebrated the Fourth of July in some way, shape or form”. But there is no printed material to describe just how it was celebrated. It wasn’t until two hundred years after Columbus became a “town” that the Columbus Gazette, on July 5,  told about the activities of the day before. It told about dinner and some toasting that began on the day of the fourth. An “oration” and a hymn and an “ode” by the Columbus Handel Society took place along with a “discharge of artillery”. After many speeches the “toasting citizens wandered from the smoke of the guns and wended their way homeward at the end of a pleasant day.” A hundred years later in 1921 the celebration had made some changes. It was 104 degrees in the shade and no rain in sight. The event this time was celebrated in a variety of ways. The main thing was a pageant put on by the recreation department where over a thousand children preformed along High Street and the Ohio State University. They wore costumes and danced and had a good time. In other parts of town it was celebrated, one, by going to the Valentine Country Club on the far east side where it was cooler due to the surrounding wooded area. At that location there was a vaudeville show along with dancing, baseball, volleyball, horseshoe pitching and other such contests. In still other parts of the city there were picnics and activities in local parks. Fireworks were allowed under strict controls in certain parts of the city such as Glen Echo and Crestview on the north and Linden Heights or Glenmawr. The article ended by expressing how the celebration of 1821 and 1921 were quite different but had the same idea of celebrating the “American experiment.”. 

I am going to try a found recipe of chicken with ramen noodles for dinner. 

Joy

 June 24, 2021 a thought for today, A royal heart is often hid under a tattered cloak. Danish Proverb

This is one of those days that started out on the negative side. Besides waking up from one of those “downer” type dreams, I had one message in the virtual visits that left me a little sad. One thing that did start out right was a call from my great grand children. It was a relatively short chat but their bright faces added a bit of a smile to wipe away some of the slump in my mood. 

The challenge for yesterday was “stripes”. I hadn’t given the singular idea of stripes much thought. So as I was out and about looking for models for my image I came across all kinds of stripes. Some on the backs of fire trucks, some on US mail trucks, traffic markings in the street and of course flags and so much more. Here is one of the “so much more”....the side of a KFC building. 

After the virtual visits out of the way and the chat with the kids, I headed for church for the printing. The bulletin printing went smoothly but then things got a little “sticky”. The copier became a problem. I began the printing of the newsletter. The stapler part of the printing didn’t work, that caused the copier to jam. I reset the copier and tried again and one more time. What to do, what to do....I thought about taking the flash drive with the file on it to Kinko to have the printing done but needed to check with someone about taking that costly step. I decided to walk around and through the sanctuary to disburse the bulletins and came up with the notion of taking the single “clean” copy that I did have and try to print from the top of the copier itself rather than from the computer to the copier. That worked, except for the stabling. I made the eighty-five copies I needed. Tomorrow morning will be better, hopefully, when Dorothy and I get together to get the newsletter ready for the mail. 

After leaving the church I made a quick stop for brunch then drove around the park for some photo ideas. 

Once at home I got the laundry started, that will take the rest of the day along with preparing a meal. 

The word today is awake.  Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake. Henry David Thoreau.  When men are innocent, life shall be longer, and shall pass into the immortal, as gently as we awake from dreams. Ralph Waldo Emerson. And the heart that is soonest awake to the flowers is always the first to be touch'd by the thorns. Thomas Moore.  We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn. Henry David Thoreau. If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream, and have a flower presented to him as a pledge that his soul had really been there, and if he found that flower in his hand when he awake - Aye, what then? Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life, Gautama Buddha.  A thought once awakened does not again slumber, Thomas Carlyle.  Every seed is awakened, and all animal life. Sitting Bull.  The revealed Word awakened me, but it was the preached Word that saved me, and I must ever attach peculiar value to the hearing of the truth, for by it I received the joy and peace in which my soul delights. Charles Spurgeon. Let gratitude be awakened; let humility be deepened; let love be quickened, Charles Spurgeon.  My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring and carried aloft on the wings of the breeze, Anne Bronte.  Follow then the shining ones, the wise, the awakened, the loving, for they know how to work and forbear, Gautama Buddha.  

The photo theme for today is “one colour”. This subject is a bit more of a challenge then yesterdays.
There aren’t to many one color items that fill the frame of a camera. I came across one that does have more than one hue of that color ....green.  

This is an interesting idea. Help from a facility as big as Children’s Hospital is a generous service to our community. The article is about the plans of Nationwide Children’s Hospital to build and renovate twenty homes making them affordable for undeserved communities. It is part of their Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families initiative . There other agencies in a partnership with the hospitals program. The article related “that health is about so much more than health care, and high-quality, affordable housing is crucial for the well-being of children and their families”. The plan is to build seventeen rental homes and rehab three others. The Healthy Neighborhood Healthy Families will manage the properties. There are some people who feel the money could be spent in a different direction, “What we need is to help people who are struggling to make ends meet." Others respond saying the need is to “tackle the poverty problem...not just housing.” There was a collaborative formed in 2019 that the hospital is involved with to tackle housing, business development, health care access and other challenges”. 

I think I am going to try one of the hamburger helpers I got at the store this week for dinner. 

Joy

 June 22, 2021 a thought for today, A one hundred yard high tower still has its foundation on the ground. Chinese Proverb

Today there is no need for “out and about”. So I have spent the time on the bulletin and the newsletter. I have both mostly done except....there is still part of the newsletter information that I am waiting for. I spent a larger part of yesterday on some household chores. Since I had the other obligations to get done this week and I got that little bit more done yesterday I think the rest of today will be on the “laid back” side.

Yesterday the photo theme was “blue”. One of my neighbors has a blue patio umbrella. I liked the lines, color and shapes of it. I tried getting a few shots of it. But when I pulled them up in Photoshop I realized I didn’t have the composition that I wanted. So I just used the beautiful sky blue shot I captured right off the front porch.  

The weather has taken yet another turn. The temps have dropped about fifteen degrees. It’s now in the sixties instead of eighties. I was chilly enough to break down and put on a sweat shirt. I don’t think this is going to be one of the best periods for the house plants being outside. There have been strong winds knocking them over several time. More rain than they really need. This is a kind of test to see which of them will be strong enough to make it through a little oversight here and there. 

Things are beginning to “come back to normal” after the pandemic. I think I am seeing some of the changes that I contemplated with the thoughts of how much “normal” would come back totally unchanged. There are some of my friends in my literary club who will not be coming back to the meetings. There is also a change taking place with a major long-lasting mission at my church.  Not necessarily primarily due to the pandemic, possibly a fall out from it, but still a change to what we have been accustomed to for half a century. I’m wondering how many more changes of that sort there will be as the we go forward. 

The word is appreciation. Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. Voltaire.  Next to excellence is the appreciation of it. William Makepeace Thackeray.  Of cheerfulness, or a good temper - the more it is spent, the more of it remains, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has, Henry Ward Beecher.  Only the educated are free, Epictetus. Continuous eloquence wearies. Grandeur must be abandoned to be appreciated. Continuity in everything is unpleasant. Cold is agreeable, that we may get warm. Blaise Pascal. The greatest gift is a portion of thyself, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop. Tacitus. It cannot be that there is a high appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about him, Charles Spurgeon.  If people did not compliment one another there would be little society, Luc de Clapiers. What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal, Albert Pike. Charity should begin at home, but should not stay there, Phillips Brooks. Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity, Samuel Johnson. It is not the failure of others to appreciate your abilities that should trouble you, but rather your failure to appreciate theirs, Confucius. We live by admiration, hope and love, William Wordsworth. Correction does much, but encouragement does more. Encouragement after censure is as the sun after a shower, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable, James A. Garfield. 

The photo theme for today is “fire”. I wasn’t about to chase a fire truck, even if there was one racing down the street at the time, and I don’t have any candles around the house at the time so I use one of the fires on my gas stove and tried to include some lines and shapes to give it some character. 

Here is another bit of history about Columbus with a bit of a twist. Apparently there was a question as to whether the Columbus Cultural Art Center is haunted. A student went to the front desk ans explained that she saw a female figure in 19th century clothing walk through the gallery and there had been no sound of foot steps. The clerk said “that would be Hester”.  So the story began. In 1844 Hester Foster was put to death near where the art center is located. It was estimated that 12,000 to 20,000 people “converged on downtown”. There was “drunken revelry” in the crown and this atmosphere caused the death of one spectator. Little was reported of Hester’s death in lieu of the chaos that surrounded the gallows. So it is hard to find much about Hester and her activity as a ghost. In the process of a search about the Cultural Arts Center for other purposes the search about Hester moved forward. The author of this article was asked to take on the task of assimilating the original information about the art center. What she found in that process was a document answering questions about Hester “in her own voice”. There were pamphlets called “The Murder Pamphlet” that gave details on “sensationalized” crimes. The pamphlet about Hester was at the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, part of the Ohio History Connection. Here is a bit of one of the twists that I mentioned in the beginning. There is a 21 page booklet that was sold a Hester’s execution that has been lost and forgotten for almost two centuries. One reason given for the lack of attention over the years could be that facts may be exaggerated of “unreliable”. In Hester’s “Murder Pamphlet”, written in the first person, there are lists of people, places and events about her existence. She had a “happy upbringing” until she was three then she was sent to Cincinnait to live with a relative then due to unfortunate circumstances had to move from family to family where things got bad at time. Later she married and had twins. Her mother gave her slaves to help her. She freed the slaves. It is said that one of the slaves murdered her children and their father. She started drinking and then fell into “vice and wickedness”. At some point she was in the woods with a stranger and two other women she had met and two men. One of the “strangers was raped and beaten” and killed. Hester was implicated in the offense. She said she saw the attack but swore she had no part in it. She was sentences to 20 years in prison in the Ohio Penitentiary. In prison she was in a group of women that got into fights with other groups. Later she argued with another inmate. A prison guard suggested that she “knock” the other woman in the head and that he would look the other way.  During one of the following serious arguments between Hester and two other women Hester hit one of the women in the head with a shovel as the guard looked the other way as he had said he would do. “Even though the attack was not premeditated, Hester Foster was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death on December 21, 1843, just four days shy of her 22nd birthday”. She was preparing for her execution and was “loaded” into an open carriage with a man who was also being executed.  There was a large crowd at the execution site. Hester “fell to her knees, weeping and praying”. She nodded to the sheriff that she was ready. A hood was placed on her head and a noose around her neck and she was “launched into eternity” as the trap door dropped. That is the story of the ghost of the Cultural Art Center, which, by the way, was the old Ohio Penitentiary site and then an arsenal for the state militia before it became the art center. 

Left of beef and noodles with a bit of boxed tuna teriyaki.

Joy

Grass as a cushion. 

 June 20, 2021 a thought for today, There is no cure that does not cost. Kenyan Proverb

We are having some sun shine again today. I think I had heard the word “rain” in the forecast for later today again. At least this is a bit of a respite from the clouds and downpours.

The photo challenge for yesterday was “number”. I drove around looking for some kind of ornate number but that was another negative.....so I decided on one that was a little different than just one mediocre set of numbers....two are better than one. 

I think we had a few more people at church this morning than we have had in the past few weeks. That’s nice. And we are greeting each other in our traditional way, at least bumping fists but sometimes shaking hands or touching a shoulder in greeting. 

I was in one of my down-in-the-dumps moods when I left for church. It’s better now after the message and the greetings and talking briefly to friends. 

Another thing that boosted the spirits for me was an invitation to go to lunch with Lowell and Rebecca.  Going out to eat is one of my very favorite things to do. I think that is because I am the “chief-cook-and-bottle-washer” for all of my adult life including now as a senior citizen. I’m just a touch (ummm) weary of it and am ecstatic for the opportunity to get out of it for even one meal. 

One of the photos for today was “bicycle”. While I was out and about I looked all over for a bicycle. I see them all the time at the park and propped up against building and pole. But today...nada. When I was at church I realized here was one in the fall sale items so I used that as my model for yesterday. 

There isn’t much on the agenda this being Sunday. So after lunch I will just work on some photos and dream along.  

The word today is appearance.  Things are not always as they seem; the first appearance deceives many. Phaedrus.  Appearances are a glimpse of the unseen, Anaxagoras. Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly, Epictetus. A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right, Thomas Paine. Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth, Aesop. Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility, Jane Austen. The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. Aristotle. First appearance deceives many. Ovid. We should look to the mind, and not to the outward appearance. Aesop. Think not I am what I appear, Lord Byron. Why do people respect the package rather than the man? Michel de Montaigne. Polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold, Lord Chesterfield.  It was the special purpose of Christ's appearance upon earth to bring immortality to light, John Quincy Adams. When disposition wins us, the features please, Ovid. 

The second photo for yesterday was titled “architecture”. I couldn’t think of a better bit of architecture than out church and it’s lines and shapes so that was my second model

 History of the American Indian interests me so this article grabbed my attention. I learned from the article something that I may have learned in history in school but didn’t pay much attention to. “ Flint quarries were special places for indigenous people”. In Ohio there were a “number of sources of high-quality flint”. Flint was used to make tools, spear points, arrowheads, knives and so on. One of the outstanding names of a flint quarry in Ohio is Flint Ridge in Licking Count these spots are preserved for instance “Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries and Nature Preserve. As the article says some think these places are we can “extract” a resource, convert it to useable form and then leave. One archaeologist thinks that is a “narrow” view and people with that view miss the import of these places to the indigenous people. He did a report naming the embedded history of native beliefs and practices in these areas. Some of the questions he brought up in the article were how did they choose the varieties of flint suitable for their needs, did they go to the closest source or look for the highest quality of flint available, did the color matter. He further suggested that it appears that the color of the flint took “precedence over quality”.  I found this bit of information interesting: thirteen thousand years ago in Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania the Paleoindian tool makers preferred to use the color of jasper for stone tools. In Ohio the multicolored Flint Ridge flint was preferred by the Middle Woodland societies. They would gather it at the Hopewell earthworks between AD 1 and 400. They used the material they gathered to make artifacts and used them as gifts to pilgrims. It is suspected that some of the Indians believed that “mica chips are scales of horned serpents....and possessed special powers”. A suggestion is that perhaps different varieties have similar stories and dictated their purposes. 

So I won’t be preparing much for dinner since we went to lunch at York. Maybe some soup and sandwich. 

Joy

 June 18, 2021 a thought for today, The day before yesterday and yesterday are not the same as today. Kenyan Proverb

Yesterday’s photo challenge was “a handful”. I was going to use a handful of chocolate chips but decided I would probably have to eat them when the shot was complete and that could have led to further handfuls....so I decided on a handful of coins instead. 

It has been a busy day already. I left the house early this morning to make my first stop at the BMV to stand in line in order to get a replacement for the handicapped placard that had been stolen from my car last week. Mission accomplished.....so onward. 

The next stop was back to Hoge to re-print the bulletin for this week. I missed the fact that this is a communion week and left out that part on the first copy of the bulletin that I printed yesterday. I corrected that as well as making a poster letting people know that we will be back to our normal form of free meals and ministry on July 3. We have been handing out “boxed” meals for the past several months. Now we will be going back to the cafeteria/sit down meals in a large meeting hall inside the church, much better for socializing and sharing cares and concerns. 

We are getting yet more rain. This round looks a little more severe than the ones last week. We may have some heavy winds with it and some possible hail. I am going to have to move a few of the house plants that are on their “vacation”, so that they don’t get knocked over. 

With all the standing at the BMV this morning and some other walking today, my legs are aching enough to make it necessary for a couple of Tylenol tablets. I am taking the rest of the day “off”. 

Today’s theme is “rough”. As I was out and about I was on the alert for things that were rough in texture. I made shots of brick and stone buildings, including the White Castle building that is highly “textured”. I ended up with this old stone fence/wall. 

The word today is anger.  Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy, Aristotle. For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind. Robert Green Ingersoll. There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot. Plato. Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. Thomas a Kempis. Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. Buddha. Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame. Benjamin Franklin. How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it. Marcus Aurelius. A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green. Francis Bacon.  An angry man is again angry with himself when he returns to reason. Publilius Syrus.  Anger cannot be dishonest. Marcus Aurelius. There was never an angry man that thought his anger unjust. Saint Francis de Sales.

Here is another bit of history about Columbus. This one is about the Statehouse and a fire. As we know from past articles and a study of history, the Ohio General Assembly voted to move the capital city from Chillicothe to Columbus in 1812. There was a “bitter contention” over the move to Columbus from other towns but the “High Banks opposite Franklinton at the Forks of the Scioto” was chosen. So the building of a new town was begun for 10 acre lots of public buildings. Prison labor was used for the construction process. A prison was built, Statehouse Square was erected with small two story buildings. The statehouse itself was completed in 1815. There were ornate architectural elements of the period. There were maps, an engraved copy of the Declaration of Independence and other “articles of use and ornament”. After a short period of time it was “clear that a larger and more imposing building was needed”. At that point it was decided to construct a building “second only in size and elegance to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.”. The cornerstone was laid in 1839. For one reason and another work on the site lagged. At the same time there was little to no maintenance and upkeep on the old statehouse. Visitors to the building showed a “sense of mortification at the appearance”. In February of 1852 some time after four o’clock there was a cry of fire in the streets. The Old Statehouse was on fire. It began in the center of the Senate Chamber on the floor. When that part was put out it was observed that the overhead timbers and the belfry were on fire too. It continued to grow, engines could not reach the fire. The roof fell in as the second story became a mass of flames. The sergeant at arms and other volunteers saved as much of the papers and furniture as they could. The new building wasn’t complete so the House and Senate met in inns and hotels until 1857. It was later stated about the fire in the statehouse “circumstances strongly indicate that the origin was incendiary.”  No one was ever identified as the arsonist.”

Pizza!!

Joy

 June 16, 2021 thought for today, That which is done at night appears in the day. Uruguayan Proverb

This has been another of the early days. I like when there are appointments early to get out of the way so there is the rest of the day for other things, though I expected this one to take up most of the day. Sue had an appointment for a test at Mt. Carmel Grove City for 8:30. I packed up a couple of snacks, some crochet work and my tablet for the time in the waiting room. The test didn’t take nearly as much time as I thought. We were ready for the trip home before I had time to get a good start on the crocheting I had taken with me. We had a stop at a CVS. I wanted to make one other quick stop. I had finished the second bootie for the new baby and wanted to drop it off. We didn’t make it a real visit, just the drop off but I did get to give a quick hug to William. 

One of the photo a day theme’s for yesterday was “toys”. We have a box of toys here for the twins to use when they visit so that was my model. 

Before the early appointment this morning, I had the time to put last minute finishing touches to the bulletin and time to print the shut-in envelopes. That way I didn’t have to worry about not having them done. I am ready for printing tomorrow morning. 

I don’t have anything pressing on the agenda for the rest of the day, just working on the dinner chores.

The word today is age.  Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age. Victor Hugo.  What though youth gave love and roses, Age still leaves us friends and wine, Thomas More.  We grizzle every day. I see no need of it. Whilst we converse with what is above us, we do not grow old, but grow young, Ralph Waldo Emerson. With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come, William Shakespeare. If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old, James A. Garfield. Young men's minds are always changeable, but when an old man is concerned in a matter, he looks both before and after, Homer. Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order. John Adams.  In youth we run into difficulties. In old age difficulties run into us. Josh Billings.  Age merely shows what children we remain. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant thing. It is true you are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as spectator. Confucius.  For age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A graceful and honorable old age is the childhood of immortality, Pindar. The years teach much which the days never know, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Education is the best provision for old age, Aristotle. Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end. Marcus Tullius Cicero.

The second photo theme for yesterday was “panning theme”. Panning in photography is a capturing of a moving object with a slow shutter speed while moving the camera to “stop action”. I was using my Samsung Smart Phone camera and have not mastered the manual setting yet. So as part of the definition of panning, moving the camera, I used the panoramic setting and moved the camera for shooting a section of the neighborhood. 

There are a few areas of the Columbus in one part of restoration or another so I may have spoken about this area before so this may be an update. The Quarry Trails roughly includes Riverside Drive to Asbury Road and then east on Onandaga to connect with existing connections along Tremont Road. They expect it to be ready in October or November. There will be townhouses, flats and apartments as well as singles family homes included in the park. Both the park and the development are located at the northeast corner of Trabue and Dublin Roads at former quarry land. Buildings will be located to the right of the parkland. Some of the planned projects are a brewery, a company to rent out kayaks, rock climbing gear and other equipment, a gym and coffee shop. There will be pedestrian-only green spaces. There will be such pathways through out the structured development leading all the way to the Scioto River. The path will consist of sidewalks, Adirondack chairs along the way and “lots of landscaping”. In the park area there is a new stairway with access to a 20-foot waterfall. There will be steep mountain bike trails, a giant sledding hill with a climbing wall near by. “Other park features include a dog park and multiple access points for kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding and fishing”. All of this should be available beginning in the fall of this year. 

Today’s photo theme is “something weird”. I thought of shoes hanging from telephone cables but there were none close by for today’s shoot. Last year when I planted some flowers along the fence, I marked where they were in their younger growth phase. I used dowel rods with homemade yarn tassels attached so my son would know not to weed whack it. I think my neighbors wondered “what in the world those objects are for”. So that was my “weird” subject for today.  

I am having baked salmon for dinner and cheesy potatoes for dinner. 

Joy

The story speaks for itself in the area of ‘discards’. But there is a bit of required photographic art features, which are:  line, shape, form, texture, pattern, color and space also in the shot. 

 June 14, 2021 a thought for today, Maturity comes from wisdom not in the passing of years. Persian Proverb

I have the bulletin done up to the pastor’s information. I also got to “face talk” with my great grand children for a while earlier this morning.

The photo theme for yesterday was “leaf”. As I moseyed through the park in my car, I passed by one of the small gardens. I found this leaf. I like the lines and shapes. The background was a bit of a sticky wicket for my purposes today so, in the "darkroom", I separated the leaf from the background then used the motion blur filter to obscure those shapes. Then I added the poster edged filter to make the textures and character of the leaf more prominent. 

I visited my new great grandson and his brother yesterday. So I have had a great start to the week. 

Those visits helped calm my nerves after my car was robbed while I slept two nights ago. They made a mess throwing things around. They took some change I had in a container and my handicapped placards. The car was parked at the back of my drive way that extends from the street too almost the alley. 

I watered the plants on the front porch that aren’t near the soaker hoses. That hose needs a washer at the connection and was spraying all over me. I will need to fix it or wear a rain coat when I use it. 

The refrigerator really needed cleaned out so I got that out of the way too this morning. Well, almost, I need to reload the dish washer and get it started. 

This Ohio weather offers a surprise every day. Today there is no rain at least not in this part of the state. The sun is bright and it is hot outside. They are saying we are supposed to be getting something cooler in a couple of days. 

The word for today is affection.  Surrounded by all the members of my dear family, enjoying the affection of numerous friends, who have never abandoned me, and possessing a sufficient share of all that contributes to make life agreeable, I lift my grateful eyes towards the Supreme Being and feel that I am happy. John James Audubon.  Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection. Pindar. Love is not to be purchased, and affection has no price. St. Jerome.  Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment. George Eliot.  We were never intimate mother and children while she was our mother - but... when she became our child, the affection came. Emily Dickinson. The great model of the affection of love in human beings is the sentiment which subsists between parents and children. William Godwin. The paternal hearth, the rallying-place of the affections, Washington Irving. The largest land animal is the elephant, and it is the nearest to man in intelligence: it understands the language of its country and obeys orders, remembers duties that it has been taught, is pleased by affection and by marks of  honour, nay more it possesses virtues rare even in man, honesty, wisdom, justice, also respect for the stars and reverence for the sun and moon, Pliny the Elder. If we lose affection and kindliness from our life: we lose all that gives it charm, Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Simplicity is the intention, purity in the affection; simplicity turns to God, purity unites with and enjoys him, Thomas a Kempis. 

The photo challenge for today is “books”. When this was the subject a while back I think I mentioned
that I don’t have many books around the house anymore because I use the library’s ebooks now and google information or data pages for my reading. But I do have a few so I rounded up a few for this shot. 

This article is a bit of some more history for our place in the world concerning the Kelton House. The article said that there hidden lessons in history. One hundred and fifty years ago. The Kelton family moved out of “the city and moved to the country for a quieter, safer place for the children. That “country home” is now squarely in the city at 586 E. Town St.” It once became a stop on the Underground Railroad. The property was willed to the Columbus Foundation in 1975 with the stipulation that it would be preserved and used for educational purposes. Many of the “artifacts” on display are items “of the period”. The oldest piece is a grandfather clock that was built in 1790. The formal parlor still has the original ornate ceiling medallions, moldings and trim. There is a velvet sofa and fourteen fireplaces in the house. The ceilings are thirteen feet high. Part of the house can be rented for weddings and one of the most historic such events was Martha Hartway and Thomas Lawrence nuptials. Sophia Kelton had a pool table moved into the parlor to keep her sons out of the “Downtown billiard halls”. There are artifacts of her time there, needlework, glasses and a sewing kit, a marble topped table and chairs for playing games. There is a gift shop in what use to be called the morning parlor. In one of the upstairs bedrooms there are toys of the era showing the “utilitarian side of family life in the 19th century”.  The article said the girls were not just playing but learning to be mothers with these toys. I learned from the article something that makes sense and that I never gave much thought to as for the use of curtains in particular. “Lace curtains were not just pretty, they kept bugs and dust out during the summer.” The bedroom (“master suite”) is a step back in time as some of the other items have suggested. The room is filled with trunks, letters from husband to wife, a dresser with castor oil and other potions sit. At the end of their lives they each died in that bed. There is still standing at the rear of the property a former carriage house which overlooks some of the gardens. Besides tours of the house there are teas and lectures. 

We are having cube steaks in gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner. 

Joy 

Outside the tennis court.....

 June 12, 2021 a thought for today, The face is the portrait of the mind; the eyes, its informers. Latin Proverb

I have a new great grand son. He was born early in the morning yesterday. I haven’t met him yet, probably in another day or two. I am making booties for him but he beat me by a few days. This is the third crochet pattern I have tried. The first had some confusing steps so I gave up after three times of crocheting and tearing out. The second pattern was to simple looking, not pretty enough. Now this one, I like it but time ran out. When I go to see him, I will show him the first bootie which is finished and the sole of the second which I will finish and get to him the next week. 

Yesterday’s photo theme was titled “balance”. I gave some thought to what I might be able to use as a model for this photo. I also looked around for ideas as I was out and about. I took several shots. When I pulled them up in the “dark room” I felt that this one was the one out of the lot that best fit the idea of balance. 

To begin the morning Bob helped me get a couple of tiny new plants in the ground. I have been trying and trying with one misfortune after another to get a Lenten rose plant started. I am trying one more time. I also planted a small little starting of a portulaca plant also called a moss rose. The back story of the plant for me is related to my father-in-law. He was dying of cancer when he came to live with us. I had planted some portulaca by an outdoor light pole in our front yard. When he needed to get some fresh air and was able to get himself outside now and then he would sit on the front porch. He seemed to be in wonder of that plant. Many times he told me “I think that is my favorite flower”. So in remembrance of him we will have that growing in one of my along-the-slide-of-the-yard gardens. It looks like today will be the first after three or four cloudy and/or raining days. There are lawn mowers going all over the place.

After we got the planting done, I went to the church to drop off the message and bible study. After that I drove by some art activity that is going on (I mentioned the event in the news article below). It wasn’t as extensive as I had pictured in my thoughts but it is impressive. After the  stop at McDonalds I went by the park for some quick photo shoots as has become my habit of late. I wasn’t thinking of this being Saturday so I got a bit of a surprise when the parking lot was nearly full with little league activity. A ball game seemed to be forming and there were tiny cheer leaders having their practice...... It’s great to be alive right now. 

I have to make Sweet Pea’s meatball treats and freeze them this afternoon and think about what I want to fix for dinner, hot dogs, I think. But I need something to go with it. 

The word for today is adventure.  Adventure is worthwhile. Aesop.  Adventure is not outside man; it is within. George Eliot. I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship, Louisa May Alcott. Wherever you go, go with all your heart. Confucius.  Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character, Henry David Thoreau. The most beautiful adventures are not those we go to seek, Robert Louis Stevenson. I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate, Vincent Van Gogh.  A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably, William Penn. In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors, William Blake. Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present, Marcus Aurelius. 

The photo challenge for today is “eye spy”. When I considered this title, I couldn’t seem to separate it
from the idea of “peek a boo”. So I looked for that sort of image. Along the way I found several more images with not quite as “tight” a perimeter as “peeking” for the subject.

I kind of picked this article because there are many memories at this spot in Columbus. In one of the photos there is the church I went to all my childhood. Across the street from that is a garage that one of my uncles owned. Behind the photos is where I went to school for six years of my life in the elementary grades. And now, a minor space in history is being made. Apparently there is an “infrastructure project underway” called “Sullivant Bright”. It is a “two-phase public art project” that is beginning with the painting of murals in the street and poems stenciled in the sidewalks. This should be an interesting form of art that I, for one, have never had the experience of seeing or even hearing about. A few young artists were photographed sweeping away dirt that had gathered on the rainbow she had spent the week painting on the street. As they tried to worked all last week, they experienced rain and thunderstorms that caused them to pause in the work of painting. The plan is for more such murals along Sullivant Avenue between Interstate 70 and Hague Avenue. I don’t know that such a project will improve the neighborhood in the long run. I think something like a permanent improvement requires a different kind of structured effort. Art is an international language and a strong influence but not of the more sturdy art of architecture when it comes to giving support to the needs of human existence, in my opinion. The artists are paid for their equipment and supplies by the city. Apparently in this plan there is sidewalk replacement, road repair, alley clean up, storm water consideration, stop sign replacement all of which I hope will be up kept so as too truly improve the downcast neighborhood in a lasting rehabilitation. Hopefully it will be enough to energize the thinking of the inhabitants to feel it is important and want it to last. At least it will make the area look much better than it does now, for a while. I gather these early murals are temporary and will be replaced by “long-term” murals and maybe some more life affirming improvements will also come about from the effort. 

Hot dogs/coneys for dinner tonight. 

Joy

   

 June 10, 2021 a thought for the day, The tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill a man six feet high. Japanese  Proverb

Lowell arranged for a plumber to come out and replace the two outdoor faucets today. The plumbing for them is nearly as old as the house and that’s pretty dated. One of them had a very weak flow and the other, the handle was missing. Now I have brand new and working properly faucets. When the plumber was done, Sue and I left for a UPS store to mail a package Sue has had ready for some time. We took Sweet Pea with us and made a stop at the park so she could add to her memory of scents. 

Yesterday’s photo challenge was “in the shade”. Finding shade was a challenge yesterday. It was overcast most of the day. I remembered some other photos of have taken at the shelter house at the park. So that's where I headed. The sun is noticeable on two planes, the foreground and the deep background leaving the “shade” and its silhouettes in the center. 

Before we had the water turned off, I ran the dish washer and started the laundry. When we got home, I got back to that chore. Also, before I left, I got a couple of informational emails sent to the Hoge emailing list. 

Just shortly after we got back home, I had a call from Jessie and the kids, always picks me up on bad and good days. I can't squeeze and hug them as I would like but seeing their faces and hearing from them about and watching their lives gives me life.

One of the photos for today was “glass”. As I was out and about I looked for ornamental glass in store windows and other types of glass and took some shots. When I got home, I looked around for something suitable. I remembered a couple of ornamental pieces that my grandson, John, had worked on when he was learning how to blow glass but they seem to have disappeared. I found this bottle that I had collected earlier and decided to use it. I have the mantle mirror glass as part of the image along with the bottle and its reflection as well as a portion of the glass cover on the clock. On top of that, I liked the other shapes and the colors and hues captured as a part of the whole. 

We had a little sunshine for a while but the clouds are back.

The word/words today are admire/admiration.  However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to admire him. Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux. We always love those who admire us, but we do not always love those whom we admire. Francois de La Rochefoucauld. I never admire another's fortune so much that I became dissatisfied with my own. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  True enthusiasm is a fine feeling whose flash I admire where-ever I see it. Charlotte Bronte. Those who agree with us may not be right, but we admire their astuteness. John Heywood.  Many admire, few know. Hippocrates.  Our admiration of the antique is not admiration of the old, but of the natural. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ignorance is the mother of admiration. George Chapman. Admiration and familiarity are strangers. George Sand. To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind, Theophile Gautier. Admire as much as you can. Most people do not admire enough, Vincent Van Gogh. All we see and admire today will burn in the universal fire that ushers in a new, just, happy world, Seneca the Younger. All men do not, in fine, admire or love the same thing, Horace. The youth, intoxicated with his admiration of a hero, fails to see, that it is only a projection of his own soul, which he admires, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Look at light and admire its beauty. Close your eyes, and then look again: what you saw is no longer there; and what you will see later is not yet, Leonardo da Vinci. 

The second photo shot for today is “M is for....”. On my table of light refreshments there was a bowl of macadamia nuts. That called out to me to be the subject of this challenge. 

Outdoor movies bring back a lot of sentimental memories of both my own childhood and my children’s childhoods. So this article is a teachable moment, maybe they are coming back, outdoor movies I mean. The article started out mentioning how the Wexner Center for the Arts offered online entertainment during the pandemic while the theaters were closed. Wexner made a “festival of short films” available online and had its “premiere” at the South Drive-In when the weather was still cold. They had around one hundred cars and people seemed happy. During the pandemic “thousands of Central Ohioans have discovered or returned to drive-in movie theaters”. In the immediate area there are still “surviving drive-ins - South in Columbus and Skyview in Lancaster”. The manager of the South High drive-in said that though there were visitors to the theater during the pandemic he has a “mixed verdict on the pandemic-era season”. There was a capacity limitation and no new movies. To keep the space occupied he rented the space for live acts. They reopened in March and feel good about the “year ahead”. The owner of Skyview in Lancaster said last year was a good year for the theater. He opened in April this year. From the partnership of Wexner with South it is hoped that they will continue to reach the audiences they wouldn’t have reached with this connection. According to the article there seems to be an appeal toward the” mid-century American society”...the drive-in theater. Further in the article it said the  “We did see a lot of new people coming in that had never been to a drive-in before.”

I am making salmon patties for dinner. 

Joy

Needs no title

 June 8, 2021 a thought for today, Happiness opens the arms and closes the eyes. German Proverb

What a beautiful way to start the day. I got a call from Jessie, Lexie, and Drew just as I was waking up. We all have things on our agenda’s for today so that was the best time to reach out and touch each other. 

It has been a very productive day too. I got all the information I need for the Saturday evening message and I had finished the bulletin yesterday. I sent the bulletin for proofreading and as a draft copy to the reader and the pastor. I got the shut-in envelopes printed so I am ready to print. I think I will print early this week since I have a plumber coming early on Thursday morning. 

Yesterday’s photo theme was “close up”. I had picked some newly bloomed flowers for my tiny little row garden beside the house. They still looked fresh so I chose those for the shoot for June 7th. 

We had a good bit of rain yesterday. There is more predicted for today but it hasn’t gotten here yet. As a matter of fact it is predicted for the next two or three days. 

I plan to attend a meeting at church in an hour or so. I am getting house work and computer work done so I won’t have it to worry about when I get home. There are some volunteers getting together tomorrow to begin the sorting and pricing of items for our annual fall sale. I would like to be there then, possibly after I do the printing, to take some photos. I feel like a sort of historian for the church by taking photos and sharing them with the congregation in the newsletter. That way they know we are still keeping up with our missions. There are still activities of interest within the church family. 

The word today is achieve. What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. Plutarch.  It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get. Confucius. That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well. Abraham Lincoln.  A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. Benjamin Franklin. Men can be divided into 2 groups: one that goes ahead and achieves something, and one that comes after and criticizes, Seneca the Younger. The sage does not attempt anything very big, and thus achieves greatness, Laozi.  Let the wise one control his thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, often elusive, and they rush about frantically: a mind well controlled achieves peace and happiness, Gautama Buddha. It's never too late to be who you were meant to be, George Eliot. When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps, Confucius. In the long run men hit only what they aim at, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success, Henry David Thoreau.  The greater part of all the mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 

Today’s photo challenge is titled “light”. Some of my peers in this group used street light and beautiful chandeliers.  And some of us used a view of nature’s light.

The article is telling about an interesting way of getting fresh food to the community. It is about something called “Market Wagon Columbus”, how it came about and how it works. The whole idea is to connect local farmers with the community. It is a program that will deliver fresh food and homemade products to Central Ohio residents. It was begun in 2019. There are 200 vendor and 1,000 products. The founder of the “Market Wagon” said that the concept began in Indianapolis in 2016 and is available in twenty-nine markets in the Midwest. Here is the way it works Users create an account on www.marketwagon.com. From there they can shop on line for meat, dairy, eggs, meals, bakery, product, and so on.  Handmade items, pet food and supplies, personal care items and even clothing are offered. Home delivery costs $5.95 with no minimum order, or the order can be picked up at a host market for free. This is a year-round market and is open for twenty-four hour shopping. Personal vendors may apply to sell their products through this service offering a larger product list to customers.  

I think it will be lasagna and left overs for dinner. 

Joy

The color of the discard is still there. The sun and weather hasn’t faded it yet. The fence stopped any breeze from forcing its travel further into the landscape. In my opinion, for the art other than the color that the image projects there are the shapes of the fence, the lines and patterns and textures. 

June 6, 2021 a thought for today, Never look for a worm in the apple of your eye. French Proverb

I got a taste of things easing back to “normal” after the pandemic. Our free meals at church have been placed in containers to go for the past several months. We will be returning to inside sit-down meals the first of July. Also, our food pantry will be making some major changes as we ease back to inside pick ups. While we move to get back to our old “normals” I am looking for some new things to be added along the way. I don’t know exactly what they will be but it seems when changes are made a little newness seeps in too

One of the photo of the day challenges for yesterday was “off center”.  I try to do my of my focusing and post processing with that rule in mind, that is the rule of thirds. So it was a relatively easy shot to make once I found a main subject. Let me tell you how that subject came to light. For the couple of days that it was comfortable enough to have the screen door opened there was a tiny little sparrow making a whole lot of noise as she/he busily made it’s nest in the rain gutter of a small roof over the front door of my house. As I swung the desk chair around to look out the door he/she was taking a rest on the corner of the roof. Perfect time to grab the camera (phone).

The heat is back in Columbus. We didn’t really have much of a Spring. I was able to leave windows open for about a week. Then it got cold enough for a few days to turn the furnace back on. Now we are back to the AC, no windows open. 

It is another relaxed and easy going Sunday afternoon.

The second photo for yesterday’s collection was called “nautical”. That one was hard. I don’t live anywhere near the sea and haven’t had the pleasure of that type of destination for a loooong time, Anyway, when I thought of the title I pictured a pool of water so I settled for the a pond in the park down the road from my house.  

The word is accomplish.  One lifetime is never enough to accomplish one's horticultural goals. If a garden is a site for the imagination, how can we be very far from the beginning? Francis Cabot Lowell. Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish. Michelangelo. You can accomplish by kindness what you cannot by force. Publilius Syrus. To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment. Thomas Carlyle.  Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. Victor Hugo. An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men, Thomas Fuller. A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles, William Hazlitt. Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well, Vincent Van Gogh. We should not judge a man's merits by his great qualities, but by the use he makes of them, Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  There is nothing which persevering effort and unceasing and diligent care cannot accomplish, Seneca the Younger. Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish, Jean de La Fontaine. Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish, Marcus Aurelius.  

Today’s photo challenge is called “smooth”. I can think of a smooth pudding or a smooth sauce or something with no blemishes or bumps. But there is also another smooth. One that makes one think of smooth and relaxing. (Words related to smooth to connect to my way of thinking for this photo theme: assured, calm, collected, composed, confident, cool, secure, serene, tranquil, undisturbed, unperturbed).  That was my choice. 

So there is some more sprucing up in the Short North. I like that. I like the way that area of town has grown into some interesting shops and a busy community. There is some more restoration going on in one of the older buildings there. It will not only be restored but re-purposed. It was once the Callandar Cleaners. The plan is to have a glass structure on the roof. A third floor office and meeting place will also open onto the new rooftop patio. This modern addition would “extend down into the second floor, replacing a section of the building’s existing brick exterior wall”.  Along with those plans a restaurant will take up the first floor of the newly refurbished establishment. Apparently there are still further plans for structures in that area of town including a new apartment building. 

I think I am having a tuna salad plate from Subway for dinner. 

Joy