June 4, 2021 a thought for today, He who knows his heart mistrusts his eyes. Chinese Proverb

It has been a busy and productive day, a happy one. I got a call that my glasses were ready for pick up so I asked Sue if she would like to go for a ride. We took Sweet Pea for another ride too. Sue needed to run an errand so we made that stop. Along the way we stopped for gas and brunch and let Sweet Pea out of the car for a couple of breaks. We went by the park to get some of my “discard” photos but the park was fresh and clean, no “discards” on the ground.  

Yesterday’s photo theme was “a pic of me”. As I have said before I don’t like selfie’s but sometimes, I guess, they are necessary. I took this one as I finished printing the bulletins. 

I got a call from my granddaughter in law and two of my beautiful great grand children and for an added surprise I got to talk to my grandson for a bit . I haven’t been able to speak to this grandson in quite a long time so the pleasure was outstanding for me.  

Before they called, I had started the irobot, I stopped it so that I could talk to them uninterrupted. Once that treat for the day ended it was back to house work. Back to the irobot, the dish washer and dusting. Then a little work on my photos for today. 

As I wind things down on the housework side, I must get to finishing the message/bible study for Saturday. 

The word for today is abundance.  Every disappointment or misfortune can become a blessing in disguise, for which we should be grateful. But only if the hidden blessing is anticipated, expected and searched for will it be found and recognised as such and the most made of it. For example.. Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away hunger, Saint Basil. Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance. Epicurus. What is called genius is the abundance of life and health. Henry David Thoreau.  The harvest of old age is the recollection and abundance of blessing previously secured. Marcus Tullius Cicero. From abundance springs satiety. Livy.  Just think of the illimitable abundance and the marvelous loveliness of light, or of the beauty of the sun and moon and stars, Saint Augustine. The gratification of wealth is not found in mere possession or in lavish expenditure, but in its wise application, Miguel de Cervantes.  All misfortune is but a stepping stone to fortune, Henry David Thoreau.  Abundance, even of good things, prevents them from being valued, Miguel de Cervantes. When earth is rich it bids defiance to droughts, yields in abundance and of the best quality, Thomas Jefferson. As for what is not true, you will always find abundance in the newspapers, Thomas Jefferson. Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used, Blaise Pascal.

Today’s photo is “electric”. That offered a wide variety of choices. It was difficult to find something that had an interesting focal point. Just an electrical outlet and plug wouldn’t work. So I made shots of several different things to consider for entry. After some looking with Photoshop and a filter I chose this one of my Ninja blender and part of the Kitchen Aid.  

This is an interesting concept. I have always admired and believed that animals can help humans in more ways than one. This article is about an organization that trains service dogs and how some individuals and families help in that effort by working in the socializing side of the job. I don’t think I could do this project successfully because once the dogs are ready they leave the family. Once a dog is “mine” they are family to share in my daily life for as long as one or the other of us lives. There was a young lady who joined the group, 4Paws for Ability, in her second year of college. She took over a dog named Al, a golden retriever, from a friend who had been working with him but had to leave. When Al went on to advanced training in Xenia, she got Bewley. She said they, she and Bewley, went to the theater, grocery store, Target and the zoo, “anything you can think of that would be a strange experience for a dog”. One of the challenges for Bewley was his barking. He barked when someone came to the house but is not “desirable” in this service training, so she had to work with that. This “socializing trainer’s” biggest challenge was giving Bewley up. During their lives together the trainer realized that she wasn’t living alone anymore as she had been before Bewley. She came to trust her mother to take over for her when other things came up. The 4Paws organization began in 1998. It gives the service dogs in the advanced training program weekends off to spend with families or individuals. The trainer here in Columbus who trusted her mother with Bewley lived near the major training center and took Bewley on those weekends. When the dogs “graduate” his/her new family are usually excited to meet the people who were involved with the training. One of the children who received one of the “graduated” service dog has autism. He had “aggressive meltdowns” and trouble sleeping. His mom said she found 4Paws and in 2017 she and her son met Mulder. They took Mulder home with them. Since that day the boy has slept through the night. Mulder, a golden doodle, had been trained to help with “behavior disruption”. When the boy gets upset “Mulder goes to work to calm him down”. In his training he learned to touch the person to make him focus on the dog”. The boy didn’t like the feel of the paw on his arm so the Mulder was taught to lick the arm and the seems to do the trick. When Mulder licks in on the neck or hear the boy “cracks up”. Fifty percent of the “fosters...who do the socialization” are college students. The other fifty percent are families and other individuals. 

Pizza night!!

Joy  

Welcoming Weeds