July 30, 2021 a thought for today, Anxiety breaks a man's backbone. Hebrew Proverb

There are days in one’s life that a small thing happens, seemingly just a little thing but one that carries such a powerful touch on the heart. This was one of those days for me. I have a grandson and his family who live away from me, far enough that I  get very few chances to see them. As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen them this time in somewhere around two years. They were “home” (to the state of Ohio today). I got to spend a couple of hours with them. My heart swelled when I was able to give each of them a hug. The two little ones are growing and experiencing all the wonders of life and I am missing those times. Their mom has seen that I do get to have video contact with them two or three times a week which is a godsend for me. Touching them (and their parents) today brought a flood of emotion and memories. 

Yesterday’s photo challenge was “faded”. I have an old umbrella that had been in the back window of my car all spring and summer....it was very well faded. But uninteresting really, so I chose an old faded cone flower. I think it fit the title. 

Sue was with me and needed to drop off some paper work so we got that done then I dropped her off for another errand. After that we went in search of my photo for today. 

Once at home I put some effort into the dishes and gave the refrigerator some attention then made some meat balls for Sweet Pea (after I called to order her meds for pick up tomorrow). 

The word for today is comfort.  Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always. Hippocrates. Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness and captivity would, without this comfort, be insupportable. William Samuel Johnson. There is certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place. Washington Irving.  In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds. Aristotle.  Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away, George Eliot.   What I aspired to be and was not, comforts me, Robert Browning.  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.  Labor is the great source from which nearly all, if not all, human comforts and necessities are drawn, Abraham Lincoln. 

Today’s theme is “my fave word”. Well....my favorite word is food. I couldn’t find an interesting printed word “food”. But I found this restaurant window that displayed two of my second favorite words pertaining to food, lunch and dinner.

I think this article is a bit of an interesting story about the art sign that has stood out for twenty years in the downtown area for several years. The Columbus College of Art and Design created and installed a ten-story tall sculpture “spanning” Gay Street. This event surprised everyone including the CCAD community. The idea for the sign or sculpture began in Taipei. A photography professor was visiting there when he saw a tower on the Taiwanese college campus. It was so impressive to him that he suggested it to a professor friend a CCAD who liked the notion. As the design was planned people more or less associated it with one of the men who suggested the idea. They say he was tall and thin and “towered over (the) campus”. It is felt that the sign helped make CCAD a “hallmark”. The article went on to offer some “fun facts” about the structure. First, only two of the aspects of the original idea stayed with the completion of the design. The word and the color that were finally used. The original idea was a neon red “ART” on top of the Canzani Center, a main gathering building on campus, with an arrow pointing toward campus. The second fun fact was that the actual construction and the funding came from a pair of CCAD alumni and their company. Another fact, it took ten hours to install. Next, the “A” was built to sway 18 inches in the wind. More fun facts: it is thought that it could be one of the most photographed places in the area. And, it has been and is used for classroom assignments. One more fact, it is 100 feet tall and 101 feet wide and weighs 62,100 pounds (“about the same as five full-grown African bush elephants”).

PIZZA!!

Joy

                                    lost and forgotten

 July 28, 2021 a thought for today, Fortunes exist among leftovers. Japanese Proverb

This day has been in the nature of a normal Wednesday with not too much on the day’s agenda beyond going to help at food pantry before noon. 

Lets start with yesterday’s photo theme, “fuel”. I actually started out early in the morning thinking about it off and on for a couple of hours. What I could snap for this subject? Perhaps a gasoline can, a stop at the gas pump, food for physical fuel (maybe). Then when I was out and stopped at a light lo and behold the gasoline fuel tanks I pass everyday spoke to me clearly, “yoo-hoo, here I am”. Fortunately the light held long enough for me to get the camera focused. 

The first thing this morning, I worked on getting the bulletin finished and sent to the proofreaders. Then the envelopes printed and a few new coloring pages for the kids at the HM3 free meal on Saturday evening. Hopefully I won’t have any problems with the copier tomorrow so I can get the bulletin done and the coloring pages printed. 

Today the word is color. Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises. Pedro Calderon de la Barca. The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. Marcus Aurelius.  I have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind. Emily Bronte.  There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice. John Calvin.  Modesty is the color of virtue. Diogenes. The only faith that wears well and holds its color in all weathers is that which is woven of conviction and set with the sharp mordant of experience. James Russell Lowell.  Colors are the smiles of nature. Leigh Hunt. Love makes its record in deeper colors as we grow out of childhood into manhood; as the Emperors signed their names in green ink when under age, but when of age, in purple, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Sing will all the voices of the mountain, paint with all the colors of the wind, Pocahontas.  The heart should have fed upon the truth, as insects on a leaf, till it be tinged with the color, and show its food in every ... minutest fiber, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Today’s challenge is “animal”. I see bunches of squirrels but can’t get my camera focused quick enough
usually. This is my all time animal/pet/dog model, Sweet Pea.

Here is a little more history about our community. One of the first sentences of this article said that “The story of Ohio and Columbus is a tale of extraordinary challenge and change”. It was once an “isolated rural frontier” that is now keeping up with automation, “digital information and social change”. Through “diverse” land grants Ohio was formed. In 1803 there were 50,000 settlers along with “a few thousand” disappearing Native American communities. According to the article Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton saw Ohio’s development differently. Jefferson looked at Ohio as his “ideal world” as families were self sufficient on small farms. Hamilton saw “the future of America” in the towns and villages with commercial and financial strengths. The article went on to say Ohio moved more toward Hamilton’s view with the commercial and industrial revolution. It is reported that due to the industrial growth the “nation” came to Ohio for the dirt and rain”. Good soil was up to seven feet deep and there were “mighty rivers” and good rainfall. The farms fed people and some farmers came to the cities as entrepreneurs. Factories grew making plows, wagons and buggies. The Civil War initiated railroad growth. It was easier for farmers to get their products to cities. Coal, iron and timer was more readily available. One of the entrepreneurs started a tannery which helped the buggy companies. A financier named C.D. Firestone joined with the tannery and the Columbus Buggy Co. was formed. That led to hundreds of jobs. Later, in the 1900s,  there were twenty-two buggy companies in Columbus making it the “Buggy Capital of the World”.  The buggy companies tried to “make the transition to cars” but Henry Ford was more successful at that in that time frame. Ohio apparently remains to be useful in its abundance of “dirt and rain”. 

I think we will have fried bologna for dinner with some more left overs. 

Joy

    apparently someone didn’t get the memo about where old tires go or else they.....fill in the blank

 July 26, 2021 a thought for today, Walk your own road and bear your own load. Mexican Proverb

It has been a Monday of “different colors” so to speak. I usually spend the first part of the day on putting together the bulletin template for the coming week. I didn’t today. 

The challenge for yesterday was “art”. I made shots of an old tree trunk that had been decorated, some sculptures at the park and this a couple of graffiti type art. This one is a small section of a full graffiti wall on a local business. I love and admire the lines and proportions that artists can maintain in these huge, bigger than life images. The vivid colors add a vitality.

We had problems with the copier again. So we had to put off printing the newsletter this past Thursday/Friday. So the first thing this morning I went to church to see if I could recall the set up for printing the newsletter. It took a little coaxing but I finally got it figured out. It all worked except for the stapling. I called Dorothy to see if she could come in to help, she was there in about fifteen minutes. (Isn’t it great to have such friends?) I printed and hand stapled as she folded  and sealed them. When I had the stapling done, I joined her efforts and we completed the whole process in about an hour and a half. After a couple of other tasks I was ready to get on with the day. 

When I left the church, I stopped for brunch, then on to a short photo excursion. When I got home there was a couple of phone messages I had to attend to. 

So now I am well into the middle of the afternoon and don’t want to start a lengthy task. I will just tie up some loose ends today and get to the bulletin the first thing tomorrow morning. 

The word for today clouds.  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. God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars. Martin Luther.  Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. Saint Augustine.  Clouds and darkness surround us, yet Heaven is just, and the day of triumph will surely come, when justice and truth will be vindicated. Mary Todd Lincoln. It is better to have your head in the clouds, and know where you are... than to breathe the clearer atmosphere below them, and think that you are in paradise. Henry David Thoreau. The clouds may drop down titles and estates, and wealth may seek us, but wisdom must be sought. Edward Young.  To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education. Thomas Jefferson.  Rising genius always shoots out its rays from among the clouds, but these will gradually roll away and disappear as it ascends to its steady luster. Washington Irving. Without the frown of clouds and lightning, the vines would be burned by the smiling sun, Rumi.  Clouds signify the veil of the Most High, Honore de Balzac.  When there is love in the heart, there are rainbows in the eyes, which cover every black cloud with gorgeous hues, Henry Ward Beecher. Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud; Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun, And loathsome canker lies in sweetest bud. All men make faults, William Shakespeare. 

Today’s theme is “curves”. Again, I used images of the park as my model. I like the feel of curves,
“Curved or circular lines provide relief, softness, and balance”. 

I visited the garden mentioned in this article when they first opened. It is quite a place for the kids (and adults too). I hope many take advantage of the art of it, so much of it is graphic creation, art of all kinds but living in the plants and manmade. I believe art is a universal language. The article covers one of the hands on learning programs at Franklin Park.  On Wednesday morning as most mornings children were running around fascinated with the vegetable and flower gardens. Other young people visited the “Bee Bop Corner” where there were they could observe large objects that could be musical in the Sensory Garden. Another place to visit was the area of puppet shows. Added to these fun and learning possibilities, the park offered a six-week Summer Experience where 8,100 students took part in the summer school program. This year’s experience was retooled to offer more “project-based learning”. The program core focused on enriching interactive opportunities. This program presented core subjects such as social-emotional skills. There was something called  “summer school-meets-summer camp” format. There was more to this summer school than learning math and other such needed subjects. It added the interaction such as, the middle school students designing autonomous robots along with classes in aviation, fashion, robotics, cyber security and urban agriculture. They also got into nature and participated in golfing, kayaking, swimming, aviation and more. They experienced survival scenarios. One of the instructors said the students were so excited to be there and take part in the hands on project. COSI Columbus and Franklin Park Conservatory allowed the students to explore the city. Part of this educational program offered a blended program with instruction online. For high school students who work at night and have jobs there are weekends classes. One of the elementary students who participated said “.... I had the funnest day in my whole entire life.” 

We will be having left overs for dinner tonight....each our own choice, tuna casserole or chili (or chili mac). 

Joy

      green grass, shadows, reflections of trees, the sky....and then there is the cigarette butts and trash

 July 24, 2021 a thought for today, Truth suffers but never perishes.  Mexican Proverb

The days fly by....it’s Saturday again. A day to sleep-in a little (a very old habit, since the time of schools days way back so many years ago.... a habit so old it is hard to break and why should we anyway?). 

Yesterday’s challenge was “shop”. I drove around taking shots of facilities with this shop or that shop in the title but decided to go this route. I didn't like the background in this final photo. It was a gray cement wall,  so I used a Photoshop filter to bump it up a bit. 

Sue has been saying she has been wanting to go to the thrift store and spend hours “shopping”. I am not a thrift store shopper, more of an online shopper, so I told her I would drop her off then pick her up when she calls me to tell me she is ready. So that is what we did this morning. I have made the trip to drop her off but haven’t been called yet to pick her up. 

We had a problem with printing at church this week. I got the bulletin done with one extra step, having a copy made at Kinko then back to the church to make copies. Patti and I decided the let the newsletter go for a few days and try to get the copier problem fixed. I will go in Monday to try to print the delayed newsletter. It is looking like next week is going to be a busy one. With separate days of printing and two days of volunteering at food pantry. And one day for lunch without of town family. 

I will be preparing tonight's dinner early again this week so I will have time to get to HM3 (free meal) at church around five o’clock. 

So today will be spent with a little computer work, pick Sue up and a little work in the kitchen. 

Today’s theme is “peace”. Once again Westgate Park became my source. This is a spot where in the
cover of darkness it is reported that some untoward happenings occur. But in the gift of daylight it is a beautiful, restful and peaceful green space for city dwellers to enjoy. 

The word for today is circle. From the calm morning, the end will come when of the dancing horse the number of circles will be nine, Nostradamus.  Just as a circle embraces all that is within it, so does the God-head embrace all. No one has the power to divide this circle, to surpass it, or to limit it, Hildegard of Bingen. The earth together with its surrounding waters must in fact have such a shape as its shadow reveals, for it eclipses the moon with the arc of a perfect circle. Nicolaus Copernicus. Mankind is not a circle with a single center but an ellipse with two focal points of which facts are one and ideas the other. Victor Hugo. Gardeners instinctively know that flowers and plants are a continuum and that the wheel of garden history will always be coming full circle. Francis Cabot Lowell.  The realm of immediate or personal knowledge is a narrow circle in which these bodies move; the realm of knowledge derived through faith is as wide as the universe, and old as eternity. Matthew Simpson. Time will generally lessen the interest of every attachment not within the daily circle, Jane Austen. Most people grow old within a small circle of ideas, which they have not discovered for themselves. There are perhaps less wrong-minded people than thoughtless, Luc de Clapiers. Genius, all over the world, stands hand in hand, and one shock of recognition runs the whole circle round, Herman Melville. We are all connected to each other, in a circle, in a hoop that never ends, Pocahontas.  I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains. How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone, and why a bird sustains itself in the air, Leonardo da Vinci. In a narrow circle the mind contracts. Man grows with his expanded needs, Friedrich Schiller. Unity of opinion is indeed a glorious and desirable thing, and its circle cannot be too strong and extended, if the centre be truth; but if the centre be error, the greater the circumference, the greater the evil, Charles Caleb Colton. 

According to today’s article, it looks like the area of the Greyhound bus station, 2.5 acres, will be getting a much new look. It has existed in Columbus since 1943. COTA is in contract to buy the station. It plans to tear the facility and set up a “mixed-use-transit-oriented” development. The Greyhound operation will move to the COTA facility on Rich Street. There will be two transit corridors from the new development on the new site. The hopes are for a “substantial urban development that adds vibrancy, walkability and density to the area”. There are still further uses to be included for the property, office, mixed-income residential, and retail. In the area of the present Greyhound Bus facility there was the historic Central Market witch was demolished when the “urban renewal project” took place in the 1960s. 

 I will be making chili and hash browns for dinner before I go to help with the free meal at church. 

Joy

                         almost stuck....but look at the color and nature's affects all around

 July 22, 2021 a thought for today, There is more time than life. Mexican Proverb

This going to be a long, long day. The AC people are coming to do the annual check up of the air conditioner. They were supposed to be here between 8 and noon. Well, they didn’t make it at eight or nine. I was hoping they would get here early so I could get to the church to get at least part of the printing done before tomorrow. 

Yesterday’s theme was “old”. I love this architecture of the old weather weary stone and design lines and shapes. So it was my first choice among some of the other “old” things that I shot. 

I have a doctor’s appointment in the middle of the afternoon. I am having a problem with my eighty-year-old teeth. 

I got the newsletter and bulletin done late yesterday afternoon after I got the rest of the information I needed after I got home from helping at food pantry. 

Now I had better get the laundry started and get at least part of that out of the way before this afternoon. 

The word today is children. I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace. Thomas Paine.  Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children. Sitting Bull. There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.   A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them. Victor Hugo.  Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends. Chanakya.  Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven. Henry Ward Beecher. Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well. Aristotle.  Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence. Plato. It should be noted that children at play are not playing about; their games should be seen as their most serious-minded activity. Michel de Montaigne. We have come to a turning point in the road. If we turn to the right mayhap our children and our children's children will go that way; but if we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to His Word. Charles Spurgeon.  Age does not make us childish, as some say; it finds us true children. James Anthony Froude.  Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, Plato. All things in this world must be seen with youthful, hopeful eyes. Henry David Thoreau.  We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  If you look in the eyes of the young, you see flame. If you look in the eyes of the old, you see light, Victor Hugo. One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Books, the children of the brain. Jonathan Swift. In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. Charles Dickens. Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within hearsay of little children tends toward the formation of character. Hosea Ballou. 

Today’s challenge is “petals”. I have simply gorgeous hibiscus blooms on my plant right now but I was too lazy to walk outside and around the house to get the shot. I have a small vase with some very tired coneflowers whose petals are now showing character rather than the beauty of youth.  

This article sounds kind of exciting. By the title I am thinking a new way of travel at least here in the US. For instance the opening question was “Ever think of kavaking to work?” This along with some other thoughts of travel are in this article. It is a “new initiative” called the Rapid 5 Project, explaining links between greenways and area waterways. The Scioto, Olentangy, Alum Creek, Big Walnut and Big Darby creek ‘corridors’. All of that covers 200 plus miles of land.  The parks, called greenways, with bike and pedestrian tails near Franklin County residents. Some of th surveys by the Neighborhood Design Center that were conducted for this projects were provided five local design firms to come up with broader ideas for using parks and waterways to connect Franklin County communities. One proposal was the Big Darby Creek region having the landscapes, grasslands and woodlands that edge the Big and Little Darby waterways.  This plan connects 65 miles along bus and trolley services, bike sharing, hat air balloons, and a gondola. One vision was to connect a regional destination like that of Napa Valley in California, Wyoming, the Finger Lakes of New York.  Another proposal along the Scioto River corridor connecting O’Shaughnessy Reservoir, the Zoo, and the river confluence with Big Walnut Creek. The plans envision taking existing assets and use the river link to those that exist. Next comes the Olentangy River featuring the Confluence and other parks with opportunities to connect neighborhoods on either side of the river. Moving onto the Big Walnut Creek with wetlands, kayaks, with villages and parks, including Friendship Park. Coming along in the planning is Alum Creek offering natural features and connections with representations of the past like the Underground Railroad stops. This area has been called a hidden gem. The overall results of these plans are a vision of using exiting green space with waterways for growth to benefit all parts of the communities. The article mentioned that it’s to early to assess a price tag or set a time line. The article stated further that “Hopefully, it captures the imagination of a lot of people...... It will happen over time... a lot of this vision is well within our reach.”  

I pulled some tuna casserole out of the freeze for dinner tonight. 

Joy

                                                                      ....cushioned.... 

 July 20, 2021 a thought for the day, The sin carries its own penance. Mexican Proverb

It’s been an “action” packed day. It started out taking Sue to run an errand. Then on the way home from there I stopped to refill the gas tank. 

Yesterday’s challenge was “all white”. That along with all black can be a real challenge. Here is one of my efforts. I shot cars, trucks, and flowers and ended with this one. 

I wasn’t home long before it was time to leave for food pantry. I got there earlier than I usually do. There were just a few people there early to get set up with computers and such. Once things got started it was slow going....we didn’t have too much of a turn out. We haven’t totally gotten things back to normal since we got hit by lightening and the pandemic. But things are moving in the right direction. 

I didn’t get anything done on the bulletin or newsletter. I still need to get information for both. I was hoping I would get the information for at least one of them so I could print one of them a day early to lessen the pressure of the next few days. But, alas, no dice. I will just have to do some more shuffling. 

I had to take some quick pictures for the photo of the day. I am having to get use to being “back to normal” when it comes to the four days a month at food pantry. I have fallen into different scheduling. I’ll get there ...... just takes some time. 

One of yesterday’s photo themes was “at work”. Well I am retired but I volunteer at the church and this happened to be one of the days that I was there. This is a sneak peek at what I was doing. 

The word today is cherish.  The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity. Ulysses S. Grant. Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh. Henry David Thoreau. At any age we must cherish illusions, consolatory or merely pleasant; in youth, they are omnipresent; in old age we must search for them, or even invent them. But with all that, boredom is their natural and inevitable accompaniment, Lord Chesterfield. The higher type of man clings to virtue, the lower type of man clings to material comfort. The higher type of man cherishes justice, the lower type of man cherishes the hope of favors to be received, Confucius. Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write. John Adams. No generous mind delights to oppress the weak, but rather to cherish and protect. Anne Bronte.  We climb to heaven most often on the ruins of our cherished plans, finding our failures were successes. Amos Bronson Alcott.  Love thyself last, cherish those hearts that hate thee; Corruption wins not more than honesty, William Shakespeare. Since hate poisons the soul, don't cherish enmities or grudges: avoid people who make you unhappy, Robert Louis Stevenson.  If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others, Confucius. It is not enough that we are truthful; we must cherish and carry out high purposes to be truthful about, Henry David Thoreau. The sage knows himself, but does not parade. He cherishes himself, but does not praise himself, Laozi.  

The second photo challenge for today is “mushrooms”. I’m not presently in an area where mushrooms grow readily and I wasn’t in the grocery store produce section today. So I chose to create an image of the mushrooms I most often use. 

This article sounds like a bit of a sprucing up journey.....I like that almost as much as restoring old architecture. There is a facility in German Village called the Sycamore that is making some changes and upgrades in the facility. The café changed hands last year. That is when some renovations began. The question is, “How could this space feel as good during the day as it feels at night?” Some of the ways that were chosen was neutral tones, comfortable booth seating, newly refinished floors and exposed brick walls. The restaurant seats fifty-one people and has a patio that seats another twenty. The hours use to be evenings only so it was decided to increase the hours to include all day service. They now open for coffee and “light” baked goods. The switch to lunch at 10:30am. They close for an hour to prepare for Dinner. This restaurant has a history in the German Village district and has been operating since the 1920s. 

I think it will be left overs tonight. 

Joy

                            amid the reflections

 July 18, 2021 a thought for today, The hypocrite is known by his actions, not by his clothes. Mexican Proverb

This Sunday is bright and sunny with no rain in sight, for the time being at least. Our church service attendances haven’t picked up too much yet since things have lightened from the pandemic.  It seems to be a slow return to “normal”. 

Yesterday’s photo title was “sun”. In the morning when I started thinking of the photo for the day I thought I was going to have a problem. The skies were heavily overcast. So I started thinking of what I might have in my archives. Finally, afternoon, the sun preformed beautifully. I captured the suns glows on the leaves of the Boston fern hanging on the porch (by the way, with a nest having been painstakingly built in it). I caught the effects of the sun in a gorgeous shadow of the spider plant on the other side of the porch along with the shadow of the rain chain that neighbors the spider plant. Ultimately I decided on one from the archive, one that has a glimpse of the sun itself behind a group of clouds. 

Last night the turn out for the free meal at HM3 seemed, at first to be a good bit more than the week before. But after the “official” count it was only about two more on the total than the week before. Hopefully the word will get out and more will start coming back. 

Today is going to be on the laid back side although I do have one extra task to get done actually it is two extra tasks. I am uploading the video of today’s church service to our Facebook page. That takes some time I am also trying to get a chart template update and sent to the appropriate people.  

The word for today is cheer.  I would go to the deeps a hundred times to cheer a downcast spirit. It is good for me to have been afflicted, that I might know how to speak a word in season to one that is weary. Charles Spurgeon.  The best of healers is good cheer. Pindar.  Wherever the invitation of men or your own occasions lead you, speak the very truth, as your life and conscience teach it, and cheer the waiting, fainting hearts of men with new hope and new revelation. Ralph Waldo Emerson. 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. O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams. Saint Augustine. One's age should be tranquil, as childhood should be playful. Hard work at either extremity of life seems out of place. At midday the sun may burn, and men labor under it; but the morning and evening should be alike calm and cheerful. Thomas Arnold.  To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent that is to triumph over old age. Amos Bronson Alcott.  Music is either sacred or secular. The sacred agrees with its dignity, and here has its greatest effect on life, an effect that remains the same through all ages and epochs. Secular music should be cheerful throughout. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence, Aristotle. Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid, John Keats.  I want a warm and faithful friend, To cheer the adverse hour; Who ne'er to flatter will descend, Nor bend the knee to power,- A friend to chide me when I'm wrong, My inmost soul to see; And that my friendship prove as strong For him as his for me, John Quincy Adams.  

Today’s photo challenge is “life is....” I went in search of an idea at my “photo haunt”, Westgate park. After a few ho-hum shots I latched onto the image of a couple at a picnic table under some of the trees in the park’s small forest. In the Photoshop darkroom I decided to add a Topaz Simplify 4, Line and Ink, Flat filter to give a “dreamy” look. 

What caught my eye about this article want “COVID puppies”. The article is also discussing the fact of a serious labor shortage in vets offices right now. There was an increase in the buying and adopting of pets during the pandemic. People were using whatever means they could to “alleviate” some of the loneliness that came about in that period of time. As people return to work there is another change in their lives that affects their pets. One of the things that also occurred during that period of time was that families were being more aware of their pet’s activities and daily living activities. Due to this they are more aware of the health of this “family” members. There is a shortage of veterinary staff right now so there is also an amount of stress in vet offices. People are bringing their animals in for check ups. As the pandemic time went by the animal shelters notices a rise in adoptions and “inspired” good feelings about the empty cages and the fact that abandoned or abused animals were finding forever homes. Now “wait times for checkup are taking longer, sometimes up to weeks. During the pandemic there were curbside services. Owners would wait in their cars while the pets were taken into the office to be examined. Conversations were held from the owners in their cars with the vets in the office (note: thank goodness for cell phones). Eventually the staff at the vets’ offices began to see what were called COVID puppies. That was the nickname that was give to newly adopted or purchased pets during the pandemic. According to the article many of them came form “less-than-ethical breeders and eventually many showed health problems. Now the vets are seeing “problems related to anxiety and isolation” due to the animals being left alone after twenty-four hour contacts during the pandemic. Some of problems with less staff in the clinics are shortages of child care and low pay for the staff. The reduction in available staff means longer wait times once an appointment can be made. One of the large veterinary clinics in Columbus, MedVet, has developed a triage system over the phone as pets are brought to the clinic. There are times of stress for the workers as people become angry much like other industries are experiencing. The article said “pet owners must be patient”.

It will be take-out for dinner tonight....haven’t decided where yet. 

Joy

                     puddles and something else with a hint of red

 July 16, 2021 a thought for today, The brave one lives as long as the cowards lets him. Mexican Proverb

More rain!!! and it is supposed to get to be a noisy storm tonight. I think the ground is already saturated. 

Yesterday’s first theme was “helpful”. Since I was at church doing some work, I decided to use the lift chair as my subject, one of the most helpful things I could think of at the moment. I took some shots of other things too, like the copier, it can be indispensable. I also made images of several of the people who were helping with a food delivery. 

Sue and I started out relatively early for a weekly trip to the grocery store. I had heard thunder before we left and then heard on the news that we may be getting some strong storms later today so I wanted to get the grocery store and putting things away before the storms came. That would be a mess getting the bags in and out of the car then into the house. We made it. The heavy rain  hasn’t started yet.

The second theme for yesterday was “use a different piece of
photography equipment”. Well, I just got a new macro lens for my smart phone camera. This is one of the results of my experimenting. 

I don’t have much on the agenda for the rest of the day. I should do some light household chores but that doesn’t sound to promising since I still have some groceries to put away yet and a little bit of work on cleaning up a couple of computer files. 

The word today is character.  Bad company corrupts good character. Menander. The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. Thomas Babington Macaulay. Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character. Heraclitus. People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  A man's character is his fate. Heraclitus. In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. Thomas Paine. Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The character of a man is known from his conversations. Menander. It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Character is destiny. Heraclitus. Habits change into character. Ovid. Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within hearsay of little children tends toward the formation of character. Hosea Ballou. Love, hope, fear, faith - these make humanity; These are its sign and note and character. Robert Browning. A man's character is his guardian divinity. Heraclitus. Dreams are the touchstones of our character. Henry David Thoreau. 

Today’s photo challenge is “something in red”. While we were out and about this morning, I was on the lookout for the theme for the day. The first thing I found was a red fire hydrant.  Then the nose of a red truck in my rearview mirror. There were red doors and red stop signs, red flowers in the park, red on playground equipment. As we were sitting at the traffic light, a fire engine pulled up beside us. I had seen them as we were coming out of the parking lot at the store but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera and they were moving to fast for a fast and clear shot. But by happenstance they were on their way back “home” when we “saw” each other again at the traffic light. 

This article sounds interesting for young people in the city for help finding out a little about nature. It is called “Camping in the Hood”. On June 26 there were some “cadets” that met at a sight on Oakely Avenue called the Hilltop Butterfly Garden. There is a small play area there. On this day the cadets were directed to set up their tents for the night in an “encampment” next door to the park. At first it was the younger campers then a more experienced group of older campers joined in and gave a hand with the set up. They, the older kids, didn’t realize that that was a test for them to become a “Love Worrior”. That is someone who doesn’t give up on others no matter how hard things get. The adult leader of this group had wanted to start a clinic or drop-in shelter for “harmed men, women and children”. She eventually, with help of others, established a non-profit charity called ‘1DivineLine2Health’. From there the “Camping in the Hood” was begun. Its purpose was to help children learn about the “great outdoors”, children who may never have the opportunity to experience it otherwise. She wanted the young people to have a safe place to “explore” nature, get their mind off any troubles and have a chance to be a kid. She had some “naysayers” who didn’t want her to have the overnight at this spot. There is a sergeant with the Columbus Division of Police who has worked in this community for many years, he supported the effort. The neighborhood is a “challenge”  and the officer feels there is a lot of promise in the community to. The article related that there were close to twenty children from 7 to 13 years old who joined in the adventure this year. They have had a variety of hardships in their “young lives”. Some growing up in “single-homes”, some from “F” rated schools. Many have seen violence and drug usage. At this event the kids were smiling and having fun on the adventure, finding new friends and exploring. There were lessons, and crafting along with entertainments as well as a presentation from public safety officials.  The public officials wanted the kids to know that they are looking out for them. 

Pizza!

Joy

.....for your imagining and perusal.....

 July 14, 2021 a thought for today, Sorrow also sings, when it runs to deep to cry. Mexican Proverb 

It’s been another one of the up and down days. So many little nagging things on my mind. This seems to be one of those times when there are pebbles in the road. They are negotiable but bothersome and spray unpleasant obstacles to get past. Getting older means many past experiences that help in maneuvering these kinds of daily happenings.  ‘Nuf of this woe is me. 

July 13....photo challenge.... “button”. We have had the button theme as a challenge before in a photo upload. I had a small basket of buttons that belonged to my long deceased aunt. Some of them were near one hundred years old when she passed away over twenty years ago. I used that as my subject for a photo download over two years ago. Since then we had a move of sorts, I seem to have misplaced them. Anyway, I thought about other types of buttons. I shot telephone buttons, camera buttons, and automobile buttons (windows, radio, etc). 

I got the bulletin done and sent to the proof readers and got it back again so it is done and ready to be printed. I also got a really good start on the newsletter that isn’t due until the end of next week. I also got the coloring page for the HM3 (free meal and message)Saturday evening printed. 

In starting the work on the newsletter and finishing the bulletin there was some emailing back and forth. So it has been a day full of multitasking on many levels. 

The word for today is chains.  It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere. Voltaire .  We forge the chains we wear in life. Charles Dickens. The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. Samuel Johnson. Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all. Ovid.  We forge the chains we wear in life. Charles Dickens.  Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Prejudices are the chains forged by ignorance to keep men apart. Marguerite Gardiner. Lulled in the countless chambers of the brain, our thoughts are linked by many a hidden chain; awake but one, and in, what myriads rise! Alexander Pope. Of what use were wings to a man fast bound in chains of iron? Adelbert von Chamisso. Man is created free, and is free, even though born in chains. Friedrich Schiller. It is my pleasure that my children are free and happy, and unrestrained by parental tyranny. Love is the chain whereby to bind a child to its parents, Abraham Lincoln. 

The theme for today is “positivity”. This one is another of the kind that gives me pause for thought. How does someone photograph, or sketch for that matter, positivity? I suppose it could be someone doing something positive in daily life, like fixing something, or studying something, anyway....there were workers at the corner of my street doing something utility work. So I took the opportunity to capture the moment. I used the Photoshop add-on filter called “Topaz Simplicity 4, line and ink, flat I” to create a painterly or color sketch affect.

It is the season for gardens and greenery. So here, in this article, are some more ideas about how different gardens are important for so many reasons. “Community gardens grow relationships through shared interests”. The article quoted a person from the Franklin Park Conservatory the “community gardens are the melting pots of culture”. There are the cultural techniques of growing and preparing food that can be shared. There is a program that was started in 2000 in Galloway that promotes and provides community resources for community gardening. It helped get community gardens started from only 12 in the city to over 300, many in schools and churches. During the pandemic they became essential. The Columbus Land Redevelopment Division looks for groups, non-profits and companies to help organize these gardens on land-bank properties on vacant spots throughout the city. Many of the community gardens go by “the “one-third, one-third, one-third rule......one-third of the crops go to the people who actually tend the garden plot, another one-third goes to neighbors or a soup kitchen and the other one-third might be sold at a nearby farm market or to a local restaurant, providing seed money for the following year’s garden”.  The community garden at Franklin Park is of the plot-system type. People rent a space for $25 a year. They get water, tools, sometimes plants and advice. Forty people or families use this space. One of the mandates for the use is to give a little extra to the needy. The second “mandate” is to give at least ten hours of service to the garden during the year. There are raised beds and regular plots.  There are “Growing to Green Awards” (some cash awards) given until Aug. 2 to honor dedicated hard work to people participating in the Growing to Green city beautification and gardening programs (information online atpconservatory.org/education-programs/ outreach-programs/growing-to-green/awards/). Among the many gardens in the area, Gahanna there has two parks that have community gardens, Friendship Park on Oklahoma Ave. and Hannah Park on Clark State Road. There is also a small garden at the Gahanna Senior Center or Rocky Fork Blvd. There is currently a program to teach international students at the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Science. They are from 21 countries and here they learn about community gardens in this area and take a model back to their homes. 

I am making a meatloaf and baked potatoes for dinner. 

Joy

.....added interest.....

 July 12, 2021 a thought for today, Since excuses were invented, no one is ever in the wrong. Mexican Proverb

We still haven’t seen the cat that I am baby sitting. I put out food for him and clean his kitty litter but I think he finds the food and kitty litter at night while we are all sleeping. All the other hours of the day he hides somewhere in the house. When I have a pet, I would like to have some kind of bonding of a more affectionate nature. I was considering keeping him but now I am having second thoughts. We’ll give it another few days. 

The July 11th photo for the day title was “greenery”. This time of year there is a lot of greenery, all of the trees are in full leaf and the grass is bright. Beside that all of my ‘along the wall’ gardens are in full lead also. For this image I chose an evergreen tree with the beautiful hanging limbs of color. 

So far this has been a boring Monday. I was on the phone with the insurance company for over half an hour but that isn’t too exciting. I updated the church bulletin template and am waiting for the finishing information, probably finish it tomorrow. 

The weather is cooler than it was last week at this time. It feels like we have had more rain this season than most. It doesn’t feel much like the summers I remember as a kid. But then everything seemed more exciting in those years. That thought was a trigger to deeper memories and experiences....like, how each stage of life has it’s “exciting” time and then it’s deeper more thought provoking moments. It’s a patch work quilt.... each patch a different feeling along with growth and knowledge that accompanies and color the years. 

The word today is caution. Caution is the eldest child of wisdom, Victor Hugo.  Confide not in the firmness of your principles, or the steadfastness of your integrity. Be always vigilant and fearful. Never think you have enough of knowledge, and let not your caution slumber for a moment, for you know not when danger is near, Charles Brockden Brown. The scars of others should teach us caution. St. Jerome. Distrust and caution are the parents of security. Benjamin Franklin. Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. George Washington. Every step of life shows much caution is required. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Be slow of tongue and quick of eye, Miguel de Cervantes.  Among mortals second thoughts are wisest, Euripides. Haste makes work which caution prevents, William Penn.  It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it, Baltasar Gracian.  What thou seest, speak of with caution, Solon.  Confident because of our caution, Epictetus. From wonder into wonder existence opens, Laozi. By playing at Chess then, we may learn... First: Foresight. Second: Circumspection. Third: Caution, Benjamin Franklin. He that scatters thorns, let him not go barefoot, Benjamin Franklin. The cautious seldom err. Confucius.   

Today’s photo challenge is “starts with T”. This is another offer for a subject that can be wide open. Tiles of all sorts, tires, ties, tents, tarts and on and on. I shot a couple of tires and chose this one for the shapes and patterns of the tread. 

 This article caught my attention partly because I saw a quick piece on the news about pollinator gardens on top of bus stops: “a city in Holland, the Netherlands, recently gave make overs to 316 bus stops, outfitting them with "green roofs,"....... The roofs are covered with sedum flowers and other plants, which act as an oasis for (insects). Plus, the added greenery has a slew of other positive environmental effects.....the plants will also help absorb rainwater, capture dust or pollutants from the air, and regulate temperatures”. I also saw this kind of application to a shed’s roof at the Franklin Park Conservatory. The title to the article in the Dispatch: Pollinator-friendly plants and practices can make a big impact. Apparently recently there has been a “decline” in pollinators, bees, wasps, butterflies and others and that even small changes in gardens and landscaping. There is an area of preserved land in the Stratford Ecological Center in Delaware that has been “kept from development in perpetuity”. Guests can see “multiple pollinators” every third Saturday. The center promotes wildlife and encourages encouraging pollinators in even small backyards. If the community where you live do not approve of certain plants in the front put them in a garden in the back yard. Coneflowers, asters, goldenrod are ideal specimens. It is suggested in the article that there may certain areas of the yard you could let the grass grow un-mowed. Not only pollinators would live in that are. Bunnies, meadow mice, voles and nesting birds would “hang out” there. Some of the native plants used as pollinators are purple coneflowers, bee balm, New England asters and butterfly milkweed and orange milkweed. Rather than taking up beekeeping there is a need for more people to plant pollinator gardens and roof gardens where applicable. In preparing for a pollinator area habitat loss should be considered. The article mentions that a single plant on your porch might make all the difference to an insect. It gives them a place to rest. Plants that flower from May through October are the best choices. If you mowed the entire lawn in the fall move the mowed grass to the edge of the property for wildlife habitat. 

I think we will have sloppy joe for dinner tonight. 

Joy

                                                     ......a little more color for the landscape

 July 10, 2021 a thought for today, Malice leaves reality behind. Mexican Proverb

We have the twins this week end!!!! It’s been over a month, maybe even two,  since we have had them here for a visit. 

The photo theme for yesterday was “starts with C”. I chose a deck of cards. I shot some images of cakes mixes and carrots. I liked the composition and colors on the cards best of the three. 

I mentioned in my last blog that we were now baby sitting for a cat. Well, we have been unable to find him. He hides and he does it very well. We have found him two separate times, briefly, in the past two and a half days. The first time was inside one of the folds of the electric lounge chair in Bob’s bed room. The other time was under a huge hassock that I had crocheted and placed behind the sofa in the living room. He had squeezed himself underneath it and seemed to be happily sleeping away until we disturbed him. 

After I had a fair start to the day, the girls mentioned that they would like to go in search of a garage sale to visit. So about ten o’clock we started out in our search. I had also read that there was supposed to be a Jam Fest at the park to begin at 11:00am. So we went by the park first. There was no activity like set up in any part of the park. So we changed direction. I had noticed early in the week a sign that said St. Mary Magdalene Church was having a flea market today to beginning at around 9:00 so that is the next place we went. It was spread out over the lawn and inside the building. I let Sue and the kids out and found a place to park. They spent close to an hour shopping and had a ball. Then we headed up and down a few streets looking for more yard sales. Then to McDonalds for some lunch, back by the park for a few minutes on the play ground equipment. Home at last!

The first photo challenge for today was “pen”. For me that is kind of a boring subject for I

couldn’t think of anything to jazz it up except for a touch of bright yellow against the black pen. 

I couldn’t find the photo challenge there for today, “shadow”, because it was cloudy with only a quick peek of the sun now and then. 

I want to tie up any loose ends in today’s agenda as early as I can. I want to go to the church for a few minutes to put out some coloring pages and to get a count of people for the newsletter. I have to be there by 5:00 so dinner here will be around 4:00. 

The word for today is calm.  Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Saint Francis de Sales. Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us. Martin Luther.   Calmness is the cradle of power. Josiah Gilbert Holland.  Power is so characteristically calm, that calmness in itself has the aspect of strength. Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton. We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves, Gautama Buddha. Remember to preserve a calm soul amid difficulties, Horace.  The hurrier I go, the behinder I get, Lewis Carroll. If you can attain repose and calm, believe that you have seized happiness, Jeanne Julie Eleonore de Lespinasse.  Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together, Thomas Carlyle.  A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety, Aesop.  Avoid all haste; calmness is an essential ingredient of politeness, Alphonse Karr. Calmness is always godlike, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought, Thucydides.   

The second photo for today is titles “shadow”. Today was heavily overcast and drizzly so I decided to go to my archives for a shadow image. 

This article covers some more history about downtown Columbus. It’s great to learn about some of what came before us right here in our “neighborhood”. It is about a family named Deshler who wanted to help Columbus “reach for the sky”.The first skyscraper in Columbus, the Wyandotte Building, was built in 1897.  It is towers of glass and steel 30 and 40 stories tall. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I learned that it is referenced to the Wyandot Native Americans. The architect who designed the building also designed the Union Station in Columbus. Another bit of interest about the building is that buildings of that era were not meant to be more than four or five stories tall because there were no elevators and people didn’t want to regularly climb that many stairs not to mention the possibility of fires that may occur that would difficult to put out. The response to the thoughts of taller building and fire caused the architect to give some thought to “fireproof” architecture. The Great Souther Hotel was one of the first in the area. The only wood in the building was furniture. It was built only a few stories tall. The builder of the Wyandotte Building took a different approach on another building. He used a steel frame and tile arch construction. The building went to eleven stories.  “Electric elevators” were coming into service then. John Green Deshler was the primary sponsor of the building. David Deshler was his grandfather. He, David, paid $1,000 for a lot at the northwest corner of Broad and High streets. He was a cabinet maker and then he went into banking. His son, William Green Deshler, and some of his friends planted four parallel lines of trees east on Broad Street to Franklin Park. In 1857. There was a four story “Deshler Block” at Broad and High that was replaced with a 300-room Deshler Hotel. Later a building called the Leveque Tower was built next door. John Green Deshler sold the Wyandotte Building to the state of Ohio. The building was renovated in the 1970s and remains a commercial office space. John green Deshler died in 1929 and is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery.

I think it will be fried bologna sandwiches and fries for dinner. 

Joy

wet or dry....still have throw aways

 July 8, 2021 a thought for today, Youth is intoxication without wine; old age, wine without intoxication. Peruvian Proverb

Thursday, printing day at the church. After the virtual visits and the usual first of the day’s tasks, I headed for the church. There has been a flurry of activity getting all the technical equipment back to working order after the lightening strike. So I was wondering how the computer would respond. After a hiccup getting it to come on everything worked as it should.  

Yesterday’s photo theme was “fire”. I had the same theme last month but from a different group that I belong to. I don’t have a lot of fire producing products available to photograph so I use the burner on the gas stove and try to give a little bit of a different format to the image each time I use it. 

I made the usual round of stops on the way home, White Castle and the park where I got some photos for my “challenges”. 

The weather has turned, AGAIN. Now it’s back to the cloudy skies and rain. We have arranged to have Sweet Pea bathed here at home by the hose outside in the driveway but I don’t know how that will go with the on-again-off-again rain situation.

Next on the agenda for today was to start the laundry so that will take up the rest of the day as a multi task situation.

One thing that was a boost to the day was a short visual telephone visit with two of my great grandchildren. 

Just a few minutes ago I got another call that is going to make a little life change for a short period of time. A family member needs to have a baby sitter for their cat for a few weeks. I agreed. Hope it turns off on the pleasurable side. 

Today’s photo challenge is “cool”. I think the statues of the three letters of the alphabet in our local park are “cool”. The young kids in who visit the park think they are “cool” too, for some reason the B on its side seems to be a particular attraction. 

The word for today is broken.  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.  Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all. Ovid. The heart will break, but broken live on. Lord Byron.  Fortune is like glass - the brighter the glitter, the more easily broken. Publilius Syrus.  On the earth the broken arcs; in the heaven a perfect round. Robert Browning.  Friendships begun in this world will be taken up again, never to be broken off. Saint Francis de Sales.  Where evil habits are once settled, they are more easily broken than mended. Quintilian.  In such a porcelain life, one likes to be sure that all is well lest one stumble upon one's hopes in a pile of broken crockery. Emily Dickinson. All men are tempted. There is no man that lives that can't be broken down, provided it is the right temptation, put in the right spot. Henry Ward Beecher. Truth may be stretched, but cannot be broken, and always gets above falsehood, as does oil above water. Miguel de Cervantes. Men... are bettered and improved by trial, and refined out of broken hopes and blighted expectations. Frederick William Robertson.  Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart, Washington Irving.  Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever, Rumi.  There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power, Washington Irving.  Who can undo What time hath done? Who can win back the wind? Reckon lost music from a broken lute? Renew the redness of a last year's rose? Or dig the sunken sunset from the deep? Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton.

This article is about a new statue to become part of the Columbus landscape. It may or may not leave an odd thought along with interesting ideas of a pros and cons nature. It is a Giant Slingshot Sculpture in Franklinton. It’s not “functional” as that of the idea of a slingshot but is reported to be eye-catching. It is twenty feet high and will be located in the Lucas Street  Plaza at  Lucas Street and Sullivant Avenue. It will be a focal point of Lucas Street. There is a hill behind it that leads to the Scioto River and is located near two three story buildings. There will be lighting to illuminate it. It is reported to “play with Franklinton’s position across from Downtown and separated by the river. It will appear to be “shooting towards the city”. It will be built of steel but look wooden. There will be stairs on the side of the platform so that viewers can imagine being “slung” across the river and offer photo ops from that position. One person associated with the project said that it “speaks to being a catalyst for movement signifying a city that is charged and ready to go”. The plans are to have it installed this fall. 

I will most likely pull something from the freezer for dinner tonight. 

Joy

pebbles, cement, plastic and cotton