October 30, 2021 a thought for today, To change and to do better are two different things. German Proverb

This day, at least the morning, has been pretty much taken up at the dentists office. I got my “bridge” today. It took several tries to get it to fit properly. Some of the attempts were pretty difficult. There was one point that I was very concerned that they weren’t going to be able to get it out of my mouth. Finally, we got it to the point that it is time for me to do some practicing with it to get more comfortable with it. 

Lowell took me out to brunch after we left the dentist office. We were able to have a great mother/son discussion. 

The photo theme for yesterday was “I wore this...”. This is my Ohio State sweatshirt. I keep it just for the foot ball season. 

It was raining pretty steadily earlier this morning but the sun was out when we left. The little league fields we passed were packed with people even in the rain. 

Now I am going to have to play catch up so I can get things done before it is time to go to church for HM3....the free Saturday meal. 

The word today is harvest.  The frost which kills the harvest of a year saves the harvest of a century, by destroying the weevil or the locust, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Perhaps the facts most astounding and most real are never communicated by man to man. The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched, Henry David Thoreau.  Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson.  In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. William Blake. We must not hope to be mowers, And to gather the ripe gold ears, Unless we have first been sowers And water the furrows with tears. It is not just as we take it, This mystical world of ours, Life's field will yield as we make it A harvest of thorns or of flowers, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. How bitter it is to reap a harvest of evil for good that you have done! Plautus.  The day of fortune is like a harvest day, We must be busy when the corn is ripe. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action, Mesiter Eckhart.  The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched, Henry David Thoreau.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers, Paul the Apostle.

The photo challenge for today is “I have to....”. ....take care of some dental developments. It so happened, as mentioned earlier in this letter, I was at the dentist this morning so I took the photo advantage of this as I waited to make this shot of some of the paraphernalia used in a dental office. 

This article is a little something about another of Columbus area towns/cities. This one tells us a bit about Hilliard. A couple of interesting things I picked up were that Hilliard is the home of the “early Television Museum” and Hilliard has the only flag pole from the World Trade Center that is not in a museum (located in front of the fire department on Northwest Parkway. There is also a historical village near the Franklin County Fairground. Hilliard began when John Reed Hilliard bought 10 acres of land in 1852. The Hilliard area is located between Big Darby Creek on the west and the Scioto River on the east. According to the article I read the town grew around the railroad route of Piqua and Indiana Railroad station where agricultural products were loaded for market places and supplies coming in. This was all located in the town center. Then in 1854 a post office was added into the station.  Railroad to this location in Hilliard stopped in 1962. However, the train station has been restored. The area around it is known as Weaver Park. On the original land purchased in 1852 residences and businesses grew. Hilliard took on more growth in the 1950s and “three large residential subdivisions” were formed. The Village of Hilliard became a city in December of 1960 when the population reached 5,633. It grew again in the 1970s when I-270 was completed. 

I am making spaghetti for dinner. 

Joy

good to the last drop (almost)

 October 28, 2021 a thought for today, One half the world knows not how the other half lives. French Proverb

I took care of my usual Thursday morning tasks at church. The bulletin and coloring pages are copied and placed. I also took an extra bit of time to clean out the notebook of past bulletins as well as trying to return a couple of food pantry phone inquires (there were no answers on my attempts though). 

The photo challenge for October 27 was “I can....” ....crochet... 

Once I was finished at church I came home to make some calls about getting my car looked at. I was able to arrange to leave my car at Midas. They can’t look at it today but will look at it the first thing in the morning. I needed a way to get back home so I called to see if Lowell would be able to pick me up and bring me home. He was able to take a few minutes from work just to get me back home. Now I’ll wait to see what the diagnosis is on my car. Hopefully it isn’t something as costly at a catalytic converter, truth be told, that part would cost more than the car is worth right now, I think. 

Once back at home (and without transportation) I got to work on the laundry. That will be on the agenda for the rest of the day. Along with, of course, searching for the photo of the day...this is another hard one. 

The word for today is harm.  There is no harm in repeating a good thing. Plato.  Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us. Voltaire. There is no greater harm than that of time wasted. Michelangelo. There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension than reality. Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world. Voltaire.  Since long I've held silence a remedy for harm. Aeschylus. Fashions have done more harm than revolutions. Victor Hugo.  Justice... is a kind of compact not to harm or be harmed. Epicurus. The natural principle of war is to do the most harm to our enemy with the least harm to ourselves; and this of course is to be effected by stratagem. Washington Irving.  May God our Lord never let me harm anyone when I cannot help him! Saint Ignatius. Reproof is a medicine, like mercury or opium; if it be improperly administered, it will do harm instead of good, Horace Mann.  Harm seek, harm find, Aesop. Once harm has been done, even a fool understands it, Homer.  What harm in learning and getting knowledge even from a sot, a pot, a fool, a mitten, or a slipper, Francois Rabelais.

The photo theme for today is “I can’t...” I can’t forget the beautiful face of Sugar. She brought me comfort, smiles, and happy days for twelve years. She is gone from my life but not from my memories. 

This article is telling about vintage Halloween celebrations in 1921 in Columbus. On the Halloween night first talked about in the article the temperature was in the low fifties and dropping along with the beginning of a cold rain. All around Columbus, neighborhoods there were young people in all kinds of makeup and costumes trick or treating. At that time the hour and places for “beggars” was not regulated. So, according to the article, things could get out of hand with “Halloween hoodlums” stealing as well as other types of mischief. Gates were stolen, windows were soaped, and there was other kinds of meanness. In the downtown on that night, October 31, 1921, dedication of a new bridge took place. “Residents of the West Side of Columbus, from Franklinton to the Hilltop, attended with parades, parties and celebratory gatherings” A bit of a back story for this celebration is that many of the downtown bridges had been destroyed in the Flood of 1913. It took all that time, 1913 to 1921 for the new Broad Street bridge to be built.  The bridge was dedicated as a memorial to soldiers and sailors. The bridge and “territory west of Sandusky street” were “roaming grounds”. There was dancing with crowds of masqueraders being formed. There was confetti, horns honking, and “everybody enjoyed the impromptu festivities”. Downtown restaurants stayed open late and hotels held parties. The Hotel Deshler’s balcony was draped with streamers. Other decorations of the special day were used as favors. In other area of the city there were Halloween parties in peoples homes. People dressed up in all kinds of costumes. Orchestras played and square dances took place. There were movies for people who were out and about but not so much interested in the other festivities. There was also live theater performances going on downtown during this time of Halloween. At the end of the article - “We Americans still have in us some of the ancestral superstition which enables us to revel in the mysterious.” .....trusting in a safe and happy Halloween to one and all.”

We will have hamburgers and pasta for dinner tonight. 

Joy 

shadows and trash

 October 26, 2021 a thought for today, It would be a huge book that contained all the may be said in a day. French Proverb

I finished the bulletin and got it emailed for proofreading. I did that even before I did the typical-first -thing-early-morning routine of virtual visits. 

On October 25 the photo theme title was “on Mondays I....”. Wow, I do a lot on Mondays but the one thing that is “always” every Monday is doing the church bulletin template. 

Sue and I attempted to make a visit to the twins horseback riding lessons last evening. The stable is about thirty minutes from our house and deep in farm country. We got lost. We ended up meeting up with the kids and their mom at a mutually familiar stop on one of the main roads leading to the staple. At least we got a quick visit with the girls. We headed home without making it to our original destination but it was raining and getting dark. We decided to try it another time. Since it was past dinner time, we stopped for a sandwich. We were home for about an hour before I had to get ready to go to a meeting. 

We had food pantry today. When I started the car to leave, I noticed that there was a sound that made me wince ..... I think I am going to need to get a new muffler. I hope I can nurse the car along and  get to all the activity I have on the agenda the rest of this week before I take it to auto repair.

Pantry wasn’t quite as busy today as it was both days last week. Hopefully it is only a set back for one day. 

Tomorrow we are having our first literary club meeting in almost two years. Speaking of that, I down loaded a new book by one of my five most favorite writers. I am now reading “The Black Echo” by Michael Connelly. With only a few pages read, I am finding it hard to put down.  

The word for today is happiness.  The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. Marcus Aurelius. It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. Charles Spurgeon. There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved. George Sand. True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future. Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens, Douglas William Jerrold.  Happiness is in the taste, and not in the things, Francois de La Rochefoucauld. The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. Henry Ward Beecher.  When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age. Victor Hugo. Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all. Ovid.   To live happily is an inward power of the soul, Marcus Aurelius.  Happiness, that grand mistress of the ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and meanderings, but leads none of us by the same route, Charles Caleb Colton.  Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one, Benjamin Franklin. Happy he who learns to bear what he cannot change, Friedrich Schiller.  He who sings frightens away his ills, Miguel de Cervantes.

Today’s photo challenge is “I like to eat....”. I like to eat most anything but I had my Chinese dinner containers from last night readily available so that was my choice for today’s model. 

As I am adding the story article to the letter I haven’t read it all the way through so I am not sure at this point of  the outcome but the title intrigued me, “Squirrels & Drones”. It started out about the view of walking around the Ohio State Oval. One would see squirrels “scampering” around usually avoiding people unless someone is feeding them. These days we still see the squirrels with an added sight called Grubhub robots (drones). Food and drink can be ordered on a cell phone. The café staff fill the order and put it in the “hold” of the robot which is programed with the proper destination point. They also are programed to avoid cars and humans that may be in its path. I learned from the article that the move at about the same speed as a human walks. When it gets to its destination it notifies the recipient that it has arrived. Then a code that was given at the time of the order is entered so that the “hold” for access to the food. The drones mentioned in this article are located on or near campus. The article continued by saying that the “new mobility” with the drones delivering food and groceries have curbside pick up and so on and on, this and the drones are becoming “an important agent in that ecosystem......and our daily interactions with autonomous agents” and will be “upending the service economy”. It will also facilitate little interaction with other people. One day they will be so common that we will eventually hardly notice them, the drones, “like squirrels on the Oval”.  

I am sprucing up some left over meat loaf and mac and cheese for dinner. 

Joy

....water, anyone?

  

 October 24, 2021 a thought for today, When the blind leads the way, woe to those who follow. Hebrew Proverb

I think when I decided it was time to get up and out of be with my feet on the floor,  I wasn’t really very much awake. My “physical clock” needed rewound even though I had a full nights sleep. The bones needed to be reminded it was time to go vertical rather than horizontal. My eyes didn’t seem to want to focus and my “directional mobility, it seemed a little askew. These minor abnormalities seemed to last longer than they needed to. Everything was reset when I got ready for church. 

The photo challenge was “I love this time of day...”. I really like many times of the day with a different reason for each. But this on was the most available for this shoot. 

We had a bit of a surprise at the beginning of the service this morning. Our minister for today has the flu, not the COVID kind, the more familiar kind. She couldn’t make it to church so her husband agreed to share her written message with us. The complete service moved on as usual and her message, even delivered by her husband, was as influencing almost as it would have been had she been there in person. Our lay reader for the month and Mike were amazing with filling in where needed. 

Our HM3 service last night was a bit more lively than usual. There weren’t any more people present but those who were there seemed a slightly more relaxed and lively.  

There was a chill in the air today with the church seeming to be a little more on the cool side, probably an indication that the furnace will have to be in operation soon. 

Not only was it chilly but the sky is overcast and there are intermittent spells of misting in the air.

The word is handle.  Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith. Henry Ward Beecher. Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.  Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle, James Russell Lowell. The moment an ill can be patiently handled, it is disarmed of its poison, though not of its pain. Henry Ward Beecher.  In the midst of the affliction He counsels, strengthens confirms, nourishes, and favors us.... More over, when we have repented, He instantly remits the sins as well as the punishments. In the same manner parents ought to handle their children, Martin Luther. You turn the handle the way it goes, not the way it ought to go, Confucius.  A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it, Henry Ward Beecher. You need not fear to handle the truth roughly. She is not invalid, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Handle your tools without mittens, Benjamin Franklin. A sneer is the weapon of the weak. Like other devil's weapons, it is always cunningly ready to our hand, and there is more poison in the handle than in the point, James Russell Lowell.   

Today’s photo theme is “I watched this....”. As we, the choir were getting ready to sing at church, I watched our choir director work his magic on the piano. In this particular photo I also was attracted by the colors, the lines and the angles. 

Here’s a bit of history about one our closest neighborhoods. The Hilltop was settled in 1795. By the 20th century it was becoming the place to live in Columbus. It got is name by being located on top of a hill and “provided it with a geographic advantage that encouraged early settlement and enabled its growth”. There was a very impactful flood in 1913 at the area located near the bottom of “the hill”. At that time the “Hilltop” grew from 2000 people to 15,000 in about a seven year period. During the Great Depression and World War II people relied on each other and the area diversified. As history marched on and into the mid 1950s most of the original residents moved to other areas of the city and the are began to change culturally. A “social unrest” along with highways that caused “neighborhood displacement” started the beginning of the end of the “Hilltop’s golden age”. New development “all but ceased” in the 1970s. Areas of poverty became “highly concentrated”. According to the article, and a surprise to me, is that “the Hilltop is made up of five different zip codes, 43204, 43222, ...23, 43123 and 43228. The article further stated that none of these zip codes are “entirely within the boundaries of the Hilltop”. I was surprised to see that according to this article a part of 43123 (in my mind, Grove City) is included in the description of being “part” of the Hilltop. 

I haven’t made up my mind about dinner, maybe order in from York Steak House. 

Joy

ooooops!!

 October 22, 2021a thought for today, The world is sustained by three things: justice, truth and peace. Hebrew Proverb

My partner in the finishing of the newsletter planned to be at the church a little earlier than usual this morning. I wanted to be there before I thought she would be so I left about half hour earlier than I normally do. The stapler on the copier is still not working properly so that meant manually stapling. I had stapled about fifty or so of them yesterday and left the rest of today. I got those out of the way before Dorothy got there so we were ready for the next four steps. The two of us work well together and we were able to complete the work in less than an hour. 

The photo challenge for yesterday was “I read this...”. Over the years that I have been in this club we have used this theme a few times. I try to select something a little different each time. This time I chose street signs. 

Today seemed to be catch up day of some household chores that have been put on the back burner for a while. I ran the irobot and then used the manual push sweeper throughout the downstairs. Next was cleaning out the refrigerator. I normally like to do that the day before the trash goes out for pick up but this is a little ahead of (or behind) schedule, either way that chore is done for now. I worked on getting the coloring books ready for our HM3 free meal on Saturday night. Then last on the “catch up agenda” was watering the house plants that make up my “indoor garden”. 

The photo challenge is truly a big challenge for me this time. The title is “I did this good thing....”. I do more good things rather than bad, I hope. Now, how to show it. 

The word for today is habit.  Quality is not an act, it is a habit. Aristotle.  The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. Samuel Johnson.  Choose the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable. Francis Bacon. All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. Aristotle.  Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it. Horace Mann.  A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit. Desiderius Erasmus. A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right. Thomas Paine.  Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity. Saint Augustine. Character is simply habit long continued. Plutarch.  The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy; it lasts when all other pleasures fade. Anthony Trollope.  Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit. Epictetus.  Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason. Marcus Tullius Cicero. We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  Heat of blood makes young people change their inclinations often, and habit makes old ones keep to theirs a great while. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.

The photo theme for today is “I did this good thing....”. I try to do good things as opposed to bad things. One of the “good” things I try to do is make coloring books for the kids in the families who come to our free meals on Saturday evenings. I have a small manual binding machines so I make colorful covers and bind them to make a little booklet. 

There has been a lot of excitement about the new library, the Hilltop branch, so here’s a story about the new opening activities. One of the librarians said she firmly believes that being in the library teaches young people how to be respectful of property as well as provides a space for interesting programs. There were many families that were disappointed when the library was closed for almost a year but realized that many communities don’t have a library. Then many watched as the new building developed. Finally when it opened some of them entered to the excitement of beautiful new surroundings. Young children were laughing and selecting books off the shelves then showing them to other kids standing around. One person said it was an “out-of-body experience” to watch the excitement of the first visitors. The article related that the building represents opportunity for information and technology, possibly assisting students “recover from the educational crisis caused by the pandemic”.  There is a new interactive children’s area, a “Ready for Kindergarten” area, an area for teens along with a School Help Center where kids can get after-school help. Along with so many other added spaces and activities are four meeting rooms, two conference rooms, six study rooms, a learning lab, and a quiet room. There are sixty-two computers. The article said there is a “Baby Laptime” for tiny kids, a story time for preschool ages, kindergarten prep and higher levels of educational offerings to fit the appropriate age group. There is even an area to encourage older kids to write songs, make movies or learn coding with digital technology. There are “life-skills” for adults, healthcare and legal advice. It helps keep some kids out of trouble while offering a new outlook on “the possibilities in life”.  

It’s pizza night. 

Joy

just a quick stop before moving on

October 20, 2021 a thought for the day, A pearl is worthless as long as it is still in its shell. Indian Proverb

This was one of the early days. I was up before Bob left for work which is an “almost never happens” event. 

The photo theme for October 19 was “I went to....”....guess! Of course....McDonalds. 

Sue had an eight o’clock appointment in Grove City. I was really lucky to find a parking spot close to the door we needed to go in. That lot seems packed every time we have an appointment there. It was a good check up and the appointment didn’t last all that long. We were on the road again by 8:45. 

I got a few odds and ends finished before it was time to leave for food pantry. One of the things I took care of was checking on an appointment at the dentist for me for tomorrow. My “bridge” hasn’t come in yet so the appointment is canceled for tomorrow. 

It looks like we are slowly getting back to the number of visitors as it was before the pandemic. We had fourteen families yesterday and nineteen today. I like when we keep a steady pace with the intake. 

I had to be on my toes for my photos of the day for today. So I kept it in mind while at the doctor’s office and while at food pantry. 

There are two photos a day for today. The first is titled “ I sat here...”. This shot was taken as I waited for Sue during her doctor’s appointment. There are all kinds of seating experiences in a doctor’s office. I also liked the subdued colors that seemed to appear when I got it to the “darkroom” (Photoshop). 

The word for today is growing.   You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was, Abraham Lincoln.  No man loves life like him that's growing old, Sophocles.  Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay. Sallust.  Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. William Ellery Channing. Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.  I grow old learning something new every day. Solon.  The wise man does not grow old, but ripens. Victor Hugo.  Sorrow is a fruit. God does not make it grow on limbs too weak to bear it. Victor Hugo.  Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin. Aesop.  The more you mow us down, the more numerous we grow; the blood of Christians is seed. Tertullian.  I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow. Abraham Lincoln.  I speak the truth not so much as I would, but as much as I dare, and I dare a little more as I grow older. Michel de Montaigne.  Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow firm there, firm as weeds among stones. Charlotte Bronte.  As we grow old, the beauty steals inward. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  

The second challenge today is “stripes”. What better stripes for the US than the stars and stripes.  

An interesting place to visit and near our city. This article is about the Olentangy Indian Caverns. I have visited there once many years ago. According to the article there can be 700-800 people visit the caverns on a weekend, some coming from a distance. The article mentioned that there are “attractions designed for families. Some of these attractions “center” on a system of caves, both natural and historic. These particular caves were used by Hopewell and Adena Indians more than 2,000 years ago. Along with the caves themselves there are a petting zoo, a walking trail, a treasure-hunt maze, and a mini gold course. At the cave entrance there is a museum that describes the history of the caves. In 1821 a farmer’s ox fell into an open vertical shaft about fifty feet deep. And that was after all of the hundreds of years that the Indians used the caverns and left “artifacts” behind. It wasn’t until 1935 that the caverns were opened to the public, at that time a school teacher owned the property. A steel stairway was built to replace the fact that the Indians had to climb in and out of them. The temperature stays at between 45 and 54 degrees. I learned from the article something that is probably common sense that just needed stimulated, that such caves never stop growing and forming. For instance water still flows and puddles and runs down the walls forming more stone from the minerals in the water. Along with that there is the erosion caused by the motion of the water. In that line, visitors are asked not to take food and drink into the caves and to avoid touching the walls “so the rock’s chemistry stays pristine”. Parts of the cave have been given names such as Council Chamber, Cathedral Hall, Bell Tower and Echo Chamber.  Another interesting part of the article is that yoga classes were held there in the summer 75 feet underground. One of the animals in the petting zoo is named Zoey. She is a zebu cow and is a “self-appointed ambassador” of the area. She would watch over new baby piglets when they were born there. She also can let people know when there is something not quite right. As an example, some fencing gates fell over in the barn and she kept mooing until someone came to investigate and followed her to the fallen gates. It is said that if you spend 10 to 15 minutes with her she will catch your scent and seems to be able to  remember you even after a couple of months. They say she tilts her head and smiles. Besides Zoey and some pigs there are 10 female deer, goats and a cat (to keep the mice “at bay). The caverns have earned a 4.4 star Google review. 

I think we will have tuna helper for dinner. 

Joy 

colors, shapes, textures, patterns 

 October 18, 2021 a thought for today, Willows are weak but they bind other wood. Irish Proverb

It had been a busy Monday, seems it is that way every week that begins with putting the church newsletter on the list of other obligations to be finished by the end of the week. I put a couple of hours working on the newsletter before I moved to the bulletin. We had a last minute switch in pastors for this week so I had to contact the reverend who will be doing this week’s service. As it turns out she is usually very early about getting her information to me. I sent her a text this morning but haven’t had a response yet. I went ahead getting the part of it completed that is my responsibility. 

My photo theme for yesterday was “I saw....”. I love the steeple and cross on the top of my church especially against the blue of the heavens. 

Lowell stopped by. We were able to have a long chat on a subject that is upper most in both our lives. We have separate views on some aspects but they all seem to mesh coming to light via different avenues and interpretations also leaving each of us with new outlooks to explore..

The hours have slipped away today and it is almost time to “change hats” to move on to the preparation of dinner for the three of us. 

The word today is gratitude.  Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts. Henri Frederic Amiel. Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. Henry Ward Beecher. 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.  Does not the gratitude of the dog put to shame any man who is ungrateful to his benefactors? Saint Basil.  Fill the earth with your songs of gratitude. Charles Spurgeon. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for, Epicurus. If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough, Meister Eckhart.  Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life, Rumi. The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude. Sallust.   

Today’s photo challenge is “I don’t like to....”. My answer to that is shovel snow. I don’t do that so much any more. Bob does it for me. And there are other things I don’t like to do but this was the easiest way to present an image of a dislike. 

Here is another article telling about the history of part of our city. This one is about a neighborhood called Hungarian Village. At the opening of the article there is a man who has had a shoe repair shop on Parsons Avenue for sixty years. He walked one block to work. His father immigrated here in 1903 and lived and worked in Perry County finally moving to Columbus in the 1930s with the assistance of Works Progress Administration a depression era job program. Another family from Athens County moved here to Columbus in 1950. Both settling in Hungarian Village. The article went on to mention that “for the most part, Hungarian Village is pretty much devoid of residents who can trace their roots to Budapest or Debrecen. All of the original families have passed away. There is a movement now to “re-create its identity”. Those who are there fly the Hungarian flag and put up signs to “educate visitors”. The residents now are not Hungarian but seem to love the neighborhood. This village is “wedged” through of Merion village and north of Reeb/Steelton Village neighborhoods. Now it is mostly an area of just Woodrow and Hinman Avenue between S. High Street and Parsons Avenue while in the 1970s its northen border was listed as E. Markison Ave. A hundred years ago the neighborhood housed immigrants from Hungary, Croatia and Italy. The article explained that there were so “many countries” represented on the South Side of Columbus that a Foreign Grocery on Parsons Avenue “employed a staff that spoke about a dozen languages”. During the 1940s and 1960s it was a busy part of Columbus. There is a church in the area where people have gathered for 104 years. Now there are only 175 members. Last summer one of the Columbus Landmark Foundation led a tour of the neighborhood. People moving into the neighborhood like the closeness of the downtown area, the traditional feel of the neighborhood with garages and alleys, along with racial and economic diversity. 

I am fixing chili mac for dinner. 

Joy

conglomeration

 October 16, 2021 a thought for today, Yes and no rule the world. Italian Proverb

The weekend is here. I spent just a few minutes extra in bed before beginning the day. It felt like a luxury. But day light is moving along. 

On October 15 the photo theme was “I never....”. My choice for an entry was something that I feel I will never be without or I should say that I will do my best to never be without and that is a face like the one shown in my life. 

I talked to Lowell via email and we took care of some information updates of a mutual interest obligation. I also got some exciting photos via text from my grand daughter-in-law. Besides being exciting for me it took another twist by bringing to mind a gentle reminder I got yesterday from one of my online photo clubs. I had uploaded an image of myself and four of my class mates from nursing school to fit the challenge “I once...” (was a nursing student). That brought a response from a club member that our photos have to be taken by us as an individual and not by someone else. That turned the choice I made of  photos into a downer. The photo was taken years ago via a timer setting on the camera (it is the photo in my previous blog message). I set the timer so I guess it was taken by me. I don’t think the person who issued the “reminder” considered the use of a timer although some of our entries are supposed to be selfies. Anyway I will have to be more conscious of that “rule” from now on.

When I was running a couple of color items on the printer, this morning I noticed that I am running low on color ink. So I was giving some thought to going out today to find the ink I need. I realized this coming week is the week of the month that is loaded with activity all week, I had better get the errand out of the way. I headed for Office Max. To my dismay, they were out of the ink I wanted. A young male clerk with shoulder length curly hair came to help me. I told him that I wanted the packet with a black cartridge and a color cartridge in the same packet. I wanted them both to be XL meaning capable of printing more pages than the standard cartridges. He told me that in those packets with both colors the black is the only XL the color is standard. Yet on the many occasions I have bought them in the past and when ordered on line the cartridges are available with both colors described as XL. I told him that and asked him when HP had changed that. He said it has always been that way. I came home and ordered it directly from Amazon, a package with both the cartridges at XL size. I am feeling, for many reasons, that I do better ordering online than using gasoline and time to go out and not find what I need.

On the 15th I had a second photo of the day, it's title was "leaves and foliage". I visited a gorgeous huge public garden a few years back and captured this image of an abundance of trees, leaves, foliage along with areas of lights and shadows and depth. 

The word for today is gracious. And upon this act [Emancipation Proclamation]...I invoke...the gracious favor of Almighty God, Abraham Lincoln.  When from our better selves we have too long been parted by the hurrying world, and droop. Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired, how gracious, how benign is solitude. William Wordsworth. Where there is devotional music, God is always at hand with His gracious presence. Johann Sebastian Bach.  If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world. Francis Bacon.  A gracious soul may look through the darkest cloud and see God smiling on him, Thomas Brooks.  That gracious thing, made up of tears and light, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  Ah! gracious Heaven gives us eyes to see our own wrong, however dim age may make them; and knees not too stiff to kneel, in spite of years, cramp, and rheumatism, William Makepeace Thackeray. The axle of the wheels of the chariot of Providence is Infinite Love, and Gracious Wisdom is the perpetual charioteer, Charles Spurgeon. Deliberate with caution, but act with decision and yield with graciousness, or oppose with firmness, Charles Caleb Colton.  

Today’s photo challenge is “on the week ends I....”. I spend Saturday evening volunteering at my church for a free meal that we offer the community each Saturday.   

Flytown is a place with a part of the history of growth in early Columbus. It is located just northwest of downtown Columbus “encompassing portions of the present-day Arena District and western sections of the Victorian Village”. In the 19th century it was an Irish-American community. Nationwide Boulevard was nicknamed the “Irish Broadway”. Irish, German and Welsh people immigrating to the US settled in this community that was growing in the area. The area is a 25-block of space including part of Neil Avenue east of Olentangy River and south along the Scioto River. It got its name due to the way it began. It “flew up over night” in 1865. Much of the area on part of West Goodale Street was commercial. Saloons, shops and boarding houses were part of the growth. Some of the businesses were Columbus Forge and Iron, Columbus Coop Foundry, the Simplex Foundry, Columbus Coffin Company and more. Folks not working in the factories became domestic workers, civil servants, police and fires officers along with legal, medical and education professionals. As the Irish people in the area became successful they moved out. The neighborhood became a “microcosm” of America and “melting pot” neighborhood.  Italians and eastern European folks moved in. The area was becoming the “port-of-entry” for immigrants. This article went on to tell about further movements in Flytown. In the 1910s “rural southern African Americans fleeing the Ku Klux Klan migrated to the city, settling in the neighborhood and becoming a considerably large population”. Racial tension began to flare up. Some people moved out and segregation took place. It was then hit hard by the Great Depression. In 1953 there were some plans developing to “raze” the neighborhood. To further add to the decline the Goodale Expressway, now Interstate 670, was developing in the area and added to destruction cutting through the “heart” of Flytown. Later the Expressway became part of a renewal for Flytown. Adding to the “renewal” was the Market-Mohawk downtown. Also the Thurber Village with high-rise apartment complexes came along bringing with it the Thurber Village Shopping Center, in Flytown’s place. Then Victorian Village and the Short North grew. This area is now rarely called Flytown. These additions have become an “attractive neighborhood” and now includes the Nationwide Arena and much more. The article reported that many Irish-American artifacts from the 19th century were unearthed. The area is identified with a marker at McFerson Commons in the Arena District and another marker at Goodale Park. 

I am making chili and pan fried potatoes for dinner tonight. 

Joy

a touch of class...?

 October 14, 2021 a thought for today, Tomorrow's battle is won during today's practice. Japanese Proverb

I got the bulletin out on time, on time per my own schedule. I like for the shut-in folks to have a copy of the bulletin before the Sunday service so I try to get it in the mail early on Thursday which really depends on when I am able to get the information I need to finish it. About the time I got the process finished I heard doors opening, items being moved around and  people coming in and realized today was our day to get food from the food bank for our upcoming food pantry days.

The photo challenge for yesterday was “I love this view”. I have an archive full of gorgeous views of all types and with all kinds of added moods. This is one of my favorites. 

I was gently detoured from going inside the house as I walked past a pot of  cuttings siting by the door that I made the other day from my lilac bush. I had left one set of cuttings outside on the back deck so that it would be in familiar weather conditions to acclimate to the shock of being separated from its parent, the other set is in a vase of water on my makeshift desk. As I glanced at the pot of stems on the deck, it looked like it had been visited by some curious onlookers such as a squirrel or two. So I figured I should bring it inside to save it from total destruction. That was one quick chore for the day out of the way.

A friend had stopped by the other night for a visit and had forgotten her jacket. She called an hour or so ago in search of the missing jacket. I told her it was here so she made it part of this daily walk to come in the direction of my house to recover the jacket in question. That gave us a bit of time to chat. 

After that I got a bit of a late start on my weekly laundry. So the rest of the day it will be 3 times down and 3 times up eleven slightly chipping and wearing thin linoleum covered ninety-one year-old steps to and from the basement. 

The photo theme for today is titled “I once...”, that to me indicates the best choice would be something from the archives since it indicates something that happened a while back. So I made an excursion through my photo archives to find something I would like to share. There were two one when I was about four years old and was examining the contents of an Easter basket. The other was of a time when I was in nurses training. It will take some thought about which I want to pick. The nursing one is aged but not as much as the four-year-old me so it is going to be pixilated. I have reason to think by the size of the space we were in and the number of us in the photo that I set the camera for a timed release.  

The word for today is goodness. Goodness is the only investment that never fails. Henry David Thoreau.  In goodness there are all kinds of wisdom, Euripides. Never be afraid of What is good; the good is always the road to what is true, Philip Gilbert Hamerton.  No man or woman can be strong, gentle, pure, and good, without the world being better for it and without someone being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness. Phillips Brooks. To be capable of steady friendship or lasting love, are the two greatest proofs, not only of goodness of heart, but of strength of mind. William Hazlitt.  There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted. Henry David Thoreau. Wisdom has its root in goodness, not goodness its root in wisdom. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Secrecy is the element of all goodness; even virtue, even beauty is mysterious. Thomas Carlyle.  May the same Almighty Goodness banish the accursed monster, war, from all lands, with her hated associates, rapine and insatiable ambition! Daniel Boone.  Nothing that was worthy in the past departs; no truth or goodness realized by man ever dies, or can die. Thomas Carlyle. Well, for us, in history where goodness is a rare pearl, he who was good almost takes precedence over he who was great. Victor Hugo.   

This article talks about some recent methods that use modern technology for individual methods of transportation and its rules. There is also a short comment included at the end on a near by suburb. In the last year or so, my time estimation may be a little askew, but in the recent past electric scooters and bikes have become accessible for rent along major thoroughfares. This article is relating them to the also relatively new availability to hiking and biking trails. The question in the first part of the article is “are they (the electric scooters and bikes) allowed on these trails?”. There is a need for regulations for the usage of all mentioned”. Metro Parks prohibit motorized vehicles. The city doesn’t officially allow Electric scooters on city hiking/biking paths, “pedal-assisted bikes are OK.....if it doesn’t have pedals it’s a prohibited motorized vehicle”. Disabled people with electric “chair” scooters are exempt. So, next in the article is the question how electric bikes and scooters are used. Other rules are: “Scooters are regulated the same as bicycles under the city code, and bicycles are treated the same as automobiles.... Don’t run red lights or stop signs, and don’t ride on sidewalks. Do signal lane changes, obey speed limits and yield to pedestrians.  Further, scooters and bikes may not be parked in a way that interferes with pedestrian or vehicular traffic.” The second part of the article tells about a suburb near Grove City called Urbancrest. This location is within the former “Virginia Military District”. In 1890 one-hundred acres of this village was called the “city on a hill”. It is the highest point between the Scioto and Miami rivers. According to the article it attracted mostly black residents, people who worked on farms, others coming from the south. Many are descendants of “the Great Migration after World War I”. By the 1940s there were no paved streets and no public water and sewer service but by the 1960s those service were established. Grove City now surrounds the entire village of Urbancrest and provide necessary services. Though warehouses and industrial building also surround Urbancrest the center “remains a tree-shaded and comfortable home for its residents”. 

We are having a variety of left overs along with some creamed beef on toast for dinner. 

Joy

The grating caught it before the longer fall. 

 October 12, 2021 a thought for today, I would like to break off the flower, but the branch is too high. Japanese Proverb

I started work on the newsletter. The deadline isn’t until next Sunday for the information to get to me that the people want entered but I like to get ahead of it some to make it easier to complete. 

The photo theme for October 11 was “I wrote this....”. Well, to be honest, I don’t “write” much anymore not when it refers to a pen or pencil as my instrument of communication. Like so many, I “text” now instead of “write” or I “write” using the keyboard and printer. However, I do scribble myself notes all the time and for all kinds of things I want to remember. So here are a few of my sticky notes. 

I took a drive over to FedEx to get the prayer shawl on its way to North Carolina this morning. The sun was bright and the drive was nice. Having the window rolled down to hear the sounds of traffic and other life sounds was a reminder of being alive and thankful. The traffic was not too heavy and moved along without the interruption of rush hour thickness. The gentleman at FedEx was really helpful. He packaged the gift box into a delivery box for me and printed out the label and let me know it would/should get there on Thursday, quicker than I had expected. 

I got an email with photos last evening from my grand daughter-in-law sharing with me that my great grandson had injured his toe to the point of quite a bit of blood flow. It begins two (or more) kinds of feeling. One of memories of his grandfather (my son) and his aunt and uncle who also got ugly and the painful scrapes and pains of growing and experiencing life’s lessons on the hard side of learning. Another urge brought on by those reach out and touch moments is to hug my young great grand baby and share his sadness and hurt. But it’s also the kinds of information that I want to be part of so that I can keep up with all parts of their lives that’s at all possible even though from a distance,

As I was reading my book last night, I realized that I had downloaded one that I had read some time ago. So I resisted the library online to download another book. The one I chose this time is A Gambling Man by David Baldacci. I got a good start on the first few pages. It looks like I am going to enjoy this one as I usually do with any of Mr. Baldacci’s writings. There were already some parts where I didn’t want to quit and come back to later. There were even a couple of phrases that caused me to  involuntarily laugh out loud. 

Today’s photo challenge is “I like to drink...”. Tea....iced and hot. Earl Grey, chamomile, or some
Chinese teas, most any kind of caffeine free teas will do. I use to be a coffee drinker but in trying to relieve a bit of the acid reflux I shied away from coffee and diet Pepsi.

On my way home I made my stop at McDonalds and a photo excursion swing by the park.

Back home I got down to the  “brass tacks” of getting back to normal daily household agenda. I still have to set up my photo of the day and get some potatoes on to cook.

The word for today is gift.  God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. Voltaire.  Love the giver more than the gift. Brigham Young. It is not from your own goods that you give to the beggar; it is a portion of his own that you are restoring to him. The Earth belongs to all. So you are paying back a debt and think you are making a gift to which you are not bound. Saint Ambrose.  Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection. Pindar. The manner of giving is worth more than the gift. Pierre Corneille.  Cease to inquire what the future has in store, and take as a gift whatever the day brings forth. Horace. We are born weak, we need strength; helpless, we need aid; foolish, we need reason. All that we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man's estate, is the gift of education. Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a Gift from God. Blaise Pascal. I would rather be adorned by beauty of character than jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, while character comes from within. Plautus. Reason is God's crowning gift to man. Sophocles. The gift without the giver is rare, James Russell Lowell. There is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers, Seneca the Younger. 

This article is related to the one in my last blog about peaceful and a sort of mysterious kinds of scenery in our city. It covers some of our “Glorious Ravine Neighborhoods”. One of the people discussing the ravines in the area talked about the Overbrook Ravine remembering  the wild landscape, steep terrain, woods and the Adena Brook. He remembered sledding on the edge of Indian Springs Gold Course near the ravine. Later he encountered the steep streets as he delivered the Columbus Citizen newspaper. In the 1910s there were cabins in this ravine and began to change in 1926. There are four ravines from the Ohio State University’s main campus through Clintonville. Coming from downtown the first will be Iuka Ravine. Here there are student rental properties as well as private homes. A few miles north is Glen Echo Ravine. The article related the Glen Echo began the transition between “old North Columbus and....Clintonville....in 1909". Here there are “craftsman housing ....and American foursquares and other styles of the era”. Next come the Walhalla Road moving into the Walhalla Ravine. In an area of the ravines is a section where it feels like “rural living in the middle of the city”. There is a spot where trees that have fallen don’t get removed to be more natural for wildlife. One lady mentioned in the article didn’t know about the ravines until she was searching for a home to buy. She found one and now lives where in one of the ravines and now, from here floor-to-ceiling windows, she “has a wooded view of the ravine below......”. It’s wild because you feel like you’re in a different world”. She also mentioned that as she is working she can glance out the window to see an animal passing by. She said getting to the house in the winter can be a bit of a problem. The article related in a couple of areas where people who had lived in one of the ravines and then moved away longed to go back to live there again. And many who live there now say the will never leave. 

I am having Navy bean soup from the freezer and “Crash Hot Potatoes” for dinner. 

Joy

colors, shapes, textures (and a little extra)

  

 October 10, 2021 a thought for today, One moment is worth more than a thousand gold pieces. Korean Proverb

We had a few more church activities this morning. We as a choir are back to singing during church service after almost two years starting today. We have a short rehearsal just before service starts so choir members have to be at church a few minutes earlier than is normal for each of us. After church service we had our monthly fellowship hour with donuts and coffee enjoying the comradery of friends. 

My photo challenge for October 9 was “I stood here”. Think of how many photos you could shoot that would meet that statement. I instead of trying to find foot prints in some dust in the garage to proof I had “stood” there I elected to use a ladder that I had used many times. I marked the spot with a red hibiscus flower. 

The sermon was thought provoking this morning concerning a camel passing through the eye of a needle. There is a lesson to be learned. 

When I got home, I asked for Bob’s help with my lilac bush. When I planted it a couple of years ago I didn’t take into consideration how large the hibiscus bush I planted as the lilac’s next door neighbor would get. It seems to be crowding out the lilac. I thought Bob might be able to move it for me. It looks like it would take a good lot of effort since it has gotten fairly large. Upon further examination I decided not to move it and to hope for the best. I did however cut several stems and am using them as possible starters. I put three in soil in a pot after using hormone powder on the cuts on the stems. I also put two stems in water to see if they would root using that method. 

I had two photo challenges for today. The first is titled “I do this on Sundays”. I do things pretty much by repetition. My Sunday mornings are in church, this church. Then other normal (for me) Sunday activities. 

The rest of the day, being Sunday, will be on the laid back side. 

The word for today is genuine.  The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. William Morris. Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.  The end comes when we no longer talk with ourselves. It is the end of genuine thinking and the beginning of the final loneliness. Edward Gibbon.  As I grew older, I realized that it was much better to insist on the genuine forms of nature, for simplicity is the greatest adornment of art. Albrecht Durer.  Genuine good taste consists in saying much in few words, in choosing among our thoughts, in having order and arrangement in what we say, and in speaking with composure. Francois Fenelon. To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man, William Shakespeare. To me nothing in the world is as precious as a genuine smile, especially from a child, Rumi.  Every genuine confession humbles the soul. When it takes the form of thanksgiving, it teaches the soul that it has been delivered by the grace of God, Maximus the Confessor.  What dazzles, for the moment spends its spirit; Whats genuine, shall posterity inherit, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Age childish makes, they say, but 'tis not true; We're only genuine children still in Age's season, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Amnesty, that noble word, the genuine dictate of wisdom, Aeschines.

The second photo theme for today is “high key”. This was also taken at church. As I was looking at it, I saw how with just a little more light it could be a natural high key. (From Google: High key photography is a style of photography that uses unusually bright lighting to reduce or completely blow out dark shadows in the image. High key shots usually lack dark tones and the high key look is generally thought of as positive and upbeat.)

Sometimes it is good to experience something through someone else’s eyes. Maybe we can visit the *Walhalla Ravine through the authors eyes in this article. The article is about a lady who believes that “The ravine provides comfort in an uncomfortable time”. The ravine is question is called Walhalla. She began by relating that during the pandemic she like many felt “her mind was threatening to become a full-time adversary”. She went on to explain that for “more than four decades....(she had learned)......techniques to quiet the mental racket. Working in the kitchen, the garden, yoga exercises and music as well as other techniques soothed her soul. But with the advent of the pandemic many of those didn’t have quite the same effect any longer. She started taking walks to see if that would help. The first day she began the walk didn’t make many changes. But the next day she began to notice what is and has been there to see. She said her “mind slowed” so she could notice the blossoms. She noticed three deer quietly watching. She listened to the “music of Mother Nature”, birds singing, the sounds of the moving stream, leaves moving with the soft breeze on the tree branches. She now remembers small things that brought tears and joys in the “crinkled” eyes behind a mask of a passing walker. Things that other folks left along the roadside to try to add a bit of cheer. She paid more attention to song on her headphones. Then she recalled walks in the Walhalla Ravine prior to the pandemic like making friends a pair of ducks, laughing at boys on a skateboard rushing past with smiles and laughter. This article ended with the message that in nature we are reminded of time, renewal and our place in the “immense and ....unpredictable”. 

Taco Bell or Subway for dinner. 

Joy

*Walhalla Ravine is one of the most beautiful parts of Columbus. The ravine winds along a residential street. It follows a small creek. It's located along Walhalla Drive which runs from Indianola to High. There's a small creek which runs through much of the side of the street. It's not much else but everything is beautiful, including the trees covering it so it's like you're going through a tunnel almost. It's kind of hidden but Walhalla Ravine is worth finding. It's located along a residential street so be careful when going through it. The trees provide lots of shade if you plan to go for a walk.

Here’s another “left behind” photo

 October 8, 2021 a thought for today,  Differing in words, not in reality. Latin Proverb

This Friday took me by the collar and carried me on an adventure of errands of the kind that I am unaccustomed to. I am a person who more or less lives by a scheduled check list. Today was “follow my nose”, again, more or less. 

Yesterday the photo theme was “I held this....”. This is pretty much a regular for me. I have mentioned before I stop at McDonalds and White Castle often. 

The first thing this morning Sue and I stopped by the church fall sale. It seemed to be moving along very well. There were lots of all kinds of clothing, jewelry, books, “flea” items and a bake sale. I needed to pick up a gift box that I couldn’t find at the Walmart store we stopped at a day or so ago. So I decided to go to the one that use to be one of my old haunts. They didn’t let me down they had the box that I wanted. Then we went across the street to Sams Club. I wanted to check out the Waterpik they had in stock. It wasn’t quite the model I had in mind. So I will order on line. Next was a stop at Office Max to pick up some ink jet business card blanks. I was asked to make some more for passing out at the fall sale tomorrow. The last stop after visiting a McDonalds along the way was a quick trip to Kroger for Bob’s ice cream. Oh, and I came across a breakfast treat I hadn’t noticed before, sausage wrapped in a pancake all on a stick, how neat. Next, home to sooth the aching legs. 

Except for some necessary computer work that will be it for the day. 

The word for today is fountain.  A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles. Washington Irving.  In the desert a fountain is springing, In the wide waste there still is a tree, And a bird in the solitude singing, Which speaks to my spirit of thee, Lord Byron.  Faith is the fountain, the foundation and the fosterer of obedience, Charles Spurgeon. People of too much sentiment are like fountains, whose overflow keeps a disagreeable puddle about them, Henry Ward Beecher. Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain. John Locke. Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig. Marcus Aurelius.  Nature is the fountain's head, the source from whence all originality must spring. John Constable.  That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the fountain. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Now to rivulets from the mountains Point the rods of fortune-tellers; Youth perpetual dwells in fountains, Not in flasks, and casks, and cellars, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  A man too careful of danger liveth in continual torment, But a cheerful expecter of the best hath a fountain of joy within him, Martin Farquhar Tupper. No fountain so small but that Heaven may be imaged in its bosom, Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is one of the worst effects of prosperity to make a man a vortex instead of a fountain; so that, instead of throwing out, he learns only to draw in, Henry Ward Beecher. The cistern contains: The fountain overflows, William Blake.  Reason is not time only interpreter of life. The fountain of action is in time feelings, Henry Theodore Tuckerman.

Today’s photo challenge is “I like to”.....spend time with my family is my choice of images. This was one of our birthday parties spent at the park as a picnic so the youngest ones (and some of the older ones to) could enjoy the play equipment and enjoy nature, fresh air and summer time. 

This article presents an interesting look at a left overs of war. Maybe a hint of dogs in this scenario can bring other than something less ugly than the other parts of war. The National Veterans Memorial and Museum is noting the place of dogs in war zones, in veterans’ lives and in Wounded Warriors presence. There are five life size hand carved wooden dogs in the exhibit from October 20 through the 24th. Each of these statues tells a war story. The creator of these five dogs wanted to say thank you to six of his friends who gave their lives for this country as well as many other men and women in the service of the United States of America. At the same time of this exhibit there will be a program called Pets for Vets (Oct. 20-22, 11 to 3). There will be adoption opportunities. Along these lines the article mentioned that dogs are great companions for the wellness of everyone and wants to provide the opportunity for vets to find a forever friend. Two of the other dog sculptures of this artist are a dog in a hang glider to represent the space shuttle disaster and an oil slicked dog to illustrate the Exxon Valdez disaster (not in this exhibit). One of the dogs in the exhibit is named Robson. His owner was a U.S. Air Force veteran who committed suicide. Robson served in the U.S. Air Force for six years as a patrol and explosives detection dog. Lucca is another of the dogs in statue form who was trained to detect explosives for the U.S. Marines. Her statue has an accompanying medallion. She completed 400 missions on patrol in Afghanistan and barely survived a IED blast. 

PIZZA!!

Joy

life in the city (or anywhere I imagine)