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?