November 29, 2021 a thought for today, The wound that bleeds inwardly is the most dangerous. Arabic Proverb

I decided I needed to go to the grocery store today so instead of getting an early morning start on the bulletin as I usually do we left for Kroger. Since Bob is on vacation, he made the unloading the car much easier for me. All the walking in the store still took its tole on the aching legs. So the desk chair will be where I will be found for most of the rest of the day. 

The photo theme for November 28 was “pastel”.  I looked around the room and in the kids toy box for something in pastel colors. I found this balloon that one of the kids had left the last time they were here for a sleep over. 

On the way home from the store I searched for something I could use for my image for today’s photo theme. 

The only other thing I plan to get done today is at least a beginning on the bulletin. The rest of the day will be another of those laid back and move slowly days of a senior citizen.

The word for today is integrity.  No man knows the value of innocence and integrity but he who has lost them, William Godwin. He who closes his ears to the views of others shows little confidence in the integrity of his own views, William Congreve.  Subtlety may deceive you; integrity never will, Oliver Cromwell. The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home, Confucius. Confidence in others' honesty is no light testimony of one's own integrity, Michel de Montaigne. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one, Marcus Aurelius.  I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have, Abraham Lincoln. I will not deny but that the best apology against false accusers is silence and sufferance, and honest deeds set against dishonest words, John Milton.  Our deeds still travel with us from afar, And what we have been makes us what we are, George Eliot.  You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity,  Jane Austen. 

Today’s photo challenge  “bright”. I was looking for all kinds of reflections of the beautiful sunlight we were having that day. There were lots of sparkles off of car windows and metal objects along the road . I shot this one and liked the bright blue sky, just to add an extra point there is the bright red stop light. 

 This article is about some holiday activities happening in Grove City.  There is a Grove City Christmas Celebration and Mistletoe Market on December 3rd and 9th in the Town Center. They will be lighting the Town Center Christmas tree. There will be a concert and a Nutcracker Hunt. The article explained that the activities will open with the Nutcracker Hunt on November 28th. The 47 nutcrackers have to be found to win a grand prize holiday basket. Children can put a wish list in the Santa mailbox in front of the Grove City Welcome Center and Museum. Visitors are encouraged to shop for seasonal and creative gift items, artwork, decorations, and enjoy treats and food on the food trucks. A parade will begin at 7pm on Friday, December 3. The tree lighting will take place after the parade. There will be an open house on the 4th at the Century Village and the Grove City Museum. There will be “vintage Christmas traditions” and visits with Saint Nick. Folks in period costumes will have stories of the past in three different locations. One new thing this year will be a list of decorated homes for people to pass by and enjoy. There will be photos with Santa, a breakfast with Santa, “Reindeer Rides”, cookies and punch from “Grinch as he roams historic Town Center”, and a Santa s Workshop full of activities. 

I am making meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. 

Joy

 oooops mixed that huge opening on the trash dumpster...

 

 November 27, 2021 a thought for today, Words are sounds of the heart. Chinese Proverb

We had a new experience on Thursday....going out to dinner for Thanksgiving. Going to Bob Evans wasn’t quite what I expected. When we were seated at the table, we had a menu with one side entirely Thanksgiving related, turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, and so on. The other side of the one page menu was simple breakfast offerings. There were no other choices. I had my taste buds fixed on a nice fish dinner. I’m sure that kind of menu is helpful for the kitchen and for keeping things straight. My other surprise was that when I chose my three sides, green beans, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. Of the three choices I got mashed potatoes and corn (no green beans and no mac and cheese but corn I didn’t order). After the long wait to be seated and another wait for the food to be put on the tale I decided not to complain. It was an adventure and at least I didn’t need to be tied up with fixing food and cleaning up. Another observation was that there were as many people standing in line to pick up full take out meals as there were people waiting to be seated or to pay afterward. 

Yesterday’s photo challenge was titled “dark”. Last night as I laid in bed after I had read some of my book I glanced out the window and noticed the bright moon between the bare tree branches. I just had to grab my cell phone camera right next to my hand and capture an image of this moment in time. In the right-hand corner is a slight showing of the reflection of the street light in the alley behind my house.  

It’s interesting and inescapable to reflect on past Thanksgivings (along with other family holidays) and how they change as families grow and expand. In the beginning it’s kind of “over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go”...it grows and “glows” as in-laws and the new lives are added, and others may choose to take a new direction, as the years go by....finally reaching the time when age, energy and family size has gradually taken a turn in life’s journey as it moves into the September years that must come as we become senior citizens. All of this brings experience and awe toward the things that do and must come with the gift of life. In the end loving memories take the place of warm activity.

Yesterday I went in to church to meet up with Dorothy to put the finishing touches on the newsletter. We had some extra things to add in the fold so it made the letter puff up leaving a wide opening at the top. I was concerned about it not going through the postal machines correctly so we had to decide how to correct the situation. We ended up adding a staple to the top section. Hopefully that will pass the post office inspection. 

Today is the Saturday after the busiest week of the month for me. The bulletin and the newsletter are done, the newsletter done for another month. So other than getting the coloring book ready for the free meal tonight I am keeping things low and slow. The one thing I had to get out of the way was paying bills. 

The word today (food for thought) is instinct.  Instinct guides the animal better than the man. In the animal it is pure, in man it is led astray by his reason and intelligence, Denis Diderot.  The very essence of instinct is that it's followed independently of reason, Charles Darwin.  Five thousand years have added no improvement to the hive of the bee, nor to the house of the beaver; but look at the habitations and the achievements of men! Charles Caleb Colton.   Reason shows itself in all occurrences of life; whereas the brute makes no discovery of such a talent, but in what immediately regards his own preservation or the continuance of his species, Joseph Addison. An instinct is an agent which performs blindly and ignorantly a work of intelligence and knowledge, Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet. Who speaks to the instincts speaks to the deepest in mankind, and finds the readiest response, Amos Bronson Alcott.  The instinct of the people is right, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The soul, by an instinct stronger than reason, ever associates beauty with truth, Henry Theodore Tuckerman.  What is now reason was formerly impulse or instinct, Ovid.  The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Love has its own instinct, finding the way to the heart, as the feeblest insect finds the way to its flower, with a will which nothing can dismay nor turn aside. Honore de Balzac. Physical bravery is an animal instinct; moral bravery is much higher and truer courage. Wendell Phillips. The true and the approximately true are apprehended by the same faculty; it may also be noted that men have a sufficient natural instinct for what is true, and usually do arrive at the truth. Hence the man who makes a good guess at truth is likely to make a good guess at probabilities. Aristotle. 

Today’s photo theme is not a great surprise when you consider yesterday’s theme.... today's is “light”.  This is the lighting set up for my indoor house plant garden with only part of one of the Boston ferns caught in the exposure. 

This article is an assorted set of  tid bits of history about a Thanksgiving of the past in 1921. The day began with a steady downpour. The rain kept the street clear and with very little traffic only football fans complained but the games did go on. As the article stated then the day was considered a religious holiday. For people who had no home the Volunteers of America helped out with free meals. According to the article one thousand baskets were filled and given out. In the basket was a “peck of potatoes, a half-peck of apples, canned goods, coffee, sugar and bread”. Added to the basket for sick or “aged persons’ was fruit and jelly. In many homes that year roast beef with brown gravy and potatoes were the “staples” for the meal. Though turkeys were readily available so were chickens, ducks and geese sold at 30, 35 and 40 cents. I learned from this article that a place then called the Columbus Barracks (later Ft. Hayes) Thanksgiving dinners fed 400 officers and men when the year before it served 1400 men. That meal included “turkey, cranberry sauce, oyster dressing, mince pie, chocolate cake and the other necessary attributes.” Also, in 1921 turkey was served at the deaf and the blind schools. That article further stated that “no religious services were given at the state penitentiary in the morning”, motion pictures were shown instead and roast pork was the main part of the meal. At the reformatory in Marysville rabbit was served. At the state hospital roast port was served and special music and literary programs preformed.  Many “fashionable restaurants” stayed open along with local theaters, many still being “live theaters”. Another thing I learned from the article is that there was a restaurant called the Oriental in existence then that served a Thanksgiving Day dinner from 11am to 8pm for $1.75 a plate. Some of the sides offered with that meal were oyster cocktail, heart of celery, queen olives, puree of croutons, chicken a la Reine, roast Vermont turkey, or fried chicken a la Maryland and Oriental lobster salad, and asparagus tips in the dessert. Interesting!

We are having the Omaha Steaks spiral sliced holiday ham and trimmings that Lowell ordered for our (mine, Bob and Sue’s) Thanksgiving today instead of on Thursday by my choice. 

Joy 

all alone and feelin’ sad

 November 25, 2021 a thought for today, Words are mere bubbles of water, but deeds are drops of gold. Chinese Proverb

It seems this Thanksgiving isn’t going to be a whole lot different than any other day for me and for Bob and for Sue. There is a memory I can’t quite forget that adds just a touch of a sting.....my mother passed away on this day about thirty years ago. I still see her face and feel her arms around me. 

First lets revisit yesterday for a minute....my photo challenge for the 24th was “matching”. The most handy thing I could find to fill the purpose on a very busy day was my red cloth and the matching, in color, red tin. 

Anyway, I got up at the “usual Thursday time” to go print the bulletin and newsletter that I had finished yesterday. For the past few months the copier wasn’t stapling the newsletter as it should. We had it fixed. It worked! at least for seventy-five copies. Then I ran five as extras. That’s when the copier started jamming and stopped stapling. I’m wondering now if perhaps there is something I didn’t find when I removed the jams. Maybe there is another one I didn’t catch. I will check that out the next time I am there.  I got the job done and everything placed at least. 

When I got home, I got to the daily computer “stuff” and started the laundry. 

So the only thing left on my agenda for today is to finish the laundry after our Thanksgiving dinner at Bob Evans.

The word (and food for thought) today is inspirational. Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. Francis of Assisi. Out of difficulties grow miracles. Jean de la Bruyere.  If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants. Isaac Newton.  Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for? Robert Browning.  Light tomorrow with today! Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. Democritus.  It is never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot.  A great man is a torch in the darkness, a beacon in superstition's night, an inspiration and a prophecy. Robert Green Ingersoll.  Do not quench your inspiration and your imagination; do not become the slave of your model. Vincent Van Gogh.  The perfect knowledge of events cannot be acquired without divine inspiration, since all prophetic inspiration receives its prime motivating force from God the creator, then from good fortune and nature. Nostradamus. No one was ever great without some portion of divine inspiration. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them. Henry David Thoreau.  

The photo theme for today is “natural”. The most natural thing in the world is nature’s gifts. So here is a shot of what nature had in store for us today, rain, puddles, reflections, and the dying (resting) garden in the church parking lot.

Here’s another story about a different view near our city. It is about bison....you know...buffalo. We have then “roaming” southwest of Columbus at a place called Cherokee Valley Bison Ranch. I is located on fifty acres in Thornville, Ohio.  The owner thought  about it after eating her fist taste of bison meat. Thinking the bison meat was so good she wanted to eat it more often.  She said she was thinking about raising goats and chickens on her farm but after the meal of bison she decided to try to raise bison instead.  So she spent time learning about it. Her grandparents had her 160 acres. She divided it with her five children. Her grandmother was a native American, Cherokee, so the bison ranch was given that name. People’s interest in trying bison meat and/or learning more about the “United States’ National Mammal” has kept her interest in the project going. People visit her ranch to buy the meat or to attend a workshop about the animals. Her herd has grown in size and she is proud to offer fresh meat to the community. She now offers a “Hipcamp Site” that has an authentic 22' Sioux-style tipi” where visitors can stay and have the opportunity to roam the ranch. At this point in time there is a baby bison, named Peaches, being bottle-fed. Visitor enjoy watching this event. She and her husband enjoy raising the bison and this time in their lives. In closing the article she relates that “They (the bison) are the epitome of resiliency—all that they have been through from nearly being exterminated to 600,000 plus and growing!”

Thanksgiving dinner at Bob Evans today....don’t have to cook or clear away....just relax, contemplate and enjoy. 

Joy

textures and colors and......a blob

 November 23, 2021 a thought for today, True words may not be pleasant, pleasant words may not be true. Chinese Proverb

The girls didn’t get to come on Sunday afternoon but came late and spent the night. Monday morning I did what I could on the bulletin and parts of the newsletter then took the kids to Dollar General to shop. Then we had lunch at McDonalds, I was proud of the way they behaved this time, much better than the last time. Then we had a stop by the park until Sonja slid down the sliding board into a puddle of water. 

Yesterday’s photo theme was “on my feet”. That is a true challenge, some thing on my feet. It could be lots of things as many of my peers in this photo group shared. Mine is my comfy slippers resting on the stool that lies below my computer desk. 

Today started with more work on the newsletter, I still didn’t have all the information I need for the bulletin. At this point I have the newsletter done up to the photos, the minister’s page and one of the blank blocks on the calendar. Hopefully I will be able to finish both tomorrow morning. 

I keep telling myself I really have to get to work on the family Christmas calendar but keep putting it off. I doubt at this point if I can possibly have it finished before Christmas. I will just have to let all of them know I will get it to them when I get it finished even thought it will be a little late. 

Bob will be on vacation for the next five days. He has to use up some vacation time before the end of the year or lose it. 

The word for today (and for thought) is insight.  The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into and understanding of many things. Vincent Van Gogh. For passion, be it observed, brings insight with it; it can give a sort of intelligence to simpletons, fools, and idiots, especially during youth. Honore de Balzac.  The intuition of the moral sentiment is an insight of the perfection of the laws of the soul. These laws execute themselves. They are out of time, out of space, and not subject to circumstance. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  All good Literature rests primarily on insight. George Henry Lewes. When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want to breathe, it is then you shall have it, Socrates.  A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience, Oliver Wendell Holmes.  Knowing many things doesn't teach insight, Heraclitus. Wherever you are is the entry point, Kabir. The authentic insight and experience of any human soul, were it but insight and experience in hewing of wood and drawing of water, is real knowledge, a real possession and acquirement, Thomas Carlyle.  By exhaustively examining one's own mind, one may understand his nature. One who understands his own nature understands Heaven, Mencius. Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own, William Shakespeare. Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature. The way of nature is unchanging. Knowing constancy is insight, Laozi.

Today’s theme is “my fave colour”. Blue has always been the color I declare as my favorite. However, as I get older, I find that I like most all colors. My “favorite” at any given moment would depend on my mood, the mood or aura that surrounds me at the time and the purpose of the color used on whatever I am seeing/experiencing. 

The title to this article put me in mind of the long ago Lazarus Christmas window as well as the Thanksgiving Christmas parade. The Columbus Library at the main branch has set up a train and accompanying village exhibit for the holidays. The train is called the Huntington Holiday Train. Apparently this exhibit has been on going since 1992 at the Huntington Bank on Capitol Square. It was moved to its library home in 2009 where it has found a holiday home in the center of the lobby next to the stairs. Workers are constructing the structure for a snow-covered mountain and village. The exhibit will be “fluffed” up fir trees from a few inches tall to several feet. There are many volunteer workers, some with experience in creating “labor-intensive” and unique exhibits around the country, putting the whole exhibit together. One of the volunteers worked on an exhibit at the Ohio State Fair and one at the Ameri-Flora. He owns an expansive Garden Railway exhibit at the Franklin Park Conservatory. The article described some of the activities went on during part of the set up of the exhibits, such as a tree in a miniature village falling across the train tracks. Layers and layers of batting are positioned to cover a wooden frame and chicken wire. There are lights shining through the village buildings. Trees and buildings are “strategically” placed in the batting. Simulated snow “from old Folgers’ coffee cans is sprinkled onto the buildings, trees and train cars on the tracks. Designers are constantly watching the layout to be sure it stays in form and proportion. Along with the exhibit there are other fun facts displayed. For instance, the year the display was first built, the materials used, like twigs, bark, leaves, pinecones, the towns that inspired the “architecture, days it took to set it up and so on. The exhibit will be on display from 9am to 7pm Monday through Thursday and 9am to 6am on Fridays and Saturdays. Oh, and masks are required. 

I am going to try making a chicken stew for dinner tonight. I was cruising through my facebook pages and saw a recipe that looked good and uses ingredients that I have handy. I didn’t save the recipe so I lost it. I went in search and found one that I am going to try in the pressure cooker. 

Joy

....look at all that this photo has to offer and the stories hidden in the image.....something disposed of in an unconcerned manner...then there is the art, the life that is going on, a broken tree limb, a puddle with a reflection indicating a recent rain, fallen leaves indicating the season, green grass, worn pavement and texture....

 November 21, 2021 a thought for today, In a group of many words, there is bound to be a mistake somewhere in them. Chinese Proverb

Oh what a rainy and coolish Sunday. But inside the church this morning is was warm, friendly and festive. The Christmas trees, bows and wreaths were put up last week by volunteers. One of our most energetic minister’s gave the message this morning. He is always interesting and plainspoken. And, for me, that drives the message right to the heart of the matter. 

One of the photo challenges for yesterday was “rainbow”. I had some trouble finding an item with a rainbow like shape for the image today. So I wanted to use a shot of an image with the largest variety of different colors incorporated that I had at my finger tips. I used a part of this photo in an earlier submissions to the photo group this month. Since it was so colorful I decided to use it and add a motion blur filter to soften the colors and add an even more abstract affect. 

I stopped at McDonalds for a bit of carry out “brunch” for Bob and myself. 

We had a hint that maybe the twins would be spending at least part of today with us but they are not here yet and we haven’t gotten any further messages. So, maybe we will see them today. 

As is my habit and this being Sunday there is not much more on my agenda today. The only thing I have on my list is to upload this mornings taped church service to our facebook page. They take quite a while to upload but it allows for other multi tasking as it uploads.

The second photo theme for yesterday was “squares”. I thought this image of my front door with the square panels of glass fit the theme title. It was the best I had in my archives for this subject. I also liked the snake plant leaves and a part of the red clay pot at an added touch of color. 

The word for today is innocence. Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent. Jonathan Swift. How innocent, how happy, how truly delightful, even, would life be if we were to desire nothing but what is to be found upon the face of the earth: in a word, nothing but what is provided ready to our hands! Pliny the Elder.  He is armed without who is innocent within, be this thy screen, and this thy wall of brass. Horace. Pain forces even the innocent to lie. Publilius Syrus. If those who are the enemies of innocent amusements had the direction of the world, they would take away the spring, and youth, the former from the year, the latter from human life. Honore de Balzac. I shall support the law, for the law gentlemen, is the firm and solid basis of civil society, the guardian of liberty, the protection of the innocent, the terror of the guilty, and the scourge of the wicked. Charles Lawrence. The innocent seldom find an uncomfortable pillow. William Cowper.  No man knows the value of innocence and integrity but he who has lost them. William Godwin. Whoever blushes is already guilty; true innocence is ashamed of nothing. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  Ignorance is not innocence but sin. Robert Browning.  Innocence does not find near so much protection as guilt. Francois de La Rochefoucauld   

The photo theme for today is “on my head”. The best of have that is always on my head is my silver (white) hair with a touch of the stem on my glasses. 

This is another of the stories about parks and green space. There is a park in Granville called Infirmary Mound Park. There is a newly structured area that “incorporates natural elements” and gives the kids a chance to explore nature “on their (own) terms”. There was an existing swing set and climbing hill. A swing for children with special needs is being erected. Wood from dead Osage orange trees has been spread around the park to “create elements that will have kids balancing, jumping and climbing.” There are plans for an additional seven play scape elements to the park. There will be a willow hut, sand area, climbing station, fort building section, a larger slide and more. Much of these new additions are planned to be completed within the next five years. They hope to give kids as much space for as they can for “unstructured play.....research shows makes children happier, healthier and smarter”. 

Taco bell or Subway for dinner?

Joy

Christmas colors

 November 19, 2021 a thought for today, Faults and virtues are but two sides of the same coin. Chinese Proverb

This is one of the days set aside for another of those necessary doctors’ appointments. This one was for me as opposed for one of Sue’s. It was a “well visit” checkup so nothing to worry about. For one reason or another this was a longer wait, good thing I had a new book on my phone. Now I will round out the week with a visit to the dentist for an adjustment to the new partial. 

The photo theme for November 18 was “pattern”. This is a pattern I found in a Chinese restaurant that is closed not and boarded up. I liked the pattern in the lines and intersections and the flowers. There was no color in the design itself because it was etched on the class and the window boarded up with a dark material.  

Speaking of a new download of a library book as in the first paragraph, I have had an interesting week. My granddaughter in law suggested a book to me by an author I really like, Sue Monk Kidd. Jessie asked if I had read “the Secret of Bees”. I hadn’t read it so I tried to upload it, I had to put it on hold until it is available. But I did down load two of her others, one after the other (The invention of Wings and The Mermaid Chair) and after reading a few pages of each found that I had read them both a while back. Then I uploaded The Winner by David Baldacci only to find after a few pages I realized I had read it before too. So now I have found one that I haven’t read, Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. I will be happy in the adventure of this book for a couple of weeks. 

While I was at the doctor’s office, I got a text message from Jessie. Lexie wanted to know if I would some day make a prayer shawl like I had made for Jessie for her, Lexie (my great grand daughter). So I checked on her favorite color and stopped at JoAnn’s to pick up the yarn to start the shawl tonight.

It seems my electric blanket is going to get another healthy work out the fall and winter season. The temperature seems to be taking a dip. 

The word and thoughts for today (and onward) is impulse. Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. George Eliot. Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world, and bettered the tradition of mankind. Robert Louis Stevenson. Men are rather reasoning than reasonable animals, for the most part governed by the impulse of passion. Alexander Hamilton.  One impulse from a vernal wood May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can. William Wordsworth. Let the first impulse pass, wait for the second. Baltasar Gracian. Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances. James Russell Lowell. Grant us a brief delay; impulse in everything is but a worthless servant. Caecilius Statius. While the mind is in doubt it is driven this way and that by a slight impulse. Terence. What persons are by starts they are by nature, Laurence Sterne.   ... every impulse of feeling should be guided by reason, Jane Austen. Somewhere between obsession and compulsion is impulse,  Alexander Pushkin. 

The challenge for today is “black and white”. Normally I don’t shoot with using the black and white setting. If I want a black and white photo I use Photoshop (or modern “darkroom”) to change a photo shot in color to black and white and then adjust the darkness of the blacks and the lightness of the whites. This one I shot black and white in camera.

Here are some more bits and pieces about downtown Columbus. “Even before Columbus was established as a city, the river front drew in Native Americans and, later, settlers, who were attracted to the agricultural advantages it provided”. In 1830 Columbus had broader transportation on the river going through downtown with the link to the Oho-Erie Canal. Then in 1833 the National Road led to more ways to get to and from Columbus. The next link was the railroad connection. The railroad and the river helped connect Columbus and led us to an “industrial power” and a “key roll in the Civil War”. As time passed the north bank of the river became a point of interest. The North Bank Park was established. It offers a glass pavilion, fountain for children to enjoy, a large patio with a view of the Scioto River and skyline. I learned from the article that the “stone veneer on the park walls are stones from the Ohio State Penitentiary that once stood just north of the park”. As mentioned about “much of the development of Columbus’ was pushed forward by William “Wild Billy”Neil”. He owned stagecoach lines that were as essential to Columbus for a means of transportation as the railroad and river were. Neil Avenue running north of North Bank Park is named for him.  He was also one of the people who played a role in bringing the railroad to Columbus. There use to be a wooden bridge for the railroad near North Bank, it was replaced by a steel bridge that is now visible as part of the skyline. State Route 315 by the park follows the path of the Scioto Trail which was a buffalo trail that the Native Americans used. Other history near the park is the Broad Street Bridge, part of the National Road. Near by it the site of the former and historic Columbus Buggy Company with is now part of the Arena District. The Ohio Penitentiary was situated across from the North Bank Park. It was there for 167 years and was closed in 1974 due to extensive damage from a 1968 riot. Some of the former inmates were General John Hunt Morgan (a Confederate general), the author of The Gift of the Magi, and a portion of was it’s the prison history was the inspiration for TV show The Fugitive. There other monuments and memorial in the park, some of which are: The City of Columbus Firefighters Memorial. The Freedom sculpture, a sculpture of a Native American boy from the Scioto Valley tribe, a memorial designed by children in Columbus honoring the courage of astronauts who perished on the Challenger, a sculpture to honor immigrants, and a sculpture to remember Franklin County workers who died on the job. So this is an interesting part of Columbus to visit. You can also see the National Veterans Memorial and Museum located across the river from the North Bank Park. 

Pizza night!!!

Joy

an “ornament” in the grass

 November 17, 2021 a thought for today, A child's words have no guile. Chinese  Proverb

I have packed a whole lot of work into just a few hours so far today. I finished the bulletin and sent it to readers. I made the coloring pages, the insert for our anthem this week and the envelopes for shut ins. Then I compiled the secretary’s report for the literary meeting I will be attending in an hour. 

Yesterday’s theme was “one colour”. It can be a bit of a challenge to find an image with one color without getting something of a background with a different color. I shot this one the day before at the same time that I was looking for a floral theme. 

I got another call from my great grand kids last night. They gave lots of information. It always bring me a “lightness”.....a touch with pure happiness and joy of life. 

......I’m back from the literary club group. We had a nice gathering. There were a couple of more members there than there were at the last meeting. It seems almost back to normal as far as the number of ladies at the meeting. The differences are the sadness of the ones we have lost and then there is the new meeting place. It is a different atmosphere. The church where we met in the past had comfortable over stuffed seating and a kitchenette, a piano in the room and a homey kind of feel. The library where we are meeting now is gorgeous but lacks the warm cozy feeling. It is more “commercial”. It is bright and brand new. We are surrounded with books. There are pros and cons for both. 

The word for today (and to explore) is importance.   It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance. Thomas Huxley.  Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained. James A. Garfield.  All that causes one man to differ from another is a very slight thing. What is it that is the origin of beauty or ugliness, health or weakness, ability or stupidity? A slight difference in the organs, a little more or a little less bile. Yet this more or less is of infinite importance to men; and when they think otherwise they are mistaken, Luc de Clapiers.  The permanence of all books is fixed by no effort friendly or hostile, but by their own specific gravity, or the intrinsic importance of their contents to the constant mind of man, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nothing in this world is so good as usefulness. It binds your fellow-creatures to you, and you to them; it tends to the improvement of your own character; and it gives you a real importance in society, much beyond what any artificial station can bestow, Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet. The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble. Blaise Pascal. The direction in which   education starts a man will determine his future life, Plato. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest, Benjamin Franklin.  Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity, Aristotle.   

The photo challenge for today was “two colors”. Again a bit of a challenge but a little easier for me than one color. I also want to include something else of interest other than the colors. I like some lines, shapes, forms, patterns included.  

It interesting to see little parts of the history of Ohio and Columbus. This article is about a neighboring suburb, Bexley. According to the article Bexley grew around the Trinity Lutheran Seminary. It was founded in 1908 and became a city in 1932. It is “a 2.5-square-mile area with more than 4,000 households”. Bexley flourished while to the west and on the East and South sides credit became more “restricted”. These communities “struggled to develop”. When Interstate 70 went in the “divide” in the communities grew. As it happened, during the construction of I-70 the peculiar thing that happened was that it went to the south of Bexley and went through the East Side. According to the article someone or ones “intentionally” allowed that to take place. A neighborhood damaged the most by this action was “Hanford Village, a small community of African-American home owners”. This primarily military veterans neighborhood survived and has become placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Moving on, Bexley is thriving having one of the best public school districts in the state along with private schools. The annual income of the Bexley population is twice the average income of other Columbus families. On in the article it says that there are park views, and mansions in Bexley but also contains middle-class housing and low-income housing as it is becoming more diverse. Also mentioned that “Bexley still looks like an island. 

We will be having tuna helper for dinner tonight. 

Joy

forgotten?

November 15, 2021 a thought for the day, He that despises the little is not worthy of the great. Dutch Proverb

Yesterday’s church service wasn’t quite what I needed for renewal and this coming week but the donut fellowship made up for some of that. As I was leaving to come home I, along with everyone else, was greeted with our first snow fall....there were a few flurries to be seen the day before if you didn’t blink, today’s was a little more abundant. 

Yesterdays photo challenge was “stripes”. I found several images of stripes but this one was the easiest to capture.  

This turned out to be a visit to the grocery store day. We thought there had been a doctor visit scheduled but realized it was for next month instead of today so we took advantage of this being the day best this week for the store especially since I had meds to pick up at the pharmacy. As has become a custom now, it takes the rest of the afternoon to put things away. I do it in spread out sections once the frozen things have been put away (this is one of those times when DoorDash and Grubhub really sounds good). 

Last night I broke down and put my electric blanket on the bed.....did it ever feel good this morning. 

I read the end of my book last night (The Poet by Michael Connelly...there were twists and turns in this one that I didn’t expect). I uploaded my next book from the library to Libby on my cell phone while I waited for Sue to run some errands in The Dollar Tree. This one is Sooley by John Grisham. The first few pages look really good if you are into sports, me...maybe not so much. 

One of the two themes today was “floral”. This isn’t the season for find good floral shots right now. I was in the grocery store section of floral designs and was able to grab a couple of shots.

As soon as I take my next brake I need to make some of Sweet Pea’s meatball treats to freeze for the next few weeks. 

One of the two themes today was “floral”. This isn’t the season for find good floral shots right now. I was in the grocery store section of floral designs and was able to grab a couple of shots

The word for today and further contemplation (perhaps comfort, perhaps new understanding) is impatience. Experience has taught me this, that we undo ourselves by impatience. Misfortunes have their life and their limits, their sickness and their health, Michel de Montaigne. Patience is the support of weakness; impatience the ruin of strength. Charles Caleb Colton. A man watches his pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap. Abraham Lincoln. Patience and time do more than strength or passion, Jean de La Fontaine. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they alone knew everything and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them, Socrates. I had neither the good sense nor the good feeling to know that this was all my fault, and that if I had been easier with Joe, Joe would have been easier with me. I felt impatient of him and out of temper with him; in which condition he heaped coals of fire on my head, Charles Dickens.

The second theme for today is “crayons and colored pencils”. I have to borrow the crayons from my sister’s great granddaughter twins. I happened to have some of the colored pencils.

I have always thought the Ohio State House was gorgeous as it was so I was interested to see where this article took me. The renovation “transformed the Ohio State house” and cost $120 million. The article was titled “...from dump to crown”. Personally, I never thought of it as a “dump”. Here’s is a bit of what is meant by “dump”: “Thirty years ago, mice, asbestos, radon gas and water leaks were as common in the Ohio Statehouse”. Over time the original fifty-three rooms were divided into 317 spaces.  There was even “a stairway to nowhere...and two rooms that had no doors”. Sky lights were painted to obscurity and ceilings were dropped with added florescent lights that covered awesome details. A stained glass state seal was stored away. In the 1980s money was raised to support a renovation that would take six years to complete. People’s offices had to be moved out during the renovation. After the completion of the renovation more than 140,000 visitors a year have come to see it. The article noted that it is the only state capitol where the state constitution is on display as well as being one of only a handful with “a museum within the building. The architects created an atrium, “a soaring, gleaming enclosed space that connects the statehouse to the annex”. There will be a 25th anniversary to celebrate the renovation on November 17. During the days of the renovation the Statehouse was closed, all necessary activity that would had taken place there was moved to other quarters. Over the years heating and cooling systems that came along as time passed were added. All of that was not “salvageable” so had to be removed. New equipment had to be installed with keeping in mind that it should be “hidden” while energy-efficient where it was installed. Long lost original documents were found and used to guide which furniture to use, window details and other renovation tips. 

We are having left overs for dinner, chili and hash brown potatoes with fresh deviled eggs added to the menu. 

Joy

 Open mouthed

 

 November 13, 2021, a thought for today, Everything has two handles. Dutch Proverb

Here’s the good news. My car works! Still old and taped together but it works and doesn’t sound like something from a war zone. I took it to Mad Hatter yesterday. They showed me three areas along the exhaust line that needed TLC. The total cost was under $200. I can drive now without drawing the attention of every person and animal along my path. I’m a happy camper. 

The photo theme for November 12 was “brown”. There’s lots of brown around and it comes in, it seems, hundreds of hues. I saw this brown wooden fence dotted with the shadow of the over hanging branches and decided to use it as my entry yesterday. 

Ahhh, Saturday morning and a time to sleep past seven. So I was up with a leisurely day in mind, a little unhurried dusting and a load of dishes on the agenda. That will be it except for making some chili before I leave to volunteer at church during the free meal. 

The word for today and food for thought is imitation.  By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. Confucius. It is the nurse that the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate. Quintilian. You may imitate, but never counterfeit. Honore de Balzac. A great part of art consists in imitation. For the whole conduct of life is based on this: that what we admire in others we want to do ourselves, Quintilian. In everything truth surpasses the imitation and copy, Marcus Tullius Cicero. I would advise him who wishes to imitate well, to look closely into life and manners, and thereby to learn to express them with truth, Horace. The false is nothing but an imitation of the true. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Human reason borrowed many arts from the instinct of animals, Samuel Johnson. Tragedy is an imitation not of men but of a life, an action, Aristotle. Imitation cannot go above its model, ......The imitator dooms himself to hopeless mediocrity, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Truth exists for the wise, beauty for the feeling heart, Friedrich Schiller.  

Today’s theme is “a pop of colour”. It’s a little more difficult to find this theme than the one above (brown) but I did have several to chose from. The red door and the bright colored leave stood out from the grey tone of the building and sidewalk. 

Today’s article began by reminiscing that in the beginning of the 20th century Columbus was the largest buggy manufacturing spot in the world. One of every six buggies was made here. It is further noted that quite a few major industries began in Columbus. The Columbus Buggy Company was located near where the Nationwide Arens is now located. As the horse drawn buggies disappeared, one thing that made it more possible for people to live further from downtown was the electric trolley car. The article went on to explain how the “industrial development in downtown Columbus and crowded living conditions” led to the Scioto River becoming “a slow moving sewer”. The next event in our history to be mentioned was the “Great Flood (of 1913)” and how it destroyed property and lives. The flood walls broke and twenty-six feet of water covered parts of Franklinton. The article said that parts of Columbus was shut down for six days and that the area on the west side of the river was shut down for over six weeks. Before the flood the area was a “hodgepodge of factories and slums”. After the flood changes took place. Empty factories, warehouses and slums were torn down. “Massive flood walls were built”. Government buildings were built. Some of these were City Hall, the Ohio Supreme Court Building, Central High School (COSI), and the first Columbus skyscraper (the American Insurance Union (AIU) now called the LeVeque Tower). By the 1950s the population for all of Columbus was over 357,000 all living outside the downtown area. Over the years there has been on going growth keeping up with developments and improvements. The article went on to mention something that caught my interest... “while the city did get much needed new construction, it also lost part of the rich heritage....it is always cheaper in the short run to tear down than to restore”. As an example, among other changes brought on by growth, our present skyline overlooks the place where the first cabin along the Olentangy and Scioto Rivers was built. In part over the years Columbus growth has been attributed to the efforts of Mayor Sensenbrenner adopting policies that led to suburbs becoming part of the city in the use of basic sewer and water service. Thus the “physical size of the city” grew and added to the tax base. 

By the way, it’s perfect day for chili for dinner.....there were snow flurries this morning and the sound of the furnace fan most of the day. 

Joy

PS I had a burst of energy....I dusted the wood floors upstairs, cleaned the upper part of the stove around the burners, used a mop on the kitchen and powder room floors and hand washed dishes I used to make the chili (all added to my “leisurely day”). 

colors

 November 11, 2021a thought for today, When two dogs fight over a bone, a third one carries it away. Dutch  Proverb

I got one of those calls last night that never fail to brighten my day. I got to speak to two of my great grand children via video chat. I love to hear their voices and watch them move about for even fifteen minutes or so every few days. I can still feel at least a tiny part of their lives. 

On November 10 I had two photos of the day challenges. The first title was “pink”. As I was volunteering at the food pantry, I noticed that one of the ladies had a shirt on that have pink stripes in it.....my photo for the day. 

Back to the saga of my car.....I have finally come around to a decision that I most likely should have made at the onset of my problem. Both my sister and one of my sons suggested a different muffler repair center in the beginning. I made the choice to use the one where I had credit available instead. So after these several days of stress and driving with what sounds like a tank (I think....though I have never heard a tank)....I wrestled with going this way or that to solve my problem of transportation (counting on friends to pick me up, driving with ear plugs, go in a drawn out search for another used car). After the first news that the repair would cost over $2000 a dear friend of mine said her husband suggested that I seek a second opinion. I more or less tabled that due to the age and other conditions of the car. The mechanic at the first stop actually did say that some other mechanic may be able to solve the problem without a whole new system by soldering things together. Now, to make the story a little shorter, I have, decided to get that second opinion. Tomorrow morning, first thing I will gather up my ebook and some crocheting in case there is a long wait and head out for that second try. Stay tuned. 

The second shot for yesterday was “seen through glass”. I thought about shooting something through a drinking glass but settled for an image through on of my living room windows. 

I was awake making the above decision since 4:00am. So I was all ready to leave for church and the Thursday printing at 8:30. There was no one at the church this day at that time so I was in and out in about an hour and a half. 

Since I was so embarrassed to take the noise to McDonalds I came home and fixed myself a scrambled egg and toast instead of my standard MickeeD hamburger and large unsweetened iced tea.  I think I will get the Saturday coloring books put together today and the plants watered instead of putting it off until tomorrow. All of this as I multi task with the weekly laundry. 

The word for to day is imagination.  It is usually the imagination that is wounded first, rather than the heart; it being much more sensitive. Henry David Thoreau. The worst evils of life are those which do not exist except in our imagination, Charles Spurgeon.  Dreaming is an act of pure imagination, attesting in all men a creative power, which if it were available in waking, would make every man a Dante or Shakespeare. Frederick Henry Hedge. It is an error to suppose that courage means courage in everything. Most people are brave only in the dangers to which they accustom themselves, either in imagination or practice, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. The spirit is the master; imagination the tool, and the body the plastic material ...The power of the imagination is a great factor in medicine. It may produce diseases in man and in animals, and it may cure them ..Ills of the body may be cured by physical remedies or by the power of the spirit acting through the soul, Paracelsus.  Imagination cannot make fools wise, but it makes them happy, as against reason, which only makes its friends wretched: one covers them with glory, the other with shame, Blaise Pascal.  Imagination disposes of everything; it creates beauty, justice, and happiness, which are everything in this world. Blaise Pascal.   America is a poem in our eyes; its ample geography dazzles the imagination, and it will not wait long for metres. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst. Marcus Valerius Martial.  When I die, I shall soar with angels, and when I die to the angels, what I shall become you cannot imagine. Rumi.  What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also. Julius Caesar. Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public. Epictetus.   

Today’s photo theme is “grey”. This is a table cloth on one of the tables at an entry to the sanctuary in my church. I like the tones and the lines and depth in the pleats. I created the image as I was passing out the bulletins this morning. 

I have written about how dogs help us, here’s another little bit about how horses help us too. There is a farm in our neighbor Granville that is a special kind of farm. Its name is Hope Farm. They have a mission to help people with handicaps. They use another of God’s creations in this effort. The lady who owns the farm and started this mission worked in “equine assisted therapy in California” earlier in her life and decided that is what she would want to do. She enjoyed teaching especially folks of all ages who lived with challenges. She believes as I do that horses (and for me most, if not all, animals) are unique in what they have to offer to enrich our lives. She mentioned in the article that she feels that they make a difference in the quality of life for her special guests. She was very comfortable with horses, her family had horses always. As she was growing up even her babysitter rode a pony to get to her to baby sit. When she was five years old and the baby sitter went away to college she gave her the pony. She had experience in teaching while she lived in California. So she combined her love of horses with the experience in teaching. She and her husband opened the farm here in our area in 2009 with three lesson horses and seven volunteers to help. She teaches thirty students a week. She seems to have a sense of matching a student to each horse. In photos in for this original article there were smiles and motions of relaxation and happiness all around.  

It’s either going to be hamburgers or sloppy joes for dinner tonight. 

Joy

Safe....

November 9, 2021 a thought for today, He who speaks too much works too little. Filipino Proverb

My car has taken another turn. The “tear” in the connection must have grown today. On my way home from the vet the noise became....how should I put it....much louder. It is embarrassing. I guess this is going to speed up the search for something newer even though the timing isn’t the best with all things concerned. But that’s life....things don’t happen just when they are convenient. It’s just another adventure, we’ll see where it takes me.

The photo theme yesterday was “purple”. I went back to the archives to find this purple tulip. I needed to change the hue on the background though. 

I had some errands to take care of this morning before I got ready for my day at food pantry. A stop at the bank, a stop for gas and a stop at the vet for Sweet Peas meds. I left early in case there were some time that I would be waiting at each stop. I got each stop done without any delays so I was back home in time for some work on the computer. 

Food pantry was good today. We had a nice collection of folks. The numbers seem to be going up. We also have a couple of new people adding to the volunteers on the intake desk. Maybe we will have so many soon that we would move to different shifts. I would miss the activity if that happens but as they say everything changes in time. 

Since the car is making so much noise and pushing my stress level I didn’t make my stop at McDonalds. I just wanted to get the car off the streets and not calling attention to myself. 

The photo challenge for today is “aqua”. I had several ify aqua items. I ended up choosing these egg cartons that were as close to aqua as I could get. I checked the hex number of the color code and it matched for aqua.  

The word for toady (and food for thought) is ideals. Our ideals are our better selves, Amos Bronson Alcott.  Character is always lost when a high ideal is sacrificed on the altar of conformity and popularity, Charles Spurgeon.  The actual well seen is ideal, Thomas Carlyle.   Our ideals are our better selves. Amos Bronson Alcott. The Ideal is in thyself, the impediments too is in thyself, Thomas Carlyle. The ideal condition would be, I admit, that men should be right by instinct; but since we are all likely to go astray, The reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach, Sophocles. Even imperfection itself may have its ideal or perfect state, Thomas de Quincey. The ideal of beauty is simplicity and tranquility, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. A fresh mind keeps the body fresh. Take in the ideas of the day, drain off those of yesterday. As to the morrow, time enough to consider it when it becomes today, Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton.  The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret of outward success, Henry Ward Beecher. The hours of a wise man are lengthened by his ideas, Joseph Addison.  ...be yourself- not your idea of what you think somebody else's idea of yourself should be, Henry David Thoreau.  Ideas control the world, James A. Garfield. 

This article sort of hits close to home in a way. My uncle was the stationed in the building that the article is about. It was a fire engine house built in 1882. My father was one engine house further east on Broad Street and then my husband was one more engine house further east on Broad Street. This building sat empty for many years after a new engine house was built. Now the structure now belongs to the Columbus Historical Society.  Money for the purchase of the building has come about from the city and from grants and donations from individuals and foundations. More money will be needed to complete the renovations that are planned. There will be exhibit space, a café and gift shop on the first floor. On the second floor there will be offices ad a library. The basement will be used to hold archives. Two other buildings in the area were given to the Columbus Historical Society, the Harrison House (1807) and the Sullivant Land Office (1822) behind the Harrison House. According to the article there are hopes that this will be the beginning of a Columbus historical district. 

It’s going to be hot dogs and cheesy potatoes for dinner tonight. 

Joy

almost empty 

 

 November 7, 2021, a thought for today and beyond, The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf who keeps the caribou strong Eskimo Proverb

It’s been a good Sunday so far. We had bible study before church, the choir for our second time since the pandemic and there was a meeting after the service. So it was a busy time. 

The photo challenge for November 6 was “blue”. I’ll have to admit that the A in the image is the statue actually painted blue. I used a little Photoshop the make the B blue also, its original color is yellow. 

On my way to church I was thinking about what I need for the photo of the day. A piece of street art caught my attention so I circled back and got a couple of shots that I think I will be using. I also managed to get a couple of more shots on my way home. 

 There isn’t much else going on today as it should be on a Sunday. I will catch up on a few minor back burner things, things that will take up little time and effort so I can relax and reflect the rest of the day. 

The word (and food for thought) for today honesty.  Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. Thomas Jefferson. Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud, Sophocles. If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it, Marcus Aurelius. Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them, Francois de La Rochefoucauld. A good conscience is a continual Christmas, Benjamin Franklin. All men profess honesty as long as they can. To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so is something worse. John Quincy Adams. Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God. George Washington.  Honest hearts produce honest actions. Brigham Young. An honest man is always a child. Socrates. I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have, Abraham Lincoln.  The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousand fold, Aristotle.  An honest man is respected by all parties, William Hazlitt. Where is there dignity unless there is honesty? Marcus Tullius Cicero. The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education, Plutarch. An honest man nearly always thinks justly, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth, Benjamin Disraeli. You can cheat an honest man but not make a fool out of him, Confucius. Truth is generally the best vindication against slander, Abraham Lincoln.

Today’s photo theme is “yellow” there is a store building that has some street art covering the complete side of the structure. This is a small portion of it. There was a car parked in front of it when I made the shot so I left is as part of the design. 

Here’s another article about something interesting that happened in our Columbus history. The title is “Balloonists took flight in early years of Columbus”. There have been hot air balloons in the skies over Columbus at times for many years. In 1975 there was a festival started called the AllOhio Balloon Festival which takes place in Marysville. They “travel of miles across central Ohio and end wherever the wind takes them”. It is possible for people to pay for balloon rides where skilled balloonists are the “pilots”. But there was a time when that kind of fun wasn’t safe. As we know the “aerial age” started with the Wright brothers but according to the article people were flying for many years before that. It is pointed out in the article that Leonardo da Vinci made sketches of people flying in machines in the 1400s. Since then there have been kites and gliders along with the balloons. In the 1700s the highly flammable gas filled balloons came along. The article went on to talk about how in 1842 the first balloonist came to our city. It landed in Capitol Square. There not many people in the square at the time, it was just the Statehouse with a lot of open field around. People watched in awe. The pilot of the balloon described his view from the balloon and what it was like to fly when the temperatures were not favorable. 

I think it will be KFC for dinner tonight. 

Joy

most of the image is for the arts sake, texture, line, forms, shadow and then there is the added touch of something left behind. 

 November 5, 2021 a thought for today, You may find your worst enemy or best friend in yourself. English Proverb

I was beginning to doze again when I realized I had planned to go to the store today. I like to go early before it gets to crowded. So I got out of bed and dressed in the dark hoping everything is in the right order and color and not on backward. 

The photo theme for November 4 was “red”. Have you ever noticed how much red there is around? I liked this one the best of the several I shot, dumpsters, traffic lights, foliage, clothing, and on and on. 

I got my virtual visits out of the way before Sue and I were on “the road again”. After one stop for Sue we were headed to Kroger. 

When I got home and started putting things away I realized the chest freezer needed cleaned out. There was a lot in there that I had forgotten about and had become out dated. So before I could get every thing put away, I cleaned out the freezer. 

My “new teeth” are giving my tongue something to play with. I am wearing them for a few hours each day in hopes they will soon begin to feel more like they are supposed to be there. At least they may make my open mouth and smile look less empty. I just need to get past the strange feel. 

One of today’s photo challenges was “orange”. As I was on my way home I checked out thing that were orange (I forgot to shoot the many “orange” things that are in a grocery store). There are lots of pumpkins at this time of years but I think the foliage is the most impressive. 

The word for today is history (and each sentence a food for thought) . There is properly no history, only biography, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Histories are as perfect as the Historian is wise, and is gifted with an eye and a soul, Thomas Carlyle.  I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past, Thomas Jefferson.  To study history is to study literature, Robert Aris Willmott.  History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies. Alexis de Tocqueville.  The whole past is the procession of the present, Thomas Carlyle.  Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever, Napoleon Bonaparte.  No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men. Thomas Carlyle.  If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The thinker makes a great mistake when he asks after cause and effect. They both together make up the indivisible phenomenon, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The truly strong and sound mind is the mind that can embrace equally great things and small, Samuel Johnson. History is as much an art as a science, Ernest Renan.  Our bells are worn threadbare with ringing for victories, Horace Walpole.  There are no principles; there are only events. There is no good and bad, there are only circumstances, Honore de Balzac. History paints the human heart, Napoleon Bonaparte.  History studies not just facts and institutions, its real subject is the human spirit, Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges. One never really knows how much one has been touched by a place until one has left it. Thomas Jefferson.  If we tried To sink the past beneath our feet, be sure The future would not stand, Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  Posterity allows to every man his true value and proper honours, Tacitus.

The second photo theme for today is “tea, coffee, or cocoa”. My item of choice these days is tea, iced tea to be more precise. Just for the heck of it and balance in color I chose to show the banana that was sitting beside the glass of tea when I made the shot. 

I like articles that show just a tiny bit (the bits add up to unmatchable offerings) of  the remarkable things dogs can do and bring to the human spirit. This article is about the discovery of what therapy dogs can to at even international airports such as our Columbus International Airport. Side note: How could anyone abuse any of animals and their often hidden gifts. This article begins with an airline customer who is terrified of flying. There is a dog at the airport named Gatsby, an America Staffordshire terrier, brand new to being “sworn in”. Gatsby is one of ten who will be volunteering in the security checkpoints of the airport. Their “official title” is Paw Force One. They are allowed to roam the airport terminal and meet passengers hoping to relieve some of the stress of air travel. The dogs chosen for this honor are more often than not happy. According to reports that were collected airports have tried massage table lounges and calming stations to help travelers relax. Airport officials here heard of several other airports with therapy dogs and decided to try them. The dogs go through training but also bring somethings “that can’t be taught”. On top of many other attributes, they love being with people. The dogs “uniform” is a paw-print neck scarf and colorful vest. Their “working hours” vary on each of the dog’s volunteers availability. One lady who approached the dogs said that her yellow Labrador is a visitor to hospice patients, nursing homes and schools. She “absorbs all the emotions that are brought to her....she senses need at the right time, whether its stress or sad(ness)”. There was a “swearing in ceremony” for the dogs on Thursday. Thor, a Saint Bernard, was one of the new additions to the airport and was sworn in. He is the largest of the ten dogs. One woman who stopped to pet Thor and receive his special gift of comfort said “he’s better than a bloody Mary”. One pilot who landed in Columbus and saw the dogs and said he hasn’t seen the program in the other airports that he has visited and thinks this program could “distract kids and.....put smiles on people’s faces before they get on board (and) will drive down the overstimulation”. Some would even like to see these dogs on board the planes “like air marshals....to maintain order and de-stress passengers.....they could stop some of the fighting”. They are another of the gifts from above whether working at airports or other assignments that come to them with their birth. 

Oh, here we are again.....pizza night. 

Joy

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