December 17, 2021 a thought for today, Distant water won't help to put out a fire close at hand. Chinese Proverb

It has been another of those days that my plans were detoured a bit. I am getting use to the saying “the best laid plans of mice and men”. I woke up remembering an email I got yesterday after I had printed the bulletin.....we are doing an anthem this week and I had totally forgotten so it wasn’t in the bulletin. So, after I checked the virtual messages and news, I made the additions to the bulletin and typed the shove with the lyrics to the song we would be singing. I got to church around nine o’clock. Chris came in before I left so we had a nice chat. 

I got it all done in about an hour then headed for home and the long to do list that I had made for myself.  

On December 16 the photo for the day's title was “peace”. I have candles placed among my indoor house plant “garden”. That seems to have the feel of peace. Hence, photo of the day. 

My to-do list for today is as follows...get the kids “stocking stuffer” type gifts ready, that was six for the great grand kids and three for the twins. Also, a small one for each of my next door neighbors. Next on the agenda was making a birthday card for one of the church members. The stove top was in need for a good cleaning so I tackled that job and got it out of the way. I got one more calendar done and two coloring books for Saturday evening. I also got a few of the coloring pages Patti asked me to do for a hand out to the kids at church on Christmas eve. I will to the rest of those tomorrow. I left getting the watering done and the kitchen floor until tomorrow. 

I had a call from my sister-in-law sending me a birthday wish and we had another nice chat. Lowell called and invited me out for dinner tonight.

The word for today is life.  The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. William Morris. Every man dies. Not every man really lives. William Wallace.  Ships that pass in the night, and speak to each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. Henry David Thoreau. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. Ralph Waldo Emerson. To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often. John Henry Newman.  The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much. William Hazlitt. Into each life some rain must fall. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. George Eliot. Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even. Horace. Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life. Seneca. You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips. Oliver Goldsmith. Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor. William Cowper. 

Today’s photo challenge is “small”. I took this photo of my great grandson when I had a chance to visit with him yesterday. It reminded me of the tiny life seemingly headed for the huge outside world.

Here’s another trip back in time to a Columbus of the past to a Christmas time in 1921. Columbus was growing successfully with people of “diverse backgrounds and origins”. It had grown and developed from a “modest Midwestern capital city”. The buggy business that was extreme in Columbus along with the steel mills contribute to the growth. Other things that helped its growth was the Ohio and Erie Canal, the National Road, the established institutions for the blind, deaf and mentally ill and the Ohio State University.  According to the article by 1921 Columbus was waited for a “slow and gentle season of peace and joy”. Earlier Christmas’ were a little less slow and peaceful with the Progressive Movement, changes in the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and a federal income tax in 1913. Then came World War I. Again, according to the article, the election of Warren Harding (of Marion Ohio) promised a “time of normalcy”. There would be challenges coming in the future bur in “the winter of 1921, peace seemed to be present....”. After the “feverish” rush of shopping a “quiet descended on High and Street and business”. Local religious and other organization worked to help the needy along with the Volunteers of American and Salvation Army’s efforts to help with baskets of food and supplies. Charity Newsies raised money to help Columbus children in need. Another item covered in the article is that the Ohio Penitentiary promoted a vaudeville show for the season on Friday night by the convicts. Schools closed for a ten-day vacation. Restaurants and theaters actually stayed open for business over the Christmas weekend. The Deshler Hotel offered a “Christmas Dinner with all the Delicacies” for $2. 

Lowell is taking me to dinner at Red Lobster for my birthday today. 

Joy   

is that a small container of honey mustard, I see?