January 6, 2022 a thought for today, When two quarrel both are in the wrong. Dutch Proverb

It’s been another one of those busy days. I was up at 6:30 to get all the virtual visits out of the way before it was time to leave for Sue’s appointment. After her appointment we made a couple of other stops before coming home. 

January 5 photo theme was “this year I’ll”. I chose “watch the seasons and their gifts” through my window. (and out and about). 

One of the reasons I got up a little earlier than usual, beside the virtual visits, was to start one load of the laundry. I don’t like to leave something like the washer or dryer running while I am out of the house so I wanted the load to get through the cycle before we left. Once at home I got back to it. 

For some reason either my titanium hip is needing attention or I have injured my lower back somehow. I have been having one devil of a time with the right leg, the one with the fake hip, for a couple of days. I had to resort to a rollator this morning for the errands. As you can imagine the steps in doing the laundry seems like they have doubled. Oh well, it’s part of the aging thing, as they say, better than the alternative.  

I had two photos for today. The second was titled “guess
what....”. Wow, wide open theme. I chose to generate an abstract of an image of one of my favorite house plants that my daughter-in-law had given me for last mothers day. I love the shape and feel of age in the gnarled and twisted trunk.  The abstract was created using several Photoshop filters.

The word today is never.  Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best. St. Jerome. It is never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot. Learning never exhausts the mind. Leonardo da Vinci. Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Saint Francis de Sales.  Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind. Henri Frederic Amiel. A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. Saint Basil.  My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened. Michel de Montaigne. Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Friends are the siblings God never gave us. Mencius.  But he that dares not grasp the thorn Should never crave the rose. Anne Bronte.   I am a slow walker, but I never walk back. Abraham Lincoln. Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself. James Anthony Froude. Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all. Emily Dickinson. You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. Robert Louis Stevenson.  It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees. George Eliot. Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship - never. Charles Caleb Colton.  You can never plan the future by the past. Edmund Burke. Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. Marcus Aurelius. We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. Buddha.  

Today’s photo a day challenge was titled “begins with G”. When I stopped for a sandwich a little while ago all this green “hit” me, so it was the photo of the day. 

The title on this article caught my attention and sounded worth taking a look. It’s about how the Amish celebrate Old Christmas on January 6. As the article mentions, this is not a holiday of shopping and “overindulging” parties with overly decorated trees. It is a period of “solemn....reflecting and visiting”. It is also Epiphany. Some who were interviewed said it is a way to “return to our roots, our faith, our community and our family.” As the interview went on, ‘“It also gives the Amish community a chance to connect with history.....like Old Christmas Until the 1600s”, when the Julian calendar was “discarded” and was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in 1582. The article related that Pope Gregory XIII deleted 10 days to match the seasons and this led to Christmas being celebrated on December 25. It is said that the Amish adapted to the “mainstream culture” to celebrate Christmas on the 25th, they now celebrate twice. The article said the “Old Christmas” is recognized around the world as in France, Germany, Austria and other parts of Europe. When the Amish celebrate Epiphany the day starts with a fast until noon then a large meal. Amish employees have the day off and businesses are closed. Amish children are excused from school for the day. The day is spent with family and there is no gift exchange. 

It is going to be chili mac for dinner. 

Joy 

Overlooked.... (in my quest of finding and photographing things left behind as trash in a search for the art that might be found in it, I find things overlooked too)