February 27, 2022 thought for today, What youth is used to, age remembers. Romanian Proverb

Sunday, Sunday.....it’s just been an ordinary Sunday. Sweet Pea got me up early so I had plenty of time for the virtual visits before getting ready for church. 

One of the photo challenges for February 26 was “z is for....”. The only “z” I had handy was my zoom lens. 

The majority of our congregants still haven’t come back after the pandemic but the ones that are here are loyal and honor our house of God on a regular basis. The message was from one of my favorite reverends. The “sharing of joys and concerns” was particularly poignant for me in asking for those in harm’s way to be remembered (at yet another of these types of darkness in history).  It was a little different in the fact that it was mentioned that they (military) know what they may face when they sign up....I, know from personal experience, that they do know and they offer their lives anyway, it doesn’t make the possible outcome and worry for the family any less of a sting. They, the ones in harm’s way, and their family know that “Thy will be done” and God knows what’s in their hearts.

The second photo for yesterday was “a rock”. I have a more or less rock garden or an edge of the yard garden the rocks strategically located among the plants. Here is one of them with some plant branches as partners. 

I knew last night what one of my photo theme’s for today was so I was on the outlook for a possible image as I was on my way to volunteer at HM3 (the free meal and Saturday evening message). More about that in the description of that photo in the blog.

Well, as is my custom, being Sunday, there isn’t much on my agenda for the rest of the day. 

One of today’s photo theme’s is “letters’. I didn’t know whether to use letters that arrived by “snail mail’ or letters of the alphabet. I searched in the toys we have here the twins to see if we had a book of alphabet letter but couldn’t find ones so I made a trip to the park and took another photo of the ABC structures in the play area. 

I didn’t find out that I am expected to get an order of worship (bulletin) out for Ash Wednesday which means work on it, if I get the information in a timely fashion, tomorrow after I get back from the store and the printed and put out by Wednesday. I would put going to the grocery on the back burner but I did that all last week with the newsletter and other on my schedule. Come to think of it that was an adventurous week....the alarm at my grandson/grand daughter-in-law’s house, food pantry, bulletin and newsletter. I don’t have time, gratefully, to be lazy.

The word today is real. We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. Plato. Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced. John Keats. The friendship that can cease has never been real. St. Jerome. Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures. Joseph Addison. The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The ode lives upon the ideal, the epic upon the grandiose, the drama upon the real. Victor Hugo. Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live. Marcus Aurelius. Men often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing. Aesop. Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit. William Penn.  Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit. Hosea Ballou.  Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people's, if we are always criticizing trivial actions - which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives. Saint Teresa of Avila.  

The second theme for today is “driftwood”. That’s hard to find in Columbus unless it would be part of a flower arrangement or other decorations. I decided to use the closest thing I could think of....a piece of bark or strip of wood that has “drifted” to the ground from a tree.

More of the past and history about the community around us. This article is about some Underground Railroad history involving our community. “Ohio – home to more than 3,000 miles of the Underground Railroad”. According to the article there were stops of the railroad from downtown Columbus to Dublin and from Westerville to Delaware County. The Keltons gave shelter to Martha and her sister Pearl in 1864. The Keltons operated a “station” on the Underground Railroad in their Victorian era home. Martha was so sick that she couldn’t go any further sot the Keltons’ raised her as their own. She met her husband, Thomas Lawrence at the Kelton House and married in 1873 in the parlor room. In the 1820s there was a Dr. Pinney who lived in Dublin. He was the doctor for the “village” at the time. People didn’t know that he also hid people traveling on the “railroad” in a nearby barn on his property. The story is that he communicated with the people “seeking refuge” through a “speaking tube”. It wasn’t the kind of tube you talked through....a piece of grass or other small object was blown through it. He gave the travelers food, shelter and medical attention in the day. At night they would travel north along the Scioto River. According to the article, the river was like a freeway for them. Next there was a man named William Hanby who was able to “flee” indentured servitude. His mother and his siblings were ‘contracted to work’ with a harness maker who was cruel to them. He excaped the Rushville Ohio. Later he became involved in the Underground Railroad in Rushville and Circleville Ohio. Later he married and had eight children and moved to Westerville in 1853 which was also a stop on the railroad. He eventually co-founded the Otterbein University and “championed access to education for women and black people. He had a son named Benjamin who wrote “Darling Nelly Gray”. It was inspired by one of the slaves who lost his love on a different plantation when she was sold “down the river”. That slave died at the Hanby home in Rushville before he could go on to Canada. Delaware County had a first black-owned farmer named Abraham Depp who had been freed and made his way to Delaware where he bought 400 acres of land. He helped as part of the Underground Railroad by assisting folks in the limestone caves along the Scioto River “adjacent to his property”. Then, at night,  he would ring a bell signifying the all clear to leave the caves and travel north. 

Probably Taco Bell for dinner tonight. 

Joy 

winter storage

 February 25, 2022 a thought for today, Truth finds foes, where it makes none. Romanian Proverb

Another productive Thursday placed in my journal. Dorothy was waiting for me when I got to the church. She is such a good friend and always ready to help. Together we got the newsletter sealed, labeled, stamped and mailed. Chris came in before I left so we had a chance to chat for a few minutes. 

February 24, photo of the day.... “x is for....” That is one of the hard to find shots, an image of something that begins with “x”. I was at church on the 24th. Our copy machine is a xerox. There’s my photo of the day.

 

On my way home I thought I had better top off the gas tank before the prices went up still further. While I was waiting for the tank to fill Sue called on my cell phone asking if I could pick up her medicine. So I doubled back the way I had come and waited in line to pick up the meds.

The second photo for yesterday was “flowers”. I was in luck.
There is a flower arrangement in one of the meeting rooms at church so since I was there I made a couple of shots of that arrangement too. 

I felt the need to stop at White Castle before I headed to the park in search of one of the shots I need for today’s photos. As I was leaving White Castle I noticed birds congregating on the power and telephone lines above my head so I pulled over to capture some images. Instead of heading for the park I got what I needed and headed on for home. 

I paid a couple of bills and watered the plants. I need to start the irobot and manual sweeper. 

Today’s first photo challenge is “y is for....”. I found a lot of “y”s but the easiest and quickest was “y is for yellow”. After I left church, I stopped at to fill the gas tank. As I was pulling out of the station and across the street at an auto repair shop this yellow display called my name. 

The word today is quiet.  All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone. Blaise Pascal.  The best cure for the body is a quiet mind. Napoleon Bonaparte.  Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee. Saint Augustine.  Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm. Robert Louis Stevenson. The good and the wise lead quiet lives. Euripides. Nature best teaches how to pray, and how to reverence all the gifts the Almighty has given us. She is like a vast outspread handkerchief, embroidered with God's eternal name, on which we may dry alike our tears of sorrow and of joy; she turns weeping into ecstasy, and fills our hearts with speechless, quiet reverence and resignation. Robert Schumann. It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others. Joseph Addison.  Try to keep your soul always in peace and quiet, always ready for whatever our Lord may wish to work in you. ....Saint Ignatius. Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  There is a fellowship more quiet even than solitude, and which, rightly understood, is solitude made perfect. Robert Louis Stevenson.   Silence is a true friend who never betrays, Confucius. 

Also when I was out and about I stopped at White Castle when I pulled out of there I saw all birds landing on the telephone lines and at a rain puddle for water. One of the photo challenges for today is "birds". I had to pull over and get the shots. I was going to go to the park to try to find some geese for the photo theme but since I had this chance fall into my lap I didn’t need the park today.  

Here’s a story about binging another part of history in our city into our modern lives while keeping history intact. There is an empty building that use to be a shoe factory in our town, in the Brewery District. Actually there are some other buildings around the factory that need attention too. There is a plan for some redevelopment at the northwest corner of Front and Whittier. The plan calls for demolishing a warehouse building and replacing it with a new building with parking and several apartments. The foundation and some walls will stay, keeping at least a touch of the history of the buildings existence. There is a six story building on the site that use to be the shoe factory. This historic building would be renovated for housing. There is a single family house on the property that some wanted to keep due to it’s history but it is unsafe and will be demolished. This area of land in question is very near the entrance to the Scioto Audubon Metro Park. The article related that the effort is to “convert this aged property into a distinct and historic community that will enhance the district and serve as an iconic and visually interesting architectural element at the entrance into one of the city’s more significant public spaces.”

Pizza!!

Joy

I think this post took a hit from an out of control car

 February 23, 2022 a thought for today, Time is the father of truth. Romanian Proverb

We have been helping with the pets this week. Yesterday before I was ready to get up, my phone rang. Apparently the alarm at my grandson and granddaughter’s house was going off. I wouldn’t be able to get there for at least twenty minutes to half an hour so the police were called. Sue and I got there as soon as we could. I didn’t make the bed, brush my teeth or comb my hairs. We both just threw on clothes and got in the car and navigated school busses to get to the house. The officer was still there. As it turns out apparently something accidently set off the alarm. It had thundered during the night. I suspect that Duke may have been frightened and bumped the patio door which set the alarm off. Anyway every thing was ok. We fed Duke and the cat and talked to them for a while to put them more at ease. They were both a little nervous when we got there. 

My first photo challenge yesterday was “v is for ....”. I chose to use Venetian blinds as my image to fit the “v is for...”. There is a sort of frame around the blinds for a hint of more....part of a lamp shade and part of a sea side wind chime. 

The family is home now so we didn’t need to let Duke outside for a break. I got up and jumped right in to getting the virtual visits done then got back to the bulletin and newsletter. I had more re-formatting to do on the bulletin to make the new information fit than I had expected. The newsletter didn’t take as much time for the necessary re-formatting as I expected. All in all it took about three hours. 

The second photo for February 22 was “sunrise”. This one
came from my archives since I wasn’t up at sunrise yesterday. This was taken with the sign of the sun rising over my neighbors home. 

Next on today’s agenda was food pantry. It was much busier today than yesterday. The computer that is “my” computer at food pantry was updating when it was plugged in. It was only 16 percent done before we even opened the doors. So it was going to take the rest of the time we were open to finish. So my partner had to take care of about twelve people before I could help. I went to the cupboard to get another computer. It took about fifteen or twenty minutes to get it set up with all the passwords and attachments needed.   

The weather has slipped back to the colder temps from the past two days. Monday was gorgeous for February and yesterday was warmer but rainy. Today it is having trouble getting out of the 30s.               

Today’s first photo theme was “w is for....”. After much thought I decided to use window for the subject matter. As I was heading home from Consumer Square Shopping Center and stopped at a traffic light I noticed this building across the street and liked the shape of the round “window”. I like the textures and shapes/forms included in the image. 

The word today is questions.  Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers. Voltaire.  Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms. George Eliot. There are four questions of value in life, ....... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love. Lord Byron. The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life, Confucius. A prudent question is one-half of wisdom, Francis Bacon.  Ignorant men raise questions that wise men answered a thousand years ago. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much. Francis Bacon.  Dignity, and even holiness too, sometimes, are more questions of coat and waistcoat than some people imagine. Charles Dickens. I put forward formless and unresolved notions, as do those who publish doubtful questions to debate in the schools, not to establish the truth but to seek it. Michel de Montaigne.  

The second photo for today is “fence(s)”. As drove through my neighborhood today I was paying particular attention to fences. This image is one of several that I shot. I used it for the added feature of a pagoda like structure behind the fence for added interest.

Here’s another article about things happening near my home. This one is about a garden for youth that has been set up in the Hilltop area of Columbus. It is called the Highland Youth Garden. Here is a bit of information about it from their web site: Highland Youth Garden grows minds, grows food and grows community in partnership with our Hilltop neighbors. The garden’s history is one rooted in humility and love: the seeds for Highland Youth Garden were planted 11 years ago when a local recreation center closed, and local educators and lovers-of-gardening began growing food and teaching children on the plot. Now, we feature one of the largest high tunnels in the city, an outdoor education center, and a nearly half-acre plot full of arbors, structures, and crops. At this point the hilltop commission is approving re-zoning for the garden so that it can expand. The property used to belong to the Hilltop United Methodist Church. There is a plan to have it re-zoned for office/educational use so that it can be used for after school and summer programs for Hilltop youth. Currently the garden is located across the street from Highland Elementary School and Educational Academy. They grow 4,000 pounds of fresh product and give it to give away. According to the article they need “indoor space for the kids in conditions such as thunderstorms, excessive heat in the summer, or as a shelter during crime-related events.” There will be bike racks installed for kids that come to classes.  Most of the neighbors agree to these arrangements. The Highland Youth Garden tries to take part in “growing minds” that serve 350 youth a year. They teach how to grow food, up to 3,000 pounds to be distributed to the surrounding community. They like being connected to the neighborhood and community. They hold garden markets and special events. They offer different learning experiences and give the opportunity to grow their own food in a hands-on setting. They offer classes, clubs, experiences, festivals, and other programs and opportunities. 

Sloppy joes or something from the freezer for dinner. 

Joy 

someone much have lost control of their car ..... knocking over one safety cone and running over another. 

 February 21, 2022 a thought for today, The one chased away with a club comes back, but the one chased away with reason does not. South African Proverb

Yesterday I had three photos a day projects. The first one was “t is for....”. Mine choice was trees. To add a bit of further interest I separated the foreground from the trees and the added a motion filter to the tree section. 

Part of my family have been visiting in Virginia and Bob has been letting Duke, my grand-dog, out three times a day and feeding him and the cat. Bob had to be at work today so Sue and I went over to let Duke out. He is about fourteen years old and has a severe case of arthritis so it is hard for him to move about. Getting him up and down the steps is a chore. But...mission accomplished for today. We will be repeating it tomorrow. I took the keys to Bob at work so he can take care of things there later today. 

The second photo for yesterday was titled “a concert”. Well.....I haven’t been to a concert in years and don’t have any photos of that nature in my archives so.... I put together this one at the church choir room the keyboard, some tambourines, and a drum.  

Before we left I did my virtual visits checking news and answering any messages that came in since last I checked. When we got back from our adventure, I checked myself into my desk chair and got back to the bulletin and parts of the newsletter. 

The third photo challenge was called “kitchen utensils”. I have a drawer of utensils that I don’t use often. I simply opened the drawer and made the image. 

I thought Sweet Pea was on her last meatball treat so I laid out the ingredients to make the next batch. When I went to the freezer to pull something out for dinner I found another container of meatballs from the last batch. But since the meat was thawed and the ingredients were out I went ahead and made the next three-week supply. Then I cleaned up the dirty dishes in the sink. Next to take up was working on getting the photos of the day thought through, set up for photographing, shooting and taking to the trusty “darkroom” (Photoshop). One of the shots was for the letter “u”. I used an umbrella. I set it up on the porch, my phone ran, I answered, the umbrella took off in a gust of wind....fortunately it made a left hand turned and went to the back of the driveway between two houses ..... so.... no escape.

The first of today’s photos is “u is for....”. Here is the umbrella that nearly got away from me earlier on

a gust of wind. 

The word for today is quality.  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.  Quality is not an act, it is a habit. Aristotle.  It is quality rather than quantity that matters. Lucius Annaeus Seneca. It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. Robert Louis Stevenson.  To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Henry David Thoreau. It is the peculiar  quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  You can judge the quality of their faith from the way they behave. Discipline is an index to doctrine. Tertullian.  Endurance is the crowning quality, And patience all the passion of great hearts. James Russell Lowell.  Education alone can conduct us to that enjoyment which is, at once, best in quality and infinite in quantity. Horace Mann. It is the quality of the moment, not the number of days, or events, or of actors, that imports. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Amnesty is as good for those who give it as for those who receive it. It has the admirable quality of bestowing mercy on both sides. Victor Hugo.   To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions. Marcus Aurelius. 

The second photo for today is “gold”. I don’t wear much jewelry and I can’t think of anything gold objects. There are some with gold icons but nothing interesting. This one I found as I was searching for some crochet hooks in my sewing supplies. My son gave this to me years ago. 

I’m a sucker for human interest about animals....hope I don’t bore you....maybe a bit of interest and information. This article is about a woman whose home caught fire and she struggled to find her pets to save them. One of the dogs was saved her other two plus two that she was boarding died in the fire. She is grateful that the fire didn’t happen at night when their, hers and her two daughters and the pets, chances would have less for survival. She is a professional dog trainer. The one pet that was saved was rescued by firefighters and taken by ambulance to a veterinary hospital. She says she has saved some doge through their training but couldn’t save her own. She has insurance but not enough so friends have started a GoFundMe account for her. People who are trying to help have had their pet trained by her. She was a “dog nanny” to one persons beagle. The story of how she started training dogs started with working in a veterinary clinic. But the training part started when she adopted a Rottweiler when she was in college. She learned that starting an adventure in the lives of dogs with a Rottweiler may not be such a good idea. This breed is large and muscular and takes patience and understanding. Her home is being rebuilt and she wants to continue her dog training job and to help others deal with the loss of their pets. Her own loss adds to the understanding of that loss. 

It’s spaghetti, homemade from the freezer, for dinner tonight. 

Joy

 February 19, 2022 a thought for today, The drums of war are the drums of hunger. South African Proverb

I love Saturdays! I guess it’s a long, long hold over from when I was in school and had Saturdays and Sundays at home or free for other things. That’s kind of stuck-in-the-past-thinking. I am retired so I have every day, more or less, for being home and free for other things as long as I want. 

The photo challenge for yesterday was “r is for....”. This one gave me some cause for thought, most of them do but this one a little more than most others. This is one of my mother’s old cook books. I chose showing one of the recipes from the book. 

I finished some of the work I was getting done early on the church newsletter. The deadline for newsletter entries is not until Sunday evening but I like having a jump on things. 

In searching for an archived photo for one of the photo a day assignments I got lost in finding forgotten photos and the memories they sparked. It’s like looking at an old photo album.

The second theme for yesterday was “building ruins”. This one is from my archives. I took the photo on a leisurely drive on a sunny summer day. It is along one of the country roads going toward Deer Creek.

Last night I finished a book, Whiteout, more quickly than I usually do. It was good. I just downloaded another one by the same author as the last book,  Ken Follett, World Without End. Whiteout was more a story of modern times. This one is more in the period of late middle ages. Mr. Follett is awesome with his use of words and of history. Even though the books are considered fictional for me they hold some truths and facts as well as characters that become “real” for a time. 

The first photo theme for today is “s is for....”. These last couple of days it was hard for me to chose a photo to fit the letter of the alphabet. For this one I chose my sunglasses. It seemed like such a plain object even with the shadow of the stem through the tinted class to give it a boost. It still needed “dressed up”. So I used a couple of filters to pull out the subtlety hidden hues in the original color of the background.

The word today is purpose.  The purpose of all wars, is peace. Saint Augustine. We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience. George Washington. Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose. William Cowper. I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous Presence. Christopher Columbus. The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost; to be everywhere, is to be nowhere. Michel de Montaigne. Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works. Thomas Aquinas. A portion of mankind take pride in their vices and pursue their purpose; many more waver between doing what is right and complying with what is wrong. Horace. Justice is the set and constant purpose which gives every man his due. Marcus Tullius Cicero. The purpose creates the machine. Arthur Young. Great minds have purposes, others have wishes, Washington Irving.  Those who have failed to work toward the truth have missed the purpose of living, Gautama Buddha.  

The second photo for today is “old dirt road”. This is another from my archives. It was taken on another sunny summer’s day drive in the country side near Columbus.

I chose this article for several reasons...1) I like history of things from the past that carry on some how today, 2) this business is located in my neighborhood, 3) I like books, and 4) years ago I taught myself to paper marble which was in history a book binders craft. There is a book binding store a few blocks from my home. It’s not like a big name store in a mall where crowds are going in and out all day long. It has a quiet unimposing presence. Many times I have passed by and thought it had closed. I can image though, the renewal and crafting that goes on inside. Like the article mentioned visiting there would be like stepping back in time. There are old machines, tools, and photos that pull thinking and feelings to days of the past. The business is 134 years old. In a description of one of the rooms there are.....workbenches with papers to be bound and “bookcases overflow with old jobs that were never picked up or paid for”. The business started downtown in 1888, near the corner of State Street and Third Street, where the Ohio Theatre sits today. They are now on West Broad Street and have been for many years. They “specialize” mostly in thesis binding, foil stamping and embossing and restoring antique books. This occupation is labor intensive and Beck & Orr don’t try to compete with “large scale” binderies. In their shop nothing is automated, it is operated by hand and every project is “rooted in tradition”. In the rebinding process the procedure is a little more involved. The old cover has to be removed and pages have to be re-stitched. Most of the time people want the old and worn original covers kept. According to the article Beck & Orr do between 250 and 400 books a month. At the front of the shop there is a long wooden table where some of their oldest work can be seen. One of the owners said that the oldest book they restored is a Bible from 1437. Some of the work they do now are magazines, board meetings, church bulletins and medical journals. Some of their memorable works were rebounding books for the White House and foil stamped certificates for the Vatican. There is a lot of history for this business and it’s former employees and the present owners. In 1983 lightening struck the shop and damaged the building along with many of the books inside. They found a new store and continued the business. 

I am testing a new recipe for chicken Tetrazzini for dinner. 

Joy

find the way home ... seems like someone thought the cart could get back to its original owner on it’s own?

 February 17, 2022, a thought for today People are people through other people. South African Proverb

The day started like most other Thursdays. There is my not-to-be-missed-first-thing-every-morning virtual visits. Next, save the bulletin to flash drive and off to church. The church was totally and completely quiet so, as I dropped off the bulletins, I walked the length and depth of the sanctuary alone with my Best Friend.  How very peaceful, total and pure. Then a little further into the church to dispatch the rest of the bulletins. 

One of the photo challenges for yesterday was “p is for....”. I took several shots for this theme. Before food pantry started I was searching all over the stock room for things that begin with “p”. I found several and even had help with some of the other volunteers. But in the end I chose this one of a pile of snow in the parking lot. 

I stopped at the vets to pick up Sweet Pea’s phenobarbital meds on my way home, just before a stop at White Castle then a quick scan of a couple of neighborhoods for my “left  behind/ overlooked” photos images. 

The second theme for February 16 was “pets”. These are my two latest fur babies. Sugar left  us in the summer of 2021. She still has a place in my heart and memory for her life-long love in my life. Sweet Pea is still with me and brings the peace and comfort that only a dog can bring. 

First thing when I got home was to get started on this missive to you all. Next on the list was to get started on the laundry.

I did a search for my daily photos of the day while I was out and was successful. Finishing the laundry, the evening meal and “darkroom” (Photoshop) will top off the day.  Maybe a little time for work on the newsletter.  

The first challenge in photos for today is “q is for....”. As I passing through the sanctuary this morning I remembered there was a stained glass window that had an image of St. Luke  holding a writing quill in his hand. I couldn’t remember where it was in the line of windows. So I checked each as I walked by. 

The word is pride. What is pride? A rocket that emulates the stars. William Wordsworth. Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair. Blaise Pascal. Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire. William Penn. Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. Henry Ward Beecher.  We are rarely proud when we are alone, Voltaire.  Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves, Emily Bronte. He who imagines he can do without the world deceives himself much; but he who fancies the world cannot do without him is still more mistaken, Francois de la Rochefoucauld. To know a man, observe how he wins his object, rather than how he loses it; for when we fail our pride supports us; when we succeed, it betrays us, Charles Caleb Coltoz. The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine, Ralph Waldo Emerson. All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride, Sophocles. Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying, St. Vincent de Paul.  Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold, Thomas Jefferson.  If you see any thing in yourself which may make you proud, look a little further, and you will find enough to make you humble, Wellins Calcott.

The second photo for today is for an image of “round things”. As I was sitting at the desk folding the bulletins this morning, I caught sight of the tape dispenser to the right side of my stack of papers....there was the answer to my photo for this theme. 

I am interested in roof top gardens of the green space and food producing types so when I saw the title to this article I had to investigate it further. It is not about green space gardens as the ones that interest me but using space on top of buildings to conserve what little ground level space we have is of interest. Note: there are “green space gardens” on tops of high rises in Japan, London, Germany, Singapore, Italy, in Rockefeller Center in New York, and the Kaiser Roof Garden in California and, I’m sure, in many other places... Chadwick Arboretum, Franklin Park and even the Lazarus building here in Columbus. One of the downtown high rise buildings is planning a rooftop pool and terrace. The Downtown Continental Centre is a “largely (26-story) empty building” on Gay Street. The new owners are a Washington, DC based business. Some think that the building may be converted from office space to residential. The windows have been boarded up for the past two years. The hopes are to have ground floor windows put in. There will be a new elevator and stairway enclosure to reach the rooftop terrace. Plans are for the pool and terrace to take up the “southern third of the rooftop” with a glass railing all around this area. According to the article there has been a “string of changes to major Downtown office buildings” to keep tenants during the pandemic and damages to the buildings during the protests in 2021. Since those events some owners have renovated their space including the Fifth Third Center, the Chase Tower and more. 

I think I am making salmon paddies for dinner. 

Joy 

                                                                               ooops?

 February 15, 2022 Knowledge is like a lion; it cannot be gently embraced. South African Proverb

My first photo challenge for February 14 was “n is for....”. I was at Kroger and as shopped I looked around for photos to fit my theme for the day. I liked the look of this package of Pistachios. I liked the hint of green. When I pulled it up in the “darkroom” (Photoshop) I was happy with the way the cellophane packaging gave the background a textured look. 

I am so surprised at all I was able to accomplish today. I knew I had food pantry today so I didn’t let myself sleep in. I had a mental list of things I would like to get done and I seemed to be adding to it the longer I was awake. I had started the bulletin yesterday and put a little time on it today. Then I got to my daily letter. After that I worked on getting old dishes out of the refrigerator, loaded the dish washer and washed a few by hand. With all the ice snow, salt on shoes, and mud the kitchen floor was screaming for attention, so I mopped it, not scrubbed but mopped....looks a whole lot better. I had a few minutes before I had to leave so I made a meat loaf so that I could put it in the oven when I got home from pantry. 

The second photo theme for yesterday was “heart”. This is something else found at Kroger this

morning. I did a little more Photoshop work on this one too. In the original photo there were a couple of floral arrangement. After I cropped the photo, I “removed” the parts of the floral arrangements that were left in the image. Otherwise the photo is the same, a heart mounted on a background of white slatted material. 

Food pantry was slow paced today so I got some stamps on some important paper for Patti. A friend took them to be mailed for me/her.  

The first photo theme for today was “o is for...”. I made a list of things that begin with “o”. When I volunteered at food pantry today I looked for things that begin with “o”. ...perfect...a bag of onions. 

On my way to the church I made some shots for the photo of the day, and got some more while I was at the church. 

When I got home, I peeled the potatoes and got them started cooking and the meatloaf in the oven. This is the evening that Bob gets home early so we generally have dinner early.

The second photo for today is “street scene”. As I pulled out of the driveway to head for church I shot this one through the car window.  

The word is present. In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present. Francis Bacon.  You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Henry David Thoreau.  Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present, to live better in the future. William Wordsworth.  In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. Lao Tzu.  The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. Abraham Lincoln.  It is said that the present is pregnant with the future. Voltaire.  Conscience is God present in man. Victor Hugo.  In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. Leonardo da Vinci.   The past, the present and the future are really one: they are today. Harriet Beecher Stowe.  We must never undervalue any person. The workman loves not that his work should be despised in his presence. Now God is present everywhere, and every person is His work. Saint Francis de Sales.   Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit. Epictetus.  The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse. Benjamin Franklin.  Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee. Michel de Montaigne. 

I had a third photo theme for today, “ altered state (a photo image turned into a design)”. After I got home, I started dinner. I pulled the groceries out of the frig and found some sliced onion. This is one of the onion slices with a Flexify filter to rearrange the lines and texture and colors to get this image. 

Here is a bit of a story about another section of our town, the Brewery District. It is “traditionally known as Old German Brewing District”. It is located west of German Village. The article related that the spring-fed ravine at the confluence of the Scioto Rive and the “Columbus Feeder canal, made it the perfect spot for brewing beer. The first of this type business was opened in 1836. It became so successful that other locals opened more breweries. Now it was time for homes to be built. The houses were “German style 1+1/2 story brick homes”. Also included in a housing style that was Italian in character. Many of these historic homes still exist in the area and add the character their unique features display, “carved stone lintels, round and curved windows and doors and hood moldings”. There was a commission formed in 1993 which is “charged..to...preserve, protect and enhance” these homes and other features surrounding them. During the Civil War the breweries flourished. Later new ways of producing beer came along, the modernization and the depression affected the industry. Some were able to keep up with the new modern ways like malting and bottling, others couldn’t. In 1904 the three large brewers merged into the Columbus Brewing Company due to the Temperance movement and the start of World War I. In 1919 the breweries had to shut down with the 18th Amendment that began Prohibition. Over the next seventy years the buildings were sold and used for other kinds of businesses. The German “character of the area” faded. 

I am making meat loaf for dinner. 

Joy

out to lunch perhaps?

 February 13, 2022 a thought for today, To be without knowledge is to be without light. Somali Proverb

Our church was almost empty today. I hope people will begin coming back soon. This pandemic has put a big weight on attendance. I have heard there are still many churches that have not gone back to live services all this time and some went back and then stopped again when the variant virus flared. At least we are still open and have been most of the duration of the pandemic. I’m glad I was there, I feel renewed for the coming week. We also had our donut fellowship. It’s nice to just chat together during these once a month hours. We also had a meeting that had to be postponed from last week due to the bad weather conditions. 

The first photo challenge for February 12 was “l is for.....”. My image for this theme is part of my lighting system for my “indoor garden”(an array of tropical and subtropical plants including succulents) that requires up to twelve hours a day of light. 

We still have patches of ice in places on the ground but at least now people are able to get around those areas and get on with normal day activities. It’s been a while since we have had a winter be this bad and challenging. We’ve had some with more snow than this but not to many with so much ice. 

The second photo theme yesterday was “patterns”. This image is one of my paper quilled snow flakes with the window screen in the middle ground and a neighbor’s tree branches in the far ground. Each of these creates their own unique patterns. 

This week coming up should not be to busy but there are a couple of days with food pantry. I am planning a relaxed and uneventful afternoon since this is Sunday. 

I finished The Innocent by David Baldacci Saturday, then  downloaded the next one, Whiteout by Ken Follett.

Today’s first photo theme is “m is for....”. I pulled a package of M and Ms, for baking cookies, from the frig for this image. I also like the hint of a reflection in the foreground under the saucer of candies.

A word for today is prepare.  I will prepare and some day my chance will come. Abraham Lincoln.  In fair weather prepare for foul. Thomas Fuller.  It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow. Aesop. Fortune favors the prepared mind. Louis Pasteur.  The nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master and deserves one. Alexander Hamilton. People only see what they are prepared to see. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed... Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders. Henry David Thoreau.  It is not the soul alone that should be healthy; if the mind is healthy in a healthy body, all will be healthy and much better prepared to give God greater service. Saint Ignatius.  A heart well prepared for adversity in bad times hopes, and in good times fears for a change in fortune. Horace.  Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer. Charles Caleb Colton.  All speech, written or spoken, is a dead language, until it finds a willing and prepared hearer. Robert Louis Stevenson.  Book love... is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasure that God has prepared for His creatures. Anthony Trollope. It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow. Aesop.  

The second image for today is “textures”. I liked the patterns and shapes of the steps as well as the textures that fill the requirements for the theme today.  The texture of the grass, the concrete with pebbles, the fallen leaves, even the piece of paper at the bottom of the steps adding softness and crunchability. 

Today’s article is not one of the breaking news type but is worth a look and a thought. It is about the stress of losing a pet and being reunited in the end. In our area recently there was a pooch named Abbey Roy who got lost and had a lonely adventure in life for seventeen days. The owners are animal lovers and over the course of many years had adopted ten furry companions. They are a two dog family, somehow a third one snuck in,  but the loss one doesn’t take the place of another. Soon after one passed away after an illness they began to feel the hole in their lives. They still had an aging Newfoundland and a mixed breed. But they couldn’t “restrain” the urge to look for another pup. They watched internet posting from the humane society. They saw a pup they fell in love with , her name is Maggie. In mid January they brought her home. They stopped at a machine shop that they operate in Newark. They put Maggie in a crate and locked the shop door so they could go for a quick lunch. When they got back, the door was unlocked and the crate was empty. They searched the area, put up posters, asked neighbors about her, placed information on Facebook and found nothing. They called the Humane Society for help and a Columbus based Lost Pet Recovery joined in the search. The search continued in the snow and freezing temperatures. Traps, “feeding stations” and cameras were set up at specific places. This went on for seventeen days. Cameras recorded Maggie once trying to fight off coyotes. It was quite apparent that Maggie was terrified and ran from people came near. Authorities felt she survived by following a creek for water and finding food as in corn left for deer and other ways. It is felt that she slept in barns and outbuildings to keep warm. Finally the Lost Pet Recovery found at a feeding station Maggie and “brought her in”. After a vet check she finally got to go to her new home. 

Taco Bell for dinner tonight. 

Joy

turf and puddle and pebbles and shades for gray

February 11, 2022 a thought for today, An escaped lie does not reach the truth. Somali Proverb

My first photo challenge for February 10 was titled “j is for....”. I went with my first thought for the letter j. I was roaming through my archives for ideas that would fit the letter j. I chose this one for janitor. He is a very dear and happy person and loves people. I need to tell him I used his picture.  

It has turned out to be a day out of the house for a little while. Sue had some documents to pick up on the south side of town. It was an area I am not too familiar with so a bit of a stress. I checked a map in a Google search and picked what I thought was the best way to go. As it turned out, we got there and back with no problems at all. She had a couple of other items she wanted to pick up so we made those stops. It is habit for me to stop at a McDonalds when we are out so we did that. The drive through line was so long and I’m not one that waits in line too long patiently. So I left and headed to Wendy’s. 

The second photo title for yesterday was “beginnings”. I mentioned in an earlier blog how one day when Bob was eating a plum he wondered if we could plant the pit and it would grow. This is one of the results. 

Most of the streets and parking areas we encountered on our outing were clear. We had a few small icy and/or black ice spots. The worst of the ice was my driveway. Our driveway is located so that it doesn’t get much sun in most spots due to the structures that surround it and the direction of the sun. Bob got the snow off and attempted each day to chop up ice. I noticed as I went down the street that most driveways on my side of the block were pretty much in the same shape as ours. The driveways across the street seem to be clearer with patches of ice here and there. The afternoon sun hits those better than on ours. 

On February 10 I had a third photo challenge, the title was “frame work”. I liked this one. There are chairs and pieces of chairs as frames of a person waiting for a nice hot meal. 

For a more productive day, I need to water my indoor garden this afternoon and may be able to get a little work done by starting to set up the March newsletter for church. 

The word today is precious. Of all possessions a friend is the most precious. Herodotus. If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality. Benjamin Franklin. Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide. Napoleon Bonaparte. But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine. Thomas Jefferson.  Our country may be likened to a new house. We lack many things, but we possess the most precious of all - liberty! James Monroe. The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others. Homer. Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time. Benjamin Disraeli. A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit. John Milton. An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather. Washington Irving.  If I were to name the three most precious resources of life, I should say books, friends, and nature. And the greatest of these, at least the most constant and always at hand, is nature. John Burroughs.  There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time. Napoleon Bonaparte.  

My first photo theme for today is “k is for....”. We have our garage keys hanging on the inside of a cupboard door in the kitchen. As I was searching around for something to make steam with the keys caught my eye so they were the choice for the letter k. 

This could get interesting. There is an old, old building on Broad Street (1945-1947 West Broad Street) that attracts my attention every time I pass it. It looks like it is built into a hill with the main portion at street level and an upper “story” or addition over and behind the roof of the street level part. The article is about that building. It has been empty for several years. It was built one hundred yeas ago. It “greets commuters as they enter the Hilltop from Franklinton” or from the Hilltop toward Franklinton.  According to the article it “could be on its way to becoming a restaurant with a rooftop deck”.  It was purchased in August and is in need of a lot of work. The new owner has been thinking of a plan for a roof top restaurant as well as “hopes to have a social enterprise business either start or expand its operation in the space.....to support youth”. According to the article there hasn’t been any business there for the last half-century. I learned from the article that it (the portion at street level) use to be a sweet shop, then a sandwich shop to a florist and then a drug store. At the rear of the property, looking up the steep hill above the street level portion of the property, is a duplex and carriage house. This is the area of the property that the new owner would like to renovate into apartments. The owner seems to share some of my outlook on architecture... “preserving historical housing...there are stories ..and memories”. She sees the lower part of the property as a “dugout-style building” as I do and mentioned at the beginning, “built into a hill”. As our outlook continued, she expresses about new buildings from the ground up “something new...beautiful, shiny and pretty, but the stories aren’t there...the memories aren’t there”. Some of the owner’s research shows that the building was built in 1900 and interestingly “local residents believe it is older than that”. Whatever it’s age, it is a “lot to tackle” at this point in existence in time.  Columbus Landmarks is working with the owner to make sure the building is structurally sound and to find if it may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Again I agree with the owner “ What’s here is beautiful and should be preserved as much as possible.”

The second photo for today’s title is “steam”. I’m not good a photographing steam or fog although both intrigue me. As I was looking for the photo prop for “k” I found the pot and lid I ended up using to make my steam photo. It took several tries to get one where the steam showed up to suit me. I used a piece of black poster board as a background to capture the white of the boiled air. 

Pizza! Because of the snow we missed our order in pizza last week ..... we’re back to normal this week. 

Joy

                           Two seasons

 

February 9, 2022 a thought for the day, We have but one soul to lose. Sicilian Proverb

Another day at home. It looks much better outside today although there is still ice on most of the driveways. I learned once again that the ice is much harder to get rid of than just the snow. The temps are supposed to be much warmer so there should be a good bit of melting today. One of the weather men said, just a few minutes ago, that he thinks it’s going to take another week for all of it to be gone though. 

The photo a day challenge for February 8 was “h is for....”. I used “hubcap”. Going outside to take a photo of my hubcap was as far out the door as I wanted to go with all ice still on the ground. And I thought I would leave a bit of the snow in the photo too rather than crop it or Photoshop it out. 

Slowly, with Bob’s help, I have managed to get the car un-iced. There are still some ruts in the driveway and all along the street but I think I will be able to manage to get out tomorrow to go to the church and get the printing done for the week. I will have to get gas to, I’m sure, since we have had to let it run several mornings to just warm the engine. 

The second photo a day for yesterday was “zipper”. There are all kinds of zipper around the house. I chose my purse. It has five zippers and the wallet inside the purse has one. I think that was enough zippers to fill the theme for the day. 

I got some floor care done yesterday and some dusting but I don’t have much on the agenda for today. I spent some time rounding up some old photos for my granddaughter-in-law and great granddaughter. That was fun. It brought back memories of happy times. The photos were on one of my older external hard drives full of archived family and friends photos. 

The first photo of the day for today is “I is for....”. Well, this being winter and one of the worst ice/snow falls we have had in years is still quite evident. What a better photo for the theme. For some reason I couldn’t find any ice cycles but there is more than enough ice layers on everything outside to fill the bill. This one is on my back deck. There has been ice melt spread showing where the ice has cracked by the tiny pellets. 

I got a few small corrections back by email and made the adjustments to the bulletin. Then printed the shut in envelopes so I am ready to print and fold. 

The second photo today is “heirloom”. This gate leg table belonged my Aunt Margaret. I remember it from the time I was a small child and where it sat and remained throughout my life. So the table has to be somewhere more than eighty years old. When she passed away it was the only item I was able to keep from her things (I have thing for all kinds of tables).

The word today is practice. To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. Confucius.   Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest. Benjamin Franklin. Practice is the best of all instructors. Publilius Syrus. To become an able and successful man in any profession, three things are necessary, nature, study and practice. Henry Ward Beecher. All men commend patience, although few are willing to practice it. Thomas a Kempis. The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation. Milarepa. Preaching is to much avail, but practice is far more effective. A godly life is the strongest argument you can offer the skeptic. Hosea Ballou.  One man cannot practice many arts with success. Plato. The painter who draws merely by practice and by eye, without any reason, is like a mirror which copies every thing placed in front of it without being conscious of their existence. Leonardo da Vinci. Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know, Rembrandt. For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them, Aristotle.  

Here’s another bit of history about Columbus and people who came here as we grew. This is one we may not have given much thought, young doctors coming in the early time of Columbus. According to the article it a remarkable occurrence that “men of professional training and expertise came to Columbus”. After the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 and Lucas Sullivant, the surveyor of the “northern reaches of the Virginia Military District between the Scioto and Miami rivers”, surveyed the area professionals began to come. Sullivant took his pay in land and began to form a town. He called the town Franklinton after someone he admired, Benjamin Franklin. After a flood in 1798 he surveyed land a short distance to the west. Now a few dozen families and professional called the village home. There were attorneys, ministers, journalists and the start of the medical services, doctors. One of the first was Dr. Lincoln Goodale in 1805. He started his practice in the study of medicine in Belpre. I learned from the article that Goodale’s father had been robbed and killed when Goodale was young so he supported his mother alone and brought her to Franklinton. In the beginning of his practice he took his pay in fruits, vegetables, and chickens. So he opened a store in Franklinton. I also learned from the article that the store was called a general store and supplied herbs, drugs and medicines along with the other produce and chickens. His practice and the store were successful so he then began to invest in land. Other doctors began to come to Franklinton. Dr. Samuel Parsons in 1811, then Drs. Pelleg Sisson and John Edmiston. After the War of 1812 Franklinton became a training center. Dr. Parsons built a home at the corner of Parsons and Bryden which eventually became the Columbus School for Girls. Dr. Goodale had purchased land north of downtown and eventually gave it to the city as its first park, Goodale Park. He also gave some land to Capital University. As Columbus grew it needed a medical school and hospital. This is when a man named Lyn Starling donated the money to start a “medical college and hospital”. It was built at Sixth and State street and was called the Starling Medical College. It soon, 1865, became St. Francis Hospital and was run by the Sisters of the Poor. The “medical college” and St.  Francis Hospital, on the same land, later became Grant Hospital. 

It’s going to be spaghetti for dinner. 

Joy

needs attention?