July 29, 2022 a thought for today, Truth never dies, but lives a wretched life. Jewish Proverb

This week is done and ends a period of  “deadlines” for me. All the printing is done ...... it seems I have been preparing and printing a lot lately, for the past three or four weeks....special items. They’re all done now. I think I can take a break. The newsletter that Dorothy and I finished this morning was the last of line for the next few weeks (except for the weekly bulletins). Now I may have time to take care of a few things I have put on the back burner.

One of the uploads for yesterday was called “an old car”. This is the front of an old truck but if you look closely there is an old car hiding on the other side of the old truck. I discovered them on a drive in the country side. 

I need to get the old car moved out of the drive way. I give up.....the insurance company has beaten me...my  naïveté in their desire for truth and honesty is misplaced. Four months is a long time in these “precious few days (from September Song)” of my life of fighting a losing battle. I’m disappointed but I’ve been there many times before. I hate that a lie and breaking the law, even a minor law, can win....and it did....such is life. So....moving on, have the old car with its memories moved out and get on with things. Another thing on my to-do list is get a badly needed hair cut. I have a couple of doctor’s appointments to catch up with too. 

The second upload for yesterday was also from the archives. It is one of my daffodils from last spring. You can almost see through the translucent petals.   

I picked up my new glasses yesterday and have had a few hours to get use to them. Things seem much clearer....thank goodness. I have also decided to try with the step counting again. I learned that an eighty-plus year old isn’t expected to get the 10,000 a day steps in. I read somewhere that two to three thousand a day may suffice. 

I have also finished another book and have downloaded another one that looks pretty good, John Grisham’s “The Testament”.

I plan (hope) to be in a “laid back” mode for the next several days....until the beginning of the new week next Monday. I think I deserve it....more than that I need it. 

One of the uploads for today is “black and white”. As we were leaving the post office yesterday Sue noticed this single sunflower against the rough texture of the wooden fence. I had to back up to get it in full frame. 

The word for today is companion.  An agreeable companion on a journey is as good as a carriage, Publilius Syrus. There is no satisfaction in any good without a companion, Seneca The Younger. A companion's words of persuasion are effective, Homer. Choose a companion that recommends himself to you by his life as well as by his speech, Roman Proverb. Patience is the companion of wisdom. Saint Augustine.  The greatest friend of truth is Time, her greatest enemy is Prejudice, and her constant companion is Humility. Charles Caleb Colton. Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society. Thomas Paine.  Books are the most mannerly of companions, accessible at all times, in all moods......, Amos Bronson Alcott.  Music is the child of prayer, the companion of religion, François-René de Chateaubriand.  He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm, Solomon.  A soul that makes virtue its companion is like an over-flowing well, for it is clean and pellucid, sweet and wholesome, open to all, rich, blameless and indestructible, Epictetus.  I have found it a singular luxury to talk across the pond to a companion on the opposite side, Henry David Thoreau.  Plato calls complacency the companion of loneliness, Franz Grillparzer.  Have as much good nature as good sense since they generally are companions, William Wycherley.  Lust hath these three companions: the first, blindness of understanding; the second, hardness of heart; the third, want of grace, Saint Basil. 

This was my Sudbury Club upload for today. On my way home from finishing the newsletter at church this morning I took a short drive through the streets close to home and found the play ground equipment almost hidden by the old brick wall covered in ivy. I like the blue against the green of nature. 

This story, about Engine House No. 6, brings to mind a bit of personal history. My Uncle Frank was stationed at this house for many years (in the ‘50s and ‘60s until it was “decommissioned” and he was moved to Engine House #12 on Sullivant Avenue). While he was stationed at this house (6's) my father was stationed at Engine House #10 a couple of miles west of House #6 on West Broad Street. Many years later my husband was stationed at Engine house #17 a few more miles west of the #10 house on West Broad Street. Side note: several years prior to the beginning of this part of my story I had a great-uncle stationed on horse drawn fire engines in Columbus. And many many years later I have a son who was briefly on a volunteer fire company on the west side. The building was built in 1892 in the “Romanesque Revival style”.  In 1966 the building was “decommissioned” as a fire house, then in 1975 an electronics store bought it. In 2016 it was planned for the Columbus Historical Society and Heritage Ohio to buy it, but that didn’t happen. In 2021 plans were made to restore it and turn it into the “first permanent local history museum”. This fire station house is only one of two remaining Columbus fire stations resigned by John Flynn, and one of seven built in the 1890s. It is constructed of brick and limestone. When it was built it was in a “primarily residential” area that remained such from the 1800s to the middle of the 20th century. The area began turning to a commercial type area beginning in the 1950s. The building was empty for a period of time but “remains largely intact”. Front-facing windows and doors have been filled in. In the original design the “facade featured a row of windows above two large doorways for horse-drawn firefighting equipment”. Most of the windows have been “infilled”. There is a 60-foot-tall hose tower used for drying the hoses still standing. Inside the building there are stables and a feed loft “from when the station housed its equipment-bearing horses”. During the “Great Flood of 1913" flood waters reached the second story windows. There had been an earlier flood in1897 but there were only several feet of water in the cellar of the building. When the building was sold in 1957 it was going to be used for an electronic store, a drive-in Christian film office and a possible museum of history of Franklinton. As it turns out the building was bought by the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority in 2014.  They built a housing project on the site east of the fire station. Then plans were made for Heritage Ohio to renovate it around 2016. The first floor would have been for retail or a restaurant. In 2019 the Columbus Historical Society joined Heritage Ohio but decided the purchase price was high “amid the 2020 coronavirus pandemic”. Now there are plans for the Columbus Historical Society to take over the building. It’s my hope it will be restored and used as a museum, maybe showing Franklinton’s growth and part of history.

Pizza!

Joy

As I was looking through some of my very old archives I found this photo and realized I was taking photos of places that have lost something, aged beyond beauty, has something broken, finding many of these before I realized they were all around and still are. 

 

 July 27, 2022 a thought for today, You can wash your body but not your soul. Jewish Proverb

I finally got to the BMV and got my new license plate. The wait wasn’t too bad. At exactly 8:00 I got on the BMV site and did a “get in line” procedure. Then I immediately left the house. When I got there, I logged in at the kiosk which shown what my number was. That saved me standing in line and logging in after maybe ten other people. I think I waited for about thirty minutes. Glad it’s done.

The first upload for yesterday was “portrait mode”. This is my great grand furry baby. He doesn’t seem to mind having his photo taken. 

Food pantry was on the slow side. It was a pretty good turn out. Yesterday was a little busier with a person coming in just as we were locking the doors.

I had the bulletin and newsletter done a day early so I had sent them out to be checked. I had a couple of corrections come in late yesterday so I made the changes this morning before I left. I am ready to print tomorrow. 

The second photo up load for today is a visitor I had on the roof over one of the entryways. It seemed he was king of the world for a few minutes. 

We had rain most of the afternoon. It wasn’t a storm, it was more a slow off and on drenching rain this time. 

My first upload for today is titled “ countryside”. This was photo was taken on a trip to Mt. Sterling. There are many such scenes on that trip. 

The word for today is complete.  To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete. Epictetus. Unless men establish their complete happiness in God, they will never give themselves truly and sincerely to him, John Calvin.  Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom, Thomas Jefferson.  Harmony is pure love, for love is complete agreement. Lope de Vega.  Is the acorn better than the oak which is its fullness and completion? Ralph Waldo Emerson. The hardest task needs the lightest hand or else its completion will not lead to freedom but to a tyranny much worse than the one it replaces, Socrates. A Christian is never in a state of completion but always in a process of becoming, Martin Luther. 

The second upload today is one of a house in my neighborhood. I like the bare autumn branches “hiding” a beautiful old house in tones of browns and tans. 

This story is about a popular display at the Ohio State Fair, the Butter cow and all the surrounding butter sculptures. This years sculptures use 2,530 pound of butter. This year, for the first time, there is a life size pig, chicken and lamb. The years display shows kids hard work raising livestock and are connected with the sculptures. According to the article about 2,000 pounds of butter are used for Butter cow. There has been a Butter cow at the fair since the early 1900s. The butter is donated by the Ohio dairy community. There was a team of sculptors who put together the display. They worked in a large walk-in cooler kept at 46 degrees. The spent 600 hours working on the display, 500 of which were on the sculpting alone. After the fair the butter will be “refined, recycled and used as an ingredient in non-edible products”.  The first butter cow at the fair was in 1903. In the 1920's a butter calf was added. Themed displays were added beginning in the 1960s. 

I think it will hamburger helper potatoes and chicken fries for dinner. 

Joy

                      “borrowed” and rejected

 July 25, 2022 a thought for today, A mouse will put the finishing stroke to a castle wall. Latin Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “a metaphor”. I picked this one and called it “let there be light”. 

I started the morning out by getting the bulletin done....that’s right.....DONE! I had planned to get the title to my car in my name and the new tags. Well, I found out you have to make an appointment to get the title taken care of. So I logged on to the BMV and made an appointment for 9:45. After I got there and took care of the title I found out I have to go to the other building to get the plates. I wandered over and found people in line coming out the door. So I decided to put that off for another day.....going to be a busy week. When I got home and checked my email I found that my glasses are ready for pick up too. I just don’t know when I can get there to get them with food pantry, the licence business and the church newsletter to get done this week. It will get done....one day at a time. 

This is the second upload for yesterday. This is one of our old family lamps. I added a couple of filters to dress it up a bit. As off shoot of what I meant the filters to do it gave the image blue casts. 

I have been using my archives for a lot of my photos of the day lately. Since I have had a car back in my life I have been able to go out and shoot more. But my time seems to be a little more limited right now. There have been some sad happenings at church that have required a little more time and I have been catching up on personal appointments that I missed when my transportation was limited. Hopefully things will calm down soon. 

Sue has always been more a “fixer upper” than I most of our lives. I am more in the kitchen and little straightening/cleaning tasks around the house. She is more the “heavier” stuff. Right she is painting the outside of our two front doors (I have one of those houses that have two doors on the front of the house). She also likes to do weeding.....that ship of mine passed a year or so ago. 

One of the uploads for today is titled “beauty”. This collection of white poinsettias is always a beautiful sight. 

I had the meat ball treats to make for Sweet Pea today so since I had kitchen tools out and on the ready I decided to go ahead and get the cheesy potatoes ready for the oven. Now I have the clean up to do. 

The word today is cheer.  Hope, smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier, Alfred Tennyson. What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking, Marcus Aurelius.  Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant, Robert Louis Stevenson. 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. His love was like the liberal air, embracing all, to cheer and bless, William Wordsworth.  Farewell to Thee! But not farewell To all my fondest thoughts of Thee; Within my heart they still shall dwell And they shall cheer and comfort me, Anne Bronte. Thus, when the lamp that lighted The traveller at first goes out, He feels awhile benighted, And looks around in fear and doubt. But soon, the prospect clearing, By cloudless starlight on he treads, And thinks no lamp so cheering As that light which Heaven sheds, Charles Lamb.  

Since I used a poinsettias for todays other upload I chose this one from the archives for the second of today’s uploads. 

Here is a story about something that made me think about something old and no longer serving its original purpose can be made into something with a new purpose that may bring smiles.  An old fire tower is going to have a new home and purpose. The new purpose is to offer sights to folks that they may not otherwise have the chance to see of the Columbus skyline, the Scioto River, and Downtown. It will be located in the Scioto Grove Park in Grove City. The 100-foot Keystone Fire Lookout Tower resided on private property in eastern Jackson County in southern Ohio prior to the move that is coming up. It has been donated by the US Forest Service to Grove City Metro parks so more people could experience and enjoy it. It will be dismantled and moved 80 miles to Scioto Grove Metro Park. The there will be some cosmetic touch ups and reassembled hopefully by the end of 2023. The park already offers a rope bridge, a play area, a canoe launch, backpack areas and a disc golf and archery area along with a drone flight zone. The tower will be an added attraction. The tower was designed in the 1920's (100 years ago) to detect and control fires before helicopters and drones. It will retire from that service to begin a new life as a sort of tour guide. There are multiple flights of metal stairs to get to the top. 

It’s going to be hamburgers and cheesy potatoes for dinner. 

Joy

                              ooops .... not big enough

 July 23, 2022 a thought for today, Prayer only from the mouth is no prayer. Jamaican Proverb

I have some time before I need to get ready to leave for church. Bob and I have already picked up the curb side grocery order and I have everything put away. I have my photos of the day chosen but they may (or may not) need a bit of darkroom (Photoshop) touch yet so I will wait until I get home from the funeral luncheon at church.  

One of the uploads for yesterday was “current interest”. I have so many things going on in my life right now it was hard for me to chose something suitable for “current interest”. My crochet projects are an ongoing “current interest” so that made it an easy choice. 

Bob had to buy a new lawn mower last week end and didn’t get a chance to use it due to all the rain we were having. So he is “checking it out” today. He wanted to get the store out of the way before we got some predicted rain today.

The second up load for yesterday is from my archives. It was a vase of assorted cut flowers from my edging gardens. Some were on their “way out” but still had something to offer in their beauty. I used a vintage overlay to give it a bit of a  “history” look. 

.....I’m back from the luncheon. There was plenty of food, so much that we were asking people to take some home with them. 

When I left for church the sky was noticeably turning darker. While the service was going on there were loud bursts of lightening and the sound of rain falling could be heard through the open windows. When I came out of church the clouds were gone and the sun was breaking through. 

The photos I chose earlier for today didn’t need any touch ups after all except for a filer on one of them. All they needed was the upload size and save and catalog. 

One of today’s photo uploads, again from my archives, is “still life”. It is one of my potted house plants with assorted background pieces for patterns, colors and textures. 

The word today is charity.  With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds. Abraham Lincoln . Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door. Charles Dickens.. Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance, Francis of Assisi. Do not give, as many rich men do, like a hen that lays her egg and then cackles, Henry Ward Beecher.  The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others. Homer.  Having leveled my palace, don't erect a hovel and complacently admire your own charity in giving me that for a home. Emily Bronte..  The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green, Thomas Carlyle.   When our cup runs over, we let others drink the drops that fall, but not a drop from within the rim, and call it charity; when the crumbs are swept from our table, we think it generous to let the dogs eat them; as if that were charity which permits others to have what we cannot keep, Henry Ward Beecher. All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action, James Russell Lowell.  Slander is a poison which kills charity, both in the slanderer and the one who listens, Bernard of Clairvaux.  There can be no Christianity where there is no charity, Charles Caleb Colton.   Charity begins at home, is the voice of the world, Thomas Browne.  In charity there is no excess, Francis Bacon.  The best way to keep good acts in memory is to refresh them with new, Cato the Younger.  Charity is the soul of faith, makes it alive; without love, faith dies, Anthony of Padua.  

The next upload today, also from the archives, is an upload to my Canadian Photo Club, is of architectural features showing it’s age. It is an old building on West Broad Street. There is a lot of texture, pattern, color shapes. I think it give a bit of an “old world” feel.

This article sounded kind of unique. It appears to be about redesigning the path ways of getting around in the downtown area (High Density Neighborhoods) in the form of pedestrian bridges and bike lanes.  One plan in the process is a redesign of Broad Street. There would be a centr-running bus-only land and a two-way protected cycle track. There was talk at a strategy meeting calling for “multiple corridors with dedicated transit lanes”. This meeting was filled with the “critical component for our future”. Another view in the presentation is images for redesigns on Third and Fourth Streets with the same bus and bike lane plans but also how to “bridge 670 with a pedestrian and bike bridge”. Discussions went to connecting Summit Street with downtown creating “regional, north-south, low-stress bike system.” The talks went on to forming “multiple new pedestrian bridges over the Scioto River”. More thoughts in the plan were to demolish the Main Street Dam making way for a 33 acre of urban parkland along the Scioto River. Thoughts of 40,000 people living in the Downtown area by 2040 were in the talks about how to plan for that event. Parking lots would need developed and transit and transpiration options have to be considered. There is a goal to “complete the full draft plan by September” to be presented to City Council.

Dinner will be each of us on our own since I am working at the church this afternoon. 

Joy

                            dropped and broken

 July 21, 2022 a thought for today, If you think about things too long, good thoughts will disappear. Japanese Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday as “hug”. For this one I went back in my archives and found this one of two of my great grandchildren happily hugging each other. 

Getting the four printing jobs off my mind is a relief. Both bulletins are printed and distributed. The hand-out for HM3 is ready for Saturday evening. Then to finish off the printing jobs, I made  the copies Ed wanted. I don’t normally like to print bulletin’s on a colored paper. I think they are more difficult to read and are not as professional looking. However, I used a pale lavender paper for this celebration of life to make it a little more personalized and special since the last one was on white. This will give an individualized feel. I’m surprised that I like the effect. 

In another upload for yesterday, since my thoughts were on the subject of hugs I found this one of my cat and one of my dogs from a while back in one of their moments of affection (of acceptance) for each other.  

An order for one of the over the counter meds my doctor has me on got over looked in my last order so I stopped at Kroger on the way home to pick it up. I can’t go in the store without picking up a few other things too. I also made a pass by the park for some photos I wanted.

Getting the printing projects completed helps keep tomorrow mostly clear for a good start on the newsletter that will be due next week. Saturday will be pretty well taken up with church activities after the weekly curbside pick up. 

I had a third upload for yesterday. The theme for this one was “abc....def...”  What we were assigned to do was generate a photo whose title would be three words beginning with three consecutive letters of the alphabet. I called this one “Ripe Strawberry Taste”. 

There was a little thunder and lightening last night that made Sweet Pea restless for a while so that made sleeping a little on and off. Today is much brighter with temperatures at a decent level. Some of the other areas of the country, even the world, are experiencing much more dangerous conditions.  

One of today’s uploads is called “a church”. Since I was in the church doing the bulletins, I carried one of my camera’s with me when I walked through the sanctuary. 

Another of my Thursday chores is under way too, the laundry is progressing. Due to all the walking I have done today I want to make dinner as easy as I can so I checked out what I have in the freezer, I can just warm it up. 

The word today is character.  The character of a man is known from his conversations. Menander.  You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one, Henry David Thoreau.  Reputation is what men and women think of us. Character is what God and the angels know of us, Thomas Paine.  People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Character is simply habit long continued, Plutarch. No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Character is much easier kept than recovered. Thomas Paine. Simplicity in character, in manners, in style; in all things the supreme excellence is simplicity. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Character develops itself in the stream of life, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Dreams are the touchstones of our character, Henry David Thoreau. We can't control the impressions others form about us, and the effort to do so only debases our character, Epictetus. Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended, Francois de La Rochefoucauld. 

As driving home from the church I cruised through the park with the idea of finding images to shoot. I saw this one through the trees and decided to use it for my upload to the Canadian Photo Club for today. 

Here is a story about an interesting happening for a short time here in Columbus at Franklin Park. For the next couple of months there will be a display of “exotic-shaped animal topiaries” at the park.  Some of the topiaries are a Bengal tiger, a bison, camels and more. The event is called Topiary Takeover. There is a total of about twenty-five topiaries. They are in seven installations in the thirteen acres of the exterior of the conservatory.  They are said to be “larger-than-life creations representing animals found at UNESCO natural heritage sites”. The topiaries are constructed of steel frames then covered with living plants. To keep some from being too heavy there is plastic tubing on the inside. The live plants are watered through an internal irrigation system. Among the animals not mentioned earlier are a peacock, an iguana, and  pink flamingos. Along with the topiary display is a “Great Barrier Reef aquarium with a dozen fish, seahorse and jellyfish to add to a visit to the conservatory. The Topiary Takeover will last through September 11. There are plans to offer a similar display in the spring of 2023. 

It’s going to be goulash pulled from the freezer for dinner tonight. 

Joy

 July 19, 2022 a thought for today, He who talks forgets what he said but he who listens can't forget. African Proverb

The first photo of the day upload for yesterday was “street photography”. This is a familiar scene on the streets of most cities. Ours use to be more in the alley behind the house but got moved to the street a few years ago so the alley gets unused.

Today was another food pantry day. It was a good day. We had a steady move of the guests. We also had several new clients and more homeless than we normally do.

The second upload for yesterday was from my archives. This is a large clay container used for capturing rain water. I found it in a neighbor’s yard as I was cruising and looking for photos. 

Before I left, I made some minor touch ups to the bulletin that is in process. While I was at pantry, I was handed the information to finish that one which I will do tomorrow. Now I have to get the information to do another celebration of life bulletin for this week end. One other thing I worked on this morning was a hand out on the new 988 call number available to people in distress with alcohol and drug abuse with signs of thoughts of suicide. On top of those three items I have had a request for several copies of one of the other celebration of life bulletins. It looks like Thursday printing is going to be a long one. I would also like to donate a food item for the luncheon we are hosting for the other funeral service we will be doing on Saturday. 

Now it will a race with the clock for getting some things done before it is time to fix dinner. 

The photo a day upload for today is “a cylinder”. The closest thing I had cylinder wise was the container I use for my iced tea. 

The word today is certainty. For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. Vincent Van Gogh. If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties. Francis Bacon. I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections, and the truth of imagination, John Keats.  Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge, Charles Darwin.  To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age. 'Tis much better to do a little with certainty & leave the rest for others that come after you. Isaac Newton. Events are never absolute, their outcome depends entirely upon the individual. Misfortune is a stepping stone for a genius, a piscina for a Christian, a treasure for a man of parts, and an abyss for a weakling, Honore de Balzac.  Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. Martin Luther.  If we insist on being as sure as is conceivable... we must be content to creep along the ground, and never soar. John Henry Newman.  There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance. Henry David Thoreau. Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Truth lies within a little and certain compass, but error is immense. Henry St. John.  

This upload to my Canadian Photo Club for today is of one of the many morning glory style flower on my back fence. 

I read the title to this article and thought it sounds like a unique building in its shape and location, a new building proposed for downtown. A unique structure on a “postage stamp-sized lt in the Arena District”.  It would be a six unit, seven-story building at 116 Spruce Street. It’s on a dead-end alley (Armstrong Street) next to a rear parking lot of a large Hotel. The idea of a structure being built on a small .06 acres seem “limited” but the property owner kept dreaming and “thinking big”.  There will be ground-floor parking that would mean open to the street and would need a “curb-cut”. They are thinking of “different material could b used to make the building’s elevator shaft more visually interesting”. There are plans for balconies on the Downtown side of the structure. 

I think we will have left overs with chicken fries for dinner tonight. 

Joy

 July 17, 2022 a thought for today, Gossip about a person and his shadow will appear. Japanese Proverb

There was only a handful of people at church this morning. I wasn’t to surprised because we had some pretty heavy rain about the time people would have been coming. 

My first upload for yesterday was “pattern”. While we were waiting for our order at the grocery store I caught sight of this “pattern” on the back of the fire truck and knew it was my shot for the day. 

I decided to make a quick stop at Kroger on my way home. We had picked up the groceries on Saturday but I had forgotten a couple of things that we are almost out of. 

The second up load for yesterday was not an “assignment”, simply a daily upload to my other online photography club. This wall art is located next door to a Wendy’s restaurant in the neighborhood. The colors, shapes, textures and patterns are awesome. 

As is my custom I don’t plan to get much done today. My Sunday’s are for reflection and restoration. 

The rain has slowed down with long periods of time with no rain falling. It has dropped the temperature a bit but it want’s too hot anyway.  

The first upload for today is “water”. It has been raining for a couple of days now so there is plenty of water around in the cutters and in small puddles on drive ways as well as droplets on the leaves. 

The word is care.  Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear, William Shakespeare.  From caring comes courage, Lao Tzu.  While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. Francis of Assisi. Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. Epictetus. Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds. Saint Teresa of Avila. Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves. Lewis Carroll.  Guard your roving thoughts with a jealous care, for speech is but the dealer of thoughts, and every fool can plainly read in your words what is the hour of your thoughts. Alfred Lord Tennyson.  I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves. Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield.  As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed, Vincent Van Gogh.  Goodness is the only investment that never fails, Henry David Thoreau. 

The second upload for today was generated yesterday again as we waited for the pick up of our groceries. There was a couple of ladies parked in the spot in front of our car. I couldn’t resist shooting through the windshield and showing the raindrops as the ladies loaded their car. 

The place in this story might be an interesting place to visit.  The article is calling it a “Magical Earth Retreat”. It is a place designed with hobbit-inspired ideas. It is located not far from up in our own Hocking Hills. The cabins resemble the “most luxurious of hobbit holes”. This retreat was conceived and built for a company based in Florida. They had searched “throughout the country” before considering Ohio. They had considered places like Montana and east coast areas. They heard about the Hocking Hills through a relative in Cleveland. Once they visited the area they were “hooked”. They very much like Ash Cave and consider it the most magical natural feature in Hocking Hills. It is about eight minutes from the property. They had once taken a trip to New Zealand were the Lord of the Rings was filmed which was one of the elements that inspired their plans. It is felt that people will enjoy the comfort and beauty of “Magical Earth Retreat” which opened this spring. Each site has four cabins set in the hills. There is lots of light from the side or the room like a walk-out basement. There are king beds and double bunk beds to single queen beds. Each cabin have its own color scheme and fixtures. The kitchens have a range and a “retro-look” mini fridge, microwave even a Keurig coffee machine. The ceilings and walls are cedar. Each cabin is outfitted with a large screen TV, fireplace and WiFi along with a hot tub. There is a redwood sauna pod available to guests. There are magnificent views with fire pits for evening relaxation. The owner/developers of this property are also planning a second phase with “Moroccan-style” cabins. There is even a third phase which will involve a tree house. All of these in the Hocking Hills. 

I think it will be Taco Bell for dinner. 

Joy 

even the sad sight of drain sewers with all their weeds and chipped black top have a sight to behold

 July 15, 2022 a thought for today, A hut is a palace to the poor man. Irish Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was called “create a postcard”. I have a few photos of the Columbus skyline in my archives that would have been good for this assignment but I wanted a current image so I made a trip (since I have my car now) to the park for this image. 

This Friday is a little different than most for me. I usually like to do things on a lighter side since the week is coming to an end. But today I have an appointment and some errands. My eye doctor’s appointment is mid morning, then there will be a couple of other stops before we get home. After that I will put in our curb side order at the store.

The second image for yesterday is one of part of my rain chain. There are water drops captured in some of the chain’s openings. 

It looks like it is going to be a sunny day and not too too hot. My granddaughter in law is having a garage sale but I don’t know if we will be able to make it at the start also parking maybe a bit of a problem since she lives on a cul-de-sac. 

I’m back.....I stopped after the last paragraph to take care of the appointment/errands.....we were able to stop by my granddaughter’s garage sale for just a minute.  Plus I have a new pair of glasses on order. It looks like there are going to be some pretty major changes in them. The doctor says it may take a few weeks for me to get use to them. 

My first image for today is one of the shadow under my (the city’s) curbside coffee tree. This assignment is titled “where I stood”. I stood in the shade of the tree. 

The word for today is branches.  Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots, Rumi.  There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. Henry David Thoreau.  Cultivate the root; the leaves and branches will take care of themselves,  Confucius.  Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Truth is certainly a branch of morality and a very important one to society. Thomas Jefferson.  First I shake the whole Apple tree, that the ripest might fall. Then I climb the tree and shake each limb, and then each branch and then each twig, and then I look under each leaf. Martin Luther. I seem restless, but am deeply at ease. Branches tremble; the roots are still, Rumi.  Spend your brief moment according to nature's law, and serenely greet the journey's end as an olive falls when it is ripe, blessing the branch that bare it, and giving thanks to the tree that gave it life, Marcus Aurelius.

The second upload is of the open shelter house, there is a closed shelter house also, at the local park
down the street. This is today’s upload to my Canadian photo club. 

I was watching Columbus Neighborhoods last night on PBS and heard about something else I never knew about Columbus....the Olentangy Park. It reminded me somewhat of the park at Buckeye Lake. According to the article before we had Coney Island and Kings Island there was one of Ohio’s largest amusement parks in the United States. It was called Olentangy Park, it was a small park and  called the Villa when I began in the 1880s. In 1896 the Columbus Street and Railroad Company took over. When the picnic grounds and an area for gambling were added it was renamed to the Olentangy Park. In 1899 “the Dusenbury brothers” bought the park and now became a “family-friendly amusement park. From there it grew. A theater was added and had 2,000 electric lights added.  Later boating was added, then a Loop0the-Loop ride, bowling, Ferris wheel and more were added. Can you image all of this in an area near what is now downtown. It is said that there were more than 40,000 visitors in one day. It was 100 acres of land in addition to the rides, picnic areas, playgrounds, a zoo, a swimming pool, a Japanese village. As it grew it was located in the areas of the Olentangy River and north High Street, North Street on the south, and nearly to West Tulane Road on the north. So from the 1880s until the 1930s it was a booming place to be and see in the Columbus area. “the Great Depression of the 1930s brought an end to the amusement park. A few years later, Leslie L. LeVeque, of Hotel LeVeque fame, purchased the Olentangy Park site and cleared the site for construction”. The area then became known as the Olentangy Village. According to the article one “iconic rides” from the park still exists, the “grand carousel” at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a remainder. So riding it is a bit or riding a piece of history. The first month at the Zoo people paid $1 for a ride. In 1940 a bowling alley was built on part of the site of the park. The bowling alley was destroyed by fire. The only remaining building is located at the curve on North Street and contains six apartment. An interesting point the steps that led from the “Canoe Club” to the theatre in the old park are partly hidden in the banks of the Olentangy River north of Ackerman Road. 

Pizza. 

Joy

                      left by a black trash barrel in the park

 July 13, 2022 a thought for today, Proverbs are like butterflies, some are caught and some fly away. German Proverb

I had set aside today to take Sue out for some of her errands. We had a list. We started out about 9:00. We had our “sister’s bonding time”, that is an understanding only sister’s can have especially sisters’ that live together....for twenty year and more. 

The first upload for yesterday was “exterior”. That’s a wide-open subject with many interpretations. I chose this one showing the exterior of a suburb and parts of the things that may make up that exterior. 

Then I had another brief time with a loved one. One that I get so few of but find so precious there are not words in the English language to express the almost physical hug brings. Lowell stopped by....maybe only fifteen minutes but that will do for today. I may have gently learned something about myself that causes me to wonder.....more growth....keeps coming....even after more than eighty years. 

The second up load for yesterday came from my archives. Once I uploaded this, I had several responses. Many people have seen this ad on barns
throughout the country side. It brings back many memories and takes us to those placed for a few moments in time. 

I had another learning experience today too. On the way home I stopped to put gas in my car for the first time.....the door to the gas tank wouldn’t open, it was stuck...some prying and more tugs on the release lever finally worked. That along with the ice maker on the freezer will have to be tended to....it too stopped working. ....such is life. 

The first upload for today is “life”. As I was waiting in the car today I was watching “life” going on around me, in and out of the store and in and out of the parking lot so grabbed some images. I don’t like to show the faces of people I capture since I can’t get their permission to show so I try to get ones from their backside. I caught his lady shopping for plants for her yard.

The word today is believe.  Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do. Thomas Aquinas. Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists. Blaise Pascal.  The ears of men are lesser agents of belief than their eyes. Herodotus.  Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense, Gautama Buddha. He who believes needs no explanation, Euripides. Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. We are born believing. A man bears beliefs as a tree bears apples, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Believing everyone is dangerous, but believing nobody is more dangerous, Abraham Lincoln. Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe, Saint Augustine.  We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing, Louisa May Alcott.  Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it, Blaise Pascal. The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones, Confucius. What people believe prevails over the truth, Sophocles. 

This is my second upload for today. I couldn’t resist snapping a photo of Sweet Pea as she was rolling on her back and showing her furry paws.

This story is about a new place for people who like to shop for possible treasures will find interesting.  There is a new establishment called Overflow Market that will be selling “seconds, misprints, and overstocked goods”. There will be ceramics, greeting cards, art prints, candles, scratch-n-dent, floor models and so much more. Some of the participants are “And Here We Are, Stump Plants, Koko the Shop, Nichelle Monique, Kiln Room, Four Eyes Ceramics and more. There will be live painting and food via Pablo’s Havana Café.

I am making baked Tilapia and potato salad for dinner. 

Joy

 July 11, 2022 a thought for today, But' is a fence over which few leap. German Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “behind someone”. I had a few images that I had shot at church but decided to use this one when I was behind the car ahead of me waiting for a pick up. 

Monday, Monday.....here it is. Things got started the same as all other Mondays. I took care of the virtual visits first thing then got to the weekly bulletin. Since I had all of the information I needed for the bulletin I got it completely done this morning. I want to “proof” read it again in the morning then I will send it to Donna. 

My second upload for yesterday was a pop up challenge we are
doing for the Sudbury Photo Club that I belong to. The assignment was to make a collage of some of the favorite recent photos. 

I need to spend some time working in the kitchen this morning. I also need to tend to some of the vacationing house plants. We had a lot of rain for a couple of days last week but some of the plants seem to have sucked it up pretty quickly or it evaporated in the heat though I think the temperature has been fairly decent the last few days.  I also have a new “baby” fig tree I want to transplant to a larger pot and acclimate it to the “vacationing” spot before it comes back in the house for the colder months. 

I had a third photo yesterday that challenge was called “little re4d contestable” but could be a photo of a car or any of its parts. This one is part of my “new” car.

Tomorrow I have a lady coming to help me with some cleaning. Lowell has given me a gift of a cleaning lady once every couple of months. I want to have a few things picked up before she comes. 

Sue has a list of errands she wants to run so I think we may schedule that for Wednesday. Then to round out the week I have a long overdo eye doctor appointment on Friday. Not only do I need new glasses I hope the doctor can suggest some other tips for helping to relive my dry eye. I use drops on a regular basis but I am hoping for something that is a little more helpful.

Today’s first upload is called “interior”. As I was placing bulletins on Thursday I shot this image. I like the transition of light to darkness. 

The word for today is being.  For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God. Saint Teresa of Avila.  I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do, Leonardo da Vinci. Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness, Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. Benjamin Franklin.  All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer,  Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like, Laozi.   Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again, Saint Augustine. A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right, Thomas Paine.  He who stops being better stops being good, Oliver Cromwell.  A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated, Horace Mann.  A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts. We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, Henry David Thoreau. 

The Sudbury photo for today is called “shadows”. The shapes and textures add along with the shadows of the pot holders add “life” to the image.

This sounds like an interesting idea and what a way to learn and to spark memories and to understand. The story is about senior citizen and students sharing their life stories. One of the students from Dublin Jerome High School is from India. In one of his conversations with his grandmother he said he could “feel how disconnected” she was from her family members.  Then he began to think how other people in that age group must feel. After some thinking on the subject he decided to try to create a “Teen Buddy” program. At the end of the second year there was an “in-person” gathering of students and senior citizens who had been paired with each other in the past year. One of the pairs talked about in the article was a 17-year-old and an 80-year-old lady. They had communicated with each other in the past year by phone, text, and letters. There were seventeen other pairs of similar ages. The students are from Coffman and Scioto High schools. The senior citizens are from Dublin and other cities like Upper Arlington, Hilliard and other communities. The students from the beginning of this program have graduated. The senior citizen will receive new matches. The students say there is so much to learn. They say it’s not just history but it’s the personal stories about their lives that give meaning and feelings to the pairings. The initial program started in 2019 and has grown. According to the article besides the phone, text and letters other of the first meetings were virtual but this year they have become one on one. 

We are having chili mac for dinner tonight. 

Joy

                                    locked up