July 30, 2023 a thought for today, That which blossoms must also decay. Indian Proverb

A first upload for yesterday was “faceless portrait”. This was the easiest for me to capture today. I was in the car when I was thinking of what I could shoot to fill this assignment. 

I am hoping that parts of the sermon today will stay with me during the hard periods in each day for Bob and me. I felt “uplifted” and calm. I’ll need that to help him as we wait. 

I have three beautiful “children”. My daughter was with me through one major hard time in my life as well as other ups and downs. The two of us have become “separated” from each other in recent years but the feelings of the heart and memories are still there and still as strong. At this point in time, through and with my two sons, I am learning deep, emotional and spiritual lessons in life. They are precious and heavy. (I’m 83 folks......still learning)

The other image I uploaded yesterday was “fave word”. This is one of my favorite words.  I am a “foodie”. 

I have mentioned that I have a “new” computer. Well....I am having a “getting acquainted period”. It’s a whole new operating system called Windows 365. For many years I have used basically the same ol’ system with “updates” now and then. Another bit of a change is....I use to buy software in the form of disks to install. Now software comes in a “subscription” form. It is uploaded to a computer over the web and paid for periodically. So far I feel there are pros and cons for both of  the systems. But for now I am mostly enjoying this way. There are three programs I use daily that have to be installed on the “new” computer....WordPerfect (from my working days in the legal field), Publisher for my church involvements and Photoshop for my fulfilling photography hobby. Then there is the adjusting familiar aspects of activities to their new surroundings.....email, facebook, and so on ....most of them requiring passwords....some that I can’t remember. That’s where one of the problems come in. I am not young anymore and focus and patience are slower. It’s going to take a while to get things set up to my comfort level. I have a perfect set up right now. I have both the old computer up and running (with only minimal space left) and the new one side by side. This way I can refer to the old one for setups I need for a reminder. 

The sun is bright and the weather warm. It’s really not oppressively hot here right now as it is in parts of the country. 

As is my habit on Sunday I don’t have an agenda today. Just thinking and restoring, immersed and reflecting in life.

The first upload today is “words on a sign”. I was able to gather all sorts of words on a sign yesterday and decided to choose this one. 

The word today is animals.  What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected, Chief Seattle.  Animals are such agreeable friends; they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms, George Eliot. Fierce and poisonous animals were created for terrifying man, in order that he might be made aware of the final judgment in hell, John Wesley.  What an ugly beast the ape, and how like us, Marcus Tullius Cicero. A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself, Josh Billing.  Each outcry of the hunted hare A fiber from the brain doth tear, William Blake.  At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst, Aristotle. The poor dog, in life the firmest friend. The first to welcome, foremost to defend, Lord (George Gordon) Byron. The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gifts the commonest, Martin Luther. There are two things for which animals are to be envied: they know nothing of future evils, or of what people say about them, Voltaire.  Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass, Joseph Addison.  A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast, Proverbs 12,10.  

The second upload was titled “sunrise/sunset”. I am very seldom up for sunrise and miss a lot of the sunsets so I took this one of a sunrise that I did happen to capture from my archives. 

There are some Interesting facts in this article about Columbus. Some I knew, some were new to me. Columbus is central to so much. Airline flights put many closer, 48% of Americans live within 600 miles of Columbus. Many major cities are less than a day’s drive away. A notable point in this city is that it is nearly in the center of Ohio. Another interesting point is that there are some fascinating people born in Columbus.  An author by the name of  R.L. Stine, author of the best selling Goosebumps. Another “celebrity” is  chef Guy Fieri. Wendy’s began in Columbus. Another famous eatery that has made its home headquarters in Columbus is White Castle. This was an interesting point for me, “Columbus has had a variety of nicknames over the years”. Some are Cowtown and Cbus also Arch City. The name Arch City came about due to the “construction of arches over key streets”. Something I never thought about was that the arches provided power to the city’s electric streetcars back in history. Another thing of interest to me was that in 1861Abraham Lincoln found out he would be president while in Columbus. One rather “morbid” thing from the past is that the North Market was originally at the city’s public cemetery, it has since moved. The name for the Blue Jackets stemmed from the “city’s role in the Civil War”. Columbus manufactured uniforms for the Union troops. Something adding a little humor is that at the homecoming festivities in 1926 there was a queen chosen but due to a “voter fraud” the crown went to the runner up who was a “Ms. Maudine Ormsby, a cow nominated by the College of Agriculture”. The first woman to fly solo around the word was from Columbus, Jerrie Mock. She took off in March of 1964 form Port Columbus. Of course there’s always Colo. She was the world’s oldest captive gorilla and the first gorilla bred in captivity at our own Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Her parents were “wild-caught” from Cameroon. Some of the 11,000 rose bushes in our Park of Roses date back to the turn of the 20the century. Another thing that makes are name stand out is Arnold Schwarzenegger, in “1989 Schwarzenegger launched the Arnold Sports Festival, one of the biggest fitness expos on Earth, which takes place annually in Columbus”. In 1909 the first junior high school in America opened in Columbus Ohio, Indianola Junior High School.  The Ohio State University Football and stadium can’t be unnoticed as a major point of interest. Not in Columbus but in Ohio there have been seven U.S. presidents. We have several astronauts from Ohio including, of course, John Glenn. And last on my list of important places, events and people in and around Columbus is th Topiary Park. It is a park depicting famous paintings in the form of shrubs trimmed and shaped with the art pieces the subject matter. 

Dinner is up to each of us, Sue and me, tonight.

Joy

 July 28, 2023 a thought for today, One falsehood spoils a thousand truths. German Proverb

My first upload yesterday was from my archives, I am using it as one of the “my choice” images. It is of the hands of a friend of mine as he makes food for our community free food on Saturday. 

He is still there. Lowell asked if I would want for him to take me to visit with Bob this morning. Of course I did.  It was good to visit with him for a bit. He is still going to be there for a while. It seems very few of his blood chemicals are coming together at the same time to be acceptable for chemo therapy treatment. It means waiting. This will be the third week and weekend that he has had to spend in the hospital. 

The second upload for yesterday is “my name starts with J....”. 

After Lowell dropped me off at home it was nearly time to go to my hair appointment. I have a heavy and thick head of hair. So after about a month or so it begins to look like a small bush. Now I have a pixie cut. 

There is not much more on the agenda. I want to put in a curbside pickup order this afternoon for pick up tomorrow. 

The first upload for today is “my town starts with .....” C....clouds. 

The word today is among.  The spiritual virtue of a sacrament is like light; although it passes among the impure, it is not polluted, Augustine of Hippo. The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits, Plutarch. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Epicurus.  A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men. Plato.  Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people. John Adams. The same thing which is now called Christian religion existed among the ancients. They have begun to call 'Christian' the true religion which existed before. Saint Augustine.  Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live. Marcus Aurelius. Among mortals second thoughts are wisest. Euripides. From the heart of the fountain of delight rises a jet of bitterness that tortures us among the very flowers. Lucretius.  Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow firm there, firm as weeds among stones. Charlotte Bronte.  Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Great men, unknown to their generation, have their fame among the great who have preceded them, and all true worldly fame subsides from their high estimate beyond the stars. Henry David Thoreau.  Among irrational animals the love of the offspring and of the parents for each other is extraordinary because God, who created them, compensated for the deficiency of reason by the superiority of their senses. Saint Basil.

My second upload for today is another of the “my choice” images. Again, from my archives, this arrangement of fruit offers color, shapes, and patterns.

This is another of my favorite “reporters” for the Dispatch. This is a bit about the history of the “blue law” period in history. The title is :” With 'Blue Laws,' Labor Day's seasonal turn came to Columbus quietly in 1922". Before summarizing the thought here is a note about the Blue Law.  Blue law is a colloquial term for state statute or ordinance that forbids or regulates  entertainment and commercial activities (ex. sale of liquor) on Sundays or religious holidays. The Blue Law ended in Ohio in November of 1973. After the “emergence of Industrial America” Labor Day became a time marker. That day was the traditional “last day of summer” for school kids. Outdoor swimming pools ended for the season about that time.  Fall fashions came into season. Family vacations, for the most part, dwindled until next year. According to the article these “transitions” were common since the late 1800s and Labor Day was a holiday at the ending of these activities.  Labor Day in 1922 was quieter than those in the years before. World War I had ended in 1918 but it was four years later that “ the last soldiers dismantling a major military base left Camp Sherman in Chillicothe. They were reassigned to Columbus Barracks, which would soon have its name changed to Fort Hayes”. On the Labor Day of that year stores closed and there were no mail deliveries. It seemed things were under the Blue Law restrictions. Some large groups continued to enjoy barbecues and celebrations at parks. Then the Blue Laws became more  noticeable. Along with the closing of stores on Labor Day and no mail deliveries. It also included no alcohol sales on Sundays. The article described the meaning of the Blue Law in this way....”the usage of the word "blue" − meaning "distinctly moral" − and originated with Puritans in the 1700s”. Over the years changes took places and led to the elimination of Blue Laws in Ohio. 

Pizza for just me and Sue tonight. 

Joy

                                                    anger release? or pure malice?

 July 26, 2023 thought for today, What can't be cured, must be endured. German Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was “v is for....”. I set up this image and decided to use it for today. The V is for valise. 

Hospital is still on today’s purview in this Rector house. It looks like it will be yet another day. Bob is cross and extremely upset. And the cancer is still growing.

Sweet Pea and I took a break. We drove by the park after picking up a McDonald sandwich for each of us (she eats the meat but not the bread). 

I started a couple more house plant to the hydroponic method of growth. I have been able to get most of them with a healthy set of roots attached. Others have not had a root system attached so I dipped the stem in plant hormone powder before placing them in fertilized water hoping they will develop roots soon. Some of the plant are in containers made specifically for that purpose. The others are in mason jars. I think I have eleven plants started. If they are all doing well by the end of summer I will give their larger “parents” away, I have four other plants that don’t lend themselves to hydroponic growth for one specific reason and another so they will be kept as is after being transplanted. Taking care of these plants is helping in a minimal way of calming my emotions at this point in time. 

My second image for yesterday was this one that I pulled from my archives. This little rascal seems to be trying to decide how best to get into the container for food. 

Sue is spending the day with the twins again today. Lately she has been able to spend three days a week with them. Soon school will be starting so that will not be happening. She is being smart and making the most of it.

I have the bulletin ready to print and the envelopes addressed. So things are ready for printing tomorrow. So I had some time to try to set up the “new” computer too. It’s a whole new software that I am unfamiliar with so it is taking some time.

The first upload for today is “f is for....”. In this image I used the fan (and the five blades) to represent F. 

The word today is ambition. Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition, Thomas Jefferson.  If you wish to reach the highest, begin at the lowest, Publilius Syrus. We often pass from love to ambition, but we hardly ever return from ambition to love, François de La Rochefoucauld.  The greatest evil which fortune can inflict on men is to endow them with small talents and great ambition, Luc De Clapiers. Though ambition in itself is a vice, it often is also the parent of virtue, Edgar Quinet.  The same ambition can destroy or save, And makes a patriot as it makes a knave, Alexander Pope. Ambition often puts Men upon doing the meanest offices; so climbing is performed in the same position with creeping, Jonathan Swift.  Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled by great ambitions, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  He who would rise in the world should veil his ambitions with the forms of humanity, Chinese Proverb. When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is honorable to reach the second or even the third rank, Marcus Tullius Cicero. 

For the second upload for today I used another image from my archives as “my choice”. This was one of my fish tanks from a few years ago. 

I noticed this article and took a quick look to see if there was anything that might be of general interest. It touches on some thing that seem to be an interest to many people when they come to the Ohio State fair. It seems, at least for this year, bricks and duct tape see to be major tools for artists. There are creations of the Mona Lisa in interlocking plastic bricks and The Thinker in duct tape. They are part of contests along with the more traditional kind tor ages 11 to 17, and 18 and older in Kasich Hall B. In the “Entertainment Alley........near the flea market (formerly known as the Antiques and Collectibles Pavilion) there will be such performers as The Major League Circus Show which is baseball mixing acrobatics, juggling and circus stunts; The Farmers Daughter Show, gymnastics, rope tricks, her udderly amazing milk bottle walk and more. Next on the list of things to see and experience are “The Reflector & Sparkle”. There are two walkers with 6,000 mirrors in their combined costumes that “captures a lot of attention, whether interacting with intrigued guests or dancing to the music at various events”. There was a suggestion in the article that fair goers may want to plan a visit to the Ohio History Center and Ohio Village while they are so close, it is free with free with the fair admission ticket. On the fair agenda is “The Strong & Amazing Show........aerial stunt show at the fair. .......a circus straps artist and dance trapezist”. Of course as there is every year free live music. It will include 25 free musical performances. There will be some “newbies”. One is a band of Nationwide Children’s Hospital staff, families and friends. There are other out-of-state entertainers on the list of entertainers. In the article’s list of things to see is the  ‘The Dunk’ located at the Natural Resources Park. The newest “resident” along the Geological Walk Through Time exhibit is a life-size sculpture called ‘'the Dunk”. As the article describes “ the powerful prehistoric predator that was named Ohio’s state fossil fish in late 2020" who lived about 359 to 382 million years ago. Another exhibit at the fair is “NASA’s ‘Journey to Tomorrow”. These are just a few of the things to see at this year’s fair. 

I think it will be spaghetti for dinner, to much for just Sue and I so I will freeze most of it.  

Joy  

                                 never ending

 July 24, 2023 a thought for today, Who excuses himself accuses himself. Italian Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was titled “night time”. I made this image when I worked downtown. This was one of the mornings I parked my car at the Vets Memorial and walked across the bridge to get to the Federal Court House where I worked. (It wasn’t totally “night time” but it wasn’t day time yet either.) As you can see I was there before the sun was up so I was able to capture this image of the tower before the lights were out.

Apparently, Bob has more medical issues going on than any of us could have foreseen. He seemed like a mostly healthy person. There were no complaints except for sinus drainages, headaches or indigestion now and then. He never called off sick from work. But now, OSU hospital is running blood tests that are finding chemical components that are off kilter and need adjusted before any chemo can take place. They just postponed another one that was supposed to take place today. I know it is hard on him to get his hopes up and then have them dashed. It’s hard to have a positive outlook as well as direction and treatment scheduled just to have it canceled hours before the appointed time. Not just once but four times. We were all prepared for a nearly day long appoint for today when we discovered last night that he had a 101-degree fever. That meant an emergency room visit due to him being immune compromised. They admitted him. Now we wait some more. 

I am catching up on some cleaning situations here in the house. There needed to be a good bit of straightening. It’s mostly done for now. I just want to finish the dishwasher and run the shop vac before dinner time prep. 

Another upload for yesterday was called “m is for ...”. I remembered this “vintage”, somewhere in the ‘50s, menu I had in one of my drawers. So I got it out yesterday morning and made a couple of shots of it. It would be nice to have a hamburger sandwich for a dime again. 

I think I mentioned that I am switching direction with some of my house plant “garden”. I am moving a number of the plants to hydroponics. I am hoping to reduce the size of my collection and hopefully find a bit easier way of tending to their needs. It is an experiment at this point. In doing some research on the subject I have found a place that makes lids for the purpose of hydroponics that fit on wide mouth mason jars. I am hoping to give that design element a try. I could allow things to grow more in height and width since the mason jars come in several different sizes. Another of my projects right now is getting my “new” computer set up. Lowell helped me with one step yesterday. There are several more adjustments I have to make to get to  familiar setups. 

The first upload for today is titled “g is for....”. I took several shots of a full sized graffiti on a building next to Wendy’s that is mostly green to use for this assignment. Then as I was heading home I saw this sight of the green leaves against the rough bark of the tree. Once in Photoshop I decided to use this one. 

The word for today is alone. Blood alone moves the wheels of history, Martin Luther.  I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone, Lord Byron. Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors, Confucius. God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars, Martin Luther. Genius begins great works labor alone finishes them, Joseph Joubert. The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Time alone reveals the just man but you might discern a bad man in a single day, Sophocles. To Follow by faith alone is to follow blindly, Benjamin Franklin. From childhoods hour I have not been As others were I have not seen As others saw, Edgar Allan Poe. Change alone is unchanging, Heraclitus. This is the highest wisdom that I own freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Words alone cannot fully convey the realities of the soul or the greatness of the human spirit, William Shirley. A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone, Henry David Thoreau.  He who studies books alone will know how things ought to be, and he who studies men will know how they are, Charles Caleb Colton.

My second upload for today is another of the “my choice” picks. I used this one from my archives. I like the colors, textures and patterns. 

This story is about one of the colleges where I took courses at different periods and needs in my life. There were also family members who studied at some of them including this one. This article tells of specific happenings at the Columbus College of Art and Design at different years. In 1879 the Columbus Art School was started by five women and has become one of the oldest and most prestigious private art and design colleges in the United States. The First Lady Lucy Hayes attended the school in 1880.  In 1882 Oscar Wilde was in Columbus and was “impressed that “the capital city (has) a leading art school.” Here are some interesting facts about the school as it grew. The first class graduated in 1885. The first facility that was constructed just with the school in mind was erected in 1930. It has  no windows on the south side, interestingly, it is said to be because “artists prefer to face north”. A note for the year 1936 is that Georgia O’Keeffe visited the school. In the 1950s more programs were added such as advertising, industrial design and illustration. In 1959 the name was changed from the Columbus Art School to the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD). A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree was added in 1970. In 1985 the first “residence hall” was opened. In 1993 a dedicated gallery and auditorium were added. There is a huge unique sign in front of the school. The designer noticed a “large, neon red, block-letter ART sign” when he was in Taiwan. He “proposed” the idea for CCAD to have such a sign and the idea was accepted in 1996, the 10-story sign/sculpture was installed later in 2001. It is a “beacon for the arts”. In 2010 the first graduate program was “launched....the Master of Fine Arts degree”. In 2013 there was a state of the art fabrication space built. There are 3D printers, laser cutters and other machining equipment available. In 2018 a state of the art animation center was added. A note from me.....it looks like our city stands out in the art community. 

Dinner tonight will be whatever Sue and I can find in the freezer and frig. 

Joy

                                                on the way to becoming a typical scene

 July 22, 2023 a thought for today, There is a cause for all things. Italian Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “t is for....”. We had a pretty good storm the night before and several trees had some limbs broken. This was one block over from my house. 

There is not too much on the agenda for today for a change. The only thing besides some baking in the kitchen is grocery pickup. Bob, Sweet Pea and me, finished the pickup after Lowell changed Bob’s dressing. Now comes the putting everything away. 

The nurse who was here yesterday mentioned something Bob may like to eat. She gets it at Dairy Queen...something called “Puppy Chow”. So I looked up the recipe. That is one of the things I will be in the kitchen for this afternoon. I checked the carbs and sugar ..... out of sight. I will only be able to have a half teaspoon. 

The second upload for yesterday was from my archives and is of one of my grandsons. This was one of the “my choice” image. 

The weather cooled off after the rain but it bounced back pretty quick. It is about 80 degrees now. 

I got some containers to start some plants in hydroponically. I also ordered some plant food for that style of growing....it is supposed to get here today so I may start the “new” method, new to me, and on a small scale. Just a few plants to start with to see how successful or not that I will be. I may start with one plant this afternoon. 

An upload for today is “d is for...”. A dandelion is a perfect model for this title and image.

The word today is almost.  A well-written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one, Thomas Carlyle. Almost anything is possible with time, Jane Austen. Almost all life depends on probabilities, Voltaire. In almost everything, experience is more valuable than precept, Quintilian. He who can preserve gentleness amid pains, and peace amid worry multitude of affairs, is almost perfect, Saint Francis de Sales. So long as we love, we serve; so long as we are loved by others, I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend, Robert Louis Stevenson.  Fix your eyes on perfection and you make almost everything speed towards it. William Ellery Channing. Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship. James Russell Lowell.  Talk is by far the most accessible of pleasures. It costs nothing in money, it is all profit, it completes our education, founds and fosters our friendships, and can be enjoyed at any age and in almost any state of health. Robert Louis Stevenson.  If you attempt certain things at the right time, they are easy to accomplish - in fact, they almost get done by themselves. If you undertake them before the time is right, not only will they fail, but they will often become impossible to accomplish even when the time would have been right. Francesco Guicciardini.

Another of the “my choice” images is from my archives and is of the crow’s nest on the replica of the Santa Maria that was on our downtown river bank. 

This article is a little bit of history about the Union Station Arch, the 400-ton landmark, and what happened to it through the years. The arch has moved twice since its beginning. This is a story about its history.  We had a busy train station in downtown Columbus many years ago called Union Station. The first passenger train coming to that station, the Columbus Union Depot, was in 1850. By 1874 the depot had doubled in size so a new Union Station was built. In 1897 Columbus population had grown and it was time for another station to be constructed. By 1899 the new arcade was finished. In this station there were “two arches at each of its ends”. Be 1976 it was determined that the station could be demolished. There was a judge at the time who “saved the day”, to a degree. One of the arches was rescued and transported to a spot on Marconi Boulevard. This “spot” was then named “Arch Park” and was dedicated in 1999. Later on the monument was moved another short distance to where it still stands today. Back to the time the station was demolished: “train travel started to decline after World War II. Eventually, Columbus leaders determined that the city needed a convention center more than it needed its long-held train station”. Once the station was gone, the Greater Columbus Convention Center was built in its place. A group called the Battelle Commons Company discussed preserving the station's iconic arcade with the Ohio Historical Society. That plan was cancelled due to expense. Note: the demolition of the Union Station was called by some “Friday Night Massacre." There was a judge named George C. Smith who made a plan to keep at least a part of the arcade. The demolition in total had to be stopped but there were two delays one was getting all the right people contacted the other was an Ohio State football game with Purdue on the Saturday that the demolition would be completed. So there was a delay was getting the “temporary order to stop the destruction”. The order was finally signed and hand delivered moments before the last arch was set to be “wrecked”. That is how the arch began its journey to what is now the Arena District. 

I think dinner will be sloppy joe and potato cakes (I didn’t make them the other day). 

Joy

                               familiar highway décor

July 20, 2023 a thought for today, The house completed, possession defeated. Italian Proverb

One upload for July 19 was “my choice”. This is one of my best models, especially when she is resting. Normally she prefers not to have a camera directed at her. 

We have a new alarm system at the church and I have been worried about maybe setting it off when I tried to enter the building this morning. I waited until Patti would be there but got there a little earlier than that. After waiting for a few minutes I decided to try it. It was a piece of cake and not worth the new gray hairs and stress. I got both the bulletin and the newsletter done with only two paper jams. Then made the “rounds” dropping off bulletins and a copy of the newsletter on the downstairs bulletin board. 

I had to make a couple of stops on the way home. I picked up Sweet Pea’s med. Then to Kroger for one of my prescriptions. Then “had to stop” for brunch pick up for Bob and me. 

A second upload for yesterday was “x is for....”. There are not many suggestions for this alpha shot. I happened to be at the church and near the xerox machine so there was my prop.

Once at home it was back to work. I needed to do a couple of research areas in Google then I got the laundry started. Before getting back to the laundry, a little more on the computer and a quick drink of water for the house plants outside on the patio. 

The temperatures are forcing shut windows and the AC operating. We are supposed to get a little rain tonight and some cooler temperature along with it. 

Tomorrow will be finishing the newsletter and then a badly needed hair cut for me. It will feel good to not have to worry about a messy hair-do for a while. 

The first upload for today is “j is for....”. I used a part of myself as the model for this shot since I am a J....Joy. 

The word for today is age. The mind of man, his brain, and nerves, are a truer index of his age than the calendar... Percy Bysshe Shelley.  A long-expected guest, whose arrival always astonishes - Old age, Charles Searle. Then autumn comes, with its first flush of youth gone, but ripe and mellow, midway in time between youth and age, with sprinkled grey showing on the temples, Ovid. The surest sign of age is loneliness. While one finds company in himself and his pursuits, he cannot be old, whatever his years may number. A. Bronson Alcott.  Tis Education forms the common mind, Just as the Twig is bent, the Tree's inclin'd, Alexander Pope. Age is opportunity no less, than youth itself, though in another dress. And as the evening twilight fades away. The sky is filled by the stars invisible by the day. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Age does not make us childish, as some say it only finds us true children still, Johann Von Goethe. When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age, Victor Hugo.  We turn not older with years but newer every day, Emily Dickinson.  A graceful and honorable old age is the childhood of immortality, Pindar. Old age has a great sense of calm and freedom. When the passions have relaxed their hold and have escaped, not from one master, but from many, Plato.  Not by age but by capacity is wisdom acquired, Plautus. The worst old age is that of the mind, William Hazlitt. They that have lived a single day have lived an age. Jean de la Bruyere.  Few people know how to be old, Francois de la Rochefoucauld.  

The second upload for today is “my choice”. I may have used the shot in a past upload that I shared. It is one of the cups in the rain chain on my front porch. I like the DOF and the lines and patterns.

I didn’t find much in the news today so I chose this article about some places to visit in and around Columbus. According to the article there are some parks, museums, and sports areas that are not seen much and may be of some interest. Of course we have the “world-class Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.....German Village and the Short North district”. Some others less known about are mentioned in this article. In Delaware there is the  Hidden Valley Golf Course. With par 3 holes and one par 4, it is said to be “a great course to learn the game or for older folks to stay active as most users don’t use electric carts”. Apparently it is the only course like it in Central Ohio. Next on the list of “hidden” places to see is Big Darby Headwaters Nature Preserve. There are about 1,000 acres of wetlands and stream side forests. Not many people know about the spot in nature. In 2011 efforts were made to “restore and recreate the natural flow of the headwaters of Big Darby Creek”. There is an overlook at the site of the restoration. There is another site that is “technically closed to the public” where visitors stop by anyway. It is “The Nature Conservancy ....., along Little Darby Creek off State Route 29, west of West Jefferson”. It covers 94 acres of woodland in Madison County. It is “richly endowed and largely untouched even by deer and invasive species”. Another area to visit is the Ohio Railway Museum in Worthington, it is said to have “an industrial feel”. The Inside is done with an old train station feel. There are renovated street cars and “intenurbans that once traveled from downtown Columbus and beyond up and down the middle of Route 23". There is an Early Television Museum in Hilliard. There are models of television receiver sets from the “dawn of the era”. According to the article in 1947 there were 200,000 Americans who owned TVs. By 1953 there were somewhere around 13 million. The article’s description is “For those interested in electricity’s ability to channel  moving pictures through the air, this is a must visit”.Another place to take visitors is called Ferris-Wright Park in Dublin. Here are highlights of connections to original inhabitants. To be seen are earthworks and a 1880s build Ferris Farmhouse which was home to settlers and earlier  “indigenous peoples”. The Hopewell culture, who led to changes and the development of modern Native American tribes, are represented. Another tribe represented in the area is the Wyandot Nation. The last of the places not seen much in our community is the Tranquility Salt Cave in Columbus on Dillmont Drive. The facility is lined with 10,000 pounds of Himalayan rock salt boulders. Salt therapy can be provided here. According to the Salt Therapy Association, the benefits of salt therapy were first discovered in 1843 in Poland, where workers in underground salt mines suffered fewer respiratory issues. 

I had a third upload for today, it is “pink”. I happened to be separating the laundry and low and behold there was my favorite pink shirt all ready and waiting for me and my camera. 

I think we will have baked Tilapia for dinner with potato pancakes. 

Joy 

 no need for an orange cone?

 

 July 18, 2023 a thought for today, Abuse does not invalidate usefulness. Latin Proverb

An upload for yesterday was “h is for ....”. My choice....hubcap. It was an easy one to find. 

I am one of those people who absolutely hate (and I don’t like using that word either) not honoring an obligation that I have willingly and happily committed myself to. This is one of those days I had to do that. I was supposed to be at food pantry today. At this point I don’t like leaving Bob with no one near by. I was the only one available for him here at home today. So I called to let them know I couldn’t make it today. I tried to call early enough for them to get someone else to be there. 

I made it to a meeting last night. I have had to miss about three meetings and felt I wanted not to let another one go by without making it. 

The second upload for yesterday was “my choice”. I kind of like this composition of this photo. The shapes of the weed and the lines and textures of the rest of the objects. 

I managed to use the time at home well. I ordered refills on meds for both me and Sweet Pea. I made a well over due appointment for myself at the eye doctor and one to get my hair cut. All of the appointments with a calendar near by to schedule around Bob’s appointments and other established calendar items. 

I took a break to take Sweet Pea for a ride as I picked up lunch for Bob and me. Then it was back to the computer. 

We had some rain last night with rumbling of thunder  and a little lightening that made Sweet Pea to nervous to eat, either her dinner or her special treat. She wanted noting to do with either. She seems to sense the thunder well before we hear it or see any lightening. 

The first upload for today is “a is for....”. I picked this one and turned it to a sketch. This is an alarm we have had on the garage for some time. My husband installed it over fifty years ago. 

The word for today is against. Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. Marcus Aurelius.  I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. Thomas Jefferson. When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him. Jonathan Swift. Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. Harriet Beecher Stowe.  Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. William Penn.  I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen. Martin Luther. Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God. Benjamin Franklin.  I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one. Henry Ward Beecher.  It is hard to contend against one's heart's desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul. Heraclitus.  Is it not hard that even those who are with us should be against us - that a man's enemies, in some degree, should be those of the same household of faith? Yet so it is. John Wesley.  It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others. Michel de Montaigne.

The second upload, another “my choice, was a small garden at the drive-in window at the McDonalds near my home. 

This article is from another of my favorite reporters. It is on the light side and may offer information on some gardening projects. In this article he planting and dealing with basil and garlic. He opens by saying “basil likes me”. He said he had tried to grow it before by with not much success. This year he feels he has found a better location, the two plants he planted are “thriving”. He is glad because basil is expensive in the stores and pesto, with basil, is a favorite in many dishes especially spaghetti. He goes on to write how easy it is to prepare the successfully grown basil. He doesn’t think it necessary to blanch the leaves then “plunges” them in an ice bath as many suggest. He also plants another ingredient for pesto....garlic. He claims that it, garlic, is easy to grow. Easier than many other vegetables. He plants it in the fall so that he sees green shoots “at the first hint of warmth the next spring”. He claims that he can harvest it by mid to late June and have that space for another crops which is an “important quality in my small garden”. In the article he claims that ground hogs, deer and bugs leave it, garlic, alone. His gardening philosophy is “don’t grow stuff that’s more trouble than its worth, such as zucchini”. Some of his suggestions about other crops are: oak leaf lettuce because it tolerates heat; Swiss chard, good for small spaces; peppers, because they taste good; and cherry tomatoes, as opposed to others that wilt or rot on the vine (and the cherry tomatoes go well with basil). 

We are having left over meat loaf in mushroom gravy with mashed potatoes for dinner. 

Joy 

                          where am?

 July 16, 2023 a thought for today, A useless pitcher does not get broken. Latin Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “photographer’s choice”. These cone flowers are sitting here keeping me company so I thought I would use them for the choice today. 

There were only two of us for bible study today. This study is of an interesting book of the bible....a little on the thought provoking side....Revelations. This was our second chapter. Members in the congregation for Worship were a little “sparse”. But we did have a couple of “new” people drop by. Hopefully they will return. 

The next upload for yesterday was “r is for....” In this case “r” is for rust. This is a very old wrench that has been left in a damp and dreary location so rust took over. 

Lowell brought me a new (to me) computer yesterday and spent an hour or so getting it connected. We were both tired so I didn’t “play” with it after he was finished. This morning I got up thinking I would give it a real workout before I got ready for church. But things didn’t go quite as planned. Since it had belonged to him he is the “administrator” so it wouldn’t let me do anything without connecting to the internet which wouldn’t work either. I think it may have something to do with the new software “...365". I tried over and over. I think he will have to reset some parts on it for me. Anyway, after church I set up my old computer temporarily. We hadn’t put it in storage yet. I wanted to keep up on the daily letters/blog and the photos a day. The memory on this machine is getting very low so I don’t know how long this temporary set up will last.....long enough I hope. 

A third upload for the 15th was “crafty theme”. The most “crafty” thing going on in the house at the time is one of my crocheting projects. 

I plan on taking it easy the rest of the day to keep the Sabbath a day of rest and renewal. Setting up this system was enough of a job. 

The word today is adversity.  Through tattered clothes, small vices do appear. Robes and furred gowns hide all, William Shakespeare  He who does not tire, tires adversity, Martin Farquhar Tupper. Never to suffer would never to have been blessed, Edgar Allan Poe. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them, Washington Irving. Be still my heart; thou hast known worse than this, Homer. God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage, Proverbs. A stumble may prevent a fall, English Proverbs. Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it, Horace. Affliction comes to us all, not to make us sad, but sober; not to make us sorry, but to make us wise; not to make us despondent, but by its darkness to refresh us as the night refreshes the day; not to impoverish, but to enrich us, Henry Ward Beecher.  A leaf that is destined to grow large is full of grooves and wrinkles at the start. Now if one has no patience and wants it smooth offhand like a willow leaf, there is trouble ahead, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity, King Solomon.  A wounded deer leaps the highest, Emily Dickinson. Here is the rule to remember in the future, When anything tempts you to be bitter: not, This is a misfortune but To bear this worthily is good fortune, Marcus Aurelius.  However mean your life is meet it and live it, Henry David Thoreau.

One of the uploads for today is “z is for....”. I searched around for as many things that begin with “z” as I could find. I decided on this one....an empty zip lock bag. 

Here’s a little history about another of our old and “majestic” buildings and its life and demise. “Lost Columbus: Why Franklin County Razed its Grand Old Courthouse in 1974". I didn’t visit downtown much in my earlier years so I don’t remember the building so this description from the article interested me: “the massive structure, sporting a mansard roof and clock tower, once dominated the southeast corner of Mound and South High streets in Downtown Columbus”. As a side note to this story, I re-learned from the article that Franklin County was named for Benjamin Franklin. Anyway, back to the old courthouse, in 1803 Ohio became a state.  The county built a wing at the rear of the courthouse on Capitol Square. In 1840 it was decided that the Franklin County Courthouse needed its “own home”. A building was constructed with a row of columns, a gable roof and domed tower and sported two stories and stood in majesty for more than four decades. In 1879 there was a fire and a new building had to be built. Between 1885 and 1887 the new building replaced the courthouse. As newer buildings went up around it in the mid 20th century the courthouse began to look out of place. In the 1950s a roof and the clock tower were replaced. What replaced the clock tower was apparently “a grotesque, boxy third floor of which the entire county should have been embarrassed”. In 1974 what had been the beautiful old building was demolished and replaced with a park. The park is fenced off today and is proposed to be the site for the fifth Franklin County Courthouse. 

Another upload for today is “centered”. This is a view behind my back as I work on the computer. The lines, reflections, and patterns are interesting as well as the top of the oil lantern being in the center. 

 I haven’t made up my mind about dinner yet but I think it is going to be something quick and air fried. 

Joy

 everywhere

 July 14, 2023 a thought for today, Music is the handmaid of divinity. Latin Proverb

One of the photo uploads for yesterday was titled “u is for...”. I chose the word unlock for U. 

The weather is more like July today. The AC is working steadily this morning. I haven’t been outside but as I look out the window I can tell it is on the warm side. 

Yesterday was a busy day here, Thursdays usually are but even more so yesterday. We had a nurse here for Bob after I got home from printing at the church. Then he had an afternoon appointment. After he and Lowell left, I had a visit from a good friend. It looks like Bob will be starting chemo treatment next week. As all of that was going on, I had the usual laundry load to get done.

 A second upload for yesterday was “my choice”. I happened to see this little guy grabbing (stealing) some lunch that he found in the homemade bird feeder. 

I need to spend some time in the kitchen this afternoon with the frig and dishwasher.  And finishing the laundry before it is time for dinner prep. 

My first upload for today is “w is for....”. Window. Of course there are other interesting happenings in the image too. 

The word for today is advance. The anvil of justice is planted firm, and fate who makes the sword does the forging in advance, Aeschylus. He who could foresee affairs three days in advance would be rich for thousands of years, Thomas Carlyle.  Error is discipline through which we advance. William Ellery Channing.  Do not yield to misfortunes, but advance more boldly to meet them, as your fortune permits you. Virgil. Let that which stood in front go behind, let that which was behind advance to the front, let bigots, fools, unclean persons, offer new propositions, let the old propositions be postponed. Walt Whitman. To my mind the boy who gives least promise is one in whom the critical faculty develops in advance of the imagination. Quintilian.  By putting forward the hands of the clock you shall not advance the hour. Victor Hugo.  Genius is the very eye of intellect and the wing of thought; it is always in advance of its time, and is the pioneer for the generation which it precedes. William Gilmore Simms. There is no greater impediment to the advancement of knowledge than the ambiguity of words. Thomas Reid

The second upload today is “my choice”. Some flowers growing in what looks like a hidden area and maybe difficult rooting space. 

This is another article from a writer that I keep up with. His stories are light and food for thought. The article is about the attention to the Christopher Columbus statute vs. “our waterworks that changed the world”. The article was about ideas for solving the problem of replacing the statue as this description was written  “when last we saw the bronze icon, it was 2020 and he was lying face-up in the bed of a truck, a deposed titan on his way to exile for 500-year-old human rights violations”. According to the article the problems now are where to find a home for the statue and what to put in its place in front of city hall.....the author’s suggestion for what to put in its place was to  plant a tree there. Then his thinking changed to the possibility of water as a replacement. He related some of the problems that may compare in temperament to the problems with the statue of Christopher Columbus and how they were solved. One of the problems was  “growing cities that struggled with how to handle sewage”.  Then there was the problem of typhoid fever presumably contracted from contamination. When the contamination was at its worst clean water was “shipped” to Columbus schools. These problems and probably others in the early days were “motivators”, in 1908, to build “sophisticated water and wastewater treatment systems”. These types of systems were already in use in other places but Columbus’ were constructed on a large scale....“The Great Columbus Experiment of 1908”. It was once called the “moon landing of its day." So, with a water fountain in place of the Columbus statue and then what may come is  a possible question of “what’s with all the aquatic features” there would be a healthy story to tell. 

Pizza night has rolled around again. 

Joy

                                 abandoned 

 July 12, 2023 a thought for today, Joking must have its proper limit.  Latin Proverb

One of the uploads for July 11 was “s is for...” I had this sea shell in my side yard gardens for many years now. For this season it is sitting on a bed of wood mulch. 

Last evening we had a rough spot and worried me during the night but today is “all better”. As a matter of fact it is a little like Santa has been here. A few weeks ago some of our family got Bob a laptop computer....today he got a couple of more things he enjoys to occupy the long hours of treatments he is and will be experiencing. He is a ham radio enthusiasts. Today, his brother loaned him a hand held radio. Then just an hour ago he received a heavy package in the mail. When he opened it he found that it was a portable ham radio that he had his heart set on from the time of the Dayton Hamvention a month ago. They were sold out of it there and he has been searching for one since. Today it arrived....his brother somehow located one and had it delivered to him. 

After Bob got home from another of the medical appointments we took Sweet Pea and ran a couple of errands. I needed to stop to fill the gas tank, Bob was able to do that for me, then we picked up lunch at McDonalds. 

This second upload for yesterday is “my choice”. This is a statue of depicting some children climbing on a wall of alphabets and numbers. The statue is located on one of the main downtown streets in Columbus. 

Sue is home today. The twins are with their dad for the next few days. So she will be catching on some interests here a home.  

We are having a beautiful summer day today. So far the summer days we have had have not all been the typical summer weather. Tomorrow we are suppose to get some rain so I want to go out to the side yard to see if I have any blooming flowers that I can bring in for the vase on the dining room table. 

My computer is getting weaker and weaker due to older and older and lots and lots of use. Lowell surprised me this morning by bringing me a computer he had purchased some time ago but hasn’t had the time to use (he now uses a lap top). All I need to do now is set it up. The place were I am expecting some problems as well as time is installing all of my familiar software and files on the new one. I have a back up for two areas of use but the one that takes up a lot of my day is the one that I predict will offer me a challenge in setting up .....Photoshop. 

An upload for today is “q is for ....” In this case a hand full of quarters with different front and backs showing. 

The word for today is admire. You always admire what you really don't understand. Blaise Pascal. Many admire, few know. Hippocrates. I never admire another's fortune so much that I became dissatisfied with my own. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Men admire the man who can organize their wishes and thoughts in stone and wood and steel and brass. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Fools admire, but men of sense approve. Alexander Pope. We seldom praise anyone in good earnest, except such as admire us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld. Learn to admire rightly; the great pleasure of life is that. Note what the great men admired; they admired great things; narrow spirits admire basely, and worship meanly, William Makepeace Thackeray.  Be not too hasty to trust or to admire the teachers of morality; they discourse like angels, but they live like men, Samuel Johnson.  Admire as much as you can. Most people do not admire enough, Vincent Van Gogh.  What a strange vanity painting is; it attracts admiration by resembling the original, we do not admire, Blaise Pascal. Though familiarity may not breed contempt, it takes off the edge of admiration, William Hazlitt.  We live by admiration, hope and love, William Wordsworth.  No nobler feeling than this, of admiration for one higher than himself, dwells in the breast of man. It is to this hour, and at all hours, the vivifying influence in man's life, Thomas Carlyle. Our admiration of the antique is not admiration of the old, but of the natural, Ralph Waldo Emerson.   Not to be lost in idle admiration is the only sure means of making and preserving happiness, Horace. Admiration and familiarity are strangers, George Sand. 

The second upload is another “my choice” of a flower arrangement of a variety of flower in shapes and colors.

Franklinton was one of the first settlements in the Columbus area and through the years was pretty much forgotten or less noticed. Now it is making a new appearance with all “modern” structures, many on the “artsy” side. This next phase called “Gravity’s Second Phase” has begun. A plan for 380-plus apartments and 200,000 square feet of commercial space is on the move. The location of this phase is across West Broad Street from the first Gravity building (whose connecting art work has caused conversations). Some things to watch for in this phase are a 12-story apartment tower, a six story office building with OhioHealth on the ground floor, a 5-story apartment with shared living units, a 899-space garage, a 5-story town house and apartment buildings lining the west side of the garage. There are two renovated buildings on McDowell where the plan is to house restaurants. At this point the new buildings are identified by alphabet letters. Some people have moved into Building B, the apartment tower and the parking garage is now open to the public. There is renovation going on in the two older structures. Work will begin on the “Gravity Experience Park”. There will be space there for music, food trucks, “pop-up retail” and pickle ball courts that will be “bumper inner tube ice rink in the wintertime.” In the shared living suites, in Building D, the apartments are fully furnished with private bedrooms and the shared living space with “ a fitness center and swimming pool, and yoga centers” available. There will be a “Gravity Third Phase” called the Greenhouse. In this phase there will be a seven-story building and parking garage located between McDowell and South May.  The Gravity and Greenhouse brands are being looked at in Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City and Miami as possible destinations for the concepts.

Dinner is to be planned on the fly.....Sue won’t be here and Lowell was planning to take Bob to a new opening of a chicken carry out. 

Joy

                                                                        no graffiti