August 17, 2023 a thought for today, Who hears music feels his solitude. French Proverb

Bob has one of the long days seeing doctors today. So, he and Lowell will be away for a while. They left just after I got up this morning. 

The first upload on August 16 was “I did this today.” I began the annual house plant transplanting with this fit tree.  There is a story to why I have this plant. When I bought my car, the salesman had this huge plant standing behind his desk chair. It was gorgeous and was probably eight foot tall....impressive. So when I saw a baby one in the plant section of a store I was visiting I bought it. This is it....a good foot taller than when I bought it a year ago. 

The printing went well at the church today once I got the VERY slow computer cooperating with my “commands.” The church had more activity than is “normal” for a Thursday morning. There is some “tucking” going on in spots around the building and some light fixtures being updated. 

When I left the church I stopped at the bank for some gas money then stopped to fill the tank. I have a dread to pumping gas for some reason so Bob has been doing it for me for months but isn’t able to be with me when I need it for now so it is up to me. I DID IT!! (I remember when a man came out of the station and pumped the gas for the driver). Then I headed to Kroger to drop off the mail (at the box outside the door) from church and to pick up the eye drops that were prescribed the other day. They weren’t ready.....the insurance company has to be contacted so.... I wait (I seem to be use to that).

The second upload for yesterday was “my choice.” This one was taken at the Franklin Park Conservatory during the butterfly season. 

I got the laundry started. Then I went out to enjoy the comfortable temps as I transplanted another house plant, fiddle leaf fig. I got that one done yesterday, the Ficus ginseng today. I have two more to go....a weeping fig (notice...three fig trees) and a Dracaena marginata. It will soon be ready for them to come inside from their “vacation.” 

As the day goes by the numbers are climbing on my steps for the day meter, Thursdays put me over my top goal. 

My first upload for today is “a golden hour landscape”. Like the one I entered a day or so ago for another “assignment” this one is from the archives because I am not awake for the “golden hours” most of the time anymore. 

A word for today is communication. Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something, Plato. When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The strong man is the one who is able to intercept at will the communication between the senses and the mind, Napoleon. There cannot be greater rudeness than to interrupt another in the current of his discourse, John Locke. It must be that evil communications corrupt good dispositions, Menander.  To speak little is natural. Therefore a gale does not blow a whole morning nor does a downpour last a whole day, Lao Tzu.  Pure truth cannot be assimilated by the crowd it must be communicated by contagion, Henri Frederic Amiel. We never listen when we are eager to speak, Francois de la Rochefoucauld. Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish, Euripedes. To have much learning, to be skillful in handicraft, well-trained in discipline, and to be of good speech -- this is the greatest blessing, Buddha.  I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible, Jane Austen.  

The second upload today was another “my choice.” This was taken a while ago when I worked downtown. I like seeing the stairs through the windows or a high rise building. I like the lines, shapes and patterns and the differences in texture.  

I found a website that seems to have some very interesting information on it including questions kids want answered, as this one does. I think it sounds like a place where wisdom combined with news can sprout so I will be sharing my summaries of them when I don’t see other current “news” to share. This article is titled “Why do teachers make us read old stories?” and had been asked by a twelve-year-old from Chicago. The article relates that there is an infinite amount of old stories some may seem strange. There are “beliefs, values and ways of life”that are different from those in our daily lives. Teachers encourage reading old stories to “connect with the past and to learn about the present.” Reading old stories contributes to the growth of wisdom about history and the society and helps “develop empathy” besides being relaxing and some time exciting. One example is reading Shakespeare where one sees a “completely unfamiliar” language. Then as in Romeo and Juliet they fall in love get married upsetting their parents as some do today. The author pointed out that some “modern stories are based on older stories.” An example of these notions of the story of “Jane Eyre” can be found “The Princess Diaries” along with the “Twilight” series. There are stories that “builds brain power and empathy.” A “reading specialist Maryanne Wolf writes about the “special vocabulary in books that doesn’t appear in spoken language.” Also found in older writings are the “sentence structure” which gives pause for thought such “which makes the brain work harder.” The article goes on to state that “stories also make us feel. Indeed, they teach us empathy” and “think critically.”

This is one of those days I want a quick and easy meal so we will be using the air fryer....beer battered fish and fries (never wears out ☺)

Joy

        just a peek