November 11, 2023 a thought for today, The best knowledge is to know yourself. Welsh Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “eye(s)”. This, of course, is Sweet Pea. She hates to have her picture takes as much as I hate selfies but so be it. I had to put my hand under her chin to keep her from moving while I took a quick shot, with the other hand. 

The second photo for yesterday was “sports”. There weren’t any kind of sports going on yesterday in my neighborhood as far as I knew so Sweet Pea and I drove to the park for a shot of the basketball nets. I was hoping there would be someone using them today but no such luck.

A third upload yesterday was “eggy”. When I looked so see what some of my peers of this group may have uploaded I saw all of they were some kind of cooked eggs. So here is my offering. I have five left in the carton with one cracked. I saved the cracked one for an upcoming recipe. 

I had a fourth upload for yesterday. It was called “what I am wearing”.
As I have said often before and at further up in the missive I am not fond of sulfas. There was not much of a choice if I wanted to complete the “assessment.” So here I am with my over the glasses sunglasses and the hood up on my jacket. I’ll have to admit I used a wrinkle removing method to take out some of the years on my face. 

Life today: This is grocery curbside pick up today....Sweet Pea and I are back from that adventure. We got a bit of a late start this morning because I was engrossed in a search for my “assigned” photos of the day. One of them is “remembrance”. I have kept a very old scrapbook that my mom had kept for my dad and his career achievements. I glanced at it when I first found it after her death. I have never really taken the time to look at things and read letters and notes until this morning. I had it stored in the cedar chest my mom and dad gave me when I was sixteen. I had to dig through other memorabilia stored in there. Through that scrapbook and with my moms pride and faithful attention, I found out things about my dad’s honors that I never knew. On top of things in my life today and living the last couple of months it hit hard. I am missing three men in my life today...my dad, my husband and my son, all were veterans of one sort and another. Air Force, Navy, and September 11th volunteer (and son of American Legion).

My first photo of the day on the list today is “brown”. This is my sister. She doesn’t like photos of herself either. So she was trying to hide. But I was faster than her and got capture of a moment in time. Her very favorite coat is fur and is brown so here she is and wearing her coat. 

This isn’t one of those sunny-end-of-summer or beginning-of-autumn days. It is dreary and on the “cold” side (really coolish, to close to cold). The sky it mostly overcast. But really a nice thing to see is coming into my driveway I glance down the street and see five houses in a row with the American flags swaying in the breeze.

I don’t plan on getting much done once all the groceries are put away and making a meat loaf. I am allowing myself time to play with the photos and the one photo-a-day contest I have joined for the year. There will be time for the Christmas calendar project and the tiny “gift” photos I am making, mounting and share for this years Thanksgiving companions.

My next photo today is “fluffy”. Once again my model is Sweet Pea. I tried capturing this one when she want’ looking.  

The word today is desire.  No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from. George Eliot. The teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron. Horace Mann.  If you desire many things, many things will seem few. Benjamin Franklin.  And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice. Rumi. Perseverance is an active principle, and cannot continue to operate but under the influence of desire. William Godwin. Whoever has not begun the practice of prayer, I beg for the love of the Lord not to go without so great a good. There is nothing here to fear but only something to desire. Saint Teresa of Avila.  Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire. Epictetus.  There are various sorts of curiosity; one is from interest, which makes us desire to know that which may be useful to us; and the other, from pride which comes from the wish to know what others are ignorant of. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  Wonder is the desire for knowledge. Thomas Aquinas. All men by nature desire knowledge. Aristotle. The desire to write grows with writing. Desiderius Erasmus. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray, George Muller. 

The last photo a day for today is “remembrance”. I mentioned to story about it in an earlier paragraph. The paper in the photo album mom kept is falling apart at a touch, it is seventy five years old, but the photos and documents are in fair shape. 

This article is about a restaurant that my family has visited many times for years. Many of the organizations I have belonged to have had celebrations here. Some family members have begun their working careers here. Many of my friends and acquaintance have also enjoyed this eatery. So I thought it would be a good idea to take a peek at its history.  What I am talking about is the York Steak House here in Columbus and on the westside of Columbus to boot. In the title to the article it was mentioned that it is “a Meat-and-Potato Fueled Time Machine.” In the 1970s, the article says, Columbus was a “city striving to be like Chicago, New York and/or LA.” We were adding malls, the ATM, an interactive kind of cable TV (Qube) and presentations of food. The term “fast food” was in the works. But in the mean time we were a “test market for steakhouses and salad bars.”  They were all the “rage” along with “bellbottoms, platform shoes and feathered hair.” Several steak houses boomed for a while eventually “died out”, all but one known as the York Steak House. At this point in the article it was mentioned that it is a “monument, museum and time capsule to the era of meaty excess” and then called it “the last York Steak House standing.” The author took a short trip to visit the York in person, he took along a friend. Once he started the interview he found that in 1966 two young men opened the restaurant. The York business grew inside malls. In 1977 they sold the business to General Mills. In the beginning the company made an effort “to offer an efficient meal that was friendly to the family and pocketbook.” The original group of restaurants fadded in the 1980s and “nosedived into oblivion.” The last of the “realm” opened in 1974 across from Westland Mall. It is unlike other modern restaurants in that it is “windowless, uses bland colors with branding that was not vetted by a focus group or marketing expert.” The parking is in the rear so it is not easy to tell if it is “boom or bust mode.”  The article went on the say that “Diners are not greeted by a host or ordering kiosk, but instead a long hallway with photos of the many types of steak that can be ordered.” At the end of a path of a block window wall toward a worker who takes your order and offers you a tray, silverware, napkins and a salad plate, there are more photos of food offerings. Here’s something I didn’t realize “Your selections are written on a carbon paper order slip in a cryptic code which allows your items to start cooking” as you continue on the path to the cashier. The cashier “studies the order slip” and composes the total bill. Then you pick up the tray and head for a table or booth of your own choice. A server comes to make sure you have sauces and condiments and asks if you need a refill on the beverage you chose as you went through the line. As the author and his friend sat and waited for the meal to be brought to them they observed the ambiance and decor. He mentioned that he had a “sense of traveling back in time.”  There is dark wood panels, vintage carpet (well maintained) and a knight’s suit of armor as decor. The author said “we were in the 1970s”. The meal was about the same cost of his dad’s time. There was no smoking inside as there was in the ‘70s. At the salad station in the line as you passed the order station, the dessert counter there is a salad bar offering all green salad foods as well ad coleslaw and macaroni salad. There were three steak sauces on the table. When the meal arrived it was steak, potatoes and rolls. The steak was cooked to his choice, there was onions and mushrooms on top. The rolls were large, fresh and hot. In the article the author went on the say “Was my meal exceptionally superior? No. Was it very good and a great value for the price? Absolutely!....all of my hopes and wishes were exceeded.” He ended the article by relating that “Objectively that is a value price on any quality index.” And a visit in time.

I am making meatloaf and baked potatoes for dinner. 

Joy