December 15, 2023 a thought for today, The measure of our sacrifice is the measure of our love. English Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “I hear....” ....the Christmas bells (every time the door opens or closes).They are hanging on the front door so when there are guests or any out front activities the bells ring.

The next upload for yesterday was “black and white”. Sometimes black and white image seem to have a different hidden message than the color version. The “hidden” message is more inward than a visual find.

The next upload for the 14th was “mood”. I think there are several ways to express the feel of a mood. My favorite is a vignette. I used the dark form of a vignette on this one as opposed to the lighter or white color. I think it gives more of a thoughtful mood, a deep kind of feel. 

Life today. This is one of the days that a deadline was met yesterday, the next one isn’t due until next week so I can pass through today on the “easy going” side. I have a list of upcoming events that I have responsibility for so today I can pick which one I want to approach. Hopefully this will lessen the stress of several deadlines at one time that will be the certainty of next week. So this morning I got back to the newsletter. I was able to finish it up to the part I need from Patti and from Tom and any others who want to contribute. My part as the “editor/printer/publisher” is filling in the calendar, changing ongoing dates, updating the prayer list, inputting the session minutes, updating food pantry totals, researching and adding recipes, adding house hold tips, adding a bit of Christian humor, adding the monthly birthdays of congregants (the last five have been my choice each month to add to the document, I guess that is a job description of editor/publisher (smile)), Oh, and I nearly forgot, the photos on the photo page that I pass them through Photoshop for clean up and sizing then placed to fit the designated space.....that’s all done and waiting. Yesterday I was able to get a start on the poinsettia dedication page also due next week as well as two anthem lyric inserts to type. Patti only had three sets of the dedications for me yesterday I need the rest before Wednesday afternoon next week after that food pantry day. 

The first upload for today is “decor”. When I first saw this day’s upload assignment I thought of the Christmas tree and it ornamentation of the season rather than “decor” of the house in general. I added St. Nick doll behind some of the branches as though he were peaking thought ...... you know “have you been naughty or nice”.

I have a birthday to share with one of my great grandsons on Sunday. So, yesterday after my printing time at church, I stopped to pick up a little something for him. I will also send him a gift card from Amazon so he can make his own choice. 

I have to take a break from this writing in a minute to work in the kitchen for a bit. Besides cleaning out the frig and loading the dishwasher I think I will make a chocolate pudding cake. Then there will be photos of the day to set up, shoot, edit and upload. The end the day I will do my online grocery shopping for curbside pick up tomorrow. 

The next upload today is “abandoned”. This could be called “thrown away” or “trash”. I chose abandoned. Someone was careless or thoughtless or un concerned about others leaving it for someone else to clean up and disrespectful of not only nature but other humans also.

The word for today is natural. Man cannot afford to be a naturalist, to look at nature directly, but only with the side of his eye. He must see through and beyond her, Henry Thoreau.  If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature's way, Aristotle.  Yet if anyone believes that the earth rotates, surely he will hold that its motion is natural, not violent. Nicolaus Copernicus.  The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope. Samuel Johnson  Regrets are the natural property of grey hairs. Charles Dickens.  First feelings are always the most natural. Louis XIV. There is no desire more natural than the desire for knowledge. Michel de Montaigne.  There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents. Thomas Jefferson.  The best books for a man are not always those which the wise recommend, but often those which meet the peculiar wants, the natural thirst of his mind, and therefore awaken interest and rivet thought. William Ellery Channing. Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Francis Bacon. Words may be false and full of art; Sighs are the natural language of the heart. Thomas Shadwell  Our admiration of the antique is not admiration of the old, but of the natural. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience, Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

This photo a day upload assignment is titled “transparent”. This is one of my hydrophobic plants nicely showing off its healthy roots as well as it variegated leaves. It is home in mason jar which is, of course, see through...transparent. 

The article. We are interested in the football buckeyes but this article is about the other buckeyes. One lady has extended the interest in the buckeye candy by writing a book about its history and some changes and additions to the sweet treat. She calls it “Ohio Buckeye Candy: A Sweet History.” She mentions how some people have made their own additions to the basic recipe and lists some in her book. One person mentioned to her “a buckeye from Toledo”. This one has added Rice Krispies to the mix. Some like the new crunch and flavor others were “abhorred by the idea.” The author went on to say that the “buckeye wasn’t originally a buckeye.” The story is that a lady bought “chocolate-covered — fully covered, mind you — peanut butter balls” in 1964. Some other lady who was married to an Ohio State University student got the recipe and that is where is started. When she first dipped them in the chocolate they didn’t get completely covered. When she held it up on a toothpick for her husband to see she said “it looks like a buckeye.” She gave batches to her friends. Hers were peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar then chocolate chips and paraffin wax for the shell. They became so popular that they ended up in bakeries and confectioners. They have ended up at Anthony Thomas, QVC and John Glenn International airport, and “tailgate parties, holiday cookie trays, and school and church bake sales.” One local church sales over 5,000 and sale quick. One tip from this article, the toothpick hole shows they were made by hand. Overtime there have been many adaptations with other things added to the recipe things other than the Rice Krispies mentioned earlier. M&Ms have been added. There is one place that adds buttercream. Some of the other flavors are gingerbread, snickerdoodle, candy cane, peppermint, and white chocolate raspberry. Once the peanut butter ball is made and mounted on a toothpick it is dipped in chocolate chip wax mixture to cover about two thirds of the peanut butter ball. It is put in the frig to chill. 

Today is one of the days of the month that I have a fourth photo a day upload. This one is simply titled “a glass of water”. I couldn’t think of anything to add some ....pizazz so I added a few ice cubes to detract from the loneliness of a simple glass of water. I didn’t have any lemon slices or I would have added that too. 

 It’s the laid back, take it easy night......pizza!

Joy

                                                                        out and about