January 20, 2024 a thought for today, Home is not a structure, but something in your heart. Albanian Proverb

This first upload for yesterday was “breathtaking”. We don’t live in an area where there are the “typical” breathtaking views of nature. But who is to say breathtaking can’t be a surprising gift of nature as this sun through the clouds on a snowy day in Ohio. 

The next upload for yesterday was “cute”. Many things that our pets do are “cute”. Sometimes it is a question of catching those moments with a camera. Also many thing young children do a re cute too but right not I don’t have any small children around the house. 

A third upload for yesterday is “stars”. In my mind, since I don’t get the change to see many stars in the sky the stars on our flag are something to honor and capture. 

Life today. Yuck!! Cold. Brian came to shovel the snow for me yesterday. He cleared the driveway, two porches and steps, and in front of and behind Sue’s car so that she could get out. The temperature hasn’t gone up to clear the spots that couldn’t make a completely clear driveway but the sun is helping a little with that. 

The first upload for today is “is in the kitchen”. Right now I have a sink of dirty dishes to I had to be particular in the shot I captured for this upload. 

I got out of the drive way perfectly to go for the curb side pick up today. Everybody in traffic seems to be moving along as though there had been no weather changes. 

I don’t have anything special on the agenda for today. I decided I want a more “relaxed” day today and tomorrow, I hope. I have the church newsletter on the uphill side now. I am waiting to three articles for church members to finish it. I was able to carve out some time after I put the groceries away to upload another image of the Hoge windows to the Instagram/Facebook pages. I hope to have photo and descriptions of other activities at Hoge to upload, maybe weekly or biweekly. Hopefully Sunday School activities and other interesting activities at Hoge.

The next upload is “balance/symmetry”. Sometimes those two properties need some thought and looking around. What better way than nature to find them.  

I have had to be imaginative for some of my photos for today. This is one of the four days a month that I need four photos a day as opposed to the three I need for the other days of the month. With this cold weather and my age bracket I have difficulty getting away from the house for other kinds of photo opportunities to fit the daily “assigned” shots. So “we take what we can get”. Some of it requires imagination or shots pulled from old archives, some of which are kept for that very reason....future needed shots.

The third upload for today is “cool colours”. This is a graffiti work of art not far from my home. I pass it every day. So I decided to capture it an share it. 

The word for today is two.  Every truth has two sides; it is as well to look at both, before we commit ourselves to either, Aesop.   All human wisdom is contained in these two words--Wait and Hope, Alexandre Dumas.  We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak, Epictetus.  There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. Buddha.  There is an invisible strength within us; when it recognizes two opposing objects of desire, it grows stronger. Rumi.  Two things awe me most, the starry sky above me and the moral law within me. Immanuel Kant.  Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest. Napoleon Bonaparte.   Lost - yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever. Horace Mann.   Make a habit of two things: to help; or at least to do no harm, Hippocrates.  Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings. Publilius Syrus.  Destiny has two ways of crushing us - by refusing our wishes and by fulfilling them. Henri Frederic Amiel.   Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world. Voltaire.  There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself - an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend who loves you dearly. Antisthenes.  

This is one of the days of the month that I have four uploads. This one is “coffee”. I don’t drink coffee any more. No one here in the house does. I do keep some instant coffee in the house. This one is ground in a stick like cone so that is what I was reduced to use as a prop. 

The article. I found another story about the history of Downtown Columbus. It started out, as most, do about the earliest part of our town....Franklinton and Lucas Sullivant who founded it in 1797. One thing new that I leaned in this article is that as we know it was “established” on the west bank of the Scioto River....it was known as the low side. That part of the town was named for Ben Franklin. Franklinton was a “sleepy frontier community for the next 15 years”. Many towns were formed by settlers wanting bettern living conditions. The difference for Franklinon, according to the article, is that in its beginning and initial expansion was by speculators and politicians. As we’ve seen in other stories, Chillicothe was the capital until “legislators” complained that the distance was difficult. In an effort to help with that it was moved to Zanesville. Zanesville “was incapable of housing all of the assemblies”. So it was back to Chillicothe for a bit. A law was passed the the capital to to be within 40 miles of the center of the state. As matters of picking a suitable capital moved along four men from Franklinton donated 10 acres and agreed to construct all the buildings for the government. Ten of those acres were set for a state penitentiary the rest for the Capitol and grounds. A “cash bonus of $50,000" was offered so that a the Ohio Capital would be on the bank opposite Franklinton. This new development was called Ohio City. But that name only lasted from 1812 to 1816 when the name was changed but the state legislature to Columbus. This name came about by a tavern owner named Joseph Foos. He respected Christopher Columbus for his courage of sailing the world. The Statehouse was built near what is now State Street and South High Street. The first mayor who was 22 years old, Jarvis Pike, use to grow corn and wheat on the front lawn of the Statehouse. Life went on in the new capital in ebbs and flows. In the 1800s it was a “staging area and supply center for the military during the War of 1812". After the war ended the population “declined” and land prices fell. In 1831 the Ohio and Erie Canal came to town by way of a feeder canal. Another promising growth was the National Road reached Columbus in 1836. By the time of the Civil War the town was connected to othe areas by telegraph and railroads. It became and “army town once more”.  As with the end of the War of 1812 the end of the Civil War the city began to fall into a decline again. As the town reestablished itself the government out grew the Statehouse and new Statehouse began construction. There was a major delay on the work due to the expiration of the charter making Columbus the statee capital. Wok was restarted in 1848 and completed in 1857. Before the new one was completed the old  Statehouse burned down. Around that same time period the riverfront was home “to several coal yards, factories, derelict boarding houses, and tenements”. Plans to make improvements failed. Finally nature intervened when the Scioto River flooded in 1913". The flood destroyed the factories, tenements and some houses. The river water “reached a depth of 26 feet in Franklinton, closing that part of the city for more than six weeks”. Then floodwalls were built on both banks of the river. In 1897 the Wyandotte building was constructed and was 11 stories I height and considered the first “skyscraper” in Columbus. Later the “modern skyscraper” the LeVeque Tower was built, 47 stories in height. Life in the city continued to decline and reestablish. Plans were made to “transform” the riverfront. The depression and World War II came along. Many people left the downtown area and moved to suburbs. Plans continued to rebuild the riverfront. The Bicentennial Park opened in 1976. This was the real beginning “of a new history of Downtown Columbus that would lead to an eventual rebirth of city life”. The Scioto Mile added to the new riverfront. The Nationwide Arena District brought sports venues. Continuing in growth was the Short North, Victorian Village and more. Still moving on is the High Street Corridor, downtown lofts and condos, interesting to “those who work in the area and retirees wanting to downsize”. Some older buildings are being renovated to add to the growth of the newer lofts and condos. For the convenience of those folks there are “many restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues that are within a short walk or bike ride.”

I think we are having hamburgers and fries for dinner. 

Joy