June 16, 2024 a thought for today, He who does not open his eyes must open his purse. German Proverb

 

The first challenge upload for yesterday was “I know....”. I like this image for that challenge due to the quiet and peace I know there seems to be under the shade of those trees at the park.

The second upload for yesterday was “low angle”. I mounted the cell phone on the small bendable tripod and flexed it to fit as flat on the floor as it would go. I offered Sweet Pea a treat and set the camera to snap at a ten-second span as she came to fetch the Pup-Peroni.

The next upload for yesterday was “mail”. Instead of collecting some envelopes I have handy, I decided the use the ones that were in the mail box and the mail box itself. 

 

Yesterday was another of the days I have four challenges. This one was called
“history of my home town”. The one icon I think of when I think of an earlier Columbus is the tower. So for this one I shot the photo from the far westside heading downtown so that a bit of it also shows Rt. 40 which is also a bit of the history of Columbus. 

Life today. Sunday at last.....a day to renew and refresh. Church was a little more lively today. We had some visitors and we had a soloist who sang How Great Thou Art with such purity and feeling it made hearts sing and eyes sting with gladness. Another pleasant surprise was that Sunday School for our children was kept in tact for the summer. It seemed there was going to be a summer hiatus but was rethought. 

I am sticking by my beliefs in Sunday as a day of rest and will keep things to a minimum. I am downloading part of todays Sunday church service and that will be it for today except for this letter and my photos which both to me are a form of reflection and renewal.

My fist upload for today is “favorite time of day”. I have several times of the day that are a “favorite”. One of them is in the late evening when I let Sweet Pea out and I sit to enjoy the evening. The moon is the only thing visible that early in the “night”. 

This is going to be the “busy” week of the month in my life. I have two days of food pantry and the monthly newsletter as well as homemaking chores to keep up to date. Sweet Pea gets her monthly shot brought on by the torn ACL incident this Monday. So my calendar has at least one additional personal obligation noted every day this week.  

The weather the last couple of days has been mostly gorgeous. There was one outburst of sleet coming down in bucket-like force one evening for about five minutes then bright sunshine until dusk. However the next few days, up to a week, are being auspicated as fearsome temperature wise. 

The next upload if “I create...”. I have a few “hobbies”. The most prominent right now is crocheting. This is a hood that I am starting for myself. I am also finishing another project for my great grandchildren. 

The word today is gain. Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for. Socrates.  The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. Epictetus.  Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists. Blaise Pascal.  All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Edmund Burke,  There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain. Plato.  She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life. Susan B. Anthony.  To appreciate the noble is a gain which can never be torn from us. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness. Josh Billings.  If God has given you the world's goods in abundance, it is to help you gain those of Heaven and to be a good example of sound teaching to your sons, servants, and relatives. Saint Ignatius.  Everywhere in life, the true question is not what we gain, but what we do. Thomas Carlyle. 

The last upload for today is “butterfly”. I haven’t seen any this season so I tried with a lame attempt at origami for this challenge. Origami is one of the “hobbies” I would like to learn but find my  dyslexia interferes with any progress I think I am making.

Article: Well, I am an animal lover so this one was interesting to me. Maybe it will be of some interest to others as well ......  as it was to the person who wrote it. The title is “When pets are family, the benefits extend into society”. It started out mentioning something I think most people have observed by now.....there is a growing number of people around the globe that “consider pets as part of the family”. Pets allow us to enjoy their companionship as well as “going for walks, playing and even talking to them”. They can be “particularly significant in single-parent families, where a pet can be an important companion to children”. Children develop a higher level of empathy and self-esteem “compared to those who do not have pets”. The article mentioned that thinking of pets as family member’s makes it easier to take care of them. The chores become less stressful “than they are for those who consider pets as property”. Care of the pets shows in studies that “showing that interactions involving pets, especially if we care about them, can have a health-protective effect”. Doctors in Germany and Australia found that visits to their office were 15 percent fewer than in those of non pet owners. According to the article studies show “a decreased risk of coronary artery disease, a reduction in stress levels and increased physical activity (especially through dog walking)”. Other studies show that during a stressful period in ones life blood pressure is lowered. Another shows that both humans and dogs show levels measuring health activities of the body are more beneficial in both the human and the dog. There is a higher survival rate in individuals of older adults, 65 to 85, who have been treated for hypertension. There is a sad side to the partnership of pet and adults. The loss of a pet can cause a “deep grief”. In some it “is common to mourn in a way that is very similar to the feelings and behaviors associated with the loss of a human family member”. The article claims that a “bond” between humans and animals “is not just good for human health, it can also help build community”. The bond can bring about “increased human-human interaction. In most societies there are laws and institutions to “protect companion animals from cruelty and neglect”. There is a side to animal welfare that is numbing to animal enthusiasts. There are some policies for euthanizations that need to be standardized and also some dark use of animals for experimentations and for animal fighting as a sport that need legal attention. I learned in the article that there is an “Underdog Railroad in Toronto, Ontario, rescues dogs and cats from high-kill shelters as well as those offered “free to a good home” online”. There is also an organization that “provides older adults with help to care for their pets as well as rescuing abandoned older dogs”. The article ended with this statement “Recognizing the ways that companion animals enrich human lives, and understanding the depth of the affection between many humans and animals, may be the key to not only better health, but to improving the welfare of society as a whole.”

I don’t know what dinner will be yet.

Joy 

                                 Oops....repair needed