July 18, 2024 a thought for today,  It's better to see once than hear a hundred times. Russian Proverb

One of the challenge uploads for yesterday was “my country”. I seem to be using the flag a lot in the last few days. Probably because I felt that image fit the challenges one way or another. 

The second upload for yesterday was “photographers choice”. I like the lines of this chair and the textures. I was “playing” with settings on my new phone. This is one of the photo I shot. I added a painterly filter to make it look a little more “vintage”. 

My last photo upload for yesterday was “blue and white”. I was going to use the blue and star field of the flag but I thought it would be a little too much for now. So I looked around for something else that fit the challenge requirements. Then spotted my recycle container. 

I have learned over time and with this “hobby” that I have enjoyed off and on since I was 13 years old (71 years ago) that photos serve many purposes. They are memories captured as a once in a life time moment, a memento of history, as art, as education in observation for one and life of others around me and the art of nature beyond human capabilities, as a stress reliever, a visual diary and so much more. These are the reasons for this, my personal, gallery. Join me in my adventure with your own collection. The don’t have to be perfect to tell a story.

Life today. Yesterday the bulletin was done so there was some time to start on things in the newsletter. I stayed around the house for the photos that were needed for today. Most of the challenges were right here instead of going out on excursions as is sometimes the necessity. 

Tami may be stopping by today. Gideon is looking to “work” for some bits of cash for something he wants to purchase. We have put on the thinking cap to come up with things we need done so we can add to his earnings. Anyway, I wanted to get home about the time I usually do from printing so they could come any time. They are so much easier to capture now days with cell phone cameras. 

Printing and distributing was done around 9:00. I was there when some of the group who meets at the church every morning came so I was able to let them in. The delivery truck from Mid Ohio had arrived by then. We were getting a load to stock the food pantry shelves. Some of the others would be coming to help unload were there. 

This first photo challenge upload for today is “photographers choice”. This is a group of cone flowers in another of the several small gardens at the park. 

I made a stop at the bank for some money needed for Brian. He will be here in a day or two to cut the grass. Then on to drop the mail off and stop by the park for more photos. 

Once home it was back to the computer for the letter and Photoshop. Also a start on the laundry.  

We are getting a bit of a break in the high temperatures for the next couple of days. We may be about to shut off the AC and open the doors.

The next photo for today is “stack of books”. I went into the church library when I finished the printing and was on my way back to the office. I wanted to use some of the books as my props for this challenge. I didn’t want to remove all those books to make a stack on the table so I shot the image in landscape format to get all the books in the frame. Then in the darkroom (Photoshop) I rotated the image to portrait format to meet the “stack” part of the challenge. I don’t know if that was “cheating” but it filled the bill. 

The word today is here.   I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen. Martin Luther.  Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal. Thomas Moore.  Here is the rule to remember in the future, When anything tempts you to be bitter: not, 'This is a misfortune' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune.' Marcus Aurelius.  Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible. Leo Tolstoy.  No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience. John Locke.  The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences. Saint Augustine.  But what if I fail of my purpose here? It is but to keep the nerves at strain, to dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall, and baffled, get up and begin again. Robert Browning.  There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense. Thomas Hobbes.  To know of someone here and there whom we accord with, who is living on with us, even in silence - - this makes our earthly ball a peopled garden. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Stop searching here and there, the jewels are inside you. Rumi.  While a man is stringing a harp, he tries the strings, not for music, but for construction. When it is finished it shall be played for melodies. God is fashioning the human heart for future joy. He only sounds a string here and there to see how far His work has progressed. Henry Ward Beecher. 

The last photo a day upload for today is “yellow”. This one was taken at church as the one above was. I was watching for something yellow as I was on my bulletin placement trip through the church.

Article: When I am looking for some “news” article to summarize here sometimes it is a word in the headline that catches my attention. In this one the word was audiobooks. When I was employed and had to drive between three cities in Ohio I listened to a lot of autiobooks while I was on the road. When my son was active military he said he read a lot of autiobooks when in route from one place to another. I was glad to find in this article that another use has some value to children as they grow intellectually. The title is telling about some research in teaching methods. Maybe findings in the study can help older “children” too.  If stated out talking about how kids in this time in history are watching YouTube much of the time they are home and in the house. They relay that “staring at a screen for too long can negatively impact children’s well-being – even creating dependency”. This kind of activity has shown that it can cause less curiosity and self control as well as less emotional stability. This activity can actually cause anxiety and depression. The author is exploring “technology in a way that can positively impact children’s ability to think and communicate”. This is where audiobooks come in she says it “present(s) a compelling case” in looking at this idea. She made a point that around three and a half years of age children “comprehend simple stories”.  The article goes on to mention how this practice is very handy in car rides as well as at bedtime or quiet play times. When it comes to school aged children this is a way to encourage them to “experience books”, since autiobooks “rely solely on listening” which causes imagination. This further helps lead them to “problem solving” that leads to intellectual development. The introduction to audiobooks may lead to better attention span and ability to concentrate and better “retention”.  Unlike watching YouTube stories the audiobook allows for creating a “vision of the scenes and events described in a book”.  One other thing the article mentioned was how audiobooks may help to “preserves eyesight”. Not only are audiobooks  “powerful tool for enhancing a child’s cognitive and linguistic development”, audiobooks may be available free for use from the library.

Maybe hamburgers for dinner. 

Joy

        Someone must have out grown the chair....there’s a memory