November 29, 2024 a thought for today, Truth may suffer to death, but it never dies. Mexican Proverb

The first upload yesterday, Thanksgiving, was “family Thanksgiving”. This was several of us from our families that are in one way or another separated from others parts of families. We had a warm and wonderful gathering while remembering others in our individual lives.

The next upload yesterday was different, “peeling paint”. This one may have been better for a different
 ay. But then life is live every day. 

The last upload for yesterday is “noisy”. My sister was driving home. I asked her if she could think of anything “noisy” that we may see on the way home from Thanksgiving dinner. We both considered semi-trucks but there were none on the highway that day that we could see. As we passed this housing development with a pond, we spotted a small group of ducks. We made a hard left turn into the housing development and pulled up beside the pond......isn’t photography interesting? 

Life today. Update: still no car. The holiday slowed things down even more. Lowell is helping me with questions and answers at the mechanics and insurance on this subject at this point. He will understand more what people are talking about than I do. He can also make better decisions than I do as age seems to encroach on that  fundamental part of my life. 

The pressure of getting the printing done and the newsletter finished and mailed is over. I have a relatively easy and obligation free week coming up now. I finished the newsletters here at home yesterday before we left for Thanksgiving with part of the family. This morning Sweet Pea and I took them to the post office to be mailed. 

I took care of the above mentioned errand after all of my virtual visits the first thing this morning.

The first upload for today is “door knobs”. The challenge has an ‘s’ at the end so I tried to get two nobs in one shot. There are some very nice features on this 2024 Camry that can be very enticing.  You can set the inside temperature of the car for what you like and set it at automatic. It does a great job of meeting that request. There are some knobs and buttons that meet instant demands (AI perhaps?) and, I’m sure, things I haven’t discovered yet. I don’t want to get to use to it. I can’t afford a 2024 model anything.

It’s COLD outside!!! It’s noon right now and the temperature outside reads 32 degrees and that is after a couple of hours to “warm” up. We still have a couple of weeks before winter actually starts but it seems to be raising is cold side already. 

The next photo for today is “giving”. I have not gifts wrapped up to take photos of so I made a happy birthday card just for this upload.

The word today is poor. We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor. Samuel Johnson.  We are poor, feeble, and blind mortals when the eye of the Almighty looks through all worlds and by his power executes all things aright, and by his grace, he makes us all rich in Heavenly Gifts. In distress and in bereavements, we can look only to him. From mortals like ourselves we can derive no help. Sam Houston.  It is the mind that maketh good or ill, That maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor. Michel de Montaigne.  A poor man is like a foreigner in his own country. Ali ibn Abi Talib.  Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is. Benjamin Franklin.  Nowadays nothing but money counts: a fortune brings honors, friendships; the poor man everywhere lies low. Ovid.  If the work is poor, the public taste will soon do it justice. And the author, reaping neither glory nor fortune, will learn by hard experience how to correct his mistakes. Jacques-Louis David.  How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? William Shakespeare.  It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards. Lewis Carroll.  The poor dog, in life the firmest friend. The first to welcome, foremost to defend. Lord Byron.  Religion without humanity is very poor human stuff. Sojourner Truth.  I met in the street a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, his cloak was out at the elbows, the water passed through his shoes, - and the stars through his soul. Victor Hugo. Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth. Aesop.  The poor man who enters into a partnership with one who is rich makes a risky venture. Plautus.  He is not poor that hath not much, but he that craves much. Thomas Fuller. Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor. Benjamin Franklin.  The rich are always advising the poor, but the poor seldom return the compliment. Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield.

The last photo is “a moment”. There’s one of those every moment of the day. This one was while Sweet Pea and I were on our way home from the post office. She loves to go for rides and look out the window. She also likes to stop at the park to watch some squirrels and birds and any other critters. 

This article isn’t from a local paper and is about a year old but I thought it contained some interesting information about another of another way our “pet” critters fill some very useful occurrences in our lives. The title is kind of jarring but gets to the point. “Got rats? These cats are here to help”.  It seems to be another story showing how animals can be valuable partners to humans. I was working on this missive and heard on TV news station as I was working, about this very subject going on in another place in our country today, hence todays news. Apparently there is an International Cat Day. That was the reason for this article on the Cat Day of 2024 (a couple of months ago). At that time they were “celebrating all felines, not just house pets, but working cats that provides pest control to businesses across the D.C. region!” In the story it related that many cats grow up in the streets and don’t get “socialized”. Some of these cats have been “put to work”. In this article it tells about a program called “the Humane Rescue Alliance’s Blue Collar Cats program”. It is noted here that over 400 cats have been placed through this program to different businesses. They use their own instincts in getting rid of rodents eliminating the use of toxic pesticides. They also are less expensive than using a pest control service. According to the article they can be more effective than other means. One if the cats in the article was named Rocky. He is friendly and is often featured on the Instagram of the bushiness where he works in Alexandria, Virginia. Since Rocky became an employee there “haven’t had any issues with mice.” The article related that Rocky is an “exception” to most of working cats that have been studied. He is social and people-friendly. The program for the working cats prefer that the cats not be too social in a business setting. On a show I was watching at the same time as I was using this article it was mentioned that feral cats living on the streets are usually not social making them seemingly right for work in some businesses. When these cats are caught and taken to humane societies they are the best suited for adoption in a business situation. On that televison show the cat “actors” were employed by a beer manufacturing company. Cats as pets can do the same job at home while being social. Another cat mentioned in this article was named “Mac and Cheese”. She set up her own living space under a small grocery store basement in Washington DC. She runs away from humans. Her “humans” have given her cat toys and a climbing tree. Mac and Cheese and her partner have  beds under shelves. Before Mac and Cheese took up residence “the store struggled with mice that got into their fresh bread, pasta and chocolate bars before the cats arrived”. Now that they have cleared up the living mice they seem to be a deterrent.

DoorDash night, pizza or chicken sandwiches. 

Joy

                        for the hope of keeping things tidy

 November 27, 2024 thought for today, Not even God can undo a blow received. Mexican Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “macro”. This one was taken last year of my Christmas cactus blooming.

The second upload for yesterday was “family heirloom”. This was among some of my aunts belongs. I think it is a moustache cup. 

The last challenge for yesterday was “vegetables”. This is what I had on hand. Some for a stew and some for a BLT. 

Life today. There was “bad” news about my car. Instead of it being fixed and ready to pick up yesterday, they were having trouble starting it. It had to be jumped every time they wanted to start it according to the mechanic. They want to take it to the dealer to have it “diagnosed”. My stress level is at a peak. Today I am still waiting to hear from them. They say that if whatever the problem is is not related to the fender bender the insurance will not pay for it. The loan on the car is only half paid. 

The first upload for today is “pots”. This one I haven’t seen before in my list of challenges with my four  r five photo clubs. 

My regular co-worker on the intake table couldn’t be there yesterday. Diana worked with me again. She is pretty much a “pro” doing it so we worked well together. The flow of guests was not what it has been in the past few weeks. The number of people was pretty good anyway and everyone was able to keep up. We have another pantry today.

With December on the way in I am anxious about getting the things I am making for Christmas done. I need color ink for some of it. I had to place an order a couple of days ago so I am waiting for the delivery.

Apparently the weather is going to make a drastic chance starting tonight. I hope the roads aren’t too bad tomorrow for our trip to Mt. Sterling for Thanksgiving. 

The next challenge was “thankful”. I used this one as a symbol of how thankful I am for friends and family. 

The word today is picture.  The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express. Francis Bacon.  The soul never thinks without a picture. Aristotle.  A picture is a poem without words. Horace. The study of the human character opens at once a beautiful and a deformed picture of the soul. Mercy Otis Warren.  To me there is no picture so beautiful as smiling, bright-eyed, happy children; no music so sweet as their clear and ringing laughter. P. T. Barnum.  A good picture is equivalent to a good deed. Vincent Van Gogh.  Close your bodily eye, that you may see your picture first with the eye of the spirit. Then bring to light what you have seen in the darkness, that its effect may work back, from without to within. Caspar David Friedrich.  Ah, lives of men! When prosperous they glitter - Like a fair picture; when misfortune comes - A wet sponge at one blow has blurred the painting. Aeschylus.  All the world over, the picturesque yields to the pocketesque. Herman Melville.  The language of excitement is at best picturesque merely. You must be calm before you can utter oracles. Henry David Thoreau.  "As the crow flies" - a popular and picturesque expression to denote a straight line. William Henry Maule.    Constant success shows us but one side of the world; adversity brings out the reverse of the picture. Charles Caleb Colton.  

The last challenge upload for today is “pairs”. I found this pair of cream and sugar containers in the church kitchen.  

Article: When I saw the title to this article, it peeked my interest. I know squirrels can be pests but I kind of like them if they stay out of mischief. So I wanted to see what this article had to share. “The title” Ohio colleges are nutty about campus squirrels”.  A new student at Kent State University was “convinced that the school’s mascot was a black squirrel”. There is a large “population” of black squirrels on the campus. There is even an annual Black Squirrel Fest in the fall. The bookstore sells stuffed black squirrel animal. There are several statues throughout the campus. There was a study conducted on 536 campuses in the US and Canada, considering squirrels on campus’. Ninety-five percent “of schools have at least one species and 40% having three or more, according to a 2020 article in The Journal of Mammalogy”. According to the article the “critters as some campus culture phenomenon dates back nearly a century”. There was a story in a1938 “article in The Harvard Crimson documenting one student having been attacked by a squirrel in his dorm room”. There have been humorous questions about guides to selecting a college with the friendliest squirrels. According to the article the “Ohio State University has had countless clubs and social media accounts dedicated to squirrel watching over the years”. In 2023 there was a contest at Ohio University where “more than 1,200 took the chance to name an OU squirrel”.  In “2014 Oberlin’s (college) athletic department pitched a new mascot: the albino squirrel”. In 2019 a new mascot was created. It is a “7-foot-10-inch tall, buff buck-toothed albino squirrel”, it was unveiled during the college’s homecoming football game. The article continued with the history of Kent State’s “history with black squirrels (that) dates back more than 60 years”. Further in the article it was mentioned that “black and albino squirrels are not a different species but rather gray squirrels with a genetic mutation”. One biology professor talked about how there is a “show clear differences from squirrels that live in more natural environments”. 

It seems its going to be another dinner from the freezer for tonight. 

Joy 

                                                                    hope it is safe

 November 25, 2024 a thought for today, We see faces, hearts we know not. Mexican Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “my choice” and is one in a series of reelections. 

The next challenge upload for yesterday was “in a row”. I was in church when I was thinking of the photos I need for today. As I looked around this one seemed to fit for this challenge.

The last photo upload for yesterday was “bus stop”. I have others of a bus stop that have someone waiting. I think that makes it more interesting but I shot this one on my way home. 

Life today. It is becoming a very productive Monday. I got the bulletin done. Tom sent me the necessary information I needed to finish it. I also checked to see if there was going to be an anthem before I counted on it being completely finished. When I stopped on the newsletter yesterday, I had two pages and the photo page to get it finished. I did the two pages this morning so I still have the photo page to do.

It is lunch time and I have the letter almost done. I generated the three photos I need for today and have them run through Photoshop, cataloged (key worded for future searches) and ready for upload. 

An old family friend called the other day and said he may stop by sometime this afternoon. He really knew my sister and her husband more than me. Sue is the “talker” between the two of us....I am more the silent type (except when opening my mouth without thinking), not so much for “small talk”. 

My first upload for today is “black and white. This is one of my fig tree plants. I like the way the veins show in grayscale/monochrome/black and white image. 

I am also waiting to hear about my car. I have been told again that my car may be ready this afternoon. I have a feeling it will be tomorrow instead.  

I think Sue and I are going to Rebecca and Lowell’s for Thanksgiving. I was thinking of going into the church early to print the bulletin and the newsletter. I still may try to do that or stay late (after food pantry) on Wednesday. My helper with the newsletter may not be able to make it this month so I will bring them home to finish them. 

The weather is still a little more like early winter. On Thanksgiving day we are predicted to have some snow mixed with rain, not so good for travel..... over the river and through the woods. 

The next upload today is “from a low angle”. I have to get down on the floor and scoot around it catch several photos of this model.

The word for today is perfect.  To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often. John Henry Newman.  To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle. Walt Whitman.  To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. Confucius.  There is a fellowship more quiet even than solitude, and which, rightly understood, is solitude made perfect. Robert Louis Stevenson.  May the perfect grace and eternal love of Christ our Lord be our never-failing protection and help. Saint Ignatius. The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes. Aristotle.  Practice is everything. This is often misquoted as Practice makes perfect. Periander.  Americans are not a perfect people, but we are called to a perfect mission. Andrew Jackson.  God is the perfect poet. Robert Browning.  Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship. Patrick Henry.  Even imperfection itself may have its ideal or perfect state. Thomas de Quincey.  The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases. William Hazlitt.  The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. Confucius.  No man is so perfect, so necessary to his friends, as to give them no cause to miss him less. Jean de la Bruyere.  The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men. George Eliot.  All faults may be forgiven of him who has perfect candor. Walt Whitman.  Perfect Valor is to do, without a witness, all that we could do before the whole world. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  

The last challenge for the day was “busy”. I just so happened as I glanced out the window this morning there were tree trimmers “busy” in the lawn across the street from me. 

Article: Here is another place in Columbus history that is going to be “re-purposed”. It will be interesting what it becomes. Hopefully there will be something noticable to bo on making history. The title is “This Midcentury Modern Downtown Church Could Soon Have A Whole New Life”. The church they are talking about is “the stately Livingston United Methodist Church” located in a prize part of the city. It is located on nearly two-acre property. The article goes on to say that the building is just an “old” building. It “has roots going back to 1843, originally built to serve the city’s growing German immigrant population”. In 1966 it had to be moved and “rebuilt” due to the I-70/I-71 freeway. There are original clocks left in the building. The parking lot is huge. The property is zoned as “Institutional, which means it needs to serve the public somehow”. The property is also located not far from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital and German Village. Some of the considerations for the property are an art center or a nonprofit headquarters serving Columbus’ diverse communities. Maybe a mixed-use development. The article put it this way “it’s always bittersweet to see a piece of history change hands, but the sale of the Livingston United Methodist Church is also a chance to write a new chapter for this corner of the city”. The church family belonging to the space will “relocate”. For those in the planning of this space, there is high anticipation for what will take this “landmark”.

Maybe a hamburger and fries for dinner. 

Joy

                                 left behind

 November 23, 2024 a thought for today, Love, poverty, and care cannot be hidden. Mexican Proverb

An upload for yesterday was “simplicity”. I like the “simplicity” of the leaves on this plant and the trailing lines of the stems. 

The next upload yesterday was “food”. I was putting together my lunch and decided to take the shot. I was hungry for a BLT but had no bacon, so I used some Spam instead.

The last upload for yesterday was “banana” . That was a hard one for me. We don’t have any banana in the house at the time. I went through some of my cook book for a photo on one that I could use as take with my camera. The only one I could find was this one with many other fruits on top of the bananas. I met the challenge anyway.

Life today. I had a bit of a hint that I may have been getting my car back yesterday, I was counting on it. Well, it didn’t happen. Dawn, from the mechanics office, called me to let me know that one of the parts had not been delivered. She called them and they said it would be there Monday. I may get it Monday afternoon. 

It has been and interesting Saturday. Lowell was coming to help me put a little work into getting the desk top back in the beginnings of working order. He was also going to share a major update to Microsoft. He has a package that he can share with family. I reminded him that I had a grocery pick up and not to come until I got home from there. I probably should have been better at planning with him so that I could have changed the pick up time. Anyway, he came early so that he could get home in time to watch the OSU game. I stayed while he started the downloads..... there was a problem with getting the install started. I went ahead and went to the store.  He was still here when I got back. It looked like I was going to have to call MicroCenter next week letting them know that things weren’t working the way they are suppose  to since we brought the computer home last Sunday. I told him to quit for the day. We’ll pick up with it later. After he left I took a few minutes to see what I could do. I got a little further but ran into another glitch so I quit for the day too. I was able to open the program but ran into some problems. We can get back to it later. I wanted to get back to my other chores for the day.

The first challenge for today “my choice” which for now this one a new series of “reelections”.  

I got the groceries put up and then got back to the laptop. 

My photos were problematic today along with the delays in timing  so I went back to my trusty archives. 

One big step for me time wise today was that I got a couple of spaces in the newsletter done. That still leaves two and a half partial pages to get done. Tangled with food pantry days and a visit one day from a person who is a “blast from the past” will be another busy week. Maybe the week after that I can get to the old/new desktop set up as well a finishing up the Christmas calendars. 

The next upload for today is “tattoo”. I don’t know who has tattoos and doesn’t so I pulled this one from my archives. It is my granddaughter with a tattoo in remembrance of her special puppy, Runtly.

The word today is practical. Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it. Aristotle.  The assertion that 'all men are created equal' was of no practical use in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the Declaration not for that, but for future use. Abraham Lincoln.  My objection to Liberalism is this that it is the introduction into the practical business of life of the highest kind namely, politics of philosophical ideas instead of political principles. Benjamin Disraeli. We regard wealth as something to be properly used, rather than as something to boast about. As for poverty, no one need be ashamed to admit it: the real shame is in not taking practical measures to escape from it. Pericles.  All the interests of my reason, speculative as well as practical, combine in the three following questions: 1. What can I know? 2. What ought I to do? 3. What may I hope? Immanuel Kant.  The study and knowledge of the universe would somehow be lame and defective were no practical results to follow. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Theoretical principals must sometimes give way for the sake of practical advantages. William Pitt.  The spiritual is the parent of the practical. Thomas Carlyle. The aged love what is practical while impetuous youth longs only for what is dazzling. Petrarch.  There is the greatest practical benefit in making a few failures early in life. Thomas Huxley.  

The last challenge upload is “dark and moody”. This was smoke from a cigarette (not a smoke from me) with a dark scene behind the smoke screen.  

This article might be helpful in how we rest and get some undisturbed sleep. The title is : “Why do I feel better when I wake myself up instead of relying on an alarm?”  It was written in response to that question asked by a teen. In the beginning of the story that one is in the middle of a dream and just about to be “soaring through the air” when the alarm goes off. It mentions that when questions some say that they “feel more alert than if an alarm or another person, like a parent, wakes them up”. The author is a neurologist has studied “what happens in the brain when you’re asleep”. She says her research involves helping people develop better sleep habits. She goes on to relate how the sleep cycle comes in four stages called REM (rapid eye movement). First comes drowsiness then two deeper stages called “non-REM”. Those two sages take a person deeper and deeper into sleep. The article says that “about 90 minutes after you first fall asleep, you enter the fourth stage, which is REM sleep” where most of the dreaming takes place. These cycles repeat themselves every few minutes up to four to six cycles. As the cycles go on the non-REM cycles become less often and the REM sleep more often. That’s why the timing of an alarm can be part of a problem. The article says to train the brain to wake up at a consistent time every day. The first step is going to bed at a “consistent time”. Another thing in the equation is physical activity during the day as well as avoiding caffeine.  Light is another part of this equation. To much light late in the evening “can interfere with your brain’s production of a chemical called melatonin that promotes sleep”. Morning light helps to “align” a physical rhythm with “the outside world and makes it easier to fall asleep at night”. In the winter it seems that some people need to “use light boxes to simulate sunlight, which helps them align their rhythms”.

I think I will have fish and chips in the air fryer for dinner. 

Joy

                                    closed 

 November 21, 2024 a thought for today, The ones that matter most are the children. They are the true human beings.  Native American Lakota Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “night sky”. When I let Sweet Pea out for her business the last time at night I do a little photo exploring also. This is one sample.

The next upload for yesterday was “knife”. This is one of pocket knives Bob use to carry with him.

Another upload for yesterday was “mysterious”. As I mentioned above after dark, some times I do some photo exploring. This is another of the examples.

The last upload for yesterday was one of those that I have only four of for the month this one is calledv“zig zag”. I couldn’t come up with anything on the spot so I chose this one of the latticework.  

Life today. Things seem to be beginning to pick up, to come back to a form of normal for me. Though my desk top PC is not completely back I am finding it steadily more comfortable working on the lap top. I have had to change some of the best sites I had for information for the letters and some photos. I lost the “saved” urls for the ones I use every day but I am finding some of the old and some interesting new ones. Lowell will be coming to help me with one step getting the “old”/new computer back to where it is working for me. I will be taking my time “fixing” it the way I want it. It will be easier to do that with this back up laptop (thanks to my son Bob, it was his). 

The first upload for today is “arches”. There are several impressive arches in the structure of my church. These are a few of them in the aisle way and the shape of the stained glass windows. 

Since there was predicated snow for today Tami took me for my wellness checkup at the doctor. That helped me in that I didn’t have to use the rental to drive in possible bad weather. More importantly it gave me personal time with my daughter, it could be the first time we have had alone together in more than five years. Thank you God, precious time. 

While I was sitting in the doctor’s office I got an email from the shop with my car mentioning that I may be able to get my car back as early as tomorrow. If it’s not quite ready tomorrow then by early next week. Another happy thing I got while I was waiting at the doctors office was some photo Jessie sent to me of the kids enjoying the snow they were getting.  I love these “hugs” of photos of the kids, all my grandchildren, enjoying their lives. 

After Tami dropped me off I decided to go in to the church, the streets weren’t at bad as the prediction, to print and distribute the bulletin. Someone was there doing some cleaning. It was one of the groups who have used the church for meetings. He is a very nice young man. We crossed paths with one another a few times. It was nice having him there. He reminded me of my son, Bob. 

Once I got back into focus with this letter and finished some work on today’s photos, I got the laundry started. And took a few minutes to have a chat with my sister when she came into the room to get some lunch.

The next challenge is “old and new”. This one was cause for some thought. I finally decided on a  broken egg for “old” and a couple of unbroken ones for “new”. 

The word today is position.  Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. John Adams. A lie does not consist in the indirect position of words, but in the desire and intention, by false speaking, to deceive and injure your neighbour. Jonathan Swift.  In my position you have to read when you want to write and to talk when you would like to read. Catherine the Great.  Painting is concerned with all the 10 attributes of sight; which are: Darkness, Light, Solidity and Colour, Form and Position, Distance and Propinquity, Motion and Rest. Leonardo da Vinci,  Power and position often make a man trifle with the truth. George A. Smith. There is certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place. Washington Irving. My mother sees things but from the distance; she does not weigh them in regard to my position, and she judges me too harshly. But she is my mother, who loves me dearly; and when she speaks, I can only bow my head. Marie Antoinette.  Objects in pictures should so be arranged as by their very position to tell their own story. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  We do not accost a physician as we do any mere nobody; nor a magistrate as we do a private individual. We try to get some advantage from the skill of the one and the position of the other. Walk in the sun, and your shadow will follow you, whether you will or not. Saint Basil.

The last upload for today is “city skyline”. I don’t get to the downtown area much anymore. I started to use a “skyline” view from this side of town. I liked some of the images but I think the downtown view is more what the assignment was meant for. So this one is from my archives.

This article seems to be moving right into the season. It gives a description of another place to visit before the holidays. The title is inviting: “This Living History Village Is Transforming for The Holidays”. The author mentioned about seeing some nostalgia for the holiday season. Our Ohio Village here in Columbus will be closed for restorations for the next couple of yeas. She goes on to mentione that there is another place with “vintage holiday vibes”. It’s a bit of a drive but from the description worth the drive. It is about an hour and a half away and is called Sauder Village. It is in the area of the Hocking Hills. There are activities “offering visitors the perfect mix of history and fun”. As one wanders through the village there is a glow of “lights and period-authentic decorations as you learn how holiday customs evolved from the 1850s to the 1920s”. There is a place for kids to write letters to Santa to be dropped in a “special North Pole mailbox”. Along with a walking tour there is a horse drawn trolley ride as well as a train ride. AS the article ends it mentions the “whether you’re creating family memories or enjoying a festive night out, Sauder Village is the perfect way to celebrate the season. For more details or to reserve your spot, visit their website at www.saudervillage.org.”

It’s another dinner from the freezer (or a box) tonight. 

Joy

 I just proof read quickly and found several typos....after about sixty years of typing I am having trouble hitting the correct keys due to my carpal tunnel. 

                              relations and more on a city street

 November 19, 2024 a thought for today, In good times, the wise man works for the state. In bad times, he looks after himself.  Chinese Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “mirror”. Brian was here yesterday washing our windows on the lower level of the house. Sue has a mirror on the front porch. Brian washed with along with the other windows. He called me to check and see how I thought it looked. I told him I would take a photo of it. This is it.

The next upload yesterday was ‘noodles”. I had some tuna casserole with noodles left from last night so I decided to use that as my prop for this challenge. 

The last challenge for yesterday was called “how sweet”. I overlooked that challenge on my list and didn’t realize it until my image for the day was uploaded. The image I uploaded was one of my “minimalist” images. But may fit the challenge since it is meant to be a sign of hospitality. 

Life today. I’m whining again....these days are a little tough on me right now. I know they will pass on. I just need to hang in there. It seems one small thing after another. First after experiencing the “bump” on my car, then there were calls with insurances and car repair. Next, to get a car to borrow, one to be even more careful with. Next that car developed a check engine problem, then a new borrowed car. Then the hand of trouble came down with a “broken” computer....I am on the computer with one task or another probably five or more a day. The computer goes to the shop....the computer comes home....three major computer programs are wiped out. Next my tablet that I use for my ebooks and a regular streaming show as well as all of my “brain games”, stops....the (expensive) charging cable has stopped working. ..smile, it will all pass. I think that is enough complaining for one day. Thanks for “listening”. 

Today was a food pantry day. My partner couldn’t be there today so one of the other ladies helped out. She did amazingly well. Everything went well. There were a couple of little stumbles but only took a few seconds to steer in the right direction. The whole thing was good considering that we were having a full load today. We had to close the door since we reached our limit. We have another day tomorrow. My “partner” should be back then to. 

The first challenge and upload for today is “rusted beauty”. I don’t know how beautiful it is but it certainly is thoroughly rusted. 

We had some rain this morning and are predicted to get possible snow in the next couple of days. Just my luck to be driving a car I don’t own in other than perfect weather. Can you tell I don’t like driving a car.....but I like to get places (without bothering others for a ride). 

As soon as I got home and had a bit of lunch I made Sweet Pea “treat” meatballs. I got back to finishing this letter that I had about one quarter of the way done before I left for pantry. I took the three photo a day photos on my way home and loaded them to the cloud between lunch, letter and meat balls. 

The next upload today is “leading line”. I pass this line of trees at least two or three times a week and can’t help notice how the “lead” to what might lie at the end of the line. 

The word today is poor.  What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. Saint Augustine.  If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed. Edmund Burke.  I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. Benjamin Franklin.  It is a melancholy truth that even great men have their poor relations. Charles Dickens.  Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire. William Penn.  All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by one Workman; and however we deceive ourselves, as dear unto God is the poor peasant as the mighty prince. Plato.  From the depths of the West of Europe, a young child will be born of poor people, he who by his tongue will seduce a great troop; his fame will increase towards the realm of the East. Nostradamus.  Eyes and ears are poor witnesses to people if they have uncultured souls. Heraclitus.  An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. Plutarch.  Be generous to the poor orphans and those in need. The man to whom our Lord has been liberal ought not to be stingy. We shall one day find in Heaven as much rest and joy as we ourselves have dispensed in this life. Saint Ignatius.  No one is so miserable as the poor person who maintains the appearance of wealth. Charles Spurgeon.  I have a Creator who knew all things, even before they were made - even me, his poor little child. Saint Patrick. Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship. James Russell Lowell.  We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor. Samuel Johnson.  

The last upload for today is “balloon(s)”. I didn’t have any balloons available so I made my own. As I  was coming out of the McDonalds’ lot I noticed this direction sign and thought it made a good start to a balloon. So I finished making the balloon for my upload today. 

Article: A story about some interesting find in our state and some buried history in the form of “sandstone artifact”. The article begins with saying that these finds connect the city, Cincinnati, with a “civilization from over 2,000 years ago”. They found the five inches tall tablet in 1841. It was found during construction near Fifth and Mound Streets . The UPS business is located a that site now. The land that the tablets were found on was originally a burial mound of the Adena peoples. Apparently when they were found there were other items buried along side the tablets. Some of the items were “copper ornaments, bear-tooth pendants, and polished bone tools”. They say that this little table was a “first-of-its-kind find.” The local newspaper as well as the Smithsonian’s first publication told about the find. Much later, in 1976, the table was “featured in London during a bicentennial exhibit on Native American art”. The article went on to describe the Adena people. They “thrived in the Early Woodland Period (1000–200 B.C.) and left their mark across Ohio with burial mounds and ceremonial earthworks”. The article mentioned that the mounds were “engineering marvels” rather than just piles of dirt. Sacred artefacts were buried there along with human remains (much like the pyramids, maybe). There are many other such mounds in existence. They are landmarks that may “remind us of the vibrant, interconnected cultures that flourished here long before Ohio became a state”. 

Something out of the freeze again tonight.

Joy

                                         abandoned 

 November 17, 2024 a thought for today, Time flies like an arrow. Japanese Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was a “my choice” upload and is one in myself assigned “minimalist” series. This was a coat hanging in the library at church. 

The next challenge upload for yesterday was “mushroom”. I bought some at the
store, I don’t often use them, just for this shot. I will share them with a friend of mine. 

The third and last upload for yesterday was “bicycle”.  I don’t have any around my house anymore (I had a three wheel, adult tricycle that I would like to have back now and them). Someone had left this to run off on another errand I guess. 

Life today. What a day! We’ll call it the saga of Joy’s life. I did my daily early morning virtual visits. Then I got ready for church. Starting the rental car began the “saga” for the day. I got about two houses away from the house and yellow lights started coming on in the panel. One was check the engine light. As I went a little further the car started chugging. I thought well maybe it will stop and went on to church. As was sitting in the church I thought I had better leave now and take it to Enterprise. I made it to the store.....told them the problem. They checked it and gave me another car....Toyota Camry, 2024. So I went back to church. My nerves were wrecked from the experience. The church helped relieve that a bit. Another good thing that came out of church for me was the mention of a relatively new version of the bible that some of our pastors have been referring to from time to time. It is called The Message. I have read the King James verison of the bible clear through a couple of times in my life. I have had a copy of The Message for a couple of years and have referred to it now and then. Two weeks ago I began my journey of reading all the way through The Message. I am finding light bulb moments....some things seem much clearer. 

My first upload for today is another of my “minimalist” series and is “my choice” upload. This is one of the lamps on the walls of our sanctuary. 

I was home for few minutes when Lowell came in with my “fixed” computer. That was wonderful timing on how long they would keep it. Butttt.....all of the software I use is either gone or needs reset.....just like getting a new computer, except that the rest of it, besides the replaced drive is about five or six years old. It started out that we, Lowell and I, couldn’t open the attached Microsoft files. Oh, during the “fix” they had it reinstall Windows. I had things I needed to get done computer wise and Lowell had other places to be so I elected to put off fooling with the “new” computer for now. I will try again tomorrow when my nerves have timed to settle. It may be we will have to take it back for another look. Having the laptop available is even more important. I think due to the problems I am going to have to move the newsletter to one week later than scheduled. 

I am going to get two things done then quit and try to relax and refresh, that’s what Sunday’s are for and this one is needed more than most. 

The next upload for today is “church”. That is an easy one for me. I am there at least twice a week sometimes six times a week. 

The word today is personal. The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. Confucius.  The universal order and the personal order are nothing but different expressions and manifestations of a common underlying principle. Marcus Aurelius.  It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a Free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it. George Washington.  This thing comes to me, not by the hearing of the ear, but by my own personal experience: I know of a surety that Jesus manifests Himself unto His people as He doth not unto the world. Charles Spurgeon.  Nothing endures but personal qualities. Walt Whitman.  Personal experience is the basis of all real Literature. George Henry Lewes.  Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible. We believe good men more fully and more readily than others: this is true generally whatever the question is, and absolutely true where exact certainty is impossible and opinions are divided. Aristotle.  Perhaps the most delightful friendships are those in which there is much agreement, much disputation, and yet more personal liking. George Eliot.  We may be personally defeated, but our principles never! William Lloyd Garrison.  Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public. Epictetus.  The achievements which society rewards are won at the cost of diminution of personality. Benjamin Jowett.  

The last upload was also was taken at church. The challenge was “timeless”. The trinity is timeless. 

Article: Those of you who know me know I am an animal lover, well here’s another “love of my live”, house plants. This is a relatively current article about some benefits and uses. There is a National Indoor Plant Week that sparked the author to write this article. This now national holiday is celebrated “during the third full week of September and is an opportunity to recognize the importance of bringing nature into our built environments.” The benefits of house plants are many as in “incorporating indoor plants into our homes, offices, and other indoor spaces”. The article mentions the uses and benefits of house plants in indoor spaces. One is air purification. NASA has gone a long way in showing through research that pollutants can be absorbed or removed from the air with plants. Certain ones are better for one thing and another plant for another thing. Formaldehyde gas is one of them along with toluene (can cause among other things, birth defects). These two can be found in paint, upholstery, and carpets. Studies show that another of the things house plants help with is mental health and well-being along with a reduction in stress. The article goes on to mention how “indoor greenery can brighten up spaces, especially during long, gray, Ohio winters”. Another of the benefits of house plants is enhanced cognitive function. According to the article some research shows that plants can help with learning abilities by increasing “memory, concentration, creativity, and problem-solving skills”. Here are still more proven benefits to indoor plants, physical health, people in work spaces end to “use fewer sick days and experience fewer headaches, sore throats, and coughs”. It has been shown that living with plants reduce blood pressure and hear rates. Noise reduction is another value especially in indoor spaces while “creating a more peaceful environment”. The article promotes how plants add to economic benefits by increasing productivity and reduced absenteeism. Plants add peace in their addition to visual enhancement.

Dinner will come from the freezer tonight. 

Joy

                    in the shade and shadow (sounds like a song)