December 30, 2025 a thought for today, The less said the sooner mended. Dutch Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This challenge was titled “black and white”. This was an image that I shot using an in camera setting that also generated a vignetted affect. 

Next is one titled “joy”. This is one of my sister’s twin great grand daughter. It
was taken many years ago, she is a teen now. I was always happy to see that smile. 

The last one is called “a memory”. This is my great grandson as he was enjoying his first birthday smash cake. He also is a teen now. 

Life today. I like these kinds of days. I begin work on something I want to complete in a given amount of time. Then something comes up that detours my attention to something else. It usually calls for researching something, so there goes my thinking in that direction for a few minutes. Sometimes it may be away from the computer for a minute or two. Whatever it is it almost always results in a new and additional value for the day.

I got the bulletin complete and a return on the proof reading so I think I will try to go to church to print tomorrow. I have been hearing that we will be getting accumulating snow by Thursday morning. It will be good to get it done before the snow starts. 

It is another of the very cold days. I was glad I didn’t need anything away from the house. I did, however, want to get at least one of the challenge photos taken today. An idea for one of them meant that I had to dash out for a bit. I put the jacket rushed out. I got the shot I had seen in my thinking. Then as I was rushing to get back inside I saw a second one that I needed . I think I was out the door a total of about ten minutes. 

I am still debating on whether I want to leave our tiny little Christmas tree up for the full twelve days of Christmas or put it away for the new year. 

The word for today is principle.  When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it into practice. Otto von Bismarck. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson. The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice. George Eliot. So act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world. Immanuel Kant. To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle. Confucius. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. Thomas Paine. Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Confucius. A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice. Thomas Paine. A precedent embalms a principle. Benjamin Disraeli. Adversity is the trial of principle. Without it a man hardly knows whether he is honest or not. Henry Fielding. Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. John Adams. Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. Thomas Jefferson. Nothing is gained, everything is lost, by subordinating principle to expediency. William Lloyd Garrison. The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice. George Eliot. The dread of evil is a much more forcible principle of human actions than the prospect of good. John Locke. We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end. Benjamin Disraeli. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson. An Army is a collection of armed men obliged to obey one man. Every change in the rules which impairs the principle weakens the army. William Tecumseh Sherman. The value of a principle is the number of things it will explain. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations. Thomas Jefferson. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice. Thomas Paine. 

Article summary. When I chose an article to share I get pretty much attracted by the title before I read it through thoroughly. By that token, I chose this one mostly by the work “kindness”. It may not totally fit my first thoughts entirely but will relate, possibly show even an additional form and more wisdom than I first envisioned. I find it possible , for me, in most any reading I do to learn something more than I figured I would. The article is called  Kindness: What I’ve learned from 3,000 children and adolescents. John-Tyler Binfet. Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia. At the conversation.com. There was a study involving over 3,000 students covering the subject of kindness. According to the article the results would surprise “parents and educators”. It started by mentioning some of the most “kind”things people do, such as spending money on others or doing kind acts for “varying social connections”. Those acts “boost” well being. Then the article related that there is no way to measure “perceptions of kindness” in a school surrounding with out a plan. Another discovery was that little is known about how kids may understand and “demonstrate” kindness. The author got together with some of her peers to develop a “School Kindness Scale.”  One of the things they viewed was how kids, grades 4 - 8, thought kind acts happened in their school. First of all they found that girls seemed to favor a higher “perception” of kindness than boys did. Next they found that there is a decrease in “pro-social behavior” from childhood to adolescence. When kids in the study were asked what it means to be kind three of the response were helping, respecting and being encouraging. As they observed in the study they found that to young kids kindness meant helping physically and emotionally as well as in sharing. As the article went on they named three types of kindness, “responsive” kindness as when one reacts to support a need of another. Next is the “intentional kindness”, a type that is planned. The last type is called “quiet kindness”. The article explained that some children consider a teacher is kind in the teaching process itself, this would be an example of “quiet kindness”. To better explain that concept it said that it takes “perspectives and a low need for recognition” to see that type of kindness. As the article was ending it mentioned that “students needed support in being kind.” It ended by saying that teachers and parents are in a position to encourage children to be kind. 

I am having creamed chicken on toast as adapted to my “three way” health diet.

Photos in my life today

The first upload in this section is “a goodbye to 2025". After some thought the idea of looking in a rear view mirror would be a metaphor for leaving something behind.

Next is a challenge titled “flame”. It is one of my candles of which I have many. I am reluctant to light too many of them with a kitten in the family now. Fortunately in her many adventures into exploring she hasn’t knocked anything over. But she is very inquisitive. 

The last upload for now is “signs of winter”. This is the one I saw as I was
coming back from taking the rear view mirror shot. 

Joy

a bonus photo ..... aha spring

 December 28, 2025 a thought for the day, Pull gently at a weak rope. Dutch Proverb

Photos of my life yesterday

The first challenge was “family”. This is a symbol of my family. These two are young people now and still growing to adulthood in my beautiful family. 

Next is “my choice” and another of my current series of a "touch of color." 

The last for yesterday way was “food”. This is the Christmas ham being sliced by m son-in-law. 

Life today. This has been a fairly eventful day as far as Sundays go. I got a good start on this letter and mild stops for researching  before I left for church. I left a half hour early so that I could print the poinsettia dedication sheet that we should has had in the bulletin the Sunday before Christmas. 

We had a couple of visitors that haven’t been there for a while. It was nice to see them. The sermon was very thought provoking as is normal when we have this regular visiting minister. As I look forward to and is usual for me it was good to share the beginning of the new week with my church family. 

I made a stop at Kroger on the way home. I needed to pick up some medication and some things I forgot to put on my regular grocery order. I made a couple of short detours on the way home for photo shots. 

Now that the holiday busyness is over I hope to get back to working on my “dream” (explanation in due time), then for free time to get to enjoying some of my Christmas gifts. 

The rest of today is the “keep the Sabbath day holy” and to refresh and restore.

The word today is possess.  Memory is a man's real possession...In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor. Alexander Smith. Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them. Aristotle. Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already possess it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  Be entirely tolerant or not at all; follow the good path or the evil one. To stand at the crossroads requires more strength than you possess. Heinrich Heine.  All my possessions for a moment of time. Elizabeth I. To have little is to possess. To have plenty is to be perplexed. Lao-tzu.  I have everything, yet have nothing; and although I possess nothing, still of nothing am I in want. Terence.  Happiness is the perpetual possession of being well deceived. Jonathan Swift . Oh, bird of my soul, fly away now, For I possess a hundred fortified towers. Rumi.  To have another language is to possess a second soul. Charlemagne.  I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man. George Washington.  I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess. Martin Luther.  Weak character will neutralize all of the other possible good qualities a person might possess. Robert Greene.  All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still. Thales.  Man is the only animal capable of reasoning, though many others possess the faculty of memory and instruction in common with him. Aristotle.  The true triumph of reason is that it enables us to get along with those who do not possess it. Voltaire.  He who possesses art and science has religion; he who does not possess them, needs religion. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  To be perfectly happy it does not suffice to possess happiness, it is necessary to have deserved it. Victor Hugo.  Good nature is worth more than knowledge, more than money, more than honor, to the persons who possess it. Henry Ward Beecher.  He does not possess wealth; it possesses him. Benjamin Franklin.  Whatever you cannot understand, you cannot possess. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  To possess taste, one must have some soul. Luc de Clapiers.  

Article summary. I thought the title to this article fit the season though it is passing into a new year of gatherings of different kinds than the holiday sort. The title is:  How family gatherings unlock forgotten childhood memories that help us understand who we really are.  Jane Aspell, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University. At theconversation.com. It started by mentioning that many times as the holiday gatherings begin to happen there is some trepidation of being together with members of the family who there your childhood gatherings every year. You may feel that they will be thinking back to the years when were the child seeing year as you grew. You may feel they will treat you as though your were still that young person. The memories of the things we learned as we grew may have caused embarrassments and silly childish times. As there is worry about this kinds of memories there is also the other side of the coin. There is the chance to share forgotten memories the many that were of happy times. These memories all come together to show how you have become the person you are today. A description of this process is likened t to a jigsaw puzzle. As I read in the article there was a study to see how this process works. There was a method of having people in the study see themselves in a “childlike version”. In part of the study they found that when they were able to “see” themselves as children they were more able to recall their memories. They were able to “see” how they moved to the person they are tody. The article ended by saying “all our past selves are etched into our brains” and finally “Christmases past never really melt away.”

I found a recipe for a pizza that fits my “three way” diet (three health issue I experience). That will be dinner. 

Photo in my life today

This challenge was “shiny”. I saw the shiny spot in Bobbi’s metal food dish. I had the camera in my hand and grabbed the moment. 

Next is assignment is titled “sunshine”. A day in bathed in golden light.

The last for today is another of the “my choice”. Another fire hydrant, this one with a red top and a red middle. 

Joy 

     

 a bonus image of light for today

December 26, 2025 a thought for today, Roses fall, but the thorns remain. Dutch Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first upload challenge was “festive outfit”. This is one of my daughter’s holiday outfits. Her grand daughter, one of my great grand daughters, had on a matching design. Hey, three generations enjoying the celebration. 

The next upload “a special day”. This is an image of under the tree before
opening. 

The last upload was “Christmas highlight”. The trees that I have shown this month have been green in color. This one set thing in being white in color. It is my granddaughter’s. It add a new touch to this particular season.

Life today. This is a letter that I started before I left the house Thursday. So I will finish it and send it today, about yesterday. 

Yesterday Sue and I made our visit to one part of our family. It was full of food and laughter. It was the kind of joy we both need in our advancing years. There was a “gag” gift from my daughter to her son-in-law that we all got a kick from. I also enjoyed my son-in-law’s new fancy sweat shirt. Afer a meal full of different delicious and lovely made selections came time for opening gifts. We were also joined by three Sphinx hairless cats who seemed to enjoy the festivities as much as the rest of us.

As Sue and I started out our travel today there was fog so thick that we couldn’t see the middle of the metro park at the end of our block.  As we traveled it did get less and less thick. This was the day for the Chiasmas celebration of another section of the family, the other part of yesterdays family gathering. 

When we arrived most of the other guests were already there. The kids were all charged with the Christmas joyful sprit that belongs to children. The children at todays gathering were on the younger side of the age scale than yesterdays group. Their excitement was warm and catchy. The house was full of people and pets here and there also having fun or wanting to. The food was plentiful and enjoyed at two tables. After the food it was time to open gifts time, and even more excited laugher and squeals. 

Soon after the opening was over, Sue and I had met our limit on time for excitement. We were the first to leave as we were from the celebration yesterday. We were the seniors in the group in both instances.

All in all both days were a living dream. May it be so again.

The word today is poetry.  Love is the poetry of the senses. Honore de Balzac.  Personality is everything in art and poetry. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  In the French language, there is a great gulf between prose and poetry; in English, there is hardly any difference. It is a splendid privilege of the great literary languages Greek, Latin, and French that they possess a prose. English has not this privilege. There is no prose in English. Victor Hugo.  Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them than the poet or artist has actually expressed. Their highest merit is suggestiveness. Nathaniel Hawthorne.  There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking. Jean de la Bruyere.  Poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself. He who has a contempt for poetry, cannot have much respect for himself, or for anything else. William Hazlitt.  The world is full of poetry. The air is living with its spirit; and the waves dance to the music of its melodies, and sparkle in its brightness. James Gates Percival. Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject. John Keats.  Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are rather of the nature of universals, whereas those of history are singulars. Aristotle.  Poetry is a sword of lightning, ever unsheathed, which consumes the scabbard that would contain it. Percy Bysshe Shelley.  Poetry must be made by all and not by one. Comte de Lautreamont.  Science arose from poetry... when times change the two can meet again on a higher level as friends. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Romance like a ghost escapes touching; it is always where you are not, not where you are. The interview or conversation was prose at the time, but it is poetry in the memory. George William Curtis. Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds. Percy Bysshe Shelley.  Conversation may be compared to a lyre with seven chords - philosophy, art, poetry, love, scandal, and the weather. Anna Jameson.  The drama is complete poetry. The ode and the epic contain it only in germ; it contains both of them in a state of high development, and epitomizes both. Victor Hugo. Eloquence is the poetry of prose. William Cullen Bryant.  Poetry is something to make us wiser and better, by continually revealing those types of beauty and truth, which God has set in all men's souls. James Russell Lowell.  

Article summary. For me the holiday season extends at least into the New Year. So I thought this article might be useful and informative. The title is Rest is essential during the holidays, but it may mean getting active, not crashing on the couch. Stacy Shaw. Assistant Professor of Social Science & Policy Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. At the conversation.com. The story opens by saying something that many of us experience “trouble unwinding at this time of year.” She went on to explain how she is relates to this kind of story, she is a “psychologist who studies how rest supports learning, creativity and well-being.” She says that people need downtown the rest of the day too. Some of the ways we can accomplish this is physical and social as well as creative activities. She goes on to relate that during times like the busy periods of holidays and other stressful times we need to purposely take time to recharge and “recover”. These periods can help reduce the strain with walks out doors where we may socialize or listen to music. Many kinds of hobbies also help in the calming of emotions. There have been studies that show walking, playing a piano or doing calligraphy can lower a stress hormone. She mentioned something I haven’t given much consideration. In “robust findings from psychologists and researchers” it has been found that watching TV is a period of  leisure that many people like. They found that if those who watched it more than four hours a day found it less satisfying as those who watched it two hours a day. It has also been found that some who have used social media to relax did not leave “re-energized ” affects. So this observation has shows that there are types of “relaxation”  that may be different for different individuals. An example off taking a relaxation break would be similar to opening presents at Christmas. Instead of going from the gift opening example don’t immediately go into a form of house hold chores. Other problems that come into play during the holidays are daily routines, daylight, temperature and diets. All of those have a part in how we sleep. Sometimes we have to lower expectations. Toward the end of article it is mentioned that at times it is best to be “accepting negative emotions rather than avoiding them”. The author said that may “reduce depressive symptoms.”

Holiday dinner earlier today and yesterday....something light tonight. 

Photos in my life today

This upload challenge assignment is titled “comfort and joy”. It is at the time of opening. A time special time especially for the kids. But our Savior is in each of us and the gift in my personal beliefs are in his memory and honor.

Next is titled “comfort and joy. I picked this picture up from yesterdays collection.

The last upload for the day and ending the family gatherings for this season is “Christmas wishes” and my sincere wishes for the new year and the whole world.  

Joy 

 

 December 24, 2025 a thought for today, Better return half way than lose yourself. Dutch Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This challenge is titled “holiday mode”. It is my tree this year once more along with a couple of the packages in front. 

The next is “candy canes”. These are a couple I happen to have on hand. 

The last upload for yesterday was “Christmas lights”.  My  neighbor has his fence decorated for the season. 

Life today. I got most of the printing done. When I started the printing I found that I had apparently not saved the poinsettia dedication to the flash drive that I print from. I tried downloading it from the email I had sent to Patti but that didn’t work. I decided that I will go in early on Sunday to print it and ask the Sunday School girls to pass them out. I had company coming today to start the holiday. Tomorrow and Friday are both open for the festivities of the biggest celebration birthday of all time, and though it is different than the way I celebrated when I was young. However, it is a family day. 

Tami and Andy were here today. It started the twelve days of Christmas one day early for me, a happy day. These kinds of days remind me I am loved and cherished as each of all of the  children, children in law, grand children and great grand children that God gifted to me are. Sue and I hope to spend some of tomorrow, Christmas Day, at Natalie and John’s with that part of us. The next day will be at Lowell and Rebecca’s with the other part of us. As age progresses time in one place is a little less comfortable than being in our daily surroundings so the visits will be short and sweet. The time spent is a hug that will last the Twelve Days and beyond. 

Tami and Andy and Gideon spent a whole lot of time on their Christmas gift to me (and Bobbie, the kitten). They handmade a cat tree for us. The tree branch base itself was tracked down by Tami and Gideon. It is a branch that had been struck by lightening so it really is a tree. Bobbi hasn’t given it a try yet. New things take time for her to be accustomed to. She also seems to have become a recluse when it comes to people in the house other than Sue and me.

I will not be at our Christmas Eve service but the feeling is already here for me. Driving at night is a problem now and needs to be curtailed for my own safety as well as anyone elses on the highway. 

So today has been a full day and I am about to call it quits except for dinner. 

The word today is perseverance.  By perseverance the snail reached the ark. Charles Haddon Spurgeon.  The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will; and the other from a strong won't. Henry Ward Beecher. Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. John Quincy Adams.  If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius. Joseph Addison.  Victory belongs to the most persevering. Napoleon Bonaparte.  Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little. Plutarch.  Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance. Samuel Johnson.  Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak. Thomas Carlyle.  Perseverance, secret of all triumphs. Victor Hugo. Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure. George Eliot. In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm... in the real world all rests on perseverance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure. Benjamin Disraeli.  If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance. Samuel Johnson. If we bestow but a very little attention to the economy of the animal creation, we shall find manifest examples of premeditation, perseverance, resolution, and consumate artifice, in order to effect their purpose. William Bartram.  

Article summary. I’m looking at another article visiting on a subject concerning animals and their time in a holiday of humans. Why you should spend more time with a dog this Christmas. Panagiota Tragantzopoulou, Visiting Lecturer, University of Westminster. At conversation.com. It opened by saying what many of us know that as the days get shorter some of us tend to experience a mood change as well as less desire to be active in many ways. There may be a feeling of loneliness too. Now comes the notion to add a family member in the form of a pet, many times it is a puppy. There lies the companionship and as the article says it is “different from” the “human” kind. The author says they are most times  “emotional stabilizers.” I agree with the author in that they offer “a steady emotional tone at home” and allow finding that  “expressing emotions becomes easier – whether that is joy, frustration or sadness”. As he daylight grows less and less the need for the nearness “intensifies”. Even a little time with a therapy dog helps the mood. Research has shown that walking a family dog can lead to connection with other people adding a Pick Me Up and a sense of belonging. The article went on to mention that later in life loneliness may lead to depression as well as “cognitive decline” and heart disease. Companion animals can be near vital in these circumstances. Taking care of the animal can be important in itself allowing for exercise in the feeding and care as well as going outside with them for fresh air. Having a pet, the article is referring to a dog, I find a kitten too,  sitting comfortably in a room with you and waiting for you to come home is a great stress reliever and “central to their emotional well being.” This kind of relationship may not work for everyone but for people like me it is irreplaceable. There is always the cost in the health and care of your pet. After all they are family and need care too, that’s the best part of the whole story, the feeling that you are needed. The ending sentence is this says “connection and companionship long after the Christmas lights fade.”

It is going to be white chili and glazed salmon for dinner. 

Photo is my life today

This upload is called “Christmas Reflect”. What better way to reflect than on a day like today but the church Christmas decoration for ‘our head of staff”. 

The next upload is “magic”. This a kind of photo magic. It is one of the railroad bridges through our downtown. I used it to create a frame out of the original itself. 

The last is “goodies”. My father was a city fireman. Every year at Christmas he was given a box of chocolate covered cherries by a local candy maker. 

Joy 

     a yellow ribbon symbolizes hope, remembrance, and support

 December 22, 2025 a thought for today, Everyone for himself, God for us all. Dutch Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first challenge upload was “presents.” There are a few outside of the image. Much of my gift giving has become by gift certificates. 

The second upload challenge was titled “festive food.” This was among the many Christmas sweets we had at a fellowship and carol sing. 

The last upload yesterday was “my choice” and is one of my “still life” series.

Life today. Yesterday’s sermon was a good one. One particular passage in the message stuck with me. The quote, We are not humans having a spiritual experience. We are spirits having a human experience. I found that it is a quote attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit priest. Anyway I sat up and took notice when I heard that in the message.

Lowell and Rebecca took Sue and me to York Steak House to celebrate my belated birthday. They were baby-sitting two of my great grand sons, William and Benjamin. So I got to visit with them too. Being with them is a rare treat. 

I didn’t have time to upload yesterday’s photo and Instagram page so I completed setting them up and uploading the first thing this morning.

I made finishing touching to the Poinsettia dedication page and started and finished next Sunday’s bulletin. It looks like I will be able to complete the printing for them as well and the Christmas Eve bulletin on Wednesday morning. 

Taking care of my hydroponic house plant garden is on the schedule of my cell phone that reminds me when it is time. I want to get to making the vegetable soup for dinner so I may put that one on the agenda for tomorrow. 

The word today is passion.   Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. Henry David Thoreau.  Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even. Horace.  I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it. Rosalia de Castro.  As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears. John Locke.  Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored. Abraham Lincoln.  Those who tread among serpents, and along a tortuous path, must use the cunning of the serpent. Thomas Becket.  I am persuaded, you will permit me to observe, that the path of true piety is so plain as to require but little political direction. George Washington.  Adversity is the first path to truth. Lord Byron.  Let the path be open to talent. Napoleon Bonaparte.  Reasoning draws a conclusion, but does not make the conclusion certain, unless the mind discovers it by the path of experience. Roger Bacon.  A trail through the mountains, if used, becomes a path in a short time, but, if unused, becomes blocked by grass in an equally short time. Mencius.  This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks and destroys all who are in its path. Sitting Bull.  Most safely shall you tread the middle path. Ovid.  He who walks in the eightfold noble path with unswerving determination is sure to reach Nirvana. Buddha.  What by a straight path cannot be reached by crooked ways is never won. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Few cross the river of time and are able to reach non-being. Most of them run up and down only on this side of the river. But those who when they know the law follow the path of the law, they shall reach the other shore and go beyond the realm of death. Horace.  If you would have your son to walk honourably through the world, you must not attempt to clear the stones from his path, but teach him to walk firmly over them - not insist upon leading him by the hand, but let him learn to go alone. Anne Bronte.  The best path through life is the highway. Henri Frederic Amiel.  

Article summary. This is one of those articles centered around one of my favorite subjects which can be any thing connected to the welfare of animals, wild and domestic. The article title is Polar bears are adapting to climate change at a genetic level – and it could help them avoid extinction. Alice Godden, Senior Research Associate, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia. At the conversation.com. It opened by mentioning that the Arctic Ocean is at the warmest it as been in 125,000 years. It went to relate as I gather that two-thirds of the polar bear population will be extinct y 2050. Apparently there is a study going on something that is happening in the “genome” of the bears that may eventually allow them t0 adapt to warmer temperatures. Bears in different parts of the world are being studied in the effort to help along the efforts to keep their bodies and circumstances alive as a species. As the article moved on it relates how the melting ice in the habitat of the bears leads to the land that the bears need to stand and moves on to find food and find each other.  With the melting ice there is the “high levels of rain” as well as wind and the steep mountain sides. I learned in the article that the DNA of the bears can in time adapt. In the mean time the ice is still melting. Another thing that in part of the studies is that environmental stress can be too strong and detrimental to make improvements faster.  There has been some studies that hopefully show that the genes and the stress may be adapting. This all involves their ability to adapt and times when food is scarce. In ending the article it is stated that climate change is “reshaping polar bear habitats” which includes the land they live on, their physical changes and their food sources and availability. 

It is going to be homemade vegetable soup and peanut butter toast for dinner.

Photos in my life today

My first upload to day is “Santa”. I only had one ‘Santa’ available this holiday season. I have used this one before. On this one I used a filter to make it a little more festive. 

The next upload is “holiday bokeh” (Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur in the out-of-focus parts of a photograph..... "haze" or "blur," representing pleasing, soft background). This is the tree in my house.  I was playing with settings and got his image. 

The last image for today is “wrapping”. In this major holiday seasons many photo challenges are the same in many different photo groups. I belong to four. So I will sometimes have repeat single word assignment. This was one such event. This is my Christmas ‘wrappings’ for this year

Joy 

this is one of my relaxing landscape scenes taken in a warmer season

 December 20, 2025 a thought for today Your friend lends and your enemy asks payment. Dutch Prover

Photos in my life yesterday

This upload challenge is titled “tradition”. This seems to be a typical gift to friends and neighbors. It is a welcome holiday offering.

The second upload it “something red”. This is my porch swing offering a handy
place for some of the snow to rest. 

The last upload here is “winter”. The park down the street from my home always looks nice after a newly fallen snow. 

Life toady. I “wasted” part of the morning doing research on some healthy diets for myself along with gaining knowledge about foods that I haven’t experienced before. So it wasn’t “wasted” after all just a detour from other projects needing attention. Heck that can be construed as fun some of the time as it was for me today. I glanced at the clock and realized it was almost time to go for my curb side grocery pickup. I wanted to leave a little early so I could drop off the newsletters that I finished yesterday and last night. 

At least it is warmer today than it was yesterday when the temperature was as low as 18 degrees. Today, right now, it is 46 degrees. There is talk that it may be near 60 degrees on Christmas day. 

My sister and I have been trying to find egg nog that is sugar free to no avail. I have a half gallon of Silk Almond milk in my grocery order today so I will be making some egg nog with a touch of Splenda in it 

My neighbor stopped by a little while ago and among our varied conversation we landed on AI. We both recognize that things are creeping in to our daily lives like searches on google, the smart watches that many people are wearing and “exciting” depictions of famous people on social media. It is my humble opinion that its use is a lot like the use of fire. Fire can destroy as well as comfort. Use of common sense using AI as in using fire.

The word today is passion. The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions. Alfred Lord Tennyson.  He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason. Cicero.  Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things. Denis Diderot. Judgement, not passion should prevail. Epicharmus.  Waste no more time talking about great souls and how they should be. Become one yourself.  Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule them, and to deny them admittance than to control them after they have been admitted. Seneca.  Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them. Napoleon Bonaparte.  The law is reason, free from passion. Aristotle.  Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.  As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion. Antisthenes.  If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins. Benjamin Franklin. Indulge not thyself in the passion of anger; it is whetting a sword to wound thine own breast, or murder thy friend. Akhenaton.  Endurance is the crowning quality, And patience all the passion of great hearts. James Russell Lowell.  Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, history, romance and art would be useless. Honore de Balzac.  Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further. Soren Kierkegaard.  Man is only great when he acts from passion. Benjamin Disraeli.  Sudden glory is the passion which maketh those grimaces called laughter. Thomas Hobbes. On life's vast ocean diversely we sail. Reasons the card, but passion the gale. Alexander Pope.  There is only one passion, the passion for happiness. Denis Diderot. Strength of mind rests in sobriety; for this keeps your reason unclouded by passion. Pythagoras.  Intellectual passion drives out sensuality. Leonardo da Vinci.  Men are rather reasoning than reasonable animals, for the most part governed by the impulse of passion. Alexander Hamilton.  He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  

Article summary. Jane Austen was a renowned English novelist. Now and then I use some of her quotes. Since this is the Christmas season and since this is the 250th anniversary of her birth I think this article is most appropriate for a good knowledge base. This is also an ineresting look at another Christmas in another time. The title is Jane Austen celebrated Christmas with dancing, dinner parties and dangerous games. Meg Kobza, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Newcastle University. At conversation.com. The article opened in mentioning a thing or two about a Georgian Christmas season, a game called Snapdragon and one snatching a raisin from brandy on fire. Apparently a gone by festive occurrence in Jane’s time. We have our own traditions for the holiday season sharing with family and friends. Jane’s fun and experiences appeared in much of her writings. As the article progressed it was mentioned about the time Jane met one of her first “romantic interests”. It was in 1795 that hey “crossed paths”. She told her sister they, she and her new Irish friend, spent some time dancing and sitting together “flirting, laughing, and gossiping” as he holiday season passed. She published six books that made her one of the “best-known authors”. The stories showed the “legacy” of her life. As I continued to read the article I found that the Christmas season began on “St. Nicholas Day on December 6" and ended on January 6, the “Twelfth Day.” During that time she enjoyed all the festivities of the season. Christmas day was a “quiet affair” spending the day at church with family. Twelfth Night was the “spotlight of the season”. That was the fun night fulled with “merriment”. I found in the story that some of those festivities came from the Romans. One event was based on a slice of cake, called the Twelfth Night cake that held a dried bean and a dried pea. The cake was cut into slices for the people participating in the fun. One would get the dried bean became the king for the evening, the dried pea the queen. The people came in costumes. Jane was dressed as “Miss Candour”, one of her book characters, one year. As that character she made “outrageous comments in loud whispers for all to hear!” After that were games flaming brandy. This twelfth day of  Christmas holiday celebration went on all night with the next day being a “bank holiday”. On January 7 all decorations were removed with the wreaths and garlands set on fire to “ward off bad luck in the new year”. The article ended by relating that we might miss the experience of this kind of Twelfth Night as “Georgians and Austen herself” celebrated the season to the fullest in “reverence and enjoyed the festive season to its fullest.” 

I am going to try to make a chili with pumpkin. It is a recipe I found that is suppose be safe from all of my health. 

Photos in my life today

My first upload is “my choice”. It is one from my series of “still life”, three red apples and a dish towel. 

The second upload is “festive colors”. It is an image of my Christmas tree that has a paint like filter added. 

The third upload for this day is “decoration”. This on is from the my
archives. It is one of the building in downtown Columbus.

The last one for today is “by candle light”. I have this vanilla scented candle on my red cloth against a dark background as part of our Christmas decor.

Joy

  

                                                                Christmas past

 December 18, 2025 a thought for today, Honor once lost never returns. Dutch Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This challenge upload is “a gift.” I have a few in this shot, not just one gift. This is the way age has elected for me to “wrap” gifts. 

Next has the assignment title “unbalanced.” The steps are in an uneven pattern
making a relaxed path as well as some being slightly unlevel in their setting.

The last upload is “lights.”  I have fewer lights on the tree this year not knowing what our kitten would want to play with. I kept things to a minimum so there wouldn’t be to my breakage if she gets overly excited. 

Life today. Yesterday was my birthday. First, all of the volunteers at food pantry got together and sang happy birthday to me. One of the volunteers who most closely shares in our senior years wanted to take me to lunch for my birthday.  Timing wasn’t quite right. Lowell and Rebecca were going to take me out for dinner. Again, timing wasn’t quite right for that. I have experienced the timing thing connected to my birthday many times before with this birthday being within the Christmas season happenings. As I was coming home from this day at pantry Andy and Tami came to visit bearing gifts. I now have a terrarium kit to work with I built them when I worked in a flower shop. Then I “built” a couple for myself over time. This one will bring back sweet memories along with some fun and enjoyment. Next as I was catching up on computer work I had a call from Texas. My sister-in-law called. She never forgets a birthday. As we were talking Lowell stopped on the way home from work to give me a birthday hug.  I had several email birthday wishes from photography friends and out of town family including one virtual visit.  All in all a very nice birthday.

It’s been a productive Thursday/printing day. The bulletin and newsletter are printed. After a small glitch with the computer in opening the newsletter file.  I had made arrangements with Dorothy to help me to come in on Friday to finish it. As I was listening to the weather predictions, last night I was thinking I should cancel finishing the newsletter Friday at church. The temps aren’t going above 28 degrees on top of freezing rain all night, not conducive to being outside. With the two of us being senior citizens, I felt it best to cancel those arrangements. I brought the newsletter home to finish on my own. My “relaxed” Friday will be a bit different. 

On my way home I looked for a couple of the photos I need for today. When I was home for a bit I helped Sue order one of those smart watches so she can better keep track of her heart and diabetes measurements. This was just after such a watch and its works saved our neighbor’s life, Sue and I together decided she should have one too. 

I got a quick start on the letter for today, an upload left over from yesterday, and cataloging the photos, I started the laundry. 

Today we are having a one day break in the below freezing temperatures that we have been experiencing. It is 53 degrees right now. 

I have stated a plan of searching how to manage my overall diet regimen trying to find food I can safely eat in caring for my diabetes/chronic kidney disease/acid reflux. This looks like it is going to be a major project leaving a very sparse selection of food. 

The word today is pace.  If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau.  Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm. Robert Louis Stevenson. Ambition never is in a greater hurry than I; it merely keeps pace with circumstances and with my general way of thinking. Napoleon Bonaparte.  It generally happens that assurance keeps an even pace with ability. Samuel Johnson.  Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Henry David Thoreau.  I am disturbed when I see the majority of so-called Christians having such little understanding of the real nature of the faith they profess. Faith is a subject of such importance that we should not ignore it because of the distractions or the hectic pace of our lives. William Wilberforce. Great changes cannot take place in the minds of generations of men without a corresponding change in their external symbols. There must be a harmony between the inner and the outward condition of human beings, and the progress of the one must keep pace with the progress of the other. William Godwin.  Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Lao Tzu.

Article summary. This is a little different than some of the more recent articles I have summarized and shared. I think it may touch a little on human sentiment in connection with entertainment. The word sincerity is what caught my attention. The article title is  “In a cynical industry, Rob Reiner’s films taught us the power of sincerity.”  Adam Daniel, Associate Lecturer in Communication, Western Sydney University. At the conversation.com. In the beginning of the article it pointed out that as an actor in All in the Family it “concealed his sharp political intelligence beneath blunt humour.” As the article moved on it related that the intelligence and humour would define his work. I liked the part in the article that used the words “character, contradiction and vulnerability” to describe how he used those concepts for his work in comedy. Some of his work became “influential” in the genre of comedy. I also like the way the author paid tribute to his capability in “brilliance and satirical sharpness” as well as “emotional range”. I think this article honored him in its choices of  mentioning the “unforeseeable” in some of  the entertainment performances he accomplished for people to enjoy and relate to. One way they explained it was how he was able to “explore broader questions of humanity.” Even though some of the subject matter could be “untoward” in spots,  his “work insisted on sincerity as a strength.” This allowed people to enjoy his work “without embarrassment”.  As an ending the author said his work of building characters was “masterful and sincere”. 

I think dinner tonight will be soup and a sandwich. 

Photos in my life today

My first upload today is “round circular”. This is icon is hanging in the hall of my church. 

The next upload is “lights” as the one at the top was also assigned from a different photo club. I spotted this outdoor Christmas tree as I was driving through the neighborhood. The lights were lit even thought it was daylight. I liked the feeling. 

The last upload today is “tree”. This Christmas tree is one in my church as
may be evident by the structures on either side of the tree. I think it also adds to the reason for the season of the tree.

Joy  

a dream break from winter