February 27, 2025 a thought for today, Before you start up a ladder, count the rungs. Yiddish Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “spring”. The crocus aren’t poking their heads up yet and I couldn’t find he ones I have in the archives. I used this Iris from the archives instead to represent spring. 

The next upload is “z”. This only thing I had that I could think of that started with a z was zippers. This is one from one of my laptop carrying cases. 

The last upload for yesterday was “pastels or soft colors”. This is one of my four seasons afghans. I made one with colors representing temperature ranges for winter, spring, summer and autumn. 

Life today. It has been another of those busy mornings. I went to church a little earlier than I usually do on a Thursday. I had three different documents to print and felt it would be an extra hour or so. It went well. I also reloaded a memory card in the camera as I was passing through the Sanctuary. 

On the way home I dropped off the mail and was on the look out for my photos for the day.  Then, of course, there was a stop at McDonalds for brunch. 

The first upload for today is “free choice”. I have used one from one of my series of “partial” images. This is the wall, a chair back and the window from the dining room to the living room. 

Once home, back to the computer with a break to start the laundry.  I will get a start on putting the finishing touches on newsletter, you know....seals, labels, stamps and mail.

We have some “maintenance” starting on the house tomorrow. A new air conditioner will be put in and the time for starting on the siding will be set up. It sounds like this weekend is going to be busy. I am rescheduling the grocery pick up since there will be other appointments to keep in its place. 

The next upload for today is “a single subject”. I saw this left alone grocery cart in the middle of the parking lot and decided to use it for today. 

The word today is state.  The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. Diogenes.  Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. John Adams.  Without health life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering - an image of death. Buddha.  I cannot adequately express the horror I feel for a man who can be so base as to veil his hypocrisy under the cloak of religion, and state the base falsehood he has done. James K. Polk.  The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. Tacitus.  The state comes into existence for the sake of life and continues to exist for the sake of good life. Aristotle.   We are in a wrong state of mind if we are not in a thankful state of mind. Charles Spurgeon. If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. Thomas Jefferson.  In the state of nature profit is the measure of right. Thomas Hobbes.  The root of the kingdom is in the state. The root of the state is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its head. Mencius.  In words are seen the state of mind and character and disposition of the speaker. Plutarch.  We are by nature observers, and thereby learners. That is our permanent state. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  In a state of grace, the soul is like a well of limpid water, from which flow only streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree. Saint Teresa of Avila.  Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise. Francis Bacon.  Cheerfulness, it would appear, is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within, as on the state of things without and around us. Charlotte Bronte.  

The last upload for today is “culture”. This can be a fit for many choices. I chose the fitness center. So many people are joining them now, it seems part of a “culture”. It show the number that may be in the building with all the parked cars. They had to be in that building because it is on a corner with other building not so close. 

Article: As I was about to retire from my occupational work life, maybe a couple of years before that monumental occurrence, I had the distinct impression the young people coming into the work force of life at least around my observations showed a work ethic much different than the type I grew up with. It, a work tradition of value, seemed non existent. It seemed they had no, respect for the idea of a work value in principle. This article’s title awoke those thoughts for me.  It seems to change from generation to generation....come to think about so does the rest of life’s happenings....what happened to “the good old days”.  The title is “Managers can help their Gen Z employees unlock the power of meaningful work...” − here’s how. This is a study of two people at the University of Connecticut. It opens with mentioning that “Generation Z professionals – those born between 1997 and 2012 – increasingly seek personalized career paths, managers are tasked with helping employees find meaning in their roles while also meeting organizational goals”. It goes on to say that many see the view of Gen Z’s as “desire for meaningful work as a form of entitlement, but dismissing it can be costly”. It covers the idea that people who find their jobs “meaningful” find satisfaction in what they do which in turn boosts productivity. There was a study conducted “to understand how managers can help younger staff thrive”. The study showed that adding value and feeling was crucial in shaping workplace meaning. Some other studies shoed that Gen Z professional thrive if diversity and inclusion are encouraged and lead to positive relationships. Some of what they suggest to help in finding meaning and value are as follows.  Finding what energizes one at work. This leads to enthusiasm. It is also important to help them see their strengths by highlighting “how their skills and contributions make a difference”.  Another thing that was examined was how work relationships offer a “valuable opportunity to guide them in building strong partnerships”.  These relationships in the workplace not only reflects on the work place but also offers helps to encourage “more personalized and fulfilling career paths”. In ending the article it was mentioned that “one-on-one meetings can lead to happier, more motivated workers and a more productive and stable organization.”

Maybe goulash for dinner tonight. 

Joy 

                 a stopping place a Franklin Park

 February 25, 2025 a thought for today, A big crowd, but not a human being in sight. Yiddish Proverb

One of he uploads for yesterday was “and then there we three”. Obviously with all my talk of the cold weather this image was not shot recently...it was last spring. 

The next image upload was “3:00pm”. With the image I generated I didn’t show the “pm” part but I got the 3:00 on the dot. I waited for the second hand to get to the 12 and shot.  

The last upload for yesterday was “x”. That one is a hard one to find. I made an x in the snow and one in the street salt spry splashes on my car. I have an xray of my titanium hip but it is buried in some paperwork in my file drawers. 

Life today. With the bulletin, Ash Wednesday bulletin and newsletter ready to print I have to get started with “editing” the annual report. I have a few weeks before that is due. It depends a lot on when I get the information I need from the committees and that the computer and I continue to work well together on this project. 

Today is a food pantry day. Being the last two days we will be open this week it may be busy. Although we have found that the opening day is usually the most fast paced and full the entire time we are open. 

My first upload for today is “garden”. There isn’t much of an outdoor garden to find in Ohio in the middle of winter. So I chose my indoor house plant garden to use as my model for this image. 

Before I leave for the church I hope to get other things out of the way. I think I want to make some Rice Krispy treats if I have time when I get home. I also plan on working on Sweet Pea’s diet this afternoon. She is refusing most dog foods that I have been giving her. I have been doing some research of things I can make for her instead. I have also ordered multivitamins for senior dogs to supplement what I may come up with for her meals. 

We are having another day with the temps above freezing. I am hoping it sticks around and gets better. Spring is on its way,

The next upload for today is “y”. I use what was left of the yellow cornbread I had with my navy bean soup (and egg dumplings). 

The word today is standing.  Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army. Edward Everett.  If ever I feel the soul within me elevate and expand to those dimensions not wholly unworthy of its Almighty Architect, it is when I contemplate the cause of my country, deserted by all the world beside, and I standing up boldly and lone and hurling defiance at her victorious oppressors. Abraham Lincoln.  The man who never alters his opinions is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind. William Blake.  As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes and threats of heaven and sea, himself standing unmoved. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Justice is itself the great standing policy of civil society; and any eminent departure from it, under any circumstances, lies under the suspicion of being no policy at all. Edmund Burke.  A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant himself. Robert Burton.  The despotism of custom is everywhere the standing hindrance to human advancement. John Stuart Mill.  Nobody is poor unless he stand in need of justice. Lactantius.  The bow cannot always stand bent, nor can human frailty subsist without some lawful recreation. Miguel de Cervantes.  There is none made so great, but he may both need the help and service, and stand in fear of the power and unkindness, even of the meanest of mortals. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and you know Earth, you may make your victory complete. Sun Tzu.  Deeply earnest and thoughtful people stand on shaky footing with the public. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  

The last challenge upload for today is “a wild animal”. We don’t have a selection of wild animals in this neighborhood so I selected this image of one of the monkey’s at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium that I took a while back.  

Article: This is another view of one of the most current subjects to discover in technology....AI. The title is: “Generative AI is most useful for the things we care about the least”. The tools used in the AI process “can produce text, images and videos far more quickly than any one person can accomplish by hand”. But some study has  shown that technology saves time “but it does so precisely to the extent that the user is willing to surrender control over the final product”. According to the article (and common sense) it “is probably most useful for things we care about the least”....creating creative control. If you “tell it” to make a “a panda surfing,” “a piece of toast that is also a car” – and the generative tool draws it”. But it loses the “countless possible iterations of the desired image”. Some of the thoughts about what it will look like are what will it be “watercolor painting or a pencil sketch? How lifelike will the panda be?” Once the image is “done” we will know how much of what we “typed or said” was to be accomplished in the final output. Was it exactly what we had in mind? Probably not because we didn’t or could not explain the minutia of what we had in mind. The “generative AI tool has “decided.”  In that line, the article suggested we could “ be more specific like saying: Imitate the style of Monet”. Making the decisions for detail and exactly what we want takes time, thought and consideration. The “overall effect on the viewer depends on all those considered brushstrokes together”. The way the article put it is “compared with skilled humans, it (AI) has a limited ability to understand what you want”. On the pro side of AI it can “make possible, above all, is low-effort, low-control expression”. Further in the article the author mentions that “for the first time in human history, the ability to produce writing, art and expression has been decoupled from the necessity of actually paying attention to what you’re making or saying”. A name has been given to what some say has come from AI to this point “amid the flood of low-effort content, which is also known as “AI slop.” This author suggests that eventually some things “could be replaced with mediocre automation, that online discourse will get even stupider, that people will isolate themselves in personalized cocoons of AI-generated media”. He asks “how important are the details” in what we are trying to share and live with. The article was ended with “when it comes to art, expression and argument, if you want it done right, it’s probably still best to do it yourself.” 

I am having rotisserie chicken for dinner. I ordered it in my grocery pickup last week and froze it. We’ll see it I order it that way again. 

Joy

                                   parking on a roof top

 February 23, 2025 a thought for today, Silence is the fence around wisdom. Yiddish Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was “v” for vase. This was from one of my Aunt’s collection of bric-a-brac.  This is a tiny vintage bud vase. 

The next upload was “a beautiful sight”. I like the serenity of this site in all kinds of weather. This particular image was giving me a bit of trouble with the colors and hue. I decided to leave them as they appeared after some Photoshop. 

The last upload was another of “my choice” and another of my windows series. Since I don’t get out of the neighborhood very often especially in the winter this is from around the block. 

Live today. At last, 37 degrees!. I was hoping for rain so I don’t have to go to a car wash....don’t know that I ever have gone to a car wash .... I use to wash it with a hose in the drive way.. too old for that now. 

Last night as I was going to bed I closed a long curtain in the bed room. It is the width of one wall and is on a traverse rod. Suddenly one of the corners of the rod came loose and dropped. I was tired and it was late so I let it go “as is” and went to sleep. Since I am petite in height I was sure in my mind that I would not be able to correct the problem and would, maybe, in the morning,  call my daughter to help. When the sun came up I climbed on the bed and to my surprise was able to reach the top of the rod connection and fixed the problem. So that was the start to this Sunday morning. 

He, Mike, did it again, connected 2000 years ago to today. It was my kind of sermon message, very refreshing and connectable to my life and understanding. 

The first upload is “movement”. I shot this image as I was waiting for my grocery pick up. The cart collector in action. 

There was a problem with our streaming service this morning so we saved it on a memory card, I am in the process, as we “speak” with uploading it to our facebook page. 

Once I got the first of five sections of the “streaming” uploads started I worked on my photos for today as well as getting a start on this letter. The rest of the day will be my typical Sunday relax, reflect and refresh, except for finishing the uploads

Recently there was a discussion in my life about stubbornness. I guess some think I am a stubborn person. Is that bad? I am old, I am alive, and I am not a couch potato isn’t that a good life, a good thing? I think I am alive and kickin’ (not a couch potato) because I am stubborn or is there another word, nicer word, for it, like maybe steadfast, headstrong, self-willed, maybe even wise (smile, closer to the truth, I hope)? 

The next upload for today is “w”. I chose the word wall or wooden. This is a place in one of the alley’s in my neighborhood. The wall has deteriorated over the years. I have photos of this very spot from several years ago. It use to put me in mind of a gate to a secret garden all those years ago the gate then was black iron rather than wood. Much prettier then.

The word today is spring.   A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. Alexander Pope.  The garden of love is green without limit and yields many fruits other than sorrow or joy. Love is beyond either condition: without spring, without autumn, it is always fresh. Rumi.  Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! Sitting Bull.  Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. Pietro Aretino.  The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also. Harriet Ann Jacobs.  Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed... Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders. Henry David Thoreau.  If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. Anne Bradstreet.  April ... hath put a spirit of youth in everything. William Shakespeare.  Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade. Charles Dickens.  This outward spring and garden are a reflection of the inward garden. Rumi.  Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. Victor Hugo.  The sun just touched the morning; The morning, happy thing, Supposed that he had come to dwell, And life would be all spring. Emily Dickinson.  Spring-an experience in immortality. Henry David Thoreau.  From the end spring new beginnings. Pliny the Elder.  Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes. Carl Friedrich Gauss.  One swallow does not make a spring, nor does one fine day. Aristotle.  The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education. Plutarch.  Spring is the Period Express from God. Emily Dickinson.  

The last upload for today is another of “my choice” also another of my series of windows. This one has some wear and age on it. 

Article: I was wondering how this story talked about leadership and trust so I checked into it to share. It started out by saying what “defines leadership – not just strategy or decision-making, but the ability to build trust”. It goes on to mention that when leaders are making an effort to “stability and direction” trust is the “invisible” product that fuels success. The author of the article conducted studies that the question of developing trustworthiness. He found that “trustworthiness can keep employees from fleeing to rivals, creating a more stable and committed workforce”. Offering some sort of power to workers makes them feel trusted, in return they become more loyal and productive. Not only do they trust their “bosses” they also trust each other more. The article went on to suggest ways to put this offer of some sort of power into practice. One way is to allow “employees take ownership of their responsibilities and make decisions within their roles”. Next, be fair and consistent in handling any concerns promptly. A third suggestion is to encourage sharing ideas and then support the ideas. Another ideas is have regular feedback. In conclusion, people in any leadership position, political or any type of work related objectives, “should commit to leading with trust, acting with integrity and fostering workplaces where people feel valued and empowered”. 

Dinner will be left overs. 

Joy

                                  oh goodness, oh my

 February 21, 2025 a thought for today, When God wants people to suffer, he sends them too much understanding. Yiddish Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was “poetry”. I used my foot prints in the snow to try to fit with the idea of the proem “Footprints”. Hopefully it expresses the feeling of the original idea of the poem. ("The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.")

The next upload was “t is for...” I used the telephone in the office at church for this upload. I was printing and folding, glanced at the phone and decided “one of my assignments. 

The next upload challenge for yesterday was “upside down”. Both my toothpaste and my catsup were “upside down”.....perfect fit for the assignment. 

I had another of the days for a fourth photo a day upload. This assignment was
“high or low key”. The snowy surface made for a great high key image. The light colored and bright sun-lit trucks added to the high key final image. 

Life today. I think the weather is going to finally swing back to something livable. Today is still cold and last night seemed more so than the past two nights. Tomorrow is supposed to be the “turn around day”. It will be the start for at least the next week. It will gradually go up each day. I am so looking forward to that. 

I think I got the newsletter done this morning. There is the one piece that I never know will go in or not. I am waiting for that one. In the meantime I filled the page with the lyrics for one of my favorite hymns, Spirit (of gentleness). I will take it down if I get the financial page before I can get to the church to print. 

I took some time out from the computer to determine which ports on a usb hub works and which don’t. I want to add some external hard drives that have thousands of old photo archived on them. 

The first upload for today is “u is for....” One of the “U” words I found in google was utensils. So I am using some of my art/hobby/craft utensils as the subject for this image. 

I have recently joined the Goodreads book group and have been taking time here and there to fill in all of the books I have read in the past few years I can’t remember all of the ones before that. I read many as autobooks when I was still employed. I “read” them when I was driving for my work between three cities. 

Added to all of that I had to find and set up props for some of my photos for today. I like “naturally” shot photos for the most part but sometimes I need to set them up.

Now I am ready to do the “online grocery shopping” for the curb side pick up tomorrow. And clean up the mess I made for lunch and the photo set ups.

The second upland for today is “naturally framed”. I noticed how a break in the needled covered branches of the evergreen tree were framing a ray of sunshine. 

The word for today us solid. Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues. Confucius.  Fame is like a river, that beareth up things light and swollen, and drowns things weighty and solid. Francis Bacon.  I have found that hollow, which even I had relied on for solid. Henry David Thoreau.  Above all, remember that God looks for solid virtues in us, such as patience, humility, obedience, abnegation of your own will - that is, the good will to serve Him and our neighbor in Him. His providence allows us other devotions only insofar as He sees that they are useful to us. Saint Ignatius.  The flowery style is not unsuitable to public speeches or addresses, which amount only to compliment. The lighter beauties are in their place when there is nothing more solid to say; but the flowery style ought to be banished from a pleading, a sermon, or a didactic work. Voltaire.  Narrative is linear, but action has breadth and depth as well as height and is solid. Thomas Carlyle.  I shall support the law, for the law gentlemen, is the firm and solid basis of civil society, the guardian of liberty, the protection of the innocent, the terror of the guilty, and the scourge of the wicked. Charles Lawrence. God in the beginning formed matter in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, movable particles, of such sizes and figures, and with such other properties, and in such proportion to space, as most conduced to the end for which he formed them. Isaac Newton.  Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness. Samuel Adams.  

The last upload for today is “lucky”. This is a part of my “lucky bamboo” plant. It is a baby plant so it doesn’t show much of the traditional ring around the stalks of the plant yet in it’s young life. 

This article lists “The Best Indoor Activities For Kids In Columbus”. This is a a list of some interesting places in Columbus that children could have a good time and adults may find them interesting....maybe that would be the inner child in the adult. “Columbus institutions like COSI and Franklin Park Conservatory offer educational programs.” In most of the places lived there are activities for all ages. There is a trampoline parks and rock climbing walls.  At the “ABC Climbing program offers a unique way to build agility, balance, and coordination”. For older kids there is the climbing walls at “Team Vertical or their recreational Climber’ Club”. One of the outstanding places for kid in Columbus is COSI. It upended in 1964. There is a “wide range of science and technology” mixed with wonder. It is a place that “encourages imaginative play and creativity.” Surprisingly the Columbus Museum of Art offers children a place of wonder and learning. It is free every day for children under 5 and all on Sunday. The is a “Wonder Room” or a place to set out on a museum-wide scavenger hunt”. The next place mentioned in the article is the Columbus Metropolitan Library.  The library is “more than just a collection of books”. There are areas for and to “interactive exhibits, participate in storytelling sessions, and engage in educational activities designed to spark curiosity”. It offers a place to “discover the joy of reading and learning”. On the list of places to visit is the Franklin Park Conservatory. There are seasonal activities for kids. It is a place “to participate in a green lifestyle all year long”. Then there is the LEGOLAND Discovery Center where there are “indoor rides to awesome building experiences”.  There is a place called Little Diggers Play Space. This one is “tailored for the youngest adventurers, this vibrant space offers a variety of engaging activities that promote imaginative play and social interaction”. 

It’s DoorDash or GrubHub (take out) for dinner tonight....maybe Chinese. 

Joy

                                      security and America

 February 19, 2025 a thought for today, The sun shines brighter after a shower. Yiddish Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “r is for ...”, roofs. I liked the juxtaposition of the shapes of this set of roofing as well as the other shapes and patterns. 

The second upload was “f is for ....”, French fries with a touch of catsup on the
side. I stopped by McDonalds on my way home. 

The last upload for yesterday. Was “streetlights”. I couldn’t decide whether the better choice would be the kind of street light that light of the night or he street lights that direst traffic. I think it should have been the kind that light up the night. Buy when I was a kid we called the stop light street lights too. 

Life today. For some reason I feel like I have been pushing myself today more than I usually do. I had a touch up to the bulletin before I got started on the rest of the day. I got todays letter started. 

Today was a food pantry day. Yesterday was the first of the two. It was much busier than I expected since the temperature outside was nine degrees. But they made it and I didn’t hear much complaining about the cold. Today was a little warmer and we had fewer folks show up.

On my way to church for pantry I stopped at the ATM machine. I needed some cash to get gas.  After pantry I stopped for the gas....the gas tank is on the riders side rather than the drivers side of the this car. I am use to the one on the drivers side. This is the second time I filled the tank in this car. I am just a little nervous about judging distance on that side of the car when it is close quarters. 

The first photo challenge for today is “q is for...”. In the paragraph below I described my choices for I had gotten a couple of my photos while I was at church. I needed one, a “diamond”, that I wasn’t sure how I was going to capture. On the way home I drove by the park to see if I could get a shot of the baseball diamond. It was covered with to much snow to work for this one. So I ended up using the playing card, diamond of hearts. I have one piece of jewelry (I don’t wear much jewelry) that has a diamond in it but I didn’t have time to search for it. The deck of cards came in handy one more time for a photo. 

I also stopped at Kroger. They had called to let me know some of my medicine was ready to be picked up. 

Sue was gone when I got home. I imagine she is either shopping or visiting the twins.

The next photo upload was "mirror or reflection in a mirror". I captured this one at  church as well as the one below. I like the "homey" feel of this image with the plants and the cushioned wicker chair. 

The word today is small. Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. Vincent Van Gogh.  From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow. Aeschylus.  Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship. Benjamin Franklin. Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through. Jonathan Swift.  Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay. Sallust.  Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary. Blaise Pascal.  I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it. Thomas Jefferson.  Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. Demosthenes.  Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. George Eliot.  Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection. Pindar.  A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love. Stendhal.  Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man. Mencius.  But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. Lord Byron.  

The last upload for today is “s is for....”. This is the bottle of spring water we have at food pantry at the moment. It is in this attractive bright blue bottle. More than one of the folks coming to pantry have been curious about was in such a pretty bottle. 

Article: This was mouth dropping for me. “The World’s First Car Accident Happened Here In Ohio.” There was a man named James William Lambert who was a “pioneer” in the automobile industry in Ohio and he was the first in the country to crash one. Early in 1891 he had built “himself a gas-powered buggy, known as the Buckeye Gasoline Buggy, because, well, Ohio pride”.The article related that is was one of the “first gasoline automobiles in the U.S.” He decided that he needed to check it and took it for a “spin”. He had a passenger with him. He was “cruising along when the car’s wheel hit a tree root.” It tuned out it wasn’t a minor bump in the road.  The car “zigzagging uncontrollably until it met its fate: a horse-hitching post”. He and the gentleman with him “walked away with nothing more than a bruised ego”. The car “survived the crash” but on October 1, 1891 was destroyed in a burning barn. Mr. Lambert went on to build the Buckeye Manufacturing Company where his designs turned to four-wheel automobiles. At time they were  “gearless transmissions”. It grew to the point he was designing trucks and fire engines as well and mass producing cars.  The article relayed that a century later there was a plaque “marking the spot of the world’s first automobile accident”. As a side note to the original article: “In 1895 there were only 2 cars in the entire state of Ohio yet they still ended up crashing into each other.”

I am pulling something from the freezer for dinner again tonight. 

Joy  

                                                          peekaboo

 February 17, 2025 a thought for today, A person can study for seventy years and at the end die a fool. Yiddish Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “p is for...” I used plant. This is my fig tree plant. This plant offers me a bit of a connection to Bob. When I bought my late Toyota Camry Bob worked at Toyota West. One of the dear friends that he had made there helped my find my car. Beside his desk he had one of these fig trees that went from the floor to very close to the ceiling. I was enamored with the sight. Upon getting home I promptly ordered one of these, as a baby. Now it is about four feet tall.  

The next upload was “hobby”. This is one of my hobbies at the time. I crochet. Right now I am making key chain fobs. This sunflower is my most current pattern. 

The last upload for yesterday was “my choice” which right now is a series of windows. This one is down the street from my house. 

Life today. I almost forgot that this is Monday and I want to get the bulletin done by the end of day. I thought of it after other work on photos and other things. I have it done to the point of the extra information that I need. I should be able to finish it tomorrow before pantry or when I get home from there. 

Brian didn’t get here to shovel the driveway yesterday. About mid afternoon I heard someone shoveling very close to my house. I checked, it was my next door neighbor doing my porch, steps and driveway for me. He is so helpful to me. He always gets the trash and recycling to the curb in time for pick up. Some day I would like to repay him in kind with something I am able to do. We didn’t get the cars cleared yesterday. This morning I went out to at least knock some of the heaviest snow mounds off so that the sun may do the rest even though the temperature is not suppose to even get to freezing. That was a few hours ago. I just checked out the window....it is cleared. 

The first upload is “refresh”. Any kind of tea is “refreshing” to me. This one is probably my favorite and most often used, either hot chamomile, or caffeine free iced tea in general.  

With the weather the way it is, has been and will be for a while I am having to find things close by for my photo “assignments”. So far so good. Though I have been having to use the archives for some of them, that is one of the reasons I have built the archives. One of the “assignments” for today was “q is for....”. I did some goolge research on uses for the letter. One of the words I found was queen. I do have a quilt that my daughter made for me many years ago..it has been in several of my photo so I looked at other ideas just for choices. So with some further research I found something interesting. “Queen of Puddings”. It is a British pudding that has history back to the 16th century. I did more research and found the recipe. I got to the kitchen, pulled out the KitchenAid (it calls for meringue so I needed the stand mixer instead of the hand held). It’s been a while since I made meringue, apparently I haven’t lost the touch. The peaks were perfect. By the way, the pudding is delicious, too much sugar for me but awesome anyway. All of that took another chunk of time out of the day. But as usual I’m pretty good at multitasking. 

The next upload for today is “q is for...” This is the Queen of Puddings and I mentioned in the above paragraph. I got the meringue on this one just a touch to golden. I prefer the just the peaks to be golden. 

The word is single.  Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha.  A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong. Tecumseh.  A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows. Francis of Assisi.  I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses. Johannes Kepler.  All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly. Thomas Aquinas.  Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope. Epictetus.  As for reputation, though it be a glorious instrument of advancing our Master's service, yet there is a better than that: a clean heart, a single eye, and a soul full of God. A fair exchange if, by the loss of reputation, we can purchase the lowest degree of purity of heart. John Wesley.  A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most perfect prayer. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.  The whole theory of the universe is directed unerringly to one single individual. Walt Whitman.  The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it. Confucius. Every man feels instinctively that all the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action. James Russell Lowell.  Time alone reveals the just man; but you might discern a bad man in a single day. Sophocles.  No one does anything from a single motive. Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. If you gain fifteen minutes a day, it will make itself felt at the end of the year. Horace Mann.  I thought of the soul as resembling a castle, formed of a single diamond or a very transparent crystal, and containing many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions. Saint Teresa of Avila.  

The last upload for today is “imperfect but unique”. ("wabi-sabi" which is a Japanese concept that celebrates the beauty found in imperfection). The sad condition of this knob is the imperfect part, the lines and “character” are the unique. I had a difficult time fulfilling this assignment. 

Article: I have lived in Columbus most of my life. There are several places that I “connect with” in Columbus, the zoo, Franklin Park, the LeVeque Tower and many more. Probably the Tower is the biggest one, most prominent in my mind. I have often wondered what a sensation to the senses it would be to live in the top of the tower. The view, the solitude, the traveling to get up and down to visit street level, and the history. The title is “This Century-Old, Art Deco Tower Is The Most Iconic Building In Columbus”. The article began with mentioning that the “architectural marvel isn’t just a visual landmark; it’s a storied piece of Columbus heritage that stands as a testament to our city’s grand history and ambitious spirit”. It was built in 1927. It was originally the American Insurance Union Citadel (AIU building). At the time it was he tallest building between New York City and Chicago.  It was a “statement of hope and prosperity”and today “retains its charm and grandeur, reminding us of the city’s bold ambitions during the Roaring Twenties.”  The article calls it an Art Deco Masterpiece. In architecture it “capture(d) the artistic spirit of its time.” It is building on the facade adoened with terra cotta tiles with motifs that typical of the time with a “fascination with geometry and nature”. The lobby is a wonder of “lavish display of Art Deco splendor”. Looking up toward the ceiling one will see frescoes and the floors having intricate tiles reflecting the “bygone era of opulence”. Over the years the Tower has met the needs of modern society while retaining past signs of its history. On the interior there are offices, “luxurious” apartments and the “boutique Hotel LeVeque”. There is a bar inside called the Keep with “a speakeasy vibe” for relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. The hotel portion blends “historical elegance with modern luxury”. On holidays and special occasions there is lighting at the top of the tower that adds to the city’s celebrations. The article ends with suggesting “each visit can be a rediscovery of the stories and beauty our city has to offer.”

Ir will be left overs tonight.....creamed chicken on biscuits or spaghetti and meat balls. 

Joy                                       giant

 February 15, 2025 a thought for today, Parents can give love but not common sense. Yiddish Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “n is for..”, in this case nests. As I drive through the city street in this season of winter and bare tree limbs we can better see how some critters were very busy making their warm and comfy resting places in spring and summer. 

The next upload yesterday was “couple(s)”. This pair of ducks seemed to be deciding whether to swim or just have a conversation. 

The last upload for yesterday as “smoke or chimney”. I have seen smoke coming from the chimneys' for a while but here is one of more lengthy chimney I could find in a quick trip outside the front door. 

Life today. Well, I was just a little nervous about the weather and my Saturday curbside pickup. We had a covering of ice during the night. There was a few minutes of sleet falling which turned to rain. I needed to spread ice melt on the back deck and steps. I also needed to scrape the car windows. The part of the driveway that is between my house and my neighbors had a thin sheet of ice.  By the time I got the car to the street it was apparent that the street was more wet than ice. 

My first upload for today is “bike”. I have several more images of bikes in my archives bug in sticking with a photo of the day theme I drove through a nearby neighborhood to find with pair of bikes parked together, family maybe?

We are in the process of talking to the insurance company about how we are going to handle the siding subject. There is a portion that the high wind damaged and another portion that has been affected by weather. We have had two service people out to look at it and they both say the whole house needs resided. Both also suggested contacting the insurance company to get their feel on the matter so that is what we did. Now we are waiting for their decision. This is on top of the matter of the air conditioner which definitely needs replaced and has been ordered for the first of March. Two high finance repairs at the same time doesn’t sit well with me but it is what it is. 

The next upload today was taken on my earlier outing this morning, “my choice”, part of my doors series. I chose to use the doors on a vehicle for this one.

We are in for almost two more weeks of below freezing temps. I was hoping the worst was over but no such luck. 

Sweet Pea’s health is deteriorating. She is fourteen and was diagnosed with a kidney problem a couple of months ago. A kidney problem that can’t be “fixed”. Her back legs seem to be getting weaker and weaker also. I am worried for my best friend and companion. Time for goodbye and a rainbow bridge is approaching. 

The next photo upload is “off center”. This is one of the photos for the club I belong to that has four photo a day photos in a month. 

The word for today is sign.  Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. Aesop.  Love, hope, fear, faith - these make humanity; These are its sign and note and character. Robert Browning.  Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws, and asks no omen, but his country's cause. Homer.  Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth. Blaise Pascal.  To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete. Epictetus.  The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching. Aristotle.  Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place. Tecumseh.  A dark cloud is no sign that the sun has lost his light; and dark black convictions are no arguments that God has laid aside His mercy. Charles Spurgeon.  The tendency to whining and complaining may be taken as the surest sign symptom of little souls and inferior intellects. Francis Jeffrey.  The hungry judges soon the sentence sign, and wretches hang that jurymen may dine. Alexander Pope.  The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. Michel de Montaigne. When a man fell into his anecdotage it was a sign for him to retire from the world. Benjamin Disraeli.  It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and to prefer things in measure to things in excess. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  

The last challenge upload if “o is for...” This one speaks for itself. It is part of an artistic structure in the neighbor park near the children’s play ground. 

Article: This story came from a site called Curious Kids. A young person asked the question, are animals smart? An Assistant Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences wrote this in answer to that question. The article relates that it use to be believed that the intelligence of a brain required billions of neurons. Humans have about 86 billion neurons, dogs and cats less than one billion. The author went on to say that the more scientists and those who study the processes have   learned about the ability to learn through experience and thinking have arrived at the knowledge “that humans are not very special at all”. She wrote that “Many nonhuman species can do these things too”. Scientists “who study animal cognition have observed that many animals are able to solve problems, use tools, recall important information”.  Elephants can recognize “as many as 30 traveling companions at a time” as well as learn how to “migrate away from drought-prone areas”. This is called episodic memory which is the ability to remember an event and when and where it happened. Rehearsers have learned that other animals as birds, rats, cats, monkeys and dolphins can do the same. The author pointed out that animals may not remember every experience in their lives, neither do people. And goes on to say “they do recall things critical to their survival”. Some can use “tools” such as monkeys’ using sticks to catch bugs or stones to crack nuts open. Crows bend wire to make hooks to gather food. In a study where food was hidden in a log or box bears moved the items so that they could get the food. Some animals as dolphins and chimpanzees can “communicate”. Dolphins have “complex dialects” like “crackles, squeaks and whistles”. Monkeys can use sign language. Many animals recognize themselves in a mirror. One test of that kind was when a chimp with a red mark on its face then given a mirror touched the red spot on their own face not on the mirror. In relating other facts the author said people can’t swim like a fish or fly like a bird and don’t have the “incredible sense of smell a dog has”. To end the article “Put simply, we’re all using our brains”. My own note: maybe we would be wise to observe how the “intellect” of our pets, all natures lives for that matter, is working and why. God gave us each a particular “gift or gifts”  for use not only for ourselves but each other.

Creamed chicken on biscuits sounds good for dinner. 

Joy 

                           along a country road in Ohio