July 29, 2025 a though for today, Old promises are left behind. Maori of New Zealand 

An upload for today is “chasing light”. One of my external hard drives houses a huge amount of my archives. There is a problem, it fade in and out as to my being able to pull it up. This is one of the images I have from the past when I was a much younger photographer and using a much larger camera. 

The next upload is one of my sister’s paintings. This was also created when she was much younger and had a lot more energy. 

The last upload for yesterday was “my choice”. This is another of my “partial” series. 

Life today. It is starting out to be a day of accomplishments in the easy kind of style. Although it is also a food pantry day and we can seldom tell if it will be busy or smooth or anything in between. 

I am getting a start on things that need to be done on the computer and around the house before I leave for church.

Andy has come by again to put some more finishing touches on the deck. There are still things on it that need finished. Small finishing touches. One I am considering in a deck fence. 

My first upload for today is “flat lay” (a shot taken directly from above, looking down on a scene arranged on a flat surface). This is some of the cooking utensils out of my drawer. 

We are in for some more heat and rain today and tomorrow. It looks like we will get a break in the heat in a few days. 

.....I am back at my deck chair and finishing up the letter and the photos. Pantry was medium today, not to crowded and not really low on visitors. I think we served about 25 families today. 

My next upload is another of the “my choice” and another of my “partial” series. This is the recycle pick up day in front of my house. 

The word today is excuse.   It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. George Washington. Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Henry Ward Beecher.  Any excuse will serve a tyrant. Aesop.  Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself, and all things possible. Thomas a Kempis. The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse. Benjamin Franklin.  And oftentimes excusing of a fault doth make the fault the worse by the excuse. William Shakespeare.  Every vice has its excuse ready. Publilius Syrus.  Never ruin an apology with an excuse. Benjamin Franklin.  A lie is an excuse guarded. Jonathan Swift.  If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  There is hardly any man so strict as not to vary a little from truth when he is to make an excuse. Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet.  Comparatively, we can excuse any offense against the heart, but not against the imagination. The imagination knows--nothing escapes its glance from out its eyry--and it controls the breast. Henry David Thoreau. 

The last challenge upload for today is “j is for...”. I chose j is for jam. This is the jam I use on my McDonald sausage and biscuit. I make a “half sandwich” with the sausage on one half and make a quick “dessert” with the other half and my sugar free grape jam. 

Article: I am a reader, I love reading. So when I saw this article I wasn’t sure I wanted to address it. I don’t want negativity in the genre of reading. But I decided it must be looked at for the growth of knowledge and wisdom. The title to the article is “Do you really need to read to learn? What neuroscience says about reading versus listening.” It begins by saying that there are probably some kinds of books some where near you, in your house or other building. “You’ll still find books today, even in a world filled with podcasts”. It goes on to say that in reading a book or listening to a recording “the goal is the same: understanding”. It also says that the comprehension between the two is different, “listening doesn’t provide all the benefits of reading, and reading doesn’t offer everything listening does”. In the reading process the brain works to match the letters on the page to the speech connecting them to sounds and meanings. While listening the brain “works at the pace of the speaker” and the listener has to “rely on the cognitive processes” like memory to “hold onto what they just heard”. The brain has to take in the tone and context the understand the meaning. I was interested in seeing that many people “assume that listening is easier than reading, but this is not usually the case”. It further says that research shows that “listening can be harder than reading, especially when the material is complex or unfamiliar”. The author said that her “research shows that genre affects how you read”. Fiction involves “social understanding and storytelling”, while in nonfictional reading the brain works with “strategic thinking and goal-directed attention”. I was also surprised to read that “reading difficult material tends to be easier than listening from a practical standpoint, as well”. In the reading process if you have difficulty to understand you can “revisit” it later, and reading allows for “jumping around in the text”. On the other side listening “allows the brain to extract meaning without the difficult process of decoding”. The article goes on to mention that another “thing to consider is engagement. In this context, engagement refers to being mentally present in processing information”. Sometimes people may be doing other things as when they are listening that of course you can’t do while reading. In one research project where college students read or listened to a podcast it was determined that “students who read the material performed significantly better on a quiz than those who listened”. In the research was learned that some of the students who listened to the podcast were “multitasking”, like clicking on computer key, so focus was not totally on the main subject.

Maybe quick spaghetti for dinner tonight. 

Joy

                                                    hidden beauty surviving 

 July 27, 2025 a thought for today, What a man says in private, Heaven hears as the voice of thunder. Chinese Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “made me laugh”. This is one of my great grandchildren when he was playing hid and seek and decided to come out to rescue a “lost” object.

The next upload is “shadows”. This one was taken a couple of years ago. I didn’t
replant the basket this years. 

The last upload for yesterday was “seabirds or gulls”. Some of our “challenges” are offered when we may not live close to the areas where they would be common to locate. This is one of those for me. Though I have visited areas where the sea was a factor that hasn’t been too often or too recent.  There are gull like birds that appear in our area from time to time but I haven’t seen any recently. So I have chosen an image that comes as close to that as I can get. 

Life today. Yesterday was one of my “easy” days that I look forward to. I guess I am stubborn, I “assign” myself rather lengthy “do to” lists and force myself to check off as much as I can in a day. Some days, like yesterday, are clear of my lists. I just do what ever comes to mind or presents itself.

The storm last night was stronger than most so far this year. This morning I got up and “mopped” up the water on the steps on the new deck so that Sweet Pea wouldn’t slip and fall. This deck is made of the composite material made of recycled plastic. I wasn’t sure how slippery it would be. Anyway, we are suppose to have more rain everyday for the next several days. 

There were not many folks at church this morning but one of our “old time” members was back. It felt, for a moment, like maybe our “old gang” was there, at least they were in my dreams. Just her in the pews relit memories for me, it felt good. There are only a hand full of us from the past still in the congregation

Our services are streamed with a backup tape being made at the same time. The streaming wasn’t set up today so I turned the camera on to tape. I brought the memory card home to download to our account on Facebook. When I pulled it up on my computer to start the download I discovered that the memory card displayed a message something like, there is a problem on the memory card. 

One of my photo challenge uploads for today is “donut”. I don’t have any in the house so when I got home from church I made donuts with Pillsbury biscuits in the air fryer. While they were “frying” I made some powdered sugar glaze. All of it done in twenty minutes. Yumm and photo upload created.  

The next upload is “hidden gem”. This moss rose just popped into bloom over night. It is in one of my window gardens. I had moss roses in my yard many years ago when my husband and I were taking care of his father as he was in the last journey of his life. A journey with cancer. He would sit on the porch and look at those “roses” for hours. He told me almost in a whisper that they were his favorite. It is a memory of my past. Memories especially ones like this one are precious parts of our lives. Maybe messages to us from God. After all the moss rose is His creation with a purpose too.

The word today is excel. Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire. William Penn.  For my own part, I would rather excel in knowledge of the highest secrets of philosophy than in arms. Alexander the Great.  I would rather excel in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and possessions. Plutarch.  One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent.  Epictetus.  The spirit is the true self. The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Those who excel in virtue have the best right of all to rebel, but then they are of all men the least inclined to do so. Aristotle. People of genius do not excel in any profession because they work in it, they work in it because they excel. William Hazlitt. Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. Voltaire.  We gain nothing by being with such as ourselves. We encourage one another in mediocrity. I am always longing to be with men more excellent than myself. Charles Lamb.  Conviction never so excellent, is worthless until it coverts itself into conduct. Thomas Carlyle.  Children are excellent observers, and will often perceive your slightest defects. In general, those who govern children, forgive nothing in them, but everything in themselves. Francois Fenelon.   Froth at the top, dregs at bottom, but the middle excellent. Voltaire.  What is easy is seldom excellent. Samuel Johnson.  None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone. Thomas Carlyle.  An excellent man, like precious metal, is in every way invariable; A villain, like the beams of a balance, is always varying, upwards and downwards. John Locke.

The last upload for today was “on or near water”. The closest body of water to my house is at the park near my home so it happens to be where I find a lot of the image challenges. 

Article: Here is a bit of information about a nearby park not far from Zanesville Ohio. The article title is “This Underrated State Park Is Home To A 100-Foot Fire Tower With Epic Views”.  The article opens by calling this park an “amazing hidden gems”. It went on to mention that it “flies under the radar” when it comes to people being aware of it. It is a 300 plus acre state park. There is a campground with non-electric sites. There is a 15 acre lake. To add to all of this there is a Camp Store. Canoes, kayaks, rowboats and paddle boards available with plenty of room on a beach that “allows swimming”. The area became a park in 1949 where before, until 1940, it was a “densely forested region”. After the Great Depression farmers in the area gave up their land “which “allowed the forest to regain a foothold”. There is a 4,573 acre Blue Rock State Forest around the park where hickory trees “dominate the forest” along with many kinds of wallflowers. Another attraction is the Blue Rock Fire Tower that was constructed in 1937. It is 100 foot fire tower and is the last of its kind in Ohio. 

Maybe tuna casserole from the freezer for dinner. 

Joy 

              fallen leaves and debris and worn steps have stories to tell too

 July 25, 2025 a thought for today, There is many a good man to be found under a shabby hat. Chinese Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “watermelon”. I didn’t have watermelon on hand, I have some cantaloupe. But I have this image in my archives so it graduated to this upload. 

The next upload is “something I bought”. Why not one of my purchases at
McDonalds? This was one I got early before I could get the fish sandwich at 10:30, so it was a sausage sandwich and pie and tea.

The last upload for yesterday is one of the “my choice”. This one is another of my “faceless portraits”. 

Life today. Yesterday was a full day. I started out early to get the printing done. Lowell called last night to say he was coming to work some more on the steps for the deck. I wanted to get done as soon as I could so I could be home to help if I could . In the mean time Lowell had called Andy to come and offer suggestions on the deck as he is not suppose to do any lifting for a while. He came. Later Brian came in time to help clean up. So the deck steps are done. There are a few minor touch ups to be done when the guys have the time. 

Due to the heat we are having I called Dorothy and told her it is probably best to try to work in the church on the newsletters again this month since there is no air conditioning, she agreed. So I brought it home to do here. 

I spent the rest of the day multitasking from chores to watching the work on the deck. Sue was also watching. I asked her that while she was watching if she would put the seals on the newsletter. I took her a folding TV table and the folded letters. She did that for me. I did my family letter/blog, photos, and the laundry and Sweet Peas meals for the week. 

The first upload for today is “father”. He has been in heaven for a long now so this photo is from my archives. It was an oil painting from a photo. I photographed the photo then used another filter over it. 

They finished up with the steps and cleaned up about three o’clock. Now Sweet Pea goes up and down the steps as she always has. 

Today I finished the newsletters. I paid the bills and ordered meds for Sweet Pea. Then we, Sweet Pea and I, left for the post office to drop off the newsletters. As usual while we were out I got some of my photo shots. 

I worked on getting the photos ready for upload and put in some more work on the 2026 calendar. About 1:30 we had a storm pass through. Then the electric went out. Thankfully the laptop battery is fully charged so I am able to finish the letter. I will have to wait for the electric and the wifi to come back on before I can upload everything. 

The next photo is “unexpected color”. I caught this photo as my sister was going out the door. She wanted me to take it from a back view instead of a front view. 

The word today is ever.  No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop.  Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. John Wesley.  Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.  All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  No man ever got very high by pulling other people down. The intelligent merchant does not knock his competitors. The sensible worker does not knock those who work with him. Don't knock your friends. Don't knock your enemies. Don't knock yourself. Alfred Lord Tennyson.  Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to me will ever take command of me. Walt Whitman.  Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced. John Keats.  And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days. James Russell Lowell.  Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. Samuel Johnson.  Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things. Isaac Newton.  The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them. Patrick Henry.  He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven. George Herbert.  When I was a boy, the priest, my uncle, carefully inculcated upon me this proverb, which I then learned and have ever since kept in my mind: 'Dico tibi verum, Libertas optima rerum; Nunquam servili, sub nexu vivito, fili.' 'I tell you a truth: Liberty is the best of things, my son; never live under any slavish bond.' William Wallace.  

My last upload today is another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “faceless portraits”. 

Article: Some of us are into books and reading is a big part of our time so I thought this article was interesting. The title is “One Columbus Man Read 5,000 Books Over 6 Decades. Here’s What He Left Behind”. The man was Dan Pelzer. He passed away this year at the age of 92. What was discovered then was that from1962 he had been reading and making a “handwritten list of (the titles and dates) every book he read” in from ‘62 until 2025. According to the article there thousands of titles, “all borrowed from the Columbus Metropolitan Library”. Now there is an available list of everything he read during that time. There are 109 pages that include stories from “Cold War thrillers and literary fiction to courtroom dramas and historical epics”. His daughter made his lists about what he had read available to the library. It can be shared with the pubic at what-dan-read.com. In a note to the library his daughter told the library “In an era of algorithm-driven recommendations and digital reading goals, Pelzer’s handwritten archive is a reminder of the quiet joy of following your own literary path—and the power of a public library to shape a life.” She explained that when his children were young he would take them to the downtown library ever Saturday. He enrolled them in the summer reading program every year. He read until he could no longer read. The article mentions that in a “quick scan” of his “archive reveals a mix of popular fiction, history, biographies and more”. The article related that there can be a “quiet joy of following your own literary path—and the power of a public library to shape a life”. It puts me in mind of the Goodreads media platform.

It’s DoorDash night....haven’t picked a place yet. 

Joy

                                downtown apartments

 July 23, 2025 thought for today, Without experience one gains no wisdom. Chinese Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “mirror”. I have had this challenge before so I was looking for a different mirror. This one is in our church. 

The next upload for yesterday was “macro”. As I was coming out of McDonalds I noticed this hibiscus and got this shot. 

The last upload for yesterday was “my choice” and is another of my “faceless portrait” series. 

Life today. Due to unforeseen circumstances the steps for the deck have been put on hold for a few days. So Sweet Pea is still trying to get use to them. She goes down but has doubts about coming up....she has to be coaxed with a leash and collar.

I have been putting in extra time on church projects for the past week and a half...I am beginning to see the light at the end. I finished the bulletin yesterday. Today I put the finishing touches on the newsletter. Then there were the couple of extra projects I need to do to complete the circle. That’s done. I am almost ready to leave for food pantry. 

The first photo upload for today is “in this moment”. This is another of the ones I shot as I was leaving McDonalds. At that moment I was seeing all of this section of poles and cable. 

The first day of pantry for this month was yesterday. We were packed and then some. To start the day both computers lost the internet connections. It’s a happening that causes a panic response when we have a room full of guests. It cleared itself up after a couple of re-boots, thankfully

....I’m back from pantry. We were much slower today. I noticed that we had one come back who we had been thinking of.

I just got note that there are some changes on the newsletter and bulletin. Why do people do this...very last minute. Paragraph two above needs adjusted. Apparently deadlines don’t apply to all. 

The next upload is another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “faceless portraits”. 

The word is endeavor.  I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor. Henry David Thoreau.  The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. Socrates. One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent. Epictetus.  The endeavor to understand is the first and only basis of virtue. Baruch Spinoza.  Virtues are acquired through endeavor, Which rests wholly upon yourself. So, to praise others for their virtues Can but encourage one's own efforts. Thomas Paine.  Let us carefully observe those good qualities wherein our enemies excel us; and endeavor to excel them, by avoiding what is faulty, and imitating what is excellent in them. Plutarch.  But because many endeavor to get knowledge rather than to live well, they are often deceived and reap little or no benefit from their labor. Thomas a Kempis.  To do common things perfectly is far better worth our endeavor than to do uncommon things respectably. Harriet Beecher Stowe.  Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning - an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the distance we have run, but without any observation of the heavenly bodies. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  To endeavor to domineer over conscience, is to invade the citadel of heaven. Charles V.  Aspire, break bounds. Endeavor to be good, and better still, best.  Robert Browning.  All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. The fight to the finish spirit is the one... characteristic we must posses if we are to face the future as finishers. Henry David Thoreau. Not chance of birth or place has made us friends, Being oftentimes of different tongues and nations, But the endeavor for the selfsame ends, With the same hopes, and fears, and aspirations. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The last upload for today is “flip flops”. My granddaughter in law had taken hers off to rest her toes so I got this shot. 

Article: The cow carved from butter and on display at the Ohio State Fair for all the days the fair is open has been a special part of the fair for many years. Last year the cow was replaced with other butter sculptures. This year the cow is back. The title to the article is “hio State Fair butter cow unveiled: Here's what to know about this year's theme”. Using butter to create the varied and many sculptures shows that there are “nods to work underway to renovate the Dairy Products Building” which is only part of a plan for updates to the full fairground. In watching the carving going on will show a person in a hard hat for safety purposes. You would also see worker and the sculpture “positioned between various construction equipment, like cones, scaffolding and a jackhammer” all of the “art” supplies necessary to create these masterpieces. The scheduled update to the fair is “a multiyear renovation project for the Ohio Expo Center & State Fairgrounds”. As for the housing of the cow and other sculptures it requires a 36-foot-long refrigerated display case. The temperature outdoor is sometimes reaching 100 degrees while the “sculptors shiver in their jackets in the Dairy Products Building”. Along with the sculptures there are other thing to see in the same building such as “educational material that promotes the work of the more than 1,300 dairy farms in Ohio”. I didn’t realize how old the butter cow had been a part of the fair and learned there that it is an 122 year old tradition starting in the 1900s. This year there is one cow and one calf. In other years there have been themes to pay tribute to “elite athletes to Darth Vader”. The butter used for the “constructions” comes in 55 pound blocks donated from the Dairy Farmers of America. After the fair closes “the butter will be recycled into nonedible productions”.

I think chicken pot pie for dinner. 

Joy 

                            a cabin not quite in the woods

 July 21, 2025 a thought for today, Man has a thousand schemes Heaven has but one. Chinese Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “lazy or relaxed days”. This was taken when they were working on my new deck. This was on of the rest periods. 

The next upload is “windows and/or doors”. This is from my archives taken at a
time when I worked downtown. 

The next shot was taken on the same day as the work on the deck. This one is titled “worn”. It represents both worn clothing and worn working.

Life today. Though most of my family don’t plan to “work” on Sundays if they can help it, we did yesterday. The top of the deck is finished but the steps aren’t. Sweet Pea couldn’t be just “open the door” and let out, (we have a fenced in yard). So Tami, Lowell and Andy came to put a temporary set of steps in for her. At first she jumped off where were no steps and fell on her face. Then I coaxed her to go down the steps. She does that now but seems confused to try to come up them. I coax and coaxed until nada. Then I get the leash and collar and lead her up... that works. Still no amount of coaxing will get her up. I think a “crew” of family and friends will be here to finish the steps Tuesday. I am getting 5000 steps a day, and aching leg, with this added walking. They say exercise is good

The last upload for yesterday was “door”. As is pretty obvious it is a door on a delivery truck. I like all the bolts and knobs and line and shape. 

Wow, what a Monday. Unlike most. It started out that I had to pick up my glasses. I had the exam appointment about two weeks ago, the glasses were ready Friday but I wanted to be here for the start on the new deck. After the eye doctor stop I went to Kroger to pick up a refill on meds and a couple of other things. When I go in the store I see things that I miss on the online list for curbside pick up. 

When I got back home I started on the bulletin. I had trouble getting the information I need for parts of it from my usual source. Maybe they don’t do the web anymore. So I looked for and found a new source but not as happy for it as the other. 

The first upload for today is “my choice”. This one is from a series of “faceless portraits. I find most of my “models” for these kinds of photos in shopping malls. 

I had a long list of things for today but most of them will be going to the back burner for tomorrow. Some days there is just not enough hours in the day. Another thing that was a little different today is that my sister and I took some time to have longer conversations than we usually do. 

It was also back to the up the steps exercises with Sweet Pea again. 

The next upload is “out the window”. I chose to use one from out my car window

for this one. I am leaving the Kroger parking lot.

The word today is end.  One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. Plato.  Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Seneca.  I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end. Abraham Lincoln.  The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom. John Locke.  To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution. Samuel Johnson.  The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. Johann Sebastian Bach.  There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory. Francis Drake.  The end of labor is to gain leisure. Aristotle.  To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life. Robert Louis Stevenson.  We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, driven from end to end. Blaise Pascal.  When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness. Tecumseh.  We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end. Benjamin Disraeli.  If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead. William Law.   Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings. Heinrich Heine.  To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom. Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

The last upload for today is “letters”. I took a few shots for this one. I used “letters” as mail and I took some photos of statues of alphabet letters at the park. 

Article: I think this place in Columbus is in the “news”, PR and otherwise, right now because it was used last week as part of the Columbus Library Book Festival. The library set up tents on the lawns of the Tipperary Garden as only part of the festival with the rest in the main library, right next door, also loaded with things to see and do. I visited the garden several times in search of photos several years ago. I think it has even more “statues” made of nature now, or more than I remember. The article is titled “Discover The Whimsical World Of Topiary Park”. The article starts out saying how this park is an “overlooked gem” with “unique blend of art, history, and nature”. It goes on to explain that the “serene landscape” features sculpted topiaries that are meant to “recreate a scene” from a painting called A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. The sculptures are figures in a “living, breathing masterpiece”. There are “54 human figures, three boats, a monkey, and dogs—all shaped from yew trees”. This garden began to take shape in 1988 and completed in 1992 about the same time as the  “biggest horticultural event to ever take place in Columbus: AmeriFlora”. Walking through the park you will see new perspectives.  Every season there is a “new palette of color”. The article goes on to say that “art lovers, history buffs, and nature enthusiasts converge” and photographers too.  It is a good place to sit a read or visit the Main Library that is right next door. 

Dinner will be from the freezer for tonight. 

Joy

                                            From our theater group

July 19, 2025 a thought for today, If man cheats the earth, the earth will cheat man. Chinese Proverb

One of the photo uploads for yesterday was “yellow”. This is one of the flowers from my window gardens. 

The next challenge was “from above”. As I was walking Sweet Pea I saw this wild strawberry and figured I was looking at it “from above”. I decided to add part of my shoe too. 

The last upload for yesterday was “something out of the ordinary to photograph”. This is the cement steps that were under the wooden deck. It did get neatened up after I made the shot. 

Yesterday they started on my back porch. What a mess now....but it will be amazing in a few days and what a relief. 

Life today. Today will be another day on the back porch. I think it will be done today or tomorrow. They put a ramp at the back door so that Sweet Pea could get in an out. She does pretty good going down, now so much coming up. Under the porch/deck there was a set of crumbing cement steps. They are still there and mostly useable. The ramp only takes up half their width so she will do her best (with the weak hips and all) comes up them instead and very slowly and carefully. She and I are getting unplanned exercise with this event. It’s all well worth it, anyway its an adventure....we don’t get many of those in this time in life. 

The first upload for today is “something found”. This penny has been laying on the drive way for a few days. My great grandson found it an picked it up. 

I have my regular Saturday agenda, by that I mean curb side grocery pick up. I moved my car out of the driveway so that I wouldn’t have to ask others to move theirs when I need to leave. 

I also got a start on this letter so I could spend time with the family as they are working in a little while, probably for most of the day. 

It is mid afternoon and the sky is still clear. Hopefully the rain will hold off until the work is done. 

 I missed the funeral but I expected that since this work was being done. 

Next upload is another of the “my choice” and is another of my “minimalist” series. This one is one of the lights in the shopping mall parking lot. 

The word is employ. Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for. Socrates.  A youth, when at home, should be filial and, abroad, respectful to his elders.  How good is man's life, the mere living! How fit to employ all the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy! Robert Browning.  Men use thought only as authority for their injustice, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts. Voltaire.  Those who gave thee a body, furnished it with weakness; but He who gave thee Soul, armed thee with resolution. Employ it, and thou art wise; be wise and thou art happy. Akhenaton.  So long as the laws remain such as they are today, employ some discretion: loud opinion forces us to do so; but in privacy and silence let us compensate ourselves for that cruel chastity we are obliged to display in public. Marquis de Sade.  God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. John Donne.  If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it. Socrates.  Look at the means which a man employs, consider his motives, observe his pleasures. A man simply cannot conceal himself! Confucius.  There are three schoolmasters for everybody that will employ them - the senses, intelligent companions, and books. Henry Ward Beecher.  He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason. Marcus Tullius Cicero.

The last upload for today is “sundown”. This was taken some time ago and is found in my archives. 

Article: Here’s one of the “off the wall” kinds of article I may have brought here to share. This one is about peoples opinions about vacations. The title is “Why do so many American workers feel guilty about taking the vacation they’ve earned?” Some of the reasons listed are: questioned dedication, bosses looked down on taking time off, people around may think you are not “invested in the job”. It further stated that more that 88 percent of full time workers in the US are paid for time off. This is considered beneficial to “employee morale and well being”. There was a study done in 2024 that showed “that nearly half of American workers don’t take all the vacation days they’ve been allotted”. The article went on to relate many feel that as the vacation time approaches “feelings of doubt and guilt creep in”. The author conducted a study of the vacation question. Her team “interviewed 15 workers who had experienced feelings of guilt over taking time off”. Along with the interviews there was a survey to 860 full-time employees to add to the study. The study showed that “1 in 5 respondents to our survey experienced vacation guilt” and led to people not taking their full offered vacations, or they would take fewer days than allowed.  Some of what was a bit interesting was that the US is the “only advanced economy that doesn’t legally mandate a minimum number of vacation days”. I didn’t realize that only a few states require that workers be paid for unused vacation days. It goes on to say that the law in other “advanced economies” entitles a minimum amount of annual paid leave. In the US in some cases employees “face a “use-it-or-lose-it” situation, meaning unused vacation days don’t roll over from one year to the next”. The article ends by mentioning that employees need to have provided vacation days and a “supportive culture” to encourage the benefits of vacations with worry about negative interactions.

Maybe sloppy joe for dinner. 

Joy

                                  locked up 

 July 17, 2025 a thought for today, To open a book brings profit. Chinese Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was another of “my choice” and another of my “minimalist” series. This is one of my digital experiments with an original photo. I used Photoshop plug in filters and made adjustments until I got the shapes and colors I wanted to bring out of the original image. 

The next upload was “broken”. I remembered that I had a broken egg in the carton that I hadn’t removed yet. So it was all ready for my image for today. 

The last upload from yesterday was “peeking through”. I found this one in my archives. There was a time when I was younger and had first retired when I went up and down the alley looking for photos. This is one of them. 

Life today. I had another “hiccup” yesterday. I started work on the funeral bulletin. I first sent a sample of one we did a few years ago and asked the pastor if this is the format he wanted me to use. He said yes. Then he sent me the outline of information he wanted. I had the template open and spent an some time on it when I realized the information for this one was much less in typed content. Trying to fit it to a 14 x 17 three fold would leave a whole lot of white space. So I stopped and contacted the pastor. I told him it would be much better to reduce the size to a 11 x 14 two fold. He said ok. Back to the drawing board (computer) to start over. I got it done and upload before too late in the afternoon to get a feed back. Two spellings were noticed and fixed THEN  it was done for printing. 

I thought I was home free and ready to relax for the day. Then, a part on the back screen door broke. The spring concoction that regulates the close and open times had come apart from the door. I couldn’t get it off, now the spring “concoction” is so low that it catches on the bottom of the main door frame when I manually open and close it. I have to have someone who has any idea what to do with it come and help me out....Lowell, Tami or Andy. Until then, bend and stoop every time I need to let Sweet Pea out in the back. 

The first upload for today is “my country”.  I took  several different shots of things I think would work
 or this one. I settled on this one of one of my neighbor’s houses. 

The church was busy when I was there to print today. There was a food delivery for our food pantry with several volunteers helping to unload and shelves. Then there was a person checking out the organ for the funeral service we will have for this week. 

I left and made a couple of stops then got home to take a bit to a start on the newsletter and get back to this letter and some photos. Not to mention the laundry which I almost forgot to start. I will be late getting folded and put away. 

The next upload is another of “my choice” and yet another of my “minimalist” series. It is an ivy beginning to grow on the side of my garage. 

The word is else.  Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. Arthur Schopenhauer.  A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else. George Savile.  He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. Benjamin Franklin.  Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight. Marcus Aurelius.  For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God. Saint Teresa of Avila..  How sweet it is to learn the Savior's love when nobody else loves us! When friends flee, what a blessed thing it is to see that the Savior does not forsake us but still keeps us and holds us fast and clings to us and will not let us go! Charles Spurgeon.  The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do. Galileo Galilei.  No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else. Charles Dickens.  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.  Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else. Epictetus.  If you get simple beauty and naught else, you get about the best thing God invents. Robert Browning.  Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee. Michel de Montaigne.

The last image for today is “something circular”. This is another structure in my neighborhood. I drove  round looking for round windows. I like this one from the series I shot. 

Article: This could be a field trip. The “house” in the article is full of all kinds of pencil sharpers. When I saw a photo of them I thought of my Aunt Margaret who collected all kinds of salt and pepper shakers, many looking like those of the pencil sharpeners. Many are shaped like washers and dryers or sewing machines miniatures all of them in that kind of  nature. It also started me thinking of life long collecors who’s collecting may seem like hoarding. But I realize there is a big difference. Collectors are very particular in what they are looking for and want to keep. Hoarders “collect” due to possible problems and are not so particular in their collecting. The title to this article is “The Quirkiest Museum In Ohio Is Tucked Away In Hocking Hills”. There was a man named Paul Johnson who “collected sharpeners as a hobby, eventually lining the walls of his backyard shed with them”. There are sharpeners shaped like “ a toilet, several versions of Big Ben, and one that looks suspiciously like a tiny fax machine”.  When he passed away his collection ended up at the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center in 2011. In 2023 the collection “got a proper home” in this “quirkiest museum”. Apparently this museum has had people from all over come to see the sharpeners. It is said that international visitors have even stopped by. In 2022 the museum grew with a donation from another person who collected European sharpeners, some from the 1800s was donated to the museum.  After his passing his wife found this museum and knew it “was the right place” for his collection. Now there are over 5,000 pencil sharpeners. The article ended with “it’s weird. It’s free. And it’s exactly the kind of thing you remember”.... “have fun and embrace the weird!”

Salmon burgers for dinner tonight. 

Joy 

                  steps to an office building in German Village