August 28, 2025 a thought for today, The hasty leaps over his opportunities. Lithuanian Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was “a color that calms me”. I like a lot of different colors. I think blue somehow seems attached to me. It does “calm” me. These are two of my sweat shirts that also “calm” me in the chill of air.

The next upload is “inspirational person”. There have been and still are many
people in my life who inspire me. The first and at the top of my list are my mother and father. There are many people in my life and a few who inspire me, all are an important part of my journey.

The last photo of yesterday was “my choice”, “touch of color” in my series. This one is a flower in one of the church gardens with a touch of sun light on the leaves.

Life today. The printing was done. Had to make a trip back home before I went into the church, I had forgotten my phone. The computer booted in about ten minutes, I read a quick chapter in my book while I waited. The Sanctuary was quite, silent and comforting as I passed through with the bulletins.

When I left the church I made the usual stops, mail, McDonald and photo searches. 

Sue had a Medicare councilor here when I got home so I parked by the curb until she had finished her visit. I got back on the computer so I wouldn’t interrupt their time. 

The first upload for today is “my choice” and is another of my series of “touch of color”. This is a photo of a piece of wall art in the neighborhood. I have separate the hand from the background to save the color and turn the back ground to black and white. 

Finally got started on the laundry and some plants watered. 

I have found a character that I like in my ebook reading. It is a James Patterson character. He is a civil servant, I once worked for the federal government and am connected to other civil/community servants. He and his family are Irish, that is my ancestry. He has ten adopted kids, all different kinds. I get really engrossed in the books where this is the main character. In the book his work life stories are pretty well balanced with his family life stories, also a plus. 

Now I have a few easy going days in a row. I am looking forward to that. I am also spending some time thinking of adding another furry friend to our family here at home. 

The next upload for today is “a sign of newness”. A new bloom is something new to the world. This is one of the moss roses in my window box/senior garden. 

The word today is fold.  I am like the sick sheep that strays from the rest of the flock. Unless the Good Shepherd takes me on His shoulders and carries me back to His fold, my steps will falter, and in the very effort of rising, my feet will give way. St. Jerome.  But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.  Jealousy is never satisfied with anything short of an omniscience that would detect the subtlest fold of the heart. George Eliot.  I could explain a hundred fold more than I ever have of the glories of the kingdoms manifested to me in the vision, were I permitted, and were the people prepared to receive them. Joseph Smith, Jr.  Whoever benefits his enemy with straightforward intention that man's enemies will soon fold their hands in devotion. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Truth can stand by itself...If there be but one right [religion], and [Christianity] that one, we should wish to see the nine hundred and ninety-nine wandering sects gathered into the fold of truth. Thomas Jefferson.  Our hands imbibe like roots, so I place them on what is beautiful in this world. And I fold them in prayer, and they draw from the heavens light. Francis of Assisi.  We are all gathered to the same fold. Horace.  Knowledge is two-fold, and consists not only in an affirmation of what is true, but in the negation of that which is false. Charles Caleb Colton.  Out of the bosom of the Air, Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent, and soft, and slow Descends the snow. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The morrow of this day will be eternity; then Jesus will return you a hundred fold the lovely, rightful joys that you are sacrificing for him. Therese of Lisieux.  The time to guard against corruption and tyranny is before they shall have gotten hold of us. It is better to keep the wolf out of the fold, than to trust to drawing his teeth and talons after he shall have entered. Thomas Jefferson.  

The last upload is “round”. This is part of a structure in the local park. The kids like to climb on it and seem to follow the shapes as the bend the bodies to fit the lines and curves. There are part to the “statue”, more interconnected circles and lines.

Article: I thought I would share what I read about some of the things that Columbus Ohio is “first” to do. The title is “Some People Don’t Know That Columbus Was The First To Do These 9 Things”. It started by listing a couple of things we have that are well known like the OSU foot ball team, the hockey and soccer teams. I didn’t know this one, but then I am not particularly a car race fan. Apparently we had the first 24-hour endurance car race which took place in 1905 at the Columbus Driving Park. The track was once made for horse races. One of the first car races covered 828.5 miles. The race track has since been replaced. According to the article we are home to the first woman to fly solo around the world in a 1953 Cessna called “The Spirit of Columbus.”  She flew in 1964 for 23,103 miles in just over 29 days. Columbus had the first junior high school in the United States in 1909. It was created to help fix a problem that existed.  “Over 50 percent of Columbus’ students dropped out of school before the tenth grade” before this school was created. In 1996 we had the first “soccer-specific stadium built in the United States”. Now the stadium can hold 22,000 people for various sporting events and concerts. Another of our firsts is the first shopping center in the US, opening in 1956. One of the firsts that I am most familiar with is the Lazarus department store. It was the first with air conditioning and the first with escalators. There are many memories of times in this store. It was the “flagship” in Columbus. It gave shoppers a “deluxe shopping experience”. Next on the “firsts” list is the public school for the visually impaired. It was established in 1837. According to the article there were eleven students enrolled the first year. In 2005 there were 126 students. In 1908 there was a water plant, the first in the world to “apply filtration and softening”. The last first on this list is the first bridge of its kind. It opened in 2010. According to the article it is the first in North America as a “three-span, inclined arch suspension bridge. What makes it “unique is the inclined single-rib-tied arch.”

Vegetable soup and a sandwich for dinner. 

Joy             

                                                              resting as nature planned

August 26, 2025 a thought for today, Those who have tongs do not burn their fingers. Albanian Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “cherries”. I don’t keep cherries on hand every day. However, I happened to have a bottle of maraschino cherries in the cupboard, my photo for the day. 

The next upload was “my choice” that is one of my series of “touch of color”.
This dandelion seems to stand out even more on a black and white background.

The last upload for yesterday was “something that begins with b...”. Perfecr, I was getting ready to make myself a grilled cheese sandwich....this bread and butter was the beginning. 

Life today. It’s been another busy morning. I had the bulletin done yesterday so that was one thing off of todays list. I got the rest of what I need for “printing day” done this morning. 

Brian texted early to see if it was ok to come and to the mowing. I told him if he could get it done early it would be fine. He was here in plenty of time. 

The first upload for today is “the last photo I took” (for the day). As I was waiting at a traffic light I saw this few and chose it for this upload. 

Today is a food pantry day. I was glad Brian could get done when he did that way I had plenty of time to get things done and ready to go. 

The weather really has taken a shift in the temperatures. It is actually chilly, cool enough for a sweat shirt. I’m not crazy about the hot temps but I’m not quite ready for summer to end yet either.

The next upload is another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “touch of color”. This red truck seemed to stand out in the parking lot. I figured I would give it a bit of a better stand out with a black and white surrounding. 

The word today is flow. Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tzu.  Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart. Washington Irving.  Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. Zhuangzi.  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.  A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy. Thomas Carlyle. Straight-away the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God, and not only do I see distinct themes in my mind's eye, but they are clothed in the right forms, harmonies, and orchestration. Johannes Brahms. The quality of the imagination is to flow and not to freeze. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  All things change, nothing is extinguished. There is nothing in the whole world which is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature; the ages themselves glide by in constant movement. Ovid. Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows. Henry David Thoreau.

The last upload today is “ice cream”. My carton of ice cream is almost empty so I used one of Sue’s

cartons for this shot. I took as taste, I may have to change my brand, it was delicious. 

Article: Since I do a lot of photography this article looked interesting. I thought I would share it for others who may find it educational too. The title is “A straight face, with a wink – the subtle humor of deadpan photography”. The first sentence explains “deadpan”. It is described as a manner of “address to an audience” and not so much the joke itself.  The author mentioned that she visited an exhibition of photography that had been organized in a relationship to humor. She related it to a paradox. She felt that photography using deadpan techniques “sheds light on just how powerful and incisive this form of humor can be”. In the telling of a story about the expressions or ideas of photography she mentions that the debate on the way to show these thoughts has been a “burden”. Like showing an “idea” in an physical “still” image is difficult. Typically photos “reproduce the world, rather than express something new”. She mentions that deadpan photos don’t need to involve people. She mentions a work of  Henry Wessel Jr. along with ten other photographers participated in an exhibit in 1975 that “trained a lens on landscapes altered by humans rather than nature alone”. Some of those images were printed in a “narrow tonal range”. They were described as “subject matter and aesthetic (that) were equivalents of deadpan’s monotone”. The author felt that “encouraged audiences to pay greater attention to their immediate surroundings”. She said that she felt his “his photographs demonstrate the wealth of information that lurks in the mundane”. I have attempted that, information in the mundane, in playing with filters and algorithms in Photoshop for the part of photography that is art rather than journalistic in nature. Personally in my photography I mainly like to show what is real, what happens in a moment of life. There is so much to capture with that in mind. On the other side of the coin, I like photography now and then as art also, showing line, shape, form, texture, color, size, and depth, not necessarily for the purposes of showing a image of the six senses. I haven’t considered it so much for humor. Humor, in my opinion, is a part of human expression and feeling in active forms not a captured moment.  Art is a matter of taste and a matter of presentation.

I think I would like Welsh rarebit again tonight. 

Joy

 August 22, 2025 a thought for today, He who seeks finds everywhere. Lithuanian Proverb 

The first upload for the 21st was another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “flat lay”. This flat lay is a few sheet of some of the art work two of my great grand children worked on as there was work going on the new deck. 

The next upload was “picnic”. I haven’t been on a picnic in a long time so I dipped back in my archives or this one. 

The last up load for yesterday was “feels like home”. As I am sitting at my desk and swing around this is my view.

Life today. My house is alive again today. The twins came last night for a sleep over and spend today with us. So there is movement and activity. There is youth, there is spring in things. There is also clean up and food choices. It is a sort of renewal or at least renewal of memories for eighty plus year olds. A breath of air and a sigh of relief. It’s good any time we can have our young people here for a visit. Sue and I are usually completely worn out when they leave but there is a warm glow to bask in as we rest and recover.

I was up a little early. The plan was to meet Dorothy at church to finish the newsletter. The last two months were too difficult to finish the newsletter at church because of the heat. But today is near perfect. She and Dennis came just a few minutes after I got there to unlock and shut off the alarm. Dorothy and I were able to catch up on the going ons in our lives and reminisce some of the past. We enjoy these short monthly meet ups. 

The first upload for today is “something I’m looking forward to”. This is one of my new “window gardens”. This one is on the fencing on the new deck. It is late in the season to be planting seeds but I just got this basket for the new fence. These seeds most likely won’t have time to bloom before the cold weather get here but I will be able to enjoy their greenery. They are johnny jump up seed and geraniums. 

I was eager to get home to spend a little time with the twins before it was time for them to go home.  I get to talk to them off and on between their cell phone time attention. Sue took them out shopping so I had time to make Sweet Peas next two weeks meals and water the plants, especially those in the full sun. 

Then it was back to the computer and to this letter. I was running so late yesterday that I didn’t get the blog uploaded for yesterday so I snuck that in as soon as I got home. I also had to set up two of the photos I needed for today. I have always been most interested in spontaneous photos for the “real life” and moments in time captures. But I am enjoying a touch of some other styles here and there too, such as flat lays and still lifes.

The next upload for today is “hard work”. This is another one from the archives. I am not in a position to see this kind of “hard work” going on to much lately. 

The word today is final.  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.  Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art. Frederic Chopin.  The roaring thunder of the law and the fear of the terror of judgment are both used to bring us to Christ, but the final victory culminating in our salvation is won through God's loving-kindness. Charles Spurgeon. A God without dominion, providence, and final causes, is nothing else but fate and nature. Alexander Pope.  Whatever may be his true and final destination, there is a spirit within him at enmity with nothingness and dissolution. This is the character of all life and being. Percy Bysshe Shelley.  The kind of man who always thinks that he is right, that his opinions, his pronouncements, are the final word, when once exposed shows nothing there. But a wise man has much to learn without a loss of dignity. Sophocles.  You have been the last dream of my soul. Charles Dickens. 

The last upload for today is “my choice” and one of my series of “flat lay”. I had the ground beef out to thaw and a bag of potato chips for the twins along with grapes for their snacks. So I put them together for a “food” type lay out.  

Article: This being summer time it is traditionally a time for vacations or maybe a day or week-end trip. Here is another suggestion of things to see and experience right here in Ohio. The title is “Hit The Water: Ohio’s New Lake Erie To Ohio River Trail”. I liked the first sentence, “waterways have been shaping the state’s history for hundreds of years”. It went on to say that they moved people as well as “goods” and ideas. They also build towns and “inspired inventors”.  Now we in Ohio are “celebrating that history with a new driving trail”. This trails lines take you to the historic water spots. It is called the Lake Erie to Ohio River Trail and offers 150 of this sites across the state “from Toledo’s National Museum of the Great Lakes all the way down to the Valley Gem Sternwheeler in Marietta”. The stops at these sights show “preserved towpath”, scenic overlooks, and communities that still thrives”. The author mentioned that it is like “stepping back in time”. Those visiting these communities will see that it is like “seeing how central they were—and still are—to life in Ohio.”  This layout of the Lake Erie To Ohio River Trail includes seven categories which cover, boat rides and ferries, lighthouses, museums, canal museums, natural areas, and historic sites. The natural areas and overlooks cover aquatic science and research sites. One of the historic places is a “1925 lake freighter docked in downtown Cleveland”. Along the way is the states longest natural beach, at Headlands Beach State Park in Mentor. This project, the Lake Erie to Ohio River Trail, “is the third of six experiential driving trails planned by America 250-Ohio, which is organizing the state’s celebrations for the U.S. semiquincentennial in 2026". There have been other trails one of which was the  Ohio Air & Space Trail and another planed was focused on the Ohio Creativity Trail, highlighting Ohio’s writers, artists, and musicians. There’s more to come, too. Future trails will celebrate Ohio inventors, transportation, and leadership, including stops connected to U.S. presidents. The trails are just one piece of the semiquincentennial celebration. Ohioans can also look forward to themed monthly celebrations”. 

I think I have a chicken pot pie in the freezer for dinner. 

Joy

                            our town

August 20, 2025 a thought for today, Sharp acids corrode their own containers. Albanian Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “my choice” another of my “flat lay” series. This is just a few of my hobby/craft tools. 

The second upload yesterday was “on the wall”. This is on one of the
“outside walls” of the McDonalds that I frequent. 

Next upload was “world day in pictures...my choice”. This is just another day of work on the roads. 

Life today. What a day this has been. It started out a little shaky but manageable. then one thing happened after another. I learned at the meeting I attended last night that a couple of changes needed to be made on the newsletter. So after my morning wifi checks I got started on the changes. After that was done I started on the searches I do for  information I want to include in the letter. 

I spent time getting the birthday cards done, envelopes done for tomorrow and the activity sheets for the kids that I sent each week. 

The first upload for today is “pattern”. This is the pattern on one of my friend’s shirts. I like the curvy line and shapes. 

Brian sent me a test saying he was on his way to do my lawn. I usually get involved in rather lengthy conversations with him and wasn’t conversationally  prepared for that today. But hey, the lawn needed done and he was handy and good enough to do a couple of other small fixes. 

Sue passed through saying that she was on her way to visit the twins. She told me they were coming to spend the night tonight. I was expecting that on Saturday not through the week thinking they were in school. 

After a few breaks in my work patterns my neighbor stopped and wanted to know if some roofers who were going to be working on her house could park a trash container in my driveway for a few hours tomorrow. I said sure but I have to get my car out before that so I can get to church.

The next upload today is “symmetry”. This is one of the doors at my church. It is perfect for this subject, symmetry. 

For a couple of days now my face book page has been coming up in a foreign language. I can get it to change to English some of the time but it mostly happens again when I shut down and then restart.  I depend on face book for my photos and for some church things. So I was researching for how I might be able to fix that

Lowell stopped by to see if a package he had ordered had been delivered so we had time for a quick chat. 

It was by then to get ready for food pantry. Yesterday was a really busy day,  today on the flip side. 

The next upload for today is “my choice” and yet another of my “flat lay”. This on is also from my church. It is part of the refreshments set ups that we offer our visitors at food pantry. 

The word for today is few. Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. William Shakespeare.  Few people have the wisdom to prefer the criticism that would do them good, to the praise that deceives them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  Do not talk a little on many subjects, but much on a few. Pythagoras.  He that leaveth nothing to chance will do few things ill, but he will do very few things. George Savile.  Few, save the poor, feel for the poor. Letitia Elizabeth Landon.  Can anything be so elegant as to have few wants, and to serve them one's self? Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Hope is the best possession. None are completely wretched but those who are without hope. Few are reduced so low as that. William Hazlitt.  Few men would dare to read their own autobiography if all their deeds were recorded in it; few can look back upon their entire career without a blush. Charles Spurgeon.  Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood. William Penn.  True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions. Joseph Addison.  The great city is that which has the greatest man or woman: if it be a few ragged huts, it is still the greatest city in the whole world. Walt Whitman.  All wish to possess knowledge, but few, comparatively speaking, are willing to pay the price. Juvenal.  One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose. Voltaire.

The last upload for yesterdays was another of the one that I have from a club that has four photo a day each month. This one is “macro in nature”. It is another image of one of my resurrection lilies. 

Article: This looks like it might be another interesting place for a visit especially if you are interested in art and its surroundings. The title is “Free and Fantastic: Why You Need to Visit the Ohio Craft Museum”. In the opening paragraph it is mentioned that this “museum” might just be Columbus’ best-kept secret for art lovers and craft enthusiasts alike”. It is a space that “celebrates contemporary craft and the incredible work of Ohio artisans”. There is even a chance for hands-on experience. It was started in 1963 by the Ohio Designer Craftsmen organization. The museum building itself was opened in 1992. I read that there are five major exhibitions each year. There are also “focus exhibits” and some rotating displays. Some of the art pieces are hand-blown glass, some are ceramics. There are other kinds like hand carved wood as well as textiles, jewelry and paper art. Art classes are offered along with workshops for all ages. There are many art pieces available in the gift shop. The item selections in the gift shop are rotated so the displays may be changed frequently. It is my understanding that there are summer camps offered also. It was closed recently for upgrades and improvements. The article mentions that it is a place to discover creativity.

Out of the freezer for dinner. 

Joy

 August 18, 2025 a thought for today, Hard heads suffer much. Albanian Proverb

An upload for yesterday was “your best flower or plant image”. I have a lot of those, many are “favorites”. I took this one yesterday. It is one from one of my newly established “senior” window gardens. It has been the most productive plant in the boxes this spring/summer. 

The next upload was “day”. I didn’t know quite what to do to “show” this definition. Looking down the street on a quiet summer “day” this is what I see. 

The last upload for yesterday was “looking up”. I have several of these type images. My mood was to choose this one today. 

Life today. This is one of those days time ran away with me. Not to worry though I got a lot accomplished between phone calls, most of which were robo calls, and spills in the kitchen, just had to grin and bear it along with taking deep breaths. 

I got the bulletin done and out. I set up there photos and “developed” in the Photoshop “darkroom”. I worked on the photos for the Sunday School upload to Instagram and Facebook. 

The first upload for today is “something green”. This is a close up of a couple of the leaves on my fig tree. This has a story as many of us have with things around our homes. One of Bob’s friends had one of these trees in his office. It was so big and impressive it almost touched the ceiling at the Toyota sales where Bob worked. I was of enamored by it that I bought one. This is a baby compared to that one. 

I took one break so Swifter the powder room floor and clean out the sink. Since I didn’t go out today I even had to take time to prepare my own lunch, poor me. My enjoyed a spam, SLT. It was good. Then there was watering the “gardens”. 

I hope I am not bragging to soon, but I think I even got the newsletter done. I will wait for the final outcome on that one though. There may be another entry or two. I may send it out tomorrow before food pantry for some reviews. 

Now I have to go bring up the recycle can and water some plants. 

The second upload for today is “my choice”. This is one in a series of “flat lays”. This is some off my wooden kitchen utensils. 

The word today is felt. Then stirs the feeling infinite, so felt In solitude, where we are least alone. Lord Byron.  The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. Samuel Johnson.  He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it. Herman Melville.  I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. John Wesley.  As a small child, I felt in my heart two contradictory feelings, the horror of life and the ecstasy of life. Charles Baudelaire.  Seek ye first the good things of the mind, and the rest will either be supplied or its loss will not be felt. Francis Bacon.  In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. Charles Dickens.  I was living an extremely burdensome life, because every time I prayed, I became more clearly aware of my faults. On the one hand, God was calling me. On the other, I was following the way of the world. Doing what God wanted made me happy; but I felt bound by the things of this world. Saint Teresa of Avila.  

The last upload for today is “on the floor”. This one was a plain, simple and quick choice for me. My wooden floor with a corner of one of the throw rugs. 

Article: This may be another place to visit in Ohio and more to see there than just the sand dunes. The title is “Explore Ohio’s Hidden Sand Dunes At Oak Openings Preserve”. This is a 5,000 acre metro park in the Toledo area. There are “ecosystems” like wetlands to sand dunes. The sand dunes are “towering dunes like those at the Great Sand Dunes National Park”. They are unique in that they are in a landscape of prairie woodland trees. You can see “prickly-pear cactus” along with orchids in the wetter areas. As you hike you may discover animal tracks. There are benches for resting along the way. The article mentions that you can “step back in time” here. It is noted that “pioneers named the area for its widely spaced oak trees that made travel easier compared to the dense Great Black Swamp they had to traverse to get there”. It is mentioned that the oaks are still standing as a “living link to the past”. There is a place there called the Treehouse Village. There are treehouse with “cozy one-room retreats to multi-level structures that can accommodate larger groups”. There are “elevated walkways with rope bridges” that connect the treehouses.  This park not only has the dunes and the tree houses it is also “paradise” for wildlife. The article says there are trails for “every adventurer”. There are 70 miles of trials. There is hiking, biking and horseback riding. Among all of that already mentioned there are ski trails along with the mountain bike trail. The article ends saying “a place where nature, history, and adventure come together”.

I am having Welsh rarebit again tonight. It’s good!

Joy 

                         statehouse

 August 16, 2025 a thought for today, Hunger increases the understanding. Lithuanian Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “my choice” and another of my black and white series. It is a collection Sue and I have of memorabilia along with some of the few books I have on my shelves.

The next upload is “dancing”. I don’t have any images, even in my archives, of actual dancing. This is about as close to that as I could get, the twins and Gideon on the backyard trampoline.

The next upload is “soft focus”. As I was generating this image I ended with an sport of color also.  

The last images upload is one of the groups where I have four photos a day a
month. This one is “primary” colors. Since I couldn’t find a item around the house with only the three primary colors together I generated this one the a shredder and some construction paper. 

Life today. Matt has come to put some lattice at the end of the new deck. He brought Drew and Lexie.  It is beginning to get hot outside so I came in to get in the air conditioning for a little while. 

Before they got here I was able to get the letter started and the photo shot and formatted. I also had time to put some time in on the newsletter

The first upload for today is “blue”. This is one of the patio chairs on the porch across from my porch swing. It was Bob’s favorite spot in the evenings after dinner for a short while. 

I don’t have much on the agenda for today. I wanted to spend some time with them. There was one problem so I came in for a while. I had to go out for a while then come back in to get cool. It’s is in the 90s now and still going up. 

I think I heard that the rest of the summer is suppose to be more at a “normal” temperature instead of all of this heat. Autumn isn’t far off. The kids have or are going back to school, that is one of the signs for cooler weather on the way.

The next upload for today is “a doorway”. Sweet Pea loves to look out the door without the blinds on it. I don’t leave this door open often due to the AC running so she grabs every change she gets even when I set up for a photo pose.

The word today is fellow.  We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men. Herman Melville .  If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. Francis of Assisi.  No man has any natural authority over his fellow men. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live. Marcus Aurelius.  It is the true duty of every man to promote the happiness of his fellow creatures to the utmost of his power. William Wilberforce.  Off with you! You're a happy fellow, for you'll give happiness and joy to many other people. There is nothing better or greater than that! Ludwig van Beethoven.  An artist needn't be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow men. Vincent Van Gogh.  The smallest pain in our little finger gives us more concern than the destruction of millions of our fellow beings. William Hazlitt. 

The last challenge upload for today is “atmospheric (feelings an image evokes). I came upon these geese sitting very close to the mall parking lot and likes their pick for a morning stroll. I added a light filter to soften the affect. 

Article: There has been a lot of home schooling in my family over the years. I am wondering how AI will work in that genre. The article title is “Kids need soft skills in the age of AI, but what does this mean for schools?” It begins by wondering if “certain white collar jobs” will still be needed, jobs as “creative and analytic workers, such as computer programmers, or support as many entry-level knowledge economy jobs” which may include K - 12 teachers. The teachers who have always prepared “students for white-collar work”. This author relates that with all of the amazing things AI can do it “has a harder time handling complicated reasoning tasks, much less complex problems whose answers depend on many unknowns” and “no understanding of how humans think and feel”. It is referring to “soft skills” – attributes that allow people to interact well with others and to be attuned their own emotional states”. Further explaining that personality traits can be taught, such as emotional awareness.  An example would be the teacher asking the student about helping someone or someone who was kind then ask what their feeling was about the event, expressing their emotional response that is in their control. This helps them “manage frustration” and how to work with others. The article suggests that “making slow things fast, AI undermines learning, because effort is needed to learn hard things”. It is mentioned that seeing “the classroom as a place where basic skills are learned slowly” and “alongside other students” can be a necessary way for young people to learn and retain knowledge. I see that “the skills that underpin modern technology, such as math and reading, will likely continue to matter” is an important part of the thinking as well as the “interpersonal skills that make us distinctly human”.

Meat loaf and potato salad for dinner. 

Joy

                              home....school

 August 14, 2025 a thought for today, Other trees, other woodcutters. Lithuanian Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “something that’s changing” this is one of the window box plants that is in nature’s forever changing path. This on has reached the stage of returning to earth. 

The next upload is “beauty”. Some say it is a weed, I say it is a flower. Weed or

flower it is of nature’s beauty.

The last upload is “my choice” and is one of my series of black and white images. It is the cousin to the above image. 

Life today. It’s that day again.....Thursday and all it holds for me. I think I would miss going to church on Thursday. There is no formal sermon but there is a quiet and personal one as I walk through the darkened sanctuary. The only light is the colored reflections from the stained glass. The silence is relaxing to the point of complete freedom. It’s unique not an everyday, every person event. There is only one other spirit in the same space. 

The computer booted up much faster today. It only took about ten minutes. I have no idea what happened. Maybe the times that it was soooo slow the disk was skipping or running into a block of some sort. Maybe we should run CHKDSK. Though it scanned and booted ok today. I was done in about forty-five minutes. One other problem though, my phone was not connecting with the copier. It told me the copier was not available at the time. Last week it worked perfectly. This problem may have been a problem with wifi which is not unusual. 

The first image challenge and upload today is “collection”. It is a collection of photos of my family.

I dropped off the mail, made the usual stop at McDonalds and wandered for a few photos. The only other collections I have is of plants.

Once at home, back to the computer with some breaks mostly to work with my “gardens”. I now have four “window” planters, two on the new railing. I didn’t want to put out more money for plants for the fourth garden so I found the seeds I had put back for next spring, johnny jump up and geranium with a little Osmocote snack. Another break to Swifter the powder room and another to start the laundry. Then a couple of more breaks for quick pick ups. 

The next upload for today is “in the kitchen”. This of course is only a portion of my kitchen. I liked the touch of blue. 

The word today is fault  The learner always begins by finding fault, but the scholar sees the positive merit in everything. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.  When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. Epictetus.  Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me. Alexander Pope.  To find fault is easy; to do better may be difficult. Plutarch.  O conscience, upright and stainless, how bitter a sting to thee is a little fault! Dante Alighieri. It is no small misfortune and disgrace that, through our own fault, we neither understand our nature nor our origin. Saint Teresa of Avila.  Only nature knows how to justly proportion to the fault the punishment it deserves. Percy Bysshe Shelley. Tomorrow, every Fault is to be amended; but that Tomorrow never comes. Benjamin Franklin.  Never find fault with the absent. Alexander Pope.  Faultless to a fault. Robert Browning.  Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  

The last upload for today is yet another of “my choice” and another of my “black and white” series. I liked the lines, patterns, shape, textures as well as the shades of gray.

Article: Here is some more about AI. It is a major source of conversation these days. So we can gather as much as we need to make our own decisions and thoughts about it. This title sparked a new thought on the subject for me: “AI is making reading books feel obsolete – and students have a lot to lose”. The author started with mentioning that as AI was becoming into vogue people were already reading a lot less “than they did in the not-so-distant past”. She has a feeling that “AI is accelerating an ongoing shift in the value people place on reading”. The fact that AI allows for a “generated summary” of a plot and key themes and so “undermines people’s motivation to read on their own”. The article went on to mention that CliffsNotes allows for summarizing subject too, then the internet “opened up an array of additional reading shortcuts”. AI can “handle” the reading part of an assignment and “comparing” it with other stories. It can even “generate” questions. The article suggests that it doesn’t allow for you to judge what the relevance is and making connections of ideas. The article goes on to suggest that there are “justifications” to continue to read. Some of those “justifications” are reading for pleasure, reading to reduce stress, reading to learn and grow natural wisdom. It goes on to mention there are “correlations between reading and brain growth in children, happiness, longevity and slowing cognitive decline”. I learned that there has been a study “employing EEG measurements” that “found different brain connectivity patterns when participants enlisted AI to help them write an essay than when writing it on their own”. As the article ended it shared “what makes reading enjoyable – encountering a moving piece of dialogue, relishing a turn of phrase, connecting with a character”.

Chicken pot pie or Welsh rarebit for dinner. 

Joy

                             our Santa Maria