October 29, 2025 a thought for today, An evil deed has a witness in the bosom. Danish Proverb

My life in photo uploads for yesterday

The first upload yesterday was “a reflection”. I try to use a photo I have shot the appointed day. But sometimes due to one thing or another I use from the archives I choose a photo that fits the challenge and fits my mood of the day. This one as you can see is of my rear view mirror as I am waiting for iced tea. 

Next upload is “boo”. We have so many home in the neighborhood decorating for Halloween so it is relatively easy to find one that fits the challenge. This one was taken as I cruised through nearby streets. 

The last upload for yesterday was “my choice”. This is a "black and white" from my series and is on a wall art next to the drive through where I got my iced tea. 

Life today. I had a big surprise yesterday. One of my grandson’s sent me and my sister beautiful bouquets of flowers. It was an uplifting and unexpected event. 

Today was getting the add-ons to the Thursday printing and delivery plans in order for tomorrow morning. I have the envelopes for the shut in bulletin addressed and stamped. I also put together a activity envelopes for my six great grand children. 

This is the last food pantry day of the month. Yesterday was packed. We were busy the full time leaving very little time to chat. I am wondering what today will bring. 

....I am back from pantry. We didn’t have as many families today but there were small mixups several times that made things a little tense. All in all they worked themselves out, mostly.

I think I am going to finish the letter and upload the photos then get to the kitchen to make the potato soup. 

The word for today is less.  Sometimes the poor are praised for being thrifty. But to recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less. Oscar Wilde.  And though thou notest from thy safe recess old friends burn dim, like lamps in noisome air love them for what they are; nor love them less, because to thee they are not what they were. Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  Men trust their ears less than their eyes. Herodotus.  The less routine the more life. Amos Bronson Alcott. There is little less trouble in governing a private family than a whole kingdom. Michel de Montaigne.  For age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  What we learn only through the ears makes less impression upon our minds than what is presented to the trustworthy eye. Horace.  To prefer evil to good is not in human nature; and when a man is compelled to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he might have the less. Plato. Stand a little less between me and the sun. Diogenes.  However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  As I approve of a youth that has something of the old man in him, so I am no less pleased with an old man that has something of the youth. He that follows this rule may be old in body, but can never be so in mind. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Do not speak of your happiness to one less fortunate than yourself. Plutarch.  The more you are talked about the less powerful you are. Benjamin Disraeli.  Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong. Thomas Jefferson.  You can have no dominion greater or less than that over yourself. Leonardo da Vinci.  

Article: I am still examining AI. It mostly scares me. On the other hand I think there is good to it. I think the question and fear of it is whether it can be totally controllable for the good. I see it much like the discovery and ability to control fire. So I wanted to learn the AI connection in this article the title to this article is “Stethoscope, meet AI – helping doctors hear hidden sounds to better diagnose disease”. It opens by mentioning that the stethoscope has been around for over 200 years. The article describes the tool as a “medical instrument used to listen to and amplify the internal sounds produced by the body”, in using the sounds as “indicators” of heart and lung diseases. There are other health and medical sounds that can help doctors make diagnosis. So “scenists and engineers” are exploring ways to detect ailments and heart sound that are more “defined” and less difficult to hear. According to the article research had shown that “combining stethoscopes with artificial intelligence could help doctors” that could lead to a more “timely” treatment. The article described the early design of a stethoscope by a man seeing children using long wooden sticks to move sound. A scientist caught onto it and used a rolled up piece of paper to listen to an ill child’s heart. Over time the shape and form of this medical tool changed becoming more effective. Again according to the article, digital models of the stethoscope have been available since the 2000s. Doctors listen for the sound “lub-dub” rhythm along with more unusual noises as murmurs and other sounds. Of course there are differences in the sounds making it a “challenge” in diagnosis. This is where the article brings in the use of AI to “hear what people can’t”. It can apparently “identify the hidden differences in the sounds of healthy and damaged hearts” making for a quicker diagnosis, they say, even before murmurs appear. It is said the researchers are making  algorithms that analyze digital heart sounds combined with these digital stethoscopes for an “accessible tool to screen for heart disease”. Testing show that these “tools” can “classify” healthy heart sounds 95 percent of the time and types of heart diseases with 85 percent more accuracy. 

I have a hankering for potato soup....I think that will be part of dinner. 

My life  photo a day uploads for today

The first upload for today is “my choice” and another from my black and white series. I took this one day as the pantry was clearing out.

The next photo upload is “sunset”. This one is taken from my archives. 

The last photo upload was taken in the neighborhood. The title to the
challenge is “costume”. Trick or treat hasn’t arrived, it is today. So I had no other costumes is use as models or props. 

Joy

a bonus art created from an original photo an enlarged and framed copy of this one is in our powder room

 October 27, 2025 a thought for today, Every day has its evening. Danish Proverb

Photo a Day uploads for yesterday

This first photo a day challenge upload for yesterday was “something joyful”. For me right now the “something joyful” was relaxing with my new best furry friend. Bobbi seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. 

The second upload for yesterday was “fence”. This is a double fence, my chain
link with morning glories growing on it and my neighbor’s beautiful privacy fence. 

The last upload for yesterday was “decorations” . Many folks in this neighborhood decorate in many ways for each holiday season. This is one of many of the less but tasteful kinds of scenes we see as we drive along the streets. 

Life today. The bulletin is done. Now I need to get it out to be proof read. I want to let it “rest” before I re-read it too. 

I have a couple of problems I am thinking over before making a decision. Both more or less involve Bobbi. In some ways it is like having a small child. I may need to have some pest control services and I don’t want to put her in any danger. Another is that I may need to get her to the vet to do a follow up on her eye problem. This is one of those days I am having a senior discomfort issue making it more difficult to focus. It will pass after a day or two or more of Tylenol every four hours.

After I got the bulletin done I started on the “research” portions of this letter. Those generally take an hour or so. Then I had to think about the photo challenges for the day. 

 The weather is on a woe-is-me sort of day, not very smile inspiring.  It’s cloudy and on the cool side. The week end itself was mostly on the sad side too, one that is still on my mind.  So all in all this could be a better day.

The word is length.  It is not length of life, but depth of life. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Life's like a play: it's not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them. Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will. Michel de Montaigne.  A man watches his pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap. Abraham Lincoln.  It is of great use to the sailor to know the length of his line, though he cannot with it fathom all the depths of the ocean. John Locke.  There comes a pause, for human strength will not endure to dance without cessation; and everyone must reach the point at length of absolute prostration. Lewis Carroll.  The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them. Henry David Thoreau.  Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together; that at length they may emerge, full-formed and majestic, into the delight of life, which they are thenceforth to rule. Thomas Carlyle.  We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time. Aristotle.  Who apart from the gods is without pain for his whole lifetime's length? Aeschylus.  The length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height. Leonardo da Vinci.  Long stormy spring-time, wet contentious April, winter chilling the lap of very May; but at length the season of summer does come. Thomas Carlyle.  The way to heaven out of all places is of length and distance. Thomas More.  The day is of infinite length for him who knows how to appreciate and use it. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  I once laboured hard for the free will of man, until the grace of God at length overcame me. Saint Augustine.  

Article: The house in this article seems to have it all, everything we think of when we think Halloween. This one is local. I imagine there are more like it all around the country during this holiday season. The article title is “This Charming Victorian Home in OTE Is Peak Halloween Vibes”. The house has a name,  the A.J. Soseby House. What brings it to the forefront right now is “the most incredible Halloween decor”.  There seems to be every kind of icon we note as Halloween in nature. There are broomsticks hanging on the porch, window and a fence. There are pumpkins arranged on the porch. As the article mentioned the architecture of the house seems to automatically lend itself to sights and thoughts of Halloween. The article called it “spooky, yet irresistibly adorable”. The house was built in 1895 in the Victorian style. In 2018 the house was bought by the last of many families. The present owner added new life “balancing its rich, old-school elegance with a quirky, fun energy”. It seems this historic neighborhood itself is in step with decorations as classic cobwebs and all the other holiday decorations and activity for trick or treat night. The city block is closed to traffic making it safe for the “beggars”.

I think I have tuna casserole in the freezer for dinner. 

Photo a day uploads for today

My first upload today is “moon”. I am not normally awake when the moon shines. However, every now and then I for one reason or another I may be awake enough to pop outside when there is a moon showing itself way up there. 

The next upload is “my choice”. It is one of my series of “black and white”. This one shows my new decking material (it's really a beautiful silver color) with a fallen leaf in the glory and draw of a black and white image.

The last upload for today is “stillness in nature”. I feel that is one of natures major natural draws of attention, stillness. This one is of one of my miniature rose bushes.  It is almost one of the last roses of summer this year. 

Joy

a bonus art image created (not AI) from my original photo of the back side of the replica of Santa Maria docked for a time in Columbus Ohio

 October 25, 2025 a thought for today, Act honestly, and answer boldly. Danish Proverb

Photo a day challenges for yesterday

The first challenge upload for yesterday was “shapes”. I remembered the challenge title as “shapes in nature” so I chose this one. Wild strawberries in a field of green. 

he second upload was “my choice”. It is one from my series of “black and
white”. Early spring vines and blooms. 

The last upload for yesterday was “abandoned”. This railroad track is one found not to far from my home. 

Life today. I had brought the newsletter home to finish getting it ready for mailing. I finished that early. Lowell picked me up to attend a funeral. He had grown up with some of the family members. Rebecca was there when we got there. The father of the family passed away this past week. I was happy to see Lowell glad to see his old friend Steve. The service was very nice and honoring of Roger. After Lowell dropped me off at home he mentioned that he would drop the newsletters off at the post office for me. The rest of the day was my starting to catch up on things that were put on the back burner this past week. 

I have the Saturday curbside groceries picked up and put away. Then I had time for some light house work before getting back to my daily computer activities. These have come into an adjustment period of sorts. Bobbi seems to want to be connected to what ever is going with a keyboard and mouse (not the live kind...the other kind). She is laying in front of my computer screen much of the time. She likes watching the motion of the curser and key stroke movements as well as the page movements when I am changing views. 

The light house work was running the irobot in my bedroom and loading the dishwasher. The frig needs cleared out too. The dish washer is full so I will finish the frig tomorrow. I am going to try to find time to do some light pruning on my window box gardens too. Then I think I will call it a day. 

The word for today is leisure. The end of labor is to gain leisure. Aristotle.  A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave. Benjamin Franklin.  The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time. Henry David Thoreau.  No president who performs his duties faithfully and conscientiously can have any leisure. James K. Polk.  Leisure is the Mother of Philosophy. Thomas Hobbes.  In our leisure we reveal what kind of people we are. Ovid.  He hath no leisure who useth it not. George Herbert. There are moments when all anxiety and stated toil are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature. Henry David Thoreau.  Leisure is the time for doing something useful. This leisure the diligent person will obtain the lazy one never. Benjamin Franklin. He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul's estate. Henry David Thoreau.  Leisure with dignity. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  I would not exchange my leisure hours for all the wealth in the world. Honore Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau.  But men must know, that in this theatre of man's life it is reserved only for God and angels to be lookers on. Francis Bacon. There can be no high civilization where there is not ample leisure. Henry Ward Beecher.  Take away leisure and Cupid's bow is broken. Ovid.  Spend your leisure time in cultivating an ear attentive to discourse, for in this way you will find that you learn with ease what others have found out with difficulty. Isocrates.  

Article: This is the season for such an article. It peeked my interest in a history of pumpkins. The title is “Pumpkins’ journey from ancient food staple to spicy fall obsession spans thousands of years”.  The article mentions that pumpkins are not all orange as many of us recognize them . They can be found in the colors of  red, yellow, white, blue and even green. They are grow to all sizes and shapes. I like that they mention where the name pumpkin comes from, Greek for, “peopon....large melon.” The article goes on to say that pumpkins are a fruit because they have seeds. In history pumpkins came originally from Central and South America. They moved through North America as Native Americans brought seed with them to other parts of America. Another bit of history in the article is that the oldest pumpkin seeds were discovered in Mexico about 9,000 year ago. I also learned that they were grown as a crop before corn and beans. The three, beans, corn and pumpkins, helped each other in their growth. Corn was planed in the spring, as they became a few inches tall beans were planted.  It interested me that the bean vines grew around the corn forming a “natural trellis”. There is also a chemical action were beans use nitrogen to convert bacteria into a form that other plants can use as fertilizer. When the beans start growing it becomes time to plant squash some in the form of pumpkins. Once their leaves cover the ground it provides shading and keeps the soil moist not to mention keeping the weed growth down. Another thing I learned that every part of the pumpkin plant is edible. Even the outer shells were used by Native Americans to cut them in strips and make mats with them. Apparently they are easier to grow here than they were in England or France in the 1600s. American settles learned from the Native Americans how to use pumpkins as food. Pumpkin “pies” made by the early settles were hollowed out pumpkins filled with milk, honey and other spices. They were cooked over open fires or “hot ashes”. The early pumpkin pies as we know them started in 1796 where at that time recipes could be found in a cook book. As pumpkin pies became more and more common certain spices where put together in one mixture and sold that way in the 1930s. So pumpkins are a popular “fruit” with young and old especially at harvest season. Kids go on field trips to pumpkin patches to pick their own. So now they are used for more than just food. The are decorations and bring smiles and fun in carving and decorating with them. 

I think creamed chicken over biscuits for dinner. 

Photo a day uploads for today

The first photo a day challenge upload is “scary”. This is one of the several holiday decorations I the neighborhood this season. 

The next upload is “tree lined street”. In the city it is difficult to find a tree lined street that doesn’t also have cars parked along the curb. 

The last upload for today is “favorite drink” . Most people who know me know that my favorite drink is iced tea. For a change and for today I used a chocolate milkshake from McDonalds as my model. 

Joy

a bonus upload for today is an art piece created (before AI) from my photo of a lady bug quilt my daughter made for her daughter

 October 23, 2025 a thought for today, Another man's burden is always light. Danish Proverb

My life in photo form yesterday

The first upload yesterday was “my choice”. It is from my series of “black and white”. This is a corner of my dining room/office, a mirror and comfortable collections. 

The next is “what I see”. It is what I see everyday when I step out on the front
porch. The colors and foliage change, of course. 

The last upload for yesterday is “ball(s). I was looking around for any balls my visiting kids may have left behind when I spotted this “game” for my new best furry friend and house mate, Bobbi. She completely ignores it. Oh well. 

Life today. Wow what a day. I felt compelled, a personal hang up, to get a certain amount of an obligation or obligations done at a certain time. It may be a sign of a perfectionist - a person who sets demanding standards then has a fear of not finishing them.. I had a number of things I “assigned” myself and for other people to get done by this mornings printing schedule. I needed to put together a sheet of lyrics as in insert to one of the bulletins. Then the Sunday bulletin.. This was also newsletter week. Then there was a funeral bulletin to put together. Lastly yesterday afternoon they were all done. This morning before I left for the church there was tiny fixes to make in the funeral bulletin. Then I saved everything to my flash drive and left to print. I had a Helping Hand....the computer booted up in reasonable time. Then all of the printing moved smoothly. We generally put the finished newsletter together on Friday. But since the funeral will be Friday I decided it would be disrespectful to do it then. I brought it home to finish on my own over the weekend.   

Once I got home, after stopping for gas, I cleaned kitty litter and covered my miniature roses since there is a prediction of a freeze for tonight. Then I managed time to start the laundry as well as get a bit of a  start on finishing the newsletters. 

I was able to get a paragraph done on this letter before I left this morning. I shot the photos of the day on my way home as well as the stop for gas. I did the Photoshop work on them, moving from the camera to a computer file, key worded, copyright signature added and photo to the monthly calendar portfolio page before getting back to this letter. 

Now to finish it all up and fold the laundry.

The word today is led.  If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. George Washington.  I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. Alexander the Great.  We can't have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves. Thomas Aquinas.  I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way. Thomas Jefferson.  Whenever we think of Christ, we should recall the love that led Him to bestow on us so many graces and favors, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of His love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love Him. Saint Teresa of Avila.  I partly know why I have not led a perfect life like other believers. But I avow to my Lord, and I do not lie, that from the time when I first knew him, the love of God and the fear of him has grown in me from my youth so that I have, by the power of God, always till now kept the faith. Saint Patrick.  A zeal for the defence of their country led these heroes to the scene of action, though with a few men to attack a powerful army of experienced warriors. Daniel Boone. Protection and patriotism are reciprocal. This is the way which has led nations to greatness. John C. Calhoun. 

Article: I found his article in the archives of an online news network sharing academic and  journalistic subjects of writings and format that I like to use and share from often. That added to the fact that I believe the interaction of humans with animals is rewarding, interesting and beneficial enough to share. The title to the article is “How dogs and cats can get their day in court”. It started out by mentioning that the FBI began “tracking” animal cruelty events in 2016 due to the fact that there is a “good chance” that they my lead to “hurting a human”. One deputy executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association recalled that they have “observed links between animal abuse and other types of crimes, including domestic violence and child abuse”. There is hope that by “vigorously” prosecuting cruelty to animals it will also help reduce violent crimes. It is further mentioned that in the article that these kinds of offenses there is a history of “longstanding failures to aggressively prosecute and sentence perpetrators of animal cruelty”. However as the article goes on it is mentioned that lawyers and law students may be encouraged to “advocate for animal victims”.  One thing that happens is that the courts are so inundated with crimes against people that the animal cruelty cases “take a back seat”and there may not be a record of that offense to be used as a picture of past offenses of any kind. Then the law and lawyers don’t have that incident to use when other cases involving a person come to the courts. These efforts lead to establishing criminal records for the perpetrators. The articles goes on with the advocate for animals idea in saying that this “can reduce the burden on courts and increase the enforcement of anti-cruelty statutes”. The “advocates” can “research police and veterinary records, interview experts and present recommendations to courts regarding intermediate and final issues in cruelty cases”. All of this leading to more available information that can lead not only more attention to protect animals it can also lead to less abuse to humans in the long run. 

Maybe sloppy joes for dinner. 

My life in photo uploads today

First upload for today is “orange”. As I cruised around looking for a good example of orange I spotted this bright orange car. I decided to use it in place of the pumpkins placed around right now in this harvest season, and the store employees orange vests. 

Next upload is another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “black and white”. This one is a stature of Mary at a near by Catholic church. 

The last photo a day challenge upload for today is “letters or words”. Again as I was cruising this word jumped out as if to say "use me”. It could signify several thing, leaving it to the imagination. 

Joy

a bonus upload for today is one of the several art images I created (before AI) using add on filters to Photoshop. This was an image of a telephone pole, a city light, city cables and wires against a gorgeous blue sky

 October 21, 2025 a thought for today, Truth's cloak is often lined with lies. Danish Proverb

Photo a day uploads for yesterday

My first challenge upload is “a tradition”. I called this a tradition because it is a “tradition” for me to use is for many of my photos and for times to visit for  quiet and peace. 

The next upload is “picture(s)”. This is my photo wall. It is a will of photos of
all of my family. 

The next upload is “camera movement or motion blur”. For t his one I used a motion blur filter on an image of the pond and trees in the park. 

The fourth and last upload for yesterday was “my choice” and is from my series of “black and white” images. 

Life today. I had planned for yesterday to transplant three of my larger house plants. But I didn’t do the planning so well. I decided to hold off on it for a few days, at least until this week is over. One of the things that may have changed my mind was Bobbi. Sunday she had started playing with leaves off the Dragon Tree plant which is poison to cats and dogs if eaten. So I am going to have to find a way to “cage” it, the plant, or give it away. The other two plants may have to go also. They are of the fig family also poison to cats. I had made plans for Tami to come over to help with the plants. Since I had asked her to come Sue had said she would like for her to help with things in her room. So as it turned out Tami helped with that and put some outdoor tools away for me. 

Today I finished the bulletin and sent it for proofing. I got the letter started then had a bit of time before getting ready to go to food pantry. With about an hour before time to go I spent working on the newsletter. I have one page left to finish it. I may have to put a hold on it temporarily. I realized and got information that I will be doing a bulletin for a funeral service we will be having on Friday. Plus another day of pantry. 

Pantry moved slowly today but in the end we served a good number of families. 

I am finding I have “separation anxiety” in leaving Bobbi right now. I am sure that will pass as we get more familiar with each other and our individual habits. 

So far the weather is holding in a set of cooler temps. This morning seemed the temps were at the lowest they have been for a while. 

The word today is leave.  Forcible ways make not an end of evil, but leave hatred and malice behind them. Thomas Browne.  Be content to act, and leave the talking to others. Baltasar Gracian.  The one thing I want to leave my children is an honorable name. Theodore Roosevelt.  Solitude, though it may be silent as light, is like light, the mightiest of agencies; for solitude is essential to man. All men come into this world alone and leave it alone. Thomas de Quincey.  O public road, I say back I am not afraid to leave you, yet I love you, you express me better than I can express myself. Walt Whitman.  Some books leave us free and some books make us free. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  I'm called away by particular business - but I leave my character behind me. Richard Brinsley Sheridan.  A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. Thomas Jefferson.  We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void. Michel de Montaigne.  Love thou the rose, yet leave it on its stem. Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton.  When our vices leave us, we like to imagine it is we who are leaving them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  A person who has not done one half his day's work by ten o clock, runs a chance of leaving the other half undone. Emily Bronte. Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now. P. T. Barnum.

Article: This is another item that can be a learning tool for all for a child with easter eggs as in many articles about adult learning and advancements. The title is “Truth's cloak is often lined with lies.” It opens by sharing that “puzzles, gymnastics, writing and using maps” as they move all relying on the ability to visualize and is called mental rotation (the ability to mentally picture how an object would look if it were turned or rotated). The article mentioned in research in 2022 and 2023 young people would solve problems as adults when they use this mental rotation ability. A child would be shown a picture of a fire truck and two smaller pictures of the same truck positioned in different ways. No matter how they were rotated the two would never match the large truck in one method of looking at the image. Some saw the image in one way and others another way. In these tests they were able to track eye movement. It was determined that some of the children “broke the image down into pieces instead of visualizing the image as a whole, known as a piecemeal strategy”. Some looked at it another way. One of the things these tests could determine was to allow “researchers, teachers and parents understand why some children struggle with learning to read”. The children who broke it down into pieces instead of as a whole are the same children who have trouble seeing letter like p and q differently. The article said that children can be helped by teaching them to rotate real objects as toys and blocks. This helps them to “practice breaking down shapes” into pieces. The article also mentioned that is helps in designing activities and educational tools. The way I read it I believe they were saying that playing a game of Tetris may show adults how this theory works. 

I think we will have chili for dinner. 

Photo a day uploads for today

The first challenge upload for today is another of the “my choice” and another of my “black and white” series. 

The next upload for today is “wild or wildlife”. This pair were enjoying a walk
in the park. 

The last upload for today is “macro”. This if of course our new family member named Bobbi. 

Joy

this bonus art piece is a creation from an image of a hibiscus about to bloom. It was created before I ever heard of AI

 October 19, 2025 a thought for today, No is a good answer when given in time. Danish Proverb

My photo a day challenge uploads for yesterday

My first upload was “a good habit”. It is a new habit I intend to get use to happily, staying with me at what I love to do...what better companion. Meet Bobbi.

The next upload is “favorite color”.  I don't know of any color that I don't like.
The one I chose for today is blue like the thin blue line and such.. I used this image from an original image of playground equipment. I used a plug in filter to Photoshop (before AI) to create it.

The last photo upload for yesterday was “food”. This one was from my archives. It is one of my sweet muffin with a dollop of whipped cream to top it off. 

Life today. Church attendance was light today probably due to the rain we were having. Those who were there are always a joy for me to see. I decided to give up an attempt at a new church choir experience. I gave it a try a couple of weeks ago. I got this feeling then and from earlier observations that we seemed to be  preparing for a semi-professional performance rather than singing for the purpose of praise.  I’m sure a lot of my discomfort involves my age and the naturally assorted limitations that comes with it as well as more spiritual experiences in my past choir activities. 

Tami and Andy were here for a while yesterday for a visit and to give Sue a hand with something she wanted. It ended up that I gave them a couple of other things to take care of for me. They also wanted a visit with Bobbi. The rest of yesterday was pretty much a “normal” Saturday.

Today is my rest, refresh and renew for the coming week. There is very little on my agenda except for the every day letter/blog and photos. 

The word for today is least.  He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature. Socrates.  Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite. Charles Spurgeon.  He has the most who is most content with the least. Diogenes.  Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers, and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love. Thérèse of Lisieux.  I may be no better, but at least I am different. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them. Saint Francis de Sales.  The vegetable life does not content itself with casting from the flower or the tree a single seed, but it fills the air and earth with a prodigality of seeds, that, if thousands perish, thousands may plant themselves, that hundreds may come up, that tens may live to maturity; that, at least one may replace the parent. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  That government is best which governs least. Henry David Thoreau. Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow. Horace.  Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know. Michel de Montaigne.  The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold. Aristotle.  Let your hook be always cast. In the pool where you least expect it, will be fish. Ovid.

Article: Here is another thing in history that I know little about so I thought I would have a look and share. The title to the article is: “Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary: How a technological marvel for trade changed the environment forever”. It opens by telling how th Erie Canal looks today, a “tranquil waterway” that passes through towns and forests. People hike, bird watch, kayak and cycle along the way. It all looked so different 200 years ago when it opened in October of 1825. Some of the description mentioned sights of decaying trees as it winded through 360 miles of forests and fields. Then mules pulled barges at 4 miles an hour. Goods were carried from the Great Lakes to the Port of New York City. Travel then was faster than wagons over “primitive roads”. The article said that cost in transporting goods dropped by 90%. The growth then and use of the Erie Canal “transformed the surrounding environment and forever changed the ecology of the Hudson River and the lower Great Lakes”. Prior to the canal people traveled the Great Lakes and Hudson River by canoe. In planning for the canal it would require locks to raise and lower boats. In 1817 thousands of men started the digging with hand shovels and pickaxes. Hydraulic cement from local materials were used and locks were created that “lifted the canal’s water level about 60 feet at Lockport”. As the canal allowed people to move more freely it “fueled” religious revivals as well as “social reform” and growth of cities in the Great Lakes area. With the growth of the waterway naturally aquatic species were involved leading to how to handle problems that arose with fishing and with harvests. The article went on to say that today there can be situations with invasive plants and animals. It helps when “boaters, kayakers and anglers”clean, drain and dry what ever equipment they use after each use to avoid carrying one “invasive species” to other locations.  In the late 1800s there was environmental concerns with  the canal. One such concern was erosion along the eastern feeder rivers as they were filling up with silt. There was a preservation plan where parks balanced recreation and commercial use of the lands. In the 20th century there was a decline in the use of the Erie Canal with the “deeper and wider St. Lawrence Seaway and competition from rail and highways”. I learned from the article that now there is still commerce but “the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor now provides an additional economic engine”. In 2024 3.84 million people used the canal for “cycling, hiking, kayaking, sightseeing and other adventures”. I like the part of the closing review of the article that the canal “has both shaped, and been shaped by, ecological forces and changing socioeconomic priorities”.

I think I will have “tuna helper” with fruit and sliced tomatoes for dinner tonight. 

My photo a day uploads for today

The first upload for today is “an autumn walk”. This is another one from my archives. Sue and I were on a short road trip on an autumn day when we passed this covered bridge along the roadway.

The next upload is “a circle”. This wreath on my neighbor’s fence seemed the best of the many circles I had shot today. 

The last upload is “bones”. I don’t buy meat with bones attached any more. I
do have one xray of the hip I had replaced several years ago but I can’t seem to find it. So I used some broken up leg parts from the top box in the corner of the living room. 

Joy

 I have another bonus photo today. This one is an art creation I made from the original image of a orange and brown afghan I crochet a while back. 

 October 17, 2025 a thought for today, Art and knowledge bring bread and honor. Danish Proverb

My photos a day challenges for yesterday

My first upload for yesterday was “o is for....”, object. I chose the orange cone for the object. 

The next challenge was “my choice” and one of my “minimalist” series. A
group of red grapes on a white background 

The last photo a day challenge upload for yesterday was “your outfit today”. It is pretty much my daily kind of outfit.

Life today. Yesterday the computer at church booted up more quickly than the last few weeks. I decided to try using the flash drive on the copier also. It worked perfectly. Next Thursday I will try doing the same with the newsletter, hopefully that will work as well. If so, I will not need the computer at all on most occasions. 

Bobbi is getting braver and exploring more as days go by. Today she started jumping up on chairs and my computer table. She keeps trying to catch a fly. She hasn’t succeeded yet. She seems healthy and happy. My only worry is that she will be able to get out the door to the outside if we are not careful. 

I got a very minimal start on the newsletter. I had hoped to get more done on it today but I have had one interruption after another. It looks like all I will get done today is this letter and my photos for the daily uploads. I was able to get to a bit of straightening here and there. 

Some of the “interruptions” were points of interest that came up as I write and with phone calls and messages. They spark some sort of need in me to do some google researches. Most of what I find are immediate answers to a question I have. Some and more of those answers adds to my knowledge base, generating a beginning to wisdom as they say. 

The word today is law. Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. Plato.  At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. Aristotle.  It is not wisdom but Authority that makes a law. Thomas Hobbes.  If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it. Julius Caesar. 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.  The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. Abraham Lincoln.  The safety of the people shall be the highest law. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature. Voltaire.  It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win. John Paul Jones.  The law cannot equalize mankind in spite of nature. Luc de Clapiers.  It seems to me that an unjust law is no law at all. Saint Augustine.  Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who posses it; and this I know, my lords: that where law ends, tyranny begins. William Pitt.  I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to protect myself. Thomas More. Self-defence is Nature's eldest law. John Dryden.  There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time. Napoleon Bonaparte.  Necessity is the mistress and guide of nature. Necessity is the theme and inventress of nature, her curb and her eternal law. Leonardo da Vinci.  Every dictator is an enemy of freedom, an opponent of law. Demosthenes.  The good of the people is the greatest law. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Order is heaven's first law. Alexander Pope.   Lawless are they that make their wills their law. William Shakespeare.  The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest injustice. Benjamin Franklin.  Sacrifice, which is the passion of great souls, has never been the law of societies. Henri Frederic Amiel.  

Article: I think it is always interesting to learn about our community. I didn’t know about this structure in our history and most likely many more hisoric places in our city and state. The history of this mansion sounds worth a look. The title to the artice is: “This Stunning Ohio Mansion Is Giving Major Downton Abbey Energy”. It is located in Akron not far from here. The article describes it as a trip back to the early 20th century with “grandeur and charm”. I might like to see the “grandeur and charm” and to journey a bit into history. The house was built in 1912 - 1915. The owners wanted it to “reflect” English country manors. It is built with touches of “impassive stone features” mostly of Tudor Revival” style. There are 65 rooms in the structure and walls of brick. There is a lot of stone trim along with “steeply pitched roofs” and “ornate” chimneys. Each room is descried as unique in historical touches. There is a music room with a 17th century feel and a “nine–foot Steinway piano to accompany a harpsichord and organ . The article says that the surrounding gardens are as “impressive” as the mansion. There are different styles in the gardens. There is an English Garden, a Japanese Garden, and a “Breakfast Room Garden”. Though the mansion has the 17th century feel it has modern features to make it comfortable and up to date on safety features. There is central heating, three elevators and even a central vacuum system. Additional to the mansion itself there are tennis courts, horse trails and a golf course. There is a “swimming lagoon” and an indoor swimming pool. The mansion can be used for “events and gatherings” like weddings and tours. The mansion has become a museum and “historic landmark”. The property is kept in “pristine condition” allowing for year-round visitors. 

It’s DoorDash for dinner tonight.

The photo a day challenges and uploads for today

My first challenge upload for today is “my choice” and another from my series of “minimalist”. I had to look around the house in cupboard and the frig to find something to get an idea to use. I decided on this one egg in my deviled egg plate.

Next is “something colorful”. This is my series of afghans depicting the seasons by the choice of colors, warm graded to cold. There are four separate blankets, spring, summer, fall and winter.  

The last upload was “metal”. I decided to use one of the several wind chimes I have for this “assignment”. 

Joy

my bonus photo today is art created from my original photo of one of the Ukranian eggs I decorated