July 20, 2026 a thought for today, Secret fire is discovered by its smoke. Spanish Proverb

Photo is my life yesterday

The first challenge was “bowl”. I bought this black bowl a while back to use as a prop and have used it as such several times.

The next assignment was “black and white”. This is my favorite model, Bobbi
when she was trying to hide in the bed clothes. 

The last upload is “sunset”. I set my clock to late me know when it was close to sun set time. We had a pretty hard rain just minutes before the stated time for sunset so I wasn’t sure what I would get. 

Life today. I am offering my own humble opinion as I think there are other things to be considered. In church yesterday we learned that pastors are all called the same way, and they are all called to do the same thing in the pastoral field. All this is true. The kind of pastor they are then enters the picture resulting in how many souls they can bring to and keep in the church and in Christianity. How they live their lives is an example to all in the congregation and those who may join. Then there is how and the way they present the message, the sermon, as in a heart and soul kind of way or something read from a page. Also, full time and part time are a consideration.

On to Monday. I have both the bulletin and the newsletter started. This is the busy week, pantry, newsletter, bulletin and family. I got as far as I could go on the bulletin until I can hear from the pastor for this week. I hope to have some extra time this afternoon to get a little more done on the newsletter. 

We seem to be having a nice break from the high temperatures. It’s still not quite as comfortable as it could be but better than last week. 

It is mid afternoon now and my energy is running low so I think I am going to start shutting down for the day. 

The word to ponder today born.  Men are born to succeed, not fail. Henry David Thoreau. Men are born with two eyes, but only one tongue, in order that they should see twice as much as they say. Charles Caleb Colton. I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there. Confucius. Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge. Dante Alighieri. Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains. Jean Jacques Rousseau. The sufferings that fate inflicts on us should be borne with patience, what enemies inflict with manly courage. Thucydides. O human race born to fly upward, wherefore at a little wind dost thou fall. Dante Alighieri. Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature. Cicero. No man who know aught can be so stupid to deny that all men naturally were born free. John Milton. Our deeds are like children that are born to us; they live and act apart from our own will. Nay, children may be strangled, but deeds never: they have an indestructible life both in and out of our consciousness. George Eliot. Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time. Hebrew Proverb. Genius is born--not paid. Oscar Wilde. It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire. Robert Louis Stevenson. To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. Cicero. All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin. Lord Byron. Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these. Ovid. Time ripens all things; no man is born wise. Miguel De Cervantes. Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do; and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. We are born believing. A man bears beliefs, as a tree bears apples. Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

Article summary. I like cheese, witchcraft and cheese, interesting, where can this go. The title is The spellbinding history of cheese and witchcraft. Tabitha Stanmore, Honorary Research Fellow, Early Modern Studies, Department of History, University of Bristol. At theconversation.com. The author mentions that as she was doing some research (as I find myself doing regularly) she came across an article that infers that giving a lady a piece of cheese has magic to it. She found it in reference to a book of magic. The author deducted that it may mean cheese may have magical qualitites due to being made with milk that gives “life and strength” or due to the way cheese is processed as possibly “magical”. There was a 12th century “mystic” who compared “making cheese the miracle of life” as it formed curds. As the article moved on it mentions that between 1450 and 1750 cheesemaking was likened to “all was chaos, that is, earth, air, water, and fire were mixed together”. Quoting here, a “2nd-century diviner, Artemidorus, mentions “tyromancy (fortune-tellers read the future by observing the way cheese ages)”. This “fortune telling” practice  continued, as a practice of “interpreting cheese dreams”. The sort of interpreting with cheese was used in medieval and early modern times to identify thieves and murderers. In this practice it would begin with a “prayer” to bless the cheese and say “his mouth be cursed and full of bitterness” then as it happens  “in the name of the devil” he will eat, if not guilty he will eat in the name of the Lord”.  Then the cheese was fed to the person, the “culprit” would be unable to eat the cheese. At a point in history witches would “meddle with milk and cheese”. In early modern Europe spoiling milk was associated with witches. There was an incident in around 1650 when a dairymaid was sure her milk was cursed because it turned into cheese, then there was a practice of a “counter curse” on the milk. To do that a stick of “rowan wood” would be on hand at milking time to “ protect the milk from ‘evil eyes’”. At another time in the story it was believed that “witches were also thought to magically steal milk directly from cows ‘udders”. More on the mysteriousness of cheese in history is a connection to grilled cheese sandwiches and adultery. To further that point, cheese is toasted, placed in a trap, a rat smells it, grabs the cheese and is caught this leads to the story of a woman catching a “rat”. If a woman in a dress and “adorned...entices a foolish ‘rat’, hence possible adultery. There is even more myths about cheese and its supposed “magic” qualities.  A piece of cheese thrown over the shoulder means fertility. Another is , for a man of impotence the wife would put a hole in a piece of cheese and feed the husband. Wow, I am amazed with these stories of cheese. 

 I think deli chicken and vegetable soup for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

My first upload is “a round food”. I used my black bowl as to give the grapes a resting spot. 

The next assignment is “my choice”. One of my series of “still life”. I had saved one of the roses for one of my recent bouquets. It looks pretty good in the still life. 

The last challenge is “door”. This shot is from my archives. It was taken in a
small town in Ohio many years ago. 

Joy

this bonus image is a sepia of a house down the street from where I live, it is uploaded to Fine Art America

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce