September 8, 2026 a thought for today, Experience is a long road. Swedish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “in motion”. I have a quiet neighborhood. There seems to be little in motion except for maybe someone walking their dog or someone watering the lawn especially early on Labor Day so I chose my flag as it was moving in the breeze. 

The second assignment was “1st person I saw”. Naturally it was me, myself, so I took a mirror shot of part of myself. Sue wasn’t up until after I had this one done and there was no one walking a dog when I needed it. 

The last upload was “my choice” and on of my series of “black and white”. His is a peaceful corner of my front porch. 

Life today. It has been one of those beautiful days, all list items are being checked off successfully (sounds like a business office.....not). It was time for Bobbi’s monthly pedicure by a professional Veterinary Nurse (my patient and loving granddaughter). I had to keep an eye on Bobbi until Natalie could get here because once Bobbi knows or even senses someone is in dangerous proximity to the house she hides in places (somewhere in my house) unbeknownst to any human and beyond the pain of pulling a tooth to find her. 

After Natalie got the beautification procedure over, we were able to chat for a while. There was one point in the conversation that I felt vindicated. It was a point that in other conversations with other parties I have been the “outsider” on a topic, this time I found that I have an advocate. That’s always a relief and rewarding. 

When Natalie left Sue left for an errand and I left for another errand. I needed to stop at the bank then I needed to buy Bobbi a hair brush. She has been “grooming” herself too much. I think I need to give her a hand. 

I think I have finally figured out how to get to the list of my favorite TV show on this all consuming list of shows on the “smart” tv. It has taken about a week to ten days of trial and error to get to this point. 

I am about to finish up my list for the day and fix some supper. 

The word to ponder today is depend.  What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books. Thomas Carlyle.  To be poor and dependent is very nearly an impossibility. William Cobbett. Cheerfulness, it would appear, is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within, as on the state of things without and around us. Charlotte Bronte. Remember that what you believe will depend very much on what you are. Noah Porter. Depend not on fortune, but on conduct. Publilius Syrus. The secret of a good memory is attention, and attention to a subject depends upon our interest in it. We rarely forget that which has made a deep impression on our minds. Tryon Edwards. If your morals make you dreary, depend on it , they are wrong. Robert Louis Stevenson. The man least dependent upon the morrow goes to meet the morrow most cheerfully. Epicurus. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. Ralph Waldo Emerson. I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts. Abraham Lincoln. America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. John Quincy Adams . . . the goodness of the will depends on the intention of the end. Saint Thomas Aquinas. Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. Buddha. A simple and independent mind does not toil at the bidding of any prince. Henry David Thoreau. 

Article summary. I have a “dry sense of humor” so I don’t laugh easily. It has to be something like a person walking into a closed door and falling on their behind. I am reading an author who has accomplished something most don’t for me. In his writings there is a character who is very tall and very heavy. Some of his explanations of her outfits and/or actions bring an instant and spontanious belly laugh on my part. That feels good. I have grown to like that person and love the author. The title is  Laughter can communicate a lot more than good humor – people use it to smooth social interactions. Adrienne Wood, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia. At theconversation.com. In the first paragraph it noted some of the physical responses to laughter, throws the head back, double over, and it helps us connect with others. As a side point and next was something I had not considered, animals other than humans also laugh. I researched a little further and found that there are over 60 species of animals that laugh. Now back to laugher itself, it can be called a “play signal” that can lead to social interactions. It did however say we can laugh due to “embarrassment, politeness, nervousness and derision”. One suggestion is that it can make an “awkward exchange” or a misunderstanding be smoothed over. Another point I found interesting in this article is that some people who “laugh more enjoyed the conversations less”. On the other hand if you enjoy talking and feel good in the conversation there is no need to laugh. Some tones of laughter can be controlled depending on what you want to “communicate”. The article points out three kinds of laughter. One kind is reward laughter, a kind that is playful and enjoyable. There is one called “affiliation laughter”, to “reassure, appease and soothe”. The affiliation laughter is apparently the most common in everyday communication. The last type listed is “dominance laughter”, this one follows a “nonserious message” and the joke or event is not taken seriously. In ending the article it is said that there is no such thing as a fake laugh. Laughter has a “genuine social function” to travel through “complex social interactions” a way to “ensure no one takes themselves too seriously.”

I didn’t have the bean soup I planned for a couple of nights ago, guess I will have it tonight. 

Photos in my life today

My first upload for today is “something old”. This is a menu from a neighborhood restaurant that closed
many, many years ago. 

The second challenge was “my choice” and another of my series of “black and white”. This image is an abandoned restaurant that was demolished to make room for a new building and business. 

The last challenge is “night”. I was on a front porch when I captured this
image of the house across the street as darkness was subsiding. 

Joy

My bonus image today was one I took just as I was starting the morning. Bobbi is enjoying a short nap under the pink carnations

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