July 16, 2024 a thought for today, What belongs to everybody belongs to nobody. Spanish Proverb

My first challenge upload for yesterday is “photographers choice”. I took this one on our trip to my great grand daughter’s swim meet. I love the open country side and the blue sky full of clouds.

The next upload for yesterday is “patterns in nature”. I like the “patterns” of the branches also the patterns that the leave make with the sunlight and shadow. 

The third upload for yesterday was is “the colour red”. I had to hunt around for a color red that would fit without a lot of other color surrounding it. The mail box and red flag seems to work. 

I have four uploads for yesterday. This challenge was called “jewelry”. My daughter gave me this several years ago. I have always meant to add to pieces to add to it. I think we use to call them charm braces. 

Life today. I had the dishes done and was sitting in my “after dinner and clean up” chair doing some “brain and memory exercises” when my digital calendar popped up on my tablet reminding me that there was a session (board) meeting at church tonight. I glanced at the clock. It showed twenty to seven o’clock. The meeting starts at seven o’clock. I didn’t bother to change clothes, just brushed my teeth and combed my hair and ran (as fast as 84 years lets one run) out to the car. I made it just in time. 

The cleaning lady, Nancy, is here today, she cleans places I can no longer manage. Sue needed to be with the twins today and I needed to take Sweet Pea for her monthly treatment shot (remember....the torn ACL). I had to leave the cleaning lady for a short time and Sue had already left. 

Back home from the vet with Sweet Pea, the information needed to finish the bulletin was in my email. With the template pulled up on the computer, it was  finished in about thirty minutes. 

The first upload for today is “photographers choice”. As I was going through the park again today looking for whatever I could find and enjoy was this stem of flowers. I’m not sure what flower they are just that they are gorgeous. 

The peppermint cuttings I started for a Christmas project are drooping. There is another method I want to use as a backup. The cuttings are a new beginning from the parent plant that is growing in the window hydroponically. The cuttings have been treated with plant hormones and put in prepared soil. I think I will take other cuttings from plants in the yard and start them to root in water. I think that method will be quicker. I will do that later today. 

Once I print the shut-in envelops, the birthday greeting for a church member and another special letter I will be ready for printing on Thursday. That will leave a day for me to start on the upcoming newsletter. 

Once the Nancy is done now so Sweet Pea and I are going out for a photo search and a sandwich. Later I will be working in the “darkroom” ..... Photoshop. 

The next upload is “park bench”. While I was in the park was the perfect time to get this photo also. There are several of these benches throughout the park. 

The word today heard.  You may have heard the world is made up of atoms and molecules, but it's really made up of stories. When you sit with an individual that's been here, you can give quantitative data a qualitative overlay. William Turner.  I have seen all, I have heard all, I have forgotten all. Marie Antoinette.  And tears are heard within the harp I touch. Petrarch.  All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired. Martin Luther.  Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you. Hafez.  The rich become richer and the poor become poorer is a cry heard throughout the whole civilized world. Friedrich Schiller.  I was in my thirteenth year when I heard a voice from God to help me govern my conduct. And the first time I was very much afraid. Joan of Arc.  I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more. William Wordsworth.  You should not decide until you have heard what both have to say. Aristophanes.  It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray. Aesop.  Judas heard all Christ's sermons. Thomas Goodwin.  Poor men's reasons are not heard. Thomas Fuller.  

The last challenge for today is “broken”. There aren’t too many things around the house that are “broken”, at least not photo ready. But I did have a couple of egg shells left from breakfast.  

Article: A sixteen year old asked an Aerospace Engineering professor about what living on Mars would be like. Here’s a summary of that article. Part of the title was “Here’s what it would take to transform its barren landscape into a life-friendly world”. The article relates that it will take time, energy and imagination to “sustain life beyond Earth”. It went on the pass on that “engineers and scientists have started to chip away at the many challenges”. Practical thing to be considered on a check list are “food, water, shelter, and air”. The most logical place known to man that may be were “humans to live beyond Earth is Mars.” So the thinking already began to figure if “terraform Mars” can be transformed to “resemble the Earth and support life”. I learned in the article and probably in high school that the atmosphere on Mars in “almost all carbon dioxide, with virtually no oxygen”. As a part of that consideration is the fact that less heat can be held in those conditions. Night time temperatures drop “routinely” to 150 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. I also learned that although there are no active volcanoes scientists “could trigger volcanic eruptions via nuclear explosions” which would then allow gasses “trapped” in the volcano including radioactive material to be released into the atmosphere. There are ideas how that could be managed. In the article there were ways to heat Mars such as “gigantic mirrors built in space to orbit around Mars”. Certain soil could reflect sunlight for warmth. Those kinds of heat could melt the polar ice caps so that water would be available. Since Mars is covered in dust-like material it is not good enough to raise food. That part of the equation has to be considered such as “adding extremophiles........genetically engineered organisms are also a possibility”. Mentioning that the plan to convert Mar space to living space for humans like “providing oxygen, water and food in the right proportions is extraordinarily complex”. Then the article went into building a house on Mars. One idea is to use 3D-printed housing once the other problems had been addressed. Other things to consider are solar winds and cosmic radiation. It would take “centuries or even millennia”to solve all the situations. Also mentioned was whether it is ethical.  Ending the article it is mentioned that “as scientists create innovations to terraform Mars, we’ll also use them to make life better on Earth” one of those would “will help address the world’s housing shortage” as with the 3D-printing of housing.

I think it will be hot dog for dinner.

Joy

                              another one bites the dust

 July 14, 2024 a thought for today, Never too late to do well. Spanish Proverb

 

The first challenge upload for yesterday was “stripes”. When I hear that word the first thing that comes in my mind is the American flag. This is a collection of some of the flags that my sister has put in her Christmas wreath (actually a wreath for all seasons). 

The second upload for yesterday is “rule of thirds”. This is an image I made while I was multitasking. I was keeping Sweet Pea company in her last yard outing for the night. Also I was “playing” with the camera on my new Samsung cell phone....if has some awesome features. 

The third upload for yesterday was “night time”. This is also an image using my new cell phone camera. I love the “night” time filter/feature on the phone. 

Life today. Yesterday was a mixture of a perfect time with some family combined with a situation on another part of the family. Lowell, Rebecca and I went to my great grand daughter’s swim meet. We were about an hour distance from home. She took a first place and third place. It was so good to see her and her brother and spend time with some of the family. The total competition lasted about four hours. Then we had dinner at a nice small town restaurant where the wait was about forty minutes and the meal was delicious. An aunt from Jessie’s family joined us which was another part of the bonding. She is a pleasant lady to meet and know. The other side of the day was less exciting, Sue was locked out of the house here at home. I worried about her until she went to Tami’s, Tami had her come to their to wait for us to get home.  I spent time concerned about her and about Sweet Pea being alone in the house all those hours. When we got home all turned out well. 

The first challenge for today is “people in motion”. This is one of the “hundreds” of shots that I made of my great grand daughter at her first championship swim meet. She received a third place win and then a first place win in the back stroke.

Today church attendance was very low. I guess that since it is, after all, summer time with a lot of family activities that can be expected. We did have a small fellowship hour after the service which was good for all of us to build some more bonding with each other. 

I have absolutely nothing pressing on the agenda except for the letter and photos perfect for Sundays day to refresh. 

The weather is taking another slight turn. We will be having some very high temperatures in the next few days.

The next upload for today is “something unique that appeals to you”. This is an art piece outside the restaurant that we stopped at after the swim meet. It contains parts of machinery welded together in this structure.

The word today is head.   The head learns new things, but the heart forever practices old experiences. Henry Ward.  He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist. Francis of Assisi.  Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses. Laozi.  Heart and head are the constituent parts of character; temperament has almost nothing to do with it, and, therefore, character is dependent upon education, and is susceptible of being corrected and improved. Giacomo Casanova. A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart. Jonathan Swift.  They might not need me; but they might. I'll let my head be just in sight; a smile as small as mine might be precisely their necessity. Emily Dickinson.  Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. William Shakespeare Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger. Saint Basil.  There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart. Charles Dickens.  Bad company is like a nail driven into a post, which, after the first and second blow, may be drawn out with little difficulty; but being once driven up to the head, the pincers cannot take hold to draw it out, but which can only be done by the destruction of the wood. Saint Augustine.  The head learns new things, but the heart forever practices old experiences. Henry Ward Beecher.  The root of the kingdom is in the state. The root of the state is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its head. Mencius.  The seat of knowledge is in the head; of wisdom, in the heart. We are sure to judge wrong, if we do not feel right. William Hazlitt. 

The last upload for today is “keys”. This is one set of many that I have in my purse or around the house. 

Article: Lets take a look at why old people may or may not be of useful service. The title is “Why is Congress filled with old people?” It started by saying that it is not just presidential candidates who are old, 20% of the House and Senate are over 70 with 6% under 40.  There is a measure in the works at least with one state of making the age of senators and congressman to be under a certain age to “correct that major generational imbalance in Congress”. One of the reasons mentioned for the advanced ages active in the government was that Americans are living longer  therefore getting older. The article also mentioned that young candidates are hard to find and that trends and constitutional requirement also explain why the “younger generations are so under represented in Congress”. It was also stated that younger candidates have not “had as much opportunity to establish themselves in secure careers as older generations have”. The article further stated that “The system is not created for young people to be running for office.” People running for office go a year without a salary. Their family life is also affected, like careers, moving in residences, and starting families. Older people seeking office have more time, “personal stability”, along with financial and career “security”. They also have had the teacher called “experience” that daily life brings.  People interviewed for this article suggested that “the importance of generational balance in Congress for both representation and lawmaking” is important.

I think I am making taco salad for dinner. 

Joy

                         neighborly and caring

 July 12, 2024 a thought for today, Each to his own and God watching over everyone. Spanish Proverb

One of the photo challenges for yesterday was “photographers choice”. It looks like most of my photographers choices for the summer season is some sort of flower display. Most of them come from one of the several small gardens at the local city park or from the three or four small garden at my church. 

The second upload for yesterday was “cute”. Again one of the images I use often is Sweet Pea. Each image that I use is different somehow because it is a stoppage of time in her, and my life, in any given day. 

The last photo challenge and upload for yesterday was “metal”. In my search for something metal to use as a model, my eye wandered to this motorcycle that was parked along my photo journey yesterday. 

Life today. The air conditioner man was here yesterday. He gave me the news I was sort of expecting. The air conditioner should be replaced. It is too old now, the fluid that is used in it is no longer produced. So now we have to look for a new air conditioner. It is cooling just fine right now so I am hoping that it will last for the rest of this season....about six more weeks. 

Friday....and this one started out smooth and easy. But tiny this-and-thats began to pop up. They were small things but took some time, now I am in a rush to make up for “lost time” on planned projects to get done today. 

I had to go out-and-about to find as least part of the photo challenges today. Sweet Pea doesn’t mind when that happens, she gets an extra ride in the car. She doesn’t know it but she is going to get a “hair cut” today. Rebecca will be here shortly to pick her up for a trip to the groomer. 

This first photo challenge for today is “historic building”. I did some research before I went out looking for this one. I looked for one of the oldest buildings within a few blocks of my home. This is one of the earliest in history that I could find in that perimeter. This is a local elementary school that was constructed and used from 1910 to today.

Yesterday when I was putting pans away the drawer in the bottom of the stove got stuck. I couldn’t manage to get it all the way out or all the way back where it belonged. It was sticking out in the middle of the floor....a tripping hazard for me, clumsy as age makes us. I called Lowell to see if he could stop after work and before going home. He had a meeting. Later I talked to Tami and told her about the drawer, she said she would come over in the morning. I told her Lowell had said he would stop a little later in the evening because of the meeting. I am so happy and glad to have the two of them to help me. One can help with some things and the other with other things. 

I was telling you all of that as a lead into one of the “tiny pop ups” of today. I decided to find a different place to store the pots and pans that use to go in that drawer. So I did that today. I had to move some other storage items around to find suitable space. 

I have also started taking cutting on my mint plants in plans for Christmas gifts. I started that today too. 

The second photo is another of the “photographers choice”. Yet another from the park. Right now there seems to be an abundance of bloom “all around the town”. 

The word today is happen. Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance. Isaac Newton.  My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened. Michel de Montaigne.  Now and then, in this workaday world, things do happen in the delightful storybook fashion, and what a comfort that is. Louisa May Alcott.  When we bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen. Henry David Thoreau.  For the great doesn't happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together. Vincent Van Gogh.  Go my friend bestow your love even on your enemies if you touch their hearts what do you think will happen. Rumi. My sketchbook is a witness of what I am experiencing, scribbling things whenever they happen. (Like my blog) Vincent Van Gogh.  If something's bound to happen, it will happen.. Right time, right person, and for the best reason.  Aristotle.  Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day. Benjamin Franklin.  

The last photo challenge upload for today is “skyscraper”. This is a view of our downtown skyline. The building to the far left was the earliest and tallest of these buildings. It was under construction from 1924 to 1927.

Article: I found a little more about climate change, looking into any new information they might be finding. The title was interesting: “Can humanity address climate change without believing it? Medical history suggests it is possible”. This article compared the notion that germ theorists can see today’s attitudes about climate change.....“debates over the existence of microbes and current debates over the existence of global warming”.  Both objects of concern show “influence of economic interests and both reveal how people with different beliefs and interests can still agree on key policies and practices for tackling a global problem”. At one point in the article it was mentioned that “what you can’t see might hurt you”. In the 19th century tiny organisms that cause “fever diseases” could not be “seen” but were responsible for those symptoms. It is felt that “climate change presents similar challenges of visibility”. Everyone can feel the weather and see the patterns and trends but can’t see the carbon emissions. Economics seem to be an effect here as it was with the germ theories. These economic parts of the situation boil down to use of carbon based fuels which “threaten livelihoods as well as profits”. So according to the article “beliefs and interests need not align if everyone finds some benefit in the recommendations” as it eventually did with the germ theory situation in medical history. Again according to the article “changing behaviors is more important than changing beliefs”. In closing the article mentioned that “people did not agree on all disease-preventing actions, they nevertheless found enough common ground to achieve the greatest mortality decline in recorded history.”

Pizza!!!

Joy

                             happy 

I am lucky enough to have a friend who lets me know when she finds things I may be interested in for photo. This guy will be a prominent part of our up coming annual fall sale.

 July 10, 2024 a thought for today, He who does evil to another, has done it to himself. Turkish Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “photographers choice”. This is one of the half dozen flower boxes on the “patio” portion of the near by McDonalds. 

The next upload for yesterday was “time”. This is a collection of items in my house that show me the time....this isn’t all of them. They are my stove, my microwave, my tablet, my wall clock, my “retirement” clock, and my collection Micky Mouse clock (not running....just a collection piece). 

The next challenge for July 10th was “a quiet place”. This is another taken at one of my favorite nearby spots. There is peace under the trees and sitting at the tables under the trees to day dream and meditate. 

Life today. I think I mentioned that my chest freezer needed defrosting. After some dates picked and chanced due to other obligations we made it yesterday. Tami and Andy came and brought Gideon with them for a visit. I got most of the unloading done before they got here. I got the hair dryer out and a putty knife ready to use on the heaviest part of the ice. We figured it would be easier to dump the broken off ice pieces before they turned to water then making it a little more difficult to get rid of the after effects of defrosting. We (they) got it done in about an hour and a half. Hurray one more thing off the “back burner” to-do list.

There has been a change in my weekly typical “schedule”. I am referring to the printing of the weekly bulletin. I have an appointment to have the air conditioner’s annual check up tomorrow. In order not to miss the appointment, the time wasn’t confirmed, I decided to be on the safe side and stay home tomorrow (Thursday) until the check up is finished. Instead of waiting until Friday to do the printing I did it today.

The first upload for today is another of the “photographers choice”. This is one of the several resting  benches along West Broad Street in our city. 

When I pulled up the bulletin file on the computer, I found that it hadn’t copied to the flash drive correctly. I had to come back home to recopy then back to church. After that all went as it should. I was finished in about an hour. 

As has become custom, I searched for photo uploads on the way home from church. 

The weather has taken a big turn. It is about 65 degrees when we have been having in the 90s. I presume we are getting a back lash for hurricane Beryl that hit Texas yesterday. There was a lot of damage in its direct path. I think we are experiences the “edges” of its strength and power. I have the air conditioning off and the doors open. 

I got back to working on this letter. Then did some multitasking by moving to other smaller tasks. Sweet Pea had dirt on her feet when she was in the car last that left some spots on the seat. I took some Resolve spray and paper towels to clean that. While I was outside and before there was some of the intermittent rain drops I brought the empty trash can up from the curb. Back to the computer with a bowl of Rice Krispies with Splenda and Silk Almond milk. After a bit, another break to prepare a box with my next crochet projects for my great grand kids. Also did a badly needed trim on my huge Poinsettia plant that Lowell and Rebecca gave me at Christmas. It bloomed a second time for me but at this point it needed pruned. I also spent a little time on the family Christmas calendars that I have just started for 2025, 

The second photo upload today is “full”. This is a box stuffed full of two of the crochet bags I have made for some of my great grand children. 

A part of all the multitasking today is another project I am playing with. I am teaching myself how to make coloring pages from some of my photos.  There is a point to it, I will save the idea to share until later, after I find I can or can’t accomplish it realistically. 

The third photo challenge upload for today is “collection”. My collection is my house plants. I have four or five in large pot and soil, several in mason jar growing in the hydroponic system and about nine air plants in various containers with pebbles. In the “garden” are a few gnomes and “fairy garden” houses and toad stools. 

The word today is handle. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. Sun Tzu.  Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.  Always take hold of things by the smooth handle. Thomas Jefferson.  You need not fear to handle the truth roughly. She is no invalid. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Play not with paradoxes. Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle. James Russell Lowell.  Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it. Lao Tzu.  In the midst of the affliction He counsels, strengthens confirms, nourishes, and favors us.... More over, when we have repented, He instantly remits the sins as well as the punishments. In the same manner parents ought to handle their children. Martin Luther.  Each has his own happiness in his hands, as the artist handles the rude clay he seeks to reshape it into a figure; yet it is the same with this art as with all others: only the capacity for it is innate; the art itself must be learned and painstakingly practiced. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Everything has two handles,-one by which it may be borne; another by which it cannot. Epictetus.  To the very last, he [Napoleon] had a kind of idea; that, namely, of la carrière ouverte aux talents, - the tools to him that can handle them. John Keats. Handle your tools without mittens. Benjamin Franklin.  If the Bible is God's word, and we believe it, let us handle it with reverence. John Bartholomew Gough.  A sneer is the weapon of the weak. Like other devil's weapons, it is always cunningly ready to our hand, and there is more poison in the handle than in the point. James Russell Lowell.

Today is  another of the days of the month that I have a fourth upload. This one is “fill the frame”. I take a lot of shots of trees in the delicious summer season of the year.

The article is about The Clintonville Mystery House. I wish I had space to include all of the photos of the unique spaces in this house. It starts our by saying that “After decades of renovation and recent code compliance woes, the “strange, mystical” home in this Columbus neighborhood finally has a brighter future”. Apparently it has been under a “constant state of construction”. It was once “declared a public nuisance” by the city. The structure has turrets and a raised walkway to the garage. The owner has “struggled to make repairs so he could move back into the family home”. There were some problems getting permits and complaints about exposed wiring and unsafe railings and other complaints that eventually caused him to “ousted from the house” for a time. For about fifty yeas he had been redesigning, adding to and renovating. There was a news article about the “whimsical” home that provided space for dozens of foster children at one time. As he worked and he thought he was about finished it seems another repair was needed. After a time he felt he should hire a structural engineer “as he expanded and finished the solarium, added a spiral staircase to the cupola and completed other necessary repairs”. He is retired and lives on a fixed income and at one point faced having to think about selling the house. His relatives which “include his own children, the kids he and his ex-wife, Dot, fostered over the years and 12 grandchildren” started pitching in so the house could stay in the family. Once he was able to move back in two of his college age grandchildren and a friend moved in with him during college breaks. One of them wanted to live in the house full time after her graduated. He wants to spend time to “breathe some life back into the space....what he calls “this strange, mystical place.” Some of the photo descriptions in the story may give an idea of the unique places in the house besides the three turrets and long, covered and raised walkway to the garage and being several stories tall : The center multi story high staircase is exquisite; An upstairs room built with a metal grid floor looks down on the room below; A chandelier featuring family photos hangs above a dining table; The house has a wood-burning stove in a common area next to the kitchen; Another curved staircase leads to the home's cupola.  

I think it will be creamed chicken on biscuits for dinner. 

Joy

                     big sky - city version

 July 8, 2024 a thought for today, Fear does not empty tomorrow of its sadness; it empties today of its power. Turkish Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “road sign”. This seems to be a fairly common one in our neighborhood lately. 

The second upload for yesterday is “discover the small world”.  I caught this one pretty quick on the side of a building that looks like it need a good sanding and new paint. 

The thirst upload for July 7th was “up close and personal”. Sweet Pea doesn’t like to have her photo taken so about the only time I can get up close and personal with her to take a photo easily is when she is asleep. 

Life today. AAAAh Monday!!! and a pretty good one at that. I have the bulletin DONE! at least ready to send to be proofed. I don’t often get the whole thing done on Monday, it is usually Tuesday or Wednesday before the last of the information gets to me. This pastor had the information to me last Friday. 

Yesterday church was good....being with friends, peers and “family”. We had communion, that makes things uplifting. As I was leaving church I received a text (awesome technology) invitation to meet Lowell and Rebecca for lunch at York. That’s always something I look forward to.....time with family.

I had to take time to pick up my meds at Kroger today. While I was there I picked up some odds and ends I want to put in the crochet bags I made for each of my six great grand children.

My first challenge for today was “6:00pm”. Last evening I knew I needed this photo today. I made a sticky note to remind myself to be aware of the time in the early evening. I lost the sticky note. I decided to use something like what the doctors use to test us when we get to be a certain age. They have us mark clock times in a circle then draw lines to a certain time.  

As soon as I got back home it was back to the computer. While I was out I shot a couple of the photos for todays uploads. So here at home I uploaded them to the cloud and back to my archived files. 

I opened my mouth yesterday afternoon when it should have been shut so I “suffered” the consequences by emotionally flogging myself all last evening. Until I heard from both of my two living children, separately and an hour or so apart, who in one way and another uplifted my spirits. Life can be beautiful even or especially after a small grey cloud passes.  

As it has been a productive Monday I am eager for it to come time to shut down the computer and move to my evening choices to relax, learn and stay healthy (mentally). 

The next challenge today is “contrast”. I shot this one thinking of the contrast in the texture of the tree and the sky.

The word today is hand.  To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour. William Blake.  More firm and sure the hand of courage strikes, when it obeys the watchful eye of caution. James Thomson.  The hand is the visible part of the brain. Immanuel Kant.  Learning by head, hand and heart. Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.  I had many friends to help me to fall; but as to rising again, I was so much left to myself, that I wonder now I was not always on the ground. I praise God for His mercy; for it was He only Who stretched out His hand to me. May He be blessed for ever! Amen. Saint Teresa of Avila.  If you would have your son to walk honourably through the world, you must not attempt to clear the stones from his path, but teach him to walk firmly over them - not insist upon leading him by the hand, but let him learn to go alone. Anne Bronte.  Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. Leonardo da Vinci.  The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased. Alexander Hamilton.  Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse. George Washington. Iron hand in a velvet glove. Charles V.  In true education, anything that comes to our hand is as good as a book: the prank of a page- boy, the blunder of a servant, a bit of table talk - they are all part of the curriculum. Michel de Montaigne.  

The last challenge upload for today is “photographers choice”. I found this in another of the small gardens at the local park.  

This article is about a part of Columbus’ history and still holds a purpose for the community. The main article is about Eddie Rickenbacker childhood home, and offers a bit about Eddie. He was called the ““Ace of Aces” during the First World War”. He was born in Columbus in 1890 to an “impoverished” Swiss immigrant family. When he was a child his father was killed so Eddie became the head of household. He quit school in 6th grade so he could work full time. He became fascinated with engines and automobiles which led to becoming a race car driver. In World War I he went to Europe and became a chauffeur to high-ranking officers. During that time he became a part of the “Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, an ancestor of the Air Force.” He was well educated in the areas of “engines, machines and speed”. He was eventually promoted to Captain. In 1918 he “destroyed 26 enemy aircraft, more than any other American pilot in the war”. After the war Mr. Rickenbacker found other business opportunities. He became the president and chairman of the board of Eastern Air Lines. I learned that it, Eastern Air Lines, was one of the original commercial airlines in the US. In 1941 he was on a flight that crashed in Georgia. He was injured and was hospitalized for a long period. During World War II he helped as a civilian. He traveled inspecting troops, meeting leaders and giving speeches to airmen to help keep up morale. During that time he was in another air plane crashed and stranded on a rubber life raft for twenty-four days. The Rickenbacker childhood home is designated a National Historic Landmark. The City of Columbus maintains the property. However attempts to raise money to establish a museum “for one of Ohio’s favorite sons”.

Maybe spaghetti and meat balls for dinner. 

Joy

                                   city life

 July 6, 2024 a thought for today, As the crow tried to imitate the partridge, it forgot its own walking style. Turkish Proverb

My first upload yesterday was “architectural detail”. I have always liked this buildings details. The lines, patterns, and textures are beautiful. 

The next upload is another of the “photographers choice”. This lonely weed
in a crack in the drive way is eye catching. 

Another of the upload for yesterday was “dappled sunlight”. I think dappled sunlight can also mean shadows with the dark shadow and the bright sun surrounding. 

The last upload for yesterday was “sand and surf”. I’m not around the sea anymore so this one is from my archives. This myself and my granddaughter. 

Life today. Saturdays, for some reason and in my own opinion, offer their own ease in compiling a to-do list, (or not to compile a to-do list). I make a list for “must” dos for a particular Saturday and leave the rest of the day to “do I want to or do I not want to”.  Is that one of the hold overs from being school age.....free of obligations? 

So for this Saturday I chose to have Brian do the lawn. Then on my “must do to-do list” was to pick up the curbside groceries. After that what’s left to do is all up for grabs. 

I have started a new book. I had a stretch of time and a few trial books where I was having problems finding a book that was holding my interest and attention. This one is doing that nicely. It is The Edge by David Baldacci. I have slowly come to the realization that to date at least of the short list of authors I have compiled for myself two stand our as my favorite. I find their writings professional, easy to comprehend and follow. They are full of necessary detail without overkill. When I come to the last page I don’t want them to end. I like all the names that are on my list but the two at the top are Ken Follett and David Baldacci.  

My first upload today is “where are you from?”. This is another shot of my neighborhood.....the place I am from these days. 

The weather today is a perfect summer day. The sun is gorgeous. The temperature is just a tiny, tiny bit high but more than acceptable for the season. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing and wind chimes are joining in softly.

The next upload for today is “negative space”. I couldn’t pass this one up. It’s just  the light pole and the sky with some white clouds....negative of other distractions.

The word today is half.  Begin - to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished. Marcus Aurelius.  There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds. Alfred Lord Tennyson.  Knowledge is only one half. Faith is the other. Novalis. If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. Henry David Thoreau.  Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe. John Milton.  The wish for healing has always been half of health. Lucius Annaeus Seneca. A wise man's question contains half the answer. Solomon Ibn Gabirol. In the vain laughter of folly wisdom hears half its applause. George Eliot.  Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within. Alfred Lord Tennyson. One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other. Jane Austen.  If a man could have half of his wishes, he would double his troubles. Benjamin Franklin.  A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies. Alfred Lord Tennyson. 

This last challenge for today is “pets at play”. This is about Sweet Pea’s limit on play time these days, although every now and then she has a burst of energy. 

Article: Here is a little more history about a part of nature that I don’t think too many people know about. It is a unique gorge habitat that only occurs along the western shore of the Scioto River. This ecosystem is home to a beautiful 35-foot waterfall and rare and endangered plants. This article was written about a kayaking expedition to Hayden Falls. The author is doing a series about some waterways in the Columbus area. Water is important to Columbus especially when there were periods of drought. In 1905 in a possible approaching period of drought “the city officially claimed ownership of the Jeffrey Dam—named for the mayor himself—which would create the first civic reservoir in Central Ohio”.  The name of the dam was not much later changed for the name of the man who had been the chief engineer of its construction, Julian Griggs. The area where the dam was built was flat with trees, pebbles, sand and mussel shells. In between the objects mentioned the eastern bank was lined by “ragged layers of shale rock, each layer packed atop one another like so many stacks of diner pancakes” being developed over a few million years. On the other western bank was seen mostly private property with docks and cozy homes.  The eastern bank is city property and “is the realm of mud-drenched paddlers and weekend anglers, magnet fishers and casual swimmers, dedicated birders and disappointed metal detectors”. The author mentions that the Columbus Police patrol the water in “aluminum johnboats”. One of the things they do may be to advise paddlers to stay “an appropriate distance from the eastern bank, so as to avoid collision with the wakeboarders”. After the Griggs Dam was built there was another dam built further along called the O’Shaughnessy Dam. The Griggs Reservoir “was the primary source of clean water for Columbus—securing the growing city from the menace of drought”.  Once the O’Shaughnessy Dam was built a reservoir was formed where “Griggs could hold enough water year-round to become a recreational lake on the Scioto River”. Now paddlers can travel on a journey “to the distant past, to the wild Scioto of old. The change is not subtle. Swamps and marshlands appear almost immediately beyond the Hayden Run bridge”. Along the journey one will come to the Hayden Run Bridge. Birds have made nests at every join in the pylon of the bridge, clay nests like “inverted versions of adobe homes”. At a point in a kayaking trip the author pulled over and stated out on an exploration  trip on foot. There is now a park called the Hayden Run Falls Preserve where there is a wooden staircase leading into a forest. It is a reminder of the “majesty of Hocking Hills and other natural wonders of Ohio” right here in Columbus area. There is a pool that spills water onto an area of rocks.  “In the gorge we find a gaggle of splashing teenagers......under the power of the water”. On the walking tour along the creek you will see small fish and baby turtles. The gorge itself is a geological wonder, showcasing layers of Columbus Limestone and Dolomite.

Dinner will be something from the freezer. 

Joy

                          pebbles and pedals

 July 4, 2024 a thought for today, When the pupil is ready to learn, a teacher will appear.  Zen Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was “photographers choice”. I like the lines and shadows in this photo.

The next photo a day upload for yesterday is “waiting”. This is me ...... waiting. 

The last upload for yesterday is “letter”. I noticed that my peers in this group are uploading photos of letters in the mail as well as letters of the alphabet. 

Life today. I left for the printing early this morning. It went so smoothly. For one thing the computer seemed to be booting up faster?? I have no idea why but hurrah, I had the printing done, the memory card replaced, the bulletins placed and the bulletin board done in about forty-five minutes. 

We were going to go look at new phones for me but something came up so we moved it to tomorrow. So when I got home from church I went back to where I left off on the computer before I left. Then I got this letter in place and the photos lined up. It was time to start the laundry.

My first upload for today is “bold colors”. The place I think of when I think of a lot of bright colors together was in our stained glass windows at church. So I snapped a photos of one of the windows while I was there this morning. Then I added a motion filter to better show just the colors themselves. 

Once the laundry was started, I worked on the dishes and the frig. Now it is back to the computer. 

I over stretched my measure on a snack I chose for this morning. I ate a very sugary pastry now I am feeling the results. 

The next upload today is “photographers choice”. This is not one of my hibiscus flowers it is one from one of the bushes at the drive through lanes at McDonalds.

The word today is had.  What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? Vincent Van Gogh.  I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. Henry David Thoreau.  God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering. Saint Augustine. I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good. Socrates.  If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. Voltaire.  Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  Since God had commanded it, it was necessary that I do it. Since God commanded it, even if I had a hundred fathers and mothers, even if I had been a King's daughter, I would have gone nevertheless. Joan of Arc.  I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose. David Livingstone.  I only seek in my old age to perfect that which I had not before thoroughly learned in my youth, because my sins were a hindrance to me. Saint Patrick.  An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. Pliny the Elder.  

The last upload for today is “fireworks”. I’ll have to admit I haven’t attended a firework display in several years. I do watch them on television. So for this image I made the shot from one of the displays on the television set. I used a painterly filter on the image to give it a “dreamy” look.  

Article: We all learned about our flag as grew up. Maybe this article will give us some more to learn. The title is: What Does the American Flag, Symbolize? Then there comments from several people in the article on that idea. It opened by saying that the founding fathers “left their descendants with little guidance on what the nation’s flag means”. In 1777 it didn’t “explain why red, white and blue were chosen or what the stripes meant”. Over time the flag has come to reflect how Americans feel about their country. One of the comments made in the article is from the Flag Lady. Her mother use to sell the American flag going door to door on lunch breaks as a legal secretary. Now she and her son run the store called The Flag Lady. It has become one of the largest flag companies in the country. In 2001 on September 11 a photographer took a photo of a life time, three New York firefighters “removed an American flag from a yacht’s mast near the World Financial Center. They carried the flag to what would later be known as Ground Zero and hoisted it onto a pole amidst the rubble of the fallen World Trade Center towers”. This act by the firefighters “became an iconic image of American resilience during a horrific tragedy”. Raising the flag was an act of patriotism showing the strength and union of the American people. Another commentary from the article is from a woman who grew up in Georgia and enjoyed cookouts and family on the 4th of July. She spent time studying in Tunisia. She saw the flag being displayed, she saw that people seemed to feel it was anti-Muslim sentiment. She developed the feeling that “there are deeper historical, cultural and political messages behind that flag”. Another commentary was from a man who became a minister and was a chaplain on a volunteer police force. The flag was honored in that place. “The American flag reminds him of freedom and the military lives lost fighting for it”. It is a symbol of respect when the policemen faced growing disrespect for authority. In 1968 a man, a member of “the Sons of the American Revolution, moved to Findlay, Ohio. He purchased 14,000 small flags with donations from local organizations and residents and had local scouts pass them out to neighbors and friends. Another of the commentaries is from a collator of American flags that started when he was a boy.  He said he use to watch his grandfather raise the flag during World War II. He learned from his grandfather how to fold and respect the flag properly. He went on to say that he bought an old flag “stashed in a paper bag at an antique sale for $40. When he examined the flag he found that it was a “hand-sewn 13-star flag”. Since his collection began he has collected over 700 historic flags. His collection has been shown in museums and he wrote a book called  “A Grand Old Flag”. He said it stands for “strength, freedom, liberty, perseverance, equality, all of these things have been within our flag over time.”

Hot Dogs for dinner. 

Joy

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