October 15, 2025 a thought for today, Age is a sorry traveling companion. Danish Proverb

My photo-a-day uploads for yesterday

The first of the three challenges for yesterday was “my choice”. This is one of the “minimalist” series. I found this fallen leave on my driveway when I got out of the car. 

Next is a challenge called “pile of something”. This is a part of my laundry.  

The last photo challenge upload yesterday was called “harvest”. I’m not particularly close to a farm and not on road trips currently so this one is from my archives. It is also a decorative set up at one of the drive through fast foods.  

Life today. Yesterday was good.  Bobbi had her check up for the infection on her eyes. They are doing great  though the vet would like for her to be on one more week of antibiotic treatment. It is pretty well certain that the left eye has sustained what will be permanent damage. We feel she can see at least some with it however the color will be cloudy. In all other respects she is healthy and growing. She has gained one pound. 

Sue had plans for the afternoon so she hadn’t planned to go with me and Bobbi. So Tami went with us. She feels a connection to Bobbi. Once we got back home Tami wanted to look at the lawn mower to see if she could get it started. I hadn’t planned on her mowing it yesterday, maybe another day. She got it started and went right on mowing. I was glad to have Bobbi’s appointment over and the lawn mowed to boot. 

I pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in my neck Sunday. It is still bothersome so Tylenol has been my go-to for the last three days. Hopefully tomorrow the pain will be gone. 

Today has been on the easy side. I got my usual agenda started with a break for Bobbi’s meds. I also got the dishwasher unloaded and reloaded. As I was working on the other things I was thinking about a new way I want to try to print the bulletin tomorrow. I needed to save the file to a pdf file from my computer to a flash drive and hope the copier can read it. If that works I should be able to print the newsletter that way too. I have been searching on breaks from the computer for any flash drive there might be around the house. Bob use to have several of them around. So far though, no luck. I have restructured the flash drive I have been using hoping it will work. 

I will be finishing the letter and photos and try to get an upload from Sunday done today. I may have to do the Sunday upload tomorrow. 

The word today is large.  The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large. Confucius.  Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes. Walt Whitman.  Strive to attain to the greater virtues, but do not neglect the lesser ones. Do not make light of a fall even if it be the most venial of faults; rather, be quick to repair it by repentance, although many others may commit a large number of faults, slight and grievous, and remain unrepentant. Saint Basil.  Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Francis Bacon.  A large part of mankind is angry not with the sins, but with the sinners. Lucius Annaeus Seneca. It has so happened in all ages of the world that some have labored, and others have, without labor, enjoyed a large proportion of the fruits. Abraham Lincoln. My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts. Charles Darwin.  Great deeds give choice of many tales. Choose a slight tale, enrich it large, and then let wise men listen. Pindar. Our incomes should be like our shoes; if too small, they will gall and pinch us; but if too large, they will cause us to stumble and to trip. Charles Caleb Colton.  Why are there trees I never walk under but large and melodious thoughts descend upon me? Walt Whitman.  True contentment depends not upon what we have; a tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander. Charles Caleb Colton.  

Article: I think areas like the space mentioned in this article is important to city life. Contact with nature can be filled with healthily places and time in the physical, emotional and spiritual life. No solid material structures, that I can think of, can offer this kind of experience. The title is: “From Central Park to Millennium Park: The History of Urban Green Space and Why We Need More”. As cities grow there is more of a need for “parks in American cities is stronger than ever”. According to the article making room for green spaces in urban areas began in the mid-19th century. As cities grew so did congestion and pollution. Factories produce useful products for us as well as some not so healthy like smoke, noise and “grime”. In 1876 Central Park in New York City was completed. It was designed to create space for people of all backgrounds to meet and get a break from “city life” for a brief period. It became a model for parks across the country. Other designs took on emphasis on “natural landscapes in densely populated areas”. The article goes on to say that there came a time of  decline in “development and maintenance of green spaces”. Some already established parks were dismantled to make room for housings and other uses for city living. Later in the 20th centaury there was a renewal in the idea of need for green spaces. In Manhattan a former elevated rail track renewal started a new park project. In Chicago a once open railyard and set of parking lots was became Millennium Park. In 1988 the closure of Presidio Army Base led to a preserve of 1,480 acres of green space in the heart of San Francesco. All of this seems to be leading to reclaiming “vacant lots, riverfronts, and industrial spaces for public enjoyment”.  There are emissions and fumes from all kinds of life activities and climate changes still in cities today that result in the need for ways to minimize resulting ill affects. Research has shown that many major health issues can be reduced and managed with green spaces. These are spaces to relax, reduce stress and slow down. Green space are mostly open to all people. Many “under used spaces” like vacant factories, railways, and other industrial or once industrial land sometimes called “brown fields," are found to be  usable spaces for public parks. One such park in our area is Scioto Audubon Park. It was developed in 2009 on a former industrial site, transforming it into a regional park featuring wetlands, wildlife, and recreational areas like a large outdoor climbing wall. This transformation is similar to other urban parks across the US that have converted former industrial or neglected areas into green spaces.

I am putting together a quick spaghetti sauce with some left over meatloaf as a stand in for meat balls for dinner. 

My photo-a-day uploads for today

The first photo challenge today is “black and white with a touch of color”. This is one of my crochet “seasonal” afghans. By the way, this one is one of four, this one is summer. I have spring, fall, and winter also. They are named due to their colors. This is draped over a chair under part of my wall of photos of my entire family.

The next challenge is “dishes”. I just opened the cupboard and shot a photo of some of my mismatched dishes for this one. 

A third upload challenge for today is “my choice”, one of my series of “minimalist”. It is a desperately hanging on weed in the back yard. It may be a weed but it has character. 

I have a fourth upload today. Its challenge title is “balance”. I figured the two door knobs were “balanced”, hence my choice. 

Joy

bonus art image from my original photo of the crows nest on a replica of the Santa Maria (not AI)

 October 13, 2025 a thought for today, Keep not two tongues in one mouth. Danish Proverb

Photo from my life yesterday

The first upload for yesterday was “peaceful”. This is an image from a park a couple of blocks from my house. I use is often for photos and for relaxation. 

The next photo was “fall ponds or foliage”. This is a neighbors tree. So far we
aren’t getting much color in the trees this fall due to earlier weather conditions.

The last upload for yesterday was “my choice”. I was from my series of “touch of color. Most of my photos like these are captured at the grocery store parking lot. 

Life today. My Monday agenda is still on track. I got the bulletin done to the point of waiting for information part. Then I moved on to this letter and deciding what photos I needed for todays uploads. 

I cleaned kitty litter, it brought back the memory of when I had cats many years ago. Then ran the sweeper in my room. 

There was a break in there somewhere for Bobbi’s eye treatment. As I have mentioned before it is a learning experience and getting a little less of a hassle.

I have the bi-weekly care of my indoor houseplant garden mostly the hydroponic today. 

With the incident of the theft from my garage there are three of us here in the neighborhood looking for someone to do lawn maintenance. We hope to help each other out by anything any of us may come up with in finding a new person. 

So far the autumn weather is holding up with it’s natural sunny days and color along with the slowly decrease in temperature. We will most likely still experience what some are now calling a “second summer” a brief few days of summer like temperatures before autumn is here full force. 

The word today is labor.  The end of labor is to gain leisure. Aristotle. Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous. Confucius.  Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience. George Washington. Without labor nothing prospers. Sophocles.  To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution. Samuel Johnson.  Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts will follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization. Daniel Webster.  The ingredients of health and long life, are great temperance, open air, easy labor, and little care. Philip Sidney.  I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden. Saint Augustine.  Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them. Joseph Joubert.  If you pursue good with labor, the labor passes away but the good remains; if you pursue evil with pleasure, the pleasure passes away and the evil remains. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  One is not idle because one is absorbed. There is both visible and invisible labor. To contemplate is to toil, to think is to do. The crossed arms work, the clasped hands act. The eyes upturned to Heaven are an act of creation. Victor Hugo.  Men, even when alone, lighten their labors by song, however rude it may be. Quintilian.  Honest labor bears a lovely face. Thomas Dekker.  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.  

Article: A note: this article was written by a person of the highest honor in the study of art at the University of Edinburgh in answer to a child’s question, “who invented art?”  The article opens with “what is art?” Then explains the art is something of how people share ideas and feelings. Cave painting seem to be the first forms of art. The author says the people who made that art then felt a difference in its use. Some back then may have felt them to be magic not just for fun and decoration. Some of the first cave art discovered was created over 10,000 years ago. That art was made with crushed rocks and drawn on case walls.  The article mentioned that because artistes used their hands in there art they were thought of as workers or craftspeople. Aristotle, “a Greek thinker”, felt that acting was a form of art also. I learned from the article that in the 13th and 14th centuries in Europe “ art was mostly connected to the church, and was made to help people feel closer to God”. In the 15th and 16th centuries the Renaissance happened in Europe and artists were then seen as “creators, not just craftsmen”. Eventually art was “divided into two groups”. One called “fine arts” for the ideas and emotions. Another form called “decorative arts”, for making something decorative and useful. In the 19th century artists focused on making handmade things instead of factory made things. In 1914 there was a man who made art out of ordinary things making art something other than painting and drawing but it was about ideas. The article related that today art is used to promote issues and to make people think. In that regard it isn’t so much different than that of the  cave dwellers. In answer to the question from the beginning of the article “who invented art?” the article ended with “Humankind invented art – from the moment we were able to trace a pattern in the sand, or transfer a simple idea to the wall of a cave.” I personally share this outlook on all creations of art: Art's universal appeal transcends boundaries of language and culture, speaking to the common human experience and providing a shared way for people from all walks of life to connect. Art is important because it fosters self-expression, creativity, and emotional well-being for individuals, while for society, it serves as a cultural reflection, a means of communication. I hope this show in my photography.

Hot dogs and shredded fried potatoes for this nights dinner. 

Photos from my life today

The first upload today is “nuts”. I have this can of peanuts that lately doesn’t seem to be used a lot. They still taste good tough, I just had to sample before this shot. 

The next photo upload another of “my choice” and is one of my series of “minimalist”. This is one of the miniature roses from one of my four “senior” window gardens.

The last photo challenge upload for today is “a snack”. Actually it is the start of
a tuna salad sandwich for lunch. I like diced grapes and diced apples added. I found I liked this kind of tuna salad in a restaurant while on a training conference in Cape Cod several years ago.  

Joy

bonus art image created from my photo of the front end of a green jeep 

 

 October 11, 2025 a thought for today, Might and courage require wit in their suite. Danish Proverb

Photo uploads of my life yesterday.

This upload challenge was titled “the sky”. This one is framed by several tree branches to add a feeling of a peek at the sky.

The next upload is “from the ground up”. This is a view of one of my window boxes looking from the ground upward. 

The third upload title is “autumn gold”. I had to use a photo from my archives for this one since the foliage in our area is not very “gold” yet. 

The last upload for yesterday, another of the days I have a fourth photo a
day for the month, is “my choice” and is from my series of “touch of color”. It is one of the stained glass windows in my church. 

Life today: There was a problem with the bulletin printing on Thursday this week. The computer took over an hour and a half to attempt booting. So I left after that amount of time. I went back on Friday to finish. That means the folks getting their bulletins in the US Mail will not get them before Sunday this week. 

Yesterday was a trying day. We found that several items had been taken from the garage. We have an idea of how that occurred. It seems to be a delicate matter so we are taking our time on just how we want to proceed. It is going to mean a bit of a change in some of our outdoor activities as one of the things on the “proceed” list. Another part of the “proceed” process is of a Christian nature. Then there is how to handle the community part of the equation. 

This has been a relatively quiet day. We, Sue and I, are still in the twice daily medical care of Bobbi. I am referring to the twice daily dual eye drop hassle, a lovingly hassle.  It is one of those learning experiences. I have to find her. Then our procedure is I hold the two front paws in one hand and the two back paws in the other hand while Sue puts the drops in. We have only three more days until we see the vet again. Hopefully that will have solved the problem. but I have an idea that it will be another week of meds.

I picked up the curb side groceries and still need to put them away. I also started running the traditional Christmas calendar. I have been putting it off not knowing how this printer will do on this job. I haven’t used this printer for the calendars in the past I ran one calendar and it seemed to do a good job. 

The weather is still good as autumn gets older but I am hearing that I may need to cover the miniature roses in a couple of weeks. 

The word today is know.  To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge. Confucius.  The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. Socrates.  A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. Lao Tzu.  You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Wisdom is the right use of knowledge...... How to use knowledge is to have wisdom. Charles Spurgeon.  I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. Isaac Newton.  Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it. Rumi.  Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. Thomas Paine.  Let us never know what old age is. Let us know the happiness time brings, not count the years. Ausonius.  Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. Thomas Jefferson.  Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live. Marcus Aurelius.  The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself. Thales.  Of all men's miseries the bitterest is this: to know so much and to have control over nothing. Herodotus.  The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. George Eliot.  Most people can bear adversity; but if you wish to know what a man really is give him power. Robert Green Ingersoll.  Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. John Adams.  

Article: Nature is a wonder.  We all and each have our place in the lives of others. We as humans are honored to be the stewards of it all, protecting each of the creatures and all of life awarded to us as they themselves protect and abide with us. The title to the article is “The Columbus Zoo Released Over 100 “Snot Otters” Into Ohio Streams.” Our zoo has released 116 eastern hellbenders, they are large salamanders, into some Ohio’s clear water sources. Their greatest offer in nature seems to be helping to control clean water.  According to the article they are gentle creatures. They grow to about two feet long. They have a nickname of “snot otters” apparently due to their slimy, slippery coating. The article goes on to say that for decades pollution and declining habitat has caused a drastic reduction n in the species. For the past ten years there has been an effort in raising hellbenders from eggs in part to be released into Ohio streams. Since 2012 more that 2,000 have been released. In a effort to maintain the species “hellbender huts”, small artificial shelters, have been created. There is one place nearby to see these creatures up close, visit the Ohio Center for Wildlife Conservation in the Zoo’s new North America Trek region, or take a trip to The Wilds. (Added note: Hellbenders play a crucial ecological role as top predators that control crayfish populations and are vital "indicator species" for clean water quality. A healthy hellbender population signifies a healthy stream ecosystem, which benefits other wildlife and humans.)”

I think it will be taco salad for dinner. 

Photo uploads of my life today. 

The photo groups title for this one is “something matching”. I used it as a matching of the eyes and ears. I will have to admit that I used a bit of Photoshop to eye on the right in the photo. She is having that bit of a problem with an infection in her eyes right now. That one in reality is a little cloudy. 

Next is one titled “starts with the letter s....”. I took several photo on my way through the neighborhood this morning. I like the frame of the tree branches much like one of the photos above. 

The last photo upload is “gate”. I did not see the grocery cart filled with blankets and clothing inside the gate until I had enlarged and printed this shot. 

Joy

this bonus photo is a creation from my original photo at a party. Several disposable red drink cups on a table in front of my cousin who’s birthday was being celebrated. 

 October 9, 2025 a thought for today, It takes a good many mice to kill a cat. Danish Proverb

Photo uploads for yesterday. 

This upload challenge was “my choice”. It is one of my series of a touch of color. A Johnny Jump Up from one of my “senior” garden window boxes. 

The next challenge was “dolls”. I don’t have small children living in the house
anymore. I do however have a toy box of collections they have left behind. These “ladies” were in that box minus their clothing that is the why for the head shot, a respect of sorts.

The last upload for yesterday was “a collection”. This is part, part only, of my collections of yarns that have been used in my most current crochet projects. 

Life today. Lowell and Rebecca stopped yesterday. I had a minor “happening” in the car the day before. I got stuck on an exposed and elevated manhole cover on the way home from the vets office. It was raining and Bobbi wasn’t happy about being in a container that she couldn’t get out of. Two young men got me unstuck. It was in an area where there has been road work for over a year, whole stretches are torn up. That wasn’t a happy experience. Lowell stopped yesterday to see if he could tell if there was any damage. Apparently there wasn’t. It seems to be running fine.  

The church computer is back to being slow. I got there and prepared for starting, loaded paper, turned the printer on then pressed all the necessary buttons and waited. Nothing came on to the screen. After about 45 minutes I decided I would leave the computer on while I went out to get a couple of errands out of the way. When I got back the screen was still blank. I decided to give up for the day. I may be able to get there at 8:00 tomorrow morning and try again. I would not stay long because I am having company to meet Bobbi joining our family. That topped not getting the information I needed to complete the bulletin until I got up this morning to find the last minute email. 

Once that was done and I finally got home it was time for Sue and I to work together to get the dual dose of meds in Bobbi’s eyes to clear up the infection.  Just after that Tami and Andy stopped. Bobbi was not in the mood for a visit. Tami seemed to get her calmed down some. 

I was able to get the laundry started after getting a late start on the letter and the photos. It looks like it will be the rest of the day finishing it all hopefully before dinner.   

The word today is king. He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king. John Milton.  I have seen the king with a face of Glory, He who is the eye and the sun of heaven, He who is the companion and healer of all beings, He who is the soul and the universe that births souls. Rumi.  I die the king's faithful servant, but God's first. Thomas More.  The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep. Chanakya.  My tastes are not those of the king, who has none, except for hunting and mechanic's labour. Marie Antoinette.  He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king. Saint Augustine.  I am the herald of the Great King. Francis of Assisi.  Time is the king of all men, he is their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will and not what they crave. Pericles.  Authority forgets a dying king. Alfred Lord Tennyson.  The place does not make the man, nor the sceptre the king. Greatness is from within. Robert Green Ingersoll.  Neither soldiers nor money can defend a king but only friends won by good deeds, merit, and honesty. Sallust. 

Article: This is yet another thing I know little about and find interesting. It is beyond our earth while still has a major affect on us. The title is “What are solar storms and the solar wind?”, written by three astrophysicists. The article was written in answer to an eleven year students question. To open the discussion in the article the author mentioned not only is there weather here on earth there is also weather in space. “It starts with the sun”. The sun is hot and full of gasses. The author went on to say that physicists call the make up of the sun plasma. The “plasma” become charged through natural motion and physics take place. Then it can “conduct electricity” and magnetic fields that can pull and push the plasma. In these actions the sun can cause “soar wind” then causing corona, the sun’s atmosphere, to form particles flying out from the sun’s surface. The corona can sometimes be seen during an eclipse. A solar wind occurs when the corona passes through the gravity field of the sun and enters the whole solar system. This solar wind is met by “safely guided around us by our planet’s magnetic field”. The article also said the sun is a “giant magnet”. The magnet field lines of the sun can “interact” with the earth’s magnetic field and cause something called “space weather”. The earth’s magnetic field is a “protective bubble” called magnetosphere. Most times we can’t tell if there is anything happening. There may be times with the “solar wind plasma” may make it to our atmosphere.  That is when the two magnetic fields interact. It can cause “magnetic storms” all through the earth. Scientists learn to understand and predict the “space weather”. It can cause blackouts and failures in communications. The weather also mentions that the space weather can also create light shows called the Northern and Southern Lights. So if you get a chance to see them you are seeing space weather effects “of eruptions and solar wind from the Sun.”

Beef and homemade noodles for dinner.

Photo uploads from today’s life and memories.

The first challenge upload for today is another “my choice” and another of my series of “touch of color”. 

The next upload was “doorway”. It is a space in my home. One that I see all day every day..

The last upload’s challenge title is “simple”. It is one of nature and its creator’s simplest taste of the simple beauty of life. 

Joy

this bonus photo was created from one of my original photos of an orange barrel and yellow fire hydrant in a construction zone. It was one of my photos that has been digitally to create a new design hidden in the original image and carefully brought to the surface

October 7, 2025 a thought for today, What youth learns, age does not forget. Danish Proverb

The photo upload for yesterday life

My first upload for yesterday was “my choice” being “a touch of color”.

The next upload was “in motion”. This is Bobbi playing with one her new toys.

The last upload for yesterday was “Oktoberfest”. It took a while to think of what I could use as a model for this image. I chose the can of beer, autumn leaves and a bowl of pretzels. 

Life today. It’s been an interesting day. This is the day the cleaning lady would come for this month. She did. My concern was how Bobbi would take strangers in the house not to mentions the sounds of a shop-vac style sweeper. To my surprise she did fine. She hid and stayed that way pretty much the whole time the cleaning was going on. I think Bobbi is more worried about the sound of the AC than of a sweeper. Next for her on the agenda for today is her “well check” at the vet in about an hour. 

Off and on during other activities I have been trying to get in touch with the next person who will be giving the message at church this week so that I can complete the bulletin. So far I have been unable to reach him. 

Now that the cleaning lady has left I got together and put some things back that seem to be a bit of a problem. Now it is about time to take Bobbi for her well check. 

There has been a little turn in the weather. Now we are getting some badly needed rain along with a drop in temperature.

The word today is interest.  An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Benjamin Franklin.  The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. William Morris.  There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest. Napoleon Bonaparte.  Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. Pericles.  Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh. Henry David Thoreau.  Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble. George Washington.  The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success only comes later. Confucius.  Men often act knowingly against their interest. David Hume.  An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry. George Eliot.  The invention of money opened a new field to human avarice by giving rise to usury and the practice of lending money at interest while the owner passes a life of idleness. Pliny the Elder.  Interest is the spur of the people, but glory that of great souls. Invention is the talent of youth, and judgment of age. Jonathan Swift.  Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity. P. T. Barnum.  I do not regret the part I have taken in a cause so just and interesting to mankind. Samuel Adams. 

Article: I was  not a good student in the subject of history in school though now I like to read about history. This article may refresh my memory. The article title is “Why free speech rights got left out of the Constitution – and added in later via the First Amendment”. I believe this article was brought to the forefront due to the recent situation to freedom of speech in our country. It talks about how the this feature was added in the first amendment to the constitution three years after it was written. It was a bipartisan agreement. The article mentioned that in one poll that was taken 90% of the “respondents” called the First Amendment “vital”, 64% believed it “so close to perfection that they wouldn’t change a word”. This amendment in part “bars congress” from  “abridging freedom of speech or the press”. The Construction and all of its parts was written to build “a strong national government”. There were some problems before the Constitution was drafted in 1787, in which colonists had declared independence “dysfunctional” and the nation was “disintegrating”. The Constitution written in 1787 was meant to create “a government powerful enough to promote the national interests while maintaining a check on state legislatures”. The event “established a system of checks and balances that ensured federal power wasn’t abused”. At that time there was talk of adding a bill of rights but was passed over then.  The writing of the Constitution had taken a lot of time. According to the article the writers had no “ appetite to haggle over the provisions of a bill of rights”. Later there thinking that it “might become “fundamental maxims of a free government” and part of “the national sentiment.” It might boost the process in a “check on government officials and how they wielded power”. Eventually “Congress approved 12 amendments – ensuring rights from freedom of speech to protection from cruel and unusual punishment” and they were sent to the states for ratification”. As the article mentioned in 1781 ten of the twelve including the First Amendment were ratified. As we know there are still objections to the First Amendment. The article was ending by saying that “perhaps the ultimate protection for First Amendment rights is “national sentiment”. To me our country has been the most cherished on earth why change it? 

I think we will have chili and fried potatoes dinner. 

The photo upload for today life.

The first upload for today is another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “touch of color”. It was one of the bow in Sweet Peas hair after a grooming.

The second upload for today is “something painted” . This is one of the painting one of my grandsons created

The last photo challenge upload for today is “magic”. Bob use to like to show off some of his magic when ever he had the change. I checked some of his things but found that all of the magic items are gone. So I created this one. 

Joy

Bonus image....I generated this one from one of my photos of a  black mail box with a red flag

 October 5, 2025 a thought for today, An old man's sayings are seldom untrue. Danish Proverb

The photo uploads for yesterday.

My first upload for yesterday was “made you smile today”, and many more I hope. Bobbi finding interest in the leg of my vintage gate leg table. 

The next upload was “bedtime”. This is not the most appealing photo of my
bedtime images. 

The last upload here is “fungi”. This is a branch on one of my two evergreen trees. The is a lot of ivy on the tree trunk also 

Life today. Lowell put the coating on the driveway this morning, what a relief that it is finally done. I had the car parked in the street over night which makes me nervous, now I’m back in the driveway. 

It’s been a great Sunday, after I got past the misery of leaving my new fur baby for the first time. She seemed to do fine and I am ok now that I am home. I had planned to put her in my room with a gate to take up the space the door doesn’t fit.  As soon as I sat down she jumped over the gate. So since I don’t have a pet cage, I have a cat carrier but didn’t want to leave her in there for three hours. She was up in the house free as a bird. So one more next step in the growth of a kitten. 

We had some new people actually return back today, that is always encouraging. This was Worldwide Communion Sunday. After church we had our first choir meeting at its new schedule. I hadn’t been going because I don’t drive at night, when the practices were scheduled. Today was the first day of the new time, right after church service. When I mentioned Bobbi and our growing together, I found out tht five of us have cats, the others seem to have more than one. 

As is my usual plans for Sunday afternoon I don’t have anything on the agenda. So after I get the photos uploaded I will be relaxing and refreshing. Actually, working with the photos is not work to me it is a pleasure and a release. I will also be enjoying hugs and “talks” with Miss Bobbi, as you know is our new addition. She will meet her new doctor on Tuesday. The place where I adopted her use that issue as part of the adoption “contract”, to see their “family” doctor within seven days. Even though she has already had all shots, neutered and nails clipped. I guess it is a wellness and welcoming appointment. 

We are having another gorgeous weather day, a wonderful way to enjoy the season with visions of the coming winter pushed to the background. 

The word today is innocent.  Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent. Jonathan Swift.  The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  How innocent, how happy, how truly delightful, even, would life be if we were to desire nothing but what is to be found upon the face of the earth: in a word, nothing but what is provided ready to our hands! Pliny the Elder.  The innocent seldom find an uncomfortable pillow. William Cowper.  I shall support the law, for the law gentlemen, is the firm and solid basis of civil society, the guardian of liberty, the protection of the innocent, the terror of the guilty, and the scourge of the wicked. Charles Lawrence.  If those who are the enemies of innocent amusements had the direction of the world, they would take away the spring, and youth, the former from the year, the latter from human life. Honore de Balzac.  He is armed without who is innocent within, be this thy screen, and this thy wall of brass. Horace.  

Article: I picked this article to explore because the title seemed to hold a bit of a mystery. My favorite books are mysteries or historical fiction (with a bit of truth encourage thought). After reading I found it isn’t really a mystery, it is more a revelation of happening not well known and then brought to light. The tile is “A staircase in a small, decorative arts museum tells a harrowing story of terror, abuse and enslavement”. The article’s story opens with telling about a girl from 12 to 22 growing up being the slave of a wealthy physician. Much of her the early part of her life was one of “terror”. The missive went on the say that as a teen ager she was thrown down a set of stairs in North Carolina. Years later she wrote an autobiography including this as part of her story. In 2025 the staircase in this story was located in the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. One portion of the museum contained woodwork from an earlier period in history, the staircase was part of that woodwork. In 1964 the staircase was moved from its original location in the physicians home and the slave girls memories. They were moved from the house not because of the slave girls connection but “because of their significance to Revolutionary-era craftsmanship”.  It was later discovered that is was connected to the girl. The history of the staircase and other abuses were  discovered in former slave girls autobiography. After she escaped slavery there as she hid for seven years in a nearby attic. Her book was rediscovered in the 1970s. Its accuracy was doubted by some. After some study by a historian much of it was verified. I learned from the article that by the stairway in the museum there is a photograph of the slave girl.  The full story of the staircase is not found in the museum itself. The museum staff “recounted” the story in a course of conversation. They also shared that they believe how the “importance and meaning of artifacts change over time”. The article shares that it is of importance in the “power of regional museums to preserve artifacts whose stories unfold over generations”. The staircase is an “example of fine 18th-century craftsmanship, and that’s a story worth preserving and learning”, by preserving its whole history.

The photo uploads for today

The first upload for today is “golden hour”. These kinds of day endings and beginnings are peace at
perfection. 

The second upload is “my choice” and one of my “touch of color" series. One of my miniature roses a it is beginning the fade back to the earth.

The next upload is “breast cancer awareness”. I didn’t have pink ribbon so I
used pink construction paper to create this icon for the reason.

This is one of days I have a fourth upload for the day. This one is “fog”. I don’t see much fog so this one is from my growing photo archives. 

I may try another DoorDash, I didn’t use it this past Friday so I will be dinner tonight. 

Joy

bonus art (generated from an original photo image of a red stick candle with holder and ribbon) 

 October 3, 2025 a thought for today, That which comes with sin goes with sorrow. Danish Proverb

Yesterday’s photo uploads

One of the uploads for yesterday was “my choice” it is one of my series of “touch of color”. This is one of the moss roses from one of the window “gardens”.

The next upload was “folded”. This is one of the extra wide gates I used to keep Sweet Pea in a confined area when we needed that. 

The last upload for yesterday was “your hand(s)”. This is mine in its most often used position.

Life today. A memory of yesterday was a happy day. I got to meet and bring home my new furry best friend. She is a tabby kitten. She is 6 months old. I was planning on no kitten and no senior ages. I was staying in the middle with a “young adult”. But she took heart and that’s that. Right now we are in the “get use to new surroundings” mode. It’s making me nervous. There are features that seem to be taking longer than I imagined. I am a “need it right now” kind of person. She is staying pretty much in one spot well hidden. She hadn’t used the kitty litter yesterday, I was worried. She isn’t eating the kitty food that was provided, that worries me. I plan to try something different for tomorrow in my grocery order today. She seems to be sleeping somewhere around 14 to 16 hours a day. About 4am she was in bed with me, it felt good. She was purring loudly. Finally she decided to try the kitty litter. This morning when I got up I couldn’t find her. I looked everywhere. There are no open windows or doors. After a mild panic attack I did find her. She was under a stack of pillows on the floor at the end of the bed. She’s sleeping again. 

Today is on the light side. I didn’t do the laundry yesterday to spend time with Evelyn Bobbi, my new tabby, to be shortened to Bobbi.  So that was at the top of the list. The frig hasn’t been attended to for a while so that was next on the list. There was a surprise connected with that the trash container was out by the curb for pick up. I got the bundle of discards together and walked to the curb. I got back inside to start loading the dishwasher when I heard the truck. Looks like I just made it.

Now its just finishing this letter and doing the photos. Then I should be done. Lowell is coming later to put on a layer of coating for the driveway. Otherwise it won’t get done until next spring. 

We are having another gorgeous autumn day. I think there are several more before a drop in temps and an Indian summer. 

The word today is increase.  Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and  character increase as the importance of the position increases. John Adams. Grow in the root of all grace, which is faith. Believe God's promises more firmly than ever. Allow your faith to increase in its fullness, firmness, and simplicity. Charles Spurgeon. The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others. John Locke.  Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it's set a rolling it must increase. Charles Caleb Colton.  Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Festivals cause diseases, since they lighten cares but increase gluttony. Apollonius of Tyana.  Man tends to increase at a greater rate than his means of subsistence. Charles Darwin.  Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness. William Cullen Bryant.  The excessive increase of anything causes a reaction in the opposite direction. Plato.  Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit. Aristotle.  Grandeur and beauty are so very opposite, that you often diminish the one as you increase the other. Variety is most akin to the latter, simplicity to the former. William Shenstone.  No man can purchase his virtue too dear, for it is the only thing whose value must ever increase with the price it has cost us. Our integrity is never worth so much as when we have parted with our all to keep it. Ovid.  

Article: This park looks like it is going to offer some different sights unique to most of our other state parks. The title is “History Meets Nature at Ohio’s Great Council State Park”. The article started by telling how this park opened near Xenia Ohio in 2024. It’s not the typical park “simply to showcase trails and trees”.  Instead it was created to honor the Shawnee people and their history in the area. The land for this park is on the same land that was a Shawnee settlement in the 1700s. The article mentioned that over a thousand Shawnee lived there with all traditional community life of diplomacy and colonial connections. Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, was of the tribe in that area. The formation of this park has been a “collaboration between the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and all three federally recognized Shawnee tribes”. This will determine how the park looks, feels and tells stories. The main structure will look like an Indian council house. Within the structure there will be tree levels of exhibits, one being an indoor stream and a rotating exhibit showing cultural scenes. Part of the area will be something called “walking the land”, an area representing a prairie ending at the Little Miami River. This article said that will be the longest hike in Ohio. The hopes for the park are that it is not like other Ohio stories of Ohio, pioneers, canals and steel mills, it is more a place for the Shawnee nation telling “stories to be heard on their own terms”. It is free to visit the main center on Wednesdays through Sundays. Growth is still being planned for workshops and other events. One park in our state that is “rooted in history” and “relevant right now”.

Today’s photo uploads

The first upload is “stripes”. This is Bobbi our new furry family member. My new best friend with a tiny shoulder to cry on when needed and also ready for a quick hug accompanied with the longest softest purr maybe ever in history. 

The next upload today is “my choice” and another of the “touch of color” series. My daintiest tea cup with the kerosene lamp and mirror in the black and white background. 

The last upload is “rock(s). This is one rock on a bed of weeds and mulch in my front now defunct flower beds.

It’s DoorDash / GrubHub night....it will most likely be piazza. 

Joy

                        the "bonus" image: an image taken while sitting in a parking lot