I Vote For a New Temperature

 

              August is near its end. 

September creeping in.  

        We’ve had fires this late before.  

Smoke billows from the south over the hills.  

            It’s hazy. 

                            It’s hot.  

Please let it rain.

casse-tête examples

 

I don’t know where Richard came up with the idea that I LOVE doing thousand piece puzzles.  I do not.  I have learned that I especially do not like the type that offer casse-tete pieces!

According to several online dictionaries the French word(s) casse-tête translates to puzzle, challenging or complicated puzzle pieces, and headache.  I agree with the last definition.  So I have mentioned that Richard seems to be gung-ho about gluing all puzzles that we have done – though I have vetoed the idea with those that I really would like to put together again.  But definitey not the last one with its one thousand casse-tete headaches.

 

The three hundred piece circle was much easier than the thousand piece cats and birds.

By Invitation Only

         It has been several months since the missionaries had been teaching the Gospel Essential Class.  I thought it would be cool if they had started that up again rather than have the new member interest attending the Gospel Doctrine class.  But that was just my opinion.  I obviously do not have the authority to change that.  I did however remind Richard that it had been a thing.  He is Sunday School president and brought it up in the leader’s meeting that takes place before church.

        Last week Richard taught the gospel essentials and had invited those members who have recently been baptized and those who are seeking, the missionaries, and a few supporters – including candidates for teaching the class. It is a class that I had attended during my time as a counselor in the Relief Society.  Even though I continue to serve in the RS presidency, I am in a different position (secretary).

        Meanwhile a new instructor has been called to teach Sunday School and I somehow felt obligated to show my support to her by attending her class – which was really great.  The Come Follow Me program has our reading in Psalms and last week’s theme was on repentance.  Oh, my.  What a powerful lesson.  Participants pointed out the difference between guilt and shame.  Some of us found comfort in Psalms 51:10 which reads:

        “Create me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

        Heavenly Father loves us unconditionally.  It is important that we can see ourselves through His eyes.

Another Triggered Memory

         Today in Sacrament meeting one of the speakers talked about reading scriptures as a youth and striving to meet a goal.  It reminded me of Biff’s reaction to Pres. Hinckley’s challenge in August of 2005 to completely read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year (see here).  Biff is not the fastest reader in the world as it takes him longer to process information.  

 

   I can’t remember where in the Book of Mormon he was as December 31 came near its end – but had a ways to go before he would be able to complete.  He seemed to feel somewhat defeated and I suggested that we read the captions of each chapter. With only four hours left until Midnight I read with him from where he left off. We continued reading each caption until we got to the end.   We finished between 11:30 and midnight if I remember correctly.  He was not satisfied and stayed up until wee hours of the morning to complete his goal without skipping the verses.  I have always admired his ability to endure.

CBQ#84

  Who performs more random acts of kindness than anyone else you know?

 

        Jaime is always thoughtful of others.  The other day we went to Subway and she left a very generous tip.  She said she could tell at least one of the staff members was being trained and there were three splitting tips instead of just two.  She wanted them to each have the same amount.

        That is just one example.  There are more.  Lots more.

        It’s a quality I’m guessing she got from her dad.  He is often doing random acts of kindness – like sending out Labor Day Cards.  Who does that?

CBQ#148

 Are you a penny-pincher or a big spender?

 

I am more of a penny-pincher because for so many years I did not have the option of spending money on more than basic essentials.  I know that problems may arise (the car stops working, the pipes break, things have to be replaced . . . ) that I would like to afford at the time it happens and not take out a loan so that I end up paying two to three times as much.  Once in a while I will splurge for something, but it’s rare.

We Are SO BLESSED

          A couple of months ago the light between the closets had gone out.  Richard changed the bulb to a brand new bulb that would blink on occasion until finally it went out leaving us to believe that it had something to do with the wiring.  Finding those that repair (such as electricians, plumbers, etc) is like pulling teeth.  Even before the gas price increase, it seemed a difficult task to find someone committed enough to come. 

          After two months Richard climbed up the latter to check what might be the source of the problem.  He had me turn off all the electricity.  Apparently it was the bulb.  How blessed were are that it was something simple.

          Next problem.  We were no longer receiving hot water through our taps.  How can that be?  Well the house is over 20 years old and the hot water heater is probably the same hot water heater that came with the house. We weren’t thrilled with the idea of replacement but knew it would/will have to be done eventually.  Two days without hot water and realized when all the switches had gone off for the electric – there was one that was missed when we switched back on.  Simple fix.  How blessed were are.

          The fridge has been a problem for some time now – with constant scraping of ice build-up and added feature of door not sealing properly.  It is over ten years old and has been moved from house to house – I thought that may have added to the problem.  We have looked into replacing the fridge.  The problem is the space for the fridge is smaller than the new fridges we have been looking at.  And it doesn’t seem feasible to try and widen the space. 

          Richard saw an advertisement for Umpqua Appliance and we called them to come out.  It wasn’t an outrageous expense and we were given many options on how to save money.  It is so nice to have the freezer part working again.  How blessed were are that it was something simple.

          On Saturday morning I took a shower.  Richard and I went to the temple and came home to a leaky driveway.  Neither one of us noticed the leak until later.  Weekend.  We didn’t know where the leak was even coming from.  We left our number with every plumber we could find.  We ended up turning off the water and calling Tri-City Water to ask if they could investigate.  We were told about a plumber who we hadn’t contacted as the name did not come up in our research – but Yeager’s Plumbing came out right away and replaced a tiny plastic part that had somehow dammed the water over time and had finally broken off.  The leak happened beneath the drain of the shower.

          Richard and I had both predicted that we would have to replace all the pipes.  He was thinking 4,000 dollars and I was thinking 7,000.  But we have been told we’re good to go though we should really contact our insurance and ServicePro to dry up the water that has accumulated under the house.  The damage is not as bad as we had anticipated.  How blessed were are that it the expense was in the hundreds rather than the thousands.

CBQ#258

 What’s your most and least preferred forms of exercise?

Most Preferred: Water aerobics.  There’s so much more I am capable of in the water that I have difficulty doing on land

Least preferred: sit-ups or chin-ups – anything that involves lifting the entire weight of my body. 

When the pool is closed I also like to dance (here)  - or attempt to.  I get exhausted quite easily however.

CBQ#447

 If you were offered free cosmetic surgery by the best plastic surgeons in the world, would you take it?

Probably not.  I would like to clean up the areas around my chin and neck that have started to droop.  But I suspect I would have to find a way to get to the surgeon as I would doubt that he/she would come to me.  Right now I am not willing to travel for a little lift.  Right now it would be a vanity thing.  I’m okay without cosmetic surgery.

CBQ#76

 What’s your favorite item to cook?

 

        Don’t enjoy cooking at all.  I enjoy eating.  I am great at making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

Check Before You Throw Away

               Going to the mailbox lately has NOT been worth the trip as I had mentioned in an earlier post. The other day we received three pieces of mail addressed to Richard and one to “Current Resident” – that right there tells me it is probably not worth my time.  I would have just trashed it based on that, but handed it to Richard along with the other garbage (like his last opportunity to switch insurance or purchase a burial plot or apply for credit or something like that) and put the bill aside as I’ll need to pay it.

          He opened the one from the CDC Foundation – the one addressed to resident.  A bribe enclosed to be part of an important national study.  An actual bribe with a promise of more to come if only you’ll participate.  Richard said he had done it before and it paid out.  He said I could have a turn and get paid 10 dollars for it.

          As I sat down to start the survey Jaime came into the room and I asked her if she would like to do the survey instead.  She said she would – which was good as the selection of candidates that CDC was searching for would preferable fall into the ages of 18-24.  Jaime just happens to be 18. 

          The survey advised that the surveyor find a private moment and place to do the survey – to be answered honestly without the eyes of prying parents I guess.  Only in Jaime’s case she wasn’t going to take the time to fill it out on her own (they promised only 20 questions – or did it say 20 minutes?) as she doesn’t like to read but will willingly answer the questions if someone will read them to her.  Thus she did not do this privately as recommended but I knew her answers were truthful.

          The questions for this particular survey had to do with drugs – mostly e-cigs and vaping and other tobacco products but also bigotry and bullying – which Jaime doesn’t even recognize for herself but is aware of it as used against others.  For taking the survey she has been promised to receive not 10 but 20 dollars!  Just for answering a few a fair amount of questions.  Cool.

          Moral of the story: Do not throw anything away from CDC Foundation.  Take a peek at what is inside.  Perhaps that might apply to other “junk” mail as well.

CBQ#369

 Who your first boyfriend? What was he like?

 

I don’t know if I would categorize him as my first boyfriend, but he was my first kiss.  Not that I have many followers left who would even know him, I will still use an alias.  So Bradley Chase was not his real name.  I think I had a crush on him during my sophomore year but had not gone out with him until my junior year.  I don’t even remember why I was in the car with him or why we were out in Draper parked not too far from the prison, but he decided he would kiss me.  I don’t even remember if he had asked my permission or not.  But I wanted to kiss him.  At least I thought I did.  It was a French kiss and I thought it was gross.

After we had both graduated high school and I was working with my dad downtown.  Brad said he had been looking for a job and I knew of some openings with the company my dad and I were working for.  Sometimes he would catch rides with us, but Bradley was definitely NOT an on-time person and that annoyed me to no end.  Going out to dinner was no big deal if we had gone at 6:00 or 8:00 – but tickets for a performance have a certain time.  I started lying to him about what time a performance would start – giving him a two hour leeway.  Seriously.  I realized he was not worth deception on my part. I lost interest in him over time.

    He once asked me if I knew a girl he had worked with previously.  Her name is Teresa (actual name).  I don’t believe we had much in common, but sent him reeling after her as I thought I could do better. He ended up marrying Teresa.  I hope that they are still happily married. I don't see either one of them on Social Media - although she had created an account.  It doesn't appear that she has been on since 2017.  

A Letter From the Kids!

               Lately our daily treck out to the mailbox has been a waste of time.  I thought it might be beneficial to have a trash can out there.  That way we could remove contents from mailbox and dump immediately.  Yesterday’s experience was a rather pleasant one.  There was only one piece but I can honestly say I was more excited about the envelope that lay within than I have about any contents this year – perhaps in our entire lives while living in this particular house.

        At first I thought it was a return of one of Richard’s cards, but when I examined the address I realized that it was an envelope I had mailed to Tony’s family after they had returned from their visit back in June.  A sock had been left behind and since I was sending it back, I had included a SASE and am so ecstatic for the reply.

the stamp was never cancelled so we don't even know when it was sent

CBQ#51

 Have you ever thrown unread magazines away?

         I don’t like magazines overall.  Too many advertisements.  I like Reader’s Digest (easy to hold) and have read the Children’s Friend, New Era and Ensign Magazines (which I think have all been renamed within the last two years – at least the latter two which have been changed to the Strength of the Youth and Liahona). 

        I have never been an avid reader as my mom or youngest brother.  I get tired even when the book has been interesting.  Forget the magazine – or newspaper.  I enjoy going from cover to cover without having to search for the rest of the article.

        As I age, I find I like reading off a touch screen in which I can control the size of the font.  I have thrown away unread magazines (though not church magazines but AARP) and feel bad that it hasn’t been read.  But I’m just not focused enough.

CBQ#36

 What’s the story behind a time when you got locked out?

 

        I have come up with more situations than I care to admit.  The first one I thought about on Friday when Carolyn announced that she’d be ending the class ten minutes early as the lifeguards have a meeting at 10:00 and would like to start on time without having to wait for stragglers. When class was over, I strongly suggested that Richard get out as it seems to take him longer to dress.

        Carolyn announced to the group that they were welcome to stay for five minutes before taking off.  She started heading to the deep end while the majority of the class headed towards the stairs at the shallow end and climbed out.  I then shared my first story with her.

Story #1

I don’t know how many years ago it was, but my first “locked out” story is not really about getting locked out but rather getting “locked in”.  Normally I don’t change back into my clothes until after I return home, but there are occasions when I change at the pool.  Apparently I had taken that opportunity one Friday just before the lifeguards had their meeting.  Or else I was just taking a longer time in the bathroom or something.  Regardless I had gone to the front door to exit the facility, only the door was locked.  I had to go back through the dressing room and knock on the window in the room where the lifeguards met and interrupt their meeting.

 

Story #2

        When Jaime was a baby I had gone to the store with her.  I don’t know if I loaded her or the groceries first – I’m thinking her.  I had evidently laid my keys in her car seat or had given them to her to play with.  Somehow I had locked her in the car.  I had my cell phone but not my keys.  I called Richard frantic as my child was inside a locked car – though the windows had been rolled down a crack because I do remember a set of people trying to help me with unlocking the door but just weren’t able to reach the lock.

        I would peek in Jaime’s direction and smile at her.  I didn’t want her to sense how frantic I was.  She thought I was playing a game with her and smiled back.  I’m sure it felt longer than it really was.  Jaime was fine but I was in panic mode.  By the time Richard showed up (with the entire troop no less) I was crying.  We set the car seat aside scrimping to find the keys.  It wasn’t until after one of her sisters physically removed Jaime from the car seat that keys were discovered.

 

        I do have more examples of locking myself out of the house. But for the time being we will just stick with two that I have provided.

CBQ#19

 When you’re alone at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?

 

        Like my mom, I don’t care for wearing shoes.  There was a time when I would always go barefoot if I had a choice.  With the last three yards I have lived in, going barefoot is NOT a wise choice.  Too many briars, thorns, and tiny rocks that stick to footwear and often tracked into the house.  Plus the more I age, the colder my feet usually are.

        I tried wearing slippers or slip-on shoes that will keep my feet warm.  I like convenience.  Chasing after Bonnie (who usually is good at minding) isn’t practical with the footwear I choose.  Jaime has gone after her in bare feet.  Ouch!

Blue Skies Somewhat Smiling

         

           The skies have appeared blue the last couple of days.  White clouds for the most part – though there was a large cloud of smoke billowing over the hills.  Evidently it moved on its way though I don’t know where.  One of the water fitness attendees comes from Winston.  She said she almost did not attend this morning because of the smoke (I don’t know which fire) but it was clear in Myrtle Creek.

          Carolyn had us work out in the deep end as the wind continued to blow.  It made the class more spread out though there were only ten of us – five or six less than usual.  If all the regulars were to turn out at the same time, there would probably be over 25 of us.

          I’ve been taking naps in the afternoon and am still tired.  Jaime and I tried to walk Bonnie just recently.  It was 83 degrees.  It was a short walk.

Secondary Hints

 

                         I once wrote a post about a sister who was addicted to family history (see here).  She enthusiastically shared her passion with others and would strongly advice to look for primary sources about our ancestors and not rely so much on the secondary sources.  So primary sources are like birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, etc.  A secondary source would be an obituary, announcement, burials, etc.  I’m not sure where the census and public records fit in.  Even the certificates that were recorded 100 plus years ago can and do get mistranslated (see here)  not because of the language barrier but the ability to decipher the handwriting regardless of what language it is written. Also lot of misspells.  It could be the same person.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

        I’d gone into Ancestry the other day.  There was a red dot over my hints – not a green leaf but a red dot.  Apparently they changed the appearance.  The red dot told me I had over 170 hints.  Awwww . . . . I don’t even recognize more than half the names that appear.  Lot of census.  I have had my own name come up and tell me that I was in a resident in areas that I wasn’t – or else the dates were wrong.  What?  Do I really need that information for people I may or may not be related to?  No.  Not important.  I decided I would weed out my “hints” by ignoring or marking undecided.  That way when I really am curious about certain individuals I can go through whenever I get the desire.

        Family history is definitely time consuming – just weeding them out is time consuming.  Richard has been getting a taste of my frustration – though at a much larger degree.  At least I have rare family names like Fish, Gloppen, Dodds, Gullicksen and Purdie (to name a few).  He’s got names like Rivera y Cortijo, Landor y Martinez . . . might as well be Smith and Young.

        As my few readers can tell – I still don’t have the passion.  Sorry.  Kudos to all of you that do.  That is really awesome.

Workout in the Water

 

The swim fitness classes are two dollars each although the pool offers a 20 day pass which saves 5 dollars.  Each year I have gone I have gone through at least two passes for myself.  But I have learned that each time I have purchased a pass for Jaime, she will stop coming.  Lately, I have been taking Richard – though he was not feeling well this morning.  Class has had the most consistent number count of any other year I have gone.  It has been a nice workout.