Beneath the Wraps

           I think someone may have been hacked on facebook who in turn tried to hack me.   I don’t know.   I was experiencing so much fatigue yesterday.   I wish I would have taken a screenshot but did not.   I saw who it was from and I think what the invitation was for and deleted automatically because of so many factors.           So in my notifications I’m told that RAM has invited me to the Relief Society Page.   The page that I created?   Or is there a new one? And why would RAM create an RS page when he is a guy?   We are not even facebook friends.   And he is currently on vacation.   Why would he create a page and invite people in during his vacation?   I thought it said Relief Society.   Maybe it said something else?   Still – why would I want to join his page?   Was I singled out or were there others in the ward who received invites? ...

                It’s hot.  So hot.  I asked Alexa to tell me the temperature in Las Vegas – it always makes me feel better that it’s cooler in Oregon than elsewhere.  And yet I remember being cold in Las Vegas when I was there in March this year.  COLD in LAS VEGAS.  Cold wind blowing.  I don’t even remember experiencing wind in Las Vegas before.                Today’s first was at the dentist.   Yes, I am a little plastered out of my mind.   The heat does that to me.   Under normal circumstances I cry whenever I am in the dentist chair because I’m a dweeb.   I don’t have anything against the dentist per se – I just don’t like being in a laying down position with my mouth wide open and tools in my mouth and the need to swallow but can’t.                Toda...

    When the wind blows trees dance and things move – some seem to make unpleasant noises like someone is trying to break into your house.   Sometimes the wind itself makes an eerie noise as it blows. When it is just a cool breeze the wind feels nice but it still seems to send me into a coma.   Naughty wind

  The Church is full of imperfect people who are often called to positions they don’t want.   Some people will say “No’ when they are called to a position that they may feel inadequate to serve and some will say “No” to callings they really don’t want.   Many callings are given to the individual so that he or she may learn and grow possibly more than those they are serving.   We grow by the Spirit.   Hopefully we all may rely on the Spirit to guide us.   We are given so many opportunities to do so. Recently I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting.   I started with two hikes on which to use as outlines.   The first happened during a family trip to Arco Idaho almost 40 years ago.   On average the wind in Arco blows 8-10 miles and I would imagine mirrors the season.   It was June and the winds were warm to an already scorching temperature.   The big draw in Arco, Idaho is The Craters of the Moon Monument. There was an unguided walk tour...

             The day we cleaned the shed two black chickens appeared – as though they had been living there and we destroyed their home.   They weren’t.   I have no idea where the two birds came from.   One was pretty much smaller than the other.   Normally Jaime has given names to all the animals that have come into our yard.   But she was not yet up.   Richard named the larger of the birds Myrtle and the smaller one he named Creek.           We managed to keep Bonnie away from them during the morning.   I don’t know whose yard they had come from or why they chose to stay.   I let Bonnie out after 4:00.   I had forgotten about the chickens until I noticed her attacking Myrtle’s corpse.                Poor Creek seemed lost without her companion.   Richard would take Bonnie out and put her on a chain.   I don’t...

           For a week now we have been touching up our house.   The deck REALLY needed a make- over.   I don’t think it’s been painted/stained for two or three years.   It NEEDED a fresh coat of something.   And Richard was concerned about the trim facing west as it also needed a fresh coat of paint in his opinion.   Honestly no one is going to notice.   Nobody ever goes back there – especially to look at the shutters.   But whatever.   So here are some things we have done.   we painted the chairs after this photo was taken clean up             I thought I had posted about our make-shift shed that we made from the tarp of a greenhouse kit.    Richard built the frame to last – but the tarp did not.    It started out with good intentions but became more of an eye sore each time it was moved.    And so much junk accumulated over the years...

 Jesus,  Others,  Yourself          -         in that order

  Last night watched the most beautiful service spotlighting Palm Sunday.   An integration of faiths.   I remember having gone to the tabernacle on Temple Square.  I didn’t visualize that I would have ever witnessed anything like this .  Pretty cool.

                 I think before the last two conferences (at least the October ones) Jaime has created Bingo cards that we might pay closer attention.  One year she picked a specific General Authority would wear a red tie.  I just had “red tie” on my Bingo card – no one specific.  I would not have even thought about the Bingo card except Dieter Uchtdorf was wearing a bright green tie which I liked.  I would have never guessed that a green tie would be worn.  Nor a lilac/orchid colored one with a circle/sun type pattern (that was worn by Gary E. Stevenson) followed by Amy Wright wearing a colorful orange suit.  I actually lost track after that – not that it’s important.  I didn’t lose sight of the message each had to convey.  It has been a really good conference thus far.             Dale G. Renlund talked about being prepared and how the topic of ...

  Richard signed up for cookies for a refreshment after our Easter service.   Of course we had to trial run:

            Before Richard and I went on our Las Vegas/Gilbert excursion, his brother had mentioned that a package was on its way.   It hadn’t occurred to me what he was sending.   Richard had asked for the return of a doll that he had sent his mom.   We didn’t know that Robert was going to send half of her doll collection.    We did find homes for the first two, possibly the one in the middle.   Richard wanted just one specific doll – but all of these came in addition to a boxed set of Lucy and Desi dolls as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (which Richard had also sent his mom – in addition to a Raggedy Ann doll that did not find its way back to us.   Shame.   It is the only doll that I liked.            Actually I do like the Ricky and Lucy dolls as they remind me of Richard and me.   She is pregnant with Little Ricky.   I was once pregnant with Jaime.   Ric...

               Not only was yesterday St. Patrick’s Day but the 183 rd anniversary of the Relief Society.   Leaders received notification of this event as early as January.     On Sunday we were supposed to congregate together and watch the broadcast. At first it was going to be on a stake level and then it was changed to wards.   So in addition to the broadcast meeting, Diane had called a last minute meeting for the presidency as there were some things that couldn’t wait for our next scheduled meeting (which honestly I don’t believe was scheduled with a specific date).             Diane and Angie had each brought their lunch as it didn’t seem convenient for each of them to drive all the way back to their homes and back again.   Melanie had made a large pan of brownies (which could be cut into 48 if we had the turnout) and we had started presidency meeting 20 – 30 minutes after chu...

                 Richard is always in a cooking or baking mood. On Saturday night he pulled 24 cupcakes out of the oven and decided that the three of us would decorate them.  I was planning on posting this yesterday but my pictures did not come through until this morning   Our frosting, you guessed it, banana.

                 Richard likes to go bowling.   For the most part we have gone to the Nickel Bowl in Myrtle Creek.   It is a convenient 5 minute drive compared to over 20 to Ten Down in Roseburg.     But yesterday we chose to go to Roseburg – and it was fun.   New look, new appeal – at least to my eyes as I don’t believe I have ever been since before 2020.              I loved the cleverness of their “pool ball” themed bowling balls and the filters used on photos each player provides for keeping score.   So here are some of the photos displayed as we bowled.

  On Friday one of the counselors had called Richard about another matter but ended up asking if he could give a talk yesterday.   The theme for the talk was to be Doctrine and Covenants section 19 as this is the reading topic for last week’s Come Follow Me.  Richard based his talk on one of Scott Woodward’s videos here *.    I really enjoyed the last speaker’s talk.   She said she had wanted to speak on Section 18, particularly 9-16 ( here ) focusing on the worth of souls.   During the course of her talk she used two different parables.   The first of these parables is found in Matthew 20:1-6.   It is one I’ve mentioned before in this post.   It doesn’t matter what hour we enter the vineyard, our worth is the same.      She also mentioned the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10.  She read some and paraphrased some – never using actual names; she is not that kind of person to point fingers – and yet I heard them...

           Tithing is definitely NOT a logical commandment.  But oh what tremendous blessings follow if we follow the promptings.           Two examples of tithing shared in Testimony meeting last week.   The first is a recent convert who upon talking with his sister learned that his niece would be turning 11 on her next birthday.   She wanted a violin.   The speaker didn’t know why she had mentioned it as she was aware of his financial struggles and so of course a violin was out of the question.           He wanted to pay tithing but did not have the finances to do so.   As he was headed out the door to go to church, he grabbed his piggy bank on an impulse.   He said he offered his tithing in all the change that the piggy bank held – about five dollars – maybe more.   It was all that he had.       ...

                We left the Marino Valley at 4:00 a.m.  We managed to miss any signs of congested traffic.  The heaviest we saw was going through Pasadena – but it was on the other side.  Our side was okay – the entire way home.  How blessed we have been!   We stopped at Santa Nella.  Richard recognized the town we were in.  He pointed out Anderson’s split pea soup restaurant where we had eaten two and a half years ago when we had gone on our Disneyland (extremely hot) vacation. We saw tons of hazelnut trees during our drive And got several pictures of Mount Shasta. This was taken about four hours before we got home This was taken on the day we left Oregon and let us not forget the countless rest stops we saw