Beneath the Wraps

          I have assisted with Vision Screenings before when I was living in West Valley and Jenna was going to school in Taylorsville.   That was probably five years ago.   There was a nurse at one station and at least three other stations with six volunteers, perhaps seven (someone must have served as a runner).   Vision screenings were done in the hall in front of the auditorium.   Two aides worked in teams.   One would stand at the eye chart and point to pictures or letters and the other would sit and record the results of each test of the student - they would also have to find each student and mark the set of duplicate directories that we were all given.   Yesterday's testing went so much smoother.           The Elks Club brought this sophisticated equipment that would read each child's eyes.   Each class had been given stickers to pass out and m...

       Jenna had planned to kick off her summer by going to the beach.  The temperature had dropped on her last day of school.  It’s been cooler at the beach and raining as well.  The weather has challenged her plans as the temperature has dropped all over the state.  It's also been raining.                   Jenna enjoys the rain and thinks she'd be okay at the beach in the rain.   But I don't wish to drive an hour and a half in the rain to go to a cold wet beach.   I will have to take her later. Poor baby.        She and a friend kicked their summer off at our house playing games.   They would like to go see "The Incredibles" next week.   The theatre is much closer to us than the beach.

                The weather seemed to be the perfect temperature during Bill and Kayla's visit - except for the last day which was cold.   We had a few perfect days since until Tuesday and Wednesday.   Unbelievable Heat Wave.   Roseburg broke a record of 90 degrees on the 25th of April.   How dare it be warmer in Oregon than in Salt Lake!             We had watched the news to learn of how much longer.   We were told that yesterday would be hot but not as bad as the last two days.   The next week predicted a drastic drop in temperature and rain.   Of course, we'll get rain.   We can make that happen just by putting up our A/C.   At first, Roland was just going to do our bedroom, and wait to install the A/C in the main room.   After watching the news, I thought he might in the bedroom, but he ended up...

            I have mentioned the thick fog and now a constant rain.   It looks awesome and will green up the valley again.               This morning I noticed golden flecks donning the hills.   It was so spectacular!     Of course none of my pictures capture what I see.   The fog covered appearance of the towers as I was coming home.   After I got inside, it started pouring again.             At 11:00 I could see the sun.   I felt excited as Jenna has a field trip planned for today.   She's been looking forward to it for over a week now.   I don't want her to be disappointed.             Hopefully they were on the bus already and are at the corn maze now and enjoying themselves.   Perhaps it isn't ra...

          It's been raining quite a bit this year - more than usual from what we understand.   More downpour and more frequent.   And yet the riverbed told a different story - as though it had been recently drained.   The last two times I checked, the water was fast and appeared to be near overflowing.           Springtime came early last year.   Mid-February it seemed.   This year Spring just barely started.   It snowed on December 12, 2015 and again in January 2017.   We heard that snow in these parts is rare.   December 12th snow was gone on December 13.   This year the snow didn't stick around, but did snow more often.             We've also experienced hail.   I have not used my winter boots since February, but have not returned them to the shed just in case.  ...

            Roland comes off as a domineering parent sometimes.   Jenna absolutely hates it when she is told to comb her hair or wear a coat or dress nicely or what have you.   The more he makes suggestions or "harps" on the subject, the more rebellious she is about it.             I will admit that I am not as observant.   For three and a half years I have tried fixing her hair and seeing it wreck before we get to school.   I stopped fighting.   Richard has only begun.   Although he has been a teenager, he's never been a girl.   We have hormones.   There seem to be chemical imbalance just before that time of the month.   Let it go.             The rain in Oregon is different from rain in Utah.   Desert rain is wet.   It soaks you.   Oregon rain - even wh...

          I like the sound of rain           Good Thing as it           has rained for most of           this month                     We have skylights in           our front room and           our bedroom and           sometimes the rain wakes me           after I have fallen           asleep           I know it's wet and cold           outside      ...

It's been raining almost non-stop for a week now.   Many cities have been affected by the storm and knocked down trees at least 37,000 people have been without power in at least seven different counties.   How fortunate or blessed we have been that Douglas County has not been affected in that way. Our youngest son, Randy, used to spend time with a friend whose family was more well off than we.   By allowing Randy to stay overnight and hang out with his friend's family as much as he did, Randy was given opportunities to some finer things that we, ourselves, could not provide. When we lived in West Valley, many of Jenna's friends referred to her as Rich - believing her parents had money - as though we would have purposely chosen that neighborhood if we were financially well off.   But we did live in a house.   Most of Jenna's friends from West Valley lived in condos and apartments.   Jenna did have her own trampoline while many of her fr...

            We left Tillamook and went through Lincoln Center before we arrived at Newport where we had lunch.  It had been overcast the entire day.  Newport was wet.  I had changed from my sandy shoes into some beach sandals that I have used as slippers.  My feet were cold.   I enjoyed listening to the barking seals.  My camera had run out of battery and I’d taken the last picture at the ocean.  Every picture after that was taken with my cell phone.             In addition to the seals, I took these pictures of the tsunami debris and warnings  I found this one on the Internet - what it looked like before the written history above             On our return to ...