Beneath the Wraps

Roland is allergic to birds but he insists on filling the bird feeder with seed so he can watch the birds fly around as he looks out the window in his office. There aren't magpies in Oregon.   I thought they were pretty birds but learned to hate them when they wouldn't leave our already pathetic crops alone.   In Oregon the most hated bird seems to be the blue jay.   I think blue jays are really pretty birds   - but blue jays are bullies. Funny, I remember watching "Peep" with Jenna and there was one story in which Peep, Quack and Chirp encounter a blue jay who thinks she is special and is unkind to other birds.   I didn't know that I was watching an accurate description of the real life bird. So Roland has watched blue jays bully other birds and he has purchased big seed and little seed and has decided to feed the little birds and let the blue jays fend for themselves. I have open...

I taught Sunbeams twice in my mom's ward.   Both times I was blessed with four reverent children who folded their arms and listened to the lesson.   They may have been too quiet. Ever since I've married, each class - not matter the age - that I have taught in primary has had at least one very quiet and focused child and at least one who is all over the place - except for my lesson. Since coming to Oregon, I have had the sad and traumatic, the devastation, the "Oh, I love my teacher" and the "good helper" - that's all been the same kid overall.   I think the most that I ever had attend a single class last year was three.   Before the year came to an end, it was generally just me and Elizabeth.   My lessons were of no interest to her. For the most part, she pretended she was a horse. This year I have her cousin, Hayden, who just recently turned four.   He's been with me since January.   Then, just a few weeks ago, they added C...

          The topic for our last discussion in English class was on Turnitin - a device that supposedly makes it easier for the student to submit his or her work and get feedback on originality.   A colored icon appears in a column next to our graded assignment.   Green is the best color to receive.   It means that only 24% of your work or less was borrowed, paraphrased or quoted from other sources.   I just recently learned that there are five colors:   What I don't get is the color coding on the inside that marks your assignment.           I would have been more interested in viewing Grademarks or Peermarks, but the tabs wouldn't even open, and so I did not see the point.   Having the colors and source names in columns didn't mean much to me.   It might have well have been sent back to me in Japanese although my understanding ...

                  I had an English class on paragraphing during my second mod - which was a great introduction to my class on English composition.     I am happy that this is last week of my third mod.   Love my instructor, but don't care for all the rules that apply to informal writing.                So I have been working on the same assignment for four weeks now.   I could pick one of three topics.   I chose soft skills - again, but had forced myself the view it from a different angle - so it wouldn't seem redundant with two other classes that I took. Instead of being part of a team of employees working together, I decided to approach my assignment from the customer's point of view.             My main gripe is proper communication between...

            I looked online to find sources and give credit to the creator of last night's activity. I found one on pinterest dated March 2011 but there's one on sugardoodle dated 2008 and I would guess even more with early dates.  Though it's gone through many tweaks (as with the young women's, new beginnings, and personal progress themselves) even plausible that it was created before internet access.  Bless those that have shared their ideas through posts and other internet sources.  I commend you, but as I am unable to find the original source, I will not be referring  other sites with this particular post.             We had to have Jenna at her school by 5:00, though the concert wasn't scheduled to start until 5:30.  Her instructor had advised the class to dress up - girls wear dresses and boys wear ties.  I guess there was some ques...

                Krystal and Hank both attend our ward.   Neither one of them is a baptized member.   Krystal is ten and has been homeschooled up until now;   she loves primary.   She started attending with her grandma and cousin. She loves socialization.   She fits right in.   She loves to be there. Hard to believe that she is not a member.   She drinks the gospel up like it's water - which in a way . . . She LOVES primary.     Hank was a different story. He was a rebel and it showed.   I don't know the full story, but I get the impression that he's been passed off one relative to another for at least a couple of years.   When he came to stay with his Aunt Ronnie, she had only one rule: he had to attend church with her every Sunday.     Ronnie has been a member of the Church for less than two years.   She's a go-getter...

                    The students who attend Coffenberry Middle School have been encouraged to wear College shirts so that they can start thinking about the future and start planning for secondary education. We're not too familiar with the colleges here in Oregon.   Oregon Ducks seem to be the most popular in this county.   But it was Beavers who had assisted Jenna and others in an engineering camp that was offered.           Jenna's familiarity lies within Utah.   She wants shirts from BYU and University of Utah - and so I asked my kids if they could assist with her desire.   Jeanie sent a boxload of College wear, mostly U of U shirts, but Jaime said there was one from BYU, one from Weber State.   Plus she has one from Duke University that we had purchased before Labor Day weekend so that ...