The Unexpected

            Have you ever made plans to do something only to have your plans fall through so whatever you had planned falls into the cracks and ends up not being done at all - but in the long run it turns out to be for the better?  Let me give you an example:  After our backyard neighbor had passed away, his wife has been getting rid of tons of stuff.  I don't know if she's sold anything or if she has just given it away.  In our case it has been given.

            Roland and I had built a hot house (here) and used concrete bricks to line our beds (both donated by the neighbor) Roland started cantaloupe seeds in the greenhouse before moving them to this bed.  They seem to be doing well. 

            She'd also given a doll house kit to Jenna.  Now Jenna is not nor ever has been into dolls - she didn't care about the doll house itself, but we both viewed it as a summer project like putting a puzzle together.  The theme for the Summer reading program this year is

 and we thought: "Hey, build our house alongside our activities and watch progress of "build" - and since Jenna had no desire for keeping the finished product we thought we could offer it as a prize to whoever read the most books, or maybe as a raffle fund raiser for the library.  And just as the creator or business where this originated, our project of putting it together is now a thing of the past.

            I had posted this picture to facebook inviting her friends who love puzzles and crafts and such to "come on down . . . err . . .  up" but there were no takers (at least that I know of) We had gone out of town before the final day of school.  After our return and several loads of laundry, Roland called the insurance adjuster to get an estimate on a leak in the floor - or above the wash - or wherever.  A team was contacted to demolish our floor to a catwalk and made holes in the wall connecting to Jenna's room (see here) the washing machine and dryer ended up on the back porch.  That is where I had planned on setting up shop for the doll house.

            I don't know how long it's been in our living room.  Jenna certainly didn't have room to put it in her bedroom or else it would have been packed up sitting in a storage somewhere in Winston. 

            Jenna enjoys yard sales and is always asking if we can do one but I really don't believe we're in the greatest location of traffic flow.  Guess I was proved wrong as we have seen more traffic on our street in the last two days than we have in the entire time we've lived here.  Our neighbors to the west of us were having a yard sale.  We took the box of house pieces and directions over and asked if we could leave it there.  She asked for how much.  I said she could just give it away for free for all I cared, and if she thought she could make anything, she was willing to keep it for herself.

            Jenna and I were getting ready to go to my water aerobics class and had just pulled out of the driveway when my neighbor approached us and told me to stop by her house on our return as her mom was purchasing the dollhouse.  I don't think it was in her yard for an entire minute.  Wow.

            Now I suppose the house/kit may be considered an antique and could possibly be build and sold for more money.  But Jenna is ecstatic with the twenty dollars she received for someone else's "junk".  It's true that one man's junk is another man's treasure.  Wow.  Good luck to the buyer whatever her intentions are.

Our Refrigerator Box-Sized Shower

                When we first looked at our house, I was thrilled with the large tub in the master bedroom.  Evidently I had not even looked at the shower. The shower in my mom's house was made of pink tiles.  There was a 4 to 5 inch lip that we could step over to be in the shower.  After daddy had his strokes, we put a plastic chair in the shower and invested in a shower hose. The hose split shortly after he had passed.  It hadn't seemed like a great investment.

                Because I can't always make the time for the luxuries of a bath (not to mention the many gallons of water)  I have taken more showers. For a while I was using the shower in Jenna's bathroom.  Her tub is more shallow than the master bath, but there is definitely more floor room in the tub than there is in the master shower.

                We don't have any kind of grip or mat in the tub, and so it is easier to slip in the tub than the shower.  Thus far I haven't fallen, but rather than risk it, I decided to take my showers in the refrigerator box. Unless I fall out the door, there is really nowhere for me to go.  I haven't slipped in the refrigerator box shower (it is difficult to call it a master when it is that size - though tall - nine feet perhaps;  All the space above the door is wasted). 

                I do like that the refrigerator box-sized shower has a hose.  I can move it to my body parts rather than try to lift my body parts to the spray hoping it will get rinsed after I wash.  Unlike the one at my mom's house, we haven't had problems with this hose - thus far anyway. 

                Instead of climbing over the tub, which I measured at 13 1/2 inches high, I now have to step up a 9 inch lift to get into our refrigerator box-sized shower, and remember I have that same 9 inches to step down after taking shower and am wet and slippery. We would not be able to fit an adult chair inside.

                I can't complain, really.  It's more than many others have.  It's just different.

how it looks without a person

I asked Jenna to stand in the shower for more accurate view

and I'm twice the size that she is.

notice all the space above the door

Baby Duck

        Nobody calls me baby duck,

        but that is how I feel for

the most part when I am in the pool

with my class. 

        I  seem to lag behind.  Either I

am all over the pool (that would be

when we're supposed to stay in place)

or don't move at all (that would be

when we are going to or returning from

        the deep end)

        Yesterday was overcast until about

2:00.  The pool was warm, but the air

was not.  About 56 degrees.  Possibly

warmer.  But there was a breeze that

seemed to make it feel colder.

        The lifeguards wore sweatshirts and

        jackets.  They often do. 

Our regular instructor was out and so

one of the lifeguards demonstrated movements

        as she stood outside the pool.

        She did not wish to get in - nor

even be there at all - I would think.

        Class members visited more than

        usual.  Jenna was with us

        in the pool.       

4:00 was probably the warmest part

of the day. 

        Jenna and I returned to the pool

later in the evening.

        It had gotten up to 76.  I would

love it if everyday

        the weather would be like it was

yesterday.

         

Where My Discussion Post Ends and My Blog Post Begins

          When I was in my twelvth mod, I had two classes.  I would try to attend the live lecture of each class.  I think I had attended all four lectures in my algebra class - perhaps only three.  Fortunately there was no problem with the hook-up system (the school uses a program called Zoom) but the instructor in my management class would always have a problem with the system cutting out or recording only audio or video, but not both.  It generally happened whenever she played a video in addition to her lecture.  I told her to stop showing videos and just send us the links.  I don't know if it would have made any difference.

          Last mod I also had two classes - two accounting classes.  I still don't understand the language, but I actually did well in both classes.  That is amazing considering what torture it was trying to get into a live lecture or (in most cases) listen to the recording . . . as it wasn't just one or two instructors having issues with Zoom;  the entire school was affected.  That is what Roland had told me anyway.  Not only is he a full time student at the same online school as I am, but is employed with them as well.

          This mod I am taking only one class (hooray) again in accounting (boo) and I don't know if Zoom has been fixed or not.  Thus far it does not look promising.  No one in the class appears to have been contacted by our instructor - usually he or she will introduce self or remind us of upcoming lecture or something.  There was supposed to be a live lecture yesterday, which starts at the same time as the children's summer reading program. I had already made a commitment to summer reading.  In addition, it seems I have been recruited to be the story lady - for the last two weeks anyway. 

          Yesterday the library (or the one in charge of the program rather) decided to celebrate SpongeBob's birthday and shared some trivia while children were coloring.  I shared Allison Jackson's "There was an old lady who swallowed a pie" - only I changed the wording a little bit and used SpongeBob as the character instead of an old lady, asking the children between each item of food, "do you think he'll die?"  they would always answer "No"  and they were right.

          I like Allison Jackson's version better than the original "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly"  because (with the exception of one item) her story deals with real food and no one dies.

          Neither Jenna nor I are avid SpongeBob fans - in fact we'd be okay with knowing that he had croaked.  But the idea of a sponge and some of Allison Jackson's rhymes gave me an opportunity to educate rather than just read or tell.

          So back to my accounting - I was hoping to watch the lecture before posting my discussion to perhaps get a better idea of what is expected.  As of now, I don't even know if my instructor tried to give the lecture or if he has started working for the university this week or is on sabbatical or what.  His discussion post was created on Saturday before the class had even started.

          Our topic is on importance of accurately accounting for costs in Job Order Cost Accounting.  Also, discuss the consequences of errors in this area. From what I understand, overhead charges and cost of labor that must be paid by the company is figured in the cost that a consumer must pay.

          The video example that had been given is building a burger and breaking down the cost of said burger.  There is the obvious cost for the meat, the bun and other ingredients, but the breakdown also includes the employee's wage.  Just suppose he was getting paid 10.00 an hour and it takes 3 minutes for him (or her) to build each burger.  That is 3 minutes to every 60 or 5% of 10.00.  and a predetermined overhead cost.

          The cost of electricity (for instance) is not figured into each burger, per se.  Utilities, indirect labor [that would be the supervisor making certain the employees are working, or the time spent cleaning (or idling) after all the customers have been served], indirect materials [someone has to pay for the cost of that grill] and property taxes or rent) are all part of that predetermined rate.  All of those costs are all added up together for the year and then more math is deducted and combined and made into a percentage that is also added to the cost of the burger.

          One of my class mates used auto labor as an example which I was actually able to understand a little more and have been trying to come up with my own examples using my false lawn care service from my former management class, or the cost of labor that we have seen (and will expect to see more) for the demolition and restoration of our floor, walls and spaces in between.  Thus far we've had to dole out checks for the plumber, the electrician and the pest control.  All with overhead costs - though we don't understand why on the electrician.

          Roland had asked for a card and wondered if he would be able to make a deal with trading services for a future project.  Wiring in the front room to put in a ceiling fan for new cards and marketing.  This area really needs to be educated in marketing. They either don't believe about it or know about it or care.  The font on the business cards was very hard to read.  Roland thought the shape of the font looked like an anchor.  I thought it looked like an open mouth - like perhaps a dentist would use.  I don't know what the overhead would be.  There is no sign on the truck.  I don't know how their pricing breaks down.  I suspect they can charge what they want as there doesn't seem to be any competition.

          I personally am not impressed with big vans and trucks bearing fancy names - especially now that I know it is part of my cost and I don't wish to support brand names when they have so many employees that the company has lost sight of them as well as the consumers.  Let me give a "for instance" which I wasn't planning to call by name, but because of my dissatisfaction, I want to warn others about why I stopped using the services of a certain company.

          Whipple Plumbing and Heating is a chain in Utah (Salt Lake/Ogden areas) which I believe has gotten too big for its breeches.  I don't know how many employees it staffs nor do I understand why we tried their services several times.  We ALWAYS had to call them to return to finish or correct a job and then ended up calling someone else to permanently fix it.

          I think they were called three times while we lived in Kearns and twice in West Valley.  For the poor plumbing issues (one project, never resolved by Whipple) we had three different guys, none which corrected the mistake of the other, we finally called an elderly man that Roland had been in contact through some clients of his. 

          Elwin Shipley arrived in his unmarked truck and fixed the problem.  He was awesome!  He fixed problems one time.  If you were to contact him again, it would be for a different problem.  Unlike Whipple, who got it right only one time (which will be my next paragraph), Elwin didn't charge an arm and a leg.  He didn't need to.  He didn't have the extra overhead cost.  I wasn't paying for the logo on his truck.  (Whipple had definitely figured a LOT of overhead expenses - had I continued to use them, I would have probably ended up paying for an entire fleet of trucks)

          Whipple had a promotion on toilets and as ours had to be replaced, we gave them another try (first one in WV).  The plumber who came out was very friendly toward Jenna and the dog and just a down to earth wholesome guy - or so it appeared.  He said that when I called, I could ask for a specific plumber.  That was our exception.  That was the only thing that we didn't have to have work redone on.

          Because I had liked the plumber, when another situation we had required plumbing services, I called Whipple with another opportunity and the name of the plumber who seemed to have the attitude "I've got you in my snare now, I don't have to be nice to you."

          Perhaps he was just having a bad day - perhaps there had been a recent death in the family or someone in his flipped him off on his way to work . . .  who knows.  The point is he just rubbed me the wrong way.  That was the last time we used Whipple.

          My discussion post was about Gil's heating and air conditioning - a business that relies on word of mouth.  I just thought of another.  Remarkable Rooter also gets the job done.  WITHOUT THE OVERHEAD!  Why pay more?  Really?  Because the competition has a brand name and drive a fancy van?  My consumer attitude may get me into trouble with my classes . . . although they haven't so far.  Did I mention that I LOVE living in a small town with an ignorance to marketing?  Well, I do.

DelEv Blueberries

          I don't know how long it's been since Del Blanchard started his blueberry farm.  I don't know if it was his dream or how just how he got started.  The public hadn't been invited to pick until the year that we moved in.  Evelyn had made some flyers and posted them around town.  Roland saw the one that was hanging at the Pizza Palace - where we had gone to get something to eat.  We copied the address and went blueberry picking the next day.

          That first year we dealt solely with Evelyn - who teaches school and I believe prefers it over the blueberry farm.  Del had been sick off and on and so we had to call first to make sure somebody would be there to let us onto the property as there were several days when Evelyn had to take Del to the doctor.

          Summer seemed to get away from us last year.  We didn't go as often - probably because we got more pounds from just one bush in 2016 as opposed to an entire row of bushes in 2015 - thus they lasted longer.  I finally met Del, but do not recall having seen Evelyn last year.

          I had mentioned that Jenna and I had gone last Thursday.  We returned with Roland on Saturday and picked over 30 pounds - bringing our grand total of blueberries to just over 46 pounds (still haven't gotten the 50) and Evelyn told us that Del had passed in March.

          Her nephew John had come to be with them.  His profession is in nursing, but now it appears that he has run on the farm - at least during one season.  I am happy that he is there to assist her.  I feel honored to know John and Evelyn.   

Big Bird Made Me Cry

I have been trying to organize my thoughts on this post and continue to be interrupted.  I do not have permission for the pictures that I use and will remove them at the artist requests.  I will continue to keep the links on where the pictures come from so that they may still be viewed.

                When I was in my teens I remember many  people trying their hand at doing impersonations of different characters - the most popular being Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Kermit the Frog.  I didn't view it as a talent would take anyone anywhere.  Boy, was I wrong.  Fast Forward to being a mom.  Jenna and I had been watching an episode that Sesame Street had re-aired after Hurricane Katrina as the cast had experienced a similar disaster and perhaps children could better deal knowing that Big Bird had experienced the same trauma.  It wasn't until I had watched the documentary of said episode that I learned Steve Whitmire was able to utilize his impersonating talent and ability to impersonate Jim Henson's Kermit, who was the news reporter for the hurricane disaster.

muppet wiki

             I was fascinated at watching the behind the scene footage and all the work that is involved by those puppeteers who move on their knees while having their hands in the air (I could not find the hurricane footage use as a demonstration for just a few minutes - but perhaps you'll get the gist with this wonderful tribute to soldiers featuring Rosita and Elmo)

            I took Jenna to the Riddle Library on Wednesday.  While there, I checked out a video called "I am Big Bird: the Carroll Spinny Story" directed by Dave Lanaltina released in 2014.  I won't be using the APA style to reference as I am not being graded on this post, but will include several links.

www.iambigbird.com

            We watched it that night, and I got to tell you, it took me on a journey in which my eyes leaked (big surprise) as I learned that Spinny had been bullied, abused, had felt like a failure to the point of expressing interest in quitting his position with Sesame Street.  He had divorced, was suicidal.  It didn't help when Debra Spinny also teared up as she explained about the connection to Lianzi Ouyang and how hard it had been to leave her and how they had fallen out of touch - but I think I'm getting ahead of myself.

journalchina

journalchina

             Carroll Spinny was 81 at the time the documentary was released - and still working on Sesame Street.  How sweet that would be to be not only to be at the same job for 46 years, but to love being there.  I had always thought that it would be awesome to grow up on Sesame Street and have a steady income before you even understand what the word "income" means. 

abc news

muppet wiki

abc news

            Carroll loves his work, maybe even more so than when he had started out - though he had always been interested in puppetry.  I think it's awesome that his mom encouraged him to work with puppets. 

 

tumblr

copperpot

So many people don't see it as "real work" - but it is real work.  It is real hard work.   Very few positions in life come easy - and just a magician or puppeteer may make it look easy,  there are hours upon hours that go into it. 

www.iambigbird.com

Toronto Starship

tumblr

www.iambigbird.com

            Jim Henson had asked Spinny to do Sesame Street with him. 

 

time

            I was fascinated to learn that Spinny is also a cartoonist.

tribecca

 I was happy to learn he had found love again with his sweet wife, Debra

esquire

entertainment

I was floored to hear that NASA had asked Big Bird to promote the space program by going to the space station with them (here).  Big Bird was replaced when Ronald Reagan announced that they'd be sending a teacher.  I had posted that here not long ago

           

rockcellar

 I don't believe that is all I had on my mind when I initially tried to create this post. This post does not do the film justice.  They aren't kidding about a MUST SEE.  (Be sure you have some tissues handy)

Links to

abc News    here

Big Bird in China here

Copperpot    here

Entertainment    here

Esquire    here

 I am Big Bird    here

Journal China    here

Muppet Wiki    here

Rockcellar     here

Time     here

Toronto Starship     here 

Tribecca     here 

Tumblr     here

more great pics and story here, here and here

We Are Crazy People

        It is currently 74 degrees in the afternoon.  Warmest it's been all day.  This morning would have been perfect for picking blueberries, but we went to the pool instead.  And it was cold.

        The water itself wasn't so bad, but if there were wet parts not in the water but on top of the water when a breeze would blow through, well, it sent a chill all over.  We had one guy in the pool with a wet tee that was cold.  I don't recall being in the pool the entire time when the sun hasn't come out and made us forget that it had been overcast.

        Jenna's only reason for going with me today was to go on the slide.  I told her that the lifeguards will turn it on for us on Fridays.  Today was an exception as Tuesday was a holiday and the pool had been closed - those who have swim classes were told to come today to make up for Tuesday.  The slide wasn't available for that reason. 

        I doubt the kids would have cared this morning, for it was cold and they were already complaining that they didn't want to get wet.  Jenna was disappointed.

        We stopped off at the laundry mat to do a load of whites.  The sun did not make an appearance until after I had hung up the few things that hadn't dried at the laundry mat.  I now need to fold clothes.  I also promised Jenna that I would take her back to the pool for open swim.  I will take her to the park afterwards.  Again, the thoughts that I would really like to post, are put on the back burner - though I suppose I could take my laptop with me and try sorting my thoughts right now . . . . I don't know how long the juice will last.  Perhaps I will  charge it right now while I'm thinking about it.

        We will return to the blueberry patch tomorrow.  Roland will be driving and picking this time.  I hope tomorrow morning may be in the low temperatures as today with a cool breeze to assist our comfort.

       

Not Even Close

              This morning I started a search for pics to go with the next post I had mind – which has only been written in my head and outlined on paper, but still needs to be transferred which I had planned today but things don’t always go according to plan . . . like yesterday morning seeing Riddle before the town awakens and the streets have no traffic on them whatsoever.

            I did not notice any traffic as I drove to the blueberry patch this morning.  The drive seems long each time I go out there, but somehow felt even longer this morning.  I had gone a different way than I had the other 12 – 20 times I’d gone there before.  The sun shining directly over the spotty windshield did not help matters.  I felt like I had been driving for half an hour at least.

            I wish I had left the house sooner.  It had been cool when we first arrived, but warmed up really quick – not as hot as yesterday morning, but still – not the most comfortable temperature.

            The berries did not seem as big and full as they had been last year.  It’s also later in the season, but they just started accepting pickers yesterday. Roland had wanted us to return with 50 pounds.  That is a lot for just two people to pick.  We stopped at eight, but returned to the patch for seven more bringing us to a grand total of 15.  I told Jenna that 15 and 50 sound a lot alike.  We decided we’d return on Saturday with Roland.

            Neither Jenna nor I had eaten before we left the house.  She ate as she picked.  Of course it didn’t fill her.  (That girl’s a walking stomach.)  I debated on whether to stop somewhere for breakfast or return to the house first.  Roland was quite disappointed that we had not picked more.  Last July we had picked over 20 pounds in record time – but there were six of us picking!  This morning it was just me and Jenna.

            I couldn’t park in the driveway as the big yellow truck had returned.  I only saw one worker, though I believe there were more.  Surely it was more than one person making all that noise. I checked something on the computer before making my way to the kitchen. Roland and a worker were talking.  I asked Jenna if she just wanted to go out to eat – like she’s going to say no – but Roland ended up fixing breakfast for us and I was reminded of a meeting I had scheduled for this afternoon and told Jenna I that I would take her with me – though I didn’t particularly want her at the meeting, I had already promised that I would take her to the library and the location of the meeting was between the library and our house.

            Roland made us blueberry pancakes.  We were at the library for less than an hour when I received a phone call from one of the committee members asking if I could meet her earlier.  So, I checked out the media I had collected and assisted with writing information on a card as we are back to the way check-outs had been done back in the day as we are no longer on a computerized system.

            Myrtle Creek isn’t as strict about the checkout procedure as Riddle. As of now, patrons are only allowed two items for up to three weeks.  I don’t believe a limit has been given to the patrons of Myrtle Creek.  Riddle uses clear plastic jackets for their cards.  MC has the old fashioned oaktag pockets – which are easier to fasten to book or DVD but obviously cover more and can’t be read through as the pockets used by Riddle.  I filled out an application for a card.  Jenna asked me to take a picture of her in the tent - I couldn't fit the entire tepee into my camera.  

this is the display case featuring some of the houses
from the little pig story as told on the grand opening

After taking pictures, we left the library and I put my items in the trunk and drove to the location of the meeting (which we normally have at the Church but thought we would try something different this month – and it seemed to be successful)

            After the meeting, I brought Jenna home with intentions of getting on the computer to look up some things and create minutes to send out.  The yellow truck was still in the driveway; in addition, there was a white truck marked plumber parked on the side.  I sat down to turn on the computer before I notice that the power had been shut off.  Oh, my word.  It is soooooo hot.  (We are blessed to have a cool breeze blowing in the room as I’m certain the temperature in all other parts of the house are 20 degrees above the bedroom.  I don’t know why the temperature always feels so much different in that part of the house.

            In addition to the heat, it appears a group of flies have entered the house as well.  Damn them!!!  Currently Roland is going through the house with an exterminator.  We have never seen a rat since we’ve been here, but apparently, they have been living under the house and have been causing problems. Even though we have all this activity going on, we are truly blessed.  Even Jenna who is still without a room.  It really would be nice having her in Salt Lake with her brothers.  At the same time, I’m grateful that she can experience these inconveniences.

            We now have a/c and fan running.  Plants thirsty and watered.  I’m showered and it feels nice.  This wasn’t my intended post.  Hopefully tomorrow.