Beneath the Wraps

       I loved creating things.   I would often get kits for gifts and I would go to town making latch punch rugs, polished rocks, turntable paintings, and potholders to name a few.   One of my favorite things was designing bands from really small beads.          I don’t know how old I was when I joined a handcraft club that would send out kits of parts and instructions on how to piece them together.   Usually, I would give them away as gifts.        Now it’s Jenna who likes to keep her hands busy.   She enjoys crafts as I once did.

  Last week I sat with my instructor for the final discussion.  I have been the only student turn out for each live lecture.  I learned a new word I thought I would share this week.   The word is Thanatophobia .  I don’t have it, but I know some people do.  It’s death anxiety.  My instructor said that the older a person is, the less likely he/she will have thanatophobia. I also believe that is true. As I have mentioned before, I hang with a group of friends once a month or so.  Two are in their 70’s.  One is 65 and I am the baby of the group.  Death has been a topic as we have all seen friends pass.  The 65-year-old has a hard time dealing with the idea of death.  She may have thanatophobia.  I will mention it to her the next time we converse about the death subject. 

         Today I took my last of the antibiotic that had been issued Monday.   And I do feel better.   Possibly up to 80%, but I am weak still.   A jaunt out to the mailbox has worn me out.   I have not had much exercise.   Each time I move just an inch (NOT an exaggeration) I end up coughing uncontrollably.   Never in my life have I gone through so many tissues, rolls of toilet paper and bladder pads in such a short time.   I hope to never have to experience this again.             I am grateful that neither Roland nor Jenna has had to endure the same physical pain.   Roland has had a cough and phlegm, but nothing close to where I’ve been.   Jenna has managed to dodge this all together.   Hopefully, it will remain that way.   I think I was sick enough to account for all three of us. I had been scheduled to work four days this week but ended up not working at al...

Question:   What’s the Strangest Thing You’ve Ever Tasted?        When I was on my mission I remember two individuals believing they could outdo each other by eating the grossest thing they could come up with.   Raw egg, entire raw onion, etc.        I can’t remember which one of them succeeded at the onion, but his breath could be detected from across the room.   I remember when he said his good-byes that his breath made a little girl cry.         My companion had suggested to the two of them that there was still yet another test.   Her trainer’s boyfriend had been serving a mission in Australia and had sent her a package for Christmas that included goods native to Australia.   Among those “treasures” was a small jar of something called Vegemite – which evidently is used as a spread similar to how American’s used peanut butter.   She said that she and her companion...

WARNING:   Although I do not provide all the details, some of what I’ve written provides a gross picture       What a glorious Mothers’ Day NOT – on top of the cough and leaky bladder I was having aches and pains all over my body.  I couldn’t get comfortable whereas I could sleep for very long.  I haven’t been restless before when I am sleeping in a reclining position.  At least not that I know of.  Sheets were pulled away from the mattress.  I’d have a pillow fort beneath my feet.  If I had been given the option to die, I would have taken it.             I’d been scheduled to work both yesterday and today, but took myself out of the subbing position and left a message with the school.  Soon after I left my message, I received a call from another aid seeing if I can work her shift.  When I returned her call and she heard my voice introduce myself, she didn’t even...

                                          Before it started to rain in March, I had a dry cough.   A very annoying dry cough as though I had swallowed a hair ball and couldn’t get it out of my system.   Then the rains came and gradually my cough left me.   I was able to go on stage to perform with the choir on Easter.    I had forgotten that the primary had been invited to join us.   The song was “Gethsemane” (see here ). Our primary kids sound like angels whenever that song is performed. My eyes leak whenever they’re performing.   I was too choked up to sing with them.   After Easter my dry cough returned.   Gradually it became a wet cough.   On Tuesday I was sore from head to toe.   Pain in my cheeks  ...

            When Jenna was younger we used to share food.   She would eat parts that I didn’t especially like and vice-versa.   At this moment I forget all of the food except for eggs and cake.   Jenna could eat yolks only when they were scrambled with whites.   She has finally converted to hard boiled yolks.   Of course, they must be surrounded by the white part.   I can eat the whites though they are not my favorite.   I like runny yolks for dipping my toast or pancake.   I am completely grossed out by any of the white part if not completely cooked.   I would rather have an overcooked egg than an undercooked one.             As with most kids, Jenna preferred the frosting to the cake itself.   I like to be in control of just how much frosting is going on my piece of cake.   For the most part (unless the layer is really thin) I will scrap...

        My goals are to finish up my last two classes so that I can graduate on June 1.   I was asked to participate in a Verizon hotspot for Internet service and report the hours that I use for school.   I’m supposed to record three months worth but will have to send it back in two months as that is all the time I have left.   Since it is the school paying for the service, I don’t guess it would do any good to keep it.   I don’t think   I am that great of a candidate as there has been only one time I have been away from the house and needed WiFi for school – that was the last week of February.   I would have not had my laptop in Roseburg but how impressive it would have been if I had been able to get Internet power when it wasn’t available in Myrtle Creek.         So one of my goals is to help out the school by recording what is required.   Doesn’t seem like too bad of a deal to me.  

A role is a position in society or the part that a performer is given for a play.  Role is a homonym to roll which has several meanings. I've come up with 25 sentences though there are only six definitions.  See if you can figure them out. 1.       I may take roll or attendance to find out who is present or absent from a meeting or class. 2.       I may purchase a roll of duct tape which in turn may roll across the floor. 3.       When I eat my spaghetti dinner, I may want a roll to eat with my meal. 4.       I may use the roll as a measure in money, fabric, or toilet paper. 5.       I may roll up a newspaper for an easier toss. 6.       I may roll out the red carpet for a special occasion. 7.       I may teach my dog ho...

                This is my third week taking my class called “Sociology of Ageism”.   It’s been an interesting class, but I have been on an emotional roller coaster with the topics this week.   Our discussion is on assisted living and long term health care and thus I’ve been reminiscing on what health care I would have liked for my mom versus what was settled for due to the expense.                 I was in tears during the lecture as more triggers reintroduced me to some painful times during my mother’s final years and how it affected each family member not only with my mom but with one another.   Whenever my instructor asked a question, I would provide an answer in lengthy detail to share the gist of what was felt – but not everything I felt.   It wasn’t until after class that I posted a second discussion for a...

            I was sitting on the couch in our front room when I heard a knock on our back door.  What the hey?  Nobody has ever used our backdoor since we’ve lived here.  I went to the backdoor.  I didn’t see anyone.  And so I opened the front door.  I saw a UPS truck.  How odd. I didn’t think we had ordered anything.  I stuck my head out the door.  The UPS man saw me and said he had left the package on the back porch.  Okay.  We’ve never had that before either.                         I went to the porch to find a rather large box.  At first, I couldn’t see who it was for or from. It does not help matters that one of the last NCIS shows I have watched was about a messed up individual who sought revenge on others by mailing bombs in packages.  I finally see the r...

What color best describes your personality? Sky Blue – I like to provide hope after the storms. What kind of zoo animal would you be? a zebra – no two zebras share the same stripes exactly.   I’d like to think of myself as one of a kind What kind of a farm animal would you be?   cow, sometimes I don’t carry my weight very well.   I’ve been known to produce milk at one time What kind of a household pet would you be?   dog, hopefully one who is loyal musical instrument – a kettle drum, I can be loud, I can keep rhythm. Tool – a pen.   What can I say? I like to write. Sometimes I don’t allow myself the opportunity to erase. If you were a Disney Character, who would you be?   Nakoma, friend of Pocahontas.   I would rather be a supporting character than that on center stage.  Using one word, how would you describe yourself? together