I Don’t Get It

                I think there are gremlins bugging the social media right now – or some aspects of it anyway.  I have noticed it on facebook and YouTube, but I don’t know which order – probably facebook.  Each time they try to improve the site, there are millions of bugs that cause havoc for the user.

            Lately facebook has ignored my requests of who I would like notifications from and have been throwing in notifications at random.  Just the other day I received a notification for someone I wasn’t even aware I was facebook friends with (which goes to show how close we are) and so I have been typing in the names of family members just so I am updated about their latest thoughts.

            As I have mentioned in at least two other posts, I created a Relief Society page for the ward that I currently attend.  Each of the wards I have attended have communication pages, but I did not see one for this ward and thus almost five years ago I took it upon myself to create one.  I did not have permission nor did it occur to me to seek it.  But nearly everybody loved the idea and requested that I keep it (even if I had to change the name).  Thus I am the administrator. I now come up as an administrator of our newest ward page.  What the heck?

            Another member of the group has tried to add pictures of thoughts to the group, but evidently access has been denied.  Thus I took it upon myself to repost her thoughts and received “badge” for joining the administration.  Say what now?  Why am I getting this “badge”?  Why do I all the sudden have this title of “founding member’?  I did not have anything to do with creating the ward group – but as I look into again, it appears that anyone who has posted anything receives a “founding member” except for the one who initially invited me in.  I don’t see next to her name.  Weird.

            The bishop, who did start the page, cannot open private messages which I had sent to him in facebook.  Three examples of facebook’s current gremlins.  Now let’s move on to YouTube, shall we?  Allthough the bugs may have been worked out now – but I haven’t completed this post.

            Viewers are given the option of not having to view ads for those who can afford the fee.  Although ten dollars a month may not seem like a big deal to some, I am not readily on YouTube enough that it is worth it. I can skip the ads  if I am near the computer, but if I’m across the room . . . well that’s a different story.  I brought YouTube up because I wanted to listen to the music to help me fall asleep.  I once had a computer that came with a remote.  I wondered why a person would ever need a remote to work the computer.  As I sat up in bed annoyed – not by the ads but the repeated plays (though I would rather hear the same song two or three times than any ads) I finally figured out why a remote would be handy.

            When I was taking accounting and other classes I was on YouTube all the time.  Because I would look for accounting and business videos, the ads would be geared toward such.  That was annoying.  However, YouTube's latest glitch was repeating the song that just played.  It wasn’t just my device or personal playlist.  Jenna was getting the same thing.  And although they are songs that we like, we like and would like to listen to others as well.  I have not experienced that problem at all while I type this. It has actually been quite enjoyable.

            As I did not have a remote to work while I was in bed I finally changed the position of YouTube coming through my computer to an alternate through the TV.  Our bedroom is not that far from our living room.  It’s not like we live in a mansion or anything that the two televisions or computers would have to be on different signals, and yet they seem so distant from one another as far as signal goes when theoretically it is less than 30 walking steps from one devise to the other.  Thus I don’t think the living room YouTube would cut out like the bedroom YouTube does.  Neither play an entire ad.  Both cut out, which I find amusing.  Both will make its own playlist.  The one in the living room will play until we stop it.  I have always fallen asleep in the bedroom except recently to see that after only six or seven songs it will freeze for several minutes before it kicks back to the regular station.  Gremlins.  Bedroom Gremlins.  Computer gremlins.  Facebook gremlins.

            Technology.  Fascinating but definitely imperfect.

Sunday Meeting

            On Thursday someone had called Roland’s phone to see if I would offer the closing prayer at the end of today’s sacrament meeting.  I didn’t know how my throat what be, but as it has started healing, I decided I would go to Church and stay for at least sacrament meeting but might not stay for Relief Society.  Jenna made other arrangements for getting a ride home.

            Sacrement meting was really good!  The first speaker expanded on Elder Uchtdorf’s talk “Our Great Adventure”(here) in which he compares the hobbit creatures to each of us.  For those who have seen or read “The Hobbit” the parallels may have been easily understood.  I’m not really big fan of fantasy and felt somewhat lost with Elder Uchtdorf’s talk which evidently our sacrament speaker had also and provided some more in depth detail to make more sense out of the talk that some of us just didn’t understand the first time around.

            The concluding speaker was our new bishop – a newly called bishop who was just sustained a high priest two weeks ago.  I have LOVED every talk he has given.  Today was no exceptions.  He reminisced a few quotes and conference and spending time with the family.  He just does it with such awesome enthusiasm that it just made everyone smile. 

            The Spiritual exceptions happened during the sacramental and concluding hymn.  I found it ironic that the first hymn “In Remembrance of Thy Suffering” had the word suffer in it as it seemed suffering to listen to the congregation struggling to sing it as though it was the first time each member had seen that particular piece of music.  Granted, it isn’t sung as regularly as some of the other sacrament hymnals that are in the book, but I know I have sung it before.  But the congregations very unsync efforts pretty much butchered the song.   

            The closing hymn didn’t sound as bad, but it was quite obvious that they both needed work and a professional choir we are not.  I gave  the closing prayer and returned home.  My plans were to kick back and drink some herbal tea.  Instead I am writing a post and drinking something terrible that should work like medicine because the taste is like medicine.

            Roland had purchased a box of vanilla protein shakes a while back figuring they might work as a substitute for milk in my lunches.  There is no substitute for milk!  I had told him that.  I had told him not to purchase the protein drinks but he gets a bee in his bonnet and forgets conversations.  I love him for thinking of me.  But come on.  It’s something you drink when you don’t have time for a meal – not with a meal.

           

            When I am not hungry but feel the need to eat, I will break on out but not enjoy it though the vanilla protein is better than the chocolate – which I can only drink when I mix it with actual chocolate milk (that is really milk) and so my drink is always twice the size of the intent.  Roland absolutely hates the vanilla.  Again, I told him not to purchase them in the first place.

            Anyway I am supposed to drink warm liquids – not that a warm protein drink is on the agenda, but I thought I’d try it figuring it would taste worse than refrigerated or room temperature.  Boy, did it ever!  What sane person does Not Love the taste of chalk?  My mouth is now on death row. When it cooled off, I added some honey to it.  That seemed to help.  But it hasn’t gotten rid of the yucchy residue build up on my tongue.

            And that concludes this post.  Now for kicking back and perhaps having the tea I should have had in the first place.

Medicine Mouth

            In May my teeth hurt along with the rest of my body.  I have made a conscience effort to brush them between medicine doses and always hope my teeth don’t rot as a result of my being sick.

           

            I do feel better today than yesterday.  My throat still hurts, but the swollen gland is a smaller size than what it was yesterday.

            I prefer drinking cold to room temperature liquids.  I enjoy gulping water.  I have never been a big fan of warm to hot drinks.  Once in a while, but certainly not on a daily basis.

            Roland, on the other hand, prefers hot drinks to cold (one of our many many oppositions) and will drink a hot chocolate even when it is 94 degrees outside.  I have learned that warm to hot drinks are better for the body’s system than cold drinks are.  Too bad.

            One cannot “gulp” when the drink is hot.  I can’t take pills (medication, vitamins) unless I am gulping.  But yesterday almost all of the liquid I put inside myself was warm to hot because warm to hot liquids are recommended for a sore throat.  Thus I will continue today.  I miss my cold water. 

A.L. Herbert Murders (Recipes Included)

 In this post I mention A.L. Herbert’s book “Murder with Fried Chicken”.  

I am now reading “Murder with Macaroni and Cheese” and am laughing at the crazy characters who get involved with yet another murder.  They have just discovered the body in a house where they didn’t belong and have returned to the scene of the crime.  I am just shaking my head about the choices they seem to be making because they are not wise choices, but because it is fiction, it is funny. 

Halia had been asked to cater her own class reunion.  There are quite a few chapters that introduce us to various characters and relationships. I had not figured out the victim of the last book, but had guessed who the victim was long before the murder – which they only suspect is a murder at this point.  But then they go and blab it to those who could very well be suspects.

This is what I am reading when I am not sleeping or fighting the infection that has been invading my body.  Not as bad as how I felt in May, but still.  I have already been sick this year.  I don’t need to be sick again.  I could go for ten years without being sick and I would seriously be fine with it.  I suspect I will be done with this book (as well as others) long before my cold is gone.  Hopefully neither Jenna nor Roland will get this.  Hopefully nobody does.

School’s out today.  Wish I felt well enough to spend it with Jenna instead of in bed trying to sleep.

When the day presents a 30 or 40 degree jump

I did not sleep well Tuesday Night/Wednesday morning

Amazingly I got cold and Roland woke up hot

Yesterday I woke up with a dry cough

Gradually it turned into a sore throat.

I have been sleeping with the windows open

even just a crack

except for the last two nights.

Yesterday after school I loaded myself with 

Musinex, Flonaze, Vitamin D3 and Chamomile Tea.  

I also broke out the humidifier.

I slept great

Up until 4:00 in the morning.

I took more Musinex

I tried closing my eyes but

wasn’t sleeping.

Now I’m writing this post.

I hope I can stay awake for the next eight hours. 

I have to leave for work just

under three.

This week I’ve been working with

the middle schoolers.

Both schools.

Yesterday I was sore. 

So sore.

My soreness grew throughout the day.

I don’t want to be sick!!!!

If I don't post for the next three days 

I'll be in bed trying to fight this.

Fog to Sun and 30 degree Jump

Roland turned up the heat as

he was cold yesterday morning. 

The fog was thick and did not seem

to start lifting until after 9:00. 

It started.

It was still foggy. 

I did not choose to leave the

house until almost 11:00.  It

appeared the fog had lifted

quicker in Myrtle Creek than in

Tri City.

Still the hills were hidden.  I

couldn’t see the towers until 11:30. 

It was 47 degrees just before

the fog lifted.  Of course

I was already hot and had the

windows open, fan running and  

told Roland that he should shut

 his door and plugged in the small

space heater that is probably

the perfect size for his office. 

I think his office is plenty hot without

the space heater.  The longer it

takes the fog to lift in the morning, the

hotter it gets during the day. 

It got up to 75. Fortunately

we have not removed the

air conditioners (as of yet)

The fog does not seem as dense
this morning.

Prayer in a Mustache

          Somewhere in my memoirs is a Beetle Bailey comic strip printed in September 1999 – maybe 2000.  Of course, I can’t locate it and thus I will describe what happens (although it will take more time).

          For those not familiar with Col. Hathaway (or General – whatever he is) he is bald – which I had never thought about one way or the other as his head is always covered with his army cap.  The only hair that is visible on his face are two little white eyebrows and a small white mustache (about the same size as his nose).  In this strip, Hathaway has his hat off and placed on his desk.  He announces that he has heard that hair can be grown through meditation and so he wants to try it.

          For the next four frames we see Hathaway deep in meditation trying so hard to get his hair to grow while his staff poke fun at his desire.  In the last frame, Hathaway touches his still bald head and comments that it must not have worked.  He doesn’t notice that his mustache has grown six times its size and extends beyond his face. 

          Although I would guess it probably wasn’t Mort Walker’s intent (Walker the creator of Beetle Bailey) that his pun should represent prayer, that is how I saw it.  I did not laugh when I saw his large mustache.  I saw a “prayer” being answered but not the way the Col. had wanted.  Yes, I probably read too much into this simple comic strip, but I refer to it as an analogy but must describe it in detail so that I can compare.

          So often I will look so long and hard at my metaphorical scalp where I think the blessing ought to be that I do not notice that which has been placed beneath my nose. In other words, God provided the tools I need that I may “grow” the blessing that is needed and not necessarily the one I was hoping for.  I have learned that often the direction I think I should go is not necessarily the one I should take.  God doesn’t rob me of my free agency.  I can still choose my own direction, but after some years of experience, I have learned that He is so much wiser than I and my faith is increased if I follow the path which He sets for me.

          Many of us have climbed mountains and often feel we don’t have the strength to go on.  But I know that trials make us stronger. Climbing mountains gives a sense of visibility that we are not able to see from the bottom.  I know that struggles will help to strengthen me one day.  I have to have faith.

There is Light

I once had an institute instructor who, after every conference, would ask the class members what we thought the theme of conference is/was.  I think this year’s theme is on listening to the guidance of the Holy Ghost and finding the light to overcome darkness – or help others to find light.

Light has so many meanings.  It is symbolic for overcoming a bad experience or finally understanding something that wasn’t understood before.

Light is illustrated through light bulbs, candles, lamps, Christmas lights, lighthouses.  Those kinds of lights are artificial.  The sun is a source of natural light.  The Son is a representation of light for us to follow. Other than leading us out of darkness, He can also lighten our burdens. 

Light can mean the opposite of dark. It can also mean the opposite of heavy.

I wear lighter clothes in the summer than in the winter.

The snow in the dessert is lighter than the snow on the coast (when there is snow on the coast).

Some breads use lighter grains than others.

I am a light sleeper

We have seen more light rains than heavy downpours.

Sometimes I’ll eat a light snack or a light meal.

I prefer a light breeze to a powerful wind.

The weight of my hair feels so light after I get a haircut.

I can lighten my hair or the color of my clothes.

I enjoy watching the light grow outside in the morning.

Myrtle Creek has only two traffic lights.

I can light birthday candles.

Sometimes strobe lights will give me headaches.

We all need exposure to the natural light.

I take comfort in light.

I take comfort in His Light.

I hope His Light shines within me that I may have a positive influence over others.

What is Happening (or Has Happened)

Yesterday my eldest great nephew had

his first shot of chemo. 

He is five.

Today my only grandson (so far)

turns one

Yesterday the book we sent

was delivered but

the family says they are waiting for

today to open it.

Yesterday Roland turned 66

Our plans for Tomorrow are

to make jam out of the

last two gallons of juice.

It has been raining while we sleep

I sleep heavy. 

Roland does not sleep well. 

He likes the heat on.

I don’t.

I don’t like being hot.

He doesn’t like being cold.

Often my hands and feet will
get cold but the rest of
me does not.
Sometimes I think the
elements often interfere with
my ability to get Internet.
That's frustrating
but small in comparrison to
many other things and
situations.

A Light at the End of the Road

          Garden Valley Blvd runs northeast to the north. It loses the name “boulevard” and becomes just “road” somewhere before the Riverdale Grange and winds and turns along with Umpqua River.  I don’t know if where Umpqua starts and Roseburg ends.  The Lighthouse Center Café and Bakery is on Fort McKay at the end of Garden Valley.  According to Google, it takes only 20 minutes to get from one end of the street to the other.  It is more like 25 – 30 minutes.

          In this post I mentioned having a winning ticket at the drawing that is held before the Wednesday movie starts.   We had driven out there at the end of August during Roland’s staycation.  We did not have the coupon, but we had driven so far out of the city and into the country and outskirts of civilization that we had to order something.

          Roland decided he wanted to drive out there yesterday as we were in Roseburg anyway (it’s still a 20-minute drive from the intersection of Stewart and Garden Valley which makes it a 40 minute drive from Myrtle Creek).  We arrived two minutes before it closed thus we still haven’t used our coupon.

          Here are some photos I took the first time we went out:

North Umpqua River

Jenna thinks Oregon should call itself "home of the blackberry bushes"

grapes behind the fence

we passed a lot of grapes

a view from Lighthouse Cafe

I believe these are jellies and other assortments

pieced together photo of post office and cafe

side view (parking lot was quite full that day)

Jenna taking pictures of Umpua River (first pic)

Lots of prestige houses and an assortment of mailboxes

Gratitude List

My brother had posted 30 day gratitude list for the month of September.  He said he got it through our sister-in-law.  Each day he would provide details to go with the word or phrase.  This list will contain the first thing that had come to mind.  Perhaps I will use future dash posts to elaborate more in which case I will call it dash #gl . . .

1.       What is your favorite smell?       I have pretty much lost my sense of smell, but I would say cinnamon

2.       What is your favorite form of technology? Camera and evolution of the camera (see here) 

3.         What is your favorite color?                  Emerald Green

4.         What is your favorite food?                   Fettuccini

5.         What is your favorite sound?        Jenna laughing and singing

6.        What is your favorite part of nature?    Leaves changing color

7.         What is your favorite memory?           Jenna explaining how armadillos protect themselves from preditors (here) actually there are many, but this was the first to come to mind. 

8.         What is your favorite book?      The Rent Collector by Camron Wright (here) 

9.        What is your favorite place?     Right now it’s Myrtle Creek

10.      What is your favorite taste?       Chocolate/Peppermint combination

11.       What is your favorite holiday?    Christmas

12.       What are your favorite textures?       soft, smooth, cuddly warm

13.       What are your favorite abilities?     I have always enjoyed writing and creating thoughts in my head

14.       What are your favorite sights?             Sky elements, sunsets and clouds

15.       What is your favorite season?              Autumn

16.      What is your favorite body part?         Hands and eyes   

 

17.       What is your favorite knowledge?      I am a child of God

18.       What is your favorite form of art?       music

19.      What is your favorite form of touch?  Roland’s warm hands

20.      Who are your grateful for?                My family

21.       What is your favorite song?      Currently “Under Pressure” by Queen & David Bowie

22.       What is your favorite story?      Nephi’s faith asking where to find tools to build a boat

23.      What is your favorite tradition?            Watching each person as we take turns opening presents on Christmas morning

24.      What is your favorite challenge?         Tough one as I don’t appreciate being tried.  I would go with my current Church calling though I haven’t really gotten my feet wet as of yet.

25.       What is your favorite moment?                        When the light touches upon the earth to end the darkness of the night

26.      What is your favorite form of expression?  gratitude

27.       What is a favorite small thing that you use daily?                   Pencils/pens

28.       What is your favorite small thing that happened today?                       The joy on Jenna’s face when Roland told her to pick all the pumpkins and give them to her friends

29.      Who is your favorite friend or family member?      I cannot narrow that down to just one!  Or even a few . . . there are no “favorites”

30.      What is your favorite talent?     Wouldn’t that be the same as #13?  I like to scrapbook with pictures as well as write my memoirs.

G is for Generations

                We must have stopped for gas in Central Point on our way home from Salt Lake last Christmas.  I remember stopping in a used book store.  I found a keepsake journal called “The Grandparent Book”.  Amy Brouse Rosenthal had created a book with a giant upper case “G” on both front and back covers.  

The purpose is for a grandparent to journalize his/her life and allow the grandchild to make comparisons of their life to the grand.  None of the pages were marked.  It was in excellent condition and inexpensive.  Thus we purchased it and I planned to fill it out.

          The book is designed for one grandparent or the other.  And as all the grandkids have biological ties to Roland, I thought he should be the one to fill out the pages.  I decided we should give it to our only grandson who will turn one on Friday.  He and Roland practically share a birthday as his is the day before.  Roland and Robbie are 65 years apart. 

          Not all the pictures we used match the page description.  I was quite limited on my options of photos to choose from.  But I was able to use photos of Roland and Tony (Robbie’s dad) when Tony was still in diapers and so that might be fun for Robbie to appreciate as he gets older.  I will mail the book out today and send it priority so that it will get there for his birthday – not that he will fully appreciate it now.  But mom and dad might, and even his oldest sister, Ester. 

          I hope this book will become a great treasure and he will get to know another grandpa.