Perspectives on Craters of the Moon

 

https://www.idahopress.com/opinion/editors_notebook/forget-national-monument-craters-
of-the-moon-should-be-a-national-park/article_084c0496-ad13-53c9-99f0-75e374fb6af5.html

            I was on my mission the first time my family visited Craters of the Moon in Arco, Idaho.  I had only heard about it – but not in full detail as I learned the second time my family had gone – just to make sure I had the opportunity. Patrick was with the family the first time but had managed to miss out the second time.  I still did not experience the fullness that the family had endured the first time around. They told me that everything looks the same.  The picture above, the picture below, whatever is behind it - it looks the same.  The scenery does not change.

            Jenna had reminded me of this as she was asking about church policies and state policies on precautions with COVID.  Unlike the rest of the RS presidency, I am not in a hurry to embrace the world as perhaps I had in 2019.  It’s too soon.  Not just for me – but many people.  And I respect their privacy.  I respect their desire to stay home.  I don’t mean to sound negative nor focus on the solitude but I know the pandemic is not over.

            I think Roland and Jenna get annoyed that I am not as anxious to be outside as they are.  Jenna then tried to remind me of the Craters of the Moon incident that I had partially related to her I don’t know how long ago.  I would have thought before Oregon.  She told what she thought she remembered and got most of it wrong.

            “Didn’t you say that one place looked the same but that when others had approached you and asked if it was worth the walk Corey said that it was.  He was focused on the good parts, right?”

            “No.  First of all, I wasn’t even with them but had heard the story second hand.  And it wasn’t Corey.  It was Patrick.  When people would approach members of my family and ask, ‘Was the trail walk worth it?’ my mom would answer that everything looked the same.  And yes, Patrick did build it up leaving the tourists to believe perhaps there was something.  After they crossed paths my mom would say to Patrick ‘Why did you tell them that?  Do you really think the walk was worth it?’  Patrick would respond, ‘No, but if I had to do all that walking, I am taking somebody down with me.’”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv07oiiyDCw

            Not the greatest response for a returned missionary to want “others to suffer as he had” but I somehow don’t believe either his or my mom’s response would have made a difference to most tourists.  My mom had related their experience when they took me back to see the caves – which let me tell you a Duracell flashlight doesn’t have enough power to explore.  You will need the strength of the sun if you go cave exploring.

            The highlight of that day trip was NOT Craters of the Moon but rather the parade we had to stop for - not by choice mind you.  We had to stop for it.  The wind blows dry in Arco – or did at that time.  Mom pulled out a fresh loaf of bread from the car and made sandwiches.  By the time we got them into our mouths the bread tasted stale. 

            I think I was more impressed with Arco and Craters of the moon than I am with the safety vs. freedom issues that are currently a part of our lives.

Pandemic Continues Alongside Global Warming

 

            Randy really wants us to come to St. George – like now – which would be fine but the pandemic is far from over.  Almost half of all adults have received a vaccination shot – but there are still a high percentage that refuse.  They are too macho.  They are too proud.  They are determined NOT to let the government control them.  The same people who refuse to get flu shots or wear seat belts or have convinced themselves they are immune to any other law.

So I read this article from Yahoo.  I hope that Oregon continues with its restrictions and those that think we ought to reopen can go spend their summer in Florida and see how well that works out for them.  International Travel is still a rare occurrence.  Other countries don’t wish to let Americans in.  I don’t blame them.  Americans are spoiled and have attitude.  The entire world belongs to them and therefore we should do whatever the heck we want. No restrictions.  No consequences.  Some American attitudes make me ashamed to say that I am American.  Get over yourselves!  Think of others.

Even my oldest who lost his first wife, whose daughter was initially admitted to the hospital with COVID – who continues to visit the hospital as often as her mom – refuses to get his shot.  Great example for your daughter, Biff.  Nice to know where your priorities are.

We’re told that airfares have gone up to outrageous prices and I think are at full capacity now.  Fires have started already and it’s only April.  We use the heater and A/C in the same day.  What’s up with that.  If COVID doesn’t kill us, global warming will.

 Oh, and now they are now mentioning an increase in allergies and a new plus to the mask.  Roland had pointed out what we're breathing in as our cars continue to lose their shine. Pleasant thoughts. 

Staycation Has Started

            Brace yourselves.  This is almost as exciting as having a pantry/office.  Roland started out his vacation by washing the cars!  I know.  I can hear the envy.  We really do know how to live it up.  As a result, I may not be posting as often until he returns to work.  Meanwhile enjoy the pics.

Bouncing Bonnie

                 When we had initially brought Bonnie home back in September, she spent her first morning running from room to room – anxious to greet all of us.  Man, that dog was hyper!  She still gets excited like that whenever we’re about to go for a walk.  Other than that, she seems to have adjusted to less bounce until last night.

            I allowed myself to accompany Roland and Jenna to Roseburg as he was insistent on buying some new clothes for her and she is never all that thrilled when the very word “clothes” is mentioned.  Not your average teenager by any means.  I knew she didn’t want to shop for clothes.  I don’t like to shop for clothes.  We made a few moments of our night being miserable together.

            Poor Bonnie.  Left alone for over three hours.  And once we had pulled into the driveway, she was going nuts.  Jenna opened the door so that she could run out on the deck.  She ran to my room, Roland’s office, back outside.  Always a fun challenge putting groceries away while trying to dodge an overly sensitive animal. 

            We have an assembly line method for bringing in the groceries.  Roland always unloads the car – bringing items from the trunk to the deck.  Jenna takes said items from the deck and brings them into the house.  I put the groceries away – or at least a large majority.  Jenna will take care of the items that go into the back and Roland will put away whatever gets piled into his office (which has been doubling as a pantry since we moved here; cool, huh?  Most people just dream about having their office in a pantry but don’t get to experience the luxury first hand).

            Bonnie was so focused on the joys of having humans in her life again that she neglected to see what food had fallen to the floor.  I count that as a blessing that I was able to save the food than watch it disappear as she inhaled the products which overall would not have been good for her.  I mean it’s not like Bonnie is withering away.  Bonnie could really stand to lose weight.  She is like a three year old child.  Her vocabulary is quite limited (unlike Jenna who was using four syllable words and really did have understanding) and I am always reminded of that Gary Larsen’s Far Side cartoon in which the master is reprimanding the dog  in the first frame and seeing what the dog is hearing in the second:  “Blah, Blah, Blah Ginger” only in our case it’s:  “Blah, Blah, Blah Bonnie”.

            Such a sweet dog.  Loves human affection.  She does NOT like the vacuum cleaner.  Runs away from it before it is even plugged in or turned on.  But she doesn’t seem to have a problem with the lawn mower or grass trimmer – which produce a more powerful noise – but they are both outdoors and perhaps she doesn’t even notice.  She just notices the person who is outdoors more in hopes of getting to pet Bonnie than maintain the lawn.  Or so that is what Bonnie seems to believe.

Our Letter/Card Assembly Line

  

            Shortly after Roland and I had married he had invested in a sales program featuring Roger Butcher.  

He had tried a number of suggestions, but the one we used the most was for sending out letters to home owners whose physical addresses were different from the property itself.  We would form an assembly line as someone would write the letter, another would fold it, another would insert it into an envelope.  One would adhere the mailing lable, stamp return address and add a stamp. 

            The more hands that got involved, the quicker the process.  For the most part it became an activity that we would force the boys to assist.  Often we made it a family home evening project.  There was at least one time we had involved the YW of our ward.

            Roland had started out by folding, sealing, labeling, addressing and so forth – each letter one at a time.  I told him that to do just one thing at a time.  Fold ALL of the letters and then stuff each into its own envelope before moving on to the next step.  That way I can assist.  I refuse to do one letter at a time from beginning to end.  I think assembly lines are so much easier.

             We haven’t done letters since living in Utah but have moved onto greeting cards.  At first it was only a couple a year, but the pandemic seemed to create more time for Roland to come up with cards which aren’t the norm to send out in multiplication.  We have not done an assembly line for the birthday cards but all else.  Someone folds (except last night as Staples had done it for us) stuff the envelope, address, and so forth.  Last night’s project: Earth Day.

Trying a New Method

             I don’t know how many times Roland has cleaned up after the chickens which aren’t even ours.  I don’t mind them in the yard.  I really don’t.  But I do not care for arrogance or assumptions.  We purchased netting for the deer a few years ago and the chickens have gotten entangled in it.  I asked Roland if we could use it to surround the deck.  Last night we went out and he used a staple gun which is holding thus far, but seems like it would be easy to tear.

            Roland decided to repurpose the green wire shelves that were once a part of our cheap greenhouse.  He had stapled those to discourage the chickens from getting under the porch.  Now it just looks more like we are trying to capture them and keep them – which isn’t the case at all. 

            Roland continues to feed them and we do collect the eggs that are deposited (that is if we are aware of where they have been laid.  I don’t know if the neighbors have complained any further as nothing has been done with either the pigs or the chickens.  I know there are less pigs and perhaps there are less chickens.  I don’t know anymore. 

            We’re planning on demolishing the deck and creating a back room.  We just need to find someone who will commit.  Meanwhile I have these lovely photographs to view.

I Want Candy

             Roland has purchased several 3 pound jars of peanut m&ms over the years.  We all snack on them, but do so in moderation.  The candy will gradually go down to empty at which point we will refill with dog food and refer to the jar as “Bonnie’s m&ms”.   

She is fine with our feeding her a handful of her "m&ms" while we are trying to eat our own food.  Catch is, we need to pour it from the jar onto the floor or give Bonnie her own plate.  Tastes so much better than eating it out of her bowl.  Yet she has no problem eating hearts or scrambled eggs from her bowl.

            We had dropped some jelly beans on the floor which of course went into Bonnie’s mouth the second they hit the ground.  She is not the fussy dog that we had in West Valley.  She’ll eat almost anything – whether we intend it that way or not.  Jenna says that Bonnie doesn’t seem to care for fruit.  But she does love pumpkin, peanut butter and any kind of meat. 

            I took a picture of the remaining jelly beans two days after Easter

 and finally the end of the week. 

 

There are five black jelly beans left.  I think they may end up getting thrown out.

 Jenna brought me the remainder of her chocolate bunny.  Quite a lot actually.  Could it be that she has become all candied out? 

Comatose Weather and Downright Lazy Weekend

           I remember the weather when we first went into lockdown last year.  It was nice.  Jenna and I would walk around the neighborhood (or just our yard – pre the neighbors' arrogant chickens and Bonnies) and take pictures.  This year has been overcast, windy and cold – except when it’s not.  It’s like mother nature has a endless case of PMS and is wreaking havoc with the skies.  Sending awful turbulence and bleakness – at least in my neck of the woods.  Strange, but as I write this, the sun is shining like it has been there all this time.  Never enveloped with clouds or darkness.

          I have blamed the weather for my being tired - though I have probably OD’d on sugar since Easter.  It did not help matters when yesterday after feeling bloated, Roland insisted I take some Alka-Seltzer -which would be fine but the only Alka-Seltzer we have is for cold medicine and as if I wasn’t already feeling comatized, the medicine only added to my tiredness and weakness and desire to do absolutely nothing but sleep.

          Roland and I have been taking lots of naps – sometimes intentionally, often not.  Poor Jenna.  Reminds me of something I had posted to facebook last year (though I have not come across the memory as of yet)

           Me:   “Help! I am stuck in the house with a business freak and a drama queen!”

           R:       “Help!  I am stuck in the house with two drama queens!”

           J:       “Help!  I am stuck in the house with two old fogies who think sleeping is the greatest thing ever!”

           Jenna doesn’t understand sleep.  It’s not in her vocabulary.  She’ll be up at 2:00 am texting whoever else happens to be awake.  She’s awake before Roland’s alarm goes off.  I doubt she gets more than 4 hours of sleep per night (she has ALWAYS been an early riser) and she is still one of the happiest people that I know.  Wouldn’t it be great to get by on only four hours of sleep and have that much pep?

           I hope she may continue and not let her parents sleeping habits bring her down.

Where was I between 2013 and 2016?

 

        Every once in a while I will click on Ancestry just because it’s there.  For the most part I don’t know if the information is accurate or not.  My passion isn’t there to remember if Uncle Harold was born in one place or another.  I mean, I think I could narrow it down to state or region that I could figure out the inaccuracy such as knowing the birth took place in Utah although I don’t know exactly where in Utah, I think it is safe to rule out Texas or Florida should they come up.

        Today when I went into Ancestry I noticed that there were hints for my dad.  Okay, I can do that.  I can break it down more easily than any of his uncles or cousins.  I clicked on the census and grave information.  Both were correct and I added to others as well.  And then I found my own name.  I clicked on my name – which came up as my maiden name.  Eleven hints.  Wow. 

Okay, nine of them were high school photos of someone who lives in El Paso – or did at the time when she was in school.  Also the photos are someone with my married name.  Ignored all of the photos. Then I clicked on one that said public records.  The addresses of the top three are correct but only one of the dates is accurate.  We have lived at our current Myrtle Creek address from 2016 to now.  But I don’t understand the specified years – especially since they overlap. 

         Do they really believe that I house hopped during those years?  Like one was a summer home and the other a winter? Not that the zip code made a huge difference that I would have really used one as a summer home and the other for alternating season. They are, after all, less than ten miles apart. I grew up in the house in Midvale (maiden name) and was married at the other (though I guess I did technically make the purchase in my maiden name) 

I’ve never even visited North Dakota, let alone lived there. Interesting that there is only one year listed at that.  Except for Myrtle Creek – the beginning and ending dates are inaccurate – for me personally.  The homes/addresses still exist.  Just not at those times.  I ignored the hint but took a picture and made the corrections – sort of.  I put the corrected screenshot into my gallery in the event I do pass and someone else is trying to find me they will know the public records are not 100% accurate.  But are they ever?  Many of my ancestor names aren’t 100% to information provided.  There a lot of “could be”s.  As of now no one would have access to my photos because I am still living.

Anyway, I just found it interesting and so decided to share. 

Just In Case You Don’t Have a Window

 

                It’s going to be cloudy today 

except over there

          What is it appearing on the horizon? 

The sun

The blinding sun

coming to you from the east

for two hours only

but that is only if you live in Myrtle Creek

 

Over to the west you will see grey skies

overlooking the Tri-City area

Sunny skies just east of Myrtle Creek

and possible showers for Tri City

two cities sharing the same zipcode

but hey . . .

Let us give them different weathers. 

Why not?

 

Cool to downright Cold winds

wherever you may choose to walk Bonnie

or rather wherever she may choose to walk you

or attempt her own keen sense of direction

And after you return home,

Let us allow the sun to peek its head

                   From the sky.

 

Crazy weather.

The Peeing Section and “We Are Out of Coffee!!!!”

 

        During the pandemic it has been up to each state government to lay down the law of mandating mask, social distancing, reopening, etc.  It wasn’t long before facebook became flooded with this message: “Having some states lock down and others not lock down is like having a peeing section in the swimming pool”.  Yet there are some companies that seem to be encourage traveling?  “Hey, come and pee in my state!  We don’t have enough of it?”  I am a guilty party as I traveled with my family to New York last June.  Did we bring some pee with us?  Not intentionally. Did we bring it back to Oregon? Possibly. But not from New York. It had been our flight from Detroit and our stop at Salt Lake airport that felt the most concerning. 

        Roland had asked for some time off the end of this month as we have arranged to have our floors done (inviting pee?  Perhaps.  Our floors are in very sad shape) but the flooring we wanted is currently on back order and the company has run behind.  They may not make it until May.  Roland is fed up – thinks we should use someone else.  We are in a rural area.  We are going to run into the same problem no matter where we go. We have a guarantee that this guy will do sub flooring.  That is our problem.  

        Our subfloors are in terrible shape (or at least I am assuming)  We are not going to have that same guarantee through Lowe’s.  They can’t even guarantee that we will have the same contractor throughout the entire project.  I am willing to wait.  I don’t want to change lanes only to fall further behind (here) 

Roland now wants to leave the state – take Jenna to Universal and return.  Two days in the car for one day at the park and a return home again?  I think not.  Besides Universal is open only to California residents. That is the way it should be.  Each state should have restrictions about letting in tourists – it isn’t an option for those traveling outside the country or to Hawaii (from what I understand) the traveler MUST quarantine for 14 days – and on the traveler’s dime at that.  So why would a desired traveler even bother?

Roland has good intentions.  Always has good intentions but is not always wise when it comes to making decisions.  Why not take the boys and other family members to Lagoon (an amusement park in Farmington, Utah) on the 24^th of this month.  We can invite family members of Roland’s late wife.  We already have 15 – 20 people to begin with (half under the age of 11) and now he wants more?  How are we supposed to social distance?  Not that my boys believe in that.  So far it doesn’t sound like a fun day to have to wear a mask the entire time we are in the park. 

It doesn’t have to be the park.  Roland has an entire list of suggestions. It’s like he’s oblivious of the year decade 2020 – like the pandemic has vanished and everything has returned to normal.  I recently reminded him of a skit I had seen on Electric Company back in the early 1970’s. A man goes into a shop and orders a doughnut and some coffee.  Rita Moreno's character says, "We're all out of coffee" so then he changes his order to a sweetroll and a coffee and is once again told "We're all out of coffee".  He proceeds to go through a list of baked goods with coffee and Rita Moreno's character appears to become more upset until finally the guy says, "Maybe I will have just coffee"  

I feel like I am screaming the same thing over and over.  Jenna thinks I’m a killjoy – sucking the fun out of the possibilities of what could be.  I don’t mean to sound pessimistic – but realistically “We Are Out of Coffee”.  I’m not the one who initialized the pandemic!  I’m not the one who voted to have a peeing section in the pool!  I’m sorry that they think I am a fun-sucker because I know that the pee can spread to others – even if that wasn’t my intent.  There are other people on this planet.  The pandemic will not last forever – though it has already lingered around longer than necessary because of those who believe in the peeing section.  It’s frustrating.

https://exit78.com/peeing-section/

Roland was watching the news last night.  He learned that new cases have been spiking all over the country.  Well, duh.  I hope that it sinks in.  He knows it’s not just me.  It’s not even paranoia.  It’s being cautious.  It’s trying to stay safe.  The pandemic is not over folks.  Vaccinations aren’t going to change the attitude of those that believe that the peeing section will work and that we still have plenty of coffee to go around – metaphorically speaking.

Jenna's Birthday and Easter

           Jenna likes surprises and says she would like to be surprised for her birthday.  But things started showing up in the mail that she herself had picked out.  She knew the packaged CD was Panic at the Disco.  She recognized the stickers that Roland had asked her about.  I didn’t even bother telling her that her stylist had arrived and enclosed it in a CD case with a note about surprises.  I also opened her sticker package and did the same.  Then I hid her Panic at the Disco CD and wrapped the two CD cases along with a chocolate orange and a Tee Shirt that Roland had purchased.

          I’m sure I could have wrapped the Hamm piggy bank that he purchased at a later time, but chose not to as she was in the house ever since we brought it home – except for going to seminary (I am pressed for time as it is – wrapping the bank would have lessened whatever time I gave myself to get ready) so I hid it with a note indicating where she could find her Panic at the Disco CD.

          We started yesterday morning off with Roland fixing French Toast (Jenna’s absolute favorite breakfast) and I asked if he remembered the vacuum cleaner bags that we once had to deal with.  Jenna thought it was weird that I would bring that up – and it was, but I needed it as a clue.  After breakfast she opened the four gifts in her bag – each a surprise.  I then told her to consider our morning conversation which she had to think about but suddenly realized and checked the closet to find a bag hanging around the vacuum.

          “Is this Hamm?” she cried excitedly before she had it fully out of the bag. 

          I had some money sticking out in the event that she would need it for yesterday’s excursion.  It contained the final clue.

          We had tried watching conference on the big TV but YouTube wasn’t working for us and we don’t get the BYU channel.  We moved into the bedroom and I turned on the computer to watch from the church website.  Roland was able to pull up YouTube from the bedroom TV just before the Internet was interrupted – the TV and computer played the live recording just seconds apart.

          Roland and I were on the bed and Jenna had positioned herself on the floor.  Both Jenna and I took notes.  When it ended, all three of us piled into the car (leaving poor Bonnie by her lonesome) and took Jenna to the park where she had planned to meet her friend.  Roland wanted to get her an Easter basket as we have not done much with her on Easter before (she has spent many Easters in the company of others) and also a cake for her birthday.

          While we out getting the cake, Jenna called to see if she could miss the second live session of conference and watch it later.  Her friend was late and she wanted to have more time.  I told her that was fine.  Gremlins from yesterday morning could very well have interfered with the afternoon session as well (though we could have gone to the Church to watch but were not dressed for it)  Roland returned for Jenna a half hour before Conference ended.

          Another friend came over to hang out.  Jenna felt a bit discouraged when her friend didn’t seem to be in the mood for anything but give her attention to her electronic device.  Jenna and I conversed for a bit about the events of her day.  Finally she asked if I would drive her and her friend to Dollar Tree so that they could create gift bags for one another – or a game of “if you catch this, I’ll buy it for you”.  I chose to stay in the car.

          Roland made dinner and the four of us ate (five if you count Bonnie) and I wished Jenna would have eaten as well as her friend.  We sang happy birthday and allowed Jenna to blow out her candles and then Roland took the girls to yet another friends so that they could join in a flashlight Easter egg hunt – a tradition that didn’t take place at all last year.

          This morning Jenna saw her basket and was surprised.  Before I allowed her to explore the contents I told her that I had a fun activity for us to do which would incorporate the true meaning of Easter.  I rolled to flatten out ten biscuits and melted butter into a bowl and filled another with cinnamon and sugar.  I placed ten marshmallows on the table and told her and Roland that each marshmallow would symbolically represent Jesus Christ and that it was our job to dress him and add oil and spices to his body and wrap him in linen with more oils and spices.  We put each in a tomb (cupcake tin) and baked it and the empty rolls became the Empty Tombs because they were hallow (see here) 

          I continued with my “He Lives” notes creating so many that I had to turn the paper over to squeeze in the last three speakers.  Jenna had a wonderful birthday (more memorable than last year) and we are all enjoying Easter.  Even Bonnie – who finally got a walk after feeling neglected yesterday.