Beneath the Wraps

Jenna starts school tomorrow and had hoped to have less hair to deal with.   I had set up an appointment for each of us to get our hair thinned out – though I wondered if it we better just to recreate the pandemic hair from last year. Because we were already out and Jenna hadn’t gotten the schedule that would supposedly be sent out by August 27 (that was the original plan anyway. Tomorrow is the first day of school and no schedule has been identified. I told Jenna we could swing by the high school to see if we could figure out the source of the problem.   Walking to the school from the street made for an interesting challenge all by itself.   This is a view of the high school parking lot: I seriously have my doubts about this being finished tonight and ready for the students who drive to school tomorrow.   COVID is the source of vacant schedules. Only the freshmen who started today have the schedules.   Still working on grades 10 – 12) After I returne...

  I have seen one or two of the Harry Potter movies.   I can’t say that I enjoyed it nor would it have been of my choosing.   The times I had watched were with a number of other Swire employees who had been on their best behavior and were rewarded with our own private theater for viewing at Jordan Commons.   We were also fed hot dogs and drinks.   I remember the pickle relish being a brighter green than I have ever seen on a relish.   I don’t suppose I had paid much attention to the houses and house names nor cared which each represented.   But I notice Jenna will sometimes ask others “What group do you belong to?” as she refers to the four houses and considers herself to be a Hufflepuff which she defines as “I will automatically be your friend until you give me a reason not to be.”   Slytherins sound like the kind who will use others to get ahead.   Perhaps not all of them are toxic.   Unfortunately because of her overly friendly at...

         The smoke must have cleared out as I was able to see stars above the skylight.  I hope it may remain behind the hills or better yet disappear all together.  Bless the many fire fighters who are battling the flames.          A funeral was held yesterday at the church.  The second I've attended in person rather than virtually since the pandemic made its way to the US.  As with the last funeral, the service did not take place until after the body had been buried - or in yesterday's case, cremated.          Jenna had been asked to sing with her friend, Heather.  They performed two songs: "I am a Child of God" and "Where Love is".  I remember them learning the latter in primary after Jenna had already graduated to Young Women's.  It is one of my favorite primary songs and it makes me feel bad that I somehow missed out on teaching or singing it to Jenna.    ...

 Yesterday looked overcast in the morning.  I thought I saw mist.  Maybe not.  More probable not. I noticed that there was smoke behind the hills - to the north, to the west, to the east, to the south. The north and east don't seem so terrible compared to the west and the south.  The smoke has spilled over and into the valley.  I tried capturing the red sun last night, but the picture is not the same as what I saw with my naked eyes So this is what the photograph looks like But it looked more like this - or maybe something in between West and South hills have seemed to disappear.  Took most of these this afternoon while we were walking Bonnie We got a notification from Alexis about our air quality - as though our breathing wouldn't have been able to figure it out on its own.  We've seen worse.  Last year was worse.   I look at so many elements people are currently fighting across our nation.  The floods, the fires.  Each t...

                We have done a few more home projects including power washing the house and hanging blinds.                The power “ wash ” came out more like a power “ rinse ” as the soap didn ’ t seem to be coming through.  After watching a tutorial Roland went back and did the cars – so though the house has not been washed – it does look much better than before.             We moved things around to get to the windows.  As we did so, a board fell to the floor near the couch between the living room and hall.  Bonnie had been outside but I had let her in.  She remained behind the couch and I didn ’ t think much about it until she started whining.  I asked her to come but she remained until I picked up the board and then she brushed pass the couch.             Really?  She was unable to move forward becaus...

 Last year when I enrolled Jenna for ORCA, they came back with her to enroll as a senior - which sounded absolutely cool to me. But neither Roland nor Jenna seemed particularly interested in advancing her - especially because Jenna wanted the opportunity of graduating with her class mates at the local high school and not online.  This morning she informed me of the death of one of the staff members who just recently died of COVID.  I don't know why she thinks that.  She doesn't seem to have a source. It is too late for us to enroll her back in ORCA.  As I mentioned, the school has been put on week delay from when they were supposed to start.  Oregon has called in the national guard to assist with the problem the state is facing with COVID (more specifically the Delta Variant) outbreak.  The state has made national news.  I wish we would have enrolled her as a senior.  Then I wouldn't feel like I am throwing her to the lions den.

               Bonnie has been acting squirrelly lately.  We didn’t know if it was because of her allergies or the elements that animals can seem to sense better than any mechanical weather forecaster.  I let her out yesterday and noticed that there was another dog near our unused black car. I heard Jenna cry, “Why would you let her out?!” “I didn’t realize there was another dog out here.   Besides, why wouldn’t I let her out?   Maybe she needed to go.” I don’t know that Bonnie had even tried going potty.   I tried luring back into the house.   She wanted to check out the dogs (turned out there were two of them) but was not vicious about it – which must have meant they were both male.     The border collie seemed a bit put off by Bonnie’s presence and would growl and then Bonnie would growl louder.   Jenna did not get a picture of the three of them interacting on the hill but Bonnie was obviously ...

       Jenna and I both need our hair thinned.  I called the hair salon just the other day to learn that they are shut right now due to COVID, but do plan to reopen.  Well, great.  Do I even want to go anymore - although the last time we went, it was just the three of us there.     A lot of businesses have closed due to staff members testing positive.  Businesses that are open are short-staffed.  I don't think any of us should be shopping anyway.  Unless it's essential - like toiletries and medicine.     Jenna was supposed to start high school on the 31st this month.  A reminder was sent out last week on the 19th.  Yesterday we found this post:      Oh, please.  Jenna could have finished her schooling last year at ORCA but had wanted the opportunity of socializing with her friends once again.  I wonder how many of them will make it to graduation.  I wonder if there will be a gra...

         Sunday ’ s meeting was quite awesome. Our bishop tackled the sensitive subject of following the counsel of the prophet.  He started off sharing one incident in Church history in which the saints were being persecuted and how the division that exists today was alive back then.  I notice that during my studies how often our own lives parallel with the saints.  In a way we are “ marching ” to our own “ Zion ’ s Camp ”  ( here ) as we struggle to do the right thing and shed our pride or judgment.   https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/3- little-known-details-about-zions-camp?lang=eng        We have our free agency to follow the prophet or follow the crowd.  But I often feel that the “ free agency ” abused by others infringes on my own.  I remember airlines, restaurants, hospitals and other places who offered smoking sections – as if the smoke is seriously going to linger  only in...

 We had been walking Bonnie around Millsite Park.  Jenna pointed out the pinecones and asked if they normally grow on the trunks.   In all my days of seeing pinecone producing trees (and I have seen A LOT) I have never seen them growing into the trunk like what is pictured above.

                On Saturday I received my first COVID test ever.  I ’ m sure the person who was testing was being as gentle as possible – my poor nostrils.  I honestly was expecting that blood would come out of my nose.  It didn ’ t help matters when Roland (who ’ d been tested fair) coughed and spewed – or whatever he was doing.  He is NOT a wimp and I am so if he was having problems I figured it was bad.        It actually was not as bad as I had allowed myself to believe.   Nor was it as easy as my friend, Carol, had indicated the previous day.   It hurt!   And when I said it allowed, I heard Jenna behind me saying, “ Thanks, Mom ”          The person doing the testing told Jenna how brave she was – really?   Hadn ’ t I been any less brave?   We were told to wait 15 minutes for the results.   Roland started joking that “ mom...

     My brother posted an 11 minute video which he labeled  as “ranting” but he had some valid points. One was that if you are purchasing a ticket to the place where he works you are agreeing to a contract to follow the rules – one being “Wear the mask”.   You DON’T have to purchase a ticket if you can’t wear the mask either by choice or because you are not medically able to.   It’s a rule.   The mask has to be worn.   The employees have to wear the mask the entire time they are at work – which is three to four times greater than those who purchase tickets.   Not a big deal.   At least it shouldn’t be. Jenna and I have a mutual acquaintance who has decided to abandon her teaching career so that she doesn't have to get the vaccination.  OHMIGOSH!! Just overcome your pride and get the damn shot already.  Students are required to have certain vaccinations before they can be accepted into school - which I guess is one reason that s...