Beneath the Wraps

            We have been trying to find a dog sitter to care for Bonnie at the end of this month.   Roland has been wanting to see the boys and had planned to do so by himself but Jai (aka Jenna) has spring break coming up and so thought we could all go.   But that would only give us a week.   Perhaps it would be better for Roland to go by himself?          Taking Bonnie for walks lately has been quite bothersome on my part.   I do not have Jenna ’ s strength.   She ’ s broken from her leash/collar four times now – the last two were very hurtful.   I sliced my middle finger on my left hand when she tore out of her collar to bark at the dogs on the corner.   And then on Valentine ’ s Day my right thumb got damaged when she tore loose (this time in a harness) and chased a dog into somebody ’ s house.   Needless to say the tenant was NOT happy – and I don ’ t blame her.   ...

          I don ’ t mind doing laundry as a whole.  Sorting is no big deal.   Adjusting the knobs and dials on the machine is also no big deal.   Even the folding part I can tolerate.   Returning the clean laundry to its rightful place is the most unpleasant part of the whole ordeal.   Still, I prefer it to putting dishes away.  

  Before moving to Oregon, the last ward (church boundary) I had attended was in West Valley.   As I think about it there were always activities – primary activities on both ward and stake levels, youth activities, adult activities, family activities, holidays such as Halloween, Easter, and 4 th of July breakfast.            There have been youth activities and dances on both ward and stake level – no primary activities that I recall – and I was in primary FOREVER thus you would think I would have noticed.   My last ward is the only ward I had been in where I hadn ’ t served in the primary for the duration.          I miss introducing others through said activities.   In this ward we have some activities and LOTS of meetings – mostly on a stake level.   Each meeting I have attended has been less motivating than the one before.   I don ’ t think I ’ ll be attending ...

 Last week when Roland left the house, it was always below freezing.  This week it will be in the low 50's.  Are you kidding me?  I am going to die come summer.  If I look at 40s and 50s as "no coat" weather, how am I going to survive 90 and triple digits.  I'm not.  My posts are dwindling as it is.  When they cease to exist (probably in the summer) than chances are looking good that I will too. (Well, I will exist, just not in an earthly form;  I am okay with leaving my body behind)

 I'm grateful for the talents of others that have assisted in educating me.  

 Here is the rest of the talk.  No links to provide for this one.  I had heard this example in an institute class I had taken.  Dee Hadley was the one who shared the Good Samaritan/six scenario example.         Another example I have is a true incident that took place on the University of Utah campus.   Students who made their way to the institute building may have passed one of six scenarios – for example, there was a crying youth who ’ d been riding his bike but had stopped because the chain had come off and was looking for someone to assist with putting it back on. There was an older gentleman walking out of the library with a stack of books in hand – which he dropped.   There was a woman who tripped and fell.   The students on their way to the institute building were having a test and their instructor had told them not to be late.   When it was time for class to start he shut the door and turned to the student...

This next part of my talk may sound familiar to those who have read past posts here and here We are all made of many puzzle pieces, some more complex than others. Some might view others ’ puzzles as near completion, but we don ’ t really know.  Only God sees the entire picture. He knows what the puzzle pieces are and where they fit. Sometimes He will send people into our lives to help us find our puzzle pieces. Many of us realize that our own puzzle may not be complete for ourselves, so why would we think it is for another? If I don ’ t know about all the pieces that are missing from my own life or what pieces will make me whole or tie me to somebody else,  what makes me think I can view another ’ s completed picture?  I can ’ t. None of us can.  Only God can see the complete picture.  He knows how we fit. Each of us comes from different backgrounds.   There are some people who have adapted diverse cultures or traditions that...

  The two conference talks I finally settled on were “ Hearts Knit in Righteousness and Unity ” by Elder Quentin L Cook ( here ) given in October 2020 and “ Room in the Inn ” by Elder Gerrit W. Gong ( here ) given in April 2021. Elder Cook started off his talk by relating a story about the Kane family who had traveled from Pennsylvania with Brigham Young and company. One day the Kanes were visiting with Thomas and Matilda King and their family in the King home in Fillmore, Utah. As the Kings and Kanes were sitting down to their dinner, there were five Native Americans who came into the room.   Matilda King spoke to them in their dialect and one of their guests, Elizabeth Wood Kane, asked about what had been said.   Elizabeth learned that Matilda had told the group that she had prepared a meal for the Kane family who would be eating their meal first and that the other five would have to wait but assured them that she had another meal for them cooking over the fir...

            I did not go into detail about the cancelled R.S. activity in this post .   I had suggested it before but it had always been on the back burner either due to the weather or stake activity that took precedence or lastly, the pandemic.   https://jeopardylabs.com/      We had scheduled the activity to celebrate the RS birthday but also a category for St. Patrick ’ s sounded fun.  We had planned to meet for the activity on a Saturday.  We had discussed whether to continue with it or not – but hey, enough is enough already.  Let us play the game that I had prepared – more than one time.  But no.  On Thursday the prophet announced no more meetings.  We stayed home for the next six to eight months and the game was living in the closet all that time. https://www.steelecreek.org/churchathome-daniel      Thus I wonder if we will have to cancel again.  I finally brought the g...

          I remember taking Jenna to the library and checking out books.   We would read together.   She would look at books on her own.   She looked forward to any reading contest or book clubs.   She enjoyed traveling through books and acquiring knowledge.   Reading was a positive thing.           Fast forward to the school years that required certain books to analyze in order to receive a good grade.   Reading was no longer fun.   We had to dissect each sentence and look for symbolic meaning.   Why can ’ t we just enjoy books for the sake of entertainment or learn about subjects that really do interest us instead of something that the educational system came up with?           Jenna ’ s frustration leads her to say, “ why do you suppose the author chose the word ‘ the ’ ?   What does that mean? What can we learn about the author i...

               I know that there will be many who may not relate to this post – at all.  Some people are okay with Pop-Tarts while others are not.  I know my uncle hates them.  Compares them to cardboard with jam.  This morning I think cardboard would have been preferable to the flour/water solution that seem to be the only present ingredients in today ’ s Pop-Tart.         It ’ s not as though Pop-Tarts had been a staple in my home as I was growing up, but I do remember there being available.   Back in the day, they came in strawberry, blueberry and cherry.   They weren ’ t frosted.   We would butter them the way you butter toast.   Dad had showed us that if we butter the backside as opposed to the raised side, the butter would distribute evenly and not slide off.     When frosting was introduced, I wasn't particularly fond of it and would often by unfrosted k...

               When Jenna was seven years old I had signed her up for an acting class.  The show to be preformed was “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”.  A few hours before taking her to the “audition” she painted red dots all over her face and told me she couldn’t possibly go because she had the measles.  I don’t know what she had against Charlie Brown at the time, but I know the entire “Peanuts” gang were not high on her list of shows to watch.  Pretending she was one of them seemed against her nature.           That first night of class the script was passed out.   Three boys and four girls read the script according to how the instructor had assigned them before she changed what parts to read for.   Lucy and Linus were cast that night but she was still getting a feel for who the other children would play and who would be double cast (as there are just six characters). ...