What Else Can I Throw Away?

 Whenever I see a touchless garbage can I can't help but smile.  It doesn't have so much to do with the can itself opening up - although that is pretty cool.

No, the memory that makes me smile is my first encounter with a touchless trash can was offered at Schlotzsky's then in Midvale Utah up by 1300 and Fort Union (no longer located in said area) and my four year old nephew who had walked by when a device invited him to throw away his trash.

Ben excitedly cleared the table returning for more and asking, "What else can I throw away?"

What Does This Say?

 Not only is the language in Spanish, but the handwriting seems to be providing an even bigger challenge.  

Is this why they stopped teaching cursive in schools?

Merry Christmas

 Jaime always manages to miss whenever we go to the pool on July 25.  Josh had always decorated for the first five years we had lived here but Sebastian did not.  Today I was surprised to see some parts decorated.  

Coming to an End

 What Myrtle Creek summer fest would be complete without the blazing heat?

New Neighbors

               Since purchasing our home in Tri-City, we have had three sets of neighbors to our left.  Jane and Austin lived there for at least three years.  Not quite sure when they moved out (I’m guessing during a holiday excursion to Utah – perhaps even New York?) and Jane’s sister and brother-in-law moved in.  They fought a lot and I suspect moved out of marital problems – but I don’t know.  It’s not as if we had ever become bosom buddies with any of our neighbors.

          They moved in March and a new family – couple moved in this month.  They have two huge dogs who have barked at Bonnie though she tends to ignore them.  Oh, good for her.  I thought she would be the instigator.  Obviously male dogs.  The new home owner says he thinks that his dog has a crush on Bonnie.  That’s different.  That’s sweet.

          Thus far we like these next door neighbors the best of the three we’ve had.

NOT the Triple Digits

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/100-million-heat-warnings-dangerous-record-breaking-heatwave/

While I feel for a huge population in the nation right now, I feel quite blessed to have had my windows open allowing the cool air to come in.  That can be done from midnight to about 10:30 and then it starts warming up – but not to the triple digits – at least not thus far.  I really do feel bad for those who are currently experiencing extreme heat as I have been there before.

The weather has been really nice – although today may be the last day.  It looks overcast like the sky wants to rain.  I LOVE this temperature (60 degrees Fahrenheit) and wish it could just stay this way always.  I don’t even mind if the skies are grey if the weather will stay as it is. 

The only number I would like to see in the triple digits is a daily addition to my bank account.

My Laptop is a RELIC

               Doesn’t seem right to label something that is only five years old as an antique.  Our 20 year old Saturn moves quicker than the laptop does.  I plugged it in at 11:00 so that it would be ready to go by 1:30 – only forgot to turn it on so of course it wasn’t ready.  Even after I gave it another half hour.  What the hey? 

        When we put the keys in the ignition and twist to position the car is ready to go.  Even after sitting unused for a few weeks.  It will start.  It can be driven once that motor is running.  The laptop has to think every little step.  It takes longer to process than I do.  Jaime needs to take a laptop to school – but not that one.  A student doesn’t have the time to wait for something that is required right now!  What frustration!

        Modern Technology seems like such an awesome thing but it can also be a nuisance.  Sort of like finding employment for a decent wage that won’t all be spent on getting to and from – so really, what’s the point of working?  Perhaps that is how my laptop feels.

Why the Aliases?

 Mom had picked out four girl names long before she married.  She wanted to name her four girls Karen Kay, Kelly Jane, Kimberly Elizabeth and Kathy Lynn.  She did end up having four children – but only two girls.  I received the first name.  My mom and dad both have names that start with G and their eldest two have names that start with K. Third born was an S and I thought we should keep the pattern going – two G’s, two K’s and so my baby sister would have to have a name that started with S.  Instead of Kelly Jane we named her Shelly Jane.  She said she was happy of that as she doesn’t care for the name Kelly.

There were a few reasons that I decided to use alias names in my blog rather than actual names.  You can read about it in my very first post found here. After I started my blog I changed my sister’s name from Shelly to Kayla because I remembered she hadn’t liked the name Kelly.  Mostly I used a middle name, one that rhymed or started with the same first letter.  But not all of them rhyme or are similar in any way.  There’s usually a method to my madness – but not always.

 

One of my brothers was born on St. Patrick’s Day and a nurse at the hospital told mom that she should name him either Michael Patrick or Patrick Michael.  In my first COQ (Book of Complete Questions) post, I mentioned him –initially calling him by his real name but then I would use his alias and tried to correct the error.  I found it easier to continue calling him Patrick as that is what my fingers have been typing.

Steven had a blog in which he referred to himself as Cody which I changed to Corey in my blog.  But now he has another blog in which he uses his given name. You can find his old blog here and his current one here. Anyway since he started using his actual name, I did too.             

Steven and I share a lot in common aside blogging.  Don’t see either Patrick or Kayla posting their thoughts to a blog.  My sister-in-law Sunny should blog.  My niece Ellen did blog.  I don’t know if she still does.  I would guess not as she has little ones at home . . .

Though I use the middle names (or forms of the middle names) for my youngest two sons, my oldest does not have the middle name Biff.  He used to have an email with the fill handle of Buffguy.  Calling him Buff seemed weird, but I had heard the nickname Biff before and so changed it to that.

I have a nephew named Gary though I started out calling him Garret.  His brother I dubbed as BJ – meaning Bill Junior.  But Gary is the one who takes after his father in personality.  In real life the one that I dubbed as BJ was named after my mom but spells his name with a J rather than a G (see here).  I had originally called my mom “June” as it is the month of her birthday – but in recent posts I have assigned the names Gary and Gerrie to my parents as that is what their real names are.  For the most part I continue to use the aliases, but sometimes I have interchanged the names – especially with Jaime and Jenna or Richard and Roland. 

CBQ#205& 630

 

When you need to confront someone, would you rather communicate in person, on the phone, e-mail or letter? In what situation do you find yourself “walking on eggshells”?

     I would rather confront someone in person but is not always possible.  Often words aren’t read the way they are intended or said verbally. Recently I had (well still in the process) a confrontation with my oldest son who constantly gives off verbal vibes that he would like to take his life in a new direction. I know he isn’t happy about his current situation but only seems to TALK about change rather than ACTING upon changing.  He reads my advice in a different way than I am telling him – though I don’t imagine talking with him in person would help out our situation.  He doesn’t bother to follow any council that Richard and I have given him or will continue to give him.

He had said that he wanted to move to Oregon.  His wife believes that they can obtain housing in Eugene for only 900 a month.  I advised him to figure utilities and groceries and gave him the statistics that I have from our seven years of living here – plus to consider that Utah has much better health care for his daughter than might Oregon.  All the children hospitals are located in Portland which is a good 3-5 hours on the road. Gas isn’t cheap and housing is off the charts.  Because of my list of things to consider he believes that I don’t want him to come.

I’m okay with him living in Oregon – but not both of us living under the same roof for the duration.  I love him but I do get frustrated with his choices. It’s so much easier to deal with if we are not under the same roof.  Also our house is not designed for six people.  I don’t mind a visit – but it doesn’t appear he has made a lot of effort at getting out from where he’s at.

It’s not totally his fault that he can’t get ahead, but I know he could be wiser with money.  There is absolutely no reason on God’s green planet that he needs to pay over 200 dollars for a phone!  I didn’t pay that much when I had three lines!  What a crock!  Half of his bills is just in taxes for whatever oligopoly phone carrier he’s with.  Richard offered to buy a phone from another company which would require Biff to change his phone number but he won’t do it.  Thus he is without a phone.  That’s just one example.  There are so many more.

        He chose not to move to Oregon.  He and his wife moved in with their family and are now paying 500 rent.  Apparently the air is good for Ally who seems like a different child.  I suspect that his phone has been disconnected again as we have not heard from him, do not know how to get in touch with him, don’t even know what part of Florida he is in.  Meanwhile his mother-in-law from his first marriage is trying to get in touch with him and passing her frustrations onto me.  I can’t provide her with information that I don’t have.

Now is the Time to Sleep

 

              I don’t believe we’ve yet broken 100 degrees – though it feels like we came close today.  I am soooooo soooooo tired.  Until tonight, I have slept with the windows open.  Usually I can’t because of the temperature and the smoke.  How blessed we are right now.  The heat makes me feel so worn out. 

Game Lists

             Most of the games that I play on my kindle are word games.  There are two that will provide a list of four words and it is up to the player to figure out what the four words have in common.  One list that came up was

DEFEAT

LOSER

DISASTER

ZERO

Twelve letters appear at the bottom with seven spaces above.  I was to come up with a seven letter word using the letters below.  I came up with FAILURE and thought just because one is defeated does not make him/her a failure.  Just because one loses a game does not make him/her a zero. 

My next set of words was

PROSPEROUS

PROVIDENTIAL

LUCKY

GOOD

Once again I was given a choice from twelve letters to come up with an eight letter word which was

FORTUNATE

One set of words had such a negative vibe while the next list was positive.   Just thought it was interesting and thought I’d share.

Where Do We Draw the Line?

       

  Richard has been watching several reruns from the 70’s.  We were watching a “Quincy” with the topic of down syndrome and ignorance.  It reminded me a bit of the controversy of abortion.  My obstetrician had advised me (or maybe suggested) that I might want to consider an abortion given my age and the statistics that made it probable that I would be carrying a child with down syndrome. 

        I remember feeling resentment at the suggestion.  So what?  If my child had down syndrome he or she would still be a blessing to our family.  God entrusted the baby into my care and I would definitely care for him or her.  It wouldn’t have mattered.  I would have loved the child regardless.  We have been so blessed with Jaime who does not have down syndrome. 

        Regardless of their physical appearance or their ability to quickly process information, they are still human beings with feelings and purpose.  I rue the ignorance of others who won’t even try to understand or show compassion toward others regardless of circumstance.  Treat others in the same manner that you would like to be treated.

        The next Quincy that we watched featured an individual with schizophrenia who was institutionalized and had escaped the institution to return to the home of his family where he killed all family members except for his mom who wasn’t present.  He, of course, didn’t remember doing it.  It was another personality.  His lawyer was going to try and get him off “due to insanity” – really?  We’re going to free someone because of insanity?  Doesn’t every act of murder involve some degree of insanity?  And if that be the reason, wouldn’t that said individual be more of a threat?  People like that shouldn’t be set free! 

And yet, just as the down syndrome or kabuki syndrome individual, they are all children of God.  It’s not their fault they are mentally out there – but I would be in favor of aborting those who kill for the “sport” of it – those who have turned guns on innocent people in Chicago, Texas, Las Vegas, Sandy Hooks . . .  where does it end?  I am in Favor of aborting those that turn out like Hitler and Putan.  But how do you know?  How do you know when they haven’t been born yet? 

So where do we draw the line?  Who is it that decides who lives or dies? Or how our tax money is spent?  Why are we putting them in prison and spending money to feed them?  I mean the ones who have been caught in the act of crime – although I suppose most of those ended up turning the gun on themselves and now are having to answer on the other side.  I know that mental illness exists.  I have been hurt by people who on experimental medication – though not physically.  I wouldn’t want to kill or abort them because overall they are good people who feel and care and show compassion – when they are of sound mind to do so. 

I don’t wish to sound as though I am comparing the physical appearance, mentality, or syndromes to one another.  My intent is to express how each of us is human.  Each of us has some kind of challenge – though some challenges seem more obvious than others.  If we each have a soul, don’t we deserve to exist without others pointing fingers at us or making judgment calls (which I have done – obviously).  Where do we draw the line?