Beneath the Wraps

                  I have twelve cousins – eight on my dad ’ s side and four on my mom ’ s.  My parents are each the eldest in their families.  Dad has a brother two years younger and baby sister (they are about twelve years apart).  My mom has two brothers.  All of my dad ’ s family lived in the Salt Lake area except for the few years that my Uncle and Aunt lived in Denver for a couple of years – that could be a different post and was several decades in the past.          My mom ’ s family lived in different parts of northern California.   My mom ’ s first brother and his wife had three children – a boy and two girls.   The youngest brother and his wife had adopted a boy.   We had visited our cousins on occasion but didn ’ t know much about them beyond their names. And even with that one I am not certain of his given name.   I had thought it was Joshua and th...

                  My brother no longer posts to his blog but has left MANY detailed posts on his facebook page.  Yesterday was a tribute to mom and some to himself for the grief of her loss.  He said he’d almost forgotten that it was 13 years ago yesterday.  His final note (after providing a detailed account of her final stages of life) was “hearts and wounds heal with time and that life continues moving forward”.           Am I a terrible person for forgetting when she died?   She passed the day after Richard and I celebrated our 12 th wedding anniversary.   We were married two days prior to the bombing of the twin towers in New York – a day when our nation seemed to pull together to show their support.   A time when Rudy Giuliani cared about his city and seemed to be loved and respected.           Having mom pass was ...

  Richard and I will often watch BBC’s “The Repair Shop” ( here ) in which patrons bring their time worn heirlooms to be restored to another time.   It’s great to see so many attached to sentiments in our throw-it-out/replace/upgrade it society.   I don’t recall having any family heirlooms. My mom had been raised in poorer circumstances with many relics that may not have been considered antiques at the time – certainly not of value either financially or sentimentally.   We threw things away and replaced them – though I remember my brother and I both hoarding “stuff” as sentiments.   Perhaps even now.   But nothing worth restoring . . . I don’t think. I do have a set of scriptures that belonged to my mother.   The binding on the triple combination is torn in places and many of the pages have definitely seen better days.   But it is a treasure because I see where she has marked certain scriptures and written in the margin.   That for me...

  It must have happened shortly after she was taken to the doctor for a different medication.   I hadn’t seen her for a few weeks.   I called and left a message.   I had more than once.   People were starting to worry.   Her family hadn’t let us know that she was gone.   We could have offered our assistance.   Why didn’t they tell us she had been called home to our Heavenly Father?   She passed two months ago and I am just learning about it today.   Perhaps the family didn’t know how to get in touch with us just as we don’t know how to get in touch with them.   At least I didn’t.   I didn’t know her for long.   What an impact she has made.

                                Between exit 112 and 110   I see a couple of deer quite close to the shoulder of I5 and I think of the doe who tried to outrun us in this post and wonder – do these deer not see the cars as preditors?   For the most part I have seen fawns – perhaps teenagers making a dare – going for the most luscious grass near the shoulder (which I don’t believe has any vegetation worth the risk)   I always think of “Watership Down” only deer instead of rabbits. car is moving to quickly to take an accurate picture.   I see them only on the return from Roseburg – never toward

                In April I was asked to outline the RS lessons to correspond with Come Follow Me lessons.   I had only my notes and the titles of the 2020 “Don’t Miss This” Episodes. It was right after general conference and so I didn’t have the titles of the talks we had picked, only the speakers. Of course I prayed for inspiration on where to put the 11 or 12 conference talks that we had picked for our lessons.   There were six that were definitely set in stone but wasn’t quite certain how to place the other talks.   This week’s theme was spot on as the reading in Come Follow Me was on the Strippling Warriors (starting here ) and the RS lesson was from this talk .  

                 I have had ideas for posting  – but have not made the effort to                 communicate what ’ s in my brain to  my fingers to type out what I thought.              It ’ s usually gone before the  computer has booted.   I am so out of it during                                the summer.   Either fatigued  due to the heat or knocked into  a coma by the wind, fan and/or air conditioning.                   Summer came early this year.                   It was in May.      And now it ’ s August, but it             ...

           It has cooled off severely.   High today is supposed to reach 67.   How awesome is that?     I wish that were the high all year long.

                 Since moving to Oregon I have taken a fitness each summer except for 2020.  The class has averaged 10 – 16 people except for this year.  Mass turnouts.  Each week we have had an average of two to six people who are new to the class or haven ’ t attended for several years.  If everybody that came to class at least one time this year were to show up for a pool party, I suspect we ’ d have between thirty and forty people (I am guessing closer to forty) Fortunately not everybody who has attended all summer long turns out every day because that is a lot of people for a workout group.         I don ’ t recall which year the instructor decided to introduce the “ pool party ” idea that would take place the last Saturday before the lifeguards returned to school and the pool closed.   I have only gone to two.   Last year the pool party was closed due to the hazardous ...

                I have been quite lame about posting to my blog this summer.  The weather wipes me out.  Either I am so hot that I can’t think or I’m being sent to a coma by the a/c or fans . . . . or winds.  I have been feeling blessed with the lack of smoke that we have seen this month – although the last two days have brought a haze that I can barely see.  Richard and Jaime can smell it but I cannot.  I’ve had the windows open and just thought it was overcast.                I’ve been checking the fire map and have not noticed any fires along I5.   Richard says this is blowing from the east of us and is the worst fire in all of Oregon history.   All the fires have been given names – usually after the area it is burning.   This one is called the Durkee Fire – just west of Boise, Idaho ( here ).   Oh, my heck!     ...

             The last ward we attended in Utah was called Granger 14 th .   Boundaries were exceptionally weird, but we did have enough activity that there were two adult Sunday Schools. I don’t recall anyone having multiple callings.   It was a good ward.           We had only been here for a couple of years when we returned to Utah for my late daughter-in-law’s funeral.   We had been invited to stay for a linger longer at the Granger 14 th .   A lot of people had moved out of the ward in that two years time.   A LOT.   I asked someone if a lot of members were on vacation.   Looking around she claimed that most of the ward was in attendance.   The ward had shrunk.           When Jaime and I had gone back for a visit last year we were told that the Granger 14 th had dissolved. That's too bad.  Understandable, but s...

  According to my Cryptogram puzzles Pope Francis said “God Never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving . . .” referring to the gift of Christmas, but I took it to another level and posted the following to the RS page: “ God never gives us gifts that we are not capable of receiving. He never gives us a calling that we are unable to fulfill. If we are willing and ask in faith for His loving guidance we can perform as an instrument in His hands. We can go from an unpopped kernal to desirable popcorn that we were meant to be. ” The last part of the quote comes from Ben Wilcox “Come Follow Me” lesson for next week ( here )           I know that there are people who struggle with their callings as they feel inadequate in the position due to their lack of knowledge or being able to relate to those they serve or those they serve with.   I do not foresee that in my current position or presidency, but I know when I was...