Thank you for Sharing!

Love this video.  So uplifting.  Thank you, Matt Harding.  Thank you for sharing your passion.

The Body in the Trunk - and Missing Mom

                I had quite a few challenges ahead of me the year that I started my blog.  I don't recall what happened to our car, but there was some kind of accident that effected the trunk. We made do with a temporary repair job until we had the finances to get a better fix.  Thus whenever we would drive (particularly over bumps) there would be this rattling noise that made it sound as though there were something heavy being thrown around.  It was the car I drove and therefore just dealt with the distraction mainly by ignoring it.

                My mom happened to be a passenger one particular day in October.  She asked me about the sound and I joked that it sounded like a dead body in my trunk.  By then mom's memory was really going downhill.  Though both of my brothers were in denial about mom having been that far gone, both Kayla and I had agreed that we needed to either bring somebody in to be a full time companion or else consider assisted living - which I had already started looking into - which is when I learned that my brothers didn't want to accept that.

                Though mom seemed to have blocked out everything else that day, she somehow remembered my comment about the dead body!  I think she accepted as a joke at first, but after her third comment, I began to wonder.  (You can find my original post and conversation here) I have no first-hand account of being in a car in which a body is in the trunk, but I have seen many comical situations in which a dead body seemingly causes a lot of noise as it's being rolled around in said trunk.

                A new family has moved into our ward.  It was announced in priesthood that the family would need assistance moving in.  Roland loaded the hand cart into the car in order to help.  The hand truck doesn't fit into our car all the way.  He had it sticking out of the trunk and held the door down with bungee cord.  I laughed as we drove to the house.  The sound was similar to the one in which I had made the "dead body" comment.  I don't know why Roland hadn't heard it before.  Jenna pretty much has the entire story memorized.       

                I miss my mom a lot.  I miss her laugh.  The way she talked.  I miss her smile.

                Her house was central point for get-togethers. Patrick and Sunny lived about 10 miles south, Kayla about 10 miles west, and Roland and I were about 10 miles north. Corey and I had an awfully hard time letting go of the house.

                Mom enjoyed playing games. For me it was Scrabble or Upwords - mostly upwards.  She played cribbage and other card games with Patrick.  For Corey, it was Trivial Pursuit.  And with Kayla, they did Jumbles and sometimes crosswords. We tried playing games with her after her memory was gone.  It was more challenging for us just to have to explain the rules each time.  We didn't bother keeping score anymore.  There wasn't any point.  It was hard to see our "game rival" disappear. 

                I'm looking forward to the day that I will see both of my parents again.  I'm hoping we'll be able to play games again.    

God Works In Mysterious Ways

            At the end of last month (July 29) I mentioned that I decided to go back to school online.  Thus far I have taken four classes.  Two I've completed and I will have finished two more by the end of next week.

           

            Currently I am taking an English Refinement class and a Philosophy Class called the Introduction to Logic.  My instructor LOVES philosophy.  I do not.  Fortunately it hasn't been as huge a challenge as I had predicted. I've actually gained a repoire with my instructor and have been flattered by her feedback.

            On the last day of July I posted the first assignment I had turned in for that class.  I shared it mainly for those that may be required to take the class also in hopes that my viewpoint may assist their understanding in the same way my brother and instructor helped me.

            My last assignment was on  Emotion and the Workplace.  We had an option of answering questions from one of two videos and give our opinions on the benefits of technology - and why we may or may not agree with the ideas conveyed.  My instructor said she really liked my essay for last week. 

 

          This week has been a bit tougher for me. The topic is fallacy reasoning.  I have turned in my assignment but do not feel as confident about my essay as the one from last week.  One of my introductory lines is that "I feel like a walking fallacy just waiting to happen" which may not be grammatically correct, but will probably make my instructor laugh.

 

          So far only one of my classes could actually be applied to my major.  Two of my classes have been on self-awareness - helping me define how to get along with others - not only in the work place but with life in general. Should I continue with all of my courses and don't use it any of it career wise, I realize what I have learned thus far has made me a better person whether I flourish in the workplace or continue to stay at home. I am grateful for the things I've learned thus far and pray that I may continue to thrive.

How's The Weather?

          We've been told that Oregon's hottest month takes place in August.  Thus far I have not noticed a drastic difference with the weather here as I had in Salt Lake.  We moved in at the beginning of summer last year.  Oregon was going through a drought.  The entire summer was ALWAYS HOT.  Fire temperatures were extreme.  Grass was brown and dry.  We were told that would make for a hard winter.

          By Utah standards, the "cold" winter of Oregon (west of I5) last year was really mild.  It was our first winter in Oregon, so again, we don't actually know any better.  We got snow.  We're told that snow is rare.  Perhaps we'll have a more accurate experience this year.

          Thus far, the hottest days (in my mind) were July 28 - 30 - the three days that Myrtle Creek had their summer fest activity.  The temperatures had cooled down by June 31 but got hot again on August 1st - which was a week ago last Monday.  I take a water aerobics class in the morning.  The temperature in the water does not mirror the temperature of the air.  It is usually the opposite.

          Even though the sun shone last week, the water was cold.  Didn't seem that anyone in the class was able to warm up.  The air on Tuesday morning was cool.  The clouds blocked the sun and it appeared that it might rain.  I went to class believing the pool would be warmer than the day before.  It was.  Nice and relaxing.  It felt so great - like bath water.  It was hard to get out of the pool and back into the frigid air - which really was not all that chilly except to one who is wet.

          The last two mornings have been overcast and cool.  The lifeguards have had sweatshirts on over their suits.  The pool has been really nice.  Gradually the air will warm up during class or just right after.  Today it took a while for the weather to make up its mind as clouds would pass between the earth and the sun - blocking the rays from shining down.  I actually preferred that to the rays blasting in my face and on my skin like flames licking at me.

          Ever since we moved to Tri-City, it seems I have been doing laundry more often.  Instead of doing four loads once a week, it seems to be spread out into 12 - 16 loads.  I have washed whites, colors, whites, towels, whites, dark load,  white, bed sheets/towels, whites, whites . . .

I expect that to die down back to four within the next few months.  Soon I will have to depend solely on the dryer as I won't be able to hang my laundry outside anymore.  And the pale brown grass will become green again.

          It is 10 - 20 cooler in Oregon than it is in Salt Lake.  I suspect that in the winter, it will be 20 - 30 degrees warmer than in Salt Lake.

I'm Guessing That an Elephant was Involved . . .

                What is it with people saying, "Guess what"?  When I said/asked it to my parents, did I really expect them to guess? Does anybody?  Whenever Jenna has approached me with "Guess what?", I have given often given her an outrageous answer that she actually seems to enjoy, and it has become a game for us.

                "Guess what?"

               

                "You woke up to find an elephant in your bed this morning."

                "Guess what?"

                "An elephant was reported to be charging the halls in your school today."

                So now in turn, when she is approached by a friend or acquaintance,  friend will ask "Guess what?" and Jaime will provide such outlandish "guesses" that's it's a wonder that she is still approached with  "guess what". Only instead of elephants her "guesses" often involve aliens and a  LOT of detail leading toward the moment"

                "Guess what?"

                "You were on the way to Mr. H's class because you missed your homework assignment.  As you were swiftly moving toward his classroom you slipped on a banana peel and crashed into the wall.  When you came to, you realized you had been abducted by aliens . . . "

                I think her responses have caught many of them off guard as they will continue to stare at her as though she's the alien and maybe they have been abducted.  What were we talking about?  Oh, yeah. 

                "No!"

                "Oh, well. I give up.  What is it you wanted me to guess?"

The Vacation

        I did not post between the 17th and the 23rd of last month as my sister and family had come to stay with us for a week.  The boys enjoyed climbing the hill that is basically our entire backyard.  Uncle Roland had introduced Gary to the blackberry bush.  Each day he would climb the hill and grab a few berries and bring them back to the house.

        They arrived on Saturday night and went with us to church on Sunday.  Those who served in the nursery LOVED BJ and were hoping for his return the following week.  (Kayla and Bill do have beautiful children) 

My brother-in-law took this pic just over a year ago.

Gary and Anna were in the same primary class.  I sat with them during singing/sharing time.

        I briefly described our Monday.  Picked blueberries and separated cars.  Roland went with Bill who drove his car to Canyonville to purchase  a camera from a pawn shop before going to the Big City of Roseburg.  I drove our car. Kayla and I would have taken all four kids had we had the room for three car seats and Jenna in back, but as we did not, BJ got to tag along with Roland and Bill.  Anna and Gary each sit in boosters which are easier to move from one car to another than I imagine BJ's car seat is

not the exact car seats, but a more spacious illustration of back seat

        We went to a local park where they could swing and slide.  While Jenna played with her cousins, it gave Kayla and I an opportunity to visit

 . 

        We spent the next two days on the road with them.  Two cars.  Anna and Jenna were in our car and the boys were with Bill.  Neither Kayla nor I wanted to drive.  And I don't suspect either of our husbands wanted us to drive.  But I still wanted to visit with my sister while we drove.  The next best thing was to have each sister ride with the husband of the other.  I was in the car with Bill on the way to and home from Watson Falls and Coos Bay and Kayla rode with Roland. 

starting trail to Watson Falls

  

        We stopped off at a view area and took pictures of North Umpqua River before we got to Watson Falls.

        We took pictures on the boardwalk in Coos Bay and went to a street fair before driving to Sunset Bay State Park.  Anna enjoyed some chocolate covered bacon. She would not share with Bill.

  

        It was a task trying to get Anna to leave the beach.  She told her dad that "her heart was in the ocean and she had to find it".  Unbeknownst to Kayla and Bill, the keys to their car were locked inside.  Now, I don't mention this to embarrass them, but to continue the story of the "heart in the ocean"

        As Roland and Bill worked at trying to break into the car (each has car rescue service card - unfortunately we did not get reception at the beach) and as the kids were get anxious, Bill told Anna she could return to the water, but that when he called her she would have to come right away.

 

        When he called out to her the second time, she said it was okay to get out.  She had found her love and her heart and everything was okay.  I thought it was cute so thought I would share it.

from hd wallpaper

        As with most children, BJ warmed up to Roland right away.  Roland is a kid magnet.  I haven't known a child yet who doesn't love Roland.

        The boys liked Watson Falls.  The girls liked getting wet at the beach. The adults were tired of being in the car.  We stayed home for the next two days. The dads helped the kids make pizza 

          Afterward the whole gang (except Roland) went to the pool for a swim.  I had an invalid check and had to return home for another, but I wanted the rest of the family to get all that they could and asked the manager if they could go in while I ran home to get the check. 

        By the time I had returned with the check, there really wasn't enough time for me that it was even worth getting wet.  So I just took pictures.  It's nice to have Bill in some pictures than as he is often the one behind the camera.

        We learned that BJ loved going down the slide.  After a while he got bored just going on his bottom, however and thought it would be more fun going down on some other body part - which did not go over well with either Bill or Kayla or (I would guess) even the lifeguards   Time for BJ to enjoy having a nap.

        As we left to go to the dressing room, Kayla announced, "WE are not coming back here tomorrow.  At least BJ and me.  If Bill wants to bring the kids, he can.  But it will have to be without me."

        We learned that BJ's first was "Google" He is quite proud to say "Okay, Google" and rattle off something the rest of us are unable to detect but the phone always manages to find something.  While visiting with us, and the phone in his possession, Google told him about "pronouns" which I don't believe he even cared about, but he was quite pleased to have the phone talking to him.

                     Their last full day with us was on Friday.  I had planned on driving Kayla over to the pool as the group had left their unused pool toys behind. I started to back out of the driveway - forgetting that about another car being there.  I scraped the side of my car next to Bill's and asked Kayla if she could have him move it for me.  Kayla returned with the keys and BJ; she decided just to drive their car so that she could tell people that she had actually driven in Oregon.  We allowed BJ a few moments of pleasure as he played in the baby park. The rest of their time with us we we either played games or watched programs and visited.

        It was a short visit.  Jenna and I realized that there was more we had meant to do while they were here with us.  Jenna is now going through cousin withdrawal I think even worse than before they came.  I'd love to let her visit with them for another month.  It would be awesome if we could all three return for a visit.

Reminiscing July

            Last month was definitely the coolest July temperature wise) that I ever remember.  28, 29 and 30 were hot.  Yesterday was nice and cool, but extremely windy.  It is the second time I recall an Oregon wind knocking me into a coma. It could have been a combination of the wind and the allergy pill I had taken  to knock out the huge amount of smoke from the fireworks.

            The three hottest days were also the three days that were used for Myrtle Creek's celebration.  They have been doing this for 30 years now.  I believe they started the tradition on July 27 - or perhaps that's the day that Myrtle Creek was founded as a city.  But I don't know what year.  The celebration of summer festival takes place on the last weekend in July.

            I did not take as many pictures this year as I had last year.  Jenna had been quite bummed for having missed the fireworks on July 4 this year.  We said we'd take her to the festival this year to see the fireworks.  We went on Saturday.  We had Jenna's friend, Sierra, with us. The girls had fun.

            Roland and I spent the majority of the evening at the pavilion listening to music.  I really wanted to dance, but Roland did not.  Jenna and I would move our hands and feet to the music.  Just after we were asked to raise our hands during "shout" an old lady that had been up near the stage made her way back to where I had been sitting and held her hands out to me so that I would get up and dance with her.

            I went up front to dance with her - though I had a hard time keeping up.  She may have looked older, but she danced as if she was in her 20's.  I noticed Jenna and Sierra had followed me and Jenna reached down to pick up items as they dropped to the floor.  When the dance was over, the old woman escorted me back to the chair.  Roland asked me why I had danced with that "drunk" - and couldn't I smell the alcohol on her breath?  I have lost my sense of smell and hadn't realized that she was drunk, though it actually made sense.  I had fun regardless.

            Happy Birthday, Myrtle Creek.

The Six Stages of Critical Thinking According to my Own Understanding

            As I mentioned in my last post, I had to read this article  for an assignment. The students were asked to summarize said article and place ourselves into one or more of the six stages and share reasons why.  This is what I came up with:

                "For this assignment, I would like to summarize the six stages of critical thinking as explained by Richard Paul and Linda Elder.   To simplify the understanding of my own mind, I will touch on just a few traits of each of the six stages of Critical Thinking. For the first stage I use some examples of characters that I think fall into that stage.  The rest of the stages I will compare to motherhood as an example.

                "The first stage is called an Unreflective Thinker.  Some of the traits of the unreflective are saying things without even thinking about them.  For this I would use the example of Rose Nylan from the television show The Golden Girls. Rose often tries to relate stories that come off as irrelevant.  Often she is treated like a ditz but does not even realize that the other three are often having a laugh at her expense.  I also believe that many hotheads and bullies fall into this category.  They act before they think.  An example of this would be Yosemite Sam from Looney Toons or the character of Biff Tanner from Back to the Future.

                "A challenged thinker becomes aware of flaws in his or her thinking but doesn't quite know what to do with it.  Children don't come with instruction manuals.  Each one is different.  A mother has to figure that out.  Putting Gary in time out may be more effective on him than with Steven - who doesn't seem to have a problem with sitting in the corner with his face against the wall.  The mother has to figure out what discipline method will work on Steven.

                "A beginning thinker recognizes flaws and becomes aware of a need for development.  The mother may go through several methods of discipline before she learns that if she will just compliment Steven on everything that he does right, she has won him over.  Steven continues to soar after each compliment.  Unfortunately, it only works on Steven.  It doesn't work on Gary.

                "A practicing thinker is one who has formed habits or is starting to form habits.  A practicing thinker has intellectual humility. I think many mother's possess this kind of thinking.  They have to.  She has one method of discipline that works for one child and another for a different child.  Oh, but then Angel comes along.  Mom has taken steps with both Gary and Steven and is learning with each of them.  She knows how to get on each of their levels - not just to discipline but to communicate and to teach.

                "An advanced thinker is one who has developed good habits and is knows that she can make improvements. Mom has taken the time to teach their habits to all of her children.  Gary and Steven have become teens and Angel has two more siblings.  Mom is skilled at cleaning house as well as her five children.  She has taught the older ones to assist with chores and one another. 

                "The accomplished thinker is one who strives to improve. She knows her strengths and weaknesses. She  includes each of her family members and listens to their opinions and gives options and will come up with a variety to help with point of view.

                "I have been in at least the first three stages.  I think I have mostly been in the challenged or beginning stage.  The way I think at church is far more advanced than how I think from day to day.  The  way I think as a student is not the same stage as my church or day-to-day thinking.

                "I think the stage that describes me the best as a student is the beginning thinker.  I have been a student before, but it has been a while. It think it takes me longer to process and understand information. I know I have flaws. I think I recognize most of them. I am not at all humble about accepting critique, but it is something that I would like to work on.  I would also like to be more observant and be aware of my surroundings rather than to always have the situations pointed out to me.  I would like to be a discoverer.

                "I know there are advantages to each stage.  I know real life people who fall into each of these categories.  I think a good critical thinker values the input and opinions of others, but will still weighs the odds before finding a satisfactory end result.  The critical thinker is concerned about team work and communication.  "A critical thinker will formulate a question, gather information, apply information, consider implications and explore other points of view" (Agoos, S. 2016).

                "It is my desire to set some goals: 1) Accept constructive criticism that I may change my flaws and improve upon my critical thinking.  2) I can train myself to become more observant that I may better analyze a given situation.  I can accomplish these long-term goals by asking more questions and form habits by being with more observant people. 

                "For the most part, I think that all people tend  to go through at least four of the stages.  Often we are going through two or three stages at the same time - as I mentioned with church and school and just day-to-day.   Before I complete my bachelor's for accounting, it is my desire to have achieved at least one of these goals. I will have moved from one stage to another and continue throughout each stage"

References

Paul, R. Elder, L. (2007, July 23). The Critical Thinking Community. Retrieved from Critical        Thinking in Every Domain of Knowledge and Belief:    http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-in-every-domain-of-knowledge-     and-belief/698

 TEDEducation. "5 Tips to Improve Your Critical Thinking - Samantha Agoos."YouTube.      YouTube, 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 27 July 2016

          Our topic for this week's discussion has to do with emotions.  The research I have done thus far has given me an opportunity to work on the last goal  that I made, and that is better observance. 

          According to this emotional quiz, I do not do well at recognizing the emotions of others.  If I continue my research I can become more familiar with the signs and be able to recognize the emotions of others and thus become a better observer.

Maybe it's me . . . Missing the Boat

To "miss the boat" is to miss the point of or fail to understand: 

               Several years ago I was working for an employment agency in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The agency had sent me on a temporary assignment to state's Department of Family and Child Services (DCFS) -  a department seemingly to be more dysfunctional than many of its clients.  I was told the assignment would be for only a couple of months - but I was there for almost two years and off and on for almost the next five.

                As I recall, I made a suggestion of sending out letters to newly adoptive parents or potential adoptive parents - I can't remember the reason - but in my mind it seemed like it would be a start for whatever it was the department was trying to accomplish.  I was asked to write the letter and send it to the chair of the department who actually worked in a different building (I think there were three locations for the DCFS workers who were supposed to function as one, but that didn't happen) to meet his approval.

                I printed the letter on the stationary with the departments letter head - the same stationary I had used in the one-two years I was assigned.  I explained to the chair why I was sending the letter and what I was trying to accomplish.  And did it meet his approval?  His feedback was less than productive.  His response was to the letterhead itself. (As if I really had control over that - I wasn't even a state employee!) The letterhead on stationary bore the name of Governor Norman Bangerter who had served as governor from 1985 to 1993.  I don't recall what year it was.  1994? 1995?  Mike Leavitt was the governor from 1993 to 2003. 

                It's true that I hadn't bothered reading the letterhead at anytime  I had ever sent anything out.  I had no reason to.  The stationary had always been handed to me along with a list of instructions on what was to be done with it. It didn't even occur to me that I might be using old stationary.  Apparently, it was never updated.  Again, that was not my fault.  I had no control over the stupid letterhead.

                I remember feeling annoyed by his response - totally missing the boat on the content of the letter. The words that needed to be sent out - regardless of the stationary! I took this matter to the secretary who laughed at the error that had been made for well over a year and a half.  In this post I said it had been two mayors.  Perhaps the mayor's name had appeared on the letterhead as well. I don't remember.  All I remember was feeling frustration as the issue at hand was not addressed.  And okay, I was a little bit amused by the error of the department.

                Recently there has been a similar situation which triggered this situation.  But first let me back up a bit to set the stage.   As I mentioned in this post, online schooling  hasn't appealed to me. I would like to get a part time job just so we have a bit of extra income. However, jobs seem hard to come by in this particular area where I live.  I've applied to be a cashier at several places, but the idea of being on my feet all day does not appeal to me.  I'd rather have a desk job.  So I have decided to go back to school (online) to get my degree in accounting.

                Roland signed me up to start classes on June 27 - even though I said I wanted to wait until after school started for Jenna.  Nevertheless,  I was told that my classes would start June 27 - which they did - without me.  A glitch in the system put me two days behind. 

                The courses run for only for weeks.  Each week the student is expected to participate in discussion, turn in an assignment and fulfill an assessment (which is usually a quiz or sometimes another assignment) Thus there is much reading material and/or video required.  I am a visual person.  I like someone to show me what keys to punch and explain why.  It takes me a lot longer to process words from a manual than just one week.  So the classes do move quickly.   Thus far I seem to be doing well, but still frustrated with the reading part.

                So I'm taking this required Philosophy class because knowledge in one's major is not enough (in my case knowing how to do bookkeeping or spreadsheets) is not enough.  A student (potential employee) needs soft skills to be part of a team (employer, co-workers) and so we have to learn all of that - which is a good thing and probably should be addressed at every college.  Employees need to learn how to work with one another and maintain professionalism in the workplace.

                There is no video.  There is this article given as a reading assignment. I think it reads almost like Dr. Seuss (except without the humor) I have not even made it to stage 4 and my brain hurts.  What the heck are Richard Paul and Linda Elder even talking about? There have been many times during my adult life that I have asked my brother, Corey, to read something for me and then explain it to me in English.  I emailed him the website and pleaded that if he had the time, would he please read and explain.  He did.  Corey has helped me out of binds a countless number of times.  I feel like I owe him more than just gratitude.

                The instructor does a live lecture each week and then makes the video available to whatever students couldn't/didn't attend and also a refresher for those of us who did go live but still need to stop and rewind.  As I had a ton of questions, I tuned in for the live lecture and asked and answered some of the questions.  The session was very helpful.  Corey called right after the session and gave me even more insight - which I really so appreciate so much.

                Corey found the article dry and hard to get through, but he was able to explain it to me. We were both able to give examples of TV or movie characters or real live examples that we know. That's how I wanted to do my assignment - by giving the examples that helped me to better understand what the each stage represents.  I was hoping to find just one movie or program to base my characters on, but ended up using examples from many sources. I picked examples of what I thought each stage represents for stages 1 to 3 but somehow felt stuck finding an example for number 4. 

                There were tears in my eyes over the frustration I felt in not being able to convey what I wanted in a formal assignment.  I know that my posts are often too wordy and I fly off the handle and move on to non-related subjects, but my writing on this blog is informal.  I still didn't know if my understanding was accurate.

                Roland, who tends to have a great understanding of many things, asked if he could assist.  I told him that his explanations are often more confusing than what I am trying to understand - which I think is why I was so excited about his comparing underwear to primer (which I mentioned in my last post)  as it seemed such a simple explanation.  I told him what it is that I was trying to accomplish and he made suggestions on how I could better format the paper or correct the grammar (he likes to change as he goes; I wait until the entire document is finished to do a spell check) and not to put the assignment in first person (which normally I don't, but was asked to include my belief about which stage I think I'm in and why - meaning it would be in first person) and giving me critique that yes, was necessary - but I had planned on correcting all of that after my thoughts came out. I was looking for critique with the content and not the format itself.  That is what made me think of the first story that I shared.   I have felt like a failure at communication for so much of my life.

                I ended up going a different direction altogether.  I still don't know about the accuracy of my understanding, but I did the best I could with my own comprehension.  I am waiting for my assignment to be graded.  Perhaps I will share the results.

                Meanwhile, I have finished submitting everything that needs to be graded on for this week.   Instead of waiting until Monday (which starts my second week of class) I decided to pry into week 2 to see if there was anything I could try and process in my mind to perhaps make myself more prepared than with this week (in case it was/is as confusing as the "Critical Thinking" article) One of the suggested examples given for the discussion was to assess this test or one like it.   

                I didn't realize the detail involved.  341 questions! Glad I got that early start! The great thing about having taken the suggested emotional test was seeing the growth and change that have taken place in my own personal life.  The website did not give me the end results, nor do I plan on joining the site or pay for the results.  Just knowing what my answers would have been less than two years ago  as opposed to what they are now is a revelation to me.  I have grown more than I had thought and have become a better and happier person and continue to strive upon improving myself.   I'm certainly a lot more relaxed. I like who I am.  

Paint, Hoes, Firetrucks and Blueberries

            Last week our ward hosted a service project at the high school. There were three areas that needed attention.  First and far most was the shed/ticket booth.  That needed to be primed and painted.  Second, weeding of the grounds - particularly over by the restrooms and track.  Third, power wash the bleachers. Ron appeared to be in charge of said activity.  He gave the assignments and we all went to the areas we had been assigned.

            There were six of us painting the shed.  Roland took over with delegation.  He has always been a "take charge" kind of guy.  Those who showed up to late to the activity  just assumed that Roland was in charge.  I was impressed with how Roland conversed with an eight-year-old from our ward (geographical boundary within the church) explaining what we were doing, why we were doing it, and how it would get accomplished.  The eight-year-old in turn asked questions that Roland would answer.  I loved the way he explained about the primer and the paint.

            Roland told him that the primer would have to dry before we could paint.  Why would we need paint if we already painted? (The primer itself was a drastic improvement upon the shed that probably hadn't seen paint since the day it was built) Roland explained to him that the primer is needed to go underneath the paint.  He asked the boy to think about the way he got dressed in the morning, and if he put underwear on before or after his outwear.  The boys just laughed as he answered and Roland compared the primer to underwear needed for the paint.

            There was one youth upon the latter trying to get the final touches.  The rest of us gravitated to areas two or three to see what we could assist with.  I tried pulling weeds, but as the ground as quite tough, I went to find a hoe to break it.  I chopped into the earth with a spaded hoe and felt like a field hand.  The work seemed endless until shortly after someone brought another bunch of hoes to all of those who were assisting.

            This is the kind of hoe that I have used and seen.

 I had never seen this kind before.  I didn't understand its value.

            One of the youth taught us old fogies how to use this weird looking hoe.  And you know what?  It was easier.  For those of us who had never experienced anything like it, it was kind of fun.

            My time in the "field" was short lived.  When the primer dried, I returned to assist with the painting.  By then more youth had joined us as well as the full time missionaries.  (I don't where Elder Morris was from but I don't think had ever seen a paintbrush before)  Even the principal of the school assisted.  We had a good turn out and got a lot done.

            We'd been looking forward to my sister and her family arriving and staying with us for a week.  We were hoping they'd make it to the pool party that our ward has after the service project.  Unfortunately they got off to a late start.  I think we had finished our service project before they had left their motel room in Idaho.

            Kayla and Bill have three children: six-year-old Anna, four-year-old Gary, and two (well almost) year-old BJ.  Of course there were several stops  made between Utah and Idaho.  They had hoped to arrive in Boise on Friday night but did not arrive until after midnight  early Saturday morning.  Kayla said she had just gotten the last child to sleep before dozing off herself.  She said that it felt like she had been asleep only three minutes when the fire alarm went off and all people from the motel were evacuated. (That was roughly 2:00 am)  No one knows why the fire department was called.  The kids were excited about the fire truck.  It did put a damper on Bill and Kayla's plans however.

            More stops until finally they arrived at our house just after 10:00 and straight to bed.  They went with us to church on Sunday.  The first thing on our agenda for Monday morning was blueberry picking.  Last year we would move from bush to push accumulating only two or three pounds max.  This year the blueberries are thick and ready to fall off.  From just six bushes we had over 24 pounds among the eight of us.  Well, I don't guess all eight of us were picking.  BJ was dropping blueberries into his mouth rather than in his bucket.  Gary refused to allow his blueberries to be weighed with everyone else's.  He needed to keep them separate as they were his and he was proud to have picked them all by himself.

            Roland and Bill took BJ drove to the big city of Roseburg (as Bill forgot his camera - which is actually worse than a typical teenager being without a cell phone) while Kayla and I took Gary, Anna and Jenna to the park before heading home.

            Each day we had blueberries in one form or another.  Blueberry pancakes, blueberry syrup, blueberry cobbler, blueberry muffins, blueberries from the bag . . . . there are still a lot of blueberries.  Gary took his home with him.  I don't know how many got eaten before their return.  Kayla said she needed a recipe as many of the blueberries got squished - I don't know if from Gary's bag or from the frozen ones we sent.  I'm guessing the latter.