Another Weird Dream

           I was at a class off some kind.  There appeared to be four to six students – each had at least one doll.  The doll was supposed to represent a baby that we had left at home.  We were sitting on couches with pillows and blankets.  I felt squashed between two students – one who was the only male participant.  And when I noticed the female student had left, I scooted over so that there was a space between me and the male student.  My vibrator seemed to get caught on his afghan – which in the dream was his afghan, but in real life it looked like one my mom had made.

          Two of the students had built a tent out of their blankets and were sitting inside.  And then our instructor appeared along with several parts for a do-it-yourself-motorbike.  

KMT

It was my turn to build/ride first.  I remember a mechanic walking out and shaking his head, and then a real-life friend –who is also a mechanic – showed up and slapped the mechanic. 

          Now in the dream, the one who slapped, started out as a person that I know well, although I forget who, someone who really was looking out for my welfare.  Gradually he turned from my familiar friend to an almost-Jay-Leno-look-alike, but thinner.  He wore a white shirt with red pinstripes – more of a baseball uniform style but with a circled patch over his left breast.  It indicated that his name was Phil.  And Phil took a hard look at my instructor and then at me and says. “If I ever see you riding this thing, I’m going to kill you” and then he gave my instructor some choice words though I couldn’t tell what they were.

etsy

          My peers then emerge from their tent and each of them is wearing a pineapple shaped barrette in her hair and they ask the instructor if they try their “picks” which are inside of the pineapples.  They remove their barrettes and open a secret compartment and one takes out a hairpin looking thing and goes up to the bike (which is no longer in parts but has been assembled sometime during the dream) and uses it to maneuver some part of the bike so that several important pieces fall to the ground.

          The instructor then takes what remains of the bike and slams it into the garbage can.  I sigh a breath of relief because I had not wanted to drive it out in the first place as I thought it would be dangerous even before Phil had warned us all that it was.

          I woke up to go to the bathroom.  I never returned to the couches or class.

That is SO WRONG

           This last Saturday was the hottest yet since our move to Oregon.  Hotter than the last week in July has always been even thought Summer Fest was not held this year. Apparently it had bee 104 on August 28 last year.  I had forgotten. We had moved to Oregon for the moisture and weather consistency.  We have seen one of the two since our move here – but neither all year round.  Three digit temperature – part of 2020’s taunting. 

     106 Saturday and was suppose to be over 100 yesterday but only got to 90.  It was overcast most of the day.  We even felt a few drops in the morning.  Roland doesn't like to work outdoors when it's raining.  Jenna and I prefer it.  If we're going to get wet anyway, why not with moisture from the sky than sweat through our bodies?

      I had taken an allergy pill that knocks me into a coma – not that I wanted to be in a coma, but the heat does that by itself so why not take an allergy pill.  I notice that I have been light sensitive.  My eyes were bothering me yesterday and a bit right now.

    I wonder what the forecast will bring us today.

Social Media Missionaries

          We haven’t fed the missionaries since the pandemic began until this past week.  For a while they were grounded to their apartment and the rule was to drop off food at the church and they would pick it up.  Perhaps that was easier for many members who unable to have missionaries come due to circumstances – for instance there are many single sisters and the missionaries serving in Myrtle Creek have always been Elders. 

           The person who was called to find families to feed the missionaries is quite diligent with her calling and somewhat aggressive as I’m certain she has roped people into feeding them when they may not have chosen to do so on their own.  The rules are quite different now due to COVID.  I don’t know how it is in each mission but in Oregon they are no longer allowed to knock on doors.  They have to stand outside until they are summoned.  They can visit with people outside of their homes but may not go inside. 

           They had the wrong address.  I had "hacked" the deck early with essence of peppermint oil in order to keep the flies away.  Roland joked that it would attract the bees.  Jenna spotted the elders in front of our neighbors and I told them to park in our driveway.  We had dinner on our brand new deck.  Jenna, Roland and I sat near the door and the three elders were near the steps – table of food between us.  Roland had made hash browns, pancakes, blackberry syrup and omelets.  There were three or four wasps or hornets that seemed interested in our breakfast also.

    Two of the elders were from Utah and we discussed the luxury of purchasing blackberries from Logan, Utah as opposed to the blackberry bush growing wild and viewed as the Oregon state weed. They’re pioneers is this “new normal” each having had to join facebook (if they did not already have an account) so that they can set up virtual lessons and teach six feet apart whenever they are physically able to do so.  Before March it was a requirement for a person to attend at least three sacrament meetings before he or she could be baptized.  Now baptisms take place without their ever setting foot in the Church prior to baptism because meetings just are not happening right now – at least in our county which has been a major discomfort for so many members.  I can’t even imagine being baptized into a faith without attending at least one meeting. 

          One elder was called to serve his mission in Japan.  He was there for four months before the missionaries were pulled out and returned to the states.  He was so in tune with the spirit, it was amazing.  All three of them shared spiritual thoughts and it was so awesome having them here and sharing His love and having such great power on our brand new deck.  Very nice visit and another huge admiration for those who continue to serve full time.  What tremendous faith!

Backs and Ladders

          Today was the day assigned to our stake to go pick pears in Medford – which we had planned on.  Jenna had even had a friend stay the night so that we could take her with us. But as I was talking with the RS president last night, she said everything had been picked clean except for the tops.  Thus the only jobs available was to climb ladders.  Neither Roland nor I are in condition to climb ladders and it didn’t seem to appeal to either Jenna or her friend either.

          Jenna does and always has liked to climb.  But there is a difference climbing with the use of both hands and standing on a latter with a heavy bag that only gets heavier as pears are loaded inside.  And then to climb back down again?  That would be the toughest part for me personally.

          I really doubt we could have gone this morning anyway.  Roland’s back has hit a snag – something triggered the pain he had felt earlier this year (see here).  We have been working on rebuilding the greenhouse with a new more solid frame (the last one assembled like tinker toys and broke during snowmegeden (see here for pictures) He got up during the night and slept in longer than I recall him sleeping in before.  I don’t think he could have driven us during the time we had planned nor could have I as it was too dark for me to see.

          I feel bad for not having served at the pear farm this year.

I Touched My Face

           The air has been so dry.  This is NOT why we moved to Oregon.  We had moved for the moisture.  Probably we should have moved closer to the ocean.  I know I would have enjoyed the temperature more.  I can’t say it was the dry air that caused the wax build up that enters my right ear.  Always the right ear, never the left.  The last time I had a wax build up was when we lived in West Valley.  Jenna was either in first or second grade, so it has been more than eight years.  I was told the blob of wax was the size of a pencil eraser.  I suspect it is now roughly the same size.  I use ear wax removal and hot water in the shower.  I think it is smaller, but not out completely.  It doesn’t hurt but is annoying especially at night when I feel the beating of my eardrum.  I don’t remember having experienced that before.

          I haven’t taken Jenna out to the blueberry farm this entire month.  Toward the end of July I would get stomach pains due to the heat.  And then she took her turn feeling crummy.  And then back to me.  Because of my distorted hearing I seem to have lost my balance – I often feel light-headed and dizzy.  Throw my left eye into the mix and I’ve really got problems.  Though Jenna had asked if I had pink eye I chalked it up to a sinus infection that I was certain would last longer than it seems to be doing.  Still have the eye pain but not as much.  Taking showers has been helpful.  Puts a bit of moisture back into my body, but not enough to sustain me throughout the day. 

          Jenna and I drink a lot of water.  I keep a bottle on my night stand.  Normally I don’t drink the entire bottle during the night.  There are a few times when I have refilled it during the night – or the wee morning hours rather. But the last two months my bottle has been empty or near empty by the time I get up for the day even if I had refilled it during the night.   

          I have tried really hard NOT to touch my face – even before COVID but when my mind is distorted I forget.  When there is pain on different parts of the face it is hard not to touch it.

Golf Clubs

 

 

           Apparently I did not include these pictures in any of my June posts of our trip to NY.  Randy had introduced us to golfing.  That is one sport he never seemed to bother with when we lived in Utah but when he moved to New York he realized that most of his co-workers viewed golf as an essential and so he learned the sport and purchased a set of clubs in order to fit in.

          One thing about Randy is he has always taken to activities like a duck to water.  Seriously.  I have yet to see any sport, craft, or interest that he is not good at immediately. I do have a few relatives that seem to thrive on golfing.  I don’t find it all that enjoyable myself.

         As I had previously mentioned New York had just gone into Phase 1 the week we arrived.  The golf course had not yet opened but the practice range was. Randy had taken us there to teach Jenna and I how to golf.  Later he took Roland who seemed to enjoy it enough to purchase a set of golf clubs at a second hand store a month after our return. 

          The golf course in our area is not open for sport however – at least not at this time.  Currently it is being used as a walking park in order to get people out but still maintaining social distancing.

          I’m happy for Roland’s investment.  I hope that he will get  him out of the house – a bit of exercise.  Perhaps he can make some new friends and talk business with someone else other than me.

Two Dishes

           I must have at least a dozen posts in which I mention that I really don’t enjoy cooking.  Roland does.  If he was not in my life and it was only Jenna and me – well, we’d be living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk.  I can follow a recipe, but cooking requires heat.  I hate the heat.

          Most of the time I have cooked dinner Roland doesn’t like it.  It surprises me that there are two things he does request of me.  Two Separate dishes: Potato salad and Ham chowder.  Neither which I have a recipe for but have done from memory.

          My mom was not the greatest cook – but then I’ve never had a sophisticated pallet and so never saw my mom as a lousy cook.  She wasn’t lousy.  Her food was edible, but it was mostly survival food – at least compared to Roland’s. I never thought of mom’s food as bland until after I was married.

          I remember seeing seasonings in the cupboards though not a lot.  I don’t think she seasoned or even salted her food. We had family staples such as spaghetti, hamburger-rice casserole, and ham chowder for instance.  She seemed to do a lot more cooking when Patrick and I were younger than she had after Corey and Kayla had come along.  

          I remember mom teaching Patrick and I how to make different foods.  We each made a loaf of French bread as she demonstrated.  I also remember her teaching me ham chowder.  She said you start with a rue – a flour and butter base.  You make a ball and slowly add canned milk and stir it in to keep it thickened.  When I told Roland that was how you start, he didn’t know what a “rue” was.  I don’t know if that was the word my mom told me.  The spelling that I used does not have a definition for cooking thickener. 

               [The correct spelling is R-O-U-X.  I now understand why I couldn't find it.]

          I have made potato salad more than I have ham chowder.  It has mostly been spontaneous because the potatoes need to be used up.  I prefer olives in my potato salad though olives have not always been available at the time Roland wants me to make potato salad.  Not everybody likes olives.  I know my youngest daughter-in-law does not.

            Roland’s latest request was for ham chowder.  I personally think it’s too hot for soups or hot chocolate. Nonetheless I made chowder yesterday.  I think it is one of the better ones I have ever made.

My Theme Song Right Now

 

I was introduced to the Holderness family early in the pandemic.  I love most of the parodies that I have seen.  As of now I relate to this one the most:

No, Not the Toilet!

Before we were given the stay-at-home order, Roland and I had ordered some tiles to finish the kitchen and change out the carpet in the bathrooms.  We had asked about toilet removal and were told that the contractors worked together and NOTHING would stop the production.  I think maybe COVID could . . .

 

picture from https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/100-home-repairs-you-can-do-yourself

We do have two bathrooms and so would be able to use the one that wasn’t being worked on.  Still it seemed unpredictable.  We didn’t feel good about it.  Especially after Lowes called to say they had received half the order and they would deliver it.  Um . . . no.  We want the whole order.  None of this waiting around for what MIGHT or MIGHT NOT happen.  We cancelled the order and said we would try again once COVID had ended (because by that time the Stay-at-home order had gone into effect – and though we would have liked to support the employment of those in need of finances seriously how would the crew be able to social distance in our bathroom?  Our entire house isn’t that big.)

It seemed a good time for road construction and many home projects but NOT the toilet.  I see pictures that have been posted by friends who grew gardens and added rooms and decks and landscape and what have you.  But every time I see a toilet I cringe thinking of all the time we may have waited for delivery and installation and possibly been without a second toilet – never mind the toilet paper.

 Meanwhile we purchased a new stove and gas line.  If we have another snowmegeden in which the electricity goes out again, we would like a back up so that we don’t freeze.  Plus the range that came with the house had crooked burners and only two of them worked.  I like our new stove and Roland LOVES it.  Before Covid we had a new roof put in and just added a front deck (which also needed to be replaced) and so the tiles have moved further down the list of purchases to make.  But perhaps by the time COVID does end for real we can move it back to the top.

Parable of the Sower

 

Today was supposed to be ward conference. 

Though we were initially scheduled to return on July 26

Circumstances have changed and we have not

Been able to attend

 

Last night the stake secretary provided a message

A virtual recording which I watched this morning.

It was only six and a half minutes long.

Short but powerful.

 

The message was on the parable of the Sower and

Compared this time to the seeds represented and

Which ones we will choose to be

You can listen and watch to this parable here

HOPE

 We all need Hope

Hope that we can attend church

without worry about coming in

contact or spreading coronavirus

Hope that schools will be

in session as they were before

where our children can play together

without Plexiglas dividers and social distancing

Hope that one day we will be able

to go out in public without having

to wear a mask

 

Hope that we can learn from history

and not erase anything and

everything we might find offensive 

so that we may learn

Hope that we can provide for our families

and not have to choose between

having to leave the house in order to provide

or staying home in order to keep safe

Hope that all of us will learn that we

are not really free if we are not safe

Hope that we will not have to watch

loved ones stumble and fall.

 

Hope that the persecutions

and judgement may stop

Hope that we may return

to our better selves.

                                                               kfr

Athletes: Is the Sacrifice Really Worth it?

I hear different stories about athletics – which sports are open, which ones should be open, which ones should not open . . . there are athletes who would like to return to playing – they’re bored!  They miss playing.  Some have returned but without an audience – but they are still at risk in my opinion.

Since the pandemic started I have heard “I am not going to hole up for the rest of my life – I am not going to die hiding out . . .  If I am going to go anyway, I’m going to be doing something I love . . . “  But is it worth it really?  Getting the cornavirus will not mean you will die – at least not right away.  You could be in the hospital for two weeks to six months and not be allowed visitation.  You may show no symptoms whatsoever.  You may be hooked up to oxygen for the rest of your life.  Is it worth the gamble to play one last game of football or golf?

Was getting the modeling job for Lucky Strikes worth throat cancer for Janet Sackman? (see here) Was receiving that final text really worth taking your eyes off the road?  How about that one last drink that put you behind bars because your reflexes wouldn’t allow you to break before killing someone? 

                   healthy lunge                                                                         Covid infected lung                                          

I wonder how the athlete, movie star, or any other celebrity will react when it happens to them.  Was the risk worth it?

Stinky Hand Sanitizers

I remember my brother scouring the city for hand sanitizer back in April.  He finally managed to get some (I don’t know if it was an online order or how he obtained it –it was not a brand he recognized) but he said it had a really foul odor that came with it. I was reminded of this when we were in New York and my daughter-in-law had offered me some sanitizer “if I could stand the smell”  I can’t smell and so do not know how stinky it was/is.

          I was watching the news yesterday and learned that there were far too many hand sanitizers on the market which are harmful to the body.  It made me question the safety of the sanitizer that different family members had purchased.  Check the label.  Stay safe.

For FDA updates see here.

Check Your Sources People

                Yesterday I shared a memory on facebook.  The photo was dated 2003 and therefore my memory was seventeen years old.  My first thought was:  Holy Cow!  I didn’t believe I had been on facebook that long.  I hadn’t.  Six hours after I shared the post I went back to it.  Nevermind that facebook hadn’t existed yet (or at least to the public) but the baby in the photo wasn’t even born until the following year that the post was dated.  I had not joined facebook until a few years before we moved to West Valley.  I had joined just before Jenna turned five.  The dates were wrong.

 

           This morning I shared the picture of the fish wearing a mask (from this post) with a reminder that in addition to checking spelling and grammar it is also important that we check references.  

I had obviously not checked.  So often fires are created on social media and spread information that may be true or may only contain truth.  There’s a difference.  My name, for instance, is NOT LaTiesha Cannon Romaro.  If you examine the photo you will find my real identity. 

 

Check your sources. Share truth.

Now It Seems So Final

         I’ve seen memory posts about walking Jenna to preschool and kindergarten – some comments about those who cried when they had to leave their child.  I didn’t cry when we lived in Kearns.  I did when we moved to West Valley.  Jenna was still in kindergarten in a school that wasn’t academically challenging.  She would cry as we walked to the bus stop and I would cry when I turned around to come home.

          Rather than torture us both by returning her to that elementary school I put her in a dual immersion program (here).  I cried again when she started sixth grade in Oregon and no longer a part of dual immersion.  This year it doesn’t seem to matter if she stayed with dual immersion or not. This year has been tough.

          I may have mentioned that I signed her up for online schooling which will start by the end of this month. She would rather be with her friends – but she won’t be happy with the new environment that is part of the school curriculum.   When the schools closed in March and she had online learning she really wasn’t challenged.  I’m sure the district did the best they could with the resources they had – working harder than when the students were in school.  I think Oregon Charter Academy will be a better fit for her at this time.

          Anyway we were contacted yesterday to submit her transcript.  The person I had to talk to was out of the office and so I left a message and said I would email her the request.  I told her how much I have enjoyed the district but with this odd year I think it best not to continue though the online learning they have available may be better than what was offered in April and May – but I don’t know.  I just felt this other option was the way to go.

          She returned my email with a reply for my kind words and Jenna’s transcript which I forwarded to the principal of Oregon Charter Academy. There are still tears in my eyes as I write this as it feels so permanent.  She has two years left.  I don’t know if she’ll return to South Umpqua or not.  And it hurts.

Do You Pray About Direction on Who to Vote for?

                In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are taught that we existed before we came to earth.  Our Heavenly Father had presented a plan for each of us to experience life on earth.  Lucifer wanted to represent each of us in returning us home safely.  He wanted to make heaven great again.  He also wanted all of the glory.  Jehovah said he thought it would be better if we made our own choices and exercised our free agency.  2/3 of God’s children supported Jehovah’s plan while the other third didn’t want to make choices or think for themselves.  They weren’t Republicans necessarily because the Republican Party did not exist at that time (listen here)

                I find it interesting that the ones who followed Jesus wanted to make choices and exercise a free agency that we probably didn’t even understand – just as many Trump supporters don’t seem to understand now.  They read his tweets and take his words as golden truth but fail to actually listen to the man.  Seriously.  How could a person watch him speak and genuinely believe he knows what he’s talking about? HE DOESN’T!  He is such an overgrown self-centered child! 

  

                When I read through posts of others who seem to worship and idolize him I just shake my head with disbelief. Some of these are people I love.  I can’t understand the method to their madness. I often wonder if that is how I felt towards my brothers and sisters who decided to follow Satan.  On June 23 I wrote this post which has been in my draft box ever since.

              I don’t know which is worse, the coronavirus or the stupidity of some individuals who seem to make it hard for everybody else.  I heard on the news that Paris and Spain (wasn’t France and Spain or Paris and Madrid.  Two different sources – one using the capital and the other mentioned by country) have just barely gone into phase one.  Now these are other countries that had the virus before the US did.  Why did the United States feel superior to open in phases long before countries who were hit before?  Too many believing the numbers given are a hoax.  There is no way that US would have more cases than China.  I don’t know how accurate the numbers are in China, but it doesn’t surprise me that we have more cases.  It has always been my opinion that we opened too soon, and now cases are skyrocketing because some citizens couldn’t wait.

            That is just the tip of the surface.  Today I heard Trevor Noah comment on the politics of wearing the mask.  Certainly there are drawbacks to wearing them, but come on!  Show some respect for those you may come in contact with.  I don’t know anybody who likes wearing them, but they are required in many public places and should be.  Get over yourselves already! I will wear a mask just to offend Trump and his supporters.  

                He evidently fired his old campaign manager and has seemed to be following the counsel of his new one – except for when he is on Twitter and then it is free domain.  What an idiot.  What kind of president has so much free time he is willing to tweet so often that running a country is not a priority – especially during the cornonavirus.  But hey, there’s an election coming up so he will act a certain way in front of the cameras – or try to anyway.  He wants to remain president until the virus is gone.  No, no, please.  The last three years were tough enough but throwing COVID into the mix this year has been torute on our nation (or rather our reaction has)

                George Washington is the only president who won the 100% of the votes.  His party?  Democratic Republican.  Democrats have always been around.  The opposing party were Federalists, Wigs, Republicans.  I wonder if Trump has tarnished the Republican name enough that it will be changed to something else.  And why not?  We are, afterall, living in a time that we want to either deny or erase history.  Perhaps it will go away if all of the reminders are gone.

                I can’t believe how many people vote for a candidate based on party.  Oh, please.  Just because your family has voted that way for the last four generations doesn’t make it set in stone that you have to. 

 Fortunately there are those wise enough to see that it really is time for a change.

                So many Trump supporters repost without checking facts.  They make themselves seem uneducated and ignorant when they don’t check resources, spelling, or grammatical errors.

I have compared Trump to Satan and to Hitler

Why would any of us be willing to follow any of them?  We need leaders NOT dicatators or selfish babies (see here).  Think about it, make a decision and pray about who you think you want to vote for.  As I mentioned four years ago there are third party options.  Just be wise.

Three Little Pigs

        I think the couple who live behind us would like to be homesteaders. Their property is not big enough for a huge amount of livestock though they have attempted and add to the variety of animals which feature turkeys, chickens, roosters, pigs and dogs.  This morning I was woken up by the barnyard sounds (though there is no barn) ones that I couldn’t even identify.  I have since decided that it was the grunting sounds of the piglets that woke me up.

        It was quite an eventful morning. Roland had purchased 180 pounds of sand to plug up the hole where the water leaks into our yard – though I don’t recall having seen it this year.  The last time we saw rain was June 29 – though I don’t count it as such because it was less than a hundredth of an inch.  We may see heavy rainfall perhaps even snow come October or November. Though we had purchased the sand last night the labor had to wait until this morning as it was too hot to work last night.

        So he hoisted the sand uphill, filled the hole and had Jenna whitewash the fence.  Just before he made his way downhill he and Jenna noticed that three piglets had escaped our neighbors yard as they were wandering in ours.  Okay, I can see how possibly the baby black one could have squeezed through the fence, but the other two?  All three of them ran downhill and decided to graze under our new front deck. 

        We’ve had livestock in our yard before.  Hens and turkeys mostly.  I think today was the first for mammels other than the dog who doesn’t even live there anymore. Jenna and I were each able to get a few pictures of the pigs as we chased them around – though not intentionally.  I never knew that pigs could move so fast nor run uphill.  But they can.  Piglets are quick as human children.

        I used some dry grass to entice to return to the back.  Only the spotted one was brave enough to come toward me – though I did eventually get the back one by his side.  The brown one seemed the most frightened and was too quick for me to capture him next to the shed or the car.

        We finally got the attention of our neighbors and they sent their oldest son to ride his bike to our house.  He climbed to the top of the hill where the pigs had miraculously gathered by the time he came.  His mom handed him a board to prop against the pigs so that they would be penned in the corner.  She then climbed over the fence and lifted the noisy things up and over the fence.  It was then I decided it was their squeals that had woken me up.

        I don’t guess the stairs would have worked like the one they cast over for the chickens.  

We don’t complain about the sounds or the refuge they somehow seem to get when exploring our yard.  I would rather deal with the noise and escapers than criminal activities with those who sell drugs, human trafficking, and of that nature.  I would rather hear the animals than deal with the human stupidity.  They seem like good neighbors.  I just think they should have more space than what they have.

        Well, that’s my Sunday morning thus far.  It’s been interesting.