A Very Short Post

The movie we had seen on Wednesday was The Art of Racing in the Rain.  Good movie.  Lot of symbolism and parallels – and I know I didn’t get it all.  Funny how it had rained that day. It was only drizzling when we had left the house.  But as we neared Roseburg, the rain fell more rapidly. I had left my phone for Jenna and wasn’t able to call my friend who teaches the water fitness class to tell her to come join us if nobody showed.  She said she had one student attend.

          Wish we would have had the rain this week.  Yesterday was 104.  That is 34 degrees warmer than it should be.  I preferred last week’s weather to this week’s forecast.  Wicked weather.

Wednesday

          Every third Wednesday the Roseburg cinema reserves a theatre for the senior members of the community to see a recent feature.  The theatre doors open at noon during school but at 9:00 am during summer.  Roland decided we would head to the theatre, return to the house after the movie ended, collect Jenna and go and see Crater Lake. 

Before the movie started there was the education and ticket drawing.  My ticket (or Roland’s ticket – I had them both) won a coupon for Lighthouse Bakery and Café which neither of us had been to or had even heard of for that matter. 

Crater Lake got cancelled as it was pouring.  I was more excited about the rain than my disappointment in seeing the lake again (neither Jenna nor Roland have ever seen it in person).  Roland had heard that admission to the park would be free on Sunday.  By the time church had ended, Roland just didn’t feel like making the trip.  Thus they still have not seen it.  I don’t think Jenna cares however.

          We had also planned on going to the farmers’ market.  I don’t know whether it got cancelled or not.  We forgot about it.  We’ll have to try again next week.  Jenna announced that the activity for young women’s had been cancelled but I believe it was made up for the following night.

          We played three rounds of Sequence before Roland excused himself to research some business whatever.  Jenna and I played one round of Scene It.

Changing the Yard

Roland had asked the missionaries if they could assist on Monday.  As they had other obligations that day, they came to help on Tuesday.  Unlike the missionaries who had assisted with Jenna’s fort twelve years ago, the elders who are currently serving this area wore their street clothes as they were bond to get dirty.

        Jenna was so excited when we came home from church one day and discovered a waterfall in the backyard. Roland had diverted the water to run across the yard and toward the water drain.

  After a year his diversion was wiped out somehow and the water would flood our driveway whenever it would rain hard. The reason Roland wanted assistance was to cut into the clay (that is what lies beneath the hill in our backyard.  It isn’t the kind of dirt designed for growing plants) and fill up the hole so that the water doesn’t come into the yard at all.  Thus he built a rough version of a beaver dam to plug up the hole.  I didn’t get any pictures as it is still a walk up the hill.

Three of Danny’s brothers came to assist on Thursday.  Jenna took several pictures of them laboring (the eldest of the three worked harder than the other two put together and so there are more pictures of him; I did not ask permission to share any photos and that is why I post with backs as opposed to faces)

Last Week

            I would rather spend time with family than on the computer.  Some weekends I rely on whatever posts may be in my draft folder and figured it would be the same during Roland’s stay-cation and so I decided I would write things down and hope that I would remember what it is I thought of to post.

            I misplaced the little spiraled notebook that I thought was in the car but cannot find it.  I ended up writing down thoughts in three notebooks and back of envelopes (whatever happened to be handy at the time).  Roland’s vacation started last Monday. 

He had gone out to clean up the yard.  The skies were overcast and the temperature was inviting.  I went out to assist while it was still nice – surprised that he was out there in the coolness as he tends to wait for the absolute hottest part of the day.

            We cleaned up the yard a bit.  He pulled down some decayed trees and we cut up a hose to fill our garbage can.  Amber wandered into the yard (I don’t know who the cat belongs to or if it even has a name, but I call it Amber because that is the color of her eyes) and he told me that we had one food left to give her.

            Roland is kind as he is thoughtful about feeding the birds and stray cats that come around.  We have purchased birdseed and cat food.  He is allergic to feathers and I have been allergic to cats.  The cat food box was empty and Roland told me to give the cat some milk.  I didn’t give it a lot.  I don’t think adult cats are supposed to have milk.  I think she’s somewhere between the adult and kitten stage.

            It was hot in the house or maybe just felt that way because it was in the upper 50’s outdoors and probably in the upper 60’s or 70’s inside.  I didn’t think turning the air conditioner would be useful but Roland insisted.  So we left the air on so that it would be cool when we went back inside.

            I don’t know how long we worked before Roland decided to call it quits.  We went inside and watched TV.  I started to play games on a kindle I had inherited from a friend who had upgraded.  Thus far I have only used it to play games.

            Roland surprised me when he offered to play some board games with me.  I think we were playing Scrabble when Jenna returned. 

Homographs M-W

A mat is a tangle or snarl in one’s hair.  But a mat is also a small rug.

          I saw Matt’s matted hair when he stood on the mat.

Mum is a type of flower.  Mum is a name I might call my mother.  When you are saying, “mum’s the word” to someone, you are asking to keep a secret.

          My mum is allergic to mums.  But mum’s the word.

A pool is a place to swim.  A pool table is a game table with cue sticks and balls.  A pool of money is generally a collection of money for a charity or a bet.

          Let’s pool our money together to purchase a pool table to use for the lifeguards to use when they are taking a break from the public pool.

To pry something means to use a crowbar or other device to assist in lifting something.  Pry can also mean eavesdropping or snooping.

          He was caught prying (or watching) someone trying to pry open a box.

A pupil is the black circle in the center of one’s eye.  Pupil is also another name for student.

          I heard the pupil had to have his pupils dilated.

Spring is a season that brings flowers, blossoms, pollen and new growth.  It also brings on many allergies for many people.  A spring is a coiled wire used to make a kind of bounce.

To steep tea means to let the bag sit in the water for a while in order to get more flavor.  A steep road is one that goes up on an angle.  Steep prices are the result of doctor bills among others.

To swab a deck means to mop or clean it.  A swab is a stick with two small cotton balls fastened at each end.  A swab is generally used to clean ears but can also be used to dab paint.

          To swab a deck with a cotton swab would take a very long time.

There are many trains.  1) a bunch of cars hooked up to a locomotive and use a rail for transportation; 2) teach; 3) a long (and unnecessary) extended part of a bridal gown that makes it somehow fancier.

Wind is a homophone with two pronunciations. The "i" is short when saying the word that means air blowing but "i" is long when referring to an action of turning a key in order to make something move (like this toy mouse)

"

Homographs B-L

I see a bat fly overhead.  I can’t seem to swat it with my baseball bat.

          A bat is a mamel but also an instrument used to hit a ball.

I saw the baseball batter lick the batter from the bowl.

          A batter is a person who hits the ball while batter is a raw mixture of ingredients that may be turned into cookies or cake.

A box is a kind of container but to box is to punch someone.

I’ll need that box for boxing these boxing gloves.

I need a dab of paint in order to finish my picture of you dabbing.

          A dab is a tiny bit but a dab is a movement sometimes associated with hiphop (see here)

          A gag is a short joke.  To gag gives the appearance of  one starting to vomit.

          Foil is a kind of wrap associated with food.  To foil is to prevent – like Snidely Whiplash being “foiled again”.

          An iris is a flower.  Iris is the colored part of the eye.

          A lap is a segment.  A lap is a place to sit.  Animals drink by lapping their tongues. 

After running six laps, I asked if I could sit in your lap and rest a while. I would rather drink water out of a glass than lap it up from a bowl

When I say a light went on in my head, I mean I have an idea or I have figured something out. 

Light also means weight that is opposite of heavy.  For example, an elephant is very heavy, but feathers are light.

           Light also refers to a shade or hue of a color. 

I have a lot of books to return to the library; I hope the parking lot isn’t full.

A lot implies many but a lot is also a piece of land.

I can throw a line out into the water and hope I catch a fish.  I can say a line in a school play.  I can draw a straight line with the assistance of a ruler.

The ruler that I use to measure a line is not the same as a ruler of a country.

What's Beneath?

I remember when we decided to take down the paneling to bring more light into the Kearns house.

Beneath the dark paneling was a mural of a corn field.  What had possessed somebody to put that there in the first place?

When Richard and took the boys to work on a house he had purchased to flip, our youngest found some savings bonds hidden beneath the floor.

We can hide beneath the covers or find other treasures beneath the bedding (remote controls for instance).  Treasures can be found beneath so many surfaces. I have discovered treasures beneath my seat or beneath that pile of rubble in my closet.

I have discovered autumn leaves trapped beneath soggy snow.  Can you find what’s beneath the ocean’s surface?  Do you associate with all kinds of people or do you feel there are some that are beneath your level?

We have had people crawl beneath our house before to install cable, check for leaks, and fix the flooring from beneath.

There are pipes beneath my house which carry water to and from where I need it to.  Some areas have started using a system in which the power lines are beneath the ground instead of overhead.

When Sunny got married, she dressed her bridesmaids in pink taffeta. I felt like I had billow pads beneath my arm pits.

Sometimes I wear my swim suit beneath my clothes. 

Often my socks slide off my ankles and get trapped beneath my feet in whatever shoes or boots I’m wearing.  I can often hide things beneath my coat.

When you are canning, you need to turn the jar upside down to make sure that there is no air between the lid and your food product.

Sometimes I will try to hide my laughter when I think that something is funny but I know it’s not an appropriate time to laugh (like at church, for instance)

My blog is called Beneath the Wraps.