Building Empires with Dishes and Other Chores

           My mom loved to iron when she was a girl.  She grew up in a day before permanent press and I was still in school when the iron didn’t seem so important as during the years prior.  

I don’t know why my mom loved ironing – although it had gone from “love” to “I don’t mind” over the years.  I loathe ironing.  Really HATE it in fact.  I always end up burning myself.  Whatever I’m ironing ends up with at least two creases where they needn’t be.  Other than the ironing part, I don’t mind laundry – sorting, washing, drying and folding. I don’t especially enjoy putting clothes away. 

            When I was younger my mom taught Patrick and I how to do the “dishing” chore.  We first learned to dry and then put away and then she taught us how to wash by hand and finally unloading and loading the dishwasher.  I seemed to make dishes a bigger chore for my mom before I learned the “put away” step.  Instead of grouping dishes together I would create elaborate displays – often running out of table room before my masterpiece had finished.  NOBODY liked putting dishes away after I had dried them. 

certainly not the greatest picture but to provide a visual 
-though not as elaborate as my from childhood

            My least favorite chore is vacuuming or sweeping the floor.  They don’t call it “chore” for nothing.  Vacuum refuses to suck or gets clogged up.  There is always a wrestling match involved.  The vacuum frustrates me.  It seems the heavier they are the better they are at doing their job.  And that wears me out.

Sweeping into the dustpan – forget it.  There is always a trail.  ALWAYS.  And after I mop I have loosened up even more stuff to sweep.  At least mops, brooms and vacuum cleaners have evolved over the years.  

Even irons.  Oh, what a joy it must have been to be a pioneer!

Finding a Sense of Normality

       Every year the local elementary schools make ornaments to hang on the tree that is displayed downtown.  Each year they walk from the school to the downtown area where the tree is displayed so that they can hang the ornaments themselves or drop into a basket of ornaments to decorate higher than they can reach.  On the first Saturday of December there is a gathering.  There is music and free hot chocolate.  And then there is the lighting of the tree. 

Jenna took this at main street and second
avenue entrance to park (closed off in Dec)

      This year Jenna and I saw decorations carted out as some contributed to decorating the town.  

Jenna took this one yesterday.  So foggy this morning
that only one strand of snowflakes could be seen

The tree was lit without all the hoopla that it has seen in years past.  Only lights adorn the tree as there are no ornaments. Students have not returned to school since they left for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Everything in Oregon is online until further notice. 

       On Saturday we’ll have annual light parade (here and here). I don’t know where we’ll stand to view it and keep our distance at the same time.  It’s nice to have normality after a hard year of chaos. Trucker Light Parades are available on youtube as my video was removed here.

https://kval.com/news/local/christmas-truck-parade

Yesterday's Church Services

             When we are baptized we take upon ourselves the name of Christ – which means we will do our best to follow his example. The purpose of the sacrament is that it allows renewal of covenants made at baptism.  We have sacrament meetings so that we can partake of the bread and water – which in itself does not require the entire time we are at sacrament meeting but rather a fraction.

Every sacrament meeting which I have personally attended has had an opening song, opening prayer and announcements followed by a song for the sacrament, the sacramental prayers and the passing of the sacrament.  That is until yesterday.  Because the ward had decided to broadcast the meeting for those unable to attend in person, the sacrament was held at the end of the meeting.

Once a month the congregation are invited to bear their testimonies – express their gratitude for the gospel, share their faith, etc.  Yesterday just happened to be fast Sunday.  Although a mask has been required since our return to church, the person at the podium is allowed to remove while he/she speaks into the microphone.  The podium and mike are wiped down between each speaker. Both Jenna and I made it up to the stand.  I followed a youth who had not removed his mask but spoke loudly and clearly unlike me who often mumbles without the inconvenience of a mask – let alone behind one.

My testimony included that even though this year has had a number of inconveniences – it is a trial that has helped me relate the scriptures to our current situation and have a better understanding.  I also talked about the #givethanks and #lighttheworld programs which have added a positiveness to social media which has been greatly needed.  I concluded with how grateful I am that Heavenly Father has sent Jenna into our lives and how she always has a spark.

        Jenna followed me with her gratitude of being from a stable family as many of her friends have no clue what a stable family is.  To so many of them it’s an unforeseen myth.  The testimonies shared made for an awesome meeting.  After the closing prayer the camera was turned off those in the congregation stayed and prepared for sacrament meeting.  Jenna and I both stayed to meet with the missionaries for a correlation meeting.

    When I returned home, I read about another inspired testimony meeting that took place ten years ago.  So grateful for ward families.

I’m Not About to Cook Eggs for a Dog!

          My aunt had a Scottish Terrier when she was ten years old – or perhaps Heather was a family dog.  I barely remember the pet dog.  

I of course don't have a picture of Heather
but copied the photo from this site:

Grandma and Grandpa had planned to take my aunt to Europe and had asked mom and dad to house sit while they were gone. Taking care of Heather was part of the deal.

          My mom had not grown up with pets nor seemed fond of them.  Grandpa had left instructions and told my mom that Heather needed to have two fried eggs each morning.  Mom said there was no way she was going to fix eggs for a dog and so my dad made the eggs for Heather each morning during their stay.

          Whenever Roland cooks eggs for the dog I always think of that experience that mom had shared with me.  For the most part Bonnie will get scrambled eggs rather than fried eggs – except this morning.  I fried up the white part but the yolks were still runny when I put them in Bonnie’s bowl.

          As I have mentioned in previous posts, there is a slew of fowl who come into our yard and expect to get fed.  This morning they were following me around like I was a magnet and they were all made of steel.  

The owners told us that if we ever find eggs we can keep them – which we probably would have done anyway.  We did not know they were roosting right beneath our deck.  Roland sends Jenna out every morning to gather what she can find.  The first time she found 24 but because we didn’t know how old they were, Bonnie got them all.  

The two that Bonnie ate this morning were dropped before they made it into the house – hence why Bonnie got them instead of us.  We don’t give her eggs often. Roland purchased a bunch of chicken organs for Bonnie when he and Jenna were in Grants Pass last night.  Dogs enjoy eating hearts and livers.  They seem to give Bonnie energy.

LtWobo days 3 and 4

 Yesterday I posted this picture without a caption. 

My sister was the first to make a comment to which I replied:

 “That is Palmyra.  They don’t know where in the sacred grove was the first vision.  It’s not so much because of the first vision [that this picture brings peace] but because of the solitude I felt just being there."

 NY had just reopened and had barely started phase one.  Tours were done virtually - although we took a self guided tour before the missionaries showed.  There were more cars in the parking lot when we left than had arrived.  It was a nice peaceful feeling being in the grove by ourselves.

I provided more info in this post 

Today’s caption for this photo:

“When the angel comes to the shepherds to announce the child’s birth there is a light that shines through the darkness and changes the countenance of each shepherd (or shepherdess) and I can see a sign of “hope” in their faces.”

Transformational Landscapes

I have shared these two paintings before and although they look nothing alike I can always see the above in the dark even though I’m really looking at the one below

The top one hung in my mother’s home for as long as I can remember.  When I was younger  I had marred my mother’s picture when I took a pencil to it and scribbled in the water. 

 Corey had done a research about the painting which he mentions in this post.

If I had claimed the painting as my own, it would have been for sentimental reasons and nothing more.  I never disliked the painting, but it wasn’t my favorite and overtime I had become bored with it over the years and yet there was a comfortable familiararity about me that I really have missed the last seven or eight years.

Roland had purchased the seascape and fog one just over three years ago.  It hung above our bed for just over a year until after we purchased a bed frame.  Now it hangs to the side and I will often see shadows cast over the painting but instead of seeing the misty shore and sea I will see the painting that was in my mom’s house.  Isn’t that weird? 

 

Recycling Lights and Day 10

      Today’s Light of the World feature is to Highlight our hero on social media and just like last year (here) I think those who truly have Christ like attributes would NOT want to be showcased on social media.  Especially if they don’t see it in themselves.  Thus here is my post for day 10.

        Jenna had an assignment in which she was to write an essay answering different questions about a book character or a personal ancestor.  She chose the latter and we found an ancestor I knew I had stories for.  She needed more words than the three stories combined. As we couldn't answer all the questions accurately we fudged a bit on “what might have been” – it was quite a good essay, but not exact as we have no way of knowing if all the facts were actual – only that much of it was “based on truth”.

        When Jenna learned what Day 10 would be she excitedly asked if she could share her essay on facebook.  At first I told her that perhaps she shouldn’t as certain family members might take it as truth, but the more I thought about it I wondered how many would take the time to read it especially since "posting s story" seems more inviting to her than having to post it to the "wall".  

            I have many stories that I have shared throughout this blog. For the most part I have not posted them on facebook - mostly due to lenghth.  That’s too much information for facebook in my opinion.  And yet my brother would often write lengthy posts - especially during the time that his mother-in-law had COVID.  Those I would read - but sometimes would only scan.

        The experience that I am now sharing was from a different ancestor and another side than the one we used for Jenna. For facebook I will end up with only one paragraph that explains a journal but not much of a story line.  But I will share the story here and send a link to any of those that may be curious enough to want to read more:

        Just a brief history to hopefully make this easier to follow.  My great grandmother had four children.  Her only daughter married and had three children: my dad, his brother and his sister. Great grandma’s oldest son married and had six children (three boys and three girls).  The eldest of his children also had six children – five girls and a boy.  I will provide the names of four as I am about to mention the “story” and what unfolded as a result.

        My dad’s sister had four sons.  One I will refer to as Skyler. Dad’s cousin had the six children.  Her only son is Brett. He fits somewhat in the middle. The last time I remember seeing my second cousins was when Heidi was four to six years old.  I had forgotten that dad’s cousin had also given birth to twins after Heidi. I don’t believe Skyler knows about Brett or Heidi or any of the living relatives on that side.  But I could be wrong.  I don’t suppose it matters to the point of this story.

 

On March 29 this year was our second Sunday since the schools shut down and we were on a Stay-at-home order.  Skyler had shared a post about great grandma’s grandfather on a family facebook page.  He sent a Acrobatic link which included pages of Richard’s journal.  Richard is our 3^rd great grandfather. 

I did write a brief synopsis at receiving the journal (here) but did not mention what took place shortly after that. 

Brett has been active on ancestry and I thought he would be interested in Richard’s journal as well – though some of it is really hard to read.  At the time it did not appear that Brett had an account on facebook – though I have seen his name quite recently so must have created an account during the pandemic – I’m thinking in August.  I don’t know if he’s posted since then.

I am facebook friends with one of my dad’s cousins – Brett’s uncle, his mother’s brother.  I knew the names of three of his sisters but had no idea what their married names were and so went to their uncle’s account to see if I could possibly find them that way.  I saw that Heidi and I had two fb friends in common – her uncle and my daughter-in-law.  What?  How would my daughter-in-law know Heidi?  Turns out they had lived in an area that Heidi’s mom had grown up in and seemed to dislike.  I smile every time I think about her saying “Who wants to live in [place]” – and here she has at least two daughters living there.

 I messaged Heidi:

         “I understand that Randy and Carrie used to live in your ward.  I am Randy’s mother.  I am also your second cousin by way of your Grandpa J and my Grandma Helen.  I used to work with your mom at Snelgrove’s ice cream store.”

I mentioned that I’d been searching for her brother as I believed he might be the family historian and told her about Skyler sharing a piece of our 3^rd great grandpa’s journal and asked if they might have seen it.  Unfortunately I was unable to send the pfd. I asked Skyler if he could email it to her but do not know if Heidi was able to view it.  But I have shared other things with her – a photo of Randy and Carrie’s baby, a family photo of our grandparents, great grandparents, and her mom when she was three or four years old.  I also shared a photo I have shared on my blog before and our relationship with the Bird family (see here) 

          The point is I had made a connection with living relatives which to me is more important than lineage.  Not to take away from ancestry or those who thrive on it.  I have shared other discoveries on my blog as well as my lack of enthusiasm for family history in the past;  I do enjoy maintaining present and keeping records for posterity so they may hopefully have a better attitude toward genealogy than do I.

          Though I don't share the story of the ancestor himself,  I have briefly shared our lineage and the experience of connecting over social media.  I don't guess that's showcasing my ancestor - though he has become more than just a name to me. He evidently wrote some poetry in addition to his journal.  

not all the pages are this hard
to read but much of it is