Orange and Flaming Red continues

        For those of my readers who are unfamiliar with baptisms for the dead, this site will be helpful information 

        I was asked to join a group of ward members to go down to Medford Temple with our newest member.  I had gone with the youth a few times but had never physically been in the font since I had lived in Utah.

        I had ridden in the car with our former RS president and our newest member.  On our way down the car encountered something – though none of us seemed to know what it was.  It felt like a pothole.  Our driver continued driving hoping to make it to the next exit.  Unfortunately the tire lost all air and he didn’t wish to continue driving on the rim.  We were a quarter of a mile from the rest area.

        Fortunately the tire was on the passenger’s side and he managed to remove the burnt mangled rubber that had once been a tire and replace it with a donut.  That is a few many miles to be driving on a donut!  But we made it to the temple when all the others arrived. 

        I hadn’t taken my “Wendy” hair into consideration as I entered the font.  It wasn’t until I removed a towel from around me that I saw large orange splotches and was mortified.  I had orange on my white clothes.  All the while my hair is dripping like carrot juice all over the floor.  Oh, gosh.  I remember only one time when my hair bled after I had colored it.  What was happening?  Ahhhhhhhh!

        This morning I took a shower and realized I had never added the conditioner to my hair after it had been dyed.  Perhaps if I had there would have not been the problem of bleeding out and becoming even more flaming red.

        When I exited the car (a different car than the one I had gone down in) Jaime was on the porch laughing.  I asked, “It’s my hair, isn’t it?”  YUP.  I’d take a picture, but the photo really doesn’t do it justice.

I’d Rather Have it Red Like Wendy’s than Wilma Flintstone’s Color

         The other day I went to the hair salon to get my hair cut and colored.  I had  made an appointment for 8:00 but had forgotten I had made it for that time and did not show up until 9:00.  I think the stylist was mad – which she had reason to be.  I was upset with myself – and here I’ve been taking this Prevagen (which by the way does not seem to be working; at two dollars a pill, I would think my mind would have cleared that first day). 

        She said she’d color my hair and reset the appointment for my haircut.  But it was the cut I needed more than the coloring. I had purchased only one bottle of hair coloring and was willing to try it by myself – but with less hair.  She agreed to cut me and commented on the thickness and length of my hair.  She then read the directions of the hair dye I had purchased and proceeded to get it ready to add to my head.  I was a bit concerned when the shaken up formula bore a strong resemblance to that of carrot juice.  I didn’t want my hair that color.

        I’m okay with my white hair – I really am.  I had it white the entire time I subbed at the school district but after the “Stay at Home” order was given, Richard and Jaime begged me to change the color and so I did.  I often use a different shade of red depending on what my choices are.  When living in small town America there are often limitations to one’s options of brand or selection.

        The dye did darken I’m happy to say – but still nowhere near the color on the box.  Instead of orange hair like Lucille Ball or Wilma Flintstone, it came out more of an unnatural red sort of resembling the Wendy’s icon.  That is what happened with my hair at the end of March, but instead of orange-turning-red, it came out purple-turned-maroon.  I think it was  supposed to be the same color in each case – though the picture on the box was closer to purple/maroon than it was to anything that resembled the color of flames.

        Yesterday morning all three of us went to the pool.  Richard had decided that he wanted to go to Costco right afterwards and so I packed my clothes (which I normally don’t do – I just wait until I return home to change) and had a problem removing my suit.  As I was getting dressed, I realized I had forgotten my pants and wrapped a towel around myself.  I presented Richard with a few choices: He could continue to Costco and I could wait in the car.  He could take me home and drop me off.  He could take me home and wait for me to change.  If, by chance, Vinny de Paul’s was open, he could stop off and purchase something he thought would fit.  The problem is he and Jaime never seem to put size into consideration.  She does know me better than Richard does and so I sent the both of them in and waited in the car.

        I was near enough the window that I saw them holding up items for purchase.  Apparently they both missed the expression on my face.  Richard held up a pair of red sweatpants (though darker than my hair) while Jaime held up a blue paisley-printed skirt.  It looked like something I would wear – but not with a printed tee that said “Barn in the USA”.  When they returned to the car, I told Richard he was not allowed to move the car until I had on said item.  I started with the pants which were not sweatpants but more like pajama bottoms.  They were marked 2X.  2X for who? 2X should be a size indicating you may be a little paunch around the middle.  Not a tall and somewhat thin person.  There is no way I was getting that thing over my gut.  I ended up wearing the skirt. I felt l looked ready to go to Walmart. 

       It didn’t look as terrible as I imagined.  (I am NOT a Trump supporter - though I have seen many that do seem to have that "Walmart" mentality;  I do kind of look like one of those) Not that anybody was looking.  My flaming hair received more stares than anything.  Richard and Jaime are the ones that have to look at it and both seem happy with it.  I don’t dislike it but I haven’t learned to love it either.  I am happy to have it all evenly distributed unlike I’ve been doing on my own (as I can’t see behind my head) and it does feel so much better.  So that’s a plus.

       

This is the Weather That Brought Us Here – If Only it Would Last

         I didn’t want to jinx things by saying something sooner but the news this morning said we can expect a warmer hot forecast next week. And surely by the end of the month.  After all what is a Myrtle Creek summer fest without scorching temperatures?

The weather and elements have awesome for about two or three weeks.  June had up and down temperatures but seemed quite pleasant for the most part.  Mornings are always cold and then it cools off at night.  I don’t even think it hit the 70s yesterday.  That was nice.  The rain isn’t so bad.  Better than the blazing sun.

I honestly don’t remember the low temperatures this late in the year.  When I looked at the map there were only seven fires in the entire state.  None up and down I5.  I wish it would stay that way.  I wish the dark skies would always be due to moisture and never smoke.  I wish to breathe in the clean air always.  I LOVE the current weather we’ve been given and wish it would continue to linger ALWAYS.

Our Generator is so LOUD

         I don’t know why I didn’t post these pictures before.  Four months after snowmagedden Richard ordered a backup generator that would work on its own rather than our having to “jump start” every eight hours.  Though it had been ordered in August of 2019 it wasn’t delivered to us until October.  It had been left next to the carport as the equipment for unloading was too tall to fit under the carport.  It took Jaime, Richard and I two days to push it from the carport entrance to where it sits today.

 

         Evidently there was some kind of vehicle crash that caused the power to go out sometime last night.  When I checked early this morning there were over 300 (about a tenth of MC population) but the number continued to go down and this was about 5:30 this morning:

I would have not known except I heard the generator.  I’m certain the whole neighborhood can hear our generator as it is loud – but working.  And that is nice to have that.

Discover a Reason

        I just read my brother’s latest post in which he mentions paying fees towards a park that he never uses.  It is annoying paying fees for something in which you don’t feel a part.  For example there are many paying taxes for schools when they have no children.  Those who reside in Myrtle Creek pay taxes on a small airport.  I remember a man complaining about it. At the time I didn’t even realize there was an airport in Myrtle Creek.  And though it’s true that no commercial planes will ever land here, and I will never personally train to fly, I do reap benefits of having an airport so close to my house as I had mentioned in this post.

        My brother took a picture of himself at the park – I don’t know from the photo how big the park is or if there is a playground or walking trail available.  If so, I would think that it has the potential of being a good source of giving children or walkers a place away from traffic – more importantly a place away from mischief.  If the park didn’t exist, what would become of those who attend?  I have been to Las Vegas.  There is no way on God’s green earth that I would ever think of driving there!  I might not even feel safe as a pedestrian.  But I would be willing to take a stroll in the park.

        There are still a handful of children who can have fun without electronics.  I would rather have them playing at a designated playground than wandering in my yard out of curiosity.  I’m not saying having the park there will protect them from acts of crime, but think about it.  There is a reason.  Perhaps it isn’t as popular as it was when it was initially proposed . . . but still . . . just a thought really.

        Some drivers have complained about traffic lights and sharing the road with buses or trains or trolleys or whatever.  And yet, what if we didn’t have them?  How much heavier the traffic or more accidents as suggested in this post?

        If we didn’t have an airport in Myrtle Creek, where would the helicopters park during fire season? The heat gets unreal in the summertime – but not as bad as Las Vegas.  I have suggested to Steven several times that he and Isaias should move to Ashland.  I am certain that both could get jobs there and he would be more comfortable than in Vegas – though I don’t know if Isaias would feel the same way.  He would rather do the city driving than the country.  I’m sure he’d find his niche though.

I Miss My Flip Phone!

              There are so many things I miss about my flip phone.  No accidental butt dials.  Not that I can actually butt dial as my touch screen is so LARGE that it will NOT fit into a human pocket.  Often it is too big for the provided pocket that comes with totes especially designed for the cell phone.  NOT my cell phone.

         My last phone was an Easyfone which totally lives up to its name.  Turn it on and it is ready to go.  No waiting for the forces of nature to connect to cyberspace even though I don’t have all the so called cool features as apps and the internet.  Unwanted ads.  I already get that through texting – Thank you very much.  Never got the ads through my cell phone – not even Trump’s important message that went out to most cell phone owners.  Not me.  It was great.

        I did get the Amber Alerts – and the ones sent out of Oregon and not Utah (even though I still have a Utah area code).  I seriously thought about changing to an Oregon number – back in 2020 when I went through NOT ONE but THREE different cell phones.  THREE!!! Give me a break.  Initially I thought I’d just wait until the pandemic was/is over – though good I didn’t – as I would have been without for two years now. 

        My Easyfone still works – just no service with my current carrier – but that could change again.  Not looking to do that anytime soon.  But you never know.  The touch screen takes much more awesome pictures than does the Easyfone.  But then again – I use my phone for a phone and not a camera – but as I have that added feature, why not.  Doesn’t zoom in as great as my camera does – and my camera is easier to carry than the brick I call a cell phone (or is it the other way around?) and everybody in the neighborhood knows when I am taking a picture as it has the same click as those old time cameras – invented long before I was.   

        And let us not forget my skinny fingers turning into the size of hotdogs each time I try to press a button.  (Swipe a button?) I was never frustrated by the cell phone.  Time to stop my griping.  I need to get ready to go to the pool.

What is Your Worth?

        We have contacted landscapers throughout the years but have never been able to afford the asking price.  The last bid was at 8,000.  Uh, that’s twice the amount I was willing to go – though I thought it was still too high.  Since then Richard has been watching DYI videos on what we can do. 

        While we were watching the DYI landscape videos, we heard our censors go off to indicate that perhaps there was more presence than just the turkey in our yard. Two youth were at the door announcing that they were willing to do some landscaping work.  I let Richard know.  He ended up hiring the kid who said he would replace our pipe hose for 50 dollars.  That’s a lot of work for only 50 dollars – but Richard accepted his offer.  No written contract.  No credentials.  The kid is a high school drop-out.  But he did it.

        He weed wacked the hill in the back and offered Richard a hundred dollars to cut out beds so we can plant.  Richard told him he would not want to do it for a 100 but perhaps 100 per quarter and divided the land.  It’s been quite intensive labor – probably more than the kid had bargained for.  Richard has given him a few advances as we really are getting our money’s worth.  Perhaps Richard ought to offer more incentive - like twice the amount if you can get the project done by a certain date. 

        Thus far the kid has labored in our yard each day, but the amount of time seems to lessen each day.  He’s not what I would call dependable.  Fortunately we are paying him by the project and not by the hour.

        Richard had told Don (not his real name) to take Sunday off as he did not want to be responsible for breaking the Sabbath.  Only Don does not share our same standards and worked while we were at Church and took the day off on Monday.  On Monday Richard told Jaime and I to help him move rocks to cover the pipe. 

I hoped that Google would not come by to take pictures while I was bending over.

        I don’t know how often Google updates their maps and residential sites.  When we first moved into the house we currently live, I remember looking up our WV address on Google and seeing my neighbor bent over in her yard.  It reminded me of a yard decoration that some people might have in their yards.

They have updated the WV location since, but the address we have now has not been updated in the last six years at least as the house is white with blue trim and we have changed that to green trim.

        I remember taking a break and sitting down to create this post.  I was so tired that I couldn’t even think.  I ended up going to bed majorly early (like 6:00) and haven’t made the effort to even start the post until yesterday and it was only a start.  I knew that I would not get through everything I had at least had the sense to brainstorm on Monday.

        I don’t know what happened on Tuesday. I had a busier schedule today than on Tuesday but still found the time to get the majority of this post written – hoping I’d be able to proof read and add pictures today.  So there you go.  A half baked update on my life right now.