Beneath the Wraps

         Denise and I didn’t always communicate.   She likes to use the map.   I like the GPS.   She had issues about trusting the GPS.   I can no longer navigate from a map without becoming nauseous.   I’ve just never seemed to be able to move forward while looking down. I don’t know why. The exception was when I was on my mission and did the navigation as my companions drove around.   But that was over 30 years ago.          Anyway, Denise and I had moments of oddities, but we never got on each other’s nerves to the point that we became emotionally upset about it.   I suppose she had every reason not to trust Siri.   After several hours on Highway 140, Siri seemed to be getting bored as she directed us to take the “unpaved road” First of all, really?   Second of all, there are no roads – unpaved or other except for Highway 140.   But the Garmin took...

It's been eleven days since I was able to post.  Since that time I have packed my life into several boxes and have made the move to Oregon.  What appeared to be a quaint little house is all the sudden feeling miles long as I unpack and move items from room to room and exhaust myself and poor Roland.  He brought his job with him and that is nice.  We are hooked up to the internet and cable.  I have several posts in my head.  Some ideas jotted on paper.  There is so much to write about and the work ahead seems so endless. Funny, before we moved into our rental, Roland wished to continue to look for a place to purchase.  But I want to experience Mayberry for a while.  I love the house.  I am pleased with all the shelfing space and number of outlets.  I can breathe.  But I am quite pooped.  And Jenna has been of little help.  She still has the attitude of life revolving around her.  She should be the center of atte...

I have at least four more post ideas.  But I need to continue packing. We will be moving in two weeks.  I hope I don't forget what it is I need/want to post. Any breaks I take will not be long enough - especially now that Jenna is off for the summer.

     Denise and I have taken pictures and some could very well go with my road trip posts, but I have to wait until I return home in order to retrieve them from the camera.      Denise likes to sleep in and stay until checkout.   Never in my life have I stayed at a hotel/motel/inn that long.   Get me back on the road as soon as there is enough light. Denise thought she woke me up when I was certain it was the other way around.   Roland called before she was dressed and she asked if he was asking us to get back on the road.   Well, yes.   And fortunately we did. We had breakfast in Winnamucca – which was very fortunate, as we did not hit the next town until four hours later.   The diner was crowded and it was a while before somebody had even taken our order.   I noticed the group (in the booth next to ours) left before their order even made it to the kitchen.   We probably weren’t even ...

The story of Noah teaches us that we need to be prepared.   It is drilled into us as boy scouts or members of the church – to always be prepared.   Sometimes we are.   Often we’re not.   And sometimes we think we are and then life takes us in a completely different direction – or else the answer doesn’t come as soon as we had hoped. My sister-in-law, Sunny, had had a calling to serve in the primary presidency at one point.   Once a month, each member of the presidency was asked to create a sharing time.   Now this was back before Pinterest or SugarDoodle .   Each month she would read and pray and study and pour out her heart and soul.   It always seemed to me that she wouldn’t receive revelation for her sharing time until Saturday night or the Sunday morning in which she needed to present the activity.   I thought that would drive me nuts.   And it does, but my last minute revelation or movement seems to be more about ...

         My mom had a Ford Escort – which seemed to be a good little car overall.   I don’t remember having had to take it to the mechanic on a regular basis.   It did have its little quirks, but nothing major.   Not that I’m aware of anyway.          Not that we ever wanted to, but we couldn’t drive over 70.   The car would shake and vibrate as if ready to explode. We learned that by accident when on a stretch of highway that seemed to have no traffic. I was often surprised when it didn’t fall apart on us.          When going to get gas, mom wanted someone with her. The small door that closes over the gas cap had to be opened from the car – but it would stick.   Having someone push open the door while someone pulled the lever behind the steering wheel made it easier than stretching one’s body while pulling the leve...

Dear Lucy and Heather,          I am sending two gifts that were made by your Grandma Kim.   I am sorry that you were unable to know her in the flesh.   She would have been thrilled about having granddaughters.   You appear to be the first in a long line of men – with your Grandpa Lynn being the baby of five boys and Grandma Kim having had four boys and no girls of her own.          Long before we celebrated Christmas in July, we used to go to Aunt Gertrude’s house each Christmas Eve to eat dinner and exchange gifts.   Aunt Gertrude told me that Aunt Lucy (who you may be named for?   - I know your middle name is after Aunt Gertrude) started the tradition several years before – though I do not remember having met Aunt Gertrude’s father or any of his sisters (Aunt Lucy being one of them)          After your Grandpa Lynn had h...

            I think I mentioned earlier how much Jenna would really like to do a yard sale.   And we have tons that we won’t be taking with us to Oregon.   But it has rained nearly every day since spring break.   Definitely every weekend.   Actually, it did not rain in our neighborhood today.   The weather was between cool and cold.             I’ve seen others setting up for yard sales last weekend and the weekend before.   It is awesomely nice weather – not too hot, not too cold – but unpredictable.   Wet.   I don’t know that it’s been worth the time and effort for people to have dragged product out into their yard only to drag it back in so it doesn’t get wet.             We never advertised.   I didn’t see the point.   Tony and Rochelle are moving in. ...

            Last night we had four college students spend the night as they travel from Vermont (where they go to school) to Oregon (where at least one of them lives)             We actually just met Sam, Simon, Julia and Jen last night when they arrived. Sam had made arrangements with Roland – although his mom had given him my number, I couldn’t seem to return his call from my phone.             I had somehow believed that we had plenty of sleeping bags.   I pulled out two sleeping bags from the shed – (it turned out that one of those was actually just a blanket) and one from Jenna’s room.   There was another that I couldn’t reach.   But Sam could.   He pulled it down with no problems.             While we were outside, he spotte...

My mom was a teenager in the 50’s at a time when the cinemas offered either beach pictures or lame science fiction.   Some of those science fiction movies indicated the possibility of man one day traveling to the moon.   Of course that was never going to happen.   Mom didn’t believe that traveling to the moon would be possible.   Yet almost two decades later (1969) Neil Armstrong was the first man to step foot on the moon on the moon.    The moon travel is just one of many realities that started out as science fiction.   The cast of Star Trek used cell phones long before they were introduced to planet earth. Before mom got dementia, she believed that it was possible for time travel to be invented.   I did not agree with her reasoning, but now I wonder. As mentioned before, I have been taking a family history class – more for Roland’s sake than my own.   We have been challenged to find a particular ancestor to find ancest...

Initially when we told the boys that we’d be moving, we asked Tony and Rochelle if they’d like to move in.   Not playing favorites – it’s just that the other two are already paying a lower rent than we’d be charging.   We won’t be making any money – we just can’t afford two mortgages (one in Oregon and one in Utah)      At first Tony said no.   He didn’t realize that what we had to offer was/is a bargain – until he shopped around on his own.   Two bedroom one bath apartments cost more than our three bedroom two bath house – and we’ve 3 times the room – plus a huge yard.        Our neighbor from across the street suggested putting missionaries in.   I thought that would be an awesome idea!   I asked our ward mission leader to look into it.   Meanwhile Tony has decided that he wants to stay here after all.   And he’s looking forward to it.   And actually so am I.   The extra inc...