Beneath the Wraps

                   When I was looking for shorts,                    you were there for me.                     You were longer than                    what I had wanted.  Oh,                    but you were so comfortable.                     When I had you on,                    I barely even knew     ...

          I LOVE the movie "Cool Runnings" - a movie that depicts marathon runner, Derice Bannock, going for his Olympic Dreams.  And when the obstacle of running into other track members knocks his dreams off course, he looks for an alternate way to take him to the Olympics.           He discovers an "has been" Olympic athlete who had received a metal for a bobsledding competition.  There's no snow in Jamaica, but Derice (with the help of the ex-Olympic star) forms a team of members who are willing to learn bobsledding so that they may enter the winter Olympics.           The show, of course, is probably only 5% accurate, if that.  The real "Derice" had very little training before the Olympics.  He said he saw a bobsled for the first time in September 1987 here and here            It doesn't make me appr...

         Several years ago, my brother Corey presented a patriotic program to the Relief Society of the ward we attended.   Great program.   One that I had tried to recreate – though it didn’t go as I had planned.          I have the original tape that Corey had made – somewhere.   I couldn’t find it and so had to recreate one.   He said he hadn’t saved the program and so I had to recreate that as well.   Rely upon my own research instead of his.   Though I believe I had it easier.   Today we have access to several sources on the Internet.   Corey used the card catalog and spent HOURS putting the program together.          I recorded music, though I didn’t like the quality (or lack thereof) of the recording as the volume changed with each song.   I had asked Corey if he and Joh could/would record songs for...

        I've always been  direction-ally  challenged - a feature I inherited from my mom, I'm sure.  In Salt Lake I actually did know which way was east, which way was south - but outside of Salt Lake?  I am ALWAYS turned around.  It seems that I have been even more turned around living in Myrtle Creek and Tri City.         Pacific Highway runs parellel to I5 - an interstate designed to run north and south - and does - for the most part.  Between exits 106 and 108 exists some really sharp curves - almost like traveling in a circle.  Those run east and west.  So Pacific Highway runs east and west.  I finally have that figured out after having lived here for over a year.         The weather is not near as hot as it was last year.  I like the cool temperatures of summer.  It's one of the reasons that we m...

        We have spent the weekend watching "Joseph" (with Paul Mercurio and Ben Kingsley) and "Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream coat" (starring Donny Osmond) and I was reminded of humorous stories related to theatre or inaccurate Bible portrayal.  Some of which I have shared on my blog already.                 The first Sunday in October of 2012 (the year I had started my blog)  I had select a children's from the BYU channel for Jenna to watch.  It was an animation from the old Testament about  Joseph and his brothers.           As she is watching the story of Joseph, Jenna had asked, “Mom, is this the same story as “Little Joe” from “Veggie Tales”            “Yes”         ...

          The Red Cross in Roseburg is open on Monday and Friday only except for in the event of holidays, and then the center will be opened on another day.  Tomorrow, for instance, is the national holiday for declaring independence.  The center will not be open tomorrow and so they were open for five hours yesterday.           Roland and I both made appointments so that we could donate.  Jenna, who was covered in mosquito bites, felt like she already had.  One difference was that neither Richard nor I itched after donating.           My sister and her family are visiting us next week.  Jenna really wants us to take her cousins to the beach - which is about a one and a half to two hour drive from where we live.  It was a spontaneous decision for us to just decide to go from Roseburg to Coos Bay and then to Suns...

             Savannah is a friend of Jenna's and today is her birthday.   Jenna put together a small present and asked me to drive her out to Savannah's house.   Normally I would just call first, but I figured even if she was not as home, Jenna would still want to leave the gift.               Jenna LOVES the area where Savannah lives as there is a LOT of yard.  Trees to explore, a gazebo, trampoline, tons of shade - it is located on the outskirts of town.  Driving there is not that big of a deal as far as time.  And the main roads are not a big deal either - but the final leg is VERY narrow and has a "one-car-only" width bridge that doesn't appear to be much more than a ramp.  And I don't enjoy driving that tight.             I have lucked out with not having encountered any traffic coming the ...

          Before we moved to Oregon, we had put in applications to various rental companies located in at least two or three counties located between Portland and Medford and Highway 101 and Interstate 5.  It was a matter of availability on where we would live.           We put our bid on 12 different rentals within Douglas country. When the first rental became available, I made arrangements to be in Oregon in order to secure the house in Myrtle Creek.  I had called Neilco rentals at least three times to let them know I was on my way.           Now for those of you who have ever considered moving to Oregon and are looking for a rental, my advice is to find a rental company that ISN"T NEILCO - their communication skills are pathetic.  If you send them an email or leave a phone message - IT WILL BE IGNORED - even if you talk to ...

            After going to the library this afternoon,  Jenna and I went to Millsite Park.               There we met a man named Chris.  I would have never guessed that he was/is almost 70.             He says he's at the park every day.  He needs to exercise  and chooses to walk around the park with his personalized cane.  He had a second branch to craft for another cane for someone else close by.              This is Chris:             This is not the best photo of the cane, but I tried to blow it up for a better view.                       ...

        Last year when we'd gone to pick blueberries, we would leave early in the morning to avoid the sun (which eventually caught up with us - and pounded on us and sent us home) Blueberries were 1.00 a pound.         I told one of Jenna's friends (who possibly likes eating blueberries more than Jenna does) that she should go with us - but it was always too early in the morning for her household.  And then we stopped going.  Blueberry season was over.         But now it's started back up again.  Roland sent us out to pick blueberries asking that we please come home with at least 5 pounds.  Oh, my word. Callie and Jenna went crazy and picked over six pounds each, while I barely managed 3 pounds.   Blueberries had gone up in price.  I was floored when I learned we had picked sixteen pounds.  I hadn't brought that much...