A Poem for Argyle Day

We don't have argyle sweaters

for which we wear on walks

No argyle ties to speak of

and we don't have argyle socks

It's said that argyle day started

with a tribute to the Scottish fare

though I do have ancestors from Scotland

I have actually never been there

I may not have ancestors from the Clan Campbell

but perhaps they wore argyle kilts

and perhaps carried argyle umbrellas

and snuggled in argyle quilts

Thus we celebrate argyle day

still no sweater or socks to wear

so we made an argyle card and

I made this lame poem to share.

For more  ideas for Argyle day, see here

Abnormal Weather and Our Wonderful Neighbors

          Yesterday I received a phone recording to inform me that school had been canceled.  Outside there was more snow than we had seen since arriving in Douglas County - not enough to close schools in Utah.  I remember taking Jenna to school when the snow was higher than she was - though I'm sure even Salt Lake would consider closing if the snow were actually as tall as she is now.

          Northern Utah is equipped with salt and bulldozers and snowplows, etc.  It's actually routine.  And the schools calendars account for snow days.  The citizens don't encounter the harsh weather in this part of Oregon - or so we've been told.  Bus drivers already have the challenge of a narrow and windy road with drops on either side.  They haven't been trained to deal with the elements of slick roads due to snow and ice.

          My son has complained about getting stuck in the snow, and Jenna offers no sympathy it has been her hope to have an opportunity to play in the white stuff as she did in Utah. Yesterday provided her that opportunity. She decided to spend her snow day sliding down hill. 

        She moved to an area closer to the house - closer to the pipe where the hose is connected.  She crashed into the pipe and we had a fountain in our yard for about 20 minutes.  We're not blaming her.  I think the person who sold the house tried to cover up the flaws rather than repair them.  I honestly believe the weak pipe was one of those flaws.

          Plumbers aren't as available here as they are in Salt Lake.  Contractors, electricians and so forth might live within the county, but it's highly probable that they come from another county altogether.  I don't even remember who we called, but I thought it would take a while and wanted the water shut off so that we wouldn't have to be billed for the ice skating rink that was starting to form in our yard.  

         

          After the water was shut off, our neighbor from behind us drove around to assist.  I don't know if he's a licensed plumber, but he's certainly less costly and just as efficient.  Roland was still on the clock as he tried to remove the water from the pipe so that our neighbor could repair.  They turned the water back on and everything seems to be working.  We covered the pipe so it didn't freeze overnight.

          Buses were delayed again for two hours this morning.  The snow can be seen on some of the hilltops, but no longer on the trees.  I suspect any snow that can be seen from the house will be gone by the time Jenna returns.

           After she had gone to school on Tuesday, I had purchased some chocolate cherries for Cherry Chocolate Day.  We held our candy upside down so that they looked like cups and we made a pretend toast. 

          Yesterday we made up questionnaires and looked up trivia games on line as it was trivia day.  Today is whipped cream day.  Before she left the house I had her listen to "Whipped Cream" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (here) and we started watching the 1961 version of the parent trap as I thought the twins might have worn whipped cream on their faces in the scene where they are fighting during the dance at camp.  They don't.  But it almost looks like it could be on one face.

          We did not finish.  We will watch the remaining 45 minutes after she gets home.  Maybe we could even make and eat whipped cream.  We'll see.  We obviously can't make purchases for every single (non) holiday.  That would get too expensive.

Back to School . . . perhaps

                Jenna is supposed to return to school this morning.  Thus far the buses have been delayed for two hours because of the frozen roads.  Last time I got the same message (over a year ago) school ended up being canceled altogether.  It's hard being off for two weeks and try to go back to a routine - at least for me.  Roland didn't seem to have a problem with it, and Jenna has been ready to return to school since before her vacation was over.  She was dressed and ready to leave the house since 5:30 this morning.

                I checked on my class just once yesterday.  I decided to save the lectures and posting for today.  I planned to do so just after she left the house, which she hasn't done yet and may not depending on the conditions on the road.  I'm afraid she may feel abandonment today if she should stay home.  I'm half-heartedly listening to the first lecture right now and will be returning back to it several times.

                During the holiday, the school offered a fun class of sharing recipes, gratitude, pictures and new year's  resolutions.  I participated in posting to a discussion.  It was fun.  We didn't have to have stupid references for every little thought.  But now that I'm back to an actual class, I realize I have to do some research again.  Bah, humbug.  I am so not in the mood.

                Jenna and I shared a fun day yesterday.  To start the day off, we looked up the speed limit on this site and found that only 14 states and Washington DC acknowledge that there is a speed limit low enough to be 55.  I don't think DC really has to enforce the speed limit.  It's always bumper to bumper and it's hard to believe that anyone could even drive as fast as 55.  Vermont is the only state that actually recorded a speed limit lower than 55.

                Later in the day, Jenna asked both Roland and me if we would like to go for a walk with her.  I did not mind going for a walk - but a level walk, not a climb.  I told Jenna I would drive us to the park so that we could walk an actual path (no climbing) but passed the park going downtown and headed for a coffee shop to say hello to my water aerobic friends who have decided to meet once a month just to keep in touch. I parked by the coffee shop and Jenna and I walked toward the park, but took a detour and explored the area in which the train tracks run along the river.  We had never been there before but had seen the tracks from the other side of the river.  Jenna had seen a cave near the tracks and wondered if we could explore.

                My camera was being charged, but I did have my granny cell phone.  I took a boat load of pictures, not even knowing if any would turn out.  I was pleased that many came out clear.  There are many that are fuzzy.  Some look more like paintings than photographs.

south Umpqua bridge in background

the cave too narrow to walk through

south Umpqua river

treasures found along the way

                I didn't even realize until after we'd been home for several hours that  our calendar has given  January the name of "Creativity Month"  so here are my "creative" pictures:

          Perhaps I should have taken the time to drive to Canyonville yesterday to honor the 55 mph and take some packages to the post office as Roland said it was open; the one in Myrtle Creek was not.  I don't know if I am willing to drive on the roads right now.  I was planning on going to Dollar General after I go to the post office and school.  I need to pick up some chocolate covered cherries and some whipping cream.  Today is chocolate covered cherry day and Thursday is whipping cream day.

                       Happy Holidays (real or not) everybody!

National Polar Bear Swim Day

                When we lived in Kearns, Jenna and I had taken many walks.  Often we had a destination.  One of her absolute favorite places to go was Big Lots.  Thus whenever we happen to see a Big Lots, it brings back good memories for us and we have to stop in.

Kearns Shopping Center

        We haven't experienced even half of Roseburg.  We seemed to be locked into our routine of what few places actually bring us to Roseburg. There is a Big Lots in Roseburg, but it doesn't fall into our average drive and thus has been overlooked - even non-existent until one day in November when we just happened to be taking a different route. 

        "Is that a Big Lots?"  I asked Roland.  "Can we go there?"

        We were there for gift tags specifically, but hey, as long as we were there, Jenna and I wanted to explore it all.  We started with the calendars.  Our favorite was called “Every Day’s a Holiday” 

I liked it for its size and color. Jenna liked it for the everyday activity suggestions. 

So we purchased only one calendar with the understanding that if we happened to receive a calendar for Christmas, we would hang that one in the kitchen and Jenna could hang the “Holiday” calendar in her room.  Today is “Polar Bear Swim Day”

        Polar Bear Swims have been practiced for well over a hundred years in different countries, A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature. Keep in mind that human beings don’t have the fat and fur that polar bears have to protect them from the cold. In the United States polar bear plunges are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization. In Canada polar bear swims are usually held on New Year's Day to celebrate the new year.  For more information on this day, click here. 

        As mentioned in prior posts, Jenna and I have both experienced illnesses during the holiday.  I told her even if we had access to the freezing water, taking the plunge would be very bad idea. Plus it's Sunday and so we would not be doing that even if we were healthy.  Jenna did say she took a semi-cold shower to compensate.

        We played games with Roland last night.  We missed most of the fireworks, but when Jenna opened the door to look outside, she discovered something that she found even more exciting.  Snow.  A very light wet snow, but snow nevertheless.

        Okay, so she didn’t get her polar bear swim day.  I think she may have enjoyed the snow even more than a polar swim.  She actually enjoyed the slips and falls as she moved her snowman from the bottom to the top of the hill.  She laughed a lot.  I am so happy that she had so much fun.  

       Tomorrow is 55 MPH day – whatever that means.  

 The only road I know of that uses 55 MPH is I5 truck lane – which is the lane I generally stay in if I have to be driving I5.  But I’m not willing to drive it just to celebrate 55 mph day.  

We’ll have to Google, write poems, draw signs or find some other way to celebrate.

        

Another Project

          Two days after Christmas, I put Jenna to work in her room with the condition that we would take many breaks (I was also doing household chores - washing the kitchen and doing laundry.)  I asked Jenna if she wanted both of us to color in the book I gave her.  But she realized that pictures were printed on each side of the page - which would interfere with cutting out - so we started making photocopies, and I realized that I would have another project of scanning book material in order to preserve it, but would have to wait until Jenna headed back to school.

          First break: we started coloring what few pages we had scanned.  Roland even joined for one picture during his break.  We started coloring before reading any of the stories, and Jenna wondered aloud if it might make a difference.  After I had grown weary of coloring, I read through some of the stories.  Simple, repeating thoughts.  

Jenna colored this page

Roland colored this page

Jenna

Me 

        I realized that Jenna could turn her colored flannel board figures over to her nieces.  We have two turning two in August.  That will give us plenty of time to put the stories and figures together.  After we have completed that, we can start on our annual holiday ornament for next year.  I recently found a recipe that we can use to make ornaments.  I would specifically like to make some candy canes as I think they will be easy and have a symbolic story to go with them.