Not Bad for Under Two Years

          When I was 7th grade, the mandatory history class focused on American history and Utah history.  We had first did a brief study on Europe and the reasons given for explorers making their way to the American continent. 

I don't recall a lot on either Revolutionary or Civil Wars though I'm certain that each was mentioned.  We cruise through Utah history as 95% of the class had been raised in the LDS church and obviously knew more about Utah's history than the text book - which had Joseph Smith martyred by hanging - in Utah.  Joseph Smith was not hung nor did he live long enough to see the Church move toward the Utah territory. 

          That is just one example that I remember.  The instructor was not LDS, but he could see that the class wasn't going to budge - weather right or wrong. I think we ended up skipping three chapters.  It was toward the end of the year anyway.  So how much of what we had already learned had even been accurate?  The entire book could have been done on speculation without resources to back up the so called information.

          Jenna's social studies have been focusing on pyramids and castles????? That's all well and good for those of us who live abroad, but wouldn't it actually be more useful and beneficial to start with your own state and country before expanding into places you might not actually ever get to.  I'm almost 55 years old.  The only castle that I've seen is the one Walt Disney had built for Disneyland.  It doesn't fit the history of the castles that Jenna has been learning about.

          We live in Oregon now.  I want to know about Oregon, specifically Douglas County.  I want to know the history of the things that are tangible to me - not the man-made architectures that I may never see.  All history is important - but not all are priorities - not for me anyway.  I've been trying to understand this county ever since we got here.

          The other day I was visiting with my friend Carolyn (mentioned in this post) and she showed me a Douglas County visitors guide (2017) that had come with the latest edition of the newspaper she recieves (I'm guessing Sunday's edition of the News Review)

         I'm aware that there are many who may live in a state or country all of their lives and not see any tourist attractions.  I am proud to say that I have seen (or are at least familiar with) more than half of what is considered Douglas County's top 10. 

          Before we were fully unpacked, one of the first things that we looked into was getting library cards. Roland found a video of the Roseburg Blast.  Wow!  Very informative.  It was mind blowing, heart breaking . . . very well done, I thought.  Certainly a lot more informative and more impressive than the Douglas Museum of History and Natural History.  After having visited many museums in Salt Lake City, the Douglas Museum was actually quite disappointing.  In this case, I am happy to have watched the video first.

published August 7, 1959

           I'd taken pictures of the lumber yards shortly after we moved here.  Some of these I've already posted back in 2015.

taken in Riddle

Glendale

           Even Myrtle Creek had once thrived on lumber dependency.  See here and here

from the Myrtle Creeks Day Parade July 2015

This was the picture in the News Review brochure

Ireland Trucking participates in July and December parades

           I had only learned about the owls earlier this month.

           Roseburg isn't always windy, but does seem to be windier than myrtle creek.  Just this past Saturday we had looked sheds before moving to inside the store and finding plastic owls and other finds for our yard and house.  The wind was howling something fierce and it felt like the tin sheds would rip out and blow away.

          I have been to Crater Lake only once.  This picture was taken in September when my brother Corey, came to visit.

taken September 2015

          I have not heard of Little River Rapids.  I have pictures of both north and south Umpqua rivers.  Mostly South - as the Umpqua bridge in these photos takes you from I5 ramp 108 to downtown Myrtle Creek

North Umpqua September 2015

North Umpqua July 2016

South Umpqua from railroad tracks of 4th St. January 2017

North Umpqua July 2016

South Umpqua November 2015

South Umpqua January 2017

South Umpqua November 2015

South Umpqua March 2017

         

          I have not been to Yoncalla.  I am familiar with its name and location on the map

  

now called Yoncalla High; taken from web

          I think we had gone to Drain when we were looking at houses.  I would have guessed "Douglas High" would have been in Roseburg

          I am so NOT into sports. 

scanned from News Review's Visitor's Guide 2017

          In addition to the 10 things to know were articles that featured great parks to visit, spectacular waterfalls (I had only been to Watson)

Watson falls from Corey's photos

and music.

Also a little blurb on Diamond Lake.  Corey and I stopped by to take pictures when he was here in September 2015.

I cropped this from one I had taken at Diamond Lake

Corey took this one of me

          There was also an article that featured Historic Oakland a city north of Roseburg. 

We missed the 2016 event, but I will be certain to put this on my agenda for 2018. 

Looks fun.

What Shall I Wear Today?

            Since moving to Myrtle Creek,

I've worn my winter boots less than ten times. 

I finally managed to get them back into the shed,

but had kept out some sweatshirts

and long-sleeved shirts that I thought

would go into the shed eventually. 

            I've been running the A/C the last couple of

days as it's been over 80 degrees outside.  Yesterday

got up to 86 at one point (that's when I actually checked)

but may have gotten higher.

            This morning I went out to water the plants and

actually put a hat on my head.  It was 53 degrees

            I've mostly been wearing shorts - even when

the temperature has dropped.  Currently I am wearing

long denim pants and

a long sleeve shirt.  What is up with that?

            The temperature now says 65 - the

warmest it's been all day.  65 is nice. 

                        I can live with 65.

ReMax and the Children's Miracle Network

                On Saturday I went with Roland and Jenna to the big city of Roseburg as Roland wanted to get some more soil and plants to add to our yard and garden. 

 

Jenna at Home Depot

            As we were near Costco, I mentioned to Roland that we ought to get gas.  We also need milk and so picked up some additional items as well.  We also had an opportunity to allow Jenna a thrilling moment that we of course would never have planned for.

            As we were walking toward the Costco entrance, Roland noticed a ReMax balloon out in the parking lot.  It appeared as though it was lifting off the ground and then back again.  Corey and I had actually saved our money for a balloon ride and were majorly disappointed with the results.  The ReMax ride was less costly and all proceeds went to the Children's Miracle Network

blowing bubbles while waiting in line

            She was thrilled.  She had never been in a balloon before - and the fact that it didn't go anywhere except for off the parking lot and back didn't matter.  It was a thrill for her and for the lady that joined her in the basket.  I was talking to her daughter as the balloon was being lifted into the air.  She said that her mother was 82 and it had been on her bucket list to ride in a balloon.  I always think it's cool to see dreams fulfilled - especially when it's an older person

used trucks as tie downs

Jenna climbing out of basket

that smile was so worth it

            In addition to the balloon ride was a booth for face painting (Jenna loves those, but did not participate on Saturday) and some representatives from the Wildlife Safari in Winston.  Unplanned and fun.  I was happy for the moment.

            We learned that the Cockatoo can live 60 years but that it will always act like a 2 year old.  That thing is LOUD - louder than noise from the parachute which was bothering the bird.

             There were cards at both ReMax and Safari.  I had been to Safari before when Corey had visited me in 2015.  He posted his pictures to facebook but not on his blog.  I'd forgotten my camera, and so some of the pictures that Corey took can be seen on this post.

            We added strawberries to our hill and have been watering all over the yard.  Marigolds are looking sad.  We have started to eat the spinach.  Tomatoes and peppers may not be getting enough sun; they don't look as upset as the marigolds, but they are not thriving, either.  I believe they were planned before the beets and spinach.

watermelon seeds planted one side; strawberries on the other

strawberry plants

they don't look as sad in this photo as they did this morning

thoughts and pictures

        I suppose it's not just my physical body that has changed, but my inner being as well.  I used to like crafts and knit-knacks.  I now think of them as "dust collectors" - too bad.  Jeanie and Biff sent a cute figurine for Mothers' Day.  It really is cute - but I haven't a  clue what to do with it.  Currently it is on a shelf next to a "frog" bank. They both look out of place.

        I don't know where I got it from, but I was a hoarder in my youth.  I'm happy to say those days are gone. What is it that possessed me to hang onto all that/this stuff in the first place.  Let's just get rid of everything!

        In addition to weeding out tangible items, I really need to go through my computer files - particularly my pictures and sort them out.  Kill all duplicates.  I did feel organized at one time.  Apparently it was just that one time.

Roland dug an area and planted watermelon seeds

our spinach and beets have grown

our snowball tree does not appear as vibrant

Roland dug a tree root that's sprouting into another tree

while we wait for the air to cool a bit

We had planted a redwood here; it croaked on us

Let's hope the cherry doesn't do the same thing

took this picture last night; planted this morning 

VENTING

What is up with Roland picking the absolute hottest part of the day to do the yard?  Would you believe we actually had the heat on this morning and now I am attempting to cool off as I sit beside the A/C?  What fickle weather we have.

Speaking of weather – I will be using the bizarre weather to promote my pretend business that I’m now in the process of creating for my assignment for the next four weeks.  If imagination counts, I should do well in the class. 

So I was actually on the tail end of this week’s assignment  (which may vary from week to week – I don’t know) when I received a text from my sister indicating that my facebook had been hacked.  Oh, great.  I signed onto facebook and discovered three more p.m. to inform I’ve been hacked.  Now four, five . . . I also was expecting a call and had to prepare for that – plus Roland needs me to take pictures of him on a weekly basis so that he can send them in to his health advisor and even though I had taken the pics, I hadn’t sent them over.  The frustration was setting in and swallowing me up the way algebra does.

I couldn’t deal with facebook – and somehow pressed the wrong button and found myself on the email page only I couldn’t get in, but I could on another tab.  What the flip?  If more of my family would use email and not rely solely on facebook, I might just give up my facebook account.  But it’s hard as there are only three of us in Oregon, one in Las Vegas and all the rest of the family in Utah so far away.  I like having the social media but it can be very irritating at times.

By the time I get on facebook, I am up to nine friends who tell me I’ve been hacked.  Kayla has also posted a warning on my wall for all people NOT to accept friendship requests from friends who know me.  And there were comments left from others who were just about to private message me.  What take a good thing and create a monster?

Roland is now on his way to Roseburg with Jenna.  I have both phones.  Dang.  I should have left mine in the car.  I did try to get them before they pulled out of the driveway.  That's sort of how my entire day's been going.  I better read over my assignment before I turn it in. 

DANG IT! 

We've Been Down This Road Before

If x  times 3 = 3x and you subtract 12 = y over 3x squared, what are y and x?  We will never know.  Apparently it doesn't matter. Order of operation matters. Order of operations is a way of thinking logically - so says the mathematician.  Do you know how boring you sound?  Only math nerds understand the numbers game and the results of getting there - though most of the problems are never completely finished - they are written down as far as they can go.  So an acceptable answer could look like this: 4x+3q+8-7n=y^12  What????? 

If we don't ever know what q or y or the rest of the letters are - what's the point???  Roland says it's to learn logic.  I don't learn logic!  I am too dang frustrated to be logical.  I want to scream, swear, pull out my hair, and hurt whoever it is that came up with x(3-6)+[6*(n-q)4]-12x in the first place. Give me a break!  I was not put on this planet to answer mixed up number/letter riddles.  This is NOT my lot in life.  On top of that I'm I have to have dictionary just to translate words such as "Polynomial" and "Monomial" Is this a math class or an English class?  Make up your mind.  Or maybe "algebra" means "a combination of letters and numbers that will either a) have a person so confused that they may end up hating all forms or math or b) you will be able to relate to this subject better than people and math will therefore become your best friend"

I don't know how many students are in my math class.  I'm guessing thirty.  It appears that there are a couple of math nerds, but overall, the majority of us despise math, don't speak math, get lost in math, are confused by math, are taking the course because it's required and pray that we may pass the course just to get it over with, hate math, just don't get it, don't really care.  Guess which group I fall into?

Recently my instructor posted the following:  One of the big topics for this week was simplifying a problem using the correct order of operations.  Why is this so important?  Take the following problem for example: 

2(8=7) - 3 x 4 + 2

Let's say two students are working together to simplify this problem.  Student A chooses to work the problem in the following manner:

2(8 + 7) – 3 x 4 + 2 

2(15) – 3 x 4 + 2  Parenthesis first

30 – 12 + 2  Multiplying in order from left to right second

20  Adding and subtracting in order from left to right last

Student A got a final answer of 20

Now let's say Student B chooses to work the problem in the following manner:

 2(8 + 7) – 3 x 4 + 2 

2(15) – 3 x 4 + 2  Parenthesis first

30 – 3 x 4 + 2  Multiply starting at the left

27 x 4 + 2  Continue from left to right with subtraction next

108 + 2  Continue from left to right with multiplication next

110  Addition last

Student B got a final answer of 110.

Which student is correct? 

This would be my answer:

          Student A would be the correct answer because he/she is using the correct order of operations (PEMDAS) but I understand how Student B would come up with his/her answer - IT FEELS LOGICAL to do it that way.

          Simplified?  In math?  Unless we are doing basic addition or subtraction, for me personally, the word "simple" can be associated with anything math related.  It's an oxymoron.

I think algebra is an oxymoron.

What Happened to Me?

                I don't know what it is that Roland and I may have encountered on Wednesday, but something didn't agree with us.  It took a few days before we managed to get it out of our system.  He continued with some yard labor that he had started while I was bent over in the fetal position not wanting to move, for every time that I did, I'd have to race to the toilet.

                After he had finished up with one project, he decided to move onto another.

                He mentioned a yard sale that he wanted to look at.  I told him to wait until Jenna returned home and he could take her with him.  She loves yard sales.   I can take them or leave them.  When I'm in the fetal position - I just want to stay and not be bothered.  I didn't especially want to sleep all day - but I could ignore my stomach much better if I was asleep.

                Mail came and there was a check there for a survey that I had participated in.  I told Roland he could run to the bank so that he could have some cash for the yard sale.  About an hour after Jenna had returned, I decided I would go would go with Roland to the yard sell.  By then, he said he wanted to go to Roseburg, not the yard sale.  The yard sale was at least in our neighborhood.  I certainly wasn't up for going to Roseburg. When he told me what supplies he wanted, I said it sounded best that he didn't have any passengers.  And I was right.  He had loaded the car with paving bricks and soil.  Everything that had been in the trunk was moved to the front seat.  So much for a relaxing weekend.

                He said he would work like an ant.  He would carry a brick up the hill, tack it down, return for another brick.  He was going to wear himself out before he got started.  There was no reason for him to do it by himself.  I told him I would move the bricks from the trunk to the foot of the hill and Jenna could take the bricks from the bottom and take them to him at the top.  She's agile.  She can scale the hill.  I used to be.  I used to be so active.  I'd climb hills and trees.  Nowadays it's all I can do to climb the stairs.

                Even when I was walking Jenna to the bus stop and to the school and returning without her, I wasn't in the best of shape.  I don't know that I'm in particularly worse shape now.  I'm certainly not as spry as I was just 20 years ago.  That's for sure.

                After we got all the bricks in, Roland moved us towards the plants to weed, to add new soil, to rearrange . . . we did have a bed of plants that seemed almost lifeless.  The gold marigolds on the end did okay, and one rose bush just needed sprucing, but the yellow marigolds croaked.

  And the other rose bush had so many spotted leaves, Roland decided just to rip it out.    Roland reminded me that Jenna and I both took home some flowers on Mother's Day last year.  They too had croaked.  Same spot. I think there is something wrong with the soil, or there's something in the ground that isn't helping their growth (like I really know anything about plants)             Fun to see the beets are starting to sprout along with the spinach. 

On Saturday we planted corn before Roland moved us to the front.  It started raining and we had to go inside.

I don't like this aging thing at all.  I'd like to be agile again.