Math and English

          I saw this sign in a math class at school yesterday. 

It made me laugh.  I have observed many students now and find that people in general are either math people or English people.  There are some who excel in both.  And there are those who don’t get either.

          Jenna prefers math.  Although there may be different ways of getting the same answer – the answer is consistent.  It won’t ever change.  There is only correct answer.  No exceptions.  English, on the other hand, is full of exceptions.  It’s a wonder that anyone is able to learn it at all!  I would think learning it as a second language would be even more challenging than it is as a first language – but I can’t say for certain as it is my native language – but still confusing at that.

         Math NEVER ends.  Some of us are taught to count before kindergarten.  We are taught that numbers start with 1.  Somewhere along the way we are taught that "1" is really not the starting number, nor is 0 as there are all the negative numbers that take place before 0 comes along.  And then there are a whole slew of fractions and decimals that take place between each number causing numbers to have no beginning and no end.  Nothing about numbers is final - except for the answer to every problem - well, except for complicated algebra that may have no definite answer except for C-2x=xyb.  What kind of answer is that?  Why are we using letters in math anyway?

          I don’t think there are any “solid” rules in English.  There are ALWAYS exceptions. “i” before “e” except after C.  And yet we have words like forfeit, weird, and science that destroy that theory.  Or how about G takes on a different sound when followed by a, o, and u as opposed to e, and i which would make the “g” take on the “j” sound such as “giraffe” and “gem” but uh-oh.  What about  “girl” and “geyser’?  And what is up with Y sometimes passing itself off as a vowel and a consonant? 

          I don’t have a problem with the basics of math.  It gives me a headache when we have to start finding the value of X and Y and the chart that points up and down and to either side and how y dominates these two areas while x I part of something else.  Huh?  And triangles will always add up to 180 – a term that perhaps I had learned in my youth but did not store it in my memory and so had never even thought much about it until yesterday when the instructor explained it to the class and I re-explained to a couple of students who weren’t either paying attention or just didn’t care – sort of like me.  I mean, really, what relevance does that triangle value have in my life?

Oh, and let’s not forget all the vocabulary words that are needed for math.  Words like integers, diameter, circumference . . . why is it that English is needed for math, but one doesn’t have to be familiar with shapes or numbers in order to  learn English?  Even with all the silly rules and exceptions, I prefer English to math. 

Good For Her

          There are five students in the seminary class which Jenna attends.  Each of them has an opportunity to present a devotional.  Jenna’s assigned day is on Wednesday morning.  This week she passed out this card:

She challenged each member of her class to carry the Book of Mormon on his or her person (she is in actuality the only female student, but the female instructor had been challenged as well) and has been carrying the Book of Mormon with her ever since.  She not only reads it at school, but writes down her thoughts, searches for pictures to insert into her book to help her remember the focus of certain chapters, and will discuss her thoughts with whoever will listen.

          I have been so blessed to have such an awesome daughter.

Schools and Weather

          There are five schools in the district – which I may have mentioned before.  Two elementary schools are from K-5 (I think both offer Pre-K.  I know that one does for sure), a middle school from 6-8, high school 9-12 and the Canyonville School ages K-8.  I will accept assignments for three of the schools.  I have worked at all the schools accept for the high school.  Currently I will fill in for aides at either the elementary school closest to the middle school, the middle school or Canyonville.  Four of the schools are about equal distance from my house (the two I accept assignments for are to my east and the other two are in Tri City to the west) but it takes more than twice as long to get to Canyonville as the others.

         

          I think the high school and other elementary are fairly new in comparison to the others.  For the past two days I have been at Canyonville – which at some point had only one building.  But now there are five.  I haven’t accepted many assignments with Canyonville this year, though I have five lined up for future dates – starting with Monday and Tuesday of this week.

       It’s been cold the last couple of days.  I meant to wear long sleeves to school yesterday, but came across a short sleeve top I hadn’t worn in a while.  Normally I get hot at the schools, but yesterday I was cold in the main building and didn’t become overly warm until the last 30 minutes with the 2^nd grade.  I had taken my long green coat on Monday.  Roland refers to it as my “bag lady” coat. (Refer to this site) as I knew I’d be outside at least during lunch.  The agenda also required that I spend the first 15 minutes and last 15 minutes outside as well.

          I notice the rain always chases the fog.  I had brought my umbrella the on Monday but hadn’t needed it.   Yesterday morning was foggy.  Normally I haven’t had to arrive at Canyonville so early and so I haven’t seen where the bus drops off the students until yesterday.  I left my umbrella in the car and was surprised the fog had lifted by the time I got up the hill.  

I wore my wolf jacket and not my green coat.  My legs and buttocks were cold and I wished I had worn my long coat instead. 

          As the day progressed, the clouds moved to reveal the sun and the air felt colder.  I’ll be sure to take my green coat with me as I work the next two days at the middle school.

Will the Real Big Bad Wolf Please Stand?

“Johnny Depp is great, but the fact that he is not Joey Fatone bothers me.” - Jenna on January 5.

The quote made me laugh when Jenna said it, and then I had her repeat what she said so I could get the right quote, but still might not have it exact.

Allow me to explain: 

When Jenna was three Roland had purchased a copy of Red Riding Hood (here)  which she has loved and watched often.  Joey Fatone plays the wolf.  In Disney’s version of Into the Woods (here), the Wolf is played by Johnny Depp. 

You may not find this as amusing as I did.  But her quote did strike me funny enough that I thought I’d share.

When the Train Stops

Yesterday I was watching a movie on Hallmark.  The movie title is one I have seen before – but with a different description.  I enjoyed the 2019 version of “Christmas Town” starring Candace Cameron Bure (here). 

           The movie starts out with the focus on a man and his little girl.  He is struggling with some health issues.  The tree has been put up and decorated and he somehow loses his balance causing the angel to fall and breaks off a wing.  He promises that he will send it off to have it fixed.  If he had just used a form of Elmer’s or Gorilla glue, we might not have the story that takes place roughly twenty years later.

Lauren has recently accepted a teaching position in Springfield, Mass. and is anxious to leave behind her life in Boston. We learn that she has a boyfriend and a promised relationship, but her wants and his wants are not the same.  She is frustrated that she hasn’t been able to contact him to let him know that she is leaving and is a bit put-off to find him home ready to pick up where they left off.  She lets him know that maybe they really aren’t meant to be.

          She takes the train toward Springfield. As the train nears a small “tourist trap type”  town full of the Christmas spirit, they make an unscheduled shop as either the weather has failed them or the train is need of repair or something . . . they stop and all the passengers are required to get off and find some means of lodging.

The scenario reminded me of how many of us have chosen a destination and create a path for ourselves on how to fulfill our goals.  There are many of us who may ride a metaphorical train that makes an unscheduled stop that may throw our entire plan off course.  We don’t know why, but something prevents us from arriving to the destination that we thought we wanted in order to fulfill something greater – although we may not see it that way in the beginning.

         I have grandnephews and a grandniece that I’ve never met.  Lucas is the oldest and was born a few months before my second and third granddaughter.  Each of them will be turning five this year.  Holy Cow!  Lucas has a younger brother.  The two of them are inseparable.   Each of them has had a hard time sleeping without the other in the same room.

            Lucas has cancer.  He’s been in and out of the hospital in order to get the treatments that he needs.  His mom and dad have become writers of a blog (here)  though even if writing had been a part of their plans, they most likely would not have chosen gaining strength in a collided “two worlds, one family” quoting Phil Collins December 31 because that is how it felt.  One parent with Lucas in the hospital while the other stayed at the house with the two-year old – who at first was allowed to visit his brother but banned after flu season – though not completely.  Just at the hospital. 

            Lucas came home for Christmas before going into the hospital again for what hopefully will be his final treatment.  I think the cancer probably made a lot of people stronger – though I don’t associate with them as they are in Minnesota and we are in Oregon and I don’t even see my brother who is the grandfather of these two boys and currently resides in Utah.

            The train not only stopped for their family but several others as well.  And each has had his or her free agency on how to react to what wasn’t a part of their plan.  From what I’ve read, they seem to be enduring greatly and yes, at times mom and dad have been emotional boobs.  But who can blame them for that.  All the while they have tried to remain strong for Lucas.  It turned out that Lucas was the strongest one of all.

            That’s only one example of a stopped train.  Not all lives experiences end being wrapped up as neatly as the Hallmark movies and certainly not in such a small amount of time.  Trials are not easy.  Some callings are not easy – especially when the person called really isn’t comfortable about having the calling.  Again, we have our free agency.  We don’t have to accept the callings.  But it is an opportunity to grow if we will accept the challenge.

            I am reminded of a sister in the ward I currently attend.  She has had the calling of a Relief Society instructor.  She taught lessons once a month and always made it known that she was not comfortable in her position.  Never vocalize your thoughts in front of a congregation.  She is now the adult Sunday School teacher and now gets the opportunity of teaching not just once, but twice a month.

            I am reminded of a poem written by Carolyn Pearson (here) in which she talks about auditioning for a play and not getting the desired role, but the coveted role actually goes to one that she doesn’t consider worthy to play the part.  A transition is made for the girl who lands the part and it makes the author realize that we all have potential if given the opportunity.

            I hope that when I find myself on a path that I don’t particular think fits in my plans, I will focus on Him who knows better than I and I may express more gratitude for where I am. 

Another Birthday on the 3rd

Jenna loves to make people happy.  She likes giving little gifts for birthdays.  Before the year started she asked us if we could take her and one of her friends to the roller skating rink for his birthday.  I have taken Jenna roller skating a few times during her lifetime.  It has always taken her longer to get her shoes off and skates on or vice-versa than the time she spends going around the rink.  She has never mastered the roller skate however.  I, on the other hand, spent many hours on roller skates in the past.  I am no longer confident about stepping on wheels.

 Yesterday we took her and her friend up to the Big City of Roseburg and purchased passes for each of them.  Her friend had gone around the rink a few times without her.  She struggled, but did eventually get better at it – or so it appeared.  She didn’t seem to notice that she had gotten better as she still felt unsteady on her feet.  Her friend was sweet with her as he assisted her.  She fell quite a few times but claimed she’d been having fun.  I admire her persistence.

New Year’s Eve and 2020

         I had always believed that New Year’s Day was for taking down the Christmas decorations and putting them away as that is the day my mom had always done that.  I had tried carrying it over to the family I am with right now.  Sometimes it works, but not always.  Roland always seems anxious to take it down right after Christmas.

         

          We did not wait until New Year’s for the outside decorations but removed the lights and ornaments, electric cords and so forth from the yard.  We started at 10:00 Tuesday morning before the fog had completely lifted.  Roland announced that it was going to rain.  He was right.  It poured.  I can’t remember what time it started pouring, but it was still light outside.  I don’t think the pouring stopped until after midnight.

          Roland wanted to play Monopoly and asked if I would like to be banker, but I really didn’t.  So he was banker and the rules were very different than they had been the last time we played.  Every time (both last time and this time) Jenna tries to play fair, it ends up biting her.  I don’t think it was so much the game itself, but making future comparisons of things that will take place in her life.  She is not ready (not willing) to grow up.  She was crying while I was thinking – “That’s tradition.”  Ever since I was a child I remember New Year's Eve somebody was always either physically sick or emotionally stressed – sometimes both.  But I’ve never seen it with this family – except for many Thanksgivings Jenna has been sick, but not since we’ve lived in Oregon – at least I don’t think.  She’s such a trooper.

          The youth had scheduled a dance that she had planned on going to until the day before.  She said she’d much rather stay home and play games with us.  After her meltdown, I figured she wouldn’t have gone to the dance anyway and wondered if she would want to play games.  But Jenna does bounce back and radiates a very positive attitude.

          We had three guests come over for light snacks and games.  Rita was the first to show.  We started to play the game Imagine-If having taken three turns each when Mary and Kassy arrived.  We stopped our game of Imagine-If and moved onto another so that Mary and Kassy could join us even though Mary said we didn’t have to. 

          She started preparing some food they had brought with them and Kassy sat at the table, arms crossed and expression that told me she had been dragged to the “party” against her will and would rather die than engage in any kind of celebration. We started game number two without Kassy but Mary did join in after a while.  We played “Hear Me Out” which Mary didn’t seem to fully understand as she would read the player's answers and make comments so that there was no secret about who wrote each answer.  When there was a tie, we asked Kassy to be the tie-breaker.

We did manage to get a smile and more participation from Kassy when Jenna and Rita took a break and started doing “the fork in the garbage disposal” dance.  All six of us played a round of Uno. Mary was tired and groggy and finally took a nap on our couch. I think we may have played another game of Uno without her and then Kassy decided she no longer wanted to play.  We put her on the other couch and gave her the remote control.  The rest of us continued to play “Catch Phrase” and pitted Roland and Rita against Jenna and me.  We laughed so hard.  After a while, we traded partners and quit keeping score.

After midnight Jenna went with Roland who took Rita home.  He said to just leave Mary and Kassy on the couch and they could sleep there, but Kassy was insistent that Mary wake up as they had other things on their agenda.  The wee hours of New Year’s Day in Myrtle Creek?  What was her hurry to get out of our house?  Perhaps she needed to get home to her dog.  I’ll bet that’s what it was.

They left shortly after Jenna and Roland returned.  We went to bed and took the indoor decorations down at 10:00 in the morning.  I thought we’d play games but went back to our boring routine of each of us just doing our own thing.  It was a quiet and boring day overall.

I feel like I did pretty well posting dashes last year, but my bi-weekly word rarely ever came out as I had intended.  They aren’t on the agenda for this year.  I figure most of what I have posted has been dash worthy – just not numbered as such.  My goal for this year is to allow Roland the pleasure of savoring his shopping and to not complain about the wait.

The Day (and Night) Before New Year's Eve

          Roland had tweaked a recipe found in this book:

           The reason being is because we did not have all the required ingredients, but it was good.  A little dry.  The next day I decided I would go to the store and purchase some queso to add to it as Roland made enough for 12 people and we didn’t have that many eating.

           I was just going to go to Ray’s or Dollar General and come right back.  But Roland asked could I pick up this and that and oh, how about some shrimp . . .?  I wasn’t planning on going to Roseburg.  Dollar General doesn’t have shrimp and I doubt Rip Off Rays would have it either.  And if they did . . . really?  Was I willing to max my debit card for the assortment of items?

          Jenna had just barely cleared the table for a day of playing games which turned into another day of grocery shopping.  Well, hey, as long as it became a part of the agenda why not just do something different and go visit the Winco in Grants Pass instead of two different stores in Roseburg (as Costco would not have all the items or maybe we just wanted a sample rather than 90 pounds of whatever). 

         

          On our way to Grants Pass, I received a text from a friend who had wanted to take us to the coast to see the lights at Shore Acres (here) 

This is where we entered to walk around

I think this is the first attraction we saw after the above

this exhibit (or one similar) was just before the gift shop

the lake was gorgeous with reflections of lights and trees

there are rooms to view in the house;
they also served cookies and hot cider

we ate our cookies and cider in the pavillian

          It was almost 12:00 when I received the call and she wanted to leave at 3:00.  I am married to a shopaholic who savors opportunities to pick up merchandise and ponder with real intent  - weighing all reasons (well, most, as money rarely ever seem to be a factor for decision making) to purchase said item.  Roland enjoys shopping.  He relishes the opportunity.  I have made it no secret that I don’t enjoy shopping for anything.  My goal is to get in and get out.  None of this “savor-the-shopping-moment”.  Blah.

Thus on Monday when we were in Grants Pass, I thought I had added reason to hurry our shopping along – growing impatient with Roland's desire to milk every minute on each product as he read each label of different items he'd come across.  I had set a time limit for us to be back on the road so that we would arrive home before Carolyn showed up.  I had deprived him of basking in something that he truly loves.  I need to stop with the unpleasant attitude and be grateful for his enthusiasm and willingness.

With all the correct ingredients, Roland started another batch which he put into the oven just before Carolyn showed.  She had hoped to take all of us, but Roland really didn’t want to spend that much time driving to the coast – which turned out to be longer than either Carolyn or I had anticipated. 

We thought that if we went early enough we could get to the facility and park the car. We didn’t know we’d have to wait in a line of cars for 20 – 40 minutes.  Oh, but it was so beautiful. 

  

Lights created movement of a hummingbird fluttering its wings, frogs, seals, and dolphins jumping into the water.  It was a fun experience.

Other Gifts

          Shortly after we moved to Oregon, Jenna and I had gone to a second hand store in search for some game cards – or puzzle cards – something that we could cover to create our own version of.  We ended up purchasing a child’s alphabet learning game including four boards and 28 cards. 

this is not the exact game we had purchased, but one similar

We covered the backs of the cards with clip art pictures we had printed off the computer. 

shows a small piece of the board that we made

 We didn’t have a use for the boards but continued to hang onto them until earlier this month.  We decided that we would send them to our youngest granddaughter for Christmas and spent a family home evening painting letters so place on the boards.           

          For our oldest granddaughter I had purchase a bead kit which reminded me a lot of one that my mom had given to Jenna one year. 

Jenna really enjoyed making different necklaces and I thought Ester might enjoy them also.  I hope that she enjoys it as much as Jenna did. (see here)         

          For our youngest grandson we purchased a counting book – not that he is counting yet.  He turned one the 4^th day of October this year. 

Their family has purchased gifts for us each year.  There were nine items in the box they sent this year.  Two cookie mixes, a cupcake mix and two presents for each of us. 

          I already mentioned Jenna’s Encore here.  The kids gave her a container of what appeared to be leftover Halloween candy.  Rochelle always picks out a book for me – a mystery that she enjoyed and would like to share.  There was a lap blanket from the kids which looked like a candy cane pattern to me.  Jenna calls it my toothpaste blanket.

          Roland received a Three Stooges video which he had never seen before.  The kids gave him a book for creating Scrabble words.

          In addition to the Batman and Superman in his sock, Jenna had picked out four more characters.  I wrapped each of them individually.  Roland was surprised but seemed to see a message that we view him as stressed – which was not the case.  We had purchased them to go with the many other super heros he has collected. 

          In my sock was this cute Snoopy ornament which will hang above my desk when Christmas is over.

          I’ve been toting my insulated bag to both school and church

but had picked out this purse to carry with me – even though I’m really not much of a purse person. 

 I like it for the many pockets that it has.  That is what Jenna wrapped for me from her.

Jenna also brought me “card holders” to attach to my hat as I am always losing them.

           Roland got me Murder with Collard Greens and Hot Sauce and a book collection called The Land of Stories. 

 It really was a simple Christmas.  Jenna received a bell for a bicycle that Roland had purchased for her

After I started my initial Christmas post, I realized that we had not opened the gift from the couple in our ward and retrieved it from its “hidden” place and we opened this bear candle and angel statue. 

.

Different Variations of Frightful

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful . . . “

My sister recently posted this picture on her facebook page.

retrieved from facebook

My comment was that even though we live further up north than she does, the residents in Douglas County are more inclined to be like the first picture than the second.

I DON’T miss snow.  I don’t miss driving in it.  I don’t miss waiting in the cold snowbanks and blizzards.  I don’t miss the horrible traffic.  I don’t miss this:

retrieved from KSL NOVEMBER 27, 2019 AT 5:14 AM

 Retrieved from Salt Lake Tribune
 NOVEMBER 27, 2019 

retrieved from NBC news December 8, 2019

 The weather was quite beautiful on Christmas morning

and continued into the next day.  Jenna put on her Elf costume and we went to Millsite park ao she could pass out candy canes.

I had to take another picture after we returned home so that the socks could be seen (as they were hidden by the shoes)

Friday’s weather was “stay in your pajamas and stay inside and read a book” type weather.  Nothing as frightful as the first four pictures of snow.  The skies were overcast and everything was wet by rain. 

The last two mornings have given us lingering fog which has cleared about 10:30 or so. It rained quite a bit yesterday.

Oh, Holy Night

I always associate this song with my dad as I remember him singing it each year. 

I would like to share this rendition which combines the voice of Kenneth Cope with the art work of Liz Lemon Swindle: