Dash #MT42 My mom, the Caregiver

Name a strength that you really admire about your mom

            My mom was raised in San Francisco but had moved to Salt Lake after she married my dad.  His family became her family.  I remember mom as a caregiver to three particular family members starting with my dad’s maternal grandmother – though I don’t have many memories of her when she was healthy.  I don’t know why.  I was old enough that I should have more memories of her at her Magna house than I do.  It was a very teeny house where she had raised her family.  It boggles my mind, really.

            I don’t know how old I was when she was sent to the nursing home – or if her mind was slipping at the time that she was brought in. It saddens me at how many elderly are left at nursing homes and rarely, if ever, visited.  This was Grandma Helen’s mom.  I remember mom picking up Grandma H. to visit Grandma Greenwood.  Often we would go visit without taking Grandma Helen.  
            Corey still had curls in his blonde hair and would often get mistaken for a girl.  He developed a love for the elderly at an early age and would often make his own rounds as mom visited with Grandma G.  Many of the residence would claim Corey as their “granddaughter” and though Corey wished that he’d been recognized as a boy, he enjoyed the attention.  In a way, I suppose Corey believed that they were all his grandparents.

            I don’t recall how many years my grandma was at the nursing home.  I don’t remember how many visitors she received, but I do remember how diligent my mom was about visiting her.  I also remember sharing a Christmas miracle with Grandma G. when she sang Christmas carols with us one year.

            Grandma G. died two days before my Aunt Alice was married.  Grandma H. had asked me to speak at her funeral.  I mentioned how her mind and body had been so frail that she would not have been able to attend Aunt Alice’s wedding any other way except in Spirit. I believe Aunt Alice was Grandma G.’s eldest grand-daughter.

            As Grandma H. continued to age, mom would drive her to doctor appointments and the store for medication and other errands.  Grandma H. had taken a bad fall and broken her leg.  As she couldn’t get around, she was put in rehab.  She never came home.  As I recall, she was still wearing the full-leg cast when she passed away.  I believe that mom was with her.

            Corey said he remembered coming home and found Patrick was doing the dishes and wondered why.  He later recalls the phone ringing and hearing Patrick say, “I can’t right now.  My grandma just died.”

            Corey said he figured something was up when he saw Patrick was doing the dishes and was shocked at the news he had related over the phone – wondering if he had misheard, but didn’t want to ask as if he was wrong as it felt morbid to say that is what he understood.

            I helped my mom take care of my dad.  I did not have the experience that she had had with my great grandma and grandma.  I loved my dad and it was hard watching someone who had taken care of me lose his ability to physically control his legs and speech among other things.  I’m sure that it was harder for mom to watch her spouse go through that.

            I admire my mom for her service.  She is such a great example of devotion – not just to my dad, his mother and grandmother, but to each of her children as well.  I really miss my mom.

Anticipation

            Next week the class is expected to answer 3-5 interview questions for our discussion post.  We have been given 20 to choose from.  Each seems to have the ability to become a "dash" question. Again, the topic of "dream job" and "where do you see yourself . . ."

            Okay, let me get one thing clear.  I think the term "dream job" is an oxymoron.  Here is why:  The word "job" does not necessarily represent pleasure though "dream" indicates something that would be favored.  A job for many is a menial task involving a paycheck.  They go to work to collect earnings in order to make ends meet.  Some people genuinely do love their jobs.  Others struggle with their day to day efforts of being employed.  A job can be gratifying but not always.  I think a job is very different from a career.

            A career is a choice of occupation and having opportunities to advance.  This also comes with a paycheck, but a good employee will be focused more on the outcome and accomplishments rather than just the paycheck itself.  A dream for me would be to have coworkers that I look forward to seeing each day, to strive for and achieve the same goals.  A dream would be to better ourselves and those around us - whether it be in the community, a specific organization (such as a school) or the environment.  I am much more interested in creating a positiveness among others than just working for a check.  My "dream job" would be looking forward to going to work each day.  The paycheck would just be a bonus.

           I also like the idea of a job career landing in one's lap as the two examples I mention in this post. To have a job created when you hadn't even thought to dream it, well that would be a dream come true.  And as I mentioned in this post sometimes we have to go off course to make dreams happen.

            I have three more weeks of my two current classes and one more week of my assignment as a substitute aide with the school district.  I don't know how those going to school full time in addition to a full time job are able to do it.  I will have a dash post for Monday but may not be able to post again until Friday.  We shall see.

Time Spread Too Thin

Online work

Check

Turned in

Both Classes

Have even received

my first week's grade

in one class

Resumes, cover letters, references

so many weaknesses

Next week will be

setting up a LinkedIn account

and preparation for

mock interviews

I'm getting the

experience that will

take me to a job

career opportunity before

the end of the year

I even have my interview

set up

Now to build confidence

and prepare to answer

questions

word: TRANS

The word "trans" all by itself means "denoting or relating to a molecular structure in which two particular atoms or groups lie on opposite sides".  The word "trance" means "a half-conscious state characterized by an absence of response"  I have used the word "trans" in a couple of posts when I meant "trance"  Whoops!

Truth is, I didn't know that "trans" was a word all by itself and so when spell-check accepted the spelling, I did not bother to look for a definition, but just assumed it meant "a half-absent state of mind"

The prefix "trans" means “across”, “beyond” or “through”  I have "transferred" many pictures from my camera onto my computer.  I have watched Roland transfer food from the stove top into the oven in order to keep it warm.  Jenna's school records have transferred from one state to another.  I had transferred to five different areas during my mission

My blog posts are full of examples of transportation including the bus, the train, water and feet.

Translation is the ability to communicate one language into another - weather verbally or written words.  Accounting is a language I haven't fully been able to translate.

A Transgender is a person who was born one sex but typically feels trapped when he/she has the desire or the instinct to believe he/she is the other and will make that change.  Jenna has many friends who are transgender.

To transform is to change into something else - such as a caterpillar into a butterfly,  a sawmill factory into Millsite park - and even the park itself has gone through changes or transformations since we arrived in Oregon to what it is right now. I remember having the opportunity of having reels of film to film transformed or converted to VHS.  Now we are transferring things to CD rom and flash drives. Beautiful (because they're possible) transformations!  We have also transformed t-shirts into book bags.

I've had problems with the transmission on various cars.  It's always a transition to adjust to our way of living after a loved one has passed.

Sing Your Favorite Hymn

          Last week we were short a speaker.  The counselor who was conducting the meeting announced that he would be calling on some members from the audience to share their testimonies.  It reminded me of a time when I had lived in mom's ward and what took place when the speakers were absent. The bishop at the time would conduct special meetings that became quite popular with the youth - though I can only remember being in attendance for two of the meetings.

          He had announced that the scheduled speakers hadn't shown for whatever reason and apologized to the organist for not having made arrangements with her, but had invited each member in attendance to think of our favorite hymn and if we felt prompted to do so, we could each take a turn coming up to the stand to say what our favorite hymn was and why we liked it.  We would then sing the hymn as a congregation.  On those days, our congregation truly worshiped the entire meeting through music.

          I enjoyed listening to others share their testimonies on why the hymn was a favorite for them.  I enjoyed watching the enthusiasm of the youth and sharing discoveries that they had made.  I enjoyed singing.

Dash #555 Pets

 Did you have any pets during your childhood?

          There are posts that I have shared about adopting dogs during my married life.  I think the only pet from my childhood mentioned is a rabbit I had received from an aunt one Easter (see here) but Pinky was not our only pet.

A German shepherd pup had wandered into our yard one year.  We tried finding its owner and kept him for a couple of months as I recall.

          Patrick wanted to keep it and gave him the name "Junior".  He tried training the dog, and paid bail money when he was caught by the pound.  I think that happened twice before he decided he really couldn't afford the cost.  That is how Houdini was from this post.

       

          For years before and several years after Junior I had gone through at least five cats.  Mittens, Blanco, Inky . . . I don't know what happened to all of them or how long I had each one.  I don't suspect any of them made it a full year.  I don't even remember one of the names.  I don't know if they ran away or were stolen (I had attempted stealing a neighbor's cat at one time).  Mom told me that there was one that she found in the dryer. I think it was Blanco. Her neck had snapped.  Sorry for that gruesome detail.  I don't remember it personally.  Mom told me that she couldn't deal with it and called a neighbor to remove it.

          The cat that was with me for the longest was "Patch".  I don't know how old I was when we got her but I know I still had her when I was in junior high.  I considered her to be my cat and figured I was in charge of naming her and tried out different names like "Jelly Bean" and "Marshmallow".  Unfortunately I never did settle on a name.  We kept Patch in the basement.  As our washer and dryer were also located in the basement, mom would meet up with Patch whenever she was doing laundry. She started calling my cat "Patch" because of a grey mark surrounding one of her eyes.   

          I remember Patch disappearing and hunted in the basement for her and found her under the stairs along with a litter of 5 kittens.  Mom would not allow me to keep any of them.  I don't remember how many years I had her.  I would think more five to ten.  We had to put her down.  I wish I had better memories to share.

          Corey had gone through a series of cats also.  I have more and better memories of his cats than I do my own.

           Never had a goldfish - but had purchased goldfish for the boys after I got married.  I also think that either Patrick or I briefly owned a turtle.

Conspiracy Spending

            GAAP stands for generally accepted accounting principles .  At least once each year businesses who have stock investors have to go through an audit.  GAAP sets guidelines for business owners to keep accurate records so there is no question about how revenues are made, how money is spent and if there is a profit.  As there have been a number of business owners or other workers who have been found to be dishonest (such as these examples) GAAP has seemingly created so many conditions over the years that the audit can be rather time consuming.  This set of guidelines is set to protect the investor as well as the consumer.

           Stockholders can feel more secure with their investments as long as GAAP continues with guidelines, but paying taxes is not the same as investing stock.  Sometimes the government - or some aspects of it rather - can seem to be just as corrupt as some businesses who have failed due to dishonest records.  So who looks out for the taxpayers' money? GASB requires governments to use full-accrual accounting that tax payers may have the opportunity to understand about the governments capital investments and holding as the government should be watched just as much as the for profit business.

                GASB guidelines assist not only with the financial reporting but the fiscal policies as well. In a nutshell, GASB is to the government like GAAP is to the world of business.  Guidelines and regulations for GASB are there for the benefit of the taxpayers as GAAP is there for the benefit of the stockholder.  For the last three weeks I have had to write assignments about GASB.  In my last report I commented on three specific public roads and the amount spent on each project. According to my understanding, the government has to break down that cost to an exactness:  The amount spent on each crew member hired, not only the cost of building material itself, but the cost spent on supplies to insure the safety of the workers, cost of traffic lights (if applied), paint, concrete, tar, and so forth - even the costs of for the temporary method of traffic flow set up until the major road had been fixed.

                I have been wanting to rewatch "Capricorn I" for some time and finally took that opportunity yesterday morning.  I realize not everybody has been or will be a big fan of the movie, but I still enjoy it.  Elliot Gould plays Robert Caulfield, a reporter who has a friend who works at NASA.  When his friend disappears just after making a comment about the mission to mars, Caulfield starts to investigate.  Meanwhile,  Kelloway, played by Hal Holbrook, tells three astronauts (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterson, and O.J. Simpson) that there is a problem with a product and that the government has so much funding on the line they can't afford anything to go wrong.  Thus the three astronauts are driven to a warehouse where they are told to "perform" their mission on a set to save face basically.  When the astronauts realize that they the charade can't last forever, they realize they have to escape the warehouse as their only means of survival.  Their destination is for finding a reporter and camera crew. Made in 1977.  I thought it was a good movie.

                I am so grateful I had already turned in my final assignment as I know my mind would have taken me in a totally different direction and gotten myself in deeper than where I needed to be.  "Capricorn I" is NOT based on a true story . . . but then again (see here) . . . it gives you something to think about.  How far would the government or government sponsored programs be willing to go to keep the public from knowing the truth?  I thought about Deep Throat (here) and Watergate (here), agent orange (here) and wondered if people really disappear when trying to uncover scandals such as these.  Surely those are not going to show up on the accounting journals:

                10,000 to knock off Elliot Whitter,

another 8,00 to hire Alva Leacock to pretend she has been living in Whitter's apartment for a full year,      70 dollars for forged magazine subscriptions and other mail,

               6,000 to tap into Robert Caulfield's breaks,

another 2,000 to for hiring a team that find planted drugs in Caulfield's apartment. 

                2 mil for the helicopters sent to chase the three astronauts, on and on and on . . .

of course the funds would never get recorded in that manner. 

I am done with accounting!  Five or six classes left.  Should be smooth sailing from here on out.  I start two more classes tomorrow.

Side Note:           I don't remember the first time I saw "Capricorn I" but I have some fun 
                    memories                  - both which involve my brother Patrick.

                1)            I was with my mom and Patrick was sitting with a group of friends a few rows back.  The film stopped in the middle of the movie, and it was announced that it would be a few minutes before the projector would be running.  I made a bold move up to the front of the theatre and announced that it was Patrick's birthday and asked those in attendance to sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

                2)            Patrick recorded the movie from a local TV station.  Parts of the movie had been cut out to make room for the sponsor's ads - unfortunately Hal Holbrook's speech had been one of the scenes that had been cut.  Everytime Patrick had friends over who were not familiar with the movie, he would pause where the scene had been cut out and explain what was going on - kind of important to the movie.

                My favorite part of the movie is the end - to watch the expressions of those in attendance to honor the three astronauts - Brenda Vacarro and Hal Holbrook especially as they have the best expressions.  For the full episode of Capricorn 1 see here.

               

255 students in 75 minutes

          I have assisted with Vision Screenings before when I was living in West Valley and Jenna was going to school in Taylorsville.  That was probably five years ago.  There was a nurse at one station and at least three other stations with six volunteers, perhaps seven (someone must have served as a runner).  Vision screenings were done in the hall in front of the auditorium.  Two aides worked in teams.  One would stand at the eye chart and point to pictures or letters and the other would sit and record the results of each test of the student - they would also have to find each student and mark the set of duplicate directories that we were all given.  Yesterday's testing went so much smoother.

          The Elks Club brought this sophisticated equipment that would read each child's eyes.  Each class had been given stickers to pass out and most students who came through the line had a sticker.  Some did not have them and were pulled aside to wait for the man who seemed to be in charge.  The students would stand in line and sit at one of five chairs when they became available. All of this was done in the library.

          Three members of the Elks club were receiving information from the stickers and taking pictures.  Two of our aides were recruited as well after having had a crash course on working the devices.  Initially, I was going to be one of those aides that would be helping to test, only one of the devices was not working properly. Another aide was trained on how to work it once the problem was resolved.  I would have liked the opportunity to sit down.  At the same time, I would have had a hard time trying to read the stickers as half of the library was not well lit (I think for proper use of the equipment),

          We were done with all thirteen classes in 75 minutes!  Record time.  I really don't know how many students were present today.  255 is just an estimate.  There were several who were absent yesterday as the weather was too cold or else it may have been just to get a jump on the holiday weekend (that seems to be a pattern). 
         Yesterday was a pretty good day overall.  The rain did not start pouring until after school was out.  It poured hard.  After eight-plus months of our rivers being dry or extremely low, they now look to the point of overflowing.  We shall see.

          Snow at the top of the hills yesterday morning.  It appeared the rain had removed most of the snow before nightfall.

Gray and Gloom

It's Raining

It's Pouring

All the Snow has melted

The sun is gone

the Skies are gray

And these are

some photos from

the last few days

Yesterday afternoon the hills were green.  This morning they are capped with snow.

To Each His Own

Today is Valentines' Day. 

Bah. 

I think I was

single for so long that

I just don't get overly

excited about the holiday. 

I received Valentines in

school.  I would have

received less except for

it was mandatory to

give one to each class

mate.

I had a two week assignment

to fill in for one of the

educational aids.

Yesterday was supposed to

be my last day, but I called

in sick.

I do feel better today than

yesterday.  I wasn't scheduled

but do have the opportunity to

sub at another school but

think I should do with one day

of rest as I have been

scheduled to work for tomorrow.

I listened to the other aides

ragging on Valentine's Day

and agreed with most of their

comments.

There was one who had gotten

married on Valentine's Day.

She and her husband chose

that day so that they would

not forget their anniversary.

It was fun to discover

through Jenna's eyes when

she was younger, but I

think overall she may be

just as bah about it than I am. 

Her favorite part about Valentine's Day

is the clearance sales on

Valentine products (particularly candy)

made available the next day.

Roland surprised us both this

morning with small

boxes of chocolates

Roland likes St. Valentine's Day

Dash #8 Friendships

It appears that I missed posting a dash last week, and so I will post an extra one for this week.

               It's hard to say who my first best friend was or how for how many years we were in touch.  There are several photos that were in my mother's possession and now in Corey's which indicate that our yard seemed to be a hang-out for many children.  Mom has pictures of some of the older kids as well as those that were my age and number.  There is one of me holding hands with Daniel and Brian, several in which I am with David or Mike and Scott.  I only remember one of me, David, Brian and Jeri.  Many party photos.  Though there was a wide variety of children to play with, I would have to say my best friend at that time was probably Daniel Bird from across the street. 

          At that time Daniel had three brothers as the youngest brother had not yet been born.  Daniel was interested in eating food and I seemed to have a more inquisitive mind and wanted to know what happened if . . .  I think it's safe to say I was the inciter. Mom said that some of the mischief we caused was dumping cosmetics in the toilet, nails in the washing machine, and mixing soap and Jell-o together.  I am so grateful that Jenna was not nearly as mischievous.

          Mom says that one time when Daniel came over to our house that she told us to stay out of mischief.  Daniel made a puzzled expression and said that "mischief" existed at his house as well.  Of course we ended up causing mischief - though I don't know the specifics, I'm sure that my mom had sent him back across the street to his own house.

          One time Danny and I used the ladder to climb and get on the roof.  I don't know if the ladder fell or if my brother Patrick just wasn't able to hoist himself up or what.  He ran across the street to find my mom visiting with Daniel's mom and starting crying because he couldn't get on the roof like his big sister. 

          Mom said that when she went outside she saw me waving from the roof to her.  She told me to carefully go back to where the ladder was as I needed to get down.  It's a wonder I ever survived childhood honestly.  There was a half fence that separated Birds property from the property just east of them.  I don't know what reason we were on the wrong side of the fence, but the boys wisely went the long way to go around to get back to Bird's side of the fence.  I decided that there was enough space for me to squeeze through the fence that ran east and west and the one that went north and south.  There wasn't.  I got stuck.  My mom said that when she found me, my head was suspended in the air and the rest of me was dangling but not touching the ground.  The fire department had been called to come and get me out.

          Danny was like another brother.  All of the Bird boys were.  Daryl was the oldest and then Danny and I were same age. Patrick was two years younger than us, John was behind him and Matthew was the youngest.  Turns out our families have been friends for generations and continues - though the ties between Daniel and I are not as close as they once were.  Our minds went in different directions and may keep in touch through other family members, but not directly.

          The girls I hung out with most were Jeri Gilbert, Lily Black and Julieanne Downs though I don't remember which order or which friendship may have lasted the longest.  All four of us lived on the same street.  Jeri, Julianne and I all lived on the north side.  There was a house between Jeri and me.  The house to our west was a corner house.  To the west of that was a small avenue.  Julieanne lived at the next corner lot.  Lily lived across the street from Jeri.  The house to her west was the one in between her house and the one where Birds lived.

          I enjoyed playing with all three of them, but don't remember many times when I played with more than one of them at a time.  I remember only one time when Julieanne, Jeri and I hung out together and possibly one time with Jeri and Lily but never Julieanne and Lily.

          Jeri, Julieanne and I were the same age.  Lily was exactly one year younger than me as we both shared the same birthday.  I remember having many sleepovers at Lily's house.  Sometimes when Jeri's parents would go out of town, she would stay with our family.  I don't believe Julieanne's parents would allow sleepovers.  I thought her mom was nice - but she seemed to be sick a lot.  I always thought her dad looked old enough to be her grandfather - and perhaps he was.  Roland and I are both old enough to be Jenna's grandparents.

         

          Though Julieanne and I were both in kindergarten at the same time, I don't know that we were friends then.  I was in the kindergarten class that had at least three different teachers teach us throughout the year.  I liked the first one.  Mom said she had gotten married and probably moved out of state.  I think both Jeri and Julieanne had Mrs. Flinders as a kindergarten teacher.  I remember wishing that I had Mrs. Flinders.

          Julianne had an older brother.  I think he was five or six years older.  We would listen to records.  She liked Bobby Sherman and Donny Osmond.  We would play school.  She would be the teacher and I was the pupil.  Sometimes we would play in her yard though I don't remember the specifics.  She had a Mrs. Beesley doll.  I liked the doll and requested to have my own one Christmas.  After she had accidentally gone through the washing machine she had stopped talking.  I remember Julieanne's dad fixed it so that it would talk again. 

          Jeri and I would often play with Patrick, John and Matthew.  We would act out the Wizard of Oz.  Occasionally we would try another story - such as Sleeping Beauty.  If there was a kissing scene involved, Jeri wanted to be the princess and have Patrick be the prince. Mostly Jeri would come to my house to play, but I remember playing with Barbies at hers.

          Aside from sleepovers with Lily, I remember playing in her sandbox.  My favorite part about playing in the sandbox was being near enough the raspberry bushes to eat the delicious berries.  I don't know how old I was when Blacks moved to Alpine.  It must have happened during high school as I remember Lily's older sister attending my high school when I was a sophomore and she was in her senior year.  Though I tried to remain connected, Lily and I seemed to have lost touch after they moved - perhaps before.  I don't remember.

          By junior high, Jeri and I were civil to each other at best, but did not choose to hang out together.  Julianne and I had signed up to share a locker (as there were more students than lockers) but as she had a lot of health problems (I think most were psychological) she dropped out of public school and was supposedly tutored at home.  Thus I had a locker to myself.  I was pretty much a loner for the rest of school.  I did have friends in high school - or at least those I considered to be my friends - include Lily's older sister.  Eventually Gilberts moved from our neighborhood also.  I'm not even certain as to which family moved out first.

          I hung around seniors all three years of my high school.  I hung around more seniors in my sophomore year than in my last two years combined.  I really don't have many positive things to say about school regardless of how old I was or what school I was attending.  I think I would have enjoyed learning more if I hadn't had to deal with so many peers.  I wish I had been more outgoing and not afraid of being myself like Jenna is.

       Jeri and I have reacquainted through facebook, but we are not the friends we use to be.  I keep in touch with what's going on in Danny's family as there is still that bond between us and I suspect always will be.  Neither Lily nor Julieanne have shown interest in facebook.

 

Words that are Homophones

Diamonds are measured in carats, but carrots are measured in pounds.

I saw that the maid made the beds.

I saw several rows of rose bushes.

You won the game which makes you number one.

I prefer to write with my right hand.

I just heard that my favorite band has been banned from the club

.

I pour the medicated liquid into my hands and splash my pores for now  but I am too poor to afford to purchase the product.

I am going to the store to purchase two loaves of bread as I think that three will be too many.

Please tell me a tale about a Eyore losing his tail.

It's time for me to add the thyme to my recipe.

My neighbor borrowed my wok.  Will you walk to our neighbor's house and get it?

I am going by the store.  Would you like me to buy something?  I am leaving now.  Good-bye.

Did you just say "good-bye" or "good buy"?

For more homonyms, this is a fun book with great illustrations:

https://books.google.com/books/about/Dear_Deer.html?id=IMFjyQZvkLIC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false

Dash #47 Beth Rankin

  

It seems the answer to this question would define her dash more than my own.  But here goes:

        I may have mentioned before that when I lived in Kearns, the residents were given the option of purchasing a can for recycling. At that time, we had a household of five and then six.  Our trash can was ALWAYS full – often the day AFTER garbage day.  As our family needed the extra space, I opted to receive (and pay for) the can.  Two years the purchase of a recycled can was no longer an option.  Everyone received cans – only the mandatory cans were smaller than the initial one I had purchased (or leased rather).

          I tried to be conscience of recycling products, but wasn’t a fanatic about it.  I would sometimes get on the case of my boys or husband (who still hasn't grasped the concept) annoyed that they couldn't get it, but even Jenna had it down by the age of three.

          Two years before we moved to Oregon, I met Beth Rankin for the first time. She and Roland had met through high school band and she asked if she could meet with us as she passed through Salt Lake on her way to moving to Oregon. I remember the day well.  It was mom's fourth day at St. Marx hospital - which really has nothing to do with Beth.  Just that we had met at Firehouse Subs because I could make it on the way to the hospital and both were near Roland's place of work.

          Beth introduced us to her husband, Graham, and Roland introduced me to them (I was the last one to arrive, first to leave our luncheon). Although I didn't realize it at the time, I had met one of the most eco-friendly people on this planet.

          Beth Rankin lives in McMinnville and had taken us on a tour of the Habitat for Humanity - a site that allows people to dump and pick up supplies for home repair, gardening and those types of things.  Since she has lived here, she has joined several community organizations and chapters.  She opened a business to help the farmers with their product. It's been an interesting journey.  I love Beth so much, not because of her overly conscience efforts to recycle, but the wisdom that she shares with others and turning so many ordinary moments into teaching moments.  It's great!

        Whenever Roland messes up on recycling, I tell him that I will tell Beth on him.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to carry a lot of weight.

To learn more about Beth and her causes you can read her blog here and other sites here, here, and here.

Sacrament Bread

                I remember when I was a youth, our ward had made it the responsibility of the Aaronic Priesthood to bring the bread.  They rotated among Deacons, Teachers and Priests - at least I think that's how it was.  I might not have even thought about it, but I remember several times when my brother Patrick would announce that it was his turn to bring the bread.  I don't know if this was really a ward thing or if it happened in every church at that time or when it changed or if it changed.  I don't hold the priesthood myself.

                I don't know who was responsible for bringing the bread during my married years.  I don't think it was the Aaronic priesthood however as I don't recall being in the position of bringing bread - which we would have done almost weekly as our boys made up 60% of the Aaronic Priesthood - at least when we first moved in.  I think the bishopric was in charge when we lived in our last ward as it seemed we were contributing at least one loaf a month.  The Aaronic Priesthood was sparse.  I remember when a youth was finally ordained to the position of Deacon.  It was quite a while before we got our second one - and by then he had moved on to being a teacher or Priest.  It was mostly a geriatric ward in which 70% of the members were over 65 years of age.

                I always like it when the bread tastes like it is homemade. The bread today tasted sweet.  Roland thought it tasted like the Hawaiian rolls.  Interesting.  That was pretty much the taste. 

                When we were living in our last ward, I would usually stock up on bread that I would buy at the second hand bakery near Jenna's school.  One time I remember picking up a large unmarked loaf which I assumed was wheat.  It was a large sized loaf and I sent it to church with Roland as I figured it would last a couple of Sundays.  It was used only that first week as it turned out that it wasn't wheat, but rather a light rye.  I would have never guessed as every time I have seen Rye it has been darker than what I had purchased and has always been a smaller loaf than the standard loaf of bread.

                I didn't notice the expressions that I'm certain the bishopric got to witness - especially with the youth who made faces as they chewed on the bread.  Roland was told that the church is suppose to use either wheat or white - never rye bread.  So there was more than half a loaf let and it should have come home, but those who stayed afterward (such as the some members of the bishopric and clerks) ate the remainder of the bread.  I thought that was quite a lot of bread for just four people to each.

                There was a humorous story shared on LDS Living or another site (I apologize that I am unable to locate the reference now) with a congregation located somewhere in Africa (again, I apologize for the lack of detail) in which it was realized that there was no sacrament bread.  A sister who lived near the ward building volunteered some bread that she had recently baked.  Her husband was sent home to get a loaf but apparently didn't even think to look at the loaves and grabbed the first one.  Something worse than rye in the above example is the surprise they received with jalapeño.  I know that would be a lot more traumatic for my mouth.