Beneath the Wraps

            I was sitting on the couch in our front room when I heard a knock on our back door.  What the hey?  Nobody has ever used our backdoor since we’ve lived here.  I went to the backdoor.  I didn’t see anyone.  And so I opened the front door.  I saw a UPS truck.  How odd. I didn’t think we had ordered anything.  I stuck my head out the door.  The UPS man saw me and said he had left the package on the back porch.  Okay.  We’ve never had that before either.                         I went to the porch to find a rather large box.  At first, I couldn’t see who it was for or from. It does not help matters that one of the last NCIS shows I have watched was about a messed up individual who sought revenge on others by mailing bombs in packages.  I finally see the r...

What color best describes your personality? Sky Blue – I like to provide hope after the storms. What kind of zoo animal would you be? a zebra – no two zebras share the same stripes exactly.   I’d like to think of myself as one of a kind What kind of a farm animal would you be?   cow, sometimes I don’t carry my weight very well.   I’ve been known to produce milk at one time What kind of a household pet would you be?   dog, hopefully one who is loyal musical instrument – a kettle drum, I can be loud, I can keep rhythm. Tool – a pen.   What can I say? I like to write. Sometimes I don’t allow myself the opportunity to erase. If you were a Disney Character, who would you be?   Nakoma, friend of Pocahontas.   I would rather be a supporting character than that on center stage.  Using one word, how would you describe yourself? together

          The stake has been advertising a Family History Fair which was supposed to be at the end of February but was postponed until today due to the power outage that took place.   We went to the one that was offered today.   I asked Marva if she would like to go as I thought I remembered her having some interest in family history and so I facebooked her the information.   She reminded me that she and Shelly are no longer attending Church which I knew and still don’t understand after all her hunting the missionaries down and having them teach her – but whatever.           I told her that the FHF was advertised as a community event offered to everybody regardless of faith.   It just happened to take place at the LDS stake center (a boundary name for LDS church location) as there is information available at LDS centers that are not always offered to home accounts. ...

                When I subbed at the middle school last week, I was asked to fill in for the aide who works with youth who have detention or in-school suspension (ISS) as they call it.   When I arrived for her shift I saw a youth waiting in the room.   I made a comment about it when I went to sign in but thought that he was just there for homework support.   I didn’t know he had reacted to a situation (someone had been teasing him – bullying him) and got physical.   It just so happened that the dean of students saw him and wrote him up.   Nothing happened to the youth who had provoked whatever it was.                 He waited at the table with questions regarding his homework in math.   Oh, no!   I have been helping out with regrouping in second-grade math.   The sixth graders more complex pr...

                I have assisted with crosswalk duty three times now.   There are four safety vests available – two are orange and two are yellow.   None will fit around me enough to close.             There are two stop signs.   The one for the street is fastened to a pole about four feet long.   The other is fastened to a short stick.   The short one is for the parking lot.   The cars in the street don’t always move at a slow pace, but the parking lot cars are generally moving slower.   Sometimes they will stop before the crossing guard walks halfway into the crosswalk.             I have always been in the parking lot.   I must say that I do enjoy the sensation of holding up the sign in order to get drivers to stop and wait as children ...

          I added the death date of Roland’s sister to ancestry.   Shortly after I noticed there were new leave hints and clicked.   It had the marriage of somebody that may or may not be his sister.   The dates looked correct but the middle initial was not the same and I don’t believe her husband’s name was her married name.   I ignored it but showed it to Roland yesterday.   Oh, my word.   I opened an entire can of worms that I surely hadn’t expected.                        Roland was behind me saying, “Click on this.” “Click on that.”   Really?   You’ve got your own computer, Pal.   I don’t even know how to get into his account where he has every family lumped into one.   I personally have separated his family from my own.   I have a hard time knowing if the hints on my line match those in my family line – and many of the names in my line ...

          I remember my mom and I taking a class together on storybook literature.   Sadly, I don’t recall the name of the instructor but he was of German descent and had had exposure to cruel fairytales versus what he called “watered down” versions that seem traditional in America. I think there had been only   four classes as we met only once a week for only for four weeks – at least that is what I remember.   I don’t know if I recorded anything about it though Corey may have my mom’s version of what took place.           I remember our instructor showed us several frames taken from a graphic story.   I don’t recall there being words, but if there were, he would translate the German captions into English.   The story was on obedience and minding your elders.   Peter had been warned by several adults including mom, dad, and at least one grandparent.   They had told him not to ...

Same Spelling, Different Pronunciation The  bow  of a ship is the front part.    A  bow  is also when I put my arm in front of me and lean over it.    People take  bow s after they perform.    A ship's  bow  and an stage  bow  are pronounced the same.   (b-ou) A  bow  that I wear in my hair is pronounced differently than the two above it.     A  bow  can be used as a weapon to shoot arrows.    A  bow  can also be used to play an instrument such as violin. (b-O) A  minute  (min-it) is a measurement of time.    There are 60  minute s in one hour.    Minute (my -  nUt e )  is something small and obscure.    The grain of sand seems  minute  compared to pebbles.   You may say a person from Poland is of  Polish  descent.    You  polish ...

          Since spring break, the skies overall have been grey and have produced a huge amount of water.   The rivers are not overflowing, but                     definitely not dry as they were in winter.  The temperature has been 47 – 52 degrees on average.   On Thursday it was up to 82.   What is up with that?!?   Yesterday was not quite as warm – maybe 10 degrees less.   Now we are back to rain and clouds.    

          It’s been just a few years since I wrote this post – referring to the stages of life and changes that we hope will never come.   Yet we are tried.   We can’t control what things might happen – good or bad.   For my oldest son’s in-laws, June is a hard month.                       For Roland’s family it seems to be April that seasons the time line.   His mom turned 92 yesterday.   Seven years ago we’d gone to Tucson to celebrate her birthday ( here ).   Nine days later, Roland’s eldest sister passed.   Today we learned that another sister died this morning.   Facebook reminders of two of my boys who married their wives in April.         Missionary papers and homecomings in April.  Jenna was also born in April.   This is my first recorded timeline.  

We had a leak in our pipes right underneath the sink. In order to fix it, Roland had   to turn off the water to the house. The water meter to our house is not only in our neighbor’s yard, it is in their driveway. What’s up with that?

Currently, I am taking a class called “Sociology of Aging”.   I know it will be a good class and look forward to these next three and a half weeks.   The course will end before I know it. My instructor is quite animated and reminds me of my late sister-in-law except happier.   I enjoyed listening to the lecture yesterday as the happiness in her voice and arm movement (I have only had one other instructor record herself).   I know her teaching methods aren’t going to appeal to everybody, but I enjoy the bonus of hearing joy. I tried reading the book but was becoming bored with the way it was written and turned to YouTube instead and found some informative videos on the subjects and some that came across even more boring than the reading. I have also volunteered to test market a hotspot device through the school so they can monitor how much time I spend on research and study.   Only they won’t be getting an accurate reading.   My internet, WiFi, ...

            I don’t remember the elementary school having a particular smell.   I remember the option of two ways to walk there on foot.   Seems like it may have been faster to walk up our street and over on third east and down than the safer way which we usually went – over 240 to 260 and came in behind the school. The playgrounds were behind the school.   a really ROUGH map of my neighborhood             Our desks had openings in the front.   They were wide enough to hold two plastic trays.   We called them tote trays.   It is where we put all of our school supplies.   We carried the trays each time we moved for math, reading, science, etc. according to whatever our learning level was.   If someone was absent, the desk could still hold my tray as well as that of the absent student.    ...

          On March 18 I started a class in public communications.  My first assignment was to take (or make up) a situation from work and address it.  When I initially looked at it I had decided to speak on connecting parental support to the child’s behavior – but I had misread the point of the assignment.  Fortunately I decided to wait until Wednesday (the day of the lecture) before I started.           A teacher’s aide, for the most part, rotates among different classes.  The particular schedule I had followed on that day was 30 minutes each with kindergarten to 3 rd grade, most of the time with kindergarten.  Also, that particular position required me to monitor the 4 th grade during recess and their lunch.  I was with the kindergarten class when the fire alarm went off on Monday for a fire drill.            By Wednesday I ha...

                My communications class ends tomorrow.   I need to post my written speech, revised speech, where it went, etc.   I have been able to compare the subject of my assignments to writing the assignments (and presenting one in recording) for the class itself.   I’m sure it will make more sense once I get around to posting either tomorrow or Monday.   Monday seems more likely.   So sorry to keep ya’ll in suspense . . .

            Yesterday it poured buckets.   The rivers and creeks have risen.   Some have overflowed.   I was shocked to hear that schools west of us were closed or on delay.   Wow!   Check out these stories.   There are some amazing pictures that I can’t even fathom.   See here and here .             Today there was such a grand combination of element changing the sky and the amount of moisture.   A few times we needed umbrellas and galoshes.   Other times sunglasses were required.   Why with all that change did we not see a rainbow?   It must have drown.

What is Your Favorite Hymn? I've always liked "More Holiness Give Me" More holiness give me, more strivings within. More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin. More faith in my Savior, more sense of His care. More joy in His service, more purpose in prayer. More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord . More zeal for His glory, more hope in His Word. More tears for His sorrows, more pain at His grief. More meekness in trial, more praise for relief. More purity give me, more strength to o'ercome, More freedom from earth-stains, more longings for home. More fit for the kingdom, more useful I'd be, More blessèd and holy, more, Savior, like Thee. Songwriters: Ronald Staheli For song tune see   here .