Beneath the Wraps

            Roland and I obviously grew up in different households.   What I accept in faith somehow irritates him – and I ’ m certain our upbringing has a lot to do with it.   For example:             Sometimes when there is change in my pocket and I remove it before I go to bed, I will set it on top of the dresser or desk with intentions of putting it my purse or a bank but then forget about it and he seems to go ballistic that it is out of place and I NEED TO PUT IT AWAY             One of the sibs he grew up with was a thief.   She often allowed all of her sibs to take punishment that she did.           I, on the other hand, grew up in an environment where we showed love and respect to one another.             ...

I left the bathroom and returned to my bed after my bladder interrupted my sleep.   I looked up at the skylight to see the stars which I couldn ’ t find.     Odd that they had been there the night before.   We have had decent weather – though cold – the skies have been clear.     Until this morning.   Thickest fog I have ever seen since our move to Oregon.   I won ’ t be driving in this.

  There was frost on the ground and so were the chickens.   I don ’ t understand the draw.     The roosters have gotten brave enough to approach us. They will look at us in the same manner as Bonnie asking, “ Why don ’ t you feed me? ”   At least Bonnie has an excuse to look at us that way.   She has been placed in our care after all.   The fowl are all trespassers.   They are not our responsibility. I have seen their owners feed them but evidently we have better grass, better bugs, better vittles somehow.   The roosters have discovered the bird seed carelessly fallen to the ground knocked over by greedy birds eating from the bird feeder.   Roland thinks it is his job to feed all of the stray animals except for the deer.   The fowl are welcome in our yard.   The deer are not.   Right now we don’t have anything that the deer would be inter...

             My sister had posted a picture of the snow that fell upon the Salt Lake area.   We haven’t had snow.   We haven’t had much in the way of rain.             The sun teases us.   It seems to invite us to go outdoors to play.   After all, the skies are beautiful.   The trees are gorgeous with color.   It’s enticing – at least in the afternoon.              Last month I was leaving the house at 7:00.   I would drive to the church to pick up Jenna.   I could see at 7:00 though it was more of a challenge to leave at that time by the end of the month.              For most of this month I have not even been able to at 7:30.   I had made arrangements for someone else to bring her home.   Next month we set our clocks back.   Thus it will be even darker.     ...

When I was growing up in Midvale, Utah I remember seeing grown-ups going to the Elementary school to cast their vote in whatever Poll. I was in the sixth grade when Nixon ran against McGovern.   I don ’ t know that I had paid much toward Elections until that time. I had the opportunity to vote the year that I graduated High school.   I ’ d gone to the elementary school where many booths were set up. We were in a different district than our Neighbors across the street. There were more booths available for their district As they had three times as many candidates to vote for. I have always lived in small districts which does Have its perks I suppose.   The Presidential candidates at the time were Jimmy Carter And Ronald Reagan. I was on my Mission when Reagan ran against Dukakis. I submitted an absentee ballot. The last time I went to the polls was when Obama ran against McCain.   It had been predicted that there would be...

                  I had heard that Portland was making all of their education virtual.  Other areas have had the option of returning to a brick and mortar school or continuing online.  There have been reported cases and temporary school closures. Are you kidding me?  Temporary? The announcement is as follows:  “               school will be closed today as one or more students have tested positive for the coronavirus.  The school will be closed tomorrow in order for a deep cleaning . . .”  Really?  The school is going to be closed so that disinfected and rid of all germs so that it will be safe to return the following day?  Give me a break!  One school was closed as it was understaffed and unable to find instructors.  Well, duh?  My concern about reopening schools has always been for the instructors as I had believed they’d ...

A virtual stake conference was scheduled for Sunday.  Of course we couldn ’ t watch it at home as we had no internet.  Our options were to either miss church or watch the video at the church building. I think Roland was planning on working with connecting the internet as soon as it was warm enough, but I told him if he wanted to be blessed that he would have to go to Church with Jenna and me. When we hold ward meetings each Sunday, the podium and microphone are wiped down between each speaker.   They did not do that at stake center in Roseburg (we did not go to Roseburg but watched the broadcast at the building in Myrtle Creek) and it was kind of freaking me out – especially since two of the stake presidency were quite moist with emotion.   I guess when you are on the stand behind the speaker you don ’ t notice what the speaker is doing or how he/she might be spreading germs around unintentionally.   I personally don ’ t enjoy sitting behind the speaker as I ...

          We had signed up to feed the missionaries for Saturday.  Roland had requested them to come at 4:00 but they said they could not come until 5:00 – which is their normal eating time.  We were doing another breakfast dinner but with a few changes – such as having waffles. Roland believed he could start the dinner at 3:00 and have it ready by 4:00.  I think with the amount of time he spent trying to repair the cable, he would just assume have not had to deal with the missionaries at all.  However the arrangements had already been made. With the cable disconnected and his working to get it repaired, I started a countdown which I don ’ t think helped his mood at all.   I thought it would be nice if he showered before our breakfast dinner got started.   I ran over the list in my mind – eggs, waffles, sausage and bacon.   It seemed like there was something else but I could not figure it out otherwise I would have started...

            I ’ ve heard it said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions – meaning if a person doesn ’ t act upon the thoughts he or she has the purpose is unfulfilled.  For three to four weeks the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint Western Region representatives have been asked to call those that they preside over for ministering assignments call those that they minister to in order to learn how long it would take for everyone in the area to be contacted.  We were given a heads up that we would be making calls on Saturday for a mock earthquake drill which would go into effect that morning.  All of the calls were to be made within a two hour frame beginning at 8:00. My plan was to offer a fervent prayer before I started calling each of my sisters as I have not had much success at finding many who will answer the phone – especially on a Saturday morning.   No time is a good time and there is no ...

I have always considered myself an introvert – well maybe not always.  I was evidently extroverted in my early childhood.  School changed that.  School was not a good experience overall. I felt excluded and found myself withdrawn from wanting to be a part of life.                             Illustration by Joshua Seong. © Verywell, 2018. I remember being comfortable in the company of certain adults and grew to accept those who were decades older than me or several years younger than myself.  It was a long time before I was comfortable with any peers of my own age.  I never liked crowds or artificial people.  I enjoy learning but not in a structured environment.  I am better at learning when it isn’t a requirement. I didn’t realize that it was possible to meet in the middle as AMBIVERT exists in the middle of introvert and extravert.   I am ...

I watched some of the town hall council last night. It was nice to hear Biden speak in full sentences without being interrupted. I did not watch Trump.   I have heard him speak before. I’ve gotten to the point in which I loathe the sound of his voice. I liked having separate sessions.   Last night I had a dream that Trump lost the election by a landslide.   I was in Utah counting ballots with my cousin and we were both acting childish. In the dream she was pro-Trump.   In real life she is definitely NOT. Enjoyed this most recent ad sponsored by Lincoln Project.

  From my observation the best leaders are those who lead by example.  They don ’ t seek validation.  They lead by instinct.  Many have been put in that position because of their ability to take charge in a positive way – not because they bullied their way in. I suppose Donald Trump does lead by example – just not in a positive way. He is always seeking validation and would like to be worshipped by all and not just the uneducated.   If it weren ’ t for the other two branches of government, I suspect Trump ’ s picture would be plastered all over the place. His pictures would be no smaller than the size of buildings.   His face would be plastered all over Mt. Rushmore.   His face would be on currency and postage stamps.   What an ass.   And I don ’ t mean the four legged animal. A great leader will listen to those who he/she serves.  Donald Trump doesn ’ t listen to anybody – not those who are there to serve him, not his family me...

                Jenna required reading for her online English class has been focusing on an international high school in New York.   For each chapter Jenna is required to pull out a quote, comment on the theme of the chapter and turn in a short essay.   She has gotten in the habit of reading things out loud as it helps her better to think.   She seems to be even more focused if she can find someone else to read it out loud to her.   Often she has asked for my opinion about what I think the theme is or what I think is a good quote.    Usually the quote is directly attached to whichever student the chapter focuses on.   However I remember one quote that stood out which was not related to the student.   It was actually a description of snow he had seen in Connecticut.   It was white and beautiful.    The quote continued with a less than attractive image of snow that had been yellowed...