Beneath the Wraps

 We had a game night with a two couples we have played with before.  We introduced them to “Virus” which tends to go faster when only two or three are playing as opposed to seven.  There were some who got bored with the game and started using vaccination cards to assist other players who looked close to winning.  The one who finally won is the one who had come close to winning two times prior.  I’m glad he won.               We played a second game called Five Crowns.                 That turned out to be a long game too.  Roland has decided that we should order it for us – probably because he won the game without even trying.               I LOVE playing games!   Well, many games.   Rummykub which we have all played before.   Roland didn’t want to overstay our welcome an...

             So often I will write down my thoughts as I ponder over the scriptures.   I write them down in hopes I will remember.   Sloppy cursive that I can’t always read.   I certainly don’t expect anybody else will.             Sometimes I jot down ideas when the computer isn’t available.   I plan to transfer my thoughts into something legible.   I still have many ideas stored in a folder for blogging reference.   Most of the time it gets ignored or else I move on from whatever thought I had.           December 17 for instance.   I had looked up articles featuring Tik Tok and the disturbances it can cause.   It’s said that a fourteen-year-old was arrested for his part in upsetting the school systems and law enforcement who assisted with the safety of the students throughout the nation.   Two weeks later I s...

 Our bishop and second counselor are out of town.  The first counselor lives over an hour away - on good days.  Today would put him anywhere between 2 or 3 hours at best.  His house is probably buried beneath the snow along with any path that might lead to the off off grid property. Here's how it looks in my neck of the woods - which really is a storm by western Oregon standards but seems an average day to someone born and raised in the Salt Lake area:

                We had signed up to feed the missionaries at 4:00.  We watched “An American Christmas Carol” and Jenna and I took Bonnie for a walk.  I think we talked with all three boys before Roland started dinner.           Jenna says it’s tradition that we always have a breakfast meal for our Christmas Eve dinner.   So guess what the elders got? It wasn’t the traditional breakfast that we normally have.   Roland started cooking the meal just after 3:00.   Our meal consisted of steak, eggs, cornbread and hash browns with bacon. Three elders arrived shortly before 4:00.   We put Bonnie in my room and fed the elders in the back room where we have the tree. Jenna does not like steak and could have made a meal out of corn bread alone. I think she had at least four pieces. After the elders left we watched “Encanto” – well, Jenna did.   Roland and I watched part of...

           I’ve written at least two posts regarding Alexa echo.   One mentions how we’ve separated the two by referring to them as Emily and Stacy ( here ) and the  first post about the two colored rings that appear when voice activated. But there is a also a third color which appears by itself on occasion.   That circle is yellow in color and will provide notifications at random.   The last six were in reference to the weather as a storm is in the midst and has been for the last couple of weeks – though we haven’t seen the storm.        Currently it is pouring – HARD - hard like the first rain we had encountered at Newport April 2015 ( here ).  I tried taking Bonnie for a walk.  I was okay with the rain falling down, but she was not.  Needless to say our walk was the shortest walk yet – perhaps the length of ten houses and back. I like the sound of rain.  I like the green grass.  I don’t s...

           We had put our decorations up a couple of weeks ago.  It took us three days, I think, as we had a small electrical problem.  Just before we finished, the guy across the street brought out his lights and stapled them to his house and wrapped around the small trees in front.  I think he was done within 30 minutes.  His lights were on the night he decorated.  I haven ’ t seen them on since then.              Small electrical problem.  Taking apart.  Trying to find problem.  And replacing one switch with another – which was nice.           The black indicates where the back porch light was. But as we no longer have a back porch, the switch didn ’ t work anything.  I like it not being there as I was always pressing it and of course nothing happened             Jenna and I decided ...

Probably not worth the wait.   Allow me to elaborate some of them:   1        still married 2       never 16      Been near the Atlantic but did not swim in it – I did dip my toes in it though – VA Beach 19      I am not certain.   I’m thinking in Hawaii seeing the Kennedy profile? but I could be wrong.   You would think I would remember 20      covered in 5 posts starting here    26      Jenna and I pass the time doing karaoke with each other – especially at the beginning of the pandemic. 27      not even a full minute interview on the news feeding less fortunate on Thanksgiving.   The media had misspelled my name.   Not a big deal. 28      Currently I have four granddaughters, two grandsons and another on her/his way 29      Here ...

                For the last couple of years I have been purchasing Merry Mash-up Holiday Mountain Dew.  I think it is my favorite of all the Mountain Dews that I have tried.  Last year there was a bunch of infiltrators mixed in almost side by side.  Watermelon Zero.  What was the Pepsi company thinking with that one?  (But then perhaps there are just as many questioning the Mash-up cranberry/pomegranate blend).    Last year I had accidently grabbed a Watermelon Zero along side the Holiday and grossed out at the disgusting taste of watermelon?   Really?   It was 2020.   The flavor will always remind me of COVID.   I have learned long ago that if the word “zero” is part of the soda name it means zero sugar, zero calories, and for a while had believed zero taste.   But “zero” means horrible taste.   You might as well be sucking on shoe polish.   Yuch!!!! This year Mashup doe...

 I meant to have this posted on Friday but was unable to process all of my thoughts until now:                I think it was in August when Roland applied for the management position at the jewelry store.  They were down to two candidates but had decided to go with the one who was more familiar with the product.  Not a great call in my opinion – but I am just getting the information second hand.  I ’ ve never actually met the woman – but this is an illustration of what makes a leadership vs. management that I had mentioned in this post .         Not her real name, but I shall call her Karen – the name that seemed to get a bad rap during 2020.  She knows product.  Roland knows people.  I do like a salesman that can tell me the pros and cons of certain products – electronics for example.  It is important – but I think knowing people is more important.  Not just cust...

                 Marketing is horrible in Douglas County.  I noticed that shortly after we moved here from Salt Lake.  Marketing in Salt Lake was ALWAYS in everyone ’ s face ALL of the time.  It was quite refreshing not having advertisements and commercialism thrown at us every single minute – but I slowly understood the need.  Surely there has got to be a happy medium. Roland and I had both applied for several positions in August.   Nothing seemed to pan out.   Perhaps that is why Roland went with this hidden jewelry store which others had evidently heard of.   I never have.   The location is NOT a prime location.   It ’ s set back behind several food places.   For the first two months of being hired the Roseburg location wasn ’ t even open – though the building was there. The pandemic had slowed down its reopening.   And then when they did reopen they didn ’ t have any heat. ...

           Roland got off at 5:00 on Tuesday and we met him in the driveway.   Jenna had a carry-on and boarding pass in hand.   We arrived at the airport in just over an hour and Jenna walked through the gate by herself.   I should have taken some pictures but did not even think about it until now.   Thus this is the only picture we have of us in Medford.            The next picture she took was after she arrived in Las Vegas.     I ’ m guessing that she must have gone out to the curb to meet Randy as she was not aware that Devan was with him until later on the ride toward St. George.   Randy took this picture of Jenna under the Arizona sign as there is a piece of road from Nevada to Utah that goes through the state of Arizona.   I think it is kind of funny as there is no access from Arizona and so if there is an accident on that road even though that part may be in Arizona, the em...

          Jenna had been accepted to Southern Oregon University which we toured on the 19 th . We had invited Jenna ’ s friend Kylee to go with us. We had to have proof of vaccination or else a negative result on a “ last 24 hour ” test.  I thought Kylee would have had that already but was not able to get either in time for our tour and so ended up not going with us which is really too bad.  I think she would have enjoyed it.         We arrived in Ashland very early in the morning.   The elements were dark but there were buildings lit up with Christmas  décor .   It was as though Ashland embraced us with welcoming arms.   It was so beautiful and inviting. We had arrived early and thus able to get a decent parking spot in front of the admissions building which is where the event started.  Those in charge admitted us into the building so that we would not freeze as it has been cold outside....