Beneath the Wraps

             A few years ago a friend of mine had given me her old kindle.   She said she wanted me to have it so that I could read or play games.   I brought it home and had Roland look at it and create an account for me.   He did so using his Amazon account.   Whenever I turned the kindle on it greeted me as Roland's kindle Roland's kindle (though it's not)   I wasn’t much for reading electronically, but did enjoy the games.   I mostly played word games. After a while I had played the games and turned to daily puzzles which I would download before I left the house.   That way I could play them while I was on my lunch break.             After a while the kindle decided to spaz on me and would claim it would recharge but then it give me the kindlefire sign and I couldn’t get past it.   I did nothing with it for a few weeks and Roland decided to restore the kin...

           I’ve seen many landscapes in different view                    from my friends houses                    Medford pear orchard and during drives beyond city limits and touring the coast or McMinnville              I have missed some views such as the solar eclipse two years ago               but the skies were filled with smoke from the fires that had burned that year           I have missed seeing stars due to the heavy clouds and rain though my view of the sky has been spectacular this year Fog can be eerie – not much of a view when it envelops us     I’ve seen both nature and manmade...

                Yesterday was bleak.   The temperature remained pretty consistent throughout the day  fluctuating   between 53 and 58.   There was a hint of moisture in the air.   I was able to breathe so much better than I have for over a week.   It has been really dry the last five months.   Dry as though I had never left Salt Lake.                     As I hadn't slept well the night prior, I slept several times during the day.   I needed to stay home and rest.   Perhaps I should have rested all day, but had left word that I would help with the library annex.           It is our fourth year to celebrate Halloween in Myrtle Creek.   Each year the city will close off a few streets downtown and everyone is invited to ...

        I'm guessing that Tri City gets its name from being in the middle of three other cities.   Myrtle Creek is north of Tri City, Canyonville is to the south and Riddle is to the west.   Though Tri City has its own fire department and water and sanitation source, it does not have its own post office but shares a zip code with Myrtle Creek.   http://www.myrtlecreekchamber.com/aboutarea.html         The communities seem supportive of one another and don't have rival cities - which is good.   I enjoy the comradery of living here.         Though I've written several posts about the libraries here, I'm afraid I haven't done much with them since last summer.   Riddle has full support from their city and has decided to go independent.   Myrtle Creek doesn't have the same city support - pretty much the opposite, and so the system joined...

             Ester's birthday is coming up soon.  I thought we should get her a book.  She seemed to be into princesses the last time we had seen her,  and so I chose one with Disney princesses.  It's a step-into-reading treasury included with six stories, a two sided princess poster and 24 miniature princess stickers. I think she will like it.              We were at Costco and Roland didn't seem in too much of a hurry and so I took my time looking through some other books that were on display.  I smiled as I read "Everybody Loves Bacon" written by Kelly Dipucchio and illustrated by Eric Wight.               Besides the wonderful illustration, I found it to be a clever story on remembering your friends and what might happen to someone who gets a swelled head.  I think Tony would have enjoyed the same humor that I fo...

         One of the gifts that I opened on Christmas was the Chicken Soup for the Soul "Positive Thinking"   stories full of reminders not to give up and to do whatever it takes.         As I read I think of examples from my own life:         Karyn was agoraphobic.  Her son had gone to a mission in Brazil and had developed feelings for a certain young lady.  After he had gone back to visit, he announced that he and this girl would be getting married and living in Brazil for a while.  Knowing that he needed some support from the family, he wanted his parents there, of course. Karyn and her husband had enough money for only one plane ticket. And because of her fears of dealing with crowds, it was decided that her husband would go.         His job seemed to complicate the situation as far as the date was concerned.  It...

Winslow Press started the creation of a series called “Dear Mr. President” – I think a wonderful introduction.   I love the five books that were made.   I wish there was more.   I don’t know why it was discontinued – or so it seems.   Winslow Press doesn’t seem to offer publication later than 2002 (that I could see) and it doesn’t appear the site has been updated since May 2009.     Perhaps Winslow Press is one of many businesses that has had to file bankruptcy in the last decade and a half.   The three books I will focus on most are: Theodore Roosevelt: letters from a young coal miner by Jennifer Armstrong, Abraham Lincoln: letters from a slave girl by Andrea Davis Pinkney , and Franklin D. Roosevelt: letters from a mill town girl by Winthrop, Elizabeth. Though the Letters are fictionalized, information provided in the correspondence is based upon meticulous research.   I like how Winslow press refers ...