Orange Signs

              I haven't seen construction since coming to Oregon with Denise back in June.  Haven't missed any of the polycones or orange signs or slowed traffic. 

              The schools were closed and so I didn't count on the typical 3:00 pm traffic.  I thought it odd, as I was driving yesterday, that traffic seemed to slow down to a halt.  Oh, construction.  Haven't missed it at all.

              After five months of an orange-free road, I have seen signs of construction in this November bleak.  Really?  They couldn't have picked a time with better element conditions?  I'm not complaining.  Waiting for halted traffic in Myrtle Creek and Tri-City is nothing compared to Salt Lake. 

              I really do enjoy being the only car on the road at times.  I haven't missed the orange on the road.  Have enjoyed the natural orange found in the sunsets and on the trees.  There's a bit of tranquility that comes with living in Douglas County.

My Most Unfavorite Time of the Day

         I generally drop Jenna off at school a half hour before she needs to be there.  I also arrive on the lot before all other cars so as to not fight school traffic.  Jenna has always taken her time walking to school or across the field.  When I am the driver who is picking her up, I welcome her dawdling.  In first grade we were always the last car to leave the parking lot. I HATE school traffic.

        

         Kayla was looking for a sitter for her two and as Jenna’s school is the same distance from their house as it is from my own,  I figured I could watch them at Kayla’s house and then pick up Jenna.  I should have left her house the minute that Kayla came home. 

        It’s been four years since I had lived in that same neighborhood and wasn’t taking into account that the school in that area lets out a half hour earlier than Vantana.  Before I went out to my car (which was parked on the street) I saw the yellow bus pulled up by Kayla’s house.  I wasn’t aware that there was a bus stop on that street.

         The stop sign was out and lights were flashing.  It was behind me and I didn’t know if I had to wait for it or not.  I waited for just a bit until I realized that I wouldn’t be getting the attention of the bus driver really soon (as she was visiting with a parent) and as I was not passing the bus, I pulled forward through a maze of cars and dumpsters (that must have been really great fun for the bus driver)

         I have never liked the main street which is closest to street where Bill and Kayla live – nor the cross street at the second intersection.  Lights were blinking red indicating that traffic wouldn’t be moving at a rapid rate.  Ahead of that were the spaces of red X’s and green arrows and three lanes of broken yellow lines that always make me feel like I’m driving inside of a video game.  Perhaps it’s popular in bigger cities, but that is the only street I know of with that set up.

         What’s ironic is the street seemed desolate for decades.  I remember when my mom had driven out to her uncle’s house sometimes when her mom was in town.  The drive seemed sooo sooo long.  Now it’s congested and makes me tense. 

         Bus STOP sign, dumpsters, children, traffic lights and merging . . . What’s normally a ten minute drive took me eighteen minutes.  Fortunately I had given myself twenty.  But alas, I wasn’t the first one to arrive in the parking lot.  I was too late just to park in the shade.  But I didn’t have a long wait like I did when Jenna was in first grade.  Actually she’s been getting out to the car rather quickly.   Must be the seven habits.

Orange is the First Color of Spring

When winter feels like it’s over and the roads are no longer covered by snow and the days have been warm, UDOT jumps all over it and starts setting up poly cones and orange barrels all over the valley – particularly on roads that were under construction JUST A YEAR AGO.  That’s how one can tell it’s spring in Utah – or at least it’s supposed to be.

It is also a sign of agonizing weather to come.  (Could it be that Mother Nature isn’t fond of construction either) because just as soon as those roads are closed and the walls are set up, we have rain, we have wind, we have sun – and what is at least one day in April without snow?  Sometimes we get all the elements in one day.  It’s bad enough having to deal with the detour signs and the non-moving traffic.  April’s weather prolongs the construction by at least a month.

But I don’t know that UDOT had anything to do with the light snow sent our way this morning.  I think my family is responsible for this morning’s events, as we put up the trampoline last night. We haven’t ever had a trampoline in our yard before – but we are learning it’s just like UDOT’s poly cones or our putting up the A/C – for whenever we put that up, we have three days to two weeks of rain.

This morning, it really was a light snow once it landed, but a bitter freezing fall.  Seriously.  I can’t believe how many days we’ve had in the last two weeks in which we needed a parka on one day but could get away with shorts the next.  It’s crazy.

And I have learned that I have now become one of those personalities that I still often make fun of: a person who wears sandals (or flip-flops) and a coat or jacket of some sorts.  Really?  Do we think the parka/sweater will protect our feet as well?

Jenna had wanted to cash in her birthday money and gift cards for something she might want.  It was a nice day when Jenna and I left the house. I wore sandals over my bare feet.  While we were out the weather changed.  As we were passing a dry cleaner, I ran in to get some pricing so that we could get several of Roland’s ties done.  I grabbed a jacket from the car – still I had my bare feet.  I rolled my eyes at myself.

Now I have a pair of socks in my purse – which I ought to switch out as they look pretty dorky with most anything except covered by long pants and sneakers.  But if the weather is like it was that day or freezy cold like this morning – I’m willing to deal with looking stupid.  At least I am prepared now.  (Well to a degree, I guess)

Those dreaded Orange barrels

          Jenna’s favorite color used to be pink.  But now she says that it’s orange.  I like orange sunset and flowers such as poppies and marigolds.  I suppose when it’s from Mother Nature’s paint brush. Then it appeals to me – but I don’t care for orange clothing and I get irked by orange barrels, polycones and flashing barricades & signs because it’s a message implying delayed traffic, construction ahead and so forth.

          It’s not so bad when it doesn’t become a permanent part of the road – but day after day, month after month, even year after year in the same spot – which is usually the case.

          Both my mom and I live off main and always busy streets.  The street near where she lives has been under construction for at least eight months to two years and doesn’t appear that it will be finished any time soon.  Christmas time was the worst.  Hello – like turning onto (or even off) that street isn’t challenging enough.  Let’s add some cones and barrels to the scene and really give the public a run for its money.  What a madhouse (mad street?)

          When I recently turned off my neighborhood street onto the main road I saw orange barrels were set up blocking the lane I normally turn into.  “NO!” I thought.  No.  I am elated to say that they had moved by the time I returned less than three hours later (insert smile face)

          For the most part I take as many back roads as possible getting to my destination.  And when I would go visit my mom, I had a back road route so that I only had to cross the street under construction.  But my back way has gotten worse than the street I am trying to avoid.  And so I have taken alternate routes – alternate out of my way routes.  I understand the necessity of construction.  At the same time I am so annoyed by it.

          And then there’s the route to my daughter’s school.  For three years now – the same exact area is lined with orange barrels from August – September.  Really.  I don’t understand.  I suppose I’ll have to take a different route for two months. *sigh* 

          I do notice overall that the city seems to move a lot faster than the county.  Not always.  Summer is near its end (here’s hoping anyway) and more polycones and orange barrels have seemed to pop up here and there.  Why?  It is always a challenge to find a road without construction.  But what a great reward it is when it is found.

Those Poor Confused Geese

          I’m walking my dog at the park when two geese started honking.  Highness hadn’t even noticed them until they brought it to his attention that they were there.  So of course he starts yowling and the geese took off and started circling the park – honking loudly as they flew.

          Now since I don’t speak geese, I don’t know if they were warning other birds that there was a crazy dog in the park or if they were announcing: “No – it doesn’t appear to be springtime over here, either.”

Or if they were just lost from their flock and asking others to make themselves known.

It’s supposed to be springtime huh?  According to the goose’s bodily calendar, it is time to end their southern vacation and get back to work in the north.  But the elements just don’t jive with their predictions.  And it’s frustrating.

But geese are not the only ones to suffer here.  It is every driver in the road who encounters poly cones and orange barrels, signs that say “Road Closed” and “Men at Work”.

Actually I haven’t seen the “Men at Work” signs this year.  I suppose after the elements they have faced the last few years, it is better just not to post them than to have the public say, “Where?  I don’t see anybody working”

It rains.  The sun shines.  The wind blows.  Sometimes all within five minutes of each other. It can be very frustrating.

That’s how it’s been every year I have tried to plan Jenna’s birthday.  Everybody wore coats on her sixth birthday when we had the clown.  I finally had a back up this year.  And so we held it indoors.  Guess what.  The weather was nice.

I hope the geese realize that it’s not just them.  We have all experienced a degree of questioning Mother Nature.