Beneath the Wraps

  The high today will be 42 – or perhaps that’s already taken place and now it is going back down.  Weird.  On Tuesday we were told that we would get a storm come Thursday but Wednesday would send a mixture of snow followed by rain.   We had our snow on Wednesday.   This is what is looked like at 7 a.m.     Two hours later it was gone.   Throughout the day we saw flurries of snowfall.    Haven’t seen it since.   I’m so glad Jaime hasn’t had to drive in it.   She has had the challenge of fog however.   Which I suppose could be worse.

            When we moved from Salt Lake to Oregon we were expecting daily rain – though that hasn’t been the case.   We left polluted smog for light fog which seems to have become more dense with every passing year.   This year has been especially cold – a cold I have definitely felt while living in Utah.   It’s been below freezing at least four times this year.          Yesterday we got snow.   It started coming down before Jaime left for work.   But it doesn’t stick.   It rarely ever sticks.   This morning there was no sign of it across the street, and barely even noticeable on our own.   Currently it can only be seen in the hills above us.   I don’t know how long it will last.           And now we have this warning.     In Oregon the snow falls in incheds.   In Utah the snow falls in feet.

             I remember so many cold winters when I was living in Utah.   Occasionally we would have surprises when no coat was required but for the most part we had to bundle up and trudge through snow.           Our first winter in Oregon was so different.   It had snowed once but didn’t last.   snow on the 10th of December 2015 It did not last Jai's snowman kept shrinking By February there were signs of spring.   I don’t remember having experienced blossoms and blooming growth so early in the year before. Today I was reminded of this post I had created 8 years ago “When I was living in Utah, it never occurred to me that one day I would believe that February would offer perfect weather for walking, riding bikes, hearing motorcycles and lawn mowers. I am really enjoying the outdoor temperature right now. ” We’ve had one really nice day in February this year.   We had seen ...

  Richard and I slept in yesterday morning.   He had turned the news on just as it was ending.   He said there had been filmage of our news anchor outside of his apartment building showing us the fallen snow and advising all of Lane county to stay indoors if at all possible.  None of the stations even offered local news this morning.  The elements have created somewhat of a Sci-Fi feeling - sort of like the pandemic in April and May of 2020 Last week Jaime had a six day weekend as school was cancelled due to weather.   So much of the nation is experiencing the severe snow storms and cold.   It ’ s been cold in Myrtle Creek though the snow hasn ’ t stuck in Tri-City we have seen snow in the hills.   Lots of moisture and cold.   But the elements have not effected us the same way as north or south of us.   I don ’ t know if Eugene is experiencing what the rest of the nation is currently.   It ’ s weird to think about. We also have ...

 Today I matched lids and containers for hours of Enjoyment Jai informed me that the school (and I would guess a good chunk of Ashland) is closed today due to the weather

           I have posted only two of six thoughts on the personality quiz that I took.  Thus I have four to go but will wait before posting the next as today is Jai ’ s birthday.  We had her spring break.  It was good to have her home.  We played a few games with one another.  Sadly not with the entire family as our house is in disarray and has been for the entire year due to water damage and contractor delays (which really is another post within itself) and thus lack of room.  Jaime had actually had to resort to sleeping in a bed rather than on the floor which she seems to prefer. No floor space in the room that started out as the office but houses Ally ’ s possessions.   Jaime will need her own room come summer and it doesn ’ t appear that the others will be leaving anytime soon. Jaime spent her last weekend with some friends at a lake house near Reedsport.   She did not return until after three.   Richard ...

  In 1974 Chiffon aired a commercial with the caption “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature” – but isn’t it really the other way around?   The sun shining to make us think it’s warm when it is less than 50 degrees outside.   Last week we had one day when the temperature rose to over 80! Over 80 degrees when every other day had a high of 59 or less.   Give me a break! I see the wind is blowing.   I don’t actually see the wind, but rather the movement.   I know it is cold because I’ve been outside.   I took the pictures less than two hours ago.   One can no longer tell that snow had fallen in the yard – but it is still evident in the hills.   It’s Mother Nature who is fooling us!

 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:

  Jenna took these five pictures yesterday morning: She took these three this morning and I took these two 

Jenna had wanted to do a craft.  We went and gathered pinecones on Tuesday.  Yesterday we made these:   Jenna also found the perfect rock and painted a scene.   I thought it turned out well.   Roland had purchased some sensors for the house in order to detect anyone in our driveway or anyone on our porch.   One was more sensitive than the other and had gone off more times than needed.   He decided he would take care of it when he got off work yesterday in addition to putting up lights for the stairs and moving the initial light he had purchased which wasn’t serving the purpose as he had hoped.   We were about to lose light and I didn’t want him to climb the ladder and not be able to finish the projects he had on his agenda.   He was tired and I could sense that he was already frustrated without a darkness challenge.   I suggested putting everything away and trying again today.   He had the entire day off after all.   He...

            It feels like a Saturday.   I suspect most of the days this week will feel like Saturdays.   On the 21 st my post gives a little detail about my dental experience.   The Novocain wore off eventually – long after the dentist was closed.   I don’t know when I first noticed that my teeth were not feeling right.   Well, two in particular.   Was it the tooth he just worked on?   The bite on the right side of my mouth made contact before anything on my left.   It didn’t hurt but was quite annoying.             I remember the dentist and his assistant having me bite on a paper and saw off some more.   Wait a minute!   I don’t think I am finished.   Something is sticking up that’s not supposed to.             That was Wednesday.   I allowed myself t...

             Even though I knew I had two classes coming up, I had agreed to fill in for one of the aides during the last two weeks of February.  Technically, my two classes started on President’s Day which I had off.  Still, I struggled through that first week and did not make the best grades compared to the other ones I have been getting.             It snowed on the last Sunday in February.  The next morning I had three messages on my phone:  “Buses will be delayed for two hours on Monday morning”  “Buses will be delayed for two hours on Monday morning”  and “School has been canceled for Monday."  I thought I'd take advantage of having the time off and get a better jump start on my classes than I had the week before.  I was able to listen to the live lecture and had completed one discussion post before taking what I thought would be a short bre...

          I have assisted with Vision Screenings before when I was living in West Valley and Jenna was going to school in Taylorsville.   That was probably five years ago.   There was a nurse at one station and at least three other stations with six volunteers, perhaps seven (someone must have served as a runner).   Vision screenings were done in the hall in front of the auditorium.   Two aides worked in teams.   One would stand at the eye chart and point to pictures or letters and the other would sit and record the results of each test of the student - they would also have to find each student and mark the set of duplicate directories that we were all given.   Yesterday's testing went so much smoother.           The Elks Club brought this sophisticated equipment that would read each child's eyes.   Each class had been given stickers to pass out and m...