Beneath the Wraps

            Over the years Jenna has had many photos taken with Santa.  This one taken in 2010  is my absolute favorite and I don ’ t even know who took it.    We had been living in West Valley for only a week and were still not familiar with most of the ward members.   I did not have my camera and someone waiting in line to take pictures of her own children offered to take some pictures from her phone and said she would send them to me.   It is rare that anybody from my past has taken pictures for me promising to send them and 20 years later I am still waiting knowing fully well that they will never be sent.   But this sister – who was only visiting our ward and not a member of it - took three shots of Jenna and she did send them to me.   For that I will always be grateful. Roland asked me to send it to him so he could use it for the upcoming Christmas card.   He recreated this Norman Rockwell using ...

It was a stay at home and play games day.   I wanted to wash our masks as I knew that mine personally had been drenched in sweat and had evidence of food.   In addition I had washed three days worth of clothes along with the masks.   I didn’t even bother to sort into piles, but washed everything in one load. Later on we took to cars to Day Road Park.   Carrie says they call it that because it is located on Day Road.   Original, right?   Here are some of the photos we took Across the street from the park.  Flags were at half mass everywhere inside of the park.  Remembering those who fell victims to COVID Carrie says Santa will come to this house each Christmas season

As with Lockport, the visitor’s center at the falls was also closed.   There were a few gift shops as well as eating places that were open.   No tours.   No boat rides.   No crossing the Canadian border – because even if the border was open, we don’t have passports. There was a time that one could travel to Canada from the states (and vice-versa) without a passport if one had another form of ID.   Apparently that is not the case anymore – though I don’t know when the change occurred.   I would guess in 2016 when Trump became president.   What a jerk!   What is wrong with people to have elected and voted for him!   I hope that citizens in other countries are aware that Donald Trump does not represent me nor most of those I associate with. Not much to say.   Enjoy the photos. closeed Hard Rock Cafe bordered up; closed gift shop open taken from visitor center visitor center: closed buildings on Canadian side of falls Niagra river Jenn...

The Relief Society Pres has felt impressed to make little banana breads and plates of cookies to be delivered to some of the sisters in the ward.   I volunteered to help with deliveries and had Jenna with me as we drove around to deliver cookies.  Two of the sisters we had delivered to live off the same exit as our friend Caroline.   So after we had finished delivering the cookies, we stopped by Caroline’s house to visit.   I think we were a bit closer than six feet apart but did keep our distance.  We could hear the sirens and then followed by a noise between a “pop” and a “boom” – it didn’t sound like gunfire exactly, certainly not an explosion.   I still don’t know if it was related to the sirens or not, nor do I know what happened.    Caroline  said she could smell something resembling like burnt plastic.  If I had gotten back on the freeway and headed south, driven through Canyonville and back through Riddle I would have mi...

Roland doesn't like to walk outdoors when it only looks like it's going to rain.  Walking in a drizzle is horrible.  And an actual downpour makes him very uncomfortable.  He wants to walk either in the sun or in the dark.  Jenna and I like the rain.  Here are some pictures from yesterday's walk.