Another Expression of Gratitude

         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 family photos – though not everybody was able to make the card.  The one brother not in the photo complained about leaving him out.  

I told Roland that he would but have come to think of it as symbolic as Tony and Rochelle are always running late.  They could have easily missed the photographer taking the picture – or maybe they were the one’s taking it.  I had told Roland to put masks on all of our faces.  He obviously didn’t take my suggestion.  Maybe if he had Tony might not have complained.

 I think Roland’s sending out cards is helpful to some of those on the receiving end – especially this year.

Day 3: Laundry and Day Road Park

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

Day 2: Niagra Falls

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

Jenna's idea to pose this way

bridge over river

Jenna took this one of the falls

took several of the rainbow effect

 

 

 

Fire on the Freeway

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 missed the “stand still” traffic – but I didn’t know I5 had been turned into a parking lot until I was part of the non-moving traffic.

I had even pulled over to allow a firetruck to pass.  We didn’t know that we would see at least eight more emergency vehicles use the shoulder to pass the long line of trucks and cars.   We could see the smoke.  Black smoke to the west and white smoke to the east – or so it appeared.  Some drivers exited their vehicles and walked around in search of answers.  I don’t know if they ever came.  I watched three different news shows and there was no report.

 I don’t know how long those toward the front of the line had been waiting.  Jenna and I had only been a part of the line only twenty to thirty  minutes though it seemed longer as it was over 80 degrees outside.  I think the smelly smoke just added to the heat that was felt.  I don’t know if plastic was involved.  By the time we got pass the “source” it wasn’t identifiable.  According to this report which I found this morning, the remains had once been part of a motor home.  

rough example of where I think fire was.  Red line indicates
the area we were delivering cookies.  Purple path is alternative
of not using freeway.  Orange path shows path firetrucks had
to take in order to get to the fire.

This view was taken from above - I have no idea where the
photographer was standing.  I didn't know there were roads there

This is how the smoke appeared on the west side;  photo cropped from this link
 https://kobi5.com/news/i-5-temporarily-closed-north-of-canyonville-due-to-fire-128192/

Jenna took most of these.  I think I may have taken this first one

There were several cars between us and the ones in photograph

Taken from our car

I took this one of Jenna handing out paper
cranes she had made during our wait

after about 20 minutes or so

all of these vehicles had passed us on the shoulder

hard to believe it had been a motor home as this was all that remained

 

A Walk Through the Rain

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.