Game Night to end 2021

 We had a game night with a two couples we have played with before.  We introduced them to “Virus” which tends to go faster when only two or three are playing as opposed to seven. 

There were some who got bored with the game and started using vaccination cards to assist other players who looked close to winning.  The one who finally won is the one who had come close to winning two times prior.  I’m glad he won.

              We played a second game called Five Crowns. 

              That turned out to be a long game too.  Roland has decided that we should order it for us – probably because he won the game without even trying.

              I LOVE playing games!  Well, many games.  Rummykub which we have all played before.  Roland didn’t want to overstay our welcome and we left after the two games as we had been playing games for two and a half hours.  Both Jenna and I could have played longer.  Perhaps some other time.

I Write For Me

           So often I will write down my thoughts as I ponder over the scriptures.  I write them down in hopes I will remember.  Sloppy cursive that I can’t always read.  I certainly don’t expect anybody else will. 

          Sometimes I jot down ideas when the computer isn’t available.  I plan to transfer my thoughts into something legible.  I still have many ideas stored in a folder for blogging reference.  Most of the time it gets ignored or else I move on from whatever thought I had.

          December 17 for instance.  I had looked up articles featuring Tik Tok and the disturbances it can cause.  It’s said that a fourteen-year-old was arrested for his part in upsetting the school systems and law enforcement who assisted with the safety of the students throughout the nation.  Two weeks later I still haven’t put it all together.

          I write for me.  If someone else can feel something because of my words – that is just a bonus.

Church is Cancelled Today

 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:

Christmas 2021

               We had signed up to feed the missionaries at 4:00.  We watched “An American Christmas Carol” and Jenna and I took Bonnie for a walk.  I think we talked with all three boys before Roland started dinner.

          Jenna says it’s tradition that we always have a breakfast meal for our Christmas Eve dinner.  So guess what the elders got? It wasn’t the traditional breakfast that we normally have.  Roland started cooking the meal just after 3:00.  Our meal consisted of steak, eggs, cornbread and hash browns with bacon.

Three elders arrived shortly before 4:00.  We put Bonnie in my room and fed the elders in the back room where we have the tree. Jenna does not like steak and could have made a meal out of corn bread alone. I think she had at least four pieces.

After the elders left we watched “Encanto” – well, Jenna did.  Roland and I watched part of it and fell asleep during most of it.  Shortly after 5:00 Jenna announced that she’d be going in her room.  Still tired, I asked Roland if he thought it was too soon for me to fill stockings and place the rest of the gifts under the tree. 

Jenna knocked on our door at 5:00 a.m. the next morning and told us that Christmas had officially started as she believes our waking up at 5:00 is also family tradition.  I guess it is, but then so is going back to bed after all gifts have been open – at least for the older folks.  But only Roland went back to bed and I fixed a light breakfast as I didn’t want only candy.

Jenna and I had learned to play a new game which Roland had received from Tony and Rochelle’s family.  It was fun.  We took Bonnie for a walk.  We each wore Santa caps and I wore a new outfit that I had received for Christmas and she was dressed as an elf. Jenna pointed out the snow capped hills behind the clouds that surrounded their base.  The rain has washed it out since our walk. 

At 4:00 Roland started getting hungry and we had our simple dinner of sausage and cheese.  Another tradition as of Christmas 2018 (see here).

The Yellow Ring

 

        I’ve written at least two posts regarding Alexa echo.  One mentions how we’ve separated the two by referring to them as Emily and Stacy (here) and the first post about the two colored rings that appear when voice activated. But there is a also a third color which appears by itself on occasion.  That circle is yellow in color and will provide notifications at random.  The last six were in reference to the weather as a storm is in the midst and has been for the last couple of weeks – though we haven’t seen the storm.

       Currently it is pouring – HARD- hard like the first rain we had encountered at Newport April 2015 (here).  I tried taking Bonnie for a walk.  I was okay with the rain falling down, but she was not.  Needless to say our walk was the shortest walk yet – perhaps the length of ten houses and back. I like the sound of rain.  I like the green grass.  I don’t see a storm. Some MC residents believe that there will be snow on the ground tomorrow.  I have my doubts.

Decoration Pics

 

         We had put our decorations up a couple of weeks ago.  It took us three days, I think, as we had a small electrical problem.  Just before we finished, the guy across the street brought out his lights and stapled them to his house and wrapped around the small trees in front.  I think he was done within 30 minutes.  His lights were on the night he decorated.  I haven’t seen them on since then.  

         Small electrical problem.  Taking apart.  Trying to find problem.  And replacing one switch with another – which was nice.

         

The black indicates where the back porch light was.

But as we no longer have a back porch, the switch didn’t work anything.  I like it not being there as I was always pressing it and of course nothing happened

          Jenna and I decided that we wanted the tree in the back room this year.  This is the tree in front of one window:

And where our stockings hang in the other.

Here is our house decorated

Our tree from our porch

We have put these candy canes up almost every year – each year in the tree where they tend to get lost.  This year we hung them on the side of our porch.

 

Just Over Half

Probably not worth the wait.  

Allow me to elaborate some of them:

 

1       still married

2       never

16     Been near the Atlantic but did not swim in it – I did dip my toes in it though – VA Beach

19     I am not certain.  I’m thinking in Hawaii seeing the Kennedy profile? but I could be wrong.  You would think I would remember

20     covered in 5 posts starting here  

26     Jenna and I pass the time doing karaoke with each other – especially at the beginning of the pandemic.

27     not even a full minute interview on the news feeding less fortunate on Thanksgiving.  The media had misspelled my name.  Not a big deal.

28     Currently I have four granddaughters, two grandsons and another on her/his way

29     Here    

31     Did have the opportunity for that one but did not take it

34     several times as a kid, but most memorable in college when we piled a bunch of us and furniture in a pickup and set furniture around – back in the day of speakers and not radio apps

35     I think I did.  It would have been at Hogel zoo when I was quite young.  I do remember riding the camel.

40     Chevy Vega -the drive was only around the corner from our house.  I ran into a fence and took the blame and paid for the damage.  I never drove a stick after that.  Though I guess I do have the example of the Honda found here. 

42     probably a “No” on that one as I did have roommates – so was away from family so guess it doesn’t count as living on my own – or does it?

43     funeral

45     torn a ligament but never had a broken bone

46     just above my right eye when I was five or six; I’d been spinning around, lost my balance, and wacked my head into the end table

49     the pandemic has sent me into a retirement.  LOL

50     No desire