Living Conditions part 4

 Didn't turn out what I had expected.  Still not through.  But closer - I suppose.

Spent the majority of yesterday bringing items from the shed and back room to find a new home

the back room is still in disarray - even moreso than the counters pictured above.

Janeen Lowe

 

I saw the date and

realized I have a friend who

has a birthday today. 

It has been a very long time since

I called her my friend. 

I don’t know why we fell

out of touch. Nor do I

know why I feel

compelled to create this post.

Happy Birthday, Janeen –

Hope you are doing well.

the chocolate here won't kill you

No Apps, Thank You

                When I had my brick phone my son Tony added an app that he thought would be beneficial.  I started getting all kinds of text messages about things that I really didn’t care about and asked Jaime if she could remove it.  Eventually all the unwanted messages stopped also.  I don’t want apps on my phone!  I want my phone to be a phone.  Yes, being able to receive text messages and taking pictures are nice bonuses but really not necessary.  I don’t need the website.  I don’t need apps to clog up my system.

 

         Richard and I had gone to Staples.  An overly enthusiastic employee attempted to give me tips on how to save money if I install their app onto my phone.  I whipped out my flip phone and showed it to him.  When Richard joined us I excused myself to use the restroom.  Apparently he talked Richard into putting the app on his phone.  I don’t imagine it will be living there for long.

The Art of Darning Socks

               I didn’t realize that darning socks is still practiced – and evidently has been upgraded to being performed on the sewing machine. Really?  When I have a hole in my sock, I will just by a new pair.  Forget the darning thing.  I have seen it performed and am certain I could figure it out, but it seems more work than it’s worth.

          I wear cheap socks – not a lot of fabric or weight.  I don’t really care for the expensive ones or handmade or bulky socks.  Richard had purchased a couple of pair for me and Jaime.  I admire the thought – and although the socks are cute seem impractical to my feet.  

The sage are mine and the black are Jai's

For one thing there are multiple threads which always manage to catch on my toenails.  They hug my leg too tightly for another.  I have many pair that do that. I prefer my legs to breathe.  I prefer cheap socks or a bamboo fabric (also comfortable).

Short and Sweet

         In the Church of Jesus Christ there is a meeting in which members of the congregation are encouraged to make their way to the stand to bear their testimonies.  This meeting takes place once a month – usually the first Sunday of each month.  General Conference also falls on the first Sunday of the month and so testimony meeting gets moved to either the last week of the month prior or to the second week (depending on the ward or stake).  In the South Umpqua ward we have held testimony meeting the week prior – except this year.

On March 26 we had stake conference – which is a geographical boundary made of up several wards

April 1 and 2 was General Conference (which is when the meetings are broadcast world wide)

April 9 Easter program

Thus our testimony meeting was not until the 16^th of this month.

          I recall sitting through a many of sacrament meetings as a youth in which testimony meeting especially seemed to drag.  Either a person would make his/her way to the stand and drone on endlessly or else there was such a lull of space in between each testimony that the silence often seemed to account for a longer amount of time.

          There were several things on my mind.  Jaime had made a surprise visit.  I am so grateful to have her so close to home.  I have also grown a lot due to the “Come Follow Me” program in addition to my current living situation – becoming more tolerable I guess and feeling like I have become (and continue to become) a better person as I compare my own faults to the scriptures direction on how to improve.

          During the week I had asked for the Spirit to be with me that I might express my thoughts without detraining from the testimony’s purpose.  Bishop had announced that we keep our testimonies short and sweet – which this ward members seem to be really great at – and there are rarely lulls or distractions like some meetings of my past.

          I mentioned how the “Come Follow Me” program has assisted me with my current living situation and how grateful I have been for the examples each have given me.  I was then prompted to sit down. 

          “But I still have more to say,” I thought.

          I sat down without expressing my gratitude for Jaime and being at a close distance.  And so I am expressing it here.

The Cat We Share

         We have had cats in our yard. 

They come and go.  

Before Jai went to college she would name the cats: 

“Ghost”, “Blanco”, “Midnight”, “Venom” . . . 

all which have vanished over the years.  

Currently there have been two tabbies – 

one yellow and one black and tan.  

Ally calls the black one “Pudding”.  

Her friend, Molly, who lives next door has 

claimed the cat as hers and calls the cat “Muffin”.  

The cat does not live at either house and yet 

both girls have claimed the cat as her own.

         It’s not a farel cat exactly. 

Rumor has it that she/he belonged to a family 

who recently moved but failed 

to take the cat with them.  

I don’t think said family really did 

abandon him/her.  I think the cat is 

well taken care of at different houses 

and tends to hang around.  But what do I know?  

We don’t have a cat as we have two dogs who 

like to torture cats.  

At least our dogs look like dogs.  

The dogs that live at the house next door 

look like two giant wolves.

         Clair has promised Ally that if 

ever they move they can take Pudding 

with them.  Really?

The Latest Scam

           Our son Randy is a safety inspector who makes more money than he knows what to do with.  Recently, Richard has started taking classes in order to become a safety inspector also and has been putting in applications for jobs.  One company texted on Easter Sunday to say they had availability and would like to interview him using the internet.  Okay, I get it.  After 2020 many have relied more upon technology for interviews using zoom or facetime or whatever.  Monitoring a lengthy questionnaire does not qualify as an interview in my opinion.

          I was bothered that the “interview” was to take place on Easter day.  After all, he had just received the text message. Usually one will set up an appointment and not just willy-nilly create a spontaneous message through text. We had gone down to Ashland again as Jaime had left her wallet in the car and figured she would need it before we visit with her in a month.  I think he saw Sunday as just an average day and didn’t seem to care about it being Easter.

          So he decides to do the “interview” which I didn’t really feel good about and would have at least waited until Monday – the fact that the company was willing to compromise any Sunday but especially Easter made it feel like a company would be self-oriented and not care about employees.  I don’t know how many questions Richard had answered before he was asked for bank information so the company could be certain about direct deposit.

          Fortunately, Richard did not provide the “needed” information but instead entered that “by law I cannot provide the information until I have already been working at your company”.  After more prodding on the company’s end, Richard typed in “I will not answer anymore of your questions as both you and I know this is a scam.”

          It infuriates me because not all desperate job hunters are wise enough to stop feeding information.  Just like jobhat – asking over a hundred questions ( including social security number) in their “application” .  When a person is filling out the application he/she/they does/do not yet have the job and does not need to provide social until he/she/they has/have the job. I hate that people will prey upon the weakness of others.  I hope they are all caught and crucified at their own expense and not that of the taxpayer.

          Job Seeker Beware!