Finding a Sense of Normality

       Every year the local elementary schools make ornaments to hang on the tree that is displayed downtown.  Each year they walk from the school to the downtown area where the tree is displayed so that they can hang the ornaments themselves or drop into a basket of ornaments to decorate higher than they can reach.  On the first Saturday of December there is a gathering.  There is music and free hot chocolate.  And then there is the lighting of the tree. 

Jenna took this at main street and second
avenue entrance to park (closed off in Dec)

      This year Jenna and I saw decorations carted out as some contributed to decorating the town.  

Jenna took this one yesterday.  So foggy this morning
that only one strand of snowflakes could be seen

The tree was lit without all the hoopla that it has seen in years past.  Only lights adorn the tree as there are no ornaments. Students have not returned to school since they left for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Everything in Oregon is online until further notice. 

       On Saturday we’ll have annual light parade (here and here). I don’t know where we’ll stand to view it and keep our distance at the same time.  It’s nice to have normality after a hard year of chaos. Trucker Light Parades are available on youtube as my video was removed here.

https://kval.com/news/local/christmas-truck-parade

Yesterday's Church Services

             When we are baptized we take upon ourselves the name of Christ – which means we will do our best to follow his example. The purpose of the sacrament is that it allows renewal of covenants made at baptism.  We have sacrament meetings so that we can partake of the bread and water – which in itself does not require the entire time we are at sacrament meeting but rather a fraction.

Every sacrament meeting which I have personally attended has had an opening song, opening prayer and announcements followed by a song for the sacrament, the sacramental prayers and the passing of the sacrament.  That is until yesterday.  Because the ward had decided to broadcast the meeting for those unable to attend in person, the sacrament was held at the end of the meeting.

Once a month the congregation are invited to bear their testimonies – express their gratitude for the gospel, share their faith, etc.  Yesterday just happened to be fast Sunday.  Although a mask has been required since our return to church, the person at the podium is allowed to remove while he/she speaks into the microphone.  The podium and mike are wiped down between each speaker. Both Jenna and I made it up to the stand.  I followed a youth who had not removed his mask but spoke loudly and clearly unlike me who often mumbles without the inconvenience of a mask – let alone behind one.

My testimony included that even though this year has had a number of inconveniences – it is a trial that has helped me relate the scriptures to our current situation and have a better understanding.  I also talked about the #givethanks and #lighttheworld programs which have added a positiveness to social media which has been greatly needed.  I concluded with how grateful I am that Heavenly Father has sent Jenna into our lives and how she always has a spark.

        Jenna followed me with her gratitude of being from a stable family as many of her friends have no clue what a stable family is.  To so many of them it’s an unforeseen myth.  The testimonies shared made for an awesome meeting.  After the closing prayer the camera was turned off those in the congregation stayed and prepared for sacrament meeting.  Jenna and I both stayed to meet with the missionaries for a correlation meeting.

    When I returned home, I read about another inspired testimony meeting that took place ten years ago.  So grateful for ward families.

I’m Not About to Cook Eggs for a Dog!

          My aunt had a Scottish Terrier when she was ten years old – or perhaps Heather was a family dog.  I barely remember the pet dog.  

I of course don't have a picture of Heather
but copied the photo from this site:

Grandma and Grandpa had planned to take my aunt to Europe and had asked mom and dad to house sit while they were gone. Taking care of Heather was part of the deal.

          My mom had not grown up with pets nor seemed fond of them.  Grandpa had left instructions and told my mom that Heather needed to have two fried eggs each morning.  Mom said there was no way she was going to fix eggs for a dog and so my dad made the eggs for Heather each morning during their stay.

          Whenever Roland cooks eggs for the dog I always think of that experience that mom had shared with me.  For the most part Bonnie will get scrambled eggs rather than fried eggs – except this morning.  I fried up the white part but the yolks were still runny when I put them in Bonnie’s bowl.

          As I have mentioned in previous posts, there is a slew of fowl who come into our yard and expect to get fed.  This morning they were following me around like I was a magnet and they were all made of steel.  

The owners told us that if we ever find eggs we can keep them – which we probably would have done anyway.  We did not know they were roosting right beneath our deck.  Roland sends Jenna out every morning to gather what she can find.  The first time she found 24 but because we didn’t know how old they were, Bonnie got them all.  

The two that Bonnie ate this morning were dropped before they made it into the house – hence why Bonnie got them instead of us.  We don’t give her eggs often. Roland purchased a bunch of chicken organs for Bonnie when he and Jenna were in Grants Pass last night.  Dogs enjoy eating hearts and livers.  They seem to give Bonnie energy.

LtWobo days 3 and 4

 Yesterday I posted this picture without a caption. 

My sister was the first to make a comment to which I replied:

 “That is Palmyra.  They don’t know where in the sacred grove was the first vision.  It’s not so much because of the first vision [that this picture brings peace] but because of the solitude I felt just being there."

 NY had just reopened and had barely started phase one.  Tours were done virtually - although we took a self guided tour before the missionaries showed.  There were more cars in the parking lot when we left than had arrived.  It was a nice peaceful feeling being in the grove by ourselves.

I provided more info in this post 

Today’s caption for this photo:

“When the angel comes to the shepherds to announce the child’s birth there is a light that shines through the darkness and changes the countenance of each shepherd (or shepherdess) and I can see a sign of “hope” in their faces.”

Transformational Landscapes

I have shared these two paintings before and although they look nothing alike I can always see the above in the dark even though I’m really looking at the one below

The top one hung in my mother’s home for as long as I can remember.  When I was younger  I had marred my mother’s picture when I took a pencil to it and scribbled in the water. 

 Corey had done a research about the painting which he mentions in this post.

If I had claimed the painting as my own, it would have been for sentimental reasons and nothing more.  I never disliked the painting, but it wasn’t my favorite and overtime I had become bored with it over the years and yet there was a comfortable familiararity about me that I really have missed the last seven or eight years.

Roland had purchased the seascape and fog one just over three years ago.  It hung above our bed for just over a year until after we purchased a bed frame.  Now it hangs to the side and I will often see shadows cast over the painting but instead of seeing the misty shore and sea I will see the painting that was in my mom’s house.  Isn’t that weird? 

 

Recycling Lights and Day 10

      Today’s Light of the World feature is to Highlight our hero on social media and just like last year (here) I think those who truly have Christ like attributes would NOT want to be showcased on social media.  Especially if they don’t see it in themselves.  Thus here is my post for day 10.

        Jenna had an assignment in which she was to write an essay answering different questions about a book character or a personal ancestor.  She chose the latter and we found an ancestor I knew I had stories for.  She needed more words than the three stories combined. As we couldn't answer all the questions accurately we fudged a bit on “what might have been” – it was quite a good essay, but not exact as we have no way of knowing if all the facts were actual – only that much of it was “based on truth”.

        When Jenna learned what Day 10 would be she excitedly asked if she could share her essay on facebook.  At first I told her that perhaps she shouldn’t as certain family members might take it as truth, but the more I thought about it I wondered how many would take the time to read it especially since "posting s story" seems more inviting to her than having to post it to the "wall".  

            I have many stories that I have shared throughout this blog. For the most part I have not posted them on facebook - mostly due to lenghth.  That’s too much information for facebook in my opinion.  And yet my brother would often write lengthy posts - especially during the time that his mother-in-law had COVID.  Those I would read - but sometimes would only scan.

        The experience that I am now sharing was from a different ancestor and another side than the one we used for Jenna. For facebook I will end up with only one paragraph that explains a journal but not much of a story line.  But I will share the story here and send a link to any of those that may be curious enough to want to read more:

        Just a brief history to hopefully make this easier to follow.  My great grandmother had four children.  Her only daughter married and had three children: my dad, his brother and his sister. Great grandma’s oldest son married and had six children (three boys and three girls).  The eldest of his children also had six children – five girls and a boy.  I will provide the names of four as I am about to mention the “story” and what unfolded as a result.

        My dad’s sister had four sons.  One I will refer to as Skyler. Dad’s cousin had the six children.  Her only son is Brett. He fits somewhat in the middle. The last time I remember seeing my second cousins was when Heidi was four to six years old.  I had forgotten that dad’s cousin had also given birth to twins after Heidi. I don’t believe Skyler knows about Brett or Heidi or any of the living relatives on that side.  But I could be wrong.  I don’t suppose it matters to the point of this story.

 

On March 29 this year was our second Sunday since the schools shut down and we were on a Stay-at-home order.  Skyler had shared a post about great grandma’s grandfather on a family facebook page.  He sent a Acrobatic link which included pages of Richard’s journal.  Richard is our 3^rd great grandfather. 

I did write a brief synopsis at receiving the journal (here) but did not mention what took place shortly after that. 

Brett has been active on ancestry and I thought he would be interested in Richard’s journal as well – though some of it is really hard to read.  At the time it did not appear that Brett had an account on facebook – though I have seen his name quite recently so must have created an account during the pandemic – I’m thinking in August.  I don’t know if he’s posted since then.

I am facebook friends with one of my dad’s cousins – Brett’s uncle, his mother’s brother.  I knew the names of three of his sisters but had no idea what their married names were and so went to their uncle’s account to see if I could possibly find them that way.  I saw that Heidi and I had two fb friends in common – her uncle and my daughter-in-law.  What?  How would my daughter-in-law know Heidi?  Turns out they had lived in an area that Heidi’s mom had grown up in and seemed to dislike.  I smile every time I think about her saying “Who wants to live in [place]” – and here she has at least two daughters living there.

 I messaged Heidi:

         “I understand that Randy and Carrie used to live in your ward.  I am Randy’s mother.  I am also your second cousin by way of your Grandpa J and my Grandma Helen.  I used to work with your mom at Snelgrove’s ice cream store.”

I mentioned that I’d been searching for her brother as I believed he might be the family historian and told her about Skyler sharing a piece of our 3^rd great grandpa’s journal and asked if they might have seen it.  Unfortunately I was unable to send the pfd. I asked Skyler if he could email it to her but do not know if Heidi was able to view it.  But I have shared other things with her – a photo of Randy and Carrie’s baby, a family photo of our grandparents, great grandparents, and her mom when she was three or four years old.  I also shared a photo I have shared on my blog before and our relationship with the Bird family (see here) 

          The point is I had made a connection with living relatives which to me is more important than lineage.  Not to take away from ancestry or those who thrive on it.  I have shared other discoveries on my blog as well as my lack of enthusiasm for family history in the past;  I do enjoy maintaining present and keeping records for posterity so they may hopefully have a better attitude toward genealogy than do I.

          Though I don't share the story of the ancestor himself,  I have briefly shared our lineage and the experience of connecting over social media.  I don't guess that's showcasing my ancestor - though he has become more than just a name to me. He evidently wrote some poetry in addition to his journal.  

not all the pages are this hard
to read but much of it is

Day One: Donate and Share on Social Media

        I am not the type of person who seeks recognition for performing an act of service or feel the need to blow my own horn and yet so many of the “Light of the World” suggestions want us to use social media to post our accomplishment or share suggestions.  This day for example

 

As though social media is not already flooded with donate to this cause – donate to that cause.  So and so is raising money for this charity or that – and now light of the world wants me to add to that:

 

        “Look what I did!” 

I can share a link I suppose. But I’m not going to.  I am not alone.  My RS president is not too thrilled with the idea of posting our every move when it sounds like we are blowing our own horns which I’m sure is not the intent of the church.  It’s probably more of a missionary tool and because of COVID may be limited to activities that we have done in prior years. 

 

        I have written something for day 10 which in my opinion is too long for a facebook post. I am sure I will be posting it to this blog before the 10^th.  Perhaps I will provide a link to the paragraph I have selected for my day 10 fb post.  I don’t think all my Light the World activities will make it to facebook however.  Does that mean I am not sharing the light appropriately? Would sharing a link on facebook make my light more genuine?  I don’t think it would.

Driving Conditions

 

                Rumor has it that the school district in this area has finally wised up to doing online schooling until the end of the year.  Cars were at the schools today but no buses on the roads.  Perhaps the instructors are still teaching from the school building. Seminary is still being held in person.

It is now too dark for me to leave the house in order to pick Jenna up on time.  I used to leave the house at 7:00 and take a longer route to the church but did not have that option this morning.  As there were no buses I thought I could make it in time but as I rounded the corner and saw a familiar car driving toward me. I stopped and the other vehicle stopped and Jenna got out and joined me.

Initially the driver didn’t want to make a stop on the way to the high school to drop Jenna off as he would encounter school buses.  Oh, I totally understand that, but as there is no school he was willing to drive her and I asked if that could continue.  Still waiting for a reply.

But then again, there is another girl who has stopped going to seminary as she does not go to public school either and her mom can no longer drive her.  They live in a different city – same as the driver who used to pick her up.  Perhaps he could add her back to the route again and we will have to find another way for Jenna.

It was raining this morning.  There is still a foggy mist engulfing the mountains.  Not drivable weather in my opinion but I have driven in worse – just not in this state.  Skinny windy roads is a challenge in itself – I don’t need the elements to create more challenge for me. 

Talents and Technology

  Today we watched a YouTube video that my daughter-in-law had sent a link for.  The video itself was only up for two hours but shared the primary program of one of the wards in Syracuse.  The video itself was just over 20 minutes and we were able to watch our granddaughter perform her part along with several others.

    Throughout this pandemic I have been quite grateful for the creativity and talents of others as they share parodies or bring so many together to perform in ways that they are not able to do in person such as these

 

Memories by One Voice Choir (here)

Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4 (here)

Family Lockdown Boogie (here)

Coronavirus Rhapsody (here)

as well as many countless others.

Thank you to so many who have shared their talents and for the minds behind modern day technology which has made this all possible

Our Thanksgiving

         We started off the day watching the last half hour of “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  

Jenna decided that it would be a good time to put up the Christmas decorations and proceed to go out to the shed.  I followed as her last attempt at bringing in the Christmas decorations by herself ended in tears.  We brought the decorations into the house and then watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade – which has never really been tradition for me personally.  It comes on and people come and go while the parade plays.  Occasionally we glance at what is going on.  But come on.  Three hours of parade . . . that is entirely too long.  Parades should not drag on as I mentioned in this post 

         Thursday’s parade was pretty awesome – I think mostly because it wasn’t the traditional parade.  Everything took place in front of Macy’s.  Acts were performed – floats arrived – but it all took place within the same spot.  I thought that was awesome.

         The first number performed featured Jimmy Kimmel and cast performing “Dancing in the Streets” – it seemed full of life and gave hope to this bizarre year.  Most of the performers wore masks and carried social distancing (six-feet-apart) signs while they performed.  It was what was needed to liven up a Thanksgiving Day.  I enjoyed it and the “Schyler Sisters” number from Hamilton. 

“Look around, Look around to see how lucky we are . . .”  Jenna is not feeling lucky living in 2020.  (She is the one who suggested I add that comment)

 

Somebody had asked Alexa a question and some commercials came on. “Amazing Grace” played over a car commercial, health care and McDonald’s.  I thought “oh, how cool that they are playing this song during the commercials somehow linking them together” and then the music stopped and a black and white memory of Macy’s came on.  Then I decided Alexa had been responsible and that the “Amazing Grace” had been from her and had nothing to do with the ads (which did seem abnormal though I thought it was part of it . . . I don’t know why) and Jenna suggested I turn off the TV and turn it back on again in order to get sound.

Roland had dismissed himself to cut up the Christmas cards and gave the cut cards to Jenna so that she could fold them.  I stuffed them into envelopes and Roland sealed them after he finished with the cutting part.  We began to lose interest in the parade after a while but did manage to leave the parade on the entire time it aired.  Jenna put up the tree and we started decorating – even before we had our Thanksgiving meal.

Jenna had the opportunity of making the pizza dough.  We tried contacting the boys and Uncle Bill while the dough was rising. Each call was a bust. After the dough had risen Jenna and Roland made our Thanksgiving Pizza (which is a first for us . . . we usually have Turkey, Yams, etc.) and decorated with pineapple and ham.  We did talk with a couple of families while the pizza was cooking. We then ate our Thanksgiving pizza in front of the television.  We started watching the Christmas Chronicles part 2.  

Jenna excused herself after she ate.  Roland started to fall asleep and I wasn’t about to watch this squirrelly picture by myself!

 We called Jenna back in to discuss our gratitude.  I asked each one what they were grateful to since we moved to Oregon and what specifically this year.  We are all grateful that Roland is still able to work and is a job that we brought with us as he has been working remotely since before the move.  Jenna and I both appreciate living in the country as opposed to the city.  Especially this year.  It was nice to enjoy even just a few minutes being thankful.

        We ended the night with Jenna and I attempting to play games but ended up on with me on the computer looking up the events for Light of the World this year and her programming ideas into her phone about how to fulfill each day – disappointed with the request of posting said activities online.  Take day 10 for instance – “. . . learn about your ancestors and share their stories on social media” I don’t go into facebook to read paragraphs.  Does blogging count as social media?

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.

Gratitude Now and Then

Although many remain the same, I think I provided more detail with some of my 2020 answers.  Though I am grateful for the camera (#2) this year I put air conditioners and electric fans which I am grateful for when I’m hot.

Of course my favorite memory, story and song change on a weekly basis.  One memory I shared this year was about my niece which is the last story I shared in this post in 2012.  

This is what I had posted to facebook this year:

What is your favorite memory? I have so many great memories. I recently thought about this one as I had come across the word “amphitheatre” and was reminded of a time I had gone with my family to see a Desert Star performance at a Murray amphitheatre and my niece Candace (who I think may have been four or five at the time) had dressed up like people did in days of yore. Candace’s favorite video at that time was “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” – anyway, during the performance there was a snag on “Forever Joseph” which was a parody combining “Forever Plaid” with “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. Candace watched the performance in disbelief as she was quite certain the cast members were doing it wrong. Makes me laugh each time I think about it.

I do like the Christmas song Cannon I don't know that it's my favorite.

My favorite abilities in 2019 were to be able to write and create.  This year was:

although I don't have the same sprint as I did as a youth, I am grateful to be able to walk. I am grateful for the technology behind glasses and hearing aids which help able me to see and hear. Though my mind doesn't seem to process things very quickly, I am grateful that I haven't completely lost it.

In 2019 I referred to my favorite Christmas traditions while this year I turned to Thanksgiving:

What is your favorite tradition? Spending Thanksgiving with a new set of people each year. Most of our Thanksgivings in Oregon have been quite small. Two years ago there were five of us. Last year we had four. This year we will have three. I usually enjoy groups that are 8 - 12. I think we are just doing pizza for Thanksgiving this year. And that's okay. I like diversity.  I also enjoy playing games after Thanksgiving dinner which we have done almost every year.

I changed my challenge – being tried in a different way.  I referred to the elections and the gratitude I felt the other day when Joe Biden introduced a new group of people appointed to various positions.  It is a sign of this nation beginning to heal.  We definitely need that.  Good-bye Baby Trump.

My favorite expression last year I said was gratitude.  This year I said smiles.  So missing expressions behind the mask.

Four more to go.  But this list brings us current to today.