Back to the Drawing Board

 

           Roland’s boss had told her staff – “whoever has vacation coming up, take it now.”

           Roland took off the last weekend in July and returned on Tuesday.  Meanwhile he received an email from the school that everyone outside of Utah will be laid off on September 6.  It’s not a big surprise for us.  We have known for some time that he could be laid off any day now.  At least now had an idea of when. 

           Roland returned and worked a day and a half when his boss asked if he had any sick leave.  Roland told her yes and she told him to take them off starting then.  Monday was his first day of sick leave and his last day of employment.  Everyone was let go.  So now what?

           To be honest, he seems a lot more worried than I.  He’s been applying for other jobs all along but felt a blow.  I wasn’t surprised.  He’s putting in for unemployment which seems to be more work as he has to report in each week and file the “paper work” each time. 

           He feels like he is applying for the same jobs over and over again and getting frustrated with lack of communication.  Welcome to my world, babe!  But God has a plan for us.  I honestly believe that.  He does not look at the situation with the same eyes of faith that I do.  We’ve survived on less.  We’ll be okay.

           I have called dozens of companies that are withdrawing automatic payments to either change banks or cancel altogether.  No more TV entertainment but we will keep the internet.  How else will we be able to apply for jobs? I changed phone carriers – again – although for the most part I think I would do okay without a phone.  But that’s another post.  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

           Job hunting is frustrating.  They say there is not discrimination with hiring seniors or someone with a masters.  But there is.  We’re getting up there in years.  We’re not as spry as we were when we were 20 but we have grown in ways that the younger generation has yet to experience.    We’ll see up ahead eventually.  The pandemic is not over.  I think we may be better off if we are not working.

The Skies Are Filled With Smoke and Helicopters

The airport is within walking distance. 

Each year we can hear the helicopters . 

Some are looking out. 

Most appear carry buckets that appear

to be half the size of the helicopter. 

Each year the chopper noise increases –

or seems to anyway.   

 

More than it did in 2019 when

the fires were so close and in

2017 when the entire state

was on fire.  We were surrounded

by smoke from every direction and

wouldn’t have been able to safely

evacuate as every direction had

fires burning.  Even last year. 

 

Smokey skies can sometimes make for

amazing sunsets.  I would rather not have

the amazing sunset and have no smoke. 

Bless the firefighters who risk their lives

to keep us safe.

Here is one that Jenna took

Unbelievable – Let’s Talk Numbers

           Would you believe that I finally joined the world of touch screen phone?  I changed my plan – or rather my carrier who does not support flip phones.  I went with them on a whim.  It will save us almost 10 dollars a month – which isn’t huge.  But if I can save 5 dollars here and 10 dollars there, it adds up.  Before you know I have save us 45 dollars not to mention the subscriptions to various things which adds up as well and before you know it I have removed over 100 dollars of unnecessary luxury spending. 

           So I now have a touch screen but have learned that the automatic machines at the other end of the line don’t recognize my pushing numbers.  Oh, that is so not cool.  I am already annoyed with automatic machines as it is.  So impersonal.  How many jobs have been replaced by machines?  A company does not have to pay wages to a machine. 

`I like when the machine appears to be as frustrated as I am and connects me to customer service.  But this machine did not give me customer service.  It said that I would have to try again.  I can’t yell at the machine.  Well, I can, but it doesn’t have voice recognition.  That is why I’m punching numbers.  My touch screen gives me exactly two seconds to tap on something or the screen disappears.  AHHHHHHHH

Overwhelmed With Thoughts

  

https://www.happify.com/hd/5-things-
you-can-do-if-feeling-overwhelmed/

           I have had many ideas – some which I have jotted down but no complete thought.  It doesn’t seem to be a priority.  Whatever Roland is doing takes priority over anything that Jenna and I may have planned.  Right now it’s the back room – which is important.  But I also believe know that he needs to take breaks. 

           He’s taken Jenna to Roseburg a few times which has given me opportunity to blog and either a nap takes priority or else I just haven’t been motivated to write.  He gave me the assignment to paint the trim while they’re gone, but I can’t find a paintbrush.  Nor do I wish to spend my time looking for one the entire time they are gone.  I did put up some masking tape around the door trim – at least I put in some effort, right?  They are going to Lowes and I did put in a request for more paint brushes.  Disposable ones would be nice. 

           Anyway the room is coming along.  Perhaps it will be ready for Christmas?  That would be cool.  I will be sure to post some progress pictures later on.

A Smile in Each Picture

 I have been able to locate 3 cameras and 5 chargers.  Unfortunately  only one of the chargers will accept on of the batteries.  Thus I have been using a camera that Roland had purchased for Jenna during her sophomore year.  I have noticed the streak found across many of the pictures I've taken.  I tried to clean the lens but have learned that there are three scratches on the lens.  I took a picture of a white napkin and discovered the three scratches make a smile face.  How weird is that?

Deceptive Skies

Looks like I used this same title almost three years ago.  Although in today's case the sky here does not appear to be smoky, but the sun does. It appears to be overcast but it is so hot. 

 Jenna had wanted to go to Winston last night to be with her friends. They had planned to see a band called Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Jenna didn’t know what kind of music but Richard and I had assumed country – until we saw different members of the band step outside with their instruments. Most seemed to be dressed in dress shirts and slacks. But the singer was dressed in what appeared to be gym shorts and a tank tee. But with all the dancing and moving around he was doing I could totally understand. 

 I wasn’t even moving and I was drenched in my own sweat. Oh, why did I change into clean clothes that I had just washed and put away and will now have to wash again. There was one woman dancing “like nobody’s watching”. I thought it was great. She had an enthusatic charm in her posture as she moved to the rhythms or jazz. 

 I, too, enjoyed their music. It was fun. Didn’t feel like a kind of music that my daughter’s teenage friends would be into. But what do I know? Thank you those at Riverbend Park and for to the band. Beautiful sunsets. Not as pretty in the photos as it was in real life.

The “Pit” is Starting to Show

           Pit Bulls have always had a bad reputation for being vicious dogs.  Any dog can become vicious if neglected or abused – which Bonnie is not.  She is the sweetest dog – at least to humans.  I have seen a side of her that lives up to the name of a female dog.

 

          Levi is the name of the man who has built our deck and back room.  He has a dog named Roxy – also sweet and probably kind of dumb like Bonnie.  Unlike Bonnie – who is quite overweight – Roxy is skin and bones.  She does look like she hasn’t had a good meal for a while – but she also has little interest in eating or playing with dog toys.  She would like affection and loves to chase the chickens. Bonnie, on the other hand, seemed intimidated by the mass amount of chickens that used to come into our yard.  Now she decided that she can not only chase the chickens but catch them in her teeth. 

          The chickens used to follow her.  Now they run from her – with good reason.  She has killed one chicken which I buried because I didn’t want Bonnie to end up choking on her bones.  That would be cruel irony, wouldn’t it? 

          Today she went after Mitch and Cheryl but I held her back.  I really would not miss Mitch’s pathetic attempts at crowing but not at the expense of having his corpse in my yard at the hand (bite) of our dog.  But then again, the chickens should have never been allowed to roam into our yard in the first place. 

          Bonnie has an itch that she can’t seem to locate.  She moves her head back and forth and makes growling sounds as though she is getting ready to attack.  The problem comes and goes.  I remember her bobbing her head from side to side when we first got her.  But I don’t recall her growling until recently. 

          Still loves to take walks and yearns for human affection from everyone.  But she doesn’t want to share that attention with any female dogs – though another male dog is okay.  I don’t want her killing cats or chickens or earning the reputation of the stereotyped pit.  She really is a sweet dog.  Wags her tail.  Cleans the floor.  Pulls on her leash.  Fast and heavy.

Beauty in the Clouds

 The view was so awesome while we were out walking.  Unfortunately neither one of us had camera or phone.  Here is what I was able to capture after returning home

A Round About Way of Finding the Past

         Jack was raised by his mother.  He had not known his father, but his mother showed him pictures of the man she claimed to be his dad.  She had raised him with his father’s last name which wasn’t questioned until he tried to get a passport.  He dropped the surname that he had always gone by.

Recently he reached out to Roland who had been avid about family history for a few years.  If he could not find someone that he was related to through ancestry he would click on the hints for other family members – such as his late wife or my side of the family.  Jack was interested in knowing more about my grandfather – who was the only grandfather I had really known.  My paternal grandfather passed when I was quite young and I had only met my mom’s biological father only once or twice but certainly did not know him as a grandpa. 

Ralph had married my grandmother when my mom was a teenager.  That’s the grandfather that I knew.  He is the one Jack had inquired about although he seems to have more information about his possible father than do I.  Sad thing is he had moved to Los Angeles long before my grandpa had passed.  Grandpa was living in San Francisco.  If they had had the technology then as what we do now, he might have been able to talk to Grandpa in person.

I forwarded his information to my brother, Corey, who had connected with Ralph’s family at one time.  I figured he would have more information about Ralph than do I.  He does.  Both of us have sent emails to Jack and he has written back to each of us.  This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Permits, Inspections and Bug Attire

         What is “bug attire”? you may ask.  It is when the facial mask and goggles gives one the appearance similar to that of a bug.  It may also be attire one wears for protection but is “bugged” or bothered by wearing it.  Perhaps you can see both definitions in the picture below.

         The back room is already 10 – 20 degrees warmer than the outside.  The outside temperature is not in the three digits but I’m certain the back room is – or was.  It’s mostly insulated now.  We started on Thursday after Roland got off work.  The batting contains fiber glass and so we have to wear long sleeves, long pants, hats and gloves in addition to the respirator masks and safety goggles.  I’m already hot.  I don’t need to dress in hot.  And yet I did.  

That night I threw up four times.  Roland finally told me I was done.

Friday was better.  Still felt hot and flushed.  We weren’t at it for as long on Friday as we had been on Thursday.  Yesterday morning was cooler but I was still hot in my bug attire.  I know I have always been horrible about touching my face pre-COVID – but became more aware of it when I would itch or leak or something and unable to wipe anything because of the goggles and mask – and grateful for them so I did not get fiberglass from my gloves to my face.  Catch 22 though as my face may not have felt soggy and itchy if it had not been for the protection causing the discomfort.

My hat kept falling off and I had the tube mask around my neck but decided it would work better than a hat and so had two tube scarves and changed my googles for glasses as I was not doing much work but watched Roland put up insulation on the ceiling.  It’s like working with the Energizer Bunny.  However instead of having a drum, Roland has a staple gun.

Back to the Children of Israel

          Moses had been raised as a prince in Pharaoh’s court.  We don’t know how many there were in total but at least one.  There was at least one raised along side of Moses who would become the next Pharaoh.  It is possible that he and Moses were friends many years before Moses killed an Egyptian while trying to protect a slave. Rumor has it that the Pharaoh at that time got wind of what had happened and sought to slay Moses and Moses fled.

          Forty years had passed before Moses returned to Egypt – a different man, a different Pharaoh.  Forty years is a long time.  The Pharaoh’s heart had hardened.  He no longer viewed Moses as growing up in the same palace as he.  He saw a poor shepherd and would not take Moses seriously – even with all the plagues.  Even with the killing of the first born.

          The Passover is so named because of the night when the Angel of Death had come to claim the first born from each household.  Those that had painted lamb’s blood on their doorway were passed over.  The Pharaoh did not have lamb’s blood painted on their door.  I wonder if any Egyptians did.  Even after 9 other plagues did they really view the “killing of the first-born” as a hoax?  Did they feel remorse about not having taken the signs seriously?

          And yet here we are today.  Some people have worn masks all along.  Some continue wearing them even though they’ve been vaccinated.  I always feel guilty when I am around them and not wearing a mask.  I have been vaccinated.  Jenna has been vaccinated.  Not many of her friends have received nor expect to receive the vaccination.  Some of her friends parents have made it loud and clear that “no one in the household will be getting vaccinated” and I wonder how many will fall victims to COVID – not necessarily that it will be the first born, but I think it could be a wake-up call for many that the “Angel of Cornona” isn’t passing them by.  Nor do I know if a shot will be as effective as the lamb’s blood so many centuries ago.  

    How often did Moses wish to throw up his hands against the children of Israel?  To try and shake some sense into them and tell them not to act like such big babies?  Did they not  remember the miracles either? It’s not over.  I wish I was wrong.  Sadness.

the "V" stands for vaccination

We Got Our Driveway Back

         After over a month of parking our cars in the street we got our driveway back – at least for the time being.  The exterior of our new room is finished; we now have to work on the interior.  Plus there is still the issue of the floor.  The wet spot in front of the toilet seems to be growing.

Roland and I painted the sides – mostly Roland.  He ended up purchasing a spray painter and moving it was a two man job.  I finished restaining the front dek and will continue with the back stairs – a chore I would prefer to have completed before 7:00 a.m.

Today Jenna and I took Bonnie for a walk.  We walked to a house where a new family has moved in.  There were several cars pulled around waiting for the new owners who got stuck rerouting themselves due to accidents or fires.  I walked Bonnie home after learning the new move-ins had dogs and so did the neighbors.  There were five dogs in the driveway when we left.

I did not do much in the way of assisting – though I can honestly say that I did help.  Jenna and I got a ride home as I was tired of walking.  My trash pants are cut too short and I have changed my clothes at least three times now.  I finally took a shower and have decided to call it a day.  It isn’t even 12:30 noon.