Internet Problems Because of the Weather?

 

Played Phrasel with Jaime this

morning and afternoon. 

Still foggy outside.  Seems to

be interfering with

many of the sites on the internet. 

 

Played games with Jaime but had

problems opening other games or

even continue with scrabble cheat. 

It’s like the towers aren’t getting

signals due to the fog. 

 

Only YouTube hasn’t been given me

problems.  Not the way the other

sites have.  Even this site was 

giving me a problem at first.

Come Follow Me

                I am so grateful for the Come Follow Me program

and have expressed my gratitude towards those that

share their talents through Podcast and YouTube and for

the Come Follow Me site on facebook. 

I am really good at following the program until about

mid-May.  Summer comes and I am not near as

diligent and tend to miss out.  At least  this year.  It

appears I had only missed one week of the

Doctrine and Covenants.  And that was in November –

the week of Thanksgiving when all of the family was

sick accept for Jaime. 

I do have another confession – though I’ve returned to the

program and some sources I have not been so diligent about

the Come Follow Me page on facebook.  It used to come up in

my feed when I was diligent about my research.  I need

to revisit.  I need to get back to my routine.

I am better with the fall.  If it would only stay autumn always.

This Site is a Scam!!!!

 When you call a company - any company - make sure you are on their site and not just one that claims to be.

Recently just saw another ad for JUSTANSWER promoting pet advice.  DON'T DO IT.  Just Answer is a fishing site.  BEWARE!

Wednesday is Garbage Day

 

          Garbage day was Thursday when we were living on Jenny in Myrtle Creek.  It was easy to remember when we would load Jaime up in the car to drive her to the church for young women, we would put the garbage out.  The garbage pick up was on Wednesdays after our move to Tri City.  Same days we took Jaime to YW – and we haven’t always been good at remembering.

          The garbage would get picked up just before 7:00 and if we hadn’t put it out when she started seminary, there was still time when we observed other cans out on our street.  But now the garbage gets picked up at 4:00 a.m.  Usually the trucks will wake me up.  Surprisingly they didn’t a couple of days ago.  Neither Richard nor I have been sleeping well this week.  We don’t know why.

Persistence

     When Jaime was little she had this admirable persistence that I don’t recall having seen in many children.  She would go after something and keep at it until she accomplished whatever it is she was trying to do.  She didn’t get upset or frustrated.  She never gave up.  That was so admirable as it started before she could walk.

          Two specific examples I remember were when she was in the tub and there was a sliver of soap floating around.  She was determined to pick it up out of the water.  Of course it would slip from her grasp and eventually became smaller and non-existent.  So it was the soap that gave out.  She continued to look for it though.

          She would see me remove bottle caps from the water I was drinking and replace the cap.  She tried her hand at removing the cap also until she was finally able to do it.  Replacing the cap took a lot more effort.  I don’t know how old she was when she mastered that one – but she could remove it long before she was walking whereas I don’t think she mastered replacing the cap until maybe two. 

          I love her persistence and for how often she has been an example to me.

I Like That Tall Toilet – But the Bathroom Got Smaller

           I don’t bend so well anymore.  My left leg often hurts and I wear lifts under my right foot to even them out.  I got up at 1:30 this morning to take Bonnie out and noticed a pain in my right leg.  What was that all about?  So both of my legs were hurting and I decided that I would soak them in the tub.

          The knobs for the master bath broke off a long time ago and I haven’t used the tub for a while – perhaps a couple of times before Biff and his family moved in but never while they were living here.  I did not realize how tight the bathroom was until this morning.  No wonder Biff is so happy not living here anymore! I’m wondering how they were able to get along in such a tight space. 

Bonnie Of Mice And Men

          Many of us experience a devastation after an automobile accident.  We may lose sleep over replaying the situation in our mind.  We are more cautious when we return to driving.  After a while we return normal sleeping habits and may become a little more lax in our driving habits – or whatever it may be.  Automobile accidents is just one of many scenarios.  I picked that analogy as I think more people may be able to identify with it than to pitbulls or the learning impaired.

         Last month Jaime and I had decided to take Bonnie to Millsite just for a change of scenery.  Unfortunately our day did not end well.  I lost a tremendous amount of sleep over the events that took place.  But it’s been a month and I have started sleeping better but not have completely relaxed nor do I expect I ever will.

         Jaime and I were sitting on a bench and Bonnie was exploring.  Jaime had let go of the leash and Bonnie spotted a dog in the distance – and I do mean distance.  The other dog and her walker had to have been a good football field distance away.  I don’t know why Bonnie felt the need to attack. For a fat dog she is fast and strong.

         Jaime went running after her and lost her shoe in the process.  I cannot run that fast and was slow to trail after.  I saw the other owner running and calling after her dog.  Jaime and I both felt bad and were crying about it.  My concern was more about Jaime than either of the dogs.

Not wishing to encounter anymore problems we decided to cross the field and head towards the car so that we could return home.  Just before we approached another bench Jaime realized that she had left her backpack behind and went to retrieve it.  We both continued to pray about the situation at hand and expressed our concern about the other dog and her owner.

The dog and her owner were reunited but there was conflict. Evidently Bonnie had bit the neck of the other dog and there were threats made but also opportunity for us to leave the park – which we did.  Still there were many sleepless nights and thoughts of animal control stepping in to remove Bonnie from our household and put her down.

Bonnie is a sweet dog overall – if you’re human.  But not to female dogs regardless of size.  We are no longer welcome at the park – not that Bonnie ever was.  Reminds me of Lenny from Mice and Men or any situation of one who may be slower that his/her peers and acts up – perhaps causes harm to a child and the parent of the victimized student may petition to “not allow that retard in the same school”.  It has happened before.  It will happen again. 

We love Bonnie but she is a threat to other animals and that is too bad.  We need to find someone who lives in the country in which Bonnie is the only female dog.  Jaime does not wish to give her up.  She loves Bonnie possibly more than the other owner loves her dog - though I don't know.  It was a bad experience and situation for all of us.

 

         

How Blessed Are We

 

A week ago I taught the lesson in Relief Society.  I had read and listened to the talk several times in the course of a month and it just wasn’t resonating with me. As I prayed about how I should go about teaching the lesson I felt inspired to focus on the upcoming conference and how to prepare to hear whatever message we needed to hear for ourselves.

I passed out a paper with thoughts I had collected from both the church website and Deseret News.  It starts out with how blessed we are to get to hear the words of God through our prophets and apostles and other Church leaders.  Let me emphasize other Church leaders as we heard from many that serve in other capacities.  And what a great blessing it was to hear from each of them.

General conference is a gift that each of us can benefit.  Taking notes helps one to focus – at least it does me.  I know that there were some who were disappointed not seeing Pres. Nelson for three of the sessions.  I appreciated Henry B. Eyring’s as he addressed the “servants of the Lord” – they were all servants.  And all brought “words of truth and encouragement  and greater insight guidance”  I love that.  I love that we have the opportunity to embrace conference.  I didn’t always, but feel more connected and grateful with modern technology helping us to view more freely and fully.

Pres. Nelson is almost 100 years old.  He recently had surgery and sat down for his talk.  Prophets and apostles age.  They encounter health problems.  Eventually they or their spouses are called home.  I remember watching conference when Pres. Hinckley sat alone while those he assisted were absent due to health. 

I am so grateful for modern day revelation and inspired mouth-pieces of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I am thankful for prayer and the guidance of the Holy Ghost.  I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My Favorite Christmas Song

          I LOVE Christmas songs.

I could play them all year wrong

which is sinful in Jaime’s mind –

Halloween should be honored. 

What a terrible thing it is to have

Christmas decorations displayed

side by side the Halloween.

 

We had taken her to Ashland to visit. 

When we picked her up we went to a

few second hand stores. 

In one we found three CDS –

one specifically for Christmas. 

Richard played each CD on the way home. 

Jaime cringed as the Christmas CD played. 

There was one song that played that

we both recognized but NOT as

a Christmas song. 

Jaime accepted “Feeling Good”

Haze and Fall

 I like sleeping with the 

window open if it is 

not too cold 

or smokey.  

Right now it appears the 

smoke and the mist are 

having a fight.  

I think that the smoke 

may be winning.  

Drastic Change

 

I have a drawer where

my shorts live or

used to anyway. 

Weather changed. 

Make way for the

coats and sweaters! 

 

Problem is – I don’t

have enough room. 

Too much bulk for

just one drawer. 

 

I do love the fall though. 

Kind of naughty for the

morning temperature to be

67 one day and 43 the next. 

 

I have gone two days now

without running the air conditioner. 

I would rather have it cold than

overly warm

 

Pretty soon we’ll be

turning the heat on. 

Bah, humbug!

When We’re Predictable - Badges and Suits

                Our Sunday School lesson focused on the latter-day prophets and apostles.  Before getting into the lesson we were asked to share any encounters we may have had with any.  Melodie told about seeing Pres. Monson at a Jazz game and waiting for the elevator with his party.  They were dressed in suits at the Jazz game.  They are dressed in suits every time they are in public.  It’s an image that we perceive.  Could we view them as God’s mouth pieces if they were dressed in tee shirts and jeans?  Perhaps.  They are human beings with their own thoughts but do represent so much more.

          Long before being ordained as president, the then Elder Monson had come into Snelgrove’s ice cream parlor with some companions.  Burnt Almond Fudge was a popular ice cream with the general authorities.  President Benson would order a dish of BAF – no cherry please. Elder Monson would order a double thick BAF shake. 

          One night while he was there my mom went to his table to take his order.  When it was his turn my mom had asked if he would like his usual  double thick BAF shake. 

          “Am I that predictable?” he asked.

          Well, yes.

          Elder Monson than decided to do something unexpected and ordered a dish called “Desert Sunset” which is totally different from a BAF shake.  The dish contained one scoop of vanilla ice cream, a scoop of raspberry sherbet and a scoop of orange sherbet on either side of the vanilla. This was topped with a fruit salad topping.  It was not a popular dish.

          As they were paying their ticket, mom asked Elder Monson how he had enjoyed the Desert Sunset.  He didn’t say he didn’t like it, but did make it clear that it wasn’t a BAF shake.  Mom said he sounded disappointment about the choice he had made.

          I always thought that might make a great analogy on those of us who wear suits or name tags – who are looked upon as examples (whether we want it or not) and what if things changed?  What if we were to wear a tee shirt instead of a suit or order another dish out of the ordinary?  How is perception changed? Or does it change?

          Ordering one dish over another is not life changing.  Some choices don’t matter.  And yet there are some who are so admired they put a suit on out of respect to those who may follow their every move.  Some of us are predictable and that’s okay.  I like doing things out of the ordinary just to throw people off.  What do I accomplish by doing that?