Bathroom scale reminders

 November, and I have been considering so very many things for which I am grateful.  Today, as I stepped on our bathroom scale, I realized that I was happy to have that relatively small item in my home.  The numbers go up and down, and, for me over the years, seem to revolve in an 8 pound circle.  When they are on the upper side that awareness causes some changes in my daily snacking, when they get too low for my wishes a different type of change takes place.  

The scale keeps me aware of where I want to be in the weight department, but it also serves as a reminder of where I want to be in other areas, of who I want to be.  Reminders are good in both of those areas.   It helps me to work on bad habits, to cut back on the less desirable points of my life. 

When we are out and about where we go can put us in both safe and dangerous places, physically and spiritually. Sometimes the where we are also plays a part of who we are being at the time.  Our mode of behavior and thinking is influenced by our surroundings and the other people who are present at that time.

I have observed people who are kind, considerate people turn into someone else when they are in a situation where they want to leave an impression of "how cool" they are with someone they feel is of a higher ranking of social importance.   It can even happen with a phone call, the everyday individual can become cocky, loud-mouthed, even profane according to the other conversationalist. The idea of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is always present in our mortal lives.   It is good to be reminded, really , who am I?

We Have Done This Before

 We keep thinking that the situation we are now facing is a first.  It may be a first in our lifetime, but that doesn't mean others have not had to deal with similar things.  I work as a journalist and part of what I do requires me to do historical research.  Recently I was given an old folder that contained pictures of soldiers and sailors who had been a part of World War II, with no names attached.  My project now is to identify these 23 men that we assume lived in this part of the country.

This  effort took me to the book Saints At War. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book is about men who fought in that war and also has a bit about how the church organization adjusted to the needs of that time--1941- 1945.  I hadn't given this much thought earlier, but I have a grandson, now serving a mission.  He was serving in El Salvador and when the shut down came with COVID-19 things changed for him. He came home to the states, quarantined, and then made the decision to resume his mission services in the states wherever he was assigned. 

I quote from the book. "On the home front, World War II had a dramatic impact on full-time missionary work. At the outset of the war, the Church evacuated the missionaries from most of Europe. The stories of the missionaries' evacuations are filled with miracles. Remarkably, all escaped without harm. By the end of the war, full-time missionary service had declined dramatically and those  called were sent almost exclusively to missions within the United States." Of course this made for a difficult time for those small congregations of members in Europe to be without the guidance of the missionaries.  In spite of it the members persevered and in doing so, grew in spiritual strength to meet the trials that came their way.

"As the events at Pearl Harbor thrust America into the war, the impact of the war on the Church intensified as many of its programs and procedures had to be adjusted. . . The Church issued several policy directives aimed at curtailing the meetings and activities of various auxiliaries.  Such moves came in response to travel restrictions imposed by the federal government during the war years. In early 1942, the Tabernacle (on Temple Square) was closed and as a result celebrations scheduled in the Tabernacle for the Relief Society's centennial anniversary were canceled. "  General Conference was convened in the Assembly Hall adjacent to the Salt Lake Temple, with only invited authorities in attendance. The tradition of Christmas lights on Temple Square was suspended until after the war, and  church pageants were canceled.  Work on any other temple then in existence were hindered by the war.

Church organizations, not just the LDS, are currently curtailed from their normal meeting schedules. Religious leaders are finding ways to reach their congregations:  emails, YouTube, ZOOM, social media. It is important that mankind know we are not alone and this need is recognized.  

With the war there were fewer young men attending Church-sponsored institutions of learning.  At BYU population decreased from 2,375 full-time students in 1939 to 884 in 1943. Ricks College experienced similar drops in enrollment. Due to lack of male students many events were dropped, sports, homecoming --canceled.  I feel certain this was the case in universities across the land. 

However creativity helped in the adjusting, as it does now.  Mail took the place of one-on-one interaction. Families gathered around their radios.  Other areas of their lives, other than church, also met peoples needs.  I put this in the blog to show that the despair that some are feeling now, with the changes due to the virus do not have to be crippling.  During the Spanish Influenza at the end of World War I, people wore masks. Some were willing to do this, others fought it during the whole 3 years it took for that to be overcome. There were quarantines and neighbors helped neighbors, keeping a safe distance while they were about it. This sounds familiar, doesn't it? We can do this, it is not a first, and we are not alone.

Habits Last Forever

 I use a keyboard a great deal.  Who knew when I took a typing class in high school that those rows of letters, space bar, numbers, etc. would consume so may of my waking hours. It seems the writing of lots of things just falls into my lap. Perhaps those around me think that because I am retired I have little else to do. Whatever the reason I end up using a keyboard a good part of nearly every day.

 I now work as a journalist, writing three columns each week for our local newspaper that is published weekly. I am the secretary for our county's historical society board, requiring minutes, publications, etc.  I do genealogy research and endeavor to write family histories about ancestors and some stories from my own life or that of my family. Currently I am serving as our village historian. I believe strongly in the importance of writing a letter to my family members at least monthly. Ok, I have established that I have reason to be using the keyboard on a regular basis. 

In typing class Mr. Impson taught that one should put two spaces following the end of a sentence or question before beginning the next volley of words. It took some time, but I did get the hang of it and the now developed habit has served me well for decades.

Now, however, the powers that govern the printed word have changed the rules. Only one space between  the flow of thoughts. When one slips up and places two spaces a little grey rectangle fills one of those spaces when the intended material is sent online to a receiver. It serves as a reminder to me that, try as I might, I am still clinging to the old habit. 

There are all sorts of habits in my life that need that constant grey mark to keep me aiming for improvement. Habits become ingrained, both good and bad, and our awareness of them lessens.  Hopefully my putting these thoughts into words will serve as a grey mark in other areas of my life's journey. Life is full of changes.

Shopping over the Century, 1920-2020

      With the COVID 19 world disaster the more recent methods of shopping have drastically changed, along with other facets of our lives. We learned in just the first day of shutting down that our local stores will very likely not have the items we need or want. What a cry for toilet paper there was, and some cases this still exists! Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, disinfectants, bleach, bread. It was amazing to see which basic everyday things suddenly became the number one priority on our shopping lists. There was a feeling of panic when those aisles and shelves were empty. Even Amazon, the great provider, was struggling to be able to satisfy its customers.

          I receive catalogs from several companies at this stage of my life. They are small, 8x11 size, very similar to a magazine in number of pages. Most I have never even ordered from, they just got my name from a list that is accessible for those sorts of businesses. They are a big aggravation to my husband, somehow it is my fault that there are quite a few of them. Besides, they don't contain products where he might be interested—we also get farm related information that is more acceptable.

          But I remember my growing up years having the big heavy catalogs from Sears & Roebuck, and Montgomery Wards, an occasional one from J. C. Penney. Shopping from these big books, sprawled on the living room floor, or relaxing on my bed, flipping the pages, one by one in the sections that caught my attention. Our family used these in the place of shopping at a department store. The closest thing we had to resemble a department store was the Union Pacific Company Store, and its selections were pretty limited---grocery items to my right side entering the building, fabric, notions and anything else on the left, in limited quantities.

        Going back one more generation to when my parents were young. My father lived on a ranch, middle of nowhere. Those Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs provided many things. He even purchased my mother's wedding and engagement rings from these catalogs. Plenty of selections to browse through, write out the order blank and with envelope and stamp, plus the mail carrier to take it to the nearest train depot and things were set. He just happened to be the mail carrier at that time so he would have been certain the missive didn't get misplaced and made the right connections.

         Here we are a century later, with a pandemic squeezing the life out of the world. Shopping from store to store at our leisure is not available, purchasing takes considerable thought and most have a running list as to what is needed to live relatively normal lives. What few stores are open present empty shelves, signs that plead with the customer to only take one or two of the item in thoughtfulness for the next person. Virtual catalogs and mail order businesses like Amazon are even being pressed to fulfill orders. But at least they can, even if delayed, with the help of the postal/delivery systems and the trucks and trains that transport things to a delivery point,  what would now be that depot of old.

         Are we making progress, or tipping backward?

Price elevations

         In my job I get the fun of seeing the prices of various item necessary for life and some extra comforts from a century ago.  It is interesting to see how costs have risen.  Of course life has changed a great deal in that length of time.   Not all of it good.
         So has our ideas of what is necessary to live a good, full life and be happy. Today we are so involved in fulfilling our wants that we don't consider the difference between the two things, needs and wants.  What we seem to want is more, and more and more.  But it doesn't bring happiness. Often it brings the reverse.
         Everything has changed. The building of a home now is one of many rooms, stories, plus extras like a play room equipped with electronic entertainment, or an exercise room where specialized equipment is supposed to keep us physically fit, a special room for laundry purposes, and on and on.  There is barely a trace of the small home with only two or three of bedrooms, one bath, one living area and a kitchen/dining area. That described a fairly extravagant home back in the day.
         Inflation has had a huge influence on the dollar's worth not covering much, but our value structure plays a big part as well. Luxuries of the past are considered everyday needs of the present.
         Even donation suggestions has escalated.  In the past a tip of 10 % of the bill was considered plenty, now it is more like 20% and often the buyer doesn't even get to make that choice since the 'tip' is included in the bill.  Companies, hospitals, charities, etc. often contact us by mail, desiring funds for their worthy cause.  Inside the envelope will be a card that lists suggested amounts of the donation, and none are very low.  A person is made to feel like a cheapskate if they can only afford half of the lowest suggested amount.  The spirit of giving is squelched, it is more like an order.
          So many things are different--transportation, housing, entertainment, communication, simple meals, medical information and solutions offered, the price of a stamp for a letter. With consideration, what hasn't changed?  We still need housing, warmth, water, clothing, food, social connections--the basics.  Most of all we continue to need each other.  Has the price gone up on that as well?

Glasses - A boon and a curse

          Where's my glasses? These are the wrong pair! The age of many pairs of glasses is a challenge that had not been considered in younger years. I had a friend who was very conscious of her appearance to others, but she still needed reading glasses after she got past her 40's. She did have a glamorous pair for reading that she would hang about her neck on a lovely chain when presiding over a meeting or conducting a class. At home, however she had a pair of ordinary reading glasses wherever she might need them: by her cookbooks, at each phone station in her house, by her favorite lounge chair. But once put on the bridge of her nose and used, she would forget to remove them and so when she returned to a specific spot, once again she couldn't see because the glasses had been deposited elsewhere in her home. A source of frustration to be dealt with.

           And then there is the two pair situation. Needing one for normal sight, driving, etc. and a different pair for reading. If both look the same a person is apt to start driving away from one's home, only to discover that the glasses now on your face are the reading glasses and will not work very well for the task at hand.

          More?  Oh yes,,there were three, or four. ... near sighted, sunglasses, bifocals, trifocals, decorative frames, night driving, blue light filters, wraparounds,  high density. The list of possibles goes on.

         I have discovered  some of these other types of glasses that are of benefit for me. Luckily they are easily identified so I don't get them mixed up. The help each one delivers is needed in completely different circumstances. Attending a brightly lit sports arena is the place for the night light glasses as well as driving in the darkened hours. Working on the computer at work or at home is easier using blue light filter glasses. I discovered these wonderful things cut down on migraine headaches, or for me, optical migraines. Who knew such glasses even existed? And of course they haven't existed for a particularly long time because technology didn't challenge our forebears, reading and near-sightedness or far- sightedness was sufficient.  Llilghting in the home differed as well.

         How about sunglasses, also one that is needed more frequently than in the younger years. Multiple choices with this one. Does a person have the darkening type put into their prescription glasses, or not? Advantages and disadvantages to this. Does a person require a front only view, or a wraparound that blocks light on the sides as well?

          Consider the need for this wonderful tool. How lucky we are to live in a time when these various needs can be fulfilled. Imagine what it would be like if there was no help for the problem of deteriorating sight. If magnification was all that was available. I vote for multiple pairs of glasses and finding a way for each individual to place them where needed, when needed.

Backyard entertainment!

When our morning curtains part the show begins, lasting off and on, all through the day.

              Backyard birds. Our backyard is a bird haven. Not just in the warm months, some varieties are here year round. Smaller birds lodge near during warmer months, but two gigantic pine trees seem to be the permanent home for a flock of magpies and they provide plenty of diversion for our observation. Such smart winged creatures, and beautiful as well. I am well aware that they are looked down upon by the human species, but I love them. 

            However, they are not the Lord of our winter backyard. That title goes to a handsome cock pheasant who has somehow eluded the hunters that are about each fall pheasant season. He strides through the yard/orchard at will, not threatened in the least by the black and white scavengers. He is a wise one and the magpies do not mess with him. Today he flew up and knocked one of the apples off a tree in our orchard, high in its branches. He proceeded to drift down and enjoy his treat, magpies flying through the orchard, but not interrupting his feasting. There were more apples available, in an orchard with 10 apples trees, those black and whites could get their own if they were able.

         King Tut (my name for him) must have truly loved his apple. In the later afternoon he brought a younger pheasant cock and three hens to the orchard. Just where they are hanging out I am not sure, they leave by flight to the north east. They are gorgeous to see, fun to watch.

          Now the magpies are back to their normal antics. They steal from the cats' food dish, boldly striding up, checking out the location of said felines  as they cock their heads to one side, then the other, and then they make their grab. Whether the cats are interested in them I know not. Sassy and Purrci are both good mousers and are keeping our vole population in check. It is their job and I am delighted to see them fulfilling it so adequately.

          In following days King Tut has ushered in a flock of about a dozen pheasants, a mix of ages. They roam about, scratching and flattening the snow beneath their feet.  Evidently they find something besides apples for munching. As long as Sassy and Purrci stay near our back door the birds ignore them, but when the cats start that slow, sneaky advance in the direction of the flock the feathered creature rise, helicopter style. low to the ground and then move out as a group.  Only one left, the King, who continues to ignore the slinky shapes. The mousers change plans and retreat.    Party over.

           What is it about this #1 bird that keeps him protected?  Pride, conceit?  He is a great example of self-confidence.  Hopefully his pride will not be his downfall any day soon.

Winter Sunsets

Is it the cold crisp air than enhances the sunsets of winter? Looking down our valley to the west the setting sun on a winter day is absolutely glorious. Not every day, of course. It take a few strips of clouds stretching across the V formed by our mountain sides to bounce some extra color. And they push and pull, a heavenly elasticity as it alters with the dipping of the sun over the edge of the horizon. Just wish there were words to describe.

I have pondered about this a bit. Is my rate of appreciation higher because there are storms moving in and out through the winter months, and days when we have no sun to watch its setting? Not just days, sometimes it is a week or so before we are blessed with a sky of blue during the cold daylight hours. For some reason the colors of blue, orange, yellow and purple have an extra intensity, as though the Painter had thrown some white silver into the blending before casting the color across the sky.

The horizontal swirl of color with the winter blue above.. . It never fails to awaken within me such gratitude for all the beauty that was put into the creation of our planet and the system that brings each day and night back into our lives. The beauty is always there, changing with the seasons, with constant 24 hour intervals, for those living upon the earth to enjoy.

Heavy hands--light touch

New keyboard, new mouse, surely things will improve.  Such anticipation, but they weren't really failing before, just getting worn.  The need was for a new printer, and that was a huge need.  So I upgraded on the other things at the same time, also having them wireless.

Not sure it was the best idea.  I have to type slower, more deliberate, and sometimes that doesn't solve the problem. The letters just won't appear, or half of a word drags itself onto the screen and I have to backtrack to make sense.  I change the way I type, one letter at a time, not winning any contest with so many words per minute, I am not competing with anyone.  Sometimes this seems to help, but not always.   Am I waiting for the mood to get to the system---or what? The mouse will behave when it wants to, other times it dances around, a whirling dervish, totally disobeying the directions given.  All of these antics slow down my production.  This is not a good thing for a writer who has a deadline of at least three newspaper columns weekly.  

The biggest challenge is that my use of my flash drive is completely stymied.  When I insert the drive into my computer base, the mouse dies.  At least vanishes, no action whatsoever, thus no way to use the info brought home on the flash drive.  When I  remove the flash the mouse pops up again, not necessarily behaving, but at least present where I can chase him back to the positions needed. 

More than frustrating! Will have a neighbor who has rescued me in the past come to check this one out.  "Neighbors who know" are a wonderful thing, particularly when they accept that the tech world is somewhat of a mystery no matter how much I use it.  In the mean time I salvaged the boxes that the keyboard and the mouse belong to with the possibility of a return to the esteemed Staples outlet, along with my bill, etc.  And, being a person of little faith when it comes to this sort of thing, I have also kept the old worn and faithful keyboard and wired mouse. In the meantime I am trying for a light touch with my heavy hands, or perhaps it is a heavy touch with my light hands.

Hello again!

         So many times my brain has written more posts for this blog to share with the precious few who read it.  I am sure you have given up on me and with every reason. It has been two years!! I am writing so much of the time with my job and hobbies. If apologies are needed I do extend them.  My son tells me I need to put the link on FaceBook. 
          I had been telling him that I was writing about our backyard birds, the wild variety that inhabit our orchard or nearby habitats.   So now I am going to share that bit of writing with you.  This will also introduce you to our cats, brothers, but quite different in coloring and personality. They also provide much  entertainment.   
          Backyard birds. Our backyard is a bird haven. Not just in the warm months, some are here year round. Smaller birds lodge hereabouts during warmer months, but two gigantic pine trees seem to be the permanent home for a flock of magpies and they provide plenty of diversion for our observation. Such smart winged creatures, and beautiful as well. I am well aware that they are looked down upon by the human species, but I love them. However, none of them are the King of our backyard. That title goes to a handsome cock pheasant who has somehow eluded the hunters that are about each fall. He strides through the yard/orchard at will, not threatened in the least by the black and white scavengers. He is a wise one and the magpies do not mess with him. Today he flew up and knocked one of the apples off a tree in our orchard, high in its branches. He proceeded to come down and enjoy his treat, magpies flying through the orchard, but not interrupting his feasting. There were more apples available, in an orchard with 10 apples trees, those black and whites could get their own if they were able.

         King Tut (my name for him) must have truly loved his apple. In the  afternoon he brought a younger pheasant cock and three hens to the orchard. Just where they are hanging out I am not sure, they leave by flight to the north east. They are gorgeous to see, fun to watch. Sometimes the King brings in a larger harem, around a dozen, and the young.

  The magpies are back to their antics. They steal from the cats' food dish, boldly striding up, checking out the location of said felines and then make their grab. Whether the cats are interested in them I know not. Sassy and Purrci are both good mousers and are keeping our vole population in check. It is their job and I am delighted to see them fulfilling it so adequately. When we first got these two I wondered if they would ever get enough sense to do anything but play with each other and wrestle at every opportunity. The pair are worth their hire, and it is nice to have a good cuddle with them on a regular basis. It is a bonus for me.