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Check out this picture. Confused? Let me orient you. This is a parking lot of a LDS Church in St George Utah. The two rows of parking are all handicap parking. Yup this chapel has 27 reserved parking spots for those individuals who need the extra space and convenient location.

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This ward building is the home of a 55 year old and older ward. There is no primary, young women or young men. Just old fogies. I did not know there was such a demographic. I mean I know about YSA (young single adult 18-30) and Mid-Single Adult (30-45).

It is nice to know that my church while doctrine is solid and strong the delivery changes to adapt to the new demographic and demands of the members.

The Quest

When I was in Delta Utah visiting my parents my father gave me this stone. He has had it for years and years. . . longer than I have been alive. He found this stone in the hills of Colorado. He has decided to issue me a quest. He asked me to find a jeweler who could identify the stone, treat it, and make some jewelry for my mother.I accepted this quest with much honor. Ever since I moved to Portland my relationship with my father has been strained. I have seen how my brother Brent has stepped into the spot of family savior. I love it. I love not having the pressure to be perfect for my family. Anyway this quest made me feel like I was trusted again. Like I was allowed back into the inner sanctum of my family. It has been an honor and adventure discovering what this stone truly is.

I found a jeweler who is a gemologist who was eager to help. I made the trip to her store and she examined this stone. She was eager to see it and identify it. She is a rock hound that is for sure. After seeing the air bubble in the center she sighed and said it was a piece of natural glass. Glass that was formed naturally is the only stone that can preserve such a perfect air bubble. So my quest is over. I do not get to design jewelry nor pass on a legacy. It is a sad day. So while I did not fail my quest; it is over.

Check This Out

Check this out. I mean check this out. Last week this woman in her 50's came in with a toothache. She said her tooth was loose. No kidding right. She declined to have it extracted (or plucked out). She was in my chair today. She has some psychiatric issues. Her previous dentist had tried to explain that her teeth had a potential of falling out. I am not sure of her history but her maxillary roots are cut short. There is hardware in here sinus. So I wonder if she had an accident in her early teens due to canine roots being normal but 1st premolars are blunted as are 7-10. Back to mental case. She wanted her teeth clean. She would not allow xrays. We had a pano from 2003 and the teeth looked bad then. The lower anterior teeth are a mess. She is missing 23-24 but no space. Ortho had shifted everything forward. I start probing and I am getting 4-6 mm pockets with 4-9 mm recession. It is crazy. Mobility everywhere! ! ! I know if I clean the wall of calculus on the lower anterior those teeth will fall out. I mean that front one moves when air passes when she talks. I do not know how she eats. Yikes. She was insistent I clean her teeth. She needed SRP. I stayed above the gum line and it was killing me. I did not touch 8-9 or 22-27. It was the worst cleaning I ever did. But hey check out that xray! ! ! Can you believe it?

For all non-dental geeks the xray is of the center top teeth. The nub on the right is the tooth on the left in the patients mouth. The root of that tooth has been destroyed and is no longer in the bone. Nothing is holding that tooth in this woman's head except for gum tissue which is why the tooth moves when she talks. It is like a child who is loosing their front teeth it gets more and more unstable until it falls out.

So Proud

Andrea leaves in the morning. It has been great having someone to go to movies and to site-see with. I have enjoyed our time. During the week I went to work and left Andrea home to sweat in my non-air conditioned apartment on the third floor. It was sweltering. It was 100 degrees outside and 92 inside. I had purchased a small room air conditioner for my bedroom. I tried to install it. I failed the first night. I was so hot. I was sweating and hot and irritated. So I went for a drive and cranked the music and air conditioning in my truck as high as it could go. The next day I came home from work and was able to think clearly and install it. I even cut the plexi-glass myself and placed it in my window with Andrea's help. This little box can kick out the cool air. But only for my bedroom. It does not have enough power in it's little frame to cool the entire house but I can handle it. I will live in my room and be happy. I am quite proud of myself that I was able to figure it out. I have never been a handy person. To me it was a great accomplishment.

Andrea's Visit

My friend Andrea came to visit me. She came on July 1st. It was raining. I took her up to Rocky Butte in Portland during the rain. I looked stoned but trust me I was not. Rocky Butte was dark and rainy and the pictures did not turn out well. But trust me it is a wonderful place to view the city.                      The next day we went to Yakima Washington to visit Emily. We celebrated July 3-4 with her. It was a cultural experience. So many toothless wonders. So many hillbillies. We enjoyed the races at the Speedway and Church. Emily drove up to this building and I asked where we were-Hawaii? she laughed and said she thought the same thing when she saw the church for the first time. I promised not to make fun of a House of God so that is all I will say on this amazing structure.

 Sunday Andrea and I went to the coast. We stopped at Rockaway Beach and saw this jellyfish. He looked dead so we left him alone just to make sure.

Andrea was surprised at the cold temperature of the water of the Oregon Coast. It is chilly that is for sure.This morning we went across this amazingly fun bridge that separates Oregon from Washington. It spans the Columbia River. This is where the Columbia River empties into the ocean. It was such a wonderful sight to me. I was fascinated.  The bridge was so fun and worth the drive over and back

Today we were at the beach in Seaside. It is my favorite beach just because I can drive on it. I sit in my truck until I see the spot I want and then get out and play. It is so lazy and wonderful! So Seaside beach was experiencing a frenzy today. These little herring fishes were swarming onto the shore. It was making the birds crazy! One of the locals drove up and explained the situation to us.He said the herring swim in and the birds go nuts. Then if you are lucky you can see some whales. We did not see any whales.

But it sure was fun to see all the birds and to see the fish.

I personally loved the pelicans. They were beautiful to me. They would stand in the fore front of the bird brigade.

Then they would swoop off and scoop up water and fish. It was a spectacular sight. I loved it.

So the pelicans are the larger darker birds seen here with the sea gulls.

The pelicans flying off reminded me of the end of Jurassic Park. With the music and the success of escaping from the deadly dinosaurs.I also realized that once again the coast was cloudy and dark and dismal but still wonderful.

Every time I go to the coast I realize how much I miss it and how much I love it.

I wonder what my future holds. I wonder if I will be able to stay here in Portland and for how long. I wonder if I will ever live this close to an ocean ever again in my life. It is hard not knowing the future. If you know how to get insite let me know!

Ode to Chocolate Creaminess

Oh Utah Truffle how I love you.

This is my love. It is cool, dark, creamy and completely satisfying.

I found these packets of love when I lived in Cedar City Utah. They quickly became my rescue chocolate. Rescue chocolate is the emergency chocolate stashed for those urgent moments where chocolate is required. When I moved to Oregon it was one of the luxuries that I missed.

One day I went to Deseret Book in Lake Oswego, Oregon and discovered that they sold these little high calorie bits of joy. I bought 2. I went back the next day due to Dan trying it and loving them also. The store was out of the mint flavor. It was heart breaking. Since then when I am in the neighborhood I stop by the store to stock up on this emergency ration. Sometimes they have mint sometimes not. When they do I purchase 5-6. I feel like such a closet hoarder.

Today I went book shopping and looked for mint bars. There was not a single one. I asked when they were going to get some more and after further investigation it was reported that due to the heat of the season no more shipments will be arriving until fall.

WHAT?

I had heard about refrigerated trucks but I guess they must be an urban legend.

How am I supposed to live without my security chocolate reserve....it is a good thing I have two bars in my fridge at home.

I am glad I am a secret hoarder