December 2022
New Years Eve Tradition
31/12/22 19:15 Filed in: Family
Another New Year's Eve and one that is a Saturday night. For several years, we have made our Mexican Corn Chowder with shrimp. We made a double batch tonight and with a loaf of homemade artisan white bread to go with it. It is better to be off the roads and at home. I am watching movies and the New Year's celebration on Fox News. I'm looking to see Cole Hauser there who plays Rip on Yellowstone. (Yes!!)
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Mystery Crime Likely Solved
30/12/22 18:56 Filed in: Current Affairs
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students (3 women, 1 man) were found stabbed to death in their house located in Moscow, ID. Moscow is a small town or city and located about 10 miles east of where I spent 6 years attending college at Washington State University. This was a particularly heinous crime and unusual for such a close, small town. For several weeks since, the police and FBI have not seemed to have any suspects in view. Today they had a press conference announcing the arrest of a PhD student (with Washington State University with an apartment in Pullman, WA) at the home of his parents in eastern Pennsylvania near the Poconos Mountains. They live in a gated quiet community. This home is over 2500 east of Moscow. The police also confiscated it appears a white Hyundai Elantra sedan that they were looking for as a clue from video captured around the time of the murders. The suspect is 28 years of age and is studying criminal justice named Bryan Kohberger. He looks a bit like Ted Bundy. The police feel they have caught their perp who killed these four young wonderful students. Time will give us more detail on how his arrest came about and possibly how the crime was committed. Familial DNA and the car were some of the clues that lead to his arrest.
Wind Storm
27/12/22 21:13 Filed in: Berlin Community
We woke up to a wind and rain storm that went through the PNW. Bob was to have outpatient surgery today at the local hospital. This was postponed to January 31 due to the hospital was only operating on generator power when we got there at 6:45 a.m. Our own power went out and we had generator power from about 10 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. There was lots of debris from the trees on the roads, many small tree limbs. We went over to a friend's place where her Golden Chain tree had fallen across her driveway. Use of a chain saw in this area is a necessity.
Crocheting Redux
26/12/22 09:06 Filed in: Personal
I tend to be a procrastinator by nature and try to avoid it. I love and enjoy doing different crafts and I get a thrill from buying an interesting bit of yarn or a kit for assembling a project. I often start then stop my project, letting it sit for months to years. I have to give myself credit that this winter I have a list of tasks to work on and complete. One project I finished was a multicolored striped afghan. It is now on the bed in our green bedroom (our term for wall color). I have way too many projects to work on yet I will give this my best shot at trying interspersed with other projects. On to the next one!
Christmas Songs
I have to agree with this blogger in this post that when it comes to Christmas songs, there is only one iconic singer and version of that song. These resonate through the decades.
Have you had this experience and feeling? "Because it’s December, the background music at Cracker Barrel was a series of Christmas songs and among them was a version of “Holly Jolly Christmas” by some singer who was not Burl Ives, which triggered me to go off on a rant."
Also, "Let us stipulate that many other artists have recorded versions of “The Christmas Song” that have some musical merit. But while I have no personal beef against, e.g., Michael Bublé, when it’s chestnut-roasting time, only Nat King Cole can get the job done right. Having a hit Christmas song guarantees a performer a sort of musical immortality. A singer’s entire catalog of recordings may be forgotten, but if he had a big Christmas song, kids will still be listening to it long after he’s dead. Like, Nat King Cole was one of the most successful singers of his time, with a long string of hit records, but does any kid ever listen to “Mona Lisa” anymore? No, but every Christmas, those chestnuts are still roasting, baby, and it’s the same with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"."
Let the traditions continue!!
Have you had this experience and feeling? "Because it’s December, the background music at Cracker Barrel was a series of Christmas songs and among them was a version of “Holly Jolly Christmas” by some singer who was not Burl Ives, which triggered me to go off on a rant."
Also, "Let us stipulate that many other artists have recorded versions of “The Christmas Song” that have some musical merit. But while I have no personal beef against, e.g., Michael Bublé, when it’s chestnut-roasting time, only Nat King Cole can get the job done right. Having a hit Christmas song guarantees a performer a sort of musical immortality. A singer’s entire catalog of recordings may be forgotten, but if he had a big Christmas song, kids will still be listening to it long after he’s dead. Like, Nat King Cole was one of the most successful singers of his time, with a long string of hit records, but does any kid ever listen to “Mona Lisa” anymore? No, but every Christmas, those chestnuts are still roasting, baby, and it’s the same with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"."
Let the traditions continue!!
Uncancelled History With Douglas Murray
24/12/22 07:41 Filed in: Current Affairs
I am enjoying a series of podcasts on YouTube presented by Douglas Murray on history's famous figures whose legacies are being questioned and cancelled. Murray is a wonderful speaker who is pithy and knowledgeable on his subjects. He is genuinely interested in exploring the histories of these figures with some of the most well-known historians known today.
Murray described why his is doing the series in an article in the New York Post. A portion of this explanation is included below:
What is worst is that they have done this to our nation’s heroes. Every single one of them.
So earlier this year I decided to try to make my own small effort at hitting back. I do not have the resources of the New York Times at my disposal, but I got a team of the best young technicians and researchers and put together a list of the American figures who have been most maligned in recent years. I am sorry to say the initial list was very long. It would have been easier to create a list of American heroes who had not been lied about in recent years.
But in the end we decided to focus on the absolutely central figures. The Founding Fathers, Christopher Columbus, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and more. Throughout the course of this year I have been sitting down with some of America’s — and the world’s — leading historians to fill in the gap of ignorance that has been deliberately inserted into American society.
We called it “Uncancelled History” and you can listen to it on all podcast channels and watch each hour-long episode for free on YouTube among other places. I hope it will be a great learning resource. I am very proud of the results.
Murray described why his is doing the series in an article in the New York Post. A portion of this explanation is included below:
What is worst is that they have done this to our nation’s heroes. Every single one of them.
So earlier this year I decided to try to make my own small effort at hitting back. I do not have the resources of the New York Times at my disposal, but I got a team of the best young technicians and researchers and put together a list of the American figures who have been most maligned in recent years. I am sorry to say the initial list was very long. It would have been easier to create a list of American heroes who had not been lied about in recent years.
But in the end we decided to focus on the absolutely central figures. The Founding Fathers, Christopher Columbus, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and more. Throughout the course of this year I have been sitting down with some of America’s — and the world’s — leading historians to fill in the gap of ignorance that has been deliberately inserted into American society.
We called it “Uncancelled History” and you can listen to it on all podcast channels and watch each hour-long episode for free on YouTube among other places. I hope it will be a great learning resource. I am very proud of the results.
Freezing Rain Ice Storm
23/12/22 07:34 Filed in: Personal | Berlin Community
A huge Arctic air weather system has been crossing the U.S. this week. Our area's part is to have a freezing rain/ice storm move through over night and planned for the rest of the morning. The sidewalks and roads are a shiny skating rink look to them. A day to stay quiet and at home as much as possible.
The view of Berlin Rd and its shiny ice glaze.
The view of Berlin Rd and its shiny ice glaze.
Upwards To 170 Years
I am finally going to take the initiative and explore getting a Century Farm designation for our piece of property. I am a direct descendent of Joab Powell's 4th son, Peter Powell. The family migrated from Missouri to Oregon in 1852. Peter Powell applied for a donation land claim in this part of the Willamette Valley of Oregon. We have 40.2 acres remaining of that claim as a descendent. I have located the coordinates on a geographical map and will explore with the city and state to get more information toward an application. For now the information on a deed map of our property is:
Sec.36 T.12S. R.01W W.M.
Linn County, OR (MAP !2 1 W 25)
S.W. Cor. A. J. Alley CT. 4431
Interior Corner of Peter Powell NOT.2507
Sec.36 T.12S. R.01W W.M.
Linn County, OR (MAP !2 1 W 25)
S.W. Cor. A. J. Alley CT. 4431
Interior Corner of Peter Powell NOT.2507
The Week Before Christmas
I have neglected adding to this blog. I missed sharing during the trip to South Dakota in mid-October and later to a meeting in Pittsburgh. Here I am a week before Christmas and I have not kept up to date with comments and photos.
I thought I would add some thoughts on a TV show I have enjoyed for the past 4 seasons, now on season 5. The show is Yellowstone where it is set in the Bitterroot Valley of SW Montana. The scenery is spectacular. The acting and actors draw you in. The writing is by Taylor Sheridan who is a former rodeo participant and a lover of the Old West, horses and the cowboy way of life. This has become a TV phenomenon. This series is being spun off into other series, one show is 1883/season 1, which shows how the Dutton family came to locate in Montana. At the end of this series, the location is picked by the 18 year old daughter, Elsa, who picks where she will die and be buried following being shot by an arrow that creates sepsis. The next spin-off is set at 1923 and we shall see how the family handles adversity in that day and age.
We drove on the way to South Dakota along I-90 which follows much of the Yellowstone River. We saw the beauty of some of the Yellowstone Country. I am adding here a photo of the Little Bighorn River near the Crow Agency and GaryOwen, MT where Custer's last stand and battle occurred for the 7th Cavalry - a story in itself.
I thought I would add some thoughts on a TV show I have enjoyed for the past 4 seasons, now on season 5. The show is Yellowstone where it is set in the Bitterroot Valley of SW Montana. The scenery is spectacular. The acting and actors draw you in. The writing is by Taylor Sheridan who is a former rodeo participant and a lover of the Old West, horses and the cowboy way of life. This has become a TV phenomenon. This series is being spun off into other series, one show is 1883/season 1, which shows how the Dutton family came to locate in Montana. At the end of this series, the location is picked by the 18 year old daughter, Elsa, who picks where she will die and be buried following being shot by an arrow that creates sepsis. The next spin-off is set at 1923 and we shall see how the family handles adversity in that day and age.
We drove on the way to South Dakota along I-90 which follows much of the Yellowstone River. We saw the beauty of some of the Yellowstone Country. I am adding here a photo of the Little Bighorn River near the Crow Agency and GaryOwen, MT where Custer's last stand and battle occurred for the 7th Cavalry - a story in itself.
