Early Riser...41º

For some reason I was up at 4am this morning...much better to relax in my recliner doing scrabble than tossing and turning in bed...Had 3 pans of tomatoes in the oven by 7am... Started getting things ready to make dill pickles...went to book group where we had a good discussion on "Work Song" by Ivan Doig and chose the book "Major Pettigrews Last Stand" for our October read...Back home I did 9 pints and 4 quarts of hot dills...then toasted bagel chips for bruchetta for garden club tomorrow...Packaged the tomatoes for the freezer...Herb cooked bacon for BLT's for our dinner.

I intended to write more about the trip to Hood River?..Lets see what can I say...Pat turned the driving over to me when we got to Enterprise, as she remembered me saying that I prefer to drive the curvy two lane road rather than the freeway...She doesn't mind the freeway since she is accustomed to driving the freeways of Maryland, which she says are a nightmare...I'm sure she is not stretching the truth there.

It seemed like a very short trip to Pendleton, because we have so much to talk about... Have only known each other for a year so are still discussing families, schools, Wallowa County, children, careers and life in general...The beautiful scenery of Tollgate flies by... As we approach Pendleton, lights are flashing and they divert traffic to a side street...Pat says, "Oh no it is Pendleton Roundup"!  I navigate the detour through town, side streets lined with cars, people crossing everywhere headed for the rodeo grounds...No problem getting to safeway and the gas pumps, where we fill up and take a bathroom break...Pat takes the wheel to our next stop at Arlington...A leftover lunch furnished by Pat in the park delights the "yellow jackets" who think she invited them!..Since she is very allergic to stings, we eat quickly and make a mad dash back to the car...Next stop, Fred Meyer's in The Dalles...After that it is a short trip to Hood River, and a new adventure.

Must get moving this morning, cleaning, arranging and planning Garden Club...Think I will demonstrate planting bulbs in a pot for winter bloom in the house...Tour the garden, weeds and all...The rest of the tomatoes and cucumbers will wait until tomorrow..I must go to write group this morning, can't miss that...~OWAV:)