BURRrrrrrrr...11º

Up early this morning... Herb replenished the wood stove to keep our home toasty on a cold December morning...How fortunate we are to have a warm, comfortable home!..We are especially enjoying the heated tile floor in our bathroom, toasty on our bare feet.

Had a fun evening with Becky and John last night as we visited over enchiladas and apple pie à la mode...Both of them are fighting colds/flu and Pam stayed home with laryngitis...This is the time of year for the "flu bug"...Becky leaves for her last semester of law school on the 4th and of course will be glad to have the next 5 months behind her and then comes the real challenge of the bar exam and finding a job!

Chatted with Pat (in Maryland) this morning...They ended their season at Applewood Farm last night and today Brian will start taking down the lights and Pat will inventory and pack up the gift shop...Then a few days spent with son and grandson at Disney World and on to the Florida Keys for a month of sunshine and warm days.☀

Cienna and Stan were busy over the weekend fine tuning with the robotic's team as they prepare for the state competition...Bobi is racking her brain for more sort of-rhyming ditties on her blog--12 days of Christmas...Rusty is actually home in Bend for awhile working on insulation, wiring and heating of his new shop.

That's a look at our world on this last day of 2012...Wishing all a safe New Years Eve and many blessings in 2013....Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Sunday Morn...20º

 Temperatures about the same today with more promise of sunshine...The fog lifted yesterday and the sun poked through for a short time...Long enough for me to make two laps on the track, then return home to heat soup and make salad for our dinner.

Our meals are much simpler than they used to be when we had three meals a day...Now we are happy with hot or cold cereal or toast and jam for breakfast, (occasionally Herb will make bacon, eggs and toast)...Soup, salad and bread for our dinners (at about 2pm) and some kind of snack in the evening like fruit and toast or fruit and cottage cheese or I will eat leftovers from dinner...About three times a week we have a full dinner such as roast beef or chicken with potatoes and gravy or spaghetti with meat sauce and a salad...Then I use the leftovers for other dinners of hot sandwiches, or add the meat to veggies for a stir fry...This is much simpler than starting each day from scratch.

This afternoon Becky and John and maybe Pam are coming for dinner and I'm fixing my version of enchiladas...I brown some ground beef with onions and garlic, add canned deer meat (shredded) then lots of chili powder and cumin, some roasted tomatoes and simmer..place a heaping serving spoonful of  this in the center of a softened corn tortilla, top with cheese and onions...Roll it up and cover it with heated home canned chili, top with more cheese and onions...Nuke for about 1 minute, spoon on sour cream and sprinkle with chopped onions, peppers and olives...Serving several people as I will today I put the filled plates in the oven until all are ready then just like the Mexican restaurants I hand them out saying "hot plate, hot plate"....Will make a huge green salad and not sure what dessert will be....Maybe we will try some more of my IPA....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Dark...18º

The little cloud at the corner of my blog is todays forecast...I'm hoping they are wrong and we have at least a few hours of sunshine...Last nights full moon illuminated the mountains behind our house at bedtime...But this morning it is either covered by clouds or has disappeared behind the mountains and at 6am it is very dark...

For the last two days we have had sun and I drove across town to the schools track and started what I hope is a regular routine of walking daily...My knee finally feels strong enough and needs the everyday exercise to get it back into shape but I needs a stable, not slick, surface to walk on...I will keep you posted.

I wrote off and on yesterday and plan more of the same today...Fixed nice juicy hamburgers for our dinner and we shared a bottle of the IPA beer that I made (with help from Nick) in November...It now has just the right amount of "head", nice and fizzy...Hmmm Good!..Hugs to All....OWAV:)

PS...On yesterday's post the link Devil's Slide didn't want to work so I have reposted it and hope you will take a few minutes to read a piece of history.

Writing...25º...Sunrise

The end of the month, putting words on paper for Katey...Working on stories about siblings...It is a tough assignment...They call it creative non-fiction--Meaning that you can expand on the story using your imagination...How far can I go without stepping on someones toes or hurting feelings...That is definitely not my intent...But I want to make it interesting and add some humor...How does what I remember differ from what my sisters remember...I love the phrase "No two siblings grow up in the same household"...Think about it!

While writing about Loraine yesterday I mentioned that they lived in Devil's Slide...My memory wasn't very clear on this little community so I googled it and found an interesting article...I'm including the link for all to read...Any feedback would be appreciated....Hugs To All..OWAV:)

The Ticking Clock...20º

The light of day increases just seconds a day as we move on from the winter solstice and into the end of the year...I like the thought of more daylight.

Becky and John arrived back home last night so Herb is off of "animal feeding duty"...A trip to Enterprise today to pick up an everyday prescription is on his agenda...We cleaned up the leftovers in the fridge yesterday so I have to rack my brain for menus for the next few days.

Nothing is jogging my mind today to write about so will sign off with the usual Hugs....OWAV:)

"White Christmas"...23º

It is a good thing that we planned Christmas day around a trip to the Elgin Opera House to see Irving Berlin's "White Christmas"...We picked Pam up at 1pm under threatening skies...Had a few snow flurries on the way...We were soon seated, popcorn and drinks in hand...Their popcorn is excellent...The show was first rate, incredible scenery and costumes for such a small company and the talent is amazing coming from the Grande Ronde Valley...It really helps to have EOSU (University) in LaGrande and its theater program...They performed to an almost full house and we enjoyed the singing and dancing and appreciated the time and energy that goes into a performance like this...It was a magical performance with lots of laughs... We left to the strains of "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas".

Walked outside into a winter blizzard and so glad to have Herb to drive us home as in Minam Canyon the storm was intense with snow piling up...It snowed clear to Lostine, then dwindled away and we arrived in Joseph to the same scene we left some four hours earlier...At least we had our "White Christmas" and an enjoyable afternoon.

We visited around our table eating soup, bread, salad and ended the day with pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream....It was a nice day.

Rusty chatted in this morning, home from Mitchell, after eating way too much food he said...Waiting now to catch up with Bobi and hear about their Christmas...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Christmas Morn...14º, Partly cloudy

Looking back over last years blog posts of Christmas week...Temperatures and weather about the same...Very little snow, temps in the teens...Rusty was here and we were busy with baking and sewing projects.

Yesterday our house was fragrant with the smell of homemade bread that Herb and I delivered to friends and neighbors then back home to read, compute and count our blessings.

Today we will share part of the day with Pam, drive to Elgin and take in the musical, "White Christmas", then home for a bowl of soup, bread and pie...Pam came into our life over 20 years ago...She a single Mom with 2 kids, us empty nesters as our kids had flown away to start their own lives...(Still coming home for visits of course.)..Pam, Nick and Becky joined with us when our kids came home for holidays, or not, depending on the year.

Later this morning we will Chat with our Portland kids as they get ready to have this years Christmas with Stan's family...Rusty is at the ranch in Mitchell with his friends, out of cell range.

We send greetings and love to All and hope the New Year brings many blessings your way...OWAV:)

The Kink is gone...26º, Calm

My neck feels much better this morning, no sharp stabbing pains when I move my head, slept good last night and ready for another day of baking bread...We had mild winds yesterday with snow blowing around but little accumulation.

Mid afternoon while Herb went to tend Becky and Johns animals, I visited with friend Margaret who is home from the hospital...Her mind is much clearer without the pain meds but the pain returns and wears her down...She has another appointment scheduled with the pain clinic and hopeful that they can help her...We had a good visit and her spirits improve with company...She has a lady spending nights with her, giving assistance when needed.

Back home Herb and I had comfort food (mac and cheese) along with finger steaks and salad for our dinner...Rusty is spending a few days in Mitchell so out of cell range, chatted with Bobi who was finishing up the last Christmas gift and making plans to help Stan's mother with Christmas dinner...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Morning...35º

As promised yesterday, I stayed warm and cosy, heat pack on my neck, more drugs than I usually take in a month...Sometimes mellow, other time cranky until by 3pm my neck was moving fairly normal...Eyes kinda glazed....Rolls for Johns Birthday Party were raised and ready for the oven...Herb loaded the car with Christmas boxes, filled from the cellar and Della's & Herbs candy store, for Becky and John and Nick and Jen & kids Christmas gifts...OH and a case of Johns favorite beer for his Birthday present.

We arrived at their house, to the wonderful smells of a ham dinner....We were the first of 10 people invited to arrive...Becky was ready to take the ham out of the oven and the rolls took its place...Soon everyone else arrived, drinks passed out and potluck dishes covered the serving table...John carved the ham and we sat down to share a delicious dinner with friends/family...Becky had made cupcakes and lit up the house as she covered them with candles, for John's 47th Birthday (December 21st)...Cupcakes devoured Herb and I made a quick exit, driving just a few blocks to our quiet, cozy home on Barton Heights.

We read and played on the computer until bedtime, my neck moving quite easily...Woke up at 2am and my head did not want to lift off of the pillow...More drugs and I slept until 7am...Looks like more heat, maybe ice as well today...Neck feels fine unless I try to move it....Hugs to All...OWAV:)

BRRRR....35º

Much colder with the wind chill factor, snow flakes in the air...I woke up with a crick in my neck...Took drugs, showered....Now using moist heat trying to keep it limbered up...I have things to do it needs to go away!

I probably shouldn't go on and on about my sourdough bread but yesterdays was the best yet...Ten pounds of elastic dough, that rose high in the pans...Soft and dense inside and chewy crust all around...Plan to stay warm and cozy today....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Warm 35º...occasional wind...5am

Maybe the wind gusts have finally quit...The winds of the past two days remind me of a time 30 years ago this month...I worked in the school cafeteria and walked daily with my boss Margaret to work, no matter what the weather...The wind had blown all night but on that morning had calmed down and the rain had stopped...We visited our way up the hill to the school...No debris scattered around and we didn't look up...I was first in the door that morning and walked through the kitchen headed for the light switch...It was very dark and seemed like water on the floor (broken pipes, I thought)...I switched on the light and opened the door into the cafeteria where I was met by a light filled room, looked up into a star filled sky as the cafeteria was missing most of its roof...Water now covered my feet as it rushed through the kitchen door...About that time Janice the morning custodian burst through the other cafeteria door and said, "Oh my god, there is water flooding everywhere!"

More of the early morning staff (bus drivers) arrived...Bud head of maintenance and busing started making phone calls...First to the new superintendent, who called teachers, canceled school and told everybody to stay home...Bud started calling contractors and about that time the wind and rain returned with a vengeance...No matter what the superintendent had told people no one stayed home, soon kids, teachers and parents were there...People had push booms moving water to the outside, industrial vacuums arrived, people were sand bagging the gymnasium doors to keep the water away from the hardwood floors...Others were rescuing photo's and frames blown off of the walls and now floating in 3" of water...Contractors worked in hazardous conditions together with students and staff to get a temporary roof on the cafeteria.

We the cafeteria staff could see the writing on the wall...Our Christmas break was going to start a couple of days early and what were we going to do with the ham waiting in the walk-in to be cooked for our annual Christmas dinner...Immediately we made plans to fix breakfast and lunches for all the people now working at the school...By late afternoon the school was repaired enough to keep the continuing rain out and plans made to have a new roof in place so school could start again in January...By 3pm everyone had been fed and we cleaned up our kitchen, froze food that we hadn't used and called it a day....Hugs To All....OWAV:)

Sunny, more wind to come...11º

I had my last physical therapy session yesterday, it was sad in a way as I've made friends with all of the therapists there...For the past four months we've become acquainted, shared conversation and laughter aside from the sometimes not so pleasant work of treating my aching knee...So thanks not only to Aaron but also Tyler, Ann, Franze and Jean for their caring.

Such a nice sunny day on Upper Prairie Creek yesterday, no wind...A small house built in the 50's from a kit...A full view of Chief Joseph Mountain...P has decorated with antiques handed down from her mother...Fresh paint, refurbished wooden floors, hours of work, loving care makes a cozy nest...Only four of us writer gathered there to share our stories of Christmas's past, then we dined on potluck of creamy cauliflower/cheese soup, smoked salmon on pita bread and buffalo wings... Squash pie and chocolate creams for dessert...We visited until mid afternoon not wanting to leave this comfy cottage.

I arrived home, Herb patiently waiting, so we could take a drive to Wallowa Lake...A mission to check on a cabin and retrieve forgotten medicine that will go in the mail today, then wing its way across the country...Stopped to visit with Becky and John on the way home, checked their schedule and set up a date for dinner before Becky returns to Salem for her last term in law school...Home to our cosy, warm house for an evening of reading before an early bedtime....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Write People...15º...No Wind

Yesterday the wind blew most of the day, light corn snow fell, but was blown hither and yon over what is a bleak landscape this time of year...This morning it is as quiet as the proverbial Christmas mouse...Herb and I are the only things stirring at this house.

The monthly book group met yesterday with only 4 people there...An unusually small group, as often we have a potluck brunch, read favorite Christmas stories and share food with many friends...So are people busier this year or maybe there were enough other potlucks and concerts serving cookies to all that we didn't need more food...It worked for me because today we have our annual "Write People pot luck" which sometimes turns into a gourmet event.

Today I have more photo's of edible candy "things"...This is a fun project but didn't take me long to realize maybe I should stop as once the Holidays are over these things are just dust collectors, not washable and nobody is going to want to eat them...I made hearts out of candy canes, tied them with ribbons to hang on the tree and gave them to my book group friends...The candy dish out of Jolly Ranchers has been broken twice, then finally mashed into small pieces with a hammer and shaped into two dishes not quite as fragile...Enough candy dishes for one year!..OWAV:)

Merry Christmas with love!

Still too fragile

After melting 3 times, colors are still vivid.

Copy and Play...38º

I'm a great copy cat and Bobi gave me the idea with her edible candy bowls/dishes featured on her blog...Herb made a trip to the local grocery store and came home with hard, round, mint candies...I googled and found more photos, hints, failures (some turned out to be a work of art)...So I plunged in, arranged the candies on the cookie sheet and into the oven...Watched closely and in less than an hour total had my own edible candy dish...(If only I liked hard candy, which I don't!) No problem it can be used for my upcoming "groups" to share my homemade candies...

Looks flat but it is curved up on the sides.

Yesterday I visited Margaret in the hospital...Freshly showered she was feeling better and we had a good visit...A quick trip to Safeway and the candy aisle, I came home with Jolly Ranchers and candy canes...Made a small dish before it was time for the afternoon concert.

I like this one

Pam and I arrive at the concert, most of the chairs taken so we headed for the balcony and settled in...Not the best seats to see but we were there to listen and the acoustics are oh so good...For the next two hours we listened to Brass, Violin, Piano, Ukulele, Dulcimer and Voices...Traditional, Rockabilly, Blues and Fun Family Christmas music...The time sped by.

We arrived home in time to have a glass of wine and experiment more with the Jolly Ranchers...We opted for a round dish and left more space between candies...I left it in the oven longer so everything melted together but the end result gave us a thin, fragile dish...Beautiful but not practical...In fact a chunk broke out of the left side as I moved it around...It was a fun afternoon, good visit and Pam can be found at Safeway today checking out the candy aisle...This might be a fun project with Grandchildren.

OOPS

Sunday Concert...20º

Pam and I are going to another Christmas concert today, held in a new venue...The Josephy Arts Center in Joseph has a home in the old Community Bank building, now in the process of being renovated...A new home for cultural events in our County...I was there yesterday for a book sale (yes I bought more books) and it was warm and spacious...It will be interesting to see how the seating and acoustics work...Our write group hopes to start meeting there in one of the small rooms soon.

Having leftovers for dinner today and must make a trip to the hospital and visit my friend Margaret, stop by Safeway and check on the hard candy to make candy dishes...Other than that, just the everyday stuff of continual picking up and putting away...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Winter Boots....17º

Have been looking for winter boots for myself, so sent an order off to Sierra Trading Post hoping for some nice boots at a reasonable price...Now as Bobi says I'm "booted up" (computer talk) because I'm keeping two out of the three pair ordered (Christmas present from Herb)...Very nice light, comfy boots and a new storm is predicted for today...Maybe I can try them out sweeping the steps and walking from the house to the car as I go out early this morning to the annual book sale being held at the new Josephy Arts Center...Maybe I can retire my old pair of "Sorrels" that I've worn the last 20 years.

Clam Chowder sounds good for todays dinner and we had enough meatloaf leftover yesterday that I can disguise it as Salisbury steak for Sunday.

Rusty chatted in from Bakersfield, California yesterday where he was sent on a small job for LTW...He took the opportunity to drive farther south and visit with his long time friend in Pismo Beach for a few days...You might want to check in on Bobi's blog to see what they have been up to in these busy days before Christmas.

Had a nice texting chat with Pat this morning...She and Brian have all the lights up and ready for tonights light show at Applewood Farm in Maryland, where they lived before moving to Wallowa Lake...Time for me to get moving....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Costco Run...21º

Herb and I left Joseph by 6:30am yesterday headed for the Costco store in Clarkston...This puts us in Washington/Idaho in time to make a quick stop at WalMart and BiMart before we start on the big Costco list when the store opens at 10am.

We started making shopping expeditions to this area in 1973 when we moved to Joseph, OR...At that time there was a "case lot" store in Lewiston and back then all groceries came marked with the cost on the item, (before UPC codes and automatic checkers) so you could easily check the cost of an item...Also "back then" our finances were very limited and I knew the individual prices of things I bought weekly because I had only so much money to spend on "groceries", including paper and cleaning supplies etc...I kept a list, comparing prices always and watched for sales to find the best deal and stock up on sale items...We drove to Lewiston a couple of time to the "case lot" store stocked up on items that we used regularly...Did it save us anything, probably not...By the time we added the cost of the trip, Idaho sales tax, going out for lunch, hitting the "Mall" and going to Penny's, Payless and occasionally "The Bon" (for sale items)...But it was a day out and in spring a day away from cold weather and into a warmer valley where the flowers and trees were all abloom...A mini vacation you could call it.

Last week Rusty mentioned that other store we always went to to for Christmas shopping in Lewiston...He said, " I can still in my mind drive right to, envision the store and in fact I did drive there one time in recent years, the building is still there but not the store. Remember Mom, you had to drive clear through Lewiston, cross the river---what was the name of that place? Remember it was like a catalog where only one item was displayed for customers to look at, then you wrote the number down, took it to the counter and later it appeared from the "back room" to be purchased. What was the name of that place?"

Words like Western and Best came to my mind...So with today's technology I googled "Best Western" and of course came up with a motel...I tried different combinations of words including Lewiston, western, catalog store, 1970's and finally came up with somebody who had lived in Lewiston and the name "Great Western", later changed to "Best" was what they remembered...I also remember a "Great Western" glossy catalog they sent out to all customers and how well worn it was every Christmas, long before the "Internet"...Oh the good ole days.

When we first started shopping at Costco, I nicknamed it the $100.00 an hour store...Now it is on an average shopping trip more like $300.00's an hour...Good thing we only go two or three times a year...AND again the question, does it save us any money?..Well we only bought 4 small items at WalMart, our usual box wine at BiMart, the gasoline was only $3.00 a gallon yesterday at Costco, our Costco bill for 1&1/2 hours was over $400.00, Herb and I split a burger, fries and milkshake at Boggans on the way home for under $20.00....Hmmmm I'm starting to get a headache!...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

P.S. The sun shone on us both ways, roads were good but this time of year Lewiston/Clarkston was  under a bank of stinky ugly smog, so we will return in the spring when the flowers are in bloom...I really doubt that we save much money but it was a beautiful drive!

3am morning...37º

Up early this morning, scrabble done, text with Pat, coffee cup empty...News on Google about a shooting in Clackamas Town Center Mall in Portland yesterday afternoon...Three dead including the gunman...My mind has a hard time getting around a scene like this...I know it can happen in any town, any public place but when my family is so close to it---it boggles my mind.

I'm reading this morning--two books--"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", an old book written in the forties, narrated by a little girl coming of age and their daily life in a hand to mouth existence...Alway looking for a way to make a penny to add to the family coffers, always hungry...I read it many years ago, probably didn't really sink in then, now it makes me humble and thankful for what I have and ashamed that even I think I need more!..What happened to my thoughts of getting rid of stuff.

The other book is "The Best Care Possible", a new book written by a doctor, about Hospice and Palliative care...End of life issues for anyone young or old, with a terminal illness and helping the patient and the family make educated decisions (during a highly emotional time) about quality of life and when to accept death as part of the natural process....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Blue Skies..29º

As I mentioned several times we didn't get much of a storm in Joseph...According to the paper last night other areas around us not so lucky...Not huge amounts of snow but bad road conditions, slick roads causing trucks to spin out and block freeways in and out of the Grande Ronde Valley, that made for extremely hazardous travel Saturday over Mecham, Ladd and out the North Hwy, Flora and onto Lewiston Idaho...It is kind of ironic because people (who don't live here) think we have terrible winters, lots of snow etc...Little do they know!

Dinner yesterday was our homemade sauerkraut, over a German sausage on a homemade bun and baked beans on the side..Hmmm good!

While I was icing and heating the knee yesterday I worked on our annual Christmas newsletter...Have it finished and ready to print...This morning is physical therapy and write group...While I'm eating yucky soup at the cafe Herb will have his special hamburger...We are still hoping to meet at the Josephy Center soon so we can do our famous potluck lunches!..Hugs to All....OWAV:)

Christmas Concert....21º

Last night Herb joined Pam and I for the annual Wallowa County Christmas Chorale, held at the Community Church in Enterprise...Voices from many congregations in the county joined together for hours of practice, led by three conductors to give the final one hour concert played to a standing room only crowd...Unusual renditions of much loved Christmas songs entertained the crowd filling our hearts with the joy and the spirit of Christmas...After refreshments and visiting with neighbors and friends we returned to Barton Heights via Hurricane Creek Road under star lit skies illuminating this valley we call home.

Bobi shared her news on Facebook, that Cienna's Robotic Team (coached by her Dad) will be going to the state competition...Congrats to All!

Robotics Team (Cienna on the right)

Today maybe I will start on our annual newsletter, touching on the highlights of the past year as we inch toward the end of 2012...Bread baking is also on the agenda and more exercise, ice and heat for me...Hugs to All...OWAV

Sunday....17º

Looks like we might have a little sun today...Have maybe an inch of snow on the ground and very frosty...I've spent the early hours perusing photo's trying to make some order out of iPhoto.

Herb has started laundry and I must exercise, ice and heat...Seemed to really help yesterday...I finished reading a very long novel "Swan Thieves", good story, interesting ending...We had homemade sauerkraut and German sausages for dinner with enough left over for sandwiches on monday, if I get the buns made.

Not much happening on Barton Heights this wintery day, must check with Pam about the County Christmas Concert tonight....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

NO SNOW...24º

Storm warning still on, still no snow, well a trace as they say...Enough on that subject!

I just finished the last of three calendars for next year...Bob and Rusty chose photo's for their calendars while home in November and I surfed my iPhoto for the photo's to go on our yearly calendar...It is fun to look each day and reminisce about what we were doing a year ago...I will give them one final look and hit the order calendar button, fill in addresses and send them to apple for processing... Within the next two weeks we will all have new personalized calendars hanging in our homes.

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time icing my knee, it seems to flare up with tendonitis, so I will be more diligent with gentle exercise, ice, heat and massage until Tuesday when I return to PT...While icing I surfed Sierra Trading looking for new winter boots (this has been on going since late November)...Yesterday I could get 45% off and free shipping...How can a girl go wrong with that kind of bargain and I'm sure I will need new boots when the snow finally arrives..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sure its gonna snow...35º

It is December...The temperature is just right, weather alert on since 4pm yesterday---6 to 8 inches they say...A little flurry after dark last night so I went to bed with visions of the white fluffy stuff piling up while I slept...woke up this morning to some blue sky and lots of frost...I know that I should be careful what I wish for but--Our kids are not on the roads, Herb has the 4-wheeler chained up, snowplow in place, we are tucked safely in on Barton Heights, have enough food stashed away to feed a small army and I love to watch a good old fashioned snow storm.

I reminisce back to the days when Herb and I learned to downhill ski, both of us over forty...every weekend found us night skiing at Spout Springs or making the longer trip for a day at Anthony Lakes...Then Fergi took shape only 10 miles from our house, inexpensive and fun...We drove there knowing that it would be an exhilarating day spent with friends on Hayes' Maze or "The Face" or in the lodge warming up by the barrel stove and devouring our lunch before we hit the slopes for the afternoon...Returned home long after the sun had set, happily exhausted and couldn't wait for the next day or weekend to do it all over again...I'm so glad I have those memories!

Now I would be content to sit inside by the window and watch the snow pile up, maybe sweep the sidewalks while Herb roars around on the 4-wheeler plowing driveways for the neighbors...Will it happen today?..Join me tomorrow and I will give you an update....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...Pat reported in from sunny California, temperature 80º, low humidity, fragrant roses blooming, green grass, a lovely home and spending time with her sister.

What to Write?...25º

UPDATE...Sorry I can't get the photo's to show up, maybe another day!

Not much happening on Barton Heights so will reminisce about years long ago...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

In 1973 we moved from Utah to Oregon.  Oregon grows and ships Christmas trees to all parts of the United States. Our first year here I wasn't able to go look for a tree and this is the one we decorated.

Rusty went with his Dad to get a tree and when Rusty saw my face he said, almost in tears "you should have seen the one he wanted to bring home."  But as Herb always said, "It will be just fine when you get it decorated!" And it was. We called it our "Charlie Brown Tree" and celebrated Christmas in our new home.

1973

After that year I always went on the Christmas tree hunt and for many years this is the kind of tree we decorated.  A seven foot tall bushy yellow pine decorated with home made ornaments and an angel for the top that was hand crocheted by my Mom.

1991

Party...40º

Just added more flour to the sourdough starter for the third day in a row...Looks like a good day to make bread...No appointments, no meetings, no deadlines...I have soup in the freezer for our dinner, so will plan rolls or fry bread to eat with it...Simple food.

Rusty arrived home safe and sound and doesn't plan another trip this way until after the first of the year...Pat and Brian boarded a plane this morning, so we won't be having any adventures for awhile...Will connect with Bobi today on Facetime and catch up on their news...Looks like a quiet time in the Allen household this month.

Yesterday I made matinee reservations for Pam, Herb and I on Christmas day at the Elgin Opera House to see Irving Berlin's "White Christmas"...Should be a fun day!

The surprise for Pat's birthday went off well yesterday at our weekly Write People...She was surprised and pleased as we celebrated her birthday early, wished her a safe trip and Merry Christmas all in one!...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Celebrate!

More Wind...48º

Warm, windy December...Rusty is on his way home to Bend, left at 7am this morning...His car was loaded last night except for the frozen stuff.

PT this morning and straight to Write People and lunch...Home to get candies packaged to go to friends and put all the chocolate stuff away and out of my sight for another year.

Not much on the agenda for this week, make myself keep busy...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Lazy Day...35º

Lazy day yesterday, rainy, dreary and cold wind outside....Herb did laundry, while I puttered in the kitchen then downloaded Angry birds- Star wars...Russ and I compared notes off and on all day about how to gain 3 stars in a certain level...Our internet was down most of the day so we couldn't even look at some of the impossible cheats...Rusty and I worked on photo's for his calendar. Bobi's is done so now I have ours to do and send them to Apple for the final product...This is a fun way to see family photos on a daily/monthly basis.

Fixed a late afternoon dinner of oven chicken, baked potatoes and brussel sprouts...Reading kept us busy until bedtime...Have a good Monday...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

More Wind...43º

The best thing about having wind in Joseph is that it keeps the temperatures up and the sun usually peeks through later in the day....Rusty is home from the river for a few days before returning to Bend.

In McCall where I grew up the wind usually brought a snowstorm that lasted for days, plugged the roads making it impossible to leave our house except with the bob sleigh...Daddy had a team of "work horses" named Bert (girl) and Dick (boy) to pull the sleigh...School in our one-room school house was seldom canceled because the teacher lived in a small cottage adjacent to the school...On days when the roads were closed kids could ski or snowshoe to school, ride a horse or like us ride on the bobsled...I loved this form of transportation...During the long winters in Lake Fork we used the team and bobsled twice a day for feeding our cattle...Daddy would harness Bert and Dick, hitch them to the sled and load it with bales of hay and off we would go...Daddy had a favorite spot for feeding...A tree sheltered clearing made the perfect spot keeping the cattle out of the wind to feed and then the trees close by when they bedded down for the night...On trips to school, straw bales were used for seating and blankets covered us for the two mile ride...Every year in December  Daddy, Mona and I went on the bobsled hunting for a Christmas tree...The tree had to be 7 feet tall with evenly spaced branches and we usually came home with more than one so Mom could choose...I remember how the harnesses jingled and steam rising from the horses backs as they trotted out of the barnyard...After the storm was over, roads newly plowed, Daddy would take us sledding or hooky bobbing behind the bobsled...Oh what fun!..Hugs To All...OWAV:) PS....Sorry to be late our internet has been out most of the day.

Essay Done...42º--Very windy

A big sigh of relief as I hit the send button and my essay wings its way into cyberspace to land on Katey's desktop...Mostly revision on last months essay as I use Katey's suggestion for improvement...Writing about ones family is easy and Hard at the same time...How much can I rely on my memory as to the actual facts of over 60 years ago.

Pat and I had a fun day yesterday, rainy when we left Joseph but turned into a warm, sunny day in Walla Walla...We arrived just in time for a potty break and Pat's 10am appointment...Then we lunched on soup and salad, stopped at Andy's for produce and arrived home just before dark...Seems like the hours fly by when we are on the road, with each other for company.

Today Rusty should be home from the river, so I think it is time to start ham and bean soup in the oven for him and John.

Candy making is almost done, so I can start fixing Christmas boxes and clear counters...I have some sewing projects, maybe a good time to start them, also a good time to sort and clean closets and drawers....Enough blathering for today...Hugs To All....OWAV:)