Sunny...21º

Working in the kitchen yesterday, as I browned beef shank, before putting it in the oven to slow roast, I got a good look at the sliding glass doors onto the deck...Sun shining in and the glass door so dirty that it was hard to see outside...It was only about 40º outside but with the direct sun it was warm enough, no problem to grab a squeegee, little sudsy water and sponge...The glass is not what I would call sparking clean but much better than it was!

The smell of the roasting beef got me to thinking about what else to have for dinner...A cup of flour, two eggs, pinch of salt, mixed together, rolled out and cut into noodles...Beef and noodles for dinner.

Late afternoon I fixed small portions of leftovers, tomato soup, sauerkraut/pork and beef/noodles and went to visit my friend Margaret...She can freeze these packages for her meals as she gets tired of her own cooking...It was a great visit with a special friend...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Lazy Days...35º

Lazy days of winter instead of summer as January comes to a close...January used to be my least favorite month, seemed like it took forever for the snowy, cold days to pass...This year January has passed in a blur of foggy, raining and best of all sunny days that keep us sane...Reading has become our favorite pass time...We have discovered the "Libraries on Line" (my name for them) as we review books that are available or books we can put on hold, finding all of the latest best sellers as well as old favorites, without leaving our recliners...I still order books to arrive in their original form, ones I can hold and turn each page, or scan the book...The feel, the smell of a new book or one well read is hard to duplicate when reading a book on line...I miss that...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sunny Winter Days...33º

Temperatures in the 40's this week...Doesn't sound that warm but with the sun shining on the south side of the house, no breeze, it is almost balmy...Herb worked outside yesterday unloading wood...I wandered out to look for signs of life in the flowerbeds and walked to the end of our road and down the hill a ways...No better tonic in late January than a dose of sunshine...Looks like we have more days like this in the forecast.

I face timed with Bobi yesterday, she is finally getting over the "crud" that has kept her house bound for over a week...Rusty chatted in this morning and is keeping busy in Bend working on his latest project car....I have WT today, so Herb will drop me off at the pool and do errands and shopping in Enterprise...Then home to dinner and ???...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS..Latest photos of Cienna as she dresses up for a special Rotary event with her all-lady Rotary Club

Cienna (right)

Cienna with Nong Mat (her counselor)

Cienna with "Far" (her Rotary Representative)

Water Therapy...32º

Our local Physical Therapists were extremely happy to see so many of us returning for the reopening of the "Eagles View Motel" swimming pool, after being closed for a month of maintenance and repainting...Six ladies who a couple of months ago met at the pool and now seem like old friends as we chatted away, catching up on family and county news...If this group continues I think I can cancel our subscription to the local paper...(just kidding.)The PT's cautioned us against overdoing in the water, easy to do because it is so painless...The hour sped by and soon little tykes accompanied by parents or grandparents arrived for swimming lessons...We adults moved to the hottub while the kids kicked and splashed with delight as they learned new skills in the water...We are able to use the motel pool during the winter months but come May and the beginning of tourist season we will take a break until fall.

Swimming reminds me of Cienna and how she at age 3 was introduced to the world of water...In no time at all she announced that she was all "fish," loved the smell of chlorine and could shed her clothes and be in a swimming suit in seconds, tugging on my hand saying "Come on Oma, hurry up!"
So as Cienna closes out her 6th month in Thailand, I dub this Water Wednesday...Hugs To Cienna...OWAV:)

Hawaii

swim meet

sprinkler

Wallowa Lake

Thailand

lazy day, lazy dinner...30º

Did a lot of searching yesterday for books that I might read in Arizona...Never know if we will have wifi at our condo so want to have ebooks that I can download at an internet cafe or library...When it came time for dinner I found a small elk steak and fresh veggies in the fridge and soon we dined on a plate of stir fry with leftover rice...Today I must get moving for Write People and maybe water therapy...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Books To Read....30º

Not too often that I read a book, then turn around and start rereading it the next day..."A Man Called Ove" is a novel and had me laughing or crying and reading or skimming to fast because I wanted to see how it ended...That is how I am, I want to know how things turn out, how things end...That is why many times I read the end of the book so I can slow down and enjoy reading the book...Crazy, Yes, but that is how it is...Ove is a curmudgeon, man of few words, has his routine and doesn't like it changed, believes in following the rules, has little patience with other people...I love the metaphors in this book, they appeal to my "skewed sense of humor." Here is one I particularly like.

Ove has just taken over the wheel of his neighbors car to back his  trailer into a space, after the man has scraped the side of Ove's house and ran over his mail box trying to back the trailer. Ove mutters as he gets into the car. “Holy Christ. A lower-arm amputee with cataracts could have backed this trailer more accurately than you,”

Backman, Fredrik (2014-07-15). A Man Called Ove: A Novel (p. 18). Atria Books. Kindle Edition.

I might have to buy this book so I have it to refer to when I'm trying to come up with a metaphor or similie...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Foggy...31º

Last night we went to bed with a quarter moon beaming down from a clear sky...This morning we look out into a foggy world, with a hint of sun to help lighten the day...Pam, Becky and John joined us for dinner last night...Not much leftovers from the 2 lb meatloaf, roasted potatoes, onions and carrots, a simple salad and cherry dessert...I love cooking for people who like to eat!

Becky brought her Garmin along to give us a lesson...She said we are welcome to take it to Arizona and use it to find our way around the big city, as she doesn't really need it in Wallowa County...Should be fun to see how it works for us...I promise that we won't follow it blindly to some unknown forest service road that is closed for the winter as we try to find a shorter route between Joseph and Phoenix.

Sentimental Sunday brings more photos of Cienna both here and on her Blog where you can read about her Christmas in Thailand...Hugs To Cienna....OWAV:)

2006 in Joseph

Christmas in Joseph

Playing Santa

Christmas a year ago 2013

Christmas in Thailand 2014

Baking 101...30º

Yesterday was sunny and warm (for January,) not sure why I was in the baking mood...I wanted pizza for our dinner but have never found a crust that is really to my liking, so am always looking for the perfect pizza crust...One made using sourdough would be my choice, I would like one that you add all the ingredients onto the raw dough and it raises up in the oven as it bakes...When I do a crust like that, it just sits there, cooking but getting harder and harder, never rising, until it is almost impossible to eat...I've resorted to buying a cheese pizza, with rising crust and adding other toppings (but hate all the additives in store bought stuff.) When I worked at school, we made our own pizza crust in sheet pans, prebaked them and then added toppings before we baked them again just to warm through, before serving...Now many restaurants are serving "flat bread pizza," basically what we served at school, only with different toppings...My search on the Internet turned up this site and I enjoyed reading the history of Armenian bread and their love of fresh baked bread and how it was an everyday thing, making quick bread or raised bread, sweet bread or savory bread...No one questioned if it was "low carb" or "gluten free," bread was the staff of life...It was full of carbs and gluten, that's what made it good!..I feel myself climbing on that well known soap box and I feel bad for people who are really gluten intolerant but right now the "fad" in this country is that anything with gluten is bad for everyone!..That is just not true!  Sorry :(

I made one of the recipes from the Armenian site called Lavash, I opted for the one with yeast as I had plenty of time and I like yeast breads...It is a flat bread and can be either hard like crackers or soft and tender...Mine turned out soft with a little crunch but easy to eat a slice of pizza out of hand...I will make it again but still keep looking for the perfect crust.

Pizza

Sometime ago Bobi posted a photo and recipe on her Blog of a Petal Loaf...A take on cinnamon rolls, made into one big roll that can be peeled off for a single serving...She liked the process because it reminded her of the way her Grandmother made cinnamon rolls...Yesterday I used that recipe and made a beautiful loaf of petal bread but I think hers turned out lighter and softer than mine...But now I have another option when baking treats to share...For me it was a good day, doing something I enjoy, just rolling in the dough...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Petal Loaf 12 to 14 inches acrosss

Bubble Loaf

Home Sweet Home...19º

Up early, after a good nights sleep in our own bed...I guess a little get-away is made possible so we will remember how much we love home...We do like the Clarkston Quality Inn for a bed away from home and I'm not trying to give it a bad review but our room was like an ice box...I got a really good rate online for a 2 room suite, all the bells and whistles, microwave, small fridge, two tv's (that we don't watch) a sofa (with a bed) and a king sized bed and a big bathroom with a roll-in shower...Ahhh the handicapped room...Guess it doesn't get booked very often...Also included with rooms is a breakfast for each of us off of their regular menu, (not a buffet breakfast) and a buy one drink, get the second one free (yes, wine with dinner)...No problem I thought as I turned the heat to 72º and we were on our way to Winco.

Two hours later we returned and it was still an icebox, so Herb worked his magic and figured out the thermostat and did get it to start warming up before we went to dinner...After dinner the temp said 80 cold degrees...Maybe the ceiling was that temp but the hot air was staying there, the floors were cold...(Our son wanted to know what we were doing on the floor and then quickly said NO don't go there. Funny guy!) Now I suppose most people would call the front desk and ask for a warm room, but once the Allen's get all their stuff into a motel room we hate to move...So Herb found the spare comforter for the hide-abed and wrapped up in that before going to bed...I stayed up, reading, doing scrabble and finally changed into my jammies and payed a visit to the "tiled" bathroom...One bare foot onto that freezing tile floor and I forgot why I was in the bathroom...Before going to bed I warmed one of the bath towels in the microwave for one minute...Ahhh it was toasty warm and just right to wrap around my cold feet as I crawled into bed...I slept good most of the night except---for the dredging machine that was working nearby in the river all night long!..Herb was still cold the next morning...I'm beginning to wonder about his thermostat!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS....I forgot the photos.

Wallowa Mountains from Snow Hollow Hill

Seven Devils from Hurrican Creek Road

Herb feeling a little warmer!

Impromptu Trip...

Home from write group yesterday, it was sunny and warm...Well warm for January anyway...Herb was stacking wood, so I helped for a few minutes and then said it looks like a nice afternoon to drive to Lewiston?..We planned to go on Wednesday so why not go today, have dinner, spend the night and check out some other stores...A new Winco had opened in Lewiston just recently.

In no time at all I had a room reserved, our essentials (undies, toothbrush, jammies and drugs)  were packed, and we were on our way...It was a nice drive, but Lewiston instead of being sunny had a layer of smog covering the valley...So it was stinky, damp and eerie...We checked into our room at the Quality Inn, in Clarkston, then made our way to check out the new Winco store, located in the "first shopping mall" on the hill in Lewiston...This is where Payless Drug, Pennys, Bon Marche (now Macys) Hallmark, shoe and jewelry stores were located when we shopped with our kids in the 70's...We haven't shopped "the Mall" much lately now that Walmart and Costco are on the other side of the river in Clarkston, but maybe the Winco will give the Mall new life...The parking lot was full of cars, lots of people in the store, but it is spacious with wide isles so didn't seem crowded...We went right to the bulk section and filled a few bags with things I had on my list...Herb spied the spicy gumdrops, and added them to the cart...Wandered the aisles a bit before going to checkout...A very nice girl helped us through the self check line (ringing up our own purchases) and Herb pulled out the Visa to pay...That is when we found out that they take only cash, checks or debit cards....Hmmm... "Keeps prices low," the girl said...Just when I have gotten use to "swiping the card", I instead pulled out the checkbook and paid for our purchases, like I used to in the 70's, 80's and 90's.

It was getting dark when we left the store and with the fog and headlights of other cars it was confusing and disconcerting even though we know the town well (damn guess we are getting old!)...Driving back through Lewiston, we decided to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant and call it a day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS: We shared fish/chips and Mac/cheese

This and That...33º

Started sourdough biscuits early yesterday morning, had chicken thawing in the fridge...Herb was busy with the Sunday laundry so after my shower I started looking for tickets in March...First the musical Les Misèrables, not many seats left, finally found a table for two that will work...This will be the second time we have opted out of the dinner and will just see the show, as it seems like 4 hours+ is way too much sitting and the food has never been great...Did the tickets on line and I remember the first year the Arizona Broadway Theatre opened, I happened to find it on the internet, called the number and had two seats reserved in a matter of minutes...Yesterday took hours...More seats are available for a ball game so left that for another day.

I'm reading "Into the Beautiful North," but don't find it spell binding...Will go to book group this morning and see what other people have to say...Last night I watched an older episode of Downton Abbey before going to bed and this morning I watched the most recent episode, that played last night on TV but not on my laptop...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Last nights sunset over Twin Peaks.

Getting Serious...40º

Wind and rain through the night, more of the same today...Yesterday freeways were closed out of LaGrande mostly eastbound to Ontario...Black ice east of Baker City caused an early morning pile up of semi trucks that kept it closed all day...Here in Wallowa County we are lucky to just have fog, clouds, wind and rain.

Getting serious about Arizona, searching the Internet yesterday, looking at entertainment for our time there...The musical is Les Misèrables, so will get tickets for our usual matinee and also tickets for at least one ballgame at the Peoria stadium to watch either the Padres or Mariners...Will spend the rest of the time poolside. :) ...Also have to check out what is going on in Sedona for our week there...That's all for now...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Fritter Away Friday...22º

Nothing planned, the house was quiet for another foggy day...I did finally take a shower, cut my hair and got dressed before noon rolled around...Pam stopped by while out doing errands to drop of the big read book "Into the Beautiful North," so I can read it before book group on Monday...We visited as I shared photos of Ci's adventures, then showed Pam some of the fun things, Scrabble, Facebook, Sage and Libraries To Go on the computer.

I fixed delicious elk steak and rice pilaf for out dinner, before we settled into a sunny (fog moved out) afternoon of doing nothing...So goes life on Barton Heights...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

More Fog...30º

We are getting just enough sun breaks to make this fog bearable...Opted to stay home last night from the Big Read movie (The Magnificent Seven) and watched this years first episode of Downton Abbey on my laptop.

Rusty was ready to leave early but took time to stop and help John and Herb install a newer wood stove at Pams house...He arrived home about 5ish...I stayed at home catching up on paper work and phone calls...We have our second week booked in Arizona (Sedona) and still working on a possible 3rd week...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Selfie before Rusty left for Bend.

Throwback Thursday...23º

We saw lots of photos over the past month of Cienna in Thailand, climbing mountains with fellow exchange students...Visiting exotic places with her sponsoring Rotary Club...So today I will share photos of Cienna growing up...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Cienna loves Animals

Concentrating on Learning the Violin

Finally Mastered the Bicycle.

The Agony of Loosing a Tooth.

Chicken Pot Pie and Bread...17º

Rusty has mentioned pot pie several times in the week he has been home...I've made it a couple of times using leftovers and making individual pies for each person...Yesterday with two frozen pie shells, chicken breasts and chopped veggies, we made one large pie in my "Olaf" pie plate...While I was busy sautéing veggies and chicken, Rusty rolled out the crusts and soon the pie, sprinkled with paprika, was in the oven...It cooked for an hour, cooled for 15 minutes, served beautifully...Just the right consistency...But it needed more flavor...Maybe fish sauce would do the trick, I will give it a try next time and maybe look up a recipe?

Pot pie with paprika (every time I checked it in

the oven it looked like apple pie with 

cinnamon)...Maybe that is why it didn't

taste quite like a pot pie?

Rusty also decided to make another batch of the no knead bread, using some of my sourdough starter...He left it to work most of the day supposedly to improve the flavor...Last night as we played umpteen card games (I won the most) :), he made loaves and baked the sticky dough...He ended up with heavy loaves, not quite what we were hoping for, but tasty all the same and especially when we dipped the crusty slices, right out of the oven, into grated garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Special plate with bumps in the center to grate

the garlic, then splash oil and vinegar around the edge.

Dip the bread in here...(Not a great photo, but you get the idea!)

Russ says he is going home tomorrow...Today he and Herb are going to the wood deck and I have to docent at the JC...So we will clean out the fridge and have leftovers for dinner...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Crown Prep...32º

You all know the saying, "I would rather take a beating than go to the dentist."..That is how I felt yesterday morning...My first time with a new dentist in over 40 years,  it was snowing,  looked like it could be slick and I was scheduled not for just one crown prep but two...They were right close to each other so the logic was that we could do two for one...(Not money wise but deadening wise and I would only have to suffer this ordeal once.)The new dentist, a very pleasant man (looks like a teenager) was very glad to see that I made my 8am appointment...Many people had already canceled on this snowy Monday morning because of the nasty flu bug that is going around and also because of the weather...He got right to work and I didn't ever feel the two shots he administered...He and his assistant chatted away about his first baby, born by emergency cesarean, weighed under 5 lbs, was home from the hospital and he and his wife were sleep deprived...Oh great!!! Just what I needed, a 13 year old, sleep deprived dentist working on my 70+ year old teeth!..I was in the chair for 1 1/2 hours, mouth wide open, coming up for brief "okay you may close your mouth now, if you can remember how?"...The guy does seem to have a sense of humor, at my "expense..."

10am I was back home, heat pack on my jaw, none the worse for wear, but I took advil and tylenol just to ward off any pain...I was as lazy as possible for the rest of the day, helped Rusty make finger steaks, salad and the last of the leftover mashed potatoes for dinner, otherwise I played on the computer and finished reading a book...This morning my jaw feels perfectly normal, no soreness at all and the plastic, dummy teeth, that I will wear for a month, look just fine...Guess this new dentist passed the first test...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Snowing...34º

Canning marathon was finished by noon....Ham and beans simmering in the oven...What to do now?Heaven forbid that we sit down for a rest...While I was mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, thinking I just have to finish this and the afternoon is mine...But Rusty was having flashbacks of a time in his childhood when his mother made special treats..."Mom, what were those things 'eclairs?' or?'" "Cream puffs, " I said and immediatly knew I had stepped into a trap." "Yes, with chocolate pudding and whipped cream."...He searched the internet, he made the shells and I made the pudding, we invited friends for a taste treat...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Vanilla pudding in the middle, chocolate drizzle and whippd cream.

Shells in the oven

Shells resting in the oven

Becky and John, first bite

Rusty, "Ah," just like 40 years ago.

"Fruits" of our Labor...27º

The smell of cooking turkey permeates out house...Four turkeys boned, chunked and in the jars almost done, one more canner this morning...Broth is heating before it is strained and we do the last seven jars of it this morning...Then the cleanup begins...When all is said and done we will have over fifty pints of newly canned turkey, 14 quarts of broth and 6 quarts of beef/deer burger...The canned burger is relatively new for us...I did a few jars last year and like it so well for taco filling that Rusty and I got a little wild with the ground meat and fresh garlic yesterday...We lightly packed this mixture into the jar and filled around it with a mild beef bullion...It is hard to restrain from opening a new jar right now just to see how it tastes....As always the best thing about canning is admiring all of the jars as I gently remove the rings, wipe the jars with hot, soapy water, date them, before they go into boxes and Herb carries them all downstairs, to place on the cellar shelves...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Turkey Broth

Ground meat and Broth

Turkey and Beef

Boiling the Bones...25º

It would be so easy to throw the bones in the trash can, but my Mother would haunt me forever...So we put the bones in a huge kettle, cover with water, add salt and simmer until we have a clear, rich broth...Drain the broth to be canned and placed on the cellar shelves...That is what she taught me to do.

The three of us know the ritual as we start the canning process...Prepping: Thawing, sawing, cleaning, boning, chunking...Hauling, setting up, sterilizing, packing the jars...We started yesterday with Herb, fetching and carrying, Rusty and I boned two turkeys and have them ready for the jars this morning...Bones are boiling (simmering) making the lucious broth, that will also be canned...In between doing these things I mixed and baked 6 loaves of sourdough bread, fixed plates of cookies, breads and pickled asparagus wrapped in ham, for the Josephy Center and FishTrap fireside...Prepared dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes and salad...Late evening I attended the Fireside especially to hear friend Amy Zahm read...It was enjoyable, but I was tired, the drive was foggy so I slipped out early to come home and enjoy a glass of wine with my guys before bedtime.

Up early this morning, the dishwasher is running with the first load of jars, canner and gas stove is set up, broth is simmering...I must get dressed and moving as we have a busy day ahead...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Foggy...26º

Fog early, so maybe it will be moving to the lower valley soon!..Rusty got home yesterday afternoon, so must get organized this morning to start prepping meat for canning...Herb has the turkeys thawing and should be able to saw them in half this morning and we will start the tedious job of boning and chunking...All the equipment must be hauled upstairs, along with jars to be washed and sterilized...Herb said we have about 12 cases of large mouth pints, so we are in good shape for empty jars.

Yesterday I baked the molasses cookies, while mixing a batch of chocolate chip (both vanilla and semi sweet) and had time to chill them and bake in the afternoon.

Mixing chocolate chip cookies

Chunks of dough for molasses cookies

Baked and cooling

Had Patty melts and leftovers ready to cook when Rusty arrived home mid afternoon...Pam picked me up at 5:30 and we attended the "Big Read Kick off." "Into the Beautiful North" has been chosen for this year...The theme last night was Mexican food by El Bajio (local restruarant) a piñata breaking contest for the kids and brief summarys of the book to get everyone enthused about reading...Events are scheduled for the next month and I was the lucky winner of a free copy of the chosen book...Must get busy on the canning marathon...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Baking...22º

Update from Pat and Brian as they make their way to warmer weather...They left Maryland, where they have spent the past two months, in a snowstorm on Tuesday, (stopping at Kennedy Space Center and staying with friends for a couple of nights along the way) before arriving on Saturday afternoon at a condo in Islemorada (Florida Keys)...This mornings temp was a warm 68º  in Florida compared to 6º at Applewood Farm in Maryland...Looks like they headed south at just the right time.

I will spend the day baking cookies and making more cookies to get a stash in the freezer and some to take to events this weekend...Herb is going to the log deck for a few hours this morning...We have been promised sunshine today....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Some sun...27º

Will spend the day baking and cooking as I have two events coming up this weekend...Also have to fix food for family meals as we will be boning and canning turkeys this weekend and always need easy meals for those busy days.

Two photos to share today...A photo posted by Cienna as she "blooms" in a field of sunflowers in Thailand... And since I missed the most incredible sunset of the year last night I will share a Wallowa County Chieftain photo...Hug To All...OWAV:)

Our Blooming Girl

Wallowa County Sunset (Chieftain Photo)

Sunday Dinner...35º

Rusty was in the mood to make his "No knead bread" and I had pork and sauerkraut ready for a long slow roast in the dutch oven...We managed to work side by side in the kitchen, without coming to blows, gave each other advise and come out with a good meal...Mashed potatoes and Waldorf salad rounded out our menu...We invited B & J, but they were in recoup mode after having company and family gatherings for several days, and declined the invite...Pam arrived, after snowshoeing with friends, ravenous for food and drink...It didn't take us long to fill our plates and enjoy...It is always fun to eat from the bounty of summer...our own cabbage, potatoes and apples went into the dinner...For dessert we finished off the chocolates left from Christmas....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Fresh from the oven Rosemary/garlic no knead bread

Rusty smearing a little butter

Pork roasted with purple and green sauerkraut

Waldorf Salad

Mashed Garlic Potatoes

Slices of warm bread