Cooler Night...61º

Love that cool mountain air!..Other things are really heating up around here, with Cienna (Bobi) counting down to the last second when Cienna will arrive at PDX in Portland...Friends are rallying to meet her and welcome her home after 11 months in Thailand...Herb and I are working to get our place in shape for their arrival in Joseph...We are looking for them (the Wall Family) to arrive late Thursday evening in Joseph, Uncle Rusty will be coming from Bend, and we can spend a few days listening to Cienna tell about  her adventures of the last year...Of course food is a big part of this gathering and will feature BBQ and Thai food...While the rest of us swelter in the heat Ci should be cool as a cucumber in the 90º+ temps...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Heated up...68º

Joseph is famous for its cool nights, so everyone gets a good nights sleep...This heat wave is unusual in our small mountain town and especially when it is still June...The need for air-condition is rare...Instead we (at 6am) have all the doors and windows open, fans on high trying to cool off the house enough so we can close all the doors, pull all the blinds and have a cool refuge in the afternoon when the deck is scorching...(by our standards anyway.)

Must get outside, change the water, pull some weeds...I have to docent at the JC from 12-2 today, hope the air conditioning is working...Hugs to all...OWAV:)

Picture Perfect Days...52º

Watering, weeding, wood splitting, digging and deadheading, spreading wood chips...Cool mornings find us outside doing any one or more of these tasks...11am and it is time for a shower before rest and relaxation on the deck with a full view of the mountains...Looks like we will be in repeat mode for the next several days as the temperature will hover in the high 90's.

Late afternoon, Herb and I decided to take in the music at the Gazebo in Enterprise...A beautiful evening among friends and neighbors, found us enjoying music that I would call easy listening...Back home, Herb dished up the ice cream while I made a quick chocolate sauce...Bedtime came early...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...Quick Chocolate Sauce...Heat 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk in microwave to "almost boiling," add chocolate chips (mixture of semi sweet, milk, and vanilla or just semi sweet) stir until consistency is just right to drizzle over vanilla ice cream...Perfect ending to a perfect summer day.

Time out for a few yard sales this morning.

Cienna saying her "Farewells, see you again, my friends."

Warmer Temps...54º

Forecast says our weekend will reach the high 90's...Time to start cooling the house down every morning and closing it up by 10am to keep it cool for the afternoon...I love summer!

Worked in the cool of the morning yesterday cleaning flower beds, before I left for Write People, so Herb could run the sprinklers giving them all a good soaking...He finally turned the pump off at about 7pm, a job well done and I and the flowers say, "Thank You."

I have more of the same to do outside this morning, then inside to clean another drawer and maybe add tile to another cupboard...Our "Kids" will be home in a week from tomorrow!...Hugs to all...OWAV:)

This and That...50º

Yesterday, after a FaceTime with Rusty, wishing him a Happy Birthday and catching up on his weekend, the new day was calling me...After moving water and cutting garlic scapes, I looking for more physical exercise and spent the next 1/2 hour splitting a small pile of wood...Herb had left some of the smaller rounds of larch out in the sun to make my job easier, I only had to split them in half...Deadheading lupines (an easy job) was next...I cut and carted most of them across the road, where I hope they will seed in and keep some of the weeds from encroaching on the flower beds...Always there are weeds to be pulled or dug out of the flower beds as I work my way through.

Leftover spaghetti and salad made an easy dinner after a short FaceTime with Bobi...Late afternoon my friend MaryB stopped by, we talked gardening while sipping wine, took a turn around the gardens and she left, excited, about the bag of garlic scapes I had cut just for her...It was a warm evening and I sat reading until the sun slowly made its decent behind the mountains...Another lovely day on Barton Heights...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Peonies are on their way out.

Celebrate...47º

Fathers Day, the past three years has been celebrated with Pat and Brian...First we rode the train in Sumpter and had dinner at the "Haines Steakhouse."...The next year found us dinning out at the Union Hotel and Restaurant, and last year we sampled the food at the newly renovated Lostine Tavern...This year with a new "Treager" sitting on the deck and Herb needing practice, we were looking for "Guinea Pigs."...P and B made the perfect fit, always ready for a new adventure...The day went well...By 10am, ribs were in the smoker, potato salad in the fridge, cherry pie in the oven, roll dough mixed, BBQ sauce made, the list was "growing shorter."...Fast forward to 4pm, our friends arrived, drinks in hand, we toasted another year and soon were digging into juicy, smoky, tender ribs...A fun day with friends and the driving was minimal!

Quite a feast...Photo by Pat

Today we have another celebration, Rusty turns the "Big 50"...Hard to believe that our kids are getting so old, when we think (wish) we were still young...Rusty's day will be celebrated along with Cienna's return from Thailand some time next week when our family will all be in Joseph...Hmmm, do I smell ribs cooking, accompanied with spicy Thai food?...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Deep in thought

Memories of "Biscuit"

Riding the Whizzer

Assessing the situation!

Yard Sales and Market...44º

My morning came early today, as we approach the "longest" day, the first day of summer...I was awake and up in the dark at 3:30am...One cup of coffee later, the sunrise was brilliant red through the trees...FB perused, scrabble games done and a new book started...Herb has joined me and refilled my coffee cup...So goes most mornings.

Yesterday was a mix of moving water outside, then back inside to make a batch of fresh rolls to take to a memorial service for our friend Linda, who died from complications of esophageal cancer, after a two year battle...Family and friends gathered at the cemetery for a short service and then onto the family home to commemorate her life...Canopies were setup over tables, decorated with flowers from Linda's garden and other tables laden with food and drink, mostly prepared by the family...Clouds threatened and gusts of wind tried to upset the canopies but the guests took it all in stride, eating and visiting, until it was time to leave the family with their memories and start a new chapter in their lives...Back home I wandered aimlessly, moving water, wind still gusty and cold...Too cold to sit on the deck, our warm house and comfy recliners beckoned.

Pat and I will hit a few yardsales this morning and visit the Saturday market...Clouds cover the sky now, hope for sun to break through soon...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A few photos taken in last nights fading light.

How the garden grows...59º

Vegetable and flower gardens love this warm weather, add some water and everything really grows...I spent the late afternoon deadheading the old iris blooms and pulling a bajillion forget-me-knots that have gone to seed, getting rid of the old, ready for the new...Thought about my Mom a lot yesterday as she would have loved the different peonies, not so much the oriental poppies, orange was not her favorite color...Veggies are coming along nicely, fresh leaf lettuce and garlic scapes, ready for the picking and the last few spears of asparagus before we leave it to grow into a row of ferns...The cabbage plants are pushing off the plastic milk jugs (mini green houses) and are ready for the netting to cover them against the white moth...Three kinds of squash, patty pan, zucchini and turban seemed to have jumped out of the ground after planting...The bees are very busy on the raspberry bushes...Another nice day ahead so must get dressed and moving, the out of doors is calling me...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

More blooms:

Blooming Peonies...

This bouquet from my garden gets more beautiful each day, with such a sweet fragrance...Soon petals will scatter everywhere...Hugs to all...OWAV:)

Ticking of the Clock...54º

As of today Cienna has been in Thailand for approximatly 10 1/2 months, in two short weeks she will arrive back home at PDX....Landing in a world now quite foreign to her from the life she led for nearly a year...I struggle for words this morning as I try to do justice to this journey, as well as the journey ahead of her...Her parents did their best to prepare her for her exchange going to Thailand and now face with her the journey to navigate the choppy waters of her homecoming...We all wait with bated breath to hear the stories that she has to tell...A common saying "Pictures say a thousand words." We have seen the "pictures" now we are ready for the words, her words, her smile, her voice and her arms around us...So Cienna as you flew away on those wings so many months ago, we wish you a "soft landing" on your return...We are here, waiting, arms wide open to welcome you...Hugs to you Luv...Oma

The Girl who flew away:

The Girl in Thailand:

Mini Adventure...54º

Monday dawned cold and clear...Pat drove in about 7:20 for our early morning excursion...We were dresssed in layers and carried gloves, hats, water, garden tools and lunch...The "Magic Garden" was calling all extra hands to come and finish planting...Last week the garden had been a beehive of young children planting the hundreds of plants they had started weeks earlier in the Joseph Charter School's greenhouse...The Magic Garden was started several years ago with the intent to teach children where their food comes from and also to supply free, fresh, food to school and community kitchens, throughout Wallowa County...Grants were written, fences built, ground broken and hundreds of hours by many people have made this happen...Today, we joined eight seasoned volunteers to finish the planting.

Pat and I as always, smiling, and ready to start something new, even though a half hour earlier as I climbed into her car, we had both asked the question, "Who's idea was this?"...Now we were at the garden surveying the rows, marked tomatoes, potatoes, corn and cucumbers, to name a few that were planted last week...We didn't wait long for instructions as we were led to a row, handed hoes and told to start weeding and prepping a 50 foot row for planting...Next we exchanged the hoes for trowels, with instruction to plant kale and chard starts 6 or so inches apart in our newly hoed ground...Our shoulders were allowed to rest as our bending muscles took over...Soon the calf muscles were screaming but we managed occasionally to stand upright and give them a rest...This row finished we took a quick break to quench our thirst, luck was with us as a breeze continued throughout the morning...Three hours later we finished up planting long rows of winter squash and gourds...Don't get the idea that this was all work and no play because there was much visiting among the planters, most of who we had met on other volunteer excursions.

Pat and I left the garden without committing to return next week, both thinking, that we would be wise to see if our bodies were able to get out of bed the next morning...We sat on the porch of Janies Cabin and ate our lunch (prepared by Pat) before driving out of the canyon, back to Joseph, with the afternoon ahead of us...We were tired and a bit stiff and sore but felt good about volunteering our morning...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Teaching old dog new tricks...45º

For many years Herb has wanted a pellet BBQ, so finally for his birthday and Fathers day this year, I gave in and we came home from Costco with a Traeger Cheyanne...Now begins the learning process of cooking with pellets instead of gas.

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs was our first attempt...Herb assembled the BBQ, I did the marinade, Herb read the book, I searched the internet...We had a few arguments (discussions.) First try turned out very good.

A beef brisket was next and a couple of sirloin tip steaks, (making sure we had enough for the extra people coming on Saturday) as our Ginnie Pigs...We followed much the same routine this time, plus making extra salads and dessert for company...Our guest list grew and dinner for 5 became dinner for 10, with a little magic (a bag of frozen shrimp) quickly saluteed in butter and garlic, a green salad that grew with the addition of more fresh greens, an extra loaf of bread, quickly thawed and warmed and dessert cut into 10 smaller pieces, drinks all around, everyone had plenty to eat, not overstuffed but definitely had enough to eat...Brisket and steaks were tender and tasty...Success.

Traeger with chicken

Chicken Thighs ready to eat

Dinner

We have 7 days to come up with another dinner on Fathers Day, which we have celebrated with Pat and Brian the past two years...Wish us all luck as we cook and hopefully don't poison anyone or file for divorce in this learning process...Hugs To All...OWAV:) 

More Catch Up...54º

Keeping up a blog takes time, effort and subject matter...Sometimes I struggle to make a story out of nothing and then, I have so many stories and so little time, that I can't get them all down on "paper."...It is fun to do the retro stories of years gone by, I need to do a flashback Friday on Cienna, and then comes Herbs Birthday and our Anniversary (back to back...)Also the gardens need tending and I have to do that in the cool of the day, as our weather is unseasonably warm for June!

Today I will do another photo display of our Write People at Janies Cabin in Imnaha on the hottest day of the year so far...We celebrated all Birthdays in one day with a simple lunch of pizza, salad and cupcakes...We read, ate and tried to stay cool, (some resorted to a brief dip in the creek) all in all it was a magical day to share...Hugs To All...OWAV:)