If you don't wish to read gross, stop right now!
Years ago I greeted a friend with, "How are you today." Her reply surprised me as she said, "Not good, I have a case of the SNOTS." I wasn't use to hearing words like this from her, she seldom swore or said crude things but on this day she did...I've never liked the word "snot," from the time I was a child and saw an enraged bull in the corral, pawing the ground, wildly swinging his head from sided to side and "snot" flying in all directions....OH Gross, is what I thought.
So when she said that word using it to describe the "common cold," I was taken aback...But on Monday night, my throat felt tight and it became increasingly harder to swallow as the evening wore on...It was bound to happen, as Herb came down with the "snots" a week before and now it was only logical that I would follow in his footsteps...The "snots" were imminent...So for the past four days, I've woken up, hair standing on end, eyes watery and red rimmed, deep rasping coughs, gasping for breath and feeling very similar to that raging bull in the corral...Gross!
Why can't "they" find a cure for the common cold?..Something that inflicts every person, young or old, rich or poor, famous or infamous, elite movie stars or skid row bums, royalty or peons, I assume they wake up with the same discomfort as I...The common cold, the great leveler, we are one and the same when the "snots" strike...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Friday, February 26, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Growth Spurt...28º/partial clouds
The seven years that I spent doing all the baking at Joseph Schools, flew by...Not only for me but for the kids as well...Bobbi worked hard in journalism, doing everything possible on the annual yearbooks to commemorate her high school years...Learning all about taking and developing photos in the schools darkroom, layout and publishing at the Chieftain (newspaper) in Enterprise...She was a member of honor society and worked summers at the Matterhorn Swiss Village at Wallowa Lake...Graduated and moved on to Linn Benton community college and finally to Oregon State University in Corvallis, majoring in Photo-Journalism...Rusty also graduated after 4 years of doing everything he could besides studying, such as hunting, rebuilding cars and working at the Wallowa Lake Tramway, where he started out "catching cars," loading and unloading tourists for the trip up the mountain...He ended that job as chief mechanic, keeping the cable and sheaves greased and running..As a freshman in HS he took up downhill skiing, so after graduation he made a logical move to Bend, OR and the big hill Mt Bachelor, where he landed a job in lift maintenance and skied in his spare time.
Those first years in the kitchen were spent mastering the art of baking, and along with that learning everything possible about how all of the equipment worked and what the other kitchen jobs entailed...Margaret freely shared her knowledge with me and I suppose "groomed" me to take her place...Whenever she was gone I got a taste of what it would be like to manage people, meet with sales people to order supplies and food on a weekly basis, planning menus, as well as working with administration and the school schedule and how we might have to adjust our routine to accommodate ballgames, field trips, school closures...
Margaret was first my boss, then my mentor and later my friend...I had never had problems getting along with people and things seemed to go along okay in the kitchen but I had never worked this close with a boss before...I was enjoying what I was doing but still feeling my way...Hugs To All...OWAV:
Those first years in the kitchen were spent mastering the art of baking, and along with that learning everything possible about how all of the equipment worked and what the other kitchen jobs entailed...Margaret freely shared her knowledge with me and I suppose "groomed" me to take her place...Whenever she was gone I got a taste of what it would be like to manage people, meet with sales people to order supplies and food on a weekly basis, planning menus, as well as working with administration and the school schedule and how we might have to adjust our routine to accommodate ballgames, field trips, school closures...
Margaret was first my boss, then my mentor and later my friend...I had never had problems getting along with people and things seemed to go along okay in the kitchen but I had never worked this close with a boss before...I was enjoying what I was doing but still feeling my way...Hugs To All...OWAV:
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Croaky...19º
A frog has taken up residence in my throat...I have no control over the "words" that come from my mouth...They are mosty just sounds as I try in simple sentences to say something, just squeaks, croaks or no sound at all comes out...My brain doesn't want to work this morning to write words either...So today will be spent "drinking" as family and friends advise me...Thankfully I don't feel as bad as I sound, but have canceled my Tuesday activities...Herb has had this crud for over a week now, I am hoping for a faster recovery...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Monday, February 22, 2016
Well Established...21º/Clear
The lunch program was an important part of Joseph Schools, it had good administrative backing and a congenial family atmosphere prevailed...A couple of years into my tenure, our 3 year classified contract was up for renewal...A time for negotiations...One of the school board members showed particular interested in all of the classified staff and wanted to work with us to come up with a wage scale that had built in cost of living raises as well as step increases, similar to the certified contract.
For the past two years I had remained quiet, listening and watching, all the time learning the workings of the kitchen and the system...The head cooks job had never been recognized as an administrative position, as was the head custodial job...Margaret was paid pennys more than I was, but had all the responsibility of menus, ordering, budgeting and supervising two employees...It looked like the right time to make some changes...Now I was ready to take an active part in getting a fair and equitable wage scale, so I volunteered to be on the negotiating committee.
We made good progress that year...A new wage scale in place and progress for the head cook, but it would be another 3 years before that was improved even more...Margaret had a dream of retiring in a few years and joining the peace corp...Did I have aspirations??...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
For the past two years I had remained quiet, listening and watching, all the time learning the workings of the kitchen and the system...The head cooks job had never been recognized as an administrative position, as was the head custodial job...Margaret was paid pennys more than I was, but had all the responsibility of menus, ordering, budgeting and supervising two employees...It looked like the right time to make some changes...Now I was ready to take an active part in getting a fair and equitable wage scale, so I volunteered to be on the negotiating committee.
We made good progress that year...A new wage scale in place and progress for the head cook, but it would be another 3 years before that was improved even more...Margaret had a dream of retiring in a few years and joining the peace corp...Did I have aspirations??...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Responsibility/Tolerance...20º/Clear
Over the next 7 years, under Margaret's tutelage, I became confident in my job as baker of all things nutritious, delicious and fattening...I wasn't afraid to try new recipes, always looking for ways to use the government commodities in food that the kids would eat and enjoy...Coming up with recipes using dried figs and dehydrated sweet potatoes would baffle even the most accomplished chef...I did try but in the end I had very little success...The government sent out recipes, along with the commodities such as, "Nutritious Fig Bars and Sweet Potato Fluff." Guaranteed to tickle the palate of teenagers worldwide...No matter how much butter and sugar I added, the kids looked at these desserts with trepidation and finally we took dried figs and sweet potatoes off of the commodity order...One thing we kept on the order was dried prunes, and used a recipe called "Spicy Prune Cake." but if anyone asked it was just "Spice Cake."..No child in their right mind would eat a dried prune, but they ate that cake with gusto and always came back for more!
Margaret taught me patience and tolerance with other people...When I criticized, she was quick to point out their good qualities and helped me realize that maybe they were struggling with problems that I knew nothing about...The kitchen was a busy place and we were on a tight schedule, but we always had time to stop a minute to chat if a visitor stopped in or if someone had missed breakfast and the smell of bread baking lured them in our open door...I found the kitchen a fun place to work and enjoyed the camaraderie of all the people...In a large school, the division of "staffs" would be greater but in a small school and town, it was common outside of school to socialize or work together on a committee, at church, community clubs and other social events.
I soon learned that I had joined the schools, "classified staff," cooks, custodians, bus drivers, secretaries and aides, made up that segment...Teachers, college graduates, made up the "certified staff," and over these two groups was the "administration," consisting of one superintendent and two principles...We were separate in many ways but in the scheme of things we were all there to give students a quality education...For the best results, everyone had to work together...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Margaret taught me patience and tolerance with other people...When I criticized, she was quick to point out their good qualities and helped me realize that maybe they were struggling with problems that I knew nothing about...The kitchen was a busy place and we were on a tight schedule, but we always had time to stop a minute to chat if a visitor stopped in or if someone had missed breakfast and the smell of bread baking lured them in our open door...I found the kitchen a fun place to work and enjoyed the camaraderie of all the people...In a large school, the division of "staffs" would be greater but in a small school and town, it was common outside of school to socialize or work together on a committee, at church, community clubs and other social events.
I soon learned that I had joined the schools, "classified staff," cooks, custodians, bus drivers, secretaries and aides, made up that segment...Teachers, college graduates, made up the "certified staff," and over these two groups was the "administration," consisting of one superintendent and two principles...We were separate in many ways but in the scheme of things we were all there to give students a quality education...For the best results, everyone had to work together...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Mornings Blog...37º
I continued writing this morning on my new job at school, but it is not coming easy...So rather than do a half hearted job I'm putting it away to work on later..
The sun is shining now, we have a dusting of snow on the ground and I need to get on with my day...Herb seems to feel a bit better this morning...Still coughing but is more interested in eating, although he is already talking about taking a nap...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
The sun is shining now, we have a dusting of snow on the ground and I need to get on with my day...Herb seems to feel a bit better this morning...Still coughing but is more interested in eating, although he is already talking about taking a nap...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Friday, February 19, 2016
Lunches...36º
Joseph Schools were known for having the best hot lunch in the county...Prices were kept low and all kids were guaranteed a hot lunch...Mr. Williams, our superintendent, set a good example for students and staff alike, by eating lunch every day...Our campus was closed, keeping students on the school grounds during the lunch break...They could bring a sack lunch, but none were allowed to go down town for a "burger, fries and coke."...Lunch prices for students in 1977 were an average of .40 cents a day...Our two kids could eat lunch for less that $16.00 a month, a bargain even in those days...Students were allowed to come back for seconds, after cleaning up their tray...Of course as with any program, there were always complaints, such as; Why should "little Johnny" have to eat vegetables, can't you offer more choices and why can't my child have pop instead of milk?..The most common complaint from the adults was, your lunches are too fattening, but guess who showed up early in the kitchen, when the smell of cinnamon rolls permeated the halls, looking for a handout.
I have to agree our lunches were often high in calories and part of the reason was the Government Commodities, offered throughout the school year...Butter and cheese was at the top of the surplus list, next came flour, (white and whole wheat.) Sometimes we would get canned fruits and vegetables, dried prunes and figs, peanuts (when Carter was president,) ground beef and chicken...In order to keep lunch prices low, we used commodities as much as possible because they came to us at a very low cost...Government guidelines were in place to insure that meals were nutritious and supplied kids with enough calorie to get them through the afternoon...When in reality, we could provide that, but it was up to the child to eat what was good for them...Some times, it was eat dessert first and dump the rest of the food in the garbage!..Over all, it was a good program, nice people to work with, a well arranged kitchen and good equipment to make the job easier...I had found my niche...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
I have to agree our lunches were often high in calories and part of the reason was the Government Commodities, offered throughout the school year...Butter and cheese was at the top of the surplus list, next came flour, (white and whole wheat.) Sometimes we would get canned fruits and vegetables, dried prunes and figs, peanuts (when Carter was president,) ground beef and chicken...In order to keep lunch prices low, we used commodities as much as possible because they came to us at a very low cost...Government guidelines were in place to insure that meals were nutritious and supplied kids with enough calorie to get them through the afternoon...When in reality, we could provide that, but it was up to the child to eat what was good for them...Some times, it was eat dessert first and dump the rest of the food in the garbage!..Over all, it was a good program, nice people to work with, a well arranged kitchen and good equipment to make the job easier...I had found my niche...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Reflection...34º
I look back now and wonder what my qualifications were for this job...My cooking experience was limited to home cooking for a family of four, along with holiday dinners for family and guests...I had started married life about 15 years previous, knowing how to make a meat loaf, boil potatoes and open a jar of my mothers home canned green beans...A Better Homes and Gardens cook book, received as a wedding gift was my teacher, and I learned from it how to make bread, pies, cakes and cook a roast...I still have and use this cook book, although many of the pages are smeared with batter and grease and others are falling out...Did home cooking give me the skills to succeed at this job?..Time would tell.
I like to think that the work ethic instilled in me, growing up on a farm, was probably my best qualification...Also the two years spent on the "potato digger" was a wake up call that there had to be a better way to bring home some extra money and I was determined to make this job work...No other jobs in the county had hours where I could be home when our kids arrived home from school as well as having the summers off...I didn't have to be told that I had lucked out!
After a few weeks on the job, the dish washer wasn't so daunting, the trays no longer piled up, the bread mixer became my new best friend and quit spewing flour in all directions...I was up to any challenge that Margaret threw my way and I could relax a bit and watch what was going on around me, and anticipated what needed to be done, without being told...Occassionally that got me in to trouble but not often...I overheard a conversation one day when Margaret was asked, "How is the new cook doing?"...Her answer, "She is a gem," had me beaming with pride, until she added, "Actually a diamond in the rough."...Hugs to All...OWAV:)
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Institution size...46º
It was a stroke of luck for me when I was hired by the Joseph School District as the Assistant Cook/Baker in the fall of 1977...The salary was over $2.00 an hour, plus it had benefits, health insurance to start and in six months I could sign up for the state retirement plan, Pers...Most important that monthly check would make our house payment and enable us to fulfill the contract in 10 years.
The mixer that I used almost daily for the next seven years was a 30 quart standup model, institution size, as were the pans, bowls and utensils that stocked the kitchen...The bread recipe instead of cups of flour was written either in quarts or pounds and not just one but two batches, had to be mixed and cooked to feed the hungry kids...I wondered if I could get it all done in 4 hours...I remember those first days, mixing roll dough and being surrounded by clouds of flour, as I hit the wrong speed on the mixer and flour went everywhere...My boss, Margaret, was very patient and she and Joanne helped with the cleanup and shaping of 400 rolls until I learned how to control the mixer and work fast with the mound of dough...When I wasn't playing in the bread dough, I could be elbow deep (it seemed that way) in chocolate cake batter, apple crisp and finally, Margaret said, "Idella, cinnamon rolls are on next weeks menu, are you up for that?"...I don't remember much about that day, except that now every surface was not only covered with flour but sugar and cinnamon as well and I still had to make the icing...The cinnamon rolls were far from perfect, but the icing covered my mistakes and the smiles on the kids faces as a cinnamon roll was placed on their tray, made my day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
This photo from the internet is very close to the mixer I used at Joseph Schools...For several months I thought it would get the best of me, but with practice I mastered it and we became "friends."
The mixer that I used almost daily for the next seven years was a 30 quart standup model, institution size, as were the pans, bowls and utensils that stocked the kitchen...The bread recipe instead of cups of flour was written either in quarts or pounds and not just one but two batches, had to be mixed and cooked to feed the hungry kids...I wondered if I could get it all done in 4 hours...I remember those first days, mixing roll dough and being surrounded by clouds of flour, as I hit the wrong speed on the mixer and flour went everywhere...My boss, Margaret, was very patient and she and Joanne helped with the cleanup and shaping of 400 rolls until I learned how to control the mixer and work fast with the mound of dough...When I wasn't playing in the bread dough, I could be elbow deep (it seemed that way) in chocolate cake batter, apple crisp and finally, Margaret said, "Idella, cinnamon rolls are on next weeks menu, are you up for that?"...I don't remember much about that day, except that now every surface was not only covered with flour but sugar and cinnamon as well and I still had to make the icing...The cinnamon rolls were far from perfect, but the icing covered my mistakes and the smiles on the kids faces as a cinnamon roll was placed on their tray, made my day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
This photo from the internet is very close to the mixer I used at Joseph Schools...For several months I thought it would get the best of me, but with practice I mastered it and we became "friends."
Monday, February 15, 2016
Crudy/Windy....46º
The weather outside is crudy....Windy, warm, icy with a possible sun break...Inside crud is in the air...Herb came down with a bug Saturday night, coughing, achy, weak, hot/cold, run over by a truck feeling...Slept most of the day yesterday, didn't eat, took drugs, finally got the right combination to slow the coughing, but he was up and down all night...I slept until 1:30am, finally got up at 2:30 and have been reading, thinking, playing games and more reading...Not really in the mood to write so better get some breakfast...I have a choice of cherry pie or clam chowder...Eeenie, meanie, miney mo....Hugs to All...OWAV:)
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Reading Binge...30º
The last couple of weeks, I've spent my spare time reading, one book after another from Library to Go...An online library where I have books on hold, (waiting for them to come available, sometimes the wait is several months,) others can be read immediately and some are on a wish list, and others are on a list that I recommend that the library purchase...I also have a stack of "real books," that I can choose from and one waiting for me on loan from the library.
Looking back at my childhood, books were far and few between at our house and even at the one room school house that I attended for 5 years...I remember having a small collection of "Golden Books," that were a treasure trove to me...The only reading material in our house, when I was growing up was "The Farm Journal" magazine and for a few years a gift subscription of "The Readers Digest." My parents didn't have time to read, nor the money to buy books and the public library in MeCall, Idaho only checked books out to city residents, which we were not.
At school our teacher could go to the City Library and check out an assortment of books for our reading pleasure...I lost myself in books with titles like, Nancy Drew, Little Women and The Hardy Boys...About junior high age, television made its debut and Saturday mornings brought The Little Rascals, Looney Tunes and Road Runner...Afternoons were filled with soap operas and westerns, evenings with I Love Lucy, Gun Smoke, Ed Sullivan, Dragnet, Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best...Books took a back seat...Our high school library was available for required reading and the occasional book report.
Our kids grew up with Golden Books that they received for Birthdays and Christmas, then later we made biweekly trips to the book mobile and of course TV gave them Wild Kingdom, The Wonderful World of Disney, Captain Kangaroo, Bewitched, Petticoat Junction, Beverly Hillbillies, Andy Griffith, The Adams Family and Perry Mason, plus many, many more!
Cienna grew up with her own library, gleaned from yardsales...Books purchased for mere pennies of their true price, by a doting Oma and Mama...Television was limited to OPB, but video's were plentiful.
I think the foggy days were getting to me and reading was my escape...It gave me sunny days, if only in my imagination...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Looking back at my childhood, books were far and few between at our house and even at the one room school house that I attended for 5 years...I remember having a small collection of "Golden Books," that were a treasure trove to me...The only reading material in our house, when I was growing up was "The Farm Journal" magazine and for a few years a gift subscription of "The Readers Digest." My parents didn't have time to read, nor the money to buy books and the public library in MeCall, Idaho only checked books out to city residents, which we were not.
At school our teacher could go to the City Library and check out an assortment of books for our reading pleasure...I lost myself in books with titles like, Nancy Drew, Little Women and The Hardy Boys...About junior high age, television made its debut and Saturday mornings brought The Little Rascals, Looney Tunes and Road Runner...Afternoons were filled with soap operas and westerns, evenings with I Love Lucy, Gun Smoke, Ed Sullivan, Dragnet, Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best...Books took a back seat...Our high school library was available for required reading and the occasional book report.
Our kids grew up with Golden Books that they received for Birthdays and Christmas, then later we made biweekly trips to the book mobile and of course TV gave them Wild Kingdom, The Wonderful World of Disney, Captain Kangaroo, Bewitched, Petticoat Junction, Beverly Hillbillies, Andy Griffith, The Adams Family and Perry Mason, plus many, many more!
Cienna grew up with her own library, gleaned from yardsales...Books purchased for mere pennies of their true price, by a doting Oma and Mama...Television was limited to OPB, but video's were plentiful.
I think the foggy days were getting to me and reading was my escape...It gave me sunny days, if only in my imagination...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Road Trip...32º
An eye appointment in LaGrande for me was the perfect opportunity for a shopping trip as well...I only had to do a visual field test, so no dilation of my eyes was needed, which is a blessing for me, as it makes me more weird and spacy than usual...We asked Pam to go along, knowing that she would add more fun to the trip...On our way just at daybreak, foggy and slick looking to Wallowa, then the Wallowa Canyon lightened up, road was dry, traffic light.
Our first stop was Grocery Outlet, in LaGrande, probably my favorite store...Many older people were going into the store, as Herb pulled into a parking spot...Just inside the doors, orchids were on display...We oohed and aaahed over them, choosing first one then another to take home...Knowing we couldn't leave them in the car all day, we each picked out two and asked if we could pick them up in the afternoon?..Then we got down to the real business of shopping for groceries...More older people kept passing by and I finally realized that Wednesday is Senior day at Grocery Outlet...Tables were set up in a wide aisle and bingo was in progress and 10% off purchases was offered all day...Must be our lucky day...An hour later baskets piled high, we checked out and made it to my appt. just a few minutes late.
In and out of Pettits office in half an hour, Bi Mart was next on the list...We wandered the aisles, picking up our usual box wine before the spring bulbs caught our eye...I resisted because it is way too early to plant anything in Joseph and I already have all the bulbs I could possibly want...Only 11am but as we get in the car, Pam says, "I'm hungry, lets beat the lunch crowd, where should we eat?" Buds Sportsmen Bar, since it has good sandwiches and fries...Pam also talked us into the "fried green beans." Needless to say we were stuffed and ready for a nap but instead, we had more shopping to do and we also took a few minutes to visit our friend, Margaret, at the care center, where she recuperates from a broken hip.
Fast forward, we made quick stops at Wal Mart, Grocery Outlet, Kauffmans, on to Elgin and a stop to buy 25# bags of flour and fuel the car...Home about 4pm, in bed at 8pm...Good nights sleep, sun is shining and ready for the day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
PS...Got one purple and one yellow orchid...:)
Our first stop was Grocery Outlet, in LaGrande, probably my favorite store...Many older people were going into the store, as Herb pulled into a parking spot...Just inside the doors, orchids were on display...We oohed and aaahed over them, choosing first one then another to take home...Knowing we couldn't leave them in the car all day, we each picked out two and asked if we could pick them up in the afternoon?..Then we got down to the real business of shopping for groceries...More older people kept passing by and I finally realized that Wednesday is Senior day at Grocery Outlet...Tables were set up in a wide aisle and bingo was in progress and 10% off purchases was offered all day...Must be our lucky day...An hour later baskets piled high, we checked out and made it to my appt. just a few minutes late.
In and out of Pettits office in half an hour, Bi Mart was next on the list...We wandered the aisles, picking up our usual box wine before the spring bulbs caught our eye...I resisted because it is way too early to plant anything in Joseph and I already have all the bulbs I could possibly want...Only 11am but as we get in the car, Pam says, "I'm hungry, lets beat the lunch crowd, where should we eat?" Buds Sportsmen Bar, since it has good sandwiches and fries...Pam also talked us into the "fried green beans." Needless to say we were stuffed and ready for a nap but instead, we had more shopping to do and we also took a few minutes to visit our friend, Margaret, at the care center, where she recuperates from a broken hip.
Fast forward, we made quick stops at Wal Mart, Grocery Outlet, Kauffmans, on to Elgin and a stop to buy 25# bags of flour and fuel the car...Home about 4pm, in bed at 8pm...Good nights sleep, sun is shining and ready for the day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
PS...Got one purple and one yellow orchid...:)
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Dishwasher Duty...21º
I started my new job, assistant cook/baker at Joseph School Cafeteria, late August 1977...I had been a substitute for two years, so kind of knew what I was getting into...I was responsible daily for making bread, rolls and/or dessert for lunch...The campus was closed, kids could bring sack lunches from home, but most kids and adults ate at the cafeteria, approximately 300 lunches were served daily...Margaret was head cook, fixing the main dish, ordering all supplies and making menus...Joanne was responsible for salads, veggies and fruit...Our day started at 7am with the first kids showing up at 11am ready to eat...We finished serving at 12:15pm, cleaned up, had our lunch at about 1pm, finished cleanup, our day ended at 2pm.
Joanne and I traded off weekly, either working the big sinks, washing by hand, enormous pots and pans or washing trays in the dishwasher...My turn on the dishwasher started the second week and I was sure it would never end...Alfred (janitor/bus driver) helped by scraping and stacking the trays...I remember his comment on that first day, as the trays stacked up higher and higher, he said, with a sly grin, "You are getting a little behind in your work." I glared at him over the stack of trays and kept spraying and running trays through the machine...In between washing trays, I also had to sort silverware into plastic cups to be washed last...It went something like this, spray trays, stack in rack, open dishwasher door, shove tray rack inside, shut door, hit start button, sort silverware, repeat!..Also I had to keep moving and stacking the clean trays as they came out steaming hot from the dishwasher...Alfred's grin grew wider as my glare turned to grimace and he handed me the last tray and said, "Is this the one you were looking for?"...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Joanne and I traded off weekly, either working the big sinks, washing by hand, enormous pots and pans or washing trays in the dishwasher...My turn on the dishwasher started the second week and I was sure it would never end...Alfred (janitor/bus driver) helped by scraping and stacking the trays...I remember his comment on that first day, as the trays stacked up higher and higher, he said, with a sly grin, "You are getting a little behind in your work." I glared at him over the stack of trays and kept spraying and running trays through the machine...In between washing trays, I also had to sort silverware into plastic cups to be washed last...It went something like this, spray trays, stack in rack, open dishwasher door, shove tray rack inside, shut door, hit start button, sort silverware, repeat!..Also I had to keep moving and stacking the clean trays as they came out steaming hot from the dishwasher...Alfred's grin grew wider as my glare turned to grimace and he handed me the last tray and said, "Is this the one you were looking for?"...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
A Real Job...21º
I worked at the Joseph City Library for over a year and had also started working at the Joseph City Office, posting payments in huge ledger accounts, a couple of mornings a week...The Library and City Office was in the same building so it was easy to coordinate the two jobs...The extra money really helped with our new responsibilities of owning a home and I liked working with Mildred in the city office...Mildred was an old timer in the community, friendly and fun, she had a poodle dog that "resided" under her desk, greeted customers and snored...
Mildred was a chain smoker, always had a cigarette smoldering on her desk...I can't imagine working in that atmosphere today but back then it was the norm...People smoked everywhere and anywhere...I grew up with my Dads unfiltered camels, ashtrays on the table, by his chair in the living room and even tried smoking a "butt' or two...I married a smoker and lived with it for years in our own home...It was just the way of life and we didn't realize the unhealthy side of it for many years...Our kids played a big part in getting Herb to quit, (many times,) only to start up again with, just that one cigarette...Until he finally put it all behind him.
My days at the Library and City Office seemed to be numbered, a job at the school cafeteria was opening up...I never turned down an opportunity to fill in and also to go on the special birthday event, when I got to bake enough cake for about 300 kids...I felt like I fit in with the kitchen crew but wasn't sure if I could handle making 40 loaves of bread or 300 rolls on any given day...I was excited about working in the school kitchen but scared as well and in the days I had worked washing hugh pots and pans in the giant size sinks, all went well, but was I ready to tackle the big, scary dishwashing machine?...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Mildred was a chain smoker, always had a cigarette smoldering on her desk...I can't imagine working in that atmosphere today but back then it was the norm...People smoked everywhere and anywhere...I grew up with my Dads unfiltered camels, ashtrays on the table, by his chair in the living room and even tried smoking a "butt' or two...I married a smoker and lived with it for years in our own home...It was just the way of life and we didn't realize the unhealthy side of it for many years...Our kids played a big part in getting Herb to quit, (many times,) only to start up again with, just that one cigarette...Until he finally put it all behind him.
My days at the Library and City Office seemed to be numbered, a job at the school cafeteria was opening up...I never turned down an opportunity to fill in and also to go on the special birthday event, when I got to bake enough cake for about 300 kids...I felt like I fit in with the kitchen crew but wasn't sure if I could handle making 40 loaves of bread or 300 rolls on any given day...I was excited about working in the school kitchen but scared as well and in the days I had worked washing hugh pots and pans in the giant size sinks, all went well, but was I ready to tackle the big, scary dishwashing machine?...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Monday, February 8, 2016
Disconnected/Catching up...25º
Four days since my last blog and it seems much longer...Friday I just didn't post anything and Saturday morning, we were up at 4am and our internet connection was not working...Assuming something was wrong on our end, I reconfigured settings, talked to Bobi and reset the modem but nothing worked...I called EONI (our internet server) and left a message...The call back came and it seems it was their problem not mine, and they were working on it...I was so relieved that it wasn't my fault that I didn't ask when we might get reconnected.
Life without the internet is weird...I started looking for things to do in and around the house...I cleaned the bathroom, and the kitchen and the roll top desk...In the desk were cooking magazines...I spent several hours, rereading those, before I picked up a book "Tracks" about a women who treks across Australia and lost myself in it for a few hours...Many times through the day, I found the need to google something...NO INTERNET...So I played a few games of "Gummy Drops."...Couldn't play scrabble because that needs a connection and so does FaceBook.
Herb made a trip to the post office and stopped by the Josephy Center and was able to sit in the car and "borrow" their internet and download another book to his iPad, so he was set for the afternoon and evening...Sunday morning we were up early again and still no internet...I had to think hard, what did we do before the internet?...The old icebox that sits in one corner of the living room is/was stuffed with saved papers and projects...I emptied it one shelf at a time and in between, making bread and fixing Sunday dinner, I sorted, reread, reminisced and that prompted me to pull a shoebox full of old photos, out of the closet...Need I go on.
Late afternoon Pam stopped by on her way from snowshoeing, just as I took a loaf of no-knead bread from the oven, she couldn't stay for dinner, but we managed to eat the loaf of bread, washed down with red wine...She left and we had dinner, then Herb announced that he needed to go download another book...I was tired of sorting papers, put the old photos away and joined him as we both borrowed the internet at the JC...When we arrived back home, our modem showed a green light, that meant our internet was up and working...Life is back to normal...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Life without the internet is weird...I started looking for things to do in and around the house...I cleaned the bathroom, and the kitchen and the roll top desk...In the desk were cooking magazines...I spent several hours, rereading those, before I picked up a book "Tracks" about a women who treks across Australia and lost myself in it for a few hours...Many times through the day, I found the need to google something...NO INTERNET...So I played a few games of "Gummy Drops."...Couldn't play scrabble because that needs a connection and so does FaceBook.
Herb made a trip to the post office and stopped by the Josephy Center and was able to sit in the car and "borrow" their internet and download another book to his iPad, so he was set for the afternoon and evening...Sunday morning we were up early again and still no internet...I had to think hard, what did we do before the internet?...The old icebox that sits in one corner of the living room is/was stuffed with saved papers and projects...I emptied it one shelf at a time and in between, making bread and fixing Sunday dinner, I sorted, reread, reminisced and that prompted me to pull a shoebox full of old photos, out of the closet...Need I go on.
Late afternoon Pam stopped by on her way from snowshoeing, just as I took a loaf of no-knead bread from the oven, she couldn't stay for dinner, but we managed to eat the loaf of bread, washed down with red wine...She left and we had dinner, then Herb announced that he needed to go download another book...I was tired of sorting papers, put the old photos away and joined him as we both borrowed the internet at the JC...When we arrived back home, our modem showed a green light, that meant our internet was up and working...Life is back to normal...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Building Equity...28º
At first we were overwhelmed with home ownership and all the added costs, but we quickly learned to prioritize, so we could improve the house without taking on addition debt...The sewer project came first, then the bill for property taxes arrived.
The following spring, when Herb and Rusty started the roofing project, it only made sense to add blow-in insulation in the attic...Rusty was small in size and the perfect candidate to climb through a hole in the roof to hold and aim the hose, getting insulation into all the nooks and crannies...Later that summer, while Herb was at work, the kids and I added insulation batts to the eaves of the house and the crawl spaces upstairs...Since I was fairly small and agile back then and didn't mind closed in spaces, I crawled into the "crawl spaces," positioned on my back, and armed with a staple gun...I wore goggles and a handkerchief bandanna over my mouth and nose...Bobbi Jo was outside on the lawn, measuring and cutting the insulation, and Rusty was the runner...He carried the cut pieces upstairs, and wiggled his way through the eaves, delivering them to me for installation...This was considered "family bonding," in those days...All the while we were doing this nasty, itchy job, we had visions of boating on Wallowa Lake, when the weekend rolled around...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
The following spring, when Herb and Rusty started the roofing project, it only made sense to add blow-in insulation in the attic...Rusty was small in size and the perfect candidate to climb through a hole in the roof to hold and aim the hose, getting insulation into all the nooks and crannies...Later that summer, while Herb was at work, the kids and I added insulation batts to the eaves of the house and the crawl spaces upstairs...Since I was fairly small and agile back then and didn't mind closed in spaces, I crawled into the "crawl spaces," positioned on my back, and armed with a staple gun...I wore goggles and a handkerchief bandanna over my mouth and nose...Bobbi Jo was outside on the lawn, measuring and cutting the insulation, and Rusty was the runner...He carried the cut pieces upstairs, and wiggled his way through the eaves, delivering them to me for installation...This was considered "family bonding," in those days...All the while we were doing this nasty, itchy job, we had visions of boating on Wallowa Lake, when the weekend rolled around...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Home Owners/Headaches...12º
I wanted a new kitchen, Herb said, "We need a new roof!"...My mind leans to the common sense side, so the new roof was an easy winner...The kitchen would wait...Also we were looking for a cheaper way to heat our house and with firewood plentiful and cheap at that time, Herb installed a "barrel stove" in the basement and we purchased a freestanding stove/fireplace for the living room...The stove/fireplace was a poor choice as it smoked continuously and was not efficient...But the guys seemed to like getting wood, and we went through a lot of it.
We knew that our old house, with character, was also very needy...The upstairs was cold and drafty, it needed new windows, the living room ceiling was "saggy," it needed a major remodel as did the kitchen and the bathroom, and so did the bedroom that had been turned into a utility room...People asked us before we bought the house, "Have you looked at new houses, are you sure you want an old house."...We always answered, "We love this old house and our small acreage and the location."...I'm not sure when we discovered that it had a view!
Something else that made the top of the list that summer was a boat...We had an old boat, that we hauled all the way from Utah, but it didn't have much power and the outboard motor kept cutting out...Just about the time a water skier had made it to a standing position, the motor would cough and sputter and die...From the for sale ads, in the Chieftain, we soon had a newer boat, inboard/outboard motor that would pull two skiers at a time and now we needed better life jackets, better skies and a slalom ski and a dock on Wallowa lake, for our very own use...The boat gave us many years of family fun, while the kids were still at home to enjoy it, and the kitchen waited...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
We knew that our old house, with character, was also very needy...The upstairs was cold and drafty, it needed new windows, the living room ceiling was "saggy," it needed a major remodel as did the kitchen and the bathroom, and so did the bedroom that had been turned into a utility room...People asked us before we bought the house, "Have you looked at new houses, are you sure you want an old house."...We always answered, "We love this old house and our small acreage and the location."...I'm not sure when we discovered that it had a view!
Something else that made the top of the list that summer was a boat...We had an old boat, that we hauled all the way from Utah, but it didn't have much power and the outboard motor kept cutting out...Just about the time a water skier had made it to a standing position, the motor would cough and sputter and die...From the for sale ads, in the Chieftain, we soon had a newer boat, inboard/outboard motor that would pull two skiers at a time and now we needed better life jackets, better skies and a slalom ski and a dock on Wallowa lake, for our very own use...The boat gave us many years of family fun, while the kids were still at home to enjoy it, and the kitchen waited...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Decision/Indecision...16º
August 1977....Many factors were at play now:..We had committed to a mortgage...The Forest Service changed daily, consolidation of districts, new rangers, new policy, NRA added, transfer or not?..Bobbi was in high school, Rusty was settled in and neither really wanted to move...Herb was thinking he had enough politics to deal with here and could see that it only got worse, if one moved up the ladder...I was loving the lake, mountains and the trees, so reminicent of my growing up in Idaho...Maybe we could continue on with the boating, camping, hunting, spending time with Dad and making occasional trips to Utah to see my Mom...Years from now maybe we could move somewhere else to retire.
Now after all the excitement of buying a house, we began to wonder, what had we been thinking, as the first thing that happened was the sewer backed up...We could no longer pass the bills to our landlords but had to figure out how to pay them ourselves...Money was tight and we had plans to insulate the house, buy a wood stove, and the roof needed replacing...We learned quickly, to take one day at a time!..The backhoe arrived to dig up the sewer pipe, that went to the city main and Herb was able to replace old pipe with new...Somehow the bill got paid, maybe Herb got called on a fire and made extra money that pay period...I know I juggled money every month, but at least Herb had a job and a steady paycheck and we had made the first two payments on our house...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Now after all the excitement of buying a house, we began to wonder, what had we been thinking, as the first thing that happened was the sewer backed up...We could no longer pass the bills to our landlords but had to figure out how to pay them ourselves...Money was tight and we had plans to insulate the house, buy a wood stove, and the roof needed replacing...We learned quickly, to take one day at a time!..The backhoe arrived to dig up the sewer pipe, that went to the city main and Herb was able to replace old pipe with new...Somehow the bill got paid, maybe Herb got called on a fire and made extra money that pay period...I know I juggled money every month, but at least Herb had a job and a steady paycheck and we had made the first two payments on our house...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Monday, February 1, 2016
Falling into place...14º
The summer of 1977, brought stability to our life in Joseph...The house we had rented for 4 years was going up for sale...Max Hayes (owner) arrived from Alaska and with a local realtor walked through the house doing an appraisal...Max was quick to point out to the realtor the improvements, such as carpets in all rooms and newly painted walls throughout the house, improvements that we had made...He wanted to get a good price for the house but also wanted to made it reasonable enough that we could afford it...After considerable hassle, us trying to get a bank loan, (the bank required us to come up with $10,000.00 down,) Haye's offered to carry the contract...We had been good renters, our monthly rent paid always on time, so they knew they could count on us to fulfill the contract, and they liked the idea of selling to someone who loved the property and would take good care of it...Their only stipulation was that we pay the loan off in 10 years instead of the usual 25 to 30...They suggested that we could make a balloon payment or refinance at that time with a bank loan, something that people did all the time...We were new to house buying, loans, balloon payments and refinancing...But finally things worked out, Dad came to the rescue with help on the down payment and in the meantime I talked to a local realtor about other ways to pay-down a mortgage...He suggested that we pay a larger monthly payment and showed me that we could actually pay the house off in 10 years...So, again with more help from Dad and my new part-time job at the library, we could make this work...After 16 years of marriage, we would be homeowners...Soon we discovered the costs of owning a home...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
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