Memorial Day...38º

Early yesterday morning, Herb and I were both outside setting up hoses to water the vegetable garden...The sun was out early but then the clouds rolled in and brought a chill to the air...Back in the house Herb built a fire and I started looking at recipes, hoping to warm up the kitchen...Whole wheat pita bread caught my eye and soon the yeast was bubbling and in no time, I was mixing, kneading and rolling the dough...I've tried making pita's before without much luck so yesterday, I followed the directions judiciously, they puffed, making hollow centers, just waiting to be stuffed with all kinds of yummy vegetables/grains and drizzled with oil vinaigrette or slathered with guacamole or hummus and devoured.

I was so excited with my latest venture that I splashed photos all over Facebook to share my success and now will re post them here for my "Friends," not on Facebook!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Voilà! 

With hummus

Dinner

Busy Saturday...41º

Pat and I had yard sales first on our list, and since we decided to go to only two, one on Walker Lane and the other on Liberty Road, we took the scenic route...Winding along cemetery road, I pointed out places and names of people she might know and fields where I worked on the potato digger many years ago...Acres and acres of lush, green fields cover the valley with Chief Joseph Mountain looming in the background...Since neither of us really need anything, the yard sales are mostly a social event and "cheap entertainment."

It was such a lovely morning that we soon found ourselves at Iwetemlaykin Park, walking the trails,  enjoying the incredible view and quiet moments alongside a stream...All in all it was a leisurely morning as we continue to catchup for the 6 months that Pat and Brian were in Maryland.

Back home, Herb had been hauling more wood and getting acquainted with Obe (mom) and Macho (baby) llamas who are living at our house and eating down the pasture...They are quite friendly and entertaining...After dinner I spent time on the deck, basking in the rays...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Della and Pat ready for a "hike."

Herb, Obe and Macho

Obe and Macho

Vegan Dinner

Weekend Looms...41º

I was so relaxed and "coasting" on Wednesday, that I totally spaced my CHIP meeting...Early morning Pat and I made a quick trip to Alder Slope Nursery, where she picked up bedding plants and I cherry tomato starts...I ate dinner with Herb and spent most of the afternoon evening outside planting, deadheading and digging weeds...Never once did I think about the Wednesday night meeting, not until Thursday morning...OH MY!

Thursday was our last water therapy and lunch with fellow "swimmers," at the Thai restaurant...Most of their dishes are veggies, with a small amount of meat mixed in, don't remember what I ordered, ate almost all of it and got my weeks worth of salt in the process!..Last night at Chip, I ate a plateful of salad and eschewed the mystery meat, hiding under tomato sauce...Blood draws are on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and is programed into my phone.

More irises come into bloom each day and are  breath taking, I am amazed at their elegance...No special plans for the long weekend, just a couple of yard sales on Saturday and enjoying our mountain view...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

More Irises

Last nights water (purple is a napkin

behind the pitcher)

Chance of Showers...38º

Looking ahead through the next week, showers, high temps in the low 60's...After that hoping that sunshine will return with warmer days...Not complaining as so far we have had the most wonderful spring weather.

Kind of coasting this week, finish up water therapy tomorrow, followed by lunch at the Thai restaurant in Enterprise...This is the next to last week of the CHIP program and next week we share potluck with our fellow classmates for the last two classes and have a final blood draw to see the results of 2 months of near vegan meals...Wondering if those 2 pork ribs (from Becky's Birthday bbq) that jumped onto my plate, will show up in the results?

Yesterday I finished reading "Temperance Creek" by Pam Royes...An excellent memoir, long awaited by members of the write group, as we have listened to parts of her story for the past 3 years...I envy Pam and her writing, that comes so natural to her, as the descriptive words fly from her fingers to paper, pulling her readers into another time and place...The book was definitely worth the wait...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

First bouquet of iris

Storm cloud

Pie Day...43º

The 4th annual Hootenanny was held yesterday, May 22, 2016...The crowd, standing room only, listened to the music of Willy Nelson and waited for intermission and pie sampling...Pat and I again sliced pies, along with 4 helpers...30 pies in all with rhubarb strawberry, lemon strawberry and blueberry apple in the winners circle...Out of 360 slices of pie, only 13 remained on the table as the last song was sung...Another successful fund raiser for the music alliance...I'm looking forward to a less busy week coming up...Garden to finish, deadheading waiting, windows to wash, all will happen in good time...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Chocolate and Pecan

Cherry and Rhubarb

Hard Rain...41º

Last night we had our second Gourmet Dinner Club, at the lovely lakeside home of Carolyn Gilbert...Needless to say my new life style eating plan took a hit...A half serving of red wine (good for you, right?) started the meal...Soon to follow was steamed giant shrimp, lightly dressed, alongside peanut butter stuffed celery...Next steaming bowls of french onion soup appeared on the table...I started on my second half serving of wine, just before Pam served her salad (8 different fresh greens) and vinegar/oil dressing, and I sliced and served the cheese manacotti dish...Carolyn was good at keeping the conversation going and allowing lots of time between dinner courses... Last was a picture perfect cheese cake for dessert...I settled for a "near missum" slice and savored every bite...Dinner and conversation lasted for four hours, tired and well sated I crawled into bed at 10:30.

Veggie soup will be my choice of food for today, that is, until Becky's birthday celebration tonight, when I will be faced with more temptation as John serves BBQ ribs and all the trimmings...Looks like veggie soup will be the food of choice, again tomorrow...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Rainy...42

My new Oriental Poppy starts arrived in the mail and I should have gotten them in the ground yesterday...Now this morning it is rainy/windy and chilly and supposed to last over the weekend...That's what I get for procrastinating!

Our ditch water is finally here and Herb spent time yesterday setting up our irrigation pumps and hoses...Also cleaning out the lines so we have adequate pressure and no air locks.

Everything is growing like crazy, lush and green...My mini greenhouses, covering annuals in pots are doing their job, until we get passed the possible freezing weather of late May.

Mini Greenhouses.

Herb has a renewed interest in "macrameing" chairs for our deck...We salvage 4 chair frames, from a dump pile, many years ago but have never finished the job...Last week he did the one pictured below, has another one started...A good rainy day project.

Very Comfy

I made a large batch of mostly whole grain bread yesterday, turned out a bit heavier than I want it but the flavor was wonderful, even without butter...I dipped mine in balsamic vinegar and oil...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Tasty

Quick Trip...39º

Over the mountains to Walla Walla yesterday...Pat had a dermatologist appointment and asparagus is in season...The day was partly cloudy and we hit dense fog over the top of Tollgate...The day warmed up nicely, had a yummy tomato soup and veggie sandwich at "Stone Soup."..I was afraid to ask how much cream was in the soup, just enjoyed every bite...Of course we stopped at Andy's, to replace our fresh veggies and bulk items...Home late afternoon and an 8pm bedtime for me.

This morning is sunny, looks like two days of this and then back to cloudy, with showers through the weekend...I have a busy day today with write people, and water therapy...Must get moving...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Ring Of Fire...46º

Another day at the Elgin Opera House and another incredible show...Over a month ago, when I ordered tickets for the Johnny Cash show, I wasn't sure how entertaining it would be...After all nobody can sing Johhny Cash songs, like he did...But since we have never been dissapointed in an Opera House show, we decided to splurge and get front row balcony seats (double the price of our usual cheap unpadded seats.)

It turned out to be one of the best shows, (and we have seen most everyone of them) ever...Everyone from the bit parts to starring roles, portrayed the life of Johnny Cash in song, doing an incredible job...No one tried to imitate Johnny Cash or June Carter, they sang his/her songs in their voice and did a great job...As always the stage props were outstanding and the many string instruments stood out and also the piano and trumpets...Three Wallowa County people were on stage and we were delighted to see them in solo roles.

The time flew by, our choice of seats, gave us full view of all the action, definitely worth the extra money...Becky chauffeured and the rest of us enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Wallowa/Minam Canyon...Show coming up in September is "The Little Mermaid."..Can hardly wait...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Results are in...49º

One month ago I started on the CHIP way of life...Complete Health Improvement Program...I really had no idea what it entailed...I was smart enough to grasp the idea of vegetarian and knew that beans, fiber, water and whole grains would be explored to new heights...I even accepted that a diet with less meat might be acceptable for me, but I had no idea that I would be asked to leave behind dairy (cream, butter, chocolate) and eggs.

It is hard to admit that the extra pounds I am carrying makes life more difficult and I had even kind of accepted the "waddle" that had replaced my normal way of walking...But the lethargy (lack of energy and enthusiasm) was beginning to get to me, especially with spring just around the corner...Working outside in both the vegetable garden and flower gardens makes me feel renewed and happy but when after 30 minutes of moderate work had me longing to return to the sofa, I knew that somthing had to be done.

So as with any "diet" I started with an all or nothing gusto, with the "mantra," I can do anything for 2 months...For the first month I have subsisted on miniscule amounts of meat, eggs and dairy, instead I have eaten copious amounts of plant based foods, (grains, beans, veggies, fruits, tofu and soy milk.)

I went to class last night with mixed emotions...The lab results were in, what would my numbers be?..Success or Failure?..On one hand if I failed, I could go back to my old way of eating and forget about beans, grains, tofu...On the other hand, success meant, another month of beans, grains and tofu.

All of my "Labs" came back with good results...I lost a few pounds and have to admit I am feeling more energetic...Fried tofu is palatable, quinoa, brown rice has a place on my plate, the fruit smoothies could be addictive and Yes, I'm ready for month two...Now I must get moving, its time for my walk...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Dr. Rose said this is excellent and we may

want to start backing off on the

statin drug that I take for 

high colesterol...He also thinks that 

with diet and exercise my blood pressure 

will go down more.

Road Trip...38º

A Mothers Days getaway took Herb and I to Lewiston and beyond...The Clearwater River beckoned to us with memories of a trip taken years ago, when we rode a motorcycle along this route with friends John and Thelma...We camped along the way, and chose all the winding roads,  that make a bike trip so much fun...This time we were in the car, Herb driving again, and we enjoyed the scenery and the many greens of spring...Back in Lewiston we had a river view, spent the night and early Monday morning we shopped at Winco, Walmart and finally Costco, before the return trip home over Rattlesnake and Buford grades, another of those winding roads taken years ago, just for fun...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Grande Rhonde River

Rimrock

Dworshak Dam

Clearwater River

Enjoying the view

Incredible May...47º

Basking in these wonderful spring days, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, in the form of a snow storm...Our thunder showers didn't amount to much, rainfall one night and not much at that...The days and evenings remain warm and lovely...Spent a couple of hours at Becky and Johns for a Mothers Day BBQ last night...The campfire and the company was inviting.

Yesterday we did some house cleaning, then worked outside mowing lawns, repotting plants and just enjoying the deck and our view...Wishing all a wonderful Mothers Day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Vegan Dinner 

Water Pitcher

Storm Clouds over Mountains and Lake

Changing Weather....43º

Weather forecast is calling for thunder storms, cooling temperatures, but not much measurable rain, over the next 5 days...Although some of the thunder storms could really dump, with wind, hail and rain...Seems like they try to cover all the bases, nothing mentioned about possible snow.

We've had perfect days to work outside, flowerbeds looking good, daffies almost done blooming, onions planted and we have a nice pile of manure out back, just waiting to be used...Photos below of the latest blooms...I'm off this morning to have blood work done after one month on the CHIP program...Will have results in a week...Don't really know what to expect...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Fern Peony

Crab Apple

Dandelion 

Last nights water pitcher

More of the same...40º

Outside most of the day yesterday...Dead headed daffies, dug dandilions, finished cleaning out the wooden barrels...Becky came for a visit and John hauled the old barrels to their house...Now I can move on with less flowers on the deck for the summer...I planted the usual pansy container, that sits in front of the closed side of the sliding doors, leading onto the deck...It looks very cheery and the rest of the planting will have to wait until maybe it quits frosting.

Talked to Rusty this morning, he is feeling better after being sick, sore throat, fever for the past week...Bobi has been fighting a head cold for two weeks...Hope they are both on the mend!..Time for me to head out the door for a walk...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sunny...45º

Sun is shining, a million things to do outside but first a walk and breakfast...Herb is already hanging clothes on the clothes line outside...Life is good...Hugs to All...OWAV:)