Busy Fall Days...54º

The plum tree has kept both of us busy for the past few days...The plums are too high for us to reach so we have resorted to picking them up quickly as they fall...In between water changes, Herb gathers plums for me to slice off the pit, place in ziplocks, ready to go in the freezer...While doing plums, I'm also slicing tomatoes for roasting...The apricot tree is almost ready to pick and other garden produce is coming on.

I tried a new recipe yesterday using sliced patty pan squash and onions from the garden, added baby sweet peppers from the crisper, a little garlic and other spices for a sweet bread and butter pickle and because of its many colors I named it "Confetti."..We sampled it alongside our tuna salad for dinner...I think it is a keeper...After eating his salad, Herb said, "I assume the beef, mashed potatoes and gravy is soon to follow?"Hmmmm...Wind fall apples were calling me from the pantry, so I peeled and sliced enough for an apple crisp and heard no more about beef and mashed potatoes.

Pat got a lead and phone number on Imnaha tomatoes...I placed a phone call, 40# of tomatoes will be delivered this morning, should be ready to roast by Friday at the latest...Must get moving, fall really is a busy season...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...Just realized I don't even have a photo of the PLUMS!...Darn, maybe next time.

Ready for the oven

Roasted

BLT for dinner

Evening Clouds

Tuna Salad Bowl

Sliced ready to pickle

Confetti Pickles

Work and Pleasure...45º

I kept busy on Friday making pickles out of cucumbers...6 quarts of dills in the jars and 3 gallons of sweets in the brine...Roasting tomatoes is on the schedule for today, the smell of garlic and basil will permeate the house...After a yard sale yesterday, Pat and I took in the first Dragon Boat races on Wallowa Lake...Eleven teams showed up for the races and it looked like everyone was having a great time...It was a perfect day, sunny, temperature in the low 80's...Another event added to the summer schedule...The finals will take place today....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Cukes soaking in water, waiting to be scrubbed.

Paddlers getting ready to leave the dock.

Dragon Boat headed for the starting line.

Costco Run...45º

Up early and on the road by 6am for a shopping trip in Lewiston/Clarkston...Herb navigates the winding road as I focus on the road as well, watching for the wild critters that are out this time of day...On todays drive we see elk, deer, turkeys and one lone grouse...We are almost to the top of Rattlesnake Grade before we meet the first vehicle of the day, an empty logging truck.

Our first stop in Lewiston, ID is Winco, where we stock up on bulk foods, such as chunky salt, peppercorns, beans, nuts, rice, raisins, craisins, snack crackers and assorted other items...We hurry past candies of all kinds, resisting the temptation...Brief stops at Home Depot and Ross's, then we skirt Lewiston's main street, cross the river and make our way to Costco in Clarkston, WA...We spend almost 2 hours, perusing the aisles, loading our carts, meet up occasionally to compare, making sure we are not getting duplicates...Totally "spent" both physically and mentally AND pocket book, we load the car, decide on pizza and salad for lunch and arrive back home 10 hours later, exhausted!..It was a good day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Leaving town 

The rising sun

Close to home

The mountains come into sight.

Evenings Light...51º

Sitting out last night just before sunset and took a few photos in the fading light...I love the colors of autumn flowers...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Rudbeckia and a lone cone flower.

Grass so green.

Along our fence line

Gravenstein Apples

  

Bee balm and Cone flower

White shasta daisy and purple phlox

Deck with hazy mountain in the background.

No Mood for Writing...55º

In my assignment to take a photo a day and post it to Instagram, somedays I remember and take several photos, other days slip by with my phone used only to play "Gummy Drop," and send texts...The mood for writing escapes me so todays blog appears in photo form...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Black Currants

Beets and Greens.

Sweet Basil

Carrot Bouquet.

Deck Planter

New Butterfly.

Butterfly on Phlox.

Back in the Dough...48º

After our trip to McCall, I could hardly wait to try my hand at making a platter size cinnamon roll...Early yesterday morning found me mixing my usual sweet roll dough...It rose into a nice puffy dough, that filled the large green tupperware bowl...I floured the counter, gently slid the dough into place, patted and stretched it into a large rectangle...Slathered on the butter, sprinkled with sugar and a good dose of cinnamon...Normally I would then roll the dough into a long tube and cut across it to make individual rolls but instead I took the pizza cutter and cut a long 1 1/2 inch strip off the side of the rectangle...Then I gently and loosely coiled the strip around my finger to make one large cinnamon roll, tucked the end under and placed it into a 9 inch pie plate...It raised and spread until it almost fit the plate, now it was ready for the oven...The oven did the rest of the magic as it rose and spread to totally fill the plate...Slightly cooled I covered it with frosting and snapped a photo...I made 3 very large rolls, then did the rest of them, not so large on a cookie sheet...It was fun, of course I will do it again...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

All done ready to eat.

Single size before frosting.

Sunshine...42º

Rainy and cold the passed two days...Herb and the rain kept everything well watered while I was gone so with nothing to do outside,  it was easy for me to check the garden for comfort food to fix for meals...New potatoes, onions and garlic roasted in the oven, warmed the house and fresh cabbage salad rounded out the meal, (Herb added a german sausage to his plate.) On Tuesday chili from the cellar shelves and tamales from the freezer, topped with fresh green onions and peppers, grated cheese, avocado and sour cream warmed our bellies, after I did my monthy stint at the local museum...Late afternoons found us both reading books, downloaded from "Library to Go."

This morning the sun has returned, 75º predicted for the high and zooming to 85ª by Friday and Saturday, just in time for the Bronze, Blues and Brews festival, held at the city park, not far from our house on Barton Heights...We enjoy some of the music, without the crowds, from our deck and the watering of our gardens will keep us busy for the weekend...We might have company so guess I better get some menus planned and housework done!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Dianes latest project made from old sweaters.

Weekend Fun...47º

An impromptu trip to my hometown with nieces Susan, Diane and Amy took us down memory lane...What started out to be a sisters trip, ended up with me, their aunt going along for the ride, when two sisters Pode and Paula were unable to attend.

Many years ago I was the chief babysitter for the Ashton girls, except for Amy who joined the family many years later after they moved from McCall to LaGrande, OR...The "Girls" were like a second family to me as I not only took care of them but also joined their family on excursions...Over the years we have stayed in touch, visiting when possible...So when Sue called and said, "Do you want to go?" I said, "What time do I need to be in LaGrande?!"

The 5 hour drive flew by on Friday and we arrived in McCall about 1pm, spotted Diane waiting for us at an outdoor Cafe in McCall, The Salmon River Brewery in the old train depot...Not sure why its called the Salmon River Brewery, with its view of Payette Lake in McCall...Whatever!..We ordered brews, and 3 entrees to share, fries, wings, mac and cheese/with salad...I'm thinking, 'Oops, here goes my new food plan.'

From there we found our condo for the weekend...It was about two blocks from where the girls grew up and the McCall golf course, where Herbs dad was the greens keeper for nearly 10 years...But McCall is nothing like it was 55 years ago...Their house is gone, the golf course is twice as big and condos have sprouted everywhere...New roads, bumper to bumper traffic, hoards of people, everything has changed...We chilled at the condo, quiet away from the craziness of the streets, and caught up on family news before we searched for a place to have dinner...The girls found the marina and cafe where they used to go to watch the 4th of July fire works...Our dinner was good and the view of Payette lake, gorgeous as always.

A good nights sleep, coffee, showers and a lazy morning, we visited the McCall Cemetery and the graves of our loved ones, before going to breakfast at the Pancake House...It was jam packed, but we waited our turn, admired the beautiful flowers in hanging baskets and planters all along the patio...Amazing!!.It must take one full time person to keep them watered and deadheaded and can't imagine the work it takes to get them planted and growing for such a beautiful display...Our breakfast appetizer was the platter sized cinnamon roll and again we shared entrees...OH MY! Service was good, food was good.

We visited downtown McCall and its speciality shops, a thrift store, book store/drugstore and cooled off with drinks at a java place...Shopped for groceries (dinner) at the local Albertson's...Back at the condo we packed a small cooler with drinks/snacks and walked to Davis Beach, where the Ashton Girls spent many hours playing/swimming in the cold waters of Payette Lake...The sun nearly down and the crowded beach thinning out we made our way back to the condo and again did what we do best; Poured our favorite beverage, pulled out wings, clam dip, fruit, cheese, chips, salsa, cookies and half a cinnamon roll from breakfast and ate dinner...Sunday morning was another lazy one,  checking devises for news of home, before eating leftovers, packing up, saying our goodbyes and hitting the road...Diane going to Burns, OR and us back to LaGrande...During the 3 days, the talk was non stop, laughter filled the air and memories resurfaced...It was a wonderful weekend, thanks for taking me along...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Diane getting some seeds. :)

Blooming Basket

More Blooms

Patio lined with flowers

Platter sized cinnamon roll

Amy and Diane

Remembering...45º

Over a year ago, Herb, Me, Bobi and Rusty made a trip to Utah for a larger family gathering...All of my sisters would be there, along with numerous neices and nephews...We sisters, Mona and I in our 70's, Loraine and Barbara in their 80's, were well aware that any visit could be our last.

It was a great visit, hosted by neices, we spent hours visiting and reminiscing about our childhoods. our parents, Blanche and Joe, and our brothers, George and Joel...More laughter than tears filled our days...Food of course was plentiful and more relatives arrived to add to the mix...Cousins meeting cousins or getting reacquainted, it was a happy time with only a small amount of bitter/sweet.

Last week Loraine our oldest sister,  passed away...She had lived in a care center for several years, her health not good, we knew it was imminent...Her funeral will be held this coming Saturday...She is surrived by 8 children (a daughter Mona, and her husband Steve preceded her) and more grandchildren and great grandchildren than I can count...She leaves a legacy of untold proportions for her children to reflect on.

For many years now I have held with the philosophy that I would rather see and visit with people when alive, than attend a funeral...So even though I will miss seeing neices and nephews and their extended families, meeting some for the first time, I'm content to remember my sister in my own quiet way...The flowers in my gardens are a memorial to family members who have gone on before me and will now include Loraine...I'll remember her in the spring with the blooming of peonies, lilacs and poppies, in summer with gloriosa daisys and beebalm and in the fall with the last of the blooming blackeyed susans and golden glow waving in the breeze...Memories of her will be in my heart forever and I will be with her children in spirit on Saturday...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Loraine with her first born, George.

Catching up...41º

Warm days with a breeze, cooler nights...Smoke surrounds our valley, coming from a fire over LaGrande way...Herb and I spend our days keeping up with the gardens and yard, everything is growing like "weeds."

 Over the past week we have picked huckleberries, Herb driving 100 miles round trip each time to our favorite picking spot...Pam and I do most of the picking and just happy that he goes along to drive...We always pack a lunch, lots of water and a ziplock with wet washcloths...The washcloths revive us after a morning of picking and we eat lunch and pick again, until late afternoon.

1st day

2nd day

When not picking huckleberries, I'm picking raspberries and bush cherries, the raspberries and huckleberries go into the freezer for jam and/or smoothies or cheesecake topping...The bush cherries are juiced and canned in quart jars to go on the cellar shelves and this winter will be added in when I make jam...It stretches the precious berries and makes jam for toast and pancakes.

Bush cherry juice

Some warm afternoons we refresh ourselves sitting on the deck, sipping an orange julius, taking a well deserved rest...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Orange Julius