Kindness

To give my readers some idea of what I do most mornings before writing a blog; I’m up very early most mornings and have a routine of doing my assorted “scrabble games,” that I play with friends, or I work on a “Jigsaw Puzzle, that i do myself and maybe listen to a book, all on the internet…I do this for a couple of hours, while drinking my morning coffee and while doing these things, my mind is formulating a blog!..Now you know why, my blog is sometimes/usually rather sketchy.

On another note I’m not a big fan of New Years Resolutions, but it is that time of year and my mind just naturally leans in that direction…In other years I have, practically banned sugar from the house (that didn’t last very long), banned it from my diet, (that works until Valentines Day, rolls around), i’ve also vowed to loose just 1 pound a month, (should be easy, but I tend to go the other way), and a myriad of other things.

This year if I  make any  vows, I think at the top of the list will be “kindness,” in many forms…Be patient and kind in my own house, as well as in public, where people’s idiosyncrasies tend to drive me crazy…Smile more often, look on the bright side, be kind to the checkers at Safeway, (they are the only people I see on a regular basis)...Kindness brings love and laughter, it costs nothing, so practice it often…Hugs to All…OWAV:)

PS…B sent a text, J says we are still friends, I never doubted it for a second…:)

My latest jigsaw puzzle

Quandary...22degs.

I just spent over an hour writing a blog with one finger on my phone and I somehow managed to delete it just as I was going to post… so i will try again.

I tend to overthink things sometimes, trying to cover all the bases…I knew the oven would need to be cleaned up before anyone came to look at it and since Josh wouldn’t be available for awhile I would also look on the internet for parts…I took photos of model/serial numbers and started cleaning on the oven…All 3 racks went into a plastic garbage bag with ammonia to soak and clean for the morning…Of course I managed to poke a hole in the bag and ended up with ammonia all over the basement floor…After reading my blogs, B volunteered J to troubleshoot the oven…I get serious about cleaning the oven.

I found a part on the internet (oven element) but it is out of stock and may take 3 weeks to get it…I go to water therapy, then back home to fix oyster stew for dinner…J arrives after 2 pm and spends a couple of hours testing different things and the element seems to be the problem…I will do more searching for the element on other sites, hoping we can get it sooner.

J leaves and 1/2 hour later Josh calls and is back to work, feeling great and what is my problem?…I relate the problem to him and he thinks he might be able to get an element locally and will be happy to stop by Thursday morning and check everything out.

Now for the quandary, J has just spent 2 hours trouble shooting, seen what a terrible houseskeeper I am and is more than happy to install the part when we get it…Do I tell him I think I have a better offer?..On the other hand if we get the part sooner, J will soon be the recipient of warm loaves of bread, instead of waiting 3 weeks.

John seemed okay when I told him that maybe he was off the hook, I think we are still friends…Hugs To All…OWAV:)

Flatbread, maybe?...15degs.

 The half baked bread made wonderful Texas toast, smeared with strawberry jam...My call to Josh,the repair man got me a message, “out for at least another week, while he recuperates from surgery.”  That will give me time to practice my skills, making different kinds of bread in the frying pan as well as using assorted breads from the freezer...Hugs to all...OWAV:)

Looking on the bright side. 10degs.

 Nothing unusual about our Sunday.  Herb was doing laundry so we would have clean sheets on the bed, to start a new week. I had been feeding my sourdough starter and it bubbled away as I put it in the big Tupperware bowl, then added flour, salt, water, a drizzle of molasses and some bacon grease...it all mixed together into a stiff dough...Several times during the day I stretched folded and lightly kneaded until it became soft, stretchy and warm, perfect!..I did 2 free form and two in loaf pans ..They raised nicely and went into a hot oven, after 15 minutes I rotated them and realized the oven didn’t seem very hot, Damn!!!

I will call “Josh”, the repairman today, hopefully get the oven repaired soon and while he is putting in a new part, I can clean that space behind the stove, that never gets cleaned!..Hugs to all OWAV:)

Sort of baked on the top. 

Doughy on the bottom.  

Christmas Eve. 20 degs.

A light dusting of snow, makes for a “White Christmas”...Pam joined us for oyster stew, salad, and warm sourdough bread, then we bundled up and took a drive to view the Christmas lights in Joseph and Enterprise...We closed out Christmas Eve with cherry pie, topped with vanilla ice cream...Sending hugs to our kids and look forward to a FaceTime on Christmas Day...Merry Christmas to all...OWAV:)

cherry pie

Sourdough loaves raising.

Baked

 

Meatballs/Meatloaf...14degs.

 Two lbs. of ground beef, one lb. of ground pork, add onion, celery, garlic, bell pepper, salt and pepper and eggs. This made 140 mini meatballs and a small meatloaf. Meatballs are packaged and in the freezer, meatloaf was on our dinner plate yesterday...Hugs To All...owav:)

Yummy dinner

Sugar abounds.

This years candy is all made...I made 3 batches of  microwave peanut brittle, one after the other, so I only had to wash the 2 quart pyrex, one time. Now everything can be put away for another year and all the sugary mess cleaned up.

Peanut Brittle. 

Today before water therapy I will make a big batch of meatballs to freeze for future meals. Hugs to all...owav:)

Blustery day. 41deg

 I always look forward to this day, winter solstice. Now the days get longer, I love having more daylight. It is unseasonably warm and rainy, doesn’t look like a white Christmas, but we will celebrate no matter what. We are content and snug here on Barton Heights...hugs to all...owav:). 

Chicken enchiladas for dinner

 I think I had a preminition of what would happen to my Christmas scene on the front porch…It didn’t end up in the neighbors yard but after a windy night, it was a topsy turvy world…I gathered up the broken pieces and all the snowmen, but left the lights and the little lighted church to brighten the rest of our days, into the new year. 

We enjoyed it for awhile. 

We had a busy day yesterday, hearing aid check for Herb, then both of us for our regular acupuncture, the last until 2021 and then I shopped for groceries and went to water therapy.

We had a rotisserie chicken dinner, spent the rest of the day on our devices and both slept like logs last night...Hugs To All…OWAV:)

Memories to make you smile

 When dipping chocolates, I always have some melted chocolate left when I dip the last ball of fondant…It is too good to waste, I could always remelt it and add it to the next batch, but instead I always have peanuts or mixed nuts on hand…So I mix a few nut into the melted chocolate and dip them out to make small nut clusters…Sometimes I only get a few and other times I purposely add more chocolate, melt it and make a bunch of clusters, because I’ve found that some people, like these almost as much as the chocolates...They are simple to make and bring smiles to faces.

I remember many years ago, growing up on a small farm in Lake Fork, Idaho in the 50’s, peanut clusters brought smiles to the faces of my family…My family shopped locally, back then, at the small grocery store, that was also the post office and community gathering place, with its wood burning stove…It was common then to have a charge account and pay for a months groceries at the end of each month…If you paid the bill in full, you could choose a small bag of candy from the assorted bags as a bonus…I have no idea what the choices were, but Daddy always came home with peanut clusters...That always made us smile….Hugs To All…OWAV:)

Homemade nut clusters. 

A Christmas gift?..25deg.

 For several months now, Herb and I have been looking for a vacuum, for our basement…We have a shop vac down there, but wanted an upright to clean up the mess that a wood stove always makes…On trips to LaGrande we looked at Bimart and Walmart but they really are, (no matter how expensive) just plastic, pieces of junk...I watched the classifieds, but always missed the good deals. 

Recently Becky and John fell heir to a vacuum that had been used on a construction site and when the job was done, the vacuum ended up in the dumpster…We want to thank, whoever that “dumpster diver” was, because we now have an almost new, industrial type upright vacuum, with extra bags and belts…It actually is made of metal parts, has an extra long cord and while I was out shopping on Saturday, Herb vacuumed the basement and declared it a keeper!

I could get on a rant about the waste in our throw away society, but will for once keep my mouth shut and be thankful that we were on the receiving end…Hugs To All…OWAV:)

I really like the color. 

Unexpected shopping...17 deg.

Enlarge to read

Out our front window 

 The first thing on my list yesterday was “dipping chocolates,” mint and rum flavored fondant waited in the fridge…I took a class in “chocolates” (think See’s chocolates only better) almost 50 years ago, and haven’t missed many years, since then, practicing this skill…Almost always at Christmas time…The most important thing I learned in that class was, when making any kind of candy, “buy the best candy thermometer and before using it, test it in boiling water to see if it boils water at 212 deg, then adjust the recipe accordingly, for your altitude and possibly the thermometer is not accurate. 

My chocolate dipping was interrupted about noon, when Pam and Becky stopped by and insisted that I go bazaar shopping with them and to bring us a vacuum. (I’ll write about vacuums tomorrow)…Of course we were only going to be gone a few minutes…Three hours later when I returned home, it was passed our dinner time and I didn’t feel like cooking…Needless to say, nothing had been put in the crockpot.

As usual when this happens I started looking in the fridge and freezer, I found hard boiled eggs, for sandwiches and frozen tomato soup, perfect for dinner on a cold winter day.

I bought a new sign for our front porch, since my “moon and sun,” got blown off and broken in the last wind storm…Hugs To All…OWAV:)

Dreary Day. 22deg

 It was a snowy dreary day yesterday. and while I was checking out the classified ads on FB, I saw a hand loomed wool throw rug, made by my friend MaryAnne…Talk about a busy lady, she is a non stop energizer bunny…I’ve wanted one of her rugs for awhile now, so I text her and said, “Can I come look?”…Then I text “partner in crime, Pam,” “Wanna go look at rugs?”

I came home with a wool, multi color 30 x 60 inch rug…I know old people are supposed to get rid of throw rugs because they are “trippers,” but we will try it for awhile and see how it goes…Sure is pretty!..Hugs To All…OWAV:)

Perfect dinner on a dreary day. 

I like it. 

An easy day...25”

 Thursday was an easy day, sourdough pancakes for breakfast got us off to a good start…I had a batch of fondant waiting for “butter rum” flavor and along with that chopped roasted pecans…Now it is stored in the fridge, along with mint flavored fondant, waiting for a day that I feel like dipping all of it in chocolate.

I had a shopping list ready for Safeway, finished shopping, then made my way to the pool for water therapy…Nine of the ten people signed up for this class were happy to be back in the pool…We all wear face shields and try to keep our distance…A final 10 minutes in the hot tub (two at a time) makes us even happier.

Back home, groceries put away, leftovers heated for dinner, time to relax, read, play games on our devices and count our blessings…Hugs To All…OWAV:)

Therapy Day...18deg.

Yesterday was a therapy day for me…No I didn’t have water therapy or acupuncture, but I played in the dough, most of the day…It was an extra big batch of dough, so I let the Bosch mixer do the kneading and then about every hour I did stretches and folds, over and over…I have learned to trust my sourdough starter, so added no yeast…The more stretches and folds, the lighter and puffier my dough became.  

About noon, I decided to make pizza for dinner…The small ball of dough stretched nicely into a misshapen crust (that’s okay, pizza doesn’t have to be round)…I covered the crust with heavy cream and dotted it with roasted tomatoes, then put it aside to rest, while I sautéed chunks of sausage and chicken thighs…This was a two-sided pizza, one for Herb and one for me…Then I diced olives, onions, red pepper and sliced artichoke hearts and grated cheese…It is up to you to decide where I put what.

As I was doing the pizza, I continued to stretch and fold the dough, before finally shaping into loaves, some in pans, others in free form…Also made a few buns for sandwiches or burgers…Working with the dough is my therapy…Hugs To All…OWAV:)

The smell was heavenly. 

Busy days...26deg.

I am still struggling with posting in “blogger.com.”…But am learning to navigate “notes” and get the font big enough to read, get a photo posted along with the blog and come up with something half way interesting to write about.

Yesterday was our first day back to water therapy, after the 2 week Oregon freeze…My mornings are free (WT starts at 12:30) so I try to get as much done as possible and have food prepped or in the crockpot, then I can put dinner on the table quickly when I get home…(between 2&3 is our dinner hour).

My day went something like this…Breakfast is over before 9am and I’m dressed…I made my first batch of fondant (for mint chocolates), poured it to cool on the marble slab and while it was cooling, I peeled, cooked and mashed a pot of potatoes so I can freeze them for meals another day…I scoop 1/2 cup serving on a cookie sheet, flatten with the masher, and freeze…After frozen they are bagged for individual servings and put back in the freezer. (The reason I do this is Herb loves mashed potatoes). It takes no time at all to heat in microwave or in a frying pan..

Potato patties. 

Now the fondant is cool, so I stir, fold and stretch until it sets up, I bag it for later…I put sausages and sauerkraut in the crockpot, change clothes and am ready for the pool…Back home at 2:30, sausages/sauerkraut is ready, I heat mashed potatoes to add for our dinner. (I didn’t freeze all of the potatoes.)

Now it is the next day, fondant is still waiting for me this morning…I will add flavoring and refrigerate…

I’ve been feeding the sourdough and today is bread making day…Hugs To All…OWAV:)

Christmas Spirit...28 deg.

For many years we have celebrated “Holidays” anytime that we were together…Much of the celebrating took place in the kitchen and on the deck, where we tried new recipes, cooked our favorites from years gone by, laughed, played cards, concocted new beverages, toasted each other, and were thankful to be together…Many years we celebrated Christmas in the summer and when the actual day rolled around, I was happy to put up a little fake tree, (that Herb made), and not have the mess of needles, wrapping paper and yes, less  stuff to put away.

Snowmen made by my dear friend, Jane Williams,

given to us, many years ago. 

This year seems different, maybe because of COVID, maybe because of losing Mona, maybe because reality hit as to how old we really are and maybe we should celebrate and be thankful for this year…Maybe that’s why yesterday I found myself upstairs going through boxes of Christmas decorations and hauling “stuff” downstairs…Not even sure why I chose the things I did, except they brought back memories of people, other christmases, made me smile and when we turn on the switch, it all lights up the front porch…I will probably feel less “joyful”, in January 2021, when I’m hauling all this stuff back upstairs or we get another wind storm and it ends up in the neighbors yard…Hugs To All…OWAV:) 

So many jobs, so little time.

 

Chocolates are the first thing on my list for December, but Chex Mix is easier…Last week I made a double batch and have it saved in gallon ziplocks, stored in the cellar…This week, what started to be a weekly bathroom cleaning, turned into a two day marathon…Everything sparkles in there now and it has smells of bleach, lysol and vinegar…Not sure if that’s a good combination.

My mind is in a quandary as what to do next…I’ve been thinking about putting up Christmas lights on the front porch, thinking about more cleaning, kitchen or laundry room, then I go back to chocolate…We got notice that we can do water Therapy, starting tomorrow…I have to plan my day better now or I end up wasting precious hours…One job at a time and take time to breath and stay hydrated…Hugs To All…OWAV:)

December on Barton Heights

 Back to regular blog posts, with occasional family memories thrown in.

We’ve had about a week of cold, sunny days here in Wallowa County, these are the winter days we live for and enjoy…After our early November storm with nasty winds, snow and then rain, our windows were plastered with dirt and grime…Not wanting to have that ruin our beautiful view, for the rest of the winter, I got out the window washing sponges, sponge mop with long handle, a big squeegee and concentrated cleaner and went to work.

I worked in shirt sleeves, temp was about 40º in the sun and I worked fast…I certainly wasn’t cold…Years ago I hated washing windows and especially our big picture windows and sliding glass doors…I tried all of the hints at the time, using different mixtures, drying with paper towel and newspaper, they always came out streaked and I was totally exhausted…On our only cross country trip in 1995, we stopped at many of the large rest areas and at each one, a man would be standing on scaffolding, washing the endless windows...He had a bucket of sudzy water, a sponge applicator and a big squeegee, no paper towels, no newspaper…I wondered, can I do that?

When we got home from that trip, I went shopping and found good squeegees, a sponge floor mop and concentrated window washing liquid…Now with Herbs help, we can wash the windows in record time…They won’t pass inspection of a professional window washer but  they are clean enough and only have streaks when the sun hits just right...Hugs to all.  OWAV:) 

Sisters.

  First of all I want to thank everyone for reading, liking, loving and commenting on my memories of Mona…It is hard being 600 miles away, so this is my way of sharing my thoughts and love with Mona’s family and friends…Remember that these are “my memories” and might not be how someone else remembers it, but that is okay…

The more memories the After Mona and Jerry were married, we only saw each other at a funeral, wedding, or maybe a family reunion…Herb and I left the McCall area and moved to Utah…Mona and Jerry moved to Washington…They moved to California, we moved to Oregon…Finally our kids were all grown and had flown the nest…They had settled in Utah and we made Oregon our permanent home…

Mona and Jerry were doing some traveling and called one day with an invite to join them in Cancun for a weeks vacation…They were great tour guides…That gave us the traveling bug and two years later found us back in Cancun with them and our kids joined us as well…We invited them to join us in Arizona, where “we” made the arrangements to see a musical and take in some baseball games at spring training…When we were not out seeing the sights, we could be found in the pool or sun bathing or playing cards…We visited each other homes, in Utah we spent time at their Park City condo, connected with other relatives and friends…When they came to Joseph, we gave them a quiet place to relax and unwind from their busy schedule, with an excursion on our local train and the gondola at Wallowa Lake…An Alaskan Cruise was our last trip together…We decided that Barton Heights (our home in Joseph, OR.) was the best place to be and Mona and Jerry would come here to sit in the peace and quiet, play cards and if it was September, Mona and I made an apple pie every day, (apples from our tree)…Food was often at the center of our visits and the canned peaches they brought from their trees, lined our cellar shelves.

We were down to seeing each other once a year…They came here for the peace and quiet and we didn’t have to fight the traffic at their house…Mona and Jerry counted on my blog to keep in touch…If I wanted to hear their voices, I would just miss a few days of writing and Mona would be on the phone calling, “Della, are you sick?” “No, Mona, not sick, just taking a break.”…Then we would visit on the phone.

Mona called in July of 2019, “Della, can we come to Joseph, over the 24th, Jerry and I need a break, he is tired and I’m getting confused a lot.?” “Of course,” was my reply...My thoughts immediately went to dementia, no please no…Then I busied myself with menus for their visit…I had a bag of frozen apples, enough for one pie and they were easy to cook for so, we could mostly visit and rest…As Jerry hugged me that day, his eyes filled with tears and he said, “She is not doing very good, I had to bring her, it might be the last time, you two need some time together.”

We had a bitter/sweet visit, our niece Sue, came for an afternoon and we visited, reminisced, laughed a lot…The weather was good, cooler than Salt Lake City, which was good and we spent every day on the deck…Mona and I talked about our childhood, our parents, life on the farm and how much we were loved…Also we talked about the trips we took together and thankful we had those days…It was a hard goodbye, neither of us wanted it to end...Sending Love to the Park Family.

New home, different life...

 Lake Fork, Idaho, 500 miles away was our destination...It was December 1st 1950...We left Porterville, late afternoon in a rainstorm that soon turned to snow...Our "caravan" included a touring car, a pickup truck, loaded with furniture and two large cattle trucks, one with horses and the other with farm machinery...We drove until midnight that first day, stayed in Burley, Idaho at a motel and arrived in Lake Fork the following evening, after dark, in a blinding snowstorm...We drove 3 miles on an unplowed dirt road to our new home, with only fence posts to guide us and some how managed to stay on the road.

Lake Fork was not a city, just a grocery store that housed the post office, a bar, church, grange hall and a quonset hut for community gatherings...McCall was a small town 6 miles away...McCall/Valley County was known as snow country, with hard winters, and a place where people from Boise had summer homes along the shores of Payette Lake...Our new farm, had a three bedroom farm house, with running water, but no bathroom, only an outhouse...A big barn to store hay, and a place for milk cows...200 acres of farm land and 300 acres of timber...A wood shed stood near the house as wood was our only heat, as well as for the cook stove.

December 1st, the snow was already deep and we soon learned that trips to town were only for necessities...Our road was seldom plowed and always snow covered...We had a team of horses and a bob sled and many times that was our transportation to school...I'm not sure what our parents were thinking when they made this move in the middle of winter...Summers were short and farm work is never ending, planting and harvesting and storing for winter...We had horses, cows, sheep, and chickens to care for...Mona loved riding horses and herding the cattle on horseback all summer.

Mona and I were enrolled in a one room school house, "Wood Grove," that was about 2 miles from our house...We joined 10 other students in varying grades 1 thru 8, and a lady teacher...Mona was the only 8th grader...This was quite a switch from our classrooms in Utah with 20 kids to a class...Mona finished out the year and looked forward to high school...She fit in well at Donnelly/McCall High school, making an immediate friend with "China McBride" for the rest of her school days...China grew up in McCall and guided Mona through the ropes and included her with the other kids...Socially Mona blossomed but school work was a struggle for her...From 1st grade on she struggled with reading , so of course struggled in all classes...I think in this day and age, she would have been tagged as dyslectic, and might get more help...Back then, kids were labeled as slow or dumb and weren't worth extra time to help them...Mona made it through the next four years, with help from classmates and a couple of understanding teachers, that could tell that this hard working girl was anything but dumb...Her grades were passing and it was a proud day for her and our parents when she was awarded a diploma...Both of our parents had left school with only an eighth grade education...They wanted more for their children.

Mona was happy to be out of school, was engaged to Bob, who was in the Navy...She worked with Daddy that summer on the farm and into the winter, before getting a job cleaning motels rooms in McCall...She lived at home and was saving money for when they got married...In the meantime, another Navy guy, Jerry (son of the motel owner) came home on leave and was attracted to the girl he saw cleaning rooms at his fathers motel...He ignored the diamond on her left hand and asked her to go to a movie, after turning  him down several times and he wouldn't take no for an answer, she finally said yes, thinking that one date and then he would leave her alone...Fate intervened and two weeks later she wrote a "Dear John letter" to Bob, enclosed the diamond and Mona and Jerry stood before the Justice of the Peace, in the living room of the "farm house in lake Fork," exchanged gold bands and became Man and Wife on May 6, 1956...Everyone was in shock!!!...Hugs and Love to the Park Family...OWAV:)

Lake Fork Farm house

Snow Banks 

Newly Married with Parents

True Love

Lasted all these years.

Family History...

Today I will do a short family history for the younger family members...Starting with our Mother (Mona's mother)...

Blanche Parkin was married at 16, had 2 girls, Loraine and Barbara, divorced and married Joe (Elmer) Ashton in 1930 in the midst of the "Great Depression."...Joe made his living then, as a cowboy, and a coal miner...After an accident in the coal mine that left him disabled for 3 years, he got a settlement from the mine company, and the family hoping to make a new start, bought a small farm in Porterville, Utah...During this time Joe was unable to work, Blanche raised and sold chickens to keep the family fed...She must have had some help from family and they were able to pay off their debts with some of the settlement, before leaving Wyoming...Some of this history is told by Loraine in Aunt Peggy's (Blanches' sister) book "Precious Gems." Your Grandma Mona has a copy.

In 1940 the family moved to Porterville, where Joe worked the small acreage, and other jobs for wages to feed the family...They purchased milk cows and sold milk for additional cash flow...During the 10 years in Porterville, Loraine, Barbara and George finished school, got married and started families...I arrived on the scene and Mona started school and had blossomed into a teenager, when Mom and Daddy decided to move to Idaho...Mona was not happy about this decision...She was in 8th grade, that was the only school she had known, had good friends and didn't want to start her high school years in a new school...But move we did...The following photos' are from the years in Porterville, Utah...Many Hugs and Love to the Park Family....OWAV:)

Mona & Idella

George, Mona, Idella, just got off the school bus.

Blanche & Joe

Mona

Barbara wih baby, Alan

Loraine with baby, George

Mona 12-14-1936...

 Mona was born on a winter day, her birth overshadowed by the illness and death of her older brother, 2 1/2 year old Joel...Joel died less than a week later, on 12-20-1936, of double pneumonia...Even in their grief, they welcomed this tiny little girl, of about 4 pounds...Small enough that she fit in Daddy's shoe box and was kept in the warmest place in the ramshackled house...The shoe box fit perfectly on the open door of the wood/coal cookstove that heated the house and cooked their meals...In the last week of his life, Joel named this new little sister, Mona...As far as I know, the origin of the name was unknown.

Mona joined older siblings, Loraine 10, Barbara 8, George 5 1/2, Joel 2 1/2..Mona was a happy baby, she grew and thrived in this environment with extra care from the older children and loving parents...What our family may have lacked in material wealth, was more than made up for in love...I don't remember the word love spoken out loud, but we were loved and cherished, and taught by example to love one another...  We were reprimanded by a word, or a look, not by a belt...Maybe a swat on the butt, to get our attention!

Your Grandma Mona, grew up in a world where everyone worked together...There was no "women's" work or "men's" work, everyone just did what needed to be done and many times, I remember Daddy saying, "Lets all help your Mother with the supper dishes, then we can all sit together, before bedtime."It was not beneath him, to put his hands in dishwater or grab a dish towel, because he knew that Mom had worked hard all day,  then helped milk the cows, before fixing supper. ..

Growing up in this way, your Grandma, drove tractor, milked cows, herder cattle, shoveled manure and made sure all animals were fed, watered and had a clean, sheltered place to spend the night, before we all left the barnyard, went into the house and ate the supper that our Mother put on the table...Another lesson we learned at the table, was to eat what was put before us and be damn thankful, that we had food to eat.

Mona used this work ethic her entire life as she and your Grandfather worked together, he working and going to school and she working and taking care of a household, so that eventually they could have a good life...Sending more love and hugs to the Park Family...OWAV:)

Joe, Blanche, Baby Mona

                                                                                        

                              Blanche holding Mona, Barbara Loraine & George 

                               Joe holding Mona, Barbara, Loraine & George 

Memories with Mona...21º

 My heart is heavy today with the news that my sister Mona, passed away yesterday...Mona, 6 years older than me, we grew up together with the usual sibling rivalry, but with the age difference, she became the older sister and I, the new baby, that took her spot as "baby of the family."...As we grew older, she had to put up with me, as I was a general nuisance in her life, wanting to be included with her and her older friends...We managed to grow up with little animosity, and became close sisters/friends in later years.

Mona was outgoing, had lots of friends and boyfriends, was a high school cheerleader, a hard worker, our dad's "right hand man."She loved the out of doors, where she could ride Trixy, and take care of our small herd of cattle, as they roamed 200 acres of timberland...She cared little about book learning and dreamed of riding in rodeos and living on the farm...All of that changed when "a sailor," named Jerry, stole her heart away, in a whirlwind courtship of about 2 weeks and she found herself, married and on a train to Boston, where he was stationed...From Boston, to New York City, to Norfolk, Virginia, she followed her Sailor...When he was stationed at the South Pole, she came back to the farm for a year, but couldn't wait until he got home, so they could continue their life together...During those years, she worked as a clerk, and a nurses aid...Jerry left the Navy to pursue a college education and they started a family...

In the following years they welcomed 5 children, Jerry got several college degrees, Mona continued working,  They moved to Colorado, where they had a business and finally moved to California where Jerry got his Dr. of Chiropractic and then moved to Utah and set up a practice...I asked Mona one day, "Why did you marry Jerry?..She said, "Because he told me he was going to be a Doctor."...Then with a rueful smile, and as an after thought she said, "I just didn't know it was going to take him so long!.. "Sending love and hugs to the Park Family...OWAV:)

PS..More tomorrow, memories made with Mona and Jerry.

Of course I had to be in the photo.

Always a tomboy

Her first love, Trixy

Highschool cheerleader

Daddy's right hand man!

Graduated from High School

                                              

 

Married May 1956

Quiet/Busy Day...18º

 I thought yesterday would be easy, but after I put the turkey breast in the oven, for its 7 hour slow roast, it was just one thing after another until we sat down for dinner at 3pm...The turkey was okay and will make great sandwiches for today (and tomorrow and the next day)...The stuffing was yummy, with leftovers, and gravy to go with it and the pumpkin pie, one of my best...Might have it for breakfast...We did a quick FaceTime with Bobi and family, as they fixed their dinner in Corvallis...Pam and I finished the day with one game of 5 crowns...She managed to beat me in the last two hands but only because I was half asleep!..We had connected via phone with Rusty, early in the morning, it was a good day.

Herb was up early this morning for his 4am cup of coffee, (we have a new coffee maker and are still trying to get it programmed, just right) This digital age is a pain!...Anyway, he emptied the dishwasher and put away all the dishes, pots and pans from yesterday, stoked the fire and just put the flag out for the day...I'm still sitting in my chair (where I might reside for the rest of today) trying to put words on paper that make sense.

I only have one thing that I absolutely have to do today and that is find the instructions to the kitchen stove...Yesterday as I took the stuffing out of the oven and started to put a pan of rolls in, the oven died...It has a code showing in the digital readout (damn digital again), that I will have to find in the instruction booklet...Or maybe I can google it...Anyway, neighbor to the rescue, she came over, took the pan of rolls home, baked them and returned the full pan to our house...Good neighbors are such a blessing!..One last thing, I suppose I should get out of my jammies...Hugs To All...OWAV:)