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:)

Talk About Non Event...28º

Unlike the last month, when I had canning/jarring to write about and photos' to back it up, I find myself struggling to put words on paper...I looked back on my computer to 2019 for photos and blogs to jog my memory...I have one photo of a pumpkin pie and I wrote 1 blog the entire month of november 2019...So do I make something up, go way back in my memory bank, to Thanksgivings of long ago or just post photos of family celebrations or blather on about the weather, cleaning house or what I plan to do for the next month, before we finally say goodby to 2020?

I do have a few books on my "virtual shelf," one that I can listen to and a couple that I can read, if I so desire...My supply of dipping chocolate is waiting for me to make fondant, add flavoring and do my hand dipped chocolates, something that brings me joy...A pile of fabric and sewing machine awaits me upstairs, where I could make more potholders, or rice filled heat packs or I could even make a quilt, something I haven't done for many years...Maybe it will snow this week, giving me an excuse to be outside getting some exercise and fresh air and clear my head, so I can think straight!...Send love and hugs, wishing you  a safe holiday...OWAV:)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ONE AND ALL!

The best tasting turkey, ever!

Jarring End to Canning Binge...19º

 Finally the last blog about canning/jarring chili...I'm sure none of you are happier than Herb is that this latest marathon (that I said wouldn't be a marathon), is over...As I write he is getting the last jars, boxed up to carry to the cellar shelves...I haven't counted how many trips he has made, but we did over 40 quarts and 30 pints of chili, plus 6 pints of ground beef, (left over from chili recipe)...That is many trips up and down the cellar stairs, plus the canner and special pans that also make that up and down trip...I couldn't do it without him!..Everything is now back in its place.

The last of the pints.

Now it is two days before Thanksgiving, but our celebration will be small...Our kids will spend TG at their own homes in Portland and Bend, with a side trip to Corvallis, where Cienna is still at her apartment, finishing up her last year of college...It seems the smartest thing to do in the COVID pandemic.

As we have on many Thanksgivings', Pam will join us for the day and we will eat, drink and play cards, while we reminisce about the last 30 years that we have taken trips, got our winters wood, had picnics,  celebrated birthdays, spent quiet days and crazy days together...I will try to keep dinner fairly simple, cranberry sauce is made, thinking roasted turkey breast with Bobi's artichoke/sausage dressing for dinner and pumpkin pie for dessert...That's the plan...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Multiplying Chili...16º

 I have a recipe for canning chili, from many years ago, when Mom and I first started canning it...I've changed the recipe over the years, but it never seems to work the same and I always end up with more chili than I planned on...Yesterday we did two canners, total 14 quarts, with more chili mixed up and ready to go into the jars this morning...Herb thinks i'm getting obsessive about all this canning and maybe I am, so will back off a bit, get the chili done and next week kick back, read a book and eat a few bonbons.

Wonder what will be on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner, hot dogs, peanut butter sandwiches or maybe we could grab a couple of jars off the cellar shelve and have turkey/chili soup to go with the traditional, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie...Just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sorting the beans, before rinsing

 and soaking them.

Mixed up and heated.

Cooled overnight, before going

to the cellar.

Regroup, Restock, Takeabreak...19º

 With the turkey all done, chili mostly prepped, for canning, my mind moved on to the next project...Thanksgiving looms, event or nonevent (Oregon COVID freeze), will our kids come to Joseph?

With Christmas a month away, my mind turned to Christmas candy, mostly chocolate...For many years I have made chocolates at Christmas time and last week realized that my supply of dipping chocolate was depleted...Looking ahead at the weather forecast, yesterday looked like the best day for a road trip and Lewiston is the best bet to buy bulk chocolate.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, roads were bare and dry...Masks were our constant companion as we shopped and kept our distance and were soon on the road, headed back home...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sunset, North highway

Wallowa Mountains come into view.

Chief Joseph Mountain

November Winds...32º

 It has been a wild and wooly few days, although not unusual for this time of year...We have had worse storms in years past, such as one on Veterans Day and another on Thanksgiving Day...We weathered this years storms as we have in the past...Stay home and hope everything is tied down outside...We are also staying close to home because of COVID.

We have finished canning the turkey for another year, will start canning chili, come Saturday, after a couple of days of rest...Then we will put the pressure canner and jars, lids, special pots and pans away and reclaim our kitchen for eating and playing cards.

With a "freeze" on travel, activities etc, in Oregon, trying to get COVID slowed down, not real promising that our kids will be home...So we will look forward to spring and hope our world is in better shape by then...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A couple of November photos' from past years, a traditional pumpkin pie and the flag flying from the front porch.

One of our favorites with whipped cream.

The flag is back outside, now that

 the wind had quit.

More about Canning...36º

 Canning/Jarring meat was more popular in the 40's/50's before electricity was wired into every home...Refrigerators came first to replace "ice boxes," then freezers took the place of "ice sheds," (A rough shed filled with sawdust, held buried blocks of ice) to use in summer months in the kitchen ice box, to keep things cold...I don't remember mom canning turkey until the late 60''s.

Our children were toddlers, when we visited her in Bountiful, Utah, just North of Salt lake City, Utah...Of course since mom had lived through the great depression, she was very thrifty and when we arrived at her house, the grocery ad lay open on the table..."Turkey hinds" (thigh & leg) were on a moonlight sale in SE Salt Lake City...She had the day/evening planned...Dinner would be eaten early, kids bathed and in jammies and we would drive clear across town, arriving before the sale started to get first choice of the "turkey hinds, on sale for $.19 a pound.

I didn't help mom can turkey until many years later, but whenever we visited her, we took home some of her canned turkey...Shortly after her 80th birthday, she move to Elgin, OR. only 50 miles from our house and true to her ways, she soon had me buying turkeys on sale at Thanksgiving time...Four or five 20 pound turkeys would be stored in our freezers until we got a few sunny winter days...Then I would go to Elgin and we would bone out the half thawed turkeys, chunk up the meat, fill jars and soon have that old pressure cooker, singing away on the electric stove, filled with jars of turkey...And the bones, on another day, would be simmered into broth.

When she turned 90, she resigned herself to giving up the canner and sent it home with me, to can the turkey...For many years I boned the turkeys but now have found a source for boned thighs and breasts with bone and turkey wings, so all I have to do is cut up the meat, fill jars and load the canner...Piece of cake!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS: Bone broth is made from the breast bone and skin and turkey wings...Turkey is done for another year.

Yummy bone broth.

Canning/Jarring...32º

Jarring to me means, causing a physical shock, jolt or vibration...Way back when, food was "canned in cans," to preserve it...Somewhere along the line, glass Mason jars were invented but the process was still called canning...For many years we canned food, even though we used glass jars for the process...It is easy for me to say, " I spent the day canning turkey," but hard for me to say, with a straight face, "I spent the day "jarring" turkey."

Yesterday as I finished canning the last of 60 pounds of turkey meat, I wondered, how did this crazy ritual of canning turkey for family and friends get started...Blame it on my mother and dad...I'm not sure of the exact year that Daddy came home with a "pressure cooker, (long before I was born)," but they were living in Wyoming, Daddy was working on a cattle ranch and it was the start of the great depression...They already had 3 children and another one on the way...("Birth control" was not in the dictionary)...They didn't have electricity, or running water...For heat and cooking they had a wood stove.

After canning for 4 days, with all the modern conveniences , I can't even imagine how she did it...First of all they would have had to butcher the turkey, split the wood, haul snow and melt it for water, fix meals, take care of 3 children, and have them underfoot in a ramshackle house, provided by the cattle company, while she sterilized jars, packed them full of meat, and kept the pressure just right for 75 minutes to "CAN" the turkey...AND yes, the baby was still in diapers...All of this is rather JARRING!...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

That's enough for today, tomorrow I will finish this story about "canning," using the same pressure cooker that Mom started with in the 1930's. 

Melt Down...32º

 The weather turned ugly yesterday, wind gusts that rattled the windows and shook the house, then it poured rain, instead of dumping 4 to 8 inches of snow that had been predicted...Most of our snow melted away and left an ugly landscape of leaves, branches and spots of bare ground...Not the snow covered, peaceful scene, reminiscent of holidays, long ago, that I posted photos of yesterday...The roads out of the county were treacherous and even Hurricane Creek road was closed for a few hours...I 84 and tollgate were both closed a good part of the day...The wind blew off and on all day and all night, with a dusting of snow.

Herb and I kept busy with our latest project, canning/jarring turkey...I decided to start out slow and only did one canner and that was enough, by the time we carried everything upstairs, sterilized jars, filled them with chunks of turkey meat and pressured them for 75 minutes, it was time for dinner...I was glad to find leftovers in the fridge.

My plan today is, blog early, then get started filling enough jars for two canners...That brings so many memories back to mind of canning days with Mom...I would drive the 50 miles to Elgin, arriving at her house about 8am and be greeted with, "It's about time you got here, I've already got one canner on the stove."..In her late 80's, she was a dynamo, when it came to canning and we usually did 3 canners a day!

I must get moving, I hear her voice in my head, don't want to be late again...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

The snow did a meltdown.

Mom's Pressure cooker, about

90 years old, the stories it could tell.

Jars full of turkey almost ready for the canner.

Cooling on the counter.

Crazy Weather...36º

 Another storm warning is in effect, 6 to 8 inches is possible, but we also have gusty winds and what is falling from the sky is half snow, half rain...So from past storms, we could either end up with a pile of snow or a sheet of ice covering everything...Only time will tell...As of now we are snug and warm, plenty of food, and no reason to leave Barton Heights.

This morning we will start canning/jarring turkey...That will keep us busy for several days and we will both get our exercise going up and downstairs as we fill the cellar shelves and keep the wood stove stoked.

I think I have finally figured out again, how to get photos into my blogs and today will do a few from yesterday and the past weeks...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Yesterday's dinner was beef potpie.

My latest sourdough loaf was beyond crusty

and very tasty!

The garden beds all mulched and ready for winter.

One of our more colorful dinners, tacos supreme!,

Maybe just plain old tacos.

3 quarts/5 pounds of powdered garlic, we are

good for another year.

Early Winter...12º

 Over a foot of snow here on Barton Heights and it is only mid November...Luckily Herb and I were diligent in getting everything cut down, cleaned up and put away for winter...Herb was smart to get the plow on the four wheeler and has already used it twice, so we can get in and around our property...Shoveling/brooming snow has happened almost daily for several days now, as each morning we wake up to yet another snowfall over night...The exercise and fresh air is good for both of us and we take our time, shoveling, resting, hydrating and eating.

Saturday evening,  a text came in that 3 cords of wood was on its way to our house...We had spent a lazy Saturday watching it snow and didn't realize how much it was adding up!..We quickly bundled up, cleared snow off the deck and walks, and opened a basement window so the wood could be thrown into the "wood room," downstairs...About two hours later the "wood crew" had unloaded and stacked our winters wood...Let it snow, let it snow!

Today is my first day, posting a blog on my computer with its new battery...It arrived by UPS on Tuesday, sent by Bobi from Portland...It is much easier to blog on laptop than iPhone, but due to the storm our wifi was out for many hours...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Still having problems getting photos to load. GRRRRR

Maple leaves finally falling.

snow keeps falling.

The flakes were huge.

Herb blooming the steps.

Flag in place for another day.

Our view toward the mountains.

Fall Sunshine 30 degrees

 I have two more sunny days to finish up the fall cleanup. Yesterday was spent preparing the beds for winter. I hauled two wheelbarrow loads of manure, scattered straw, alfalfa pellets, and leaves. The beds were than covered with fencing panels to keep everything in place, we hope to get more leaves to chop and save for next summer. For some reason the maple trees are hanging onto their leaves.

While I was outside working the batch of sourdough bread that I had mixed earlier was rising on the counter. I took occasional breaks to wash my hands and fold and stretch the dough. Late evening 8 loaves, cooled on the counter. 

Our house has an odoriferous smell coming from the basement. Herb is drying garlic on the dehydrator, we have two more batches to do. Hugs to all, OWAV:)

New Rant. 30deg

 My friend Pat reminded me this morning that I usually do a rant about daylight savings time, I still think it is stupid but today I have something else on my mind. 

Canning jar lids are in short supply this year. I was well stocked with wide mouth but short on regular mouth. So with broth, turkey and chili to jar, I decided to go on line and see if they are available and how much they cost. To my knowledge jar lids have always been sold in packages of 12 (1dozen to a pkg.) Jars are also sold by the case ( 1 dozen to a case). Easy to figure right. 

Below is a screenshot of my pending order. It seems that lids are now sold one lid at a time  if I buy 90 lids I will receive 90 free lids and (according to them) this equals 190 lids.   Hmmmmmm is this some of the new math??? Nowhere does it say how many dozen packages of lids or how much they cost per dozen  I suppose this is a marketing ploy, thinking I will try a live chat tomorrow.  Wish me luck  hugs to all  OWAV:)