Other Activities...25º cloudy/sunny

 With everything put to bed for the winter, Rusty has gone looking for other things to occupy his time...His latest project is making "slabs" out of a dead cottonwood tree, located in our meadow...He has always loved anything mechanical, repairing or just taking apart and putting back together to see if it will start/run...He brought old chainsaws home from Bend, so has been working on them off and on in his spare time.

He had spent several days in the meadow before Bobi and Ace arrived and Ace just begged to go with him, not that he was much help, but company is always good.

2 slabs cut off

Piled up drying

Ace  overseeing the

job.

Rusty and Ace resting

after all their hard work.

Does anyone have a use for cottonwood slabs as we have more dead cottonwoods to make slabs...We have been told they make good decking for wood trailers...Let me know and I will give you Rusty's phone number...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

How Time Flys...15º

Our week was "jam packed" and literally flew by...Sunny, cold days were the norm, lots of frost but no snow...Much time was spent in the kitchen, food is always a focal point here on Barton Heights, when we have a family celebration...It was different this year with only the three of us, but "Herb, Dad, Gramma's and Grampa's," peppered our conversations as we reminisced about previous celebrations...Cienna is in Prague, teaching English as a foreign language to pre schoolers and we were able to FT with her.

Going way back, we have celebrated in Idaho, Utah, NewYork State, on the Oregon Coast. Portland and Bend but mostly on Barton Heights. One year, Herb and I found ourselves alone in a movie theatre watching "Crocodile Dundee" and another year on the slopes of "Silver Mountain" skiing in Northern Idaho, after both Bobi and Rusty had graduated from high school and moved on to Portland and Bend.

It was at this time that we decided, our "celebration/holidays" would happen whenever, we could get together, not on a specific day... "Thanksmas" was born so maybe travel would be safer, before winter really set in.

This year on Thanksgiving Day, Pam joined us for dinner, as she has for many years, then on Sunday, Bobi "engineered" a Charcuterie Board (Rusty and I helped) we shared the day with Pam, Becky and John...A good time was had by all...More details in posts to follow, as I remember some day by day stuff!...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Cornucopia Charcuterie Board

LET IT SNOW....35º

NO, I didn't really mean to say that!..Bobi is on the road today, coming from Portland, to spend a few days in Joseph, for our "Thanksmas celebration." .It will be a different celebration, with just the three of us, but we will celebrate being together...A week of laughter, tears, cooking, eating, playing cards, doing puzzles, reminiscing of other years and of the years to come.

I celebrate today because Casey delivered two cords of wood last night, now stacked in the wood room...This wood, along with wood that John and Rusty got earlier will keep us warm all winter...This is the reason I said, "LET IT SNOW," now amended to let it snow, in December!

We are a very lucky family, wood for the winter, cellar is well stocked, freezers are quite full, AND we are able to text, talk, maybe FT with Cienna in the next few days, to catch up with her life in far away Prague!..My posts might be a bit sketchy for the next week, Lots of Hugs to All, OWAV:)

This puzzle was fun to do!

Whoa, what a response...32º breezy/possible snow.

 When I signed off of my blog yesterday, I thought "Well that was kind of a bomb."..But no, it hit a nerve with several people and I hope it encourages some of you to fill a box/bag of stuff and get it out of your house and if you have a storage unit, add up what that is costing you for a year and multiply that by the years you have had the storage unit...Maybe that will make an impression!..That's enough preaching for one day.

Now I have another semi rant...For over a year now I've been billing my "Blue Cross," insurance for massages and acupuncture treatments, (both are covered under my plan) and when the providers billed them they paid, no problem...But the providers were having multiple problems with other insurances who were supposed to pay but didn't, that they decided to go to a cash only basis.

I get "super bills" from the providers that has ALL the info on them but "Blue Cross" wants it included with their claim form, (that I have to fill out and take a photo of, so I can put it in the email along with the "super bills.")..I have talked to multiple people at "BC," all with different and special ways that I can make sure the claims get taken care of in a timely manner...I can send them, ATTN: "SO and SO," but if I do that I must call their office, when the email goes out (where sometimes the wait is an hour)and tell "SO and SO" to watch for these emails that are labeled for their attention!

This has worked, on occasion, and sometimes I get a phone call that says, your photos are blurry, please send again...So I do...Now when I get my EOB (explanation of benefits), SO and SO has mixed the acupuncture and massage together in one bill, so that makes the coding wrong and they don't pay the entire bill...Such craziness, I feel bad for the people who do this job but I would like to strangle "SO and SO."  Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...Just writing this blog has me all wound up, so to relax, I will finish my latest jigsaw puzzle...Have a "Happy Day."

What to Write?..35º/ partly cloudy

 I could write about the boxes still in the living room, waiting to go to Soroptomist...I was thinking Monday morning might be a good day, when I go to PT...But no, Soroptomists is closed all this coming week to donations until they are able to sort more stuff and put it on the shelves...It seems we are a world of stuff, so far mine is still in my house, not in a storage unit...It is hard for me to believe that people are paying to store "stuff," that could be labeled "junk" for years, until they have no longer remember what is in storage...Many people stop paying, some people die, leaving the unit to be auctioned off...I wonder if other "collectors" buy the unit, at auction, then don't have time to sort it, so they put it back in storage for years and continue paying the rent.

Maybe I would have been better off this morning to just say "no blog to day." instead of going off on a rant...Hugs to all...OWAV:)

Chief Joseph Mountain

Joseph, Oregon

Foggy Friday...32º

 My iPhone weather says clear and sunny by 7AM...That is fast approaching and the fog is so thick, I can't see across town, right now...Hoping it will clear out soon, for another nice November day.

Rusty spent yesterday burning brush piles across the road from our house, that have been accumulating for several years...Maybe that will help to get rid of the weed patch that has taken over.

I did more sewing/mending, just mundane stuff, nothing like when I used to spend hours sewing clothes, simple lap quilts and jean quilts...Balance class in the afternoon, an easy dinner of pork gravy, potatoes and salad, and a game of cards ended the day. 

Today Connie will be here to give the house a once over, before Thanksgiving week...Bobi and "critters" will arrive on Monday to spend the week...Then the kitchen will be busy with prepping, cooking, eating and card games, when the 3 of us "dance" around the kitchen making good food!..Hugs to All...OWAV:)

PS...Several years ago, Bobi brought a Thanksgiving Turkey for our table...We found that all of us prefer chocolate turkey over the real thing.

Thanksgiving 2015

Surprising Weather...37º

 Snow and/or rain has been in the forecast for many days now, but we have had cloudy conditions in the morning, then mostly sunny afternoons...Can't ask for better fall weather.

The push to get ready for winter has slowed down, time to enjoy and appreciate the fall sunshine...Rusty keeps busy everyday, either working in the basement or outside, still always something to do, fix, repair or clean up!..Then he is in the kitchen, cooking, helping, getting in my way, (not really) as we come up with food for the day/week/month...Bobi will be here soon, and that puts 3 of us in the kitchen, plus 2 dogs, underfoot...Looking forward to cooking with my kids or maybe this year I will sit back, sip a glass of wine and watch!

It will be strange without Cienna in the mix, as Prague is too far away to come home for the Holidays...But it will be interesting to hear about her adventures, in a foreign land, while we celebrate our "America Thanksgiving."

Speaking of adventures, she went on a hike last weekend and sent us a photo...To me it looks like a hike for Mountain Goats, but looks like Cienna and Friends are enjoying the mountains...Cienna said, "Oma, it was a lot of climbing uphill."...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Hiking in the mountains

in the Czech Republic.

Soup for Supper/Dinner....37º

 Another favorite comfort food for me is chuck roast...I slow cooked it in the dutch oven last week and we had yummy mashed potatoes and squash for side dishes...Two days later I sliced leftover roast into very thin slices and assembled them into french dip sandwiches, salad on the side...Then we had polenta and roast beef, and last night it was vegetable beef soup, with thick slices of homemade bread and more winter squash...We do love good home cooking...Hugs To All...OWAV:) 

Vegetable beef soup.

Fall has me looking for comfort food...33º

 Polenta has been on my radar for many years, as I read through recipes, looking for something different in our meal rotation...I remember buying a "tube" of polenta at the grocery store, took one bite/taste and promptly threw it in the trash...Last week at my acupuncture appointment, (Terry and I always talk about food) she said, "I love Polenta, it is my favorite comfort food, Nathan has a great recipe."So as I checked out that day, I asked Nathan about a polenta recipe and he said it is pretty simple, "1 part cornmeal to 4 parts water/milk, cook over low heat, stir occasionally, add butter/cream and cheese,,, takes maybe 45 minutes.

I asked Rusty if he had eaten polenta and he said, "I think it is similar to grits and we ate that a lot when I worked in Savanna for LTW."..So I went to google, did some research and decided it was worth a try...Our dinner last night was polenta along side leftover roast beef, simmered in au jus to give it that rich beefy flavor...I wouldn't say it was a total hit but certainly worth trying again and a good change from potatoes or rice...I will tell you more after we finish our breakfast this morning of "polenta fried in butter, alongside bacon and eggs?"..I think "shrimp and grits" might be in our future...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

It was much better, 

than this photo looks.

Love these crisp fall days...24º partial sun

 A change of plans yesterday, found Pam and I driving up the Lostine Canyon to see what has been done since her last trip, when she worked to ready the campgrounds for winter...Huge brush piles are everywhere after a thinning/logging project late this summer...Some of the piles are slated to be burned, while other will be masticated/ground up...Also work is being done on the culverts that were plugged when slides came down in a rain storm...We thought the road would be frozen but not so, it was wet most of the way and snow covered as we came to the trailhead...It was a beautiful day for a drive, with snow and golden larch at every turn...We "toyed" with going on a real roadtrip, maybe Lewiston, as we have been know to do, but decided we better get home instead...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Looking ahead to partial sunny days... 29º

Cold weather with sunshine makes for wonderful fall days here in Wallowa County...Yesterday was cold, with an even colder wind, as I cleaned the front porch...A winter coat, hat and gloves made the job bearable, as I swept and vacuumed up the very last leaf...The window really needs to be washed, but it will wait as will the wind chimes, that have to come down soon, before we get stronger winds, that make them really noisy.

I have acupuncture today, then a stop to buy some groceries before coming home to do laundry and maybe sort another box, deciding what to donate, or keep or just plain throw away...What does one do with high school/college graduation awards, that we were once so proud of, as they showed our accomplishments in life...Sometimes I just close my eyes and think, I had forgotten that these things have been stored in a box for 50 years, so let them go, they were yesterdays treasures...On that note, wishing everyone a happy, productive day, enjoy the sunshine, when it appears...Hugs To All...OWAV:

My latest jigsaw puzzle

Wonderful surprise this morning...39º cloudy/rainy

 I opened my blog this morning and to my surprise, Cienna has posted about the process of getting her Visa, lots of photos, all about a train trip into Germany...Quite a process..Read all about it on her blog... http://travelingsquid.blogspot.com/2023/11/visa-process.html 

My day is pretty mundane compared to hers, again I will be clearing away my clutter, and maybe I will get to the front porch, where the Halloween pumpkins still sit, along side the frozen geraniums...Not a very inviting sight...My only traveling today will be 6 miles to Enterprise for balance class...The views are exceptional and I no longer take them for granted...Our mountains are stupendous!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...I asked Cienna if I could post some of her photos on FB and my blog, I love the following one.

Cienna, Noelle(roommate)

 and Lee(alumni from the

language school.

Another Gray/Rainy day...44º

I keep expecting to have snow on the ground each morning, when I look outside, but not yet.

I started early mixing bread yesterday, ended up with 11buns and 3 loaves...Rusty said, "Mom we can just eat warm bread and jam for dinner," but decided to go with our preplanned taco's...We did have warm banana bread for dessert. 

Some how making donuts keeps coming up in our conversations, and I keep saying, "That sure sounds good." Don't really want to deal with the mess and hot grease that it takes to cook them and there is a new donut shop opening in downtown Joseph, on Wednesday...Perfect timing!

We are back to playing 5 crowns in the late afternoon, to pass the time...We are almost even on wins and loses for each of us.

My computer says 7:10AM, automatically changed to regular time for the winter months, ugh, it will be getting dark at 4pm today.,,Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Banana Bread

Buns and loaves

A Rainy Weekend...44º

 The forecast says rainy, but it is often wrong and we are lucky to get sun breaks and a warm wind...We need the moisture now, while the ground is not frozen and the rain can soak into the roots of trees, shrubs and perennial plants.

So on this rainy day I will be playing in the dough, making bread and buns to freeze for the next week or two...I also have "black bananas" sitting on the counter and today they either turn into banana bread or they go in the compost, it all depends on my energy level.

My appointment with Kathy, my tax lady, went well, she projected my taxes for the next two years and it looks good, with minor changes...Color me happy...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Clouds covering the mountains.

Eye appointment in La Grande...Cloudy 39º

 A day trip to La Grande and the eye doctor, the laser    did what it was supposed to do, but the macular degeneration seemed to be a bit worse...I will go back in January to a different doctor for a refraction and maybe a new prescription for my glasses...I'm lucky that it is not a lot worse!

It was a fun day, Rusty drove,  Pam and I visited...We shopped and had lunch before my Dr. appointment, so were already to come home by 3pm and the drive was beautiful in the canyon, larch trees in all their golden beauty, this time of year.

I have a tax appointment today, hoping to get a head start on my taxes as a single person, and guidance as to how Herbs IRA can be rolled over into an account for me...Lucky for me, I always did most of our financial "stuff," so this isn't totally mind boggling for me...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Panang Curry my

favorite lunch/dinner.

Golden Larch/Tamarack

A deeper gold.

Feeling more settled...36º

Continued...Although Heather wasn't at Circuit Court, Dawn was able to help us with a "Certified" affidavit that would satisfy the IRA company...She was able to text with Heather and the La Grande office, who supplied answers to fill out the form...I mailed the form yesterday, time will tell how it goes from here on...All of this is being done by snail mail, so it might take a few weeks.

In the meantime, I called my tax lady and set up an appointment, so we can get a head start on taxes this year and also she can guide me as the best way to deal with the IRA when the money is released...I'm very thankful for kind, professional people for making my life easier...One day at a time!

Halloween was drawing to a close when Rusty carved two pumpkins for the front porch, (he used a drill for most of the "carving"). They lit up my front porch here on Barton Heights and I had a few treats set out, just in case some goblins or witches showed up...By 8PM the candles were still glowing but dim, and we had no traffic here on the hill...I was ready for bed...Hugs To All...OWAV:)