The "Lull" before the New Year...7º

 I like this quiet time between two big holidays, even though our lives are calm and quiet most of the times, this seems a bit different...We talked to both kids yesterday, as they celebrated Christmas at their own homes on different days...It is all about family and friends, love, laughter, food and games.

My mind has been going to baking, after the Challah Bread was such a success...I had made it a couple of times before and in my mind it was time consuming and somewhat difficult...But not so this time...I mixed it in the afternoon (no kneading involved, just folding every half hour for two hours) then into the fridge overnight...The next morning it is divided into 6 pieces (while it is very cold) and rolled into "ropes" to braid into a simple braid...I covered it with plastic wrap and put it in a cool place while we left the house for 3 hours to do our water therapy.

When we arrived back home, it was nicely raised, I did an eggwhite/cream wash and popped it into a 350º oven...It is a very rich dough, browns easily, makes beautiful loaves...Warm out of the oven, it is heavenly, sliced, wrapped in foil and slightly warmed it is delicious and it makes wonderful french toast for a special breakfast...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...I doubled the recipe to make 4 loaves.

Ready for the oven.

Ready to eat.

The Best Winter Day....25º Cloudy

 Winter Solstice was yesterday, and officially the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year...I like today because now we look forward to each day getting "about" 2 minutes longer every day until Summer Solstice, then the days start getting shorter by "about" 2 minutes a day. 

This happens every year and it gives me something to look forward to on the foggy days of winter...Don't get me wrong I like winter and the snow and the beauty it brings all around us, but I don't like less daylight...So do a little happy dance on this day and enjoy those two extra minutes of daylight...Hugs To All...OWAV:)                                   

Foggy Winter Day...26º

 The fog has settled in this morning but it is lightening up in the East, with a promise of sun off and on all day.

Herb and I shoveled twice yesterday, keeping paths clear...Easier to shovel 2 or so inches instead of letting it build up...We had a surprise visitor on Sunday, when John showed up with 4 wheeler and plow, looking for more snow...He cleared out our back parking area, making a place for more snow to be piled if we get the storms that are predicted...So thankful for Bill and John, looking out after us.

I finished up with the candy making yesterday, but still have some of the mess and packaging to do this morning...An easy week with water therapy, today and Thursday and acupuncture on Wednesday...Looks like a no stress Christmas for us, fingers crossed...Hugs To All...OWAV:)     

3 batches of peanut brittle, one is 
very dark, because I ran out of 
Karo syrup and used part 
pancake syrup. 

Last tray of mints, ready to be put in tupperware.

Christmas in real time 2021...30º Snow Showers (all day)

 It looks like a snowy day on Barton Heights and we are settled in for the day...Although laundry has to be done, dinner cooked and one last batch of mints dipped and we will probably end up shoveling paths, later on.

One last "planned" trip out of the county was a lovely drive on good roads and home on a moonlit night from the Elgin Opera House, where we were entertained by "A Christmas Carol." Becky did the driving and we ended the night with a tour of the Fair Lights in Enterprise...Herb kept the home fires burning.                         

Not the usual musical, but a
good message to live by.

Fergie (local ski area) opened yesterday for all the "kids" to hit the slopes...Reports last night said the hill was great with an 18" base but the road "Tucker down," kept drifting shut by the never ending Prairie Creek winds...Much shoveling, snow plowing and pulling cars back on the road, kept many people busy, all on a winter day in Wallowa County.

Night before last, I finally brought our little tree down from its closet home, for its annual week +, lighting up the living room...Herb made it many years ago as an added decoration and now it stands alone and makes me happy!...Hugs to All...OWAV:)                                

I think it will be a white Christmas.

Christmas 1966 Wrap-up...23º

We ended the trip with more celebrating...I know we visited and had dinner with Dad's relatives, his brother Henry, wife Mable as well as a large gathering, with his niece, Barbara and her family.                                 

I remember wonderful food,
laughter and love all around.

Sonny and Doris invited Herb and I to join them, at their annual New Years' celebration...It was an evening that included dinner, drinking, dancing and noise makers as we rang in the New Year, 1967.

Packing and repacking, making sure we didn't leave anything behind kept us busy for the last few days...Herbs family had entertained us beyond all our expectations...A Christmas to remember.

Rusty found entertainment on the
 stairway...Usually to come down
he turned over on his belly 
and slid down, much better
than head first!

                                     

Bobbi Jo got a doll for Christmas.

Bobbi Jo got a doll from Dads' cousin, Marie, she had never been much for dolls, but loved this one...After Christmas it came out in the paper that this doll could be combustable and should be turned into the local fire department to be disposed of...In our infinite wisdom, instead of telling her the truth, we made up some kind of story that it got mixed up with trash and must have ended up in the garbage...Years later when the truth came out, she was not happy with us...I guess the moral is that even little children handle the truth, better than a lie...Hugs To All...OWAV:) 
                 

Hello Dolly, Playbill....28º

 I'm a bit sidetracked this morning with my story, but I think it is good to show how much our world has changed in the last 50 years, and these are only minor changes....The playbill has been tucked away with other treasures from our travels...I've seen it occasionally but never paid much attention to it, until this week, I actually looked at it...The advertising photos really caught my attention and I will post them for all to see...Cigarettes and Alcohol were widely advertised in those days.

We have more snow this morning, maybe a couple of inches, so Herb and I will shovel our paths...Hugs To All...OWAV:)                         

Inside of the playbill

Luxury at its finest

Satisfying flavor

Fine Whiskey

Champagne

The two page spread was about Hanes nylon
for ladies.

HELLO DOLLY Off Broadway...17º

 New York City is about 90 miles South of Poughkeepsie...Aunt Beaty not only gave us the tickets but supplied the car to drive there...Herb would drive and Sonny had hand drawn a map, with directions to get to a parking garage in NYC, near the theater and and the center of NYC...I don't remember much about the drive (Herb has alway been a good driver and had a good head for directions), but as we neared NYC, looking down the road ahead, it looked like millions of big and little ants marching...The ants were cars and people!..We hit 5th avenue at noon, bumper to bumper traffic, cars honking, buses had the right of way...Mom and I were in the back seat, I was shaking like a leaf and had to pee!..Herb got us to the garage and parked, mom and I went hunting a bathroom, only we found that you needed a dime to use one...While Mom searched for a dime, a stall door opened, I grabbed it before it closed and slipped in!..Whew

We spent the day walking, because no one was brave enough to use the subway and we were afraid of where we might end up if we did...We visited Rockefeller Center in all of its Christmas glory, made our way up a bajillion stairs to the top of the Empire State Building and viewed the city from there...Dinner wasn't memorable, except for the prices...We visited Macy's, I think it was the largest department store in the US at that time...I don't remember buying anything, maybe a postcard.

We found the St James Theatre, Off Broadway (meaning that it was a theater that has less than 500 seats)...The musical, Hello Dolly staring Ginger Rodgers was an incredible show, we were all in awe...I think it started my love for musicals of all kinds...We arrived back in Clinton Corners around midnight, safe and sound, thankful for Herb's good driving and his sense of direction!..Continued tomorrow...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

                                        

Playbill from 1966

The photo that inspired me to write this story.
Pat and Brian visited Rockefeller Center
to see this years tree that comes
from the county they live in,
in Maryland.