This and That...33º

Started sourdough biscuits early yesterday morning, had chicken thawing in the fridge...Herb was busy with the Sunday laundry so after my shower I started looking for tickets in March...First the musical Les Misèrables, not many seats left, finally found a table for two that will work...This will be the second time we have opted out of the dinner and will just see the show, as it seems like 4 hours+ is way too much sitting and the food has never been great...Did the tickets on line and I remember the first year the Arizona Broadway Theatre opened, I happened to find it on the internet, called the number and had two seats reserved in a matter of minutes...Yesterday took hours...More seats are available for a ball game so left that for another day.

I'm reading "Into the Beautiful North," but don't find it spell binding...Will go to book group this morning and see what other people have to say...Last night I watched an older episode of Downton Abbey before going to bed and this morning I watched the most recent episode, that played last night on TV but not on my laptop...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Last nights sunset over Twin Peaks.

Getting Serious...40º

Wind and rain through the night, more of the same today...Yesterday freeways were closed out of LaGrande mostly eastbound to Ontario...Black ice east of Baker City caused an early morning pile up of semi trucks that kept it closed all day...Here in Wallowa County we are lucky to just have fog, clouds, wind and rain.

Getting serious about Arizona, searching the Internet yesterday, looking at entertainment for our time there...The musical is Les Misèrables, so will get tickets for our usual matinee and also tickets for at least one ballgame at the Peoria stadium to watch either the Padres or Mariners...Will spend the rest of the time poolside. :) ...Also have to check out what is going on in Sedona for our week there...That's all for now...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Fritter Away Friday...22º

Nothing planned, the house was quiet for another foggy day...I did finally take a shower, cut my hair and got dressed before noon rolled around...Pam stopped by while out doing errands to drop of the big read book "Into the Beautiful North," so I can read it before book group on Monday...We visited as I shared photos of Ci's adventures, then showed Pam some of the fun things, Scrabble, Facebook, Sage and Libraries To Go on the computer.

I fixed delicious elk steak and rice pilaf for out dinner, before we settled into a sunny (fog moved out) afternoon of doing nothing...So goes life on Barton Heights...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

More Fog...30º

We are getting just enough sun breaks to make this fog bearable...Opted to stay home last night from the Big Read movie (The Magnificent Seven) and watched this years first episode of Downton Abbey on my laptop.

Rusty was ready to leave early but took time to stop and help John and Herb install a newer wood stove at Pams house...He arrived home about 5ish...I stayed at home catching up on paper work and phone calls...We have our second week booked in Arizona (Sedona) and still working on a possible 3rd week...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Selfie before Rusty left for Bend.

Throwback Thursday...23º

We saw lots of photos over the past month of Cienna in Thailand, climbing mountains with fellow exchange students...Visiting exotic places with her sponsoring Rotary Club...So today I will share photos of Cienna growing up...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Cienna loves Animals

Concentrating on Learning the Violin

Finally Mastered the Bicycle.

The Agony of Loosing a Tooth.

Chicken Pot Pie and Bread...17º

Rusty has mentioned pot pie several times in the week he has been home...I've made it a couple of times using leftovers and making individual pies for each person...Yesterday with two frozen pie shells, chicken breasts and chopped veggies, we made one large pie in my "Olaf" pie plate...While I was busy sautéing veggies and chicken, Rusty rolled out the crusts and soon the pie, sprinkled with paprika, was in the oven...It cooked for an hour, cooled for 15 minutes, served beautifully...Just the right consistency...But it needed more flavor...Maybe fish sauce would do the trick, I will give it a try next time and maybe look up a recipe?

Pot pie with paprika (every time I checked it in

the oven it looked like apple pie with 

cinnamon)...Maybe that is why it didn't

taste quite like a pot pie?

Rusty also decided to make another batch of the no knead bread, using some of my sourdough starter...He left it to work most of the day supposedly to improve the flavor...Last night as we played umpteen card games (I won the most) :), he made loaves and baked the sticky dough...He ended up with heavy loaves, not quite what we were hoping for, but tasty all the same and especially when we dipped the crusty slices, right out of the oven, into grated garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Special plate with bumps in the center to grate

the garlic, then splash oil and vinegar around the edge.

Dip the bread in here...(Not a great photo, but you get the idea!)

Russ says he is going home tomorrow...Today he and Herb are going to the wood deck and I have to docent at the JC...So we will clean out the fridge and have leftovers for dinner...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Crown Prep...32º

You all know the saying, "I would rather take a beating than go to the dentist."..That is how I felt yesterday morning...My first time with a new dentist in over 40 years,  it was snowing,  looked like it could be slick and I was scheduled not for just one crown prep but two...They were right close to each other so the logic was that we could do two for one...(Not money wise but deadening wise and I would only have to suffer this ordeal once.)The new dentist, a very pleasant man (looks like a teenager) was very glad to see that I made my 8am appointment...Many people had already canceled on this snowy Monday morning because of the nasty flu bug that is going around and also because of the weather...He got right to work and I didn't ever feel the two shots he administered...He and his assistant chatted away about his first baby, born by emergency cesarean, weighed under 5 lbs, was home from the hospital and he and his wife were sleep deprived...Oh great!!! Just what I needed, a 13 year old, sleep deprived dentist working on my 70+ year old teeth!..I was in the chair for 1 1/2 hours, mouth wide open, coming up for brief "okay you may close your mouth now, if you can remember how?"...The guy does seem to have a sense of humor, at my "expense..."

10am I was back home, heat pack on my jaw, none the worse for wear, but I took advil and tylenol just to ward off any pain...I was as lazy as possible for the rest of the day, helped Rusty make finger steaks, salad and the last of the leftover mashed potatoes for dinner, otherwise I played on the computer and finished reading a book...This morning my jaw feels perfectly normal, no soreness at all and the plastic, dummy teeth, that I will wear for a month, look just fine...Guess this new dentist passed the first test...Hugs To All...OWAV:)