Water Therapy...32º

Our local Physical Therapists were extremely happy to see so many of us returning for the reopening of the "Eagles View Motel" swimming pool, after being closed for a month of maintenance and repainting...Six ladies who a couple of months ago met at the pool and now seem like old friends as we chatted away, catching up on family and county news...If this group continues I think I can cancel our subscription to the local paper...(just kidding.)The PT's cautioned us against overdoing in the water, easy to do because it is so painless...The hour sped by and soon little tykes accompanied by parents or grandparents arrived for swimming lessons...We adults moved to the hottub while the kids kicked and splashed with delight as they learned new skills in the water...We are able to use the motel pool during the winter months but come May and the beginning of tourist season we will take a break until fall.

Swimming reminds me of Cienna and how she at age 3 was introduced to the world of water...In no time at all she announced that she was all "fish," loved the smell of chlorine and could shed her clothes and be in a swimming suit in seconds, tugging on my hand saying "Come on Oma, hurry up!"
So as Cienna closes out her 6th month in Thailand, I dub this Water Wednesday...Hugs To Cienna...OWAV:)

Hawaii

swim meet

sprinkler

Wallowa Lake

Thailand

lazy day, lazy dinner...30º

Did a lot of searching yesterday for books that I might read in Arizona...Never know if we will have wifi at our condo so want to have ebooks that I can download at an internet cafe or library...When it came time for dinner I found a small elk steak and fresh veggies in the fridge and soon we dined on a plate of stir fry with leftover rice...Today I must get moving for Write People and maybe water therapy...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Books To Read....30º

Not too often that I read a book, then turn around and start rereading it the next day..."A Man Called Ove" is a novel and had me laughing or crying and reading or skimming to fast because I wanted to see how it ended...That is how I am, I want to know how things turn out, how things end...That is why many times I read the end of the book so I can slow down and enjoy reading the book...Crazy, Yes, but that is how it is...Ove is a curmudgeon, man of few words, has his routine and doesn't like it changed, believes in following the rules, has little patience with other people...I love the metaphors in this book, they appeal to my "skewed sense of humor." Here is one I particularly like.

Ove has just taken over the wheel of his neighbors car to back his  trailer into a space, after the man has scraped the side of Ove's house and ran over his mail box trying to back the trailer. Ove mutters as he gets into the car. “Holy Christ. A lower-arm amputee with cataracts could have backed this trailer more accurately than you,”

Backman, Fredrik (2014-07-15). A Man Called Ove: A Novel (p. 18). Atria Books. Kindle Edition.

I might have to buy this book so I have it to refer to when I'm trying to come up with a metaphor or similie...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Foggy...31º

Last night we went to bed with a quarter moon beaming down from a clear sky...This morning we look out into a foggy world, with a hint of sun to help lighten the day...Pam, Becky and John joined us for dinner last night...Not much leftovers from the 2 lb meatloaf, roasted potatoes, onions and carrots, a simple salad and cherry dessert...I love cooking for people who like to eat!

Becky brought her Garmin along to give us a lesson...She said we are welcome to take it to Arizona and use it to find our way around the big city, as she doesn't really need it in Wallowa County...Should be fun to see how it works for us...I promise that we won't follow it blindly to some unknown forest service road that is closed for the winter as we try to find a shorter route between Joseph and Phoenix.

Sentimental Sunday brings more photos of Cienna both here and on her Blog where you can read about her Christmas in Thailand...Hugs To Cienna....OWAV:)

2006 in Joseph

Christmas in Joseph

Playing Santa

Christmas a year ago 2013

Christmas in Thailand 2014

Baking 101...30º

Yesterday was sunny and warm (for January,) not sure why I was in the baking mood...I wanted pizza for our dinner but have never found a crust that is really to my liking, so am always looking for the perfect pizza crust...One made using sourdough would be my choice, I would like one that you add all the ingredients onto the raw dough and it raises up in the oven as it bakes...When I do a crust like that, it just sits there, cooking but getting harder and harder, never rising, until it is almost impossible to eat...I've resorted to buying a cheese pizza, with rising crust and adding other toppings (but hate all the additives in store bought stuff.) When I worked at school, we made our own pizza crust in sheet pans, prebaked them and then added toppings before we baked them again just to warm through, before serving...Now many restaurants are serving "flat bread pizza," basically what we served at school, only with different toppings...My search on the Internet turned up this site and I enjoyed reading the history of Armenian bread and their love of fresh baked bread and how it was an everyday thing, making quick bread or raised bread, sweet bread or savory bread...No one questioned if it was "low carb" or "gluten free," bread was the staff of life...It was full of carbs and gluten, that's what made it good!..I feel myself climbing on that well known soap box and I feel bad for people who are really gluten intolerant but right now the "fad" in this country is that anything with gluten is bad for everyone!..That is just not true!  Sorry :(

I made one of the recipes from the Armenian site called Lavash, I opted for the one with yeast as I had plenty of time and I like yeast breads...It is a flat bread and can be either hard like crackers or soft and tender...Mine turned out soft with a little crunch but easy to eat a slice of pizza out of hand...I will make it again but still keep looking for the perfect crust.

Pizza

Sometime ago Bobi posted a photo and recipe on her Blog of a Petal Loaf...A take on cinnamon rolls, made into one big roll that can be peeled off for a single serving...She liked the process because it reminded her of the way her Grandmother made cinnamon rolls...Yesterday I used that recipe and made a beautiful loaf of petal bread but I think hers turned out lighter and softer than mine...But now I have another option when baking treats to share...For me it was a good day, doing something I enjoy, just rolling in the dough...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Petal Loaf 12 to 14 inches acrosss

Bubble Loaf

Home Sweet Home...19º

Up early, after a good nights sleep in our own bed...I guess a little get-away is made possible so we will remember how much we love home...We do like the Clarkston Quality Inn for a bed away from home and I'm not trying to give it a bad review but our room was like an ice box...I got a really good rate online for a 2 room suite, all the bells and whistles, microwave, small fridge, two tv's (that we don't watch) a sofa (with a bed) and a king sized bed and a big bathroom with a roll-in shower...Ahhh the handicapped room...Guess it doesn't get booked very often...Also included with rooms is a breakfast for each of us off of their regular menu, (not a buffet breakfast) and a buy one drink, get the second one free (yes, wine with dinner)...No problem I thought as I turned the heat to 72º and we were on our way to Winco.

Two hours later we returned and it was still an icebox, so Herb worked his magic and figured out the thermostat and did get it to start warming up before we went to dinner...After dinner the temp said 80 cold degrees...Maybe the ceiling was that temp but the hot air was staying there, the floors were cold...(Our son wanted to know what we were doing on the floor and then quickly said NO don't go there. Funny guy!) Now I suppose most people would call the front desk and ask for a warm room, but once the Allen's get all their stuff into a motel room we hate to move...So Herb found the spare comforter for the hide-abed and wrapped up in that before going to bed...I stayed up, reading, doing scrabble and finally changed into my jammies and payed a visit to the "tiled" bathroom...One bare foot onto that freezing tile floor and I forgot why I was in the bathroom...Before going to bed I warmed one of the bath towels in the microwave for one minute...Ahhh it was toasty warm and just right to wrap around my cold feet as I crawled into bed...I slept good most of the night except---for the dredging machine that was working nearby in the river all night long!..Herb was still cold the next morning...I'm beginning to wonder about his thermostat!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS....I forgot the photos.

Wallowa Mountains from Snow Hollow Hill

Seven Devils from Hurrican Creek Road

Herb feeling a little warmer!

Impromptu Trip...

Home from write group yesterday, it was sunny and warm...Well warm for January anyway...Herb was stacking wood, so I helped for a few minutes and then said it looks like a nice afternoon to drive to Lewiston?..We planned to go on Wednesday so why not go today, have dinner, spend the night and check out some other stores...A new Winco had opened in Lewiston just recently.

In no time at all I had a room reserved, our essentials (undies, toothbrush, jammies and drugs)  were packed, and we were on our way...It was a nice drive, but Lewiston instead of being sunny had a layer of smog covering the valley...So it was stinky, damp and eerie...We checked into our room at the Quality Inn, in Clarkston, then made our way to check out the new Winco store, located in the "first shopping mall" on the hill in Lewiston...This is where Payless Drug, Pennys, Bon Marche (now Macys) Hallmark, shoe and jewelry stores were located when we shopped with our kids in the 70's...We haven't shopped "the Mall" much lately now that Walmart and Costco are on the other side of the river in Clarkston, but maybe the Winco will give the Mall new life...The parking lot was full of cars, lots of people in the store, but it is spacious with wide isles so didn't seem crowded...We went right to the bulk section and filled a few bags with things I had on my list...Herb spied the spicy gumdrops, and added them to the cart...Wandered the aisles a bit before going to checkout...A very nice girl helped us through the self check line (ringing up our own purchases) and Herb pulled out the Visa to pay...That is when we found out that they take only cash, checks or debit cards....Hmmm... "Keeps prices low," the girl said...Just when I have gotten use to "swiping the card", I instead pulled out the checkbook and paid for our purchases, like I used to in the 70's, 80's and 90's.

It was getting dark when we left the store and with the fog and headlights of other cars it was confusing and disconcerting even though we know the town well (damn guess we are getting old!)...Driving back through Lewiston, we decided to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant and call it a day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS: We shared fish/chips and Mac/cheese