More Catch Up...54º

Keeping up a blog takes time, effort and subject matter...Sometimes I struggle to make a story out of nothing and then, I have so many stories and so little time, that I can't get them all down on "paper."...It is fun to do the retro stories of years gone by, I need to do a flashback Friday on Cienna, and then comes Herbs Birthday and our Anniversary (back to back...)Also the gardens need tending and I have to do that in the cool of the day, as our weather is unseasonably warm for June!

Today I will do another photo display of our Write People at Janies Cabin in Imnaha on the hottest day of the year so far...We celebrated all Birthdays in one day with a simple lunch of pizza, salad and cupcakes...We read, ate and tried to stay cool, (some resorted to a brief dip in the creek) all in all it was a magical day to share...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Quick Post...50º

54 years ago today in McCall, Idaho...A day much like today, warm and sunny...Herb and Idella, joined by friends and families on their wedding day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Married and carried over the threshhold.

Heating Up...54º

Herb and I have made good use of the last two mornings, working outside in the cool before relaxing late afternoon and are then ready for an early bedtime.

Herb watering, mowing and yesterday he washed and vacuumed the car, while I planted the last of the barrels on the deck, watered the garden, deadheading, always digging weeds and we took turns spraying the deck, giving it a spring cleaning, before setting up the picnic table and benches.

Today is another hot one and I'm going to Imnaha (an even hotter place) for the first annual combined Birthday Party for all members...We will celebrate at Janies Cabin with pizza, salad, cupcakes and drinks as we share more of our writing.

Herb will have a quiet day at home, doing anything he wants, on his 78th birthday...Last night he said, speaking quietly, "Who would have thought that we would get this old?"...Luckily we continue to have pretty good health and count our blessings each day and celebrate each birthday as it comes along, content to do it quietly...He has a promise, from me, for a birthday pie of his choice, come this weekend...Hugs to Herb...OWAV:)

Herb and Cienna, ready for a "Rail Ride"

Hot Today...50º

Had a good trip to LaGrande yesterday...Eyes checked out good for another few months...I had mine dilated, which I hate, but guess it has to be done...Did out shopping and were home by 2pm...Picked up a pizza from Papa Murphys and cooked it while we unloaded and put stuff away...Yummy dinner!

Coming home I took snapshots of the road work between Wallowa and Joseph...On going for the next couple of weeks...Yard saling, art show today, so I better get moving...It is going to be a hot one...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

All In a days work...47º

We stared in at 7am moving furniture, vacuming corners, washing windows...The never ending job of trying to keep a house clean...We had accomplished a lot by 10am when eoni arrived to work some magic and keep our internet connecting...Seems trees are blocking the signal...They installed a larger dish and Herb removed one tree branch...It is still being tempermental this morning but all we can do is keep trying and it soon connects like nothing is wrong...Weather is good for a few days and that might help...Herb left to mow Pams lawn and I kept sorting, rearranging and had just washed the last window when Pat arrived, ready for yard saling.

The yard sale is a huge collection of everyones "junk" that members donate...Anything you might want is yours for a donation...When I asked "Larry" if I could return something he said, "Yes, but it will cost you a lot more to return than it did to buy."...He said, with a grin...I came home with a large turntable made for a corner cupboard, thinking it might work in our kitchen...Here is the finished project, but only after I dug the boxes of tile out from under our bed (1/2 inch of dust on top and another place that needs cleaning) that I bought 2 years ago at a yard sale...Herb patiently cut the tiles to fit and I managed to place them in the cupboard with sticky side down and now I have a clean, well arranged space for canned goods, that at the slightest touch the turntable goes round and round and I can choose whatever I want...I even managed to get up from a kneeling position off of the floor without calling a "tow truck."...Must get going as its a day of rest and relaxation as we have appts. in LaGrande today...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Nice clean cupboard

Turntable "turns."

And another tiled cupboard, we are on a roll.

Busy Day...50º

Tuesday morning is always write people and it sounded like a good day to have lunch out as well...Herb fends for himself on a day like this but I try to have things in the fridge for him to warm up for lunch...I fixed mac and cheese and rhubarb sauce before Pat arrived to pick me up, and Herb shaped a couple of ground beef patties, one to cook and one to freeze.

After write people 4 of us met at the "Red Horse" for lunch and more visiting...The place does a booming business and since it was pouring rain everyone crowded inside...On a sunny day, many tables are available outside and give customers a view of the mountains...I ordered the Spanopakita, sour cream and salsa on the side...It was yummy.

Home before 2pm, I did scrabble and reached for a book to read and settle in for the rainy afternoon...Then I remembered that sliced rhubarb and a thawed piecrust was waiting to be made into a pie...The 3 stalks of rhubarb yielded enough for sauce and a pie...As I placed the pie in the oven, set the timer, I decided to make a batch of piecrust to put in the freezer...So while the pie baked, I measured flour, salt, lard and butter into the cuisinart and in short order had that blended and ready for the eggs, vinegar and water...The double batch makes enough for 4 large crusts, now shaped into "disks" each inserted in their own baggie and frozen for another day.

Late afternoon, the sun out, I checked the garden and flowerbeds, doing my usual deadheading...Back in the house, the pie was calling and with a slice of sharp cheese, Herb and I enjoyed every bite...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Rain/Sun...50º

Yesterday was the perfect day to finish planting the garden...Herb and I both worked in the morning, planting potatoes and putting up fence panels for cucumbers and beans to climb on...Had dinner and rested before I finished up planting cabbages and tomatoes starts, as well as beans and squash seeds...Then we got a nice rain overnight to soak everything.

I picked the first of the leaf lettuce and arugula of the season, a few asparagus spears and pulled 3 huge rhubarb stalks to make into sauce...I was greeted early morning by our resident garter snakes, they have gotten really big eating mice and gophers...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

29 inches long, 2 inches wide rhubarb stalks

About 3 feet long