Semi restful Sunday...59º

 I've taken a vacation from cooking since Rusty is on a "Get Away."..Peanut butter and jelly sandwich the first night, a banana and leftover chicken for breakfast, leftover pork chop for dinner and "the girls," (Cindy) took me out for lunch on Saturday....Yesterday I made the BLT, that I had planned for Sat...Bacon was the only thing I actually cooked.

Hmmm, Rusty will be home today and I don't feel the "cooking gene" kicking in, probably something with ground beef, as I have a pound thawed in the fridge!

Yesterday was somewhat relaxing, watering, deadheading in the cool of the morning, paper work for insurance and social security, because it was too warm to be outside, and catching up with word games on the computer.

Thunder and lightning, pounding rain, woke me up this morning but no wind, so I didn't have to get up and close windows...Just stayed snuggled under the covers, listening to the rain and thinking, Ahhh I won't have to water today...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A gift from 3 years ago

in full bloom.

Replenished My Heart...e

 Yesterday was full of sunshine, laughter, love, caring and hugs...I knew that Sue and Cindy were coming for a visit and was surprised when they arrived, bringing Diane as well.

Sue and Diane are two of my brother's, six girls...I baby sat them for all of my teenage years and have loved them forever...They bring sunshine into my life whenever we meet, and I remember how Herbs' eyes would light up when I said their names, after a phone call saying, "I/We are coming for a visit." 

Yesterday we wandered the garden, gathered seeds, cut dill and grape leaves, ate strawberries right off the vine and talked about growing things, sharing ideas about what works best in a garden/in life...We all share a love of nurturing, whether it be plants, animals or children.

We drove, Cindy at the wheel,  to the lake for lunch and on the way, the three girls reminisced about the times, growing up in La Grande, when they had come to Wallowa Lake, to swim, water ski, ride the gondola, go carts, paddle boats, sometime on school excursions, and other times as teenagers, getting out of La Grande for the day!

Home from the lake we relaxed on the deck, me not wanting it to end...The seven hours that they were here flew by...I climbed into bed after 9pm (late for me) exhausted, not from work, but from laughter that made my belly hurt!..Thanks ladies for a beautiful day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sue, Diane, Aunt Della

Cilantro flourishes

Weeding, watering, baking...60º

 Outside early to set the sprinklers and clean out the asparagus patch...Some how the weeds got away from me in that part of the garden...This morning I have to cover the ground with straw to keep the weeds at bay for now and also cut down some of the volunteer dill so other plants can grow!..

Yesterday afternoon I started a batch of bread, made it mostly into buns (now in the freezer), for future burgers or sandwiches of any kind.

Sue and Cindy are coming from Lagrande today for a visit...Love having the company and i'm sure we will talk nonstop, reliving old memories and making new ones...I have lots to do before they get here, bye for now...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Ready for the oven

Baked, ready to slice, and freeze.

Working in the cool of the morning...65º

 The peonies are fading fast, irises are totally done blooming, forget me knots are dropping seeds like crazy...I spent two hours dead heading flowers and digging weeds, while Rusty sprayed weeds in our gravel driveway...By 11:00 we were on the deck taking a break and it was just in time for our friend Joyce to stop by for a visit...We spent a couple of hours catching up on present day news and days of old, talking about the hard work back then, but also of the fun boating and camping that we managed to squeeze into our busy schedules.

Later in the day I joined Pam at the Josephy center to view their latest art exhibit, featuring the Wishart brothers (art teachers at Enterprise Schools) students'...It was a great exhibit and included two of Becky's paintings...Back home we enjoyed a glass of wine and the view of the mountains from Barton Heights. 

Our veggie garden is flourishing, potatoes, onions, arugula and volunteer dill grows by leaps and bounds, while asparagus and strawberries taper off for the season...Gardening is a lot of work, but so worth it, when we harvest the bounty...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

PS. Dill is free.

Ready to harvest.

Garden is producing....58º

Our day on the Imnaha river with friends was a great getaway, for Rusty and I...We rested up on Sunday and left early Monday morning on the 90 mile trip to Lewiston/Clarkston and shopping at Winco, Home Depot and Costco...We both enjoy the ride over the winding road, first down Bufford grade to the Grande Ronde river then up Rattlesnake grade, with many corners before topping out at Anatone and down another grade into Asotin...Some people we know hate this road and especially the ones that get car sick.

Shopping and Buying went well, dinner at the Mystic Cafe was a bit disappointing, (cold french fries) but otherwise okay.

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th doing cleaning, laundry, yard work, and enjoying the freedom of living in this Country, even though I think our government is in a helluva mess!

Our garden is producing, we have so enjoyed the fresh strawberries, and now we have scallions, radishes, arugula and coming up next will be creamed peas and potatoes...I have a hard time finding people who like garlic scapes, so I chopped them up in the cuisinart and froze them to use on roasted tomatoes later this summer...Hugs To All...OVAV:) 

scallions and radishes

A day on the Imnaha...Peaceful...50º/75º

Saturday morning started out early, watering the lawn, breakfast of leftovers, sheets washed and hung outside to dry before Rusty and I checked out a few yard sales.

No luck at the yard sales, so we returned home to prepare a plate of summer sausage, cheese, olives, crackers and fresh garden veggies (radishes, scallions and arugula) and drinks, to take to John and Becky's camp spot on the Imnaha...Pam joined us and we were soon on the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road, headed for the yellow pine forest, that I love so much!..It was a wonderful afternoon, spent with friends...We arrived back home just at dark, tired but happy after a day of good food, drinks and laughter...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A lovely spot.

The Days Flew By!...Sunny warm weather ahead...62º

 Thursday was forecast to be the warmest day, so we planned our sort of "annual wiener roast" at Wallowa Lake, for that afternoon...Herb had always taken care of chopping firewood, and loading everything in the truck for our bonfire and picnic...Now Rusty took care of that while Bobi and Ci packed the picnic basket, making sure we had all the necessities for hot dogs, s'mores and drinks...It was a GOOD day and ended a very good week.

Bobi and Cienna left on their  300+ miles to Portland Friday morning, and Rusty and I did laundry, mowed lawn, and watered...Back to our normal routine on Barton Heights.

I made progress on filing papers, "death certificates" with the correct town listed on them to Fed & state government, plus got a real phone number to call and talk to an agent in LaGrande...We don't have to go to LG but can do a phone conference for Social security...Paper work seems to be moving along at the present time...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Strawberries from our garden,

 served with whipped cream on top of pancakes.

Picnic

Picnic

Picnic

Parting shot