Sunny/Warmer....33º

Herb was outside early yesterday morning, moving the last of the wood chips into the bin for winter storage...Also rolling up hoses, draining pumps and putting things away for the coming winter...It was cold but not bad if one was bundled up and kept moving.

I stayed inside, as the 2 gallon jars full of cucumbers were calling me...About 6 weeks ago as I sorted small cucumbers for dills, I put larger cukes into a brine of vinegar, water, alum and salt...Put them aside to cure in this solution...Today It was time to slice the cukes, add sugar to the brine, heat everything and seal them in pint jars...When finished I had 15 pints of sweet pickles to add to the cellar shelves for winter...An easy way to make sweet pickles.

1 of 15 "Sliced Sweet Pickles"

Both of us were ready for a dinner of fresh deer liver and onions, served along with sliced cucumbers and pickled beets from last year...Which reminds me I have beets in the garden waiting to be made into more pickles...Also daffodil bulbs to be planted, more chips to throw on the flowerbeds and the sourdough is rising in the kitchen to make a batch of bread...Looks like I better get moving...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Breezy/Cloudy..36º

Morning was nonstop for me yesterday...I had another invitation to fill in at pinochle and since I have played several times at their homes, eating their delicious desserts I decided maybe I should contribute something besides my amateur card playing...Sharon had volunteered to host so I asked Diane when she called, "Would she mind if I brought dessert?"...With lots of lemon juice in the freezer, I pulled out Janie's "lemon Pudding Cake" recipe...I knew that Herb would like to have this for dessert so I 4Xed the recipe...This is simpler than lemon pie but it dirties many bowls and takes awhile to put it all together...With it mixed and in the oven my mind turned to, what shall we have for dinner?..My old standby of meatloaf, easy to do, could be mixed ahead of time and Herb could cook it before I arrived home from my afternoon pinochle games...By noon the dessert was cooling, meatloaf mixed, cooking instructions written down for Herb, I had time to catch up on scrabble before Diane picked me up at 12:50pm.

Sorry I didn't get a photo of a slice with whipped cream!

Afternoon with these ladies is quite an experience as they talk about everything under the sun, all the while playing cards, counting meld and keeping score...My head is soon spinning, my mind a muddle; what is trump again, who led that ace?... And Oh No, I should have put a counter on that!..Thank goodness they loved my dessert, maybe they will invite me again.

Whew, home to relax...Herb had the meatloaf cooked, mashed potatoes warming and a glass of wine waiting for me...I sliced tomatoes and soon we finished our meal with Lemon Pudding Cake for dessert...I think I'm one lucky lady!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Let down/pick up day...30º

I always have mixed feelings when company leaves....Friends or Family, I'm sad to see them go but glad at the same time...I love the change and then getting back into our comfortable routine...It helped that the sun was shining...Herb worked in the yard moving more chips around and gradually puts things away for winter...In the house I straightened up, then left to have lunch and visit with a friend...We had catching up to do.

Early evening Herb was scanning the field for deer and moments later I was brought out of my reverie with the sound of a gun shot...For the next two hours we worked ( I helped by holding legs out of the way, fetching rags, water etc) at gutting, hanging and skinning the deer...At one point Herb said, "I might have to give this up some day." As he struggled to get off his knees to a standing position...Age is beginning to tell on us but maybe with both of us working at it we can continue for a few more years...A nice 3 point buck, coated with fat after living in the alfalfa and grain fields all summer was hanging in the garage when we finished...The cool weather is perfect for aging and he should be excellent eating!

The sun is out again this morning, I have baking to do and pinochle to play this afternoon...Life on Barton Heights moves on...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Friendship Part 2...40º

Our friends arrived Sunday afternoon in a soaking rainstorm, mountains in our Wallowa Valley hidden from view...A spaghetti dinner (one of our favorites from our younger days) was almost ready and while we ate, the conversation quickly started with, "Do you remember ??"...We passed the afternoon and evening around the dinner table and retired to the living room sharing memories from the past...Tired from many days on the road, they bid us goodnight.

Jerry and Louan

Morning dawned, sun shone, mountain tops glistened with their covering of new snow, a perfect day to see the sights...After a breakfast of pancakes and egg scramble, Wallowa Lake was our first destination...We stopped at the Chief Joseph Monument where Jerry took photo's of the lake and mountains, they were in awe of the beautiful place where we live...We watched the "red fish" (Kokanee) fighting their way up stream to the spawning beds, saw a 3 point buck in the park, drove by and talked about the Mt Howard Gondola (closed for the season) and the scenery that can be seen from the top of Mt Howard...Back to Joseph and toward Imnaha to view the mountains from a different perspective, took photo's of the six sided barn before taking a circuitous route back to the City of Joseph...Browsed our way through Valley Bronze, Josephy Center of Arts and Culture and viewed all of the bronze statues on main street.

Six sided barn on Tucker Down Road

Back on Barton Heights we took a break, then ate our dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, bread, fresh sliced tomatoes and fruit for dessert...Our final tour for the day found us at the Tim Norman Foundry on Mawhin road, where we learned about the art of Bronze...The lost wax process, sculpting, casting, patina and the many hours of labor that go into this endeavor...We came away with a greater appreciation of the "Art on Main street".

Our evening was spent visiting, snacking on lemon zucchini bread, looking at family photos of kids and grandkids as they are today...We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day with friends as we hugged good bye, wished them a safe journey and made tentative plans to meet halfway for another visit, the time passed way to fast...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Friendship Renewed...39º

Yesterday Herb and I spent time outside in the early morning, bundled against the rain, wind and cold as we put things back in place after a night of gusty winds...Then back inside laundry was started, showers taken...I started the spaghetti sauce to simmer, bread was rising, green salad and fruit chilled...Friends were coming for dinner, we had shared many spaghetti dinners.

We met the Gelock's in New Meadows, Idaho where Herb and Jerry both had jobs with the US Forest Service...Fresh out of college they were "green" Foresters ready and eager to learn and move on in this, their chosen career...Jerry and Louan were from Michigan, Herb from New York and I the only native westerner...We had many things in common, married just two years we each had year old girls and soon we added a boy and they another girl...We baby sat for each other, trading kids back and forth...We shared meals (mostly hamburger casseroles or homemade pizza), played cards, the guys hunted and fished together, we became each others adopted family...Herb was the first to transfer...We moved to Utah and a year later the Gelock's moved to Wyoming and added a boy to their family...We kept in touch for the next 10 years, visiting each other homes, until they moved to California and we eventually lost touch...About 3 years ago I did an internet search and found them still in California and retired like us.

Yesterday they arrived at our house after traveling back east, making a big loop, so they could come to Eastern Oregon and share a meal at our house...We spent the afternoon visiting, catching up on each other lives and families since we last saw each other some forty years ago...Now we move a little slower, hair is gray and thinning, wrinkles have appeared, but the voices and the smiles are the same...Sun is shining this morning, breakfast will soon be on the table and we will spend today showing them the sights of our county before they finish their journey back to California...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

2 perfects, 1 failure...47º (Windy night)

It is bound to happen when one gets too cocky...Doubled the batch, added more sourdough starter, heated two dutch ovens...Was sure I was going to have 3 loaves of perfect!...Perfect bricks or hockey pucks or ornamental rocks maybe, certainly not edible...As Herb chewed on a chunk that he sawed off the end of one loaf, he said, "It's a good thing we don't have false teeth!"...Back to the basic recipe added small amount of sourdough starter, wish me well because we have company arriving today and I told them dinner would be ready.

Pretty Sad!

The wind blew a gale last night, coming mostly from the NE...It rearranged the deck furniture, blowing some of it into the flowerbeds...Kept us awake with the clanging, banging and crashing, wondering what the damage was...We have withstood other storms where a shed became a heap of rubble in seconds, part of the roof blew off of our house, tree tops slammed into the deck and the neighbors lean-to roof ended up in our back yard (twice)...We have had the Thanksgiving Storm, Veterans Day Storm, Pre Christmas Storm (blew the roof off of the Joseph School Cafeteria) and now the "End of September Storm"...Haven't been outside or heard any news yet to know the extent of the damage...Consolation: Not even near a tornado or hurricane!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sunny Yesterday...44º

Outside yesterday morning, I started digging, cutting down and replanting...Started out with a sweatshirt on but soon was working in shirtsleeves, sunny with occasional clouds...Herb and I worked until afternoon, when we pooped out and it threatened rain...Another load of chips was dumped in our front driveway last week, still waiting to be spread...Herb is off on the 4-wheeler this morning, hunting for that buck that ate its way through our flowerbeds several times this summer and I must get outside before it starts to rain...Bread dough is rising in its sponge and will be ready to shape into loaves in about 2 hours...(I made a double batch) :)....Hugs To All...OWAV:)