Life is a Series of Reruns...38º

Back in time to January 2011 when I started this blog...I had tried off and on many different times to write a diary or journal but soon grew bored with it and stopped writing...So I really didn't think I would stick with a blog but it seemed to click with me and I found writing on a keyboard much easier than with pen/pencil on paper...It is much easier to correct, rewrite, move sentences or paragraphs with the keyboard...Also I can add photos...My blathering has continued for 4 years now and as I looked at the posts in 1/2011, I find that other than getting older my life hasn't changed much...Because now as then, we are in the middle of a January thaw, the Big Read kicks off on January 8th, our annual winter canning marathon will start this weekend, the Eagle Cap Extreme dog races start the end of the month and day to day life with laundry, cleaning (sorting/filing/taxes etc.) cooking, chatting with kids and friends via the computer, doing scrabble, write people, book group and a new volunteer job as docent at the Josephy Center, is all the same...With the Christmas/New Years holidays at an end we spent time with friends playing cards and sharing food...Most family time with kids was put on hold until next summer when we can enjoy being outside for fun and festivities.

My one flashback will be a Cienna quote when she was staying with us in Joseph...As you all know she is with her host family in Thailand and starting her 6th month there...We miss her but are thankful that she is afforded this opportunity of the experience of a lifetime...Hugs To Cienna...OWAV:)
   

       "It's mornin time, I waked up"  A quote from Cienna, as a two year old.  I can see her now,  sitting on the stairway, peeking at me through the railing, having just woke up and started downstairs.  With hair standing on end, a lilt in her voice and a smile on her face she was ready for another day in Joseph, with Oma and Papa.  We have been blessed with her visits for almost thirteen years now.  Her parents have been very generous, since she was "a wee one", letting her come stay with us.  She loved coming here, spending one to three weeks at a time.  Never showing any signs of being homesick, but was always ready to go home when the time came.  Now as she approaches the teen years, we will probably have less or shorter visits as her schedule changes and her activities increase.  We will accept and savor whatever time we get.  

Cienna with a smile and a roasted marshmallow 

Ci on a mountain top in Thailand.

Waiting for the storm...20º

Warming trend with snow/rain in the forecast, nothing so far...It was a sunny beautiful day yesterday, we were mostly lazy...Herb and Rusty made a dump run in the morning, while I did the usual clean up before starting dinner...I dressed up the leftover meatloaf with sauteed mushrooms in gravy with macaroni and cheese and salad on the side...We mostly read and 'computered' late afternoon and evening before an early bedtime.

Herb is doing laundry this morning and I plan to put away the Christmas decoration...Pork roast and sauerkraut is on the menu for today dinner and maybe a card game in the afternoon...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Kamikaze Birds...17º

Sitting on the sofa yesterday, a loud crash, and I thought the front window would break, as I jumped to my feet just in time to see two birds drop to the floor of the front porch...The waxwing was dead on impact but the small hawk, knocked unconscious, lay there, motionless, only a slight movement as his heart continued to beat...He didn't move for about 20 minutes, then slowly his eyes were blinking,  slight movements of his head and wings, before he recovered enough, to fly away...I'm assuming the hawk was in pursuit of the waxwing for breakfast, but that was before the window got in the way, and now he was just glad to be alive and still able to hunt for his next meal.

Rusty called about 10am as he was leaving Bend, meaning we could expect him around 5pm...In the meantime B texted that they were having finger food and playing cards with John's sister and kids and we were invited to join them...Mid afternoon we arrived with bean dip and dessert bars, played cards, and visited...Rusty joined us for a game or two before we headed to Barton Heights, more visiting and in bed by 10pm.

Not much on the agenda for today and the days are a muddle for me...Holidays in the middle of the week really mess with my mind, as I've gotten so used to having holiday weekends and then Monday...Seems like I've had about 4 Mondays in the last two weeks and here it is Saturday again...Guess I better get breakfast started...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Photo from last February, 

that I imported from my iPhone...

Don't know how I got this snow globe effect.

Looking Back...7º

Always fun to look back in my old blogs to see what we were doing last year or 3-4 years ago...Last year the temp was a little warmer but everyday activities remain much the same...I also just finished putting together our 2015 calendar in iPhoto, pushed the order button and in about a week it will arrive, the start of another year...Rusty is on his way home for a trip into Jim Creek, turkeys will soon be thawing for the annual canning marathon, volunteer duties are the same, Write People still meets every week, the Big Read kicks off this Friday, Sled Dog races close out the month, a bunch of "crazy people" jumped into Wallowa Lake yesterday, (temp was 8º and slush ice was forming.) Every year I expect someone to have a heart attack!..Pam spent New Years Eve with us playing cards, drinking wine and eating our fill of popcorn...We each won a game and closed out the evening at 10pm, knowing that in the East the new year came in without a hitch and we need not stay up till midnight.

Yesterday Herb and I did a rare shopping trip to Safeway as I had an actual list to buy...Fresh veggies for salads and some supplies for our Write People contribution to Josephy Center...I will be making platters of food for a Saturday night opening and am always on the lookout for new and different appetizers.

Oma and Ci 2009

Must be time to do a flashback Friday as Cienna is back in Nakhon Pathom with her host family and we wait with bated breath for an updated blog post...Hugs To Cienna...OWAV:)

Cienna in Thailand 2015

Elephants Really????

2015...2º

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2015

Hovering around 0º

The official low was minus 7.9º...A little warmer on Barton Heights and not near as cold as predicted...We are toasty inside our warm house and have no reason to go outside today.

Yesterday brought some sunshine as I cleared off the deck and Herb plowed the fluffy snow from the day before...Before leaving for Write People I asked Herb to start up the old snow blower that has hardly been used since he got the 4-wheeler...It started right up and works great so I took a picture and posted it on the Wallowa Valley Trading post...No takers, but will keep posting it in different places in hopes that someone will want an easy way to clear their driveway and sidewalks.

I sorted through photos (on the computer) choosing the best from 2014 and today will arrange them in a calendar for 2015...Send them off via iPhoto and in about a week we will have a lovely calendar to remind us of the highlights of the past year.

Cienna posted photos on Facebook this morning of her 3 day trip to Phu Kradung, National Park...This was included in a 10 day trip taken with Rotary Exchange Students living in Thailand...They also visited Cambodia and Laos...Looking forward to more photos and a blog post about the entire trip!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Snowy Day...14º

At least 5" of snow on the ground total, as it snowed off and on all day yesterday...Not as cold last night as was predicted but for the next few days cold temperatures will be our norm...That is the way winter is; snow falling, then temperature falling, maybe warming for another snow fall and starting all over again or maybe really warming up bringing a Chinook wind and rain to melt it all off...One never knows what January will bring...Yesterday should have been a great day at Fergie!

It is quiet at our house, both Herb and I reading, in between shoveling snow, he keeping the wood stove burning and me prepping and preparing meals...Spaghetti was on the menu yesterday and maybe leftovers today, then oyster stew for New Years Eve...Rusty will be home in a few days, then will go to Jim Creek with John and after that we will probably do the annual canning of turkey as well as pork, beef and elk.

I have Write People today but nothing else on the agenda until next Monday and I will do two Mondays in a row as docent at the Josephy Center...I've let December slip by without doing a Christmas Newsletter and "thinking" about one for the New Year...Also I must put together a calendar for 2015...Probably should start a list of New Years Resolutions with Number 1 being:--  Stop Procrastinating!!!!...Hugs To All...OWAV:)