Family Home...38º

It has been our house for 44 years, officially next month...April of 1973, we moved from Duchesne, Utah to Joseph, Oregon, planning to stay from 2 to 7 years, before making the next move at the whim of the Forest Service...Luckily that never happened and over the years, our kids grew up, left home and now come back to visit us...We live in the same house, that we have remodeled, on the same acre of ground, now with more trees, shrubs and flowers and we call it home.

So for the next 5 days, 2 kids plus 1 granddaughter and 1 grand dog will fill the house with laughter, louder voices than usual (better for old folks to hear) and fragrant smells (sometimes smoke) from the kitchen, as we savor favorite foods, take trips down memory lane, play endless games of cards and if the weather cooperates, we will spend some time outside or maybe venture to Imnaha, where the weather is warmer and the fruit trees might be in bloom...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Rustic huckleberry/cherry tart

Cienna sporting a new hairdo, she has been

the recipient of good natured teasing.

Overcast...30º

Yesterdays text from Cienna, "On da road."...It was 7am and caught me a bit by surprise, so instead of sitting in my recliner, playing scrabble, writing a blog, I kicked it up a notch...We both took a morning walk, then Herb fixed us a breakfast smoothie and I mixed a small batch of bread...From there I moved onto mixing noodle dough for our turkey/noodle dinner...The rest of the morning was spent clearing clutter, dusting and vacuuming.

The girls are always good about keeping us posted, as they journey through the Columbia Gorge, stop to split a Bozo Burger in Boardman, then at Grocery Outlet in LaGrande...1:30PM, the sound of gravel in the driveway, signaled their arrival...Our house is as cleaned up as it ever gets, the smell of fresh baked bread permeates the house and egg noodles are drying on the counter...We visit away the afternoon and get settled in for the week...Rusty will arrive either today or tomorrow...Cienna filled us in on her latest adventure...She has been taking a scuba diving class in school and over the weekend, joined her classmates at Hood Canal in Washington, where they were tested and certified for recreational diving...Another water sport to add to her list.

This morning will find us at the local thrift stores, looking for bargains and shopping at Safeway for veggies...The sun is peeking through the clouds, 6:30AM...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sunny Saturday...35º

Trying to be positive as we head into spring break...Kids arriving in a few days as weather turns to rainy, cloudy with temps in the 50's, not predicting sun until Friday, about time to pack up and go home...Typical spring break and can only hope that the forecast is as far off as usual and that we at least have some sunshine...But we will be happy with whatever comes our way, bundle up and get outside some, otherwise we will be cooking, eating, playing cards, doing puzzles and computing.

Calling this Surprise Saturday (never know what the weather will be) I have photos from 2015 showing what we were doing for spring break....Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Cienna was still in Thailand on her Rotary Exchange.

A favorite photo

Wonder if this was breakfast or lunch?

Fun with friends from around the world.

A new host sister

 Herb and I were in Arizona for three weeks...Soaking up the sun.

Saltwater pool, view from our balcony.

Enjoying the ballgame

Lemons from Arizona, including an egg to depict size.

Bobi came to Joseph for a week in April and we made lemon Pie.

Cooling...Mmmm good!

Blooms...38º

Almost a month ago, daffodils started showing up in the flower shop at Safeway...Slender green buds packaged 12 to a bunch, selling for 2 bunches for $5.00...A reasonable price and all you had to do was arrange them in a vase with water and wait for the buds to open...I almost bought some, but since I still had blooms on an orchid (in our living room) I decided to wait for daffodils from my own garden...Last Sunday I picked 12 of the tallest daffodils from the budded plants...Below is day 2 and day 5, a small bouquet, very fragrant and cheery...The really nice part is that over the past 20 years I have planted and transplanted hundreds of daffodils bulbs, an unlimited supply of blooms for the next month, to be enjoyed at home and shared with friends....Happy Spring...Hugs To All...OWAV:)


                    

Morning Sun...38º

Three bags full, many more to go...The ladies at Soroptomist are happy, I'm happy and invigorated to start on more bags...So after I get a batch of bread started I will work on filling more bags to donate next week...The morning sun really helps to lift my mood, my mind blocking out the possibility of rain/snow...Spring is here and yes we will probably have nasty weather but it won't last...Hoping for nice days next week for spring break...Enough blathering for today, must get moving...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Last nights sunset

Scattered Showers...40º

Scattered showers/mostly cloudy has turned into cloudy with occasional showers, sun breaks, dry pavement...Not sure what the difference is but it made for a nice day yesterday...Herb has been taking a walk nearly every morning and I have started again but more sporadic...It is nice not to have the slick pavement of winter to contend with as we trudge our way up and down the Barton Heights hill, both of us using trekking poles for balance and stability.

Mid day yesterday, armed with plastic garbage bags, I started sorting an upstairs closet...(I still have some books to sort but needed to distance myself from that, so I can be more objective about what I keep on my one small bookcase)...It is amazing what one finds in an out of the way closet, everything from a stash of baby quilts (made for gift giving), worn out jeans for quilts, a huge stack of mending/altering (does anyone mend things anymore?), old sets of sheets, too worn to put on a bed, BUT they must be good for something...Quilts, comforters, blankets, Oh My...Now I have my work cut out for me, because in one short week, our "kids" will be home for spring break and the mess I made yesterday has to be cleaned up...I must refrain from stuffing it all back into the closet!..I did fill two bags to take to the thrift store today.

Our dinner yesterday was easy, leftover corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and dressing was stacked on homemade bread and grilled into a yummy Ruben sandwich...Nothing vegan about this as along side was the infamous jello salad, leftover from Sundays dinner club...It actually made a good combination and Herb remarked, "It has been a long time since we had jello salad."...Indeed it has...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Ruben Sandwich

Comfort Food...38º

Pam and I joined six other people for our monthly (winter) dinner club...After a long, difficult winter, comfort food from the 50/60's was on the menu...Appetizers were an assortment of crackers, cheese, olives and cheese in a can (very popular in that era)...Meatloaf, mac and cheese, jello salad, green salad, whole grain bread and pie, filled our plates and our tummies...An assortment of old time soda pop to quench our thirst, as well as red/white wine...It was an enjoyable evening, as much about the social aspect as the food...Next month we will search the Internet and put together a menu of favorite dishes depicting "New England."

It is raining again this morning, with a promise of sun later today...I just happen to have a meatloaf (ready to cook) in the fridge, and potatoes scrubbed and ready to go in the oven...So that means I should have time to sort a closet or a drawer and come up with a couple more bags to take to the local thrift store...Or I have four new books from the library begging to be read or at least looked at...Right now it looks like a break in the rain, I think a walk might be nice...Hugs To All...OWAV:)