Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Song lyrics often provide an accurate mood determinant for me. The lyric running through my head now, “Seasons change and so did I,” from the song “No Time” by the band The Guess Who. Fall is quickly turning to winter, and I am feeling (and maybe dreading) the changes, some of which could be good. But mostly, I keep asking, is it spring yet? The roads will soon be treacherous, with fog rolling in and snow, ice, and icy fog following. Driving to tennis games in Walla Walla and Costco runs wi...
My friends scheduled to visit a few months ago finally made it-no more COVID-19 or work delays. To say we hit the ground running is an understatement. We may have surpassed Henry VIII in gluttony and alcohol consumption over the weekend. They booked the brutal 7 a.m. flight out of Burbank (California,), so obviously, they were bleary-eyed when they boarded for Seattle. While in the Seattle airport connecting to Walla Walla, John ran into a shop, and his phone's magnetic wallet became detached....
We are family, and we have the hats to prove it. In a former column, I wrote about our blended family, which is rapidly expanding, with babies and significant others. Our family's philosophy is "the more the merrier," which makes our family reunions more fun but more than a little confusing for the newbies to figure out the family tree. It's been great to meet new babies and the new serious relationships that appear promising. We're not pressuring you, but we did spend time discussing movies...
Last spring, when Daniel was working as a private chef in Europe, I defied his command and purchased a new lawn mower. I went with a battery-operated model, then gave away our smelly, hard-to-pull-start gas mower. Along with the mower, I was sucked into the “package deal,” which included a weed whacker, and an extra battery for the mower, fortuitously a stroke of luck. For some unknown reason, one of the batteries was faulty, and it died. Or so I thought. My maintenance philosophy drives Dan...
I wrote a column a few months ago about recognizing the seasons by the bugs that show up, but in retrospect, I’m not sure that is the best determinant. I’ve seen my share of bees and hoverflies this summer, but not like the swarms of past summers. It also seems that ladybugs are in short supply this year. I did need to thwart a minor invasion of squash bugs using an organic spray and marigolds planted throughout the garden. Thankfully, we haven’t had a bumper crop of summer squash, aka zucch...
I went to a garden party, and to my surprise, I saw a face that was familiar but out of context. Then it hit me, "I know you from tennis." First, I thought, "What are you doing here," but asked more politely, "How do you know this group?" It turns out that her husband is a guitarist in the host's band, and they are long-time friends. It was another connection in this cool web of the Waitsburg, Walla Walla, Dayton small-town labyrinth of friends. And, not that I would have anything bad to say,...
Yes, we had visitors, just not the visitors we expected. At the last minute, a friend in the group that was going to visit last week came down with COVID-19, and their trip had to be rescheduled. The Zoom meeting to coordinate a new time also had to be delayed. Evidently, he had a Paxlovid rebound and was still not feeling great. That’s when we had a fortuitous switcheroo. Daniel got a call from friends from Los Angeles who were heading to Walla Walla with their friends from Vancouver, W...
I’m so excited. My friends, former clients, visited me and Daniel in Waitsburg last week. A few weeks ago, we had an extended laugh-a-thon Zoom meeting trying to figure out their flights and other travel logistics. The arrival time hadn’t sunk in for Vicki (yes, another Vicki) because she sent a text the night before the flight saying, “OMG, what were we thinking, getting to the airport at 6 a.m.?” The good news was that the early flight meant they didn’t have to fight traffic to the airport—u...
During the last few springs and summers, I dedicated much time and energy to our garden. I was also happy to have bought into the co-op garden in Walla Walla for tomatoes, corn, and peppers, but most of the time, we ate a good amount of produce from our garden. This year, I spent more time and energy on my tennis game than the garden, and now the consequences. My initial strategy for planting was the "random, no plan" method. I planted things helter-skelter with no rhyme or reason, except for my...
Three and Done (for now). I recently completed my third week of tennis camp. Exhausted doesn’t begin to describe how I ache. But persevere, I have, and I’m sure the makers of Advil are celebrating my stubbornness and my dependence on their miracle drug. With all that time and money spent, you’d think I’d be scouted to play at Wimbledon, but nope. I am relegated to my usual but fun, regular games. And I am grateful that I can still play, have friends to play with, and have not been sidelin...
I just completed my first tennis camp session, and I'm not as fit as I thought (or hoped) I was. The camp started at one o'clock on Thursday afternoon, and I, being overly ambitious, decided to play a two-hour singles game before camp. I began camp a little "used up," but luckily, there was a break with snacks for a little energy boost. After camp ended in the afternoon, I met a friend for a quick dinner and went on to the tennis league games that started at six. To say I slept well that night...
No, this is not the start of a cell phone commercial, but recently, my tennis partner shouted, “It’s out,” as the ball flew over his head (meaning it will be out of bounds). I heard him but didn’t listen because it looked to me like the ball was in, and it was. Unfortunately, I still missed making the point, but it brought back memories of hearing versus listening. When I was about eight or nine years old, my mother took me to our pediatrician because she was concerned that I had a hearing...
I miss my mother. I especially miss her wicked sense of humor, her snarky remarks, and even her unsolicited wisdom, which was usually right and on point. As I matured, I learned that my mother was usually right, even if I didn’t always admit it to myself or to her. Since my mother has passed away and I don’t have any children, Mother’s Day has become “just another day” to me, except as it applies to Waitsburg gardening. I previously wrote that I didn’t understand a seemingly arbitrary g...
Restraint has several meanings, but commonly, it is defined as the act of holding something back. Never one to restrain my competitiveness or need to accomplish things, I am beginning to learn that sometimes restraint may be worth consideration. When I don’t, there has been a good chance of regrets and injury. For example, when I don’t restrain my appetite, I usually feel worse for wear afterwords. If I don’t restrain my need to win the point on the tennis court, I break bones. I need to work...
It’s a strange phenomenon when I am the one planting late. I was patient after I lost everything by impatiently planting too early. Now, I may be behind the eight ball, having waited too long. After planting early-season veggies, including onions, radishes, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, no low-fiber diets for us, I stopped my planting. I was sure it was too early to plant the rest. But after visiting some friends who had already planted sugar snaps and pretty much everything else, I am w...
After much anticipation, it's a heady feeling to confidently take off the snow tires and be able to drive with the top down. We have turned on the sprinklers, and to make sure they work, I scheduled them to run last night. Success, we are ready for spring. We even had dinner outside on the deck last night. Though the last two days of sunny weather may not be more than just that: two great days, cooler temps are coming. But I'm sure the snow and sub-zero temperature are over for now, so it's...
Those words will soon be heard as the summer Olympics in Paris begin. Springtime is also the beginning of Major League Baseball with the famous words, “play ball!” As lovely as Waitsburg is, it’s not Paris or home to an MBL team. When I hear, “Let the games begin,” it’s to announce the start of Daniel’s and my garden competition. As a friend once said, “You guys don’t have a relationship; you have a competition.” She hit that nail on the head! While Daniel is at work, I have gotten a head start...
Wednesday, day three of retirement, while playing tennis, I dove for a ball at the net, returned the drop shot, scored the point, and promptly fell with a big thud. Off to the ER to find out I had multiple broken bones and an impacted fracture in my left wrist. The following day, day four of retirement, I met with the Orthopedist, and I’m scheduled for surgery February 16, to have a plate and some screws put in. My first official hardware, and hopefully, the last. I recently read an article i...
It is official: I am now one of the many retired people on the planet. Friday was my last official day of employment, and on Saturday afternoon, I began the process of becoming a Washingtonian. I had an appointment at the Walla Walla Department of Licensing (DOL) to apply for my Washington driver’s license. Last July, it took three and a half hours at the California Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) to renew my driver’s license. When I walked into the Walla Walla office, I was a bit “freaked out...
Life balance - I have that under control. Now that I am retired, I will have more time for tennis, cleaning the house, classes, dog walking, gardening, and whatever else I want or need to do. I doubt I will be bored; however, I am sure I will continue the art of procrastination when it comes to house cleaning, laundry, and organizing the attic. It’s the financial balance I need to conquer. I am proud to say I have recently started thinking about how to be more financially disciplined. This is a...
Last month's sub-zero weather was brutal, with little relief as temperatures reached a balmy 20 degrees. I was briefly ecstatic about our "not frozen" pipes. We enjoyed running water until we weren't. And, of course, that's not the least of it. The floors were a mess, with salt, ice, footprints, and pawprints. I spent endless hours sweeping, cleaning, and protecting the wood floors. I've used Murphy's Oil, Bona cleaner, and Rejuvenate formulas with towels and rags. Now, when its fridgid, I do...
In twenty days and counting, I will be officially retired. To celebrate this milestone, Daniel and I have traded places. He has unretired and is now a rural mail carrier. As usual, timing is everything, and this is not the best time to start on the rural route. Snow, icy roads, obstructed vision, and a new car with steering on the right (not correct) side have made this a challenge he probably didn’t anticipate his first week on the job. Be assured, he is strong, stubborn and a hard worker, s...
Coco Chanel advised women to “Always remove one accessory before you leave the house.” Less is more, and you achieve a more pronounced statement. My mother also had some stringent rules about what we wore, how we wore it, and where we wore it. I’m sure that because she lived in New York and had a career in the fashion industry, she was keenly aware of the importance of making an impression. She believed in the adage, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” As a result, she...
My questions are not nearly as profound as those Shakespeare wrote for Hamlet, nor do they require the deep probing for answers that Hamlet must have been seeking. Mine are on the lines of: To retire or wait? I retired! Now, I have a terrible case of “senioritis.” Not the senior citizen type, but the high school type; instead of counting down the days to graduation, I’m counting the days until I am no longer tethered to my company email and phone. How many days until February 2? Do I count...
As I've mentioned, I'm not a reflective person; I have a "man the torpedoes, full steam ahead" mentality. But it's become a tradition that I take a little stock and look back at my decision to leave sunny Southern California in December 2018 to move to snowy, cold, foggy, damp Waitsburg. So here goes, as I bravely reflect now, rather than in spring when the weather is warm, the garden is green, and the sun is shining. Since I will soon be retired, I have no excuse, "I'm too busy to do that...
