Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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It’s hard to believe; this is the third Christmas I have celebrated in Waitsburg. The first was exactly seven days after I moved here. Christmas week, I was a guest at a birthday party and invited to a New Year’s Day brunch/open house. I knew I had arrived, and Waitsburg was perfect. And that winter, I proudly survived what new neighbors proclaimed to be the snowiest and coldest winter in 15 years. Last year, my second December here was also memorable, although not for the snow. Daniel vis...
Verla Ernestine Rouse, age 102, passed away peacefully at home in Dayton, Washington on December 10, 2020. She was born on October 17, 1918 on Angel Ridge out of Peck, Idaho, the youngest of five children born to George Oren Stevens and Julia Matilda Johnson. She graduated from high school in Kooskia, Idaho in 1939 and attended beauty school in Waterloo, Iowa. Verla married Joseph Edward Rouse on December 17, 1941 in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. They had two children, Audrey Lynn Rouse (1944) and W...
I assume I’m not the only one ready to bid good riddance to 2020, am I? Ever the optimist, I am cautiously hopeful that 2021 will be a good or at least better year. And since it was an unusual year, I am going to do something unusual for me. I am going to be reflective for a change. Although maybe it’s just a way to reinforce 2020 is over! Daniel and I reconciled, then he moved here in March. This adjustment to my 10-year single life coincided with the pandemic and lock-down. Togetherness sud...
We are back in Los Angeles for more doctor visits, tests, and procedures, and we are the healthy ones! Los Angeles is supposedly in COVID-19 lockdown. However, we have been in bumper to bumper traffic more than once, which is frustrating since restaurants aren’t open, except for take-out or delivery. We are relegated to eating grocery store food in our room. It’s Friday, and we’ve been here since Monday, so needless to say, eating in the room has gotten old. We have tons of trash every day....
4 is finally coming to an end, and we have endured. I know I hope for a great new year to enjoy with abandon. Maybe that’s why I’m a bit more forward-looking than usual. Not that I am planning to make a list of New Year’s resolutions. I know myself, the first time I break one, I will break them all. Maybe it’s just semantics; but, no resolutions; instead, it’s break bad habits and add good ones. First, I will pay my taxes on time this year and avoid the penalty I just paid for last year. Some...
I don’t usually believe in karma, probably because I just don’t want to experience the wrath of someone imposing a karma curse on me. Lately, though, I am beginning to feel my sister may be getting me back with some sleep karma. I’ve recently experienced insomnia, which is not something I’ve ever had. Until recently, I was the best sleeper ever. My mother used to say that I could sleep anytime, anywhere, and on anything; a bed, floor, bed of nails, in a car, plane, tent, it didn’t matter. I...
This year our family Thanksgiving will be a virtual party, sadly, but then it does save me driving two hours each way to my sister’s house, just to sit in a corner and read or knit with a big glass of wine while she overcooks the turkey and focuses on her grandchildren. The guys sit glued to the TV, watching football, not moving or helping, because they can’t take a chance they might miss a throw, sack, or touchdown. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday; there are no mandatory gif...
We returned from our brief trip to Los Angeles, and although I am glad to be home, I did discover that there are still some things I miss. Los Angeles is one of those places where people can go to reinvent themselves, hideout, wait to be discovered for a starring role in a blockbuster feature film, or like me; rediscover some of the things I miss. First on my list, of course, my friends, then sushi and outdoor tennis year-round, but I rediscovered other aspects of the city that I miss as well....
The combination of a Sunday morning, the 5:30 a.m. flight, and a prediction of snow hardly made for the perfect travel day, but we made it to the airport on time, before the snow without hitting a deer, checked our bag, and zipped through security. A smooth start to our trip to Los Angeles for our doctor and dentist appointments. I love to fly. I still get an adrenaline rush when the plane takes off, and admittedly I breathe a quiet sigh of relief when the plane safely lands. I also love the...
Once again, I say “thank you” to the parents of Waitsburg. Your children made Halloween a much-needed fun evening during these challenging times. The kids were cute and always said, “thank you” for their treats. Even some of the younger ones didn’t require additional prompting from their parents. I apologize in advance for filling their bags with more candy than usual, and your upcoming struggles with the inevitable day-after sugar rush, and your future dental bills. I thought since they didn’t...
This week was somewhat sad reading about the spread of COVID-19. It will make the holidays a very different experience this year, and not in a good way. But then I remembered a plaque a former boss had in his office. It read: “Not all the bad things happen.” In the past, when something annoying, problematic, or unexpected happened to me or someone close to me, my usual knee jerk reaction was to panic. Maybe it is maturity or maybe just exhaustion, but now I’m not going crazy about the little thi...
Just a week ago, I was on the tennis court in a short skirt and tank top; now, I’m making an appointment to have my tires changed to my snow tires. I blinked and the weather changed, and I mean dramatically! Not a simple 5-6 degrees, but below freezing and even a prediction of snow this Saturday. I think mother nature is out for revenge. I once mentioned that I was a little disappointed in my first autumn here because I just expected more of an explosion of color, so now she’s just decided out...
Thomas Earl Groom, Jr., fondly known as Bud, went to his cabin in Glory Land, Thursday, October 8, 2020 with his family by his side. Bud resided at Booker Rest Home due to difficulties caused by Lewy Body Dementia. Bud was born in Dayton, Washington on September 6, 1937 to Thomas Earl Groom, Sr. and Thelma Bessie Witt Groom, the fourth of ten children. Bud attended schools in Huntsville and Dayton, graduating from Dayton High School with the Class of 1955. He briefly attended Washington State...
Last Friday, I think at least half of Waitsburg probably heard my deep, tortured sigh as I parked my car and put the top up for what will likely be its permanent status until next spring. No more racing down the highways at 65-70 mph with the sun in my face, hair blowing in my eyes. Mugsy, tethered in securely, will certainly miss the smell of goats, sheep, roosters, and growing wheat. I won’t miss his whining while he tries to break free of his restraints to sit in my lap while I’m dri...
It’s a minor miracle, but the kitchen is done, finally! The correct glass panels were installed on Monday, the silicone holding the glass in place has dried. Our new sod has taken, so we have ceased the twice-daily watering, and the muddy footprints have subsided. Now that the major remodeling is complete, I knew it was time to clean the house from the construction mess. I mean really cleaned, including windows, baseboards, the works! I hired a cleaning crew, especially to clean the windows i...
I hate to be cliché, but, Wow! Time does fly. And, sticking with clichés, it seems like yesterday that I wrote my first article for The Waitsburg Times. It’s been a very full year, and I can now say I’ve experienced all four seasons here. My first winter was brutal. Everyone was apologetic because we were experiencing the most snow and the coldest winter in 15 years. Lucky me, what an introduction to my new home. Good heaters, gloves, great new friends, and a little scotch, I survived. That firs...
I am not, nor have I ever been accused of being a “romantic.” Even as a young girl, I didn’t fantasize about wearing a big white poufy wedding dress, or a white knight charming and romancing me. It had nothing to do with being levelheaded; I was just more enthralled with action, adventure, and getting dirty. My sister, brother, and I have all been married twice, and none of us opted for big parties or over-the-top events. We had small weddings at home, except my last one to Daniel; we elope...
DAYTON-Dayton is becoming a magnet for people who are attracted to the rural lifestyle. Dayton Chamber of Commerce Manager Molly Weatherill-Tate said a couple from Colorado recently moved to Dayton, and a man from western Oregon is thinking about moving to Dayton when he retires. Another family moved to Dayton sooner than they had planned to, because of the COVID-19 situation, and she has sent relocation packages as far away as Missouri, California, and Texas. "People generally seem to be...
As you all probably know, I’m a city girl. Born In New York (Brooklyn), we then moved to Queens, and eventually to the suburbs of Long Island. We grew nothing in New York, except for one crab apple tree and a pear tree, that never bore fruit. Our vegetables didn’t come from the ground; they lived in little white boxes in the freezer. My mother would boil salted water, drop in the frozen vegetables, then cook the life out of them. We eventually moved to Tucson, Arizona, because my father’s arthr...
When I’m not in the mood to watch one of the binge-worthy shows on Netflix or Prime, I turn to TCM and watch old movies, some of which are art to me. Recently, I watched a movie that I hadn’t seen in years, called The Egg and I with Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert. The movie is very old, in fact, it was released before I was born. It’s the story of newlyweds; Fred MacMurray (the groom), has just announced that he has purchased a ramshackle old farm, and they are going into the busin...
WALLA WALLA—Did you think this year’s Pond & Garden Tour was canceled? In light of the pandemic and social distancing mandates, Walla Walla Community Hospice considered forgoing the 19th annual event. However, there were still some beautiful gardens to spotlight in the Walla Walla Valley Traditionally the event features ten properties and consists of a self-guided tour, vendors, working artists, live music, Master Gardener presentations, and multiple raffles. It attracts three to four hundred attendees. This year, the event will be, like mos...
A slug could slime its way across the country faster than it will take to complete our kitchen remodel. The cabinets need different trim than they anticipated. Evidently, the walls and ceiling were even more crooked than initially thought. The wrong doors have to be replaced with the right doors and glass panels, three drawers still do not have facing or knobs, need I go on? Like dominos, Daniel can’t finish his part (moldings, trim, painting, pantry door paint, and doorknob), or install the dis...
DAYTON-What began as a way to sell some extra lasagna has become an ongoing labor of love for Weinhard Café owner Mandi Wendt, and a blessing to the recipients of her generosity. Every Friday, for the past several years, Wendt has been preparing take-and-bake meals for sale. This idea was created in 2017 when Wendt made too much lasagna for a fundraiser in memory of an employee who had recently passed away. "Not knowing how many people to expect, I made about 20 too many lasagnas. I didn't...
I understand that half a loaf of bread is better than none, and half-baked ideas may be better than no idea, but half a kitchen is just frustrating. As scheduled, the cabinet installers showed up Tuesday morning, and I was ecstatic, to say the least. The installer was the dourest man I have ever encountered, and obviously, he did not appreciate my excitement. I was like the entire town in The Music Man, singing and dancing enthusiastically at the arrival of the Wells Fargo Wagon. He just...
It’s almost scary to write about our kitchen remodel because it is moving along at breakneck speed and with fewer snags than anticipated. I don’t want to jinx the amazing progress we’ve made and still need to make. To date, we have a level floor, and we have light. Daniel has been busy; he demolished the kitchen. He worked with our contractor, Gary, to level the floor, lay down the new floor, complete drywall repair, add sockets, fix broken sockets, change the refrigerator socket to the new sub-...
