The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 wha...

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...

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...

I think everyone goes through periods of adjustment; some are more difficult than others. Changes to relationships, houses, careers, seasons, and aging, are never-ending, but that’s life. My m...

The other day, while Daniel and I were about to walk out onto the deck, Mugsy went a little crazy, whining and scratching at the door jam. Daniel said, “There must be a mouse or rat in the wall.” My s...

Occasionally, when I sit down to write this column, I feel like I'm having a panic attack, which I attribute to writer's block. I sit at my computer and stare into space or at an empty screen. I try...

We changed the clocks last night or officially at 2:00 a.m. Does anyone set their alarm at 2 to change their clocks and watches? I know I don’t. Thank goodness most things are automatic these days. I...

Mother Nature and I are sisters in contrary behavior. On October 19, it was 76 degrees, and I have no complaints as I enjoy this contrarian weather pattern. My Irises are blooming. I've got a new mini...

Living in Waitsburg, I’ve adjusted to the fact that, for every season, there is a bug or two or more. It’s early fall, and the blue gnats are invading every bit of air space. I’m sure I’ve ingeste...

“Hitting the wall” is an expression runners use when they have exhausted themselves and can go no further. Over the years, I’ve heard this expression used for other situations; in my case, it’s...

In the past six or seven months, I noticed that I lost the ability to read my phone without wearing my glasses. I have worn glasses for as long as I can remember. I am near-sighted in one eye and...

Daniel has completed the deck. The Trex is laid, the trim is finished, the furniture is back, and we are enjoying outdoor dining again. The old wood planks (some still with nails jutting out) are...

Each spring, I learn a bit more about what and where to plant and what and where not to. This year was no different, a continuation of lessons. This April, before he left for Europe, Daniel built a...

The deck that extends from our back door is in dire need of repair. Initially, I had a contractor build it out of pine and leave the finishing to us. Daniel was sure it didn’t need to be sanded, as w...

I returned from Europe earlier than Daniel, and I couldn’t wait to see the garden’s progress (or lack thereof). I was greeted with a few ripe tomatoes, two lemon cucumbers, onions, a few tiny cro...

Daniel woke from his Amsterdam sick day feeling human, barely. Off to the train station, on to Paris, our next and last stop! Traveling on the train has become my new favorite way to go; with...

Insanity always rules at the California DMV, and this time was no different. I wisely scheduled an appointment, only to find it didn't show on the DMV system. After a tortuous three-and-a-half hours,...

I recently returned to L.A. for the sole purpose of renewing my California driver’s license. I hope this will be my final foray into the famous (or infamous) California Department of Motor Vehicles (...