Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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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,...
I have been thinking about getting an electric vehicle for quite a while, and the Ford F-150 4x4 Lightning was at the top of my list. I was unsure whether the yea-sayers and the nay-sayers were giving me the correct information to inform me in making the purchase. I liked the idea of no longer burning dinosaur juice to get back and forth to work, but the tried and true system of filling up at the pump made me hesitant to change my ways. On a recent trip to San Jose, California, I discovered...
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...
Waitsburg's inclusion in ArtWalla's First Weekend events has inspired me to get involved in the local art scene. Despite having a bachelor's degree in art history, I do not consider myself artistic (in the traditional sense) whatsoever. So, instead, I created a series called The Art of Mixology. We had our second session in the series last Saturday night; the subject was The Golden Ratio. What I know about art is that proportion is crucial to aesthetic expression. In bartending, that proportion...
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...
CRANBROOK, BC - To most of us Waitsburgers, when we call to mind the Columbia River, we think of the two-mile-wide body of water at Wallula Junction, also known as the McNary Reservoir, or the same one-mile-wide river that bisects the Tri-cities that we cross on our way to Costco. The fact that only 12 vehicle bridges cross the river between Richland, Wash. and Astoria, Ore., where it meets the mighty Pacific, demonstrates the enormity of the challenge of crossing such a river. However, walking...
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...
Camp is not just for kids. It is for us tennis aficionados as well. Otherwise known as the overly ambitious, overly confident, ready for sunburns, exhaustion, and probably a good dose of tennis humility. The Whitman College tennis team coaches run three-weekend tennis and wine camps in the spring and another three in the fall. I will be a returning camper and plan on attending all of them as I am a glutton for punishment. The Tennis and Wine Camp is for adults and offers a full day of tennis...
One of the things I truly enjoy about Waitsburg is that because of our oasis of trees and water in a normally dry environment, we are provided with a litany of bird songs at any time of day. For example, when I sit on my front porch on a weekend morning drinking my coffee, I can hear up to 20 different types of birds calling to each other. Sitting on my back porch at dusk, I hear the evening songs as the birds go to bed. And when I let the dog out one last time for the evening, I regularly hear...
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...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg High School's band now has new uniforms thanks to the generous donation from the Ed and Gloria Lawrence Foundation. Lawrence's daughter Susan Talbott, an alumnus of Waitsburg, learned that the band needed uniforms and contacted band director Elizabeth Jaegeski. She told Jaegeski that her parents had earmarked money specifically for the Waitsburg HS band through the Blue Mountain Foundation. The band had been using uniforms from the 1990s, and the new brightly colored,...
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...
WESTERN, OR. - Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT) hosted a celebration party on February 8 at the Horseshoe Prairie Nordic Area Trailhead in Oregon. The event marked the opening of the Blues Crew Warming Hut and the addition of new trails, bringing the total mileage to 26 (24 ski/2 snowshoe dedicated) miles. The Blues Crew provided hot soup (the Coconut/Butternut Squash was excellent), hot chocolate, and cookies alongside a toasty fire and informative conversations about BMLT and its mission. We...
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...
DAYTON — CCHS staff proved their dedication and training on Saturday, January 13th, when sub-zero temperatures caused a single heating unit to fail, resulting in frozen pipes over a section of the hospital. Despite the challenging circumstances, the team rallied together and handled the emergency. This display of teamwork and preparedness is a testament to the dedication and training of CCHS staff. CCHS CEO Shane McGuire states, “Our team is unbelievable and dedicated. Their quick thinking and preparedness during this emergency testify to the...
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...
