Happy November! This year has been flying by like crazy. Hard to believe that it’s the end of the year. Time has changed (fall back) so make sure your clocks are right!

On Monday, Nov. 28, our greeters were Jeanette and Everett who always welcome us with smiles and kind greetings. Thank you both. There were 42 regular and 24 frozen meals delivered by the crew at Step Forward and Suzanne and Darlene. We are so happy we have such amazing people who volunteer their time to help us out. Lunch, which was served by volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was delicious, as usual, and consisted of chicken-fried steak sandwiches, fries, French onion soup and raspberry sherbet. Yummy, yummy. Couldn’t ask for a better meal or better cooks. There were no door prizes today. Pacific Source Insurance sponsored our lunch and bought it for those attending. They also gave a presentation after lunch, which was quite informative.

The one thing I absolutely love about fall is all the pretty colors! Reds, oranges, yellows as far as the eye can see. It’s so beautiful. And all of the cozy blankets and comfort food one could ask for. It’s a spectacular excuse to eat some things that you feel you can’t during the summer months. During this time, I make all the crockpot meals I can think of! So easy, prep the night before, throw it in the crockpot the next morning, leave it on low for eight hours and voila — you have a cooked meal with little effort.

Happy Halloween! On Thursday, Oct. 31, our greeters were Jeanette and Bonnie, two of our best gals! There were a total of 43 meals delivered by Step Forward, Virginia Miller and Mary Lou Horton. Thank you for your generosity. This time, our meal was served by our friends from the Blue Mountain Hospital Auxiliary. We are quite fortunate to have them spend the day with us. Lunch was deviled eggs, deviled sausage, deviled cauliflower and devil’s food cake. Wickedly delicious! It was sponsored by Tootie Cernazanu in memory of Jim Cernazanu. We had a costume contest (sort of), and anyone dressed up had a picture taken and received a gift if they wanted one. Everett King won the gift certificate donated by Chester’s Thriftway, and Nadine Smith, Tom Rock and Gregg Starr all won Halloween door prizes. Last week, Carlene brought yarn to the center, so if anyone needed yarn and were able to take some be sure to thank Carlene!

We are in the season of giving thanks. What are you thankful for? I am thankful for all my wonderful friends and all the generosity of the senior center. I would like to say a big thank you to the center for covering for me while I was out; it is much appreciated. Think about what you have to be thankful for. After all, Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

Psalm 107:8-9 “Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

I like the time change. How about you? It was also nice getting that extra hour of sleep. Did you know that this is supposed to be the “real” time? I know there is some kind of debate going on about not changing the clocks anymore. I hope that is the case. That changing of the spring forward for the clocks always messed my family and me up.

Well our cooks Terry Cade and Carrie Jewell outdid themselves again. We had one of my favorite foods served: Salisbury steak (Terry calls it hamburger steak) with grilled mushrooms and onions, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, salad, dinner rolls and chocolate pudding for our dessert. I was a very happy camper let me tell you! We thank our wonderful cooks and appreciate them so much.

The greeters at the table were just Jimmy Cole and Kristi Guimont. Jimmy and Kristi collected and counted the money and checked in the guests. Kristi also wrote down the announcements. Bodean Andersen led us in the flag salute, made the announcements and prayed the blessing over our meal.

There were 54 guests on our books and 14 takeouts. We had a bunch of people from Spray. Jean and her son Scott Hammel, along with Sharon Morgan, Linda Moore and Dick and Pam Wanous. Dick and Pam brought their relatives Neil and Sheila Castillo from Heppner. I was told that some of the folks from Spray love our Tuesday lunches so much that they have decided to come out every week. I think that says a lot about our Monument Senior Center. We are truly blessed. Praise the Lord for our cooks, our facility and all the people who come out.

The winners for the free meal tickets were Carrie Jewell and Laura Thomas. Bob Blakeslee was the lucky winner of the Len’s Drug gift card. Sheila Castillo won the door prize for the day, and it was a jar of candy. We thank all our generous donors for their support of the senior center.

Well, my pigs are going to die; actually, by the time you read this, they will be butchered. We have been raising two pigs, one for my family and one for a friend. We had gotten them from Rose Howe back in May. Man, they are huge, and they ate like “pigs!” Ha. Their names were Charlotte and Wilbur. I am not going to miss feeding and watering them, especially since snow is coming soon. I am going to enjoy the sausage and ham. It has been nice to have our own pork that we raised. I thank the Lord for his provision. We are so grateful for these animals that will feed our families.

Before I forget, a shout of thanks for my potatoes to Bruce Hansen and Bridget! We will enjoy eating them very much, and we appreciate you guys! Oh, and Bruce, those chocolate chips were new and not the ones the mouse got into. Ha.

James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Well, even if it was downright cold, we had lots of hardy souls to come out for dinner! There were 45 names on the book, and they were not all takeouts! I apologize for not getting the thermostat turned up soon enough and far enough; that won’t happen again.

Drew led the flag salute, and Jack asked the blessing. There were three names on the birthday drawing list: Carla Wright, Nadine Smith and Amber Wright from Driskill Memorial Chapel. And you’d never guess who won — the person who brings us the birthday cake by Driskill! How about that? Most appropriate, don’t you think?

Carlos and Luann took care of the takeouts, and there were quite a few for those who did not want to brave the cold temperatures. I am glad that we can do this for those who can’t come.

Tom’s word for the day: He who hesitates gets leftovers. The table that had the witch’s broom got to go first through the serving line.

Shay and Laura made us chicken cordon bleu, pasta with veggies and a green salad. The birthday cake was a chocolate one too. Oh, yummy, yummy.

Years ago we did a skit that had the line, “Last year they served chicken cordon bleu.” I’ve always wondered what chicken cordon bleu was. Well, I found out today. If you don’t know, here it is: a chicken breast with a thin slice of ham around it and a cheese sauce all over it. Oh, yeah. Yummy, yummy. Due to the change in cooks, I wasn’t sure what would be on the menu. So all I put up on the outside reader board was “birthday cake.” One diner wanted to know if that was all we were going to have. Har, har.

Lorna and Bobbie brought Marilyn Randall, Gordon Sindt, Charlene Dean and Bessie Zemmer from the Blue Mountain Care Center. Lorna is already getting their Christmas party planned. Yup, the holidays are coming. I got two more items put up in the gift storage area in the attic, so I’m progressing.

As I was leaving the hall after everyone was gone, I noticed an item on the floor next to the registration desk. When I investigated, I discovered that it was a behind-the-ear hearing aid. So if you have missed yours, I have it! Please call 541-820-3780 to claim.

The pinochle players had two tables of three for the first hour, then one table of four for the next hour. We had a little heater going back there, but it didn’t do much good. Hope no one got sick due to the cold. Reminds me of the joke about the school kids in Seneca. When the temperature gets down to freezing, they put a sweater on. Got to watch some of the World Series. Lots of records set this year. And it was a record-breaking time frame for the man who “caught” the ball without dropping his two cans of beer. The company had him in an ad the next night! With his own special T-shirt! Only in America.

I Cor. 13: 5, 6, 7 “… Love keeps no records of wrongs… it rejoices with the truth… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”