John day — This is the first year in a very long number of years that i have witnessed a real fall season. It is so nice to see nice weather in November even though it is pretty cool outside. It feels really nice to not be into winter already; actually, winter starts on Dec. 21.

Our John Day Senior Center is still active providing meals for those who cannot get out and for those who like having lunch prepared for them and come and pick it up.

On Mondays we deliver 50 (plus or minus) meals to those who cannot get out as well as many for those who can come by to pick them up or have them picked up for you; and on Thursdays we have many people stop in and pick up their meals all warm and toasty in bags prepared just for them. Shay and Kim do an excellent job keeping it all organized so pickup is easy, quick and no mistakes are made.

Due to the colder weather, our back door entrance can get a bit slick, so to prevent any accidents, we have moved the entrance for lunch pickup to the front door.

On Thursday, Nov. 18, Shay and Kim are preparing a great lunch consisting of country fried steak sandwich with french fries, a Jell-O salad and apple fritter bread. Sounds great. Monday, Nov. 22, will be our Thansgiving meal. It will be turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and veggies, and pumpkin crunch cake. A great way to have your Thanksgiving meal without having to prepare it yourself and have lots of leftovers.

Thursday the 25th is Thanksgiving day, and we will be closed. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

For anyone who does not know: If you would like to order your Thanksgiving meal, do so ASAP, as the cooks need to be sure to have enough food so you will not be left out. The number to call is 541-575-1825. For a $5 donation per person, you can have Thanksgiving dinner. Wow!

How long is your list of the things you are thankful for?

Prairie City —

We are getting very close. Very, very close. Hopefully, by the end of the month we will be able to say, “It is finished!” It has been a long, hot (and cold) haul for the contractor to get the building prepared and repaired for the application of new metal siding. And it looks just fabulous! No more flaking paint peeling off the old, unsightly boards. No more breezes blowing through under the old section. No more drafty windows! Wow. Come check it out and order a meal to help us celebrate! We are beginning to think about a party. Stay tuned …

The Prairie City Senior Center Board of Directors was responsible for today’s meal in memory of Carole Garrison. We enjoyed chicken alfredo, green salad, pears, breadstick and apple crisp for dessert. Thanks to head cook Pam, helper Pam and helper Tom for a delicious meal. (We could even say that we had a Pam-demic today in the center. Ahem and tee-hee.) Mary, Carlos, Carla, Del and Pam all did their duties and got the bags of food out the doors of the center. Thanks to all the volunteers and our wonderful cook(s) for your excellent work. We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving meal on the 17th. It will be the traditional turkey dinner with pumpkin pie. Which begs the question, “Do you eat to live or live to eat?” Think about that awhile.

Which brings up another question: What are you thankful for this year? For some it will be very difficult to find something to be thankful for, but there has to be something or life would be untenable. If all else fails, one thing to be thankful for is that we are closer to the time when all the wrongs of the world will be made right — and not by human actions. The record of human actions (history books) just reveals how wrong it has turned out. I’m thankful that there is a history book that reveals how the world will be ruled by the God-man in the future. No crime, no sickness, no war when the Prince of Peace is king. That’s what we need to focus on, not the contrived “facts” that seek to divide us. OK, off the soapbox …

Talking about the green grass … If the carrot seed that I planted so carefully in June decides to sprout now, I will be really upset! This will be an overwinter experiment. I don’t plan to disturb that portion of garden bed just to see if the seeds come up next spring. ‘Twill be interesting.

Hebrews 12:23, 13:1 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe … Keep on loving each other as brothers.

MONUMENT —

All of us who either came to eat at the Monument Senior Center or to pick up a to-go meal, were pleasantly surprised that our meals were being sponsored by Grant County Veterans Services. We send our heartfelt thanks to Katie Hoffman and Grant County Veterans Services for their support of our senior center and our delicious meal. Terry Cade and Carrie Jewell prepared for us chicken cordon bleu casserole, garlic bread, fresh green salad, and a various selection of dessert options. I was super hungry and it was so good that I had to go back for seconds. We thank our cooks for their dedication and service.

We had quite a crowd. My family decided to eat at home while I wanted to sit and visit with people at the senior center.

So I sat with different people and I had a most delightful time. I sat with Mr. Mac McKinnon, Terry Cade’s uncle, and we had a nice visit. It was so nice to be able to chat with people over a nice meal.

The greeters at our front table were Jimmy Cole and Kristi Guimont. They checked everyone in, counted up the money, and filled out the paperwork. Judy Harris led us in the flag salute and yours truly prayed the blessing over our meal.

Carrie Jewell won the Len’s gift card and yours truly won the free meal ticket. We had other winners but they won previously so they insisted we should draw new names and kindly relinquished their prizes for others to have a chance to win.

Judy Harris also made the announcements. If you are the last person leaving the senior center building, please make sure the bathroom doors are left open to ensure the pipes will not freeze and also lock the doors when you exit. We appreciate our volunteers for all their work.

Mark your calendars for next year. This is tentative, but Judy says that we are planning to have the Buckaroo on Sept. 23, 2022.

This fall is turning out quite different. I see lots of green grass along with bright yellow leaves on the trees. There are still skunks out, even though I think they should already be hibernating. Which reminds me, I went to deliver Jimmy’s lunch to him at his home a few weeks ago. When I got there, I went to open his gate and noticed a suspicious-looking animal on his porch. I had just pulled the gate open when I realized it was a skunk, so of course I screamed! Ha.

I must have startled him, just as he startled me, and he turned around towards me, hopped off the porch and then scurried under the porch. He was a big skunk! I was not sure if I wanted to risk going over to the porch. I did not want to get “skunked.” Well, I decided that I did not want to starve Jimmy, so when I thought it was safe, I ran in. Ha.

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.