JOHN DAY — Winter is half gone and we still have not had enough snow to make a snowman. Two times it snowed enough to sand the roads and wear our boots outside, but we still need snow, especially in the mountains, to fill the rivers so we can avoid droughts this summer.

Last week we had the special privilege of celebrating the joy of giving to others with Lucie Immoos. With all that adrenaline in our spirits, it is difficult to come down to level and start the new week. Thank you, Lucie, for all that emotion.

As we continue on into the next week, we see that Janet Binger is finally well enough to join us again. She had been ill for over a month and unable to work her job at Valley View or be with us at the Senior Center.

On Monday, Jan. 30, Carol Roe was with Janet Binger at the desk seeing that everyone got signed in and their names in the drawings for the day. Thanks to both of you for you smiles and words of greeting this day. Janet did the announcing.

Ron Phillips led the flag salute and Elsie Huskey asked the blessing for our meal of chef salad, chicken rice soup, French bread, and berry cobbler. Thanks, Shay and Darla, for a great meal.

The servers that were scheduled were unable to be there, so several people pitched in to fill the space and they all did a great job. We appreciate all who are involved with each event at our center. Our assistant cook, Darla, was unable to be with us this day, so Jeanette pitched in in the kitchen. Thank you, Jeanette, for meeting this need. It truly is a work of love.

Some 62 fresh meals and 186 frozen meals were delivered around our area to folks who cannot get out. The delivery drivers were Jeanette Julsrud and Shirley, Mike Davis (Pati is still recuperating from her broken arm) and Rick LaMountain. Some 142 of the frozen meals are picked up by Dayville and Seneca on a monthly basis.

There seems to be a lack of interest for playing pokeno and bingo, so we have not been having these events.

On Thursday, Feb. 2, we began the 50-50 drawing. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5.

Mike Farrell won the Len’s card, and Darlene Nodine won the free meal. Congratulations, you two.

There were 14 people dining in the center, and folks picked up 15 meals. With the 186 delivered meals, we had a total of 215 meals from our kitchen this day.

We have finally found a snow plower to plow our parking lot each time it snows heavy enough for our seniors to walk in comfortably. We have just contracted with a company to repair our heating system that has needed repair for about two years, as several rooms are colder than comfortable now. It should be all taken care of within the month of February. We have someone that cleans our restrooms and floors each week, so the load is lighter for all of us seniors. We decided to use 8-ounce water bottles at lunch for those desiring water instead of tap water, as it doesn’t taste too good. More decisions to make and things to do to make things better at our center.

On Thursday, Feb. 2 (Groundhog Day) we found David Pasko and Darlene Nodine at the desk to greet the 17 people that came to dine in and make sure they got signed in and got their names into the drawings for this day. I did not hear if the groundhog saw his shadow. Even though most of us want spring to be here, we really do need more snow this season.

Corinne Stennett led the flag salute and Pastor Jessie of the First Baptist Church asked the blessing, and he and others from his church were our servers today (Peggy Molnar, Jessie, Melanie, and Aaron). Thank you all for the great service you provided us this day, and the smiles and all the heartfelt spirit we felt from you all. We dined on lasagna, green salad, blue Jell-O with whipped cream, mixed veggies, and cake. Shay had to be away today, so Darla was in charge of this meal and Miss Carpenter (my apologies for not remembering your first name at this moment) assisted Darla at the serving window. A big thank-you to both of you gals for managing our kitchen this day.

Shirley and Jeanette, Mike Davis, Peggy Molnar and Cindy delivered 62 meals this day. This is a service of love, and we appreciate all you drivers who perform this love. Thanks to all of you.

We started our 50-50 event this day and hope it brought an extra bit of interest to the day. Thanks to James for managing the 50-50 station.

We do have a suggestion box near the coat rack and we desire to read any notes that are placed in it. Even your name is enough to let us know you know we have this element. We are interested in hearing anything you would like to say about the way our center runs. If you would like something done differently or you don’t like something or you want to compliment or criticize anything or anyone, we want to hear it. We just want everyone to be happy and come often for lunch or stop in from time to time to say hi or have a cup of coffee. Please remember to make a comment for our suggestion box.

Len’s and Chester’s Market provide gift cards for our drawings at lunchtime. They would appreciate it if we would remember to use them as we get them. It is easy to forget them in our wallets since most of us use plastic for payments. Using them is appreciation to Len’s and Chester’s and is a thank-you to them so they will feel comfortable continuing to provide them to us for our drawings.

We have a great, colorful card in progress for Billie Bullard, who is not able to join us anymore and would appreciate this card very much. She also would appreciate phone calls and cards in the mail. The information to do so is on the front desk at the center.

Mike Browning won the Chester’s card and Ron Smith won the free meal this Thursday. Congratulations, you two.

Ninety-three meals went out from our kitchen today. Wow!

Tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 9, we will dine on baked chicken and stuffing, broccoli with cheese sauce and black magic sauce. On Monday, Feb. 13, we will dine on smothered burritos, Spanish rice, green salad, chips and salsa, and cheesecake. Ooh, sounds so yummy.

Dear God, I simply ask that I do not wander away from the path that you have set for my life. May I always pay attention to your instructions, and may I carry them out well. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

MONUMENT —

We had a wonderful meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, dinner rolls, green beans, and chocolate cake served with cherry preserve on top. Yum. We thank our cooks, Carrie Jewell and Diane Harvey, for cooking up our wonderful and delicious meal.

Our greeters at the table were Bob Cockrell, Sue Cavender and Jan Ensign. Bob and Sue checked in all the guests, collected and counted up the money. Bob led us in the flag salute and made the announcements. Yours truly prayed the blessing over the meal.

We wish to thank the United Methodist Church of John Day for their generous support in giving $500 to our Monument Food Bank. We are truly thankful for their loving support of our food bank.

We would also like to thank and acknowledge the generous donation of $500 to the Monument Senior Center by the Carrie Young Memorial Foundation. Thank you, Lucie Immoos, who is in charge of where the donations go. Our senior center and all the folks here who attend and meet at the senior center really appreciate all the help we receive. The funds will be used to keep the lights going, to pay for miscellaneous bills. So, again, we thank you for the generous gift and we so appreciate you and your foundation!

Well, we certainly received a cold snap this past week, and that is an understatement. We went down clear to -4 degrees Fahrenheit on one of the days. Brr! Talk about freezing, oh my goodness, it was super cold. The wind kicking in did not help the matter either.

We fed the poor animals a little extra to help keep them warm. I tell ya, God made them so unique and resilient against such harsh weather conditions.

We had one of our porch kitties stuck up on a power pole for a day and half. Whiskers, the silly adolescent, had climbed up and could not get down. She was up there meowing and was up there when the temperatures started to drop. We were going to call the co-op if she was not down by Monday. Of course, these sorts of things happen on a Friday afternoon, just before a weekend.

Luckily, she somehow managed to get herself down. We think she had finally gotten fed up with the cold, the wind, and the snow. We have no idea why she was up there in the first place. Hopefully she has learned her lesson and will not go climbing up power poles! Sheesh, yes, hopefully she has more sense now. My hubby says that is why cats have nine lives. Hmmmm?

I need to start thinking about getting the goat pens ready for the mamas to start having their babies. It is always good to plan ahead so one does not have a nasty unforeseen disaster. Yes, being prepared just in case really helps the mindset.

I have a feeling that I am going to be up to my eyeballs in baby goats! Ha.

Psalms 119:18 Open my eyes to behold wondrous things out of Your Word.

PRAIRIE CITY —

Well, the groundhog certainly saw his shadow around Grant County on his day! Was nice and warm if you were out of the wind. Then some weather person calls the cellphones and says that the next 90 days will be cold. What happened to global warming? (Ahem.)

The heater for the hall had a hard time getting up to the comfort zone today. Poor thing. Took it 24 hours to get there. If we had more bodies in the building, it would help … (as Theresa says, “Just sayin’.”) We hosted the meeting of the Grant County Senior Advisory Council today. Saw in the paper info that the public was invited to attend. People should attend these public meetings that have to do with their interests! If the people who are appointed are willing to take the time to conduct these meetings, we should support them by attending. I did ask one of the members if they had made any momentous decisions. Hopefully there will be some good results from their deliberations.

So, February has arrived, and the table centerpieces reflected that — Valentines! And one of my calendars says that Feb. 20 is “Family Day” instead of Presidents Day. When did that happen? For a short month, February has a lot going on, special day-wise. Back to business — Pam registered all our diners, both pickup and dine-in; Carla, Gwynne, Sharon and Mary did the home deliveries; Tom put out the table decorations; Chris and Theresa did their drink and utensil duties; Ginger did the announcements; Theresa rang the dinner bell and asked the blessing. The winner of the $5 gift card donated by Len’s Pharmacy was Cam Wishart, and Del led the flag salute. Our meal sponsor was Fran Bunch in memory of Doug Bunch. Thanks so much for your donation. We dined on tomato soup with or without rice, grilled cheese sandwiches, tater chips, fruit salad, veggie plate, Jell-O and tapioca pudding. That may not look like a filling meal, but let me tell you, it was! Our fabulous cooks, Pam and Pam, do a great job of filling us up! Found out that the mango juice I like so much and that I had last week and this is called “mango nectar.” Forget growing oranges and lemons. Plant mangoes!

Our trivia birthdays included Clark Gable and Lisa Marie Presley. Deaths included Mary Shelly and Buster Keaton. The first car insurance policy was issued by the Travelers Co. in 1898. The first handheld scientific calculator was put on the market in 1972. Price? $395. The first-through-the-serving-line question was related to one of the persons who also died on this date: Heather O’Rourke. She was a young actress in what movie? This was one I did not know, but Carla did! “Poltergeist” was the answer. I never saw that one — and I’m glad I didn’t!

If your February calendar is filling up as fast as ours, be glad that February is a short month! Of course, the majority of the appointments are with medical personnel here and in Bend. And I’m too old to drive to Bend and back on the same day! Am fascinated by the gadgets on the smart phones that give the directions to where you want to go. They have all the roundabouts in Bend in their innards, which is most helpful!

2 Chron. 35:4 Prepare yourselves … according to the directions written by King David … and his son Solomon. I Cor. 11:34 … And when I come I will give further directions.