JOHN DAY — The Grant County Jammers play from 10 to 12 on Mondays. It is so nice to hear the music and feel your spirit soar. It is a hard act to follow when they stop and announcements begin. To all the jammers, we want to thank you for being there with us.

On Monday, Dec. 18, Darlene and Dave were our greeters, getting all the information needed from each diner to create a smooth flow for lunch.

Elsie led the flag salute and did the announcing.

Jeanette, Milly and Flora, Tina and Valeda delivered 56 fresh and 49 frozen meals to folks in our community that cannot come and dine in person with us. Thanks to each one of you for your service of love. Seven meals were picked up by folks that needed to be somewhere at the noon hour and 26 people were seated for the meal.

Our servers were from the Living Word Church. Carol Claire and Valeda Grant were great to see that our lunch went smoothly. Thanks, ladies, for your service to our center. After Carol asked the blessing, we dined on taco cornbread bake, fruit salad and a custard tart. Nice meal.

An anonymous person came in and donated funds to cover all the meals for this day. Thank you.

Glenn and Roseann Palmer are busy gathering groceries and volunteers for the Christmas dinner at noon at the John Day Senior Center on Christmas Day. Lots of details to work in a strange kitchen and know where everything is so you can get a big meal prepared. We are grateful for Roseann and Glenn for hosting this great meal. Thank you both so much, and all your volunteers, too.

A total of 138 meals went out of our kitchen today.

Scott Myers won the Chester’s card, and Dave Pasko won the free meal. Congratulations to both of you.

On Thursday, Dec. 21, Darlene and Carol were at the desk making sure all were signed in and names in the drawings. Today is our Christmas lunch as we will be closed on Monday, Christmas Day. The room was beautiful. Each table was decorated with all the colors of Christmas, and the walls and windows were decorated with ornaments and wall hangings of Christmas designs. The tree was decorated, and the lights were glowing. This beauty was designed by Linda, our librarian and décor lady, along with Jeanette and Veanne. Thanks to all three of you for a job wonderfully done. Lots of comments were made about the spirit of the room.

Leo did the task of putting the ornaments on the tree and setting the tables. Thanks, Leo.

Bonnie Kocis made cute candy cane ornaments for every place setting and all the delivery meals. Thanks, Bonnie.

Melissa donated ornaments and angels to be shared with others at our lunch. Thanks, Melissa. These ornaments were appreciated by all who got one.

A big thanks goes to four working ladies in our kitchen, doing dishes, serving food, helping the chef with duties that are time-consuming. They were Alyssa, Chris, Nancy and Valeda. You are all very appreciated by all of us.

Jerry and Linda McLellan donated a large amount of ham for our lunch today. Shay did a great job making it very tasty. Thanks for the hams. We appreciate all you do.

Greg and Melody Jackson donated a large sum of cash to help with the large meal today. Thanks to both of you for this donation. You helped defray the cost, so no stress for our cooks and bookkeepers.

Sixty-six fresh and 44 frozen meals were delivered into our community by Jeff and Jody, Nancy, Valeda and Chris. Thanks to all of you for your service of love.

Thirty takeout meals were picked up before noon, and 34 people were seated in house. Lots of chatter, visiting and laughter went on today. This was so good to hear, and some lingered to visit longer as the servers were cleaning the tables. It was so pleasant. There were 174 meals that went out of our kitchen today. Thanks to Shay and Darla and Alyssa.

Paul Gill won the Len’s card, and Darron Huskey won the free meal. Congratulations to both of you.

Tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 28, the menu will be hamburger steak, grilled onions, loaded baked potatoes, veggies, rolls and a dessert of cook’s choice.

Monday, Jan. 1, we will be closed. Happy new year, everyone!

Our next meal will be Thursday, Jan. 4, with chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies, rolls and birthday cake. Hope to see you there.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yeah, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

MONUMENT — Our cooks, Terry Cade and Carrie Jewell, made us chicken Alfredo, garlic toast, a fresh green salad, and pear tart for our dessert. That was our satisfying meal for Tuesday, Dec. 19. I almost went back for seconds but I think the noodles expanded in my tummy and I found I was quite satisfied. LOL. We thank our cooks for our awesome meals that they prepare for us. We are truly blessed.

Our greeters at the table were Sue Cavender and Linda Abraham. They checked in all the guests, collected and counted up the money. Jan Ensign filled out the paperwork. Ellie Asher led us in the flag salute and made the announcements. Yours truly prayed the blessing over the meal.

There are several raffles going on. The winners of the raffles will be drawn in September during the Buckaroo. Yes, I know it seems to be a world away, but I tell ya, it sneaks up on you real quick!

We had our usual guests from Spray join us for lunch, and then we had a few other guests from out of town. They were Keith Bedell, working for the Oregon Association of Water Utilities, his son Jason Coker, of Sisters, and Hans Shroeder, of Holdman.

All just seems really quiet, and not a whole lot of things going on here in Monument. That is a good thing. The days are going to start getting longer, slowly but surely. It sure was quite dark there for awhile! We still have green grass on the ground, if you can believe it. Maybe we will have some snow on the ground yet?

My goats are getting really pudgy. Timmy, one of my intact little bucklings, looks pregnant! LOL. I don’t know if he is just a gluttonous piggy or he just has a huge tummy? He waddles when he walks. I seriously think that goats are like goldfish, they just do not stop eating. Oh, and they know when it is supposed to be feeding time. They will cry as if they were starved for days!

I am actually succeeding in taming down some of the wild baby goats. I am using peanuts in the shell as treats to coax them into taking it from my hand. I am hoping to be able to handle them without them running away. Bottle babies and those raised by their mamas are definitely different in personality.

It seems surreal that 2023 will soon be over and we will be ringing in a new year. I try to be positive and that is through my faith in Jesus Christ. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. No matter what is happening in the world, I can totally put my faith and trust in Him for He is greater and His love endures forever. May everyone have a wonderful rest of the year of 2023 and may the Lord bless you all for 2024!

Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

PRAIRIE CITY — Ta-da! The day has finally arrived. The first day of the winter season. Today is the shortest day of the year — not that it doesn’t have 24 hours, but the least amount of daylight in that 24 hours. Of course, in Australia, it is the longest day of the year. As the old yarn-spinner would say: Anyhoo … we can look forward to more sunlight beginning tomorrow! Only three months till spring! Are you smiling yet? If you are really curious about how long the daylight will last today, I’m sure you can find out online. But since I’m not connected and don’t have a smartphone, I cannot tell you. If you find out, let me know.

Today was our Christmas dinner, with 78 meals served. We had 31 in-house diners. Sure would like to see some of those takeout people come in and eat with us. The bunch that was here today sounded like they were having a good time visiting. And you would then be eligible for one of the door prizes. We have noticed that whenever the Davis boys show up, one of them wins a prize!

Jason Wright led the flag salute, and Theresa asked the blessing. The gift certificate donated by Huffman’s Market went to Jim Sullens for the birthday prize. The Christmas Elf gift certificates went to Lonnie Davis for Huffman’s and Fran Bunch for Bar WB. Thanks to our local businesses who donate these gift certificates and the Elf for the Christmas ones.

According to those who know, 96 million people will put up a Christmas tree this year, of which 81% will be artificial. Moving on to New Year’s, in Scotland, on New Year’s Eve at midnight, everyone gets kissed, whether married or not! Quote from A.A. Milne: “Rivers know this — there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” Hmmm.

Our servers and delivery people today included Tom, Mary, Sharon, Brenda, Josh, Theresa and Teresa. Pam was at her post at the desk, and Ginger did the announcements. And we ate ham, scalloped potatoes, yams, green salad, seafoam salad, deviled eggs, broccoli Normandy with beans, pumpkin and cherry pies and cupcakes. Whew. What a meal! Great job, Pam and Pam.

And Pam the school bus driver had to leave and go do that job, so our senior program coordinator, Misty, came to help serve while she was gone. So I guess she was a volunteer today, too! It was all very delicious, and we thank our great cooks for our fabulous meals.

Son No. 1 and family made it to Poland for Christmas with no problems and all their baggage! They do not have any snow there, either. So, no, I will not be going to Portland for Christmas. We will gather at son No. 2’s home for our celebration in Grant County.

Remember, no meal on Dec. 27, but we will be back on Jan. 3 with barbecue beef sandwiches, french fries, veggies, fruit and dessert. Y’all come!

Luke 1:26, 27 …. God sent the angel Gabriel … to … Mary Matt. 1:20 … an angel of the Lord appeared to … Joseph 2:1, 2 Magi from the east came and asked, “Where is the One Who has been born King of the Jews? … we have come to worship Him. Luke 2:9 An angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds … :16, 17 So they … found … the baby … and spread the word … :20 … glorifying and praising God …