JOHN DAY — Is winter over now? We have had lots of snow and now in two days it is gone. The wonders of God are in the happening. Snow is beautiful, but dangerous for seniors. Our lives are not only inside our homes, but we also must get out in the snow or whatever weather to meet our needs.

It has come to my attention that many do not know that since the senior center is not open every single day, we cannot get mail there, so we have a post office box now. Here is information for the center.

Our mailing address is PO Box 40, John Day. OR 97845. You can also email us at JohnDaySeniors@yahoo.com. Our main phone number is 541-620-5242, and you can call the kitchen at 541-575-1825.

The Grant County Jammers were such a blessing as people came in the door to great music. They played and sang for about two hours. They will be participating in our lunchtime every Monday from 10 to noon from now on, so come on in for a blessed time with us. A big thank-you comes from all of us at the senior center to the Grant County Jammers for being such a blessing to all of us.

On Monday, Jan. 15, the desk was manned by several members, as someone could not come, but we all pitched in and got all the tasks done. Everyone who came by the desk was greeted with a smile and got signed in and their names were put into the drawings for the day. We all recited the flag salute, and Elsie asked the blessing for the meal.

Carolyn Stout, participants in the Blue Mountain Hospital nutrition program, Jeanette Julsrud and her husband, Eric, delivered 57 fresh meals and 49 frozen meals to residents of our community who cannot get out to come and dine with all of us. There were 19 people in attendance for lunch. A total of 125 meals went out of our kitchen today.

Carolyn Stout represented the Living Word Church as our server for this meal. Thank you, Carolyn, for your service. We dined on tater tot casserole, green beans, sweet and sour pepper slaw, and pineapple upside-down cake. This was a very tasty meal. Thanks to Shay and his angels.

Wednesday, Jan. 24, Community Connection is holding a meeting to discuss the homeless from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the senior center, so if you have any information or questions about that topic, or would just like to hear about this, you are welcome to attend.

On Thursday, Jan. 25, Jessie Schaefer of Cyber Tech will be telling us what is upcoming, and this will be a good time to get on the register if you are inclined to do so. The last six-week session they had was very informative to many of us seniors. These classes are designed to help seniors understand the technology of the day. Many of us struggle to keep up with our phones, computers, etc.

Joe Phippen won the Chester’s card, and Marla Carlton won the free meal. Congratulation to both of you.

On Thursday, Jan. 18, Sonie Guttu and Judy Thomas were at the desk to greet everyone who comes by to sign in for lunch or pick up a meal. Thank you, ladies, for your service. Elsie did the announcing, and Kathy Smith asked the blessing for our meal of baked chicken (oh, so good), zucchini casserole, veggie medley, roll, and bread pudding with chocolate sauce. Thank you, Shay and your angels. Kathy Smith represented the Methodist Church as our server for lunch today. Thank you, Kathy, for your service today.

Fifty-nine fresh meals were delivered into the community to residents stuck at home by Jeff and Jodi Cyphers, Peggy Molnar and Cindy Combs, and Ken and Bothine Sharmaine (not sure about the spelling). Thank you all for your service of love for others. There were 16 meals picked up, and 19 people were in attendance. A total of 94 meals went out from our kitchen today. Good job, Shay and your helpers.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church parish house is hosting a caregiver support group on the second Monday of each month, beginning Feb. 12, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Some flyers are on the desk at the entrance, so pick one up if you have interest in this.

Linda Pifer won the Len’s card, and Carol Roe won the free meal. Congratulations to both of you.

On Thursday, Jan. 25, we will dine on beef stew, biscuits, green salad, pickled beets and a dessert of cook’s choice.

On Monday, Jan. 29, we will dine on roast beef and cheddar melt, potato soup, carrot salad and dessert of cook’s choice.

Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

MONUMENT —

Our cooks, Terry Cade and Carrie Jewell, made for us mac and cheese with ham, garlic bread, fresh green salad, and pudding for our dessert. We thank our cooks for their efforts. We appreciate all that they do for us.

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 Lucas led us in the flag salute and made the announcements. Yours truly prayed the blessing over the meal. Oh, and I was the winner of the free meal ticket.

The most important announcement was that if you are wanting a takeout meal, you must call between 8 and 10 a.m. This is to insure that the cooks have prepared enough food for everyone who will be dining in. Starting in March, the takeout meals will increase by $1. This is to offset the cost of the containers that the meals go in. Please take note of this important information.

The next sewing class will be Wednesday, Feb. 14. We will start at 9 a.m. and go till 2ish. We share a potluck lunch at noon. There may be a special bag sewing project on that day. I will let you know when I receive more information.

Well, we hit a low of -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Yup, it was very cold. The snow was real dry and powdery. One just dreaded to go out in that frigid weather. OK, I dreaded to go out in that cold weather. LOL. Making sure that our animals had water was a pain, for it seemed like it immediately froze as soon as you filled their water bowls.

My little goats did not want to come out of their igloos. I was getting some water when I heard a goat crying and crying. I thought it was hurt or something and I ran over to investigate the matter. Apparently, one of the wether goats, Buddy, was cold and refused to come out but wanted to eat because he was hungry. So, I got him some hay and put it in his igloo so he could eat in there without coming out. Silly goat, but I decided to accommodate him.

After having those really cold temperatures, we are now experiencing a warming trend. Yes, we are now having temps in the 40s. This warming trend is of course melting the snow and turning it into messy, slushy and slippery snow. It is quite neat on one hand that snow is so light when it is dry and that same snow is very heavy when it is wet. I guess water in the air sure makes a difference in the weight of the snow.

I am surely grateful to my Heavenly Father for all the snow that we have received thus far. It is a blessing for the earth to receive the water and quench the dry land. Praise the Lord! May everyone stay warm and safe out there!

Psalms 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

PRAIRIE CITY —

My, that is a strange sound when the foot of snow on the metal roof finally loses its hold and comes crashing down. Heard it two times today, first at the hall when that big load let loose — right onto the poor covered-up swamp cooler and anything else in the general vicinity, like vehicles parked beside the cooler.

The second one was at my house when both sides of the roof let loose. But they had huge icicles frozen onto the snow load, so when it turned loose there was a decided crash onto the deck! And I was certain that it would pull the gutters down with it, but they are still attached to the eaves! Looking a little worse for wear, but still there.

It’s a good thing that the first 18 inches consisted of dry snow! The 3 inches I shoveled this morning was wet and heavy! But we love it all, right?

We want to give credit where credit is due to our city maintenance people. They have not only plowed out the streets, but lots of driveways and parking lots around town. A very big thank you to you all. We certainly appreciate your good work. We also received a couple bags of ice melter from the city, so thank you, again.

And the winter weather did not deter many from coming out to partake of our fabulous dinner today. The Davis boys even made it all the way from Mt. Vernon, so Ginger asked Brian to lead the flag salute. Patty Perkins was the winner of the free meal. Our volunteers today included Sharon, Mary, Tonya, Brenda, Tom, Teresa and Pam. Our meal today was sponsored in memory of Blaine Kendall.

We enjoyed some more of that good beef donated by Slide Mountain Ranch in the form of luscious hamburgers with all the trimmings, macaroni salad, fruit and brownies! Eat your heart out, McDonald’s and Burger King. Pam and Pam make them so much better!

Tom had some quotes to celebrate Martin Luther King Day last Monday. “Faith is taking the first step — even though you can’t see the whole staircase.” “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.” “Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. He who has love is a participant in the being of God.” Lots of good sermons there!

The trivia had to do with MLK and an old TV show. One of the African-American actresses had decided to quit the show and MLK convinced her not to. The show was “Star Trek” and the actress was Nichelle Nichols and her role was Communications Officer Uhuru. And being a board-certified Trekkie, I knew that, so our table got to go first through the serving line. Beam me up, Scotty!

Job 26: 7, 8 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; He suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in His clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. … :14 And these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?