Mt. Vernon resident Billie Bullard, who turned 101 on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, celebrates her (almost) birthday with friends and family at the John Day Senior Center on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.

JOHN DAY — In past years it has been known to snow on Easter. Lately we have had fairly nice weather and now that Easter is approaching, we get snow and rain and strong winds. That has not changed in all these years. Easter will still come as usual, but getting outside for the picnics and children’s egg hunts etc. is not as comfortable as it would be on a pleasant day. The reason for the season remains the same: Christ arose.

On Monday, March 25, Judy and Dave were at the desk and greeted everyone who came by. They made sure that everyone got signed in for lunch and their names got put in the drawings for the day. Elsie gathered the information and did the announcements, and we all said the flag salute together.

Gary and Bonnie Zick, Rachel Carpenter, and Jeff and Jodi Cyphers delivered 59 fresh meals and 39 frozen meals into our community to homebound folks, and there were four takeouts. Thank you all for your dedication to serving and loving other people.

Rachel Carpenter was our server for the day, and she asked the blessing for the meal. Thanks, Shay and all who helped prepare that great meal.

All total, 127 meals went out of our kitchen this day. Good job, kitchen crew.

It was Scott Farmer’s birthday this day, so we all sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

Leo Buzzard has been a great help in our kitchen for a while now, so we want him to know how much we appreciate him for all he does to help make our meals successful.

There are only two weeks left to get signed up for the OTEC trip. A bus will pick up those who want to go to Burns for the electric co-op’s annual meeting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 5, and bring you back to the senior center by 3 p.m. Mark your calendar and don’t forget to share in this fun and informational day. All this is at no cost to you.

The bazaar that was held on March 23 turned out well. We are pleased to be able to have a space they could use for this event.

Darlene Nodine won the Chester’s card, and Lonnie Davis won the free meal. Congratulations to both of you.

On Thursday, March 28, Judy Thomas and Dave Pasko greeted everyone who came by the desk and got everyone signed in and their names entered in the drawings for the day. Since this was our Easter meal, we had extra things to draw for, so it was fun.

Our servers were from the Redeemer Lutheran Church: Buzz and Bobbie Gilmore, who had their daughter and her two children assisting them. It was Buzz and Bobbie’s 54th anniversary, so we sang to them. We hope you two had a wonderful day. BA was also assisting them with serving, and Bonnie Kocis made a special Easter packet for each place setting. Also, someone filled plastic Easter eggs with a note or prize and hid them around the room for folks to find (like an adult Easter egg hunt). A note inside one of the eggs read, “Are we having fun yet?”

Gary and Bonnie Zick, Jeff and Jodi Cyphers, and Peggy Molnar and Cindy Combs delivered 62 frozen meals into our community, and 13 meals were picked up. We had 40 in-house diners, so that made a total of 115 meals that went out of our kitchen today. Our chef, Shay, was not there. He was so sick and had coughed so hard he broke a couple ribs. That is some heavy coughing. Aleesa stepped right up, with Nancy and Valeda assisting her, and got all the deliveries bagged up, the takeouts ready and the 40 meals in the house done just like normal. Good job, Aleesa.

Mya sang an Easter song a cappella to us that she had written, so thank you, Mya, for sharing with all of us.

Bill K. won the Chester’s card, and Laura Day won the free meal. The cute little stuffed bunnies went to Judy Thomas, Scott Knepper, Ray Marto and Julie Smith. A sweet lady that serves at times won the 50/50 pot. I cannot even remember her name, and I know it, too. So sorry!

Tomorrow, Thursday, April 4, lunch will be chicken divan, mashed garlic potatoes, and German chocolate cake. On Monday, April 8, we will dine on popcorn shrimp, coleslaw, french fries and lemon cake. You will love both of these meals. I’ll see you there.

John 10: 27 and 28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

MONUMENT —

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

Terry Cade and Carrie Jewell, our cooks, made one of my favorite dishes of all time! Yes! We were served hamburger steak (I call it Salisbury steak) with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, dinner rolls, and chocolate cake for dessert. Yummy, yummy, yummy! Everyone enjoyed that fabulous meal, and we are so thankful to our cooks!

We sang the happy birthday song to Jan Ensign. Hope she had a wonderful birthday. The winner of the free meal ticket was Valerie Howe from Spray. (I guess she will be coming back for sure! Ha.)

There is a sign-out sheet for anyone who wants to check out items such as a wheelchair, crutches, portable toilets and such from the senior center storage locker.

Linda Humphreys has passed away, so please keep her family in your prayers. Funeral services have yet to be announced.

Someone had brought over and “donated” old telephone books to our library depository. Please, do not donate those items, they are not appreciated. Neither are items such as old magazines and catalogs. Those items should be taken to the dump and taken care of as such. Thank you.

Well, we had a few wonderful, sunny and warm days. That is, until the weather decided to go back and did a complete 180 degrees. We got snow, freezing temperatures, sleet, icy rain and high winds. I am sure, just like me, everyone was wondering what happened? We are supposed to get back some of that nice sunny weather for a few days. Yeah, I won’t hold my breath.

KiKi, one of my bottle babies, had some babies. My son discovered her having them and thank goodness he was around. We helped her by tearing the sacks off, and I am sure if he had not found her, we probably would have lost at least two of them. KiKi had triplets for her first kidding. I have one in the house. She is just adorable. She is super, super tiny. She probably weighs less than a pound. I did not think she would survive, but she did.

The babies’ names are Mori, Riku and Shiori. Shiori was the runt and very skinny. She was weak and small. KiKi lets me milk her, so I can use her milk to feed Shiori. It is so much nicer to have a laid-back mama goat that lets you milk her instead of fighting you the whole time, that’s for sure! I call KiKi over and have her grain ready, and she comes running over. She is getting used to the routine already. I just have to do it covertly or the others might know and hear and come too! We don’t want that to happen.

Shiori is getting stronger every day. She is about five days old and cute as a button. Too bad they can’t stay little like that. I would totally love it if the babies stayed that little. She is as small as a Chihuahua puppy. Shiori and her siblings have the La Mancha short ears. I could see why people love having little goats as pets. I guess mine are pets. Ha.

Matthew 10:1 And when He had called unto Him, His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

PRAIRIE CITY —

Did you enjoy the three days of spring we had last week? I certainly did! Even did a couple hours in the garden! I was glad that I had left the snow shovels out so they were available, though. Temperate climate area, that’s what they tell us we are in. I guess that means it can be hot and cold on the same day …

Today being the last Wednesday of the month was our March birthday recognition day. Gail Kolb was the winner of the $10 gift certificate donated by Huffman’s Market. And we thank Driskill Memorial Chapel for donating the lovely birthday cakes each month. The cooks look forward to this day because they don’t have to make dessert, don’tcha know. (Even though we enjoy their desserts, it’s nice for them to have a break, right?)

Juan Rubio led the flag salute, and Pastor Brian Hardesty asked the blessing. Our volunteers included Mary, Sharon, Carla, Brenda, Teresa, Tom and Pam. Guess we could include Colin, too, as he had to substitute for Ginger, who was home with one of the “bugs” that’s making its rounds. Tom’s last St. Patrick-themed quote: “Never iron a four-leaf clover because you don’t want to press your luck.” Har, har.

We had “hobo dinner” today. And it was delicious! A hamburger patty that was fried to perfection was placed on the bottom of a piece of aluminum foil. Then cubed potatoes and little carrots were put on top. The foil was sealed and put in the oven to stay warm. Mmm, good. I had my meal early as I had to dash off to Burns to see the Miracle Ear lady. Then I had to be back by 6 p.m. to participate in music rehearsal for Friday night and Sunday morning.

Whew. That’s a long day for an old lady. At least I only encountered rain, not snow. PTL. Misty, our able co-ordinator, brought us some special wipes for the tables and a defibrillator for emergency heart troubles. Now to get trained on how to use it. … Thanks to all those who had a part in getting these articles to us. We appreciate it!

We will be opening the hall to those who want to come in and visit before the meal at 11 a.m. beginning April 3. But do not visit with the volunteers who are going about their chores. Drinks will not be served until 11:30 am. You have been informed …

I was looking for my special tool that Derrol made for me to push the letters on the outside sign board back in place. I don’t see it in the hall anywhere. It was just a tree limb but he had whittled off the end to make it look like a rectangle. If you know what happened to it, I would appreciate knowing. It was really useful because when the wind puffed at the letters and pushed them out of their little track, I didn’t have to go get the ladder and use it to get up to the letters to push them back. Just used my special tool.

2 Cor. 3:3 You show that you are a letter from Christ … written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.