JOHN DAY — Shay and Tammy are cookin’ up a storm in the kitchen. On Monday, March 3, you can look forward to being in the South, with beans and ham, cornbread and fruit along with a surprise dessert. On Thursday, March 6, tempt your palate with baked chicken, rice, veggies, applesauce and the birthday cake supplied monthly by Driskill Memorial Chapel. Thank you, Driskill’s, for your sponsorship.

I have assisted many seniors with care as well as downsizing. But estate planning is not something I am well versed in. Therefore, I am looking forward to the estate planning workshop offered March 8. It will be held at the Elks Lodge, 140 NE Dayton St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be facilitated by attorney Christi Timko and Sandi Gilson of Land Title Co. of Grant County. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, email sandie@ltcofgrantcounty.com. I hope to see you there.

Next word in our multiword puzzle is diplomas. A high school diploma is pretty important these days. While a GED will suffice for many applications, it’s just different. While I graduated from high school, my older brother dropped out and went to Vietnam. A high school diploma was important in the eyes of my parents. But what they really wanted was for one of us to go to college.

We were both a disappointment to them, but in a different sense. I did not go to college but rather married and started a family. My brother joined the Army but left their lives when he did not return from Vietnam. I still remember the officer’s visit to our house to inform my parents. His death came only 6 months after they had lost a 3-year-old in an accident.

There was much room for blame, but my parents remained dear to each other and enjoyed a stronger relationship spanning over 50 years of marriage until they passed one year apart.

In the years since, I have come to believe that trade schools and alternative programs are definitely more beneficial to many people, plus they often cost less. Then there is the School of Hard Knocks, which I have participated in, to supplement my coveted high school diploma. Many colleges offer an older person a challenge test, to see how much knowledge you attained over the years.

Over the years, I have come to believe that trade schools and work apprenticeship programs are a better fit for many people. Most of them come at a fraction of the cost of colleges and universities. With that said, the cost to further one’s education should not be a detriment to going forward.

I am in Kansas City, Missouri, enjoying weather much like you are. Visiting with family before heading home to tackle some projects at home and the senior center. Let me know if you’re bored or need a great feeling. I would love to have your input and help with a room at the senior center.

Ever wonder what the John Day Senior Center is all about? The mission of the senior center is to promote a healthy, caring community for all John Day older adults and enhance their quality of life through nutritious meals, congregate gatherings, advocacy and volunteer efforts.

MONUMENT — You know when there is a definite change in the weather and that spring is fast approaching when you see bugs start to crawl out of who knows where and start buzzing around. Yes, mosquitoes, flies and other such pesky creatures are emerging! Mosquitoes and flies are not my friends. No.

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

Our awesome cooks, Terry Cade and Carrie Jewell, made us Swedish meatballs with noodles, garlic breadsticks, a fresh green salad, and chocolate cake for our dessert. We all ate a nice hearty meal. We thank our wonderful cooks for all their efforts and hard work.

We welcomed back Bob and Sylvia Cockrell from their missions and humanitarian trips to South America. We thank the Lord for protecting them and bringing them back home safely. May all those they helped be blessed.

The Grant County People Mover just wanted to let everyone know of their available services and wanted to encourage the residents to attend full-day outings to cultural and educational events around Central and Eastern Oregon. There are many activities that groups may enjoy in the upcoming months. They have a comfortable 28-seat charter bus and two brand new 16-seat buses available to transport groups from the senior centers to different outings. So get a bunch of friends together and book a day with the Grant County People Mover.

Sewing group meetings are always on the second Wednesday of every month. The next meeting will be Wednesday, March 12. We start at 9 a.m. and go till around 2:30 p.m. We share a potluck lunch at noon. Bring any and all projects that you wish to work on. Come join us for fun, laughs, good food and good company. Oh, and of course sewing! LOL. There are sewing machines and sergers available to use if you do not have one or don’t want to go through the trouble of bringing yours. Hope to see you there!

We will be doing a little change in how we celebrate birthdays when we gather for lunch on Tuesdays. We will have a calendar set up for everyone to put their birthdays on, and we will celebrate and sing to everyone at the end of every month. You will not need to put your age or the year you were born, just your birthday date.

The EMT quilt raffle is still going on and you can still buy tickets for your chance to win the quilt. The tickets are $1 each or $5 for six tickets. The EMT dinner is tentatively set for May 3. They are looking for donations for their dessert auctions. Please contact Rose Howe for any questions.

Julie Smith shared that there will be a Pampered Chef party at her house on Sunday, March 9, from 1-4 p.m. Barb Reilly is the consultant and will be having a cooking demonstration. Text or call Julie at 541-579-6891 if you are interested.

John 5:24-25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He who heareth my word, and believeth in Him who sent me, hath everlasting life, and will not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear will live.

PRAIRIE CITY — As I look back on the meals we were served this month, I notice that we had chicken, tuna, and beef in the entree. Today’s iteration was in the form of Shepherd’spie. Along with it was a green salad, strawberries and pears, Halo oranges, and chocolate birthday cake donated by Driskill Memorial Chapel. Thank you so much for doing this for us each month. Our birthday boy was Jimmy Lunzmann, who received the $10 gift certificate donated by Huffman’s Market. And thank you, Blaine, for doing that for us each month.

We almost had a catastrophe in the Hall due to a shutoff valve that decided it was too old to work anymore. Many thanks to our Prairie City maintenance crew who, when installing a new water meter, thought that it was running way too much for no activity in the Hall.

After investigation, the water to said valve was turned off and many hands fell to and mopped up lots of water in the restrooms and hall area. Effusive thanks to Rick, Mike, and Pam for their quick action. The contractor has ordered TWO new valves and is fairly certain that the newly installed flooring will not be damaged by this incident. PTL.

Our volunteers today included Mary, Sharon, Teresa, Tom and me. Both Pam and her substitute were absent due to medical appointments, so I had to sub for the sub … and our head cook had her other knee joint replaced, so she also had a sub in the person of Kathy Bishop who helped Assistant Cook Pam get our meal prepared and served. Frances Preston led the flag salute and Tom asked the blessing.

We had one more round of heart-related items from the white board: Danish men send a rhyme to their Valentine, but do not sign it. Hmmm. … Then there was a puzzle about a certain machine with these clues: It is as big as a fist, weighs less than a pound, serves 100,000 miles of conduit, moves more than once a second 24-7-365, and does enough work in one hour to lift 1½ tons 1 foot off the ground. The answer? Your heart, of course.

The last statement was that it lives a little longer than our lifetime. That stumped me until Tom said that it was because the heart starts beating before we are born. (Duh!) Very interesting.

In honor of George Washington’s birthday, I have this bit of information: His birthday was celebrated on Feb. 22. Howsomever, his actual birthday is Feb. 11, 1731. How can this be? Has to do with the switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian in 1752. Those born before 1752 were told to add 11 days to their birthdates. Also those born between Jan. 1 and March 25 had to add one year to be in sync with the new calendar. (How the old calendar got to be so out of whack is fodder for another time …) So, George’s birthday is now Feb. 22, 1732. So that makes him 293 years old. And our country 249.

Eccl. 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men: yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.