PRAIRIE CITY — And the kitchen flooring is done! And the cooks are happy campers! Have a little touch-up painting to do on the new pass-through door framing and we can call it done. Now, when did we get that grant to do all this? Think it was in the beginning of the COVID mess. There were three parts to it, and this was No. 2. Good thing the state gives the grantees six years to use the money! The bad part is the pieces did not stay equal with the bid after three years. So some adjustments had to be made. The new flooring requires some sort of cushion on the chair and table legs. We got some, but somebody didn’t figure right and we didn’t have enough to put out all the chairs and tables. Got some more, but they were a different style and wouldn’t work. So, hopefully, we can get the right ones and get all the chairs and tables out for next week’s meal.

Tom led the flag salute, Chris asked the blessing and Gwynne was the winner of the free meal. Our driver/helper volunteers included Sharon, Mary, Gwynne, Carla, Tom, Chris and Theresa. The trivia question: What was the name of the mountain that yielded Crater Lake? Carla knew: Mount Mazama, so our table got to go first through the serving line and pick up our huge chef salad. To go with it, we had mixed fruit, tapioca pudding and frosted zucchini bars. Of course, there was a choice of salad dressings and crackers, etc., to go with the salad. Thanks to Pam and Pam, our wonderful cooks.

Today was Asparagus, Brothers, Scavenger Hunt, Escargot and Aviation Maintenance Tech Day. Birthdays included Daniel Fahrenheit, Queen Victoria, Tommy Chong, Gary Burghoff and Roseanne Cash. In 1883 the Brooklyn Bridge was opened; in 1899 the first auto repair shop opened in Boston; in 1830 “Mary Had a Little Lamb” was published; and this year the U.S.S. Cooperstown was commissioned, honoring the 70 MLB players who served from WWI through Vietnam. Chris’ “just for fun” question: What’s an Impasta? Fake noodle. Tee hee.

Last year I embarked on the house-cleaning project, but I never got past the first two rooms. So this week I managed to do three (!!!) rooms. And the back porch. Guess I’ll take the rest of the week off …

Got more garden planted. The peas are coming up. The seeds were some I saved from a volunteer plant last year, so I was kind of wary. But so far, so good! A friend gave me some other flower and vegetable seeds, and I’m trying to find space for them somewhere around the house, in the flowerbeds or in the garden. And then there will be a little seedling that will poke up from some of last year’s flowers. A pleasant surprise, to be sure. I figure that if they are that hardy, I can water them and see what develops! Course, you don’t have to do that to the bachelor buttons … ahem. I was letting one big one grow by the side of the walk, but the weed-eater operator decided that since it wasn’t in a flowerbed, he could eliminate it. Oops. Oh, well. Plenty more where that one came from …

Matthew 13:41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

JOHN DAY —

We are really enjoying having enough water to water with a sprinkler instead of by hand. Hubby uses two sprinklers at a time and still not running out of water. Wow! It is so nice. We ran out of water for several years several times each day. It did progress to being out of water more and more till we finally were able to drill a new well. We filled out papers to get a grant for the well and after it was all done and the old dry well torn down and filled in, we got the grant. It was such a blessing to us.

Bingo is going well so far at our senior center. We sure are having a good time. Come join us on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. and have fun with us. Several people signed up to play and didn’t leave a phone number, so we have no way to get hold of them and now they are missing out. We put it on the radio, in the Eagle and told everyone to pass the word around. See ya on Tuesday for a good time.

On Monday, May 22, Elsie and Darlene were at the desk to greet the 11 in-house diners and the 11 people to pick up meals. We shared smiles, compliments, and made sure everyone was signed in and names in the drawings. Elsie did the announcing, and Dave Pasko led us in the flag salute.

Rick LaMountain, Mike and Pati Davis, and Jeanette Julsrud delivered 55 fresh and 38 frozen meals to folks in the community who cannot get out to join us for lunch. Thanks to our delivery drivers for their service of love for others.

Jeanette, who was our server, asked the blessing before we dined on cherry-glazed pork loin, dressing, veggies and carrot cake. Shay and Darla did a great job preparing this meal. Thanks, Jeanette, for all you did to make this lunchtime pleasant and convenient for all diners.

Many greeting cards and get well and thank-you cards are displayed nicely on a table near the coat rack. These are there for your pleasure, so help yourself to some.

We have tried to have a 50/50 pot going on Thursdays, but we don’t always have someone to man the station to collect your dollars and give out tickets. Watch for it next Thursday.

Dave Pasko won the certificate for a deluxe haircut, and since his wife is a beautician and takes care of his hair, he passed the certificate on to someone else. Thanks, Dave. Ray Cox won the free meal. Congratulations to both of you and the person who got the haircut certificate.

On Thursday, May 24, Sonie Guttu and Judy Thomas were at the desk to greet the 16 in-house diners and the two who came to pick up their meals. Judy and Sonie made sure that each person was signed in and got their names in the drawings. Darlene Nodine gathered all the information and did the announcements. Dave Pasko led the flag salute.

Rick LaMountain, Peggy Molnar, Mike and Pati Davis and Cindy Combs delivered 55 meals throughout our community. Thanks to all you delivery drivers for your service of love for others.

Jeanette and Chris Robbins were our servers for a great meal of shrimp and crab Louie, oyster stew, garlic toast and watermelon-strawberry-rhubarb cobbler. What a great meal. Thanks to Shay and Darla. Thanks to Jeanette and Chris for helping some diners get their trays of food to the table and serving drinks and all the other duties of lunchtime, not to mention cleaning up afterwards. A job well done.

Some diners use a cane or walker and some in wheelchairs need assistance getting their food from the kitchen window to the table, and we want to be of assistance. Most of us are seniors and from time to time need a little help along the way, so it is perfectly OK to ask for assistance if it is not offered timely.

If you have been a volunteer or are one or will be one, it is so helpful if you sign your name and the hours you served, so our center can be recognized for all our volunteers.

After lunch on Thursday, June 8, there will be a board meeting. We are a nine-member board and have one or two that want to be included, so please all be present so we can finalize our membership and keep it up to date.

If you have empty 8-ounce Cool Whip bowls, please bring them and put them in the basket designed for them so we can share with diners to take food from their plate that they cannot eat right then.

Sharon Scott won the Chester’s card, and Darlene won the free meal. Congratulations, you two.

Stop by the center and get your copy of the June menu so you will know exactly what is happening and who is sponsoring etc.

Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own Inheritance.

Psalms 34:1 Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

MONUMENT —

Our cooks, Terry Cade and Christy Howell, outdid themselves with our lunch. We were served pork ribs, baked beans, coleslaw, garlic bread, fresh green salad, and brownies for our dessert. You totally missed it if you weren’t there! I had to get a couple more ribs, and then of course I had the food coma afterwards. I did not take a siesta. I instead worked outside getting a garden bed turned over and transplanting some things. Yes, I was a busy little bee. We thank our awesome cooks for our delicious meal and we appreciate them so much!

Our greeters at the table were Bob Cockrell and Jan Ensign. They checked in all the guests, collected and counted up the money. Bob led us in the flag salute, Judy Harris made the announcements, and yours truly prayed the blessing over the meal. The winner of the free meal ticket was Charlotte Nygren, who is visiting us from Alaska. She was a longtime Grant County resident.

The Monument Senior Center will be having their rummage sale going on on the Fourth of July. They are looking for gently used items such as clothing. You may bring them to the senior center and drop off your donations. All the proceeds go towards supporting our senior center, and we appreciate any donations made for the rummage sale.

Mark your calendars if you would like to learn and also help make gift baskets. Judy Harris will be giving a class on Thursday, June 22, at the Monument Senior Center. These gift baskets will be put up for auction during the Buckaroo event in September. This class will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please bring a pair of scissors, a hair blow-dryer, and a potluck lunch to share. This is a free class and it will also benefit the Buckaroo fundraising event.

A shout of thanks to all the volunteers who help to beautify our lovely senior center. We thank them for mowing the lawn, weeding and just helping to keep the area around the senior center nice, clean and orderly. Thank you to Bob Cockrell and Heather Riggs for all their mowing and weeding. We appreciate them so much. The Monument Senior Center board will be looking into purchasing a riding lawnmower for whoever mows the lawn. It is getting to be a big job pushing a mower for the big yard out back.

Last of all, save the date! Saturday, Sept. 23, will be the Fall Festival and Buckaroo. There will be a salmon and elk dinner with all the fixings. Of course there will be live and silent auctions and all sorts of activities for the whole family. All the proceeds of this event will go to help keep our facility afloat, and we just appreciate everyone’s support.

I have been extremely busy outside and inside cleaning, weeding, planting, watering, and the list goes on and on … Ha.

Y’all know how it is: Summer is just a very, very busy season.

Psalms 5:3-4 My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O LORD, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee and will look up. For Thou art not a God Who hath pleasure in wickedness. Neither shall evil dwell with Thee.