Spot On Pendleton, Oregon & Wool Mill

Two of my sisters and I took a trip to Oregon this past weekend.That is my sister Joni in front of the sign, she did all the driving on this 8 hour just one-way trip. The reason for the trip is one I will write about in a future post when I can present it in a way that does it justice, 'justice' being the key word .In spite of the tragic reason we took this trip together, we did have a good time. One of the towns we passed through as we headed to our destination was Pendleton, Oregon, home of a famous rodeo and wool mill.* My sisters graciously stopped at the mill for me, as I am fascinated by the whole wool thing going on here, and also, the mills are a source of mill ends~ the scrap strips of wool cut from whatever they are weaving in the mill, and sold by the pound, valued by me and many other weavers for weaving rugs.

There was a small museum in the mill dedicated to the blankets & rugs woven by the *Indian tribes and also to the Pendleton Rodeo.Just look at this amazing rug woven by Indians shown in the museum behind glass.( Good thing too, because it would be hard resisting the urge to touch it.) click onto * to see history of the rugs.

Two more amazing rugs.*

This book was under glass in the museum and my sisters & I thought the inscription from a father to his son was a sentiment expressing a worthy goal for all, and especially expressing a desire for a family legacy that values an honorable name , a priceless gift of love to future generations. ( click onto picture to enlarge) "Dear Mort, This book may suggest that the best inheritance to receive or to leave is a good name. Love, Dad " The mill had an outlet store where we shopped. I was able to purchase a few bags of mill ends I will weave into rugs such as the rugs I wove awhile ago, shown in the next two pictures.

Rugs woven of Pendleton Woolen Mill ends.

This door leads to the room where all the wool goods this Pendleton wool mill sells are woven. Maybe one day in the near future I will come to see this ,but I will need to schedule this tour. If you stop in though, the store sells fabric, rugs, blankets,shirts, and so much more...all woven right here in America. Very much worth a visit if you're traveling through eastern Oregon !

Duck Dinner- Part II

Here is my husband cooking up the last of the delicious duck dinner to accompany a lot of appetizers that accompany the wine-tasting! He put a LOT of planning, preparation, shopping, and then work ( of love ) into this dinner. The guests were two of my sisters and their husbands. We hope they went away happy , with full tummies, and good memories . The kind of memories that bond blood relationships with heart and soul. "Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk." Susan S. Merrill Here is a close-up of the menu my husband prepared for this evening. "If the divine Creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony." Fernand Point ( 1897-1955) One very popular appetizer with no left-overs was the Smoked Chicken Nibblies. My husband smoked the chicken needed for this recipe in the barbecue the night before. He really did do a lot of cooking and preparation days in advance of this dinner! "The best things in life are nearest; breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life." Robert Louis Stevenson Here is the main course.Seared Duck Breast with Apricot Reduction Sauce,Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Almond Haricots Vert ( fancy French way of saying GREEN BEANS with almonds). You must excuse the picture because I totally got distracted by the good food and good company and forgot to take pictures in time. Fortunately there was a tad bit of the main course left to put together a plate for pictures, but it does not do the first plating of this course justice!I have no words to fully express how very good this was. I am glad my husband prepared the duck, now I think I will raise a few ducks every year for the freezer, it is worth it! Because I cannot stomach potatoes I did not taste them but everyone else loved them. Of course we did get down to the wine tasting education which my husband presented. I discovered my brother-in-law Tom and I have very similar palates. Especially when it concerns wine. (We have very good taste even if he does like potatoes) "No one that has drunk old wine wants new; for he says, "The old is nice." Luke 5:39 My sister Karen and her husband Kaare, aren't they cute? "Men are like wine- some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age." Pope John XXIII I think all my sisters and I agree with this, and we agree our husbands are as fine wine! My next post will be the last post about our dinner and it involves dessert! If you are interested in the recipes I will be posting them in my Lefse Girls In The Kitchen* blog along with many other tried and true family recipes.

Duck Delight & Wine Tasting With Love

My husband has been beside himself with joy and enthusiasm these past few weeks in the planning and preparation of a dinner and wine tasting event he was privileged to host for my sisters and their husbands, and ME ! He has piles and piles of cook books, cooking publications, and hours of perusing food and wine blogs and Food Network T.V invested in this dinner.In other words, he has been enjoying himself immensely. Of course he has the every day part of his life which requires he go to work, repair our well pump himself- which went out last month, and just last week and on into this week,he had to repair our septic pump which required digging up our septic system,working on it, spending lots of money and back-breaking labor on it , and then coming indoors and cleaning up so he could resume his passion, preparing for special dinners with people we love! ( Above is the center-piece of Friday night's event)

How does the table look so far? I'm just getting started. The china and carefully hand-washed and dried wine glasses are on the table, there is so much more to do...."Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable to him. A new friend is as new as the wind: when it is old, thou shall drink it with pleasure." Ecclesiates 9:10 And dear sisters, you are long time ( not old yet!) friends as well as sisters dear to my heart~

My husband prepared one of our home raised ducks for this dinner ahead of time. He ( the duck) is carefully killed and plucked ( I helped with that) and cleaned , ready to be the main course. Because one of our home-raised ducks is the center- piece of the dinner, we used our ducks as the theme. The menu and table setting reflects this. I took pictures of our duck flock, enlarged them and added the menu and made a wine-tasting mat the same way. "Wine was created from the beginning to make men joyful, and not to make men drunk. When drunk with moderation is the joy of the soul and heart." Ecclesiastes 31:35-36 The menu was also the place card and contained a Bible verse central to our philosophy regarding God's abundant blessings.

Here is the menu on a picture of our ducks on our pond. "A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry.." Ecclesiastes 10:19

Close-up of the menu. " Eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart." Ecclesiastes 9:10

This is the setting with the 4 wine-glasses . Each wine glass sits on a circle delineating the type of wine to be tasted. My husband also provided a wine-tasting sheet to help the tasters decide the qualities of the wine. "One not only drinks the wine, one smells it, observes it, tastes it, sips it, and one talks about it."King Edward the VII

Close-up of this wine-tasting mat for wine glass placement(above).You might notice this is the picture I use for the header of this blog. "Wine can be considered with good reason as the most healthful and most hygienic of all beverages" & "The flavor of wine is like delicate poetry." Louis Pasteur

My sisters , well, 2 of them with their husbands. (Tricia, wish you could be here!) My sister Joni and her husband Tom on the left, my sister Karen and her husband Kaare on the right. We had so much fun, and the meal was wonderful!!!!! I will post the recipes and more in the next post. Be assured, my husband did good, very, very deliciously and just ducky good!"With years a richer life begins, the spirit mellows:ripe age gives tones to violins, wine and good fellows." John Townsend Trowbridge My husband, the chef! He really could do this for a living...but maybe it is all the more wonderful he does this for love. "May our love be like good wine, grow stronger as it grows older." Old English Toast "He makes grass grow for the cattle ( and ducks) and plants for man to cultivate-bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted." Psalm 104

A New Year For Me!

These are my coming home pictures as a newborn. I was premature, and came home 22 days after I was born. Here my mother and father cradle me. All 6 pounds of me, in their arms. I wish my mother and father were alive so I could hug them, say " I love you" and let them know I understand how hardship and tragedy can change a person. I would love to let them know , as a daughter, how much I appreciate the sacrifices they made for me and my sisters, and how we now understand decisions that were made for us with the best and most loving intentions. I wish we had even an inkling of the future to have been able to hold firm our parents and stay the coming chaos with the love and certainty that "this too will pass". I love my Mother and Father and thank God for having chosen them to be my parents. I wish I could go back into the past to when they were alive, and at the same time been aware of the future , so I could have at least said the most important things to them....but I cannot.

My Father and myself ( at 2 years of age)

I do remember good times, happy times! My father( a soldier , and veteran of 2 tours in Korea AND 2 tours in Vietnam ) loved to play his guitar and have us little girls sing along. He took us fishing and camping. He taught us pinochle, rummy, and also how to be honorable. To respect our elders, our country...and our parents and grandparents , BECAUSE they were our parents and grandparents. My sisters ( Joni , above ) and Karen ( below) treated me to lunch at the local Ram restaurant on the Pt. Defiance waterfront. We had a delicious lunch , made even better by the fun time we had being together. Thank-you Karen and Joni. Our baby sister Tricia lives far away on the East Coast...and she sent me a lovely gift and her well-wishes. Thank-you sisters, very much. I love you. (my sisters are holding up little rocks that say "sisters' ) So on my birthday I reflect on how blessed I am. I have a husband who loves me very much, 3 grown children , 2 with spouses who are like my own children....8 grandchildren, sisters I love very much and am still able to connect with , and enjoy. Friends who bless my life beyond measure. Abundant food, a wonderful home, and Jesus. Everything else is just frosting on the birthday cake! Happy birthday to my Mother and Father, and I love the rest of you, dearly.

From Her Heart.......SISTERS , by Audrey

~This is an old photograph of the author of the poem, with her step- mother Ida, and her sister Elaine. The poem is written by Audrey Yeager, a dear friend, to her sister.~ ~SISTERS~

If hearts had the power to grab, and tell,

And convince,

Oh,how you would believe!

If love, so deep and steadfast,

and real,

could force truth upon you,

Oh! Yes! I would force it!

Because---

You must be with me in this,

With me in life, real life,

endless, glorious real life,

Not through limited family relationships,

Not only till the aches and wrinkles

ruin us,

Not only 'Till our bloom fades, and wilts, and falls;

No! No! More! So much more!

I just want to hold you tightly

Against my dearest dream,

Pressing you into it until it becomes

Your dream too.

Oh , Jesus tell her

Help her to know

That your good news is good indeed;

That she can live an amazingly glorious eternity

Yes, certainly! Without a doubt!

I would make you believe if I could; for at some point in the

Future, when Heaven is my home,

I want to turn around and see you walking toward me, so I

Can run to greet you,

Crying out , " Dear Sister!

I knew I would meet you here!"

~"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son the whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16~

Spot on Sisters' Re-union

~The day finally arrived ! It has been many years since all my sisters and myself have been together. Three of us live here in Washington, but our baby sister flew here from New York. From left ( youngest ) to right ( oldest ), sister Tricia, sister Joni, sister Karen, myself, the OLDEST!We are at the home of my daughter A.Joy, and un-beknownst to us, my grandchildren hid plastic bugs, spiders and snakes in and amongst the car and our things. This set the scene for some exciting times on our reunion get away!

~We arrived in Ocean Shores, but before we checked into our penthouse suite, we decided to stock up on groceries for the weekend.~

~If there had been music we could have arranged a shopping cart dance in the grocery store !~

~We ate well and enjoyed the sunset on the ocean horizon.~

~The next morning sister Joni had the staff cleaning lady take our picture in our p.j.'s !~

~Tomorrow, The Rest of the Story!~

Blessings : good times with sisters, sunsets and sunrises, sisters

Brothers

~~~"There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother."~ Israel Zangwill

~~~This is a picture taken almost 20 years ago . These men are all brothers....from left to right, my Hubby's younger brother, Hubby, Hubby's Father and on the right, the brother of my Hubby's father. The 2 boys are our sons, Daniel on the left, and David, our oldest son on the right. Three generations of 2 brothers in each generation. These brothers all posed for me during a break in the hard work of building our home. The Uncle on the far right died a few years ago, and our Father still misses his older brother. My Hubby's brother lives just up the road from us with his family, and Hubby's sister and her family live next door.~~~By the way, Hubby's Father, brother and our oldest son are ALL named David. (below)

~~~This is our son David(the one holding the newspaper) in Iraq. He is shown with his fellow Marines in front of their tank. brothers in arms. "All for one and one for all, My brother and my friend,Brothers til the end." Author unknown

~~~This is our son Daniel.(below) He is a Farrier ( horse-shoe-er) and horse trainer. Daniel is the youngest brother and our youngest child . Here Daniel poses for me with a saddle pad his wife, beloved daughter-in-law, has locker-hooked for him. Daniel and his wife have opened their home with joy and excitement for our son David and his 4 daughters. As our grandchildren all say, Aunt Breezy is the coolest ! We agree. Daniel also has been a bull and bronc rider. I am glad his rodeo days are over. I had a problem watching my son break out of the pen on a bull at the rodeo....and I did not like to picture my oldest son in a tank in a war.... ~~~Our son-in-law(below, with Hubby), a brother in the Lord, a brother-in-law in the Lord, and a brother in every sense of the word except by blood. Tom is a son, and he is so much more wonderful than we could have ever anticipated we would be blessed with through marriage. Our daughter agrees. God in His wisdom and kindness gave us all Tom. Thank-you Lord for a son who is closer than a brother...and a father to our Grandchildren and husband to our daughter, one who surpasses all the very best we ever wanted for our daughter! sorry Tom for snapping picture while your mouth was full! ~~~Hubby and our oldest child, our daughter(below). Our daughter, loyal defender of all family. Daughter, wife, mother, sister to our sons and sister in the Lord. There are no words to express the love she has shown and given us, her family, and friends. Loyalty should have been her name. Not blind, senseless loyalty, but the loyalty that sees true and still loves. "The mildest,drowsiest sister has been known to turn tiger if her sibling is in trouble." Clara Ortega .This saying is soooo true, just cross her brothers and family and this kind, accepting and forgiving woman will become a tigress! Grrrr.......her brothers love her very much, and now they are taller and bigger than her. ~~~"After a little girl is grown, her little brothers-now her protectors-seem like big brothers." Astrid Alauda ~~~Another generation of brothers. Here big brother, #1 Grandson, is helping his little sister with her schoolwork. He likes to oversee his sisters and brother.

~~Brother to brother ! Brothers making each other happy! Here are #1 and #2 Grandsons !~~

~~~"Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and be of service to him. And blessed is he who loves his brother as well as when he is afar off as when he is side by his side, and who would say nothing behind his back he might not, in love, say before his face." St. Francis of Assisi ~~~"In biblical times , the word 'brother' meant first of all a sibling, but it was often extended metaphorically to cover blood relatives, fellow CLAN members, close friends, and political allies. In the Old Testament, it was also used in the sense of "fellow countrymen" to denote all Israelites. In the New Testament, Paul referred to the Christian community as brothers." Illustrated Dictionary of Bible Life and Timess