Christmas In Emmett 2009

I drove over and I always try to enjoy the drive as much as possible. I was driving up I-5 between Eugene and Albany and spotted a huge flock of birds circling over a nearby field. I started chanting, "Do not land on the freeway, do not land on the freeway!". They landed in a long long swath into a field to enjoy a quick snack. They were Canadian geese and there must have been several thousand birds.

Also, while driving east on the Columbia gorge, the sun came out and I chased a gorgeous rainbow. I overnighted in Pendleton and crossed the Blue Mountains the next morning, it was 12 degrees at the summit but the roads were clear and dry.

My sister was worried that there might not be enough food for all the family.

Hah! I say.



Snacking table; candy, nuts, veggies, cheese and meat tray.



A pot of ham and beans, french bread, cornbread muffins and two kinds of rolls. Great for making turkey, cranberry sauce sandwiches.



Don't forget the lasagna!! You may see various beverages in some of these pictures, my nephew Justin, is in the way of becoming a brew master. He brought his Thanksgiving Porter. It is a lovely very dark beer. He said it was not well aged enough to have a head yet but it had a delightful smooth rich taste with a hint of coffee. He said that flavor came from the grains he used in the brew. Ellen and Leo harvested several gallons of honey this year and Justin asked for about 8 gallons to make a honey ale for them as well as mead. I would love to have some of that Mead!!



Turkey carcase simmering in the stock spot, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy in process and yet more lasagna!



Various salads; best recipe brought back was for "White Salad", it is in the largest red bowl. The recipe is as follows: One can shredded pineapple, one bag marshmallows, one eight ounce package creamed cheese, one pint cream. Soften the cream cheese and mix the cream into a slurry, pour over the marshmallows and pineapple. The taste is light yet rich, very nice. Can't wait to take this to the next potluck!

We also had a Surprise Birthday party for Jim. My brothers dragged him off to help load a couple pieces of furniture from Mom's apartment into the back of one of the trucks. While they were gone we made paper hats out of newspaper, practicing singing, "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog" and getting the chocolate mayonnaise cake decorated. They finally got back and we did indeed surprise him. We had also planned just to start barking because there were five schnauzers, a boxer and a cocker spaniel in the crowd.


The Memorial Service was held in Potter's Chapel on the 27th at 10 am. There was gratifying turnout of about 60 people. We were a little afraid that with the freezing weather and the season that only close family would be able to attend.

Rudy officiated. He read an autobiography that Mom had written dated 1987. She was moved to write down some of her childhood experiences after a visit with her sister, Wilma in 1986. Mom talked about growing up on a homestead near Brush, Colorado and walking to school all the while looking out for rattlesnakes and the neighbor's bulls. Most of us kids spoke, I can't remember every one's speeches but most of them were funny and got a few good laughs out of the audience. After the service was over, we took the flowers to the Calvary Church where we had pie and coffee and got in a good visit with people we had not seen in years. I want to thank all of them for coming.



We found the wreaths outside on a table at La Costa and grabbed them. Click to enlarge to see the pictures on display.



These are the flowers that I ordered, because it was the Holidays, the local flower shops were sold out, we were lucky to get these.



The brothers and sisters; Jim, Phil, Richard, Carla, Ellen, Royce and Gale. You may notice that we all wear glasses or contact lenses. That is to be able to see the many thousands of books we have read over the years. Because we were always such a book reading family, it was always a little shock to walk into a person's home, glance around and not find any books. Speaking of books, my Uncle Paul brought a trunk load of books for me to add to my collection. Getting crowded!!

My drive back was uneventful until I got near the descent in Pendleton. There was one of those large traffic signs lit up with this warning, "Meacham - Cabbage Hill. Dense fog. Visibility 500 feet". Which was a lie of HUGE proportions. The fog was IMPENETRABLE. Visibility was closer to 50 feet!! It was just twilight and that bank of fog was back lit and looked dead black, truly evil looking. I followed a semi into the gloom and immediately slowed to 25 mph and flipped on my hazard lights. You know those white lines in the middle of the road that flip by in a blur? No blur, I could only see two individual lines at a time at best and could barely make out the fog line on the right side of the road. I crept down the hill and about half way down, another semi passed and as well as several other cars, so I gradually sped up until I could see taillights. The fog lifted at the bottom of the hill and I decided that the new knuckle grips I had imprinted on the steering wheel needed time to set up so I overnighted at Best Western in Pendleton..again. The rest of the trip home was routine.