News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
• I can’t sing a lick, but when the Gary Gruner “Made in America” song comes on with their TV ad, I sing every word about as loud as I can. That ad looks, feels, and sounds so Central Oregon. Thank you, Gary Gruner. • When Hazel called the other morning and asked if I’d like to make a Costco run, I jumped at the chance to ride along. I gulped down my breakfast, threw on some clothes and quickly did what I could with my hair, including spraying it with Endust, which was sitting right next to the can of Suave Max Hold. • Sec... Full story
• The first time I fell into the cyberworld abyss was when I was planning a horse camping trip with a couple of horsewomen, long years ago. While we were going over our to-do lists, Carol offered to check “Craig’s list,” to which I asked indignantly, “WHO IS CRAIG?” • Talking falling, while packing hay out to Riddle the other morning, I went arse over teakettle and landed in a huge puddle of water the color of three-day-old coffee. It was really quite comical and luckily I’ve gone off enough horses in my lifetime to automat... Full story
I just don’t get those self-driving cars. I, myself, love to drive and can’t imagine the fun of sitting in the driver’s seat with “somebody” else making the decisions, and steering, and pedaling. Talking cars, one thing I like about old cars is that they have wing windows. When Jack and Reese were little kids, we were coming back from getting ice cream in Sisters and I asked one of them to crack the wing window. They thought that was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. Come to find out I actually do have standards w... Full story
Retirement is a big deal. Having recently left the workplace after 44 years, I can't tell you how much fun it is to be back out on the playground. "You must always remember to skip," my mom said. The energy, warmth, and even the peace that abounds out here is like no other. I highly recommend it ... when the time is just right, of course. Talk about timing, that's another thing that is great about being retired. I get to see so much more of this way cool way in which God shows his grace and mercy in my life. After retiring,... Full story
• I found the absolute perfect place to board Bingo, when needed. Not only is she safe, she has a pen and access to the “bitch barn.” She has a view of all that goes on on a farm with a big family with lots and lots of critters, way cool old machinery, and any number of outbuildings. Just like it used to be. • It feels like a lot of things that used to be shiny are turning into yard art right before my eyes. Vernon’s old 1968 shoein’ truck has even begun to sink into the ground, and when I pulled my 36 year old stock trail... Full story
• The first things I dropped when we moved to Central Oregon were Gs. My mom was an English major at the University of Oregon, and she let me know how disappointed she was by my lack of proper pronunciation. Somehow, though, I felt the cadence of droppin’ Gs fit better in Central Oregon. The other thing my mom couldn’t abide was living on an unpaved country road. “I would never live on a road like this,” said she. Her loss. A while back, I had a reunion of sorts; pizza with many of my old friends at Transfi... Full story
• “There was a time” is my new mantra. It sounds kind of sad, but it’s not at all sad. It means I’m looking back and I’m truly glad that I can say, “There was a time.” There was a time when I could do most anything I set my mind to, including roping, packing, driving, and penning on my horse, Irish. We even drove Santa Claus in a couple of the Sisters Christmas parades. Those were the days. • I looked into lawn mowers a little while back. I even looked into a new push mower, now called a reel mower. I thought a push... Full story
- The first phone call I received on January 1, 2022 was at 6 a.m. from ADT, announcing that my ADT receiving unit was getting too cold. The unit was in a bedroom, which I close off in the winter. It was only 40 degrees in there, certainly too cold for an ADT unit. - Make no mistake about it, Maggie Bull is the original Bull in Sisters; I am “the other Bull,” not Maggie. When Vernon and I moved here in 1986 we joined the Sisters Rodeo Association and Bill and Maggie Bull were two of our favorite people. Years later, when Bill... Full story
•?One of my fondest memories was moving to Portland in the mid-1950s. We were driving north over the Golden Gate Bridge and daddy had the World Series on real loud on the radio: Dodgers 4, Yankees 3. Everything seemed possible to me in that moment. •?I’m guessing there isn’t a one of us who hasn’t run into themselves over these past many months. I know I have. I lucked out because I’m basically a hermit anyway, but I did not escape unscathed. I’m pretty sure I was getting weirder and weirder some of those months, a... Full story
• Every morning I treat myself to two pages of Charlie Mackesy’s “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.” So simple. So true. • Having spent all of her five years in a cage, my rescue dog, Bingo, has a definite opinion about her bedding now that she has bedding. Even if I add a new blanket to her digs, she pulls it out and drags it away, making sure she gets down to the plaid flannel sheets off the downstairs bedroom bed. • It appears the fence du jour around here is “clean fill dirt wanted.” The berms for... Full story
• I got lost in Sisters the other day, after living here for over 34 years. When I needed to return from where I’d just come, my plan was to hang a U-turn on Brooks Camp Road, knowing it was a dead end. Not only is Brooks Camp Road now a through street, I was met by huge apartment buildings and houses on both sides of the street. McDonald’s Golden Arches ahead was the only thing I recognized. • It’s beginning to feel a lot like fall in Cloverdale. The acrid smell of hemp fields and the smoke from wildfires perme... Full story
• Once the weather warmed up, I cut the elastic waistband off my long johns and sewed it — by hand — to a favorite wild rag, creating a less-than-perfect face mask. • Since the only thermometer I own is a horse thermometer, I decided to rely on my sense of smell out at the barn as an indicator of whether I might have COVID-19. For me, there is just nothing like the smell of horses, goats and newly re-stacked hay to monitor how I’m holding up. • I’m down to one horse and one goat out at the bar... Full story
•?Fords have always been known for their excellent heaters, and my old Bronco and Ranger are no exception. However, good as their heaters are, they don’t even begin to compete with my friends’ cars which all have seat-warmers. There is just nothing to compare to being warmed from the bottom up. •?I’ve read that as one ages, it is important to engage one’s mind by doing puzzles, painting, learning new things, even learning a new language. I have chosen to teach myself how to write with my right hand. Though it is still barely... Full story
•?The sheriff paid me a visit one evening a while back — long, bizarre story. When he knocked on the door I jumped up, threw the latch, and hollered, “I just locked the door. Are you legit?” Even before he could answer I espied his cruiser and instantly knew he was the real deal. •?I’m getting ready to ride again — on the same horse I stopped riding years ago. Having ridden for over 60 years, riding is my go-to place in life, and recently spending time with best friends and great horses in Calif... Full story
•?The late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Russell Baker wrote, “The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.” To that end, while I was waiting for a train in Germany long years ago, an American acting badly asked me if I spoke English, to which I replied, “Nein” all the while with an English edition of Time Magazine opened in my lap. •?During this same pilgrimage across the pond, The Eagles had a popular song whose line, “Every form of refuge has its price,” spoke direc... Full story
• The other day I got pulled over in Bend for rolling through a four-way stop. Though I didn't literally feel threatened, having read about so many people's movements within their car being misinterpreted by officers of the law, without any conscious thought on my part, I made sure it was OK with the officer to reach for my license, registration, and insurance card. Until that moment, I had no idea what it meant to feel the need to protect my own life. • This fall my 94-year-old, drum... Full story
• Part of my annual check-up this year included an abbreviated memory test: Remember three words for half an hour. Failed. Draw a clock and set the time at 11:10 ... channeled Vernon and passed. After all was said and done, the PA asked me if I had any questions, to which I replied, "Yes. You said I passed the memory test and yet I couldn't remember all three words." "Yes, but your clock was out of this world!" she replied. • It's not as quiet out here in Cloverdale as it once was, of course. But... Full story
• At age 75 I feel like I've finally come into my own: My go-to place is wherever I'm at. My kitchen window perfectly frames my lawn ... just enough lawn for me and my 32-year-old mower. I am one of the laziest people I know. Luckily I have enough OCD in me to get everything done that needs doing, including trying to be better about letting my old Bronco warm up. I know I, myself, need more of said warming up. • Travel guru Rick Steves came to Bend the summer of 2014 to support legalizing recreational... Full story
• Vernon - of whom I often write - was a gentleman, a scholar and an artist. Best of all he was a master farrier. When I look out to my barn I see his turn-of-the-century Hay Budden anvil sitting on the stump right where he last used it. Since his death in 2012, a number of shoers have asked if I ever plan to let his anvil go, to which I reply, "Lee Christensen has dibs on it when I croak." Until then, often times when I walk past it, I pick up the hammer and let... Full story
• When I offered to help out the Anglea family - a clan of foodies - I was asked to provide dinner upon their arrival home from a cross-country U-Haul trip. For me, that about ended life as I knew it. After a sleepless night, I came up with a game plan, which included two of my favorite people contributing a smoked pork roast and a batch of the best homemade cookies in the world. I felt sure I could handle the side dishes and wine, and I wouldn't even need to take my printer out of the oven. • I Googled... Full story
• I rewrote my obituary awhile back when I realized I know a lot more about my life than I did 10 years ago when Vernon and I first wrote our obituaries. Firstly, Vernon has died. That changed everything. Secondly, I wouldn't have yet discovered "The Big Bang Theory" or "Little Big Shots." And thirdly, I now know what it feels like to be 74 years old. • Someone once asked me how Vernon and I settled our spats. Most times we saddled our horses in silence, rode out the front gate, and let the connection... Full story
* The other night I walked down to get the mail in the dark. At least twice a day for 30 years I've walked down to get said mail and paper, sometimes in the dark. It never fails: walking in the dark is always a gift filled with night smells and sounds, welcoming light from the neighbor's window a ways off, and a bazillion stars. It is never scary. * I have an antique carriage that has covered a lot of ground in the last 35 years, including all the Central Oregon parades and giving more than one Santa Claus a ride in the... Full story
• This past winter I noticed being half-spooked about getting older. I mostly always think I'm good to go but somehow in January it all felt kind of worrisome. Maybe it was simply the frozen water-pipe out at the barn. Some days, only knowing one or two things for sure is enough: tomorrow, today will be yesterday, and the pipe will still be frozen. • Determined to stay the course, I have recently begun taking piano lessons. I especially like practicing, though I suspect my dog, Pepper, is quite tired of... Full story
• I can always tell how cold it is in the morning by my horses' tails. If their tails are tucked against their rumps it means it's below 5 degrees. When I went out to feed the day after Thanksgiving it was 6 below zero. Riddle and Riley's tails were slammed accordingly. That evening, after they sunbathed all day long, I saw them walking to the barn, tails held well away from their fat, fuzzy rumps. • Lately I've had a number of opportunities to be part of other people's day-to-day family lives. I was... Full story
• I recently read where one should be able to rise from a cross-legged sitting position, WITHOUT using your arms or knees. That ship has sailed for me. I use my arms and knees just to roll over so I CAN get up. • Much is being written of late about being a woman, a leader, and bossy. When my mom was "running" for the leadership position of her church's Altar Guild, some of what she said was, "If you like me I'm a leader, if you don't, I'm bossy." In my life, I, too, have found this to be true.... Full story
