The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

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... — Updated 7/13/2023

• I once had a boss who said I was just too efficient. Here's my secret: I always do the simplest tasks first. Serves me two-fold: clears my desktop more quickly and helps me feel accomplished, ready to take on the more time-consuming... — Updated 7/13/2023

• 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... — Updated 7/13/2023

• 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... — Updated 2/14/2023

• “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 m... — Updated 8/9/2022

- 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 t... — Updated 3/22/2022

•?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... — Updated 11/3/2021

• 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... — Updated 6/22/2021

• 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... — Updated 9/16/2020

• 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... — Updated 4/14/2020

•?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... — Updated 2/12/2020

•?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... — Updated 9/18/2019

•?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... — Updated 5/14/2019

• 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,... — Updated 12/24/2018

• 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... — Updated 9/18/2018

• 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.... — Updated 6/12/2018

• 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 ca... — Updated 8/8/2017

• 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... — Updated 5/9/2017

* 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... — Updated 12/7/2016

• 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,... — Updated 3/29/2016

• 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... — Updated 12/1/2015

• 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... — Updated 5/13/2014