B6 THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2022
COFFEE BREAK
Angry, abusive stepmother is impossible to deal with
his surgery and got nasty with me on
the phone when I told her she couldn’t
come in with Dad because the hospi-
tal allowed only two visitors at a time.
Now she won’t speak to me or answer
emails.
This isn’t the first time she has done
this. She always looks for the worst and
gives no grace. You can’t discuss any-
thing with her because she gaslights
and takes no responsibility. This affects
my husband’s relationship with his el-
derly father, whom she poisons with
her vitriol, especially regarding his
children by his first wife. She does this
with the entire family. She even sends
nasty emails to her own children. I’m
exhausted from all her drama. What
DEAR ABBY: I’m having a problem
with my husband’s judgmental and
narcissistic stepmom. She wasn’t nice
to him or his siblings while they were
growing up. My hubby recently had
a heart attack. After I called to tell his
dad and emailed his siblings, she got
very upset with me because I didn’t
give her the details first so she could
disseminate the information. She also
demanded to visit immediately after
do I do? — EXHAUSTED IN KENTUCKY
DEAR EXHAUSTED: Don’t you think
it’s time to disengage with this unpleas-
ant, controlling woman? If she won’t
speak with you or answer your emails,
thank your higher power and concen-
trate on the rest of the family. If they’re
experiencing the same treatment you
are, they, too, may be glad to focus on
relationships they find rewarding and
let her continue to isolate herself.
You cannot fix what’s wrong with
her, and it may be too late to help your
father-in-law, who has tolerated this
for years. If another relative can give
him important information about
your husband, let that person get the
message to him if you can’t get past his
nightmare of a wife.
DEAR ABBY: I have been seeing a man
I’ll call “Ken” for six months. We are both
widowed. It has been two years for him
and three for me. My husband was my
childhood sweetheart, and I cherished
the ground he walked on. We treated
each other like royalty. Ken is a wonder-
ful man who treats me like a queen.
Neither of us wants to live together. I
never ask him for anything, but he buys
gifts for me and surprises me with them.
I love his taste. The problem is, he’s fall-
ing for me faster than I am for him. He
has told me he loves me, but I just can’t
say it back. I don’t know what’s keep-
ing me from doing it. Maybe I’m still
mourning my husband. What is wrong
with me? — PERPLEXED IN THE SOUTH
DEAR PERPLEXED: Nothing is
“wrong” with you. Yes, you may still
be mourning the loss of your husband
and the life you had together. In fact, it
may continue to some degree for the
rest of your life. Ken sounds like a won-
derful man, but after only six months,
you two are still getting to know each
other. “I love you” implies a commit-
ment you aren’t ready to make. Stop
second-guessing yourself and let this re-
lationship play out in its own time.
█
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also
known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by
her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby
at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los
Angeles, CA 90069.
Recalling memories that cling, both sweet and sad
saw myself reclining on my
home’s porch from the rocking
bench my husband had built
so many years ago, too. From
there I now watched nature
go by.
Sally, our cat, had stretched
out on the narrow sill of the
barn window high above the
ground and I wondered how
she got there. I had to picture
her placing her paws carefully,
stepping one pace at a time
from rafter to rafter, climb-
ing higher until her goal was
sought and reached for sun-
bathing, but I had no desire to
join her there. Kris, our white
Samoyed dog, smiled up at me
and then slept at my feet.
The pear in my hands drew
DOROTHY
FLESHMAN
DORY’S DIARY
T
he weather is changing.
There is snow on Mount
Emily, my personal
gauge.
But, it was a warm October
day full of sunshine as I wrote
from my easy chair by the
window. My mind was drawn
to the hill beyond where once
I lived.
The earth was warm al-
though the ground showed
light-brown invading the
grasses that struggled to sur-
vive along the roadway be-
tween the hill of my house and
the barn.
My mind strolled the up-
ward incline of that inner road
toward where the fruit trees
grew in order that I might pick
a ripe pear from one tree, a
prune from another, and yet
a third from the winter ap-
ple tree once planted so many
years ago by my family.
There was no wind to rus-
tle the branches of the bushes
or sway the tops of the over
100-year-old pine trees as I
my mouth to it and the juice
giving way to pressure filled
my mouth with remembrance
of its planting and tending to
deliver such fruit. Along with
it came the thought of gath-
ering such pears, prunes, and
apples for later enjoyment af-
ter hours of plucking, canning,
and later serving when snow
would cover the earth and
leaves buried to warm their
snowy cover towards spring-
time and all to begin over
again.
The prune tasted different
against the sweetness of the
pear as I nibbled at its good-
ness and pictured the like
clusters in jars on the shelf, all
for later enjoyment as we had
done the early cherries.
But, it was the apple that
drew me to it, finally, as the
mainstay. In the cellar it could
last until spring, eaten fresh
and crisp. Made into sauce, it
showed its versatility, and, yet,
it had others as well from jam
to pie filling to candied apples
or squeezed into cider, remem-
bered as recently consumed
with doughnuts at Halloween.
The joy of remembrance in
making the cider with family
and friends gathered around
twinged my heartbeat for a
moment and my vision dis-
appeared, knowing I would
never pass this way again.
No one wanders my hill
with me today. Does anyone
visit the trees for their good-
ness? Sally disappeared from
the high-up barn window
from drowsing in the sun-
shine and I find myself in the
same easy chair by a foreign
window and know that life
travels on with a changing
scene, never to repeat itself.
Even Kris of the past is no
longer here to smile at me and
keep me company.
Cats of various colors are
now daring to cross the street
against the fast traffic dangers
1106 Adams Avenue
La Grande, Oregon 97850
(541) 663-9010
541-786-8463
M. Curtiss PN-7077A CCB# 183649
HOURS:
Wed - Sat 11-9
Sunday 11-7
ttgrowlers@gmail.com
tapthatgrowlers.net
Serving Union and Baker Counties
A C ERTIFIED M ASTER A RBORIST
* CRAFT BEER * HARD CIDER * ROOT BEER * COKE PRODUCTS * KOMUBUCHA *
weather
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
38/49
Kennewick
40/47
St. Helens
38/49
40/49
38/51
42/50
38/48
Condon
WED
THU
A morning
shower
Cold with
clouds and sun
24 39 18
La Grande
0
Comfort Index™
0
Eugene
0
0
0
41/48
40 27
43 37
47 27
1
0
0
44 20
1
1
0
0
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Sunday
Low Sunday
High: 92°
Low: 4°
Wettest: 2.81”
55°
20°
59°
28°
57°
28°
0.00
0.33
0.60
5.71
7.46
0.00
1.30
1.51
10.93
13.51
0.00
1.84
2.06
20.35
18.93
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Sunday
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Normal year to date
Elkton
Powers
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION WEDNESDAY
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
50%
S at 4 to 8 mph
0.0
0.04
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Monday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
1% of capacity
24% of capacity
8% of capacity
32% of capacity
6% of capacity
1% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Sunday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
Burnt River near Unity
Umatilla River near Gibbon
Minam River at Minam
Powder River near Richland
TUE.
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
WED.
7:31 a.m. 7:33 a.m.
5:40 p.m. 5:38 p.m.
3:05 p.m. 3:33 p.m.
none 12:35 a.m.
MOON PHASES
719 cfs
3 cfs
13 cfs
51 cfs
72 cfs
9 cfs
Full
Nov 8
Last
New
Nov 16
Nov 23
Beaver Marsh
Grants Pass
First
Nov 30
Burns
Juntura
27/43
Jordan Valley
30/40
Paisley
22/36
Frenchglen
Diamond
27/40
Klamath Falls
26/37
Lakeview
23/35
McDermitt
Hi/Lo/W
49/35/pc
40/17/c
45/26/sh
50/38/sh
39/17/pc
53/39/sh
49/33/sh
40/20/pc
42/28/c
48/35/sh
52/31/pc
49/35/pc
46/28/sh
38/21/c
37/23/c
53/30/pc
37/12/c
35/14/c
Hi/Lo/W
52/48/c
40/25/pc
45/27/pc
54/45/pc
40/18/c
54/45/c
50/42/c
39/19/c
41/29/c
52/40/c
50/37/pc
50/41/c
43/28/c
39/20/pc
36/23/pc
49/40/pc
39/18/pc
33/16/pc
27/43
RECREATION FORECAST WEDNESDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Astoria
Bend
Boise
Brookings
Burns
Coos Bay
Corvallis
Council
Elgin
Eugene
Hermiston
Hood River
Imnaha
John Day
Joseph
Kennewick
Klamath Falls
Lakeview
36/48
30/43
Fields
Shown is Wednesday’s weather. Temperatures are Tuesday night’s lows and Wednesday’s highs.
THU.
Grand View
Arock
26/40
28/40
39/48
WED.
Boise
37/45
Silver Lake
25/37
Medford
Brookings
Ontario
35/50
22/39
40/49
42/50
Huntington
31/47
23/37
Chiloquin
Medford
Burns
Astoria
SUN & MOON
23/39
41/50
42/52
OREGON
On Nov. 1, 1861, a hurricane battered the
Union fl eet as it tried to attack ports in
the Carolinas. On Nov. 1, 1946, a tropical
storm drenched Naples, Fla., with almost 8
inches of rain.
Brothers
23/35
Roseburg
31/40
21/38
27/40
Oakridge
43/53
WEATHER HISTORY
25/38
Seneca
38/46
Coos Bay
Death Valley, Calif.
Gothic, Colo.
Quillayute, Wash.
High: 67°
Low: 18°
Wettest: 0.11”
27/42
Council
24/39
John Day
Bend
SUNDAY EXTREMES
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
22/36
26/42
Florence
Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels
very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable.
ALMANAC
Sisters
42/51
41 36
28/42
Baker City
Redmond
40/49
42/51
Halfway
Granite
39/49
Newport
44 28
36 24
30/45
37/44
41/51
Corvallis
40 31
1
25 37 25
SAT
Enterprise
25/37
27/41
Monument
34/47
Idanha
Salem
40 21
0
27 41 26
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
0
FRI
Rain and drizzle; Cloudy, showers
chilly
around
Elgin
28/42
La Grande
32/43
Maupin
Colder; an
evening shower
37/49
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
Lewiston
37/47
Hood River
34/47
TIllamook
TONIGHT
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Walla Walla
38/53
Vancouver
38/48
39/49
Comfort Index™
Dorothy Swart Fleshman is the author
of Dory’s Diary occasionally published
in The Observer and Baker City
Herald. She is a resident of La Grande.
█
*PIZZA * WINGS * SANDWICHES * SALADS * PASTAS * BREW BITES *
M ICHAEL
| Go to AccuWeather.com
Baker City
of the city. Only speeding cars
and trucks pass my window
now, the cats in the yard being
feral and untouchable, and the
scene clouds with my tears.
The weather is changing
from fall to winter and so will
my view of things, but mem-
ory still tries to cling.
The clock my husband
made ticks on, my stomach
chiming noon.
Where is my lunch? Who’s
to answer?
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
WED.
THU.
Hi/Lo/W
47/32/sh
47/38/pc
39/22/c
48/32/sh
49/39/sh
48/34/pc
50/29/c
53/29/pc
47/31/c
50/40/pc
52/36/sh
42/18/c
50/36/sh
51/35/c
43/27/c
51/33/pc
38/21/c
49/35/c
Hi/Lo/W
45/36/c
48/45/c
38/24/pc
49/34/pc
51/47/c
49/43/c
50/26/c
51/39/pc
46/36/pc
50/44/c
54/43/pc
41/27/c
52/41/c
50/42/c
41/33/pc
52/41/c
36/24/c
49/40/pc
ANTHONY LAKES
PHILLIPS LAKE
A snow shower
A shower; cold
25
11
38
18
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
A bit of a.m. snow
Cold with a shower
33
23
42
23
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
A snow shower
A morning shower
27
9
37
19
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Cloudy, a shower
A stray shower
37
23
46
30
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
A shower; cold
A morning shower
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice
39
18
41
26
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1520 ADAMS AVENUE
La GRANDE, OREGON 97850