SISTERS
Living
Eat more flowers!
By Dani Nichols Correspondent
When most people think of lavender, they think of foot soaks and lotions, sachets and essential oils. I get it (I have a pre-teen daughter and two smelly sons). However, my favorite way to use our amazing Central Oregon lavender is in food. But you have to use culinary lavender, not the same stuff you put in a bath bomb.
I asked Tamar Melen, the events coordinator for Tumalo Lavender, how we can tell which lavender is best for culinary use, when picking from a home garden or farm. She answered that “varietals of English lavender (lavandula angustifolia) are often preferred for culinary use because of its lower camphor content which results in a sweeter, more delicate flavor better suited for our palates than other varietals.”
Visit any of our wonderful Central Oregon lavender farms for more tips, tricks and recipes. If you want to grow your own, be sure to always purchase lavender plants from local growers, as they thrive in our climate and give you wonderful flowers to use for years to come.
Lavender Sugar
This is one of my favorite ingredients to simply keep in my pantry. It’s easy to make, smells amazing, and takes any dessert or drink from sweet to spectacular. My favorite
use is as a sugar rim for a glass of champagne (particularly at brunch, ooh la la) or mixed into sun tea for a little floral kick.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
DIRECTIONS: Put ingredients into a clean, dry coffee grinder and pulse for about one minute. The result should be superfine melt-inyour-mouth sugar crystals with a floral aroma and taste. You can add more lavender if you want a stronger flavor, but make sure to pulse again to keep the consistency as universal as possible across the whole batch.
Store in an airtight container, in a dry, cool place such as your spice cabinet, or wherever you’ll remember to use it often. (Read on for a recipe using this ingredient!)
Lavender Eton Mess
I’m a good cook but not a great baker, but Eton Mess has the benefit of being the rare dessert which looks impressive without being very difficult. All it takes to pull off is a bit of technique and patience, and, in this case, lavender sugar as the secret ingredient. It’s also an easy gluten-free option for summer get-togethers, and it’s divine with fresh local berries. Best eaten with gusto.
INGREDIENTS:
5 large egg whites
1/2 cup of lavender sugar (if you’re afraid of too much lavender flavor, (heresy!) you can use regular superfine sugar and put the lavender sugar in the whipping cream and on the berries instead)
1 cup or so of fresh, clean berries, sprinkled with sugar, left to get juicy
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
A couple tablespoon of sugar (add to taste to whipped cream)
A sprinkle of culinary lavender to impress your friends
DIRECTIONS: Put the egg whites into a stand mixer or mixing bowl with an electric mixer. Beat well until peaks begin to form, and add lavender sugar in two batches, beating the whites back into stiff peaks after every addition. Fresh eggs will be harder to beat into stiff peaks, so if you have chickens, keep a few eggs back for a week or two before you make this recipe. (I didn’t include it in the ingredients list because it’s not strictly necessary: but if you want to add a pinch of cream of tartar to your egg whites, it will make them hold their whip a bit better.)
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F., and prepare a large baking sheet with parchment
paper. Dollop meringues (about the size of your fist) onto the paper, making sure there’s a little room between each one to let hot air move around them. If you have a convection setting on your oven, that will help but it’s not necessary. Bake for 90 minutes, then turn off and let cool in the closed oven (no peeking!). Once the oven is cool, pull the baking sheet out. If the meringues are hard to the touch and slide off the parchment paper without any resistance, they are done. If there is a slight pull on the bottom, it’s OK, they will still be delicious, just a little less crispy.
Beat your heavy cream in a stand mixer or mixing bowl, with the sugar and vanilla until you get the desired consistency for whipped cream. Serve a meringue on the bottom of your dish, broken into a few pieces, with berries, whipped cream and crumbled meringue on top. A few lavender flowers sprinkled on top is a worthy addition. Pair with champagne (duh) or a cup of coffee for a delightful treat.
See The Nugget next week for more lavender recipes.
Over decades of work, BANR Enterprises has built a stellar reputation across the Pacific Northwest for quality construction and excavation work in both the public and the private sector.
Now Scott Davis is bringing the know-how and skills that built that reputation home, focusing all of his work in Central Oregon and especially Sisters Country.
Davis has seen Central Oregon change and grow — and has seen how private infrastructure often struggles to keep up with the rapid pace of change. BANR can help local road and water districts maintain and improve that infrastructure, bringing decades of project experience to bear in consulting and accumulated skill and proper equipment to bear in doing work that can create considerable savings in repair and maintenance in the long term.
BANR’s work with the water distribution system at Metolius Meadows in Camp Sherman is an example of their capabilities — and of the kind of hometown work BANR is focusing on going forward.
Metolius Meadows Property Owners Association had plans for a new 113,000-gallon water tank. Additional water was needed for fire protection and typical community growth. BANR Enterprises was the general contractor and partnered with Baker Silo to complete the build. The work effort included site preparation, new waterline installation, excavation for a new 113,000-gallon water reservoir, design and build of the new concrete tank, from grade to finish, and restoration of water service. BANR got the four-month project delivered on time.
BANR Enterprises is, as Davis sees it, a “traditional, familyoriented contracting company.” BANR’s old-school values of hard work, reliability, quality, and a fair price allow for exceptional versatility and adaptability. BANR does a wide array of work: residential, commercial, and heavy
Bringing top-tier construction home
civil construction are all in their wheelhouse.
BANR specializes in on-time, responsive demolition, excavation, grading, and site preparation for projects of all sizes. They are a full-service contractor, providing all types of utilities, concrete, and hardscape work. They also offer paving, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical services to complete any job. They are also a resource for landscaping materials and rock.
Customers range from homeowners to large companies.
There is no project too small or large for BANR to take on.
They can pave a massive parking lot — or pour a neighbor’s sidewalk.
“Residential is a big part of our work,” Davis said.
On-site project managers work closely with construction teams to assure cost-efficient, high-quality solutions to the unique circumstances of each job.
BANR has years of concrete expertise, specializing in walkways and driveways.
“There’s plenty of tasks we can do, improvement wise,” Davis said. “If you want to rock your
★★★★★ “Serving as ourown general contractor, mywife and I have built or remodeled 14 homes. Never have we worked with a better excavation companythanBANREnterprises.Scottandhiscrewarehighlyskilledstraightshooterswithacan-doattitude.Theirpricingiscompetitiveandfair.Recently weaskedthemtobringandplace253-foot+bouldersintoexistinglandscaping on a hill. They scouted the site for logistical purposes and to match the coloring ofthe existing boulders.Theyarrived with 35% more material than hadbeenorderedwithoutanyadditionalcharge.Eachboulderwasplacedin anartisticmannerincludingfittingabout10togethertoformawallatthefront oftheproperty.All ofthiswasaccomplishedwithoutdamagetothe existing shrubs and irrigation. After completing the job, theythoroughly cleaned all areas where the equipment was used. BANR Enterprises is an outstanding company.”
— David Lutes
★★★★★ “BANR completed a small but complex retainingwall forus duringthewinter.Neitherrainnorsleetnorsnowkeptthemfromtheirappointed task.Everymemberofthecrewthatcameoutwasoutstanding.Andtheywere diligentworkers.Wouldrecommendthemtoanyone.”
driveway, that’s a product we can get our hands on.”
Davis is proud to be a native Oregonian. He literally grew up in the trade that would form the basis for his career.
“I grew up in the loggingroad-building business,” he said. “That’s my background.”
That logging-road-building business was a family business, and the values it instilled in him were carried forward when he decided to set out on his own in the early 1990s. That’s when he got heavily into the demanding world of civil contracting.
—TomCombs
Customer service is at the top of Davis’ list of core values, no matter whether the client is an agency, a big corporation, or a local homeowner. In fact, he believes that customer service is the basis for integrity and success in any endeavor. Responsiveness is important to every client. It boils down to one key premise: “You have got to follow through,” he said.
With that commitment firmly in mind, Davis is part of every job his company undertakes.
“I will be the guy who comes out and talks to my customers,” he said.
With all of the growth in Central Oregon, and the demands on infrastructure to keep up, Davis says that there is plenty of work to be done.
Somewhat unusually for a contractor, Davis does not hesitate to work with others — as long as their work meets his standards. He thinks of those kinds of businesses as trusted partners.
“I’m happy to share,” he said.
Thirty years of experience on virtually every conceivable kind of job has made BANR a go-to contractor that lives up to the informal company motto: “When the going gets tough, even the tough call us.”
How to plan for aging in place
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
There’s a moment many people recognize but few talk about – the point when a parent struggles with stairs, a neighbor stops driving, or a spouse needs more help than expected. By then, options narrow quickly. The smartest approach to aging in place is to plan long before any of those moments arrive.
Aging in place means remaining safely and comfortably in your own home as you grow older. For millions of Americans, it’s the preferred path. But preference alone won’t make it work. The people who do it successfully tend to think ahead across four broad areas: their home, their health, their finances, and their relationships.
“Lack of access to affordable, healthy food and cost of living increases have significantly impacted the quality of life for many Central Oregon seniors living on fixed and limited incomes,” says the Council on Aging of Central Oregon.
According to the National Institute on Aging and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention these are key steps to be taken to increase your ability to age in place:
Start with the home
Falls are among the leading causes of injury for older adults, and many happen in familiar, seemingly safe spaces. A loose rug, a poorly lit hallway, or a slippery shower floor can change everything overnight. The good news is that most hazards are fixable before they cause harm.
Walk through your home with fresh eyes. Remove clutter and any rugs that slide or curl at the edges. Add grab bars in bathrooms, improve lighting throughout, and make sure handrails are solid on every staircase. If remodeling is in your future, think about widening doorways, installing a walk-in shower, or planning for single-floor living.
Lever-style door handles and faucets are small changes that make a significant
difference for anyone with arthritis or reduced grip strength. The goal is a home that works for you in 10 or 20 years, not just today.
Protect your physical health
Independence is closely tied to physical condition. Regular exercise, particularly balance and strength training, does more to preserve mobility than almost anything else. This doesn’t require a gym membership or elaborate equipment. Consistent, moderate activity matters most.
Beyond exercise, stay current with medical checkups and vaccinations, and manage any chronic conditions actively rather than reactively. Don’t neglect vision and hearing either. Both decline gradually and affect balance, safety, and quality of life in ways that often go unrecognized until the impact is already significant.
Build your support network now
Even the most self-sufficient person will eventually need some form of help. The time to build that network is before you need it, not during a crisis.
Maintain close relationships with family, friends, and neighbors, people who know your routines and would notice if something were off. Identify in advance who could step in during an emergency. Explore what senior services exist in your community, from meal programs to transportation assistance to volunteer networks.
Transportation deserves particular attention. Losing the ability to drive is one of the most disorienting transitions older adults face, and having alternatives already in mind makes it far less isolating. Having transportation to critical medical appointments is important — and can be readily arranged through Sisters Transportation and Ride Share (STARS).
Social connection itself is a health issue. Isolation is associated with cognitive decline, depression, and worse physical outcomes across the board. Staying involved through clubs, faith communities, volunteer work, or regular contact with people you care about isn’t just pleasant. It’s protective.
Get your finances and legal affairs in order
Council on Aging of Central Oregon has a free, helpful 132-page guide that can be viewed online or downloaded by scanning the QR code or visiting their website, www.councilonaging.org.
Long-term independence is expensive. A realistic retirement budget, adequate insurance coverage, and funds set aside for home modifications and potential care needs are all essential. Long-term care costs catch many families off guard; understanding them in advance is far better than confronting them unprepared.
Equally important are legal documents: a current will, durable powers of attorney for both finances and health care, and completed advance directives. Organizing these now spares your family an enormous burden later and ensures your wishes are clearly documented.
The central lesson of aging in place is straightforward: waiting for a problem to force your hand leaves you with fewer choices. Planning early, across all these areas, leaves you with more.
Alpine Land Management
• Our mission is to reverse the mismanagement of timbered land in Sisters Country. In doing this, we have discovered on our own, proven effective applications.
• The results are a healthy forest that is resistant to catastrophic fire potential, and is ecologically diverse so that it promotes deer and elk mid and winter range habitat. We do not waste any trees that we remove. All goes into firewood, and specimen logs for milling. Slash is either burned, chipped, or hauled to recycling.
• Our latest discovery is Aspen Grove restoration. Aspens in Sisters Country can thrive in drainage draws, along riparian zones, and bottom lands. They do best with a soil medium of decaying logs such as Ponderosa pumpkin. Once restored back to health, these existing Aspen Groves retain a lot of moisture. Aspen groves not only resist fire, they are an alternative to hot burning fuels. We discovered and have become successful at ridding aspen trees of oyster shell scales. We don’t use pesticides.
• We run all our tractors and trucks on 100 percent renewable diesel.
• The end goal is to promote resilient timbered forests in Sisters Country for decades to come. Something established for our future generations to come to enjoy and carry on.
Transforming your home — inside and out
There may be no more simple and cost-effective way to transform your home’s interior and exterior than through installing new blinds, shades, shutters, and drapery. Budget Blinds of Central Oregon has a crack design team that can help you find the right product for your application — and hit your budget.
Budget Blinds of Central Oregon is family-owned and operated by Mike and Stacy Hughes. The company started out here 20 years ago with just the couple doing all the work — Stacy handling sales and Mike doing installation.
“It just seemed like every year
we grew and grew — and now we have 18 employees, and still growing,” Mike says.
That growth and success comes down to some fundamental principles: offering a wide range of products that meet customer needs and budgets, and a strong focus on customer satisfaction. For Mike and Stacy Hughes, customer service is paramount — and that is reflected in stellar customer reviews.
“We carry all the major manufacturers,” Stacy notes. “We have a blind for every budget. We really tailor to what the customer really needs, be it style, function, or budget.”
Honeycomb shades are particularly popular now, offering insulation for all seasons — keeping things warm in the winter but keeping the heat out when the summer sun beats on the windows. Rollers are also popular.
“They’re a modern, durable shade,” Stacy notes. “Lots of fabrics.”
At this time of year, customers are especially interested in awnings and solar shades that enhance the Central Oregon outdoor lifestyle.
You can now get blinds and screens repaired through the affiliated Blind Side Repairs. The repair
service is another way that Budget Blinds serves their customers.
“Pretty much every day, people would walk into our showroom with blinds they wanted not replaced but repaired,” Stacy says.
With an adjacent space opening up, and an installer eager to take on the work, “it all fell into place quite nicely,” Stacy says.
With an array of options, customers can ask Budget Blinds to come to them with samples, or they can visit the showroom. With expert advice, making the right decision is assured.
“The average consumer does want help and guidance and a professional to measure and install,” Stacy says.
With 20 years of history rooted in the Central Oregon community, and a reputation second to none, customers know that Budget Blinds will get the right product for their application at the right price — and be assured that the product and the work is backed up.
As Stacy notes, “With us, you’re guaranteed — because we’re not going anywhere.”
Volunteering for STARS is
life-changing
“STARS is life changing. Drive for us and change a passenger’s life, and your own.”
That may sound like a lofty statement, but according to both our passengers and volunteers, it is true.
We have often shared how important STARS is to our community. A ride to a non-emergency medical appointment can help someone maintain their independence when they are no longer able to drive themselves. It can reduce stress, provide reassurance, and help ensure access to needed healthcare.
What we talk about less often is the impact volunteering has on the volunteer.
Answering our rideshare line or giving a ride to a community member in need is an opportunity to make a real difference. STARS volunteers provide transportation, but many describe receiving an unexpected gift in return: a sense of purpose, meaningful connections, and the satisfaction of making a difference in someone’s life. For both passengers and volunteers, the time spent on the telephone or in the car is often much
more than a ride. It becomes a meaningful human connection.
Many of our volunteers tell us they initially signed up to help others but quickly discovered how much they gained themselves.
We live in a time when loneliness and isolation affect many people. Our screens keep us busy, but they do not always bring us together. Volunteering has the opposite effect. It creates conversation, friendship, compassion, and community. It reminds us that small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact on everyone involved.
STARS is neighbors helping neighbors stay healthy and independent, one ride at a time.
As demand for our free transportation service continues to grow, so does our need for volunteer drivers and for dispatchers to schedule rides. The good news is that volunteers choose a schedule that works for them. Whether you can drive or dispatch once a week, once a month, every ride matters.
If you are looking for a meaningful way to give back and connect with your community, visit www.starsride.org/why-volunteer.
Quality window coverings from local pros
BestVue Blinds offers commercial-grade window coverings for a wide variety of applications in new construction and retrofit projects.
The company works closely with designers, architects, and contractors to determine window covering products that prevent air and light penetration, maintain temperature, add functionality, and enhance privacy. It’s also a local, family-run company that is deeply invested in the Sisters and Central Oregon community.
BestVue Blinds has an exclusive relationship with Hunter Douglas/ Alta, giving them an excellent price point on premium quality blinds.
“We’ve had a really good experience with that company,” says Mike Hernandez, head of residential sales and service for BestVue.
But quality product is not the key thing that sets BestVue’s work apart.
“I think it really comes down to our attention to detail,” Hernandez says.
Hernandez brings extensive background in fabrication and project management to bear in the company, and he has deep
experience in commercial and residential installation.
That experience, along with a strong commitment to good communication, allows BestVue to “mitigate any issues before they become an issue,” as Hernandez puts it.
BestVue works closely with residential customers to ballpark a budget, plan the purpose of window coverings throughout your home, select the right style to meet the customer’s needs and complement interiors, offer manual and automated operation, and provide samples so you can experience the fabric and textures available.
“It’s good to know how they want to operate their blinds,” Hernandez notes.
For example, if you have new construction and want your blinds to be hard-wired for their operation, it’s good to know that early.
“If they don’t know what they want, coming into the showroom is the best way for me to help them determine what works best for them,” Hernandez says. “We want to be sure that the customer is happy at the end of the day.”
