Well, here I am ... all dressed up and with make-up carefully applied (and chin tilted up to hide chin wrinkles) and all ready to attend the Oregon Independent Aggregate Assoication meeting with the MSHA people from the Western District. There were several ladies there with make-up on, but I was the only one in a dress. Mainly because I was handing out flyers on my Preparing for a MSHA Inspection website and I wanted to look professional ... like my website would be worth looking at just because I was wearing a dress. I know, I know.

There were a lot of smart, smart professional people attending that meeting wearing jeans, which just happens to be my daily wear. But, sometimes, I get tired of wearing jeans. I can't really dress up for work because it is pretty dusty and dirty where I work, so jeans it is.

The meeting happened to very interesting. Someday you may even see something about what is going on in the news or in the newspaper. But right now, I am just going to keep quiet about it. Except, for this ... when some people are told to picture others in their underwear, I choose to picture them as preschoolers. This helps, because it is easy to see that some of those guys never really outgrew that stage of life.

Oh, as far as the travel to Salem itself went, the roads were fine. We really enjoyed staying at the Mill Creek Inn Best Western...very nice place with lots of amenities. Also, it has a Denny's and a lounge across the parking lot, with great service.

Well, dang it, look at this! April 28, 2009 and it is snowing, again. In addition, we are supposed to go to Salem today because we have an important meeting at 9:00 in the morning tomorrow. I'm really glad that I have those good tires on my car!

Hi,

Yesterday I spent hours on three of my blog pages: The Daily News, Health and Well Being, and Self Reliant Living and Emergency Preparedness.

What got me going this time, you may ask? Unfortunately it was interest in the Swine Flu issue that is hitting the world, and, for once, mostly in our neck of the woods.

On the Daily News page, there are links to many news sources that are as informative as they can be at this point. On the other pages there are remedies for dealing with having the flu, and how to respond to national emergencies.

If you are interested in this stuff, this is a good place to begin your research. Just look on the sidebar for the above mentioned pages.

Take care, and don't get sick.

~ Kathy

Angie and Julie, My Baby Sisters:

Work Week at the Cabin:

My Mom, Jody, has been working on her cabin all week. She's been really busy cleaning up the yard and burning brush. Kenny and Richard shored up the porch and built new steps. Jimmy cleared a bunch of bitter brush for her. We stopped by this morning to say hi, and to see how things were coming along and took some pictures of the progress.

This little cabin is where Nigel and I lived the first 18 months of being in La Pine. We had our old dog, Raymond, and 3 cats. The cabin is 365 square feet, with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and walk-in closet. It was small, but cute. If I can find some pictures of when we were living there I'll post them sometime.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.  

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

Hey, Ethan, Happy 19th Birthday!

Love, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Cary

"Who I Am"
Jessica Andrews Song
(Lyrics Adjusted by Me)

If I live to be a hundred
and never see the seven wonders
that'll be alright 
(because I live in Central Oregon and
get to see the stars at night)
If I don't make it to the big leagues
If I never win a grammy 
(or a blogger award)
I'm gonna be just fine . . .
Cause I know exactly who I am 
(cuz that's what happens when you are 50)

Chorus:
I am Agnes and Florence's granddaughter
the spitting image of my father's sister 
(Aunt Loveta)
and when the day is done
my momma's still my biggest fan 
(along with my best friend husband)
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
but I've got friends 
(and kids and grandkids and dogs) that love me
and they know just where I stand
It's all a part of me,
and that's who I am

Verse 2:
So when I make a big mistake
when I fall flat on my face
I know I'll be alright
Should my tender heart be broken
I will cry those teardrops knowin'
I will be just fine
'cause nothin' changes who I am

Chorus:
I am Agnes and Florence's granddaughter
the spitting image of my father's sister 
(Aunt Loveta)
and when the day is done
my momma's still my biggest fan 
(along with my Cary)
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
but I've got friends 
(and kids and grandkids and dogs) that love me
and they know just where I stand
It's all a part of me,
and that's who I am

Bridge:
I'm a saint and I'm a sinner
I'm a loser I'm a winner
I am steady and unstable
I am older but I am able

Chorus:
I am Agnes and Florence's granddaughter
the spitting image of my father's sister
(Aunt Loveta)
and when the day is done
my momma's still my biggest fan 
(maybe Cary's my very biggest fan)
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
but I've got friends 
(and kids and grandkids and dogs) that love me
and they know where I stand
It's all a part of me
and that's who I am

(Repeat Chorus)

That's who I am 
(and I like who I am!)

(and I'm so happy to be surrounded by the huge
extended family that I have on both sides of my
family ... I love you guys!)

Hi!

I just wanted to let you know about some of the things that I have been working on.

On the Self-Reliant Living page, I have posted information and links about preparing for an EMP incident and featured William R. Forstchen, Ph.D. along with his suggestions. There is a link to his book: One Second After, and to his website on the sidebar of that page.

A couple of weeks ago I made a website for La Pine Redi Mix, Inc. (look for the flag on the bottom of the sidebar on this page) and a training website named Preparing for a MSHA Inspection (look for the eagle, this page). I also set up a book outline in blog form for Cary to use when he starts writing about his life. (I've decided that I love Blogger.com and that it suits my needs very well ... thanks for making it free, Blogger.com.)

Sometimes when I get busy with my other blog portions I don't do much real writing on my blog, but then you guys get lots of your pictures posted! Thanks for reading and being interested in my projects.

Dad is home from the hospital and is feeling good. Jill's wrist is healing up. I volunteered at our local soup kitchen on Thursday, and that was fun. I met some nice people that I wouldn't have otherwise met. Our friend April is coming over for dinner tonight to celebrate her birthday. Mom is coming to town on Sunday for a few days. We have a couple of association meetings to look forward to this week.

Kari's friend from high school, Kinsey, had a baby girl this week and they named her Scout Kelly. Sadly, they had to immediately fly her to Portland due to breathing problems. Please pray for Scout and Kinsey and Kinsey's husband. Praise God for giving Graycn her new heart!

Oh, I found a really good search engine this week: www.20search.com, and made a link to it on the bottom of this page for easy use.

Love ya,

Kathy

Family and Friends:

When I was sorting through my pictures this morning looking for April and Megan's birthday pictures, I ran across some favorites that were taken in the past couple of years:

Aunt Nona

Larry and Cary

Teri, Kathy and Marty

Mitch and Casey

Kathy and her
Christmas shotgun

Kathy and Nigel

Cary and his "Princess Angel" Tatoo

Kathy at Holiday Farms Cabin
Rainbow, Oregon

Cary, Larry and Fred
Las Vegas, October 2007

Jimmy Buffett Concert,
MGM Grand, October 2007

Kathy and Cary

Joanne, Fred, Kathy, Larry and Sherryl

Joanne, Cary, Kathy, Larry and Sherryl

Maria, Kathy, Rhett and Julie

Kathy, Nigel and Cary

Sammi, Larry and Darlene

Happy Birthday April!:

April, Tatum and Dixie

Happy 18th Birthday, Megan!

Graycn is getting her new heart right now at 7:13 PM - PST on Wednesday, April 15th:

7:13 PM (PST): Gracyn, the little girl in Florida that we have been praying for, is getting her heart transplant right now! She has been in the hospital since Christmas Eve awaiting a new heart. Please continue praying for her, and also for the family of the boy who donated this heart to Gracyn.

I'll post updates as soon as I learn more.


* 8:45 PM PST :

Graycn in still in surgery, they are removing her scar tissue and have her on a bypass machine. They will be putting in the new heart soon.


*11:31 PM PST: A Note from Graycn's Mom, Robin:

Thursday, April 16, 2009 2:31 AM, CDT

"Wow! Dr. Wise Eyes just came out. HE ROCKS!!! Gracyn has been brought to her room. Kris and I will go back shortly. He said she's doing great and her heart is looking wonderful. She'll be out for the next several hours and then they'll see how she comes off the meds. Ok... thank you sweet friends. More later.

Praying for strong recovery. She's a fighter!!!"

Thank you, Lord, for this miracle.


Friday, April 17, 9:07 PM EST:

"So far Gracyn is doing very well with her recovery. Dr. Bleiweis told us that the surgery went as smoothly as possible and that so far her recovery has been remarkable. He also said he has grown to expect remarkable when dealing with Gracyn. We are so blessed to have him as our surgeon. He is so skilled and knowledgeable but what we like most about him is his compassion. The entire team here at Shands is just incredible and we are thankful for the care Gracyn has received and the friends we have made. Thank you Lord for each of them.

At times it was difficult today watching Gracyn endure bandage changes, suture removal, chest tube removal, and respiratory therapy. She fought through it all and accomplished everything she was asked to do. We are so proud of her. This evening she sat up on the side of her bed for a few moments and predicted she would be walking around the unit with in a couple days. I wouldn't advise betting against her as she is one determined little girl.

Gracyn is so happy that we are now able to put potential time frames around her return home. She was growing so tired of hearing some day you will get to go home. You ought to see the smile now when we tell her you'll be home in less than 2 weeks if things keep going well.

Please pray for a speedy and thorough recovery. The greatest risks at this point are the potential for bleeding, stroke, pneumonia, infection, and of course, rejection. Please pray that God will carry her through this time without any of these or other possible complications.

Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, you alone are the one I praise. Jeremiah 7:14"

Tuesday, April 21, 2009:

"Good Evening,

I tried to write earlier tonight so you all could be praying for tomorrow.

Praise!
We’ve had a good day… Gray has been herself more so today than ever,(fewer steroids and no morphine). Praise God! She welcomed my mama’s touch and lovin’. Thank you for your prayers! She made huge strides in her breathing goals today. Her left lung was somewhat collapsed this morning (causes pneumonia), so she worked all day on her breathing exercises to open it up. We also needed to get out of bed and walk which helps clear the lungs. Of course, Gray loves a challenge so she walked 3 different times already today. We may even do another round later. She completed FOUR laps around the PI. She also sat in a chair for about 3 hours. Nurse Monica was bragging about how well Gracyn faced the challenge set before her.

Gracyn has also embraced each new medicine/pill, that finds its way into her room. She verbalizes her frustration yet takes them with ease. What a blessing.

Pray:

Tomorrow Gracyn will have a biopsy around 11am. She can’t eat at all after midnight. She will be “put out” for this procedure and probably intubated. She’ll be extubated directly after unless there are complications. This procedure will show if her heart is being rejected or NOT. Usually it’s done about 10 to 14 days post-op, but because of the size of her new heart (it is bigger than her native heart), and the whole blood pressure situation, they want to RULE OUT rejection now. If for some reason she showed signs of rejection they would treat her with big immunosuppressant drugs for about 3-5 days.

I ask you to pray for a NEGATIVE result. They may not have the results until late tomorrow evening or Thursday morning. I ask for the Lord’s will to be done. The trust I spoke of a couple days ago has not wavered. Therefore, I know the Lord will bring Gracyn through this beautifully. All of our prayers will not go unheard, however. So let us come before Him with thanksgiving for all He’s done and with a request for continued healing and no setbacks, namely rejection.

If Gracyn’s biopsy looks good, they tell me we’ll be going home on Monday. Say what??? I couldn’t believe that. Kris and I have “school” on Friday to learn about what life will be like when we leave. We are required to take a test at the conclusion of the clinic…yikes, I better get studying.

Lord, I trust You and I am not afraid. I take shelter in the refuge of Your wings…

Trusting You for a wonderful tomorrow."

April 24, 2009:

"Hello everybody its Gracyn. Today was another great day for me. I am healing really well and didnt have a lot of pain. I got to go outside today for the first time without the Berlin. We got TCBY yogurt and ate it outside on the sundeck. For a minute it almost seemed like I was at the TCBY by my house. It was great not being tied to the Berlin machine.

We did a whole lot of walking and exercise today. Sometimes it kind of hurts but I just think about going home next week and it feels much better and keeps me going. God has given me strength to get through all this and I have a little bit further to go but I know I will get through it because I have God helping me. God loves you and so do I."

Seattle is #1!

In the spirit of celebrating the positive portions of everyday life, I am so happy that the Seattle Mariners are on a winning streak. They are tied with Baltimore for first place in the American League right now, with 6 wins and 2 losses. All without Ichiro, who will not play until tonight because he has been suffering with a bleeding ulcer.

Last night was their first home game, and the Mariners now have Ken Griffey, Jr. back on the team. Yeah! I really like and agree with the tactics of the new manager, Don Wakamatsu, who is doing all he can to make sure the players have confidence, something that the Mariners have been missing for all of my 6 years of watching them play.

I am in the process of building a 40-man fantasy roster and making a webpage for it, for our grandboys and me to enjoy. In picking out my favorites, there are a lot of Mariners, Angles, Red Sox and Yankees included, but others are also choices. Johnny Damon is still my very favorite, because he's so nice, a good player and of course, hot!

With my limited knowledge of baseball, I predict that Seattle and Kansas City will be in the playoffs this year. They might not be World Series winners, but I think both of those teams will have a really good year. I don't know anything about Kansas City's history, but in building my roster I learned that they have acquired a lot of good players from other teams recently. Let's see what happens! GO MARINERS!!!!!

(There are several baseball links on my Daily News page for those who are interested.)