Blue Monday ~ Spots of Blue From Our Sunday Drive:

Yesterday, Cary and I went on a nice Sunday drive.  I kept my eyes out for blue, and this is what I found.  Some of the blues are harder to find than others ... think of it as a Where's Waldo search!

A bunch of birds were gathered together in the middle of Paulina Lake.  There is something blue on the shore:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Here is a map on a sign at Paulina Lake Campground:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This marker is on the tree for snowmobilers near the bridge at Peter Ogden Trail, near the beginning of the Newberry Crater Caldera:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

These people were enjoying the Big Deschutes River near the Donald G. McGregor Memorial Viewpoint at La Pine State Park:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is a Blue Monday post.  Please visit Smiling Sally by  "CLICKING HERE" and seeing fun blue things from around the world.  Consider joining in on the fun and posting your blue pictures too!

 

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.
 

Donald G. McGregor Memorial Viewpoint at La Pine State Park, Oregon:

After a weekend of watching/listening to football and having friends Tom and Cheryl over for dinner, Cary and I decided to get out of the house for a bit yesterday afternoon.  It was partly cloudy and sort of muggy, getting up to 62*.  We drove up to Paulina Lake and I'll do a short blog post on that part soon, as well as our stop at the beginning of The Peter Ogden Trail.

We hadn't been to La Pine State Park in a while, so after leaving the mountain we headed there.  It was so funny what we discovered inside the park not far from crossing over the bridge: The Donald G. McGregor Memorial Viewpoint.  I don't know how we missed it prior to this.  I think that the short driveway was snowed in when we drove past it before on our way to the campground.  Turning right at the sign and going down a short drive to a small parking lot, we found the most beautiful treat.  You can see where it is on the middle of the map below: 

Source: Oregon State Parks.org

After getting out of the car and walking a tiny bit, this was our discovery:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This memorial was dedicated in 1973 to Donald G. McGregor:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There is a picnic table, a hiking trail and the most incredible scenery.  That is our car in the background, where the parking area is.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Wow!

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There was a great view of Paulina Peak, the place where we had just came from:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is the Big Deschutes River.  I had to mentally track where it came from, and to my best guess it arrived here from the back of Wickiup Dam, past Haner Park and Pringle Falls, making its way under the bridge at La Pine State Park and wrapping around to this viewpoint.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Cary is taking a look at the view.  A lady and her dog came jogging by and I asked her where this trail ended up.  She said that if you stayed on to the north, it would eventually take you to Fall River.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Here is me, Grandma Kathy posing for the camera.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There are some really cool trees there too; I love the Ponderosa Pines.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

In trying to find out more about Mr. McGregor, I discovered this newspaper article about him.  It talks about the park that they named after him at Lost Creek Dam near Mt. Ashland, and mention the La Pine State Park Viewpoint near the end:

Source: Newspaper Article About Don McGeagor

So, if you ever get the chance, this is an easy and pretty sight to see.  If you enjoyed this post, I think that you will also like the one that I made about  "The Big Tree", also located in La Pine State Park.

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.
 

Book Blurb Friday #35: "Let's Go to Church"

"Let's Go to Church"

by Kathy Matthews

Anna knew that the time had come to turn her life around. 

Getting saved at the age of eleven was one of the highlights over Anna's past ten years.  A rebellious teenager after her parents' divorce, Anna hadn't been walking with the Lord for quite a while. It certainly showed.  Her marriage of six months was in shambles, and there was constant arguing in front of the baby.  

Anna talked it over with Ronny, who agreed give church a try.  They decided to visit at least ten different ones to see if they could find a church that is a good fit for their little family.  This book is the diary of their search for a church.  

A great book; parishioners and church staff alike will learn a lot from it.  How do you find the right church?  How does your church appear to newcomers?  An insightful and informative read! (150)

I am participating in Lisa's Book Blurb Friday, from over at Writing in the Buff.  Thank you to Ashley Ortiz for this beautiful photo.  

It is fun, and you can play too!  Pretend that the picture above is the cover of a book.  On the inside jacket, you have 150 words to entice the reader to buy your book.  Lisa gives us a week to think about next week's entry (she's gracious like that).  Please CLICK HERE  to read what everybody else wrote!

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.
 

Easy Chicken Enchiladas:

I had a hankering for chicken enchiladas the other night. Well, really, I had a hankering for oyster stew, but when I went to the store to buy fresh oysters, they were all gone. The meat man said that he had just thrown them away that morning because nobody had bought any for quite a while. Maybe I was lucky; you know how fickle oysters can be. Therefore, changing horses in the middle of the stream and not for the first time ever, I decided to make enchiladas instead. They turned out to look like this:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

We got this handy-dandy George Foreman broaster thingy for a wedding present a bit over 7 years ago.  I don't know if they still sell them, but this is one of my favorite kitchen appliances.  I should have washed up the outside better, but didn't think about taking pictures until it was very hot:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I sliced up four boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cooked them until they were done in a can of chicken broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, garlic powder and soy sauce:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The other things that you will need:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Pour the large can of cream of mushroom soup (Campbell's is the best) into a bowl.  Add the package of mushrooms, one bunch of green onions (sliced) and half of the can of olives.  Mix well:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

On the tortillas (this were thick ones, called gorditas), place strips of chicken, a dollop of sauce, and a few slices of cheese.  Roll it up the best you can, and place it in a baking dish that has a bit of the chicken broth from when you cooked the chicken (so the enchilada won't stick to the bottom of the dish):

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

After your pan is full of enchiladas, pour half of the large can of enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas.  You might want to ladle the sauce instead, if you don't want a big mess like I ended up with:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

You should be able to make one more pan with the above ingredients, if you add some more olives.  Cover the dishes with aluminum foil, place them on cookie sheets to keep your oven clean and bake for 45-55 minutes at 375*.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Enjoy!

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.
 

Getting Busy With Other Stuff:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Hello, My Friends,

How are you?  I hope that you are doing well, and have a busy and fun Halloween Weekend planned.  We usually don't do anything for Halloween, though Cary always has great costume ideas, just in case.   We usually don't get any trick-or-treaters  except for perhaps 3-5 great nieces and nephews if they happen to be in the neighborhood.    I buy a bowl of candy just in case, and buy the kind that we like.  No getting stuck with cheap suckers for us!

I am trying to force myself into productivity, and yesterday that did work for me.  I made 27 cookie-mixes-in-a-jar.  Yay, it is a good start.  I am trying to get a bunch of stuff ready for a craft sale in the first week of December.  


I received my laminator in the mail from my girls, and am so excited.  I have several projects in mind and will post them as I complete them.  


I may need to slow down on some of my posting until I get this new "job" incorporated into my schedule.  I feel so bad that I haven't visited all of you who have visited and commented here over the past week.  I'll be by soon to see your great work.


I guess that is most of what is up around here ... just been busy and am trying to make myself busier.


I do have a question for you though.  We no longer have a home phone, and I need a phone number for my gift business.  Do any of you use Magic Jack or Vonage or something else?  It has been suggested that I get a prepaid cell phone, since I wouldn't be using very many minutes.  I could use our work as a message phone, but I'm afraid that would throw folks off.  Any other ideas or solutions for me, you guys?

Thank you for your help!


Kathy M.

Well, that was real nice, Blogger.  Thank you for erasing the majority of my Chicken Enchilada post. Oh, that is so frustrating, to get up early and work on a post for an hour, publish it and then most of it disappears.  I give.

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.
 

Blogger is Weirding Out on Me!

Hey Peeps,

I have been busy reorganizing my sidebar so that you can find my past posts in an easier manner.  I have been working on the categories, especially making a link list called "Visit Central Oregon". 

Well, this morning, I searched my own blog for "Sunriver, OR" to get some more of my own posts for the project.  Guess what I found?  Somebody else's blog post!  She seems like a nice lady and lives in Wilsonville, Oregon.  How in the world did her post get into my blog?  I don't even know how to get rid of it.  Here is the link, maybe you will enjoy their trip to Crater Lake and The Wildlife Safari:

http://oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy.blogspot.com/search?q=Sunriver+OR

Have you guys ever had something like this happen to you?  How did you handle it?  I wrote to her and let her know that her post was on my blog as well as her own.  I think it was just a weird Blogger fluke.

Have a wonderful day.  I'll be by to visit you soon, those who have left me comments over the past few days.   Take care.

Kathy M.

Okay, I figured out how to get it off.  I had a post that I had begun but not posted, and hers must have somehow slipped into that spot.  I erased the whole post and it is gone now.  Weird.

Visit Central Oregon: Sparks Lake and Photographer Ray Atkeson

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Last month, on my drive down Cascade Lakes Highway, I stopped by the side of the road and took some pictures of Sparks Lake and Mount Bachelor. 

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There was a roadside marker at the turnout, and it spoke of Ray Atkeson, a famous photographer.  In 1987, Ray was awarded a laureate, the first photographer to ever receive this honor.  Ray seems to have loved Sparks lake as his favorite place ever.

Source:  Ray Atkeson.com

To learn more about Ray, please "CLICK HERE" for the Wikipedia article about his life, after you are done here at Oregon Gifts.  There is also a beautiful website about his work and life at "RAY ATKESON.COM".

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Please slide the bar at the bottom of your screen over to read the rest of these plaques.  Thank you!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

After Ray died, a memorial hiking trail in his name was created on the 400 acre Sparks Lake.  The hiking trail is reported to be an easy hike, and is a 2.3 mile loop.  The first half mile is wheelchair accessible.

I am sorry to say that I didn't drive down to the lake itself the day that I was there.  You need to follow the signs to the boat ramp, and it was getting late in the day and I was alone, so I just went to the first campground where Soda Creek is instead.  

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

(Please "CLICK HERE" to read more about the interesting flood of 1966 that effected Soda Creek.)

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

That is Mt. Bachelor in the background.  There are also beautiful views of South Sister and Broken Top available.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Here are some more links that will give you great pictures and info about Sparks Lake and the Ray Atkeson Memorial Hiking Trail:

http://www.rayatkeson.com/RAIA_Website/Ray_Atkeson.html

http://www.explorecentraloregon.com/sparks-lake/

http://www.mtnview-living.com/centraloregontrails/Trail30/hike30.htm

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.