Tuna Noodle Casserole Tutorial:

Yesterday afternoon, I was hankering for tuna noodle casserole.  So, I gathered up all my materials and got to work.

First, I got the egg noodles cooking on the stove.  If you are in a hurry to eat, I would throw in the frozen peas with the noodles.  
 

(Note to self, next time you plan on doing a cooking tutorial with pictures, scrub down the burners first!)

Next, grab that can opener and scoop the large can of cream of mushroom soup into a large bowl.  If you didn't cook the peas with the noodles, toss them into the bowl next.  Open up your two large cans of tuna.  Dump in the first can, juice and all.  Drain the juice from the second can, and put that tuna into the bowl.

Slice up the fresh mushrooms and chop up half an onion.  If you are in a hurry, go ahead and saute the onion first.  Add a bit of salt and pepper and any other spices that you like.

Place bowl contents into a casserole dish.  I like to put my baking dishes on a cookie sheet, just in case they bubble over.

 Add some slices of cheese ...

 and top with seasoned croutons.

Cover with aluminum foil, shiny side next to the food, and bake for two hours at 350*.  If your peas and onions are pre-cooked,  45-60 minutes should work fine.

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.
 

Hurricane Sandy Prayer and Some Thoughts:

Oh, you guys.  We are so sorry for all that has happened to our friends on the East Coast because of that nasty, nasty storm:  Hurricane Sandy.

As the people are trying to assess the damage to their communities, I will be sending prayers until I learn what else I can do.  I have some ideas for later on, after things settle down a bit.  I know that Samaritain's Purse is asking for volunteers; the Red Cross, and other agencies can use our donations and help too.

When Katrina hit, I had the idea to make up kids blankets and kits for pre-schools and childcare centers to help them get back up and running.  Even if the kits are small, I figure that they would know that we are thinking of them.  Anybody want to help me with that one, or know if others are already doing this?

This storm is going to have effects that will last for months, which will spread far away from the East Coast.  It makes me want to go and buy a bunch of food before the prices rise even more.  Still, even for those people who were prepared for a disaster, how can you argue with a 32' wall of water, or your house catching fire in the middle of a huge flood?  Not to mention the raw sewage leaks and lack of electricity.  I guess that we can just do the best that we can, and help others with their needs.

Sending out hugs and love to all ... I don't know what else to say, except that I care.

~ Kathy M.

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.
 

  

 

Some Sunday Stuff:

Song of the Day: 

"Open Your Heart" (click here to listen)

This song was written and performed by my friend Ken Richter (my sister's boyfriend).   

 About this song, Ken said:

"Open Your Heart" represents a broad range of relationships in my life.  In my opinion, there is nothing more important than building, enjoying and learning from relationships.  Devote time to your lover, share a thought with your parent or sibling or child, hold a friend's hand.  Everyone has a story, and everyone is a potential friend. We are all headed down an old road, so don't let fear keep you from embracing and connecting with the world. Open your hearts and be free. 

Video of the Day:

And while we are at it, here is Ken's son, Boone's dance video to Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" that he posted on You Tube:

 

Thought for today:

Source:  "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Facebook Page

Blog Links of the Day:

My friend Kathy, over at Catching Happiness found this blog featuring 25 handmade Christmas gifts for under $5 at "The 36th Avenue".

Also, Elizabeth Spann Craig posted about "Getting the Hang of the Business End of Things" for writers.  It includes lots of links, and is well worth checking out when you have a few minutes. 

Cool stuff, everybody!  Hope that you all stay safe and sound during this next round of storms, earthquakes and tsunami warnings.  What a weather weekend.

~ Kathy M.
             . 

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.
 

Boswell Mineral Springs Resort:

It is Sepia Saturday time once again.  Sorry that I skipped last week, but I did get quite a bit done on some other projects.

This week, the picture of the people gathered around the creek are actually at a spa, or are on their way to one.  That one old lady is probably one of the maids, or the wife of the guy who is running the ferry, if that is indeed what they are waiting for.

In November of 2011, I posted about The Hotel McCredie, the history of a hot springs resort near Oakridge, Oregon that is no longer there.  It is one of my favorite Sepia Saturday posts, so when you are done here, please check it out if you have time.  

This post is about Boswell Mineral Springs Resort, which was located near Yoncalla and Drain, Oregon (a skip and a hop from Tin Pot Valley).  

 

I have always been fascinated by the place, which was destroyed forever in a "burn-to-learn" fire in May of 1991.  The picture below is one that I took in 1975, on an outing with my high school boyfriend, Roger.  We stopped there and dug around in the debris, and I found a pottery chip that I brought home with me.  I'm not sure if I still have that or not.  But, I still do have the picture ... and I am wishing once again that we had digital cameras back then.  I would have a taken hundred pictures of the place.  I don't think that Roger and I knew that this was a mineral springs joint, or we would have been trying to figure that part out also.  We just thought it was an old hotel.

The Yoncalla Historical Society published a book in 2001 named, "Yoncalla Yesterday".  There is a chapter in the book about Boswell Springs, and I scanned page 518 to show you what the place looked like in it's heyday:

Boswell Springs - two miles south of Drain, owned by Captain Benjamin Boswell. Post Office 1895- 1909.

Mom says that Granny Talitha Lestom Hedrick loved drinking the mineral water that came from Boswell Springs.  Nobody at her house was very interested in keeping her in good supply of it, but when her son-in-law (my grandfather) Floyd Traylor came to visit, he would always bring her several bottles of the stuff.  She would then comment, "That Floyd is such a nice man."  She is right, he was.

I have spent hours on the internet and am having a very hard time coming up with much about the resort itself, though there is a lot of information on one of the owners, Captain Benjamin D. Boswell.  He was the one who brought the ROTC to Oregon State University.  I'll make a separate post about him one day soon.

Courtesy of Lane County Historical Museum Website

 Courtesy of Lane County Historical Museum Website

 Courtesy of Lane County Historical Museum Website

Some of the highlights from the "Yoncalla Yesterday" chapter tell us the history about Boswell Mineral Springs Resort:

• Conrad Snowden was the first owner of the 320 acre plot, on May 20, 1874.  He noticed that the deer enjoyed licking the ground near his home and soon after discovered the springs.  Snowden's land adjoined Jesse Applegate's.
•  Mr. Snowden interested Dr. Daniel Payton from Salem into setting up a commercial spa on the property.  They developed the grounds and built the large three-story hotel.   The train stopped at the front door, and the stage coaches drove there too.
• There was a lake on the property that was formed by William Palmer's sawmill.  All kinds of activities were offered at the resort, including "boating, swimming, dancing, cabins, hiking, fishing and golf-putting".  Drinking the mineral water was thought to cure just about anything that ailed you.
• In 1877, Captain Benjamin D. Boswell and his wife bought the property, and changed the name.  It was a real destination point.  Even John D. Rockefeller visited, and was so impressed that he invested $10,000 of his own money into Boswell Mineral Springs Resort.
• The hotel and grounds were very beautiful.  Mrs. Boswell was an artist and quite the decorater.  There was a large swimming pool full of the spring water.  Unfortunately, the hotel burned to the ground in 1901.  The Boswells were devastated, but carried on.  They remodeled the former ballroom and guest house and kept things going until the Captain died in 1923 and his wife moved to California.
• Eventually, Mrs. Boswell sold the resort to Frank and Ernest Helliwell and Bill Harding.
• In 1932, a Eugene firm sought to sell the bottled water, but that never got off of the ground.
• 1949, Dr. Harrison Folk bought the property and turned it into a chiropractic clinic.  This lasted for around 10 years, but things became very run down.  Some had visions of making it a home for crippled children in the 60's, but the place just needed too much work.
• A Yoncalla family, the Harold Kinneys, used the building as an antique and ceramic store for awhile, and then it was abandoned.
• As mentioned above, the fire department burned it down in May of 1991.     

I did find this short article on the Benton County Museum's website. Though there was not a picture of "The Castle" attached, it must have been similar to those photos above:

BOSWELL MINERAL SPRINGS

The swiftly deteriorating old building you see here - known locally as "The Castle" - is the second grand resort hotel on this site. Conrad Snowden, who took a 320-acre claim here - joining Jesse Applegate on the south - realized the possibility of developing a spa. With a Dr. (John E.?) Payton, who eventually became sole owner, he built a 3-story hotel adjacent to the railroad and widely advertised the curative powers of the mineral springs.

In 1887, Captain Benjamin D. Boswell, USA Ret., and his wife bought the property. A native of Indiana, Boswell had risen in rank from 1st Sergeant to Major in the West Virginia Volunteers between 1861 and 1864. After the Civil War, he received a commission as a 2nd Lt. in the regular army with promotions to Brevet 1stt Lt. and Brevet Capt. "for gallant and meritorious service in the Siege of Vicksburg" and other wartime service. On June 18, 1873, the Board of Trustees of Corvallis College elected him military instructor, and for four years he was the first commandant of cadets and professor of military science at Corvallis State Agricultural College. The Army retired him in 1878.

The Boswells developed the handsome Boswell Mineral Springs Resort hotel in the 1890s with Mrs. B's paintings adorning the walls, potted palms on the wide veranda, and a well tended rose garden. They featured good food, built a swimming pool, and provided recreation for those who came "to take the cure": croquet, tennis, golf, horseback riding, hunting and fishing. The potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, and iron compounds in the water were said to provide "Nature's Own Remedy for the Relief of rheumatism, stomach disorders, kidney troubles, and blood diseases."

A disastrous fire in 1901 destroyed the original building. This one, which had been built as a dormitory and ball room was converted into a hotel and sanatorium. After the Boswells, several other owners continued to operate it off and on as late as 1950.  Source:  Benton County Museum
 
I hope that I have covered it!  If anybody out there has memories of Boswell Mineral Springs Resort, please email me at: oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy@hotmail.com and I'll add them to this post.  Remember to check out The Hotel McCredie!

~ Kathy M. 

UPDATE:  I just got an email from Chris Adams today (Jan. 23, 2015).  

Chris wrote this:  "Hello, my grandfather is Harold Kinney, the one you mentioned in your story about Boswell resort, and he was just telling me about when he lived there that people came and swam in the mineral ponds and how much wood it took to heat the place when he lived there. 

I'm wondering if you know where I can find other pictures and information on the resort.  I saw some many, many years ago in the museum but can't find much online about it.  Thanks.

Link: Map and Info

So, there you are, my friends.  If you enjoyed this story, please visit my Sepia Saturday friends by "CLICKING HERE" to find other neat photos and stories.  To read more about my family and other stories featuring old photos, memories and more, please look for this picture of me and my dad on the left-hand sidebar and read whatever else catches your fancy.  Thanks so much for visiting!

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.
 

Lunch at the Pine Tavern in Bend, Oregon

My friend Keri and I have been besties since 8th grade.  Though she lives in Sisters and I live in La Pine and we are FB friends, we haven't seen each other in person for five years.  How can that be possible?

So, we made plans to meet for lunch in Bend yesterday.  We chose to go to a wonderful "must see" spot, The Pine Tavern.  Maybe it started out as a tavern 75 years ago, but it is a full-fledged and beautiful restaurant now.

As I was waiting for Keri to arrive (I got there early), I wandered around and took some pictures.  The next few are on the patio overlooking Mirror Pond.  There are tables and chairs out here when the weather is warmer.

Back inside, there are tables and booths.  What is that ... a tree?

There are two huge pine trees growing through the ceiling in the main dining room!  I presume that is how this place got it's name in the first place.

Here is a row of large booths.  There is also a separate bar in the front as you walk in.  The place is very big:

Here is our booth.  We sat there for three hours!  (And then spent another hour in the lobby saying goodbye.)  I was so surprised at how fast time flew by.  I even got a parking ticket for staying so long.  We had so much to catch up on:

Here is the lunch menu.  I was a little disappointed that I couldn't get a hamburger.  I ended up with fish and chips (they were fine) and Keri had fish tacos (they looked a bit bare).  Everything tasted good, and the service was wonderful.  The hostess and the waitress were happy that we were having such a great time:

On our way out, the nice hostess took our picture:

Keri will always be one of my best friends, and we promised to get together again soon.  I want to go over to her ranch and take pictures of their horses soon.

It was a wonderful afternoon.

Here is a link to The Pine Tavern's website.  I kept it on the history page, and you can find out more by "Clicking Here".
  
~ Kathy M.

P.S. - I'm going to plug Keri and Ted's motel in Gold Beach, Oregon while I am thinking of it.  If you are looking for a wonderful place to spend time on the Oregon Coast, please check out this website: "Inn of the Beachcomber".

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.
 

La Pine Fire Department Gifted Pet Oxygen Masks by the Community

Yesterday, I was asked to tag along and take some pictures for my friend, Bunny Larsell.  Bunny is so cool.  You may remember her from previous posts, where I visited her at the local 4th of July fair, "Click here to see the 2010 fair pictures".

When Bunny sees something that needs to be done, she gets right to work.  This time, her project was leading the community in purchasing three sets of pet respirators, one for each of La Pine's fire stations.  Community members were given the opportunity to donate toward the cause.  Yesterday, along with City Councilmen Dan Varcoe and Stu Martinez, the Wag'n 02 Fur Life sets were presented to Chief Mike Supkis.

"Wag'N 02 Fur Life is an educational and public safety organization dedicated to providing pet oxygen masks to first responders across North America to help save animal lives following structural fires."   

Bunny's mother lost a beloved dog in a fire long ago, and she knows how heartbreaking that can be. 

First, we met at the Adminstrative Office:

Dave Disney and I got there first, and then were joined by the others:  

Chief Mike puts his coat on; it was really cold out when the wind was blowing yesterday:

We walked next door to the station.  Dan Varcoe, Cheif Mike and Stu Martinez went over the plans:

Newberry Eagle owner and photographer, Sandy Jones, talks with Dan and Stu.  Dan is also a reporter for The Newberry Eagle. :    

Chief Mike and Carol Jackman with her sweet Labradoodle, Abby, stand next to the fire engine:

Abby was such a good dog!  Stu was going to bring his dog for the demonstration, but something happened and that boy was in time-out for the day.  Abby filled in at the last minute, and she did a great job:

Bunny's friend, Martha Bauman, rounded out our little group for the photo-shoot:

Everybody began to get organized:

Bunny held up the certificate for all to see:

And then it was time to demonstrate how the oxygen masks are used:  

Everybody was very happy:

Here are some close-ups of Abby.  She loved being the star of the show, and wasn't worried about having the oxygen mask covering her nose.  Carol said that they practiced that morning with an empty 2 liter plastic pop bottle (cut in half):

We got ready to say good-bye and posed for a few more pictures.  BFF's Martha and Bunny:

Dave and Bunny ...

Bunny hopes to see that all Central Oregon fire stations will soon have their own set of pet oxygen masks.  She has some ideas on how to make that happen.  Thank you, Bunny!

To learn more about about how you can participate with Wag'n 02 Fur Life in your community, please click here to go to their blog.

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.