Sunriver Sunrise:

On the way to work on Thursday morning, I was greeted with this amazing sunrise.  I pulled the car over and took a few pictures.  The one below is unmodified, straight from the camera (except for my signature and the boarder, of course):

In this one, I added more shadowing make the photo more dramatic:

And, on this one, I chose the "I'm Feeling Lucky" option on Picasa.  It didn't really have all of this blue in it, but it sure looks pretty:

Which one is your favorite?

It seems like I haven't been on my blog very often these days, if you compare to how often that I was posting before I began working in March.  I have book reviews to post, little stories to write and more pictures to put up, but I just can't seem to muster up the effort.  I seems that I used to squeeze more into a day than I do now, though I realize that teaching preschool from 7:00 to 4:00 does use up a lot of energy and takes up a lot of time.

By the time I get home I just want to relax on the couch and read my book, watch some t.v. catch up with my sweetie, and maybe make some phone calls.  I am depending upon FB more and more for keeping in touch online, and am not getting around to visit my blogging friends very often.  I regret that part, and try to do that on the weekends when I have a chance.

Work is a great creative outlet for me, though.  For those who don't know, I began teaching preschool at Spring Break.  It had been eight years since I had worked in this field, and the transition was not an easy one for me.  On top of that, our center was going through a lot of transition itself, though I am happy to report that things have now settled down.  I enjoy my job and am ready to keep progressing into becoming a better teacher.

I have begun preparing for the 2013-2014 school year, and am organizing a curriculum notebook and the children's portfolios.  Hopefully I will someday be writing a book on teaching the 2's and 3's.  I also want to get back into working on my Early Oregon stuff too.  There is so much that I want to do, but for right now I guess that what I am getting done is enough.

I would like to sit back and feel fine about relaxing at the end of the day.  If only this slogan wasn't my motto: "Good, better, best, never let it rest, until the good is better and the better's best!"  I always feel like I need to accomplish more than I ever do.

Well, thanks for listening.  Leave me a comment, and I'll be by to visit you soon.  Oh, here is a picture of our great-nephew, James.  I watched him a couple of Sunday's ago, and he is such a delight:

Hugs,

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.
 

Before and After: The Johnson Children of Summers, Arkansas

Good Morning!

I have posted the picture below before, of my Grandpa Delmar, his sister Mabel, and brothers George (Joe) and Carl (Kit).  It was taken in Summer's Arkansas around 1912.  Baby sister Chloe wasn't born yet.





Yesterday, my cousin Carolyn (Aunt Chloe's daughter), posted this picture on my FB page.  Grandma Sallie died in 1962.  She looks very frail here:

This picture of Grandpa makes me happy, but also sad because I miss him very much.  This is what he looked like when I was born, and he died in 1982 of lung cancer.

This picture is how I mostly remember my Grandpa Johnson.

Hope you are all well and are enjoying the last part of your summer.

~ 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.
 

Casey Comes to Work and "The Three Little Pigs"

Last week, our grandsons Casey and Garrett came to visit us.  Casey (from Eugene) came to work with me at the pre-school, and Garrett (from Washington) went to work with Cary at La Pine Redi-Mix.  They were both great workers, and it was fun to spend so much time with them.

Last Friday, the big kids put on a play of The Three Little Pigs for us.  They worked hard on the props and practicing, and the event was a lot of fun.

The Three Little Pigs:

The Big Bad Wolf

The Three Little Pigs

Ms. Lauren, the director, producer and narrator.

The houses made of straw, sticks and bricks.

The Wolf says:  "Little Pig, Little Pig, let me come in!"   The Pig replies, "Not by the hair of my chinny, chin-chin!"

"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"

The brick house turned out to be more of a challenge than the other two houses were.

So, the Wolf climbs up onto the roof to go down the chimney, only to be met with a pot of boiling water.  That was the end of the wolf!  The pigs won.

"The Baby" was delighted by the whole play.  (He's not really a baby anymore, but he is the closest thing that we have.)

They did the play a second time so that Ms. Julie could watch it too.

A grand time was had by all:

After the play was over, we put our shoes on and went on a long walk:

It's not a bad gig.

Thanks for your help, Casey!  We all missed you this week.

~ 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.
 

Breakfast on the Patio at Takoda's with Kari and Casey:

Last Saturday, Cary and I drove Casey over to Rainbow, Oregon in order to give Casey back to his pretty mama, my daughter Kari.  We met for breakfast at Takoda's Restaurant, and ate outside on their lovely patio.

Casey missed his Mom, but he had a great time with us and his cousin Garrett.  He went to work with me each day at the preschool, and was a huge help.

 Takoda's is so pretty.

They even have a koi pond.

My coffee just seemed extra special.

The breakfast was great.

Glad that we only live a couple of hours away from these guys.

A nice lady took our family picture for us.

So, that was one part of our busy Saturday.  After we said goodbye to Kari and Casey, we went on a drive.  The first place that we visited was the nearby Delta Campground, which is featured in the post below.

Hope that you guys are having a great week!

~  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.