Showing you Oregon,one post at a time. Did you know that I post the links of many of my stories and articles on the sidebar? When you have extra time, please scroll down to see more. At the bottom of this page there are links to many other blogs that I enjoy.

Protected by Copyscape Duplicate Content Check

Hello, friends, thank you so much for stopping by. I really hope that you will enjoy your visit to Oregon Gifts. Due to spam, I am not accepting comments from anonymous people. Please email me at: oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy@hotmail.com if you are unable to leave a comment on here. I write back through email when I can.

My words and photographs are copyrighted, and may not be used without permission, even on Pinterest.

~ Kathy M.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A-Z Challenge: "Z" is for Zinnia

File:Zinnia x hybrida.jpg
Source: Wikipedia

Well, here it is at last, the end post of this year's A-Z Challenge.  Thanks so much for tuning in this past month to see the pretty flowers and the beautiful drawings and poems of The Flower Fairy Alphabet by Cicely Mary Barker.





Join Us in the 2013 A-Z Challenge!

During the month of April, I am participating in the "Blogging From A-Z April 2012 Challenge", where we post everyday during the month of April (except for Sundays).  Daily posts begin with the next letter of the alphabet.  This is my third year of participating in the challenge.  "CLICK HERE" to find out more.

This year, I have chosen to do a study on poet and artist, Cicely Mary Barker.  I am featuring her book "A Flower Fairy Alphabet". Not only will you learn about pretty flowers, but I will also be giving you a few fun facts about Ms. Barker each day.



Demure and smiling teen girl with braided hair looking to her left
Source: Wikipedia's Article on Cicely Mary Barker

 

Posthumously published

  • Flower Fairies of the Winter; Blackie, 1985
  • Simon the Swan; Blackie, 1988
  • Flower Fairies of the Seasons; Bedrick/Blackie, 1988
  • A Little Book of Prayers and Hymns; Frederick Warne, 1994
  • A Flower Fairies Treasury; Frederick Warne, 1997
  • Fairyopolis; Frederick Warne, 2005
  • Wild Cherry Makes A Wish; (collaboration with Pippa Le Quesne) Frederick Warne, 2006
  • How to find Flower Fairies; Frederick Warne, 2007
  • Return to Fairyopolis; Frederick Warne, 2008

Book covers

  • A New Epiphany; Society for the Preservation of Christian Knowledge, 1919
  • 43 Annuals; Blackie, 1920s, 1930s

Religious works

  • St. Cecily's Garden; 1920
  • Cradle roll design; St. Edmund's, Pitlake, 1922
  • Banner design; St. Mary's, Sanderstead, 1923
  • The Feeding of the Five Thousand; reredos triptych, chapel at Penarth, Wales; 1929
  • The Parable of the Great Supper; triptych, St. George's chapel, Waddon
  • The Seven Sacraments; baptismal font panels, St. Andrew's, Croydon
  • St. John the Baptist; central banner panel, Abesford church, 1943
  • Lettering, sword, and shield; mount for a list of men and woman serving in the Forces, St. Andrews, Croydon, 1943
  • Baptismal rolls; St. Andrews, Croydon, 1948, 1962
  • The font in St Andrew's Church, South Croydon
  • Out of Great Tribulation; memorial chapel, Norbury Medthodist church, 1948
  • I Am Among You As He That Serveth; stained glass window design, St. Edmund's, Pitlake, 1962
  • Source:   Wikipedia Article on Cicely Mary Barker


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.
 Protected by Copyscape Duplicate Content Check

Monday, April 29, 2013

A-Z Challenge: "Y" is for Yellow Deadnettle

File:Lamium orvala3.jpg
Source: Wikipedia

Lets just pretend that these pink ones are yellow!




Join Us in the 2013 A-Z Challenge!

During the month of April, I am participating in the "Blogging From A-Z April 2012 Challenge", where we post everyday during the month of April (except for Sundays).  Daily posts begin with the next letter of the alphabet.  This is my third year of participating in the challenge.  "CLICK HERE" to find out more.

This year, I have chosen to do a study on poet and artist, Cicely Mary Barker.  I will be featuring her book "A Flower Fairy Alphabet"Not only will you learn about pretty flowers, but I will also be giving you a few fun facts about Ms. Barker each day.



Demure and smiling teen girl with braided hair looking to her left
Source: Wikipedia's Article on Cicely Mary Barker

Cards

  • Picturesque Children of the Allies; J. Salmon, 1916
  • National Mission; Society for the Presevation of Christian Knowledge, 1916
  • Shakespeare's Boy Characters; C.W. Faulkner, 1917
  • Shakespeare's Girl Characters; C.W. Faulkner, 1920
  • Seaside Holiday; J. Salmon, 1918, 1921
  • Elves and Fairies; S. Harvey, 1918
  • Guardian Angel; Society for the Presevation of Christian Knowledge, 1923
  • Christmas cards; Girls' Friendly Society, 1920s, 1930s
  • Christmas cards (US); Barton-Colton, 1920s, 1930s
  • Beautiful Bible Pictures; Blackie, 1932

Books

  • Flower Fairies of the Spring; Blackie, 1923
  • Spring Songs with Music; Blackie, 1923
  • Flower Fairies of the Summer; Blackie, 1925
  • Child Thoughts in Picture and Verse (by M.K. Westcott); Blackie, 1925
  • Flower Fairies of the Autumn; Blackie, 1926
  • Summer Songs with Music; Blackie, 1926
  • The Book of the Flower Fairies; Blackie, 1927
  • Autumn Songs with Music; Blackie, 1927
  • Old Rhymes for All Times; Blackie, 1928
  • The Children’s Book of Hymns; Blackie, 1929; rep. 1933
  • Our Darling’s First Book (written in collaboration with Dorothy Barker); Blackie, 1929
  • The Little Picture Hymn Book; Blackie, 1933
  • Rhymes New and Old; Blackie, 1933
  • A Flower Fairy Alphabet; Blackie, 1934
  • A Little Book of Old Rhymes; Blackie, 1936
  • He Leadeth Me (written in collaboration with Dorothy Barker); Blackie, 1936
  • A Little Book of Rhymes New and Old; Blackie, 1937
  • The Lord of the Rushie River; Blackie, 1938
  • Flower Fairies of the Trees; Blackie, 1940
  • When Spring Came In at the Window; Blackie, 1942
  • A Child’s Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson); Blackie, 1944
  • Flower Fairies of the Garden; Blackie, 1944
  • Groundsel and Necklaces; Blackie, 1946; reprinted as Fairy Necklaces
  • Flower Fairies of the Wayside; Blackie, 1948
  • Flower Fairies of the Flowers and Trees; Blackie, 1950
  • Lively Stories; Macmillan, 1954
  • The Flower Fairy Picture Book; Blackie, 1955
  • Lively Numbers; Macmillan, 1957
  • Lively Words; Macmillan, 1961.
  • The Sand, the Sea and the Sun; Gibson, 1970
  •  Source:   Wikipedia Article on Cicely Mary Barker


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.
 Protected by Copyscape Duplicate Content Check

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Another busy week, but things have calmed down ...

Last Sunday,  Cary and I went to lunch in Sunriver.   Oh, my gosh, I think that we have found our latest favorite spot.  The Sunriver Brewing Company has been open since last July, but we didn't even know that it was there.  The Sunriver Mall has been undergoing major reconstruction, and this was a newer addition.  It is located right next to the Country Store, and if you get the chance go in and take a look.  It is family friendly, and they even have a play area inside for the kids.

 



I ordered the crab and artichoke sandwich with sweet potato fries, and Cary had the fish and chips.  Yes, those fish pieces are huge.  The service was great too.  Here is the link to their menu:  Sunriver Brewing Company.  I also had one of their own pale ales, and it was very tasty.


Things are going well at work.  I almost have our classroom the way that I want it now; I just have a bit more work to do on it.  I have sorted through all the items that were on top of the shelves and gave what I don't need to the other classrooms.  

I am feeling so very lucky to be working where I am, and that we have such a nice school.  The school has gone through a shake-up during my short time there; many of the previous long-time teachers have quit and they took a bunch of the kids with them.  We now have a new director, who begins work on Monday, and the board of directors is working hard on increasing enrollment.

I am working full-time now, but the hours fly byI like working with the kids and also working with women again.  (I have spent the past eight years managing an office in a construction company and being surrounded by guys.)

My co-worker and new friend, Julie, brought in her big dog to share with the kids.

We were blessed with beautiful weather last week, especially on Friday.  Julie and I took the kids on a walk along the bike path at Caldera Springs Resort.  

It was nice to have a big boy there to help with the wagon.

This was all the kids that we had in the whole school during the morning.  See what I mean about having openings?  Friday is our lightest day anyway, but dang.  Oh well, we had a blast.

My new friends.

Happy people!

Julie knows a lot about the Sunriver area.  She told me some of the history as we walked along.  The old homestead cabin below is a leftover from a community called Harper.  First that I have heard of it, and I have lived down the road for twelve years.

Harper cabin near Caldera Golf Course

The kids were checking things out.  I told them that I wondered where they put the bed, table and couch.  (I'm always thinking about room design, lol.)  I told them that I doubted if they had a fridge.

After our walk, we came back and played outside.  I wanted to show you our playground, which is really like a park.  It is beautiful and it is huge.  It was designed by the little blond girl's father and our previous director.
 

The playground is divided into two sectionsThe infant/toddler section has all of the colorful Little Tykes equipment.  Because there were not any big kids at school on Friday, it was a treat to be able to use their side of the play-yard.
 

















I think that it is going to be a wonderful summer! 

Yesterday, I had to go to a two-hour training in Redmond on Child Abuse and Neglect.  I met some nice people, and learned about other centers in Central Oregon. 

While there, I peaked through the windows of the Head Start classrooms at NeighborImpact, and they looked so worn and bare and their playground was tiny and boring.

I came away with the feeling that I am where I am supposed to be, and that I am very lucky.  The people that worked so hard to make this school what it is over the years have left a legacy and a top notch facility.  It might be funky, but that is the kind of atmosphere that I enjoy.  

Quote of the week, from a 3-year-old which kind of hurt my feelings:  "You yell so loud that I can hear you from my house!"  What is so funny is that I am barely yelling anymore.  I was at first though.  Being tested by a bunch of little kids all at once is not easy.

Most memorable moment of the week (this is gross): one little guy had a huge diaper blow-out and for the first time since I have been there, I started gagging and throwing up. (Luckily there was a sink right there!)  It was pretty bad.  That made quite an impression on everybody.  He said, "Are you going to have to go home to your house because you are throwing up?"  I said, "No, after this project is complete I will be fine."  A few days later, I was changing a poopy diaper of one little girl and she said, "Are you going to start throwing up again now?"  I said, "Nope! This does not even compare!"  They are so funny, the things that they say.

This coming week, I have two more training days at the college, and should learn a lot of great stuff.  On one hand, my weekends are revolving around school, but I need all the help that I can get.

Another thing that I am going to work on is to set up a private Facebook page for the center so that the parents can upload all pictures of their kids that I am taking.

Hope that you all have a wonderful week! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me.  Leave me a comment, and I will return the visit.

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.
 Protected by Copyscape Duplicate Content Check

Saturday, April 27, 2013

A-Z Challenge: "X" is for Xerophytha:


Today, I am sorry to say that there was not an entry in the Flower Fairy Alphabet Book for the letter X.  As my friend Wendy, from over at Jollette, Etc. noted several days ago, Cicely Mary Barker did not have access to Google and Wikipedia.  But, thank goodness, I do!  

There is a flower that begins with the letter X, and it is called Xerophytha, and is also known as the Resurrection Plant.  Here is time lapse video of this pretty African plant making a comeback:


 

Join Us in the 2013 A-Z Challenge!

During the month of April, I am participating in the "Blogging From A-Z April 2012 Challenge", where we post everyday during the month of April (except for Sundays).  Daily posts begin with the next letter of the alphabet.  This is my third year of participating in the challenge.  "CLICK HERE" to find out more.

This year, I have chosen to do a study on poet and artist, Cicely Mary Barker.  I will be featuring her book "A Flower Fairy Alphabet". Not only will you learn about pretty flowers, but I will also be giving you a few fun facts about Ms. Barker each day. 



Demure and smiling teen girl with braided hair looking to her left


"In 1941, she completed oil panels on the subject of the seven sacraments for the baptismal font at St. Andrew's, South Croydon. She designed baptismal rolls for the wall behind the font in 1948 and 1962. In 1946, she completed the 4 x 7 ft. oil painting, Out of Great Tribulation, for the Memorial Chapel of Norbury Methodist Church. Following the death of her sister in 1954, Barker began designs for a stained glass memorial window depicting Christ preparing to wash the feet of his disciples. It was her last religious-themed work and installed in St. Edmund's, Pitlake, in 1962.[15]" Source: Wikipedia's Article on Cicely Mary Barker



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.
 Protected by Copyscape Duplicate Content Check

A Little Black Bra and Some Duct Tape is Sometimes All You Need:

 

Perhaps things are beginning to settle down and get back to normal around here, because I actually have a post to present for Sepia Saturday this week.  The first time in over a month. This one is actually a re-run, but I went through and cleaned it up a bit and that actually took me longer than writing a whole new post!


 

Today's prompt photo shows some old cars in the background, including a VW bus, and I couldn't resist sharing with the following story with you all:

Source:  Google Images


Back in the 1990's I was living the life of the broke.  My mother always said, if you are broke, you have hope and a chance of getting out of it someday.  She said that if you were actually living in poverty, then sorry, there isn't a lot of hope, unless a miracle happens.  Such as winning the lottery or receiving a scholarship or marrying up.  (I ended up divorcing, living off of student loans, working hard and marrying up.  Whatever it takes!)

I was on my second marriage, and I had 6 kids, as a result of yours, mine and ours.  During the course of that marriage, there were between one and three kids living with us at any given time, at first in a two bedroom house, and then later in a four bedroom farm house at a Christian Camp in Walterville, Oregon.

We always had food, electricity, and for the most part, jobs.  We also had several old cars. We needed that many, since we would never know which one was going to be working the next day when you had to go to work.  Also, they had to be old so that my husband could work on them  We had to drive a lot, so they were very necessary.  One set of kids lived an hour away. Good thing that gas was cheap back in the 90's.


 Kristin and Ollie washing the bus.

One of our old cars was a tan lowered 1968 VW mini bus with a black bra above the headlights.  More or less reliable and inexpensive to fix, it did hold everybody if they were all in town.  Neither fancy nor restored, this particular VW bus cost us around $400, because it needed work in order to make it drivable.

 Peter and Nigel helping them.


One summer afternoon I was driving down E. 13th in Eugene, past Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour.  As I turned the corner, much to my dismay, the sliding door on the van slid open and fell right off!  Pulling over, I was scared and mortified.  What if one of the kids had fallen out?  

I pulled over, and a nice man helped me get the door back on its track, and after that we never opened that sliding door again.  I put duct tape across the seam to remind everybody not to open it. My husband at the time, who never did do well with any sort of stress, yelled at me when I got home, for ruining the paint job with duct tape. What paint job?  Brother, that is an example of what I was dealing with back then.  But the duct tape stayed, and we all crawled through the front passenger door after that to reach the back seats.


 A view of the interior with my sweet little baby.

Speaking of the walk down the isle to the back seats, I will never forget when Nigel was four, and we were visiting La Pine.  He had been playing the video games at Ponderosa Pizza.  The boy was still young enough that he didn't require quarters to play; he thought that he was winning while playing the demo screen.  Nigel was going through his 4-year-old cussing phase at that time.  We were done with our pizza, and were getting back into the van.  Heading toward his car seat, Nigel sauntered down the isle, as proud and cocky as a 4-year-old can be, and said, "Man, those bideo games are F****** AWESOME!!!  I said, "Hey, you can't talk like that!"  It was funny though, even though I didn't dare laugh.

As I mentioned previously, this bus was lowered.  That meant that when you went over a speed bump, you had to turn at an angle or you bottomed out.  I am not quite sure why that option was considered cool, because it was rather impractical. The bus was also always cold in the winter, because old VW heaters never did work very well. 

Are you wondering about the black bra?  It was the only ornamental piece on this vehicle.  My ex must have found it in the markdown basket at Knehcts Auto Parts, most likely overdrawing our checking account in the process.  The bra went across the front, with openings for the headlights.  I remember being in staff meeting at the church where I was the secretary, asking in all sincerity the other staff members (who were all guys), whether or not you could run a black bra through a car wash.  They cracked up!  Then I realized how that had sounded and got so embarrassed.

That vehicle served us well for the price.  We sold it to a young kid a few years later, who never changed the title and left it abandoned.  He must have not been as handy of a mechanic as that husband of mine was.  We told the cops that it wasn't ours any longer, do what they had to with it.

Looking at the pictures of does bring back some good memories though.  We took the kids to a lot of fun places in that old thing.


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.
 Protected by Copyscape Duplicate Content Check

No Copying!


Protected by Copyscape Duplicate Content Check

I LOVE THE STATE OF OREGON.

I LOVE THE STATE OF OREGON.
Links to My Oregon Blog Posts (Except for Central Oregon):

"Oregon Bloggers"

"Sepia Saturday, Postcard and Stamp Blogs"

"Writing and Poetry Blogs":