What We Have Been Up To:

Hello.  Sorry that I have been away from here for so long.  Things have been pretty busy around here.  Ken's service was sad but wonderful, with around 400 people present and another 250 watching it online.  My sister Julie and her friends were remarkable.  

I printed out 413 photos through Costco and made three albums, one each for Julie and for Boon and Kaz, (Ken's boys.)  Sometimes, hard-copies are just better than the computer. 

A couple of days before we left to go to Brownsville for the service, Cary and I bought ourselves our Christmas present, a nice electric fireplace from Costco.  (I spotted it when I was picking up the pictures.)  We had been wanting one for a long time, and have enjoyed the ones in the 5th wheel, so we bit the bullet and went for it.  We are really enjoying it, but it trips the breaker, so we will need to plug it in on the other side of the room once we get a good extension cord.

All of us, including Dana and Johnny, 

like the fireplace very much.

One thing led to another to make room for it, and I have ended up doing a lot of cleaning and organizing lately.  The window ledge needs work, but I am letting that go until I start in on decorating for Christmas.

I am trying to un-clutter the walls, and I am getting there, but still have a lot to do.  See all the black picture frames on the entrance wall?  I had those all over the place.  Most of them are in the guest room now.  Making progress, a little at a time.

This is as much as I decorated for fall this year.  I bought these pumpkins and squash at the pumpkin patch with Jeri in October, and they have lasted a long time.

 

I brought in some of the lawn furniture and made a neat little sitting area between the kitchen and dining room.  I really like it.  Johnny sleeps on the love-seat sometimes.  I haven't caught him on the counter yet!

After I was done with the living room and dining room, I started in on the kitchen.  I took all of the pictures off of the fridge and made a collage for the hallway:

 

Then, I began cleaning ...

I rinse out the Febreze sprayers when they are empty, and fill them with 409 and Windex.  They work better and are more comfortable than the other spray bottles (at least I think so).

One thing that I have been really into lately is using canning jars inside of the fridge instead of Ziplocks.  I cannot believe how much longer the food stays fresh, plus the glass keeps the fridge colder.  I decided to keep clean jars on the windowsill to make things more efficient. 

Produce literally keeps for weeks using the canning jars.  I will never go back to the old way.  Plus, doing it this way prompts you to prep ahead of time so things will fit, and it is so much faster to cook when the prep is all done.

I have been sewing and crafting, will be showing you pictures of that stuff soon.  We are going to Eugene for Thanksgiving, so I think that I will be cooking our small turkey today.  

I hope that you guys are all doing well, and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving on Thursday!

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.
 

Rest in Peace, Ken Richter and Ken's Obituary:

Oh boy. 

Our little part of the world has been hit with super sad news.

In the early morning on Thursday, Ken passed away.  My sister Julie, his brother John, and the boys' mom, Nia were by his side and helped him through the end of his journey with cancer.  It was seven months from discovery to the end, and we all thought that he would be here for several more months.  His death was a surprise in coming so soon.

Ken's going is a great loss for so many people ... he specialized in touching lives and loving others. I choose to not look at it as cancer winning ... Ken won, as he really lived his life and used his talents and his heart to make a huge difference in his world. I am so sad for my sister, who has lost her true love, and for his boys, Boon and Kaz, and his mom and the rest of his family and many friends. 

A bright light in our world is gone, physically, but I know that Ken will live on in our hearts and memories and that he will be watching and encouraging forever after.  RIP, Ken.  It has been an honor knowing you.

Thank you to so many of you guys, my blog friends, who have followed Ken's journey and have prayed for him and his.

Hugs,

Kathy M.

 _______________________________________

Julie posted Ken's obituary yesterday on Facebook, and I am going to put it on here for those who might be searching for info about Ken in the future.  Our hearts are so sad; it has been a week now.  Thank you to everybody who has been so supportive.

"Yesterday, I submitted Ken's Obituary to six different newspapers - a testament to the many communities he's been a part of over the last 48 years. I want to post it here, too, because his social media community was a huge and important part of his life over the past three years. I hope to see, and meet, many of you at his memorial on November 16th in Brownsville. We are working on setting up a Livestream event for those who want to see it online. Thanks for all your love and support." ~ Julie Anderson

 

  

“Be yourself, know your beauty, own your mood, 

stand in your power.” ~ Ken Richter

Kenneth Wayne Richter of Brownsville, Oregon died on October 29th, 2014 after a short but fierce battle with Esophageal Cancer. Ken was born on September 13, 1966 in Burns, OR to Kenneth M. Richter of Union, and Susan Hammer Owens, of Harrisburg, Oregon. He spent his early childhood in The Dalles, OR, and his junior high and high school years in Bonanza, OR. He also lived in Corvallis, OR for many years before moving to Brownsville.
Ken is survived by his sons Boon and Kazner Richter, his step-daughter Julie Logan, and his life partner, Julie Anderson. Ken was also a step-dad “in spirit” to Julie’s kids, Kaili, Liza and Zane Anderson of Eugene, and a co-parent and friend with his boys’ mother, Nia DeShon of Brownsville.

Ken is greatly missed by all his family and friends, including his parents, his step dad Steve Owens, his sisters, Missy O’Gorman, Heather Richter Thorp and Leslie Owens; his brother John Owens; nieces Sarah O’Gorman, nephews Josh O’Gorman, Kaden Thorp and Porter Owens. He was a treasured friend to his co-workers at Rosen Aviation in Eugene, Oregon, and the thousands of people around the world who have met him through his online social media communities, where he was known as @kwrkey, and shared his music, his optimism, and his great sense of humor.

In Ken’s own words:

“I grew up in a town of 500 people in the middle of nowhere. I worked on farms and ranches in evenings and early mornings and on weekends. I played high school sports, performed with the jazz band, and was even playing country music in bars with a local country band at the tender age of 16. I grew up and moved on to logging and commercial fishing to earn money for college. I finally completed my college degree after 7 years of stopping and starting as money would allow, while captaining a 3-time champion rugby team.

After college, I spent time running my own pumpkin patches and Christmas tree lots in LA, starting up a tent rental business and then eventually ended up as a tech writer at Hewlett Packard, when my kids were young. All these experiences have knit together to give me a unique view of the world. I have a good sense of what is important and what shapes my perspective of being a good man. I used to think it was being tough, working hard and never backing down from life’s challenges… it still is, kind of, but those things don’t make you a good man. Being a good man requires kindness and compassion. It requires owning your mistakes and being yourself. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and standing in your power.

The things I value most in life are being a dependable father and a positive community role model. I am proud of my choices. Proud to be the dad who cooks for stray kids who ‘happen by’ at dinner time, the dad who sits down at the kitchen table and helps with homework, the dad who pitches the ball for all the kids in the cul-de-sac until everyone gets a chance at bat, the dad who leads by example in making hard life choices, the dad who’s known for showing compassion and kindness even when it’s hard, and the dad who expects good manners and a hug goodnight.”

I want my boys to be free thinkers. I want them to be brave, kind, ethical and honorable. I know they will learn these things by watching me. I take parenting seriously, and I know that I’m not only influencing my kids, but their friends and our community members.

Aside from parenting, I love creating music. I use music to connect with people. Professionally, I am the Director of Resources at Rosen Aviation, a company that makes flat screen monitors for private jets. A bird’s eye view of my personal and professional journey through life would look a lot like a winding river.
 
Sometimes I wonder how a small town boy like me ended up as a corporate man doing business management for a company that makes luxury products for million dollar jets. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

Rest in peace, Ken Richter. You were a bright light in a weary world, and the universe will treasure your spirit forever.

A celebration of life memorial will be held for Ken at the Brownsville Rec Center: 234 Park St, Brownsville, OR 97355 on November 16th, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

For those who would like to contribute to college trust fun for Boon and Kazner Richter, an account has been set up at KeyBank, 2829 W. 11th Eugene OR. 97402. The title of the account is Ken Richter Memorial Fund.

 Adious, Ken.  Our hats are off to you!

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.