Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy: The Online Diary of a Central Oregon Grandmother

2012-02-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hi ... we have had an emergency come up and I probably won't be able to get around to visit everybody's blogs this weekend.

Prayers are very much appreciated.

Thank you,

Kathy M.

UPDATE: RIP to our sweet son-in-law, Gary Pung. Our hearts are breaking for Casey, and you will be deeply missed by all.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Gary and Casey, eleven years ago.


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 #51: It Is Good To Be Queen

2012-02-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

It Is Good To Be Queen

by Kathy Matthews

Tipper Montgomery had a hectic work-life and a horrible home-life. She worked as an intern at the U of O Museum of Art, and she was married to a verbally abusive man.

Tipper looked so forward to her bit of peace and quiet during each workday, and dreaded the weekends, where there was none. During her lunch breaks, Tipper could be found sitting under the crown on a chair in the museum courtyard with her Bible and inspirational books, trying becoming a better person. Not that there was much wrong with her to begin with, but her husband sure thought so.

One day, as she turned the corner to her special spot, Tipper stopped short. There was her husband with a weird smile on his face, sitting in her chair, with a gun aimed right at her.

"Hello, Queen."

Those were the last words that Tipper heard before losing consciousness. (150)

Okay, I'm going to get on my soap-box here for a second. With Joshua Powell killing his wife Susan, and then blowing up his sons Charlie and Braden along with himself last weekend, please let this be a wake-up call if you are in an abusive relationship.

Many verbally abused women will say, "Well, at least he doesn't hit me." Well, how do you know for sure that he won't do that or worse some day? These things progress over time. If you feel that you and/or your children are in an unsafe environment, you have to reach out for help. Here are a couple of links to Oregon Domestic Violence agencies, Saving Grace and Womenspace. Just Google "domestic violence shelters" in your area to find local information.

It is not your responsibility to save your man from himself. Abusers lose their rights. Even if you are not of the Christian belief, remember that the Bible says that husbands are to treat their wives as Christ treats his church. This means that they are supposed to treat their wives good, not bad. Manipulators and control freaks come from all walks of life. Just because they choose to behave that way doesn't mean that you have to accept their bad behavior and stay their victim. These relationships are very complex, and change is not easy. As with anything, admitting that there is a problem is the first step. I'm just sayin'.

God bless,

Kathy M.

Thanks to Ashley for the cool photo she took! If you would like to read my other Book Blurb Friday posts, scroll down the side-bar on the left hand side until you get to this picture:

I am participating in Lisa's Book Blurb Friday, from over at Writing in the Buff. It is fun, and you can play too! Pretend that the picture on the top of this post 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 on Friday 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.

"Sounds Like Life to Me"

2012-02-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

As I sit here writing this post, I am reminding myself to try to maintain an attitude of gratitude. The guys are working on finishing up the ceiling and wall repairs, and we have insurance, so yay for all that.

Still, I am so, so tired of having our living room torn apart! We are working on a month-and-a-half since we discovered the leak, and I am very irritated about the lousy feng shui going on around here. For those of you who know me know that I always keep the living room picked up and looking nice. Other rooms suffer, but not it, usually. This is what or living room and dining room are supposed to look like:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is how things have been looking recently:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I forgot to take a picture for this post, but our guest room is filled from floor to ceiling with chairs, end tables, wall hangings and the like.

So, what's a girl to do? In just a couple of days, we should be able to put the furniture back into place. Shanna (my sweet step-daughter) has offered to come from Washington to help me paint. She and Cheri will pick the colors. Yay, no more white! I figure if I want our house to look anything like theirs, then I need to let them choose for me, because they are the pros.

It has been a very busy and expensive couple of months around here, to say the least. Now I may have to get a job, since business has slowed down so much at our company. Also, I need to do the following: a) set up an Etsy shop, b) figure out how to sell my stuff, c) get into posting my stuff on Pinterst, d) reorganize the sewing and writing areas around here so like things are alike and e) start transferring my articles into books and onto my other blogs. What a deal! I hope that my energy will return.

Any suggestions or tips on those there things listed from a-e?

Thanks, you guys, I really do appreciate all of my readers. Hope that your week is going awesome!

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.

"The First Trousers" and H.D. Yett General Merchandise, Yoncalla, Oregon

2012-02-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

This week's Sepia Saturday theme is books!

As my regular readers know, last month my Mom gave me two barrels full of family letters, clippings, books, pamphlets and misc. items that date back to the mid-1850's.   They are called "The Letsom Letters", and here is the link to the post about that project. Please just "CLICK HERE".

As I have been recuperating from getting a bone removed from the side of my gum, I spent several days sorting through half of one barrel last weekend. One of the things that I found was the childrens' booklet below.

A local store in Yoncalla, Oregon (where the Letsom's lived) was called H.D. Yett General Merchandise. As a promotion to encourage shoppers to return each week, the store offered a series of these books, twelve in all. All you had to do was spend a dollar, and you could buy the booklet for five cents. I bet that little trick worked just fine and that the kids didn't miss a week!

Of course, I began to research the book that I found, which is titled "The First Trousers". The stories inside were written by E. Veale, "The Fairy Tale Authoress". The stories were illustrated by Palmer Cox, author of "The Brownies". The copyright on the front of the book is 1897, by Hubbard Publishing Co.   Similar books to this sell for between $100 and $275.

It turns out that the author, illustrator and publishing company are all quite famous. All three worked together on many project. I'll add more info on them and H.D. Yett when I find good links for them. For now, here is a bit about Palmer Cox.

Source: Wikipedia

Palmer Cox

So there you are! You can skim the book or read it all, but I thought it would be a nice addition to Sepia Saturday this week. I have made another post also, which is not on theme but it is another of Uncle John's letters and is really worth checking out, if I do say so myself! Just "CLICK HERE" to take a look.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

For my other Sepia Saturday Posts, go to the sidebar on the left and scroll down until you get to this photo of my Dad and me for the list. Make sure to visit my friends and read their cool stories over at Sepia Saturday.


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.

The War Letters: Uncle John Visits a Cemetery in Natal, Brazil

2012-02-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome! This Sepia Saturday post is not on topic for this week's photo prompt, which has to do with books. I have added it as extra credit photo essay and have written another post regarding books, which may be seen by "CLICKING HERE ".

This is also War Letters post. The War Letters are a manuscript compiled and typed by Lyle Hedrick, my Great Uncle Hobart Hedrick and Great Aunt Flora Fletcher Hedrick's boy, and Danny Hedrick's brother. In the following letter, my Great Uncle John Hedrick (Hobart's younger brother) was stationed in Natal, Brazil in World War II. John wrote it to his sister-in-law, Flora.

I find the content of this letter very fascinating indeed. Leave it to a Hedrick or a Letsom to find it great fun to visit a local cemetery in Natal, Brazil on their free time! By the way, the AACS stands for the Army Airways Communications System, and that was Uncle John's job while in Brazil.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

John Hedrick, World War II

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Hobart and Flora Hedrick with baby Danny

and Flora's Dad, E.B. Fletcher in 1925

Source: Google Maps

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oh, you must know that I searched and searched for images of cemeteries in Brazil during 1944. I also searched in vain for The Belle of Napal. All that I could come up with is this much more recent photo:

Source: Deep Brazil.com

Just in case you are wondering what in the world the U.S. was doing in Brazil during World War II, I have gathered up some information about that. Apparently, Brazil had decided to side with the U.S. and to boycott all things German. In 1940, the U.S. began building and staffing bases in Napal and Recife (among other cities). After Pearl Harbor was attacked, they increased their presence there. Here is a comprehensive article of the ins and outs of that:

The Establishment of United States Army Forces in BrazilNavy History.com

For a blog featuring lots of Navy photos taken in Recife, Brazil between 1931 and 1944 by Charles Rumsey, please check out this link:

Navy History.com

So, there you are, my friends. I hope that you enjoyed this post as much as I did! That Uncle John is quite a writer, isn't he?

Take care and God bless,

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.

Bargain Book Bonanza #31: Another Library Book Nook Bundle

2012-02-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

Before we went to Texas last month, I went to the library book sale in La Pine and picked up a few things. I spent $6.00 on all the books above, and $2.00 on all of the movies. $8.00 for all of this!

The funny thing is, I have already read several of the books and seen most of the movies. I am into old favorites. Kind of. This is my third copy of The Poisonwood Bible on hand and I have never finished that book, even though it is a Barbara Kingsolver and I think that I should like it. The subject matter just seems to get to me though. Someday I'll read it all the way through.

You can't go wrong with having an extra Little Women, Gulliver's Travels or The Three Muskateers on hand. And, The Lovely Bones gives me a copy to send to my BFF Nancy and leaves me with one to keep. Score!

I haven't read this Harlen Cobin book, but his are always a fast read and fun. I haven't read this particular Bridgett Jones book, nor have I read The Shipping News, though I have seen the movies that have been made from them.

I don't remember if I have seen Goodfellas or Vanilla Sky, but I have enjoyed watching the others, many more than once. For .25 each, though, I feel no regrets in my choices. We still have VCR's around here.

This is the book that I began reading when I got home. It is very strange, and took me forever to finish it. Worse, it still sticks in my mind. It just kept going on, and on, and on.

Coldheart Canyon was written in 2001 by Clive Barker. I have never read any of his other books, but he also writes plays and is an artist, director and produces films. The story is about this movie star named Todd who gets a facelift gone bad and needs to stay out of the public eye as he heals. His agent helps to find him a home in an isolated canyon outside of the city of L.A. and that is where he walks into a nightmare. In the basement of the home is a tiled room, known as The Hunt, which was built by the devil's wife, Lilith to punish some guy centuries ago. That is all that I will tell you, but there is some real weirdness in this book and it is not for everybody.

You can't help but like Tammy, the director of Todd's fan club, who notices that Todd is gone and goes off to find him. Tammy is the best character in the book, in my opinion.

So, there you go! To see what bargain books that others have bought, or to highlight your own, please just "CLICK HERE" to go over to Baja Greenawalt's Cozy Book Nook and check it out!


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.

Shelter Cove Resort at Odell Lake, Oregon:

2012-02-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

Source: Travel Byways and Get-a-ways.com

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

On our way back from Eugene on Christmas Eve day 2011, Cary and I stopped at Shelter Cove Resort at Odell Lake to check it out. It had been several years since we had stopped by. Our company, La Pine Redi Mix, Inc. provided the concrete for the foundations of the lodge years ago, in the middle of December.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Ken and Trula Kieblock now own the resort, and have developed it into a destination point, in both winter and summer. We met up with Ken, and here he is driving his cool rig. To learn all about the resort itself, please visit their website when you are all done here at Oregon Gifts, by "CLICKING HERE".

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There is a store, r.v. parking, a marina, cabins and a lodge at Shelter Cove.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There wasn't much snow when we were there, but there is now!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Willamette Pass Ski Resort is the mountain with a bit of snow on it behind the lake.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

A plaque honoring the camp dog is next to the fire pit.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Kokanee Lodge has four units, that people sign up for years in advance to rent.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This foundation was poured around 16 years ago, next to the lodge. Ken said that someday they will build sister lodge to Kokanee.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

In January, I did a post about Trapper Creek, which is on the road to Shelter Cove. To see that post with a lot of info about the area, please "CLICK HERE".

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

During the winter, there is a sledding area, cross country skiing and snowmobile trails. Downhill skiing at Willamette Pass Resort is just across the highway.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

During the summer, there is a campground at Trapper Creek, where you can fish and otherwise enjoy Odell Lake. For more information on Odell Lake, here is the Wikipedia Link.

I hope that you enjoyed the tour! We plan on going back this summer with our trailer and doing a bit of camping here. It is a super place.

~ 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.

Join in and Show Your Valentine's Day Stuff!

2012-02-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year once more, Valentine's Day will be here soon. My friend Jessa Irene, of the wonderful blog "A Holiday Haven " is hosting a Valentine's Day party and blog hop, and it begins today! You can post your favorite Valentine's ideas, decorations, table settings, gifts ... share with others whatever you would like, as long as you stay on theme. All you need to do, when you are done here at Oregon Gifts, is to click on the box below and follow Jessa Irene's instructions:

Now that the kids are grown, I rarely decorate for Valentine's Day any longer. though I still do have some tableclothes and a few things in storage. Maybe this year I might, if we get the dining room back into shape in time. (The guys are almost done with filling in the holes that are in the ceiling and walls from December's leak.)

For my first party post, I would like to show you photograph of a vintage color plate that was originally posted in The Delineator magazine in February 1918. I am enlarging it so that you can take a closer look. I scanned it out of a Butterick book that I have had forever, which was written in 1977 by Becky Stevens Cordello, called "Celebrations". It has all sorts of neat things in it for all the holidays.

Source: "Celebrations" by Cordello, ~ Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

So, every so often until the 14th, I'll be posting something cheery or pretty and adding it to The Valentine's Day Party. Thanks, Jessa, for putting this on for us!

~ 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.

Book Blurb Friday #49 : "Haunted San Antonio"

2012-02-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews


"Haunted San Antonio" by Kathy Matthews

Rachel Hernandez is a full-time river taxi driver/tour guide on the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas. She had grown up on the boats and knew the river by heart. Both of her parents had been guides before her.

Rachel was a spirit magnet. She knows where to look for them, and they like keeping an eye on her. Rachel's favorite spirit is the young and beautiful actress Lilian Dutcher, who had died a tragic death by falling from the balcony of The Esquire in 1946. To those who know where to look, Lilian can be easily spotted from the middle window above the ivy in the building next door.

Bad spirits are out there too, such as the evil Hector Director (the man who pushed Lilian, but wasn't blamed). Hector now resides by the well at the Alamo.

Read and learn about the most haunted places in San Antonio! (150)

Okay, so I made that all up. But I do see a LOT in that there picture, which really is next door to The Esquire Tavern. To read my blog post about The Esquire, please CLICK HERE. For more possible San Antonio sightings, you might want to check out this post too: "Can you spot some faces in these places?". Also, for pictures of our tour along the River Walk, please take a look at this link: The River Walk Area of San Antonio, Texas.

Thank you, Lisa, for choosing one of my pictures again this week! Oh, here is the photo I took at The Alamo at night, of the newly named bad man, Hector Director. He really is scary looking:

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.

Family Dogs: Sepia Satuday 111

2012-02-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

This week's Sepia Saturday theme is dogs. After you are done here at Oregon Gifts, please visit my friends and read their stories over at Sepia Saturday. If you have some old photos and perhaps a story to go along with them, you are welcome to join us too.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This picture is of my Great-Grandmother Maude Craig Traylor Bennett standing beside her sister Echo Craig. The little boy is my Grandfather (my Mom's Dad), Floyd Albert Traylor who is standing by a very happy dog (sorry that I don't know his name). Grandpa was born in 1912, and he looks to be around 2 here, so lets say that this picture was captured in 1914, for the sake of argument. Here is the blog post that I wrote about that gets us started on that side of my family: Groundhog's Day and Grandpa T.'s Birthday.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The mother in this picture is my Great-Grandmother Talitha Letsom Hedrick. The children are my Grandma Florence Hedrick Traylor, my Great-Uncle John Hedrick and my Great-Uncle Homer Hedrick. The dog is Jack. This was taken at their farm, known as Jack Creek Ranch, located near Hardscrabble, not far from Drain, Oregon. Grandma T. looks as if she is around 8 here, so I am guessing that this photo was taken around 1920.

Talitha, or Litha, married Benjamin E. Hedrick. Great-Grandpa Ben wasn't in the picture above, so perhaps he was the one taking it. Here is Great-Grandpa Ben with his farm horses. I know that they are not dogs, but still thought you would enjoy seeing them.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

As I was going through The Letsom Letters, I came across one that was written to Great-Grandpa Ben from his friend William Larsen on May 23, 1906. William is just dropping his friend Ben a line, and telling him about how much he does not enjoy his logging job. I thought that you guys might enjoy reading it. It has nothing to do with dogs.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This last picture is of Cousin Danny Hedrick with Otis. It was probably also taken at Jack Creek Ranch when Danny and Lyle were visiting their Grandma Litha and Grandpa Ben Hedrick. Danny was born in1925, and though it is kind of hard to tell by this picture, I am guessing that he was around 10 in this picture and that it was taken in 1935. I might be a couple of years off here. Otis sure looks a lot like Jack.

I wrote a post about Danny and Lyle's mother, Flora, a couple of months ago, and you can just CLICK HERE to read it. This is an excerpt from Flora's diary in 1928, where she talks about a day of shopping with the boys. Danny was 3 at the time, and Lyle was 2. Lyle transcribed and typed it out years later, and has included it in The War Letters.

By the way, on the page before, Flora had noted that the neighbor's home had burned down. That must have made quite an impact on Danny, and that is why, for some reason, he said what he did. They were probably explaining to him why it was dangerous to play with matches and he was perhaps reminding himself not to burn their home to the ground. Note to self.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

So, there you go! Happy Sepia Saturday to all. I am still not doing well with this surgery and go back to the doctor this afternoon. My neck is all swollen now, and I hope that I do not have an infection. (I did, but am on meds and am feeling much better now.) I am still working on getting around to those of you who commented on my last week's posts. I appreciate you all so much.

Take care and God bless,

Kathy M.

After you are done here at Oregon Gifts, please visit my friends and read their stories over at Sepia Saturday. If you have some old photos and perhaps a story to go along with them, you are welcome to join us 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.

2012-01-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

Hello, Everybody!

I just wanted to let you know that you have from now until April 1 to sign up to participate in the A-Z Challenge. Now, what is that one? Well, if you sign up, that means that you are committing to post every day except for Sundays during the month of April, and that your posts are in alphabetical order. For instance, on April 1, you post something that begins with the letter "a". Also, you blog hop and visit new folks and existing friends along the way. It really is fun, and last year I used it as a tool to show off some of my past posts that others may not have seen yet. To learn more, please visit Arlee at Tossing It Out.

On to other news: there isn't much. I still am not ship-shape after my surgery. I thought that I was doing fine, but when the pain pills wear off, I still hurt. When the pain pills are working, I don't feel like doing ANYTHING except being a couch potato who watches reruns and reads her book. From my phone I can post your comments, and thank you so much for leaving them! But as far as posting all the stories that I want to do, it just isn't happening right now.

I have big plans though, for when I am back to normal. I have a bunch of furniture rearranging to do (making a new sewing station in our bedroom, and adding a new desk to our office are a couple of the plans). Then it is on to serious stuff around here regarding writing and hopefully some sales.

Our new roof was put on yesterday, and they should be starting on the inside of the house in a few days. Our spare bedroom is filled to the ceiling with furniture, and some pretty cool Christmas presents that are still in the boxes. Looking forward to making our home look less like a college dorm someday soon. We are getting there. Good thing that I haven't felt well, or that would really be driving me nuts by now!

Well, I just wanted to say hi. I'll post as I can. I am sorry that I am behind on my visiting and commenting; I am slowly catching up.

Thanks for checking in!

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.

San Antonio Shadow Shots

2012-01-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

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.

My Oral Surgery and Update:

2012-01-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

Source: Bliss Plan.com

Tuesday Afternoon:

Well, this is certainly one week when I am so happy that I got my homework done ahead of time, and even threw in some extra credit. By that of course, I mean that I had time to do two Sepia Saturday posts and my Book Blurb Friday entry. Just scroll down to see them!

And, why am I so glad of this? Because in the morning I am going to have oral surgery on my mouth to remove a bone growth on my left rear gum. I discovered it right before we went to Texas, went to the dentist then, and then to the oral surgeon today. There was an opening for 9:00 tomorrow morning, so I took it. Could be I'll be fine by 3:00 Thursday, but perhaps I'll feel like taking it easy and drowsing with pain pills instead.

So, if you happen to think of me in the morning, please send a quick little prayer my way.

Thanks and hugs to you guys! I'll be by to visit you as soon as I can.

~ Kathy M.

Friday Update:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Hi, I just wanted to give you an update and to thank you for thinking of me, saying prayers and sending me your kind wishes. You guys are the best.

I don't usually give reviews on my medical experiences, but I really wanted to give a shout out to Dr. Shock and the fine women who work at his practice. Even the building itself was very comfortable, and seemed more like a high class spa than a doctors office.

Yesterday morning, when Cary drove me in, I was more thinking about my thirst than about what was to lie ahead. The ushered me back to their surgery room. All that was in it was a spiffy leather dental chair and a row of closets on one side, a sink and a counter, and a rolling tray covered with a sheet against the wall. This was of great psychological importance, come to find out, because they had everything they needed, but it was all tucked away as not to further freak out the patient. Smart! I never did see it all.

I was all hooked up to a blood pressure monitor, had an i.v. easily slipped into my left arm, had heart and breathing tabs stuck to the outside of my body and oxygen tubes slipped across my head and under my nose. Then they slipped me the anesthesia through the i.v. and numbed my mouth and did their work. I was awake, but could feel no pain and tried mind when Dr. Shock said, move your tongue over. That was that. They took off the bone (called a Tori) that was growing sideways on the inside of my left gum; gave me several stitches that will soon dissolve on their own, and we were done. It took about an hour.

Cary brought me home and I took the pain meds as directed and dosed all day on the couch. Last night, I slept like a baby, even missing some of my doses, and I feel great. It is so nice to not have that Tori cutting into my tongue.

So, if you ever need to have something like that done, and live in Central Oregon, this is the place to go. They rock!

~ 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.

Book Blurb Friday #48: "Baby Girl Pink"

2012-01-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

"Baby Girl Pink"

by Kathy Matthews

Photo by Tammy Goodsell at Message in a Bloggle: The Are of Being Broken

Stella Rose-Anne McMurphy was going to be a grandmother soon, and she could hardly stand it. There were a few worries about the situation though, due to the fact that her boy Brian had already broken up with Brittany, the mother of the baby.

Stella had just finished crocheting the baby girl's blanket. Stella had chosen the prettiest shade of pink yarn for the project. These days, the color pink seemed to symbolize breast cancer survivors, but Stella still considered it a color for baby girls.

Stella was so hoping that Brittany would include her in her granddaughter's life. Brittany was nice enough, but they hadn't known her well, or for very long.

The phone rang. It was Brian. "Ma! The baby is coming early!" Stella grabbed the pink blanket and her car keys, and headed out the door. Grandma Stella was on her way to meet Baby Girl Pink. (150)


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.

McPherson Opera House, McPherson Kansas: Sepia Saturday 110

2012-01-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

This week's Sepia Saturday theme is old movie theaters, which in my way of thinking includes performance halls and opera houses. I remembered the neat photos that I had taken of the McPherson Opera House in September 2010.

Of course, my pictures are not old enough to be considered Sepia, so I spent over an hour trying to find old photos of the building online. I had no idea that this would be so hard to do! I finally found these four that were on the McPherson Public Library site, and felt fortunate to have even successfully completed that mission. It really did surprise me that such a fantastic old building doesn't have more photos on the internet.

Source: McPherson Public Library

Located on Main Street in McPherson Kansas is the McPherson Opera House . It was originally built in 1888 for the large sum of $42,000. Over the years it became a movie theater, an apartment building and then was restored to its original purpose. Quite impressive!

Source: McPherson Public Library

Here are the photos that I took of it in 2010. It is a very beautiful building, and it is so nice that they restored it. They do also use it as a movie theater.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

If you have more photos, or know of any stories, please leave a comment or email me so that I can add them on to this post. Thank you!

Also, I posted an extra credit Sepia Saturday post about something that means a lot to me this week. Please click on this link, or just scroll down if you can, to read about The Letsom Letters.

~ Kathy Matthews
oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy @ hotmail.com (delete the spaces)

If you enjoy old photos and the stories that go along with them, please join us over at Sepia Saturday.


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.

The Letsom Letters: A Sepia Saturday Post

2012-01-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

On our way home from our Texas trip a couple of weeks ago, my Mom came and picked us up from the airport in Eugene, and we spent the night with her. In her living room there were two old cardboard barrels and a box full of hundreds of vintage postcards. Mom said, these are The Letsom Letters, and I want you to take them home, because I know that you will do something with them. Oh! Thanks, Mom, that is quite a vote of confidence, and for me, a gold mine of information on family and early Oregon pioneer history.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I didn't even know about these, for some reason, so this was all really a surprise. They were never a secret, and I can't figure out how I missed the fact that Grandma T. and Uncle John had been keeping them safe before they made their way down the generations. Mom talked to my aunties, and they said it was fine for me to have everything at our house. My Nanny is busy gathering the stuff that she has to make it's way over here soon.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I haven't even dug down to the bottom of the barrels yet. There are thousands of newspaper clippings, tons of letters, many receipt books, and all kinds of other stuff! I could easily get overwhelmed with the task of organizing, scanning and, mostly, putting things into some kind of chronological order. But, instead, I am so excited! Also, I've given myself the gift of time; the letters have made it here all in one piece after 100 years, and I don't have to get this project finished in two weeks or anything. It is good to have goals though, and I think that I will aim for some sort of family book/CD package by this Thanksgiving.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I did sort through the postcards by name, and most of them were sent out to my Great-Great Grandfather, John Letsom; sent to him as birthday cards. There are many postmarks for 1906 and 1916. He turned 87 in 1916.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I found the surnames of many cousins that I had never heard of before. That should come in handy someday.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Because my Great Grandma was Talitha Letsom Hedrick, there are some letters in there written to her husband, my Great Grandpa Benjamin E. Hedrick in the mix as well.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Check out this telegraph postcard and handmade wedding/party favor to celebrate a special occasion on March, 6, 1909. This is all so cool!

I have written about some of these family members over the past couple of years, and have submitted the stories to Sepia Saturday. This is my extra credit post for this week. My other post is about The McPherson Opera House in McPherson, Kansas.

Here are some links to my stories about The Letsoms:

Early Oregon: John Letsom of Yoncalla, Oregon

Sisters Martha and Talitha

Early Oregon Pioneers: John and Louisa Hedrick

To read wonderful posts from my friends over at Sepia Saturday, please "CLICK HERE". If you enjoy old photos and historical stories, please consider joining us!


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.

Down With This Sort of Thing: Google Is Closing More Programs

2012-01-23T08:10:00.000-08:00

Source: Bart King's Blog

Well, here I go again, complaining about the free products that I like to use disappearing. Closing down. Potentially leaving gaping holes in my blog posts. Google has been buying up other companies and then taking them off the internet. Dang it. They are also shutting down some of their own programs. I have learned that Google is working on improving Google+. I haven't even checked out it yet, but maybe I should because that is what they really want us to use. I just hope that they will leave Picasa 3 alone, or I am really sunk. It really makes me sick to think of how my blog is going to look, me being sort of a perfectionist and everything.

As I have mentioned several times, Slide.com will be shutting down in March. I have 82 slide shows with at program, and even a separate blog where I have gathered them together. Here is the link if you would like to visit it: "Slide Shows by Kathy Matthews". You have about a month and a half to check it out, and after that, there will just be 82 gray boxes to look at, along with some Jimmy Buffett videos. I may redo some of them through Windows Movie Maker and post them on You Tube, but it is just too much work to try and recreate them all. I have also liked how they served the purpose of being an online back-up, but I will just put more photos on Facebook now.

Here is an example of a blog post that took me forever to make and will be effected by the changes soon. It was of our trip to watch Tyler at Nike's "The Opening" event last July, and includes over 600 photos. "CLICK HERE". Now, just imagine it without the slide shows!

The latest programs scheduled to shut down include Picnik.com, a fun and easy way to add special effects to your photos. For now, Picnik is letting you use all of their premium features for free, so I think that I'll take advantage of that until April 19th, the last day. I don't think that what I have created with Picnik and have posted to my blog will disappear. I don't see how it would, because I am saving the end results to my own computer.

I added the daisies to the photo at the top of this post using Picnik. Here are a couple of other ways that I have used in the past:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

To read more about what else Google is closing, and to learn about some other photo-editing options, you might want to read this informative article: by CLICKING HERE.

Have a great week,

Kathy M.

P.S. - Remember to delete your cookies every once in a while.


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.

The Esquire Tavern in San Antonio, Texas:

2012-01-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

On my first river boat tour with the ladies on Saturday evening after the football game, I spotted this cool establishment and took a picture of it. Doesn't it draw you in, making you want to check it out? Doesn't it remind you somehow of New Orleans? No? Well that is how I felt when I first saw it:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The next day, Sunday afternoon, January 14, 2012, Cary and I hopped on a river taxi along the River Walk in the fine city of San Antonio, Texas. The boat tour guy, Doug, that mentioned that The Esquire Tavern had the longest old wooden bar in the city, at 100' long.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

We found it on the River Walk side (versus the street side), and climbed up the stairs, taking photos along the way:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

From the back entrance, you need to climb up these steep stairs. Cary and I both thought that nobody could get away with this entrance in Oregon. Because it is a bar, there is a likely chance that somebody could get hurt entering or exiting on those stairs. I suppose, even if it wasn't a bar that could happen. However, we were in Texas, and it seems that people just might need less babysitting in Texas. Either that, or they don't allow as much government regulation.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

When we got up the stairs and came through the back door of the bar, I began taking pictures. This is how you get into the Esquire Tavern from the street level. The Esquire originally opened in 1933, which was six years before the River Walk itself opened. I am still trying to find out the whole history here, but it was closed from 2006 until April 2011 when it reopened under new owner Chris Walker. Here is a link to what it looked like during the refurbishing process, just " CLICK HERE".

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This cheerful sign greets you at the front door. If you turn left at the front door, you will find a very dark and scary hallway with a big (clean) and scary bathroom. It was still in the middle of the day when we were there, but that area of the joint gave me the creeps. I wouldn't be surprised if something bad has happened there over the years, but I have no evidence to back that up right now. I do hope that there are surveillance cameras where the bartenders can monitor the hallway though. Or at least please light up the area a bit more. I'm just sayin'.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The decor is simply beautiful. The booths and bar stools have beautifulyl re-worked leather upholstery. The bar is indeed long and old. There are several taxidermied animals scattered about here and there, from bobcats to game birds. The windows and door above open up to the backdoor and balcony overlooking the San Antonio River.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This bar/restaurant is HUGE! They call it a tavern, but it isn't like your typical Oregon tavern, which is generally something small and cozy, with a pool table here and there.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Look at the old lights. The ceiling is copper and is so beautiful!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Cary and I were promptly greeted, and sat down at the bar. We were not hungry, so he ordered a gin and tonic and I ordered a glass of Merlot. But they didn't have Merlot. By this time, I was getting used to San Antonio not offering Merlot. The friendly bartender gave me some other wine options, but I decided to have a Margarita instead. It was fine, but I have been reading the reviews of The Esquire, and they brag on how each drink is made extra special, by trained mixologists and are the best to be found anywhere. Still, my drink was nothing like the best ever Margarita that I have ever had in my life, which was at McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend, Oregon. Those things are made with fresh fruit and are simply to die for. Again, I'm just sayin'. We must have been at The Esquire at happy hour, because our drinks were about $6 each, not too expensive. The reviews also mentioned that some of their specialty drinks are $13.00 each.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The bartender and other peeps were very friendly, and they gave me a copy of their bar menu to take home. We enjoyed our time there, and if we go back to San Antonio, we were sure go back to this place again and try the food.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Here are a couple of You Tube videos featuring The Esquire Tavern in San Antonio:

Links:

The Esquire Tavern.com

The San Antonio Current Article on The Esquire Tavern

So, that is my take on this historical place. We liked it, and we will certainly return if we get the chance. Hope you enjoyed the review.

~ 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.

Winter Has Finally Arrived: The Pacific Northwest Storms of January 2012

2012-01-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

After months of clear, not so cold weather, winter finally arrived this week. High winds, snow and then, very unfortunately rain and flooding to those in the Willamette Valley. Here in La Pine things are fine. We are supposed to have some high winds and more snow, but so far it hasn't been anything out of the usual. We still have our roof covered with a tarp though, and are hoping that the tarp will do its job until the weather clears enough for the repair work to get done.

On Wednesday, we got 18" of snow in our yard, in about 10 hours.

Our family in Olympia, Washington were thrilled with all the snow that they got, which was close to 2 feet. Their power has been out for several days now though, and it is still really cold there. Tree limbs sound like gunshots as they pop and fall off.

Friends and family in the valley were dealing with flooding as the 5" of rain that followed the snow melted the snow and caused disaster. Oregon has even been on national news, which rarely happens. The small towns of Marcola, Turner and Scio were evacuated, as were many other individual families. It was once again very interesting to see how helpful that Facebook was for communication.

This woman captured the flooding of Mapleton and Cushing as they attempted to go to the coast and check on their vacation home. She did a fantastic job, if you want to check it out:

We are supposed to get more winter storm activity, but we have been given a break. Much of what they have predicted hasn't come to pass for us here in Central Oregon, and I can say that I am pretty happy about that! I sure do feel bad for all of those who have lost family members or have property damage due to this winter's storms.

Here is another flood video featuring the McKenzie, Willamette and Mohawk Rivers:

Hope you are all safe and sound on this January weekend. Take 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.

Sepia in San Antonio: Can you spot some ghostly faces in these places?

2012-01-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

Some of these photos are just developed as sepia and black and white, and some of them seem to have ghostly faces in them. I'll do another post like this with color photos soon. I was very surprised at how many things that my camera picked up on this trip. When there is a blurry spot, I look closer and see if there is anything else that I can see in it. Though, in San Antonio, heads just sometimes seemed to be in trees or open space as clear as day. Hint, look for the eyes and if there are any, you'll probably be able to see the rest of the face. Sometimes the faces are huge and distorted. Trees and water seem to be favorite hang outs!

Not everybody will be able to see them, and in that case, I hope that you just enjoy the photos as they are. ~ Kathy M.

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.

MLB Former Catcher Jamie Burke Now Managing the Cedar Rapids Kernels:

2012-01-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

One of my prized items is the baseball signed by one of my favorite MLB players, fellow Oregonian Jamie Burke. The first part of this post was written last January, giving you a little background information. The second part tells about the great news of Jamie being hired as the new head coach for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, with links to news articles.

Congratulations, Jamie, Cary and I are very proud of you! We would love to make a trip with Dobie and fly out to watch you guys soon, if we can.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Jamie Burke grew up in Roseburg, and played college ball for Oregon State University. Cary and I met Jamie and his lovely wife Katrina at the funeral of a mutual friend several years ago. Jamie was wearing his World Series ring that he received while playing for the Chicago White Sox. The following season, Jamie became a Seattle Mariner, which is the team we follow the most. After leaving the Mariners, Jamie played for The Washington Nationals and then retired as a player. The following pictures were taken when he was a Mariner:

Source: Bing Images. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

During hunting season a couple of years ago, Jamie was here in La Pine, and Cary and I were invited to go to pizza with the family friends. That is when Jamie gave me the baseball above. I love it!

Source: Bing Images. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Adrian Beltre and Jamie Burke

Source: Bing Images. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Looking good, Jamie.

Source: Bing Images. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Jamie giving Felix Hernandez a huge hug.

Source: Bing Images. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

High fivin' Ichiro.
Man, I'm Jonesing for baseball season to begin.

Click here to read more about Jamie Burke.

Following are some news releases and articles about Jamie and The Cedar Rapids Kernels that I got off of the Kernels Facebook page and off of The Cedar Rapids Kernels website. Here is the Wikipedia link about the team, which is affiliated with the LA Angels: just click here.

Article from The Gazette:

CEDAR RAPIDS — Jamie Burke was asked about his memories of playing professional baseball in Cedar Rapids.

“A championship, baby,” he said. “A long season, but it turned out to be a very good season.”
Burke played in a team-high 127 games at first and third base for the 1994 Cedar Rapids Kernels, a club that got hot in the second half and won the Midwest League title. That’s the last time the local nine has won it all, though if you believe in signs, that streak will finally end this summer.

The 40-year-old Burke was announced as Kernels manager Friday. It’s the first coaching stint for the Oregon native, whose 18-year playing career ended in 2011. He played bits and pieces of eight major league seasons as a backup catcher for the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox and Washington Nationals, a .277 hitter in 191 games. Burke spent last year away from the game before deciding to get back into it as an instructor.

“I took last year off to do some things with my family that I haven’t been able to do for 17 years,” Burke said. “I feel like I’ve got a master’s degree in this field. I’ve been through the ups and downs of a career, feel like I will be able to relate to my players.

“Everybody said they knew this was what I was going to do. I want to be a manager in the big leagues some day.”

Burke said he is still very good friends with former Kernels teammate Tony Moeder, who settled in Cedar Rapids after he quit playing. The rest of the Kernels 2012 field staff is Mike Eyward (hitting coach), Chris Gissell (pitching coach), Omar Uribe (trainer) and Joe Griffin (strength coach).
Eylward was last season’s hitting coach. Gissell played in the Chicago Cubs farm system and had a cup of coffee in the bigs with the Colorado Rockies.

The Kernels also announced this week they are seeking a home clubhouse manager to replace longtime clubbie Ron “Roady” Plein, who will tend to the visitor’s clubhouse this season.
The Kernels will hold their 16th-annual Hot Stove Banquet on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center in Cedar Rapids. The season opener is April 5 at Wisconsin, with the home opener April 9 against Clinton."

News Release from Cedar Rapids Kernels:

Source: The Cedar Rapids Kernels website.

"Cedar Rapids, IA - The Cedar Rapids Kernels, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, announce their field staff for the 2012 season.

Taking over as the Kernels Manager is Jamie Burke. The native of Roseburg, OR was drafted by the Angels in the 9th round of the 1993 draft out of Oregon State University and played for the Kernels in 1994, hitting .264 with a HR and 47 RBI in 127 games. He made his MLB debut with the Angels on May 9, 2001 and played 191 Major League games with the Angels, White Sox, Mariners and Nationals as a catcher and infielder. He retired at the end of the 2010 season and this is his first season as a manager in the Angels organization.

Chris Gissell takes over as the Kernels Pitching Coach. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the 1996 Free Agent Draft out of Hudson's Bay HS in Vancouver, WA and pitched for the Rockford Cubs in 1997 and 1998, going a combined 9-11 with a 3.76 ERA in 31 games. He made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies on August 22, 2004 and appeared in five major league games with an 0-1 record over 8.2 IP. He has also pitched for the Seibu Lions in Japan in 2006 and Uni-President Lions in Taiwan in 2009. He was signed by Oakland as a free agent in 2007 and pitched for the Sacramento River Cats in 2008 and 2009. This is his first season as a coach in the Angels organization.

Mike Eylward returns to Cedar Rapids as the Kernels Hitting Coach. He played for the Kernels in 2001 and 2002 after being drafted by the Angels in the 44th round of the 2001 Free Agent Draft. In 2002, he hit .263 with 8 HR and 43 RBI in 98 games for the Kernels. He played eight seasons in the minors and has been the hitting coach for the Orem Owlz the past two seasons (2009-10).

Omar Uribe rejoins the Kernels staff as the team's Athletic Trainer. Born and raised in northeast Los Angeles, Omar graduated from Long Beach State with both a Bachelor's and Master's in Kinesiology. He also holds a Career & Technical Education Credential in California. For the past 6 years, he has taught and provided sports medicine at Culver City High school and then Los Angeles Senior High School. While at LA High he also served as the athletic director. In the past Omar provided coverage for Cal State Los Angeles, USC, Claremont Colleges and various therapy clinics and gymnasiums. In 2002, Omar served as an intern for both the Atlanta Braves & Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball. He currently resides in Los Angels with his wife Norma.

Joe Griffin returns as the Kernels Strength Coach. He has a degree in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Along with various other certifications he had a 15-year baseball playing career and a strong knowledge base in nutrition for athletes. Before coming to Cedar Rapids, he was with the Washington Nationals and has worked with various universities in the Mid-Atlantic area. In addition he is the owner and founder of ESX Athletics LLC and has worked with hundreds of high school and collegiate athletes for over the past five years.

The Kernels open the 11th season in Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Monday, April 9 at 6:35 pm against the Clinton LumberKings. Season tickets and 10-game anytime coupon books are on sale now at www.kernels.com, or in person at the stadium. Individual game tickets go on sale Monday, March 19, 2012 at 10 am."

This is just so cool.

~ 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.

Sepia Saturday Posts #107, 108 and 109: Catching Up!

2012-01-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

I have been away from Sepia Saturday for oh so long. We had so much happen in December that I got behind, and then we went to Texas and I needed to get caught up on that stuff. I've missed making my Sepia Saturday posts and visiting my Sepia Saturday friends.

This week, I am showing some slideshows that some of you may have already seen. Slide.com is closing down in early March 2012, and I wanted to show them again while I still can. I also wanted our family on Facebook another opportunity to view them. The first two slide shows are of my husband Cary's family, and the last one is of my Dad and the Johnson side of my family.

If you love old pictures and awesome stories, please "CLICK HERE" to see what my Sepia Saturday friends are up to this week!

"People and Their Pets"

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This sweet baby is my husband Cary. The slideshow below is of him with his family.

"Ladies and Their Hats"

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The photo above is of my husband Cary's Grandma Pearl Spillers Wright Ellis. The slide show below is of the Spillers family in 1947.

"Little Blond Girls"

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Me and my Dad. Believe it or not, this was my Easter Outfit for that year! The slideshow below is of my Dad, Ralph as he was growing up. I know that many of you have seen this one before, but it fits into this post.

Here is a story about me when I was little and about my doll, Sherry: A Trip Down Memory Lane to Home, Sweet Home

January 2009: Last Sunday, on our way home from Corvallis, we drove through Sweet Home, Oregon. I lived in Sweet Home when I was 4 and 5. I went to kindergarten there, at Oak Heights school. We lived in a house that was converted into a duplex, and my little friend next door was named Terri. My friend Monty lived with his parents and 4 brothers in the house next to us. I was living in Sweet Home when President Kennedy was shot. I remember that day very well, because when I got home from school, my Mom was watching the black and white t.v. and she was crying. It may have been the first time that I saw her cry ... she's very good about holding it all in. I felt a sense of doom, and, of course there was good reason for that.

My Dad was the manager at the grocery store. My mom was a R.N. at the hospital in Lebanon. We weren't that far away from Harrisburg and Junction City, so Uncle Red, Aunt Vete, Shelly and Terry ... as well as Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and Grandma and Grandpa T. came to visit often. I had a world globe, which I was very proud of. One time Uncle Red brought his wild brother Tom with him, and Tom broke my globe. I felt pretty bad about that one, but he grew up to be a minister and mended his wild ways.

I learned to ride my bike at this house. I ran through the sprinkler in the summer with my brother wearing only my underpants. The older kids (probably 2nd or 3rd graders) made fun of me, and made me feel bad and ashamed because I didn't have a top on. Never again did I go outside without my top!

The neighbor's dog, Sadie, died when somebody threw poisoned meat over the fence and she ate it.

I lived in that house during the big flood. My dad's store was flooded, but we lived up high enough not to have our little house effected. There were old, unused railroad tracks behind the house that we used to explore.

I went to a sleepover at Monty's in the backyard when they had their tent up. I got up very early and went home because I was a little spooked. When the boys woke up they came over and made sure I was okay. They were nice boys.

Here is a picture of my dad with a reverse Mohawk, my little bro, my baby sister and me, sitting on our porch. I'm not quite sure what you would call Angie's hairstyle. I think that the sun was in our eyes.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is what the house looked like on that Sunday when Cary and I visited. It doesn't really look that different, does it? Too bad all those cars are blocking the view. I hopped out of the car with my camera and a lady flung open the front door. I said, "I hope you don't mind, but I lived here when I was 5." Cary said, "Is this a duplex?" He still wasn't sure it was the right house. She nodded her head. I said, "Does it have an upstairs?" She nodded again. I guess she thought we were legit, because she just turned around and closed the door.:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is what my old school looks like now. It is called Oak Heights:

My best friend husband is 11 years older than me. He was a senior in high school when I was in kindergarten. We have a standing joke that he walked by my classroom one day, looked in the window, pointed to me and said: "I'm going to marry that little girl someday!" This would have been the school where he found me and claimed dibs. It's funny how 11 years makes such a difference when you are young but not when you are old.

I loved going to school. I remember walking up the long hill from school to home, by myself. Guess what? It is barely a slope, and certainly not a hill. Also, it is only about a half block away from my old house. On Halloween, we were dressing up at school. I wore my costume to school, because that is what we understood we were supposed to do. But, no. We were supposed to bring our costumes to school and put them on for the party. Once again, I was embarrassed. Oh well.

I graduated from kindergarten at Oak Heights School.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is my doll Sherry. I got Sherry for my birthday when I was 5. I loved Sherry very much. So did my little brother. He was really a pretty easy going guy at the age of 2 1/2, but he would fight me for that doll. I had to hide her under my shirt just to avoid conflict. My mom and dad decided to buy him his own doll. It was a jester stuffed doll, and little bro named him Pinocchio. He loved Pinocchio so much that he eventually loved him to death. After a couple of years, Mom and Dad had to get another, similar jester doll that was subsequently named Pinocchio. I think he still has that one. We are kind of a sentimental bunch in our family.

On our drive back home, I was telling my Cary all about my time living in Sweet Home and the above memories. I started feeling really bad about Sherry. I built her a new body about 25 years ago, but currently she was just shoved in the toy box in the spare room. Yesterday, when I was at Bi-Mart, I found a cute doll with extra clothes and accessories on sale. I bought it, came home, dressed Sherry and put her in the cute little doll bed pictured above. I held her and kissed her, and felt really bad that she has been hanging out naked with her arm falling off in a dark toy box. Now she is all spiffed up, as you can see. I showed her to Cary and he said, "Do you still have her original clothes?" I said, "Heck no! She doesn't even have her original body!" Then he said, "What are you doing, holding and kissing that doll?" I said, "Trying to make up for 45 years of neglect."

Welcome back, Sherry. Now I just need to go retrieve Tippy from the (clean) garbage can in the storage unit that holds all of the old stuffed animals.

~ 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.

Book Blurb Friday #47: The Glory of True Love

2012-01-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer on this post ... this story is not real, it is part of Book Blurb Friday where some of my blog friends and I join up each week with Lisa Ricard Claro, look at the photo that she posts, and then write a 150 word book blurb to entice people to buy a book off of what we write. It is probably a touchy subject on what I wrote this week, but this is the story that came to mind. To me, these people looked happy and in love, and they are surrounded by water, and that is how I came up with the following blurb.

Check out Sioux' Page.

"The Glory of True Love"

by Kathy Matthews

Now that he had found his Liz, Frank Braxton has everything. Since he had spotted her at church ten months ago, Liz rarely left his side. When she had to go to work for the day, he used to call and tell her how he wished he could carry her around in his shirt pocket, so that she would always be with him. The glory of true love was definitely a healing thing.

The lovers are on their honeymoon. Their family and friends have pitched in to buy them a special cruise trip to Italy. Neither Frank or Liz are very comfortable with the idea of being on the open ocean. Everybody reassured them that of course nothing would ever happen, and that modern day ocean-liners were super safe. Indeed, they were having a wonderful time. Then disaster struck, and Frank is not about to let true love go. (150)

I found this John Prine song, The Glory of True Love, on YouTube:

Please join me in keeping those effected by the Italy sinking of the cruise ship lifted up in your prayers. What a sad, sad thing.


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.

Hello!

2012-01-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody,

Wow. It takes so much time sorting through all of those photos, and then time to find the exact ones that I want to put into posts. Thank you for your patience, I am sorry that I haven't gotten back on track yet. I'll be by to visit and return emails soon, thanks for leaving your comments.

We have a huge snow storm coming in today; and our roof isn't fixed yet. Up to 18" of snow is predicted, with high winds. AHHHH! Panic in the gray room now. Our house is still out of sorts waiting for repairs, and it is really bugging me. Oh, well, there isn't a lot that I can do about it right now.

I'm going to do some errands and then come home and prepare for the possible loss of electricity. At least if we lose power, I can put the freezer food in coolers on the back porch and hopefully they should be okay. I'm getting all my cast iron camping pots and pans cleaned up too, just in case we need to use the BBQ for a stove.

I hope that you are all doing well, and thanks so much for stopping by to see what's up.

Hugs,

Kathy M.

The River Walk Area of San Antonio, Texas:

2012-01-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

Hello, Friends!

San Antonio, Texas was named after St. Anthony.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The River Walk is a city park in San Antonio. I have had such a hard time choosing which photos to put on here of the River Walk itself. I took so many! Some of the pictures turned out awesome, some not so good, especially the ones that I took at night. I've decided to not try and go in chronological order on this post, so don't worry about things being shown in the daytime and then nighttime.

I went on two boat tours, once with us girls (on Saturday night) and the other time with Cary during the day on Sunday. Later Sunday evening, Cary and I caught a river taxi which is the same (you can buy a 24-hour pass) and had an off-the-beaten path tour of our own because we didn't get off when we were supposed to. We learned a lot about San Antonio from the two captains that we had on that adventure.

We were staying at the Grand Hyatt, which is next to the Convention Center, the star on the map on the bottom left hand side of the map. The horseshoe part of the river is where the action is; full of walking paths, bridges and places to eat. See that little star on the bottom right hand of the map above? It says "Locks and Dam". This the smallest locks in the United States, and here are some pictures that I took on our last night on the River Taxi. The captains can adjust the water level of the river at the dam so that they can cross over it back and forth. We met a woman captain and got on to her boat, as our first driver headed up toward the Pearl Brewery. Just scroll over to better study the map.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There was a short wait to get aboard the tour boat. You buy your tickets near the River Center Mall; they cost between $6.00 and $8.50, and I feel that the tour was really worth the money. The tours run from 9:00 a.m - 9:00 p.m.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This the River Center Mall. It has 1,000,000 square feet and has lots of stores, restaurants and a Macy's where I bought my new boots. They have music playing outside, often live. There is also a Hooters, where Cary kept taking the grandsons so that they could get their pictures taken with the nice ladies.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Our tour boat captain was Doug. That pretty lady is my step-daughter Cheri. Cary and I ended up with Doug too, so I got to hear his spiel twice and most of it sunk in.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The gals are hamming it up and were having so much fun! Kylie, Halie, Cheri, Bev, Jen and Susan are glad that we all got good spots to sit. I sat behind Susan, and we were at the back of the boat. I was on a mission to take pictures. There was a motorcycle group sitting next to me, and they were really nice folks. One guy made sure that I got my answer to how they got all of those Christmas lights on the trees. They used climbing ropes.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

We were lucky that the river had water in it. This is the first year that they didn't drain it during the week of the Army All-American Game for cleaning purposes. This is what the river looked like when we were there two years ago:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This year:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

We were also lucky that they still had the Christmas lights plugged in, as it was the last weekend for that. The colored lights made everything that much more magical.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There was so much to see from the vantage point of the boat! Here are a few of the historical buildings seen from The River Walk:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Mission Bells wall represents the four Spanish Missions that are located in the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, plus The Alamo. In 1718, Representatives from Spain, along with Franciscan Monks, built their first mission in San Antonio. Over the next thirteen years, there were five total. To learn more about those who helped to settle San Antonio, please check out my friend Little Nell's (from Sepia Saturday) husband's blog, The Lanzarte They Left.

We didn't make it over to Mission Park. There is so much to see and do in San Antonio, that we barely scratched the surface of the downtown area, let alone the rest of the area. Maybe someday we will be able to go back and take tours, go to the historical museums, parks and experience more of San Antonio. I hope!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Tower of the America's is the second tallest free standing building in the U.S., second only to The Stratosphere in Las Vegas. You can ride an elevator to the observation deck on top to take a look around San Antonio. It was built for the 1968 World's Fair, and is located in HemisFair Park, behind the Convention Center. We ran out of time to go to the park, but here is a super link if you want to learn more about it: The Texas Explorer.com: HemisFair Park.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

St. Joseph's Church still holds services in German. Please scroll over to read more about it in the photo of the plaque below.

The Courthouse made for some pretty pictures:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There are so many bars and restaurants along the River Walk. I'll be highlighting some with reviews and stories, but here are just a few of them:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Lone Star. We were not treated well at this joint. I'll talk about it later.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Original Mexican Restaurant. Our group ate there the night before we arrived, and they were not too happy with it either. I'm thinking that if you are in a large group, you have less chance of good service. They all add on a 20% guaranteed tip, regardless.

One of our boat captains mentioned that the owners of this restaurant were the ones to think of beginning the water taxi and tours in the 1980's. Great idea, you guys!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

These guys were taking our picture as we were on the boat, so I took theirs. That guy is cracking up at me. I love this picture!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This place was really neat. We just had a drink, but the atmosphere was great and the bartenders were nice.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

More about the River Walk Itself:

The River Walk is one story below street level. This means that you can get to most of the shops and restaurants by car or walking down the sidewalk, or you can walk along the San Antonio River and get there that way. The river is spring fed, and I think that I learned that it surfaces around The Witte Museum. The river is a real river, and in the shallow parts of the downtown area, it is only between two and five feet. The main stretch of the river is about 15' deep. There are waterfalls that circulate the water for oxygen, and this is also a way to keep the spring water as San Antonio's source of drinking water.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The River Walk is essentially a much needed form of flood control. There are gates that come down from some of the bridges, and ramps that flip up from the bottom of the canal to block the water during times of heavy rain. Before this system was developed by Mr. Hugman in the late 1920's and implemented by the city beginning in 1939, flooding was an unfortunate and expensive hazard of doing business downtown. Over time, the hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and theaters have located in the coveted riverside area.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This building was named after the man who designed the canal, Mr. Hugman. He moved his business there to show that he believed that the flood control would work, and others soon followed.

And finally, the city was working on widening a sidewalk, and I loved how they got the Bobcat up and down to the river:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There is so much more to tell, but I'll break down the rest into separate stories. Lots of ghostly vapors and faces showed up in my photos, so stay tuned for those. There will be reviews on where we ate, where we stayed and much, much more over time. I need to stop now, because I am afraid that this 5 hour post will crash on me if I don't.

~ Kathy M.

Links:

The Riverwalk History at San Antonio Riverwalk.com

Wikipedia

The Texas Explorer.com: HemisFair 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.

Some San Antonio Art:

2012-01-16T06:39:00.000-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This red sculpture was given to the City of San Antonio in 2002 by the Association of Mexican Entrepreneurs. It is called "The Torch of Friendship", and is located downtown.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Grand Hyatt had some interesting art. Some was functional, and some was purely decorative.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Even planters were turned into works of art when covered in mosaic tiles.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Walking around on the River Walk, there was art all over the place:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews


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Horse Drawn Carriages in San Antonio, Texas:

2012-01-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

It is so weird to think that I took these picture only last Saturday, one short week ago!

~ 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.

Taylor Swift: "Ours"

2012-01-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

I just heard this song for the first time the other day, and I love it. I really like the words: "Don't you worry your pretty little mind; people throw rocks at things that shine." I wonder why people are like that anyway. Beat 'em when they are up, beat 'em when they are down. How I wish that we could just always be nice to one another. But, if you have something good going on, the song's message tells us, recognize it and enjoy it. The video's ending is a bit of an awesome little surprise 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.

The Alamo at Night:

2012-01-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I asked the security guard if there were ghosts at the Alamo. He firmly told me, "No Mam." But, I'm not so sure...

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Here we are, the group that trekked over to the Alamo after our rather poor service at the Lone Star. (I'm sure that there will be a blog post about that coming up pretty soon.) The other group members had gone over to the Alamodome to watch the Combine football game.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Kylie, Cary, Halie, Cheri, Bev, Hal, Susan and Jennifer

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

To see the blog post about when Cary and I visited the Alamo in the daytime in January of 2010, please "CLICK HERE".

The slide show below is also of the 2010 visit. This will not be working after March 12, 2012, because Slide.com will be deleted by Google. Dang.

I took the suggestion of Little Nell and entered this post into Written Inc.'s Thematic Photography #178: After Dark. Please click on the link to see some other great nighttime shots.


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.

The 2012 Army All-American Game Experience:

2012-01-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, our family and friends were privileged to attend the 2012 Army All-American Game to watch our grandson Tyler Matthews (#12) and the other fine young men who were selected to participate from around the U.S.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Cameron, Tyler and Kylie after the game.

Prior to the game there were several ceremonies, ranging from medal of honor soldiers to the swearing in of new recruits. At half-time the awesome All-American marching band played, consisting of invited high school students from around the nation. Throughout the game, players were declaring where they would be attending college. Tyler has chosen to attend TCU. I compiled the photos that I took of game day into chronological order.

So, here it is, my first You Tube video! Actually it is a slide show, and I wish that I knew how to add music, but outside of misnaming the hotel (we were at the Grand Hyatt, not the Hyatt Regency) I am pretty proud of it. At least You Tube won't be going out of business like Slide.com did and this won't be deleted anytime soon. I hope not anyway! Oh, I had to give Google my cell phone number so that they could text me a code in order to accommodate my 25 minutes (usually you can only post 15 minute videos). I hope that you will enjoy this, it is long. [Well, if it doesn't play, go to the top of the page ... a minute ago it said it is too long. I give! I'll try to fix it later.]

Here are some more links to info about the game:

Army All-American Bowl, You Tube 2

Army All-American You Tube 3

Rivals.com Link Containing Tons of Links

Tyler signs his autograph as proud Grandpa Cary stands by @ Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Grandpa Hal, Grandma Bev, and Aunt Cheri @ Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Gr. Hal, Gr. Bev, Aunt Cheri and Gr. Susan @ Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Halie and Grace @ Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Randy, Cameron, Tyler, Jen and Halie @ Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Halie, Grace and Garrett @ Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

What an awesome, once-in-a-lifetime day. We sure are all so proud of you, Tyler.

There has been a lot of football on here lately, hasn't there? I will begin getting things back to normal as soon as I can. I have many San Antonio photos, and now that I have figured out how to make slide shows again I'll be posting those. I also promise to get back to my Book Blurb Friday's and my Sepia Saturdays as soon as I can ... as well as catching up with all of you. 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.

Back from Texas!

2012-01-11T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hi You Guys!

I missed you lots when I was away. We got home yesterday morning from our trip to San Antonio, Texas where we were gathered with family to watch the Army All-American Game last Saturday. If this is your first time to Oregon Gifts, our grandson, Tyler Matthews, was one of the quarterbacks playing on the West Team.

I'm going to keep this a short post, except to say that we had a wonderful time. The weather got cold and rainy on Monday, our last day, but otherwise we were blessed with sunny weather with a light breeze.

I ended up taking around 1200 pictures, so I am still working through the developing and editing of them right now. You'll probably guess what I be posting about for awhile!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Thank you to San Antonio for not draining the river while we were there! (This is usually the week they clean everything up, but they decided to not to this year.) We took a couple of boat tours and also used the river taxi to get around on our last night. I was able to capture a lot of neat photos and learn more about the city.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I hope that you are all doing well, and I will catch up with you as soon as I can. I plan on posting frequently for the time being so that I won't forget things, so please scroll down to older posts or check in as often as you can if you don't want to miss out.

Hugs,

Kathy M.

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.

Congratulaions On Winning the Rose Bowl, Oregon Ducks! AND ...The Army All-American Game:

2012-01-03T08:17:00.000-08:00

Source: Google Images and Oregonsportsreport.com

Yesterday, the Oregon Ducks played the Wisconsin Badgers at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and they won 45-38. Though the Ducks have been invited many times to the Rose Bowl, this is the first time that they were victorious since 1917.

We are Oregon fans are awful proud of our Ducks! Here is link to a neat photo essay of the game; if you want to check it out, just "CLICK HERE".

Cary and I enjoyed the game from the comfort of our living room, and were happy to have the construction fans and dehumidifier turned off so that we could actually hear the t.v.   Things on the roof repair are progressing smoothly, thank goodness.

Did you wonder why the Rose Bowl was not played on New Year's Day this year? The parade and game were delayed to January 2nd instead. One reason for this is because college teams do not play on Sunday, as Sunday is reserved for the NFL.

So, we are almost done with football this year. Almost. There is now a countdown to playoff games for the pros and the Superbowl to look forward to for most people. But our family and friends have a very special game coming up on Saturday: The Army All-American Game in San Antonio, Texas. The Army All-American Game is like the Superbowl for high school kids.

Photo Source: Either Jen Matthews or Army All American Bowl's FB Page

"Tyler Matthews, #12"

Loyal Oregon Gifts readers know that our grandson, Tyler Matthews, (formerly of McPherson, Kansas, and a Texas Christian College recruit) will be playing quarterback for the West team in Saturday's game. Currently the the West and the East are practicing hard to pull their teams together and are getting ready for the big game.

Cary and I are so excited to be able to go and watch the game in person, and spend time with the family. We will be sitting in the area reserved for family, so look for us if you get the chance. The game will be shown on NBC Sports (formerly known as Verses). It begins at 12:00 Central Time (I think that makes it 10:00 PST) on Saturday, January 7th. I hope that you can get it where you live, and will get a chance to see Tyler play his first nationally televised game.

Source: Army All-American Game Facebook Page

So, even though I grew up in Eugene and will always be a Duck, I am also wholeheartedly supporting the TCU Horned Frogs team and their newest quarterback, Tyler Matthews.

Go Ducks! Go Frogs! Go West!


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.

Lookout Point and Dexter Lakes:

2012-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

If you have been reading my blog over the past week, you are probably thinking, geeze, she sure did take a lot of pictures on that Christmas trip to Eugene. I did! We only stayed one night, but the weather was warm and gorgeous and prime for photography. This set was taken from the car window as Cary was driving on Friday, December 23, 2011. It is amazing to me how I can get some really nice shots at 60 miles per hour by using the "Advanced Sports Shooting" setting on my camera.

Lookout Point Lake:

We pass three lakes (two of which are actually reservoirs) along the side of Hwy 58 as we go back and forth over Willamette Pass. Odell Lake is a natural lake. Lookout Point and Dexter are reservoirs. The Middle Fork of the Willamette River and Deception Creek combine to fill up the miles long Lookout Point. This year the water is lower than we have ever seen it before. Dam engineers plan on working on the dam itself this season. It is probably the year that we really need it to be full because we are not getting our usual Oregon rain or mountain snow. Now we'll probably have a drought, with no water built up in the huge reservoir. Oh, well, what can you do?

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

See the river winding through on the other side of the railroad tracks? Usually, it is way underwater, and when the lake is full it goes up to the tree line. Lookout Point is interesting to me. It seems to go on forever. For some reason, there is rarely anybody using it for anything. Once in awhile there will be a fishing boat out there, but it isn't used for water skiing very often.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Dexter Lake:

Dexter Lake begins where Lookout Point ends, and the small towns of Dexter and Lowell sit along it's banks. This is where you will find people fishing, water skiing and holding drag boat races. Dexter Lake has several parks on it, including a rest area with a handicapped fishing area at the restored historic covered bridge.

These pictures show homes on the Lowell hill:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

During the 1950's when these dams were created for flood control, the town of Lowell was moved out of the valley and up to higher ground. There are farming communities lying underneath all that water. I am having a hard time finding out about them, so if you have any info about that please let me know.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

If you turn right at the covered bridge, you can get to Fall Creek, Jasper and Springfield in a quick and easy manner.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

If you don't turn at the bridge, you will pass by the town of Dexter on your left, go through Pleasant Hill and end up on I-5, at Eugene. The picture above is of the Dexter Lake, past the covered bridge.

The Dexter Lake Club was used in a scene in the movie Animal House, featuring Otis Day and The Knights. I went to You Tube to find a video, but the ones offered were just the music, except for this one. KG and Meg, whoever they are, did a wedding video integrating Otis Day and his band at the Dexter Lake club, singing Shamalama Ding Dong. I just thought it was super neat; so congratulations you two, I hope that you are still very happy!

Links:

Lookout Point Lake and Dexter Lake


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.

2012-01-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

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.

Trapper Creek at Odell Lake, Oregon

2012-01-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

On December 24th, Cary and I stopped by Shelter Cove Resort, located on the west side of Odell Lake, right off of HWY 58, coming from Oakridge to the Willamette Pass Ski Area. I will have the blog post about the resort finished pretty soon. This post is about Trapper Creek, which is on the road to Shelter Cove Resort.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

It begins 3.9 miles upstream, where two spring-fed tributaries join together to create Trapper Creek. It is the largest of the tributaries that flow into Odell Lake.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Trapper Creek is 68* in the summer, and gets down to 39* during the winter.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

At one point, during the 1920's I think (but for the life of me, I can't find a photo of it yet) there was a sawmill on Trapper Creek. There were also logging and railroad camps in the area. Now there are several cabins close by, including a 1926 cabin that was built by a doctor who worked for the railroad.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Trapper Creek is home to Brook Trout. It is also the only known spawning area for Bull Trout on Odell Lake. There are projects to protect the Bull Trout, and links to more information about those projects are listed below.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

It was cold and beautiful the day that we were there. I love these photos, where the small waterfalls are frozen over.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Right before the bridge crossing Trapper Creek is Trapper Creek Campground. It was full of snow, so we couldn't go in. Some of the links below tell all about it, and it sounds like a very nice place to visit. The roads are paved, good water comes from a deep well and it even has flush toilets.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

During the winter months, this area is great for cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and it offers a snow park for sledding. The Willamette Pass Ski Area is only a short drive away.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

A short distance down the road from Trapper Creek is Shelter Cove Resort. If you get the chance to visit Odell Lake, winter or summer, please jump at it. I think that you will enjoy it very much.

Kathy M.

Links

Explore Central Oregon: Odell Lake

Hoodoo: Trapper Creek Campground

Wikipedia: Odell Lake

Report on Critical Habitat for Bulltrout on Trapper Creek

Trapper Creek Restoration Project Report
WildFish Habitat Initiative: Trapper Creek

Ken Brauner.com: Odell Lake Christmas Card


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.