Wednesday Update:

Good Morning, Friends!

So, what is new around here?  I am sure that is the top question on your mind during this busy month.  But, just in case, here is an update.

We have been getting a lot of snow, but it is not very cold, so most of it ends up soon melting.  For instance, yesterday it did not stop snowing for 16 hours straight, and we should have ended up with about a foot.  But, when I went to feed the cat this morning at 6:00, her water was not frozen and we only have about 2" of snow on the sidewalk.  Weird.  Some sort of global warming going down right here in Mayberry?  

Last year's tree.

Even with all of this snow, I do not feel very much like decorating for Christmas.  Our tree is still in the garage, but the ornaments are now inside.  Progress, not perfection.  I really do enjoy decorating the tree, but everything goes better when I am actually in the mood.  I went through everything that I put up the other evening in the living room and moved a lot of it.  It was just too cluttered, with too many "little" things.  After I get it more like I want it to look, I'll take some new pictures.

Last night, I entered my  Tablescape #3: Chickens  in "Rednesday" over at Sue's It's A Very Cherry World.   Thank you, new readers for stopping by taking a look!  I'll tell you guys, if you love decorating and doing show and tell, those linky parties will really help you draw in new readers to your blog.  New readers often times mean new friends, and that is always a great blessing.  Here a few of the sites that I visited as a result in participating in Rednesday:

Leslie at Brookhollow Lane

(She is holding a contest giving away ME stuff!)

Thought's from Meme's Corner

Bubbles of Joy

When I began blogging two years ago, I went crazy with creating blogs.  I have 32 of them, if you want to know the truth.  Some are more like extra pages for family photos, and are not even open to the public.  Others got a great start, but I haven't added to them for a long time.  It kind of surprises me when somebody else finds them on the internet and pays attention to one of them.  I usually then get motivated me to take a second look and at least update them a bit.  If you are curious, the main ones that I have put energy into are listed underneath "Dancing with my Best Friend Husband" on the sidebar.

I am bringing this up, because remember the post that I did last week about the cold snap?  At the end of that article, I sent you over to my  SRL blog.  That generated around 50 hits, and it also generated a blog award from: Online Healthcare Degrees.  Vanessa over there has made a webpage of blogs/websites that have information on emergency preparedness, and that is what the link above will take you too.   Hey thanks, for including me, Vanessa!  

I have continued to work on my corn bag hot/cold packs.  They are all sewn and microwaved (to take out moisture locked inside the corn).  Now I just need to make the covers for them. 

Well, I just wanted to touch base with everybody.  I hope that you and yours are safe and well.  Thanks for reading my blog!


Take care and God bless,


Kathy

Queen of Small Spaces: The Cabin

Okay.  This is not the most flowing post of all time, but here it is.  I hope you enjoy it and don't get dizzy!  I decided to add it to Susan's Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch anyway.  Thank you, Susan for doing this weekly linky party.  You sure are keeping me busy!

Click here to see more transformations!

There are lots of pictures in this post, and most of them are old and scanned, and are not of the best quality.  I have some better ones someplace, where this little cabin was even more tricked out and photo worthy, but I cannot find them!  It is driving me crazy; I have been looking for them all day long.  I must have put them away for safe keeping, because I went through everything.  They are safe from me, at least. Dang.  Oh, well, it is okay for everything to not be perfect.  I think.  And, to be fair to myself, I had never even heard of a blog when these photos were taken.  Who would have ever guessed that I would want to put pictures of my home on the internet?  Some family members still cannot believe I do it!


Anyway, here is the story.  After Nigel and I left the McKenzie Valley so that we could both attend new schools, Mom said that we could live in her little vacation cabin in La Pine.  The cabin is a 365 square foot studio.  Besides my 10-year-old boy, we had our big dog, Ray, and 3 cats.


This cabin is well laid out and has a good kitchen and a good bathroom, with a good cast iron tub.  Those were three very important things that I am glad I had back then.

We loved our cabin.  This is one of those buildings that it is filled with peace.  I can't explain it, but it has a calming effect to all who enter.  It was safe.  Back then, in 2001, the neighborhood was sparsely populated and it was safe too.

We felt so comfortable there, that during the summertime, Nigel and Ray slept out here in this old camper.  We have pictures of it when it was all fixed up somewhere.

The front porch was like an extra room.  I used to sit out there and read my textbooks and study.  In the mornings, I enjoyed my coffee out there.  In the afternoons, I enjoyed my coffee cup of merlot.  That place was so peaceful. 

We even had a little fire pit.

There is Mama Kitty, back when she was nice.

See those green Rubbermaid containers?  Those held our dirty clothes.  We had lots of socks and underwear, and only had to go to the laundromat every 3 weeks or so.  I wonder why I kept those dead plant containers?



Living Area, Before:

 During:

There is Spencer, my nephew, peeking through the kitchen opening.  Take note of the little hallway on the left.  It leads to my little office and the bathroom.

When you first walk in, on the left, there is a very efficient little woodstove.  You probably recognize many things in this cabin. I don't think I have gotten rid of much over the years; I have just added to my favorites.

Sorry that this is so blurry.

 

These curtains are still in use throughout our home today.  The cabin backs up to BLM land and there wasn't anybody behind us.  I didn't even have mini-blinds!

Okay, I would like it if you would look to the left of this picture.  That is where Nigel's loft bed is.

Nigel's treasures were all in that area.  

He had his own little t.v. up there too.

This one from the set of photos that I want, but cannot find, when I had the cabin really cute.  The kitty is sleeping on my Grandma J.'s old trunk, which is where I kept my bedding when not in use.

This is our couch and my bed.

The Kitchen, Before:

The Kitchen, After:

Under the counter and above the counter is where I kept my dishes and glasses ... there is a lot of storage in this small kitchen.  I loved it.


Here is the tiny hall and the walk-in closet that I used as my office:

Can you tell yet that somebody loves M.E.?

I was lucky that there was a little window in that closet.

The water heater came in handy for putting pictures on.

The Bathroom:

This is the same shower curtain that is now in our little bathroom.  

It was my Grandma T.'s

The following pictures are recent.  Grandma Jody got her retreat cabin back from Nigel and me years ago.  She continues to work on it.  She was working on it this day, framing the windows, so things are jumbled around.  I just wanted to use this pics for comparison so that you can see how much I squeezed into it when we were living there.

The t.v. is where the dresser and the floral and lace 

curtains were when we lived there.

The lamp is on the wall where our couch/my bed used to be.

The bed with the pink bedspread is where Nigel's loft bed was.  Mom still keeps his Star Wars decals up high on the wall.

The hallway to my office and to the bathroom.

Where my office used to be.

Grandma Jody in the kitchen.  Check out the nice paneling 
that she has put on the walls.  Great job, Mom!

Those were some special times, living in the cabin.  Nigel and I were on our great adventure, being brave and moving two hours away from the valley and our peeps for the first time.  I am so grateful to Mom for sharing it with us.

~ Kathy 

I have visited these other sites for M.M., please check them out too:


Cottage Hill
Nanniepannies Blog
Attic Mag.com

Don't miss out on the news ... please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.

Chickens: Tablescape #3

Dear  REDNESDAY  Friends:  Hi!  I originally posted this back in October, but I wanted to share it with you guys too.  Because it has a lot of red.  And because I didn't know about you yet, back in October.  To see more recent posts, please click on the "Home" button on the left.  Thanks to Sue at A Very Cherry World for hosting Rednesday for us!

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is actually an unofficial tablescape that I was going enter next week. There are two more tablescapes after the Kris Kristofferson post below, if you want to take a look at them.  They are linked to BNOTP's Tablescape Thursday.  Sorry for the confusion, I forgot to make a permalink; yesterday was my very first time for submitting.  Thanks so much for stopping by, I am enjoying your comments so much!


~ Kathy