This and That Tuesday: Sharing the Love

Wow!  Thank you to Melissa from over at Melissa's Imaginarium
for giving me an award yesterday!  There were not any rules attached, which are the kinds of awards that I enjoy the most.  Melissa just gave links to several of her blogging friends, and I am going to do the same.  I have featured many of the people on my blog list at the top of the sidebar every now and then, so feel free to visit their awesome blogs when you get a chance. 

Today, I would also like to suggest visiting some of my Sepia Saturday friends, and encourage you to become part of this group if you love old pictures and stories of the past.  It is a very enjoyable blogging community to belong to.  Here are just a few of the regular participants: 

Little Nell @ Hanging On My Word
Bob @ Bob's Home For Writing
Karen @ 21 Wits, by Karen
Alan @ News From Nowhere
Tickelbear @ Ticklebear
Nancy @ Ladies of the Grove
Postcardy @ Postcardy: The Postcard Explorer 
Liz @ Attics and Old Lace

Some other goings on in Blogland:

Baja Greenawalts is having a contest ... 
Just "CLICK HERE" to find out the details.

Natasha over at 5 Minutes Just for Me has been busy expanding her blogs and weekly parties.  Natasha holds a Friday Pinterest meme for those of you who are involved with that, or would like to be.  For Christmas information and traditions, please visit her at Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive, 365.

And, of course, there is my ever favorite holiday blog, Jessa Irene's Holiday Haven ... just "CLICK HERE" to visit her.  This month, it is all about and everything Christmas.

Looking for some great deals as you get ready for Christmas?  Frugal Living Northwest is an incredible website that is worth looking into.  Just "CLICK HERE" to see for yourself. 

Okay, there you go!  Posts like this take forever, with all the linking up, but I wanted to let you know about some of my other favorite bloggers.  Melissa, see what you started, lol!  Take care, everybody, and have a wonderful week. 

Kathy M.

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

Leather and Lace and The Sunriver Library:

This song is one of my old time favorites.  It blends the strengths and weaknesses of a woman and a man, as it examples the bringing of them together to compliment each other all into one spot: into a relationship of marriage.  

Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac) and Don Henley (of The Eagles) collaborated to write this as a wedding song for Waylon Jennings and Jessie Colter.  After all of their hard, work they got a beautiful piece of music and a hit single, but the intended couple did not end up using it.  I'm not sure they ever ended up getting married, which is probably the reason for that. 

I was having a hard time last week.  I needed to clear my head and get an attitude adjustment, so I went on a drive.  I rediscovered the Sunriver Library, which is quite a wonderful little spot.  First off, I bought ten awesome books for a dollar each from the Friends of The Sunriver Library bookshelf.  That began to cheer me up. I am currently enjoying "Best Friends Forever" by Jennifer Weiner.  I'll need to make a Bargain Book Bonanza post about my score sometime soon. 

The Sunriver Library even has a little "living room", with leather furniture and a huge gas fireplace.  The whole library is set up like Barnes and Noble, Borders or other cool bookstores.  It was very quiet, until the second graders from across the street showed up to listen to a story and check out books on their teacher's library card. 

Eventually, I sat down after grabbing several photography books on Oregon and began flipping through the pages.  I recognized these as books that my Grandma T. had copies of.  Mom has them now, I think.  The surprise was that they were photographed by Ray Atkeson, the guy that I did a report/post on last month.   Please "CLICK HERE" to see more about this remarkable man.  I can't believe that I did a whole report on him and didn't realize that I had seen his work all over the place for years.  I learn something new everyday, especially that I barely know anything at all.

Anyway, back to the song.  On the way home, Leather and Lace came on the radio. I am glad that I heard it at the time I did.  It spoke to me somehow.  It humbled me a bit out of my self-righteous state of mind, reminding me of the differences between men and women, and to periodically show a bit more compassion.  I still copped an attitude for a couple of more days, but am trying to move forward and be a blessing instead of a critic.

Which songs have spoken to you lately?

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.
 

Christmas Decorations for 2011:

I finally finished decorating the house yesterday.  I might still make make a few changes, but am so glad to be done.  The tree was not cooperative this year and that part was frustrating, though I suppose it wasn't the tree's fault that the stand was damaged.  What you don't see are bungee cords, strings, two belts, an anchor and a brick trying to make sure that the whole thing will not tip over, fully loaded with precious ornaments!

Our tree is a 9' artificial pre-lit tree from Costco and we have had it for around 5 years. I always considered fake trees unworthy to an Oregonion, where many grow trees for a living and ship them across the nation.  I felt that way until I moved to dry Central Oregon and into homes with forced air heat.  No matter how hard that I tried, it was dangerous to plug in our Christmas tree on Christmas morning, so I finally gave up and Cary bought me this fancy artificial one.   It doesn't have the great smell, but it isn't a fire hazard either. 

It is very pretty, but I swear, it takes me longer to figure out how to plug in the lights each year than it does to put the decorations on it.  Almost.  I tie ribbons onto the plugs to find them easier, but even that doesn't always work out.  Oh well, all is well that ends well.

The table is simple, and I'm sure that I'll feature a tablescape or two this season.  In the meantime, the vintage tablecloth is a treat to look at.

If I can figure out how to capture the true magic of our tree through better lighting, I'll post some more photos.  It really is pretty.  The ornaments are old friends, reminding me of the loved ones who made them or gave them to our family over the years.

Nigel made this one when he was a baby, with the help of our friend and sitter, Mama Bott.

A low light shadow shot of some of my Santa collection; the fancy ones are from my step-mom, Jill.

More pretty pictures of the tree with the flash off.

This one is kind of blurry, but it is the window behind the couch.  We have been having some very pretty days outside lately.

In the evenings, I light the candles that are dispersed throughout the snowman collection.  I am considering stringing miniature white lights throughout the scene, but I might just leave it as is.

This is in the corner between the couch and loveseat.

How are you guys doing on your seasonal decorating, if you are?  This year, I kept it simple and less cluttered than usual.  One reason for this is that I don't have my hutch in the living room anymore.  The other reason is that I decided that I don't have to use everything that I have, just the stuff that will look the nicest.

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.
 

Alleyways in Downtown Bend, Oregon: October 2011

Last October, Cary and I were wandering around Downtown Bend, Oregon, and I took these shots of power-lines in the alleyway:   

 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 a SkyWatch Friday post.  To see beautiful sky shots from around the world, please "CLICK HERE".

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 #39 "Elevation: 9000 Feet" and #40 "Wrestling With The Big Sausage" :

Hello!  It is Book Blurb Friday once more.  Last week I was still doing Thanksgiving stuff instead of writing my book blurb, so this week you get to read two of them.  I am noticing a theme running through both of them, all the women seem to want time alone.  That is kind of weird, because I am getting lots to time to do the stuff that I want to do right now, so I'm not talking about me.  I don't think.

Oh well, these may not be the best short stories that I have ever come up with, but I gave it a whirl.  When you are done with me, please visit the other story tellers over at Lisa's Writing in the Buff.

"Wrestling with The Big Sausage"

Source: Sandra Davies @ Lines of Communication

Wanting some time to herself, Marisa decided to go fishing on her father's boat.  The day was beautiful and the lake calm.  She packed a nice fried chicken lunch, her fishing gear and her book and walked out to the dock.

The boat was a handcrafted beauty.  A master boat-builder, her father had labored over it for a whole year.  They kept it at the family cabin on Lake Provalone, in Italy.   

For those of you dear readers who may be unaware, Lake Provalone is where the huge fish known as The Big Sausage resides.  As you may guess, Marisa will be coming into contact with T.B.S. on this little outing ... but will she end up in the water with him, or not?  If so, will handsome Mario rescue her, or not?  If your inquiring mind would like to find out, it is time to buy this book! (150)

"Elevation: 9,000 Feet"

Source: Lynn Obermoeller @ Present Letters

For the past 15 years, best friends Justine and Daria make plans for a week together, alone.  That means no husbands, children, and no ties to work. The other rule is that they have to choose someplace that is at least 9,000 feet in elevation. 

This year, they are planning on going skiing at Mt. Bachelor in Central Oregon.  Past vacations have included: Crystal Colorado, "Quinto", a campground in New Mexico, and Bryce Canyon National Park. 

This year there is a twist.  Daria is done with the friendship.  She has designs on Justine's husband Frank, and plans to kill Justine, making it their last 9000’ foot vacation. 

Will Daria's evil plan succeed?  How will she accomplish making the murder look like an accident? Or, will fate step in and change the direction of events?  You are sure to enjoy reading this thriller of deceit, lies, and a friendship gone bad. (150) 

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  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.
 

Sepia Saturday #103: Sacred Heart General Hospital Nursing School

It is that time of the week again, time for Sepia Saturday!   I try to join in each week, sharing a bit of history with you about either my family or parts of Oregon that interest me.  This week, it was very easy for me to be on theme as the theme is nurses on the go.  My Mom, Jolene Johnson, is a registered nurse who graduated from nursing school at Sacred Heart General Hospital in Eugene, Oregon in 1958.  After a decade or so of working at the hospital, she transferred to the company's Home Health Department, where she worked until her retirement.  After retirement, Mom went on medical mission trips to Guatemala eleven times with Cascade Medical Teams.  Currently, she is a parish nurse at her church.  Once a nurse, always a nurse, it seems to me.  Thanks, Mom, for all you have done to help others throughout your life. 

Below, the lovely ladies are proudly holding their diplomas.  In the midst of studying for her nursing license, Mom (Jolene) got married and had me.  I enlarged these so you can see them better, so please scroll all the way over to the right so that you can see Mom:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I always loved her cape.  I'm sure it is still hanging in her bedroom closet.  Those nursing caps and uniforms were a sign of honer, but those caps must have been a pain to stay on.  The bobby pins that held them down were white, the uniforms were white, their shoes and stockings were white.  Now when you go to the hospital, everybody wears scrubs and you can't tell who is who!

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Everybody signed their names on the back of the picture above.  Of course, this was Mom's copy, so I don't see her signature:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

As I was looking around the internet for a bit of information and photos about historical Sacred Heart, I really didn't find much.  I did find this neat collection of sepia photos of nurses around the Pacific Northwest though:  Flicker Page: PNW Nursing Photos.  

Over time, Sacred Heart General Hosptial became part of the PeaceHealth Medical Group.  Here is a page on their website sharing the first 75 years of the company's history:
PeaceHealth Celebrates 75 Years: Historical Timeline

I also came across this interesting bit of information about The Nightengale Pledge , which is essentially the nurses oath.  

The Nightingale Pledge was composed by Lystra Gretter, an instructor of nursing at the old Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and was first used by its graduating class in the spring of 1893.  It is an adaptation of the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians. 

"I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician, in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care."

As a side bit, I also found a voice recording of Florence Nightingale on You Tube. Pretty neat stuff: 

I hope that you enjoyed this bit of Oregon history, along with a bit of my family history.  Happy Sepia Saturday!


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.