43rd Annual Pioneer Days in Canyonville, OR

Saturday Rich and I attended the 43rd annual Pioneer Days Parade and festivities in Canyonville, OR. It is always the last Saturday in August. The parade is about an hour long and then they have bed races down the middle of town afterwards. I didn't get photos of the last of the parade or the bedraces......batteries went down on camera and I had forgot to bring extras. After the parade we walked over to the city park and walked through all the booths. We had decided earlier to go to Burger King for lunch. We used one of our coupons out of the recently mailed booklet and saved $3.49. After lunch we went over to a friend's house and picked about 30 pounds of apples. These will be dehydrated. We worked on canning more pears that evening. Will finish up pears on Sunday afternoon.

Plain and Fancy Glassware

Yesterday on Gina's blog she posted about her everyday and special dishes. I made a comment about how I loved old dishes........actually I got carried away and wrote a small book in her comments. She emailed me and asked me to post some of my dishes. I can post a few.....most of my glassware that I have collected over the years is packed away in storage. I hope to get it out soon. Anyway I have posted a few photos.

The place setting is our everyday dishes and silverware. They are sitting on a tablerunner that I made.

I love my collection of Cobalt blue.....I found the Arizona Tea Bottle on the side of the road coming home from Reno, Nevada. The tall round vase or glass was given to me by a friend......he was using it for a drinking glass. I admired it and told him I collected Cobalt Blue glass and he gave it to me. I have 3 of the snowflake jars. I recently found the shot glass at a yard sale in a free box. The tall blue bottle is full of Oregon rain water.....Rich found it at the store one day and bought it for me. He also brought home the small Guarana bottle from work....one of his co-workers was throwing it away and Rich asked for it. The vase with the clear glass surrounding the neck was found at a yard sale. I have several more pieces that are packed away.

The rest of the photos are Floragold glassware made in the 1950's. All of this dishware is packed away so I found some photos online to let you see their beauty. The set belonged to my Mother-in-law. She received it from her secret sister at church in the 50's. After she died my sister-in-law inherited it. One day she called Rich and asked if he wanted the old dishes that had been Mom's. Rich told her he would be there right away to pick them up. When we arrived she had them stacked in a box (with out being wrapped) on the porch. We wrapped them with care and took them home. We had already found some of the pieces that were being thrown out to be burned. Another story!

We have a service of 6 luncheon plates, 6 bowls, 6 saucers, 6 bread plates, 6 - 8 ounce tumblers, 6 - 12 ounce tumblers, pitcher, pair of candlesticks, salt and pepper shakers with original tops, cream and sugar bowl, candy dishes, 2 sizes of serving bowls, butter dish and some other small pieces. My sister-in-law kept the sandwich platter.....Rich is still trying to get it from her.

Also packed away is my china. It is white with a black band and silver edge. I have a set of 12. I bought it when Safeway was promoting it in the early 80's.

I have lots of other glassware packed away. I have Fire King teacups and saucers, various patterns of china teacups and saucers, Berry bowl and 8 small serving bowls, Cranberry Red from Avon and numerous other pieces of old glass. Mom and Dad worked the flea mart circuit for over 30 years. During that time she collected numerous sets of glassware for my 3 sisters and myself.

Mom collected glassware for herself, too!!! She collected an extensive set of all kinds of Forrest Green, Cobalt Blue, Reds and Pink. After she died we packed it in several boxes to one day be divided between us girls......in the meantime it is at Dad's in a closet.

It's a Miracle!!!!

It's a miracle!!!! Jaycee Lee Dugard has been returned to her family after being kidnapped over 18 years ago in the South Lake Tahoe area.

Rich and I lived in South Lake Tahoe when Jaycee was kidnapped. We had went up to Oregon for a weeks vacation. When we returned home there was Pink Ribbons everywhere. We found out from friends that Jaycee had been kidnapped. Rich worked with Jaycee's Mom at Harrah's Casino and Resort on South Shore.

Rich and I often prayed for Jaycee and her family over the years. We prayed that she would be returned to her family one day and her kidnappers would be caught......that prayer was answered on Aug. 26th.

Our continued prayers for Jaycee, her daughters and family.

Catching Up

Our beautiful Misty taking a catnap!

This is a old cart that was used in the Nickle minds around Riddle and Myrtle Creek, Or. It now resides behind the MC hardware store. I love the way they plant flowers in it every year. It is right next to the post office so I see it often.

This is some of my sunflowers.......look close and you will see a honeybee!

Rapunzel....one of the Fairytale Dotees I have made lately. I also made Mary Had A Little Lamb and Little Red Riding Hood. I still have Goldilocks to make and swap soon.

I was lucky enough to catch several photos of this beautiful dragonfly in my garden area.

Rich at Mildred Kanipe Park just outside Oakland, OR.

One of the beautiful peacock at Mildred Kanipe Park.

Me at Mildred Kanipe Park.

One of the old homes in Oakland, OR.

Oakland, OR.

Oakland, OR.

I was able to get this close-up of one of the peacocks at Mildred Kanipe Park.

50 pounds of cherries from Kurt's place.

Time to do a little catching up. Rich took a weeks vacation in July. We mostly stayed home and worked around the house, canning cherries and took a few day trips.

We went and picked 50 pounds of sweet cherries from Kurt's (Rich's fellow employee) place. He has 2 huge trees and he only eats a few of the cherries. He lets us pick the rest. We picked about 50 pounds this year. We canned 47 pints of pitted cherries. Yes, pitted! I found a cherry pitter on Ebay for 99 cents and $3.99 shipping. We set up an assembly line for canning. I would was and make sure there was no bad ones. Rich would pit enough for a cannerful of jars. I would get them going in the canner. Then we started all over again.....until we had them finished. They look wonderful sitting in the pantry.

One of our day trips was to Oakland, OR. It is about 45 minutes north of us on I-5. The town is about 2 miles off the freeway. The town was established in 1851. In 1872 the town was relocated to be next to the new railroad. There are several old brick buildings that are used for businesses today. There are several old homes located around town. Rich and I both would love to own one of the homes built in the 40's or 50's.........especially if it had a wraparound porch. I love my friend, Gina's home......it looks so cozy and warm. We also went to a nearby park for our picnic lunch. It is Mildred Kanipe Park about 8 miles northeast of Oakland. The park is 1,100 acres. There is so many sights to see......old home of Mildred Kanipe, old barns and outbuildings, old school and the grounds are so beautiful. There is peacocks everywhere. I was fortunate enough to find one of the long tail feathers while on a walk. While having our lunch in the picnic area several of the peacocks decided to join us. I was able to get some great photos of the peacocks. Of course, they didn't cooperate and show me their plummage in all its glory. Maybe next time. Yes, we will be going back to enjoy the park again.

My garden has been doing so so!!!! The weather has been cold one day.....blistering hot the next. I mean we went from 111 degrees one day to 79 degrees the next day. Poor garden doesn't know if it should grow or hibernate. I've been getting some nice tomatoes lately.

I ended up with 6 sunflowers this year. If you will look closely on the sunflower you will see a honeybee. I have seen lots of honeybees this year.....last year I hardly seen any.

One morning Rich told me to be quite and bring my camera out to the porch. He had spied a beautiful red dragonfly. I was fortunate enough to get several photos of it landing on a tomato cage.

I just recently went over to Dad's for blackberry picking. Dad, Mae and I picked about 8 gallons of blackberries. I canned 27 pints of pure blackberry puree, 3 pints of Blackberry Jelly. Rich loves blackberry cobbler but doesn't like the seeds in it. I experimented and found that running the berries through the juicer it makes a thick puree. I then thicken it a little with cornstarch before adding to baking dish. Then I add my cobbler topping and bake. Ta-Da........Blackberry Cobbler......no seeds. The blackberries are still ripening and I might go pick some more....not sure.

I bought 25 pounds peaches at Brosi's Sugartree Farms in Winston, OR. They were so sweet and yummy. I dehydrated them and had enough to fill 2 quart baggies with the dehydrated peaches.. I was able to freeze enough peaches for 2 batches of Peach Jam and 3 Peach Cobblers.

We went in to visit Rich's Dad and Stepmother in Medford, OR. They had recently moved into a Retirement Home. They have a 1 bedroom apartment. It has the one bedroom, handicapped bathroom, living room, combination dining room and kichenette. They have a 2 burner range top, microwave and small refrigerator. They don't have to worry about cooking as 3 meals a day is provided in the dining room down stairs. They also have ice cream and pie socials often in the dining area. Just recently they had a Hawaiian feast outside on the patio. They had Hawaiian music for entertainment. They were able to enjoy the feast and then go back to their room and listen to the music through their window that overlooks the patio. They have lots of trips, games, entertainment provided for them. They have a laundry room and beauty shop just doors away from their apartment. Rich's sister, Donna picks them up for church services. They can schedule their doctor appointments on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays and the shuttle will take them to their appointments. They also have shuttles for shopping trips. Rich is so happy that they moved into the retirement home. They had life cords in each room in case they fall and need help. There is staff there 24 hours a day. The manager took us on a tour of the facilities and Rich was able to talk to her about his concerns about his Dad. He is getting to the point that he needs a scooter to get around. She said she would look into the situation.

While we was in Medford we went and spent the afternoon visiting with my sister, Bobbie and her husband, Mike. They are getting ready to remodel their kitchen. Their home was built in the 1940's. They have already remodeled the bedrooms, dining area, bathroom (adding master bath and walk in closet) and added a 3-car garage. They are supposed to start remodel around Labor Day. They had samples of the countertop, flooring and cabinets and was asking everyone's opinion. I chose the same countertop material as Bobbie. I can't wait to see it finished. Bobbie will finally have a dishwasher......she's looking forward to that. They are putting pull out drawers in all the bottom cabinets. Bobbie has arthritis in her knees and has a hard time getting down to see whats in the bottom cabinets.

We went to visit Danny's Mom and Brother, Lonny. They live out in Sams Valley, OR. Mom G. is like a Mom to both Rich and I. Rich and Danny became friends in the third grade in 1959. I met Danny and Mom G. in 1972 and Rich in 1973. We have all spend lots of time fishing, camping, and visiting. Lonny was in a horrible car accident years ago and is paralyzed from the waist down. That doesn't stop him from camping, fishing, gardening or doing most everything he wants. He lives with Mom G. and she is his official caregiver. They took us out to show us their garden. It was beautiful. They had corn, all kinds of squash, melons, tomatoes, beets, cukes, carrots and even tobacco growing. They shared their bounty with us.....we brought home tomatoes and zucchini squash. I dehydrated both as I had several squash in the frig and a big bowl of tomatoes on the counter.

Last Friday I bought 50 pounds of Bartlett pears at Brosi's Sugar Tree Farms. I'm still waiting for them to ripen enough to can. I swear Rich can eat a whole pint of my canned pears in one sitting. I'm going to dehydrate a few.....maybe. I might have to go back next week and buy another 25 pounds. We'll see how many pints I get canned out of the 50 pounds.

Ive been busy making Dotee dolls that I swap all over the world. I recently received Dotees from Germany, England, Australia and Russia. I doing several series of Dotees right now. One is Gone With The Wind, Circus Players, Fairytales, Monsters from the old black and white movies and Alice and Wonderland. I'll have to take a photo of my Gone With the Wind ones. So far, we have done Scarlett. I did her in her finest curtain dress. Next we will be doing Rhett. I'm trying to decide what costume I want to use for Rhett. I do extensive research for my Dotee dolls.

Misty.....is being Misty. She loves her Friskies Salmon Pate and her frequent catnaps. We are thinking about getting her a little sister soon. We think that she is bored is why she spends so much time under the bed sleeping. We are in hopes that a little sister will entice her to play and not sleep so much. I mean she sleeps under the bed for at least 12-16 hours a day. She comes out to eat in the mornings and to play with Rich when he comes home from work. She hardly comes out during the day.

Well, I better get going and check on those darn pears. I hope they ripen soon. We are planning on attending the Pioneer Days festivities in Canyonville, OR this weekend and don't want to be canning pears. Saturday is the parade and events at the park. Sunday our church joins 2-3 other churches for Sunday services.

Gardening and Flowers

My tomato plants in my raised bed garden....also onions, lettuce and beans.

My potatoes growing in the potato sacks that I made out of weed barrier fabric 3 years ago.

Rich mowing the bottom grass.....can't really call it a lawn as it is mostly weeds.

Orange Lilies in Dad and Mae's raised flower bed.

Mae's Grandson gave her a couple of trees in a small container and told her they needed to be put into a larger container. So, she planted them in the raised flower bed. Her Grandson was horrified when he found out she had planted the 2 Bonsai trees he had given her as a houseplant outside.

Pink and Yellow lilies in Dad and Mae's raised flower bed.

Pink lilies...closeup.

Strawberries that we bought at Mary's Garden in Canyonville. They were so sweet and juicy. These are June bearers and starting this week the Everbearing ones will start to ripen. They are a little spendy at $18 a flat.....but well worth it. There was no waste other than the stems on the ones we bought. They start picking them at daylight and only pick as many as they predict they will sell so they are always fresh daily. You can also go U-pick them. We used to pick them ourselves until it started hurting my back and legs so much afterwards. Now we pay a little more and buy them already picked. We enjoyed them fresh over ice cream the day we brought them home. I sliced the rest and put them in the freezer in pint bags. We plan on getting at least 2 more flats soon to freeze and make jam.

Soon it will be time to pick blackberries. I'll post photos of Dad and Mae's blackberries in their backyard later when they start ripening. Dad keeps them trimmed and so they are easy to pick by the bucketfuls. They keep them picked all summer until there are no more berries. I can't tell you how many 5 quart ice cream buckets that we pick off those berries each year. Dad and Mae freezes the berries and juice and then distributes it amongst their families and friends. I go over and help pick as many as possible. I freeze whole berries and can juice from running the berries through my juicer. I don't add any sugar to the juice so we can make jelly out of it later. We like to mix it with Diet-7Up for a refreshing drink.

Rich's co-worker said the sweet cherries should be ready soon! He doesn't use them other than eating so we can pick several pounds. I'm planning on canning and dehydrating them this year. I was fortunate enough to find a cherry pitter (brand new) on Ebay for 99c plus $3.95 shipping. I was the only person that bid on it. I'm still trying to find a French Bean slicer on Ebay for a reasonable price. I've found them but the starting bids are more than what they cost in the store.

Happy Anniversary!

Photo was taken July, 1973.

Today is our Anniversary. It's hard to believe that we have been married for 36 years. It's seems like yesterday that we made the decision to go to Reno, NV and get married. We....or rather my mother-in-law was planning our wedding. They just kept getting it bigger and bigger. Rich and I wanted a very simple wedding......not an event like they were planning. We decided one morning that we didn't want what was being planned.....so we decided to elope.

After we made our decision Rich called his Mom and told her our decision. She wasn't too happy with our decision. Next, I called my Grandma and told her our decision. She said if we were happy with our decision.....then she was. She asked that we come out and see her before we left for Reno. We went out to see her and she gave us some money.

We left that morning for Reno. Rich hadn't been to Reno and I had only been there as a child with my parents. We arrived at the outskirts of Reno about 10pm that night. We were so tired that we decided to get a motel room and find the courthouse the next day. The motel is no longer there as they put in a new freeway exit and tore down all the buildings in the area.

The next day armed with instructions from the motel manager we found the Washoe County Court House. We discovered if we got married before Noon it was $10 cheaper. We could also be married by the Justice of Peace right across the hall. We filled out the paperwork and got our license. Then we waited in the hallway with several other couples to be married for the judge. We were married at 11:47am...we just barely made the Noon deadline.

After we was married we counted our money that we had left. We put aside our gas money and had enough left to have lunch at McDonald's closeby. We couldn't go inside the casinos........Rich was old enough but I wasn't.

After lunch and a little sightseeing we headed back to Oregon. We didn't really have a home because the people we was staying with had been evicted. We ended up spending our Wedding Night at Rich's parents.

We stayed with them for a couple of days. Then my Grandma asked us if we wanted to stay in their travel trailer until we could find a apartment to rent. We moved out to Grandma's and continued to look for jobs.

That was how we started out 36 years ago.

Families

Photo is my Mother and Dad taken in December, 1951......the year they were married.

Yesterday I was reading one of my favorite blogs. The lady that owns the blog was showing how she was able to buy 80 boxes of Pasta Salad for less than $5. She went on to say that all the boxes of pasta was not for herself.....they would be distributed to 7 other family members giving each family 10 boxes.

A lady committed on her blog and told her that she was very rude to purchase that many boxes. She said that she should just purchase enough boxes for her own self. Most of the other ladies that commented didn't find it a problem about the amount she purchased.

It really bothers me that in our day and age.....there are a lot of people who are so self-centered that they think of no one but themselves. They don't think of others.....even their families. What happened to families helping each other....in the past multiple generations lived in the same home. They pooled their resources and took care of each other. When a family member was sick......all pitched in to help take care of them and see that everything was done around the home. It saddens me that this way of life has been pushed to the way side.

My Dad will be 77 years old this August. I try to make sure that he is taken care of when he is sick......he won't admit often to needing help. I find things on sale that I know he likes and I pick them up for him. I take over baked items and other foods to him when I have a chance. I love my Dad and want to see his golden years happy for him......not struggling to survive. If that means eventually moving into my home.....that is what will happen.

I feel sorry for the people that do not have families that care what happens to them.

I will climb down off my soapbox now.

Cowboy Stew

I found this recipe while surfing for frugal recipes. I tried it one day when I had to work late. It was truly a hit with Rich. When I got home he was standing in the doorway rubbing his tummy and giving me a thumbs-up sign.

COWBOY STEW

1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, crumbled, browned and drained
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced
16 ounce can red or pinto beans
1 can tomato soup
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

Put chopped onion in bottom of crockpot; layer with beef, potatoes and beans. Spread tomato soup over all. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

I love Freecycle!!!!!!!!

I just love Freecycle. Last night a lady listed a Custom Built Sewing Cabinet. I was the first to respond and was able to pick it up this afternoon. The top is 2 x 8-feet. There is 2 sets of drawers on either side of area where sewing machine sits. One of the top drawers is built for spools of threads. The lady told me that she had it custom built 30 years ago. It is made of plywood.....not a piece of chipboard anywhere. Thank goodness that the top comes off and it breaks down into 3 pieces. Her husband didn't think that we could get all the pieces in our van. Rich told him that there would be no problem getting all the pieces in the van. We had room leftover after loading all 3 pieces.

Now I can't wait until we can reorganize the computer/craft room and get the cabinet installed.

Happy Father's Day

Photo of Dad taken when we went camping in May.

Yesterday Rich and I took Dad a card and a loaf of homemade bread for Father's Day. We spent the afternoon visiting with Dad and Mae.

Shelf Reliance Giveaway

Shelf Reliance is giving away a Harvest 72" Shelving Unit on June 26, 2009. There are 5 different ways to enter the giveaway.

I sure would love to win this for my pantry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Claire's Birthday

Saturday was our grand-niece, Claire's birthday. She is celebrating her first birthday. She is so cute eating her birthday cake and getting it all over her like a typical 1 year old. It seems like it was only yesterday when we was celebrating her Dad's (Josh) first birthday. I think my sister made him a Hot Wheels cake. I'll have to go back and look at photos. Rick and I couldn't be there for Claire's birthday so Nancy sent us photos yesterday.

Our nephew Josh has a passion for John Deere tractors. I just love this photo of him and Claire on the tractor.

Our New Pet

It seems we have a new pet. The Deer! Every afternoon it comes down off the hill to visit us. The last few days it has been laying down next to the driveway in the shade to rest. No.....we do not feed it! It is illegal in Oregon to feed the wildlife. Quite a few people have been fined big time recently for feeding deer and bear in their backyards.

Stacy and Florin's Wedding

Today Rich and I attended our neice, Stacy's wedding. It also happened that it would have been Rich's Dad and Mom's 60th Anniversary. Rich lost his Mom in 1975. Also Dad told Rich that 65 years ago he was in England waiting with his company to deploy and land on Utah beach.

I didn't get too many photos as the lighting was really low. Rich, Stacey's Dad was taking lots of photos and he said he would upload them online for everyone. Also, Meagan, another niece said she would share photos with everyone. We will be able to order from the photographer too!

The wedding colors were Chocolate and Red. Most of the flowers were red roses with chocolate ribbons. I was able to bring home some of the silk rose petals that had been strewn down the isle. I will use them on my scrapbook pages. Rich thought they were real rose petals.....he didn't realize they were silk so he couldn't understand why I wanted them.

The reception was lovely. There was a buffet with fruits, veggies, dips and tortilla rolls. They were yummy. They were turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, cream cheese mixed with deviled ham rolled up in flour tortillas and cut into slices. Rich loved the fresh strawberries.....they make him sneeze 3-4 times when he first eats them.

The cake was lovely. It was done in red roses and white frosting. There was red roses in vases on the sides.

Stacy's wedding dress was beautiful It had 3/4 sleeves and a layered skirt with chocolate ribbons down the back. The wedding party ladies was dressed in chocolate dresses and the men was dressed in black suits with chocolate vests.

After a long and tiring day we arrived home this evening around 7pm.

Book Review: The American Patriot's Bible

If you have a thirst for the word of God and American History this book "The American Patriot's Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America" was written for you.

It begins with Genesis and goes through Revelation with bits and pieces of American History throughout the pages.

I enjoyed reading a quote from Ronald Regan-40th President that was found in a section of presidential quotes. "Inside the Bibles pages lie all the answers to all the problems man has ever known...It is my belief that the enduring values presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation. The Bible can touch our hears, order our minds and refresh our souls."

The Bible contains a full color presentation page and family record section. It is written in New King James version with large print. In the back there is an extensive Index and Concordance.

Both my husband and I have been enjoying reading how our countries history relates to the Bible.

Thank you Thomas Nelson Publishing for letting me review this book.

Bi-Weekly Grocery Shopping

A couple of days before my grocery trip I make a menu out for 2 weeks. I plan 21 main meals. That way we have a choice and also use some for lunches on weekend. Next I go through my cupboards and pantry to see what I need and add them to my list. I try to keep a well stocked pantry to help cut costs of my grocery shopping trip.

Last Friday was my shopping day. I took Rich to work at 5:30am and then went to the store. It's nice shopping at that time of morning as there are few people to bother you. There are the guys that stock the shelf but they are friendly and try to keep the isles clear. Anyway I'm looking at my list and keeping track of what I'm spending. Its apparent that my grocery money that I want to spend will run out before my list. So, I make a few adjustments within the grocery list.

Finally I get to the checkout and it's not my usual one. I ask the checker how he wants the coupons......he says it doesn't matter when I give them to him. I had some free items so I handed him the coupons for them as I had placed them on the conveyor belt first. He took care of those items and then checked the rest of the items. I handed him the rest of the coupons. My total came to $80.27 before coupons. After deducting my coupons and 30 cents for using my own bags it was $68.03. I stayed under my grocery money which is $125 every 2 weeks. I didn't want to spend all my grocery money as I'm saving part of it back for buying fruits, veggies, tuna and salmon to preserve later.

I did find some jumbo green peppers that were 2 for 79cents. I'm going to dehydrate them. I have some onions that I had bought for 5 pounds for $1 a few weeks ago. I'm going to dehydrate them along with the peppers (separate trays).

We should soon be able to go pick local strawberries. We have a huge truck farm about 9 miles from our home that has the best strawberries. Rich and I love going there to pick them....they allow you to eat berries as you pick as long as you're not a little piggy about it. They also have all kinds of other fruits and veggies that you can buy already picked.

One of Rich's co-workers has lots of cherries and he told Rich he would let him know when we could come and pick them. He is also going to let us have lots of seedless green grapes this fall. I will can and dehydrate both the grapes and the cherries. A friend of ours has apples that we can pick also later this fall. I will make applesauce and dehydrate them. We want to get some apricots to dehydrate, peaches to can, dehydrate, pears to can and dehydrate. Hope to get some Purple Italian Plums from Bobbie this year to dehydrate. They are so yummy! We will also buy veggies to add to our small garden to can and dehydrate. We are waiting for my Uncle Andy to call and let us know that they are selling fresh tuna and salmon off the boats.