Christmas Day at the Ocean….

Nothing like a morning walk on the beach any day, however on Christmas Day it is something special. We were not the only folks to leave our cozy homes to wander the wet sand and view the low tide after so many days of unusually high tide, heavy winds and rough waters. I as usual found two beautiful small stones to bring home and put on my living room windowsill. The weather was cool, some dark clouds rolled in while we were there but it was exhilarating and beautiful.

The Area is Carl G Washburne Memorial State Park, for CoastWatcher’s http://oregonshores.org/coastwatch.php5 it is within mile 181 of the Oregon Coast, 14 miles, 23 km north of Florence, Oregon. You will find that along 101 there are many, many areas to stop and enjoy nature.

The Tide was way out, very clean beach considering the storms we have been having. There was a lot of large wood and logs washed up against the banks and of course the beach stones were all visible, and being I always find a stone or two I have to take home I found two of a color not common for the area. They sit on my windowsill now.

Here are more pictures of the area... enjoy!

Paul enjoying a walk along the water.

It became a bit cloudy, dark and beautiful.

A delightful, blessed day.

Thanks for visiting, feel free to leave a message.

Natures Gifts One Treasures

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

This photo a friend of mine shared on Facebook and it brought to mind a wonderful day a few years ago, so I thought I would share it here.

I used to work for the Forest Service out of Reedsport, (The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area) My position was Public Relations, one of my duties was to take visitors out on hikes in the Dunes, loved the job... couldn't believe what a treat the position was and I was paid too! Miss it a lot at times.

One time I will never forget, It was on my day off and I was just south of Reedsport, I went for a hike on an area of one of the highest dunes... when you were on top you stood next to the top twenty feet of some of the trees the view was beautiful, it was like being all alone in the world, not a sign of humanity anywhere and so quiet.  Anyway I had seen bear tracks as I was ascending the dune, but couldn't tell if they were fresh or from the night before as the dune was wet, anyway as I sat at the top and looked toward the forest area there she was with cubs, not only that but after she disappeared into the wooded area out came what looked like a dog, and it was walking toward me; silver looking with a very bushy long tail. I thought what is a dog doing way up here all alone, well it was a good sized fox and as it walked closer I stood very still and when it saw me it turned and walk into another part of the woods... what a treat that day was... miss those experiences a lot, miss the Forest Service... If you have a chance to visit the Oregon Coast, visit the Dunes.

The Blessings of Christmas

The Holy Child

The weather is cold and wet, Christmas lights are on homes and the Christmas spirit is beginning to grow once more. Out come the boxes of Christmas decoration all ready for the tree and house. I love Christmas time and every day I make a point to think of the true reason for Christmas and the great miracle that happen on that day so many, many years ago and what it has meant to the world. 

It is sad to see that the world has gone so astray of what Jesus taught and died for, sad also for the fact that so much evil has grown in the world. Stay steadfast in your heart to Jesus and be blessed not only this Christmas but all your life, let you light shine…

Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree.......

The holidays are near..

Gosh, here it is almost Thanksgiving again, goodness the time flies by. The summer was wonderful, my garden gave a great bounty and now it is time to turn my thought to Thanksgiving and Christmas... It is always a wonderful season of the year, even if you don't get to spend it with all you family, the love and thoughts are there. I seem to always think about when my children were small with the joy and excitement of the Christmas tree and the packages underneath. However as the years go by and so many folks are having a hard time we all should find a way to help someone have a happier holiday season. It doesn't take money, just warmth and a helping hand.. maybe some cookies for the older lady who is alone through the holiday season, or the neighbor child that would enjoy a surprise gift.... or volunteer some time at your neighborhood food share, help out at a homeless shelter.. just give of yourself to someone else, brighten their life.

The What Would Jesus Eat Cook Book

Marinara Sauce 

Was going to share another story about a treasure of mine but instead this time I’d like to share a great recipe.

 

It is 80 degrees in my back yard at present I was just out there watering and picking more tomatoes. I have made 12 quarts of tomato sauce and they are in my freezer.  You can only eat so many ripe tomatoes.  I have a great easy recipe from a cook book titled THE WHAT WOULD JESUS EAT COOK BOOK, By Don Colbert, M.D. it emphasizes whole foods that are low in fat, salt, and sugar and high in nutrients and satisfying flavor, it is a modern approach to an ancient way to eating and offers a healthy alternative to today's fast food culture. Some really great recipes, in fact the Marinara sauce doesn't even have to be cooked however if you are going to make some to freeze you will want to cook it, tomatoes contain a lot of water so you will want to simmer it to the consistency you desire, then freeze.

  

Take a look.

MARINARA SAUCE

This flavorful sauce does not need to be cooked!

1 (8 ounce) can reduced-salt tomato sauce

2 or 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup onion, chopped

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (I didn't have any so I put in some dried Basil)

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Combine the tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, onions, olive oil, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper in a bowl: mix well.

Serve over hot pasta. I love it this way too, try it.

Cooking pulls the water out of the tomatoes so you have to let it simmer for a couple hours, until it is the consistency you like.  Delicious

I might add you can through anything you may want in it, I put cut up squash in and it was delicious, be wild and imaginative… Enjoy!

Trip to the Beach

The mile I monitor, Mile 187

Here are some pictures of the beach and ocean taken a couple weeks ago. It was a wonderful day at the shore, the sun was just right somehow even though I couldn’t see what I was aiming the camera at as the screen was so black I managed to point the lens at what I was looking at and they all turned out, to my surprise very nice indeed. I don’t believe you can take a bad picture with such beauty.

This is my mile, mile 187 that I have adopted. Up and down the Oregon coast folks adopt a mile and monitor it at least three times a year, checking for changes, dead birds, sea life, live birds and problems of any kind. The reports come to me for Land County and I upload them to the website, http://oregonshores.org. I volunteered several years back to take care of the reports and up load articles with photos, it has become a great source of pleasure to me. The Oregon coast is beautiful and wild, one place you can still go and sometime find yourself all alone with nature.

There's my son Paul wondering on the rocks.

I found this large cut hunk tree trunk very interesting.

Goodbye for now, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for visiting.

 I hope you enjoy the photos…  Be happy.

Glass Egg Mystery

Glass Egg

I was sitting in my favorite chair this morning reading and having a cup of coffee when for some reason my eyes went to the coffee table with its three drawers and glass top. Each draw is filled with special things. The first is filled with things I have picked up at different places and have a special meaning to me.

The second drawer is filled with a rock collection; most belonging to my oldest son also with a few rocks given to me by friends. For a while several years ago every time one of my friends or family members traveled to some interesting place I would ask them to bring back a rock, of course small ones to place in my coffee table. I now have a rock from Africa (top of Kilimanjaro Mt.), China, Japan, Mt. Hood, Mt. Shasta, the Silverado Mine at Mt. St Helena, some pipe stone from Nebraska, and a pretty stone from a mine near Silver City, New Mexico among others.

The third draw displays sea shells of all kinds from all over the world, most of these I purchased.

So periodically I rotate the draws and one can view my little collection through the glass top. One time I displayed a collection of vintage jewelry I had, however I sold all those.

Anyway the thought came to me to share my treasures every now and then and give its history, how I obtained it, and of course with a picture. So here I will put the first little treasure, the object that drew my eye and gave me the idea is a very old blown glass egg with a strange yet interesting story.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s we lived on an acreage next to the Siuslaw National Forest near the City of Florence on the Oregon coast. We raised chicken plus other livestock; however this story is about the glass egg. As I said we raised chicken, about 20 if I remember correctly, Rhode Island Reds… love those pretty chickens and boy did they supply us with eggs. Besides what we used I would sell from 5 to 7 dozen eggs a week.

This one time early in the morning when I went in the hen house to collect the eggs in one nest I found this beautiful glass egg… none of us put it there and we didn’t know our neighbors yet so it wasn’t someone else. Now here was this glass egg, I thought then and still do, a beautiful glass egg; I had never seen one before being a city girl all my life. I told the story to several people and here is what was told to me. It was said that, as we all know rats steal eggs and that a pack rat will sometimes leave or store something in the hens nest. Now I know that years ago to encourage a hen to nest on eggs farmers used to put glass eggs in the nest to encourage the hen to brood. So the only thing we could come up with was an animal, probably a pack rat left it in the nest and I think that is great.

So there you have the story, hope you found it of interest.