Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Feb 8, 2012, 5:48 pm
Why is it that when you have something that works well and that you enjoy on your blog, the developer (Google) comes along and changes things?!  Evidently, GoogleFriendConnect is to be “retired” (dismantled and shoved under the rug) on March 1st for all non-Blogger blogs.  They are turning th...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Feb 8, 2012, 1:32 pm
The macho logger tree farmer leaves early each morning…too early to let the goats out of their cougar-proof enclosure.  So, after I wake (and have my coffee), I trudge out to their nighttime safehouse and let them out.  Usually, they’re happy to see me and greet me with their typical exuberant...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Feb 5, 2012, 11:00 pm
On Saturday I fly to Iowa for a wonderful two and a half weeks with my daughter and her family, so we took advantage of this last Sunday for a while – a beautiful and surprisingly warm day –  to drive over to the coast (a little over an hour).  We then drove down the Pacifi...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 31, 2012, 9:38 pm
As published in our official farm blog, Campbell Kids Farm…   The last day of January… What a perfect afternoon to hike down to the edge of the farm property…and back up.  Blue skies and sunshine although it was definitely chilly.  My light fleece jacket felt good.  On the way down, we s...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 27, 2012, 5:56 pm
After a wonderful ten days in Texas with my son and his precious wife and baby daughter, I returned home to the farm in Oregon.  (Via a bumpy, fall-from-the-sky airplane ride I might add.)  It had snowed 5″ here while I was away but with little accumulation. This morning, I awoke to overcast sk...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 20, 2012, 10:20 pm
I arrived in Dallas a week ago tomorrow and promptly fell in love all over again. Maggie is amazing. She’s now four and a half months and weighs about 14 pounds. Those big blue eyes sparkle when she smiles and she smiles a lot. She has even laughed for me – when I bark. I have perfected barking ...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 12, 2012, 10:12 pm
I was there when you arrived HOME from Ethiopia after a long two day journey with your Mom and Dad.  You must have been tired, but you didn’t cry.  You carefully looked us all over – your  new family – from the safety of Mommy’s arms.  Those dark eyes danced and then you smiled, revealin...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 12, 2012, 1:40 pm
The last time I saw my beautiful granddaughter Maggie was October 15, 2011.  Since then, Maggie and her Mom  and Dad have moved from their beloved Chicago to Dallas, Texas.  They are settling in nicely and Maggie is growing so quickly.  I see photographs, of course, but you can’t cuddle and ta...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 5, 2012, 6:09 pm
Any day that the SUN is shining during the rainy season here in Oregon is a very good day! I was actually in a rare “cleaning” mood and took advantage of that to polish every piece of furniture in the house. Amazing how much better one feels when you can’t write your name on any surface in the...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 4, 2012, 2:05 pm
The view from our front porch never ceases to amaze me.  I am reminded, once again, of God’s tender mercies.  They are, indeed, new every morning.  I really wish I could become an “early bird” instead of a “night owl”.  The mornings that I am up early, I am captivated by the scene fr...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 3, 2012, 6:25 pm
This little pottery bluebird makes me happy.  He sits in a safe place on the buffet and I see him everyday.  He reminds me of a happy memory. It was August 2009 and I had flown home to the South for a three week visit.  This was a year before my sister Gerry was diagnosed with ALS.  She was s...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 2, 2012, 5:14 pm
A box came down from the attic today that I knew held some treasures.  There were letters from my older son and my daughter when they were away at college.  There were letters I had written to my parents after we moved to Kentucky.  There was a card to my older son at college written by my th...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Jan 2, 2012, 1:28 am
I’ve always liked new beginnings.  Fresh slates.  The chance to start over and begin again.  The chance to learn from past experiences.  Before the year rolled over with a brand new number, there was time to look back.  Reflection is good for each of us.  2012  I’ve been thinking abo...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Dec 28, 2011, 1:32 pm
  We were in the mood for molasses cookies.  I have a great recipe for the best molasses cookies ever.  The problem was:  I couldn’t find the recipe anywhere.  I looked in all the obvious places and still no luck.  In my mind, I could picture the ancient “cookie book” that is literal...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Dec 24, 2011, 2:06 pm
We were enjoying a classic Christmas movie in front of the fireplace when there was a knock at the front door.  We live in the country on the side of a small mountain in the Callahans with no close neighbors, so we wondered who was out on such a cold, dark night.  We turned the front porch light...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Dec 22, 2011, 2:38 pm
    The sound of “church bells” float down the goats’ pasture and across the valley below – from my front porch!  One of my Christmas presents this year were two sets of beautiful Corinthian Bells windchimes.  One of them is tuned in the key of “C”.  The other one is tuned in the ...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart...the Stories - Dec 8, 2011, 4:39 pm
The macho logger tree farmer sat at his desk yesterday afternoon and hammered out his handwritten Christmas letter in less than an hour.  It was one-page, pleasant and to the point.  I edited a couple of grammatical issues and typed it for him.  He addressed the envelopes to his family and put...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 29, 2011, 5:32 pm
   In celebration of my favorite season, let’s have a fun *Giveaway*!  If you like to cook, knit or create “reborn” dolls, you’ll enjoy this one!  The winner of this giveaway will have her/his choice of one of two packages: •    Vogue Knitting – Shawls & Wraps and •    ...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 28, 2011, 5:26 pm
This sweet little skunk above, my firstborn grandchild, will be fourteen years old in January.  As his younger sisters and his baby brother planned their Halloween costumes for their Mom to create this year, he announced that he’s now “too old” to go “trick or treating”.  Granted, h...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 27, 2011, 3:23 pm
•    someone likes my blog enough to sign up to “follow” it!  That really makes my day!  •    I discover that my blog is listed on someone else’s blog under their “favorites”!  I’m so thrilled when I see that… •     I see the stars on my “where you’re reading...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 26, 2011, 9:09 pm
  Every Thanksgiving when I was growing up, Mama would make a “Fresh Apple Cake”.  Labor intensive, the three-layer cake included spices, freshly cracked pecans, raisins and a lot of fresh apples.  Although it would have been delicious without any icing, as I recall she made a rich caram...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 25, 2011, 9:28 pm
Yankee Pot Roast is quickly becoming one of our favorite meals.  True, there is some prep work involved but it’s worth it in the end.  It is a delicious meal!  It’s essentially an entire meal in a Pampered Chef stoneware bowl or dutch oven – whatever you have.   Tonight, I’m serving i...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 25, 2011, 12:32 am
It had truly been an emotion-packed two weeks away from home.  First, the pure joy of meeting my beautiful new granddaughter and then the profound sadness of losing my precious sister.  Laughter and tears.  There were both tears and laughter at my sister’s homecoming service and the reun...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart...the Stories - Oct 18, 2011, 8:09 pm
As published in My Southern Heart In memory of my sister, Sarah Geraldine “Gerry” McGregor Harden.  August 1, 1930 – October 13, 2011I was in Chicago when the sad news came.  My sister had lost her courageous battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  She was, at that moment, in Heaven…su...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 18, 2011, 8:03 pm
In memory of my sister, Sarah Geraldine “Gerry” McGregor Harden.   August 1, 1930 – October 13, 2011 I was in Chicago when the sad news came.  My sister had lost her courageous battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  She was, at that moment, in Heaven…surrounded by a host of loved on...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 11, 2011, 6:28 pm
Meeting a grandchild for the very first time is an amazing moment to remember.  I arrived in Chicago on Saturday evening and couldn’t wait to see Maggie.  She is beautiful and absolutely precious!  As I held Maggie and studied that sweet face, I was reminded of her Dad at this age.  Right now...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 3, 2011, 7:15 pm
  There’s a lot to be said for peace of mind.  Being able to go to sleep at night and not worry that, sometime in the dark of the night, you’ll lose another one of your livestock to a relentless mountain lion.  The macho logger tree farmer is still hard at work on completing the best solution...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Oct 3, 2011, 12:52 am
It was a simple Sunday night supper – a crock of homemade baked macaroni and cheese with Tillamook sharp cheddar, a pan of roasted Autumn vegetables and hot, crisp cornbread.  Simple but delicious.  The gratifying thing about the roasted vegetables?  Most of them came straight from o...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 30, 2011, 5:24 pm
We awoke to the sound of raindrops and the sweet smell of rain.  After a long dry summer, it is welcome.  Granted, a few months into the rainy season, we may be complaining, but for now, I am so glad to see rain.  The temperature has dropped and it feels like Autumn…my favorite tim...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 28, 2011, 1:29 pm
There’s a wooden bench just outside the kitchen door in the garage…the perfect spot for resting long enough to pull boots or wellies on.  It’s also where we keep the egg basket in between trips to the hen house for gathering eggs.  This morning, I found Daisy all curled up in a tight little...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 27, 2011, 3:54 pm
With the encouragement of my three grown children, I began this blog on May 23, 2008.  At that time, it was called “Thinking About It”.  This is my 500th post!  It was late Spring of 2008.  I had moved to this tree farm in the Callahan Mountains of Oregon one year before after marrying the ...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 26, 2011, 7:39 pm
  Consider this a postcard from Oregon…delivered to your mailbox.  Remember when we sent postcards and letters?   All neatly stamped and placed in the mailbox beside our front door…or maybe we’d go for a walk and drop the letter in the big mailbox on the corner?  All sent through the Un...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 25, 2011, 1:38 pm
Gracie, Cindy and Sharon watch the macho logger tree farmer closely. They feel safe with him nearby. They also keep a close eye on the kittens as they play.   It has now been nine days since the cougar attack.  The U.S.D.A. wildlife trackers continue to check the traps and have left “fresh bai...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 23, 2011, 1:22 pm
  As a young woman, I was busy as a wife, mother of three and (mostly part-time) Registered Nurse.  I enjoyed everything involved with taking care of my family and home.  I loved the creative process of decorating our home.  Over the course of 39 years, we purchased, ”restored” and sold e...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 21, 2011, 4:23 pm
This is one of those recipes that has been in my recipe box for many years…along with the “Chocolate Pudding Cake” which is a post for another day.  No doubt, if you served this to my grown children, they’d remember it and smile… There was one fresh large lemon perched on top of the re...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 19, 2011, 3:08 pm
  Nineteen days now until I meet Maggie…my precious new granddaughter!  Already I see changes in her in the weekly photos.  For now, I think she favors her Dad…my son.  I can’t wait to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I love her.  There was some “talk” that my older son a...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 18, 2011, 4:05 pm
    Using the handy-dandy random integer generator, Random.org, the winner of our My Memories Suite software giveway was selected.  This time #13 was a lucky number!  Congratulations to Donna of The Epicurean Crafter for being the 13th commenter and the winner of this fun sofware.  Donna, I ...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 16, 2011, 7:20 pm
This sweet baby looooves his Grandmommy (me!) and his Grandmommy loves him!  Wouldn’t that face just cheer up anyone?!  After the day I’ve had today, it did my heart good to talk to my daughter and hear the latest story.  He’s only a little over two & a half, so his language and pronunicat...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 16, 2011, 5:27 pm
I’m sad, angry and frustrated today.  It appears the same cougar has killed my third goat.  He has now taken half my small herd!  Last week, he killed two of my neighbor’s goats.  Jim woke me early this morning with the news.  I stood on the front porch in the cool early dawn and watched a...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 14, 2011, 11:44 pm
  What you have here is a grandmother with a brand new grandbaby 2,247 miles away.   Thankfully, I have a plane ticket and will see her in 25 days.  25 days!  Sigh… I love it that her Mom and Dad are taking lots of photos and movies and sending them my way! In the  meantime, you’l...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 13, 2011, 12:42 pm
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved taking photographs and capturing moments in time.  When my children were small, the only camera I had was a little Kodak Instamatic, but I still took lots of photos.  Unfortunately, “back then” they were expensive to develop.  Years later, I had a w...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 8, 2011, 11:54 pm
Update:  Thank God that Maggie made a wonderful recovery and went home from the NICU with her Mom and Dad this past Saturday morning, September 10th!  They’re having a wonderful time together!  I can’t wait to be see her and hold her and take lots of photos of her which I will share in the fu...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Sep 8, 2011, 4:38 pm
We’ve just returned from the Yosemite National Park where we met my daughter and her family on Saturday for a wonderful few days vacation together.  We stayed in a home in the park called  Pinetree Retreat.  It slept all eight of us comfortably and came equipped with a washer and dryer.  The ...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Aug 31, 2011, 3:29 pm
My grandchildren give me such joy…just pure joy.  At the moment, I am waiting for my ninth grandbaby to arrive in a few days!  A precious little girl named Maggie.  I can hardly wait! Twelve years ago today, there was a special telephone call with news that my second grandchild – and first g...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Aug 17, 2011, 12:56 pm
We’ve lost another goat…this time, the smallest little girl.  We’ve also come to the realization that it was a cougar both times.  We hiked up to our neighbor’s farm late yesterday afternoon and searched through his herd of goats.  She wasn’t there.  The macho logger tree farmer said ...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Aug 15, 2011, 5:24 pm
We’re in the ”dog days of summer” now.  I’m sure if we had a dog, he’d just want to find a shady spot and lie lazily in it.  That’s exactly what I feel like doing.  We’ve finally joined the rest of the country in needing the A/C.  It is hot here now.  The garden has done it’s...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Aug 10, 2011, 11:57 pm
As you drive the nine miles from our house - winding through the Callahans – down to the country store, there are some interesting things to see.  When you first leave our farm, there is the canyon on the right with its share of hardwoods…lovely in the Fall.  A little further down, the horse...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Aug 9, 2011, 12:53 pm
LaConner, Washington. (source: Wikipedia) We drove an hour north of Seattle this past weekend for a fun, three day weekend with Jim’s daughter and her sweet family.  It was Mason’s second birthday and the perfect reason to celebrate.  On Friday evening, we shared birthday cake with Mason and...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Aug 2, 2011, 8:32 pm
The macho logger tree farmer has jury duty during the entire month of August.  The way it works here in this county is:  you are assigned a juror number and you must call after 6:00 p.m. each evening to find out if your number is expected to report to the courthouse the following morning.  On J...
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Dianne C. posted an article on My Southern Heart - Aug 1, 2011, 10:28 pm
There are some days that I’m just “in the mood to cook”.  Today was one of those days.  Dinner was a salad from the garden, a delicious, tender pork roast with herbs and seasoned pepper, grilled zucchini and squash, and the best corn pudding ever – modified from a recipe by one of my fav...
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