Teri Eckholm tagged me for the newest and maybe the best series of blogs to be published on ActiveRain, Hidden Gems.  Teri's Hidden Gen Was Rebecca Levinson.  Melissa Grant started the challenge on January 26th and bloggers are taking on the challenge to share with you other hidden gems of ActiveRain.I thought this would be an easier task that it was.  I had a couple of people scoped out for my article and found that they had quit blogging while I was away… well that would not work for this project.I did something I use to do often and realized I had not been practicing enough.  I clicked on the new members button off the home page and looked started looking at blogs of people that joined AcitveRain in December.  Cruising through their blogs I found one that really stood out, Gabrielle Nemes.  Gabrielle has received her GRI and is located in Southeast King County in Washington.  I can tell from reading the first of what I am sure will be a long list of posts that Gabrielle loves the Pacific Northwest as much as I do.  She has a helpful side to her, and the evidence is in her post about converting Outlook contacts into Excel or Word.Gabrielle tends to write in a manner that she leaves you with the feeling you have to comment, because she leaves you with a question more often than not.I suspect this REALTOR® will be a great blog to follow and check in with often.Now for the two people I would like to see their gemsMargaret Woda - Maryland real estateCandy Henthorne - Spring Texas 

Happy Ending For Family Pet
central oregon is a place of beauty and an area that is often shared with a wide variety of wild life.  Most of the wild life in central oregon is harmless and beautiful to look at, enjoyed by all and often the talk around the water cooler.  Who saw a heard of elk, or a deer crossing the road and so on?  Today reality set in for some, a home I sold about 2 years ago came into the news.  The home owners live in this cute little home with their children and a dog.  They started their day as they typically do.  One of the kids went to the back door and let out the family dog, turned to go put on his jacket and go play with the dog.  Dad apparently looked out the door or window prior to the child going out to see a cougar chasing the dog.  The homeowner was able to get the dog in the home before it was injured and called 911.  The sheriffs that responded called Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife who felt putting the animal down was the best resolution.  It was daylight, in a neighborhood of families and tracking or trapping the animal could lead to a dangerous situation for children getting on and off school buses.Although, this is not an everyday occurrence, it does happen.  No matter how long you have lived in central oregon, it is a good idea to always respect the wild life and keep a safe distance.  If you find your self in a situation similar to this one, please call the authorities and let them deal with it.Read the story on my favorite central oregon News Source.

La Pine Oregon Homes For Sale - Market Report
Looking for real estate in central oregon?  La Pine Oregon real estate offers a wide variety of choices in price, land size and home style or size.  Currently many consider our real estate market to be a buyers market.  With prices lower than the last couple years, interest rates low and seller's motivated we do have a great buyer's climate. La Pine is a great small town that offers more elbow room than many other areas of central oregon yet is an easy half hour commute to Bend on most days.  real estate in Lapine offers a lot of great options.  Whether you are looking for Mt. Bachelor view homes, Deschutes River front homes, a nice home on a city lot or a beautifully treed setting you can easily find it in LaPine.The table below will give you a quick snap shot of homes available in La Pine Oregon - a complete list of homes for each category can be seen by clicking on the link in the title of each heading. Frame Built Home Under $300,000 Frame Built Home Over $300,000   Manufactured Home Under $300,000 Manufactured Home Over $300,000 Number of Active Listings 123 66 74 4Average Price per Sq Ft $160 $279 $147 $377Lowest Priced $89,900 $315,000 $74,900 $349,000Highest Priced $299,000 $995,900 $299,900 $2,100,000Smallest Sq Ft 418 640 410 1232Largest Sq Ft 2398 4150 2250 3300Average Price $221,140 $500,713 $182,167 $861,000Average Sq Ft 1446 1979 1279 1964    

You May Have Seen central oregon And Not Even Known It!
Feel like you have never seen central oregon and wish you had?  You very well may have and not even realized it.  If you watch movies chances are you have seen at least part of the scenery of central oregon.central oregon has been a hot spot for Hollywood since at least 1958.  If you are a Louis L'Amour fan you will know the book Tonka - the movie which I can not find - was filmed in 1958 in the Bend/La Pine area.   In 1974  The Apple Dumpling Gang was filmed on the Big Deschutes in La Pine.  The scene of the wagon heading down the hill and into the river was filmed where you will now find the subdivision of Wild River.  Pringle Falls does not look much like a fall but more like rapids but underneath the rushing water is truly a water fall.  Pringle Falls was also the back drop of a scene or two from Rooster Cogburn in 1974.  During the filming of this now classic our family had the opportunity to host dinner for John Wayne.  He along with others of the cast stayed on our property and to make extra dollars I washed and ironed their shirts.Up the Creek was a funny movie that was filmed in La Pine and Bend, once again the back drop was Pringle Falls - and what is now Wild River Subdivision.The list goes on…..1975 - Search For Sasquatch, 1977 - Hot Lead & Cold Feet. 1980 - St. Helens, 1990 - Grand Tour, 1991 - Incredible Journey, 1992 - Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, White Wolves, 1994 - McKenna (The Series) 1997 - The postmanFor additional movies in Oregon 

I Am Thankful - Now Please Bring Me Some Coffee
Often times we take life and the simple things in life for granted.  I am often reminded of the little things that make me smile, such as the mountains and streams of central oregon.  Lately I have been reminded just how lucky I am to have a husband that truly loves me and cares about me.Mike fell off the bed of his semi on February 13th and has been in a chair ever since the 15th.  With a rod in his leg, 4 plates and 36 screws holding his leg and ankle together I am reminded of how lucky I am.  Mike may be home for good now, this very well is an injury that could force an early retirement.  I can just see the VISA bill going up with fishing and hunting gear.  He is dreaming of new careers and spending a lot of time watching television.  I tried to teach him to blog, but he got lost at turning on the computer.My point here is - be thankful, be gracious and love each-other.  We were lucky it is just a leg - none of us know what tomorrow will bring.  Make the most of today and plan for tomorrow.  Enjoy being able to get your own cup of coffee, you never know what tomorrow will bring.Mike and I find out if a bone graph is necessary in about 3 weeks - so keep him in your thoughts - Ok…. now you have all seen the most current photo without glasses

This entry was posted on Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 8:38 pm and is filed under Oregon News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.