Ashland, OR

Lithia Springs Resort in Ashland Oregon is having their first Ashland "First Friday" event this Friday.

Southern Oregon Concierge Event! - Free Admission - No host bar

Artist: Rex Holt - Music by Incognito - Rogue Opera Display

Food & Beverages: Long Sword Vineyard - Wallaby White Walk About Brewery -

Event Grill BBQ & Rogue Coffee Roasters

Healers: Marie-Hunter Ripper Indian Practitioner, Robert Levin, Chair Massage,

Julia Marie Burns- Moving Aura Photography, Rex Holt-Certified Advanced Rolfer

Gigi & Lynn Psychic Counseling - Light of Ashland Spa Health & Beauty Products-Joy Hiler Arbonne

Come on out and enjoy Ashland's First Friday, or stop by and discover the wonderful ambience you will find at the Lithia Springs Inn & Resort and enjoy the gardens while visiting the Shakespeare Festival.

See you out there!

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com

Last weekend was the Rotary Club of Ashland - Lithia Springs annual Crab Fest here in lovely Ashland Oregon. The event was sold out, as the secret is out about not only do you really get a TON of delicious crab to eat with your meal, but you'll have great company, music and good stuff to bid on at a great Silent Auction, with all proceeds going to a worthy cause - Kids First! With over $30,000 raised, lots of good work will be done. Who says the economy is putting a crimp in fundraising events! Congratulations Rotary Club of Ashland - Lithia Springs and Kids First!

My husband and I were amongst the Big Winners of the Season Pass to Camelot Theater, a Gift Certificate to The Blue Giraffe Day Spa Salon and my husband is looking forward to having his teeth whitened by Dr. Mamut.

See you out there!

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality 4Loans.com

Have you heard of one of Rotary International's World Community Support projects, an affordable housing project that is a direct result of the Sister City partnership of Ashland, Oregon and Guanajuato, Mexico? This collabortive effort between multiple agencies has led to the construction of 50 affordable homes in Guanajuato communities, 200 Lorena Stoves and 6 playgrounds.

Published in am.com.mx by Cinthia Rosiles Bejarano:

Members of the Rotary Club of Guanajuato in conjunction with members of Rotary Club of Ashland donated 196,940 pesos for Andalusia DIF municipal building, 200 lorena stoves, and six playgrounds.

"Support is for families in diverse communities of the city with the delivery of the stoves by the end of March", said Martha Siekman Romero, president of the unit.

To carry out the delivery of the check Rotarians gathered at the town hall with the mayor, Eduardo Romero Hicks and members of H. City Council. At the site were also Geraldine Garza Navarro, director of DIF, and Jose Luis Villagomez, director of administration.

Jesus Cazares Perez, president of the Rotary Club, said that this support was due to all the members and the work of Ashland Rotarians to Rotary International, which also supports.

This is the second donation made to the municipal DIF. The first was for the construction of 50 houses in the communities of Laurel, Santo Domingo, Cienega Negros, El Varal, San Bartolo and Llanos de La Fragua.

"The goal is to continue to support these communities in achieving a better quality of life, supporting families with the necessary materials for the construction of a Lorena stove and impact on the environment, reducing logging and product health risks of cooking with outdoor fires."

Also, six playsets for children will be installed on a property that has been donated by the community for such purposes, thereby increasing healthy living space for families, "said Geraldine Garza Navarro.

Lorena stoves replace open fires and are constructed of adobe (mud, straw, water). Replacing open fires in homes with Lorena stoves while supporting families with low incomes is a national strategy DIF has used for 25 years, a program that DIF plans to develop in all 32 states of the republic. The goal is to teach people to develop self-sufficiency, while reducing the cost of production, and helping preserve the environment with DIF implementing this program over 25 years. With the Rotarian support of this cause, including the 92 thousand pesos going to the stoves and 105 thousand pesos for playgrounds provided by Rotary Club of Ashland members, 200 families in these communities will benefit.

See you out there!

Karen Cooper - OR.CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com

I attended the Ashland Oregon Greeters meeting this morning, kindly hosted byRick Harris and Krista Bolf, owners of Coldwell Banker ProWest in Ashland Oregon. We were given a treat to open up the holiday spirit by two of the Ashland Holiday Carolers.

This group is recruiting singers who would like to volunteer to sing on the weekends during this holiday season, strolling through downtown Ashland sharing joy with us all. Look for them while doing your holiday shopping at the many wonderful Ashland shops or dining at the fantastic restaurants here. They'll be Singing in the Plaza from 6-9p.m. following the Festival of Light Parade Friday November 28th.

Want to participate? Dress in period clothing? Sing at the top of your lungs? Have time available Saturdays and Sundays from Noon - 4p.m.?

Come on out to downtown Ashland:

November 29 - 30

December 6-7

December 13-14

December 20-21

See you out there (although you'll appreciate that I won't be singing)!

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com

Recently, we visited the Green Springs Inn outside of Ashland Oregon. The restaurant here has been a pit stop of ours since our early days of moving to the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. Diarmuid McGuire had contacted me here through Active Rain, having seen from my Blog that I have a love of nature and an appreciation of the incredible beauty to be found here in Jackson County Oregon and the surrounding areas.

Diarmuid wanted to share the amazing project he and his son Paddy have been working on - building 15 cabins next to the Green Springs Inn just 10 miles South of Ashland Oregon where the Siskiyou and Cascade Mountains meet. This is not just another hotel. These cabins are works of art that reflect the heart and soul of their builder/owners.

Diarmuid told us the story about how they acquired the 145 acres the cabins is located on. This land is located next door to the original Green Springs Inn & Lodge which has been here since 1987 and owned by the McGuires since 1994. This acreage was timberland previously owned by Boise Cascade. Boise Cascade's methodology was not one that the McGuires believe is best for the environment, the trees, or the wildlife supported by the land, and Diarmuid told us about the times they saw Boise Cascade come in to spray to kill the grasses, killing wildlife and their food sources. Trying to prevent this devastation from taking place, the McGuires had been requesting Boise Cascade sell this parcel to them. Before Boise Cascade finally sold the land to a small timber company with plans to clear cut this beautiful forest land who in turn sold it to the McGuires and their investor(s), Boise Cascade had succeeded in silencing the exquisite sounds of the song birds and other wildlife native to this area.

After a great deal of time and energy, Diarmuid and Paddy are off and running with the building of the 15 cabins located next door to the Green Springs Inn & Restaurant. Two cabins are complete and ready for occupancy, three are under construction and should be completed this year. The lumber going in to build the cabins and their cabinetry has been harvested sustainably from trees onsite, milled onsite, and kiln dried in a solar kiln also located onsite. The cabins are built in a loop, with the right amount of distance and placement to give the optimum privacy that generates an incredibly romantic getaway location.

Views of the Pacific Crest Trail on the mountain ridge across an evergreen valley are available from some of these cabins, a view you may take in from a two person spa located on the deck. Each cabin has a small kitchen area, screened in dining areas, wood burning stove and dual shower in addition to the spa on each deck. A community sauna will be available soon with hours assigned to each cabin occupant, creating another layer for your relaxation and romance.

I can't wait until our anniversary to roll around, so we just may have to book a Valentine getaway! Green Springs Cabins are too good to wait for!

See you out there! (or, hopefully not, this time! It is a romantic getaway after all! :->)

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.