After Thanksgiving

The weather has turned cold, but at least it's sunny.
We had a great holiday at the Retreat. Drew drove up on Wednesday night and stayed until Saturday afternoon -- a good long visit for him. He brought Petey; tried to get Skeeter and Petey to bond but it didn't happen. Killer Kat really resented the scent of Petey on Drew, and hissed at Drew anytime they got near each other. KK can tolerate the dog, but not another male cat!
We also had guests stay with us on Wed. and Thurs. evening. A very nice couple from southeast OK who were in town to spend the holiday with family members who live in Watonga. We had several interesting conversations, and we hope they come back to visit.
We spent some time at Whirlwind Winery, tasting, listening to music and talking with Brad, the owner; and we sent some wine home with Drew. We did some hiking at Roman Nose state park. We played Yatzee and Drew taught me some things about Facebook. Drew and I made smudge sticks out of lavender and sage I harvested earlier this year. The fall colors have been beautiful, but now all of the leaves have fallen from the trees thanks to the windy days we've had this weekend. We had a little rain too. All in all it's been a really great long weekend. We hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.

A VISIT FROM COPPELL FRIENDS

Last week we were glad to hear from Ann and Keith from Coppell. They drove up for a visit. We drove around town and the Park in the DeSoto, took them to the "hot spots" in town, and enjoyed a good long visit. The temperatures were a bit chilly -- cooler than they were used to down in Dallas. We walked around the property and talked about future plans for an art studio and possibly an art gallery in town. The alien-looking castor bean plants are still in bloom, but a few seed pods were dry enough for Ann to take back home for her garden. The trees were in peak fall color.

This week is cold - in the 30's - and windy. Winter is definitely here. We've had one bonfire and hope to have another sometime this weekend. Drew is driving up from Austin for the holiday. The sunsets visible from the front yard are fabulous this time of year, as the trees are losing their leaves.

Tellabration at Liberty Theatre

Last night we went to the Liberty Theatre for Watonga's first Tellabration. Six professional storytellers came from various places in Oklahoma. The stories ranged from a little comedy to a song about a train wreck and Rhode Island locomotive that is still in the Cimmaron River, to a Choctaw story about Rabbit and Lady Wolf; to a recipe on how to cook squirrel. We also had two local storytellers:Larry Masoner and Hod Tolbert. All of the stories were fun and entertaining. I hope we are able to bring another event like this to Watonga and maybe even get some young people involved. Two of the storytellers stayed at the B&B and we got to visit over breakfast.

Outside the leaves are turning colors quickly. The weather this week should be very pleasant -- overnight temperatures in the high 40's and daytime temperatures from 50 to 60's. A good day today to hike at Roman Nose State Park.

I spent some time at the Whirlwind Winery yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, visiting with Nancy and Brad. Brad is busy bottling the last of his Honey Apple wine from last year's grape harvest. When in watonga, everyone should stop by his storefront on Friday and Saturday afternoons for wine-tasting, music, and conversation.

OH HAPPY DAY

The weather today is gorgeous. I heard from an old friend that brought a smile to my face. I also saw Brad Pitt in "Money Ball" on Saturday while the guys were at the OU/TX A&M game in Norman. So today I'm going to take Skeeter to the park to hike. If I have any energy left after that, I need to rake leaves before the next layer falls. Maintaining the gardens is an on-going effort, but I really enjoy being out there. We never know when we'll get another cold spell and not be able to do outside work. I HATE THE COLD OF WINTER, but not the beauty of the sunsets, the changing tree colors, and the new snow.

PS -- just for the record, early this a.m. I felt a shock wave from an earthquake--on the morning news I heard that the epicenter was about 90 miles away from here. No walls moving or falling objects in the house, but for a minute I felt like the bed was a waterbed. It was really weird. Did anyone else around here feel it?!?