2021

 As of right now, our business will remain closed until at least March -- we'll reevaluate in January as we see how things are going with the COVID pandemic.

I read that CNN has a new special on the 1918 Pandemic. It showed that there were groups then who were anti-masking and met to protest the ordinance. Politicians in some cities ignored the virus and held big parades resulting in thousands of cases. According to the report, many authorities outright lied about the seriousness of the pandemic and people were happy to stay in denial. If history repeats itself, we may be in for a longer wait than the first quarter of 2021.  

The Trout Derby at Roman Nose State Park is being planned for the first weekend in February instead of March (a Chamber of Commerce event).  I will be stepping down from the board of the Friends of Roman Nose State Park and won't be involved with the planning of events they put on. There are new people involved and I hope everything works out well for the Trout Derby.  The Cheese Festival is scheduled for the first Fri and Sat in October 2021, and plans are being made by the Chamber of Commerce for that event.  I've made an application to host a traveling Smithsonian exhibition through Oklahoma Humanities and hope to get word in the next week or so whether or not our site is selected as a host community.  It would be ideal to have it during the Cheese Festival in October 2021 but no date is certain as of right now. 

There is no word on the April Roman Nose Hills trail ride yet.  Not much can be planned definitively until we see how things shake out after the first of the year as far as spikes in COVID and distribution of the vaccine, which isn't going very well right now.  Things could speed up with more vaccinations being given but as of right now the U.S. is far behind.  I saw a recent report about vaccinations in Chicago, broken down by specific areas. One area on the southside of Chicago received thousands of doses of vaccine but as of this week only 50 vaccinations in that particular area have been given. That is a frightening report. 

Winter weather is hitting hard here this week, so I'll be spending time indoors, binge-watching movies and series on Netflix!  

 

End of 2020

 Dear friends,  

This post will have to serve as my Christmas and New Year's greeting for 2020.  COVID19 and the Presidential election have made the year almost intolerable.  The Chaparral Retreat has been closed since March and we may not be able to reopen until spring or summer.  We have no house concerts scheduled but hope to have some music at the Watonga ArtWorks center next year.  Right now we are all safe and well, staying quarantined, wearing masks, and missing seeing friends, family, and meeting new people.  

A few  uplifting highlights of the year have been Drew and Jenna's marriage, a good report from my cardiologist this month, getting the ArtWorks building ready for the possibility of hosting a traveling Smithsonian exhibition, and Andy and I celebrating our 40th anniversary this month. We had a pretty severe ice storm earlier this winter but we made it through three days without electricity. We lost several big trees on the property and will have our work cut out for us in the spring, cleaning up the debris left by the event. 

We spent an easy-going Christmas holiday with Drew and Jenna here at home and plan on the same for the New Year celebration. I don't expect any miracles but sure do look forward to the end of this year. With the COVID vaccine being available, we can see light at the end of the long tunnel that was 2020.

We are thankful for all of the people in our lives and for each new day we are able to live through. We send our love to all who love us and wish everyone a safe and sane 2021!