LOOKING FOR EMPLOYMENT

Here is a test, to see if anyone if reading this blog.

I am looking for a new job, that will allow me a little flexibility and no weekend work. I'd take fulltime or parttime during the week. When I was hired at the bank, I didn't have to work on Saturday, but management has changed. So with the B&B business picking up a little, I need to be home on Saturday mornings to prepare breakfast. Weekdays aren't a problem, as Andy is home and with advance preparation he can handle weekday guests by himself, and we rarely have weekday guests right now. If anyone knows of a secretarial or administrative position in the Blaine County or Kingfisher, Thomas, Fay, or Canton area, please let me know.

ALSO - fyi -- we have a Facebook page for Chaparral Retreat. I am not in the habit of checking it regularly yet, but hope people will check it out and that will encourage me to check it more often. I am eager to hear from everyone . . . .

TIME TO BRING PLANTS IN

We've had a few nights with temperatures under 50 degrees, and even in the high 30's the last two nights. But daytime temperatures have been in the low 70's. I think it's time to bring in the aloe vera and sansavarius plants for the winter but I need to find room for them. IF ANYONE WANTS TO GIVE A PLANT A GOOD HOME, PLEASE CALL ME - 580-623-4269! I don't have room for all of my babies in the house.

Andy saw a bobcat out front on Monday afternoon. It had something small in its mouth, like a gopher, and was walking through the redbud thicket on Coot's side of the lane. Fortunately, our kitty cat and Skeeter were in the house at the time.

We "adopted" a cat off the street in town back in August, and she is getting bigger day by day. She has caught a mouse in the garage and dug up a mole in the front yard. She gets along great with Skeeter and Blake's little dog, Itzel. Kitty and Itzel chase each other and play together and are fun to watch. Ah, between the pets and watching the wild birds play, we have all the entertainment we need!

But man does not live by bread alone . . . so we went to a Halloween costume party this past weekend and had a great time. Good food and drink, new friends and fun costumes, and a magic show to boot, in an old rock house in town that was a perfect setting. We are already looking forward to next year's party.

I miss going to Dallas, as I haven't been able to drive since my last visit there at the end of July. I've only had a couple of "small" seizures since August, but no unconsciousness, so if my condition stays the same I should be able to drive again in February. Andy plays the role of chauffeur patiently, but I do miss driving and being able to just get out and run to town by myself.

We're having a wonderful Fall

WOW - the time has gone by since my last writing. Since then (August) the temperatures have dropped to the 40's overnight and we are having high temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's during the day. This past weekend was beautiful. We had rain on Friday, so that didn't interfere with our weekend activities. We had a great visit with our friends Chuck and Danielle from Dallas. We grilled steaks and roasted broccali with garlic, and had leftover birthday cake for dessert. On Saturday, we got the Desoto out and drove to Canton Lake, and then had a bonfire after dark up by the barn. Even the animals had a good time, sitting on laps, chasing grasshoppers, and begging for scraps. It was a lovely clear evening and we watched the moon rise behind the trees. I am always inspired when friends come to visit and we talk about different ideas for things we can do on the property.

Watonga held its 34th annual Cheese Festival over the second weekend in October. Andy and I were both very involved and the weekend went well. We even had "Watonga cheese" though it's not made here in town anymore. But it is the same family of owners using the same recipe. Andy was the Entertainment Commmittee chairman and arranged for two stages to be going all weekend. I was the Art Show Committee chairman and had approx 16 booths, with a wide range of art, from oil paintings, turned wood bowls, photography, pottery, basket weaving, and glass jewelry. I am eager for next year's show and hope to get more native american artists to participate.

The vegetable garden is still producing peppers, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes, and a cucumber here and there. I have some parsley and spinach growing, but the grasshoppers have destroyed the okra, though we did get enough to pickle a few jars. Local farmers tell me that some years are bad with grasshoppers and some years aren't so bad -- I am hoping next year will be "not so bad", as this year they were like a plague. And they are still feasting, this late in the year. They don't go for the herbs, but they have definitely eaten a lot of the ornamentals (even monkey grass) almost down to the ground.
Chuck showed me that the Turk's cap plant produces edible berries this time of year, so we will put some into a salad this weekend. The nasturtium hasn't bloomed this year, but I planted those seeds kind of late in the season so I have no expectations -- the leaves are pretty to look at by themselves.

A C. HANGE IN WEATHER

It's Friday, Aug 27. The last few days have been nice and cool -- 60's in the morning and high temperatures in the high 80's to low 90's. There has been a fall chill in the air in the mornings. Andy and I drove south to Quartz Mountain State Park and we were very pleasantly surprised when we got there. The Lodge is a large conference center with over 118 room and cabins. It was rebuilt in 2001 after a kitchen fire caused the original lodge to burn down. The center also includes an Oklahoma Arts Council facility . The center sits on the edge of Lake Altus and really is a beautiful area. We brought back with us some ideas for mosaics and outside benches made of granite.

AUGUST news

We've put up several quarts and pints of bread & butter pickles from the garden this year and gotten good "reviews". The cucumbers are about played out from the heat, but we may get another harvest. We've also gotten lots of cherry tomatoes. I made an antipasta salad for our church potluck lunch, with our tomatoes, basil, onion, capers, garlic, some goat cheese, and summer sausage. Very easy and delicous. We've also made pesto with the basil we've harvested. The regular tomato plants haven't produced anything, but I think they have suffered from the heat and lack of rain, even though we water the garden regularly. We know the garden area is getting plenty of water because the castor bean plants are thriving and blooming. We are also finally getting a good crop of okra and plan on pickling some today. Andy also made some wild sand plum jelly that turned out good.

In the front garden we have rose of sharon blooming, crepe myrtles, white hostas, black eyed susan, some canna lily, and 4 o'clocks. The grasshoppers have been voracious and have eaten some plants down to the ground, but then there are areas where I've got the same plant and the grasshoppers leave them alone. I planted two burning bush plants and only one of them has survived.

Andy and I helped with the grape harvest for Whirlwind Winery last weekend. We haven't heard yet about the amount harvested but should get an email report this week. It looked like a good harvest, though it was earlier than last year because of the heat -- the grapes were starting to dry up. One of the best wines we like from Whirlwind is the Wild Sand Plum and we're looking forward to that vintage this year.

I am chairman of the Cheese Festival Art Show this year and am busy organizing that for Oct. 8-9. I'll write more about that later. In the meantime, September is a good time to come visit us. Give us a call -- /linda

It's hot, hot, hot

It's mid-august and the hottest time of the year here. We've had over a week of temperatures over 100 degrees. Yesterday's temp of 104 was a record. But we are looking forward to a break in the heat by Sunday evening. If we can just keep the grass and gardens and trees alive until then.

I saw a snake in our yard for the first time this year. It was just a baby, about twelve inches long, and was curled up in the dirt, not moving. Andy killed it quickly. I usually walk in the yard with a stick, and fortunately this snake was in a flower bed where there is nothing growing right now. I just happened to throw a banana peel into the bed and something caught my eye where the banana peel landed. This time of year we have to be extra watchful and careful. Where there is one snake, there are others . . .

We have been busy with guests off and on in July and earlier this month, but this weekend we have no one at the B&B. September is a good time for friends to come see us -- before the "busy" season of October and the temperatures will be cooler. We may even get a hint of fall colors in September.

WE'RE IN THE HEAT OF THE SUMMER

This past weekend (on Saturday), the temperature got up to 100 degrees. On Sunday it was 102. We are expecting this entire week to be above 100 degrees, but they say it will be a dry heat most of the week, so it won't feel hotter than it actually is. We've had a little rain so haven't had to water daily, but we do have to water a lot!


We picked up a kitten from outside our church on Sunday. It is pretty young, is skinny, but otherwise looks healthy. It hung around the front of the church the entire morning, and when we left at noon, at the urging of many of the congregation, we took her home. We spent a little time letting her and Skeeter get acquainted. Skeeter wanted to play, but Kitty didn't want to have anything to do with a big dog. After just a short time, Kitty let her guard down a little and tolerated being in the same area with the dog.