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?!?

Halloween in Watonga OK

What a weekend!
We had guests at the B&B this weekend, friends of Dr. Spencer. They were from Bedford, Texas. We got out the Desoto and drove through Roman Nose Park and then Andy took them on a guided tour of the Three Springs area. The weather was perfect, the air clean and fresh smelling. In the afternoon we went to town and stopped by the Whirlwind Winery and to see the Liberty Theatre and the work Andy has done on it. Saturday night we all went to a Halloween costume party at the Spencers' home. It was MOST FUN -- lots of good food, fun people, interesting costumes, and KAREOKE! There were scary, funny, sexy, and original costumes -- my favorite was Popeye and Olive Oyl. When Andy gets done working on the theatre today, I'll put him to work loading pix onto the Chaparral Retreat Facebook page. I didn't get too many pics -- I hit a button on the camera somehow and it went to video, then I couldn't see well enough to find the button to get it back to photos. Oh well, I'm sure lots of others took pictures. I hope the incriminating ones aren't posted publicly!

Unfortunately, we missed the Rolling Stones Halloween party in Dallas !! SEND PICTURES! We're going to have to figure something out in future years to be able to attend both parties! Or maybe alternate. Who knows. We hate to miss either but we can't be in two places at once! I'd also like to do a haunted forest (for adults) in our back woods some Halloween, but don't want to compete with Dr.'s party. We'll just have to see how the holiday falls next year and make a two-day event out of it if need be!

Just in time for Halloween!

The weather has turned cool and it feels like Fall. We had a little bit of rain last night and hope for more this evening.

We had a busy weekend last weekend, with visitors in town to ride the mountain bike trails at Roman Nose State Park. Also, a young couple from Oklahoma City, celebrating their anniversary. I concocted a new drink for breakfast -- I call it an "appaloosa" instead of a mimosa. It is pineapple/orange juice topped off with Whirlwind Winery's Honey Apple wine. I didn't have any champagne and wanted to serve something special with breakfast, so there it is. We served french toast with an apple/cream cheese/brown sugar & Cinnamon sauce.

This weekend is Halloween party weekend. The house is decorated. We have guests for the weekend, so we have to miss the Rolling Stones party in Dallas. Bummer!

WOW!

It has been beautiful this past week! We even got some rain. We've struggled all summer to keep the yard and gardens alive. The trees have really taken a beating and we'll probably have a colorless fall, but we just hope the trees survive to regain their strength and beauty next year. We did lose a couple of saplings, and a few branches off of healthy trees but not so much that it is noticeable. The sunsets are still gorgeous as the color filters through the trees.

This past weekend we had friends from Watonga and friends from Tulsa visit, and had a very relaxing weekend. On Friday night, Katey Ballew brought her guitar to the retreat for "happy hour". Other friends stopped by and we sat on the lawn, set out citronella candles as "Stage lights", and listened to her beautiful voice as she entertained us with her musical talents. Magic Jon entertained us too (I won't go into his talent here - this is an all ages blog!). Really, though, I enjoyed the fun and hope everyone else did to. We'd love to have gatherings like this at the Retreat on a somewhat regular basis, so watch for announcements.

We went to the Whirlwind Winery on Saturday afternoon and listened to the Gypsy Kings on CD while sampling some sake wine we recently unpacked. It had to be consumed or thrown away, so we chose to drink it! At least I did. The atmosphere wasn't quite right for sake, and we all decided we'd have to try it again under the right circumstances -- with sushi and edamame and the right serving glasses, and warmed up. I guess I'll have to find the box that my sushi roller and sake cups are in, and pick up some seaweed the next time we are in Oklahoma City!

Andy and John went to the OU/Missouri game on Saturday night and seemed to enjoy it--they had to stay until the last minutes, it was such a good game! Teri and I stayed home, sat on the front porch in rockers and visited, and made a zucchini souffle from a recipe Teri brought. It was really easy, and really delicious. We even ate some of it with our breakfast the next morning (since the guys didn't get any of it the night before) and it went well with that meal.

On Sunday, Roy and Rose Gonzales came for a visit and brought us some copies of Roy's recent CD -- "Mi Soledad"--which is very nice to put on and listen to while rocking on the front porch (and other times too!) We have some for sale at the B&B. We had a nice visit and planned another get-together in November.

Andy and the saxophone quartet practiced in the house while I transplanted some seedlings in the garden. It is so nice to be able to go out and "play in the dirt" again.

I'm looking forward to a busy and fun Fall, with nice weather, the Cheese Festival coming up, and then Halloween! Plan a visit to the Retreat and make your reservations soon, as we are filling up quickly for the fall season!