Monday, December 30, 2013

A four-day trip to Springfield

We made a four-day trip to Springfield last week. Mother was in the hospital but was released on Saturday. Dad is quite weak now, but they refuse to hire help. They really need to hire someone to live with them, if they are not going to move to assisted living.

My cousin Vicki in Houston is expecting to have surgery soon.

We are doing well thus far.

While we were in Springfield, Nick and his family were there too. You could say we had a family reunion of sorts. We ate at Red Robin one evening. I had a whiskey-flavored hamburger with a chocolate shake. Braum's has a much better chocolate shake.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Day 2013

Last Sunday, I substituted for Edna, the church pianist. Gail and I played two Christmas selections: "Jingle Bells," and "We Wish You a Jazzy Christmas." The message was delivered by our two ministers: Gerald and Debra. The day was cold. I had to defrost the car, which took about 20 minutes. It was the first time I needed to go anywhere since the ice storm hit us. As I drove to church I noticed several tree branches had broken off and were lying on the ground.

The next day Gail came over and we practiced duets on the piano for two hours. Next Humanist Sunday (January 5) I plan to speak on the American Civil War. We will be playing "The Battle Cry of Freedom" as the special selection. The duet sheet music for it is found in a collection titled "The Blue and the Gray: Favorite Songs of the Civil War," edited by Winifred Hyson.

I have been volunteering at Mark Twain Elementary School in the "Reading Partners" program. This is a national program which is in a dozen cities now. Volunteers are matched with students who lag behind in reading skills to work on reading. Last Thursday there was a reading recital program in which the almost two dozen students in Reading Partners at Mark Twain read selections to the audience made up of tutors and parents. RP is out for the remainder of the year (winter break) but resumes next month. I volunteer one day a week.

Last night we went to the Christmas Eve service at Sand Springs United Methodist Church. There were about a hundred people in attendance.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Ice storm, December 21, 2013

Here are some photos I took today. This ice storm was not as bad as the one we went thru in 2007.













Friday, December 06, 2013

Vacation pictures

Finally I have posted pictures from a vacation we took back in November. It appeared that it might rain on us the whole time we were away, but we only saw rain the first day, and then only for a little while.

Photos 1 of 6

Sequoyah's Cabin is located just outside of Sallisaw, OK. Sequoyah is the Cherokee Indian who invented the written language of the Cherokees. His cabin is surrounded by a larger building which was built around it.

Below is the interpretive center/gift shop for the complex.

Photos 2 of 6

The trees were just beginning to turn, as you can tell from the photo above.

Photos 3 of 6

Outside of Sallisaw is a small community called Akin. There is a good-sized cemetery here. The photo shows the gravestone of Charley Arthur Floyd, better known in his day as "Pretty Boy" Floyd.

We ate at a fish restaurant south of Sallisaw. The prices are posted only on the wall.

The picture above shows a combination McDonald's/package liquor store. Note the ads on the door.

The Choctaw Natiohnal Cemetery is located in Skullyville, south of Sallisaw.

Photos 4 of 6

Across the street from our motel in Heavener sat this diner -- a converted rail passenger coach.

Here is an interior view of the coach.

Here we are on the path to the runestone.

Photos 5 of 6

Above is a view of Heavener from the area of the runestone.

Photos 6 of 6

This photo was taken on the Talimena Scenic Byway.

Above I am seated inside Pete's Place, an Italian restaurant in Krebs.

Each table is in its own room.

This is Pete's Place, home of Choc Beer.