Public Service Company of Oklahoma

Since I live a block from the Arkansas River I drive up or down Riverside Drive every day. Tulsa was built on the curve of the river as it swings from East to South. Riverside Drive runs down the East side of the river from the center of town South for about 10 miles.

The area between the road and the river is the River Park. There is a running path which runs the length of it. At various locations are rest areas, playgrounds, several Frisbee golf courses, a rugby field, and places to fish. The city is in the process of making a lot of improvements to the park which explains the dirt work.

Actually the subject of this photo is on the opposite side of the riverat about 31st Street. This is one of the gas fired electrical generating plants that supply Tulsa with power.

Arkansas River Early Morning

Looking South from near 66th street.

(No new grandbabies)

Beth, Great With Child

Three year old Autumn is about to be pushed out of the nest by the new chick. Although she is accustomed to getting all of the attention, she will surely enjoy being a big sister.

Beth, Great With Child

Susan emailed a couple of pictures to me from our daughter-in-law Beth out in Maryland. Her usual model's figure has expanded somewhat now that she is 9 months and 15 minutes from having the new grandchild. Everyone is ready for the big event except the baby who is dawdling. Beth has a visit with the doctor today and they may decide to hurry things along. In the meantime, Smokey and I are bachelors.

Third and Presidential Debate

Sen. Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain participate in the third and final presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

My Crazy Cardinal

This video clip is not from my iPhone but I wanted to share it with you.

The back of our house is a long garden room with wall to wall windows. Probably you have seen it in some of my pictures. I have a number of bird feeders hanging outside the windows and pretty sun catchers on the inside. It is a pleasant room that looks over the flowers in out back garden. As a result, we have a lot of birds to watch.

Beginning last February a handsome male Cardinal moved in and decided that our back garden was his private sanctuary. He doesn't bother the other birds but he allows no other male cardinal into his territory. He and his sweetheart have nested in one of our maple trees and raised a nice family.

None of this is particularly noteworthy except that he regards his own reflection in our many windows as a rival and attacks the glass. He does this every day from dawn to dusk. We assumed that he would get over it eventually but here it is in mid October and he is still at it. If he had any brains he would have bashed them out by now. We really don't notice the constant pecking noise anymore. He doesn't seem to mind our coming and going but I do hesitate to go out in the back garden wearing red.

Smokey Gets a Bath

Nevertheless, Smokey looks and smells very nice, and always gets a new neckerchief. It doesn't show up well in the photo but this one has a Halloween pumpkin design. He is very proud.

About once a month I take Smokey to "Love on a Leash" for a bath and toe nail trim. He likes the groomers but is not crazy about the water. You might say he has mixed emotions. He is good tempered about it. They are at 2913 S Harvard Ave.

Southwood Nursery

One of the nice things about Southwood is that the people who work there know a lot about the plants they sell, how to plant them and care for them. Their expertise is part of the product they sell.

Southwood Nursery

When I moved into my little house in Tulsa's Brookside area it was completely bare of any trees or shrubs. Over the past 15 years it has been transformed into a nicely landcaped garden. We found a lot of things at Southwood. They seem to have everything.

A Quiet Sunday

These hardy chrysanthemums bloom somewhat in the spring then grow rank over the summer to put on a very nice display in the fall. They all come from a single potted mum I bought at plant nursery years ago and tossed aside when the frost nipped it.

To my surprise they emerged again in the spring so I dug a hole and gave them a spot. Over the years I have spread them out and let them take over the bed.

They coexist nicely with the day lilies, dwarf crepe myrtle, and climbing roses on the porch posts. The idea is that something is blooming all the time with practically no effort on my part.

A Quiet Sunday

The chrysanthemums in the front flowerbed of our little house are beginning to put on their annual show.

Susan left very early this morning to fly to Eastern Maryland to visit her daughter-in-law Beth. Sue will look after Beth's 3 year old daughter Autumn while Beth gives birth to our new grandson. Beth can deal with the newborn, it is the fractious Autumn who requires the services of her grandmother.

Sue's son Paul is a Navy officer and has recently been shipped to a new assignment in South Korea, leaving Beth temporarily without her helper.

At the present time sue and I have 8 grandchildren between us, 7 girls and 1 boy. This new one is expected to be a boy which makes him even more special, if possible. Susan is very excited. I will miss her company, but it is for a good cause.

Tulsa Signature Symphony

Mozart Night - Requiem!
with the Signature Chorale
and the TCC Concert Choir

Soloists -
- Deborah DeWees, Soprano
- April Golliver, Alto
- Kim Childs, Tenor
- Paul Mabrey, Bass

Tulsa Signature Symphony

Mozart Night
Tonight's program -

- Symphony No. 33
- Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola
- Intermission -
- Choral Requiem

Tulsa Signature Symphony

Mozart Night - guest conductor Piotr Sulkowski, Violin soloists Rachel and Joy Fellows. In the orchestra are Esther, Jessica and Daniel. The 5 good Fellows!

Frank Lloyd Wright's "Westhope"

A view from the front (looking South). The estate includes a guesthouse, workshop, and a nice garden area with pool in the back. I would love to see the interior but I do not know who is living there now.

Located at 3704 S. Birmingham Avenue, this is one of only 3 Oklahoma buildings created by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This 10,000 square foot home was built for his cousin Richard Lloyd Jones in 1929 when Jones was editor and publisher of the Tulsa Tribune. This view looks West towards the long axis of the house. The trees surrounding the house make it difficult to get a photograph which does justice to the interesting design. For some vintage photos see HERE , or current exterior photos see HERE . Some interesting biographical information relating to this house can be read HERE

 Here is a clearer photograph taken in winter when the trees are bare. 

Aisle of Plenty

The butter and cheese aisle at our Neighborhood Market.

Harwelden

Harwelden was built in English Tudor style by Mary and Earl Harwell in 1926 and has 30 rooms, four levels, and seven fireplaces. The main floor rooms and stairway are decorated with hand carved wood designs . This elegant mansion is now the home of the Tulsa Arts and Humanities Council. It serves as a location for many of the Council's programs in arts education, literary arts, humanities and arts advocacy as well as a site for private functions. It is a beautiful structure both inside and out. From the rear it slopes West to a view of the Arkansas River.

Second Presidential Debate

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain debate in a town hall format at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Happy AA Birthday.

17 years = 6,209 days, one day at a time.

Happy AA Birthday

Susan and David attended as did some Kairos friends and about 40 regulars from the group. This is the BBBSG, the Beginners Big Book Study Group, 12 noon Monday through Saturday at the Community Fellowship Church, 29th and S. Harvard. It was great!

Happy AA Birthday

My son David gave me my 17 year chip.

Happy AA Birthday

Today was my 17 year AA birthday. That's a long time between drinks. We had a tasty carrot cake and people said nice things about me. It was cool.

Smokey the Lapdog

LeRon is one of Smokey's best friends.

Pumpkins For Sale

Of course you can buy it cheaper at the Walmart.

Pumpkins For Sale

It's Autumn and Halloween will be here soon. Pumpkins are for sale everywhere. Many churches sell pumpkins as fund-raisers.

St. Francis Sunday

BLESSED ARE THE ANIMALS
(Excerpted from the Tulsa World, 10/5/2008)

Members of Christ Church Episcopal, 10901 S. Yale Ave. gathered to have their pets blessed in commemoration of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and the environment. Father Rick Brewer said that the blessings given to animals are an expression of love. He said the meaningful relationship that many people have with their pets connects them in a deeper sense with all creation. Brewer said when people ask him if pets go to heaven, he answers "You betcha."

While Saturday's blessing featured mostly dogs with a few cats and fish thrown in, Brewer said in the past he has conducted blessings that involved parakeets, lizards, horses and frogs.

Dee Brewer, the pastor's wife for almost 40 years, brought the couple's high-spirited dog Buddy to be blessed on Saturday. "He needs it, can't you tell?" she said. "He's been blessed before, but I don't think it took."

St. Francis Sunday

There is something about kids and goldfish....

Saturday Drive

On the way home.

Saturday Drive

Smokey loves to ride in the car.

Saturday Drive

Osage Hills State State Park, a few miles West of Bartlesville.

Saturday Drive

The Bartlesville Community Center began in December 1979, and was completed in January 1982. The cost of the Center, including land, construction, furnishings, and equipment was nearly $13 million, and was completely paid for on opening day, January 12, 1982. It was immediately recognized as one of the finest performing arts halls in the country - an amazing facility for a community of only 35,000.

This 94,000 square foot Center houses a 1,700 seat state-of-the-art-theater with a one-of-a-kind orchestra shell which allows great flexibility for music concerts and dance, as well as intimate theater and touring Broadway extravaganzas. There is also a large and small meeting room and an art gallery.

Saturday Drive

The Price Tower is a nineteen story, 221 foot high tower that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It is the only realized skyscraper by Wright, and is one of only two vertically-oriented Wright structures extant.

Wright nicknamed the Price Tower, which was built on the Oklahoma prairie, "the tree that escaped the crowded forest," referring not only to the building's construction, but also to the origins of its design. The Price Tower is supported by a central "trunk" of four elevator shafts which are anchored in place by a deep central foundation, as a tree is by its taproot. The nineteen floors of the building are cantilevered from this central core, like the branches of a tree. The outer walls hang from the floors and are clad in patinated copper "leaves."

Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower was his pioneering experiment in the multi-use skyscraper: a tall, slim, richly detailed structure whose purpose was to combine business offices, retail and apartments.

Saturday Drive

It's a beautiful day for a drive so we drive North from Tulsa to
Bartlesville. This small but prosperous city is the home of Phillips
Petroleum among other things.

Blue Dome Diner

Luke cooked us a very nice breakfast -mushroom and cheese omelet with sausage and sliced tomato. Instead of toast he fixed blueberry and pecan pancakes. Delicious but we took half of it home.

Fellowship Congregational Church UCC

Noon meetings Monday through Saturday at 2900 S Harvard, Tulsa.

Vice-Presidential Debate

Senator Joe Biden vs. Governor Sarah Palin

Korean Garden

Mandukuk - Rice Cake and Dumpling soup with a sampling of side dishes from the buffet. Delicious !

Korean Garden

My friend Micky is the charming server. Her mother and father are the owners and cooks. This excellent restaurant has authentic Korean cuisine. Located on East 41st Street at 129th East Avenue, it is one of my favorite Tulsa restaurants.

Inverness Living Center

Talking things over.

Inverness Living Center

Susan's mother Marjorie is doing physical therapy here.

Tuesdays at Trinity

Trumpets sound from the rear.

Tuesdays at Trinity

Great ranks of pipes on each side of the choir loft.

Tuesdays at Trinity

The organist today is Trinity's own Casey Cantwell

Old Tulsa Central High School

I did my practice teaching here in 1963. Some years later it was closed as a school due to declining enrollment and offered for sale. Fortunately, Public Service Company bought it and handsomely remodeled it for their offices.

Christ Church Episcopal

Our lovely garden.

Christ Church Episcopal

Deacon Nancy reads the gospel.

Christ Church Episcopal

Acolytes come in all sizes.