Inauguration Day 2009

President Barack Obama takes the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States of America. First Lady Michelle Obama holds the Lincoln bible.
(photo from Reuters)

Inauguration Day 2009

Barack Obama and daughters Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, listen as Aretha Franklin sings "America the Beautiful".
(photo from CNN)

Inauguration Day 2009

Enormous crowds gather in Washington DC.
(photo from MSNBC)

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

The produce department at Reasor's Market at 41st and Yale in Tulsa.

Squirrels and Bird Feeders

I like to feed and watch the birds. I don't mind squirrels as they have to eat too. In fact I have a squirrel feeder that I keep corn and peanuts in. Of course the squirrels suck it dry and then go after everything else.

A lot of birds love to peck at a loaf of bread but the squirrels pull it down before the birds have much of a chance at it. To prevent this I bought a 8 foot tall pole to keep the bread out of reach. It is out in the middle of the yard so they can't jump on it from a tree limb. Obviously that isn't tall enough. Squirrels are not only very nimble, they are clever little critters.

Christ Church Annual Meeting

Church annual meetings are admittedly not the most exciting of events, but necessary to conduct the business of a worshipping community. The experience is made more palatable by a potluck buffet.

Wagoner High School Reunion

For the class of 1959 this will be our 50 year reunion.  Only six of us were at the dinner but we started making plans for this summer.  We are from left: Lillian Gaylor, June Gilmore, Bill Miller, Bill French, Jane Flippin, and Wendell Hancock.

Once every quarter all the people who graduated from Wagoner High School anytime during the 1950s meet for dinner at Baker's Restaurant.  I graduated in 1959 so this summer we will try to have a class reunion.  There were only about 55 in my graduating class so it will be interesting to see how many will come.  The initial challenge will be to get in touch with everyone.

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame

The old Union Railroad Depot never looked better.

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame

The program included rags by Scott Joplin and Eubie Blake, blues by W. C. Handy, George Gershwin, and Duke Ellington, the cool jazz of Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobin and Henry Mancini.  

The music was performed by the Jambalaya Jazz Band, Donald Ryan Trio, David Moore on trumpet and Earl Clark on saxophone, plus the TSO String Quartet.  It was a terrific evening of music.

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame

A full house!

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame

The interior reflects the original art deco style of the old depot.

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame

In the foyer is a whimsical sculpture with the just the right flavor. 

The old Union Railroad Depot in downtown Tulsa has been converted into headquarters for the Tulsa Symphony and houses the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.  Tonight is a great program of an assortment of jazz styles.

Too Cold!

It is 15*F (-9*C) outside with a dusting of light snow over patches of ice. Smokey did his business in record time and wanted right back in. I think this old man will stay inside today.

Tulsa BOK Center

Designed by architect Cesar Pelli, Tulsa's BOK Center, a $178 million, 18,500-seat facility was opened last year and is already heavily booked several years out.

Winter Sky

On our way to church we admire the evening sky.

New Porch Light

Voilà! Our new porch light.

New Porch Light

Mike and Amber came over this afternoon and Mike took care of a few things that needed to be done, one of which was to install a new porch light for us. This young man can do anything.

Bi-Bim-Bap

Stir it up and enjoy! Sort of like the best fried rice you ever ate.

Susan has us both on a diet. Today she is having lunch with one of her lady friends so I snuck off to the Korean Garden for one of my favorite dishes. Bi-Bim-Bap is a mixture of meat and vegetables over steamed rice with a raw egg in the middle. It is served in a clay pot hot enough to make everything sizzle. On the left is an assortment of side dishes from the buffet.

Tulsa Skyline From Reservoir Hill

After church today Susan and I loaded Smokey in the car and went for a Sunday drive. We drove up to the top of Reservoir Hill for a nice view of the Tulsa skyline from about a mile north of downtown. Not a really good picture because I was shooting into the light, but a nice view anyway. At least Smokey liked it.

First Sunday After Epiphany

The illustration on our service bulletin this morning. The baptism of Christ.

Worship Music

Christ Church has a small music ministry with guitar, piano, violin, and voices.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

I frequently get little Downy Woodpeckers at my feeders but rarely a Red Bellied Woodpecker visits. They are larger and the red extends down their neck rather than just the cap.

Goldfinches

We enjoyed some warmer weather today and Susan helped me clean up the bird feeders and refill them with seed. Goldfinches love black thistle and brighten up the garden.

Bird Song Clock

We have a clock on the wall in our garden room that marks the hours by chirping a different bird song for each hour. Outside are a number of bird feeders with lots of birds. Each hour when the clock chirps the birds outside respond.

The Sky Above My House

The Ansel Adams exhibit at Gilcrease has made me much more aware of the sky.

Epiphany

After the service, coffee and cookies - beautiful cookies!

Epiphany

Epiphany celebrates the visitation of the wise men (Magi) to the Christ child. A joint Episcopal/Lutheran Epiphany service was held at Bethany Lutheran Church. It was a service of lessons and carols and was a lovely service.

Borders on 21st St.

Sue likes to buy books in bookstores. I like to look in bookstores and buy them at a discount online. It is tough for brick and morter stores to compete.

Borders on 21st St.

Sue is looking for something for her mother to read and I am tagging along. I can waste an endless amount of time in a good bookstore.

Ansel Adams at Gilcrease

Gilcrease has a wonderful permanent collection of Western and Native American art. We will come back and share that soon.

Ansel Adams at Gilcrease

We had a nice lunch in the restaurant.

Ansel Adams at Gilcrease

Also on display were some of Adams' large and small format cameras. I wanted to get a better picture of the exhibit area but every photograph had a crowd in front of it. We should have gone out earlier when it was not so crowded. Ah well, I met some interesting people.

Ansel Adams at Gilcrease

This is the start of the exhibit. There were so many people there it was hard to see. There was a long queue which snaked around the exhibit.

Ansel Adams at Gilcrease

Gilcrease Museum has had a fine exhibit of Ansel Adams photographs for several months and we waited until the last day to see it. So did a lot of people because there was a large crowd there.

This statue is at the entrance of the museum. Sacred Rain Arrow by sculptor Alan Houser.

Home Again

The critters are hungry.

New Year Plus One

It is time to return home. Smokey would like to drive but has no license. We have had a very nice holiday.

New Year Plus One

Sue has made herself at home in our kitchen and cooked a nice breakfast for us. Yesterday we had black eyed peas to bring us luck in the new year.

New Year Plus One

It is Friday morning and the wild turkeys are back just outside our window. They really are handsome birds, blue head, red wattles, and colorful bronze plumage. The big males have a tuft of hair-like feathers like a beard hanging over their chest. Because they are native to this country, Benjamin Franklin wanted to name them our national bird but the Bald Eagle won out.

New Year's Day 2009

Stone steps lead from the rear entrance down to look out at the river.

New Year's Day 2009

This is the main rear entrance of the lodge. The facility is available to rent for special events. Now I am looking for an excuse to come here.

New Year's Day 2009

The view from the promenade looks down the length of the Arkansas River. This is the same Arkansas River that runs a block away from our house in Tulsa. Smokey was very interested in all this.

New Year's Day 2009

The interior of the lodge is a great hall for meetings, banquets, and dances. Along the outside are several sets of doors where one might step outside onto a long promenade for a breath of fresh air. The promenade looks out over the Arkansas River.

New Year's Day 2009

Greenleaf Lodge has an interesting history. Built in 1937 by the WPA as part of the Greenleaf Recreation Area, it was attached by the U.S. Army as part of Camp Gruber and was used as an officer's club while the installation was greatly expanded during world war II. Camp Gruber was used as a training camp, then later as a Prisoner of War camp for German soldiers captured during Rommel's campaign in North Africa.

The German soldiers were housed and fed in equivalent facilities as the American serviceman who went through training here. They were used to do construction on facilities and roads in the camp and surrounding area. Compared to the conditions they suffered in North Africa as German soldiers, they considered themselves very fortunate to be interred in this picturesque countryside.

For a more complete history of Camp Gruber as a POW camp look Look HERE

Many found themselves on friendly terms with the American citizens they encountered during their confinement and looked back on this period as a positive experience. A surprising number of these men returned years later with wives and children to see where they spent the final years of the war.

For a related article from the Tulsa World, Look HERE

New Year's Day 2009

Looking down to the lake from in front of our cabin.

New Year's Day 2009

The lintels over the doors and windows are hand hewn logs and are exposed both inside and out. The wild turkeys were back this morning, scratching for breakfast just outside the window. I love this place.

New Year's Day 2009

We tried to see in the new year but fell asleep after a game of Scrabble.

Sue cooked eggs and toast this morning and we watched part of the Tournament of Roses parade In Pasadena, California. We saw the band from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with two kids who are friends from church.

I took a little walk outside to take pictures of the cabin. I am impressed with the stone work. The walls near the bottom are nearly a meter thick.