After The Storms

There has been a lot going on since my last post.  We have had temperatures that have been over 100 degrees for several days without a break which have really done a number on a lot of the flowering plants that we have planted in our garden.  So, it was time to get out of town for a bit and "smell the roses" so to speak.  Our original intention was to go to one place, but we ended up looking for some replacement furniture and having lunch at a Brazilian restaurant.

 Scootard was more than anxious to get inside and eat......ha

I admired the fountain that they had just outside the door thinking of how nice it would have been to have one in my yard as well.

We made it the to the restaurant 30 minutes earlier than our reservations which was fine since we were all starving!

We started with an appetizer of eggplant mixed with "something" served on little pieces of bread....

Not bad.....:-)

Helen was very pleased to have food.  She has been known to "sing" over her dishes when they come.  I thought she was gearing up for a tune! haha

The place was decorated Brazilian style with maps and all kinds of mural and things on the wall...../.

the service was a bit slow which had me already thinking of what kind of a tip we should or should not leave.  The food was going to have to be awfully good for us to leave a "good" tip.  I ordered alligator, black mussels, and crab cakes for an appetizer and an African dish that was comprised of black beans, sausage and spices.  On the menu it stated that this particular dish has been around since the 1600's and was originally made by slaves.  This is the mussel dish which was in some kind of a white sauce with capers

Crab cakes........

and finally for the main dish (at least my main dish) was the black bean stew served with collard greens that had been blanched in hot water and dressed with olive oil, garlic and spices served with rice and orange slices.  I ate the collards with the orange slices as I found them to be a bit bitter.

Scootard had a skewer of chicken and beef along with collards and rice......

and Helen had a dish that was filo pastry dough stuffed with meat, havarti cheese, and guava and baked on a bed of risotto.

afterward, Scootard looked like he was ready for an ultrasound! hahaha

just sayin.....

We decided that it was time to skiddatle down the road, but before we did, I  needed to go to the restroom.  This guy was plastered on the wall when I walked in....

sheesh!  whatever happened to flowers, or brocade, or just plain girl stuff on the wall???

After the "potty run" we decided to just ride around and see what else we could get into.  Oklahoma City has murals painted on some of the walls down town that tell the story of their centennial.  Unfortunately, they were on the opposite side of the road from us and Scootard had to park in a construction zone to get the shots that we did.  He used the medium in the middle of the street to get as close as he could to the pictures.  

What was so amazing was that the people almost looked like you could reach out and touch them.  I was tempted to wave at the ladies, but decided .........uh....maybe not! ha

It's amazing how small the city started and how large it has grown in all of these years......

And equally stunning is the difference in the buildings.  While there are still a few that have that small town look, most of them have moved on to stay in step with today's modern look.

After pulling out of the construction area we went on to take in more of our surroundings.  We saw two horse drawn carriages in our travels.

We also noticed that there was a lot of signs that said "event parking-$5.00".  I wondered what the grand event was.  And then we saw several people dressed as you would if you were going to a square dance competition.  I didn't even know people still did that kinda thing! haha....  Wow.  Well anyway, here is a shot of one team.....

and here is another.  Scootard wished them "happy winning".  They waved at us and we carried on to our next stop.

We had to pass by the town that had been devastated by a tornado last month on our way home.
The wreck and ruin of that town was unbelievable.  The following will be pictures of "some" of what we saw.

There were signs dotting the landscape letting people know who to contact for debris removal, what  companies were willing to purchase their homes, etc.

The streets had been cleared so that the homeowners could get back in and see what they could still salvage.  Some of the homes still had clothing hanging in the closets, but no one lived there any longer.....

It was quite sobering....I could not help but think how blessed I was to have two homes in two different countries, both fully furnished and fully in tact. And how equally blessed I was not to have had to bury a child, husband, or friend as a result of this devastation.

You can see the force of the wind and how it mangled these cars.  They looked as if they had been in a crushing machine being used to process scrap metal. Most of these people had lost everything they had in just a few minutes.  My thoughts turned to the flooding that had happened in Calgary, Alberta Canada.

As far as the eye could see.... there was nothing but wreck and ruin.  Very sad....

As we drove through we made our way to two schools. This one I believe was named Briarwood Elementary School. This was the site of one that is no longer there.  I don't know if any loss of life happened here, but it was heart touching to see that someone had taken the time to fly our national and state flag and attach the word "HOPE" on the fence that stood as a silent guard between what had happened and those who came to see it for themselves.

This is Plaza Towers Elementary where 7 lives were lost of the children.  I'm not sure of how many teachers, but I am sure at least one died trying to proctect her babies in the classroom. The fence was filled with toys and teddy bears, t-shirts and letters from distant states and countries.

I took this shot through the fence.  There was nothing left where the school used to stand.

There had been 7 crosses erected to memorialize the lives of the children who perished in the tornado.

I could not imagine the heartache that these families must still be experiencing over a month later.

But the crosses, letters, flags and other memorabilia left at the site sent a strong but gentle message that people who lived far and near were once again here to support Oklahoma during her time of loss and grief.

Oklahoma has seen her share of loss over the 20 years that I have been here.  The loss of life is tragic, the loss of children is ......well, there just aren't words to explain.

Here are a few shots of those who came to support our state during the first few weeks of the disaster.  Some are still here and are still lending assistance to us.  Most are volunteers.....God bless them for their big hearts....:-)

We saw two of these makeshift staging centers set up.  Only one was being used at the time.  This one seemed to have been closed for the weekend or day.

The sun was starting to set and we began to make our way through other areas of the site.

I came across this storm cellar while walking to the other side of the street.  Strangely enough, it was the only one I saw. The house where this shelter was found was completely gone.  Only this cellar remained.

It was really sobering to think that on that very day, the school had intended to present awards to their students for a job well done. This is all that remained of that day.

If you need a little more perspective as to just how bad this storm was, below is a picture of the Plaza Tower school BEFORE the tornado.

This is AFTER........:-(

Thank you, to all of the Fire Rescue workers that worked night and day to search for those missing and who had the painstaking job of  returning the dead to their families.....

Thank you, Arizona for all of your help and volunteers.....

Thank you, Salvation Army.  Always ready to answer the call. Thank you to all of the various organizations and churches who came to the rescue in so many different ways.


And thank you to all of those who came from so far and sent messages of love and hope to our state.

May be never forget your kindness or the lives of those lost in this storm....

And may the city of Moore come back stronger than ever, with hope filled hearts and a determination to live their lives to the fullest.

God bless Oklahoma....

And God bless the United States Of America!

see ya next time.....:-)

Revenge Of The Critters/ Day Trip To Ft. Cobb

The weather has been so hot here that we usually cannot ride unless we do it early in the morning before 9:00 or in the evening after 7:00pm.  We managed to get out of the house today by about 9:15 and head out to a town that we had never been to.  This time, we had company  with us....:-). Helen has been a part of our  ministry and family for years and keeps up with our property whenever we are not around.  It was time to take her for a spin on the Majesty.....:-)

After making sure all systems were go, we hit the road and headed for breakfast at a place we stopped at before....

after a light breakfast (for me anyway), we were ready to hit the road....

Suddenly the wind was absolutely brutal and just about pushed me into a truck carrying cement.  I was NOT having a good time.....:-(  We still had a long way to go before getting to Ft. Cobb and I was concerned that the wind would make this trip very difficult for me.  Scootard had the advantage of skill, extra weight and and heavier bike than mine.  He was not having the same experience I was having in regard to the wind...:-(.

We had passed this place once before but didn't stop to get pictures of it.  It is a peanut processing plant.  I have no idea why Scootard wanted pictures of a peanut processing plant, but here it is folks! ha...  I DO NOT like peanuts.....haha.

after another 45 minutes or so of riding and quite a few dragonfly carcuses hitting me in the chest, we made it to our destination of Ft. Cobb state park.  We were quickly swarmed by wasp which seemed to be after MY bike for whatever reason!.  We quickly dismounted our bikes and headed "inland" away from the festivities!.  All the while, I was wondering how I was ever going to get back on the bike with those things swarming  like they were.  And then there was the wind......:-(.
 

 Here is a picture of the park with a beautiful lilac (or maybe lavender) bush??  No idea, but with the wasp swarming like there were, i was not about to find out....

We went to the nearest picnic bench to have some much needed water as the temperature was in the 90's.

 And Helen took a little trip down to the shore line to sit by the water and take in the moment.....:-).  I was still trying to take in all of the dragon flies that kept attacking me during our trip out there and the wasp that tried to sting me when I got there!

After nearly choking to death on my much needed water, I was able to take a picture of the shoreline.

I was exhausted and ready to start the trip back home after psyching myself up about getting through all of the bugs that were probably lined up waiting to smack me in the chest .

 Needless to say at one point a huge bug (yep, dragon fly),  got inside my helmet through a small opening that I had left for ventilation and I had to pull over.  What a nightmare!  I managed to get it out, took a breath and told myself I only had a few more mile to get home and by golly I made it.  haha  sheesh!!

I was glad to see my front porch.  What a day!  That had to be the longest 100 + miles of my life.

Bugs In My Gear!

For the last 3 weeks, we have been working away in our "garden" and trying to make it an oasis for our time away from Canada.  All is done with the exception of the big gaping brown patch that used to house a brick oven type thingee for several years.  We (actually he) raked the soil and added 14 bags of topsoil and some cow manure to help amend the soil and added some Bermuda grass seed.  We have our fingers crossed that "something" will actually grow there...

 Now, it was time to relax a bit and think of the next adventure.The temperature has been in the 90's and sometimes over 100 degrees.  Since the back of my property faces the West, it is difficult to enjoy the backyard unless we use the blue chair sitting area or the chaise lounges that we recently purchased.  Even then it is best to go early in  the morning or when the sun is going down in the late afternoon.  We do both.

Somebody is having a really good time chillin out here....ha

I guess the good thing is that Scootard built this "thing" in the corner and we have Honeysuckle growing up onto it.  He used the sticks that we salvaged from the cuttings off of our Crepe Myrtle trees last year when we trimmed it. We call it "the grand construction".

We waited for a spectacular sunset, but it never really happened....:-(.

After our "rest and recovery" from all of the hard work, it was time to get "Maj" and "Ms Vickey" ready for the road.....:-)

Scootard was getting things ready while I wrestled with my gear in the house.  Ms Vickey acted like she didn't know me and didn't want to start when I sat on her.  Also, my seat had gone back to it's original condition which made the airhawk that I had purchased last year impossible to use.  It had me too high off the ground even after letting most of the air out.  "Monkey Butt" here I come!

We hit the road and headed out of town toward a little town called Carnegie.  The road was flat and uneventful as always in these parts.  But I like that....:-).  I don't like blind hills, pin hair curves and nasty surprises!  I like to actually see where I'm going....haha.

We stopped at a little cafe called Ann's Kitchen where we have stopped a few times before in our travels.  I was in need of coffee and some breakfast....

I chose a table by the door and window so that I could keep an eye on the bikes.  The  tables are covered in business cards and little brochures with laminate on top to protect them.  Cool.....:-)

 The waitress was very friendly and of course the first thing I ordered was some coffee and breakfast.

 Scootard looked as if he was about to fall asleep while reading through it....haha
It had been so long since I rode that I was a bit tired too and we had only gone 25 miles or so from the house.  I think it was the heat though too.

We drink our coffee from a French Press, so it is difficult to please us with restuarant coffee anymore.  It usually taste too weak.  This was one of those time.....:-(.

After breakfast, we hit the road and headed toward our destination again. We passed through Windmill country for a few minutes....

 And after another 20 something miles we made it to our destination.  I had been here before several years ago (almost 15 now), but Scootard had never been here and was anxious to see it.

What I like about a lot of these small towns is that they always seem to put some part of their history in a mural.

This is a shot of the main street.....

It took a grand total of 7 minutes to "see" the town center before we were on the road again headed back toward home.

We passed an old homestead on the way there that Scootard wanted to get pictures of.

I was amazed at this flower that was growing straight up out of the asphalt in 90 degree heat.  I don't know what kind of flower it was, but after giving it a few tugs, it was evident that it was thoroughly rooted into the ground and was not going to budge.  Pitty....:-(.  I knew just where I would have put it since one side of my yard gets sun all day.

The first place we ventured into was the garage.  Wow....it's amazing what animals can do once people vacate a place.  It's equally amazing what humans can do once a place is vacated.....

This was taken in one of the rooms that I think was a bedroom of some sort.  There was stuff everywhere in this place as if whoever used to live here just up and left without taking anything with them.

This was taken in the living room area.  I kept thinking the whole while that we were there; "there might be snakes in her under all of this stuff trying to get away  from the heat".......

This is another shot from the living room door.  There were a lot of children's clothes and toys laying around. I wondered what there story was.  Why would a person just leave everything behind like this?  Were they on the run from someone? Did they die in an accident and didn't have any heirs?  Did they simply give up on life and walk away from everything?

After taking our time and looking around a bit more, it was time to hit the road again.

When you are on the road whether in a car with all of the windows down or on two wheels, there is always that moment when "something" flies into your eyes, hits you in the face or just takes your by surprise.  I had one of those moments when something that appeared to be a bug the size of a small bird flew UP MY SLEEVE!!!  I spent the next several minutes shaking my arm and shaking my hand and having a few interesting vocal challenges in my helmet!  I shook and shook my arm until I thought i was going to lose my balance.  The power of the wind was not helping either!

After returning back home and stripping off my gear, we found this thing which had a wing span of about 4 inches. It had come apart in "transport" inside my gear......

 

I, on the other hand came apart when I saw it!  hahaha......I promptly headed for the shower and washed off the grossness of the whole incident, settled into a chair with the Gatorade and thanked God that the thing did not bite or sting me!

Here's to keeping the shiny side up!