Friday, September 19, 2014

Ponder Post: Doll Lessons

I was in a toy store today shopping for my granddaughter Autumn's, second birthday. Her mom had told me that Autumn had displayed a fascination with a baby doll whose eyes opened and shut so I was on a mission to find one. Rather than going to a Toys R Us or online store, I went to an independently owned toy store I frequent so I could see the doll choices and be sure of making a good quality decision. I asked the store owner, Sue, her recommendation. Sue has 14 grandchildren. She helped me find a doll that was age appropriate and could go in the bathtub as well. It even came with its baby-sized yellow rubber ducky. I was pleased and could indeed see a quality difference in the feel, the weight, the balance of the center of gravity placement, the delicacy of the shading of the complexion, and the intricacy in the formation of the lips and other facial features. I was enlightened at how many design details there were to consider in the selection of the optimum doll. (Stop laughing and rolling your eyes; nothing but the best for my granddaughters!) There were other dolls at half the price point but you could really spot the difference when placed side-by-side with the doll by Corolle. So I bought the doll. The brightly colored pink and coral clothing was a cheerful bonus instead of the pastel colors that usually come with baby dolls.

This 12-inch cuddly soft baby doll for little mommies ages 18 months and up features sleeping eyes
 and smooth supple vinyl skin that's delicately scented with vanilla – a Corolle signature.


But my real takeaway from that store was the story Sue told me of her granddaughter. Sue's granddaughter wanted an American Girl doll for her birthday and pointed out the one she wanted. It was fair skinned and had blond hair. Now the granddaughter's mother is of Hawaiian descent and the granddaughter has that type of complexion. Since the dolls are custom ordered, her mom asked the little girl if she wanted a doll that looked like her and she replied that no, she wanted the pretty one.

Well the mom's heart sunk and this really bothered her. We have all heard the stories about how black children are shown pictures and asked which is prettier or smarter and the majority of the time they choose the Caucasian over their own skin color. We have heard about the blue-eyed/brown-eyed exercise by the schoolteacher Jane Elliot in Iowa. The store owner, Sue, told her daughter-in-law not to fret about it and she would take care of it.

Despite her granddaughter's request otherwise, Sue special ordered the Hawaiian looking doll. She helped the other grandmother order a doll's outfit identical to the one the fair-skinned blond doll had been wearing. It was a very happy birthday. The little girl loved the Hawaiian complected doll that looked just like her. And she loved outfit the other grandmother gave her. And that whole pretty part? It was the dress, after all!

Let us be sensitive, yes. But let us not assume problems exist where they do not.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Ponder Post: Books and TV

Per my ponder (not wander) posts, the most recently I've completed a book and posted about it was June 7, 2014. Yikes! Kids visited in June and I vacationed with friends in mid-July but surely I must have done some reading during the summer but I sure cannot remember what. On my recent flight home from Oklahoma City I did finish reading Dean Koontz's latest book The City and enjoyed it. When I realized the setting was black musicians in a jazz scenario, it turned me off a bit since that genre of music is unappealing to me. I admit I had to start the book twice to get into it but was glad I stuck with it. The main character is a young boy of around nine or ten and the story is told from his vantage point. It was very tense and riveting with a lot of heartwarming emotions embedded throughout and a generous sprinkling of shockers. I believe Dean Koontz to be Catholic by faith so it is odd that he authors books that could easily be made into horror flicks if adapted to the screen. Yet, in an strange way, through the sinister, the good of God, or rather the good of something, shines through in his books. I give this book a thumbs up.


Told from the point of view of a nine to ten year old boy,
this book is a thumbs up for a good read.

Having just Googled to confirm if Dean Koontz is Catholic (yes he is) I found a very interesting link to an interview with him where he is quoted as saying. 
"I often say in the short run evil wins. I've seen it all my life. Bad behavior can triumph in the short run. But, in the long run I never see that it does. I think it is more realistic to say that most of the time good does triumph over evil, even in the shorter run, but certainly in the longer runs. It's partly faith-based, but it's partly just practical, just looking at the way I've seen life for the past 60 years." 

You can read article it in its entirety at this link.   http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Books/2008/10/Dean-Koontz-interview.aspx? 
The interview is nine pages long and chock full of annoying advertisements but I thought it was worth the read. That is what I like about blogging. My research on my posts takes me down curiouser and curiouser rabbit holes.

The last book I blogged about was the Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett and I was on the library's waiting list for another book by her, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. I recall now. I did get that book. I started it. It was awful. I never finished it. The title is an example of false advertising. It is a collection of essays and apparently the author's first marriage was not a happy one and that is what the first several essays focus on. The opening essay describes how she dreads Christmas because it recalls to her how terrible childhood Christmases were for her, and are in general for the children of divorced parents. Definitely put this on your do not read list! Thumbs down on this one!  It does not even rate a cover image in my post! :• (

And I recall I also read Tough Customer by Sandra Brown. This book was a tense page turner but I cannot say that I really liked the main characters a lot and the villain was really creepy. The hero is a seedy ex-cop turned private investigator portrayed with a to-hell-with-the-rules kind of stereotype and the love of his life is a self-made wealthy realtor. Now I realize why it took me so long to remember what I've been reading. This book is non-memorable.

This book is a mediocre page turner that at least moves quickly
 so you are not exposed to the creepy villain for very long.

I need to find some books that have suspense and romance without the gore and sordid sex! Thumbs horizontal on this one.

Frank and I have been watching Downton Abbey and really enjoying it so maybe that is a reason my reading is diminished. Since we have Amazon Prime we stream it for free. The discs are also available from Netflix. We run it with captions so we can understand what the actors are saying, but I do believe my ear it getting adjusted to the British accents. Downton Abbey has the triple S - suspense, surprises, and sex. But since it is British, it is all done very properly. Though I have noticed that when a character to whom I've grown attached dies, I am somewhat depressed the next day. Thumbs up for this TV series. Though we just started, Frank and I are almost caught up with the show. We are watching Season 4 and Season 5 starts airing in January 2015. 

How would you like to live in such a humble abode?

The series opens with the sinking of the Titanic with a critical heir on board. I now know what an entail is and how its rules on inheritance work. I am getting to savor the way m'lord and m'lady rolls off the tongue.  And, I now know the difference among a footman, a valet (pronounced val-ette), and a butler. The relationships and quandaries among the servants are as engaging as those among the lords and ladies they serve. The interactions between those who cross that master/servant societal line are slightly scandalous in their own context. It is easier to watch the shows in one fell swoop over consecutive evenings rather than once a week. It is going to be difficult to recall a TV episode from seven days ago when we start watching Season 5 in that format. Until now we are still having fun with it and I do recommend watching this series. Thumbs up!

Monday, September 15, 2014

OKC Monday - Rest and Ready for Return

Monday, September 1st was Labor Day so Robin and Jeremy were home from work and Autumn was home from daycare. Frank and  Jeremy did some household enhancements and fixes. They programmed the garage door opener, replaced a light switch in the ceiling fan/light in Autumn's room, and did some puttering in the yard. Robin and I went through her fabric stash, talked quilting, and entertained Autumn. Jeremy barbecued hamburgers for a traditional Labor Day dinner. It was a laid back day that we enjoyed just being in each other's company. Frank and I and Robin all packed -   Robin to head to Columbus Ohio for work Tuesday morning and us to return home to California Tuesday afternoon. Toward evening time, we took some pictures out on the front porch swing with Robin and then with Autumn.

Robin, me, and Frank are all smiles at the end of a fun visit.

Autumn thinks being sandwiched between and being squooshed by Grandma and Grandpa is fun.

Jeremy kept busy taking photos of us or watering shrubs. Autumn was quite interested in the water spray but we had to convince her that if she wanted to get wet, she had to let Rainbow Brite stay with someone else since Rainbow Brite did not want to get wet. It was a hard choice to make.

Autumn wanted badly to play in the water but she was reluctant to relinquish Rainbow Brite. 

Autumn decides it may be OK to let me hold Rainbow Brite for her for just a bit.

The lure of water won out. Jeremy obliged by letting a little errant spray of water occasionally slip over Autumn. Autumn's Daddy was once again her hero.

Finger tips in the water spray is just the beginning.

"Oh, Daddy. You're so silly! Spray me again!"

It was a really great visit and we are so glad we made the effort - even if we had just seen them all in June!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

OKC Sunday - Church and Art

Sunday, August 31st we went to Cross Timbers United Methodist Church in Moore, OK where Robin, Jeremy, and Autumn recently became members of the congregation. I am glad to see they found and joined a church they like. It was very friendly and informal and very different from the Catholic Masses Frank and I are used to. The congregation gathered in a building housed in a section of a strip mall type setting. Coffee and donuts were offered, but they were available before the service. You could help yourself and take them into the service with you. Music was loud and exuberant and provided by a percussionist and three electric guitarists with amplifiers. There was a huge movie size screen where the words to the songs were projected.


I copied this picture from the Cross Timbers website.
It may have been an informal setting but I was not about to whip out my camera.

The theme of the service was communion and sharing at the table of Christ. The minister James pointed out that Christ could have done many actions to commemorate his last night but he chose sharing a meal – not dancing, not preaching, not praying only –sharing a meal. Sharing a meal is an important sign of the communion of God's creatures and at this church no one is excluded because of their lack of belief in transubstantiation or con-substantiation, or prerequisite for sacramental training, or lack of confession. A meal very much symbolizes love and caring shared at a human and not necessarily spiritual level. The communion ritual here was filing forward, taking some bread, dipping it in grape juice, and consuming it. Interesting way to look at things... Childcare was provided through most of the service but Autumn very much enjoyed the music portion and  stayed with us for that.

After the church service we went to Arts Festival Oklahoma (AFO) held in tents on the lawn area of Oklahoma City Community College. Per its website,
"Begun in 1978, AFO is a favorite Labor Day Event in Oklahoma and one of the top juried fine arts and crafts shows in the Southwest. Over 25,000 patrons attend AFO every Labor Day Weekend..." 
This next photo gives you a sense of the feel of the show, on the grass, under an array of large white tents. We walked the entire show looking at all the contributions from the artists from Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, and maybe other states as well that I do not remember.

Being under a big top while looking at the paintings, photographs, sculptures, jewelry, and leather work
leant a different air to the art experience. I am used to convention center venues.

Music is reputed to be an integral part of the festival. We could hear guitars and fiddles and singing from other sections of the grounds but never sat down to formally listen through anything specific. The music's presence did contribute to the ambience of the event, though. Food also has a reputation of being a big part of this festival; but it was so hot, we elected to restrict our festival activities to art exploration only and left to eat in a cooler air-conditioned place.

There was great food variety much like at a county or state fair but the heat of the day,
compounded by all the barbecuing and cooking booths, made us inclined to eat someplace cooler.

Frank and I were amused at the coincidence when we saw 2014's AFO public relations poster with the clock image on it and spectators looking through the clock's face from the backside.

This year's Art Festival Oklahoma Poster featured the view from within a clock tower.
Similar vantage points were featured in the 2011 movie Hugo.
Hugo had stunning cinematography and was set inside a Paris train station.

In our recent remodal of our downstairs powder room we put a very similar mural on the wall.

This six foot wide, four foot tall mural has no seams. Installing it ourselves had great potential for disaster.
But Frank and I planned ahead and did not do too badly. And we are still on speaking terms. 

Although I digress, for completeness here is the rest of the powder room. We thought it would be neat to show off Frank's clock collection and so the mural fit the theme as did the Big Ben painting. Plus, we'd get double duty out of the mural. When someone is at the sink looking in the mirror, the clock face is corrected as if viewing it from the front.

We replaced the wood with glass in the upper cabinet doors to display Frank's clock collection.
We painted the oak (gasp, horrors) to play off the color and shape of Big Ben to the right. 

In the mirror, the clock face is no longer "backwards".
Our warped sense of humor came into play. When someone is seated on the throne,
their head height is even with the spectators in the darkened portion of the mural.

Digression over, let me return to the Oklahoma activities. That evening we stayed in and played games. We played Farkle, which is a dice game I have blogged about before. Robin, Jeremy, Frank, and I also tried a new card game called AnOmia. I'd really wanted to play it. Since it takes three or more players, Frank and I could not check it out before bringing it. The object of the game is to be the first person to give an example of an item that meets a certain category. Someone reveals a card that states a category and a symbol. A player with a matching symbol then faces off with the player that flipped the card. The first player to call out an item that meets the criteria claims the card and scores a point.


It is not as easy as one would think to recall and announce a word in a certain category when under pressure.

Well, we laughed our heads off at how blank our minds could go and how tongued-tied our speech could become when we were put on the spot. We accused each other of cheating by intentionally flipping our card in such a way that we saw it before the other players - a big No-No! Picture this...

     Flip quick! Name a brand of tooth paste - now!
     Flip again! Now name a movie director...  huh? huh?
     Flip, don't peak! Name a breed of dog! No, Lassie is not a breed!

Get the picture? We played it just once. Frank was extremely tense to the point of almost being ill by the end and Robin and I both had splitting headaches from trying so hard. The laughing part was fun. It is worth trying the game at least once to see what I mean.  But the jury is still out if I would recommend this game to anyone. At first I would have said only it's only for a younger audience who do not fear that senility is sucking out their brains. But Robin and Jeremy had as much trouble at it as Frank and me. Well, maybe not. Jeremy was pretty darn good at it! Maybe it was the way he flipped his cards...

After this game Jeremy tried to get Robin and me involved in playing Star Wars X-Wings Miniatures Game, a military strategy game. He loves this game. It is so complicated. There are close to a zillion playing pieces – cards, plastic molded spacecraft, cardboard templates, specialty dice. I think he has at least four plastic compartmentalized storage cases to organize all the gaming pieces. Thanks to the Games and Tea 8/22/13 blog entry I was able to after the fact sort some of the components out.


First row: direction and distance discs, green defense and orange attack dice, maneuver templates
Second row: pilot description cards, pilot for spacecraft bases, hull damage cards
Now doesn't this sample battle field look just a wee bit complicated?


Robin and I tried hard to be good sports but had to let Jeremy down. I kept flying my craft the opposite way I intended to because I did not understand the direction and maneuverability disks and I did not have a clue about a strategy. Some spacecrafts (or is it pilots?) have more speed, others have better shooting accuracy, some have maneuverability, some have better shielding, some have bonus something-or-other. I tried to end the game more expeditiously by getting shot down sooner with strategic rolling of the green defense 8-sided dice, but Jeremy caught me. I wanted to indulge his gaming desires since he indulged mine, but I think he will need to go to their church's game night and find others in the community who want to enjoy this with him. It was too steep a learning curve for me. It had been a long day and it was time for bed! Tomorrow was Labor Day and between Farkle, Anomia, and Star Wars X-Wings we would all need a day to relax.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

OKC Saturday – Landscape Architecture 101

Saturday, August 30th all five of us piled into Jeremy's truck and drove to a local nursery, Marcum's. Robin and Jeremy bought a tree to be planted later in the fall and a couple of bushes as base plantings in the area around their front porch.

This nursery is just 2 miles from Robin and Jeremy's house.

While Robin and Jeremy were making their selections and learning about proper shrub care, Frank and I trundled after a very active Autumn so her parents could shop uninterrupted. Since her parents were doing their thing with the plants, Autumn's contribution to the outing focused more on the basics of landscape architecture: layout and pathways, soil composition and good drainage, proper watering, and decorative accents.

There was a raised area with a pathway through it that Autumn found fascinating. Up and down, and up and down, and round and round she went. Periodically she would stop to pick up a soil sample to inspect more closely the quality and size of the gravel.


Autumn was content to hang with Frank and me even when her folks when off to shop.
She enjoyed the adventure of exploring. At times Frank and I had to run to keep up.

It is amazing how interesting a twig or rock can be. Even more so if they are muddy!

After all that soil analysis, I thought it might be a good idea to rinse off her fingers in a nearby fountain. Autumn thought that was a great idea! It was really hot that day and the water feature area was in the shade. Needless to say, more than the her hands got wet.


Autumn needed to experience the water better. This was a serious investigation.
She willingly put Frank in charge of holding her sunglasses and binky.


There are a few speckles of water droplets on the front of Autumn's T-shirt.
She was enjoying just holding her hand beneath the dribble.

Now Autumn's T-shirt and shorts are a much darker color. Hmm. Pretty soggy.
She learned how to swat her hand beneath the water and send it flying!

In order to regain control of the situation, Frank and I decide to give her a ride on one of the carts at the nursery. This was fun for Autumn but most of the pathways were in the sun so the ride was curtailed before too long. We went into a sheltered area with yard decor. I found some reduced price ceramics (cheap -  just in case she broke something and we had to buy it). Autumn really liked some kitty cat statues.

A ride in the sun dried Autumn off a bit.
She was content to sit as long as Frank was moving.
Autumn was surprisingly gentle with the ceramic statues.
She seemed to like the red cat best.
Autumn succeeded in getting her sunglasses on the kitty.
Love at first sight! I caved and the kitty came home with us.

Later in the afternoon Robin, Autumn and I drove out to a toy store in Norman (about 16 miles southeast) to see if I could get a replacement puzzle for Alex but I was unsuccessful. We did get Autumn a toddler size dust pan and broom. She was happy she could imitate her mom and dad. Jeremy cooked a great spaghetti dinner and we chilled the rest of the evening.

Monday, September 8, 2014

OKC Friday - Antiques and Babysitting

Friday, August 29th we planned to have a day trip with Robin but did not want to venture too far due to possible Labor Day weekend traffic. A salesclerk at one of the Duncan antique stores highly recommended that we to go the Rink Gallery, an antique store in Bethany that is housed in a former ice skating rink. Frank and I thought this was a unique venue and the place was only 15 miles from Robin's house, mostly north and a bit west.

The store was quite extensive but most items were too large
for us to take back to California with us... thank goodness!

It was a pretty big place, mostly specializing in furniture. Since Robin is looking to furnish a room dedicated to her sewing, she was on the lookout for a specialized piece or two with character. Nothing caught her fancy this time but she will keep the place in mind and go back there. We had fun looking at how old things had been refurbished or discussing how old pieces could be spruced up and re-purposed. I enjoyed seeing how the tastes of my grown daughter had evolved. I bought this padded laptop case that was just too cute to pass up. It is a tongue-in-cheek melding of the old and the new.

There are no ⌘ keys or .com or .net short cut keys on this keyboard.
And, hey! It is missing a whole row of function keys.
But QWERTY lives on.

We got a set of blocks for Autumn and a miniature red flyer wagon that she was already using by that afternoon to haul around her Rainbow Brite and Patty-O-Green dolls. Sorry, she moved too fast for me to get a picture of her doing that. Instead I found some pictures online of the dolls that were like Robin's as a little girl. Robin's dolls are in great shape. Just a bit of a thick paste of water with baking soda cleaned up their faces like sparkling new. Autumn loves them just like here mom did! It warms my heart.


Rainbow Brite and her sprite Twink is on the left.
Patty-O-Green and her sprite Lucky is on the right.


That evening Jeremy and Robin had a wedding to attend so we babysat. Autumn's caterwauling and extreme fussing at her parents' departure was quite a show that lasted 30 seconds at the most. Then Autumn was quite content to do some puzzles with me and read some books. In a bit, Frank took Autumn outside and read to her on the swing on the front porch. She really likes her kitties. And a book about them? Even better!

Hi, Grandma. Look! Grandpa is reading to me.

Then they went for tricycle ride. I stayed in because the local edition of Insectia had apparently broadcast that there was a new humanoid food source in the neighborhood and the winged and crawling critters were homing in on me! Autumn is wearing a ruffled skirt that I had brought out with me for her to grow into for next year. She took one look at the skirt and pulled that three-inches-too-big elastic waistband on immediately over whatever she was wearing at the time. The neighbors got to see the price tag as well since there was no opportunity to remove it once she was in motion. I think those lilac, turquoise, and pink color genes are linked to the X chromosome in little girls. Perhaps to both X chromosomes in Autumn's case!


Autumn is off for a tour of the neighborhood with Grandpa.

Of course a gal has to have her color coordinated sunglasses!

Once they returned, Frank texted me that they were in the backyard. I joined them for a brief spell to photograph the action. Autumn played peek-a-boo with Grandpa, climbed up the ladder and went down her slide, and glided a bit on her swings.

"Peek-a boo Grandpa! Can you see me now?"

Frank is quite pleased and yet still cautious with the level of Autumn's gymnastic skills.

"Whee!" Autumn loves the slide.

Frank pauses for a photo, interrupting, for a brief moment, his serious task of pushing.

After all that outdoor activity we brought Autumn in to watch a DVD and quiet down before bath and bed. We could not figure out how to work the TV set-up. Although we selected the correct TV input and could get the DVD to play, we could not for the life of us, select the play option on the DVD menu. We tried and tried to use the remote for the TV or the DVD player. It looked something like one of these – long, thin, and rectangular.

Sample remotes. Jeremy and Robin's looked similar to one of these.

Autumn was very good and did not whine about her show not starting. In fact she kept trying to help by coming to me and handing me the X-box controller.  I said, "No, Sweetie. Thank you, but that is for Daddy's video games." The X-box controller looks like this. Not at all like a DVD or TV remote.

A typical X-box controller. Why would you need two joysticks to start a DVD?

By now Zazu, the bird from The Lion King, is just about driving me crazy demanding over and over and over and over again, in an annoying, squawking, bird voice tinged with a tone of disgust, that I make a selection already. It is time to give up and text the parents for help.

"It is time, please, to make a selection..."

Jeremy talked me through it. Well, it is the X-box controller that needs to be used. And you press the green A button for play. Now isn't that obvious? Twenty-two-month old Autumn knew the right controller. My mistake was in not asking her if she also knew the correct button to press. Oh, and the blue X is for exit. Of course.

Autumn was as good as gold during the show and afterward climbed upstairs willingly to enjoy her bath. She picked out her own pajamas and we put them on her. I darkened her room. Then I
       a) rocked her and watched her eyelids droop
       b) sang to her and felt her relax in my arms
       c) placed her gingerly in her crib
       d) picked her up again when she cried
I repeated a) through d) multiple times. I finally succeeded in getting her to sleep after standing beside her crib with my hand on her back and singing progressively more and more softly. I was eventually able to back out of the room on tip toe while still whispering a song. I plopped my butt on the couch barely a half hour before her mom and dad returned home. Whew! Parenthood is for the young. Perhaps the title of this post instead of Antiques and Babysitting should more appropriately have been Antiques Babysitting.

Pink Panther skills help when retreating from a sleeping toddler.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

OKC Thursday - Duncan Shops and Museums

Thursday, August 28th with Jeremy in Texas, Robin at work, and Autumn in daycare, Frank and I went to Duncan a 1 hour and 15 minutes long drive ~70 miles southwest of Robin's house. The downtown Main Street has a quaint feel to it with all the brick store fronts. Inlaid in the sidewalks are plaques noting the history of the various buildings in addition to some editorial comments.

The drive is just right, long enough to feel like you are on an outing,
short enough to be over before you are bored
with just the right mix of highway and country roads.

Frank and I enjoyed the three story antique mall, just one of several antique stores downtown.
We had lunch at the tea room of another antique store farther down Main Street.

This is typical of one of the inlaid history plaques.

Unlike my previous visit to Duncan where I bought and had to transport home two ceramic canister sets, I was much more restrained this time.  I bought a whistling watermelon tea kettle for our kitchen and a school bus metal bank for Alex. They were not breakable and really did not take up much suitcase space. Since they were both hollow I packed stuff in them for the trip home. Here are photos of them both.

The whistle on the tea kettle sounds like a train so Frank should like that.
The coin slot on the bank is in the center of the removable lid.

I like the store Distinctive Decor in Duncan. They have upscale china and eclectic home decor items from Italy, England, etc. in an unlikely town such as Duncan, OK. Their website is extensive and they are pretty pricey, but it costs nothing to look and it's still fun to visit a brick and mortar store with a collection of unique items you usually only see on the web. In this store I just had to snap a picture of this Mouse on a Motorcycle bookend. My kids loved the book of that title by Beverly Cleary and there were several TV specials that aired when they were little. The photo is a bit blurry but when I posted it I noticed the book in the foreground. How appropriate! I bought neither the heavy bookends that weigh over 8 lbs and cost over $80 nor the Grandpa book. But they are available on Amazon, so if I feel really deprived ...

Saw these bookends in Distinctive Decor, a shop I like in downtown Duncan, OK

You can find just about anything on Amazon! The mouse's cute helmet is made out of walnut wood.

Here are also a couple examples of the dishes and make-up bags that caught my eye on display in the store. The dishes are from Italy and Portugal and the bags are from London. I am not one to buy something just because of a label or a name but I am surprised to find such elaborate items, displayed in such an obscure town, in a state so focused on a football rivalry between the bright orange clad OSU Cowboys and the red clad OU Sooners. I get annoyed when people think that the state my daughter chose to live in is just full of uneducated hicks, a stereotype promoted by the Steinbeck novel Grapes of Wrath. And yet I cannot be too judgmental. My surprise that this store exists in a tiny Oklahoma town reveals a bit of prejudice I did not quite realize I might harbor.

The rooster plates are Vietri Galletto Dinnerware from Italy and
the botanical plates are Juliska Field of Flowers from Portugal.
I am not name dropping. I never heard of these brands. I just like the dishes

These zippered bags really look like they can stare you down. They are made in London by Catseye.
I do not wear enough makeup to fill one. Pity. They are cute!

After our downtown Duncan exploration, Frank and I headed out for an historic train depot housing just minutes from the Main Street that is home to an over 100 year old steam locomotive. The first passenger train from the Rock Island Rail Line arrived in Duncan in 1892 and the traffic the rail line brought helped develop the town. The large locomotive on display, called the Rock Island #905, was built in 1910 and is in the process of being restored. There was a gargantuan effort in April of 2011 to move it to where it rests now in Fuqua Park. We were lucky enough to drop in when the head volunteer was there and he gave us a personal tour of the upgrades being made on the locomotive and the background of its move to that particular location from a spot nearer the highway. An extensive website, http://www.rockisland905.com/, details the trials, tribulations, and challenges of that move and a history of the rail line and the locomotive. It was much better to hear it all from a personal guide thrilled to have an avid audience.


Duncan was able to flourish largely due to the presence of the railroad.

This historic depot is visible from US highway 81
and is less than a mile from downtown Duncan.

The Rock Island Steam Locomotive #905 is undergoing restoration. The overlying sheet metal
has been removed in order to expose and dispose of the asbestos insulation around its boiler.

Frank poses next to a caboose on a section of rail adjacent to Rock Island Steam Locomotive #905.

Inside the caboose, Franks sits next to the conductor
who wears a uniform typical of the dress for that period of time.

Our next stop for the day was the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, 1.6 miles away. The Chisholm Trail was the path taken when cowhands drove cattle from Texas north to the Kansas railheads. Outside the heritage center a stone walkway wends its way around the building with markers labeling towns passed while traveling along the trail. The endpoints of the replica trail are marked with bronze plaques and the Kansas end of the trail has a large bronze sculpture.

A stone walkway illustrating the Chisholm Trail with the towns along it
is marked at either end by commemorative bronze plaques
At the Kansas end of the trail is an impressive bronze sculpture of horses with mounted cowboys,
longhorn steer, cattle dogs, and a horse drawn covered chuck wagon.

From the southernmost point of the trail at Donna, TX to the northernmost point of the trail at Abilene, KS is over 950 miles. Duncan, Oklahoma is about midway on the trail. It could take as long as 100 days where cowboys were paid $1 a day to move the cattle to the northern railheads. The excursion was fraught with dangers of stampedes, drowning, and a hot relentless sun, with sporadic horrendous thunder and lightning storms. The monotonous food menu was bacon, bean, and biscuits, daily. 

If you look closely you can see my reflection in the panhandle of Texas
as I take this photo of the Chisholm Trail map display.

Once inside the heritage center there were movie presentations, an audio-animatronic demonstration of life along the drive, and interactive displays where you could be the trail boss. You made decisions such as the best way to stop a stampede, ford a river, negotiate with Indians, prevent rustlers, and eventually you'd find out how successful you'd been at getting your herd to trail's end. Frank and I tried roping a long horn. Frank succeeded but I did not.

Frank's lassoing skills were pretty good and he roped a longhorn from horseback.

My roping skills were inferior but I was good at comforting this steer who had been lassoed.
At the day's closure of the heritage center, we drove back north to Robin's home in Oklahoma City. We drove though torrential rain for short stretches and clear skies for other stretches. Such is the  fickleness of Oklahoma weather. Calling Robin we learned she had nothing but a drizzle at her house. Jeremy had arrived back from teaching his session in Texas. We stopped at a local grocery store and brought home fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner.

After dinner, we snuggled on the couch, read to Autumn, and watched The Lion King with her. It had been a good day.

Hakuna Matata. No worries!