Some of the destruction that greeted us on Monday morning. The first is my dogwood tree. The second a persimmon tree threatening to fall. The third is the willow, and the fourth the remains of my neighbour's cottonwood tree, together with leaning electric pole.

More ice storm photos from Sunday. Believe it or not the flowers on the left were crysanthemums.

Ice Storm photos taken on Sunday, December 9, 2007. Above is the dogwood before it split in two.

Oklahoma Ice Storms

On Monday, December 10, a state of emergency was declared for the whole of Oklahoma following the weekend ice storms. Once again, as in January of this year, the air was rent with snapping tree limbs, the sounds echoing round like sniper fire.

My garden looks like a wasteland, it's truly a heart-breaking sight. A tiny flowering dogwood, the prettiest tree in my yard, with its beautiful white blooms in spring, and its blaze of red leaves in the fall, was split in half. A red bud tree has fallen down. And many other trees have lost limbs, oaks, maples, and two peach trees. Only the willow managed to bend his back and survive the chaos and destruction around him.

I’ve lost trees, others have lost much more. Fifteen Oklahomans have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families and loved ones.

We all live at the mercy of the elements, and sometimes Mother Nature is a cruel mistress. And Oklahoma seems to have suffered much at her hands this year: ice and snow storms in the winter, flooding and tornadoes in the spring, sweltering heat and humidity in the summer, and now back to ice and snow.

Along with over half a million other homes in Oklahoma, we lost power. Throughout two bitterly cold nights and one whole day we had no electricity. Although the power did return briefly last night, by the time Mick and I had finished cheering, it was off again. This morning, around 9am, the lights came on, and are still on as I type this. Others are not so lucky, and can expect to be without power for a week or more, and with snow and below freezing temperatures forecast for this weekend, the outlook is pretty grim, and does not bode well for the festive season.

Tommy Ticklemouse, though his wound is barely visible in this picture.

An Honorable Mention, an Injured Cat, & GE Finally Pay Up.

Well, it’s been a week of highs and lows. First of all, one of my articles appeared on the front page of our local newspaper, The Grove Sun Daily, and I was delighted.

That very same day, I received a letter from the editor of Writer’s Digest informing me that my short story entitled, Stranger, had been awarded an Honorable Mention in their annual writing contest. And went on to say that I could feel justifiably proud of myself as they had received 19,000 entries. Proud, I was euphoric, it’s the first time I’ve received any sort of recognition for my fiction. I didn’t come down to earth until one of my cats hurt his leg.

To say he hurt his leg is putting it mildly, Tommy had two gashes front and back, so deep I could see the bone. He was rushed to the vet who had to suture his wounds, resulting in a bed and breakfast stay at the surgery for Tommy. The vet said the wounds weren’t the result of a bite, so we assume he must have got his leg caught somewhere. Tommy is sporting his war wounds for all to see as the vet had to shave all the hair off around the top of his leg, but he’s making a good recovery. He’s a tough old boot.

Then things took a turn for the better. After four weeks of phone calls, e-mails and letters, GE finally agreed to cough up the money to repair my range, and then back to worse when they sent me the wrong replacement part. So I still can’t use my oven, and Thanksgiving looms. Mick and I will be on turkey sandwiches at this rate.

Sippin’ and Signin’ with Santa’s Old Broads

On Saturday, October 20th my husband, Mick and I went to a Sippin’ and Signin’ hosted by Santa’s Old Broads.

Santa’s Old Broads are a great bunch of women who work tirelessly all year round raising money to help disadvantaged children have a great Christmas.

In order to raise money, they have written and self published three cookbooks:
Doing It... in the kitchen, volumes one and two, and Quickies...in the kitchen. They also have a new book scheduled to appear in the fall of 2008 entitled, Doing It...around the world.

In the Old Broads own words their cookbooks are, "Like us, just a little risqué and funny. These books require a sense of humor. If you find you are getting offended by the works of a bunch of ladies in their 50’s to 80’s, you might be a little square to begin with. It’s all about having fun and helping to make a brighter Christmas for the children."

The Old Broads are certainly doing that, to date they have helped over 500 children.
What’s more their books have sold in every state in America, and they have even shipped some overseas to England, Australia, and France. And, every penny of the proceeds from these sales and other fund raising events goes to help children in need in at Christmas.

Every child they help is outfitted from top to toe in quality, name brand clothing, and each receives a toy or gift from their own wish list. Moreover, the kids never know where the gifts came from because Santa’s Old Broads work in total anonymity.

I would like to say a great big thank you to everyone who has supported Santa’s Old Broads by buying their cookbooks. If you haven’t already bought one, do so today – in fact buy all three – and bring a smile to a child’s face this Christmas.

For more information and to buy books check out the Old Broad’s web site at:

http://www.santasoldbroads.com/

On a lighter note

I went to the Grand Wine Country Fall Festival on Saturday, October 13, the wine flowed, there were lots of tasty munchables, as well as a grape stomping contest, and arts and craft stalls. Music at the event was provided by Olivia Duhon and the University of Tulsa Jazz Trio. A good time was had by all.

The event was very timely as I had just written an article about Oklahoma wine for Oklahoma Living Magazine. The article featured one of the wineries present at the festival, Summerside Vineyards and Winery, www.summersidevineyards.com
To read the full article visit:

www.ok-living.coop

Also represented at the festival were:
Oak Hills Winery & Vineyard, Chelsea, Oklahoma. www.oakhillswinery.com
Cabin Creek Vineyard & Winery, Big Cabin, Oklahoma. www.cabincreekwine.com
Coyote Run, Winery & Vineyard, Adair, Oklahoma. www.coyoterunwinery.com