EXPLORING

ANIMAL ANTICS

The squirrel situation is almost out of control. They are everywhere! Is this an omen of a bad winter? I see them scampering all over the grass, running out in the road (I almost hit one this week; I saw him out of the corner of my eye as he dashed in front of the van) and pretty much everywhere.

Skunks have been fully present, too. Monday, Ken complained of the house smelling like skunk. I didn't really notice it until we'd returned from grocery shopping when it practically smacked me in the face! And it was worse on the west side of the house. I could have swore they sprayed right there! You could practically taste it! So my candle warmer is going full blast trying to counteract eau de skunk. Even after several days. Potent.

The rabbits have their turn with their end-of-summer molt. Pom has been particularly brutal with fur everywhere. I got fur in my right eye one evening and ended up putting eye drops in it. Come to find out, the drops had expired. How did I know? After a bit, that eye got blurry. I went to look in the mirror...my eye had dilated to twice the size of the left. It didn't quit even when I went to bed. I prayed that night that my eye would be okay in the morning...I swear I'm trying to blind myself one way or another!

Then I decided to brush Pom on Friday afternoon. You see, rabbits don't vomit like cats or dogs so if they ingest a lot of fur it could mean surgery or death. It was nice outside, with a little breeze, so I took her out there to let the wind take away the fur. I think I brushed enough to stuff a toy animal her size! And, I was coated with fur; I had to change my clothes. Yes, my eyes were irritated, too. Maybe I should wear goggles when I groom her?

FOR THE RECORD: TALKING ABOUT TEETH

I want you to know, I have great oral hygiene. I brush, I floss, I rinse, sometimes I even water pick. Every day, all of it, and twice a day with brushing. Sometimes I even floss more, if I eat something that gets stuck (meat, lettuce, popcorn).  So my teeth aren't gross and you'd think they'd be darn near perfect.

That being said...I had to go to the dentist Tuesday. They were going to take off the old chipped crown on the right, take impressions for a new one, and put on a temporary. Also, the tooth in front of it had a cavity, so they were going to take care of it at the same time. Starting at 8:00 a.m. No walk, no stress relief, and no short visit. Goodie.

It was three hours of pretty much hell. They started with the front tooth. The shot didn't take at first, so they gave me a second one in the cheek and a THIRD one in the tongue (so weird). As the dentist worked, he muttered to his assistant that it was a deep one. Terrific. That took a bit of extra work.

When it came time to remove the old crown, though, it wouldn't come off!!! They chipped and drilled at the cement, finally TUGGING and YANKING on it! Even with a bite block on the left, both jaws ached so bad I was on the verge of tears. I ended up asking for an analgesic, which they gladly gave me. My whole body was stiff from tensing up and trying so hard to stay still in the midst of the tooth tug-of-war; I was exhausted when it was over. I'd been in a battle!

I ate soft stuff the rest of the day, on the left side only. My numbed tongue kept getting stuck in my teeth on the right and I kept biting on it! Later in the evening, Analiese hugged me, snuggling up to the right side of my jaw. I jumped! It was very tender and still was the next day.

YOUNG WOMEN IN EXCELLENCE

Even though the majority of the day was a soggy raining-cats-and-dogs sort of day, there was still YW Wednesday at the church. They had invited the whole branch, but in particular the families of the YW for an evening talking about the YW program and the things the girls had been doing for their Personal Progress.

This was a big night for Analiese because, as part of one of her value projects for PP, she was organizing and conducting the evening's events. She'd' been working on it for a few months at least; everything from the decorating, to the speakers

, to the music and the presentations, including a slide presentation she made of photos from the last year of YW. She's been busy. 

It turned out lovely. Each girl had her own table to decorate and display her achievements. Analiese brought Alice (in her carrier) since - in her own words - Alice is an on-going project. The younger kids loved that!

ROCK ISLAND ART FESTIVAL

I don't know why it's called that.

It's an art festival, held by the Chickasha Arts Council every year for a weekend. One of my seminary students had some art displayed there, so after Jonathan got off of work Friday, we all headed down to the old train depot by the BSNF tracks

on the east of town where the event was to be held.

Besides the art (both displayed and for sale), there were activities for kids, live music (in the evenings), a bicycle race on Sunday, and a food truck competition. I must confess, we had a weak moment at the kettlecorn truck. We came away with dill pickle popcorn (really quite good) and caramel apple corn (a mixture of caramel and spiced apple popcorns).  It would have been nice to stay longer, but we had the sisters coming to dinner, so we had to leave after an hour.

Friday, I got birthday presents from CA BFF ME! (CODE LOL)

PAWHUSKA

First off, I haven't had a day "off," girls day trip sort of day for a LONG time. But Janet (Altus, used-to-be-boss) and I have had Saturday on our calendars for several weeks to go out to the eastern part of the state (somewhere between OKC and Tulsa, near the Kansas border) and visit this little town.

Very into buffalo here!

It's claim to fame? Ree Drummond: Food Network's The Pioneer Woman. Her family owns a ranch out there and her fame, including several cookbooks (I have used a few of her recipes, including for pecan pie), has brought this town to light. It is also the capital of the Osage nation

, so we got a little culture in our day, too.

It's not a short trip. Poor Janet had the first hour-and-a-half leg coming to get me, then it was another three hours to get to Pawhuska. At least, that's what it should have been. The roads and signs were 

wacky and unclear at times. We had to get off just past a toll, but the exit was right on top of the toll on the right and the PikePass reader was all the way on the left. We ended up driving nearly another hour to get off (28 miles to the next exit) and through a bunch of small towns

Fun fact we learned on a pit stop in Pawnee, OK.

to reach Pawhuska.

We didn't let it get to us, though. The day was overcast, not too cool, and so very pleasant. We managed to score a parking spot right across from the Mercantile - Ree's store.

It's mainly kitchen stuff, but there are some clothes and kids' stuff, too. I was a bit overwhelmed by it all! 

We wanted to eat after a bit and there's a cafe connected to the Mercantile. But the line goes all the way down the block past her Bed & Breakfast and across the road from the Triangle building, which she's turning into a hotel. Crazy! We weren't sure we wanted to wait in that huge line,

Huge line down below. Triangle building is to the right.

so we saw a fire-oven pizza place across the street and went up the (steep) stairs to it on the second floor. Turns out, it is owned by Ree, too!

But, wow, was it ever awesome! It had some gourmet pizza and I never thought I'd try something like that in my lifetime, but it was so delicious! We ordered two small pizzas - fig and prosciutto with arugula on top

and their steakhouse pizza that had sliced steak (remember the ranch) with steak and peppercorn sauce.

I cannot tell you which was my favorite because they were both so good. I did later, however, find the recipe for the fig and prosciutto pizza. A teensy bit sweet, but wonderful. I have to try that again! I had an amazing blackberry (real, not fake) lemonade and we had a lemon-raspberry trifle in a ball jar for dessert.

Stuffed, but the best kind ever!

After that, we did some walking up and down the main street across from the mercantile. There was some interesting architecture

City hall

City hall as seen from bakery on 2nd floor of Mercantile.

, art,

and kitchy shops

Buffalo grill!

Otter skin

Happy pig planter (I really liked him). Sorry it's sideways.

Never seen a live rabbit this color!

. I think my favorite was the Osage shop that had these amazing story blankets (each one has designs in it that tells a story) and the most exquisite (and expensive) shawl. It was cool to learn a little about the Osage tribe.

Then we went back to the Mercantile and upstairs to the bakery and coffeeshop. Lots of goodies there, but we were still too full to be tempted. Still, it had a great view of the street down below. All of these enterprises of Ree's are done in renovated buildings, that she's preserving the old style in. They are really neat to look at.

Then decision time had come. We couldn't stay forever and I had to find some little thing to get to take home. It was not easy. I like expensive stuff (see the shawl above) but I have a little budget. I ended up with a spoon rest

Funny, huh?

and a ceramic set of measuring cups designed like owls (display, not use!).

So cute!

We got it right coming home and made good time. I think my favorite part of the trip was just being able to talk and catch up with Janet. For a while, I haven't felt like I could get super close to anyone in OK because of my fabulous BFFs in California. But Saturday, I could say for sure that Janet is my OK BFF. I can't believe how much I've missed working with her...and it wasn't just the library, though I loved that, too. You never know who you're going to meet on the path of life. I am grateful for the friends God has given me!

Janet gave me this set of measuring cups as a birthday present. She knew I had a hard time choosing between sets!