Weekend Reflections – More Christmas Lights from Rhema Bible Church

I’m apologizing up front. Just the other day I posted a bunch of photographs of the lights of Rhema Bible Church in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow.

Sorry, but I like Christmas lights and they do a good job. They also have a pond that winds through their campus and makes for great reflections.

I bet right now that there is ice forming on the pond. It has cooled down into the low 20’s and it is supposed to get down close to zero tonight. Degress F, not C.

So I’m glad I took the pics when I did.

For the first bunch of years that we lived in Tulsa we didn’t go see the lights because we heard the traffic was bad. Well we braved it one night years ago and found out that there wasn’t any traffic. It seems like that happens a lot to me.

(Logan, Heather, and a pomeranian named Rascal.)

Have a great weekend! Get out and go see some lights. Don’t worry about the traffic just go.

Weekend Reflections

Rhema Christmas light display lights up Broken Arrow

Skywatch Friday – Winter is on its Way

It was just a couple weeks ago that the temps were still warm and toasty and the grass was green. Things have changed since, the temps have dropped considerably,and tomorrow we are going our first cold blast. We expect to to get a wintry mix here in Tulsa and of course we are a panicky bunch so the milk and bread is all gone from the grocery stores along with the snow shovels.

Unfortunately we are not so careful driving on snow and ice. I mean why should we slow down or leave early. So we drive the same speeds and the body shops are going to make a fortune working on the cars for months to come.

I don’t think that tomorrow it is going to be like February 2011 as show above. That’s Chrissy, our big cranky Maine Coon who really doesn’t like being rousted from her nap for a snowy photo shoot in the back yard. As you can tell she was telling me about it. You can also see that her claws her out on her back feet. I’m wearing a canvas jacket and leather gloves and had so she was a little frustrated. She likes to see blood when she gets mad.

Me, I don’t worry about the weather too much unless it involves tornadoes, then I worry a lot. I don’t worry about cold and snow. Our neighbors to the north have a lot more snow and a lot colder temperatures than we do and they do fine.

Skywatch Friday.

Water Tank Wednesday – Glasnost Edition

A few weeks ago I dropped off the kid at a friend’s house so they could play video games while I went geocaching at Lake Bixhoma. Near the lake are these water tanks for the city of Bixby.

Near the water tanks is the Oklahoma Geophysical Laboratory. Way back when in the early 1990’s, when George H. Bush was President he and Michael Gorbachev agreed to let the Russians build a nuclear monitoring station there so the Russians could keep tabs on the USA anytime we wanted to test a “device” bigger than 50 kilotons. Their monitoring station was deeded over to them and was considered Russian Territory just like an embassy (can you imagine that howling that would result if our current President agreed to anything of the sort.)

Several years later the technology needed advanced to the point where the Russians didn’t need the site any more and they deeded it back to the US.

Here is a brief newspaper article on the matter. This is an essay written by a woman whose father was involved in the project. And this is a brief history of the Oklahoma Geophysical Laboratory that talks about the Russian monitoring site and also some interesting information about how the facility is still involved in monitoring the world for nuclear tests.

Unfortunately, the lab and the old Russian site are well off the public roads and gated from inquiring bloggers. I would really like to go check things out there and take a few pictures. Apparently the road by the Russian site was renamed “Glasnost Road” and the road sign is still up.

Water Tower Wednesday is a feature my blog friend Fashionista. Check out her blog Out and About in New York City. The water towers in New York City don’t have near as much rust as the ones above do.

Oh, and yes I looked for four caches and found all of them.

Rhema Bible Church Christmas Light Display

Monday night, Heather, Logan, Me and a dog named Rascal loaded up and drove over to the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow to check out the Rhema Bible Church Christmas Light Display. It has been going on for 30 years and just keeps getting bigger and better all the time.

Being the wimps we generally just drive by with the seat warmers going this time though the temperature was mild so parked and walked around a little bit.

Its best seen on foot where you can get in amongst the lights. It really is magical with the bright bulbs and reflections. There are a lot of people there but it is not packed and everybody is in a good mood.

There are not too many rules and there are no minders barking at people. Mainly just stay on the walkway is the only thing they ask.

There are no fees for anything. They do have drinks and snacks for sale. They just ask that people have a good time. There was no problem with that. Lots of smiles and picture taking was going on.

The most popular decoration was a bridge of lights over a pond. The colors changed constantly to the beat of music.

All I can say is that Logan, Heather, Me, and a dog named Rascal all got our Christmas Spirit going. Kudos to Rhema Bible Church for putting this on. Public Service Company of Oklahoma probably has them on the Christmas card list. I do that for my best customers.

If you are somebody who celebrates Christmas what are doing to get your Christmas Spirit going?

You Better Behave Kid or …

(I think they need to work on the name of the product and packaging.)

Beats Elf on the Shelf at our house.

With apologies to my friends who are vegetarians. (Glad I’m not one of ya!)

Thanksgiving 2013

The numbers for Thanksgiving ebb and flow and this year it was a smaller group which is fine. We were small but mighty. Brother Bob came up from Corpus Christi and my Dad Gramps flew down from Idaho. We convened at Nana’s house just a few miles away for a meal of great food and fellowship.

I was the official event photographer. I work really cheap.

Heather and her mother Nana made the magic happen. My goodness we had a lot of food. I smoked a turkey, Nana provided a smoked ham and a hen, we had noodles, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, purple hull peas, cranberry sauce, rolls, and on and on. Oh yes, the deserts we had pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, and bread pudding, and oh yes, asparagus.

Yep, we got plenty of leftovers.

These two mutts didn’t get to go to Nana’s house.

This one did, Rascal was pretty proud of himself. The other two were a little growly toward him when we got back home.

We are really blessed to be able to be together. Not everybody is so fortunate.

And of course, if you haven’t heard before, the agents of everything good in the universe, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the godless heathen Oakland Raiders.

Outside the stadium Tom was standing a little taller, and it looked he was almost smiling.

So all is right with the world.

Skywatch Friday – Thanksgiving

I hope that Thanksgiving finds you home or with loved ones.

Thanksgiving day is also Hanukkah for the first time since the late 19th Century. A twofer for our Jewish neighbors and friends. Gobbletov I’m told.

I hope that you got your turkey by now.

If you don’t you can try catching one of these dudes. Good luck with that by the way.

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Skywatch Friday from my family to yours.

Visiting the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma

Hey, my Dad’s in town for Thanksgiving and I like to show him around. I mean Dr. Oz isn’t on until 4 right. Not that he watches him, or so he saaaaays!!. I’ve taken him to Philbrook a bunch of times, Gilcrease several, Woolaroc, and to see the Buffalo near Pawhuska one time the Will Rogers Musuem in Claremore, and to the Tulsa History Museum, and to Reunification Park. Where do we go now? Well, he provided the answer. “Son, how come we haven’t been to the gun museum in Claremore?” Well, I don’t know Dad, lets go!

So off we went to the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum in Claremore, just north of Tulsa. Do you like to look at stuff? They have 50,000 items to look at. Do you like guns? They have 14,000 firearms to look at. They have the largest privately owned gun collection in the country. (You know, except for that secret army that Obama has in Mexico waiting to invade the USA, after he signs over our sovereignty to the United Nations. Supposed to happen any minute! You gotta watch that Obama dude, he’s sneaky. Except when it comes to web sites. Too bad Al Gore, the inventor of the Internet, doesn’t throw him a bone! I mean Kathleen Sibelius, what does she know, she is from Kansas. They are not even scheduled to get the Internet until next year!) Oops, I have gone way off target. Sorry.

You don’t like guns, they have lots of beer steins.

And they have a ton of guns.

You don’t like guns, they have Native American artifacts like these spear points, and arrowheads, and axes and other items.

They have guns owned by bandits!!

You don’t like guns, they have musical instruments!!

And they have rifles everywhere.

And saucy saddles and Gal Leg spurs.

And Kalishnikov’s!

Still don’t like guns, they have banjos.

And more guns owned by bandits, complete with a getaway map. All bandits have getaway maps. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be bandits.

And for the bad guys of the world. They have a collection of actual nooses and hoods used in the hanging of various and sundry criminals in and near Oklahoma. Many of them were surely guilty, maybe even for the crimes they were hung for.

Can you top that?

It’s a heck of a museum, I don’t care if you like guns or not.

Woodward Park Sculpture and Lomography with the Diana Mini Camera

Saturday I had a little time to myself while Logan was at his Improv Comedy class so I went to Woodward Park for a little geocaching and photography. My camera was the Lomography Diana Mini. It is a 35 mm film camera that has two modes. One of the modes is split frame where you can put two photographs on the same frame. Above are two sculptures side by side at the park.

The park has a network of trails that run through the azalea beds. I took pics of the trails ahead and behind me.

This is also a split frame mode photograph showing the mysterious funky little art deco memorial to Shakespeare. It was designed by Adah Robinson back in the 1930’s. She was an architect who is credit by some with the design of the art deco landmark, Boston Avenue Church.

The Diana Mini also has a full frame mode that is not quite full frame. It make square photographs. Did I say that the processing the camera’s film drives my Walgreens film guys either crazy or they love it? This sculpture is by Rosalind Cook of Carl Linnaeus at the entrance to the Linnaeus Teaching Gardens.

This is another sculpture by Rosalind Cook called Poems and Promises. She donated it to the city in 2010. It sits in the Anne Hathaway Herb Garden. I just love this work.

This is a closeup.

So do you still use film cameras?

Running the Route 66 Half Marathon

(There they go!)

I ran the Half Marathon segment of the Route 66 Half Marathon here in Tulsa on Sunday. Sorry I don’t have too many pics. The temp was about 20 at the start of the race and didn’t get above 30. So at the first of the race while waiting in the “Corral” and at the end my fingers and hands felt like stone so no pics. As I got going my I warmed up and my hands thawed and I pulled the camera out a few times.

(Here comes another wave!)

The course started out downtown and wound down and around what is called Midtown in Tulsa just south of downtown and then further south to a funky little area of small houses and cool restaurants and stores called Brookside. From there we got on Riverside drive and ran north parallel to the Arkansas River back to downtown and then finished in and old warehouse area called the Brady District

(I am fascinated by water station squalor. Runners are such pigs. Oink, oink, snort.)

At the end of a race I generally circulate around and talk to who I know and see what is going on. Take a few pics, take in the scene. Sunday, nope, too danged cold. I did cash in my two beer tickets at once. The lady at the beer table was impressed as I walked away carrying my two beers and my gear bag wearing mittens. Child’s play is what she doesn’t realize.

There are lots of signs on the route. Most by family members of runners. “Go Janet!” or “WTG Dad!” Those are okay. I love the Lululemon Girls. Lululemon is a store that sells high end “cute” workout gear. I don’t think that I have any unless Kohl’s sells their label. I do love the Lululemon girls signs. They have a new store on Peoria in the Brookside area. That ‘s the kind of stuff that they sell in Brookside. I’m not putting it down, just saying. I have bought a few meals on Brookside, but never any merchandise. I’m kind of proud of that actually.

You notice that she is pointing the sign at me right?

The guy is obviously not a Lululemon girl. I bet his girlfriend is though. He gave me a fistbump. I accepted it reluctantly, just so you know. You see the girl is looking right at me. With that look. You know, the look don’t you? She didn’t offer a fist bump or much of anything else.

Anyways, I finished the race, grabbed my gear bag with extra clothes, grabbed and downed my beers and made my way to the shuttle bus. It was heated. I didn’t want to get off but I did. Made it home cleaned up before my selfie with the shirt and medal.

Hey when is the next race!!!

YogisDen.us

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