Pete’s Place – Krebs, Oklahoma

I love little “creases” in time and space. Things that one would not expect. Did you know that Oklahoma at one time had a pretty sizeable mining industry? Yep, nothing left of it now except a few superfund sites in far northeast Oklahoma. In southeast Oklahoma there used to be a sizeable coal mining industry. Many of the miners came from Italy and lived in the town of Krebs just on the other side of McAlester. The coal played out a long time ago but the town lives on. Krebs is known for several things but what it is most famous for are its Italian restaurants and the most famous one is Pete’s Place.

I was introduced to Pete’s Place by Sweetie’s family. We have celebrated many birthdays there and Sweeties parents used to have their employee Christmas parties there. Sweetie’s Dad has passed away and her Mother, Nana sold the pharmacy so we haven’t been there in a couple years but we stopped there on our way back from Antlers this past weekend and celebrated my birthday! For Sweeties family celebrating birthdays is a process, not an event so there are several meals involved, sometimes several cakes, and it goes on for days. I really like the way they do it.

One thing about Pete’s if you have kids, they have a little kitchen set up. You can stir the dry spaghetti if you want and bang on the pots and pans and nobody cares. SPB started doing that when he was about 2 and he still likes it. Here is a shot of him in action.

Pete’s is a little different in that they don’t have a big common dining room. Your dining party gets their own small room with a door. The food is served family style and they bring lots of it. I intended to photograph the food but but the time I thought again, it was all gone.

The pasta is old school. I love the ravioli. This time they had something new, gnocchi. It is kind of a potato based pasta dumpling. I loved it.

The other thing about Pete’s is that they have a brewery on site. One warning though, they only serve their 3.2 beer on Sunday because of local regulations. I had their Peach Beer and it was great. (Jeez, how come Tulsa doesn’t have a brew pub any more?)

Pete’s is open for lunch only on Sundays, other days they open at 4 pm. I rate is four stars out of four.

Krebs has other restaurants also. I’ve been to all of them and they are all good, Roseanna’s, Giacommo’s, and Isle of Capri. Most of them are open during the day. Also try the Italian Grocery, Lovera’s.

Blogs I’d fight Zombie Chickens to Read

Kathy, of the Oklahoma Booklady was kind enough to award me the Zombie Chicken Award. Isn’t she nice. Yes, she is, I can say that even though I’ve never met her plus her blog is tops. She blogs about books and reading but she is also a great photographer and joins in several interesting meme’s. She has always got something new cooking so hers is a never miss blog

The Zombie Chicken award is described thus:

“The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…”

So I thought long and hard and I’m passing this award on to: (drum roll please)

Michelle of The Froggy Bottom Blog. Michelle blogs about all sorts of different things mostly involving her family. She is also a very talented photographer who take great canded photographs. She is also very encouraging to others and makes lots and lots and lots of comments.

Dawn of Dawn’s Diversion. Dawn has a heart as big as Oklahoma and it shows on her blog. She is a community builder extraordinaire including bringing virtual friends together live and in person through her “hoedowns” (her terminology). She has a great sense of humor and over communicates. She has a blog, she is on facebook, she sends emails. She is a great photographer, especially of children. She is very encouraging and she is a great commenter. I learned from her and I almost always comment on a blog. She has a great sense of humor and can take a joke as well as dish it out.

Sarah of Brit Gal’ in the USA. Sarah is a British Expatriate living in northwest Oklahoma with “Hubster.” She is a talented writer and has a lot to say about life in Oklahoma, her former life in England, and differences between the US and Great Britain. She is a great photographer and very very honest. She is also very encouraging and offers up ideas. She is the one who suggested I try the Skywatch Friday and My World Tuesday memes. Also, she and hubster are a geocaching team and have already hid three. She make lots of comments.

Georgie of Decisionally Challenged. Georgie has the wildest blog on my roll. I never know what she is going to do and don’t hardly ever miss a post. When I first started reading her, it was like, my word, where does she get this stuff? She is very creative and very funny. She also puts herself out there. She is encouraging and makes lots and lots of comments. She was out recently with a bad back back and I missed her terribly. Don’t miss her confessional booth. I am not talking so much about the comments themeselves from some awfully hurting people who need our prayers but Georgies compassion for people.

Baloney of That’s Baloney. Baloney was the first blog I ever read and days she doesn’t post are missing something. If good ole Al Gore had not invented the internet for us and blogging was done by writing on used toilet paper hanging from trees I’d be looking for Baloney’s tree to see what she was posting that day. She is very out there with herself and has a great sense of humor. She can pierce the most inflated and resistant egos with a well placed punctuation mark. She has an eye for bad pictures. She is a talented writer who can express great emotion and feeling. She makes lots and lots of comments also. (Detecting a common thread here?) Advice if you ever run into Baloney. She always has her camera and no picture is taboo so maintain proper decorum at all times.

Jill of Jill of all Trades. I like Jill’s blog because she puts her life out there. She doesn’t crack jokes or do exposes, she just writes about her life. I find her posts compelling, fresh, and honest. I don’t ever miss them and they are always interesting whether she is talking about jury duty, remodeling, a few days in the cabin, or whatever.

Ok Awardees, you have your homework now.

Electrical Bees and I Gotta Get 817

On one of my geocaching jaunts I pulled into the driveway of an electric substation in Broken Arrow. I was trying to figure out how to get to the next cache. If you think talking on your cell phone is hazardous while driving try operating a GPS receiver.

My friend Baloney claims that she has 816 caches. I’m way behind. I think she is lying and my friend 666BOI told her so, but I can’t be sure. So I have to catch up.

Anyway, I pulled off the road to get my bearings. I got to looking at the substation trying to figure out what is going on. I’m a chemical engineer and electricity scares the crap out of me. I mean how can something you can’t see kill you so quickly? I looked at the caution sign and it didn’t say a thing about electricity. The sign was about bees, africanized bees. What’s up with that?

I thought substations were dangerous because of gazillions of kilovolts. I thought that is why those stations hummed. It’s a sham. They are generating electricity with bees. Hey who gets the honey? Anbody tell me that!

Oh well, gotta go, busy, busy, busy, going to number 817. Put a certain Queen B in her place! Second place.

Oh by the way, its my birthday today.

Check out Mellow Yellow Monday for more shots of yellow.

My World – Antlers Oklahoma

Antlers, Oklahoma is a small community of about 3000 or so in Southeast Oklahoma. It is known as the “Deer Capital of the World” because of the large population of White Tail Deer in the surrounding area. It has a fine restored Railroad Depot home of the local Historical Society and the Chamber of Commerce. There are not too many other buildings of note in town.

What Antlers is really known for is having the biggest disaster that nobody ever heard of.

On April 12, 1945 an F5 tornado hit Antlers and killed 63 people. The same tornado continued on to the northeast eventually getting to Muskogee, Oklahoma. All told killing 86 people and injuring 690. It pretty much wiped out most of the buildings in town, except for the railroad depot.

You wonder why this didn’t get much publicity? Because President Franklin Roosevelt died the same day.

You want to know something more amazing? Especially about the weather here in Oklahoma? The Antlers tornado is rated only 16th on the worst weather disasters to hit Oklahoma in a list published by the National Weather Service. Its only number 3 on the tornado list. The worst tornado in Oklahoma was in Woodward, in the northwest part of the state, on April 9, 1947. It killed 181 people.

The Woodward tornado is rated only number 4 in the list of top Oklahoma weather disasters. The dust bowl during the depression is number 1.

Now you know why I get real nervous during tornado alerts. By the time Sweetie gets SuperPizzaBoy, the dogs, the cats, and her wedding glassware in our “safe place” she locks me out and wishes me luck! No room at the inn. That’s just one reason I call her Sweetie. She has her priorities in order.

For other pictures of the world around us check out That’s My World.

What’s a Guy to do?

Well, the last month has been very hectic for the Yogi family. I had a heck of an allergy attack in early March, I mean a real doozey. Followed by a great family trip to San Antonio. We did it all, we did the Alamo, the Riverwalk, Hemisfair Plaza, Seaworld, the whole deal. Then the family left me and my sinuses in SA while they went back to Tulsa.

I did my industry convention, got a whole load of continuing education hours to keep my PE license, found a whole bunch of microcaches in and along the river walk, and explored a bunch of the city on foot. My and the sinuses went through a ton of tissue on the way, and grossed out a bunch of friends. No wonder I was so lonely.

Then I got back to Tulsa and my Mother-in-Law, Nana, a very sweet lady who is moving to Tulsa got her plans accelerated when she accidently fell and broke her hip. So she was in the hospital and then rehab and is now staying with us and is doing great, and is planning to move into her new house in a few weeks.

As an aside, I will tell you that if something similar happens to me, I’m sending the ambulance to where she went, Saint John’s Hospital here in Tulsa and then rehab at the Bernsen Rehab center. Both the hospital and the rehab center are wonderful and are staffed by very skilled and compassionate people not only toward the patient but also the family.

After that excitement died down, I finally went to the doctor who gave me some antibiotics. That stopped the sinuses but also my digestive system. Friday night I took the last of the antibug pills so maybe I’ll start feeling better here pretty quick. In the meantime, I’m exercising again and it is like starting from scratch. That’s not fair.

So tonight, its just me and Nana. Sweetie and SuperPizzaBoy are at some cultural event bettering themselves. Me and Nana are watching House Hunters. Then Nana asked me if I would go the house she recently purchased and check the water level in the swimming pool. Sure! I don’t know anything about swimming pools but I can check water levels. After all I am a by God Licensed Professional Chemical Engineer in the State of Oklahoma (PE 17351).

I get over there and the water level is a little low so I get the water flowing. Filling a pool is not like filling a bathtub. This is going to take a while. What’s a guy to do?

I’ll tell you, its time to go geocaching!

Christmas in July , Number 764, but who is counting, really its not about the numbers, is it, not at all. And yes, as a blogger I take my camera everywhere I go, and, as a geocacher, I take my GPS receiver everywhere.

Any geocachers who slogged through this post? Tell us what your geocaching handle is. Mine is YogiABB. Son’s is guess what, SuperPizzaBoy. Sweetie won’t get one, so the local geocachers call her … well we won’t get into that. I stay on thin ice around here anyway. She really puts up with a lot.

Full of Baloney

Baloney is at it again. Fired up photoshop to lampoon somebody. This time it was me. I am so honored. She doesn’t do it to just anybody just those who are special. Her post really did make my day.

I am stealing the image she made for her post to use on my profile for a little while. I’m probably violating some sort of copyright and she’ll probably sue me for everything I have including my GPS and then where will I be?

Baloney was my inspiration to start blogging and her blog is still my favorite among a bunch of outstanding blogs that I follow. Don’t let her online persona fool you. She is very sweet. I refer to her blog as a “blogging ministry.”

Now, I’ll have to figure out how to, as SuperPizzaBoy puts it, “get my revenge.”

Baby Picture Time!

You have to admit. I was a cute little dude and limber also. Notice the old school diapers. That hair was about as much as I ever had. Ah, those were the days my friend.

Ah, the early days of Photoshop.

I’ve tried three more beers.

Full Sail IPA by Full Sail Brewing – It is ok, smooth, tastes good but nothing to take home to your mother. 2.5 stars out of 4.

Trademark Pale Ale by Breckenridge Brewery – Not very remarkable at all. 2 stars out of 4.

India Pale Ale by Avery Brewing – I’v never of these guys but the beer has a great hoppy taste and bite. I enjoyed this. 3 stars out of 4. I’d buy this again.

Skywatch Friday – View from Nowhere


Late January this year, I spent my lunch hour geocaching in East Tulsa during a glorious clear, breezy, brisk Oklahoma January day. This is a view from the geocache named “Nowhere” back to my truck which is about a half mile away. Quite an interesting walk down a long abandoned road.

Thank you very much for visiting.

For views of the sky from all over the world check out Skywatch Friday.

Protest, Counter Protest, and the Cops

My one or two readers who read this may remember the “Exterminators” who have been at the Mayo Hotel for sometime now trying to chant the rats out of the building. “Get the rats out, get the rats out, get the rats out” is their basic line. It doesn’t seem to be working because they are still there.

Well things have been happening. First on March 21st the Tulsa World ran an article on the exterminators. It turns out that the chanters are not exterminators. They are homeless people hired by a local carpenter’s union hired to picket jobs run by Green Country Interiors, a Tulsa based contracter. Its kind of funny because the picketers are hired by the union and paid $10 per hour and no benefits in order to protest the Union because they are paying only $14 to $18 per hour plus benefits.

What is not funny is that the union has put signs up at the Green Country’s owner’s subdivision saying shame on him by name. That seems a little over the line to me.

The union says that there are no carpenters on the picket line becaus they are all working!

It seems ironic to me that unions have learned modern labor management methods. Hiring temporary workers at low wages, not paying them benefits, etc. I’m not saying they are doing anything illegal, immoral, or unethical. I’m just saying that its ironic. I will say that $10 per hour for picketing does not seem like a bad deal for the picketers. All kidding aside, walking in circles chanting at the top of my lungs for three or four hours is hard work.

Now Wednesday we had something new. Counterpicketers. I have no idea who they are or who they represent but in addition to the exterminators we had a couple guys with big old plastic buckets and sticks using them very effectively as drums trying to disrupt the chanting. It was hilarious. Three police cars were there with the officers monitoring the action.

I apologize for the poor quality of the video.

The drummers are not very good. They remind me of the awful rock group “Faith No More” who were popular even though they had no rhythm. Right after I turned off my camera one of the drummers grabbed his video camera and began walking toward me photographing me. Like I cared. Before I could my camera out again to video him videoing me he ran back to his post.

Who is paying the counterprotesters? I need answers, anybody have any?

The Associate by John Grisham

The Associate is about Kyle McAvoy a brilliant Yale Law Student planning to spend a few years at a legal aid clinic before heading off to New York City and the big bucks. I cannot really say a whole lot about the book without spoiling it but I will say that this is a good read. I rate it three stars out of four.