Here's Tulsa

I ran across these photos I took of various Tulsa sights at various Tulsa sites. I like 'em, so I thought I'd put them up here.


Gratuitous night shots of the downtown skyline.


Followed by various views of the the iconic Golden Driller.

This one taken with my Holga, which is a boxy plastic toy film camera with a plastic lens.

These were taken last year during the fair.



And, this is a sculpture downtown that I really like. This photo was also taken with my Holga and, if I remember correctly, I think it was cross-processed. Which means the photo was taken with slide film but developed like a print, which causes arty color-shifts which are now more easily and predictably accomplished with the flick of a finger in Photo Shop.



Here's a double exposed shot of downtown, from right in front of the federal building where I toil most of the live-long day-- Also Holga shot.



And, finally a shot of Coney I-Lander. Yep, it's a Holga photo too, notice the charming light leaks --classic Holga stuff.

Pioneering in a Womanly Way

From the title, the clever reader may have guessed that I went to THE PIONEER WOMAN'S book signing.

Those in the know, which you are about to become, know that The Pioneer Woman is a blog generated by a funny and charming person named Ree Drummond, who just happens to live on a cattle ranch in the Osage, near Pawhuska, which is just north of here.

Anyway, her blog contains beautiful photography, witty stories, and killer recipes, which you have undoubtedly tasted at my house. She committed some of those stories and many of those recipes to a book--

The doors at the Tulsa Historical Society were to open at 6pm. Beth, my partner in crime in this venture, and I arrived just after 5:30. There were fewer than 20 people ahead of us. And by the time everyone else arrived, there were over 450, probably closer to 500 people attending. I'd say there were people hanging from the rafters, but there were not rafters from which to hang, so I'll just say it was SRO.

We got t-shirts and bought the book, Ree did a little question and answer and introduced the Marlboro Man (her husband--read the blog--ahhhhhh), there were cupcakes, cokes in cute little glass bottles, and Ree signed books--patiently and charmingly signed books-- and posed for photos for HOURS.


I didn't take my camera(s), but I do have some observations to share:

-- The signing line moved at a painstakingly slow pace, but the wait was worth it.
-- Ree is as cute and charming and witty as her blog.
-- Marlboro Man is NOT over billed in the blog.
-- They were both refreshingly nervous and excited.

It was almost all good. But here is another observation, sort of a personal post script to someone who will never see this blog and who wouldn't recognize herself anyway:

-- Young mothers (one in particular--YOU blondie) should be attuned enough to their children (and the crowd) to know that it is time to bail out (that means leave and go home) when their 3 or 4 year old child (perhaps a little girl wearing her sunglasses upside down) is having a snot-blowing crying fit (for at least an hour) and when their little boy, a bit older, says he doesn't feel well. Sometimes mothers have to (AND SHOULD) abandon extraneous desires, like an autograph and a photo with an author, in favor of caring for their uncomfortable kids. And no, the older ones among us who were giving you the evil eye are not just cranky older women, we recognize the right thing to do, and did it ourselves when our children were small and we feel sorry for children of selfish mothers (yours in particular -- blondie).

Sometimes ya just gotta vent.

Dying Day

I have, or rather had, 10 skeins (1100 yards) of Alpaca yarn hand dyed in Chile which I got for a very good price. The yarn was rendered in shades of green, which is usually pleasing to me. However, this particular yarn tended to camouflage-ish tones, which I do not find to be pleasing. I also had 33o yards of hand spun superwash merino which was perfect in every way, except color. That yarn was reminiscent of a drunken leprechaun festival.

Those yarns went into a soapy bath in preparation for re-birth in some new, and hopefully improved, shade.



You can see that I was not exaggerating about their initial colors.

Soooooo, what does one do with an overabundance of yellow and yellow-ish green? Methinks one overdyes with an abundance of blueish tones. So, in the spirit of overdoing, I mixed up an extreme concentration of bright blue and set it to steep with the yarn. After using half an ocean to rinse the excess color . . .

VOILA!

pretty much what I expected

I can live with these colors. The alpaca is still patchy, but I think it will knit up (or weave) nicely and will not look like camo. And now I can at least bide in the same room with the leprechaun hangover yarn.

OU are knitting??

Today is THE big game. OU-Texas, of course. And, since I live in Oklahoma, pay taxes here, bore my children here, and send tuition dollars to OU, it is probably no surprise that I'll be wearing red (ummm, pardon, crimson) today.

GO OU.

And, I'll be knitting. I'd LOVE to show photos of my knitting and weaving works in progress, but all those tea cozies are destined to be Christmas gifts. Which I think explains my recent (and ongoing) yarn-purchase binge as a generous act, not a condition in need of treatment. Y'all knitters, do not let your husbands watch the A&E show "Hoarders," they will just get ridiculous ideas. And, Kelly if you should happen to read this, setting off a balloon loaded with yarn and alerting the FAA and the media is sheep abuse and beyond ridiculous.

Speaking of yarn and knitting, and I think we were, have you seen the proliferation of EXPENSIVE knitted cowls, hoods, and snoods? Burberry has a knitted tube of these specifications: chunky cable knit cashmere 19" wide, 38" circumference for a mere $325.
This, supposedly is the new scarf. And, here is a link to a free pattern. The yarn used in said pattern costs $16, and I think the pattern design is better proportioned at 11 1/2 inches wide and 24 inches long. Either way, that's a hell of a tea cozy. Wouldn't it look great in crimson?

GO OU