BLOGAHOMA

The  “Big Pasture” Offers to the Homeseeker and Business Man a Golden Opportunity..

So reads the headline of enticement in 1907 to the last land available in Oklahoma, Grandfield.

Looking Out toward the "Big Pasture" from Grandfield

Yesterday we met with the City Manager, Randy Clark to go over the details of a brochure that highlights the history of the area that Michael is putting together for the town. I’m not sure what I was expecting but what we got was a guided tour, blending of history and the present with running dialog as Randy drove us around in the Pick-up. Grandfield is located 15 miles from the Texas line in Southwest Oklahoma. Grandfield is small city that was center of thriving farm activity in its heyday. Today it is still a pretty town in the plains where you can see the Wichita Mountains in distance. I have to admit (despite the little downtown having several vacancies) I really had a good feeling about it. A few of the buildings have been recently restored a sign of a city government that cares. Grandfield has two distinct sides of town, the historic with houses going back to early 1900’s and the “newer” ranch style neighborhood where houses are from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

I am here to tell you that there is again “Opportunity” in Grandfield. Let’s say for instance you have an in home business and want to locate to a small town and away from the hubbub, you can get a home site for a dollar right near parks and schools, ready to build with utilities in place. That’s right a dollar. And it is still convenient to larger cities like Wichita Falls, TX and Lawton, Ok for big shopping. What if you don’t want to build but want a nice house? Lovely ranch styles between 2000 and 2400 square feet sell between $70,000 and $80,000, half the cost of houses found in neighboring areas. The old houses when they come up for sale much lower. Randy recently auctioned a 1920’s brick bungalow and got $10,000 and it sits on 4 lots!  It was bought by someone in Alaska.

How about opening a grocery store. There is a building that has been completely updated with freezers and coolers and whatever a store needs that is looking for a tenant. Grandfield is willing to let a grocery business move in for FREE! What’s the catch? The town will benefit from the tax revenue. And there are other vacant buildings to consider for a business.

We stopped in at the local From My Heart Bakery/ Restaurant that had just established itself in town. Being that it was midweek they had a pretty good gathering. We went for the garden salad with chicken. Or as Randy said “give me one of those salads and drag it through the garden”. (It was loaded with fresh vegetables). And of course we couldn’t turn down the mile high lemon meringue pie.

So how do you find out more? Call Randy and he can fill you in. Randy Clark is very knowledgeable about real estate, since he was a contractor for years. He received his college education in political science (I believe) at Cameron University so being city manager now fits right in. He is also a successful rancher and that was born in Grandfield and most assuredly believes in Grandfield. Peeked you interest? Call and make an appointment or go and take a look see and don’t forget to stop by for pie! And tell them Muriel from Medicine Park sent you!
Serious Seekers
City Hall
223 S Main Street, Grandfield, OK 73546
(580) 479-5215 email Randy

Kyle Nix Turnpike Troubadours

Can’t say I had ever heard the term “Red Dirt” before I came to Oklahoma. And even then I didn’t pay much attention until I moved to Medicine Park. Red Dirt is kind of gritty country with blue grass undertones, the best of which tells a story and also invites you to dance. After really getting to attend the Red Dirt Ball, Memorial Day Weekend Medicine Park.  I got to hear a number of performances. Red Dirt music grows on you or should I say it cakes and once on it is hard to shake loose. My new favorite would have to be the Turnpike Troubadours, I’m a sucker for fiddle playing. And the lyrics, well they tell a fine story. The Funeral takes you with it, you feel everything from bump in the road to the lump in the throat. I would say it was the most interesting of their songs but I ended up buying the album because there isn’t a bad song in the lot. Who can’t see the picture they are painting in 1968? And that is what’s great about their music, She’s Every Girl, case in point, by time the song is done, you know that girl. Even before the Red Dirt Ball I heard Feeling Better Now by Travis Linville, simple but just what you need to hear sometimes.

And then again maybe not the expected form of Red Dirt are some of the Oklahoma born women singer/ song writers of heard of late. They don’t have a kind of frilly voice that sings you a lullaby they have more of “let me tell you like it is” voice.  Ali Harter is one  of them, with a very personal style, worth a listen. Poor Kate (She’s a Drinker) is one of the grittier.  Run Run Run a message song that speaks to the chaos women’s lives. Fresh in my memory is one Jenny Casey, the Rosanne Barr of

Ali Harter at Medicine Park

song, who takes what life dishes out, the good, bad and ugly, and makes you laugh with her. Jump in the car with her as she sings Morning Drive.   And she lets you know you’re not alone in an imperfect world.

Don’t take my word for it, give these Oklahoma talents a listen you might end up buying a 99¢ wonder or even a whole album!

Ricotta from Scratch

When I am drawing my kneaded eraser is never far from my reach to remove those lines I don’t need. In my enumerable computer art programs there is always “undo”. But cooking as I have found out is less forgiving. Anyone who knows my family realizes that although I may have carried a big share of the bread-winning responsibilities, it was my husband Michael who became the master cook. Dinner was and still is his purview, dishing up one wonderful plateful after another. Once and while an expletive can be heard emanating from the kitchen but mostly he runs his kitchen like a well seasoned stew pot.

It is only of late that I have returned to making anything that entails turning on the burners. Now sans corporate job, sans children, I have the time to dabble in the kitchen arts. I started with almost a guaranteed “no fail” recipe, gelatin from scratch thanks to Knox box. Being that I am first of all a creative, I make coffee gelatin with a little coffee liqueur to take it up a notch. Having gained confidence in my gelatin making ability (figuring very few had ever tasted gelatin not made with Jello) I bravely brought my concoctions to the Park Tavern. No one raves but no one gags either. Emboldened at my newly discovered talent I have added at least a half a dozen varieties of gelatins outside the box: Triple Threat Coffee, Root Beer Float, Very Merry Cherry among them, I took on the next challenge pudding from scratch. Easy right? Not if you misread the plastic measuring spoon, with size rubbed off, and overdid the salt. Not wanting to waste my work, we ate it saying in unison “It could use a little less salt”. A funny line delivered by Edith in “All in the Family”. But now that I have got it right, I have successfully whisked up both maple and butterscotch puddings that are a tasty treat. It helps that at my finger tips is both milk and eggs fresh from the farm making things even yummier.

Triple Threat Coffee Gelatin

I wouldn’t cook anything if it weren’t in some way a creative process. In that spirit I make sure I add interesting ingredients including a little dash of the spirits. Did you know that butterscotch pudding actually has whiskey in it? That’s the recipe I found that I liked did. And yes, there is a hint (or two) Dr. McGillicuddy’s Cherry Schnapps in my Very Merry Cherry Gelatin.

I am still try to work out the curds in my Ricotta cheese recipe and have purchased a cooking thermometer to help me get it right. No tricks or creativity will be used, as it is an exacting deal. I realize I haven’t mastered it yet because my yield is half of what it should be. I gave myself only a B- on the last effort, my goal is to get an A. Once made, however, it can go into whatever fancy concoction we might come up with. The Lime Cheese Cake Muffins  that Michael took out of the oven this morning was the proof.

Note: The recipes I use are from the netted from the net. Often they end up a mash-up of several recipes plus a few dashes of my own. After finding the ones I want to use I move my laptop to the Kitchen counter.

For a long time I have ruminated about my monocular vision. Should I feel somehow cheated or is it a blessing in disguise. On top of one-eyed I am farsighted with astigmatism. Eye doctors are my best friends. Every two years my prescription has changed since I was 4 years old. That’s 30 eye exams and new prescriptions. I have memorized the eye chart. My left non-functioning eye sees only the top letter. The right does considerably better though with out glasses vision is blurred with halos.

One-eyedness has not stopped me from being an artist. It has stopped me from driving. I took drivers training years ago but when I took the test I didn’t see all the signs I should have and felt the roads would be safer without me behind the wheel. I failed driving twice but passed parking so I have remained parked.

Although I have read novels my preference is short stories, poetry, articles or nonfiction which I can ingest a little at a time. My right eye gets tired. Sometimes I prefer to put on the headset and have the articles on the web read to me while I scan which acts as a double sensory retention. And I love being read to. I have had the opportunity to hear the great ones…. Toni Morrison, Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Alice Walker among them.

I know from reading about monocular vision that I do not have the usual depth perception.

Monocular cues are cues to depth that are effective when viewed with only one eye. Although there are many kinds of monocular cues, the most important are interposition, atmospheric perspective, texture gradient, linear perspective, size cues, height cues, and motion parallax.

Unlike most of the movie audiences I am not looking forward to the age of 3D movies since they are set up for those with binocular vision. When an object is coming toward me it is another story. An sport where a ball or object is directed toward me immediately puts me in harms way, baseball, basketball, tennis, volleyball etc. etc. Those have hit me in the head way too often. Those sports are ones that I suck at, really. Swimming is also a problem as it requires taking off of the glasses and I am left in a blur. On the other hand if I am aiming at a target, lets say bowling, I do not suck quite as much. Actually I like bowling for that reason. My high game…. 167!

So what is the upside of monocular vision? Hard to say. I have a keen memory for what I see. I can draw/ sculpt from memory. Once when I was on a jury I came home and drew caricatures of the jurists from memory. I am also hyper aware of colors and patterns. It’s possible that similar to how ADD processes information, objects in a room all come into my sight at the same time without executive order of importance allowing an more interesting and creative view of my world. In addition I wouldn’t be surprised if I wasn’t a tetrachromat.

“A tetrachromat is a woman who can see four distinct ranges of color, instead of the three that most of us live with.” It seems I can see the subtlest of variations of a color sometimes to the annoyance of others and to myself.
I would assume my my monocular vision has rewired my brain,  to wish for the use of both eyes would probably be a mistake.
The song Spider Web by Joanne Osborne says it best…

The world is made of spider webs
The threads are stuck to me and you
Be careful what youre wishing for
cause when you gain you just might lose
You just might lose your…
Spider web