Spring has Sprung!

This morning I was up early to attend my monthly DAR meeting. Since it is April, we were celebrating Earth Day and Earth Month. The centerpieces were little Arbor Vitae trees that will be planted. We meet at the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa - which is centered on the former home of Waite Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum. It is a wonderful museum (fine art) and the house is fantastic. Lunch is available from La Villa restaurant at Philbrook, and is always tasty. You can see the menu for the day on the table.




On my way over to Philbrook, I passed by Woodward Park here in Tulsa. It is always beautiful, but never more so than when the azaleas are in bloom. I couldn't resist making a stop there on my way home and taking a few pictures.



Many people think of Oklahoma as flat, dry and dusty. The northeast part of Oklahoma is anything but that. It is hilly, green and gorgeous. We are, after all, in the foothills of the Ozarks. It is tragic that our Native American tribes were forced to leave their beloved land in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida (to name a few places). I think the land they received in the Indian Territory is beautiful and I hope it was something they would be at home in one day. We have great tribal organizations now that mean so much to this part of America.




A few dogwoods are still blooming and the trees are in that lovely spring green.
Woodward Park is a favorite place here for families to get pictures made and for engagement and wedding portraits to be done.



What would spring be without baseball. I've been asked to come back to Oneok Field for three more days to help out with the high school baseball showcase going on from now through Friday. It should be a fun time for the schools and their supporters.



I hope you enjoy these pictures of beautiful Tulsa. I think the wet cold winter should always end with such a lovely Spring.

Iron Chef Contendas!

Saturday I was almost double booked on events. My DAR Regent Reta had invited all the committee chairwomen for lunch and surprised us by having it at 'Savory Chef" a local fancy cookware store, which also has a cooking school. It is a beautiful store and I'd love to have a kitchen like theirs. We arrived at 11am and found a beautifully set table with a chef's apron and towel on each chair. We were off on a menu of spinach ravioli, fettucine and salmon.



Here is our group getting ready to get our "cooking on".

Chef Scott first demonstrated how simple it is to make pasta dough from scratch - and without a bowl. In answer to one participant's question - you don't have to have marble counters for this to work.



After kneading the dough and getting just the right consistency - you can't overwork pasta dough per the chef - you let it rest for a while. Then, it's time to use the pasta machine. One secret Scott told us was to lay the dough over the top of your hands - not palms up which can poke holes in it as it gets thinner.














While we were waiting for the dough to rest, Scott whipped up filling made of creme cheese, fresh ground parmesan (or other hard Italian cheese), and well-drained frozen chopped spinach. After the pasta was pretty thin and very long - it was dusted with flour on both sides and then filled with about a teaspoon of the filling. Here's my friend Lori doing the filling.



After finishing the ravioli, Scott boiled some and the rest he "pan friend" in about 3 tsp olive oil and 3tsp butter. He let it sit and get crispy and then flipped it - I sure wish I could flip food in a pan the way chef's do - maybe that's a special class!!

I had to be at Oneok Field for additional pre-season training at 1pm so I had to leave before all the food was made - dang it! But, I did try the sauteed ravioli. After it was crisp, Scott tossed on some roasted cherry tomatoes he had prepared ahead of time and just a wee bit of very expensive Balsamic vinegar (would you believe $60 a bottle???). The end result was absolutely delicious.

I sure wish I could have been there for the rest of the meal!! This was such a fun outing.

DAR Martha Washington Tea

Yesterday I got to play dress-up - which I just love to do. The Tulsa Chapter of NSDAR invited all the area chapter members to their 98th Annual Martha Washington Tea. It was great to participate in something that is older than I am - ha. They gave special mention to a couple of ladies in their chapter who have been DAR members for 64 and 75 years. Goodness me - I got a late start - and I guess I'll be lucky if I get to the 20 year anniversary.

Everyone was invited to dress in Colonial style, and my Chapter Regent and I decided to take up the challenge. We needed a Colonial outfit anyway for today's Revolutionary Day at TU. More about that later. One of our own Chapter members was the guest speaker - she gave a fun and fact-filled biography of four amazing women from the Revolutionary period. One of them actually took her dead brother's name, dressed as a man and fought along with men for almost two years before her "true" identify was discovered. Wow!



Here is Margo Bowles - the speaker along with my Chapter's regent, Reta Schwerwinski.


The SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) Chapter was there to act as escorts for each lady as we entered the dining room. The event was held at the Tulsa Junior League building. We entered through crossed swords held aloft by the SAR - very fancy and it made me feel so special. Does anyone else every thing they were born in the wrong time period. I just love the "pomp and circumstance" of the older days and older ways.



All the food was made by the members of the Tulsa Chapter. Take a look at this dessert table. Everything was delicious - I loved the trifle! Very old world. And of course, a pineapple which is our current National Regent's symbol for her administration - hospitality.



One of the many activities DAR does is with JROTC groups in area schools. We were fortunate to have a color guard from the JROTC at Nathan Hale High School. They did such a great job. Don't they look great in this picture with several of the area Regents? Such an impressive group of young people.

As you are learning, if you follow this blog, I am getting into DAR with both feet. I am having such a great time and enjoying making new friends through this wonderful organization.

Warmer Days

What a joy it has been for the past couple of days to have SUNSHINE and warmer temperatures. After the deep-freeze of the weeks from Christmas through the first week of January - it seems all the more delightful. The doggy and I are enjoying some nice walks around our new neighborhood.


Hey - can I get a nap with my lovey after you dragged me around the neighborhood?

My DAR Chapter is invited to help out with an event coming up on February 4 at the University of Tulsa. Area 5th grade students will be visiting the campus and hearing more about American History, especially the Revolutionary War. We are being asked to be in period dress and act as hostesses for the event. Well, there is nothing I love more than playing dress-up and pretending to live in another era. So, how to take some of my Renaissance Faire clothes and update them for the 18th century. Research on the internet - I love it.

After checking out a few historic clothing sites and pattern books I thought if I added a "Betsey Ross" type scarf and mop hat, my basic RenFaire skirt, bodice and shirt would do the trick. Check me out! I made the scarf and hat from a Simplicity costume pattern I found.

I'm really enjoying being the EDITOR of the Capt. Peter Ankeny Chapter newsletter. It is giving me an outlet for my creative side. I got such nice comments on my first effort, thanks to my very nice DAR "sisters". Thanks to Ancestry.com for helping me with my family tree research - and to the DAR genealogists who are amazing at finding missing pieces!

Hope it is warm and sunny where you are!!