The Dock at the Edge of the World

Today I had the opportunity to speak at the ribbon-cutting and dedication of the Espo Center at Wolf Creek. It was a sunny, beautiful day and a well-attended event. This wasn't my first time speaking to a crowd or with dignitaries in attendance, but I was definitely a little bit nervous for this one. Here is my little take, but check out The Grove Sun and Sheila Stogsdill/KSN-KODE , plus other social media pages have lots of photos. Dana Able had the building set up for ideas of different types of events. The Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau is definitely who you need to talk to about more information. I'm still grinning from ear to ear! I had my speech in hand and practically memorized it too! I just wanted to make a point with this speech. I want more of our citizens to be happy. If a person takes the time to appreciate the Expo Center, they will come to realize how it's so much more than a place to hold an event. And as visitors continue to come, I hope they conti...

 I woke up early today thinking about our Lake House project.  It's been in the works for a couple of years and it's slowly coming together. View from a home at Grand Lake I recently toured. I have plans and pictures from magazines in a three-ring binder. I have a Pinterest Board for the Steed Lake House and recently, I got the go-ahead from my husband! Today I decided to give it a good name! Every memorable place I have stayed has a memorable name.  Since we bought the property from my husband Roman's mother, Phyllis, we usually refer to it as Mom's House. We could build off of that and make it homey and comfortable. I do plan to have a big open kitchen/family room/fireplace area with lots of windows and a casual dining area.  There's no need for formal dining because in a lake house there needs to be plenty of space for card games, puzzles, drawing and coloring. It also needs to be inviting enough to sit at and have conversations around. A place to put birthday ca...

High water at Grand Lake reach the steps to this deck in Grove earlier this month. Fighting the Flood Flood-Friendly Improvements and Repairs for Your Grand Lake Home By Peggy Kiefer-Steed & Dezirea Burnett Water levels on Grand Lake have continued to go down in recent days, and finally past the 750 ft. mark. As of 10 am Friday morning, the lake level was 748.49, still 9.49 feet above full pool of 739. So far, the flooding has claimed dozens of properties, rendering some uninhabitable while others remain simply marred by debris. According to Markwayne Mullin’s website, 27 counties in Oklahoma have been designated for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance: Alfalfa, Canadian, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Garfield, Kay, Kingfisher, Logan, Mayes, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner, Washington, and Woods.              ...

A thought about lake hospitality   These Pelicans were sitting on a log at 250 Rd in Hickory Grove. Watching nature? Fishing? The past couple weeks I’ve seen many somewhat nasty posts on Facebook and I’ve heard people here at the lake complaining about the boats on the water even though it might not be safe due to the recent storms and flooding. This has me worried about our hospitality skills. Personally, I don’t think we need to be so judgmental towards our visitors. I remember what it’s like and having traditional get-togethers on Memorial Day and Labor Day. And going away for two weeks because that was all the vacation time we had. I know some people aren’t going to be happy with me but, full-timers, please be more understanding! You get to go on the water anytime you want. A lot of the boaters on the lake are weekenders or just here for a once a year get-together.   Of course, they are going to try to get on the water! You bet they are going to wa...