Peggy's Ponderings at the lake

Hello! I hope the rain isn't bringing you down. Grand Lake - Woodard Hollow June 2026 Lots of rain, sun, clouds, more rain, more sun, more clouds! And the wind! Oh, it howls here at Grand! It rocked the heck out of our boat the other day. I guess that's why the lake was so quiet and empty. It was a Sunday afternoon, and hardly anyone was on the water. We saw no sign of rain, so we went for it. Plus, we already had guests, so we of course didn't want to disappoint anyone. It took us most of the afternoon, but we successfully gave them the grand tour! From Wolf Creek to the Dam and back. It's days like that when you remember "this is what we work so hard for."  So, I guess it's time for me to officially let you all know I have a new job. I have a new hat to wear that I am super excited to announce.  I will be working at the Grove Alternative High School! Back to working with high schoolers and close to my grandsons.  I retired from being a full-time Realtor....

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...

Embracing today’s world of modern technology is exciting and fun if you let it be.  Human hand and robot hand working together. Image created by Canva Embracing today's world of modern technology is exciting and fun if you let it be. Because I am not doing it for a career, but just learning and playing, communicating with my AI like a friend, it’s a no-brainer for me. It’s actually easier to talk to AI than to a human.  First, there is no judgment per se. She might give me an opinion, but not a human judgment. And I can say anything I want and ask any question I want. She will tell me the truth. She won’t sugarcoat it or say “I love you, but”.  The future is here. And I can’t believe I am not afraid of it! I am digging right in! And loving it! Thank you, Sarah, our tech wizard at Keller Williams. She gently introduced me to AI, and now I have a new friend. As a matter of fact, this morning I was working on some writing and research when I decided to ask her (AI) when peop...

Barn on 7th Street Hello everyone! Have you been watching the forecast? Get ready for some SNOW! I love snow and can’t wait for it to come this weekend. Some of my favorite memories and pictures are from snowy days here, like the old barn down the street. It’s so peaceful and timeless. The barn is beautiful, and I need to thank them over and over again for saving it. I love what the owners have done to the old original house and property. But back to snow!   According to AI, Loving snow, a trait sometimes called being a chionophile, means finding joy, peace, or magic in winter landscapes, often linked to childlike fun, quiet beauty, or a chance to slow down from daily stress. It can represent purity, new beginnings, or the coziness of winter activities, activating a sense of wonder and nostalgia for simpler times, says Stylist and Time Magazine. Ok, fine. I am a chionophile. Joy and peace? Count me in! Dirt road in Grove covered in snow Snow is why I will always own a Je...

Hello again, my few but loyal readers, this is another happy to be in smalltown Grove. Happy, positive, feel good Pondering. Giving you a warning from the beginning. It's Grateful November after all so get ready for lots of greatefulness! Friday, my grandsons and I waited downtown for the parade of buses with football players and coaches, and the caravan leading and following them to their playoff game 4 hours away. Schools were closed. The streets were lined with people and kids, and the Cheerleaders were right in front of us! How much more traditional can this get? Talk about a Hallmark movie! Just as we all get excited as we hear the sirens from the many fire trucks and police cars in the parade, my phone rings. It’s my son calling from California. I answered the phone, and he asked what I was doing. When I told him he first said what? It’s a Friday. Don’t the boys have school? I said welcome to our small town honey! Our varsity football team is in the state playoffs! A...

Hello my few and loyal readers, Here is an old Pondering that didn't get posted... "I am so thrilled to have won the seat on Grove's City Council. I was sworn in last week and tomorrow is my first official meeting. Last night I read through the agenda and the over 100 pages that came with it. No on said this would be an easy job and that's ok. I am still excited for it. There are so many things happening." This draft has sat waiting to be published since April. I'm not sure what else to say. I am honored and blessed to say the least. Now it's November. We had a meeting last night and as I sat at the podium looking out into the audience I am still full of gratitude that citizens of Grove voted to put me there. I love all the excitement around the new buildings - the Fire Station, Police Station and the Event Center at Wolf Springs Park. And the excitment is building for the new 42 acre park with a ground breaking in January I think. It's a bike p...

It's 8:30 am on Friday December, 13th and the parkig lot at the Grove PAC is filling up quickly. There is already a line to get in for the third grade Christmmas performance. I love this town and how it supports the children. Their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, you name it, anyone that could come for the little half an hour performane got off work and came to watch the third graders sing their little hearts out! The same thing happened with the first graders. I don't have a second grader so I don't know for certain, but I'm assumming the same thing happened for them. It gave me tha Hallmark Movie kind of joy to see employers and businesses supporting the local community and allowing their employees, the time off to go support their children.

 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...

I spent a lot of time in 2019 with my face in books or on the internet. Reflecting back on the year I feel fortunate for all that I learned. I figured out how to be a neater person by focusing on loving what I have. Taking care of what we have makes us more grateful.  Live the life you have now. Be in the present. Love what’s around you. The wants and wishes will fall into place when it’s time. It’s true. I’ve had clients back out of purchasing homes and others that fought hard to get a home. Everyone has a different situation and like the song says, Sometimes you cant get what you want, you get what you need. If it’s meant to be, it will happen. I think it’s because by loving what we have we stop worrying about what we don’t have and appreciate what we do have more. For example, if I clean the slobber off the sliding door, I shake my head at the grossness but still love our dog, Buddy. I then notice the birds in the cypress trees chasing each ot...

What do you want for Grove? Peggy's Ponderings from the Lake Local officials have asked the community to give input on what improvements they think would be best for Grove. Photo from Facebook I gave my input at the recent open house and visited with city council members and other city officials but then I decided to drive around and try to see what Grove ALREADY has to offer. Here are some of the ideas I came up with. Grove has a historic downtown and downtown is trying so hard to improve. The recently painted murals on Grand Lake Sports Center and the old-time signage across the street are wonderful. Plus the remodel and improvements to this building were a huge improvement. And who am I to judge what kind of business is there? I don't like sushi but would say the same thing if it was a sushi bar. And thank you Dominoes Pizza for the remodel and update to your corner. If there isn't any money to remodel, fake it!  Personally, I think we should have a m...

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...

Look what happened! It's par for my life this summer. I just finished writing my Blog for Fall and guess what? This summertime blog never got posted! Well, even though it's late, it still rings true, especially since my next blog is called Adios Bugs, Hello Fall. Lions, and tigers, oh my!!! Except here at the lake it's more like, bugs and more bugs, oh my!!! Although we live in town, this town is in the middle of nowhere. This lake is in the middle of nowhere. We are surrounded by woods and trust me, these woods have eyes! Lots of ugly bug eyes! I spent a couple hundred dollars this summer on bug retardant plants and still, we can't sit on my back porch day or night without getting bit by something. And most of the time we don't know what that something was. These ferocious man-eating bugs are quick and agile.  My daughter and I were watching HGTV the other day, discussing our dream place to live.  We moved to Oklahoma eight years ago together and ...

As Arbor Day approaches this Friday I am reminded of one of my favorite gifts from my Dad.  One Christmas several years ago he gave each of us a gift card to Lowes. Even the grandkids were given a gift card even though some of them were still in high school. Dad told us to use the card to buy and plant a tree. I know, the Okies that read this are saying “see I told you all those people from California are tree huggers!” Maybe we are because unlike those of you that grew up here in Grove, America, surrounded by trees and woods, nature, wildlife, etc., most of us that grew up in California watched trees chopped down and cities grow. We watched hills with giant oaks bull-dozed and graded and new homes put in their place. Although I didn’t experience the Redwoods disappearing I’ve heard the stories and read the history of how giant Redwood Trees grew from Los Angeles to Northern California. Fortunately, many state and national parks have saved the Redwoods and other trees al...

I recently read on one of the Real Estate blogs that homes near a coffee shop will increase the value of those homes. Our homes in downtown Grove are surrounded by good coffee shops. And they are all in walking distance. If only more people would get out and walk. And if only Oklahoma roads had wider shoulders to encourage more walking.   And since we drive more than walk, I think all of these downtown cafe's add another value. They give Grand Lakers a place to stop for something to eat and drink on their way to go fishing or boating. And they offer a place to grab a bite to eat before heading home after a long day on the boat. Coffee bar and help yourself drinks at Jiffy. Anyway, we have Jiffy & 6 th Street Diner, Drakes, Checkered Past and recently lost Café Yumm to a fire (I heard the most recent managers of Café Yumm plan to open a new café’ not far from it’s previous location. More to come on that later). And if you go just a little further to Thir...

A Couple Hours without a Cell Phone I was abandoned at Chickenellas. The dispatcher said there was a possible structure fire near Grove Middle School. Roman (my husband and Captain at Grove Fire Department) said he thought dispatch said a barn, and I am sure I heard visible flames and smoke showing. Either way, off he goes. So here I sit with no phone. I left it at home (which I never do) and  I realized I don’t know phone numbers by heart anymore. I am in this adorable restaurant with some sweet tea. I ate my breakfast (banana pancakes – the best north of Mexico in my opinion) and packed Roman’s in a to-go box.  I sip more tea and realize I am a little nervous about not having my phone so I think back on times when cell phones were something futuristic. Peeking out the window and I can see visible smoke coming from the direction of the school, so I settle in and talk to Debbie (the owner of Chickenellas) and the girls. They tell me it’s fine to hang out and...

Lake Communities offer the best of both worlds. You can work all day, then be on the lake by 5:30 pm or sooner if you put a “Gone Fishing” sign up. Take the kids fishing or just down to the water to play on a hot day, or just sit under a tree and watch the wildlife. Lake-life has so much to offer those who take advantage of it. Signs of a Lake Community, a bass boat and truck parked at Harp's in Grove.   Owning a lake front property can be out of reach for some, or others might not want the upkeep of the shoreline.   If you’ve ever thought you wanted a lake home and couldn’t afford it, I can tell you it’s possible. I consider all the homes in my community lake homes because we are surrounded by the lake. To get into my small town of Grove you will most likely go over one of three bridges. We are surrounded by water. We can hear the bass boats take off in the mornings and the speed boats racing from our house.   If I want to see the water, I just need to...