I never knew that "Blackie Sweet Potato" had a flower. . . but mine are living proof.  Also, on my walk this morning I saw someone elses sweet potato with the same lovely little purple blooms.  I've always loved the dark green purplish leaves but these small flowers make me like it even more.  And besides it thrives even in the Oklahoma heat.  I'll be using this at the new house I'm thinking.

I was gone for several days . . . and you wanna know where I was? I was in Texas meeting my new grandson.  He's adorable (but them I AM prejudiced). Such a good baby I've never met before.  When you put him down for his nap or even for the night, he wimpers for only about 2 or 3 seconds before he settles down and goes to sleep. . . AND he sleeps all through the night. He's about 6 months old.  My son and his wife are losing sleep, not because the baby doesn't sleep or because he's hungry . . . but because they have a monitor in his room and every time he makes any kind of noise (like a sigh, a cough or a coo) they get up and run to his room to make sure he's still breathing.  I suppose they'll eventually get over that.

Xanga friends, I'd like you to meet Nathaniel.

And here's the happy mom, grandma and dad. 

Alice and I went to our Garden Club today and as usual, it was a carry in lunch, so I decided to take cheese grits. . . garlic cheese grits.  I love them and don't make them often enough.  I'm glad I did too, because we had a visitor today who was originally from the south and she said she hadn't had grits since moving from South Carolina to Wash DC over 4 years ago.  She and her husband have just recently moved to OKC and she was looking for a local garden club to join.  I think we passed the test . . . we're a pretty friendly bunch.

I don't believe I would have made a very good pioneer.  And this kitchen is not even a pioneer kitchen, but a slightly more modern one. . . and still I would not have done well in it.  It's OK to camp out in one of these like when on vacation, but I sure wouldn't want to LIVE with it. I like my modern conviences a lot.  This kitchen was part of the Harn Homestead which is just a few blocks from the Oklahoma Capital building. Alice and I visited the homestead on our recent sister trip.

Speaking of modern conviences, I can hardly wait to move into my house and have a washer and dryer again, a dish washer, a double sink in the kitchen and plenty of counter top space . . . non of which I have in my little apartment.

One evening on our "sister trip", after spending the whole day on our feet, Alice and I sat on the front porch of our B&B and rocked and talked . . . and reminisced till nearly bedtime.   

One of the things Alice and I did on our mini vacation was to visit the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.  We ate in the Buffet there a couple Sundays ago, but this time we took the time to see everything.   The grounds are beautifully maintained and the museum is quite interesting and contains some terrific art work too. This statue is huge and can be seen from the highway far down the hill. That stone wall supporting the statue is just about my height . . . 5'8", so you see, it's really a lot larger than this picture makes it look.

This is the living room of the B&B where Alice and I stayed while on our short "sister trip". I actually sat down and played several of the hymns in the music book sitting on the piano.  Our room was up two flights of stairs, so we made each trip up and down the stairs count. 

Alice and I are back from our short "sister trip".  We didn't go very far this time . . . we actually stayed in a B&B here in town and just did the touristy stuff (for my benefit).  We had a very good time, even though we were both exhausted when we returned.

One of the things I've been wanting to do ever since I moved to Oklahoma City was to go see the Oklahoma City Memorial.  We did go and I doubt that I can adequately convey to you how very moving an experience it was for me.  The memorial is so simple in design and yet so eloquent . . . and the grounds are beautifully maintained. We also took the time to visit the three story memorial museum which walks the visitor through a time-line of events in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building.  I would encourage anyone who lives in Oklahoma City or will ever be visiting here to make the memorial a "must see" . 

Across the street from the Oklahoma City Memorial is this statue of Jesus weeping, which was erected some time after the bombing. It faces away from the pedestrian traffic and away from the Memorial, as if Christ turned his face away from the horrific event as he wept.

Alice and I will be off for 3 days for our annual "sister trip".  Although this year it's an abreviated one . . . we'll be staying at a B&B in OKC and doing the touristy stuff for my benefit.  That way I'll get to see a lot of the things in Oklahoma City that I've not seen yet, plus I'll be close enough so that if any problem comes up with the building of my house I'll be able to get there in less than an hour.