Coffees in the Garden 3.19

 It was hard to imagine that just 4 weeks ago it was -11F as I sat in the henbit sipping my delicious vegan peppermint latte. 

Usually, Fridays are workdays, but with spring break, our homes are booked up and I had the day to work in my garden. I'm contemplating the sanity of my trail system (both in my garden and over in Hope and Faith's gardens). It's a lot of work building the trail system with hand tools only, and I'm not sure if it will work out the way I hope it will (no more mowing...or at least way less mowing). Since I love the idea of a cottage garden - with a prairie and wildflower twist - I think I'll just see what happens. 

Process

 

Working on the trail system at the Stone Turtle. 

It's a slow process. The garden. The painting projects. Life. Everything, really. I'm not a very patient person. Who is, though? Especially in today's world of instant gratification and highlight reels. I mean, we're bombarded with the finished products whether you're on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or the countless other platforms out there. It can make the process feel so much harder - and much longer. 

The last year of Stone Turtle adventures has helped me make peace with the idea that everything is a process. My business, whether it's photography or the vacation rentals, will never be "done." It will always be a work-in-progress. Doubts always fill my mind; Can you even advertise for something that's not done? Is it good enough when everyone always just sees the glamorous (sometimes fake) end results?

I'm living my life slowly, intentionally, and in the present never-done moment. It's peaceful and disconnected from the always connected world of notifications. I'm present in the flow of my work, the birdsong and my thoughts. It's a place to evaluate priorities and assess how I, and my life, am aligned to what I believe. This is what the last ten years of process have taught me. To be okay with the process, to trust it, and to accept that everything will never be done. And, that's beautiful.

And, it's something I wish to share with the people who stay with us at the Stone Turtle. It's the reason guests won't find wi-fi or cable TV in our vacation rentals. Hope will never have a microwave. The garden will never be "done." 

~D

Feels like October

It's starting to feel like fall in Oklahoma. Cooler temps call for some awesome hot chocolate (of which we've shared some in our vacation rental, Faith) and movie nights! And, because Halloween is near, you know we have Hocus Pocus on DVD.The perfect end to days spent exploring the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge or Medicine Park. 

That Stone Turtle Vibe

The Stone Turtle is special. Not just because it's the home of 5 million different colors, but it's got a this vibe. One you feel when you make a cup of coffee and curl up with a good book (like the Why Cafe - one of our faves!), or when you sit on the deck and watch the sun set behind the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Honestly, it's just something you have to experience for yourself, which you can through Air BnB.

Sunset stretching over the Slick Hills

Oklahoma sunrise

Our vacation home, Faith. 

Hope's Library

Get away for a weekend and catch up on some reading and relaxation.

Books

1.    Across a Moonlit Sea- Marsha Canham

2.    Albert Einstein – Elma Ehrlich Levinger

3.    Ancient Evenings – Norman Mailer

4.      An Angel in Stone – Peggy Nicholson

5.      Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand

6.      August 1914 – Alexander Solzhenitsyn

7.    Bandits – Elmore Leonard

8.    Battle Born- Dale Brown

9.    Beauty- Robin McKinley

10. Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward (Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound, Lover Enshrined)

11. The Book of Little Folk – Lauren Mills

12. Both Sides of Time – Caroline B. Cooney

13. The Bourne Legacy- Eric Van Lustbader

14. A Break with Charity- Ann Rinaldi

15. Burning Water- Mercedes Lackey

16. The Cabinet of Curiosities- Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

17. Calling on Dragons- Patricia Wrede

18. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven – Fannie Flagg

19. Carnal Innocence – Nora Roberts

20. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

21. Charmed and Dangerous – Kelsey Roberts

22. The Charming Imposter – April Kihlstrom

23. The Chase – Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

24. Chase- Jessie Haas

25. The Chronicles of Oklahoma ( Vol: LXXVI, XLV, LXXII)

26. A Common Life- Jan Karon

27. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court – Mark Twain

28. The Conquest- Jude Deveraux

29. Conversations With Kennedy- Benjamin C. Bradlee

30. Convictions- Maureen McKade

31. Cross Country- James Patterson

32. A Cry in the Night- Mary Higgins Clark

33. The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown

34. The Dante Game – Jane Langston

35. The Dark Room- Minette Walters

36. Dealing with Dragons- Patricia Wrede

37. Dear John – Nicholas Sparks

38. The Death of Ivan Ilych – Leo Tolstoy

39. Death’s Mistress- Karen Chance

40. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red- Joyce Reardon

41. The Disobedient Daughter – Barbara Hazard

42. Dracula – Bram Stoker

43. Eat Pray Love – Elizabeth Gilbert

44. The Economic Origins of the French Revolution- Ralph W. Greenlaw

45. Eleven on Top – Janet Evanovich

46. Emma’s Secret – Barbara Taylor Bradford

47. The Enchanted Castle- E. Nesbit

48. Entombed- Linda Fairstein

49. Ethics- Aristotle

50. The Face of Fear – Dean Koontz

51. The Fairy’s Mistake- Gail Carson Levine

52. The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Anderson

53. The Falling Woman – Pat Murphy

54. Final Exam- Maggie Barbieri

55. Final Scream- Lisa Jackson

56. First Among Equals- Jeffrey Archer

57. The First Wives Club- Olivia Goldsmith

58. Five in a Row- Jan Coffey

59. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld- Patricia McKillip

60. Foul Play- Janet Evanovich

61. Four Past Midnight- Stephen King

62. Four to Score – Janet Evanovich

63. Foxfire Bride-Maggie Osborne

64. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

65. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café- Fannie Flagg

66. Full House – Janet Evanovich

67. Full Scoop – Janet Evanovich & Charlotte Hughes

68. German Enchantment- Brand, Christner, Griffin, and Martin

69. Get Shorty-Elmore Leonard

70. Getting’ Old Ain’t for Whimps-Karen O’Connor

71. A Girl Like Che Guevara – Teresa de la Caridad Doval

72. Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

73. The Grand Finale- Janet Evanovich

74. Great Book of Whodunit Puzzles- Falcon Travis

75. Green Rider- Kristen Britain

76.  Grimm’s Fairy Tales to Read Aloud

77. Hard Times – Charles Dickens

78. Harry Potter (#2)

79. Haunted Heartland – Beth Scott and Michael Norman

80. The Heart of a Woman – Maya Angelou

81. Hemlock Bat- Catherine Coulter

82. The Hero and the Crown- Robin McKinley

83. High Five- Janet Evanovich

84. Hocus Pocus- Kurt Vonnegut

85. The Hollow Kingdom- Clare B. Dunkle

86. Holy Bible

87. Honor Among Thieves- Jeffrey Archer

88. The Horse Girl- Constance Ash

89. The Horse Whisperer – Nicholas Evans

90. Hot Stuff- Carly Phillips

91. The House Next Door- Richie Tankersley Cusick

92. House of Four Seasons- Abigail McDaniels

93. The House of Seven Gables– Nathaniel Hawthorne

94. The House of Stairs- Ruth Rendell

95. How to Murder a Millionaire- Nancy Martin

96. The Hunt for Red October- Tom Clancy

97. I am the Only Running Footman – Martha Grimes

98. I’ll Be Seeing You- Mary Higgins Clark

99. Illegal Possession- Kay Hooper

0.    Into the Land of Unicorns – Bruce Coville

1.    An Introduction to Modern Philosophy – Alburey Castell

2.    Juniper – Monica Furlong

3.    Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton

4.    Just Take My Heart- Mary Higgins Clark

5.    Kill All the Lawyers- Paul Levine

6.    Kill Flash- T.J. MacGregor

7.    Knockout- Erica Orloff

8.    Ladies of the Night- John Westermann

9.    Ladies with Options – Cynthia Hartwick

10. The Lady Killer- Samantha Saxon

11. The Last Song – Nicholas Sparks

12. Last Whisper- Carlene Thompson

13. Lean Mean Thirteen- Janet Evanovich

14. Leviathan – Thomas Hobbes

15. Life is What Happens When You’re Making Other Plans – Teresa Bloomingdale

16. Light in August – William Faulkner

17. A Light in the Window – Jan Karon

18. Lone Stallion’s Lady- Lisa Jackson

19. The Magic World- E. Nesbit

20. Maia – Richard Adams

21. Manner of a Lady – Cilla Whitmore

22. Mara Daughter of the Nile- Eloise Jarvis McGraw

23. Miss Julia Hits the Road- Ann B. Ross

24. Mr. Popper’s Penguins – Richard and Florence Atwaters

25. A Moonlit Knight- Jocelyn Kelley

26. Murder in the CIA- Margaret Truman

27. Nancy Drew Files #57

28. Nancy Drew Hardy Boys Super Mystery: Mystery Train- Carolyn Keene

29. New Earth – Eckhart Tolle

30. The New Shoe – Arthur W. Upfield

31. Nine Scorpions- Paul Levine

32. Ninth Judgment-James Patterson

33. No Safe Place- Judy Fitzwater

34. North by Night- Katherine Ayres

35. North to the Rails – Louis L’amour

36. Not a Girl Detective – Susan Kandel

37. The Notebook – Nicholas Sparks

38. Notoriously Neat – Suzanne Price

39. The Octopus – Frank Norris

40. The Old Vengeful – Anthony Price

41. Open House- Elizabeth Berg

42. Out of Our Lives: A Selection of Contemporary Black Fiction – ed. Stadler

43. Out to Canaan – Jan Karon

44. The Outlaws of Sherwood – Robin McKinley

45. A Painted House- John Grisham

46. Paradise – Judith McNaught

47. Peachtree Road – Anne Rivers Siddons

48. Perfect Killer- Lewis Perdue

49. Poems to Enjoy-

50. Practical Magic-Alice Hoffman

51. Prey- Michael Crichton

52. Prophet: A Novel- Frank Peretti

53. Regency Star- Claudette Williams

54. The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen – Lloyd Alexander

55. Rising Phoenix- Kyle Mills

56. Running on Empty- Lynn Montana

57. Sail- James Patterson & Howard Roughan

58. Salt Daners – Ursula Hegi

59. The Salzburg Connection – Helen MacInnes

60. Samantha and the Cowboy- Lorraine Heath

61. The Screwtape Latters- C.S. Lewis

62. The Secret of the Ruby Ring – Yvonne MacGrory

63. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

64. Shameless = Jennifer Blake

65. Sleeping Beauty- Judith Michael

66. Snow – Tracy Lynn

67. Someone In the House – Barbara Michaels

68. Sophocles: The Complete Plays – translated Paul Roche

69. Spitfire – DeLoras Scott

70. Stealing Heaven- Madeline Hunter

71. Strange Bedpersons – Jennifer Cruise

72. Strip Tease- Carl Hiaasen

73. Suspicion of Innocence – Barbara Parker

74. Swampfire- Patricia Potter

75. Sweet Surrender- Catherine George

76. The Sweet Trade- Elizabeth Garrett

77. Tao Te Ching – Lao Tsu (trans. Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English)

78. Target of Opportunity- Michael Williamson

79. Ten Greek Plays – Ed. L.R. Lind

80. Texas Wildflower- Susan Wiggs

81. These High, Green Hills – Jan Karon

82. The Thorn Birds –Colleen McCullough

83. Three to Get Deadly – Janet Evanovich

84. The Time Traveler’s Wife –Audrey Niffenegger

85. To Tempt a Rogue- Connie Mason

86. To the Lighthouse- Virginia Woolf

87. To the Nines – Janet Evanovich

88. Trial and Error – Paul Levine

89. Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom

90. Twelve Sharp – Janet Evanovich

91. Twilight Saga- Stephanie Meyer (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn)

92. Twilight’s Child – V.C. Andrews

93. Two for the Dough – Janet Evanovich

94. Unicorns of Balinor (Books 1-8)

95. Up Island – Anne Rivers Siddons

96. The Valley of Horses- Jean M. Auel

97. Vendetta – Fern Michaels

98. The Villa – Nora Roberts

99. Virgin Bought and Paid For- Robyn Donald

0.    The Vision – Dean Koontz

1.    Vision in White – Nora Roberts

2.    Walking Rain – Susan Wade

3.    War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

4.    Web of Dreams – V.C. Andrews

5.    What Janie Found- Caroline B. Cooney

6.    Whitefire – Fern Michaels

7.    Wicked Business- Janet Evanovich

8.    Winds of Fate – Mercedes Lackey

9.    The Witch of Blackbird Pond- Elizabeth George Speare

10. Wise Child - Monica Furlong

11. Without a Trace- Lynn Erickson

12. Women Who Run With the Wolves – Clarissa Pinkola Estes

13. World History – Smith, Muzzey & Lloyd

14. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

15. The Year of Pleasures – Elizabeth Berg

Movies!

1.    101 Dalmatians Christmas

2.    An Affair to Remember

3.    Alice

4.    An American Tail

5.    Anaconda

6.    Annie Hall

7.    April in Paris

8.    Artists and Models

9.    Balto II

10. Beauty and the Beast – 1946-

11. Beethoven (1991)

12. Bend it Like Beckham

13. Benji: The Hunted

14. Bicentennial Man

15. Blade

16. Boy Meets Girl (1998)

17. Carousel

18. Casablanca (1942)

19. Cat Ballou

20. Center Stage

21. Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle

22. Chinatown

23. Cinderella (Disney)

24. Citizen Kane

25. Clueless

26. Confidence

27. Crazy Six

28. Dirty Dancing

29. Down to You

30. Dr. Suess’: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

31. Drop Dead Gorgeous

32. The Fifth Element

33. Fight Club

34. First Knight (1995)

35. Flashdance

36. For Richer or Poorer

37. Fried Green Tomatoes

38. Girls Just Want To Have Fun

39. The Graduate

40. Grumpier Old Men

41. Hanging Up

42. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

43. Heaven Can Wait

44. His Girl Friday

45. Hocus Pocus

46. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

47. Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte

48. I Confess

49. Independence Day

50. It’s a Wonderful Life

51. Jack Frost (1992)

52. Jailhouse Rock

53. The King and I

54. A Knight’s Tale

55. La Femme Nikita

56. Legally Blonde

57. The Little Drummer Boy (1993)

58. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

59. Love Happy

60. Loving You

61. The Maltese Falcon

62. M*A*S*H

63. Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part 1

64. The Mighty Ducks

65. Miss Congeniality

66. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

67. Mr. Smith goes to Washington

68. Murder at 1600

69. My Man Godfrey

70. Mysterious – Nora Roberts

71. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

72. Office Space

73. One Magic Christmas

74. Only Angels Have Wings

75. Our Town

76. Peter Pan (Disney)

77. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

78. Richie Rich

79. The Road to El Dorado

80. Samurai Jack (Cartoon Network)

81. Save the Last Dance

82. Saving Grace

83. Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders

84. Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island

85. The Shakiest Gun in the West

86. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs -1938- Disney

87. Some Like It Hot

88. Somewhere in Time

89. The Sound of Music

90. South Pacific (1958)

91. Space Jam

92. Stage Coach (1939) – John Wayne

93. Star Kid

94. Sunset Boulevard

95. Sweet Home Alabama

96. Ten Things I Hate About You

97. The Thin Red Line

98. Three Amigos

99. Tomb Raider (2001)

0.    Town and Country

1.    Trapped in Paradise

2.    A Visit from Santa

3.    What Women Want

4.    Wildcats

5.    Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-1971-

6.    Wind River

7.    The Wizard of Oz

8.    X-Men

9.    The Year that Trembled

Family Games

1.    Board Game kit (checkers, tic tac toe, chess, backgammon)

2.    Dominoes

3.    Life

4.    Mancala

5.    Password

6.    Playing cards (two decks)

7.    Rainy Days Activity Fun Set

8.    Taboo

9.    Yatzee

This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!! Fort Sill Hotels. Lawton OK Hotels. Elgin OK Hotels. Apache OK Hotels. Meers OK Hotels.