Green Country Living — Holiday Edition 2020

Holiday Edition 2020

I n s i de stori es

We look back at some of our favorite homes featured in previous editions Homeowner shares love of decorating for Christmas

MUSKOGEE muskogeephoenix.com

Masterworks put on display at Five Tribes Museum’s annual Master Artist Show Traditions evoke Victorian Christmases celebrated in turn-of-the-century home

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Holiday Edition 2020 Issue 57

Publisher Ed Choate Editor Elizabeth Ridenour

Contributing editor Angela Jackson Layout & Design Josh Cagle WRITERS Cathy Spaulding, Melony Carey, Heather Ezell, Keith Purtell, Donna Hales, E.I. Hillin, Mike Elswick PHOTOGRAPHERS Mandy Corbell, Cathy Spaulding, Ronn Rowland, Jerry Willis, Von Castor, Tony Corbell ADVERTISING Director Marci Diaz Apple ADVERTISING SALES Angela Jackson, Therese Lewis, Krysta Aich, Kris Hight Green Country Living is published by the Muskogee Phoenix. Contents of the magazine are by the Muskogee Phoenix. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of the Muskogee Phoenix. Green Country Living, P.O. Box 1968, Muskogee OK 74402. email eridenour@muskogeephoenix.com - Editorial: (918) 684-2929 Advertising and distribution: (918) 684-2804

O n th e C ov e r

Featured Homes

6 Lawley Owner packs tons of holiday cheer in one little house.

46 Deatherage Owner credits mother for 2017 Christmas decor inspiration.

Editor’s Choice

Inside

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56 Art of the Matter

Williams 2010 feature focuses on decorations of Wagoner cabin.

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Eaton Homeowner shares unique Santa-themed decorations.

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Randolph White theme on display on 2014 Christmas By Candlelight Tour.

Holiday Edition 2020

Steve and Regina Williams’ grandchildren play around the tree in one of the children’s guest rooms.

Five Civilized Tribes Museum celebrates Master Artists.

Photo by Jerry Willis

64 Cook’s Pantry

In s I de sto rIes

Family prepares a delicious meal in 1912 colonial revival.

We look back at some of our favorite homes featured in previous editions Homeowner shares love of decorating for Christmas

72 Wonderful Wine Hot drink recipes aim to see us through the chill of winter.

MUSKOGEE muskogeephoenix.com

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Holiday Edition 2020

Masterworks put on display at Five Tribes Museum’s annual Master Artist Show Traditions evoke Victorian Christmases celebrated in turn-of-the-century home

Green Country Living

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Fe at u r e d Hom e L aw l e y

Wreaths, garlands, trees and topiaries show holiday spirit at the Walker Lawley home.

Lawley also loves blow mold decorations.

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Decor galore Lawley loves decorating for ‘every’ holiday

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alker Lawley can pack tons of holiday cheer in one little house.

Fall features bouquets of mums surrounded by pumpkins outside. Ghosts, skeletons and jack-o-lanterns haunt the inside.

Visit in mid-March, the house brims with St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks. He

also shows spirit on Easter and Independence Day. “I do every holiday,” said Lawley, who has a decorating business and is manager at Erly Rush.

Obviously, Christmas is a huge thing at the Lawley house.

He said he starts decorating right after Halloween decor comes down.

By Cathy Spaulding • Photos by Mandy Corbell

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Fe at u r e d Hom e L aw l e y

Santa and a snowman seem to join Walker Lawley and his dogs in offering joyful greetings for Christmas.

“November first,” he said. “I just add stuff through all the Christmas season.”

He said he spends about a couple of hours a day over two weeks decorating.

“I add a touch here and there until Christmas,” he said.

“I’ve loved Christmas ever since I was little,” Lawley said. “It’s a happy time of the year, all the lights.”

He said his favorite part of Christmas involves buying gifts and being around family.

“I probably go to about four or five Christmases in two days,” he said.

Lawley said he entertained his mother and siblings the weekend before Christmas last year.

“We played Santa, exchanged gifts,” he said.

He said his mother was big on decorating for Christmas.

“So I just kind of picked up the decorating from her.

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Lawley’s table is decked out for a grand, but intimate, holiday feast.

A steadfast soldier guards a decorated table.

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Fe at u r e d Hom e L aw l e y

The living room is wall-to-wall Christmas featuring nutcrackers, snowmen, garlands and a grand tree.

Lawley said he’s decorated his home for five years, but only started “decorating big” a couple of years ago.

Christmas cheer stretches across the front of his house.

Wreaths hang outside bedroom and living room windows. The front door features a hand-painted banner proclaiming “Joy” with a wreath.

Round topiaries bear red ribbons.

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The front porch becomes a Christmas tree farm, featuring thin evergreens. The greenery surrounds a glowing blow mold Santa on one side of the porch and a snowman on the other. Large plastic ornaments hang from the porch ceiling.

One thing you won’t find outside are inflatables.

“I like the vintage, older stuff,” he said.

“There’s just more character to it.”

Inside the living room, an army of nutcrackers encamp on the mantel. Lawley said he has maybe 25 or 30 of them. Many come from Hobby Lobby or TJ Maxx.

Two waist-high nutcrackers guard the fireplace. Two more are on the living room Christmas tree.

Lawley counted five Christmas trees throughout the house, and those are just the big ones.

ABOVE: Even the oven and kitchen cabinets show holiday greetings.

DOWN: A nutcracker army guards a faux fireplace.

He said he especially loves vintage Christmas ornaments, “like the ShinyBrites and the vintage blow molds.”

The delicately hand-blown, frosted Shiny-Brites glisten on Lawley’s Christmas tree.

Fifteen or 20 blow molds can be found throughout the house. A lit snowman tips his hat by the tree. A Santa keeps warm inside. The front yard features more blow

molds, including the Santa, the snowman and a Nativity scene.

He also has several ceramic Christmas trees, the ones with tiny lights, atop various tables throughout the house. One is white, two are green.

Lawley said he finds many fine older decorations at area flea markets and antique boutiques. He said he likes to make monthly trips.

Not every decoration is vintage, however.

Banners he recently painted at Creative Soul studio hang throughout the house.

They include a snowman, a cowboy Santa and a lumberjack Santa.

Every room has a touch of the holiday spirit.

The kitchen has two Christmas trees.

One tree features white glass ornaments and red and green checked bows.

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Even the oven and kitchen cabinets show holiday greetings.

Blow mold decorations glow and white lights sparkle in front of Walker Lawley’s house at Christmas.

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A corner tree features decorations in glorious black and white.

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A smaller-scale Christmas tree and santa adorn this entry chest.

A rustic tree adds a soft glow to a corner.

He also has holiday kitchenware, including retro Santa head mugs, some Rae Dunn Merry Christmas mugs and a cookie jar just for gingerbread.

Lawley said he likes making Christmas candy, fudge and peppermint bark.

The kitchen table features a simple runner, a pair of sparkly red Christmas cones and a silvery reindeer. Red plaid cloth napkins, tucked in black and white rings, are on white plates.

A pair of hand-painted pines sit next to a bathroom sink.

A chalet nightlight from Bath and Body Works projects a tiny Christmas scene within.

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Lawley’s Christmas cheer goes beyond colors of red, green, silver and gold.

Handmade black, gray and white checked ornaments hang along with silver and white balls on one tree. A white horse figurine and an evergreen wreath have matching checked bows. A white pillow proclaims “farmhouse Christmas.”

Another Christmas tree is decked with twine bows and a white rope and topped with an old cowboy hat.

Lawley said he keeps the decor up until New Year’s Day. “And after this, it will be Valentine’s Day,” he said.

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Homes of

Christmas

past

Holiday gets better with age Christmas memories remain long after the trimmings are stored away, pine needles vacuumed and toys outgrown.

Joan Eaton, featured in 2010’s “Santa’s Workshop,” said she still puts up her one-ofa-kind Santas.

“One of my grandsons lives with me now and he says, ‘When are you putting these Santa Clauses up,’ and I say, ‘in a little while,’” Eaton said. “I’m ready now.”

The grandson is 23, she said.

Eaton said she now has about 15 specially-made Santas her daughter sent her each year, plus countless others.

“My daughter started sending them to me years ago, but I cut her off last year, saying ‘no more Santa Claus,’” she said. “I’ve got more Santas than I can shake a stick at.”

She said her family had always celebrated

Christmas at her house.

Eaton said she still plans to put up nearly all of her Christmas decorations this year, but not the big tree. She said she’ll have several smaller trees through the house.

She said her favorite Christmas memories indeed involve her family and home.

“Each year, we get bigger,” she said. “In 1980, we had a family picture made. In 1985 I did, and added more people.”

She said one photo had about 30 people.

Now, there are about 45 in the extended family.

They say they want to do it again when I turn 90,” she said. “I just turned 88.”

Also from 2010, Steve and Regina Williams still love Christmas at their cabin near Wagoner.

Their home was featured on the Wagoner

By Cathy Spaulding 16

Holiday Edition 2020

Homes Tour that year.

“I think it’s been about 10 years, and that year just about killed me, Regina Williams said, chuckling. She said she has fond memories of the tour, however.

She said she doesn’t plan to put up as much this year as she did then.

“The last two years, we’ve been doing Christmas at New Year’s,” she said. “We’ve got 11 grandkids. I don’t want to hog them all on Christmas, so I just say we’re going to do it on New Year’s.”

Williams said her favorite Christmas memories surround her grandchildren and being at home.

“I love the memories from when they were little,” she said. “I remember my oldest grandchild. He was shopping with his mom at Hobby Lobby and saw a big tree

Randolph

Williams Deatherage Eaton and he looked at his mom and said, ‘Mom! Grandma needs that tree.’ It was a great big tall one.”

She said she did get a big new tree and a few more outside decorations.

“My daughter and I just finished making a Christmas barn quilt,” she said. “It’s made out of wood, two foot square.”

One features four Christmas trees, the other features four Santas, she said.

She said her husband is recovering from COVID-19.

“And we’re so grateful,” she said.

Christmas is an ongoing, ever-changing tradition at the Lauren and Cody Deatherage home in Fort Gibson, profiled in 2017.

Lauren Deatherage said her two children — Evelyn, 6, and Luke, 4, “still expect Santa to bring stuff.”

“We still do family stuff Christmas Eve and then we wake up in the morning and, of course, Santa has come,” Deatherage said.

“So that’s the exciting part is seeing the kids come around the corner and seeing what Santa brought, opening presents and spending time with the kids.”

The family also tries to collect ornaments from places they visit or things they do through the year, she said.

“If the kids have done a special craft at school, I like to personalize our tree with stuff like that,” she said.

The family will have a new baby and a new house next Christmas, Deatherage said.

She said a third child is due in March.

“My husband is a homebuilder, so we’re building a home next to what we have now,” she said. “We want something we can grow

into as a family.”

Susan Randolph still keeps things merry and bright at her home, which was profiled in 2014. The house was known for white Christmas trees shining through the window.

She said she already began decorating earlier in November “because 2020 needs some Christmas cheer.”

Although Randolph said she loves to entertain, she doesn’t plan on entertaining this year.

“I love all the lights,” she said, adding that she decorates primarily in main rooms, “with a few nods to the holidays in guest areas.”

“We are still just continuing our same traditions,” Randolph said. “Family breakfast at my brother’s house, Christmas lights at Honor Heights.”

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce W i l l i a m s

Williams home 0 2010 Holiday Edition 0

‘Christmas at the Cabin’

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aying that Steve and Regina Williams of Wagoner live in a log house doesn’t do their home justice.

The two floors and 8,000 square feet have received careful attention

from the design and construction right up to the recent Christmas decorations.

Steve owns a plumbing contracting company that does business in Broken Arrow and Tulsa and he trains horses. He wanted the same

kind of rustic house his wife was dreaming of.

“I really didn’t have an architect,” he said. “I just had a floor plan. The guy that did the logs had built smaller log houses. We had to get some local guys and me to finish it.”

By Keith Purtell • Photos by Mandy Corbell 18

Holiday Edition 2020

A large Christmas tree stands in the center of the window wall of the great room in the Williams home.

The tree in the entryway to Steve and Regina Williams home includes ornaments painted with family member’s names.

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LEFT: Steve and Regina Williams’ home is rustic and elegant at the same time. Steve hunts, and a number of animals are mounted around the home, including this bear.

BELOW: Steve and Regina Williams’ grandchildren Samuel Williams, 5, right, Ross Williams, 4, and Abe Williams, 2, play around the tree in one of the children’s guest rooms.

It took three years, but the result is an interior that combines spacious areas with a cozy feeling. Wood is everywhere, from the open beams of the A-frame ceiling to the aspen furniture. Warm colors of brown, red and light forest green give the living spaces a visual theme.

Regina said the kitchen is one of her favorite rooms.

“I had to cry real tears to get my gas

to cry real tears “toI had get my gas range. ” — Regina Williams

range,” she said.

The problem was that there is no natural gas in their rural location, and Steve didn’t want a propane tank to spoil the beauty of their yard. The solution was to put the tank far from the house behind another structure.

Regina also had her heart set on a specific color for the cabinets.

“I used to sell Longaberger maple

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The massive stone fireplace in the Williams’ great room has two stones that jut out to support a massive mantle covered in floral arrangements.

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce W i l l i a m s

ABOVE: A play area upstairs is decorated with a variety of themed trees.

BELOW: Regina Williams decorated this tree in Longaberger baskets and items she collects.

Regina Williams had the cabinets in her kitchen built with wood stained “Longaberger red.”

baskets,” she said. “I wanted to use what I call ‘Longaberger red.’ I had the painters put samples trying to get that color right by staining different boards.

The ones we didn’t use are in the other rooms.”

She also got Steve to include a big pantry and a large family snack bar.

The house has a master bedroom and five other bedrooms for the children they raised and guests, each with

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a full bath. The bed in the master bedroom is made of rough-hewn aspen that has been worked to a glossy finish. A tall decorative ladder built from branches and leaning against the wall is draped with blankets featuring pictures of trees.

The living room features large-scale windows that allow light to stream inside and onto their huge stone fireplace.

“I call it the ‘great room,’” Regina

said. “It didn’t look this big when we started and had the tape measure out.”

The rocks were bought from a company in Arkansas that quarried them just over the border in Oklahoma.

Two of the stones jut out to support a massive mantle covered in floral arrangements.

“The mantle is Ponderosa pine,” Regina said. “We counted the rings, and it’s at least 120 years old.”

COUNTER CLOCKWISE: The “man-cave” includes a tree with arrows for a topper.

Steve and Regina Williams’ bed in the master bedroom is made of roughhewn aspen and mounted on a raised platform.

A naturethemed seasonal display in the entryway fits the feel of the Williams’ log home.

There are also numerous Christmas trees around the house, large and small.

Regina said she always does a lot of decorating for the holiday, but this year she’s also getting reading for the Wagoner Rose Garden Christmas Home Tour held Nov. 21.

“I’ve always gone overboard,” she said. “The trees have themes. The one in the bedroom has birds on it. I’ve used antique ornaments on the silver tree. I

not fancy people.

“It’sWe’re ” hard to be fancy when you’re a plumber. ” — Steve Williams

did a Santa Claus tree, and a kid’s tree with toys on it. I have one tree that is going to be nothing but icicles. The

kitchen tree will have utensils on it like cookie cutters.”

Regina made a theme Christmas tree for Steve as well. It’s covered in animal ornaments and has arrows sticking out in honor of his love of bow hunting.

It’s located in what she calls the “man cave” next to the living room.

Steve pointed to the numerous animal heads mounted on the wall.

“Most of them are elk,” he said.

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Steve and Regina Williams included a great room with a large wall of windows and a lot of open space when they built their dream home.

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The back wall of the large fireplace, facing the kitchen, includes a platform holding a wood stove, and a tree decorated with kitchen items.

“There’s deer and some African animals.”

The Williams said they are expecting a big Christmas this year. Regina said all four children are planning to be there with their families.

“We have seven grandchildren,” she said. “Christmas morning we pull the coffee table out from the three sofas so the kids can open their gifts. It’s a mess.

The wrapping paper gets knee deep.

You can hardly see the kids.”

Although their home is large and well decorated, Steve said both he and Regina stuck to the rustic theme because it reflects their personalities.

“We’re not fancy people,” he said.

“It’s hard to be fancy when you’re a plumber.”

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce E a t o n

Eaton home 0 2010 Holiday Edition 0

Santa and his reindeer take center stage on the coffee table in Joan Eaton’s living room.

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‘Santa’s Workshop’

antas abide in every nook and cranny of Joan Eaton’s home in the Kingsbury Addition at Christmas.

She loves to display all her Christmas treasures, many of

which are 50 to 80 years old, gifted or handed down to her by loved ones.

Some of the lights on her tall Christmas tree “are from when I was a little girl,” she said.

The icicles on the tree have been

in her family for 70 years. And she has the original boxes most of the decorations came in.

We’re talking tradition here.

Most of the Santas that Eaton so treasures represent more than a bit of family history.

By Donna Hales • Photos by Mandy Corbell 26

Holiday Edition 2020

A Santa ornament made by the same artist that crafted many of the Santas in Joan’s home hangs from the Christmas tree.

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Some Santas are one of a kind that her daughter, Kathy Straub of Great Bend, Kan., commissioned an artisan there to fashion for her mother. The artisan also supplies stores in Dallas with her elite Santa creations.

One Santa’s attire is made from one of Eaton’s favorite dresses that she wore in the 1950s. Another is dressed in splendor — from Eaton’s favorite coat of all time that sports fur cuffs.

Some Santas sit in wreaths, on ledges and antique tables. One stands.

Everything about them is unique — to their hand-sculpted faces.

“I’ll get another one on Thanksgiving,” Eaton said, beaming.

She can’t wait and wonders if it will be sitting or standing, decked out in one of her favorite garments or showing off a Santa suit she could never even have

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Another of the handmade Santa’s adorns the mantle over the fireplace, wearing a jacket fashioned from one of Joan’s coats.

Joan Eaton sits in the living area, backed by a beautifully decorated Christmas tree that stands in the corner.

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The dining room table is set with Christmas dishes and glassware, ready for guests.

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce E a t o n

Figurines and Santas fill every corner of Joan Eaton’s living room.

dreamed of.

Also nestled among her favorite antiques — ceramic Santas her son Kenny started giving her in 1990. They, too, are on the exquisite side and considered treasures. One totes a gold bag.

Christmas is the big, special event of the year at the Eaton home.

“It’s always been that way — Orville loved Christmas,” she said of her husband of almost 60 years, who died Oct. 6, 2009.

“He’d watch me decorate.”

Her dining table is embellished with huge, lightly-tinged, green goblets her

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kids say are too big to drink from. Smaller crystal glassware sits next to them.

“I have Christmas dishes for 30 people,” Eaton said, blushing.

Angel napkin holders on the table will be stuffed with candy and nuts for Christmas, she said.

Turkey and dressing and the standard fare will be served, along with a special green salad, a broccoli casserole and broccoli salad.

“I make both of them (broccoli dishes) because they (kids and grandkids) all think they have to have it,” she said, smiling.

“And they have to have noodles.”

Behind the table sits a sideboard awash in crystal and glass.

A huge, cut crystal snowflake dangles between the entry and the living room.

She loves it so much it stays there all year.

And in the corner of the dining room, Orville’s Aunt Nora Hughes’ aged Singer sewing machine sits in splendor.

A package of buttons with the 5-cent price tag and in their original sack peep out of one of the sewing machine drawers.

Beside the Singer stands an antique

Aunt Nora’s antique Singer sewing machine is displayed in a corner of the dining room.

wooden sewing box that belonged to Hughes.

An antique crocheted flag is ensconced in a glass frame with a dark red backing on an entry wall. It says it’s a flag to “keep me flying, fight for me, work for me.” It was Aunt Nora’s flag and the Eatons salvaged it and dolled it up elegantly.

Close by, a snowman doffs his hat as he stands on a lawn of snow.

And amidst all the Santas in the living room, an at least 40-year-old nativity scene nestles on an antiquated library table.

“Jim (her son) hand painted the manger,” she said.

He’s also put ornaments on the tree.

Her daughter made and added a huge camel 30 years ago.

Shelves along one wall in the living room are chockfull of Christmas memories. She puts up a farmhouse scene and village on the shelves every year.

And seemingly out of nowhere is Santa in a sleigh being flown through the air by his reindeer. The display is 50 years old, Eaton said.

On a snow-laden coffee table is another

Santa with his reindeer.

Eaton said she hasn’t purchased any new festive decorations. She just displays her most favorite things to create a Christmas wonderland.

“This is what I do every year — and I’m getting too old to do it,” she said.

But she was looking mischievous when she said it, as if she planned to do it again and again.

“Jimmy will have Thanksgiving this year because Mom’s house has to be ready for the Christmas Home Tour on Dec. 4,” Eaton said.

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ABOVE: A whimsical Santa, handcrafted and clothed in a cloak made of a favorite dress of Joan’s, sits on a ledge near the entry.

RIGHT: A cozy fire warms the hall bathroom complete with its own tree and Santa.

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Shop Fort Gibson First

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce R a n d o l p h

Randolph home 0 2014 Holiday Edition 0

Evenly spaced trees glow from each front window of Susan Randolph’s home.

‘White contemporary Christmas’

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palette of all white is the holiday decor theme for Susan Randolph’s home.

To prepare the house for the Christmas By Candlelight Tour, she enlisted the help of Ann Davis

Design.

“It’s a white contemporary Christmas,” Davis said. “We had to think outside the box.”

From Club View Drive you can see the soft glow of the home with five white Christmas trees lining the

dining room.

A chandelier with custommade antique blue and aqua crystals catches your eye as you enter the house. Under your feet, a white shag rug covers the pine wood floors, offering a warm welcome.

By E.I. Hillin • Photos by Jerry Willis 36

Holiday Edition 2020

Tulsa artist Chris Mantle created the painting that hangs above the fireplace on the screened back porch. The painting was commissioned for the tour.

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce R a n d o l p h

Susan Randolph chose an all-white palette to decorate her home for the Christmas by Candlelight Tour.

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The sleek, clean decor of the modern kitchen is in keeping with the theme.

Built in 2005, the home includes three bedrooms, three and a half baths, a large dining room that opens into a modern kitchen with a wood-covered island, and a closed-in back porch.

John Brooks Walton was the architect for the home.

Randolph said the house was built with the intention of giving an island vibe, inspired by West Indies architecture.

Randolph’s love for scubadiving can be detected in simple details in every room. Coral reef and seashells are on display throughout the home.

A table completely covered in a variety of different types of shells is Randolph’s favorite piece of furniture.

She said it was a gift from her parents, created by renowned Tulsa interior designer Charles Faudree before he died.

Randolph said she wanted to have a window view in every room, and that element was beautifully achieved.

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce R a n d o l p h

ABOVE: A roaring fire and a forest of candles add warmth to the seating area.

RIGHT: White decorations cover vases and furniture.

White holiday wreaths cover glass side tables.

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A baby grand piano holds sway in the corner of the dining area of the main room.

ABOVE: A collection of candy canes adds a splash of color to a set of shelves in the kitchen.

RIGHT: A bowl full of crystal globes sits atop a table covered with sea shells. The table is Susan Randolph’s favorite piece of furniture.

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce R a n d o l p h

Susan Randolph decorates her outside porch area with the same theme that can be found throughout the home.

“You can’t have an ocean home in Oklahoma,” she said. “I wanted something that felt like outdoor living on the islands.”

From the dining room guests can look through the front windows to view the Country Club Golf Course. Turn around, and the view changes to a crystal clear swimming pool and small pond in the backyard.

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The white holiday theme is extended from the dining room into the kitchen and back porch.

White decorations cover vases and furniture. White holiday wreaths cover glass side tables.

“It’s everything needed to look like a snowflake,” Davis said.

Artwork hangs throughout the house

by Randolph’s friend, Tulsa artist, Chris

Mantle. A reindeer painting done especially for the tour hangs over the fireplace in the back porch area.

“This is where the fun happens,” Randolph said.

Randolph said while inviting guests into her home is fun, the main reason she decided to be listed on the tour was to benefit the Kelly B. Todd Cerebral Palsy and Neuro-muscular Center.

Susan Randolph’s living room shimmers with Christmas lights seen from the deck around her pool.

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce D e a t h e r a g e

Deatherage Home 0 2017 Holiday Edition 0

The Deatherage home in Dawson Ridge, east of Fort Gibson, features interesting architectural details inside and out.

‘Kitchen focus’

A

focus on the kitchen was a priority for Lauren and Cody Deatherage when they started planning their Dawson Ridge development residence east of Fort Gibson.

Now that the couple and their growing family have been in the home more than two years, that planning and attention to detail is paying off.

The fact Cody is a custom builder helped ensure the kitchen

and every other detail of the 3,400-square-foot home was just what the couple wanted. With two children, a daughter, 3, and a 1-year-old son, preparing and serving meals is an important part of their lives.

By Mike Elswick • Photos by Mandy Corbell 46

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce D e a t h e r a g e “I’m a kitchen person,” Lauren said. “I wanted a nice stove, a big island and wanted to be able to pick the countertop.”

The couple chose quartzite for the island work and serving space. Cody said the material is more durable than other types of stone while having the solid, easy-to-maintain and functional capabilities of many other types of counter material.

The kitchen features a 60-inch commercial-grade six-burner DCS range and oven by Fisher & Paykel with a grill on the side. Built into the back of the stainless vent hood is an infrared heat lamp and rack to keep dishes hot while the finishing touches are put on a meal.

An oversized sink built into the island work space makes cleaning up pots and pans a more manageable task than trying to maneuver them in a smaller cleaning area, Cody said.

Both Cody and Lauren said they enjoy cooking and spending time in the kitchen.

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Lauren and Cody Deatherage, seen with their two children, like the open floor plan of the main living area of their Fort Gibson area home where the living room, kitchen and dining room all merge in an attractive but functional space.

A backyard playhouse brings a smile to daughter Evelyn’s face while brother Luke and the family dog look on.

Even the covered patio of the Deatherage residence gets decked out with holiday cheer during Christmas as a centerpiece, snow sled and “Merry Christmas” banner provide decorating accents.

“We do a lot of cooking,” Lauren said.

Among the family’s favorite recipes are Lauren’s rosemary lamb and chicken tetrazzini.

“The kitchen really is my favorite part of the home,” she said.

When Cody takes over the kitchen and the grill, usually for breakfast, he turns out a “killer fried egg,” she said.

A large walk-in pantry also contains a coffee bar and space for a mixer with

workspace, in addition to providing plenty of storage for non-perishable foods.

The open floor plan for the living, dining and kitchen offers ample opportunity to visit while cooking, setting a table, entertaining or watching television.

Cody said among his priorities in planning the home was for ample garage storage with the convenience of being able to walk out to his shop

workspace without having to go to a detached building. The four-car garage and heated shop area meet that criteria.

Coming off the garage entry into the home is a guest bath and mud room with space for hanging coats, storing school backpacks and shoes that may need to be removed before entering the main living areas.

Also a priority for Cody was an outdoor living area he and the family could enjoy in their leisure time.

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce D e a t h e r a g e

The kitchen island has ample space for holiday decorating touches.

“The big patio area with a fireplace and TV was what I wanted,” he said.

The finished product includes those amenities along with ample casual seating, a stained concrete floor, an outdoor ceiling fan to keep air circulating and a large hammock.

As far as design and architectural details inside the home, Cody wanted to include a barrel ceiling.

In the finished product, the entryway foyer has a mini-barrel ceiling while the

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living room’s 14-foot tall barrel ceiling runs the length of the room with recessed LED strip lighting. The colors of the lighting can be changed to fit the desired mood and can be faded in or out.

“And if we want, we can even make them strobe,” Cody said.

The recessed lighting most often comes into play for use as night lighting, he said.

The home consists of four bedrooms,

three-and-a-half baths with a children’s playroom, a small sunroom off the kitchen and dining room with a bonus room upstairs. As the backdrop for the furnishings, artwork and decor, Lauren selected light gray walls accented with white trim.

“I like the clean, sleek look of the light gray and white,” she said.

For the holidays, a large tree sits in the corner of the living room with Christmas decor accenting many other

Lauren said her mother serves as a lot of the inspiration for decorating during the holidays.

ABOVE: Each of the Deatherage children have Christmas trees in their rooms.

LEFT: The newest addition to the Deatherage household, 1-year-old Luke, has a room complete with a Christmas tree.

areas of the home from dining table and kitchen island to pillows on the couch extending the seasonal theme.

“My mother serves as inspiration for all the Christmas decorating,” Lauren said. “Probably more than half of our decorations are from his mom and my mom.”

The home has four Christmas trees.

In addition to the main one in the living room, there is a second one in the sunroom with one in each of the children’s

rooms.

Lauren’s mother, Rebecca Harris, has been involved in participating in holiday home tours in Fort Gibson over the years. For the Christmas season, a seasonal decorating touch can be seen throughout the main living areas.

Festive red plate chargers offset the holiday china pattern and crystal vase filled with ornaments on the dining table.

From dish towels with a Christmas

message on the oven door to arrangements on the kitchen island, dining table, fireplace mantle and dining room sideboard, the holiday touch is evident.

Even the patio area carries a “Merry Christmas” banner on the fireplace with greenery and a snow sled decked out with a holiday wreath — just waiting for a good snowfall.

The children have their separate bathroom, and a guest bedroom also features a private bath.

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When planning their home, Lauren and Cody Deatherage said a priority was the functional but attractive kitchen where a lot of family time is spent.

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ABOVE: A sunroom off the kitchen continues the Christmas holiday theme with a separate tree and other holiday touches.

LEFT: In decorating, Lauren Deatherage said she favors a clean, uncluttered and sleek look, which is a theme she carries out with holiday decorative touches.

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E d i t o r ’ s C h o i ce D e a t h e r a g e Bright red chargers set off the Christmas china, holiday runner and colorful centerpiece on the Deatherage dining table.

The master bedroom suite features separate his and her closets, a beamed ceiling a with a double-stack crown molding accenting the light gray walls. The master bath features his and her matching sinks, a large 6-foot garden tub and separate walkin shower.

The custom built home sits on a 2.4-acre lot that extends halfway through a pond separating the Deatherage’s property from the adjacent 2.6-acre lot next door to the west. Cody has built several homes in the Dawson Ridge development, and lots are available for more home construction.

Behind-the-scene amenities include encapsulated foam on the attic ceiling with plenty of blown-in insulation helping to minimize utility bills. A tankless water heating system provides a neverending stream of hot water, Cody said.

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Summer and fall golf packages available. We are open and will be here waiting for you.

Visit rtjgolf.com.

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A r t o f T h e M a tt e r

‘Best of the best’ Five Civilized Tribes Museum celebrates Master Artists

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o much diversity can be found at Five Civilized Tribes Museum’s annual Master Artist Show.

An acrylic painting, “The Gathering,” shows a woman in traditional ribbon skirt picking berries and putting them in a basket. The painting shows details of the basket’s weave, the berries’

drupelets, even the floral patterns on the woman’s skirt.

Another acrylic, “Statue of Unequality,” offers a poignant commentary on what American equality has meant for Native Americans.

“Grandmother” features beadwork and painted clay heads adorning a large gourd.

By Cathy Spaulding • Photos by Tony Corbell

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Five Civilized Tribes Museum’s gallery features art and artifacts from its permanent collection, as well as monthly exhibits, such as the Master Artist Show.

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“Why the Buzzard’s Head is Bare” shows intricate sculpting and clay work inside a deer antler.

Those four alone came from one artist, 2009 Master Artist Anita Caldwell Jackson of Grand Saline, Texas.

This year’s 47th annual Master Artist Show, which runs through Nov. 30, features 30 pieces from 12 Master Artists. Each artist belongs to one of the Five Civilized Tribes — Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw and Seminole.

“These are the best of the best,” said museum Executive Director Sean Barney.

“These artists cannot compete in any other shows.”

He said this year’s show includes sculpture, beadwork, antler carving, charcoal, scrimshaw, finger weaving and shell work.

Painting includes watercolor, acrylic, oil and gouache. Barney said gouache is an acrylic and oil mixture.

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Five Civilized Tribes Museum’s gallery features art and artifacts from its permanent collection, as well as monthly exhibits, such as the Master Artist Show.

Dana Tiger’s acrylic “Vlileckv” In the Beginning, uses bright color to tell a story.

ABOVE: Gwen Coleman Lester used charcoal and paper for “Buffalo Valley.”

The Master Artist Show features works in yarn and mother of pearl, as well as paintings.

LEFT: The Master Artist Show features paintings in various genres.

TOP: Gary Montgomery’s untitled oil painting portrays warriors of the past surrounding soldiers of today.

RIGHT: Jerome Tiger’s “Stickballer” is on permanent display at the museum.

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“The Gatherer,” earned the Joan Hill Best in Show award.

“Basically, it’s what best describes the mission statement of the museum,” Barney said.

This is the first year the Best in Show award is named for the late Muskogee artist Joan Hill, who was of Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek) lineage. She died in June at the age of 89.

“She was our first female Master Artist,” Barney said.

The museum named Hill a Master Artist in 1973. Through the years, she served as a mentor, leader and friend to the museum. A student of the famed Dick West, Hill became known for her stylized acrylic paintings of historical and cultural scenes.

“Her paintings hang in the Smithsonian and Buckingham Palace,” Barney said.

The show’s 2020 Indian Heritage award went to “Someone’s Coming (Friend or Foe),” McAlester artist Skip Rowell’s oil painting of an armed hunter watching from a fallen tree.

“The interesting thing about Skip Rowell is that he isn’t known for paintings,” Barney said. “He’s more known for scrimshaw.”

Rowell, a 2001 Master Artist, also has two scrimshaw works in this year’s show, “Ancestors” and “First Place Chicken with a Second Place Ribbon.” Both are carved in mammoth ivory.

Several artists, like Jackson and Rowell, have works of different types in the show.

“One thing that we learned was that during the shutdown, artists had a little bit more time, so they experimented on things maybe they wanted to do,” he said.

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TOP: Anita Caldwell Jackson’s “The Gatherer” won the Joan Hill Best in Show Award.

Anita Caldwell Jackson questions how liberty is applied in her painting “Statue of Unequality.”

BELOW: Jackson carved a deer antler for her piece “Why the Buzzard’s Head is Bare.”

Skip Rowell won an Indian Heritage Award with his “Someone’s Coming (Friend or Foe).”

RIGHT: Skip Rowell carved “Ancestors” on mammoth ivory.

BELOW: Scrimshaw and yarn art are displayed alongside paintings.

Raccoons go on the prowl in Jon Mark Tiger’s “Moon Dance.”

Barney pointed out a charcoal on paper work, “Buffalo Valley,” done by Gwen Coleman Lester, a 2007 Master Artist from Claremore.

“She doesn’t do that much charcoal,” Barney said. “And if you talk to her, it’s not one of her favorites. But it’s one of those things that the more you do, the better you get at it.”

Lester’s charcoal work is next to her colorful acrylic, “Girl Power,” of a modern girl playing stickball.

Jon Mark Tiger’s acrylic “Moondance,” and Sandy Fife Wilson’s shell carving, “Ceto Mekko - Rattlesnake,” won the show’s “Spirit of Oklahoma” awards. Tiger is a 2012 Master artist from Eufaula. Wilson is a 2017 Master Artist from Morris.

Several works tell stories.

For example, “Chickasaw, Choctaw, Brothers,” by 2007 Master Artist Norma Howard from Stigler, tells of twins, Barney said.

“One went north, one went south,” Barney said. “In her story, they came together as brothers.”

An untitled oil painting by 1983 Master Artist Gary Montgomery shows three modern soldiers backed by spirits of bygone warriors.

About her acrylic painting, “Red Trail Road,” 2009 Master Artist Jeanne Rorex Bridges of Oktaha describes a Cherokee family following “what they trust is the Red Road.”

“For protection, for health, for love of each other and for love of God — the right path of life,” she said in a note by the painting.

All works are for sale, Barney said.

Anita Caldwell Jackson uses a gourd, clay beads and acrylic paint for her “Grandmother.”

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Guide To Area Restaurants

On The Menu

On TheMenu Guide To Area Restaurants

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Food & Drink Cook’s Pantry

Reliving Christmas Past in the

Silk Stocking District

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oliday trasoul,” purchased the 1912 ditions colonial revival with her evoke first husband in 1987 and memories has been renovating it ever of Victorian Christmases since. “This house has spent around a cozy been a family affair,” fireplace while the Goodale says. “My matrons of the fam- The Cook’s Pantry dad’s patience and ily prepare a delicious skills brought my ideas Melony Carey meal. At Bruce and to reality, regardless of Laurie Goodales’ turn-of-the-century how much work and time it took. home in Founders’ Place Historic When I married Bruce in 2010 it District the charming atmosphere just seemed natural that we stay here, evokes those bygone days infused and have worked the past decade to with today’s modern conveniences truly make it our own home. We and customs. complement each other in both Laurie, a self-described “old being do-it-your-selfers.”

Photos by Von Castor

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The spirit of an old-fashioned Christmas permeates the Goodale’s dining room with furniture and china inherited from Laurie’s great-aunt.

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The Goodales toast the holidays with friends Roger and Carla Lovelady.

That do-it-yourself attitude extends to Goodale’s creative side. Currently, the Goodales own PAINT by Laurie Goodale, offering interior painting, wallpapering, staging and other design services.

Laurie, who has a degree in marketing, has a keen design sense that she brings to all aspects of her life. That creativity extends to her approach to cooking, as well. A favorite pastime for the Goodales is preparing meals together and trying new recipes.

Part of Laurie’s approach to cooking has been influenced by her great aunt,

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Mrs. O.J. Putner, known as Blah to the family. Goodale inherited her aunt’s china and dining room furniture, both of which are 100 years old. “Blah used this china for Christmas dinners at her home when I was a child,” Laurie remembers. ”This is the first time that they have been used since long before her death at age 94 in 1993.”

Goodale is also quick to credit her paternal grandmother and mother for holiday inspiration. “My grandmother made everything from scratch, and I have to hand it to my mom - I have

fond memories of Christmases with iced sugar cookies,” she says. “And Bruce is an excellent cook. Cooking adventures with him have made some of our best memories.”

The Goodales enjoy dining at friends’ homes and work hard to extend the same conviviality at their house. “I want everyone to feel welcome and included in my home, my sanctuary,” says Laurie. “Good people, good food, good wine and lots of laughter!” Here are Cajun-themed recipes from a shared dinner with friends, Roger and Carla Lovelady.

Laurie and Bruce Goodale work on okra gumbo together. The okra was grown in their garden.

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Food & Drink Cook’s Pantry

TOP LEFT: Stuffing among side items served at Bruce and Laurie Goodale’s dinner party.

TOP RIGHT: Cranberry salsa adds a sparkling crunch to Cornish game hens.

RIGHT: Mashed potatoes with bacon are a delicious and creamy side dish for holiday meals

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LEFT: A bowl of okra gumbo serves as the first course to a delicious meal.

BELOW: Cornish game hens seasoned with Cajun spices and lemon make with a mustard glaze make for an elegant main course.

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The Goodales own festive nutcracker soldiers, which can be seen here behind the side dishes.

Goodale Okra Gumbo Made with the last remaining okra from the Goodales’ garden, this recipe is based on Greenbow County Okra Gumbo found in the Bubba Gump Shrimp Cookbook. Laurie says the secret is in the roux.

1 lb. fresh okra, sliced 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 bunch green onions, sliced 1/2 cup celery, chopped 2 cloves garlic 2 quarts water

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1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 bay leaf 1 lb. peeled large shrimp 1 container cooked fresh crabmeat Cooked rice for serving

Cook okra in 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet on medium heat until lightly browned. Drain and set aside. Place remaining 1/4 cup butter and flour in a large Dutch oven and cook over medium

heat stirring constantly until roux is a dark brown, about 20 minutes. (Oil will smoke; make sure you stir continuously.)

Add green onions, celery and garlic, cooking until softened. Add okra back to pot with water and net six ingredients. Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 2 hours. Add shrimp and crabmeat and continue simmering another 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve over rice. Can also use chicken or smoked sausage, as desired.

Cajun-Style Cornish Game Hens

2 Cornish hens, 1/2 per person

To plate the Cornish hens, cut each in half and serve with cranberry salsa and traditional sides.

4 tablespoons butter, softened 1 or 2 lemons Italian seasoning to taste 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Cajun seasoning, such as Tony Chachere Salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 tablespoons stone ground mustard 2 tablespoons honey

Defrost hens according to package directions. Rinse inside and out; pat dry. Rub outside of hens with butter, as well as putting butter under the breast skin. Drizzle inside and out with lemon

juice. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, Cajun spice, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Place some seasonings under breast skin and inside cavity.

Drizzle again with lemon juice. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes until tender and leg joint wiggles freely, with juices running clear. Mix mustard and honey together. Baste hens with mixture and continue baking 10 more minutes until browned. Cut hens in half or leave whole and serve warm.

Cranberry Salsa

1/2 cup orange juice 1/4 English cucumber, diced small 1/2 red onion, diced small 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 lime 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon salt

Soak cranberries in orange juice for 30 minutes. Combine with remaining ingredients. Chill until ready to use.

Source: Southern Living Christmas Cookbook 2008.

1 cup dried cranberries

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Food & Drink Wonderful Wine

Warm drinks for cold nights

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s a child, when- something, really anything that ever I became brings us feelings of peace, ill, my love and safety. As the mother cold weather settles in would always make around us, cozy up in a me hot tea to relieve blanket or next to a fire whatever ailed me. To with a drink that infuses this day there is somesuch emotions. From thing about a hot the imbibers to the drink that brings tee totalers, for the me great comfort Wonderful Wine young and old alike, and reminds me of there are numerous Heather Ezell being enveloped in hot drinks to see us a loving embrace. through the chill of the winter.

After the year we have expe- Coffee and tea might come to rienced, I would imagine the mind first, but there are other vast majority of us could use alternatives.

Photos by Heather Ezell

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Hot toddies, glühwein, cider, hot chocolate, even Horlicks — that I was just recently introduced to — are all substitutes to the aforementioned coffee or tea. Beginning each day, I depend on coffee to help get both eyes open and the rest of me up and going. I wish I could sip on it throughout the day and evening as some do, but caffeine and I don’t have that kind of relationship; if I am to enjoy a cup later in the day, I have to switch to decaf. This is mentioned because there are some truly tasty tipples which use coffee as the base. Italian, French, Irish and Mexican coffees, all have something stronger in addition to the coffee which yields a yummy libation. IF you have the same nighttime aversion to caffeine as I do, decaf is the answer. Hot chocolate evokes happy remembrances of childhood.

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Glühwein makes you glow.

A good book and hot buttered rum

Hot toddy

2 oz. Whiskey (rum or brandy can be substituted) 1 tsp. honey or sugar Lemon wedge

Place choice of liquor along with honey or sugar in heatproof glass, fill with boiling water. Squeeze lemon into drink and stir.

Hot apple cider

2 oz. Whiskey or apple brandy 1 tsp. honey or sugar Hot apple cider

Stir honey or sugar into whiskey or apple brandy and cover with hot apple cider. Garnish with lemon slice, cinnamon and/or cloves. For a non-alcoholic version.

GlĂźhwein

5 oz. red wine 1 cinnamon stick broken into pieces 2 whole cloves 1 tsp. honey

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, heat gently without boiling, strain into mug, garnish with orange wheel.

Irish Cow

4 oz. Irish cream 4 oz. Milk

Warm together in a saucepan on low heat, pour in tempered glass and top with grated nutmeg if desired.

Snuggler

2 oz. peppermint schnapps 8 oz. hot chocolate Whipped cream

Chocolate sprinkles or shaved chocolate Add peppermint schnapps to hot chocolate, finish with whipped cream along with shaved chocolate or sprinkles

French/Italian coffee

1 oz. Grand Marnier/1 oz. Amaretto 1 cup hot coffee Whipped cream

Gently heat either Grand Marnier (for French version) or Amaretto (for Italian), add coffee, stir well and finish with whipped cream on top.

Irish coffee

1 tsp brown sugar 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey 1 cup hot coffee Whipped cream

Put the sugar in the cup, pour the whiskey over it and gently heat this mixture but do not allow it to get too hot. Add the hot coffee, stir well. Top with whipped cream.

Hot buttered rum

2 sugar cubes 1 1/4 oz. dark rum Boiling water Butter Cinnamon stick

Put the sugar cubes in a mug, add the rum and top with boiling water. Dot the surface with butter and stir with cinnamon stick.

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Hot toddy cures what ails you.

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With the addition of spirits, amped up (grown-up) versions are sure to create new and equally cheerful memories. For me, one less desirable recollection of my youth was my first encounter with the hot toddy. My grandfather stirred one up and swore it would clear up an awful congestion. After ingesting it, I clearly remember thinking it was the devil and I might die. The toddy was neither the devil nor did I die, plus it worked. These days I swear by it if I am experiencing the same symptoms and like magic, it clears me up. (Now the taste is enjoyable, so I often have one, “just because,” seemingly it will raise your temperature!)

A less well-known potent potable is glühwein, which is quite popular in German-speaking countries around Christmastime. In German, glühen, translates to “glow,” which points to the color it brings to your cheeks after imbibing. Typically, it is made with red wine and mulling

spices so it is sometimes also referred to as “mulled wine.” As a wine “purist” (but not a snob, mind you) I must admit I was skeptical about glühwein, but it really IS good and certainly does bring a glow to your cheeks and all over to be certain.

If non-alcoholic refreshment is best for you, warmed cider is wonderful as is tea, which is ancient and varied. Tea has been consumed for thousands of years. Yes, thousands!

There’s green, oolong and black.

Some have caffeine, others do not.

Throughout the world, tea is consumed, shared, has healing properties and evokes the same feelings my mother instilled in me; love, comfort, safety and the perception that everything is going to be all right.

As you can gather, there are a multitude of choices to keep us toasty and keep the chill at bay. Cold nights call for a good book or movie and a heated beverage to soothe our souls and wrap us in a virtual hug.

Take care. Be well. Cheers!

Santa’s

Little Helpers

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Scene & Be Seen

Annual Walk in her Shoes event Community helped Women In Safe Home (WISH) shine light on domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Photos by Cathy Spaulding

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Scene & Be Seen

Hilldale Homecoming Hilldale students represent different clubs and organizations in the school gather on Hornet stadium for a coronation ceremony.

Photos by Cathy Spaulding

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Fort Gibson Homecoming Fort Gibson celebrated homecoming with a procession around the stadium track instead of it's usual parade downtown.

Photos by Cathy Spaulding

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Scene & Be Seen

Muskogee Homecoming Homecoming royalty crowned themselves during a pandemic-modified ceremony.

Photos by Cathy Spaulding

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