The Tompkins Chronicles

Abstract-Reading Geek

2008-11-21T16:38:00.006-06:00

In case you didn't already know... I'm a total geek. Last week I went to the title company and checked out our own Abstract of Title - just to read it.

Yes, I have plenty of books to read, but I actually wanted to read the abstract of our house.

It was quite interesting because not only was it full of deeds and mortgages, but also divorces, court cases and a bit of history from everyone who owned the land since 1917, and the house since 1950.

On December 2, 1936, the brother and sister that inherited the land had it surveyed into lots, blocks and streets. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read "No lot of lots as shown on this original plat of Buena Vista Place shall ever be conveyed, leased or given to, and no building erected thereon shall be used, owned or occupied by any person not of the Caucasian Race." Holy cow - that is inconceivable!

The land wasn't even inside the Enid City Limits until March 4, 1940. Hard to believe since we're right here on Ramona Drive, just blocks away from the main intersection of town, Van Buren and Garriott.

I really loved learning a little bit about the previous owners of the house. Luckily we are friends with the family who owned it for 13 years and have also met someone from the family who owned it for about 35 years.

In fact a grandson of a previous owner sent me a DVD of home videos from around 1957 to 1961. It is absolutely fascinating! I'll add some of it to YouTube soon, so stay tuned...

Sign of the Times

2008-11-16T18:21:00.001-06:00

This weekend we went to my cousin's house in Harrah, where her husband had a jam with several musicians from several locations.

While in the shop, where the band(s) were playing, I spotted this old ERA Real Estate sign hanging on the wall. Their family had an ERA Real Estate office back in the 70's in Harrah. Their best guess is that this sign was from 1973.

Don't misunderstand the sign... Their last name was Dull.

Trust me - real estate is NEVER dull.

Indian Creek Village Winery

2008-11-13T22:59:00.007-06:00

Tonight we went to a party at the Indian Creek Village, a winery about 20 miles west of Enid.

It's a lovely place with a gift shop, a wedding chapel and a bed & breakfast.

We got to tour the bed & breakfast, except the 3rd floor Honeymoon Suite. (It was occupied.)

Too Pooped to Party

2008-11-01T23:38:00.001-05:00

Ty and I were invited to a Pimp 'n Ho party, so we arranged this year's Halloween costumes accordingly. We have to put our own spin on everything, so Ty is a Wolf Pimp and I am Little Red Riding Ho.

That party was tonight, as well as another costume party, but we are just too pooped to go!

We had a Progressive Dinner with some friends in our neighborhood, so after all that eating and socializing, we just don't have it in us to dress up and go. We hate to miss the parties because we have been looking forward to them, but we had a great time with friends.

We got to dress up last weekend for the Nicholas Real Estate office party, so at least we got to wear our costumes and have some good laughs there. My extreme platform shoes were a big hit.

Hope you had a happy and safe Halloween!

Halloween Blood Drive

2008-11-01T00:12:00.001-05:00

Today our real estate office had a Halloween Blood Drive.

Here is Ty giving blood:

Homemade Bamboo Screen

2008-10-23T13:50:00.001-05:00

I needed a screen to block the view of my messy office from the living room. Instead of paying almost $400 for this bamboo screen, I made one for about $35.

I bought 6 packages of bamboo placemats from Ross, hot glued them together end-to-end, wrapped and hot glued the ends to square dowel rods, then glued black ribbon along the seams, top and bottom.

That's it!

Scarecrow Hunting Across Enid

2008-10-17T00:41:00.002-05:00

This evening, Lexy and I went on a Scarecrow hunt, finding the scarecrows in the Scare on the Square Scarecrow Contest across town and taking their pictures.

See the scarecrow photos here.

Load up the family and go find the scarecrows - or make one of your own!

Vance AFB Open House & Air Show

2008-10-04T21:18:00.000-05:00

Today was the Vance Air Force Base Open House and Air Show - featuring the Thunderbirds!

During the Thunderbirds, 4 of them flew in formation most of the time while 2 others flew individually, so you weren't really sure where they all were at all times. My favorite part was when they had us all very focused on the 4 planes, then one came up (very loudly) from behind to startle us. I screamed... several times. That was so cool!

A Real Sugar Rush

2008-09-15T21:39:00.002-05:00

Today my friend and I took our kids to Sugar Rush - a super-fabulous place to take the kids here in Enid. They create theme parties for girls and boys in a huge party room, they have a dress-up room, video games, giftshop area, tot spot for the little ones, a boutique and salon... and a cereal bar!

The cereal bar is heavenly for the kids. They can choose from many kinds of cereals, mix-and-match, add toppings and enjoy eating their sugary creation while watching vintage cartoons.

Then they got haircuts in the salon...

Sugar Rush is a pretty cool place to go for play dates, and they aren't paying me to say that!

Kickin' Out the Country Blues

2008-08-19T23:17:00.000-05:00

We helped our friends buy a really cool old house on Indian Drive, and we were all so excited to see the hardwood floors under the country blue carpet!

What a world of difference - it's awesome!

Creating the Ramona Cafe

2008-07-24T15:18:00.000-05:00

I decided to create the "Ramona Cafe" in our kitchen - since we live on Ramona Drive. I didn't want to name it the "Tompkins Cafe" because I didn't want to leave out the Tappan and Buchanan families that previousl owned and enjoyed our house.

I found an inexpensive black and chrome 50's-looking bistro set at Galleria in OKC, then found the stainless steel napkin holder with salt & pepper shakers at Ross. I already had the 50's straw holder and the chrome thing we use for plastic cups.

I made my own transfer by printing the letters from my computer the size and font I wanted, taped the pages together, then rubbed/scribbled with pencil on the back. Then I taped the pages to the wall, and Lexy and I traced the edges of the letters, which transferred the graphite from the back onto the wall. When we took the paper down, we could barely see the outline of the letters on the wall so we could paint them.

I will also make a Ramona Cafe menu to stand up behind the napkins, but I also must work...