Coffee and Pastels

This week Mitch was working during the evenings/nights, so we had some extra free time during the day. I have been going regularly to a local coffee shop with some friends here and it was finally time to introduce Mitch! The owners of the shop are a wonderful couple, Donald and Doris, that retired from the Air Force in Altus after Donald's last assignment. He was a flight engineer and she started the coffee shop. In its prime, the shop was not only coffee and tea, but had all the kitchen gear you could dream of and she even taught cake decorating classes. Probably my most favorite part of living in a small town is that people actually slow down to get to know each other. We haven't even been here for 3 weeks yet, but I already feel like a "regular" to the shop and a part of the small community.

On Wednesday morning I finally got to take Mitch to go get some coffee. Donald was working and quickly made sure to make Mitch feel welcome. He sat down with us and before we knew it we had talked to him for two hours about the Air Force and life at the coffee shop. I am always so amazed at how much you can learn by just taking time to get to know even one person. Forget stopping to smell the roses...stop and talk to people!

Since we had been there for long enough for our stomachs to start to growl, we decided we might as well try out the local favorite spot for lunch, The Grapevine Cafe. When I say local favorite, I mean basically the only place you can really go, so people have to love it. :) But for real, it is good. The restaurant is Paris themed and the food was delicious! We will definitely be going back.

"Confectionately Yours" aka the coffee shop :)

Doris makes the fudge and it's amazing!

Donald's patch collection is hung around the shop

He will trade you a drink for a patch :)

They sell delicious coffee and loose-leaf tea!

The Grapevine Cafe

Awesome mural! Love the people on the stairs :)

This week is also the first time I have taken an art class since high school!

My friend, Jayme, found an advertisement for this oil pastel class going on at the library downtown and we decided to give it a shot! It went Tuesday through Thursday from 6-9pm, perfect for Mitch's late night work schedule. :) The teacher of our class is the local high school art teacher and he did a fabulous job! I seriously have no skill, but he was very patient and helped in any way he could. There were only 8 of us in the class so it was easier to get some one-on-one help. Jayme and I were the youngest people there by a generation, but we still had so much fun! It was awesome to try something out of the ordinary and get to know some people in the local community. Doris, one of the coffee shop owners, was even in the class! When I say small town, I mean small town. ;)

The first "assignment" haha

Our work station at the end of day 1

Other half of the class' work stations

Jayme and my Wall of Fame (or shame, we like to say) ;)

My final drawing, based off of a picture I took (see below)

The picture I took at the Altus reservoir as inspiration

Even though art is not really my thing, I absolutely loved taking that class this week. My mom loved art and even took a couple classes a couple years ago. Getting out to go to class when she didn't feel well still brought her so much joy, so this made me feel close to her. I know she would have been super proud of me for stepping outside of my comfort zone. It's amazing how therapeutic doing something that connects you with those you've loved and lost can be. I will definitely make it a goal to take an art class every now and then, just to feel that connection again. Even if you don't have someone that you've lost, discovering more about yourself and your abilities is always a win. :)

I can now add something to the list of what makes me happy and keep at it; it's the best I can do.