Red Bud Cottage Colony, Chouteau, OK

There is a cottage on this lake, where I spent some serious quality time with someone who meant a great deal to me, and still does; truth be told.  It's funny how you hold memories close to your heart and treasure them and sometimes you dust them off and reflect and realize what an amazing life you're having and how many pretty incredible people you've had the pleasure of meeting; and loving. 

I met this Air Force Flight Crew Chief at a club one night in Tulsa, OK when I was out dancing with my friends, and we formed a pretty close friendship and we had quite a bit in common, and often talked into the wee hours of the morning; and I will forever associate "Don't take the girl" with SP but what I remember the most was the kindness and gentleness I felt in the presence of SP, and how much fun we had together.  We would drive out to this lake house that SP's grandparents and family built and spend the weekend when SP was home from Wichita Falls, TX with the Air Force. 

I remember with great fondness and affection the very first time we went out there and the cabin sits back off a dead end road (or at least it was at the time) and it's front porch (complete with a porch swing) overlooked the river; it was positively heaven.  When you walk in you can feel the warmth, from the fireplace to the love that was evident in the care that was taken in building this family retreat; the spacious and open floor plan that encompassed the living room and kitchen so that everyone could hang out and relax while waiting on whatever was being whipped up in the kitchen.  How many hours we spent in front of that fireplace SP and I..on one of those old fashioned braided oval rugs? 

The master bedroom we occupied was tastefully decorated with antiques including the old wrought iron bed complete with an old patchwork quilt that was butter soft and smelled of the summer sun; however my favorite piece in the room was the old record player that we played Nat King Cole "Unforgettable" on until I thought we'd worn it out; nothing like the sound of a record to make you feel nostalgic; to this day every time I hear that sound I am transported back there as if it were yesterday. When we did venture out of our room we would target practice and take walks and watch the deer and just be together; a piece of heaven in of all places; Chouteau, OK. Good times..