The Jail Cell Door and Other Stuff

The Blonde got this picture of the jail cell door at Heritage Manor, so I wanted to share it with you.

Sorta scary, huh? It's in a somewhat obscure part of the house in a very obscure part of Oklahoma, and I have a feeling that if Carolyn and AJ wanted to, they could keep someone prisoner there for a very long time!


Speaking of the lovely Blonde, here she is, enjoying a few moments on the porch at Heritage Manor.



Did I mention how fond I am of The Blonde? I couldn't ask for a sweeter daughter-in-law. Dr. Lobo and I have warned Wild Child that if they ever get into a big fight, we're taking The Blonde's side. Maybe that's why their marriage seems to be stable. They're celebrating their fifth anniversary this month.


And here's another view of Heritage Manor, with Wild Child standing on the balcony.




While we were in the area, Dr. Lobo and I visited the grave of his best friend, David Young, in an Aline cemetary. David grew up near Aline and died much too young in 1993.



We ate supper at a Mexican restaurant at the train station in Waynoka. Here is Dr. Lobo right after the meal. He doesn't like to have his picture taken, and he doesn't smile a lot, but he looks reasonably happy here, so you can see that the meal was quite satisfactory.

Here are my handsome sons, who don't like to have their pictures made, either. And yes, they have the same father. They resemble each other more now than they ever have, but Wild Child looks like my family, and Little Guy takes after Dr. Lobo's family. (He looks a lot like his dad did at his age. Sometimes I get a glimpse of him and I'm transported back in time to the days when Dr. Lobo and I were first married.)

Sweet Girl resembles both sides of the family. I never understood how some families had kids who all looked alike. (One of my friends even adopted a child who looks remarkably like her five biological children.) Our kids all look like they could have come from entirely different parents.

It was great seeing my Oregon kids. I sure miss them!

In other news, I did not win the haiku contest, but that's okay because I didn't really expect to win. Here's the winner (by Andrea).

long bike rides with friends
bugs a-glow in clear glass jars
slurping otter pops




It's good, isn't it?


I have won two online contests in the last couple of months. I won an Amazon gift certificate and THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA by Cynthea Liu. I've known Cynthea for a while, and it was great fun to help her celebrate her success with that book. (It's a good read.)

This week, I heard from Michelle Houts that I'd won a copy of her book, THE BEEF PRINCESS OF PRACTICAL COUNTY. It looks like a wonderful book for kids, and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Michelle's fourth grade daughter picked a winner at random, and she chose me. I figure we had a psychic connection because I love fourth graders so much.

Major repairs and painting are happening to our house, so eventually I'll post those pictures. In the meantime, our nerves are frazzled from the hammering and destruction and painting. This is all taking much longer than we expected, and of course it's going to cost more. About once a week they discover something else that needs to be repaired. Aaaaaack!

Now that I've finished my chapter book, I'm working on my Young Adult book. So excuse me while I get into official writer mode. I'll be back between chapters!