The aftermath of Halloween is all around us.
My husband and I walk the dog most mornings and the day after the Halloween onslaught we marveled at the things we found in our neighborhood. I loved the two pumpkins who looked like they partied too hardy the night before – but had a wonderful time.
The first Trick-or-Treater came before dark dressed as the scary clown from Stephen King’s “It.” This was a large teenaged sized clown, but it didn’t have the red balloon the character should have had with them. I didn’t get a picture. The teenager would not have thought it cool.
The Spidey glove I found on the street the next morning proves somewhere there is an incomplete costume. (Or maybe Spiderman left it there to protect the neighborhood. I left it just in case.) 
Sugar induced craziness took over my neighborhood last Wednesday night. My former neighbors came by and the entire family was dressed as The Incredibles (very fitting for them). My dog loved all the kids at her front door since she lives with old people.
Last year a little girl ran into my house and chased the dog down the hall towards my bedroom – sugar induced craziness. But no harm was done. 
Every year I gripe about the price of candy. I worry if I’ll have enough, and then it is over in a flash. I so enjoy all the smiling faces full of candy and mischief. Again, this year the joy overflowed on a cool, crisp evening when it was fun to pretend – and eat candy too.
Happy après Halloween for another year. 
Change is inevitable. It is a good thing for some, others struggle with it.
The first in the Keystone Lake Series, Blooming Justice is soon to be released. Erin Sampson is a high school senior ready to start college – on a shoe-string. Hard working and determined, she knows she wants to have more of a career than her mother. She wants to be a lawyer like her aunt. And she thinks her hard work and determination are all she needs in life.
Cold weather is coming! Today is the day – the day that the cold air is coming in along with more moisture. Fall is here, and winter is on the way. With that in mind, I brought in a couple of plants, just in case the meteorologists are correct about a possible freeze. My geranium decided to try one last time to bloom before the cold air arrives. I’ll bring it in and see if I can keep it alive this winter. 
I don’t make any guarantees.
I was asked to speak at SWOSU-Sayre’s annual Literary Festival 
I’ve been working for some time on a pulp fiction novel based on three short stories I’d written in the past. If you’ve read my work, you know I don’t follow on particular genre. I probably should pick a genre and stick with it, but I love suspense and I love fantasy, so I write both (with a few children’s books sprinkled in for good measure).
For the last 6 days my husband and I have been the guests of Village Tours on their Autumn River Cruise 
There was entertainment daily with musicians and storytellers and you could always sit on a deck chair and watch the river go by. I was fascinated by the bald eagles, herons and the monarch butterfly migration we saw as we idly watched the world from the point of view of a major river. If you could secure a rocking chair in the shade, you could spend your retirement there. 
We spent three days on the Illinois and then the Mississippi Rivers going through locks along the way and seeing cities from an entirely different view than you would by car. Each night the bus would pick us up and take us to another lodge for the evening and we were stuffed with food along the way. 
Finally, in St Louis we visited the Arch – the Gateway to the West – and we took the elevator to the top to take pictures, then headed home to Oklahoma the next morning. Our bus driver and tour guide, David and Pam Harms, were fabulous professionals with an eye to detail. We may have been over fed, but not neglected. 
For the last few years, I’ve had some beautiful crepe myrtle bushes in my front flowerbed. They provided color and took up a lot of room and then I had flowers and groundcover around them. I made the mistake of planting daylilies years ago and they tried to take over. This year I even cleared a space for some kale and beets in the flowerbed. I love to experiment.
Friday I was honored by the flight simulator instructors from Vance AFB with a quilt handmade by the wife of one instructor. I had the best job in the world at Vance for 15 years. As an Office Administrator for CSI (Contract Simulator Instructors) I started that job in 1995 in the front office with 23 retired military pilots. They taught the Air Force students to fly, and I kept the office running for them. We lost that contract 15 years later and by that time we had 85 instructors and one Office Administrator. I had help and lots of things changed in that 15 years, but what was most important was that I worked with 85 of the best people in the world. 
Next week, Friday, September 7, 2018 is First Friday in Enid 5-9 pm. 
