Early Bird Article

Madison Is Four!

Peeling Paint 3rd Place

Cedar Falls Textures HM

Hand-Knit Socks HM

One of Kay's Pages

My Eye Injury

Snow

Chicago Public LIbrary Best of the Best, Scrapbooking, Birthdays, and Snow

It CAN'T be two months since I wrote anything! But it has been. Wow! Everybody is busy the last half of December, with Christmas, but that's been awhile! I guess I should spend more time on here and less on Facebook!
The year got off to a great start when I learned on New Year's Day that my book, Heading West: Life with the Pioneers, has been named to the Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best List for 2009, along with books by friends Kerrie Hollihan, Dori Chaconas, Brandon Marie Miller and Tanya Lee Stone! That led to an article and photo on the front page of our weekly newspaper, the Early Bird.
Our first snowstorm of the year came in on January 7, causing postponement of our Focus Photo Club meeting for a week. The theme was texture, and I did manage to get ribbons on all three photos, but it was a 3rd place and two Honorable Mentions.
On January 16, I picked up my sister, Kay, this side of Akron and we went to Utica, PA to spend time scrapbooking with our friend, Becky. We stayed there a week and had lots of fun scrapping and eating the great food that her husband, John, cooks for us. I got 49 pages done in 12 x 12 scrapbook. A week later we went back to Kay's and spent the night, then she came home with me.
Madison's fourth birthday party was that afternoon. Can't believe how those kids are growing! It was fun.
That Tuesday morning I got up early to use the bathroom and managed to bang my forehead on the corner of the vanity and cut it wide open. I was glad Kay was there, because there was a lot of blood and I couldn't tell if it needed stitches. It was a small cut, about an inch long, in my left eyebrow. We decided it didn't need stitches, and I didn't get as much of a black eye as I expected! It's still a little sore.

Our big snowstorms have been in February. I was subbing on Friday, the 5th. It began snowing about 9:30. It came thick and fast, and we ended up having a two-hour early dismissal. It was our night to eat out, but the weather was getting worse all the time, so just Regina and I went to Longfellow's. It's only four blocks from my house, and she lives two blocks from me, so it wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't have driven across town. We went early, like 3:00, and by the time we got home, we were under a Level 3 Emergency, which means only emergency vehicles are allowed on the roads.We ended up with 15 inches. Some wonderful man with a snowblower cleared out my driveway, which I really appreciated. We had additional storms on Feb. 10 (8 inches) and on Feb. 15 (5 inches). It's all still on the ground, and there's supposed to be another storm coming Sunday. I'm hoping that 12-14 inch estimate is wrong. It is attracting a lot of birds to my feeders and I enjoy watching those. I can see the feeders from the computer.
On Wednesday, February 10, I did a teleclass for my friend Suzanne Lieurance's Children's Writers' Coaching Club. I talked about creating puzzles, quizzes and other short items for children's magazines. That went well.
I decided to use part of my income tax refund to replace my kitchen linoleum with wood laminate flooring. I loved the linoleum when I got it, because it was white with blue flowers and went great with my blue and white cupboards. However, it soon started to get gouges and holes in it, so the old floor showed through. And instead of being smooth, it was full of little pits, which get filled in with dirt. The only way to get it clean, is to scrub it on your hands and knees, and unfortunately, I can't kneel at all. I think I'll LOVE the new flooring. It's like I have in my family room. Maybe next year I can get it in my office. My nephew, Tim, and his friend, Troy, are putting it down for me and it's almost done.
I have a couple of author-related appearances coming up. On Friday, April 9, I'll be the featured author at the Friends of the Library Author Night at Montage Cafe in Greenville. I'll speak for an hour or so, with an intermission so people can get drinks and desserts. I'll also be able to sell my books. On the weekend of May 21 and 22, I'm doing an Author Fair at the Piqua, Ohio Public Library. It's on Friday evening and Saturday 10-2. I'll have a table and sell books.
I just finished my fourth revision of an outline and activities for another book for Chicago Review Press. I'm just hoping it's approved so I can start researching and writing another book.