Archive for June, 2008
A FiberArt Fence?
Well, no. Not really. Not at all. However, one or more of the newborns has been squeaking under the fence twine and tramping through both the strawberry bed and the main garden beds. It doesn’t eat anything, it just squishes its hooves in the soft dirt.
Today I put up more string, especially down low. I’m […]Bird Song
‘Tis the season for birds to sing, right? Would it surprise you to learn that one of the bird songs I hear here in inland Alaska is that of gulls? We’re only about 50-60 miles from the ocean, so maybe that’s not unusual, but there are gulls in Denali as well. I wasn’t aware of […]
Publishing: Where to Start
We had show-and-tell during a break in Marion Scoular’s class. I love Jan’s applique work!
I am often asked for advice on how to get something published. A couple of days ago, someone emailed seeking advice for publishing CLUELESS-like books for New England forests and parks.
I confess I cringe at these inquiries because I’m pretty […]JK Rowling Commencement Speech
Have you read or listened to J.K. Rowling’s Harvard commencement speech? You can do either here. I’ve read it, but I think I’ll play the recording while I prepare lunch today; I enjoyed the read, and I’d like to hear it in Rowling’s voice.
I pulled a couple of quotes from it that I especially like:
There […]Pattern Layouts
I have now completed three different layouts for the new puzzle pattern. The real choice is between #2 and #3, and I’m going with #2. I’m letting it “rest” today and will look it over one last time tonight then send it off to the printer along with Antarctic Night which needs to be reprinted. […]
Bernetta Wallflower / Boy Meets Boy
What’s on my nightstand? The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower, by Lisa Graff.
I confess I had a small problem swallowing the idea of a middle-school girl trying to “earn” $9,000. That amount of cashola just doesn’t seem to fit a seventh-grader. That a seventh grade girl can be a con artist–no problem! Go […]Weekend Site-Seeing: Mother Goose
Comments from Shelly and Becca regarding Mother Goose rhymes further stimulated my curiosity, and I’ve been looking around. While I await my copy of The Annotated Mother Goose, by William S. and Ceil Baring-Gould (thanks for the heads up, Becca), I’ve discovered some interesting goosey things.
Did you know that May 1st is Mother Goose Day? […]A Perfect Storm
Okay, the “storm” part of this is a judgment call. I’m relying on the concept of “brain storm” since the dictionary won’t bear out my preferred definition. I think I can have a storm of joy, but the dictionary seems to think storms are negative–enemies storm the castle, bad weather, etc. Well, if something good […]
Butterflies in Alaska
I know very little about butterflies and moths, but it’s time to learn. I see a ton of them around here in the spring and summer. It takes time and patience to get a good look at them; they flit about, and it’s hard to get close.
There’s a yellow swallowtail that I see regularly, […]Trends Schmends
Conventional wisdom says that we can’t write to trends. Unless you are a celebrity or live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, publishing is a slow business. Vampires are hot subjects right now, but by the time I write a story about them, pitch it, sell it (not to be presumptuous or anything), and the publisher publishes […]
