Archive for May, 2008

A few cool things…

Monday, May 26th, 2008

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One cool thing…

Is that I cut up a copy of my book of poems, and stuck the bits of paper to lightswitch plates, and sent them to the stupendous Amy Guth, who auctioned them off as part of the new literary festival she just invented (I *told you she was stupendous)… and someone paid FIFTY BUCKS for my “art”.  A small drop in the bucket (the auction benefitted the decimated New Orleans libraries) but the night was a smashing success, as Miz Guth raised FOUR GRAND!  So I’m very happy to have had a tiny finger in the philanthropic pie.  GO AMY!

Another cool thing…

Is that my family is the best. We had a “staycation” this weekend, with adventures in a community garden, a forest, and other points of interest. We did not eat out and we did not spend money frivolously and we had a ton of fun.  I plan to “staycation” as often as possible from now on.

 A third cool thing…

Is  The Wire.  I watched the end of season four this week and I cannot shake it, and I’m so upset, and now I want to get a job in local government or something, and THAT, my friends, is good teevee.

And a fourth cool thing is Memorial Day!  How did you celebrate? 

 I mostly ate cake and chips and watermelon, and lolled about.  Though I do have some interesting WWII grandpas (one grandfather was a zeppelin flyer and another was a pediatrician in the south seas, no joke), they did not die in the war. They went on to live rich lives, and to tease me mercilessly.

And though you may not realize this… Memorial Day is NOT the day to honor your grandpa (any more than other days), unless you are either very old, or never knew the man.  This holiday is for the war dead (also white shoes, opening-day-at-the-pool, and BBQs), folks who died in combat.  Veteran’s Day is for your grandpa.

Not to mention his birthday, yo.

There are things…

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

I cannot tell you.

Yet.

(But I will, one day, soon)

In other news, I’m getting freaky excited for BEA. There will be PARTIES!  I will sleep late in my big empty bed, and drink coffee without a gunky finger in it.  I will loot and pilfer, and arrive home with a suitcase full of books.  I will talk to grownups, wear a skirt, eat foods that don’t fall into the categories of  “bite-size”, “snack cracker”, “glop”, or “nugget”.

I will drink a bloody mary on the plane, by gum!

See you there?

In the Mail!!!

Monday, May 19th, 2008

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I was totally shocked when I opened my mail today and found THIS!!!  It’s my first copy of Inside the Slidy Diner, and it’s truly amazing. A work of art!  Jaime Zollars (who also did the cover of Myth of the Simple Machines) is a magician, and Tricycle pulled out all the stops for this. It’s beautiful.

Now, I have no earthly idea why it already exists in the world, since the book doesn’t technically release until fall, but I’m not complaining.

 YIP!!!!!

(ooh, and excuse my hair. I didn’t shower today, no surprise!)

I have not blogged…

Friday, May 16th, 2008

Because I have been  overwhelmed by the idea of saying ANYTHING at all if I wasn’t saying something about what’s happened in Myanmar and China.  But what can I say?

The coverage makes me cry.  The numbers make me cry. They should make you cry. You should send something, some money.

God, how awful.

But as much as I have nothing useful to say, I hate staring at the last post I put up, about how lucky I am.  It makes me feel so self involved I could spit.

So this is all I have right now. What I’ve got:

Death sucks. The world is a very hard place for a lot of people a lot of the time and often we cannot help very much, but we should still notice, and try, and appreciate how lucky we are, and hug our babies.

I keep hugging my babies. 

It’s terrible.   

With a cherry on top…

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

 

Mothers’ Day is very very dumb, but…

Oh, I had a nice day!

Slept until 10 (10?). Yes, 10! 

NYTimes on the couch, and coffee NOT made by me.  Brought to me in a cup. Sweet homemade card. Muffin.

Picnic at the park. Kids on swings. Blanket in the sun.

TV on the couch during naptime. Hubby and I zoning out. 

Dinner at the new Mexican place.  Yummy brisket and guac and margaritas.

Banana split! From the new place nearby.  Watching Mose dig in.  Feeding Lew bits of banana with drips of sweet.

And now, quiet house, at a reasonable time.

I am lucky, lucky lucky.  And though I am lucky everyday, I am also distracted by so many little tasks everyday, and I am often frustrated by the lack of thank yous everyday (nobody says “thank you for wiping my ass” or “thank you for mashing my pears”).  It’s nice to feel focused on my herd, thanked by the members of my wonderful filthy herd.

It’s nice to be present, able to see the lucky through the diapers and dishes.

If you are feeling unlucky, I’m sorry to gloat.  I don’t mean to rub my good fortune in.  I just mean to be extremely grateful, now when eveything has this golden sheen.

Here’s a dazzler for ya…

Saturday, May 10th, 2008

So I’m surfing around the BEA site, and I see this: 

11:00AM – 12:30PM SPEED DATING WITH CHILDREN’S AUTHORS (Room 403AB)
Sponsored by the Children’s Booksellers and Publishers Committee [A cooperative committee of the American Booksellers Association (ABA), Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC), and the Children’s Book Council (CBC)].

Get to know twenty children’s book creators up close and personal! Authors and illustrators will move from table to table, stopping for quick get-to-know-you chats. Please note: this event is for booksellers only!

Participating “dates” include: M.T. Anderson (Harcourt), Joan Bauer (Putnam/Penguin), Francesca Lia Block (HarperCollins), Cylin Busby (Bloomsbury), Cecil Castellucci (Candlewick), Tim Egan (Houghton Mifflin), Victoria Forester (Feiwel and Friends) Donna Freitas (FSG), Polly Horvath (Random House), James Lescene (HarperCollins), Barry Lyga (Houghton Mifflin), Brandon Mull (Shadow Mountain), Travis Nichols (Roaring Brook), Chris Raschka (Scholastic), Gary D.Schmidt (Clarion), David Shannon (Scholastic), Judy Sierra (Random House), Laurel Snyder (Tricycle), Nancy Werlin (Penguin), and Jane Yolen (Charlesbridge).

Um.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I was superexcited to go to BEA, and to do this event. But I do not think I realized that the other authors would all be… well, who they are.  Such names.  Real authors.  These folks have won Caldecott and Newbery and Edgar and National Book Award and Pulitzer prizes. And Academy Awards!!!

And prizes aside, Polly Horvath is a particular favorite of mine.

Like, wow. 

Sometimes a little island…

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

 

 Life is nuts.  So often I dream of islands, little islands of calm. Landing pads in the sea of crazy.

 I say to people, “When things calm down…”

Then they laugh at me.  Because, really, the islands are few and far between. And they know me. That I make the tumult. It’s true.

But sometimes you need one, so you find one.  Or maybe you make one.

 Either way, I have. Just now.

Hubby is done with school.  I’m done (or very nearly) with the book.  Summer is here and the house is clean (and on the market, if you’re looking to buy) and the yard is pretty and the bills are paid and the cat is vetted and the laundry is folded and so… and so… I get to do things like wander around town, playing with my kids, buying veggies and eating ice cream.

Really.

For a minute, it’s enough. More than enough. 

It’s plenty.

Jiggity jog…

Monday, May 5th, 2008

Home again.  And ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

 Spent the day catching up with myself, and now I’ll begin to catch up with the world (myself being largely a state of mind, the world being made of actual things like, say “laundry” and “bills”)

Really, it’s so good to be here.   

Ate some BBQ. Sat in the southern sun. Saw friends. Wandered aimlessly around the house.

The boys were very glad to get reaquainted with their bath toys.

Not much to report. Just that I’m doing the final edits on Any Which Wall, and we are talking about the cover, and the art, and that is FUN!  Also I’m gettinjg very excited for BEA. 

I ordered real business cards.   Does that make me a businesswoman? 

They have pretty pictures on them, so I’m guessing not…

Whew!