Although I love all things sci fi, I'd love to travel back to the Covered Wagon Days. I'd love to experience traveling across the country, slowly, without all of today's technology.
Salty, most definitely.
What is something people would be surprised to know about you?I've always wanted to be a song writer.
LADYBUG LOVE
We saw the most amazing beetle on a Potato Vine ...it was like finding hidden treasure!
It looked like a bronze or a golden ladybug...so beautiful it did not look real. It took my breath away.
See Photo of a
Milkweed Tortoise Beetle. My husband and I discovered it as we were examining leaves, puzzled as to why there were holes. Although these tiny bugs are beautiful, they are pests. The unusual climate had brought many unwanted bugs to my garden this year.
I ordered live Ladybugs to help control the unwanted guests. ordered over the internet, through
Amazon.Yesterday, they came in the mail, 1500 live Ladybugs!
Tonight, after the sun went down and the day began to cool, we watered the plants. Then, we let the LadyBugs go. AMAZING! I will never tire of Ladybugs.
When I was little, I almost killed a spider. But, my dad stopped me... saying "these bugs have every right to be here, besides... what would the spider children think when their Papa spider did not come home from work? " Horrified, I thought of how they would find his little hat and briefcase on the sidewalk...but sadly, he would never return home to them again." ... to this day, I carefully scoop bugs and take them outside to be set free...guess I was always destined to draw anthropomorphic bugs.
These Ladybugs will awaken tomorrow morning to a new home, a lovely garden with waterdrops on leaves, a leaf shaped pool nearby...and a full buffet of various larva. These Ladybugs will enjoy their new home.
1500 Ladybugs do go everywhere. Carefully, we gently brushed the strays off our shirts and into the potted geraniums...Yes, my humble garden would now become a luxury resort and spa for LadyBugs.
Congratulations, Evie Harris. You have won this set of books, too!! Enjoy!
And, so my year as ALSC President has begun with a month already past, can it really be August?
The weeks of July since ALA Annual Conference were very busy with an abundance of ALSC correspondence, reading post-conference committee reports, working on ALSC committee placements, creating charges for new task forces and for the new ALSC Website Advisory Committee and preparing for this week’s ALSC Community Forums. (I did manage to squeeze in a few days for Arkansas family to visit here during our Ohio heat wave. My southern relatives were very disappointed they experienced no relief from their summer heat during their days in Ohio!)
Our very busy and energetic annual conference was filled with a host of events that offered us the opportunities to connect through attending exemplary ALSC programs, meeting up on the exhibit floor and sharing dinner during our glamorous Newbery/Caldecott Banquet with the stellar speeches by Chris Raschka and Jack Gantos. We made even more connections with each other by attending ALSC 101, participating in committee meetings, chatting at parties or just running into each other on an Anaheim street.
It was indeed a great pleasure to meet with many ALSC members in Anaheim as we work together this next year and focus on this year’s theme of “Connecting Communities” that will focus in part on the goal area of “Advocacy” from our ALSC Strategic Plan. We will work on connecting through our communication and information venues, through our advocacy initiatives and through our programming.
When I had the chance to meet members, many asked great questions about our association’s work and many also expressed an interest in how to get involved in ALSC through committee work. It was rewarding and heartwarming to feel so much dedication from so many.
So, if you aren’t already serving on a committee — how do you volunteer your service to the ALSC community? Here is some information on how the ALSC committee appointment process works:
First, where do you find out more about the work and the structure of ALSC committees? Go to the ALSC Committees page to learn more about the possibilities. The page includes a link to ALSC Committees: A Guide to Participation that provides additional information.
The next step is to fill out a volunteer form which is available on the ALSC Website at www.ala.org/alsc. You’ll find the form under the “members” tab. Complete the form and make sure to note your background, note your experience in particular areas such as budget or programming. This extra information certainly helps in making a good committee match. Make sure to mark the appropriate box if you require a virtual assignment. It is also really important to clearly indicate your preferential choices (as many as you can where you have interest and/or experience) on the form, not just by priority group, but also by committee. If you’re willing to mark the box that says “I will serve wherever needed!” then that is great too!
Don’t hesitate to send your form in during any time of the year. There are unexpected vacancies that occur all during the year and new appointments are made when this happens. For example, during this past month, I made several replacement appointments. And, if you haven’t been appointed and it has been a while, please send in another form.
A great time to volunteer is February through June for the ALSC process committee appointments. Starr Latronica, our Vice-President/President-elect will make appointments to process committees (non-award committees) next spring. So certainly after the first of the year or after ALA Midwinter in Seattle, make sure to send your form for a p
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 8/4/2012
Blog:
A Fuse #8 Production
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Finding videos of the Voldemort vs. Mary Poppins nuttiness online was surprisingly difficult. Finally I found a sort of recap of the Olympic 2012 opening ceremonies with reference to the rise of the great children’s literature villains (The Queen of Hearts, a Disney-esque Cruella de Ville, Captain Hook, and Voldemort) and their destruction at the hands of 30 Mary Poppins. “A sweeping rambling narrative” is as accurate an interpretation of what happened as any I could come up with. You’ll see the references at 1:00 in this video.
And since we’re already on the topic of Harry Potter (admittedly we are almost always on that topic) I sure hope you guys had a chance to see the first installment of Harry Potter and the Ten Years Later. I thought it was rather well done. Sort of makes me want to see the whole series now.
Thanks to Boing Boing for the link.
And now for a bloody effective book trailer. If the point of such trailers is to cause the reader an immediate and almost impossible to resist urge to pick up the book and read it, Leave Your Sleep as edited by Natalie Merchant (yes, that Natalie Merchant) now has that hold on me. It does not hurt that the songs featured here, paired with Barbara McClintock’s illustrations, are a delight. A sheer, as they say, delight.
Resist it if you can. And, might I say, this is one of the more logical uses of a celebrity getting involved in children’s literature that I’ve seen. I was seated next to Ms. Merchant at a BEA lunch and to my delight she turned out to be a huge Barbara McClintock fan long before this book. She said this, so I decided to quiz her by asking what she knew. Without missing a beat she rattled off everything from The Gingerbread Man to Adele and Simon to the Aesop’s Fables Ms. McClintock did years ago. Woman knows her stuff.
Okay, gear switch. Obviously if I’m showing a Louis CK video then this is not going to be workplace friendly, though honestly aside from one off-white phrase this is downright pure for Louis. When I read in a recent Entertainment Weekly article that he hated Clifford the Big Red Dog with a passion that eclipses the white hot sun I knew I had to find video proof. Proof I found, and I love how he pairs Clifford with Narnia. If Louis put out a CD that was just children’s book rants . . . okay, that’s a ridiculous dream. But a dream I now have!
And now Louise Yates interviews Quentin Blake. Because I can.
Thanks to Watch. Connect. Read. for the link!
And for the final off-topic video, awwwwww. Baby goats. Manic, remorseless baby goats. Sadly adorable.
Thanks to mom for the link.
Thanks for visiting my site. I appreciate your interest in my work. If you have questions regarding my books or stories, please feel free to send me a message. I enjoy hearing from you, and I’ll respond as soon as possible.
Happy reading!
Artie
Latest News
Artie’s children’s book Living Green: A Turtle’s Quest for a Cleaner Planet is now available as a free video for kids through StoryCub. A shortlist finalist for the national 2012 Green Earth Book Award, Thurman the turtle is tired of seeing the land he loves cluttered with trash and decides to take action.
To watch the Living Green video and many other books on StoryCub.org, please click on the cover below. StoryCub videos are one of the most watched programs on Apple’s iTunes Kids & Family section.
COPYRIGHT © 2012 ARTIE KNAPP
Use of any of the content on this website without permission is prohibited by federal law
In Folha de S.Paulo Rodrigo Levino profiles mega-bestselling international sensation Paulo Coelho and there, among the wisdom on offer, is, as the headline has it, the bold claim: Ulysses was harmful to literature, says Coelho.
I don't know about you, but ... well, if Paulo Coelho says so, how can one even argue ?
What he says, specifically, is that:
"Today writers want to impress other writers," he says.
And then names the culprit: "One of the books that caused great harm was James Joyce's Ulysses, which is pure style.
There is nothing there. Stripped down, Ulysses is a twit," he says.
I must have missed something, back when I read
Ulysses -- I thought it was a great read, and a pretty darn good story at that.
But now, thanks to the wisdom of this Coelho fella, I know better.
Sure, those generalizations -- lumping 'writers' into one big ugly pile, for example -- worry me a bit, but, after all, this guy is: "Internationally acclaimed, with 140 million books sold in 160 countries and translated into 73 languages", so surely he knows what he's talking about, and must be right about this (and everything).
I guess that's the last we need to mention (much less read) Joyce, right ?
Let's get back on track, away from style and ... twitdom ? twitiness ?
Monday morning, I'm going to see if I can trade in my foolishly well-worn copy of
Ulysses for a couple of these Coelho novels.
They sound ... positively inspirational.
(On the other hand, Coelho does seem to be onto something when he says he won't allow anything of his to be published after his death:
He fears his heirs will fight over copyrights, or, even worse, publish his works without authorization.
"It happened to Nabokov. It is terrible."
Anyone who bashes Dmitri Nabokov and estate-'handler' Andrew Wylie for what they did can't be all bad or wrong .....
Now if we could only get Coelho to see the wisdom of not waiting until he isn't around any longer and actually get him to stop publishing his 'books' sooner .....)
They've announced that: "The judges have selected 15 books for the shortlist for this year's Age Book of the Year awards" -- five each in the three categories, fiction, non, and poetry.
In The Herald Fortious Nhambura has a Q & A with Musaemura Zimunya about Preserving reading culture the soul of ZIBF (ZIBF being the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, which just concluded).
In The Hindu Rasana Atreya descibes My self-publishing journey, as she turned down a traditional publishing contract for her prize-winning manuscript, unwilling to sign away the electronic rights.
Self-publishing is clearly not as advanced in India yet, at least in the print sector -- most of her success was via Amazon, and in electronic form, with print (on demand) copies too expensive for the Indian market -- but clearly the self-publishing hurdles are getting lower all the time even internationally.
In The Scotsman Susan Mansfield has a profile of James Kelman, author of Mo Thought She Was Quirky.
One small problem: Kelman's book is titled Mo Said She Was Quirky .....
(But, hey, at least they're consistently wrong throughout the piece.)
I'm looking forward to it, whatever you want to call it -- though it's only coming out next April (!) in the US, from Other Press -- pre-order your copy from Amazon.com -- or get your copy from Amazon.co.uk.
In The Observer Elizabeth Day profiles Will Self: 'I don't write for readers'.
His Umbrella was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize this year; it's coming to the US in January from Grove -- pre-order your copy from Amazon.com, or get your copy from Amazon.co.uk.
Book: Beauty Queens
Author: Libba Bray
Published: 2011
Source: Local Library
When the plane holding all fifty contestants of the Miss Teen Dream beauty pageant goes down on a tropical island, the odds are most definitely stacked against the survivors. No water, no food, no shelter, and you just can't get a good facial anywhere.
But Miss Teen Dream contestants never say die (well, except for the ones who already did). After a few missteps, they're taking their survival into their own hands, creating shelter, catching food, and battling island wildlife, all while working on their tans and keeping their pageant skills sharp.
But there's more coming down the pike. The beauty queens are about to face off with reality-show pirates, the evil corporation, the megalomaniac dictator with an Elvis fetish, and the weapons system whose override is PowerPoint. You know. Just in case you thought this was going to make any sense at all.
I've been looking forward to this book on the strength of Bray's wild and powerful Printz award winner, Going Bovine, and I wasn't disappointed. It was the same mix of hilarious and heartfelt. She expertly juggles about six or seven viewpoint characters, all with their own individual character arcs. She often does this by pairing them up, playing two against each other to how their differences peel away the glossy pageant personae and find the messy, scaly, warty real girl underneath. To questions on ethnicity to sexuality to conformity to feminism--very often in the same character--the answer comes out the same: nobody fits a category, but they're all extraordinary just the way they're made, and their power comes when they own it.
If you're a plot person, don't read this. If you're into strict realism, don't read this. But if you love wicked satire with just enough silliness to keep you laughing, feminism with some teeth, stories about love and friendship and identity and courage . . .Well, this is the book for you.
By: Scott Westerfeld,
on 8/4/2012
Blog:
Scott Westerfeld
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The Leviathan series artbook, The Manual of Aeronautics, comes out on August 21. That’s just two and a half weeks from now, so it’s probably time for more art revealings.
Here are the previous art reveals, in case you missed them:
The Bridge of the Leviathan!
The Cyklop Stormwalker!
Clanker uniforms!
Flechette bat!
Shall we vote on this? We shall.
Would you rather see . . .
1) A portrait of Dr. Barlow? (with bonus Tazza!)
2) A rigger’s uniform? (with various specialist/rank patches)
3) Or the message lizard? (carried over from round 4)
And all of it in glorious color!
Please vote by number. As always, use this comment thread to wrangle, browbeat, and bludgeon your co-commenters into agreement. They like it when you do that.
Let the voting begin.
You can pre-order the Manual from the usual online joints: Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or IndieBound. It will land at your local bricks-and-mortar store on Tuesday, August 21.
___________________________________________________________________________
Last Thursday, during my lunch break, I headed over to the rebooted Forbidden Planet. DC had reprinted four Wonder Woman stories from “Adventures in the DCU” as “DC COMICS PRESENTS: WONDER WOMAN ADVENTURES #1“. Sure, I would get a copy as part of my monthly box of comp copies, but I couldn’t wait to read it, and I’ll pass on the extra issue to my super-smart niece in Colorado.
So first I checked the back wall of recent releases, and scanned every title. That’s when I discovered something unexpected, and, ultimately, amazing and fantastic:
Now, Fantastic Four was the first series I followed after getting hooked on Spider-Man. I knew that Marvel usually did a decent job with Fantastic Four annuals, presenting fun, done-in-one stories! So I picked it up, and flipped it open. Here’s why I bought it, and why I recommend it to you:
- It’s drawn, and WRITTEN, by Alan Davis, so you know the art and story are gonna be good!
- It’s Ben and Johnny, housesitting the Baxter Building (or whatever it’s called now) while Reed and Sue go on vacation. (If that were the only story, I’d still read it!)
- It features Davis’ ClanDestine. Don’t know who they are? Short form: a human and a genie fall in love and sire a family of paranormal humans who live separate from the rest of the Marvel Universe (although they have encountered the X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Silver Surfer on occasion.)
- It’s got time travel, famous people, and Doctor Strange!
- And…something I didn’t discover until I turned to the last page, where the digital code is found: it’s the first of THREE Alan Davis annuals! The story continues in Daredevil, and finishes in Wolverine! (Hmm… it looks like the variant covers form a complete image. Might there be a poster in the future?)
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Thank you to all who entered!
The winner of
UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi (HarperCollins, January 3, 2012)
is...
Bridget Howard!
**
And don't forget I'm also giving away
(CLICK HERE TO ENTER!)ANASTASIA FOREVER by Joy Preble (Sourcebooks, August 7, 2012)
Get 'em while they're hot! Oh, I know it's a little early and the Cybils process isn't going to really get going until next month, but you know you want to be an early bird. Hint, hint, ahem.
You can spread the word with a sidebar-friendly button, a slightly larger graphic, or a big ol' full-sized attention-grabbing pic. Collect them all! Just right-click and Save As, and you're set.
I am definitely a fan of
Maryrose Wood's books,
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. The serial
plays off a number of my favorite types of childhood reading. My favorite book in the series is the second, which I never blogged about, though I've just finished Book 3,
The Unseen Guest. These are very sophisticated books with historical and literary references that will be as entertaining for readers who get them as pop culture references are for those who stay on top of that.
Notice I called
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place a serial. Each book has a separate thing going for it--Book 1 introduced the situation, Book 2 took the wolfie children and their intrepid governess to London, and Book 3 deals with the Victorian fascination with the dead and contacting them. But there definitely is an overall story we're dealing with. Who are the three Incorrigible children? Were they brought up by wolves? If so, what kind of wolves would take in children? Did a human help them out in the wild? If so, who was it? What's with Lord Fredrick who took them in and pays for Miss Penelope Lumley to care for them? What happen to Miss Penelope Lumley's parents?
I could go on and on.
These books illustrate a frustration with even the best serials--readers have to wait for the next installment and by the time it comes, how much can they recall of earlier books? The best way to read a serial, I suspect, is after the entire story is done. Years from now, I see some young Gailish person going to the library to pick up another
Incorrigible book. Or perhaps s/he will wait for the e-book to become available for download to an e-reader.
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A member of our PaperTigers’ family, best selling author Gail Tsukiyama was interviewed today on 
I got my best kick last night around 9p when someone bought our sofa within an hour of listing it on Craigslist, AND they brought 4 people to move it. Woot. One less thing to worry about on the moving front. My future kick will be seeing you tomorrow morning!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Jordis! So proud of her.
My kicks are:
1. Watching my studio wall grow with art from my latest project.
2. Having my great friend and fellow illustrator, Taeeun visit my studio for a working weekend.
3. Esperanza Spalding radio on Pandora to keep the creative juices flowing.
4. Chicken and waffles at Miss Shirley’s Cafe in B-more.
5. Early morning runs in the park without dying of heat stroke.
6. Bringing home Isabelle Arsenault’s “Virginia Woolf” and Amy Martin’s “Symphony City” from The Children’s Bookstore here in Baltimore!
7. Waking up to a WONDERFUL feature of one of my student’s work on 7-Imp!!!!! Woot! Woot!
Dark is good like wine or chocolate or coffee.
Nicely done, Jordis.
The cover is my favorite, lovely hand type.
Jules- Yay for librarians! Back to school is a mixed blessing indeed. I don’t want summer to be over but I want to be back in the studio (cue “Tomorrow” to beging playing).
Tracy- The magic of Craigslist and strong people. Good luck with the move.
Shadra- So many great kicks especially #7
kicks
1. Bittersweet Hello-Goodbye to friends and their new baby before they headed back to Texas.
2. Breakfast with my big sister (I have three).
3. Another full art studio day this week.
4. Wine with a friend while we shared filo wrapped brie glazed in lavender honey. Yum.
5. I don’t much like air conditioning except in the car which my husband fixed after I went the whole July without it. He is the best.
6. I found out my brother and sister-in-law are coming for a visit.
7. Mini 20 year art school reunion with a few dear friends.
Happy August!
Grimm’s tales have a way of turning not quite as expected so my favorite picture is her waiting on the tree branch; hopeful but with no idea of what is to come. I do love scratchboard and admire all the work involved.
Jules: Gaiman’s graveyard book is brilliant; I cry every single time.
Tracy: The same thing happened to me this summer. One of my friends needed a second frig, came and got my old one the same day my new one arrived; a win-win.
Shadra: Exercise without the heat and humidity is a miracle this summer.
Moira: Enjoy your reunion.
My kicks:
1. Great conversations with my PLN on Twitter.
2. Loving Nanny Piggins and the Wicked Plan, laughing out loud like a loon at the humor.
3. Discovering a pop-out book by Mo Willems at my local bookstore and finally reading it.
4. Picking tomatoes from the vine in my garden and popping them into my mouth.
5. The smell of sunshine on my dog’s fur.
6. A red sun yesterday morning before the evening storm.
7. I’m alive to live another day.
Ooh Grim or Grimm ..either way, Jordis has a hit with her illistrustrations are deliciously dark. I hope to see her work in a book soon.
Jules, I love you are reading The Graveyard to your girls. I am still amazed that some librarians refuse to put it in the library because of the first scene. Ack.
Shadra,
Oops…IPad error
Shadra, Esperanza Spalding is a Portland town gal.
Moira, family and friend visits are the best.
Margie, tomatoes, yum.
My kicks:
1. Grandgirls up from Medford to visit
2. Bought a Barbie princess pool for said Grandgirls. It was 100 yesterday (our first in awhile).
3. Hanging out with family.
4. First tomatoes from garden.
5. Getting the Haiku Society of America newsletter and being inspired.
6. Participating in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Write Fifteen Minutes a Day.
7. Sunshine. Lot of it.
'Morning, all! I love those illustrations by Jördis Brier. (As an aside, I love the name "Jördis," too.) Imagine her visual style hooked up with a story by Margo Lanagan... And how appropriate to see this Grimm story featured here today, on what the weekend newspaper claims is Sister Day. The world is a funny old place. (Hope she won't mind if I mention that I seem to have, er, stumbld upon her Tumblr site, with lots more samples of her work -- not all black-and-white. Check out this Scandinavian-sweater-donning bear, in the company of a scarfed pigeon, a mouse, and a fox. I really, really like one detail about this, especially: the way the fox's tail hangs outside the frame of the rest of the scene, seeming to imply that he's just now arrived there from somewhere behind and to the right of the viewer. This would only work with a fox, I think!) Thanks so much for introducing us to her, Jules! That was a great commentary by Marc Hirsh. Thanks to you, Jules (and Jill -- and where the heck has SHE been?!?), of course I finally picked up on Sam Phillips a few years ago. But like Hirsh, I would find it impossible to write about her music... Unlike him, I have the luxury of not needing to. :) Louie is great! Edgy-raw, and soooo funny. In a way, it reminds me of a more heartfelt Curb Your Enthusiasm. Good on Adrienne for recommending it to you! Love everyone's kicks today. But want to say specifically that Margie's "the smell of sunshine on my dog's fur" really hit me. Three senses packed into one phrase (because "fur" always carries an implicit reference to touch): oooooh, nicey nice. From here: 1. The someecards.com empire of snark has an offshoot site called "Happy Place," which includes an ongoing series, "Unintentionally Inappropriate Test Responses from Children." (I gather teachers + parents scan or photograph the entries and send them in.) This one made me laugh out loud, which is one reason I'm glad I haven't taught school in 30+ years: inability to maintain dignity in the face of wit. 2. Re-reading some Annie Dillard recently. Yum, and le sigh. 3. Also reading a book about "possible Earths" called What If the Moon Didn't Exist?, written by an astronomer. Amazing all the side-effects I'd never have considered... because that it exists at all is the result of a collision between the early Earth and a "Mars-sized planet." Take away that collision and we'd end up with something like an 8-hour day, for instance, which would mean enormous wind speeds, which would mean no tall plants, which would mean [etc., etc., etc.]. 4. Started a new story this week. Still at the intriguing I wonder where this is going? phase, which precedes all the ugly How am I possibly going to fix THIS?!? questions. 5. Demetri Martin cracks, me, UP. 6. Finally had a chance to play with a birthday present which has been sitting in its box until the other day: a gizmo you plug into the car cigarette lighter socket, which then connects to your cell phone and broadcasts to your car radio. Everybody says, "Oh, like for hands-free phone calls?" Yes, that. But the REAL reason I wanted it was so I can play Pandora, Spotify, Amazon MP3, etc. through a real stereo. 7. A long time ago I blogged about "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Got a comment on that post yesterday, from a guy who for a while sang with (one incarnation of) The Platters. Cool! Have a great week, everybody!
Tracy: Can’t wait to see you!
Shadra: LOVE Virginia Wolf so much. And kick #4 makes me think of Polly Horvath’s Everything on a Waffle. Good luck with your latest project, and thanks again for telling us all about Jördis.
Moira: Do your kiddos start this week, too? I thought you Northeasterners started way later. … Brie + honey. I just drooled a little. No, really. … You have had such a family-filled summer. This is GREAT. Have fun with your brother.
Margie: Which kinds of tomatoes did you grow? (Plum? Regular?) I agree with John about the loveliness of kick #5. And #7 stopped me in my tracks. That’s an assumed kick for me every week, but I should say it outloud more often. (And does “PLN” mean …. er, public library network??)
Jone: If I knew that about the book being censored, then I conveniently forgot it. Ergh. The world is scary. Kids know this. Literature helps with that. Period. End of story. I’m going to tattoo this on my body, I think. …. You all reached 100 degrees? Wow. Hope you had a grand time with the grandgirls. Here’s hoping you continue to get sunshine. As I type this now, there is thunder. This is good, given that it’s been very dry here all summer long.
JOHN SIMPSON, I am telling you that you missed a calling in children’s lit or art history or maybe both. Great point about Ms. Brier and Margo Lanagan. Also, that illustration you found (and I’m SO GLAD you found—and linked to—her Tumblr site, ’cause a web search brought me nothing) is one she had sent me for this feature! She had sent a few like that, but I figured for different reasons that it’d be neat to have a sort of Grimm theme and focus mainly on this one project. (BUT, I told myself, perhaps closer to the holidays/winter I can post those other ones.) … Oh, and Jill is just fine, but she got totally slammed with work for a long time there, and plus … well, I don’t want people to feel obligated to leave kicks every week anyway. (Remember how I’d email the “regulars” if they didn’t show up, ’cause Mama Jules in me would worry about them? I finally stopped that, too, knowing that there are so many sites in the world and not enough time to read them. Shoot, even I can’t keep up with my favorite blogs/sites.) Anyway, she’s fine! … Oh my goodness, that photo you shared in kick #1 made me laugh, and the astronomer’s book sounds great (AND makes me think of my current fiction read, the one I mentioned last week). …. Also, your kick #6? I got that for my birthday. I’m not sure if they’re the same thing. For mine, it plus into the cigarette lighter, and you have to tune to the radio station it tells you to tune to … and then voila! I can hear an NPR podcast or my own songs on my iPhone. I wonder if we have the same thing? …. YOUR LAST KICK? WOW!
Jules: Kick #6 (mine!).
Whoa, that’s totally different from what I have. (I don’t know where to even show you mine, ’cause it was a gift, but I’ll find out.)
My kids don’t go back until after Labor Day. I am milking the last weeks of Summer for all they are worth. I just got back from swimming to get ready for a family cookout. Cheers!
Jules:
I planted several kinds this year but right now I’m grabbing the cherry tomatoes before the deer get them. PLN–when I use it I mean professional learning network—school librarian for 34 years
Have a wonderful week one and all.
So… I’m on vacation this week which is Kick #1-7
I do have to just say though that I can’t believe your girls go back this week- we don’t go back until the Thursday after Labor Day! Crazy how our schedules are so different!!
Hi Everyone - what great kicks! I love summer.
I like the art, but am not so good with the scarey or horror stuff. And the sister waiting for the ravens not knowing her fate - to tragic for me. Sorry - I’m a wimp and too tenderhearted. But, as I said, amazing art. Will have to check out the Tumblr site.
My Kicks:
1. Inviting 20 of my favorite moms from my neighborhood and my Little’s former preschool to tea at a fancy tea house in Pasadena Ca (The Scarlett Tea Room in case anyone is interested). We had so much fun and everything was tasty except the Mademoiselle Grey tea - too bland.
2. Realizing that I don’t get out enough after the tea party yestereday, I said this to my hubby, who nodded enthusiastically when I suggested to him that I should get out more.
3. A bike ride through late afternoon buttery sunlight to Culver City CA (very charming town surrounded by Los Angeles) to eat ice cream with my Little, Husband, Little’s Friend and his Dad. I had banana with salted almonds mixed in.
4. Final meeting with social worker tomorrow to work out details of foster-to-adopt as we are now certified. We hope to have a tiny one in our home by late September.
5. Received a large box of my neice’s very cute girl clothes from my sister-in-law in anticipation of above mentioned tiny one being a girl.
6. It is my birthday tomorrow - I might have mentioned this. My Little told me tonight “You won’t find the envelope we hid for tomorrow.” I heard groans and sighs from the living room as my husband despaired and then tried not to laugh.
7. Listening to my Little make up a game while playing with my husband with such complicated rules that are impossible to keep track of. I remember when one of my nephews started doing this. Hilarious.
Have a wonderful week!
Flyby kicks! Hi Jules and Imps! Reading everyone’s kicks always makes me smile.
Love the detail in this week’s art, definitely dark dark dark - what mean brothers! But, sometimes people are mean.
Summer, heat, sunshine, tea, Sam Phillips, craigslist goodness, morning runs, wine with friends, sunshine on a dog’s fur, wine and cheese with friends, family visits, awesome new toys, new family members - sounds like everyone’s having a great summer!
Happy birthday Allison!
My quick kicks:
1) Sun
2) Scoring a floor model patio table!
3) Fresh flowers on the table
4) Cheese and berries shared with a friend
5) Soccer
6) Gratitude
7) Abundance
Have a wonderful week!
wow the cover piece really blows me away! what great composition and lighting on these pieces. I’m also glad to see anyone doing scratchboard… sometimes it seems like a bit of a lost art, you so rarely see it.
Jules, love the RW video.. also enjoyed your piece about Victoria Jamieson. I met her at a conference here right before her first book came out so its enjoyable keeping up with her.
my kicks:
1) school started for us too… 1st grade and a new preschool classroom to get used to
2) getting caught up on projects
3) had a great idea for a cartoon about the whole chip-fil-a saga. So far no one’s flamed me on my blog;)
4) going to the wave pool as a mommy and me day with the six year old prior to school starting. we went down the slides about 500 times
5) watching the olympics, drinking wine, and sketching with hubby
6) having special time with the three year old this weekend while big brother was at grandparents
7) sleeping in on sunday BECAUSE big brother was at grandparents. (the younger sib keeps the same hours her mama and daddy do)
have a great rest of the week everyone!
Moira: Enjoy every moment.
Margie: 34! WOOT!
Hi, Stacey! Enjoy that vacation.
Allison: Happy birthday! Hope the meeting with the social worker went well. How exciting!
Rachel, congrats on the table. And I bought fresh flowers today and thought of your kick (even if I’m late in responding).
Mary: Went to your blog post. Saw. Liked! When’d you go to the wave pool? We were there on Saturday. For real. SLEEPING IN: Sweet! Good luck with the start of school.