Away, Away, Away!

Would you like to know a secret?

Someone is going away for the weekend!

I'm taking no stowaways this time!

I've done my duty to children and tonsils alike this month, 

 aided and abetted a Science Fair project, 

and had my first soccer mom appearance. 

[Egads! - am I a soccer mom?] 

So, no matter how much they ply me 

with beseeching grins, 

I'll be strong. 

...okay, maybe there's room for one very small person...

Time to don my "fancy" clothes,

grab some pens and a notebook,

and click my ruby red slippers

because I'm off to the Emerald City!

It's time for the SCBWI - Western Washington Spring Conference!

I am thrilled to see my Northwest writer pals, 

soak up creative juices from Bonnie Becker, Melissa Sweet 

and other brilliant wits, including my agent, 

Rubin Pfeffer!  

So, If you're coming, hunt me down! 

I'll be the one in the flaming pink boa. 

(Okay, that was a joke. I don't do plumes.)

   

If you're not coming, I'll glean my best 

to share with you when I get back.

"The most important reason for going from one place

to another is to see what's in between,

and they took great pleasure in doing just that." 

- Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth  

Stunning picture books about journeys:

 

The Journey, by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small

The Gardener, by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small

Busy Bees and Happy Clams

When I'm full sail into revisions, I want my wildebeests happy!

Especially the one who just had her tonsils out. 

So I made "Busy Bags." 

"Ready for A Good Yarn" Busy Bag:

What's easier than a skein of yarn, a pair of scissors 

and "looms" made out of cereal boxes? 

It's paired with the clever book

Extra Yarn  - by Mac Barnett, 

illustrated by Jon Klassen

(I am especially enamored of this book!

Must blog more about it later!) 

And weaving was a *hit*!

"Artists Can Have Fun, Too" Busy Bag:

Complete with sketch pads, 

new art supplies and some luscious library finds!

I loved these books so much I have to do 

a separate post about them later. 

Art & Max - by David Weisner

The Fantastic Drawings of Danielle - by Barbara McClintock

Charlotte in Giverny -Joan MacPhail Knight, ill by Melissa Sweet
Charlotte in Paris -Joan MacPhail Knight, Melissa Sweet

"I'm Game if You Are" Busy Bag:

Stuffed full of card games, homemade goo-in-a-bag,

flash cards, dry-erase board, kid magazines
and these books:

Mini Racer - Kristy Dempsey,
illustrated by Bridget Strevens-Marzo

My Many Colored Days - by Dr. Seuss,
illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

See that goo? 

Who knew a little hair gel and food coloring 

would make for hours of fun?

The kids are busy as bees and happy as clams.

And now - full steam ahead to those novel rewrites!

Our Busy Bag books:

Sick Day Geo-Caching

The tonsil fairy whisked away those pesky tonsils, and what did she leave in her wake....?

A sparkling surprise awaited Winnie after surgery.
A glittering envelope,
handmade flower paper,
and a nearly invisible note!
Thank you, Tonsil Fairy!
White paint pen scrawled on clear vellum
made for a very secret missive from our new friend!

No dimes or quarters from this gal. She left fairy dust.

And a little cranky dust.

I guess that's what you get when you mix Spring Break,
four kids,
one with a sad little throat,
and a nine-days of bed-rest!

Wait, doctor -
did you just say we can't leave the house for NINE days?
Right. No car rides. Keep it mellow. Gotcha.
Nine days' wonder. That's us.

So, since Winnie was confined to the couch,
I did my best to keep the gang entertained with "busy bags"
and...
A book treasure hunt.

Much like geo-caching, except without the GPS, and with less physical exertion.
 

The girls had to read a clue,
figure out which book the clue described,
and find "coordinates" hidden on a post-it note in that book.
Each coordinate was made of
a Page number, Sentence number, Word number,



which gave them one word of a mystery message.



Then they hunted through the book for a new clue,
which led them to another book, with coordinates and clues...



And at long last, a secret message:


Even Sugar Snack joined in the fun.

And Winnie smiled.


So, if you're thinking about hosting
a tonsil extraction anytime soon,
go for the popsicles.
and maybe a word hunt...

You Are Not Your Tonsils

Cut 'em out!

That's Winnie's big news this week. 

Popsicles and ice cream, here we come! 

And as I begin another manuscript revision, 

I reflect that life and writing are not far apart. 

Writing seems simple. 

It's only words, right? 

Plop some on a page and send it off to get published!

Such a romantic life, those writers! 

But the drafts, oh, the drafts!

Who knew there were so many revisions? 

Like life, writing is messy. 

It does not fit into boxes squarely. 

It takes pain and scratching out, 

deleting beloved characters and rearranging, 

knocking down not only small sentences, 

but bones and bracing, 

fireplaces and front doors.

A flexible canvas is essential -

or, at least as essential 

as the knowledge that 

you are not your manuscript.

You are lovable, 

even if your story isn't, 

even if your words need major surgery, 

or your book didn't make the New York Times Bestseller List,

or win any awards, 

or your blog only had two viewers last month. 

You are not your tonsils.

My sage writer brother advised me this week 

after a sound critique -

"Let it sit a few days, 

do something else that makes you happy, 

then approach your story with a little distance

and a bottle of wine."

So I sewed. 

Can you tell we're into The Sound of Music?

It was a happy treat
for Sound of Music-obsessed Winnie 

before her big tonsil extraction.

And then, to revisions. 

I love Scrivener for writing, 

but I needed something more tactile.

 

If I had a writing studio, I'd make a cork-board wall. 

Alas, the dining room does not lend itself to cork-board walls.

This is my solution.

It's a long strip of foam-core, 

layered with rows of card-stock 

left open at the top

like a hanging file rack.  

Now I can niche notecards and shuffle scenes around 

to my heart's content! 

Let the revisions begin!

Confessions of a Math Shirker

Yesterday was Pi Day. 

Did you know?

We don't know our Pi days, our prime numbers,  

or the square root of umpty-three. 

Is that such a bad thing?

PIE Day, now, that would be memorable.

Not a hard day to celebrate. Yum!

Or Color Day. 

Or Dictionary Day! 

But this post is really about confessions of a math shirker... 

and resolutions.

It's one of my New Year's Resolutions, see:

A resolution to add math as one adds vitamins, 

but to add it creatively, 

as one adds air and water and beauty. 

(How does one bring in math beautifully? )

Ideas, anyone?

Measuring snow

The kids loved sticking rulers in the snow
and recording their data in a soggy notebook.

Birdy - a little brown bear at the start of our adventures, 

and polar bear by the end.

Did they absorb a love of math?

I don't know. I got distracted making lunch. 

Popcorn math

We added handfuls of popcorn together, and ate our sums.


Jellybean Trees

This one was a big deal,
as we don't see much sugar around here.
I wrote out rows of addition (fact families)
that equalled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The girls had to write out the answer,
then put that number of jellybeans in the square.
Reward: eating jellies!

Math Pillow


For our pal Kenna's birthday, we made
a Wee Wonderfuls flannel dolly pillow.

It works like an old-fashioned flannel board, only cooler,
because clothes get stashed in the back pocket and well,
because it's just so dang cute.

(Her spa outfit. With cucumbers.)

The girls loved it.

So I thought to myself, "Hey! Why not numbers?"

Perhaps not as fashion-friendly,
but when they get tired of all that arithmetic,
(or, dare I say...bored?)
they can take a nap on it.

And Now.... 
for the Winner of the A-Z Mystery Contest!

For this Worthy entry :

ONE, ELEGANT, AZALIA, FLOWING, AZIMUTHALLY 

(Azimuthally!)

I choose Jan Morrison, intuitive writer pal - 

for her clever gusto. 

Jan, I can only imagine how enjoyable and mind-blowing Scrabble games with you must be! 

I shall contact you for mailing details soon!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

And Happy Pi Day!