Stripes
walking along the trail beside me.
Treasures from the conference
Drinks
Meg Fleming, Mary Peterson, Allyn Johnston, M.T. Anderson, me, Winsome Bingham, Lauren Rille, Marla Frazee
SCBWI Los Angeles
Every summer SCBWI has a conference in L.A. I feel so lucky to be here, among 1200 kindred spirits.
Out my window
Eugene Yelchin: one of the most thought-provoking speakers I heard today.
A box of books arrived this afternoon!
It’s a great blessing to have someone close who eagerly awaits reading and critiquing my stories.
Olive, Again
Chirri & Chirra?
I rode with Kathy this evening. It was a first for me: veering off the paved path onto these storybook gravel and dirt trails that twisted and turned through the forest.
Chirri & Chirra is one of my favorite children’s book series. It’s by Japanese author and illustrator Kaya Doi. Chirri & Chirra peddle their bikes through each book and have phenomenal adventures. One story takes place in the forest, one in the tall grass, one in the snow, and one underground. “Vibrant, lively, and astonishingly sweet in a pure, unsentimental way, the books present us with relatable children, small animals, lots of food, atmosphere, and many mysteries.”
There’s even a Chirri & Chirra book that takes place under the sea!
That one hasn’t been translated into English yet, but the illustrations tell the story.
I love these books almost as much as I love riding my bike.
From our garden at the compound
It’s true! I know you don’t believe me! But I’ve changed into a person who is responsible enough to water a garden.
Walking down Veranda Road
7:55 pm
8:02 pm
The Garden Club
The Garden Club celebrates its first tomato. (That’s Kathy, Anne, & me.) Anne is holding a basil leaf from the garden. We had champagne, the tomato with salt & papper, crackers, mozzarella, avocado, and basil.
Weird Pumas
$11 at Ross Dress For Less. In case you don’t have your calculator handy, that’s $5.50 per shoe.
Climbing the Wall
There is a girl in our compound named Kathy who is a bad influence on me. So I asked her if she wanted to use Tom’s ticket to Chatter ABQ this morning, since Tom was going to take his sister and bro up the tram. The program was wonderful. (A solo cellist named Joseph Johnson and a poet named Donald Levering.)
Then Kathy and I hit the farmers market at the rail yards, where they had this rock climbing wall. She made me try it. You know how it is - peer pressure, trying to impress a new friend. That’s her below, in her dress and heels, nonchalantly climbing up the wall. But I made it a little higher than she did, as you can see.
p.s. I’m really good at Photoshop as well as rock climbing.
Lots of Laughs
Tom’s bro Bill, his sister Diane, and the man himself
Mimi's Treasure Trouble
The second MIMI book––Mimi’s Treasure Trouble–– went to press today.
Out My Back Door
Christmas in July
Aggles and I read the Moomin books together when we met in Chattanooga a few Christmas’s ago. Look what I got in the mail from her today. The complete comic strip! Have you ever seen such a wonderfully weird book?
