Stitches East
Tomorrow my assistant, Renate, and I are off to Connecticut for the big Stitches East conference in Hartford. This is knitter’s heaven. The classes are fabulous and the market . . . oh my! I OWN a yarn store, and I will still buy yarn, which I’m convinced is the sign of a true addict. (Help! Read more
Happy Birthday Maddy!
My granddaughter, Maddy, and I are celebrating our shared birthday today. Maddy is by far the best birthday gift of my entire life. The day she was born my daughter phoned to let me know she was in labor. I was so excited, and I told her I’d meet her at the hospital. Only I had a nail appointment that day, so I raced down to the salon to tell Jane I had to cancel. Naturally, I told practically everyone in the entire mall that my daughter was having her baby on MY birthday. Then I stopped by the bank to tell my good friend, Betty Read more
Football Sunday
Our entire family loves football. Wayne and I have had season tickets to the Seahawks since 1978. All four of our kids are into football, too. When the season tickets arrive, it’s like a huge lottery to see who gets what game. So, in celebration of Maddy’s and my birthdays this week the entire family is attending the game against the Cardinals this Sunday. The reason I mention this is because Seattle took a restaurant survey a few years back. One of the questions included on the survey was where is the most expensive place to dine in the c Read more
Going Green–or Would that Be Orange?
Okay, I'll admit it. I'm up to my eyeballs in cooked pumpkin. I sorted through recipes, and if I bake twelve more pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread and a huge batch of pumpkin soup, I will have used up one full pumpkin. The problem is, there are still three more pumpkins to be cooked, and they are all larger than the one I've already cooked!
Weekend Contentment
I spent a good portion of my day in the kitchen on Sunday.
Wayne and our son, Ted, carted up pumpkins from the garden–I had six huge ones. I dug up the rest of the carrots and potatoes, so it was the perfect time to make a large batch of stew using vegetables from the garden.
Read more
Young Writers
I’m packing my suitcase tonight to fly up to Rye, NY, and then I’ll head back to our home in Washington state. While in Rye, I’ll speak to the group of young writers who are attending a week-long, intensive workshop as winners of Guideposts’ annual writing contest. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was one of those eager young writers so anxious to see my stories in print. I hope to offer them encouragement and inspiration and show them that it really is possible for our dreams to come true. Read more
Testing Your City Skills
I’m feeling rather intellectually superior this morning. I took a test via the Internet that shows famous cities from the air. Sixteen different cities. I got 14 of the 16 correct, which gave me a 90% score . Wayne, the great brain of the family (and I’m not kidding; he’s a member of MENSA), took the same test and got 60%. I’ve been glowing ever since. If you’re interested in testing your own skill, go to www.guessthecity.com and take it yourself. Have fun. Read more
Columbus Day
Today we celebrate Columbus Day in honor of Christopher Columbus, who sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Some four hundred years later my grandfather crossed that same ocean, coming from a German-speaking settlement inside of Russia near the Black Sea. As it happens, all four of my grandparents came from the same general area in Russia. My guess is that many of our grandparents and ancestors crossed that same ocean. So thank you, dear Christopher Columbus, for leading the way. Read more
Celebrity for a Day
I had quite a Monday. Once the news was out that I had signed with Random House, the phone didn’t stop ringing and I had three or four interviews. In the meantime I was running up and down stairs doing laundry and making a list for Wayne to take to the grocery store. Bogie wanted my attention, too (he likes me to toss him his toys so he can chase after them.) So between laundry, making grocery lists, entertaining Bogie and attempting to write my chapter, I was a celebrity for a day. Ah, the incredible life of the writer! Read more
Big News
Got news? I do, and it’s big! Effective 2012, I’ll be writing for Random House, specifically for Ballantine Bantam Dell. I will forever have friends with the fine people where I have been published for 28 years. However, in this broader world I have created for myself, Random House is the perfect fit. Because it will be a new beginning, I’ll be starting a new series set . . . 76 trumbones please! . . . Read more