Leaving town

We're off to England. Back in two weeks.

The Way Children Think

I've been meeting magazine deadlines. Went with Jeanetta to Mobile to get settled in her new dorm. She volunteered to babysit for friends on the day she was moving in. We managed without too much trouble. So we packed up stuff from about three locations, crammed both cars full, unloaded, unpacked, and shopped for needed supplies with a seven-year old and ten-year old in tow. It felt a bit like deja vu. I haven't forgotten dragging my own four around while I ran errands. And oh boy, did they have the sibling thing going on full blast!

I had Catherine, the 10-year old, in my car. She's very outgoing and chatty. So she was telling me all the things she liked. High School Musical was at the top of the list. She also likes washing dishes, cooking, and swiffering. Too funny. So I asked what she didn't like. Dusting, but she couldn't think of much else. The conversation went on to other things. About ten minutes later she suddenly pipes up with, "Hospitals. I don't like hospitals." The smart brains in these short people ruminate beautifully.

The Essence of Chautauqua

This is a link posted by Betty Haas, one of my fellow Chautauqua attendees. We rode home together on the plane from Buffalo to Atlanta. If you want to know what it was like, this pretty well captures it.

Chautauqua

Chautauqua is a beautiful place. This is the Hotel Athenaeum where I stayed. I was in the annex, out of the picture on the left.

One of the lovely private homes at Chautauqua.

Me with Kathi Appelt, children's writer and my faculty mentor for the week. Kathi has written picture books, poetry, and middle grades fiction and memoir. She's also on the faculty of the MFA program in children's literature at Vermont College.


I came home feeling like one of these carvings.

Status on the house

The house now has shutter, doors and a front porch complete with columns. Managed to get the front yard cleared out so that the geothermal people can figure out where they are putting the pipes for the heating and air.

This picture is foggy because the humidity is so high, I couldn't keep the lens clear!



The electrician has been around, too. As you can see, he's still got some connections to make.