James Helps with Paperwork

IMG_1663, originally uploaded by feathermar.

There's a lot of papers on our coffeetable - newsletters, magazines--general paperstuff. Jamie likes to take it all off, wait for Grandpa to put it back on (neatly) and then take it all off again. Sometimes he eats a little - a corner here, a corner there.

We tell Grandpa that Jamie helps with the filing. Grandpa's Little Administrative Assistant.

Are you Jealous?

IMG_1810, originally uploaded by feathermar.

Of my beautiful plate? It's from Denmark and I love the three gentlemen courting the three ladies...and I love the apartment builiding and I love the color of the ink...I love this plate really.
Katie and I found it out in Hampton Bays on a rare "Wednesday adventure" while school was out. It was a great little shop and we had to call the shopkeeper, Marilyn, to come and open (as per the sign on the door). Katie got pieces to her bakelite vanity set, and I walked out with this plate.

I know.

january 024, originally uploaded by feathermar.

This bebe is ridiculous. I can't believe it myself!
Colin is now a giant...taking over cities...picking up parked cars...stepping into lakes as if they were puddles.
But he's pretty cute, eh?

I found this video while reading SwissMiss, which is an awesome design blog.
This is completely amazing. I am only just beginning to find out about nutrition and cooking. I've never been a good cook--I guess I've never been a good eater either. I like to bake, but cooking always made me nervous and freaked out. There's too much that can (and does) go wrong with me and cooking that I never was really all that interested. But I have gained weight and started reading labels and looking at how crappy my diet is - and I'm trying to change. It's really hard, though. I like bacon and refined sugar and salt and there's nothing to be done about it--accept to go almost cold turkey...almost.

The Great Chase

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Originally uploaded by feathermar

James wins most of the time, and not always because his mom lets him.

Happy Fish!

january 021, originally uploaded by feathermar.

These are my happy fish! I've been embroidering a lot! I like the yellow and black striped one the best!

Alicia's Fiesta!

Alicia decided to have a Mexican Fiesta for her birthday party theme this year...Kate and I said, "We will take care of the party favors!" So, you know what came next...MOUSTACHES!







We were...oddly tabled, so there wasn't a ton of shenanigans as usual, because we were split, and my back was turned. But we still had fun fun fun and closed down the place and I had delicious fajitas and some pretty good cerveza. And I got to wear a moustache. Happy Birthday, Bambina Alicia!

I Conferenced--I conferred?

So, this weekend I went to the SCBWI conference-- the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I thought it would be a big deal...but it turned out to be a really big deal. I mean, not for me. There were a LOT of people there, and some of them were super famous! I was able to hear (and later meet) Libba Bray, who won the Prinze Award this year. I was also able to hear Jane Yolen speak, and I told her how much I loved Pay the Piper. It was an awesome conference, and I learned a lot...and I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with all the information.
There were over a thousand people there-- from Australia, California, Washington and a gabillion other places. I was a little shy, which is unusual for me -- so I didn't really network.

In other news, I feel unwell. So this is me whining - whine whine snort whine. The End.
In other news, I didn't blog a Happy Birthday to my nephew Lochlain - like I normally would. He's five this year, and a strong willed five at that. Here's a picture of him from (probably) four and a half years ago:


So, Happy Birthday, Loch! Aunt Gail and Uncle Joe and Jamie will bring you your presents when they come to visit! I love you!