Monday, November 26, 2007

One Deep Breath: Adventure

Quiet Paths suggested "adventure" as the theme.
mr. squirrel thumps tail
eats sunflower seeds, dogs bark
glass wall separates
++++++++++++++++++++
two granddaughters play
princess dresses make believe
adventure magic
+++++++++++++++++++++
frost whiskers on leaves
sun peeks out above mountain ridge
wind sings morning song
For more, please visit, One Deep Breath.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

One Deep Breath: Belonging


Squash, Milwaukie Famer's Market
October, 2007



"Belonging", the prompt at One Deep Breath fits the theme of this year's Thanksgiving card.

bountiful autumn
family, food, friends, blessings
love surrounds, give thanks
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
More on Belonging:
dark envelopes me
fire flickers, sparks pop ignite
quiet soul song heard
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
words, laughter, chatter
family gathers around
mirror reflects joy
For more, please visit One Deep Breath. Thank you to Glad who proposed this prompt.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Robert's Snow: An Auction to Raise Money for Cancer Research

"Let It Snow" by Annette Simon

For week's there have been many bloggers from the children's lit world (kidlitosphere) bringing awareness to a snowflake auction. This money is for cancer research. I am featuring five artists on my library blog, "Check It Out". Today's artist is Annette Simon.

Beach, sand instead of snow, growing up in Ohio without an ocean nearby and now living in Ponte Vedra , FL; those thoughts all figured into Annette Simon’s snowflake, “Let it Snow”. Her snowflake will be in the first auction, November 19-23 at Robert’s Snow.

Annette says, “The beach is a great place to make up stories about what you can see (or not).” Then look at her snowflake closely. “Do you see “that faraway boat”, the “tiny triangle”? She imagines it’s hosting a party; “on my snowflake’s boat, kids are dancing. Trust me.”

Why did she use simple shapes? Annette says that she could say it was for “purely aesthetic/design reasons or for lack of time due to the antics of a teenage son. Either sound suspicious. Both are true.”

However, the snowflake sparked a new idea for a book involving all kinds of ocean things. Annette told me she is dancing with the starfish these days and went on to say, “if the snowflake sells at all, I will consider it a success. I am truly humbled to be in the company of these artists.” It will sell I am sure.

Some random questions for my snowflake artist:

What is on your nightstand?
On my nightstand: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (embarrassed to say I've not yet read); March by Geraldine Brooks (haunting), Talk Talk by E.L. Konigsburg (she's from Ponte Vedra), Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Sara Fanelli, and Artist to Artist by the folks at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.
Chocolate: Dark, milk, or white?
Mmmm. Dark chocolate. Dark. Dark. Dark.
Favorite childhood book?
From The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (and yes, I acted like a blithering idiot the first time I met her), E.B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan, my aunt's Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew collections. Oh, and the first book I ever truly read on my own: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. (Love love Dr. Seuss.)
Some childhood book-related trivia: My mom's maiden name is Carroll. Though we all know, Lewis Carroll was not the real name of the author of Alice in Wonderland, it was not my fault that all my elementary school friends thought we were related. Nope. Not one bit.
More trivia: In third grade, I won a poster contest for Fire Prevention Week. It was the first time I was paid for my words and artwork (five whole dollars that I promptly spent on colored pencils and chocolate), and my poster was displayed at the town's new firehouse (Grand Opening). I felt like a celebrity.
Whom would you like to meet?
George Clooney and I share the exact same birthday. And of course, one day I would like to tell him in person.
If you were not an artist, what occupation would you choose?
I can't imagine not doing art in some form. For a while, I dreamed of leaving advertising to be an art teacher. However, I've realized I simply do not have the kind of patience good teachers must have. (I bow down to teachers. No kidding.)

Annette Simon has recently made her foray into the kidlitosphere world. Her opening comment to me was, “Don't you just love the kidlitosphere?” Her book, Mocking Birdies, was a finalist for The Writers' League of Texas Teddy Awards, a pick for the American Institute of Graphic Arts' 50 Books/50 covers exhibit, and named a Best Book for Children by the Association of Booksellers for Children.

Leave a comment. Your name will be in a drawing for a copy of her book. Annette graciously donated a book to my library and a book for the drawing. I told her to let me pay for it and she said,” no way.” Therefore, I will bid on her snowflake instead. It reminds me of California winters as a child. I will draw the winner on November 19.
Please visit the other illustrators today and get ready to start bidding on these wonderful treasures of original art while helping to raise money for cancer research.

One Deep Breath: Loneliness

It is Friday. I have haiku to contribute. It has been a good week. "Loneliness" is the prompt for the week thanks to Patois.

misty fog threads city
a leaf tumbles, floats from branch
I peer from window

nose pressed on window
rain drop drips against cold pane
waits, anticipates

packages unwrapped
tree lights blink, cast shadows
unseen emotions

Please visit One Deep Breath for more.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

One Deep Breath: Change

I see a small group of students for lunch on Thursdays. We write poetry. I often use the prompts by One Deep Breath for the group as appropriate. Lots of times I write as well. Wrote this but missed the posting deadline.

scrunch, crunch, scuffle, kick
burnt sienna leaf carpet
spring recycled here

For more, visit One Deep Breath. My goal is to get posted before the comments close this week.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Mrs. Halloween: You Have to Have Fun



Yesterday was Halloween. My husband and I joined our daughters and their families to take the grand babies trick or treating. It is what grandparents do, right? It morphed into the grandparents (that would be me and my husband) dressing up.





The morning started out normal. I left for school in black,white, and orange striped socks (I LOVE striped socks), a black skirt, burnt sienna top and black vest. I adorned the creepy spider postage stamp pin on the vest (more on that, later). As I was passing through the garage, I remembered a crazy hat so I grabbed it. This was about as close to dressing up as I could get without, blatantly shouting, "I have fun on Halloween even though others hate the holiday."


These days at school it is business as normal (well, in some rooms it is like that and others rooms? Let's say they have a lot of fun) We have a large part of our school population that does not acknowledge Halloween. Now there are some who don't even want their children participating in anything related to harvest activities. My second graders notices the creepy spider pin and thought it was great. Mostly the boys, the girls, not so much.


But I digress. So through out the day, the idea grew: create a little costume myself. A black wig for under the hat, dark eye make-up. I headed to the local store after school. That was a last minute mad house. And found not just a wig but a hat with a spider web and green hair! Plus besides the black lipstick, I found "tattoo sleeves" for my husband!


My three year old granddaughter referred to me as "Mrs. Halloween" after the initial fright wore off. Too funny. Her uncle (dad of our other grandchild) showed up as "Pooh".





We all started off and what a blast. The neighborhood we visited was packed with families. A cold, crisp night with crunchy leaves beneath brought back memories of when my parents took me around. Could it be a new tradition has begun?