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Chickens are everywhere these days. When I walk my dogs around the park (right here in town) I often hear a rooster crowing. I think it’s probably a code violation, but I like it. I grew up with chickens  (No, I was not RAISED by chickens! No matter what anyone says… ) I have no powerful urge to own  chickens these days, but  I do like to draw them, and make up little stories about their fears, and trials…

…and triumphs. This is from a story out making the rounds. Be brave, chicken! You never know.

Work is necessary, work is good. But gritting your teeth and working, head down, is not always good for your work. You can carve a rut in your brain. You can stumble in and get stuck there.  Sometimes it pays to look UP.

This time of year, we like to watch the Vaux’s swifts migrate through Portland. One place they stop is the chimney of the Chapman elementary school in NW Portland. 10 or 15,000 or more birds swirl down into this chimney. Living smoke, in reverse. (Good info at the local Audubon Society site, HERE. ) A LOT of people go to see this event, these days. All types; from bookish bird watchers making notes in notebooks, to arty types with elegant picnics and tiny dogs tucked under their arms, to young parents with lumbering, panting, old dogs and burbling babies, and/or young children who break away and spend the hour before sunset shrieking with glee, sliding down the hill on scraps of cardboard… NOT your average bird-watching expedition. But a great spectacle, in the air and on the ground.

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Wow! Congratulations to Cynthea Liu for her great Take the Dare: Show You Care fundraising effort for Tulakes Elementary. They raised $15,000 to support various literacy-building activities. Zowie. That’s a lot. I’m glad I could be a teeny little part of the effort. (I donated a Bubble Party Prize Package, with a copy of Bubble Homes, and prints, and cards, a bubble-stuff recipe, and bubble activities, such as ever-so-silly otter-face hat. See above.) I admire people who can organize, and motivate…

Drop by and say Hi!

So here I am, working late late when I’m flying out early, early.

Silly me.

Looking forward to a lot of mingling with books and book people… lovely, lovely books. And lovely, lovely book people. If you stop by the Charlesbridge booth on Saturday roundabout 11 am, I will happily deface a copy of Bubble Homes & Fish Farts for you.

I just picked up my postcards this afternoon, from the nice folks at JDA Creative Color. They were kind to me in my frazzled state, and they did a great job, too.  There’s a bubble recipe on the back! So you can have your own bubble fun.

A young writing friend and neighbor, Bridget Zinn, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, just as great things were starting to happen with her writing career. She signed with a super agent (yay!) A week or two later she went to the emergency room with a headache (it was a very bad headache) and a few other mysterious symptoms. She got an incomprehensible diagnosis (She’s young! She’s fit! She doesn’t drink, smoke, or eat meat!) followed by a grueling course of medical treatment, and medical bills, bills, bills. This is SO wrong. She’s a talented, funny person, and a positive force in the writing community. Helping out, organizing events, sending reminders for writer friends’ book events even after chemo, as the nasty side effects kicked in! We need people like this in the world. We need them happy and healthy and on their feet. We can’t fight the cancer for her, but maybe we can help a little with the bills. Here’s a link to an online auction where you can purchase many cool items and services and do good at the same time. I am offering the illustration above, from Bubble Homes & Fish Farts.

Happy New Year! Let’s have some fun with this thing.

Bet you thought I meant something else. Why would I want to think about THAT? Bleah.

From all of us to all of you. (Though Molly would rather be chasing a ball.)

This is a character for a picturebook project. He’s based on a pleasant old fellow I often see around my neighborhood, walking his dog and reading a book. (Or, once, a newspaper.) My neighbor does not look like the character he inspired, except for the book. The connection is in how he presents himself to the world,or avoids doing so… They don’t walk very fast, either one of them.