Raccoons, interview, and dry basements February 24, 2010

Bandits! Go, raccoons!  I'm deep in a midnight world of furry creatures, and hilltop picnics. 

I've temporarily given up on time wasting activities, like taking showers, and washing dishes, and cleaning up after myself. There will be time for all of that stuff in a couple of days...for now, I'm painting fur. Lots and lots of raccoon fur!

In other news, Amy Baskin was kind enough to post an interview about me on her blog! I spent a great afternoon with Amy recently, in her adorable NE house, where she fed me apple bread and we talked about everything from audio books to puppets. You can check out the interview, right here.

Also, in very exciting home news..Gabe figured out how to make our basement stop leaking! This is really, the greatest thing in the world. Some kind of wintery miracle. The lake in the basement has completely dried up! We're hoping we can set up our music zone one day soon, and get all of the band equipment out of the living room. Oh happy day!

Bandits bandits bandits... February 10, 2010

I'm hard at work over here, on my new book, Bandits (coming, Spring 2011)! Here is a little sketch-a-roni of one of the pages, though I'm definitely knee deep in the painting stage these days. I feel a lot more at ease working on this one, than I did with The Secret Circus. The second time around, could be a bit easier? Fingers crossed that this is true. Now, working on The Secret Circus was a real joy, don't get me wrong. But I was racked with nervousness about it all, before, during and after. So I'm happy to leave that anxiety at the door, and just focus on doing what I like to do. Paint!  I think I understand the process a tiny bit better than I did back then. Both the way that I tend to work, and the way the whole publishing end works. Or..do I? Watch me eat my words here, as the deadlines loom closer, but at the moment, me and these sneaky raccoons seem to be getting along just fine.....

Adios, January February 03, 2010

January was a weird. I'm just going to go ahead and say it. It was WEIRD. And it felt really long. This morning Gabe and I were marveling at just how long it felt. "Did we really just move into our new house, a month ago?" Centuries have lapsed. Landscapes have transformed.  Species have migrated. Oceans have swelled and receded. Or, so it seems....

In reality, we've just been adjusting and transforming and navigating this new life of ours. Picking up hammers and making lists. There were many, many, highlights in January. And stinky times too. I've compiled them in list form.

The Great
-----
1. Moved into beautiful, fabulous, new house, at last!
2. Incredibly busy with work projects (two book projects due in the next six months, and a mountain of half baked ideas to pitch, lots of stores and galleries to ship stuff to.....)
3. VERY relaxing mountain weekend with two friends from my younger years.
4. Experiencing our new neighborhood (ahhh, to be in walking distance of pizza, and good coffee shops and restaurants. Heaven. Also, we now live within walking distance of many, many good friends. So fun to just pop in on people, and be popped in on, too. Is that a real term? 'Popped in on' ? Sounds gross.)
5. Swimming at neighborhood public pool that is only FIVE blocks from our house.  I love to swim, but really, the best part about this is that I get to stumble down there in my pajamas.
6. Lots of readings at  book events, and fun times with kids book people and kids of all ages. (Thanks Aimee, Jennifer from Green Bean, and Vicki, for the pictures, above!) Fun times.
7. Handyman Gabe! He's a champ. Same goes for the great folks who have loaned us their skills, and tools and time to help us out these last few weeks. Our kitchen is now the color of butter, with a little curry colored breakfast nook. Perfecto. The bathroom is on its way to becoming a tiled masterpiece.
8. Avatar.
9. Our friends just had a new little baby, and we got to visit her in the hospital! Teeny tiny goodness.
10. Recorded some tunes with friends and played a really fun show.

Not So Great
-----------

1. Struggling with middle grade novel I've been working on forever. And thinking that maybe I need to throw out the first hundred pages and start again. THE FIRST HUNDRED PAGES. That's a lot, considering that some middle grade novels are only 100 pages, TOTAL.
2. Read an article about a giant massive earthquake that is supposed to hit Portland in the near future. This, coupled with the horror of what happened in Haiti (which, of course, deserves to be on a list that is a million miles from my measly and whiny not-so-great list...) has sparked some serious 'natural disaster related insomnia' in my brain.
3. Major water basement leakage that had Gabe and I scooping water with garbage cans with the fervor of  Olympic athletes. It SHOULD be an Olympic event. We would rule.
4. Hot water heater on the fritz. Showering in general, at a minimum while tiles are being put in. The sting of this has lessened, now that I have the to-the-pool-in-my-pajamas thing figured out.
5. My back went out. Not terribly, but painfully, like it used to long ago when I first moved to Brooklyn. I know that it is pretty much ENTIRELY stress related, but still not fun to have an ice pack down your pants most of the day. Or is it? For some, perhaps.

Ok, that's it. My whole brain dump. February is here!.

Green Bean Books January 26, 2010

I'll be reading at the wonderful and amazing children's book store, Green Bean Books on Alberta St, this Saturday, January 30th, at 4pm.

This is a really cozy place, so space is limited. It would be great to see you there!

Belmont Library January 13, 2010

If you have ever wanted to shake the tiny hand of a feisty French mouse puppet, this is your chance! I'll be at the Belmont Library in Portland (with Monsieur Mouse), at 11:15 on Saturday. Would love to see you there. No cats allowed.

Here are some DETAILS.

January 06, 2010

Here are a few pictures of the new house! As you can see, Gabe ripped up a bunch of old, icky, linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom, and found some beautiful fir floors underneath. Yes! 

I'm a little weary of living out of boxes, but I got my studio set up, so now life has more or less returned to normal. If I owe you an email or a phone call, I do apologize. I'm just starting to wade through everything and get back into the swing of things.

Onwards!

Movin on up..(to the northeast side!) December 28, 2009

Hello Friends!

Happy holidays to you all!  There is a lot to catch up on, and a lot to be thankful for in my little world this year. So many things, mountains of things! And so much to look forward to in 2010.

As some of you may know, Gabe and I bought a house a few weeks ago, and now we are actually moving in. Or, more like.. moving, packing, cleaning, moving, packing, cleaning, moving, packing, cleaning...a very exciting (and exhausting) time, that's for sure. I've been doing a lot in the old homestead (cleaning and packing) and Gabe has been a true hero, coordinating all kinds of awesome tasks in the new house...(a new sewer, new water line, new toilet and sink, and super, pretty, refinished floors!) I'll post some pictures as soon as I find that cord thingy.

Happy Holidays! December 19, 2009

Crafty Wonderland on Sunday! December 10, 2009

I'm going to be at the Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale on Sunday! Come on by and take a peek at all of the wonderful vendors! I'll be in booth 24.

Gabe and I are in the middle of packing right now, so there will be no studio visits this month for friendly folks (sorry!). I really recommend coming to the Crafty Wonderland event if you have emailed me about seeing artwork in person. I will have a big stack of books that I'll be signing and selling, so if you want to get one directly from me, this would be the place to do it. And of course I'll also have minis and prints for sale, and some bigger pieces too!

This sale is BIG, and it takes place in the Oregon Convention Center, NOT the Doug Fir so it can comfortably hold everyone. Last year was super fun, and there was plenty of room to walk around.

Hope to see you there!

The New York Times December 06, 2009

The Secret Circus was reviewed in the New York Times Sunday Book Review!!!

I don't even know what to say. Let me just begin by telling you all, that I was so shocked when I found out about this on Saturday, that I spent a long time just staring at the words of the review without being able to make sense of them. Luckily, I have since regained my ability to read, but my giddy and surreal happiness, remains...

New York Times/The Secret Circus