Stick To Your Apples

Well, I finally finished my enormous still life. It's nearly four feet long and two feet wide. Actually, I don't know the exact measurements but it required a lot of time, paint and hair pulling. The silver pitcher itself gave me fits. I must have spent three four to five hour sessions mixing and mixing to get the color right and then mixing some more in an effort to make it look metallic. My palette was a smear of umbers, yellows, blacks and blues. Then the green apples began to turn yellowish. Painting has it downside. Fruit and vegetables rot, flowers wilt. I always get paint over me - my hands, face, legs - you name it. Some of the paints aren't really safe -- namely the cadmiums which are heavy metals and penetrate the skin. I run to the bathroom many times during the course of a painting session to wash up.

There were many times when I got frustrated and almost painted a big X across the entire board, times when I felt like smashing it on the ground. But where would I have been then? No, to get something the way you want it, you have to persevere. Nothing comes of nothing, as somebody sang. The same applies to writing. If we give up on our work, then we have nothing to show. So, stick to you apples.

I'm off now to the studio. I talked with Robert yesterday who told me there's still a small problem with a couple of the apples. "It's worth spending a little more time on them." He gives us plenty of encouragement but never lets us get away with sloppy work either. I'm grateful for that.

Stopping Home

Last week, when Derek made his way into New York State, he called. Could he bring some friends home for a few days? Of course, we said. So, my husband drove to Harriman State Park and picked up him and three of his hiking friends, and brought them all here for a brief sojourn from their arduous journey. So, we had Widowmaker, Cheeze, Katerpillar, Matt and Udog ( possibly the most well behaved dog I've ever met) stay with us for a few days. Matt found Udog in a state park last year, beaten and starving. He took her in, had her spayed and nursed her back to health. Now she accompanies Matt on his hike along the AT. She even carries her own little doggie backpack containing her food and leash.

Cheeze hails from Wisconsin, home of the Cheeseheads, hence his name.

On his first night camping on the trail, Widowmaker pitched his tent under a dead tree. That night a storm toppled the tree onto his tent. He was all right but it a close call. He was immediately dubbed Widowmaker.

The guys camped out on our den floor, grateful for a hot shower, some home cooked meals and a chance to rest their weary feet. Derek took them across the bay to Sunken Forest, Fire Island where they gazed at the ocean and took a quick swim in the chilly salt water. Salt water, by the way, has wonderful healing powers and the dip in the ocean helped to heal their sore feet. If you think of the ocean as a big Epsom Salts bath and you get the general picture. On their last night here, Widowmaker, who attended cooking school, whipped up a chocolate mousse to die for and we treated them to a Long Island specialty -- spaghetti with Littleneck clam sauce. The next morning, Dennis drove them back to the trail and they continued on their trek northward.

Derek, by the way, is now in Vermont where last night the temperature plunged into the upper 30s. This is July? Today he'll be going over Bromley ski area -- a place we skiied as a family many years ago.

Sad News

Some sad news. This past weekend one of my former students died in a motorcycle accident. Apparently, he was drunk and when his friends took his car keys away from him he took off on somebody's motorcycle and lost control, hitting the side of a store. He was booking so it couldn't have been a pretty sight. I'm glad nobody else was hurt or killed.

Jonathan was basically a good hearted guy. He was good looking, charming, talked incessantly and was a gifted athlete. He was also impulsive and his parents were not very involved, at least academically. He had some learning disabilities. I hate this kind of news. I've had other former students die. Two were shot in drug deals gone bad and another died of AIDS. They were all basically good kids with terrible parents.

When you've been teaching for a while, this happens. You lose former students. It comes with the job. Some make it and some don't. My husband taught math for so many years and he lost students as well -- to accidents, disease, suicide and one heroin overdose of a truly gifted pianist. Losing a student never ceases to shock us. All you can say is, "What a waste of a precious life."

When you work in an elementary school, though, as I do, you almost feel that you've lost one of your own. I see these kids every six schools days from the time they enter kindergarten until they graduate in sixth grade. In some small sense, I feel I've helped raised them. If only we could do something to prevent these tragedies.

Meme: Eight Things About Me

Okay, Linda tagged me so now I have to reveal 8 facts/habits about myself. Then, according to the rules, I'm suppose to tag eight other people but I don't think I can. Anyhow, here goes. Hope nobody nods off.

1. I was born with dislocated hips and had to wear a brace until I was two -- when I also learned to walk.

2. When I was little, my hair was blond.

3. I drink eight or more cups of tea every day.

4. When I was in sixth grade, I was voted the service squad leader of the year. I still have my armband and my certificate from the Lion's Club of Wayne, Michigan.

5. I was the first member of my family to ever attend college.

6. I'm good at puzzles and word games -- crossword puzzles, Scrabble, word jumbles, anagrams etc. One of my very favorites is Balderdash. Anybody else ever play this? It's a riot!

7. I have a birthmark on my right thigh shaped like an ice cream cone. If my dad could see that birthmark when I was a teenager, it meant my skirt was too short and I had to change my clothes before I left for school.

8. I lift weights 2-3 times a week and can leg press 270 pounds.

See, I am so boring. I don't know a lot of other people in cyberspace I can tag who Linda hasn't already tagged so I'll just say I did this for the fun of it. Is that all right, Linda?

Summer Solstice

So, here it is, June 21st -- the last day of work and the first day of summer. How often, I wonder, does the beginning of one thing follow on the heels of another? Think of it. For me, the close of the school year signals the beginning of a fresh start -- two months of freedom from classes and getting up at the crack of dawn to buck 30 miles of traffic both to and from work.


I'm thinking about all the things I want to do this summer. Resume running and biking. Do some plein air painting. Plot out the rest of my novel and write, write, write. Savor the salt air, the ocean breezes, lose myself in some great books, meet up with some friends. A lot of my colleagues take classes during the summer but not me; I prefer to chill out. I need the mental and emotional break from the grind. Anyhow, I took a lot of classes during the course of the school year. This fall, I and another librarian may teach a class on picture books at our district's teacher's center. I'm actually kind of excited about it and am already thinking about how I'd like to organize it.

Anyhow, here's to the next eight weeks. Time to kick back and sleep in till at least eight every morning. Sounds like heaven.

A Piece of Good News

A few days ago I received an email from the SCBWI (the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) saying that my poem had been selected the winner of their writing contest. I was shocked! My poem? Surely they had the wrong person. I'd entered a few of their contests in the past and never received so much as an honorable mention. I read the email again. Nope, it was my poem. I won a year's free membership and publication on their website (www.scbwi.org). They wanted me to send them a brief biography.

After a while, I began wondering exactly how many people entered that contest. The challenge was to write a rhyming poem no longer than four stanzas ending with the word June. Maybe they only received a handful of entries. Yesterday the SCBWI published the winning poems as well as the winning illustrations. According to the website, they received over 250 entries so I guess I had some competition after all.

It's been so long since I've won anything that I'm still in a daze. Pinch me, somebody.

The Half Gallon Challenge

When Derek reached the halfway point along the AT - a place called Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania - he took the half gallon challenge. Apparently a little ice cream shop challenges the thru-hikers to eat a half gallon of their delicious ice cream. They have to pay for this, mind you. And what do the hikers get if they polish off the entire half gallon? They get stomach cramps and a free wooden spoon that says something like "The Half Gallon Challenge". Who could resist? Derek finished it but he didn't feel well afterward. Why do the hikers do this over and over when the only people who benefit from it are the owners of the ice cream shop? I can only think that it must be one of those Appalachian Trail rites of passage

Despite all the calories he ingested, he didn't gain an ounce. In fact, he's been having trouble maintaining his weight. When I last spoke with him last, he'd dropped from 132 to 120 pounds. He's naturally slim but that's thin even for him.

Anyhow, Derek called yesterday. He was at the Delaware Water Gap in New Jersey where he planned to stay the night at a hostel and eat a few slices of pizza. He says the closer he gets to New York, the better the pizza. Of course everybody knows New York has the best pizza! He still has many miles to go before he can he's finished -- much of it pretty tough going as he gets into Vermont and Maine.