Gwyneth Jones, the Daring Librarian, and me! WEMTA 2012

Teacher Librarian At Work!

This is what I do when I go to a conference.
I thought I was supposed to listen to speakers!

WEMTA 2012!

Mother Goose

This is my fourth year posing as Mother Goose for our 4-Year Old friends!

Another Author

Third one this year. This is Kevin Fox. He wrote a book called Until the Next Time. It is set in Ireland and New York. It's a bit of a murder mystery. I've read chapter one and like it so far. But meeting him was really fun. So was spending time with Naomi and Pat. And of course, the corned beef and cabbage was delicious!

Happy St. Patty's Day Grandma et al

It's only March 10, but we're already celebrating! What a fun day. My Irish ancestors would be proud.

Family Portrait

Normally I'd say that it is a sad day when your most recent family portrait is taken in the hospital less than 24 hours after your parents have both been admitted.
Fortunately both are doing better and are expected to return home in the next day or two.
Dad is masked so as not to "infect" Mom with pneumonia.

We decided later, that we needed to see Dad's smile.

Happy Valentine's Day

Cake pops for everyone! Do I have time for this? No, but this keeps me from going insane from work!

2 Authors in One Week!

Me with Mark Crilley and Nancy Carlson!
I love meeting authors. It gives so much insight into the writing process.

6 Generations of YUM!

Anderson's Candy in Richmond, IL is one of my favorites.

This was a fun day visiting with my Mom!
My great-grandmother came to this shop. I know that my cousin's children and even their children have been here!

Whose woods these are ...

I'm sure that Robert Frost must have skiied at Minooka!

It was 50 Degrees Yesterday!

On Wednesday JANUARY 11 it was 50 degrees.
On Thursday it started to rain, then snow.
Six inches later, winter had arrived.
This photo was taken out of my window of the Northbrook, IL Hilton on Friday morning Jan. 13 (or maybe Saturday). I was there for the Annual Burch Winter Scrapbook Retreat. I'm sure it didn't look like Winter here either on Wednesday.

Was it worth a four-hour drive through a blizzard? .....
Yep. I got 26 pages done because I was there at 9:00 a.m. (and pretty lonely at that point)!
In case you can't read it, my t-shirt says: To Scrap or Not to Scrap ... What a stupid question!

Welcome Winter?

This just looked so pretty in the sunlight.
Not sure if I should have put it up, though. Within days the temperature went from 40 to 20!

Joy

This is Bob. Bob was born in my backyard about 18 months ago. He spent the first year of his life in the bushes behind my house. Last summer we befriended each other. He bravely came to me (with the encouragement of a little food) so we took him in. He lived inside for about three weeks, but then he begged to go out. Since then he comes and goes - never staying more than 24 hours at a time.

This is a picture of Bob just before Christmas surrounded by toys. All of them except for one were used by Charlie and Jack. He got a new "whip" toy. He loves them. He's been through three this year. He basically eats them.

So here is Bob in from the cold enjoying the sun surrounded by toys.

During this complicated Christmas season, it is good to remember that Joy is simple.