Great day

I had a wonderful time yesterday at Prospect Middle School in Orange, Virginia. I met with Faith Olen and her sixth-grade library classes for most of the morning. They had read most of Wild Women and had a zillion questions--the plots, the characters, the series, the gold and they had wonderful suggestions for future books. Something should happen to Sugar, for example. And they thought I needed to talk about the hurricane in Charlotte County. I love these programs. Thank you, students.

T-shirts

The "I'm a Wild Woman of Lake Anna" T-shirts are finished and Duplicates in Mineral did a wonderful job. A lot of wild women are already wearing them. Fun!

Studying Indians

Because Miss Linda said that we will be learning about Native American Indians in book 3, I have been reading about them. I know the Navajo were out west, not here, but I like one of their traditions. The person who makes a baby laugh first gets to have a special party for the baby. I think that's way cool.

Spiders

Bailey called last night. She is very excited about some of the spiders she and Sugar saw recently. One was quite large and had green on it. She thinks it is an orb spider. Others make webs like big gray hankies on the lawn. She thinks they might be wolf spiders. She is going to look them up.

Exciting news

We received the blue lines yesterday for No Sisters Sisters Club. Boy does the book look good! The cover is terrific, and oh that story!
Then, Marilyn Roots' very nice article about me and the books came out in the Lake Anna Observer this week. She did a good job!
And, we've also had two nice rain showers this week. All our plants and trees are happy because it has been so hot and dry this summer--like Bailey remembers Florida.
I have to get ready to go to a booksigning at Dickinson's Store in a few minutes.

Signs of fall to come

Even though it is still very hot and humid this week, we have the windows open. I can see red berries on the dogwood tree outside my window. Yesterday, I pulled seeds out of the zinnias that were past their bloom and scratched up the earth in several flowerbeds so that we can put on a nice blanket of mulch.

Book four has started

I was trying to get my office cleaned yesterday, which is never an easy job, when the characters from book four became very impatient. They said if I had time to sort through papers, then I must have time to start their book. They were so demanding that I gave in and drafted three and a half chapters. Bailey was quite pleased because she likes them a lot, and they have brought a new mystery with them--the contents of a green suitcase. Bailey, Noah and Fred can't wait to find out what is in it.

A beaver

My husband and I had a lovely boat ride yesterday afternoon on Lake Anna. Even though the summer season has ended, there were still a lot of boaters enjoying the beautiful weather. We explored a long cove near the state park and saw a beaver swimming--the first time I have seen one in the wild. We were close enough to see its flat tail helping propel it. Jim also saw a big fish snatch a minnow. Hate to see summer end!

Zinnias

Sugar says that zinnias make her really happy. I know why. They are all different bright colors. She let me cut some for a vase that we put in the kitchen. She told me that it is time to trim back the black-eyed Susans. They were very pretty this summer, too. I remember all the pretty flowers we had in Florida--all year. Sugar says that it is almost time to plant pansies and that we need to go shopping to get a new winter jacket because I have been growing so much.

Chuck's busy day

We really enjoyed our trip to Caledon Natural Area in King George, Virginia. It is a beautiful place to hike and picnic and enjoy nature. Chuck the crow went with us to meet homeschoolers and Smokey Bear. Ben, 5, wore out poor Chuck. Ben took Chuck flying and let him eat leaves and sticks and grass. And the two of them brought many treasures back to the booth where we were selling books. Chuck couldn't wait to roost on my piano, but he had a lot of fun.

Caledon Natural Area

We are really looking forward to Friday's statewide event at the Caledon Natural Area in King George. I've heard more than 650 people have registered. Bailey wishes she could go, but she has school. See you homeschoolers there.

The garden

I guess fall is really coming. There aren't as many hummingbirds at our feeders and our vegetabel garden is kind of dried up. I did pick two pumpkins. They aren't very big but I like them. I named them Joe and Mo. We didn't plant them. Birds did from seeds. So they were a pumpkin surprise. I don't know if I will carve them or paint faces on them, if they don't rot before Halloween.

Two not enough

When I need a lot of courage, Sugar lets me have three pieces of toast!

Milk Toast

Bailey said several people have asked her how to make Sugar's milk toast--a real comfort food. Sugar gave Bailey milk toast for courage in The Wild Women of Lake Anna. Here's how:
Toast two pieces of bread and put them in a bowl. Heat, or have your parent or grandparent heat about 3/4 cup of milk in a small pan until it scalds (before it boils). Put a couple of pats of butter on the bread, pour the hot milk over it, and add a little salt. You can then eat it it when it is cool enough.
Sugar said her grandmother, one of the wild women, used to make milk popcorn, too, and they would have it on Sunday afternoons as a special treat. Just substitute the popcorn for the toast. Yum.

A beautiful weekend

The weather in Central Virginia has been absolutely perfect this weekend, and we have spent a lot of time at the waterfront, boating and enjoying the beach. Bailey said she and her friends have been washing cars and doing chores to help raise money for the hurricane victims. I'm glad to see so many young people trying to help out.

Digging the garden

A lot of people have been enjoying the beautiful weather today. We decided we need to get some gardening projects finished. Fortunately, Sugar and Bailey stopped by on their way home from a yard sale where Sugar found another bookshelves and Bailey bought a beautiful bowl to give her mother for her birthday next month. They had Saturday clothes on so they volunteered to help us. We all agreed that this is terrible soil. My husband used a pick ax to chop up the hard-as-a-brick ground so we could plant some pretty vines by the shed. Bailey helped me make a rock wall around one side of the flower bed, and Sugar helped shovel topsoil. We were all tired and hot when we were done so we had some cold lemonade on the front porch.

Off to press

Sugar, Bailey and I are celebrating after school today because The No Sisters Sisters Club went to press. In a few weeks we will get the blue lines from the printer. They are no longer printed in blue because the technology has changed, but they are a final look at the set up of the cover and book itself. It would be our last chance to make any changes if we see a major problem. Once the blues are okayed, then the book is put into the book manufacturer's production schedule, and we will be given timeline. Even after the books are received, it takes a long time to get them into the distribution network, which includes making them orderable through bookstores and on-line. But we are all very excited. This also means I need to get to work on finishing the third book.

School news

I've been in touch with the librarian at a middle school in Orange County. She is very excited about the book and is reading it to sixth-graders. She has invited me to talk to several classes at the end of September. That should be great. I'm also going to visit with a class at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Louisa at the end of the month. I'm so glad that kids and teachers like the book and like talking about it. Bailey's friend Emily thinks I should visit their English class. I told Emily it is up to Bailey. I wouldn't want to embarass her in front of her friends. :)