Anonymous Scottish book art

Isn't it lovely? More here.

Furball Friday: Guest Furball

Lately Wilbur and George have been all "put the camera away woman, I can't pose for your blog like 24 hours a day". Thankfully there are other more accommodating furballs, such as this little fellow. His name is Walter III (aka Trip) and his sunny little forehead just calls out for some love. Thanks for visiting Trip!

Good-bye summer

I know we still have two days, but it already feels like fall with the chilly nights and leaves starting to turn. I am still picking bouquets at our CSA, hoping to keep summer alive in our house a few weeks longer...

Long time no see

While unpacking boxes, I recently came across a stack of books from my childhood that I haven't seen in years. I LOVED this series. The books originally belonged to my mom, they were first published in 1913. I can't wait to reread them! Finding them was perfect timing, as I've been working on my own chapter book of animal stories.

Furball Friday

Once again, a move provides fabulous sleeping spots for Wilbur.

Settling down

Please pardon the radio silence as I get unpacked in our new home (again). This time we're settling for awhile an it feels great. Most of our place is still in boxes, but the living room is shaping up nicely. The house we're renting feels like a little mountain lodge.

This is the view from the living room window:

And a little fellow my husband caught the other day:

The place is brimming with wildlife; there are hummingbirds, dragonflies, frogs, chipmunks, and deer all over the place (I'm told bears as well, though we haven't seen any yet). The woods are full of edible mushrooms, my husband had some for lunch today that looked like this:

It's been a really nice change from city life, and a big sigh of relief to unpack things that have been in storage for more than a year. I realized pretty quickly as we started sifting through boxes that the vast majority of my things fall into one of three categories: books (of course), art supplies, and angsty drawings from college like this one:

I'd love to purge and lighten our load but I find each of those things very hard to get rid of, for different reasons. The books because I want to remember them and reread them and use them for inspiring new stories. The art supplies because of all the projects I might need them for. And the drawings because the more time that passes since art school the more I forget where I started on the journey to becoming an author and illustrator. And it's good to remember that beginning and how much has changed since then.