Happy 2016!

Due to my taking time off while my sister was visiting (she left for home yesterday), I don't have an actual post ready for today. But, here is a wonderful thought from my sweet friend and uber talented author, Salina Yoon, that I wanted to share with you.

I've promised to be bold, be brave, and to shine this year. Will you?

Be sure to check out Salina's new book in which this character is featured:

Happy New Year!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

SQUEEEE! Look what I won!

Last month, the awesome author/illustrator Russ Cox held a giveaway for his newest book, FARAWAY FRIENDS. It was the easiest contest to enter ever: all you had to do was Like the Facebook page, and since I already adored his art, why not like the page, right? (And you might want to Like the page too...no pressure or anything. I will just be mad at you if you don't...kidding! I can't even keep track of my own schedule.)

Guess who won?! Yes, my next door neighbor!

Riiiight. It was me! I think it was quite appropriate that I won because I write sci-fi and picture books, and I love sci-fi and picture books. Plus, it was Mother's Day yesterday and will be my birthday this coming week. Since my family doesn't get me anything, I rely on the kindness of strangers (or myself) for presents.

Check it out: a copy of the book, a poster, bookmarks, aaaaaand...

(pssst...a secret: the book cover glows in the dark!!)

an original drawing! Woohoo! This baby is getting framed (in a good way; not a "it's going to take the fall for me" way).

Take a look at the fun endpapers and copyright page of the book:

 If the end pages don't make you want to read the book, you might want to get your eyesight and sense of humor checked out ASAP. So run to your nearest bookstore or library and get this book to read. You can thank me later. I take major credit cards.

I think you'll agree that this was worth breaking from my blogging break for, don't you?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

RETRASH - a book review

If you know me, you'd probably know that I am loathed to do a number of things: drive, exercise, do interviews, and do book reviews. Oh, and I hate to leave the house too, but let us talk about my serious neuroses some other post.

So, you may have fallen off your chair when you saw "a book review" in my blog title. It's a lot easier to fall off the chair if you're sitting on a therapy ball, by the way.

But, yes! You read right - no need to keep rubbing your eyes or wonder if the mushrooms you ate last night were hallucinogenic - this is really a book review. It's a pretty short book review, but it is an actual one.

I recently won an e-version of an usual but über cool book.

The book, written by Nathan Devine, is cleverly titled, retrash: Upcycle, Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle. As Nathan says in the forward, "This book represents a small part of the solution to our growing problem of waste..." and features the work of indie artists and crafters who created stunning new things out of old materials that would otherwise have cluttered landfills.

Divided into twelve chapters - fabric/fashion, timber, electronics, linoleum, paper/cardboard, kitchenware, billboards, metal, glass, mixed materials, jewelry, plastic - each section is full of gorgeous color photos along with the artists' descriptions of how they came to make what they do, what inspires them, and more. Their Etsy addresses are given in case anyone wanted to order their products, which I know you will find irresistible. Or, if you're the creative sort yourself, their creations will spark your own ideas of what to do with the materials around you that would usually be thrown out. 

an example of the extraordinary art in the book

However it moves you, and I promise it will, you will leave this book never looking looking at trash, or art, the same way again.

To get a discount coupon and for info on how to order the book, go to the retrash Facebook page. It would make a great gift for those on your list who are environmentally-minded or have an artistic soul. And, you know, the holidays are coming up!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Good food, good spaces

I wish I could say that watching Julie & Julia inspired me to cook more, but, really, why would I when I have an amazing hubby* who, like a culinary MacGyver, can whip up a meal fit for a queen with just some salt, herbs, and duct tape. Well, ok, maybe not duct tape.

Last night, he picked some mache and lettuce from our greenhouse, and cooked up fried potatoes in duck fat, made a salad with the greens, and also a cold green bean salad with the beans we had canned. Simple, yes, but my taste buds were more than amused.This is partly why we've not been eating out much lately. Even the really good restaurants don't have fresh enough, or organic enough, veggies to suit our tastes.

I'm reading this book right now that makes me want to totally revamp my art/craft/sewing space. It's an easy read: lots of photos and very few words. I recommend it to all my crafty blog friends!

What are you reading this week?

*Hubby may be a superb chef, but he does pick the worst movies to watch.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Rhyming dinosaurs?

Thanks to the comments he posted to my blog, I stumbled across Douglas Florian's fun blog, Florian Cafe.

I know many of you who read this blog have little ones who are crazy about dinosaurs, so I want to point you to Douglas' very cute and clever book, Dinothesaurus. He shares one of the funny poems in a post: Pterrifying Pterosaurs. Check it out!

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." ~ Johann von Goethe

And the book goes to....

(drum roll; sound of envelope being opened - since there is no actual sound in the random integer generator being run at Random.org)

You need to click to enlarge the image in order to see the number chosen, but it is "2".

Soooo, Heather, come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price Is...Oh wait, that's not this contest. ;D

And to everyone: come back tomorrow when I announce the next My Vice Giveaway!

"Happiness depends upon ourselves." ~ Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)