Debi Novotny This week I have the pleasure of interviewing children’s book author, Debi Novotny. Debi and I have visited schools together as guest authors and shared a booth at the Tucson Festival of Books that is held every year in March. She’s so much fun to hang out with. Debi has published three children’s…
It’s HOT Summer in Phoenix is hot. Turn the slow cooker off, I’m done. Turn the grill off, my internal temperature is the same as a well-done steak. Let’s eat out; I’ll cook the eggs on the patio pavers. There’s no doubt about it, summer in Phoenix is hot. I’m not complaining, I’m stating a…
Book Review I offered to review a recently published book (March 2020) about birds. Not only because I write picture books with bird characters, but also because I love birds (except the sparrows who are draining the nectar from my hummingbird feeder). What really caught my attention was the title, Bird is the Word. Once…
Award-Winning Author This week I’m interviewing award-winning author, Suzie Olsen. Suzie writes picture books with a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) theme to encourage children to consider careers in STEM. Suzie and I have something in common, other than writing children’s picture books: we share an illustrator, Davina Kinney. I love Suzie’s books because…
ADVENTURER My Dad was an adventurer. He was born in 1912 in Detroit, Michigan, the automobile capital of the world. He was wild, he was fearless, he knew how to have a good time. Swimming in nearby Lake Huron kept him and his buddies busy. They challenged each other to dive as deep as they…
SUMMERTIME It’s summertime, and you all know what that means, fresh veggies from your garden. What? You don’t have a garden? There’s nothing like digging in the dirt and plucking fresh carrots from the ground yourself – that is if the rabbits don’t get them first. I’ve tried gardening, and this is how my gardens…
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Number 1 Son & Number 1 Daughter and I visited Florida the first of March, just before the quarantine confined us to our homes. The highlight of our trip was visiting the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Oh my gosh, that was such an exciting experience. The shuttle bus drove past…
Award-Winning Author/Illustrator I interviewed award-winning author/illustrator, Rita Goldner, and am excited to share her fascinating journey. This is the first in a series of author interviews I plan to do. Rita just published a picture book about the water cycle, which she’ll tell us about in the interview. I’ve purchased all of Rita’s books and…
PANDEMIC COOKING It’s been 74 days that I’ve cooked dinner every . . . single . . . night. We haven’t picked up fast food; we haven’t ordered take out; we haven’t used curbside. It would have been 75 days, but the children, bless their hearts, ordered pizza from a mom & pop business for…
ROCK AND ROLL I ran the Phoenix Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Well, I walked it. Okay, I walked the half, it was the half marathon. One early, very early, cold morning in January , my daughter and I busted out of our starting corral with 30,000 of our closest friends. We power walked our way…