Not only have the lost corrections/additions from my afternoon’s work been found, but I think I have now emerged from a combo jet lag/head cold hibernation. We have been back from the UK for over a week, and I think I am now officially back to normal. Last night, though I hate to admit it, I went to bed at 8 pm and slept until 6 am. That’s what finally did the trick! So tonight I am actually still awake at 9:15. Incredible! My husband is astonished.
Monthly Archive for February, 2009
I don’t know if you have ever seen your labors disappear into cyberspace (no doubt you have). I spent a couple hours this afternoon revising Praise Her in the Gates for a new updated version, and I was feeling very smug about getting so much done. But it all went out the window with one click, and there I was, realizing that I would have to start all over again. My mistake. After the initial disappointment, there is really only one thing to do. Start over again.
Things to do list:
1. Revise Praise Her in the Gates.
2. Revise Praise Her in the Gates again.
I have to say that in my longstanding tradition of not watching the Academy Awards, my vote for best picture finally won. If you haven’t seen Slumdog Millionaire (and you don’t mind a bit of blood and fast moving action) run, don’t walk, to see it while it’s on the big screen. Well shot, well acted, well told, Slumdog is a brilliant film centered around what’s been the downfall of many a man, mammon. Neither Nate or I have left a movie in a long time that was so satisfying on all fronts. And while on the topic of Slumdog, here’s a BBC story I found interesting,
“Slumdog children to be rehoused
Two child actors from the film Slumdog Millionaire will be moved from slums to new houses by Indian authorities.Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, who played young versions of two main characters, were discovered by casting agents in Mumbai’s Garib Nagar slum.
There was an outcry when it was found they were still living there after the success of the Oscar-winning film…”
Read more here.
P.S. The first comment has a spoiler so if you plan on seeing it, skip the comments!
So as most of you know by now, Dandelion Fire, released today. To promote the book, Random House sent Nate on a four city book tour for the next nine days. For some good family fun, Nate had each of the kids pick out one of their stuffed animals to keep him company. He then took the camera and you can see the results below.
Left to right we see Ameera’s Natasha, the whale, Lucia’s sea otter, Seamus’ Bob, the reindeer dog, and Rory’s Wolfie, the baby wolf, enjoying a lovely view of Phoenix.
The kids were very pleased when they saw the email this afternoon. Next stop, Chicago!
So here it is – Shrove Tuesday. Isn’t it called Fat Tuesday in the South? Or is that just New Orleans? Either way, today is the day before Lent, and here in England that makes it Pancake Day. No gumbo, no jambalaya, no spicy foods, no revelry, no Mardi Gras parades . . . just a nice, simple, understated, very English approach to the day before Lent – pancakes.
The tradition began apparently, because people were cleaning out their cupboards in preparation for the 40 days – and needed to use up all the eggs and flour. Thus the pancake. And an interesting observation that I read somewhere was that the Egg theme at Easter is nothing to do with pagan fertility symbols being surreptiously brought into the resurrection story . . . it’s far more likely that the hens kept right on laying all the way through Lent – and so by the time it got to be Easter everyone had a vast quantity of eggs that they needed to deal with in some way. Coloring them and making up games for children with them is a very clever use of resources I have to say!
Now, I don’t do Lent. But I can definitely get into Pancake Day. I mean, in the same way that I can appreciate Bonfire Day even though I’m not English, I can also really get into Continue reading ‘Happy Pancake Day!’
Today my son’s book, Dandelion Fire (the second in the 100 Cupboards trilogy)Â is released, so we are toasting N.D. today even though he is on the road on a book tour. You may have seen this link over on my husband’s blog to a very fun interview with Nate about DF, as well as his book tour schedule. Are we excited? Well, yes!
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