Kidlit Bloggers Conference

Here is where Freckles and Deb spent last Saturday! We had a wonderful time. The conference presenters offered lots of information about blogging and kidlit (which is children's literature for those who were wondering!) It was held at the Sheraton Portland (Oregon) Airport Hotel.

Now, I know what you are probably thinking: She wasn't crazy enough to bring Freckles to a hotel conference, was she? Well, here's some proof:

That's Rachel (on the left) and Kim (on the right) and Freckles in the middle! They are a couple of Deb's friends and are soon-to-be-famous authors!

Now, here is where I need to apologize to another friend and also soon-to-be-famous author, Annette. You see, Annette also posed with Freckles, however I was having trouble with my camera. (I really should review the directions more often!) The picture didn't turn out very well. In fact it's not really a picture -- it's a fuzzy video that mostly shows the tablecloth with my voice in the background saying, "What's wrong with this camera?" So, Annette, I'm really sorry. I'll do better next time!

Here's another picture of Freckles posing with some people:

That's Laini (on the left ) and Jen (on the right) and, of course, Freckles in the middle.

Laini is the author of a terrific fantasy book called Blackbringer and is also one of the two organizers of the event (the other one is Jone. Somehow I didn't get her picture with Freckles.)

Jen has a very cool blog containing so much information about children's books and authors that your head might explode if you try to read it all! But trying is still lots of fun!

There is so much to share with everyone about this conference that I'll just have to come back tomorrow to continue. See you then!

Sticky Buns!

A Houseful of Rabbits and The Qi Papers have joined forces to create a new website called Sticky Buns! The object of this fun site is to print the image of your bunny on a sticker, stick the sticker on a not-so-usual place, and snap a picture. Rabbit Guy will capture that image and post it on the Sticky Buns site.

Easy, right?

Freckles and Deb have been working on this project for quite some time now.

• First, we had to find the sticker paper and buy it. That took a good week.
• Next, we had to find just the right pictures and print it out on the sticker paper -- that took another week.
• After that, we had to cut out the stickers. Well, that didn't really take a week, but we had to rest afterwards because we were tired from the buying and the printing.
• Once we had them cut out, we had to find just the right places to stick the stickers. We carried the stickers around with us until we located 2 perfect places.
• Then, we stuck the stickers and took the pictures.

But the activity did not end there. Oh, no, my friends! We had to download the pictures into our computer, do a little cropping, and write this explanatory post for the pictures.

Was all of this effort worth the outcome? You tell us. Here are our two pictures.

Freckles at her piano lesson...

And, at her CPR-Defibrulator (bet you didn't know Freckles is a trained CPR responder!)...

Come back tomorrow to see some pictures of where Freckles and I went on Saturday! Right now, we're exhausted and plan to take a nap!

(Oh, and our story "The Jungle" will return in a few days. In the meantime, we have a bunch of new stuff and cool links to share. It has to do with where we went on Saturday. Bet you can't wait to find out!!)

The Jungle

Freckles:

We passed through the portal and entered a whole new world. The brightness of the light hurt my eyes and I squeezed them shut. I didn’t want to miss anything however, so I slowly opened first one, then the other eye until they became used to the brightness. This world seemed vaguely familiar to me. Could I have been here in my before life – the time before I came to live in this world with Nice Guy and the high-voiced one?

I looked around and saw trees and bushes in a form I recognized. I felt the hot sun, but at the same time my fur was cooled by a slight breeze. I was in a wonderful place and Nice Guy had brought me here! Suddenly, in front of us I saw the object. The walls formed a circle surrounding delicious-looking grasses and yellow flowers. Nice Guy gently set me inside the circle.

Transporting Freckles

Deb:

After my son had set up the pen in the backyard amid the high grass, he returned through the back door and headed for the living room. Without giving Freckles a chance to get away, he scooped her up in placed her in his arms.

Freckles is not fond of being picked up – even when her favorite person is doing the lifting. She equates being held with having her nails trimmed, taking medicine, and going to the vet. Therefore, when my son grabbed her and placed her in his arms, her eyes widened and she hunched her head down into her body. I’m sure she must have been thinking that something awful was about to happen!

But, there was no other way to transport Freckles to the backyard. I was sure she’d forget the trip as soon as she was settled in the pen.

Indignity and Surprise

Freckles:

Nice Guy had taken the new object away. I didn’t know what to make of the situation. I’d just decided that I would return to my hiding place in the cave under the cliff when Nice Guy walked back through the portal to the Other World. Before I could say “Jack Rabbit,” he scooped me up and carried me to the mysterious portal in the Slippery Ground Land.

I was too surprised to react, but since I had never been through this portal, I forgave him the indignity I felt of him carrying me when I am perfectly capable of hopping wherever I need to go. I couldn’t wait to see what was on the other side of that portal.

Preparing the Playground

Deb:

My son said that he would set up the pen in the backyard. We had a section of grass that seriously needed mowing, but we had let it go to grow some tasty dandelions for Freckles. He headed for that section and pushed the metal spikes at the bottom of the fencing into the ground. It made a nice sized area for Freckles to roam. I knew she would be thrilled by this new exploring spot and couldn’t wait to see how she reacted.

Freckles Feels Slighted

Freckles:

The clattering, clunking object that Nice Guy pulled from the box was a mystery. What could it be? I was made of some kind of shiny material with small sticks attached, forming something that looked like a wall. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with such a thing. It wasn’t long before I learned that the object was not for me. Nice Guy picked it up and carried it out of the Other World and disappeared through the far portal in the Slippery Ground Land. Well, I guess I know where I rate in this clan!

Bringing Freckles to the Land

Deb:

I was curious to see what was in the box that my son carried into the house, but not as curious as Freckles who shot from the dining room to the living room and landed directly in front of him. He leaned the box against the chair, and with a big grin on his face, he held out his hand to rub Freckles’ nose. She shoved her face toward him and accepted the gesture.

I turned my attention to the box. It was large, square, and skinny. What could it hold? When the box was finally opened and the object inside was pulled out for my inspection, I laughed. It was a metal fence that connected its sides together to form a circle. The perfect safe pen for Freckles to play outside in.

We had mainly brought the outdoors in to Freckles in the form of dandelions and grass. What would she think of us bringing her to the outdoors where she could harvest her own treats?

Strange Noises

Freckles:

The sound that woke me up was a strange clattering one that my ears did not recognize. I listened carefully to identify it and soon heard, in addition to the clunking, the sound of Nice Guy’s voice. It couldn’t be bad if Nice Guy was here! I rushed toward the sound of the voice and stopped short when I saw the giant object Nice Guy held in his arms.

Nice Guy placed the big thing by the bush and leaned down to rub my nose. My face met his hand and with the gentle touch, I felt the comfort of knowing everything would be all right. After the nose rub, which ended far too quickly, Nice Guy turned to the package and opened the top. What could it be? And more importantly, was it something good for me?

The Huge Box

Deb:

There was nothing special about that day. Following my regular Saturday routine, I’d prepared Freckles’ breakfast before my own and opened the door to her room. As I was pouring my Honey Nut Cheerios into a bowl (after arranging four pieces on Freckles’ plate first), she hopped into the kitchen and lunged for her plate as though she hadn’t eaten for weeks. Freckles’ appetite in the morning is gargantuan and she finished most of her food in a matter of minutes.

After eating she looked around the room and made a run for the bench beside the table. She hadn’t hidden under there for a long time. It always surprises me when she decides to do something she has enjoyed in the past, but discarded for something more interesting. She stopped just before the bench and searched the area carefully. Having satisfied herself of the safety of the area, she plopped down in the corner.

Suddenly, the front door opened and my oldest son walked into the house carrying a huge box.

The Jungle: How Our Adventure Began

Freckles:

One morning after I’d finished my breakfast of lovely lettuce leaves, a carrot, four round yummies, and a piece of peach, I spotted the cliff under which I used to take naps in the Slippery Ground Land. I decided it was a great day for exploring, so I skidded across the smooth dirt and checked out the cave beneath the cliff for any potential danger. First I sniffed, and then I leaned forward as far as I could as I searched for anything different or unique since I had last been there. The coast seemed clear, so I hopped under the cliff and plopped myself down in a corner against the wall. Exploring tires me out. A nap would be just the thing. As I drifted off to sleep, however, I heard a strange sound.

We're Back!!!

Deb:

Thank you for your patience during our short vacation. As Freckles told you, I was busy trying to get everything up and running for this school year. With our school’s remodel, there was much to do. We couldn’t move in until Labor Day weekend and the occupancy wasn’t a sure thing until 4:00 p.m. on that Tuesday (school started Wednesday morning!)

Anyway, everything is moved in (I still have 2 ½ boxes of “stuff” to go through, but am functioning fine without it so far!) School is started. And, other than a few minor problems like no door on the school office, no doorknobs on the classroom doors, and unfinished band and orchestra rooms (scheduled to be done in October), we’re doing great.

Now to Freckles assertion that I was grouchy. Totally untrue! I was a bit tired, slightly overwhelmed, and single-mindedly focused on my job, but not grouchy! And, quite frankly, she was having too much fun in her new box house to really care. In an attempt at a little remodeling of her own, she moved the huge box all over the living room and even added two other boxes to make quite a castle – one truly deserving of a queen like Freckles. (She even managed to drag over some of her “cloud” paper to scatter around the ground – see previous entries!) So, don’t let her fool you, although I'm sure she missed you as much as I did, she was quite content during her hiatus!

Anyway, we’ll start our new adventure tomorrow. It’s called “The Jungle” and we’ll tell of the harrowing time when…well, you’ll just have to come back tomorrow to find out!

Freckles Patiently Waits

Freckles:

Here I am sitting in my box, waiting for Deb to get back to posting our next adventure. In the meantime I'm chewing and ripping and remodeling my box. The back door was far too small. Now it's just right.

My box also travels really well when I shove it across the room. It's like my own personal motorhome! (hee hee)

Uh, I guess that's it. I'll go back to my ripping now. Or maybe I'll take a nap. Yeah, that's it...I'll take a nap. Surely Deb will be ready to start posting again by then. Sigh....

We're Taking a Short Break

Freckles:

We're going to take a few days off because Deb is exhausted and I'm just feeling lazy! The school where Deb works has been remodeled and didn't get the final inspection and occupancy until 4:00 p.m. the day before school started!! Talk about cutting it close. Anyway, Deb's putting in long hours and is a tad bit grouchy, so you wouldn't want to hear what she has to say! She loves the new look of the school, but it's hard to remodel a 1929 building and not run into some interesting problems.

I'm going to go chew up my new funhouse now (the one that our new computer came in!) It's very roomy and Nice Guy cut some cool holes in it for me.

We won't be gone long -- just enough time for Deb to get into a better mood. Oh, wait, that may take a bit of time afterall!

Binkies!

Happy 1st Blogiversary to Us!

Yep, that's right! The Adventures of Freckles and Deb, Bunny Bloggers Blog started exactly one year ago today, September 1st, 2007! We had no idea when we started that we would make so many new blogging friends. Your comments and encouragement keep us going. We look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing what adventures you are having. Here's to another year of fun!

We can't believe it has been a whole year since our first post. For your remembering pleasure, here it is:

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September 1, 2007 10:20 a.m.

How it all began...Lost

Freckles:

I hopped through the hard gray streets searching for some orange sticks or green pebbles. I sniffed at soft pointy leaves with yellow flowers that peeked from a crack in the surface and nibbled cautiously. YUM! I yanked a leaf from the bunch and chewed, grinding the leaves rapidly between my teeth. The yellow flowers tasted delicious and the soreness in my tummy eased. However, I had no idea where I was or how I got here.

How far back can I remember? I recall lost and I recall hungry. But, whatever existence I inhabited in the Before Time had vanished from my mind. Where I came from remained as big a mystery as where I was going.

I continued to hunt for shelter -- some alcove or crevice to snuggle into for the night. I spotted the perfect place, a small cave in the side of a building, and quickened my pace. That's when it happened...

(Guess you'll have to scroll back to September 2nd, 2007 to find out just what happened! Cliff hangers -- that's what we're here for!)

Love,

Freckles & Deb