Furry Butts Fursday

Deb:

Bunnies all over the Blogosphere are presenting their best furry butt shots today in honor of our little buddy Hans over at Furrybutts.

Here is one of the very few shots I have of Freckles' adorable little bottom.

If you check out our Blogroll today (on the bottom right side of the Blog) you'll see a lot of other blog post titles for Furry Butts Fursday!




Freckles:

I'm just lying here all spread out trying to get cool!

It has been super hot here (weather man said 103 degrees on Monday, 106 degrees on Tuesday, and 107 degrees on Wednesday!) We're not used to that kind of weather. I don't even feel like eating!

I think I'm melting!

PNW Children's Book Conference

Deb:


I've been out of the loop for a couple of weeks. As Freckles shared with you, one of those weeks was spent "getting smarter" at the 10th Annual PNW Children's Book Conference at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. What a week! My head is still whirling with all of the information and motivation from this amazing experience. I chose to stay in the dorm so I could focus totally on the writing. Although Freckles was not pleased with my choice, she was not neglected. My husband and oldest son gave her lots of attention and treats in my absence.


Here's some of the gang from the dorm posing with Freckles:

After spending our days in workshops and critique sessions, we'd meet after dinner (wow, did I mention how great the food was???!!!) in the lounge on our floor and talk about our lives, our writing, our hopes for our future.

And we read to each other.

I know what you're thinking, but when you get a bunch of writing-crazy geeks together, we read out loud. What can I say?

We've vowed to stay in touch and I hope that we do. That's always easier said than done. We're scattered all over the U.S. and Canada. But when you've found your soulmates, you have to hang on to them.


There are more pictures of my experience here.


During the conference I got great feedback on the middle grade novel I've been working on and am busy revising it yet again.


All in all a very successful and memorable week!

Goodbye, Hans!

We are very sorry to have to say goodbye to our little Furrybutts friend Hans.

Hans captured everyone's hearts with his adorable little face and winning ways. His buddy Bailey will be very lonesome without him.

Freckles and I have followed his adventures and health problems since he arrived at Furrybutts, where he managed to shake up Buttons' and Yohji's worlds. Even Nice Guy followed along and our nightly conversations were often sprinkled with, "Did you see what Hans did today?"

We'll miss you, Hans. We are sorry you had to go. But, we know you are holding a place for Bailey at the Rainbow Bridge.

Hop on!

Happy Birthday, Freckles!

Happy Birthday, Freckles!

Freckles is five years old today! I rushed back from my vacation to spend this day with my lovely little bun. (I see that she has been eliciting sympathy from all of our friends because she has been at home while I've been away. But, we all know she would have been thumping with displeasure if I'd stuck her in the car!) Anyway, more later about what I've been doing -- today is Freckles' special day!

Deb

Freckles Still in Charge

Freckles:

Okay, so Deb comes home from the getting smarter thing, but then she rushes around all weekend unpacking and washing stuff and packing again. Monday, she and Big Guy took off on a vacation! They're going to climb through caves and play on the beach. I like caves! I like the beach! (I think. I've never actually been to a beach, but it sounds like something I'd like.)

So, here I am, wasting away to nothing. If Nice Guy didn't offer me a few treats now and then, I would be a skeleton!

I know, I know -- most people would say that the fact that she left Nice Guy to make sure I was okay meant that she wasn't neglecting me. But, sheesh, she's like some jetsetting whirlwind. She's not getting any younger, you know.

Sigh!

Freckles Holding Down the Fort

Freckles:

I haven't had much help from Deb this week. It's been left up to me to keep the blog updated because she's gone off on an adventure with a bunch of children's writers. She said she's at a college getting smarter (I'm pretty sure that would take more than a week), but I believe she's really out having fun without a thought about her obligations here at home.

So, I've been doing my best to keep up my strength until she gets home.

Sigh.

A Scary and Sad Warning!

To all our friends,

Our dear friend Asta had a scare when most of the pictures disappeared from her blog (almost two years worth!) You can read about what happened here! One of the charming things about Asta and her mom are the lovely pictures they share with us on their blog. When all of their hard work disappeared, Asta's mom was ready to give up and quit blogging. We and a bunch of their friends wrote comments begging them to stay. They listened and calmed down and are looking forward to the future. But, they have only their memories of the pictures that were lost.

We are so glad that they've decided to stick around, because the blogosphere wouldn't be the same without Asta and her wonderfully sophisticated New York adventures.

We just wanted to post this warning, in case any of you who are on Blogger like us are nearing your photo storage capacity (the percentage that shows on the bottom of the screen when you upload a picture.) Ours is at 8%, so we guess we're okay for quite awhile!

Anyway,

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

TO THE

U.S.A !