A New Adventure

So, once again, I've been remiss in posting for a while.  But in my defense it's because the Coffee Queen and I have been cooking up another of our hair-brained schemes.

We've decided to move to Florida.

When people ask us why, we joke about the weather, of course, and how this last winter finally did us in.  It's true that we've reached a point where we're done with the cold, the snow, and needing a half hour to bundle everyone up just to go to Target.  But there's more to it than that.  We need a new adventure.  I know I've been feeling the nudge for some time to take a leap, to step out into the unknown and trust that God will put some kind of solid ground out to meet us.  Last week we sold the house, our home of almost ten years.  I spent a frantic few days trying to find an affordable moving option and figure out other such details, and one by one they're all clicking into place.

Today I packed the first box.

The hardest part of all this has been telling the people we know.  It tore my heart out to tell everyone at the writer's workshop, a place I couldn't imagine choosing to leave.  There's always a reason to stay, always people left behind when you go, but sometimes you have to let one chapter end in order to start a new one.  I don't know quite what this next one will hold, but the Coffee Queen and I both know it's time to take the next step.

So here's to new horizons, new opportunities, and to whatever else God throws our way.  More posts to come, I promise.

As for the Little Scoot, he's excited to be going back to the beach.  His great-grandfather bought him a shark bucket.  Really, what more could a little boy ask for?

Flood Run

Last Saturday was the spring Flood Run, a motorcycle run along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border that takes place twice a year and benefits Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare where I work.  I did most of the run back in the fall of 2012, but between weather and other events I hadn't really been able to participate since.  Thankfully we had some nice weather on Saturday, if a little nippy to start.

The run starts at the Beach Bar in Lake St. Croix Beach, so I headed there first to buy my wristband and meet up with some of my co-workers.  No sooner do I arrive than this guy comes up to me saying, "We've been looking for you!"

Now, keep in mind this event draws in the hardcore biker crowd.  I mean the Harley-riding, black leather kind of crowd.  Look at the photo on the right.  Does that sound like me?  No, not a bit.

So this guy, Pat, proceeds to explain how he saw me back in 2012.  At first he thought it was a bit, but then he kept seeing me further down the run, and whenever he would tell someone about me I would show up.  So there he is on Saturday telling some other people about this guy from 2012 and who do you think rolls in?  Yep.  Never let it be said I don't have great timing.  Pat had been looking for me since 2012 and was thrilled to finally meet me in person.  A few others (including Brian Zepp, one of the DJs from KQRS) came up as well, so of course we had to grab some photos.

Amy, Brian Z., me, another Brian, Darlis, Becky, and Dr, Atomic

I'd no idea I'd made such an impression.  I really appreciated the warm welcome, and it's always fun to meet some new folks.  And we had a great ride on Saturday.  The weather was in the 40s to start, but it warmed up nicely as the day went on.  By the time I made it down to Winona, the end of the run, the sun was shining and the temperature had reached the 70s.  In 2012 I didn't quite make it all the way to the end, so I determined that this year I would.

Dr. Atomic in Winona, the southern end of the run

And it sounds like I was spotted more than once along the way (scroll down and look for a familiar bike!).  So thanks to everyone at the Flood Run for helping make it a great event, not to mention supporting Gillette's mission.

Heading back north with a brief stop in Maiden Rock, WI

Spring thaw

Recently, while sweeping ice out of the garage, I found this little fellow.  He was, I suppose, caught unawares by the cold months ago.  He still looked beautiful, however, and it didn't seem right that he should be swept out without at least taking a moment.  What the spring thaw reveals.

Toddler with a Camera: Part 2

The Little Scoot got hold of my phone again.

I was instructed to sleep.  He discovered square mode.

Little Scoot also likes playing with the iPhone filters

He thought this was hilarious.  Ruff.

Then he wanted me to stand with my arms crossed.  I'm not sure why.

Toddler with a Camera

Last weekend the Little Scoot got hold of my phone.

As you can see, he had some fun with the camera.

Not my best photo.  A little creepy, actually.

I think he was going for some kind of artsy still life thing here.

This sequence is my favorite.

Tell me a story...

"Tell me a story, Daddy."

We'd just visited the Currituck Lighthouse on the Outer Banks of Carolina.  The Little Scoot was in the habit of asking for "pretend stories," by which he meant he wanted me to make one up.  It can be mentally exhausting when he wants several in a row, but I have to say that it's a great exercise for a writer.  Can you make up a story on the spot with a coherent beginning, middle, and end?  Bonus points for incorporating whatever random elements are thrown at you by a three-year-old.

Currituck Lighthouse
(Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

After our visit, naturally, he wanted one about a lighthouse.

"Once there was a lighthouse who lived alone..."

When I finished the story the Coffee Queen urged me to write it down, so when we returned to the hotel, I did.  It didn't come out quite as well on paper as it did in the telling, but at least I captured it while it was fresh.

Fast forward several months.  With "Carrot" and one of my picture books just about ready for submission, I've been fighting with a second picture book I wanted to have ready.  But after banging my head against that story for several weeks, I decided to put it aside and work on the lighthouse story instead so I'd have something ready to read at Jane's workshop.  

After I read it on Tuesday Susan B. said it's the first time I've brought tears to her eyes.  Kristin said she felt like she'd heard a classic story.  To be sure, there are parts of the story that still need work, but I felt that they're more about sharpening what's there, that what's at the heart of the story is connecting.

It's humbling as a writer when you succeed at hitting that type of emotional chord.  I don't know that you can do it by consciously trying, but it's something special when it happens.  After banging my head against CJ's story for a while, it was good to switch gears and work on a story that's cooperating.  Now to polish it up.

And it all began with "Tell me a story."

At the top of the Currituck Lighthouse - it's windy!

Sharing the wealth...

One of the best things about discovering a great book is sharing it with others.  When our first niece was born, the Coffee Queen and I decided we were going to be the aunt and uncle who give books.  This year for Christmas the nieces received Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Because of Winn-Dixie.

The other day my sister sent me this photo (only partly staged):

Enjoying their books

Our older niece has been reading longer books like this for a while, but this was the first book of this length the younger one had tackled.  It's a joy to be able to share these stories with them, and there are so many, many more wonderful ones to introduce them to.