Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2013

Earlier this week, I saw the post Dahlia Adler did over at her blog, The Daily Dahlia, about the list of things she's looking forward to in 2013. Rather than do resolutions this year, I'm going to copy her format (with her permission).

So here's my list.

1. I'm greatly looking forward to working with my editor, Sarah Dotts Barley at Harper Teen as we prepare Sing to the Wind for flight in 2014. It's all new, so it's all exciting, daunting, terrifying and amazing.
2. I'm looking forward to getting to know the community of debut authors at OneFourKidLit (@onefourkidlit) as we buzz into authordom.
3. My fall writing retreat with critique partners from places as far flung as Vermont and possibly Texas who are coming to my neck of the woods for fun and communion.
4. A longer summer because of a change in our school's calendar.
5. My advance check! I'm redoing my bathroom and some other things around the house that have been on the back burner for forever. My splurge is going to be an Ipad Mini and paying a horse trainer to start my two youngsters. (see last year's resolutions post)
6. My parent's 50th wedding anniversary which we're celebrating on an Arizona dude ranch.
7. A trip with sweetie to Savannah for research on the WIP.
8. Exciting news I'm sure's going to come for writer friends on sub and in the query trenches.
9. Losing the final 17 pounds from my goal of 30 pounds and being back within the normal weight range for my height.
10. Reading more great books!

I'm sure there's more, but 10 seems like a nice even number. What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Snarking about Snark for Snark's Sake

Okay, I am raising my hand and testifying that, yes, I am susceptible to snark. I've enjoyed it, laughed at it, rolled my eyes over it, even dished it out.

But here's the thing. Sometimes snark is bullying.

I think of Regina George and her now-famous Burn Book. Left on its own, in her tiny little brain, okay I guess, no harm done. But put it out there for the world to see and blammo. Bully.

Why the hell is she snarking about snark? I hear you asking this, I do.

Well, yet another twitter account got started this week trying to be pithy and clever - supposedly from an industry professional - but in reality it's mean and nasty snark meant to belittle aspiring writers.

Okay - sure, you can do your research and find out quickly that you should never ever call your book the next great thing or compare yourself to J.K. Rowling - but people, writers only know where they are when they're there.

Who here hasn't sent something out too soon, too raw, too rough?

And that's why it pisses me off when I see secret agent and editor accounts that are set up for nothing more than to PUBLICLY blow off steam and snark about writers.

Grow up.

If I, as a teacher, were to set up an account like this to bitch about my students, and I were discovered, I'd be fired faster than you can say, "Beyotch."

And there's my two cents on the subject. As if. LOL. OMG. FWIW.

Christmas Hi Jinx - Those Crazy Traditions

This year is a stay on the farm Christmas which means a mellow Christmas Eve and a big friends gathering, for a meal on Christmas day.

What I won't be doing is gathering at my Mom's house for the Christmas Eve gala wherein everyone exchanges gifts and inevitably, my Uncle Milton shakes every gift, no matter the size, and proclaims loudly -

"Right. I got it. Let's see. I know. *finger tests the wind* It's a fifth of whiskey!"

Tie box, enormous box, tiny jewelry box, fifth of whiskey sized box. Does not matter. If Milton doesn't say it. It's not Christmas. And what's weirder, everyone in these photos is Jewish. We were the Jewish family that celebrated Christmas (I was raised Episcopal but my Mom's family was Jewish - Milton married a Catholic girl but his kids were raised in the temple.)

Do you have a family character? A funny tradition that makes Christmas uniquely yours? I'd love to hear about it, and in the meantime, may you have a blessed holiday with family and friends.

My grandmother, Uncle Milton, and my aunt, circa '70's Christmas Eve

My uncle with a fifth of whiskey box in his hand, that's me on the left, I'm guessing about 15 years old. 

Uncle Milton, circa now. :0)

My Wish For the World

We're on the eve of the day that's been predicted as predicted by the Mayans to be the end of the world. I'm pretty certain it's a load of rubbish, but it's still fun to think about,

What if Saturday is a brand new world?

What if something could be different?

My wish is simple.

I want people to act out of love, not fear.

 I want us each to remember that every person on the planet has hopes, dreams, needs, desires and beliefs. Just because we believe one way doesn't make the other wrong. But we've got to stop trying to take others over and insert our will where it's not wanted or needed.

One of my favorite moments in Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible is when democracy is introduced in the Congo and tribespeople are faced with the concept of voting. The elder villager speaks to the fact that before the vote was brought, they would have big campfire talks until everyone, even if not happy about the outcome of a decision, was at least satisfied they'd been heard. With democracy, he explained, almost half the people aren't happy. That passage has always been so profound to me.

I realize our earth is too large for campfire meetings and that politics is a vast sticky spiral of webs, but this is about wishes. And this is mine.

Care to join our blog hop and post your own wish for a brand new world? Sign up below and we'll hop on by!

What's Your Wish for A Brand New World? - Blog Hop.

Thanks to Lisa Ann O'Kane for creating a blog badge. Grab it for yours!

Last night I was thinking about the Mayan calendar and the whole thing about the world ending on Friday. This got me thinking.

If the world ends on Friday......

Then on Saturday.....

We wake up to a brand new world!

I know I'm not the only one out there with IDEAS on what they'd like this brand new world to look like. So here's your opportunity to go deep, be profound, maybe silly, whatever your style. So go ahead and sign up now, but between Thursday and Saturday, come back and hop around and envision a brand new world. Writer style.

And feel free to steal the blog badge!

Okay, cool! See you tomorrow and more!!!.

Things That Are Wrong

I'm sitting here looking at a class of fifteen tenth through twelfth graders.

What's wrong is even having the worry that one might be a shooter.
I worry that a shooter might get to them.

I shouldn't have to worry about this.
They shouldn't have to worry about each other.

I shouldn't have to re-lock my doors when I come in so that if I must slam them shut and locked, they stay that way.

I shouldn't have to imagine which door a gun-wielding maniac might barge into.

I shouldn't.
You shouldn't.
We shouldn't.

Let the shooters slip through the cracks.

I don't understand.
I'm sure you don't either.

I love you.

When IRL Friends Find Out You Sold A Book

What is it when people find out you’ve sold a book?

I’m not talking about the aspiring writers I know who are studying the art of the query, researching agents, working with crit partners and writing groups. (Y'all get it. Completely)

I’m talking about childhood friends and acquaintances IRL (in real life).

Camp 1: Oh wow, you’re awesome, that’s great. I can say I knew you before you’re famous and all J.K. Rowling and shit. (ermmm, yeah, right, may I remind you she has a theme park?)

Camp 2: Oh. *blinks twice, takes a breath, looks at a passing car* So did you hear about the new fitness center they’re opening in town? (Hello, friend, this is like my life dream here, can I have a hell yeah?)

Camp 3: You wrote a book? I always figured I’d write a book.

Camp 3 is the one that has been fascinating. Here are two examples. 

One is a great friend since 6th grade. She fell firmly into a combination of Camp 1 and Camp 3 - acknowledging her awareness of how cool this is for me but also declaring she’d always hoped to write a book, but was waiting for her kids to graduate from high school. It was easy to say - don’t delay, write the book, you’re a genius. (and she is, and funny, and savvy, and amazing.)

The other is a doctor in my community who is also a smart, savvy, wonderful woman. But her response fell into a different sort of Camp 3. First it was questions, well how did you do this. How did you get published? And it was strange because for some reason it seemed like my success was a reflection to her of her own failure. (excuse me, you have a MEDICAL degree!) How could a lowly public school teacher accomplish something that was monumental on her own personal scale. I think it would be safe to say she was visibly jealous.

Here’s what she didn’t know or ask.

1. For the past four years, I’ve risen between 4:30 and 5:15 am almost every week day to write before my day job.
2. I’ve written three manuscripts prior to the one that sold during this time. Six prior total. Every one of those manuscripts I thought was the one. When you’re writing, you’re only as good as where you are. And you might not be there yet. But what really sucks, is you don't know it. But then I guess that's good, because you have HOPE.
3. I’ve read books on craft, blog posts on craft, websites on craft. I’ve interacted with other writer’s in my genre. I’ve critiqued and been critiqued. I’ve taken classes and gone to conferences.
4. I’ve given stuff up, like a favorite volunteer gig at the Humane Society. I never go to my non-author Facebook page anymore, which is where a lot of my IRL local friends hang out, my house...forget about it, and my manic horseback riding days seem to be waning the more I write. I rarely travel, I don’t go out at night, I’m in essence, a bit of a hermit and a slave to my words.
5. If you look at my advance, totally generous for a contemporary novel, it’s not enough to quit my day job and feel secure. And if I were to divide out the amount by the time spent plugging away at this dream, hah, maybe a penny an hour. Or less?

Anyway, the point of this post is that selling a book didn’t just happen. I’m not an overnight success. It doesn’t make me special.

All it means is that I didn’t quit. And I wrote. I put my butt in the chair and let words flow. That’s how you get a novel published. That, a modicum of talent and a whole lot of luck.

How cool is that?

This morning when I got to school, there was already a student in my room. Don't know how or why the door was unlocked and all lights blazing, but sometimes it happens that way. Anyway, this girl had picked up artwork that had fallen in the hallway over night and was dutifully re-taping it to hang again. She's a cool kid. One of my faves and is in the know about my alter ego writer life.

I was excited about a passage I'd written before leaving for work and asked her if I could read it to her. The passage in question was my MC's first in-depth observation of the boy who's entered her world. I really liked it.

When I'd finished reading not only the one, but a second passage, my student got a big grin on her face.

"How cool is that," she said.

"What?"

"You know, to be able to make up romantic scenarios and have people care about what happens."

Me, "Like in the book?"

"Yeah, and like, you know, when people finish it they're going to have real emotions. Like some of them are going to hate it and some of them are going to love it, but they're going to have, you know, FEELINGS, about this stuff you made up in your head."

She turned back to taping and proceeded to tell me all about how the boy I'd described was a lot like her brother and then asked me loads more questions about him, about the story, about the girl, and when she was done all I could think was,

How cool was that?

Are You Standing on the Precipice?

I've been thinking a lot the last couple of months about this dream of becoming a published writer. The thinking got amped up when I actually had the dream materialize.

Suddenly, here I was, the girl who'd been dreaming, who'd been dashed, who stood up again to chase the kite tail of an impossible dream, only to finally catch the damn thing. Exhilarating. Yes, indeed. And I won't lie, it's been all the awesome you would think it would be. The absolute pinnacle.

Yet, at the same time, it's brought other things. Guilt. Yes, you read that right, guilt. What the hell do you have to be guilty about, you might ask. It's you guys. The ones still out there plugging. The ones whose writing is every bit as lovely as mine, but for what ever reason, the right eyes haven't seen it, the right gust of wind hasn't brought that kite string blowing your way.

And so, I wanted to share two blog posts that I found inspiring at different times. The first is written by a writing friend of mine, Megan Shepherd. A few years ago, Megan and I were in a workshop course together, and I had the privilege of reading and critting a few chapters of her soon-to-be-published, The Madman's Daughter. Megan had a real fairy tale of a publishing story and I'll admit it, I had a few human moments of "why can't that be me....we were in the same class...I want that to be me." But the thing is, it wasn't my time yet. It wasn't my moment. The right eyes hadn't seen the work on the right day. And I hadn't written THE manuscript yet. But Megan wrote this post. And it's brilliant.

http://meganshepherd.com/blog/2012/7/19/attitude-makes-the-writer.html

Then recently, I stopped in at the blog of aspiring writer, Kelsey Macke. And she'd also written a brilliant post about how writers need to support each other at every stage. And I thought it was so lovely and so insightful, that I wanted to share it, too.

http://kelseyiswriting.blogspot.com/2012/11/fan-their-flame.html

And in conclusion, I'll leave you with my own thought. Years ago, I read a Henry Miller book (yes, I was obsessed with Henry Miller and Anais Nin in my twenties). One line that has stuck with me forever is this, and I paraphrase because I couldn't find the quote, "You don't need to be making to be an artist, you must only have the soul of an artist." For years, that idea stuck with me. In my moments of not making, whether it was physical artwork or writing, I could remind myself that I do indeed have the soul of an artist. It carried me through.

I hope some of this will carry you through, too. The journey is the destination, right? And, you are awesome.

All the Gratitude!!!!!!! SipSwap!

Several months ago, I signed up to participate in this cool blog hop called SipSwap. The idea behind Sipswap was for writers to exchange mugs with other writers. Most of us love a hot beverage when we write, so it was a perfect idea. The brain children behind this fun exchange were Jessica Love and Kelsey Macke.

Well, guess what?

Lucky me got picked by both of them!!

Jessica was my Sipswap person, having drawn my name for a mug. First I got a sweet card from her saying my mug was on its way from an Etsy seller and she didn't want me to think I'd been forgotten. That was on Friday I think. On Monday, November 26th I came home to this:

It was absolutely silly my reaction when I opened the box. I'm in the pre-publication stage where I haven't gotten edit notes and the book deal still feels kind of like a dream I might wake up from at any moment. So opening that box and seeing those words, IN PRINT, blew me away. I might have shed a wee little tear. So, utterly perfect this mug. Plus, it is a great drinking mug. I've had coffee in it 2 mornings this week.

The mug has my book's  name on it!!!!!

I put it on top of my TBR pile and imagined it as a book!

But just when I thought my warm, fuzzy feelings couldn't possibly get any fuzzier, I came home to ANOTHER box in my mail. This one from Kelsey Macke. At first, before I opened it, I was all like, "Huh? But Jessica drew me." Then I opened it and saw this:

And I was still all like, "Huh?" Then I opened the card and found yet another sweet note, telling me I'd won the giveaway from Kelsey's blog. Wowee, color me lucky, look at this plunder:

Thank you, SO MUCH, ladies. This was such an awesome idea and I love my spoils (the Godiva pretzels may or may not be half-eaten already). My Write or Die tag is on my bulletin board. I'm keeping the awesome skeleton mug for my tea at school and my title mug at home for coffee. I will be caffeinated in total style. (P.S. Kelsey, I loved your note card so much I went to her website and ordered some for my sister-in-law for the holiday)

Okay, I'm off to brew a cuppa! Cheers!

November #wipmadness Wrap-Up - December's Host - And a Final Winner.

So, lucky for us, Charlie Holmberg, has agreed to host the #wipmadness crew for the month of December. Starting next Monday we'll be checking in over at her blog: Myself As Written

Thanks Charlie for stepping in! Not sure who's up for January, February we'll be over at Ghost Girl's blog, and of course March is reserved for our founder, Denise Jaden.

All right - I know this is really the reason you're all here. The final winner as chosen by random.org is:

#2 - Angelina

I swear to goodness, there's no orchestration on my part, but dang if the muse doesn't know who needs a little pick me up this month. So Angelina, I'll need you to pop back to week 2, send me a color, size, and mailing address for your T-Shirt.

For the rest of you, if you're interested in one of these beauties, just shoot me an e-mail and we'll discuss. I wish I could make one gratis for everyone but, hey, I'm a teacher and I haven't gotten that advance check yet. Anyway, you may want to wait and see how they turn out.

WIP Madness Week 4- November Check-In #wipmadness

This week has flown by like the frenzied flight of a turkey escaped from the Butterball plant.

I hope my fellow Americans had great holidays with family and friends, or solo should that be your preferred way to roll. I went to a great "orphan" Thanksgiving with 19 amazing free thinking artist and entrepreneurial types, then had a visit on Black Friday from a high school buddy in town (Asheville, anyway) with her family. I've also written - a ton- am back up to 30k (more by the time this posts) on the WIP and I hope I won't get stalled again. I would love, love, love to finish the first draft by the end of winter break. NANO is also winding down for many of you. I've read numerous success stories on Twitter, but honestly, words on the page equals success. No matter the count. But, how'd you do?

Speaking of December, who's our host? I can't remember. I plan on posting again tomorrow (Tuesday) with the announcement of the 4th week winner of the T-shirt and I can link to our next host then.

And before I announce the winner, here's what I want to know. At the beginning of our month, we named three things our protagonist is thankful for. Now I want you to name three things your antagonist is thankful for. I find this tough for my current WIP because I don't have an obvious antagonist, so I'm going to go with Sammy from Sing To the Wind.

1. He's thankful for his long Kid Rock hair.
2. He's thankful that he doesn't have to pay rent and that his in-laws are dumb enough not to ask for it.
3. He's thankful he's found a way to make some money without having to sucker up to a real job.

Oh yeah, it's time to announce a winner. Not counting Kim from this week's comments, there were 14 yet-to-win commenters to draw from. Random.org chose #8.

Shari!

Even though it was all random.org's doing, this is fitting. Shari asked for hugs from her #wipmadness peeps this week, and look Shari! It's telling you to Nourish Your Muse :0)

(Pop me a DM or an e-mail (up under my profile on this blog) with your color preference and size and mailing addy. The colors are listed under week 2's post.)

And remember, check back tomorrow to see this week's winner (so if you want a chance, post today!). I'm doing it then so I can get the shirts, ordered, silk-screened and off to the winners. And if you're hosting for December, let me know that, too!

And I am so thankful for each of you! This coming March will mark my 2 yr anniversary hanging with #wipmadness and that is awesome.

WIP Madness Week 3 - November Check-In #wipmadness

It's time! For those of us down in the lower half of North America it's a week of feasting, family drama and joy, and best of all...turkey! (or tofurkey)

So, in honor of the holiday here's what I want to know. How's it going with your writing? What's your favorite family holiday dish? And third, does food or a family gathering feature in your manuscript?

For me, I've had a slow but steady week of writing. The manuscript I've been wrangling with is coming to life and I'm back up to 22k after scrapping 38k, then 18k, then figuring out the parts of each I loved and stitching them together. I've reached the end of most of the stitching and am forward drafting again. I've set a goal to be first draft complete by the end of December. With Thanksgiving break (only 2 1/2 days + weekend) and Winter Break (2 weeks) approaching, I think I can pull this off.

Second, I love the oyster dressing my family in Alabama makes. Oh man. I won't get to have it this year. *sad face* Oh, and pecan pie. Man, I love pecan pie. Maybe I'll make some. (Random fact - Pecan Pie has the highest fat content of just about any pie out there - of course, this is why it's my favorite.)

And for the third question, Yes! My current WIP  is all about gourmet popsicles and enchilada casseroles - I hunger after certain scenes. Claire loves sitting down to dinner with Asa's family because it's bright and lively and alive. No big family gathering though.

Okay, enough talking. I know why you're all here. The prizes. The mystery. The BFD.

So, using random.org sequence generator, and skipping last week's winner, Rachel, in the count. This week's winner is #5

Kim!

Kim, you'll need to go back to last week and let me know your color preference and size, either in the comments or via e-mail. I'll also need a mailing address.

Obviously, the copyright statement won't be on your T

This, my friends, is what's going on the t-shirt. I took a silk screen workshop at my art ed conference and came up with this! I liked it enough to share. I'll be printing in white ink on colors dark enough to show it, and black ink on white. I won't print until I have all our winners and see if anyone else would like to purchase one. So I'm looking at printing in early December. FYI.

Happy Holiday week, fellow Americans, and, Canadians, we'll gorge for you like you did for us last month!

WIP Madness Week 2 - November Check-In #wipmadness

Hello, my fine feathered friends. Right. You're not ducks. But I've always loved that phrase.

So last week we looked at what our main character's were thankful for - this week let's talk about you. Is there one thing that happened in your past week, writing life or personal, that made you say "Awww, I'm so grateful for that."

For me, it was a small group of fellow crazies who've formed the #5amwritersclub on Twitter. Our own @kiperoo is among this elite crowd of ugly-breathed, caffeine-chugging, loo-loo birds. They got me up and working every single morning this past week. It was great. Usually I skip at least one day, but not this week. And because of that, I'm solidly working on my WIP again.

So, THANK YOU #5AMWRITERS CLUB! I am GRATEFUL for you.


Anyhoo, it's time to announce the winner of the 1st week's TOP SECRET WRITER GONE WILD DIY PRIZE. Counting individual commenters (there were 19 of you when I wrote this post), then using random.org sequence generator - it's #8.

Rachel!

So, here's what I can tell you now. You will be getting a t-shirt. Something will be done to this t-shirt. What, I cannot reveal. But what I need from you, Rachel, is 2 things. Your size (s-2xl - ladies sizes) and color preference. And for the rest of you, you might win - so pick out a color and a size, just in case. Mwaahaaaa. It's good. I promise.

Click below to change colors:

Azalea

Black

Caribbean Blue

Charity Pink

Chocolate

Heather Grey*

Hot Pink

Key Lime

Navy

Red

Violet

White                  

WIP Madness Week 1 - November Check-In #wipmadness

Hi WIPMadness Peeps and Tweeps - I hope your November has gotten off to a blazing start. I know many of you are doing NANO and this will be a great opportunity to shout and scream (or tear out your hair) about how it's going.

For the rest of us, what's on tap for November? For me, I just want words on the page. I'll set a goal of 20K and see if I can get there. Still struggling with this WIP.

So here's our game this week. It's Thanksgiving month here in the US of A - and there's loads to be thankful for in our real lives, but this week, I want you to tell us 3 things your current main character is thankful for.

Actress, Molly Quinn, is who I envision for Claire. Source

For mine, Claire, she's thankful for

• her car, because driving helps drown out the noise of life
• Jimmy Carter, because he's her idol
• the boy, Asa, who runs the popsicle stand and makes life seem interesting again

Now, I mentioned on Deb's blog last month there will be surprises this month. But the surprises are sort of special-order surprises, so I'll draw a name each week, and then I have to get a piece of information from you in order to MAKE your surprise. That's right, it's gonna get all crazy DIY up in here. But I think you will want this! So be sure and join in this month. And there's the teaser....:0)

Blogging Break

Though I will be hosting the #wipmadness Peeps every Monday for the month of November, that is all the blogging I'll be doing this month.

In honor of all you Nano'ers, I'm going to take a mini-step away from the computer and focus back in on writing and real world for a bit. I'll be back making the rounds next month!

And if you'd like to join in our #wipmadness support network of writers, please join us here, Mondays in November, and on Twitter.

See you in December!

Wherein I VLOG without makeup and explore a conundrum - oh yeah, and dogs

Do not judge the pretty hat.

A Brief Political Rant

Campaign Finance Reform. Candidates should be allowed to raise X amount of dollars, and that is it. This morning I heard that our two presidential candidates have raised well over 100 million dollars each.

I have children at my school who only eat when they are under our roof.
I have children at my school who don't own a book.
I have children at my school who have never owned a new item of clothing or a new pair of shoes.

This financial fuckery is out of control. And it pisses me off. Excuse my language.

I wish I knew how to create the change needed.

Random Tuesday - Five Random Things

1. A trusted CP got an exciting e-mail today. Every since I found out I've been squealing.
2. I'm in the process of booking a photographer to do professional author photos. She's amazing, check out her work here: http://www.kristihedbergphotography.com/ 
3. I've lost 6 pounds since September 1st and I'm still going strong. Somebody in the grocery store said I looked like I'd lost weight. Awesome. (note: I'm not a super heavy person, just battling middle-age bulge)
4. It's fall here in the mountains and the leaves are stunning.
5. My new puppy is settling in and is the total light of my life - she sleeps in the bed every night.

The Beauty of Simplicity

Today I had the honor of attending the wedding of a former student. I taught this young man when he was in 5th and 6th grade, became close friends with his mom, then went on to teach his brother for another three years. This is a special family.

The groom hasn't had an easy time of growing up. He made some BIG mistakes in high school that had everyone who knew and loved him, a lot worried. But he persevered. After graduating early, he knew he didn't want to go to college. He thought about flight school but it didn't work out. At a loss, he decided to go to South Africa and teach surfing. That didn't work out but he did end up working at a school in Capetown. This is where he met the love of his life. The bride was the daughter of the head of school.

It's been interesting hearing their story. First, the groom is still pretty young. 19 or 20 tops. And, honestly, none of us figured he'd be the first to settle down. Second though, is just how scandalous this was in South Africa. We think things are still segregated over here, but apparently, it's a real "thing" when a white marries a colored (the bride's word, not mine) over there. They've decided to live here for that reason. But third, and the best part, is just how happy they both are.

Their wedding took place under a simple arch next to a mountain trout river. It was pot luck and the grill fired with chicken and ribs. People took walks through the campground and gathered in front of a fire in the big fireplace (it was in the mid 50's but cooler next to the river).  When I think about the heaps of money people spend on such events and compare it with the wholesome, warm simplicity of today's event, there's no comparison to me. Friends and family are what makes a wedding.

So enjoy! My cell phone doesn't take great pictures, but you'll get the idea.

The groom and his brother wait. 

The bride and her parents (who traveled from Capetown!).

Family gathered close. 

It was a simple Friends Meeting type ceremony

Nature made her presence known - I take this as an approval sign!

Too cold for the swimming hole.

Small Town Saturday

Yesterday we had a small main street Heritage Festival and I got to hang out with my art club all day. Hope you enjoy this picture essay of life out here in Appalachia!

The art club booth - a free kid's activity - and a donation jar for our field trip.

We joined forces with a local craft school who did this handmade paper butterfly craft.

Mine are the sharpie'd toes - but my student's black ones have John Green's signature on the toe!

A portable blacksmith's forge.

Monarch butterflies drying in the sun.

Katniss made an appearance.

Former students getting their freaky fun on!

The DAV was out in full force.

The animal rescue was out - this was too classic!

What's a festival without funnel cakes?

The 4-H brought out some critters.

Perfect. The twang of a mandolin and the rush of a coal car passing by.

If you look close into those mirrored shades, you might see me.

Boys do love their train engines.

I found it ironic that the Domestic Violence coalition was sponsoring a haunted tent. Maybe that's just me? But there was a lot of screaming going on.

This fellow was giving mule rides for $2.

Back of a pick up is the perfect place to sell your molasses.

The Fire & Rescue used their boot as a napkin paper weight! Too classic.

Hope you enjoyed this journey through my little town's festival!