Time to Catch Up!

Kay Kay launched in August! Hmm, I guess it really HAS been awhile since my last post. Kay Kay's Alphabet Safari launch at Secret Garden Books was a VERY fun party. Thanks to Secret Garden and all of my friends who came out to cheer Kay Kay on and support bookstores. You can see a video of the launch here. Meanwhile, Kay Kay's been on a bit of a roll, winning the 2014 Creative Child Preferred Choice Award AND getting a nice review from Kirkus ("The loosely energetic, cartoon illustrations are lively with capricious details ... Kids will enjoy the silliness, and there’s lots of potential for the classroom.") Hey, did I mention that 10% of my profits from Kay Kay go to the Star of Hope Centre in Kenya? And that Secret Garden Books donated 10% of my sales on launch night to Star of Hope? And that we're right in the middle of our annual holiday fund raiser? Check out the real story behind this story!

http://www.starofhopecentre.org/StarofHopeCentre/Star_of_Hope.html

Let's hear it for Victober! Many of you know that Vicki gets a whole month to celebrate her birthday. Can you believe she's 64? Me neither! All the animals in her life turned out to sing.

And then in November... Vicki's right eye, over the course of three days, went BLIND! That's just not funny, but I still made fun of her with some stickies. Thankfully, massive doses of the steroid Prednisone have been clearing up her sight pretty darned well. She sees about 95% normal out of that eye and is still taking her meds. Some kind of post-viral neuropathy of the optic nerve (which means "gerbils chewed up your eye bones") is the culprit.

we got to know our health provider very well

I learned what was funny to her and what wasn't

I still think this is funny

I think it was sister Linda who said this. Vicki couldn't drive for awhile.

She hasn't gone all 'roid rage on me, but she kicks butt on the hills

You know what helps with the Prednisone jitters? Medical marijuana, that's what. Helps you sleep through the night, too. Vicki can hook you up.

Rats! After weeks (months?) of denial, I had to admit that we had more rats in the basement and that we needed to seal up the hole in the back wall. Turns out Vicki has a real Pioneer Spirit and wields a mean cement trowel! And Bennie has a hidden talent as well.

the rats got cocky, which, of course, was their downfall.

Little Bennie has a talent for killing rats! Well, at least one. Digger and Daisy were amazed.

Word to the wise. Don't ask

Happy Thanksgiving! We went to Bill and Marsha's, who are vegetarian. Everything was delicious, including the kale salad! And I found that you can eat yourself sick without turkey. So that's settled. We're Thankful for more than I can list here, but Bill and Marsha are on our list.

Christmas wishes. Bennie might be deadly to rats, but squirrels are still just a dream.

Sign up for Intro to Graphic Novels! I'm teaching a 6-week Monday night at Bellevue College, starting January 5! This is your chance to rock that Manga! Or reveal your inner Captain Underpants. Get the details here. Hope to see you.

Actually, the working title is "Smell Her Butt, Advice from My Dead Dog"

Make your own picture book! I'm teaching another Picture Book class at Kirkland Arts Center, Tuesday nights, starting January 20. Some of my past students will be joining me again, so I'm being forced to up my game. The goal will still be to complete a picture book dummy, but we'll also be exploring different media and writing. So come on and sign up here!

Happy Holidays from Star of Ho Ho Hope! Did I mention we're in the middle of our annual fundraiser? Please help us reach our goal! A little or a lot, every dollar goes a LONG way and is a big, big help. Star of Hope board member Marsha Donaldson visited the kids in November and took LOTs of pictures, which you can see here. Our push this holiday is to provide more desks for the class rooms and new outfits for the kids. You can see more and DONATE here! Thanks and a very Satisfying Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Cool Kwanza, Festivus and Happy Holidays and New Year to all!