Bike Trail

That’s not a highway. That’s the bike trail! I’ve been taking it from the Nature Center to Alameda Park and back. The levee is down on the right, and the river is on the left. I try to leave an hour before the sun sets, so the sun is behind me going north, and setting as I ride back home.

New Furniture

I found a gigantic easel on Craigslist.

Block Party

 

Our very own Dexter of the Veranda Compound takes the prize in the dog show. p.s. Guess who won the cake walk and got to pick out the cake of her choice? I chose pumpkin cake with brown sugar buttery frosting.

 

Side of the Road

Pumpkins, cantaloupe agua fresca, watermelons, red peppers

My New Uniform

When I find a deal I like, I buy in quantity. (I have 4 pairs of the same jeans, 3 of the same skirt/shorts, etc.) These t-shirts are now marked down to $5.97 BUT if you take into account the 40% off everything AND the extra 10% online bonus – put away your calculators, I’ll do the math for you – that comes to $3.23 per shirt. Free delivery.

I bought them in 2 sizes so I can wear the smaller on reasonable days, and the larger on days I raid the fridge. I’ve already washed them. The tie die faded so that they look more like dirty white t-shirts, which is a good look.

An ARC vs. The Real Thing

I’m so excited to announce that “Mimi’s Treasure Trouble” is being released today! A few of my pals thought that it had been released months ago–after all, there was a book that came out back then, wasn’t there? Yes! But that was an ARC, and this is the real deal. Here’s the diff:

ARC stands for Advanced Reader's Copy. ARCs are not the final version of the book although they should be close. The ARC is generally a paperback edition distributed early so that reviewers have time to look the book over before the real thing is released. When you put the ARC and the final version of the book side by side, you may find typos or different sequences in the ARC, or even different layouts and illustrations. The photo above (the final version of the book) shows the same spread as the photo below (the ARC). We decided after seeing the ARC, that the illustration needed to be bigger, more detailed, and that it should have bled off the page top and right.

Here’s another example of the final version, top, and ARC below:

All in all there were probably 60-70 changes made between the time the ARC was published and the real book was released.

And then there were two.

“Oh Golly!” as Anne would say. Today I received the REAL THING – not an advance copy – but the REAL THING. Mimi’s Treasure Trouble is the second book in the Mimi’s World series and will be released officially on Tuesday, October 8.

Haircut

 

Today I pulled out the tomato plant and gave the bamboo a haircut.

 

 
 

Eric told me about this app called MapMyRide. I used it this evening–so much fun! p.s. 283 calories = 1 chocolate cupcake.

 

El Pinto

A great visit with Deb and Eric from Charlottesville, VA.

A Treasure in the Mail

Aggles sent me this book! It was published in 1977 and illustrated by Seymour Chwast. I bought a copy on the bargain table 30 years ago, and had used it so much for reference and inspiration that it finally fell apart. I’m so glad to have another copy.

I'm a Paperback Writer

It’s Not Easy Being Mimi is out in paperback!

Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?

Unpacking

 

Seeing all the art at Harwood Friday night made me want to paint. It also inspired me to unpack my old face paintings. This is a walk-in closet that I’m using as an office. I love working in this tiny space. Soon it will have a big window.

What Riley Wore

 

This delightful book written by Elana K. Arnold (and illustrated by me) is out today!