Writing

Today I'm at a writer's conference, so I won't say much here. However I'll be posting an interview with another author tomorrow.

I love writer's conferences! This one is for members of the SCBWI (Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators) and I look forward to learning and communicating with other writers.

Talk to you more tomorrow.

Earth Day Story

I've probably told this story before, but I can't resist sharing it again.

Before Earth Day became a national holiday it was celebrated in Berkeley, CA, where I worked in the dormitories at California School for the Deaf.

We were having major problems with head lice. None of the staff had ever encountered those pesky creatures before, and we knew nothing about them, but they were driving us crazy. No matter what treatments the nurses gave the students, the lice spread, and spread. (Now I know that was partly because every week we washed all their combs and brushes in one bathtub.)

Finally one of the counselors got fed up and went downtown to the Public Health Department. They gave her something they said would certainly get rid of the infestation.

So we spent the very first Earth Day putting DDT on the heads of all the children.

Of course nobody knew back then how toxic that chemical was and it did work.

Weather Forecasts

In many areas the weather at this time of year keeps changing, and that can make it difficult to make plans for outdoor activities. Even short term, professional forecasts can be inaccurate, but meteorologists can usually give us a pretty good idea what to expect. Instead of watching the ones on TV or listening to radio forecasts I prefer to check the online websites when I'm making plans.

Many people go to the National Weather Service's site, http://forecast.weather.gov first, but I prefer http://www.wunderground.com/ because they get their information about current conditions closer to my home. The same thing was true where we lived before. However the Weather Service does predict things a few more days in the future.

http://www.weather.com/ gives ten day forecasts. Of course the farther ahead the forecasts are, the less likely they are to be correct, but at least they give a general idea of what to expect. The fifteen day predictions on http://www.accuweather.com are even less likely to be accurate.

There are lots of other sites online that predict weather conditions, including local TV news channels, but these four are the ones I use most often.

When planning a trip or event I usually look at the 15 day forecast when thinking about what to bring, then go to the 10 day, and, finally, to the more dependable short term predictions.

Of course there are no guarantees because weather conditions can change unexpectedly. Once the day before my grandson was coming to visit all four forecasts said there was 100% likelihood of snow the next day. But they were all 100% wrong. We had a little bit of light rain, then clear skies and a disappointed kid.

Oh, well, he had fun in the sun anyway.

Changes

When I was not quite five years old and my brother was two-and-a-half we moved across the country from the East Coast to California. There were no freeways back then and the drive took ten days. We slept in motels and usually ate in coffee shops since fast food hadn't been invented yet.

For the entire trip my brother refused to eat anything but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. If those weren't available where we stopped he usually wouldn't eat anything at all.

That comfort food was one familiar thing when almost everything else in his life was changing.

Often when kids - and even adults - go through major changes in their lives it can help them adjust if they have access to a few familiar things. Those may be foods, bedtime rituals, or favorite toys.

What things were comforting to you when you were a kid?

Best Books

I asked my eight year old grandson what were the best books he's ever read or had read to him. Without hesitation he replied, "The Harry Potter books I've heard, and Lee Roddy's books."

His parents read him the first few Harry Potter books, but felt the later ones weren't appropriate for his age. I've read him most of the Ladd family adventures by Lee Roddy and he still likes me to read them to him when he visits even though he can read well himself now. He's also heard and read many other books, but he considers those two series the best by far.

Grandkids

My grandson is spending the week with us and I love being a grandma. I wish we lived closer and could see each other more often, but the time we do spend together is so much fun.

Some children must live with their grandparents, who take the place of parents, and others frequently care for their grandkids, but it's still different from being a parent because they have the benefit of experience.

Others seldom or never see their grandkids.

But those of us who do get to spend time with our grandkids are among the luckiest people in the world.

Authors

Do you know any authors personally? If you don't, perhaps you can attend a book signing or hear a talk given by one.

When I was in Girl Scouts our troop had the privilege of visiting an author in her home, where she showed us the galley proofs of her book. That was an experience I've never forgotten.

Now that I am an author myself I've met hundreds of others at conferences, and almost all are creative, intelligent, and nice people.

In my humble opinion, anyone who loves to read should try to get to know people who love to write because they may become authors themselves someday.