Congratulations Suzanne!

Suzanne Joy Perkett graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. Degree in Math and a B.A. Degree in Spanish! School continues on for her in Bloomington as she is in a graduate program for higher education. However, we took time out to celebrate her achievments at BIAGGI'S in Evansville. Matthew, our oldest, was unable to join us, but he was there in spirit (and phoned too). Our waiter was kind enough to take our picture even though the place was hopping being it was also Mother's Day.

Suzanne- keep up the good work! There are people out there that need you!

Mother's Day

My kids: Janine on the far right, Suzanne on the far left, with Matthew sitting next to her. Aren't they adorable! I feel like the luckiest human being alive to be the mother of those three. The role of mother has been the most fun, challenging, amazing, and important experience of my life. That is also because I have my best friend, Bruce, for a husband.

Book Signing

Margaret McMullan was at Barnes & Noble this afternoon signing books. As you can see by my picture it was great fun and her fans couldn't wait to get their hands on a copy! I bought two of her books myself. I have had the opportunity to hear Margaret speak about her work a couple times and I have to say that she is fun to listen to and an inspiration to others interested in the writing process. If you missed her today, you'll have a chance to meet her and have a book signed if you go to Borders (located near Target)in early May.

Spring

I saw a duck inspecting the sandbox in our back yard the other day. She stood on the wooden ledge looking in the box. I wonder, was she pondering whether or not it was a good place for a nest? Or maybe she felt disappointed because it was a good nesting site before my husband removed the leaves and grass that had been there probably the last time she'd looked. As always, the animals are busy right now. We get in their way.

That makes me think about the poor bunny I nearly scared to death last spring.. I was happily gasping for air while mowing the lawn, when an itty bitty bunny startled me by hopping eight to ten feet in the air straight up and out of some tall ornamental grass nearby and then plopped, with a little splash, into our pond.  I couldn't believe it! Shutting off the mower, I walked to the water's edge and looked for the little guy who was no bigger than my hand. When I didn't spot him right away, I sadlly concluded he'd sunk to the bottom of the pond like a rock.  You know what they say don't jump to conclusions ... because, next, I found him swimming with great speed, toward the middle of the pond! Now I know there is at least one bunny out there that not only can swim, but can blow through the water like a high speed motor came with its little cotton tail. I wondered--how long could he keep it up? I was responsible for this. I had to do something. 'Ding' A bright idea sprung into my head! I could use the canoe. I found my daughter and she was more than willing to help. We hurried. But, by the time we were in the pond with the canoe, the surface of the water was completely still. There wasn't a ripple anywhere.
With heavy hearts we put the canoe and rescue bucket away. And then, we stood by the water's edge to talk about the bunny. The rock my shoe was close to stepping on, moved. Hey- that rock had wet fur! He wasn't a gonner after all. Mr. Bunny had the sense to turn his frantic swimming around and head back to shore! My daughter picked him up and put him in the grass where he could feel safe. I like to think he's still around. If he is, I'm sure he absolutely hates hearing the mower on the lawn. This spring I'll be extra careful when I mow. It's not just my back yard, I share it with others.

Quote from my manuscript that made me laugh

"That’s when the door of the school opened. We turned automatically to see who it was. Sure enough, it was wicked Mrs. Smith heading to the parking lot. She wore a bright red coat with a hat to match. Her usual stride was reduced to baby steps because snow, ice, and high heels apparently don’t mix well. However, being the fierce dragon lady she was, I was sure she could look my way, shoot fire from her mouth and burn the very hair off my head."


This is a quote from my manuscript Murder on Sprinkle Lake Mrs. Smith is a very mean teacher. She'd just chewed out my main character. After, he joined his friend outside the school and was in the middle of telling him all about it when the door of the school opened...

Biggles

I love cats, always have. The sweet kitty in the photograph is our housecat, Biggles (he's on My Space if you're curious). My husband is more of a cat hater and dog lover. He has a theory that all felines no matter their size, are waiting for their chance to eat their owners. When they sniff you, he jokes they are checking whether or not you're still alive. Not so long ago I had a chance to test his theory. I was standing at the end of the hallway facing Mr. Biggs who was casually standing in my daughter's bedroom doorway staring at me. We stared at each other for a few seconds, then he did something that surprised me. He licked his mouth like he was thinking yum. Without thinking I licked my lips right back at him to see what he would do. He reacted big time!  Apparently he thought I might be interested in eating him (and I'm bigger)! No kidding he spazzed out! His hair stood on end and he did his, panicky sideways run that he always does when he's scared to death. That made me wonder... what was he thinking when he licked his chops? Maybe Bruce is right. Maybe we do look like a meal...

Flowers

I'm not a Farmville farmer, but I'm occasionally reminded about flowers in the dead of winter because of those who do the Farmville thing. And then I think about one particular garden.

My great aunt had the most beautiful garden. There were hundreds of different colors, sizes,and varieties of flowers planted right in her back yard on a space the size of a tennis court (or so it seemed when I was seven). I used to walk the paths of her garden while my mother visited inside the house probably drinking coffee and eating small cookies. I had the better deal. Many of the plants were taller than me and there were a lot of butterflies and bumblebees.

A kid can pick up a few things about life while wandering around a beautiful garden. I shared some of things I noticed when I went on those pretty jungle walk aboutsto my children when they were young and feeling competitive with one another. No sense keeping all this garden wisdom to myself. It is my opinion that they, as siblings, should support one another and genuinely want to see each other succeed. Three flowers (I have three children) can be equally beautiful yet completely different from one another. In fact, the differences actually make their individual beauty stand out when side by side. One is not better than another. It would be silly for one flower to want to be like the other flower when each one has its own color and style.