July 31
Dana Moffett is one of the gems of Whidbey. Her Rubatano Center has made Whidbey into a northwestern Zimbabwe marimba destination. Kaj has been playing in Shanduko, one of Dana’s performance groups, and all three kids participated in Dana’s summer camp. Guest teachers included members of Mbira dzeMuninga. (www.dzemuniga.com)
July 15
This year, when Karl said “I’m not getting in a van for three days with our kids,” we booked flights to Minnesota to see my family. Once there, however, we did travel in a car…
They faked this one, but we encourage that sort of thing.
Don’t let this sweet face fool you!
If you’re in the Alexandria MN area, stop in and meet the nice folks at Cherry Street Books. You’ll be delighted by the book talk and savvy selection!
A break at Paula’s cabin before we head north
It doesn’t seem to matter how big our kids get–They still love playing on the teeter-totters my dad made for my sister’s birthday almost 50 years ago.
I probably say this every time I add Spirit Lake beach pictures in here, but my earlier summers consisted of getting up, putting on a swimsuit, and going to “the beach.” “The beach” is “up north” talk, just as “the lake” can refer to one of well over 12,000 in Minnesota. It’s a shared and uniting experience, no matter which lake is yours.
The next lake stop was Stocking Lake, just a couple miles from downtown Menahga, and the home of sister Cindy’s and Jeff’s cabin. Kaj was determined to water ski this year, and he took off like a pro. Jean tried, but he was just too small. You wouldn’t catch Sandra on those sticks, but give her an inner-tube, and she’s all over it. Literally. And laughing. Not Kaj. He and Sandra just can’t understand what’s wrong with the other one sometimes.
As a kid, I’d win enough money in the Midsummer races to pay for my rides at the carnival. Menahga Midsummer Celebration kept us going until Christmas.
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| Kaj and Sandra in the 3-legged race |
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| Jean in the wheelbarrow race |
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| Kaj came in so far ahead of the pack that they didn’t notice him or tag him a winner. He was fine with that. |
Jean and Sandra bought a wristband so they could climb…
and climb…
and climb…
Kaj eventually had enough of just watching and bought one, too…
Ahhh, the parade!
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| Notice the kids and their candy bags. They say they love parades. Of course they do. |
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| My cousins, twins Lorie and Leo, were the parade’s queen and king. |
Another reason we chose this week to “go home” is because of my class reunion. Can you guess which year? To find the answer, find an MHS yearbook. Tim Pederson found his, and as he recited the names of classmates, they spoke about their lives, or if the person wasn’t there, we all filled in what we knew about them. Nice.
We’re a group of life-long friends, and for many of us, family. Of the fifty or so kids in my graduating class, four of us were first cousins, and in addition to them, I had two second cousins and a friend whose grandmother was married to my uncle. Small-town living inspires great reunion reliving…
It doesn’t feel like home unless I have a book signing at my favorite northern Minnesota bookstore, Beagle Books in Park Rapids. A real treat for me this year was sharing that time with Leif Enger, another Minnesota author (I know, I know, I’m a Washingtonian now, but I’ll always be a Minnesotan).
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| Deb and Leif discussing language in picture books |
And if all that wasn’t enough, we had a Lund family reunion. These were big, big events in years past. There were 12 kids in my dad’s family, and many of them had large families, so I grew up with lots of cousins.
Sundays were spent at Grandma’s farm, just across the street from the Midway store and baseball field where my dad played. Not too different from our combination store, gas station, and post office here in Greenbank. Back then, I shagged fowl balls for five cents a ball and spent the money on goodies at the store. Remember Push-ups and Dreamsicles? My relatives still make up a big part of the Midway team, and I know where to find them during the baseball season.
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| Here’s the oldest and youngest at our reunion. That handsome guy is my Uncle Ed, my dad’s brother. |
And a few of my dozens of singing cousins…
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| Basil sings a love song he wrote for my mom. |
The Menahga Midsummer Celebration weekend traditionally ends with fireworks. This year it was particularly spectacular.
A cartful of kids in Dorset, Minnesota…
Dancing with Grandma!
One,
Two,
Three! Well, almost three.
And now, tired out, they try again to convince us they’re sleeping. As if we’d ever catch them snuggling up for a real snooze.
My brother Tom treated us to an amazing picnic. His smoked ribs and grilled chicken are the best. Here’s my mom, Kaj, and I enjoying Tom and Cindy’s yard at Shipman Lake.
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| Cowboy Jean, led by Dani. |
Sister Cindy and I decide to check out yet another festival, the Hewitt Picklefest.
For the best fried walleye, look for Tom’s stand.
From the Picklefest to the Mall of America. Makes your head spin. I especially like the sign in the lower right corner.
July 15
When they bring by the babies for us to admire, we can almost forgive the deer for eating everything we plant outside our garden fence.
Kaj shows his Norwegian heritage in this K’nex Viking ship he constructed.
June 28
Summers for our kids include several Sugar Festivals. Sure, they go by other names, but that’s the focus for our crew. The closest one, The Loganberry Festival at the Greenbank Farm, even without a parade of candy throwers, manages to fill our kids up with sugar no matter how hard we try to get good stuff into them. But then, loganberry pie IS good stuff, which Sandra understood right from the beginning. She slowly ate hers. This was one time she knew the real winner was not the winner of the race.
Kaj, however, went for the gold and was left with nothing as Sandra still savored her pie. A definite role-reversal for these two.
June 13
It’s hard for Jean to choose between soccer and baseball, but this spring, our little Lefty grabbed his bat.
June 1
Our marimba family enjoyed a photo shoot with Zimbabwe friends Mbira dzeMuninga as they prepared for a new CD release.
April 30
Three weeks in Japan may have forever changed my son Kaj. He’s always had an interest in Japanese language and culture, so witnessing his immersion, including eating a roasted grasshopper, was a delight. Kaj helped with my school author presentations and learned to maneuver train stations and airports like a pro. For details of our trip, check out my blog, Deb Lund ad lib, for entries in the last half of April.
But since we ran out of steam before recording all the fun we had at Misawa, here’s one from Sollars Elementary. Yes, those are seasick dinosailors.
April 10, 2009
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| Jean hanging out during spring break |
April 9, 2009
Spring, and especially Easter, are such reminders of new birth, transformation, beginning again. Take time to notice the changes in your life. Kaj and I are definitely in for a change. We’re off to Japan early Monday morning to visit schools and do some sightseeing. You can follow our adventures on our blogs…
Deb’s blog - http://www.deblund.com/blog
Kaj’s blog - http://portalreads.edublogs.org
March 30, 2009
Happy Birthday, Karl!
We walked on the ferry and celebrated at Ivars with the rest of the local Olsen family.
March 25, 2009
Kaj had his second ever concert with the Langley Middle School sixth grade band. He was right in front with his flute, unlike our friends who kept trying to get pictures of their daughter Isla. Thanks to them, we got these…
March 23, 2009
At the end of last summer, I met librarian Linda B. from Briarcrest Elementary at an event at Third Place Books. It was great to see her again at her school. Thanks to teacher Suzanne Norring for arranging the visit. Two assemblies with eager attentive kids made for a great morning.
Later that afternoon, my cousin Bryan and his mom, my aunt Mabel from Minnesota, came to visit. It was a treat to see both of them again. Bryan and I were on a sea-kayaking trip together 21 years ago when I re-met Karl out here. I’m tempted to go into the whole story, but you’ll have to wait and ask me about it sometime.
We gave them the quick Whidbey-by-car tour. The lighting at Fort Casey was especially interesting that day – an after-rain yellow-grayish glow made Admiralty Lighthouse stand out.
March 17, 2009
Watch out for leprechauns! You can see how small they are by comparing this one (spotted in the Lund Olsen yard) to the sapling behind him.
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| LepreJean |
March 16
Lisa Kohn from the Bloomington Normal Home Builders Association in Bloomington, Illinois invited me to sign books at their Home Show. My daughter Sandra and I spent a few days in Bloomington, guests at a lovely facility owned by a member of the association. Another member, Stark Excavating, covered my travel expenses. Thank you, Stark! We noticed your name everywhere…
The Home Show was a delight. I signed 160 copies of Monsters on Machines, and met dozens of great folks of all ages. The proceeds from book sales went to the Ronald McDonald House.
Sandra and I took the train to Chicago to spend a couple days with my friend, children’s author Fay Robinson and her adopted daughter Cati. It was great to finally see these two girls together, and to spend time with Fay again. We did the Sears Tower tour, visited the American Girls store, the Hersheys store, and Sandra got in a beach trip. A highlight was getting to see Cati do a highland dance with a friend in her 1st grade class. Fay and I even managed to break away one evening for an incredible Ethiopian dinner.
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| Sears Tower replica made of Legos |
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| Cati & friend |
AND -- Happy St. Urho’s Day to all my Menahga Finnish (and Finnish for a day) friends and family! I apologize to those of you not-in-the-know, but it’s too long of a story for here and now.
March 5, 2009
What a blast talking with Suzanne Lieurance at Book Bites for Kids. You can hear the interview at Blog Talk Radio.
March 3, 2009
Sunnycrest Elementary was the perfect site for my monsters. The school is split into two sites of portables while construction of their new facility takes place. In spite of the chaos, this staff and their students keep a sunny attitude. I felt like I had instant friends there. It’s not often that principals stay and participate in presentations. What fun!
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| Sometimes the big people are sillier than the little ones! |
Usually when I get book idea suggestions from people, I tell them they should write it. A Sunnycrest student piped up with “You should write a book about that” as I was presenting – so I did. Who knows if it will ever be published, but it’s now part of my school visits. Sorry, no details to share yet, except there’s a character named Midge, and she’s built like a fridge. Scary, huh?
February 28, 2009
The Whidbey Island Writers Conference was condensed into two days this year instead of three. Karl and I sang “Story Song” at the opening, a piece we wrote years ago when I was an elementary librarian. Karl followed up with new words to “Green Fields,” wowing the crowd like always. I moderated the agent/editor panel, and helped host the children’s “Chat House.” It was a treat to be a “floater” this year that wasn’t needed. It means I got to hear my good friend George Shannon present, which is always a combination of great information, humor, and rapport …
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| George Shannon |
February 19, 2009
My school visit at Island View Elementary in Anacortes was all I hoped it would be and more. Macushla, the librarian (and my new friend), gave me a wonderful wooden train to go with ALL ABOARD THE DINOTRAIN. The Anacortes schools will always be special to me, thanks to great book people like Macushla and Margo. In the past few years I’ve visited all of the Anacortes elementaries, and I’m looking forward to more days with them somewhere off in the future.
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| Deb & Macushla |
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February 15, 2009
Karl’s almost annual Valentine’s Day concert was well attended as always. It always feels like a party just for me…
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| Our friend Bill Humphreys accompanied Karl |
A real treat was getting to see the Clausens again for the second week in a row. It was Anne’s 50th birthday, and she celebrated it with a trip to the Olympic Spa in Lynwood. The guys stayed here with the kids. Sorry, no pics from the spa.
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| KariAnna, Lars, and Kai Clausen |
February 14, 2009
Kaj’s gang piled into our van, and off we went with the Clausens to meet up with our old friends Karen and Jack for a pair of fun events.
Our Seattle area Kids Heart Books author appearances on Valentine’s Day took us to Edmonds Bookshop, a lovely store with an amazing staff. It’s right across the street from Savvy Traveler, another favorite of ours. We sang, read stories, and ate yummy Monsteroni & Cheese made by Mary Kay. If you don’t know about monsteroni and cheese, you’ll have to pick up a copy of Monsters on Machines.
Now, why didn’t anyone tell me my wig was all wigged out? A simple tug next time, family and friends! Sheesh!
Then it was off to the Seattle waterfront for the arcade out on one of the piers. Kaj and Jack, who are old Greenbank stroller mates, had both requested Valentine’s birthday trips to the arcade. While the kids whacked, bopped, threw, stomped, shot, and turned in tickets for trinkets, Karen took shots of me, then Karl, on the wharf. Check out Karen’s web site, and watch for our new photos on upcoming PR (with no purple wigs!). (www.karenanda.com)
These pictures are from Anne, not Karen…
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| Our gang |
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| Karl and quick-footed Kaj |
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| Sandra & Jean |
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| Kai & KariAnna Clausen |
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| John George |
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| Nate Martin |
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| Nathan Lux |
But, our day was not done. We topped of f the night back on Whidbey at a fundraiser Valentine’s dinner at Trinity, celebrating with friends…
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| Anne & Lars Clausen |
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| Mike & Kristi Etzell |
February 8, 2009
I waited only one day after my birthday for my party. It was my first “adult” birthday party, mostly attended by my writing group buddies and friends from other Whidbey circles. My good friend Sherryl opened up her home. Anne Clausen, past house mate, surprised me by showing up from Chelan. No boys allowed for this one. Just a bunch of singing, dancing Mama Mias.
January 20, 2009
We kept our younger kids home on the morning of the inauguration, and without television reception here in rural Whidbey Island, we went to Vern and Martha’s house in Coupeville. Friends joined them, and watching Sandra and Jean take in this historical moment was a gift for us all.
January 15, 2009
Our December birthday boys – one on each side of Christmas – didn’t get the “friends party” they hoped for (because of our Minnesota Whidbey winter), so we moved their kid parties into the new year. We had a blast at Jean’s party with a few first grade friends, reliving the games I grew up playing at birthday parties. It was all new to these kids, and to their younger-than-us parents. Remember “Drop the Clothespin?” I had that game down and could hardly wait for it at each party. And did you ever play the Cotton Ball Game? Blindfolded (or in this case, wearing the monster masks they created), each participant takes a turn spooning cotton balls from one container into another.
January 1, 2009
We delivered our “Boxing Day” items to Island Thrift this week. After Christmas we refill the space under our tree with empty boxes to fill with items we want to give away. We declutter through the year (you can’t really tell by looking at our home), but this feels different. It’s not so much the “unloved and not needed” stuff, but also the “would someone else love and need this more” stuff.
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| Time to declutter? |
Karl and Kaj joined 150 other crazy people in the Polar Bear Plunge – a leap into the icy waters of Puget Sound. Jean and Sandra tagged along to watch. I snuggled up at home near the fire with my journal.
Later we packed up for a trip to Double Bluff Beach, where we wrote our resolutions in the sand, a ritual we’ve done for many years. The theory is simple. The wishes and thoughts are either carried away to become reality, or they’re washed away, leaving no record that they ever existed. Either option is fine with us.
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| Kaj – “Just Be” |
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| Sandra & Jean |
I’m looking forward to this year, and as the kids head back to school, I’ll be busy again writing, teaching, and sharing my stories with kids.
December 30, 2008
If you were to receive a Christmas card from us, it would pretty much be a crammed version of this journal, so please consider yourselves “greeted.” I think the last letter we mailed out was after Kaj’s birth. But, here’s a little bit about the rest of my family…
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| Karl and Kaj |
Kaj is off skiing with his cousin Aaron today, on his 12th birthday. It’s been an amazing year for Kaj – changing schools, still playing marimba but taking a break from tap, playing flute, singing, and soon starting his own blog. He’s a fun kid who keeps us laughing and makes us proud.
Sandra participated in a three-day basketball camp this week and loved it. She had a great soccer season this fall as well. She has almost caught up to Kaj in height, and would like to be a model and actor – and maybe teach sumo wrestling. Her patient godmother Kathy keeps her sewing and dreaming up new projects.
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| Grandma, Sandra, and Ollie getting his new sweater |
Jean is an action kid. His pogo stick just arrived, and he’s bouncing up a storm. Jean adores animals – Ollie and Sparkle, our dog and cat, are direct recipients of his love and exuberance. Jean is a singer and sports lover who is pouring through “readers” these days, FROG AND TOAD and JUNIE B. JONES being current favorites.
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| Jean reads to Mama |
Our biggest news this year is Karl’s invitation to sing with the Brothers Four. We both remember singing along with them years ago, and this journey with them has blessed us all in many ways.
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| Deb & Karl singing at the Brothers Four “Welcome Karl!” concert |
So, consider yourself on our Christmas list now, and thank you to our family and friends who send us love in their cards or hearts all these years with hardly a word from us. We’re grateful and humbled. Blessings for 2009 from the Lund Olsen bunch.
December 21, 2008
5:00 am. The snow continues. Days of it now. I’ve never seen this on Whidbey. We’re not up to the 2 feet that I trudged through when Kaj was born, but that came and left more quickly. Today is Jean’s 7th birthday. No one will come out to celebrate in this snow. It’s also the day of his Little Drummer Boy solo – his singing debut. Postponed. What will the day bring? We’ll see…
All is well. The annual bonfire appeared, and Karl chained up to collect good neighborhood friends to join us. Several snow people also appeared around the fire, and as always, songs of light were offered to celebrate the solstice boy.
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| Sweet dreams, birthday boy! |
December 19, 2008
It’s been a crazy, fun week here. I was finally feeling like I was over the Japan jet lag and then the snow hit. This is a rare event for Whidbey Island. It took a couple days for the truck of new sleds to make it here, but we were in line to pick up three of them. Ollie tried keeping up with the kids, attacking them both up and down hills on sleds, but when the novelty of his excitement wore off, they dropped him off indoors, where he tried to track their activities through various windows.
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Long-time residents here say we’ve never had snow that continued to fall over so many days. One local man thought maybe 50 years ago was the closest. But most of us here will remember the historic snowstorm back at the end of 1996. It didn’t last as long, but it came down like snowballs and didn’t stop until we hit a couple feet. That’s not unusual for northern Minnesota, where I grew up, but out here without the support that’s built in to snowy climates, snow stops everything. Except birth, as we found out during that one, now 12 years ago.
Anyway, it’s gorgeous here – snow clinging to our lofty trees, sunlight filtering through them. I needed to cancel my visit to A Book For All Seasons in Leavenworth. I LOVE that store. It’s like coming home when I go there. We’re hoping to find a date in 2009, but for now, I’m home playing in the snow.
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| See? It really does come down like snowballs here. |
My mom is here, arrived last Friday on a ticket that was her Christmas present from Basil. Mom and Basil – that’s a story for another time. Thanks, Basil.
Kaj’s first band concert was on the 10th. He’s playing flute in band, and just like when he sings, it’s a clear, on-pitch tone. I had to miss Laini Taylor’s talk in Seattle that night (and any time with Laini is always fun), but it was great to hear how the middle school bands are progressing.
Kaj Fredrik played Frederick in Whidbey Dance Theater’s production of The Nutcracker. Two weekends, four performances on each one, was the culmination of their many weeks of rehearsals. It’s an incredible community and has done so much for Kaj. He did a great job dancing and acting with great expressions and focus. Grandma was thrilled to be there, and I think she was probably surprised to see how professional this production is, considering it’s right here on little Whidbey Island. It wouldn’t seem like Christmas without attending at least one of the performances.
Tonight is our annual caroling party with Wylie and Ginny Vracin and friends. We eat, carol down the streets in a wagon or on foot, sing with the folks at Careage and Whidbey General Hospital, and then head back to Vracins for our final good-byes.
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| Christmas secrets |
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| Kaj and friend |
December 13, 2008
Stepping into Mockingbird Books for the first time was love at first sight for me. This store had an almost instant following when it opened in the Green Lake area. It’s so easy to head off I-5 a couple blocks to get there – I can already tell it’s going to be a regular part of our “mainland” errands. You can’t find a better staff. Those of us who still mourn the loss of “All For Kids Books and Music” can find comfort in seeing familiar faces at Mockingbird Books. When you visit their web site, you’ll be amazed at the experience of Mockingbird’s personnel. If you need a good read (check out the special adult area) or the perfect gift for any kid in your life, they can find it for you.
More adults than children showed up for my reading, but they were an attentive, lively group. The kids wore construction hats, played with my big monster blow-ups, the train set, and the art table. It was like a preschool and bookstore all in one. Mockingbird has a daily 11:00 storytime. Oh – and a lovely little coffee shop area right in the store. What else would you need?
December 10, 2008
A little dress up fun from an unearthed box of Mama’s theater stuff for kids…
December 1, 2008
I’m back from Japan! I got to play groupie on the Brothers Four Japan tour. We left November 21. Karl will be back a week from today. It was an amazing experience. I’ll let Karl’s travel blog fill you in on the details.
Jason Rome, a ten year old who has been emailing me for a couple years (initially to ask permission to use DINOSAILORS in a film he was making), now lives in Japan. His parents, Geena and Tom, made a 3-hr. or so trip with him to the Brothers Four concert in Fukuoka. It was wonderful to meet them, to share an evening of great music, and to make plans for our next meeting. I had hoped to do a school visit at Jason’s school, but we soon figured out there wasn’t enough time on this trip. It looks like I’ll return there in the spring.
With all Jason’s attention on my dinobooks, I didn’t want Dirty Dugg, Stinky Stubb, Melvina, or Gorbert to feel left out, so I took these pictures (and many others) for my MONSTERS ON MACHINES…
November 12, 2008
Tonight I presented at the SCBWI monthly meeting to a packed house. Lois Brandt originally asked me to talk about marketing. After I burst out laughing, we settled on the topic of school visits, information which a few SCBWI members had already requested from me. I had sent out a survey to WLMA (Washington Library Media Association) to see what they had to say about school visits – what they wanted, what worked, what didn’t – they even shared their horror stories. Basically, they want authors to involve the kids, to be personable and entertaining, and to teach them something, not just promote their books. Our SCBWI chapter makes the best audience. They were roaring with laughter, which only got me going more. Thank goodness for friends like Jaime Temairik who don’t mind me picking on them. Speaking of Jamie – check out her fun artwork at www.chompoblog.com.
November 9, 2008
Thursday night, Linnea Good and part of her family spent the night with us after her concert here on Whidbey. When they’re around, we don’t sleep much. We love our talks, laughter, and late-night sharing so much we don’t want it to end. Then, of course, I was too wound up to sleep, and off I went the next morning to the Western Washington SCBWI fall retreat. I love this weekend. Last year it was off in the mountains, where we were greeted with a layer of snow. This year it was “Weekend on the Water” at Alderbrook Resort near Gig Harbor. I’d go anywhere to hear Patti Lee Gauch speak, and Darcy Pattison’s mind always amazes me.
Thanks for these pictures, Darcy!
A few friends who came to play…
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| Meg Lippert |
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| Cathy Benson |
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| Joni Sensel |
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| Jolie Stekly |
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| Jaime Temairik |
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| Broadway Bound |
October 26, 2008
The Imagine Children’s Museum put together a large “sandbox” to celebrate my new book. Raniere, the incredible artist/director/visionary, had construction machinery planted in their box of rubber chips. Kids played, I read, parents laughed. We didn’t even get to all the fun craft projects Raniere planned. What a monster of a day!
October 25, 2008
Troika is back! That’s how George Shannon dubbed our book-event threesome at our first joint book event years ago. It’s always more fun with my buddies around. This time, George set up an event for the release of Monsters on Machines and Kathryn Galbraith’s new book Boo Bunny. I love seeing George down on the floor with little ones, cutting, pasting, telling stories. He brings such love and laughter into our times together. This was the second event this month that Kathryn and I did together. Last Wednesday we were at the Ballard Public Library with Secret Garden Books. The new library is amazing, and we were able to “tour” the live rooftop. Secret Garden Bookshop, a yummy kids’ book store right in the heart of Ballard, is such a great place to spend time, but without an event room, this wonderful library is a good match for them. Check out both!
October 24, 2008
I was back at Coupeville Elementary once more – this time for an early-release program. We roped off part of the gym with “Construction Zone” tape and cones, and I entertained kids with monster and construction songs and stories. Along with librarian Leslie Bakker, we drew plans for what we wanted in the new kids’ room at the library. What a great celebration for my monsters and for the new library construction project.
October 18, 2008
I just love working with Kari Yadros at Lynnwood Barnes & Noble. What a gift she brings to that big box store. She’s creative, energetic, and one of those people that you instantly think of as your long-lost daughter and best friend all in one. We sampled teas, talked education, and connected with other authors and lots of book lovers.
October 14, 2008
I sure wish Olympia was closer! Kirby Larson, Bonny Becker, and I traveled down for a book signing, and I got to meet Rhonda. I’m amazed at how lucky Barnes & Noble has been to find such talented and hard-working people for their Community Relations Managers. Rhonda set up a wonderful table of authors near a tea-tasting stand in honor of their area teachers. The best part of that long ride was spending it with friends.
October 11, 2008
Karl was able to join me at Northgate for a Barnes & Noble teacher appreciation tea. It was a small crowd, but who wouldn’t expect that with the summery day we had. Sweet Lisa was a gracious host, and we enjoyed a sit-down tea and goodies event that was relaxing and delicious. After picking up Sandra from soccer, Karl and I did the kid swap, and he was off to a Brothers Four concert. It’s nice to have these glimpses of him.
October 10, 2008
Bonny Becker, Kathryn Galbraith, and I gave a panel discussion at the WLMA (Washington Library Media Association) conference. The three of us have taught writing in a variety of venues and levels, and our audience had amazing questions. Some of my favorite discussions happened after the presentation and throughout the day as I ran into librarians who had attended our presentation. Special thanks to Craig Seasholes for our great introduction. Craig is the gracious administrator of the WLMA listserv.
Here’s the blurb from our offering:
Writerkidz - From Reading to Writing (and back again).
A team of writing-teacher authors shares their secrets for successful writing with students. This demonstration and discussion of activities using personal stories, prompts, senses, word choice, and story structure will help you get kids writing. Enrich your students' literary experiences through the reading-writing connection.
October 8, 2008
I love Peggy Marcellus. She’s the Scholastic Book Fair rep for our area. Peggy and I met at ALA in Seattle a couple years ago, and we’ve been in touch here and there – mostly when she asks me to speak to area librarians and parents. This time it was at Everett’s Hillcrest Elementary School. My kids love joining me on these outings, because Peggy usually has a little surprise for them, and always something fun to eat. I love going, because I get to meet great people, and spend time with funny, compassionate, humble Peggy.
October 5, 2008
“Inside Story” is another event that sets the Western Washington SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators) apart from other SCBWI chapters. Each fall and spring, members with new books being released gather at a bookstore with area booksellers and librarians to give a 3-minute talk on the “inside story” of their book. They don’t want you to read it – just tell them the tidbits about the book that they won’t find anywhere else. I got to tell them about growing up with construction machinery, including the rides in the front loader and digging holes in our yard with the backhoe. Who knew where all that experience was leading me!
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| Kathryn Galbraith and Deb – making plans for their joint signings and events! |
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| Sandra meets one of her favorite authors |
Remember the picture of Kaj and Sandra reading together (August 23)? Yup. CAGES, by Peg Kehret.
October 1, 2008
Lynnwood Children’s Bookshop has to be one of my kids’ favorite book event places. It’s got all the books they want, and toys, toys, toys! Ed reminds me of my Minnesota friends and family – another soft-spoken Scandinavian. Amber Kizer, David Patenaude, and Bonny Becker were the other authors at the event. It was great to catch up with them, and to discover that Amber is Rachel Kizer’s daughter. I had no idea she was here on Whidbey, too.
September 27, 2008
The kidlit bloggers conference in Portland may have changed my life – at least, the busyness of it. We’ll see as time goes on! I’m playing around with a few blog ideas that will hopefully appear with the new year. I’ll tell you more about the wonderful friends and adventures later, but the links you’ll find on the KidLit08 blog will give you more than a taste of the weekend’s fun and learning. Click on each name to see their blog version of the conference experiences.
September 22, 2008
Karl took off on the Brothers Four West-Coast Tour with the Kingston Trio. He’ll be gone for three weeks. Yikes! Three weeks filled with lots of book events and kid juggling. Exciting days here in the Lund/Olsen household.
It’s been transition-into-school time here. We had open houses at Langley Middle School and Coupeville Elementary. Our two younger kids are in the Coupeville district. They have a long bus ride from here, but with friends and books, it’s not too bad for them. Our oldest, Kaj, is going out-of-district this year. When Karl’s around, he takes him down to work with him in Freeland, and Kaj catches the bus to Langley from there. He’s enjoying the new school, and is mostly keeping up with the homework.
I’m excited about the upcoming Kid Lit Bloggers Conference a week from today. I’m sure you’ll see changes here soon!
September 9, 2008
I attended the South Sound Reading Foundation’s fundraiser in Olympia. Karl and I sang, I read a story, and we signed, ate, visited, and enjoyed chatting with my friends Kirby Larson and Bonny Becker who rode down with us. I love supporting literacy organizations, and I’m grateful for all they do for kids. Rhonda from Barnes & Noble was there with our books, and proceeds benefited the organization. This was an especially fun evening, more laid-back and personal than I imagined. Karl came along to serenade the crowd, and lots of old Brothers Four fans sang along. An evening to remember, with plans to repeat it this coming year. Maybe we’ll see you there next time!
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| Deb and Sue Kaelin, Karl’s past principal |
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