polka dot suitcase » Archive for September 2009
MIA again?!
Oy, it’s been several days since I’ve polka-dotted. I’m so bad. My excuse is that I was finishing up my fifth book. I know I say this every time, but this one was So Much Fun! I know I’ve still got the edits and the tweaks and the “forgot this!”s to go through, but phew — I’m happy to be finished with this first round. Fun stuff, though. Sometimes it seems like writing can get a little mechanical, so it’s always fun to have some zing in there. Speaking of zing and fun writing…my wonderful agent has been working hard to shop my baby around. It’s a book proposal that I cannot *wait* to turn into a book. Wise writing experts always advise you to send out queries or book proposals and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
ENERGY won an award!
Hey, just heard that my third book, Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It just won a children’s book award! It got a silver medal in the environment category. How fun is that?! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Kids these days…and those days
We just returned from a frosty trip up to NY State. Ah, home to warm weather. I’m sure I’ll thaw in a week or two. En route, we listened to a big bag full of books on tape. One of them was The Wizard of Oz. Naturally, we’ve seen the movie. But I can’t believe I’ve never actually read the book. (Have you?) Gotta say…a bit on the violent side. In the movie, I can’t remember how the Tin Man (“Tin Woodsman” in the book) turned into a man of metal, but I feel like it was pretty benign. In the book? First his enchanted axe lopped off one of his limbs, then another and another, then finally his head before it sliced his body in two. Ouch. Throughout the book, animals’ … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Polkadotsuitcase goes to NY
I mentioned to our deli gal that we were headed to NY, and she said, “Oh, Times Square! The Statue of Liberty! Good Morning America!” and I didn’t have the heart to tell her we weren’t going to NY City — we were going upstate. To a campground. That no one had probably heard of. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t headline destinations to be visited. For one: My ultimate childhood favorite candy shop, Oliver’s Candies … Read entire article »
Filed under: Family Travel
Dutch treat
So you know what’s almost as fun as cooking with pie irons? Cooking outside with a cast iron Dutch oven! I oiled up a little 2-quart beauty, fired up the charcoal chimney, donned my welder’s gloves, and did some Dutch oven cooking this afternoon. We made “Sticky Chicken,” perhaps in honor of the crazy chickens who took the money. Sir couldn’t wait for the chicken to finish before making himself an appetizer — roasting marshmallows over … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Football talk
Hello, Bloglings! Sir Buffalo Sushi, here. It’s been a while since I’ve written. Well, as you may know, Michael Vick is now with the Eagles. All I have to say, “I was an co-Eagles fan, until Michael Vick joined.” Not only has he gotten back in the NFL, which is a disgrace, but he’s coming back on the 3rd week instead of the 6th. I dislike Michael Vick, but this deal’s just getting sweeter, and sweeter for him. And he’s being helped by Tony Dungy, who’s cool. So, will Michael Vick pull a Darth Vader on us all, and turn good at the end? Not probable, but there’s no guarantees in life. Till next time, Bloglings! Sir Buffalo Sushi signing off. (Sorry if I spoiled the end of Star Wars for you.) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Return of the pie iron
Okay, so I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from Polka Dot Suitcase. Miss me? Happily, Big Fish is nicely healing from his four-level spinal fusion (ouch!) and we’re back in business. Looks like I’ve got some blog-catching-up to do. And what better way to start than to revisit my beleaguered pie iron attempts from last month? Happily, I learned my lesson from that sad experience and the next couple times we tried it, we did … Read entire article »
Filed under: Toys for Families