Jo Knowles's Blog, page 57

The hardest part about being stuck at home...

...is that it is so LONELY.

*wishes you could come over for tea and scones*

E and I are extremely grateful for Netflix Watch Instantly.

And Rebecca Stead for writing WHEN YOU REACH ME, which we read again and have been talking about for days.

We are also grateful for chocolate.

And MiniClips, Nitrome, Neopets, AddictingGames...

Have a good weekend and stay well, everyone!

xo

The house of sick, NCTE/ALAN & NESCBWI

E is home sick again and now I've got it, too. Blah.

Yesterday we took him to the doctor and they made us both wear face masks. Those things are horrid. It's kind of like wearing a ski mask or scarf around your face in the winter. Hot, yucky air in your face.

Anyway, the doctor said the symptoms are classic H1N1 and we should just stay home. So, here we are. Feeling rotten, coughing up storms, and bored out of our minds. I did manage to write a few more pages yesterday, and will try again tod...

Thank you. And family stuff. :)

I spent the entire day on Friday completely overwhelmed by all the sweet, thoughtful, encouraging notes from all of you here, on Facebook, and privately. I don't know how to thank all of you. I was feeling so low, and by the end of the weekend, I was feeling... so much better. I can't tell you. But thank you all. Thank you sooooo much. I am always amazed by the incredible support of our community. It's an honor to be part of it.

Thank you. I really can't say it enough.

Yesterday I drove to NH t...

I could use a hug about now

Many of you know my first book, LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL, was challenged in Kentucky a while back. Laurie Halse Anderson's TWISTED was also challenged. However, the challenges did not pass and the books were supposed to be returned to the classroom. There was quite a bit of press over it all, and several alums from the high school wrote to the local paper explaining how upset they were that their school was banning books.

At about the same time, the parents who lost the challenge sought a new...

flu

So, I think E has the flu. I don't know what kind. But he's had a low fever and horrible cough for the past three days. We are. So tired.

I've been reading "I Am Not Joey Pigza" out loud to E every day and we both have decided that we would like to adopt Joey. "His parents are so AWFUL" E keeps telling me. "Why are they so awful?" I just don't know. But anyway I wish I could write half as well as Jack Gantos. I mean wow. He's such an amazing storyteller.

I also read STITCHES, by David Small. Ag...

Cider!

Yesterday we went to our friends' house with five bags of apples from our old tree. There, we were met by Gryfe, watcher of the cider press.


Soon, we got to work figuring out how to use the beautiful new press. It didn't take long for everyone to take on a job.


I was the apple dropper.


Peter was the apple presser.

Isn't that beautiful?

We were all tasters. And honestly, words cannot describe how amazing the cider was. Each batch of apples tasted surprisingly different and wonderful. And sooooo sw...

Tomie dePaola, students and writing today from 8-11-join me?

Last night I went to hear Tomie dePaola speak at the Eric Carle Museum. He had some really smart ideas about reading and education and how the picture book is changing. I've heard him speak before and he's always quite entertaining, but this was different. Special. I wish we'd had another hour to pick his brain, as often it seemed like just when he was getting to a really key issue, he'd get sidetracked by a funny story he couldn't resist telling. :-)

ETA: Oh! And I forgot to mention this amaz...

Bad timing... Good things

My writing partners and I haven't been together in person for over two years now, which is very sad. What is even more sad is that this weekend we are all going to be within mere HOURS of each other, but all have commitments that will keep us apart.

First, Debbi Michiko Florence ( d_michiko_f ) will be in Albany, NY signing her new book, JAPAN:

Debbi will be at The Little Book House in Stuyvesant Plaza on Saturday, October 17 from 2 - 4 PM (author Coleen Paratore will also be there). You should g...

Plea for a writing buddy and other random stuff.

I need to write for the next hour (until 2:30) if anyone else is around and wants to join me. Just leave a comment here. K? :-)

Also, if you are doing jonowrimo , the first official check-in is today so you should head over and check in! :-)

Congrats to all the National Book Award nominees! Can you imagine what that call must be like? So cool.

All of our snow is gone.

I wonder how many other random things I can come up with to avoid getting to work?

I really wish LJ was like it used to be.

My cats a...

Seriously?

This is the view from our kitchen door this morning.

It's hard to believe that yesterday afternoon I was out on a boat with my family, soaking in the sun without our coats on. I'm so sad that I didn't have my camera. The leaf colors were stunning. It was cold out on the main part of the lake, but my dad took us to a quiet cove protected from the wind where the sun shone down on us. While the kids explored the island, my mom, dad, uncle and I sipped wine, ate yummy food, and soaked in what appe...