Melissa Wiley's Blog, page 139
April 5, 2011
April 4, 2011
Wondercon Was Wonderful
Much to tell. Later. We drove all day and reached home before rush hour got ugly, hooray. Boy do I love a road trip with that husband of mine. Or any kind of trip, really. Or just staying home with him. Him, basically.
We had a great time in San Francisco. Lots of pictures and stories to share, as is always the case after a con. For now, just one little sneak peek of one of the best, the very very best, moments of the whole weekend.
That's right! I MET MISS BEADLE! Charlotte Stewart, the perfectly lovely actress who played Laura's beloved teacher on Little House in the Prairie, was there at a table in the convention hall, and I totally geeked out when I saw her. Got speechless and stammery and gushed like crazy. And she was so nice and friendly and warm, and I am thrilled to bits to have met her. I told her about my books, and she told me about the Little House Reunion Cruise that is happening in November, with Charlotte, and the hilarious Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson), and Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (Baby Carrie), and Dean Butler (Almanzo), and ohhhh how much would I love to go?!
I told Charlotte how much I loved the gentleness and patience of her Miss Beadle, and she told me she modeled the character after her sister, a mother of eight. I love that.
April 1, 2011
In Comes April
We are heading up to San Francisco this morning. I'll be tweeting from Wondercon: @bonnyglen if you're interested.
A few links before I hit the road:
• {national poetry month, HUZZAH!} » [fiction, instead of lies]
Tanita gives us a lovely roundup of National Poetry Month doings around the kidlitosphere—and a really lovely poem to boot.
• "How To Steal Like An Artist (And 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)" by Austin Kleon
• Hula Hoop Rug | Easy Crafts for Kids — Quick Arts and Craft Ideas — Kids' Crafts | FamilyFun
And there have been some truly moving tributes to the great Diana Wynne Jones this week. Dogsbody is my favorite of her books—please don't miss the essay on that gorgeous novel in Noel Perrin's A Child's Delight. (More importantly, please don't miss the book itself.)
• The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.: Diana Wynne Jones, 1934-2011
• GeekMom » Blog Archive » Diana Wynne Jones: The Very Best
• Neil Gaiman's Journal: Being Alive. Mostly about Diana.
• Diana Wynne Jones: An Appreciation « educating alice
• Oz and Ends: Remembering the Stories of Diana Wynne Jones
March 31, 2011
March 30, 2011
Things We're Doing These Days
In brief, and in no particular order, because I am pressed for time but don't want to forget what was happening in late March, 2011:
• Playing a lot of Munchkin and laughing our fool heads off. I will long savor that sweet, sweet moment when I demolished my dear daughters by whipping out a Doppelganger card I'd been secretly holding—and thereby destroying the Level 20 Dragon (+5 Intelligence) they teamed up to sic on me. Because nothing says "gentle motherhood" like wielding a Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment against their team effort.
• Reading and rereading a batch of Elephant and Piggie books. But then, you knew that already.
• Watching M*A*S*H. This one is Scott & the big girls. It's what they do last thing in the evening while I'm in here finishing up my work time.
• Watching Firefly—one of my top five all-time favorite shows. It's Jane's first time; Scott and I are treating ourselves to a few episodes a week with Jane after the other kids are in bed. This is a VERY good way to end the day.
• Thinking about getting ready for Wondercon, but not actually managing much of the actual GETTING READY. Which is unfortunate, since Scott and I leave Friday morning. My parents arrive tomorrow—they are staying here with the kids while we head up to San Fran—and maybe THEN I'll move past the thinking stage. Maybe.
Home Remedy
Rilla: Mommy, Rose says I have headacheitis.
Me: Yikes, that sounds serious! What is it?
Rilla: It's when you color for too long and you get bored.
Me: Oh, I see.
Rilla: But it's okay because there's a cure. Rose said so.
Me: Well, that's a relief. What's the cure?
Rilla: It's you reading all the Elephant and Piggie books with me. I'll be Piggie.
March 29, 2011
Passing the Duck
Rilla, crossly: "Beanie made Mr. Duck be all wet!"
Me: "Are you sure it was Beanie? That sounds more like your baby brother."
Rilla: "No, I KNOW it was Beanie because I was pretending she was my dog and I kept putting Mr. Duck in her mouth."
March 28, 2011
We all have our priorities.
On Saturday I took the three oldest girls to the San Diego Science Expo at Petco Park. Throngs of people, dozens of nifty hands-on exhibits and activities, a mental overload of Very Cool Stuff. My favorite part was when we'd made it about halfway around the circuit inside the stadium and came to a large ring of booths in a park just outside, and Beanie and Jane were practically cheering with enthusiasm: Look at the guy making smoke rings with that gizmo! Look at the motorized robot-car built out of Legos!
And Rose and I were like: OOH, LOOK AT THAT BUILDING OVER THERE THAT SAYS CANDY FACTORY.
Hey, candymaking is a science, right?
Sadly, the Showley Bros. Candy Factory is no longer operational, and the plans for our next field trip died a-borning.
I took my camera to the Expo but neglected to take it out of my bag. I did snap one quick pic of the smoke-rings guy on my cellphone (which happened to be in my hand because I was googling the Showley Bros. Candy Factory).
The smoke rings didn't show up in the photo, but I do believe that's a bit of Beanie's hair in the lower left.
March 27, 2011
I don't know what it is but I want one.
Scott just baffled me with this curious demonstration, about which he asks: "Does the magic come included or do you have to purchase that separately?"
