Five Things on a Friday

First Parish Church, Portland, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

1.  It was a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday.  The food was yummy and we had a happy, restful day, just the four of us.  We're not a football family--Julia and I always watch the National Dog Show!  So the team we're cheering for on Thanksgiving afternoon is Team Milo!

2.  I'm the only person in my family who likes pumpkin pie.  So it's all for me!  In fact, I might even have some for breakfast!

3.  It's a good thing I bought my new winter coat a few weeks ago. Winter has come early here this year. It's unusual for us to have had two snowstorms already before Thanksgiving. 

4.  We're putting up our Christmas tree tomorrow. It feels too early, but my daughter probably won't be home again until after her college finals. So we want to decorate together before she goes back to school.   

5.  It was fun and poignant to see the reactions of the schools that won a visit with me.  I heard from four out of the six media specialists almost immediately. It reminded me why being an author is important to me.  It's easy to get bogged down in the submission/reviews/business end of things.  But tha'ts not what lasts beyond that bright burst of publication. What lasts is the work and the times that you changed someone else's world in a small way. Some of these schools haven't ever had an author visit, and I get to be the first one.