Getting down to business

My motor home is parked in the yard of my brother-in -law in the prairie of southern Minnesota. All one can see is an ocean of corn and soybeans. This is more calming to the eye than stimulating. Thus it is great for musing, meditating and writing. On this farm there are beautiful sleek Arabian-looking horses, some farm cats of assorted sizes and colors and two large lumpy dogs. I have complete the scrapbook of this past years travels. I am starting tomorrow to illustrate a book for my daughter who is a writer. This particular book is a children's picture book.
Larry is busy getting me book signing gigs in this area for 'Up In Smoke".

The eye of the beholder
It has been frustrating not to be able to get online to write in my blog. We are crossing the top of the USA and some places there are no RV parks and when there are they don't have WiFi. Well, now's my chance. This country of ours is absolutely spectacular. We have everything an artist could want
I come from a world where the homes are painted and the yards are kept up and the town is tidy. When I go thru tired mining towns awash with grime and the sidewalks are littered and the stores are a little grimy around the edge with corners at the entrance littered with bits of stuff, I choose not to criticize because I don't know if the folks there are unaware or depressed or overwhelmed with the magnitude of the problem. They are often surrounded by landscapes of awesome beauty. I won't mention the city but It was settled in the 1870s by Europeans attracted by the opportunity to work in the mines. First there was gold, then silver then copper and lead. All in the same spot. The shafts went down miles into the earth. Some were so deep they were impossibly hot and next to them were shafts that were cold. The miners would come up soaked with perspiration and then go out and walk home in 40 below weather. What brave men, these. I shall not pick on their shabby homes or their littered streets. Perhaps after being down in the dark mines,the miners see their homes in the light of day as bright and cheerful.They are brave men. They give their lives so that we can enjoy the benefits of their labors.
Surrounding this city are 14,000 ft high mountain peaks covered with snow. Valleys massed with wildflowers in swathes of blue lupine so thick you can't see green between, pink bitter-root, a 1" high soft mauve blossom of exquisite daintiness. dd to this scene broad sweeps of yellow and orange paint brush and sunflowers.
A feast for the eyes of Renoir and Monet. I took pictures but oh, someday I'll be back to spread these colors on a canvas. As for now I am in the Black Hills of South Dakota and heading East.

Keeping a diary

I write in my diary every day. I have done it 10 years now. I wish I had kept one my whole life because as one gets older, the years blend in to a vagueness except for certain events like a new child or one's first Tupperware party. There have been times when an old friend may bring up an event that stands out in their mind but has been long forgotten in my mind-for what ever reason. To me, it's like reading a mystery story that is missing whole chapters essential to the plot. My diaries have led to clarity on an insurance claim and to payment of wages. Who knows it could provide an alibi if I have to go before a Senate hearing committee--"What were you doing on November 16th 2002?"
One more suggestion. Don't pour your heart out in a diary with every sordid detail of your love life. It will be embarrassing later even if it is just you who reads it. Some things don't bear scrutiny. My mother said" Don't write anything you wouldn't want posted on a bulletin board.
Tonight, for example,I will write...After much hassle we got our motor home unstuck from the mud in T's yard, said our goodbyes and were off down hwy 5 to hwy 90 East to Chelan. The wind was very strong and L was occasionally white knuckled. We stopped at 4:00 and stayed overnight at a gorgeous park along side a rushing river fit for whitewater rafters. I threw out the chocolate cake I made as it was excessively dry although the frosting was good. Emailed CA to figure out what happened.

Sacramento

On the advice from the book buyer at the train museum in Jamestown we went to Sacramento Rail Museum thinking that because Up In Smoke had to do with steam engines the museum store would be interested. No, Mr Grenache said only books to do with trains. We did take a tour of this terrific museum. After a 29 min. movie on how CA got a railroad (with enormous help from the Chinese men, they invented black powder millenia ago and were familiar with it's use for leveling rail beds and tunnels) The civil eng. who planned the route thru the mtns found a way not to exceed a 2% grade. We were able to go aboard the Pullman car fitted out with beds made up. Reminded me of Some Like It Hot scene on the train. In the Dining car the tables were set with the various patterns of the differing train lines. They were beautiful. Poppies, columbine, landscape scenes, colorful geometric pattern. Now all this china is very collectible and pricey so they had a plastic bubble covering each entire table. The steam engines were gorgeous with their gold, red, green etc details.
We took the advice and went to The Ag Museum in Woodland. Colleen was extremely encouraging and took some books. She even gave me ideas for future books I may write on agriculture for children. I have so many ideas right now I could bust. By the way if you have any interest in antique trucks and farm machines you will be delighted with The Ag Museum on Hays Ave in Woodland. The trucks have been restored beautifully and the variety is astounding. Chevys and Fords of course but Reos, Diamonds, types we never heard of. It's a big place so wear comfy shoes.

Up In Smoke

Up In Smoke is the title of my children's book which I wrote and illustrated with the help of my husband, Larry. He actually had the idea for this story and I consulted with him on technical details. I wanted to write a book for little kids that was a nice story about a loving family who cooperated on jobs that needed to be done with a happy spirit and when it came time to have fun they made their own entertainment with a family band and with singing and dancing. The ISBN # is 978-1-60860-934-5