Lorain Co. Comm. College

One of the best things about having a dream and pursuing it is watching seedlings planted previously coming to fruition -- right before your very eyes. As I finish up year #15, I ponder all of the truly amazing opportunities that I've had and those hovering on the horizon ahead. What I LOVE doing is getting to return to sites where we have had fun & games in the past, where I know the folks in charge & what they are capable of pulling together.

Here we are on the campus of Lorain County Community College. A special grant was written to create this evening of fun on behalf of families from across the county. The evening is an evening of parent education and I am one piece of the puzzle. We get underway with a brief sing-a-long with families all together. Then once everyone is comfortable, the parents depart for two workshops on topics of their choosing. That leaves the children with me in the lovely conference room, under the direction of college students from LCCC and visiting college students from Ashland University, a tad down the road.

We have enough college students in preparation to pair up with the children one-on-one. Take a look over our shoulders at the fun prior to the parents return.

Tall Giraffe JOY!!

Here we are now, all together. We're reading. We're singing. We're signing. What an amazing morning of fun. Edwina & Glen, my behind-the-scenes grant writer, and tech support team. What an amazing time. The children are prepared for my visit. They've created artwork in my honor: colors & shapes, polka-dots & giraffes. What more could a traveling author ask for, from a school visit?? OH!! And they had parting gifts for me!! Pillow cases and stenciled giraffe bags, laminated artwork, and banners!! Pinch me. It doesn't get much better than this!!

Clement in Cleveland!!

My return to the Cleveland Co. MRDD facility right downtown was a brilliant & happy day. This year Edwina wrote the grant in such a manner that every classroom received my brand-new picture book, "Tall Giraffe" in advance of my arrival. So the children were already familiar with my song and looking forward to singing it with me. Heaven on earth. The parents were invited to be a part of the festivities and some are pictured above.

Company Comes!!

Don't you just LOVE having company come over? The planning ahead, the looking forward to, the spritzing things up, clearing away the pile of newspapers and mail, coming up with a menu, and getting furniture for your lanai? Well. Laugh-out-loud. We really were prompted to track down some furniture for our wonderful, new, Florida room. The carpet was installed over the weekend and we found these great, tall stools and a table/bar contraption that fits our eating while admiring the view lifestyle. The two ceiling fans make for supreme comfort. The whole lanai ensemble is VERY beige..... VERY, VERY beige. I must go do some shopping for pink flamingos. Yes. That's what we need...... a flock of pink flamingos. (Maybe I should ask my significant other how he feels about flamingos.)

We have to come to Ocala Florida to visit with our friends from Cleveland, Ohio. Go figure. The fellows went out in the backyard and golfed and Edwina and I canvased the area for flamingos, while plotting out my next visit to her ol' stomping grounds. Edwina is the brilliant grant writer who pulls rabbits out of hats. This year she has written her grant in such a way as to include my new picture book into the bottom line. Each of her classrooms will receive "Tall Giraffe" prior to my arrival for the big show in the big gym: Head Start classrooms, children with special needs, parents invited -- the whole enchilada. Ohhhhhhh and during our retail therapy outting I found a 'giraffe' purse, that is large enough to carry the picture book and my giraffe 'costume.'

Outlet Mall Blank Canvas

Last week when I was in Atlantic City I was delighted to literally stumble into a whole slew of 'outlet mall' shops all perched between my convention center Sheraton and the Boardwalk. I HAD to walk past all of those stores to make my way to the ocean's edge. On my sojourn back I went in & out of lots of doors and had my most exciting 'find' at the J. Jill store. I've always admired hand-painted denim jackets, but never felt I could afford to embellish one, until the steal they were giving away last week. So I plunked down my ten dollars and my gears started churning on the spot.

What I've accomplished so far is to put some color into that little rivulet detail that runs down each of the front panels and both sleeves. The paint was dry in time for me to don the jacket and head out the door for my lunch-date with my fellow Buckeye, wintering here in Ocala!! The final picture is my new buddy, Edwina Hawkins [Mz. Eddie to a whole generation of children] of the greater Cleveland area. She's the brilliant grant-writer who secured funding for my upcoming trip to her school which serves young children with special needs. We started the conversation seasons ago, and I'll be there next month! During our chatty conversation about planning a great day for the kids, we stumbled into the fact that we were both gonna be in sunny FL at the same time. It took Edwina's organized brain to get us together and oh what fun we had @ the Bob Evans on the strip.... making us feel like we were back in Ohio.

Can't wait to return with paint brushes to all of that 'blank canvas' and have more fun. There are lots of ideas swirling round my brain ..... now to edit to the final choices and get back to the painting process.