Skype, Beavers and Revision

Today I am participating in my very first Skype event.
This thrills me (yay! love Q & A and talking to teens) and terrifies me (eek! technology always fails me and so do cameras). But mostly, I think it's so incredibly cool that today I am going to talk to a bunch of teens in Colorado without even leaving my house. :-)


The dam beavers are at it again.

Unfortunately, they are not this friendly. Instead, they've decided that the dam that broke should be rebuilt in a new fashion. Their new construction has cut the water supply to our pond so now it's drying up. I saw a mama duck and her new ducklings trying to swim around on it and that made me very sad. We talked to the town manager and pointed out how much damage had been done to the road the last time the dam broke, and he said they would put in a siphon for free! He also said trapping was an option. But trapping=death, so no. Last night, we had a meeting with our neighbors (who own the land on which the dam is built) on our front lawn. They agreed the siphon was the best option and are all for saving the beavers for now. So, beavers and ducks are saved!

Possibly today, I will be getting edits for SEE YOU AT HARRY'S.

This is a picture of me (sitting on the counter) and my sister (with the awesome peppermint stick ice-cream cone) and a bunch of my brother's friends at my brother's birthday party. We're at my parent's restaurant/ice-cream factory, which is the inspiration for the book. I know this is going to be a big revision so I've stocked up on tea and put on my armor. My husband is also working on a big revision for his agent so I have a feeling this house is going to be buzzing with stress. But it's exciting to be revising together and to be able to commiserate celebrate this exciting time! We are both so glad to have gone to Holly Black's amazing talk just as these revision notes came in.

Life has finally settled down here and it's so nice to spend quiet days with my son, reading, practicing guitar, and just chilling. He will be eleven in eight days and I know these moments together will soon be replaced by cooler opportunities, so I'm trying to enjoy these days of just "doing nothing" while they last.

Have a great day, everyone!