The countdown begins.

One month. That’s how long before I am sitting in a bookstore at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, signing copies of Thérèse Makes a Tapestry— a picture book that I wrote–for the very first time. This book is close to my heart. It is my first, so there’s that. It is the book that made my long held dream of becoming an author come true. It is the story of a girl who finds a way to accomplish her own dreams. It is a story dedicated to my mother, who passed away this past summer. It is a book that I have been working on in one form or another over the last two years.

Image of the invitation to Woven Gold, the exhibit at the J. Paul Getty Museum

The invitation to the opening reception of Woven Gold: Tapestries of Louis XIV at the J. Paul Getty Museum

Like all picture books, it is a story made complete only by its beautiful illustrations by the masterful Renée Graef, who rendered Thérèse with such thoughtfulness and care that I recognized her the instant I first saw her! It is also a story tied to history, art, and an exhibit at the Getty Museum.

While writing Thérèse’s story, I was neck-deep in research on weaving and tapestries produced at the Gobelins Manufactory, but this will be my first time seeing the tapestries in person. Thérèse Makes a Tapestry will be available on site at the Getty starting next month, but its larger release will come in March, and then you will hopefully be able to find it at a bookstore near you! In the meantime, keep checking here for all things related to Thérèse and yours truly.

 

Secrets and playing catch-up

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I can’t believe it is already May and nearly two months since my last post. In addition to keeping busy with part-time jobs, toddlers, travel, etc., I have been working on a couple of secret projects. One of these two projects I am now at liberty to share. I am cooking up baby #2, due in October! Ha, that counts as a project, right?

Pregnancy takes up a whole lot of energy. Naps have reentered my life (although they seem to be slowly drifting out again). Thinking about our life a few months from now, I’ve decided to let myself enjoy the occasional nap at present. I mean, all that well intended advice to sleep when the baby sleeps is really only applicable the first time around. Once there are two or more kiddos in the household, will anybody be sleeping, ever? A fierce internal voice says, YES! The mama in me chuckles and sighs, Sometime, someday.

I will leave you in suspense about the second project. I promise it is more of a traditional project, though.

We have been reading a lot, as always. I even had put an Off the Shelf series together back in March but for some reason never posted it. Better late than never?

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Off the Shelf: 2/17/14

My son loves books. Now, at almost 18 months, he will sit on the floor for 15 minutes or so reading to himself (and longer if someone reads to him!), flipping through page after page and reciting words and lines he knows. It can be a challenge sometimes to get a new book through the pile of tried and true. However, when a book is in, it’s in.

Over the past few months, I have been thinking about starting a feature of what the boy’s favorite books are each week or two weeks, however time allows, since they do change. These are the books that I can hardly get put away during the week, let alone during the day because he wants to read them over and over and over, often three times per sitting, and usually two to three sittings a day. And so they stay off the shelf until he has quenched his thirst and is ready to move on to the next love, visiting these established loves between times.

Without further ado, here is the first installment of Off the Shelf.

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Over the last two weeks my son’s favorite books have been:

  • Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie
  • Goodnight Wisconsin by Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper
  • Hello Baby by Mem Fox and Steve Jenkins
  • Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry
  • Lulu’s Busy Day by Caroline Uff
  • Oscar Otter and the Goldfish by Maurice Pledger
  • Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh
  • Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman
  • Goodnight Kisses by Barney Saltzberg
  • My First ABC Book Board Book by DK Publishing, Inc.

Jazz Baby is still at the top of his list, and I will write a review later this week.