Slap Your Mama Marshmallows

Courtesy of one of my favorite people on the planet, Audra. This gal not only is a great photographer, but she can cook up a storm in no time flat, all from scratch, with 5 little ones underfoot.

Your family will love you for checking out her blog and whipping up some of her delicious bites - the biscuits would be a great start.

So if your kids are snowed in today or tomorrow, check out her step by step marshmallow making instructions. The pictures alone will have you wishing for a mug of cocoa or handful of gooey S'mores.

Speaking of S'mores, I went camping. Yes, it's a pic of Audra and I camping in the wild with our families. This is the day I learned I loved pimento cheese - if it's homemade. None of that processed stuff. This might be the only pic you'll ever see of me in the woods with no make up. But, hey, I remembered my earrings.

Paris Bookstore, Plus an Author Interview

Click here for a fabulous interview with Johanna Wright, Illustrator and Author of children's books, in which she talks about her writing and painting process. Her most recent work is The Secret Circus (Roaring Brook Press, March 31, 2009).

I love this book, own it, and was lucky enough to see it in person on the shelf in Paris' Left Bank Shakespeare and Company bookshop. (To put it mildly, I was giddy.)

Heaven on earth I tell you. Look at the stack 0' books! It puts my leaning tower to shame!

I'll take this room with a view.

The only way my husband convinced me to leave was bribery with my other vice (um, not the art supplies one, the sugary one) - ice cream. Don't judge. We'd just had a 12 hour plane ride.

Posted via email from Another Gray Day

Snow Day

We don't get a ton of snow where I live (usually ice), so this Christmas was a special treat.
(Nixing the fact that my husband came down with the stomach bug at 3 AM Christmas morning. I have a deeper respect for you single parents doing holidays solo.)

However, we were blessed that morning to wake to a yard covered with white. Somehow in the midst of the chaos, I was able to take a mere 233 pictures! (No worries. I'm not posting them all here. They're, ah, for the grandparents.)

After the great gift wrap clean up and frenzy of finding snow clothes that fit (the boy in blue above has mismatched mittens), snow angels were made. Icicles were plucked, if that's what you call it.

Thanks to Hubby who warned the camera was on the wrong setting. I'm sure he saved our pictures (all 233 of them) from certain doom.

Hope you are healthy and warm and consuming hot cocoa with marshmallows. And reading tons of great books. I have four going at once. (It's starting to drive me crazy.)

In the news

Amazon sold more Kindles than physical books this Christmas.

Love the last line: The users do need stuff to read.

I haven't wanted to go here,

but Seth Godin posted some commentary regarding the whole e-book craze and how publishers have the power to increase the value and speed of books being created while reaching a greater audience. But he also stated, "they don't have the power to demand that we pay more for the same stuff that others will sell for much less."

He included a link to GalleyCat who had quoted Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy:

"We must do everything in our power to uphold the value of our content against the downward pressures exerted by the marketplace and the perception that 'digital' means 'cheap.'"

Her word "cheap" set off a firestorm. In fact, Amazon's $9.99 eBook Price Point has been attacked as "Predatory Pricing". In Ms. Reidy's defense, she did go on to say publishers must stand up for the livelihood of their authors and work to protect against piracy.

Having a Kindle in the house, I obviously see the advantages of an electronic reader, but there is still nothing quite like holding a paper bound book in my hands. Plus, I'm truly conflicted about animated or e-picture books because my children have too many screens vying for their attention as it is.

And what about those people getting their e-readers autographed? They'll be obsolete by next year.

All this tech talk is making my head spin. Old fashioned apple cider anyone?

The photo of the Kindle above (Customers rule!) is signed by Jeff Bezos, founder, president, and CEO of Amazon.com.

My Christmas Gift to You

Pride & Prejudice: a drama in triple i parts, as told by Yahoo!Emoticons.

Year End Stats

And, no, I'm not talking about mine.

Agent Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency posts hers here.

I'm choosing to not focus on the 38,000 but on the 55 instead. =)

Merry Christmas!