Home Again!

I arrived back from Ashland on Saturday. It was a great tour, with stops in Roseburg, Klamath Falls and Ashland. As soon as the photos I took are up on the Literary Arts web site, I'll let you know!

In Ashland I saw On the Razzle , a Tom Stoppard play. We're taking the kids back in July and we're going to see Romeo and Juliet. I hadn't been to Ashland since high school. I recognized the Best Western motel our high school group stayed in. It was a Thespian field trip! We saw Macbeth that year.

It's nice to be home. Laura and I went to see Waitress today, the movie with Keri Russell. We both liked it a lot.

My Marylhurst students turned in their rough drafts. Tomorrow I am at home and I'm determined to set aside some time to write poetry. Yes!

The Clientele

I was messing around on Itunes today, which is kind of fun to do. Anyway, I found this band, The Clientele, that I had never heard of before. They are British, with a very ferry-cross-the-Mersey sound, but modern(ah, I have discovered my new career as music reviewer!). And when I saw the picture of their new album I decided I really liked them. Because I've been working on a poem where owls feature prominently. And I just like the way it looks in general! So yes, their cover has good art direction. You can hear one of their songs here.

Then I found out they are going to be at the Doug Fir Lounge next Sunday the 27th, but I think Michael and I have a previous engagement.

Janine sent me her thesis and it is amazing. I have been having fun reading it.

I leave Wednesday for Roseburg.

Laura is downstairs reading for an hour and a half so she can get on the computer for 40 more minutes today. Max is watching MONDAY NIGHT RAW! or something like that - his Monday night wrestling show that he loves so well.

Tomorrow my new car stereo will be installed, just in time for my trip!

Half Marathon

Amy and I ran the Hippy Chick half marathon on Saturday. We rule!

The picture is from a book I was working on today. I also ran a little over four miles, and tried to finish poems, but to no avail. I like writing avail so I guess there's the silver lining!

Next week I leave for Roseburg, Klamath Falls and Ashland on the Oregon Book Awards author tour. I looked at Klamath Falls on a map today and it looked very far away.

Laura found out today she was accepted into the National Junior Honor Society so congratulations to Laura she rocks.

We're going to Max's game tonight.

I have been reading Take What You Want by Henrietta Goodman, the 2006 Beatrice Hawley winner, and liking it very much.

My coreopsis are coming back! Those are flowers, not a skin disease. Let's hear it for perennials.

Pets and Feeders

I ran eleven miles today - yes I'm bragging, but eleven miles - come on! - and I passed this house that had a sign out front "Rats for Sale" and then below it it said "pets and feeders."

So I wondered, did that mean that you could buy the rats for pets or you could buy them to feed to your snake? Are the "feeders" smaller ones? Or maybe they meant you can buy them as pets and you could also buy the feeders they were selling, which was something for dispensing food to your pet rat.

I don't know, but it was kind of creepy.

We saw Volver this weekend, and it was great. Volver means "to return" in Spanish, which I didn't know until I looked it up. I love Almodovar's movies.

I had a poem accepted at Siren so I'm feeling very Siren-ish.

I have been reading Joshua Beckman's Shake this weekend too. Also reading a lot of back issues of Somerset Studio and thinking about altered books.

May Thursday

I wrote my first poem of May today! I spent a lot of time on it but now I'm not even sure if I like it. I think it may be one of those poems that gets written so you can write other poems, that you like better. So, I was thinking a lot about syntax today and that was fun. And I messed around with a few other new poems. I seem to like writing about owls.

Laura has a Girl Scout campout Friday and Saturday. Max has a chess tournament Saturday.

I am reading Matthew Zapruder's The Pajamaist and I like it very much.

Okay, ten minutes later, I revised my poem by taking out the first line and now I like it much better. And it may rain so I might not go running but I have to run 13 miles on May 12th. So Amy I may walk the last three but I tried. Really.

17 years

Today is my 17th wedding anniversary.

I love you Michael. Happy Anniversary to us!