... and when she's had enough, Iago hops up and runs away!

Lest You Think I Was Joking...

Here's a photo taken on the way home from Cranbrook. Same crazy little plane - only difference, the captain's name was Mike.

New Author Photo?

Ah, yes - another fine moment in the life of a storyteller! This taken earlier today at Parkland Middle School during a performance in the library... Yikes!

Freakish Hand!

I am not quite sure what I was doing when this photo was taken during my presentation yesterday at Laurie School, but since my back is to the audience I was probably either ascending or descending a cliff during a performance of The Marriage of Sir Gawain. Despite the strange elongation of my digits during the show, a good time was had by all. A big thanks to the teacher-librarians of Cranbrook who arranged this trip - it's been great! Not a blizzard in sight, either!

10 Things One Does Without

... when flying with a really small airline.

1. baggage handler (on the tarmac, outside the plane in Vancouver, handed my bag to Craig, the guy who I thought was doing double duty as a flight attendant... turns out Craig was actually the co-pilot, doing triple duty as flight attendant AND baggage handler...)
2. flight attendant (see above)
Even if I had been absolutely desperate for a drink of water during the flight, there was NO WAY!!!! I was going to yell up to the cockpit, "Hey, Craig! Can you bring me a decaf?" Shoehorning himself into the copilot seat had involved some spectacular yogic contortions and it didn't seem like a good idea to ask him to repeat the maneuver in reverse while we tootled along somewhere high above the Rocky Mountains. He could easily have kicked the 'down' button. Or the pilot.
3. food service (see above. Not even a help yourself candy basket.)
4. tray tables (not that this was a big worry since there was no food)
5. head room
When Craig welcomed me aboard he warned me to watch my head as I passed through the door. I did and foolishly straightened up once through and promply cracked my head on the ceiling. Had to walk folded in half until I found an empty seat because another thing we did without was,
6. assigned seats.
It was a scramble for who got to sit beside the emergency exit. The big guy (a bear hunter?) won.
7. Overhead compartments.
It was a good thing that Craig was willing to take my carry-on bag because there was nowhere to stow it in in the cabin. And, a good thing I am very short because my laptop bag and purse took up every available inch under the seat in front of me.
8. Last names
Toward the end of the flight, Craig announced, "On behalf of me, Jamie, and Pacific Coastal Airlines, welcome to Cranbrook."
Jamie? You mean Capatain Someone-or-other? Jamie? Mind you, Jamie and Craig were pretty chatty during the flight, a fact I was able to determine because I could see them due to the lack of a
9. door
leading to the cockpit. Now that was a first for me since 911. I didn't think they made planes like that any more!
10. Best part of flying in a teeny, weeny plane with about a dozen seats is that nobody can sit beside you in the seat-aisle-seat configuration. So no worries about inappropriate conversations or unpleasant odours or crawling over a sleeping seatmate to try to get to the bathroom. Though Craig never mentioned an on-board loo... Nah. Surely not?

Cheam Students Rock!

What a welcome I received from students in Chilliwack! Cheam Elementary students had gone all out and decorated the walls with fabulous posters and artwork! Amazing! I'll post more on the blog when I have a little more time - I just wish I'd been able to photograph every one of the students' wonderful drawings!



This scene from No Cafes in Narnia was inspired by a real life incident that took place in a boatyard in Florida. My mother drove around the corner just a little too fast and ran right into the pointy end of a forklift. The accident poked out one headlight and skewered the grille of the car! Fortunately, the forks weren't a little higher or Mom might have been decapitated! Like most of the embarrassing or slightly dangerous things that have ever happened to members of my family, this one wound up in a book. Like Dani says, I really don't know how to make anything up!

The 911 Habit!

I sure hope I don't have to call 911 every time I set out on a book tour! Remember the freakish blizzards, the flipped over truck and the bladder panic near Skookumchuk? Well today, this! Just as I was cruising along the Trans Canada Highway heading for Chilliwack (where I will be doing school presentations over the next couple of days) I saw a big semi-trailer just ahead pulling over on the shoulder... not a big deal, except as I was passing him I noticed the driver jump out of his cab looking a bit panicky. And for good reason, flames were licking the dash, the seat... I pulled over as fast as I could, grabbed my cell phone and called in the request for a fire truck, and by the time I had run back toward the accident, realized I had a camera in the truck, retrieved the camera, and run back to the fire, the whole tractor trailer cab was engulfed in flames!

It wasn't long before traffic was snarled for miles, emergency vehicles swooped in from all directions... rumours flew from bystander to bystander - the most thrilling being that the truck had two full tanks of gas that could blow any minute... I would have got closer if it hadn't been for that piece of information! As it was, I couldn't get any really great photos of all the drama, though I did snap a few while I was waiting to see how big the bang would be if those tanks blew... Alas, the firefighters were efficient and before long the excitement was over.

I have a very, very slow internet connection here in the hotel, so I'm probably not going to be able to post any more photos tonight... but once I get home I'll pop up a few more.

 

Small Explosion

... note the debris whizzing past the firefighter...

"Did you see that? Missed me by that much..."

"Clean-up on Aisle Nine!"

 

Should I Be Worried?

There wasn't much left of the cab when all was said and done!
If I were the jittery type, I might consider cancelling my bookings and heading for high ground. After I checked into the hotel I jogged across the street to the huge supermarket to grab a sandwich and it was like I had arrived in a pre-apocalyptic planning session. EVERYONE was talking about bottled water and candles and flashlights and batteries and how the power could be out for four or five weeks and how were they going to eat all the food in their freezers before it all melted...

I arrived at the till with my sandwich and juice boxes in hand and the woman in front of me, making polite conversation asked, "So do you think it's going to flood?"

At which point the penny dropped. "Ahh... flood - yes, that could happen." There has been a LOT of snow in the mountains and it's feared that if we have a fast, hot spring, the whole Fraser Valley could find itself under water.

The young girl at the till said, "It's going to be bad. The worst ever, they say. Do you have a lot of stuff in your freezer?"

To which I replied, "Ahhh... not too much." I didn't add that since I had arrived in town, was on a book tour, and my phone has 911 programmed into the speed dial, that perhaps we should all vacate the premises immediately.

"Well good luck," she added as I picked up my bag and left. Good grief! What was I thinking, leaving home? At least all I have to worry about there is The Big One (as in - earthquake)

BC Book Prizes Gala Dinner

Well that was exciting! It's not every night that one is invited over to the Queen's place for dinner! Government House is the perfect venue for the BC Book Prize Gala dinner - and the Queen's representative in British Columbia (the Honorable Iona Campanolo, PM, CM, OBC) a gracious host for the evening's festivities. Many members of the BC literati were present and the room was electric with anticipation (and hunger pangs) as the awards were presented by the likes of Ted Harrison, Pamela Porter, and Carla Funk. William Deverell was a fine Master of Ceremonies and Patrick Lane a worthy recipient of the Lietenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence.

It was positively nerve-wracking to be sitting at the Sono Nis table while the nominees were read out for the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. Yetsa's Sweater was nominated (Yetsa, Joan Larson, and Sylvia Olsen were all on hand...) but alas, had the misfortune of being pitted against David Suzuki's autobiography (the winner). Katherine Gordon's Made to Measure was nominated for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. I have never seen a smile so huge as the one that lit up Katherine's face when her name was read out as the winner! What a thrill to be part of it all!

While it is unusual to be wined and dined in a hall with light fixtures like this one,

the strangest moment must have been when we all had to stand and raise our glasses to the Queen herself. Reminded me of my days in elementary school when we all had to sing God Save the Queen on a regular basis.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners! (here's a link to the complete list)

Meet My Daemon!

If you loved Pullman's The Golden Compass as much as I did, you probably wondered what your deamon might be like... Could I resist visiting this website to find out what mine might look like? Nope! After answering a few questions, I met my daemon, a lovely red fox called Arkadion. Now, wherever I go, I'll imagine him trotting along in the tall grasses at the side of the road, just out of sight but never far away. I just hope he doesn't startle the horses or I'll find myself launched into orbit again. My lovely mare, Bonny took exception to my request to pop over some crosspoles the other day and kicked her heels skyward upon landing on the far side of the jump. I didn't have a chance! After soaring through the air, I landed (miraculously unhurt!) in the soft footing and watched her leap and buck across the ring, stirrups flying, head tossing. She cantered over to her good friend, Belle (a dapple grey mare and her neighbour when she stays up at Bodicea), nuzzled her buddy's neck, heaved a huge sigh, and was reasonably perfect after that. A good thing too. I am reaching that certain age where I can't be expected to bounce and roll the way I once did in my rubbery youth. Ah, horses. Gotta' love 'em!

This is what we should have looked like...

Behind the Scenes...

... with Diane Morriss of Sono Nis Press. Click on the title above to listen to a really interesting interview with publisher Diane Morriss. It's quite enlightening to hear her take on everything from backlist titles to dealing with the chain bookstores...

Caution! Sharp Knife Ahead!

Note to self: when testing the new (very sharp) cheese knife, keep your mousing fingertip well away from the (very sharp) tip of the blade. Failure to do so will result in throbbing discomfort with each mouse click, double click, or depression of the J, H, U, I, M or N keys on the keyboard... oh, apparently that list should also include the letter Y. DOH! The cheese (some German Gorgonzola variety) was tasty, though!

Now That's a Book Launch!

How often does an author see a lineup like this...

leading to a venue like Government House in Victoria, BC? Hundreds of people came to get a rare peek inside Government House today during a 50th anniversary celebration (in 1957 Government House burnt down and was subsequently rebuilt). What a brilliant day to launch the book, Government House by Rosemary Neering (with photographs by Tony Owen).

Congratulations to all involved with the production of this lovely book!

Thistle Begs to Be Groomed

Thistle, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

I was out and about today, taking some reference photos for Joan Larson (who is hard at work on the new StableMates covers...) and stopped by Bodicea to take a few shots of their paddocks and outbuildings. Thistle was showing off, stealing the brush and tossing it around! He may be the size of a full-grown horse (though he is only just a yearling) but he has the playful attitude of a baby! A Clydesdale, he is going to be huge, but meanwhile, he's about as cute as a thousand pound creature can be!

Jump!

Jump!, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

Yippee! So gosh darned cute, dontcha' think?

New family member

New family member, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

...playing in the sun, enjoying the first real days of spring!

Mom

Mom, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

Here's the mother... looking a little dazed and confused...

The Twins

The Twins, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

So here they are, the two newest additions to the family! A pair of Cashmere goat twins - one black, one white so I can make fancy black and white hats, scarves, mittens, and socks for Christmas prezzies from now until forever! As yet unnamed, these two are not quite three weeks old. They'll come home with me after they are weaned. When they are big and strong enough, they'll be trained to pull a cart. Or so I boldly declare! I'll let you know what they think about the whole idea...

Crazy Busy Times at the OK Corral!

Sorry, sorry, sorry - I've been busy ticking off item after item on the old TO-Do list - not that said list is actually any shorter, but I have been very productive during the past couple of weeks! My Island Parent column was in on time for a change - reviewed The Book Thief (fabulous!) and Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend (also fabulous!!), two completely different books that belonged in the same column because, hey, they are both fabulous!

Details are being sorted out for school visits in Chilliwack, the east Kootenays, Maple Ridge, up-island, and somewhere else I'm forgetting - which pretty well fills up my available tour time between now and January 2008. Planning has also started for the big fall launch of Double Take (a week of school visits here in Victoria followed by a launch at Greenhawk Tack Store - Karen is hoping to be able to fly back from Germany to participate! How cool is that????)

Finished the new draft of Double Take (added thumbnails of all the photos) and sent off the new, huge file on CDs to both Laura (editor) and Diane (publisher)... Still waiting to hear back from Ann re. Behind the Scenes: Horse Vet - wrote an article for the Sidney Times about the upcoming Draft Horse Plowing Match (Heritage Acres, May 12)... Scribble, scribble, scribble - doing lots of that these days!

Worked with Ringo several times and even rode Bonny a couple of times, taking full advantage of the longer days and ever-so-slightly warmer weather! All the horses are needing lots of grooming as their body clocks have all switched over to SPRING! SHED! SHED! SHED! time.

Things are also moving ahead on the new StableMates covers (I LOVE what Joan Larson is coming up with!) as well as the way cool research trip to Ottawa in June (more on that very, very soon... promise!)

All of which to say, sorry I haven't been blogging much! There's no break in the action in the forseeable future... so don't check back too often or you'll make me look bad!

Thank you, Victoria!

Thank you very, very much to all those who filled out ballots and voted me Favourite Children's Author - 2006! Attended the M Awards held downtown in Victoria this evening and received the award (a fancy plaque rather than a sculpted trophy... I will post photos of both - you can decide which you like best!) The only bad thing was that the other contenders are good friends - Penny Chamberlain and Sylvia Olsen were also nominated and certainly either one could have taken top honours! Way to go, Sono Nis Press for being the publisher for all three of us! Diane sure knows how to pick 'em!

Excitement in Authorland

Various developments in the world of books... (other than the banning of Power of Lucky, of course - sheesh - who would have imagined that a single word would cause so much trouble for a Newberry winner?). Closer to home, in the world of my books, received the draft of the Karen Brain biography back from the editor. Minor changes throughout - nothing serious, BUT - the question remains - how long with the final book be? IF Sono Nis decides to go with the shorter format (48 pages) it will be back to the cutting board for me... Final page length depends on print quotes (currently being procured). Meanwhile, I'm to insert all the photos and write all the captions so we can see exactly how the text-to-image ratio looks. Adding images and captions will give me more to cut later on...

The first draft of the vet book will be with the editor for a bit, which is fine - gives me a chance to get some research happening on the ranch title, finalize photos for the vet text.

Meanwhile, over at the racetrack, the marketing people and some buyers are having some issues with the title 'Behind the Scenes at the Racetrack.' The concern is that the title suggests our intention is to introduce small children to the world of parimutuel betting. In fact, the book is really about racehorses - where they come from, how they are trained, what their lives are like at the track, what happens to them after their careers are over. So, an eleventh hour (as far as I know, the book has already been sent to the printer) decision has been made to change the title of the book. Yikes! I can only imagine the trouble this is causing at head office, for the marketing people, for the bookstsores that have already ordered the book with the original title... The new title? Racehorse: Behind the Scenes. The vet book now becomes Horse Vet: Behind the Scenes. And so on. Which does put the emphasis back on the horse, which is a good thing. My goodness, it's all so stressful. But, it will all work out fine as long as lots of people buy the books! Hint. Hint. Know any horse lovers out there? You can't start planning for Christmas too soon!

Manufactured Landscapes

Quite the productive day yesterday - finished up the first draft of Behind the Scenes With a Horse Vet and sent that off to the editor. Spent a bit of quality time with my horses and wrote up a list of shots/dialog to be filmed on Tuesday when I see Karen again. And, last night, saw Manufactured Landscapes, the Jennifer Baichwal film about the photographic work of Edward Burtynsky. Here is one of his photographs taken at the Three Gorges Dam Project in China where whole cities are being dismantled and more than a million people relocated to make room for the world's largest reservoir. Visit Burtynsky's website for many, many more stunning landscapes that have been created by people. The film is powerful. Burtynsky's photographs potent. I couldn't help thinking (as we drove home in our gasoline-filled car) how isolated we are from so much of the devastation we (collectively) have brought to our planet. Anyway, a really interesting film with an unforgettable opening sequence (shot in a Chinese factory).

Olympic Dreamers

Here's a little video meant as a triubte to (and good luck message for) Karen Brain. The biography is still with the editor, but with any luck I will have that back soon so I can move forward with the editing/rewriting process. I had a lot of fun making the mini-movie and have plans for several more (including at least one more about Karen, probably telling a bit more of her story).

The Cybils - Winners Announced

And the winner is... (or, more properly, the winners are...) listed here on the Cybils website. Congratulations to all the winners - and, a special congratulations to Melanie Watt for walking away with top honours in the Fictional Picture Book category. Scaredy Squirrel is a big hit with my relatives (young and old) and certainly deserves to win!

My Kind of Movie

In a rare foray to a LATE show, attended a documentary tonight that I thoroughly enjoyed - STORE. Here's the short blurb from the website:

What would you pay to hang onto the random stuff you've collected throughout your life that you want to keep but it doesn't fit in your house? Many of the people I met chose to pay in excess of $40,000 for tangible memories.

It seems like there a storage complex on nearly every corner. What is everyone hanging on to and why? Speaking of complexes, every time I try to get rid of something, I hear myself saying I'll need it as soon as I get rid of it." "There's nothing wrong with it." "It was a gift," and so many more justifications. I needed to know if I was alone in my attachment.

In STORE, we 'pass the baton' and tell our stories in concert. Rather than focusing upon a few detailed stories, we share a few details from a lot of stories. In short, we discuss why simply having is so important to us all.

Anyone who knows me (and who has fallen over my stuff...) will be chuckling at this point. But, yeah - the filmmaker saw straight into my heart! One of the great pleasures of attending world premieres of films (and tonight was the official premiere for STORE) is that one gets to meet the director. In this case, Cami J. Kidder (who wrote, directed and produced the picture, and is a first time feature director) was in attendance. She stayed behind after the screening to chat and answer questions. And, yes, she still has stuff in a storage locker.

Bayside Middle School

Bayside Middle School has been hosting their annual Reading Week for ten years or so, each year instroducing every student to authors, illustrators, and storytellers. Over the years I've presented writing workshops, author talks, and 'Lunch With the Author and her Pony' sessions... This year all the Grade 8s (about 250 of them) gathered in the multi-purpose room while I told one of my favourite stories in the King Arthur series - The Marriage of Sir Gawain. Thanks are due to librarian Vivian Hicks and all the staff and students at Bayside who make this such a fun annual event! Hope to see you again next year!

Movies, Movies Everywhere!

I LOVE the Victoria International Film Festival, look forward to it every year, and never have enough time to see all the fabulous films that flit through town! To put ourselves in the mood last week, we went to see Children of Men - which was very good - riveting and disturbing. NOT light entertainment and not exactly fun, but well worth seeing. So far at the film festival, I've attended a couple of panels for filmmakers (hard though it is to believe, film is an even wackier business than publishing!) and seen two movies - The Gymnast (in honour of Dani's lost career) and Singing Down the Bones (in honour of poets everywhere). Tonight we're seeing a double-header - Fido (because everyone needs a zombie around the house) and Babel - just because it's supposed to be great (not part of the festival, it's playing tonight at Cinecenta).

All of this filmy inspiration is helping to drive along my own filmmaking endeavours... watch this blog for details (and perhaps some tantalizing Utube clips!)

Ebay My Life?

Now I like ebay as much as the next guy (did you know there are people who will buy unused Starbucks coffee cards? Canadian designs are particularly popular, apparently - not so many of them around), but have you heard about the guy in Wollongong who has sold his life? Not only does the winning bidder get the basics like his name and phone number, he also becomes the proud owner of a repertoire of six jokes and a fractured relationship with an ex-girlfriend. If the sale goes through (the top bidder at $7500 is presumably someone who has no life...) Holt (or the ebayer formerly known as Holt - who will he become after he's sold his life?) wants to make a documentary about the process. Now that's a movie I'd like to see!

Well it has certainly been an exciting week around here! Highlights included an evening at the Polo Club listening to Dr. Nick Shaw talk about horse worms...



















receiving an M Award nomination (for Favourite Children's Author), learning that Trouble on Tarragon Island has been short-listed for a Willow Award (Saskatchewan Young Readers Choice Awards), and seeing the final layout of Behind the Scenes at the Racetrack (which we will see one, final time at blueline stage).

The Cybils panel has commenced judging the Fiction Picture Book category. Here's the list of finalists selected from the looong list of 111 nominees...


Emily's Balloon
Written and illustrated by Komako Sakai
Chronicle Books
A bittersweet glimpse into the mind of a toddler who has befriended a yellow balloon.


Learning to Fly
Written and illustrated by Sebastian Meschenmoser
Kane/Miller
A simple book with an important message, this is the story of a penguin who wants to fly and his friend who helps him. The humorous illustrations add to this message about dreams and friendship.


Scaredy Squirrel
Melanie Watt
Kids Can Press
An anxious squirrel, who is most comfortable staying in his familiar surroundings and sticking to his rigid daily schedule, is surprised when the unexpected occurs. The illustrations and the text features add to the humor.


Waiting for Gregory
Written by Kimberly Willis Holt; illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska
Henry Holt and Co.
A young girl, living in the whimsical, imaginative world that only Gabi Swiatkowska can create, anticipates with great excitement the birth of her cousin, only to grow increasingly confused by her family's peculiar responses to her questions about exactly how and when the baby will arrive.


Wolves
Written and illustrated by Emily Gravett
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
a clever book-within-a-book that uses expressive collage and mixed media to tell the tale of a curious rabbit who finds real-life adventure in addition to the information he expects when he checks out a library book about wolves.

I must say, we are having a good discussion about what makes a great picture book! Selecting a winner from this list is not going to be easy!

We are inching closer to completion... This is the latest incarnation of the front cover. An indexer and a proofreader are now working on the rest of the book and then I'll get to see the final, corrected layout one last time before everything is sent off to be printed. Soon, soon, the new baby will be here!

Hmmm... I've posted the image twice and, on my computer, the colour looks rather wacky unless I click on it and open the full-size picture. Is anyone else having this problem? Or does it look ok to you?

Star Light, Star Bright, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

It's all in the details, they say. The past days have seen me chained to the computer, methodically working my way back and forth through the Behind-the-Scenes at the Racetrack mock-up. Photos have been added, replaced, modified - emails are flying back and forth between me, the designer, the editors... Each photo then needed to be double-checked against my permissions file and a permissions page created. Then, after the latest version of the layout arrived this morning, the text and captions all had to be double-checked. It never ceases to amaze me how many errors we find at each of these late stages.

My last list of corrections is now with the editor. She will go through them, add her own notes, and send the whole lot off to a proofreader. No doubt more fixing will happen at that point before the final changes are added and we get one, final look at the book before it heads off to China for printing. I must say that the book is starting to look pretty cool now that I'm seeing the final, full colour pdfs. Very, very neat to see a book coming together after so many months of labour! No matter how often I go through this process, it's always exciting to get to this point and realize that tedious though these final revisions may seem, the final product is nearly here!

Canadian Mounties

rcmp terbin.jpg, originally uploaded by World of TVH.

I love this photograph by Tim Van Horn.

A bit of a fractured day today... We are pushing to get the final details taken care of on BTSAT Racetrack so Fortunato (the designer in Toronto) and I have been emailing and talking on the phone, making last minute decisions on the final few photos. Computers are wonderful tools, but mysterious in the myriad ways they manage to mess things up. Pressing deadlines just make everything worse. How does one explain jpegs leaving my place looking perfect and arriving at Fortunato's computer looking like negatives! Then there was the matter of finding a photo of Tony the day we brought him home - this to go in the section on neglected horses who have seen better days at the track. I needed a horse image to use where some horse owner wasn't going to come after me with lawsuits in mind... Anyway, much hunting, sorting, swearing, and - finally - scanning and emailing before THAT was taken care of. And... here he is -


























You can see why we called him "Bony Tony"! Poor guy. He looks a lot better these days, though he has never made it to anything close to rotund status.

Then, phase two of my day began with a photo shoot to come up with a couple of shots to go along with a forthcoming article in Horsepower Magazine (http://www.horsepowermagazine.ca/). The article is for young writers who like to write horse stories. Not such an easy article topic to illustrate, particularly since the weather has been stinky since October! Here's one of Valentina and Theo, gracious models both!

Saw things in Saanich today that I associate with places like Winnipeg... or Lac La Biche!

Snow Cat

Snow Cat, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

Charlie, strange cat that he is, loves the snow. He followed me all over the place this morning as I took photos of the latest evil snowfall. At one point, he started rolling around as if he were trying to make cat-shaped snow angels! Click on the photo to see more snow pix over on Flickr.

What is happening here? Temperatures are dipping down to -11 C - there is snow everywhere - AGAIN!! (and still snowing...) Cars off the roads... blah, blah, blah - I live on Vancouver Island precisely because we don't really get a winter here. What gives? The biggest pain of all (and there are so many when this happens, it's hard to choose just one that is particularly annoying) is that the water supply to the barn freezes. Each horse drinks many gallons of water each day, which means I will be hauling containers of hot water down the hill until this latest freeze goes away. The second most annoying thing is that the horse manure freezes to the ground making it impossible to keep up with the daily mucking. This, in turn, means a rapid accumulation of horse apples which must eventually be removed, usually after said apples have been turned to applesauce when rain replaces the snow. I just want to go back to bed until...oh, May. Either that, or flee back to Hawaii.

Paparazzi!

DSC_0222.JPG, originally uploaded by pwtokyo.

Dani smiling patiently for the Japanese paparazzi!

Dani and New Friends

DSC_0132.JPG, originally uploaded by pwtokyo.

Dani and a few of the other soon-to-be twenty year-olds on Coming of Age Day.

Well, THAT was a little stressful! I have been avoiding moving to the new blogger interface as I was more than a little concerned about all my previous posts disappearing when I clicked that 'save' button! However, the old template wouldn't allow comments or mail or the addition of the nav bar, so I finally bit the virtual bullet and made the big change! I have lost my various html gadety bits (the link to My Library, for example...) but presumably I can rebuild the missing bits when I have a few minutes to spare.

Meanwhile, must head out into the rain and mud to unhitch the horse trailer, drive down the road to the hay barn for another load of hay, and then do a bit of work on the Vet book.

Dani in her Kimono

Dani in her Kimono
Originally uploaded by pwtokyo.

Talk about cool experiences! Dani took part in Japan's national Coming of Age Day - a celebration for all those turning 20 in the forthcoming year. Visit her blog at www.gaijinbedbug.blogspot.com to see all that she had to go through in order to be presentable on this special day! For a great slide show with lots of photographs of the whole process, click on the photo and then view the set of photos as a slide show. Pretty neat! Congratulations, Dani - with many thanks to Pete and Hitomi who helped make it all possible!

DSC_0194.JPG

Fire Twirler on Oahu
Originally uploaded by pwtokyo.

That has to hurt! Pete has posted some great shots of the show we saw at the Polynesian Cultural Center - click on the photo and you'll be taken to Pete's Flickr page (where, if you want to spend a little time, you can browse through quite a selection of Hawaii photos!)

Gymnastics at Chinaman's Hat

Gymnastics at Chinaman's Hat, Hawaii
Originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

Somewhere deep in Dani's bones lives a gymnast! Here, said gymnast has taken over Dani's body and set her hopping, spinning, hand-standing, etcetering all over the wide expanse of grass at the Kualoa Park close to the island known as Chinaman's Hat. Now that we are back in the rain, wind, and chilliness of home, I am spending waaaaay too much time reliving the holiday by browsing through several thousand photos we managed to take in Hawaii.

Trail horses at the Kualoa Ranch on Oahu

Horses at the Kualoa Ranch, Oahu
Originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

We made it home (sorry about the very minimal blogging - a certain roomie of mine hi-jacked my laptop!) and I've just realized that I can post blog entries directly from Flickr. And, since I've decided to actually use my Flickr account so other family members can view my holiday snaps, this particular entry is also a test entry to see if this all works the way it's supposed to!

Happy New Year!