My Latest Discovery!

How did I not know that we had a karaoke channel on our cable package?

My March Break through Children’s Literature

Friday: Pearson International Airport (Toronto)to Rome, Italy

After spending the last couple of March Breaks just switching from teacher to author mode, and working through story deadlines, I decided to take a real trip this year!

I had this favourite line in my head as we headed for the airport: “Hooray, hooray! We’re on our way! Our summer vacation starts today” from The Bears’ Vacation (Yes, I know it’s only March Break, and not actually summer yet, but way before the Berenstein Bears got preachy and started pumping our book after book with moral lessons, they used to be funny. And they rhymed. And that’s the kind of thing that gets stuck in my head.)

And since getting things stuck in my head is commonplace for me, I ended up mentally linking each subsequent day of my trip with a favourite children’s book.

Saturday: Civitivecchia, Italy

The forecast for my Mediterranean cruise through Italy, Spain and France: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Sunday: Sicily (Italy)

Our after-dinner entertainment was a group of Chinese acrobats who juggled hats, tossing them onto and off of each other’s heads…reminding me of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

Monday: Cagliari (Island of Sardinia), Italy

Full of delicious food after a lovely tour of an olive oil factory and a winery followed by a two hour dinner in the dining room. With so many beautiful places to see, and everyone giving me things to eat and drink – plus a bit of rough sailing on rough seas -- I’d have to say felt a bit like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!

Tuesday: Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Ferdinand the Bull, who adored flowers in The Story of Ferdinand, would have loved the flower markets here. One of the loveliest cities I have ever visited. The sights and smells were heavenly!


Wednesday: Barcelona, Spain

So beautiful. But so much traffic. And I almost got killed by a speeding scooter as I crossed the road. Much like Mrs. Mallard in Make Way for Ducklings!


Thursday: Aix-en-Provence and Marseilles, France

Started my morning with the most delicious chocolate cream-filled éclair in Provence, and finished my afternoon drinking un chocolat chaud in a sidewalk café. Okay – it wasn’t Paris – but as group after group of children passed me on the streets speaking French, I couldn’t help but think of Madeleine.

Friday: Savona and Genoa, Italy
The crocodiles in the Genoa Aquarium, and
the reproduction pirate ship outside it – were reminiscent of Peter Pan!

Saturday: Back to Rome

Digging through my suitcase for a pair of clean socks, and feeling a lot like Harry the Dirty Dog. The only thing I really wanted to see here was the Coliseum. Not just for the beautiful architecture (and certainly not for its gory history ) but because I had heard that many, many feral cats live there. I saw only one. But she/he strongly resembled Sacha, a cat I adored for fourteen years. (Maybe a place that has seen so much death makes it easier for spirits to visit their loved ones, and it was her?) In any case, she/he completed my visit, and made me smile remembering the way she used to sleep draped over my shoulders as I wrote university essays, teacher’s college projects, short stories and even the early bits of Painting Caitlyn. I have other special cats in my life now. But thinking about Sacha, and a friend who passed away last year at the end of March Break, reminded me of The Tenth Good Thing About Barney.

Sunday: Home via London

…with thoughts of A Bear Called Paddington whirling amidst the suitcases and British accents!

My Quebec...Caitlyn's Quebec

Bonjour tout le monde!

I am wearing my "teacher hat" this week. I've brought 21 of my grade 7 and 8 students to Quebec City for a SEVEC exchange! It's an amazing program through which we were "twinned" with another school. Each of my students spends a week billeting at the home of one of their students, and during the day, we all come together for touristy educational activities. In May, our twins will visit Beaverton!

But the author in me is coming out this week, too. The fictional exchange that Caitlyn does in Maybe Never, Maybe Now was based on a combination of the last SEVEC exchange I organized, and the six week summer immersion program I did between high school and university. And we spent yesterday visiting many of the places described in the book. Places such as the Chateau Frontenac,

(This picture was actually taken a few years ago - the walkway below is undergoing reconstruction.)

Place Royale:

And the sculpture, Dialogue with History - it's the white squarish thing between the buildings below. For a better shot, see photographer Jonathan Houle's website.

Today, we are off to the Quebec Winter Carnival.

Salut!

What's in a Name?

A lot.

And just like people judge books by their titles, I judge books by the characters' names.

I understand that authors want memorable characters.

I understand that a name says something about a character, such as how old they are, or what their parents are like.

But I hate, hate, hate it when characters have weird names.

I'm not talking about names from languages other than English. Those are cool.

I'm talking about the HUGE number of YA books that have female protagonists with traditionally male names, like "Max" or "Eddie" - which honestly hardly ever happens in real life, but seems in fiction to be an every day occurance.

Or the more unusual, such as characters who explain that they were named after bottles of alcohol, or the diner where their parents met, or whatever.

I don't know why it bugs me so much. Some of my favourite names in real life are rare and unusual. And Taiton and Destiny were kind enough to "loan" me their names for Definitely Not Camelot, so I guess I've done it, too.

But Taiton needed a name from an unspecified non-English speaking place (more on that later). And Destiny was a minor character.

When I'm reading about an unusually named main character, it distracts me.

And it makes it feel as if the author is trying too hard to show how unique and special his or her character is.

Kind of like parents who give their kids long, fancy monikers with Roman numerals at the end.

Reason to smile...

This video.

Movies, Martinis, and Manicures

On Thursday, I attended my second Movies, Martinis and Manicures event at The Roxy theatre in Uxbridge, Ontario.

It's a fundraiser which they theme around a chick flick. This year's movie was the 1997 flick My Best Friend's Wedding. We received mini veils with our tickets, and garters upon arrival. Guests were encouraged to send in their actual wedding photos in advance for inclusion in a slideshow on the big screen before the event, as well as to dress up in wedding attire.

I did send this wedding pic (circa 1994 - the glasses betray the date, but I think my dress and hair still have a classic feel). It's one of my faves, because a) it's casual and b) my eyes are actually open.

But I have to admit that I caved on the costume factor, for a number of reasons: I didn't want to wreck any of my good dresses, some of them don't fit right now, and I just really, really, really hate being cold. This is not me acting like an old lady. This is me being honest about who I am, and always have been. Even in high school, when everyone else was wearing running shoes through th snow and pulling their hands inside their sleeves and their shoulders up to their ears thinking that looked "cooler" than dressing properly for winter weather, I was the exception in boots, mittens, and hats or earmuffs. So let's just say that the other night I wore "Vegas wedding" attire:

(that's my friend Mary beside me).

So, pre-show, we ate wedding themed hors d'oeuvres, bit on silent auction items, had our pictures taken, and got our nails done by a number of local manicurists who donated their own time. Then they set us up with popcorn, a dessert table, and a "candy buffet". The candy buffet got me to thinking about the differences between children and adults. When you are a kid, it sounds like a dream to have enough money and independence to go to the candy store whenever you want and buy as much as you want. When you are an adult, you can. But most of us don't. And then when you find yourself at a fundraiser filling small paper bags with Glossettes, licorice, gummi bears, etc., you get crazy excited! At least, the women I saw did.

Anyway, the biggest gasp of the night came during the opening scene of the movie, when Julia Roberts' character reached into her handbag and pulled out a GIANT cell phone which she not only had to flip open, but also raise the antenna on. Crazy!

Four Things I Wish I'd Known Years Ago

(Ahem). Allow me to share with you the wisdom of my years, and pass along four bits of knowledge that have been LIFE CHANGING for me.

1) You can freeze lemon slices. This way, you always have them ready for a glass of water or a cup of tea. They act as ice cubes to cool down your drink. And you don't end up with a bunch of shrivelled up half-used lemons in the back of your fridge.

2) A disposable razor stored in a lidded jar of rubbing alcohol stays sharp and lasts ten times longer. Seriously - it does. And you only need enough alcohol to cover the blade.

3) Bacon is easy to cook - and far less messy - if you do it on parchment paper in the oven. Obviously, you need to use a cookie sheet with sides. Line it with parchment paper (I like to double up the thickness). Lay bacon out in strips. Cook in low oven - about 300 degrees F. for 20 - 30 minutes. Comes out cheaper and better than the pre-cooked stuff, there's no splattering, and it's easy to do a whole package this way in advance for a brunch. (I got this tip, and a lot of great recipes, by attending a cooking class with a humble chef. Check out his blog!)

4) Everyone should have a laundry hampers with separate sections for different colours. Mine has three removable mesh bags. I didn't think I spent a lot of time sorting laundry before, but this one makes it super fast and super easy to guage whether or not you have enough of one colour to run a load, grab it, and get it in.

You're welcome!