Bologna with friends!

Friends Connie and Kevin joined me and Jim for a few days in Bologna, Italy before the Children's Book Fair. We rented an Airbnb together—an incredibly well located flat on the east side of town that I had never explored before—and we hit the town! An immediate fave was La Prosciutteria that was just around the corner from our flat.You stand in line to order the most amazing charcuterie trays with wine! Kevin and Jim hit it off - I had a feeling they would. And we made more new friends right off the bat.Across from the deli(?) was a gallery with this amazing chair - wish I could have shipped it home!Bologna really comes alive at night. Some restaurants don't even open until 8:00pm. THAT is when you want to wander this beautiful city!Kevin and Connie are both amazing cooks (you may recall Stan and I met Connie through the salons she used to host), so Kevin picked out the restaurants. The first we went to was owned by a sous chef for a Michelin Star restaurant. He's trying to put himself on the map, so had some really delicious dishes...and some flat out interesting ones. Like the sorbet... and the white chocolate mousse dusted with sage accompanied by sweetened cauliflower? Yeah.We had to have gellato as well, which sadly, after multiple and massive assurances from the employees that the flavors I chose were dairy free, turned out to be all dairy. Between that and trying to eat most of Italy in one day, I got quite ill. But not before we had a chance to visit the Archiginnasio Palace. How had I never seen this before? And we had spritzes looking over the Piazzo Maggiore.Turns out that Jim was an amazing traveling companion and I returned home even more crazy about him than when we started out. He seems to simply fit wherever he is-a true natural. Happy!

Scotland with Jim!!!

I had to go to the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy recently, and happily, it was the week after our spring break at Hollins U; so, I tied in a week-long vacation in my homeland of Scotland! And this time, my new beau Jim went with me to meet all of my Edinburgh and Glasgow friends. It began at the airport with the iconic photo... My dear friend Johnny picked us up from the airport and we hung out with him and Meredith at their lovely country home to catch up. Of course we ended up in Johnny's emaculate man-cave, where he keeps his BSA named "Stella."We stayed at the Sonder Airbnb, which turned out to be a lovely choice, right across from the Portrait Museum, at the top of the hill from where Stan and I used to live. It was somewhere between an Airbnb and a hotel with a great view of the garden (for quiet), where we saw a BIG fox!...and also had a view of the Firth of Fourth. It also had windows on the side looking down Queen Street - the best of both worlds!
     Once we were settled in, we began walking. I wanted to show Jim everything! I showed him where I attended convocation for my MFA. (I'm still amazed I did this!)We went by The Writers' Museum and admired the lovely quotes on the stones outside.Of course, we had to visit the castle! (Although this photo was from below in Grassmarket.)It was so fun to see Edinburgh through Jim's eyes. Being a contractor/builder/renovator, he was in awe of the architecture and I often caught him like this.We had crepes at my favorite crepe stand, Tupiniquim, which has upgraded their seating with a little garden in the back. In the garden is a piano shed where anyone can drop by and play. And they do! Several who dropped by were quite good! On Sunday, I took Jim down Circus Lane, one of the most photographed streets in Edinburgh, on the way to the Farmers Market.Happily, they once again had their amazing paella and this time, there wasn't a long line yet! So, I got my dungeoness crab! It was a mess, but Jim helped get the meat out of the shell and I was so happy!The next day, which turned out to be a beautiful day, Jim rubbed the bear's nose for good luck in the Princes Street Gardens.We had our pictures taken with the owls on The Royal Mile. I had Hazel and he had Archie.I think they got along quite well.This time we went all the way up to the castle, where I took another iconic shot. I kept trying to get Jim to buy a kilt. I think he'd look great in one. Can you envision it? Of course, we had to get a flight of whisky at The Whiski Rooms.
Jim hadn't tried a Scotch Egg yet, and they made a great one for him.In fact, he had several classic dishes: haggis, blood sausage, cullen skink, fish-n-chips with both mushy and regular peas... One day we took the train to Glasgow so that I could show him the Cloisters at the University. We also were able to have a wonderful lunch at the Hanoi Bike Shop (an old haunt) with my PhD supervisors Bob Davis and Maureen Farrell. I love these two so much!Back in Edinburgh, we went for cocktails with Alix, Max, and Connie before heading out for tapas for dinner.Somehow we missed getting photos with Robert and Penelope when we met up at a fabulous Lebanese restaurant, and with Amandine in her lovely new flat. In other words, we just have to go back again, for pictures and to see more! (And Jim took pictures too, so I may do a Part 2 post with his photos.)

Sheree's Birthday Party

Dear friend Sheree Scarborough celebrated a biggie birthday recently and threw a big bash for the occassion. We all got dressed to the nines!The venue was lovely, the food was fantastic, and we made new friends... Sheree even hired a band to dance to, which Jim and I did!

We had so much fun! What a celebration of love for friends and family!
     Happy birthday, Sheree, and I wish you many more!

Coloring Page Tuesday - St. Patty's Day Snakes!

     Here's an odd one for you... It's the Year of the Snake, and St. Patrick's Day is around the corner. Of course, he was sainted for getting rid of all the snakes in Ireland, so.... I bring you St. Patty's Day snakes! Can you find the four-leaf clover?
     CLICK HERE for more St. Patrick's Day-themed coloring pages.
     Remember, I create my coloring pages to draw your attention to my books! Especially... Merbaby's Lullaby! Click the cover to learn about this sweet board book written by New York Times Best-selling author, Jane Yolen! Makes a GREAT baby shower gift!
     I create my coloring pages for teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents to enjoy for free with their children, but you can also purchase rights to an image for commercial use, please contact me. If you have questions about usage, please visit my Angel Policy page.


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I am a 20 over 50 in The Roanoker Magazine!

I am honored to be one of the 20 featured women over 50 in the latest edition (March 2025) of The Roanoker magazine. The article says: "From bold career pivots to inspiring new ventures, these women are redefining success, embracing empowerment and proving it's never too late to chase their dreams." I share the spotlight with some amazing women, including Hollins' own Leeray Costa, Executive Director of Leadership Studies and the Batten Leadership Institute and Professor, Gender and Women's Studies and Anthropology, and Donna Davis, Director of Community Engagement, Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, and also fellow Board Member for the Roanoke Arts Commission!
     I love the attractive layout of the article. I share a page with some remarkable people. Many thanks to Aila Boyd who did the write up on me based on the extensive interview questions she sent me. It was fun to see what she pulled out to include. Here's my particular bit. Many thanks to The Roanoker for making us all look so good and celebrating the amazing people who make up our dynamic community!