HOME AT LAST!!!

WE'RE HOME! AT LAST!
HALLELUJA, WE'RE HOME!!!!!!!!

We've been away five weeks. Summer is almost over. We've been gone a long time! Yesterday we drove 800 miles back from Central California to Portland, and you know what?

Oregon is BEAUTIFUL!! Oregon is HOME. It's so green, so wild. I love it! And our house! Our little yellow house was just sitting here waiting for us! My writing room, where I am right now, the room I decided I deserved after writing my first book -- we converted it from an ugly old spare bedroom into something wonderful (with the help of an awesome carpenter and some very bright paint and green furniture and polka dots.)

I am SO ready to be back to work!!! And look, my writing room has a new resident:

She's a decal; we got her at Comic-Con. Isn't she wonderful? My own little devil muse.

So, today we have to pick up the mail and scour through it for bills that might be overdue, and we have to get groceries and do laundry, but other than that. . . we're HOME and back to WORK. Yipppeeeeeeee!!!

I will post photos of my sister's wedding tomorrow, I think. It was fabulous in every way, and now she and her new husband are off in Belize on a teeny tiny island where they will not be able to hunt for reptiles for a whole week! (And then next week they will be inland, probably with a snake in one hand and a lizard in the other!)

I will show these photos now, though:


Our first night in San Luis Obispo, Jim and I had dinner with local residents the Disco Mermaids: Eve, Robin, and Jay. I've been reading their blog for a while now, since I first began discovering the treasure trove of kidlit & writing blogs out there. Jay Asher (the mermale) is my "Penguin '07 brother" -- I mentioned his terrific book Thirteen Reasons Why a few weeks ago (it's out in October). Well, we got to meet them in L.A., and I'm very glad we saw them again in San Luis, away from the madness of the conference. Fabulous dinner, local wine, wicked ice cream, Robin's adorable son Luke, and lots of great talk about writing and life. They are so lucky to have such a tight-knit writing group/friendship. I am envious. I have always been a hermit-variety writer, and the few attempts I've made at being part of a writer's group have not fared terribly well. But I read and hear about other writers' groups and fun retreats and I get jealous. Maybe some day! Maybe my best friend will even one day let me read her writing. (hint hint)

Okay, that's my quick catch-up post. Some of my 350 wedding photos tomorrow (not all, I swear!)

Cheers!

P.S. I have a new item to add to my list of "reasons to become a famous writer" -- apparently, they get to hold panda bears on their laps!!!