Music to discover countries by.

Take a listen.  Click  "Lalo's Norwegian Rhapsody"   wait a second for it to load.  Be patient... it's worth it!  

Turn up the volume and prepare to start discovering.

Nice, huh.

Oooo-lah-lahhhhh.

...

Venus de... Shelly

Shelly, dear... did you know that the sea would one day be worn about your neck and head?  By way of four clam shells... pushed ashore by a wanton wave?  Did you??  I know I hadn't thought of it.   Just think of the route those ocean artifacts have taken,  through surf and sand, desert and mountain-- through  (who knows how many)  landlocked states, all for the sake of becoming a necklace and a hat!  (Looking a little like a saucy French maid, are we?) 

Hmmmmm.  I suppose one never knows what travels lie ahead...

(Note:  I  can't resist plopping something onto the head of the statue in my studio...  Hee.)  

here's looking at you...

I am looking at you now.  In the form of a photograph taken when you were four-years-old.  Long golden hair with eyes peeping out to a wondrous world beyond a knitted brim. Hmmmm.  A glint of perfect health radiates across your dimpled smile ("say cheeeeese!") into the camera lens.  You are gorgeous, OH-FOUR-YEAR-OLD!

Fast forward... you are gorgeous still, my lovely-at-fifteen.  But did you know that you look even more gorgeous without make-up?  (I saw you roll your mascaraed eyes.  Now, as I usually say, roll them back the other way so you won't get out of balance...) It's appealing to wear make-up... to try on new pastels, to see all the drama that can be had when you draw a black line around your upper and lower inner lids.  Or shimmy on some aqua eye shadow with sparkles.  Or guava lip color.  It's OH-SO-FUN!! And will remain forever so, as long as this "made-up" beauty doesn't become a crutch, or a habit.  Ask yourself, "Can I leave the house without make-up and still feel like myself? Because make-up doesn't define who you really are.  It never will.  For you see... it can't.  No amount of make-up can enhance your internal features.  Your kindness;  your intelligence;  your smile;  your forgiving nature;  your love; your honesty;  your wonderment- "how deep do you think that water is?";   your talents; your laughter colors your cheeks with a make-up not yet known to cosmetic counters. 

The world is full of beautiful and hot girls (which is another topic altogether.)   They are EVERYWHERE.   Around every corner.  At every school across this ominous planet.  On every magazine page,  in every movie and mall.  Everywhere.  But what is not everywhere, is the girl that is both beautiful on the outside... and on the inside.  The girl that isn't afraid to be herself. Yah-yah-yah, I know... old stuff. Regardless.  It is true. Most boys know this too, even though they like to look at all the beautiful and hot girls.   And they like to talk about them... and often times pursue them... but rarely do they end up loving them forever.   Sadly, rarely do these girls end up loving themselves forever either. 

You've heard it all before, I know.  (Remember to roll your eyes back the other way.) 

Lazy hazy...

We're grilling, eating, sipping, reading, writing, playing, working, idling, napping outside more than inside nowadays.  Are you??  "Summer is my favorite month"-- ala Annie-- her fav is always the one we're in!!  Handy, isn't it?  It helps that all four seasons in Colorado have a raw, radical beauty.  Including those darkly eclipsed days of January and February. (I know, I know... easier said than done- unless you're a snowboarder...)  For right now... I'll simmer in the shade of some wildly bodacious sunshine.

Lingering sunrises; drive-in movies (boohoo-Cinderella City drive-in bit the dust this year;)  potted plants;  juicy homegrown tomatoes; pink grapefruit Ting soda in a glass bottle; outdoor candlelight;  dark green patches of shade;  a summer blockbuster;  faraway thunder; evening air moving through the trees;  that early bird;  salads!!;  teen volleyball games; lemons in all forms of yummy;  homemade ice cream;  seashells;  sea foam sliding up a beach...  okay, okay, the list could go on for eternity....   oh, but if only summer could...

  

Festooooning...

Cascading Floral Balcony
Originally uploaded by donnacorless

If I was to write a travel book... it would most definitely be one about flower festooned balconies. There's one balcony in particular in Santa Fe that stuffs itself silly with flowers. (Remember, Thea?)

Flowered balconies stop me in my tracks, especially those with emblematic wrought iron scrolls embracing ivies, alyssum, petunias, maiden hair, geraniums.... against a pinkish stucco-- cracks encouraged... Big BIG sigh.

The thing is... I have some. Balconies that is... four to be exact!! Well, they are classified as French Windows, meaning they are second story French doors that open up to 3 ft wrought iron grills... ( just so's we don't fall out!)

Let it be known!! That this is the year of the balcony! Hah! And you thought it was the year of the Rat...
Well it is still the year of the Rat, but it's also the year of the balcony.
I'm going to festoon!

Can't wait for May.

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in our own sunshine.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Our visit to Maui... at sunset)

photo by Nick Coyle

Aren't these lovely?  I spotted them outside our sunroom window two floors up this past January.  Chubby chunks of melt... Old Man Winter's beard....  a snow maiden's eyelashes... Nature's popscicles.... ice sculptures of carrots...  a frozen pipe organ.   Of course, the  resident engineer took one look out the window and said... "a clogged gutter. " 

 

Tips for Picture Book Writers

Right before bed last night an email message arrived from  the good people at  Rocky Mountain Chapter of Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators  (big breath.)  

I was sleepy, but I read it anyway.  A Spring workshop presenter was looking for published authors to share their tips for writing children's picture books.  As I drifted off to sleep I was pondering what would be on my list.... list.... list... (that's when I fell asleep.)  

When I woke up, I had this list of tips:   

• Keep chocolate in your desk drawer. (I prefer 70% cacao... lah-dee-dah.) 
  

• Picture book writer's are on word diets.  Celery, carrots, broccoli, maybe some whole grains, but remember make it YUMMY!!  You do not have access to words like  fromage or pate brioche.  Dang.   Keep it simple, BUT YUMMY!!  (Average picture book length is getting shorter by the minute--under 1000 words-- but  have you ever counted how many words are in Olivia??)

• Trim-trim-trim... do not be afraid to trim.  Sometimes your all-time, very favorite sentence doesn't move the story ahead.    A wise, old editor (she really isn't old, just wise) once told me, "You'll use it, someday,  in another story..." 

• It's okay to throw in a couple zingers for good measure.  In my first book,  Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots,  (all 250 words of it!)  I use the word "delectable" because, well because,  it stretches children's vocabulary...  Plus I couldn't find anything else that rhymed with "vegetables."

• Think of yourself as Gumby!!  You know, the little bendy guy that looks like the gingerbread man?  Only Gumby's smarter because he's made out of a slab of stinky rubber, not yummy cookie dough,  so... the sly fox isn't going to be interested in eating him up.   Be smart (and bendy)-- editors, agents, publishers,  friends, your mother,  a little bird... are all going to give advice.  Every single suggestion, whether it comes from the industry or the UPS guy, might just be the catalyst to something astounding.   

• Did you notice that all my tips so far, except one,  have been food related?  Geeez.

• Have ears like DUMBO  and HORTON.   Listen to every teeny tiny word that children say.  My daughter began saying wonderful things before she could officially talk. Mountains were WOWS and blankies were WEEEE's.  (Long story.)   My personal favorite, "When me looks at the moon, me sees a white banana..."   That said, sometimes kids say things that become book titles!!  I know mine did.    

copyright 2008  all rights reserved carmela lavigna coyle

WHY-OH-WHY am I writing a novel??

Well, that's easy...  because I need to extrapolate.  That's why.  So there... humph.

Don't misunderstand.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE writing children's picture books, it's so very refreshing and I get to be and think like a little kid all over again. It's the best job in the world. (That, and being a mom.)  I get to "think" words like,  pahlease and phew and poopy and yucky and yippy!!    But, writing for kids is very challenging. You have, at best, 300-500 words to tell a whompin' good story.  Every single word counts.  No superfulous-ness allowed.  

Now and then I yearn to go off on a tangent!!  To spit words all over the page.  Throw them into the corners and folds and outside of the margins.  Giddy-up!  Yah... 

There... I said it.   

So... that's why I'm writing a novel.   

Science of Giving

Matthew's Pennies
Originally uploaded by xxtickleticklexx

In an archival NY Times article, dating December 26, 1919, it was reported that if all the ants in the world gathered together in one place they would far outweigh all the elephants of the world. (This, according to a Statistical Naturalist. Who knew?)

It certainly gives illumination to "every little bit counts," doesn't it? 

From my newest book, Am I Beautiful? (09)-- a talking parrot and a little girl named Polly find themselves exploring the other side of a mirror. 

...Right then the sky turned to copper and it began to rain pennies!!  "Do you save your pennies for a rainy day? AWK?" the parrot asked.... 

"I have a piggy bank and an umbrella with lady bugs on it!" she replied proudly.  "Oh dear!"said Polly, as she placed a hundred pennies on top of a rabbit family's leaking roof.... 

Beautiful is sharing. 

And of course Giving has many faces. Sometimes Giving dresses up as a smile; or gives up parking spaces-- even though you were there first; or pays it forward;  or picks up a stranger's litter;  or walks the dog;  or makes dinner ('giving' begins at home;)  or shovels a neighbor's sidewalks;  or fills the bird feeder;  or forgives those who need it most.   Again.

Mark your calendars! Dec. 16 is National Chocolate Covered ANYTHING Day

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Originally uploaded by beautifulcataya

It had to happen, didn't it? A day devoted to smothering, drizzling, slapping, sluicing, encrusting, encasing, ANYTHING with chocolate. We humans do love our cacao.

Every couple of months I leave a metaphorical skid mark outside Chuao Chocolatier's in Southern CA. Trust me, they smolder in chocolate, of the Venezuelan variety. But what's a Coloradan, 1,600 miles away, to do? 

Why... mail order, of course! at www.chuaochocolatier.com. Chuao coddles their fresh truffles and bonbons inside candy boxes and ships them overnight in an innovative cold pack. And their pairings and flavorings are sumptuous. Too many personal favorites to list, but here's a sampling: 

1. Chevere: goat cheese, pear Williams and crushed black pepper buttercream. 
   
2. Mondena: strawberry caramel with balsamic vinegar,   
3. Picante: California raisin fondue and Napa Valley cabernet, spiced with pasilla chili and cayenne pepper.  

 Purrrrrrr.  Every couple of months I place my internet order for a box of dark bonbons from Chuao. ( I love the word BONBON, don't you? I love it so much that I think it will be the title of my next children's book. Doesn't it conjure up a lazy day spent on the couch? In pink spongey curlers?)

Okay... the rumor is true, there's another reason why National Chocolate Covered Anything Day snagged my attention. I have a history with chocolate covered cherries a.k.a. cherry cordials.  I use to hand make them for my family back when maraschinos were synonymous with the words "covered" and "chocolate." Now, like everyone else, I cover candied ginger and fresh strawberries, and brussel sprouts... not really.

I recall a shhhocking scene in the movie Chocolat when Vivian blends dark chocolate shavings into the gravy (oh my!) and serves to her partisans over pork (or was that beef.)  Those French!!  I wonder how many folks will celebrate National Chocolate Covered Anything Day that way?

Not me!  I don't eat red meat.  But I do eat chicken.... hmmmmm.

(Thanks to  Kristie for introducing my sister to Chuao, who later introduced ME... the fanatic.)

BLACK SOCK CURES INSOMNIA!!!

EXTRA EXTRA!!! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Thats' right, folks. Throw away the pharmaceuticals and get ye a black sock!!

Let me explain. I've been having trouble sleeping at night.
I-N-S-O-M-N-I-A.
(WARNING: sleep deprivation makes you a menace to society, well at least to a husband :)

I can fall asleep just fine. It's just that I wake up at 3 a.m. and can't go back to sleep. I've tried everything natural under our roof. (NOTE: I've said "NO!" to sleep drugs. They're not even under our roof. So there.) I've tried, sleepy-time tea, calcium tablets, aromatherapy, herbs, I've massaged oils into my feet and hands, taken warm baths,
quiet walks, avoided caffeine, organic sheets, gentle detergents, yada-yada-ding-dong.

Hello??
Enter, THE BLACK SOCK. (That's right... in bold AND caps.)

My husband, ever the inventor type, tied a string, and toggle to one of his "clean" black socks-- thereby creating the first-ever melatonin inducing sock. In desperation (and lack of a real sleep mask,) I slipped the sock over my eyes. And slept (and snored) like a lazy languid lugubrious baboon until 6 in the morning.

Insomnia cured... by a sock. Folks, you heard it here first.


DISCLOSURE: Test first for sensitivity to wearing a ridiculous looking thing around your face. Remember to remove sock before walking to bathroom. And whatever you do, DO NOT involve the teenagers.

Stone Birdy...

I found her at an antique gallery behind a rusty urn, dinged from the travails of old age... and a fall or two. Her concrete beak stooped low as if frozen in an eternal nibble. (Sound familiar, ladies?) She was lovely!
So I purchased her on the spot- and designed a simple vignette in which to present her.

The stone bird is a gift for my mother. But mom doesn't know anything about her yet.
She will though. Soon. Shhhhhhh. A birthday is coming!

a home security system....

Concrete Angel
Originally uploaded by titancia

They were chiseled, blasted, and molded into shape by a consortium of craftsman. But my angel and cherub collection are not your ordinary bevy of celestials-- some are concrete, some are sand-casted or porcelain, while others are made of terracotta. Some are Italian. Some are Spanish. Many are hand painted. Others are primitive. (No cutesy found here.) Whatever the composite... all dazzle in their own right.

Years ago, I assembled my angels together in the foyer, like centurians guarding a compound-- to ward away
discontent or other would-be hooligans.
Or simply welcome. No one could pass without first dealing with the angels. It set a precedence. I think. Come in peace... otherwise, what the heck are you doing here???

When we moved into our new "old" house, the angels never quite made it to the entry. Instead, they were dispersed throughout our home. Which recently has made me ponder... were those angels, cloistered en masse, my home security system? Perhaps they were.

Now... after a recent break-in, and subsequent burglary, we installed a real home security system. It's laconic voice speaks to me whenever I open a door. "Sensor to garage door-- open--BEEEEEP."
What?? No smiles? No angelic winks? "Sensor OPEN...BEEEEP" Is that all my state-of-the-arts security system has to say for itself? I've been gone for hours! No "Helloooo, how was your day?" OR "By the way, no one tried to steal your stuff today!"

Oh well.. Although, we will gladly keep this newfangled wireless contraption, I think it's time to gather my angelic forces for a reunion... in the entry. At least then when I walk in, I will know by the warmth of their gelid glances, that all is, indeed, perfectly well. I've come in peace...

BEEEEEP.

Happy Angel Day, Thea!!

Hannah Montana??? Does this BOTHER anyone other than me?

Review headlines smacked:
HANNAH! HANNAH! HANNAH! Show In Tune With Good Fun!!

Pah-lease!

Am I the only mom that is disturbed by all the glamor associated with the Hannah Montana craze? A recent article in the Denver Post showed 12 photo examples of young girls aged 4-10 "glamming up" beyond their years for a Hannah Montana concert at the Pepsi Center. Won't this seed their jump into teenagehood with "what's a girl to wear?"
(Role model??? Fyi- Miley Cyrus' favorite hobby is shopping.)

Can't little girls (AND yes, I do mean 4 to 10 year olds!!) just be little girls?
Yah, yah yah, I know you've heard it all before, but here it goes again, "They're young for such a short time!!!"
What exactly is the hurry???

My daughter, Annie, is now 14. She was/is the inspiration behind my children's book series, Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? And the reason for my latest book, Am I Beautiful?(09) Annie is a vision of pure beauty and self confidence, stylish, centered. NEVER did she idolize a girl outside of herself. She was too busy discovering what it was like to run as fast as the wind. And learning what happens when you mix dirt with water-- especially between bare piggy-toes. (Thank you, Waldorf education!)
Sure she played dress-up, but within the context of her play kitchen.

Unplug the T.V., Mommies! Find some great books with alarmingly brilliant heroines for your girls. (Check out Beauty's Secret just released by Debra Gano.) It's never too early to learn about inner beauty-- help give her something she'll have for a lifetime.... herself.

And then, let true glamor begin.

Mmmmmmmm....fried red tomatoes

fried tomatoes
Originally uploaded by ericjhwilson

Mom use to make them... but I don't know if she still does. Do you, mom?
While we're waiting for her answer-- here's what you do. Choose firm red beef steak or other type of tomatoes-- garden or farm market fresh from the vine. Slice into thick wheels. Dredge with flour and salt & pepper-- pressing genty to coat. Then fry 'em up in a heavy skillet with olive oil (hmmm-- I really should buy stock in olive oil) until soft on the inside, and crispy brown on the outside. Serve warm or cold. Very yummy over salad. Or just by themselves!

Now that I think about it. Mom now makes oven roasted tomatoes instead. Same idea... but sans the flour.

Variation: You can add all sorts of sprinkles before cooking-- dried basil, oregano, or parmesan... or perhaps spice them up a bit with some red pepper flakes.

Ris-ssssotto

porcini risotto
Originally uploaded by clairish

I did it!!! After years of saying I was going to, I finally made risotto. A yummy Italian comfort food which, according to the professionals, cannot be rushed. The Italians say "...the risotto does not wait for the guests, but rather the guests wait for the risotto." Well, for goodness sakes, let's NOT rush the rice.

Now the kids know why I was screaming for them to come down for dinner-- the RISOTTO was READY. And I wasn't about to upset the risotto. Pah-lease. Touchy-touchy.

Well risotto wasn't nearly as tricky (or touchy) to make as I thought. But I do have some suggestions:

*Use a wooden spoon- as opposed to metal or plastic
*Use quality cookware. Avoid using an aluminum saucepan
*Stir, stir, stir...
*Toast the rice before cooking. Add rice to dry saucepan and "toast" 4 min. just to warm the rice- do not brown!!
*Heat ALL liquids (including wine) before adding.
* Think about using Vialone nano variety of rice- said to be creamier.

Recipe for Leeky Parmesan Risotto:

4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium size leeks white part only (dice)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 1/2 cup Vialone nano rice OR Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine- Chardonnay or Pinot Blanc
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt plus a little more
1/4 teaspoon coursely ground black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan plus extra for topping off

Simmer broth in a saucepan. Warm wine in a separate pan. Toast rice as above.

In a medium saucepan melt 1 T. butter with 1 T. olive oil-- add diced leeks and garlic. Saute until transparent-- 5 min. Add toasted rice, stir and cook over medium about four min. Add wine and simmer until the wine is absorbed stirring frequently- about 5 min. Add 1/2 cup of warm broth at a time to the rice, stir. Do not add more broth until the last addition is absorbed. Repeat this process by adding a 1/2 cup at a time for 20-30 min. until the rice is firm but not crunchy. Add remaining melted butter and olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir gently. Stir in Parmesan. Let risotto rest on plate or bowl for a minute-- loosen with a fork to release the steam... then the rest is up to you. Buon Appetito!!

4 servings.

Working at the Happy Factory

Working at the Happy Factory
Originally uploaded by utahgha

The Happy Factory!! Surely, one of the best ideas I have heard in a long-long time. An extraordinary organization! Wood scraps are turned into glorious wooden toys for children in need. Cars, trucks and all things that zooooommm!
Their motto: "We may not be able to make a toy for every child in the world who needs one, but we're going to try!"

Stealing Santa Fe...

Santa Fe sunset
Originally uploaded by Brawn

A multi-layered five day journey... is done-- as told by this southwest sunset. (Fine artists and photographers galore try to convey the depth and breath of such a setting sun, and they do come as close as humanly possible... yet, it's one of those-- "you have to see it to believe it...")

We're home from the fiery southwest USA. Santa Fe- where dining, architecture, fine arts, world class shopping... and rabbit brush combined to conjure up a dream trip for four women (from three generations.)

Dinners at Tulip and Pasqual were the evening highlights (aside from that sinking sun.)

Pasquals: A plate of gourment french fries, spinach feta soup, warm brie, maytag bleu on romaine, wild king salmon with a rustic avocado sauce, heirloom tomatoes with pesto, pinon ice cream with caramel.
Note: Paquals delivers a coffee drink to the table that resembles the rich sandstone-brown layers of a southwest sunset just past dusk.)

Tulip: Chile corn bread, spinach salad with Colorado peaches, tuna with sobe noodles and smoked mushrooms, tiramasu with lemon ginger marscapone.

A must eat: dark chocolate bon bon with caramel and red Hawaiian sea salt on top- available at Todos Santos Chocolatier.

Our vote for Best Bakery? Sage Bakehouse-- hands down... actually our hands were up begging for more!

We return to Colorado with art... and earrings.

As the "leaving New Mexico" signs says....hasta la vista!

Sunflowers... gotta love 'em!!

Sunflower Field - Western Kansas
Originally uploaded by macleong

During the months of August, Sept, and Oct., I fill Italian crocks with thick stalks of sunflowers. They like it best on the long farm style dining table-- never a lonely place with all the kids passing through.

I raise my glass to these extraordinary blooms!!

Cheers!