Some California Flora ...

A Dinner Date for Dilly

I'm so happy to be able to share with you the cover for A Dinner Date For Dilly! This will be the third book in the Dilly Series. This picture book is all about one of my favorite things -- FOOD! Dilly sets up a grand feast for his new friend, Daisy, and he wants everything to be just perfect.

Ginger Nielson has done a wonderful job with the cover art. I can't wait to see more of the illustrations from the actual book. It is set to be released by 4RV Publishing around the end of November.

Two Monsters & A Winner!

The boys had a fun time trick-or-treating last night. As usual, we took them to the little village area of Bigfork where we live. All the local shops pass out candy to the kids. It's mostly gift shops, cafes, art galleries, and things like that. They do it from 4-6pm, but we always try to be there right at 4pm. By 5pm, it gets really crowded and a lot of the stores start running out of candy. It's nice for us because we're usually home early and get to spend the rest of the night eating pizza and watch Halloween cartoons as a family. Neil dressed up as a werewolf (above) and Nathan was the Scarecrow Ghost Face (below). Pretty creepy!

I also have a winner for the Wiggly Drawing that I blogged about last night. I know I said I'd pick a winner on Monday, but ... well, what can I say? I'm a slug. I've got a bunch of things going on right now and today is the first time I've gotten back to my blog. Anyway, the winner is ...

TINA AUTH!

I realize her reply doesn't show up in my comments section. I know she replied though because I have it in my email. Must have been some Blogger glitch that day or something. Anyway, if you could send me a mailing address, Tina, I'll get the books out to you as soon as I can. Congratulations!

ETA: Thanks to my oldest daughter, Nichelle, who came up with the idea for the boys to pose for pictures by this field we parked in. She's got such an incredible eye for photography! :)

Wiggly Giveaway!

As most of you know, my boys were really big Wiggles fans when they were little. They've grown out of them, but in all honesty, they're both still really fond of the guys in the group. We've been fortunate enough to meet all of The Wiggles at various times, so they'll always be a part of our lives.

Anyway, I have two extra copies of these books -- Wiggly Numbers and Wiggly Colours. I thought it would be fun to offer them through a drawing. All you have to do is leave a comment here on my blog and answer a few simple questions:

1. What is your favorite number, and why is it your favorite?

2. What is your favorite color, and why is it your favorite?

I'll put all the names in a hat and draw a winner in one week. So, check back on October 29th to see who the winner is. Good luck and thanks for playing along!

Nativities and minis ...

I had to go to the dentist today, which is an hour away in the city of Whitefish. On my way home, I stopped at a few thrift stores. One was new by the Humane Society. I found the Nativity pictured above for two dollars. It has a few dings in the finish, but I think I can touch those up. I collect Nativity scenes and am getting really partial to the one piece sets. Sorry the picture is blurry, but you get the idea.

I also found this plaid skirt pictured above. I'm really into plaid right now, as some of you know. This skirt is cool because it has bike shorts attached inside. So, I guess it's a skort, although it looks like a skirt in the back as well. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I've been doing a "______ a day" theme. I started with coffee mugs. Then I went to jammie pants. Then I did Little Golden Books. Now I'm doing "Plaid of the Day" and posting a picture of something related. So, if you're interested in plaid, check it out.

I got the skirt home and tried it on. I figured it would fit, but I didn't bother trying it on at the store. As it turned out, I liked it a lot more once I got it on. I'm kicking myself for not buying a pair of capris in the same fabric. They were by the same company, so I'm figuring whoever donated them to the Salvation Army probably gave both up at the same time. I'd like to go back for the pants, but am not sure when I'll be up in town again. I don't think I can talk Rick into stopping on his way home from work. He hates that place.

Just an update ...

We had an incredible sunset last night. This picture hardly justifies it. However, I know when Neil runs in saying, "Did you see the sunset? It's beautiful!" then it has to be pretty darn spectacular. It was, although I didn't put much effort in photographing it well. Today is cloudy and the forecast said it might rain, but we have yet to see that. It's warmed up a bit from the past few days when it was dipping into the 20s at night. Now it's back to the 30s and 40s, which isn't bad. Those frosty mornings make it feel like autumn though.

I apologize to anyone reading who has a blog that I haven't visited in awhile. I have been really bad about blogging, but would like to get back into it. I've been busy with the start of the school year though, as well as trying to catch up on some school-related projects that are long overdue. Each year I make a yearbook for my kids and I'm behind on that right now. So any free time I've had -- that hasn't been wasted on social media sites -- has gone to working on the yearbook. I've also been in a bit of a slump and haven't felt like doing much of anything these past few days. So anyway ... I hope all is well with you!

Good Morning, Moon!

I got up this morning to get a cup of coffee and on my way back to my room, I noticed the moon shining brightly in the front yard. I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures. This was probably the best one, which isn't all that great. It was taken on an auto-setting, through a dirty window. Regardless, it was pitch-black outside and it was seven o'clock in the morning. Hello, darkness! Fall is definitely here.