Free Flowing Friday

Oh my, how did it get to be one week before Halloween? Time is flying away faster than a witch on her broom!

1.) I think the most exciting thing to happen to me this week is the freelance writing gig I picked up from KENTUCKY MONTHLY magazine! Last week, as a spur of the moment thing, I sent them a query letter about a possible Christmas article. This was in response to a prompt they posted on Facebook: "What do you do when you are faced with last minute gift giving?" Since I do so many homemade gifts for the holiday season, I thought maybe my ideas would come in handy for other people. Now I'm on a 2-week deadline to send them a 500-700 word article with recipes and instructions. I'm over the moon about doing this!

2.) Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of my hubby's 21st birthday - Happy Birthday, Baby! After homemade cards and poems, we went to Wah Mai for a celebration meal. As usual, I ate waaaaaay too much. Christine baked him a 2-layer cake yesterday and decorated it (with minimal help from me), but we were too full to eat any last night. Something yummy to look forward to tonight!

3.) Started carving some "Funkins" yesterday - Funkins are artificial pumpkins you can carve like real ones. After years of doing my elaborate carvings on real pumpkins, it is fun to be able to preserve my designs on pumpkins and I keep year after year. I am scheduled to do the first of my 2 pumpkin carving classes on Monday night - thanks Tanya! - and the 2nd class will be the following morning. I've been busy finding and copying some beginning patterns so everyone will have at least one nicely carved pumpkin to take home with them. With the exception of the demonstrations I've given at my children's schools, this will be the first time I've every tried to teach pumpkin carving. Wish me luck!

4.) I want to send out a BIG Thank You to Candlewick Press - you guys are awesome! After finishing my book review on Silas House's new book, ELI THE GOOD (published by Candlewick), I sent the publisher a link to my review. On their website they have an online catalog of new books coming out. I was surprised at the number of books they have for young adults and there were many I was interested in. I sent a request for the books I would love to read and review, and they responded the next day with an email that they would send me the books. This week I was greeted to a HUGE box of books on my doorstep - I was like a kid on Christmas morning! The first book I've reviewed - and I'm not finished reading it yet - is DRAKE'S COMPREHENSIVE COMPENDIUM OF DRAGONOLOGY by Dr. Ernest Drake. This is the perfect book for any child or teen who has a love of dragons. Check out my review at Bobbi's Book Nook and look for many reviews coming up for the holiday season.



5.) I think my favorite book of the week has been THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE by Katherine Howe. This is a debut novel that jumps between 1991 and the Salem witch "panic" of the late 1600s. Howe is a graduate student of American Colonial history and is actually the descendant of 2 women involved in the Salem witch trials - one lived, one was killed. If you are interested in the subject of Salem and the witch trials, this is a fast paced, fairly accurate look of a fictionalized story of this time. You can read my review at Bobbi's Book Nook.

6.) Tomorrow is the first annual Fall Arts Festival for the Arts Council of Mercer County - if you're in Harrodsburg tomorrow, come and visit us on Greenville Street from 10 - 6pm. There will be many activities all day long and artisans from the county will be set up selling their crafts. It should be a great day. Check out our event announcement on Facebook.

7.) I finished up an article on "The Fashion Industry in Harrodsburg" this week for the Habitat for Humanity-Mercer County events coming up next week. On Friday, October 30 they will be presenting a Fashion Symposium for area students with world-renown guest speaker, Alexander Julian. After the symposium, there will be a Project Runway for the students to show off the creations they have made for the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Later that evening, The Best Seat in the House silent auction and dinner will be held at the Anderson Circle "Cow Palace.". This will be the biggest fund raising event of the year for Habitat.

8.) Tonight is the 2nd of our twice-monthly meetings of the Community of Mercer County Writers - Nomadic Ink. We will be meeting at 657 Fairview Court at 6:30. Tony has some great writing prompts planned and he has loads to tell us after attending the Kentucky Poetry Society's annual conference this past weekend. It should be fun!