Things I Don’t Want to Forget about Tess going to Kindergarten
This morning, I sent my baby off to kindergarten. She is very different from her older sister, Emma, who has been extremely independent from day one. Tess is a little more attached to me. Maybe it’s because she is the youngest. These past few days in preparing to go to school, she has said and done some things that I never want to forget. Here they are: 1. She has ended every conversation about school with “I am going to miss you, Mommy.” 2. She drew a picture of me on her...
Read MoreVirginia Living Magazine
Virginia Living is the kind of magazine you can’t resist when you see it on doctor’s office table or on the new stand. Over-sized and glossy, it’s one of the best looking magazines I’ve ever seen. Studying magazines, as freelancers must do, it is clear that many beautiful magazines are more ad and art-driven, rather than content driven. That’s not the case with Virginia Living. It’s a good blend of editorial and design, which is a fine balance for any magazine to achieve. So, I...
Read MoreSibling Rivalry, Sibling Love
One of the things that I worried about when I was expecting my second child was that she and Emma would have a relationship like my sister and me. We have never been close, but at least we talk and I think there is hope for a better relationship. My father and his one remaining brother, however, haven’t spoken for over 20 years. Nobody really knows why and I wonder if they remember anymore what has been keeping them apart. We all know that they stopped talking around the time another brother...
Read MoreUpdated Schedule for Mrs. Rowe’s Cookbook Tour
Sept. 27—Book Roll-out party/special at Mrs. Rowe’s Restaurant and Bakery, Staunton, Va. Sept 30/Oct. 1—The Fortune-Williams Music Festival, Frontier Culture Museum, Staunton, Va. Oct. 7—New Dominion Bookstore, 11:00, Charlottesville, Va. Oct. 14—2 events 9-12 Book’em Literary Foundation, Waynesboro High School, Waynesboro, Va. 1-3 The Bookstack, Staunton Va. Oct. 21-22—Fort Lewis Lodge (private) Nov. 3—Wade’s Mill Luncheon/cooking demo/booksigning Nov. 11—Barnes...
Read MoreGood News, Bad News?
Today has been one of those emotional roller coaster days. Someone left a message at Mrs. Rowe’s Family Restaurant that they were trying to sell the cookbook on QVC. He left his name and number, but the number was thrown away by mistake, so by the time Mike got the message it just listed the name and QVC. (The restaurant is usually so busy that it really is a wonder that he gets any messages at all.) First of all, QVC ????????? How FANTASTIC would that be? Ten Speed’s cracker-jack sales...
Read MoreSo, you Wanna be a Writer?
I am always amazed by people who say they want to write. Sometimes folks really have some idealized notions of what writers do. When I lived in Washington, D.C., every other person I met said they were a writer. It seems like everyone at least THINKS they can write. It’s almost as if some people have no appreciation of the time and effort it takes to write. It’s as if they think perfect language and stories spill forth from our fingers effortlessly, and that publishers are lining...
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