GLOBAL WARMING?

Yesterday, and especially last night, we had unbelievable winds--almost 70 miles an hour. We lost a huge limb out back and we have garbage all over the yard from all the garbage cans that tipped over in the night. (Today was garbage day and everyone's garbage can was in the street.)

I went to the Mock Caldecot party last night with a friend. We looked at over 30 picture books and tried to pick the winner--none of us had watched the news on Monday morning when the Coldecot winner was announced. On the way to the party we nearly got blown to the wrong house and on the way home--one measly block--we got a ride because the wind was worse!

Then today this is what we have.

Global warming? Not in Utah.

This is the Coldecot winner: THE LION AND THE MOUSE by Jerry Pinkney. No words at all, not even on the front cover! Just some "squeaks" and maybe a "roar," but I'm not sure about the roar. We had exactly one minute to look at each book and you simply can't get everything looked at or read in 60 seconds.

Jerry has been up for the Coldecot many times but never won before. He went to an art director for advice and was told, "You are afraid of white space." (He filled every inch of the page with something, even if it were only grass.) So, for THE LION AND THE MOUSE he left lots of white space and this year he won. His illustrations are amazing.

By the way, Amazon has amazing prices on the winner and two runners up. The winner is eight bucks instead of seventeen. ALL THE WORLD is $10.52 and RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS is $9.35, (They are not called runners up but I can't think of what they are called.) I guessed two of the three right, my other choice was Tsunami. And my fourth favorite was THE CURIOUS GARDEN.

This is Jerry's studio. Amazing. His web site here.

PS If you are reading this, basking in the sun, do. not. tell. me. I'm not bitter or anything.

THE WITCHES OF THE PAST AND OF THE FUTURE

When I was a kid I often was not able to go to sleep because the wind howled around the eves or the house and I thought it was a witch, trying to get in. When the heat vent cooled off it buckled and made "someone is creeping up the stairs" noises. I, of course, thought it was the witch. I would have gotten out of bed and run like blazes downstairs to Mom but I knew a witch was hiding under my bed and she'd grab my ankles. It was always a witch.

Now it's fear of the future. Fear for our children. Fear of this and fear of that. Are the fears just like the witch? Just as unrealistic? If we could look back at ourselves from fifteen years in the future would we say, "Hey, we sure were scared of something unrealistic"? We might.

So, I'm going to bed to sleep a night without fears. I hope you will too. It will all work out. There might be some scary times, sad times, alone times, but we'll all get through it and stand on the other side, victorious. The witches of the world are in our head. Let's not let our imaginations run away with us. And let's have faith.

And remind me to read this post when I forget.

YOU'VE MADE ME A LIAR FOR FIVE CENTS

Yesterday I was sitting on the lawn swings, talking with a neighbor. Her kids came home from school and stopped to chat. We started talking about the weather and I mentioned, "It isn't windy here." I have to mention that right at that moment there was a breeze blowing.

The teenage girl looked at me as if I had nothing in my head by dust mites. She said that the wind was blowing--RIGHT THAT VERY MINUTE. She didn't shout but I felt shouting in my ears.

I knew the wind was blowing--I thought she knew that it was a relative statement. I explained it to her. We are against the mountains and the winds, coming out of the many canyons, miss us. Occasionally we get wind but not like the rest of the valley does.

So, there I sat, feeling like a liar. I was defending my statement DURING a breeze. No wonder the teenager called me on it.

Then I remembered a time when I was a kid. I was shopping with Mom. She was telling someone about a bargain. There wasn't much that gave Mom more pleasure than a good bargain. I interrupted her to tell her she had made a mistake. I was SURE she would be delighted to have the correct information.

She was not delighted. She was embarrassed in front of her friends. "You've made me a liar for five cents," she said.

I was confused. Just like my neighbor's teenage daughter was confused. The wind was blowing and I said it didn't. My mom got a bargain but she paid five cents more than she said she did.

And now, I understand one more incident that happened all those years ago with my Mom.

Instead of trying to defend myself I wish I had said, "You're right. Of course the wind blows here. It's blowing right now." We could have laughed.

And I wish Mom had said, "Oh, you're right. I did pay five cents more. I forgot." I wish she would have laughed.

Then I wouldn't have felt guilty all these years.

WE LIVE IN A SHELTERED SPOT ON MOTHER EARTH--AT LEAST FOR NOW

Today Gilmore Girl and Tuesday came from Outer Mongolia to shop, go to lunch, and play. Gilmore Girl cut my hair before we left so when we went shopping I wouldn't have to wear a bag over my head. As it turned out I should have worn a bag anyway.

Years and years ago, when we bought our house, when dirt was new and dinosaurs still roamed the earth, we had no idea we were moving into a sheltered spot. We live close to the mountains, probably exactly on the Wasatch fault. So, one day we will not be sheltered but teetering on the edge, peering into the abyss. But, because we live close to the mountain the fierce winds that come out of the mouth of the canyon don't come our way. It's been a blessing in our lives, it truly has. I grew up in a windy town, slept in a room that had eves that invited wind to howl around them and I really dislike the wind.

After the hair cut and style we went to Target, roughly five miles away. Before leaving the house the sky was sunny, the air was cold and the weather was as still as a ten year old playing hide and seek in the best spot ever. When we got to Target the sky was sunny, the air was cold and the weather was as if the ten-year old's hiding place was on top of a red-ant hill--a red-ant hill of nine million ticked-off ants. My hair went straight in the air and my breath was snatched from my lungs and hurled to Nevada. By the time we actually got into Target I looked like I had been to a dance with the Tasmanian Devil. It was not a pretty sight.

Because I am such a marvelous artist and because I am so accomplished in the "Paint" program--and this is my first time ever, too--I am so proud--I am going to show you exact replicas of how I looked as we pulled into the Target parking lot and after opening the car door and actually stepping outside.

Here is my before picture:

And here is my after picture:

As you can see, even my ears took a beating. Even my shoulders were sucked toward the sky.

That's how it is where we live. We rarely have any wind but a few miles away the wind is as if the God of the Vacuums has his best machine turned on, either on the "suck" setting or the "spew" one. It matereth not. The effect is the same, horrifying hair--except for the "spew" setting when you get horrifying hair that is full of bits of things that you'd rather not know about.

And so, as we close today's blog, I will leave you with a picture of what might be coming next, because I know you are maybe hungry for more real life pictures and because I don't want you to feel bad in case you live in a hurricane zone, a tornado zone, a tsunami zone or any other zone that scares the living daylights out of me.

Here is the zone I may be living in sometimes soon.