I have been putting out fires since finishing the illustrations for Smoky and the Feast of Mabon. I uploaded all the files to the publisher and they only had a few minor changes. I received color proofs last Monday and they looked great! The books are in production now according to the publisher and I expect to see my F&Gs in early April. (An F&G is the picture book equivalent of an ARC for a novel.) Somehow, when I get the F&G the book finally feels “real” to me. I can’t wait.

One of the things I finally got around to was the last touches on the kitchen/dining room renovations. See the photos here. Chuck still has to help me get the last piece of furniture up from the basement, but I decided to take the pictures this afternoon after hanging the curtain rods and curtains in the dining room.

I am so pleased with the huge change. The rooms do not look as if they are even the same house as before. And it’s all so clean! It feels so much bigger, too.

Next home renovation project — the bathroom. SO not looking forward to that. There needs to be major plumbing replacement, so most of the budget will be spent on stuff that no one sees.

We went to my grand daughter’s piano recital last night. She is very sweet and really enjoys the musical instrument. She’ll play when ever she can. Sadly, some of the other students didn’t seem to have the same ideal. The stops and starts through out the performances were painful to observe. It was nice to spend an uninterrupted hour and a half sitting next to my hubby and the grandson and daughter.

Mudding and taping on the drywall began yesterday. The floor guy will come in when that is done. It looks like I get to paint primer on all the drywall next weekend after the mud is dry and sanded and before the floor guy comes. Then over the New Year’s weekend I can put the color on the walls. Since it will be a three day weekend, I am considering getting some stencils and jazzing up the walls in the dining room with something fancy. We’ll see how ambitious I am feeling after the floor guy does his bit. Also, how far along I am on the final pencils for my newest picture book.

The full size pencil stage always takes the longest to finish, the little changes and back and forth for approval can eat up days. I got approval on the final image thumbnail for the cover. I can’t wait till I get to lay in color. That is always the most fun part for me.

My husband has proclaimed eating out has gotten old. I am attempting to make meatballs for spaghetti in the crock pot! So far it smells good. I plan to “boil” the noodles in the microwave. Wish me luck. I have a feeling I am going to really need it to pull off a home-cooked meal without a stove! LOL

There comes a time when I wonder if anybody is actually reading this blog. It’s so hard to tell when so few leave comments. I am busting my butt to get interviews with accomplished illustrators. The spend their time answering the questions and supplying me with their art for the blog, I spend my time making it all come together. And then I send it off into cyberspace hoping people read it. Did they like it? Did they find it informative and enjoyable? Is there any point to me nagging other busy artists to answer questions and share art? I am sure I am not the only blogger who has these misgivings. I just wish there was a better way of knowing if I am having any impact aside from the occasional comment.

Getting a comment is like a getting a new shiny wrapped gift. I don’t know what is inside, but I cannot wait to find out. Most of the time I am thrilled with what’s inside the little comment wrapper of my email. I guess I am like many other creatives, or any blogger for that matter. A comment on one of my posts telling me I am making a difference in some one’s life makes my day. A lot. In a big way.

So if you enjoy the daily doodles, the advice on illustration and the artist interviews, please tell me! I do my best to answer the comments and if the comment maker has a blog, I visit and return the favor by commenting there. Sometimes I find places I want to visit again and again. Like I hope their writers are doing with my blog.

I am really missing my kitchen right now. So the doodle for today was cookies. They will be the only ones I will be making this season. Until I have a kitchen again, there will be no cookies for me.

Work on the kitchen is proceeding. Today the last of the drywall was hung. Tomorrow the men will lay on the first layer of mud and tape. Monday they will do the second layer and Tuesday the floor expert will come in to sand and patch the hardwood floor which is in surprisingly good condition considering the history of the house and all the layers of other floor it was buried beneath. After the dust has settled, I get to paint. Looks like that is what I will be doing the holiday weekend. At least the paint is green. In keeping with the spirit of the season. Not tree green, more a pale muted dusty green, but green none-the-less. I was going to take pictures of naked drywall, but I need to buy new batteries for my camera and I will have to wait until after the holiday madness subsides. I went grocery shopping in the middle of the day today and had to circle the parking lot several times before I could even find a space for the car. I’m digging in and hiding out for the duration!

It’s been a hectic few days. Spent most of yesterday driving to and fro. I did what needed to be done, but with so much time spent in the car, I don’t feel as if I accomplished much of anything.

I don’t have a cold. Seems I managed to burn my throat somehow and the ear-ache is a result of the tender nerves in my hurt throat. I just have to wait until it clears up.

The guys are back to pounding in the kitchen again today. Listening to some of the comments they make when they find odd bits in the walls is keeping me amused.

So far we have the prescription medication pills bottle from 1962, a wooden toy soldier circa late 50s?, a bill of lading for a coffin dated 1951 and a half of a play money dollar for “200 Hunky Dory” bucks. Today the conversation is about the railroad spikes used to connect the studs to the support beam they are replacing.

I am doing my best to ignore the hammering and drilling and move forward with the art for my upcoming picture book deadline. I had no idea how much the noise from the other side of the house would distract me. I can’t wait to have my kitchen back up and running and quiet in my studio during working hours again!

I think I now have to run out and get a small space heater. I cannot for the life of me find where I stashed my old one last spring and my fingers are too cold to draw delicate facial features! Maybe this winter will be the one we finally get around to insulating the studio floor!

Three days into the kitchen/dining room renovations. Photos here.

There were 4 guys in those two little rooms yesterday. Two carpenters and two electricians. Most of the demolition has been completed. Some of the electrical has been roughed in. All new wiring (thank gods!) and all up to code with grounded outlets and safeness and all.

I had to vacuum the rest of the house twice because the insulation is the fluffy blown in type and no matter how careful the guys were (and they were) the stuff clings to everything and gets everywhere.

I gave in to my cold yesterday and spent the day snoozing on the couch. Today I am going to see the doctor because this isn’t the typical snuffly nose cold and I want to make sure something else isn’t going on.

Ta for now!