Author Archives: cherie colburn
Outside my window
Hi. Yes, I know I’ve been ignoring you. Have you missed me? Just as I thought. Can’t believe we are already in mid-June either, huh?
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- Colorful accents brighten up the place as Gus the Wonder Cat makes sure I do it right. Like the stone with our name? My brother-in-law Scott made that!
Projects around the house have me busy these days. As it gets hotter and I get older, I spend more time inside writing instead of outside planting, making it easier on the plants and on me! Easy seems to be a recurring theme with me lately and in that vein, thought I’d show you some SIMPLE and EASY ways to get instant gratification in your landscape.
How about you? Created any colorful projects at your house lately? I’d love to see them. Promise I won’t ignore you.
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- The fountain in our courtyard, before…
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- …and after Mexican tiles are added.
Want the Easter bunny to bring a book?
redbud in bloom
Today I’m enjoying a beautiful spring day: sunny, cool, low humidity. These are the types of days when I’m especially thankful to be a Texan! Redbuds and fringe tree are in their glory right now. I hate to gloat because so many of my friends are in misery with Old Man Winter breathing down their necks. In celebration of this spring and especially the EASTER season,
Gus, the Wonder Cat, peaking out to see if it’s time to draw a name from the box yet.
I’ll be getting a book in the mail to you tomorrow, if you want one. That is, if Gus the Wonder Cat wants YOU to win one. (He’s open to bribery, if you happen to have any fish flavored treats on you…..)Head over to my author FaceBook page to get in on the fun.
Baby E’s upcoming baptism has me wanting to diss work and head out to Abilene ASAP, however I’m speaking to the Houston SCBWI next Monday (come and join us for the FREE event!). I’ll speaking to the group about my summer spent at The Publishing Institute at University of Denver. It’s a difficult task to write or illustrate a children’s book and almost as hard guessing what those “books” might look like in the next couple of years. I’ve been trying to get a handle on the direction of publishing, looking at which format my readers might be meeting me with in an every-changing techno-world. That’s one of the reasons I went to grad school last summer. I’ll have out my crystal ball for the Houston writers and illustrators at their regular meeting, hoping my literary prognostications are more accurate than our weather forecasters lately. I realize in looking over my notes and photos just how much I’ve missed my friends and instructors in Denver – especially roomies Emily and Jen.
A room mate sandwich with me in the middle. Miss you, Jen and Em-dash!
The other reason I went to Denver turned out to be a lie…Colorado in summer promised a respite from hot, humid Houston last summer, but promptly reneged on the deal. After a FREEZING 1st week of spring, I’m betting Colorado’s wishing she were a Texan right now, too!
Actively waiting….
On Sunday, the pastor at my daughter’s church – Aldersgate UMC in Abilene – spoke of actively waiting. Actually, the term Steve used was “wait and prepare” and he took it from Luke 2 when old Simeon decided not to die until he’d seen the promised Messiah. He didn’t sit in his Lazy-boy twiddling his thumbs, though. Instead, he went to the temple. Now we know Simeon was IN Jerusalem and he was a Jew, so it wasn’t a long-haul trip or out of the ordinary for him to go to the temple. He just did his regular thing while waiting. The pay-off was huge; Simeon got to hold our Lord in his arms!
The last week and a half, that’s where I’ve found myself: waiting. I’m not alone though. A whole team of us are huddled around my daughter and son-in-love, looking forward to the birth of their son, my first grandchild. He’s the first on many fronts, actually. First grand on both sides and first great-grand. And so that I don’t drive my daughter and her husband completely nuts, we’ve worked on several projects inside and outside their home. (I gave the how-to on a nearly-free exterior coffee table we made on GardenDishes this week.) Lots of good food, a few movies, and some Christmas shopping (I’m crazy about the local olive oil heaven, Cordell’s, because their oils are a FODMAP FRIENDLY salve for my garlic and onion cravings).
Hey, want to see a few things we’ve done as we actively wait?
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- The finished crate coffee table (how-to on GardenDishes).
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- A changing pad for the baby’s dresser.
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- A rubber boot and some spray paint….
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- ….morph into a cute Christmas “stocking” for the baby. (Edie wants to know where HER stocking is!)
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- An old stool my Granny Foster made for my daughter…
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- …is taken apart..
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- …patterns are made…
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- …and it’s reassembled for the baby!
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- Fresh basil, pine nuts, a little hard cheese and garlic infused olive oil instead of cloves becomes….
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- FODMAP FRIENDLY pesto with gluten-free pasta!
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- A store-bought gluten-free focaccia mix with rosemary and grated cheese…..
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- ends up a yummy FODMAP FRIENDLY bread!
NEED A RECIPE? JUST ASK!
I hate to wait, but doing it actively has given me purpose for being here and – hopefully – made my stay more bearable for my daughter and her husband. And I know the pay-off will be huge!
May your advent season be filled with the joy of the Lord. c:
cherie foster colburn 