Vague hiatus...

Heading bewildered into an unknown land... wandering into a dark forest...


Now that I'm home and have showered off the sticky, necessary and questionable (albeit fun) dirt of book-tour publicity... I have a slew of projects for summer.


In (nearly) descending order of importance:


Mose and all things Mose-related
Visit Grandma
Novel revisions (Scratchy Mountains)
New book of poems in order (Truth & Other)
Send things to agents
Construct a bannister for the stairs
Rip out ugly-ass carpeting
Paint floors upstairs
Paint bedroom walls
Yard (basic care of)
Find a coffee table devoid of sharp corners
Paint front door a non-purple hue
Install ceiling fan
Edge borders in yard with stone


I'm certain there are other projects, but this is plenty to begin with. And getting it all done is going to be a feat. Today I managed to attend to Mose, send out some poems, floss my teeth, make dinner, clean a little, and plant some basil. At that pace, I'll never get it all done.


But I am lucky as hell, because the things I will be doing all summer are the things I want to do, will enjoy doing. The things that (until recently) I used to fit in around other things I hated doing. I may not be able to afford a vacation or anything, but I like my life and the tasks that make up my life... so it's good!


However, in a huge effort to get my interweb-addicted self refocused, writing, and living in the house as I'd like it, I am hereby imposing a ban on wireless. My dark hall. My lost-in-the-woods. My lonely voyage into the land of solitude. My hole.


Starting July 1, I will check email and blog for one half hour a day, during Mose's morning nap, from the desktop in Chris' office. My laptop will be internet-disabled.


So there we are. Less blogging, and more physical labor and writing. I'll still be here, just less often.


It's a good thing... and if I get my work done, I'll be back and addicted again on Sept 1. Meanwhile, you can come and visit me. Kay? I'll make gazpacho or hotdogs or something. We'll chat!


(In closing, check out the amazing art of Jaime Zollars above. She will soon be a very important person in my life. A partner in crime! Zollars and Snyder. Snyder and Zollars! Coming to a children's bookstore near you in 2007!)


xo