Phew! I’ve been busy, but I wanted to say that I’ve survived my first “packet.” What is a packet, you might ask? Well, as part of the VC MFA requirements, during the semester, under the guidance of an advisor, students complete a certain amount of required work each month and turn it into his/her advisor for review/feedback. This monthly submission of work is referred to as a “packet” (because it’s all submitted to the advisor at once).

For the Picture Book Semester (what I’m enrolled in this semester), once a month I turn in an annotated bibliography (min. of 25 books), a critical essay, 2-4 manuscripts (at least one has to be new, others can be revised mss), and a letter to my advisor discussing my progress. Amazingly, my advisor gives me thorough feedback within a day or two. Then it’s time to begin the whole process again…

I’m so proud to announce that my website has recently undergone a major face lift. Pleeease come on over for a visit!

Illustrator and website designer Kathryn Hunley deserves the credit. Didn’t she do a fabulous job??? I couldn’t be happier with it!

What? You mean we were there to learn something? 😉

Here are some of the picture book lovin’ crowd.

Now that you’ve seen the landscape of VCFA, here are a few of it’s residents…

“First semesters” at the Mexican restaurant in Montpelier (Meg, Anna, Me, Hannah, Katherine).

Escaping to the great outdoors for dinner.

“First semesters” big night out to Barre, to see Harry Potter.

Dinner at Positive Pie (thats’ Sue and Anna).

Helen, Katherine, Me, Caroline at Positive Pie.

I’m doing this a little backwards by posting pictures after the rez, but dang it, I couldn’t figure out how to download them from my camera (new camera) to the laptop. Oh well! Here they are, by the batch.

Dewey Hall, the VCFA “Hilton” and home to fine dining. That’s me and my son in front.

My dorm room. Only hit my head on the block wall twice the first night. :-\

Other side of my room.

Majestic College Hall, home to sore knees (they put the admin offices on the fourth floor).

The brand new VCFA bookstore. It has everything from aspirin to clothing to a wide assortment of books.

The 2009 summer residency is officially over, yet I’m still here. Why? Well, with flights such as they are, I thought it would be much more enjoyable to hang out here, rather than an airport. Sooo, I don’t leave for the aiport until later this morning. I really wish I COULD leave sooner, but it just didn’t work out.

This morning I was so excited that I woke up at 5:00. Couldn’t get back to sleep, so I finally crawled out of bed at 6:00. Praddled around a bit and had my leftover coffee drink from yesterday. Then I walked my “dorm box” of “stuff” that I’d mailed to myself here, back over to the VC mailroom to ship it back to myself at home.

I ran down to the cafeteria for some juice. Couldn’t stomach eating anything. Couldn’t bear to go into the dining room. Just the smell made me want to leave. It’s not that the food here is always bad, it’s just that it’s bad often enough to cause one to tire of it quickly. And really, even if it were delicious, how often can one eat off a plastic tray and stand in a chow line without it becoming a bit old? I was reminded of the infamous scenes from M*A*S*H when Hawkeye and BJ would sniff the food followed by some hilariouis comment about the cuisine.

Anyway, I’m eager to get home, unpack, hug my family and get to work. My head is spinning with ideas so I want to get to it!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel of my first residency at VCFA. It’s been quite an experience thus far, with the rez definitely taking on a life of its own. It got quite intense there for a while, but then yesterday was the Good vs. Evil Symposium, where we had guest lecturers speak (Margo Lanagan, Deborah Noyes and Nancy Werlin) and some special activities. It also seems that in the past couple of days, there were a few more chances to grab some time to head into Montpelier for a meal, steal some library time or grab a catnap. Or blog.

On Friday, Kathi Appelt gave a lecture titled, Blurred Lines. I wish the world could hear this lecture. It was so moving. Like a piece of well-crafted writing, her talk pulled me in, made me laugh, touched my heart and mind, and all tied together beautifully in the end. If you ever have a chance to hear this lecture, GO. You won’t regret it.

Let’s see, what else? I’ve turned in my study plan, which is basically the work that my advisor and I agree that I will do for the upcoming semester. Write 12 picture books? No problem. (gulp). Critical essays? Sure! Love ’em to death. (gulp, gulp). Bibliographies? Heck, I read all the time anyway, why not add a few more titles to my regular reading regiment and annotate them while I’m at it. (gulp, gulp, gulp). When I was a kid, I loved the Matterhorn roller coaster ride at Disneyland. I’d wait in that far-stretching line, inching-inching, hearing the screams, knowing I was going to be terrified but yet I couldn’t help myself from trying. This feels the way. Yeah. It’s a little like that.

Two days and counting until I get to climb onto the bobsled…