After seeing this postcard poster on Oh Happy Day, I decided to make one of my own for Tyler and Ben’s new arrival, Oliver. STEP 1: I drew all the animals, using my Let’s Draw Cute Animals book as a guideline. STEP 2: I filled the line drawings in with colored pencil.
STEP 3: I cut the image into four postcards.
STEP 4: I then sent them every few days to Ben and Tyler in North Carolina. Such a fun project!
The summer issue of Tahoe Quarterly is on stands; it’s hard to miss with all those dogs—7 golden retrievers!—on the cover. Be sure to flip to page 26 first to read my profile on the Sherpettes, a backcountry porter service started by the lovely Jeni Lammerding. Helping women and families access the backcountry is their MO… such an inspired and fun way to work. I hope I can become a Sherpette one day!
I popped by the Basque Library at the University of Reno, Nevada, a few days ago to meet with my editor. So exciting to see two books I proofread, Knowledge Communities and The Basques, prominently displayed! The Basques is a classic 1955 text on the Basque Country and its people, and this version translated from the 1971 French edition is the first in English. Knowledge Communities, a bit more esoteric, is a collection of articles on knowledge communities, covering topics from art, science and climate change to free knowledge regarding software. Stop by the Basque Library to check them out or contact the Center for Basque Studies to order.
Last day in Perdido Key, Florida, then it’s back to California for work, Wanderlust, and my birthday. You sure are fun, July 2011.
My favorite quote from the latest Moonshine Ink edition (on stands today!): “I don’t hang out with any chickens, but my sister Olive acts like one.” –Flip Speckleman of Flip’s Friends (he’s a canine columnist, if you’re not a regular Moonshine reader)
And while you’re reading, be sure to check out my DiStill Life column on Detours: Tahoe City, an installation art exhibit coming to town in August and September. Just look for my face and the image above in the back of the paper!
UPDATE Or read it here: Art Less Traveled
Did you know that while I’m no longer acting web editor for Tahoe Mountain Sports I’m still managing the Tahoe Mountain Sports Blog? My most recent post is on Tahoe City bike paths (featuring the bold and beautiful Olive, the newest addition to my bike family). I’m always looking for other people with adventures and product reviews to contribute, so hit me up if you have something to share.
My most popular TMS posts for the current quarter are: Spot Connect Racks Up Awards, Contour vs Go Pro – Wired Weighs In, Black Diamond Z Pole Review, Car Camping List – our checklist of essential car camping gear, Nemo Tent Reviews, and How To Clean a Camelbak – from easy rinsing to disinfecting. Read up!
I just finished proofreading the English-translated memoir of former Basque Country lehendakari (president) Juan Jose Ibarretxe for UNR’s Center for Basque Studies. I’m not a fan of politics in general, but I’ve got to say I really enjoyed Ibarretxe’s style and candor in this book. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts.
In regards to the Basque Country/Spain relationship:
Two sentences sum it up. One was uttered by Rodríguez Zapatero, who said, “If we live together, we have to decide together,” a statement that reminds me of deeply misogynistic ideas, like “I killed her because she was mine.” The other was my reply: “We have to be able to decide to live together.” In all spheres, personal and political, in any relationship, it is the ability to make decisions that makes a relationship strong; true strength lies in freedom, in being able to decide.
In regards to the importance of culture, and learning from others:
Adopting the idea of Gandhi: “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.”
In regards to human rights, happiness, and standards of living:
Support for others is an extremely complicated concept; we can see the difficulties Barack Obama has had in making changes to the US healthcare system. But can we call a country in which fifty million people have no healthcare coverage developed, even if it is the world’s largest economy and even if it does have one of the highest standards of living in the world? I don’t think we can. It is better for a country to progress more gradually than to leave people lying by the wayside.
I urge you to look up more on Ibarretxe (some funny images on Google… some sites compare his looks to Spock), and to read his memoir when it’s released later this year. Will let you know when!
I’ve had the Instagram app for about a year on my iPhone, but the sign-up start screen always scared me away… I’m not too big on apps anyways. But then one day I signed in, and started using it, and using it, and using it… and now I can’t stop!! Here are some of my favorites so far. Follow me on Twitter or Instagram (lis_k) to see them all.
Some people in our lives are many things. To me, Laura Read has been an inspiration, a mentor, a friend, a fellow writer, and now a client. She’s enlisted me to be her first reader, on everything from magazine articles to drafts of her book, Persistent Fruit. Check out her story on Ireland’s Burren, which I copyediting before she pitched it, recently published by SIERRA magazine. It’s exciting to see anything you’ve worked on come to life on a page, and copyediting gives me that joy without all the hard work of actually getting it there. ha! Go Laura!
Good news… I’m currently writing ad copy for Smith + Jones’ Aramark Tahoe account. So, if you find yourself lured into taking a paddlewheeler cruise this summer, you can thank me and my persuasive copy. Since taking on this new gig, I’ve been totally enamored with ad copy. I think it’s such a cool way to write because your words are so very linked to design. What are your favorite ads out there today? Which ones do you hate?
(photo by loop_oh/flickr)
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