Back home from a whirlwind tour of Eastern Iowa! I flew out solo on Friday morning and got back this afternoon. I think Drew grew a couple inches while I was away, and he added about fifty more words to his vocabulary. Elizabeth, of course, just got prettier and sweeter. Can I just say how much I hate traveling without my two best buds?

I went back for my grandmother's funeral, and over and over I was reminded of what a full life she had. She took a memoir-writing class a decade ago, and on the flight back I re-read it, amazed at all the changes she saw in her ninety-one years -- electricity, running water, wars, changing technology in farming, and a new life in Arizona after farming for 35 years. She played the organ at her church for years, she raised her kids and was a great grandmother and great-grandmother (Drew got to meet her last year, luckily), and she loved watching college basketball. She even did some modeling for a store she worked at in her retirement community!

So while it was a sad occasion, it was also a celebration of her life and all she'd accomplished.

And we'll be back in Iowa, all three of us this time, in two weeks for another celebration, as my little sis gets hitched!

On the flight back and during my layover in Minneapolis, I read SarahP's wonderful wonderful novel The Magic Thief, the manuscript version. I loved it. She's inspiring me to get off my butt and finish revising my baseball novel so I can start my own fantasy novel... Later!