Sylvia's Journal

We drove to New Hampshire yesterday to attend a lecture by Larry Daley, the writer and illustrator of the children’s picture book ‘Float,‘ at the Kimball Jenkins Art School in Concord. Tessa lives near the school and has taken classes there which is how she learned about the lunch lecture. She hoped that I would get some ideas, and maybe help, in finding someone to illustrate the story I wrote many years ago and that has been languishing in my Google Drive (here). The lecture is part of a series of events called “Lunch and Learn,” intended to bring people to the beautiful old mansion that houses the school, just minutes away from Concord’s busy shopping street but cut off that lifeblood by a highway. I had received several communications by email and phone last week to remind me off the event I signed up for early November last year. It felt as if I was invited to an intimate family event. As it turned out, it was very intimate. We were the only people who had signed up for the lunch part and dined in the mansion dining room with the school’s energetic Director of Programming, Lindsay Wolf, amidst an exhibit of the works of the Art School’s faculty. She gave us a very personal introduction to the school, its mission and to herself. I suspect one or both of us might have been recruited to the Board if we’d lived closer and we would probably have said yes. It is such an inspiring place.
After the lunch part of ‘Lunch and Learn’ was over we walked over to the Carriage House where the Learn part was held.

We met the speaker who was dressed in a shirt that matched the theme of Float. The book is about a girl on a school trip to the aquarium who sees her lunchbox snatched away by a seagull. She impulsively and angrily dashes after the bird trying to retrieve the contents of her lunch box that scatter across various aquarium exhibits. Two other attendees joined us and Tessa who had declined the lunch part, as well as the entire staff of the school (3 people). It was probably the smallest audience the speaker had ever had, and for us again it was a most intimate setting. Larry was accompanied by various stuffed sea animals that serve as his props when he visits schools where he encourages kids to write and illustrate their stories and get rid of negative self talk of not being good enough. He started reading the book to us while on a large screen showed the pages he was reading. After that he talked about the joys, challenges and processes of creating a picture book.

Over the years people in the know of book illustration and publishing who I have talked with always told me to get an agent but never how you find one. That always was a show stopper, so it was refreshing to hear Larry’s thoughts about such advice. I was inspired to retrieve my story and he offered to help me review my draft of a Query Letter, something no one had ever mentioned to me. As soon as we were home I set to work finding the template for a Query Letter with help from Claude.ai and filling it in as best as I could. I sent Larry a draft of my Query Letter and the story. It may not go anywhere as this has happened before but maybe this time it will, or at worst, I may get some actionable advice.

It is the first time in ages that my Google calendar is empty (with the exception of the recovery of my knee, ankle and shoulder surgeries). I had cleared the decks for this week, not knowing in what shape I would be after the surgery. I am in great shape. The day I came back from the hospital I baked bread, wrote 25 postcards to voters in Wisconsin to show up on April 7, and finished my combo Norwegian resistance/pussy hat.

Yesterday I added two more wine bottles to Axel’s (visibly) mended jeans and started tackling the several inches thick pile of solicitation letters that swamp our mailbox every single day. They come from all sorts of organizations I support and have given money to. The problem with the fundraising system is that the more (often) you give, the more letters and phone calls and text messages you get. It is maddening how much money is spent on sending all these letters (and hiring the phone bankers) when most of the time they land in the paper recycling bin. I had to start a spreadsheet to keep track of when I gave what to whom. It is not how I want to spend my precious free time but I know that with the removal of federal funding, many organizations have to do more with less to keep helping those who are in a really bad way. In sharp contrast, I am in a very good way (except for those darn cancer cells) and can afford to provide support. The fundraisers know this.

Today, in preparation for the lumpectomy the day after tomorrow, I had a tiny magnet (a Magseed) implanted in the lump of cancerous cells inside my left breast. When it is time for the surgery, my surgical team will activate the magnet and find the lump of cancerous cells. The radiologist today said the lump is very small . This is why this Magseed is a good thing so that the surgeon does not have to root around looking for the cancerous cells and create more damage to the breast tissue that way. My doctor will be able to get straight to the target and scoop out the lump with the Magseed inside it. Good riddance!
There is more. On the day of the surgery I will be given a radioactive tracer which will also help the surgeon. I am told that these procedures, even though a bit of a pain in terms of time, discomfort, additional appointments and a drive, will make the surgery less problematic than it would have been some decades ago. So once again I count my blessings: I live close to the hospital, have a loving husband to drive me there and a friend who is a Reiki Master, insurance to pay for everything, experienced staff trained in all this technology and with the skills to conduct and assist in the surgery. And especially now, with all the conflict that is exploding in the world, I don’t need to worry about missing appointments or not able to get where I need to go, while having to wait out bombardments in a basement or bomb shelter.