It is officially autumn now, on the calendar, although one would not know it around here. Although the breeze feels a LITTLE more like fall, it is still running in the 90's almost daily.  But routines have changed, so that makes a difference, too.  Another month or so, maybe it will start cooling down a little, and be less humid.

September has brought me the following:

1. The release of The Art of Grandparenting, in which I have one of the twenty essays on advice for new and not-so-new grandparents.

2. The release of Ryan's Victory, my companion early-reader of It's Time, about a non-verbal boy with autism who figures out that he can independently use his communication book to let family members know what he wants.

                  


3. I have started a new project...a 365-day challenge to take a photo a day that depicts a small snapshot of my life, so that at the end of the year, I will have a great record of all that has happened.  It sounds like a fun thing to do, and so far I have done a week.  I am posting on Flickr, Facebook, and at my http://judithmammay.blogspot.com if anyone is interested in following my progress. Or maybe some people would be interested in taking on the project themselves.


                                      


I saw these spoonbills on the golf course two or three weeks ago and knew I wanted to take photos of them, but never quite got to it until Tuesday, after I had started the project.  Conditions were perfect, so I got a great shot.  The funny thing is, the day after I took photos of them, they left the golf course. I like to think they were hanging around just so I could take their picture! <G>

4. I am lucky to be able to pick up my 7-year-old grandson  from school daily this year, since he attends a school five minutes away from my house.  It is fun listening to him tell about his day, and discussing all the things that are important to him.

5. We will be off on a three-week road trip to Colorado in the near future...am looking forward to that, also.

Hope everyone else is getting back into a good fall routine and enjoying the change in seasons.

backdrop created by the third graders at Odyssey School         



    
 Librarian Linda Baker, me, and parent/fellow writer June Brown



I had a great time visiting Odyssey Charter School in Palm Bay, FL today...did two presentations--one for grades 3 and 4, based on KNOWING JOSEPH, autism, and how to become a good writer, and one for grades K-2 based on IT'S TIME, also talking about writing as well as autism. There was only one little glitch, when the projector closed down because of a power surge, and I was told they probably would not be able to get it back up while I was talking. But then it fixed itself, so all's well that ends well.

The kids were great and had some wonderful questions. I was particularly impressed with the K-2 group, where the kids were sitting on the floor and were packed in to the media center like sardines in a can, but they were still attentive and asked good questions.  Most of them thanked me or otherwise complimented me as they filed out...one little girl told me that she liked that I was 'fashionably dressed.' That's really something for me, who is totally unfashionable in just about anything I wear. My thanks to Linda Baker, who coordinated the visit, and especially to June Brown, who set up the visit with the school!

When I got home, I was thinking I was done with the special projects for May, but then remembered that I have a 3000 word 'letter to new grandparents' to write for inclusion in an upcoming book, and  a six-hour class to prepare lessons for as an instructor at the Creative Writing Institute here in Melbourne from May 17-22. So off to work I go.

Happy Mothers' Day to all you mothers out there!

                            

Ever since I moved to Florida, I have been taking the tops off pineapples I get and planting them. NOW I am beginning to see the fruits of my labor...I actually have a plant that is producing a pineapple for me!

April was a busy month, but May is going to be just about as busy...I have a school visit scheduled for Friday, and then three sessions of teaching at the Florida Institute of Technology's Creative Writing Institute near the end of May. I am definitely seeing more of my grandkids, now, too, especially since son #2 has moved even closer than the half-hour away place where he was leasing. 

So writing...NOW I have to come up with an idea for my next book.  I continue to send out the two I have ready to go, and May is supposed to be a good month to make progress with such things, so I remain hopeful. 

                   

1. I have been able to spend some extra time with the grandkids in the last couple of weeks, and that is always fun. Last week the six-year-old was here for three days with a fever, but otherwise feeling fine; Sunday I had the one-year-old, and Tuesday the three-year-old. The picture shows the playdough we enjoyed for quite awhile on Tuesday...I was amazed at his attention span for the activities we did...AND that the playdough colors were never mixed, although they were in close proximity.

2. Have been waiting patiently for the results of my MG submissions...had a couple of results this week...one positive. It really made my day! Of course, it was just a partial, but that is the first step, isn't it? It was not a rejection!

3. Have added something new to my schedule--tutoring...a third grade home school student whose mom wants him to learn to write AND enjoy writing, and an adult man with autism who never had the chance to learn to read when he was in school many years ago...both are doing very well and I am enjoying the process.

4. Still have not come up with an idea for my next story...it will come, though, when the time is right. Currently I still have to revise my chapter book mystery, so that will keep me going for awhile.

5. Tomorrow (Saturday) I am participating in the First Annual Brevard Authors' Book Fair. If any of you happen to be anywhere near Cocoa, Florida, tomorrow afternoon, please stop in. There is an impressive list of participating authors.

6. Goal this week has been to get back to more regular attendance at the gym...so I am off to follow through with that. It is my second time this week, so that is one or two days better than I have been doing.

Have a great weekend...hope the weather cooperates where ever you are.

                                                            
Not much going on here...have been thinking about a new topic for my next book, but have not come up with anything yet...I am open to suggestions, because I always have an easier time developing and writing a story if someone gives me the problem to solve.  Maybe another mystery Aaron and Zeke could solve, or maybe something more mid-grade...with boy issues. Or maybe an adventure...something altogether different than I have written before.

This week has been fun...took two grandkids to the zoo and playground on Monday...the zoo had just opened a whole new area called Paws On, so we got to pet several animals, and then play in the 'lagoon'. Then yesterday we celebrated two kids' birthdays, which is always fun.

Hubby and I also attended New England Day at our park. There I was talking to the mother of a man who has autism...he does very well...works at a grocery store, etc. and is quite verbal, but never learned to read.  I am thinking that was more due to the type of special ed programs they had when he was growing up rather than having to do with his abilities...there are so many new methods of teaching now than there were thirty or thirty-five years ago when he was in school. So he, his mother, and I decided to see what we could do to help him learn to read...should prove interesting.  I have not taught adults before, so if anyone has any good suggestions of materials to use, let me know.

Weather is up and down here...today it is up...beautiful, picture-perfect day.

                                               

 Today I finally finished my early chapterbook mystery! It has been sitting around for a couple of months at least waiting for me to write the last half chapter, so today I finally did it...NOW starts the process of revision.

In other news, I enjoyed a visit to Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, FL,where I did four presentations about 'Writing What You Know--Autism' and ate lunch in less than five hours. I was very impressed with the school and its students. There is real evidence of very caring students in that school.

One thing I learned is that I need to adjust the length of my presentation...I had much more than I needed and never quite made it to the end. Although I had planned it for the right length, it seems that I added quite of bit 'off the cuff' material along the line. All important to the presentations, but next time I will need to take into account that I will probably do that when planning for length...