General Update

Shop Talk: Assignment 10 is just about finished. I typed my final revised copy today as well as the bibliography. Now I need to get my query letter prepared. I haven't done a query letter yet, only cover letters. A cover letter accompanies your manuscript and describes your story or article as well as any pertinent information about yourself and your qualifications. A query letter is sent on its own. It also describes your story or article and information about you but a query sort saves an editor time, I guess. If they like your query they'll ask you to send the ms. Does that even make any sense? So, I'll send in my article to my instructor who will then tell me all the ways to improve it - I hope. Then I'll revise it again and get it in the mail to magazines. This is my last assignment for the writing course - I'll be done!! They do have advanced courses and if they offer me one I'm not sure I'll do it just yet. I'd like to see what measure of success -if any- I can achieve with the knowledge I have now. Maybe later on I'll want to take another course but not just yet.

Becky is going to begin playing the flute. We go to pick it up tonight and she'll take lessons at school. I'm so excited for her to do this. She is reluctant, to put it mildly. I think she'll like it once she gets going with it. We're only committed for three months at a time so if she's doing terribly and she hates it immensely maybe she'll be able to stop. Maybe.

Allison is doing great at school. She walks around the house saying words and emphasizing their vowel sound. It's very cute. Each day she has more to tell me. At first I was lucky to find out anything that happened at school. Now she tells me lots of interesting things about her day. I think at first she was so overwhelmed by all that school entails. Now it's beginning to feel normal to her. That's good. Tomorrow I'll go to help in the library during her class time. I hope she behaves while I'm there. I've tried to explain that even when I'm there she has to follow the teacher's rules and do what her class is doing. Hopefully she gets it.

Katie's schoolwork continues to be challenging. She gets LOTS of writing assignments with research to do too. I'm glad about that. We are settled into a nice routine now but we're still working out some kinks in the curriculum. I'm sure everything will get straightened out soon.

Time to go meet the bus.