What I'm doing when I'm not writing

I've been doing a lot of things: big things like visiting family in Minneapolis, preparing for my trip to Croatia in October, doing work for the Free Library of Philadelphia. Little things like hassling the UCLA bureaucracy in order to get my emeriti parking pass, organizing my collection of scrunchies, weeding my collection of flip flops. Ongoing obsesssions like reading and working on several needlepoint projects. Here is an update on all of them.

The family: kids are cute as ever. Gabe's into all kinds of sports, both as a fan and as a participant. He scored the only goal in his team's first soccer game. Natasha is a Junior Otter, a member of the Y's swim team. She hopes she won't have to compete in swim meets "but will do it if she has to."

Croatia: scary. I have now mastered about five phrases in the impossible Croatian language, tried to learn about the country's impenetrable and complex history, and prepared a syllabus for the course I'm supposed to teach. I have my flight reservations and a tentative itinerary. I think I need to buy a bigger suitcase; there's no way I can get enough clothes for a month in the one I own now.

The Free Library: my latest project was to develop a kind of all-purpose early literacy manual. The biggest challenge was finding good multicultural books for little kids. There are so many distinguished picture books with African American characters or themes for school-age children but almost nothing for two- to four-year-olds. Somebody please fill this gap!

Parking pass: the single most difficult issue of my retirement. Social Security and Medicare were a breeze. My UCLA pension payment came right on time, as did the 403B check. But just try to get an emeriti parking pass! It took me more than two months, one $45 parking ticket, many phone calls, and one trip to Parking Services -- but I think I am now set.

Scrunchies and flip flops: a case of too many objects in too small a space. I've got a plan for the scrunchies; the flip flops are hopeless.

Reading: The Kindle is a fabulous way to organize reading while traveling. (Now, if I could just put my scrunchies and flip flops in an electronic storage unit...) I've read several mystery novels now on long flights and in hotel rooms. Now why isn't the new Ian Rankin available through Kindle????? I have also read Robert Kaplan's "Balkan Ghosts" in preparation for that Croatian trip. The subtitle is "a journey through history", and it really does seem as though history is a living presence in that part of the world. I'm looking forward to experiencing this myself in less than a month.

Needlepoint: This has gotten a little out of control. In the past, I have scrupulously finished one project before starting another. Lately, however, I have left some projects nearly done in order to start another one. For example, when I went to Quebec in August, I needed a project that would keep me busy for a whole week so I started a brand new one. Anyway, I find myself now with three canvases in their final stages and one finished and ready for framing. I know; this is boring.

The Book? You want to know about The Book? I heard from Stephanie Svirin, the new ALA Acquisitions Editor. That was good news; I will like working with her. I confirmed the renegotiated deadline -- February 1. I might even get it done by then.