skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Tomie loves peonies, so on Sunday, his birthday, I planted 22 bareroot peonies (in one flower bed), including several unusual Itoh peonies, such as, Pastel Splendor Itoh Peony in the above photograph.
I had planted a couple of hybrid peonies three years ago, but had forgotten about them. This spring they blossomed, much to my surprise, and we discovered the cut flowers to be unique and to look beautiful in Tomie's house. They also lasted a long time as a cut flower.
I ordered the peonies from Brooks Gardens in Oregon. Bareroot peonies are a bit of challenge to plant, so I'm hoping I correctly planted them, and that they, too, will be a spectacular success.
www.brooksgardens.com
Left to Right: Kara Berns, Tomie, Connie Appel, Cherie Bradbury
Tomie's 79th birthday celebration began Saturday night with dinner at Burdick's and three "surprise" guests. The stories and laughter started the minute Janet and David Kidder arrived in Tomie's driveway and we all got in the car for the drive to Walpole, NH, and Burdick's. Marianna McGuffin met us at the restaurant.
The celebration and laughter continued during the day on Sunday with emails and phone calls, and dinner at Pine in the Hanover Inn across from Dartmouth College, with two "surprise" guests and a last minute addition.
Kara and Cherie are nurses in Specialty Services at New London Hospital. Tomie sees them every Wednesday when his anemia is monitored. Sonya and Melissa, former Specialty Services nurses, were also invited, but cancelled because they were feeling ill.
So, I called Connie, former co-owner of Morgan Hill Bookstore, and invited her to join us for dinner if she could be ready in twenty minutes. She was ready in fifteen - hair washed and all dolled up.
One more small dinner on Tuesday night to close out Year 79.
www.burdickchocolate.com
www.pineathanoverinn.com
It was one year ago today that Bronte went blind after his right eye was removed because of a benign melanoma. (The left eye had been removed two weeks earlier for the same reason.)
As best as we can tell, Bronte remains a happy dog, and we hope a healthy one, too.
It's Bronte's ninth birthday today! The Pierce girls from Indiana sent cards. From top to bottom: Rachel's card, Megan's card, Ashley's card. (I've only posted the fronts of their cards.)
The air feels different than the summer air. The sky looks different than a summer sky. The temperature this morning was 40 degrees. The book tour has been planned. I've begun to replace some of the plants in the pots with mums and cabbage and kale. Tomie's birthday is days away.
Fall is coming.
Left to Right: Diane Capriola, Tomie, Doni Kay
Diane is co-owner of Little Shop of Stories and Doni is the Penguin sales rep for the southeast. Tomie has just finished the Kidnote at the Decatur Book Festival, and signed books at Diane's store. He's still smiling!
www.littleshopofstories.com
Tomie with his publicist at Penguin, Jessica Shoffel.
Left to Right: Meyrick, Nora, Gavin, Tomie, Diane
Tomie was the 2013 Kidnote speaker at the Decatur Book Festival in Decatur, Georgia, on Friday, August 30. He chose to be questioned by children instead of giving a presentation. Meyrick (Meyrick Murphy the actress, that is), Nora and Gavin (all of them good friends of Little Shop of Stories in Decatur) were selected to ask questions. The nearly standing room only crowd at Agnes Scott College was very receptive to the Kidnote.
The people who came to the autographing table were full of heartwarming stories about Tomie's books.
It was a long way to go for an overnight (up at 2:30 a.m. on Friday, and back to New London around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday), but it was well worth the trip. Decatur, the town, was a wonderful surprise, and the people we met (from the people who whisked us through the airports to the drivers and plane companions, and Kidnote organizers and attendees and restaurant employees, etc) were generous and kind.
Diane Capriola is an organizer for the Book Festival and the co-owner of Little Shop of Stories in Decatur.
www.littleshopofstories.com
Back Row, Left to Right:
Janet (New London Town Selectperson), Judy (Tomie's physical therapist), Ellie (Tomie's niece), Tomie, Cherie (Tomie's nurse), David (Tomie's brother-in-law)
Front Row, Left to Right:
Kara (Tomie's nurse), Peggy (former owner of Morgan Hill Bookstore), Cecile (friend and Judy's partner), Matthew (Kara's son), Judie (Tomie's sister), Jonathan (Cherie's son), Ellen (one of the twin cousins, but not Franny and Fuffy), Connie (former owner of Morgan Hill Bookstore), Peggy (one of the twin cousins, but not Franny and Fuffy)
Not pictured: Jon (professional potter and art professor at Colby-Sawyer College)
Click on the picture to get a closer look at the good-looking and hard-working group.
Tomie's Very Big Yard Sale is tomorrow, Saturday, 8:00 a.m. until closing. Find the roundabout in New London and follow the traffic.
