Bad things come in threes and virtual visits

Thanks for reading!

Have you ever heard bad things come in threes? Well, I had my three things this summer so I should be good for a while! Last month I was at a picnic in New Hampshire and bit into my sandwich. Unfortunately a bee was eating it too and stung my lip. It immediate swelled up and I broke out in hives all over and a big weight sat on my chest. My husband rushed me to an Urgent Care and they did everything under the sun to me, starting with an epi pen and ending with an IV. Whew!

Next, I was sitting at a red light, waiting for it to change. I used lip balm while I was waiting because I tend to get fever blisters if I don't protect my lips. The light changed, but since no one was behind me I took a second to put the lip balm away. At that second a car blasted through the intersection going at least 90 miles an hour. It would have hit me broadside on my side of the car. Whew!

The third thing (and hopefully last for a while!) was when my husband left ahead of me for a meeting. I went the same way about 10 minutes later (at the time I didn't know he'd gone that way). I was stopped by a big line of cars with ambulances and rescue vehicles going past. A man walked up to my car and said there's just been a head-on collision. No one is getting through. Both of us missed being in the accident by 10 minutes. I never did find out what happened to the passengers. Whew!

Hope your summer and the rest of September is peaceful and safe. (I just got my fifth Covid vaccine. I have a sore arm, but it's worth it to me.) God bless, Debbie

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When I was a librarian, kids practically fought over Titanic books. When the opportunity came to write one, I was pretty ecstatic. As it might be the last Mermaid Tales book, I also wanted to have a mermaid in a wheelchair. I'd tried with Twist and Shout and was denied (Echo had to have crutches). This time diversity won and there's a mermaid in a 'wheelchair' of sorts on the cover. Yeah!

Here's the teaching unit that goes with the book and here's the video.

Luckily, I am in the process of writing eight more mermaid books, but they will be Mini Mermaid Tales (easier to read). I can't wait to share the final art with you. The first book comes out next year.

I will be doing my first virtual visit of the year at the end of this month. I prefer live visits, but virtual can be fun too and much less expensive. This school is reading Vampires Don't Wear Polkas the graphic novel in preparation so I'm going to share the story of how the story came to be. Want your class to experience the same? Email me here.

I do love history, so it might not surprise you to know that I made a Constitution video and a Constitution bulletin board just in time for Constitution Week-that's this week! I enjoyed taking part in a Constitution Day bell ringing last Saturday. Make sure you go if you ever get the chance. Did you know that public schools are required to teach about Constitution Day? This is an easy way!