PhyllistheAuthor

Here I am, girl gardener, in front of one of our two garden plots. As you can see the garden is fenced because of deer. This year we are trying something new. Note the white buckets behind me. They are pails that I bought at the Dollar Store. Every year our tomatoes have viruses. Apparently, the viruses live in the soil. Since our garden area is so small, we can't rotate our crops. So I had the idea to plant tomatoes this year in buckets, each filled with manure and enriched soil. We'll see what happens. Wish us luck!

Congratulations to Brian in North Carolina who recently scored 100% on the National Latin Exam. He is offering free latin lessons on a blog: http://learnlatin.blogspot.com

Happy Easter from me and my rabbit family.

The little girl rabbit has dropped her doll, but don't worry, I was there to make sure she was safely returned to her owner.

Viky Pedigo at Rawls Byrd Elementary gave me this ladybug for my Easter basket. She is very special because she is a book and at the same time can walk or rather skitter if you pull a ribbon on her back. What shall I name her????

My long-time friend Bobbi Schilling arranged for me to visit Nelson Elementary where she is a first grade teacher.

On Tuesday evening I gave a talk to the Nelson PTA titled, "Finding the Story in History."



After the PTA meeting, I signed books in the library. The following day I visited classes. I found the students well behaved and attentive. What a nice school! What responsive kids! It was most enjoyable for me and I hope the kids had a good time too.

It is always fun to meet readers. The pictures were taken at a recent book signing at Colonial Williamsburg. Kids, if you don't find your pictures here, they didn't come out. Sorry. Next time you visit Williamsburg, stop by and we'll try again.

This girl's folks brought three copies of my books for her teacher. Lurking in the background is my buddy, Ed Cline, author of the excellent Sparrowhawk series, who was signing books at the next table.

It's always a pleasure to visit Rawls Byrd Media Center. What a very special place! Librarian Viky Pedigo invited me to sign books as part of the annual bookfair.

My book, Divided Loyalties is about a fifer and here I'm shown with a member of Colonial Williamsburg's Fife and Drum Corps. I was pleased to learn he read and liked the book.

A book for each member of the Selje Family. How nice to meet them!

Mrs. Pedigo's assistant, Mrs. Norma Spokowski, helps make the Media Center a happy place to visit.

The Governor's Garden

Dogwood Tree with Gate: Life imitates Art

Many music historians believe that Bach's Saint Matthew Passion is the greatest piece of music ever written. My husband and I agree so much so that we drove to Durham, North Carolina to see it performed at Duke University Chapel.

We were wowed with the North Carolina Symphoney, the 150-person chorus, and the wonderful soloists. The moving choral work recreates the passion of Christ.

We have tickets to see it performed in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center on Good Friday afternoon. Helmut Rilling is conducting and we are looking forward to another outstanding performance.