Betty Birney’s Blog

 For me, the very best thing about writing is on those days when I actually forget I’m writing. By that I mean, I’m so involved with the story that I’m in the action and lose the awareness that I’m outside of the story writing it. It’s a wonderful feeling, hard to describe, but exhilarating. My husband would never walk into the office without a little knock on the door -  first because he’s polite, but second, he doesn’t like to startle me. It’s like waking someone up from a dream. The knock helps. Otherwise I sort of bounce up out of my chair and go “oh!” and he knows that “oh” means I was somewhere far, far away.

But most of writing isn’t like that. It’s about details. I’ve been holed up trying to finish the first draft of a new Humphrey book. This will be a shorter chapter book with illustrations. It’s the same as the other Humphrey books but shorter - which made it a very different writing experience. Blood, sweat and tears were involved. (I finished and my editor’s reading it this weekend.)

I spent at least four days doing nothing but trying to figure out how to get Humphrey into a certain situation at a certain time safely and logically. This is always a difficulty with Humphrey because he’s a very small creature! I finally talked it over with my husband. I thought we came up with the solution, but when I sat down to write, it didn’t work.  We talked again and I got it and wrote it immediately.

I also enlisted Desi the dog for a little research - seen above. Yes, that’s a baseball cap she’s wearing. No, she’s not happy about it, which is why my husband is keeping her in place. But she didn’t argue about it either. I guess she knows research is important, too.

Even after a book is written there are more details to look after. Witness today. I get up really early, so I was at my desk at 6 am (not showered and dressed yet, but at my desk). An hour later, I got pages from my editor, Susan, about the fourth go-round of copy-editing of the next book, Adventure According to Humphrey. The bound galleys are already published but there were four or five more questions to straighten out. The Humphrey books seem to require more eagle eyes proofing them because of the way the names are written and hyphenated. Luckily, a diligent copy editor caught a few more things. I’m always soooo happy when this happens. I hate mistakes in books and I’m grateful to all those who help find and correct them.

Immediately after we straightened that out, I heard from Lucie, my copy editor at Faber, my UK publishers. Surprises According to Humphrey is coming out there  in October and there were still a few lingering issues. Actually, she was mostly answering my questions from the last round of copy editing - such as do kids in the UK understand our A,B,C system of grading and do they know the song Yankee Doodle Dandy? In both cases, they do.

Details are important. So if you think writing is just sitting in an ivory tower channeling the muse … remember Desi in her baseball cap. And yes, it is pertinent.

      It’s been hotter than hot here in Southern California, with the temperature edging up close to 100 every day. Before air conditioning, before inflatable wading pools were invented, we had other ways of cooling off. Here I am in the watering can at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. (I am much more modest now.) They lived on Humphrey Street in south St. Louis. That’s right. Humphrey, as in hamster.

Still, the heat hasn’t kept me inside. Yesterday morning, Frank and I went to the home of Lisa Yee (http://lisayee.com) author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius and others including her new American Girl book) for the South Pasadena Festival of Balloons parade. Lisa and husband Scott have a beautiful 100 year-old Craftsman house on the parade route with a large front yard. The food and company was so terrific (and it was so, um, warm) we watched from the shaded front porch and I didn’t take any pictures. Dumb. But I had great chats with fellow LAYAs (Los Angeles Young Adult writers) Sally Nemeth (The Heights, the Depths and Everything in Between), Michael Reisman (Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper) and Amy Goldman Koss (The Girls). Amy and I reminisced about our glory days as judges (with Lisa) in this same parade two years ago. And talked extensively also with illustrator extraordinaire, Dan Santat, and family.

Later, granddaughter Remy came over for a cookout (okay she brought her mom and dad, too). We read books and sang at the table (even though Amy Vanderbilt says that’s not polite) and had a rollicking good time. The kids had thought they could see the Studio City fireworks display at CBS Studios from our backyard. Theoretically we should be able to, but the trees are just too tall. I thought of the perfect spot to see them, so Frank drove up with them while I stayed home with Desi (dog) and listened to the fireworks. I couldn’t see a thing but I could hear them quite well! And then I watched Yankee Doodle Dandy - I love corny older films. Unabashedly.

 Tomorrow, Frank and I are going to the Music Center downtown to see A Chorus Line, which I originally saw on Broadway. At first we hadn’t opted for tickets but then I thought even though we’ve seen it before, hearing great music and seeing great dancing is not a bad way to while away a few hours. I hope it is still a singular sensation.

It is 11:00 and almost 100 degrees. The temperature on our patio was 104 yesterday. Thank goodness that a week ago, the weather was absolutely perfect for celebrating the grand occasion of our granddaughter’s 3rd birthday! I’m not sure how many adults and kids there were - maybe 40? 50?

Remy’s mom and dad supplied the entertainment including a long, low table with little chairs and tons of materials for crafts which was very popular. And they hired a “bubble lady” who did all kinds of wonderful things with wading pools and bubbles. There was some real science thrown in, and bubbles of all shapes and sizes. The high point (for the adults) was seeing the kids put inside giant bubbles. Not that many opted to try it but I’m glad Remy did. She’s the girl in the bubble, above. From the kids’ point of view, I think the most popular event was getting to make their own big bubbles from a series of wading pools.

It was a great tryout for the new door to my office. (I have to get a picture to replace the one on the home page.) The little house is a real attraction for three year-olds. One boy called it “The library,” which it looks like with its book-lined walls.  It took awhile to wash off the chocolate and strawberry handprints on the door, way down low but I didn’t mind.

 Today I’m staying in my air-conditioned office and writing. Desi the dog is in here, too. I’m trying to limit her time outside, though she prefers to be outside.

And if it gets any hotter, I might just crawl into a great big bubble of my own!

  Our recent house repairs and renovations have turned up plenty of wildlife. Some unwelcome furry critters, some nasty old termites and last Thursday, we looked outside my office window and saw this on our back wall.

This is the second bee swarm we’ve had. At our last house about 40,000 bees (estimated) swarmed our barbecue grill and built a substantial hive in a few hours. I can’t bear the thought of killing such useful insects (unlike termites) so we found a beekeeper to come and remove them. I recently had a friend tell me she couldn’t find anyone to take away live bees but we looked in the yellow pages and found someone who came out in an hour.  Bees have alarmingly disappeared recently, endangering such crops as almonds, so I was relieved to recycle them to a bee farm.

We recently had our electrical panel redone and apparently they left a few small holes. The queen got in and the work began. The beekeeper told us to stay inside (didn’t have to ask me twice) and we watched as he located the queen and put her in a box. The vast majority of bees follow because without their queen, they’re nothing! But many remained and so he released some smoke, which helped encourage some others to move on.

However, a group remained. We were told that they were the bees out collecting nectar who returned to the spot and wondered what the heck happened to their queen. We called and were told that they should be gone by Saturday - that they’d find a new queen - but to call if they weren’t. Actually this is Tuesday and there are no 10 bees remaining, but we haven’t called because they aren’t really bothering anything. 

We do have a busy group of bees working in the garden on the side of our house - lavender and roses there.  And there’s a lot (too much) clover in our backyard. That would be some yummy honey.

As for the birds, I had news from my friends at the Shaw School in U.K. They email from time to time and I visited there in March, where I met their hamster named Humphrey.

Apparently Humphrey recently got out of his cage (it is suspected he had a little human help) but after 24 hours they found him and he’s doing fine. They also had some baby birds hatch in a nest outside a window - they had a video camera so the students could watch the eggs’ progress. When they hatched, the children named them Betty and Birney. I have never been so honored! I’m sure they’re well out of the nest now. Bon voyage, Betty and Birney!

I do love birds. In fact, I talk to the birds in the yard outside my office. Some of them - like the mockingbirds - talk back.

When I’m out of state and I talk about our wildlife in the backyard (skunks, possums, squirrels, r___s - and twice I’ve seen coyotes in the front yard), people say, “Oh, so you don’t live in L.A.” But I do. L.A. is not all concrete. It is lush, verdant, mountainous and we are at the bottom of a canyon with two wildlife preserves at the top. We have avocados, lemons and limes. Our neighbors have oranges, apricots, avocados and figs. The house behind us has a banana tree. Animals love these things as much as people. 

Our backyard is a paradise and completely private. But we live on a busy street. Nobody really understands L.A.!

  Where we’re stopped. Think dark granite counters and backsplash, crown molding, new paint, ambient lighting ….

 The kitchen remodel continues … and doesn’t. (Okay, kids, you may not care but I do and if you check back in two days, I have something really FUN-FUN-FUN to show you.)

Things were rolling along and it looked as if we’d meet our deadline of finishing before our trip to the UK for World Book Day. But there was the inevitable glitch, so we will finish when we get back.

There are lots of workers coming and going (Desi loves them all) … but they’ve learned to stay off limits from my little office in the backyard as much as possible, because I’ve been finishing the revisions on ADVENTURE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY, the ‘09 Humphrey book in the US.  They’ve really been nice about it, actually, but there are unavoidable interruptions to talk about subjects like … grout? I never thought about grout in my life and have now picked out three different grouts.

Just spent time with our granite guy (very cute guy, a real artist). Our granite comes from Brazil.  With all the granite people are now using in their kitchens, will they eventually run out? I would think so. It’s like oil. But unlike oil, something else will be in vogue. (Speaking of petroleum, my Prius had a checkup today and passed with flying colors.)

We had brunch on Sunday with Linda and Glen Short, friends from Providence - what fun! They were describing a very artistic and expensive GLASS counter they saw in NY. (I think $40,000 is a little out of my range.) I can’t imagine myself taking my meat-pounding mallet and letting loose on a glass counter.

On Sunday night, met with friends for Cynthia Friedlob’s annual Chinese New Year Event. Cynthia goes to a lot of trouble to chart our coming year. It’s the Year of the Rat, in case you didn’t know. But secretly, I think it’s the Year of the Hamster.

Off to Riverside, CA tomorrow for two Jurupa Reads events. More about that to come!

P.S. When we get back, my little office will get a beautiful new door and I can’t wait.

My last post showed what has been torn out of the kitchen … now you can see that little by little, things are being put in.

Especially thrilling (!) for me was seeing all the new wiring for much-needed outlets in the kitchen. Tomorrow the electrician redoes all the wiring and the electrical panel. Life is sooooo glamourous.

 Outside, nature works its magic  The tree outside my door is a wonder worthy of Sassafras Springs. It’s always doing something interesting. Gloriously green in the summer. Then, around December, many leaves turn red and fall to the ground - I always keep some bright red leaves on my desk. But it doesn’t lose all its leaves and while the red leaves are still on the ground, as they are now, it blossoms so beautifully. Thank you, tree! And speaking of a tree that gives its all, the avocado crop is spectacular this year and we’ll be harvesting soon. Here’s a peek! (Is it really still winter?)

I truly love our 1939 bungalow style house with its Craftsman den, coved ceilings, pretty moldings and of course, my office!  Some would call it small. We think it’s cozy. The living room and den are large; the bedrooms are a good size. We call it “Blue Heaven.”

When we moved in nine years ago, I said, “Okay, but in one year, we have to redo that kitchen.” (I don’t know when this particular kitchen was done but it was a very cheap remodel done way back when.)

In the intervening years, we put in a new furnace/air conditioner, new roof, new copper piping, ripped up the remaining carpeting and had the hardwood floors refinished, had the house bolted to the foundation (earthquakes, folks) did lots of landscaping and tree trimming, redid the two bathrooms and did some interior painting.

We never got around to the kitchen - until now!  About my kitchen: it’s small. When I watch House Hunters and see people turn up their noses at kitchens twice its size, saying “Too small,” I feel kind of sorry for my kitchen. But I remember reading an article about an English writer - I think it was Joanna Trollope - and her cottage and she referred to her “Peter Rabbit kitchen.” Which sounded a lot better then “tiny.”

There’s a lovely little secret about a smallish kitchen: it’s not as tiring as a big kitchen. I don’t waste a lot of energy walking around a huge island or even from one side to the other. I can just turn and take a step. I’ve entertained for some very large parties out of this kitchen - I think the top was 75.  And if I start feeling intimidated by massive kitchens with two sinks and two dishwashers and eight burners … I remind myself of a few things:

*I cook a lot. I entertain a lot. I can’t remember using all FOUR burners of my stove at once in the last ten years. Maybe … maybe for Thanksgiving but I don’t think so. I like to plan ahead and do as much ahead as possible.

*Laurie Colwin - dear, dear departed Laurie Colwin, the great novelist and great food writer who died way too young - always offers me consolation. I just turn to Home Cooking, a MUST book of her Gourmet essays for any home cook, and read about her New York apartment that was smaller than a studio. She had two burners - period - and no sink. She had to wash dishes in the bathroom. She not only loved the apartment, she entertaining people there with whole meals! I believe the essay is called “Alone in a Kitchen with an Eggplant” and it’s anthologized in a lot of books about great food writing. (There’s a second volume of her Home Cooking essays as well.)

*My grandmother was the greatest home cook I’ve known personally. She didn’t even have one inch of counter space! All cooking was done on the big kitchen table. She had cheap pots and pans and one of my favorite memories of the unbelievable Thanksgiving dinners she cooked (on only four burners) is of her sitting in a chair, saucepan of potatoes in her lap, chatting away while she mashed them with a fork! And believe me, there was never a lump. A lump would not have dared to show itself in Grandma’s presence.

So what’s all the hoopla about the supersized kitchen and the gourmet cookware? When I start envying other people’s kitchens I think of Grandma and Laurie and my mom, another extraordinary cook who until I was 18, lived in a house with a tiny kitchen and turned out dazzling dinners for, oh, 17-18 people on a regular basis. She made the greatest gravy I’ve ever tasted.

But guess what - I’m getting a new kitchen! Not a bigger kitchen because without damaging the den - and I won’t go into what a beautiful room it is and how I’d hate to ruin the design and integrity of it - there’s no place to go. But I will have great lighting, new appliances, pretty cabinets, granite countertops and a bigger, more efficient pantry with at least a few more feet of counterspace, more outlets and

more cabinets. It will be heaven - I hope!   

 It’s just not heaven quite yet.

The kitchen was demolished this week and they discovered - of course - mold. So they brought in equipment that ran 24/7 to remove it. We had about two days of itchy eyes and coughing and then it was gone. I don’t have to take the contractor’s word for it - my eyes stopped itching. 

It’s not fun living with only a fridge and a microwave - and we’ll lose the fridge on Wednesday. Worse than that is living without a sink. But I just think of Laurie and Grandma and my new kitchen and it’s really okay. Thank goodness,  I have my separate office in the back, so the hammering is a little bit off in the distance. Oooh, and I’m getting a pretty new door for my office - can’t wait.

Son-in-law Gary and granddaughter Remy stopped by this morning. Remy’s eyes were wide at the sight of our kitchen.  “Clean it up!” she said.

And very soon, I will.

(We also had some interior painting done and new bathroom floors - loving them! And after our trip to UK, we’ll have the outside done.)