5/5/10 -- Last weekend I completed a "Life List" goal. In the company of good friends I skied around the rim of Crater Lake.With a circumference of 33 miles, it took the better part of three days. Despite the calendar reading "May" there was still...

4/30/10 -- A few more editing details needed to be taken care of on STORM MOUNTAIN. Now it really is headed to the printer. Spent the rest of the day packing for a 3-day ski around the rim of Crater Lake. Weather forecast looks pretty good. Views ...

4/29/10 -- Back in Oregon after a fun visit with the kids at Cranbury Elementary in Norwalk, CT. Many thanks to my host, Enrichment Coordinator Laura Dufort. An added bonus to the trip was a great view of the New York City skyline as I flew out of...

4/27/10 -- A big weekend for me in the Oregon Cascades: Skiing powder Saturday on Mt. Hood. (That's me on the right, with my buddy Gary, a third grade teacher. Photo credit: Ethan Wilson, ER doc extraordinary.) We planned to climb that night, but ...

4/23/10 -- Just finished the final edits of the master proofs for STORM MOUNTAIN. To celebrate I'm going to go play on Mt Hood, Oregon's tallest peak. The original plan was to begin the climb at 2:00 AM tonight (typical alpine start time), but the...

4/21/10 -- Went climbing yesterday at the Oregon State University indoor gym. A friend of mine, who will remain nameless, ushered me over to a route I hadn't done before and assured me it was "easy, you'll love it!" Little did I know that he had t...

4/19/10 -- Back in Corvallis and at work on the master proofs of STORM MOUNTAIN. This is my last chance to make any changes before the book trundles off to press. So I'm going over it with a fine-toothed comb. I'll read it aloud, too, as this alwa...

4/16/10 -- Packing to head home to Oregon, my head is a whirlwind of New York images both minute and magnificent: plum blossoms petals on the sidewalk in Central Park, the Empire State Building looming over 5th Avenue, a Hasidic Jew's earlocks tuc...

4/15/10 -- Today was a Big Apple day, capped by lunch with publishing standouts John, Mary, Julie, Kathleen, and Olivia. Last look at the proofs for STORM MOUNTAIN, too. Julie Amper has done a great job of editing and offering much-needed perspect...

4/14/10 -- Another great day in schools, this one at Eli Whitney Elementary in Enfield, CT. My host, librarian Denice Gartrell, had thought of absolutely everything to make my visit a stellar experience. Thanks, Denice!Then it was back to New York...

4/13/10 -- A fun day with great kids at the Yeshiva of Central Queens. Many thanks to Etta Presser-Anton for being a consummate host! From Queens I took the subway to Penn Station in the heart of Manhattan and caught the 5:40 Amtrak to Enfield, CT...

4/12/10 -- I'm in Jamaica. No, not of Caribbean fame. Jamaica, New York, in the New York City borough of Queens. I flew in to La Guardia airport today, and do an author visit tomorrow at the Yeshiva of Central Queens. Looking forward to meeting th...

4/11/10 -- A hotel near the Portland, OR airport is home tonight. I leave early tomorrow for New York and Connecticut for author visits and meetings with book folks. Got in a fun bouldering session with Kelsey this afternoon, though, at a great in...

4/9/10 -- A good writing day, with a 9-mile run mixed in before lunch. Now both of our girls -- Kelsey and Amy -- are here, along with Amy's fiance, Alex. We're going to cook up a Middle Eastern dinner and watch slides of Debbie and my trip to Isr...

4/7/10 -- This morning I was running behind schedule and caught myself thinking, "I've GOT to write!" As if this job of mine is a hassle and infringes on my life. I quickly corrected myself, and inserted a different vowel: "I GET to write!" It is ...

4/1/10 -- I'm just now back in Oregon after returning from Israel and then taking off immediately for an author visit in Connecticut. Twenty-six time zones in ten days. Whoosh! I don't know whether I'm coming or going, an appropriate state of mind...

3/23/10 -- Greetings from Israel! I'm here giving author presentations at the American International School north of Tel Aviv. The flight over here was tough (24 hours travel time, 9,000 miles, ten time zones), but well worth it. The school is fan...

3/17/10 -- Packing this afternoon for the trip to Israel it occurred to me that my entire career -- and in some ways a hefty representation of my entire life -- is housed in my laptop: multiple writing projects, slide presentations for author visi...

3/15/10 -- A great and varied weekend: Ran a 5k with Kelsey Saturday morning in Eugene (that's us in light blue and red shirts going for the finish line), then skied that afternoon at Willamette Pass, and stopped back in Eugene on the way home for...

3/12/10 -- Those of you who teach know that spring is the season when you can really start to see the gains kids have made over the course of the school year. Today I heard from a teacher in the midwest who tells me I had at least a little somethi...