Applause

Blame it on the sunshine. Or the poor night's sleep I got. Or the outstanding news I received this morning (keep on reading).   Whatever the reason, I have little to no concentration and am flitting from one thing to another in the studio.   Tomorrow I will buckle down.   But meanwhile, I'll share some of Kiki Kelly's recent works. They are always fun to look at (at least I think so), and they all sorta connect with the reasons why I'm so distracted today.   Kiki doesn't have a website up, but notecards and reproductions of her work can be ordered here.   Happy Monday to you all! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   "Applause," 11" x 14", multi media piece stemming from a community celebration surrounding good books and even better readers (read more below, but consider yourself warned - it's a Mom Brag)   "In Like a Lion," 11" x 14", multi media piece inspired by the bipolar weather patterns March 2012 presented Michiganders   "Valentine," 11" x 14", multi media piece comprised of ephemera collected on Valentine's Day 2012 Share the dog a day love and forward this email to a friend

The Word Nerds, The Princess is in white, 2nd from the right.   The 37th Annual Battle of the Books   The Battle is a rite of passage here in Lake Orion. Every year, scads of 5th graders from our district read scads of books and then answer scads of questions slung at them by our lovely librarians, all for the priviledge of reigning as Battle of the Books champions.   The Princess and her friends, duly dubbed the "Word Nerds" for their love of candy AND reading, tackled the Battle challenge with gusto this last November. They studied a challenging list of 15 titles, meeting weekly after school to discuss the plots, play games, and eat candy.   Along with 50 other teams, they spent this past Saturday holed up doing battle.   The Word Nerds answered 48 of 50 questions correctly, a very respectable score indeed, one that was celebrated accordingly with ice cream and green beverages.   When fact checking afterwards, one Word Nerd discovered a discrepancy, and challenged the librarians on that point, resulting in the question being disqualified, and giving her team a revised score of 49 out of 50. This is the first time in the history of the Battle that the librarians had been one-upped.   But it doesn't end there.   The Word Nerds tied for first place, ironically with classmates and best friends.    When they heard the news this afternoon, the entire 5th grade erupted into applause and hugs for everyone. The biggest congratulations were between the two teams and their members.   There's a Tiebreaker Battle at our local library tonite. Think good thoughts for both teams - here's to them continuing to do their best, not just tonite, but every day afterwards.   And if you want to know what they read, the list is right here. Every single one of the books is excellent!   Props to the Word Nerds - I couldn't be prouder of what you've accomplished!!