Yep, it's happened again. While I was looking the other way, somehow the year sped by and has almost slipped completley away. And though it's been a year of change and opportunity, I've missed too many items on my self-created to-do list. Little things like sending more real greeting cards and fewer e-cards. Not so little things like walking every day even it it's raining (not too hard) or cold (but not too cold). Important things like spending time with my best friend. And things like blogging more often than once a quarter or so - I can hear all the social media experts shuddering at the very thought of such a schedule!

Maybe it's the old issue of prioritizing that always seems to be a challenge for me. When there's client work to do - and thankfully there has been much of it this year - tasks like blogging keep slipping to the next day and then the next and....

So the best I can do for now is stop in when I can and share the fun. Lately, that fun has centered around cats and books. A week ago I was at the Cat Writers' Association annual conrference in White Plains, NY. This collection of professional journalists and authors is the writing equivalent of Active Rain - sharing, caring, passionate about their work and their subject, full of laughter, and incredibly supportive of each other's efforts. I was accepted into the memberhsip this year and took the opportunity to enter The Cat Lover's Book of Days in their annual competition. About a month ago came the news that I'd received a Certificate of Excellence for the book! Wow! That meant I was in the running for the top prize.

A week ago I sat in the ballroom at the Crowne Plaza and listened as the big names in the group and in media won awards for writing in magazines and columns, for audio, for broadcasting, for photographs and illustrations, and for a variety of books. Then it was the Gift Book category - my category. As the judge's comments were read I held my breath and my husband's hand as she concluded, "The Muse Medallion goes to Peg Silloway!" 

There is little so satisfying as being recognized by your peers and those you admire. The grin says it all.

Now it's back to the reality of the work that I enjoy so much, made special by the people I work with.

What's ahead? Hopefully more adventures, time with friends, new acquaintances, and more than an occasional blog!

Happy Thanksgiving - Chanukah - Solstice - Christmas - Kwanzaa - New Year!

Join Peg Silloway on the Radio for "Cat Chat"

At 8:00 pm Eastern on Wednesday September 15, you can hear a full hour of talk about cats on Sirius or XM Radio! Host Tracie Hotchner has invited me to join the conversation and talk about The Cat Lover's Book of Days on her show, "Cat Chat." It's a call-in show and we'd love to get your questions or comments, plus Tracie will have two signed copies of my book to give away. So set your alarm and tune in – here's what you need:

            Cat Chat® the Radio Show on Martha Stewart Radio

            Wednesday, September 15, 2010        

8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Eastern

            Channel #112 on Sirius Satellite Radio or XM Channel 157

Call in to: 866-675-6675

That's Tracie in the photo with some of her friends. Learn more about Tracie and Cat Chat here: http://www.traciehotchner.com/cc/

Hope to hear from you!

I'm old school enough to believe that a bargain is not simply something you get for a cheaper price. That often means that you are getting something...cheap.

To me a bargain is paying less and getting more than you expected. Like finding a house that looks ordinary on the outside but is a treasure of handcrafted quality and exquisite design inside, and is priced to sell, too. Here's a smaller scale example: Last spring my husband and I went to the local Home Depot for something - don't remember what - and as we walked toward the entrance we saw a large group of hibiscus plants in black plastic tubs. Stacked higgledy-piggledy around a sign that said $8.97, it was clear they were there to be moved out quickly.

None of the plants had any blooms on them, though a few had small buds. One or two plants showed the remnants of a pale, peach-colored flower. A couple of years ago we had a hibiscus plant that we put out front for the pure pleasure of seeing the brilliant red blooms. Remember we are in Maryland where such plants don't survive the winter, and though we brought "Hortense" (yes, we named her) inside, she did not survive her second winter. Now here were dozens of potential replacements at less than half what the original Hortense had cost. What could we lose?

So Hortense the Second came home and took up her place by the front steps. Sure enough, she put out a peach colored bloom. But not just any flower - it was a double! Multiple layers of pale sunset-colored petals were so heavy that the slender stem could barely hold the flower up.

Then it happened. A few days later, a red flower, also a double. What? Red and peach on the same plant? Yes - and she has done it several times again throughout the summer. The pictures show two blooms that opened within three days of each other.

A plant that is healthy, puts out gorgeous double blooms in two colors, brightens our mornings, and came at an unexpectedly low price. Now THAT is a bargain!

Calling all book lovers to Gaithersburg, MD!

If you're a book lover and in the Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia area, put this one on your calendar. Gaithersburg, MD is having their first annual Book Festival next Saturday, May 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It's F-R-E-E (great price) and should be a lot of fun for readers and authors alike.

There will be plenty of displays, music, loads of food, and author signings all day. Come 4:00 p.m., I will be signing copies of The Cat Lover's Book of Days at the MidAtlantic Book Publishers Association booth. Actually, I'll be there all day to help spread the word about our association and the great books our authors are publishing. "Pearl", the official mascot of The Cat Lover's Book of Days will be with me, and since she is a very plush (but not real) kitty, you're welcome to pick her up and have a hug.

For those of you not familiar with the area, Gaithersburg is in Montgomery County and is considered a suburb of Washington, DC. In recent years, it has become a center for Maryland's burgeoning biotechnology industry. Besides being a fun way to spend the day, the Gaithersburg Book Festival could be a good networking opportunity. I'm just sayin'....

Hope to see you there.

Publisher of The Cat Lover's Book of Days, Real Estate the Rome Way, and Zen and the Art of Negotiation.

There's a young lady in Oregon who has fed a lot of hungry cats and dogs. Not by taking them food, but rather by using the power of the Internet to stock the shelves of shelters across the country with almost 110 TONS of cat and dog kibble.

Mimi Ausland is a seventh grader who believes in making a difference in the lives of shelter animals. Inspired by a website that donates rice to needy countries, she and her parents came up with FreeKibble.com and, coming in June, FreeKibbleKat.com. Every day you can go to the site, answer a trivia question about dogs or cats, and whether you get it right or wrong, they donate 10 pieces of kibble to one of 13 shelters in the US.  As of today, 319,821,200 pieces have been donated!

I learned about Mimi through an article in Cat Fancy magazine - read it here: Cat Fancy article about FreeKibble. I love the end of the article where Mimi is quoted: 

"Just do whatever you can do, whether it's doing a lemonade stand or setting up a site like this," she says. "Just get out there and help something or someone. Try your best to help."

 

So every day I'm going to FreeKibble.com and answering their question. I got today's wrong, but so what? The cats and dogs still get the kibble, and I'm telling other people about it.

If a seventh grader can make a difference, so can I. So this weekend I'll be searching for odds and ends of acrylic yarn so I can knit "snuggles" for cat shelters - if you haven't heard about the Snuggles Project, learn more here.  Kira and Pipsqueak will help, I'm sure.

Author of The Cat Lover's Book of Days, and coming in late 2010, The Dog Lover's Book of Days.