Work and Play are the Same Thing!

The idea, work/play is seed from which in my humorous children’s book,”Eagles and Banana Peels” grew. Grandmother is juicing bananas and Grandfather is making dirt. In the book, “If Mrs Greeby Asks” Mother is mixing in the toilet.
Don’t you remember times when you were young seeing your Mom, let’s say, scrub the toilet with a brush. Boy that looked like fun. So you asked in a hopeful voice, “Is that fun?” Hopeful, not because you wanted the answer, “yes” but that you were hopping you’d be invited to mix the toilet too? The look you got back was, “What’s wrong with you kid. Grow up. This isn’t fun it’s WORK”                                                                                             After months of, “This isn’t fun, it’s WORK,” intoned almost violently, I bet you quit asking. I did. But I was right the first time. Mom gave me the wrong information! This incorrect answer stuck inside me somewhere, off to the left and down a few stairs, waiting for me to be a Mom. So Paul, Anna and I PLAYED piano and cello in the mornings and Worked at improving mud pies in the afternoons.
I remember driving both kids home after school. Each of my kids had a friend coming too. I called over my shoulder, “Paul and Anna, I want you to play when you get home.”          They both called back “Noooo! We don’t want to play!”                                                     “You have to,” I said, “or I’ll spank you.” Then we’d all laugh and explained the joke to their startled friends.
Try it; you’ll like it!    nancymauerman.com

I Learn From Children’s Books and Opera

In the book Leafman Attacks, Iva Lou the dragon warns Anna and her grandmother about Leafman’s danger. The two don’t so much disbelieve as dismiss her message because they don’t understand.  When they see Leafman in action theory transforms into reality.
The value in great art, literature, and music is, not just entertainment and beauty, but that it carries you to a new world where you experience a new life and learn along with the people and emotions you meet there.
When I was eight I learned a number of painful lessons as my Mom and I discussed “Madam Butterfly.”  I learned about boy\girl relationships by being with Carmen, who I do not see as “a wonder example of a powerful and independent womanhood,” as is news media tries to convince us.The woman’s powerful all right but she’s a TURKEY!  nancymauerman.com

People are Waiting for the Surprises in the Humorous Children’s Book, ‘SUPERMAN AND THE BAD MERMAID QUEEN’

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Behind me are a few pictures I’ll be finishing for my new children’s book, ‘Superman and the Bad Mermaid Queen.’ It’s one long story that will be presented in five books or as an entire set, within one cover. I’m still making minor rewrites weekly and I’m about half done illustrating part 1 and part 2.
I wake up every morning planning to have that stinker done before I go to bed but the next morning, surprise, surprise, I wake up to the same goal.
Another surprise in my life is the fact that by the time I was ten I’d established two hated activities as something I would NEVER do when I reached the ‘freedom’ of adulthood;
1. I would never write anything!
2. I would never hand sew anything!
So I find it very amusing that I dedicate almost my entire life to writing children’s books, drawing their pictures and hand sewing weird quilts. I love life.
To read my other books refer to Nancy Mauerman at Amazon.com and to find weird quilts see my website.          nancymauerman.com

At 11 He Became My Hero, Carved Into the Stone of My Memory

When my son, Paul, was beginning middle school one of his best friends became my hero. The two plus, my daughter Anna being three years younger and still in elementary school, played basket ball on the short court of our driveway. Alex, the friend would occasionally pass the ball to Anna or, if she’d gotten hold of it within his reach, didn’t always grab it away.
Kids are always thrilled to play with older ones and the big kids generally don’t appreciate it. I was impressed. I carved Alex into the stone of my memory. He held even a higher place in my heart because the nearest basketball hoop was miles away so the high school aged boy next door and his friend often asked to join the game. Paul and Al were thrilled and duly challenged by their ruthless play as one of them soon became a Blazer, our Portland Oregon’s professional team. These kids didn’t hold back. I was impressed with Alex needed all his focus to try to impress the older kids, let alone just keep up with the play. But even then Alex passed a few balls to Anna.   nancymauerman.com

Can You Answer a Queastion for me?

Amy, who transforms my books into a computer form Amazon can read, clicked on Pandora’s movie scores and we heard a piece that I Immediately identified as symphonic and pretty but within moments I felt a great depression and sadness like a wave moving through me. I stopped drawing to listen. Tim Janice, the composer of the piece “Ever I Love You”, asked a musical question and when he answered it, the resolution he suddenly switched into a minor key. I suppose other composers do this. I hear beauty and sadness in Chopin. but not this strongly. How does he do this? Can anyone out there answer for me?  nancymauerman.com

Not Just Father’s day but Boy’s Day

Yesterday I called my son and wished him a Happy Boy’s Day. I’ve dedicated my new book, in its complete paper-back version, to him. The book, “Leafman Attacks”, is the second story about he and his sister, and I’ll spend today working on the pictures for another in their series and hope to have it done soon for a late Girl’s Day gift to Anna.
In our family we celebrated the two above holidays plus others like Rock Day, Frog Day and, one of our favorites, Bad Manner Day, when we talked about various table manners, from other cultures. We rocked onto the back legs of our chairs and burping as loud as we could, or we held bowls to our bottom lips and pushing food in and slurping as fast as we could. I mention these special days in my various books found on Amazon.com.     nancymauerman.com

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Night Shadow

Last year John tramped up stairs and woke me somewhere between 2 A. M. and 3. I had to get out of bed and dress, go outside and look at a neat shadow; a night shadow! We are so rich. We live within our means and unless people can see shadows at night they can’t be joyful, no matter how much money they have.   nancymauerman.com