More Holiday Fun

Maggie really enjoyed her time at the Silvertree Hotel over the holidays.

Thanks to all the children and parents who joined us at the Silvertree and the Hotel Jerome. Reading the Fraser books to children is a real joy for me.

I wish you all a very Happy and Snowy New Year!!

For those of you who have left the mountains, we finally got a lovely, well-needed snow storm on Saturday. This gives us all a big lift for January.

Winterskol is right around the corner.

Holiday Story Hour in Snowmass

We had so much fun reading to the children at the Silvertree Hotel last week.

Here were some kids who loved the "fill-in" Fraser dog. They decorated him with reindeer antlers and a nose and generally had a great time taking off and putting on his life preserver.

I hope to wish any of our followers a very Happy Holiday season.

If any of you are in the Aspen area, we will be at the Hotel Jerome Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 3:30 for the 12 Days of Christmas story reading.

We will be back at the Silvertree Hotel on Thursday, Dec. 29th at 4:30.

We hope to see you all there.

Another Fraser?

I definitely should learn to use a video camera and video the amount of real dogs that think this "Fraser" look-alike is "real."

At the Saturday market, I'm always amazed at how funny it is when other passing doggies stop and either bark, try to play, or are actually scared of this stuffed dog. Dog owners are amazed at their dogs' behavior.

OK, next year, I promise to get that video going.

Love This!

I loved this saying that I saw carved on a plaque at a Farmer's Market in Canada.

Our gorgeous and warm fall is over and now Aspen is blanketed in snow and it's cold!

I've been writing, working, baking. I'm presently judging the Fraser Writing Contest for this year. I've read some amazing stories. The winners will be listed later this month!

Maggie Going to Wok

Here's my little Maggie on her way to work at the hospital, the assisted living center and to visit the children at the Early Learning Center.

Maggie is almost 13 and her advice on getting older is to stay involved volunteering and to exercise daily. She learned a lot from Fraser and is trying to pass on those lessons to all of us.

Our last day at the Aspen Saturday Market is this Saturday, October 15th. Hope to see some of you there.

Maggie On Duty

Maggie does more than come to book signings. Yes, she's a therapy dog at Aspen Valley Hospital. Here she is with a patient. She visits patients at both the hospital as well as the senior center every month.

Fraser was a volunteer first and now Maggie loves her job, too! More later.

My Kenyan Pen Pal

I thought it would be fun to share this photo with you today. Nimrod has been my pen pal for the past 7 years!

I met his dad, Wesley, who was our safari guide in the Masa Mara in Kenya eleven years ago. I gave him Fraser's first adventure; Adventure on Snowmass Mountain. He, in turn, shared it with his children. Several years later, I received a nice letter and photo from his son, Nimrod, requesting that I become his pen pal. He said in the letter that he learned how to ski (in his head) by reading my book, which was such a wonderful thing to hear.

We have written letters back and forth (yes, snail mail) ever since. In 2008, our family went back to Kenya along with my daughter's good friend and her family. It was a total shock and surprise -- when we were in the Masa Mara, Wesley, Nimrod and his sister, Miriam arrived to surprise me. I had tried to contact them before I left with no luck.

It was such a pleasure to sit down with the three of them and talk. I had brought gifts just in case. Nimrod and Miriam told me they had never spoken to "whites" before. We all had such a lovely visit.

Just this summer, I realized that Nimrod now has use of a computer! I miss his handwritten letters, but understand how great it is to receive emails so quickly. He is studying hard and taking classes and hoping to go on to university.