Baby Blessings Keepsake Book
I got an “A” in 7th grade art, but I thought everybody did; didn’t think anything of it and never took another class.  Then, at 30, I painted my 1st picture!  It was a geranium that was sitting on my kitchen table and the shock was that my painting actually looked like a geranium!  That was 1977, but by 1982 a new reality had begun for me and I was picking up the shattered pieces of my life far, far away...Sitting at my dining room table I watercolored and handwrote my first book, with little borders and all the things around me, my cats, baskets, dishes, flowers, straw hats, teapots and hearts.  I wrote all about my big family and the traditions we celebrated.  I had collected quotes for a few years, so I let the world’s sages be the brains of the operation and say all the things I believed but was too afraid to say myself.  And my favorite tried and true recipes.  My mantra was: “simple, easy, elegant and delicious.” I wanted to make a special book to go out to all the wonderful moms like my mom to help them feel more appreciated for all their hard work.  And all of a sudden one day it was done!  I knew no one in publishing; but Martha’s Vineyard is very well connected so I took my pages downtown to the girls who work in the shops on Main Street.  I went door to door, showed my work, and asked if anybody knew anyone who could help me.  And someone did.  I was offered a contract!  My book was going to be published!It was the beginning of a whole new world for me.  Heart of the Home came out for Christmas 1986; my first fan letter came a few months after that and I sat in the parking lot at the P.O. and cried.Eighteen years later, I’m still painting and I’m still on the island!