Since I mentioned my niece, a post devoted to ornaments from her: a stain-glassed pear she painted, and a cut-out snowflake. A Christmas tree should have a good mix of handmade ornaments and polished, store-bought ones. Both make me think of the giver, but the rough edges of the handmade ones always make me smile just a bit more. Why a pear and a snowflake? Well, the pear most likely to mark the pear obsession I once had; the snowflake, I’m guessing for the season.
My first book was a little chapbook called Pear Slip. Released in December 2007, it made the perfect gift for everyone on my list that year. Sadly, it’s out of print now (I have the remaining copies left if anyone’s ever looking for one; some of you still have it on your bookshelves, so you know it once existed!) but it launched a never-ending spree of pear gifts from everyone and anyone who knew me. Let me clarify one thing: pears aren’t even my favorite fruit to eat. There is something about their shape that catches my eye, and the play on pome/poem that is too hard to resist. When they appear in my work now, it is both a wink and a signal to my reader. And this isn’t the last pear you’ll see on my tree…
