What I Did on My Vacation  
(and book giveaway winner)

    Sounds like the school assignment we always got after Winter Break, right?

    Well, I went to visit my family in Boston and we continued our holiday tradition of spending four days over Christmas in New Hampshire. It was slightly different this year as my oldest nephew was missing. Don't feel too bad for him; he was on a trip in Israel for almost 3 weeks! He'll be back this week with tales to tell, I'm sure.

     We had a cold (-4 degrees Christmas Eve) and somewhat snowy day or two that you can see here. 

Not a fault line crack; it's the creek through the property!

We ate dinner Christmas Eve with my nephew's friend and his family in a charming, quaintly decorated New England cottage with antique furniture, old-fashioned floral wallpaper, floor vents in the creaky, hardwood floors, and a dining table smack in the middle of the small kitchen (complete with a cupboard that had hammered tin inset panels in the doors). No pictures, unfortunately. I'd never met these folks before and thought it might seem a little creepy to start taking pictures of their house! 

     The drive to their house took us on isolated roads and we saw some of these signs!  Dusk is feeding time, I'm told, for moose. We were driving at dusk. Yeah, I hear some of you going "big deal, the moose is probably more afraid of you and won't come near you."      Oh how wrong you are!

     Last fall, my family was in New Hampshire, traveling on similar roads, at a similar time. Without warning a HUGE female moose came running across the road (even girl moose don't want to miss feeding time) right in front of their car. So close that she left moose mud- at least they think it was mud- on the bumper and hood. Thank goodness they were only going about 40-45 mph and were able to stop. But it scared the bajeebees out of EVERYONE. [And although no one admits it, I'm betting there was some extra laundry to do that night, if you get my drift.] 

For many of us this picture to the right comes to mind  when one says "moose".                

The reality is more like this one on the left and between 10-15 feet tall. So next time you're in moose country, remember WE are the visitors there and you need to brake for moose!  

                            *drum roll*

The winner of Untraceable by S.R. Johannes is..........

Jenelle R !!        
Congrats to you. Please email me your snailmail address so I can get this fabulous book into your hands.  kidlitgail at gmail dot com