A Little Time in Steamtown

I just came back from the residency for the MFA program at Wilkes University.  I got my MFA there and had the opportunity to go back, teach and read.   It was a great week spent with amazing faculty and students.  I always come home more motivated and confident and ready to write.  While I was there, I had the opportunity to read at the Library Express at the Steamtown Mall in Scranton.  It was awesome--a wonderful venue that I hope to return to.  My good friend Barb also had a little party for me, including this amazing cake!

Huge thanks to Barb, Dawn, Laurie, Kaylie and all the wonderful Wilkes MFA people!  Making great friends is another wonderful benefit of the Wilkes Creative Writing MFA program!

Scranton also boasts the work of a Provincetown artist.  Herman Maril painted this mural in the West Scranton Post Office in 1941.

Scranton was a major player in the American Industrial Revolution.  The rail yards and anthracite mines fueled the railroad industry.  The Steamtown National Historic Site has a great collection of trains and the history of the era of steam engine rail travel.  Worth a visit!

 And all that time, Clovis was away at Summer Camp.  He stayed with his Aunt Suzi, Cousin Henry and the cats.  The days were filled with activity.

 Here he is looking cute on the bed.

Here he is taking a photo of himself.

Attacking the "new" Lambie (sadly, I forgot the old Lambie in a hotel in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina and Clovis has never forgiven me).

Snuggled nap time is always important.

And a few random shots thrown in for good measure.

I caught this painting class on the beach in Provincetown.  Looks like the days of Charles Hawthorne and the Art Schools of Provincetown!