I learned recently that I have sold three more short stories to People's Friend, two of which were written around illustrations sent to me by the magazine. I thoroughly enjoyed that exercise and hope to do more. My short story, Cousins and Aunts, now retitled Thicker Than Water, is currently in the People"s Friend 2010 Holiday Special. I hope you'll enjoy it.

The Gregory family is about back to normal now that Bob has returned from an interesting and moving trip to the battlefields of Europe, and Adrian is back from his Alaskan cruise. Both were successful, though Bob could have done without a jolly night sitting in Toronto airport caused by Iceland's volcano. Compared to many, I expect he was lucky.

Feeling a little left out, I decided to attend a conference across town for two nights. Not quite in the same league, but very worthwhile. Laura Resnick, the featured speaker, was entertaining and informative as usual, and I enjoyed the chance to connect with old friends.

Riley was delighted to have everyone home again, but didn't at all see why he had to visit the dog-wash in order to look respectable for family visiting from England. Family were much entertained by raccoons occupying a tree in our garden. We were less entertained by the fact that they ripped a hole in our roof, presumably with the intention of preparing suitable accommodation for babies. Luckily, Adrian and a friend were able to repair the hole temporarily while mother raccoon was out and before she had a chance to produce babies.

Have a warm and enjoyable summer.

Kay