first day

surprise visitor

hike

We went hiking in the mountains.

summer joy

family reunion

... where I've been all week.

music

The banjo is made from half of a poppy pod

the poet and his muse

The lantern is made from an oak gall

beach

I painted a little backdrop for this one

hug

brown study

garden

big brother

new crop

A batch of new mice in progress on my messy workbench

leapfrog

campfire

Telling stories inside their handkerchief tent

tightrope

Spring

flapjacks

Everybody loves pancakes!

old bunny

outing with Momma

Momma's handbag is made from an earring and a piece of kid glove

welcome to Mouses's house

Mouse, standing in front of a page in the book

It's here

I am happy to announce that my book is out! I hope you like it.

Thank you!

This month marks the one year anniversary of MousesHouses!

The mouse crew is so grateful to you for following us, and for all the lovely comments and support you've given. Thank you!

rain

noodles

"No day is so bad that pasta can't make it better"

-M. Sacks

Granddad

Redwall

We raise a cup of October Ale to the memory of Brian Jacques

"mouseland"

And now for something completely different; a short film of me in my studio, by my lovely son, Sam Alden (gingerlandcomics.blogspot.com)

fitting

mermouse

Have you ever seen a mermouse, swimming in the seagrass?

snit

Someone is grumpy

far from home

Nadim Damluji sent me this photo of his little travelling companion, surely the farthest one of my mice has ever been from home!! You can follow Nadim's adventures during his Watson Fellowship year at http://tintintravels.tumblr.com/

home and warm

He is home from his walk in the woods...so many concerned followers were worried about his cold paws that I gave him a steamy foot bath!

snowy day

party dress

She's on her way to a birthday soiree, wearing a dress made out of camellia petals and a daisy hat.

Happy Birthday, Laura!

baby bath

This is a scene from my book...the baby is having his bath in an eye cup, while his pet woolly bear looks on. You can see a few more pages at http://books.simonandschuster.ca/House-that-Mouse-Built/Pam-Abrams/9781935703259/graphic_excerpt. Photo by Bruce Wolf.

glasses

royalty

The mouse princeling waves to his subjects

Thanksgiving

The mice are giving thanks for their roast walnut feast and I am giving thanks for my family, friends and followers.

Happy Holidays!

Behind the scenes

Here we are, shooting the photographs for "The House that Mouse Built". Bruce has an astounding set-up, and I got quite an education watching him light the scenes. I'm making yet another mouse micro-adjustment here while Bruce does his deep-breathing exercises (not really, he was incredibly patient, even when my dogs were sitting on his feet). Photo by Maddie Odenborg.

jungle

artist

paperfight

...unless they're having a paperfight!

storytime

Reading to small children makes you feel like a rock star

Portrait of a Gentleman

upsy-daisy

I just wanted to thank everyone for your nice comments, and to let you know that I've finally finished all the scenes for my upcoming picture book! You can see a mock-up of the cover here:

http://books.simonandschuster.com/House-that-Mouse-Built/Pam-Abrams/9781935703259

or here: http://www.amazon.com/House-that-Mouse-Built/dp/1935703250

hot tub

My sister gave me this beautiful cup and saucer for my birthday, and as you can see, we are getting a lot of use out of it. Thank you, Susy!

Venus

mushroom

contract

She has returned from the big city with a book contract! It will published in March '11, and is called "The House that Mouse Built".