I have been in St Petersburg, Florida all week teaching at the Writers in Paradise writers conference with Laura Lippman, Dennis Lehane and Tom Perrotta. Having a wonderful time with really wonderful students. The temperatures were surprising, dipping below freezing! But now it is warm and sunny. And I am eager to get back home tomorrow and hug my family.

We have a new member of the family: Sam gave Annabelle a bunny for Christmas. Honeybunch is a red lop eared rabbit and he provides me with constant entertainment. Just watching him hop or munch a carrot is enough to make me smile.

A busy travel time for all of us. My darling and daring husband leaves Monday to climb Mt. Aconcogua in Argentina. It's 23000 feet high. I am happily meeting him in Mendoza in mid February and will be eager to see him safe and sound and taste some good Argentinian wine with him to celebrate his summit.

While he's away, Sam and I are taking a long weekend in London to celebrate his upcoming 16th birthday. I can't believe that my 4 1/2 pound baby is now a 6'4 16 year old. He was just cast in The Larramee Project, a real achievement since he was the only teenager cast, and as Officer Krumpke in West Side Story.

Annabelle will come with Lorne and me in March when we travel to Guatemala and I teach with Joyce Maynard at her wonderful writers conference there. Unfortunately, Sam can't join us because of his shows.

My recent publications include an Op Ed in The New York Times on December 23 about air travel and a short piece in the February Good Housekeeping on perfume and love. I hope you enjoy them, as well as my upcoming articles in Allure, Ladies Home Journal, Tin House, Budget Travel and More!

I admit I am still knitting dish rags like crazy. And finishing Annabelle's sweater, though I've hit an obstacle: the kit didn't have enough yarn in it so I need to get more to do her second sleeve!

Happy knitting! Enjoy the beautiful winter days.