My friend B gave me a copy of her newly self-published book yesterday. This was a collaborative effort in that she gave me a stack of written notes and bits of paper that were about a crow she called Gilbert and I sorted all the pieces and made them into a story. This was the first time I had done anything like this, so it was an amazing experience.

B befriended Gilbert when she found him in very bad shape on the grass below her apartment where she used to live. Gilbert was a pretty old bird but she nursed him back to life by feeding him peanuts and bread and anything else he would eat. Eventually, he found a wife and he had several batches of children while B was living there. It is a very interesting story about the habits of crows and how humans can interact with them. She was careful not to tame him or his children so they were still wild and able to take care of themselves. There are also some short bits about a squirrel, some blue-jays and some turkeys that she had as pets when she lived in Sri Lanka. It was very sad when B moved and had to leave Gilbert behind. A neighbour continued to give him peanuts, so she felt a little better about leaving him.

I feel honoured to have been a part of bringing this book to life and B wrote in the front that the book would never have been written had it not been for my help. It has certainly been a great year for me creatively.

I went to see a lawyer today to make sure there was nothing in our letter that were grounds for a libel or slander suit - she said there isn't. So the letter goes off tomorrow with 45 signatures. There are only 61 apartments in the building so that is really good. Hope we get some action. It has been a long process but a very good one for me.

I want to get on now and make some Christmas presents, I have bought a couple of pendants to make necklaces for my daughters and I will probably stick some pressed flowers onto candles to give as gifts. I pressed some hydrangeas and pansies during the summer. I would like to get a couple more faerie pouches done as well.

I look forward to creating again after this busy couple of weeks.