Today the clouds are showing signs that they may give us some snow! Well it is northern Alberta and it is October...

But today i got something in the mail that brought me a smile. For the past couple of years I have been writing for Alberta Distant Learning a review program for their Junior High Social courses. The first year was for Grade 7 and this past winter it was the Grade 8 course. There are fifteen lessons and each lesson has several sections. The fun part was to write the introductions to the various sections. It had to be brief and yet grab the attention of the student. Well the project was completed in March and I received my copy today. It is always a thrill to see how the editors take your thoughts and either add, change, or leave alone your words. In this case the editor was the same one I have had for the past two years. During the first year she was always seeking more from me as she had an idea of how the course should be and I was a bit of a free spirit and did some things that did not quite meet her standards. To say the least there were many rewrites that first year. However this past year it seemed that we both were on the same page for most of the course and where as the first year we finished right at the deadline date, this year we were done a month early. As I reviewed the results it is interesting to see that we have both moved away from the our original positions and the end result is much better for it. I have really enjoyed working with her as she has pushed me to places I might not have gone and that has made me a better writer.

It's a great winter project and the pay is always appreciated. Here's hoping that the Government does not cut the development of the Grade 9 program and that I can land the job as writer. But, if I don't get the Grade 9 assignment today is still a nice day!