Ten years ago Lulu.com didn’t exist. Files were delivered on a floppy, CD-ROM, or one of those newfangled Zip disks. I purchased the cover stock, delivered it to the company that did the foiling, picked up the foiled covers and delivered them and the interior files to the company that printed up the book block, and assembled the punched books. (That was my decision; I purposely used binder rings instead of coil binding so the books could be expandable. I still like the sturdy homemade feel of the original books best, but I’ve moved on to other projects.)

The original Sacramento Portuguese Heritage Recipe Book, 1997.

For this edition of the recipe book I uploaded the files to Lulu.com for printing. I changed the book’s orientation and took advantage of the full-cover cover. The files have been uploaded and proofed, and now I’m done. The organization can order as many copies as they need when they need them without my further involvement.

The revised Sacramento Portuguese Heritage Recipe Book, 2008, for sale now at Lulu.com.

One of my clients sent me a signed copy of her book. I love getting clients’ books — it’s always a pleasure to see how the final printed book turned out.

I worked on the editing, not the design, but the combination of red and black is lovely, isn’t it? And the red with black is repeated in the interior illustrations, with the red and black overprinted to give a sepia brown tone.

One of my clients gave me this poinsettia. I knew I should have taken a picture right away — after three weeks under my care, the poinsettia has lost some of its glow. It was an amazing plant when I first brought it home: the tallest poinsettia I’d ever seen, with brilliant red leaves hiding the stems.

I waited before taking a photo so I could include my client’s book — The Ivaldis Sail to America by Sybil Ann Ivaldi — with it. Next time I won’t wait.

This photo doesn’t do justice to either the plant or the book. The book, by the way, was a real challenge: 393 photos and 6 graphics, printed in color.