Auspicious Anniversaries

As I was reading my favorite blogs today, I was reminded by Dave, who had been reminded by Dr. Sardonicus, that they both are currently celebrating the second anniversaries of their respective blogs. Thinking about that, I seem to recall someone else -on my favorites list, Barb, whose anniversary is also around about this time too -and it would also be her second anniversary celebration as well.

And gee whiz, I realized then that it is also MY second anniversary in the blogosphere as well! Now how the heck could I neglect that important event that actually was on September 14th -over a week ago now?

Like Dave, I'm a bit astonished over the number of people who have stumbled on my blog and then left -never to return -and also, by those who have come by here via one means or another and have come back to read more. Some of them come by and check my blog faithfully, on a daily basis, and never leave a comment -just keep reading and lurking and coming back -and that's fine with me. Much as I do love (like all other bloggers I am assuming do too) comments, some of these lurkers do tell me in person when I see them -or they may send me an e-mail message to -that they read this or that post and they agree with what I said or enjoyed the message or in some rare instances, tell me they loved reading about Maya and Kurtis and especially seeing the photos I often post about them too -watching them grow up, right before our eyes!

For the record, the number of visitors showing on my sitemeter sits right now at 21,059 and that is actually those who have visited since probably late November or early December of 2006 as I think that's about the time I installed the sitemeter to track my visitors. I can remember how excited I was to see the first couple of visitors to my blog recorded on my sitemeter too. I think it was maybe two or three folks who had dropped in here to read but as far as I was concerned, it seemed more like I'd written a best seller and had a kazillion visitors to my site!

Yeah, I'm pretty much a simple soul and little things, like visitors and especially those who comment too, to my blog really do make my socks go up and down -if I were, in fact, wearing socks, that is.

Since I started blogging - and learned how to add people to my simple blog roll - the number of other blogs I read has grown by leaps and bounds. The first two blogs that began my journey in Blogland with me were Barb aka Skittles and Paige at Paradise Valley 2. They're both still "with me" -on my blogroll and I read their latest posts everytime they put something new up there via my lovely Google Reader device. Yes, the same darned one that gave me such fits back at the end of July, through August and still annoys me in that it now takes forever for it to update my own blog and show when I have a new post! But at least it is doing that now, cause back in August, it wasn't even doing that much for me, so I'll just deal with the slowness of the RSS or Feedburner thingy -whichever one it is that is slowing down almost to a stop it seems at times. So much for the speed of the internet where my blog and the updating factors are concerned.

Another blogger who has been on my favorites list almost as long as Barb and Paige is Shelby Dupree but that wasn't the name of her blog when I first found her -or she found me. Not sure which came first there but she's been with me for almost two years now too and still one of my favorites, as much now as she was way back then.

Way back, in my fairly early days, I had another blog favorite -Bob Johnson -who wrote the fantastic and always funny as all get out blog "Letters I Wish I'd Sent." Now that's was a masterpiece of a blog and one I loved reading every single day! Over the course of almost a year, I came to feel that I knew Bob just as well as I knew my next-door-neighbor! Not only did we read each other's blogs, but we also became blogger friends, exchanging e-mails, discussing lots of things from soup to nuts with a lot of communiques about his efforts of trying to find ways to make a little money from his writings on his blog.

If you've been reading my blog for any great length of time -like a year or more, you may remember that my good friend Bob died, quite suddenly, of a massive heart attack a year ago this fall -November I believe it was -and losing him, his blog, his wit, his friendship, really hit me quite hard. I still very much miss not seeing his own particular brand of humor and unfortunately, shortly before he died, he had shut that blog, along with some of his other ventures in Blogland down. Wish you hadn't done that Bob, as there are many times when I feel the need to read some of your great takes on people, on life in general, for the uplift those posts always gave me.

In the past year, I've been playing around a bit with my own blog -doing the Paid Posts from time to time. No, I can't say that I will ever get filthy rich from those posts, not even close to solvent with them actually, but what the heck, earning $5.00 here and there, every now and again, at least gives me a little bit of a useful, purposeful feeling about the time I spend reading and occasionally writing a post or two too!

Right now, any paid posts I do, the earnings from them goes into my PayPal account and I'm hoping to at least earn enough there to put towards getting some fuel oil in our tank to keep the house semi-warm this coming winter. No lofty goals there really, just a little extra to put towards survival. Although, when I stop and think about the price of fuel oil now, maybe that is a pretty darned lofty goal after all, isn't it?

Recent readers know I've begun working on projects to use for gifts -most probably Christmas gifts -as I've been embroidering like a crazy woman! So far, I have completed two tablecloths and four tablerunners and have them safely stashed away for the upcoming holiday. I have long had a "stash" consisting of fabrics and patterns for sewing -mainly children's clothing, as well as storage totes filled to the brim with yarns and knitting and crochet pattern books for when I get the urge to sew or knit/crochet. Now, I've added a box that I am slowly filling with more embroidery projects to do over the coming months as well. Yeah, I have five tablecloths and five tablerunners in that box to be done, along with some other little projects along the "counted cross stitch" line too. The latter -counted cross stitch -probably will never get done as I find doing that stuff way too tedious and difficult for my eyes and fingers to maneuver the stitches to get them the right size and blending of colors too! Maybe someday -but doubtful -that I will dig in and tackle them!

My regular readers have followed along with my recording of some of the antics of my sweet little granddaughter -usually times when she wasn't being exactly sweet though -as well as learning of her progress and that of her little brother, Kurtis, as they both are learning how to comprehend the many things we all tend to take for granted in the "normal" progressions of childhood but that aren't exactly the norm for them since they are both autistic.

My intent in writing about their progress, their actions, comprehensions, etc., is to show those with no knowledge about autism that although it is an adventure into a totally different realm quite frequently, it is still every bit as wonderful as is having children who learn at what society deems to be the normal rate. My daughter has several magnet things on her car and one says "Autism is not a tragedy; Ignorance is the tragedy." And that's something I firmly believe. They are still the most beautiful, most precious gifts from God anyone could ever ask for!

There have been many times over the past two years when I wondered what is the point of blogging. When I get more than a little bit "brain dead" I still wonder about that.

But then, I will read others posts and always find something there of interest, sometimes something that will inspire me, remind me of events in my life, of things that are deep in my mind, my memories, or things that I might have in my dreams for things that could possibly be yet to come. And always, when that happens, I find myself thanking whoever or whatever powers that be that brought me to blogland in the first place.

Today, my blogroll consists of around 160 blogs -a far cry from the first three or four blogs I followed two years back. Thankfully, not everyone of those bloggers posts something new every single day or I would really be swamped in reading and wouild never get around to having time to write anything here! (Although, that might be something some bloggers may wish I would do less of, or at least write fewer words in my posts too, perhaps.)

So anyway, that's where I am today -celebrating that my blog has survived two years here, that it's made me a couple bucks over the past year but even more than that, it's gained me some great friendships of the virtual kind, but with people from very diverse walks of life, from several different countries as well. There's some from Canada - Vic, Mau and Terry in particular -and of course, another Terry in Portugal who helped me revamp the appearance of my blog, did the banner for it for me, and David, from Australia whose posts and photos -and his roasts and "post of the day" spots I totally enjoy. There Dianne, from New Jersey, two lawyers (here and here), a special RN from British Columbia, a Classy young mother from Cleveland, an equally classy slightly older Mom from Minnesota, cat lovers all over the place like Fermie and Magnentbabe, people who share my political thoughts, those who don't too, folks who write some really great intellectual stuff, others who write some really crazy stuff and ask their readers to judge if we think they are insane or not too! And grandparents galore, along with younger parents who grace my blogroll. And also, lots and lots of folks who have someone they love who has autism too. I don't know if I have a blogger from every state in the union on my blogroll or not and I'm thinking maybe I should try to figure that out, just for the heck of it someday.

Now that I mention that, why not ask everyone who reads my blog to submit a simple comment -just naming the state -or country -where you live -and make my work to do a post about the extensive nature of blogging easier for me to write up sometime soon? Aw, come on, you can do that much for me now, can't you?

Thanks to each of you listed below -along with some others on my reading list as well, you all contribute to keep me reading, keep me thinking and to keep me coming back, again and again -to keep on Blogging

Pat, Sunshine, Keith, Debo Blue, Claire, the Cheeky Little Brit, Ann,
Jeff, 911 Linda, Beth's Funny Farm, Bagwine, Sognatrice, James and his Burnetiquette, Sandee, Danielle, Dooce, Suzanne, Stephanie, Laura, Gretchen,
Mahala, Lorraine, Sandi McBride, Lime, Molly, the Millionaire Wannabe,
Logophile, Jo, Jailhouse Jon, Jenera, Katydidnot, Sylvia, Janey Wan,
The Swedish Cruiser, Amy, the Knitting Queen, Grandma Mary in Canada,
Miss Nelson, The One and Only Meloncutter, The MEME Queen, Misty Dawn,
MOMnos, Casdok, Stine in Norway, Jackie and her Lot, Empress Bee,
Mushy, Eve Nucci, Pos, Grannie Maggie May, Jocylyn, Paula, Rick Rockhill,
The Pundit Mom, Minnesota Blue, Lacy's Razor Farms, Kathryn, Shrinky,
John's Shack, Magazine Man, The Crazy Mr. Sullivan, Hot Mamma,
Technobabe, Belle, Bunny On, Tee the Diva, Singing Owl, Terri Murphy,
Snoopmurph Linda, Shelley Tucker, Janet, Travis, Fireman Gene's Sweaty Socks, Raven, Patois, Hammer, Maddy McEwen, Leeandeluu, Melinda,
Kandee, Surly Writer, Ranting Trucker Lady, Snowman Poop,
Millieum Housewife, Carol's Rose Creek Cottage, Woman in A Window

Now, I'm heading off into YEAR THREE!