Adventures in Blog Land

One of the things that I have learned about having a blog is that you can't just send things out into space and expect people to find them.


I have been sending links to this blog to friends and family via email and Facebook, and discovered also that if I comment on blogs that I like and invite those folks to visit my blog, they do!  Sometimes they are even kind enough to leave a comment and become followers!


So, I thought it would be nice to share some of the blogs that I like, in the hope that you too will visit them and enjoy them as well!


Tabiboo was one of the first blogs I found by accident (most of the time I just click around until I find something that I like).  Nina has a wonderful way with words, she has a great British accent (even in her writing), and her photos are beautiful!   


I found House Unseen, Life Unscripted  and I am so glad that I did - she is a wonderful writer and the story of how she and her husband bought a house sight unseen and moved across the country with their small children is great!  She has some posts about faith and community that brought tears to my eyes!


 I like Why I Am Catholic  because the folks who post on it are real and reasonable and have interesting things to say.


One of the first blogs I started following was Pioneer Woman. I found it because I was working at a bookstore and saw her cookbook, which mentioned her blog (website, actually).  She is very funny, and has great recipes, photos and stories.  


One of my favorites is the Deacon's Bench.  Deacon Greg Kandra is one of the smartest Catholic voices out there.  He now is the Editor of ONE, the magazine of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, one of Charles' favorite charitable organizations.  Greg has a way of bringing topics to the attention of folks that might not have cared otherwise.  


Along the same lines is Deacons Today: Dalmatics and Beyond, the blog of Deacon Bill Ditewig, a very intelligent person, but also extremely down to earth and kind. 


And of course, Whispers in the Loggia - the premier source of all news coming out of Rome.  I don't know how he does it, but Rocco Palmo has his finger on the pulse of the Vatican.  It was here that we found out the name of our new bishop, BEFORE it was announced.  And he does it on a shoe string and a prayer.  He is a gift to the Church.  


On a more homey note, there are several decorating, crafting and homemaking blogs I enjoy: Dandelions and Dust Bunnies; My French Country Home; Birds and Trees; Stuff and Nonsense; Dottie Angel; and finally, these ones, which are dear to my heart because they are fellow Alaskan bloggers: Bord and Butik and Heather Lende.


No wonder I can't get anything done!


Enjoy!

I Love Paper

I love paper.  And glue.  And scissors.

With these three things, I am able to take this:

and transform it into this:

and this...

and this...

and this...

I love paper, glue, and scissors.

But mostly, I love paper.

Junk Drawer - UPDATED

I am horrified to admit that this is the junk drawer in our dining room buffet.

It is the new project that I have set for myself.  By next week, I hope to go through this drawer and get rid of many things that are completely unnecessary. 

Why, for example do I need a tin that says "50 - Over the Hill"?  That is so five years ago.

We got this at a wedding a couple of years ago.  It's up for grabs if anyone wants it!

A very nice man with a metal detector dug this stuff out from our community garden site.  It went into a plastic bag and into the junk drawer.  There is a silver spoon, a bullet, a hinge and an old fuse, along with some ancient pennies.  What should I do with it?

I guess it's time to take this film to be developed!

These look like Charles' old glasses, but I don't think they are.  It's a mystery.

Three blue lanyards: National Guard, Thunder Mountain High School (Go Falcons!) and one from the Archdiocese of Anchorage Discipleship Days from about 5 years ago.

A button from the Alaska Marine Highway (I DO believe in Ferries)!

A selection of buttons and pins.  (I was wondering where that Santa pin went!)

I watched the start of the Iditarod (both the ceremonial and the offical starts) in 2002.   And apparently, never sewed this patch on anything.  The 2011 Iditarod is happening right now!

A lone bright orange shoelace.  Why did I feel the need to keep this?

A picture of one of my midwives with her baby.  This was taken the day that my daughter Phoebe was born 25 years ago.

This is a chip good for one free drink at Louie's.  Maybe I should use this as my reward for getting the junk drawer cleaned out (after Easter).

When the job is done, I will post before and after pictures.  

When it comes to organizing, I have found that small steps are best.  

I predict that I will take a lot of time to look at the items in the junk drawer, try to figure out where they came from, and then decide to keep some if them.  NO!  I must be strong!  I must be ruthless!

Wish me luck.

BEFORE

AFTER

Bread

I made bread today.

Bread is another thing (like pie crust) that I tried once, failed at, and gave up for about 20 years.  Maybe the first time I made bread, I had bad yeast.  Or, maybe I made the water too hot.  Or maybe I was scared because the process seemed so complex, and I kneaded it too hard with my shaking hands.

Whatever the reason, the first time I made bread, it turned out like bricks that smelled like bread, but tasted like bricks.

But, once I retired, I thought I should make bread, as it is a homey thing to do, and I am, after all, at home.  So, I got out my trusty Fiddlehead Cookbook and tried once again.  Our kitchen counters are too high for me to knead comfortably, so I used a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook.  

Lo, and behold, it worked.  Now, I make bread all the time.  It is a nice, contemplative thing to do.  When I make bread, I always think of this lovely prayer:

“Be gentle when you touch bread.
Let it not lie, uncared for, unwanted.
So often bread is taken for granted.
There is such beauty in bread—
Beauty of surf and soil,
Beauty of patient toil.
Wind and rain have caressed it,
Christ often blessed it.
Be gentle when you touch bread.”

David Adam