While I’m not Irish, it’s fun to celebrate with my Irish friends. This morning they were showing the St Patrick’s Day parade going on in Dublin. My daughter lived in Ireland for five years. She said this is indeed their biggest holiday.
Happy St Patrick’s Day! Maybe we all find a pot of gold. I do enjoy their sheep. 😉☘️🇮🇪
I was walking and happened to look up and saw these lines in the sky. For some reason, I immediately thought of Tic Tac Toe, we just need another two lines to set up the board.
Continuing along, I looked up again and saw a sheep.
How often do you look up at the sky? I admit, I don’t do it that often. I should, it’s fun!
Happy Pi Day!
Did it work? Did I catch your attention with the 6 Million readers?
I saw an article on the art of blog writing. It mentioned that it helps to use a “number” in the title. Personally, I always steer clear of posts that say, “3 Best Gluten Free Breads,” or “10 Worst TV Shows,” etc. I used to get sucked into those, then realized they were full of “fluff.” WHY, because they got the memo that adding a number to their title would get you readers/followers, so a bit boring, lots of copy cat articles.
I sold advertising for magazines years ago. We had certain issues that used the “number technique.” It did work. Our February Wedding issue focused on the 10 Best Wedding Planners, June would be the 20 Best Dentists, September focused on the 5 Best Senior Centers… You get the idea.
It helped sell advertising. Think about it, were these companies really the BEST or were they the ones willing to pay high advertising rates? This is when I realized, there are a lot of “fake” articles out there.
So, if you want to be an influencer, then you need to write in a certain way.
If, you are like me, and write for enjoyment. Then you write your post, get your coffee, sit back and see who comes. If no one comes, tweak things a bit, then see / hope your numbers soar.
Have fun writing!
This past week has been cold, below zero temps the other day. It’s not possible to walk, so I had to find “something” to do.
Joann Fabric had a huge yarn sale. I decided, time to knit a blanket. It’s coming along. I feel a bit like a granny. Since it will be big, it might take until Fall to complete, depends on how much time I commit to it.
While knitting, I’ve been watching Top Chef on Netflix. I didn’t know that show was still on. As they race against the clock competing, it keeps me going. Keep knitting – one more row, one more row!
Right now, I have dark grey and this light blue color. I’m trying to decide, stay with those two colors only or add this purple violet color. I’m always drawn to bright colors versus earth tones.
I’m amused when I go on a train or bus and see people knitting/crocheting. It does take time, we have to use every minute to get the project done!
Do you have a winter project?
My daughter sent me this, it’s cute. I’ve also received messages from family, friends, vendors (those are sweet) just sending wishes for a heart filled day! I think this day is about love and kindness.
Have a Happy Valentine’s Day and a wonderful weekend!
Well, I’ve done it! I’ve hit 10 years of Blogging.
When I told my daughters, it’s been ten years and I’ve decided to change my little bird photo. They said in unison, “Go Mama, rebranding your Blog.”
I didn’t think of it that way, but they’re right. Big corporations are constantly rebranding. I still sniffle that Aunt Jemima is gone, replaced with Pearl Milling Company brand name. Sometimes we miss the old brand. New is not always better.
Rebranding my Blog meant the hunt was on for a NEW animal photo / background color. As I went through my photos, I plugged them in to see how they looked. There were runners-up!
Each one special in a different way. I do like that sheep on the top right. Doesn’t he speak to diversity and uniqueness? The owl was amusing, as well as the other sheep.
After careful consideration, days of this or that, I decided on the eagle. Yes, he’s the WINNER.
So, here’s to 2025, embracing change and focusing on new challenges.
Cheers!
I’ve been on the hunt for a pair of slippers. The problem, many are heavy, and have an extremely hard plastic bottom that doesn’t bend. Very uncomfortable.
At the store, I saw these pink glamour slippers. They reminded me of Marilyn Monroe. Practical, no! Fun and flirty, YES! I like pink, so was immediately enamored.
Searching online, I found these blue Ugg slippers. My first impression, soft and comfy. My second thought, fashionable. At least, they don’t look like granny slippers… DO THEY?
My Dad was a fanatic about slippers. He didn’t like bare feet or wearing just socks around the house, which he felt cleaned the floor. It’s true. If you don’t believe this, wear a pair of white socks around your house for a day. You will need a ton, and I do mean a ton, of bleach to make them white again.
I’m curious. How many of you wear slippers? If you do, what is your criteria for them.
Recently, I had a strange experience. My daughter and I went on a walk. A lady was raking. I enjoy Fall and raking, so I kidded her that I wouldn’t mind helping.
We joked about this, which led to conversations about the Food Pantry. She volunteers and said they were in desperate need of help. I’ve seen the long lines at a local church, I know there is a need right now. My daughter volunteers. So, I said I would look into this too. We were about to continue our walk…
The lady said, “Oh, I don’t have a piece of paper.”
I took out my phone and said, “I can take your number.”
I texted her the next day. The standard message of “nice to meet you,” if you send me the number for the Food Pantry, I’ll see what help they need. I work during the week, so hope they need weekend help.
GUESS WHAT — She never wrote back. No message, nothing.
My daughter asked me too, “Hey, did you hear from the lady.”
My response, “No, not even a nice to meet you message.”
The reason this was so surprising was the fact that this lady was extremely friendly. Telling us about her neighbors, her kids, her grandkids, baking cookies, etc.
My daughter wanted to contact her, so asked for her number and wrote to her. The lady responded to my daughter, answering her question and saying, “I’ll get in touch with your Mom with the Food Pantry number.” The lady AGAIN re-iterated how desperate the Food Pantry was for help.
Isn’t this the silliest thing… Feels like High School. What is interesting is that I had not asked for HER number. She was the one who asked first.
So, I ask you… “What do you make of this?”
Recently, I stopped by church. During the week, they have a quick 30 minute mass in the morning. The school kids attend. It’s nice. The Priest will engage the children of all ages when he asks questions.
That day, he brought up the subject of kindness, meeting new people, etc. Wow, my ears perked up. How did he know I needed to hear this talk?!
He chose this subject to reach the children; however, it’s true even when we are older. Meaning, no matter what age, people can be superficial.
He talked about how our world has changed, especially since COVID. People want and need interaction, but because of the isolation we experienced during COVID, we have fallen into a dark hole. Everyone wants to remain anonymous. Our phones add to this, allowing us to hide behind them. We can talk to people on our phones, no “in person” interaction needed, we’ve grown comfortable with this.
The Priest made a case for showing kindness, helping others, putting the phones down, etc. EVEN HE needs to make more efforts. He said he got a new dog, which has opened the door to talking with people. If you walk your dog, other dog owners enjoy talking.
Anyhow…. PERFECT subject. I smiled, “Yes, we do like to be anonymous these days. Hide behind our phones/computers.”
This is why the coffee shops are engaging customers, knowing their names and what they order. Greeting them in the morning. In the end, people “do want” face-to-face human interaction. Good for repeat business.
Have you had any strange interactions lately?
Hello fellow Blogger, A Grace Full Life, I hope you don’t mind, I am using your Blog post as an example to discuss a new feature WordPress has come out with in our Reader view. Have you noticed the Comments in a post are now showing up in the Reader?
I used this as an example, because the comment was so long that on my Ipad, it took up my entire screen. I used to see just a thumbnail of each post, so I could quickly scroll through and my FOCUS was on the Blog post writer, NOT on the comments that are left on each site.
Has anyone else noticed this.
Thoughts… Like it or not?
I’ve written to the Happiness Engineers mentioning my displeasure with this new feature. Also, asking if there is a way to turn comments off, so they don’t show up. If you are like me and not a fan of this new development, you might want to send them an email.
I haven’t looked at clouds for a long time. Yesterday, I was waiting for someone. Lost in thought, I realized that while the sun was shinning on one side of me, on the other side it was dark. So, I looked up into the sky and saw this dark cloud coming in.
I always think of The Wizard of Oz movie when I see dark clouds like this. Remember Dorothy sitting on her bed, while the tornado spins around her? Great idea to have scenes from “back home in Kansas” viewed through her window. Then her house lands in Oz, she’s not in Kansas anymore. She’s welcomed by Glinda (the good witch) and the Munchkins. Fabulous!
We’ve been having a lot of storms lately in Chicago. High winds, thunder, lightening, etc.
Summer is almost over. However, I remember last year reading that summer was at the end of September. How could that be? Is that true? Our weather now feels like late September.
Brilliant Viewpoint 