LOL!  Looks and thinks like G. Rollie!

My Favorite Blogs



Hmm...that sounds like an old 50's television show  like  I Married a Witch or  I Remember Mama.  However, blogging is thoroughly modern and goes a long way to making our world even smaller.  It seems that blogging has replaced the cute little pink vinyl diaries of the 50's and probably even the multi-subject notebooks of the school crowd and possibly even the moleskine journals of the traditional academics.  It is sad, on one hand,  that pen, paper, penmanship, and all that goes along with writing has been replaced by a computer but, on the other hand, using a computer, ipad, itouch, ereader, whatever, to blog allows us to write on the go, write what we see, capture the moment, seize the opportunity...so on and so forth.

I use the word "diary" synonymously with "blog" because that is what it is.  However,  when we think of a diary or a journal we think of something private  to be shared with only a select few, if anyone.  It is something to be hidden from parents, siblings, or anybody with prying eyes.  It is almost revered as it contains our most private thoughts put into words.  A blog differs in that it is public, for the most part and the ability to share photos opens up new worlds and new ideas.  Blogs allow knowledge to be imparted across the globe and friendships to be formed like pen pal lists of years gone by.  So,  while we mourn the lost art of letter writing, good penmanship, good spelling and the ability to find really nice stationery it is hard to not be taken in my the allure of all the lovely blogs available for us to read. 

I have been reading blogs for quite some time now and I have acquired quite a blog roll on my own blog.  I do have my favorites, however and I would like to share them here.

My Mark Designs  (http://mymarkdesigns.wordpress.com) is written by Monique Keylon, a needlework designer.  Her blog links to her website and her Etsy store.  There are loads of needlework posts as well as life events and photos.  I am always cheered when I visit her blog.



Mary Kathryn has a fantastic blog at  http://marykathryn.wordpress.com.  She is also a needleworker and has a great online store called ehandcrafts.  You can link to the store from her site.  She includes lots of photos from the area she lives in and I have to say they are gorgeous -- nothing like reindeer strolling around a parking lot!

Amanda S over at Amandas Adventures in Sewing (http://amandasadventuresinsewing.blogspot.com) is a great little blog for home sewers.  She is young, interesting, takes great photos of her projects and shows us that home sewing is still a viable activity. Plus, she is from my home town, San Antonio, Texas!

The next few blogs take us away from the crafty side of things and more into the world of reading, thinking, ideas, religion and food -- tea to be exact.

Joysweb (http://joysweb.blogspot.com) hosted by JLSHall is a blog full of all sorts of interesting things.  She is a book lover  and shares her favorites  with lively reviews.  She also shares photos of all sorts of things so when you visit her blog, you never know what sort of treat she has posted -- from her doll collection to interesting shadows to photos of her home, Alexandria, VA.  Her site links to several of her other blogs and to blogs that reflect her wide array of interests.


Another spot for thought provoking posts is http://mlhalldotcom.blogspot.com.  Michael reviews classical literature, shares his thoughts on the cyberworld, his travels and his career.  Even though many of his posts are way beyond me, I love to read them because he is just so darn smart!

Brandon's Notepad (http://brandonsnotepad.wordpress.com) is a blog by a young man  who has a wide variety of interests.  He delves into the cyberworld, shares his journey of faith through his Roman Catholic beliefs and, one recent post, he reviews various teas.  This young man doesn't blog enough for he has a lot to say.

Last but not least is a new offering that promises to be very enlightening .  Lone Star Prep (http://lonestarprep.blogspot.com) is a new blog that reveals and reviews the preppy side of Texas.  I think this blog has huge potential as  it opens up the side of Texas that defies the stereotype.  The young woman hostessing the blog is off to a great start with a link to a shopping site that takes the reader across the state to visit a number of unique venues. I think that Lone Star Prep will give the world a glimpse of the depth of Texas -- it isn't all spurs and tumbleweeds!


So, that is my list of my favorite blogs.  I hope that you will enjoy a few of them as well and will share the links with your friends, too.  And with that, I am going to go enjoy of the wonder of the sun shining through snow flurries and be thankful that I don't have to go out in the 50 mph winds.

I have been pretty busy over the last several days.  I can't exactly say doing what but I haven't been reading too much -- except for some magazines.  So, I am still reading what I was reading last week but I will include a teaser anyway.

This is from "A Piggly Wiggly Wedding" by Robert Dalby.

"It was ten past five at the Victorian Tea Room.  Vester Morrow was in the midst of overseeing the exclusive cocktail party he and the Nitwitts had planned as the first step in the evening's progressive dinner for Petey and Amanda.  Only customers held in such inestimable esteem by the veteran restaurateur could have convinced him to close down his pride and joy or an hour or so on a Saturday night -- prime time in Second Creek."