Getting a complex!!!

Image from funnyanimalphotos.com

Those little voices in my head were saying things like "your blog really sucks", and "apparently NOBODY reads it" and "nobody even WANTS your smelly socks and yarn!" Fortunately, Dianne let me know that she had tried 3 times to post a comment this week... I had wondered why even SHE hadn't commented, especially after kindly mentioning the giveaway on her site.

Ya see, USUALLY Blogger sends me an email that I've received a comment... but they missed most of them! I had a backlog of comments in a folder that I'd never even seen and therefore hadn't published! SORRY if you're one of those commenters, I do hope you'll re-visit and keep commenting!

I've had a real love-hate relationship with computers lately... I lost the hard-drive on my HP laptop before the holidays, then found that Carbonite hadn't been doing my online backups as planned for the past year (gulp, I still can't even fully think about it). I bit the bullet and bought a MacBook and have mostly LOVED it.... but I'm also dealing with the learning curve of a whole new way of doing things AND the daily realization of something else that is lost from my old hard drive...

So, this little piece of blogosphere that connects us isn't perfect after all! But I do love it, the ability to express my thoughts and share some creations and a bit of my life... and I appreciate you letting me know that somebody out there is reading it from time to time. If you haven't already noticed, I've extended the sock and yarn giveaway until Friday at noon and will include 1 comment from each person in the drawing.

Welcome, 2011!

I've been a bit more proactive this year than last in thinking of my Word of the Year in order to start on January 1. "ADAPT" was the word for 2009, and "EMBRACE" was quite fitting for 2010, with many of the intentions I expressed in this post fulfilled.

After reading this great post on photographer Kim Klassen's site and also this lovely site with thoughts about choosing your word, I had narrowed it down to three. They were Adventure (we have some awesome travels planned for this year), Patience (after all, we have two teenagers, LOL!), and Presence (to remember to breathe and stay in the moment). I was nearly sidetracked after a recent visit to Fallingwater and walking through the surroundings made me think of BEAUTY but then I decided that part of being in the present is observing the beauty all around.

I have a feeling that 2011 is going to bring some special times, and with greater awareness of the passing of time I want to stay present, to be in the moment and to not let my thoughts race ahead with busyness or dwell on past mistakes.

I mentioned the possibility of a giveaway a few weeks ago, and since so much of the country has had extremely cold weather already I am gifting a reader with pair of warm alpaca socks and two skeins of bulky weight alpaca yarn (your choice, either hand-dyed or natural. To win, leave a comment with your chosen Word of the Year or a resolution you've made for 2011. I'll pick a winner from those commenting by random generator on next Wednesday, January 5th at noon EST!

I've hit 2,000- time for a Giveaway!

Blogging has been so rewarding for me, and I look forward to reading back over archives a few or even many years from now. Hopefully you'll find some of the information and posts helpful or interesting as well. One of my favorite things has been seeing where YOU, my readers come from. So far between both blogs (including www.seldomscenefarm.blogspot.com ) , I've had visitors from most states, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, Sweden, Singapore, and Croatia!

Since I'm now at over 2,000 visits, I am giving away a pair of alpaca socks from Red Maple Sportswear to show my appreciation. I ADORE these socks, and know that you'll love them, too! If you win, you'll have your choice of the Classic Crew, Trailblazer hiking sock with alpaca, cotton, and therapeutic copper, or the Alpaca Copper Crew. Win them for yourself or give them for Christmas! We are having an informal farm Open House at the farm this Saturday and all Red Maple items will be 25% off, so come see them for yourself (though I understand it may be hard to make it if you live in Croatia).

In order to be eligible to win, please leave me a comment here that includes where you are from, and I'll submit the names to a Random Picker next Monday evening, December 15th. Keep in mind that if you receive my posts via direct email, you need to come here to the site to leave your comments. Thank you again, and good luck!