High Road vs. Low Road

I've been reading blogs a lot the last couple of days since I returned from Mexico. Since Montezuma declared war on my body I've been pretty much confined to my bedroom and bathroom so I've spent (wasted really) a lot of time on the computer. I've discovered several things:



1. The Old Red Barn Company is having a giveaway. That's not so unusual, lots of bloggers do that. Some do it I think because they are just generous people and love to make others smile. Those are the high roaders. Mostly people do it to drum up business on their blog. They take the low road. Or a combination of the two. I think I'll do it, too, one day soon. In my case I'll be taking the low road - drumming up business. Just to see if I can. And to see if it works. But The Old Red Barn Company seems to me to be one of the high roaders. She's giving away a quilt. Now take it from a quilter, giving away a quilt is a big deal. Really big deal. Like a million dollar prize deal. When you make a quilt it kind of becomes like your baby. Oh, I know she's got a business she's promoting, too. But go back and read some of her posts. Read about the turtles she fed, and about falling in love with her new camera (and she's got some really cute kid pictures there, too), and the one called "What Now" about beeswax...fascinating. Anyway, she seems like the kind of person you'd love to live next door to. And no, I've never met her and I don't get extra points for this post, but I like her heart. I like that she is giving away a quilt even though the quilt is one she'd love to keep. Now don't anybody get mad at me about the high road/low road thing....I know you're all high roaders or I wouldn't be reading your blogs!



2. I learned that there are a lot of people out there blogging and a lot of people commenting on blogs. Some blogs are more popular than others but not necessarily better than others. Some commenters, and some bloggers too, have a rather limited vocabulary based on how many times they use four letter words in casual conversation. I don't think I'm a prude, and I'm not objecting to what they say - I'm a firm advocate of freedom of speech - I just don't see the point. Is that because I'm older than many of them?



3. I've learned that no matter what your interest is you can find someone blogging about it. Interested in trout fishing - try http://www.troutunderground.com/ . How about flowers? http://www.pressed-flowers.blogspot.com/. Maybe you'd like to see what it's like in prison...try http://www.prisonpete.blogspot.com/. I AM NOT KIDDING! Now I can't be sure he's really in prison, but he's got a good gig going (good grief that's a lot of g's) if he isn't cause he's had over 15,000 hits on his profile. If you have a computer there's no reason to be bored.



4. I've learned that there are some of the nicest, funniest, wittiest, most sincere and down-to-earth people writing blogs. And if you comment they comment back and sometimes they e-mail and they will pray with and for you if you ask or they will offer you a book they have that they think you might like or tell you that you have the cutest grandchildren ever. And they are real. I know they are real because of the grandkid thing. There are so many that I love that I just want to share a few with you. From time to time I'm going to share others, and I've already told you about some (if I repeat myself here it's because I'm getting to that age where I do that sometimes so you just smile and say oh, she's just at that age, bless her heart). And if that bless her heart thing doesn't ring any bells you should go back and read a previous post, and no I don't remember when I wrote it but you can look in my archives, don't be lazy.



Suzanne of At Home With The Farmer's Wife is one of my favorite reads. Recently she had a tutorial on how to make an apron from a man's shirt. Pretty resourceful I say and a lot of fun to make I'm sure. No, I haven't made one yet since the wedding and Montezuma got in the way but I plan to. I'll have to go out to the garage and dig through a buch of winter boxes but I'm sure my husband has a shirt he doesn't need, even if he doesn't know it now.



Christine at Front Porch Indiana has some funny stories about her chickens, yes I said chickens, and she takes great pictures to illustrate. Today she bought a pig, but not one she plans to get acquainted with. This one she plans to eat, if she doesn't meet him first.



Another blog I read every day is Tipper at Blind Pig And The Acorn. She always has great stuff but the Appalachian Quilts post today has some pictures you quilt lovers really should see. She has great music, not the kind you hear every day, and a column of grannyisms that I loved leaving a comment on because she's trying to preserve some of the old things our grannys used to say.

And I defy you to read Melissa at Stretch Marks and not fall totally madly in love with her. She has a heart as big as all outdoors and cuts open her chest and shows it to us all. She makes me laugh till I'm sick and cry real big crocodile tears. She's pregnant and you can bet that I'm praying for her and for this baby.

Ok that's enough. I'm just whetting your appetite. There are more, many more that deserve a mention and over time I'll get to them. I'll be your personal screener, you know like the king used to have a food taster? I'll do the tasting and then make my recommendations. Because I'm nice like that. I'm really a high roader in disguise.