Thanks and a Giveaway

Instead of saving this picture for Valentine's Day, I want to write a little love letter to all of you. (And there's a giveaway at the bottom, too.)

Thank you for all the lovely, encouraging comments about the blog, the new header, the cat jammies, etc. I hope I didn't sound too much like a whiner, but I just knew something was wrong. Thanks to Becca for pointing me in the right direction. Hopefully the feeds are now working correctly and you're all getting updates as they happen instead of once every three weeks!

A tip for other bloggers: Subscribe to your own feed so you know if there is a problem!

A few of your comments mentioned using bookmarks instead of feeds. I'm the same way! I love scanning through my list of bookmarks, choosing a link, then having that moment of anticipation, wondering if there will be a new post. I have a few feeds set up, just to be familiar with how it works, but I love my bookmarks best.

Another thing that came to light: Uncertainty about how to leave a comment. I agree, it is a little confusing if you're not familiar with it. If you'd like to leave a comment about a post, just click on the "COMMENTS" link at the bottom of the post. That will open a new window, which includes a box for your comment. Don't be wigged out by the "Choose an Identity" part underneath! If you don't have a Blogger account, you can just click "Name/URL" (and you don't even need an URL) or even "Anonymous" to leave your comment.

I'm so glad you like the new layout and the new header! After months of wishing I had more room to spread out, I found out all I needed was a different template. This is what I pictured all along--clean and airy. Of course, once I stretched things out, I needed a wider header. The mailbox picture is from a trip we took to Spain two years ago. We were driving from Alicante to Valencia, and zipped past this little row of houses in the middle of nowhere. I made note of some landmarks and, on the way home, made Gerry pull off the road so I could take a picture of those mailboxes. People have always been a little puzzled by that photo, "O....kay. Mailboxes?" Maybe now, in this context, it makes more sense.


Moving along...Do you all know how much I appreciated all the cat pajama love? I wish I could make you all your own pair of cat jammies. I think of all those wonderful, sweet comments every time I wear them.

Bridget asked about fabrics. Bridget, I'm a cheapskate. I drool over fabrics I see online, but I can't bring myself to spend that kind of money. I get most of my stuff on clearance at Jo-Ann's, secondhand from my mom or from thrift shops, or from discounted fabric stores. You're in Philly, and I'm not far from there, so I can actually steer you to some specific places. There is Gaffney's in Germantown (5401 Germantown Avenue, (215) 849-8180) which is wonderful, and Jomar which takes some patience and rooting around, but can be very rewarding.

Now, onto the giveaway. To show my appreciation for all the lovely comments lately, I will make a slipcovered pocket calendar (similar to the one I made for myself) for two of you! Just leave a comment on this post, and I will draw two names at random on...let's see...Saturday morning. So the deadline for entering will be 10 am EST, on January 31st. Yeah, January 31st sounds like a good day.

Thanks again, everyone. Hope those of you in the snowy regions are doing okay.