Wordful Wednesday: Thank You, BATW!

I'm having a difficult day today. Debbie, the Hostess with the Most-ess, has decided that it's time to "park the plane for good." That quote comes from her Monday post, where she explains that Blog Around the World, affectionately known to fellow travelers as BATW, has been grounded.

Debbie's done BATW for six months now. She has a family, including two beautiful kids. She has "mommy duties," she explains, and many more interests that have gone wanting in the 180 days or so that she has been taking all of her Bloggy Friends on trips across the US and around the world.

It's been a really fun ride, Debbie. Thank you for your friendship, your camaraderie, and, most of all, for opening up our eyes to the Great Big World known as Cyberspace. Please go on over to say adieu...remember, we're not saying "goodbye," but rather, "until we meet again."

We know that all good things must come to an end, but BATW is the kind of experience that will stick in my cyber-conscience forever. I'll never forget getting my first e-mail from Debbie, asking me to explain The Badger State to her 700+ readers. I was nervous, excited, thrilled to be recognized. That post, Welcome to Wisconsin, was my first real Blast into the Blogosphere. The rest, as they say, is history. And I have Debbie to thank for that.

Today's my first time participating in Angie's Wordful Wednesday. I'm pretty sure the point is not to write so many words. But I can't help myself. Good travels, Debbie. And you know we'll keep in touch...'cause I'll be lurking over at your other home, This is the Life!

What a Pair!

Before we fill you in on the scrumptious creations pictured above, we want to remind you about The Great New Pop'rs Giveaway. Remember--You. Can't. Win. If. You. Don't. Enter!

As some of our long-term readers know, my SIL, Aunt Julie (also known as The Pop'r Queen), is a quilter. She started a lovely tradition three years ago, when our oldest, College Girl, graduated from high school. Auntie J. quilted a Beautiful Blue Keepsake, formally known as Those Fabulous Blues. The next year, when her son, College Boy, headed out the door, his Mom presented him with a Texas Hold 'Em Quilt.

Well, The Wild One has been waiting patiently, and her patience paid off during our beach VAY-kay, when Aunt Julie gifted her with another Off-to-College Masterpiece. The photo above, snapped by Photographer Extraordinaire Aunt Julie, of course, shows both girls at the beach house, exhibiting Auntie J.'s extraordinary handiwork. The Wild One's quilt is the same pattern as her sister's, only in accents of pink.

"I loved seeing the two quilts together," Julie says. "I wonder how many hours of work they represent! I do know that each of them is made of 1,384 two-inch triangles."

Even though she sometimes calls these projects "The Quilts from Hell" because of various techinical difficulties, Julie also recognizes these would have been even more difficult to turn out in her great-grandmother's generation. "Thank goodness for today’s modern cutting and piecing methods," Julie says, "not to mention sewing machines. I cannot even imagine how quilts were made 100 or more years ago! And those women made several, too! They had no books with patterns and directions, or fancy, well-equipped fabric stores, either. Wow!"

Both my girls don't know what they'd do without their Aunt Julie, either. Here's sending all our thanks and love her way! She's a pretty amazing gal, isn't she?

PS: Just got word that the Blog Around the World crew is visiting The Great State of Wisconsin tomorrow! Stay tuned--we've got a lot in store for you, and a Guest Blogger, too!

One Word Wonders

Hey there, folks! I'm soooooooooo happy about all the new friends I'm making by Blogging Around the World. Welcome, everyone! When you guys get to Wisconsin, you're in for a very special treat!

Nonna, the proprietress at Nonna's News, has a super *meme* out there. Aunt Julie, our Resident *meme* Expert, tried to answer these questions with One Word. It's a lot more difficult than you think!

Here, then, without further ado, are Aunt Julie's semi-Monosyllabic Pronouncements for the Day:

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse

2. Where is your significant other? Work

3. Your hair color? Brown

4. Your mother? Adventurous

5. Your father? Wry

6. Your favorite thing? Dogs

7. Your dream last night? Weird

8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. The room you’re in? Sewing

10. Your hobby? Quilting

11. Your fear? Loneliness

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Alive

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. What you’re not? Insensitive

15. One of your wish-list items? Money

16. Where you grew up? Wisconsin

17. The last thing you did? Breathe

18. What are you wearing? PJ’s

19. Your TV? Big

20. Your pet? Labrador

21. Your computer? HP

22. Your mood? Serene

23. Missing someone? Mom

24. Your car? SUV

25. Something you’re not wearing? Bra

26. Favorite store? tjmaxx

27. Your summer? Short

28. Love someone? YES

29. Your favorite color? Blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Haven’t

32. Who do you want to *tag*?

• Dawn's Place
• Home Where They Belong
• If Mom Says OK
• Lulaville
• Pak Adventures
• The Scholastic Scribe
• SevEn cLoWn CirCuS

Grab Your Cyber-Passport and Let's Go!

Debbie, over at This is the Life, has a fanTAbulous idea! What if you took the saying "Surfing the Net" seriously? Like, chit-chatting between Bloggy Friends, only better: really opening up your eyes to all that the Blogosphere has to offer!

Deb is having a House Party over at Blog Around the World, and the title of her newest Bloggy Endeavor means what it says. This fab idea started percolating in Debbie's Bloggy Brain: What if she tried to get a Bloggy Friend from All 50 States? What if she expanded that idea, and went international? Well, she's done all that, as she explains in her first post on her new blog.

"So what's this party all about? Last week I attempted to get a blogger from all 50 states just to see if I could," Debbie says. "Plan A was to to link up all commenters by state in one post. But Plan A only took into consideration that I'd get 30-40 replies. Umm, I received over a 100 responses. Rut roh. Plan A. Aborted. What's Plan B? I dunno. I guess I better buy a place and run it. Run it where? I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing. But, I think I've just declared myself the directory of blogs by state and country. Yay, me."

Debbie isn't doing this for the blog roll. She wants a genuine commitment from her newest Bloggy Friends. "Alas, this isn't gonna be just a white pages for bloggers," she cautions. "We are gonna have fun over here. I plan on having guest bloggers, selecting a state/country and its bloggers to feature daily just to ram traffic through your sites, and starting next week I will spotlight and interview a particular blogger. And no questions like 'where do you see yourself in five years?' will be asked. Blech ick. If you want to be included in the listing or individually spotlighted at some point, go to your state/country of residence and sign in. I'll link you up."

Sounds like an ambitious undertaking. So, to add a little flava to the pot, Debbie's holding a contest. No, this isn't just a shameless blog promotion. Debbie sounds a lot like my SIL, Aunt Julie, The Pop'r Queen. Deb's a downright friendly kinda gal. Must be all that down-home Old Dominion Hospitality she exudes!

"Go mingle with the bloggers from your state/country and leave 'em some comment love! If not, travel to a place you've never been and leave them some comment love," Debbie enthuses. "Hopefully, all kinds of new traffic will get pushed through your sites."

Sounds like it's all about Sharing the Comment Love, and getting to know lots of new folks. And, as you know, I'm all in favor of that!