M.E. Monday, Blue Monday, and Bargain Book Bonanza:

For Smiling Sally's "Blue Monday", I wanted to show you some pictures of my kids when they were little.  My Mom, "Grandma Jody", started a tradition where when the grandkids were three, she took them down to get their pictures taken at Sears, framed them and hung them in her living room.  These are the ones that I had handy:

Kari

Nigel and Ethan

Kristin

Kristin, Ethan and Grandma Jody are still in Guatemala on their medical mission trip, but will be coming home this week.  Nigel turns 21 on Friday and is doing excellent in his schooling, and Kari is my blessing girl who calls me everyday on her way home from work and fills me on what's up.  I love you all so much, little kids in blue!

It wasn't so long ago that I showed these photos in another post, after I redecorated the hutch after Christmas.  But I thought that you might like to see it again, or for many of you, for the first time.  It's cheerful and has some M.E. woven throughout.  Please click here to go over to Cherry Chick's  "I Love M.E. Monday!"  to see other neat Mary Engelbreit things.

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I mixed up my ME stuff with my chickens!

 

This is the first week for Baja Greenwalt's Cozy Book Nook's linky party called Bargain Book Bonanza.  This is going to be a fun party, I do think!  All you do is show photos of your latest bargain book finds.  Lesa is the hostess, and you can join in or read all about it by clicking here!

I am using part of a post that I made last month on the vintage resource books that Kylie and I found at Second Tern bookstore in Sunriver.  You could overfill a paper grocery sack full of books for only $3.00!

When Kylie and I went to "Second Tern" in Sunriver a few weeks ago, I found these vintage dictionaries:

I also came home with this 1956 Hammond's Standard World Atlas:

I just want to vent a bit on here about linky parties.  They have kept me creative and have inspired many posts on Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy these past six months.  I have tried to be a polite participant, giving lots of shout outs and advertising for the blogs that are hosting them.  I link back to their posts and always leave a comment on the hosting blog when I sign up.  (You would be surprised how many people do not even thank the hostess.  There will be 200 linking posts and 31 comments.  I don't think that is very nice!)

On the other hand, there have been several linky parties that I have participated in for several months, and was never visited by or left a comment on by the hostess.  Many of these were smaller parties with only 15 or less weekly participants.  I left comments and tried to participate, but felt snubbed.  The other participants visited and commented, but not the hostess, so I have stopped participating and have removed their buttons from my side bar.

There are some with blogs with 4500 followers and 400 weekly links that I occasionally participate in.  I know that hostess cannot visit and comment everybody each week, but when I have commented or emailed on her other posts, she is gracious to pay me a visit soon after and say hello.  I appreciate her manners.  So do others, which is one reason why she has so many followers, I am sure.

It is true that when I link up in another blog's linky party that I am getting exposure, and will gain some new visitors to my blog which is wonderful and part of the reason why I do it.    However,  these days, I am looking for reciprocal relationships in all areas of my life. If somebody doesn't even read my blog once in a while, I'm not very interested in giving lots of free advertising to theirs.  I have many people on my sidebar just because when I first read their blog I was delighted, and didn't want to lose their address.  That is for my own convenience though.  I have become friends with many of you peeps on my sidebar, and that makes me happy, and it is nice to have you so easy to find.

Back to being reciprocal.  For instance, when somebody takes the time to leave me a comment, I go and visit their blog and leave them a comment too.  Some people reply to comments via email, and I think that is great.  That is what I consider being reciprocal.

So, while I am no longer participating in some of the parties that I have been, I sure do appreciate the hostesses of the ones that I am!  Thank you for taking the time you spend in organizing your parties and working so hard on them each week.  The others that I have taken off don't even read my blog, so they will never miss me...but I just wanted to have my say.  I am not interested in being a resource to folks who really don't care anything about me except for what I have to offer them.  In all areas of my life.

I feel like kind of a rebel.  First I removed my follower widget and now I am dropping out of linky parties.  Perhaps I am just cheating myself.  But, it is my blog, my time and my feelings, so I am just doing what feels right in order to take care of myself.  If you made it this far, thanks so much for listening, and I really do hope that you come back soon.


God bless,

Kathy

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