I was talking to a colleague at work yesterday. She mentioned that she had a shop in an antique mall, something I had never heard her talk about. “Oh, yeah,” she said, “I opened it about 15 years ago. Did real well.” She went on to say that she’d lost her passion for the shop now.

I’m kind of like that with the blog. I still love to write and have no shortage of topics I could write about here. Maybe, it’s because I write quite a bit at work—different type of writing but writing still. I look at how long it’s been since I posted last. Yes, I’d say, I have lost interest. So, I reckon I’ll see how this goes. Maybe I’ll still write once in awhile, but if you don’t hear from you, you’ll know why.

Meanwhile, see how Andrew Sullivan views blogging in this Atlantic piece (warning: it is long).

A Blogging Anniversary

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. Helen Keller

I’ve been blogging for three years now. The first post (July 31, 2006) was one day after my 54th birthday. Here’s what I said back then.

And here’s where I am now. I have a real job working for a nonprofit organization helping needy elders, children and families. I still wonder how much time I have left. It’s been over five years since the Big C visited me.

I still ramble way too much. I can have the attention span of a gnat. My head is teeming with untested ideas. I don’t write here as often and regret the loss of time to cyber-visit with readers. To recap, since 2006, I have moved from Alabama to Springfield, Missouri, and from Springfield to Batavia, Illinois. My marriage of nearly 37 years ended last summer. Lots of other things happened of course, but I’m saving those stories for the book.

So, the past year has been a year of transition, self-discovery, self-sufficiency, and soul searching. While I see the glass half full, I wouldn’t mind if it were completely full. As I flit from one great notion to the next, I do feel progress is being made, ever so slowly.

The best is yet to come!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to You

When I launched this blog in the summer of 2006, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think the readership would grow much beyond a few family members, but I have cyber-met people from all over the world. I appreciate this connection. So, with five days to go until Christmas, I wish for those who visit me regularly that you may make warm memories with those you love, that the new year will be kind to you and that may you find the strength to face with grace whatever comes your way.

Note: This was my Christmas message last year and it seems good enough for this year too.

However, I want to add a thank you to all kind readers who held my hand as the nest emptied and College Boy left for Hendrix College. Rev. Jay reassured me that CB would be fine and he was and is. Jay, I don’t know if it was the Sonic Boom alarm clock or the roommate who helped CB get up for his classes, but that wasn’t an issue as I had feared. Jay also happens to be a reader I’ve actually met in person.

Marion has been a cyber-sage throughout the year for me with a quiet and compelling wisdom I truly appreciate. The Palm Springs Savant is where I go for a fun and upbeat look at life, and Rick always posts great photos of his travels and adventures in fine dining. Lorelei and Marsha are favorites as is my British cyber-friend, Naomi, who has seen her blog picked up by Reuters. Sarge and Miss Bee, Miss Trashahassee, and floridagirl, who received that print of Jesus I wrote about recently, are my Florida connection. Don from Alabama keeps me in the loop about politics. Joe touches my heart. Sank is funny. I’m sure I left someone out.

But thank you all. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Damn the torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead!

I have a new venue for blogging if anyone cares to check it out. Our local Gannett-owned newspaper, The Springfield News-Leader recently started Ozarks Right and Ozarks Left blogs. Guess which I am?

I have already found out the perils of expressing an opinion. Likewise, I will now be a lot more careful in drawing lines in the sand. I’d forgotten that one might have to cross them. Missouri’s Democratic blog, Fired Up, got all fired up over something I wrote about me not going to vote for Hillary Clinton and wrote something like I wasn’t much of a Democrat. That didn’t bother me, but at first I got a little mad when they made fun of my “funny hat.” Then, I thought, there are worst things to say about a person.

The other peril of this venture is that the News-Leader also prints on the opinion page some of our posts. So far they have printed three of mine, and I’m afraid I’m going to gain a Grandpa Simpson’s reputation.

But my motto is best expressed by the words of Admiral David Farragut, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” which I love so much I created a t-shirt at CafePress with the quote.

Cats Rule

artwork from Colorful Joe

A favorite blogger of mine is also favored by several regular readers who are cats or at least they say they are. You never really know with bloggers. Miss Bee, or Auntie Bee to some of the felines, always has a picture of a kitty or two fashionably attired even though she is apparently catless herself.

So, today I explore the world of cat bloggers. If you think these are indeed miracle animals, you would be slightly wrong. To the uninformed, “beans” actually do the writing from the cat’s point of view. Some cat blogs have wonderful photos of cats in various stages of dress and undress. Where do these outfits come from?

Some of the kitties recount attempted escapes and trips to the vet for “hoo ha” surgery. But they are not about cats from a human perspective. They are about humans from a cat’s perspective. And let me tell you, we humans are real strange characters.

I can appreciate now how come I took adult first place in “Through the Cat’s Eye,” a juried art competition fundraiser last spring for the local humane society. My folk-style painting of Butch apparently wowed the judges who must have been as loopy as Paula Abdul on American Idol. I understand now that people love a cat with an attitude, and Butch surely had that. He didn’t take any crap from anyone. He was too much cat for our family, which 19 years later we realized. Now perhaps all cats do go to heaven but then there's Butch.

Recommended cat blogs:

Daisy the Curly Cat
Daisy has a devoted group of regulars, and some days there are over 70 comments, which is no small feat for the best of two-legged bloggers and even more outstanding for the four-pawed pundits. Daisy recently blogged about discovering that her tiara was plastic. Oh the disappointments a girl suffers!

Meezer Tails
Two gorgeous Siamese cats. For some reason, Siamese cats are quite vocal bloggers. I've been acquainted with two of these lovely cats in my life and both had a hard time being discrete with their opinions.

Skeezix’s Scratching Post

Why I Blog, You Ask

At its core, I blog to express myself and to improve my writing. A summer ago I started the Alabama Kitchen Sink with this post. I had just opened a cafepress.com shop and thought I could round up some business that way. Little did I know soon the blog would take on a life of its own with no purpose other than the writing and the connections it brought.

I haven’t been disappointed at all. So far I’m only met one person who reads my blog. After last spring’s moving sale, Rev. Jay came by my house in Alabama with a young deaf woman in tow. He was helping collect household leftovers to furnish her first apartment. I’ve since learned Rev. Jay and his wife have continued to mentor the young lady. Soon, she’ll fly for the first time to Washington, D.C. to visit Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University, the nation’s premiere school for deaf students, is itself another blogging adventure and is how I met Rev. Jay to begin with.

I’ve written about race and politics, and I pride myself on a civil response to anyone who disagrees since these two subjects can generate different points of view. I have, after all, sat down with the KKK’s Robert Shelton for an interview (okay, I was a student in J-class). My style would be defined as anti-shouting; however, I warn you that I do tend to climb up on my soapbox and I can get a little preachy. If you want shouting go watch Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly or Nancy Grace. So, if you visit with Miz Sheila, I expect you to keep a civil tongue if you want to tell me what you think.

People know I’m a Yellow Dog Democrat who first voted for George McGovern but who is unhappy with her party and doesn’t want Hillary Clinton to be the nominee. People know I’m a Unitarian who tries to be respectful of all faiths, even the snake handlers. Boy do my readers know about College Boy and his search for a college home. Readers have cyber-held this helicopter parent’s hand and reassured me that CB will learn to get himself up for class and he will be fine. And you what, everybody; you were right. Least so far.

Readers know I lost a beloved English Springer Spaniel named Samantha but gained an exuberant granddog English Springer Spaniel named Monte. I’ve shared photos of trips to Italy, Chicago and farmers markets and fairs. I’ve posted recipes for red velvet cake, puzzling questions and calls to action. You will know if you become a regular that I need to get back to the gym to keep the weight off I lost on the South Beach Diet, which I also wrote about last year.

And that’s a rather long-winded answer to a simple question.

Older and Wiser--Maybe, Maybe Not

Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.

Today I’m celebrating a couple of things. First, I’ve evaded AARP successfully for five years now although they have pursued me like a lobbyist after a politician, and since the move, they haven’t located me yet. Let’s just say I prefer to have it that way.

And the second occasion, is that it was a year ago that I started the blog. Many thanks to those who have visited, at times enduring long rambling vents and soapbox stances on a huge variety of issues ranging from why I don’t like Hillary Clinton to my worry about a Rip Van Winkle son and his quest to wake up. It’s been fun and just as I thought, I haven’t run out of things to say.

Hope to make many new blogging friends in the new year. Cheers.

Making Private Matters Public

She plopped down into the faux leather chair directly across from me at the chain bookstore. No sooner than she’d settled in with the baggy full of pretzels and a giant Sonic drink did her cell phone begin to ring. Me, I would have taken this conversation outside. She, however, ignored my presence, oblivious to my significance or disregarding it. It was as if I was invisible. She was at the center of this Universe.

“He cheated on a test?” she asked in her best Roseann Barr loud nasily voice. “Boots, I have to tell you every kid in America has cheated on a test.”

Whaa-whaa-whaa on the other end.

“Hush! Everybody does it at some point.”

More whaa-whaa-whaa.

“Punishment? Two weeks for an 11 year old is too much. Tell Phil to get out his belt and put it to his behind. He’ll remember that.”

Whaa-whaa-whaa.

“Did he get kicked out of school? Boots, this a troubled kid. Somebody is going to have to sit on him. Boots, my faith is in you. You are my daughter.”

Whaa-whaa-whaa.

“He’s acting out for some reason, and it may be because his daddy left. How would you have felt if your daddy had left and moved in with another woman?”

At that point I had had enough of Boots and her momma’s conversation about the “troubled kid.” I went over to Momma, grabbed up the cell phone and threw it across the store to the self-help aisle.

P.S. You didn’t think I really did that, did you? That’s what Scotty said I ought to have done. Instead, I was the quiet observer—the one who goes home to blog.

Self Promotion Cross-Venue Monday

Over at River City Views, al.com has a new template for my Montgomery blog. It's a nice view of a river--I seriously don't think it's the Alabama River though. Plus, they added the comments feature. I like having two blogs since I can delineate content that way although I hardly ever do so.

I imagine the world has heard enough about Alabama the last few days to do for a while with the Enterprise tornado destruction and the commemoration of Bloody Sunday. And heck, we don't even have an American Idol contestant to root for this season. So, stop by often and leave a comment so that I'll know Alabama is still on your mind.

And I did warn readers that from time to time I do engage in blatant self-promotion and why should I stop today? I haven't paid much attention to CafePress.com shops for some time, but I've noticed in my sales reports that the www.cafepress.com/hanginginthere shop is out performing the original Sheila for Kids. That's fine, because today I'm sending a donation to the charity as promised. The top sellers at Hanging in There are shown. The "Believe" design was featured as a part of October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month at CafePress. Thanks to everyone who has purchased t-shirts, mugs, clocks and other products with my designs. I value your business greatly and after I get the house on the market, I'll be creating some new work.

Heed the Warning

One of my favorite Montgomery bloggers wrote about a subject we need to heed. Alex from The Apocalypse Papers posted Competition Trick Eating where he talked about an experience at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Check his blog out and I won’t have to put in my two cents. Sex Toys and Elvis is a good post too.