Just Pure Lovely

Spring is Busy

These are busy days on the Gulf Coast. The farmer is busy, the birds are busy, the festival-planners are busy, even the plants are busy...

...everything, it seems, is busy with something Springy. 

I'm mostly "busy" with being lazy in the sunshine and breezes, because I know that soon Summer will come and along with that the bugs will come and the sun will get so close so as to smother me (or so it will feel).  When I'm not busy-lazy, I'm hurrying up and planting while it's "time" for such things as planting.

Our family garden usually gets about as far as you see there, or perhaps a spindly bit further, but that's about it.  I don't know if it's that we lose interest or that we need to do more to the soil (or perhaps it has something to do with that "laziness," hmm?). 

But this year, thanks to the current economic crisis whatever, I think I'll try a bit harder to get these babies to grow to adolescence if not full-fledged maturity. 

What are you doing these days?

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Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Mardi Gras isn't 99% smut, you know.  I know the reputation of Mardi Gras has been smeared by some conscience-free souls who party a bit too hard in the Big Easy.  But, here, and all along the Gulf Coast, it's mostly a fun family time of community gathering for parade after parade, Moon Pies, and lots and lots of throws (throws: what is thrown from the floats - usually Moon Pies, candy, little toys or trinkets, stuffed animals, and mostly beads). 

Mardi Gras lasts about 3 weeks sometime in the Winter.  Last night was the final parade in our little town, and today is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras Day when the schools and even the town library are closed for the day.   How's that for beating the mid-winter doldrums?

That's our kids, loaded up with beads.  Our little gal is pouting about something, but I can't remember what, because...honestly, it was totally unimportant and not pout-worthy.   Seriously, who can pout at Mardi Gras when your neck is covered in beads and your bag is full of throws?

Certainly not me...

But I can, apparently, look like a tired librarian.

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A Few Sites to Browse This Weekend...

My internet time is limited lately, since this is our Spring and it is way too gorgeous to not be outside.  I said to the kids today, "We absolutely must be outside all we can today for the sake of those who can't -- people at hospitals, people at school, people who work indoors, people in the frigid North."  And so we did.  We spent more hours out than in, at first with arithmetic and journals in hand, then with garden tools and toys, and finally with quilts and pillows.  You know that nice but deep fatigue you have after a day spent in the wind and sun?  I'm feeling that.

But before I crash with this chocolate milkshake my man just made for me (it's by my left elbow, waiting. jealous?), I wanted to share a few links for you to visit this weekend if you find some internet time.  I've only recently discovered these links, so I haven't had a chance to browse through their archives, but from the surfing I have done so far, they look like great places to go! 

The Nourishing Gourmet:  Recipes from whole foods...

Tia's Saving Cents:  I met Tia in Nashville and am so glad to have discovered her blog, where she'll find the good deals for me so I can just shop.

One Pretty Thing:  If you like crafty or creativity, you will love the daily finds on this blog.  Each day, several projects, often theme-based, are highlighted.

I'm off to enjoy my melting milkshake...

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If I Could Be 5 Again, I'd Live Like She Does...

Every morning, if she wakes up first, she greets me with "It's a beauuuuuutiful day today, don't ya know?" 

I often linger in bed, waiting for her to come.  If I get up too early, I miss it.

We call her our gypsy girl, our free spirit, our flower child. People who meet her often say the same without our input. 

She dresses herself.  That's obvious, right?  Only when we go to town do I choose her clothes.  Those are the moments of our only arguments. She has definite fashion sense (sense?) and doesn't agree with what I think matches. 

Her hair is free-flowing, it won't obey and stay in the various hair accessories I try to keep it up in.  She prefers it that way, so I think she helps the hair ties "slip" off.

She draws several pictures each day.  On the back of every single one of them is written, "MOM DAD I LOVE YOU," even if the drawing is only for one of us - or for a brother or sister.

She sings almost constantly.  She sings songs from Jesus Loves Me to Miley Cyrus songs to theme songs from preschool shows to Amazing Grace.  She absorbs the songs she hears throughout the day; the songs seep into her like they do none of the rest of us.

And best of all, she is happy.

Yep.  If I could be 5 again, I'd live life just like she does.  Freely, creatively, giving.  Happily.

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The Gull

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The Great Backyard Bird Count

Awesome!  I have a legitimate excuse for posting more bird photos once more (despite the frequent bird postings lately, this is still not becoming a bird blog, got it?). 

The Great Backyard Bird Count is going on now.  You may count the birds you see today and tomorrow (2/16, 2/17) in your area, submit them online at the Great Backyard Bird Count site, then pat yourself on the back and feel all researchy because you just helped scientists with their data. 

No time?  Bah!  All you need to do is sit still for 15 minutes and count the birds that you see during that span of time.  Or...do it like I do and don't sit still, but instead and count the ones you see outside the kitchen window (the photos below), on the fishing pier (tonight we saw 2 Great Blue Herons),  or at the beach (this afternoon, where we saw the hundreds of seagulls we mostly did not feed  - why do they tell their hundreds of cousins to come, too?  Why not just be stingy and thus less annoying?)

Here are the visitors of the little tree outside our kitchen...

Red-bellied Woodpecker



Bluejay


Cardinal

Let me know if you join me in the Great Backyard Bird Count and definitely tell me if you've posted photos of the birds you see.  I want to visit your not-a-bird-blog, too!

 

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P'Nut

This fella...

...has decided to stick around.

He showed up a few weeks ago and we shooed him away. There are a lot of dogs in our country neighborhood, with (sigh) only one or two ever on a leash.  There are no fenced-in yards between our big country lots, so we tend to shoo away any and all dogs since I want the chickens and the cats to life scare-free lives (that reason, and that I don't much like dog poop on my children's barefeet). 

One morning my man shooed this dog away with extra gusto.  He hung his head and disappeared into the woods along the river and we went on with our day.  A couple of hours later, we were working in the front yard (okay...him: working; me: working on watching him work) when our ballerina said, "Daddy, that dog's got guts"  (I know. The grammar.)  The dog was laying by my van, not far away from us.

There was something about the dog's dejected, lonely, hungry look that I started to wonder about him.   I called him over, and he came after a good bit of coaxing (I'd been shooing him away, remember). 

On his collar was a phone number, so I called it and a man answered.  I asked if he was missing a dog.  He didn't really want to define it as "missing," but, yes, he owned a dog named "P'nut" (the name on the collar) which he hadn't seen for a long while. 

I looked at P'nut's protruding ribs and his starving-skinny belly with the hipbones sticking out, and the whole skinniness making his head look abnormally large. 

"He's hungry," I said, "He looks real skinny."

The fella on the phone had an aw-he's-alright tone as he said, "He goes across the river sometimes.  I guess he's finding a female.  We'll get him."

I gave directions to our house. 

It's been three weeks since.  P'nut is still here.

We fed him cat food for the first 2 days, since that's all we had and we didn't think the owner would delay.  I'd said the dog looked hungry, after all, wouldn't that let the owner know to hurry? 

Finally, on Day 3, we bought dog food for it.  We're now down to the last 1/4 of the bag.  His hipbones aren't as pokey; his ribs are less noticeable.

For the first week, P'nut slept a lot.  The first two days, he didn't have the energy to do more than lift his head unless we really begged him to move. 

After the first week, he barked for the first time - at 4am.  I'd have preferred 4pm for P'nut to find his voice, but 4am will do.  I'm happy his strength is returning.

He's not pretty, but he ignores the cats, he lets the chicken live in peace, he sleeps on the back porch rug, and he doesn't jump or lick.

He's welcome to stay as long as he needs us.  I sorta' like the ugly fella.

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A Few Kids, A Fire, A Handful of Kernels, and an Old Pot

We kick the kids outside almost every afternoon for hours.  They aren't allowed to turn on any electronics games anyway until it is dark, so they don't complain about going outdoors.  In fact, they almost always prefer it to being indoors where it's not as interesting and turned-off electronics are there to tempt a kid into discontent with their black-screened presence. 

The other day, I went out to join them and found myself in for a nice surprise...

(Sorry about the photo quality.  It was smoky, you know.)

Here's a closer look at what the kids are cooking and why seeing three of my children so close to a fire was a nice surprise...

Pop! 

Yep, they're making popcorn.

They amaze me sometimes, those kids.  Left to themselves, free to use (almost) any odds and ends they find, they come up with all sorts of fun.  This time, they created a little fire pit from concrete blocks, used a rabbit pen divider for the grill, scrubbed out an old cast iron pot, added a bit of oil to it, added a handful of kernels, and - good gracious!  - that was the best popcorn I have ever tasted.

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22 (or so) Things I Learned at Blissdom '09

I learned or realized 22 or so things at Blissdom '09 (a blogging conference in Nashville this past weekend)...

...about me:

• It takes a good 48 hours or so for me to feel comfortable around strangers
• Blissdom was only about that long, so I was....yes... The Wallflower

• I'm a country girl, so although I think I'm WYSIWYG*, I realized I'm vain enough to notice that my thumbnails are crooked.  And so I opted for looking like I don't have thumbs all weekend, tucking them in under my hand like that.

• I'm uncomfortable small-talking  for hours, so after a while I tend to find a wall to lean on (WallFlower), or go to the room for a bit
• When I go to the room for a bit, I find myself wondering what is happening below, and wishing I wasn't hiding out in the room, but I don't know how to break into a group.
• It pains me to think I may be boring someone, so if her left eye wanders even once, or she mutters a second, "hmm," I find a way to be the first to leave the conversation. I definitely don't want to be last.
• there is always a moment when in a crowd that I think, "I wish we were texting each other," instead of talking.  My mouth could use a Backspace key.

...about the business of blogging.  From the panelists, I learned a few things I didn't already know:

• Put keywords in your post titles.  Instead of cutesy titles like, "Looky here!" use a Google-friendly title such as "10 Reasons You Should Look Harder for Good Grocery Deals."  (That one was totally off the top of my head.  You may have it. You're welcome.)
• Stop writing to gain readers; write for yourself.  Okay, I already knew this one, but it's always worth reminding myself of it.
• Posting frequency:  Any amount of posting is fine - once a week, a few times a day -  but there needs to be a rhythm, so readers know when to come back.
• DivineCaroline.com is a place to syndicate your content.
• Don't write for free unless it benefits you.  Don't give away your content and readers to a column or guest post (my note:  Sometimes it's worth it to write for free just to see where it will lead.  I started writing for Precious Moments for free in late 2007 just to see what might come of it, and in April 2008 I was flown to an all-expense-paid-VIP trip to DisneyWorld as a direct result of my Precious Moms blog).
• Don't take reviews for items you can't seemlessly weave into your blog's voice already (I should post a list of reviews I've declined for this blog - it could be funny if it weren't sad that a company actually thinks we women want that junk.)
• Show your warts (cellulite, dandruff...) when you write.  It keeps you real.  People want to ineract with someone real.
• Opportunites will open up if you let those locally - in your community - find you on social media (eg. Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
• I learned of a couple affiliate sites I didn't know of, like Logical Media and ShareASale.com
• Add a Disclosure Policy to your blogs
• Consider asking for compensation for giveaways (I have never done this on this blog, Just Pure Lovely or on FreelyEducate.com, and I don't know that I ever will here, but am considering doing so for FreelyEducate, which has become a reviews and giveaway time-hogging monster)
• Create a Media Kit for dealing with marketing companies and other advertising opportunities

...about this blog, Just Pure Lovely...

• Even though money is tight and as much as I'd love to help my man out with making a little, I remembered, while at Blissdom, that I want Just Pure Lovely to be happy and pretty  - a just, pure, lovely - place for me and for anyone who stumbles upon it. 
• I don't want to have to worry about this blog making money, or about its ads being relevant.
• So, I pulled the ads (did you notice?) and will only keep up affiliate links like the Books I'm Reading Next list, if they enhance the blog and what it is about, instead of detract from it

• Just Pure Lovely is an inspiration and creativity blog, I decided while away, not an advice blog or a memoir blog. Before Blissdom, I didn't really know exactly how to define it.

When I got back home, my man asked, "Did you have a good time?"  My first answer, was "I'm...not... sure yet."  I was overwhelmed still with the speed at which things happened, with the how cool is this Crocs $50 gift certificate and with the I-was-a-Wallflower, never-really-fit-in feeling.   I've also been stuck between Holy-Smokes-that-was-expensive-and-we-couldn't-afford-it and it's-nice-to-fly-like-an-important-gal-and-stay-in-a-nice-hotel-room.

After processing the trip, I decided that Blissdom was really good for me. It reminded me of who I am:  a wife and mama first - this is a season of helping the family through these tough financial times, whether that means clipping coupons (ick) or making a bit off my other blog.  I smiled my way across the Bay as I thought of my family waiting so eagerly for me to arrive.  And I decided that, at least until things get easier (or someone sponsors my trip away), I need to stay home with them, keeping my priorities straight.

Going to Blissdom also reminded me of what Just Pure Lovely is and why the blog started in the first place, and what I want it to stay - a blog of peace and pretty and, well, the just, pure, and lovely things in life.  This blog doesn't need to make money.  It needs to help whoever God sends this way, and if that's nobody, that's fine, because it's helping me.

Which leads me to the best thing I was reminded of at Blissdom and as a result of Blissdom, while in my room thinking or reading Blog Blazers, a book given to us in our swag bag...

We all have influence.  It may be to just that one regular reader, or it may be to hundreds of readers, but we all have influence on someone (we mamas already know this to be true, as our influence over our children is so staggering it's often prayer-causing).

That influence should be handled with care and integrity.  Be true to your voice.  You are the only you there is; you have something to offer others that nobody else can ever offer.  Don't imitate. Don't copycat others, not even the ones you perceive as the "bigger" bloggers (or other people).  Learn from them, but don't try to be them.  Be  true to yourself, follow your passions, and don't be discouraged over numbers.  Isn't influencing just one quite a success?

Again, write about the things you're passionate about; write in your unique voice.  Everything will fall into place once you've done that.  There are readers who need what you have to say, and readers who will not find anything they need on your pages.  While exchanging favorite blogs, I was amazed at how few blogs mentioned are the same.  And how nobody else seemed to know my favorites: Blue Yonder, Angry Chicken, Posie Gets Cozy, All Sorts, Wee Wonderfuls....to mention a few.  With that came the panicky-lost feeling I get when I wonder if I opened the wrong door.  As in, oh, crud, am I in the wrong room?!  But then I'd realized that I don't know their favorites, either.   We find the writing we need to read.  

I'm glad to be home and I'm glad to remember what Just Pure Lovely is all about.  I'm energized and ready to find more creativity and inspiration to share with you, as I first take care of my top priority, my family (which, today, is a sick little boy).

*WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get (pronounced: whiz-ee-whig)

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Blissdom

Hello from Nashville, Tennessee!  I'm at Blissdom, a blogging conference of 99% really talkative women and just 1% men or quiet women.  Seriously. The chatter level is high! And fun. 

Some of the "bigger" (online) bloggers, you'd (I'd) think would be, you know,  perfect and a bit snotty, but that's not the case!  I'm relieved to let you know that they are really normal, quite cool, and actually have the same number of insecurities as I do (and maybe you?)

I'm headed to bed...we have a very long day to go tomorrow.

I just wanted to say hey and let you know I forgot to email my FreelyEducate.com list about the Valentine's Day cards giveaway, so I extended the deadline 12 hours.  It closes at noon, Saturday.

Have a wonderful Saturday! 

Oh, and if  you're from the Gulf Coast, too....Laissez les bon temps roulez!  (Mardi Gras has arrived!)

~ Lori