New Blogger To Visit......

......Let me be the first to publicly mortify my dear friend Jan Brattain, and introduce you to her reasonably new blog, Laughing Dog Arts. No, I did not tell her I was doing this post, so I am sliding on the ice with no drawers on!!! LOL!!!

(this IS the Laughing Dog!!! it's not just a studio or blog name!)

There's substance here, folks.

A little backstory; Jan and I have known each other through the internet for years. I believe we met via the Fabric Forum at eQuilter and casually struck up conversation after conversation. (a disclaimer: with my *anesthetic-head* of late, we could have met on Mars and I would not know the difference! yes, it could have been extra-terrestrial contact....but I don't think so....) A friendship built, we quit commenting on the Forum, as we gradually moved our fiber posts to Yahoo Groups, as both of us became Fiber Pirates, and we still kept in contact via e-mail.
During this communication, Jan would describe where she lived in the deep and old woods of Oregon, and occasionally send pictures. I was smitten. Not only did we share a love of fiber art and art in general (and music) but of the outdoors and I have to admit that more than once I was envious of the exceptional area that she called home.
Old growth forests are pretty much a thing of the past in my neck of the woods---pun intended!---and the gentle and sometimes frantic pace of her life tied in with the seasons made me remember halcyon days spent on my grandfather's farm; where life was dictated by the rising and setting of the sun, and the time of year. I miss that......so much.
I often commented in letters how the way of life she led daily was something that was disappearing at a rapid rate, and for me, how incredible it was to peer into it. Things that were routine for her were triggering all types of wonderful memories for me, and an urge to find a way to pare down this life of mine that was running out of control. Jan's letters put everything into perspective.
I still have a file folder in the computer of photos she had sent; birds, dogs, flowers, Mr. Mel the Peacock, etc. My little glimpse of Oregon.
I once casually suggested a blog but hey, you have to feel that in your bones and know the time is right to start one. I did it on a whim (my normal status for important, time consuming life decisions!) and was happy with how it turned out. But it's work......at least for obsessive/compulsive ME. LOL!!! If I don't post frequently, I am sure my head will explode....
Seriously, it's okay. Laugh!
At any rate, I was feeling in the dumps the other day and get a letter from Jan saying to check a link to cheer me up.
She had started a blog!!! And not told me!!!
I found, illustrated, some of the things we shared in conversations; beautiful nature pictures, fiber art, her group she meets with weekly for art and sewing related items.....it was all there!
So, at the risk of having my friendship skewered onto a lightening rod, I would like to request all who read this to go visit Jan's blog by clicking the link at the top of this post, and it would be very nice if you chose to follow too, because we all have been through that first part of blogdom where each day you're peeking to see if there is a new follower.
Heck, I still do and am still as excited as the first day when someone new signs up to follow!
You will find a gentle and delightful read, exquisite photos of wildlife and the hawk pictures alone are worth the trip over.
And now that she officially has a blog, it is with great delight that I can present her with an award made specifically for a friend like her, a sister friend, a long time, long-suffering being my friend award:

"Friendship isn't about who you have known the longest,

but who came and never left your side."

Because Jan came, and has never left my side. And I am grateful. So please post this to your sidebar proudly!

You are an exceptional friend Jan......and I hope your internet is back up to read this!!! (or maybe not.....LOL!!!)

Now, gentle readers, go make a new friend, and enjoy a wonderful pastoral blog that will calm you from the bedlam of the everyday ruckus we call life.

Jan, are we still friends????   :-D   We are....right? RIGHT???

Pax.