You like me, you really, really like me!

You like me, you really, really like me!

Even though those are not the exact words spoken by Sally Field after receiving an Oscar in 1985 for her role in Places in the Heart (she actually said, "…I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!"), they are the words as we recall them. AND they are the words that express how I felt after reading your comments and your emails regarding my driftshell pieces and the upcoming opening of my Etsy store.

I am so moved by your response to my driftshell pieces that I'm left tongue-tied on how to express how much you all touched me and lifted my spirits. WOW! Who knew? I certainly didn't, that's for sure! I swear, I couldn't sleep that night, I just kept thinking about what a wonderful world I have found myself a part of — I blog with the most AMAZING people.

You never cease to inspire me with your thoughtfulness, your compassion and your just plain ol' neighborly ways. I wish I could have each and every one of you over to my house. I'd put on a pot of coffee and chances are something yummy would be coming out of the oven just as you arrive…

Could you all just imagine how much fun we would have if we all lived in the same town?

There would have to be one LONG white picket fence down Main Street…

so that we could hang out, chatting over the fence…

Copyright Bolton Council from the Bolton Museum and Archive Service collection.

Or one of us would have to have a really BIG front porch with lots of comfortable seating suitable for visiting for hours and hours…

Front Porch

That's probably more than likely never going to happen,

but what if we could all get together somewhere?

Wouldn't it be lovely if we could all take a holiday from working…

and take a break from housework…

and get together for a real…

You just know there'd be a gift exchange between us.

We could choose Secret Sisters!

Yeah, we could pick a date and a spot to meet…

Then we'd have to arrange for transportation. We could go…

by train…plane

or automobile! Carpooling would be fun!

Others might be close enough to

walk together or ride their horses (while wearing their tiara)…

or by carriage would be nice — racing would be allowed…

There is no doubt in my mind that one of the Pinkies will show up in something like this…

We do know that once we get there, we'll have to have

one really long table that would stretch…

Mosaic by Shellbelle from photos found here

Can you imagine the fun all our tablescaper friends would have getting together and sprucing up these tables?

Then of course we'd have to have…

Food Galore

and let us not dare forget the desserts…

viz



I know we can depend on our Foodie Friends to help with this!


Then what would we do?


Well, of course, we could don our suits and go to the beach…

or do a little skiing if we choose a colder climate area…

To please everyone, we could wear our bathing suits (and high heels) in the snow…

or maybe we could head out to the rodeo…

On the other hand, we could go to the gym and work off all those calories from all that food…

Don't worry, this is NOT going to happen!

We'll shed those pounds by doing some…

POWER SHOPPING!

viz

I'm sure we'll all come away with some real cute and thrifty vintage goodies…

viz

There are so many things we could do to enjoy our time together! There's always…

Canoeing

Fishing or cycling — either by motor or pedaling

gardening

a rousing game of soccer

or perhaps a tennis match

or we could head to the beach for a test of strength

We could always form a band and…

viz

serenade some cows!

Of course, we could always just sit and relax over a…

cup of tea

and indulge in some idle chitchat about…

our families

or talk about what it was like when we were young

Don't forget we need to get some…

sewing and craft time in.

Oh, and someone better bring a camera…

because there will be lots of posing…

and horsing around…

and we'll want to capture every cherished moment together for our blog posts!

Then as the day draws to a close, we'll don our favorite dresses, from the era of our choice…

and proceed to party like there's no tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

Let's pretend we could have a gathering of bloggers anywhere in the world and the only thing on the agenda was FUN, where do you think we should go and what do you think we should do?

I'll be waiting to hear from you…

All vintage images, unless otherwise noted, are from the Library of Congress and various state archives.

Update: Diane and Jane, the first two people to comment on my post today, both remarked on how long it must have taken me to put this together. They're right, it took FOREVER! I had planned on writing my thank you post and having it up by 9am and you can see it didn't go up until 5pm. I had started at about 7am, so it took me roughly 10 hours to put this together. Once I got the idea of A Gathering for Bloggers and started searching the archives for photos, I just couldn't seem to stop, lol.

I wanted to do something special for all of you and this is what I came up with. A wish, a dream that one day we could all meet up and have an incredible time together. As I started finding the vintage photos, an idea for another would pop into my brain and I'd start searching for that. When I found the one of the ladies sitting on the porch knitting, I couldn't believe the one on the end was holding a camera. Now, if she were alive today, you know she'd be a blogger! Perhaps her descendant is one of us! Wouldn't that be fun? I think, throughout history, there have been women who have supported each other.  I know there are those out there who know someone who doesn't have women friends and I think that is just plain sad. I know this isn't true in our online community, because I see the love and compassion that abounds throughout our friendships. I think this is incredible and I sincerely meant it when I wrote, "I just kept thinking about what a wonderful world I have found myself a part of — I blog with the most AMAZING people." 

Then I have to take all the photos into Photoshop and clean them up a bit and why would I just ask where we should go, when I can take a map of the world and create a little smiling X-guy to help us pick a spot? Oh, and I love doing the mosaics. Call me crazy or just downright anal, but I love doing this kind of post for you. Of course, this means I didn't get out to visit much and the laundry is still piled up and I forgot to take something out for supper, but boy, I had a good time and I hope you did as well!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I adore you all and if I ever win the lottery, you can bet we will all be getting together!