Better Late Than Never

I seem to be the only one that didn't get the memo yesterday. Must be the time change between here and Edinburgh. You are all wonderful people and, for once, I am at a loss for words for all your kind words yesterday. I am truly touched and honored..and thrilled to find myself on the first popular page.

Not long after I joined Blipfoto, we moved from our Berkeley home of 45 years to Sonoma County wine country on the outskirts of Santa Rosa. Blipfoto was a respite from the hard labor of moving house and the necessary renovations. It was also a source of friendships in a place where I knew very few people. Now that we are settled, I still look forward to checking in with all my Blipfoto friends every day.

It all began with Lady Findhorn and hHis Lordship when we were in Edinburgh. She had been trying to get me to join Blipfoto for awhile but managed persuade me when we saw each other in person. She is an old and very dear friend, and we both agree that Blipfoto is a very satisfying way to keep in touch. I have begun to feel very much the same about a lot of you, in spite of the fact that we have never met. I celebrate with you and worry about you and learn about your lives wherever you are. I know that should we ever be fortunate enough to meet, we would do so as old friends with a lot of catching up to do.

The Blip meets I have had are all like that. Lady Findhorn and I met with Connections (she was Local Food Lover back then) and her husband Philpo in Bellingham, Washington on our way to our house after meeting them in Vancouver. Not only did they host a delightful dinner at their home, she took us to the Farmers' Market and the Fairhaven bookstore where we also met Artist Annie Philpo took OilMan and His Lordship on a very comprehensive successful tour of Bellingham's excellent artisan breweries. We had to get a taxi to take us to dinner after that!

There was Aynil who came all the way from Turkey, laden with gifts from Istanbul. I treasure the beautiful little Turkish coffee cups and the beautiful shawlI am wearing she brought us.   

OilMan and I saw California Girl and CarolinaV in Southern California when OilMan and I were there visiting my brother. Diane in the back is sadly no longer a blipper.We all met at a restaurant at the beach with our husbands and talked as if we'd known each other forever…

OilMan and I had lunch with Ridgeback in Berkeley, a good halfway point between Santa Rosa and  her son and daughter-in-law south of San Francisco. I'm glad we managed to fit it in before their baby was born because, although Ridgeback was back to help, she didn't have a moment to tear herself away from her new granddaughter.

Finally, EvelyneNC and I managed to put together a last minute quick visit despite communication problems. We both published pictures of the fox family living in a storm drain on the street, compared dogs and cameras and had a lovely visit.

So thank you all for being there,..for supporting Blipfoto through the hard time and to the Fab Four for taking the helm and saving this special place for all of us.