Cheers!

I couldn’t think of a subject more appropriate for my 730th blip than Phil, whose support and encouragement brought me into this wonderful community. Without his technical skills and knowledge about computers and cameras, a resource I use more often than I'd like to admit, I would have dropped out long ago!

Phil is also a wonderful travel companion, and we’ve enjoyed the fresh photographic opportunities that “new pastures” in Oregon, Iceland, Colorado, Virginia, and Canada have offered, particularly the opportunity to spend time with blippers in the first two locations. It’s also been great to welcome several blippers into our home this year, as well as Blipbear and Kiwi, and I plan to do more traveling -- and welcoming -- before my next major Blipfoto milestone.

The daily ritual of “finding” a photo and writing a bit about it helped me get through some challenging health issues last winter, as I noted in my 600th blip. Reading others’ journal entries about illness and the loss of loved ones, as well as the ebb and flow of their daily routines, has given me a broader perspective on my own life.

I hope that my eclectic journal of subjects large and small -- from an inquisitive squirrel to a dreamy horse and rider, an upside-down bee to a brilliant winter sunset, luminous local pears to an image dedicated to a lost friend beloved by many here -- does the same for others.

Heartfelt thanks to the Blipfoto staff for widening and enriching my life!

(Local food is also honored here, with a celebratory lunch and photo shoot at La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza, one of our favorite places to eat. You can see our very different choices on his blip.)