The longer I travel, the more I feel, like Disney said, it's a small world after all.

Did you ever go somewhere quite far from home and bump into somebody that you knew?  Ray and I were in Paris once years ago, crossing the street at Place D' Italie......and who's crossing coming toward us in the opposite direction but a fellow that worked Ops at Tampa Airport with Ray.  He had no clue we'd be in Paris, and we had no clue he'd be there.  And yet......there we were, bumping into each other.

A couple of months ago I was leaving a comment on somebody's blog when I noticed that another commenter had said she'd be in Carcassonne in October.  I thought, "I'm going to be in Carcassonne in October.  At least very close to it." So I sent her an email and I said, "Actually, we're going to be in Caunes Minervois, a little village just north of Carcassonne."

She wrote back and said, "THAT is the village where I'm going to be.  My brother and his family own a home there.  We're flying in from London and arrive there on October 1."

I emailed her back and said, "I am taking the TGV down from Paris..........and WE arrive there on October 2."

Over the past few months, Mary and I have become very good friends via her blog, Across the Pond, and our emails that have been flying back and forth.  Mary is orgininally from Devon, England but has been on this side of the pond for 45 years.  I could tell immediately that I liked her.  We have a lot in common and have been having fun getting to know each other.

And yes...........we've already made plans to meet in person in Caunes Minervois.  Come to find out, her brother's home is within walking distance of the house we've rented.  Granted, it's a very small village, but still........ I find all of this such a coincidence.   I also find it quite amusing that Mary lives in North Carolina, not that far from Florida..........however, we're both going across that pond to actually meet in person.  We've been exchanging tips, suggestions, family info, etc. via emails.  So I have NO doubt that by the time we're sipping that wonderful Languedoc wine together, we'll feel like we've known each other forever.  And oh yeah.......I'll have my laptop and my camera, so I'll get to share all of this with you in October.

Walt Disney was right.........it sure is a small world.

See you here next time..............

No.....I'm not talking about shopping for new blogs, but actually shopping FROM blogs.  There seems to be quite a group of enterprising women out there in the blog world.  They've put together "shops" from their blogs in which to sell items.

Many of you know that since I'm limited for shopping here on the island, I do much of my shopping from the Internet, so I decided to check out some of these blogs.  The first one I went to was Joy Of.......and found a vintage door plate which I thought would look great when utilized as a hook to hang something from.  I just love the door plate......makes my imaginative mind wonder what type of door it was on many years ago.  And what might have been allowed to enter through that door....... or kept out.

I really love this door plate and now......look what I got to go with it.  I traveled over to Sadie Olive's place, where she has antiques, collectibles and all things inspiring.

Doesn't this look great hanging on my screened lanai?  And the colors couldn't coordinate more perfectly.  I just love the sign and it depicts my love for the flowers and feathered birds outside.

I gave you the links for these really fun places, so why not pop on by for a visit and do some browsing.

See you next time..........

After over three years of doing my blog, I've been chosen for an award.  And yes, I'm flattered.  A huge thank you to Melissa at Sunbonnet Cottage for this honor.  Her reason for choosing me is as follows:

I just passed on an award to you.

You have been such a wonderful inspiration on helping me get started with my blog.

Thank you for your kindness, Melissa.  And now it's my turn to pass it on.  I'm to choose seven bloggers.....and for you seven, you're to place the above logo on your sidebar with a link to my blog and then pass it on to seven other bloggers on your post.

I'm choosing the following seven for some of these reasons:  Their creative photography skills, their humor that always makes me laugh when I visit their blog, their topics that inspire me and make me think, their ability to take me into their world and because they're just nice people.

1. FRENCHLESS IN FRANCE
2. GOOFY GIRL
3. BIG JOHN'S BLOG
4. GOLDEN DAZE GINNIE
5. BIG DAVE'S BLOG
6. RAINY DAY THOUGHT
7. WINTER SONG 

Thanks again, Melissa. 

I've continued to be a reading fool.......when I was down with that cold last week (which has now disappeared) I managed to read three books.  All very good.  So join me here tomorrow and I'll tell you about two of them.

See you then............

I came across Petite Anglaise's blog (yes, she's a blogger, for those of you that don't know) a couple years ago.  Aside from excellent writing, I was drawn in by her story.......a thirty-something originally from England, she'd been living in Paris for about 10 years working for a British accounting firm.  She was also living with the father of her toddler daughter.....she maintained full anonymity, referring to herself as Petite Anglaise, the boyfriend as Mr. Frog and the daughter as Tadpole. 

I enjoyed reading her tidbits of life in Paris as a single mom. (Francophile that I am)  So while I didn't visit her blog as regularly as I did many others, I still managed to keep up with what was going on in her life.  She shared with her readers her restlessness with the relationship with Mr. Frog and then shared the new relationship with "Jim in Rennes" who was a frequent commenter on her blog.  Imagine my surprise the day I "tuned in" to find out she'd been sacked from her job.  Yup, fired.  For what?  For blogging!  Her company stated that she'd been less than kind in some of her blog posts about the bosses and further stated and tried to prove that she'd blogged on company time.  Long story short.....she did lose her job.  However, she contacted the French tribunal and ended up winning her case to the tune of approximately $44,000.  Once that story broke in the media, her anonymous Petite Anglaise was gone forever......that summer her blog readers found out her name was, in fact, Catherine Sanderson.

Due to all of the publicity (both in England and France) with the media, she was offered a very significant two book contract.  Frankly, I was dismayed that somebody could end up with a lucrative publishing contract based on her blogging.  But that's what happened. 

The book was released in the UK this past March and it just hit the bookshelves here in the States on June 17.  I wasn't going to order it.  I figured, well heck, I've read her blog.  I know her story.  How different can the book be?  But since I'd enjoyed her writing and I do like to support other authors when possible, I decided to pre-order the book this past March.  It arrived last week.  I read it in two days!

It was good, very good.  But what impressed me the most was how she took those blog posts and managed to weave them into a story that read like fiction.  And I was wrong.  Because she wrote from a deeper emotional depth in the book, it wasn't like her blog at all and I didn't feel like I was re-reading stuff I'd already read. 

But one thing struck me as I read along......and she even does make mention of this.  I had often wondered when reading her blog how much of the info was real.  I sometimes got the feeling that she was "playing her audience."  Well, come to find out, she was.  No, no......it's not that WHAT she said and told us wasn't true, but rather she embellished on it.  She admitted she felt a compulsion to share details (many times pretty intimate ones) with her readers.  She was hooked and what ended up happening was, that what started as an online diary and a diversion soon turned into a soap opera.  The lines between Catherine's real and virtual personas began to blur, tempting her to leave Mr. Frog for "Jim in Rennes."  She had created her own intoxicating alter ego.

I enjoyed the book a lot but I have to say, as I read along I detected a sadness from the author.  Maybe it was just me.  Maybe it was my instinct.  But I couldn't help but feel that here was a very intelligent, attractive, young woman living a nice life in Paris, and yet.......it didn't seem to be enough for her.  Somehow happiness had seemed to elude her. 

I can only hope that with the release of the book and her marriage on June 7......no, she didn't marry Jim from Rennes, nor did she marry Mr. Frog.......that she will now find the true meaning of happiness.

The book also got me to wondering about the blog world in general.........for the most part, I'd say what you see, is what you get with bloggers.  They post their real name, photos of their homes, their families, their dogs, etc.  But I'm sure there's a fair amount that create themselves in the blog world to their readers.  Perhaps they become that person they always wanted to be.  While I think blogging is wonderful and I've made some incredible friends, learned some unique things, I can't help but feel a sadness for some.  That rather than go "out" there and create their destiny.......somehow they settle for doing it through a keyboard. 

As bloggers and/or blog readers, I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on this.

See you here next time.............

My friend and fellow blogger in Los Angeles turns 76 today and she's just another example to me that age is simply a number.  I "met" Naomi a few years ago when I first visited her blog, Old Lady in the Hills.  I quickly came to see that she was certainly far from "old."

Naomi is one of those people that will always be young at heart.  She's also somebody that I admire and have come to love.  It's difficult not to love Naomi.  Her intense love for nature, her cat Sweetie and her friendships easily comes across in her blog postings.  Whether she's showing you photos of her spectacular cactus garden or the birds and hawks that come to visit close enough for her to photograph, you feel like you're right there with Naomi as she tells you about these things she loves.

I remember when I discovered through her blog postings that she is a celebrity in her own right and how astonished I was with her authenticity.  I learned of her career in the arts and entertainment industry, I read about her theater days in both NYC and LA, but most surprising to me was the multitude of very close friends she has and has had over the years.  Names way too numerous to mention here........but names you would instantly recognize.  And what surprised me most was the fact that Naomi is SO down-to-earth.  Here is a woman that has rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous and yet, never displays an ounce of ego.  It's no wonder to me that she has had friendships spanning many, many years.  Because somebody like Naomi truly understands the definition of friendship and anyone in contact with her knows this.   Here's a photo I "stole" from her blog of her and Betty Garrett, a very, very close friend of Naomi's........taken 9 years ago on Betty's 80th birthday.  You might best remember Betty from her role on All in the Family.  (Naomi is on the right)

Due to respiratory problems, Naomi is pretty much homebound now.  As an RN, I know how difficult this can be for many people.  It can cause anger, self-pity, and bitterness.  But Naomi reminds me of somebody who has lemons and makes lemonade.  With her trusty camera, she steps out onto her balcony overlooking those Hollywood hills and shares with us wonderful stories of things we'd have no knowledge of.  I love it when she "goes back in time" and pulls from her incredible repertoire of old photos from her childhood or theater days and then shares such great stories with us. 

Naomi has a huge blog following and her posts bring lots of comments.  One of the other things that impresses me about Naomi is her ability to reciprocate.........she manages to always not only pay a visit here to Island Writer, but she takes the time to always leave a comment.  I hope she knows how very much I've always appreciated this.  Anybody can "lurk" here because my words are out there for all to read and that's fine.  But to take the time to compose a comment........that's a friend that goes the extra mile and Naomi has always been that. 

I admire women like Naomi.  Strong, motivated and loving.  She's an inspiration to me, and I'm no longer surprised in the least why she's had so many devoted and loyal friends over so many, many years. 

So today, Naomi, it's your day to shine!  And I'm raising a toast to you for a year ahead filled with sunny days, good health and much laughter.  And I'm very proud and grateful to call you my friend! 

To my readers..........please leave a happy birthday greeting here in my comments for this very special woman......or better yet, pay her a visit at her blog (link is above) with your good wishes and be sure to tell her that Terri sent you.

See you here next time............