Now We Are Seven

This dog ball sits under a lucite box in my office as a reminder that you never know what will change your life.  A little over seven years ago I walked into George Terbovich's shop in Crestwood to buy a lighted dog ball for Rosie.  I thought it was nothing more than an afternoon errand to fill the time after my youngest's nap and before his brothers' carpool.

But it started a journey from shopgirl to blog reader to (on-and-off-again) blog writer.  I could not have foreseen the changes that this blog would bring when I stood on that concrete floor and shook this ball and watched the light inside flicker like fireflies for the delight of my five-year-old.

Today marks the anniversary of my first post. Mrs. Blandings opened my world in a way I never expected. I know that there are readers who have been around from the beginning and I am so flattered that you find something here to enjoy. Many of the bloggers who started in 2007 became real friends and I am still amazed that people can create a connection on-line that holds up in real life.

I am grateful, too, to the editors who have featured me on their pages and sites.  Thank you to Zim Loy, Stacy Downs, Margaret Russell, Karen Carroll and Michael Boodro. Thank you, too, to every designer  - too many to mention - who picked up the phone or answered an email about some crazy thing that had piqued my curiosity.  I am constantly inspired by your instinct, your knowledge, your passion and the humor with which you share it.

I did not expect to be a blogger (which seemed silly to me then.) I certainly did not expect to blog (on-and-off-again) for seven years (talk about silly.) So I can't say if I'll be here for seven more.  Life changes.  But the last seven years writing Mrs. Blandings have been a ball.  Thanks for playing along.