Making my Day

I left work on Thursday tired and crabby (some people might say that is my usual way of being, but I am ignoring them). I took Friday off and laid low all weekend, which was helpful, but dealing with the cats and continuing knitting problems ended up really bumming me out (man). So it was so lovely to come back to work yesterday and discover that Valerie had given me a You Make My Day Award, and it has left me verklemft. I'm very fond of Valerie's blog, so it is, indeed, an honor.

I know some people find these sorts of things burdensome or irritating, but as Sharon expressed so well in her post, they can be a terrific way of creating an online community, which is at least part of the reason we create blogs in the first place. Plus, I always appreciate an opportunity to yammer away about stuff I like. However, I'm going to try to make this a list of blogs I find inspiring for reasons other than knitting, mostly because I always find knitting inspiring.

So, in order of appearance in my Bloglines subscription (er, alphabetical):

A Dress A Day. Just what it purports to be. I love dresses, Erin's writing is wonderful (her "Secret Lives of Dresses" series is not to be missed, they can be found in her sidebar), and while she is giving the not-so-secret desire to sew dresses of my very own, it is not necessary to enjoy her blog.

Farmgirl Fare and In My Kitchen Garden. I'm counting these as one since the same blogger writes both; IMKG, in which the author mainly discusses her extensive vegetable garden, is an offshoot of FF, which is about her life on a Missouri farm. And food. Her Basic White Bread is fabulous.

Fashionist. Located in San Francisco, Mai takes pictures of people whose clothes catch her eye. I particularly like this blog because she is so positive, it has changed the way I see people on the street. I'm much more apt to see people whose style I like, though I have to admit to still shaking my inner fist at kids in mini skirts and Uggs, or flip-flops when it is 40 degrees and raining, or slippers (seriously? you couldn't find shoes?)

Manolo for the Big Girl. Manolo (a great Shoe Blog, but not the great Blahnik) has spun off into several different subjects -- brides, kids, men, food, etc. -- this one I identify with most closely. Part fashion, part You Go Girl, with the occasional book and movie review, Francesca and Plumcake's writing is funny and refreshing. This post is a great example of what they do best.

Matt Callow's Livejournal. Callow is an Ypsilanti based photographer who specializes in pinhole and crappy cameras. Amazing stuff.

Miss Information. A crabby, annoyed library clerk. Even though our patrons are faculty and phd and master degree candidates, I often know just how she feels.

NPR's This I Believe. Not a blog, but it is in my feeds, so I'm counting it. I love these essays, after hearing or reading one (or more) I feel reassured that we aren't necessarily headed for hell in a vapid handbasket. I'm particularly fond of Be Cool to the Pizza Dude and Always Go to the Funeral (which I first read during a time I seemed to be going to an awful lot of them).

Tales from the "Liberry". A small town library employee dealing with the crabby, the smelly, the "innanet crowd" and the bathroom challenged. Huh. That could describe my house!

Waiter Rant. I haven't ever waited tables (thank god), but I find this blog completely fascinating. His writing is stellar -- he is funny, bitter and often deeply empathetic.

yarnstorm. Her pictures are lovely, and her writing is so very British, this blog is a pool of calm. Jane Brocket has a book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity, out in the UK, and I understand it is to be released in the US.

By the way, it seems that the Anonymous Comment function was working here. Please know, this was not intentional and should be fixed now.