On Being Freshly Pressed

Tuesday at work: Email from Michelle.
Congratulations! You have been Freshly Pressed.
Ode to the Blogosphere will be posted
in 1-2 days.
Stay focused on clients…

Wednesday: Doing email.
Notification of moderation.
James posts a comment.
Hmmm – never met James before.

Light goes on.
Check the FP page.
IT’S THERE!
Art and all.

Histogram jumps.
143 views in first hour.
Comments to moderate.
Comments to answer.

Aside: Fortunately,
I am out of the office today.
My day off.
Otherwise, people would think
I had disappeared.
Note to self: If it ever happens again,
and you’re supposed to be working,
call in sick.

Cut back to Wednesday: Eat breakfast.
Reply to comments.
Eat lunch.
Reply to comments.
Workout for an hour.
Reply to comments.
Cook and eat dinner.
Reply to comments.
Go to bed.
Actually sleep.

Thursday: Things have slowed down.
Answer a few comments.
Go to work.
Ski jump histogram
returns to normal when
announcement ends at 4:00.
It marched over 32 hours,
from top left to bottom right
and then off.

Amazing stats.
Over 1100 Hits,
195 Comments,
175 Likes,
4 Reblogs,
50 New Followers
from around the Globe.

People liked the poem.
It spoke to them
of their own experiences.
Why they blog,
what they’ve learned.
That feels good.

A magical mystery ride.
Thanks to WordPress.
And I would have never
written a poem,
Had I not started my blog.

If you’ve ever been Freshly Pressed, has it changed your blogging experience? If you haven’t been Freshly Pressed, is it something you aspire to? Do you check out Freshly Pressed to find new blogs? Why?

Love,

Cathy

More Snow

Yesterday, we got our first snow of the season here in Colorado. After being Freshly Pressed on Wednesday and Thursday, I was still joyfully replying to comments on the awarded post, and wanted to write a short poem and put up a picture before leaving for a full day of clients at the office. So I cheated and used a photo from a huge snowstorm last October.

I did confess my transgression in the comments, but my friend Clare asked me to post what my beautiful environment looks like now. By the time I got home last night, it was dark and all the snow had melted.

This morning, I was greeted by more snow and bright sunshine so here’s what I shot just a few minutes ago:

Having grown up in the South where snow is a rarity, the first Autumn storm is always a delight. For an avid skier, it means the slopes will soon be calling.

Peter and I met skiing twenty years ago (yes, on the lift) and we still share our passion. Here’s the post about that story if you’re interested. We buy a season pass and try to go up every Friday to one of our ski areas about two and a half hours away. We usually leave the house around 6 am, get to mountain about 8:30, ski like Banshees for five or six hours, have a late lunch and then head home before Friday afternoon rush hour in Denver. It’s a long day, but worth the effort for us.

Skiing is great exercise, but also a way to get outside in the winter, enjoy the magnificence of the Rocky Mountains and expose ourselves to much needed sunshine and fresh air. It keeps the cabin fever away and also keeps us in great shape.

So here are my questions for you: Have you ever tried skiing or snowboarding and if so, what is your favorite experience? If not, ever wanted to try it? Where do you like to ski or ride? If it’s a passion, why?

Best,

Cathy

Freshly Pressed

Got the word Tuesday
from Michelle, the Story Wrangler.
A short gestation – one to two days.
Never thought it would happen,
Just happy to have a place to write,
to experiment, to publish all these pics.

And then the mystery of friendship,
comments, support – egging me on.
Ode to the Blogosphere
Ode to you.