200: 200!

Good morning and welcome to my 200th post! It is 5 am and I am blogging. Don't I have anything better to do? Like, you know, sleep?
Well, I was just tossing and turning and the damn dogs kept barking so I just thought I'd get up, ok? 

That little pile of random words above is from the index of that children's book that  I mentioned I found over the weekend: 

 

A Treasury of Games, Riddles, Mystery Stunts, Tricks, Tongue Twisters, Chanting, Singing. Say that ten times fast. Heck, say it ten times slow! Um, slow-ly.

Written by Carl Withers and  Illustrated by Garry MacKenzie, it is awesome!

Ok, I think it is really just called A Treasury of Games :

 

The endpapers are covered with a Where's Waldo-esque scene with lots of little details to catch:

 

What's that called?  Wheelbarrow races?

It seems that it is winter in some parts of the drawing, and summer in others:

 

I would like a dress like that one above. Puffy sleeves and giant strawberries. Wouldn't that be cute?

Is this guy playing a harmonica?

 

What do you suppose this couple was doing behind all that hay?

 

Are they supposed to be kids?  Oh, nevermind then.

Guy peeking:

 

You know, now that I am looking at all of these little bits of the scene, I am reminded of this plate I picked up a few months ago:

 

Aren't they incredibly similar?

 

Big scene, lots of little detail...

 

 

You'd be tempted to think it might be the same artist, right? But you'd be wrong: 

 

 I love that little double upside-down pretzel symbol.

And this:

 

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Hey, I just want to thank everyone who commented on my last post. I am honored that you would open up and be so vulnerable and real. I really want this blog to be more of a conversation than just me yapping, so thanks for that.  Aside from being touched that you would take the time to comment and be so open, just having comments to read on any post really helps me get through the day. Thanks for keeping me company. It really feels like that.

You guys are awesome. Blogging wouldn't be as much fun without you. It is now 5:40 am and I am still here typing away.  I hope you're not thinking I need to get a life! I do have one, thank you very much. Writing to you has  become part of my morning routine and I enjoy it. So there.

 

So, it is my 200th post and all, so that means Giveaway, baby!

I was going to wait to post till I had figured out what exactly I will be giving away, but that could take a while and I would miss you. So just trust me that it will be good.

You know how this works: leave a comment and I will randomly choose a winner in , I don't know, a week or so? Yeah, I'll leave it open for a week, but I will keep posting if you don't mind.I was going to have it be only for people who have linked to me, as a gesture of appreciation. But some people don't have blogs ( I know, hard to believe) so that didn't seem exactly fair. How about this: if you have linked to me, let me know (just because it will make me happy). If you haven't linked to me, well why the heck not? What am I , chopped liver?

And if you don't have a blog, let me know that, too, so I can try to convince you to start one. It's really fun. Gives you something to do when your damn dogs start barking at 4:30 am.

 

Update on Sunday, June 8, 2008 at 06:19PM by melissa

Yummy Goods Giveaway winner finally picked!

Ye Olde Random Number Generator picked number 22 out of 110 comments! 

Number 22 is Stephanie aka artsy momma, congratulations! I still haven't gathered together your prize, but I will soon and I promise: it will rock. Just be warned, I am a slow sender.

Number 22 out of 110 seemed odd to me (why?), so I clicked the button 2 more times just to see what numbers would come up: 3 and 65.

Seems a shame to let those poor randomly generated numbers go to waste, so commenters number 3 (Come on down! Cindy K. from quaint handmade!) and 65 (Come on down! Mari from I-don't-know-where!) will get a little fabric bundle surprise. 

Oh, don't fret. I think I'll do another giveaway very soon. This time, I will put together the package first and show you the goods before you even comment.

How's that? 

xo and thanks for entering the giveaway!

Comments

[dana]

I'm in. But we all know that the first commenter (or is it commentor?) NEVER wins so I'll just resign myself right now. :)

[Lynsey]

Well does the second commenter ever win? Never mind if not! Congratulations on your 200th post. And I know all about getting up early but mine is due to children rather than dogs.

[cindy k]

Congratulations on 200! It is nice to receive comments - they feel like a friend just stopped by unexpectedly and you're happy to see them.

[daisy janie]

Love all these images. The detail is fantastic - I'm sure the artist was pretty proud of their work!!

[malin]

Congrats on post 200! I found your blog only just now, and I will spend some time reading - it looks good so far!

[gina]

The haystack illustration reminded me of the pictures from the children's book Thimble Summer. I'll have to find my copy now and see who did those illustrations! That plate is AWESOME!

re; blogs. I started one, thought it would be a really great "diary" of sorts AND a place to share my pictures. Then I found Flickr and that took over my LIFE for awhile :-) I have to force myself to take mini vacations from it! But I"m glad YOU keep your up; it's one of the highlights of my day!

So to all you people who see a strange lady sitting in front of your house stealing your internet over the next couple of weeks......... I'M GETTING MY BLOG FIX! lol

[gina]

The haystack illustration reminded me of the pictures from the children's book Thimble Summer. I'll have to find my copy now and see who did those illustrations! That plate is AWESOME!

re; blogs. I started one, thought it would be a really great "diary" of sorts AND a place to share my pictures. Then I found Flickr and that took over my LIFE for awhile :-) I have to force myself to take mini vacations from it! But I"m glad YOU keep your's up; it's one of the highlights of my day!

So to all you people who see a strange lady sitting in front of your house stealing your internet over the next couple of weeks while I"m on vacation......... I'M GETTING MY BLOG FIX! lol

[LeeAnn]

That plate is awesome. Make me wonder if the MS Word clip art people weren't inspired by the little people running around in it. They look a lot like their cartoon characters. Happy 200th!

[Sister Diane]

Those endpaper illustrations are so wonderful - I'd love a whole-wall mural like that. Congratulations on your 200th post! It's amazing how these small, daily writings end up becoming a great big chunk after a while, isn't it?

[scott]

Hi Melissa, congrats on #200....I think the book and plate are GREAT....course the plate is by a fellow Dane, so no wonder I like it!!
now..... you get to comment on MY site>>> :):)

[christina]

I love all those pictures. You have an amazing eye for details!

[Sequana]

No, I don't have a blog, but I spend so much time reading the ones I like that I might as well have. My work is all on my flickr site if anyone's interested, so it's better for me to keep being creative than spending time writing a blog.

Congrats on your 200th tho!

[Amy]

Congrats on your 200th post! I just updated my links two night ago and included you! For me blogging is part of my evenings, I can't think when the kids are up...=)

[Julie @ Letter9]

That index page looks like some kind of poetry exercise where you have to write poems with first lines like "wolf" and "which match." That would be a hard poetry exercise. Ugh.

I hope you have a nice day and that you're not too sleepy, what with getting up earlier than God and all.

Anyway, yeah, I link to you, but you know that already. I even linked to you in a post last night. But I told you that already, too.

Oh yeah: I love comments, too. I agree that comments are one of the best things about blogging. : )

[Doris]

Melissa, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of your fabric line!!! I REALLY liked all your market photos and posts...I've been before and wanted to get to Portland but it did not happen.

I hope you pick me, and if you do, that plate would make a great gift for me! I used to draw those kinds of pictures all the time as a kid, kind of Grandma Moses style, I guess. I drew non-stop and I wish I still had some of them today, but none survive.

Congrats on #200!!!! I'm only at about 20 myself!

[Virginia]

Congrats to you Melissa, for your 200th and Sugarsnap! It's been awhile since I subscribed to another blog but I really enjoy your writings, so I subscribed to yours. Hope to see you again at another market. Take care and have fun with the next 100 posts, can you imagine 1000?

[mo]

I love that book. The whole wheelbarrow thing is hilarious- I was watching my 8 year old son's class do it in PE the other day and I can't tell you how many kids got their faces plowed into the ground because their too tall too fast person holding their legs were just not coordinated enough. Everyone laughed a lot even though I have to say it looked pretty painful, all those kids eating gym floor.

[Ramey]

I love this book. I am always trying to find books like these to share with my little girl. I to just found your blog and am loving it!

[teena]

I have no idea what 'all html will be escaped' means so hope my comment gets to you. I've linked to your blog! Just because it reminds me to check in regularly! I love your taste in printed stuff. I especially love that random list of page titles and numbers. It's like some whacky market research statistics. Incidentally, has anyone over the age of 30 tried doing a wheelbarrow race? It's like hula-hooping. I lost the ability to do it somewhere in my 20's too! Great blog Love the background colour. x (P.s. much as I love the idea of a giveaway I've only been at this a few days so don't feel it would be fair to include me so soon. I'll join in the one when you get to your 300th post!).x.

[Annette]

WOW - 200!!! And so diligent at posting very regularly... I'm impressed. I started a blog around Christmas (and yes you are linked:)) and if I post a couple of times a month I feel successful - I guess I don't have as much to say as I thought - LOL. Love those books - I have a particular fondness towards children's books - especially older ones (must be a nostalgia thing!). Congratulations - keep it up.