Happy Blogoversary Day!

Light the fireworks, sound the horns, throw the confetti!..it's time for a celebration! Today is the official birthday of Between Naps on the Porch! Can you believe it?! BNOTP is 1 year old today! :-)

To show my appreciation for your wonderful support and visits during this past year, BNOTP will be hosting a brand new give-a-way every day this week for Blogoversary Week (Monday through Friday) August 17th through August 21st. (Tablescape Thursday will go on as always...the Give-a-Way will be in addition!) If you missed yesterdays Give-a-Way, just scroll down to that post and leave a comment. The drawings for all 5 days will not take place until this weekend, so you have all week to leave a comment on each Give-a-Way post:-)

The Give-a-Ways this week are just a small way to show my appreciation for you, the loyal readers of BNOTP. To enter each of the five Give-a-Ways posted this week, just leave a comment on that day's post. Since there will be a new Give-a-Way every day this week, be sure to stop by and enter each day.

I'd especially like to show my appreciation to those of you who are "Followers" of BNOTP...so, if you are a Follower, be sure to mention that in your comment and your name will be entered twice for today's drawing. Did you know you don't have to be a blogger yourself to become a Follower of BNOTP. Just register and sign in with Google and you will be able to "Follow" all of your favorite blogs. :-)

If you also subscribe to the BNOTP feed, mention that, too, for a third entry into today's Give-a-Way. Remember, there will be a different drawing each day, so lots of opportunities to win. :-) To make it easy, you can just write "F" and/or "S" in your comment and I'll know to include an extra entry for you for that day's Give-a-Way. :-) And thanks so much for "following" BNOTP!

Our Blogoversary Give-a-Way for today is Mary Carol Garrity's new book, Nell Hill's, O Christmas Tree. I was so excited to see the release date for this book is today, August 18th...great timing for our Give-a-Way! :-)



Are you a serious Mary Carol Garrity/Nell Hill fan like I am? I'm really looking forward to this book arriving because it's my favorite kind...the kind where the author takes you inside her own home, and at Christmas time, no less! :-) Amazon says, Mary Carol will be "inviting you into her own 130-year-old Greek Revival home decked out in the season's liveliest shades of evergreen, pine cone, and holly."

If you'd like an opportunity to win a copy of this book, be sure to leave a comment here. If you missed entering in yesterday's drawing for the darling rooster tassel made by Angela at The Tassel House, it's not too late to enter...just scroll on down to that post and leave your comment there, too. The winners for each Give-a-Way will be announced next Monday, August 24th!

When I was trying to decide what to post for this day, the Blogoversary Day for Between Naps on the Porch, I thought it might be fun to share my very first post...the one that kicked off this wonderful, crazy adventure called Blogging. :-) I haven't changed a single thing...it's just the way it was the day it was published. You'll notice the pics are quite small...I left them that way since it would sort of be cheating to enlarge them now. :-)

I was surprised to discover the pic I chose from my computer just a few months ago to be the image for my "blog button," was a pic I took for my very first blog post...isn't that fitting, somehow? :-) You'll see it at the end of this post. If you enjoy visiting BNOTP or participating in Met Monday or Tablescape Thursday, please feel free to take the BNOTP button that you'll find posted on my sidebar. It will give you an easy, fast link to BNOTP whenever you like. :-)

I had to smile when I read the last line of this first post...I think it will make you smile, too. :-) (A little background for those who are more recent readers of BNOTP...Tablescape Thursday first began as Tablescape Tuesday, but was moved to Thursday when Metamorphosis Monday began, just to keep a little distance between those two blog parties.)

Hope you enjoy this very first post for Between Naps on the Porch...it made me feel a little nostalgic. :-)

August 18, 2008
Welcome to my first ever, blog! Many thanks to all of you who have poked, prodded and assisted me down this long, winding corridor that leads to Blogville...you know who you are! :-) Now, having finally gotten up the nerve to dip my big toe into the fast moving current of Blog land, it seems only fitting to begin a blog titled "Between Naps on the Porch" with quotes about, and views of, some great porches. I'm making plans for some fun and hopefully informative future posts and I'm am so hoping you will come back again soon.

Now for a little tease :-) In an upcoming post, I'll share how easy it is to turn your photos into little works of art, without having to purchase any special software. It's really easy and fun...I'll try to get that posted soon!

Now, just sit back, put your feet up and let's go relax a while on some wonderful porches.

Friends are the pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up, sometimes they lean on you, and sometimes it's just enough to know that they are standing by. " (Anonymous)


Behold a woman! She looks out from her Quaker cap, her face is clearer and more beautiful than the sky. She sits in an armchair under the shaded porch of the farmhouse, The sun just shines on her old white head. Walt Whitman, from Faces


"The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had.” (Anonymous)


"The porch is like the brim of a hat. it shades you, but makes it possible for you to have an uninterrupted view of the surrounding landscape." David Heymann, American Architect


“You can run with the big dogs or sit on the porch and bark." Wallace Arnold, Major General, U.S. Army


"What was it Clarise had said one afternoon? No front porches. My uncle says there used to be front porches. And people sat there sometimes at night, talking, when they wanted to talk, rocking and not talking when they didn't want to talk." Ray Bradbury, Author, Fahrenheit 451

Thanks for your visit! I would be so happy if you would take a moment to leave me a comment and sign the guestbook before you leave. And, I'd love to hear your thoughts concerning what you would love to see posted here. I'm thinking we might need to have a Tablescape Tuesday...what do you think? :-)
END of first post...


Well, I don't know about you, but I'm so glad I decided to give that crazy idea of having a tablescaping day a try. :-)

I would like to take a moment to THANK each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart...it's all of you who have made this first year so very, very special! If you weren't stopping by each day with your encouraging and wonderfully generous comments, BNOTP would most likely not exist today. Thank you so much for your valued friendship and support! I love each and everyone of you!

Ok, I'm going to close this post before I start crying and upset Max...he can't stand to see me cry. :-} Does your kitty get upset if you cry? I don't think Max would understand happy tears. :-)

See you tomorrow for our next Give-a-Way! :-) In the meantime, give yourself a nice treat by scrolling down to check out the awesome "Before and Afters" posted yesterday for Metamorphosis Monday!