Nine on the 9th!

Amazingly, this is the beginning of my NINTH year of blogging at Pigtown*Design! What a great adventure it’s been!

One of the most gratifying things about the blog is that I have had the chance to meet so many people that I’d never have imagined meeting. On my last trip, I got together with three people I have met through the blog: Naomi from CouldaShouldaWoulda, who was charming and delightful and took me places I’d never visited on all of my trips to London.

House of Beauty & Culture is one of the OBs (original bloggers) and we’re old friends now. Each time we meet up, we spend the entire time telling stories and laughing! Oh, yes… and drinking!

Diane at Yonks, is based out of my old stomping grounds – Cardiff – and we had the chance to spend an afternoon at a local auction. She and I talked like old friends, and although we only spent the day together, we both missed each other later! That’s the great kind of friend to have! Oh, and there was more drinking with her! Decidedly non-British drinks!

And although he’s not blogging anymore, I met my dear friend Steve and his charming daughters, Martha and Kitty, through a blog he wrote for the UK’s Guardian newspaper on The Wire, of all things. I spent six years trying to convince him that Baltimore’s Not Just The Wire©! He and his girls hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving for this American abroad, for which I am deeply appreciative!

Another benefit to blogging is all of the things that I learn when I am searching for things to write about. The blog forces me, in a good way, to look at myriad resources to find the item that no one else is blogging about. Whether it is driving around Baltimore to show you places you don’ know about,

or sharing with you something new I am reading,

I am always on the hunt for something new for you, and it keeps me on my toes!

The blog helps me find the beauty in everyday things, whether it is a gorgeous urn of flowers,

or a snowy day in the city.

I share the good times with you, like horse races and parties with friends,

and some of the bad times, like being mugged in High Point, and losing our friend Larry.

To you, who take the time to read Pigtown*Design every time a new post comes to your computer or in-box, I say thank you so much! It means the world to me that you read what I write, take time to comment, speak to me when you see me, and indulge this effort of mine. You are greatly appreciated!