At the Beginning with You...

So, Guido and Donna reminded us on Facebook that the original anniversary of J-land was today.  Funny to think that about 3 years ago on August 6th I started my first blog "Do They Have Squirrels in Buffalo?"

I remember clicking on the AOL Journals button a little more out of curiosity than actually thinking that I would be keeping up a blog for this long.  I'd heard of blogs at that time, I just didn't think I'd have anything that interesting to say which would keep people reading.  I started it more as a way of keeping my family and friends up to date on what I was doing.  "Need to catch up, read my blog."

I never expected I would make the friends I've made online.  Donna was one of the first people to comment on my very first blog posting.  She actually lives in Buffalo and assured me that, yes, there are squirrels in Buffalo.

Along with her, I've shared in so many stories of celebration, heartache, new life, and sudden deaths.  Through Guido we've shared prayers and thoughts, visited those who are ill, and have become a close community whose members are only known mostly through these postings.

I think about my own journey as chronicled through this blog... I'm going to save my end of the year wrap-up for just before I leave for California and close this chapter of my life to start a new one... and a newly named blog.  Until then, relish in the friendships, relish in the sharing of this human condition, and relish in the forum that started it all... Happy Anniversary fellow J-landers... I'm glad to have met you along the road.

Number Two

So, I started writing down my little musings two years ago when I found out I was leaving the very cosmopolitan Twin Cities and moving to Buffalo. Before interviewing for my current residency spot I only knew a few things about Buffalo: the song "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" from the movie "42nd Street," Buffalo wings, the song "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry, "The Dominator" Dominik Hasek who played for the Buffalo Sabres, and, of course, the song title of my blog, "Buffalo Girls Won't You Come Out Tonight" which I first heard in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

I can now say that I know a few more things mostly involving the Assassination of President McKinley at the Pan-American Expo held in Buffalo in 1901. Mostly because our program is facinated with the fact that the on-call M.D. was an OB-Gyn and that the President was operated on at the exposition fair grounds instead of being brought to Buffalo General.

Anyway...

Thanks for following along with me during this time. From my original post on the original blog, "Do They Have Squirrels in Buffalo?" which was posted, originally, on AOL's Community Site. A year later I was starting my second year of residency. Somewhere we made the transition to Blogger, and I changed the name to Buffalo Squirrels. Since then, I've started two other sites: My Paper Cuts and This Squirrel's a-Quiltin' to show off my more creative side and new-found hobby.

Wow... thanks for reading along. Thanks for being with me (D from the start who told me, yes, there were squirrels in Buffalo) on this incredible journey. I wonder what my new title will be in another year... another two years... and where we'll all be? Are you just excited at the prospect? I know I am.

And, Now a Word From Our Sponsor...

I am going to say thank you to Donna at "Dust Bunny Protector" who awarded me the Marie Antoinette Award! It is given to people who we feel blog about "Real Life."

I started my blog in order to keep in touch with family and friends since I have been moving all over the country for the last 5 years. What I never expected was to make a whole new circle of friends who also blog. I really like coming home and reading about others' happenings.

I tried to find people who hadn't been nominated previously, and I hope you enjoy my choices as much as I enjoy reading them:

In no particular order:
Jeanie at "Genii in the Lakes"
Lisa at "Life on a Bison Farm"
Bethe at "Palm Harbor"
Winivere at "Woman in the Glass Box"
Frankie and Bella at "Twin Speak"
Betty at "A Corgi in Southern California"
and
De at "Where Do I Go From Here?"

Thank you for sharing a little piece of yourself and making all our lives just a little better!

Veronica