POTW is One Year Young

Several hours after I posted last week's Posts of the Week, I began to wonder how long it had been since David McMahon from Authorblog passed me the torch. Looking back to my first post on this subject, I discovered that it had been exactly one year since I had begun.

So here we are one week later but I'm still going to acknowledge my first year of POTW (not to be confused with my three plus years of blogging) with a new award icon which appears below. You might notice another new feature which indicates to which category the posts belong. I'm not positive if I'll continue categorizing them each week because it's a bit more time-consuming this way. Time will tell.

Today, I'd like to thank David for trusting me with his beloved Posts of the DAY - yes day. He found ten posts each and every single day along with all of his other posts. I still don't know how he did it because I find it to be a lot of work to do this once a week. But I'm so glad that he did because it was through is caring efforts that I met many of the folks whose blogs I enjoy today.

So thank you, David and thanks to all of you who support my blog and the blogs of those to whom I link. You folks are terrific!

And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a Post of the Week - either as top post or as a runner up.

This week's top post is an important reminder by a brave and beautiful lady. It goes to:

October: A Pink Photo Finish Friday
by Reb

at Sibu Pegasus Power

Other wonderful posts are categorized below (they may well fit into more than one category but I'm only selecting one for each):

Don't Bug Me While I'm Driving
by Dianne
at Forks Off the Moment

Wee Wisdom
by Fragrant Liar
at Fragrant Liar






Go Play
by Cricket
at Cricket and Porcupine

The Grammies
by Lime
at House of Lime






Little Drops
by Kerri
at A Little Piece of Me

A Man on the Move
by Daryl
at Out and About in New York City

Model Skies
by LadyFi
at On a Quirky Quest With Lady Fi

Green Water
by Steve
at Take A Look Around

The 10/10/10 Challenge
by Keith
at Holdingmoments

Hoodoo That Voodoo That Yoodoo So Well?
by Tabor
at Room Without Walls






On Meeting Adalina
by Pauline
at Writing Down the Words

What's Cooking?
by Jinsky
at Napple's Notes

Beth, She Made My Teeth Hurt
by Brian
at WayStationOne

M.E. and Me (don't miss page 2!)
by Carolyn
at Busted Halo
recommended by Cricket

Tapestry
by Mrs. Mediocrity
at That's Mrs. Mediocrity to You
recommended by Country Girl

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you.

Posts of the Week

On September 25, our dear bloggie friend David McMahon of Authorblog said his goodbyes to blogging - at least for now. David is taking the time to concentrate on writing his novels.

Along with more than two hundred others, I wished him luck and thanked him for bringing so many bloggers together with his Post of the Day - daily postings which pointed out blogs he felt were share-worthy. If it weren't for David, I would not know many of my favourite bloggers whom I enjoy visiting regularly. I also see numerous familiar faces around the blogopshere consistently landing on the many blogs which he has recommended.

In my comment to David, I semi-jokingly suggested that I might consider perpetuating his Post of the Day. To that, David gave me his blessing. You are acquainted with me well enough to know that I don't post anywhere near daily but I do come across many fine blog posts over the course of the week, so I've decided to venture into doing a "Posts of the Week" instead. I hope you'll come to know a few new blogs by clicking on the links which I'll suggest. Also, keeping true to David's method, I'd like you to feel free to mention and link to your own favourites in the comments section of my POTW - if you wish.

I'll try to make a point of publishing the POTW each Wednesday but hope you'll all understand if I'm not always quite as organized as our friend, David. He has left mighty big shoes to fill. Speaking of which, David also had a semi-regular post called Sunday Roast in which he would shine a spotlight on, and interview fellow bloggers. It's my understanding that a blogger named Eddie Bluelights is taking over that task at his blog Clouds and Silvery Linings. If you're a fan of Sunday Roasts, please make sure you visit Eddie where he'll resume these interviews beginning this Sunday, October 11. And please check out his sidebar where he has placed a permanent feature showing the "ROLL OF HONOUR" of all previous and current roast interviewees which will be updated weekly.

And with that, I offer you my first "Posts Of the Week". Please be sure to click on the links and give them all a visit. You'll be glad you did. I'll have a regular photo-laden post for you in a day or two.

This week's winner is Moannie at The View From This End with her touching post I'm So Sorry.

In no particular order, other top posts are:

Tabor from Room Without Walls

Evidence of Success.

Rain from Island Sunsets

Shades of Beauty.

Protege from Life Through Reflections...

Artist Unknown.

Sandra from Add Humor and Faith... Mix Well

The "Surprise" Party.

Erin from Woman in a Window

Tearing Down Walls.

Cloudia from Comfort Spiral

How to Become.

Meredith Teagarden from The Things We Carried

The Things I Have Carried.

Merisi from Merisi's Vienna for Beginners

The Changing Light of Fall Falling on Us.

Sandy from Writing in Faith

I Flinched and Found the Unexpected.

If time permits, please click on the links and leave them a comment.

Thank You, Blogger

Raise your hand if you've ever heard of "Blogs of Note."

If you're like me, you might have noticed the little tab which appears on your Blogger dashboard, along with the "Blogs I'm Following" and the "Blogger Buzz" tabs. I'm pretty sure I might have clicked on that tab once or twice in the past, and when I did, it took me to the Blogs of Note page where a few blogs are listed for your clicking pleasure. I may have even visited a few of them but I never gave much thought to why there were there.

I've learned how effective it is to have a blog listed among them, when on December 30th, unbeknownst to me, Blogger included my humble pages as their Blog of Note for that day. The results were something similar to being recognized on David's Authorblog Post of the Day, but on steroids.

I started getting kind, warm comments from a few new faces. One offered their congratulations for being listed as a Blog of Note. It didn't click. When several more made similar comments, not only on my current post but on a few back posts as well, I took a look at my Stats Counter and found that many wonderful people (plus a few spammers and one irate anonymous troll) were visiting my blog at the astounding rate of several hits per minute. By the end of that day, I had 4,400 visitors and as I type this post, my visitor count has topped 14,000 in just five days. That's insane! But so much fun!

I've been trying to keep up with return visits to everyone who has left a comment (thankfully, nowhere near as many as have visited), but that's going to take some time. Until then, I'd like to thank everybody - from "the new kids on the blog" to my long-standing, loyal bloggie buddies for having such kind things to say about The Smitten Image. I treasure every one of your warm words. And thank you Blogger for finding this blog and deciding that it was worth sharing.

Should you decide to take a look around Blogs of Note, consider clicking on a few of them and leaving a comment. You might just make their day too.

Due to semi-popular demand, I've included a photo of the sink mentioned in the previous post. I was standing in the bath tub in order to take it. This bathroom is that small.



Here it is, Jeffrey's Mission Creep Special.



Below are a few photos taken around my home and Frank's place recently. Please remember to click on them to enlarge the images.



Our weather has gone through a number of changes recently - from bitter cold, to surprisingly warm for a brief spell. One morning last week, I awoke to find that a moody fog had crept in, and took up residence for the full day. (please click to enlarge)



Just beyond this tree, a busy freeway is cloaked in fog, rendering it invisible, though its muffled sounds were still apparent. (please click to enlarge)




The pond takes on a bluish hue when fog suspends over the water, and wisps its way between branches. (please click to enlarge)




A clearer view of some branches against the opaque waters below. (please click to enlarge)




Early the next day, the sun painted the sky with streaks of soft cotton candy and honey. (please click to enlarge)




At the creek near Frank's place, a blustery snow squall followed us for much of our walk. (please click to enlarge)



Outside of Frank's window, this Downy Woodpecker had just finished feasting on suet. His beak is still flecked with the fat. (please click to enlarge)




Back at my place, a young Starling pecks away at the suet feeder in my plum tree, bathed in that late-day sunshine which I love so much. (please click to enlarge)



At the side of my back yard, bright red berries still cling to an overgrowth from the next yard. (please click to enlarge)




On a rainy day, this rosy branch is moist with rain droplets. (please click to enlarge)