For Nine Pounds - An Analogue Blog

Boob Job

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy bird) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:52:00 +0000

So ends two weeks of hell, this morning finally got the all clear on the breast lump I found.

Thank god I was a lucky one who after a mammogram was told the lump was just rogue breast tissue and nothing to worry about.

The relief that the whole family feels is immense and much as you try to tell yourself that 90% of breast lumps are benign you cannot really stop yourself going to dark places where you wonder will I get to see my babies grow etc etc, how will my husband and children carry on without me, being the extreme ones.

Other ones about coping with what to some is a horrendous treatment with no promises.

Breast cancer treatment is getting better all the time with prognosis for many very good but I didn't even know if I had the internal strength of spirit to cope with that alone.

As good as I am feeling sitting here, and I am, a all singing dancing good feeling, It doesn't take away from me that some are not as fortunate as I.

If one thing has come out of this, it is that I will be a lot more diligent about breast checking, something I only occasionally did and always half heartedly.

I urge you all check your breast's do not ignore lumps and bumps, as my consultant said he would rather see fifty people ( men & woman ) who he can say everything is fine to, than a few that he has to tell, that though it might not be fatal this will change your life.

I appreciate why some women say nothing when they find a lump, it is a scary roller coaster of worry once you step on but if like me you are lucky enough to step off the other side it is a great feeling and if sadly you are not one of the lucky ones the sooner you get your arse to the doctors the better it really is.

So get into the habit of giving them a feel, even better get someone else to feel for you, make it fun, make it quick, even make it soapy but make it a routine.

Oh and that goes for you blokes too, get checking your bits.

To all the societies I've loved before

noreply@blogger.com (Bonn) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:10:00 +0000

How relationships form and operate has been the subject of literature and gossip for millennia but what you don't hear as much of is how societies work.

I've been in and out of societies all my life - kids on the block, school, youth groups, work crowds, blogging set, college crowd, people from different evening classes, dance crowd, friend's families, twitter people. I'm always infatuated when a new society comes along and then it pans out and a new one comes along. I've never liked it, but I only ever see people in the context of the society they belong to, and so how much I enjoy someone's company will depend on how much I enjoy the society I associate them with.

As a society, twitter offers something new and brilliant in its continuity. No matter how much it might annoy you at times and the unfulfilled attention etc, it's always there. I noticed this especially after the Web Awards last Sat. A great night was had by all, said goodbye, then I went onto twitter and everyone I just left was there having one last farewell. There's no long goodbye. It's always there and that's a great thing to have.

But I have to say, in terms of all the societies I've been through, early 49£ had something even more special. It had the new infatuating society but because it was anonymous and I was new to the virtual world and didn't think anyone was looking, I felt open to write anything and 49£ became a unique means of expression. And having that combination new exciting expressive society is very rare and won't happen again. So I'm glad it did back then.

For fucks sake

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy bird) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:24:00 +0000

Well to blog or not to blog, hard decision

Before I start can I just state I am not looking for sympathy in any way, more needing a place to do a big, big mental scream.

So where to start, well I guess an apology to some people around me, friends and nearest and dearest may have picked up on the fact that I am more than a little bit cranky, the last week or so, I never mean to be, cranky or snappy or snide but it seems that is where for me, worry manifests.

Ok start at the beginning two weeks ago, ( right slap bang in the middle of getting some bad news about a family member) routine shower like we all do, not that exciting until you run your hand over yourself and find a lump, instinct is"what the fuck is that", keep checking, keep checking, keep checking, get out the shower and say to hubby..... nothing.

Spend the next two weeks ignoring any worries and keep going back and checking and checking, maybe it has gone away, right?

All the time feeling sick to the stomach on one hand and carrying on as normal on the other, only you don't, you get cranky you snap, you feel tired, stressed

So you make a decision ask hubby if he can feel anything, he is gonna tell you nah your imagining it, right? wrong, he felt it and insisted that you go to a doctor straight away.

Ok, ok calm down, I will go to the doctor and she will say "ahh yes a normal part of the breast nothing to worry about my dear..."

Went to the doctor yesterday and she has a feel which in itself is no fun, only to be told yes there is a lump, we need to get you scanned and a biopsy as soon as possible, is there any family history etc etc, well yes there is my mom died of cancer at exactly this time last year.

Oh right I see, to which she said I can't tell you anything which will make you feel better, only that we must get it checked and work from there.

Cue me going home, bursting into tears at the realness of it, dog barking, kids wondering what on earth is going on, to which I obviously lied and made up some story about Mummy having a headache or something equally lame.

Now I know, that there can be many, many reasons for a lump in the breast, a cyst a fatty deposit, etc etc and breast cancer.

I am shit scared

Speed dial..

noreply@blogger.com (Bonn) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:52:00 +0000

The speed dials on my phone date basically from 1999. Most of the people on them I don't see very often now, they've moved down the country or just moved on, but for no reason I just never updated my speeddials so now they're set in a piece of history.

Funny.

Commenting issues

noreply@blogger.com (Shanachie) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:36:00 +0000

So you may have noticed we have reverted back to a template, something similiar to what we used to have here on Forninepounds.

Let me explain why.

Over the past few months comments have been a serious problem on the blog with people commenting and as soon as they hit the submit button their comment disappears into thin air never to be seen again. This is a very serious issue and one which hopefully by reverting some things back will fix please bear with me over the next day or so until I resolve the issue!

Twitter and Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Shanachie) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:20:00 +0000

God I remember this place, but my time has over the past while been taken up with decking and organising a tweetup, but on Tuesday night I was invited out by @niallharbison to EnoWines and La Cuvee for a fantastic meal and wine tasting and drinking of course, but with a good few people around the table, many of whom I had never met, twitter came up in conversation, and it was then I saw just how in love with it I am.

Twitter and I have had our ups and downs, when Twitter treats me bad I feel angry but when Twitter works I adore it.

I used to talk about blogging like everyone in the worlds lives depended on it, well Twitter was devised to be a way of, as the creators, Biz Stone and Ev put it, a way to have a miniblog.

Well now Twitter has become my blog. People know much more about me from the past 2 years then they have learnt over the past 5 years on my blog. Are blogs dead, are they a thing of the past? I dunno but I am starting to ask the question in a big way now!

Another amazing thing about Twitter is the amount of people I have met through it, I would not have been invited by Niall last Tuesday were it not for Twitter, I would not have ended up with 19 other photographers been treated by royalty at Mondellopark for a huge Event they held were it not for Twitter, I would not be heading along with maybe 60 other strangers to London on the 14th of November for a tweetup were it not for Twitter and most importantly this blog would not be alive now were it not for Twitter.

My phone now has double the amount of phone numbers in it now due to Twitter, I have Advertising agencies wanting to listen to me talk about Twitter, I have made a little bit of money using Twitter are you catching my drift, Twitter is a huge thing.

But all good things obviously have bad sides too, there are a lot of evil sorts out there spamming their filth to one and all on Twitter, one person in particular I revealed to a lot of people last week is conning her way through Hawaii, and in my opinion praying on some people on Twitter. What will she gain I dunno but it is horrible to see. Then of course Twitter is glitchy, servers slow down, DM's go missing and mental stability of its users get frayed.

One of the latest trends I have noticed on Twitter are the peddlers of misinformation, the people who signed up 6 months ago to twitter and claim to know the secrets behind Twitter, I consider this to be total and utter bullshit, as Twitter themselves dont know where its going, twitter is constantly evolving. An example of these sorts spouting shit was told to me by 3 clients of mine, all from different companies but with advertising as a background.

2 weeks ago I had one of these clients come in to me in work and start telling me what an eejit I was going on since 2007 about Twitter, its a load of shite. You should cop on Shanachie blah blah.

This caught me by suprise since I knew this client in particular had never used Twitter, so what the hell would he know!!!

Well it transpires, he knew all about Twitter because himself and about 30 others went a twitter conference for business and these gurus were there telling them all about twitter. Every single person who paid for that conference left saying they would never ever touch Twitter or ask their clients to use twitter!!! I had to know who else was there!

I know of the gurus that held the talk and I am appauled, the organiser of the conference should have coped on at an early stage that these were not the people for the job, thing is one of these speakers will talk again tomorrow to a huge crowd hopefully the crowd will have the common sense to walk out! Fortunately I did find out who the other 2 clients were and all 3 have now, after a speech of 1 hour from me, for FREE might I add, signed up to Twitter and have seen the positives from it.

So to all you Gurus out there please fuck off, Twitter believe it or not, actually worked better when you guys had never heard about it, go sell your goods somewhere else.

Quick update and apology to those who attempted to comment on this in the past few days and have had their comments deleted I am testing some things and apologise for it.

Les Feuilles Mortes (Autumn leaves )

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy bird) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:49:00 +0000

My favourite time of the year is about to come to the U.K. I love the Autumn (or fall as they say in the USA)

The colours are spectacular, I love the sound of children's feet kicking up leaves, I love the bite in the air while going for a walk.

But mostly I love the cool dark nights after a day of watery sun, I sleep like someone who has not slept for months.... which is what I am

Finding Mr Right or Mr Wrong

plumpgoddess1@hotmail.com (Blue Eyes) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Today is my 26th Wedding Anniversary. Well it would be if I was still married! My marriage lasted two and a half years. First year was great, rest wasn't. I don't feel old enough to have possibly been married that long. Surely I'm not! lol

Ive had two wedding proposals in my life, my ex husband and another boyfriend. The boyfriend was few years back now and even at the time of his proposal I knew that I didn't want to be with him and soon ended the relationship. He was a total waste of space. Ive only accepted one proposal, and that was to my ex husband. It was right at the time, but I really was too young, though thought I knew it all.

Will I ever get asked again? Do I want to be asked again? I quite like the way my life is now, but who knows what might happen in the future and with whom! That's whats so fun about life.
A good friend of mine is doing the Four Man Plan as her way of finding Mr Right. She has tried all sorts of dating schemes, online dating sites, personals in local newspapers, clubs etc etc. Here is an article on the plan and shes got the book http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1103205/It-adds-The-square-route-finding-Mr-Right.html, which I might borrow. She did try the plan before, but cheated so it didn't work. This time she wants to stick to it, and so far so good. I'm enjoying her stories on her dates. The only bit that she finds difficult is the reaction the dates have when she tells them she plans to go on other dates with other men.

She gets quite a negative response at this. This is always told on the first date, so that they know and theres no game playing. Its only a date, not a life long commitment. Once she has found a guy that fits her then she becomes exclusive and stops looking. But you do need a few dates to find that out.

I think theres a lot to be said for matching making lol I wouldn't have the patience to do what she is doing. It takes a lot of time and patience to find Mr Right or Mr Wrong!

Hugs

x x x

Mock battles

noreply@blogger.com (Bonn) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:28:00 +0000

I heard recently that there are groups of people who reconstruct viking battles in different locations round Ireland. I've always wanted to have a go at something like that. I wouldn't have any fitness for it but still. It'd be a laugh.

Happy August

noreply@blogger.com (Wendylimerick) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:45:00 +0000

Its August where did the summer go-Have been very very boring writing and drinking way to much coffee.

My song of the Day is -

I AM NOT A ROBOT

And my Blog of the Day is the new -Post Impressions

Who knows if I'm doing the right thing!

noreply@blogger.com (snow queen) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:45:00 +0000

A few months ago I decided to move back to Ireland for a year see how it goes, all excited, all good. Last few weeks have been wondering why can't I have a little bit of both and live here & there too, yeah its selfish, or is it just a viable reality now. With broadband, mobiles, skype etc communications are a heck of a lot easier.

Oh I don't know, what to do....who knows!

The Bord Snip report in a nutshell

thehealthyirishman@gmail.com (The H.I.) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:23:00 +0000

A proposal.

noreply@blogger.com (Shanachie) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:54:00 +0000

Myself and a good friend @anjeebaby have been discussing an idea which I hope people may embrace.

What started off as a small visit to London in October has become what I can only call the "Across the water tweetup". After a lengthy discussion of 3 or 4 tweets to each other we decided that it might be a great idea to try and organise an event in London where Irish tweeters and UK tweeters can finally meet each other face to face.

Personally looking at the Irish people I follow and I know Anjee is the same it seems we know a lot of folk from across the water in both directions. I think it would be a great bit of fun.

What we are proposing is a Saturday night in London, obviously for any Irish travelling we should make a weekend of it, possibly by having a photowalk or something even on one of the days. If the uptake on this is good well then the "Across the water tweetup" can move to Ireland the next time and so on.

So what do you think? depending on the interest shown we will look into organising a hotel to have the meetup happen in, and check out prices for accomodation etc.

Tweet about it, link to it do what ever is necessary to get the message out to people.

more information can be found at the across the water webpage and you can follow updates about the event on twitter

As I say its an idea that I truly believe can run, please let me know via the comments what you think!

I have a problem

noreply@blogger.com (snow queen) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:05:00 +0000

a big problem. I have to go out an buy new belts! 1 stone 1 lb has departed my body....new belts are the only answer to trousers falling down ;) happy days!!! Another stone and a bit to go but half way feels guuuuddddd!

On my own

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy bird) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Well hubby is back from his weekend away, the weekend that I have been secretly dreading for a few weeks.

Hubby went to his Mums, to try and help with some family issues, and although I am used to him out for all hours at work, the night's I have spent without him over the years have been few.

Like most marriages we have our up's and down's but being without him for a weekend was the first time that I had spent a weekend on my own in nearly twelve years together, I was lonely, I missed his conversation and moaning, cooking food didnt have the same allure to a point that I allowed the children to choose what they wanted to eat, out of interest they chose Spaghetti Bolognese Saturday, and then Pizza Sunday, easy

We kept busy the whole time with parties and trip's out so it was not too bad on the boredom front and I spent the evening's talking to friends and twittering of course,the kids were well behaved but underneath it all the house didnt have the same buzz, the t.v held no attraction without someone to watch it with, the bed felt empty, the house dare I say it tidier.

I guess the point of this blog is that at bad times (and we all have them) considering life on my own with the children has always seemed do-able however after spending what for most would seem a short time, I have re-evaluated that I cannot function properly without him nor would want to.

I Thank God for what I have, and maybe a few more marriages should have the occasional mini seperation, it makes you think, that's for sure

Still if he could pick his clothes up off the bedroom floor, life would be perfect lol

It's been a while....

noreply@blogger.com (snow queen) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:50:00 +0000

I know slap on the wrists!

Anyway the weight loss news is big...well a big loss really! So far have lost 13.5lbs...only half a lb away from the magical stone! Am chuffed to bits especially as the last few weeks have been stressful and busy...home moves...agm's...work....you name it!

The EA Active on the Wii is brill, can't recommend it highly enough, no matter what the weather is like you've no excuse and 20 mins is nothing five days a week.

Now come on if you want to make a change....just do it as the ad says!

This thing called twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Shanachie) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Following on from my last post....

Twitter is also doing my head in, since they decided to fuck around with the @ reply thing and in the process slowed down my "twittersteam" its no fun at all, I cant join conversations that I cant see, cant see people debating issues, and also have no idea what the people I would speak to all the time are talking about because they may be talking to someone I dont know, what a load of toss it has ruined twitter for me in many ways!!!

Nuff said again.

(going to bed before I find something else to moan about, like Television or the state of cabbages these days)

This thing called recession

noreply@blogger.com (Shanachie) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:05:00 +0000

God its doing my head in. I am trying to keep a happy side but fuck me its hard!

Nuff said.

OK magazine is it OK?

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy bird) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:25:00 +0000

I was saddened and distressed yesterday to see the front cover of OK magazine displayed in the local shop which happens to be right outside my children's school, the said cover depicted a dying Michael Jackson on a stretcher with a breathing mask over his face, eyes closed and if not dead then dying.

My daughter turned to me and said "Mummy is that Michael Jackson dead? " to which I replied yes I think so, to which she said "I have never seen a dead person before"

I am appalled that this picture is A, allowed on a front cover and B, allowed to be published full stop.

I am all for freedom of speech but surely when this becomes the norm we have reached an all time low, death for many reasons should be a private affair, those last moments of a persons life are sacred, and if as a country we accept this and allow OK magazine to sensationalise death in this way, where does it end?

I remember many years ago now a ban on publishing pictures of the dying Princess of Wales, it seems that if she were to have died in the year 2009 she would not have been allowed the same dignity and privacy.

I know a lot of people did not like Michael Jackson for what he was accused of, (and found innocent of) but that really is beside the point, the time that you show any picture like that in full view of children, then you have overstepped the mark whoever it is.

I was told that by tweeting about how wrong I felt it was I was doing OK magazine a favour and giving it publicity, but I do not agree, we should stand up for things we do not agree with and I am not saying we go back to a secret society where we do not know things, but the bounds of decency have been crossed.

I don't want to have to deal with the look of horror on my children's face, and of course am aware that it is part of life, but has life been reduced to how many magazines you can sell?

Somebody's brother/father/son is all I keep thinking and how would I feel?

Shame on you OK magazine

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

I believe it is wrong, how about you?

My Devon Experience

plumpgoddess1@hotmail.com (Blue Eyes) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:09:00 +0000

Ive had a lovely week away in Devon. I even managed to get some sun and had a red chest like a robin! I’m (a)pealing now though ;o)

Stayed in a beautiful cottage in a little village, and really enjoyed the peacefulness of it all. Main highlights were visiting the Plymouth Gin Factory and had a little tour and lunch in their restaurant. http://www.devon-online.com/attractions/plymouthgin/Welcome.htm. Did some shopping in the new Drake Shopping Centre and bought my nieces 18th birthday pressie.

It was fascinating to see how they make Plymouth Gin, and had a tasting. I like G&T’s but Plymouth Gin is so smooth that I actually liked it on its own. Wasn’table to drink too much as I was driving. But certainly brought a bottle home with me. PlymouthHoe is also worth a visit, though was a bit blustery on the day I visited. Great views of Drake Island and the little boats coming in and out of the harbour there. There was a guy scuba diving just outside the harbour, not sure what he was looking at but was fascinating to watch him.

Went for a day trip down to Cornwall and visited Polperro and Looe. The sun shone that day, and really enjoyed mooching around the little streets. Also had a day trip down to Dartmouth, such a beautiful place, and yes the sun shone there too. Went on a boat trip along the coast and managed to see some seals warming themselves up on the rocks. Was treated to lunch at http://www.thenewangel.co.uk/. Felt a bit under-dressed though in my summer skirt and top. Food was delicious and the restaurant is right on the sea front, so a lovely view while your eating.

Burgh Island is lovely to visit too. http://www.burghisland.com/ I didnt stay at the hotel, tad pricey for what it is in my view. But walked across the sands to the Island from the main land and had lunch at the pub there, Pilchard Inn.

Went on a few boat trips, I just love the sea. Its so nice to sit back and relax and be on the sea and watch the coast line go by.

I met up with two of my cousins who now live in Devon and who I haven’t seen since their brothers wedding nearly 20 years ago. I think we were all a tad nervous, but we soon got chatting as if no time had passed at all. Was lovely to see them and spend some time with them, caught up on all the family gossip. I am planning to go and visit at the end of August as they are having a family party and their sister and brother will be there too, so more reunions.

So I’m now feeling refreshed and relaxed but not sure how long that will last! lol

x x x

Whac-A-Mole

noreply@blogger.com (mitzs) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:18:00 +0000

This is a game I would like to play with Perez Hilton's head and my cane. I would love just 5 minutes to whack, whack, whack,whack!

How can someone think they can run around taking pride in insulting others and not think they have a can of whoop ass coming their way? Are you really as ignorant as you act? Did you really think someone wasn't going to punch your lights out someday? Why oh why couldn't they have started with your mouth??? Do you really believe yourself to be an innocent bystander who don't deserve it?

And why in the world did he have to bring him being gay into anything? He is gay. So what? He didn't get his arse whooped because he is gay. He got it whooped because he has a big fat obnoxious insulting mouth. Is he seeking sympathy from the gay community because he can't get it anywhere else? Will they sympathize with him? Can anyone sympathize with him?

I know I can't. He admits to using hurtful words against the other person. Pfft, what else is new? When is he not trying to hurt someone feelings. He of all people has the nerve to call someone else belligerent. Dude! Look in the mirror. What goes around comes around. Your just came back around to smack you in the face....

What is Twitter to you?

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy bird) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:35:00 +0000

Twitter to many people means many different things.

To me Twitter means chatting with "friends" and finding out bits of information along the way, but I am constantly having to re-evaluate how I feel about the whole thing.

I have had periods where it has been amazingly good fun but then times when I have not enjoyed it so much, like now, when I have started to take things personally if things are said as a joke and I did not think it was very funny,or offended if I saw someone that I follow and is a friend talking to people and not talking to me.

I guess here the saying comes in "familiarity breeds contempt"

I realise now that Twitter has not to be taken too personally, and in fact the moment you do you are almost doomed.

A lot of people have been commenting on "Twitter Jail" lately where you get booted off for too many tweets, some have made duplicate accounts so that they can get around this problem,

I admit I did think about doing the same, however decided against this after realising that Twitter is actually correct to kick us off for too many tweets, as conversations are not really what the Twitter idea was, more a sharing of information.

Secondly I realised that if I was allowed free reign I would like everything else in my life become addicted, and any addiction will ultimately become destructive.

When I first started to use Twitter, it was important to me to have as many followers as possible, however now I am in the situation of having quite a few, I find that it becomes quite difficult to follow what is being said anymore.

I have my favourites "Tweeters" and like to think that I have made some good friends on Twitter but over the next few day's I shall be cutting my follower levels in a hope that those left are people that I enjoy tweeting with and more to the point enjoy tweeting with me.

Which I believe is the whole idea.

Your turn, what does Twitter mean to you?

My Favourite Avatars

noreply@blogger.com (Bonn) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:17:00 +0000

These haven't come out so well with the copy and pasting but you can get the idea or go to their twitter pages to see the real thing. The first one is a 1-tweet randomer but I liked the avatar so much I followed back. With niallok and dailydreamer, I think they use the space very well. Phreak's one is just very pretty.

week 3....

noreply@blogger.com (snow queen) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:47:00 +0000

week three and bad news, put on 1lb. Now I'm not one for excuses but....! Na seriously my Leader said due to taking antibiotics more often than not the system is upset. Had been good but felt so rubbish I wasn't really eating as food had no taste. Anyway back motivated and a loss next week fingers crossed!

Avatars

noreply@blogger.com (Shanachie) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:34:00 +0000

I love avatars, you get to used to them and can instantly recognise folk on twitter, facebook etc although sometimes when a person changes their avvie it can do my head in.

But some avatars jump out so much more to me. Let me explain why.

The avatars used on twitter are a perfect example to use, they very small squares 73 x 73 pixels only, and trying to get your image to be recognisable and look like a work of art is a very hard thing, but some people have managed it. A lot of the people who follow me and who I follow on twitter seem to do the plain ole head shot in the centre of the image, which works but looks kinda boring, others have taken images using their 1 mega pixel camera phone and they look grainy and bad. Some peoples images are far to dark and you can hardly make out the person at all, and then lastly we have the cartoon avatar which does not do your personality any favours at all.

I have picked out my favorite 5 avatars from the 1300+ people I follow, I have chosen these because they are so engaging and make me want to get to know the person more, they are all of females but I can honestly say that I could not find one engaging male avatar, sorry.

So here they are.

@suttonhoo

@kittynel

@kehoeser

@_Leva_

And lastly

@PRsarahevans

I dunno what it is about this image I love but this is by far the best avatar I have seen by an individual ever, it goes against all the rules that an avatar should be, but it works so well.

So there you have it maybe you will look though your own followers and spot some folk I have missed out on, and hopefully through the 5 I have picked you can understand why I love these little squares so much.