Happy Thoughts from Abroad

One of my favorite blogs that I follow is "the world according to pia" at piaks.blogspot.com. Reading her blog usually makes me smile. She has a happily strange obsession to little stuffed critters she calls bobbaloos. She is a strict vegetarian and loves animals dearly. She has a cat and a "loaf" dog, who quite often show up in her blogs. She is creative and has shops with her creations for sale. She sometimes is frustrated and disheartened by the people in the world and how we all treat each other.  I enjoy reading her blog!

She recently had a "contest" on her blog. Readers were encouraged to send her a comment describing how they found her blog and what keeps them coming back. The prize? One of her hand made psychedelic mushrooms. As you can see I was one of the lucky three to get one. She asked what colors we prefer and, yes, you guessed it I told her purple.  I know from her blog that purple is not one of her favorite colors, so the fact that she made it for me just so, was very kind of her. She also sent along some cards with different things in her life and scenes from her home in Stockholm, Sweden. I enjoyed those as well.

If I actually knew Pia, I think I would find her to be a great friend to have on my side. Although, I know we would have strong discussions about the vegetarian thing. I do love pepperoni!

This got me to thinking, is blogging the new form of having pen pals. Julia Child is well known, now, for having a sustained pen pal friend for years and years. They were fast friends that hadn't even met. Have blogs become a new form of pen pal writing. People don't write long letters to dear friends anymore. The process of putting pen to paper has been replaced with emails and text messaging. The waiting in earnest, checking the mail every day with anticipation replaced with instant gratification.

When I knew that my happy little mushroom was on the way, I got a little reminder of what it was like to have a pen pal. To wait anxiously for my little glimpse into a "friend's" life who I have never met. Is it strange to think of her as a friend? Maybe so, but I do.

So, to my friend in Stockholm, I'd like to say, thank you for my mushroom and the glimpses into your life. You are a very interesting and joyful person that I am glad I found on this community called the world wide web.