A bowl full of ..... comments ! (My daughter holding the bowl of comments yesterday - just before picking the winner out) Thank you all so much for leaving your comments and entering the ‘draw’ to win the Maasai beaded items. I loved reading though your comments to see which posts you voted as your favourite/s.
I was also really touched by the people who commented and let me know their favourite posts, but asked not to be included in the draw (as they have already visited Africa or are friends who I’ve sent similar things to over the years, or whatever) - so giving others a better chance. It was also lovely to hear from people who have read the blog for ages but had never commented before - lovely to 'meet' you !
I must say I was surprised at some of the ‘favourite posts’ chosen – some which I had considered to be ‘a bit boring’ when I published them (like the ones on our various crops, or my garden views) and some others (like the kitten rescue one which came up a lot – my critics told me that it was too long winded & when I wrote it I actually thought to myself ‘are people really going to read through this entire story and be interested in it ?!”) … so it just goes to show, you never really know which posts are going to be ‘hits’ and which are going to be ‘misses’ !
The post on the death of my beloved Zonde came up a lot – it probably still remains the most difficult and emotional post I’ve written – I felt that my heart was spilling out onto the ‘pages’ as I wrote as I felt so much raw emotion at that time … and I am pleased that my pain (and baring a very personal part of myself) was not in vain as many of you said this was one of your favourite posts, which I found really touching - thank you ! (P.S. You can search for any of these posts mentioned, by typing the title of the post or keywords into the search box in the top left hand corner of the blog).
So, it is now time to announce THE WINNER !!!! Yesterday my daughter and I cut up all the comments & placed them into a wooden bowl (she helped me to fold them and felt very important getting to draw a name out !) ...................... and the winner is *drumroll please* .......
I was also really touched by the people who commented and let me know their favourite posts, but asked not to be included in the draw (as they have already visited Africa or are friends who I’ve sent similar things to over the years, or whatever) - so giving others a better chance. It was also lovely to hear from people who have read the blog for ages but had never commented before - lovely to 'meet' you !
I must say I was surprised at some of the ‘favourite posts’ chosen – some which I had considered to be ‘a bit boring’ when I published them (like the ones on our various crops, or my garden views) and some others (like the kitten rescue one which came up a lot – my critics told me that it was too long winded & when I wrote it I actually thought to myself ‘are people really going to read through this entire story and be interested in it ?!”) … so it just goes to show, you never really know which posts are going to be ‘hits’ and which are going to be ‘misses’ !
The post on the death of my beloved Zonde came up a lot – it probably still remains the most difficult and emotional post I’ve written – I felt that my heart was spilling out onto the ‘pages’ as I wrote as I felt so much raw emotion at that time … and I am pleased that my pain (and baring a very personal part of myself) was not in vain as many of you said this was one of your favourite posts, which I found really touching - thank you ! (P.S. You can search for any of these posts mentioned, by typing the title of the post or keywords into the search box in the top left hand corner of the blog).
So, it is now time to announce THE WINNER !!!! Yesterday my daughter and I cut up all the comments & placed them into a wooden bowl (she helped me to fold them and felt very important getting to draw a name out !) ...................... and the winner is *drumroll please* .......
MARI ("I'M SASSY") from Minnesota, USA - CONGRATULATIONS, MARI !!! (You can see Mari's blog "Just Once Around The Sun" over here) Mari's comment was as follows -:
'I started reading your blog sometime during 2009 and became hooked after the very first read. Although all of your blog entries are extremely interesting, my favorites tend to lean towards the wild animals that wander onto your farm. I have never been to Africa, it is on my bucket list! Things to see before, well, you know!When i saw your blog where the giraffes and wildabeasts wandered onto your farm i imagined how breathtaking it must be to look out the window and see that! Amazing! I`m waiting for an elephant now.Also i enjoyed the post where you mentioned weavils in your flour, the commeter who replied rudely that SHE never had bugs in her flour. Your response was perfect, and brought a smile to many of us readers.Thanks for such an interesting blog!Mari'
Mari, I hope that you'll love the African items on their way to you ! If you could send me an email with your postal address (just click on the 'Contact Me' link in the right sidebar of the blog) I will pop the package into the post for you when I am next in the city (in a week or two ?)
Sorry to all those who were not lucky - but this was so much fun, so maybe we can do it again sometime hey ? What do you think ?!
