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Friday, May 1, 2015

Happy May First Bridge and Beyond

Whew........made it through the month of April and the A-Z challenge.  It took some doing to come up with something for each letter of the alphabet that had something to do with homeless and or what we do here on Bridge and Beyond.  I visited 253 blogs (as of the April 26th when this scheduled post was written).  That is the number from the linky.  Every blog I visited I read the post and left a comment except those that were closed to comments, had to join google+ and a few things like that.  Then I visited those folks in my right sidebar almost daily so no clue how many visits that comes out to.  Currently that blog log is 24 blogs, though the number wasn't consistent.  As soon as someone visited and left comments, I added them to the blog log...so it grew, I visited them back, but after several visits if they didn't visit back I removed them from the linky love blog log list...so it shrank.  Am in need of going through and nixing a few more so it's a current list.

 I also visited everyone on my regular blog list at least twice during the month of April, also in hopes of reciprocal visits which didn't really happen.  Many on that list no longer blog, haven't updated in several years etc.  The 2nd time through I deleted quite a few of those links as well as dead links.  I liked having folks on their that had donated, but they've moved on and inactive links actually hurt Bridge and Beyond with regard to SEO, so I felt it was time to clean that list up.

Next up I visited everyone listed with profile pages, ie Ravelry and or Facebook and left private messages trying to encourage blog visits.  That proved not to be worthwhile.  As stated in the paragraph above, many of those pages aren't current.  I will be over the next week re-visited and deleted those inactive links as well.

And...that brings us to today, May 1st.  Nice way to start the new month with this pretty donation from our good friend Sandie P from Louisiana.  Please click to see the picture better so you can see the details in her darling hat.  I LOVE this hat.  It's stylish and quite warm as it has ear flaps.  Sandie what pattern did you use for this?

As always, please keep up the good work Sandie!

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179+1=180
Scarves 67+1=68
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 63
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 7
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted

We're still having very cool nights with frost, and temps some days still hover around 50-60, so it's still not warm, if you don't have a good roof over your head.  Please keep knitting and crocheting, the need still exists.

**If you missed any of the A-Z Challenge posts, please please do stop and read them. And it's still not to late to leave comments folks.   My hope is to further educate people about what it's like to be homeless, to better understand the nature of this sad situation.  The more we know, the better chance we have of helping.  I also desperately want to dispel the notion that it couldn't happen to you and your loved ones.

A=Afghans, Family Heirlooms
B= Bridge and Beyond, Behind the Scenes
C=What is Crochet
D=Donations
E=Exposure Kills Homeless Vet
F= Crying and Homeless and Freezing Temperature
G= Gubbio, A Homeless Project, St. Boniface Church
H=Hobo and Homelessness
I= Inspiration
J= What is Joy
K=Knitting
L=Knitting Looms
M=Mittens, Knitted, Crocheted or Loomed
N=Caring for the Needy
O=Jack Otis, Classmate, Homeless
P=Policing the Homeless
Q=Quilting Can Warm Those in Need
R=Helping Homeless with Rain Poncho's and Recycling
S=Shelter Living and the Homeless
T=Tent Cities for Homeless
U=Living Under the Underpasses
V=Homeless Veterans, Rest in Peace
W=Water in Doorways, Sprays Homeless
X=Xenophobia
Y=Yarn Helps Homeless
Z=Finding Zen


All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

22 comments:

  1. Happy may 1st Sandy! April was a little tough to get through weather wise but, we made! April showers bring May flowers. Trees and flowers are certainly trying to come out here. Some of the trees have already blossomed and gone. It's sad they only stay out about 2 weeks. The colors are so pretty. You did an excellent job on the A-Z challenge. Some of the letters I know were tough. Have an awesome Friday and weekend!

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    1. Thank you Bunny for all your support, with visits and comments and thoughful donations. All is appreciated. Glad we're finally enjoying some spring color too!

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  2. Sandy, the hat was one of the challenges that Crochet Crowd does. This one was the January 2015 challenge. http://crochetchallenges.com/next-challenge-january-2015/ It is over now but the info is still there, including the pattern. It's a lovely pattern.

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    1. Awesome Sandie, thanks for the follow regarding the pattern etc. I'll Add it to our hat tab. Appreciate your support through the many years. I feel like you, Bunny and I have known each for ever.

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  3. Whew, now that the challenge is over, I can get back to my knitting. I missed it. I agree with you, visiting other blogs during the challenge, was, well a challenge itself. I’ll be writing about that in my reflections post.

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    1. Whew is right Lynda, glad you're getting back to your knitting, look forward to reading your reflections.

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  4. Pretty scarf and hat :)

    I need to clean house now after the A/Z challenge and not my physical house, LOL, but my blog list. I added a lot of blogs to follow during the challenge; I'll see where they go now that the challenge is over and remove those that might not be interesting. I didn't have a chance to read blogs yesterday until the evening, usually I read some in the morning, some at lunch and then finish up in the evening. Just reading all the blogs I had on my blog roll yesterday took over 2-1/2 hours last night. Of course the majority of those were A/Z blogs and since yesterday was the last day of the challenge I made sure to visit all of them to congrat them on finishing.

    I agree that I visited more blogs during the challenge than people visited back. Probably 80% visited, 20% return visit. What I don't like because I'm careful not to do the same thing when I'm visiting is people who leave a "fly by" comment; you know they haven't read what you wrote, but they invite you to come and see their blog. I would go and visit and leave a relevant comment but would not follow along their blog. I blog for relationship with those I follow and those who read me so that always rubs me the wrong way.

    betty

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    1. I couldn't agree with you more Betty. I'll continue to whittle away those on the list who aren't returning etc, but am thrilled to have connected with people like you! Like you, I do take time to truly read and truly post relevant comments...the interaction is what I like.

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  5. Cute hat, love the fact that you had the pattern Sandie. Will have to give it a shot. Think my granddaughter would like it.
    Happy May 1. Back when I was a kid it was a big day to put candy and flowers in a rolled paper doilie cone, and put them on the door knob of your friends,, ring the bell and run.If you got caught you got kissed! What fun!
    GOD BLESS THE HOMELESS. marj in minnesota

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    1. That sounds like fun, haven't heard that tradition before, thanks for sharing it.

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  6. Sandy cant believe I got on. Wonder if it had something to do with your challenge. Havent been able to get on in about 3 weeks. Kept telling me I had the wrong parameters. Didnt know what that meant.:+) marj in minnesota

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    1. Nothing on the blog was different with the challenge, and I've not changed anything since so don't see how that could be, but glad you were able to get in. I wish I knew what wrong parameters meant too. Frustrating.

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  7. Very nice hat Sandie. The scarf reminds me of the new leafs that are on the trees in the spring.

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    1. Good description, it's such a pretty shade of green. Thank you SSeger for your ongoing support.

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  8. Congrats on completing A-Z! I am so happy that you did it with Bridge and Beyond this year. I have no idea how you visit, read, and comment on so many blogs. I admire you and continually wish you all the best!

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    1. Thank you Brandy for your sweet support and encouragement, truly it is appreciated.

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  9. Great accomplishment on your A-Z challenge Sandy. I love your hat and scarf Sandie aka Crochet Cabana. I learn so much from the both of you.

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  10. Hey! To delete a WordPress.com blog, look at the wpadmin/tools menu. There's an option to delete it. If you have anything in the archives you want to save, back it up first, and be sure you're done with that URL, because once you delete it, there's no getting it back, ever. Help file:

    https://en.support.wordpress.com/delete-site/

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    1. Thank you Gene for the visit and the response, both are appreciated. I've tried to delete the blog on wordpress more times than I can count, your directions were a huge help. Finally...got it done.

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  11. lovely hat and scarf- you can feel the love. Love your dedication to this work- and the A-Z challenge- you really got into the spirit of it

    zannierose

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    1. Thank you Zannie for your visits, and comments, I appreciate the support and hope to continue to see you here on Bridge and Beyond.

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