Blog Birthday

Today is our one year blog birthday – feel free to send presents, the bigger the better. Shirley Temple sent a cake.

For our birthday celebration, we are re-publishing the post that got the most hits during the year... and the post that got the fewest (not least, fewest) hits so you can have another read and appreciate it this time.

# 1 on our very own blog hit list is a seasonal post:

Good Gifts, Bad Gifts

I remember when my husband, the second and final one, bought me a dress for my 50th birthday. My first thought was, “Who does he think he is married to?” although my thought ought to have been “To whom does he think he is married?”, but I rarely think in elegant terms. The dress wasn’t me. It was so far from me, it could have been a joke, but it wasn’t. No doubt, somewhere in his mind, the dress was for the improved version of Chickie; the Chickie who I could be if I really tried. That, my gentle reader, is an example of a sub-optimal gift.

Skipping along to an idea that is season-friendly and way smarter, I ran into Mary Anne at a local Holiday Market, or as my mother might have said, a Tchotchke Fair, since it had some good stuff. It would have been a Chazerai Fest if it had been junk. Enough - I've already wowed you with my sophisticated language skills.

Mary Anne had decided to give her children and grandchildren an experience rather than things. I thought that was terrifically clever. She mentioned art lessons, travel, and all the other sorts of things we adults believe our loved ones need to receive for their betterment. It got me thinking so I asked my friendly AI about the importance of experiences and was told that experiences shape us as individuals, contribute to personal growth, build resilience, enhance our understanding of the world and are gluten free (I made up the last part). Well said.

So, then I asked AI which stocks will soar in 2025. It gave me Chazerai.

And now, the post that received the fewest hits.....

Woman Of The Year - I think this was lowest because the blog was refusing to email for a while at the end of 2024. This post was published 12/31/2024 - Happy New Year - but I'm not sure it ever circulated. You have a second chance...

Chickie's Blog, in it's inaugural 1/2 year, has decided to end 2024 on a high note - by recognizing the Woman of the Year - Gisele Pelicot. She refused to be ashamed; she refused to be silenced. Instead of a victim, she is a hero. She was steadfast and courageous in the face of unbelievable betrayal. She is someone to remember when we need an infusion of courage in 2025.

This is post # 41, the final blog post for 2024. I do get sentimental at milestones and find myself reflecting on life, but of course, I reflect obsessively, so today simply legitimizes that hobby. Other than Woman of the Year, I’m going to be silent because I have a message from Linda and Carol who authored (let’s all chant it together) Not The Trip We Planned, a warm, clever novel in which I co-star with my friend Maddy.  

From Linda and Carol: Thank you for supporting our work and sending kind comments. We appreciate them even though Chickie scoffs. Thank you too, for all the kindnesses extended to us this year. We are all on trips we never planned, and it helps to have such good company. See you next week!!!  Chickie promises to start the year on an upbeat post - we'll see. We won't be judgmental. All the writing articles say that once you create your characters, they take off...... hmmm, isn't that the plot of Frankenstein?

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Now, at the end of year 1 of blogging, thank you. See you next week to begin year 2 with all sorts of nonsense you need to know. Maybe we'll start with a Jello recipe to remind everyone that childhood should be left behind.