The Party's Over!

Let me just say that I have really, really enjoyed this party! I think my new blog is officially broken in. I started out being really good about commenting on everyone's comments, and I must apologize for slacking off the past few days.

As you know, we are getting ready to go on a long and bittersweet vacation, as we visit my parents' home in New York one last time before they sell it (bitter) and move down here (sweet). You can read all about that on Day 3's post here. I have been trying to get ready for this trip, prepare for our support group's annual kick-off (which I just got home from), get ready for a new year in American Heritage Girls, help my brother sell his fabulous peaches, and just hop along with regular life.

All that to say: I appreciate all of you who've come to my party and played along! I have read each and every one of your comments, been to your blogs to see your posts, and smiled a lot. You all are great!

And so without further adieu, I announce my top 3 Party-Goers:
#1: Suzanne from God is Good
#2: Leah at Courtney Family Happenings
#3: Marbel at Two Kid Schoolhouse

Each of you will be receiving an amazon.com gift card in your email box in the next few days! Don't panic if you don't get one right away; remember, I'll be on dial-up!

Again, thanks to everyone for coming to my party. Now I've got to finish packing, water the plants, and put in my Rainbow Resource order so it's waiting for me when I return. Oh, and that cleaning the house thing? It's not happening.

Housewarming Party Finale!

This is the last housewarming party day here at SmallWorld! I am headed off for vacation in two days, and I have a couple of different homes to think about while I'm gone. The first, of course, is my actual home; the second is my blog, SmallWorld at Home, and my guest house, SmallWorld Reads. I have not reached the level of blogging in which I am prepared enough to do autoposts, nor do I have a guest blogger. I thought a bit about asking my friend Blogless Leigh to be my guest blogger, but, um, she is self-acclaimed to be computer-challenged. (Also, she is mourning the loss of Scrabulous on Facebook.)

Anyway, I will have internet access at my parents' home in upstate New York, but it is dial-up and takes eons to do anything. Randy has already scouted out places that have free Wi-Fi in my hometown, and found two: the public library and a pub. Starbucks and Panera have not yet (and probably won't) come to my tiny town. And on top of all the internet issues, I'll be very busy relaxing on the lake, helping my parents pack, and videotaping every nook and cranny of this place that has been my home since I was 11-years-old. (Read more about that here on Day 2.)

All that to say: my blogging will be sporadic in the next 2 weeks.

And that leads me to my Day 4 Party Favor.For today's Housewarming Party Final Day Party Favor, just answer some or all of these questions in the comments for 10 points (and yes, I really am keeping track!):

* When you go away on vacation, do you feel the need to clean your house before you go?
* What are your favorite snacks to take with you on a long car trip?
* Do you listen to music or books-on-tape while traveling, do you read (if you are the passenger), or just stare vacantly out the window? (Please don't tell me if you read while you're driving.)
* Does your house smell weird when you come home? Do you light candles and open windows, or is that just me?

That's it! And remember, you can always do the
Week-long Gifts (leave me a comment to say you've done any or all of these, each time you do)
1. Mention SmallWorld's Housewarming Party on your blog, and you'll get 5 points each time you do!
2. Put my party sign on your blog somewhere, and you'll get 10 points.
3. Subscribe to SmallWorld and get 2o points! (How to subscribe: look on my sidebar and click on the button that says "posts" under the header "subscribe.")
4. Cut and paste the day's Party Favors on your blog for 10 points each day.
5. And by the way, you can jump in the party on any day, and you can even go back and do the previous days if you missed them the first time around! Our door is always open to new friends! See Day 1 here.
See Day 2 here.
See Day 3 here.

Thanks for coming to the party! I'll be posting winners sometime tomorrow!

Housewarming Party Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of my Housewarming Party! Part of my motivation in having this party was that I thought I would be spend time working on my sidebar, organizing entries, adding links, and all that kind of good stuff—kind of like putting all those pictures up on the wall of your new house. But I haven't quite gotten around to that this week. Instead of working on my blog, I've been doing things like playing croquet and making chocolate chip cookies.

Croquet is so much fun! We used to play this all the time when I was a kid. My brothers are ruthless players; I haven't taught my children any of their made-up rules, like ways to knock your opponent's ball a mile away. We play nice croquet. Our lawn is kinda lumpy and once in awhile you have to dodge dog poop, but that just makes it more interesting.

Here is a photo of the amazing cookies I baked this evening. Are they not the most pathetic things ever? They are very reminiscent of my Amish Friendship Bread. I believe I left out 1/2 c. of flour. As you can see with the ones to the back, I did add more flour and the subsequent batches began to resemble cookies eventually. Of course they are still delicious, and everyone is feeling nauseated from chocolate overload.

So all of this chit-chat is bringing me to my 4th and next-to-last Party Favor.

Party Favor #4
For today's Housewarming Party Day #4 Party Favor, just answer this question in the comments for 10 points. Feel free to elaborate on your answer!

If you are going to a party, would you rather play games or would you rather sit around and chat and snack? Let me put it this way: If there is a game of Pictionary, for example, going on in one room, and in another room several people are talking and munching on chips (or normal-looking chocolate chip cookies)—and you have a good friend in each of those rooms with whom you feel comfortable— which room would you join?

That's it! And remember, you can always do the
Week-long Gifts (leave me a comment to say you've done any or all of these, each time you do)
1. Mention SmallWorld's Housewarming Party on your blog, and you'll get 5 points each time you do!
2. Put my party sign on your blog somewhere, and you'll get 10 points.
3. Subscribe to SmallWorld and get 2o points! (How to subscribe: look on my sidebar and click on the button that says "posts" under the header "subscribe.")
4. Cut and paste the day's Party Favors on your blog for 10 points each day.
5. And by the way, you can jump in the party on any day, and you can even go back and do the previous days if you missed them the first time around! Our door is always open to new friends!
See Day 1 here.
See Day 2 here.
See Day 3 here.

Thanks for playing! I've been enjoying all your answers! I may just send the winner a box of my own special cookies....

Housewarming Party Day 3

Welcome to the third day of my Housewarming Party! I sure do get distracted, don't I? I don't know how the days pass so quickly. I get so involved with finding old friends on Facebook that I forget about my family blog real life.

But back to the party. I know that this is supposed to be a festive event, but I need to wax nostalgia for Day Three's Party Favors. For the past decade, the kids and I have been going to my hometown of Geneva, New York during the first two weeks of August. Dr. H. usually goes to a big botanical conference during this time, while we spend 2 weeks with my parents at their home on Seneca Lake. This is the house we built and moved into when I was in sixth grade. It's not my childhood home; I think of it as my coming-of-age home. And my coming-home home.

Everything about it is amazing. It's not fancy, but it's roomy and bright. Functional and comfortable. Three stories and a beach on one of the Finger Lakes. As my father says, "a swimming pool 700 feet deep, 2 miles wide and 35 miles long." And don't get me started on all the memories the house holds for me. I can't think about that right now.

'Cause here's the thing: this will likely be our last visit to my home on Glass Factory Bay Road. My parent have bought a house down here in Tennessee just a half mile down the road from us. Of course we are thrilled about that; we've wanted them to do that for years. But, well, that means they have to sell their house in Geneva.

And that means my kids won't grow up skipping rocks in Seneca Lake and going sailing early in the morning while the wind's still good. This is the last summer they'll spend all day in the lake, jumping from big rock to big rock. Next year my daughter won't be sleeping in the bedroom where I tallied up the months my boyfriend(s) and I dated; she won't put her clothes in my dresser or walk barefoot across my shag carpet.

For today's Housewarming Party Day #3 Party Favor, just answer some or all of these questions in the comments for 10 points (and yes, I'm keeping track!):
* Do you have a special childhood home or did you have several homes?
* Do you imagine that your children will someday "come home" to your current house, or do you see yourself moving someday?
Want to tell me anything else about a home to which you were especially attached? I'd love to hear it!


That's it! And remember, you can always do the
Week-long Gifts (leave me a comment to say you've done any or all of these, each time you do)
1. Mention SmallWorld's Housewarming Party on your blog, and you'll get 5 points each time you do!
2. Put my party sign on your blog somewhere, and you'll get 10 points.
3. Subscribe to SmallWorld and get 2o points! (How to subscribe: look on my sidebar and click on the button that says "posts" under the header "subscribe.")
4. Cut and paste the day's Party Favors on your blog for 10 points each day.
5. And by the way, you can jump in the party on any day, and you can even go back and do the previous days if you missed them the first time around! Our door is always open to new friends! See Day 1 here.
See Day 2 here.

SmallWorld's Housewarming Party Day 2

It's Day 2 of my housewarming party!! (Actually, this might not literally be day 2, but I got distracted yesterday with things like making pillows, going to the pool, and rearranging furniture.) Thank you to everyone who dropped by, left comments, posted on their blogs, and Facebooked me to say they wish they had a blog so they could play!

Today's Party Favor has to do with front doors, back doors, and porches. For the first 10 years of our marriage, Dr. H and I lived in apartments or rented houses. In Iowa we had the bottom half of a big old house, so we got the big front porch. Every evening (except from October-April when it was —88 degrees) we sat on the porch and waved to neighbors as they walked by, chatted with friends, or just listened to the corn growing. It was idyllic. We always had two requirements for our home, when we bought one: a big front porch and sidewalks.

We did finally finish graduate school, get a job, and buy a house, which we love. But of course, we don't have a big front porch or sidewalks. We have lovely flowerbeds with benches and a small, pretty porch that Jesse painted for us last summer. And sidewalks are scarce in this city unless you live in one of the historic districts or a brand new subdivision.

So my Party Favor for today is simple:

Day 2 Party Favor: Your Entrance
All you have to do today is answer these questions in the comments:
• Do you have a front porch?
• Do you have a welcome mat?
• When people come to your home, do they enter by the front door or the back door, or does it depend on who they are?

That's it! And remember, you can always do the
Week-long Gifts (leave me a comment to say you've done any or all of these, each time you do)
1. Mention SmallWorld's Housewarming Party on your blog, and you'll get 5 points each time you do!
2. Put my party sign on your blog somewhere, and you'll get 10 points.
3. Subscribe to SmallWorld and get 2o points! (How to subscribe: look on my sidebar and click on the button that says "posts" under the header "subscribe.")
4. Cut and paste the day's Party Favors on your blog for 10 points each day.
5. And by the way, you can jump in the party on any day, and you can even go back and do the previous days if you missed them the first time around! Our door is always open to new friends! See Day 1 here.

SmallWorld's Housewarming Party Day 1

I love to be the party house. Back when we were first married, Dr. H and I had the gathering place on Poplar Street--first a big, old house and then an apartment. We loved for friends to pop over any time, and meals were, more often than not, shared with several friends. Our thrift-store sofa got slept on a lot, as did our spare bedroom floor.

Nowadays we're a little more sophisticated. We have a dining room table that seats a dozen and a whole lot more food than we did back then. We also have a guest apartment, and most of our thrift-store furniture has been relegated to the basement, waiting for one of our kids to claim it someday for their own apartment. Now our parties are less spontaneous and definitely less frequent. But friends still drop by unexpectedly or by invitation, and I love that. (It helps that we live 2 minutes away from a major retail area.) I always want people to feel comfortable in our home.

So what's all this have to do with my blog? Well, obviously, I need to have a party to celebrate my new home here at SmallWorld at Home! And I might as well invite friends over to my vacation house, SmallWorld Reads, too.

Of course it's traditional to bring gifts to one's new home, and I know you are wondering what to bring. So each day, I'll be asking for something different. And I can't serve you scrumptious hors d'oeuvres and frothy punch, so I'm going to give you gifts, instead.

So here's how it works (you can copy and paste all this on your blog for 20 points plus all the points below!) :

Week-long Gifts (leave me a comment to say you've done any or all of these, each time you do)
1. Mention SmallWorld's Housewarming Party on your blog, and you'll get 5 points each time you do!
2. Put my party sign on your blog somewhere, and you'll get 10 points.
3. Subscribe to SmallWorld and get 2o points!
4. Post the day's Party Favors on your blog for 10 points each day.
5. And by the way, you can jump in the party on any day, and you can even go back and do the previous days if you missed them the first time around! Our door is always open to new friends!

Day 1 Party Favors: Bring Me Food
Cooking is part of my daily life. I don't necessarily love cooking, but I do love food. Occasionally I post recipes here on my blog. I am always looking for new recipes, as we are always searching for that new perfect food.
Your gift to me: Either in the comments here or on your own blog (and leave the link in the comments), tell me about your favorite party fare. What kinds of appetizers or other good foods or desserts are your standbys for parties?

That's all! I am always looking for new recipes, so share your recipe cards!

(What? You want to know about the prizes? OK, here's how this works. One thing that is essential to my home: lots of books. And books are important in my blogworld, too; that's why I have a separate home for my reading record. Following along with the book theme (and, well, because I'm terrible at mailing packages!), I'll be tallying up all your points, and I'll be awarding amazon.com gift cards to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners—just in time for the new school year! So get busy posting!)

Click here for Day 2's Party Favors!
Click here for Day 3's Party Favors!

I'm Getting Ready...

July 23 sounds like a great day to begin my Housewarming Party Week! Be sure to check in every day so I can tell you what kinds of gifts you can leave for me. Oh, and I'll have some gifts for you, too!