Monday 16 July 2007

Reading the meter

Vanity requires one to check how the few but cherished people visiting and reading actually find this blog, and the fascinating site meter has a tale of its own to tell. There are the lovely old faithfuls who keep you snugly in their sidebar (for which, much thanks) and so signpost new readers to Mopsa's offerings. But I really enjoy unearthing the info that folks have found me via some totally personal and possibly bonkers Google search.

If you google “soaking filthy feet”, as one hopeful clean soul (sole?) had, Ramblings is currently first in line. Then there was “Chagford & tango”, “the magic faraway tree” (thrice), “mariana lambing”, “Mrs Malaprop”(twice), “funday fairies daisy meadows order online”, “drop em blossom”, “chim chiminey”, “location of sloes, Warwickshire”, "abscess on gordon ramsay turkeys foot", "guinea pig runny bum", "langan family theatre royal stratford east" and “wet wellies”.
I doubt that I have provided either relief or information on any of these topics, but it's good to know that if you have concerns about pet rodent diarrhoea or how to dry your wellingtons, that an utterly useless piece of Mopsa whimsy or whingeing can distract you momentarily from your research.

But back to the old faithfuls. I hadn't dared contemplate that this blog contains "nature meets art"; The Thinker is a generous soul. The Thinker, she of various articulate and thoughtful blogs (and also blogging from Devon) has shipped a Blogging Community Involvement Award my way, which sounds highly do-gooderish until you realise it is an award for being a schmoozer. Schmooze I can do - sometimes I think that's what I'm paid for. I grew up with words like schmooze, many of them less than polite. And how many people do you know who can speak Yiddish? As a language that no-one round my way is familiar with, it could be said to encourage dissembling, but these days I have to rack my brain to remember just a handful of words. Kvetch, chutzpah, mensch, messhuganer, nebbish, schlemiel, schlong, schmutter, schnoz, shtick, tush, yenta.....what fabulously expressive words - a whole phrase and intention in each.

And now I must nominate 5 awards of my own:

  1. Chip Dale, the master thonglateer
  2. Yorkshire Pudding, in exchange for his mature blogger award
  3. Kaz, the busy idler
  4. Drunk Mummy - just as it says on the tin
  5. Mountainear, for schmoozing from great heights and to great effect.

12 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

To schmooze =
To converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.

I contend most vehemently sir - oops! - madam - that I am not and never have been a schmoozer! Even so I accept your award as it is very likely the only prize I will win this year!

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Cor, it's like Oscar season over here at the minute! Do you have any room on the virtual mantelpiece?

Drunk Mummy said...

Thank you Mopsa! Schmoozing is a seriously under-rated business, so this award is extremely welcome, since it acknowledges a valuable, yet diminishing skill!
The Schmoozers Are Coming! (so lock up your drinks cabinets).

Mopsa said...

YP - schmoozing is an underrated skill - it need not be slimey, but it can get you our of all kinds of holes.
M&M - the virtual mantelpiece is wonderfully elastic. I suspect yours is more crowded than most and rightly so.
DM - have a cherry liqueur on me!
And to be utterly mundane, do any of you know what happened to my line spacing and how to correct it?

Penny Pincher said...

Hi Mopsa - thanks for kind words. I see we have a bit of techie stuff going on at the end ? Are you into HTML as well as farm, nature and art. I had to look up schmooze - never came my way before.
Strange not sure re linebreaks but I also been having problems - put in a para break and seem to end up with mile long space ...
I'm still trying to get to grips with sitemeter - makes interesting reading ... but if someone has RSS or Atomed you [whatever the term is] - will they show up on sitemeter when they read the latest posting?

KAZ said...

Thanks so much for the award Mopsa. I haven't prepared a formal speech ... but of course I'd like to thank my mum, my Auntie Ethel and the PE teacher who first inspired my idleness.

mountainear said...

Hmm, thanks for the award. Schmoozer extraordinaire? Schmoozer of any sort? Boozy schmoozer on a Sat'day night? Ditto loserschmoozer as I rip up the Lotto ticket. Such scope......

I accept graciously of course and slope off to think of What to Do Next.

@themill said...

Must try this googling silly things and see what comes up. I think I found you via drunk mummy.

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Re line spacing - are you using firefox?

I do my blog in IE even though I mostly use FF, because I have the same issue with the spaces.

Big Chip Dale said...

I'm so sorry that my recent computer hell has stopped me popping in to thank you for my award. I feel oddly humbled by this. It will hold a special place in my heart.

It was me, by the way, that came here via a search for "guinea pig runny bum". Though why I was researching this, I prefer not to say.

Mopsa said...

Thinker - you are asking me a question I don't even understand let alone can answer for you - I just want the technology to work! THis line thing is apparently a known blogger problem, much good may that do us!
Kaz, take a bow (wow wow)! You too M'ear
@tm - the google thing is weird - more sillies appear every day.
M&M I am indeed a firey fox...and the blog looks completely different in IE.With less functionality. Rock and hardplace I guess.
Chip, put that rodent DOWN!

Mid-lifer said...

Hi

Sorry, came across your site through the usual means - no google search for me.

I'm a newbie/greenhorn/wetback to this blog world. I've been hopping from blog to blog and I've been blinded by the razzamatazz of all these awards!

Well done on your site - love your writing.