I WISH YOU ALL THIS...

I wish you a morning fresh and new
Glowing with the blush of dawn's light
Skies bathed in soft pinks and pale blues
Lightly brushed with wisps of feathered clouds
Pulled across the heavens like puffs of cotton candy
To amaze and delight your senses and awaken the mind

I wish you all this -- a day of joy and contentment
Of peace and serenity, of great promise and fulfillment
May you be surrounded by loved ones, blessed with friends near and far
As the hours of each passing day unfold, may arms reach out to embrace you
May words be spoken tenderly and with passion, to sustain and nourish the soul
For what is most precious in this world is that which can be shared with an open heart

As the wisdom of our world's oldest cultures tell us, dare to dream
Listen not to the doomsdayers and naysayers who wallow in negativity
But cherish and cultivate your dreams, be they modest or grandly ambitious
Give them the power of belief, as they are your strength against a disbelieving world
And like a gentle breeze that sweeps away your cares, refreshing and lightening the spirit
They will carry you resolutely forward when life's challenges seek to discourage and derail you

I wish you all this on Valentine's Day, to you and your loved ones, each and every day of the year.

Since I seem to be in a "blast from the past" mode, here's another slightly used poem (looking to an uncertain and bumpy road ahead) about Mary's clues:

MARY HAD A LITTLE PLAN

Mary had a little plan
Her clues were cold as snow

Hours on end we thought and searched
Our spirits high, then low

We followed 'round from state to state
Not certain where to go

But everywhere the bloggers looked
No one was in the know

Then when Mary spelled it out,
A shock it did bestow

All along our goose was cooked
We just didn't know it though

It truly made us cry and sigh
How could Mary be so cruel?

The lesson learned? Guess I'd say
This goose is easily fooled!

While there are a few other words that'll send your comment to the Moderation basement, the word shoe-s is the most common one to trip folks up. I don't recall that the "banned" words have ever made it through the line of fire, but you can try if you'd like.

Our Green conscious friend from Florida seems to have left the blog some time ago. Hopefully she is doing well and perhaps even stops in to read the blogs now and then.

Here's a repost of a little poem I wrote awhile back to make light of the "shoe-s" issue:

Will That Be One Shoe or Two?

There was blog editor who'd turn down one shoe
Who owned so many pairs, but still wanted ours too
She thought and she wondered just what could she do

So they fixed up the blog, there's no doubt in my mind
When we'd spell out that word and submit it to find
Our comment's disappeared and those shoe-s left behind

Rest assured they're long gone, and there's no way to win
No matter the gender, be it women's or men
For type in those letters -- you'll never see them again!

As you see by the replies, Dannie_k, you aren't the first to be sent to the principals office for posting a seemingly harmless comment. It's happened to many of us. Seems that the software uses a kind of "Boolean Logic" program to automatically screen out words that look similar to or even may sound somewhat close to a definitely "banned" word.

Like beehivestate pointed out, and which bloggers who've been around the HGTV block (so to speak) know very well and often joke about, the word "shoe-s", without the dash of course, are verboten. However, one shoe is fine. Another word is "casin-o" for some reason. Don't know why, it just is!

Even knowing that, I sometimes forget myself, and find my comment sent into the dark abyss of moderation, never to see the light of day again!

Blog on!

Okay, here's a possibility: On Valentine's Day, Mary shows her love for all of us out here in blogland by posting a new blog thread with a picture of a candy heart made all of chocolate. How sweet of her, you'd think, right? Well, it just might be a location clue in disguise. Think about it -- a heart -- chocolate. What, or rather where, would you think of? Well, actually, before last week, I'd be clueless too. But after being in San Francisco for a couple of days, I'd immediately think of the City by the Bay. After all, what about the famous song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" AND the just as famous Ghirardelli Chocolate Company on N Point Street by Fisherman's Wharf!

The moral of the story: never underestimate the guile of an online editor such as Mary who has a long-standing reputation for leading her bloggers astray like a flock of wild geese.

Let the fun begin!

I'm not exactly sure how the words come about, lucyourdog. A couple of times I thought I heard someone whispering lines of poetry in my ear, only to turn around and find no one but Terri sitting there quietly. But I could almost see the hint of a smile on her little doggie face. Do you think it's possible? Could it be? Naw, there's no way....

My greatest fear is that this is how my conversation with the HGTV Surprise Team will go when they show up at my front door. I'll just think it's some neighborhood kids playing a joke and tell them to go away -- only to see -- too late -- the HGTV van driving away with the balloon bouquet waving in the breeze and the video crew capturing my look of absolute dismay as I try in vain to call them back.

HGTV: Knock, knock.

Me: "Who's there?"

HGTV: "Doris!"

Me: "Doris who?"

HGTV: "Doris locked. Now open up or we'll give the Dream Home away to Someone Else!"

Great! Now I think I'm going to give myself nightmares about just such a scenario!

Well, showing up at the door to face the HGTV cameras in a bikini, hokiemom, just might be enough to qualify the winner for the term "bared beauty."