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As winters go, we can’t really complain. January, bless her heart, was fairly mild. A few bone-chillers but lots of sunshiny days with temps in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Now February is upon us. Day One is perhaps suggestive of more still to come this winter. Mother Nature, most likely, isn’t quite done with us yet. Around the metro area here in central Iowa, we’re getting reports of nine, ten, eleven inches and more of this beautiful white stuff. The winds are starting to pick up and roads are slick with ice.

And so, it is a perfect day to hunker down indoors with a good book, a hook and a skein of yarn, a good movie. I’m scrutinizing the possibilities. Later, I’ll whip up a bubbly, fragrant, heart-warming pot of soup. I’m even contemplating another go at ciabatta bread with its heady, yeasty, tantalizing texture and amazing aroma. I’ve emptied the garbage, made the beds and folded laundry. Husband is painting the living room after an Oscar-worthy performance of clearing our driveway and sidewalks. I suspect he’ll be back at it again later in the day.

Let the winds howl and the snow fly. We’re comfy. We’re safe. We’re home. It’s all good.

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Cue the Twilight Zone theme…

On my walk tonight – Sunshine! Fresh air! Vitamin D! – I tossed around an idea for a new photo feature for my blog.  Now I see that creating a new feature for our blogs is the last assignment of Blogging 101.

Well, I’ll be darned.

My new venture, which I’m calling The Sidewalk Nomad, will be a weekly compilation of interesting, beautiful, quirky or unusual things that I see or encounter when I’m out stretching my legs, running errands or just taking in the sights and scenery of the world around me.

I’ve already added a few photos – some old, some new – all of which were taken from a street or sidewalk while on vacation or during one of my walks.  This new feature is located above on my main menu bar.  I hope you’ll check it out!  Let me know what you think.  Your feedback and comments are always welcome!

Assignment: Blogging 101: Create a New Posting Feature

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Oh, but I have enjoyed a variety of blog events courtesy of WordPress and so many wonderfully talented bloggers out there in The Land of Blog!

Participating in a variety of photo challenges and joining the conversation on a number of Daily Post threads has resulted in new friends, new discoveries and the happy consequence of increased traffic and exposure of my blog to a broader audience.

A favorite group of photo challenges that I’ve had a lot of fun with are hosted by Cee Neuner.  You can check out her blog and challenges here. Stop by and join in the fun!

While photography is great fun and offers more ‘instant’ gratification here on WordPress, I think I’ll check out some of the writing prompts and challenges. Hmmm. Three Things Thursday sounds interesting! Any other recommendations?

Assignment: Blogging 101: Try (Another) Blog Event

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For today’s assignment, we’ve been instructed in the how and why of creating pages for our blogs. Pages are different than posts and are both an art and a science unto themselves. I’ve chosen to create a new Poll menu item that I’ve named The Poll Troll. I hope to provide a new poll each week. Please check it out and select the answer that best applies to you!

The Poll Troll heading is listed on the main menu.  Click the drop-down to select this week’s poll.  That is,  my first and only one so far!

As always, thanks for your patronage, feedback, encouragement and support. I welcome your input — and any ideas you may have for future fun and interesting polling efforts!

Assignment: Blogging 101: Add a New Page