Who Are They?

One of the things I'm trying to keep up on is the blogsphere. Not the entire thing, but definitely the things I love. I recently added my blogroll to my little spot here. I wanted to introduce you to the ones I follow right now.

The first is a big "duh" as to why I'm interested. When I changed the name of my blog last year, I actually Googled "suburban treasure hunter" - there's a million "urban" hunters out there, but no one turned up at all on my search with anything but a passing reference (three). I thought I'd coined a phrase. Then I did it again a week or two ago (just after my post about buying a metal detector ... seriously) and bam! - Suburban Treasure Hunter turned up. What a great site! I tried the Coin Roll hunt he suggested (but with quarters and dollars since my daughter needed laundry money). I didn't find anything of note, but I've started a President collection of new dollar coins for my grandkids, and made the resolution (goal!) to sift through the huge bean pot full of pennies my husband has on his dresser during the next snowstorm. This blog has some fabulous reference links, too (including a really cool coin grading site) and all the posts have taught me something in a very complicated and potentially fruitful area I know very little about (and will leave mostly to the experts). Definitely a must-go, especially if you have kids, or you're hunting with a tight budget - metal detector is optional for some of it.

On the flip side of hunting reality are the fantasy kinds of hunts on Treasure Trove. This guy tracks really amazing finds world-wide, from shipwrecks off our own coasts to relics in Britain to mosaics in Egypt and Turkey, and links them to his site. It's just fun seeing what's turning up with the pros - or, in one case, with the farmer tilling his field.

Artsy-Fartsy is all about envy. My sister is a fantastic painter and photographer. My brother can do the most amazing things with wood, glass, and electrical wire. Somehow the only vaguely artistic thing I can do is cook well (with few ingredients and no time, anyway - my bro kicks my butt in the more gourmet ways). This woman picks up stuff I'd never even notice in a thrift shop and turns them into sweet, funky, really fun things. I'm now on the lookout for a pirate chest to put in my office - the better to store my treasures, right?

Write on Track is for the recovering perfectionist ... uh, the writer in me. She's battling the same kind of block that I've been fighting for years, and I know that if one of us can do it we all can do it. Come on Diane! I want to read those books! (Especially the one with the grandmother!)

Last (but hardly least) is a blog I discovered purely by accident but one that I love - almost an anti-me in some ways (she is learning to divest the material while I positively embrace my inner Diva) but mostly we're not that far apart. Like her, I find ways to cut back (working my way completely out of debt), like her, I prefer the recycle-reuse-repurpose mind-set (how do you think I discovered all of this, anyway?), and, like her, I took my first critical steps when my kids were at home. Hers is the site I go when I'm spiralling into gluttony, or finding myself too often in upscale shops, to remind myself of my original goals. This is a determined, resourceful, and clever woman who writes warm, funny, and very grounding posts.

So this is it so far. I am going to try to beef up my blog over the next few months with more on the blogroll, more pictures, more links to faboo instructional and reference-worthy sites, places to share your stories and show off your finds ... anything I can think of to make my place one that's useful, fun, interesting, even interactive.

Good hunting!