and the winner is . . .
Yesterday the sun rose:
The girls frolicked:
The sun set and the moon made an appearance:
And a few hours later, I used the Custom Random Number Generator to choose a winner of the $30 Amazon.com gift certificate as promised in the contest post here.
Can you believe the winner was Lucky Number 7?
FYI, I used 161 for the upper value as it was the number of total comments, then started from the first comment counting down only those eligible, i.e., those that told me they had linked/relinked and/or subscribed/resubscribed (or that they were going to these things and then in fact did).
And the winner is . . .
none other than my most favorite baseball player in the Bel Paese:
I’ll be in touch Lango!
With all the work you’ve put into .italiaball.com recently, you certainly deserve it!
A lot of you probably don’t know how much I *love* baseball, but it’s definitely one of the things I miss most from America (read about what else I miss here); Lango’s site and stories help fill that void a bit, although I wish someone would build a field around here so I could go to some games. Where’s Kevin Costner when you need him?
Anyway, thanks *so* much to everyone who stopped by, commented, and made the transition to the new place such a wonderful experience.
And I hope those of you who were unsure of the change are getting used to it. Because honestly, I just don’t have it in me to change looks again anytime soon.
—————
[tags]contests, italy, expats in italy, expats, dogs, sunrises, sunsets, calabria, badolato, ionian sea, moon, custom random number generator[/tags]
34 Beans of Wisdom to “and the winner is . . .”
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
What absolutely breathtaking photos of the sunrise and sunset!
jen of a2eatwrite’s last blog post..Music Monday – Who IS that Guy and Why is He Singing in French?
Thanks Jen; I’m a lucky gal 🙂
Hi, Michelle…I gather from Jen’s comment that there are pictures accompanying this post. I don’t see them…could it be because I use Firefox as my browser?
Imani, I use Firefox too so I’m not sure why you wouldn’t be seeing the photos. Perhaps try clearing your cache and refreshing? If anyone else knows something, please help!
Also, Imani, can you see my Flickr badge over on the far sidebar? The first three photos are the ones that go with this post; if you click on the graphic, you’ll go to my Flickr page and can see them better.
Congrats to Lango!
I’ll say thanks on his behalf and tell you something–I *really* had a feeling you were going to win this for some reason. Guess I shouldn’t be predicting presidential elections either 😉
Hey Michelle!
This looks great. The whole kit and kaboodle!
I see it all BTW.
mmmmmmNUTELLA!
Haven’t forgotten about the book, you will get it soon.
Karen Cole’s last blog post..ITALIAN REMEMBRANCE
Karen, please there is NO rush! Glad to know you can see everything *and* that you like it 🙂
I love the new look! Congratulations on your new site!
:))
Anne’s last blog post..Happy birthday to me
Thanks Anne! Nice to see you 🙂
OK Michelle, if you *really* had a feeling and seeing that I didn’t win, I’ll take it as a sign to play the lotto tonight! 😉
Hey, how come the link to my last blog post doesn’t show up in my comments? Not that my posts are anything to brag about…but still. lol
Yes, play! And I won’t even ask for a cut! Your blog posts aren’t showing up b/c you’re not filling in your URL silly girl. I’ll do it for this time and it should come up. Let’s see….
OK at least your name comes up linked now but perhaps you have to comment for it to work. If you’d like to try it again, you’re welcome to 🙂
I never win! Never! How come? How come?
Judith in Umbria’s last blog post..Fashion: Armani, rescue?
Don’t hate me, hate the Custom Random Number Generator!
I’ve decided I have to make Phone Home cookies as revenge for the unfairness of life.
Judith in Umbria’s last blog post..Fashion: Armani, rescue?
That’ll show ’em!
Thanks, Michelle…I tried but still can’t see the pics in the actual post, but Flickr works. Great shots (as usual).
I really enjoy you/your blog and check in every day. My father came from a little town, Falerna, in Calabria so I feel a real affinity for the area. Love reading your stories and love the memories they evoke.
Peace, Imani
I’ve never been to Falerna, but I’ve certainly heard of it. I’m glad to bring up some good memories, and I’m trying to figure out why you can’t see the photos….
OK I found this advice for Firefox:
Open Firefox, click the tools menu. Then Options.
Go to the Content Tab, and make sure the Load Images Automatically option is checked.
Then click the exceptions button and remove all sites listed there.
Maybe that’ll help?
Ah, another thing that could be interfering is if you have Zone Alarm as a firewall.
I have the box that says “Enable CommentLuv which will try and get your last blog post, please be patient while it finds it for you,” checked off. Is that what you mean by not filling in my URL? No biggie if it doesn’t work. It might grate at my nerves for like, half a second, but I’ll get over it, I swear! lol
Giulia, when you write in your name and email, the next line is for your URL–you need to fill in your blog address there and the CommentLuv should work. Try again. It’s bothering me too!
Congrats to Lango
I didn’t know you were/are into baseball.
Lovely pics
Thanks Taffiny. My love for baseball is kept under wraps around here with no real outlet…I also love football and college basketball, but I don’t have much use for all that acquired knowledge and passion around here 🙁
Ohhhhhhhhhh, let’s see…
Giulia’s last blog post..Envious
Weeeeeeeeee. It worked! 🙂 I am not bothered anymore. LOL
Thanks for the help.
Giulia’s last blog post..Envious
Woohoo! Now I have to read your post 😉
Please say you are a Yankee fan 😉
Maryann’s last blog post..Vegetable Puff Pastry Tart
Of course! If they were the last baseball team on Earth 😉 Don’t worry though–I’m a Phillies phan from way back so I’m not really a threat to anyone 😉
Grazie ancora Michelle….must be Zone Alarm although this is the first time i am having the problem…not to worry. Your Flickr is only another click away. Will ask my Italian sweetie (aka ‘puter wiz in Brescia) to trouble shoot. Peace, Imani
Sounds good to me Imani–you’re in much better hands asking your sweetie! In bocca al lupo!
You and me, both! Oh Michelle, I sooo don’t want to mess with mine any time soon… I think making the page compatible with all browsers is the biggest pain. I’d be too surprised if this bug bit your blog, too, but things look great from my view…
Ah, but bringing a fresh new look can be a little fun, too, admit it! Nooo???
roam 2 rome’s last blog post..Mi mancavi!
I’m just kind of hoping mine is compatible with different browsers. People would tell me right? Anyway, yes a fresh new look is a lot of fun…once it’s finished 😉
Beautiful pictures! Oh and congrats to Lando.
Now, I have to tell you, not that it matters in terms of the contest, because I never expected to win anyway (I don’t win things…EVER), but something fishy happened with Blogger, because I swear I updated your link in my blog roll…I KNOW I did, and yet…it wasn’t updated…sigh…oh well, I did it again today, so I should be all updated now!
Karina’s last blog post..No Autographs Please
After having dealt with Blogger for more than a year, I believe you 🙂
eccomi! il vincitore!
thanks a bunch for the gift certificate, michelle… it’s funny since i had just ordered five books online from b&n last week… now i’ll just have to add a couple more… recommendations, anyone?
in return, maybe i’ll root for the phillies to win the national league title this year… though chase utley cost me a summer league championship in ’99… bastardo.
grazie ancora una volta!
Looks like you’ll have *lots* of reading material for those road trips! Sorry about that Chase Utley thing. I never liked the bum anyway 😉
Ciao!
Everything looks good. I’ve had to catch up. I saw that you had bleedingespresso.com before you had the new look. Congrats! I love it!
Love the pics of Luna and Stella. Those coats your mom sent are delicious. Too cute!
I’m, once again, trying to get back to posting on a regular basis. First, I want to get caught up with what’s going on, especially here at your place.
There isn’t anything quite-so-American as a baseball game, is there? Of course, it must be accompanied by a hotdog.
cheeky’s last blog post..A Sign of Promise
Hey there! Glad to see you around; I hope all is going well for you…and yes, a hot dog is a *must* at a ball game 🙂
Bellissima!
I have to figure out how to do a copyright stamp.
nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..I just quit my job, good-bye Los Angeles.
Thanks; I’m sending you an email 🙂
makes me miss Calabria even more…. can’t wait for summer!:)
Joe’s last blog post..Castagne Roasting on an open fire… or oven
Come on down Joe!
Judith you already win every day when you wake up in Italy. Judith if you won you’d probably give the prize to one of the youngsters like I would.
Congrats to the Winner and to Michelle and her pooches for all of the work they put into this blog.!!!
Thanks Gil–and what lovely sentiments for Judith 🙂
Congrats! Lango!!! And Sognatrice…I have *fond* memories of watching baseball games with my Grandfather, when he was alive. He was of course…a Yankees Fan 😉
My Melange’s last blog post..Bonne Fete
Robin, I’m sure your grandfather was a wonderful man despite his poor judgment 😉 Seriously my brother is a HUGE Red Sox fan from way back so there was definitely no Yankee love in our house….
Congratulations to Lango, but I feel like a winner myself too. I too am a huge baseball fan and did not know of Lango’s blog. What a great combination — Italy and baseball. So, thanks to you, I know have found Lango’s site. Thank you.
witnessing am i’s last blog post..Journey’s End
So happy to lead you to another wonderful blog 🙂
How fun to find out that your brother is a HUGE Red Sox fan! I am also excited to discover Lango’s new Italian baseball blog. I may have to try to catch one of the games in the Lombardia region the next time I visit. My friends from that area visited me in Hawaii this summer. I tried my best to explain baseball to them as we watched a Red Sox game on TV one morning before hitting the beach for the day. It was pretty amusing trying to explain the rules, the different types of hits, etc.
I’m sure Lango would love to have some real American baseball fans in the crowd! Yes, my brother loves the Sox (odd since we grew up in PA)–and boy do I have a great story for you. I’ll share it someday on the blog. I’ll just say it involves Nomah 😉
Contests are a great incentive..nice to see your a man of your word as well. Those pictures look great.
Well I’m not a man, but I still thank you for the kind words 😉
Pictures are awesome!
Ben Durban
Thanks Ben!
Great sunset pictures, in my city during summer the sunset is also this beautiful but it’s more red, looks like the sky is burning. Well I live near the Arizona desert, so yes, maybe it’s burning, it’s very hot here !
Hah, could be burning indeed Manny!
These photos are really illus tic, they express mood and illusion. My friends from that area visited me in Hawaii this summer and there pics werent that good as yours
Thank you!
Absolutely breathtaking photos of the sunrise and sunset.Those pictures are really look great.
Thanks 🙂
Hiya, i have seen your site when searching a few weeks ago and i really love the design! I just bought a new 3 character domain (cost me a packet) for a niche review blog, and i was wondering if your design is a free or paid one? I’m new to WordPress and about to set it up, and i would really like to get something with a similar look to yours. Any ideas where i could download or buy something similar? Thanks for your help! 🙂
The basic template of mine is “Emerald” and it’s a free WordPress template available on the web. The rest is tweaked by yours truly–basically the color scheme and header. Best of luck!
Pets Pets and its always about Pets, Things were not the same for me 1 year ago, I had a broken relationship and needed something to active charge my life, I got a cute little puppy and I must say she changed me ( THough housebreaking her was a Pain ) 🙂 Great Post! Thanks
Lango’s site and stories help fill that void a bit, although I wish someone would build a field around here so I could go to some games. Where’s Kevin Costner when you need him
Hah, I take it you’re a friend of Mark’s?