Giving the blogosphere a sensual massage

It has started to rain. With the slow, humid build-up we have been experiencing all week, I had hoped for a wild and dramatic release, a great splitting open of the heavens, complete with calamity thunder and clouds gnashing like mouths full of burnt potatoes and road rage. Instead the sky has simply begun to seep, wringing out a meagre smattering of droplets that do little to knock the crazy pollen out of the air. All our brains are swollen and people are sneezing and popping headache pills.

Unlike the percolating laziness that continues to burp and sigh outside my window, I am gushing. I am gushing for you, dearest blogosphere. Sidle up close to me and give me a cuddle. Because gosh, you're just swell.

I must admit, I am really crap when it comes to awards. A couple of glorious bloggers have gifted me cyber ribbons, but I haven’t posted them, partly out of a lack of self esteem (why would anyone want to give me an award?) and partly because I don’t really understand what to do with them. What I do understand and what I love more than anything, is how bloggers get excited by each other’s work, gleefully shouting “hey - look at this person! Aren’t they super?”

I am eternally grateful to any fellow blogger who has ever found my ramblings special enough to comment on or link to. By the Goddess, you do but rock my world.

That’s why today I want to link to some new-to-me blogs that have been making me burn with happiness and awe. Simply put, if I don't share my wonderful findings, I fear my head will explode.

Once upon a time, a girl named Rachel moved from Ontario to Paris. Her French is still in tatters and she has yet to find a job, but there are few people in the world as in love with a city than this young traveller. A Pilgrim Just Like the Rest of Us is funny and light-hearted, and despite the various setbacks and challenges of moving to a new country, always stuffed full of pure, giddy gratitude. Her food explorations alone are worth a visit to her site.

Landing back here in Edinburgh for a moment, the folks at the Scottish Poetry Library are completely mad. I swear they have found more ways of fitting cake consumption into a day than anyone else in this city. Their blog, dubbed Our Sweet Old Etcetera, is enthusiastic, cheerful and full of gleeful pride. These are the people who manage to run a string of projects on a tiny budget and, let’s be honest, an undisclosed number of volunteer hours. They have made it to the semi-finals in a National Lottery Award for Best Arts Project, and voting is open until 10 July. If you fancy showing some support to the ongoing celebration of poetry in Scotland, please take a moment to pop onto their blog, follow their links and vote for them.

Jessica’s blog, Goutant, is still very new. But what a writer. Her latest post, about saying goodbye to a rental home, is so beautiful and moving. Her writing is intuitive, honest and often deeply sensual, which is especially why I love it. She may not post very often but each offering is a gift to readers.

I have been reading Janelle's blog Ngorobob House: Life from the Hill, for some time, but recently something has happened to lovely Janelle. Poetry is consistently climbing and crawling all over her words. Because of this, as well as her startling photos, I am finding that there is no other heaven like Tanzania.

When I want to climb inside a lucid dream, I go to Pamela and her blog, From the House of Edward. There is often an innocence in her prose that helps me to let go of my worries and fall into a gentle pulse of curiosity.

Sometimes proud papa, sometimes gonzo journalist, Irish Gumbo is my replacement for so many former vices. When this man puts his shoulder into a metaphor, I get all wobbly and have to lie down.

Which brings us to Rick. I wish I could remember who found who, just so I could plant the mental string somewhere and keep myself from floating away on this feeling of “where did this guy come from?” Rick writes a blog called One Big Love and is a remarkable, stunning, hit-me-in-the-gut-how-am-I-still-smiling kind of author. I love his work so much I sometimes growl with jealousy when I read his posts.

So that is today’s little love rub to blog-land. Love your blog. Give it a squeeze. Lean in close to the keyboard and listen to the gentle purr of creativity. Oh, yeah. That’s the spot.