Palm Tree Row

Donya Jackson reached out to us via our Twitter account to tell us about her blog "Palm Tree Row". 

http://palmtreerow.wordpress.com

Palm Tree Row is a lifestyle blog all about the Caribbean islands.  Donya moved to Scranton, PA recently and uses the blog to share the culture of the tropics with the world.

From the About:

Palm Tree Row is a lifestyle blog with a very distinct theme. We are all about the islands. Tropical and nautical fashion, home decor and entertaining ideas. Whenever possible, posts will be inspired by travel that we’ve done ourselves.

By Spring of 2014, our goal is to incorporate shopping capabilities so that our followers can purchase some of these great finds right here. We are already working with Tia for PTR on our first line of Island Vibe accessories.

Palm Tree Row was founded by Donya Jackson in June, 2013. An islander by birth, Donya couldn’t let go of the tropics and decided to bring it to readers year round. Feature bloggers will be published as often as possible so that we keep the travel vibe as true and as culturally honest as possible.

You can also follow Palm Tree Row on twitter: @PalmTreeRow and on Instagram.

About the header image: March 26, 2014

March, they say, comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, or comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion. Or, as John Belushi once pointed out on Saturday Night Live, comes in like a lion and goes out like a different lion. One thing's for sure: March is a turbulent month, full of wild temperature swings and highly variable weather. Sometimes the weather produces effects like this "curdled sky" I photographed over Nanticoke back in 2012.

An uncropped version of the header image.
It looks ominous, but it didn't amount to anything,
  if I recall correctly. Click to enlarge.

Is Spring truly here? Or is Winter going to hold onto NEPA for another month or two? Send your photos showing the signs of Spring's arrival (or failure to arrive) to nepablogs@gmail.com, and we'll use them as the NEPA Blogs header image!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Dos Veganos

NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-dos-veganos/32508/FfgFhsbEXE6q1oONNkv6KQ

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Dos Veganos (http://dosveganos.wordpress.com/).

For omnivores, sometimes it's difficult to understand the distinction between Vegan and Vegetarian diets and lifestyles. For Vegans, sometimes it's difficult to get by in a world that caters primarily to omnivores, grudgingly makes concessions to vegetarianism, and routinely misunderstands Veganism. Dos Veganos is all about Vegan food, where to find it, and how to make it, all brought to you by R.J. de Rossi and Chantal since September 2011. It also discusses such topics as raw food, kale, blueberry banana waffles, and vegan gourmet chocolate. Dos Veganos makes Veganism accessible to the non-Vegan, provides information and support for Vegans, and makes it all look absolutely delicious! Whether you're a practicing Vegan, someone who is curious about Veganism, or simply would like to add some delicious recipes to your recipe file, Dos Veganos  is a blog you should definitely check out!

If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

About the header image: March 19, 2014

It's been a heck of a Winter: brutal, sustained cold, record-breaking snowfall totals, and snowfall after snowfall with no thaws - or even melting - in between. With Winter drawing to a close this week, dare we begin to turn our thoughts to Spring? The little crocus is one of the first blooms to emerge in the Spring, and this crop of crocuses was photographed at St. Mary's Cemetery on Middle Road in Hanover Township back in late March of 2007. When will the crocuses emerge this year? And how long until they are followed by daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, forsythia, and all the other early blooms of Spring?


If you have a photo that captures some aspect of life in NEPA, we'd like to feature it as the NEPA Blogs header! Submit it to nepablogs@gmail.com!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Steel City Retro

NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-steel-city-retro/59334/6fBaVQcQr0KGrWbyKTUonQ

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is April Piazza's Steel City Retro (http://www.scretro.com/)

Steel City Retro is a blog that celebrates vintage fashions, burlesque, and retro photography, using appropriately antiquated locations from from all over Pennsylvania as settings. April Piazza has been bringing the retro-sexy back since May 2012. Steel City Retro was originally based in the Lehigh Valley but recently relocated to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton area. While it has been on hiatus since last Summer, there are still plenty of entries on the site for your enjoyment!

(UPDATE: Good news! As April notes in the comments, the hiatus is over! So be sure to check out Steel City Retro!)

If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

World of Lizzie Tish

At a blogging event a few months ago, a local political gadfly and avowed non-blogger approached me and said "Wow, non-political bloggers are really flexing their muscles lately."

I have no idea what he meant then, and I still don't. Some folks tend to think of blogging as strictly a political activity, and dismiss any non-political blogs as ephemeral and irrelevant. The truth is nearly exactly the opposite: The vast majority of blogs are not focused primarily on politics, and most political blogs exist only during the months leading up to an election, and vanish soon afterwards. (The rare exceptions of long-running political blogs that operate year-round are often informative and interesting, and occasionally obsessive and extremely disturbing.)

World of Lizzie Tish is a non-political blog. Its writer has a rich and complex background, but ultimately she has one goal in writing this blog:

I started this blog as a means to vent my ever growing list of ailments and illnesses, due to my inherited Auto Immune genes. I just needed an outlet to lift the weight off my shoulders, that fear of the unknown that haunts me from day to day.

She reiterates this in the blog header:

Random collection of thoughts, rants about my Auto Immune related issues, and living life on life's term as a recovering addict/alcoholic

Blogs come in all types. There are political blogs, photo blogs, sports blogs, personal blogs - or, in this case, very personal blogs.  Check out World of Lizzie Tish to see just how personal a blog can get.

About the header image: March 12, 2014

While meeting with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective at the Vintage in Scranton this past Saturday, I noticed a mask mounted on a post outside the window I was facing. I excused myself, ran out to grab my camera from my car, and came back to snap some pictures. It's not every day that the universe hands you a photo op like that. From the colors I assumed this was a leftover Mardi Gras decoration, but the other members of the group (who had noticed it before me) informed me that Conor, proprietor of the Vintage, had told them that it has been hanging outside for many months. Yet somehow I had managed to not notice until now!

It is, how you say, "Creepy," no?

Like anywhere else, NEPA is full of little details easy to overlook but waiting to surprise you. Keep your eyes open, and who knows what you might see!

Have you spotted some detail of NEPA, creepy or otherwise, that you'd like to share? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll use it as the header image some week!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Public Relations and Pretty Things!

NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-public-relations-and-pretty-inter/26865/mJXcGf3-5kaATUeOmtwXNg


Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Public Relations and Pretty Things! (http://paradicejackson.com/) by Para-Dice Jackson.

Public Relations and Pretty Things! is a food, fashion, and public relations-focused blog by Para-Dice Jackson, born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, now a Scranton-based mother of two boys and a student at Marywood getting simultaneous bachelor's and master's degrees in Advertising and Public Relations. Since January 2012 she has been sharing information about public relations, delicious recipes, and her favorite fashions.  Para-Dice Jackson was one of the attendees at the first-ever NEPA BlogCon in September 2012, and since then has expanded and beautified her blog into what it is today. If you've ever been curious about the almost-but-not-quite invisible and secret world of public relations, or if you'd like to get in on some delicious recipes, or if maybe you'd like to pick up some pointers from a driven, enterprising young woman as she finds her path to success, be sure to check out Para-Dice Jackson's Public Relations and Pretty Things!
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

Save the Date: NEPA Blogfest 2014 Spring Edition

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Bloggers will be hosting the 8th semi-annual Blogfest on April 25th at The Red Mill, 340 S. Main St., Pittston, PA 18640 starting at 6PM. This is an informal gathering of bloggers, candidates for office, elected officials and anyone interested in politics or blogging. There is no charge for admission.

Since its inception 4 years ago Blogfest has been described as the best political event of the season. No speeches are allowed and the rule is agree to disagree but don't be disagreeable. Many local and statewide candidates will be attending.  

RSVP on Facebook.

Family Service Association of Northeastern PA

I received an email from Jessica at the Family Service Association of NEPA yesterday asking to add their new blog to our blog roll.  The blog's address is http://fsanepa.tumblr.com.

FSANEPA is a non-profit organization providing counseling, case management, crisis/referral services, and other services to individuals, children, teens, couples, seniors, and families, located in Wilkes-Barre PA but serving several counties.  Their mission is Building Stronger Communities through Stronger Families.

FSANEPA is also on Facebook and Twitter - @FSANEPA.

From the Mailbag: My Invisible Camera

We received this email a few months ago and I accidentally misplaced it! My apologies to Tanya for the delay in writing about her blog. 

My name is Tanya King and my blog is www.myinvisiblecamera.com. I joined the NEPAblogs Facebook group a few weeks ago and have been very happy with the sense of community. I only just looked at the website and was wondering if I could have my blog linked here as well? Thank you very much for all your efforts. It's really nice to see a healthy community of bloggers growing strong in NEPA.

Thanks again,

Tanya

From Tanya's words:  "My invisible camera is a personal evolution of how I capture moments. When I first began this blog I was a photographer first and foremost. After being diagnosed with lupus I began to explore different ways to ‘save’ moments. I equate this blog to being ‘my invisible camera’–a way for me to take a snapshot of something amazing/brilliant/dear to me, whether with photographs or words, preserve it in all its glory, and share it here."  Tanya really does have some beautiful photos of her family on the blog and her Instagram. You can read more on her about page, or follow her on Twitter.

You too can join our NEPA Bloggers group on Facebook to network with others from the local blogosphere.


Speaking of networking....do you have cabin fever? Restless for Friday?

Why not head out to the Vintage Happy Hour happening tonight from 5-8pm at Trax Platform Lounge?  For more details and to RSVP, check out the Facebook event page.

About the header image: March 5, 2014

This week's header image comes to us from NEPA Blogs co-administrator Michelle Hryvnak Davies. It's a four-wheel-drive vehicle - a Jeep - stuck in the snow in a driveway in Sweet Valley. Like the Jeep, it feels like we are all stuck in the snow. WE ARE ALL STUCK IN THE SNOW BECAUSE THIS WINTER WILL NEVER END AND IT'S HORRIBLE JUST HORRIBLE AND IT WILL NEVER END AND...

Sorry. I'm OK. Really. I...I just need a moment here.


Submit your header images to nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: FunFitFashionable

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-funfitfashionable/18928/Hi1_jK0w3U6R_czAciqZTg

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is FunFitFashionable (http://www.funfitfash.com/).

FunFitFashionable is a blog by NEPA freelance writer Alyssa about getting fit, doing it in style, and having fun! She's been blogging about living a balanced lifestyle since August 2011. Most recently she's become a certified personal trainer and has actually started a new blog to take things to the next level! There's still plenty to be gleaned from FunFitFashionable, especially if you're just getting started on the road to fitness. But when you are ready to take things further, be sure to follow Alyssa at her new site, too!


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

Anthracite Curling Club

Decades ago the Beatles movie "Help!" was regularly shown on TV, including on the local version of the afternoon movie show Dialing For Dollars. This was where I saw the sport of curling for the first time ever, and thought it was some sort of joke that had been made up for the movie. Scrubbing the ice with tiny brooms as a vaguely duck-shaped stone slowly slid across the ice - that surely couldn't be a real thing...could it? It had to be a joke, like the coin-operated car, right?

Subsequent viewings of the Winter Olympics proved that, yes, curling was indeed a real thing, though it seemed as strange and silly in real life as it had in the Beatles' romp. What was the point? What was it all about? And how the heck did someone come up with something like this?

Well, decades later, I still don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know some folks who might.

Anthracite Curling Club
http://anthracitecurling.com/

NEPA is always full of surprises, and the Anthracite Curling Club is another one. Who knew that this region had its own curling club? Well, I did. For years. But I didn't realize that they had a blog! Yes, their official website is actually presented in blog form, the most effective way of communicating news and information to members and the general populace. If you've got any level of interest in curling and don't want to wait for the next Olympics (or for "Help!" to start appearing on TV again) to see it in action, check out their blog - and maybe even consider joining in the fun at their open house at the Toyota SpotsPlex (formerly the Ice Rink at Coal Street Park) in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, March 8, 2014! Grab your tiny brooms and start scrubbing!

About the header image: February 26, 2014

NEPA is seeing its first real winter in several years in 2014. Oh, previous years have had some snow, and some stretches of cold, but nothing like the extended period of subfreezing temperatures that we endured from early January through mid-February. And snowfall after snowfall - none of them measuring up to things like the Valentine's Day Storm on 2007, but when you consider that each one fell before the previous one had melted at all, the total effect was enormous - and, in the cases of collapsing buildings due to overloaded roofs, disastrous.

The effect on the roads of NEPA has been pretty disastrous as well. Since we've gotten away for several years without any major extended freezes, we've also gotten away without too many pothole eruptions. That ended this year, and it seems that all the potholes that should have formed in previous years (but didn't) decided to make their presences known in 2014. If you can make it through the rest of this winter without any pothole-related damage to your car, consider yourself fortunate.

The picture for this week's header comes from Scranton photographer and blogger Frank Dutton (http://frank-dutton.blogspot.com/). Normally he takes pictures of waterfalls, trains, and other scenic aspects of life in Scranton, but recently he captured this ginormous axle-breaker on the Harrison Avenue Bridge in Scranton. Potholes are as much an aspect of life in NEPA as anything else, so this image illustrates well the situation many folks in NEPA are faced with. Do not despair, though - when looked at from another point of view, it becomes clear that this is indeed the Pothole of Love! (One of them, anyway.)

Do you have a photo that reflects some aspect of life in NEPA? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll use it as the header image for a week!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Coriosity

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-coriosity/39241/wwxazb8crkKpKziUhKAWOw

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Cori Preston's Coriosity (http://blog.coriosity.com/).

Coriosity is a "Life" blog, and as such it's hard to characterize beyond that - as hard as it is to characterize someone else's life. On this blog Cori Preston shares things she likes - books, fashion, movies, events - as well as tidbits of her personal life, such as the process of planning her own wedding! Cori has been sharing things on Coriosity since March 2012, and she was one of the participants at the inaugural NEPA BlogCon in September 2012.

Everyone has something to say: a story to tell, an opinion to share, a point of view that might help others see more clearly. Some people are happy to do this by dribbling out their information on Twitter tweets or Facebook status updates. But those updates are quickly lost in the deluge of information on those sites. Blogs provide a more robust and accessible place to record your thoughts, in a manner that will ensure that you and others will be able to find them today, tomorrow, and years in the future. Life blogs like Cori Preston's Coriosity give excellent ideas for how you can create your own Life blog! Check it out, and consider starting one for yourself.


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

About the header image: February 19, 2014

Yet another snow picture, because THE SNOW NEVER ENDS. This is yet another from Don Williams, the Susquehanna River Sentinel (http://srs444.blogspot.com). Like the image featured two weeks ago, it shows the sun rising over a snowy field, but this time the field is totally covered. This image was taken on the morning of Valentine's Day. Even still yet more snow has fallen since then!

If you have an image you'd like us to feature as the week's header for NEPA Blogs, drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com. Thanks!

#Poundsign

Here's a new blog by Scranton's Sabrina Hannon. New posts are promised for every Sunday. Watch to see how this blog develops!

#Poundsign
http://hashtagpoundsign.blogspot.com/

The musing of a Scrantonian, Patriarchy Smashing, Veggie Eating, Odd Habit Collecting, Party Planning, General Trouble Making, Warrior. New Blog Posts Every Sunday!

About the header image: February 12, 2014

I had to run to the Wilkes-Barre post office a few weeks ago after work. As I came out I saw the traces of the countertwilight darkening in the east, and I thought "Gee, I wish I had my camera with me." Then I remembered that I did have my camera with me, since I carry it with me at most times. I dug it out of the car and snapped a few shots, complete with cars driving through the lot. As I took this photo I thought that this was probably the last hurrah for Winter, now the snow would melt and it would get warmer.

Yeah, right. Like that's ever going to happen!

If you have an image you'd like to see used as the NEPA Blogs header for a week, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

Blog of the Week vs. the Olympics

The Blog of the Week will be on hiatus for this week and next as WBRE is airing the Winter Olympics. Expect it back on February 28!

Student Affairs Sensible

This message arrived in the NEPA Blogs mailbag recently:

My name is Gracie Gilbert and I’m just starting my blog adventure. It’s a lifestyle blog about trendy yet professional outfits and other tidbits as I work my way through my graduate program at Bloomsburg. I’d love to be linked =)

Student Affairs Sensible
http://sasensible.blogspot.com/

From the About page:

I love clothes and looking super cute, feeling pretty, being trendy, and feeling awesome about myself. What I love more than being trendy is saving money and I enjoy showing people how easy that can be. I also love proving that there is a way to look both 20-something and professional in the work place. The days of monotonous business suits are over.

Whether you're a student or not, this is a great resource for looking professional and fashionable without spending a fortune. Check it out!

About the header image: February 5, 2014

This stunning sunrise image is just one in a series of photos taken by Don Williams, the Susquehanna River Sentinel. Each one is amazingly beautiful, showing a slight variation from the ones before and after it, and it was difficult to choose just one to be featured as the NEPA Blogs header image. I finally decided to use the first one in the series, which was the first one I had seen. In it the sun is a smoldering, dull red, while the foreground is obscured by a gray haze. In later images the sun becomes a more pronounced red, and then dazzlingly bright, while the foreground darkens in contrast to the sun. This first image is the most alien, and at the same time the most primal, as if an image of a snow-covered landscape just waking up. Be sure to view the complete sequence and see which one is your favorite!

If you'd like us to feature one of your images as the NEPA Blogs header, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Agent Palmer

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! site: http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-agent-palmer/43954/66GS66A_HEeYFs4XrmFpUg

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Agent Palmer (http://agentpalmer.com/).

Secret identities are hard to maintain on the Internet. We leave so many footprints and fingerprints online, it usually doesn't take much effort to find out the real name behind the nom de blog. Despite all this, Agent Palmer is trying to maintain a secret identity - successfully, so far.

A fun and informative blog letting you indulge your inner geek as Agent Palmer indulges his. The blog promises "all things geek" and certainly delivers: movies, video games, technology, nostalgia, and anything else that touches upon geek life, and then some.

For someone with a secret online identity, it might seem strange that Agent Palmer has an online presence that goes far beyond this blog. Check out his About page for a list of links, or find out more by contacting him through his Contact page. Or just visit Agent Palmer and see what information you can extract from his site!


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat?

Recently I received an email from my friend Laurel Radzieski, a poet and writer I met through our mutual writing group, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective. She's been working on her MFAW at Goddard College in Vermont, and has also been helping young poets in the northern reaches of NEPA to develop their craft. She wanted to let me know that she has recently started a blog:

Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat?
http://isthepoetaboat.ghost.io/

Laurel describes her blog thusly: "My blog examines the role of the poet in academic and nonacademic environs. I am using the recently introduced Ghost publishing platform." See what Laurel has to say, and what the Ghost platform looks like, on Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat?

About the header image: January 29, 2014

Northeastern Pennsylvania, like much of North America (but not most other parts of the Northern Hemisphere) is still in the icy grip of the dreaded Polar Vortex. Even though days are getting longer and the sun is gradually creeping up in the sky, days can easily become gray and gloomy under cloudy skies. (Ironically, the clouds tend to trap heat from the sun, so cloudy days can be less bone-shatteringly cold than clear and cloudless days!) NEPA Blogs co-administrator Gort has captured the gloom in this picture of houses near the park by the Polish Club in Hudson. Even the relatively fresh snow doesn't brighten the scene much! Who's ready for Spring to be here already?


If you have an image of life in and around NEPA, we'd like to run it as the NEPA Blogs header. Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Conor A. O'Brien

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Conor A. O'Brien by Conor O'Brien (http://conoraobrien.tumblr.com/.)

Many people know Conor O'Brien as the proprietor of The Vintage, the coffee house and art venue located at 326 Spruce Street in Scranton, which features music, poetry, visual arts exhibitions, theatrical performances, and artistic events of every sort. But fewer know him in his other aspects of performer, playwright, poet, and author -  a collection of skills and avocations he summarizes as "Theatre Artist." On his self-titled Tumblr blog, Conor A. O'Brien, he shares these other aspects of his life through photos, articles, and the "hey, look at this" posts that are the basis for Tumblr. Conor shares some hit-and-run posts, but also includes some longer meditations on the past, the future, and the relationship between the two.

Everyone has a story to tell, even people whose stories we think we know. Conor A. O'Brien is a good example of both a life blog - sharing the myriad aspects that make up an individual's life - as well as a personal branding blog, establishing an online presence waiting to greet anyone who asks the question "Who is Conor O'Brien?" 

What about you? What will people find if they try to learn something online about you? Nothing, perhaps? Or maybe something written by someone else? Why not take control of the information out there about you by being the person who is actually putting that information out there? If you're looking to do this, you can find an excellent model in the blog Conor A. O'Brien.



If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

About the header photo: January 22, 2014

This week's header photo is the first one supplied by co-administrator and political blogging specialist Gort of gort42.blogspot.com. It really shouldn't need an explanation...but just in case it does, this is a picture Gort took as he prepared to do some grilling not long after a snowstorm. Hey, who said grilling is just a summertime activity? Do you think our caveman ancestors only pulled out their grills in the summer? No, like Gort they fired up the charcoal and cleaned off the spatulas year-round!

If you have a picture you'd like us to use as the NEPA Blogs header, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com! Thanks!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: NEPA Blogs

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is NEPA Blogs (http://nepablogs.org.)

This isn't the first time we've featured our own site as Blog of the Week. NEPA Blogs was actually the second blog ever featured, and would have been first if not for the Flood of 2011 making another blog the better choice that week. Since January 2006 NEPA Blogs has been dedicated to locating, listing, and linking every blog in Northeastern Pennsylvania, a goal at which we could be said to have failed spectacularly. Each passing week brings many new blogs about which we had previously known nothing, suggesting we will never manage to locate, list, and link them all!

NEPA Blogs has had its ups and downs, and still we persevere - not unlike northeastern Pennsylvania itself. As long as there are bloggers in NEPA, from NEPA, or writing about NEPA, NEPA Blogs will have a role to play, and will continue to work to bring attention to these bloggers and their blogs. Keep on blogging - and keep reading NEPA Blogs!


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

About the header image: January 15, 2013

A slightly overdue comment on the header which has graced NEPA Blogs since last Wednesday. This is another winter view of Nanticoke, this time from the second story of my house!

Get ready...this Wednesday brings the first-ever header photo from a well known local blogger! If you have a photo you'd like us to feature as the header image for a week, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

Let Me Eat Cake

Megan Baringer is new to Northeast PA.  She moved here last May and is looking for some camaraderie from other local lifestyle bloggers.

From the mailbag:

Hi! My name is Megan Baringer - I just moved to NEPA.  I just started a lifestyle blog to follow my fitness and life through wedding planning and marriage. Thanks!

Blog: Let Me Eat Cake
Link: http://megb87.blogspot.com/

We wish Megan a warm welcome to NEPA.  Now everyone put down your pierogies and kielbasa and give her blog a read, heyna!        

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Apropos of Nothing

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/nepa-blogs-january-14-2014/22342/DuaNkqaf6Eqis4hUPGCH3A

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is J.L. Kenney's Apropos of Nothing (http://thepixchick.wordpress.com/).

J.L. Kenney is yet another wonderful photographer based in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Apropos of Nothing is her* photo blog which features photos from Northeastern PA and beyond. Her photos have a rustic feel to them, even when there is no context whatsoever to justify this: photos of goldfish, power lines, a sailboat in Cozumel - all seem to convey a laid-back, easygoing air.

In the same way that the many bloggers who blog in and about Northeastern Pennsylvania from myriad points of view help to create a more complete impression of NEPA, the many photo bloggers who photograph NEPA in numerous unique styles from numerous angles help create a literally more complete picture of the area, something which no single blogger or photographer could possibly do. Check out Apropos of Nothing to see one of many points of view of NEPA and its surrounding areas.

*I'm assuming J.L. Kenney is female. I may be wrong, but considering the URL is http://thepixchick.wordpress.com, maybe not.


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

They're baaaa-aaaack!

This may be old news to some, but two guys who had taken time-outs from blogging are back.

Tom Borthwick took a sabbatical to run for school board and get married.  He's back to blogging semi-regularly at http://www.tomborthwick.com.  Tom's blog features topics about politics and writing.

Frank Knorek retired his personal blog approximately a year ago.  He's back again with a food review blog called "NEPA Culinary Review" which can be found at http://nepaculinaryreview.wordpress.com.  According to the about page, the NEPA Culinary Review blog is  your source for news and information surrounding the recipes, people, and places relating to good food and drink in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Take a moment and head over to their blogs and give a warm welcome back to the blogosphere.

Mailbag Round-up

It's no secret I've been neglecting my duties on this blog for quite a while.  With more responsibilities in my work and personal life comes less free time.  I'm hoping to turn it around with better time management.  Harold and I have talked about devising an editorial calendar so that the blog is not neglected for long periods of time.  Please accept our apologies for lack of posts!

We've received a ton of email with new blog additions and I figured it would just be easiest to lump them into one post to play catch up.

Email #1:

Hello. Was wondering how to get my blog registered on your awesome site?
Thanks much
Linda

Www.lindathelategraduate.com
Instagram @lynnapoe
Twitter @lynnapo

Email #2:  

 

Here's a blog by my "neighbors", Cathy & Barry Beck- accomplished photographers and fly fishing guides both here and around the world.

http://www.barryandcathybeck.com/site/index.php/our-blog

Nicole (of Springhouse Shop & Studio)

Email #3:  

 

I am from Scranton (I am actually the editor of the Abington Suburban newspaper) and, at the urging of just about everyone I know, I started a lifestyle blog yesterday about the health issue I went through. I wanted to list it on NEPA Blogs and I really want to make a go of this. The address is: http://andtheriverrunsfree.blogspot.com

-Stephanie Longo

Email #4:  

On Layton: The View From My Front Porch

http://www.joannjoneswalczak.blogspot.com/

Author: Jo Ann Jones Walczak, writer and editor, retired English teacher, Abington Heights School District

Email #5:

http://tattooedjew.wordpress.com/

Former WBRE and WNEP producer, Lycoming County native, now a military wife and mom in Georgia.

This is a good variety of blogs - 2 from the Abingtons, one formerly of NEPA, a photography and lifestyle blog.  If you know of a blog that we aren't already linking to leave us a comment or shoot us an email - nepablogs@gmail.com.

Until next time!

About the header image: January 8, 2014

Yes, it's preposterously cold right now, and maybe even a bit snowy, if the recent warm spell with temperatures in the 40's* didn't melt all your snow. But think positive thoughts! Happy thoughts! Valentine's Day is coming up in five weeks! ...and here's a photo from the aftermath of the Valentine's Day Storm of 2007, when NEPA received over fourteen inches of "lasagna snow," alternating layers of snow, sleet, and freezing rain that were death to snowblowers, snow shovels, and spines alike.

Do you have a more cheerful image of NEPA you'd like to share? Send it to us here at nepablogs@gmail.com, and we'll feature it as the NEPA Blogs header photo for a week!


*Fahrenheit; Australia is currently experiencing temperatures in the 40's Celsius, and they are not enjoying it.

Sweet Caroline's Corner

May as well start the new year by getting back in the habit of actually posting blogs! While we've got quite a backlog to work from, here's one that just came in today.

Sweet Caroline's Corner
http://www.sweetcarolinescorner.com/

I've recently came across Nepa Blogs and I was incredibly surprised since I didn't know that nepa have such a big community of blogs. My name is Caroline and I'm the author of Sweet Caroline's Corner, a little blog where I share recipes and other things about life. I would love if you could link my blog on Nepa Blogs!

Hooray! If you have or know of a blog from NEPA that we don't have linked yet, let us know and we'll get to it - hopefully, sooner rather than later!

About the header image: January 1, 2014

A new year represents a chance for new beginnings, new commitments, new resolutions. Sunrises can be the same way, bringing a sense of hope for the newborn day that can easily get lost as the day progresses. A sun pillar at sunrise serves to emphasize the effect of the sunrise, as the light or the rising sun is reflected by ice crystals hanging in the sky that produce the amazing effect seen in the photo above - even well before the sun has risen above the horizon.*

Let this sun pillar be a beacon of hope for the new year. Best wishes to everyone in their chosen endeavors. And keep on blogging!

If you have a photo you'd like to see used as the NEPA Blogs header, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.


*A complementary effect can sometimes be seen at sunset.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Sweet Valley Sunrises

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

You can watch this episode on the PA Live! site by clicking here.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Michelle Hryvnak Davies's Sweet Valley Sunrises
(http://sweetvalleysunrises.tumblr.com/).

Since December 2011, Michelle Hryvnak Davies has been sharing images of sunrises from her home in Sweet Valley. Beyond sunrises from Sweet Valley, Sweet Valley Sunrises also includes interjections of philosophy and quotes about sunrises, sunrise photos from other venues - even the occasional sunset!

Sweet Valley Sunrises isn't just our blog of the week. New Year's Eve is also Michelle's birthday, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank her for breathing life back into NEPA Blogs. Without her, NEPA Blogs would have withered away a long time ago. I realize I haven't been as diligent with updates as I should have been lately, and my biggest concern with that is that in my neglect I am disappointing Michelle. I will strive to do better in 2014.

Sunrises symbolize hope for a new day. In the same sense they can be seen to symbolize hope for a new year!  Feel hopeful about 2014 - check out Michelle's sunrise images on Sweet Valley Sunrises!


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!