I have to take this opportunity to mention new friends, especially one such fine lady in Australia. Thank you for finding me via this electronic forum and thank you for finding me worthy of your time and attention!

When beginning this site I really did not know what to expect. I had heard about others making good friends and contacts through the "net", but never imagined the kind of warmth that is actually available out there! Now, I receive an occasional letter from one such person that is always full of such beautiful insights and reflections. It is a type of sharing that my site was founded on; I am deeply grateful.

If you would like to find other sites devoted to the feminine, please check out the "Ladies of the Heart" icon on my homepage. This will lead to you more (women's) sites than you will have time to surf, each one individual and beautiful in their construction and theme. As always, I find that when I get on my computer, I begin to get frustrated because there is so much out there that I want to see. I really feel sorry for those who claim the internet is this "dangerous" or "bad" place and seek to dismiss it as valuable. They miss a lot of beauty.

There is a real opportunity here because of the WWW. An opportunity, which unlike any before it, really will (and does!) bring the world a little closer. Maybe the technology that has seemed to separate and isolate so many for so long will eventually be the healing force behind our widening communities. It would seem to make sense, everything in nature seems to eventually balance out. Maybe this applies even to the inventions and modifications man seems destined to make upon his earth.

But what is it about interpersonal relationships on the net that are different and unique? I have often tried to understand why we seem to entrust feelings and experiences with others we really don't know when communicating back and forth across the net. But I think the issue is that we really do know the person on the other side of the screen - it is the extra layers of protection and baggage that we are missing. Of course, we all know that this protection and baggage must also be introduced and accepted at some point for a total friendship to flower because without it, we are not really who we are - only who we wish we could be. Still, in the initial stages of introduction and frienship, it is wonderful to be able to judge only on the words and intentions behind them rather than the appearances and situations in which we find our words echoing from.

I will be signing off this site for about a week, I would guess. We begin our move tonight and I know that something must give from my schedule or I will, so unfortunately this journal will be the easiest to avoid since Keith will probably dismantle the computer tonight and not re-connect it until next week. (His way of helping me trim down, I am sure). I will miss my friendly places and new friends, but will return a calmer and more settled woman, God willing!