Thanks for that explanation and welcome to lurkers. Most message boards, in my experience, are not as friendly as the Kitchen Table.

Linda, what a warm welcome!

I'm a great talker, LOL, but I have problems putting my comments in sentences--Does that make sense?

Welcome again to all of you!

Donna (^_^)

I need to come post more than I do.

You all have always welcomed me any time I have jumped in and talked about something.

You do become very attached to a certain place and everyone becomes a close friend...I want that too!

Deb :o)))

Well said. I haven't been here a lot lately because of many things that have happened lately. I do appreciate the comforting words because of my sons death. Thanks again.

((((( Velleen ))))) You've been in my thoughts so much lately. It's nice to see you.

Linda

Very well said.

Well, I'll jump in - looks like you've had a major melt-down but glad that the board is still alive. Hope someone figures out what happened to all your posts. I'll try to be less of a lurker and more of a participant

Again...very well said, Linda.

Welcome lurkers...jump in, feet first!

Have to agree with everyone. I have been a member of this forum for about 10 years, but you would never know since I post so rarely. However, I read this forum everyday and I have no compunction about posting a question or a greeting whenever I need to or feel like it.

I know everyone will be there with a good thought, a kind word or a great idea!!!!!

Donna

Beautifully put, Linda ;o) In the beginning I felt the same way as all "newbies", but everyone here is really wonderful and made me feel right at home.
So...welcome one and all.

Nora

Thank you for the welcome.

Linda you said it so well...thank you. Please know that all you "lurkers" have a special spot at this Table as well. If you feel like jumping in do, if you don't that's okay too. I have been a member for I believe about 5 or 6 years now and it took me awhile to answer a post or start one. And even now I don't "say" much online but my prayers go out to those in need, my tears flow for their losses, my laugher rings out with their joys, and everything in between. I consider the Kitchen Table an addition to my home. It was built several years ago and I spend many hours there...it's my "family room".

Welcome to my family room.

~Susan

Very welcoming and thoughtful post Linda.

I hope all of the lurkers feel they can stop in and sit a spell and participate whenever the mood strikes them. We were all lurkers or newbies at one time or another. It can get addicting though, so be warned. :)

Thank you, Linda, for posting this and a big welcome to all the newbies. I've been here since 1998 or '99 but I don't post often since I'm on dial-up and it takes forever! I do read most of the posts every day, remember those who need prayers, enjoy the humor, and answer a few questions, sometimes e-mailing the poster if I think I can help. Please don't feel that you are "outsiders". We were all newbies at one time. Blessings from the Southwest Desert. Bettye/AZ

You said it perfectly, Linda!

I have been a lurker for several years now, but I feel better about posting after this thread. Thank you!

Well....that was very nice! Come on in, it really is a friend ly group!

And I must add, Linda is just as nice in person :o)

Thanks for the thread, Linda!

Linda,
Thank you for this post. It makes me feel so much better about posting here. I don't really feel left out as a newbie, I just feel that nothing I have to say would make that much of a difference. I am a really shy person too. I do tend to ramble and am afraid that may irritate some people. Thanks again and I'll try to post more often. Sheila

Amen Linda,very well said,and i agree with you 1000%.
Kathi

Thanks....the quiet Nanny! (Who does find a soap-box once in a while!)

Linda,
and everyone.... thank you for the welcome. I am happy to get to join such a nice group

Thank you, Linda...I really hope to post more in the future, since I love this forum and really feel welcome here. Sometimes, I just decide my opinion isn't that important and, from lack of time, don't respond. I do keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers, though.

Here, here! I agree!
My friends anything you feel like saying at anytime is important. Don't feel shy we are all family at the KT. We live together - laugh, cry, argue from time to time, talk, listen and in the end we behave just like a family. Feel free to pull up the chair and join in!

Thank you for this thread. I read this forum every day, but seldom post. I'm usually such a quiet person! (Not)
I learn so much from all of you, and you make everyone feel so welcome. So......with that said....scoot your chairs around so I can sidle up to the table.

That was just a lovely post! Thank you for saying that. I post rarely, and even less so this past week because of Hurricane Ike. LOL

I'll definitely try to post more often since it looks like newbies are very welcome!

Hello,

My name is cj and I am a lurker. LOL. In all seriousness, Linda - thank you for the warm invitation to this kitchen table which seems to have a never ending supply of chairs. :-) I've been a member for 2 years and have posted maybe a handful of times on the cooking forum. I have sent positive thoughts to those going through troubled times, smiled and laughed at the senses of humor, stared in wonder at the amazing photography, and have taken advice from so many who have no idea that they have helped me.

I'll do my best to retire from lurkdom and graciously grab a cuppa as the coffee pot comes around! :-)

Peace to all from the SoCal desert.

~cj

Welcome to all of you. We are looking forward to " talking " to all of you and getting to know you.
Linda

Many may feel that someone else has said what they want to say with regard to answering someone's request for various ideas related to a problem or question.

But sometimes if they put forth their idea, though it may look a lot like another, there's some little difference that may make it just enough different that it's really helpful to the person asking. So please don't feel that you shouldn't respond because someone has already said about what you think about the issue at hand.

Yes, everyone's welcome - so long as your don't be mean and personal to others: nastiness seldom appears ... but it just doesn't cut it. Usually when it does, others will tell the offender that they feel that what was said wasn't fair.

Last year one of our member's had a renovation done in kitchen and bathroom and someone several states away organized a kitchen-warming collection, which was then sent (over the border) to another member in the same city, who, with me, went to deliver the gifts ... to the delight of the surprised recipient, then went out to lunch by the Detroit River to celebrate.

Later, when I was to travel near the (newly purchased, now under renovation) home of the collector of the housewarming gifts, I suggested that we might get together for coffee and received a heart-warming invitation, and welcome on arrival.

Plus ... as part of their renovation, they are considering using a heating sysytem that I was involved with several years ago, so I walked through the house, offering several suggestions about it.

They sent me packing - with a bag of lunches to keep the wolf from the door!

We've become long-distance friends.

Such happy occasions won't happen if you choose to continue with your lurking ways, I can almost guarantee!

Good wishes, whether you choose to join the fray ... or continue to lurk: your life is yours. Enjoy it, either way.

ole joyful

Linda, what you said was so very sweet, comforting. I have posted a few times here and there on KT but I find it hard to keep up. I don't always have time to read all posts but I do feel that if I need support, I know to come here.
Last winter while in FL, I had plans to meet with Nita and a few others in Naples. Well, the whoogies hit the fan and I was sick so I could not make it. Nita was so sweet in her responses to my e-mail. She is such a goodie.
You are a good group of kind folks!

Two simple, yet heartfelt words....

Thank you

Another one coming out of the woodwork. I read here for some time then did not have internet for 18months or so and just back on-line. I did not post before as I am in Australia and felt I did not have much to offer on many topics. I have two sons and 4 grandchildren and live in a small country town now. Patchwork has become my hobby (obsession) and have learned a lot from the Quilting forum. I love to travel and this year spent 6 weeks in Scotland, London and a few days in Paris. Trip of my dreams. Saving madly for another trip next year if possible. Thanks for a very friendly, welcoming board.

May I join in and welcome all of the lurkers. I've been on this site pretty well since it opened and have met some of the KT crowd. For many years, the KT has been a tremendous support to me. I usually check in first thing in the morning and throughout the day. I probably should post more often but I tend to be more of a reader too. This certainly is one of my favourite forums.

Well, Linda. I appreciate your well-thought out post.
I'm not a lurker, but an infreqeunt poster being the recipient of several unwelcome and unnecessary responses to a couple posts. It made me stay away for a long time, asking myself, "is this really a table I would feel comfortable at"?
So, I post now and then, read fairly frequently, and try not to get too involved.
Cream

(((LINDA)))

I was introduced at the KT in 1999 and was an active poster..I forgot what happened, I don't dwell on negativity.

I moved on then, returned to the KT. I must admit this is a warm hearted, sincere "welcome back" so I can imagine how all "lurkers" are/can be overwhelmed!

Cream, I'm sorry you had some unpleasant experiences here. I don't know the circumstances, but I do know where a lot of different personalities are involved there is bound to be some contention. I rarely get involved in the posts where there are disagreements, because I come here to get away from daily stress, not to add to it. I like the fluff.
I'm not saying that's what happened in your case. I don't know, but even when disagreeing it could be done in a civil manner.

There was a wonderful, sweet lady who came here a couple of years ago. She had a delightful sense of humor and was like a breath of fresh air here. She tried to post here after she had a stroke. Her typing and spelling wasn't great because of the stroke, but we were able to read and understand her messages and her humor came through loud and clear. Someone used a bogus name and demeaned her for the way she wrote. They were really cruel and they hurt her a lot. She never posted again. We lost someone who was a joy to communicate with.
Ellen, if by any chance you are reading this, please know you are missed.

This place isn't perfect by any means, but no place is.
I'm pretty sensitive and would be hurt too if someone said things to me to make me feel unwelcome. I don't know if I would post at all. I guess it would depend on who said what and why they said it. I hope you will continue to post whenever you feel like it.

I've been trying for a while to log in using my last known username but it wouldn't work. I refused to make up another one and thankfully this one worked again.

It can be a bit intimidating posting here, but your welcome was warm and genuine Linda, et al. This place can make you look intelligent because there is so much knowledge and great ideas. I've lurked when I can and have sent good thoughts, voted when asked, and laughed along with you from a distance.

There are such fond memories of this place and I still repeat stories that have been told. One thread that was hilarious, and I'm wondering if anybody saved it, was the mothers thread. Strange and funny things that your mother did. The stories kept my son entertained on a long train ride on one vacation.

So hi to all who I recognize and a special hello to those who have joined since I left. And being that I'm too shy to start a new post, there was someone on here who wanted two denim purses but I never got their name. I wrote to someone in Canada asking for the details but I haven't heard back yet and I'd like to get them out. (I'm thinking it's Susan, Ont. who requested them on behalf of someone here.)

Looking forward to joining in with you all.

Just gotta jump in here and give Linda a hug for such a great post! Well done, (((Linda)))!

Welcome and Howdy from Amarillo, Texas!

Y'all come on in and sit a spell! That's what they say in Texas anyway. :)

Thanks Linda!...I'm trying to post more often. I think this place has grown on me because I did feel a moment of panic yesterday when I couldnt find you all! lol!

Karen UK

Thank you for your invitation Linda! I too will try to post more often, thank you for making me feel welcome.

Doreen

Well said, I agree. I enjoy the nice people on the KT. I have had a couple of experiences with not so nice people, but on the whole I get good vibes & will continue to stick in my 2 cents.

Thank you, Linda, for saying what you did and in such a gracious, welcoming way!!!

Glad to have you lurkers/newbies. Just jump right in and get your feet wet.

Oh Velleen, I must have missed that. I am so sorry for your loss.

((((HUGS))))

Please don't leave because a couple of posters chew you out.

There are many who don't agree with them, and don't appreciate their acting that way, and very few do ... and perhaps they were just having a bad day.

Someone can't "make you mad" (or sad, etc.) ... unless you allow them to do so.

As Dad used to say, "Let it roll off of you like water off of a duck's back".

Good wishes for a happy day today.

ole joyful

I am sorry for those who hav ebeen made to feel unwelcome...it huts! It has happened to me....and I just try and find my innerself and say heck with them all the others are my friends...this is truly the best place on the ne! Stacy

Linda, how nicely stated! I don't post too often but read whenever I can. There are many talented, compassionate people here willing to give advice and share their talents with others. I've laughed and cried with many of you and along the way, I've learned a lot.

My cup is almost empty, so if you could please pass the pot this way.....

I've been here since 2001 (wow) but may not post often due to "real-life" getting in the way sometimes. I sort of picture the Kitchen Table as a revolving door. People are always coming and going. Honestly, sometimes I don't even read or recognize the poster names, so I wouldn't know if you're new or not!

A few times the responses to a thread have really helped me solve a problem or cheered me up, so never be afraid to post-You never know whose life you might affect!

jahalaro-I have to disagree! I've never been to Australia, so I'd love to hear about your life there-different foods, holidays you celebrate or even just phrases you may use!

I just wanted to say hello to everyone as I have been a lurker also, but I will stop by from time to time if nothing other than saying hello.You have all made us so welcomed that is a gift that keeps on giving...Thanks Deb

Just in case some of you lurkers may have missed this nmessage, first go-round of the traffic circle.

ole joyful

P.S. Found on new P. 3, I think.

o j

Hi and thank you for the welcome. I usually lurk because I don't get here often. I find that when I get on the internet - and especially this site! - that I can spend an enormous amount of time. So while I enjoy checking in to see whats going on, or what is new, or new photos, I also check out the money saving tips, or crafts and painting. I actually don't fit in too much there either as I paint on canvas, but don't do crafts or decorative painting any more. But, I still enjoy seeing what others do.

Everyone in these groups are very friendly and I know that if I occasionally have an answer or thought about something, it, nor I, will be rejected. I say silent prayers for those in need. Laugh at funny remarks, and have a great time. I have my cuppa and occasionally grab a refill.

Rhonda