A lot of people complain about the U.S. Postal Service, probably because most of what they get in their mail box is bills, but for less than a dollar, the USPS delivers letters and cards all across the nation – directly to our door or mailbox.  For relatively minimal cost, they guarantee 3-5 day delivery of packages and flat rate packages whose shipping is based on the size of the box, not the weight.

 

 Thank You 20 - USPS [1:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9)

Siblings – we love them and hate them at the same time. Some siblings we are born with, some become our brothers and sisters when two families blend, and some we chose to call family because they are the brothers and sisters of our hearts and souls.  Argue though we do, when things get bad, our siblings are there for us.

 

 Thank You 17 - Siblings [1:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (10)

2009 was a difficult year for me financially – as it was for many people.  My mortgage company, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, made it a little easier by making the loan modification process easy for me.

 

 Thank You 15 - Wells Fargo Home Mortgage [1:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (10)

Basic Brewing Radio, hosted by James Spencer, has been both entertaining and educational as I’ve learned the craft of homebrewing.  The show consists of interviews, experiments and the results of James’ own brewing and brewing related efforts. James is a wonderful host and makes it feel like he’s talking with you.

 

 Thank You 14 - Basic Brewing Radio [0:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (14)

Austin Homebrew Supply is my local homebrew supply store. They have a good selection of brewing and winemaking supplies and ingredients, and lots of recipes.  They have always been helpful and are one of the reasons I have as much enthusiasm for brewing as I do.

 

 Thank You 11 - Austin Homebrew Supply [1:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (11)

Last year, my boyfriend and I adopted a kitten named Squish.  He had been brought to the Town Lake Animal Shelter here in Austin. One of their volunteers fostered him until he was old enough to be be adopted. Squish has been a source of love, amusement, and wonder ever since we brought him home. He definitely has his moments of troublemaking, but he’s been a wonderful addition to our home.

For Squish, and for all the other animals that are rescued and adopted every year, thank you to Town Lake Animal Shelter.

 

 Thank You 9 - Town Lake Animal Shelter [1:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (12)

I started 365 Thank Yous because I wanted to make sure that these thank yous and expressions of gratitude got out.  True thank yous aren’t said enough and most of us seem to think we have plenty of time to say them later, but we not have the time we think we do. That point was driven home yesterday.

Just a few days ago, I thanked Tee Morris. Yesterday, he and his young daughter (Sonic Boom) were left alone by the unexpected death of his wife.

Even in the sadness caused by this passing, there is something to be thankful for. The podcasting tribe has come forward to support Tee and Sonic Boom and Phillippa Ballantine has set up a ChipIn account to help them with immediate expenses. There are also plans for a long term trust fund for Sonic Boom.

So today, in addition to my scheduled thank you, I am thankful for the opportunity to say my thank yous, I am thankful for the podcast tribe and the generosity they are showing, and I am thankful for the opportunity to help Tee in a tangible way.

My 7th thank you goes to Farpoint Media.  Without Mike Mennenga and the rest of the Farpoint crew, I would never have found most of the podcasts I continue to listen to.  The Farpoint Media family now includes about 100 podcasts on a variety of different subjects. If you want to find podcasts to listen to, I highly recommend starting at Farpoint.

Some examples – pulled from my current and past podcast subscriptions:

• Dragon Page Cover to cover – interviews with authors and discussion of fantasy and sci-fi books
• Slice of Sci-fi – what’s going on in the Sci-fi world
• I Should Be Writing – Mur Lafferty’s podcast about writing fiction
• Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy – Tee Morris’ original podcast about writing, publishing, and marketing your work (ended in 2009)
• Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing – about the sci-fi and fantasy publishing world
• Variant Frequencies – short stories of the speculative fiction genre
• DragonHearth – Tracy and Laura Hickman’s podcast
• Freshly Green – environmentally friendly advice and suggestions
• Marc Gunn’s Pub Songs Podcast – pub songs from Marc Gunn
• The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast – the title says it all
• Speaking of Beer – information and education on beer

 

 Thank You 7 - Farpoint Media [1:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (11)

Today’s thank you goes to Mur Lafferty.

Mur inspires me because of how much she has done – from writing for role-playing games and a book on podcasting to podcasting her essays and novels. She is always challenging herself and sharing her efforts and lessons with us.

You can find links to all her work below the podcast player or at the Murverse.

 

 Thank You 5 - Mur Lafferty [1:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (12)

I Should be Writing (advice and information from Mur about writing)

Much of Mur’s audio fiction can be found at Podiobooks as well as at the following sites:

The Heaven Series

The Takeover (Zombies in corporate America)

Escape Pod (annual Christmas stories)

Playing for Keeps (Super – and not so super – heroes)

Mur’s Published Work

Thank you #4 goes out to Tee Morris for podcasting advice, hours and hours entertainment, making me feel like a friend instead of just a fan, and being a fan of my cookies and homebrewed beer. Please listen to the podcast for a better idea of why I owe him my thanks.

I found Tee through The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy podcast. Though that podcast ended last year, he is very easy to find online. His podcast novels can be found at Podiobooks.com and you can find him on Twitter as TeeMonster (his personal feed) and ITStudios (his business feed). You can find more information about Tee at TeeMorris.com and about his work at ITStudios.com.

Below the podcast player, you’ll find links to Tee’s books on Amazon. They are most definitely worth the read!

 

 Thank You 4 - Tee Morris [1:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (10)

Tee’s Non-fiction

Tee’s Fantasy Novels

Tee’s Billibub Baddings Mysteries