I won! ....dancing a little jig

When I was little, I never had much use for dolls. But teddies were a whole different matter.
At night, you could snuggle in bed with a teddy, tell him your hopes, dreams or troubles & they never betrayed your trust. I still have my old teddy even though his paws are threadbare & the straw stuffing's poking through.
I've since collected lots of other teddies, softer & better dressed but they'll never outshine my first love. In fact I used to have a really large collection but when we moved to our current house, I downsized somewhat but kept enough teddies to occupy most rooms including my kitchen and every once in a while, I still ask for a teddy as a birthday or Christmas present.
I read several bear makers blogs and each time, they create a new bear I drool. I've never owned a OOAK handmade bear. Maybe some day....

Today I was just about to close my laptop and start my day, when I discovered an email from Joanne of Desertmountainbear. I won her book give-away:
Here's what Joanne wrote on her blog about this book:

"While I was at the Philadelphia bear show I went to a talk given by Joan Greene. She was one of the first bear shop owners in the US in the 1980's. Her shop was in Berkeley California. This book is about the days of her shop. The people she met who's stories she never forgot. I sat in the front row of this talk and listened to her stories of bears lost, of people who never gave up looking for them. I tried so hard not to cry, but I did, her stories were so beautiful. I know I was not the only one.
I purchased this book from her and had it autographed to give away on the blog. I opened it on the plane on the way home to look at it. I ended up reading the whole thing. And I tried so hard again not to cry on the plane, the stories really touched me."

What a fantastic start to another rainy day! Now if only CanadaPost holds off with their strike long enough for me to get my book!!

Joanne, thank you so much!! I will treasure the book. As for the rest of you, if you're a teddy lover, take a look at Joanne's website for some of the most adorable guys ever. I've been reading with interest how she made Marana in her little nest. Teddies sure have come a long way!