And I thought only my family was reading this…

Others are reading too, apparently, because last night a total stranger left a comment on my blog: “You are SO hot!”

What???

I am hot, but I don’t need others to state the obvious(!), so I’ve now enabled “comment moderation” on my blog. The process of leaving a comment won't be much different for you, except that it won’t immediately be published; I will first have to review each comment for spam.

Just for the record, I really enjoy and appreciate your comments, and thank those of you who have been so supportive of this endeavor. Please, keep it up!

How do I leave a comment, you ask? At the end of each post, look for the “comments” link. Clicking on it will open the comment posting page. On the right hand side of the page is the space for you to enter your comment. Directly below that, you’ll need to type in the word verification. (That's required to prove you're a real person, and not an auto-spammer.) Beneath that are the identity options: 1) Your Blogger display name; 2) Open ID; 3) Name/URL; 4) Anonymous. Unless you are a blogger and have a Google or OpenID identity, you’ll want to use options 3 or 4. You will, most likely, want to take credit for your comment (unless you are the aforementioned "hot" poster!) so click on “Name/URL” and type in your name; the URL (your website) section is optional. After that, you can preview or directly post your comment. Voilá! As soon as Bill, Speedy, Al, or me gets a chance to review comments, you’re published!

Another change is the addition of a subscription link. From there, you’ll be able to get Vignettes delivered via email or news reader each time there’s a new post. Look for it in the right hand column of the main page. Your contact information is secure, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

I’m planning on sending an email this week, announcing my blog to a larger audience of friends and business associates. Welcome, new readers!

On a related topic, my website makeover is so close to launch I can almost touch/taste/feel/smell it! My “webmaster” has to work out a few issues with Internet Explorer 6 viewing, and then we’ll be set to go. I’ll keep you posted.

That's all for now. I should probably brush up on my French and hit the gym - have to maintain my image, you know! ;-)