Patrick O'Leary, author of The Impossible Bird and other fine novels, and poet-laureate of the Chevy Tahoe, has succumbed to temptation and now has a brand new blog. He asks that you be gentle with him since this is his first time out.

Another new one I should have mentioned a couple of days ago is Grace Davis's new disaster relief blog, Family to Family:

Dear Friends,

First, my deepest gratitude for your kind support of our modest but mighty blog project, Hurricane Katrina Direct Relief! As you know, this operation was simple: Our boots-on-the-ground Steel Magnolia, Victoria Powell of Madison, Mississippi, and her team of tireless Power Mom volunteers toured the disaster zone and reported what was needed in the communities to me, whereupon I would post these reports on the blog. This low key approach accomplished more than we thought possible or believable. Not only did our blog readers generously ship donations of clothing, supplies and food items to the shelters and churches, we were also able to assist a group of firefighters in Western Massachusetts in presenting a significant donation of firefighter equipment to the Gulf Coast. Pharmaceutical representatives shipped samples of medications to free/low cost clinics. Yard sales, donation stations, and benefit concerts were held on behalf of the communities described on the blog.  Additionally, we assisted in placing on-site volunteers, angels with chain saws and bobcats,to remove debris from whole towns.

The stories go on and on. This experience has been abundant with blessings. My kiddo said it best, "This is awesome, Mom!"

Though Hurricane Katrina has faded from the news, the work continues, and we're still energized.  What we're doing now is assisting families in their transition from the shelters and tent camps to their new homes.  Many of these folks are moving into completely bare apartments/mobile homes/modest houses.  Therefore, they dearly need our gifts and donations of household and personal items.

We have created a new blog for this project, Family to Family,  and hope you can take a moment and click on this link to see how you can aid our friends with their new lives.