Happy Bloggiversary and a Big Thank You!

To be honest, I didn’t notice that I had been at this for a year. I was doing some statistic reviews to see what posts have been the most popular over time (basically to see what posts you guys dig reading the most).  When I noticed that I have been writing the Dreadnaught Darling blog for a bit over a year now.  I wanted to thank each and every one of you for reading, sharing my posts with your friends, and commenting. Some days the reader comments are what got me through a patch of self doubt. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all!

Photo by Christoph Miller. Editing by Tierany Seriflame

I also want to thank the man behind the curtain here.  My long-time friend Stone has been the backbone to this site since it’s inception. I wanted to take some time out to shine the spotlight on him for a minute.  He is most of the reason I got this site up and running, and I have learned a lot about running my own business, social networking, loving what I do, and blogging in this last year. I appreciate that I did not have to run that gauntlet alone.

When I started to lose track of what day of the week it was, (or even what time it was) bleary eyed from blogging and making dreads into the wee hours, he understood because he has been there too.  He kept me on point a lot of times and told me to keep my eye on the prize at others. He would give unasked for advice to which I would bristle at, then a couple months later tell him he was totally right. There is a level of trust here that I do not have with anyone else.

Stone is a controversial personality of sorts. He will give you his advice, generally before you ask, in the form of blunt trauma. A number of times I have been asked what I see in him, and I want to answer that with honesty. We’ve been friends for at least 12 years, but I suspect longer.

As friends (and otherwise), we have had our ups and downs. We have had major misunderstandings, fights and white-knuckled drama of all kinds (insert apology to friends and family here). We have also had spectacular bouts of adventure, dreaming, scheming and a lot of love. I have never had someone drive me so crazy and love me so diligently as this man has. However, regardless of our status or situation I have never questioned that he would be there for me in a heartbeat if I asked him to, and he has proven it repeatedly.

He is an spectacular combination of Indiana Jones meets MacGuyver with a splash of John Wayne. He can fix almost anything, and if he doesn’t know how it is likely he will kill himself trying (especially if he is fixing it for someone else).

He is a fount of knowledge. I cannot begin to explain how much I have appreciated the moments where I ask him how something works and he just knows. It’s like having Wikipedia with you at all times. Most recently was a discussion of me asking how AM/FM worked. Sometimes I just like asking to hear him talk, as it is sort of soothing. Other times I just appreciate knowing that he is willing to take the time to explain something.

Photo by Shelly Lambert

A bit of what endears me to Stone is his genuine concern for people. He will stop to help an old man change a tire on the side of the road, get out of his car to help someone back into a wheelchair, rescue a wounded animal, take you out to coffee at 2 am (even though he hasn’t slept) when you need to talk. He will drive cross-country to rescue a friend at the drop of a hat, and he will be the one person that will let you sob your eyes out when your beloved pet dies and just ‘gets’ it.   He can hate your guts, but if you are stranded somewhere horrible, he will still come help.  

There are so many stories I can recount, but I will never really do him justice. His paladin complex sometimes gets him into trouble, but most of the resulting scars and stories are pretty awesome, so it balances out I suppose. His life story is impressive and some day I hope he writes a book, cause it would be a damn fine read.

I have yet to hear all of the stories and I would like to. I always enjoy our road trips because he gets nostalgic and recounts some of his stories. This is especially rad on cross country ventures. He is my favorite person to have on a road trip ever, not just because he sings an epic version of Rod Stewarts ‘Do You Think I’m Sexy’ either (there is even a car dance, it’s pretty rad).

Besides being MacGyver, Stone also manages to be a computer guru. He has run his own business for as long as I have known him. He is the one who built the Dreadnaught Darling website, to my specifications (and I can be annoying with my… “can you make this doodad do this?” “Okay, you know that widgety thing that does … the thing… can you get me one of those?”) poor guy. He is great at his job. If you need a Network Admin, someone to host your website, or need someone to build you a blog I recommend him. Shameless plug here.  If you go to the very bottom of the page here, you’ll see an L7 logo. That would be him.

Photo by Tierany Seriflame. Stone on the Lady Washington.

If it were not for Stone, it would be unlikely I would have met all the friends I have today. On a number of occasions he has been the driving force behind many of my moves and decisions. I attribute many of the skills I have learned in the last few years to him. Though I do not always appreciate his tactics, I do appreciate his support, friendship and love. He has moved me to tears on multiple occasions at the depth of his support and the lengths he has gone to, to market me on a personal level. In many cases he saved the day when I was doubting myself and my direction.

He will never buy me flowers, but he will construct a rose out of welded copper and burn his poor hands multiple times in the process. He does not buy cards, but he will carve ‘I love Kera’ in the side of a metal trailer or in the sand at the beach. He may not always remember to tell me he loves me, but he does his best to show me through acts of service that I take for granted sometimes. This man is fantastic, and I really want him to know it. Thank you for everything you do!

He is also one of my best marketers. If you have heard about Dreadnaught Darling through Stone, feel free to drop a comment below. If you’re interested in acquiring a set of dread falls, a dread kit or braids, please send me an email at kera@dreadnaughtdarling.com .

Again, thank you to all of my readers. Here is to many more years together!

~Kera