Small victories. The smug part of me had a mini ego massage this last week with various positive responses on Twitter. I had a couple of top 5 entries on the word game artwiculate indicated that some people thought my tweets were worthy enough to vote for and not just the sympathy vote generated for new players or the mutual retweet swap that can happen between some groups who follow each other. There is nothing wrong with that and I suppose it is simply repaying a compliment although I try to avoid it as much as I can but do occasionally fall into that trap. I feel that if I retweet because someone retweets me then that diminishes it's purpose and the recipient may feel (perhaps rightly) that there's is a guilt retweet. However, by only retweeting what I consider worthy then hopefully the recipient appreciates how much I rated their tweet. No doubt they probably think me rude for not wanting to vote for other's tweets so my own rate higher!
   The other pleasure comes from the general positive reaction I get from the #ffs I send. Rather than list a load of names that I recommend people follow I like to craft individual rhymes. These started as a general rhyme but has now progressed that I rhyme the actual account name with varying degrees of success. Those with a lot of numbers in their name are more problematic simply for the fact that there are only a few things you can rhyme 71 with without becoming repetitive. Rhyming the whole name also means that the end result may become somewhat clunky, or if a short two syllabled name, too obvious. A number of people have answered back to say how much they appreciated them, however, which is always a  nice reward and that someone glowed about theirs cheered me up no end. Again I fear if some think I may be fishing for compliments but the whole nature of ffs would make all who participate equally guilty and I like to think that I put a little more thought into them. As it happens, I sometimes give a little groan when I receive one myself as I feel obliged to come up with another rhyme in response - only more generic to thank them and offer them the compliment back in return. This I do as generally I may have sent them a rhyme previously and they are now responding in later weeks. If I have not sent them one previously then I will either do so if composed or simply thank them and add them to the to do list for the following week.
   To receive a glowing personal ff myself slightly embarrassed me but with a self indulgent bit of pride that someone took the trouble to write such nice things about me, no matter that not having met me had allowed them to overestimate my abilities. I do have a secret fear that certain people who are following me think I am  some sort of creative type who can actually write. Others participating in artwiculate are writing proper poetry in styles I have never heard of whilst I'm scribbling doggerel down with the odd classical reference I've picked up from reading Livy and Ovid. It surely can't be long before I am found out to be the fraud that I have always claimed I am, although being polite they will simply unfollow and quietly forget about me.
   I think it's safe to say that I have not found my target audience yet as it so far consists of people far too wordy themselves to require my services or simply not interested, preferring to use Twitter to flirt and repeat crap jokes. Still it's fun and not worrying about the whole poem thing means I can just mess around on there like everyone else.
  
   This last week has also seen Bethany continue to participate in domestic chores as she copies our behaviour and wants to take part. Aside from helping to empty the washing machine and carry the clothes to the airer, she has taken a liking to polishing the dining room and kitchen floor with the electrostatic mop which is light enough for her to push around the laminate. She did attempt to continue into the hall and living room but soon noticed the friction from the carpet stopped her in her tracks. She has also got into the habit of getting a tea towel out of the bottom drawer (which she can now open) when we start to wash the dishes and wants wet pots passing so that she can dry them. I try to restrict her to teaspoons although she fancies the look of the more breakable items. This often means washing an item, drying it and passing it to Bethany to 'dry' again before I open the cupboard door for her to put the item on the shelf, where I then stack it properly and close the door again to wash the next item. The dishes now take twice as long to clean.
   As a thought, this whole helping with the housework does last forever doesn't it?