I am honoured, thrilled, and slightly overwhelmed (and just a tad lost for words) at my inclusion on the gorgeous Liz Strauss’ SOB list.

(And for the Aussies, nope, not that sort of SOB.)

This sort of SOB:

It stands for Successful and Outstanding Blogger. And it’s very much a badge of honour.

Thank you Liz - you’ve included me with some pretty amazing people, which makes it doubly special!

If you’ve followed over here from Liz’s place, welcome! There’s lots to see and do, the kettle’s always just boiled and if the kids haven’t invaded, there should be some home-made biscuits in the jar.

You’re welcome to browse around as much as you like… there are no locked doors or barred windows here.

And once you’ve had your fill of The Clearing Space, I’d love you to step on over to the hot-off-the-press June issue of The Calm Space.

This month, the gorgeous (oh, and handsome, now - can’t forget our guys: ) contributors have all shared their unique talents and skills on the theme of FREEDOM.

It’s a hefty topic, and there are some great, thought-provoking posts, some good reads, a beautiful Breathing Space (once again using Amy Palko’s gorgeous photography) and lots more besides…

[And for those of you who are curious about me, the person, you'll be interested to meet our newest contributor at The Calm Space, writing The Money Space. That's all I'm going to say... you have to go over there to find out more. Hint: check out my editorial here for the goss.]

PS I’ve been travelling and resting and recharging the last couple of weeks… lots to tell, lots and lots of photos to show you… as soon as I’ve had a chance to catch my breath I hope to find time to share some of it with you. Until then, keep well and be free.

Hmmm… with a title like that, you’re entitled to think I’ve lost the plot or something.

Let me see if I can explain.

I love this thing called blogging. And I love the connections that the internet brings my way, that allow me to make friends in far off places. If you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d know two wonderful women in Scotland, I might not have laughed in your face, but I certainly would have been sceptical, no matter how shiny your crystal ball.

But wonder of wonder, the crystal ball would have been correct. I have met (virtually) and got to know Joanna Young, who is now a good friend and a valued contributor to The Calm Space. Through Joanna, I met Amy Palko, and her beautiful photography graced this month’s Breathing Space.

Ever since hubby and I spent time driving through Scotland in our just-married and childless years we have loved the place. It doesn’t hurt that I married a Wallace - and that my father-in-law’s name is William! We both can trace our roots back to that small, cold, so-picturesque country on the other side of the world.

I have often said I want to go backand have Christmas in Scotland in a castle … coldness and open fires and woolly jumpers and mulled wine and snow balls and all that magical, fairy-tale stuff that a hot summer Christmas in Australia just isn’t conducive to.

Um… so what does this have to do with the title of this post?

Well… the Scots, you see, they have their own language. Yes, they speak ‘English’ but they have another, beautifully rich and evocative language that is uniquely theirs. And sometimes they talk about things, and I have no idea what they are talking about.

Recently Joanna went to Chicago for SOBCon08 and gave Brad Shorr a book of Scottish words and phrases. Brad gleefully shared some intriguing words from the book. One of them was Thunderplump.

Say it out loud. Thunderplump. mmmm…

I read his post (thanks to a pointer from Rosa - another magical connection) right after a thunderplump had passed through here on Saturday.

Here’s a couple of the photos I took (as inspired by Amy, I’m learning to see things through a lens…)

Typical sub-tropical storm - came in from the west and down it poured. The gutters just cannot cope…

The storm retreats over the mountains to the north…

The beauty of a rainbow to the east… taken from my front door. Hope remains.

Yes, a thunderplump is a thunderstorm… don’t you love it? Can’t you just hear the word, rolling around the mouth before exploding out in a barrage of scottishness?

What magical things have exploded in your world lately?