Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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An Anniversary: Seven. On to Eight.

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2-17 anniversary

Today I start my 8th year of blogging.

What??

On February 17th, 2008, I cobbled together a very rudimentary template (remember those basic templates on Blogger?) and hit publish. I’m not sure I even had a header, other than the title of this blog. In fact, my first post didn’t have a photo because I hadn’t yet figured out the mechanics of uploading one.

Thanks to a husband who encouraged me to “Just do it!” I ventured out into the fascinating world of the blog. Those were the early days, although there are many pioneer bloggers who have been around for much longer, when the community was smaller. I blogged every few days and the first time someone left a comment was so exciting!

And now, in the blink of an eye, it’s seven years later. I’ve written over 2000 posts. If I was really industrious, I’d try to put together a photo history of all the different headers and designs I’ve used for Mockingbird Hill Cottage. Actually, I think there’s a blogiversary post somewhere in the archives that does just that. So many different looks; many of them came about as the blog platform itself grew, allowing more creativity, more possibilities.

Eventually, my little lamb with the party hat turned into the ‘look’ of MHC; in blogging and/or advertising lingo: the brand. When I moved to WordPress over two and a half years ago, I designed this simple header consisting of the name of the blog and the lamb with the party hat. And there we will stay. That header shows you, the reader, where you’ve landed – at a familiar place, a place where you can stop and linger and chat, if you’re so inclined. I like that consistency. I think it matters.

The blog has always been about our life in the country. That was the original tag line, you know – Life in Our Little Cottage in the Country. Seven years later, I’m still writing about the same things I wrote about at the beginning. And I’ve even started another blog about my love of reading.

I’ve made many friends through this adventure. (That’s what it is, you know, an adventure.) You’ve come to know me. Us. The dogs. My family. You’ve been with me through the everyday, the exciting, and the heartbreaking. You were there all through our journey with Riley, with love and support and prayers. You were there as I struggled with the slow and heartbreaking loss of my mother. You were there when we lost Don’s father and you were there when I mourned the untimely loss of dear friends. You’ve listened to Don’s music, watched us dance on a home video, cheered Don on when he filmed in Prague and read his posts about the experience. You’ve come along when I’ve worked out of town, exploring new places with me. You’ve been big fans of Dame Scout’s posts (when she deigns to write) and she has become sort of the star of the blog. (Sssh! Don’t tell her that.)

You followed me when I moved the blog to WordPress (all by myself) and found a new home that I love. You stuck with me. Without you, there wouldn’t be a blog. Or, at least, the blog wouldn’t have become what it is today. Readers come and go, that’s the nature of blogging. A few of you have been with me since the very beginning – isn’t that amazing? Whether you are a longtime reader or a newish reader, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can’t imagine life without you.

Writing this blog has been, and continues to be, sheer pleasure. There’s simply no way I can adequately find words to say what it has meant to me. It’s changed my life. It’s that simple. I sit here, writing this post, and can’t imagine life without it. Someday I may decide to stop. Who knows? But for now, I move on to year number eight.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Comments

  1. I found your blog on Susan Branch’s list of favorite blogs and began reading yours over a year ago. I want to thank you for sharing your life, thoughts and feelings with your readers. Your photographs are lovely, your openness about the important events in your life is amazing and your words provide “food for thought”. Thank you.

  2. I’m fairly new to your blog and look forward to it every day. I think I found you in a blog list of a miniaturist. I love miniatures, but can’t take up another hobby. There just isn’t room in my day or my house. So, I enjoy it vicariously through blogs. Then I discovered your blog…so much more than miniatures. I have said so before, but I enjoy reading your words. Now, I will hop over to your book/reading blog, which, surprisingly to me, I have yet to do. This morning will be the time. Happy Blogversary!

  4. Happy anniversary, Claudia. Reading your adventures is “sheer pleasure” for us too! Enjoy your day. Hugs to Don and Dame Scout too.

  6. Claudia, I enjoy your blogs very much although I am not a blogger. Love your doll house and collections. Dame Scout is adorable. Plenty of snow here in Maine where we live. Can’t wait for Spring!

  9. Following your blog since 2011. Reading and following your adventures has been my pleasure! Thank you for all the memories,stories, photos, laughter and pain.

  11. I’m new to your blog. I began following you because of your book reviews but soon enjoyed your daily posts so now I read the “dailys” as I call them and I love your doll house. Happy anniversary

  13. I am so glad you blog! Everyday you bring adventure into our lives. Sometimes it’s as easy as buying a croissant or filming the street view in a town. Everyday, as I drink my tea or coffee, I wonder what new book you have read, or what famous person you will tell us about. Sometimes it is a simple tour of the dollhouse or your new finds. No matter what it is, you always put a story to it. You are most definitely a master storyteller. Thank you for all your hard work you put into your blogs. It makes a difference, Claudia, it really does.
    Hugs to you, Don and Scout
    Deb

  14. Happy Blogaversary, Claudia. I became a daily visitor not too long after Riley passed away, and enjoy all of your regular topics (however nothing tops Scout). After following the daily posts for a while, I went back to the beginning and read forward. Since I knew how many of the ‘plot lines’ were going to play out, it was like re-reading a favorite novel. Thanks for getting all my days off to a pleasant start.

  15. Claudia – Happy Anniversary!! Just want to thank you for your blog. It is a daily pleasure for me and I appreciate it.

  16. Happy Blogoversary Claudia! I hope there are many more to come. I enjoy your blog very much and especially Dame Scout! Stay warm.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

  17. Claudia, I so enjoy when I look at the clock and see it is 10 AM because I know quite soon MHC will show up in my emails. When I read the post title, I try to guess what it will bring. I have told you before how I enjoy knowing you are writing in “real time” and not posting something which happened weeks or months ago. You say you always wonder what you will find to post about, but as you write each day, I hope you realize what we love most is just that. You are just talking to us like we are sitting there with you. You look up and see something and share its story, or you share a picture you took, or tell us how Scout and Don are doing. It is like keeping up with a dear friend. Coffee and Claudia go together for me! Happy Anniversary and may there be many more to follow……

  18. My morning routine is coffee, breakfast, help get my aunt up & going across the street from our house, come home and turn on the desk top to see what Claudia’s written about today. The household chores must wait especially if you or Don are on an adventure as I so look forward to experiencing them with you. You’d be surprised how often you come up in my conversations with my husband. I tell him when it’s snowing where you are or something you said that really stopped me in my tracks and made me think. I am so grateful to have found MBHC a few years ago. Thank you Claudia for becoming a much counted on friend and sounding board. I hope you continue your blog for a long, long time. XOXO

    • Don’t bother looking, Joy. I had to take the video down because it used music by Henry Mancini and it’s copyrighted! I may post it again someday – just for a day! Thanks so much!

  23. Thank you Claudia..and Don and Scout for the many adventures..good & bad..happy & sad..that you have shared with us..I look forward to many more..Happy Anniversary!!! & Hugs!

  24. I don’t remember when I first discovered your blog…but I was hooked from the very start. I look forward to your posts in my email….means it’s time for a break. It’s ” let’s see what Claudia is up to” time…it’s always fresh…and never contrived. It’s life in and around a country cottage…with real people, and real events. It’s life well lived! ;)

  25. Congratulations! I enjoy reading your blog for so many reasons, but mostly because I feel as if you’re chatting with us over a cup of coffee. Thank you!

  26. …….and for me, I’ll celebrate on Feb. 27th – first post on my former Across The Pond blog – and we became friends then! Remember I loved your cottage floors and we started our conversation about them ALL THAT TIME AGO!
    You, Don, Scout, and much-missed dear Riley, became daily friends – thank God for blogging
    friends.
    Claudia, you’re the best, thanks for bringing so much interest to my life all these years.
    Love, Mary

    • We’ve been friends since the beginning, Mary. I’m blessed by your friendship and by your beautiful blog! Thank you.

  27. Congratulations! And Happy Anniversary! I may not comment regularly but your blog is part of my morning ritual. Hope you stay at it for many more years.

  28. Congratulations on 7 yrs. Claudia – thank you for sharing your life and taking the time to do what you do! And thank you for giving me a little something extra to look forward to each morning.

  30. Happy Anniversary, Claudia! Like everyone else, I really look forward every day to your writings and I am very appreciative of your committment to daily posts and the fact that you take the time to respond to every comment! You have extended the hand of friendship to all of us!

  31. Congratulations and well done on your blog anniversary. And thank you for getting out all these lovely posts so often. I appreciate them.

  32. Happy Anniversary Claudia! I’m so glad I discovered your blog. And, the pleasure is mine…to open up your blog (almost) daily and find a post that at turns can be interesting, heartfelt, intriguing, enlightening, beautiful, etc. — or all of those adjectives rolled into one. Thank you! And may there be many, many more to come.

  33. Dear Friend – Congratulations on starting your eighth year in the blogging! I wasn’t there when you started but have enjoyed your daily writings for about four years. I’ve enjoyed all of your posts – the good and the bad, the joy and the sadness. So, again, congratulations and best wishes for another seven years (at least).

    Love,
    Judy

  34. Congratulations, Claudia, on eight years of blogging! That’s terrific and a real accomplishment. I don’t know how you manage to do it every single day too. Whether it’s just a few paragraphs or longer, it’s something that always catches my interest, gives me pause, makes me think. That’s impressive, I have to tell you. This is me giving you a standing ovation! Brava!! Now get yourself a nice Brooklyn treat someplace in celebration and enjoy your day…

  37. Many congratulations Claudia! That is a loooong time to be blogging and still enjoying it! I am quite new to your blog, just a few months, and can’t remember how I found you, but now subscribe to you on bloglovin, and always enjoy your posts. I love that you courteously reply to all the comments on your blog. I do the same on mine. I figure if someone speaks to you in ‘real life’ you reply, so why not on your blog, which is an extension of yourself. Here’s to many more happy years of blogging and photography. X

  39. Claudia – Happy Anniversary! I found your blog, I believe a little over a year ago, from a comment that you left on someone else’s blog. I have been reading ever since and enjoying it immensely! Thank you for letting us come along for the “ride”. I love reading about your daily adventures and thoughts, and seeing pictures of your cozy cottage and little family! One thing that really makes you a “class act”, Claudia, is that you are true to yourself while being fair to others at the same time, and you appreciate your readers. I know that blogging can be time consuming and sometimes overwhelming, but thank you for giving us the time and yourself!

  40. I’ve been visiting your blog for a couple of years now and always enjoy reading your posts. You are such a dedicated blogger and how lucky for you, and us, that you to still enjoy blogging after all this time. Congratulations on your 7th blogging anniversary!

  41. Happy Blog-birthday! I love the lamb in the party hat. I will be reading as long as you keep writing!

  42. You can’t stop blogging – we haven’t had “The Adventures of Claudia in Paris” yet!

    I look forward to reading your daily post as much as I look forward to my morning coffee and that is meant to be a compliment of the highest order.

  43. Congratulations Claudia! I always enjoy your blog, your feelings & truthful take on life are apparent to me and all readers. Thank you for continuing. I begin my day with a cup of coffee and your blog!

  44. Happy Anniversary! So many years blogging! I’m not sure how many of them I’ve been a follower (not all I know) but I’ve come to love you and your family. Your sweet cottage, your love of collecting and books and of course your sweet Dame Scout. I can’t imagine my day without a visit with you.
    Hugs,
    Linda

  45. Happy Anniversary! I think I’ve been reading you for about 2 years, but it’s hard to tell because I read all the old postings at one point. Here’s to many more!!!

  47. I have only been here since you started the small house living series along with CLH… That’s what lead me here. I’m so happy to have found you. I think that was about 3-4 years back. :)
    I have to admit– sometimes I linger here at the cottage, nosing around in the archives.
    I see a post to a link within… Regarding an old mirror in the staircase, or a photo of Rylie, or some other such thing that grabs my attention – and I’m off reading about a past adventure or another” day in the life of” Claudia and Company!
    Look forward to reading what you have to say!
    Happy anniversary @ MHC!
    (I like the lamb in the party hat!) Pat

  49. Congratulations, Claudia! I just found your blog through Don’s post. It’s wonderful and I’m glad to know that when I need a little sense of family I can always do a virtual visit with you both- even in the wee hours.

  50. Congratulations on reaching this anniversary. I still haven’t reached my first blogging anniversary. Like you, it was my husband who told me to just go ahead and do it.

  51. Look how popular you are! I second what everyone else has written. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  53. And here’s to eight more beautiful years! Thank you for your creativity, Claudia. I’ve enjoyed your journey!!!!

    Big, big hugs!!!!

    And when you come to California, I’d love to have you as a guest! Don, too!!

  54. Congratulations Claudia! It’s been a great pleasure to have followed you since way back in 2009 when I found the wonderful world of blogs, I hope I’ll have the pleasure of doing so for many years to come!! xx

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