Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Oh March, You Are A Tease

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alittlemore

Our warmer weather took a windy and cold turn yesterday. Oh, March, you are one tough month to get through. You are not quite winter, not quite spring. You just are.

I put on my winter jacket and went outside in search of signs of spring. There aren’t many. Granted, I haven’t yet cleaned up the garden and there are leaves covering everything. But my trusty Sedum, always the first to push out of the ground, is on schedule. I do believe this emergence happened earlier last year, but then again, we had a strangely mild winter last year.

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This little plant, whose name I can’t remember, was here when we moved in. It comes up very early in the spring and has tiny little white flowers.

That’s it. No sign of the hyacinth or the daffodils. I’m sure there are more subtle signs here and there but it was darned cold out there. Oh, I forgot. I did see buds on the Lilac bush.

I find March, quite frankly, to be a pain in the tush. I want to shout “Get on with it, already! We’re all waiting for spring; why do you have to tease us so?” Because March is a tease. If not for the fact that I have several dear friends with birthdays in March, I would find no redeeming qualities in it whatsoever.

It’s the ides of March today. Et tu, Brute? Or better yet, Et tu, March?

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Keep your eye on the Etsy shop over the weekend as I will be adding new Springtime Crochet Flower Garlands. Aha!  There’s a touch of green for you, fickle March!

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Blogkeeping: Have you heard? Google is discontinuing Google Reader, effective July 1, 2013. Yep.  You can read about it here. Or here. Or here. Some of these links suggest alternatives and you can transfer your data through something called Google Takeout. I’m not sure why they would discontinue something that is apparently wildly popular, but then again, they did it with Picnik and might eventually do the same with Feedburner – both of which Google acquired and then let languish. Go figure.

Just wanted to give you a heads up if you use Google Reader’s service to keep up with your favorite websites and blogs.

And the winner of a copy of Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright is Trudy Mintun! Congratulations, Trudy. I’m sending you an email right now.

Happy Friday.

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Blog The Way You Want To

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onblogging

I often get questions about blogging. And in the five years I’ve been writing this blog, there have been a lot of changes in the blogging world. There are a lot more blogs out there than when I started. It’s more competitive. Social media has entered the picture. Ads on blogs, which used to be considered too slick, are now commonplace. Many bloggers dream of earning an income by blogging.

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of comparing your blog to other blogs, of thinking that your blog has to have certain elements to be considered a successful blog. If you’re researching, you can find all sorts of tips on that sort of thing. I suppose all of them are valuable in their way.

But they are not essential.

Look, I’ve done my share of research in this area. In the days when I was first blogging, advice from other bloggers was welcome. I’m the kind of person who likes to research things, so it was a natural thing for me to do. Some of that advice has been valuable for me. Some of it simply doesn’t interest me. Practical advice on spam control, plugins (for WordPress), how to use PicMonkey or any other photo editing tool, how to size photos….all of that is much appreciated.

But then I run into rules about SEO, keywords, branding, social media and Google+, finding a niche, stats, short posts with lots of photos and my eyes glaze over. Who said I have to do any of that?

SEO? WordPress comes with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) capability. I’ve never done anything with it.

Keywords? I’m not going to write a post with keywords in mind. I’m simply not. I’m going to write from my heart because that’s the way I do things here. Keywords are just too calculated for me.

Branding? Branding is more for those who run a business with their blogs – where a logo and a certain look is needed for the blog, products, etc. I suppose you can call my little lamb with the party hat my “brand” (if it is one) because it’s on my blog and my Etsy/blog business cards. But I didn’t choose that with a brand in mind. I chose it because I love it.

Social Media? Yes, I did add that widget to my sidebar. The one that has some links for Facebook and Pinterest and Twitter. Truthfully? I have tweeted about 5 times. If I see another hashtag (#) I might scream. I’m on Facebook, yes. But it doesn’t rule my life. I added a Facebook page for this blog because I thought it might be fun, not because I wanted to reach a certain number of “likes.” I don’t care about that. Pinterest is nice, but I go for long periods of time without ever visiting Pinterest.

In other words, I don’t tweet about this blog unless I have to for some opportunity on BlogHer. If you want to visit my Pinterest page, you are more than welcome. You won’t find all that much there. Most of my time on Facebook is spent reading about former students and colleagues and catching up with them. I do like the chats we have on the Mockingbird Hill Cottage page but if it wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t do it.

Google+? No. That’s my short answer. Google has enough of the pot. I started to sign up with Google+ when Picnik was going away because I thought it was the only way to edit my photos and, frankly, because Google made it seem like that was the only option. I didn’t like it. I think Google knows enough about me already, thank you very much. Fortunately, other photo editors came along. So I opted out.

Ads? There are opportunities out there if you’re interested. But just because we see them more and more on blogs doesn’t mean you have to have them. The fact is that very few bloggers make any sort of sizeable income from ads. A very small segment of bloggers do, but they are the exceptions. Believe me. And I would place a bet that the vast majority of them are niche bloggers.

You have to have a niche? Again, why? If you want to write only about one thing, have at it. But you don’t have to do that. I’ve written before about this subject. I would have to slit my wrists if I could only write about one thing. That would be a guaranteed trip for me on the crazy train. It’s not me. So I’m not doing it.

Stats? I check them out occasionally. But I don’t let them influence me. Because then I would be letting figures on a chart shape the content of this blog. Not going to happen.

Keep the amount of text to short paragraphs and use lots of photos? I see this bit of advice all the time. By now, you know my response. Why? Why do I have to write a post in a certain way? Why do I have to keep my words to a minimum? Presumably to keep readers interested in this short-attention-span-world. Why do I have to take a post and divide it up into several shorter posts to make sure readers come back? That’s not my world. I have no intention of supporting or shaping my posts for those who have a short attention span.

I write the way I write. That style may not be to everyone’s taste. That’s fine. If writing and the love of words isn’t your thing, then I suspect you won’t come back. It is my thing. And this is my blog. Therefore, I will craft my posts in the way I feel is true to me.

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This is my point. If you want to have lots of things on your sidebar, do it. If you want a clean, spare design – go for it. If you don’t care about all the social media stuff, ignore it. If you just like a lot of photos and very little text – okay. If you like to write and your blog is a vehicle for that, great. If you care about all the things I said I don’t care about, wonderful. If you don’t care about them, equally wonderful. If you want to link to parties, do that. If you don’t, that’s okay, too.

Your blog should reflect you. It shouldn’t look like anyone else’s blog. It shouldn’t sound like anyone else’s blog. Write about what you care about. Write your text in a way that is true to your voice. Share those things that matter to you. Don’t waste a minute of time worrying about how many followers you have or how many comments you have.

I say this because there are times during the past five years that I have worried about precisely those things. I understand. I’ve been there. But I’m here to tell you that, thankfully, after five years of this blogging adventure, I’ve found what works for me. It may not work for anyone else. I’m never going to be a niche blogger or a big blogger. I like things the way they are.

It’s not a competition. You may be interested in trying to grow your blog. That makes perfect sense to me. But grow your blog in a way that is true to you, not in a way that you think you must choose because that’s what others are doing. It reminds me of what my mom used to say, and I suspect a whole lot of other moms said as well: “Everyone’s doing it? If everyone jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you?” Even though it was irritating to hear that when I was young, she was right.

Every response I have to those “shoulds” I referred to earlier in this post is my own. Your response may be very different. There’s room for everyone in this blogging world.

In the end, my advice has always been and will always be: Blog from your heart. If you do that, your blog will be compelling and honest and true.

Happy Sunday.

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Fabric, Updates and a Blogging Anniversary on the Horizon

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I cleaned out my craft-and-everything-else-under-the-sun closet. (And I finished shredding. Just thought I’d throw that in there.) I have a lot of fabric in wire bins, but I also found some fabric in another container. It was the fabric that I bought in San Diego a few years back. Cheery colors. Some Amy Butler fabric. And, sigh of relief, more of the blue-green print that I have used as a border on the quilt. Now I can use it for binding.

Now, please tell me this happens to you. I found some lovely fabric that I cannot remember buying. I have no memory of it at all.

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I stared at it. Was it vintage? No. But I could have sworn it was for a moment because it reminds me so much of the fabric here:

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I had to take it to the bedroom and compare it to the headboard fabric.

Then there’s the fabric on the wicker rocker cushions:

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Which is a faded version of the same sort of print. And by the way, not long after I bought this rocker, I realized that the fabric I used to cover the piano bench is almost the same pattern as this one.

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And here’s the vintage pillow cover on the bed.

Can you tell I like big flowery prints, with red/pink flowers and green leaves?

Some updates:

•  Dad is in the nursing home/rehab wing. They are trying to regulate the blood thinner before he goes home. He’s still on oxygen. His room is right next to my mother’s, which is good and bad, because he’s in there all the time. She’s used to having some quiet time. My father is a complicated, often difficult man. He’s scared right now, which ups the difficult factor and I pray each day for more patience in my dealings with him. It isn’t easy. But I need to do better.

•  I mentioned a while back that I would be starting another blog, one where I helped other bloggers with their blogging problems. I did all the ground work, even developed the beginnings of a website. I got hung up when I started to think about what I would charge. And that’s where everything ground to a halt. I just don’t feel right about charging for my services right now. Yes, I’m pretty good at figuring out what might be a problem with Blogger or WordPress and I like that sort of challenge. But, my gut tells me that now isn’t the time for that. I’ve learned the hard way to trust my gut instinct and, if every time I tried to wrestle with what my fees would be, I turned away from the project, that tells me something. So, no blog fixing business. That’s not to say it won’t ever happen. It’s just not happening now. If you have a question, you’re welcome to email me and I would be happy to give you any advice that I might have.

• On Sunday, I will be celebrating 5 years of blogging. (Stop by. There might be a giveaway going on.) Since I started this blog, it has gone through all sorts of redos and updates. It took a while to find my blogging voice. It took some time to settle into what I always wanted this blog to be: a friendly place to visit where I share my life here at the cottage and on the road with you. I’ve realized over time, that though I’ve added advertising and that advertising gives me a little additional income, I’m never going to be one of the big bloggers. Nor do I want to be – simply because that would mean I have to concentrate on one thing. On one niche. Personally, that would drive me crazy and would stop me in my tracks. Always writing about decorating? Or crafting? Or gardening? Or whatever? I love all these things and love sharing them with you, but being limited to one thing is just not me. So, if being a big blogger means finding a niche, this girl ain’t going to be a big blogger. I doubt I will ever earn enough on this blog to make a significant difference in our financial life. But I’m oh so grateful for what I do earn.

With the move to WordPress last August, the blog finally became what I want it to be. I love what it is. I love all of you. I love having a conversation in the threaded comments. That, to me, has been a wonderful change for the better. I’ve accepted the fact that I really don’t care about SEO or all the myriad tips out there for building your blog. My eyes glaze over. I. Don’t. Care. Because that stuff takes any joy out of blogging for me. And this blog is and must remain a joyous endeavor for me. That’s why I do it.

I have settled into who I am as a blogger. It took me a long time to do that in my personal life. But finding that truth about myself helped me to find the truth about this blog.

Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. I treasure your friendship. I value your advice. I thank you.

Happy Friday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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