blogging — Page 12

Eight Years

February 17, 2016 at 10:05 am by Claudia

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I’ve come out of my hiding place to acknowledge and celebrate the anniversary of this blog. Eight years ago today, I hit publish. That first post, on Blogger, was just some text. The next day I figured out how to add a photo.

Baby steps.

Occasionally, I read posts by bloggers in which they are considering getting rid of older posts that don’t reflect where they are now. I always shake my head at that idea: you wouldn’t be where you are now without the journey you’ve taken. Right? Those older posts of mine, though shorter and somewhat tentative, are just as real and valid as any post I’ve done since.

They stay.

Over the course of this past eight years, I’ve kept to my vision for this blog. It’s a simple one. To share my life in our cottage with you. Until I got a laptop later in that first year, I was unable to share my life on the road with you, but as soon as it was purchased (in Iowa, on a coaching job) – freedom!

Along the way, I played the with idea of trying to get more readers. But the way in which I would have had to do that never felt like the right fit for me. It felt calculating. It felt false. About three years into the process, I started blogging every day, thinking it would help my ad income, but eventually I realized it was a gift to myself. The practice of writing a blog post every morning was grounding. It gave me focus. It kept me honest.

I also discovered a love for photography. What a gift that has been!

I accepted who I am and what this blog is; a daily journal that I share with you, my readers. To be perfectly honest, writing about one thing, one niche, all of the time would drive me nuts. I have a lot of passions and I refuse to limit the blog to just one. That specific focus, by the way, would have been a way to make this blog a money-maker. But it just isn’t me.

So I keep blogging, earning enough money from ads for the blog to pay its way, and that’s just fine.

I started out on Blogger, decided to move to WordPress in 2012, learned enough coding to design a layout and a look that I liked, and here we are today. Yes, there are hassles. Nefarious types are always trying to hack into the blog. Actually, if you blog, they’re always trying to hack into yours as well, I just have the security measures in place that tell me what’s going on at any given moment. Maybe ignorance is bliss? Anyway, it’s annoying and sometimes alarming, but in the big picture, it’s not a big deal. I’ve never regretted my move to WP. I have more control over the look and feel of the blog. It’s a good fit for me.

Along the way, I’ve shared our home with you. I’ve shared my gardening adventures. I’ve shared my on-the-road stories. I’ve shared my handwork. I’ve shared the dollhouse – from its very beginnings to its publication in two magazines. I’ve written about my husband and my dogs and my sister and my parents and my nephews and nieces and my ‘lost’ sister and my friends and colleagues. I’ve written about my work and my love for the theater. I’ve written about things I believe in. I’ve written about animals and animal rights. I’ve written about my longtime vegetarianism. I’ve written about the serious and the silly.

I’ve shared the painful loss of Don’s father, my mother, my father, Riley, and Scout.

I couldn’t have done that without you. Truly. Without you out there reading, commenting and reaching out to me, I probably would have thrown in the towel. One of the best things about the move to WP in 2012 was that it gave me the chance to reply to comments and to let you know, via email, that I had replied. The conversations that have come out of that have been stimulating and moving and funny and sad and everything a good conversation between friends should be.

Thank you. Thank you for being there. Thank you for being there anytime, but especially in those times when I have suffered profound loss. I can never thank you enough for that.

I can’t imagine not blogging, but who knows? Maybe somewhere down the line, I’ll feel it’s time to move on. But not right now. Right now, with your understanding that I will occasionally take a few days away from the blog, as I have been doing since the loss of Scout, I’ll keep on keeping on, as they say.

Thanks. And Happy Wednesday.

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Thoughts on Wednesday

February 3, 2016 at 9:26 am by Claudia

It’s February and that means my blogging anniversary is coming up. On February 17th, Mockingbird Hill Cottage (the blog, not the house) will be 8 years old. The house is 125 years old.

Blogging has changed a lot during the course of those eight years; some of it good, some of it not so good. Several bloggers have recently written posts about wanting to go back to the way they used to blog, before everything became about being bigger, better, and earning lots of income. None of that is at all bad, but along the way it’s easy to lose sight of what drew one to blogging in the first place.

Above all, what drew most of us to blogging was the desire to share our lives, our thoughts, and to connect with others (like-minded and not so like-minded.) That’s certainly what drew me to blogging – the opportunity to write, which has always been a passion of mine; and not only write, but create a visual journal by taking photographs that corresponded to the text.

Simple, right?

I’ve been posting daily for several years now. The discipline of writing every day is good for me. It anchors my mornings. I’m very proud of what I’ve created and I’m very proud of the fact that every post on this blog – and there have been 2,337 of them as of today – has been written by me. That means original content (for better or worse!) with no photos grabbed from other sites, no posts that originated elsewhere that I tweak for the blog, no guest posts (which I routinely decline.) There’s the rare sponsored post, and they are truly rare, but again; honestly and candidly written by me. It isn’t always easy to find something to write about on a daily basis, but I’ve stuck to my vision and I’m proud of that.

I guess I never had to ‘find’ what kind of blogger I was because I always intended to write about our life in the country in our little cottage. I’m comfortable with that. Luckily, when I first started, the blogging world was still a relatively small place. Now, it’s much, much bigger.

I often think about that. It must be hard to find a interesting and unique blog name nowadays. I don’t envy having to come up with something new.

Anyway, more thoughts on that coming up on February 17th.

I wanted to tell you about an item that I ordered and which just arrived yesterday. It’s from the shop, Lucy Jane. I read about it via another book blogger and promptly bookmarked the site, though I didn’t get around to ordering it until a couple of weeks ago.

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It’s the Arrow Pencil Pouch, which comes in red, navy or black. It’s made of vinyl and is beautifully lined and the reason I bought it is because it is the perfect size for a Kindle Paperwhite. I tend to throw my Kindle in my bag when I’m on the road or traveling to NYC, and I was looking for something to protect it.

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See, I’m slipping it in the pouch….

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And there it is, safely nestled inside.

I really love it. I chose this bright red because I liked it and I thought it would be easier to find in the depths of my tote bag.

You could probably do the same thing with a cosmetics bag, and I have, but this is sturdy and has some heft. And it’s cute.

I’ve no affiliation with this company – just wanted to share it with you.

I just finished this scarf, it’s a special order.

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It’s made from a yarn I got at my local yarn store – Malabrigo Pure Merino Superwash Rios in English Rose. Isn’t it beautiful?

Okay. I have to go take a shower and meet my friend Charlie for coffee.

Happy Wednesday.

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Thursday Thoughts

January 14, 2016 at 9:32 am by Claudia

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• I love my work. Especially when it involves Shakespeare – that, I think, is my favorite gig. Yesterday was a long day, but I was completely energized by it. Completely! We spent about four hours on table work, then Darko had to leave for another commitment. After lunch, I spent 90 minutes working with Romeo and then another 90 minutes working with Juliet. In each case, we started to go through their individual lines word by word, checking the rhythm, the stress, the pronunciation, and the meaning.

I’m a lover of words. I am a lover of Shakespeare’s words, which – to me – are deeply profound. So, to have the chance to work with them, to hopefully inspire the actors I’m working with, and, in turn, get inspired myself? Heaven.

Rather than being tired at the end of the day, I was flying high. What a gift that is. I’m very grateful.

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• Recognize my quilt? There was a perfectly nice quilt on the bed when I arrived, but it was probably a tad too heavy for my taste. Besides, I’ve learned that bringing a quilt from home, in this case, one I made, makes things homier. I also brought a shawl/throw that I knitted several years ago, which lives on the sofa.

Bits of home brought to my home-away-from-home. Or as Don calls it: my Mary Tyler Moore Life.

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• Case in point: I came home last night, called Don, made some dinner and, after watching Jeopardy, decided there was nothing worth watching on the tube. I pulled out my Kindle and my current read, which was another book by Jane Casey. Snuggled in that throw you see on the sofa, I read and read and read until the phone rang a little after 10, which is normally the time I go to bed.

It was Don, wondering why he hadn’t heard from me. (We always call each other to say goodnight.) I told him I’d been reading and had lost track of the time. What did he say? “Look at you, in your apartment, reading for hours, leading your Mary Tyler Moore Life!”

I think he gets a real kick out of it. Never mind that my preferred place would be cuddled up to him on our sofa in the den. But, it is a luxury at this point in our lives to read for three hours uninterrupted. Scoutie needs a lot of hands-on care right now, so when I’m home, I rarely get to do anything without keeping one eye on her. Neither does Don. I’d rather be with her, but if I can’t, I might as well enjoy one of the perks of being away from home.

• In the blogging world: I see so many younger bloggers getting book deals and not so many older bloggers getting book deals. I suppose it’s like anything in life, ‘young’ sells. I’m sure they’re thrilled and they should be and it’s all wonderful and I’m happy for them. But when I see their books as I’m out and about and look at the content or the advice or the tips…it’s always stuff I already know. I find myself shaking my head, thinking “There’s nothing new here!”

I suspect I’m not the target audience.

I suppose that’s also the way of the world. The older generation is wiser, simply because they’ve lived longer and learned the lessons that the younger generation is just now discovering. And when that younger generation ‘discovers’ something, it seems new and fresh.

But it isn’t.

I’m not a parent, but I imagine this is much the same thing that parents witness with their children. I’ve experienced it as a teacher. We can give them tips, tell them what we’ve learned, show them the way… but until they have that light bulb moment and discover it themselves, much of our wisdom and advice falls on deaf ears.

And, yes, of course I’d love a book deal, but in truth, I have no idea what the heck I’d write about! Anyway, even if I did have the ghost of an idea, I doubt it would fly in this world of younger-bloggers- turned-authors.

The same thing happens on television and in the movies; impossibly young and beautiful actors playing doctors, scientists and/or high-powered attorneys. Really? Older and wiser and experienced and whatever adjective you can come up with does have a place, but it’s very limited.

• Today: more table work, which is endlessly fascinating to me. I’m looking forward to it.

Happy Thursday.

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