That little cold/sinus thing became rather a big thing and I’ve been very much under the weather. I even had to miss the last day of table work yesterday. To be perfectly honest, I’d love to stay home today but I just can’t. Since I’m usually suffering from some sinus/allergy thing on a daily basis, when a cold arrives, it hits me smack upside the head and I go down for the count.
As I said on Facebook yesterday, being sick is crappy but being sick when you’re away from home is even crappier. I know that is not the most elegant use of language, but I feel far from elegant. I am grateful for a rather large suite here at the hotel. I think if I was in a small room, I would feel very confined and want to climb the walls, especially because I was room-bound yesterday. I wanted Don to be here and he couldn’t be here. I needed a cuddle.
You understand.
I’m supposed to drive home tomorrow night in order to spend Monday mowing the lawn, etc., but we’ll see about that. Right now, it’s the last thing I want to do.
A thistle turned silky.
I’ve been pondering something for a while now. I’m just going to say it: I’m really tired of decorating blogs. I find myself reading them less and less. Why is that? This is purely from my particular point of view, of course, and I’m sure many of you feel the exact opposite. And, let me hasten to assure you, I still read the blogs of my blogging friends – I don’t count them in this equation.
But in general? I’m over them.
Now, I’ve loved decorating from my childhood days of wallpapering my Barbie case to the present. I’ve spent who-knows-how-many dollars on decorating magazines over the course of my lifetime. I love to see unique and striking rooms. And I like decorating my little cottage. I’m a nester, for sure. So, it’s not as if I’m a person who just doesn’t care about that sort of thing.
I used to love reading them. But, there is such a glut of decorating/diy blogs now – so, so many that it makes my head spin. And quite frankly, there aren’t a whole lot of new ideas out there, just variations on the same theme. To be fair, I suppose that’s the way it is with most things, not just decorating.
Is this just a phase I’m in? Maybe. I do tend to do things in phases; for example, crochet. How many scarves and throws did I crochet? Over a hundred. And I haven’t picked up a crochet hook in about a year. Been there, done that. So, you see, I do tend to be that way about things.
But, further examination brings me to the realization that there is just too much out there in this virtual world. Too many decorating blogs, too many photos on Pinterest, too many faux animal heads, too many vignettes, too many, too many. I suppose I can be included in that: too many garden and flower photos. Maybe even too many decorating photos, though I haven’t really posted anything of that nature for a while now. I mean, you’ve seen my house. If something changes, I’ll share it with you, but in the meantime, nothing’s new. You may get a shot of the living room every once in a while, but that’s about it.
Your response to this might well be: “Well, Claudia, if you’re tired of all that, don’t visit those blogs. You have control over where you go on the Internet.”
And you’re right. I do have control and I haven’t been clicking on those sites lately. I’ve stayed away. I’d much rather read about a good book or a social issue or see someone blog from the heart or, if we are talking about decorating, see a room that has been decorated in such a purely individual and quirky way that it doesn’t look like anything else I’m seeing on the Web. That takes some digging, of course, but to me, it’s worth it.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I get bored too easily. Maybe writing the book blog has sent me in a new direction, has solidified what I am truly interested in. I’m not sure.
Anyway, when I’m wrestling with some realization, I generally try to put it in words in this online journal of mine. The process of writing about it always helps me come to terms with whatever change is on my particular horizon.
New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.
Happy Saturday.
Claudia, I hope that you never get bored with writing about your life at Mockingbird Hill Cottage and your adventures. That is one of the highlights of my day. I enjoy both your writing and your photography. Thanks for all of the stories!
Hugs, Casey
Thanks so much, Casey. It’s hard to imagine getting bored with MHC. I think I’ll hang in there on that one!
Claudia, I get it, I do! I am changing my blog list as I find I’m bored of reading the same thing over and over. I am really more into the blogs where I’ve formed a friendship and we share our lives then just decorating or crafts. Maybe it’s why I’m at a crossroads with my blog right now. I find I’m blogging less and while I miss it I also don’t know what I want to say right now. You and a few others are the blogs I go to daily and it’s because you write about your life and share your thoughts so well. You’ve given me more to think about once again.
hugs,
Linda
I’m about to change my list as well. I love your blog, Linda. But I think all of us have to slow down at times and give ourselves a little break. It helps to get perspective.
The NY Times had a great article on Sept 24 entitled “When Blogging becomes a Slog”, thought you would enjoy reading it. Hope you’re feeling better!! Take care, Jen
I read that article yesterday, Jen. I did enjoy it – found it very interesting. Making it a full-time job can be a real trap.
Claudia, I share your feelings towards the decorating blogs and magazines. And I was the mag queen until lately. I think it is the excess of things in our world that has turned me off. I’ve never been a shopper, refusing to shop Walmart etc. but now with all our exposure to so much stuff I feel overwhelmed. I’ve trimmed my blog list by half at least, I still enjoy those who share their lives not their newest purchase. I know widowhood, age and general tiredness has changed me and my preferences, give me simplicity, please. Hope you feel better soon.
Simplicity. I like that, Hedy. And I will not step in a Walmart, for many reasons!
I gave up on the major decorating blogs awhile ago. They all start to look the same to me. (Yawn.) There’s one Big Blogger (I won’t mention any names) where her house – at least in the photos – is always perfect. Everything is done in whites and creams (definitely not my taste, but each to their own) and nothing is ever out of place. Supposedly this woman has four kids. You’d never know it – in fact, you’d never even know anyone lives in that house. It looks like a model home. I actually find that kind of sad. I wonder how much time is spent on decorating with the latest trends and making everything so perfect…does she have any time or energy left to spend with her husband and kids? I love decorating and interior design, but on a personal level. I don’t give a crap about chevron, animal heads (disgusting), or the latest lamp from West Elm. I’ve trimmed down my blog roll to only 50-60 blogs – the ones I truly love because they write about life, not just decorating. OK, rant over. lol I hope you are feeling better soon! Colds are so miserable.
I agree on all counts, Melanie!
My cold is a bit better, but I’m now in the coughing stage…the kind of coughs that hurt!
Ditto. So over the model home look, the over indulgence and the “look” of a farmhouse, with anything but showcased. I am saddened so many beautiful antiques are being painted and then antiqued? What? , I enjoy blogs with substance and opinions that are original. Thank you Claudia for being #1 on short list of keepers! Hope you are feeling much better soon…
You are very welcome and thank you for your kind words.
I totally understand…most of the blogs aren’t as interesting as they used to be. It’s all about what they just purchased…or are going to purchase. I used to enjoy decorating blogs…for their original ideas…but if everyone is copying everyone else…their is no originality. And to top it off…now magazines feature so many bloggers…there really IS NO ORIGINALITY…not even from them! On a happy note…we are temporarily adopting my son’s kitty….Bowser…at least for a few months. He’s working two jobs…and doesn’t have time to care for him. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a fur baby…wish us luck! Hope you will feel better soon! ;)
Too competitive, I think. And you’re right…everyone is copying each other. Where’s the originality in that?
I never buy most magazines because they are using bloggers’ homes that I’ve already seen online. That’s just plain lazy.
Have fun with Bowser!
Thanks! So far he seems to be having fun exploring all the nooks and crannies and new “smells”! ;)
Oh, thank you Claudia! I thought it was just me tiring of the decorating blogs and falling into some kind of funk. I think it is the repetitious content and follow the trend mentality that bores me. Instead of decorating, I find myself more interested in old home restoration such as Manhantan Nest. Plus he has mad writing skills to boot! I’m also more drawn to lifestyle, boomer, minimalist, frugal, euro based blogs it seems. I love to explore how people around the world live their lives and share their perspectives on life in general.
Sadly, I’ve hit the delete key many, many times on my blog reading list this past year and the number one reason was boredom and lack of any new content direction. I don’t have a blog but in case any bloggers wonder what a non-blogger is thinking…..well, there you have it!
Take care sweet lady!
Brenda
That’s valuable information for any blogger, Brenda. Thank you for sharing!
I have been deleting alot of those decor blogs. There also seems to be a huge surplus of recipe blogs – lots of duplication there,too. Your blog is a breath of fresh air, Claudia. I truly enjoy reading it, and also follow your book blog.
Take care and get well soon.
Thank you, Susan. I have a lot of decorating blogs bookmarked and on readers, etc. I find I skip most of them now.
I am sorry you are under the weather. I am like that. Always allergies, sinus and then along comes the cold and I am a frustrated lump.
I think the same realization is hitting me. I have cut back seriously on decorating blogs. It has all been done before. A great deal I have never liked. I love handmade and follow all that I find, but I do not want to see another birds’ nest under a cloche! I find I am concentrating on those which give a sense of a chat. You, Judy, Brenda, Merideth and several others of the same bent.
Thank you for doing what you do so well and sharing your days.
Wishing your Dad a happy birthday.
Me either. In fact I just removed a bird nest from under a cloche that had been sitting around for several years. Now I’m going to get rid of the cloche.
I’m so sorry your ill, AND away from home, AND without Don. I’m hoping you feel better soon. I agree with you on the ddecorating blogs. They all start looking like sanitized showrooms. And I’m sick of seeing DIY, and if i see one more white pumpkin…yuck. Fall is about orange pumpkins and orange and gold and crimson leaves. How could anyone think they are decorating for Fall and use white? BORING! !
And then everyone thinks they have to find a white pumpkin!
I really enjoy “regular” people sharing their home, and decor style, through their blogs (and you are definitely one of my favorites!). But I am LONG PAST enjoying the blogs of those who seem to have endless amounts of money, to buy endless amounts of the latest thing, and have endless amounts of time, to ENDLESSLY rearrange and redecorate! Not to mention the endless amounts of energy it must take to do that much shopping! That just doesn’t feel “real” to me. And where do they store everything that just got switched out? I’m sorry you’re not feeling good. I hope you feel better soon.
A lot of those bloggers are trying to earn a living with their blogs, so they have to keep reinventing the wheel in their homes. And it gets boring very quickly.
There is nothing worse than having to go to work sick. I bet you can hardly wait to go home. You turned a corner and what you found there was a new adventure. Hope you feel better soon.
I’m home now, but it was a very long day!
Claudia,
Once again you are right on and summed it up well. I too am tired of seeing another painted furniture piece, white ceramic animal head and all white rooms void of not only color but charm. Some of the decorating blogs seem like they are just front for religious preaching. Others are nothing more than a place to show their darling children all dressed up with bows in their hair and looking like little angels. The ones that really get me are nothing more than pictures from Pinterest, magazines and other blogs, no original content.
I plan on going through and unsubscribing to the blogs that I have found just annoy me, and there are many. I like the ones with personality, that don’t try and follow every trend. I have followed you for many years and plan to keep it at the top of my must read list. Keep up the good work, love hearing about your life.
Hope you feel better soon.
Kathleen
Yes, there are a lot of decorating/religious blogs, which I also tend to steer clear of. I don’t need to be preached to, thank you very much.
I feel the same way you do about blogs. I want personality, individuality and heart.
When I began blogging , like many do, I started out just reading and replacing magazines . Having just emptied our nest and husband retiring — I decided it was time to begin redecorating our home for us! I shot so far off track trying to replicate everything I saw , that I liked , on a budget! It didn’t take long to figure out it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t fit in the monochromatic world of greige. I don’t even know what GREIGE is! It sounds like a non- commitment issue and I already cornered that market.
Now I know what I like quirk and color-
My biggest thing now is organizing and clearing out the extra- who needs it?
I still like to read about sustainability and homesteading and living on a small budget — but that is my life!
I’m bored too with all the decorating – and redecorating just to have a blog post or ushering in a new season; or worse redecorating because I changed my mind! It’s so tiring!
I like substance and relationship – sharing my heart and my life with people that don’t mind hearing it.
I love to read MHC
I don’t like to hear that your ill and away from home and having to work . I know Don must wish he could be there.
Get well friend and thanks for something to talk about today!
If this were talk radio – your switchboard would be glowing!
I, too, like substance and relationship. That’s a great way to put it, Pat.
There are bloggers, as I’m sure you know, that constantly re-decorate their homes. Constantly. I don’t get it and it bores me to tears.
If you show me something with all white or neutral colors I have no interest..If you show me color..you’ve got my attention..If you like to discuss life..I’ll be back for more..I’m sorry to hear that you are feeling bad..I know it has to be bad for you to miss work Claudia..Get rest when you can and I hope it will pass quickly..Hugs to you and Miss Scout..
g
Still feeling very under the weather, Nancy, but I made it through my coaching day, along with a lot of coughing and blowing my nose. Those poor actors!
Someone above mentioned the NY Times article this week. It talked a lot about Young House Love and their “burnout” issue. I really liked their blog as it did have FYI, but they also shared a glimpse into their lives. I hope they return. I think it was in that article where one blogger said she had decorated her home so many times that she was thinking of renting a condo just for decorating and re-decorating so she didn’t have to live right in the chaos. You know how I feel about the mommy bloggers who tell us they are so busy with their decorating that if they even remember to make dinner, it is carry-out or fast food because they usually have no clean surface upon which to eat. Or the home-school bloggers who talk about sleeping in and then shopping in the aft at Hob Lob w/ all the kids…. I still don’t understand when these kids do schoolwork. (OK, I’ve drifted WAY off topic). The all white living rooms and dining rooms where they change out dining tables at least once a year make me crazy, and of course those who decorate their homes at holiday times w/ a different “theme” every year…. I still can’t figure out if they just throw it all away or where they store it all. Please just keep sharing with us as you do. We all look forward to your posts.
Hope you feel better really soon. So miserable to be sick at anytime, but so hard when you want and need to be at work! Hope you are drinking some good hot tea and getting some rest. Take care, kiddo!!
I read that article yesterday, Chris. I like Young House Love, precisely because they are so real and honest about their lives and provide a lot of useful information. But I totally get the burnout that happens. I feel it sometimes, and I don’t have to put together a lot of projects all the time. That would be too much for me.
Though I hate to generalize, I’m not a big fan of home schooling, though it seems to be the thing nowadays. I think school is not just about learning from a book, it’s about learning how to work with others, how to deal with bullies, how to be the best person you can be in spite of what the rest of the ‘pack’ is doing. Not so easy to learn that from your home. My estranged sister home schools her kids, and I think that in her case it is all about control. Controlling the environment, controlling who the kids meet, and a dash of conservative religion, as well.
I can totally relate to the daily sinus headaches and the all too often cold that completely knocks you out. I cannot remember a day without my sinus headache till i gave up dairy at the suggestion of a naturopath. I am completely sinus headache and frequent cold free until i accidently injest a diary product :)
I do not miss dairy at all as there are so many healthy alternatives out there.
Take Care!
I wish it were that easy. I don’t eat a lot of dairy, very little in fact. Doesn’t matter, unfortunately!
I understand what you mean in regards to decorating blogs. I still enjoy visiting them, but my eyes glaze over when I see some bloggers who change their decor on a weekly basis. I don’t understand that at all, and where do you put all that stuff after you change your decor. I know we all like to nest and have a comfy familiar place to call home and it shelters us from the world outside, so we should love what we have around us. However, I have no desire to constantly change things all the time, I like to enjoy my favorite things. I’m at that stage where we don’t have our house looking the way I want it to, so I make simple changes and our furniture is getting old and outdated, so we will be getting a few new things. I enjoy a mix of eclectic things and farmhouse touches, simple and cozy is my style, and after I achieve that I’ll probably do very little to my home except for seasonal decorating, since it really lifts my spirits to do so.
I enjoy daily life blogs, such as yours the most, because decorating isn’t my main motivation for visiting blogs. Hope you feel better soon.
I must admit I don’t understand the need to change things all of the time. I want my home to be familiar and comforting, not a show place for my blog or a laboratory for my blog.
Amen! I have to say, however, that the glut of home dec blogs has really helped me to clarify MY OWN style, and to feel quite comfortable in turning away from many of those trends knowing that they just aren’t ME. What will become of those poor folks when their “15 minutes of fame” fades..? Hope you’re feeling better soon!
Well, yes, you’re right. The overabundance of decor blogs has clarified what I like and what I don’t like. Trends are just that – trends. Sometimes I think trends are something the younger generation gravitates to more than my generation, but I could be totally off the mark on that one.
Claudia, the only blogs I read every day are yours and one other. I have deleted 3/4 of the decorating blogs I subscribed to on Feedly. I agree with the others…where do these bloggers put all the stuff they change out? Where do they find the money to constantly change out their rooms? Where do they find the time? Most importantly how can they have healthy relationships with their spouses and children when they are so consumed by constantly having the latest cookie cutter trends?
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a few home decorating blogs. However, there doesn’t seem to be much new out there. I’m tired of seeing fake antlers/animal heads adorning walls, and really dislike the trend of using cow hide “rugs.” As for color, enough of the white and gray!
I find that I’m seeking out blogs pertaining to my other hobbies and interests now. Most of all I’m happy to have your real life blog and your new reading blog to turn to each day.
Hope you feel better soon!
Cripes, I don’t even have enough money for a new sofa!
And don’t get me started on faux animal heads, worse yet – real animal heads and cowhide rugs. They make me ill.
Claudia, it’s not you. I’ve been thinking the same thing for a while now myself. Only with me it’s about more than just decorating blogs. I think our boredom is due to the fact that the Internet makes it possible for virtually everyone to “put stuff out there.” And it seems like everyone’s doing just that. The world really does operate on a bell curve. In any given area, there’ll be a little bit that’s exceptional, a little bit that’s really awful and the vast majority that’s just average. With so many people blogging and sharing everything via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc, how much interesting and original material can possibly be out there? I do think people are beginning to realize this though. The Internet is new. It’s like an overgrown garden with all kinds of junk growing it. It’ll take time to identify what’s worth keeping and what are just weeds.
Sorry you are feeling bad. That’s not good especially when you are far away from home. hope you get to feeling better real soon!
Judy
After reading your post, I realized that, over the last few months, I haven’t looked at any decorating blogs. It was just too overwhelming. Instead, I’ve been trying to feel what is important to me and looks good in my 1800’s home while remaining current.
Your blog always seems to reflect what I’m thinking – maybe because we were born on the same day?!
Thanks for your thoughts and insights.
Hi also have cut back on decorating blogs. Enough is enough. Facebook and Pinterest are getting way out there. Pinterest is a good reference if you need a good recipe or an idea on how to make a card. (Smile) i’m more into people and what they’re doing ,pretty pictures, how people think,. I sure hope you’re feeling better soon. Happy Sunday.
I love to see small, funky houses that make good use of space. etc. but so many of the houses are now mansions which few people can afford. The bloggers have turned into professional decorators and writers. I loved sewing blogs. More and more they seem to be on twitter or face book and enjoy the back and forth instead of blogging. I thought it was the evolution of the format and we would soon see the end of blogging as we knew it.
As long as you keep writing your blogs thats what I care about! I have looked at other decorating blogs and bookmarked them to come back. Most times when I realize the houses portrayed are too stuffy and out of my price range I delete. As many said above alot of the ideas are repeated over and over…boring. Your blogs are REAL and honest! You are not artificial or a put-on. I enjoy hearing about Scout and Don and the things you guys do … the bookstore trips and such.
A real life cottage that looks lived in and cozy yet decorated how I love a house to look. I have looked for other similar blogs, but guess what? They don’t exist! The only one that comes close is Just Let Me FInish This Page…oh wait…that’s yours too! :)
Never feel bad when your interests change….time is too precious to be wasted as opposed to used wisely.
I read very few blogs anymore and comment even less. You are authentic and real and that is why I love to check in and see what you, Don & Scout are up to.
I find your simple cottage life, love of all things old,nature walks ,doll house tweaking and your job(s) so fascinating.
Seems like the first ones to blog are some of the only ones I follow anymore and there are not many left. Thanks for sharing your sweet life with us.