Anniversary

 

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of my starting to blog. I was looking for a way to express myself and to let interested family members and friends know what we were up to in Portland.  I wasn’t thinking about getting acquainted with new people or learning new computer skills.

Soon after I started my blog I “happened” on to another woman’s blog and found she had spent her weekend in the same way I had, only she was in the Netherlands!  By going to some of the blogs she followed and then by checking to see who they followed, I began to gather quite a group of writing friends through our many common interests.  It is perhaps hard to understand how one can feel close to someone they haven’t met, and yet I feel I could drop in on any number of people I’ve met and have a delightful time.  I have new friends in England and Scotland, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, California and British Columbia and Alberta, and Massachusetts.  To name a few.  We share our lives, our hobbies, our craftsmanship, our gardening, our trips, our family get-togethers and grandchildren, what books we are reading, what we are striving for, what bargains we found at Goodwill or the antique mall and how we are repurposing them.  Many of these women amaze me with their cleverness and DIY instincts.  Some have book lists of current reading which challenge me.  Some share their spiritual lives, their ups and downs, goals and satisfactions, in a transparent and moving way.   I am enthralled.

I think I am still trying to find my voice.  My interests and subjects are all over the place, and I’m okay with that, I guess.  I am not specialized enough to have a travel journal or a art blog or a ‘thought for the day’ column.  I am learning how to incorporate photos into my stories and to tweak them as needed.  I have a LOT to learn about how to make the computer do what I want it to, how to set up a website and how to design my blog better.  The technology aspect is my least favorite part, and yet it is what enables this great union of spirits around the world, so I must be grateful for it.

Yesterday I sent out a story I wrote about the end of the Christmas season 10 years ago at my house.  One of my friends says, “Too many words.”  So I will end with this: 

I have written a total of 162 blogs in 3 years which averages out to one a week haphazardly.  I read many more than that every week and am amazed that some of you write several times a week.  I have enjoyed learning through you and sharing with you.

Happy New Year and New Blogging Year, too.

Holly