Thursday, October 26, 2017

And So It Continues...


Today marks the one-year anniversary of my first post and it is hard to believe my blog is only one year old. What started as a personal journal for posterity has become an important part of my life. It has morphed into something I never imagined. I am humbled how people from around the world read my posts. It is an honor and yet I can't understand why anyone anywhere would want to read anything written by a nobody from Tennessee, USA. The surprises have been amazing.

Shocking! You think THAT is interesting?
My family has been supportive and interested, well at least each in their own way. Bill wants me to read every post aloud to him before it is uploaded. He often catches mistakes and helps me clarify my statements. My middle son Dustin, who is away at college, reads them when he is homesick. He hasn't said so, but I know he does. My youngest son Reese works a job far away, reads them because he wants to see if I have said something about him. He doesn't trust me, none of them trust me. Joshua, my oldest son considers them mind-numbingly boring and has said so; however, he encourages me by offering technical advice and marketing strategies. Marketing strategies? He thinks my blog will make me rich and famous someday. My biggest fan is my Mom. She lives for new posts, enjoys each comment and nags me for more pictures of Scooter. Since Joshua works in her city, he stays with her and she keeps him informed of each post whether he wants to hear it or not. He can tolerate the abbreviated versions. And of course Scooter, he has learned to cooperate when I take his picture. At first, he was terrified and tried to hide. I think the camera makes a high pitched sound that people can't hear because he turns and looks whenever it is switched on. He no longer runs but endures knowing the photo-op won't last long.

I am guarding the door so I will be the first inside.
This blog has been extremely enjoyable and has taught me so much.  My writing and photography skills have improved, they both needed to.  (Is it still bad grammar to end a sentence with to?)  I also view life differently.  What I consider normal, is often unusual for others around the world. The friends I have met through comments and email have been amazing and heartwarming.

There are no great, lofty plans for the future except to continue to share the mundane with Mom and throw in a picture of Scooter.  That is it, but everyone is welcome to join me and we will see where it goes....

I don't know where we are going, but it will be fun.
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8 comments:

  1. Congrats on your blogiversary! I truly enjoy the posts that you and Scooter write!

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    1. Thank you Mrs. Margaret. I will pass the message on to Mom when she comes back in the house from picking Lima beans. She keeps trying to get me to help her pick but I am busy hiding behind the couch.
      Love, Scooter

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  2. I love the color of the dahlia in your picture! I enjoy your blog very much, but I do understand what you are saying about being surprised at people's interest in every-day things. I feel the same way about my blog at times. But, I love looking at flower pictures and garden pictures, and you take lots of those, so it makes sense that I like looking at your pictures. I also love your sense of humor. I think it takes a knack to translate the humor into the written word--so much of humor is non-verbal--so good job;)

    If you have any pictures of your garden club meeting, I'd love to see them. If it was me, though, I would have been scrambling around making the arrangements, and getting ready and would have forgotten to take pictures, so if you don't, I understand!

    Oh, and when your son figures out how to get rich on a blog, have him let us all know:) (Especially mine--since it is non-monetized) LOL!

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    1. The dahlia was given to me at the end of the year by my son Reese. He was working for a lady helping her with her garden and he snagged them out of the compost pile. Such a good son (sometimes). When I asked him about the color, he told me I would have to wait until the next year. I love them because they remind me of him.

      Yes, I took pictures of the garden party and it will definitely be a big blog post. It was so much fun. I think you will be surprised, but you will have to wait, so that's who Reese gets it.

      As for making money, ha ha! I can't see anybody paying to read my insanity. It is just Joshua being Joshua. He loves making money...and spending it. He is not frugal like the rest of the family. When he figures it out, I will make sure he tells you the secret for free, since you are a good friend.

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  3. I wonder if you will dig out these dahlia bulbs before frost will come. Or can they be left in the ground during winter in your climate? Here they would be killed by frost.
    Christel

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    1. If you leave them in the ground in my area they may or may not live through the winter. It depends on the weather. They remained in the ground last year because I forgot to lift them. This year I will not make the same mistake but will dig them up. I love the color and do not want to risk losing them. It is a gamble I am not will to take now.

      This past weekend we had a hard frost and so the dahlias are now dormant. I will store them in the cool garage wrapped in newspapers and put them back out come Spring.

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  4. Congratulations on your one year anniversary in the blogging community! Love the pictures of you and of course Scooter (that's for your mother, in case she reads the comments)......are you sure you didn't miss your calling as a model?

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    1. Sally, Mother loves the comments almost as much as she likes the pictures of Scooter. She refers to them when we disagree, "Well so-and-so on your blog said 'such-and-such'" She also counts them and points out the posts about Scooter gets the most comments.

      As for a modeling career, my backside is too wide. You will notice there are never any pictures of it on the blog.

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