Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Two Year Blo-GIVER-sary & Getting Ready for AtoZ Challenge

I can't believe I missed my two year Blogiversary.  I started this blog on March 10, 2011.  As I thought about what to write here, today,  I went back through the past 12 months and re-read some of my posts.  Do you ever do that?  I shyly, but immodestly, have to say some of them were pretty darn good.
While I reminisced,  I noticed that my writing has tapered off slowly, but steadily.   I got all melancholy then, and  realized how much I miss writing.  I also figured out that the more I write, the more I want to write.  Following that same line of logic, I find that the less I write the harder it is for me to get motivated to write.
All of that is about to change very shortly.  Why?  Several reasons.  First, I feel good when I write. I need to do a little more of that...feel good and write, that is.
Second, but not least, I am about to jump in with both hands and 9 fingers and participate in the "Blogging From A to Z April Challenge.
(NOTE:  I do have 10 fingers, but I suddenly noticed that slug on my left-hand called Thumb doesn't participate when I type. )

Here are the rules of the AtoZ challenge.:

"On April 1, blog about a topic that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 3 is “C,” and so on. No posts on Sundays and we finish with Z on April 30
Start with the blog after yours on list. We suggest visiting five blogs a day and you are welcome to visit more!"

Simple enough, huh?  I participated last year and met some awesome new-to-me bloggers.  Some of them have been and continue to be life lines for me.  These special blogoshpere friends have provided much needed encouragement and support for me and always just at the right moments.

I have to admit, for me, the biggest challenge was to come up with creative ideas.  Once I got over that hurdle, the writing came easily enough.

If you want to know more about the challenge, check it out here A to Z.


One more thing, I can't let my two year Blo-GIVER-sary pass by without a thank-you of some kind.

One of the things I did during a big part of last year was post entries from a diary written in 1929 by a woman named Anna.  
Anna comes to life come through the pages of this worn leather bound journal.
I think it would be awful for Anna to get lost among my own disheveled shelves of stuff.  I certainly would not want her to get tossed out during one of my frenzied "I have to get rid of stuff, now" rants.
So it's time for me to pass Anna on to the next person. Perhaps you will take Anna to places she probably would never have had the chance to go.   By the way, there are about three months of entries into the year 1930 which I did not post on my blog.

Do you want Anna?  Leave me a comment.  Tell me what you think about while you are writing about your own journey.

Me? I wonder if I will wind up on someone's shelf one day.  Perhaps I will be picked up by one of my own, who will want to breathe life into me once again.

On Wednesday, April 3, 2013, I will select the winning comment out of a hat.

Gee, I hope there is more than one comment.  What fun would that be, to pick one one out of a hat?





8 comments:

  1. Hello, just thought I'd stop by to wish you luck with this challenge :)

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  2. I loved reading Anna's diary, even the mundane stuff. Have you thought about finding someone in her family or the historical society where she lived?

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    1. I also found Anna's diary very interesting.
      I did do a lot of research on Anna and her family. I was a member of Ancestry.com and was able to dig up some facts.
      I found her diary at an estate sale which was being held by the family of Anna. I'm not sure why they decided to pass along her diary.

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  3. Yes, sometimes for some reason or another I will peruse through blog pieces from the past. Some I liked; most are tolerable at best. My writing is generally influenced most by how much else is going on - at work and in the family as a whole. That arm surgery has really set me back. The recovery has proven to be much more challenging than I anticipated - more painful and FAR MORE inconvenient than I ever thought. ZERO use of the right hand adds layers of frustration and irritation to my day - especially when it hurts too. I SHOULD just stay home from work and completely rest but that is a waste of good sick leave! I can hurt just as easily at home as I can at work!
    As for Anna, it was entertaining and educational to read her entries. I wish I knew the back story. As for me? I often write to figure something out for myself. I guess that's where looking back at old posts is useful. It can remind me of discoveries I have made.

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  4. I am so sorry that your re-cooperation is being such a pain. I get what you mean about wasting good "sick" leave, though. :)
    One of the things that surprised me when I started writing this blog, is how helpful it has been for me. When I write about something that is troubling me, I usually start out thinking I know where I will end up and then I am completely surprised when that unexpected left turn takes me in a completely different direction.
    I wanted to know more about Anna's back story also. She never "talked" about how her husband died. I am sure she was a recent widow, but she very rarely talked about what that was like for her.

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  5. You wrote, "The more I write, the more I want to write." That's me. And yes I go back and re-read my old posts, for the simple reason that I can't keep track of all of them, so when I see that one title or another pops up in my stats as having been viewed, I will wonder to myself, what was that all about? So I go and investigate it. I have no idea whether my writing is "good" or not, because I do not write for the purpose of producing quality work; I write from that inner need to express myself. Funny how that works: The more I write, the more I want to write. Thanks, Lynda. I always find something in your posts, with which I can identify.

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  6. I thoroughly understand why you write. I write to express myself, too. I also write to be heard, And I want to thank you for “hearing” me throughout this year. BTW, your writing is good, very good :)

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