Saturday, July 14, 2012

Blog Blues of All Hues: Forum Discussion

*
 In her post announcin' this week's Haiku theme, Moi mentioned how this blog community has been in slacker mode--mebbe it's on account of work, or bizzy family situations or any number of personal reasons.   


But is that all?  Ain't we always been workin'? An' most ever'body has been dealin' wif personal time drains at some point in our blog history. Please participate in Aunty's Blogger Beef survey/ forum below.

 

I reckon we must factor in the social media what sucks off some of our online time. I ain't a FB or Twitter fan, but I admit I'se been lured into Pinterest .



*

Thang is,  I worry that all these social dalliances an worker blues ain't sufficient to explain our blogger blues--heah's what Moi wrote:


"Regarding my blogger slackitude: It's nothing personal. I adore each and every one of you who drops by my little corner of the virtual universe and miss those wild and wacky days of furious back-and-forth-ing. Is this a case of all good things must come to an end, or just a bit of a lull?"


I'se hopin' it's jes' a lull....what do y'all think?   Is it more? If so, what is it? What's dampened yore blogger enthusiasm? 




This heah is what troubles Aunty:

1. Word verification --grrr! too time consumin'. I visit sites wif' word veri less an' less often. I prefer comment modification to word veri. (But I grrr! comment mod too)


2.Wordpress hates Aunty--woan let me post unless I sign OUT as Aunty an' come back naked.   Does any of y'all have trouble wif' them other blog platforms?
 

3. Blogblahs--weary wif' the SOTW (state of the world) an' we let it sap our joy.

4. Other Blogger Affairs. Spendin' more time in other blogger communities.  I does this somewhat--fer professional reasons, Aunty participates in topic specific community. Does y'all find youse enjoyin' other blogger groups more that ya does this gang? 


5.  Political Correctness  Ok--heah's the one I worry most 'bout--is we gettin' too tender?  When thar's a good natured cyber pillow fight  it clears the air (see Moi's comment above).  I ain't suggestin' no meanness, or character assassination, or offensive language. What I mean is,  are we becomin' too PC?  Tip toeing past topics that some may take issue wif' an' so we avoid that exchange? Does we'uns hesitate to comment on political/ social issues fer fear of offendin' others?    


Ain't thar' a manner of statin' yore POV wif'out injury to the character of those wif' alternate views?  Aunty thinks a good jaw is the mark of trust--ya' doan have to agree wif' me for me to like ya'.  Does I need to agree wif' yore premise afore ya' feel trustin' toward me?  Gracious, I has family members I adores, but we ain't seein' eye-to-eye on ever'thang, thas' fer shure.

6. Boredom  We's been together a long time an' the sparkle has dimmed. Short of a flame war, we need a little heat.



7.  Reciprocity.  General good blog manners may mean  reciprocatin' by visitin' those who visit us, an' leavin' a comment.  In some cases, I doan reciprocate, but it doan mean I'se unfriendly to the visitor/ commenter.  It's a propriety thang fer Aunty.  Some years back, thar wuz a bird lady regular to these parts. Bird Beauty hails from San Francisco. Her philosophy an' politics is about 180 that of Aunty, but we's  genuinely friendly. When her blog became too salty fer Aunty, I  discontinued visits.  Bird unnerstans that.  

When K-9's dawg yard had a regular visitor, The Rev X, he an Aunty would have exchanges, but after a spell his blog had warnings from "safe search" so Aunty bid him adieu--though we continued our exchanges on the Porch --he din't expect me to come callin' at his place.  

I go into some detail heah a I want to apologize if anyone thinks Aunty ain't neighborly or reciprocal.  An' I git it--iffin' I'se too straight-laced of an ole biddy fer some, it will not hurt mah feelin's iffin' some doan visit heah.   We can be genial when we visit our mutual blogger friends. 

 

Whadda y'all think? Any of the above rubbin' ya' raw?  Somethin' else entirely?   It's merely a lull, doan sweat it?


I welcome yore thoughts.  (Use ANON if it seems best to ya' fer some insights.)

29 comments:

Sharon Rudd said...

My blogger slackitude? Between facebook and twitter, which I started in Jan., I seem to spend more time reading than writing. I ain’t going near Pinterest! Brutal heat and worse-than-usual job angst sucked the life out of me for a while. Although I’m not built for haiku and have always stayed away from political discussions, I miss interacting with this blogging community and seeing folks’ posts. I have developed some new online friends, including local food-interested types. One of my healthiest distractions is that I’m getting out and DOING stuff in my city and region and meeting people in person I originally connected with online. I have a backlog of food things to blog about so large that it has come to feel like a burden. So I’m trying to get back to blogging by posting about new things that spark my enthusiasm, even if they aren’t the most polished posts. For whatever it’s worth, my sense is that there’s less blogging and commenting going around in general, not just among this group.

While we’re talking about blogger slackitude, I was the only person who participated in last month’s Culinary Smackdown, so it appears I’m the winner by default. I say we take a hiatus at least until Sept. But I would welcome input as to whether anyone in this group is interested in seeing it continue at all.

fishy said...

HI Aunty,
I like the idea of this survey. Mayhap,(to borrow one of your words) something good will come from this exploration :-)

On Word verification:
I do not like this feature and tend to avoid sites with this hurdle to jump.

Wordpress:
I agree it has an annoyance factor.

Blahs:
I don't think it is the blahs about big picture issues. I think it is a loss of FUN! (NO flame wars for me)

Affairs:
Haven't we always had business related blogs we each frequent?

Correctness?
Uhhhh there is, for me, some stuff floating about which tests my comfort zone. Actually I do not proceed into the sites with warnings about adult content. I appreciate those warnings as I have, on occasion, found myself in places I would not choose to go with subjects I would not choose to address boldly illustrated.

I will admit to some discomfort from the comments of those who seem motivated to assign viewpoints to others.

Boredom:
I am not bored.
But kind of lonesome for the "water cooler" comraderie of old. I seriously miss the range and variety of subjects and blog stories spawned by games like Mute Monday. Perhaps what we need is an exciting new game! (Maybe the host could post an image and we all would write a haiku inspired by that one image?)

Reciprocity:
Manners count in all things.
"Speak when spoken to" 1s pretty near a commandment in these Carolinas so I agree with you on this point Aunty.
My most favorite thing about this blog community is the very fact of the differences in professions, location and interests. Thus, manners and respect are essential. (I must say I have not particularly noted a lack of either. Where I come from character assassination of those with differing viewpoints is considered un-mannerly. There can be heat without insults.

I'll look forward to reading the survey responses. Thanks Aunty!

moi said...

I think like all relationships, blogging ones do hit a lull. And I don't think it's as simple as boredom. For five years, this has been my "water cooler" community and I would miss it. Some bloggers I know in real life, some only virtually, but they're relationships nonetheless.

I need to think more about this, and will come back later when I have it more nailed down.

R.Powers said...

I'm not slackin'.
I'm not face bookin, twitterin, or pinterestin either.
I blog.
BLOG = short for WEB LOG.
I think we forget that sometimes.
Each post is a journal entry and ...
I do it for me.
I would do it even if no one showed up.
(But it's much more fun when they do and writer's want to be heard)
I do it for grandchildren not born.
What if my Great Grandfather had kept a blog and I only had to click on the internet to see what he was doing, thinking, wondering?
How AWESOME would that be?
Aunty, I so agree with your comments on being able to enjoy folks with different views. Youse more to the right, and ... maybe a little mo ... paranoid is kinda strong, but mo worried about govt, gmo's, and the future than me.
I still enjoy reading your views and often we ARE on the same page.


I know one thing that bothers me and that is "reciprocity", not other folks, but ME.
If you get a following, people who take the time to "sign up" so they know when you post,How do you ever give them all the respectful visits they deserve?
I think I fail miserably at that.
I just don't have the time.
Plus, I'm a nature blogger, so if you are following me loyally, but your blog is about pomeranians ... or a daily weight loss journal ... I just don't know what I would say at your site.
It's a dilemma.

I do know I love your Front Porch and always perk up when I see a new post there. I know it's going to be good, whether it's the garden, the family, an op/ed,culture, food, or a story.

chickory said...

okay. good. I have some thoughts on this.

I liked blogging better as K9. WHen I look back on that time it is MIND BLOWING the things i wrote to, and at people, and they, me. It was extremely unPC, flame wars were common and it was exhilarating. I couldnt wait to "get into it" with my haters.

Haters. Many of my haters became friends. you remember that process, dontcha, aunty?

I like my Chickory blog, and its nice to do pictures and art and im living out in the country posts but its not what the original sparring k9 blog was; because K9's blog was the firery sword wielding aspect of me and chickory is the flip side. and chickory cant be what K9 was because its actually me, a known actual person so i could very easily alienate 50% or more people from my work.

I hate word veri and avoid it.

I dont want to respond to every comment I get but like everyone else said, i appreciate comments and visits to my blog and dont want to have hurt feelings.

I do go other places. I read lots of blogs about my number 1 interest in life and that is "what are we going to do about this deplorable situation we find ourselves in: plundered serfs on a global corporate plantation". I have an alternate identity to talk in these places.

I love pinterest. I was always an image archiver so when this platform came to be I took to it like a duck to water. and - it lets me say things with a collection of images. I like that.

But I do miss blogger because as Moi said, virtual or real, I know these people and they are my blog family. Like Moi, I am self employed and my social time as work is accomplished thru blogging.

I was thinking of moving the Chickory blog to my website, and having it be just in service to my art and farm and using K9 to blog and do social. Ya'll know who the dog be - but I dont want any "new people" to know. Like, people who go to my website and buy things.

grrrrrrherhahahaha

bloggers fondly remembered (I have been at this since 2006)

the temporary imposition
possibility of fire
vanille
ardLIAR
Revvy ( it still talk to him of facebook)
prism
bird
boggs

chickory said...

oh and bloggers of old no longer in the game:

Ben
Mister Q (friend of FB now)

and I couldve written "global banking plantation" for greater accuracy.

Pam said...

Hi Aunty! I'm one of those going through Blogger blahs. Don't know why I don't have much to say lately. My page was always sort of an online diary of my life anyway, with the few games thrown in. I think life has just taken a turn with me.

I started the blog when I was recovering from an illness. A place to spend some creative time -an outlet of sorts. A place to put some of the photos I was taking.

Could never talk politics on my page too much due to the nature of my work. But didn't realize how much time AT work I was spending reading everyone else's blogs and making comments. The new job blocks Blogger (and probably rightly so), and my time thereon is greatly diminished.

Free time is different now too -- new job means longer hours, Baby Caleb means my free time goes elsewhere than the computer.

I am on FB and Pinterest probably too much, but I use those sites for mindlessness at the end of the day. A way to wind down, connect with some friends/family, and look at beautiful things before hauling myself to bed.

Maybe my mind doesn't need a challenge right now; doesn't have a need to get riled up over something political or pushed to think beyond the normal and create haiku poetry out of thin air.

Yeah, maybe that is it. I'm at a place where I don't need that stimulation. But I bet I will need it again at some point.

MEANWHILE, Project Runway will be blogged, starting this week! Look for the Snark STation to be up and running. Hopefully that will spark some reconnections!

czar said...

Short version: I'm losing interest in all things Internet. If I didn't need it for work, I'd likely avoid it altogether, except for an easy dose of news (and I don't watch TV or even listen to radio in the car). I find that I only visit sites and blogs because of muscle memory (no offense intended to anybody); that is, I sit down and want to waste some time avoiding work -- and I go to those sites with which my fingers are familiar.

If I were asked for a favorite site, I don't have one.

And when I sit down at the computer, if it's not work-related, and the thought goes through my mind, "Is there something on this machine I really want to look at?" the answer is invariably no.

If I didn't need a free, no-hassle way to post business information, I wouldn't have a blog at all.

Not saying I haven't come in contact with some wonderful people here and made some interesting connections, but I'd love to find a way to ease it entirely out of my life. It's addicting, however, and I don't respond real well to things addictive.

You asked.

chickory said...

I agree with Czar's reasons too - in the absence of blogging I have made much more art and my garden looks very good.

BlazngScarlet said...

I've been blogging since 2005.
Seven years.
I've been through many lulls ... and for me, this is just another one.
Everything is an ebb and flow.
The oppressive heat hasn't helped as I no longer have central air.
I haven't been online for much of ANYTHING the last month or so.
I can't speak for anyone else, but my slackitude is always higher in the summer months. It's when I get the majority of my major house projects done.

So many things have changed in the blogging landscape.
I have 'lost' many good friends; literally and figuratively.
But I have also made so many new ones.
I've only met less than a handful of bloggers in the real world, but I consider all who I read and read me ... friends.

I won't give up blogging ... I do still enjoy it very much.
But I can't say i'm a fan of all the idiotic changes (word veri) or formats.
Over the years I have been involved in my fair share of "spirited" debates, and I enjoy them immensely.
I'm not afraid to be politically INCORRECT, but I don't like flame wars.

I only go on FB. I don't Tweet and have no interest whatsoever in Pinterest. I'm in the sandwich generation now, taking care of my Father and my kids, one of whom is on the Autism Spectrum.
So my time is kinda stretched ... as is my mental state! hahahahaha

BlazngScarlet said...

I'm sorry I wrote so much ...
I guess I had something to say. :D

chickory said...

thinking about it still....there is no way to go back to the blogging of old - it was a season and it has passed. I know i will never resurrect the K9 blog. maybe blogging overall has a season as well.

darkfoam said...

I've been blogging since 2005. I actually started blogging when my mother started to deteriorate with alzheimers. It was important to me to record some of her memories. As bloggers, we truly had something special going on for a few years.
I do spend some time on fb .. mostly to share a few photos of the men in my life .. :) there are several bloggers who have practically quit blogging. fb still keeps us in contact though.
pinterest is the site i spend very little time on.
mostly i find that i don't blog when i go through personal slumps .. nothing major, just the blahs. i'm not really one for posting a lot of blah, blah, blah slumpy posts. so, in these cases, i don't post at all.

Aunty Belle said...

Very interesting responses--y'all is champs fer layin' out yore insights.

One thang jumped out at me--Floridacracker reminded us that blog is a contraction of WEB LOG=BLOG an online personal journal that we share wif' others. Fer me, thas' a good reminder--how often I'se looked back to see what was on my mind, growin'in the garden, happenin' in mah life, etc, in yeasrs past. I'se charmed by the idea that it's a record of a segment of my life.

I may be wrong, but is I hearin' that FB is a more personal (Less public) means of remainin' in contact an', as such, reduces the sociability allure of the blogs for FB users? Or, as Moi mentioned, is the blog format a virtual water cooler that we'd miss?

To Chickory's point, is the era of bloggin' nearing its natural demise as other venues increase in use? Or, is there an element in blogger exchanges that cannot be found in FB/ Twitter/ Pinterest?

A common thread is that both life situations (Blazng, Pam) impact time/energy to blog. An' Foamy makes a good observation that some folks post only when they have somethin' to share.

Some other points that occur to Aunty is that I doan feel slighted if I comment an' the poster doan respond, does y'all? other folks' comments are of interest too--I read 'em all.

Several mentioned DOING real life thangs (Czar, Eggy)which is grand--an' I assume is not a sign of dissatisfaction wif bloggers, or, is it as Fishy remarks, a loss of FUN?

On a positive note, may I say that I read yore blogs fer the sheer discovery of what life is like fer y'all, what's happenin' in other regions of the country, what people think of current events--it has a feel similar to reading a real long book wif' lots of characters.

Aunty Belle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jenny said...

I've pretty much dismantled my blog and I can't say it was on specific reason... possibly a combination of every one listed in the comments above me; no time, need to work instead of blog during the day, boredome, lack of visitors, lack of ideas of what to blog about, etc. In the end, I've discoved the time I spent blogging now is mine to read, go for walks after work, make things with my hands/etc. There was pressure to post and after a long day of slinging plastic, I really didn't need the extra 'work'. and... to be honest, I never felt comfortable to express my true political beliefs/etc so my blog became nothing more then dogs and crafts.... and that's not all of who I am. So when other bloggers I visited didn't comment/etc, I decided it really wasn't worth the work.

Aunty Belle said...

Boxer-Babe, thas' tuggin' mah heart--sorry that ya' cain't feel free to express yoreself. Real sorry.

I does think the pressure to post is out of hand. It should be a relaxing time in the day when one goes a-bloggin', not a chore.

As fer reclaiming the time for other pursuits, I'se afrasid to look that point in the eye--Aunty doan wanna think what other pursuits may have been accomplished.

czar said...

Boxer brings up the interesting point of people who blog with their real identities vs. those who do not. Because of the nature of my blog, my blog is what I am . . . and more often than not, a little of me goes a long, long way.

For better or worse, my blog is a pretty good look at who and what I am. Sometimes the result is not pretty.

By the way, I want to acknowledge Aunty's genius in creating an active and interesting blog thread about why there is little active blogging.

Genius. And a testament to people's respect for her.

Jenny said...

Yikes. My comment if rife with typos... an early ferry boat and little coffee when I wrote it. The same thing happened to boxing; once I took some time away, I realized the 2.5 hours it took to complete a one hour class was too much and I no longer do that either. There have been times in the past when I wanted to write more, but felt I could alienate people I truly respect (you included.) And after a family member found my blog, I was being censored both in Blog Land and Real World. Plus, I'm paid to be nice, don't make customers feel anything but good and that often made it difficult to "spar" on my blog. I would have loved to have been around when K9 was in full swing.

Rafael said...

Being relatively new to blogging and certainly to this group, I find all your answers fascinating.

For the most part, I only post when I want to. I enjoy the Haiku Monday, and the crowd of people, mainly because it is so simple. Blog if you want, comment if you want, throw down a poem if you want. Skip a week or a month, or whatever, and pick it back up for a quick throw down and off you GO! Overall, it's an easy 17 syllables that I can track in the back of my head as I relax and watch the sunset.

I rarely censor myself, and generally don't believe in it. I am who I am and do what I do in hopes to bring on a smile or to ponder a thought. Ultimately, I like the challenge of coming up with something interesting and sharing it with people that can appreciate the creativity of it all, as they, too, have been in the process of the same thing.

A big part of my life is writing and being creative, it's how I make a living, so I don't look at it as not doing something else. Granted, I do not have kids, nor will I in the future, but I'm able to lead a busy life of work, exercise, sports, mentoring, relationship and still throw down a poem. No matter where I am, even just off the field of play, I have a pencil and notebook to jot a descriptive word to remind me of a thought. It's simply intuitive, and what I have always done.

To me words are like pictures, and I LOVE putting the two together.

Y'all are a neat group of people, and hope you find a new fire to keep things fresh. If Haiku Mondays goes way of the Dodo bird, I'll still be writing and creating, as I'm sure all of you will in some way or another. To me, that's how all of you are built, and won't be able to fight it completely.

Be blessed with thought and, of course, A SMILE!!!

Rafa

Karl said...

Good evening Aunty Belle:

1. It's a pain but few folks I visit use it.
2. See number 1.
3. Nothing saps my joy.
4. No other communities either.
5. Well I will do my best to be as polite as possible. However I doubt PC is a label that fits me.
6. Not board either.
7. Here I feel that most of us understand the issues the others are dealing with. And well we want to be polite and spend the time visiting each other. The understanding that this may not be the best use of our time, may be dawning on many. If I could get it all done and keep all the balls in the air, visiting all the folks that I've come to care about would be easy. However that's not the case.

Much of it for me is time. There's simply not enough of it in a day, to keep up with all that's going on.
There are folks blogs that I've become a lurker on because I simply don't have time to comment.
FC yours is one of them. I find your writing refreshing, educational and entertaining. Please keep it up.

There are comments I would like to direct to Boxer, Czar, K9, Pam and Scarlet. But it's going on 20:00 and I left for work at 05:00. It's time to go home and get ready for the next shift. So all simply say that I appreciate all of you and your points of view. You would be missed if you went offline.

czar said...

Facebook . . . I have a fictional Facebook presence, because I needed to see part of a particular client's page. One thing led to another, and I friended (or vice versa; I don't know) my wife and older son. My younger son, usually rather private, sent me a friend request and I was baffled. I asked him why, and he said because the other members of the family did -- but he clearly didn't relish it. Still not sure why he did it. I'm also friends with my older son's girlfriend, because she's like family.

The upshot is that I became FB friends with three guys whom I've known for 30 years -- all friends of each other. After a few weeks, I defriended all three of them. No hard feelings. They know me well enough to know that Facebook isn't my cup of meat. In the case of one of them, it was amazing how his entirely unbearable smugness -- attested to even by his best friends -- was apparent even in simple FB responses. I didn't need reminders.

So now I troll my local newspaper's comments section under a false identity. That's my guilty social media pleasure.

Aunty Belle said...

These comments pull real merit--a good clearin' the air, doan'cha think?

I recall how Chick9 ( writing as K9) posted her experience after meetin' some Florida bloggers in the flesh She wrote in May 2007:


"it's interesting that every blogger i have met is essentially the same in the flesh and blood world as they are on screen. just as in the real, you wouldn't likely interact with bloggers that you didn't actually like and respect, so meeting them has been for me always a good experience."

Thas' how I feel now--

"just as in the real, you wouldn't likely interact with bloggers that you didn't actually like and respect"

Wif' some pain, lemme stress again that fer mah own part, I ain't never felt that blogger friends had to agree wif' mah POV, nor I with theirs in order to have us a gen-you-whine relationship.

Long as folks is respectful an' not crass, they can say whatever they think these heah Porch pages--a measure of mah faith in that openness is that I doan employ comment moderation an' never have. I hope anyone who has somethin' to say, an idea to float, a question to ask, will free to do so.

Ain't no secret that Aunty Belle be a bit of a prude, a wee straight-laced... an paranoid, as FC notes...I'se jes' grateful y'all puts up wif' that.

Czar,
ya make me blush--thanky fer the kind words. I'se guilty of anonymous bloggin', an' am so sorry iffin' thas troublesome to anybody. Thar's good reasons- professional an' personal- but I can truly say that in mah professional blog world, I doan share wif' those folks the inner Aunty that is on these pages--so in one sense, this is the Real Person jes' not the real name.

Boxer-babe!
Oh, I'se cringing. Hate that ya' feel censored --hope ya' doan moderate comments fer mah sake--I'se luvin' ya' so dear ain't nuthin' gonna change that. On yore family findin' yore blog-- I can see how that WOULD dampen thangs. If ya doan blog we'll miss yore posts, so please please visit often. As fer the free wheelin' Dawg Yard that wuz K9 (SHE) in the olden blog days, ck her archives fer one wif' 50 + comments.


Rafael, Angelito!

youse got the right idea--creative/ writer types will be bloggin' right on--it's their nature. But I does worry that mah time ain't well allocated, so...ya heered it heah first, I'se thinkin' to go ahead an' turn all y'all into a novel (gotta recoup this time somehow) hee hee.

Karl, Good Sir Fair!

Time--I din't think so, but mebbe youse right. Somehow time is too stretched these days. It do change the blogger dynamic. Thanky fer yore answers, 1-7. Ya' wrote:

"visiting all the folks that I've come to care about." Thas' it, Karl. I'se been to many other blog groups--most professional, some "light" but few "know" each other or care the way this group does.

Czar!
Fictional presence--yep (see aabove comment on Aunty's fictitiousness. I doan FB--do have FB account/ name for professional reasons, more to prevent others from having the name. Have never used it an' won't. Pressure is on to twitter--mebbe some merit in that but I'se resistin',

All in all--I prefer the depth of bloggin' verses sound bite communications.

Aunty Belle said...

grrrr. Czar, editor dear, thas' VERSUS, not poetry verses.

czar said...

I'm off the clock on the blogs, Aunty, but the transom's always open.

moi said...

I'm not much of a fan of Facebook and, really, don't know why I keep up a presence there. Except it's a good way to keep up with a few people who are important to me but who live far away—a couple high school chums and a few relatives.

Pinterest is great, because it allows me to put in one spot all those things that inspire me as I go through my daily life. I've always been a diarist, but this allows me to do it in a much more shorthanded, accessible way.

I think my own blogging lull has to do with the fact that I'm writing so much for work, I don't feel like I have much left to say on my blog. That I need to reserve my creative energies for my job, if that makes sense?

My blog was started on a lark and became a place for me to let loose certain of my righteously indignant, vengeful, combatative alter egos, who rail against what I believe is an essentially dumbed-down, liberal-bromide-spouting culture and society that drives me freakin' batty. Never a personality as clever and full on ragin' as K9, but certainly sympathetic to all that the Dawg chomped her teeth on. (Those were exciting days, for sure, even if I only came on the scene when she became a SHE.)

I also remember with fondness Boxer's first dinner party, the Squirrel Wars, and the New Year's Eve fest a couple years ago where we raised monies for our various charities. All planned, yet executed with an organic spontaneity that can't be forced and which springs out of the age-old human quest for community and commonality. That it happened virtually is amazing in its implications—Al Gore gives us the Internet and we turn it into a kind of garden party. That I was a part of it is something for which I will always be gleefully grateful.

Buzz Kill said...

For me it's summertime and I'm outside (even in this ridiculous heat) more. I have stuff I want to write about, but with all of the family schedules I have to juggle, community garden that needs extensive watering, there's no time now. Maybe after vacations are done. I know I owe a blog on the addition. And I'm going to Boy Scout summer camp tomorrow for the rest of the week (no internet - no power - plenty of sweat).

And these word verifications are getting almost impossible to read. Even with glasses, it takes me 2 and 3 times. They're now including pictures and fuzzy, pressed-together typewriter fonts that I just can't read (IE - I'm looking in your direction). And I'm totally firewalled from any wordpress blog.

I can't wait for the cool Fall when the kids are back in school and I have some time.

Sharon Rudd said...

Lots of thoughtful comments here. Great to hear from Boxer and Buzz, among others. Buzzy, I went back and checked my blogger settings and they say I'm set up for no word verification. I'm at a loss. I am also frustrated that I can't seem to figure out how to comment on word press blogs.

Meanwhile, one of the best things I'm reminded of here is our virtual New Years Party. Sigh. I miss the old times.

Anonymous said...

I think it is significant that three people cannot comment on wordpress.