Tuesday 4 ~ Blogging

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 kept up in her memory.  This week the questions were supplied by Pamela Steiner.  Thanks Pamela and thank you Annie for keeping the meme going.

 

 

 1.  Tell us about your blog.  When did you start blogging?

My blog is about the simple things in life and later I also blogged about the charitable work I do in Kenya, East Africa. I started blogging in 2009 as a way to keep myself occupied with fruitful things, maintaining a simple life and sharing photos.  My brother set up my blog as it was all 'Greek to me'.  I started looking for simple and beautiful things to share and it also became like a diary of what was going on in my life. Mostly it was a way for me to keep focussing on joyful and happy things as a way to deal with  health issues that I am dealing with though I did not want the blog to be a daily journal of my illnesses. I was in fact trying to take my focus off of illness. At one point I deleted many blog posts (perhaps about 100 or more) though I can't remember the reason why. I think it had to do with the watermark on photos. I didn't like the look of them or something like that. I didn't delete them all.

 
2.  What prompted you to begin blogging?

I started blogging because I had time on my hands due to medical leave. I was looking for something constructive to do that would help me keep in the right frame of mind for healing.  I worked on keeping the blog positive and in those days blogged about simple things and beautiful things. I had a lot of trouble with concentration and I would publish a post only to discover many problems with my writing and grammar. I would then correct my errors and republish only to discover yet more errors and so on it went until I got it right. That still happens but not nearly so often.

3.  What was your first blog about and why did you choose that subject/title?

The first blog post published (April 2009) is a post about the beauty of nature. I created a short video and haiku verse to accompany it. I chose the subject because like I've already mentioned, I was focussed on beautiful things.  I wanted to use some beautiful, relaxing music in my short video. I'm not sure if the video and photos are still on the blog because so many of my posts are 'missing' photos (I'm embarrassed to look back over how the blog now looks in the earlier days). I'm unsure why but it probably has to do with photo storage issues and there are a number of things impacting on what I do going forward.
 
4.  How has your blog changed over time, and has it done for you what you hoped it would do in the first place?

My ability to concentrate has improved over time though my general health has not really improved.  I no longer feel that my original purpose for the blog has remained the same because over time it has expanded to include daily life, family, hobbies and philanthropy. I may ultimately stop this blog and start a new one. From time to time, I consider whether to continue with the blog. I feel everything has stagnated both with the reach of the blog and the things I blog about.  I should clarify that I do feel the blog served it's original purpose and that is one reason I may stop the blog and start another down the line. The blog isn't a legacy blog for family to look back on since I don't ever post photos, or very seldom have posted photos about myself and my family since this was never the focus.  The decision about what to do about the blog may be forced on me sooner than I care due to photo storage space nearing the limit. I don't want to pay Google storage but right now it is the easiest thing to do. The other options are not things I can do right now for various reasons.  There is so much in the air at the moment and when things are up in the air I tend to leave the decision until things are more clear.

Thank you for stopping by. Sorry I am late with the post. 

I somehow missed a day this week!

Linking up with Tuesday 4

Updated - Giveaway for a Cause

Hello friends,

I wanted to share this really cool giveaway (from Joy) and a  craft exchange with fellow crafters.

Its being organized by blogging friend Joy, a talented crocheter who lives in England.

The poster says deadline is February 14, 2015 but Joy has extended the deadline to February 20th to allow all you crafters time to participate.

Please read how it all works at Joy's blog here.  You have a bit beyond February 20th to get your craft item ready for shipping. I know I like to receive something from another crafter far away. It's almost like Christmas :-)

Thanks so much!

Love in Blue & Red

Hi friends,

I wanted to share with you the wonderful socks that my blogging friend, Joanne of Cup on the Bus made for my mother.

I can't tell you how much these socks are much appreciated as they will help to keep my mother's feet and legs warm this winter.  While I can knit a bit and love to make dishcloths, I haven't tried any major projects besides a baby sweater (which I am far behind in finishing).

I want to send a big blogger "THANK YOU" to Joanne once again. If you get a chance go over and check out her blog.

I haven't been blogging much as I've been too busy with Thanksgiving, matters concerning my mom, helping a friend and trying to fit in a few of my own appointments.

There was a birthday to celebrate on Saturday. No big party just a nice dinner, a small cake and song,  and some well wishes. We both like chocolate and whipped cream.

It has been raining a lot but today it was dry and overcast though it is still very warm here.

I took a few photos for you.

More rain is on the way this week.

I'm joining in with Our World Tuesday this week.

Enjoy your week!

Skyward and Inward

Well we had quite an interesting day weather wise today.  I'm sorry I didn't have my camera at the ready to show the different moods of the day but I was bored with cloudy skies, lol

Today started off sunny and bright but by mid-afternoon was extremely cloudy. I'm glad the sky was cloudy as it allowed me to do some work to finish my project (see below). Tonight the sky turned beautiful again and we are expecting a fabulous weekend ahead.  Some of my garden has been fertilized now but the other half still needs to be done. Hopefully that is my weekend project as next week will be busy with other things.

I've been going on about making my niece a quilt for some time. I've never worked with a printed panel before and I thought it would be easy. But this panel was not the typical quilt panel with printed blocks.  It was one long continuous scene from the Wizard of Oz. My niece absolutely loves the Wizard of Oz.

Anyhoo, I wasn't quite sure what to with it. I thought I would simply do some hand stitch quilting around the different characters but nixed that idea. Then I thought I would stitch some lines around lines on the panel, like along the yellow brick road. I nixed that idea also. Then I thought, I will simply hold the quilt together with some old fashioned yarn ties. I did do that but found that the fabric I selected for backing kept puckering up and was very difficult to keep smooth. This proved to be a bit problematic throughout the finishing of the quilt. I think it would be far easier to use adhesive spray for quilting but it is somewhat of a luxury item. I don't buy it because I don't make so many quilts but perhaps in future I will treat myself.  In the end, I decided to do a little stipling along the yellow brick road (top and bottom of the panel only). It is my first attempt and it breaks all the rules, lol. But my niece won't care a bit. All she cares about is Dorothy in her red sparkly shoes, the yellow brick road and the wicked witch.

All the fabrics and batting in the quilt are new.  However I did recycle a chambray denim skirt and used it to make the binding for the quilt. It was a newer skirt I bought in the thrift store but never wore. I'm glad I could put it to good use.  The binding picks up the blue in Dorothy dress quite nicely.

Now that I've figured out how to use my walking foot (the fact that the long piece that has to rest on the top of the bolt that tightens the needle had me confused) and my free motion foot, I can practice on more quilts or sample pieces.

I found I really didn't like working with a quilt panel. I prefer pieced quilts and that is what I will make next like the one I made for mom at Christmas. Ever since then my nephew has been asking for one too so I've been thinking about the fabrics to use.

On a blog related matter, I understand that the Google reader service will soon be discontinued.  I currently follow a lot of blogs using this service and  I hope I can still find them afterward.  But if you don't see me visiting your blog in a long while, please do leave me a comment so I can find you again! I'm not sure whether I will use BlogLovin and/or migrate my blog to another blog platform altogether.  There are pros and cons of migrating. I had been considering the move to Word Press for awhile but someone I follow said she was leaving there over copyright issues concerning her photos. I'm not sure where she has moved to yet and somehow I'm not sure that things will be any different on a different platform.

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday. Thank you so much for visiting me. Have a wonderful weekend!

Sunday

Hi friends, I haven't been feeling well this past few days. I'm very tired and now I am sneezing and headachey. Please say a little prayer for me as I've likely caught a cold from the changing season.

I am keeping busy too and feel like I'm not making much progress. Too many things to do and so little time.  I mentioned that I recently purchased several books at a used book sale sponsored by the SPCA.  The first of the book I read was, "Out of Africa"and I enjoyed it so much. The book is very different from most books I've read.  Karen Blixen (pen name Isak Dineson) tells of her time in Africa by writing about different people and themes, instead of telling her story through a linear (chronological ) time line.  Her lover Denys Finch Hatton, with whom she takes up after the break down of her marriage did not feature quite as prominently in the book as I thought he would.  Perhaps I just don't take to the subtle treatment of the character,or the idea that he was relegated to a chapter of the book, rather than being mentioned in several chapters.  But then that approach would not have worked too well with the order of the book. 

In any case, I read the book from cover to cover over a day and a half. I usually only do that with books I am really enjoying.  I especially enjoyed reading Karen Blixen's observations of the people she met in Kenya and her observations of their cultural ways.  It is clear that she loved Africa.  I think the people loved her.  Even today, everyone in Nairobi seems to know of  Karen Blixen.  The land where she once lived is known as Karen, suburb of Nairobi.  The last time I was in Karen was to visit the Giraffe Center and attend a CeCe Winans concert.  If you are interested in life in Kenya as it was during colonial times, pick up a copy of this book.

The second book of the "new to me" stash that I am reading is called "The PostMistress", by Sarah Blake. The story takes place in the small town of Franklin, Massechusetts during World War II. I am just at the stage of being introduced to many of the characters in the story. It may be too early to tell but so far I am not that engaged in the book though it has received rave reviews.  I think this book would appeal to anyone who has an interest in stories about small time life, or an interest in war stories.

If you are new to my blog, let me invite you to spend some time reading and/or exploring some of my earlier posts.  Also, if you are a regular reader of mine, you may have missed some of these posts so I invite you to have a look.  I just might make highlighting older posts a regular feature of this blog, or at least an intermittent feature.

I've selected a few posts (out of the hundreds) to get you started.  Please let me know if you see any problems with the photos.  Unfortunately with computer problems over the years and losses of hard drives, I've lost a lot of photos.

Travel

Africa/Kenya

Friday Sky Over Solai

Canada and the Maple Leaf Flies Abroad

Meeting Kigen in Eldoret

Mombasa Sunset

Nakuru National Park

Finally at Lake Baringo

North America: Western Canada and Washington State

Dropping by La Connor

Trip to the South On Chuckanut Drive

Relaxing, Shopping & Quilting

A Wedding for Two

The Journey Continues - Hinton to Hines Creek

The Journey Begins - Vancouver to Hinton

Photo Journey to Kamloops

We've Covered a Lot of Miles

More Photos from my Journey

Ride with Me:  Edmonton to Chetwynd  

Sky Over the North Country 2

Charitable Work

Dreaming of Africa

Giving

Dreams

Get Involved

Do You Know What You Will Eat Today?

Little Linet

Little Linet ~ Update August 2012