Happy Blogoversary to Me!

 Happy Blogoversary!

Today, for the first time ever, I'm actually posting on my actual blogoversary! I usually miss the date. For seven years this blogspot has been my blank slate to share pictures and thoughts with whoever is remotely interested in catching a glimpse of slices of my life. It's been satisfying to have a wee bit of a voice, if only for my own satisfaction of knowing, "There! I said it!"

Who would have thought that those of us who grew up in the modern age of Smith Corona electric typewriters, SWAK envelopes, and 10 cent stamps, would now sit with computers on our laps, clicking away until we hit the magic "Publish" button. Here's to another year of thoughts to virtual paper!

Happy Blogoversary!

Yesterday was my Blogoversary, meaning I've been adding to this drivel for 4 years now -- some months more consistently than others. I'm still not sure of the point of blogging -- to journal, to record history, to share, to reach out to the world in some way, to allow introspection and unloading of words and emotions. I'm not great at it. There are many other bloggers out there that are incredibly witty and entertaining. Some have A PURPOSE. Some produce works of art and photography. Some have blogs to make money. I've noticed recipes, gardening and home decor are popular, as are oodles of pictures of people's children to share with their family and friends.

Mine is a hodgepodge of life as it comes to me. No theme. Just my crazy assortment of experiences and interests and thoughts. And maybe that's why I blog. So much of what I do is not tangible so recording it here makes it...real!

So onward toward year FIVE of me Bloomin' Words! 

To Blog or To Facebook?...

...That is the question.

I found myself in So. California this past week, taking care of my dad who wound up in ICU last Sat. morning. He had a scare with his heart, and they decided to put a pacemaker in. Considering he is a tremendous exercise enthusiast, it was hard to imagine his heart giving him trouble. He bicycles an average of 20 miles/day. But he is 86 years old, and sadly our bodies do wear out. He is doing just great, up and around!

After cleaning his house, grocery shopping, and running errands for him, I found myself with time on my hands so logged in to my facebook page. It was something I created several months ago, primarily so I could see the photos in my daughters' albums. I didn't check it very often -- mainly when they told me they had uploaded some new pictures. This past week, I started logging in daily. I discovered I had several "friend requests". It was fun to reconnect with people I hadn't heard from since high school and from organizations I'd been involved with. Soon I discovered many of them had all sorts of online farms, African safari campgrounds, and hatching eggs.

The next thing I knew I was gathering eggs from friends' sites. Horses neigh and sheep bleat when I plant rows of strawberries on my farm in Farmville. A friend sent me an elephant for my safari camp. It was all very cute! There is pleasure in doing some things for the pure nonsense of them.

But one morning I learned that one of my hatched eggs had run away! My strawberries had withered because I didn't harvest them in time and I had to replant the field. On top of that, termites had invaded my friend's safari camp so I had to help her out. An hour had evaporated into thin air before I knew it! These facebook games could be addictive. I thought about my REAL yard, hedges needing trimmed, deck needing restained; the REAL children in Africa and other countries that I'm due to write to through child sponsorship organizations. Yes, the practical side of me began whispering in my ear -- hey, don't you have enough to do without plowing a virtual field? Well, at least with the African Safari game you earn REAL money to send mosquito nets to children in Africa. And do we always need to be doing something constructive? What about simple relaxation, engaging in something not on our "to do lists"?

Checking in on all my friends' facebook pages is like going to a party -- making the rounds, commenting on this and that. At the end of the day, I was ready to come back to my blog. Time alone, where I can just write all my thoughts about a topic. No expectations. Just a blank page and a keyboard. Ahhh. It's good to be home.

Glued to Ye Ol' Computer

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I last blogged. Projects have overwhelmed me in the last few weeks -- doing my taxes, sending out tax receipts for the nonprofit I was involved with, creating a new website for a community group, working on a web-based speech therapy program, making arrangements for Ash to come home from England over spring break.... Hmmm, I see a trend here. It's called Glued to ye ol' computer.

One footnote about the taxes. California State is officially out of money. So even though I have a refund coming on my state return, I probably won't see it for a long time. They are issuing IOU's. Do you think I could get away with writing them an IOU next time I owe them? Highly doubtful.

Lifting the Blog Fog

Starting a blog is something I've been wanting to do for quite some time now. A place to write thoughts, record history as I travel through it, post some pictures -- and be able to reflect back on things that have impacted my life.

Why "Plant a Book"? Through the WH Memorial Plant-a-Book Project, my daughters and I have been able to plant books in the hands of impoverished children and foster a love of literacy. Wayne had loved books and gardening, so establishing this project was a way to remember him and do something to help others in his name. Wayne had his doctorate in psychology and saw good in every child he met. It seemed fitting that our daughters (who also love books) and I would carry on with planting a garden of books in his honor. Through his memorial Plant-a-Book project we have provided books to children attending Galilee Primary School in Kenya, Orphan Sponsorship International's orphanage library in Sri Lanka, and Candlelight School in Kenya. Fanuel, the Director of Galilee Primary School, named the school's library after my late husband -- a moving tribute.

Books have always been important to me. In the family album is a picture of me at age three, wearing a sagging diaper and studying an encyclopedia. I learned to read before I started school, and remember one hot summer in Southern California when my friend Carmen and I walked to the library every chance we could, lugging home stacks of mysteries and historical romances. To this day, I always need a book to turn to at day's end.

So begins my blog.... Turning the page on a new chapter.