Showing posts with label Why blog?. Show all posts

Why Blog?

Rooibos tea and a homemade brownie

For some time now, for at least a year,
I have been asking myself why I bother to keep on blogging.
Is it for myself?
Is it for others?
If so, then why?

I started my blog with much enthusiam some years ago.
I met so many interesting people from all over the world.
But blogging has changed.
I can see that many people visit me here,
but very few of them interact or leave a comment.
It's as if the soul has gone out of blogging.

Do I want to continue?

Maybe
Maybe not.
I may decide to make my blog private, 
just for myself, my family and chosen friends.
After all, they are probably the only ones truly interested in the photos I show
or the words I write.

The above photo is some of my crochet work:
A new hearts garland
and the beginning of a heart-shaped cushion.
If you crochet and are interested, you can buy the pattern at at Apple Blossom Dreams
I have ordered a heart-shaped cushion insert as the one I have is not big enough.

Here is a close-up of the heart with the centre for the reverse side already done.

I have enjoyed buying potted bulbs which develop into lovely flowers for my apartment
like this tiny tête-à-tête Narcissus.

The tulips are always beautiful and exist in so many beautiful colour combination

The Peach Blossom is particularly dainty

One day, I went down to the lake to walk with a friend.
We both wore masks and kept a suitable distance from each other in the open air.
The day was dull and it was cold,
but it was lovely to socialize with someone for an hour or so.

The weather has been particularly gloomy, dull and cold
which makes the present situation  more difficult to bear.

One day, a strong north.easterly wind blew away the clouds 
and we got some sunshine.
I liked watching these bamboo leaves madly blowing all over the place.

On Sunday, our cold snap broke and instead of day temperatures of -5C
We suddenly warmed up to zero Celsius!
I'd arranged to meet the same friend at the lakeside and took down some brownies to share
and we bought a takeaway coffee.

The sparkles on the lake were particularly lovely
 even though the mountains on the other side of the lake were hidden by the hazy sky.

Unfortunately, the gorgeous weather attracted far too many people down to the lakeside.
Next time, it would be wise to go on a weekday and maybe get there rather early and take breakfast!
There are plenty of benches along the lake.

It is a pity to see all the restaurants closed, with the chairs on the tables.
One wonders how soon life will get back to normal.

I did love to notice the Magnolia buds swelling up in the sunshine
It won't be long till they start to open if this warmer weather continues.

A good blog should create a sense of community
It's also a living archive of what is happening in our lives-
A blog requires regular updates.
Am I able to fulfil these things?

If you visit my blog and don't leave a comment,
maybe you would like to tell me what you feel about blogging.
if you have one yourself and/or if you like visiting other people's blogs.

It might help me decide if I am to continue to keep my blog public
or if I shall close it to the public and just offer my photos and my words
to family and chosen friends.

Heartfelt wishes,
Always.

Why Blog?

On Saturdays, I love to have breakfast out before doing my marketing.

Some years ago, when I first created a blog, it was to have a place to put my pictures and connect with other people around the world who also enjoyed sharing their photography.

These days, blogs are being abandoned everywhere and many of my blogging friends have disappeared, sometimes without a word, other times to post on Instagram and Facebook.
I miss by old blogging buddies and their blogs and the easy exchanges we all had with one another.

I suppose I need to ask myself why I blog. First and foremost, it's to have a collection of my favourite photos in the same place for a given period, usually one or two weeks. It's a journal in images.
I also like to write, but to do that I need to be in the right frame of mind, so sometimes there are mainly photos and other times there is mainly writing.  I go by how I feel in the moment.


Is it important for me that others be interested enough to want to visit my blog and maybe leave a comment? Yes, it is rewarding and I really enjoy exchanging with other bloggers and visiting their blogs or sites too.

Does it touch me that I get less visitors and less comments than I used to get a couple of years ago?
I have sometimes wondered what visitors expect to see or read. It is possible that what they find in this space is personally uninteresting to them!

Am I posting here for my own pleasure? Does it really matter if others appreciate it or not?
I do not put up images or write because it's what I think others want to see and hear - I would lose myself and my integrity if I did that. Yes, I am posting for myself, sometimes just writing things out makes me see more clearly, but I do love to get feedback from my visitors when they have the time to linger!


Above all, I need to be who I am in depth and I always speak from the heart, so what you see or read here is really me, not someone I pretend to be!

So for the time being, I will continue this space here, because above all, it's a place I like to be.
When you visit and when you leave a comment, I am happy too, but this cannot be my main motivation. It's a gift when others come in to leave a visible trace of their presence.

This is what I wanted to share today, and these thoughts have been weaving themselves in and out of my mind on the subject for a while now.

I shall be interested to hear your voice and what you feel about blogging today.

Wishing you all a wonderful day and may February bring us fresh thoughts and new beginnings from wherever we were before!

Sandra


When there is a sunrise or a sunset in my neighbourhood, I first see it reflected in the windows of the building opposite.  
This capture is a recent sunrise.
It prompted me to go out on my balcony and catch the faraway trees
and neighbourhood church steeple:



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