I'm not much of a fair-weather blogger

Dear reader -- you may have noticed that I don't post much during the summer.
Well, now it's officially Autumn, and foul weather has arrived in South-central Alaska. We've had wind and rain the last couple of days (and snow last weekend!), and the frost has put an end to our gardening efforts.

Therefore, chances are I'll have more time to blog again now. In fact, I started blogging two years ago around this time of year. It's been fun -- I'm not at all a regular or dedicated blogger -- I only blog "when the mood strikes". After all, it's only a hobby, and one should never become a slave to a hobby!

So what am I up to these days? Well, my olderst daughter is about to return from hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), roughly 2660 miles. It will probably be a difficult re-entry into "real" life, after having spent 6 months away from "regular" civilization -- probably on par to returning from a stint in a war zone or in prison, where one has gotten used to a life very different from "normal". Now she has the challenge of re-entering the job market, which has not improved a whole lot since she left...

At my own work, school class fieldtrips are slowing way down, and the Nature Center has started "winter hours". For me, that means I'll have time to bake and start quilting again -- I've agreed to make a 15th Nature Center anniversary quilt for next spring, so I better get started on that. Also, I'll be taking a trip to visit my folks in Germany later in October.


For now, I'm busy with "fall" cleaning around here (sort of the equivalent of spring cleaning): mosquito screens are taken down; the garage has been cleaned out enough to make room for the family wagon. The camper is winterized and stored, and firewood stacked for the winter. Soon, we need to change the summer tires to studded winter tires so we can drive on the ice and snow that is sure to come soon.

But not too soon!

How to tell people I blog

I've been blogging for a while now, and enjoy it!
I started with the idea of keeping far-away friends and family posted on what's going on in my life (and in my head), but blogging has become something I'm doing because I enjoy writing, for myself, for the sake of writing: getting words on cyber-paper JUST BECAUSE. I write 2 blogs actually, and it's more likely the recipe/food blog that I might mention. But when I tell a friend or co-worker "the recipe is on my blog", I often get a funny look or stunned silence -- why that reaction to blogging?

I read a recent post on this subject by Ian (a Canadian living in Hamburg, Germany) who's blog is called Letters Home to You. I enjoy reading it, and he recently posted "How to tell people you're a blogger".

I know it’s not as if I’ve grown a second head or have one of those dumb-looking disks dangling from my earlobes, but still I hesitated before telling them. ...None of it needs any justification, rationalisation or explanation. It is what it is. So yeah, I’ve been blogging, but I’m still OK.

I do so agree with him. Blogging needs no justification. It's a personal choice, a hobby.
Some people scrapbook, others write letters to the editor of the local newspaper. Some people like to forward emails to everybody whenever they come across a funny picture or a worthwhile cause. Others post frequently on twitter or facebook, or post snapshots on picasa or blipfoto. Some people blog...

What I enjoy is having found an outlet for writing, for ideas, for discussing what matters to me, such as the environment, or good food! A lot is about my family, and perhaps that interests nobody but my family -- fair enough! Nobody has to read my blog -- hey, it's o.k. by me.
I blog because I enjoy it. PURE AND SIMPLE.

photocredit: http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poem_illustrations/405.jpg
accompanying the poem'The Two-headed Monster" by Darren Sardelli

And the LEMONADE winner is....

This blog has just received the LEMONADE blogger award! It's given to blogs that show great attitude and/or gratitude. I take that to be along the line of "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade" -- but one must wonder about the attitude part -- was it the fact that I actually used 'language' on my blog for the first time recently? (I didn't think anybody was reading that far...)

Anyway, thank you, RunningL8 from MountainPulse for nominating me. It's an honor!

And now I get to turn around and bestow the LEMONADE Award to 5 bloggers of my choosing.
Drumroll -- and the winners are:

1. Honeypiehorse -- her blog Our Feet are the Same is full of wonderful vignettes of her life as an American living in Bavaria.
2. Dustybee -- her blog Well Seasoned Woman is hilarious and wise. She writes from a fishing town in Southeast Alaska.
3. Cabindweller -- her blog FieryBlazingHandbasket does such a wonderful job of depicting life and issues in interior Alaska, managing to make me homesick for Fairbanks even at -50 degrees!
3. Becky -- her blog On Top of the World is a funny account of young mom living in Wasilla, Alaska.
5.GreenMountainMom (Patty from Vermont) -- her Blog200 is full of wonderful insights on life, the universe, and everything...

Here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude.
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link this post to the person from whom you received your award.

Thoughts on blogging

To blog or not to blog, that is the question.

Regardless of how silly it is to hijack Shakespeare's quotes, I thought I would tackle the question of "Why blog?".

I blog because...

(1) I want to keep in touch with far-away family and friends, at least that's originally why I started. So that's why I post things like the kids' performances or travelogues (or what my husband calls "laundrylists") along the lines of "here's what we did on our vacation...". Therefore, dear reader, PLEASE just skip them if you find them lengthy or plain boring. The fact that very few members of my family/friends circle actually get around to reading my blog turns out not to matter that much. They know about it and can check what I'm up to, but nobody is obligated to read it! Blogging, for me, is much more about the process of creative writing than about being read.

(2) I've been surprised about how much I'm making new friends through blogging -- fellow bloggers out there in blog-land, and we enjoy reading each other's blogs... It's fun! Before I started blogging, I would have thought of cyber-friendships as somehow not being "real" -- but I'm starting to see that this is just as real -- in a way, it's similar to having old-fashioned pen pals.

(3) I like to reflect on what goes on in the world around me. My more reflective posts are, conveniently enough, listed under the label "Reflections". Strangely enough, it sometimes surprises me how much the mere act of writing about something can help clarify things that were until recently still muddled in my brain. I've also been self-disclosing more on my blog, something that does not come easily to me.

(4) this one is a direct outgrowth of (2) and (3): I like to think, and I like to have diverse intellectual discussions. By this I mean that I'm always questioning, analyzing, wanting to learn more about something --- and where I live I don't get much of a chance to have serious discussions with many inquisitive thinkers. Boy, do I miss living in a university town -- most people here fit more into the military/conservative category (maybe I exaggerate). My husband, the Prof, is great to talk to, and I long to "converse" with a variety of other people, and blogging is a great way to do that.

(5) I like to stay in touch with life & people from the Outside (that's what we Alaskans call the rest of the world). For example, I've discovered a whole community of expat Americans who live in Germany, and I love reading about their impressions of life in Germany. It's all about perspectives -- looking in from the outside -- it's like when you've gone on a trip and return home, and you get to look at your own life through different lenses.

The Commenters Meme

I've been "tagged" for the Commenter's Meme.
According to Wikipedia, a meme describes any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation. Memes propagate themselves and can move through the cultural sociosphere in a manner similar to the contagious behavior of a virus. Scary thought!

Here are the official rules for this particular meme:

• List the last 10 commenters on your blog. Then answer the prescribed questions (below).
  
• Each commenter on this list is now "tagged", which means you "get to" do the Meme on your blog.

Since I'm so new to blogland, I don't have enough to make the full list.

1. Denise of Mom in Madison
2. Honeypiehorse from Our Feet are the Same
3. RunningL8 from MountainPulse
4. Ian (in Germany) from Letters Home to You
5A. Naturelady (myself) --does that count?
5B. Timekpr of View from the Top
6. Deidre from Ester Republic
7. Pam (personal friend) who does not have a blog
8. Charlotte from Charlotte's Web
9 & 10. empty, alas!

Now for the questions:

1. What’s your favourite post from number 3’s blog?

RunningL8 (MountainPulse) is a personal friend, and also the one who got me into blogging in the first place. Picking a favorite post is very difficult! She writes many good post: in some she's funny, in some reflective, in some she's got an edge to her writing-- but they're always interesting. If I have to pick a favorite, I'd say This morning's "Flowers for Algernon" Moment, where she writes about dealing with Attention Deficit Disorder.

2. Has number 10 taken any pictures that moved you?

My list is too short, but I can say instead that I love photos from all the blogs. I will simply list a favorite from each blog to make up for not actually having a #10:

1. Denise (Mom in Madison) has wonderful photos of her 2 boys as they go about their daily lives, which includes a serious commitment to homeschooling. As one of many examples, I love how she captured the boys having fun on Bad Hair Day.

2. Honeypiehorse (Our Feet are the Same) concentrates on writing, and doesn't post many pictures. One of my favorites posts is Oktoberfest complete with pictures illustrating 4 of the 5 phases of experiencing Oktoberfest in Munich.

3. RunningL8 has soooooo many great pictures, it's truly impossible to choose just one! REALLY -- just go check out My New Lens to get a tiny sample.

4. Ian's (Letters Home to You) travelogues are wonderful -- check out Going Underground from his most recent trip to Turkey: I love the smoky landscape & the 3 old men sitting in the outdoor cafe.

5A. Naturelady (that's me!) -- I better pass on this one.
5B. Timekpr (View from the Top) is the teenage daughter of RunningL8 who has just started her own blog, but it is by invitation only, being so young -- so you can't see any of her pictures, but believe me when I tell you she's a talented young lady, sure to follow in her mom's creative footsteps.

6. Deidre from Ester Republic hasn't posted many pictures on account of not having a camera until recently, I believe. But check out her newest post entitled One drag queen and a whole lotta cross-dressers, it's hilarious.

7. Pam doesn't have a blog -- but she does take pictures -- when I used to live in Colorado, Pam was the one you could count on having documented important milestones when the rest of us forgot to bring a camera.

8. Charlotte from Charlotte's Web is mostly a writer, but she does have some great photos too. When I "found" Charlotte, she had just declared that she was Going Grey with Obama, which has one her wonderful self-portraits -- I recognized a kindred spirit and knew right away that I was going to love her blog!

3. Does number 6 reply to comments on his blog?

Deidre writes "the national rag of the people's independent republic of ester", a small ex-gold-mining town outside of Fairbanks, AK. She is a fun writer (check out Driving without a licence), but unfortunately not very many people leave comments. But she does reply, and although I do not know how she found me, I was very pleased when she had praise my Eldest's letter to the Anchorage Daily News about convicted Senator Ted Stevens.

4. Which part of blogland is number 2 from?

Honeypiehorse (Our Feet are the Same) is a relatively new blogger like myself, and is sort of the reverse of what I am: she's an American from Los Angeles married to a German living in Bavaria with her husband and 2 daughters. I stumbled across her wonderful blog when Charlotte did her own Commenter's Meme. Honeypie writes well with a great sense of humor (her family's latest exploits around St.Nickolaus had me laughing so hard!) . The name of her blog, "Our Feet are the Same" is a play on words: if you say it fast enough, it sounds like the German "Auf Wiedersehen", which, I admit, I did not notice until my hubby pointed it out to me! When Honeypie tagged me, she said: I think Naturelady has carved out her own space due to her unique profile – she’s a German mom married to an American living in Alaska. For me the name of her blog Borealkraut says it all. Thanks for tagging me-- this meme is a lot of work, but it is a worthwhile exercise too!

5. If you could give one piece of advice to number 7, what would it be?

Pam is a personal friend, and even though she's not a blogger, she did go thru the step of making a profile in order to comment -- that was before I knew to change the settings to let anonymous readers comment -- which now anybody can! In a separate email Pam wrote " You put so much time and energy in to that and i am definitely impressed...I don't even know how to attempt a web page like that." I therefore give Pam the following advice: It's really not that that difficult -- the only problem is that it can become rather addicting, and then ends up being a big time sink (I might be imagining it, but surely Hubby is snickering somewhere behind me).

6. Have you ever tried something from number 9’s blog?

There is no # 9, sorry.

7. Has number 1 blogged something that inspired you?

I've been running across Denise (Mom in Madison) long before I ever read her blog, or she found mine. She comments regularly on other people's blogs, and I've been reading her thoughtful comments on Mountainpulse for a long time -- Denise is one's loyal and supportive cyber-friend. Here's a post that inspired me: Denise writes down all the questions her boys asked during a backyard campfire -- it inspired me how just listening (and really paying attention) can help you understand what goes on in a child's mind.

8. How often do you comment on number 4’s blog?

Ian (in Germany) from Letters Home to You has recently been nominated for the Canada's Best Blogger's Award -- and I promptly voted for him, even though he's the ONLY Canadian Blogger I know -- but then again, most Americans think Alaska is part of Canada...

9. Do you wait for number 8 to post excitedly?

Well YES! Who doesn't?? (I plagiarize from Honeypiehorse here!) Charlotte (Charlotte's Web) is a wonderful writer. Check out her posts about Living in Germany, like the one where she reflects: it occured to me, not for the first time, that all German Fests exist so that people can drink booze and eat sausages... or the one where she describes going to IKEA on a rainy day, or how Germans love their Verein (club)...

10. How did number 5’s blog change your life?

Borealkraut is my own blog! Well, just taking that plunge and starting a blog was life-changing: it's made me WRITE again, taking a better look at what's going on in my own life and all around me. At first I was hesitant -- who'd want to read that? But I'm finding that the process of writing is helping me find my voice, helping me sort out what's important in my life. It doesn't really matter how many people read it -- writing can be just about the process.

OMG - I joined Facebook! Like, can you believe it?

OMG is such a teen thing to say -- it stands for "Oh my God", derived from the abbreviated writing in messaging or texting. But teens now even speak in these abbreviations! Other examples are BTW means "By the Way", LOL "Laugh out loud"... I don't know many more.

It amazes me how young people not only learn to use technology so easily (admit it, your 3rd-grader can reset the timer on the new microwave or other electronic faster than you can), but they become so comfortable with them, well, instantly. i-pods & i-phones, Skype and u-tube have become second nature as if they've drank it in their mother's milk, and mind you, these were not even invented yet when these kids were weaned, which, come to think of it, was "ages" ago, if you ask them (but to me that was just yesterday)!

So here I am, an old lady, and I today I joined Facebook, when a friend in Germany emailed inviting me to be her "friend" on Facebook, so I can see pictures of her family. Before this invitation, I thought only college kids did Facebook or MySpace (Eldest in college uses it to stay in touch w/ Highschool friends).
I'm only just now learning how this works: I think you need an invitation to be able to go to somebody's Facebook, but if you haven't been invited, you can "poke" them, right? Our local newspaper just had a feature on Facebook recently -- how parents are not supposed to embarrass their teens and college-aged kids by "poking" their kid's friends -- how Facebook is their generation's social net-working world, and we (old folks) need to respect that -- it's freaky to have your mom "poke" your roommate or boyfriend... (Don't worry, Eldest!)

So here I am, just having started this blog recently: an entirely new world I only started exploring within the last year. And I started blogging to keep in touch with friends and family, and in the process am discovering a world of other fascinating bloggers. I'm slowly figuring out some of the blogging lingo -- I now know what a "meme" is, but what is a NoBloPoMo? --I have no idea!

The internet is just an amazing tool for communication. It allows a Hausfrau in Alaska to chat with people all over the world, any time of day; it allows her to publish her own commentaries on Alaskan & World politics, if she wishes; it allows young people to shoot their own videos/movies and post them on u-tube; it allows people to reconnect with old friends, with whom they've lost contact, and find them via alumni sites or Facebook, even if they now live in Alaska or Timbuktu.