Sunday 18 March 2018

Why blog?

Somebody on my comments questioned the need to put a post on every day.   In fact someone else questioned the need to blog at all.

Blogging is such an individual thing, so I thought I might give you my reasons for blogging and for almost always blogging every day. 

I have had a lifetime of discipline - getting up, getting my child off to school, driving myself to school where I taught for most of my working life,
coming home, preparing a meal, doing household chores and then going to bed. 

Retirement brought with it the chance to settle down and do the things I had always wanted to do - read, embroider, play the piano, walk, play early music and join an early music ensemble - very enjoyable - every day filled. 

 After the death of my first husband (married 39 years) I had a couple of years still doing these things, taking my dog for walks, taking on various voluntary jobs.   Then I married the farmer - helped with feeding calves, various farm jobs - looked after hens, reared chicks.   Again a very full life.

Now in my eighties and living alone - I cannot change the habits of a lifetime and sit around doing nothing.   I am not terribly mobile (arthritis) but can still drive my car.   I have lots of friends and we do things together, I go out a lot.   I now have a garden to plant - I was a keen gardener for many years.   But after years of being busy all day and having a routine of doing things, no way can I suddenly start sitting around.   So I still have my planned day - ukulele playing, reading (especially the book for my book group) etc; and built into that is writing my blog.   It is a discipline for me - it makes me think of something to say, it makes me get up and go to my computer, sit down and write.  I never take my lap top to my knee - it is important to walk to my computer room, sit down and write.   

So I suppose I can say that I see blogging every day as a form of discipline for me.   And at least it has given me my topic for today!

 

63 comments:

Librarian said...

As you say, blogging is different from blogger to blogger. We all have our reasons for doing what we do, and I can understand yours so very well, as I like my days to be structured, too.
In this older post of mine I explain how I started blogging. There is more about the subject here, if you are interested. Most of what I have said in both posts is still true, although my blog is "alive" and keeps evolving.
Posting every day is something I do not even attempt, as I do not have the time for it, but if I did it, like in your case it would NOT be to suit others but to suit myself more than anyhing.
Of course what makes my blog so important to me is the connection to people from so many different places across the world, of different ways of life and different opinions. If it weren't for the possibility to exchange comments, it would not even be half as much fun and value.

Bovey Belle said...

I enjoy blogging (still!) - not every day - but I enjoy sharing my interests with people and I have made some lovely blogging friends. I remember in the days before the internet I was fairly isolated here, with a young family and several of my best friends here moved away and I was lonely.

Now I can travel round the world blog-hopping and seeing what folk are doing and I have some friends on-line who I may never have met, but who are on the same wavelength as me. I would hate to lose that (and them).

Mac n' Janet said...

I love blogging and look forward to seeing what my blogging friends have been up to. I would miss you terribly if you didn't blog.

Tom Stephenson said...

Well said, Weave. I think you have pretty much summed it up.

Gwil W said...

Hello Pat.
I recall an interview. And it's from more than 50 years ago!

I answered an advert in the local edition of a well-known newspaper (a group with a large circulation in the north-wets of the UK). At the time I had the idea I could be a reporter.

I had two interviews. Then I received a letter telling me that the job was mine. You can imagine my delight.

Then came a second letter. It was an from the newspaper owners and it informed me that the NUJ had objected to my appointment - the reason being that I was too old. In fact I was 3 months too old. This was something that neither I or the newspaper management had noticed until the NUJ brought it up. You can imagine my disappointment.

And so I did something else.

I guess I've always enjoyed writing. Blogging keeps the brain active. And so I do it when I have the time and inclination.

Bloggers, in general, seem to be very nice people. And so it's a pleasure too.

Ciao! G

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

We all do things for different reasons and blogging is no different. A man I knew used to go fishing so that he could smoke his pipe in peace. His brother was a very different character; he derived his enjoyment from teaching young people the rudiments of angling. Neither of them were very concerned about catching fish!

Early music ensemble to ukulele is quite a musical journey!

Mary Bolton said...

I blog hop around the world. Started with quilter's blogs and followed the links.
Armchair traveling is the only traveling I am able to do at this time.

Kim said...

I do admire you. I am also a retired teacher, but unlike you find great difficulty establishing a routine now.
Must try harder! ( in red pen, of course!)

Cloudia said...

Thank you for this valuable info on aging WELL!

Agatha said...

Well said thank you. Please keep going Weaver. You and John are such a delight and privilege to read.

veeknits19 said...

I'm so glad you do blog every day Weaver, it's a delight to stop by and read, although I rarely comment. After a life time of being busy why would you stop? As you say it's a discipline, I think doing nothing sounds fine - but only as a change from being busy, otherwise it would be very boring and somewhat depressing. It's always good to have achievements in the day, you sound very busy and very positive - what a great role model, you are an inspiration, thank you. Please do keep blogging. Vee x

Rachel Phillips said...

I am glad you blog Weave or we would never have met, one blog to another. I am not at all sure why I blog, I like to write and I have the discipline, all other reasons are a complete mystery to me, and I write in notebooks too so blogging isn't my only writing outlet. I sometimes think I must be mad.

Jill said...

I do not write a blog but I read many and they are a part of my day every day. I sort of think that after I retire I may pick up the habit of writing, but who knows. For now I am happy to have found the handful of blogs I read and appreciate the time the authors put into them. There is something unique about the interactions within blog communities that enriches readers and authors alike. Thank you for your blog :)

Vonnie said...

And long may you continue. I particularly enjoy your blog because you are in Yorkshire, a county I love more than my own Suffolk. I have, in the past, visited many of the places you talk about. In such a short space of time so many bloggers I follow have disappeared.

Ivy said...

I admire you for all the things you (still) do in your life. Being 'only' 60 I hope I am as active as you when (and if) I reach your age. Though I do not comment so very often I like reading your blog and I do understand why it is so important to you to blog almost every day. Hope you don't stop like many others did recently or are planning to do so.
I am considering starting a blog again, now in English instead of Dutch, because it's nice to have readers from all over the world. Two or three times a week seems nice to me.

Kind regards from a very cold and windy Netherlands

angryparsnip said...

When I first start my blog I wanted one with little type and lots of photos. A writer I am not so to post everyday would be hard for me.
I enjoy reading blogs of places I have been or want to visit.
Like the news paper reading the blogs first thing in the morning brings me something interesting or fun to start the day.
It is one of best part of my day.

Please do not stop !
cheers, parsnip

Sue said...

Blogging regularly is a nice habit for the writer and the reader ... it's a hard habit to break. I love calling by to read about your day, and to know that you are okay :-)

Marion said...

Well said. I began blogging about ten years ago to share my love of poetry. I've made quite a lot of converts, I'm happy to say. (My blog has had over a half million hits, which is phenomenal for poetry). Best of all, I've made lifelong friends, some angels like our Renee at "Circling My Head". She taught me both how to live & how to die. I miss her every day. To me, blogging is more about the people now, like you, sweet lady. You inspire me every day. Blessings, ~Marion

Derek Faulkner said...

Clearly, I have the wrong idea of this blogging lark and fortunately it hasn't taken over my life to the extent that I have to tell people everything I do every day, such as what I had for breakfast and what time I went to bed, I've always assumed that that would be extremely boring but clearly not. Reading the 170-odd comments on John's blog, responding to his break, I was gobsmacked to realise that some sounded almost as their world had come to an end because they couldn't read his blog for a few days, please, they need to get some hobbies.

Jennifer said...

This comment seems unnecessarily harsh and judgmental. Some of us consider John a friend and his blog is how we stay in touch. I like hearing about what my friends across the world do all day, even minor details like what they had for breakfast. And for the record, I have plenty of hobbies.

Meanqueen said...

Before computers I always kept a diary, I still have them going back to 1964. Blogging is keeping a diary, it also makes me get up and do things, and it feeds my creativity. I hope I am still active when I get to 80.

Jennyff said...

A blog is a very personal thing, for me a journal where I try to be positive and entertaining, at least to those who have similar interests. Having readers and receiving comments in a huge bonus, we make virtual friends all over the world. I admire you posting every day, I'm sure its for your own benefit and I don't imagine you feel great pressure to do so, just great pleasure. Keep it up.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Jennifer - I presume you are referring to Derek's comments above yours - in which case I agree with you.

Derek Faulkner said...

Thanks Pat, at least we can agree to disagree, rather than you deleting my comment because it didn't follow the mainstream view, and you do of course have plenty of hobbies.

Joanne Noragon said...

Interesting, isn't it, how blogs evolve, involve, devolve. Mine is not what it began and certainly not how it will end.

Anonymous said...

veeknits has summed up exactly how I feel about your blog Pat.
I think in answer to Derek's comments, everyone has reasons for reading blogs. Some people are lonely and/ or house bound and can link up with bloggers, some are looking for advice e.g. on frugal living or a craft of some sort and some are following travel journals etc.
Particularly for lonely people it comes as a blow when a blog is closed because the link ibetween them and the blogger is severed .
Whatever the reasons we all need to be open minded and if necessary agree to disagree as you said Derek.
Sue

A Heron's View said...

What an awful cheek to question people as to why they write blogs and the frequency that they do so.
Well, all I can say is that we who write blogs pick our own subjects and do so at a rate that suits us and just lately I have not been updating my blog very often because I am writing for particular persons and also in my journal which is off line and will remain that way forever.
I am though very thankful for all of those people who I have never met that share their thoughts with me.

sausage said...

I started reading your blog Pat because I live not far away from you and most weeks either walk or travel by car in the N.Yorkshire countryside.I knew nothing,or very little, about the farming year and your blog was a fascinating insight into that world.Through your blog I have read the blogs of people on your side bar and have mostly found them interesting even if I do not always agree with them.Thank you Pat and long may you continue to blog.

EM Griffith said...

Each morning in my California home, I read a few blogs after any email while having my first cups of coffee. It's a quiet way to start my day. There aren't a lot of blogs I follow. Most are from the U.K., and it honestly provides an opportunity to see both the similarities and differences of life in another part of the world. Also the ages and stages of life anywhere. Whatever a person's reasons for blogging--however often they post--many readers enjoy them. I enjoy reading about your daily life, Pat. Thank you.

Gail, northern California said...

Elise said it perfectly, exactly my reason for reading you each morning. You set the tone, and as Elisa said "a quiet way to start my day." Your writing is simple and succinct about what you did that day and I am filled with gratitude that you kindly share it with us.

And now I'm going to tell you something else---I copy each one, paste and print to card envelope size from a word processing program. Usually each Sunday, I have a week's worth of your writing. They are stapled together like small books then mailed to dear friends who may or may not ever receive snail mail. I'm now up to nine recipients. This is a sampling---one goes to a 63 year old man who lost his lovely wife last August and struggles. I began mailing them to her as she battled cancer. He said, "I can't tell you how much she enjoyed receiving those little packets. She would sit up in bed, puff up the pillows around her, we named it Fort Kathy, the cats would gather, I'd bring her a cup of tea."

Your writing today should include: "Why do I write and blog? Because it brings joy into the life of ten lives in the California, USA." Today's packet includes a cartoon from Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, featuring little Sally. As she clutches it to her heart, she says, "Happiness is having your own library card." You supply a tiny little book each week, Weave. Thank you.

Grandmother said...

I love your blog - I always check to see what you have written. I think blogging and all forms of contact with people are what life is all about. I'm am in my 70's and with a chronic disease. For me each day is a day to treasure, and your blog is a source of joy each day. I have admired your resilience and enjoy hearing about your day and what you have planned. I think it reminds me to get out and engage with the world. I am really glad you blog regularly!!

justjill said...

I enjoy your blogs. I also think during the day what to blog about, but mainly it is my blog and so I remember what I did!

Sue in Suffolk said...

I enjoy blogging because I enjoy writing and organising. For 20 years I was a Cub Scout leader which involved quite a bit of planning, then I wrote regularly for our local Smallholders Newsletter.Then I wrote to lots of penfriends but postage costs kept rising. Now with the blog I can read a book and write about what I've written, I can research a subject that interests me and write about it. I can take photos of things I would never bother with ( like the gnomes in Asda!) and share just for fun.
As for reading blogs......it is a little glimpse into other lives and worlds that we would never see.......sharing differences and things in common. How else would I know what the weather was doing in other parts of the UK!
I don't know what blogs Derek reads about bedtimes and breakfasts - I can't think of any like that and as for hobbies....you only need to read a few blogs to know that many bloggers have loads of hobbies and interests other than blogging and who deletes comments that disagree with others commenters? I wouldn't for sure - agreeing to disagree is all part of being sociable and anyway why doesn't Derek comment on my blog!
I'm posting everyday at the moment because I have things to say.....if I didn't........I wouldn't. And of course John G is going to get 200 comments because he has 1000's of readers..........he's a good bloke.

Goodness, I've rambled on far too long!Better go...........blog posts to plan.

honey said...

Oh I miss it and even worry a little if there isn't a post each day so please keep them coming. I have always wanted to visit England and thru your blog and "hurry back " John Grey's blog I get a glimpse of life there. I also gain strength in hearing how you overcome problems and keep active.

Billie said...

Thank goodness you blog because I enjoy reading your blog. Staying busy doing what you enjoy is important. You set all of us recently a fine example. Thank you!

Arlene said...

I wish I could think of a better way to show virtual appreciation for the effort and time that you and other bloggers put into keeping up your blogs. What a lovely way to connect humanity throughout the world. Perhaps I would comment more but I took it to heart when another blogger suggested that, as non bloggers, she didn’t feel comfortable engaging due to the lack of familiarity. I am thankful for you, John, Ms. Moon, and so many others, even Derek Faulkner (who believes that all us readers only read due to a lack of hobbies). I beg to differ :) Thank you!

Doc said...

I very much enjoy reading your daily posts Weaver. I don’t always comment but I do read it. I originally started blogging as a personal diary without followers. Prior to my blog I wrote in a journal, but a combination of arthritis and tremors makes writing for any length impossible. Tapping on a keyboard is possible though and since opening my blog to followers I have made some dear friends as well. Like you since retirement, I maintain a very busy lifestyle. Keep up the blogging Weaver you are an inspiration to many.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Sue, so good to read your comment. When I think of the health worry you have with Col I am full of admiration for you that you plough on as you do. You seem to fill every minute of the day - all those trips to Addenbrooks must exhaust you both, but you don't moan about it, you just carry on. Thank you for your comments.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you Gail - comments like yours make it all worthwhile.

Bonnie said...

Just reading all the many comments here show quite clearly how important blogging is to both those that blog and those that read the blogs. I know following blogs has filled a void for me particularly since I retired. Arlene (above) said it perfectly: "What a lovely way to connect humanity throughout the world." I consider all here to be friends even though I have met none. Pat I am so very glad you enjoy blogging and do so on a regular basis for it is obvious it means a lot to many! You are an inspiration and a perfect example of grace. I enjoy your blog, learn from it and I am glad it is here! Thank you!

Rachel Phillips said...

Routine, discipline, habits of life times, whatever, it all comes down to bloggers, we are people who like to talk. And long may it last Weave.

Margie from Toronto said...

I don't often comment but I do check in every day and as many have mentioned, I enjoy different blogs for different reasons. Today's entry has really made me think. I was retired early and have found the lack of routine and too much time on my hands to be a problem. I need to reintroduce some routine to my life so that I have a reason to get up every day and do something be it large or small, for myself or for others.
"Gail from Northern California" has probably given the best reason for you to continue - and how wonderful of her to take the time to think of others.
Thank you.

Ruth said...

I haven't read all the comments yet - but I hope with all my heart that they're all encouraging to keep on doing what you do so well. I've come to enjoy reading what you have to say more than I have words to describe. Our lives are all so different. I find it very interesting to hear what others have to say. This is such a unique way of being in touch with the rest of the world, and I applaud all bloggers who take the time to communicate, even when they may not get comments (don't give up!) I don't have a blog, and probably at this late date I'll never start one, but I'd truly be lost without those of others - especially yours dear Pat! You could gather up all your posts and publish them in a book. I could "listen" to you all day.

Hilary said...

Well, I can't agree with Derek......I am a busy woman.....with a weaving business that consumes most of my time, other than family......but when I sit down in the evening with a cuppa tea, and fire up my lap top.........seeing what is going on in the Yorkshire Dales is one of my first stops. It makes me feel a connection.....blogging is that.....a connection to people and places and lives maybe unlike our own. I have made many connections with people from my blog, and I like to think that there is a shared fondness there.
Keep writing...it is good for you, and it is good for us.

yellowtulip118@gmail.com said...

I love reading your blog everyday, it's like checking in with a friend, even though we've never met. I also loved John's blog and will miss him. I wrote diaries for years but gave up when life overtook and time was scarce. I started a blog as a form of diary and because I don't want to forget stuff. Looking forward to reading about your day tomorrow Weaver xxx

Virginia said...

I love reading your blog Pat - I learnt so much about farming life in a very different part of the world, and have been inspired that life can continue an evolve through difficulties. John's blog inspires me with his generosity in his community. Both of you have helped me keep going when health issues were grim.

Of course John can stop any time he wants - his blogging is a gift, not a task to be undertaken at all costs. But we appreciate the effort and care that blogs require to keep going.

Thank you.

Linda from Alabama said...

I have never blogged however I have a number of blogs all over the world I read. Thank you for sharing your days and your lovely part of the world.

Bea said...

What you write re: discipline/keeping busy makes perfect sense.

Blogging for me is about exercising my (rather weak) writing muscle. I do enjoy writing, but it doesn't come easy. I guess that's why I keep plugging away at it, albeit without too much regularity.

gz said...

Blogging is like writing a diary,but...with added friends and discussions

Sandi said...

I think it's a good thing. Some days I have something to say (or quote) and other days not, but it is a thing I do.

Sol said...

I have completely lost my blogging mojo. I need to make it a priority to get back into it.

Red said...

Keep on being busy and having fun. Challenge yourself with lots of activity. You learn so much by blogging.

Marjorie said...

I enjoy your daily blog.

John Going Gently said...

Your blog made me come back tonight x.

Kathy said...

I always look forward to your daily and may start to blog myself when I retire in May. Don't stop unless it suits you! No one is forced to read. I enjoy your good attitude and how you never feel sorry for yourself! I hope you continue as long as you want. Thanks....Kathy Abell Chicago IL USA

Cro Magnon said...

I would also miss that discipline. I'm not a good sleeper, and get-up at 5.30 am every morning. From then on my day is very organised and busy. If I didn't blog I would have a spare two hours or more.

Derek Faulkner said...

Oh dear, clearly I set the cat among the pigeons, or badger in the hen house if you read John's latest post. Let me just say this, I was not commenting on the undoubted quality of either John or Pat's blogs, or suggesting that they stop writing them, I enjoy reading them both. I was simply commenting on the near panic that had set in because John had decided to have a few days off, one person had commented thirteen times over it. The hand wringing just seemed a bit hysterical to me.

Heather said...

I am a lazy blogger! That sounds quite rude, doesn't it? But I am so pleased you blog so regularly and interestingly. I always feel that what I would write about is too mundane to be of any interest to anyone else, but your gift for writing shines through and that is what I lack. I am very content with the life I lead, but yours definitely sounds more interesting. Keep up the good work and thank you.

the veg artist said...

I miss all my favourite bloggers when they decide it's time for a break, although I totally understand. I would never be able to think of anything to write on a regular basis, let alone give the belly laughs that some (JG, I'm including you) do. I honestly think that my life is so boring, no-one would want to know about it, and I was a civil servant, so, having signed the Official Secrets Act (as they all do) would not be prepared to talk about any of the very odd people I met through work. I am profoundly grateful to those who do blog though. We get insights into other ways of life, countries, age-ranges, political issues and the sheer grit that people like yourself show when faced with challenges.

I think discipline, routine or content, whatever people like to call it, are essential to building a happy life after giving up work, particularly if, like me, you are largely housebound through health issues. I'm not exactly set in my ways, but my little cat knows my routines so well that after I've washed up my lunch dishes, she gets out of her bed in the kitchen, ready to go and sit on the settee with me for half-an-hour's TV! After that, she happily settles down in the kitchen again while I get on with whatever for the afternoon!

thelma said...

What a lovely set of bloggers talking about blogging. What more is there to say, I started because of my love of history and the world around me, I did not aim to write for others but myself - a sort of education in how I thought. I get cross with politics now and try to keep off the subject. Your blog Pat was an inspiration to me, so gentle and thoughtful.

Theresa Y said...

I don't blog. I don't have the discipline for it yet. But I really enjoy reading your blog and other from around the world. It gives me a window into how other people live around the world. They are funny and sometimes sad but for the most part, for me they are very encouraging. Seeing what people do everyday sometimes gives me a boost. Most of all the blogs are very human. That's what I like best. I hope John comes back and I hope you won't leave. You two are among my favorites! Good day to you.

KitKatCot said...

Why blog?

Why read a blog?

To quote William Nicholson in 'Shadowlands' 'We read to know that we are not alone'

I think that blogs can be the equivalent of books. The blogs I read are those that make me feel: Yes, there is someone out there who thinks the same as I do.

Whether it's a dedicated retired nurse and smallholder in Wales, or you Pat, just 30 miles south of me, or Joanne Noragon goodness knows how far away from us on a different continent, I read your blogs and know I am not alone.

Beryl Ament said...

Intriguing comments on “Why blog?” It is a question most bloggers ask (and should answer to their own satisfaction) at times.

I read a number of English blogs, in part to give me a glimpse of what life would be like if I had not left England fifty-five years ago. I have evolving reasons for why I write. My original plan was to have kind of easily up-dated newsletter, so that family and friends both in the States and abroad could keep abreast of what was going on in my life. The premise was that one post could save me writing up to fifty or so letters. Unfortunately my readers can be counted in single digits, and I have landed up writing both a blog and letters! But since I can tailor my letters, or e-mails, to different relationships, I suppose it is all for the best.