Eleven Years and Counting

Blue Hearts Sweater

Eleven years ago, on July 20, 2014, I started this blog of mine.  Back then, I was preparing to be an empty nester as daughter was heading off to graduate school and we were busy getting everything ready for her to leave home for the very first time.  Eleven years later, I am preparing to have my daughter return home to the nest!  It seems that we've come full circle!  Pictured above is the sweater I mentioned in my first blog post.

This was my first blog post:

My first blog post!  I have been persuaded by my daughter to start a blog (so very gratifying that my  child thinks that what I write makes interesting reading!) and she was kind enough to set it up for me (since I am hopeless when it comes to such things).  So, here I am, adding my two cents to the blog sphere!  I must admit that I am rather excited to do so. 

It will be a blog about this and that.  My daily activities, musings, my craft projects, my attempts to be as organized as I'd like to be, etc. I've kept journals and diaries for years; this will be another form of journaling for me. 

These days, I am an empty nester-in-training, since my daughter will be going away to graduate school in the Fall. It's a time of change for us both.  A time of loosening the proverbial apron strings and learning to let go.   Of preparing for her moving away and getting things ready for her to take with her when she goes.

Today, I finished knitting a sweater for her.  It's colder where my daughter will be moving to than here, and she feels the cold.  Daughter designed the sweater, with two hearts on the front.  My love for her is knitted into that sweater.   Each stitch was a prayer for her safety, for her well-being, for her success.  It is my hope that when she wears that sweater, she will feel, not only the warmth of the yarn, but also the warmth of my love.  Each time she wears it, it will be like a hug from me to her.

Looking forward to posting many more blog posts.

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In the past eleven years, I have written and published 4,148 (including this one).  At times, I've posted daily. At times, I've posted less frequently.  But, I think I've kept to the goal of this being "a blog about this and that.  My daily activities, musings, my craft projects, my attempts to be as organized as I'd like to be, etc."    I have enjoyed blogging and I plan to keep on blogging in the foreseeable future.

Over the years, I've had readers who have come and gone (and I often think about them and wonder how they are) and others who have stayed.  Some have gone back and read my blog from the very beginning, letting me know that they have done that.  Some readers leave comments and others rarely comment.  I have always tried to reply to any comments.  I feel that I've found a community of supportive friends through my blog and that has been a blessing to me.  I have formed virtual friendships through this blog that are just as real as friends in real life.   

I do thank all of you who read my blog for doing so, especially those who leave a comment to let me know you've read a post.  I appreciate you taking your time to do so.  I hope you will all continue to read and comment on my blog posts as I look forward to reading your comments.  Dancer does too!  😸

Today, I am grateful for:

- Eleven years of blogging
- Daughter encouraging me to blog and setting it all up for me
- The many friends I've made through this blog 
- All of you who take the time to read and comment 
- The technology that enables me to blog