Friday, February 08, 2013

Changes are coming

This past year has been a year of huge changes for us, with the purchase of a new house and a dramatic alteration in our personal schedules, the youngest son going off to a different university, renting out our old house (and dealing with a renter), taking classes in photography, trying to keep up with all the cat fur in a home with almost no carpeting (that, my friends, is one hellacious job), etc.  Point being, I'm in a much different place in my life -- one that's apparently going to require a lot more adjustment time than anticipated -- and I think it's time to reconsider how I handle blogging.  For the most part, my reaction has been to dash out a review whenever I can and visit other blogs without commenting at all.  Personally, I find my own blog a bit dull and occasionally even realize I'm going out of my way to avoid the computer.

When I'm not busy trying to adjust to our new home and life, I'm often out on the patio watching our bird-sock bully.



Seriously, we have a bully at the thistle sock.  Note the fellow on the left is chewing out the bird on the right, whose little stomach is probably rumbling but who has no choice but to save his feathers.  Bully bird bites and will even snatch thistle from another bird's beak!  


I don't know what possessed me to type up that nonsense about the bird on the invisible perch but after fooling around with a few bird photos, I started to think about the fact that that's kind of what I'm doing -- sitting on my perch, waiting for God.  That's the wrong way around.  I need to get off my perch and fly.  So, I'll be working on that in the coming months.  I am writing up a list of changes that I want to make to the blog.  That will involve what types of books I accept for review (if any), which specific days I want to post and what kind of format I want to use to write my "reviews" or thoughts about the books I read, what blogger activities I may want to join in on.  Most important is how much time I'm willing to spend on the computer.  I'm finding that right now I need to move more and work on my creative side.  I'm not entirely sure how things are going to work out.

In the meantime, I'll keep working on night photography lessons, cleaning house, paying bills, reading, and pondering, going on walks in the nature center and around the neighborhood, trying to relearn how to cook.  

One thing I don't plan to mess with is Fiona Friday.  I don't have any photos of Fiona or Isabel worth posting, this week, but maybe I'll come up with one by tomorrow.  If not, there's always next Friday.  Change is good.  I'm ready.


©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

18 comments:

  1. Is your new header photo a result of your "night photography lessons"? I like it, especially that red tail light sliding off to the right, which I suppose means a long exposure for the night shot. Good job.

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    1. Hi Bonnie!

      Yes, ma'am, that's a "blue hour" photo I took in Water Valley, Mississippi. It's such a very pretty and quaint little town that we decided it might be a good place to stop for some blue hour photography practice, on one of our trips to visit Kiddo in Oxford. Thanks! Yes, it's 2 or 3 seconds, as I recall.

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  2. Sounds like a good kind of changing! Good luck. (Love the pictures!)

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    1. Thanks to all three comments, Suey!!!

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  3. I'm trying to refine my posting a bit as well. I would love a book review format, as I often can't not get started on a review. I'm trying to put a little more thought into posting, and post with some regularity. I'm not sure I'm successful, but I'm trying! Good luck with yours as well.

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    1. I used to have a format that I used way back in the stone age of blogging. It was helpful. If I can dig it up and do choose to use it, you're free to snatch it. I'll try to remember to send it to you, one way or another. I'm leaning toward posting on just certain days and stepping away from the computer completely, the rest of the week. I think it would help my sanity. Thanks! Good luck on your changes!

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  4. Change can be so good, but it ain't always easy. I don't mind change itself, as much as I hate the limbo times of not knowing what kind of change it is I need. Hope you have an easier time than I do at working through your changes. Though, maybe it's a good thing, a growing and a strengthening kind of thing, when you have to work for it, huh?

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    1. There's good and bad, easy and hard to any major change, for sure, Debi. We'll see how it goes. Yeah, hopefully, this will be a growing phase. :)

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  5. Yes, change is good! I feel so free now that I've decided to relax about my review process. I still try to visit blogs on a regular basis, but don't feel compelled to comment every single time I read something I agree with. I'm spending less time on the computer and more time reading, walking and vegging out in front of the tv. The latter is something I was always proud not to do, but after 9 hours on my feet at work, an hour of streaming a show (my current favorite is Parenthood) is a lovely way to unwind.

    I'm looking forward to seeing what changes you have in store for your blog! And I LOVE your new header!! Keep sharing your photos!!

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    1. That's encouraging, Les. :) I'm still pondering what I want to change and how, but part of the goal is to make blogging cease to be something that I actually dread. It's gotten to that point. I think I might go back to the old format I used about 3 or 4 years ago, with prompts, for books I've been sent for review and maybe just shoot for 25-word reviews of books off my own shelves.

      Funny that you're watching more TV. So am I! I'm not proud of it, but I'm enjoying just streaming random things at night. Sherlock is my current favorite; too bad there aren't more episodes.

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    2. Just added Sherlock to my queue. Any other favorites you can recommend? I'm going to watch Call the Midwife once I finish Parenthood. Have you watched either of these? Parenthood has a great cast and it reminds me a little bit of thirtysomething.

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    3. Not really. I'm about 15 years behind on TV. :) But, we've watched a little bit of Upstairs Downstairs, too. It's fun, but not addictive like Downton. I've never heard of Parenthood. Will have to see if it's available on Amazon streaming. Call the Midwife is another one I'm dying to see. I don't think we can get that, yet, but I'll look.

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  6. Oh, Nancy, every word of this post resonates with me...I don't have a son going to university, of course, nor a bully of any tangible sort other than the one in my head which screams at me about all the obligations I need to fulfill. It's overwhelming sometmes, and I found myself journaling about what my life was like pre-technology. While never perfect, it was more peaceful. It's interesting to me that Les, Nan, you and I are all rethinking this book blogging deal...taking from it what we can, but no longer willing to give more than that. Necessary losses, I think, which ultimately will prove to be a great gain to our spirits. xo

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    1. Yes, exactly, Bellezza. Pre-tech life was more tranquil. I think when blogging becomes such a burden that you're actually going out of your way to do anything else *but* write a post, it's time for something major to change. I'm going to continue to blog because I won't simply walk away from the obligations I've agreed to, but I'm going to make it as easy as possible and reevaluate in a few months. "Necessary losses" is a good way to put it. Sometimes you just have to let go of something, or several somethings, to find a little peace.

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  7. Your pictures are always amazing. Good luck with the changes, I'm considering some myself.

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    1. Thank you and thank you, Jenny! And, good luck to you, too!

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  8. Change can definitely be difficult but can be such a good thing...I think we all struggle with spending too much time at the computer and then step back and regret spending too little...it's hard to find that happy medium! Sometimes I think if all I posted were Cat Thursdays I'd be happy! LOL So yay for Fiona Friday!

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    1. Yes, exactly. It's all about finding what works and not over-doing, I guess. I could dig nothing but Fiona Friday posts. At one point, I actually thought about changing my blog name to Catfoolery and ditching the books, but I was just in a mood. ;)

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