WordPress recently congratulated me on my five year blog anniversary, but it’s really been four years since I started blogging. The first year I didn’t post at all – I needed a rest from the stress of simply creating a website! It was a big step for me, a person who had not written anything in decades. I now have 206 posts – I’ve posted regularly once a week (Wed/Thurs) for four years, although I took a month break in the fall of 2019, which I don’t think anyone noticed.
It may seem strange to celebrate your blogging anniversary by taking a break, but I haven’t posted in a month. I keep meaning to. I have drafts started but the weather has been too hot/humid/rainy to get the pictures to go with them. How hard can it be to get sailboat or duck photos? Both have been scarce sightings this summer. I had to resort to my vault for this one.
Of course that may just be an excuse for not feeling motivated to write. Canadians like to complain about the weather – it’s either too hot or too cold, but I don’t ever remember a summer this horrible weather-wise. We’ve had weeks and weeks of never-ending heat and humidity with humidex readings so high it makes you not want to go out at all. Maybe the ducks just feel too listless and lethargic to go swimming.
Plus, I’ve had company for the month of August (lots of eating, barbecuing but no baking, talking and catching up – I’m rusty at the talking part), so my writing routine has been interrupted, and I can’t seem to find the time to get back at it. I tend to be a bit OCD about meeting my weekly deadline, but it’s amazing how quickly you can get out of the writing habit.
I’ve enjoyed blogging too much to quit totally, but I’m not going to attempt to meet a weekly schedule anymore – I’m aiming for maybe twice a month. But I’ll be still be here lurking and reading of course! In the meantime, those macrons in the heading photo look good. No turning on the oven in the dog days of summer!
PS. I hope you are able soak up the last days of summer. For musical inspiration, head over to Ruth Soaper’s blog for a slideshow of morning on her farm, Morning Has Broken. I’ve always loved that Cat Stevens song.
thehomeplaceweb 
Don’t be gone too long! Yes, I’ve needed a break from writing, too, so I resort to pictures for “Wordless Wednesday” with a promise to resume research & writing in September. First, I gotta come up with a theme. Travel stories?
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Thanks Jo! I may get a garden recap up next week for WW, as I do have some flower pics. Yes, travel stories would be nice!
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Congratulations on the blog anniversary. I think we all need blog breaks from time to time. I do miss it when I’m gone. I’ll be reading when you do decide to post.
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Thanks Eilene!
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I’ve been scarce, too. Working on ideas for my return. Welcome back and Happy Anniversary.
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Thanks AV! Yes, I’ve noticed a lot of people are not posting, or not posting as much.
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I always enjoy reading your posts! Don’t ever feel obliged to ‘meet a deadline’ though. I’ve done that too and realise that the joy of blogging is sharing when you have something to share. Take a break whenever you feel like doing so, but we would love to have you back from time to time.
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Thanks Anne! I think I had absorbed this old blog “rule” that you had to maintain a regular posting schedule in order to keep your Readers, but I realize that’s just too much (self-inflicted) pressure right now, esp. when I don’t have as much to write about.
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Congratulations—you’ve earned the rest. I hope you’ll come back with renewed energy, though. I’d miss your posts a lot if you decided to retire.
As you’ve seen from your responses, a blogging hiatus is a common desire. I’m finding it’s more difficult to resume than I’d anticipated.
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Thanks Annie! I’ll be back, but I have to admit I’m enjoying the break. The longer you’re away though the harder it is to resume. I hope your knee is healing nicely.
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congratulations to the blog anniversary and what a good choice to write when it suits you. That’s the good thing about blogging: You can do what you want :-). I am still trying to figure out how much I can manage to write. Take good care and happy Thursday despite everything 🙂
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Thanks Liz! It is difficult to figure out how much time one wants to devote to blogging. Unless it’s a Wordless Wednesday, (and even those require time to edit the photos), my written blogs tend to take a fair bit of research, and I just don’t have the time to devote to it right now.
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I know how much time it takes to create an acceptable post. As long as you do what is the right thing for you now that’s all that counts 🙂
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Enjoy the break!!!💗💗💗
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Thanks LA!
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This seems to be the summer of blog breaks for many of the bloggers I follow. I agree with you about the weather! Awful but at least there were no huge snowstorms!
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Thanks Kate! Oh those will be here soon enough, although I’m hoping we’ll have a nice fall first. I do prefer the cooler seasons of spring and fall.
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Happy Blogoversary!
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Kudos on your blogoversary! It’s not easy keeping up a regular blog schedule. Canadians aren’t the only ones who like to complain about the weather were Michiganders are good at that too. Thanks for sharing my post. I’m honored that you liked it enough to share. 🙂
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Thanks Ruth! I thought your photos were great, but then I grew up on a farm, and deer sightings aren’t something most of us ever get to see so close up!
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Great job on reaching 5 years. I’ve been feeling like I need a break too. I think I am at 6 years. I think with COVID and not doing much, my creativity has been LOW. So, I understand you completely! Do what makes you happy. After all, this blog is for fun, right.
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Agree….many people seem to be taking blogging breaks or blogging less. I find as I don’t go out much I don’t have as much to write about, other than the usual books/baking/gardening….
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Congratulations on your blog anniversary Joni. I love the dog paddling … yes, the Dog Days of Summer have been an entire Summer, so don’t tell me it is just technically from July 3rd to August 11th. Pfft!
I created my blog site on February 11th, then we had bad weather and I didn’t get out for walks for a while. Like you, creating a blog site was a big deal and took a lot of brain power. 🙂 I created mine on a snowy Winter weekend. I think I created it, then went back and added some touches to it. I tweaked it a little a few years ago, creating a gallery of photos. I am going to tweak it again once I (finally) get onto Windows 10 (whenever that is, perhaps over the coming Winter). I am concerned how the blog displays on Windows 10. I’ve seen several bloggers taking a blogging break, Ally being the most-recent one. We’ve discussed blogging breaks before – I am glad for reducing posts to twice a week and using a schedule you recommended … I thank you for that recommendation and also taking Friday night for myself to step away if possible. Occasionally there will be three posts a week – next week as September 2nd is my 10-year walking anniversary or during the holidays … so there will be exceptions. I don’t run out of ideas or pictures as there are so many walks and I do have lots to share yet from my June excursions.
The heat and humidity is exhausting … this morning I took a break from walking. Three weather sites predict storms all day, starting at 10:00 a.m. That’s too close to chance it. It was very gray and still this morning. My favorite meteorologist is not on duty today … I hope I don’t get to the end of the year and find I am lacking just a few miles. I do not like this weather … what a disappointment, but it scares me. We have a stormy day with high winds and risks for heat spikes leading to bad weather so I’m already worried.
I remember your blogging break with your mom’s illness in the Fall of 2019. More people than me noticed … believe me. Right now you have a guest in town – enjoy that time and enjoy your family and we will be waiting for you when you return full time. You are lucky to have family … that is something I do not have, nor will I have, so I am envious of people who have families.
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Thanks Linda! Remember, my family is very small, and my brother is only here for awhile, but I appreciate his help with my mom at the moment. I will send you an email when I have a moment – laundry and groceries today. We had internet installed at my mom’s last week so I should be able to keep in touch more, and caught up on Reader! It only costs $13 more per month, as I negotiated with the loyalty program on my third try (versus $70/month my first two quotes), so I wish I had done it sooner.
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Oh, that is great so yes, you can keep up with writing and reading and you can now show your mom the posts you have created using her paintings, as well as special portions of your blog devoted to your mom’s paintings. I thought of your mom today – a movie about Bob Ross comes out today on Netflix. Nothing nasty about Bob Ross, just the greed of the people who took advantage of him/his family, stole the rights to his name and image. I heard a review on my news radio station and it does not disparate Bob Ross, just exposes this couple. That’s a great deal with the internet cost. You did well and your Mom can watch Bob Ross on YouTube if she is going to get a computer maybe. He has a YouTube channel and all the episodes are there. I have had a long week with dealing with house/car issues and this heat and humidity and stormy weather which persist. Thank goodness for cooler weather. It is nice to have your brother here … even a small family is nice. Will he stay as long as Thanksgiving?
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I’m not sure how long he will be staying yet, but possibly. Thanks interesting re the movie about Bob Ross and all his old videos being on youtube. My brother only watches tv on his computer like you do, and he talked about connecting it to Mom’s Smart TV, but it is 6 years old and he’s not sure if it can be done. It would be great if it good. He’s not technically much better than me, as he’s a Mac person, but he’s going to check it out. I know when she first bought the tv it needed some kind of cable to connect to the tv. She hasn’t been painting as much, lack of topics and company. I wish I could have gotten her out more this summer (other than appointments) but it’s just been way too hot – 108 this weekend! Stay Cool!
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Yes, the YouTube channel of all things Bob Ross would be enjoyable for your mom – in fact, she’d do just as well, if it can’t be hooked up to the TV, if you could get a laptop. My TV is not a SMART TV and has that big bulbous back – it was bought a long time ago. When I got the new modem, he gave me a shrink-wrapped package of something to use to hook up to the TV and get some of Comcast’s free shows on their “Peacock” channel or other specials. I’d have to buy a TV to do it though, computer does not work. Wow – 108 … we had 103 and I’m getting heavy eyes from walking this morning which I thought was the worst morning this week. The walk has caught up with me as I’ve nodded off a few times, even proofing my blog post for Monday. It was not enjoyable at all, even in the shade.
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That must be the special cable. I thought I had bought one at one time but can’t find it. My laptop only has a 13 inch screen, slightly bigger than an IPad, and I’ve tried showing mom videos and my blog etc on it, but it’s really too small for her to view well. I’ve given up on walking until it’s cooler. I tried last night after summer and the air was so thick and heavy I went back inside. We had rain and thunder overnight, which means I don’t have to water my pots. Looking forward to this week when the temps. resume normal hot. Have a good weekend, even if it is indoors!
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I know it came free with my internet and I know I looked at the tech with a look “what am I supposed to do with it?” When my mom was confined to bed, I went to Radio Shack and bought a monitor – maybe 17 inches, 19 inches … not sure, it was at the same time I bought my original laptop that I store my photos on now (it’s missing a few keys, but is otherwise fine and I wish I’d bought a wireless keyboard for it as it’s two inches bigger than this Windows 7 laptop). Anyway, I hooked the monitor to an old VCR and we could watch movies and things I taped in her room. I know there is a way to hook a monitor to a laptop … I’ve seen it in YouTube. I wouldn’t mind to do that for watching TV … maybe over the Winter as we only used it for two months, then she passed away. It was hot again this morning – I thought yesterday was worse than today. Too tropical to be enjoyable. We were supposed to have a storm this afternoon, but it hasn’t happened yet. I turn off the A/C and pull the laptop plugs when I know it’s going to storm … they said storms Friday/Saturday and tonight … it gets hot overnight, but I worry about a lightning strike. I hope we do not have a hot Fall! I have lots of stuff to do in September and not looking forward to doing it if it stays hot … this coolish week I WILL look forward to. My grass is still very green – incredible!
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That’s interesting that you could hook a monitor to an old VCR. I hope my brother can sort it out. We had a storm with a lot of wind after supper and its rained twice, but it was over quickly. Nothing like New Orleans. I wouldn’t want to live down there. It seems the world is lurching from one catastrophe to another.
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Yes, I found a how-to on YouTube and am going to try it maybe over the Winter, maybe when retired. I don’t have enough plugs in the house and I thought I’d wait and do it on this laptop after I finally use the Windows 10. I had thought of doing it and putting the monitor to the side for work, but I don’t know if that would be good for your neck to be looking sideways all the time. We had a storm last night about 9:00 and I shut down as it was thundering and torrential rain. I agree with you Joni – the world has so many catastrophes these days and even the horrible Haiti earthquake is not even discussed anymore and look at the lives lost and the devastation there.
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Congratulations on the milestone – four or five, whatever it might be. I enjoy your posts, so keep it up!
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Thanks Arlene! I’ll be back.
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Happy anniversary! 5 years spells commitment. As this is supposed to be a fun past-time, post when you want…creativity under pressure feels too much like work! Your readers will be here to enjoy your writing whenever you’re ready.
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Thanks Debbie! I’ve been enjoying the break, if not the weather!
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Well congratulations whether 4 or 5 years. I did post my first year and shouldn’t have. 😂 I look back at my pictures and format and think what in the world were you thinking. But then again, that is how we learn and grow from there. Have a great weekend Joni!
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Thanks Diane! I cringe at my early posts too. I need to get back at it, but I’ve been too busy watching baseball….
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A tardy congratulations on your blogiversary! To tell the truth, I am a mite jealous about your hiatus. I hit 6 years in July and have not taken a week off yet, other than some really skimpy pieces during the holidays. I have been really busy with work so those Friday morning deadlines come at me harder than they used to. But I am afraid that if I took a few weeks off I might like it too much. 🙂
I am supposed to be working right now, in fact, but the power went out about 10 minutes ago, so a little blog-reading-catch-up is in order.
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Thanks JP. I hope your power stayed off for awhile so you could get caught up. We had a terrible wind/rainstorm yesterday with the wind howling so much it reminded me of winter. Congratulations to you too – Six years is a long time to blog without a break. You’re lucky you have all those drafts to chose from. I used to have 3 or 4 drafts ahead, which made it easier if it was a busy week. I should never have taken this long a break, as now it is too hard to get back into it. My excuse for the month of September, is that the Blue Jays are paying every day, competing for a Wild Card spot. I don’t know if you follow baseball – I only do when it gets towards the playoffs. As we only have one Canadian team, it’s easy to have a favorite team. I thought of you when one of the bloggers I follow, who has a baking blog, posted this the other day, about Homemade Pop Tarts….You could use as much jam and icing as want! Here’s the link: https://indianeskitchen.com/2021/09/21/homemade-strawberry-pop-tart/
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