Blogging Successes and Failures

Jo Carroll, one of my very good blogging friends, has given me The Addictive Blogger Award.

Thank you, Jo.

If you’ve not visited her blog then please pop along to:

Gap Years the Book

In return for this award I have to talk about why I started blogging. Some of my original hopes for this blog have not been achieved but the failures have been cancelled out by the successes.

• Failure: I started this blog when Mr A was first diagnosed with Amyloidosis. I had hoped to contact others in a similar position. This didn't happen but we’ve got used to his condition now and it’s become part of our lives.

• Success: I’ve always wanted to write one of those opinion columns in the newspaper. *Glances at soap box in the corner* I don’t suppose I’ll ever get paid by a newspaper for doing it, so this is the nearest I’ll get.

• Failure:  I wanted to promote myself as a writer.  *hmmmm, me and over a 1000 other writers*

• Major Success: I thought it would be nice to meet other like-minded people. I never expected that I would get to know so many lovely, chatty, supportive bloggers. Social Networking sometimes has a bad press but for me it’s all good. *virtual cup of tea and cake anyone?*

• Failure:  I thought that writing a regular blog would kick-start some of my writing projects, the ones that have been ruminating in my pending file, but some weeks I hardly have time to do any writing. I’m far too busy enjoying and commenting on everyone’s blog posts, not to mention writing my own. OK, I exaggerate but it is a commitment and inevitably takes time.

• Success:  Not a week goes by when I haven’t written something new, edited and polished it and posted it up for people to read so I am writing!

There are as many negative bullet points as positive ones but I wouldn’t want to be without my blog, no way! What are your blogging positives and negatives?

I now have to nominate five other bloggers to receive this award. They now have to explain why they started blogging and pass the award on to five others. Do go and visit them and, if you don’t already understand why I spend time reading other people’s blogs, then you will soon.

Val at Watery Ways

Joanne at Word Splash

Lizy at Lizy-expat-writer

Ann at Morning AJ

Carol at Carol Hedges [I’ve just noticed that Carol has, last week, blogged about why she blogs *synchronicity* but I think you should visit her blog anyway.]

I had a dream... and some awards. Yay!

Over the last few weeks I’ve received three awards. Thank you, thank you. They’re from three lovely new blogger friends who I met through Rachael’s Platform Building Campaign. They’re well worth a visit.

Catherine from Catherine Johnson, Writer

Diane from Writer and Dreamer at Work

Michele from A Wanderer in Paris

I love receiving awards but as ever I’m going to break the rules. I’m now supposed to tell you things that you don’t know about me but I’ve decided to turn it on its head. I want you to tell me something I don’t know about me. You see, I had a dream...

...no really! The other night I dreamt that my diary was filled in for years into the future. Page after page of my scribbled handwriting told of events that hadn’t yet occurred, emotions that hadn’t yet been felt. I tried hard not to look at the words. I didn’t want to know but I couldn’t help myself. I started to turn the pages beyond today... and then I woke up. It was such a relief but I can’t get it out of my mind. The dream must have meant something only I can’t work out what. So, can you tell me something about me that I don’t know... please?

And now for the passing on of the awards and again I’ve broken the rules. I’ve created a brand new Friendly Blogger Award. 

It’s for those bloggers who chat to me, who take the time to comment on my blog. I love having visitors and thank you all for reading my blog but those who comment have gradually become friends. We know about each others’ lives, care about the bad and celebrate the good. I’d like to give all of you the award but I’m delighted to say that, at a rough count, I have are over 60 regular commenters... so how to decide?

I've had to select names randomly from the comments list of the last few posts. Many apologies to those who comment regularly and have not been recognised this time but I’m going to make another Friendly Blogger Award following my virtual Macmillan's World's Biggest Coffee Morning. It will take place here on my blog next weekend, 30th Sept to 2nd October, so come along, support a very worthwhile cause and have a fun time with all my competitions/virtual coffee and cake.

Finally my Friendly Blogger Award goes to:

Amy at The Green Bathtub

Barbara at From my Kitchen Table

Christine at 'And so the story goes...'

Giggles and Guns at GigglesandGuns

Hilary at Positive Letters.... Inspirational Stories....

Julie at Empty Nest Insider

Jemi at Just Jemi

Manzanita at Wanna Buy a Duck

Pauline at Scribbles

Rebecca at Rebecca Emin: Ramblings of a Rusty Writer

Robyn at Life by Chocolate

Talli at Talli Roland

Award rules: Send this award to about 10 people who regularly comment on your blog. A link back to my blog would be good... 

...and don't forget to keeeeeep commenting! [as they almost say on my favourite TV programme, Strictly Come Dancing, which is back next weekend!! Can’t wait!!]

Pet Points

I’ve been tagged by Maria at First Draft Café. Maria is one of the few bloggers who I know in real life. We joined together to present a creative writing evening for local residents... a most successful event. Now Maria has tagged me and the rules are that I must tell you 10 random things about myself but I'm changing that slightly to 10 facts about me and my pets (not forgetting some cat photos at the end of the post.)

1. The first fact has to be that I still miss my darling dog Josh who died suddenly exactly a year ago.

2. Josh was only my second ever dog. When I met Mr A he came as one of a pair, him and Ben. It was definitely a case of ‘love Mr A, love his dog’.

3. I’ve always had cats since I was a little girl. My first cat was called Timothy.

4. For many years I was the slightly embarrassed owner of two cats who my ex-husband named Plink and Plonk. They were lovely boys but, with names like that, I preferred not to call them in from the front of the house.

5. When I moved in with Mr A we had to introduce Plink and Plonk to Ben. Ben was a very excited dog. ‘Living with cats! Yo and woof!’ How wrong can a dog be? They sat on the dining table and took swipes at his muzzle as he trotted past. ‘What did I do to deserve that?’

6. I had Plink and Plonk for about 19 years... and then came Rosie, a loving little tortoiseshell cat. She had been rescued from a family where the toddler had stabbed one of her kittens with a scissors and thrown another down the stairs. The social services removed Rosie and her surviving kittens and rehomed all but Rosie… until we came along. We had her for almost 17 years. She died two years ago.

7. Long before Rosie was born my mum embroidered a picture of a cat. To our surprise it was our Rosie. She was always being held up next to it to show off the likeness whenever we had visitors.

Wasn't my Mum clever!

8. In March this year, just before mum died, she told me that it was time I got cats again. On her advice I did just that. It was good advice.

9. In March Mabel and Charlie entered our lives. They are middle-aged, blue/grey, girl cats who desperately needed a new home. When we first got them they were very nervous and timid.

10. Mable and Charlie are no longer nervous and timid. Only last night they were racing each other up and down the stairs and leaping across us as we watched the television. It’s good to have pets in the house again.     

Mabel: Why are you disturbing our breakfast?

Charlie: What's this camera doing here?

Now it's time to pass the tag on. I've tried to choose bloggers who I haven't sent awards to recently but who are regular visitors to my blog. Apologies to those I've missed.

Sarah Pearson at Empty White Pages

Rebecca Emin at Ramblings of a Rusty Writer

Ali Bacon at Between the Lines

D. J. Kirkby at D. J. Kirkby

L. G. Smith at Bards and Prophets