blogging – Rivers Renewed

Farewell

It has been a long time coming, and since I don’t like good-byes I’ll use the term farewell. Many of you know I’m not here much anyway but I need to take it a step further and make it official. I’m retired from blogging.

There are a few reasons. My wife’s health hasn’t changed, and she is still receiving treatment. Love is stronger than fear though.

I’ve decided to do more studying. Many of you that have been with me for a while know, that I love anthropology. What is anthropology? The study of people. I’m also studying gender. Yes. Gender.

We all need and enjoy healing and positivity. I have written that way for a long time. That’s how I used to write though. It’s beautiful but that’s not who I am now. Now I write more like the Emma stories, edgy females that don’t take crap from anyone!

Adding a little supernatural is always fun too. Is there an Emma novel waiting to be written? Absolutely.

Finally the extremism from the far-right is the most dangerous element our country has faced in a very long time. The threat is from the right… not the left. The most the left will do is spend your money.

In a few years we may not have democracy. It’s called fascism. I could rant and rave about this all day on a separate blog, but I simply don’t have time. Yes it does affect my writing.

Finally and most importantly is to say thank you! I cannot thank you enough! Some of you have been with me a long time. I’m in tears as I write this part.

Thank you!

If you don’t mind I’d like to hang around once in a while, visiting.

I wish you peace.

Blogging Update: June 2022

What a beautiful summer this is! Can you feel the excitement in the air? The flowers are blooming, and even the bumble bees have taken their rightful place in this beautiful realm. I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the natural world.

My wife and I have been focusing on being outdoors this summer. The other day we went for a walk in an apple orchard, and today we went walking in a local park. The apples are just beginning to grow, and it looks like there will be a wonderful harvest in a few months.

So, what about the blog? The blog is doing very well, and I could not be happier with your support and wonderful comments! I do apologize for not being here as much as I used to be.

When I first started blogging I was posting twice a day. How did I ever do that?? I have no idea.

Things have changed a lot in the 8 years I’ve been blogging. That seems like a long time. I have changed too, and in a lot of ways I have simply outgrown the site. I recently cut back to just 2 posts a week, but for the next week it will only be on Saturdays. I may expand that for the entire summer.

However do not feel abandoned! I will be visiting your sites. My summer schedule will be a precursor to my retirement schedule.

I love to write but I need more family time. I’m looking forward to more walks in the apple orchard with my beautiful wife! Some of you ask about her and I’m so grateful you check on us that way. She will always be on chemo, because that keeps her body stable. So yeah, time with my honey is important to me!

Thank you so much for reading!

Peace.

Blogging Update: February

Well if you’ve been following my work for a while you probably have seen some subtle changes. I seem more focused on what I’m seeing or feeling inside. Whatever I’m doing on a personal level, it’s working. I’m more at peace.

Some of my readers probably thought I had closed the shop, packed my bags and headed for the airport! Well, not so.

I’ve made a decision. This site is too old! It’s clunky, overloaded, and cumbersome. I love this blog though and will keep it here. However in a few months I’ll create a new one. Lighter, with a different type of writing. And I will post a lot less. I’m developing it. In the meantime I’ll still be here.

I am different. I’m different than I was, and I see the world and writing in a different way, than just a few years ago. I am no longer a fundamentalist and don’t want to be one ever again.

I write differently and what I read lately has been very exciting to me. I’m reading Deborah Harkness’ books, called a Discovery of Witches. She’s an amazing writer and her books are nothing like Harry Potter. They are not gross, and they seem to me like a more refined, sophisticated version of the Marvel movies.

I’m also reading some Anne Rice books, but her later work. I’m avoiding the early works because of them being way too gross and/or spicy. Yikes! I mention her because she is one of the best writers I have ever seen. Later in life she was a person of faith.

So I only read women authors now, because of their “voice”, their writer’s voice. And I noticed that when I write fiction the main characters are women. Remember Emma the Time Traveler series? And then there was Ally the Trans Woman.

See what I mean? I’m different now. Still a work in progress.

Thank you so much for reading!

Blogging Update: December

As autumn fades we are hopeful. The holidays are around the corner and decorations in and on our houses are beginning to appear. We hope the winter will be beautiful, and that the coming year will be a better one.

I hope you have enjoyed a few new photographs on my site. My favorites are on “Autumn by the Lake” and “In Our Moonlight”. I continue to work on making room here and deleting old work.

Several of you unfortunately did not receive replies from me regarding your messages. Yes, the infamous WordPress Spam Monster has struck again. This applies to not only newer readers but readers that have been here for years, making comments! What?? Give me a few days and I will reply.

If you have noticed your readership being down don’t worry about it! Continue doing what you do, with being a good neighbor and visiting other sites. Your posts are excellent!

Social media is not the future, it is now. So what if readers are on Instagram and Tweeter instead of WordPress? In fact, you can use social media to enhance your blogging here. Go for it!

I’m not sure yet how much I will be here for the holidays, but I will be here. I have a ton of cool books to read! My genre? Fantasy/Sci-fi/Paranormal. Ever heard of The Rook?

Thank you so much for reading!

Peace.

Blog Posting and Reposting

When I first starting blogging there was a blogger that posted the same post, multiple times every day. I mean the same post, about 20 times in one day! I timed it once and it was about once every 25 minutes. Wow! Or I should say, ugh!

Not only was it aggravating but it literally clogged up my reader or hindered me from seeing other posts from other bloggers. He’s no longer around but I’m still here.

There was also a young blogger that chose one day to post 30 different works! What?? Each was different but the same thing happened with my reader getting flooded and clogged. It seems this blogger actually wanted readers to stop following her. Yes, I know…..strange indeed.

I could tell you some stories! Any who…..

So what is a good number for posting? I post once a day, usually in the morning, and on rare occasions (very rare) one in the late afternoon. I’m not able to post every day though. Many of us follow this pattern however some choose less often, maybe 1-2 times in a week.

It depends on you. Remember though to be considerate of your readers! I know several bloggers that post 2-3 times in a day, and it works beautifully.

If you post 6-8 times in a day, then your work has to be exceptional for me to follow you. I know someone that does this, and their work is exceptional!

I don’t like reposting, but I use this sparingly for several reasons:

I don’t have anything new for that day, and yet I want to keep my site active.
With social media trends I’m giving my readers a second chance if they didn’t see it the first time around.
I’m not on social media in order to share it there.
And I also care about my work and want it to do well.

Remember to use this sparingly. Your readers will appreciate it!

Have a great time blogging and thank you for reading!

Peace.

Thank You So Much

I want to thank all of you for being here, and to thank many of you for your encouragement, advice, blessings, prayers, and overall positivity!

I can’t thank you enough. I’m excited about my plans to remain creative and actively involved with your beautiful sites!

I’ll be posting new work about 4 times a week. And I’ll take mini breaks here and there. After this evening I’ll be back Wednesday.

Thank you so much for reading!

Peace.

Blogging and Life Update

The poem from yesterday, called “Night Wind” came to me so quickly and so clearly, I could not resist writing it down and posting it in a hurry, even though I had to be out the door.

That happens to me, even though I realize I need to slow down, or I think I need to retire from blogging. I always have more inspiration, just when I think I have run out of things to say! I have a writer’s voice like a river running strong.

Yet I always work hard and push forward, sometimes too much. To be honest 2021 has been a tough year. Several family members have died from cancer, and a close friend to my wife also passed away from cancer.

My wife still gets treatments for her own cancer, and that makes bad news even more difficult to deal with. I go on my own appointments for chronic pain, and I often think of the Beatles’ song, “Yesterday”. At least the first few lines.

My wife and I also had separate car accidents! We were both injured separately, but I’m ok now even though my car was totaled. My wife has improved.

It’s not the right time to retire from blogging. However whatever schedule I once had for posting, has gone out the window. I need to adjust my blogging balance and I’m thinking about possible strategies. I’ll keep you posted.

Thank you so much for reading!

Peace.

Blogging Encouragement

How can we blog effectively in this social media driven world we live in? Do we need a bunch of new apps on our phone? Not really!

Be who you are, and continue to create the wonderful poetry, fiction, quotes, photographs, and art you do every day so beautifully!

And here are a few tips that I’ve learned:

Be there.

One of the most important things we can do to improve the health of our blogs is to visit other bloggers. If all you are doing is posting, that will not work out very well. Think of blogging as a community and we need to visit one another.

I had a college professor once that said 90% of life is just showing up. It’s that way with the blogging community as well.

Practice your craft.

Whatever you do in an excellent way…..give it your best! Write your best possible article or reach for that camera or drawing pencils and paints. Work on your projects and then don’t hold back!

You not only have a gift to share – you are the gift!

Be positive.

Yes, we all get down (even me!) but don’t live there. Offer hope and encouragement in your posts. Tell the world about the beauty and power of love.

This also includes leaving some comments to encourage others.

And enjoy yourselves!

Thank you so much for reading!

Peace.

The Most Amazing Person on the Planet

After all these years I’m still here blogging! Thank you everyone for reading and for your wonderful comments! I’m truly grateful.

If you’re new here, all are welcome regardless of your background, race, country of origin, your identity, your preferences or your faith. If you have no faith, I hope you will feel welcome here too! We all have a lot in common.

For those of you that are new here, I have just a few notes to share. My wife and I are older. Notice I did not say old! Just older.

As much as I love writing and blogging, the love of my life, the one I call “My Love” is the most amazing person on the planet and she is the one I want to be with. Due to the pandemic we like to go to the park together. And we pick up food and go outside to eat.

And because of our age we unfortunately need to go to the doctor sometimes. For example, I recently took her for her chemo treatment. And I get treatments for chronic pain.

So, I said all this because I do not blog from my phone anymore. I needed to “unhook” that part of technology. And I might be busy at the doctor’s or being in love or both. So please be patient with me in responding to your messages, seeing your posts, and visiting your site you asked me to check out for the first time.

Thank you again for being here!

Peace.

Notations Part II

I so appreciate your comments! I am encouraged on a constant basis. Thank you! If you don’t receive a reply right away it’s because I don’t blog with my phone anymore.

I tried 2 different experiments this week. One was to write something a little bizarre, but in a good way. “Time Traveler” was fun for me and I wanted to shake things up a bit. I will be doing more of these!

The other experiment was that I posted everyday, Monday-Friday even if it wasn’t new. It was not as difficult as I thought it might be. How some of you can post 4-5 times a day though is amazing!

We have a lot of doctor visits and my wife and I enjoy the company of each other, so I will be cutting back some. Besides it’s summer now! And the pandemic is hopefully, prayerfully winding down here.

Thank you so much for reading!

Peace.

Tag: blogging

Farewell

Blogging Update: June 2022

Blogging Update: February

Thank You So Much

Blogging and Life Update

Blogging Encouragement

The Most Amazing Person on the Planet

Notations Part II

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