Saturday, April 5, 2014

Five years of blogging ... already

Last Sunday, March 30, 2014, was the fifth year anniversary of my blog.  I published my first post on March 30th, 2009.  First, I had written an Introduction then the post which was called "Rancho Los Cerritos."  This post was short, just two paragraphs and one collage.  I received 4 comments on this first post.  Rancho Los Cerritos was close to our daughter's condo.  Here are some more photos I took that day and did not publish.  (Click on collage twice to enlarge.)

At the time I wrote that I wished my two little grandsons could read about my past and now I have 4 grand children!  Now I also publish more pictures in my posts.  Unfortunately I have noticed that many of my pictures have been copied without my consent, some are even being sold as computer screen backdrops, and so I try to mark some with my name.  I really enjoy working with my photos, and that is this love of pictures, painting and postcards which partly started me in blogland.  This past year we visited our eldest daughter, who had moved from Long Beach, California, to Memphis, Tennessee.  We accompanied her to Jackson, Mississippi, on a business trip.  There we visited the house of Pulitzer Prize author Eudora Welty (1909-2001.)  Ms. Welty lived in this house for close to 80 years.  I'll have a post on it in the future, but for now I wish to show you some of Eudora's quotations which echo my feelings.

During my last few years at work I was transferred to a different department in a large building with no windows.  I would come about half an hour before work and drink a cup of coffee while looking at pictures on my computer.  I found a site showing a new photo daily - and this would start my day with a beautiful image.  The site had many different sections, such as landscape, animals, flowers, cities, etc.  They could be downloaded.  The site was called Webshots.  It still exists but has been sold.  Here are some of the pictures I watched, in 2006.

Looking for French pictures on the computer during lunch I had found a site by a man called Jean, who had a "Blog" called "Le Blog de Jean Couleurs."  (I think he stopped the blog in 2010.)  He published one picture on each post usually with little or no text.  Below are some of the pictures I saw on his blog in early 2006.  I printed the photo of the garden gate and placed in on the file cabinet facing my computer so I could look at it and imagine that I would walk through that door into a romantic garden.

At about that time, April 2006, I read an article in the New York Times, under Retirement, about "Elderbloggers."  You can read it here.  That is when I started to look at blogs.  In the fall of 2006 my daughter had also started a family blog.  When we visited her in Long Beach in March 2009 to celebrate my birthday, she persuaded me to start my own blog and helped me create one.  We called it "Recollections of a Vagabonde."  By May 2009, I had three followers already, who still read my blog today.  I thank them heartily for having been reading my posts for these last five years.  Thank you Elaine of Arctic View ,  Friko of Friko's World and Djan of Djan-ity .  I appreciate your friendship.  Now I won't show pictures taken these last five years, as this post would last 10 pages or more, but I have picked some photos from this last year of blogging, since March 2013.  Some of these images were in posts, some not yet.  These below are from last spring.

After a long winter spring flowers are always an exciting sight.

This past year I was able to photograph a variety of subjects, including animals.  In March 2013 I took a picture of our new little kitten, Mitsuko, a Korat female, who was about 2 months old then.

During the course of the year I was able to photograph more animals.  Don't forget to click on pictures to see better.

In May 2013 we welcomed our latest grandchild, a little girl (after 3 grandsons.)  I had been busy knitting baby blankets.

Then when we came back to Georgia we drove to New Echota, the former capital of the Cherokee Nation and attended the service commemorating the 175th anniversary of the Cherokee Trail of Tears.

In 2013 we visited three of my favorite cities - San Francisco, New Orleans and New York.  In June it was San Francisco (I still have several posts coming relating to that visit.)

We also visited some interesting museums and exhibitions during the year.

We ate some delicious meals.  I made up a new cake recipe - an upside down fresh fig cake.

This last year of blogging I took so many pictures again that it is hard to choose which ones to show here - birds, or cats, or interesting shots or scenery - the selection is large indeed.



We rode the train they call The City of New Orleans and loved it - more posts on New Orleans will be coming up.

In New Orleans, Memphis and other towns, we stopped to listen to musicians.

We also stopped to look at flowers and read meaningful quotations.

Our warmest day might have been in Key West, Florida or the Bahamas.

Our coldest was in New York City - but it was warm in the Public Library.

It was cold one day only for us in New York, and then the weather was temperate for the rest of our stay.

This last blogging year saw much activities and beautiful images.  I still have many photos that are not downloaded.  It has been a pleasure to share my pictures here on my blog.  I thought that once I retired I would not meet many people, but with this blog I have met and become friends with many talented, kind and interesting people from all over the USA and many parts of the world.  Some I have met in person such as Naomi in Hollywood, California of the blog Here in the Hills and others several times, such as Frances in New York of the blog City Views, Country Dreams .  We even went all the way to Oslo, Norway, to attend a Blog Gathering!  I know that I now look at the world with a keener eye, looking for the right picture and trying to absorb all the information so I can share it on my blog - the picture can be of an attractive person, or appealing color combination.

The picture can be of a glamorous bird or just an old pot in a window,

or it can be a photo taken from the wall of a local historic railway station,

or just a gorgeous sunset on the Mississippi River.

My life has certainly been enriched by this blog.  I have learned so much from all the creative bloggers I read.  I wish to say a heartfelt "Thank You" and "Merci" to all my readers.  I appreciate that they have taken some of their precious time to leave a comment and I also appreciate the readers who just look at my pictures.  These five years of blogging have gone by very quickly and I'm looking forward to many more.

59 comments:

  1. (^‿^)❀

    Hello chère Vagabonde !

    Un petit passage sur ton blog ce dimanche pour te souhaiter un bon anniversaire de ton blog !!!
    5 ans ... ça fait un beau parcours déjà !
    Je te souhaite une longue vie à ton blog ! Il est très bien fait.

    Merci aussi pour cette nouvelle, jolie et intéressante publication !!!

    GROS BISOUS d'ASIE pour toi chère Vagabonde.

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  2. Bravo:-) Time flies doesn't it?
    I am grateful to blogging also.In many many ways..

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  3. Time catches us by surprise! I'm grateful I bumped into you and partook of the many beautiful sights you traveled to.

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  4. These last few years flew by really fast and we are all delighted by the beautiful photos, interesting posts who never failed to educate us about history… Thank you!

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  5. Congratulations. Your posts are always a visual delight - and frequently educate me as well. For both, I thank you.

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  6. un bon blog-anniversaire!
    tu as posté beaucoup de belles photos ..je reviens pour voir en détail!

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  7. Congratulations with your anniversary, I started at the same year but only discovered you a few months ago. Hope we can both still go on blogging for a long time, it enriches your life so much..

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  8. You certainly have a talented eye for photography and it shows even in your early days of blogging. I cringe at some of my early photos.

    Your posts are not only full of gorgeous photography but interesting information and history. Congratulations on 5 years and I look forward to the next ones.
    Sam

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  9. Such a beautiful recap of the past few years. Thank you!! I've really enjoyed traveling along and one of these days I hope we meet up. We live in the same town!!

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  10. You sure have done a lot in five years. I can travel vicariously through you and your photos and its a great ride! Congratulations!

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  11. What a marvelous journey you have shared with the blogging world! Merci.

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  12. Bon anniversaire pour ton blog! C'est certainement une expérience très belle de pouvoir partager des morceaux de notre vie et de rencontrer là dehors, dans blogland tant de douceur, de gentillesse et de chaleur.
    Je te souhaite encore plus de publications à venir ...
    Gros bises
    Olympia

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  13. You have such a beautiful blog. Happy Blogiversary...wow 5 years is quite an accomplishment..Thank you for sharing your beautiful photography with us...and your stories..
    Love, Mona

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  14. i have seen many wonderful places and learned so much as you shared life through your blog!! you have enriched my life greatly!!! i thank you for sharing your words and photos.......xo

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  15. You have SUCH a great eye!




    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral

    =^..^= <3

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  16. A nice and colorful celebration of life!
    Blogs are certainly an excellent way to approach subjects we would perhaps not look for on our own. Such an enrichment.
    Happy Blog Anniversary!

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  17. Five years of blogging is quite an achievement and your posts are always a delight to see.

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  18. Je me ferais bien toute petite pour me blottir sur une branche parmi les fleurs roses de ce magnolia ou me glisser dans ta poche pour te suivre dans tes pérégrinations... Je te suis dans la genèse de ton blog, tes émerveillements pour des photos qui t'ont poussée à vouloir progresser toi-même. Tes photos de rhododendrons n'ont rien à envier à celles que tu admirais...
    Continue encore longtemps à jalonner ainsi ton temps et à partager avec tes visiteurs devenus amis tes émotions et tes enthousiasmes !

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  19. Such a great look-back over your five years of blogging, Vagabonde. Many congratulations and here's to many more years of wonderful posts. Each one really is a work of art and must take so much time and effort to put together. Given how busy your life is with family and travelling, I really don't know how you do it! :-)

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  20. Congratulations, my friend! Blogging has opened new worlds and friendships to so many of us. I have loved seeing places I won't probably ever see in person through your eyes, savoring your eye for the gorgeous in your photos, loved your postcards (I especially love it when I discover we have some of the same ones!) and delighted in your words and mastery of the language. I feel as though I've not just discovered a blog here, but a friend, and that's a real gift! May you enjoy it for many more years.

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  21. Congratulations on 5 years of blogging! That is a great accomplishment! Your photos are so beautiful -- I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite...they are all wonderful!

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  22. Congrats on 5 years! I love your posts! They are always so filled with beautiful pictures and lots of information! Oh, you always make me hungry too! LOL! I love your cat! So cute! Big hugs and here's to many more years ;o)

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  23. Vagabonde, Happy 5th Blogaversary! I find blogging satisfying as well. I'm not as creative as you are with the photos but I love the research and writing. Mitsuko is really cute...we love cats! My better half has never been to New Orleans and we plan to resolve that in the late fall or early winter of this year. I have to find a great plantation house to show here as well... Thanks for your great blogs...and the work plus the research that goes into them. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  24. What a magnificent series! The little gray kitten melted my heart.

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  25. This is my first visit here and congratulations on your years of blogging. I have been blogging for years too. I admire the quality of your photos WOW and your subjects and how you see shots to take. Well done.

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  26. Joyeux anniversaire pour votre blog coloré, fleuri et instructif!

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  27. Je viens te dire bonjour et merci de ton passage
    tu en as tant de photos tu ne dois jamais restée sans rien faire je pense
    un peu comme moi
    je vois que tu aimes tricoter et en plus c'est si beau
    Je pense que les blogs sont nos amis car c'est vrai que nous en apprenons de superbes choses et nous rencontrons aussi de trés belles personnes*
    Je te souhaite une belle journée et ici elle sera encore sous la pluie
    bisou

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  28. Congratulations on your five years of blogging. You have brought us some of the most beautiful photo tours of places you have traveled, some I'll never see, and some I can see in your area. I thank you again for using my poem with your lovely pictures to make a special post a few years back. I enjoy reading your blog and hope you will continue with it for many years to come.

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  29. Congratulations of five years of blogging, Vagabionde! I am now watching my granddaughter during the weekdays, so my computer time is limited but I do drop by your blog to read now and then. Best wishes on all your future blog posts!

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  30. Congratulations on reaching your 5th blogging birthday an amazing achievement.It has been a pleasure to follow you for a few of those years. I would hate to work somewhere with no windows what a good idea to bring beautiful views to your desk! I'm glad your daughter encouraged you to start your blog! Sarah x

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  31. ALL of your pictures are magical and stunning.....there are so many in this post that I just LOVED! All the animals---Particularly that wonderful Owl----I think he is my Favorite...But, all the others are just gorgeous, too.....Your "eye" for Beauty and Composition is impeccable!!!!
    Here's to another 20 years of blogging--at the very least, my dear Vagabonde.....! And thanks so much for the mention. Like you, I feel that Blogging has enriched my life in so very many ways---the wonderful people, such as yourself, that I have met---The places I have been to through this world wide activity....It has been and still is, a life-saver, in every way.
    HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MY DEAR...!

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  32. Congratulations on your five years of blogging! Your posts and pictures are always wonderful and I have much pleasure visiting you!
    Cheers!

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  33. Congratulations on your fifth blogaversary! I've enjoyed your photos all these years, and your recollections. I'm sure your grandchildren will one day read your blog and really appreciate what a wonderful stories their grandma has for them. One think about marking photos. I've tried before but you know how easy it is for someone to just crop out your name on the photo. You would likely put it on the bottom, so it's very easy just to cut that out. Because of that, I've given up marking my photos. I've kept for myself some of the really good ones and tend not to post them because it's just very easy for others to copy them.

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  34. Congratulations on five years of blogging! I started my blog in January 2009, and started it with the idea of keeping my family updated as we traveled. Like you I discovered so many other blogs and feel like I have made many friends over the years. I am so glad I found your blog so soon and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the world through your eyes. We are at the end of our short jaunt to the Pacific Northwest and head home tomorrow after enjoying a bit of early Spring. It will be a few more weeks before we see the flowers bloom in Alaska, but we should be seeing lots of migrating birds very soon. Take care, my friend.

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  35. Wow, you have had a busy and beauty-full year! And your photos capture it all so wonderfully. Congratulations on five years.

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  36. voilà ..en relisant attentivement, j'ai su que des personnes ont utilisés tes photos et même revendu...
    il y a des bonnes et moins bonnes choses sur le net... mais je viens avec plaisir ici lire tes billets...
    bonne continuation!

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  37. I'm one of the lucky ones who has met you in real life, Vagabonde, and I feel blessed. To be honest, you're even better in real life!!! I see you as a woman of eternal youth. I like that about you. And I don't think I've met anyone who knows as much about the world and history and people as YOU.

    Now you've given me an idea about making sure I celebrate my 10th blog anniversary next January!

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  38. Congratulations. You have posted more photographs in this one blog post than I have perhaps put in in my entire blogging career!

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  39. You have an absolutely gorgeous blog and I'm so glad you stopped by my humble one. I always thought I would travel more when I retired but illness surprised me and has kept me close to home but I am so blessed to have blogs to visit like yours!
    In fact, I had 2 surgeries in Memphis, or rather Colliersville on the outskirts.
    I used to travel on business several times a year before I retired and I loved it. Travel is an education in itself and keeps the mind open and fresh.
    I just recently listened to a program about Eudora Welty on NPR and some taped interviews of her and thought how I would love to visit her home and lo and behold there you were with pictures and a future blog post! As much as I "armchair travel" they don't cover the interesting and fascinating places or people such as she. Now there's a "niche" that needs to be filled! LOL! Thank you so much and what a great time to find you on your 5 year anniversary and to get a glimpse of your past year. What a darling grandbaby too. Anyway, I feel like I've made a new friend. Have a great day friend!

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  40. Heartfelt Happy Blog o versary !
    What a beautiful tribute of lovely times .
    Blogging is such a wonderful thing isn't it .

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  41. Your pictures are lovely and I love the collages you made, especially the one of spring with pink flowers. Happy blogiversary!

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  42. Bon anniversaire! Merci de ce. tour! C ' ėtait très intéressant.
    merci de votre visite et commentaire. Oui je suis très inquiète.Après samedi j' espère que le cyclone est passé.

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  43. Many congratulations on five years! Your blog has certainly expanded my world -- I look forward to many more posts from you!

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  44. What a fascinating post, with the most interesting pictures and stories! Congratulations on your fifth anniversary as a blogger.

    Thanks, also, for coming to the Bear's place, and leaving an excellent note.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!

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  45. Fascinating! You have been blogging for about as long as I have. I loved seeing your photos and having an insight into how you began. I too read Friko! I love the connections we make through blogging and the way I can look into your life and share mine with you half a world away.

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  46. Félicitations pour cet anniversaire! Et un grand grand merci pour toutes ces merveilleuses photos. Votre blog est vraiment un des plus beaux et des plus intéressants de tout ceux que je lis. xoxo

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  47. It has been a pleasure ‘knowing’ you for all of these blogging years and to ‘speak' to you behind the scenes as well. Blogging has certainly opened up the world for me too.

    Looking at scenery and subjects for a blog makes photography interesting too. I now never go out without at least a small pocket camera.

    How long will we still be blogging? Who knows.
    I wish you continued pleasure doing it.

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  48. You have some gorgeous collages here. Looking at them, I realized what a good way they are for documenting, say, a trip. I have to practice doing them. I only just started. Good idea to put your name on them. I have found many of my pictures on Google images for anyone to steal.

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  49. Bon blog anniversaire et félicitations!
    I enjoyed your ride through history lane
    To many more ! and to meeting you in person soon.
    and yes, that art deco church in Brussels in near ave Rousseau
    à bientôt

    anni

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  50. That's quite the look back - congratulations on 5 years of blogging.

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  51. Congrats on five years of blogging. What a fun journey it is!

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  52. Féliciations pour ces 5 ans de partage! Quelle plaisir de te'connaître' et bientôt pour du vrai. Je ne savais pas qu'on a tellement de relations en commun ;-).
    Vive le printemps!

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  53. Congrats on your blogoversary! I began blogging in 2007. It's been a wonderful past time.
    Regarding your stolen photos...I only post low-resolution photos now. These cannot be blown up for other purposes. Shameful, isn't it?
    Wonderful photos! Good for you, 4 grandkids. I have 2, and a wedding this year, too!
    (ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

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  54. Congratulations on your five years of blogging, Vagabonde! Your past five years seem to have consisted of various-colored and spiced-up events. The cat with Japanese name, Mitsuko, is so beautiful and your fresh fig cake made my mouth water. Keep up nice blogging.

    Yoko

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  55. I'm brand new to your blog, so this anniversary post was just perfect for a bit of catching up. Your joy in your life and family and travel is so apparent - I know I will love following your writing. And congratulations on so many successful years of blogging.

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  56. Honestly, I wish I had more time to absorb all your travels and commentary. With six children who are all autistically active in theatre and life, I get pulled away from my computer (imagine! :) I don't think I have ever come across a post of yours that is too long - I enjoy all and know when I visit these places I will google here for info and ideas. Thanks for five years and I look forward to more!

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  57. Your photographs are excellent and it is not right that people should use them without your permission. My son has just sent me a card with a photograph of myself taken when I was a model in the fifties - and used without my permission!

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  58. A very happy 5th Blogaversary to you, Vagabonde! I just checked my first blog post in 2008. There were No Comments. In fact there were no comments for several months until I learned that to find friends, you have to be a friend. Then suddenly the whole world opened up.

    I couldn't give up blogging now. I have so enjoyed visiting your blog and seeing all the wonderful things in your world. Thank you so much for sharing what you see with us. I'm wishing you another five years and many more of blog sharing. Aloha from Hawaii.

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