Blogger. I started blogging in 2008 at a place I called My Own Velvet Room. Over time, I created two additional blogs—Arms of Adoption and A Grandma’s Garden—and built a website. I don’t know what I was thinking.
In 2010, I combined them all into one platform, which has changed significantly over the years. Then, in 2021, I was feeling nostalgic for Blogger and created yet another blog called A Little Seasoning. (It didn’t take long before I realized that having two blogs was too much so I wasn’t there for long.)
My original blog still exists. You can see it here. I had a lot of fun over the years tweaking things and connecting with other bloggers, many of whom I’m still in touch with (*waving*). Those fond memories are probably why I haven’t been able to bring myself to delete My Own Velvet Room once and for all.
I still follow some of you who have Blogger blogs and get a little nostalgic when I visit your spaces sometimes. They all look different, but there’s something about Blogger blogs that reminds me of the “good old days” of blogging when we connected with others who wrote about ordinary things and allowed readers a glimpse into our everyday life.
I’m on Substack now. You might even be reading this there because I post most things there and on my blog. Substack is great. There are a lot of writers and others with whom I have things in common. Some of you have left your own blogs and moved over there too. But Substack isn’t perfect. And it’s not Blogger. It’s another animal altogether, and I’m still figuring it out.
I have no intention of firing up a space on Blogger again, but I don’t plan on leaving my WordPress blog either. I love the freedom I have to change things up if I feel like it (and I’ve felt like it a lot lately! I’m a techy at heart.). I like feeling like I can post what I want, whether it’s something “on brand” or just a quick post about nothing much at all, like this one.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the season and all the politics right now that have me missing the good old days of political-free blogging. Or maybe it’s that January sense of wanting to figure out what I want to be and do when I grow up. Or weariness and a intentional shift toward a different stage of life. Probably all the above and more.
Anyway, thanks for reading (wherever you’re reading.) In the spirit of old time blogging, I’ll tell you that when I sign off I’m going to pick up a delivery that was just dropped off at the front door. I’m pretty sure it’s a HelloFresh box. Molly is agitated, knowing someone was just on our front step. The longer I leave it there, the more annoyed she’s becoming. Plus, it’s cold outside and I can’t leave it there for too long. (Though, thankfully, it’s warmed up from yesterday’s -38C feels like temperature.) I’ll check back in with you later.
I still have my blogger sites out there in never never land. Blog rolls too! We’ve seen a lot of changes. Substack seems like a lot more work. Can’t keep up with what I’ve got – 2 blogs, FB, IG, and now BlueSky!
We certainly have seen a lot of changes, Margie! It’s dizzying at times. I’m not on Bluesky and have no intention of joining as I left Twitter years ago. Instagram, sporadically; Facebook often. If I hadn’t already met some wonderful people on Substack, I’d leave and focus exclusively on this space. Thanks for weighing in!
I miss the old days of blogging sometimes, too! I signed up for Substack — I think it was for a reading challenge I did last year — but, I’m very confused by it all. Especially on how to visit blogs. I see that SCN is on there, and I need to figure that out, too. Oh, if only more things could stay the same!