If I don't hurry with this post, July will be gone. Our daughter came over for supper and afterward we settled down in our comfy seats in the living room after dinner. She turned on the tv to watch the Investigation Discovery channel and I turned on my laptop.
I'd never watched any of the shows, but I got interested in this episode and that has put me behind. Not that I have anything all that interesting to share today. ☺
So many seem to be leaving blogland lately and some have just left without a word. I've been blogging almost 8 years and it's almost like keeping an online diary for me. If I can't remember when something happened the past 8 years, I can usually find it in a blog post. Truthfully, that is what keeps me blogging.
I don't blog to get X number of followers, although I will say that I love comments just like everyone else. I don't blog because I like to show my house or photos of my family. My house frankly isn't all that show-worthy and my family doesn't like for me to publish their photos.
I only blog once or twice a week and that is all I seem to be able to get done lately as there are so many other things I like to do, too. I've also said this before, but I am slow. When you get older, it takes twice as long (or even more) to get anything done.
And then I often have problems when typing a post, such as I had a paragraph written just below the half-opened sunflower. It just went "poof". I have no idea why and this is a fairly new laptop.
Hate to admit it, but I don't even remember what I had said so I can't rewrite it. The brain cells are getting older too, so the memory isn't what it used to be.
Our son came in for the weekend. BG and I had run to the Big Town Saturday morning so he could get a haircut and then we went by Lowes to buy a new leaf blower. I ran into Kohl's with my 30% off coupon and found a new pair of white capris and new tennis shoes for him.
When we got home, Brett was there and had brought some hamburger and brats for grilling. I made a pasta salad using the recipe I shared on a previous post just after the 4th and we also grilled some veggies.
Our weather has been much nicer the past few days and the nights are cool. It will probably heat back up as August is usually the hottest month here, but we're enjoying this cooler weather while we can.
🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈
I'm trying to work up the courage to repaint my walls, unless I can talk BG into letting me find someone else to do it. We'll see. I'm not counting on it.
The bigger problem is choosing the right shade of paint. I'm not quite sure what I want, but I'm thinking a creamy white. Not a stark white.
We have put off getting some new carpet for too long. That will hopefully happen after the painting is done. Our carpet is 20 years old and I will say that it's held up well for all these years but it's beginning to look it's age and more.
If you have a favorite white paint or a carpet style you just love, please share. I am always looking for suggestions as there is just so much to choose from in both paint and carpet that it's mind-boggling.
Off now to hit the publish button while I have a couple of hours of July left. :)
Happy Monday to you!
xo Cheryl
Hi Cheryl...
ReplyDeleteBefore I forget, I wanted to share the paint color we used in our master bedroom at the lake (I kept a record as we did almost every room in a different color). It's Alabaster #7008 by Sherwin Williams. I have tried so many 'whites' and I swear, this is a beautiful creamy shade with no yellow, peach or beige. I lie on the bed and think...this is the perfect cream and I'd do any room in it. Check out a sample.
I feel the way you do about blogging. Someone mentioned that Instagram has become the quick blog for many. I'm doing Instagram but in no way does it replace blogging. I, too, like to document my days and family time. I refer to my blog often as you do. I also use it to practice and perfect my writing...I wouldn't have my job if I were still a novice!
My daughter has gotten me caught up in a lot of TV shows and believe me, I do not need the distraction!
Jane x
Thanks for the suggestion, Jane! I'll be looking for the color Alabaster, it sounds like it might be what I'm looking for. Isn't it amazing that there are so many choices in white?
DeleteYes, it is sad to me how many have quit blogging. And some leave without even saying goodbye or why. I think that is not right, as we were blog friends for a long time and invited each other into our lives. Many have gone to Facebook instead. I am so glad you are still blogging!!! Your sunflower shots are beautiful!! And your hydrangeas are gorgeous, I love the colors. Carpet and paint colors are always stressful for me to choose, since I am not artistic at all. I would love to see it when you are done.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ginny. It'll be awhile yet before it is all done. Hopefully sometime this fall.
DeleteI want my carpet GONE.. but Bob doesn't. it is 17 years old and has survived 4 dogs.. I want laminate wood look. we have carpet in bedrooms and living room, ceramic tile the rest of the house. I much prefer sweep/mop over vac.
ReplyDeleteI am like you with the blogging, just today someone at the Y asked me if I had seen the gumbo limbo tree at Desoto. I whipped out my tablet and showed her the pics of it on my blog, she said will you send me that pic? I love looking back, just for myself.
I like the laminate wood look, too, and that is what BG wants. But I'm just the opposite...I prefer vacuuming over mopping. It's not as hard on my back for some reason. Hmmm, maybe I can make a deal with BG...he gets to choose the laminate but he has to mop! ha!
DeleteCheryl, I miss many of our blogging friends. I use to try to post more often. I catch myself making so many typing mistakes. I do not know why I think I have to do comments and posts so darn fast that I do not prove read. You know another blogging thing that makes me nuts...when I am typing away and for some reason it's not even in showing and I have to start over...it's as if I have to make sure I am in the comment box. It happens to me lots. I am either not striking the keys hard enough or I truly don't know what I am doing. LOL Let's pray for a low humidity August. :):) I hate the AC running. Blessings to you, BG and the children. xoxo, Susie
ReplyDeleteI have that problem, too, Susie. Typing and it not showing up. It must be something I'm doing wrong. I'm hoping for a cooler August than July was!
DeleteLike you, my blog is somewhat of a diary of my daily life. Not exciting, but true to form. There are fewer bloggers lately.
ReplyDeleteI think that many bloggers are running off to Facebook or somewhere else. I do wish they'd let us know when they are leaving instead of making us worry. I like your blogging style, Michelle, keep it going!
DeleteHi Cheryl!
ReplyDeleteIs it really the 1st day of August!? Where did the month go? It has been hot here as well, but the nights are cooler, thank goodness . . . my poor air conditioner has been working overtime!
I know what you mean about blogging...almost 10 years for me! I can remember when you started blogging! Can you believe we have been at it this long!? Blogging is my journal as well. Yes, I love comments, but I don't blog for money or numbers. I also love to go back and see what was happening, how I was feeling, see how things have changed, and what changes I need to make...it truly does help me stay focused. I believe that blogging has helped my memory. It makes me concentrate on just one thing at a time, and I think it has helped! I don't blog as often as I used to, but I plan on posting more often about everyday happenings, not that anything exciting happens everyday, but just so I don't forget those wonderful ordinary days; I love reading about other peoples ordinary days as well.
I need to paint and carpet too...I hate deciding on paint color! I like color, so I am always holding myself back so I don't get to carried away with a strange color...bless my sweet husband! I have wood laminate in my kitchen, dining area and living room, and I love it! I am thinking about putting in all the bedrooms and tiling the bathrooms. I have asthma and I think it would help with that.
Loved all of your photos today - the sunflower pictures are so pretty! Thanks for hanging in with me all these years! I would just love to meet all of my blogging buddies and give them a big hug!!
Hugs,
Barb
Hi Barb, I love reading about other's ordinary days, too. They are my favorite kind of blogs. I am pondering about wood laminate. I love it, but don't know if I want to have to mop. Running the vacuum doesn't seem so hard, to me. I'm glad you liked my photos, I love sunflowers and these are volunteer. Hugs back at ya!
DeleteI use my blog as a reference journal also. It remembers better than I do. If you only posted your photos you would have a successful blog. You really have a great eye. I know what you mean when our bloggers just disappear. I really hope they just got burned out and are happy and healthy. Kind of unsettling not knowing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Patti! I do enjoy taking photos but haven't done much of it lately.
DeleteYou're so right about it being unsettling not knowing what's happened to the blogger that just quits without a word. Wish they would at least say goodbye!
You sound a lot like me...blogging as sort of time keeper. When I first started blogging, I was more aware of new followers and kept a close eye on them. I remember how it made me feel when a couple of them dropped off. All of a sudden my brain went into overdrive to try to figure out what I had done wrong! These days, although I love hearing from everyone (because they have become friends), I rarely look at my blog stats. I am lucky if I get a post out a week. I also remember after I first started having nothing on my mind but ideas for posts...going to bed thinking about it and waking up the same! I told myself, NO MORE of that silly stuff! Like you, I do enjoying sharing my photos, what's going on in my little world and sometimes what's on my heart. Blogging can really take over your life if you let it....that's when one needs to call it quits, I guess! Oh, and unopened sunflowers are one of my favorite subjects to photograph....well, sunflowers in general! :D
ReplyDeleteIt was either quit or cut back and I'm not ready to quit blogging yet. I do love it and enjoy all my wonderful friends blogs so much. I love your photography and posts, Debby. These sunflowers were taken with my phone so my shots aren't the best, but I love sunflowers too. These were volunteer sunflowers that sprouted from the seeds that dropped from the bird feeder.
DeleteGreat photos!!!
ReplyDeleteI am happy you are still blogging. I enjoy your posts and your family.
Happy August!! Can you believe we are in month number 8 already of 2017!
Carla
Thanks, Carla! I enjoy your posts, too. Yes, it is really hard to believe August is here!
DeleteI read far more than I comment. I think that happens on my blog as well. I have used mine to stroll back in time tons. I like to read about the ordinary moments of life for some odd reason. I had grandiose plans of really sharing more of my home and things like that but over time, it is just the mundane that I post and I am thoroughly good with that. Keep posting, I will comment more:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting, Sandy. I had big plans when I started blogging too, but quickly realized that I wasn't going to be the next Pioneer Woman. lol! It's been a fun experience, though, and I am so happy to have met some great people in this wonderful world of blogging.
DeleteIt is sad to see the bloggers leave and never say goodbye. I often wonder if something awful happened in their lives or they just got tired of blogging and quit.
ReplyDeleteI, too, do it for a kind of journal.
If you are looking for a nice 'warm' white, I like White Dove by Benjamin Moore (but you can ask at Home Depot, etc) and they can pull it up on the computer and match it with Behr or their other paint. It's a lot cheaper that way. I have used that as my 'go to' white for years as I like the bit of warmth- it is a nice white/white without feeling stark.
The only thing I can tell you in carpeting is not berber because it does show wear over time...and to buy the best you can afford. I like a plush or something that doesn't have a 'pattern' to it. A twisted yarn holds up pretty good to heavy wear, too.
Hope you have a great week, Cheryl...and keep posting!!! xo Diana
Thanks, Diana, for the tips! I will look for a sample of White Dove. I agree that plush is a good carpet. That is what I've had for 20 years and it's held up pretty well. If we don't decide on a laminate wood flooring, it will probably be plush. Just don't know what color to get!
Deletei try to keep up with the blogging and comments, but sometimes it's hard to do. my family doesn't like me to show them either. so i can relate to your blogging experience.
ReplyDeleteFamily can be so difficult sometimes, can't they? j/k I do wish they weren't so camera shy, but I guess I can't say anything because I don't like to show photos of myself, either!
DeleteI would disagree with you about having nothing to share. I love hearing about your day to day life and those flower pictures are definitely worth of a post. Good luck with picking a paint color.I dislike doing that because too often I regret the color I chose and then have to live with it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth. And, that is exactly why I don't like picking colors too, because I have to live with it for years!
DeleteIt does seem that blogging has taken a back seat to Instagram and FB for so many. I started blogging at the encouragement of my daughter when she moved away a spot of each of us to keep up with the goings on in our lives. I never expected the wonderful folks I would *meet*... so many are gone now. There are days I just don't seem to have the time, but it has become a journal for me to "remember" also. My daughter stopped long ago... but, I still straggle along. Glad you do, too!! blessings ~ tanna
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBlogger gld said...
ReplyDeleteI blog for the same reason....plus do keep a daily journal. Sometimes the journal is so abbreviated that even I have trouble interpreting it.
If you can find someone to paint, do it. I started our bedroom last year and finally gave up after one wall. I was having a particularly bad period with my knees and general feeling (Dr. calls it fibromyalgia). I am feeling much better now and am thinking of painting the outside of the front of the house........at least it would be white on white so not so noticeable if I fail to finish it.
I could almost have written this post myself...so many people went to Facebook and I just don't spend a lot of time there...I am more apt to go look for something someone has told me they put up rather than just go and look around. I love blogging for various reasons. I like my Pics & Pieces for what has been happening. Like you I can go back and find when things happened a lot of times.
ReplyDeleteOr just now, I even went to Time Stand Still to see when I posted pics of Water Lilies from this one place we go.
And like you I have so slowed down...
I am nodding my head as I read your discussion on blogging. Sometimes, blogging takes more time than I have to give it, and sometimes I just don't feel like "talking." But I really love it in my heart of hearts, and so I will continue to blog . . . when I feel like it. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, now that white paint is a toughy. We have a shade that we have used for years, but it is no longer made (we have it color matched by computer) so I can't tell you how to get it. Good luck on finding the right white!
I'm also sad that so many bloggers have disappeared or moved on to facebook or Instagram, but I understand how life changes. I hope to continue my blog for many more years--I still enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteI'm not good with paint colors--I usually go with neutrals like beige or creamy yellow. My son just painted his dining room navy blue--at first I thought it would look ugly but now I'm loving it! I would never have chosen such a dark color but it looks nice in their house.
Hi Cheryl, Thanks for your sweet comment on my last post. I appreciate it. Paint colour is so difficult to choose as there are SO many different tones to choose from. We had our open living areas painted 5 years ago in B M's Hepplewhite Ivory over yellow and it still shows as a really soft butter yellow and I'm tired of it already but, I haven't a clue what colour to change to. B M's Cloud White is a nice soft white (our ceilings are in this). Carpet is a big decision too. We only have our bedroom with carpet (off white berber) and it needs cleaning badly. We have hardwood in the living/dining rooms and hall, and laminate in the spare bedroom and downstairs. Laminate is great and easy to install and often comparable to a good carpet. Good luck with your decisions. I enjoyed seeing your flower photos. It is sunflower season!! Happy August to you. Take care. Pam
ReplyDeleteOh, I feel the same way you do about blogging. I like it because it is somewhat like a journal. I have noticed that there are a few that are not blogging very much anymore. Don't stop yours; I love reading of your adventures. It's been fun to get to know you. I always enjoy reading about your children's visits.
ReplyDeleteWe need to paint the inside of our home too. I don't know when it will happen; but I hope soon. I haven't even thought about colors yet. I have always liked traditional white. There are a couple of my rooms I would like to do with another color.
I'm looking forward to a cooler August. Here July is our hottest month. Enjoy your outdoor moments; sending hugs your way!
Cheryl, I love reading your blog. It's just like getting a letter from a friend! I feel like one of those bloggers who have disappeared. Finally trying to put up a short post, maybe every few days. I love all your beautiful flowers. Mine are mostly gone. Our July was brutal, eventhe daily watering didn't help. sad;(
ReplyDeleteStay well.
Blessings,
Gert
Cheryl, I too enjoy reading your blig and seeing your photos, and like yourself my blog goal is to have a record of what we've been doing and also to share. I do not use any form of so-called social media, because for me they do not offer the intimacy of blogging. And, like yourself, it doesn't matter to me abiut the number of "followers" or comments on a blog posts. That said, I will admit that Grenville and myself read and appreciate all comments. As for former bloggers who are no longer posting, in some cases, sadly it's because of health issues. Tonight I read that a blogger friend, Mona from Whisperly Sweetly of Cottages, passed away quite away and it made me cry. She was such a special person who shared her love of family and home in her posts. Her son posted about her passing. There are other bloggers who I have also read, who have stopped posting with no explanations and I often find myself wondering if they are ill or lost interest. We have been blogging for several years now and have been fortunate to even meet some fellow bloggers, who we consider friends.
ReplyDeletePaint, Ben Moore Dove White! Love blogs and I love blogging. I too use it as a diary of my recipes and life. Love seeing your photos so please never stop!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a fast and hot summer in the MO. I had heat exhaustion early and that kind of messed up my entire vacation. Plus I don't think it helped my mood any that we're missing my dad at all of our family gatherings.
ReplyDeleteI actually bought paint to paint. Really I haven't done anything. :)
Hi My Friend, Like you, I use my blog as my journal... I am constantly going back to previous posts for info... BUT--I just don't have time to visit others' blogs now like I used to... That is why I only blog once a week (Mondays) now... And---I did lose a bunch of 'so-called' friends when I quit blogging as much and quit visiting as much. BUT--I still have about 30-40 regulars --so I'm happy they have stuck with me.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why people keep comparing Facebook and Blogging. They are SO different --one from another. Blogging is where one can post their stories in detail (if they choose).. Facebook is quick, easy-- and the reason I love it so much is because I can post one picture a day (usually something very up-do-date) and keep up with friends and family. I originally got on FB to keep up with my family ---but now my list of friends has continued to grow...
I couldn't choose one over the other (blogging vs FB) because they are both great --but very different... As are most things in life, the more you put into them, the more you enjoy them.
Have a great AUGUST....
Hugs,
Betsy