The Simple Woman's Daybook: My Blog's 10th Anniversary

photo: pixabay.com

Today we're celebrating our blog's 10th anniversary!
We're having an anniversary Giveaway.

We're joining with The Simple Woman's Daybook.

FOR TODAY

Looking out my window...

From my desk, I can see into my backyard. It's the same view I had a decade ago when I sent my first blog post off into cyberspace. It's familiar, yet different. Our neighbours' trees, including our Hawthornes and Mountain Ash, are now full grown and stately, with branches giving shade to human and feathered friend alike. One sunflower, a volunteer from scattered birdseed, towers like a sentinel against the back fence, bright yellow petals framing its ripening brown center. Although the fence is looking in need of a fresh coat of paint, the roses and lilies are blooming and serve to remind me that beauty reigns.

I am thinking...

About that first post, written with trepidation and excitement, and how it all came about. For years, I'd been wanting to write, but I didn't really have a focus or a platform. I'd been writing newsletters for people in the beauty/skincare industry, and loved it, but I wanted to branch out, write more inspirational pieces. Many people were blogging by then, and I saw that a blog might be just the thing for me. Not only did I want to improve my writing skills, I also wanted to develop a strong writer's habit of writing regularly.

I asked myself, what would I write about day after day? I already knew that this blog's theme would be what has turned out to be a theme for my own life: learning how to live more beautifully, with grace and wisdom and love, and then sharing it. Here's an excerpt from my first post:

"Hello and welcome ... I've created this blog to explore and share inspirational thoughts about making our lives more beautiful in our every day living. We encounter ugly things every day and some people say, well, that's the reality. But I always remember someone once saying that roses are as real as pigpens. Beauty can be just as real in our lives as any ugly or sad thing. Why should ugly have the upper hand?

Years ago, when I first read Alexandra Stoddard's book Living a Beautiful Life, I realized that I, too, was eager to live a beautiful life. I wanted to be able to create a little 'heaven on earth' in my own corner of the world and to inspire others to find the beauty and joy that's hidden in every crevice of life -- yes, even inside our refrigerators, as Alexandra pointed out in her book."

Now I sit here ten years later and I'm about to hit 'publish' on what will be my 1112th post. I can still remember how, like a new mother, I held my breath as I sent off that first post, wondering what, if anything, would come of it. Now I look back with awe and wonder. So many words have spilled out onto these blank digital pages. So much of my heart and soul. From the first day, it's been about watching for those glimpses of heaven that show up, sometimes in the most unexpected places and ways. Always on the lookout for the beauty -- occasionally in the spectacular and extraordinary, but usually in the simple, ordinary, everyday.  Which is where we live most of the time.

I am thankful...

In ten years, my blog has been shaped and reshaped, as has my life, not to mention the world we live in. But one constant remains: Catching glimpses of heaven in unexpected places and writing about them here on my blog has been a joy ride in a blog post. Even when I start to wonder if readers really want to hear more about the squirrel and the birds and the flowers.

No matter what is going on in the world around me or in my personal life, with God's grace I still aim to carry on making my corner of the world a better, more beautiful place. That includes my corner of cyberspace, both here and on social media. Which also means, sometimes, I totally can put away my soapbox and not add my two cents' worth to the rousing world-wide conversations when we hear the latest set-to on the news. You can be assured I will never use my blog for ranting or raving on any topic. This is my oasis -- a refreshing stream in the desert -- and I wish it to be yours too. As a dear writing friend recently said, "I used to have opinions but then I stated them, and now I don’t have to." Indeed. Wise words from this friend of mine whose name is Joy.

One of my favorite things...

"There is nothing like that exquisite moment when you first

discover the beauty of connecting with others

in celebration of larger ideals and shared wisdom."

~ Gordon Gee

A glass raised to all the friends I've made here on my blog over the years. I'm so grateful. I'd love to mention you by name, but that risks leaving out someone whose name slips my mind in the moment, and that wouldn't be right. So, instead, if you are reading this post, consider yourself on the list of special and wonderful people who have added so much beauty, grace, and kindness to my life this past decade. May this tribe of kindred spirits from around the world continue to share this blogging journey with each other.

I am creating...

A new magazine to mark this anniversary and I'm so excited! The idea just came to me as I'm working on this post. What I'd like to know is why do these wonderful inspirational moments have to always come along at the last minute? I could have been working on this already and had it done for the occasion. Anyways, I'm thinking about calling it Celebration! Anniversary Edition. It will be similar to the Christmas! magazine I published last December. In this edition, I want to gather a collection of my top favourite and most popular posts of the past ten years. It won't be an exact duplication of my posts in design or wording, but they will be laid out in a format that I hope will make it feel familiar, yet new again.

That will be quite the undertaking. As you know, I have well over a thousand posts to sort through, so it might be well into the fall before I'm ready to publish.

I am hoping...

That you will lend your thoughts. If you've been reading and following this blog over the years, I would love to know if you have a personal favourite post, or even two or three. I'd love to know. This would help me decide some of the posts to include in this upcoming Celebration! Anniversary Edition.

I am wearing...

A sleeveless summer dress with swirly skirt, in blue and white floral pattern,
along with silver bracelets.

I am reading...

The Vintage Book of American Women Writers. Edited by Elaine Showalter, 2011. An anthology featuring the "best work of writers ranging from Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet to contemporary stars like Annie Proulx and Jhumpa Lahiri". I can't believe how many of these authors I've not heard of before. Must to be time to get introduced. Really enjoying what I'm reading so far.

Another book I'm reading slowly this summer is the collection of essays, written originally for the Victoria magazine, Sharing the Journey, Women Reflecting on Life's Passages. I talked about this lovely book in a previous post HERE.

A Museum of Their Own, National Museum of Women in the Arts. By Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, who is not only the author of this book, but the founder of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Years ago I read an article in the Victoria magazine about the author and her work, and I thought what a lovely book that would be to have. You can imagine my delight when I found a discarded hardcover copy at the local library book sale last week, all for the humble price of $1.00. When I mentioned my happy find on Facebook, two friends told me they both visited the museum as a result of seeing that very same article in the Victoria magazine. In that moment, it felt like such a small, beautiful world, and I felt happy to share in their joyful memory.   

I am learning...

To roll with the punches. If we can just hold things more loosely, and not worry if we're not 'happy-happy' all the time and not worry when those we love are facing their own rough patches. I've gone around the sun a few times, and I've noticed many things that happen to us come and then they go. In between the rough spots, if we can keep our hearts in a state of peace ... for me, it's keeping my focus on Jesus who knows how to calm troubled minds ... and keep our hearts in tune with Love, then I believe we shall come out okay. How many people have we heard about on news stories who've lost limbs, health, homes, and loved ones? Yet they live to tell the story, grateful for their lives and the ability to put one foot in front of the other -- even with all that loss. I am so grateful for their testimonies. It's encouragement for us all to carry on.

Which brings me to something I've been wanting to share for a few weeks now. It's a quote that I read on my lovely friend Sandra's blog.

"In difficult times carry something beautiful in your heart."

~ Blaise Pascal

Isn't that lovely? Sandra wrote a recent post Visions of Pink as an encouragement of hope for her friend who had been struck with disaster when torrential rains and winds passed through her hometown. Sandra went in search of inspiring quotes and photos that she hoped would help her friend find something beautiful to carry in her heart during those troubled days. I found her gesture moving and gracious.

In my kitchen...

We made blueberry muffins with the loveliest fresh blueberries.
Can hardly wait to have one for breakfast.

In my garden...

Of the many splendid garden and flower pictures I've taken in the past few weeks, I'm drawn to share this one with you. It's one tiny spot in our front garden, yet the way the photo was taken, to me it feels like a vast meadow of wildflowers and bushes. It's yellow potentilla and purple liatris, and I'm awestruck.

thomas ae | unsplash.com

We Promised You Cake...will this do?

"Cakes are special. Every birthday, every celebration ends
with something sweet, a cake, and
people remember. It's all about the memories."
~ Buddy Valastro

Yes, it's about the memories. They are what we cherish as the years pass. And if we can create lovely memories in the little and big things, that's what makes up our history, our story. I have many wonderful memories from working on this blog and from reading so many other delightful blogs by creative and lovely people.

I'm very happy that you popped in for a visit -- I hope you'll stay for cake. I'm looking forward to blogging with you for a long time to come. Let's see what the next decade has for us.  

And Now, Two Three Giveaways...
Contest Now Closed

1. One copy of my new magazine Celebrate! as soon as it's done and published.

 (the above is a mock up -- it may not look like this)

2. One $20 Amazon gift card so you can order the next beautiful book on your own list.

To enter the giveaway contest, leave a comment.

Your name will then go into the draws.

Added Giveaway:
3. One copy of "The flower can always be changing"
by Shawna Lemay, local author/poet

* * * 

Thank you for celebrating with me! Don't forget, if you have a favourite post that you'd like to see in the upcoming anniversary magazine, I'd love to hear about it.

Here's wishing you a beautiful weekend.

Hugs,
Brenda
xox